Hong Kong: Support needed to extend entry rule

Secretary for Food & Health Prof Sophia Chan today said that the co-operation of premises operators and citizens is an important factor when the Government considers whether to extend the requirement of showing vaccination records before entry to more premises.

She made the remarks after attending a radio programme this morning.

People are now required to show their jab records before entering certain premises, such as restaurants adopting the Type D mode of operation and karaoke establishments. Prof Chan noted that the Government has to take into account several factors when considering the extension of such requirement to cover more premises.

"Whether people are required to show vaccination certificates in entering any premises, this is not something new.

"If we are to put in place this requirement, I think the most important thing is for the operators of these premises to be co-operative and for people who have not been vaccinated for no reason to get vaccinated, so that the entire society is protected against COVID-19."

Regarding the two previous imported COVID-19 cases involving cargo crew members, the health chief emphasised that the Transport & Housing Bureau had requested airlines to strengthen and improve their anti-epidemic measures at outports and after their crew have arrived in Hong Kong.

She believes that the bureau will monitor the situation closely together with the airlines.

This story has been published on: 2021-11-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Grants Pass School District Reinstates Teachers Fired in Free Speech Case

NEWS PROVIDED BY

Pacific Justice Institute

Nov. 12, 2021



GRANTS PASS, Ore., Nov. 12, 2021 /Christian Newswire/ -- Seven months after putting them on paid administrative leave  and nearly three months after firing them  the Grants Pass School District has reinstated two educators who openly called for balance in educational policies concerning gender identity.

Rachel Damiano and Katie Medart, whom the Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) is representing in a free-speech lawsuit against the district in federal court, were effectively re-hired following a 4-3 vote Tuesday night, Nov. 9, 2021, by the Grants Pass school board. That was the same margin by which the board voted to fire the middle-school educators back on July 15; board member Cliff Kuhlman, who cast the deciding vote in that July hearing, swung the other way this time.

"The Grants Pass School District did the right thing by reversing its very unwise decision to fire Ms. Damiano and Ms. Medart," said Ray Hacke, PJI's Oregon-based staff attorney, who is representing the educators in their lawsuit against the district. "However, the two of them never should have been taken out of their school in the first place. First Amendment jurisprudence makes abundantly clear that teachers have the same right as any other private citizen to speak on matters of public concern. By placing them on leave and then firing them, the district sent a chilling message  basically, that any employee who dares anger the woke mob will be sacrificed on the altar of political correctness.

"The district also still has policies in place that could potentially chill their speech in the future. Those policies must be invalidated  and if the district won't do it, the federal court should. For that reason, and because the district has put Ms. Damiano and Ms.Medart through an emotional wringer for the past seven months, PJI will not be dropping their lawsuit against the district."

Back in March, Damiano, then an assistant principal at North Middle School in Grants Pass, and Medart, then a seventh-grade science teacher at NMS, posted a video on their own online platform in which they voiced their opinions about local, state, and national policies concerning students' gender identity. The educators also proposed their own policies aimed at respecting teachers' right of conscience as well as parental rights while still respecting students' dignity.

Damiano and Medart did not identify themselves in the video as Grants Pass School District employees  they said they were from southern Oregon  nor did they wear clothing bearing district insignia. Still, fellow district employees who saw the video recognized them and raised an uproar, prompting district superintendent Kirk Kolb to place them on leave and launch an investigation into their conduct.

Following the investigation's conclusion, based on Kolb's recommendation, the Grants Pass school board voted in July to terminate the educators' employment. On Tuesday, the board reversed that decision.

The details of the educators' reinstatement are not apparent at this time.

"We at PJI are absolutely elated for Ms. Damiano and Ms. Medart," said PJI President Brad Dacus. "They are dedicated teachers who care very much about their students. They did not deserve to be thrown under the bus for sharing ideas that some of their more liberal colleagues vehemently disagreed with, but which many others would consider common sense."

"While we applaud the district for at least taking a step toward making this right, there is still much left to be resolved. That's why PJI will continue to push forward with this lawsuit  we need to make a public example of the Grants Pass School District so that no school district, in Oregon or anywhere else, ever pulls a stunt like this again."



SOURCE Pacific Justice Institute



CONTACT: Brad Dacus, 916-616-4126; Spanish: 206-257-3239



Related Links



pacificjustice.org


Vietnamese President addresses 28th APEC Economic Leaders Meeting

Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc attended and delivered a speech at the 28th APEC Economic Leaders Meeting (AELM) via videoconference on November 12 at the invitation of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.













President Nguyen Xuan Phuc attends the 28th APEC Economic Leaders Meeting. (Photo: VNA)

In his speech, President Phuc highlighted the need to adopt a new mindset and approach to bringing economies back to sustainable development, which requires them to overcome differences.



The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum needs to continue affirming its role as a driving force of the global economy, a hub of innovative ideas, he said, adding that APEC also needs to actively expand economic linkages for sustainable economic recovery and growth while upholding its guiding role in shaping the world economy in the post-pandemic period.



APECs focus should be given to effective pandemic prevention and control as well as taking the lead in building an Asia-Pacific model of green and inclusive growth to realise the Putrajaya Vision 2040, the President said.



Highlighting Vietnams contributions to the global common efforts for economic recovery, sustainable and inclusive growth and addressing common challenges, he affirmed that Vietnam will continue partnering with APEC member economies to materialise the vision of an open, peaceful, dynamic, resilient Asia-Pacific, for the sake of prosperity of each citizen and future generations.



President Phuc's proposals were highly appreciated and endorsed by APEC economic leaders, and reflected in the documents of the meeting.



The leaders discussed measures to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, accelerate economic recovery, and spark off new momentum towards innovative, sustainable and inclusive growth.



They reaffirmed their commitments to maintain and strengthen APEC's role as the region's leading forum on economic cooperation and connectivity, and pioneering in efforts to response to global challenges. APEC supports the global efforts for equal access to and sharing of vaccines, the expansion of vaccine production and supply, and the enhancement of health systems.



The leaders adopted a joint statement and endorsed the Aotearoa Plan of Action to implement the APEC Putrajaya Vision 2040, which was adopted at the 2020 APEC Economic Leaders Meeting.



Also at the event, New Zealand handed over the chairmanship of APEC Year 2022 to Thailand./.
Nice attacker plotted for months; suspected accomplices in custody

The 31-year-old man who drove a delivery truck down 2 kilometres of Nice's seaside promenade, killing 84 people celebrating Bastille Day, had envisaged such a terrorist attack for months before getting behind the wheel, a French prosecutor said Thursday.

GALLERY

People gather at the new area for floral tributes on the "Promenade des Anglais in the French riviera city of Nice, France, 19 July 2016, after deadly attack on Bastille day 14 July 2016.

Minutes of silence in the French National Assembly in Paris, France, 20 July 2016 for the victims of the Bastille Day attack in Nice late 14 July. At least 84 people died and many were wounded after a truck drove into the crowd on the famous Promenade des Anglais.

Police secure the area in Nice, France, July 15, 2016 where a truck drove into a crowd during Bastille Day celebrations in Nice, France, July 15, 2016. More than 80 people died and many were wounded in a terror attack.

Paris (dpa) - Tunisia-born Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel also had accomplices, prosecutor Francois Molins added, saying that he sought charges against five people in custody, some of whom exchanged messages in the days, weeks and months before the attack. The latest information on the investigation into the attack counters previous suspicions that Lahouaiej Bouhlel was very rapidly radicalized, as messages and photographs found on his phone and computer showed an interest in jihadism as far back as early 2015.Molins said he was seeking charges against four men and one woman, three of whom were of Tunisian or joint French-Tunisian nationality and two holding Albanian nationality. The charges sought included association with terrorist networks and complicity in a criminal attack related to terrorism. None of the five were known to French intelligence services prior to the attack, Molins said. Lahouaiej Bouhlel was also not known to intelligence services.Among the data uncovered by the investigation, Molins said that Lahouaiej Bouhlel had exchanged more than 1,200 calls with one of the men held - named as Mohamed Oualid G. - since July 2015. Mohamed Oualid G. had sent Lahouaiej Bouhlel a message after the attack on Charlie Hebdo in January 2015 celebrating the shootings and saying the "soldiers of allah finished their work."Images taken from Mohamed Oualid G.s phone also show him filming the Nice promenade after the attack, as well as filming himself, Molins said. Photographs taken by Lahouaiej Bouhlel on July 11 and 13 also show Mohamed Oualid G. in the truck that was used to mow down the crowd on July 14, Molins said. Another of the fives prints were found on the interior of the truck, Molins said. Lahouaiej Bouhlel sent three text message in the moments preceding the attack, including a message to another one of the people held congratulating him for procuring a weapon.After ploughing down the promenade, Lahouaiej Bouhlel shot multiple times at three police officers, who followed the truck as it continued for another 300 metres. After he was shot dead by police, two automatic pistols, a magazine, cartridges, two fake Kalashnikovs, and a non-functional grenade were found in the cab.While the investigation is still piecing together the disparate pieces of the picture, no clear link has yet been established between Lahouaiej Bouhlel and the Islamic State group, which claimed responsibility for the attack two days after it occurred. Molins said that 15 people remain in critical condition, of the 330 people hospitalized after the attack. Many of those gathered on the seaside promenade to watch the fireworks show and who were killed by the onslaught came from abroad, including visitors from the US and Italy.The attack in Nice - the third major terrorist act on French soil in less than two years - has created schisms in the countrys political class, with conservative and far-right politicians accusing the Socialist government of not having done enough to secure the nation against the threat posed by terrorism. After the newspaper Liberation raised questions about the extent of security, how many police and what level of police were present on the promenade, the French Interior Ministry opened Thursday a "technical inquiry" to try to head off speculation.The inquiry - to be headed by the police oversight body - was announced Thursday by Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve after mounting criticism of the measures taken to ensure the celebrations were secure. Liberation claimed that only two municipal police officers and one police car were present on the entrance to the seaside walk where crowds were gathered for the fireworks show, saying that their findings were contrary to previous statements made by Cazeneuve.Two days after the attack, Cazeneuve said that the "national police were present, and very present, on the Promenade des Anglais" and added that police vehicles blocked access to the promenade. Speaking from Ireland, French President Francois Hollande said the inquiry was to seek answers about whether security plans were sufficient, but called for calm. "There is no place for polemics, there is only place for truth and transparency," he said.Prime Minister Manuel Valls said the government "has nothing to hide" and added that, "in this moment we are in need of unity." Frances parliament extended the countrys state of emergency for the fourth time on Thursday, expanding police powers to conduct searches and detain suspects for another six months.The measures, enacted after terrorist attacks around Paris last November that targeted in part a national stadium and concert hall and left 130 people dead, have been criticized by human rights groups.
Xi urges APEC openness, cooperation amid COVID-19 pandemic

Xinhua) 09:33, November 13, 2021

Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the 28th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting via video link, in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 12, 2021. Xi delivered an important speech at the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting on Friday in Beijing via video link. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen)

-- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday attended the 28th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting in Beijing via video link, urging its members to build an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future featuring openness and inclusiveness, innovation-driven growth, greater connectivity, and mutually beneficial cooperation.

-- "China will work with all APEC members in building an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future and jointly opening a new chapter for Asia-Pacific economic cooperation," said Xi.

-- Xi reaffirmed China's resolve in safeguarding the multilateral trading regime with the World Trade Organization (WTO) at its core, and voiced support for the implementation of the Enhanced APEC Agenda for Structural Reform and the APEC Services Competitiveness Roadmap.

Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the 28th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting via video link, in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 12, 2021. Xi delivered an important speech at the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting on Friday in Beijing via video link. (Xinhua/Shen Hong)

BEIJING, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday attended the 28th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting in Beijing via video link, urging its members to build an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future featuring openness and inclusiveness, innovation-driven growth, greater connectivity, and mutually beneficial cooperation.

"China will work with all APEC members in building an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future and jointly opening a new chapter for Asia-Pacific economic cooperation," said Xi.

The 21 APEC member economies have reaffirmed their commitment to responding to the immediate crisis generated by the pandemic through urgent work, and to strengthening cooperation so that the region can return to growth in a way that is more innovative, inclusive and sustainable, according to a declaration adopted at the meeting.

Chinese President Xi Jinping addresses the 28th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting via video link, in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 12, 2021. (Xinhua/Li Xiang)

PROMOTING ANTI-PANDEMIC COOPERATION

"We need to follow a science-based approach in pandemic response and deepen international cooperation," Xi said, pledging that China will continue to provide support to the Sub-Fund for APEC Cooperation on Combating COVID-19 and Economic Recovery.

Ruan Zongze, executive vice president of the China Institute of International Studies, said the Chinese side pointed out the importance and significance of cooperation in fighting against the pandemic, as greater solidarity and closer cooperation are the key to clinching the final victory in this life-and-death battle for APEC members.

"The COVID-19 pandemic was a stark reminder that all countries, whether rich or poor, share the same home planet, and no one can emerge unscathed from common challenges," Ruan added.

In the speech, Xi called on APEC members to promote the research, development, production and fair distribution of vaccines, ensure their accessibility and affordability in developing countries, and close the immunization gap.

So far, China has provided over 1.7 billion doses of vaccines to the world, including donations to more than 110 countries, and China has undertaken to offer three billion U.S. dollars over the next three years to support COVID-19 response and economic and social recovery in fellow developing countries.

An airport worker transports packages of Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine at Phnom Penh International Airport in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Oct. 14, 2021. (Xinhua/Phearum)

Bambang Suryono, chairman of Indonesian think tank Asia Innovation Study Center, said that China's Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines have played a crucial role in national vaccination programs in Indonesia and many other developing countries, and Indonesia appreciates China's support in making Indonesia the regional center for vaccine production.

CHAMPIONING OPENNESS

Calling openness "the lifeline of Asia-Pacific cooperation," Xi urged APEC members to uphold open regionalism, follow the guidance of the APEC Vision 2040 in advancing regional economic integration, and work for the early realization of a high-standard Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP).

"A more opened-up region is a more united one," said Suryono. Besides facilitating post-pandemic recovery, free trade is a win-win for all participants in the long run, and will serve as a catalyst for changes in the fields of business environment, social governance, the legal system, and so on, he added.

Xi reaffirmed China's resolve in safeguarding the multilateral trading regime with the World Trade Organization (WTO) at its core, and voiced support for the implementation of the Enhanced APEC Agenda for Structural Reform and the APEC Services Competitiveness Roadmap.

Xi also said China "looks forward to the entry into force of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) on schedule next year."

Staff members transport packages at a logistics center during the "Double Eleven" online shopping festival in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province, Nov. 11, 2021. (Xinhua/Zhang Haoran)

While some developments in the global economy threaten multilateral institutions like the WTO, Peter Drysdale, head of the East Asian Bureau of Economic Research and the East Asia Forum at Australian National University, said that more openness and dialogue in a spirit of multilateralism will facilitate APEC as an ideal forum to develop strategies that will build the trust needed to overcome relevant problems.

PROMOTING INCLUSIVE, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

"We need to fully implement the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and let the gains of development benefit more people across the world in a more equitable way," said Xi.

Noting economic and technical cooperation is an important area of APEC cooperation, Xi called on APEC members to step up input, make sure that developing members get real benefit from such cooperation, and keep injecting new dynamism into the development and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific.

Regarding China's dedication to advancing common development in APEC and beyond, a case in point is the Juncao technology. In 2001, the first China-aided Juncao technology demonstration base overseas was established in Papua New Guinea, and this technology has so far been promoted to more than 100 countries, bringing people better incomes and more employment opportunities while being ecological-friendly.

Lin Yingxing (C), specialist from the Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, explains Juncao technology to local residents in the Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea, Dec. 19, 2019. (Xinhua/Hu Yingping)

As for upholding innovation-driven development, Xi urged all members to implement the APEC Internet and Digital Economy Roadmap in a full and balanced manner, further develop the digital infrastructure, strive to bridge the digital divide, adding China "supports stronger international cooperation on the digital economy."

"The pandemic has given the trend of e-commerce, which was already happening, a real shot in the arm," said James Laurenceson, director of the Australia-China Relations Institute at the University of Technology Sydney, adding that China is by far a global leader in the e-commerce trend and China's position in the region is increasingly prominent.

Amid the pressing tasks of promoting recovery, China's proposals at the APEC have injected confidence into APEC and beyond for closer cooperation of a broader range and a larger scale in sustainable development, said Sun Jingxin, an associate research fellow with the Academy of Contemporary China and World Studies.

(Web editor: Zhao Tong, Bianji)
UNICEF head worried about girls at risk of child marriage in Afghanistan

Xinhua) 10:19, November 13, 2021

UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) Executive Director Henrietta Fore on Friday voiced deep concern about girls increasingly at risk of child marriage in Afghanistan.

"We have received credible reports of families offering daughters as young as 20 days old up for future marriage in return for a dowry," she said in a statement.

Even before the latest political instability, UNICEF's partners registered 183 child marriages and 10 cases of selling of children over 2018 and 2019 in Herat and Badghis provinces alone. The children were between 6 months and 17 years of age, she said.

UNICEF estimates that 28 percent of Afghan women aged 15-49 years were married before the age of 18.

The COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing food crisis and the onset of winter have further exacerbated the situation for families, forcing them to make desperate choices, such as putting children to work and marrying girls off at a young age. As most teenage girls are still not allowed to go back to school, the risk of child marriage is now even higher, said Fore.

UNICEF is working with partners to raise communities' awareness of the risks for girls if they are married early. Child marriage can lead to a lifetime of suffering. Girls who marry before they turn 18 are less likely to remain in school and more likely to experience domestic violence, discrimination, abuse and poor mental health. They are also more vulnerable to complications in pregnancy and childbirth, she said.

UNICEF has started a cash assistance program to help offset the risk of hunger, child labor and child marriage among the most vulnerable families. The fund plans to scale up this and other social services programs in the months to come. UNICEF will also work with religious leaders to ensure that they are not involved in the "Nekah" (the marriage contract) for young girls, she said.

"But this is not enough. We call on central, provincial and local authorities to take concrete measures to support and safeguard the most vulnerable families and girls. We urge the de facto authorities to prioritize the reopening of schools for all secondary school girls and allow all female teachers to resume their jobs without any further delays. The future of an entire generation is at stake," said the statement.

(Web editor: Zhao Tong, Bianji)
China, U.K. further extend currency swap deal

Xinhua) 10:26, November 13, 2021

BEIJING, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- China's central bank on Friday said that it has re-extended a bilateral currency swap scheme agreement with the Bank of England.

The deal has a scale of 350 billion yuan (about 54.63 billion U.S. dollars), or 40 billion pounds. It will be valid for five years and can be further extended with mutual consent, according to a statement from the People's Bank of China (PBOC).

The PBOC said the extension would help deepen the monetary and financial cooperation between the two countries and safeguard financial stability.

A currency swap sees two parties agree to exchange a certain amount of foreign currency at a pre-determined rate, protecting against fluctuations.

(Web editor: Zhao Tong, Bianji)
Roundup: Overseas Chinese pledge to strive for Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation

Xinhua) 10:28, November 13, 2021

BEIJING, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Communist Party of China (CPC) has adopted a landmark resolution on the major achievements and historical experience of the CPC's 100 years of endeavors during a high-profile meeting.

The resolution was reviewed and adopted at the sixth plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee, held in Beijing from Monday to Thursday, said the communique of the plenum.

Many overseas Chinese people have said they have been inspired and encouraged by the resolution and will make unremitting efforts to achieve the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation.

Wang Xinju, president of the China Council for the Promotion of Peaceful Reunification in Zimbabwe, said that over the past century, the CPC has united and led the Chinese people in arduous struggle towards the tremendous transformation of the Chinese nation from standing up and growing prosperous to becoming strong.

Wang said he, as an overseas Chinese, is very proud of the remarkable achievements, and will continue to make contributions to the realization of the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation.

Chen Qianjun, secretary general of NEXT Federation, a New Zealand-based think tank, said the CPC's high-profile meeting has drawn great attentions from all over the world, and the landmark resolution adopted at the meeting is of milestone significance.

The resolution charts the course and offers a practical reference to mankind for development, and will inspire developing countries to improve people's livelihood and get stronger and prosperous, Chen added.

Xia Yang, president of the Association of Chinese Students and Scholars in Japan, said that in the past 100 years, the CPC has united and led the entire nation to go through a glorious journey, written the most magnificent chapter in the millennia-long history of the Chinese nation.

Xia said, as a Chinese student in Japan, he will inherit the tradition and noble spirit of the predecessors, study hard for the homeland, and make unremitting efforts to realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Xu Chen, chairman of the China General Chamber of Commerce-U.S.A. and president and CEO of the Bank of China U.S.A., said over the past century, the CPC has united and led the Chinese people to attain remarkable achievements through unremitting hard work.

Overseas Chinese-funded enterprises will continue to promote globalization through concrete actions and contribute to the realization of the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation, said Xu.

(Web editor: Zhao Tong, Bianji)
Chinese foreign aid systematically, meaningfully benefits recipient countries: studies

Xinhua) 10:44, November 13, 2021

NEW YORK, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- Recent studies suggest that China's development assistance is "a rare example of aid that systematically and meaningfully benefits recipient countries," an article published recently on Project Syndicate has said.

Chinese foreign aid "increases GDP growth, household consumption, and employment in recipient countries," said the article released on Monday, describing it as the most important revelation from recent economic studies.

Most economists, as well as officials at institutions such as the World Bank, agree that "modern infrastructure is key to promoting economic growth in poor countries," it said.

The infrastructure that China builds can "have wide-ranging benefits," it added, taking as an example China-aid projects including new roads, telecom towers, electric power lines, among others.

"So, contrary to conventional wisdom, the benefits of Chinese foreign aid spill over to ordinary citizens," the article said.

(Web editor: Zhao Tong, Bianji)
China to strengthen crackdown on abnormal patent agent activities

Xinhua) 10:46, November 13, 2021

BEIJING, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- China will further strengthen its crackdown on abnormal patent agent activities, according to the National Intellectual Property Administration (NIPA).

The Chinese IPR authorities will penalize those agents involved in large quantities of abnormal patent applications or patent fabrication activities, either revoking their practice licenses or preventing them from taking on new business, said the NIPA on a new notice.

The NIPA will strengthen big-data screening and monitoring, and will lock down unqualified agents engaged in abnormal patent applications, said the notice.

The IPR authorities will improve the frequency of inspections for those patent agents that obviously have too many application cases per capita. Severe punishments will be given to those involved in activities such as abnormal patent applications and renting or lending patent agent qualifications, said the NIPA notice.

(Web editor: Zhao Tong, Bianji)
Cooperation, delivery crucial in tackling climate change, says head of Chinese delegation to COP26

Xinhua) 10:50, November 13, 2021

Photo taken on Nov. 9, 2021 shows a view at the ongoing 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Glasgow, Scotland, the United Kingdom. (Xinhua/Han Yan)

Developed countries need to take seriously the concerns of developing countries over such core issues as finance and adaptation. They must also strive to deliver on promises made a long time ago, to enhance mutual trust and ensure the success of COP26, the head of the Chinese delegation to COP26 said.

GLASGOW, Britain, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese delegation to COP26 wants all parties to work together in the same direction to reach consensus on the issues at the heart of the conference and make sure it is a success, the head of the delegation has said.

Zhao Yingmin, vice minister of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, told Xinhua in an interview that the Chinese delegation has held close exchanges with other parties during the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

"We hope to contribute to the success of the conference through constructive communication and consultation," he said.

The two-week conference was scheduled to conclude on Friday, but is likely to extend into the weekend due to unresolved issues.

People participate in the ongoing 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Glasgow, Scotland, the United Kingdom, Nov. 9, 2021. (Xinhua/Han Yan)

In particular, developed countries need to take seriously the concerns of developing countries over such core issues as finance and adaptation. They must also strive to deliver on promises made a long time ago, to enhance mutual trust and ensure the success of COP26, Zhao said.

Financial support has been the main issue of concern for developing countries.

During the Copenhagen climate change conference in 2009, developed countries promised 100 billion U.S. dollars a year to help developing nations strengthen their resilience to climate change by 2020.

A man walks past an Earth model at the conference hall of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, capital of Denmark, Dec. 17, 2009. (Xinhua/Wu Wei)

"Twelve years on, the developed countries have failed to honor their commitments, which has tremendously jeopardized political mutual trust," Zhao said.

It is "very unreasonable and unfair" that while developing countries have submitted ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), in line with the Paris Agreement, developed countries have failed to deliver financial support. This issue is also affecting the progress of COP26, Zhao said.

The issue of finance is one of the core issues of difficulty that affect the progress of COP26, Zhao said.

"The developed countries have not yet shown their sincerity and confidence in delivering their pledges. Therefore, both sides are still negotiating. It seems that more efforts are still needed."

Apart from finance, the main sticking points in the final phase of negotiations include temperature control targets, adaptation, and the rulebook of the Paris Agreement, Zhao said.

Locals are seen near a submerged hotel facility after the rise in water level in Lake Baringo, Baringo County, Kenya, Oct. 22, 2021. (Xinhua/Sheikh Maina)

In order to effectively tackle the climate crisis, the parties need to "completely and comprehensively" deliver their promises according to the Paris Agreement, Zhao said. This must be done in line with the principle of equity, common but differentiated responsibilities, and respective capabilities as well as taking into account national conditions.

"We must realize that climate change has been an imminent challenge, but it must be addressed based on science and rules," Zhao said. These rules are specified in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement. "Those are the cornerstones of global effort to tackle climate change, which should not be shaken. Otherwise, it would be hard to achieve our common goal."

On Wednesday, China and the United States released the China-U.S. Joint Glasgow Declaration on Enhancing Climate Action in the 2020s. It was the result of numerous meetings and consultations between the two sides, and was released at a key moment in the conference.

Zhao said the document had demonstrated cooperation between China and the United States, contributed to the global fight against climate change, and injected positive energy into the UN conference. It was also welcomed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who tweeted:

"I welcome today's agreement between China and the USA to work together to take more ambitious #ClimateAction in this decade. Tackling the climate crisis requires international collaboration and solidarity, and this is an important step in the right direction."

Photo taken on Aug. 13, 2019 shows wind turbines amid blooming sunflowers in Sitan Township of Jingtai County in Baiyin, northwest China's Gansu Province. (Xinhua/Nie Jianjiang)

(Web editor: Zhao Tong, Bianji)
China aims to preliminarily cover major cities with IoT by end of 2023

13:51, November 13, 2021 By Han Xin ( People's Daily

The Internet of Things (IoT) is playing an increasingly prominent role in the production and life of people in all sectors as digital and intelligent transformation and upgrading of industries speeds up.

With sensing and network communications technologies as its major means, the IoT is infrastructure that provides services including the sensing, transmission, and processing of information through ubiquitous connection among people, machines, and objects.

The IoT is empowering various industries. In fact, many IoT application scenarios have become realities, such as production equipment with sensors that can be operated, maintained, and monitored from a thousand miles away, smart loudspeaker box that can be controlled using voice commands, and roads covered by video surveillance system and cooperative vehicle-infrastructure system that make autonomous driving possible.

Photo taken on April 7, 2021 shows contestants operating the Internet of Things (IoT) devices in a competition event focusing on IoT applications and technologies at Jiangsu Vocational Students Skills Competition 2021 held in Nantong city, east Chinas Jiangsu province. (Photo by Xu Peiqin/Peoples Daily Online)

In recent years, China has made active efforts to advance the development of its IoT industry, which has enjoyed sound growth momentum and shown great potential for development.

Its estimated that the scale of the countrys IoT industry exceeded 2.4 trillion yuan ($375.8 billion) by the end of 2020, surpassing the target of 1.5 trillion yuan set out in the countrys 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020).

By the end of last year, the ownership of IoT SIM cards in China had exceeded 1.2 billion, and the countrys number of backbone IoT enterprises with an output value of more than one billion yuan surpassed 200, according to statistics.

In an effort to further boost the development of the industry, eight ministries in China recently issued an action plan for the construction of the IoT in the next three years (2021-2023).

The document specifies key tasks and targets for the construction of the new infrastructure in a systematic way and sets the goal of preliminarily covering major cities in the country by the IoT by the end of 2023.

Photo taken on August 25, 2021 shows workers modifying program for self-developed chip at the smart production workshop of an Internet of Things (IoT) company in Huzhou city, east Chinas Zhejiang province. (Photo by Xie Shangguo/Peoples Daily Online)

So far, Chinas IoT industry has published more than 370 standards, clearly defined IoT-related terms and concepts, and standardized technical requirements for network technology, application support, and testing, among other aspects.

The country has witnessed the emergence of new business models in the application of the IoT in its manufacturing sector, such as remote operation and maintenance, monitoring of energy consumption, and safety monitoring.

With the deployment and application of such facilities and systems as video surveillance system, environmental monitoring system, smart smoke detector, and smart street lamp in urban governance, a mechanism for cross-domain data sharing has gradually taken shape in the country.

However, the country still has a long way to go before achieving self-reliance in core technologies of the IoT industry, as the chips in homemade module products are supplied mostly by foreign companies, the country still relies heavily on imported high-end sensors, and there is an urgent need for the country to strengthen the research and development of core technologies concerning the kernel, security, and low power consumption of the IoT operating systems.

The newly issued action plan for the construction of the IoT focuses on making breakthroughs in key and core technologies and aims to advance technology integration and innovation, according to an official with the science and technology department of Chinas Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

Visitors watching exhibits at the 2021 World Internet of Things (IoT) Exposition held in Wuxi city, east Chinas Jiangsu province, Oct. 23, 2021. (Photo by Zhu Jipeng/Peoples Daily Online)

The plan encourages a number of units that have mastered relevant key and core technologies and have strong innovation capability to concentrate efforts on making breakthroughs in innovative technologies in such fields as intellisense, new-type short-distance communication, and high-accuracy positioning and pool efforts to launch a batch of IoT terminals, platforms, and services featuring advanced technologies, extraordinary performance, and good user experience, the official disclosed.

The three-year action plan regards the cultivation of market players as an important part of the construction of the IoT, said Luo Song, deputy head of the Institute of Industrial Internet and Internet of Things under the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT).

The action plan says the country will help 10 IoT companies to grow into industry leaders with an output value of more than 10 billion yuan as well as the capability to drive the integrated development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), better optimize the allocation of resource factors including technology, capital, and talent, and facilitate the innovative development of the IoT industry, so that the country will be able to foster more IoT enterprises with specialized and sophisticated techniques and unique and novel products as well as specialized IoT platform operators and service providers, according to Luo.

The deployment of the IoT in 12 industries for the three major areas, namely social governance, industry application, and peoples consumption, is highlighted in the action plan.

The action plan sets a key target of increasing the number of IoT connections to over two billion, said the official with the science and technology department of the MIIT.

The target means that by 2023, major cities across the country will have been basically covered by the IoT and that modernization of social governance, industrial digitalization, and consumption upgrading in the country will enjoy a more solid foundation, the official added.

(Web editor: Zhao Tong, Bianji)
Security Council renews mandate of UN peacekeeping mission in CAR

Xinhua) 14:01, November 13, 2021

Representatives vote during a UN Security Council meeting at the UN headquarters in New York, on Nov. 12, 2021. The Security Council on Friday adopted a resolution to extend the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic (CAR) for another 12 months, till Nov. 15, 2022. (Eskinder Debebe/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua)

UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Security Council on Friday adopted a resolution to extend the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic (CAR) for another 12 months, till Nov. 15, 2022.

Resolution 2605 also decides that the peacekeeping mission, known by its French acronym as MINUSCA, shall maintain its current personnel level -- 14,400 troops and 3,020 police officers.

The resolution won the approval of 13 of the 15 Security Council members. China and Russia abstained on the basis that the CAR government's views were not sufficiently reflected in the draft.

Resolution 2605 decides that MINUSCA's mandate is designed to advance a multiyear strategic vision to create the political, security and institutional conditions conducive to national reconciliation and durable peace through the implementation of the 2019 Political Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation and the elimination of the threat posed by armed groups through a comprehensive approach and proactive and robust posture without prejudice to the basic principles of peacekeeping.

The resolution authorizes MINUSCA to take all necessary means to carry out its mandate within its capabilities and areas of deployment.

The resolution sets as priority tasks of MINUSCA the protection of civilians; good offices and support to the CAR peace process; facilitation of the immediate, full, safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance; and the protection of UN personnel, installations, equipment and goods, as well as the security and freedom of movement of UN and associated personnel.

The peacekeeping mission is also tasked to promote and protect human rights in the CAR; to provide support for the extension of state authority, the deployment of security forces, and the preservation of territorial integrity. MINUSCA is also authorized to help with security sector reform; the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of members of armed groups, and repatriation in the case of foreign elements; national and international justice, the fight against impunity, and the rule of law.

(Web editor: Zhao Tong, Bianji)
The decision would delay the project, dealing a blow to Korea Aerospace Industries and other defense companies while complicating the retirement of Korea's aging F-4 and F-5 fighter jets.

Jakarta originally pledged to shoulder 20 percent of the W8.5 trillion development cost of the KF-X fighter jet using Korean designs and technology by 2026 (US$1=W1,133).

Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs, Wiranto, on Friday told reporters that his government decided to renegotiate its share in the project. Wiranto said the decision came from President Joko Widodo.

Indonesia was to shoulder 20 percent of the development cost in return for one prototype of the fighter jet and the blueprints, as well as some 50 of the aircraft to be manufactured there.

But it failed to pay its portion of W238 billion for the second half of last year and the first half of this year.

Thomas Lembong, the head of the Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board, said the Korean government "understands" Jakarta's difficult position and that President Moon Jae-in agreed with the renegotiations during Widodo's visit to Korea in early September.

Lembong added that the two sides agreed to wrap up the renegotiations within a year.

The project was slated for completion in the first half of 2026, and 120 of the aircraft were to be built. The entire price tag for the project stands at W18 trillion.
Indonesia will reportedly buy dozens of Dassault Rafale fighter jets from France even though the Southeast Asian country is committed to a joint fighter development project with Korea.

But Indonesia has not paid its share in the KF-X fighter project for some time and appears to be getting cold feet.

French Defense Minister Florence Parly discussed bilateral cooperation in the defense industry with her Indonesian counterpart Prabowo Subianto over the phone on Nov. 26. French media reported that they discussed Indonesia's purchase of Rafales.

French TV said Indonesia wants to buy 36 Rafales by the end of this year, and another French media outlet put the number at 48.


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CROWN POINT  A Lake Criminal Court jury has acquitted a man on all charges arising over the 2017 shooting and wounding of a Gary couple in 2017.

Jurors deliberated briefly Friday afternoon before returning not guilty verdicts for Jarod D. Johnson, 24, of Gary on nine felony charges of attempted murder, battery and firearms violations.

It was a victory for defense attorney Mark K. Gruenhagen, who convinced the jury the states case against his client was riddled with stories that didnt match, inconsistencies and half truths.

Johnsons acquittal comes less than eight months after a U.S. District Court jury in Hammond acquitted Johnson of a kidnapping charge related to the 2017 shooting.

The verdict concluded a week-long trial where Lake County Deputy Prosecutors David Rooda and Tara M. Villarreal argued there was convincing evidence Johnson shot a Gary man in the right side of his face and leg and his 19-year-old pregnant girlfriend twice in her chest at point blank range.

Both adult victims and the womans unborn child survived the shooting. The Times is not identifying the victims.

Rooda said Johnson had betrayed the victims who had known for some time.

Gruenhagen argued it was the victims who betrayed Johnson, by falsely accusing them of a shooting Johnson didnt commit.

Johnson was first charged four years ago with the assault on the couple June 13, 2017 near 5th and Madison in Garys downtown.

The two victims both told Gary police that Johnson had shot them without warning.

Gruenhagen argued the victims never gave a reasonable motive for the shooting and Gary police failed to collect any evidence to verify the victims accusation of Johnson.

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There was no weapon found and no evidence Johnson was present at the shooting," he said.

He said the governments case was solely based on the shooting victims say so.

Gruenhagen said the male victims credibility was compromised by his refusal to come to court and testify at this weeks trial.

(The male shooting victim) couldnt even come to court and look Mr. Johnson in the eye, Gruenhagen said.

Rooda said the male victim broke off contact with them prior to the trial after expressing reservations about helping convict his old friend.

Lake Criminal Court Judge Salvador Vasquez permitted the prosecution to read to jurors a transcript of the male victims sworn testimony in two earlier depositions  question-and-answer sessions prosecution and defense lawyers conduct in preparing for trial.

The male victim said in the previous depositions that Johnson may have shot them because he was under the influence of drugs and suspected a member of the pregnant womans family tipped off Chicago police to the whereabout of another member of Johnsons family, wanted in a separate criminal case.

Gruenhagens argument rose to an emotional peak as he suggested the shooting victims were shot by someone else while the victims were trying to steal a car or money for a trip to Chicago on the South Shore railroad.

Rooda argued that scenario was groundless speculation because Gary police didnt receive any report of an auto theft or robbery that resulted in the victims shooting.

Gallery: Recent arrests booked into Lake County Jail
Press Release

November 12, 2021 Escape of Davao City Hall staff involved in drugs shows true face of Duterte drug war - De Lima Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima maintained that the recently reported drug raid involving the City Hall staff of Mayor Sara Duterte and her companions highlighted the true state of drug war under the present administration. De Lima, the most prominent political prisoner under the Duterte regime, made the statement following news report that the Davao City official and her companions were allegedly allowed to escape during the anti-drug operation of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in a beach resort in Davao de Oro last Nov. 6. "Hindi pa natatapos ang Pharmally corruption scandal na sangkot ang mga tao ni Duterte, tapos heto na naman at sangkot sa droga ang tao ng mga Duterte," she said in her Dispatch from Crame No. 1174. "In this incident we see again the true face of this drug war. It intently kills the poor, mostly targets small players, allows big-time drug lords to escape, and exempts from arrests people close to the Dutertes. And let me add--it locks up in jail an innocent person (that's me!)," she added. Based on media reports, former Davao City information officer Jefry Tupas and her companions were allegedly still present when authorities raided a beach party in Davao de Oro over the weekend but were allowed to leave, according to some of those nabbed from the operation. At least 17 people were arrested during the party. "During the raid, we were instructed to lay flat on the ground. And then they started looking for Jef Tupas. After that, Jef disappeared," one of those arrested reportedly said. Aside from Tupas, the other suspects claimed that more than two persons were allowed to go. The lady Senator from Bicol underscored the need to thoroughly investigate such incident to shed light on the truth, stressing that "the Filipino people deserve answers." "A real 'War on Drugs', which does more than just target and abuse the powerless, and political enemies, will allow the investigation to proceed so the people can discover the answer to these very concerning questions: Why was a staffer of Mayor Sara present during a party where drugs were present, being used, passed around and peddled? "How much did she know about the drug activity in the gathering she was present at before she was allegedly allowed to leave? Why was she allowed to leave? Where do law enforcement agents get the discretion to pick and select who to detain and arrest following a raid?" she asked. De Lima said the real drug war does not favor anyone, regardless of their affiliation. "Ang tanong: Dahil nag-resign na itong si Jefry Tupas, off the hook na siya at mga kasama niya? Kung ganun, wala talagang aasahang rule of law sa mga Duterte kapag sila at mga tao nila ang sangkot," she stressed. If anything, De Lima said she is not surprised that many in the circle of the Duterte family have links to drugs. "What never fails to surprise and disgust me is their continued play-acting as if the public doesn't know who they really are. Bistado na kayo!," she said.
Since 2016, Jonathan S. Lewin has led record-breaking growth in clinical volumes, research funding and patient quality outcomes. He will become a member of the Emory faculty after a new executive vice president for health affairs joins the university.

Jonathan S. Lewin, MD, executive vice president for health affairs of Emory University, executive director of the Woodruff Health Sciences Center, and CEO and chairman of Emory Healthcare (EHC), announced today that after almost six years of record-breaking growth in clinical volumes, research funding and patient quality outcomes, he will step down from his leadership positions and will join the Emory University faculty after a new executive vice president for health affairs is selected and joins the Emory team.

I cannot overstate what an incredible privilege it has been to lead both the Woodruff Health Sciences Center and Emory Healthcare. I remain incredibly impressed by all parts of Emory health sciences and the health care system, and plan to stay on at Emory as a member of the facultyreturning to my roots in innovation, education and technology development, says Lewin. The leadership team has never been stronger, and the organization is better than ever. I am excited to watch what I am confident will be the continued success and growth of this great institution and to contribute in new ways to improve lives and provide hope.

Lewin joined Emory in 2016 and has served in simultaneous leadership capacities as executive vice president for health affairs of Emory University, executive director of Emorys Woodruff Health Sciences Center and CEO and chairman of Emory Healthcare. He held prior leadership positions at Johns Hopkins Medicine and Case Western Reserve University. His research accomplishments are in the development and application of new technologies for minimally-invasive interventional procedures and new magnetic resonance imaging techniques.

During his tenure at Emory, employment in the Woodruff Health Sciences Center has grown to approximately 34,000, a 35% increase. Health sciences research has experienced 57% growth in funding to a total $847 million in 2021.

The institution ranks among the most elite academic health centers in the nation, with the Emory School of Medicine ranking 14th nationwide in NIH funding, the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing ranking fifth in NIH funding, and the Rollins School of Public Health ranking fourth in NIH funding. At the department level, the Department of Surgery ranks 10th in terms of NIH funding, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine ranks sixth, Biomedical Engineering third, and the Department of Pediatrics ranks number one in the country.

Many of the universitys top-ranked health sciences academic programs have been enhanced by new and expanded facilities including the Health Sciences Research Building II, the Nursing Decatur Educational and Simulation Facility, and the R. Randall Rollins Building in the School of Public Health. Philanthropic support to the health sciences at Emory has more than doubled from an average of $151 million to $309 million on an annual basis during Lewins tenure.

He has led unparalleled growth in Emory Healthcare, which has seen its annual total operating revenue reach $5.5 billiona growth of more than 80% in the past six years. For the 10th year in a row, Emory University Hospital was named the number one hospital in Georgia and metro Atlanta; Emory Saint Josephs Hospital ranked number two for the sixth consecutive year; and Emory University Hospital Midtown ranked number five for a third year. Emory Healthcare was also named one of the 10 most trusted brands in health care in the U.S., and the only health system in Georgia, based on the most recent survey conducted by Monigle, the American Hospital Association (AHA) and the Society for Health Care Strategy & Market Development (SHSMD) of the AHA.

The health system has received numerous awards for quality, along with an increase in the number of its hospitals earning Magnet status for nursing excellence. With a strong focus on constructive culture, Lewin instituted Emory Healthcares new Office of Well-Being to focus on provider health and wellness and appointed the health systems first ever chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer.

Lewin oversaw the purchase and development of Emorys Executive Park campus, the opening of the Emory University Hospital tower, the Hawks practice/sports medicine facility, the Musculoskeletal Institute, numerous outpatient sites, and the in-progress Winship at Emory Midtown tower. He also led efforts to make Emory Healthcare the official health care provider of the Atlanta Braves, Falcons and Hawks.

Lewin has brokered unique partnerships and collaborations in order to increase patient access and improve outcomes, including the Emory + Childrens Pediatric Institute, an innovative collaboration with Kaiser Permanente, and renewal of the Emory/Grady/Morehouse partnership. He has also led transformative change in how local health systems, businesses and governments collaborate and interact.

He is widely recognized as a concensus builder within Atlanta and the region, a skill which has been particularly beneficial during the COVID-19 crisis. Lewin has coordinated with the CEOs of other large health systems to maximize the ability of all systems in the area to provide the best care for the Atlanta community. A champion of the underserved and rural health, Lewin has spearheaded efforts to reach all Georgia communities with world-class COVID-19 information and care. Under his leadership, Emory Healthcare has achieved COVID-19 survival rates among the highest of all national academic health centers.

Lewin has been named a most admired CEO by the Atlanta Business Chronicle and one of Modern Healthcares 50 most influential physicians. He is a recipient of the National Medical Fellowships Pioneer Award and the American Jewish Committee National Human Relations Award, among other honors.

Since 2016, Dr. Lewin has provided steadfast leadership to Emory, and I am grateful for all he has done to serve patients here in Atlanta and in communities across Georgia as head of the most comprehensive academic health care system in the state, says Emory President Gregory L. Fenves. He strengthened Emory Healthcare, significantly growing the organization, expanding the health care network, establishing vital partnerships, recruiting key leaders throughout the enterprise, focusing on diversity, equity and inclusion, and last year pivoting EHC to serve our community in response to the COVID-19 crisis with some of the best patient outcomes in the country.

For our academic mission, Dr. Lewin helped bring in record research funding from the NIH, CDC and other agencies and research sponsors, Fenves continues. Dr. Lewin elevated the impact of our schools and hospitals, and he brought great energy and heart to his work every day. I am glad that he will continue to share his expertise and knowledge with our students and researchers as a member of the Emory faculty.

Lewin will continue to serve in his current positions until a new executive vice president for health affairs of Emory University is selected and begins their role. Further details will be provided as the university plans to conduct a national search.
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A research team[a], led by Professor Saburo Matunaga of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech), developed a 50 kg class technology demonstration microsatellite called HIBARI that denotes "skylark" in English.

The purpose of this satellite is the on-orbit demonstration of Variable Shape Attitude Control (VSAC) technology where attitude and orbit are controlled using a variable structure, and the satellite adjusts the attitude via the recoil from the movement of the four movable solar cell paddles. By deploying and retracting the paddles, atmospheric drag can be adjusted and used for orbit control.

HIBARI was selected as a demonstration theme for Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)'s Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration (ISTD)-2[b], and it will be launched on Epsilon-5 sometime after November 2021 from the Uchinoura Space Center. The satellite will be launched into a sun-synchronous orbit[1] at 9:30 Local Sun time at Descending Node with a perigee altitude of 547 km and apogee altitude of 565 km for demonstrating VSAC technology in space. It is also equipped with a small camera as an observation device for checking paddle operation, an optical telescope for precise attitude guidance, and an ultraviolet camera developed jointly with ABLIC Inc. The HIBARI mission is planned to include the photographing of ultraviolet radiation from the auroras over the North and South Poles, and observing the interaction site between the earth's magnetosphere and charged particles.

- The 50 kg class variable shape demonstration satellite HIBARI was developed, and it will belaunched from the JAXA Uchinoura Space Center sometime after November 2021.

- Demonstration test will be conducted for a VSAC device with four movable solar cell paddlesfor high-speed satellite attitude control and orbit control via paddle movement.

- On board is an ultraviolet camera developed jointly with ABLIC Inc. for carrying out missionssuch as capturing ultraviolet light from satellite orbit.

Research Overview

One of HIBARI's main exterior features is its system of four motor-driven, movable solar cell paddles for realizing VSAC. When driven properly, the recoil from the paddle movement can be used to quickly and efficiently control movements such as rotation and stopping to orient the satellite's attitude in any direction. HIBARI's high-precision and stable directional control is possible with the collaborative use of a reaction wheel (RW). In addition, since atmospheric drag changes when the four paddles are opened and closed, orbit control (descent) can be achieved without a thruster (propulsion device).

By implementing variable shape functionality to the satellite itself and controlling it in this way, it becomes possible to control both the attitude motion and the translational motion, which are impossible to perform using a single conventional actuator, with high efficiency and without any propellant. For VSAC testing, a small camera will be used to capture the open/closed status of the paddles on orbit, and a precision attitude guidance control test will be conducted in collaboration with a star tracker [2] and an optical telescope.

HIBARI is also equipped with UVCAM, an ultraviolet camera that was developed in collaboration with ABLIC Inc. Ultraviolet light, which are known to cause sunburn, are difficult to observe on earth since most are blocked by the ozone layer, etc., making it an unexplored wavelength band in the field of astronomy. In this research, line emission[3] from the upper atmosphere and ultraviolet rays from the auroras over high latitude areas will be measured from outer space at an altitude of 550 to 565 km as a basic experiment for ultraviolet astronomical observation.

Next, a successor experiment of the 3-axis earth sensor DLAS[4] using relative attitude estimation[5] based on continuous earth imaging and AI-based image identification, which was demonstrated by ISTD-1, will be conducted as a 3-axis attitude determination test[6] using earth images. Then, a demonstration experiment will be conducted for real-time communication with the ground using the installed Globalstar transmitter STINGR[7]. Also, HIBARI's mounted bus equipment[8] was developed in compliance with the CubeSat standard as a microsatellite standard bus. After the separation in orbit, the satellite will automatically start the sun-acquisition operation to generate sufficient electric power. And the operation team led by Mr. Watanabe, a PhD candidate, will check out the satellite system. Then they will move on to the steady state operation in which the various missions including the feasibility as a bus equipment for microsatellites will be conducted.

Background

Since "microsatellites" that weigh 100 kg or less can be developed quickly and at low cost, they are commonly used for space business. A research team headed by Professor Saburo Matunaga proposed a "research and development center for smart space devices and systems for the creation of new space industries" as part of the Space Cooperation Base Formation Program of the FY2018 MEXT Space Science and Technology Promotion Consignment Fund. To place Tokyo Tech as a center for space development for industry-academia collaboration, they have been actively promoting industry-academia collaboration in space by providing various information to industries from perspectives including basic technology for space development and overseas business trends.

This research is one of the projects created from this base formation project, and was established as a way to achieve more accurate observations with high efficiency in the remote sensing business. To accurately observe ground targets, the ability to quickly change attitude and achieve attitude stability for clear photos is essential. Since small satellites have a small moment of inertia, quick attitude adjustments are easy, but it is difficult, in principle, to maintain stability, and various studies have been conducted on this. To resolve such issues, this research group devised a unique satellite attitude control method called VSAC that utilizes the recoil from satellite structure deformation. In addition to realizing high-speed attitude adjustments with high efficiency, research and development has been conducted to achieve highly stable attitude-oriented control.

Tokyo Tech had already been developing satellites on its own. However, HIBARI is the result of the cooperation based on the "research and development center for smart space devices and systems for the creation of new space industries (smart space base)." The industry-academia collaboration with ABLIC Inc., who was in charge of developing UVCAM, is one of the collaborations resulting from this.

Future Development

HIBARI is scheduled to be launched aboard Epsilon-5 from the JAXA Uchinoura Space Center sometime after November, 2021. After the satellite separates from the rocket, it enters the critical phase[9] of operation until the solar array paddles are deployed. Next, system soundness is confirmed. Then, attitude control tests, attitude determination tests using earth images, and ultraviolet astronomical observations will begin in turn. The mission is expected to last for one year.

Remarks and Terms

[a]Project Members:Professor Saburo Matunaga*, Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology Assistant Professor Toshihiro Chujo, Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology Associate Professor Yoichi Yatsu*, Department of Physics, School of Science, Tokyo Institute of Technology Professor Nobuyuki Kawai, Department of Physics, School of Science, Tokyo Institute of Technology ABLIC Inc.

[b]Demonstration theme: On-orbit demonstration of Variable Shape Attitude Control ofmicrosatellite Proposal representative: Professor Saburo Matunaga, Tokyo Institute of Technology (Reference) JAXA website "Interview on the theme of the Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-2" (in Japanese)

[1]Sun-synchronous orbit: Orbit where the positional relationship between the satellite and thesun is always the same.

[2]Star tracker: Sensor used to determine the attitude of artificial satellites and spacecraft. Theartificial satellite's attitude is determined quantitatively in relation to the arrangement of the stars, allowing the attitude to be determined with great accuracy. Although it is possible to determine the attitude using one unit, in principle, two or more units are often arranged in the orthogonal direction for redundancy.

[3]Line emission: Electromagnetic wave radiation that occurs when energy within an atom ormolecule transitions and is emitted at a specific wavelength based on the type and state of the substance. Examining the wavelength and intensity makes it possible to know what substances exist, and in what state.

[4]3-axis earth sensor DLAS: DLAS (Deep Learning Attitude Sensor) is a satellite-mountedexperimental device developed by Tokyo Tech consisting of a small star tracker and an earth camera. It was installed on JAXA's Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-1 launched in 2019. The earth camera is used to identify the shapes of land features seen through clouds in real time using Tokyo Tech's own AI, and the orientation of the satellite is then estimated by comparing this with the preinstalled map data. By the end of its operation in 2020, about 4,000 satellite images had been taken, and it was the first successful demonstration of satellite orbit, real-time image recognition using deep learning and 3-axis attitude estimation. DLAS Project

[5]Relative attitude estimation: Technology for estimating the relative attitude data of a unitbased on "absolute attitude" (the attitude determined using the earth images and map data described above) and the attitude angle velocity obtained by determining the amount of continuous change of clouds, mountains, etc. in multiple images taken continuously from its orbit.

[6]3-axis attitude determination test: Test for determining the three-dimensional attitude of anartificial satellite or spacecraft. With HIBARI, the attitude is determined using map data, such as coastlines, against image identification of earth images taken from its orbit around the earth.

[7]Globalstar transmitter STINGR: Wireless transmitter using the satellite communication networkprovided by Globalstar in the United States. It was originally a wireless device created for monitoring construction machinery, etc., on the ground (M2M). Since it is capable of covering over 90% of the earth, it can also be used for monitoring satellite conditions and sudden astronomical phenomenon.

[8]Bus equipment: Basic equipment needed for basic artificial satellite functions and operationsincluding power supply, data processing, attitude control, and communication.

[9]Critical phase: An operational phase that starts when a launched artificial satellite or spacecraftseparates from a rocket, and is the most important and dangerous time for a satellite. Communications are secured and initially confirmed, folded solar array paddles are deployed, power supply is secured (confirmation of power generation), attitude is stabilized, and other necessary procedures are followed, either autonomously or remotely.

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Trot Insider has learned that longtime Nova Scotia-based horseman Phil Pinkney, one of Atlantic Canada's most admired and successful participants, has passed away at the age of 84.

Around the age of 14, Phil Pinkney was introduced to harness racing in Truro, N.S. and he quickly took to admire the horsemanship of the legendary Johnny Conroy. He eventually went to work for local horsemen Belbo Gould and Harley Harrison, before opening his own public stable at the tender age of 17. From there, he would start to ply his trade across Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island as well, developing his reputation as a top up-and-coming horseman.

Phil eventually plied his trade at some of the major U.S. tracks along the New England seaboard in the 1970s, racing at Vernon Downs, Rockingham Park, Foxboro and Saratoga Raceway before returing to concentrate and settle in the Maritimes.

During his time stateside, Pinkney helped grow his reputation as a skilled developer of young horses. Mark Jonathan, Rumpus Hanover, Deep Finesse and Dunachton Gale are names that many quickly link to the Nova Scotia native who also recorded the province's first sub-2:00 mile with Peoples Blue Chip at Sackville Downs.

In 2008, his second straight season with a training average over 0.575, Pinkney was honoured nationally as the recipient of the O'Brien Award of Horsemanship. In 2004 and 2007, his average as a trainer was no worse than 0.754.

While also developing his share of top horses over the years, Pinkney was also a mentor to trainers the likes of Brent MacGrath and Ben Hollingsworth, both of whom have gone on to Grand Circuit success. When MacGrath went on holidays over the winter between the two-year-old and three-year-old seasons of Somebeachsomewhere, it was Pinkney whom the connections trusted with the world champion.

Phil is survived by his beloved Linda Hall; he was a proud father to Brian (Colleen) Pinkney, Dale (Jackie) Pinkney, Keith (Christa) Driscoll; grandchildren, Sarah, Danielle, Suzie, Angel, Michael and Ellie; great grandchildren, Carter, Lily and Rylie; wonderful family, his racing family and numerous beautiful friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Kirk and Augusta Pinkney; brothers, Arthur, David (Lorraine) Pinkney; sister, Sally (Brian) Kempton; half-brother, John (Grace) Cann; half-sisters, Elma Trask, Norma (Joe) Brittain and June Ryerson.

The family would like to thank the caregivers at VON and all its extended family and friends for their ongoing care and support during this time. In lieu of flowers, donations in Phils name may be made to VON or charity of choice. A celebration of life will take place on Saturday, November 20 from 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. (AT) in Colchester Community Funeral Home, 512 Willow St., Truro, N.S. Lyle Carter will be speaking at 2:00 p.m. followed by longtime friend, Brent MacGrath. COVID-19 restrictions in place. Proof of full vaccination with ID required. Online condolences may be sent to the family by visiting ColchesterCommunity.com.

A live stream of the tributes from Carter and MacGrath will be available here.

Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and friends of Phil Pinkney.
By Trend

Fitch Ratings forecasts the current account in Azerbaijan returns to a surplus of 7.9 percent of GDP in 2021, from last year's deficit of 0.5 percent, Trend reports with reference to the rating agency.

Fitch Ratings has affirmed Azerbaijan's Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'BB+' with a Stable Outlook.

The rating is supported by Azerbaijan's very strong external balance sheet, low public debt and strong financing flexibility from large sovereign wealth fund assets.

Azerbaijan's large external buffers have been preserved during the pandemic and are supported by the higher oil price. Sovereign foreign-currency assets rose to $51.2 billion at end-3Q21 (86 percent of which comprise holdings of the sovereign wealth fund SOFAZ), from $49.9 billion at end-2020, equivalent to 26 months of current external payments.

Fitch forecasts the current account returns to a surplus of 7.9 percent of GDP in 2021, from last year's deficit of 0.5 percent, before narrowing to average 5.3 percent in 2022-2023, mainly driven by our lower forecast average oil price (of $55 per barrel in 2022 and $53 per barrel in 2023, from $63 per barrel this year) but still the highest in the peer group. The net sovereign asset position is projected to increase to 84.1 percent of GDP at end-2023, from 83.1 percent at end-2020.
Small and Medium Business (SME) Development Agency of Azerbaijan, on the basis of a memorandum signed with the Association of Independent Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkey (MUSIAD), will hold the next international business forum in Baku, the chairman of the agency's board Orkhan Mammadov said at a press conference, Trend reports.

According to Mammadov, this business forum will help to attract foreign investments to the liberated territories of Azerbaijan.

"The forum will host meetings in the B2B format. About 500 businessmen from 30 countries of the world will take part in the event," he said.

He also noted that the holding of this business forum will also contribute to increasing the investment potential of Azerbaijan.
By Ayya Lmahamad

Ambassador Andrei Ravkov has said that Belarusian companies are ready to support the development of transport infrastructure in Azerbaijans liberated lands.

He made the remarks during the meeting with Azerbaijan Railways CJSC Chairman Javid Gurbanov.

Noting that Azerbaijan, while complying with the decisions of international organizations, has restored its territorial integrity, the ambassador stressed that large-scale reconstruction work is continuing at a rapid pace on the liberated territories.

During the meeting, Gurbanov noted that Azerbaijan and Belarus are developing bilateral and multilateral relations in the field of transport, including railways.

The main topic of discussion at the meeting was cooperation between Azerbaijan Railways and Stadler Minsk.

Gurbanov said that since 2015 the company has been cooperating with the leading industrial enterprise of Belarus, a member of the international concern Stadler Minsk CJSC. It was noted that under the contract signed in 2019, it is planned to purchase 10 passenger trains FLIRT, of which four are diesel and six are electric trains.

The parties also noted that in order to increase freight traffic along the international transport corridor North-South Azerbaijan Railways applied preferential tariffs for transportation of 20, 40 and 45-foot containers, all kinds of transit and export cargo transported through the territory of Astara.

Speaking about the large-scale work carried out in Azerbaijans liberated lands, Gurbanov noted that there are ample opportunities for the successful promotion of transport corridors across the country.

He also briefed about the countrys initiative to develop international routes, which are important for expanding bilateral economic ties.

The sides exchanged views on further areas of cooperation in the railway and transport spheres.

The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Belarus amounted to $320.3 million, with the export accounting for $229.8 million and import for $90.4 million in the first nine months of 2021.
A senior Turkish official has said that the Turkic Council, uniting three continents and having income worth $2 trillion, is an important structure of international importance that makes a significant contribution to the well-being, peace and security of the region and the world.

The Turkish president's senior advisor, Yalcin Topcu, stressed that the 8th Summit of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States (Turkic Council) was hosted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan under the theme of "Green Technologies and Smart Cities in the Digital Age" in Democracy and Freedoms Island.

"We hope that the Summit of the leaders of the Turkic speaking states will contribute to the peace and prosperity for the Turkic world, the Islamic world and all mankind," the senior advisor added.

Topcu added that the Turkic world has 300 million ancestors.

The senior advisor described the summit as very important in terms of time and international agenda.

"The activity and future of the Turkic Council, including the Vision Document for the next 20 years, as well as the issue of renaming the Turkic Council which was proposed by the Turkic World Elder Nursultan Nazarbayev, will be discussed at the 8th Summit of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States," the senior advisor said.

Topcu said that the chairmanship of the Turkic Council will pass from Azerbaijan to Turkey.

"I hope that the bilateral meetings of our president with the leaders of friendly and fraternal countries on this occasion will have very important results," the senior advisor said.
An Armenian terrorist attacked a post with Azerbaijani and Russian servicemen in the village of Dashalti with a grenade, Trend reported on November 13.

The video shows that none of the Azerbaijani servicemen were seriously injured.

It is reported that the Armenian terrorist who carried out the attack was detained by Russian peacekeepers temporarily stationed in Azerbaijan.




The experts of UN Human Rights Committee expressed concern about undue legal restrictions on the freedom of peaceful assembly, unjustifiable police interference in peaceful demonstrations as well as arbitrary and prolonged detention of demonstrators, Trend reports citing the Committees statement.

According to the statement, the Committees experts recommended that Armenia reduce police presence at demonstrations and investigate all allegations of excessive use of force and arbitrary arrest and detention by State agents during protests.

The Committee also called on Armenia to ensure that domestic laws on the use of force are in full compliance with the UN Basic Principles on the use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials and the Guidance on the Use of Less-Lethal Weapons in Law Enforcement.

Regarding the independence of the judiciary, the Committee is concerned about the influence exerted by the executive and legislative branches and the current procedures for the selection, appointment and suspension of judges and prosecutors. The Committee recommended the State party ensure that judges and prosecutors are protected from any form of undue pressure and interference, and guarantee the security of tenure of judges and prosecutors, the statement says.
Azerbaijan has launched a criminal investigation into a provocation of Armenian terrorists against Azerbaijani servicemen, a joint statement of the Azerbaijani Prosecutor-General's Office and the Interior Ministry has said.

The statement stressed that Armenian citizen Norayr Mirzoyan, born in 1975, and other persons, who previously acquired an RGD-5 grenade, firearms and explosives to commit a terrorist act and premeditated murder on the Azerbaijani territory at 07:12 (GMT+4) on November 13, 2021, moved from the Azerbaijani city of Khankandi along the Khankandi-Lachin highway towards Lachin city in a Mercedes-Benz car with the state registration plate 48-MN-048 ER, got out of the car near Dashalti village and threw a grenade towards the servicemen of an Azerbaijani armed forces' military unit and Russia's peacekeeping contingent, endangering their lives.

As a result of the attack, committed with the aim of premeditated murder on the basis of ethnic hatred, active-duty sergeant Hafiz Nasibov and other servicemen (three in total) received bodily injuries of varying severity.

The Azerbaijani prosecutor-general has initiated legal proceedings into the case under Criminal Code Articles 29, 120.2.1 (attempted murder committed by a group of persons, by a group of persons by prior conspiracy, an organized group or a criminal community (criminal organization); Article 29, 120.2.3 (attempted murder of a victim or his relatives in connection with the performance of the official activity by this person or the fulfillment of public duty), Article 29, 120.2.4 (attempted murder with particular cruelty or in a generally dangerous way), Article 214.2.3 (with the use of firearms and objects used as weapons), Article 228.3 (illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transportation or carrying of firearms, explosives by an organized group) and other articles.

The investigation was entrusted to the Investigation Department of the Azerbaijani Prosecutor General's Office. At present, intensive investigative measures are underway for the case.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has completed his visit to the Republic of Turkey, Azertag reported on November 13.

A guard of honor was arranged for President Aliyev at the Ataturk Airport in Istanbul decorated with the national flags of the two countries.
There is no doubt that President Ilham Aliyev's plans to restore Azerbaijans liberated territories will be fulfilled, Director of the Russian Institute for Political Studies, expert Sergei Markov said during a press conference in the city of Shusha, Trend reports on Nov. 13

"Shusha will be one of the tourist pearls of Azerbaijan. We are glad that the city of Shusha has returned to its homeland - Azerbaijan," he said.

will be updated
By Vafa Ismayilova

A fresh Armenian terrorist attack on Azerbaijan's liberated territory has been strongly condemned in Azerbaijan and abroad.

In the early hours of November 13, 2021, several Azerbaijani servicemen were wounded in the attack committed by members of illegal Armenian armed formations near Shusha city on the Azerbaijani territory currently under Russian peacekeepers' temporary control.

Impunity leading to new threats

On her official Facebook account, Azerbaijani Human Rights Commissioner Sabina Aliyeva strongly denounced the attack and demanded retribution for the offence.

"The terrorist who threw a grenade was detained by Russian peacekeepers. Taking advantage of impunity, another crime committed by members of illegal Armenian armed groups leads to the murder of innocent people, a gross violation of human rights and freedoms, and the emergence of new conflicts. We strongly condemn such actions that create a real threat to the rights and freedoms of people, we demand that the offender be punished accordingly," Aliyeva said.

Armenian terrorism

Meanwhile, U.S. expert Peter Tase described as unprecedented the terrorist attack committed in Dashalti village liberated from Armenian occupation late last year.

Terrorists behavior and revanchism have many shapes and manifestations in the Armenian society. Equally tragic is the fact that international actors in Europe, the U.S. and in the democratic world do not openly condemn the acts of terrorism inspired by Yerevan's administration committed against the innocent civilians and the Azerbaijani armed forces, Tase said.

He stressed that the glorification of Armenian terrorists by the Armenian government and its society is a major blunder of large proportions that must be tackled by the international community.

Armenian terrorism has been exported in the streets of Los Angeles, Paris and Berlin. It is tragic that major global powers are focused on the green economy and environmental issues that affect the planet, but when it comes to addressing the centuries' old Armenian terrorism, U.S. and EU legislators on both sides of the Atlantic prefer to remain quiet, he further said.

The expert noted that at the same time, Yerevan continues to operate with impunity and finance acts of terrorism including the provision of financial and political help to ASALA Terrorist Organization. Armenian culture has always cultivated a sense of pride every time when terrorist attacks are committed by Armenian terrorists.

The U.S. expert stressed that the Azerbaijani armed forces are highly equipped and embody the top level of professionalism when dealing with terrorist attacks.

"The [Azerbaijani] armed forces are a genuine source of patriotism and valor, and a tool of statecraft that serves to safeguard the country's full territorial integrity and sovereignty, concluded Tase.

Unconditional withdrawal of all Armenian troops

At a news conference held in Shusha on November 13, Russian military expert Igor Korotchenko said that the Armenian terrorist, who committed the attack, must be handed over to the Azerbaijani law-enforcement agencies.

"We, the members of the Russian delegation, are glad to be in the ancient Azerbaijani city of Shusha. Today, when we are discussing stability issues, a terrorist attack was committed in the village of Dashalti. An Armenian terrorist threw a hand grenade at the Azerbaijani and Russian servicemen," Korotchenko said.

The expert added that among the injured, there could have been Russian peacekeepers.

"Maybe this is a latent threat to the Russian delegation, which is here," he said.

According to him, the incident once again emphasizes the need for strict implementation of all points of the trilateral statement.

"There mustnt be any illegal Armenian armed formations in Karabakh. These terrorist groups are like cancer. We demand the unconditional withdrawal of all illegal armed formations from the territories of Azerbaijan. Otherwise, these sabotage acts will be repeated. Coercive measures must be applied to Armenia. There must be an international response in this regard," he added.

At the same news conference, Director of the Russian Institute for Political Studies Sergei Markov said that terrorist attacks similar to the one committed in Dashalti should not go unpunished.

"Unfortunately, the South Caucasus cannot be called completely peaceful," Markov noted, adding that extremist forces continue attempts to destabilize the region.

Recalling the attack in Dashalti, he stressed that "such actions should in no way go unpunished".

A joint statement earlier issued by the Azerbaijani Prosecutor-General's Office and the Interior Ministry said that Armenian citizen Norayr Mirzoyan,46, and other persons, who previously acquired an RGD-5 grenade, firearms and explosives to commit a terrorist act and premeditated murder on the Azerbaijani territory at 0712 (GMT+4) on November 13, 2021, moved from the Azerbaijani city of Khankandi along the Khankandi-Lachin highway towards Lachin city in a Mercedes-Benz car with the state registration plate 48-MN-048 ER, got out of the car near Dashalti village and threw a grenade towards the servicemen of a military unit of the Azerbaijani armed forces and the Russian peacekeeping contingent, endangering their lives.



As a result of the attack, committed with the aim of premeditated murder on the basis of ethnic hatred, active-duty sergeant Hafiz Nasibov and other servicemen (three in total) received bodily injuries of varying severity.

It should be noted that Baku repeatedly made all the necessary proposals to Yerevan with regard to normalizing the post-war regional situation. Namely - to sign a peace treaty, to recognize each other's territorial integrity and to begin the delimitation and demarcation of borders.

About 2,000 Russian peacekeepers have been deployed for five years in Karabakh under the trilateral cease-fire deal signed by Baku, Moscow and Yerevan on 10 November 2020. The signed agreement brought an end to six weeks of fighting between Armenia.



The peace agreement stipulated the return of Azerbaijan's Armenian-occupied Kalbajar, Aghdam and Lachin regions and urged Armenia to withdraw its troops from the Azerbaijani lands that it has occupied since the early 1990s.



Armenia still fails to withdraw all its troops from Azerbaijan under the ceasefire deal. Before the signing of the deal, the Azerbaijani army had liberated around 300 villages, settlements, city centers, and historic Shusha city.
By Vafa Ismayilova

The Azerbaijani army positions came under Armenian fire near liberated Kalbajar region on November 13, the Defence Ministry has reported.

Starting from noon on November 13, the Armenian armed forces fired from their positions in Basarkechar region's Yukhari Shorja village at the Azerbaijani army positions in the direction of Kalbajar region's Zeylik village, using firearms of various calibers, sniper rifles and grenade launchers, the ministry said.

Units of the Azerbaijani army are taking adequate measures to prevent the provocation of the opposite side; at the moment, shooting in this direction continues, the report added.

There are no casualties among the personnel of the Azerbaijani army. The operational situation is under the control of the units of the Azerbaijani armed forces, the ministry said.

In the early hours of November 13, 2021, several Azerbaijani servicemen were wounded in the attack committed by members of illegal Armenian armed formations near Shusha city on the Azerbaijani territory currently under Russian peacekeepers' temporary control.

The Prosecutor-General's Office and the Interior Ministry launched an investigation into the case under various articles of the Azerbaijani Criminal Code.

It should be noted that Baku repeatedly made all the necessary proposals to Yerevan with regard to normalizing the post-war regional situation. Namely - to sign a peace treaty, to recognize each other's territorial integrity and to begin the delimitation and demarcation of borders.

About 2,000 Russian peacekeepers have been deployed for five years in Karabakh under the trilateral cease-fire deal signed by Baku, Moscow and Yerevan on 10 November 2020. The signed agreement brought an end to six weeks of fighting between Armenia.

The peace agreement stipulated the return of Azerbaijan's Armenian-occupied Kalbajar, Aghdam and Lachin regions and urged Armenia to withdraw its troops from the Azerbaijani lands that it has occupied since the early 1990s.

Armenia still fails to withdraw all its troops from Azerbaijan under the ceasefire deal. Before the signing of the deal, the Azerbaijani army had liberated around 300 villages, settlements, city centers, and historic Shusha city.
Bank ABC Islamic has announced that it has rebounded with significant improvement in net profitability for the nine-month period, registering a 19.4% growth to hit $26.7 million over last year after a one-off impact of fraud related impairments.

Announcing the results for the period ending September 30, the Bahrain-based bank said the asset quality remained strong with no significant account specific impairments.

Its total assets stood at $1.701 billion as of September 30, compared to $2.314 billion at 2020 year-end. The drop in assets is mainly attributable to excess liquidity in the market and subdued new business activity due to the pandemic.

Total operating income of $31.2 million, 11.5% lower than the same period last year, is mainly on account of consistently lower profit rate environment during 2021 and lower fee income in 2021 due to subdued markets activity impacting our capital markets businesses.

Otherwise, the core wholesale banking business performance was almost 95% of the years target.

Total operating expenses were slightly higher, 2.6% than last years level of $5 million, mainly related to staff costs, as the pandemic related subsidies provided by the government in 2020 were discontinued in 2021.

The bank continues to support the group in Islamic Banking initiatives with a strong start of Islamic banking in Algeria this year, under the brand name, alburaq that caters to corporate, SME and retail segments.

Business Performance (three-month period):

*Net profit for the third quarter was $7.5 million compared to $7.9 million reported last year.

*Total operating income was $9.7 million compared to $11.9 million last year.

*Allowances for credit losses for the period were $0.4 million compared to US$2.5 million reported during the same period last year.

*Operating expenses were US$1.8 million, compared to US$1.4 million for the same period of last year.

Commenting on the results, Managing Director Hammad Hassan said: "We are pleased on the overall performance of the bank in the nine month period, despite the impact on top line due to a combination of factors including lower profit rate environment, reduced capital markets activity and lower asset utilizations."

"However, with the rebound in most businesses as the impact of the pandemic reduces, we are optimistic on recovery of core business lines and expect to close the year on strong footing," he added.
The 4th edtion of ITB China, which opened today (November 8), is being held as a virtual event, offering all participants a digital platform to meet, chat and exhange ideas with key industry players worldwide.

The virtual platform will run until the end of the year, connecting participants for a total of 50 days, a statement from the organisers said.

Messe Berlin CEO Martin Ecknig said: After months of preparation and hard work we are proud to officially open ITB China Virtual 2021. For the first time ITB China is fully digital.

"The new virtual platform will meet the ever-changing needs of our exhibitors and buyers, giving them a platform to explore opportunities, ideas and innovations with an optimistic future for our industry in mind.

By offering a longer digital trade show period, all attendees will get adequate time to connect with more business partners, discover new products and services of the exhibitors from over 50 countries on the virtual show floor, network with top Chinese buyers from over 200 travel agencies and companies, and learn from industry experts all in one place.

As the Strategic Partner, the European Travel Commission (ETC) will have a strong exhibition presence at the virtual event, with many destinations joining the virtual ETC booth including: Ards and North Down, Armagh, Austria, Belfast, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark & Norway (Scandinavian Tourist Board), Estonia, France, Germany, Isle of Ireland, Monaco, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Saxony, Serbia and Zagreb.

A number of European destinations will also be joining ITB China with their own virtual booths, including Hamburg, Italy, Malta, Spain, Switzerland, Thesprotia/Vlora, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

Furthermore confirmed destinations are this years Official Island Travel Partner Maldives, Abu Dhabi, Australia, Fiji, Israel, Los Angeles, New Zealand, Penang, Qatar, Sarawak, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Sanya, Shenyang, Shaanxi, Tahiti, The Bahamas, and many others.

Many hotels and OTAs will also be showcasing their portfolio as also those in the transportation, travel tech, tour operators sectors.

Participants will also have access to latest industry updates and gain business insights from Chinese and international travel and tourism experts. Content sessions will gradually go live on the platform throughout the entire event duration.

A series of executive interviews with leading professionals from travel organisations, destinations, travel services, hospitality and MICE will be released during the first two opening weeks, kicking off the programme.-TradeArabia News Service
Today's news: Biden's first meeting with Xi Jinping will be held online on Monday; meanwhile, Japan and the US agreed to realize a visit to the United States by Japanese Prime Minister Kishida; Malaysia's Covid-19 cases could rise dramatically again after the reopening of borders; Russia has called for the dissolution of an association that collects testimony on the persecution of Soviet dissidents.

PHILIPPINES

The daughter of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has filed her candidacy for vice president with the Lakas-CMD party ahead of elections in May 2022. Sara Duterte-Carpio has thus renounced her candidacy for mayor of Davao. The constitution prevents her father from running for another presidential term.

MALAYSIA

A month after reopening its borders and allowing domestic travel within the country, Malaysia reported an R0 (Covid-19 infectivity rate) of 1. The Ministry of Health reported that the number of new cases could rise again.

CHINA - UNITED STATES

The first meeting between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping will take place online Monday evening. According to a White House note, the two leaders will discuss ways to responsibly manage the competition between the United States and the PRC, as well as ways to work together where our interests align. China's Foreign Minister warned the US not to encourage Taiwan's pro-independence forces.

JAPAN - UNITED STATES

The Taiwan Strait has been the focus of talks between Japan's new Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who today agreed to a visit by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to the United States. In Hayashi's first talks with a foreign counterpart since taking office Wednesday, the two diplomats also agreed to strengthen their bilateral alliance and make efforts for a free Indo-Pacific region against Chinas assertiveness.

INDIA

New Delhi's extremely high pollution levels have forced people to wear masks even at home. The Supreme Court has ordered the development of an emergency plan to improve air quality. Smog increases between October and November due to traffic, unfavourable winds and stubble burned by farmers in areas around the capital.

PAKISTAN

Yesterday Islamabad tested the first home food delivery by drone. For Foodpanda, Pakistan's main food delivery company, it is an opportunity to reach remote areas, far from urban centres.

RUSSIA

The Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation has requested the dissolution of the association "Memorial", which for thirty years has been collecting testimonies on the persecution of Soviet dissidents, on the charge of being a "foreign agent". The members of Memorial have long been asking to be recognized as a legitimate organization, whose funding at home and abroad is in line with all forms of remembrance of persecution according to international law.

SYRIA

Water shortages in the Euphrates caused by climate change are exacerbating an already critical situation due to conflict and the pandemic. Water levels in dams are so low that families cannot get more than two hours of electricity a day. More than five million people rely on the river for their livelihoods.
The United States and Qatar have signed an agreement to formally recognise the emirate's role vis-a-vis the Taliban. This will allow further evacuations of at-risk Afghans, and offer a channel for humanitarian aid to a country on its knees. UNICEF official warns that the situation is such that some families are offering daughters as young as 20 days old.

Washington (AsiaNews/Agencies)  The United States and Qatar signed an agreement yesterday in Washington whereby the Gulf country will represent US diplomatic interests in Afghanistan.

This follows the closure of the US embassy in Kabul last August at the time of the takeover by the Taliban.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken signed for the United States and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani signed for Qatar.

Under the agreement, which comes into effect on 31 December, Qatar will set up a US Interests Section in its embassy to provide some consular services and monitor the condition and security of US diplomatic facilities in Afghanistan.

The agreement ratifies a de facto situation. Qatar, home to the largest US military base in the Middle East, also hosts the Talibans office, with which the United States negotiated the withdrawal of its troops after 20 years.

Qatar was also the main transit point for the airlift that took thousands of Afghans at risk out of the country.

Some 124,000 passed through the emirate in August, but Qatar Airways carried out at least 15 other evacuation flights in the following months, allowing Afghans who worked with the US troops to leave Kabul.

About 8,000 Afghans are still in Qatar waiting for their visa application to be vetted by the United States, while thousands more are still at risk in Afghanistan.

With Qatar representing US interests in Afghanistan, the United States and its Western allies will be able to remain in contact with the Taliban without political recognition of their government.

This will be very important especially now that the countrys humanitarian and food crises are getting worse just before the onset of winter.

At present, Afghanistan needs international aid, also because the war and the political earthquake created by the return to power of the Taliban have been compounded by the consequences of a severe drought, which hit the country in the last two years.

One of the consequences is the increase in child marriage. In view of the situation, UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore issued an appeal yesterday.

I am deeply concerned by reports that child marriage in Afghanistan is on the rise, reads her message. We have received credible reports of families offering daughters as young as 20 days old up for future marriage in return for a dowry, she added.

Even before the recent political instability, UNICEF partners had recorded 183 child marriages and 10 cases of child sales, ranging in age between six months and 17 years, in 2018 and 2019 in the provinces of Herat and Baghdis alone.

But now, Fore writes, The extremely dire economic situation in Afghanistan is pushing more families deeper into poverty and forcing them to make desperate choices, such as putting children to work and marrying girls off at a young age.

In fact, As most teenage girls are still not allowed to go back to school, the risk of child marriage is now even higher.
by Nirmala Carvalho

Tomorrow is the fifth World Day of the Poor, and the seventh World Day of the Redemptorist Missionary Vocation. The latter are involved in a couple of projects; one to improve ground and water resources management, and the other to educate poor and lower caste children, marginalised by society.

Delhi (AsiaNews)  In India, the Redemptorists are involved in a couple of initiatives in rural Maharashtra, a western and central Indian state.

One is an agricultural development project centred on watersheds and the other seeks to improve child education in tribal communities, inspired by the mission ideal of going to people who are socially and geographically marginal.

Father Ivel Mendanha CSsR, provincial superior of the Redemptorists, spoke to AsiaNews about it, noting that tomorrow, Sunday, will be both the seventh World Day of the Redemptorist Missionary Vocation and the fifth World Day of the Poor.

For the clergyman, the watershed project in the village of Panodi, a rural part of the state, and the child educational programme, are meant to proclaim the Good News in new and varied ways.

The Redemptorists of the Vice Province of Majella serve migrants in Mumbai, neighbouring Vasai as well as Goa, especially tribal communities, trying to offer them opportunities for development and growth.

In Panodi, which belongs to the Diocese of Nashik, their work covers about 10 villages with about 200 Catholic families.

The watershed project is meant to better utilise land and irrigation systems, from the mountains to the valleys, by protecting the ground from erosion and promoting ground water preservation and storage in wells.

This can improve manage water resources at a time when drought and low precipitation re becoming commonplace because of climate change.

For Fr Ivel Mendanha, the project seeks to increase available water resources and reinforce the environment through reforestation.

In so doing, it will also sustain incomes through resource mobilisation and maximisation, reduce seasonal migrations, and ensure a stable social, family and cultural environment, while boosting unity, peace, and harmony.

To this end, about 2,000 trees have been planted in Panodi, another 4,000 in Varwandi, and 1,000 in Jahwar-Mokhada.

For villages such as these, water is crucial, the clergyman explains. The project of rejuvenating arid lands must be associated with stopping erosion during the rainy season and capturing as much rain water as possible.

The second initiative concerns the education of children from the poorest and most marginalised castes of society, including tribal people, by offering them dedicated courses and lessons to develop their skills.

This is essential since government schools are unable, or unwilling, to meet the educational needs of such children.

To reach their goal, the Redemptorists will start "daily lessons for children, developing their skills and learning ability while improving "their personality".

Learning English and speak it is a joy for tribal children, Fr Mendanha notes. This is not about proselytising, but about reaching out to human beings in distress, who live on the margins of the world, abandoned by everyone.
The Baltimore City School board also voted this week to extend the Thanksgiving holiday by releasing students after a half day of classes on Tuesday and keeping schools closed on Wednesday. The long break was also given to help teachers and administrators after the intensive work required to reopen schools this fall.
Violence in our community will not be tolerated, and any violence against law enforcement deserves the full weight of our justice system, said Howard County States Attorney Rich Gibson in a statement. I hope that todays sentence, handed down by the court, will act as a deterrent to anyone who thinks this kind of lawlessness will be permitted in this space.
The driver of a CityLink Pink bus, operated by the Maryland Transit Administration, rear-ended a vehicle around 6:15 p.m. at Bethlehem Boulevard and Peninsula Expressway in Sparrows Point, according to a spokesman for the Maryland Department of Transportation.
Summary

In "Love Letter," Fly and Stela's parents write them a letter about falling in love. They tell their children that when they meet their love, they will also be meeting "all the people who ever loved them or who were supposed to love them but didn't" (1).

In "Fly": "Oakland Gomorrah, The Story of Fly's Father," it was 1989 and Fly's father, Gary, was traveling from San Francisco, California to Memphis, Tennessee. He and his girlfriend Eloise were escaping their old lives. Eloise had been a part of the church. She thought that she had a special gift. Leaving with Gary made her feel as if he was saving her from something. She also knew that because he was Black and she was white, their relationship was complicated.

Gary had a gift, too. He heard and talked to voices. However, Eloise did...
Ridouts discovery wasnt all bad. According to a Baltimore Sun article published at the time, Ridout was surprised to find how much of the acorns building material dated to the 18th century, including the metal covering and decorations and the exterior, which was marked with dozens of names, dates and initials from those who worked on it. In 1996, the administration of Gov. Parris Glendening announced that the acorn would be replaced with a new one made by Maryland craftspeople. It was removed later that year by helicopter.
One victim was is in critical condition from a shooting that occurred around 2 p.m. in the 5000 block of East Oliver St. in the Armistead Gardens neighborhood, about two miles away from the barber shop, police said. Police believe that shooting followed an argument.
Glassman also noted Harford Community College is considered a linchpin and center of the countys workforce development. The college, he said, is a partner   not only in economic development, but in providing opportunities for folks to go to school that may not be able to afford a four-year college up front, those older individuals returning to continue education or those expanding their opportunities.
We were one of the first donors to get this program started, we believed all along in it, Pratt said. We did research that the sooner a young person gets involved with the arts, the better citizens they become. There is a lot of young people in this community with incredible potential, who dont have the opportunities to pursue that.
I am inspired this week by an assignment my wife is doing for a Law in Education class. Her assignment was to write about religion in school and particularly release time for religious classes. It is an interesting assignment for her because, unlike most of her class, she grew up in a state 
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Recently passed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act bodes well for completion of remaining sections the Highway 93 reconstruction project on the Flathead Reservation.

Char-Koosta News

The Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) will be hosting a virtual open house next week to inform the public about the status of the 1.7-mile U.S. Highway 93 Urban North project.

The open house will consist of two identical virtual presentations Nov. 15-16. The first is from noon to 5 to 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 15. The second will take place from noon to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 16. Email Laura.Langdon@kljeng.com or call 406-594-5775 to RSVP.

The Ronan-North Project begins at the intersection of US 93 and Round Butte Road and extends north to connect to the existing four-lane section north of Spring Creek Road/Baptiste Road.

The proposed work includes: widening the highway to four lanes; a new shared-use path that connects with the existing path to Pablo; the realignment of Third Avenue and Old Hwy 93 into one intersection with a traffic signal, and a closure of the Spring Creek Road-U.S. 93 intersection.

It will link that portion to the Ronan-Urban section of the project that will result in a split Highway 93 couplet similar to the Arlee couplet with the southbound lane that skirts the town.

The other portion of the Ronan area U.S. 93 reconstruction project is Ronan-Urban Project that connects with the Ronan-North Project and Round Butte Road. It begins at Brooke Lane and widens the existing road to 3 or 4 lanes, with a center turn lane. In the town of Ronan, US 93 will be changed to a one-way couplet with northbound travel continuing on the existing US 93 and southbound travel moving to 1st Avenue SW which will be reconstructed. Traffic signals will be installed at Eisenhower and Buchanan Streets and at Round Butte Road for both directions of travel. Sidewalk connections will be maintained through town and will connect to pathways to the south and north of the project.

It has been 15 years since the existing four-lane section of Highway 93 from north of Ronan to Polson was completed.

There are two other sections of the U.S. 93 corridor reconstruction project from Evaro to Polson that remain to be completed. One is 3.3-mile North-Post Creek Hill section that begins at the U.S. 93 intersection with Dublin Gulch/Red Horn roads to the top of Post Creek Hill. The other is the 4.4-mile Ninepipes segment that begins at the crest of Post Creek Hill and extends north to hook up with the Ronan-Urban project at Brook Lane.

The two sections are the most challenging of the Highway 93 reconstruction project; both are environmentally sensitive areas.

The North-Post Creek Hill section contains numerous artesian springs that can mush up the soils, and it is a major grizzly bear corridor that has resulted in many bear-vehicle collisions that have resulted in numerous bear deaths. The reconstruction project in that section would have to be designed with that in mind.

The Ninepipes section is a wetlands area and that creates similar wildlife concerns that includes amphibians. It has been discussed before to have portions of the highway elevated on pilings.

Those two sections could be very expensive to construct and surely would be with the ever-rising costs and availability of needed construction materials.

The Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) funds projects on five-year fiscal windows, and proposed projects are funded depending upon rating criteria and available funds.

However, a ray of funding light has recently lit up with the passing of President Bidens $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA)). Of that $2.8 billion would be allocated to MDT for highway projects, and an additional $225 million for bridge projects.

U.S. Senator Jon Tester (D-Mont) has been a major player  he sponsored the bill in the Senate in the promotion and passage of the IIJA as a member of a bipartisan 10-member group of senators  five Democrats and Five Republicans.

Today a large, bipartisan majority of the Senate voted overwhelmingly to pass my historic legislation that will make critical infrastructure investments in Montana and across the country. I worked with Republicans and Democrats to negotiate this package because Montanans have lived off our grandparents infrastructure for decades, hurting our ability to grow our economy, Sen. Tester said in a press release Friday. This package will create jobs and help us maintain our competitive edge over China by making once-in-a-generation investments in our states roads, bridges, airports, water systems, and high-speed internet-all without raising taxes. This is what Montanans expect from their elected leaders-that we work across the aisle to deliver real, lasting solutions thatll have a positive impact on everyone who lives in the Last Best Place, and Im going to keep working until we get this bill signed into law.

The Senate voted 69-30 to pass the bill with bipartisan support. Montana will receive more than $3 billion to be used on various and numerous infrastructure projects.

The two other members of the Montana Congressional delegation  Republicans Sen. Steve Daines and Rep. Matt Rosendale  voted against the bill.

The investment of $2.8 billion for roads and $225 million for bridges in all likelihood could result in the completion of the remaining sections of the Highway 93 reconstruction project on the Flathead Reservation.

The open house will serve as a key opportunity to have a conversation about the upcoming work and answer questions from the community.

 Comments on the proposed project may be submitted online at www.mdt.mt.gov/mdt/comment_forms.shtml or in writing to Montana Department of Transportation, Missoula office at P.O. Box 7039, Missoula, MT 59807-7039. Please note that comments are for project UPN 1744019.

 The public is encouraged to contact Missoula District Administrator Bob Vosen at 406-523-5802 or Project Design Engineer Miki Lloyd at 406-444-9200.
There is no state or federal mandate for students to get the vaccine, but Sanders said many parents and guardians interested in having their children get the shots have registered for first and second doses, and submitted a consent form to their students school nurse.
In other CSO news, American composer and pianist Missy Mazzoli has been named the orchestra's new Mead Composer-in-Residence. Her two-year term will begin in July. The composer, 38, will curate the CSO's MusicNOW contemporary series, beginning this fall, along with writing a new work for the series. She will receive another commission from the orchestra for a piece to be premiered in 2019-20. Her music is widely performed. Recent local performances have been by Chicago Fringe Opera and the Chicago Composers Orchestra.
Another shooting in the Fifth City neighborhood on the West Side left a 20-year-old woman in critical condition at Mount Sinai Hospital. Shortly after 11:30 p.m. Friday, the woman was driving in the 3400 block of West Jackson Boulevard when she suffered a gunshot wound to the head. She was taken in critical condition to the hospital, and no information about the circumstances leading up to the shooting were immediately available, police said.
After being struck, the Mazda hit a Kia Optima that was headed northbound. The driver of the Optima, a 24-year-old man, refused medical treatment. Three adults, two men and one woman, who were passengers in the Mazda, were taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
The person had last been seen with Murphy on Monday, the day before she didnt turn up for work. Her absence prompted a welfare check at the home later that night, which was when Murphy was found slain.
We continue to be in close contact with our partners at the local level to ensure the state provides support and resources to help keep the Kenosha community and greater area safe, Gov. Tony Evers said in the statement. The Kenosha community has been strong, resilient, and has come together through incredibly difficult times these past two years, and that healing is still ongoing. I urge folks who are otherwise not from the area to please respect the community by reconsidering any plans to travel there and encourage those who might choose to assemble and exercise their First Amendment rights to do so safely and peacefully.
What happened, happened, he said. And hopefully with the information and the documentation that was captured (the jury) can come to some sort of conclusion that people are OK with. But at the end of the day, everybodys life has to go on. Im just trying to remain positive. Hopefully, people can learn from this and we can move forward in a better direction.
By 1980, Latinos represented nearly 50% of the citys population but lacked representation. Latinos and Black people now make up at least 60% of Chicagos population, with those of Mexican descent making up the largest group, according to census numbers. Chicagos Latino populations went up by more than 40,000 over the past decade, even as the citys Black population fell by nearly 10%, according to the latest data.
He was an important voice in Springfield for all things Jewish, and I was always proud to stand alongside him on many issues that we worked on together, Lang said. Howie stood on his head to make sure that the Jewish community was well represented and that Jewish members of the House and Senate had the ability to run in fairly drawn districts that represented their communities and were able to succeed.
I think its something that we all have to do  to be really critically self-conscious and to exercise some humility in this. There are a lot of beliefs and behaviors that we all have, that we have to be willing to interrogate. Its problematic for law enforcement to think that theyre being singled out. I think the reality is that they wield a lot of power. And when they make a racially biased mistake, thats life or death. That is the case for physicians as well  maybe not as quickly. But I think health care is trying to look at how we are perpetuating racism ... how were part of the problem. Id say to law enforcement, were doing it and were asking that you to do it too.
Unfortunately, my disappointment with the inability of this departments top leadership to even feign interest in pursuing reform in a meaningful manner has made it impossible for me to remain involved, Williams wrote in the email, as previously reported by the Tribune. Even more unfortunate is that my experience is far from unique. Many well-meaning and talented civilians have signed up to help improve the nations (second largest) police department, only to find themselves steadily thwarted by its perverse incentive structures until they inevitably depart due to demoralization.
The demographics of the potential ward would be 51% Asian, 24% Latino, 20% white and 3% Black. Supporters say such a ward is long overdue, especially after the 2020 Census found Asians were the fasting growing population in Chicago, making up 7% of the population. They also now make up the largest racial group in Bridgeport, according to a 2021 analysis by the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning.
On November 13, 2021, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke on the phone with US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken at the latter's request.

Wang Yi said that President Xi Jinping will hold a virtual meeting with President Biden on November 16. This meeting, keenly followed by the whole world, is of great significance not just for China-US relations, but also for international relations. It is the shared hope of the two peoples and the international community that the meeting will yield outcomes beneficial to both countries and the world. The helmsmanship of the two heads of state plays a key role in steering bilateral relations. The two sides should work in the same direction and make every preparation to ensure a smooth and successful meeting and bring bilateral relations back onto the track of sound and steady development.

Blinken said that the world is following closely the virtual meeting between the US and Chinese heads of state. Both sides have made full preparation and are making progress. The US side looks forward to sharing views on bilateral ties with the Chinese side during the meeting in the spirit of mutual respect and jointly send a strong message to the world.

In response to the US' recent wrong words and deeds on the Taiwan question, Wang Yi further elaborated on China's solemn position. Wang Yi said, both history and reality has fully proven that "Taiwan independence" is the biggest threat to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. Any connivance of and support for the "Taiwan independence" forces undermines peace across the Taiwan Strait and would only boomerang in the end. Wang Yi noted, if the US truly wants to safeguard peace across the Taiwan Strait, then it should clearly and resolutely oppose any "Taiwan independence" moves, abide by the solemn commitments it made in the three China-US joint communiques and put the one-China policy into action and stop sending wrong signals to the "Taiwan independence" forces.

The two sides also exchanged views on issues including energy security, climate change and the Iranian nuclear issue, and agreed to maintain dialogue on responding to all kinds of global challenges.




Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday attended the 28th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting in Beijing via video link, urging its members to build an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future featuring openness and inclusiveness, innovation-driven growth, greater connectivity, and mutually beneficial cooperation.

"China will work with all APEC members in building an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future and jointly opening a new chapter for Asia-Pacific economic cooperation," said Xi.

The 21 APEC member economies have reaffirmed their commitment to responding to the immediate crisis generated by the pandemic through urgent work, and to strengthening cooperation so that the region can return to growth in a way that is more innovative, inclusive and sustainable, according to a declaration adopted at the meeting.

PROMOTING ANTI-PANDEMIC COOPERATION

"We need to follow a science-based approach in pandemic response and deepen international cooperation," Xi said, pledging that China will continue to provide support to the Sub-Fund for APEC Cooperation on Combating COVID-19 and Economic Recovery.

Ruan Zongze, executive vice president of the China Institute of International Studies, said the Chinese side pointed out the importance and significance of cooperation in fighting against the pandemic, as greater solidarity and closer cooperation are the key to clinching the final victory in this life-and-death battle for APEC members.

"The COVID-19 pandemic was a stark reminder that all countries, whether rich or poor, share the same home planet, and no one can emerge unscathed from common challenges," Ruan added.

In the speech, Xi called on APEC members to promote the research, development, production and fair distribution of vaccines, ensure their accessibility and affordability in developing countries, and close the immunization gap.

So far, China has provided over 1.7 billion doses of vaccines to the world, including donations to more than 110 countries, and China has undertaken to offer three billion U.S. dollars over the next three years to support COVID-19 response and economic and social recovery in fellow developing countries.

Bambang Suryono, chairman of Indonesian think tank Asia Innovation Study Center, said that China's Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines have played a crucial role in national vaccination programs in Indonesia and many other developing countries, and Indonesia appreciates China's support in making Indonesia the regional center for vaccine production.

CHAMPIONING OPENNESS

Calling openness "the lifeline of Asia-Pacific cooperation," Xi urged APEC members to uphold open regionalism, follow the guidance of the APEC Vision 2040 in advancing regional economic integration, and work for the early realization of a high-standard Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP).

"A more opened-up region is a more united one," said Suryono. Besides facilitating post-pandemic recovery, free trade is a win-win for all participants in the long run, and will serve as a catalyst for changes in the fields of business environment, social governance, the legal system, and so on, he added.

Xi reaffirmed China's resolve in safeguarding the multilateral trading regime with the World Trade Organization (WTO) at its core, and voiced support for the implementation of the Enhanced APEC Agenda for Structural Reform and the APEC Services Competitiveness Roadmap.

Xi also said China "looks forward to the entry into force of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) on schedule next year."

While some developments in the global economy threaten multilateral institutions like the WTO, Peter Drysdale, head of the East Asian Bureau of Economic Research and the East Asia Forum at Australian National University, said that more openness and dialogue in a spirit of multilateralism will facilitate APEC as an ideal forum to develop strategies that will build the trust needed to overcome relevant problems.

PROMOTING INCLUSIVE, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

"We need to fully implement the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and let the gains of development benefit more people across the world in a more equitable way," said Xi.

Noting economic and technical cooperation is an important area of APEC cooperation, Xi called on APEC members to step up input, make sure that developing members get real benefit from such cooperation, and keep injecting new dynamism into the development and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific.

Regarding China's dedication to advancing common development in APEC and beyond, a case in point is the Juncao technology. In 2001, the first China-aided Juncao technology demonstration base overseas was established in Papua New Guinea, and this technology has so far been promoted to more than 100 countries, bringing people better incomes and more employment opportunities while being ecological-friendly.

As for upholding innovation-driven development, Xi urged all members to implement the APEC Internet and Digital Economy Roadmap in a full and balanced manner, further develop the digital infrastructure, strive to bridge the digital divide, adding China "supports stronger international cooperation on the digital economy."

"The pandemic has given the trend of e-commerce, which was already happening, a real shot in the arm," said James Laurenceson, director of the Australia-China Relations Institute at the University of Technology Sydney, adding that China is by far a global leader in the e-commerce trend and China's position in the region is increasingly prominent.

Amid the pressing tasks of promoting recovery, China's proposals at the APEC have injected confidence into APEC and beyond for closer cooperation of a broader range and a larger scale in sustainable development, said Sun Jingxin, an associate research fellow with the Academy of Contemporary China and World Studies.




All the 10 China-Laos railway stations in Laos have concluded their debut shows, the Laos-China Railway Co., Ltd. (LCRC) told Xinhua on Friday.

According to the LCRC, a joint venture based in Lao capital Vientiane in charge of the construction and operation of the railway, the last station in Luang Prabang, some 220 km north of Vientiane, built by China Railway Construction Group Co., Ltd. (CRCG), completed its outer facade decoration on Wednesday.

The Luang Prabang Station, the second largest station after the Vientiane Station, consists of two platforms with four track lines.

With abundant experiences of station construction in China, the CRCG engineers combined the classic Chinese architecture's door style with elements of Lao national flower of Dok Champa in the design and building of the station's door posts, door beams and facade, reflecting the aesthetic culture of the two countries.

The China-Laos Railway is a docking project between China's Belt and Road Initiative and Laos' strategy to convert itself from a landlocked country to a land-linked hub.

The electrified passenger and cargo railway is built with the full application of Chinese management and technical standards. The construction of the project started in December 2016 and is scheduled to be completed and open to traffic in December 2021.
 Flash

The Chinese delegation to COP26 wants all parties to work together in the same direction to reach consensus on the issues at the heart of the conference and make sure it is a success, the head of the delegation has said.



Zhao Yingmin, vice minister of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, told Xinhua in an interview that the Chinese delegation has held close exchanges with other parties during the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

"We hope to contribute to the success of the conference through constructive communication and consultation," he said.

The two-week conference was scheduled to conclude on Friday, but is likely to extend into the weekend due to unresolved issues.

In particular, developed countries need to take seriously the concerns of developing countries over such core issues as finance and adaptation. They must also strive to deliver on promises made a long time ago, to enhance mutual trust and ensure the success of COP26, Zhao said.

Financial support has been the main issue of concern for developing countries.

During the Copenhagen climate change conference in 2009, developed countries promised 100 billion U.S. dollars a year to help developing nations strengthen their resilience to climate change by 2020.

"Twelve years on, the developed countries have failed to honor their commitments, which has tremendously jeopardized political mutual trust," Zhao said.

It is "very unreasonable and unfair" that while developing countries have submitted ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), in line with the Paris Agreement, developed countries have failed to deliver financial support. This issue is also affecting the progress of COP26, Zhao said.

The issue of finance is one of the core issues of difficulty that affect the progress of COP26, Zhao said.

"The developed countries have not yet shown their sincerity and confidence in delivering their pledges. Therefore, both sides are still negotiating. It seems that more efforts are still needed."

Apart from finance, the main sticking points in the final phase of negotiations include temperature control targets, adaptation, and the rulebook of the Paris Agreement, Zhao said.

In order to effectively tackle the climate crisis, the parties need to "completely and comprehensively" deliver their promises according to the Paris Agreement, Zhao said. This must be done in line with the principle of equity, common but differentiated responsibilities, and respective capabilities as well as taking into account national conditions.

"We must realize that climate change has been an imminent challenge, but it must be addressed based on science and rules," Zhao said. These rules are specified in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement. "Those are the cornerstones of global effort to tackle climate change, which should not be shaken. Otherwise, it would be hard to achieve our common goal."

On Wednesday, China and the United States released the China-U.S. Joint Glasgow Declaration on Enhancing Climate Action in the 2020s. It was the result of numerous meetings and consultations between the two sides, and was released at a key moment in the conference.

Zhao said the document had demonstrated cooperation between China and the United States, contributed to the global fight against climate change, and injected positive energy into the UN conference. It was also welcomed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who tweeted:

"I welcome today's agreement between China and the USA to work together to take more ambitious #ClimateAction in this decade. Tackling the climate crisis requires international collaboration and solidarity, and this is an important step in the right direction."
 Flash

China on Friday provided another batch of COVID-19 vaccines and anti-pandemic supplies to Thailand to help it fight the virus.



Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha expressed his appreciation for China's continued support to his country in fighting the pandemic, saying that Thailand stands ready to further enhance cooperation with China, including in research and development of COVID-19 vaccines.

The prime minister said Thailand is willing to boost cooperation between the two countries in all fields including economy and regional affairs.

Chinese Ambassador to Thailand Han Zhiqiang said that China stands ready to work with Thailand to fight the pandemic and promote economic recovery, boost communication and coordination in international and regional affairs and jointly maintain peace, stability and prosperity in the region and the world at large.
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Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a phone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday at the latter's request.

Wang said Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet with U.S. President Joe Biden via video link on Nov. 16, noting that the meeting, keenly followed by the whole world, is of great significance not just for China-U.S. relations, but also for international relations.

It is the shared hope of the two peoples and the international community that the meeting will yield outcomes beneficial to both countries and the world, and the helmsmanship of the two heads of state plays a key role in steering bilateral relations, according to the senior Chinese diplomat.

The two sides, he suggested, should work in the same direction and make every preparation to ensure a smooth and successful meeting and bring bilateral relations back onto the track of sound and steady development.

Blinken, for his part, said that the world is following closely the virtual meeting between the U.S. and Chinese heads of state.

Both sides have made full preparation and are making progress, the secretary of state said, adding that the U.S. side looks forward to sharing views on bilateral ties with the Chinese side during the meeting in the spirit of mutual respect and jointly send a strong message to the world.

In response to the U.S. side's recent wrong words and deeds on the Taiwan question, Wang further elaborated on China's solemn position.

Both history and reality have fully proven that "Taiwan independence" is the biggest threat to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and any connivance of and support for the "Taiwan independence" forces undermines peace across the Taiwan Strait and would only boomerang in the end, the Chinese foreign minister stressed.

If the U.S. side truly wants to safeguard peace across the Taiwan Strait, then it should clearly and resolutely oppose any "Taiwan independence" moves, abide by the solemn commitments it made in the three China-U.S. joint communiques and put the one-China policy into action and stop sending wrong signals to the "Taiwan independence" forces, he added.

The two sides also exchanged views on issues including energy security, climate change, and the Iranian nuclear issue, and agreed to maintain dialogue on responding to all kinds of global challenges.
Market Reports on Saudi Arabia Provides the Trending Market Research Report on Saudi Arabia Video Conferencing Market (2021-2027) under Media Market Research Report category. The Saudi Arabia Video Conferencing Market is projected to exhibit highest growth rate over report offers a collection of superior market research, market analysis, and competitive intelligence and industry reports.

Saudi Arabia Video Conferencing Market report thoroughly covers market by types, sectors, and regions. The market report provides an unbiased and detailed analysis of the on-going market trends, opportunities/high growth areas and market drivers which would help the stakeholders to devise and align their market strategies according to the current and future market dynamics.

Saudi Arabia Video Conferencing Market Synopsis

Saudi Arabia Video Conferencing Market is expected to witness robust growth in the coming years owing to increased involvement of several sectors of the country towards video interaction, which has turned out to be an effective and efficient tool for real-time communication. Further, technological innovations and rising number of start-ups and SMEs who are adopting videoconferencing for their functioning in the country are expected to trigger the video conferencing market growth in the near future. The market is further expected to be driven by the digital transformation initiatives of the government under Saudi Vision 2030. These initiatives include providing a robust digital infrastructure to the citizens like 37 5G stations were put in place in the 2019 Hajj season making Saudi Arabia reach the 3rd rank globally in 5G network deployment, Digital Nation initiative was launched to digitally transform the way citizens interact with the government authorities, and many more.

Saudi Arabia Video Conferencing Market size is projected to grow at CAGR of 13.5% during 2021-27. The video conferencing market and primarily the software industry have highly benefitted from the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic since due to the imposition of nationwide lockdown in the country to contain the spread of the Coronavirus, majority of the companies adopted work from home strategies, which has upsurged the market value for video conferencing solutions as companies rely on video conferencing platforms to uphold timely meetings and conferences with employees at the ease of their homes. Government initiatives to boost the ICT sector of Saudi Arabia to turn the country into a knowledge-based economy would also have a positive impact on the video conferencing market.

Market Analysis by Type

By types, Hardware and Software segment together comprise of a cumulative market share of around 75% in the overall market revenues in 2020. Software segment is anticipated to register the fastest growth in the forecast period owing to its user-friendly and cost-effective nature. Further, by sectors, corporate sector accounted for the highest share in the overall video conferencing market for the year 2020 due to increasing adoption by companies for remote working.

Key Attractiveness of the Report

COVID-19 Impact on the Market.

10 Years Market Numbers.

Historical Data Starting from 2017 to 2020.

Base Year: 2020

Forecast Data until 2027.

Key Performance Indicators Impacting the Market.

Major Upcoming Developments and Projects.

Key Highlights of the Report

Saudi Arabia Video Conferencing Market Overview

Saudi Arabia Video Conferencing Market Outlook

Saudi Arabia Video Conferencing Market Forecast

Historical Data and Forecast of Saudi Arabia Video Conferencing Market Revenues for the Period 2017-2027.

Historical Market Data and Forecast of Revenues, by Types for the Period 2017-2027.

Historical Market Data and Forecast of Revenues, by Hardware for the Period 2017-2027.

Historical Market Data and Forecasts of Revenues, by Software, for the Period 2017-2027.

Historical Market Data and Forecasts of Revenues, by Services, for the Period 2017-2027.

Historical Market Data and Forecasts of Revenues, by Sectors, for the Period 2017-2027.

Historical Market Data and Forecasts of Revenues, by Regions, for the Period 2017-2027.

Market Drivers and Restraints

Saudi Arabia Video Conferencing Market Trends

Industry Life Cycle

Porters Five Force Analysis

Market Opportunity Assessment

Saudi Arabia Video Conferencing Market Share, By Companies

Competitive Benchmarking

Company Profiles

Key Strategic Recommendations

Market Scope and Segmentation

The report provides a detailed analysis of the following market segments:

By Types:

Hardware

Telepresence

Integrated

Desktop

Software

On-premise

Cloud-based

Services

Managed services

Professional services

By Sectors:

Corporate Sector

Education Sector

Government Sector

Healthcare Sector

Other Sectors

By Regions:

Central Region

Southern Region

Eastern Region

Western Region

Browse our full report with Table of Contents: https://marketreportsonsaudiarabia.com/report/761666/saudi-arabia-video-conferencing-market

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- Official cultural visit by Saudi Arabia to France features a series of successful strategic engagements, including meetings with the French Minister of Culture and the Director-General of UNESCO

- His Highness Prince Badr addressed the UNESCO General Conference

- AA new agreement signed with UNESCO further recognizes the cultural significance of ancient AlUla, building on existingA cooperationA between France and Saudi Arabia to enhance the destination.

PARIS, Nov. 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- During a week-long visit to France, His Highness Prince BadrA bin Abdullah bin FarhanA Al-Saud, Saudi Minister of Culture, met with his counterpart Roselyne Bachelot, French Minister of Culture, Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, and several other French cultural leaders and institutions.

Prince Badr addressed the UNESCO General Conference: "We congratulate UNESCO on its seventy-fifth anniversary, which the Kingdom has been a part of since the beginningA as a founder member. Saudi Arabia is committed to working with UNESCO, and its members, in the efforts to unleash the power of culture."

The day prior UNESCO and the Royal Commission for AlUla signed an agreement that will help preserveA the globally significant area, enabling it to becomeA a destination for heritage, nature, arts, and culture.A It builds on an existing partnership, through which over 100 French archaeologists and experts are currently working onsite.

France and Saudi have a long history of ongoing cultural exchange. For example, fifty yearsA ago King Khalid helpedA establish the Arab World Institute in Paris. In 2018, HRH Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al SaudA made an official visit to France, meeting with President EmmanuelA Macron,A where a significant cultural agreement between the two countries was signed.

The Kingdom is hosting a vibrant cultural program of over 100 cultural events, initiatives, and engagementsA during the coming months, including Saudi Arabia's first art biennale, Ad-Diriyah Biennale, and first major international film festival, the Red Sea International Film Festival, which will feature French classics.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1687527/saudi_moc.jpg
Yellow ribbons have been affixed to trees on the Litchfield town green since 2003. In September, the boroughs Board of Warden and Burgesses voted to have the ribbons removed by Jan. 2.
On Oct. 7 at the BJs Wholesale Club on Spring Street in Southington, three males walked out of the store with multiple TVs and sound bars, and one thief pushed a store worker who approached the trio, police said. They sped away after loading the loot into a gold-colored Honda Odyssey that had been parked in front. Police say the suspects may be linked to thefts at other area BJs stores.
I just want to thank you for the incredibly cooperative way that youve, of course, expressed youre going to help us, Youngkin said. Its important. We have a lot of work to do.
Police say Meekins and the victim arrived at the Walgreens separately. Witnesses told police the women met outside the store and spoke briefly before the stabbing.
But Deputy Commonwealths Attorney Dennis Guthinger said the fact that Green was on probation from a felony conviction on the night of Thynes death  and had a gun in his car in violation of that probation could explain why he drove away from the officers.
The one who, during the primary, sought the favor and support of former President Donald Trump. Who said at a Loudoun County event in June that he would go on the offensive against abortion. Who had campaign surrogates who promoted lies about the 2020 election and supported the Jan. 6 insurrection. Who said he wasnt sure if human activity affects the climate. (It does.)
Kangana Ranaut is once again in the centre of a controversy  this time, for her comments on Indias Freedom Movement.

The actress, who has repeatedly raised hackles and also invited retribution in various forms from the powers that be in Maharashtra, ignited yet another fire on November 11 when she said that India had got freedom only in 2014 when the Narendra Modi government came to power, and relegated the Independence won in 1947 to the status of mere bheek or alms.

Soon after Kangana made her remark at a television summit, netizens lashed out against her.

Several politicians have joined issue with the four-time National Award-winning actress and demanded that she be charged with sedition.

There were also demands that the Padma Shri recently awarded to her be withdrawn.

Before giving such awards, mental psychological evaluation should be done so that in future, such persons do not disrespect the nation and its heroes, tweeted senior Congress leader Anand Sharma, tagging President Ram Nath Kovind. Other members of the Congress termed her comment Treason.

Most politicians severely criticised Kangana for negating the sacrifices of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel, Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekhar Azad and other freedom fighters.

NCP leader and Maharashtra politician Nawab Malik who has been speaking for Aryan Khan in the drugs case, even suggested that the actress had been under the influence of drugs while making the comment. It seems that Kangana Ranaut took a heavy dose of Malana Cream (a form of hashish and a banned substance) before speaking such words, he said and demanded her arrest and the withdrawal of her Padma Shri award.

BJP MP Varun Gandhi was among those who lashed out at Kangana. Insulting the sacrifice of Mahatma Gandhi sometimes, praising his killer (Nathuram Godse), and now the disdain for the sacrifices of Mangal Pandey, Rani Laxmibai, Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekhar Azad, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and lakhs of freedom fighters. Should I call this thinking madness or treason? he tweeted.

An unfazed Kangana, continuing her tirade against the Gandhi/Nehru family, retorted, Even though I clearly mentioned that the 1857 freedom fight was the first revolution that was curbed which led to more atrocities and cruelties from the British and almost a century was given to us in Gandhis begging bowl Jaa aur ro ab (Go cry some more).

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) asked the Mumbai police to register a case against Kangana. And Kanganas arch enemy the Shiv Sena also joined the fray. Party leader Neelam Gorhe said the actor must be charged with sedition.

"Our freedom fighters fought hard and gave their lives so we could live in a nation where Kangana could insult them without consequence. The fact that shes able to say wild s**t about them is a testament to their success"

 Vir Das, Actor and anchor

"It is insulting to what we achieved from 1947 onwards. We developed medical institutes, IITs and we have several biggest companies in the world. I am an army officers son and I know that we have the best defence forces as well. One cannot trivialise the sacrifices done earlier and the efforts taken later."

 Rajeev Paul, actor

 Sanskriti Media
Sushmita Sen fans, rejoice. The actress, on Friday, shared the first look of the highly anticipated web-series Aarya 2 on her Instagram page. In the teaser of sorts, Sushmita Sen who plays Aarya is dressed in a white ethnic garb with her face covered in a mishmash of colors as she walks towards the camera. While she remains silent through the clip, she lets her eyes do the talking. Her caption for the post, which also liberally used hashtags, read, #firstlook literally #AARYA2 Sherni is back! This time, deadlier than ever! Aaryall ready? I love you guys.

Aarya, which marked Sushmitas comeback after 5 years, also featured Chandrachur Singh, Sikander Kher, Vikas Kumar, Jayant Kripalani, etc.

It showcased Aaryas journey from a doting mother to a fighter, after her husband is shot dead in broad daylight.

Meanwhile, Aarya has been nominated in the Best Drama Series category at this years International Emmys. The International Emmys winners will be announced at an in-person ceremony in New York on November 22, 2021.

Other than Aarya, Nawazuddin Siddiqui has been nominated in the Best Actor category for his role in Serious Men, while Vir Das has been nominated in the Comedy category for his special show Vir Das: For India.
On Wednesday, Sachin Tendulkars wife Anjali booked a table for Gujarati Thali at Shree Thaker Bhojanalay on Kalbadevi Road, South Mumbai. The occasion was her 54th birthday celebration.

While the owners and the management of the restaurant were used to Anjali, a Gujarati by birth, visiting the restaurant regularly, they were pleasantly surprised to see the Little Master on their guest list.

Hemraj Purohit, the manager of the restaurant, says, Anjali has been a regular visitor at our restaurant, dining here frequently and sometimes with her friends, parents or our chief ministers wife but when we saw Sachin also here this time, our joy knew no bounds.

The restaurant, which is over 75 years old, and has a tradition of saying padharo jamva (welcome to dine) in Gujarati/Marwadi style to each visitor, is located in the most crowded area of the city.

To avoid rush, the family, with about 20 people, arrived at the restaurant at around 11.45 am and dined and left within 45 minutes. They had brought the cake with them and a special section was provided to them for their privacy, he adds. They all had all the items served to them and seemed to have enjoyed the food, Hemraj adds.

The guests included Anjalis parents and friends and Sachin and Anjalis daughter Sara although their son Arjun was missing.
Wardha/New Delhi: Is Hinduism about beating a Sikh, or a Muslim? Of course not, but Hindutva is, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Friday in an address to his party workers and leaders, irking the BJP which has been trying to present Hindu religion and the political ideology of Hindutva as one and the same.

Addressing a four-day All India Congress Committee (AICC) orientation programme in Sevagram Ashram, Wardha, Mr Gandhi drew a clear distinction between Hinduism and the RSS-BJPs Hindutva, saying that the Congress ideology is like a "beautiful jewel" with unending power, while the ruling partys ideology was being used to spread hatred.

The Congress leader said in today's India, the ideological fight has become very important and urged party leaders to learn themselves and train others in what it means to be a Congress leader.

"We have to accept that there are two ideologies in India - the Congress ideology and the RSS ideology. We have to accept that the BJP-RSS has spread hatred in today's India, Mr Gandhi said, and added, "The Congress ideology the ideology it follows has been existing in India for thousands of years. Just like the RSS has its icons, the Congress has its own icons It is our strength it is why we exist and it is important we discover it. They (BJP) have discovered their ideology and crystalized it. We have to crystalize our ideology and the moment we do that it will envelope their ideology. The hate that is being spread today will vanish and the future which seems uncertain will become certain.

Recalling his conversation with former Uttarakhand minister Yashpal Arya, who returned to the party fold last month, Mr Gandhi said Arya told him for a Congressman, it is very suffocating to survive in the BJP.

His comments come ahead of crucial Assembly polls which usually see a lot of movement of leaders from one party to another. Elections are due in five states, including Uttar Pradesh, in 2022.

The BJPs national spokesperson, Sambit Patra, alleged that Congress and its leaders mistrust Hindu religion. Ignoring the distinction between Hindutva and Hinduism, he said, Mr Gandhis remarks as revealed by WikiLeaks in 2010 had hurt the nation when he had said that Hindus were bigger threat than terrorism and how he had said (later) that Congress was a party of Muslims Salman Khurshid compares Boko Haram and ISIS with Hinduism Shashi Tharoor says 'Hindu Taliban'. Leaders like Digvijaya Singh and Mani Shankar Aiyar use words like 'saffron terrorism' against Hinduism. This is no coincidence. It is Rahul Gandhi, the leader, who has taught others to make such statements against Hinduism.

We say there is a difference between Hindutva and Hindu religion. It is a simple logic -- if you are a Hindu then why do you need Hindutva? Why do you need this new name? Is Hinduism about beating a Sikh or a Muslim? Hindutva, of course, is," the Congress leader told the gathering during his virtual address.

Mr Gandhi admitted that the Congress did not propagate its ideas properly and that its ideology has been overshadowed by the BJP.

"The BJP has overshadowed the loving, affectionate and nationalistic ideology of the Congress partly because of the complete capture of the media and complete capture of the Indian nation. It has also been overshadowed as we have not propagated our ideology among our own people aggressively," the Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad in Kerala said.

Ideologically training of party workers, in my view, should be made mandatory irrespective of seniority The Congress ideology, if studied and propagated deeply in the organisation, has answers to all questions related to various issues of public concern  ranging from Article 370, terrorism to nationalism, Mr Gandhi said.

These are the types of things we need to explore and develop 100, 200, 300, 500 people who deeply understand these differences, who can apply these differences to issues, behaviour, to action, he added.
HYDERABAD: Union minister for tourism, culture and development of northeastern region G. Kishan Reddy said Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao had made an agreement with the Central government to decrease the procurement of boiled rice from Telangana state. Defaming the Central government and terrorising the paddy farmers, Rao instigated dharnas across the state, he criticised.

Speaking at a media conference here at the BJP state unit office on Saturday, Kishan Reddy made it clear that the Central government never asked to halt paddy procurement in states. In view of surplus stocks of boiled rice in the country, the union government suggested states to decrease procurement of boiled rice, he said. Boiled rice is not the problem of farmers, it will be sorted out by the rice millers, he said.

Replying to a question, Kishan Reddy said the BJP staged protests demanding that the TRS government procure paddy. Agriculture is subject of the state and the Central government do not have infrastructure in the states, he explained. Farmers could understand the political interests of the TRS over paddy procurement, he said.

In Punjab, farmers sowed paddy and wheat in two seasons and the Central government procured the entire paddy of one season, he explained. The TRS government was misleading farmers that Centre was procuring the entire paddy in Punjab and ignoring Telangana, he said. On lies, the government could not survive forever, he said. The Central government is ready to provide 8.5 per cent interest on paddy procurement investment and supply gunny bags, he said.

Kishan Reddy suggested Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao to set aside egos and work for the development of the state and concentrate on job recruitment, three-acres land for Dalits etc. I always stick to factual information, but minister T. Harish Rao blamed me on AIIMS at Bibinagar, he said. The state government should respond to communiques from the Central government, he said.

The union minister said the Tribals Day would be celebrated on November 15 on the occasion of Birsa Munda birth anniversary. Rs 1 crore was released for tribal museum and funds would be allocated for biannual jatara of Sammakka and Saralamma in February 2022, he explained. BJP senior leaders Ravindra Naik, Pradeep Kumar, Prakash Reddy, Sunita Reddy and others were present.
That said, the ability to use the flashlight on the Pixel 6 is missing right now, which isn't surprising since the feature is currently in early access, and Google said that it's "being fine-tuned and may be removed."

Washington: Google Pixel 6 series, which recently got the Adaptive Sound feature, will now pick up a couple more features as it gained heart rate and respiratory tracking support through Google Fit, which was announced in March.

These features let you measure your heartbeat and track respiratory rate using the smartphone's camera and flash, reported GSM Arena.

The flash is required to boost the lighting when measuring heart rate to look for changes in your finger's colour, but it could prove to be less handy on the Pixel 6 pair since the camera and flash on the duo are far apart.

That said, the ability to use the flashlight on the Pixel 6 is missing right now, which isn't surprising since the feature is currently in early access, and Google said that it's "being fine-tuned and may be removed."

9to5Google reported that the heart rate monitoring feature on the Pixel 6 was accurate and matched the accuracy of the Pixel 5 and a Fitbit tracker. However, one reading in a darker room was inaccurate.

Respiratory measurement on the Pixel 6 worked fine, but it's worth mentioning that these are marked as experimental right now, and even after they are fully ready for use, it's advisable to not rely on them for medical diagnosis.

Both features are available through Google Fit with an "early access" tag for some users, while others have them without it, suggesting a server-side rollout. When you get these, they will appear at the bottom of the Home tab or under the Browse -- Vitals menu.

Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter.
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Arterial Ink  William Allen White: A Kansas Legacy Volume 1 is a collection of articles, essays and poems related to and inspired by The Sage of Emporia.
BELARUS/POLAND: Belarusian Security Forces Are Pushing Migrants to New Attacks: What Is Happening on the Border With Poland

Migrants are given knives and other edged weapons.

The Lukashenka regime continues provocations on the border with Poland.

Today it became known that the Belarusian security forces gave knives and other weapons to migrants and are forcing them to attack Poland. Those who refused were beaten by the police.

The Charter97.org website has collected the main news about what is happening on the border of Belarus and Poland.

15.14 Belarusian security forces helped a group of migrants to break into Poland and then fled.

The video of the Polish territorial defense forces shows a large group of 50-60 migrants crossing the border illegally, accompanied by Belarusian security officials, who fled after a Polish patrol appeared in the area.

All migrants were caught by Polish border guards, according to Polands territorial defense.

14.15 The Belarusian security forces began to calm down the migrants by shooting in the air and shouting: Sit down, f*k!

This happened when residents of a camp on the border with Poland came to a bus from which food was distributed.

After the shots were fired, the migrants began to stand in a chain.

14.03 Migrants started setting up tents right on Niamiha in Minsk.

13.42 Lukashenkas Emergencies Ministry and other services are building a huge camp for migrants on the border with Poland.

13.05 A large group of migrants gathered near the Gallery shopping center in Minsk. Most likely, they will also go to the border with Poland or Lithuania.

12.40 Poland is ready to block the railway traffic with Belarus, depriving it of transit, said the Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration of Poland Mariusz Kaminski on the air of the radio station RMF FM.

"They (the Belarusian authorities - ed.) know very well that we can close the crossing points, as well as train traffic. Belarus is an important transit state," said Kaminski.

12.02 Polish border guards report that at night in the area of the city of Czeremcha, Belarusian soldiers began to destroy a temporary border fence.

They tore down the fence posts and tore the wire on the service vehicle. The Polish services were blinded by laser beams and strobe lights.

11.40 A group of about 100 migrants tried to break through the Belarusian-Polish border. Migrants used tear gas against Polish border guards.

The Polish border service said that the Belarusian security forces provided gas to the migrants.

10.59 On November 12, the body of a young Syrian man was found in a forest near the border with Belarus, Polish police said.

The Syrian died near the Polish village of Wolka Terechowska. On the Belarusian side of the border, there is the Kamenets district of the Brest region. Earlier it was reported about at least 9 deaths of migrants at the border.

10.43 According to the Financial Times sources, new EU sanctions may hit the Syrian airline Cham Wing, Minsk airport, hotel Minsk, as well as other entities and individuals involved in the migration crisis on the Belarusian-Polish border.

10.38 Belarusian cyber partisans identified Lukashenkas security officer who blinded Polish border guards with a green laser.

It turned out to be Vasiliev Valery Vladimirovich, born on July 17, 1980.

A serviceman of the 2141 military unit (Hrodna border group) lives in Hrodna on Kasmanautau Avenue and drives an Opel Vectra car with license plate number 3682 ET-4.

9.58 The US authorities are extremely concerned about the situation on the Polish-Belarusian border. Washington notified both Belarus and Russia about this, US President Joe Biden said.

"I think it is of great concern. Weve communicated our concern to Russia, and weve communicated our concern to Belarus," Biden told RMF FM reporters on his way from the White House to the Camp David residence. "We think its a problem."

9.36 Illegal migrants use the bed of the border river and literally go by water from Belarus to Lithuania.

9.28 France proposed to Russia to put an end to Lukashenkas "political games" on the border.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and French Defense Minister Florence Parly talked about this with their Russian counterparts Sergei Lavrov and Sergei Shoigu at a meeting in Paris.

The French side called the behavior of the Belarusian authorities, who use people arriving from crisis regions to blackmail the European Union, "irresponsible and unacceptable." Le Drian and Parley called on Russia to mobilize its close ties with Belarus to "put an end to such political games."

8.17 Political scientist Dzmitry Balkunets believes that migrants brought by the Lukashenka regime to the border with Lithuania and Poland can go to large Russian cities, including Moscow and St. Petersburg. 8.03 According to information from migrant chats and telegram channels, the Belarusian police gave knives and other weapons to migrants and forced them to attack Poland. Those who refused were beaten by the security forces.

My friends in the woods have now told me that the police in Belarus have given them knives and other weapons and are forcing them to attack Poland. They say they dont want to do this, that they are immigrants, not rebels. In response, the Belarusian police beat them up, the migrants write in their chats.

Link to the original article Belarusian Security Forces Are Pushing Migrants to New Attacks: What Is Happening on the Border With Poland
Next week, a new round of stimulus check payments totaling $285 will be distributed to almost half a million American people. Americans in the state of Maine will be eligible for this payment, which is set to be released on November 15th.

Governor Janet Mills of Maine noted in a news statement on Wednesday that the dedicated women and men who have worked relentlessly to ensure that the state works efficiently during the pandemic deserve a significant portion of their gratitude.

When to receive new stimulus checks?

Now that the legislature has enacted a bipartisan budget and the Governor has signed it, the administration will issue a one-time stimulus check payment of $285 to around half a million working individuals in the state. Mills hopes that this contribution will assist families in some way throughout the holiday season as they work to recover from the pandemic's economic impacts.

According to Digital Market News, from November 15th through the end of 2021, a one-time payment of $285 will be issued to approximately 524,754 persons across the state.

The Disaster Relief Payment, which will be handled by the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, is another stimulus check payment that will be included in this. It would be included in a budget arrangement approved by Maine's State Legislature to assist workers who worked long hours during the pandemic last year.

The State Tax Assessor would be obliged under the Disaster Relief Payment Program to identify every single qualified citizen of the state, after which they would decide the amount of payment, which could be up to $300. Maine has been allotted $149.8 million in stimulus cash, which equates to a stimulus check payment of $285.46 when split by 524,754 people.

You must have filed a Maine individual income tax return as a full-time resident for the 2020 tax year before October 31, 2021, to be eligible for the Maine COVID-19 disaster relief payment, as per The Sun.

Read Also: Plus Up Payments May End in December; Here's What You Need to Know To Receive New Stimulus Checks Next Month

Who are eligible for the additional stimulus payments?

The information on returns submitted after October 31 will not be taken into account for calculating disaster relief payment eligibility. If married, filing a combined return, or a qualifying widow or widower, eligible beneficiaries must have had an adjusted gross income of less than $150,000 for the 2020 tax year.

Alternatively, if filing as a head of household, you can claim $112,000, or $75,000 if you're single or married and filing separately. If you received wages, salaries, tips, or other taxable employee pay during the 2020 tax year, you are also eligible. For the 2020 tax year, those who are reported as dependents on another taxpayer's return are ineligible. Business revenue does not match the payment recipient's qualifying standards.

Per Go Banking rates via MSN, there is no need to fill out an application. Beginning Monday, November 15, 2021, payments will be mailed automatically to individuals who are qualified. Over the course of six weeks, between 5,000 and 25,000 stimulus checks will be given on most days. A paper check will be mailed through the United States Postal Service.

No later than December 31st, send a letter to the Postal Service. If your address has changed after you filed your 2020 tax return, you must submit documentation of the new address in writing, together with the following information: the date of your request, your name (printed), your social security number, and your signature (such as an updated photo ID, a utility bill, lease, to name a few).

Related Article: Americans Can Get Up to $1,800 New Stimulus Check in December; How To Be Eligible for the Payment?

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On the sidelines of the UN conference in Glasgow, Russian Special Presidential Envoy for Climate Change Ruslan Edelgeriev and US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate Change John Kerry held a second bilateral meeting, agreeing to strengthen cooperation on satellite monitoring of greenhouse emissions and methane.

The US ambassador, for his part, told the news agency that his second meeting with his Russian counterpart went well. The meeting took place in Glasgow, Scotland, as part of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) for 2021, which began on October 31.

Russia, US reach agreement to combat climate change

Per RT, a top specialist in sustainable banking said Russian enterprises may avoid the "pressure" of international sanctions by investing more in climate change solutions. According to Sean Kidney, co-founder and CEO of Climate Bond Initiative (CBI), a global association that monitors green economy investments, green initiatives and climate change solutions are "a terrific method for Russia to reduce sanctions pressure."

Russia published a complete list of the sorts of environmentally sustainable projects that are eligible for preferential loans and bonds in September. Companies can apply for grants if they reduce CO2 emissions and implement green technologies in their daily operations, such as energy-saving and soil restoration.

Russia's governmental development organization created the Russian Taxonomy for Green Projects and the Russian Green Finance Guidelines.

Read Also: Kim Jong Un's Longest Absence in Seven Years Sparks Fresh Health Rumors After North Korean Leader Disappeared for Over a Month

Russia hits back at US leaders' criticism over climate change initiative

Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for Russia's foreign ministry, dismissed US accusations of Moscow's commitment to addressing the climate catastrophe, slamming the world's "second greatest greenhouse gas emitter." Her remarks come as Russia rebuffs allegations made by two US presidents that it is ignoring its role in combating global change.

Former President Barack Obama chastised Russia and China, the world's largest polluters, for a "dangerous lack of urgency" in reducing emissions. President Joe Biden said last week at the COP26 summit that Russia's "tundra is literally burning" and that Putin is "mum on the desire to do anything" despite his country's "severe climate challenges."

This summer Russia had its worst forest fires in recent history, according to Greenpeace. "Let's not forget that forests are burning in California," said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov in response to Biden's remarks. Meanwhile, following Obama's statement, Zakharova jumped on board, telling reporters, "Those baseless accusations raise eyebrows, at the very least."

Critics have criticized President Vladimir Putin's absence at the climate summit, although he gave a video speech and Russia sent a large team to Glasgow. At COP26, Russia, the world's fourth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases and a country highly reliant on fossil fuel exports, declined to accept the US-led Global Methane Pledge to reduce methane emissions by 30 percent by 2030.

At COP26, however, Russia joined over 100 other nations in agreeing to eliminate deforestation by 2030. Meanwhile, Putin committed a carbon-neutral economy by 2060 in his video message, even this is ten years later than the 2050 net-zero objectives discussed by several leaders at the conference.

"After all, our country accounts for around 20% of the world's forestland, our country will rely on forest ecosystems to accomplish our climate targets," he added in his presentation, as per Newsweek via MSN. The Kremlin approved a campaign this week to make Sakhalin Island, in Russia's far east, carbon neutral by 2025.

Related Article: US Warns Russia Against Another "Mistake" in Ukraine Border; Blinken Claims Kremlin May Be Attempting To Rehash 2014 Invasion

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United States President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to convene in a virtual meeting on Monday to talk about international issues amid rising tensions between the two nations, the White House announced on Friday.

The conversation is expected to take place in order for the two nations to cooperate regarding climate change efforts and potentially discuss other issues, including Taiwan, trade, human rights, and several others. White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed the meeting in a statement, saying the two leaders will discuss how to "responsibly manage the competition."

Biden-Xi Virtual Summit

Psaki noted that throughout the scheduled virtual meeting, the Democratic president will make clear to the Chinese president the intentions and priorities of the United States. Biden will also be candid about his concerns with China, the press secretary added.

The virtual meeting marks the third direct engagement between the two presidents since Biden became the U.S. leader in January. Despite the virtual summit, the two nations are not expected to issue a joint statement after the conclusion of the talks, the Washington Post reported.

Senior White House officials said that the Monday virtual summit will be unlike traditional summits that are carefully choreographed to produce some sort of tangible outcome. One administration official said that the summit was not about expecting certain deliverables or outcomes.

Read Also: Joe Biden Deals With Embarrassment as Democrats Refuse To Back $1.7 Trillion Spending Bill; Nancy Pelosi Opposes "Tax on Rich"

The official, who requested anonymity because the agenda was still being finalized on Friday, said that the summit was about "setting the terms of an effective competition." He added the nation can sustain vigorous competition when some terms or guardrails are established.

The virtual summit on Monday comes amid rising tensions between the United States and China over several international issues, including Beijing's continued aggression against Taipei. In the last few weeks, China carried out several flights of warplane fleets into Taipei's air defense identification zone (ADIZ), CNBC reported.

Several International Issues

An agreement between White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan and senior Chinese foreign policy adviser Yang Jiechi was made to conduct the Biden-Xi summit before the end of 2021. The decision was made after the two officials met last month in Zurich for discussions, where they did not yet settle on a date for the meeting.

The Monday virtual meeting was proposed after U.S. president Biden, who had previously spent a considerable amount of time engaged with Xi when they were both vice presidents, said in a phone call in September with the Chinese president that it would be good for the two to see each other again, said the White House.

Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, Chinese President Xi has not left China to attend any international events, opting to join virtually for the most part. White House officials decided to hold a virtual meeting as they believed it was the best substitute that would allow the two presidents to have a substantive conversation on several issues that have strained the relationship between the United States and China over the past few months, Fox News reported.



Related Article: Biden Signs 'The Secure Equipment Act' To Safeguard Telecommunication Systems Against Potential Foreign Threats

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Former United States President Donald Trump's final White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, failed to appear before the House Select Committee responsible for investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol Hill riot, risking contempt of Congress proceedings.

Two sources familiar with the matter said that Meadows did not show up for the deposition on Capitol Hill after he was given a subpoena by the House Select Committee. The official's schedule was set to begin at 10:00 a.m. ET, but after about 10 minutes, roughly a dozen committee staff members and investigators grabbed their belongings and left the room along with the stenographer.

Defying a Subpoena

Later, committee chair Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi and ranking member Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming confirmed that Meadows was a no-show. They then threatened the official that they would pursue contempt of Congress proceedings.

"Mr. Meadows's actions today, choosing to defy the law, will force the Select Committee to consider pursuing contempt or other proceedings to enforce the subpoena," said the two members of the committee in a joint statement. They added that the official failed to "answer even the most basic questions," NBC News reported.

Read Also: Joe Biden Deals With Embarrassment as Democrats Refuse To Back $1.7 Trillion Spending Bill; Nancy Pelosi Opposes "Tax on Rich"

The two officials of the committee said that it was an unfortunate decision that Meadows chose to be among the small group of individuals who believe they were above the law by defying the Select Committee's subpoena outright. Additionally, Meadows' attorney did not respond to a request for comment regarding the official's absence from the deposition.

Prior to the scheduled Friday deposition, George J. Terwilliger, Meadows' attorney, said that his client would not be complying with the committee's subpoena until courts rule on former U.S. President Trump's claim of executive privilege that would prevent the committee from accessing specific House records.

Trump's Claim of Executive Privilege

Terwilliger said that the issue lied in whether or not his client was compelled to testify and whether or not he actually could be forced to answer questions that involve privileged communications. The attorney said that Meadows' concern was that it was irresponsible for him to prematurely resolve the dispute by voluntarily waiving privileges that are the core of the legal issues, CNN reported.

In a joint statement, Thompson and Cheney said that individuals such as Meadows and Steve Bannon, who was previously held in contempt for defying the committee's subpoena, would not prevail in stopping efforts to get answers related to the events of the Jan. 6 Capitol Hill riot. The two officials said that the committee's efforts were to make legislative recommendations to help protect the country's democracy and make sure nothing similar happens in the future.

On Thursday, a federal appeals court intervened to temporarily block the National Archives from releasing House records under Trump's presidency over to the Select Committee ahead of a Friday deadline. The decision forced a new timeline on the committee because of the scheduled Trump appeal.

A White House official released a statement that said they would be leaving it up to the courts to resolve the dispute. However, they said that Terwilliger was wrong on both the facts and about the law of the United States, ABC News reported.



Related Article: Biden Signs 'The Secure Equipment Act' To Safeguard Telecommunication Systems Against Potential Foreign Threats

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In some users' devices, consumers experience this message popping on their screens, 'This app is not compatible with your device,' Netflix informs.

The above warning may display on your Android smartphone when you try to download the Netflix app.

Several earlier Android devices operate with Netflix but the Netflix app may not appear in the Google Play Store as something the device can be downloaded to.

Several smartphones may be able to download a version straight from the source itself: Netflix.

NOTE: To install Netflix from the website, users must have an Android device running version 4.4.2 or higher.

Furthermore, Netflix cannot be downloaded from the Play Store or may not operate correctedly on rooted or uncertified Android phones.

This app is not compatible with your device

Using the Android phone you want to download and install the streaming app on, follow the procedures below as recommended by Netflix.

Go to the Settings tab. Select Security. Unknown Sources: Allow installation of apps from sources other than the Play Store is checked. To verify this modification, press OK. To get the Netflix download app, go here. Swipe down at the top of your display to see your downloads. After the file has been downloaded, tap it to install it. Navigate to your home screen and launch Netflix after the Netflix app has been installed.

NOTE: To revert to your previous setting, repeat steps 1 through 4 after installing the program.

This version of the Netflix app is not compatible with your device. (-13)

Aside from the 'This app does not work on your device.' display when trying to download Netflix, there is another error message that may show up on Android users' phones.

If a user's Android TV displays a notification that states: 'Your device does not support this version of the Netflix app. (-13),' this usually refers to data saved on your device that has to be updated.

To fix the problem, follow the troubleshooting procedures below.

Read Also: 'Eternals' Post-Credit Scene, Easter Eggs: Marvel References, Thanos' Brother and MORE

Android Television (Android TV)

If users are having trouble with this problem on an Android TV streaming media player or from any smart TV, users need to ensure the Netflix download app is downloaded from the Google Play Store.

Furthermore, if streamers don't see the Netflix app in the Google Play Store, it might mean that the gadget isn't Netflix-compatible, and users have to stream on another device using another Netflix account.

All other gadgets

Currently, Netflix admitted that this issue is something they are looking into resolving.

With that, Netflix encourages subscribers to contact Netflix Customer Service for assistance.

Netflix Download

Netflix is available on a variety of platforms. It's possible that the Netflix app comes pre-installed in devices automatically, but it's also possible that users will have to download it.

Apple users both iPhones and tablets can download Netflix through Apple's app store.

With Android users, Netflix can be installed from the Google Play Store. Windows phones and tablets can source Netflix in Microsoft.

Related Article: Netflix Ventures Into the World of Gaming: To Launch 5 Games for Android Users
Glen de Vries, a passenger on the Blue Origin mission with "Star Trek" actor William Shatner last month, died in a plane crash in New Jersey. Several people and companies have expressed their sympathy, including Jeff Bezos' space company.

William Shatner's Fellow Blue Origin Space Traveler Dies

According to Patch, the New Jersey State Police has identified the two victims of the plane crash in Hampton Township's Kemah Lake district of Sussex County on Thursday afternoon.

The said victims are Thomas P. Fischer, 54 years old, of Hopatcong, and Glen M. de Vries, 49 years old, from New York. Both Fischer and Dde Vries were onboard the Cessna 172 Skyhawk, which is a single-engine and fixed-wing aircraft.

According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report, the jet went missing shortly after 3 p.m. local time. In addition, Patch reported that the plane was going toward Sussex Airport immediately after taking off from Essex County Airport in Caldwell. Unfortunately, about one hour later, the state police reported that the wrecked plane was found "in a thickly wooded location" in Hampton Township.

The FAA report furthered that the factors that caused the crash are unknown, and authorities have not stated who was piloting the small plane.

De Vries, a co-founder of a tech business, flew to the edge of space alongside William Shatner and two others aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard spacecraft on Oct. 13, per Associated Press.

After finding out about the plane crash, Blue Origin, which was owned by former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, posted their condolences on Twitter regarding the plane crash incident that killed De Vries.

Read Also: iPhone Data Leak: Expert Reveals How 'Minecraft' Shares Your Data!

We are devastated to hear of the sudden passing of Glen de Vries. He brought so much life and energy to the entire Blue Origin team and to his fellow crewmates. His passion for aviation, his charitable work, and his dedication to his craft will long be revered and admired. pic.twitter.com/1hwnjntTVs  Blue Origin (@blueorigin) November 12, 2021

Before flying out with William Shatner through Blue Origin's New Shepard, De Vries released a statement saying that he has spent his entire career working to extend people's lives, per a Blue Origin blog post. He continued that given the scarcity of resources and energy on Earth, expanding the reach into space can help civilization thrive.

"Furthermore, astronauts can experience the 'overview effect,' gaining a new perspective on how fragile and precious our planet, those resources, and our civilization are. Playing a part in advancing the space industry and one day making those resources and that understanding available to everyone, is an incredible opportunity. I've been passionate about aviation and space for as long as I can remember, so this flight is truly a dream come true," De Vries furthered on the blog post.

The New York-based healthcare software company Medidata Solution, which was co-founded by De Vries, also released a statement through UPI.

"Our thoughts and support go out to Glen's family. Our deepest sympathy also goes out to our Medidata team, which Glen co-founded. His tireless energy, empathy, and pioneering spirit left their mark on everyone who knew him. We will truly miss Glen, but his dreams, which we share, live on."

Who Is Glen de Vries?

Glen de Vries was the vice-chair of life sciences and health care at Dassault Systemes, which bought Medidata in 2019. He is a Carnegie Mellon University Trustee, author of "The Patient Equation," and a private pilot with an instrument rating.

De Vries was one of two paying customers selected to fly with William Shatner and Blue Origin's vice president of mission and flight operations Audrey Powers on Blue Origin's New Shepard NS-18 mission. Planet co-founder Chris Boshuizen was the other paying client. The four passengers took a 10-minute round-trip ride to space and spent around four minutes in zero gravity.

Related Article: 'Star Trek' Star William Shatner Goes to Space: Watch Rocket Launch, Splashdown of Captain Kirk!
Engineers in the United States are working on a robot that can unlock doors and locate the nearest electric power outlet to recharge without the assistance of humans.

Since it is still in the development phase, there are other helper robots available in the market to purchase.

Robotics Engineers of University of Cincinnati Resolves Robots' Kryptonite

In an article posted by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), Ou Ma, a professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Cincinnati (UC), described opening a door as a robot's kryptonite.

"Robots can do many things, but if you want one to open a door by itself and go through the doorway, that's a tremendous challenge," he furthered on IET.

In relation to this, the students of Intelligent Robotics and Autonomous Systems Laboratory at the University of Cincinnati used three-dimensional digital simulations to resolve this problem. The UC students are currently working on an autonomous robot that can not only open its own doors, but also locate the closest electric power outlet for charging without the need for human involvement.

As per the developers, this small progress in independence is a huge leap for helper robots that vacuums and disinfects office buildings, airports and hospitals. In addition to this, helper robots are part of a $27 billion robotic industry, which includes manufacturing and automation.

On the other hand, Yufeng Sun, a Ph.D. student in the UC College of Engineering and Applied Science, said some researchers have addressed the issue by scanning an entire room to build a 3D digital model that the robot can use to find a door, per EIT. The Ph.D. student added that there are various challenges in constructing an autonomous robot that can open a door for itself.

Science Daily added that doors have a variety of colors and sizes, as well as handles that are slightly taller or lower. To overcome obstacles, robots must know how much force to apply to open doors. Since most public doors are self-closing, there is a possibility that the robot will have to start over once it loses its grip on the door.

Meanwhile, Sun claimed that the digital simulations are often only 60 to 70 percent successful in their early real-world simulations. He estimated that bridging the gap to perfect his new autonomous robotic system will take a year or more.

Read Also: William Shatner's Fellow Blue Origin Space Traveler Dies in Plane Crash: Full Details

Helper Robots That We Have Right Now

For those who are curious to know what are the other helper robots that we have right now, Good Net has shared several home robots created to make lives easier.

iRobot's Roomba

Roomba has been around since 2002, but it has come a long way in the past 16 years. The most recent model can do more than just vacuuming. This can be operated through Wi-Fi or with voice-activated assistance like Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant.

While cleaning home floors, the Roomba can remember filthy spots that need particular care. Most importantly, owners do not have to plug Roomba to charge since it plugs itself into its charging station. Aside from this fact, it will also return to where it left off once the battery is recharged.

Alfawise Magnetic

Alfawise has similarities to a vacuum cleaner, but it can do a lot more since it incorporates microfiber pads for cleaning windows and suction capabilities to keep it from falling off while cleaning.

Aido by Ingen Dynamic

Aido is a family-friendly robot that can assist you with home tasks, manage schedules, connect and adjust inputs from custom medical devices, and even interact with your children. Unfortunately, it is not available for purchase yet.

Related Article: Clean Your House With the Future: The 3 Best Robot Vacuums in 2020
By Kwak Yeon-soo





"Parasite" star Lee Sun-kyun is joining forces with Seol Kyung-gu, the recipient of the Best Actor Award at the 41st Korean Film Critics Association Awards, to star in the political thriller, "Kingmaker."







The feature is directed by Byun Sung-hyun, whose 2017 film "The Merciless" was invited for a midnight screening at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival.







"Kingmaker" follows politician Kim Woon-beom (Seol) who teams up with "kingmaker" Seo Chang-dae (Lee) to run for president. The cast also includes Yoo Jae-myung, Jo Woo-jin and Kim Sung-oh.







Alongside "Parasite," Lee is known for the Apple Original series, "Dr. Brain" while Seol appeared recently in director Lee Joon-ik's black-and-white film, "The Book of Fish."







In a recent press interview, Lee said that he is glad to be able to present the long-delayed "Kingmaker" at the end of this year.







"I actually have more films under my belt that are waiting to get released. Silence is in the post-production stage, and I'm currently filming The Land of Happiness (tentative title) with Cho Jung-seok," he said.







Meanwhile, Seol has appeared in various films, including "The Merciless," the 2017 thriller "Memoir of a Murderer" and the 2019 crime comedy "Man of Men."







"Kingmaker" will hit local theaters in December.


Outbound passengers at Incheon International Airport are seen in this Oct. 28 file photo. Yonhap





South Korea has extended its special advisory against overseas travel for another month due to the continued spread of COVID-19, the foreign ministry said Saturday.







Those planning on traveling are recommended to cancel or postpone non-essential trips abroad until Dec. 13, as the rise of variant cases in many countries poses a risk to their health, the ministry said.






King Gojong in the winter of 1883-84 / Robert Neff Collection



By Robert Neff



When Harmon V.S. Peake, an American missionary, visited Fusan (modern Busan) in 1891, he seemingly took great pleasure in describing in his diary what he perceived as the backwardness of his Korean hosts but grudgingly described one young Korean lady as having "sparkling dark eyes, smiling, cherry lips and perfect teeth." He was not the only American visitor in the late 19th and early 20th centuries who chastised Koreans on one hand for poor hygiene, but on the other hand, praised them for their brilliantly white and well-maintained teeth  which contrasted decidedly with many of the Westerners' teeth.



However, not all Koreans had perfect teeth. Americans who had the pleasure of attending functions at the palace or personal intervals with the monarch often described the royal family as having bad teeth.





The Korean emperor in the early 1900s / Robert Neff Collection

On Nov. 2, 1903, Emperor Gojong had his first encounter with an American dentist. While dining on some improperly cleaned clams, the emperor bit down upon a pebble and broke a tooth. The tooth  already loose  had to be removed. Fortunately for the monarch, James Souers, an American dentist visiting from Japan, was in Seoul and was promptly summoned to the palace. Under the supervision of Richard Wunsch (a German employed as the palace's physician) the tooth was removed and replaced with one made from porcelain and held in place by gold braces  all handmade and fashioned by Souers.



It was a fairly painful experience for the emperor and many feared the cooks and food tasters would be banished as punishment. Fortunately for the kitchen staff, Gojong was more than pleased with Souers' work and pardoned them for their carelessness. As for Souers, the emperor provided him with 1,000 yen as compensation  a princely sum of money.



Over the years, Gojong would continue to have problems with his teeth. In October 1917, a Japanese dentist was summoned to Deoksu Palace to treat his toothache.



When the king died suddenly on Jan. 21, 1919, many people speculated he had been poisoned, as his corpse was grotesquely swollen, his teeth had fallen out of their sockets and there was a black mark extending from his throat to his stomach.



Gojong was no stranger to attempted poisonings. In August 1898, a former member of the court  angered with his dismissal and subsequent banishment  arranged to have a fatal amount of opium placed in the monarch's morning coffee. Fortunately for Gojong, he did not partake in the drink, but his son, Crown Prince Sunjong, drank a fairly substantial amount  as did the chief eunuch  and became violently ill. The crown prince eventually recovered but he lost 18 teeth and, some believe, his virility  being rendered impotent.



The male members of the royal family were not the only ones to suffer from poor teeth as evidenced by the accounts of some of their female American guests.



In 1892, Helen Heard (the youngest daughter of Augustine Heard, the American minister to Korea) was granted the privilege of an audience with Queen Min. In her journal, Helen's description of the queen was brutal:



"The Queen is small, not pretty but having grace & charm of manner. She was affable & talkative. Her face was as white as this paper with powder & paste & she also wore a huge chignon minus the wooden thing. Instead she had Chinese jewelry stuck in all around it which was quite becoming & quaint. But her teeth were horrible  black & irregular."





An elderly man and some children. One of the posters on the wall is an advertisement for Lion Toothpaste. Seen at the Bozoky Dezso Exhibit at the Seoul Museum of History Museum in November 2019. / Courtesy of Robert Neff



Perhaps she can be excused for her somewhat impertinent (yet, private) description by blaming her youth and inexperience of interacting with foreign nobility, but the same cannot be said for Eleanor Franklin. An American journalist who later married Franklin Roosevelt and was U.S. first lady from 1933 to 1945, Franklin visited Korea in late 1905 and seemed to take great pleasure in ridiculing the Japanese and Koreans she encountered. Eom Seon-yeong, the Imperial Noble Consort of Emperor Gojong, was not exempt from her facetious pen:



"Lady Om is no longer young, but she is still his Majesty's favorite and his counselor in all things. She is uglier than most of her ugly little sisters, too, so her power over him is a decided mystery. If he were very clever it might be easily explained, but he is not, and he has always been devoted to his bevy of court 'beauties.' Lady Om is small and squint-eyed, pock-marked, and toothless, a withered little bit of the ugliest femininity on earth; but it is through her that the royal favor must be sought, and through her that much of the royal favor is bestowed, and it is a triumph for a most benighted womankind."



It has been suggested that the introduction of Western foods may be blamed, at least partially, for the decay of dental hygiene on the Korean Peninsula. However, the Korean court was plagued with dental problems long before the 19th century.



King Jungjong (reign 1506-44) suffered from frequent toothaches. In the summer of 1544, he complained of having swollen oozing gums and loose teeth and was worried that he would have difficulty in eating. He was advised to use a paste made from various plants and herbs, and to bite upon a mulberry branch.



The king's treatment was relatively palatable, as opposed to the treatment some commoners received. According to David E. Hahn, an American and one of the first Western dentists  if not the first  to reside in Korea, many people used salt and a dead rat to chase away the pain. "The rat is covered with salt, and when anyone suffers from a toothache salt is taken from the rat and rubbed on the affected member."



My appreciation to Diane Nars for her invaluable assistance.







Robert Neff has authored and co-authored several books including, Letters from Joseon, Korea Through Western Eyes and Brief Encounters.
Asylum-seekers, refugees and migrants, gather to receive humanitarian aid distributed by the Belarusian military at a camp on the Belarus-Polish border in the Grodno region, not far from the Bruzgi checkpoint in Belarus, Nov. 12. EPA-Yonhap



The European Union said Friday it was making progress on tackling a migrant crisis on the Belarus-Poland border but tensions remained high with hundreds trapped in a no-man's land.



After Poland sent thousands of troops to the area, Belarus said Friday it would "respond harshly to any attacks" and held joint drills with Russian paratroopers near the border.



Two Russian soldiers died during the snap exercises when their parachutes malfunctioned in strong winds, the defense ministry in Moscow said.



The West accuses Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko of luring thousands of migrants from the Middle East to his country to send across the border into the EU in revenge for sanctions.



Polish border guards put the number of migrants on the border at between 3,000 and 4,000, with more arriving every day.



The migrants, mainly Kurds from the Middle East, have been stuck for days on the border in near-freezing temperatures.



President Joe Biden on Friday expressed "great concern" over the crisis, adding that the United States had communicated its position to both Russia and Belarus.



Steps were being taken to stem the flow of migrants, with Ankara saying that Iraqis, Syrians and Yemenis would no longer be allowed on flights from Turkey to Belarus.



Iraq said it was drawing up lists of its citizens blocked on the border who wanted to go home and was ready to organize repatriation trips. It had also closed Belarusian diplomatic missions that had been providing Iraqis with tourist visas.



"We are seeing progress on all fronts," European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas told a press conference in Lebanon, adding that he would soon be travelling to Iraq and Turkey.





Russian and Belarusian paratroopers climb aboard a military helicopter near the border with Poland, in this photo taken from a video released by the Belarusian Defense Ministry Press Service, Nov. 12. AP-Yonhap
A man waits after receiving the Pfizer vaccine, during a COVID-19 vaccination campaign, in Pamplona, northern Spain, in this May 11 file photo. AP-Yonhap



Santa won't be getting his traditional welcome in the Dutch city of Utrecht this year; while the ceremonial head of Carnival celebrations in Germany's Cologne had to bow out because he tested positive for COVID-19. Additionally, Austria is planning a lockdown on unvaccinated people in two hard-hit regions.



Nearly two years into a global health crisis that has killed more than 5 million people, infections are again sweeping across parts of Western Europe, a region with relatively high vaccination rates and good health care systems but where lockdown measures are largely a thing of the past.



The World Health Organization said coronavirus deaths rose by 10 percent in Europe in the past week, and an agency official declared last week that the continent was ''back at the epicenter of the pandemic.'' Much of that is being driven by spiraling outbreaks in Russia and Eastern Europe  where vaccination rates tend to be low  but countries in the west such as Germany and Britain recorded some of the highest new case tolls in the world.



While nations in Western Europe all have vaccination rates over 60 percent  and some like Portugal and Spain are much higher  that still leaves a significant portion of their populations without protection.



Dr. Bharat Pankhania, senior clinical lecturer at Exeter University College of Medicine and Health, says that the large number of unvaccinated people combined with a widespread post-lockdown resumption of socializing and a slight decline in immunity for people who got their shots months ago is driving up the pace of infections.



Thanks largely to vaccination, hospitals in Western Europe are not under the same pressure they were earlier in the pandemic, but many are still straining to handle rising numbers of COVID patients while also attempting to clear backlogs of tests and surgeries with exhausted or sick staff. But even the countries experiencing the most serious outbreaks in the region recorded far fewer deaths per person over the past four weeks than the United States did, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.



The question now is if countries can tamp down this latest upswing without resorting to stringent shutdowns that devastated economies, disrupted education and weighed on mental health. Experts say probably  although the authorities can't avoid all restrictions and must boost vaccination rates.



''I think the era of locking people up in their homes is over because we now have tools to control COVID  the testing, vaccines and therapeutics,'' said Devi Sridhar, chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh. ''So I hope people will do the things they have to do, like put on a mask.''



Many European countries now use COVID passes  proof of full vaccination, recovery from the virus or a negative test result  to access venues like bars and restaurants. Pankhania warned that the passes can give a false sense of security since fully vaccinated people can still get infected, though their chances of dying or getting seriously sick are dramatically lower.





An 87-year-old man receives his booster shot at a vaccination center in Frankfurt, Germany, Nov. 11. AP-Yonhap



But restrictions don't go much further these days, although the Dutch government announced a three-week partial lockdown Friday.



''Tonight we have a very unpleasant message with very unpleasant and far-reaching decisions,'' caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte said.



German lawmakers are mulling legislation that would pave the way for new measures. Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg announced Friday that unvaccinated people in two regions will only be able to leave home for specified reasons starting Monday, and he is considering implementing similar measures nationwide. But he has said he doesn't want to impose the restrictions on those who have been vaccinated.



Austria is seeing one of the most serious outbreaks in Western Europe, along with Germany, which has reported a string of record-high infections in recent days.



''We have a real emergency situation right now,'' said Christian Drosten, the head of virology at Berlin's Charite Hospital, which has started canceling scheduled surgeries.



Duesseldorf University Hospital said earlier this week that its ICU is full, though many facilities are struggling more with staff shortages than bed space.



Drosten said Germany must increase its vaccination rate of 67 percent further  and fast. But officials have balked at ordering vaccine mandates and want to avoid any blanket lockdowns.



Health Minister Jens Spahn indicated that Germany could improve its often lax enforcement of COVID pass requirements.



''If my vaccination certificate is checked more often in one day in Rome than it sometimes is in four weeks in Germany, then I think more can be done,'' Spahn said recently.





More than 10,000 people protest against the government's COVID-19 restrictions on large-scale outdoor events in Amsterdam, in this Sept. 11 file photo. AP-Yonhap
A visitor passes by a photo of Chinese President Xi Jinping and the slogan "I will have no self and live up to the People" in the Museum of the Communist Party of China in Beijing, China, Nov. 12. AP-Yonhap



Chinese leader Xi Jinping emerged from a party conclave this week not only more firmly ensconced in power than ever, but also with a stronger ideological and theoretical grasp on the ruling Communist Party's past, present and future. That lays the groundwork for him to take a third five-year term as party leader at next year's national congress, elevating Xi to the likes of Mao Zedong, who founded the People's Republic in 1949, and Deng Xiaoping, who opened up the economy three decades later.



Here's a look at some of the meaning behind the recent developments.



What's the significance of Xi's elevation?



Though the rules were unwritten, Xi's two immediate predecessors served just two terms as head of the party in keeping with term limits on the presidency. Xi, 68, had the constitution amended, however, to eliminate presidential term limits and could therefore remain in office until he dies, steps down or is forced out.



Though he is the son of a former high official, a friend to both Mao and Deng, Xi rose to the pinnacle by applying what is now referred to as the hybrid economic theory of ''socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era." Though not new, Xi has made it one of his standards, alongside his call for the ''great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation" and the ''Chinese dream" of relative prosperity.



Key to realizing those goals are the ''two centenaries," namely building a ''relatively prosperous society" by the party's 2021 centenary, which it claims to have achieved, and a ''modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced and harmonious" by the centenary of the founding of the People's Republic in 2049.



All such terms aim to project the image that the party under Xi has engineered a system that adapts to the times and delivers on its citizens' desire for a better quality of life for themselves and their families, and greater respect for China in the international community.



What did the meeting do for Xi?



Although already named the ''core leader," Xi gains further cachet from such phrases' inclusion in the resolution issued Thursday by the party's Central Committee on historical questions concerning the party over the past 100 years. That was only the third such document issued by the party; the first was in 1945 under Mao, the second in 1981 under Deng. To wield such authority in the eyes of party historians and theoreticians certainly makes Xi one of the most dominant Chinese figures of the century.



Naturally, only positive achievements are mentioned. While extolling the party's successes, the resolution glosses over less flattering periods such as the massive famine and industrial failure of the Great Leap Forward in the late '50s and early '60s, the chaotic 1966-76 Cultural Revolution and the political upheaval of the 1989 student-led pro-democracy movement in Beijing that was crushed by the army.





General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Xi Jinping makes a speech at the sixth plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee in Beijing, Nov. 11, in this picture released by Xinhua News Agency. EPA-Yonhap
Danny Fenster posing for a picture in Yangon, Myanmar, in 2020, in this photo provided by his family. AP-Yonhap



A US journalist detained in Myanmar was sentenced to 11 years in prison by a military court Friday.



Danny Fenster was convicted on three charges  breaching immigration law, unlawful association and incitement to sedition, his employer Frontier Myanmar said.



The 37-year-old faces further charges of terrorism and sedition that were added Wednesday and could see him handed a life sentence, his lawyer said. Those counts will be heard separately at an upcoming trial.



The United States government condemned the move, with State Department spokesman Ned Price saying that an innocent person had been unfairly sentenced.



The military junta in Myanmar has been cracking down on critical voices since it took power in a Feb. 1 coup.



Fenster, a senior editor of the English-language Frontier Myanmar magazine, has been detained for five-and-a-half months.



He was arrested at Yangon airport at the end of May just before he was due to board a flight to the United States, and has since been held at Insein Prison, which is notorious for its appalling conditions.



"Everyone at Frontier is disappointed and frustrated at this decision. We just want to see Danny released as soon as possible so he can go home to his family," Frontier Myanmar's chief executive Thomas Kean said.



Myanmar's military ousted de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi in the coup. The 76-year-old is under house arrest and facing trial for various alleged offences.



The military junta is suppressing resistance with brutal force. More than 1,200 people have been killed, according to an estimate from prisoners' aid organization AAPP.



About 10,000 others have been arrested, including many journalists, and others have fled the country.



Foreign media representatives had long been considered relatively safe.



On Friday, the United Nation's high commissioner for human rights deplored the decision to imprison Fenster and called on the military junta to release all journalists immediately.



"Journalists have been under attack since February 1," Michelle Bachelet said in a statement released by her office.



The military leadership is "clearly attempting to suppress their attempts to report on the serious human rights violations being perpetrated across Myanmar as well as the extent of opposition to the regime," Bachelet added.



According to her office, 126 journalists have been detained since the military took power, 47 of whom remain behind bars. Dozens of others are in hiding because warrants have been issued for their arrest. (dpa)


Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, left, and Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos gesture during an alliance meeting with local political parties in Paranaque, Metro Manila, the Philippines, in this August 2018 file photo. Reuters-Yonhap





The daughter of outgoing Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will run for vice president in elections next May, the government's official election monitor said Saturday.







The Commission on Elections announced on its official Facebook page that Sara Duterte would be running for the post, replacing another candidate.







Her surprise move came days before the Nov. 15 deadline for candidates to make a late entry into the 2022 elections.







Sara Duterte had been widely expected to run for president in a bid to succeed her father, who is constitutionally barred from seeking a second six-year term.







For months, she had insisted she wanted to serve another term as Davao City mayor, the family's southern bailiwick, despite consistently leading in surveys of voter preferences for the next president.







Speculation about her plans intensified this week after she suddenly withdrew from the mayoral contest, quit her regional party and joined Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats, the national political party of her close ally and former president Gloria Arroyo.







"I thank my supporters. I hope whatever happens in the next few days, I will be able to give them what they want," she told reporters Thursday. (AFP)


Kroger on Euclid Avenue on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015, in Lexington, Kentucky. This location, along with others in Lexington, has adjusted its hours in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.


Pro Eastview Victor , New York , United States Apple Retail Summary

Posted: Nov 10, 2021 Weekly Hours: 40 Role Number: 200311829 Do you want to help grow Apple's community? We seek perfection. We are idealists and problem-solvers. Forever tinkering with products and processes, always on the lookout for better. A job at Apple will be demanding. But it also rewards forward-thinking, original thinking, and tenacity. And none of us here would have it any other way. Are you highly skilled at presenting elegant solutions that simplify the complex? Are you an extremely knowledgeable salesperson? As a Pro, you understand how Apple can help customers discover their passions, and how our products differ from our competitors. You have an eye for opportunity and demonstrate your breadth of expertise in technology to craft unique value propositions and insights that differentiate Apple solutions in the market. You provide authoritative recommendations of Apple's products that build loyalty and improve the customer experience, and help drive skills and knowledge of technology across your team. Key Qualifications Extensive track record of top performing sales and customer experience results maintained over extended periods of time.

Mastery of Apple services and products as well as third-party solutions across different industries and fields, for personal, business, educational, and creative professional use.

Knowledge of business solutions and industry trends. Description You drive sales by designing complete solutions with Apple and complementary product-service offerings. You demonstrate and advise how customers can integrate technology into their homes and scale solutions across small to medium size businesses and educational institutions. You demonstrate a real passion for technology to become the go-to resource across the store for our Hardware, Software, and Services. You use knowledge about Apple technology, technical expertise, and creativity to meet customer needs and stay up to date on new information, product and service offerings, and company initiatives, by using internal tools and resources, on-the-job experiences, and peers. You partner closely with store leadership, Global Retail Support, and peers within your Region. You contribute to success across all store areas and flex appropriately to meet business needs. You will identify emerging technology and consumer trends and share how the team can use those insights to develop new sales opportunities and maintain technology industry knowledge and macro-movements within verticals to anticipate how technology can be utilized. You will lead and assist with briefings, provide recommendations for deployment and set up, and identify when to pull in additional support. The Pro mentors others in the Product Zone on specialized product knowledge and purchasing options, including financing and carrier contracts and shares practices on ownership and customer loyalty within the Product Zone and with the larger store team. You maintain expertise in all Apple products and services (in store and online), our ecosystem, and many third-party products to offer complete solutions while actively approaching and engaging with our customers to understand their needs and present customized solutions. You set up the customer's newest Apple products. The Pro brings Apple solutions to life through demos, personalization, and answers to customer questions. Build memorable experiences that showcase the benefits of Apple products. You will provide troubleshooting advice and introduce the advantages of shopping with Apple - often to multiple customers at the same time. You will support peers at the Genius Bar as needed to share knowledge and assist in providing ownership options all while providing world-class customer service to customers, and maintaining accuracy in all operational duties and transactions. Note: Apple benefits programs vary by country and are subject to eligibility requirements. Education & Experience Additional Requirements Able to effectively communicate and work with business owners and C-level executives.

Self-starter and able to achieve individual goals while also influencing the success of the overall team.

Able to collaborate cross-functionally within the store and among key partners.

Familiar with a CRM.

Superior teamwork, interpersonal, and customer service skills.

Drive for results, and make things happen.

Can tackle customer concerns using composure, listening, and presentation skills.

Strong time management and multitasking skills.

Curious to seek out information and share with the broader team.

Flexible about work, often performing multiple activities simultaneously.

Able to prioritize tasks effectively.

Provide and receive feedback from others.



If you live in Colorado, please click here .








Description

Req #19721 Thursday, November 11, 2021 Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) is a subscription-led and digitally focused media and marketing solutions company committed to empowering communities to thrive. With an unmatched reach at the national and local level, Gannett touches the lives of millions with our Pulitzer-Prize winning content, consumer experiences and benefits, and advertiser products and services.



Our current portfolio of media assets includes USA TODAY, local media organizations in 46 states in the U.S., and Newsquest, a wholly owned subsidiary operating in the United Kingdom with more than 120 local news media brands. Gannett also owns the digital marketing services companies ReachLocal, Inc., UpCurve, Inc., and WordStream, Inc., which are marketed under the LOCALiQ brand, and runs the largest media-owned events business in the U.S., USA TODAY NETWORK Ventures.



To connect with us, visit www.gannett.com . Press Operator

Gannett Publishing Services Indianapolis, IN



The Indianapolis Star is looking for a full-time Press Operator to assist with daily production on our ManRoland Geoman presses. The work includes preparing the presses for production, operating the presses or any of their components, cleaning the presses and the pressroom, maintaining the mechanical readiness of the presses, and other duties as assigned. Every member of the pressroom staff constantly strives to achieve the following goals, and the

contribution of every press operator is necessary for success:

Optimum quality of printed products.

Observance of all scheduled start and stop times.

Conservation of material resources, especially newsprint.

A clean and safe working environment.

Requirements: This position requires a high school education or equivalent. Experience in web offset printing is desirable, although production experience of any kind may be helpful. Mechanical ability and familiarity with computers is preferred. Candidates should have the ability to adapt to change, prioritize work, handle multiple tasks, remain flexible and interact with people while demonstrating patience. You must be able to lift/carry up to 100 pounds. Must be able to push/pull up to 2000 pounds. A press operator spends most working hours on his/her feet. In addition to long periods of standing, a press operator is required to climb stairs on the six-level press structure. Operators engaged in press maintenance and some cleaning activities will be required to stoop, kneel, crouch and crawl. They often work in confined areas. Color vision is required. This position is full-time shift work, which may include scheduled nights, weekends, and holidays.

#GPSFT Gannett Co., Inc. is a proud equal opportunity employer committed to building and maintaining a diverse workforce. As such, we will consider all qualified applicants for employment and do not discriminate in connection with employment decisions on the basis of an applicant or employees race, color, national origin, ethnicity, ancestry, citizenship status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, marital status, personal appearance (including height and weight), sexual orientation, family responsibilities, physical or mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy status (including childbirth, breastfeeding or related medical conditions), education, genetic characteristics or information, political affiliation, military or veteran status or other classifications protected by applicable federal, state and local laws in the jurisdictions where Gannett employs employees. In addition, Gannett Co., Inc. will provide applicants who require a reasonable accommodation, as a result of an applicants disability or religion, to complete this employment application and/or any other process in connection with an individuals application for employment with Gannett Co., Inc. Applicants who require such accommodation should contact Gannett Co., Inc.s Recruitment Department at Recruit@gannett.com. Job Family UNION

Job Function Marketing Solutions

Pay Type Hourly Other details

recblid k0m682dolgz0d0ftxxyn34x9co9yte







Requirements

None






Description

Req #19470 Friday, November 12, 2021 Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) is a subscription-led and digitally focused media and marketing solutions company committed to empowering communities to thrive. With an unmatched reach at the national and local level, Gannett touches the lives of millions with our Pulitzer-Prize winning content, consumer experiences and benefits, and advertiser products and services.



Our current portfolio of media assets includes USA TODAY, local media organizations in 46 states in the U.S., and Newsquest, a wholly owned subsidiary operating in the United Kingdom with more than 120 local news media brands. Gannett also owns the digital marketing services companies ReachLocal, Inc., UpCurve, Inc., and WordStream, Inc., which are marketed under the LOCALiQ brand, and runs the largest media-owned events business in the U.S., USA TODAY NETWORK Ventures.



To connect with us, visit www.gannett.com . The Lexington Minuteman , part of Gannett Media New England/wickedlocal.com and the USA TODAY NETWORK, is searching for a digital-savvy reporter to join its staff. We work in a digital-first environment and also publish a weekly print edition. This general assignment reporter will focus on gathering news and information in multimedia formats. This is a daily reporting beat that also includes opportunities to work on enterprise journalism.

The ideal candidate has strong news judgment, writing and photo skills, and familiarity with using social media.

Were looking for someone who.. --Will cultivate a beat and its key players. Has a genuine interest in people and the ability to build trust. Seeks out and istens to people. Must be able to develop and maintain relationships with public figures within the community. --Reports quickly, clearly and accurately and deliver news, via stories, video, and various social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram or any other methods available. --Equally adept at writing breaking news stories, enterprise and trending stories and traditional long form features. --Must have knowledge of AP style and be able to write and edit stories for grammar, spelling and content.

Here's what you need --Bachelors degree in journalism or equivalent. --At least one year of journalism experience is preferred. --Ability to write clear, compelling stories that engage our audience. --Understanding of social media and how to engage audience on digital platforms. --Ability to multitask and excel under deadline pressure, using time efficiently. --Ability to work well with people and build relationships in the community. --This role requires a valid drivers license, reliable transportation, and the minimum liability insurance required by state law. Employment is contingent on passing a post-offer pre-employment background check and a motor vehicle record check & drug screen (for driving roles only). We are eager to learn more about you and how you fit this role. When you apply, dont limit your upload to a resume; show us what youve done. We are looking for the following: 1.Your resume one to two pages. 2.A cover letter that outlines how you would approach the job. 3.Links to 3-6 online samples of your work. Show us what youve produced or had a hand in that best reflects what you can do in your desired role. Please assemble these into a single document and uploaded in PDF format.



#content

Gan.content Gannett Co., Inc. is a proud equal opportunity employer committed to building and maintaining a diverse workforce. As such, we will consider all qualified applicants for employment and do not discriminate in connection with employment decisions on the basis of an applicant or employees race, color, national origin, ethnicity, ancestry, citizenship status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, marital status, personal appearance (including height and weight), sexual orientation, family responsibilities, physical or mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy status (including childbirth, breastfeeding or related medical conditions), education, genetic characteristics or information, political affiliation, military or veteran status or other classifications protected by applicable federal, state and local laws in the jurisdictions where Gannett employs employees. In addition, Gannett Co., Inc. will provide applicants who require a reasonable accommodation, as a result of an applicants disability or religion, to complete this employment application and/or any other process in connection with an individuals application for employment with Gannett Co., Inc. Applicants who require such accommodation should contact Gannett Co., Inc.s Recruitment Department at Recruit@gannett.com. Job Family Frontline Journalists

Job Function Consumer

Pay Type Hourly Other details

recblid 72fhc1ny2cfalrvzpad879zm3zgxb9







Requirements

None






Video coding engineer Santa Clara Valley (Cupertino) , California , United States Software and Services Summary

Posted: Nov 11, 2021 Weekly Hours: 4 Role Number: 200310619 Our team works on emerging standards for visual compression, particularly focus on video but also considering still frame and immersive visual experiences. We are looking for a proactive talented software engineer. As a member of this team, you will have an outstanding opportunity working with some of the industry's most advance technologies for crafting new compression standards, writing implementations of ideas, proposals, test frameworks, and other explorations, including cross-checking ideas and proposals from others both within and outside Apple. Key Qualifications Experience with C and object-oriented programming in C++, and scripting languages such as python, Perl, and awk

Upbeat, adaptable, and results oriented with a positive attitude

Strong communication, writing, and presenting Description Looking for a strong software engineer to help prototype and assess proposals of new insights for visual compression standards (particularly video). As a software engineer in this role, you will be responsible for writing implementations, assessing their efficacy and efficiency, and writing test frameworks to support those assessments. Education & Experience B.S or M.S in EE/CE/CS with focus in software engineering. Additional Requirements Nice to have:

- Interest and experience with signal coding and particularly video a plus, particularly of codecs in

- Current use in the industry (AVC, HEVC, AV1, etc.).






We will be at home during the Thanksgiving holiday.

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Police received multiple calls before 6 p.m. about a motorcycle crashing into a box truck in the borough, according to Northampton County Emergency Dispatch. After authorities arrived at the scene, the injured rider of the motorcycle was taken to the hospital. No one else has been confirmed injured as of Friday night, according to dispatch.
The borough is continuing to work with displaced residents regarding any personal effects that were left behind and that may be contaminated. Displaced residents who left behind necessities, such as medicines or vital documents, are being allowed immediate access to their former rooms. The borough has arranged for former residents who are seeking to recover other possessions to enter the building at designated times after those items have been treated to prevent pest infestations elsewhere.
But Pennsylvanias acting Health Secretary Alison Beam told the Inquirer this week that the CDCs first-dose number should not be considered a true metric of where the state stands, and the data posted by Pennsylvania and Philadelphia are more accurate. Meanwhile, Philadelphia for months has been discouraging people from relying on CDC data after seeing errors in its numbers for the city: We have and have had no confidence in their data, spokesperson James Garrow said.
The Scriptures are filled with interesting stories. The story of Jesus friend Lazarus is one of those stories. Lazarus dies. He was placed in a tomb and now Jesus shows up too late to save him. But yet he does. He simply calls Lazarus to come out from the tomb. Lazarus has been dead for four days but at Jesus word, he comes out of the cave. The observers of this biblical event were shocked! How could this have happened? What about Lazarus? Did he really need to leave the fabulous wonders of heaven, of eternal life, to come back and join again in this wild ride of life? Welcome to the Jesus Tour!
Northen said the state Constitution does not specify that a thorough and efficient education system must be uniform. He said the system was designed to allow local school officials to have a say in how their districts are run. Some choose to offer more than others.
I filled out the forms and even phoned once to ask about the ballot. I was assured it would come as soon as it was printed. The ballot arrived in my mailbox finally on Oct. 29 in southern Texas. On Oct. 30 it was filled in and mailed back.
Regional

15K Myanmarese sheltering in Mizoram likely to be recognised as tourists

Aizawl, Nov 13 (IANS) | Publish Date: 11/13/2021 2:02:51 PM IST

The 15,000 men, women and children, who have taken shelter in Mizoram from coup-hit Myanmar, are likely to be treated as tourists not refugees, a parliament member from the northeastern state said.

The decision of the government is significant as the Union Home Ministry had sent out an advisory earlier to four northeastern states -- Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh -- which share a 1,640-km unfenced border with Myanmar, saying that the states and Union Territories have no power to grant refugee status to any foreigner, and India is not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention of 1951 and its 1967 Protocol.

An MP from Mizoram, who closely monitors the refugee issue, told IANS that Union Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Minister G. Kishan Reddy has promised to help the state in dealing with Myanmar migrants. The minister has proposed that they be recorded as Myanmar tourists not as refugees.

The Mizoram health department also planned to provide Covid vaccination to the Myanmar nationals sheltered in Mizoram. The inoculation is necessary, otherwise the spread of the coronavirus could not be checked both among the Myanmarese and Indian citizens in Mizoram, the MP said.

Currently around 15,000 Myanmar nationals have taken shelter in 11 districts of mountainous Mizoram and most of them are living in relief camps set up by various NGOs, churches and the villagers. A few reside with their relatives in the state and some others in rented houses.

The majority of those who have taken shelter belong to the Chin community, also known as the Zo community, who share the same ancestry, ethnicity and culture as the Mizos of Mizoram.

According to the official records, the Myanmar refugees mostly take shelter in six Mizoram districts -- Champhai, Lawngtlai, Siaha, Serchhip, Hnahthial and Saitual -- with Champhai housing the highest number of over 7,500 while there are immigrants in the remaining five districts too.

As many as 1,650 people are in Aizawl district.

According to district administration and police officials, the refugees from Myanmar, specially from Chin state, are crossing over to Mizorams southern and eastern border districts.

They said that intermittent clashes between the Myanmar Army and the civilian groups in that trouble torn country forced the people to cross over through the forested and riverine routes and seek refuge in the Indian state.

The distraught refugees from Myanmar with the help of local Mizos have been sometime crossing the Tiau river in small country boats to take shelter in the border villages of Mizoram, a district administration official said.

The river Tiau, which flows along the Champhai district in eastern Mizoram, divides India and Myanmar.

Mizorams most influential NGO -- the Young Mizo Association, various churches including Presbyterian, Baptist and Roman Catholic are providing food, essentials, clothing and shelter to the refugees since March.

Various NGOs and local organisations have formed the Myanmar Refugee Relief Committee and the organisation has been collecting donations, relief material, food, clothes and medicines to help the immigrants.

On a number of occasions, Chief Minister Zoramthanga in separate letters has requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide humanitarian assistance to Myanmar nationals as his state is witnessing a continuing influx of refugees from the neighbouring country.

Mizoram Planning Board Vice Chairman H. Rammawi, who is closely dealing with the Myanmar refugee affairs, said that the Chief Minister, besides writing letters, has also talked to Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah over phone on a number of occasions, requesting them to extend humanitarian assistance to the Myanmar refugees.

Mizorams lone Lok Sabha Member C. Lalrosanga, Rajya Sabha member K. Vanlalvena, and Officer on Special Duty to the Chief Minister, Rosangzuala are regularly in touch with Central ministers and officials to provide financial assistance and other support to the refugees.

The influx to Mizoram started after a one-year state of emergency was declared in Myanmar, where power was seized by General Min Aung Hlaing after President U Win Myint and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi were detained by the military on February 1.
International

Unicef worried about Afghan girls at risk of child marriage

Unicefs partners has registered 183 child marriages.

Kabul, Nov 13 (IANS) | Publish Date: 11/13/2021 12:55:27 PM IST

Unicef Executive Director Henrietta Fore has voiced deep concern about Afghan girls increasingly at risk of child marriage in the war-torn country.

We have received credible reports of families offering daughters as young as 20 days old up for future marriage in return for a dowry, she said in a statement.

Even before the latest political instability, Unicefs partners registered 183 child marriages and 10 cases of selling of children over 2018 and 2019 in Herat and Badghis provinces alone, reports Xinhua news agency.

The children were between six months and 17 years of age, she said.

The UN agency estimates that 28 per cent of Afghan women aged 15-49 years were married before the age of 18.

The Covid-19 pandemic, the ongoing food crisis and the onset of winter have further exacerbated the situation for families, forcing them to make desperate choices, such as putting children to work and marrying girls off at a young age. As most teenage girls are still not allowed to go back to school, the risk of child marriage is now even higher, said Fore.

Unicef is working with partners to raise communities awareness of the risks for girls if they are married early. Child marriage can lead to a lifetime of suffering. Girls who marry before they turn 18 are less likely to remain in school and more likely to experience domestic violence, discrimination, abuse and poor mental health. They are also more vulnerable to complications in pregnancy and childbirth, she said.

It has started a cash assistance program to help offset the risk of hunger, child labour and child marriage among the most vulnerable families.

Unicef will also work with religious leaders to ensure that they are not involved in the Nikaah (the marriage contract) for young girls, she said.

But this is not enough. We call on central, provincial and local authorities to take concrete measures to support and safeguard the most vulnerable families and girls. We urge the de facto authorities (Taliban) to prioritise the reopening of schools for all secondary school girls and allow all female teachers to resume their jobs without any further delays.

The future of an entire generation is at stake, said the statement.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-13 17:36:22|Editor: huaxia

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File photo taken on Sept. 24, 2015 shows the national flags of China (R) and the United States as well as the flag of Washington D.C. on the Constitution Avenue in Washington, capital of the United States. (Xinhua/Bao Dandan)

Wang said Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet with U.S. President Joe Biden via video link on Nov. 16, noting that the meeting, keenly followed by the whole world, is of great significance not just for China-U.S. relations, but also for international relations.

BEIJING, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a phone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday at the latter's request.

Wang said Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet with U.S. President Joe Biden via video link on Nov. 16, noting that the meeting, keenly followed by the whole world, is of great significance not just for China-U.S. relations, but also for international relations.

It is the shared hope of the two peoples and the international community that the meeting will yield outcomes beneficial to both countries and the world, and the helmsmanship of the two heads of state plays a key role in steering bilateral relations, according to the senior Chinese diplomat.

The two sides, he suggested, should work in the same direction and make every preparation to ensure a smooth and successful meeting and bring bilateral relations back onto the track of sound and steady development.

Blinken, for his part, said that the world is following closely the virtual meeting between the U.S. and Chinese heads of state.

Both sides have made full preparation and are making progress, the secretary of state said, adding that the U.S. side looks forward to sharing views on bilateral ties with the Chinese side during the meeting in the spirit of mutual respect and jointly send a strong message to the world.

In response to the U.S. side's recent wrong words and deeds on the Taiwan question, Wang further elaborated on China's solemn position.

Both history and reality have fully proven that "Taiwan independence" is the biggest threat to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and any connivance of and support for the "Taiwan independence" forces undermines peace across the Taiwan Strait and would only boomerang in the end, the Chinese foreign minister stressed.

If the U.S. side truly wants to safeguard peace across the Taiwan Strait, then it should clearly and resolutely oppose any "Taiwan independence" moves, abide by the solemn commitments it made in the three China-U.S. joint communiques and put the one-China policy into action and stop sending wrong signals to the "Taiwan independence" forces, he added.

The two sides also exchanged views on issues including energy security, climate change, and the Iranian nuclear issue, and agreed to maintain dialogue on responding to all kinds of global challenges. 
Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-13 19:48:22|Editor: huaxia

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The sixth plenary session of the 19th Communist Party of China Central Committee is held in Beijing, capital of China, from Nov. 8 to 11, 2021. (Xinhua/Zhai Jianlan)

BEIJING, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- It was a meeting much about the past as it was about the future.

From Monday to Thursday, political heavyweights of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the world's largest ruling party, convened a high-profile meeting in Beijing -- the sixth plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee -- at which a resolution on historical issues was adopted.

The 30,000-plus-character Resolution on the Major Achievements and Historical Experience of the Party over the Past Century, is only the third of its kind in the Party's 100-year history: the first in 1945 before the victory in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, and the second in 1981 with the advent of the reform and opening-up drive.

The timing of the third resolution has its own historical significance. In 2021, the CPC celebrated its centenary, announced the completion of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects -- known in China as the First Centenary Goal -- and is leading the nation toward building a great modern socialist country -- the Second Centenary Goal -- by the mid-21st century.





PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

On Nov. 8, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, opened the plenum by delivering a work report on behalf of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.

Sitting in the audience were Party cadres and officials, including more than 300 members and alternate members of the CPC Central Committee, as well as some grassroots delegates to the 19th CPC National Congress and experts and scholars.

Xi said the Political Bureau, while advancing work in all areas, focused on three major things over the past year: the CPC centenary celebration, Party history learning and education campaign, and the preparation for the sixth plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee.

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, makes an important speech at the sixth plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)

All these three activities centered on a single topic -- history.

As an ancient Chinese saying goes: with history as a mirror, one can understand the rise and fall of a state.

Xi told the plenum that summarizing the Party's major achievements and historical experience over the past century was of great significance to further unifying the thinking, will and action of the whole Party.

This, Xi said, will help the Party unite and lead the nation to secure the great success of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era.

"Standing at a new historical starting point, we review the past and look to the future," Xi said when he explained the Party leadership's considerations on the theme of the plenum.

"Everyone at the plenum shared the sentiment that a great historical responsibility has fallen upon our shoulders," said a CPC Central Committee member. "We feel that the resolution is bound to have a profound influence on the future of the cause of the Party and the country."

"It is a resolution that connects the past, present and future," said a plenum attendee.





XI'S CORE POSITION

From Monday afternoon to Thursday morning, plenum attendees were divided into 10 groups for deliberation on the draft documents. There were often heated discussions.

Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, Li Zhanshu, Wang Yang, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji and Han Zheng attend the sixth plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

But all agreed that the historic achievements since the 18th Party Congress, as summarized in the resolution in 13 aspects, have provided robust institutional conditions, strong material foundations and a source of inspiration for advancing the cause of national rejuvenation.

They all felt very strongly about one particular statement in the resolution:

-- Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era is the Marxism of contemporary China and of the 21st century. It embodies the best of the Chinese culture and ethos in our times and represents a new breakthrough in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context.

-- The Party has established Comrade Xi Jinping's core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole and defined the guiding role of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. This reflects the common will of the Party, the armed forces and the Chinese people of all ethnic groups, and is of decisive significance for advancing the cause of the Party and the country in the new era and for driving forward the historic process of national rejuvenation.

The attendees said this is an answer to the call of the times, and a significant political judgment made in response to not only the Party's common will but also the people's common aspirations.

Also included in the resolution were five aspects of the historical significance of the Party's endeavors over the past century, and 10 pieces of historical experience.

This content reflects the secret behind the Party's success. For instance, the principles of staying independent, breaking new ground and standing up for ourselves, all are deeply rooted in the Party's history and still bear great immediate significance.





UNANIMOUSLY ADOPTED

On Thursday afternoon, Xi presided over a plenary meeting of the session at which the resolution was unanimously endorsed by every CPC Central Committee member in attendance. Thunderous applause broke out and resonated inside the Great Hall of the People.

The meeting then passed a resolution on convening the 20th National Congress of the CPC in the second half of 2022 in Beijing.

The sixth plenary session of the 19th Communist Party of China Central Committee is held in Beijing, capital of China, from Nov. 8 to 11, 2021. (Xinhua/Yan Yan)

The communique of the plenum was also adopted.

After that, Xi delivered an important speech on behalf of the Political Bureau on studying and implementing the spirit of the plenum.

"The Party was chosen by history and the people, and it has lived up to their choice," Xi said, adding that there would be no national rejuvenation without the CPC.

The resolution particularly emphasized the importance of strengthening the Party's centralized, unified leadership, Xi said, explaining that the aim is to demand everyone in the CPC to align with its central committee, unify the Party as "a solid piece of iron" and march forward in unison.

Xi also stressed the need for "great struggle" and "even more arduous and strenuous efforts" and asked Party members to pay close attention to all sorts of "major risks" and take effective measures to fend off and resolve them.

"With all the great achievements over the past century, our Party has won much praise from both inside and outside the Party, from home and abroad," Xi said.

"It is particularly in these circumstances that we must promote the spirit of self-reform even more. We can never allow ourselves to get carried away by the applause," he added.

In 1945, when the Party's first resolution on history was passed, Mao Zedong issued the call for Party-wide unity like members of a family.

In 1981, when the second such resolution was passed, Deng Xiaoping emphasized its importance in unifying the thoughts in the Party.

In 2021, upon the passing of the third resolution, Xi urged all Party members to maintain strategic resolve, focus on strategic targets and bear in mind the country's most fundamental interests.

"Today, we are closer, more confident, and more capable than ever before of making the goal of national rejuvenation a reality," Xi said. "We must fulfill the duties of our generation in the relay for attaining national rejuvenation." 
Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-13 18:51:11|Editor: huaxia

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A Chinese instructor demonstrates measuring method to local trainees at the China-funded Uganda Industrial Research Institute at Namanve Industrial Park in Mukono district, Uganda, Nov. 9, 2021. (Xinhua/Zhang Gaiping)

KAMPALA, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Tabitha Kisaakye, a Ugandan machinist undergoing a six-month training session, is upbeat. The skills he is acquiring from his Chinese instructors are critically important as his country pushes for industry-led economic growth.

Kisaakye is among a group of trainees enrolled at China-funded Uganda Industrial Research Institute, specifically at the institute's Namanve campus, a vocational training center.

The 30-million-U.S. dollar facility, seated on 15 acres (about 60,000 square meters) of land, is the product of close China-Africa ties.

In one of the ongoing training sessions, Zheng Zhimin, a Chinese tutor responsible for training of numerical control machine tools, provided the group of five trainees with hands-on experience. They each took turns operating the high-tech machinery as they listened to the instructor.

"We are changing from the conventional way of doing things to the more automated way. It is very easy to make more intricate parts, which you can take a long time figuring out on the conventional type of machines," said Kisaakye, an industrial engineering and management graduate.

Gerald Manzi, another trainee, said that the Chinese instructors have helped beef up their knowledge in machining.

"We had the knowledge but these people have come up with much explanations on things that are really technical, which I feel is really a good thing," Manzi said.

Peter Agumisiriza, a mechanical engineer and maintenance technician at the institute, said that after six months of training, he and his peers will pass on their skills to other trainees admitted to the institute.

Agumisiriza said the skills program is critical to the country because most of the graduates from university or other tertiary institutions do not have hands-on experience.

"The theory we get from universities cannot really take us anywhere. Production industries require someone who can design, develop and commission a project," he said.

"With the setup of this skills development center, we shall be able to prepare our graduates for industrial skills. This one will help to catalyze industrial development," Agumisiriza added.

Zheng, the Chinese instructor, noted that the skilling program will provide training to those who will be running the industrial sector in the future.

The training and production facility, constructed and financed by China, will not only provide skills to locals but also manufacture mechanical parts with modern technology, according to government sources.

The center has five manufacturing workshops and electronic, electrical and mechanical processing training buildings. Up to 960 people can undertake training at one time.

Uganda hopes to use the center as a production unit for automotive spare parts in a bid to bring down import costs, according to the government. Government figures show that the country spends 23 million dollars annually on importing motor vehicles spare parts and 18 million dollars on spares for motorcycles.

Charles Kwesiga, head of the Uganda Industrial Research Institute, described the facility as an initial step towards manufacturing quality products that meet international standards.

"It is a very important facility. It is the initial step of creating modern machining, manufacturing," Kwesiga said during the launch of the facility in January last year. "That way we can get in the market with competitive high quality products." Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-13 20:09:56|Editor: huaxia

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ACCRA, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Nine junior high school students drowned Friday after two canoes capsized on a river in the Northern Region of Ghana, police confirmed Saturday.

Bernard Baba Ananga, Northern Regional Crime Officer of the Ghana Police Service, told Xinhua that about 31 students were on the canoes, which they used to cross the Oti River to a farm, but two of the canoes capsized on their way back.

"Rescuers managed to retrieve seven bodies, and a search is underway for another two that are still missing," Ananga said.

The police said an investigation is underway. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-13 21:34:14|Editor: huaxia

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RABAT, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- The Moroccan police seized on Saturday 3.21 tonnes of cannabis near the city of Guelmim.

During this operation, five people aged 34 to 47 were arrested for their alleged links to an international drug trafficking network, said a statement by the Moroccan police.

Many materials were seized, including two inflatable boats, and four outboard engines, the statement added.

The banned substance was hidden in an agricultural farm located in the town of Asboya, 30 km from Guelmim.

The suspects were placed in custody, while investigations are underway to arrest all the people involved in these criminal activities, said the statement, adding that this operation is part of the efforts made by Morocco to fight against cross-border crimes and international drug trafficking.

Despite efforts to crack down on cannabis cultivation during the past decade, Morocco remains one of the world's largest producers of the narcotic plant, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-13 14:10:51|Editor: huaxia

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KABUL, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Three suspects have been arrested over Friday's bomb attack on worshippers in Afghanistan's eastern province of Nangarhar, a Taliban spokesman confirmed on Saturday.

"The suspects were arrested hours after the attack. They are under interrogation," spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid wrote on Twitter.

An Improvised Explosive Device placed inside a mosque was detonated during Friday's prayers in the Spin Ghar district of Nangarhar, wounding 15 people, including the prayer leader.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far. The mountainous province has been the scene of bomb attacks claimed by local affiliates of the Islamic State in recent months. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-13 18:29:01|Editor: huaxia

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MANILA, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has called for "closer international cooperation" at the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting, to speed up global economic recovery amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Closer international cooperation is needed to address these constraints and to ensure that all countries recover from this crisis," Duterte said at the virtual meeting.

APEC economies, the Philippine president said, need improved risk management systems, better response and mitigation measures, and more robust support mechanisms for vulnerable communities.

To achieve these goals, he called for the creation of an integrated vaccine passport validation and contact tracing system, institutionalizing social protection for non-traditional forms of employment, and promoting transnational education and digital inclusion in APEC economies.

Duterte reiterated calls for developed economies to support vulnerable countries like the Philippines in mitigating climate change.

"Developing economies such as the Philippines contribute the least to climate change, but we are the most vulnerable to its disastrous consequences," he added. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-13 19:17:28|Editor: huaxia

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by Raheela Nazir

ISLAMABAD, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- The recent inclusion of the Karachi Coastal Comprehensive Development Zone (KCCDZ) project in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will boost Pakistan's economy and enhance industrial and development cooperation between Pakistan and China, said Pakistani experts and officials.

The decision to include the project in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi into the CPEC was made at the CPEC's recent 10th Joint Cooperation Committee Meeting.

Covering a total area of about 930 hectares, of which 640 hectares are reclaimed, the environment-friendly KCCDZ envisages four new berths for the Karachi Port Trust, according to a statement from the Ministry of Maritime Affairs of Pakistan.

The mega project, being built with an expected investment of 3.5 billion U.S. dollars, will also house a state-of-the-art fishing port, with a world-class fisheries export processing zone to boost the country's trade potential, said the ministry.

It will also drastically improve the marine ecosystem and reduce pollution with the establishment of a water treatment plant, the ministry said.

Terming the project a game-changer for Pakistan, Prime Minister Imran Khan said recently that the coastal development project will bring Karachi on a par with developed port cities of the world.

The project will present opportunities for investors, Khan said on Twitter, adding that it will also help clean up marine habitats for fishermen and develop 20,000 low-income housing units.

The KCCDZ is the first of its kind under the CPEC, which reflects the commitment of Pakistan and China to forge high-quality cooperation to improve people's livelihoods, Pakistani Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Haider Zaidi told Xinhua.

"As all-weather strategic cooperative partners, China and Pakistan are stepping up cooperation in various sectors, giving impetus to the growth of bilateral relations, economic and social development of the two countries," the minister said.

Speaking to Xinhua, Syed Hasan Javed, director of Chinese Studies, School of Social Sciences and Humanities at the National University of Science and Technology in Islamabad, said the KCCDZ is a 21st Century modern project replete with the latest technologies, town planning, urban infrastructure, municipal amenities and environment-friendly marine development.

"It will take Pakistan's economy to the next level of prosperity by attracting foreign direct investment, generating employment and revenue, boosting exports and promoting regional and global connectivity," Javed said.

Muhammad Asif Noor, director of the Islamabad-based think tank Institute of Peace and Diplomatic Studies, said the project carries enormous potential to spur the country's blue economy and exports.

"Fishing ports and fisheries export processing zones are critical to boost trade in fishing as coastal areas of Pakistan are rich in maritime trade, giving a way to promote the blue economy in Pakistan through infrastructure development and industrial cooperation in the said sector," Noor told Xinhua.

The project will also build up the confidence of global investors towards the country and its entire ecosystem for providing and offering a lucrative environment to set up businesses and profit, he said

"Furthermore, it has the potential to boost industrial cooperation between Pakistan and China due to its proximity with Karachi, the financial hub of the country," he added.

Noor said that the low-budget housing under the initiative will create affordability for poverty-stricken fishermen to own a house, boosting their socio-economic profile.

He said Pakistan can learn from the Chinese experience of tackling climate change and how to effectively use the project to clean up marine habitats and strengthen biodiversity conservation. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-13 18:45:27|Editor: huaxia

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KIEV, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian state-run aircraft producer Antonov has signed an airlift services deal with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union member states under the Strategic Airlift Interim Solution (SALIS) program, the Ukrainian government-run Ukrinform news agency reported on Friday.

"Under the five-year contract, Antonov must provide two An-124-100 aircraft on a permanent basis. They must be parked in stand-by mode at Germany's Leipzig airport. Upon additional request, Antonov must provide three more aircrafts," Andrey Blagovisny, the head of the commercial department at the Antonov company, told reporters during a media briefing in Kiev.

The agreement also envisages that if the need arises, Antonov could provide the world's biggest plane -- the An-225 Mriya, as well as Antei, An-26 and An-74 transport aircraft to perform airlift missions in the interests of NATO and EU states, Blagovisny added.

The SALIS program allows its member countries to pool their resources to charter special aircraft that give the alliance the capability to transport heavy cargo across the globe by air.

Currently, nine countries, namely Belgium, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Norway, Hungary and France, are participants of the SALIS program.

Ukraine has cooperated with NATO under SALIS since 2006. The current contract between the sides that was signed in 2019 expires on Dec. 31, 2021. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-13 19:57:30|Editor: huaxia

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ISTANBUL, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Turkey and China are moving to bolster collaboration in the field of digital technologies, as seen at an international fair held in Turkey's financial and cultural hub Istanbul.

The 2nd Mobilefest Digital Technologies Fair and Conference was launched on Thursday under the motto "Strengthening Technological Ties Between China and Turkey," to mark the 50th anniversary of the two countries' diplomatic relations this year.

China is the honored country of the fair.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the event, Mehmet Fatih Kacir, Turkey's deputy minister of industry and Technology, said Chinese companies have recently accelerated investment in Turkey, especially in digital areas.

"We are very pleased with that," he said, expressing his hope that Chinese firms "contribute to Turkey's research and development studies and innovation efforts to a greater extent."

Furkan Karayaka, vice president of the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey Investment Office, said Turkey is one of the important countries for the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, in which Turkey expects to attract more investment from China-based companies in the near future.

"The existence of Turkey's qualified and educated young population constitutes an important means behind this draw," he noted.

Chinese Ambassador to Turkey Liu Shaobin said that China's digital economy reached 39.2 trillion yuan (about 6.2 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2020, accounting for 38.6 percent of its gross domestic product, becoming a key driving force for stable economic growth with a rapid growth rate of 9.7 percent.

"In recent years, with the development of the relations between China and Turkey ... more and more outstanding Chinese companies have entered the Turkish market, becoming an important force in promoting the development of digital technology in Turkey," the ambassador said, joining the opening ceremony online.

According to Zhou Yanquan, leader of the Chamber of Commerce for Chinese Enterprises in Turkey, there are more than 30 Chinese digital companies with investment or partners in Turkey's market.

The Chinese tech giant Huawei's research and development center in Istanbul is its largest overseas, he said, noting that the ZTE Corporation, a Chinese telecommunication company, has become a shareholder of Turkish systems integration provider Netas.

Several Chinese mobile phone manufacturers, such as Xiaomi, OPPO, Vivo, and Tecno Mobile, have also established production facilities in Istanbul recently.

"Digital technologies have brought thousands of job opportunities to the Turkish local market while the companies paid a significant amount of taxes to the Turkish government," Zhou said.

Dogukan Cavdar, ZTE wireless product marketing manager, told Xinhua at the fair that his company would help mobile operators introduce 5G technology in Turkey within two years.

"We aim to bring the know-how and the technology from overseas, from China to the Turkish market," he said.

The fair, which runs until Saturday, is expected to draw more than 10,000 visitors both online and in person, including local and global corporate buyers and industry professionals, according to the organizers. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-13 22:59:01|Editor: huaxia

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BIALYSTOK, Poland, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- As the migrant crisis on the Poland-Belarus border has reverted into stalemate, local inhabitants are still fearing escalation of the crisis, with some calling for a humanitarian solution.

Hundreds of refugees, chiefly from the Middle East, are stuck on the Belarus side of the border near the Polish village of Kuznica alone, Polish military sources said. The Polish government refused entry and created a no-go zone within three kilometers from the border in September. Only authorities and local inhabitants can enter and leave freely.

The country also deployed close to 2,000 troops in the region to assist the border guard, with more held in reserve.

However, some migrants managed to cross the border through the heavily forested areas that straddle both countries, often spending nights in the open with freezing temperatures which are continuing dropping further.

The situation drew criticism from UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, who said in a statement on Wednesday she was appalled by the situation.

"I urge the States involved to take immediate steps to de-escalate and resolve this intolerable situation in line with their obligations under international human rights law and refugee law," she said.

Local inhabitants have fear for the situation, while expressing sympathy for the humanitarian plight of the migrants. "I am afraid to go out at night," says Martyna Biaous, a 16-year-old who lives in Kuznica and works outside of the no-go zone.

"You know they are hungry and cold and you know they are desperate. I really feel for those people, but you don't know what they can do." One morning, Martyna said, her grandmother found signs of people in her back yard. "And one of my friends once found some sheltering in her family's greenhouse."

The Red Cross is facilitating relief efforts from their center in Bialystok, local director Elzbieta Paszkowska said. "We have set up a main logistics point here in Bialystok, where aid workers can come to pick up goods," she said. Items include clothing, food and medicines.

However, aid workers are not allowed into the border zone. "We are not actively bringing the aid to migrants there, though sometimes locals come here to pick up the goods," she said.

"Many of these people need medical care," said Paulina Bownik, a medical doctor for Border Group, a volunteer organization. "They don't dare to go to the hospital, even when they are very sick." She said she can help the migrants outside the no-go zone, but not when they are inside. "I think it's terrible. These are families with children, including pregnant women."

Belarus and Poland have been caught in a spat in recent months. Warsaw has accused Minsk of trying to encourage migrants and refugees to cross into Poland and the European Union, while Minsk said that Warsaw is "deliberately" escalating tensions by military deployment at the border without notification. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-13 23:02:51|Editor: huaxia

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ROME, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- China's renewable energy sector is the largest, and one of the fastest-growing in the world, and Italy's Delta OHM will be helping to boost its efficiency after attending the China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai from Nov. 5 to 10.

Delta OHM is based near the northern Italian city of Padova, and produces a wide range of equipment used to measure the efficiency of wind turbines and solar panels, allowing energy companies to rapidly identify technical glitches and other problems.

The company already has a presence in China, but this year was the first time Delta OHM participated in the CIIE, in order to help increase its commercial reach in the country..

"It was an important step for us to play a role at CIIE," Cristian Mazzero, the company's foreign trade manager, told Xinhua. "We think CIIE is helping us lay the groundwork for the future. We won't know the details about how effective the participation was for some time, but we know China represents a tremendous growth opportunity for the company."

Mazzero said the company's sales are divided, with about one-third in Italy and two-thirds outside Italy's borders. However, this could change dramatically in the coming years, as China's renewable energy sector rapidly grows.

According to data firm Statista, China had the world's largest renewable energy sector by far in 2020, with 895 gigawatts of installed capacity. That is three times larger than the equivalent sector in the United States, which had an installed capacity of 292 gigawatts. Brazil was next with 150 gigawatts, followed by India, with 134, and Germany, with 132. Italy, Delta OHM's home base, is further down the list with 55 gigawatts of installed capacity.

Mazzro said that China remains a relatively small part of Delta OHM's overall business, representing around 2 percent of total global sales, which are projected to be around 10 million euros (11.5 million U.S. dollars) this year. However, with the help of smart business strategies, which rely in part on events like CIIE that can help build the company's reputation and lead to partnerships, Chinese sales will likely grow even faster than the company's overall sales increase.

"The potential in China is incredible," Mazzero said. "I think the market could represent 10 percent of our sales within five years and then keep growing after that." Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-14 06:44:23|Editor: huaxia

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A delegate from India speaks at the closing plenary of the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Glasgow, the United Kingdom, Nov. 13, 2021. The United Nations climate change conference concluded here Saturday after a one-day extension, with negotiators agreeing on a new global pact to tackle climate change. (Xinhua/Han Yan)

GLASGOW, Britain, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations climate change conference concluded here Saturday after a one-day extension, with negotiators agreeing on a new global pact to tackle climate change.

Nearly 200 participating countries adopted the Glasgow Climate Pact at the end of 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Some encouraging progress was made. Agreement was finally reached on Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which relates to carbon market mechanisms, paving the way for effective implementation of the Paris deal to cut emissions through market-based approaches.

Negotiators also agreed to phase down coal, the dominant source of carbon dioxide emissions in the process of electricity generation. It is the first explicit mention of fossil fuels in a COP agreement.

During COP26, more than 100 countries have promised to end deforestation by 2030.

In the final days of the conference, China and the United States issued a joint declaration on enhancing actions on climate change in the 2020s, which are widely welcomed and believed to galvanize global collective actions.

The two countries agreed to establish a working group on enhancing climate action this decade to promote cooperation on climate change between the two countries as well as multilateral processes.

As COP26 wrapped up, however, some stubborn issues, notably climate funding, remain uncertain.

There were commitments to significantly increase financial support through the Adaptation Fund as developed countries were urged to double their support to developing countries by 2025.

However, it remains to be seen whether developed countries, whose development is responsible for most of today's climate change impacts, will heed the set timeframe.

In 2009, wealthy countries pledged 100 billion U.S. dollars a year to help lower-income nations by 2020. However, they still have not made good on the pledge and recent reports indicate that this goal could slip to 2023.

COP26, which kicked off on Oct. 31, is the first climate change conference after the five-year review cycle under the Paris Agreement inked in 2015. The Egyptian city of Sharm El Sheikh will host COP27 in 2022. Enditem

Zhao Yingmin, head of the Chinese delegation to COP26 and vice minister of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, speaks during the closing plenary of the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Glasgow, the United Kingdom, Nov. 13, 2021. The United Nations climate change conference concluded here Saturday after a one-day extension, with negotiators agreeing on a new global pact to tackle climate change. (Xinhua/Han Yan)
CIVIL servants yesterday attacked the United Stated dollar-denominated bonus as not enough, with teacher unions warning that it would not stop them from going on strike beginning Monday.

Civil servants have been pushing for US dollar salaries, but government has been pleading incapacity.

In a letter dated November 3, 2021 signed by Finance permanent secretary George Guvamatanga and addressed to Public Service Commission secretary Jonathan Wutawunashe, Health Services Board acting executive director Angelbert Mbengwa, and Judicial Service Commission secretary Walter Chikwana, government promised its restive workers a US dollar-denominated 13th cheque to cushion them against the harsh economic climate.

Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) president Takavafira Zhou said the announcement smacked of a campaign gimmick given that the 2023 polls were around the corner.

The struggle has never been a struggle over bonus. It has always been a struggle over restoration of purchasing power parity of teachers pegged at US$520, so anything less than that is a charade and issue of misrepresentation, he said.

Coming to the issue of the bonus, it lacks clarity because it is not a product of negotiations with any representative of the workers. It was peddled as a form of propaganda or campaign tool perhaps towards 2023.

He added: The real issue is what we know is it will be a bonus on basic salary and basic salary means if you remove transport allowance, which is a bit over $2 000 and housing allowance for over $1 000 plus COVID-19 allowance, you remain with something like $12 000, so that by two months, its $24 000 and that money is only US$200. That falls far short of our demand for a months salary of US$520.

Zhou said it was pointless for the government to award its workers a US dollar bonus, only to pay them in local currency in December.

We cannot celebrate this US$200 just for one month and thereafter there is nothing. That to me is a charade and it is unfortunate. Government should focus on restoring the salaries workers were getting prior to October 2018. We are not interested in this tokenism, but we want a permanent solution to solve the real issue.

Zhou said the PTUZ would not invigilate Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council final year examinations despite the bonus.

Zimbabwe Nurses Association president Enock Dondo said: We want our salaries in US dollars inasmuch as we appreciate what they have done. It is not enough to appreciate the worker. We are concerned on how the US dollar component is going to be distributed because banks have no money.

The Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (Artuz) also said the US dollar bonus would be resisted if government pegs it at the interbank rate.

Artuz vowed to embark on a 12-day industrial action to push for US dollar salaries beginning Monday.

We should not allow this gimmick by the government to bribe us into pacification, Artuz said in a statement.

But Zimbabwe Teachers Association chief executive Sifiso Ndlovu said the bonus was a welcome development that ought to be celebrated as a victory for the civil servants.

Zimbabwe Confederation of Public Sector Trade Unions secretary-general David Dzatsunga chipped in, saying: Its an exciting development and it speaks to our long-term demands to say workers must be paid in US dollars, all workers and not just civil servants. Most businesses are charging in US dollars and as a consequence local currency is not viable. Come the new financial year, I hope it will continue. Newsday
THE Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association in Bulawayo yesterday received two boreholes, a perimeter fence for their offices and drip irrigation equipment aimed at bolstering income generating projects of the ex-freedom fighters.

The donation which was made by the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Professor Mthuli Ncube, at the ex-freedom fighters Entumbane offices (Emaplankeni) will also see the surrounding community benefitting from the water as the city is facing water challenges.

The war veterans said they were setting up a massive poultry project and green houses to kick start their projects. In his handover speech, Prof Ncube said he was responding to calls from the province that their offices had no security and needed to be fenced off.

I am glad to be back, a year ago I toured the place and I was informed by the chairman of the war veterans (Cde Cephas Ncube) that they needed a fence to secure their place.

They had been victims of vandalism and theft at the premises including a petrol bomb attack that occurred that was later put out by residents in the community.

He also told me that they had one borehole yet the area was large with water use for commercial agriculture use being inadequate. I listened to their plight and I have brought back what they requested for, he said.

Prof Ncube said the Government was interested in seeing the welfare of war veterans being improved regularly in terms of pensions, health care and many other areas.

The Government has okayed the payment of their bonuses in foreign currency together with their spouses and children at the end of November.

He highlighted that the Government had set aside for the war veterans 21 mining claims all over the country, tourism assets, six farms, a property development company and a financial services company.

The Minister said he was doing several other projects in the city in a bid to improve the livelihoods of the communities and had started the construction of a clinic in Cowdray Park.

Cowdray Park has no clinic, and we are solving that problem, we received US$200 million from the United Kingdom which is aimed at building clinics throughout the country and the first clinic was constructed in Harare South and Cowdray Park is the second site and the foundation has been constructed. We also understand that there is a police post that is also required and we are working on that to improve security, he said.

The provincial chairman of the war veterans, Cde Cephas Ncube, said they were grateful for the donation of the boreholes, drip irrigation and the perimeter fence saying the veterans had a role in rebuilding the country. Cde Ncube said children of war veterans will inherit the projects left behind by the older generation whose numbers he said were dwindling.

He paid tribute to former chairman of the war veterans Cde Jabulani Sibanda who attended the handover saying he was taking his words forward of calling for development of the provincial headquarters saying agricultural projects must be started as soon as possible as they were now equipped. The Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Cde Judith Ncube also applauded Prof Ncube for his timeous donations.

Meanwhile, Zanu-PF Deputy National Political Commissar Cde Omega Hungwe was in the province where she held several meetings with the leadership and members of the party applauding them for managing to mobilise members and strengthen their structures.Her key message was also on the need for youths to take up leadership roles in order to ensure continuity in the party also applauding Bulawayo Province for the good work in terms of mobilising members.

If youths want to take up positions let them do so, even if their parents hold positions in the party too, that is legacy. I am happy that Bulawayo Province is moving forward in pushing the agenda of the party. There is no room for tribalism but unity only is needed. In 2023 we want the President to win resoundingly, she said. Sunday News
We were in the same business, Roberts wrote. Jealousy is a virus that could have easily infected our relationship. I was determined not to let that happen and so was she. Besides, I was Cokies biggest fan. I was attracted to her in the first place because she was so smart and strong. I was not surprised when the rest of the world discovered what I had always known.
If the inmates arent with her, then theyre sitting in their cells doing nothing. If its only for an hour or two hours a week, at least theyre getting out of their cells, whether they listen consciously or subconsciously or not at all, something is going in thats going to give them some thought other than am I going to stay alive?
He had also proclaimed in the video that he was a supporter of Elliot Rodger, who murdered six people  including two women at a sorority house  in California in 2014. Rodger is credited with starting the incel movement.
The chaos was sparked by a tweet at 10:05 a.m. from SNLs account directing hopeful attendees to The Shop at NBC Studios for tickets to Saturdays show, which will feature Swift as the musical guest, witnesses said. Swifties rushed to the Sixth Ave. entrance of the store, only to find it was locked.
The first time, at Trump Tower, he kissed her on the mouth when she arrived in his office for what was supposed to be a business meeting, her suit claimed. Then, when she set up a dinner meeting with him at the Beverly Hills Hotel, he did it again, grabbing her breast, according to the lawsuit.
The 36-year-old victim told police that she knew Ortiz, who had confronted her and groped her at an earlier date, police sources with knowledge of the case said. It was not immediately disclosed when that attack took place.
On Nov. 5, Wiggins allegedly pulled a knife on a young girl inside the victims home, forcing her to perform a sex act, officials said. The age of the victim was not immediately released. Wiggins fled the apartment after the attack, and his victim was treated at a nearby hospital for minor injuries, including several cuts to her arm.
Police on Saturday released new images of New Yorks notorious lion lady Myah Autry, who on Thursday again tried to enter the African lion exhibit at the Bronx Zoo to get an up close and personal audience with her favorite felines.
While the mothers sentiment in wishing for jail time is understandable in light of what this family has been through, this felony conviction was an agreed upon disposition that spares the victim from testifying against her abuser in open court, the DAs office said in a statement.
Gonzalez  who appeared on the video detectives were viewing  was arrested on the spot for his role in the slaying and is being held at Rikers Island pending his next court appearance.
These particular types of incidents  where people are standing on platforms and they are assaulted and even pushed onto the tracks, which has happened three times in the last week  require action, Lieber said.
Police say they believe Murphy had been strangled, and the baby had been taken away in a maroon 2020 Dodge Grand Caravan. The vehicle was later located in western Missouri.
Benefield Elementary School principal Shonda Gipson-Stevens said in a letter Wednesday to families and faculty that Morales, who had been teaching in Gwinnett County since 2019, was described as having touched so many lives  both students and staff, according to NBC.
On Thursday, the company, which will celebrate 50 years in 2022, also announced the upcoming Carnival Jubilee, the third of its Excel-class vessels, which will be based in Galveston, Texas, and will make weeklong journeys throughout the western Caribbean. The ship, which will also feature a roller coaster on its top deck, will be delivered in 2023.
The man accused of operating a notorious drug house on Mt. Pleasants Oak Street was found dead in it earlier this week, the second suspected drug overdose death there in less than four days and the third suspected drug overdose in five. (Google_Maps)
The COVID-19 pandemic and Texas near-ban on abortion fueled increased interest in obtaining abortion medications by mail. But with the legality in doubt in several states, some people looking to get around restrictions may not see it as worth the risk. The matter is taking on new urgency with the Supreme Court set to hear arguments next month in Mississippis bid to erode the Roe v. Wade decision guaranteeing the right to an abortion.
Once we make contact with the person on the property, we explain to them the homeowner does not want them there, they have no legal reason to be there, Rash said. He added: I explain to that person, if you ever come back onto this property for any reason, you will be arrested.
These were things that had to go through approval and would either not be approved or it would take so many months it was quite out of date and irrelevant by the time the approval was received, she said.
Lets identify the officers that should not be in our department, not try to cover it up and put them someplace else. No, if you are doing your job incorrectly in plainclothes, youre going to do your job incorrectly in a uniform, so Im getting them out of the job. Thats the difference when Im saying every officer is going to do his job, he said. They just disbanded the precinct level because they said that there were too many complaints coming. So we covered up the problem. Im not covering up problems anymore. Im going to the source of the problem.
Though the issue of plainclothes cops did not come up during the meeting, Newsome told the Daily News outside Borough Hall afterward that there will be riots, there will be fire and there will be bloodshed if Adams follows through on his campaign promise to as mayor reintroduce the units.
Im going to look at every individual in the de Blasio administration to see who is able to remain and then if they have the same mindset as I do, he said. Theres some good talent. Theres some dedicated people in the administration, and I just want to continue to give them the support that they deserve.
(I) thank you for what you tell us about what is wrong in the church, for helping us not to sweep it under the carpet, and for the voice you have given to the abuse victims, the pontiff added.
Bannon just doesnt want to cooperate. But its not a choice, as his indictment spells out. He could appear before the committee and claim he didnt remember or plead the Fifth, or even try lying and risk a perjury indictment. He could also tell the truth about the conspiracy to undermine democracy. But he still must appear and turn over any documents being sought.
DEI is about ensuring that students from a variety of backgrounds  as our citys one million public school students, who come from all over the world, certainly are  have the opportunity to reach their academic potential in classrooms that are responsive to their lived experiences. Still, the concepts are ripe for bad-faith misinterpretations; the DEI policy paper put out by the state Board of Regents this past May, for example, urged districts to consider acknowledging the role that racism and bigotry have played, and continue to play, in the American story.
Recently Chappelle gawked at Netflix employees protesting his latest comedy special, The Closer, which some say is transphobic. When told about the possibility of meeting with the protesters, Chappelle said, You will not summon me. But no one summoned Chappelle, as he himself admits, in an Instagram video he posted. He goes on to say, You said you wanted a safe work environment at Netflix. Well, it seems like Im the only one who cant go to the office anymore
Rogan, 54, is known for drawing attention with his odd positions on issues, including COVID-19. He recently claimed to have contracted the virus, which he said he fought off with unproven remedies including the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin. In May, he was widely mocked for claiming we live in a society that will eventually get to straight white men are not allowed to talk.
The catalyst for my doing this is seeing how much pain this is causing (Harry), Meghan wrote to her communications chief Jason Knauf. Even after a week with his dad and endlessly explaining the situation, his family seem to forget the context  and revert to cant she just go and see him and make this stop?
Norma Jane Bullard, 83, was last seen on Thursday, Nov. 11 around noon at a home in Ocala Palms on 2300 Block NW 53rd Ave., according to a report from Marion County Sheriffs Office.
The woman received the first call from a young woman, claiming to be her granddaughter. She said she had been in a car accident and needed money to get out of jail, according to court records. A man who claimed to be the granddaughters lawyer then took the phone and spoke to the woman.
In the initial months after the shooting that killed 17 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the teenagers amassed one of the largest youth protests in history in Washington and rallied more than a million activists in sister marches from California to Japan. They made the cover of Time magazine and raised millions to fund March For Our Lives. They testified before Congress, met with the president, won the International Childrens Peace Prize and launched a 60-plus city bus tour to register tens of thousands of young voters.
The fact that theyre able to get these grants so it doesnt cost the residents money to have the hook up done is beneficial, Siudak said. A lot of people probably would hook up to the sewer if they didnt have to spend the money because it is costly to do it.
I planned on replacing the dock, but I cant get a loan now if the lease is about to end, Volk told the Sentinel Friday. The other docks are not falling apart, and they are structurally fine. They have boats tied up to them now  lts the citys opinion that they are in bad condition. Its like looking at a crack on a sidewalk and saying its in bad condition.
Being kind does not cost anything, but the feeling of kindness is absolutely priceless. Kindness can present itself in the smallest of ways. As Rogers famously said, Imagine what our neighborhoods would be like if each of us offered, as a matter of course, just one kind word to another person. Kindness is truly infectious and it all starts with you.
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- Trading strategies, not taken into account by Forex, which allow to gain profit from flat and trend movements, a new type of support and resistance levels

- Free and unique techniques of teaching Forex to beginners as an alternative to losing money after successfully finishing special courses under various dealing centers

- Free consultations given by lawyers concerning the protection of traders rights

- Professional consultation of psychiatrists and psychologists concerning the psychological problems of trading, as well as traders family problems

- New criteria of evaluating a broker/bank/dealing center and revealing the tricks of their trading terminals. The secrets they try to hide from their clients and many other things, reviewed from traders standpoint, not from forex brokers one.




A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
Espanola, NM (87532)

Today

Mainly sunny. High 62F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Clear skies with a few passing clouds. Low 27F. Winds light and variable.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday expressed deep anguish over the killing of five Army personnel in Manipur.

"The cowardly attack on an Assam Rifles convoy in Churachandpur is extremely painful and condemnable. The nation has lost five brave soldiers including the Commanding Officer of 46 Assam Rifles and his two family members," the Defence Minister said.

He paid condolences to the bereaved families and said the perpetrators will be brought to justice soon.

The ambush was staged by unidentified militants in Manipur's Churachandpur district on Saturday.

In a statement, Assam Rifles DG, Lt. General Pradeep Chandran Nair, said: "A convoy of Assam Rifles was ambushed by insurgents in Thinghat, Manipur at 11 a.m. Five soldiers including Col. Viplav Tripathi, Commanding Officer of 46 Assam Rifles have made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty.

"The family of Commanding Officer -- wife and child also lost their lives in the incident. All ranks of Assam Rifles offer condolences to the brave soldiers and families of the deceased."

The driver of Col. Viplav Tripathi was also killed.

Col. Tripathi, his wife, eight-year-old son and four soldiers were gunned down.

The police said the incident took place near Sehken village as the heavily armed militants fired upon the convoy.

In addition to the seven casualties, four non-fatal cases were also reported.

It happened around 3 km away from Deheng in Manipur.

The militants attacked the convoy when the Colonel was going to supervise a civic action programme, bordering Myanmar.

So far, no militant organisation has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The police and security forces have launched a massive search operation to nab the militants.

Manipur has over 40 outlawed insurgent groups.
In Sri Lanka, diverse legal systems namely, Kandyan law, Thesavalamai and Muslim law have been in existence from ancient times. This richness is something that has to be protected and valued as part of this countrys legal heritage.

by Mass L. Usuf

The objective of this column is to stress on the necessity for Sri Lanka to comprehend the legal diversities in vogue globally under the genre of contemporary jurisprudence. The rapid evolution of human behavioural patterns in the socio-political-economic landscapes geographically, both at state and global levels, beg this diversity. In the Journal of Law & Society Review, American anthropologist Sally Engle Merry writes, The intellectual odyssey of the concept of legal pluralism moves from the discovery of indigenous forms of law  to debates concerning the pluralistic qualities of law under advanced capitalism. Legal pluralism is a central theme in the reconceptualization of the law/society relations.

In Sri Lanka, diverse legal systems namely, Kandyan law, Thesavalamai and Muslim law have been in existence from ancient times. This richness is something that has to be protected and valued as part of this countrys legal heritage. Today, the debate is on the inevitability of embracing plural legal systems.

Uniformity Versus Pluralism

Twenty-first century Jurists are engaged in widening the scope of legal concepts on the face of this reality. Commenting on the frozen mindset of the lawyers, Senior research scholars say, It seems that, rather than recognising plurality of law, lawyers have sought to define what is, and what is not, within the law. Such efforts have led to defining away the plurality of law, pulling analysis towards unification and uniformity. (Sack & Aleck 1992: xviii). Here in Sri Lanka, unfortunately, this is exactly what is going to happen. Moving away from pluralism towards uniformity!! Either because of the lack of Juristic minds or stultification of its growth. In the absence of such, the ignorant politicians revel at the talk about One Country One law  a jurisprudentially backward model?

Historically, the Colonisers were known to reshape the social life of the country they colonised by the introduction of what was perceived as civilised laws and abolishing indigenous ancient practices. This was evident, in the Kandyan kingdom when all forms of barbaric penalties were abolished by the British. The Kings justice was such that if the criminal escapes, the King would not hesitate to put to death even the wife and children of that criminal. Other forms of punishments included the tearing of limbs from the body by elephants, slow penetration of spike into the body through the anus etc. The arrival of the British would have been a gift for those subjected to anarchy and terror. They were freed from the scourges of tyranny and fear that gripped their lives.

Muslim Law Under Colonialists

It is worthy of note that none of the colonisers ever interfered with the Muslim worship and legal practices. It has been recorded by historians that when the Portuguese arrived in 1505, the Muslims living in Ceylan were practising their religion and dealt with issues using Islamic jurisprudence. The Dutch who had earlier occupied the Indonesian archipelago saw the Muslims resident there practising Islam. When the Dutch arrived in Ceylon, they found Muslims of Ceylon were following the same worship and practise of Muslim religious laws. This encouraged them to introduce portions of the Statutes of Batavia into Sri Lanka in 1776. When the British invaded the island, they respected the personal laws practised by the Muslims. They codified it as the Mohamedan Code of 1806. The laws were never changed nor interfered with by the Portuguese, Dutch and the Britishers as they were already well aware of the richness of Islamic jurisprudence. These countries themselves had benefited by it. In the same manner, Thesavalamai and Kandyan law too, have lived through all these conquests and the vagaries of time.

Legal Pluralism And Ignorance

The question as to how far does the society shape the law and, in turn, how far does law shape the society indicates the nexus between these two institutions in any discussion on legal pluralism. The purpose of law, as we all know, is to regulate social relations. Social relations of community can be analysed in terms of actions which link and bond people.

Max Webers sociology typifies four major categories of social actions. Two types of social action relevant to this exposition are Rational action and Traditional action. Rational action may be value-oriented (wertrational). Action that is determined by a conscious belief in the value for its own sake of some ethical, aesthetic, religious or other forms of behaviour, independently of its prospects for success. Those engaging in Traditional action seek the means of action which are fixed by custom and tradition based on the communitys belief or values founded on sharedfundamental beliefs for example, religious beliefs.

The use of the Muslim personal laws and other personal laws have been the living legal experience of a section of the inhabitants in this country. To straitjacket and assimilate this living experience within the context of a dominant legal system would demand a huge socio-religious transformation. A transformation which would be detested. Contemporary philosophy of law, which deals with general jurisprudence, addresses problems internal to law and legal systems and problems of law, as a social institution that relates to the larger political and social context in which it exists. (Shiner, "Philosophy of Law"). Pluralism has been seen as treating law and justice as fundamental institutions of the basic structure of society mediating "between political and economic interests, between culture and the normative order of society, establishing and maintaining interdependence, and constituting themselves as sources of consensus, coercion and social control". (Scuro 2010: 64)

Law And Other Disciplines

Further, in the present approach to legal pluralism, there is a serious inquiry to legitimately incorporate the non-positive sources (e.g., morality, custom, community attitudes) in the exercise of adjudication. By this the law has been impacted by several social disciplines related to this approach. A somewhat similar argument may be based on the Dualist approach, rather than, the Monist in the field of international law. The Monist approach, which is attributed to Hans Kelson, positions itself by expecting all nations to bind themselves under that umbrella of natural law leaving aside their individual State decisions. In this method, there arises a conflict between international law and the primacy of Municipal law. The latter being sovereign law. The practical solution adopted by many States to overcome this conflict is to adopt a blend of both Monism and Dualism in its approach to international law. The strategic objective of international law was to advance the rule of law between nations in the international sphere.

The Monist view is a broad analogy of our local One country one Law idea. As far as establishing the rule of law is concerned in Sri Lanka, there is no hindrance from the Thesavalamai, Muslim Personal law or the Kandyan law. Why cannot Sri Lanka live, as it had been for several centuries, with a blend of these personal laws is an intriguing question?

Roger Cotterrell, Professor of Legal Theory advances the thought that community should be a central concept of contemporary legal theory. He writes, The philosophers have failed to study law as a diverse, varied social and historical experience;  legal ideas and practices do not exist in abstraction but are encountered, interpreted, understood .. by diverse emotional attachments, traditions, beliefs and values. (Community As A Legal Concept).

Society Of The Highest Order

As much as the Muslim law quintessentially binds the ethno-social and religio-cultural imperatives of the Muslim social psyche so does the laws relating to those subjected to Thesavalamai and Kandyan law. To undermine their foundation by diluting its authority, scope and application will have negative consequences of seismic proportion.

"What is a society? Society is the sum total of the human associations that have mutual relations with one another. Society of the highest order is "a society consisting of the civilized nations of the earth; within this society are various narrower societies, e.g., a society of the Christian and of the Mohammedan nations, and lastly societies that comprise only the individual civilized nations." (Ehrlich's sociological theory of law.).

The politically motivated One Country One Law humiliates this Society of Highest Order which, as civilised nations, accept minority special laws. Through this parochialism, the supporters of one country one law wants to transform society into the old Austinian sovereignty - "A determinate human superior, not in a habit of obedience to a like superior, receive habitual obedience from the bulk of a given society. (Austin - Lectures on Jurisprudence). Thereby, degrading and departing from the modern trend of legal pluralism and legal sociology. Like Ehrlich propounded, the facts of law existed before any positive law arose. These facts of the law are social structures to be found wherever human beings are living together. Thus: "The family is older than the order of the family; Possession antecedes ownership; There were contracts before there was a law of contracts." (Ehrlich's sociological theory of law).

With special reference to the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act, it is a special law. It is a manifestation of a collective social consciousness of a community of people having intrinsic religious relevance. A law that has been inherited by intergenerational transmission over several centuries.

There is a growing recognition of legal pluralism as a global reality. Legal pluralism exists everywhere and comparative research therefore, needs to assess degrees of legal pluralism rather than questioning its existence. (Woodman (199:54). The way forward is therefore, for a plural and diverse legal system and not the regressive one country one law. The country must move forward and not backward.

Mass L. Usuf, LL. B (Hons.) (U.K), Attorney at Law (Former Legal and Corporate Advisor)
HS400OZ and OZ400HS celebrated 400 years of bilateral relations

Between September 1 and October 31 HS400OZ and OZ400HS were on the air to celebrate 400 years of bilateral relations between the two countries. 76% of all contacts were made using data mode FT8/FT4/RTTY



The first contact between Thailand and Denmark was in 1621, during the reign of King Songtham of the Ayutthaya Period, when Danish traders were granted permission to trade in Siam. Thailand ordered cannons from the Danish Royal Asiatic Company in 1770 in the reign of King Taksin the Great, in the Thonburi Period.



Both countries signed the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce, and Navigation in 1858 during the reign of King Mongkut, Rama IV. They started to develop their diplomatic ties in 1860. Eventually, their diplomatic relations were upgraded to the ambassadorial level in 1958.



Denmark's EDR reports:



Now this exciting event together with Thailand is over and a lot of QSOs were run with radio amateurs all over the world. We were 8 operators who together got 26,045 contacts on the HF bands using SSB, CW and DIGI modes.



DIGI has become the big hit to get a lot of contacts in the log and more than 76% of them are made with one of the different DIGI (FT8, FT4, RTTY)Read the full report at
RamSat taking photos while orbiting Earth Yahoo reports the amateur radio CubeSat, RAMSAT, developed by students at Robertsville Middle School has been taking pictures of the Earth Yahoo News say:

The middle-school project to build a miniature satellite that is now taking pictures from 250 miles above Earth was born around Christmas 2014. Thats when two men who first became friends years ago at Oak Ridge High School had a conversation at their Oak Ridge church.



They were Todd Livesay, a science and technology teacher at Robertsville Middle School (RMS), and Patrick Hull, an aeronautical engineer at NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Hull suggested that the two work together on an educational project.



The culmination of the student efforts, guided by mentors, was RamSat, a miniature CubeSat satellite named after the RMS mascot and now cruising in outer space. The story of RamSat and a progress report were presented recently by Livesay and three mentors during a public meeting of ORION, the local amateur astronomy organization.



Starting in 2016, mentors for the students were recruited from ORNL and the Y-12 National Security Complex. Other recruits included parents and David Andrews, a ham radio operator.



On June 3, 2021, six-and-a-half years after the Livesay-Hull reunion at Christmas during which 235 RMS students handled RamSats many components, the RMS CubeSat was launched by a SpaceX rocket from NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Some 24 hours later, RamSat reached the International Space Station (ISS).



Read the full Yahoo story at

https://autos.yahoo.com/autos/ramsat-taking-photos-while-orbiting-010006564.html



IARU Satellite Frequency Coordination information

http://www.amsatuk.me.uk/iaru/finished_detail.php?serialnum=715 The middle-school project to build a miniature satellite that is now taking pictures from 250 miles above Earth was born around Christmas 2014. Thats when two men who first became friends years ago at Oak Ridge High School had a conversation at their Oak Ridge church.They were Todd Livesay, a science and technology teacher at Robertsville Middle School (RMS), and Patrick Hull, an aeronautical engineer at NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Hull suggested that the two work together on an educational project.The culmination of the student efforts, guided by mentors, was RamSat, a miniature CubeSat satellite named after the RMS mascot and now cruising in outer space. The story of RamSat and a progress report were presented recently by Livesay and three mentors during a public meeting of ORION, the local amateur astronomy organization.Starting in 2016, mentors for the students were recruited from ORNL and the Y-12 National Security Complex. Other recruits included parents and David Andrews, a ham radio operator.On June 3, 2021, six-and-a-half years after the Livesay-Hull reunion at Christmas during which 235 RMS students handled RamSats many components, the RMS CubeSat was launched by a SpaceX rocket from NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Some 24 hours later, RamSat reached the International Space Station (ISS).Read the full Yahoo story at
USKA rewards its volunteers with excursion Switzerland's national amateur radio society, the USKA, showed its gratitude to the organisation's volunteers by organising a trip to Solothurn for them



A translation of the USKA post reads:



On Saturday, November 6, 2021, the traditional annual meeting of USKA Executive Board employees took place.



"Executive Board employees" are members who make themselves available for the supervision of individual areas of responsibility and are willing to spend a few hours of their time a week on this, with different time commitments.



Examples of such tasks are QSL service, support HamAcademy and HamWebinar, contest evaluations, editors, band guard, EMC core team, IT systems and much more. Without our Board of Management employees, the USKA could not function properly.



In gratitude for these very valuable commitments, the USKA conducts an annual "excursion". This year this trip took us to Solothurn.



In the morning, the 21 attendees informed themselves about recent developments and projects of the USKA and discussed them with the representatives of the USKA board present. At the same time, a city tour through the extraordinarily well-preserved Solothurn Baroque old town took place for the accompanying persons. After lunch together in the historic restaurant "Baseltor", we visited the well-known museum ENTER, which covers computer and consumer electronics, under expert guidance in two groups.

https://www.solothurn-city.ch/en/attractions/museum-enter-fd5ba65759



There are always vacancies in the group of Executive Board employees. On the one hand, there are existing functions that need to be filled. On the other hand, there are also new tasks that are being added to the renewal process of the USKA strategy. Members who would like to actively contribute and engage for the benefit of the Swiss amateur radio system are welcome. Get in touch without obligation, stating your most important competences.



Willi HB9AMC



Source USKA https://tinyurl.com/IARU-Switzerland


New York (United Nations) 10 November 2021 (SPS)- The Permanent Representative of Frente Polisario at the UN, Dr. Sidi Mohamed Omar, called yesterday on the UN Security Council to opperationalise legal and moral responsibilities in the protection of Sahrawi civilians suffering Moroccan retaliation and abuses in the occupied territories of Western Sahara.

The Saharawi Ambassador stressed, in a letter he addressed yesterday to the members of the UN Security Council, on the need to protect Sahrawi civilians and human rights activists, such as Ms. Sultana Sidi Brahim Jaya, who is under constant Moroccan assaults along with her family.

He indicated that the Security Council and relevant UN bodies are therefore called upon to take practical measures to protect the Sahrawi civilians, including through the establishment of a permanent UN human rights monitoring mechanism in the Occupied Western Sahara as an essential component of the UN responsibility towards the Sahrawi people in line with UN resolutions and practices.

Following is the full text of the Letter.

H.E. Mr Juan Ramon de la Fuente

Permanent Representative of Mexico to the United Nations

President of the Security Council

New York, 9 November 2021

Your Excellency,

I am writing to you with great urgency and concern to draw the attention of the Security Council to the extremely serious situation of human rights activist, Sultana Sid Brahim Jaya, and her family in the city of Bojador in the territories of Western Sahara under the Moroccan illegal occupation.

According to the latest reports received from the family of Sid Brahim Jaya, at 4:00 am on Monday, agents of the Moroccan security forces stormed the house and violently assaulted human rights activist Sultana Sid Brahim Jaya and her family. After spraying foul-smelling substances all over the house, as they often do, the agents forcibly injected Sultana with an unknown substance, which has so far had harmful effects on her health.

The Frente POLISARIO strongly denounces this new coward and criminal act targeting human rights activist Sultana Sid Brahim Jaya and her family as well as the terrorising and retaliatory actions carried out daily by Moroccan security agents against Sahrawi civilians, human rights activists, and journalists in the Sahrawi Occupied Territories.

As we have indicated in our previous communications, the house of the family of Sid Brahim Jaya in the occupied city of Bojador remains under siege since 19 November 2020 as Sultana and her sister, Al Waara, continue to raise the national flag of the Sahrawi Republic (SADR) daily over their house as an act of peaceful resistance against Moroccan illegal occupation. Because of that, both sisters and their family are subjected daily to physical assault, sexual harassment, and other barbaric and degrading treatment at the hands of the Moroccan security agents and state-sponsored thugs.

The situation of Sahrawi political prisoners, including Gdeim Izik Group, also continues to be alarming because of the deplorable conditions in which they are being held in the prisons of the occupying state of Morocco and the degrading and retaliatory practices to which they are subjected by the Moroccan penitentiary administration.

The Security Council cannot maintain its passive complicit silence and continue to simply stand by in the face of the criminal actions perpetrated daily by the occupying state of Morocco against Sahrawi civilians and human rights activists and defenders in the Occupied Territories of Western Sahara.

The UN General Assembly has been reaffirming every year in its successive resolutions the responsibility of the United Nations towards the people of Western Sahara as a territory subject to a decolonisation process.

The Frente POLISARIO calls urgently once again upon the Security Council and all relevant UN bodies to operationalise the legal and moral responsibility of the United Nations towards the Sahrawi people, particularly Sahrawi civilians living in the Occupied Western Sahara that remains under military blockade and media blackout.

The Security Council and relevant UN bodies are therefore called upon to take practical measures to protect the Sahrawi civilians, including through the establishment of a permanent UN human rights monitoring mechanism in the Occupied Western Sahara as an essential component of the UN responsibility towards the Sahrawi people in line with UN resolutions and practices.

I would be most grateful if you would bring the present letter to the attention of the members of the Security Council.

Please accept, Your Excellency, the assurance of my highest consideration.

Dr Sidi M. Omar

Representative of the Frente POLISARIO at the United

Coordinator with MINURSO.  (SPS)

090/500/60 (SPS)
I have never received such a response on anything I have shared, Saks told the Sun Sentinel on Friday. People sent me selfies of them with their band-aids after getting vaccinated. There was a lot of misinformation out there, especially in our older Hispanic community. But some who were super-hesitant got their vaccine.
St. Jude said it discloses the limits of its aid to families on its website and in material provided to those whose children are admitted to the hospital. That includes the rule Burt ran into, that the hospital covers the travel and housing costs of only one caregiver and one patient. For many families, the daily food budget is capped at $50. In some cases, hotel stays en route are provided only if families travel more than 500 miles to get to St. Jude.
Paige is facing 62 charges related to his arrest, according to court documents. Many of the charges are allegations of nonviolent offenses like fraud or possession of forged bank bills, but he also faces a charge of felony battery, grand theft, fleeing or eluding at high speed and writing threats to kill or commit bodily injury.
Cities are limited on how that can be financed due to state law, so much so, that there really is not a practical financing opportunity right now, he said. So we continue to press the state and federal legislatures to take action on creating a financing mechanism that will make septic to sewer projects possible for the cities and counties that need it. The environment is shared by all of us and an injury to it in one place affects us all.
Miramar police said they responded to a call of shots fired about 2 a.m. at a party at an Airbnb house in the 8600 block of Wilshire Drive. They said the suspect and victim were attending the party.
She told the South Florida Sun Sentinel its illogical to think somebody could attend remotely indefinitely and not return in person. An in-person quorum is required to even have a meeting, she said. If people thought they could work remotely forever, they would, she said. Everybody was afraid, she said of the pandemic. Nobody was sitting around thinking they didnt have to come back.
Even in cities where high-speed internet is available on every doorstep, large numbers still dont sign up. Across the state, 96.7% of residents have broadband available where they live, but only 72.7% are actually signed up for home internet service. Internet providers have connected over 14 million low-income Americans in the past decade through low-cost options for those in need, but we have a long way to go to finish the job.
The law of supply and demand and rising costs of liability insurance will cause soft costs of inspections to increase dramatically  and then you still have to do the work. It seems that a new government agency should be created to assist in these inspections or Florida better start providing a lot more scholarships to future engineers. As this tragedy has made us learn the hard way, it cant wait.
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The Perspective

Atlanta, Georgia

November 13, 2021





Tiawan S. Gongloe

The normal course of nature begins from something tiny--in some cases microscopic--to something visible and significant. For example, the source of a river is typically very small, optically insignificant, as compared to its wide mouth. Moreover, some of the Sequoia and Oak trees in the world grow up to over 300 feet in height and become gigantic, yet they all originate from tiny seeds. Even for us human beings, scientists tell us that our reproductive cells are microscopic from the onset, but once fertilization occurs, a baby, sometimes as heavy as 10 to 15 pounds, is born nine months later or thereabout and the growth process continues.



The foregoing analogies are a reminder to fellow compatriots that the burgeoning movement to elect Counselor Tiawan Saye Gongloe as the next President of the Republic of Liberia is gradually following the normal course of nature. That is, the movement was initially conceptualized in the minds of a few like-minded compatriots and now, it is rapidly gaining momentum across the country and even beyond.



Initially, a few mostly young Liberians driven by selfless patriotic zeal began discussing among themselves. They initiated such discussions, such conversations, because like hundreds of thousands of other fellow compatriots, they too, are virtually on edge; they are very, very eager to see Liberia join the rest of its African and other global counterparts in a forward march towards sustainable human development. Those farsighted compatriots began to hang heads because they desire to see a national leader that would exude dignity, integrity, confidence, and respect nationally and globally.



Unfortunately, the Liberian people have watched over the years with consternation and even trepidation, the oldest African republic spiraling down the doldrums of abject underdevelopment and chronic developmental inertia. On a daily basis, they see for themselves the excruciating poverty prevailing in the country, and paradoxically, they also see the callous, inhumane opulence being brandished by a few government officials and other power brokers, as they pretentiously mock the poor masses with meaningless, deceptive slogans for ostentatious reasons. And so rather supinely sitting on the fence and agonizing, our people resolutely decided to take a decisive stance a few months ago, hence the humble establishment of Team Gongloe.



They concurred, they resolved that to put the country on a sustainable developmental trajectory, Liberia needs authentic leaders who actually mean well for the country, rather than miscreants or con artists who only ostentatiously hypnotize the poor masses, especially our young people with empty platitudes, while endlessly stuffing their private pockets with stolen money and enriching themselves. Indeed, Liberia needs a principled leaderPresident--whose stance on crucial public policy issues is well known and consequently, would not easily abandon his or her principle for momentary political expediency. The stark reality unfolding before our eyes on a daily basis is that if you elect a leader who doesnt stand for anything, such a leader would definitely fall for whatever might come his or her way for opportunistic purposes, a malignant end justifies-the-means scenario.



For Team Gongloe-2023, an authentic leader is a leader that can be TRUSTED nationally and internationally, because such a leader has credibility; because such a leader has integrity; because such a leader has the CHARACTER, capacity, and determination to get the job done. Lets face it, folks. In this age of multi-polar globalization, in this age of instantaneous communication and information dissemination, a TRUSTED leader is an essential asset for an underdeveloped country like ours, because potential donor countries, as well as foreign investors, tend to be very apprehensive about a leader with obvious trust deficits.



Against this backdrop, the essence of Team Gongloes humble plea with the Liberian people is that after nearly 200 years of existence as a nation-state and more than 174 years as an independent Republic, we need to change our collective attitude towards hiring people for our elective offices.



In the past, we seemed to have taken our elective offices for granted, treating those noble offices like a dumpsite for people who had no desire to serve. As a result, rather than electing humble public servants to public service offices, we elected arrogant masters, perhaps because they had shared their campaign T-shirts and caps with us. Because we took our public offices for granted, we ended up electing some people with absolutely no known evidence of public service into public offices. One of the dismal results over the years has been that instead of serving the Liberian people, those arrogant masters with inordinate appetites for wealth have rather been serving themselves and their cronies, of course, to the detriment of the larger society.



Amid such undesirable reality, Team Gongloe is saying that we as a people need to demonstrate our political maturity at this stage of our national journey, in order to derive a better outcome. Put another way, our attitude, as an adage would say, is like a flat tire. We wont go anywhere unless we change it. As a voter, youre worth more than a T-shirt; youre worth more than a campaign cap, or a plate of rice. Team Gongloe is reminding us that we have an opportunity for us to prudently adjust our electoral attitude for better results.



So far, Team Gongloes consistent piece of advice to fellow Liberians is that if we continue to do the same thing over and over, if we continue to make the same error in judgment from time to time by electing the most corrupt elements of our society, because we have received T-shirts and caps from their political groupings, instead of putting into public offices principled, forward-looking leaders with the capacities to transform our country through a fair and equitable application of the laws, Liberia will not go anywhere in terms of holistic socio-economic development.



As I see it, there are indications that this cogent message about ordinary Liberians taking the lead to determine their destiny; the lucid message about ordinary Liberians working together to transform their common patrimony is increasingly resonating with hundreds of thousands of our downtrodden compatriots who have been groaning in abject deprivation and yearning for a transformative leader over the years. As a result, the natural course of growth and evolution is fast occurring, because what was put in motion by a few compatriots several months ago is now becoming a burgeoning national movement for authentic change in Liberia.



In Liberia, Team Gongloe is transcending beyond the narrow confines of obscure office space to a bold, visible national headquarters with an optimistic mantra: A BETTER LIBERIA IS POSSIBLE. Motivated by their desire to help elect an authentic leader who will actually put Liberia first, the energetic members of Team Gongloe are making strategic inroads throughout the territorial confines of the country; they have been holding consultations with stakeholders and ordinary Liberians, the youth, who hold the key to the future; our elderly compatriots, whose plights have been grossly neglected in the past, as well as middle age Liberians, who seem to be stuck in a vicious cycle of poverty as power brokers brandish their wealth and riches before their eyes.



Of course, within the Diaspora, the noble goal of Team Gongloe is equally resonating with Liberians from all walks of life. Just a peep through the window of some key social media platforms indicates that Liberians outside of the country are embracing Team Gongloes message of making Liberia a better country. The last time I checked a few social media platforms, I came across Friends of Gongloe, Team Gongloe USA, Team Gongloe Global, and Movement for Gongloe. Perhaps similar groupings would be springing up in other parts of the world. So far, these organizations have clearly stated in their public statements that they all intend to vigorously work towards the election of Counselor Tiawan Saye Gongloe as the next President of Liberia. Even though no mortal being can say with certainty as to what lies ahead, what is becoming evident is that Team Gongloe is gradually making a memorable mark on the Liberian political landscape.
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Four Eritrean Entities and Two Individuals in Connection with the Crisis in Ethiopia

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WASHINGTON  Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated four entities and two individuals pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 14046 in response to the growing humanitarian and human rights crisis and expanding military conflict in Ethiopia. Todays action targets Eritrean actors that have contributed to the crisis and conflict, which have undermined the stability and integrity of the Ethiopian state. The United States is actively working with partners throughout the region and the world to support a negotiated cessation of hostilities in Ethiopia. The presence of Eritrean forces is an impediment to ending the ongoing fighting and increasing humanitarian access. Leaders from around the world have repeatedly called for Eritrea to withdraw its forces from Ethiopia. The E.O., which President Biden signed on September 17, 2021, authorizes targeting of actors contributing to the ongoing crisis in Ethiopia and is not directed at the people of Ethiopia or Eritrea.

We condemn the continued role played by Eritrean actors who are contributing to the violence in northern Ethiopia, which has undermined the stability and integrity of the state and resulted in a humanitarian disaster, said Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control Andrea M. Gacki. Treasury will continue to use all our tools and authorities to target and expose those whose actions prolong the crisis in the region, where hundreds of thousands are suffering. Parties to the conflict must come to the negotiating table without preconditions. The United States stands ready to pursue additional actions, including against the Government of Ethiopia and the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front, if there is not tangible progress toward a cessation of hostilities.

The individuals and entities designated today are the Eritrean Defense Force, the Peoples Front for Democracy and Justice, Abraha Kassa Nemariam, Hidri Trust, Hagos Ghebrehiwet W Kidan, and Red Sea Trading Corporation.

Read More U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY PRESS RELEASE
Emirates has announced that its flagship A380 service will return to Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport from November 28.

The aircraft upgrade will help Emirates to meet strong passenger demand for inbound travel into the popular holiday destination, on the heels of Thailand's re-opening to international tourists who are vaccinated.

The daily A380 flights will operate as EK372/373, adding much-needed capacity and frequency to its flights to Bangkok, in response to the uptick in travel demand that the airline is witnessing, said a statement from Emirates.

The iconic Emirates A380 aircraft to serve the route will offer seats in First Class, Business Class and Economy Class.

The deployment of the double-decker aircraft will complement the existing services, EK384/385, also operating on a daily basis with a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft in a three-class configuration, in addition to its five weekly flights to Bangkok via Phuket, operating as EK378/379, which is set to increase its frequency to daily from December 1.

The A380 service to Bangkok, flight EK372, will depart Dubai daily at 09:30am, arriving in Bangkok at 6:40pm, while on return Flight EK373 will take off from Bangkok at 8:35pm and arrive in Dubai at 00:50am the next day, said the Dubai carrier.

Withe launch of the A380 service, Emirates will offer three daily services to passengers travelling to and from Bangkok, in its support for the country it has been serving for over three decades.

Emirates is playing a vital role in facilitating the tourism industry recovery, spearheaded by the government's efforts. The boosted capacity and frequency increase will help meet demand from holiday-makers originating from Europe, Africa and the Middle East to travel to the Thai capital.

With the easing of travel restrictions, Emirates will also serve its customers in Thailand and other regional points with access to preferred destinations on its global network spanning more than 120 destinations, via its hub in Dubai.

The additional flights will provide more choice, convenient timings, and seamless connectivity to its customers across the globe.

The additional flight to be operated by the A380 aircraft on the Dubai-Bangkok route and additional services scheduled for its flight via Phuket will provide more than 8,600 additional seats weekly to accommodate the rise in inbound and outbound passenger traffic for Bangkok, with the potential to increase in line with demand.

Earlier this month, Thailand lifted restrictions for non-Thai nationals, facilitating tourism for vaccinated travellers from over 60 countries to enjoy quarantine-free entry to the country.

Passengers from non-exempted countries can also enjoy travelling to Thailand without quarantine, subject to a negative result on a PCR test to be conducted on arrival in Bangkok and a mandatory test to be taken on day six or seven.

In line with the continued easing of travel restrictions around the globe, Emirates has been deploying its flagship A380 aircraft to an expanded list of destinations, currently standing at 25 cities across six continents.

By the end of December, the number of cities that the aircraft will serve will be scaled up to 28, to meet the accelerated recovery of travel demand.-TradeArabia News Service
At the invitation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov visited Istanbul, where he participated in the VIII Summit of Heads of State of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States (Turkic Council).

The summit was also attended by President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, as well as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Secretary General of the Turkic Council Baghdad Amreyev. The first president of Kazakhstan, honorary chairman of the Cooperation Council of Turkic speaking states Nursultan Nazarbayev participated in the summit in the online format.

Speaking at the summit, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov noted that it was of particular importance for Turkmenistan as this summit was to adopt a decision on Turkmenistans accession to the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States as an observer.

He called on the Turkic speaking states to take a coordinated approach to solving the problems facing the international community, which is especially important in light of the ambiguous processes and serious changes taking place in the world. According to the head of state, the coordinated action of the Turkic speaking states can play a key role in international and regional processes, first of all, in ensuring sustainable development in Central Asia, the Caspian and Black Seas, the South Caucasus, the Near and Middle East.

The VIII Summit of Heads of State of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States resulted in signing the Istanbul Declaration and a number of resolutions. The chairmanship of the organization passed from Azerbaijan to Turkey.

 TURKMENISTAN.RU, 2021
Massive protests in Gwadar against illegal fishing, water & electricity shortage due to China's CPEC project 22 Nov 2021 | 12:46 PM Gwadar, Nov 22 (UNI) Massive protests have erupted in Pakistans port city of Gwadar against unnecessary check posts, the acute shortage of water and electricity and threats to livelihood from illegal fishing -- as part of a growing backlash in the Balochistan region against Chinas multibillion-dollar CPEC project. see more..

UK to host G7 Foreign Ministers meet in December, ASEAN members to attend 22 Nov 2021 | 12:38 PM London, Nov 22 (UNI) The UK will be hosting a summit of Foreign and Development Ministers from the G7 countries from December 10-12 in Liverpool. see more..

G7 Foreign Ministers meeting to take place in Liverpool in December - UK Foreign Office 22 Nov 2021 | 12:35 PM London, Nov 22 (UNI/Sputnik) A summit of the foreign ministers of G7 countries will take place on December 10-12 in Liverpool, the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office says. see more..

S Korea's export logs double-digit growth in 1st 20 days of November 22 Nov 2021 | 12:32 PM Seoul, Nov 22 (UNI/Xinhua) South Korea's export logged double-digit growth in the first 20 days of November on the back of the continued global demand recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, customs office data showed on Monday. see more..
American Airlines reduces service to Haiti; gang declares truce to allow fuel to flow again
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Gravestone conservator Joe Ferrannini at the Har Nebo Cemetery in Philadelphias Oxford Circle neighborhood. He is repairing and resetting monuments there as a pilot program the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia hopes will provide a model for conservation at other Jewish burial grounds in and around the city.
The Norwegian Escape, at 164,600 tons and a passenger capacity of 4,200, is Norwegians largest vessel to call Port Canaveral its home. Its slated to call on St. Thomas on Wednesday.


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SHREVEPORT, La. -- Caddo Parish Commissioner Lynn Cawthorne has indicated he "intends to resign" his District 6 seat following his conviction Friday night for wire fraud and income tax fraud.

That's according to a news release Monday from the Caddo Commission. The release, however, does not provide a date for Cawthorne's resignation.

By law, Cawthorne is no longer eligible to serve in public office. He became a convicted felon Friday night when he pleaded guilty to charges pending in federal court.

RELATED REPORT: Caddo commissioner, sister plead guilty to wire fraud

The trial of Cawthorne, 54, and his sister, Belena Turner, 50, both of Shreveport, was supposed to get underway Monday morning.

The two used their nonprofit organization to defraud a federally funded food services program out of more than $500,000. They inflated the number of meals that were supposed to be served to low-income children during the summer and used the proceeds to pay for personal expenses such as private school payments, travel, furniture, clothing, car repairs, restaurant meals and campaign expenses.

Cawthorne also withheld income information from his accountant which resulted in false income tax filings.

Cawthorne and Turner will be sentenced March 16. Both face up to 20 years in prison.

Once the notice of Cawthorne's vacancy has been received from the Louisiana Secretary of State, the commission will move forward with steps to replace him.

The commission will have 20 days to appoint an interim. If the deadline is missed, the governor will make the appointment.

The Caddo Parish Home Rule Charter and the Louisiana Election Code sets the specific process and qualifications for the appointment of interim Commissioners.

Due to the length of time remaining in Cawthornes current term, the commission must call a special election to fill the post. The next special primary election dates are March 26 or Nov. 8.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-16 13:14:19|Editor: huaxia

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VIENTIANE, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Lao authorities are advising foreign airlines to provide passengers flying to Laos with "out-smart" bracelets that monitor their temperature, as part of continuing efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The National Taskforce Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control on Monday instructed the Lao Ministry of Public Works and Transport to notify foreign airlines of this requirement.

According to local daily Vientiane Times on Tuesday, foreign airlines are required to inform passengers before they board a flight that they may be refused permission to enter Laos if they do not wear an "out-smart" bracelet.

The committee is also requiring all foreign citizens entering Laos to purchase COVID-19 insurance through the Lao Ministry of Health.

COVID-19 insurance is now mandatory in addition to other travel documents and requests for permission to enter the country, which must be submitted to the ministry.

The "out-smart" bracelet measures body temperature and records the wearer's whereabouts after arrival in Laos.

It aims to spot irregularities and invoke a timely response in the event of an outbreak of the virus.

The bracelets are equipped with a sensor that can monitor the wearer's body temperature and send out an alert if an abnormal temperature is detected.

Lao health officials can receive the information on their smartphones after connecting via Bluetooth on a mobile app.

The data can be shared with the wearer's friends and municipal and district authorities.

Anyone who arrives in Laos and shows flu-like or COVID-19 symptoms will be taken to a hospital for observation and asked to provide samples for lab tests.

People arriving in Laos without any symptoms are required to self-monitor and take their temperature every day for 14 days.

Local authorities continue to face challenges in monitoring people at border crossings, said the report.

The authorities are continuing to be vigilant and imposing strict precautionary measures.

With regard to social gatherings, the number of participants must be limited and everyone must comply with virus prevention measures such as social distancing, hand-washing, and wearing a face mask. Enditem
analysis

This week marks the 28th anniversary of Eritrea's referendum for independence, for which Eritreans had to fight for decades. During the time of decolonization, while most of the former colonies were gaining their independence, the Eritrean people were denied their right to self-determination.

When the UN General Assembly was deliberating in the 1940s to determine the fate of the former Italian colonies, Ethiopia was conspiring and actively lobbying to annex Eritrea. Ethiopia saw the period of decolonization as an ideal opportunity to get access to the sea by annexing Eritrea. In 1949, unable to agree on Eritrea, the UN decided to send a commission of inquiry into Eritrea to explore the situation. The mission of inquiry found out that the majority of the Eritrean people favored independence.

However, the world powers, especially the USA, took a stand in favor of Ethiopia's claim. As a result, Eritrea was federated with Ethiopia by a US-proposed draft plan. The federal resolution was made against the wishes of the Eritrean people and solely to serve Ethiopian and American interests. This was clearly stated in a speech by the then Secretary of State of the USA. He said, "From the point of view of justice, the Eritrean people's choice must be given consideration. Nevertheless, our strategic interests in the region and world peace make it necessary that Eritrea be federated with our ally Ethiopia". Subsequently, the Ethiopian imperial regime violated the federal arrangement and annexed Eritrea.

The Eritrean people were compelled to take up arms to regain their denied rights. After 30-year of armed struggle and the loss of thousands of lives, awful damage to the natural and physical property, depopulation, and miserable migration, the struggle against Ethiopian domination ended with Eritrean military, political and legal victory. This was concluded with the ultimate liberation of the country in 1991 when Eritrea became a de facto sovereign state.

The EPLF made efforts to find a peaceful solution, including its proposal in 1980 for a referendum, to determine Eritrea's future. The proposed referendum was a fair, democratic, and peaceful means for Eritreans to exercise their right to self-determination. However, the Dergue, who knew very well the desire of the people for independence, had refused to agree and continued to resort to military solutions and diplomatic intrigues. When all avenues for peaceful resolution of the conflict got blocked, Eritreans were forced to continue the bitter war to determine their destiny.

When Eritrea was fully liberated in May 1991, the EPLF leadership did not rush to declare independence immediately and did not consider their mission was accomplished. Instead, they formed a Provisional Government and declared their intentions to hold a referendum within two years. To that end, they started preparations to ascertain through the people's voice what they had achieved with their blood. This was meant to legalize and legitimize Eritrea's independence and statehood.

The referendum was held from 23 to 25 April 1993 in a very festive atmosphere. Voter turnout was 98.5 percent and from 1.1 million eligible registered voters 99.8 percent voted yes to the question: Do you want Eritrea to be a free, independent country? The people's choice was very clear to every Eritrean.

Through the referendum, the long-anticipated mission of the liberation struggle reached its goal. The organization of the referendum represented an enormous task. This was undertaken by an independent Referendum Commission. After the identification of Eritrean citizens eligible to participate in the referendum, the Referendum Commission began registering voters in all parts of the country, including the remote areas. The registration process involved extensive work not only in the urban and rural areas of Eritrea but also in all other countries where Eritreans lived.

The referendum holds a special place in the memory of the Eritrean people. The then Director of Grassroots International, Tim Wise's account reflects the mood of the people at that time. He said, "From the first day of polling, there was a buzz of activity. Men and women lined the streets surrounding the polling station. Over the course of the day, voters patiently withstood the withering desert sun to cast their ballots. After voting, many could contain their elation no longer. Women cried and embraced the ballot box. Some ululated in the traditional celebratory manner. All smiled widely."

It was a time when even the sick and aged insisted on giving their voice. As one observer's account shows "a 60-year-old man walks all night from his remote mountain village, then stands ten hours in a blazing desert sun to cast the first secret ballot of his life. An old woman kisses the ballot box after delivering her vote; tears of joy stream down her face. 'Now I can sleep in peace,' she says. A woman in labor insists on being taken to the polls; she delivers her newborn in the field outside the polling station."

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Many observers said that they wouldn't have believed such a result had they not witnessed it with their own eyes. And others expressed their admiration for such a meticulous done process. Tim Wise said, "It may have been the most elaborate process in history ever carried out to achieve a foregone conclusion. The independent Referendum Commission of Eritrea could easily have gone through the motions of a democratic process. Instead, they made the referendum a national rite of passage, a sacred right for each Eritrean voter to tell the world -- peacefully and democratically -- their answer to the question no one asked for forty years."

On 27th April, two days after the ballots had been cast and tallied, President Isaias Afwerki, then General-Secretary of the Provisional Government of Eritrea, said: "This process is a sacrosanct and delightful historical conclusion to the choice of the Eritrean people. Although it has been decided that formal independence will be declared on 24th May 1993, Eritrea is an independent and sovereign state as of today." On 28th May 1993 the Eritrean flag was raised at the UN headquarters and Eritrea officially became the 182nd member of the UN family of nations.
The second phase of the government's mass Covid-19 vaccination programme is expected to begin today at Scott Hospital, Morija.

Their Majesties King Letsie III and Queen 'Masenate Mohato Seeiso are among those expected to grace the official launch of the second phase. They will receive their second jabs.

They both attended the inaugural launch of the campaign in March this year and got their first jabs along with Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro and other senior government officials.

One of the health ministry's coordinators of the vaccination programme, 'Mamonaheng Posholi, yesterday said only those who received their first jabs of the AstraZeneca vaccine when the programme began in March will be eligible for their second dose.

"All those who received their first jabs of the vaccine at various health centres in March must visit the same facilities for their second doses," Ms Posholi said.

"Those who have not received the first jabs will have to wait until after we have received a different vaccine for the purpose," she added.

This was in reference to the government's plans to switch to the Johnson & Johnson vaccines. Health Minister Sekatle recently said they would procure Johnson & Johnson vaccines because "they present less logistical challenges as people only have to be vaccinated once".

The launch of the second phase follows last week's delivery of 36 000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine donated by France. The vaccines were handed over to Mr Sekatle and World Health Organisation (WHO) country representative, Richard Banda, by UNICEF country representative Anurita Bains.

Mr Sekatle said Lesotho was expecting more vaccines from the African Union (AU) and a donation of over 100 000 vaccines from China. The arrival of more doses will enable those who are yet to be vaccinated to be jabbed.

Lesotho received the first batch of AstraZeneca vaccines on 3 March 2021. The 36 000 doses enabled the government to roll out its mass vaccination programme a week later.

After the government leaders were jabbed, the vaccination campaign was then spread to essential workers such as health workers and media practitioners. The ministry also vaccinated the elderly and those with life-threatening conditions like HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis.

These groups will receive their second and final doses of the vaccines during the second phase of the vaccination programme.

People in Maseru will start getting vaccinated today with the Berea and Mafeteng districts following tomorrow.

People in other districts will start getting vaccinated on Monday.

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Djibouti  Morocco and Djibouti reaffirmed their willingness to work together to lay the foundations for a fruitful cooperation between the religious institutions of both countries.

During a meeting between the Djiboutian minister of Muslim Affairs and Waqfs Assets, Moumin Hassan Barreh and the Charge d'Affaires of the Moroccan Embassy in Djibouti, Mbarek Haddaoui, the two parties discussed ways to further strengthen bilateral cooperation, including the exchange of expertise and best practices in the religious field.

The two sides also agreed to increase the pace of cooperation and partnership and give new impetus to relations to serve the common interests of both countries, expressing in this regard their determination to work for the consolidation of ties of friendship and cooperation between Morocco and Djibouti.

During this meeting, the Djiboutian official welcomed the ties of friendship and the excellent cooperation relations between the two countries in the various development sectors.
Akure  The Internal Revenue Generation drive of the current administration in Ogun State, has yielded resuit, with generation of not less than N74 billion by the state within the first nine months of Year 2021.

With this figure, the state was ranked fourth in Nigeria by Statisense for generating the figure between January and September 2021.

According to Sensitense, she state which came behind Lagos, FCT and Rivers on the ranking, recorded a plus of 131.5% revenue increase in the months under review.

Reacting to the ranking, the Chief Economic Adviser and Commissioner for Finance, Mr Dapo Okubadejo, noted "this is the first time in the history of Ogun State that we'd be generating such an amount within just nine months"

He attributed the feat recorded by the state to the current revenue generation drive by the incumbent administration led by Governor Dapo Abiodun.

Okubadejo added that various economic initiatives capable of enhancing Ease of Doing Business being implemented by the administration, has begun to yield positive results.
Abuja  The House of Representatives has expressed dismay over the directive of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami ordering Keystone Bank to pay $40 million belonging to the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in naira equivalent.

The Executive Director, North and Public Sector Directorate, Keystone Bank, Mr. Lawal Ahmed, who appeared before the AdHoc Committee on Assessment and Status of all recovered loots, Movable and Immovable Assets from 2002 to 2020 by agencies of the federal government of Nigeria for effective efficient management and utilisation, said the total amount of money established by the AGF to be paid to NNPC was $136,676,600.51.

Giving a breakdown of the figure, Ahmed said, "Out of this entire amount, we paid $96 million in United States dollars and we paid the equivalent of $40 million in naira. That was the directive by the Attorney-General at the rate of N305 to a dollar. The schedule is also attached."

But the chairman of the Committee, Hon. Adejoro Adeogun asked how much Keystone had paid out of the $40 million at the N305 exchange rate and Ahmed in response said all the money had been paid.

According to him, the AGF recommended the rate.

Also, Adeogun wondered why the $136 million that was supposed to be for Brass LNG Investment Account was paid to a different account.

Responding, Ahmed explained, "We were paying into the Brass LNG's NNPC account in the TSA and at the time the Attorney-General gave the directive, he instructed that the funds be credited to the FGN Assets Recovery Account."

Adeogun however showed a letter from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for Ahmed to see the differences in the details given to the committee.

After reading the document, Ahmed argued that there were no discrepancies in the exchange rates as recorded in the CBN and Keystone's documents.

He noted, "The first item, which is N12,421,794,504.88 is the equivalent of $40 million at N305, which was directed to the federal government Assets Recovery Account.

"There were two accounts: there was Brass LNG and there was OML 40. At the time this (AGF) letter was written, I believe that we had not concluded payment yet. The final payments were made thereafter in tranches."

But not satisfied, Adeogun insisted that each of the two parties should be paid what was due to them.

According to him, "You could see there; you paid $18 million to a different person. So, we cannot accept that the payment to that other party is part of this payment (to the first party)."

Ahmed, however, insisted that the bank was duly advised on which account was to be paid into.

The committee chairman further aasked who instructed the bank pay money meant for (Brass) NLG to a different entity

Responding, Ahmed said, "I stand to be corrected but I believe that the instruction to pay would have come either from the NNPC or the CBN."

Adeogun stated that the committee would not admit the $18 million payment to be part of the remittance to (Brass) NLG.

He added, "Right now, we have two issues in contention: $18 million that was wrongly paid, which we don't know where it is, and as long as that cannot be determined, it means the $18 million is missing; and you need to prove that you paid $13 million. What we would do is to adjourn your own hearing for that purpose until you are able to give us evidence."

It was at this point that a member of the committee, Hon. Olanrewaju Edun, said the House could take up the bank for the payment of $40 million in naira.

He said, "Out of the $40 million that you claimed that the Attorney-General gave you a letter... as far as I am concerned, I don't know why you have to take a letter from the Attorney-General. This is Nigeria's money owned by the three tiers of government. We can take you up on that."

But Ahmed asked Edu if the bank should have disregarded a letter from the AGF.

Responding, Edun said "that is contentious" insisting that the committee would get to the root of the issue.

Edun said, "Mr. Chairman, I believe that my constituency has been robbed of money. Yes. And we need to contest that letter. I don't know why the Attorney-General had to issue a letter that something that was transacted in dollars should be paid in naira rate when you have differential rates in Nigeria.

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"You have one that is official and one that is outside the (black) market. That is a lot of money, and this money belongs to the three tiers of government. There is a need to subject the Attorney-General to questioning in this case."

"The contention is this: if you (Keystone) owe a particular value, why was it that you were asked to pay a part in dollars and another part in naira equivalent; the money that belongs to the three tiers of government?

"The meaning is that your bank is using that money at a value against the interest of Nigerians," he queried.

Adeogun said as an arm of government, it would be proper to invite the government to reconcile the figures.

He said: "Even if all they (Keystone) had to do was to lobby to get it done, lobbying is allowed in banking. So, we should not crucify them for that.

"I think I need to rule on two issues: the first one has to do with the $13 million which we have agreed that Keystone is going to clarify and the $18 million. So, we are saying that about $31 million need to be reconciled."
The kerosene tanker explosion that occurred around Kubwa market in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Friday, November 5, has again thrown a lot of families in pain and sorrow.

The scene of the unfortunate incident is located opposite the market, which houses many shops, with a number of roadside petty traders. The explosion has left many with no other source of livelihood as the only one they had got burnt last Friday.

About 16 persons are now believed to have lost their lives from the incident as confirmed by the authorities in three hospitals visited - Kubwa General Hospital, Garki Hospital and National Hospital.

Some victims and eyewitnesses who spoke to Daily Trust Saturday said the incident, which happened about 7pm, started with a spark from an electrical wire, which resulted in a kerosene tank explosion.

The kerosene tank, which was kept on an iron rail, exploded and landed on the roof of a nearby shop, where it remained until Saturday evening when it was removed.

One of the people who lost their lives at the scene of the incident was the owner of the kerosene kiosk, Mrs Joy Obodo. She was said to have died alongside her 10-year-old son. Her 14-year-old son died days later at Garki Hospital.

The 14-year-old boy was among two persons who were taken to Garki Hospital as they could not be accepted at Kubwa General Hospital due to lack of bed spaces.

In a compound located close to the scene of the incident, about four persons were said to have lost their lives, among them a pregnant woman whose date of delivery was 10 days away from the day of the incident. The pregnant woman, a teacher, was said to be relaxing outside the compound (her routine every evening) when the explosion occurred.

Another resident, Bijunus, lost two of his children - Chioma, 14, and a 21-month-old Angel. His wife, a petty trader, suffered severe burns and is still in a critical condition in the Trauma Unit of the National Hospital.

Narrating his ordeal to Daily Trust, he said that on the day of the incident, he was invited by an associate in the neighbourhood, but he decided to rush back home. "I was about to open the door to our room when I heard a loud sound. The first thing that came to my mind after noticing the fire was my wife, who sells vegetable by the roadside.

"I wanted to go out, but everywhere was covered in fire and smoke. I had never seen such fire in my life. People poured water, but all in vain, until the men of the fire service came and tried to put out the fire. I immediately started searching and turning bodies to enable me identify my family. I saw not less than 20 people on the ground," he said.

Bijunus said he first went to Kubwa General Hospital but they were referred to the National Hospital due to the degree of burns his wife sustained.

Success Obinna, a 17-year-old secondary school leaver, is the fourth victim from the same compound as Bijunus. She was standing close to the scene, waiting for her sibling who had crossed over to the other side of the road, when the incident happened and she was engulfed by flame from the fire. Her 15-year-old sister survived with some burns and is receiving at the Kubwa General Hospital.

The head of her family, Mr Obinna Obilo, who was not at home during the incident, said although his wife was not at the scene of the accident, she was rushed to Kubwa General Hospital due to shock, and is currently under care at the hospital's trauma unit, along with their surviving daughter.

Ernest Onumon, who operates a boutique behind the kerosene tank, said he was lucky.

"I would have been trapped inside my shop as the kerosene tank landed on the roof. The fire burnt my goods," he said.

Onumon, who had partial burns on his head and one of his hands, noted that his neighbour, Chijoke, was not so lucky as he died from the incident on Saturday while on admission at the Garki Hospital.

He said some of them who survived were coping with two losses - the tragedy caused by the fire, and its aftermath, as the FCT Ministerial Task Force has demolished shops around the market, including his and those of 4 other victims of the fire.

"How does the government want those who lost their means of livelihood to cope?" He asked, rhetorically.

Scavengers exploring from some of the demolished shops around Kubwa market

Sunny Gloria, a petty trader at the site, is grateful to God that she was not at the market on that fateful day as she travelled with her children to Nsukka in Enugu State.

"I would have been in the place along with my children as we were always there, but we travelled. However, my brother-in-law who just visited and was at the market lost his life in the incident," she said.

Daily Trust observed that some of the survivors were being attended to at various hospitals in Abuja.

Also, a 24-year-old Rosemary Ali, a graduate of the Federal Polytechnic, Idah in Kogi State, was helping her sister-in-law in her shop pending when her call-up letter for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) would be ready, when the unfortunate incident happened.

Her aunt, Josephine Ali, who was seen looking after her at the National Hospital, said the injured victim was taking care of her sister-in-law's business (the one who travelled to Nsukka that day) when the fire incident struck. "It affected her face, legs and arms. But we thank God that she is responding well," she said.

More so, Mary expressed gratitude to the minister of state for FCT, Dr Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, who she said directed that she and other victims be transferred to the National Hospital from Kubwa General Hospital when she visited on Saturday.

"She came the following day to see us at the National Hospital and gave us (victims) N50,000 each. We were running out of money at that time, having already spent about N80,000 on drugs. She also directed that every victim should be treated free of charge," Mary added.

The assistant director, Department of Information and Protocol Management, National Hospital, Rabiah Muhammad Bello, confirmed that out of the 11 victims referred to the facility, two died on arrival while seven were still on admission. She added that two people, a female adult and a child, were still in the hospital receiving treatment.

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On his part, the Chief Medical Director, Kubwa General Hospital, Dr Lasisi Muideen, said about five victims of the incident were brought dead and deposited at the hospital's mortuary. "Six were discharged, while five were referred to the National Hospital as directed by the FCT minister of state," he added.

'Govt must unravel cause of fire, compensate victims'

An activist, Sadiq Ibrahim said the FCT administration must unravel the cause of the fire because what is in public is very sketchy.

"Many lives have been lost and some people have been incapacitated. You must have heard the voices of some of the victims. It is pathetic situation right inside Abuja.

"We must also ask question on the whereabouts of the fire fighters stationed in the market nearby and whether they have the requisite equipment to address such emergency.

"Above all, families of those that died should be compensated. Some of them left behind little children... We must not allow them to suffer," he said.

Barrister Aliyu Kamal said the truck owner whose driver conveyed the kerosene to the place should also be interrogated.

"We should find out if they have safety kits and whether the vehicle was ensured. We should also crosscheck the claim that it was a spark somewhere that ignited the fire.

"I know that these days because of the high cost of kerosene, people are mixing it with petrol. Authorities should take sample from the scene and test it in the laboratory so that we can pin responsibility of the carnage on someone," he said.
President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated the founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Mr Tony Elumelu, on the selection of 4,949 young Africans for the 2021 entrepreneurship programme.

The president, in a statement issued Friday by his spokesman, Femi Adesina, lauded Elumelu on his vision in training, mentoring and funding entrepreneurs from the 54 African countries, describing it as "a truly lasting legacy."

He said Nigeria remained very proud of Elumelu, "whose business and philanthropic interests continued to create opportunities for growth and development, not only in Nigeria but Africa as a whole."
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has said it will soon partner the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to prosecute money lenders who abuse their debtors' data.

The partnership would entail joint investigations, enforcement and prosecution of offenders, NITDA's spokeswoman, Hadiza Umar, noted in a statement Friday.

Section 17(a) of the FCCPA, 2019 empowers the commission to administer and enforce provisions of every Nigerian law with respect to competition and protection of consumers.

Daily Trust reports that some micro-money lenders recently formed a penchant for abuse of personal data of Nigerians and breaching their privacy.

They hack into their debtors' phone contacts and send messages to the contacts, telling them that the debtors had defaulted in the payment of their loans.

The NITDA stated that it had received over 40 petitions from members of the public on the personal data abuse of some lending companies.
One of the governorship aspirants on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief George Moghalu, has asked the Anambra State governor-elect, Prof Charles Soludo, of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), to run an inclusive government.

Moghalu, who lost at the APC primary ahead of the election, in a congratulatory message to Soludo on Friday, described his victory as a righteous expression of democratic ideals.

Soludo was announced the winner of the election held on 6th and 9th October 2021, by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) having polled 112,229 votes.

Moghalu said: "I believe that the obligation to seek the progress of Anambra State transcends politics.

"As such, we are called to embrace the higher calling of service to humanity so that by collective effort, we can make Anambra State the shining city on a hill.

"I want to encourage Professor Soludo to run an inclusive government and to assure him as he prepares to assume office as governor of Anambra State, that in every effort he makes to better the lives of our people, he will have my full support and utmost goodwill."
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has said the Information Technology (IT) project clearance policy has saved over N30billion for Nigeria and led to high reduction in projects failure.

The director-general of the NITDA, Kashifu Abdullahi, said Friday in Abuja that the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation Initiative had impacted the 'Ease of Doing Business,' cross border data flow, creation of over 3,000 jobs, international recognition, creation of a new sector worth N5.2bn and protection of Nigerians against digital colonialism.

Abdullahi, represented by the agency's Director of e-Government Development and Regulations, Vincent Olatunji, said under the Digital Literacy and Skill Programme of the federal government, over 20,000 Nigerians had been trained and 250,000 enrolled in both the NITDA Academy and digital programmes.
SUB: At least 305 people have died from building collapse in Nigeria since 2013, data from reported cases collated by Daily Trust showed. ... ...

At least 305 people have died from building collapse in Nigeria since 2013, data from reported cases collated by Daily Trust showed.

Also, no fewer than 449 people got injured in 83 cases of building collapse since 2013.

The figures only reflected reported cases by the media as many cases were never heard of.

Lagos remains the epicentre of building collapse in Nigeria with 50 reported cases between 2013 and 2019. These cases include the infamous Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) which caved in and led to the death of 115 people with over 131 others injured.

There were other cases in Kano, FCT, Kwara, Ogun, Ondo, Imo, Anambra, Abia, Rivers, Benue, and Taraba.

Unfortunately, these disasters have not elicited the right conversation that would have led to decisive actions to halt the trend.

Experts attributed the disasters to human error including failure by developers to respect building plans and specification.

In order to cut cost, it was learnt that many of the property developers deploy quack engineers and procure substandard building materials.

Also, to date there have been no documented conviction of people allegedly culpable in the building collapse cases while compensation for victims are questionable.

Sources said most of the developers connived with enforcement agents to go away unpunished.

Daily Trust reports that there were 25 building collapse in 2021, 27 in 2020, 12 in 2019, two in 2018 and eight in 2017.

In 2013, seven cases were reported and two cases recorded in 2014. There were no reported cases of building collapse in 2015 according to our tally, but two cases were recorded in 2016.

305 die from 83 building collapse in 9 years

The latest incident on Gerald Road, Ikoyi, Lagos two weeks ago claimed 45 lives, with many injured.

Though the Lagos State Government has set up a panel of inquiry, it is yet to make its investigations public.

Meanwhile, experts in the building industry are concerned about the latest incident, describing it as "very devastating."

Expressing worry over the unending trend, Emmanuel Chukwunonye Madu, an engineer and chief executive officer of Shungrila Estates Limited, said sharp practices in the building production processes resulted to failures or collapses.

"Buildings collapse when standard procedures are compromised, either during design or construction," he said.

He advised that adequate and diligent supervision by relevant and competent professionals should be carried out on every building at every stage of the development process.

"But the panacea is the establishment of a robust supervisory system nationwide, involving qualified personnel and professionals for both design and construction stages.

"The government must get serious and work with relevant professional bodies in the country to fashion out a competent supervisory system devoid of frustration and malpractices. It can be done," he said.

Also commenting, the president, Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS), Alhaji Mohammed Abba Tor, urged Nigerians developing physical structures to always give professionals the opportunity to manage their projects. He stressed that the use of quacks in the building process was responsible for the rising incidents of building collapses in the country<a target="_blank" href="http://google.com">. </a>

He also said the use of quality and adequate materials was key to producing buildings that would withstand the vagaries of weather and time.

"The usage of quality materials in the right quantity is necessary. That is why using professionals right from the design stage to the completion stage is the solution to ending building collapses," he said.

Efforts to get the president of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), Ali Rabiu, an engineer, to comment on the rising incidents of building collapses were not successful. However, the head of public relations of the Council, Mrs Ojonugwa Haruna, made a press statement the president released in Lagos a few days ago available.

According to the statement signed by Rabiu, the Council has set up its independent investigative panel to unravel the Ikoyi tragedy.

"Saddened by the unfortunate collapse of a 21-storey building on Gerald Road, Ikoyi, on November 1, 2021, the Council wishes to condole with the government and people of Lagos State, particularly the relatives of those who lost their loved ones.

"Following the collapse, we have held several consultations with various stakeholders in the building environment. Subsequently, on behalf of the Council, I have constituted a COREN-Special Investigation Panel on the Collapsed 21-Storey Building at Ikoyi, Lagos State.

"This is pursuant to section 1(1) (h) of the Engineers (registration etc) (amendment) Act, 2018, that empowers the COREN to investigate engineering failures," part of the statement reads.

The panel consists of the following members: George C. Okoroma, an engineer; Bunmi Ajayi, architect; Mrs Buki Ejiwumi, engineer; Victor Oyenuga, engineer; Eddy Atumonyogo, engineer; Dr Nurain Sulyman, engineer; Dr. Will Ibim Beresibo, engineer; Ibikunle. S. Ogunbayo, engineer, Tomide Samuel Akinnawo, engineer, as secretary.

According to the statement, the panel has been mandated to carry out a comprehensive inquiry on the remote and immediate causes of the collapse, as well as gathering, recording and analysing all the relevant engineering data available on site; confirm contractor's compliance to Lagos State building development regulations and others, and find out the level of involvement or otherwise of practitioners on the project leading to the collapse.

The panel was also directed to carry out an integrity test on the two standing towers at the precinct of the collapsed building, as well as investigate any other matter critical to the above terms of reference.

The president of the Building Collapse Prevention Guild (BCPG), Akinola George, an architect, could not be reached for comments. When Daily Trust called him on Friday at 9:09 am, he asked that he be called back in two hours. He was called at 11:55am but his line was busy.

However, the immediate past president of the Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB), Mr Kunle Awobodu, during an interview with our correspondent in Lagos last week, said the right things must be done from the beginning to the end of the construction process.

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He insisted that the developer must engage professionals in all the phases of the construction process, in terms of architectural design, engineering design, and engage a professional builder who will "help in transforming the drawings designed by architects and engineers into an object on site."

He added, "It requires someone versatile in different areas of building to assist them to bring all these components together.

"At the same time, if such a person is not living up to expectations, the regulatory body that registered the professional will have a punishment for such a builder. So that is what we should look at. And if we do that, anybody who has been licensed to manage building construction on site would not compromise because that is the professional's only source of income and that is what he/she has read all their lives.

"The person has taken an oath to observe the ethics of the profession. If he/she fails along the line, they should be ready to face the consequences and their licences will be withdrawn."

Awobodu also stressed that the searchlight must be beamed on regulatory authorities in the state, especially the Lagos State Building Control Agency.

As Nigerians await the outcome of the panel set up to investigate the latest tragic incident in Lagos, it remains to be seen if those culpable would be convicted to serve as deterrent to compromising professionals and developers.

Terkula Igidi, Taiwo Adeniyi & Haruna Ibrahim
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said that more revenues are now flowing into the country's treasury from non-oil and gas exports.

He stated this at the Nigerian Society of Chemical Engineers (NSCHE) 51st annual international conference/annual general meeting, with the theme, "Chemical Engineering and the Changing World," in Lagos Friday.

Osinbajo, who was represented by the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Ogbonnaya Onu, said the federal government had worked tirelessly to ensure that Nigeria achieved full economic diversification and not caught napping as crude oil and gas were no longer the major fuel driving global economies.

He said more technologically advanced countries of the world had switched to clean and renewable energy.

He challenged the Nigerian manufacturing stakeholders to produce almost everything needed in the country that would lead to less export, a stronger naira and economy.

The vice president urged participants to continuously revise their academic curriculum so as to train and prepare chemical engineers for the next decade and century.
The Department of State Services (DSS) has called on Kano residents to be security conscious when moving around with cash, noting that a syndicate of robbers is on the prowl in the commercial city.

The director, Kano command of the DSS, Alhassan Muhammad, made the call Friday while parading three members of the syndicate arrested shortly after robbing a man of his money.

He gave the names of the suspects as Abdulbasit Umar, 30; Abubakar Sulaiman, 38; and Ya'u Abubakar, 32, all of whom had earlier been convicted of a similar offence.

Muhammad explained that the syndicate normally loitered around commercial banks from 9am to 4pm on a daily basis looking for individuals that go into banks to withdraw money, then trail them to a place where they would be robbed.

He said that on November 2, the suspects trailed their victim, who had just withdrawn N500,000 from a bank, but ran out of luck when operatives of the command arrested them while they were fleeing the scene of the crime.

He added that two vehicles and the stolen money were recovered from them.
The Anambra State Governor-elect, Prof Chukwuma Soludo and the Deputy Governor-elect, Dr Onyeka Ibezim, Friday received their certificates of return from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The certificates were presented by INEC's National Commissioner supervising Anambra, Mr Festus Okoye, at the state headquarters of the commission in Awka, Anambra State.

Soludo, a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, won the November 6 election polling 112,229 votes to beat his closest rival, Valentine Ozigbo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who scored 53,807 votes.

Senator Andy Uba of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who came third, secured 43,285 votes while Senator Ifeanyi Ubah of the Young Progressive Party (YPP) polled 21,261 votes to come fourth.

After receiving the certificate of return, Soludo assured that he would build the state to be a pride of every Anambra person and Ndigbo.
Washington has blacklisted the Eritrean military as it ups pressure on parties fighting in northern Ethiopia. The US cited "numerous reports" of the killing of civilians by Eritrean forces.

The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on the Eritrean military and other Eritrea-based individuals and entities over their "continued role" in the yearlong conflict in neighboring Ethiopia that has killed thousands and displaced millions.

A US Treasury Department statement cited "numerous reports of looting, sexual assault, killing civilians, and blocking humanitarian aid" by Eritrean forces.

The soldiers "have been seen disguised in old Ethiopian military uniforms, manning checkpoints, obstructing and occupying critical aid routes, and threatening medical staff in one of northern Ethiopia's few operating hospitals," the statement said.

Ethiopia's government allowed Eritrean soldiers to enter Ethiopia's northern Tigray region but then denied the soldiers were there for months.

Who else has been affected by the US sanctions?

The US sanctions also targeted Abraha Kassa Nemariam, the chief of the Eritrean National Security Office; Hidri Trust, the holding company of the Eritrean ruling party's business enterprises; the Red Sea Trading Corporation, which managed the ruling party's financial interests; and the corporation's chief executive, Hagos Ghebrehiwet W. Kidan.

The Treasury Department noted that Eritrean military leader President Isaias Afwerki was not sanctioned.

Washington also warned it would sanction Ethiopia's government and rival Tigray forces if there is no "meaningful progress" toward a ceasefire and mediation.

Blinken calls for peace talks

Ahead of a three-nation trip to Africa next week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged for the start of talks between the Ethiopian government and rebels to end fighting in Tigray.

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A failure to reach a settlement "would lead to the implosion of Ethiopia and spill over into other countries in the region, and that would be disastrous for the Ethiopian people and also for countries in the region," Blinken told reporters in a separate statement.

"The other path is to halt all of the military actions that are currently underway, sit down to negotiate a real ceasefire to make sure that humanitarian assistance can get in to all of the regions where people are in need," he said.

"I believe that that is still not only possible, but necessary."

War erupted in November 2020 between Ethiopian federal troops and forces loyal to the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), the ruling party of Tigray. The conflict has left hundreds of thousands in famine-like conditions

The United States has denounced both Tigrayan fighters and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, over the war, which has since spread into two neighboring regions in northern Ethiopia.

Tigray blockade 'systemic'

The United Nations has called Tigray a "de facto humanitarian blockade."

"People are dying because of lack of supplies," World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus told reporters on Friday, calling the blockade "systemic."

Tedros, a former Ethiopian foreign minister under the previous government, said Tigrayans across the country were "being profiled and arrested en masse, by the thousands."

"This is blatant and open," he added.

mvb/sms (AFP, Reuters, AP, dpa)
Countering violence with peace is the goal of the Women's Interfaith Council, which represents thousands of Muslim and Christian women in Kaduna, Nigeria. The group has been awarded the Aachen Peace Prize for their work.

"We were so happy, we are still happy and will continue to be happy," exclaimed Daharatu Ahmed Aliyu. "And now we are international superstars!" Elizabeth Majinya Abuk added, laughing.

The two women arrived in Germany from Nigeria two days before they will receive the award on behalf of their organization: Women's Interfaith Council (WIC).

The organization is being honored for its work in the Nigerian state of Kaduna, where Christians and Muslims stand together for peaceful coexistence.

"A society that neglects women can never develop, can never advance," said Sister Veronica Onyeanisi, who took over the general management of the WIC in 2019.

"So we try to give women a voice so that they can make a positive contribution to society."

Kaduna, in the northwest of the country, is the third-largest state in Nigeria with an estimated 8.3 million inhabitants, according to data from the national statistics agency. About 60% of the population is Muslim and 40% Christian.

Kaduna: Once united

"Life in Kaduna was once very beautiful," said Sister Veronica. "People lived together peacefully, partying together, until religious fanatics and politicians decided to use religion to divide people."

Religious fighting had forced many Muslims to settle in the northern part of the state and Christians in the south. Attacks, acts of violence and kidnappings occur regularly.

Just a few months ago, schoolchildren and students were kidnapped during several incidents, which happened in quick succession, sometimes involving more than 100 young people, sometimes a dozen. Bandits also tried to extort ransom money.

WIC was founded in 2010 to counter the effects of the escalating violence. The organization's women visit victims of attacks, providing them with personal support and organizing further training for other women and young people.

WIC also offers support through a community, ensuring that women of both religions unite and celebrate important holidays together.

Religion used only as a pretext

According to the WIC, the terrorists and bandits use religion to exercise power.

"The Holy Bible and the Holy Quran speak of peaceful coexistence. Why don't the leaders teach what is in the Scriptures?" Sister Veronica asked.

That particular question prompted the WIC to organize seminars in which the basics of Islam and Christianity are explained to attendees.

"Then when people tell them the wrong thing, they can say, 'No, that's not what the Scriptures say,'" Sister Veronica added.

The WIC is made up of several thousand women who are organized in 23 individual associations. Many are personally affected by violence, such as Elizabeth Majinya Abuk, who coordinates the Christian organizations in the WIC.

Before the WIC was founded, Abuk worked with Christian women's associations in Kaduna. When WIC approached her to join the group, she initially hesitated. She had just been dealt a severe blow. Her sister and her family were brutally killed in a robbery.

But Abuk has a "passion for peace," as she put it: Her passion is peace. And this helped her not to give up, not to lose faith in the good cause, although further strokes of fate followed in the following years. Most of her family members are currently displaced in their own country, she said.

"I don't want what happened to my family to happen to another person. And that's why I pursue with all my strength, with all my thoughts the goal that we have to live together peacefully," said Abuk.

Daharatu Ahmed Aliyu -- who represents the Muslim associations -- never doubted her work: "Everything has its time. It is not easy, there are so many challenges," she said.

Aliyu remembers the early days when, as a journalist, she initially reported on the development of the WIC. A colleague in the editorial office thought it was a joke that Christians and Muslims wanted to unite. "When the time comes for the crisis to end, it will end," said Aliyu with confidence.

Including men

In order to achieve their goals, they also have to bring on board some men, who usually have the main say in Kaduna's society.

Before they start any project, the women visit traditional and religious leaders.

"We are concerned about some of us because of their experiences with other non-governmental organizations," said Sister Veronica. But the women at WIC can be very convincing: "You know, God has given women a gift that no one else has. Women can be there for anyone, no matter how tough the person is."

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Elizabeth Abuk added that the WIC starts at an early stage by working with young people in order to break down prejudices between religions and genders. Abuk is certain that if young men could take on leadership roles, they would do better.

From the point of view of the board of directors of the Aachen Peace Prize, the commitment of women is "very worthy of the award," as Lea Heuser, board member and press spokeswoman for the association, told DW.

Heuser emphasized the "great solidarity of self-affected women towards other women who are exposed to massive violence and a massive patriarchal system, but who, despite their own traumas and experiences of violence, stand up against it, support each other in very solidarity and live this solidarity across all borders."

And the result of the work speak for itself: Other states have already contacted WIC and asked for help because they too want to create interreligious women's councils, said Sister Veronica.

This article was adapted from German by Abu-Bakarr Jalloh.
Many in South Africa believe FW de Klerk and others should have faced justice for the crimes committed during the apartheid era. The last white president died on Thursday at the age of 85 after a battle with cancer.

"There is ample evidence that till his dying day he was unwilling or incapable of acknowledging just how evil apartheid was and how much suffering it caused," is how Michael Lapsley remembered the former South African president, FW de Klerk, on Facebook.

Father Lapsley is an Anglican priest and former African National Congress (ANC) chaplain. His hands were blown off in a letter bomb attack by a South African hit squad in Zimbabwe in 1990.

"It is regrettable that he was never required to account for his role as chairperson of the State Security Council in the murders of the Craddock 4 and other death squad activity," Lapsy wrote.

The former South African President FW de Klerk died at his Cape Town home at the age of 85, his organization announced on Thursday.

"It is with the deepest sadness that the FW de Klerk Foundation must announce that former President FW de Klerk died peacefully at his home in Fresnaye earlier this morning following his struggle against mesothelioma cancer," the statement read.

"Mr De Klerk was 85 years old. He is survived by his wife Elita, his children Jan and Susan and his grandchildren."

De Klerk shared the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize with Nelson Mandela, with whom he worked to fully dismantle the apartheid regime.

Hours after he died, the foundation released a pre-recorded video message on its website, with de Klerk apologizing for the racist crimes of apartheid and calling for all South Africans to respect the constitution.

"I without qualification apologize for the pain and hurt and the indignity and the damage that apartheid has done to black, brown and Indians in South Africa," he said.

"Since the early '80s my views changed completely," de Klerk added. "It was as if I had a conversion and in my heart of hearts realized that apartheid was wrong. I realized we had arrived at a place that was morally unjustifiable."

De Klerk 'had no option'

"It was, for him, one last opportunity to come clean, to protect his legacy through manipulation," analyst Makhudu Sefara wrote in The Sunday Times newspaper.

"Even in the wake of his death, this must be rejected."

Political pundits in the country argue that even though de Klerk backed the transfer of power to the Black-majority ANC party, he cannot atone for the huge amount of harm he did as one of the leading proponents of apartheid for several decades.

Many say he was responsible for gross human rights abuses and the imposition of the oppressive apartheid system.

"He had no choice and he did what he had to do and it was obviously long overdue," said one Cape Town resident.

"You could compare South Africa at the time to living in a pressure cooker. There was nowhere else to go. We had student uprisings, we had the international community crying out for [Mandela's] release, there were various sanctions against the country."

By the end of the 1980s, de Klerk was facing determined opposition within South Africa and sanctions were starting to bite. The South African army had already retreated from Angola, and the Nationalist Party had finally agreed to Namibian independence.

"It was a practical decision rather than a moral one to end apartheid, and seek a political settlement with the African National Congress (ANC). I don't think there was any real remorse on his part," according to analyst Graham Hopwood.

"Much more than words, what FW de Klerk did was change what was wrong," Dave Steward, the chairman emeritus of the FW de Klerk Foundation, told DW. "It is easy to apologize."

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Another Cape Town resident said "[de Klerk] used to be part of the [apartheid] government, but he brought South Africa back into normality, where everybody had a say in the country with Mandela."

South Africa's firebrand politician Julius Malema, leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters party, weighed in on the discussion.

'Big legacy'

The Nelson Mandela Foundation expressed sadness at de Klerk's passing and offered its condolences to his family.

"De Klerk will forever be linked to Nelson Mandela in the annals of South African history. As head of state, he oversaw the release of Madiba from prison on 11 February 1990 ... Over the years we worked productively with him and the De Klerk Foundation on a number of projects," the foundation said in a statement.

"De Klerk's legacy is a big one. It is also an uneven one, something South Africans are called to reckon with in this moment," the statement concluded.
With no live gigs, musicians in South Africa and abroad have struggled financially. The UK is looking at new legislation to ensure creators are fairly compensated when their songs are streamed.

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown restrictions on live music has shone a harsh spotlight on the unequal nature of streaming revenue distribution.

"Overnight on 26 March 2020 [when lockdown was imposed] South African musicians lost any prospect of any revenue in an already unprotected working environment," said Gabi le Roux, the general secretary of the Trade Union for Musicians of South Africa (Tumsa). "The only thing they could rely on was relief from government, which was a mess."

Le Roux described the past 20 months as "terrible". Union members who couldn't pay their rent were evicted and lost furniture and music equipment in the revenue crunch that followed.

"It's been immediate and drastic for the vast majority of our members," he said. "We are shattered and have been reduced to spending most of our time fighting for relief."

Le Roux said politicians don't understand the economic impact that the pandemic has had on musicians. And the situation is not unique to South Africa. Two reports released recently in the United Kingdom show why revenue from playing live is crucial to musicians faced with meagre streaming royalties.

Elite musicians only

Musicians in Britain were struggling financially before the pandemic. The UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) released a report in September, titled Music Creators' Earnings in the Digital Era, highlighting that more than a third of musicians in the country reported 2019 earnings of 5 000 (about R92 500 at the time) or less from music and nearly half earned less than 10 000.

The lack of live music revenue during the pandemic created a greater reliance on income from streaming. But a 2019 member survey by the Ivors Academy and Musicians' Union found that 82% of professional musicians made less than 200 that year from streaming, while only 7% made more than 1 000.

One of the IPO report's shocking findings was that only 1 723 musicians in the UK get more than a million streams a month, which is the minimum required to earn a sustainable living.

Another statistic from the report shows how this happens. The top 0.1% of artists get 39% to 43% of the overall streams in a year. If you broaden that to the top 1% of artists, you're looking at 78% to 80%. And the top 10% get up to 98% of streams. So, the remaining 90% of artists share 2% of total streams.

The IPO report also says the revenue that featured artists and studio producers receive has declined by 41% in real terms over the past two decades. The revenue that composers and lyricists receive has decreased by 20%.

In favour of labels

Even if a musician is involved in writing or recording a song that gets millions of streams, it's not a guaranteed payday.

According to evidence submitted to the UK House of Commons' digital, culture, media and sport committee during its economics of music streaming inquiry this year, one song that was streamed 137 million times on Spotify earned a royalty of just over 3 000. Another that was streamed 14 million times earned one of its songwriters just 352 (about R6 300 at current exchange rates).

Will Page, the streaming service's former chief economist, gave written evidence saying that the streaming economy works in favour of the recorded music business, but artists' income has not grown proportionally.

"Everyone benefits from the streaming-led recovery, but some more than others, with artists and songwriters feeling short-changed," said Page. "For labels, the music industry is thriving. Between 2015 and 2019, the streaming-led recovery boosted UK major label turnover by 21% and operating profit margin increased from 8.7% to 11.8%.

"The recorded music business not only got bigger, but also much more profitable for record labels. Artists, however, have not received proportional benefit," he said.

Le Roux called the disparity in streaming revenue distribution "ridiculous".

Second jobs for songwriters

Considering these meagre incomes, it's easy to see why several witnesses before the UK House of Commons committee testified that many hit songwriters and composers were also doing gig economy jobs for Uber or food delivery service Deliveroo.

Songwriter Fiona Bevan has written songs for popular acts One Direction and Kylie Minogue. She testified at the inquiry that one of her co-written songs had recently featured on a No. 1 album, the fastest-selling solo artist album of the year, yet it earned her just 100.

"It comes from an archaic split where the labels had huge physical overheads to produce vinyl and CDs, to store them and to ship them," testified Bevan. "Streaming has taken over utterly ... There is not really an excuse for these huge behemoth companies to have 55% when they do not have these physical overheads any more. It is very cheap for them to distribute the music," said Bevan.

"If that was a bit more even, the songwriters would be able to survive. Right now, hit songwriters are driving [for] Uber."

Songwriter Nadine Shah rammed the point home. "As an artist with a substantial profile, a substantial fan base, critically acclaimed ... I don't make enough money from streaming," she told the committee. "I am in a position now where I am struggling to pay my rent and I am embarrassed to talk about these issues publicly ... for many reasons, because money to an extent is an indication of success. Here that is not really the case, because I am a successful musician. But I am not being paid fairly for the work that I make."

Another musician who testified was Grammy Award-winning producer and songwriter Nile Rodgers. After decades of success, his view of the music recording industry is dim. "The music business is the only business where after you pay off the mortgage on the house, they still own the house ... There is no other business on Earth that does that. We pay back all the royalties, and they still own our property. It is ridiculous."

A right to remuneration

The digital, culture, media and sport committee released its second report in July, after considering days of oral testimony and more than 300 written submissions.

It contains findings and recommendations aimed at the fairer distribution of revenue from music streaming to which South African politicians, legislators and competition authorities should pay attention. It says "successful, critically acclaimed professional performers" are seeing "meagre returns" from streaming and that "non-featured performers" are "frozen out altogether".

The inquiry found that record companies defining a stream as a sale ignores the fact that a stream is also a rental and a broadcast. This exploits copyright controls that grant performers the right to equitable remuneration. The report recommends that the British government explore new legislation to ensure artists can exercise this right.

A letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson in April - signed by more than 230 artists, including Lily Allen, Mike Skinner, Massive Attack, Kate Bush, Kano, Paul McCartney, Stevie Nicks, Jimmy Page and Sting - called for these rights to be afforded to artists when it comes to streaming their music.

The report also recommends that two other rights be incorporated into UK copyright law: the right to recapture work and the right to adjust contracts when artist royalties are disproportionately low compared with the success of the music.

As Horace Trubridge, general secretary of the Musicians' Union, told the committee, "when equitable remuneration came in for radio play, it was a lifeline" as "it meant that you had a source of income that the record companies could not get their hands on".

Trubridge said equitable remuneration could also help legacy performers, who are paid according to pre-digital contracts at much lower royalty rates despite generating significant revenue for the industry. Radiohead guitarist Ed O'Brien testified that the band's biggest-selling single, Creep, was covered by a recording contract in the early 1990s that paid them a 12% royalty, compared with royalty rates of between 20% and 30% today, depending on the profile of the artist.

Le Roux supports all three of the new rights that the committee suggested. South African musicians need to be afforded these rights too, he said, and these issues need to be addressed in the Copyright Amendment Bill, which President Cyril Ramaphosa sent back to Parliament. The bill is vague about creative rights and Le Roux said sections of it are flawed, leaving it open to abuse.

The 'big guys'

The committee's report calls on the UK's competition authorities to look into the dominance of global record labels. "There is little incentive for their music publishing interests to redress the devaluation of the song relative to the recording," it says.

Le Roux suggested that South Africa should be pursuing similar lines. "The competition authorities need to be braver in how they take on the big guys," he said, stressing that the "big guys" are internet companies as well as record labels. "We can't argue they can't exist - you can't shut down YouTube - but you can persuade them to change course by appealing to a sense of justice."

The report flags cross-ownership in the music industry. In 2008, Spotify offered 18% of its shares to Merlin, the collective digital rights and licensing agency for independent record labels, and the four major music groups: Sony, Universal, Warner and EMI. In exchange for investing 8 804.40, Sony got 6% of Spotify's shares, Universal 5%, Warner 4%, EMI 2% and Merlin 1%.

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A decade later, when Spotify was floated on the New York Stock Exchange in April, Sony sold 50% of its shares for $750 million, $250 million of which was shared with artists, and Warner sold 75% of its shares for about $400 million, a quarter of which was shared with artists. Merlin and Warner have since divested from Spotify. Universal is yet to sell any of its equity, which is estimated to be worth $1.6 billion.

The report says that because record labels were invited to invest and song publishers were not, performers received at least some benefit from Warner and Sony's sales of shares while songwriters and composers did not.

Erosion of trust

Artists and their representatives face a "systemic lack of transparency" from music companies and the streaming services that license their work, the report says. "Creators and their representatives have a right to know about the terms on which their works are exploited and verify the outcome of these agreements."

Le Roux said South African musicians are generally at even more of a disadvantage, as they don't know their rights. "Musicians don't realise that they have to hold the labels and royalty collection societies accountable." He added that much of Tumsa's work involves running workshops to educate musicians.

Rodgers stressed before the UK committee the need for transparency from record companies and the importance of artists being able to audit the revenue their music earns. "The only time that we really get to check to see if things are the way they should be is when we go in and audit," he testified. "Every single time - and I am not making this up for dramatic or comedic purposes - I have audited a label, I have found money.

"Sometimes it is staggering, the amount of money. That is because of the way the system was designed right from the beginning."

O'Brien told the committee that this lack of transparency, combined with unequal remuneration, had eroded trust between creators and their labels. "I think it is even more murky now with the lack of transparency, the opaqueness in the system, the fact that some partners are making huge amounts of money. It has always been tough [for artists], but it feels like it is tougher now."
analysis

COP26 is not the solution to climate change. It needs to be a catalyst for action.

As government delegations from across the globe gather in Glasgow for COP26, the entire world is awaiting and expecting serious, comprehensive, and urgent action to combat an existential crisis facing humanity. Instead, the UK, the host nation, has been engaging in what you could call Government by Press Conference.

Instead of working towards the necessary actions we need to address the climate crisis, we've been treated to a PR show. We've been offered one announcement after the next, each designed to capture headlines and reassure us that our leaders are doing what is needed. Yet a closer look reveals they all disguise a central hypocrisy or are riddled with loopholes.

Take the declaration that over 40 countries have come together and committed to phase out coal. This is a great thing, right? If we're going to limit global heating to 1.5 degrees Celsius, we will absolutely need to stop coal, as well as oil and gas. Yet the UK - the first country to benefit from fossil fuel powered industrialisation - is itself opening a new coal mine.

Or take the announcement that several countries will end overseas fossil fuel financing. What could be more urgent and important? The instinct on hearing such news is of course to celebrate. But delve into the detail, and you see that these same countries will continue to subsidise fossil fuel production in their own countries.

Or, finally, take the pledge by over 100 countries to cut methane, the most potent of the greenhouse gases, by 30% by 2030. Again, one desperately wants to see this as a victory, but one third of anthropogenic methane emissions are caused by fossil fuel production. How can you commit to cutting methane meaningfully without committing to cutting oil and gas? It doesn't add up.

Scientists calculate that emissions need to fall by 45% by 2030 if we're going to keep global heating to 1.5C. But even after all these announcements emissions are still set to increase 13.7% by 2030.

Broken promises

The highest polluting governments want to be able to tell the world that they get it, that they hear the message young people are sending and that they recognise we're in a climate emergency that requires large-scale transformative change. But their actions prove that they don't. For them, it's PR and it's crucial we don't fall for it.

Those of us from regions of the world that contributed to the lowest greenhouse gas emissions yet are feeling the worst impacts of the climate crisis have learnt this lesson the hard way. Over many years, we've been promised funds for adaptation to survive extreme weather events.

We've greeted with excitement repeated high-level pledges to mobilise resources to support us in dealing with irreversible loss and damage caused by climate breakdown. And yet, we've seen hardly any progress. In 2009, world leaders in Copenhagen promised to channel $100 billion to less wealthy countries by 2020 to help them adapt to climate change. That is a tiny sum compared to what is actually needed, but even this is yet to be delivered. And now they're talking of mobilising trillions. How can we swallow new promises when we're faced with the emptiness of old ones?

In Africa today, about half a billion people don't have reliable access to electricity. We need to build our energy capacity and can do so in a way that doesn't add to the climate crisis. It just requires clean technology and finances, and yet rich countries are not providing them. And so, we have a situation in which a group of vulnerable countries are eager to do their part in solving a problem they did not cause. Meanwhile, the rich polluting countries that did cause the problem are denying them even this opportunity.

Sadly, the past year and a half has only deepened this sense of distrust and this divide. We are living through an unprecedented global pandemic against which our best weapon is the Covid-19 vaccine.

Yet even though it would ultimately be in rich countries' own interests to allow poorer countries to manufacture and distribute the vaccine and so reduce the likelihood of new variants emerging and spreading, they refuse to release the patents. For all the rhetoric of following the science and global solidarity, still just a tiny fraction of Africa's populations have been able to get the jab.

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The people must act

The main objective at COP26 is to keep global heating to 1.5C. Let's be clear: this is not a safe and stable level. We're already at 1.1C and are facing an unprecedented frequency of extreme weather events and climate instability. Every increment higher, things get exponentially worse. After decades of inaction, though, we are at the stage that limiting the temperature rise to 1.5C would be a huge relief.

If you're looking to COP26 to deliver this, however, you'd be dangerously mistaken. Powerful and wealthy governments are incapable or unwilling to do what is necessary. This puts the responsibility back on people across the world force their hand. We need to mobilise at all levels globally. We need to get to the streets, petition our representatives, and make our priorities known through what and where we buy. We need a global movement to discuss, debate and demand the people-centred change we need to survive, not more PR.

Mohamed Adow is the director of the energy and climate think tank Power Shift Africa.
press release

A European Union (EU) delegation, headed by the Ambassador of the European Union to the Republic of Mauritius and Seychelles, Mr Vincent Degert, met, this afternoon, the Prime Minister, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, at the New Treasury building, in Port Louis.

In a statement following the meeting, Ambassador Degert highlighted that the meeting with the Prime Minister aimed at briefing the latter about the outcomes of the 8th Political Dialogue between Mauritius and the EU which was held yesterday at Labourdonnais Hotel, Caudan.

He underscored that the COVID-19 was at the heart of discussions with the Prime Minister as Mauritius is facing the same problem as Europe, with on one hand the rise in positive COVID-19 cases and on the other keeping the economy active and running.

Ambassador Degert also reiterated EU's support to Mauritius as far as economic and commercial activities are concerned, and dwelt on the positive commercial and investment relations between Mauritius and the EU.

Furthermore, he underlined that discussions also focused on climate change and how the exchange of technology and knowledge between Mauritius and the EU can be beneficial in this area. Mr Degert also appealed to the support of Mauritius for the 'legal finish' should pirates or drug dealers be caught at sea, so that they can be judged and sentenced.

Other matters discussed concerned: the blue economy and renewal of fishing licenses and fishing agreements; multilateralism; and maritime security in the Indian Ocean.

In addition, Ambassador Degert indicated the importance of in strengthening the laws for child protection, adoption matters and gender equality, and commended Mauritius for the progress made in relation thereto.
An initiative to conserve, restore and sustainably use marine and coastal ecosystems in the western Indian Ocean called the Great Blue Wall launched on Wednesday at the UN climate change conference, COP26, in Glasgow.

Under the initiative, 10 western Indian Ocean countries, including Seychelles, presented plans to establish a network of marine conserved areas.

The Great Blue Wall is expected to accelerate and upscale ocean conservation actions to the benefit of over 70 million people in the Western Indian Ocean region. As a coalition of the willing, it welcomes all interested countries to join, from Africa and beyond.

In his remarks at the launch, former President of Seychelles, James Michel, urged all countries to present a strong common front and work together to turn these ambitions into concrete actions to unleash the potential of the Blue Economy.

"We can have something to be proud of. This innovative model has the potential to become pan-African, if not global. This would make the Great Blue Wall movement the first of its kind that was conceptualised and born in Africa to become global," said Michel.

The former president said that the region represents a rich and vast marine space with priceless ecosystems.

"From Seychelles to the coasts of the African continent, this represents an economic powerhouse that awaits to be unleashed. The opportunities are endless for new business ventures. At the same time, it is an opportunity for education awareness in conservation and regenerative action by the communities. The Great Blue Wall will ensure that livelihoods are sustained," he added.

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On his side, the IUCN director general, Bruno Oberle, said that this initiative can serve as a model for the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of marine ecosystems worldwide.

"By strengthening regenerative and sustainable Blue Economy in the Western Indian Ocean, the Great Blue Wall contributes to the livelihoods and climate resilience of local communities as well as to marine and coastal biodiversity," said Oberle.

The western Indian Ocean provides food security, sustains economic growth, regulates the climate, and provides livelihood opportunities for coastal communities across 10 countries - Comoros, France, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, and Tanzania.

Under the Great Blue Wall, participating countries will designate suitable seascapes and marine conservation and restoration sites as IUCN Category VI conserved areas, which allow for sustainable use of natural resources to benefit local communities.

Category VI of IUCN is a protected area with sustainable use of natural resources.

The initiative's vision is to achieve a net gain of intact critical ecosystems such as mangroves, seagrass meadows and coral reefs, and to contribute to achieving 30 percent marine conserved area coverage in the region by 2030.

Seychelles, a group of 115 islands in the western Indian Ocean, has already pledged to protect 100 percent of its mangroves and seagrass ecosystem and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 24 percent by 2030.
Rome  The Moroccan short film "Le Depart" by director Said Hamich won the "Methexis" award in the international short movie competition at the 27th edition of the Med Film Festival, which runs until November 14 in Rome.

This film deals with the social impact of immigration, a phenomenon that unites all the countries of the Mediterranean. Through Adil, an 11 year old child, the director has conveyed the suffering of families, one of whose members chooses to leave his homeland in search of a better future.

"Moroccan cinema, carried in recent years by young creators and artists, has made significant progress," president of Med Film, Ginella Vocca, told MAP.

Moroccan films are now present in force in the various international film events thanks to the variety of themes and the originality of the new generation, said Vocca, welcoming the close collaboration between Italian cultural actors and the Embassy of the Kingdom in Rome, which ensures the promotion of the Moroccan artistic scene in all its dimensions.
Torkwase Kuraun, Sister of missing journalist Tordue Salem, looks at pictures of him in the family photo album at her home in Abuja, Nov. 4, 2021.

There are a plethora of questions about the death of the Vanguard newspaper journalist still begging for answers

There is a thick fog of grief at the family residence of Tordue Salem, a Nigerian journalist who vanished a month ago, and only declared dead on Thursday night.

Elizabeth Kuraun, the deceased journalist's elder sister, was overwhelmed by grief when PREMIUM TIMES reporter visited Godab Estate at the Life Camp area of Abuja, where Mr Salem lived until his disappearance on October 13, 2021.

As family friends and neighbours thronged the house, grief-stricken Mrs Kuraun expressed disbelief over the tragic fate that has befallen her brother.

Mr Salem, until his death, was the Vanguard newspaper journalist covering the House of Representatives.

"I only got to know about my brother's killing through media reports last night (Thursday)," Mrs Kuraun said.

"There was neither any formal communication from the Nigerian police nor from Tordue's employer (Vanguard Newspaper) that my brother has died," the distraught sister of the deceased journalist told this reporter as her eyes reddened in anger on Friday afternoon in Abuja.

Vanguard Newspaper had, on Thursday, broken the tragic news of Mr Salem's passing, saying details about his death remained "sketchy."

But by Friday afternoon, the Nigeria Police Force announced that Mr Salem was allegedly killed by a hit-and-run driver.

Police spokesperson, Frank Mba, while parading the suspect, Itoro Clement, a 29-year-old driver, on Friday, said investigation by the Force Intelligence Bureau, led to his arrest.

Mr Clement admittedly confessed during the media parade that he knocked a pedestrian down arround Mabushi, Abuja about 10 p.m on October 13, the day Mr Salem went missing in Abuja.

He said he never bothered to wait to attend to the victim because he presumed he was an armed robber, since, in his reckoning, the area was known to be a hive of criminal activities.

The police spokesperson explained that Mr Clement was driving a 2004 Toyota Camry with number plate BWR 243 BK.

He said Mr Clement confessed to have hit the deceased journalist around Mabushi area in Abuja but fled for fear of being robbed.

The suspect also claimed to have reported the incident at a police check, where he was advised to report himself at the Wuse Police Station in Abuja, but ignored the advice and went home.

The deceased

Mr Salem hailed from Benue State, North-Central Nigeria.

His remains were found on Thursday, November 11, nearly a month after he was declared missing.

Sources in Abuja, who pleaded anonymity because they were not authorised to speak on the issue, told this reporter that they received phone calls from the police on Thursday, requesting to know what clothes Mr Salem was wearing on the day he vanished.

"I received a phone call from the police asking me what clothes Tordue (Mr Salem) was wearing on the day he went missing," a source said.

A family friend, who visited the Wuse General Hospital morgue in Abuja to ascertain the veracity of Mr Salem's death, said the remains depicted "someone who was physically tortured to death."

The source, who did not want his name mentioned, disclosed that upon enquiries, morgue attendants "informed us that Mr Salem's corpse was brought to the Wuse General Hospital on the day without providing details of the said date."

On the issue of the deceased journalist's identity, he was registered as an "unknown body" despite Mr Salem bearing his Keystone bank debit card, a Union Bank debit card, an ID Card issued by Vanguard Newspaper, an NUJ ID Card, and a temporary ID Card from the National Assembly Media Corp," the source explained.

Mr Mba confirmed sources' claims that there were items found on Mr Salem which disclosed deceased's identity.

He added that the journalist's remains were found at about 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, 11 November 2021 at the Wuse General Hospital Morgue in Abuja.

This has fuelled speculations amongst Nigerians that Mr Salem might have been murdered, while authorities blame the gruesome killing on an unconnected incident as a cover-up.

When this reporter visited the Wuse General Hospital, Abuja, on Friday, its Medical Director, Sa'ad Idris, was not available for comments.

The unanswered questions

Journalists, who attended the parade, picked holes in the police spokesperson's explanation concerning the circumstances that led to Mr Salem's death.

Channels Television reported that journalists asked why the management of Wuse General Hospital (where Mr Salem's body was found) did not report the incident for long since documents belonging to the late reporter were on him.

This is despite widespread condemnation that greeted the journalist's disappearance last Month.

The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Abuja chapter, had led a protest march to the police force headquarters in Abuja, demanding the journalist's whereabouts.

Similarly, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the National Assembly, where he worked until he went missing, called attention to his plight.

Also, journalists asked if the police were going to include the Wuse hospital management in the prosecution.

The identity of the person who deposited the late journalist's corpse remains unknown.

Responding, Mr Mba said the police would address issues of negligence on the part of the hospital management,while assuring that the policemen at the Wuse checkpoint on the night of the accident would be held to account after all the facts of the matter have been gathered.

Benue govt kicks

The Benue Sate government has expressed shock over Mr Salem's death.

Samuel Ortom, the state governor, said "he was pained how the former Vanguard reporter suddenly disappeared but was found dead by unidentified persons in an undisclosed location in Abuja."

According to a statement issued on Friday by Mr Ortom's chief press secretary, Nathaniel Ikyur, the "mysterious recovery of the body of the deceased reporter was suspicious and deserves to be thoroughly investigated."

Mr Ortom appealed to the heads of the police and State Security Service (SSS)

"to unravel the mystery surrounding the gruesome murder of the Benue-born journalist."

NUJ demands independent inquiry, autopsy

The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) FCT Council has tasked the gederal government to empanel an independent probe into circumstances surrounding Mr Salem's death.

In a statement, on Friday, Emmanuel Ogbeche and Ochiaka Ugwu, chairman and secretary of Council respectively, said they were disturbed by the death of Mr Salem and the account of the police was not in sync with credible investigation.

"The death of Mr. Tordue Salem opens another dark chapter for journalism and journalists in Nigeria and we are grievously saddened by it," the statement reads.

"While the NUJ appreciates the effort of the police in finding the corpse of Mr. Salem, as a union we are not persuaded by the account of the police as it poses more questions than answers.

It is in this regard that we urge President Muhammadu Buhari to order for an independent inquiry into the tragic end of Mr. Salem.

"The NUJ also demands for an independent autopsy so as to allay the fears of thousands of journalists and citizens across the country that indeed the late Mr. Tordue was a victim of a hit and run driver."

According to the union, the very fact that the family of the deceased as well as the leadership of the union were not contacted prior to the public announcement of the finding of his corpse remains suspicious as well as the identity of whoever deposited it at the morgue.

The statement expressed the fear that without concrete action and bringing to book those responsible for the dastardly act, more journalists will be in grave danger and further weaken democratic ethos and the ability to hold government accountable.

"The NUJ is deeply concerned that the space for press freedom is fast shrinking, with the authority and political officeholders using draconian laws as well as new measures to silence critical voices and independent media".

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It cited rising threats to press freedom to include authority and political officeholders to harass journalists by smearing critical coverage as fake news and new laws related to digital communication, which would effectively silence journalists from holding government accountable to the people.

The union called on the international community to focus on Nigeria and help to bring to account all those responsible for media abuse, intimidation, harassment and even murder.

Backstory

Amid growing concerns over the safety of Nigerian journalists, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, and Presidential spokesperson, Femi Adesina, lauded the President Muhammadu Buhari-led regime for providing an "enabling environment for journalism to thrive."

PREMIUM TIMES reported that the officials spoke at an event marking the 2021 International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists in Abuja.

The duo spoke three weeks after Mr Salem was declared missing in Abuja, Nigeria's capital city.

Recently, journalists were manhandled and barred from covering proceedings in the ongoing trial of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) by government security operatives.

Last month during the one year anniversary of the nationwide #EndSARS protests against police brutality and human rights violations, armed police personnel teargassed and arrested journalists in Lagos and Abuja.

Some of them were arrested at Lekki Tollgate in Lagos during the memorial procession to mark the one year anniversary of the shooting of peaceful #EndSARS protesters by soldiers at the location in October 2020.

Despite a plethora of instances of clampdowns on journalists, Mr Malami said the Buhari-led government had helped Nigeria exit the ignoble class of countries with the worst records of crimes against journalists.
Authorities in Tana River County are investigating claims that young girls are being married off for food and cash as families struggle to survive amid the raging drought.

The region's education director James Nyagah revealed that his officers are pursuing an old man who married a four-year-old girl in Reketa village, Tana Delta.

"The drought has worsened the situation, the population of girls in schools is dropping fast," he said.

Mr Nyagah noted that 10 girls at Reketa Primary School are reportedly pregnant and may soon be married off in their state.

At Miticharaka Primary School, 25 girls are pregnant with nearly half the number said to be waiting to be married off.

Adam Gurka, an elder in Tana Delta, said at least 20 girls below the age of 17 have been married off due to the dry season to rich elderly men.

"At such a time the bride price for the young girls is low. Elderly men target vulnerable families," he said. Parents are given10 to 20 goats and five cows before giving away the young girls.

The grooms are usually aged between 45 and 80. "Their offer is difficult to turn down if you imagine the number of livestock you have lost to the drought. All the parents who are approached give in," said Gurka.

Ralia Hassan, an activist from Kalkacha village, said fathers are at the centre of the practice.

"When there is nothing else to sell during such calamity, the girl child becomes the item of trade, and this has to stop," she said.

Fatma Hassan from Abaganda village is among those who have paid the price of drought. She was married off to a 72-year-old man in 2016 when she was 14. Her father had then lost all his 17 cows to drought.

The situation threatened lives at their home thus when her father was approached with the offer, he did not think twice.

"He took it, all I can remember is my mother asking me to prepare I was going to have a big wedding," she said.

She was not alone, many other parents had considered the offers. That year, she notes, more than 20 girls were married to old men in one month.

In 2018, when drought struck, several girls were similarly married off.

County children's officer Daniel Waiti said he has handled 1,500 child abuse cases between January and October. The cases range from child labour, early marriages to defilement.

The children officer said parents have abdicated their responsibilities to provide for their children.

A report by the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (Unicef) published this year reveals that at least 23,000 children in Tana River are missing from schools.

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Mohammed Walihye, an elder in Tana Delta, said this will help track the girls.

"Unless we do it, we are going to remain with only boys in schools, we must be vigilant as elders ."

County commissioner Mbogai Rioba said government agencies, Unicef and other organisations are working round the clock to ensure that some 2,000 girls are rescued from the shackles of misery.

"We shall trace them, and make sure that if they are in marriage, we arrest the perpetrators," he said.

He observed that monthly stipend to families and insurance compensations have played a good part in averting cases of early marriage.

"We have so far supplied drought pellets, and we will soon start with relief food. There is no reason for a parent to trade off their child for anything," he says.
Thirty-four and counting. This is the number of people, mostly suspected terrorists, their sympathisers and criminals, who have gone missing in the last six months, human rights groups say.

Their disappearances and probable deaths have been linked to security agencies.

Although the Inspector-General of police and the Attorney-General will only speak about the two latest disappearances - terror suspect Elgiva Bwire and his lawyer Hassan Nandwa - when they appear in court today, the fact that the State is being asked to explain the disappearances was a long time coming.

It is not known whether IG Hillary Mutyambai or AG Kihara Kariuki will show up at the constitutional court or send representatives as ordered by Justice Anthony Mrima on Monday.

Justice Mrima made the order in a case where the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) has sued the Inspector-General of police and the AG over the disappearance of Prof Nandwa and his client.

What is clear, however, is that protests are growing louder over enforced disappearances and the approach by the State is increasingly taking, where judicial procedures are avoided in the name of fighting crime and terror.

According to the Independent Medico Legal Unit (IMLU), 764 cases of extrajudicial killings have been documented and are suspected to have been carried out by security agencies in the name of fighting terror. More than 70 percent have been described as "summary executions".

The number of terror suspects who have disappeared in 2021 stands at 34, rights group Haki Africa says. This is almost double the 18 who disappeared last year.

Ahead of the court hearing today, LSK and Muslim leaders yesterday petitioned the AG, the Inspector-General of police and the Speaker of the National Assembly to end extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.

"There has to be a general stop to enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, as they have been prevalent in the country. A task force should be established to specifically investigate enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings," they say in their petition.

"We further invite the National Assembly to take all the necessary steps to have Kenya ratify and adopt the 'International Convention on the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance'."

Police spokesperson Bruno Shioso, while receiving the petition on behalf of the IG, said the National Police Service had no hand in the cases but was aware of the disappearances and that the cases were being investigated.

"As a law enforcement agency, we want to ensure that for all people who are missing proper investigations are carried out so that they are found and they go back to their families," Mr Shioso said.

The question that the State has failed to answer is who has the powers and capability to kidnap people at will for whatever reason using vehicles without registered number plates and cannot be found and made to face justice.

Abducted at gunpoint

And there are examples around the country of recent disappearances. In Mombasa, the family of a 22-year-old university student, who has a Sh10 million bounty on his head over links to Al-Shabaab terrorists, is demanding answers from the government over his whereabouts.

Muhamad Abubakar Said, alias Minshawary, was allegedly abducted at gunpoint on October 14 in the Seven-Up area of Majengo, Nairobi, after attending Ishaa prayers at Masjid Azhar at around 8:30pm and has not been seen.

Yesterday, his family expressed shock when they heard that their relative is a terror suspect that police say is armed and dangerous.

Zahara Mohamed, the mother of the Umma University student, dismissed allegations that her son is a terrorist or is connected to the Somalia-based fighters.

"My son has never been armed or crossed the border to Somalia for any reason," she said.

Speaking at her home in Majengo, the distraught woman said her son has been wrongly and mistakenly linked to the militants.

She said he had been tortured by his abductors to the extent that his face was deformed.

"We have seen the poster bearing his image. His face is swollen, it seems he has been seriously assaulted and injured," she said.

Mr Muhamad's cousin, Abdulrahman Said, has pointed accusing fingers at security agencies, noting that they are responsible for his disappearance.

He dismissed claims that Mr Muhamad had at any time in his life crossed the border to Somalia or engaged in suspicious activities.

"We know Muhamad is in police custody, so please release him. There is no need to put a Sh10 million bounty on his head because the government knows where he is," he said.

"Why are they claiming he has crossed the border to Somalia? Have they taken him there? He has never travelled outside this country before," he added.

The cash reward offered by the police for any information that could lead to his arrest, the family says, is just a clever way for the service to distance itself from the abduction and disappearance.

"We want a proper explanation from the government on his whereabouts. We are asking that he be returned home, where he was picked from," claimed Said.

Released by abductors

"We have so many photos of him that he took before his abduction. The one posted on social media shows he has been seriously tortured."

The family claims that their Mr Muhamad was bundled into one of the three cars his abductors were using before being driven off at high speed.

The family reported the matter at the Central Police Station under OB Number 16/15/10/2021 a day after he disappeared.

His disappearance comes barely a month after businessman Abdulhakim Sagar, 40, who disappeared under similar circumstances, resurfaced after being released by his abductors.

Mr Muhamad is among four terror suspects on whom Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti has offered a reward of Sh10 million for information that could lead to their arrest.

The suspects are Elgiva Bwire Oliacha, alias Seif Deen; Barigi Abdikadir Haila; Trevor Ndwiga, alias Idriss Jamal; and Salim Rashid Mohamed.

Mr Kinoti says Mr Oliacha, who disappeared shortly after serving 10-year jail terms at the Kamiti Maximum Security Prison for terror-related offences, is planning a retaliatory attack in Kenya against civilians and security personnel.

"He has gone underground and is believed to be planning to carry out attacks. The NPS informs members of the public that Mr Oliacha is armed and dangerous and appeals for information regarding his whereabouts," the DCI said on Twitter.

The DCI also wants help to arrest Mr Rashid, an alleged Islamic State (Isis) follower that he claims is planning to sneak into Kenya to carry out a terrorist attack.

Mr Rashid, a butcher, jumped bail after he was charged with terror-related offences in a Mombasa court. He is believed to be the leader of the Isis wing terrorising people in Mozambique.

"Mr Rashid was out on bond over terrorism charges and is suspected to have joined Daesh/Islamic State terrorist group in Mozambique," Mr Kinoti said.

Mr Jamal hails from the Hamza area of Makadara in Nairobi. He was also out on bond over terror-related offences.

According to Missing Voices Kenya, 105 people have been killed by the police or disappeared this year.

The site, run by a group of organisations seeking to shed light on extrajudicial killings in Kenya, recorded seven alleged police killings in separate incidents in January.

Enforced disappearances

In February, nine cases of alleged police killings were reported and one enforced disappearance.

In March, 13 killings were reported, including two enforced disappearances as a result of six separate incidents.

In April, seven cases were reported involving five separate incidents.

In June, 20 killings and three enforced disappearances were recorded from 15 separate incidents.

The killings peaked in August, when 22 cases of police killings were reported as a result of 21 incidents.

In September, there were eight reported police killings as a result of six incidents.

Some 69 percent of the killings were reportedly committed during anti-crime operations, including anti-terror operations with Nairobi, accounting for most deaths by police and enforced disappearances.

Of the identified cases, only 28 are pending in courts. Among the people who have allegedly been abducted by the police this year is Bakari Mbwana, a butchery salesman in Likoni. He was allegedly grabbed by men in police uniforms and two unidentified white men on February 24. He is still missing.

Others are Newton Kibra, Michael Kimani, Bakari Hassan, Salim Ndegwa and Benedicto Kago Mugure, who were allegedly abducted on March 27 by officers who broke into their homes and left with them. Their families filed missing-person reports only for them to be killed inside a residential room in Bombolulu, Kisauni.

Kisauni sub-county police Commander Daniel Masaba confirmed the killings, saying the men were suspected robbers.

On April 19, Elijah Obuong (35), Benjamin Amache (30), Brian Oduor (36) and Jack Anyango Ochieng (37) disappeared after having lunch at Enkare club in Kitengela.

They were bundled into a Toyota Prado and were reported missing, until May when their bodies were found handcuffed and floating in gunny bags in the Thika river in Kiunyu village and the Mukungai river in Mathioya sub-county.

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Tairmur Kariuki Hussein was arrested by Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) officers on June 11 and charged.

He was released on June 28 after being declared innocent. Soon after his release, he was again abducted and his whereabouts remain unknown.

Terror-related charges

Abulhakim Sagara, a businessman, was reportedly abducted by security agents driving a car with registration number KBQ 035C at Mlango wa Papa in Mombasa.

In 2018, Mr Sagara had been arrested alongside two others on terror-related charges but was released on bond by a Shanzu court, which ordered him to report to the ATPU offices in Mombasa every month.

But a video clip shows him being bundled into the car to an unknown destination. He is still missing.

Abdalla Jaffer, a businessman, was allegedly abducted by about 20 ATPU officers on claims that he was an Al-Shabaab militant on the night of July 18.

The officers allegedly found him enjoying his evening shower but removed him from the bathroom and assaulted him while he was naked. He is reportedly still missing.

Mohammed Kasim, a tout and fishmonger, was allegedly abducted by unknown armed men believed to be police officers from his home in Soko Mjinga, Mombasa, on July 15.

Radhi Awadh, a tout, was reportedly abducted by unknown armed men believed to be police officers from his home in Soko Mjinga, Mombasa, on July 19.

The men are said to have broken down Mr Awadh's door before ordering everyone to lie down and arresting him. He is still missing.

Others include 28-year-old Abubakar Muhammad, who is reported to have been abducted by armed people in a double-cabin pickup with registration number KCM 694N after he left prayers in Majengo, Mombasa County.

Mr Dahir Osman was allegedly kidnapped after prayers at a mosque in Eastleigh.

Yassir Mahmoud Ahmed was allegedly dragged from the county government ambulance he was driving by officers "in full Kenyan military and police gear" in a GK-registered vehicle. Orders from the Malindi High Court to have him produced in court have continuously been ignored.

Additionally, the identities of 16 bodies retrieved from the Tana River between July and September remain unknown even as the families of 14 people reportedly abducted by the police in Garissa from October last year say they are still missing.
ODM leader Raila Odinga and Deputy President William Ruto yesterday intensified campaigns for State House in Ukambani, the backyard of Wiper party chief Kalonzo Musyoka.

Dr Ruto was making his fifth trip to the region in just two weeks while Mr Odinga continued his Azimio la Umoja initiative.

With estimated 1.6 million votes, according to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, the region which voted overwhelmingly for Mr Odinga and his running mate Musyoka in 2013 and 2017, is emerging a key political battle ground.

But Wiper party maintains that Mr Musyoka is still popular in the region. Wiper's organising secretary and Kathiani MP, Robert Mbui, said Dr Ruto and Mr Odinga have made a mistake by failing to use Mr Musyoka in their hunt for votes.

"Wiper controls Machakos, Makueni and Kitui county assemblies. We have the majority of MPs in the region. All the senators are from our party," Mr Mbui said.

Mr Mbui spoke on the day Dr Ruto addressed a series of roadside rallies in Kitui South as Mr Odinga met Ukambani governors, dozens of MCAs, business community and hundreds of grassroots leaders from the three counties for his Azimio la Umoja forum at Wote Town in Makueni County, before addressing road side rallies at Wote and Emali townships.

The DP promoted his UDA party and the bottom-up economic model, which sits at the centre of his presidential campaign. As this was happening, most of those who spoke at Mr Odinga's forums in Makueni County trained their guns on Dr Ruto, whom they sensationally accused of slowing down President Uhuru Kenyatta's development agenda. They also poked holes in Dr Ruto's bottom-up economic model.

Governors Alfred Mutua (Machakos), Charity Ngilu (Kitui) and Lee Kinyanjui (Nakuru) as well as MPs Maina Kamanda (nominated), Junet Mohammed (Suna), Teddy Mwambire (Ganze), Richard Chonga (Kilifi South), Raphael Wanjala (Budalangi) and Caleb Amisi (Saboti) painted Dr Ruto as unsuitable to succeed President Kenyatta.

Mr Musyoka expects to fly the One Kenya Alliance (OKA) presidential ticket in the 2022 General Election. But he has been under intense pressure from various quarters to abandon his bid and support either Dr Ruto or Mr Odinga.

"We have resolved to join hands with Mr Odinga for the 2022 elections under Azimo la Umoja," a joint statement signed by the three governors which Dr Mutua read said. "Although we are competitors with Mr Odinga we shall sit and agree how we shall work together," Dr Mutua said.

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The governors hailed Mr Odinga for being committed to working with the leaders in the region.

Mr Odinga elicited cheers when he delivered Mr Musyoka's greetings at the rallies and said they had been in communication.

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Tunis/Tunisia  27,360 COVID-19 vaccine shots (9,852 first shots, 7,237 boosters, 10,181 third doses and 90 travel shots) were administered on November 12, the Health Ministry said on Friday evening.

As such, a total of 9,791,690 jabs were administered till November 12, including 5,802,387 first shots, 3,732,745 boosters, 243,348 third doses and 13,210 travel shots, the ministry specified.

The number of fully vaccinated people reached 4,745,923 on this date, including 3,732,745 who got two doses and 1,013,178 who received one shot as the J&J/Janssen vaccine requires a single dose or they had previously contracted the virus.

The overall number of people who registered to book vaccination appointments on Evax.tn hit 6,864,676 on November 12.
Dar es Salaam  Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) is facilitating the exportation of bulk copper from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the first time in fifteen years.

The cargo which will be shipped unloaded (not in container) inside the Lady Damla ship, confirms a renewed confidence on the port of Dar es Salaam which links the DRC through the central corridor.

The copper weighing 5,100 tonnes is set to be exported to China and the Middle East this weekend, according to port director Elihuruma Lema, who spoke on behalf of the Director General of TPA.

Mr Lema said now firms and businesses were regaining their trust in the port due to improvements in security and port infrastructure which allow safe and easy handling and exportation of products.

"This is the firt time in 15 years and we are going to facilitate another 20,000 tonnes on November 17 - and another 10,000 tonnes on November 23 this year. We encourage businesses and investors to use the port because we ensure safe passage for their products," he said.

Dar es Salaam Port Copper Operation leader Frank Milongo said due to the improvement of infrastructure including tools and security in the port, they were now able to handle and export from 12,000 to 15,000 tonnes of copper per month.

"In the past six months we had a capacity of handling and export less than 6,000 tonnes per month but we thank TPA which has improved infrastructure by adding machines and security and we have doubled the performance," he said.

For his part, Mr Ali Lilani from Inland Container Depot (ICD) said the bulk copper was stored in their facilities in Dar es Salaam (near Sabasaba) before it was transferred in the port for export.

"... after we received the product we informed Mr Lema and he told us there were no challenges. We then informed the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) who gave us full cooperation.

"After that process we managed to transfer all these tonnes in just three days from our offices to the port and they were ready for exportation," Mr Lilani explained the process.

Mr Arshad Akbar from Impala Terminals Dar es Salaam, a multi-modal transport hub for trade to and from eastern and central Africa said the process was smooth and he was confident the bulk product would be delivered on time to its final destination.
press release

The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Rt.Hon. Anita Among, and a team from the World Health Organization (WHO), led by the WHO Representative, Dr Yonas Tegegn Woldemariam, committed to working together to address to promote mental health in the country. This was at a meeting held at the Ugandan Parliament in Kampala.

The meeting, which was attended by the Uganda Parliamentary Forum on Mental Health, led by its chairperson, Hon. Macho Godfrey, Busia Municipality, aimed to create a solid basis for close collaboration to address mental health issues in Uganda, which account for 3.14% of the country's total disease burden.

"The burden of mental health disorders is high in Uganda and COVID-19 has further reinforced this burden. We need to seriously think about expanding mental health services at the grassroots level, as it is at the district level that the treatment gap can be adequately addressed." - Rt. Hon Anita Among, Deputy Speaker of the Ugandan Parliament.

The Deputy Speaker of Parliament also called for a mechanism to provide counselling services to children before they return to school due to the stress they have experienced during the pandemic and the trauma and stigma caused by COVID-19 cases recorded in schools.

The WHO Representative to Uganda, Dr Yonas Tegegn Woldemariam said, "mental health problems are driven by many factors, including environmental factors, drug abuse and now the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a need for concrete action to ensure the good mental health of Ugandans."

He further pointed out that mental health issues cannot be addressed by the Ministry of Health and WHO alone, but also the support of parliamentarians to take the message to their various communities is needed.

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Despite the universal nature and magnitude of mental illness, the gap between the demand for mental health services and supply remains large. Relatively few people in Uganda have access to quality mental health services. The serious gaps in mental health care that remain are the result of decades of chronic under-investment in mental health promotion, prevention and care seen in most developing countries. Stigma, discrimination and human rights violations against people with mental disorders remain widespread.

The United Nations has made several resolutions and declarations for strategies and guidelines to guide countries on prevention and control of mental disorders and promotion of mental health since 1975 including a comprehensive mental health action plan 2013-2030 and the definition of mental health, and human rights (2020).

In addition, to this support, there is a need to develop appropriate messages on mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention to combat stigma and discrimination; strengthen multi-sectoral collaboration and encourage partnerships with all stakeholders, including local and international NGOs, and prioritize teachers and students at all levels; to strengthen community-based mental health services by training primary health workers to promote the integration of mental health in primary health care.

During the meeting, WHO pledged to provide technical support to the Parliamentary Forum on Mental Health to review and finalize its draft strategic plan, development of a monitoring tool and a dashboard to enable the parliamentary forum to track implementation at the district level, and to assist the PFMH in organizing capacity-building workshops on mental health for Members of Parliament
opinion

In the week leading up to the tabling of the medium-term budget policy statement, expectations were high that addressing the impact of poverty and inequality would feature strongly.

Sadly, this was not the case.

Instead, we got what we always get - the request to be patient, to stick to the dream of a primary account surplus, and then maybe we can make the investments needed to implement expanded social security and invest in strengthening the health system. So, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana's maiden budget speech this week just translates into the trite "but until then, let's just do more with less".

Granted, budgets on their own do not solve structural issues, but what it does is provide some insight into the government's plans for addressing its broader developmental priorities.

Hinting at these developmental priorities in respect to healthcare is South Africa's commitment to achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by 2030. South Africa is a signatory to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. A recent publication assesses South Africa's progress towards UHC using routine health information. The UHC tracer indicators are categorised into four categories: infectious diseases, reproductive, maternal, and child health (RMCH), non-communicable diseases, and service access. South Africa's performance against these targets was assessed for the period 2008 to 2017 and showed that progress towards effective coverage on most targets remains woefully POOR with just 56% coverage.

Doing more with less: The current context for this budget

Government invested heavily in mitigating COVID-related risks by implementing several regulations, such as alcohol bans to reduce the impact of trauma-related injuries on the health system along with significant budget allocations for vaccines.

It is important to be reminded that there have been over 265 000 excess natural deaths between March 2020 and November 2021. This is almost three times more than the official number of COVID-19 deaths, at around 89 000.

While necessary, COVID-related restrictions also had some unintended consequences, as shown in the NIDS-CRAM Study on the unintended consequences of COVID-related restrictions on access to routine health services. The findings, among others, showed a drop in clinic visits, HIV testing, immunisation of children, and contraceptive uptake, as well as reduced reproductive health access. The report warned that "negative consequences may unfold over an extended period if interventions to 'catch up' are not urgently prioritised and closely monitored". Correcting these disruptions to routine health services will require careful and targeted planning, but, importantly also resources.

Added to this, we also saw the impact of the inefficiencies of South Africa's parallel health system across the COVID cascade. Surveillance reports published by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases reported that between March 2020 and March 2021 over 50% of COVID tests were done in the private sector despite only 15% of the population enjoying private medical scheme coverage. Over the same period, hospital admissions also showed a bias towards private sector admissions with over 40% of COVID-related admissions occurring in private facilities. Official COVID deaths also appeared higher in public health facilities, often as a result of delayed seeking of care.

Unmet expectations and budget cuts

So, considering all of this, there was a genuine expectation that the government would seize the moment and make the necessary investments to prioritise and improve access and responsiveness to quality healthcare. Instead, the budget proposed further cuts to an already collapsing health system.

Health is a shared competence between national and provincial health departments, meaning that while the national department is driving issues such as health policy, provincial health departments are the implementing agents. Delivering healthcare services is a provincial function that is funded from the provincial equitable share. Over the next three years, however, this crucial funding allocation is reduced. Health allocations make up around 27% of the provinces' share of national revenue. These resources are augmented by conditional grants that are allocated nationally but implemented by the provinces.

Good governance of health systems relies on good quality data on the burden of disease, delivery of health services, outcomes of interventions, and advances on equity, particularly the limiting of out-of-pocket expenditures. For example, the National Health Insurance indirect grant is intended to facilitate the strengthening of health management information systems to improve decision-making and prioritisation. The cut to this grant sets back this crucial investment in strengthening health system responsiveness. A recent report from the Medical Research Council that evaluated the readiness of public hospitals for the implementation of DRG (Diagnosis-Related Groupers) as a funding mechanism for hospitals highlighted the woeful state of hospital administrative systems with 40% of hospitals assessed being unable to produce discharge records, among other challenges. In this context, these budget cuts compromise long-term efficiency.

The health revitalisation grant that is intended to support the building of new facilities and the refurbishment of existing facilities remains static with R18 billion allocated over the next three financial years. Considering the significant overruns in the management of these projects this may have been an opportunity to reduce expenditure while prioritising the strengthening of organisational systems which the grant also accommodates. Investing in infrastructure is risky when we do not have the organisational and governance capacity to support it.

The HIV/AIDS, TB, and community outreach grant is largely protected. However, some consideration should be given to how effective the current grant is. To end HIV/AIDS as a public health threat, 90% of people living with HIV must know their status, 90% of people with diagnosed HIV must be initiated on treatment and lastly, 90% of those initiated on treatment must be virally suppressed. Currently, we score particularly poorly on the second 90, which undermines the HIV response as a whole. We need closer interrogation of what is constraining the response. Continuing to do more of the same is clearly not the right way forward.

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Provincial departments of health who are responsible for delivering healthcare services and employ most healthcare workers depend on the provincial equitable share of national revenue. The cuts to the provincial equitable share will place further pressure on struggling rural provinces like the Eastern Cape, Limpopo, Northwest, and the Free State to make the necessary investments to address health inequities.

Section 27 of the Constitution guarantees everyone the right to healthcare services and commits the government to the progressive realisation of this right. This budget is meant to be a vehicle to achieve this by prioritising the interests of the most vulnerable, but instead, it places the interests of the elites ahead of the needs of the majority. Members of medical schemes will be unaffected by these cuts and will continue to benefit from a medical scheme credit that has the state effectively subsidising membership. Job losses also disproportionately affected low-income workers placing a bigger burden on the public health system.

*Rensburg is director of the Rural Advocacy Project (RHAP). RHAP is a member of the Budget Justice Coalition
Tucked away outside Cape Town, Khayelitsha is a township that is home to about half a million people. Many families in the area share small corrugated zinc houses with limited access to basic services such as clean water and sanitation. It is in such areas that diseases such as tuberculosis (TB) spread rapidly.

According to Dr Anja Reuter from Doctors without Borders (MSF), there are about 170 to 200 cases of rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis (RR-TB) per year in this area, with 70% co-infected with HIV. Rifampicin is a key drug in the treatment of drug-susceptible forms of TB. When people are resistant to it, they have to be treated with drugs with a less favourable side effect profile than the standard ones. Resistant strains of TB can be transmitted from one person to another.

Working with the department of health in the province, MSF is trying to ensure that people with RR-TB in Khayelitsha are started on treatment as soon as possible. They are, however, taking it a step further by testing the household contacts of people with RR-TB and treating those who test positive. They also offer TB preventive therapy to those who do not test positive, focussing mainly on family members who are 19-years-old or younger. They are trialling a model of family-centred TB treatment and care.

A saving grace

For Nonki* the MSF programme has been a saving grace. Her brother fell ill in the Eastern Cape. Ill and having to walk long distances to fetch water, his mother said he must come to Khayelitsha to be with his other family members.

"We took him to the hospital and because he didn't have a file at a nearby clinic they took time to help him. At that time we didn't know what to do because we were staying in this tiny house, we slept together. We shared everything. That was not long before I started getting sick. I felt weak and slept the whole day. I was sweating at night. I decided to go to the clinic. They did the screenings and they ran some tests on me. After that they told me that I have MDR-TB," she says. (MDR-TB is TB that is resistant to both rifampicin and isoniazid, although the term is sometimes used interchangeably with RR-TB.)

She says she realized that she shouldn't hide that they are staying with children as they may also have contracted the disease. "I told them (at the clinic) that at home we are many and there are children. So, they were also called and were tested. Some were also diagnosed with TB. That is when they started taking treatment. It was found that my mother, my older child, and my younger brother did not contract TB, so they were put on preventative medication," she says.

Her mother says they had a poor understanding of MDR-TB. "I was shocked because many people with this TB were dying, even transferred to the hospital in Brooklyn Chest Hospital. So, here at home, it was devastating since we lost a family member because of TB. But the more the nurses came, we understood the disease and we understood that it was curable," she says.

She says that what kept them going was the support they received from the multi-disciplinary team who came to their house to support them. "They just didn't come for TB issues, they checked if we're doing ok, if we had food. The kids were getting groceries. They know our situation in this family. We see sometimes either a social worker bringing a food parcel and last week they bought tekkies for the kids because they know the situation at my house. This has really helped us to deal with TB and for that we are grateful," she says.

A holistic family-centred approach

Reuter says understanding the family within the home environment is key in offering family-friendly services for RR-TB. "Family-friendly care includes preventative and curative TB services for the whole family. Through this model, it allowed us to holistically care for the whole family in a community setting," she says.

Erika Mohr-Holland, DR-TB Epidemiology Activity Manager at MSF, explains that the family-centred approach includes providing holistic care for the family rather than just treating the index case for RR-TB.

"Providing care at the household level enabled us to get a better understanding of the family composition and needs (socio-economic/social) and to identify more contacts that would benefit from TB preventive Therapy. Additionally, we were able to detect child/ adolescent contacts with RR-TB disease and get them on treatment sooner," she says.

Mohr-Holland thinks that the approach is excellent as it has ensured the provision of more holistic, family-centred care in which not only treatment of disease was provided but the whole family was assessed as a unit. The care provided was differentiated based on the identified needs of the individuals in the family - such as the detection of diseases other than TB, the need for TB preventive therapy, social support, and counselling that can be tailored to the needs of children. The home-based care service was provided by multi-disciplinary teams each consisting of a nurse, a doctor, a patient support manager, a social worker, and a peer supporter.

Focus on prevention

According to the World Health Organization's (WHO) Global Tuberculosis Report 2021, the main healthcare intervention available to reduce the risk of TB infection progressing to active TB disease is TB preventive therapy. Until recently, preventive therapy involved taking an isoniazid pill every day for at least six months, but three month and one month alternatives are also becoming available. Spotlight previously reported on the introduction of 3HP in South Africa - a three-month preventive therapy regimen consisting of the drugs isoniazid and rifapentine.

The number of people who were provided with TB preventive therapy globally increased from 1.0 million in 2015 to 3.6 million in 2019, but this positive trend was reversed in 2020 when it fell to 2.8 million.

The WHO estimates that in 2020 93% of people living with HIV in South Africa newly started on antiretroviral therapy were also started on preventive therapy for TB. The picture is less positive when it comes to children, with only an estimated 51% of under fives who live in households where someone has been diagnosed with TB having been started on preventive therapy.

From March 2020 to August 2021, the MSF programme in Khayelitsha identified 150 contacts of people with RR-TB for post-exposure management. Two of the contacts had Drug-sensitive TB, 13 had Drug-resistant TB, and 135 contacts were potentially eligible for preventive therapy - although only 119 actually started taking it.

Of the 119, 61 have so far completed preventive therapy, 45 are still on preventive therapy, 11 were lost to follow-up, one was referred to another study, and two discontinued preventive therapy due to an adverse event.

Screening kids in their homes

The home-based, family-centred approach builds on previous research conducted by MSF. In 2017, MSF launched a pilot programme in Khayelitsha that set out to screen for TB and follow up adolescents and children who had been exposed to drug-resistant TB in their households so that they would be able to respond quickly if these individuals did in fact develop the disease.

Mohr-Holland says in 2017 there was no preventive therapy for children (guidelines did not provide for it) so the model entailed screening contacts and following them for a period of two years, doing more routine screenings to see if they developed TB disease and if they did, to link them to treatment as soon as possible.

"This model did not incorporate the home-based care approach and thus there were many barriers in accessing care at the facilities [for example] getting to the facility when already under economic strain (money for transport, missing work or school to be screened), being seen in a timely manner at the facility (long wait times, no fast-tracking of healthy kids), and no preventive therapy," she says.

However, in 2019, South Africa's RR-TB treatment guidelines were updated, recommending RR-TB preventative therapy for certain high-risk individuals, including household contacts. Additionally, due to COVID-19, the model of care was adapted to provide home-based care and telephonic follow up for some contacts initiated on preventive therapy.

"Bringing care closer to the community, with a model that allowed for more flexible follow-up and multi-month dispensing of preventive therapy, meant that the families were not as strained by being required to go to the facilities for screening, preventive therapy initiation, and follow up," she says.

@MSF will shortly be presenting #TB-PRACTECAL clincal trial results at a symposium session @UnionConference #UnionConf

This is why new, short, safe drug-resistant TB treatments are so important  https://t.co/QROqBpZjFl pic.twitter.com/elNVLPY69B

- MSF Science (@MSFsci) October 22, 2021

Presenting the initiative at the recently held 52nd Union World Conference on Lung Health, MSF DR-TB nurse, Ivy Apolisi said there are gaps in the diagnosis of children and adolescents; one of the reasons is that the current model of care is not friendly to children and their caregivers.

"Due to COVID-19 we modified our post-exposure management and the modification included home visits and screening kids in their households. During home or clinic visits the basic assessment included clinical assessment and TB symptom screening for all and chest X-ray and Xpert MTB/RIF testing at the discretion of the clinician if there was a presumption of TB disease. Diagnosis was made based on the basis of these findings. Children who were diagnosed with TB were started on TB treatment immediately in the community," she says. If TB disease was ruled out the child was started on a six-month course of TB preventive therapy with isoniazid. (Xpert MTB/RIF is the gold standard molecular test with which TB is currently being diagnosed in South Africa.)

Apolisi says they identified DR TB champions from local clinics and trained them on how to diagnose and manage children in the local clinics. "This allowed for early diagnosis of mild disease. These kids were provided child-friendly injectable-free regimens because we had access to child-friendly formulations. Through this model and the post-exposure management protocol, there has been a drastic increase in case detection. The rate of co-prevalent TB detection via the post-exposure management programme was higher than that reported in the existing literature. Many paediatric cases go undetected in this population and COVID-19 has further exacerbated gaps in the cascade of care," she said, adding that not all children and adolescents' contacts diagnosed with co-prevalent TB disease had symptoms of TB highlighting the poor sensitivity of the existing screening tools and the need for robust clinical evaluation.

Successes and challenges

Presenting at the same conference, Mohr-Holland said that preventive therapy is imperative in reducing the risks of morbidity and mortality associated with RR-TB. "We are very far from reaching our target of 30 million people on preventive therapy by 2022, we are currently at 6.3 million people (this is a multi-year figure, which is why it is higher than the WHO figures quoted earlier). In Khayelitsha, the preventive therapy roll-out has been successful as families have been accepting of preventative therapy and there has even been demand for preventive therapy due to concerns about the risks posed by COVID on TB transmission. Additionally, the lockdown and school closures made it easier to interact with the population of interest, highlighting the importance of differentiated models of care to engage with this population," she said, adding that traditionally post-exposure management services are offered at clinics, however, with the home-based care model, this meant fewer visits to the clinic, therefore, saving patients money and time.

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As with any successful programme, Mohr-Holland said there were challenges.

"There was trouble reaching families with no cell phones or incorrect numbers meaning they had to be followed up post preventive therapy initiation at the household or clinic. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the home-based care team arrived at patients' households wearing scrubs, it further perpetuated stigma associated with COVID in the community. Thus, we had to change our attire and think about what we wore when conducting home visits," she says. "Additionally, unfortunately, Khayelitsha has a high rate of violent crimes so individuals living in areas with safety concerns would have to be seen at the clinic or followed up telephonically."

Can it be scaled up?

At the moment, Mohr-Holland says they are working with stakeholders on better capacitating community healthcare workers (CHWs) to provide these home-based services. The proposal is to train and mentor CHWs to feel better equipped to provide post-exposure management services, conduct household-level TB screening, and provide follow-up support to families in which there are people on preventive therapy.

"The aim is that CHWs could be involved in conducting household assessments, including screening of household contacts and then providing routine follow-up and support to individuals started on preventive therapy, linking them to care should medical care be needed for adverse events due to preventive therapy (which are uncommon and mild). This proposal is still in the development phase-- MSF is busy in conversations with the city and provincial departments of health and the various different stakeholders to refine the implementation plan, which will hopefully be piloted soon," she says. "We hope that this differentiated model of family-centred care for providing post-exposure management and TPT will be rolled out more broadly across the country."

*Not her real name.
Carbon markets rules set to be decided in Glasgow lack protections to stop abuses of indigenous forest communities, human rights experts warn

* COP26 aims to agree outstanding rules for global carbon markets

* Activists say indigenous consent, complaint mechanisms left out

* Some indigenous groups reject carbon offsetting as exploitation

As the COP26 climate talks neared a close, environmentalists and lawyers warned rules for global carbon markets, due to be finalised in Glasgow, lack protections to stop abuses of the rights of indigenous peoples who rely on forests for survival.

Human rights and green groups, including Amnesty International, Friends of the Earth and the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), said the rules being firmed up at COP26 could lead to land being taken from indigenous communities without their consent.

They also pointed to the absence in the draft carbon markets text of an independent mechanism to fairly handle grievances around human rights issues.

Erika Lennon, a senior attorney in CIEL's climate and energy programme, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation that unless those problems were fixed it would be preferable to postpone agreement on the rules, which remain an unresolved part of the 2015 Paris accord.

"I certainly think that not having an agreement here (on carbon markets) is a better outcome and more of a win than pushing through an agreement that doesn't properly ensure protection for human rights and the rights of indigenous peoples," Lennon said.

During a "People's Plenary" on the last day of COP26, which looks set to run past its Friday deadline, Ta'Kaiya Blaney, 19, a member of Canada's Tla'Amin First Nation, decried the summit as a "performance".

She called it "an illusion constructed to salvage capitalist economies rooted in resource extraction and colonialism".

"I didn't come here to fix the agenda, I came here to disrupt it," she said to applause and cheers. "Colonialism is what caused climate change and I am not going to my coloniser for solutions. We reject colonial solutions for climate change."

Her sentiments echo those of some other indigenous peoples who say they are the best stewards of the planet's dwindling forests and must be given a bigger role in deciding what happens to their lands and the natural resources they contain.

Many oppose the trading of offsets based on the carbon dioxide absorbed by trees on their land, to compensate for planet-warming emissions elsewhere.

Countries and companies making net-zero emissions pledges can fulfill them either by cutting their own emissions or paying others to absorb the climate-changing greenhouses gases.

With emissions cuts still far from steep enough to prevent the worst impacts of climate change, many countries and firms are turning to such "offsets" to make their carbon accounting add up.

LESSONS LEARNED?

David R. Boyd, U.N. special rapporteur on human rights and the environment and a professor at the University of British Columbia, warned on Twitter that in the rush to conclude rules on international carbon markets at COP26, human rights are "being largely ignored".

Governments should learn from the "multiple disasters" of such markets under the earlier Kyoto Protocol aimed at cutting emissions, he added.

Those included "brazen fraud and the eviction of indigenous peoples and local communities from their homes and livelihoods in forests", he noted.

The current COP26 text offers few assurances on rights, activists say.

It largely repeats the introduction to the Paris Agreement, which says countries should "when taking action to address climate change, respect, promote and consider their respective obligations on human rights" and the rights of indigenous peoples.

A draft version of the Glasgow decision being negotiated on Friday recommended undertaking consultation with local and indigenous people when setting up offsetting projects in forest-rich developing countries.

But it said such consultations should be in accordance with "domestic arrangements" rather than international standards.

'FIGHTING FOR EVERYONE'

As large numbers of countries and companies around the world sign net-zero emissions pledges, many hope to buy carbon emissions reduction credits from countries and forest communities that keep their trees standing.

Gloria Ushigua, the leader of Ashiniawka, an association of Sapara indigenous women in Ecuador's Amazon, said other indigenous groups near hers have taken such money.

The deals - like those with oil firms looking for fossil fuels on indigenous land - offer remote communities the chance to buy things that many of their young people now want, from sugar and rice to Western clothing, she said.

"A lot of indigenous people are signing up, because they feel they are benefiting," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation on the sidelines of the COP26 negotiations.

But Ushigua, wearing a long red macaw feather tucked into a patterned headband, said she strongly opposed indigenous groups taking payments to protect their forests - something they have long done well, often at huge cost, she said.

Over the past three decades, she has travelled repeatedly to Quito, Ecuador's capital, and as far away as the Chinese embassy in San Francisco to fight efforts to allow oil drilling on her community's land.

Ushigua said she feared accepting forest payments could, in the long run, lead to the loss of hard-won land rights and titles in indigenous communities.

"There is lot of money coming to this" effort to pay for forest protection, she said.

"It's a tricky situation but I feel I am doing the right thing" by refusing it in her community's 400,000-hectare territory in eastern Ecuador, she added.

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She hopes instead to create ecotourism opportunities in her community of about 500 people, one of the smaller indigenous groups in Ecuador's Amazon.

By keeping indigenous control of the Amazon's forests, "we are not fighting just for indigenous people but for everyone," she said.

Amnesty International cautioned in a statement on Thursday on the COP26 carbon market negotiations that failure to include concrete human rights protection mechanisms could see indigenous peoples uprooted without their consent from their ancestral lands, to make way for carbon market projects.

A deal without rights guarantees could also pave the way for other communities to face forced evictions, and limit victims' ability to seek redress for human rights violations, it said.

On Friday, U.S. climate envoy John Kerry told the COP26 conference the United States thinks it is "critical" that the new carbon market rules protect human rights and indigenous people.

But Amnesty and others insist the rules, as they stand, lack adequate safeguards and there has been too little involvement of indigenous peoples in drawing up the basis for such markets.

"Human rights should never be used as a bargaining chip. Affected people and their human rights must always be at the heart of climate-related decisions," Amnesty's statement said.

- Reporting by Megan Rowling @meganrowling and Laurie Goering; editing by Laurie Goering
" " The Southern Footballfish, (Himantolophus stewarti), a globose spiny anglerfish, with an elaborately decorated lure and protruding chin, restricted to the deep southern waters of all three major oceans of the world, was described as new to science as recently as 2011. Ted Pietsch

Anglerfish have got an angle all right, but it's definitely not to win anyone over with their spooky good looks. Rather their end game is to attract their prey using a form of fishing known as angling, where an angle (hook) is used to lure in and catch an unsuspecting fish. Yep, just like a fisherman sitting with a pole in hand, anglerfish do indeed fish ... except they do it from the ocean floor. No tackle box or bait needed.

The carnivorous female anglerfish wait patiently in the depths of the sparsely populated deep sea to literally lure in their next meal. They wiggle and "angle" a rod-like extension of their dorsal spine that protrudes from their head and emits light. Once their prey comes close, the female strikes and snags them, using her large, pointy teeth to chomp them up, even if they are twice her size. You gotta admit, that's some seriously self-sufficient fishing.

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And in a scientifically groundbreaking 2018 video, scientists captured images of a female with numerous thin filaments extending from her body in addition to her main dorsal appendage. These filaments also emit light, creating a bioluminescent web of whiskers to attract and surround their prey:

Where Do Anglerfish Hang Out?

Some species of anglerfish live in shallow, tropical waters, but the ones that peak the interest of scientists are the ones that live in the deep, murky depths of the ocean  some as deep as 16,400 feet (5,000 meters).

Ted Pietsch, a professor at the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences at the University of Washington and author of Oceanic Anglerfishes: Extraordinary Diversity in the Deep Sea, has been studying the elusive anglerfish almost his entire career. He reports by email that, "There are about 166 species so far, but new ones are still coming up. They live so deep that we don't really have a good idea of how big they actually get. We send nets down to collect them, and the deeper we go the larger specimens come up."

But how do they manage to stay so close to the ocean floor at such depths? Pietsch shares that most anglerfish, along with some other deep-sea fish, don't have a swim bladder  a gas filled sac that helps fish stay afloat without the need to constantly swim. The lack of a swim bladder not only helps them stay near the bottom, it also conserves energy  energy that's at a premium given the difficulty of finding a meal so far down.
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 13, ARMENPRESS. Vice-President of Romanias ruling National Liberal Party, vice-chair of the foreign affairs committee of the Chamber of Deputies Ben Oni Ardelean made a post on social media on the occasion of the 1st anniversary of the 2020 November 9 trilateral statement relating to the ceasefire in Nagorno Karabakh.

The war with direct and indirect involvement of some regional and external actors has left thousands dead soldiers and civilians, tens of thousands displaced people, dozens of prisoners of war and civilian detainees. As a result of the war many historical and religious monuments in Nagorno Karabakh including those that are considered as significant Christian heritage sites have been destroyed, damaged or still remain in danger.

Being convinced that a peaceful resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict has no alternative, all sides should resume political dialogue under auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chair countries, the only internationally agreed mediation format. Thus, I encourage the efforts of the Romanian side supported by ten European Union member states to induce Brussels to play a more active role in the South Caucasus, especially oriented on the immediate resolution of the humanitarian consequences of the last year hostilities, the MP said.
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 13, ARMENPRESS. The National Security Service of Artsakh released a statement on the incident that occurred today near the Shushi checkpoint.

The statement of the Artsakh NSS says that on November 13 they have been reported that an unknown man, in response to the provocative actions of the Azerbaijani servicemen on the Stepanakert-Berdzor interstate road, near the checkpoint of Shushi, threw an explosive device in the direction of the checkpoint after which the Stepanakert-Shushi-Berdzor interstate road has been closed on both sides.

The law enforcement agencies of Artsakh together with the Russian peacekeepers carry out respective investigative operations to reveal the circumstances of the incident.

At the moment the Stepanakert-Shushi-Berdzor interstate road is open on both sides. There are no casualties among the citizens of Artsakh as a result of the incident, the NSS statement says.

The NSS once again called on citizens not to panic and stay calm, and follow only the official news.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
The National Security Service of Artsakh released a statement on the incident that occurred today near the Shushi checkpoint.

November 13, 2021, 11:22 Artsakh National Security Service releases statement on incident near Shushi checkpoint

STEPANAKERT, NOVEMBER 13, ARTSAKHPRESS: "On November 13 we have been reported that an unknown man, in response to the provocative actions of the Azerbaijani servicemen on the Stepanakert-Berdzor interstate road, near the checkpoint of Shushi, threw an explosive in the direction of the checkpoint after which the Stepanakert-Shushi-Berdzor interstate road has been closed on both sides.

Artsakh law enforcement agencies together with the Russian peacekeepers carry out respective investigative operations to reveal the circumstances of the incident.

At the moment the Stepanakert-Shushi-Berdzor interstate road is open on both sides. There are no casualties among the citizens of Artsakh as a result of the incident, the NSS statement says.

We once again urge our citizens not to panic and follow only the official news," the statement reads.
A Sydney man has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly shoving a woman before dousing her in fuel and trying to set her alight.

Emergency services were called to a home in Carramar on Friday afternoon, after a domestic violence incident was reported.

Police will allege a man became physically aggressive toward a woman, pushing her head against a cupboard, before pouring a flammable liquid over her body and clothing.

He then attempted to light the woman on fire, they say, but was unsuccessful.

The woman cried out to neighbours for help, before the man fled the scene in a vehicle.

She was taken to hospital for treatment and assessment, as specialist police forensically examined a crime scene at the home.

A 46-year-old man was arrested at Fairfield Police Station about 10pm on Friday, and charged with attempt murder, causing grievous bodily harm to person with intent and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

He was also charged with contravening an AVO restriction.

He was refused bail to appear at Parramatta Bail Court on Saturday.
The US has promised an "unwavering commitment" to defending Japan, including southern islets claimed by China, Tokyo's new foreign minister says.

Yoshimasa Hayashi said on Saturday that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had assured him in a phone call the United States remains committed to supporting one of their key allies in the region.

Japan's ties with China have been plagued by a territorial dispute over a group of Japanese-administered islands in the East China Sea - known as the Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China - as well as the legacy of Japan's past military aggression.

"Secretary Blinken stated that US commitment to defending Japan, including the application of Article 5 of the Japan-US Security Treaty for the Senkaku islands, was unwavering," Hayashi told reporters.

The treaty says each party recognises an armed attack on territories under Japan's administration would be dangerous to its peace and safety, and it would act to meet the common danger.

Hayashi said he and Blinken shared the view that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait was crucial.

Cross-strait tensions have been rising in recent months, with Taiwan complaining for a year or more of repeated missions by China's air force near the self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its own.

Hayashi and Blinken strongly opposed China's unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the East and South China Seas, and agreed on close co-operation between the allies in responding to issues regarding China, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said in a written statement.
A diesel engine business that started decades ago in an Auburn garage and grew to include 330 people in five states is now part of a national company.

Jasper Holdings Inc. recently acquired D&W Diesel, a remanufacturer and distributor of diesel engine components that began in a rented one-bay garage in 1976 by Doug Wayne. Three years later his brother Dave joined him, and the siblings grew the business into a multi-state operation that employs 330 people.

Indiana-based Jasper, which has more than 2,300 employees in 50 locations around the country, intends to keep D&W an independently operating business. Greg Wrona, a 13-year D&W employee who most recently was serving as vice president, is now president of the D&W subsidiary. In addition, the Wayne brothers will continue to serve in leadership roles through the transition.

Wrona told The Citizen on Friday that the Waynes were looking to take a less active role in the business by finding a buyer who would keep D&W going and retain its workforce and facilities. The company's headquarters on Clark Street Road in Aurelius employs about 220 people, with the rest of its workforce spread among locations in Rochester, Albany, Buffalo in New York state, and in Worcester, Massachusetts; Cliffwood, New Jersey; and the major cities of Cleveland, Philadelphia and Denver.

"(The Waynes) felt this was the most responsible thing to do to ensure D&W's continuation," Wrona said, noting that Jasper has "the resources that can help us grow."

He also noted that for staff, an added bonus of becoming part of Jasper is an employee stock ownership plan that can provide additional retirement funds.

In addition to its own diesel engine products and services, Jasper's business lines include gas engines, transmissions, differentials, rear axle assemblies, air and fuel components, marine engines, sterndrives, performance engines, and electric motors.

We are honored to add D&W to our Jasper Holdings, Inc. brands as they are well respected throughout the industry, Jasper Holdings Inc. CEO Doug Bawel said in a press release. Doug Wayne and Dave Wayne will continue to be involved, which is great.

We have known the Waynes for many years as a supplier and innovator in the industry, said Jasper President Zach Bawel. To have them and their Associates join our Jasper Holdings, Inc. family of companies is great for their Associates, and great for us."

Jeremy Boyer can be reached at (315) 282-2231 or jeremy.boyer@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @CitizenBoyer

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The month of November is a busy one for the Zonta International clubs worldwide, as this is the month that our campaign "Zonta Says No to Violence Against Women" begins, during the 16 Days Of Activism from Nov. 25 through Dec. 5.

The Zonta Club of Auburn will join other Zonta clubs from around the world as we raise our voices to bring awareness to this issue and advocate on behalf of gender-based violence survivors.

Given that there has been a lot of national media coverage regarding human rights with regard to diversity, equity and inclusion worldwide, I would like to quote Zonta International as follows:

Zonta Internationals commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion

Since 1919, Zonta has been working to create a more equitable future for women and girls. We believe that fostering a diverse and inclusive global community is a powerful platform to bring about the social change needed to make our vision for gender equality a reality. As a global organization, Zonta International values the contributions of members of all backgrounds, regardless of age, ethnicity, race, color, ability, religion, socio-economic status, culture, sexual orientation or gender identity. We believe that a diverse community of members is essential to our ability to achieve our mission to create a more equitable future.

We strive to be an organization where everyone feels empowered to be their full authentic selves. We celebrate multiple approaches and points of view and know that different ideas, perspectives and backgrounds create a stronger and more creative environment to better serve our members and achieve our mission for gender equality. We welcome differences and strive to ensure that all voices are valued and heard. While we have more work to do, we are committed to the values of diversity and inclusion across all Zonta International activities and initiatives.

In order to achieve these goals, Zonta works with partner organizations such as the United Nation Populations Fund, UNICEF USA, United Nations Women, Girls Not Brides, the Coalition to End Violence Against Women and Girls Globally, and Womens Empowerment Principals. Here is a brief description of the goal of each organization:

 The United Nations Populations Fund is the United Nations' sexual and reproductive health agency. Their mission is to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled.

 UNICEF USA supports UNICEF  and other efforts in support of the world's children  through advocacy, education and fundraising in the United States.

 United Nations Women and Girls Not Brides raise awareness of the harmful impact of child marriage by encouraging open, inclusive and informed discussion at the community, local, national and international level.

 The Coalition to End Violence Against Women and Girls Globally consists of more than 180 organizations whose combined expertise, experience, programmatic work and collaboration with local activists make it a powerful resource on the prevention of and response to violence against women and girls globally.

 Womens Empowerment Principals: Corporate sustainability starts with a companys value system and a principles-based approach to doing business. This means operating in ways that, at a minimum, meet fundamental responsibilities in the areas of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption. Listed below is a sample of these principals.

Human rights

Principle No. 1: Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights.

Principle No. 2: make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses.

Labor

Principle No. 3: Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining.

Principle No. 4: The elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labor.

In closing, since November is the month of official Thanksgiving, the Zonta Club of Auburn extends our thanks and gratitude to the local organizations that support us in various ways, and enable us to continue our work.

In recognition of Veterans Day, which was Nov. 11, a special thank you to all those men and women who are serving or have served in the United States military to protect our freedom.

For information regarding the Zonta Club of Auburn, please visit our website at zontadistrict2.org/auburn or email us at auburn@zontadistrict2.org.

Kathy Barnard is president of the Zonta Club of Auburn. For more information, visit zonta.org or zontadistrict2.org.

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New York state's mass COVID-19 vaccination sites  including the state fairgrounds near Syracuse  will soon be administering vaccines to eligible children from 5 to 11 years old.

According to a news release, the state sites will complement the availability of vaccines already being administered by a network of pediatricians, family physicians, local health departments, rural and federally qualified health centers and pharmacies.

To expedite and expand this effort, Gov. Kathy Hochul has asked the state mass vaccination sites to acquire pediatric doses and prepare to vaccinate 5 to 11 year-olds, with all 13 sites preparing to do so in the days ahead.

Following the CDC's recommendation of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children in this age group, New York State's Clinical Advisory Task Force endorsed the CDC recommendation and the state issued guidance to providers. Since that time, more than 50,000 New York children in this age group have received the first dose of the vaccine.

"Parents have been waiting for the ability to protect their young children from COVID-19, and we are doing everything we can to make that possible," Hochul said in a statement. "Since this 5 to 11 year-old age group became eligible, we have been encouraging parents to reach out to their pediatricians and local health providers to set up vaccine appointments and now I'm directing our state mass vaccination sites to open their doors to the youngest and most recently eligible New Yorkers."

The Central New York site is the Art and Home Center at the New York State Fairgrounds in Geddes, and parents and guardians can make appointments online. Additionally, parents and guardians are encouraged to contact their child's pediatrician, family physician, health centers, pharmacies or other providers for vaccination information and to schedule appointments.

Parents and guardians are also encouraged to visit the state's new website, ny.gov/VaxForKids, for information, frequently asked questions and new resources about the COVID-19 vaccine for children.

Make sure that any site or provider offers the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, as the other COVID-19 vaccines are not yet authorized for this age group.

Additionally, the Cayuga County Health Department will begin holding clinics in school buildings for 5- to 11-year-old students, as well as a community clinic for the same age group.

The school-based clinics next week are taking place in Auburn and southern Cayuga County.

Students in Auburn's Herman Avenue and Owasco elementary schools and its junior high school can get shots on Tuesday. Clinics are set for Wednesday at Peachtown Elementary School in Aurora and Southern Cayuga Elementary School in Poplar Ridge. The health department said parents should contact the schools directly for information on registering their children.

A clinic for children is also scheduled for 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Nov. 20, at the Fingerlakes Mall. Advance registration is required and can be made by visiting cayugacounty.us/health.

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COVID metrics have decreased in Coconino County for the second week in a row, according to a dashboard data report released Nov. 12. While the county is still at a high overall transmission level, reporting 446 new cases for the week, percent positivity in testing has returned to the moderate category.

Case rates are still over three times the threshold for high transmission, at 315.2 cases per 100,000. This is lower than last weeks rate of 340 per 100,000. A little over 250 of the weeks new cases were reported in Flagstaff, with zip code 86011 experiencing the largest increase (44%).

Percent positivity of testing done in the county also dropped, to 7.3% from last weeks rate of 8.1%. The level of testing was similar to the previous two weeks, with 6,237 tests conducted.

Both overall testing and percent positivity at Northern Arizona University stayed relatively steady over the past week, with 171 out of 3,696 tests returning positive (4.6%). The majority of positive tests (99, or about 58%) were not affiliated with the university.

NAU is managing 75 COVID-19 cases among students on- and off-campus, according to its website, updated Nov. 10.

County residents under 44 years old had the highest case rate this week (353 cases per 100,000 for people under 20 and 352 for those between the ages of 20 and 44), though more percent positivity was reported at a higher age range (9.9% for those between 45 and 54 years old and 8.9% for people over 65).

COVID-related hospitalizations for the week remained at a similar level as the past two months, with 19 cases, mostly split between 20- to 44-year-olds and those older than 65.

The incidence of COVID-like illness in county hospitals (CLI) rose slightly compared to last week, remaining in the lower half of the moderate range (7.3%, with last weeks reported CLI being 6.9%). Four COVID deaths were reported in the county this week.

Flagstaffs vaccination rate is at 54.9%, slightly lower than the 60.2% reported in the county this week. The county website lists a total of 5,605 COVID vaccine doses administered in November so far (Nov. 1-11), with 173,378 doses administered in the county since vaccines first became available. The chart shows an increase in doses administered beginning in late October, rates at similar levels to those reported in late April of this year.

The Flagstaff Mall vaccine location established last week has now shifted to offering only childrens vaccine doses, due to high demand. According to CCHHSs social media, the site will now operate from 12 to 5 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays, or until capacity is reached.

Appointments are not needed, and a total of 100 vaccines are available each day. Capacity can be checked on the county website, which also lists other locations offering child doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The NAU Fieldhouse, Coconino Community College and the Elks Lodge in Flagstaff also began offering child doses by appointment on Nov. 12.

The countys dashboard reports 34.4% of county residents between the ages of 12 and 20 as being vaccinated by Nov. 6, one day after the county began administering doses to children ages 5 to 11. The Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) has adjusted their dashboard to include children over the age of 5 this week, reporting a 22.2% vaccination rate for those younger than 20 in Coconino County, as of Nov. 12.

Were adding many more Arizonans to the population eligible for COVID-19 vaccination, ADHS wrote in the announcement of this change. As parents make the wise decision to protect their children through vaccination, Arizona will move even closer to the community immunity needed to put COVID-19 in its place.

Cases also fell while remaining higher than recent averages at Flagstaff schools this week, with metrics falling in the same transmission range as the county as a whole.

For the week ending Nov. 6, Flagstaff charter schools reported an incidence rate of 278 cases per 100,000 and Flagstaff Unified School District (FUSD) reported one of 286 per 100,000 (down from 297 and 312, respectively). Percent positivity for charter schools was 6.2% compared to 6.3% at FUSD (last weeks positivity yield for each was 6.2 and 6.6%).

All FUSD schools reported at least one new case this week, though none reported more than 10. The district-wide total of 57 for the week is slightly lower than the 64 cases reported for each of the past two weeks, while remaining higher than the districts previous average range of cases in the thirties.

Marshall Elementary reported the most cases in the district for the week (9), followed by Flagstaff High School (7) and Mount Elden Middle School (6).

In a Nov. 9 board meeting, FUSD superintendent Michael Penca said he expected the higher cases rates to continue.

As with all FUSD board meetings this year, an assortment of parents and students attended to protest the districts approach to COVID, mainly its mask mandate.

Changing the districts mitigation strategies would require a decrease in cases, Penca said.

We know parents, teachers are frustrated when students have to quarantine, Penca said. Its very challenging for us to work through those high rates of COVID-19 like we were experiencing last year, but still maintaining our schools as open as possible. Its draining and fatiguing and exhausting for everyone involved and so we appreciate everyones patience. I think if we keep working together and supporting one another, we can get through these challenging times and look forward to those better days that do lie ahead.

The district had its second COVID-related school closure for the year last week, with DeMiguel Elementary moving to remote learning from Nov. 3 to 5. The building reopened Monday and reported four cases this week, bringing its total for the year to 53.

Board member Christine Fredericks, whose grandson is a kindergartner at DeMiguel, said she appreciated the schools staff for their flexibility and effort in switching to remote instruction.

Penca said FUSD staff were prepared to be ready to make changes at a moment's notice.

Were really proud, especially at DeMiguel[that] within an hour of us making that decision [we] could send iPads home with every student, we could get those communications out. ..It hasnt come without a lot of preparation and practice, but it worked, Penca said.

He called closures difficult decisions made in response to a variety of metrics. Between 13 and 15 district locations had been identified as outbreak schools at the time of the meeting. School closures, Penca said, are meant as a reset, a way to break the cycle after transmission continues to increase.

Its really giving a break from the people inside those shared spaces, he said. If we can get a few extra days beyond the weekend or a scheduled break, that allows for time to really break that transmission and allows us to catch up and re-evaluate the mitigation strategies.

He said he couldnt guarantee that schools wouldnt have to close again, but that FUSD would continue monitoring cases.

I wish I could say yeah, absolutely, that will work, but we dont know that for sure. Its when weve exhausted everything that we know worked and were still seeing transmission happen that we have to do something different, Penca said.

He asked families and employees to work with the district and stay home when experiencing symptoms.

It takes us all working together and monitoring our own health, doing the things we know work in preventing the spread, he said.
NEW YORK (AP)  The average time for U.S. immigration cases to be resolved is nearly four years. But that's not the mandate in Francisco Prietos courtroom.

The New York judge must attempt to rule within 300 days on dozens of cases he hears daily from families that just entered the country. The migrants are being sent to the front of the line with the idea that others will be less likely to migrate knowing a backlog of more than 1.4 million cases will no longer buy them a few years in the United States even if they lose.

Nearly six months ago, the Biden administration established a dedicated docket for families, many seeking asylum, in Prietos city and 10 others, including Boston, San Francisco, Miami and El Paso, Texas. It is a modest step aimed at bringing order to the southern border, where authorities this year have faced unusually high numbers of migrant arrivals, including nearly 15,000, mostly Haitians, who camped under a bridge in the small border town of Del Rio, Texas, in September.

Roughly 35 of the countrys more than 530 immigration judges are assigned to the new docket, according to the most recent data provided by the Executive Office for Immigration Review, which oversees federal immigration courts. Many juggle the duties on top of their normal caseloads.

While it's still early, the effort has made progress: As of mid-September, it was handling nearly 16,000 cases, and more than 100 had received at least an initial decision, according to the agency. It declined to provide more details.

Still, the numbers barely make a dent: Tens of thousands of migrants are released into the country each month, with orders to report to immigration authorities later.

The expedited docket also faces some of the same challenges and complaints as similar efforts under Bidens two predecessors.

Critics say it rushes the complex work of building asylum cases, making it nearly impossible for migrants to have a fair shot, especially if they cant secure an attorney in time. Judges follow the same procedures applied in other immigration cases but on a shorter timeline.

During the Obama and Trump administrations, most families that went through similar fast-track dockets lacked legal representation and were ultimately ordered removed from the country, according to the Migration Policy Institute, a D.C. think tank.

Prieto, the New York judge, is among those handling the most cases under the new docket, with more than 1,600 assigned to him by the end of August, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, or TRAC, at Syracuse University.

One day last month, the Trump appointee urged families to find a low- or no-cost attorney on a government referral list. Some said no one answers the phone when they call, or they are told they cant be helped. Prieto told them to persist before he set new court dates.

Many families had immediate concerns: trouble with their ankle monitors or with rules confining them to their homes one day a week. Joselyn Margarita Aguilar, who appeared with her young daughter, cant leave her house on Fridays.

I found a job and I lost it because I was told I cant miss Fridays at work, the Honduran woman told the judge. I need more time (to find an attorney) because I dont have a job and I cant pay.

An unusually large number of cases got postponed because the court didnt receive hearing notices from the Homeland Security Department. Prieto told families to wait for another notice.

Creole interpreters were connected by phone for Haitian migrants. One familys hearing was delayed due to technical difficulties. Their child ran around the courtroom while they waited, crying loudly when his fingers got caught in a swinging door.

Another woman from Ecuador who arrived with her husband and two children, one in a stroller, asked for a work permit. Prieto told her to discuss it with an attorney.

More than half of cases are in New York and Boston, a common destination for Ecuadorians, Brazilians and Haitians.

The Justice Department, which oversees immigration courts, has said it chose the 11 cities involved not just because they're where most recent arrivals are settling, but because they have established legal service providers and available judges.

In Boston, which was added to the program relatively recently, one judge had the most cases on the new docket of any in the country, at least through August. Mario Sturla had 3,178 cases assigned to him, on top of the nearly 4,000 others he was handling, according to TRAC.

One October afternoon, almost all of the roughly 20 cases before the Obama appointee were Brazilians, mostly parents with young children. The judge was courteous as families spoke through interpreters and juggled restless, sometimes crying children.

Few had lawyers. A 24-year-old woman from Cuenca, Ecuador, who asked to be identified by first name only for safety reasons, didnt know what to expect. The judge told her to return with an attorney in March.

I was nervous, fearful, worried about what was going to happen, said Angie, who fled with a 4-year-old daughter and year-old son, citing threats of being forced into prostitution. Im better now. The judge seemed nice. He was very calm. But well see.

She and her kids crossed the border in San Diego in August and have settled temporarily with an uncle in Worcester, Massachusetts.

The truth is, I am very afraid that they will return us to our country, and I do not know what will happen to us there, she said.

The fast-track docket is part of Bidens humane asylum system, which has included few other detailed plans, save for a proposal to use asylum officers at the border to decide cases instead of judges.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, in an emailed statement this week, maintained the dedicated docket provides fair hearings for families seeking asylum.

He noted the Justice Department is working to provide families legal orientation services and referrals to pro bono lawyers  an improvement over prior "rocket docket" efforts.

The goal of this process is to ensure that individuals who merit protection do not have to wait for years to get it, and that those who are ineligible for protection are quickly returned to their countries, Mayorkas said.

Theresa Cardinal Brown, a managing director at the Bipartisan Policy Center, said she's skeptical unless the effort gets more resources.

Youre still asking immigration judges who have a regular docket to also do this, said Brown, who recommends new positions to fund border courts that would aim to decide cases in six months. You havent expanded capacity at all.

Neptali Chiluisa, 47, crossed the border in June in Arizona and was detained for a week with his 14-year-old son, leaving behind his wife and three other children in Ecuador. The son returned in August because Chiluisa had to work and couldnt find a nearby school with space.

Chiluisa, who rents a room for $800 in a Bronx apartment he shares with other Ecuadorian families, was a boiler specialist for the army and found a similar job at New York construction sites. He acknowledges coming for economic reasons and wonders if he has any options for temporary legal status.

The U.S. needs workers, so policies should be less harsh with us, he said. We come to work.

A judge told him last month to return to court in November.

Marcelo reported from Boston and Spagat from San Diego.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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According to a team of astronomers that includes Lowell Observatorys Audrey Thirouin, the unusual space rock known as Kamooalewa might be a fragment of the moon. If so, it is the only known orbiting object comprised of lunar material, except the moon itself.

Asteroid 469219 Kamooalewa is a quasi-satellite of Earth, a type of asteroid that orbits the sun but stays relatively close to Earth. Only five are currently known, and scientists dont know a lot about them because they are faint and the geometry of their orbits limits their access for observing.

Scientists discovered Kamooalewa in 2016 using the PanSTARRS observing facility at Haleakala Observatory in Hawaii. The name is of Hawaiian origin and means wobbling celestial object, a reference to the objects oscillating movement across the sky as seen from Earth.

Kamooalewa measures approximately 165 feet in diameter. It rotates rapidlyonce every 28 minutes  and takes a year to orbit the sun. Its distance from Earth ranges from nine million miles (this is about 38 times the distance from the moon to Earth) to 25 million miles. It is very faint  about four million times fainter than the faintest star visible to the human eye. This means astronomers need very large telescopes to observe it, and this is only possible in April, when its located in a place visible from Earth.

In determining the composition of Kamooalewa, the team of scientists found that it seemed to closely match that of rocks collected from the moon by Apollo 14 astronauts Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell. To confirm these findings, they used two large Arizona telescopes  the 8.4-meter Large Binocular Telescope in southern Arizona and the 4.3-meter Lowell Discovery Telescope (LDT) near Flagstaff  to make follow-up observations in 2017. More observations followed in 2019 but not in 2020 due to COVID-related closures to observing facilities. The team again observed Kamooalewa in in 2021. The follow-up work confirmed the apparent lunar nature of Kamooalewa.

One big question that needs answering: if Kamooalewa is indeed of lunar origin, how did it get to its current location? Perhaps Earths gravity plucked it from the general population of so-called near-Earth objects that reside near Earth. Or perhaps it was ejected from the lunar surface by an impacting body. The answer may be on the horizon, as Chinas national space agency is planning a robotic mission to Kamooalewa in 2025 that would return samples.

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Egypt Independent, (link: Egyptian water expert reveals important developments about GERD operations)

Egyptian water expert Abbas Sharaky revealed important developments regarding the filling and operations of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) after Ethiopia conducted the first and second fillings.

Ethiopia made the first storage last year with about 5 billion m3, and the second storage, which was not completed till last July, with about 3 billion m3, at a total of 8 billion m3.

As a result of the flooding exceeding the capacity of the middle corridor, 2 billion m3 were temporarily stored. This could have been used to generate electricity, but after the end of the flooding season at the end of October, the temporary 2 billion m3 crossed without benefit, Sharaky said in a post on his official Facebook page.

All the gates are still closed, as is evident from the satellite (Sentinel 2) images, which show the retreat of the edges of the lake, he added.

Ethiopia was unable to operate the first two turbines scheduled to set off in October 2021, as the Ethiopian Minister of State for Communications, Information Technology and Digital Economy, Houria Ali Mahdi, announced that electricity production will be next year.

Sharaky stressed that thus the first and second storages are useless.

If Ethiopia wants to complete the engineering work in preparation for the third filling, it will open the two drainage gates that were opened in April 2021 until mid-August to drain the middle corridor, then start placing concrete to raise the height of the middle corridor in February.

These preparations are for storing about 10.5 billion m3 at a level of 595 m, to store a total of 18.5 billion m3, which was intended for the 2020 season.

Ethiopia may have to keep the current situation unchanged in the event that the civil war continues between the federal government and the Tigray Region.
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Chinese educational authorities are renewing efforts to safeguard schools from COVID-19 and other infectious diseases, said an official Saturday.

Currently, the spread of COVID-19 coincides with seasonal respiratory diseases risks, said Wang Dengfeng, an official with China's Ministry of Education, at a press conference.

According to Wang, the ministry has urged all schools to take the temperatures of all inbound personnel and closely monitor their health. They are also required to strictly implement epidemic prevention measures and respond with speed when emergencies occur.

Epidemic prevention and control work in schools should be conducted following local policies, Wang said, noting that schools must keep track of local epidemic prevention situations, keep their supplies sufficiently stocked, and be prepared to move educational activities online when needed.

The Ministry also encourages schools to organize and promote vaccination among its students and faculties, according to Wang.
"I'll be back" is a catchphrase associated with Arnold Schwarzenegger. It was made famous in the 1984 science fiction film The Terminator.

"I'll be back", such a daily casual line, since then has become a promise and threatening ; Like we say:! under some particular circumstances. "I'll be back." Moments later, the Terminator drives a car into the police station, destroying the counter, and massacres the staff.

Similarly ,"I shall return" -spoken by Douglas MacArthur as he fled the Philippines in World War II.

In Australia, he made his famous speech in which he declared, "I came through and I shall return".

As he returned to Philippine, he fullfilled his promise. " I shall return" became a quote of promise.

 
WASHINGTON  President Joe Biden and Democrats in Congress are looking to give U.S. automakers with union employees the inside track on the burgeoning electric vehicle market, triggering vocal opposition from foreign trade partners and Republicans who worry that manufacturers in their home states will be placed at a competitive disadvantage.

The $1.85 trillion spending package that Democrats are laboring to pass through Congress includes an array of programs designed to curb global warming and slash U.S. emissions. It includes incentives to hasten the transition to electric vehicles, which represent a small but rapidly growing share of the market.

If enacted, the bill would provide a $7,500 tax credit for consumers who purchase electric vehicles through 2026. Beginning the following year, only purchases of electric vehicles made in the U.S. qualify for the credit. The base credit goes up by $4,500 if the vehicle is made at a U.S. plant that operates under a union-negotiated collective bargaining agreement. Only auto plants owned by General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Stellantis NV currently qualify.

"I want those jobs here in Michigan, not halfway around the globe," Biden said when visiting a UAW job training center last month.

The union friendly add-on is raising hackles internationally and inside the U.S., testing the Democratic Party's commitment to a labor-friendly approach that Biden has made central to his political brand. The provision could boost the sale of electric vehicles while disadvantaging foreign automakers with U.S. plants that employ tens of thousands of manufacturing workers, particularly in Southern states where laws have made it hard to unionize.

Democrats are undaunted. They say supporting union jobs is good for the economy and the country.

"I'm a student of America's economic history and labor unions have consistently helped build out the middle class," said Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich. "We should have a policy that's consistent with our values. Our values are that communities are stronger, the economy is stronger when workers have wages, benefits and protections that not only apply to them, but set the highest standard for all other employees."

Ambassadors from the European Union, Canada and South Korea are among those who recently wrote to congressional leaders saying the credit is inconsistent with U.S. trade commitments and "tarnishes the spirit of trade laws that seek to establish the free and fair movement of goods."

Meanwhile, the governors of 11 states complained that the more generous tax credit for cars made in union plants would punish companies and workers in their states. Republican lawmakers portray it as payback for a major Democratic Party benefactor, the United Auto Workers, which spent about $1.25 million in support of federal candidates in the 2020 elections, more than 99% for Democratic candidates, according to OpenSecrets, which tracks campaign money.

Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said he didn't expect a more generous tax credit for union-made cars to be decisive for car buyers, but said it will be a factor.

"There's nothing about a union-made electric vehicle that makes it greener than a non-union vehicle, so it just seems pretty obvious it's funneling money to supporters. I think it's shameful," said Cornyn, whose state was selected by Tesla for a manufacturing plant as well as for its new corporate headquarters.

"It's a terrible idea," said Sen. Roger Wicker, a Republican from Mississippi, whose state is home to Nissan and Toyota plants. "It just strikes me as a blatant gift to a political friend. I don't see any other way to look at it. It's an obvious payoff."

All but the richest Americans would qualify for the tax credit, which would apply to vans, SUVs and pickups costing less than $80,000 and cars costing less than $55,000.

UAW President Ray Curry said in a statement supporting the bill that it would support "good paying union jobs and stands to benefit our country for decades to come."

"In addition, this framework encourages nonunion manufacturers to let their workers freely organize," Curry said.

Labor unions have seen their power recede in recent decades, largely due to declining membership. Kildee's congressional district includes the city of Flint, where a sit-down strike by General Motors workers in 1936-1937 brought about one of the biggest victories for labor unions in America's history. Within a year, membership in United Auto Workers grew from 30,000 to 500,000 and wages for autoworkers increased by as much as 300%.

"It transformed the community, and we think everybody should have that opportunity," Kildee said.

The combined $12,000 credit for cars made in U.S. plants with union workers would cut the starting price of a Chevrolet Bolt small electric hatchback from about $32,000 to around $20,000. That's well below the average price of a new vehicle, now over $42,000. The car also qualifies for additional $500 credit that is available for batteries made in the U.S.

Electric vehicle sales are now 2% of U.S. new vehicles sales, but IHS Markit, a research and analytics company, expects the share to grow to 32% by 2030.

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Rows of cotton American flags whipped outside the Gage County Courthouse in Thursdays 20 mph winds. The heavy fabrics, sucked to and fro in sudden gusts, tugged the metal polls along with themleaving some bent.

It was a miracle they were even out, though. Oftentimes, in damper and windier weather, they have to stay tucked inside the courthouse.

If they got wet, youd have to hang them out to dry, Jerry Lamkin, the Legion Post #27 commander said. You couldnt put them out if there was a small chance of rain.

But by next Veterans Day, flags will be able to fly outside the courthouse in all kinds of wet and gusty weather. This will revitalize the Beatrice tradition that started in 1991, according to Gage County Veterans Service Officer Scott Bates.

Legion Post #27 spearheaded an initiative to raise money to replace those cotton flags, most of which were burial flags donated by families, with all-weather flags. Lamkin said they started in June with the hopes of raising $22,500 by the following June. In less than half a year, they have $25,000.

Lamkin said the final funds snowballed in after Exmarks recent $2,000 gift. Despite that injection of cash, it will still take a few months for orders to arrive.

We have to order them twenty-five a time, he said. If things run true to course, I would anticipate that we would have everything by February.

This year, Bates led the volunteer initiative to put up and take down the flags. Those efforts will become more consistent when the all-weather flags arrive.

It looks so nice when were able to put the flags up, Gage County Courthouse custodian Dave Jones said. Its important to remember Veterans Day and Memorial Day. All these flags represent a veteran.

Jones was one of the thirty volunteers who met in the dark at 5:30 a.m. to put up the flag and came together at 4:30 p.m. to take them down.

Im very thankful to the community and all the veterans for supporting this, Bates said.

That evening, the volunteer efforts even attracted one passerby, Adrian Martin, who was taking pictures of the display and ended up joining the crew. Martin, originally from Cuba, has been in Beatrice for just a week now. He said he wanted to give back.

This community has been very good to me, Martin said. I like helping people.

Once the all-weather flags come in, Lamkin said Bates and Jones will use a list of names to return those cotton flags to the families. If the family doesnt want it returned or they cannot find the family, they will work with the courthouse to display the flags, properly folded, inside.

Lamkin said he is amazed by how quickly the Legion Post was able to fundraise for the project.

Seeing all those flags makes you part of something bigger than yourself, he said. The bottom line is that its the patriotic community we live in. It was the community that stepped in.

Community members can still give to support Legion Post #27s project. Lamkin said they will use surplus cash for maintenance and further expansion.

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SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  South Koreas main opposition presidential candidate said Friday he will strengthen military cooperation with the United States and Japan if elected to better cope with North Korea's nuclear threat and would strive to make the North a leading foreign policy priority for the U.S.

Yoon Suk Yeol has been leading public opinion surveys since becoming the conservative main opposition partys nominee last week for next Marchs election to choose the successor of current liberal President Moon Jae-in, whose single five-year term ends in May.

He is expected, however, to eventually face an extremely tight race against governing party candidate Lee Jae-myung.

Meeting with foreign media on Friday, Yoon stressed the need to boost cooperation with Washington and Japan to make up for South Koreas relative lack of ability to monitor North Koreas advancing nuclear program.

At a time when North Korea refuses denuclearization, bolsters its nuclear armaments and continues provocative missile tests, its accepted as an obvious fact that we have to upgrade our sharing of reconnaissance and intelligence assets and military cooperation with the U.S. and Japan, said Yoon, the People Power Party candidate.

South Korea and Japan are both key U.S. allies in East Asia and host a total of about 80,000 American troops. But their three-way cooperation has been tested in recent years over history and trade disputes between Seoul and Tokyo stemming largely from Japan's 1910-45 colonization of the Korean Peninsula. Moons government once threatened to terminate a trilateral intelligence-sharing agreement amid wrangling with Japan.

Stressing the need to improve ties with Tokyo, Yoon accused the Moon government of using tensions with Japan for domestic political gain. He said foreign policy should be implemented with pragmatism that prioritizes national interests over other matters.

Lee quickly criticized Yoon, writing on Facebook that Japans collective mood has shifted to the right considerably in recent years and that Yoon should be careful about his comments on Japan.

Policies for pursuing North Korea's denuclearization are likely be a leading issue in the March 9 election after Moons appeasement approach failed to convince the North to abandon its nuclear program, though it led to a temporary conciliatory mood between the rivals.

Lee has said he would follow an approach similar to Moons, and would seek exemptions from international sanctions on North Korea to allow a resumption of dormant joint cooperation projects. Yoon accused Moon of neglecting North Korean threats and said he would seek a stronger U.S. defense commitment to neutralize the Norths nuclear and missile threats.

Nuclear diplomacy between the U.S. and North Korea has been largely deadlocked since early 2019. North Korea isnt a top priority for President Joe Biden, who faces challenges from China and Russia and mounting domestic issues.

Yoon said he would encourage the Biden administration to consider North Korea a leading priority. To do so, he said he would push strongly for North Korea's denuclearization and present a concrete roadmap to achieve that.

Yoons stance could draw an angry response from North Korea, which has called previous South Korean conservative governments U.S. puppets, and avoided serious negotiations with them over its nuclear program.

The close race between Yoon and Lee will likely deepen South Koreas already serious conservative-liberal divide. Yoon recently attacked Lee over a massive property development scandal that his supporters say involves Lee. This week, Lee used his apology for past drunken driving to take issue with Yoons lack of experience in party politics, saying, I think a beginning driver is more dangerous than a driver with a drunken driving record.

Yoon was once Moons prosecutor general but left the government amid disputes with Moons associates. Lee, a former provincial governor, has built up an image as an outspoken anti-establishment figure but faces criticism that he is a populist.

On the economy, Yoon said Friday he would ensure fair competition in markets while slamming the Moon government over soaring housing prices and its contentious income-led growth strategy. Lee has said he would fight economic inequality and introduce a universal basic income.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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Milan to enjoy a big day out

Back Forza Milan @ 11/1 in the 13:05 at Cheltenham

No. 2 Forza Milan (Ire) Trainer: James A. Nash, Ireland

Jockey: Miss M. O'Sullivan

Age: 9

Weight: 11st 11lbs

OR: 139

The flower delivery with Black Poppy didn't turn up yesterday and Ringo Starlight was given far too much to do with Cieran Fallon completely out-ridden by Hollie Doyle at Kempton to give us a blank day, but we are hoping to strike back and land one for the win council for a super Saturday.

James Nash's Forza Milan has only won once over fences but the 13:05 amateurs' race looks so open he certainly looks worth a play each-way. And he can add to the scoresheet of the Ireland v Britain narrative no doubt, which has zero interest from anyone who has a bet.

The ground is obviously the 'Banquo's ghost' as most of his form (and indeed runs) has been on heavy, but he's been in far deeper races than this in his day and has stamina in abundance.

He has form in some grade B handicaps, and while he was probably flattered in some of his graded efforts, and he'll be fitter for his hurdles' effort last time out. He is quite hard work and is likely to trade at a much greater price in-running, so it might be worth placing a back bet at 21.020/1 or higher, but he does gallop and will not be lacking for stamina.

We can also use the Extra Place special on the Sportsbook and he is 11/1.

Midnight lurking in the shadows for a statement victory

Back Midnight Shadow each-way @'10/1 in the 14:15 Paddy Power Gold Cup at Cheltenham

No. 8 Midnight Shadow Trainer: Sue Smith

Jockey: Ryan Mania

Age: 8

Weight: 11st 5lbs

OR: 147

The first real big handicap of the year with the Paddy Power Gold Cup and the strength in depth is highlighted by the price of Midnight Shadow - a horse with plenty of graded form over fences and is a 10/1 poke, and it was close between him and Paint The Dream - who has been backed from 20s to 16s on the Sportsbook. This is certainly more competitive than England's match against Albania last night.

Fitness is certainly not an issue as he raced behind Allmankind last time in the Old Roan and was set to make a challenge two out but made an error that ruined any sort of hope of getting closer. But he was meeting Allmankind on a nice flat track which played to his strengths.

He has a decent record at Cheltenham as a one-time Dipper winner and ran a fair second in the Caspiar race at the track last December, albeit well beaten by a seriously well handicapped runner. I think he can win off 147 and he can give the Sue Smith yard a bit of a boost as they have been a bit quiet.

The pace is likely to come from Manofthemountain, who set a fierce one at Chepstow last time. He could be a nice back-to-lay trade.




The high school was placed on lockdown per internal protocol, but Petty said a short time later "the school is perfectly safe."

"Right now I have teams searching the school, but we believe this was an isolated incident," he said in an interview on the scene.

Broadwater and Four Georgians elementary schools were also locked down Friday afternoon, Weltz wrote in an email to families at 1:35 p.m.

"Law enforcement has determined that it is safe to resume normal operations," the email said. "The lockdowns for all locations have ended. There is no safety threat to students, staff or the community."

At the prayer vigil held by Daniel Thompson, pastor of the church where the teenager died, many gathered to grieve.

"This is a dark day, and we want to help any way we can," Thompson told those in attendance.

Among the attendees was Chair of the Helena Public Schools Board of Trustees Luke Muszkiewicz.
Off the Streets, the low-barrier shelter set up last fall in downtown Billings, has received $100,000 from the SCL Health Montana Mission Fund and the Montana Community Foundation.

SCL Health is the parent company of St. Vincent Healthcare and its foundation. The donation was given through United Way of Yellowstone County.

Off The Streets is a last-resort shelter set up by Continuum of Care, a group of more than 20 local organizations that assist, manage or treat members of Billings' vulnerable and transient populations. The shelter is housed in the former Western Inn downtown.

Those who use Off The Streets have to check in every evening and leave every morning. When they arrive they're screened by the Community Crisis Center and can be diverted to other Billings shelters if they qualify.

Last month, organizers of Off the Streets met with the Billings City Council to report on its effectiveness and the demand it's seen in the last 12 months. Using statistics gathered by the Billings Police Department, organizers showed that the shelter has been successful in reducing calls for public safety services in the area and that it had been more effective than anticipated in meeting the needs of downtown's transient and homeless populations.
The reasoning for vaccinating their young kids varied, ranging from protecting family members battling cancer, to personal stories of long-COVID symptoms, to simply wanting to get their childs school environment back to normal.

Kids getting ready for vaccination filed in with parents and siblings before being directed to red chairs, strategically positioned next to buckets of colorful suckers. Therapy dogs wandered to the kids who seemed the most stressed.

With knees pulled to his chest and heaving gasps providing a crescendo to the needle approaching his arm, one little boy watched closely with eyes wide and full of tears. Right next to him was Layla, a nine year old black lab, waiting patiently for the flood of pets that would come immediately after the jab.

Amazingly, no screaming followed as he melted into the black fur of the therapy dog.

Later, Layla led her handler to a staff member sitting quietly at the edge of the privacy curtains. The worker leaned in closely to give a few strokes to the tail-wagging K-9.

See, dont overlook the staff, said Harry Schlitz, leader of the Montana chapter of HOPE Animal-Assisted Crisis Response. The dogs will come and sit by those with the most stress. Even if we cant see it, they can sense it.
Thais Perkins is the owner of Reverie Books in Austin, Texas, and the parent of a middle school student and high school student. Among the books she is eager to have in her store, and in the schools, is an expanded edition of The 1619 Project" that comes out this week.

My store is a social-justice oriented bookstore, and this book fits very well within that mission, she says. I am promoting community sponsorships of the book, where people can purchase a copy and have it donated to one of the schools.

That is assuming, of course, the school will be allowed to accept it.

The 1619 Project, which began two years ago as a special issue of The New York Times magazine, has been at the heart of an intensifying debate over racism and the country's origins and how they should be presented in the classroom.

The project has been welcomed as a vital new voice that places slavery at the center of American history and Black people at the heart of a centuries-long quest for the U.S. to meet the promise  intended or otherwise  that all men are created equal. Project creator Nikole Hannah-Jones received a Pulitzer Prize for commentary.
The new law also changes the process for money donated to public schools.

Starting next year, taxpayers who want to claim the credit will contact school districts directly, which will then get preapproval from the state Department of Revenue to make sure the $1 million cap, which is expected to increase over time, hasnt been reached. If it hasnt, the district will then accept the donation and give the taxpayer a receipt to use when filing their tax return.

OBrien raised concerns about the possibility of taxpayers in a larger district rushing to make donations to reach the $1 million threshold before other districts could accept donations.

Has there been any consideration or discussion on the equity issue and looking at ways to ensure that my constituents in Missoula don't rush the stage, so to speak, and make contributions to Missoula County Public Schools and we hit that million dollar threshold and Missoula students get in, and Seeley Lake High School students get loads of cash and Butte or Ekalaka students suffer? OBrien asked.

Tony Zammit, the deputy chief legal counsel for the state Department of Revenue, told OBrien there was not a look at equity issues because thats not what the statute provides for.
The question remains just how much this phenomenon persists beyond COVID, he added.

Those who have made a large investment in equipment like a new RV, ski gear or a mountain bike may be less likely to abandon the activity, Sage said. For others, the outdoors may have been a one-off activity to be replaced by urban or foreign travel as restrictions ease.

Exploring

Although structured activities like guided rafting trips may have taken a hit in 2020, many Montanans continued to explore the outdoors, according to Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research polling.

So many people were out camping that 23% said they could not park at their chosen location. Most found another spot, the poll found, while about one quarter chose to go home.

The poll also found that as traditionally popular outdoor spots with public lands became more crowded, about one third of those polled opted to visit a new place, which is good news for tourism regions in Eastern Montana that are seeking some of the wests overflow.
Before Smith departed, students rallied outside of Main Hall and called for the university to fire Smith or for him to resign. Hand-designed signs displayed slogans of fire Rob Smith and when will justice be served?

But firing public employees, which include those at UM, for speech is a complicated process.

The First Amendment protects the state from squashing peoples free speech rights, thats why were different from private employers, said Lucy France, legal counsel for UM. With that being said, a public employer is still an employer and we retain the ability to restrict what employees say and do when it relates to their particular jobs in the workplace.

Hate speech is protected by the First Amendment. Though there is no legal definition of hate speech, the American Library Association says that it is any form of expression in which speakers intend to vilify, humiliate or incite hatred against a group or class of people based on race, religion, skin color, gender or sexual identity, ethnicity, disability or national origin.
The North Dakota Senate on Friday overwhelmingly passed bills banning critical race theory in public schools and restricting vaccine mandates, sending the measures on to Gov. Doug Burgum, who signed both into law.

The divisive topics were among the last the Senate dealt with before this week's special session of the Legislature wound down to a mid-Friday adjournment.

House Bill 1508 sponsored by Rep. Jim Kasper, R-Fargo, which forbids the teaching of critical race theory, passed the House Thursday morning on a 76-16 vote. The Senate voted 38-9 to approve it early Friday.

Critical race theory centers on the idea that racism is systemic in the nations institutions and that they function to maintain the dominance of white people in society. Kasper has called the academic theory insidious and said the goal of the legislation is to protect children from inappropriate topics.

Senators who supported the legislation said that while critical race theory is not present in North Dakota curriculum, the bill is a proactive measure that prevents it from coming into schools.

Were more concerned with whats happening nationwide, said Sen. Donald Schaible, R-Mott. We want to make sure this train of thought does not come into the state.

Some lawmakers who opposed the bill said they thought having the state mandate what cannot be taught erodes control from school boards. Other opponents said the legislation leaves children unprepared to live in the world outside North Dakota.

They cant be critical thinkers if we put a bubble around them and say, 'You cant learn about this,' said Sen. JoNell Bakke, D-Grand Forks.

Sen. Erin Oban, D-Bismarck, said that local schools are dealing with more real issues than the theory in their curriculums, and that peoples fear and mistrust stemming from nearly two years of the coronavirus pandemic is being taken advantage of with topics such as critical race theory.

The bill is not serious policy, its a red herring, and it makes a mockery of our Century Code (state laws) when were willing to plug stuff in there instead of having difficult conversations, she said.

The American Civil Liberties Union of North Dakota opposed the bill, calling it a "classroom censorship bill."

Burgum signed the bill.

This bill addresses the concerns of parents while preserving the decision-making authority of local school boards to approve curriculum that is factual, objective and aligned with state content standards, he said in a statement.

Vaccine mandates

The House late Thursday and the Senate on Friday passed a bill that bans government entities below the federal level from ordering COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

House Bill 1511 also expands exceptions for employees to opt-out of a mandate, including allowing workers to regularly test for the disease, prove they have antibodies built up, or claim medical, religious or philosophical exemptions.

Private companies still will be allowed to install their own vaccine mandates. And the legislation doesn't apply to employers if they are required to comply with federal vaccine mandates, which could include hospitals, nursing homes, federal contractors and businesses with more than 100 workers.

The bill says state and local government entities cant require people to disclose their vaccination or antibody status unless they are incarcerated or receiving care at the State Hospital or a public health unit, or are employees or visitors of those facilities. It also allows colleges and universities to require people to disclose their vaccination or antibody status.

The bill also bars the state Health Department from creating QR code vaccine "passports," a term meaning proof of vaccination. QR codes are images made of black and white squares that store information that can be read with smartphone cameras.

North Dakota has joined three lawsuits against the Biden administration in an attempt to strike down vaccine mandates for health care workers, federal contractors and large businesses.

The bill was sponsored by Rep. Robin Weisz, R-Hurdsfield. It passed the House on a 80-11 vote and the Senate on a 33-14 vote. Burgum signed it without comment.

Much of the discussion surrounded the balance among health care providers ability to staff their facilities, other employers rights and the rights of people.

Sen. Kristin Roers, R-Fargo, who is a nurse, said she was conflicted on how to vote for the bill, since she has seen the benefits of the COVID-19 vaccine firsthand.

I don't want any business to tell me what I can and cannot do, but I also work in health care, she said. Roers added that she didnt think the bill had enough time to be fully considered given the short length of the special session.

Sen. Janne Myrdal, R-Edinburgh, said she was concerned with protecting the rights of her constituents.

The one thing Im going to side with is the individual thats protected in the Constitution, she said.

The legislation contains a sunset date of Aug. 1, 2023, so that the issue can be addressed during the next legislative session, in early 2023.

The House defeated another COVID-19 vaccine bill late Thursday. House Bill 1510 would have banned discrimination based on vaccination status and would have banned COVID-19 from the state school immunization law.

Off-label ivermectin

The Senate without debate on Friday approved a bill 38-9 that would prevent certain medical professionals from being disciplined for prescribing or dispensing medications for off-label use.

House Bill 1514 was referred to as the ivermectin bill by some legislators, referencing the antiparasitic drug that some COVID-19 vaccine skeptics tout as a treatment for the coronavirus disease, though it's unproven.

The bill introduced by Rep. Bill Tveit, R-Hazen, changed markedly from its introduction. It initially would have required hospitals to honor a prescription for federal Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs for off-label use, ban hospitals from discriminating based on a patients vaccination status, and ban pharmacists from refusing to dispense a prescription drug for off-label use -- such as ivermectin -- even if against their own judgment.

Burgum signed the bill without comment.

Tax bills

Representatives on Friday gave final approval to a bill that excludes Social Security benefits from income tax, according to The Associated Press. Legislative budget writers estimate the measure will reduce state revenues by $14.6 million in the current two-year budget cycle. Burgum signed Senate Bill 2351.

Senators also gave final approval Friday to a bill that provides an individual income tax credit equal to a North Dakota resident taxpayer's net tax liability, up to a maximum of $350, or $700 for individuals filing a married joint return.

The income tax relief was pushed hard by Burgum, who recommended using a portion of the states hefty and better-than-forecast ending fund balance of $1.1 billion in the last two-year budget cycle to provide tax relief to residents. The governor on Friday signed House Bill 1515 providing an estimated $211 million in income tax relief over the next two years.

This bill is a victory for half a million hardworking North Dakotans, providing them with real, meaningful tax relief for this year and the next, Burgum said in a statement.

Session wrap-up

The main reasons for the special session of the Legislature that began Monday were to approve a new legislative district map based on the 2020 census and decide on how to spend $1 billion in federal Rescue Plan coronavirus aid, though it strayed to other topics such as income tax relief and the culture war issues.

Lawmakers approved a new district map, creating three new districts in the states fastest-growing areas and erasing an equal amount in population-lean rural regions. The map also has House subdistricts on the Turtle Mountain and Fort Berthold Indian Reservations, a move tribal leaders believe will increase the odds for electing their own members to the Legislature. Burgum signed the bill into law on Thursday. The map can be found at https://bit.ly/31WZzjL.

The plan to spend the federal COVID-19 aid -- mostly on one-time projects such as infrastructure and higher education buildings -- was awaiting the governors signature. Included in the bill is $150 million in grant money to bring more natural gas service to eastern North Dakota -- possibly through a west-east pipeline -- and $38 million for Bismarck State College's polytechnic project. Only $63 million of the federal funding was not spent by state lawmakers. The 2023 Legislature can allocate that money.

Sen. Nicole Poolman, R-Bismarck, announced during the session that she will not seek reelection after a decade in the Legislature, citing both personal reasons and a growing erosion of civility in politics.

Four Minot-area Republican district chairs organized a "We the People" rally on the Capitol lawn Monday that drew hundreds of people to support personal liberty. One rally organizer, Rep. Jeff Hoverson, R-Minot, couldn't attend because he has COVID-19 and is quarantining.

Hoverson, who participated in the session remotely, later was criticized for disparaging remarks toward the House majority leader during debate about redistricting. He apologized.

The session cost taxpayers about $64,000 a day.

(The Associated Press contributed to this story.)

Reach Sam Nelson at 701-250-8264 or sam.nelson@bismarcktribune.com.

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The operator of an indoor recreational vehicle park in Watford City is suing several state officials after the parks license was denied this year even though the business operated for several years under the same conditions.

ND Indoor RV Park in a federal civil lawsuit says the Health Department by denying the parks 2021 operating license circumvented a district court ruling on a state fire marshal order that sought to stop the residential use of the parks buildings.

The suit seeks damages of at least $5 million, or the stoppage of the order that bars the park from operating. The suit names as defendants the Health Department and Julie Wagendorf, head of the agencys Food and Lodging Division; the office of the attorney general, which oversees the state fire marshal; and Fire Marshal Douglas Nelson.

Some oil patch workers live in RVs even during the winter months. ND Indoor RV Park, which bills itself as the only such facility in North Dakota, is built to house 160 RVs in 10 insulated buildings, each divided into eight bays. An outdoor option can hold 60 RVs.

The lawsuit contends that Nelson, who was appointed in March 2018, endeavored to shut down the operations notwithstanding years of inspections, governmental approvals and incident-free operation. Nelson issued an order halting residential use of the buildings due to what he said were fire and safety deficiencies.

The matter went to court, and the two sides agreed to put enforcement on hold. A judge eventually dismissed the case in October 2020 when the marshal's office didn't prosecute.

The lawsuit accuses Nelson of using Wagendorf to backdoor the park by having the Health Department refuse to issue an operating license until the park corrected spacing violations and complied with the fire marshals order. The conditions of that order would be cost-prohibitive, the document states.

The Health Department informed the park in March that its operating license would not be renewed and that continued operation would result in criminal penalties, the lawsuit states. The departments arbitrary and unreasonable refusal to reissue an operating license came about despite numerous state, county, and municipal agency inspections and approvals and the departments previous annual renewals of the operating license, the plaintiffs maintain. Further, the parks $5 million investment relied on those approvals, the document states.

The Health Department placed a hold on the parks license in 2016. After a meeting with the department and the state fire marshal to discuss RV spacing and a fire safety plan, park officials reduced the number of RVs per bay from three to two. The park was again granted an operating license in 2017 and 2018.

Liz Brocker, spokeswoman for Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, said the office is reviewing the lawsuit. She declined further comment.

Reach Travis Svihovec at 701-250-8260 or Travis.Svihovec@bismarcktribune.com

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The latest North Dakota coronavirus news: unemployment aid, testing and shots.

Unemployment benefits

The federal Labor Department has issued a retroactive update to the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, adding more reasons for eligibility to receive extra unemployment benefits.

Job Service North Dakota is providing claimants an opportunity to self-certify under the updated list of 15 COVID-19 reasons to determine if theyre now eligible for the program.

Those who are determined eligible will have an opportunity to complete weekly certifications for the weeks they were unemployed, partially unemployed, unable to work or unavailable for work.

The update applies only to claims that are already on file. It does not provide an opportunity for people to file new claims.

The program created through the federal CARES Act was active in North Dakota from Feb. 2, 2020, through June 19, 2021.

Job Service is notifying all impacted claimants, who will have 14 days to respond. Questions can be directed to Job Service at 701-328-4995.

Testing and vaccines

A comprehensive list of free COVID-19 testing offered by local public health units in North Dakota can be found at health.nd.gov/covidtesting.

In Bismarck, PCR and rapid antigen tests are administered daily from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the strip mall at 2805 Morrison Ave., Suite A. PCR tests also are administered Monday through Thursday from 10-11 a.m. at Northland Health Centers, 914 S. 12th St., Suite 101.

People who have registered for COVID-19 testing through TestReg.nd.gov can access results for tests through a state service called the Citizen Portal. Instructions can be found at https://bit.ly/3jqiudf.

People can go to https://www.ndvax.org or call 866-207-2880 to see where COVID-19 vaccine is available near them.

Both Bismarck-Burleigh Public Health and Custer Health in Mandan are offering vaccine to the general public.

To register with Bismarck-Burleigh Public Health, go to https://www.ndvax.org and search for a Bismarck vaccination event. For assistance, call 701-355-1540.

Morton County residents should go to https://www.ndvax.org and search for "Custer Health" or call 701-667-3370 to register. Custer Health has a vaccination clinic at 1100 32nd Ave. SE in Units D and E, off Memorial Highway.

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The defeat of incumbent Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe in Virginia is a precursor of the 2022 election when Democrats better expect a normal off-year shift against an incumbent president.

While Democrats have gloried in winning the House, Senate and presidency, they may have thought that Democrats would continue to ride high when President Joe Biden rewarded all of the minorities with programs they have wanted for years.

But it took the largest turnout of the present century for the Democrats to win the policy branches of government in 2020. This turnout will be the curse of 2022 for Democrats.

After researching midterm declines, professor James Campbell, writing in the Journal of Politics, noted that In midterm elections, the greater a partys prior presidential vote margin  the greater the loss of congressional votes and seats.

This is exactly what happened in North Dakota in 1964 and 1966. In 1964, Lyndon Johnson not only won North Dakotas electoral votes but gave North Dakota Democrats a majority in the House and a strong minority of 23 in the Senate.

Following this surge of support, in 1966 the Democrats were decimated -- losing 15 senators and 50 House members.

In the off year, the turnout declines around 15%; the presidential party loses around four senators and 30 House seats.

The Virginia election tells the electorate that 2022 will be the normal off-year losses for the party in charge of the White House, meaning that Democrats will lose both houses.

Political scientists have offered a variety of conjectures to explain the off-year phenomenon. Because the off-year downturn has been recorded during both Republican and Democratic presidential incumbencies, the off-year decline can be attributed to the presidential candidate elected two years prior.

The winning presidential candidate has brought enough supporters to the polls to win, but these supporters dont show up in the off year. This surge for the winning presidential candidate can be explained in a number of ways.

First, the presidential campaigns are highly visible, so more voters become interested in the election. Second, the winning candidates make bold promises, only to find that the status quo system of government doesnt respond to change.

President Biden ran into that. To win, he had to overpromise to every minority group making up his electorate. When the chips were down, he couldnt deliver because his coalition was too big to hang together, with progressives on one side and Sen. Joe Manchin on the other.

While Biden eked out a partial victory, the failure of the Democratic Party to move swiftly made the administration look inept. His supporters have not been impressed to the point that they will come out in the same numbers as they did in 2020. It happens to both parties.

The statistics tell us that Republican and Democratic candidates both lose in a system of government guaranteed not to work or deliver on the presidents campaign promises. At the same time, the electorate doesnt want to hear candidates tell the truth -- that it is nearly impossible to get anything done short of war or natural disaster.

To get the turnout in 2022 that Democrats got in 2020 would require a stronger get-out-the-vote campaign than ever before. It isnt going to happen.

Democrats have a practical problem building the same coalition that they had in 2020. A big chunk of their supporters are in the lower-income categories that, for a variety of reasons, do not understand their stake in the social programs of the Democrats.

With the results in the Electoral College very close in 2020, Democrats have a razor-thin edge that will be easily lost in the vagaries of the 2022 election.

Unless they do a command performance during the next year, they will need a minority party strategy going into 2024.

Lloyd Omdahl is a political scientist and former North Dakota Democratic lieutenant governor.

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North Dakota legislative leaders achieved their goal of limiting the length of the special session and passing the legislation that prompted it. But they also threw a few bones to legislators feeding off the culture wars.

The House and Senate approved the redistricting plan that includes House subdistricts on two reservations. While some legislators were disappointed with the proposal, overall its a good result.

Legislators agreed on spending the bulk of the federal Rescue Plan funds. There will be $150 million for a natural gas pipeline to eastern North Dakota and $10 million for a shorter line to connect western Minnesota to Grand Forks. Among the other items are $38 million for Bismarck State Colleges polytechnic project; $29 million for health-related programs; and $75 million for water infrastructure.

Lawmakers jumped aboard Gov. Doug Burgums effort for an income tax credit, approving a $350 credit for individuals in 2021 and 2022. North Dakotans will see benefits from these decisions. Some of the other legislative steps were disappointing.

Both chambers easily passed legislation to ban the teaching of critical race theory in K-12 schools. It was called a preemptive action because theres no record of a school in the state teaching the course.

It was a classic case of a bill in search of a problem spurred on by fearmongers. Theres a national effort to ban the teaching of critical race theory, but few, if any, examples of it being taught. The Tribune editorial boards main concern is that bills like this will have a chilling effect on classrooms.

Will administrators and teachers be reluctant to discuss topics such as slavery, treatment of Indigenous people, the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II and the Holocaust?

The United States has a rich history, but its leaders and actions have been terribly flawed at times. We can learn from our past, and shouldnt be afraid to discuss the good and the bad.

Legislators also approved a measure limiting vaccine mandates. The bill is loaded with exceptions that will make it confusing to people. The Tribune believes bills like the mandate ban will make it difficult for government and health officials to combat future pandemics. The next one, and its possible it could happen, might be worse than the coronavirus.

The courts will decide the legitimacy of the vaccine mandates, which could have an impact on the North Dakota legislation.

Those opposed to vaccine mandates and the teaching of critical race theory are very passionate. Thats fine. People on both sides of the issues must respect each other and the discourse needs to be civil.

Sen. Nicole Poolman, R-Bismarck, announced during the special session that she wouldnt seek another term. Poolman wants to spend more time with her family and students. She cited another factor for her decision: the increasing toxic nature of public service.

North Dakota hasnt reached the depths of discord as some states, but "North Dakota nice" has been showing cracks. Its unfortunate when good public servants like Poolman decide to move on.

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Three and a half years ago, Mark Colville and six other anti-nuclear weapon activists broke into a naval submarine base in Kings Bay, Ga.

In the dark, they walked around the base and banged on some of the monuments with hammers. They also poured their own blood which they had drawn earlier into baby bottles onto a display of replica missiles and waited to be arrested.

Colville is scheduled to be the keynote speaker Friday at the WNY Peace Center's 54th annual dinner. He is to receive the organization's Peace Education Award on behalf of the Kings Bay Plowshares.

Colville, now 60, spent 18 months behind bars in a Georgia county jail awaiting trial, while refusing to post bail. He was convicted of conspiracy, destruction of property on a naval installation, depredation of government property and trespassing. He was released on parole a little over two months ago.

Colville explained the "plowshares" movement that he is devoted to. It takes its name from a Biblical phrase: "Hammer their swords into plowshares."
Satterfield's Packard, which had a top speed of between 22 and 25 mph, took four days to reach Rochester from New York City, owing to the fact that there were very few drive-worthy roads back then, according to Sandoro.

"They ran into bad weather," Sandoro said. "In fact, in those days, you were only going 8 to 12 miles per hour."

The car, which was manufactured by the Packard Motor Car Company in Warren, Ohio, had a varied history after Satterfield sold the vehicle back to Packard in 1910, according to John Martin of Warren, Ohio, whose late father, Terry, acquired what remained of the vehicle 20 years ago and painstakingly restored it.

John Martin and members of his family traveled from Warren, Ohio, to Buffalo for the unveiling at the Pierce Arrow Museum on Saturday.

"The family that had originally owned it ... sold it back to Packard, which brought it, actually, for a patent suit," Martin said.

In the ensuing years, Packard displayed the car at dealerships around the country.

"One of the Packard dealers in California had borrowed it for the Los Angeles Auto Show in 1929. The show was in tents, and the whole thing caught on fire and burned up all the new cars, and it burned up the 1901 Packard, too," Martin said.
"Keep it going," Bergevin advised police, "because they haven't found the killer. Maybe the killer's dead. Or maybe the killer's back in the Sunshine State, beating up his girlfriend and abusing her cats. But it's not Joe."

Seaman said Belstadt couldn't keep his story straight, lying repeatedly to police about where he drove Steingasser, whether she was drunk, and what he was doing after he purportedly dropped her off.

+4 Mandy Steingasser trial: DA, defense differ on DNA evidence, ex-boyfriend testifies As prosecution and defense attorneys offered drastically different assessments of the forensic evidence in the Joseph H. Belstadt murder trial, the first day of testimony Monday was highlighted by an appearance by the victim's ex-boyfriend, Christopher Palesh.

The DA noted Belstadt told police that he couldn't see the face of the man on the church steps, but he said the man was 18 to 19 years old, had short hair and wore a USA jacket.

During the trial, it was revealed by the widow of Donald Kohlbrenner that her husband met up with Steingasser that night, and a policeman who had questioned the two earlier saw them on the church steps. Kohlbrenner was 24, had a mullet and didn't own a USA jacket, the widow said.

Seaman said he doesn't have to prove where or when Steingasser was killed. He said it might have happened at Meyers Lake, or perhaps outside the old Roblin Steel plant in North Tonawanda.

"Then she's found 36 days later in this secluded place the defendant knew," Seaman said. "Isn't that a remarkable coincidence?"
+6 New report envisions DL&W Terminal as 'compelling public space' if properly restored A report issued by the Project for Public Spaces, based on input from throughout the area, foresees a facility with no single purpose, like shopping mall or food court, but a multi-use community asset with a "sense of place."

"You would think he would have something positive to say about the project," he added.

Schumer's office dismisses Penner's fears and says the new legislation enhances prospects for projects such as the Amherst extension. Spokeswoman Allison Biasotti notes Schumer secured about $156.5 million for the NFTA in the new legislation. She said the new legislation also significantly enhances the federal programs that fund new projects around the country, including one called Capital Investment Grants.

"This unprecedented Capital Investment Grants money is the pot NFTA will compete for this project," she said.

Schumer has never expressed specific support for the plan, telling The Buffalo News in 2018 that he was open to the idea, but only with "deep and broad community support." Biasotti said Friday he "eagerly awaits" results of the federal study.

"Sen. Schumer will await to see the results of the studies  ones that he secured federal funding for  are complete before making a determination on the expansion project," she said.

+6 Sneak peek: See latest on plans to turn DL&W terminal into Metro Rail station The community aim of restoring the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Terminal to its former grandeur is beginning to take shape.

The senator continues to join Rep. Brian Higgins, D-Buffalo, in adopting a "wait and see" position on the project.
Lawyers representing 17 health care workers in New York have petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene in their battle to overturn Gov Kathy Hochul's industry-wide vaccine mandate.

According to the Thomas More Society, a conservative legal group representing the workers, a petition was filed this week asking the High Court to issue an emergency injunction prohibiting the mandate to go into effect without a carve-out for workers who aren't vaccinated for religious reasons after conflicting rulings in lower courts.

In August, at Hochul's urging, the New York State Department of Health issued an edict that all health care workers must receive a Covid-19 vaccine or lose their jobs. The order made an exception for people with a medical reason for not getting vaccinated, but did not include a religious exemption. A group of workers filed suit, arguing the rule violated their First Amendment rights. A federal judge in the Northern District of New York agreed and issued a temporary stay on the ban while the case is being litigated. Lawyers for the state appealed and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the district judge's stay, allowing the vaccine mandate to go into effect without a religious exemption.
Sylvia Miller-Mutia, an Albuquerque reverend and parent of three, wrote in support of the proposal to expand ethnic studies in the curriculum and other elements aimed at "humanizing oppressed people to avoid perpetuating racism and stereotypes. Thank you for working to make history education in New Mexico more just and anti-racist.

In over 1,000 pages of public comment received by the education department in the past 45 days, theres an issue that has received more mention than race: personal finance.

The letters stem from a lobbying effort by Think New Mexico, a nonpartisan education policy group that wants money matters updated in the social studies standards, which include economics. They want students to learn more about debt, savings and investment.

New Mexico's conservatives are finding new energy in the critical race theory debate after it was credited for tipping the scales toward a Republican winner in the recent governor's race in Virginia.

Virginia should be a wakeup call, said Elisa Sanchez, speaking against the proposed standards in the Zoom meeting.

Outside the education department offices, one Republican candidate handed out flyers billing herself as the only candidate who can beat Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in a heavily blue state.
There is much to celebrate and be thankful for.

The 2021 historic bipartisan infrastructure bill, the largest in nearly a century, will provide 2 million new, good jobs per year, repair of hundreds of thousands of miles of roads and bridges, investments in climate change mitigation, transportation and highway safety for all users, including trucks, hazardous materials, cyclists and pedestrians, a modernized public transit system, upgraded airports, ports and waterways, a rebuilt electric grid, with thousands of miles of new power lines, expanded renewable energy, low-cost affordable internet for everyone, access to clean drinking water for everyone, protection from drought, floods, cyberattacks and environmental pollution remediation.

In Western New York a major thank-you to Rep. Tom Reed for having the courage to do the right thing. Thanks to Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Rep. Brian Higgins for serving in our best interests. According to Thursday's story in The News, predictions are we are likely to see impact locally starting in spring: help in our homes for weatherization and lead pipe removal, and our community with the airport runway, ramps and train terminal renovation.
FILE PHOTO: Rally in support of the Netflix transgender employee walkout Stand Up in Solidarity, in Los Angeles

By Kanishka Singh

(Reuters) - The Duke Ellington School of the Arts, in Northwest D.C., said it will postpone renaming its theater after Dave Chappelle, one of its best known graduates, to engage with members of the school who raised concerns about the comedian's latest Netflix comedy special.

The event, originally scheduled for November 23, has now been moved to April 22, the educational institution said in a statement on Friday.

Chappelle's latest Netflix comedy special, "The Closer," was criticized by some who saw it as a ridicule of transgender people. Supporters of the comedian https://www.reuters.com/world/us/comedian-dave-chappelle-addresses-netflix-transgender-controversy-full-first-2021-10-25 viewed it as a cry against cancel culture.

Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos had acknowledged Chappelle's provocative language in "The Closer" but said earlier that it did not cross the line into inciting violence.

"Dave is an artist and activist and applauds the school taking time to develop creative and critical thinkers," Carla Sims, a representative for Chappelle, told the Washington Post on Friday. "He supports the school and any effort to contribute to open conversations vs. cancellations."

In its statement, the Duke Ellington School of the Arts described Chappelle as its "most distinguished alumni" and "an important thought leader", adding the comedian has personally donated or raised millions of dollars to address the school's under-funding.

"The Closer - the most watched comedy special in Netflix's history, which has garnered a 96% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes - has sparked a national debate around race, gender, sexuality and 'cancel culture'", the school said.

"We also believe moving forward with the event, originally scheduled for November 23, 2021, without first addressing questions and concerns from members of the Ellington community, would be a missed opportunity for a teachable moment," it added.

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The institution said it recognized not everyone will accept or welcome an artist's point of view, but added it rejected the notion that a "cancel culture" is healthy or constructive.

Last month, dozens of people protested near the streaming company's headquarters over Chappelle's latest Netflix special.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
Singapore, Singapore--(Newsfile Corp. - November 12, 2021) - Raffles Financial Group Limited (CSE: RICH) (FSE: 4VO) (OTCQX: RAFFF), a global diversified company that is headquartered in Singapore and registered with the Monetary Authority of Singapore as an exempt corporate finance adviser, serving as advisor for family trusts, family offices and investment funds, is providing an update with respect to the previously announced management cease trade order (the "MCTO") issued by the British Columbia Securities Commission on November 1, 2021.

The MCTO was granted pursuant to Raffles application made under National Policy 12-203 - Management Cease Trade Orders ("NP 12-203"). The Company requested and received an extension relating to the Required Filings for delays on the audited financial statements and management 's discussion and analysis for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021 (the "Required Filings") due to the complexities caused due to Covid Pandemic travel restrictions and the Company's auditors having to carry out several additional audit procedures on account of the business operations being outside North America.

The Company's staff and accounting firm is working diligently with its auditors and the Company now expects to have the audit of the Required Filings completed, and the Required Filings filed, on or before December 27, 2021 (two-month period contemplated by NP 12-203).

The Company is providing this status update in accordance with NP 12-203. The Company reports that: (i) there are no changes to the information contained in its default announcement on November 1, 2021, that would reasonably be expected to be material to an investor; (ii) the Company is satisfying and confirms that it intends to continue to satisfy the provisions of the alternative information guidelines set out under NP 12-203 and issue bi-weekly default status reports for so long as the delay in filing the Required Filings is continuing, which will be issued in the form of a news release; (iii) there has not been any other specified default by the Company under NP 12-203 and no such other default is anticipated; and (iv) there is no material information concerning the affairs of the Company that has not been generally disclosed.

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The MCTO does not affect the ability of shareholders who are not insiders of the Company to trade their securities. However, the applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities could determine, in their discretion, that it would be appropriate to issue a general cease trade order against the Company affecting all of the securities of the Company.

About Raffles Financial Group Limited

Raffles Financial Group is listed on the Canadian Securities Purchase under the stock symbol (CSE: RICH), the Frankfurt Stock Purchase under the stock symbol (FSE: 4VO) and the OTC Markets under the stock symbol (OTCQX: RAFFF).

Raffles Financial Pte Ltd is the operating subsidiary of Raffles Financial Group Limited.

Please visit www.rafflesfinancial.co for more information.

Raffles Financial Private Limited (a wholly owned subsidiary of Raffles Financial Group Limited) is an exempt corporate finance advisory firm, registered with the Monetary Authority of Singapore, which provides public listing advisory and arrangement services. RFP serves as advisor for family trusts, family offices and investment funds.

For more information, please contact:

Dong Shim, CFO

604-283-9853 OR

Monica Kwok, Investor Relations

Phone: +65 6909 8765

Email: monica@rafflesfinancial.co

Neither the Canadian Securities Purchase nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Purchase) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Certain statements contained in this release may constitute "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" (collectively "forward-looking information") as those terms are used in Canadian securities laws. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words "could", "intend", "expect", "believe", "will", "projected", "estimated", "anticipates" and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on the Company's current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/103416
Artificial Intelligence

Georgia State Adds Graduate Certificate Program in Trustworthy AI Systems

Georgia State University recently launched a Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence Systems graduate certificate program. According to a news release, the fully online certificate program covers four crucial components of computer science: AI, machine learning, cybersecurity and privacy. The program was designed to help working professionals stay educated and up-to-date in a fast-moving industry.

While there are many certificates in AI/machine learning and in cybersecurity separately, theres currently no program in trustworthy AI to the best of our knowledge, said Daniel Takabi, the program director, associate professor of computer science and founding director of the Center for Information Security and Privacy: Interdisciplinary Research and Education (INSPIRE).

Takabi said in a statement that AI systems pose important challenges like security, safety, privacy, ethics and fairness that deserve to be addressed at length to ensure full trustworthiness. The deepened understanding will allow for quicker integration and adoption of the technology into future innovations to spur economic growth.

The certificate programs courses will cover topics like robustness, reliability, security, privacy, fairness accountability, transparency and ethics in AI systems, according to a news release. Learned skills will include trustworthy development, testing and deployment of artificial intelligence systems. The program can be completed in as few as 21 weeks, and all required courses are available online.

Georgia State is uniquely positioned to offer this program, given the expertise of our faculty in this area, Takabi said. The innovative curriculum is developed by several faculty whose work in trustworthy AI has been supported by the National Science Foundation, Department of Defense and Microsoft, among others.

For more information, visit the Georgia State site.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 13)  Senator Ronald Bato Dela Rosa has withdrawn his candidacy for president in the 2022 elections.

Dela Rosa told CNN Philippines on Saturday it was the decision of his political party, Partido Demokratiko PilipinoLakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), for him to withdraw his candidacy for president.

I'm a good soldier. I will just follow party decisions. So, desisyon po ng partido na mag-withdraw ako. Kaya ako nag-withdraw (So, it is the decision of the party for me to withdraw. Thats why I withdrew), said Dela Rosa.

The nations former top cop filed his withdrawal hours after a representative of Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio submitted the substitution papers that formalized the presidential daughters vice presidential run in next May's polls.

RELATED: Sara Duterte runs for vice president in 2022 as substitute

Dela Rosa formalized his withdrawal after ertswhile running mate Sen. Bong Go decided to field his name in the 2022 presidential race.

Amid these developments, Presidential Communications and Operations Office Secretary Martin Andanar said President Rodrigo Duterte will file his candidacy for the vice presidency on Nov. 15, the last day of substitution for candidates in the 2022 polls.

After a last-minute filing of his surprise candidacy for president last Oct. 8, Dela Rosa has openly urged the younger Duterte to seek a higher post in next years elections.

RELATED: Bato: 'Deep in my heart, I am hoping' for Sara's substitution

Dela Rosa said he offered the Davao City mayor to replace him as the presidential bet of PDP-Laban in a meeting last Oct. 25.

However, Duterte took oath instead as a new member of Lakas-CMD, a political party headed by Sen. Bong Revilla Jr., earlier this week. She resigned from her regional party Hugpong ng Pagbabago before joining Lakas, fueling speculations that she might seek the presidency or vice presidency in the 2022 elections.
(CNN)  Russia and Belarus flexed their military might for a third time this week near the Poland-Belarus border, where thousands of people are stranded in deplorable conditions, trapped at the center of an intensifying humanitarian and geopolitical crisis.

On Friday, Russia and Belarus held joint paratrooper drills near Poland, exercises the Belarusian defense ministry said were "in connection with the buildup of military activity near the state border of the Republic of Belarus." Two Russian paratroopers died during the maneuvers after their parachutes failed due to strong wind, state news agency TASS reported, citing Russia's defense ministry.

Some 15,000 Polish soldiers have been deployed to Poland's border with Belarus in recent days in reaction to a tense standoff that the European Union, the United States and NATO say is of Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko's making.

NATO said Friday it was monitoring for any escalation or provocation in the situation on its members' borders with Belarus after the drills.

Western leaders, including prime ministers of neighboring Poland, Latvia and Lithuania, are accusing the Lukashenko regime of manufacturing a migrant crisis on the EU's eastern frontier as retribution for sanctions over human rights abuses.

Lukashenko's government has repeatedly denied such claims, instead blaming the West for the crossings and treatment of migrants.

Trapped in the crossfire are upwards of 2,000 people stuck between Poland and Belarus who are now facing conditions the United Nations has called "catastrophic," with desperate scenes of hunger and hypothermia playing out in freezing forests and at makeshift camps at the border.

Russia, Belarus' largest (and most important) political and economic partner, continues to defend Minsk's handling of the border crisis while also denying any involvement in it.

Russia demonstrated that support by flying two long-range Russian Tupolev Tu-22M3 supersonic long-range bombers over Belarusian airspace on Wednesday and on Thursday.

The aircraft, known to have nuclear capabilities, practiced "issues of interaction with ground control points" with armed forces of both countries, the Russian defense ministry said.

Neighboring Ukraine is also scaling up security. On Thursday, it announced it would hold military drills with some 8,500 servicemen and 15 helicopters in an area near its borders with Poland and Belarus to counter a potential migrant crisis.

The show of force unfolding across the region is continuing to test a fragile political order, with allegations from the United States on Russia's military buildup this week deepening concerns over the potential for a wider geopolitical crisis.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that the US is "concerned by reports of unusual Russian military activity" and mentioned the possibility that Russia may be "attempting to rehash" its 2014 invasion of Ukraine.

Russia hit back at the allegations on Friday, saying that they represented an "empty, groundless escalation of tensions."

'This will not succeed'

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the border crisis a "challenge to the whole of the European Union" earlier this week. "This is not a migration crisis. This is the attempt of an authoritarian regime to try to destabilize its democratic neighbors. This will not succeed," she said.

Western powers are now preparing to levy new sanctions on Belarus, and the EU said it was considering penalties against third-country airlines for contributing to the crisis by transporting people to Minsk, the Belarusian capital.

On Friday, Turkey's foreign ministry said in a tweet that they would ban people from Syria, Iraq and Yemen  where many of the migrants stuck at the border are from  from flying from Turkish airports to Belarus. The ministry on Thursday fought back against claims it was contributing to the crisis, saying that they "refuse to be portrayed as part of a problem which Turkey is not a party to."

EU Council President Charles Michel replied to the tweet, saying "thank you" for the "support and cooperation."

Moscow hasn't budged however, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissing accusations that the Russian carrier Aeroflot had helped refugees travel into Belarus. Statements from Aeroflot demonstrate that it "did not provide and is not providing transportation of migrants to Minsk," Peskov said, adding that "even if some airlines are engaged in this, it in no way contradicts any international regulations."

In the US, the White House's National Security Council announced on Wednesday that it was preparing "follow-up sanctions" designed to hold Belarus accountable for "ongoing attacks on democracy, human rights and international norms." This is the second round of sanctions announced by the US in recent months. It is not clear when the new measures will be executed.

The EU is also expected to "expand and tighten its sanctions against Lukashenko's regime," Germany's acting Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Thursday.

The human cost

Meanwhile, conditions for migrants trapped at the border continue to deteriorate, with people at a makeshift migrant camp at Bruzgi, on the Belarusian border, now starving and desperate for firewood in near freezing temperatures.

CNN gained exclusive access into the camp, where chaotic scenes at a food distribution area were unfolding as the Belarusian Red Cross tried to hand out food aid to tightly packed crowds while Belarusian security forces pushed them back. Disappointment and grief is palpable throughout the camp.

Migrants fleeing war-torn countries such as Syria and Iraq had come to Belarus with the expressed purpose of moving deeper into Europe and of trying to find a better life. But now, there's a bitter sense of disappointment that isn't happening.

Since the beginning of November, there have been 4,500 recorded border crossing attempts, according to Polish authorities. The Polish border guard said it had recorded around 1,000 crossing attempts in the last few days, including some "large-scale" efforts with groups of more than 100 people trying to breach the fence.

Humanitarian groups are accusing Poland's ruling party of violating the international right to asylum by pushing people back into Belarus instead of accepting their applications for protection. Under article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, everyone has the right to seek and enjoy asylum from persecution in other countries. Poland says its actions are legal.

As the standoff continues, people keep on coming. Belarusian authorities estimate that the number of migrant arrivals to the border could swell to 10,000 in the upcoming weeks if the situation isn't resolved.

This story was first published on CNN.com "Russia and Belarus hold military drills as migrant crisis on EU border grows"
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 12)  The government will not be held liable for possible adverse effects arising from unauthorized COVID-19 booster shots, a Health official said on Friday.

"'Pag nagkaroon ng aberya o kaya (Should there be issues or) untoward reactions to these booster doses, government cannot be held accountable. The ones accountable will be the ones who gave you those vaccines and who have sourced out the vaccines," Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in an online media briefing.

"Pangalawa (Second), you are violating national protocols," she added.

Vergeire issued the warning after "hearing a lot of reports" of people getting booster shots.

Vergeire also called out groups that warned of a spike in COVID-19 cases if the government does not give booster shots soon, saying their statements cause confusion among the public. She did not name the groups.

A fellow from OCTA Research Team recently noted the need to administer booster shots in the first or second quarter of 2022. "Otherwise, the risk for a Delta re-surge will increase," Nicanor Austriaco said Thursday.

"May we call on...all of those groups stating this kind of statements to be very careful and cautious because the public is getting confused," Vergeire said.

"Let us all be responsible in issuing our statements," she added.

The Food and Drug Administration has yet to decide which vaccine brands will be given as booster shots.

Manufacturers of Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Sinovac, and Sputnik V vaccines have applied for amendments to their emergency use authorization to include a third dose or booster shot in their regimen, FDA chief Eric Domingo said early this month.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 13) President Rodrigo Duterte  who earlier announced he would be retiring from politics  will run for vice president in the 2022 polls, according to his communications secretary.

In an ambush interview with reporters on Saturday, Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar said Duterte will file his candidacy for the country's second highest post on Monday, the deadline for the substitution of candidates.

"Babalik si presidente dito sa Comelec (Commission on Elections) para magpa-file ng kanyang candidacy for vice president," Andanar said. Duterte accompanied Senator Bong Go when he withdrew his vice presidential bid under PDP-Laban and filed his candidacy for president under the Pederalismo ng Dugong Dakilang Samahan.

[Translation: The president will be back here in Comelec to file his candidacy for vice president.]

The President, however, has yet to officially announce his plans for next year.

His other allies, including Go and Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi  who heads their PDP-Laban faction  also did not comment further.

"Sa ngayon, ang masasagot ko is 'yung 'Go' muna," the senator said when asked if the original Go-Duterte tandem will push through. "Antayin muna natin ang desisyon ng ating Pangulong Duterte."

[Translation: For now, all I can answer is the "Go." Let's wait for the decision of our President Duterte.]

Go and Duterte were earlier nominated by the ruling party as standard bearers for the upcoming elections. But Go settled for a vice presidential bid when the chief executive decided to withdraw from the race and announced his retirement from politics last month.

Should Duterte seek the vice presidency, he will face off with his daughter  Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte  who also filed her candidacy as the substitute vice presidential bet of the Lakas-CMD party.
(CNN)  Travis Scott did not know of a mass casualty declaration at Houston's deadly Astroworld Music Festival last weekend, his lawyer said Friday.

"That never got to Travis, that never got to Travis's crew," attorney Ed McPherson told ABC's "Good Morning America."

"He's up there trying to perform. He does not have any ability to know what's going on down below."

McPherson's interview comes nearly a week after a crowd surge at the popular event would eventually lead to nine deaths, dozens of lawsuits and a slew of still unanswered questions about what went wrong.

More than 90 civil suits had been filed in Harris County District Court in connection to the tragedy as of Friday, demanding accountability from city officials, concert organizers and performers at a sold-out concert attended by about 50,000.

Attorney Ben Crump said his firm and a coalition of Houston lawyers are representing more than 200 victims.

"Nobody should ever die from going to a concert," Crump said Friday.

Attorney Alex Hilliard, speaking at a news conference alongside victims and Crump, said festival "organizers, risk directors and security personnel" failed to protect the thousands of concertgoers. Medical staff at the venue was "egregiously short staffed," he said.

Uniqua Smith, 34, a concertgoer who is part of the litigation, told reporters that a woman near her collapsed after appearing to have a seizure.

"I'm looking around for the paramedics," she said. "I don't see anyone responding."

Smith said she had tried to make her way out of the venue since about 9:45 p.m. Friday but got "caught in the madness" until 2:45 a.m. When she finally made it out, Smith said, she fainted.

Concert continued after 'mass casualty event' declared

Scott, the headliner and organizer of the festival, took the stage for his set shortly after 9 p.m. Friday. Officials said crowd surges were reported early in his set, with known injuries at about 9:30 p.m.

At least one police officer reported the main stage compromised about 9:11 p.m., the Houston Chronicle reported Thursday, citing emergency radio chatter.

The audio included reports of breached barricades, people jumping gates, and breathing and cardiac problems, the newspaper reported. The radio chatter continued until 10:15 p.m., the Chronicle reported.

"There's not a lot we can do," one official said, adding that the breach was confined to one section, according to the report. "Stand by for now. We'll have to wait, but the concert management will let us know."

CNN has reached out to the Houston Police Department for comment.

It is unclear what Scott saw from the stage and whether he was aware of the crowd conditions, but he continued to perform until about 10:10 p.m. That's just over 30 minutes after officials declared the concert a "mass casualty event," according to Houston Fire Chief Samuel Pena.

Scott was "on a riser at one point and he sees one boy down... stops the show, [and] he asked security to get to that person," McPherson told ABC.

"Understand that when he's up on the stage, and he has flash pots going off around him and he has an ear monitor that has music blasting through it and his own voice -- he can't hear anything, he can't see anything," McPherson added.

Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said this week the "ultimate authority to end a show (was) with production and the entertainer, and that should be through communication with public safety officials."

"We don't hold the plug," he said.

'There obviously was a systemic breakdown'

McPherson said Scott did not know the full scope of what had occurred until the next morning. Asked how much responsibility Scott bears for the fatalities, the attorney said, "That's what the investigations are about."

"That's what we're trying to get to the bottom of... who was responsible," McPherson told the network. "There obviously was a systemic breakdown that we really need to get to the bottom of before we start pointing fingers at anyone."

Audience members described an unruly crowd surge on November 5 that pulled them into what felt like a "death trap," leaving many struggling to breathe. Some concertgoers were left administering CPR on those who passed out.

A 22-year-old college student died Wednesday, becoming the ninth victim. The ages of those who died range from 14 to 27. In addition, a 9-year-old boy who was seriously injured is in a medically induced coma.

The question of safety measures at the event has been a focal point over the past week, leading to criticism from concertgoers and others.

"Everybody in that venue, starting from the artist on down, has a responsibility for public safety," Pena told CNN earlier this week.

Scott has maintained he did not know what was happening in the crowd during his set -- disputing city officials' account of his responsibility in the deadly surge.

McPherson, in a statement Wednesday, blasted Houston city officials for what he said was "finger-pointing" and "inconsistent messages."

Scott said he was devastated by what happened and said he will cover all funeral costs for the victims.

Operations plan laid out chain of command

Multiple concertgoers told CNN that the crowd surge happened after Scott took the stage.

Jeffrey Schmidt said he and his friend tried to escape when breathing became more challenging.

"Little did we know, all hell was about to break loose. People started to pass out and fall to the ground," Schmidt told CNN.

First responders began to hear of crowd injuries around 9:30 p.m., and the show continued for another 40 minutes, authorities said. And when questions emerged about why the show wasn't stopped, officials said that it was not in their power.

Finner has said the investigation revealed that police personnel told the production team that CPR was underway on at least one individual and to stop the show. Finner did not specify who the production team is or the timing of the notifications.

Firefighters who were stationed outside the venue were not in radio communications with the emergency medical providers hired by the concert organizers as the situation unfolded, said Patrick M. "Marty" Lancton, president of the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association.

Lancton added firefighters were instead given phone numbers, which are not a reliable communication method during emergencies, given potential signal weakness during events involving large gatherings.

A 56-page operations plan for the concert was obtained by CNN this week, showing a clear chain of command in case of an incident.

The plan identifies the role of the executive producer as well as the festival director as the only people with the authority to stop the concert. The document CNN obtained is marked Version: 0.1, and it is unclear whether it was the final version of the plan and when it was drafted.

McPherson said neither the festival director nor executive producers are part of the rapper's crew.

McPherson pointed to Finner's comments on Saturday that authorities had concerns about stopping the show early due to potential rioting.

Authorities have said it could take weeks for the medical examiner to determine the causes of death.

Bharti Shahani, a 22-year-old Texas A&M University student, died Wednesday night after being ventilator in critical condition for days, attorney James Lassiter said.

Shahani's family told reporters Thursday that it was her wish to donate her organs.

The organ donation process was underway, according to Michele Arnold, spokeswoman for the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences.

"This was her first music festival, our first music festival," said Namrata Shahani, Bharti's younger sister.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Travis Scott's attorney says rapper didn't know about deadly crowd crush."
(CNN)  It's a country that has just endured national fuel shortages, isolated food shortages, and its government voted this fall to dump untreated sewage onto its famous coastlines. Oh -- and it has the second highest number of COVID-19 cases in the world.

So who would want to go on vacation in the UK at the moment?

Not many, the figures show.

For 2021, national tourist board Visit Britain has forecast that visitor numbers will be lower even than in 2020, when travel restrictions were at their highest.

Visitor numbers to the UK plummeted from 40.9 million in 2019 to 11.1 million in 2020 -- a dip of 73%.

But 2021 seems to have gone even worse for the UK's inbound tourism sector, with just 7.4 million visitors predicted to visit before the year is out -- down 82% on 2019.

And although all destinations, of course, have been devastated by the pandemic, the UK's figures show that travelers aren't bouncing back as they are in nearby countries, which have seen visitor numbers swell as they loosened restrictions.

Neighbor France, for instance, saw a 34.9% growth of tourists in 2021 from 2020, bringing in an extra $43 billion to the economy; while flights to summer hotspots Spain and Turkey have recovered to 64% and 74% of their 2019 figures, even for flights this winter.

Greece was almost back to pre-pandemic levels over the summer, with 86% of the arrivals of July and August 2019, according to aviation data analysts Forward Keys. The UK, in turn, managed just 14.3% of 2019 levels, according to its data.

Industry insiders describe the UK's situation as a perfect storm: rocketing Covid rates while European neighbors were stabilizing; inconsistent travel rules; and the effects of Brexit, which are finally being felt, both within the UK and by those wishing to travel there.

Add in relatively low government spending on a tourism recovery plan, as other countries go all out to court visitors, and you're left with plummeting numbers.

"The problems facing the UK are multiple, and not just to do with Covid," says Tom Jenkins, CEO of the ETOA -- the trade association for inbound tourism to Europe.

Kurt Janson, director of the UK's Tourism Alliance, knows who he thinks is to blame. "Some of the problems are government-inflicted as well as Covid-inflicted," he says.

So what exactly is going on in Blighty?

'Plague island'

First, of course, there's the pandemic.

While the UK was the first country in Europe to kick off its vaccination program, in recent months it has lagged behind its peers. Just under 69% of Britons have been vaccinated, according to Johns Hopkins University. Portugal, on the other hand, is at an 87% vaccination rate.

And while many other tourist-heavy countries have continued mask mandates -- in France, Spain and Italy, masks must be worn at all times indoors -- the UK has trumpeted the sloughing off of restrictions. In November, Prime Minister Boris Johnson faced criticism for not wearing a mask during a tour of a hospital.

But while the relaxation of the rules was intended to open the UK up, those outside are seeing it in a different way.

"Safety is the number one concern for Chinese visitors -- we're more sensitive and more careful than other countries," says Marcus Lee, CEO of China Travel Online.

The UK's case numbers spiraled far beyond other European countries during September and October. And although numbers are on the rise across the continent, with countries such as Germany now seeing massive spikes in infection rates and the Netherlands re-entering lockdown, the UK still registered the second highest number of cases in the world over the past four weeks, according to Johns Hopkins University -- second only to the US, whose population nudging 330 million dwarfs the UK's 67 million.

Harsh quarantine rules mean outbound travel from China is effectively blocked, so Chinese visitors aren't going anywhere right now. But when they do -- Lee reckons in the first half of 2022, when almost 100% of the country has been vaccinated -- he says they won't be making a beeline for the UK.

"Eventually, I hope the UK cases will go down, and I think you will see more Chinese when that happens."

Europeans, too, are proving reluctant to hop over to what, late last year, the New York Times called "plague island."

Fabio Bergonzini, from Bologna, Italy, used to be a regular visitor to the UK. A fluent English speaker and lover of all things British, he visited England three times in 2019 -- city breaks in London and Manchester plus a country road trip around the northern region of Yorkshire -- but has not been back since the pandemic started.

"I miss the UK so much, but it sounds a little scary," he says.

"Maybe Italians are a bit more cautious because we were heavily affected first -- March last year was really hard to endure.

"But the general perception from here is that in the UK, people don't regard Covid as an issue anymore -- as if it's not even discussed. Some Scottish friends told me that everyone in Scotland is going around with masks, but people in England aren't. Considering that I don't leave home without a mask, I'd feel a bit strange being the only one masked in my lovely UK."

Lee agrees. "We [in China] wear masks, so maybe we wouldn't feel safe seeing no one wearing a mask. Maybe we wouldn't want to take the Tube." While the mask mandate has been removed by government, one has been imposed on London transport by mayor Sadiq Khan -- yet Londoners say it is often ignored, and rarely enforced.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have different rules from England -- in Scotland, for example, masks are still mandatory indoors. But it's the pictures of the English -- Boris Johnson was again photographed at the COP26 summit sitting maskless next to 95-year-old naturalist David Attenborough -- that are being beamed around the world.

Patricia Yates, deputy CEO of Visit Britain, admits that the UK needs to improve its pandemic optics.

"The government handed back control to the people and said that we don't want to be an authoritarian government, it's up to personal choice. I think that's more in the British tradition, but I appreciate it's different to other countries," she says.

"Therefore I think we have to make our message of reassurance explicit. I've been asked for my vaccination certificate going to theaters and events, but I'm not sure international visitors realize there are still requirements here. I'm not sure we're telling that story."

Locking Europeans out

Before the pandemic, it was Brexit that was concerning the UK's tourism industry.

The UK's exit from the EU was always going to cause upheaval in the travel industry -- not least because Europeans are the second most valuable market for inbound tourism after Americans.

Since October 1, EU citizens can no longer travel to the UK on their ID cards; instead, they must use passports.

"That's enormously important," says Tom Jenkins, who says that around three quarters of Europeans don't have passports, since they can travel around Europe with their ID cards.

"For a family of four, the logistical and cost implications of traveling to the UK become really prohibitive. It affects school trips too -- if some kids don't have European passports, before they'd have used ID cards, but now they'd need a visa. It means schools will either have to exclude kids on grounds of ethnicity -- or they won't bother coming to the UK and we'll see a genuine drop in visitors."

Janson calls it a "total disaster" for school groups and students, saying that it would "go against equality rules" to take some kids to the UK and leave others behind.

"There's a whole industry of English language schools based on student groups coming over for six weeks -- they spend a couple of weeks learning English and then take cultural trips," he says.

"They get an immersive experience in English language and UK culture, and it's worth about 1.5 billion per year, just from European students alone."

Now, he says, European groups are picking Ireland and Malta over the UK, as they have English language schools, but not the red tape. According to English UK, the first year of the pandemic saw an 83.6% drop in students.

"Feedback has been bleak, suggesting most European parents would not go to the trouble and expense of obtaining passports for what are often only two or three-week study holidays," says a spokesperson for the group.

"If only one student in a larger group does not have a passport, the whole group may alter their plans and travel elsewhere."

No more tax free shopping

Another Brexit side effect is hitting big-spending travelers from around the world, as well as Europeans.

On January 1, 2021, the government abolished the VAT Retail Export Scheme, which allowed tax-free shopping in the UK for non-EU citizens. That makes the UK the only European country not offering tax-free shopping to visitors from outside the EU.

A government spokesperson told CNN: "Around 92% of non-EU visitors to the UK didn't use the VAT Retail Export Scheme and extending it to the EU would have substantially increased the costs of the scheme."

So rather than allow EU citizens to join the scheme post-Brexit, they axed it entirely.

The Treasury spokesperson continued: "VAT RES is very unlikely to act as a significant motive for visiting the UK and tax-free shopping is still available in store when goods are posted to overseas addresses."

But industry insiders say it'll have a massive effect on high-rolling tourists from China and the Middle East.

And the Office for Budget Responsibility, an independent watchdog for the UK's public finances, has queried the government's figures, while the Treasury Select Committee -- a bipartisan parliamentary committee -- asked the government for further analysis in October 2020, but has yet to receive a response.

"With Brexit, we had the opportunity to make the UK the shopping destination of Europe, but instead of expanding the scheme, they got rid of it for everyone," says Janson.

"It's basically putting a big sign at Heathrow telling people from China and the Middle East to go to Paris or Milan and do their shopping there. It's a real self-inflicted wound on the tourist industry."

A spokesperson for the UK's Association of International Retail told CNN that the axing of the scheme is predicted to lead to a drop of 38% in retail sales to non-EU visitors, compared to 2019 -- a loss of 1.2 billion ($1.6 billion) to the economy.

But that's not all. "There are also likely to be indirect losses as high-spending visitors travel to the UK less often and spend less time here, preferring instead to visit countries where they can buy goods for 20% less than in the UK," they said.

Visitors from China and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries comprise 4% of visitors to the UK, but make around 60% of tax-free purchases.

"Research shows that over 50% of Chinese visitors and over 60% of visitors from the GCC would reduce the number of times they visit the UK and the length of time they spend here -- as a direct result of ending tax-free shopping," they said.

Marcus Lee agrees. "Essentially products will be less competitive in price, hence Chinese [tourists] may go somewhere else," he says.

Petrol, food and staffing shortages

Maybe it's Covid, maybe it's Brexit, but the UK service economy has also taken a hit this year -- worse than other European countries.

"There's a widespread perception that the UK is struggling to maintain its service economy," says Jenkins.

"Stories about fuel shortages, food shortages and problems with staffing in hotels are circulating. None of them indicate a destination you'd wish to have a holiday in.

"There are a lot of alternative options within Europe which don't suffer from this perception and are far easier to enter."

Although Chinese tourists "couldn't care less" about the domestic politics of their vacation destinations, Marcus Lee says that supply chain issues are a different story.

"There is definitely concern," he says. "Like any tourist, you don't want to go to a place that's short of food or insecure."

The UK has been particularly badly hit by a Europe-wide lack of truck drivers, with many leaving the country after Brexit. October saw countrywide fuel shortages, with the military brought in to deliver it to gas stations around the country.

And food shortages linked to the truck driver crisis have led industry leaders to warn that Brits might not get all the ingredients for their typical Christmas meals this year.

Even government minister George Eustice seemed to flag upcoming difficulties, telling TV viewers in October that they'd get their turkey dinners as long as there was "sufficient HGV [heavy goods vehicle] capacity."

Parliamentarians also voted in October to allow partially treated sewage to be released into the UK's seas and waterways, due to the lack of drivers. The move was reversed after widespread public outcry but will do little to promote Britain's myriad beaches.

The government is offering short term visas to truck drivers -- many of whom left due to post-Brexit rules on "unskilled workers" -- to try and ease the crisis.

One rule for them, one for us

There's one more thing that could be putting off visitors to the UK, think travel industry experts: the country's confusing restrictions.

The UK's traffic light system of countries was abolished in October, with all countries removed from the "red list" of hotel quarantine on November 1. But while that means the UK is now more laissez-faire about entry rules than many other countries -- you don't need a negative test to travel to the country, though you do need a day-two lateral flow test -- its regulations are stricter for foreign travelers than for British citizens.

Double-vaccinated Britons "pinged" to inform them that they've come into contact with someone who's tested positive do not have to quarantine. But those who were vaccinated abroad -- even in a country whose vaccinated program is recognized by the UK -- do. So if someone on your flight to the UK tests positive, and you test negative, you still have to quarantine if vaccinated abroad.

David and Barbara Keith were traveling to the UK from Boston last month when, on day three of their vacation, they were "pinged."

Fully vaccinated with Pfizer shots and boosters, they tested negative on arrival -- but someone on their flight to Heathrow tested positive.

Instead of attending the family and work reunions they'd planned, the couple had to quarantine for 10 days in the hotel in which they were given the news -- despite being triple-vaccinated.

"No amount of logical arguing helped," says Keith. They cut their long-planned trip short and "left as soon as we could," ditching the reunions to race to Heathrow as soon as their quarantine ended.

The couple -- who tested negative on the way home and twice more back in Boston -- won't be hurrying back to the UK. They have, says Keith, "no plans to travel any time soon."

What's more, where most European countries treat unvaccinated children the same way as the vaccinated adults they're traveling with, the UK does things a little differently. Unvaccinated kids resident in the UK, or on a list of approved countries, don't need to quarantine on arrival.

But those coming from countries not on the list must quarantine for 10 days -- regardless of whether they test negative, and regardless of whether their parents need to quarantine or not.

As recently as October, the list of approved countries was around the 50 mark. It was expanded on October 11 to around 100 countries, and from November 22, all under 18s will be treated as fully vaccinated, wherever they're coming from.

But the uncertainty is putting travelers off.

"The main factor for anyone [choosing a vacation] is: is it going to be dangerous, and what are the chances of my holiday being ruined -- or a barrier to entry, like quarantine for 10 days," says Janson.

"There's nothing in the perception of the UK that would ameliorate your perceptions in terms of the safety or security of your holiday."

Americans to the rescue

One thing that could help ease the UK out of its current mess? A decent marketing campaign, says Janson. Countries around the world struggled to outdo each other for 2021, with European countries in particular vying to attract those tourists who were willing to travel.

However, where other countries are plowing money in, the UK is cutting back.

Visit Britain's core budget has been reduced by 35% in real terms over the past decade.

Patricia Yates says that a 7.2 million ($9.7 million) recovery campaign for the UK will launch in January, aimed at younger US and European tourists, and encouraging them to visit cities, which have been the hardest hit by the fall in visitors (since domestic tourism has boomed in rural and coastal spots).

But that ends from March, after which, "we need to wait and see what we're given," she says.

It's easy to waste money on a campaign, she warns, but says that with a blank check, she'd want to reinforce links with the travel trade to "drive conversion," reassess the UK's visa regime to "keep the country safe but getting visitors to come" and maybe have another look at that controversial tax free shopping decision.

2022 will be a big year for Britain: it's the Queen's platinum jubilee, the Commonwealth Games will be held, and there's the Festival UK 2022 which will create 10 public engagement projects, featuring everyone from artists to scientists in a bid to boost the UK's creativity.

January will be key, says Janson -- people tend to book in late December and early January, so the UK needs to turn things around by then.

Americans already seem to be on board -- Visit Britain says there's been an uptick of bookings ever since the US announced it would be relaxing its own restrictions. Yates says that the increase in flights since the November 8 opening will cut both ways.

In fact, says Visit Britain, inbound flight bookings from the US to the UK for this year's holiday period have recovered to 62% of 2019 levels.

Nobody is denying there's a long way to go, however. And with so many factors at play, it's hard to know which is the most pressing.

As Kurt Janson says, ruefully: "It's hard to know because nobody's coming here."

This story was first published on CNN.com, "How the UK became the sick man of European tourism"
Platte County now has a newly redistricted map.

After a lengthy discussion at the Platte County Board of Supervisors Tuesday morning meeting, a redistricting option that would have created a majority-minority county board district was defeated in a 3-4 vote.

The board voted on two proposed maps at its meeting -- map 4 and map 5.

Map 5 was the option that was approved in a 5-2 vote, with Supervisors Jerry Engdahl, Ron Pfeifer, Jim Scow, Jerry Micek and Bob Lloyd voting for and Supervisors Kim Kwapnioski and Fred Liss voting against. Map 5 does not contain a majority-minority district.

The board voted on map 4 before accepting map 5, but map 4 did not pass. Kwapnioski, Liss and Scow voted for, while Engdahl, Pfeifer, Micek and Lloyd voted against map 4.

Map 4 would have turned one of the county supervisor districts into a majority-minority district with a high concentration of Hispanic or Latino residents.

"The issue that we have right now is that  the (Hispanic or Latino community's) vote is diluted amongst three to four districts," Platte County Deputy Attorney Jose Rodriguez said at the meeting.

Rodriquez was at the meeting to give the board legal advice on the map option that would hold up best to any potential lawsuits. By creating a majority-minority district to concentrate the Platte County Hispanic or Latino community's vote, Rodriguez indicated that map 4 would put the county in a stronger legal position in a court case accusing the county of suppressing the minority population's vote.

While the Platte County board passed on the creation of a majority-minority district, such districts have been adopted in neighboring Colfax County, where 45.7% of the population identifies as Hispanic or Latino.

"Colfax County actually has three (county board) districts, all districts are majority-minority," Rodriguez said.

Platte County's map options were created with help from gWorks, a mapping software company based in Omaha. The county contracted with gWorks for the redistricting to help speed the process along, as did many other Nebraska political subdivisions this year.

"(Map 4 is) based on statutes and laws -- that's how they came up with that information," Kwapnioski said at the meeting. "It's not that they just thought, 'Oh let's put that there.' It's based on laws and things that have happened."

Part of the legal concern seemed to stem from the fact that right now, the racial make-up of the board does not reflect that of the county. Platte County has the seventh highest minority population percentage of Nebraska's 93 counties. Hispanic or Latino people account for most of Platte County's minority population, but none of Platte County's board members identify as Hispanic or Latino. At Tuesday's meeting, a couple of supervisors pointed out that a Hispanic or Latino person has never even run for the Platte County board.

However, Rodriguez said the fact that Hispanic or Latino candidates have run for other elected positions in the county, and failed to be elected, indicates the possible existence of a white voting block that consistently defeats minority candidates. If a Hispanic or Latino person did run for the county board and was defeated because of a white voting block, the county could find itself on the losing end of a lawsuit. In such a case, redistricting according to map 4 would put the county in a stronger legal position.

"The problem is that if their vote is subsequently diluted, you're put in a less defensible position in court versus if their vote is constructed in a way that would give them the opportunity to elect someone of their choosing," Rodriguez said.

At the meeting, Pfeifer worried that concentrating the Hispanic or Latino community in one district could be seen as packing. Not in this case, Rodriguez said -- instead, not creating a majority-minority district could put the county in a position where it could be accused of cracking.

"This isn't packing in the way we see it in southern districts on the East Coast," Rodriguez said. "...In this situation, I don't think that we're using it to discriminate against any group. If anything  it would be empowering a group, as they would be able to vote as a group within the community."

Molly Hunter is a reporter for The Columbus Telegram. Reach her via email at molly.hunter@lee.net.

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Editor's note: "Leaders of Tomorrow" is a weekly series that profiles area youth who are doing good things in the community and leading by example. Be sure to check out the video with this story on our website, columbustelegram.com. You can also check out previously published stories in this series on columbustelegram.com.

A few years ago, Lakeview High School student Simon Janssen had the opportunity to help Habitat for Humanity of Columbus on one of its build days.

It was an experience that left a lasting impression on him.

Janssen, a senior, said he tagged along with his parents who worked at Columbus Community Hospital. CCH staff volunteered one day to help Habitat build one of its homes.

Although he wasnt old enough to assist in the houses actual construction, Janssen said he worked on odds and ends jobs."

I really liked the idea (of Habitat) and thats where I got my first initial experience with Habitat, Janssen said.

The 17-year-old said he wanted other students to take part in helping Habitat but realized there was no real way for them to do so. Thats when he came up with the idea of the nonprofit having a separate committee that is made up of area high school students.

He met with Habitat for Humanity of Columbus Executive Director Lori Peters who loved the idea. The student committee was then brought to the board of directors who voted on the matter and ultimately approved it. And so in January 2020, the Habitat for Humanity of Columbus Campus Committee was born.

I wanted to start an organization for youth, particularly teens throughout the high schools, to participate in Habitat for Humanity and volunteer, said Janssen, who is the committee's founding president.

The committee  which includes students from Columbus High School, Lakeview, Scotus Central Catholic and Nebraska Christian School in Central City - assists local families and their children.

Simon has done a great job of being the first and founding president of the Habitat for Humanity Campus Committee, Peters said. He has done several tasks for the group that probably stretched his comfort level and forced himself to grow as an individual and as a leader and he has done them well. He has a bright future!"

The committee holds fundraisers to help fund projects for the families receiving a home. The money typically goes more toward the kids, Janssen said.

Previous projects included building a handmade bunk bed for one family, as well as a lower level bed and desk that would accommodate Moises Ortiz  a Columbus Middle School student - who has cerebral palsy. Additionally, the committee decorated Ortizs room with Marvel memorabilia.

We fundraise and then carry out projects, Janssen said. Thats what the last two years have been. Its been really fun and has a big impact on the kids and the families.

Janssen said the previous couple of years have also been amazing because of the community's support of the committee.

The campus committee isnt the only activity that Janssen does. Hes also in powerlifting, track and field, National Honor Society, Future Business Leaders of America and student council.

With his senior year near the halfway point, Janssen has been preparing for his future after high school. He said his goal is to join the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He would be joining his brother, Ben, who started there earlier this year.

Im hoping to receive an appointment from the Air Force Academy, said Janssen, who was wearing an Air Force sweater as he spoke.  Thats been my goal now for a while and Ive been working toward that goal for a long time.

Janssen added he will know the outcome in either late winter or early spring.

Andrew Kiser is a reporter for The Columbus Telegram. Reach him via email at andrew.kiser@lee.net.

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Source: Adobe/tawatchai1990

Crypto has become a key issue in the run-up to the South Korean presidential election  with shots firing in all directions as politicians hunt for votes.

As previously reported, the ruling Democratic Party nominee Lee Jae-myung has already pledged to unpick crypto tax law to delay the imposition of a controversial 20% levy on crypto trading profits from January 2022 to 2023 at the earliest. His main opponent from the Peoples Power Party has also promised to delay the law.

But now Lee Jae-myung has ramped up the stakes  by suggesting that his party is seriously considering the notion of creating a cryptoasset and handing tokens out to the entire nation.

On November 11, Lee attended a Youth Talk on Cryptoassets event, where MBN quoted him as stating:

We need to create a foundation for issuing and circulating virtual assets that are recognized around the world. It is something of a revolution: It is akin to creating a new currency.

He hinted that he would seek to take a far more crypto-friendly approach than the incumbent government, explaining that South Korea is implementing "a national policy of isolationism" when it comes to digital assets.

"We are not allowed to enter, so we all go elsewhere to play. That is causing an outflow of national wealth, he said.

But his declaration drew ire from opposition lawmakers  particularly the Peoples Power Party President Lee Jun-seok, who wrote on social media that it would be better to issue a Lee Jae-myung nonsense non-fungible token (NFT)  as such a token would at least be fun and will have market value."

Lee Jun-seok, bristled:

Nominee Lee is ultimately stating: If I take power, I will destroy the country.

Lee Jun-seok added that any attempt by the government to create its own token would involve a nonsensical whitepaper and would ultimately be classified as a jobcoin (Korean crypto argot for shitcoin).

Meanwhile, on the issue of tax, the government has insisted it will not budge on the matter and wants to go ahead with a January 2022 launch as planned. However, it is serious at risk of being undermined by its own party. Chosun reported that the party says the decision to delay has been made unilaterally  per Kim Byung-wook, the secretary of the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee.

Lee Jae-myung added that delaying the tax move by a year would provide a small but certain happiness to crypto investors, but denied the policy was a vote-grabbing move.

Instead, he stated that a years delay would allow his government to better prepare for crypto tax, by consulting experts before rushing in unprepared.

He told a radio interviewer:

The concerns of the [crypto] industry and experts should not be overlooked.

____

Learn more:

- South Korean Taxman to Be Granted Right to Search Crypto Tax Evaders Homes

- South Korean Government Faces Raft of Crypto Tax Amendment Bills



- Bitcoin Turns Into a Political Tool as US Mayors Compete For BTC Salaries

- How and Why Crypto Suffers from Unfair Treatment by Regulators, Politicians & Media
HARRISBURG  A Pennsylvania judge heard conflicting descriptions of the states education funding as a trial began Friday in a lawsuit intended to compel lawmakers to funnel more money to schools in lower income areas.

A lawyer for the districts, parents and organizations that sued argued current state subsidies are insufficient in areas with lower property values and income, running afoul of the state constitutions mandate of a thorough system of public education.

This isnt a case about numbers, attorney Katrina Robson told Commonwealth Court Judge Renee Cohn Jubelirer. Its a case about people. Its about children struggling to overcome circumstances that they cant control, children who see the resources available at other schools and not available at theirs.

Robson said legislative Republican leaders will argue the states funding of public education compares favorably to other states.

That ranking is based on an average, Robson told the judge. And that average hides what the Pennsylvania Department of Education itself described as one of the largest gaps of any state in the country in per-child spending between the commonwealths poorest and wealthiest districts.

The cases central issue is a pattern of wide disparities in spending among the states 500 districts and the comparatively low percentage of K-12 education that is paid for by the state government.

The plaintiffs are six districts, several parents, the state conference of the NAACP and the Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small Schools. They sued the governor, state education secretary, the Department of Education, the state Board of Education and the top-ranking Republican leaders in the state House and Senate.

The lawsuit does not request a specific amount of money to be spent on K-12 education, but rather a declaration that the existing system violates a state constitutional requirement that Pennsylvania provide a thorough and efficient system of public education and that the system discriminates against children in lower-income areas.

Patrick Northen, a lawyer for House Speaker Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster, a defendant in the case, argued the Legislature has been funding education in good faith, noting state support has grown by $2 billion annually over the seven years since the lawsuit was filed in 2014.

Pennsylvania ranks near the top nationally in spending per pupil on elementary and secondary education, Northen said, with education spending now at about $13.9 billion this year.

Even the lowest-spending districts in Pennsylvania spend significant funds to educate their children, he argued, adding that the narrative that Pennsylvania drastically underfunds education is simply not accurate.

He called much of the petitioners case a public policy dispute cloaked in a constitutional argument.

Not only is Pennsylvanias public school system not constitutionally deficient, its actually quite a good system  theres quite a bit to be proud of, Northen said.

The trial is being streamed online and is expected to last into January. No matter which side rules, an appeal to the state Supreme Court is likely.

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The Leadington Board of Aldermen on Tuesday night agreed to place on the April 5 ballot an initiative that would roll over the citys sales tax percentage to the general fund. It also heard about a Community Block Development Grant, took care of a few financial issues, and approved a police department policy on body cameras.

Mayor Joe Davis explained the April 5 ballot issue would involve no new taxes, but it would roll over the citys existing half-cent sales tax to the general fund. Originally approved in 2003 for water and sewer improvements around town, the tax would be diverted to public safety. Like many rural areas, the Leadington Police Department has been struggling to maintain its department due to challenges within the profession and salary competition from larger cities.

Long story short, we have our water and sewer tax that we had applied to do a bunch of improvements in the city, it was advised to us to go ahead and try to roll that over, Davis said. It's easier to roll a tax over than it is to add a new one to the ballot. It will be on the ballot again, even though it's not necessarily allocated funds. But we're going to try to divert that to the general fund to cover things like public safety.

Davis said a public meeting would be held before the election to answer any residents questions about the initiative. He repeated its not an additional or new tax, the board was told it would be advisable to put it on the ballot as a means of officially turning the tax over to the general fund, where its needed, instead of the water and sewer fund, which is less needful of the funding.

The aldermen also participated in a Zoom meeting with Mike Montgomery of Horner & Shifrin Inc. of Poplar Bluff regarding CBDG grant opportunities. Montgomery, a civil project engineer, advised the board to consider sending out an income survey to residents which they would be encouraged to fill out anonymously to accurately gauge the citys collective financial eligibility for the state grants.

Montgomery explained, based on current census information, the collective population of the city makes too much money to be eligible for CBDG grants. He said it could also be that fewer people in Leadington might have filled out the census, and some who did might have felt compelled to embellish their income, which he said is not uncommon among survey-takers.

Davis said it might be possible to reach out to the grant administrator of Southeast Missouri Regional Planning Commission and Economic Development to see how such an anonymous survey could be administered. Montgomery said if need could be proven, the city would be encouraged to contact Horner & Shifrin again to see what sort of civil projects could be undertaken.

On the financial side of city issues, the city leaders chose to renew a CD at Belgrade State Bank collecting .52% interest for another 18 months. The board, employees and audience members shared a collective groan at the lackluster rate of return, but agreed it would be in the citys best interest to renew it for more than 12 months. The aldermen approved a $250 stipend for full-time city employees as a pay increase before the end of the year.

Police Sgt. Marvin Chapman presented the aldermen with a body camera policy to approve. He said it did not need to be approved as an ordinance, just as city policy. The department was approved in July to buy the cameras, and Chapman has been working on making them operational and official since they arrived. He said the usage requirements presented borrow heavily from Desloge Police Departments, which was good enough to share their body camera policy as a template.

Chapman briefly explained the high points.

There's only one administrator, which is me, he said. It's a short training class, which I already went through to train the other officers on how to use them, what to expect from them. And if they have any questions, they can review their own videos when they need to, if they have to, which helps out. I can review all of (the videos), the officers can only review their own and thats the way the chief wanted it. He only wants to be able to review his, and only wants one administrator.

We all agreed we didn't want to go into a system without a policy.

In other business:

The board heard a residents complaint about a vacant lot whose owner let the grass grow, the resident kept mowing it, and the owner is now allegedly parking derelict cars on the property. The board encouraged the police department to stay on top of nuisance properties and untended conditions that violate city ordinance.

The board discussed their upcoming participation in the Park Hills-Leadington Chamber of Commerce Christmas Parade, set for Dec. 2 at 6 p.m., with the mayor and various others adding that at some point, theyd like to update their Christmas decorations, particularly a Christmas tree they say has seen better days.

The board agreed the city offices would be closed Dec. 23-24, acknowledging Christmass falling on a Saturday this year.

The board agreed to buy a fitted vest for a female police officer. The city buys bulletproof vests for its officers, but expects the officer to pay for half the cost, amortized over the course of 12 months and taken from the officers paycheck. The officer is expected in good faith to work at least a year for the city.

The city also announced the filing period for the April 5 election is Dec. 7-28, and anyone who would like to run for aldermanic positions currently held by Debbi Matthews and Dustin McKinney should file between 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday, excluding Dec. 23-24. Candidates for the board of aldermen must be at least 21 years old, a U.S. citizen, and a resident of Leadington for one year.

The next board of aldermen meeting is at 6 p.m., Dec. 14, preceded by a 5:30 p.m. Planning and Zoning Committee hearing.

Sarah Haas is the assistant editor for the Daily Journal. She can be reached at 573-518-3617 or at shaas@dailyjournalonline.com.

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Famous Anthonys attorneys declined a request to interview the restaurants owner or answer any further questions due to pending litigation.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has licensed two hepatitis A vaccines and one combination vaccine that protects against both Hepatitis A and B. The first vaccine was licensed in 1995, and since then, rates of hepatitis A have declined dramatically in the U.S. Since 2006, the hepatitis A vaccine has been recommended for all children at age one and is sometimes required by schools. But this means many adults have not been vaccinated.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified unprecedented widespread outbreaks of hepatitis A in the U.S. in 2016. Since then, more than 40,000 cases have been reported and at least 400 deaths. Many of the cases have been among people who are the most at risk, including those who use drugs or people who are experiencing homelessness.

Morrow said the district has seen an uptick in vaccines since the local outbreak and vaccinated as many as 45 people in one day.
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Were all rolling on up toward the holidays, and I want everyone who has any connection to me, either positive or negative, to have a good one. Theres been a ton of research coming out this last couple of weeks that many of the COVID-19 ritualistic class would find upsetting. But in the spi
Pruitt said he hopes he and Mathis can hold down the venom in a Republican primary.

We just agreed that if were going to run against each other, were going to be very respectful of each other.

LaRiccia, though, is more emphatic about his campaign plans.

Im running to win and whoever they draw me in with is going to get beat, LaRiccia said.

Dukes might appear to be the favorite against Greene in their combined southwest Georgia district, but Dukes raised concerns during Wednesdays floor debate that there may not be as many Democratic-leaning African American voters in the district as it initially appears because of a large state prison that is counted in the population. Prisoners in Georgia are disproportionately Black, but people convicted of felonies can't vote while in prison.

Declining population wasn't an influence in the pairing of Mitchell and Hutchinson in Gwinnett County, despite the creation of an open Democrat-leaning district next door. Senate Minority Leader Gloria Butler, a Stone Mountain Democrat, cited that pairing as one reason to reject the House map.
Vietnamese carriers will operate nearly 30 flights this month to carry foreign tourists to Kien Giang, Da Nang and Khanh Hoa, a senior aviation official said Friday.

Vo Huy Cuong, deputy head of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, shared this information at a seminar on reopening international tourism.

Without mentioning specific embarkation points, he said national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines would operate one flight to Da Nang City on November 17 and budget carrier Vietjet Air will operate one to Phu Quoc Island in Kien Giang Province on November 20.

Another 24 additional flights will carry foreign tourists to the three localities, mainly from South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Thailand, he said.

On Thursday, Khanh Hoa Province, home to famous tourist hotspots Nha Trang and Cam Ranh, welcomed two flights from South Korea and Japan with a total of 429 passengers. The passengers would stay at the Vinpearl Resort & Spa Long Beach on the Cam Ranh Peninsula.

"These are encouraging signs and can be considered a good start for the international tourism reopening pilot plan," Cuong said.

Bui Quoc Thai, deputy director of the Kien Giangs Department of Tourism, said Phu Quoc was scheduled to welcome the first flight from South Korea's Incheon airport at noon on November 20.

Earlier, budget carrier Vietjet Air had sought approval to fly 250 South Korean tourists to Phu Quoc Island on November 20 under the vaccine passport program. All tourists would be taken to the Vinpearl Resort and Spa Phu Quoc for a three-day tour package.

Khanh Hoa, Phu Quoc and Da Nang are three of five localities that are allowed to welcome fully vaccinated foreign tourists from November onwards. The two other localities are the provinces of Quang Nam and Quang Ninh.

Foreign tourists need to furnish certificates showing they are fully vaccinated or have recovered from Covid; and test negative for the novel coronavirus within 72 hours before departure.

They are also required to book a package tour with one of designated travel agencies and furnish medical or travel insurance including coverage for Covid-19 treatment worth at least $50,000.

The visitors have to install IGOVN and PC-Covid health declaration applications on their smartphones while in Vietnam.

Vietnam closed its doors to foreign tourists and grounded international flights in March 2020, and has since allowed entry only to Vietnamese repatriates and foreign experts and highly-skilled workers.

The country recorded a 79 percent year-on-year decline in the number of foreign visitors in 2020. It welcomed just 3.83 million foreign visitors last year against a record 18 million in 2019.
Several European countries are reimposing restrictions in a bid to dampen down a worrying rise in Covid-19 cases, and take more measures to encourage people to get vaccinated.

WHAT IS THE SITUATION IN EUROPE?

The weekly number of coronavirus cases across Europe has been on the rise since early October and now stands at levels unseen since the start of the pandemic.

Over the past seven days 2,125,775 cases have been registered, a daily average of 303,682, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

That broke the previous European record of 1,988,507 cases logged in the week of November 2-8 2020.

The latest figures also represent a 13-per cent rise on the previous week.

Five countries - Britain, Germany, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine - logged rises of more than 50 per cent.

It is worth noting that many more Covid tests are being carried out now than was the case when the pandemic first hit the continent in early 2020.

ARE ALL PARTS OF EUROPE AFFECTED EQUALLY?

The overall figures hide national differences which are due in large part to differences in the speed of the vaccination roll-out and the social health measures imposed.

In Britain, for example, though Covid cases numbers are on the rise high vaccination rates have kept additional hospitalizations down, said Yves Coppieters, epidemiologist at the ULB university in Brussels.

The same is not true of Eastern European countries, he added.

In countries such as Spain and Portugal, which are very well vaccinated, or indeed Italy which has taken tough measures, the rebound is still not very visible, he added.

France is somewhere in between, with a rise in cases "but less strong" Coppieters told AFP.

On Friday, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said the situation was continuing to worsen in the EU.

Of the 27 member states the centre placed Belgium, Poland, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary and Slovenia in the category of highest concern.

HOW ARE COUNTRIES RESPONDING TO THE SURGE?

For most European nations the main goal is to get as many people vaccinated as possible.

France recently announced that the over-65s must receive a booster jab in order to obtain a health pass.

Some are going further, starting to reinstate some of the restrictions on movement which populations had hoped were over.

The Russian government said Friday it had submitted to parliament two bills that will introduce mandatory health passes to access restaurants and public transport, amid a new wave of coronavirus cases.

Health professionals there will also have to wear masks and be tested for Covid twice a week.

In Austria the government said it wants a nationwide lockdown for those not vaccinated against or recovered from the coronavirus.

Only around 65 per cent of the population is fully vaccinated in Austria, a rate described by Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg as "shamefully low".

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced Western Europe's first partial lockdown of the winter, with at least three weeks of Covid curbs on restaurants, shops and sporting events.

A side-effect of the tougher measures could be more public discontent.

Several hundred protesters angered by Rutte's announcement gathered in The Hague afterwards, with police firing water cannon at them.

WILL WE SEE THE DEATH RATE RISE?

Last week the WHO's Europe chief warned that the current trajectory of Covid in Europe could mean "another half a million Covid-19 deaths" by February.

A daily average of 4,031 coronavirus related deaths have been recorded over the past week - a 10-percent rise on the previous week and an 18-percent rise on the week before that.

A year ago the daily average was 3,785 fatalities.

"We are seeing a wave of infections due to the Delta variant and lower temperatures, but vaccination should prevent a correlation with hospitalizations," said Coppieters.

"There will inevitably be great heterogeneity between countries depending on vaccination coverage."

WILL VACCINATING MORE PEOPLE BE ENOUGH?

No, according to Coppieters.

"The key is of course to vaccinate those most at risk to achieve herd immunity," he told AFP.

"For the rest of the population, we must above all maintain barrier measures, indoor ventilation and a testing policy," he added.

Last week the WHO highlighted those methods, calling for continued vaccinations along with widespread use of masks and social distancing measures.
SPRING CREEK  Riding in a horse-drawn carriage is a step back in time to when life moved at a slower pace. You see things along the roadway when traveling the old-fashioned way that you might not see hurtling down the freeway in your SUV.

Andy Boyer has always loved horses and the traditional way of life. He was raised on a farm. His father was born on the land and originally used horses to farm. He does rawhide braiding, tans buffalo and deer hides and has volunteered endless hours at the Western Folklife Center, a place where horsemanship, ranching and the Western lifestyle are honored and celebrated.

Andy is involved in the yearly Pony Express Reenactment. He is in charge of a section near Eureka. He was also part of the Cowboy Express Grass March organized by Grant Gerber.

When we lived in California there was a guy in the area that did a carriage business for hire, said Boyer. I wanted to learn to drive so I contacted him and we made a deal that I would clean harness in exchange for lessons.

Boyer and his wife, Jan, retired to Spring Creek a number of years ago. They eventually partnered with another man on a couple of saddle horses.

He got the itch to get some harness horses because he knew I drove and he has a couple wagons. Through my connection, I got hold of a guy back East and he bought these (harness) horses for us.

Andy traveled back to Illinois to try them out. He loved the two standard bred geldings and purchased them.

Theyre so desirable because they are already harness broke and have good personalities, gentle, Andy said. There are only about three percent bred that make it to the track. The Amish buy most of the others. The guy I used as a trader was Amish.

Andy pays extreme attention to safety at all times. He was trained to always check over the harness and keep an eye on his horses behavior.

The best thing you can do is pay attention, you have to be constantly aware of what the horse can see and what he might be afraid of.

The Boyer horses are named Castor and Pollux, named after figures in Greek and Roman mythology. Legend has it that they were twins with separate fathers. Zeus or Jupiter was the ethereal father of Pollux, while Castor had a mortal father, King Tyndaru, a Spartan king. One was considered semi-divine, while the other was thought to be mortal. In a clash with rivals Castor lost his life.

Pollux asked Zeus to let him share some of his immortality with his twin in order for them to remain together for eternity. Magically, they were transformed into the constellation Gemini, still seen in the darkened sky. They were known as protectors of sailors and represented horsemanship.

Like the mythological brothers, Andys horses are also half-brothers. One has a white patch on his left rear hock, while the other as a similar patch on his right rear hock. Otherwise, they are very similar in coloring and build.

Andy and Jan have now developed a business involving their restored carriage and their two gelding harness horses.

They have provided their services during weddings and date nights and made a show with passenger rides at the Lamoille Pumpkin Festival. They are also involved with the Seventh Canyon Ranch offering wedding rides.

A carriage ride with Andy, Pollux and Castor is more than just a walk in the park. Andy goes all out and dresses to the occasion. He even had a local hatter create a specialized top hat just for driving. His handlebar mustache finishes off the look.

Weve had people stop the carriage on the street and say, This is so great, I want to do this for my engagement, said Jan.



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Coyotes are the one animal people love to hate. People who kill things love to kill coyotes.

This is reflected in Nevadas coyote hunting. Coyotes are not protected in any way. Anyone, resident or non-resident, can kill any coyotes they see with no limits on number taken. They can hunt coyotes without a license, any time of the year, day or night, (night hunting is banned in some counties, including Elko).

Hunters can use any type of weapon and ammunition they want, along with broadcasted alarm calls, decoys, baits and dogs. Many coyote hunters come from neighboring states, drawn by Nevadas coyote hunts and open, accessible spaces to hunt them. Any hunter who takes a coyote by trapping, or sells raw furs for profit, needs a trapping license.

Coyote killing contests are held, although participants prefer calling the events coyote-calling contests.

Nevada Wildlife Services is a part of the Nevada Department of Agriculture. They routinely kill coyotes to protect livestock. They often shoot coyotes from the ground, from helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. They also use neck snares, foothold traps, and M-44 cyanide capsules to kill coyotes.

Statistics are available for the year 2020. During October-December, Wildlife Services killed 1,715 coyotes in Nevada. During these same three months, they killed 315 coyotes in the Eastern part of the state.

They put out a monthly newsletter titled Trapline. The most recent available issues are from 2020. Here are a few examples of their larger kills. In September four cattle ranches in eastern Elko County reported high predation losses in the past and reported seeing many coyotes in their calving pastures. A plane came from Elko and killed 21 coyotes.

Also in September, two cattle ranches in central Elko County reported coyote predation problems in the past and saw several coyotes in their calving pastures. The Elko plane killed 15 coyotes. Looking at their newsletter, it appears that Wildlife Services returns to the same ranches year after year to kill coyotes. Theirs is an industry of killing coyotes.

The number of coyotes killed yearly through combined hunting and Wildlife Services may amount to 8,000-10,000 animals. The Nevada Department of Wildlife makes no estimate on population size or mortality rates.

Of interest is the fact that hunters and government killers have little effect on coyote numbers. We have been persecuting coyotes in the Western US for over 100 years, using shooting, trapping, snaring and poisoning. During this time, coyotes have increased their population and increased their range across North America.

Year after year, there has been no reduction of coyote numbers in Elko County, despite all this killing.

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Vietnam's 'bun cha' (rice vermicelli with grilled pork and fresh herbs) (Source: VNA)



Vietnamese Ambassador to the RoK Nguyen Vu Tung sent his congratulatory remarks via video to the event.



A representatives of the organisers said with a focus on the New Southern Policy revolving around Southeast Asian countries, this food festival introduces about 30 dishes of Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Indonesia and of European nations. Highlights of the Vietnamese cuisine at the event are 'bun cha' (rice vermicelli with grilled pork and fresh herbs) and 'pho' (beef noodle soup).



Kim Jung-ryul, operating director of ASEM Food, noted the event aims to attract Southeast Asian and European visitors to the island, giving them the taste of their homeland dishes.



By combining gastronomy, technology, and culture, the ASEM Food Court is expected to deliver a diverse and impressive experience to foreign and Korean tourists, he said.



The Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) is an intergovernmental process established in 1996 to foster dialogue and cooperation between Asia and Europe. Presently, it comprises 53 partners  30 European and 21 Asian countries, the European Union and the ASEAN Secretariat./.
Washington has been in contact with Russian officials regarding tensions on the Ukrainian-Russian border, U.S. Press Secretary Jen Psaki has said at a White House briefing on Friday, November 12.

"In recent week, and certainly days, we have extensive interactions with our European allies and partners, including Ukraine [...]. We have also held discussions with Russian officials about Ukraine and U.S.-Russian relations generally," Psaki said.

Earlier, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said the United States is concerned about the movement of Russian troops in the border area with Ukraine and calls on Moscow to clarify its intentions.
Belarus has done all it could to reduce the inflow of migrants and has returned about 2,000 foreigners home, Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei said.

"Just a month ago, we deprived 30 travel firms of the right to invite migrants from other countries. We stopped some 700 violators on the border. We returned home about 2,000 people who had come to Belarus from other countries and had no properly executed documents. And the sending of each person back also involves financial costs," the state news agency BelTA quoted Makei as saying.

Belarus has invited the European Union on numerous occasions to sit down at the negotiating table to discuss the problem of migration, Makei said.

"Since April, we have invited the EU many times to sit down at the negotiating table and start discussing migration issues. We haven't received a single reply to our proposals," he said.

"It's precisely the European Union that initiated the severance of a number of provisions of the readmission agreement, which had enabled us to interact on migration issues," Makei said.

"They stopped financing the projects related to the construction of shelters for migrants in Belarus and a number of projects on reinforcing the border infrastructure," he said.
There is no direct threat of a migration crisis on the Ukrainian border, but Ukraine needs to be as prepared as possible for these challenges, Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Denys Monastyrsky has said.

"To date, there is no direct threat to the Ukrainian border, but [...] we are strengthening the state border and we are talking with the local authorities, including the communities that live on the ground, because it is through joint efforts that we can overcome this crisis," the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs said on Friday evening, November 12 on the air of the Svoboda Slova (Freedom of Speech) television program.

Monastyrsky said that, despite the absence of a direct threat, Ukraine is preparing "for confrontations and any scenarios."

"Command and staff exercises of the police, National Guard and border guards are already underway. In two weeks, there will be field exercises of territorial defense and local patriots. Therefore, we are ready to counter any threat," the minister said.

According to him, the threat of the migration crisis cannot be underestimated. "We must be ready for these challenges. I can guarantee that the Ukrainian border guards, the National Guard, the National Police are already ready for this [...]. We must be ready for any challenges in the near future," the head of the Ministry of Internal Affair said.

Monastyrsky said that citizens of Belarus can cross the border with Ukraine, "we are talking about foreigners from Syria and Iraq, who are now artificially sent to the Polish, Lithuanian and in the future, possibly the Ukrainian border."
Giuli Alasania, the mother of former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, has met with Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II on Saturday.

"I know that the patriarch is not indifferent to my son's fate. The meeting in presence was brief of several church hierarchs. We talked about common subjects, in particular, about how the life of every person has always been valued in Georgia and that no law on death penalty has ever existed in Georgia," Alasania told journalists.

Eka Kherkheulidze, one of the leaders of the United National Movement opposition party, told journalists that at the meeting with the patriarch, the ex-president's mother told him about the dire conditions of her son's stay in a prison infirmary.

Metropolitan Nikoloz of Akhalkalaki and Kumurdo met with Saakashvili at a Rustavi jail and gave communion to him several days ago. The Georgian Patriarchate said that the rite performed by Metropolitan Nikoloz has not been approved by the patriarch and the patriarchate.

Ukrainian citizen Saakashvili had secretly arrived in Georgia on September 29, was detained in Tbilisi on October 1 and put in jail in the city of Rustavi soon afterwards, where he declared a hunger strike. Several days ago, he was transferred to the prison infirmary in Tbilisi's Gldani district.

Saakashvili has been convicted in Georgia in absentia in several criminal cases and is being treated as a suspect in some others. The Georgian authorities warned repeatedly that he would be detained immediately after he crossed the border. He has described his detention as unlawful and the charges brought against him as falsified.
Russia is artificially organizing the migration crisis, actually using Belarus to create a new point of destabilization of the security situation in Eastern Europe, Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) Ruslan Demchenko wrote in the column on Interfax-Ukraine website.

"The current leadership in Minsk, in unison with the Kremlin, according to customary tradition, is trying to blame the 'collective West' for the emergence of a massive flow of refugees in the direction of Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. Russia and Belarus constantly reproach the NATO states that it was their policy in the Middle East that led to the emergence of a wave of migration of citizens trying to illegally enter the EU," Demchenko said.

The NSDC deputy secretary said that in reality the situation on the border between Belarus and the EU is opposite, and "we are witnessing the implementation of the next stage of a complex scenario of destabilizing the situation in the European Union and the post-Soviet countries, aimed at achieving, in this case, the Kremlin-Minsk tandem of its geopolitical goals."

According to him, a number of factors serve as proof of such an assessment, in particular, the constant increase in the number of refugees at the Belarusian-Polish border; purposeful escort of illegal immigrants by Belarusian border guards to sections of the state border with Poland with weak physical protection to facilitate their further penetration into the EU; active coverage of events with widespread use of narratives about the alleged cruel treatment of illegal migrants by Poles by television channels controlled by the Belarusian authorities.

"Russia is artificially organizing the migration crisis, in fact using Belarus to create a new point of destabilization of the security situation in Eastern Europe. These events are taking place against the background of the signing of agreements (28 union programs) on the further integration of the Russian Federation and Belarus within the framework of the Union State," Demchenko said.

He also said the migration crisis on the Belarusian-Polish border is one of the Kremlin's tools to induce the EU to negotiate with Russia to accelerate the launch of Nord Stream 2, reduce sanctions pressure on Russia, legalize the so-called LDNR, recognition of the annexed Crimea as Russian territory.

"In turn, the situation in which it is Russia that is the main ideologist and curator of the artificial aggravation of the migration crisis at the borders of the European Union creates additional threats for Ukraine. Despite the fact that today the possibility of Belarus opening a 'Ukrainian front' of the migration crisis does not look obvious from the outside, must be ready for it," Demchenko said.

Thus, according to the NSDC deputy secretary, "therefore, the state leadership is taking preventive measures both within Ukraine and in the direction of our interaction with international partners."
Egypt welcomed on Sunday the new political agreement signed in Khartoum earlier between Sudan's Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and General Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan to end the month-old political crisis in the country.
Sudan's Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and General Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan signed an agreement in a public ceremony in the presidential palace in Khartoum on Sunday afternoon to end the month-old political crisis in the country.
The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) decided that two seats in each of Egypt's bank boards will be reserved for women, CBE Governor Tarek Amer told MENA, the state-owned news agency, on Wednesday.
Egypt has halted the use of rapid ID NOW coronavirus test for arrivals from countries with COVID-19 variants starting Tuesday.

The decision, which applies to passengers arriving at all land and sea ports and will be implemented by quarantine authorities, was made by the Preventive Medicine Sector of the Ministry of Health.

The countries covered by the decision are India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and Brazil - and Latin America.

The authorities will now only conduct the ID NOW test on arriving passengers in cases of emergency, those arriving after attending mass gatherings, as well as foreign travelers whose countries travel requirements require them to undergo the exam.

The ID NOW instrument-based test, introduced by the US-based medical device company Abbott, has been widely used at airports since last year for detecting coronavirus infection in less than 15 minutes.

Egypt started conducting the ID NOW test last May for Egyptians and non-Egyptians arriving from countries with coronavirus variants.

Egypt, which has resumed international flights and reopened its main tourist attractions in July of 2020 after three months of suspension due to the pandemic, is currently witnessing a large influx of tourists with tourism, according to officials.

However, the country has witnessed a rise in coronavirus infections in recent weeks amid efforts to expand the countrys mass vaccination campaign.

PCR

Egypt will continue to require the submission of negative PCR test results a maximum of 72 hours prior to the arrival in Egypt, the Preventive Medicine Sector said.

Travelers entering Egypt at any of four airports in the Red Sea governorate and South Sinai, however, can take a coronavirus test upon arrival.

In June, Egypt allowed travellers who are fully vaccinated with WHO-approved coronavirus vaccines to enter without taking a PCR test.

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Internet access remains largely disrupted in Sudan since last month's military takeover, despite a court order for providers to restore services, an advocacy group said Thursday.

According to a tweet by NetBlocks, the disruption is now in its eighteenth day and represents an ``ongoing impediment'' to democracy and human rights. A Sudanese court ruled on Wednesday, ordering the country's three main telecommunications providers to restore internet access. However, authorities have not shown any sign yet of carrying out that order.

Internet disruptions have become common in Sudan since nationwide protests erupted in late 2018, leading to the military's removal of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir in April 2019. In an attempt at the time to quell protests, authorities disrupted social media for 68 days, according to the London-based NetBlocks.

On Oct. 25, the Sudanese military seized power, dissolving the country's transitional government and detaining more than 100 government officials and political leaders, along with a large number of protesters and activists. Almost all still remain in custody. The army also placed the country's prime minister, Abdalla Hamdok, under house arrest at his residence in the capital of Khartoum.

Since the takeover, at least 14 anti-military takeover protesters have been killed due to excessive force used by the country's security forces, according to Sudanese doctors and the United Nations. The military takeover has been condemned by the U.N., the United States and the European Union which have been urging the generals to restore a military-civilian transitional government. Mediation efforts are ongoing to resolve the crisis.

On Wednesday, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said that U.N. Special Representative for Sudan Volker Perthes met the previous day with the head of the Sudanese military, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan.

In the talks, the special representative urged for `a return to the transitional partnership`` and appealed on the military ``to exercise restraint and to take de-escalation measures, including freeing all those people who have been detained and the prime minister who remains under house detention,`` said Dujarric.

Dujarric also said the U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres spoke with the ousted premier, Hamdok, earlier in the week.

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Russia sent paratroopers to Belarus Friday in a show of support for its ally amid the tensions over an influx of migrants on the Belarusian border with Poland.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that as part of joint war games Russian paratroopers will parachute from heavy-lift Il-76 transport planes in Belarus' Grodno region that borders Poland.

The Belarusian military said the exercise involving a battalion of Russian paratroopers was intended to test the readiness of the allies' rapid response forces due to an ``increase of military activities near the Belarusian border.``

It said that as part of the drills, which will also involve Belarusian air defense assets, helicopter gunships, and other forces, troops will practice targeting enemy scouts and illegal armed formations, along with other tasks.

Earlier this week, Russia sent its nuclear-capable strategic bombers on patrol missions over Belarus for two straight days. Russia's deputy UN ambassador, Dmitry Polyansky, told reporters at UN headquarters in New York that the flights came in response to a massive build-up on the Polish-Belarusian border.

Russia has strongly supported Belarus amid a tense standoff this week as thousands of migrants and refugees, most of them from the Middle East, gathered on the Belarusian side of the border with Poland in the hope of crossing into Western Europe.

The European Union has accused Belarus' authoritarian president, Alexander Lukashenko, of encouraging illegal border crossings as a ``hybrid attack'' to retaliate against EU sanctions on his government for its crackdown on domestic protests after Lukashenko's disputed 2020 reelection.

Belarus denies the allegations but has said it will no longer stop refugees and migrants from trying to enter the EU.

The Belarusian Defense Ministry accused Poland on Thursday of an ``unprecedented'' military buildup on the border, saying that migration control did not warrant the concentration of 15,000 troops backed by tanks, air defense assets, and other weapons.

Russia and Belarus have a union agreement envisaging close political and military ties. Lukashenko has stressed the need to boost military cooperation in the face of what he has described as aggressive actions by NATO allies.

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Iraq said on Friday it was drawing up lists of those among the hundreds of Iraqis blocked on the border between Belarus and Poland who wish to be repatriated voluntarily.

"We are ready to organise more than one trip to provide an urgent response to anyone wanting to come home voluntarily," foreign ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Sahaf said.

Hundreds of migrants and asylum-seekers, many of them Kurds from Iraq, have been stuck for days on the Belarus-Poland border in near-freezing temperatures, with the World Health Organization saying on Friday it was "very concerned" about their plight.

Poland is refusing to allow them to cross, with the West accusing Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko of bringing them into the country to send over the border in revenge for sanctions.

Iraq has sent diplomats from Moscow and Warsaw to the border to "check on (the migrants') safety and communicate with the relevant authorities," Sahaf said.

The Belarusian diplomatic missions in Baghdad and in the Kurdistan regional capital Arbil, which had been providing Iraqis with tourist visas, were "temporarily closed" last week, he added.

Iraqi Airways indefinitely suspended its service between Baghdad and Minsk in August, airline spokesman Hussein Jalil said.

"But we have received authorisation to operate one-way flights between Minsk and Baghdad for Iraqis blocked" in Belarus, he added.

In recent weeks, would-be migrants have been forced to fly through third countries, usually Turkey, to reach Belarus.

But on Friday, Turkey banned citizens of Syria, Iraq, and Yemen from flying from Turkish airports to Belarus because of the refugee crisis at the former Soviet country's border with Poland.

European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas is to travel to Baghdad Monday for talks on the crisis.

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The United States, Britain, and the European Union on Friday slammed the Sudan leader's latest move to tighten the military's grip on power as a unilateral decision that undermines efforts to restore the process of democratic transition.

In a joint statement, the Western nations criticized Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan who on Thursday appointed a new Sovereign Council _ just over two weeks after leading the military takover_ without consulting Sudan's pro-democracy protest movement.

That violates a power-sharing agreement signed by pro-democracy leaders and the top Sudanese generals in 2019, following the ouster of longtime dictator Omar al-Bashir.

``This unilateral action by the military undermines its commitment to uphold the agreed transitional framework,'' said the joint statement, which was also signed by Norway and Switzerland.

Burhan reappointed himself as the head of the 13-member Sovereign Council. A number of other members of the body sat on the previous council that Burhan headed before he dissolved it in the coup.

Also reappointed to the body was the powerful paramilitary leader Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, as vice-president. And Burhan reappointed as council members another three generals who had served in the previous council.

On Friday, Burhan, Dagalo, and other generals were sworn in as members of the new council in ceremonies broadcast on state-run media.

Three others on the council are leaders of rebel groups who fought al-Bashir's government for years, but who have moved towards peace with the transitional government. They all also served on the previous council.

However, the new make-up excluded four civilian members of the old council who belonged to the Forces for the Declaration of Freedom and Change, the main group that spearheaded the uprising that culminated in the overthrow of al-Bashir.

The country's pro-democracy forces have dismissed Burhan's move as illegitimate and renewed their call for nationwide protests on Saturday.

The joint statement also warned against any further escalatory steps by Sudan's military and stressed that international support for the country is contingent on its commitment to the path of democratic transition.

``We urge an immediate and full return to this path to ensure that the hard-won political and economic gains of the last two years are not lost,'' it said.

In the Oct 25 power grab, the military also removed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok who has since been under house arrest in the capital, Khartoum and detained other government officials and political leaders.

At least 14 anti-coup protesters have been killed due to excessive force used by the country's security forces, according to Sudanese doctors and the United Nations.

Since then, international mediation efforts have been underway to ensure the restoration of Hamdok's government and the release of all political detainees.

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Egypts President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi congratulated UNESCO, which is marking 75 years since its founding, saying Egypt looks forward to enhancing fruitful cooperation with the organisation.

This comes as an extension of the long partnership between Egypt and the organisation over decades, which we hope to further develop and deepen in implementation of the noble objectives of the organization in serving culture, science, and human civilization, El-Sisi said in a speech on Friday at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris.

Related Sisi says Egypt keen on developing relations with UNESCO

El-Sisi affirmed the importance that UNESCO focuses on its goals and objectives away from politicising its work.

These objectives include primarily promoting the level of education, developing educational institutions, protecting and promoting the cultural heritage, and working on achieving harmony among cultures and civilisations, El-Sisi explained.

This should come within the framework of respecting the sovereignty and choices of the countries, the president added.

Egypt is proud of being among the founding states of UNESCO, El-Sisi said, noting that relations between the country and the organisation have developed over decades to become a model of constructive cooperation at all levels.

Egypts cooperation project with the UNESCO to save Abu Simbel temples and the Island of Philae, which extended over two decades, is one of the most remarkable and significant manifestations of this cooperation, El-Sisi said.

This project represents an important experience in the history of the organizations work and its path in protecting international heritage, El-Sisi added.

Since then, Egypt has been keen on continuous cooperation with the organisation with the aim of protecting the Egyptian heritage-listed sites, El-Sisi said.

He added that Egypt is also keen on effective participation in various activities and technical programs of UNESCO at all levels.

Sisi arrived in Paris Thursday to attend an international conference on Libya on Friday.

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The graduates of the Franciscaines Sisters School (FSS) have launched the Tiba Association for Community Development with the aim of promoting the quality of the Egyptian citizens life and to improve their living - in a celebration held, couple of days ago.

The initiative came within Egypts plan 2030, as well as a manifestation of the United Nations goals for sustainable development.

In attendance of Egypts Minister of Social Solidarity Nevine El-Qabbaj, the graduates chose to hold the ceremony in the school premises in Qasr El-Nil, Cairo, where they were educated and graduated.

The ceremony began with reciting Egypts national anthem, followed by an opening speech by Soeur Bassma Farah, the head of Franciscaines Sisters School in Cairo. Then the guests watched a documentary screened on the history of the school as it is marking this year its 127th anniversary.

The idea of establishing an association for the graduates of the FSS was a dream that the graduates had for several years until the school administration adopted the idea, and a team of graduates was formed to work on registering and announcing the association. Its first board of directors was formed under the presidency of Nevine Othman.

The associations president, Othman, welcomed the guests and reviewed Tibas vision and mission, stating briefly about its upcoming projects.

The ceremony also featured the participation of a number of public figures, pioneers of the civil society in Egypt, and others.

Attending the event were Vatican Ambassador to Egypt S.Ecc. Nicolas Theverin; Catholic Latin Rite Bishop Mons. Claudio Lurati; Soeur Clara Caramagnio, regional head of the Franciscaines Sisters; Soeur Nadia Farah, head of Franciscaines Sisters School in Alexandria; Franciscaines Father Boutros Danial, head of the Catholic Centre for Cinema; Egyptian actress Laila Elwi; Egyptian writer Samah Abou-Bakr Ezzat and S.Ecc. Krikor Coussa of the Armenian Catholic Church.

In conclusion, minister El-Qabbaj delivered a speech pointing out that building the human personality is an integral part of education. The minister also praised the educational and moral role played by the Franciscan Sisters School that has contributed to graduating generations.

Such schools do not discriminate between Muslims and Christians, given that the number of Muslims is much more than the number of Christians, El-Qabbaj added. She believes that sisters' schools respect all religions, unifying the goal around community service and building the nation.





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Three people have died and 450 others were injured due to scorpion stings in Aswan, a health ministry official said, in the wake of bad weather and thunderstorm in the southern Egyptian governorate since Friday.

The injured citizens were hospitalised, undersecretary of the health ministry in Aswan Ehab Hanafy told Al-Ahram on Saturday.

Heavy rainfall, thunder, dust storm, and snowfall in Aswan, where rain is rare, have raised a state of concern among residents amid fears of the possibility of floods.

Rain has reportedly flushed scorpions and snakes out of their hiding places, caused power cuts, and led many lighting columns and trees in the streets to fall.

Hospitals across the governorate have raised the state of utmost preparedness and doctors have been recalled from vacations, Hanafy said in separate remarks.

Authorities said that antivenom is available at hospitals and medical units in Aswan and extra amounts of the antivenom were provided to medical units in villages near mountains and the desert, Hanafy added.

For brief time between Friday and Saturday, Governor of Aswan Ashraf Attia ordered suspending vessel traffic in the River Nile from Aswan until Edfu, as well as Lake Nasser.

He also ordered temporary closure of high ways over lack of vision caused by the thunder storm and rainfall.

Attia urged citizens to stay at home and avoid places with trees and called for car drivers to reduce their movements to prevent traffic accidents and protect citizens lives.

Attia ordered opening roads and resuming vessel traffic in the Nile early on Saturday.

The Egyptian Meteorological Authority (EMA) expects intermittent mild to moderate rainfall, possibly accompanied by thunder, to continue over parts of South Sinai and southern Egypt on Saturday.

This includes Upper Egypts Aswan, Minya, Assiut, Sohag, Qena, Luxor, and Abu Simbel.

Aswan, El-Salloum, Matrouh and Abul Simbel are expected to also witness mild rainfall on Sunday.

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On Sunday, the House will discuss a foreign agreement on Japan's financial contribution to build a number of outpatient clinics that will provide children with necessary medical services.

The House will also continue debating amendments to Law (67/2010) regulating the participation of the private sector in implementing infrastructure, service and public utilities projects.

The amendments allow the state's administrative system to more easily award contracts to the private sector to implement most infrastructure projects in areas of transport, electricity, communications, information technology, water, sanitary draining and education.

The House will also start discussing the articles of the new General Unified Finance law, which aims to upgrade the process of drafting the state's annual budget through merging two pieces of legislation regulating the annual state budget and government accounting into a single bill.

The law was provisionally approved by the House two weeks ago, but due to the absence of Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait, the discussion of the articles of the law was postponed.

On Tuesday, the House will start debate on a new government-drafted law aiming to impose procedures and measures necessary to fight the spread of epidemics and pandemics.

A report by the House's Health Committee said the draft law allows the prime minister to declare measures necessary to combat epidemics and pandemics. "This means that the prime minister will be allowed to declare a state of pandemic emergency, through which he will invoke immediate procedures and measures necessary to preserve the health and lives of citizens," said the report, indicating that "the powers given to the prime minister will be for a limited period of time, mostly for one year, subject to renewal."

The first article of the draft law allows the prime minister to take as many as 25 measures necessary to fight the spread of epidemics and pandemics. "These include imposing restrictions for a certain time frame on the freedom of people to move or to be present in certain areas or throughout the country," said the report, adding that "the prime minister will be also authorized to suspend work for a specified period of time, partially or completely, in ministries, government departments and agencies, local administration units, public authorities, and public sector companies," said the report. "The prime minister can also suspend study for a specified period of time, partially or completely, in schools, nurseries, universities, institutes, any other education institutions, and any gatherings of students," it added.

The draft law gives the prime minister the power of closing and reopening the above-mentioned institutions and businesses. "Also on the list are the prime minister's right to prohibit all public meetings, processions, demonstrations, celebrations and all other forms of gatherings, as long as these help stem the spread of pandemics and epidemics," said the report, adding that "if necessary the prime minister can also prohibit exhibitions, cultural events and festivals, and close cinemas and theatres."

The preventive and protective measures allocated to the prime minister under the new bill also include suspending sport activities, and closing clubs, youth centres, gymnasiums and health clubs.

The prime minister can also order places of worship to be closed. Mass transportation, public or private, can also be halted at the discretion of the prime minister.

Under the draft law, citizens will be forced to abide by all the protective measures declared by health authorities, such as wearing face masks and receiving vaccines.

The House's Health Committee indicated that the above-mentioned draft law is important in order to give the government the tools necessary to contain epidemics and pandemics that might threaten the health and lives of citizens. "The draft law also goes in line with the constitution which gives the government the right to take all the powers necessary to preserve the lives of citizens and help them live a safe life," said the report.

Article Five of the draft law states that "those who incite citizens to violate or disrupt the measures and procedures to be taken by the prime minister under this law will be sentenced to one year in jail and a financial fine of no more than EGP 10,000."

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Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday denied claims Moscow is helping to orchestrate a crisis that has left hundreds of migrants from the Middle East trapped on the Belarus-Poland border.

Blaming Western policies in the Middle East for the crisis, Putin hit back at claims from Poland and others that Russia is working with Belarus to send migrants to the border of the European Union.

"I want everyone to know. We have nothing to do with it," he said in an interview with state television broadcast Saturday.

Putin said European leaders needed to talk to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to resolve the crisis and that "as I understand it" German Chancellor Angela Merkel was ready to do so.

"We should not forget where these crises associated with migrants came from... Western countries themselves, including European countries," he said.

The migrants, mainly Kurds, have been stuck for days in a no-man's land on the border in near-freezing temperatures, setting up a tent camp and burning wood to keep warm.

Belarus says there are about 2,000 people in the camp, including pregnant women and children. Poland says there are between 3,000 to 4,000 migrants on the border, with more arriving every day.

- Tents, heaters brought to camp -

There is growing concern for their plight as temperatures fall, with Poland refusing to allow them to cross and accusing Belarus of preventing them from leaving the area.

Belarusian authorities said Saturday they were delivering aid including tents and heaters to the migrant camp -- a move that could make it a semi-permanent presence on the borders of the EU.

State news agency Belta reported that government bodies were erecting tents at the camp and that a generator had been delivered.

Migrants have been trying to cross the border for months, but the crisis came to a head when hundreds made a concerted effort on Monday and were pushed back by Polish border guards.

Sporadic attempts to cross have continued, and Polish police said Saturday that the body of a young Syrian man had been found in a forest close to the border.

Police said the cause of death could not be immediately determined and that a group of around 100 migrants had attempted to cross the border during the night in the area.

The death brings to 11 the number of migrants found dead on both sides since the crisis began in the summer, according to aid groups.

European leaders have accused Lukashenko, who has ruled ex-Soviet Belarus for nearly 30 years, of luring the migrants to his country to send across the border in revenge for sanctions imposed over a bloody crackdown on his opponents.

The EU is expected next week to widen the penalties to include new sanctions for "human trafficking".

- EU set for new sanctions -

European Commission vice president Margaritis Schinas said in an interview in Saturday's edition of French newspaper Le Figaro that the sanctions would be "approved and applied".

He said they would apply among others to Belarusian state airline Belavia, which has been accused of ferrying groups of migrants from Turkey and elsewhere to Minsk.

Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya urged European leaders to reject talks with Lukashenko.

"There can't be any dialogue with the dictator trying to blackmail democratic countries," Tikhanovskaya, who fled Belarus after claiming victory in a disputed presidential election last year, said on Twitter.

The EU said Friday it was having some success in efforts to stem the flow of migrants, after Ankara banned Iraqis, Syrians and Yemenis from flying to Belarus from Turkey.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's top foreign policy adviser told AFP on Saturday that Turkey was also not to blame.

"Travellers are going to Belarus and from there to Lithuania, Poland and other EU countries. Blaming Turkey for that, or Turkish Airlines, is simply so misguided, misplaced," Ibrahim Kalin said.

Tensions remain high at the border, where thousands of troops have been deployed on both sides.

Belarus said Friday it would "respond harshly to any attacks" and held joint drills with Russian paratroopers near the border.

Russia, Lukashenko's main ally, sent planes including strategic bombers to patrol over Belarus this week.

But Moscow's support for Minsk is often cautious, and Putin in the interview said Lukashenko was acting entirely on his own when he threatened this week to cut off Russian gas transit through Belarus to Europe.

"Honestly speaking, it was the first I heard about it," Putin said.

"He never told me, did not even hint. Well, he can probably. But it would not be good and of course I will talk to him about this, if he didn't simply say it out of irritation."

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Sudanese security forces killed at least five demonstrators Saturday in a crackdown on anti-military takeover protests, medics said, after the military tightened its grip by forming a new ruling council.

The pro-democracy protests come nearly three weeks after top general Abdel Fattah al-Burhan ousted the government, detained the civilian leadership and declared a state of emergency.

The independent Central Committee for Sudanese Doctors said five protesters were killed in Saturday's rallies, two in Khartoum's twin city of Omdurman and three in east Khartoum.

Four were shot dead, while one died from "suffocation by tear gas", the medics said.

A "large number of people" were also wounded by live rounds, they said.

Security forces stormed one hospital in Omdurman and detained several of the wounded, they added.

The latest deaths brings to 20 the number of people killed in anti-military takeover since October 25, according to the medics.

State television reported that 39 police personnel were "severely wounded" in clashes with protesters.

The police accused protesters of attacking police stations saying the demonstrations "began as peaceful but quickly veered off course".

They denied using "live rounds", saying they used only "minimum force".

Gunshots were heard and tear gas fired as security forces tried to break up the protests, witnesses and AFP correspondents said.

"No, no to military rule", "Civilian (rule) is the people's choice", protesters shouted.

The US embassy in Khartoum said it "deeply regrets the loss of life and injuries of dozens of Sudanese citizens demonstrating today for freedom and democracy."

- Protests in Sudan and beyond -

Tens of thousands rallied nationwide, with protests taking place in provincial cities, including Port Sudan in the east and the Darfur region in the west, witnesses said.

"The military should not have anything to do with politics, they should safeguard the constitution which Burhan himself has turned against," said protester Ahmed Abdelrahman.

Any hopes the demonstrators had that the military would back down were dashed on Thursday, when Burhan named himself head of a new ruling Sovereign Council that excludes the country's main civilian bloc.

The move sparked international condemnation and on Saturday demonstrators shouted: "Down with the entire council".

Protesters braved a heavy presence of military, police and paramilitary forces in Khartoum, where bridges connecting the capital to neighbouring cities were sealed off.

The security forces also blocked roads leading to army headquarters, the site of a 2019 mass sit-in that prompted the generals to oust longtime president Omar al-Bashir.

Information Minister Hamza Baloul, who was briefly detained in the military takeover, took part in Saturday's protests in Khartoum.

"The Sudanese people have decided to create a civilian nation and there is no will stronger than that of the Sudanese people's," he said in a video posted online, urging people to press on with "peaceful demonstrations until the fall" of the coup leaders.

Demonstrations were also organised elsewhere around the world.

In Paris, around 400 people in a central square denounced the military takeover and called for the "immediate handover of power to civilians", an AFP reporter reported.

In Berlin, about 100 protesters at Brandenburg Gate carried a banner that read: "A victory for the Sudanese protesters... is a victory for all of us!"

- Call for restraint -

Saturday's demonstrations were largely organised by informal groups known as "resistance committees", which emerged during the 2019 protests against Bashir.

They have called for multiple protests since the military takeover and mobilised crowds via text messages as Sudan has faced an internet outage with phone lines intermittently disrupted.

On Friday, military figures and civilian members of a new ruling council were sworn in before Burhan.

Three former rebel leaders who were members of the ousted Sovereign Council and were appointed to the new one did not attend the ceremony. They had previously rejected the military takeover.

The newly named council features several new and little-known figures to represent civilians.

But it excludes any members of the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC), an umbrella alliance which spearheaded the anti-Bashir protests, and the main bloc calling for a transition to civilian rule.

The UN has criticised the military's latest "unilateral" step, while Western countries said it "complicates efforts to put Sudan's democratic transition back on track".

Burhan insists the military's move on October 25 "was not a coup" but a push to "rectify the course of the transition".

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Egypt will announce on Sunday the start of clinical trials for COVI-VAX, the countrys first coronavirus vaccine, the higher education ministrys information centre said.

Higher Education Minister Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar, also acting health minister, will make the announcement in a press conference at the National Research Centre in Gizas Dokki.

Abdel-Ghaffar discussed Egypts plan to start clinical trials for the Egyptian vaccine with Naeema Al-Gasseer, the World Health Organisations representative in Egypt, earlier this month.

News media earlier this year reported on Egypts plans to manufacture its own vaccine, but further official information about the vaccine has not been issued.

Egypt has locally produced millions of doses of the Chinese Sinovac coronavirus vaccine since mid-2021 in its VACSERA factories in Gizas 6 of October City.

The country has also imported doses of all types of vaccines used worldwide, including Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, Pfizer, Sputnik V, AstraZeneca, Sinopharm, and Sinovac.

Egypt seeks to vaccinate 40 percent of the population by the end of the year as part of its vaccination campaign that started in January.

So far, around 25 million citizens have received the coronavirus vaccine nationwide, according to health officials earlier this month.

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Ethiopia on Saturday denounced new US sanctions on neighbouring Eritrea over Asmara's role in the deadly conflict pitting Ethiopian forces against Tigrayan rebels, calling on Washington to "rescind its decision".

"The real target for sanctions and further tougher actions by the US government and the greater international community should be directed towards the TPLF," Ethiopia's foreign ministry said, referring to the Tigray People's Liberation Front rebel group.

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An Islamic State-linked extremist group blamed for killing thousands in Nigeria and neighboring West African countries has killed four members of the Nigerian army, including a general, the army said Saturday.

The Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) killed the security personnel during an attack in the Askira Uba area of Borno state, where a war against a rebel insurgency has been centered for more than a decade.

A Nigerian army spokesperson said its troops killed ``several'' ISWAP members in response to the attack, which residents told The Associated Press had also targeted a military base and unfolded over three days.

Hassan Chibok, a community leader in the neighboring Chibok council, said a classroom building and other structures were destroyed by the extremist insurgents.

``The primary school (in Askira Uba) was burned down. The primary healthcare center was also burned down, and the house of the village head,'' he said.

``In the fierce encounter, which is still raging at the time of filing this report, troops supported by the air component of OPHK (Operation HADIN KAI, the code name for the military operation in the northeast) have destroyed five A-Jet, two A-29, two dragon combat vehicles and nine gun trucks,'' the army's spokesperson, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, said in a statement.

The development is yet another sign that the IS-linked group remains a threat in the northeastern part of Africa's most populous country despite the Nigerian military's repeated claims of successes in the war against insurgency especially after ISWAP lost two leaders in the last few months.

ISWAP split from Boko Haram in 2016. The rival extremist groups remain united in an insurgency against the Nigerian government that has expanded to neighboring Niger, Chad and Cameroon.

Militants in the IS-linked group have sought to consolidate their position in the Lake Chad basin and northeast Nigeria following the death of Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau.

Despite losing two of its leaders - Abu Musab al-Barnawi and successor Malam Bako in the last few months, ISWAP continues to target the Nigerian military and those who aid soldiers.

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Sarkawt Ismat was cold, hungry and terrified, trapped between Polish and Belarusian troops facing off on opposite sides of the European Union's eastern border.

The 19-year-old Iraqi taxi driver is among thousands from the Middle East who have been trying to cross into the EU in recent months through a backdoor opened by non-EU member Belarus.

Ismat left his home in Dohuk, a town in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, two weeks ago, after selling his taxi. He paid $2,600 to a local travel agency for a bus to Turkey, a hotel stay in Istanbul, a plane ticket to Minsk, and three nights in a hotel in the Belarusian capital.

He hoped to enter Poland and eventually reach Germany to join his older brother, Sarwar, who had successfully completed the journey.

Somewhere near the Polish border, his dreams were crushed. He and others in his group were stopped by Belarusian troops who he said beat them and took their possessions, including his money and cellphone. For days, the group was trapped in a forest, not allowed to enter Poland or return to Minsk.

``I'm scared and want to come back but don't have a penny,'' he said in a phone interview, using a borrowed mobile. ``It is an absolute humiliation here,'' he said.

``When I traveled, they told me it is very easy. `It takes only three days to get to Europe.'''

That turned out to be wrong.

For many in the Middle East, beaten down by conflict and hopelessness, the lure of jobs and stability in Europe has always been powerful. Legal entry has been near-impossible, with the EU tightening its borders in recent years. Every year, tens of thousands try to get in, embarking on treacherous and, at times, deadly journeys by sea and land.

Others were deterred by such risks until an opportunity for seemingly easy entry to Europe appeared to open up earlier this year.

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, angered after the EU imposed sanctions on his authoritarian regime following a harsh internal crackdown on dissent, announced he was retaliating by loosening border controls against Western-bound migrants. EU officials accused him of using the migrants as pawns, while Lukashenko denies that and says Europe is violating their rights by denying them safe passage.

Belarus began offering easy tourist visas to Iraqis, Syrians and others from the Middle East and Africa. This meant they could now reach the edge of Europe on comfortable flights, then try to sneak from Belarus into Poland, Lithuania or Latvia, all EU members.

Thousands have attempted the journey since summer. That has led in recent weeks to increasingly tense standoffs on the border Belarus and scenes of desperate migrants huddled in forests amid freezing temperatures. Poland sent riot police and troops to bolster its border guards. At least eight deaths have been reported.

A 44-year-old car mechanic from Syria says he doesn't care about Lukashenko's motives or the reports of suffering at the Belarus border.

He is determined to reach Belarus with his older sons, ages 16 and 17, and eventually get to Germany. There he hopes to find work and arrange for his wife and two younger children to join him.

``There is no future here for young people, whether in education, culture or social life,'' he said, asking that his name not be used because he feared publicity could disrupt his plans.

Both Syria and Iraq have been devastated by years of conflict. Syria is a broken country after a decade of civil war that killed more than 400,000 people and displaced half its population. President Bashar Assad prevailed with the help of Russia and Iran, confining those trying to topple him to a small corner of Syria. But the country is in an economic free fall set off by Western sanctions and the cumulative costs of war.

The mechanic said there is absolutely no hope the situation will improve, and it's better to take a risk now than to see his children condemned to despair in Syria. Things are so bad that his oldest son can't even get a required textbook for 10th grade English, he said.

When he heard of what was happening in Belarus through social media, he went to a travel agency in Damascus that offered package deals for $4,000 per person. He applied for the visa and borrowed money to cover the cost for himself and his sons.

He'll leave for Belarus once he gets the visa, he said.

At this stage, nothing will deter him. He said he's prepared to try four or five times.

``There are people who make it the first time, others the second time and others the third time, but eventually they arrive,'' he said. ``I have to guarantee the future of my children.''

A Damascus travel agent said demand has driven up prices for packages to Belarus, from $2,600 for a flight and five nights in a Minsk hotel, to about $4,000.

Most Syrians make the trip on private Syrian carrier Cham Wings, said the agent, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of possible harm to his business.

The EU is looking at the role some airlines have played, reportedly considering sanctions against them.

Flight options are shrinking. Turkey said Friday it is halting airline tickets to Iraqis, Syrians and Yemenis wanting to travel to Belarus. Citing that decision, the Belarusian airline Belavia said it also would not ticket citizens of those countries on its Istanbul-Minsk flight.

Iraqi Airways, which suspended flights between Baghdad and Minsk on Aug. 5, has flown home about 1,000 stranded Iraqis from Belarus, and more rescue flights are planned, said spokesman Hussein Jalil.

Kameran Hassan, an Iraqi, said he and his family of four were forced onto a return flight. They made it into Poland but were caught. After three weeks in a holding center, they were put on a bus with other Iraqis. They were told they would be taken to another camp in Warsaw, but instead were driven to the airport.

``They started to put us by force on the plane,'' said Hassan, speaking from Sulaymaniyah in Iraq's Kurdish region.

One man fainted when he saw they were being deported ``because he had sold everything'' for the attempt, Hassan said. Polish escorts carried him on a stretcher onto the flight back to Iraq.

For Sarkawt Ismat's mother, his predicament in Belarus seemed to confirm her fears. Adla Salim had pleaded with him not to go.

Her older son, 22-year-old Sarwar, had left for Belarus three months ago and reached Germany in early October, after spending 10 days hiding in a forest. He suffers from chronic heart problems, and is hospitalized in Germany, she said. The family only let him go because he was ill and they couldn't do anything for him in Dohuk.

``We tried to convince Sarkawt not to go, but he was very insistent,'' she said.

Sarkawt still owed $10,000 on the taxi that he sold to pay for the trip _ money that his father, a peshmerga fighter, now has to pay back from his monthly income of about $1,000.

All that money now seems to have gone for nothing. Sarkawt was allowed Thursday to leave the forest for Minsk, in preparation for returning to Iraq.

His mother, a 45-year-old housewife, says all she wants is her boy home.

``He calls weeping, saying `I want to go back to Iraq. I want nothing. I just want to go back. I am hungry and cold','' she said.

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Hundreds of Sudanese protesters took to the streets Saturday despite a heavy security presence, two days after the military sought to tighten its grip by forming a new ruling council.

The pro-democracy protests come nearly three weeks after top general Abdel Fattah al-Burhan ousted the government, detained the civilian leadership and declared a state of emergency.

"Dozens gathered and began chanting against military rule and marched on to meet up with other rallies," said Mohieddine Hassan, a witness from Al-Shajarah district in southern Khartoum.

The military's October 25 takeover drew widespread international condemnation, as did a deadly crackdown on street demonstrations by people demanding it restore the country's democratic transition.

Any hopes the demonstrators had that the military would back down were dashed Thursday, when Burhan named himself as the head of a new ruling Sovereign Council that excludes the country's main civilian bloc, triggering more condemnation from the West.

"No, no to military rule", "Civilian (rule) is the people's choice", and "Down with the entire council", the protesters in southern Khartoum shouted on Saturday.

Hundreds of protesters also gathered in the capital's twin city of Omdurman, witnesses there said.

The protests occurred despite the heavy presence of military, police and paramilitary forces in Khartoum, where bridges connecting the capital to neighbouring cities were sealed off, AFP correspondents reported.

The security forces also blocked roads leading to the army headquarters in Khartoum, the site of a mass sit-in protest in 2019 that led to the ouster of autocratic president Omar al-Bashir, the correspondents added.

Call for restraint

The United Nations has called on the security forces to refrain from violence.

"In light of tomorrow's demonstrations in #Sudan I once again call upon the security forces to exercise utmost restraint and respect the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression," said UN Special Representative for Sudan Volker Perthes.

Saturday's demonstrations have largely been organised by informal groups known as "resistance committees" in neighbourhoods and towns across the country which emerged during the anti-Bashir demonstrations in 2019.

The committees have called for multiple protests since the coup and mobilised crowds via text messages as Sudan has largely remained under a rigorous internet outage with phone lines intermittently disrupted.

But despite the efforts, "civilian opposition to the coup has been diffuse and fragmented", Jonas Horner of the International Crisis Group said in a report last week.

The crackdown on demonstrations so far has left dead at least 15 people, according to an independent union of medics, leading to punitive measures by the international community.

*This story was edited by Ahram Online

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A proposal for the overarching decision retains contentious language calling on countries to accelerate ``efforts towards the phase-out of unabated coal power and inefficient fossil fuel subsidies.''

But in a new addition, the text says nations will recognize ``the need for support towards a just transition'' _ a reference to calls from those working in the fossil fuel industry for financial support as they wind down jobs and businesses.

Alok Sharma, the British official chairing the talks, said he hoped countries would clinch an ambitious agreement in Glasgow.

``I hope the colleagues will rise to the occasion,`` Sharma told The Associated Press as he walked into the conference venue.

Some campaign groups said the current proposals were not strong enough.

``Here in Glasgow, the world's poorest countries are in danger of being lost from view, but the next few hours can and must change the course we are on,`` said Tracy Carty of Oxfam. ``What's on the table is still not good enough.''

But the possibility of having fossil fuels explicitly mentioned in a decision coming out of a Conference of the Parties, or COP, for the first time, was well-received by some environmentalists.

``It's weaker and compromised, but we see it as a bridgehead, a bit of a breakthrough,'' said Jennifer Morgan, the executive director Greenpeace.

``We will have to fight like hell to keep it in there and have it strengthened in the coming hours,'' she said, adding that there were ``a clutch of countries really seeking to strike that line from the deal.''

Divisions remained on the issue of financial support sought by poor countries for the disastrous impacts of climate change they will increasingly suffer in future _ the United States and European Union, two of the world's biggest historic emitters, continued to have deep reservations.

Mohammed Quamrul Chowdhury of Bangladesh, a lead negotiator for less-developed countries, ticked off the ways that vague wording in the latest draft fell short of committing wealthier countries to putting any new money on the table for countries struggling with climate damage.

``There is a lot of frustration,'' he told AP.

``This package is very hard to explain for those already suffering the consequences at the front lines of the rising risks, or to anyone aware of the scientific evidence of what is coming our way unless we act faster,'' said University of Twente climate scientist Maarten van Aalst, who is also director of the Climate Centre of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

In another proposal, countries are ``encouraged'' to submit new targets for emissions reduction for 2035 by 2025, and for 2040 by 2030, establishing a five-year cycle. Previously, developing countries were expected to do so only every 10 years. Developed countries are also being asked to turn in a short-term update next year.

The proposed agreement states that in order to achieve the 2015 Paris accord's ambitious goal of capping global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) by the end of the century compared with pre-industrial times, countries will need to make ``rapid, deep and sustained reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions, including reducing global carbon dioxide emissions by 45% by 2030 relative to the 2010 level and to net zero around mid-century, as well as deep reductions in other greenhouse gases.''

Scientists say the world is not on track to meet that goal yet, but various pledges made before and during the two-week talks, which are now in overtime, have brought them closer.

The latest draft agreement expresses ``alarm and utmost concern that human activities have caused around 1.1C (2F) of global warming to date and that impacts are already being felt in every region.''

Progress was being made on the sticky issue of carbon markets, known as ``Article 6,'' rules for which have eluded previous talks going back to 2015. The idea is to unleash the power of trading carbon reduction measures, with poorer nations getting money, often from private companies, for measures that reduce carbon in the air.

It provides ``strong'' provisions to prevent double counting of offsets _ a longtime point of contention _ and allows about 100 million tons of carbon credits to be carried over from previous years and agreements, a ``good result,'' said Environmental Defense Fund Vice President Kelly Kizzier, a former European Union negotiator and expert on carbon market negotiations.

Next year's talks are scheduled to take place in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. Dubai will host the meeting in 2023.
The poorest countries will emerge from the COVID-19 crisis with their largest debt burdens in decades, while limited debt transparency in such countries will delay critical debt reconciliation and restructuring, the World Bank said a new report.

The report titled Debt Transparency in Developing Economies, released on Wednesday, noted that the absence of debt data transparency make it harder to assess debt sustainability and for overindebted countries to restructure debt promptly and generate a durable economic recovery.

The World Bank said such a report marks the first comprehensive assessment of the global and national systems for monitoring sovereign debt.

At a time when sovereign debt in the poorest countries has surged to dangerously high levels, global and country-by-country systems for tracking it are proving to be inadequate, said the World Bank.

According to the report findings, 40 percent of low-income countries have not published any data about their sovereign debt for more than two years, while many of countries that do publish it tend to limit the information to central government debt.

Moreover, many developing countries are relying increasingly on resource-backed loansin which governments secure financing by putting up future revenue streams as collateral, according to the report.

Resource-backed loans accounted for nearly 10 percent of new borrowing in Sub-Saharan Africa between 2004 and 2018, said the report.

It also found that more than 15 countries have such debt, but none provide details on the collateral arrangements.

The report also found that debt surveillance today depends currently on a patchwork of databases with different standards and definitions and different degrees of reliability, which all lead to large variations in publicly available data of debt in low-income economies.

President of World Bank Group David Malpass said that improving debt transparency requires a sound public debt-management legal framework, integrated debt recording and management systems, and improvements in the global debt monitoring.

International financial institutions, debtors, creditors, and other stakeholders, such as credit-rating agencies and civil society, all have a key role to play in fostering debt transparency, he added.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold a video meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday morning, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said on Saturday.

The presidents will exchange opinions on China-U.S. relations and issues of common concern, said Hua.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said in October that the two countries had discussed holding a video summit between their leaders by the end of 2021. Xi and Biden have so far had two phone conversations this year.

At Friday's regular press briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that he hopes the two countries will work together to make the meeting a success and bring China-U.S. ties back to the right track of sound and stable development.
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A farmer in northeast China's Liaoning Province holds Chinese cabbages in celebration of the harvest season. [File Photo: Xuexi.cn]

A farmer in northeast China's Liaoning Province holds Chinese cabbages in celebration of the harvest season. [File Photo: Xuexi.cn]

A farmer in northeast China's Liaoning Province holds red chilies to celebrate the harvest season. [File Photo: Xuexi.cn]

A farmer in northeast China's Liaoning Province holds white radishes to celebrate the harvest season. [File Photo: Xuexi.cn]
The jurors who will decide Kyle Rittenhouses fate will be allowed to consider lesser charges if they opt to acquit him on some of the original counts prosecutors brought, the judge said Friday during a contentious hearing in which both sides could claim partial victory.

Kyle Rittenhouse and defense attorney Mark Richards stand as Judge Bruce Schroeder makes a personal call during Rittenhouse's trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse in Kenosha, Wis., on Friday, Nov. 12, 2021. Rittenhouse is accused of killing two people and wounding a third during a protest over police brutality in Kenosha, last year. [Photo: Mark Hertzberg /Pool Photo via AP]

Rittenhouse, of nearby Antioch, Illinois, testified that he acted in self-defense when he fatally shot two protesters and wounded a third during an August 2020 night of unrest in Kenosha following the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man.

Jurors are expected to begin deliberating on Monday after closing arguments in a case that has left Americans divided over whether Rittenhouse was a patriot who took a stand against lawlessness or a vigilante who brought a gun to a protest to provoke a response.

With a verdict near, Gov. Tony Evers said Friday that 500 National Guard members would be prepared for duty in Kenosha if local law enforcement requested them.

Rittenhouse, who was 17 at the time of the shootings, is charged with intentional homicide and other counts for killing Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and wounding Gaige Grosskreutz.

Wisconsin law allows the prosecution and defense to ask that jurors be told they can consider lesser charges as part of the instructions they receive before deliberating. Defense lawyers can object to lesser charges, and in some cases Friday, they did. For those that they didn't object to, Judge Bruce Schroeder asked Rittenhouse to confirm that he agreed with his attorneys' decision.

Schroeder told Rittenhouse that by including the lesser charges, youre raising the risk of conviction, although youre avoiding the possibility that the jury will end up compromising on the more serious crime. And youre also decreasing the risk that youll end up with a second trial because the jury is unable to agree.

Rittenhouse said he understood.

Schroeder said he would issue his final rulings Saturday, but he made some findings from the bench and indicated how he might rule on others. For counts where jurors will be allowed to consider lesser charges, they will be instructed to only consider them if they first acquit Rittenhouse of the more serious original corresponding charge.

Friday's arguments over jury instructions were contentious at times, with attorneys rehashing debates they had earlier in the case. At one point, as prosecutors were seeking to add an instruction that would allow the jurors to consider whether Rittenhouse was provoked, the two sides debated about what a particular photo showed. Schroeder lost his temper, snapping: Youre asking me to give an instruction. I want to see the best picture!

Schroeder ultimately said he would allow the provocation instruction, which would ask the jury to consider whether Rittenhouse provoked Rosenbaum into attacking him. If the jury finds he did, that would negate self-defense.

Rittenhouse, now 18, faces one count of first-degree reckless homicide in the killing of Rosenbaum, who was the first person he shot after Rosenbaum chased him in a used car lot. Prosecutors sought to add a second-degree reckless homicide charge, but the defense objected. Schroeder said he was unlikely to allow the lesser charge because he thought a guilty verdict on the lesser charge would be overturned on appeal.

Rittenhouse also faces two charges of first-degree reckless endangerment: one for firing at an unknown man who tried to kick him in the face and another because a reporter was in the line of fire when Rittenhouse shot Rosenbaum.
KYODO NEWS - Nov 13, 2021 - 14:01 | All, World, Japan

Japan's new Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken agreed Saturday to realize an early visit to the United States by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for his first summit.

In Hayashi's first talks with a foreign counterpart since assuming the post Wednesday, the two top diplomats also agreed to bolster bilateral alliance and make efforts toward a free and open Indo-Pacific region amid China's assertiveness, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.

The two affirmed the importance of stability in the Taiwan Strait during the phone talks, while seeking to hold a so-called two-plus-two meeting involving the two allies' defense and foreign ministers as early as possible.

"I think it was a very important first step in building a relationship of trust with Secretary Blinken," Hayashi told reporters after the roughly 30-minute conversation.

The Japanese government has said Kishida, who became prime minister in October, could possibly visit the United States before the end of the year for talks with President Joe Biden. Tokyo is eyeing a November date for the trip, Japanese government sources said earlier.

Last week, Kishida had a brief conversation with Biden on the sidelines of the U.N. climate in Glasgow, Scotland, during which the two agreed to enhance bilateral alliance.

At the beginning of the telephone talks, Hayashi said he "wants to build a good relationship with Secretary Blinken and further strengthen the U.S.-Japan alliance," according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

The U.S. State Department said Blinken offered congratulations to Hayashi on his new post, and "emphasized the United States' commitment to working closely with Japan and other allies and partners to advance our shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific."

The two shared concerns regarding China's unilateral attempts to alter the status quo in the region with the use of force, according to the Japanese ministry.

Hayashi said Blinken expressed commitment "to the defense of Japan, including the application of Article 5 of the Japan-U.S. security treaty to the Senkaku Islands" in the East China Sea.

Article 5 states Washington will defend territories under Tokyo's administration from armed attack. China claims the Japan-administered uninhabited islets and calls them Diaoyu, one of several areas of concern among the United States and its allies over Beijing's growing assertiveness in regional waters.

Hayashi, a 60-year-old House of Representatives lawmaker often seen as holding a "pro-China" stance, became foreign minister when Kishida relaunched his Cabinet this week.

Related coverage:

Japan PM Kishida, U.S. admiral agree on stronger ties, to seek free Indo-Pacific

New Japan foreign minister vows to defend shared values amid China rise

PROFILE: Harvard-educated new Foreign Minister Hayashi often seen as pro-China
KYODO NEWS - Nov 13, 2021 - 21:10 | All, Japan

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis has called on Japan, the United States and other democratic nations to step up coordination in their dealings with China, citing "economic pressure" the European country is facing from Beijing in apparent retaliation for deepening ties with Taiwan.

In a recent interview in Vilnius, Landsbergis said Beijing "is not basing arguments on international law, just on power," in reference to sanctions he said China slaps on many Lithuanian companies operating in the world's second-largest economy.

"This is the problem of authoritarian countries. We don't consider this a normal way of interactions between countries," he said.

"This is a world based on power where one country with more power, more economic leverage can press any other actor in the international arena."

Landsbergis plans to visit Japan in December in what will be an opportunity for him to discuss China policy and other Indo-Pacific affairs with senior Japanese officials.

Landsbergis said "economic pressure" from Beijing poses a "test" for Lithuania, and that the case serves as a test of how democratic countries can assist each other in making China understand its coercive measures would not work, at least in the democratic world.

"If you backtrack, that means that the China policy of pressure is effective," the 39-year-old said. "It can be used on anyone."

Besides Lithuania, other European states such as the Czech Republic and Slovakia have been strengthening ties with Taiwan in opposition to China's alleged human rights abuses against the Uyghur Muslim minority in the Xinjiang region and its crackdowns on pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.

The European Parliament in October adopted a report recommending that the European Union, a 27-nation bloc of which Lithuania, the Czech Republic and Slovakia are members, strengthen relations with Taiwan, a democratic, self-ruled island that Beijing considers a renegade province to be reunited with the mainland, by force if necessary.

Recalling his meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in September in Washington, Landsbergis said the United States "was in direct support of our foreign policy decisions," and "that was very important for us."

U.S. President Joe Biden's administration has been boosting relations with Japan, members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and other allies in response to rising tensions with China.

China and Taiwan have been separately governed since they split in 1949 as a result of civil war. Their relationship has deteriorated under independence-leaning Tsai Ing-wen, who has served as Taiwan's president since 2016.

Beijing has been intensifying efforts to isolate Taiwan diplomatically, seeking to chisel away at a shrinking group of nations that maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

"I would really encourage closer economic ties with Taiwan," Landsbergis said.

He said he will not be surprised if a Lithuanian parliamentary delegation visits Taiwan in the near future.

Lithuania decided in July to allow Taiwan to open a representative office in the capital Vilnius, making it the first case in Europe in which the name "Taiwan" has been used for such a facility instead of Taipei.

In response, Beijing announced a recall of its ambassador to Lithuania.
KYODO NEWS - Nov 13, 2021 - 23:21 | Sports, All

Japan's Shoma Uno won the NHK Trophy men's title with a personal-best total score on Saturday to book a spot in the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final and took a strong qualifying position for February's Beijing Olympics, while compatriot Kaori Sakamato defended her women's championship.

Uno, the 2018 Olympic silver medalist and a two-time runner-up at the worlds, racked up 187.57 points in the free skate to finish with a 290.15 total at Yoyogi National Gymnasium, bettering his previous career high from the 2019 Four Continents Championships.

The 23-year-old top-scored in both performances to win his first Grand Prix title since the 2018 NHK Trophy and book a spot in December's Final in Osaka. America's Vincent Zhou was runner-up with 260.69, edging South Korea's Cha Jun Hwan by 1.09.

"For the first time in a while I was able to execute all my jumps in the first half of the program, although I still want my jumps in competition to look the way they do in practice," Uno said. "I'm keen to get back to practice and work on some issues I discovered here."

"I want to get better, and want to take my finish at this event and aim higher and higher still."

Having earned 76.56 points for an outstanding short performance on Friday, Sakamoto scored 146.78 with a clean and composed free skate for a season-best 223.34 total.

Japanese compatriot Mana Kawabe, who started the day 2.68 points back in second, totaled 205.44 to take silver, with South Korea's You Young rounding out the podium a further 1.84 points behind.

The 21-year-old Sakamoto's program included seven triple jumps including a triple flip-triple toe loop combination for her highest-scoring element.

Related coverage:

IN PHOTOS: 2021 NHK Trophy

"I was much more nervous than in the short. Unfortunately I lurched a little on my first axel, but from there until the end I managed to hang on, so I'm really happy," said Sakamato, who won last year, with You as the lone non-Japanese at the meet amid coronavirus travel restrictions.

The Kobe native will aim to maintain her momentum as she bids for qualification to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. She placed sixth in her Olympic debut at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.

Former junior national champion Kawabe, 17, fell on her opening jump, a double axel, but immediately recovered to land her highest-scoring element, a triple lutz-triple toe loop combo.

In the pairs, Japanese duo Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara totaled a career-best 209.42 to place third in the competition won by Russia's Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov with 227.28. The Russian pair of Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov took second with 213.27.

"I'm surprised at this score because neither our short nor free were our best," Miura said. "I'm pleased with the medal but disappointed with the result because I think we can still do better."

Following a sixth-place rhythm dance performance, Japan's Kana Muramoto and Daisuke Takahashi placed sixth overall in ice dance, totaling 179.50 after the free dance.

Russia's Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov topped the podium with 215.44, beating Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States by 4.66. Britain's Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson finished third on 191.91.

Related coverage:

Figure skating: Sakamoto, Uno lead after NHK Trophy SP

Figure skating: Japan's Yuma Kagiyama wins Grand Prix in Turin, Italy

IN PHOTOS: 2021 Gran Premio d'Italia
KYODO NEWS - Nov 13, 2021 - 12:32 | All, Japan

The world's first operational dual-mode vehicle, essentially a bus capable of running on roads and railway tracks, is set to enter service next month in the Shikoku region, the smallest of Japan's four main islands.

Asa Seaside Railway Corp. in Tokushima Prefecture said it will roll out the DMV on Dec. 25, having cleared safety checks by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

The vehicles will run on a 50-kilometer course connecting the town of Kaiyo in Tokushima and the city of Muroto, Kochi Prefecture, of which 10 km will be on a railway track. Three will be in operation, each with a capacity of 23 passengers and crew.

The DMV is a diesel-powered bus that has been fitted with an extra set of wheels on the undercarriage, which can be deployed in about 15 seconds, capable of traveling on railway tracks.

The Tokushima prefectural government, which has a 35 percent stake in Asa Seaside Railway, said it hopes the DMV will become a tourist draw and help boost the local economy, which, like much of Japan, has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. The company is also 10 percent owned by the Kochi prefectural government.

The vehicles may also be useful in natural disasters such as earthquakes, which may leave sections of roads or railway tracks unusable.

The DMV is lighter than a traditional train, which, according to the company, means it requires less fuel and is easier to maintain. Hokkaido Railway Co. developed its own version in 2004 but did not bring it into operation, in part due to financial difficulties.

Asa Seaside Railway had initially planned for the DMV to enter service in time for this summer's Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics but had to push back those plans after the transport ministry instructed it in June to reinforce welding on the arm holding the retractable wheels.

Last week, a technical panel at the ministry reviewed the test results using the upgraded parts and gave the green light for the vehicle to go into operation.
New Delhi:

The West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education or WBCHSE has announced the WB Board class 12 results today. The results was announced at 10 am by the board. The scorecards will be available on the official website of the board i.e. wbchse.nic.in soon. Alternatively, the candidates can also check their results by clicking on the link given below. We here at News Nation are in close contact with our sources and will be updating all the latest updates here. Hence, we request the candidates to keep refreshing the page for all the information.

CLICK HERE FOR WB BOARD 12TH RESULT 2019

HERE ARE THE LIVE UPDATES:

11.05 am: As per media reports, this year boys have outshined the girls with 87.44% pass percentage with girls at 85.30%.

11.04 am: CLICK HERE FOR WB BOARD 12TH RESULT 2019

10.32 am: The WB HS Result 2019 has been published online for as many as 8 lakh students.

10.18 am: WB 12th Result 2019 has been declared. Shroban Mandal has topped from Science with 498 marks out of 500. Over 197 students have been placed in the Top 10 merit list for WBCHSE 12th Result 2019.

10.13 am: WBCHSE 12th Result 2019 have been announced. Overall pass percentage is 86.72%.

10.10 am: Board President thanks all the examination cooridnators, central superntendents and other stake holders.

10.07 am: WBCHSE 12th Result 2019 Press Conference has begun. Results are being announced. WBCHSE President, Dr. Mahua Das shares the number of instiatives started in various schools in the state. Board has also released Careers after HS book for the students.

10.00 am: WBCHSE 12th Result 2019 Press Conference has begun. Results are being announced.

9.50 am: West Bengal Board had announced the Class 10 results on May 22.

9.50 am: In 2018, the board had declared the results on 8 June.

9.21 am: TIME UPDATE: The West Bengal Board class 12 results will be announced at 11 am.

9.12 am: The West Bengal board conducted the HS exams from 26 February to 13 March this year. More than 8 lakh students had appeared for the Class 12 exams.

9.00 am: One hour from now, the West Bengal Board results will be available on the link mentioned above.

8.34 am: For the convenience of the students, we have mentioned all the steps through which the candidates can check their results:

Step 1: Visit english.newsnationtv.com/board-results and click on the West Bengal Board class 12 result article

Step 2: Click on the right link WB Board12th Arts Result 2019

Step 3: Enter your Roll Number and other details in the space provided

Step 4: Submit to View your result

8.33 am: The WB class 12 result or the WBCHSE HS results will be released by the West Bengal board on its official website wbchse.nic.in and wbresults.nic.in.

8.18 am: Following the tradition of every year, the WB Board will formally convene a press conference for the declaration of WB 12th Result 2019. The Press Meet will be held at the Salt Lake office of the Board.

8.17 am: The declaration of the results will seal the fate of lakhs of students who have appeared for the examination.

07.31 am: WB class 12 results will be announced today at 10 am by the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education.

About the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education:

The West Bengal Government established the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE) in the year 1975. The head office of WBCHSE is located in Vidyasagar Bhavan, Salt Lake, Kolkata and has 4 regional offices across West Bengal. It also has offices at Bidhannagar, Karunamoyee, Kolkata, other than the regional offices. The WBCHSE is the government-recognized autonomous examining authority for Class 12th.
New Delhi:

Former Kolkata police commissioner Rajeev Kumar, who is under scanner for his alleged role in the multi-crore Saradha chit fund scam, skipped a meeting with the CBI officials on Monday despite being summoned by the top investigating agency for questioning, officials said.

Instead, Kumar  who was asked to be present at CBI's office in Kolkata on Monday - however, sent a letter to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), seeking some more time to appear before its officers in connection with the case.

The letter was submitted at CBI office in Salt Lake by a CID officer. The letter stated that he is on a three-day off and, therefore, unable to attend the summon.

CBI sources said officials were at the Barasat court to prevent Kumar from taking any legal step to stop the agency from interrogating him.

Earlier on Sunday, the state government reinstated Kumar as Additional Director General, CID

On Saturday, the CBI had also issued a lookout notice against Kumar to prevent him from leaving the country. The agency wants custodial interrogation of Kumar in connection with the chit fund scam as he was heading the police's special investigation team to probe the case before the CBI took over.

The ponzi scheme scam was over Rs 2,500 crore by the Saradha group of companies, which had duped lakhs of customers promising higher rates of returns on their investment, the CBI had said.

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New Delhi:

The Andhra Pradesh State Council for Higher Education (APSCHE) will be releasing AP EAMCET Result 2019 soon on its official website. Once the results are formally announced, students can check their scores in the official website of APSCHE i.e. apsche.org or sche.ap.gov.in. AP EAMCET Results are expected to be declared after May 27. The dates for the declaration of AP EAMCET 2019 has been postponed sighting that the re-evaluation results of TS BIE will be released only after May 27, 2019.

Steps to check AP EAMCET 2019 results through the official website:

Step 1: Go to the official website, sche.ap.gov.in

Step 2: Click on the link AP EAMCET 2019.

Step 3: Thereafter, click on the link AP EAMCET Result 2019.

Step 4: Now, students will have to enter their registration number and hall ticket number of EAMCET 2019 in the space provided.

Step 5: After entering the correct details, click on the submit button.

Step 6: The AP EAMCET 2019 results will be displayed on the screen.

Step 7: Download and take the print out of your AP EAMCET Result 2019.

The examination was held from April 20 to 23, 2019. Every year, the AP EAMCET is conducted by Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU), Kakinada on behalf of APSCHE for admission into various professional courses offered in university/private colleges in the state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a computer-based test conducted in two sessions  from 10 am to 1 pm and 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm.
New Delhi:

A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker was shot dead in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal on Sunday night. Chandan Shaw, 24, was shot dead by unidentified assailants last night while he was driving a two-wheeler while returning home around 10.30 pm. The incident took place at Kalitala area in ward no 7, under Jagaddal police station limits. According to reports, four miscreants on two bike came and stopped him. One of them fired from close range. Shaw was rushed to Bhatpara state general hospital where he was declared brought dead. Just before the elections, he had switched over to the BJP from the Trinamool Congress.

On Sunday, Forest Minister Binay Krishna Burman's convoy was attacked by those allegedly belonging to the BJP following which he was rescued by police who rushed to the place, police said.

Violent incidents were also reported from Dinhata in Coochbehar, Paharpur in Jalpaiguri and Gangarampur Dakshin Dinajpur, sources in the state police department said. Security has been deployed in the area and the investigations have begun.

The state has seen lot of poll violence. The BJP bagged almost three times the election duty votes that the TMC got in West Bengal, Election Commission data has shown, indicating the state government employees chose the saffron party over the Mamata Banerjee-led outfit, who not long ago compared them to barking dogs.

The Bharatiya Janata Party received 73,541 votes through postal ballots as compared to the Trinamool Congress which got only 25,791 votes. The Left Front got around 7,377 votes, the Congress about 5,770 votes and there were 5,143 NOTA votes. The state government employees and security personnel deployed in election duty cast their votes through postal ballots.

On Friday, a 23-year-old BJP worker has been shot dead in Nadia district, the had police said. The incident happened at Chakdaha town around 10 pm. Santu Ghosh (23), a resident of Tapaban area in Chakdaha town was shot at from a close range after he went out of his house following a phone call, he said. He was taken to Chakdaha State General Hospital where doctors declared him brought dead, he added.

As a result, BJP leaders and workers staged a road blockade on National Highway 34, the police officer said. They blocked railway tracks at various places in Nadia district on Saturday to protest against the killing of their party worker, he said. An investigation has been initiated, the police officer said.
Islamabad:

Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan, who arrived here on a three-day official visit, met Pakistan President Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday and signed several agreements and agreed to speed up the projects under the USD 60 billion CPEC to further cement the bilateral all-weather ties.

President Alvi also conferred its highest civilian award Nishan-e-Pakistan on Wang, 70, a member of the ruling Communist Party of Chinas (CPC) powerful Politburo Standing Committee.

The senior Chinese leader was received at the airport by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and other top officials.

During delegation level-talks between Prime Minister Khan and Vice President Wang, a number of Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) for cooperation in different sectors were also signed between the two countries, the government said in a statement.

These MoUs include cooperation in economic and technical affairs, Disaster Management and assistance in agriculture sector of Lasbella University, it said.

Khan and Wang were present during the signing of the MoUs.

The two leaders also launched and unveiled the plaques of four mega development projects in the fields of energy, technology and education under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the statement said.

Khan and Wang also inaugurated the Confucius Institute at the University of Punjab. The institute will impart Chinese education, promote cultural exchanges and other activities, it said.

The visiting Chinese leader also attended a special seminar about the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Wang will visit Lahore tomorrow after completing his meetings in Islamabad, it said.

The Chinese Vice Presidents visit underscores the vitality of the time-tested and all-weather relationship between Pakistan and China. His visit will reinforce the strength of bilateral ties and impart further impetus to the growing, multi-faceted cooperation between the two countries in diverse fields, it said.

The visit is in continuation of high-level exchanges between the two countries, which have acquired an increased momentum since Prime Minister Khans visit to China in November last year and his participation in the 2nd Belt and Road Forum in Beijing in April this year.

Last week, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said in Beijing that Vice President Wangs visit to Pakistan will further deepen high-level exchanges, friendship and mutual trust between the two countries.

He said the visit will also advance the development of the CPEC besides bilateral cooperation across the board.

Lu said China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic cooperative partners and iron friends, and firmly support each other on issues concerning each others foreign interests.

He said Pakistan has been a priority on Chinas diplomacy and now both the countries have witnessed a sound momentum in their cooperation and frequent high level exchanges.

Lu said both the countries are deepening the mutually beneficial cooperation and conducting close coordination in international and regional affairs.

The CPEC, which connects Gwadar Port in Pakistans Balochistan with Chinas Xinjiang province, is the flagship project of the Belt and Roads Initiative (BRI).

After visiting Pakistan, the Chinese leader will also visit Germany and Netherlands.

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Beijing:

Chinese telecom giant Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei has brushed aside a US ban against his company, saying the Trump administrationwhich is urging European allies to cut their business ties with the tech giantis not powerful enough to make others to follow its orders, as he flaunted his close links with the 10 Downing Street.

Escalating the bruising trade war with China, the US Department of Commerce recently blacklisted Huawei over security concerns and barred American companies from installing the telecom equipment.

Earlier in the week, US President Donald Trump said there is a possibility of including the Huawei issue in the ongoing trade negotiations with China.

In a recent interaction with the Chinese official media, 74-year-old Ren, whose daughter and CFO of Huawei Meng Wanzhou has been arrested in Canada to face prosecution for violations of American sanctions against Iran, said the US ban will not affect the roll-out of its 5G technology.

I used to have afternoon tea at 10 Downing Street. They asked me how I learned to accompany the rest of the world, and I said it was afternoon tea. So they greeted me with afternoon tea on Downing Street, he said pointing to his links with the British Prime Ministers Office.

We have communicated with leaders from different countries. Each country has its own interests. The US campaign will not be powerful enough to ask everyone to follow them, he said.

However, as per UK media reports, Britain is still reviewing its 5G telecom and may allow Huawei to supply non-core 5G components, such as antenna masts.

The British government was also under pressure from internal reports highlighting concerns over implications of using Huawei 5G network.

As the British government dithered, a top Chinese diplomat in London has warned that there could be substantial repercussions for Chinese investment in the UK, if Huawei were to be banned from Britains 5G network.

In an interview to the BBC, Chen Wen, the Chinese charge daffaires in London, said Beijing had already witnessed some conscious moves in that direction.

She further said the UK economy would be damaged by the message any ban on Huawei sent out to international and Chinese companies.

For all the Latest Business News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

A four-year-old girl was raped allegedly by a private schools helper-cum-conductor in Dhuri town in Punjabs Sangrur district. The incident has triggered protests by the locals against the school management. The incident took place on Saturday when the 27-year-old accused lured the girl when her mother had come to the school to attend a parent-teacher meeting, police said on Monday.



He was playing in a park with the girl and later took her to a room and raped her, they said. After the parent-teacher meet, the girls mother took her home unaware of the incident, news agency PTI reported.

The accused has been arrested, Sangrur SSP Sandeep Kumar Garg said. Protestors had a few demands. They wanted the accused to be arrested and we told them that he has been arrested. Their second demand was that action should be taken against the school management and they were told the administration will look into this. As far as their demand that accused be handed over to them was concerned, we told them that he has been arrested and is being dealt as per the law, he said.



Condemning the incident, Opposition Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal tweeted, Shocked over reported rape of a four-year-old girl in Sangrur distt. There is no such thing as law and order in Punjab with murders, rapes and daylight snatchings becoming a daily occurrence. CM must take responsibility or is he too busy quelling party revolt?

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Mumbai:

No-frills airline SpiceJet on Sunday announced the induction of a Boeing 737, taking its fleet size to 100 aircraft. SpiceJet is the fourth domestic airline to achieve the feat after national carrier Air India, now defunct Jet Airways and rival IndiGo.

Eight domestic carriers - Air India, IndiGo, SpiceJet, GoAir, Air India Express, Vistara, Air Asia and Alliance together have 595 planes in their fleet at the moment. Spicejet in a release said it has added some 23 planes in the last one month alone.

"Who could have thought that from the brink of closure in December 2014, SpiceJet would have a 100-aircraft fleet in 2019," SpiceJet chairman and managing director Ajay Singh said on the induction of 100th plane in the fleet.

The Gurugram-based budget carrier now has 68 Boeing 737s, 30 Bombardier Q-400s and two B737 freighters. The airline at present operates 575 daily flights on an average to 62 destinations 53 domestic and nine international, it said.

SpiceJet is a key player in the Union governments regional connectivity scheme UDAN operating 42 flights per day to and from various regional destinations, it added. "SpiceJet has added 23 planes and over a hundred new flights, most of them connecting the key metros of Mumbai and Delhi, in just over a months time," the airline said.

Of the 595 planes, IndiGo has 230, Air India 128 and SpiceJet 100. Jet Airways, which ceased operations around mid-last month, had 120 planes in its fleet before going bust.

Besides, GoAir has 49 planes, Air India Express 25, Vistara 22 snd AirAsia India 21 planes in their fleet. Alliance Air, which is the regional subsidiary of Air India, has 20 ATRs for operations.

SpiceJet had placed a USD 22 billion order for 205 aircraft with Boeing in 2015 and had followed it up with a USD 1.7 billion order for 50 Bombardier Q400 planes.

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New Delhi:

The Indian Army detained two suspected spies, who were found videographing and taking pictures near Ratnuchak Military Station in Jammu, and handled over to the police for further interrogation on Tuesday. According to the initial information shared by the army, both were in regular touch with Pakistan and a few hours before their arrest, they had contacted in the neigbouring country.

A joint interrogation of the police and the Indian Army was underway in Jammu till the last update.

The incident took place less than 48 hours before Narendra Modi is set to take oath as Prime Minister at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Thursday.

In December last year, the Indian Armys 51 Armoured Regiment foiled an attack on the Ratnuchak camp in Jammu in the wee hours, when the sentry fired at two Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorists carrying arms and ammunition.Though one of the terrorists was injured both managed to escape to a nearby civilian cluster.

Even though a cordon and search operation (CASO) was launched by the Indian Army, the Para (special forces) and the Jammu and Kashmir Police, the terrorists were not found.Like the Sunjwan camp, which was attacked in February 2018, the Ratnuchak camp, which houses families of Indian Army officers, is open to civilian movement.

Intelligence units said such camps were vulnerable to terrorist attacks as they provide ample reconnaissance opportunities to terrorist outfits.

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New Delhi:

Traders of the posh Khan Market in New Delhi are planning to approach the new government against any move to change its name, even as officials said no one has submitted any request for renaming of the marketplace. The traders' association has claimed that a person has requested that the market's name be changed.

"The person who made the request is neither a trader nor a resident of the Khan Market area. What's his locus standi?" Khan Market Traders' Association president Sanjeev Mehra said.

"Once the new government is sworn in, we will approach the home minister requesting him not to entertain even if such requests are made in future," he said.

Officials in the ministry said till date, no request for changing the name of Khan Market has been received.

Khan Market is one Old Delhi's most well-known markets and was named after freedom fighter Khan Abdul Jabbar Khan.

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Washington:

US Vice President Mike Pence has urged the Supreme Court to take up a case about abortions based on sex, race or potential disability of the foetus, after the high court sidestepped the issue.

While serving as governor of Indiana, Pence had signed into law a ban on so-called "selective" abortions. A lower court struck it down, and earlier Tuesday, the US Supreme Court opted not to weigh in until lower courts do so.

Pences office released a statement saying it remained hopeful that at a later date the Supreme Court will review one of numerous state laws across the US that bar abortion based on sex, race, or disability.

Countries across the globe prohibit selective abortion - and the United States should do the same, said the statement from Pences press secretary Alyssa Farah on Tuesday.

Pences remarks follow moves by legislatures in several Republican-led states to restrict access to abortion in a bid to eventually challenge the 1973 US Supreme Court ruling in Roe vs Wade, which made abortion legal nationwide.

Since taking office, President Donald Trump has appointed two conservative justices - Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh - and liberal members of the court are now outnumbered five to four.

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Washington:

Nearly 400 Indian royal artefacts -- including a diamond encrusted sword hilt of Maharaja Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala, natural pearl necklace belonging to Rajmata Gayatri Devi and a jade hilted dagger of Mughal king Shah Jahan, would go under the hammer here next month.

The auction titled 'Maharajas and Mughal Magnificence' and organised by the Christie's will showcase an "unparalleled collection" of stunning jewels, diamonds, finest jewelled objects, gemstones, swords, daggers and decorative objects spanning over 500 years -- from the Indian royalty and the Mughal period, the global auction house said.

"This comprehensive trove" will be offered in the landmark auction on June 19, it said.

"Spanning over 500 years of history and sovereign power on the subcontinent, 'Maharajas & Mughal Magnificence' tells the story of a continuous tradition of patronage from the Mughal Empire to present day, with provenance including the royal and noble families of India," the Christie's said.

Up for auction will be unparalleled collection of Mughal jewels, European-Indian hybrid designs and 20th-Century creations by leading jewellery houses, it said.

The objects are offered from the Al Thani collection.

Among the objects will be the hilt of the state sword of Maharaja Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala. Estimated at between USD 100,000 and USD 150,000, the sword is enamelled and set with diamonds. Its lion-headed pommel is set with ruby eyes. One side of the hilt is set with a raised and molded crest of Kapurthala and the other side with the words 'Kapurthala State' set in diamonds.

Once owned by Shah Jahan, a dagger with an inscription in 'Nasta'liq' script is another prominent object in the collection. It is estimated to fetch between USD 1'5 million and USD 2.5 million.

Also on display will be a diamond encrusted ceremonial ceremonial sword of the Nizam of Hyderabad. Set with diamonds, rubies and emeralds, the sword is expected to fetch between USD 1 million and USD 1.5 million.

Another prominent offering is a natural pearl and diamond cartier necklace of Rajmata Gayatri Devi, wife of Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II of Jaipur. The graduated strand of 37 round to oval natural pearls, old-cut marquise-shaped diamond is estimated to be valued at between USD 1 million and USD 1.5 million.

The collection also includes a Tipu Sultan's pendant, set with rubies and emeralds, and mounted in a gold frame with a pin. A gem set jade-hilted dagger, possibly from Lucknow, is also in the collection.

The objects would be on exhibition from June 14-18 before going under the hammer on June 19.

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New Delhi:

Former Congressman and Gujarat OBC leader Alpesh Thakor on Monday met Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, triggering speculation that he may join the ruling the BJP. Thakor, the MLA from Radhanpur in Patan district, had quit the Congress before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Thakor met Patel at his Gandhinagar office for about half an hour, BJP sources said.

The OBC leader's associate and Congress MLA from Bayad Dhavalsinh Zala was also present at the meeting, they said.

However, what transpired in the meeting was not known as both Thakor and Zala could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.

The BJP appeared reluctant to provide details and speculate on the OBC leader's future course of action.

"There is no such development with regards to Alpesh Thakor (on joining the BJP) The meeting might be for some other reason as he is an MLA," state BJP spokesperson Bharat Pandya said.

However, speculation is rife among sections in both the Congress and the BJP here that he may be headed towards the saffron camp.

Thakor had resigned from the Congress in April, apparently after being unhappy with the local party leadership for not considering him for ticket from the Patan Lok Sabha seat.

The Congress chose former MP Jagdish Thakor over him from Patan. The Congress had also ignored Thakor's demand for ticket to a member of his outfit, the Thakor Sena, from the Banaskantha Lok Sabha seat.

After emerging as a prominent OBC leader in Gujarat, he had joined the opposition party before the 2017 state polls and won from the Radhanpur Assembly seat.

Before quitting the Congress, he had met party president Rahul Gandhi and conveyed his displeasure against the functioning of the state leadership.

The OBC leader, who continues to be MLA, had claimed his community and supporters were feeling "cheated" and "ignored" by the Congress.

The BJP won all the 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat in the just concluded general elections.

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New Delhi:

The UP Police claimed to have arrested three suspects in connection with the murder case of former village head of Baraulia in Amethi Surendra Singh, a close aide of BJP MP Smriti Irani, and recovered a weapon allegedly used in the incident. OP Singh, UP Director General of Police, said two more suspects are still absconding, but should be arrested soon.

On the basis of all evidence, it is very clear that the five murder suspects and the victim had local level political rivalry, he said.

Surendra Singh (50) was shot at around 11.30 pm on Saturday. Singh was referred to a Lucknow hospital, but succumbed during treatment, Additional Superintendent of Police Daya Ram said.

The police had lodged an FIR against five people and did not rule out the possibility of it being a "political murder".

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Smriti Irani asked party workers to exercise restraint, even as she targeted Congress president Rahul Gandhi over his "take-care-of-Amethi-with-love" remark, saying she had got the message "loud and clear".

"We have come to know about an old enmity. We are also trying to find out if there was any political enmity. The initial investigation has thrown up some vital clues," he told reporters in Lucknow.

"UP police teams are conducting a very intensive investigation. We have also got important evidence through electronic surveillance," the DGP said, adding that he was hopeful that the case would be solved "in the next 12 hours".

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had directed the DGP to take effective action and report back to him, a senior official said, adding that the inspector general in Lucknow was sent to monitor the situation.

"An FIR has been registered against five persons under sections 302 (punishment for murder) and 120B (punishment of criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on the complaint of Narendra Singh, brother of Surendra Singh," Daya Ram said.

In the FIR lodged at the Jamo police station in Amethi, the complainant said, "On the intervening night of May 25-26, my younger brother Surendra Singh was sleeping in the verandah of the house, along with nephews Abhay and Anurag, when we heard the sound of gunshots.

"As we woke up, we saw Wasim, his brother Nasim and Golu running away. Across the road, we saw Ramchandra. In this case, there is also a conspiracy of Dharamnath Gupta (related to the panchayat polls). Ramchandra was involved in a scuffle with one of my nephews during the Lok Sabha polls, due to which the incident took place."

When contacted, Jamo Station House Officer (SHO) Rajeev Singh said, "Wasim, Nasim Golu and Ramchandra have been booked under section 302, IPC. Dharamnath Gupta has been booked for conspiracy charges. Investigations are going on."

Irani, who was in Delhi, flew down to Lucknow en route to Amethi, where she met Singh's family members and consoled them. The BJP leader and state minister Mohsin Raza were present when Singh's last rites were performed. A large number of people was also present on the occasion.

Both Irani and Raza were seen carrying Singh's body amidst chanting of slogans by villagers.

"My request to all party workers is that we should exercise restraint," Irani told reporters in Lucknow.

She said Singh was killed so that Amethi could be "terrorised, disintegrated and bowed down".

"On (May) 23, I was given a message that take care of Amethi with love. To the person, who gave me the message, I would like to say that I have received the message loud and clear," she said, referring to Gandhi's remarks made on the counting day.

In the just-concluded Lok Sabha polls, Irani defeated the Congress president from Amethi, a Gandhi family bastion.

(With PTI inputs)

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Kabul: The country has not been relieved of bomb blasts even after Taliban rule began in Afghanistan. With chaos and instability, bomb blasts have become Afghanistan's fate. The bottom line is that there are reports of blasts day in and day out. In the same episode, an explosion occurred on Friday (November 12, 2021) at a mosque in the Spinghar district of Nangarhar province during Friday prayers, killing at least three people. Several others were also reportedly injured in the blast.

According to reports, a dozen people, including the cleric of the mosque, who were offering prayers in the blast, were badly injured. A Taliban official told the media that the bomb blast was confirmed. The official said, "I confirm the blast during Friday prayers inside a mosque in Spinghar district. There have been deaths and injuries to people. Qari Haneef, an official spokesman for Nangarhar province, told the media that the bomb appeared to have been placed in the mosque.

Atal Shinwari, a resident of the locality, told the media that the blast took place around 1:30 pm local time (09:00 GMT). A doctor at a local hospital told the media that at least three people were killed and 15 others injured in the blast. No one has claimed responsibility for the blast so far, but the Islamic State (IS) is being suspected.

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KABUL: At least two people were killed and 17 others were injured in an explosion inside a mosque in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province, according to officials. Worshippers were offering Friday prayers at the mosque in Tarili village, Spin Ghar district when the event occurred.

The victims, according to local officials, were worshippers. Three of the injured were said to be in critical condition. Because the mosque was full during Friday prayers, locals anticipate the number of casualties could rise. So far, no one has claimed responsibility. This is the third mosque blast in less than a month. Two Shia mosques in Kunduz and Kandahar were struck in October, killing more than a hundred people and wounding hundreds more.

Both attacks were claimed by the Islamic State's Khorasan branch, or IS-K, with the one in Kunduz being the bloodiest since US forces departed Afghanistan at the end of August. IS-K has claimed responsibility for 12 strikes in the last several weeks, including suicide attacks in the provinces of Nangarhar, Kabul, Kunar, and Kandahar, resulting in over 150 deaths.

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'All my allegations against Sameer Wankhede are true,' Nawab Malik's affidavit in HC
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Friday reserved its verdict on an interim petition filed by Dhyandev Wankhede, father of NCB officer Sameer Wankhede, for a defamation case. Wankhede has demanded that Maharashtra cabinet minister Nawab Malik stop making any derogatory posts on social media against him and his family.

Wankhede's lawyer Arshad Sheikh presented several documents before the court to prove that Dhyandev Wankhede is a Hindu, not a Muslim, as Nawab Malik claimed. Referring to Malik's tweet on Sameer Wankhede's birth certificate, Sheikh said, 'Shouldn't he show how he verified a photocopy (birth certificate) before tarnishing my (Sameer's) reputation? The birth certificate should be correct, you knew that David's name was corrected as Dhyandev in the corner of the same documents. You take only one document out of all documents. I am surprised that the name is written everywhere in different handwriting, but only Sameer is written in capital letters.'

Justice Jamdar asked Advocate Atul Damle appearing for Malik about the change in birth certificate as to why the handwriting of 'Sameer' and 'Muslim' is different. He said the Supreme Court says that if there is a public document, it is okay, but it should be verified, otherwise, it is a violation of privacy. Justice Jamdar also said, 'You are a member of the Assembly, a cabinet minister and a spokesperson of a political party. You should take more care.' While arguing the matter, Damle explained Sameer Wankhede's Nikahnama and birth certificate that the documents prima facie indicate that the plaintiff's name is Dawood, and I have taken due care.

Advocate Sheikh also mentioned a photo of Sameer Wankhede arguing, which according to Malik's tweet was from Dubai. Sheikh said the photo was of the airport lounge. He said that 'if I went to Dubai, would the passport authorities here not have details of my visit. Did you get any details from the visa-issuing authorities? He didn't do the verification. My trip was not from Dubai but from the Maldives.'

Dhyandev Wankhede had filed an affidavit on Friday, which included a 2008 caste certificate, to prove that he comes from the Mahar community and is documents of his son (Sameer) and daughter (Yasmin). This includes an affidavit from Dhyandev Wankhede's wife in which she said she had converted to Hinduism after marriage. After hearing all the arguments, the High Court has reserved its verdict. Sameer Wankhede's father Dhyandev Kachruji Wankhede has slapped a defamation case of Rs 1.25 crore against Nawab Malik and his party members.

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Seoul: According to the Foreign Ministry, South Korea and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) held high-level talks to discuss North Korea's nuclear programme, Japan's planned disposal of radioactive tainted water, and other issues.

According to the international media report, Ham Sang-wook, the Deputy Foreign Minister for Multilateral and Global Affairs, visited Massimo Aparo, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency Department of Safeguards, in Seoul. During the discussion, Ham recommended that the IAEA take a proactive role in improving transparency and safety in Japan's planned wastewater disposal from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant.

Tokyo intends to release the water that has been kept in tanks at the decommissioned plant as early as 2023. Since 2013, Seoul and the International Atomic Energy Agency have held high-level consultations to promote bilateral strategic dialogue.

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Social media have increasingly been an integral part of peoples lives. It has been rapidly growing and diffused globally since the last decade, bringing many positive prospects and some exasperations. The number of users has seen a meteoric rise across the globe, which abets to create modern electronic society as Noam Chomsky writes. Social media, in general, are an integration of web technology, social interaction, and content creation, which allow individuals or collaborators to create, organise, edit, comment, and share content online. Here, I discuss how the new technology facilitates people to unite their stifled voices but is not a messianic tool to bring complete liberation, in particular in the context of Nepal in comparison with Myanmar and Egypt.

Myanmar

A few weeks ago, I recently attended an international conference, ASIANET 2021: Authoritarianism, Populism and New Forms of Nationalism in Asia hosted by MF Scientific College in Oslo in association with the Norwegian Network for Asian Studies. Among many, what interested me was the use of new technology in Myanmars Spring Revolution 2021 after the military coup in the country. Two of the Burmese researchers who also took part in the street protests in Myanmar presented their seminar papers with great reverence of and expectation from Facebook as peoples arsenal to fight the junta and get their rights back. Despite Facebook and other new technologies being an essential platform to fight authoritarian rule in many parts of the world, particularly in the Middle East, what I believe is there is always a challenge to handle the post-revolution situation to build peace and stability and solidarity people have shown in the streets in the uprisings.

Almost half of the Burmese population in January 2021 are Facebook users. Hence, there is extensive use of social media, particularly, Facebook, for organising, mobilising, and sharing information among Burmese people for the protest movement against the military coup, which is still going on. The number of protesters swelled, primarily when a 19-year-old Kyla Sin was shot dead in Yangoon while protesting in the capital in early March. Her photograph with her tee-shirt printed with everything will be ok was posted numerously by many Facebook users, drawing more attention, encouragement, and commitment among the protesters and Burmese citizens.

Egypt

Let me compare Myanmars ongoing protest with the similar case of the Facebook revolution in Egypt in 2011. Social media like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube as well blogs, and cell phones have played a vital role in mobilising civilians in Egypt Uprising 2011. Notably, a Facebook page, We are all Khaled Said created by Wael Ghonim, immensely influenced people and mobilised them on the street. People in Egypt gathered and revolted against the autocratic regime of Hosni Mubarak, the then president, and toppled down 30 years long repressive government by the extensive use of social media.

However, the aftermath of the revolution is not a blissful one. The Egyptian revolution could not live up to the peoples aspirations, and the people are still living in a deplorable situation. The military coup in 2013 in Egypt ousting the first elected civilian president Mohamed Morsi pushed the country into a prior state of oppression in the era of Mubarak. Increased poverty and human rights violations have become Egypts main sagas now, even after such a massive civil rights movement.

Nepal

Photo: Pexels/ cottonbro

Social media in Myanmar has contributed a lot to the fight against military intervention. However, social media are not a reason for the protest; instead, they are just a platform or a tool to channel peoples suppressed voices. Hence, post-revolution management is more crucial to keep peace and materialise peoples aspirations.

The number of social media users, uprisings, and downtrodden ethnic communities discussed above all have implications for Nepali society. Before and after the first and second Constituent Assembly (CA) polls in Nepal, different ethnic and minority groups raised their voice to safeguard their rights and identity in the constitution. It escalated much discussion among politicians and intellectuals, and media like newspapers, radio and television covered the issue widely. However, the inclusion of minorities is not entirely settled yet. But, right now, its intensity has been decreased as if all media, politicians, and right activists are satisfied with the situation.

Furthermore, those marginalised groups themselves are not resonating their voice loud. Considering that an ethnic split is the root of unstable governments, chaos, and hindrance to development, Nepali political leaders seriously need to work on the rights and inclusion of marginalised ethnic groups.

As Clay Shirky views social media improves [sic] political information cascades and easier and wider dissemination of information changes group awareness, social media help to form mass public opinion. That is the reason many political leaders such as late Rabindra Adhikari, Arjun Nar Singh KC, Gagan Thapa, and Baburam Bhattarai created their Facebook pages before the CA-II polls in 2013. They wanted to get support and maximum votes from the public by posting their views, agendas, and ideologies.

The new elections in Nepal will be held soon. Hence, social media platforms have already been charged with political quips. The same was seen with Narendra Modis election in India and Barack Ombas in the United States.

Nepal has not remained untouched by the global upsurge of social media use. Albeit the internet was introduced in 1993 in Nepal, the numbers of social media users are being rapidly increased in recent years. Until January 2021, the social media users in Nepal reached approximately 45 per cent of the total population, with 13 million in number. The data mentioned above conspicuously dramatise that people have easy access to the internet, and they have enough users to execute social media properly to raise their voice to pressurise the House of Representatives and the political leaders to regard peoples votes and voices.

Since social media have been acquiring political power, subdued voices can be united to grab the rights and identity. If needs be, hundreds of thousands of people can flock to the street by executing social media to articulate and make their voice audible to the authority as Tunisians, Egyptians, and Burmese have already dramatised the vitality of use of social media or cyberactivism to exert the clout on political activism or mobilisation, participation, and organisation of civilians in the protest movement that became successful in removing the long-rooted autocratic governments.
(Bloomberg) -- Negotiators from almost 200 countries clinched a deal that seeks to keep the most ambitious goal of the Paris Agreement alive, breaking new ground in the fight against climate change but punting the hardest decisions into the future.

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After two weeks of often fraught United Nations COP26 talks, delegates agreed to reduce the use of coal, end inefficient fossil-fuel subsidies and boost their climate targets sooner. The Glasgow Climate Pact puts the world, barely, on a path to limit the rise in global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial times  the stretch goal of the Paris Agreement and the level scientists say is needed to avoid catastrophic warming.

"This is the beginning of that 10-year sprint," said John Kerry, the U.S. climate envoy. "We are in fact closer than we have ever been before to avoiding climate chaos and securing cleaner air, safer water and a healthier planet."

The accord came despite last-minute objections from China and India, two of the worlds largest emitters, who wanted the language on coal to be watered down. Delegates also approved the framework for trading carbon credits, breaking six years of deadlock, and emissions-reporting guidelines to increase scrutiny of climate pledges.

The Glasgow agreement was a more ambitious deal than many longtime COP observers had expected, with the coal commitment in particular held up as an important breakthrough. But it rests on the huge assumption that the biggest polluters  especially China, the U.S. and India  will follow through on their promises to zero out their emissions over the next decades. Reaching carbon neutrality will require trillions of dollars of investment in clean energy and stronger restrictions on fossil-fuel activities including combustion engine cars and polluting factories.

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The accord was also criticized for not doing enough to raise financial support from rich countries to help developing nations transition to clean energy and prepare for more extreme weather. Experts also warned that concessions on carbon market rules could set back efforts to cut emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases.

UN climate agreements are, by their nature, messy compromises as they have to balance out the competing interests of more than 190 countries. In the final hours, countries including low-lying island nations like Maldives and carbon powers like the U.S. complained that it didnt go far enough.

Delegates also expressed anger that India was allowed to alter the final draft. It successfully replaced the commitment on coal from phasing out its use  without capturing emissions  to phasing down. While the South Asian nation took the fall for watering down the text, its public objection concealed the role of China and even the U.S. in the weakened outcome, according to people familiar with the discussions.

READ MORE: Indias Last-Minute Coal Defense Hid Role of China, U.S.

While that may seem like a small tweak, European countries warned that it would make it harder to meet the 1.5C limit. The longer you take to get rid of coal, the more burden you put on the natural environment, said Frans Timmermans, the EUs climate czar. The more burden you put on your economy because coal is simply not a smart economic proposition either.

Many were unhappy with the final text. But eventually countries agreed to a compromise as the clock ticked down and protesters outside the venue demanded they take action to stem warming thats already led to floods, heatwaves and rising sea levels.

There was particular pressure to reach an agreement on carbon market rules as the private market outside the UNs control booms, fueling worries about free-for-all trading that could facilitate greenwashing. Demand is forecast to grow to $100 billion by the end of the decade as more companies set net-zero goals, but its effectiveness as a climate solution hinges on setting high standards.

The documents were approved to cheers and high-fives on Saturday evening even as COP26 President Alok Sharma expressed regret about how the last-minute haggling had been conducted in small huddles that excluded most countries. I apologize for the way this process has unfolded, and I am deeply sorry, he said, close to tears. I also understand the deep disappointment, but as you have already noted its also vital that we protect this package.

Getting all countries in the world to agree on how to halve emissions this decade  whats needed to reach 1.5C  was always going to be impossible to achieve at a single global summit. The Glasgow pact, like its Paris predecessor, is non-binding and nothing in the text directly compels countries to implement specific policies.

That said, landmark climate accords can send important market signals and reshape economies. Since governments agreed to the Paris accord of 2015, more than $2.2 trillion has poured into solar, wind, batteries and other renewable technologies, according to BloombergNEF. Thats disrupting entire industries from cars to power grids. Tesla Inc, an emblem of the new green economy, is now worth more than $1 trillion, dwarfing the market value of the world's legacy carmakers.

Glasgow has been an important gateway to a 1.5C world but we now need accelerated action to get there, said Emily Shuckburgh, director of research center Cambridge Zero. COP26 ends reaffirming the fact that the science of climate change is crystal clear  we are running out of time.

(Updates with Kerry quote in third paragraph.)

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Ivan Tsupko/Real Pictures

KYIVA Ukrainian film director of Armenian origin, 29-year-old Khachatur Vasilian, is facing a wave of vicious attacks from pro-Russia politicians and neo-Nazi thugs alike for his new film, My Young Prince, an artful movie about a gay teenager who falls in love with another man.

When the film, which is set to debut in 2023, was announced earlier this year, Vasilian and his team were well aware that they might face backlashespecially from Ukraines far-right circles. What he didnt expect was that his life would be threatened, not only for being the first Ukrainian director to film men making love, but also for being ethnically Armenian and non-Slav.

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On Monday, Vasilian was at a central Kyiv theater where crowds of fans had gathered to watch the teaser for his movie. While he was there, a flood of hateful messages, including threats of rape and murder, bombarded Vasilians Instagram. While people around me were enjoying the presentation of our new movie about a 17-year-old Ukrainian man, who is lost in inner immigration, I was reading awful threats on my phone, the director said in an interview with The Daily Beast.

While Vasilian cant disclose too much about the film just yet, it is centered on the character of Paul, a 17-year-old Ukrainian from a wealthy family who has grown disillusioned with his life. That is, until he falls in loveand the object of his affection is subsequently involved in murder.

My Young Prince is set to debut in 2023." Ivan Tsupko/Real Pictures

Most of the hate messages Vasilian received are too awful to be quoted. A less extreme example on Instagram read: The smoked one is fucked, hinting at the color of Vasilians skin. Another comment said: The hour of the moral court is coming for you. One Instagram user sent an even more chilling threat: He said the film had offended the children of Catharsis.

The far-right Telegram channel Catharsis is known for attacking immigrants, non-Slavic Ukrainians, drug addicts, and LGBTQ individuals. This Telegram channel reflects the radical views of all ultra-right Ukrainian groups, including Tradition and Order, the Right Sector, the Bases for the Future, C14 and a number of other groups. Many of them emerged after the 2014 Euromaidan Revolution, an expert on Ukraines far right at Zaborona Media, Polina Vernigor, told The Daily Beast.

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Terrifyingly, Catharsis raging sprees sometimes transcend the realms of the internetand into the real world.

On Saturday, a friend of mine from Chicago was planning to celebrate his 60th birthday in his home city of Kyiv at a hip nightclub called Closer. His plans came to a halt after the Catharsis Telegram channel made a call to its members, asking them to engage in a crusade against drug users that targeted nightclubs, including Closer.

The Telegram post brought dozens of far-right radicals together. Crowds of them dressed in black walked the streets of Kyiv holding a long banner that read: Death. They shot firecrackers and chanted, Death to the rich! and put a sign in front of the Closer nightclub that read Nayem Shop, a racist reference to Mustafa Nayem, a corruption-fighter, journalist, and politician of Afghan origin who serves as Ukraines deputy minister of infrastructure.

The founder of Zaborona news media, Ekaternia Sergatkova, told The Daily Beast that one of the key leaders behind Ukraines ultra-right movement is Evgen Karas, the founder of the violent neo-Nazi group C14, which has been accused of killing the editor-in-chief of a pro-Russian newspaper as well as a series of violent attacks on Roma people. She also mentioned Sergei Korotkykh, known as Botsman, an ex-member of the Russian NSS (National-Socialist Society) who has been accused of killing two men in front of a Nazi flag.

They are neo-Nazi activists, painting Swastikas on the walls, attacking ethnic minorities and LGBT [people], Sergatkova told The Daily Beast. 

On Thursday, Catharsis published the address Vasilians Instagram account on Telegram, leading to a barrage of new hate messages so severe that the director had to make his public account private.

The screen writers and producers behind My Young Prince believe that it is important for gay men to be represented in Ukraine, where, according to a recent social poll, 47 percent of population are intolerant toward the LGBTQ community.

"The upcoming Ukrainian movie My Young Prince. Ivan Tsupko/Real Pictures

A few weeks ago a pro-Russian parliament member, Vadim Rabinovich, was the first to criticize our film for its LGBT theme and immediately, Russian propagandist television journalist, Olga Skobeyeva, mentioned that in her show, mocking Ukraine for its love for gay men, one of the producers, Regina Maryanovska-Davidson, told The Daily Beast.

Earlier this year, My Young Prince won a competition among hundreds of Ukrainian movie proposals and received about $770,000 in state funding. But shortly after that, more than 3,000 people signed a petition calling for the funds to be revoked and criticizing the film for scenes featuring Orthodox Christian symbols.

We were inspired by Michelangelos Pieta, by Rene Magrittes kissing figures, which seemed provocative for our haters, Vasilian told The Daily Beast. I am a former boxer, I could really punch these thugs for such dirty comments, the director added after taking a glance at the hateful messages he received on Instagram.

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But that isnt going to stop us from producing this film in Ukraine, as this is the only way to change the short-sighted public views and stop attacks on LGBT, Olekso Gladushevsky, another producer, told The Daily Beast.

Mykhailo Podolyak, a communications adviser with the Presidential Administration, admitted there was an issue with intolerance in Ukraine and said that Rabinovich and the critics are trying to discredit all elements of life in the contemporary Western worldliberal democracy and open society, as well as tolerance.

Of course, Ukraine should not be involved in any sort of censorship and manually manage film production, Podolyak told The Daily Beast. And the current government is not doing that.

The star actor playing young Pauls part, Peter Ninovsky, insisted that he had no intention of offending the feelings of Orthodox believers.

I say this as a believer. On the contrary, our film features the complicated road to God of a man who genuinely wants to find his way, Ninovsky told The Daily Beast. The petition signed by 3,000 people against our film demonstrates that there is a painful spot, but for a country with a 40 million-person population, this is not a huge number.

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OTTAWA, ON, Nov. 13, 2021 /CNW/ - Today, the Minister of Emergency Preparedness, the Honourable Bill Blair, confirmed that the Government of Canada has approved a Request for Federal Assistance from the Province of Ontario to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic in remote Northern Ontario communities, including remote First Nations fly-in communities.

In recognition of the significant, immediate challenges facing Northern Ontario and the importance of ensuring support to vulnerable remote fly-in communities, the Government of Canada will provide federal assistance in the form of Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Rangers to support Operation Remote Immunity 3.0 (ORI 3.0) vaccination campaign targeting specific Ontario communities.

Specifically, ORI 3.0 will encompass the following parameters:

Third doses for all eligible Individuals;

First and second doses for children ages 5-11 (once approved);

First and second doses for those aged 12 and over that have not yet been vaccinated and have indicated they wish to receive vaccination.

Dependent on community agreement to co-administration, flu vaccine may also be made available at the clinics for administration of both the COVID-19 and flu vaccinations.

Sioux Lookout First Nation Health Authority and the Weeneebayko Area Health Authority will lead the implementation of ORI 3.0 in their respective communities with the support of First Nations Inuit Health Branch, the northern Public Health Units and Ornge.

The CAF support to ORI 3.0 will begin on November 15, 2021, and will continue until March 31, 2022. The support will be specific to the communities listed in the ORI 3.0.

CAF members will work alongside other members of the community to address the emergent needs of remote First Nations fly-in communities.

The CAF will provide Canadian Rangers to help support ORI 3.0 in the form of:

General logistics support, including transportation of personnel, community members and materials;

Local coordination including translation, integration of mobile vaccination teams and distribution of information and educational materials; and

Administrative support, including conducting COVID-19 pre-screening questionnaires, reception and other general support to planning and operations.

The Government Operations Centre is working closely with federal and provincial partners to coordinate the federal response to the situation in Northern Ontario.

Story continues

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government Operations Centre has administered more than 140 requests for assistance from federal, provincial, and territorial partners. These requests have been administered in collaboration with federal organizations, such as the Department of National Defence, Indigenous Services Canada, Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada, and non-governmental partners, such as the Canadian Red Cross.

Quotes

"The Government of Canada always stands ready to assist provinces and territories in their efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The deployment of CAF resources to remote indigenous communities demonstrates the ongoing dedication and commitment of the Government in assisting vulnerable populations in their time of need. I commend the outstanding collaboration between all responding organizations and partners, and I want to thank all those on the front lines who continue to keep Canadians safe."



- The Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of Emergency Preparedness

"Once again, the Canadian Armed Forces will be leveraging the local cultural and operational experience of the Canadian Rangers to support the effective roll-out of this vaccination campaign to vulnerable populations in Northern Ontario. Since the start of the pandemic, the Rangers have demonstrated steadfast dedication to vaccination efforts in remote and northern communities across the country and we are grateful to have such capable members to call on when indigenous communities need them most."

- The Honourable Anita Anand, Minister of National Defence

Quick Facts

To date, the Government of Canada has approved a total of 143 Requests for Federal Assistance (including extensions), which includes 19 requests to support Ontario with their COVID-19 response.

Since the beginning of the pandemic the CAF has received and responded to 70 COVID-19-related requests for assistance from provincial or federal partners.

CAF-related support is likely to consist of approximately 100 Canadian Rangers engaged in a wide range of logistics, coordination, and administrative support roles.

The Government Operations Centre is responsible for coordinating the Government of Canada's response to emergency events including the pandemic. It supports the Public Health Agency of Canada, which is the federal government lead for the response to COVID-19.

In Canada, emergencies are managed first at the municipal level and if they need assistance, they request it from their province or territory. If the emergency escalates further, provinces or territories can get help from the federal government.

A Request for Federal Assistance is initiated when an emergency event overwhelms or threatens to overwhelm the resources of a province or territory and federal government help is needed to effectively support the impacted region.

Should a province or territory make an official Request for Federal Assistance, there is a well-established process in place for managing the request, through the Government Operations Centre, and includes provincial/territorial and interdepartmental consultation and coordination.

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View original content: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/November2021/13/c9809.html
With a number of cargo containers bottlenecked at California's ports, another problem has ensnared the companies trying to ship goods, and the customers and shops waiting for those supplies.

Theft.

The worsening supply chain troubles are making stolen shipments an increasingly common problem that's affecting shoppers, already facing long delays and soaring prices. Cargo that finally makes its way out of backlogged ports on the West Coast is being aggressively targeted by criminals eyeing containers filled with electronics amid the chip shortage.

Meanwhile, on the East Coast, refrigerated trucks used to transport food have been a favorite target of thieves, according to reports.

The old saying is freight at rest is freight as risk, said Keith Lewis, Vice President of CargoNet, a Verisk business, which tracks thefts along the supply chain for companies, told Yahoo Finance Live on Friday.

With the log jam at the port[s] and getting the containers out of there, getting them to stack yards, carrier yards, etc. the freight is sitting, Lewis added.

Thieves made off with greater than $5 million value of products as a result of so-called supply-chain theft in California in the third quarter of 2021, according to CargoNets data.

Like the ports in Long Beach and Los Angeles, the Port of Savannah has grappled with a sustained rise in import volume in recent months.

One of the biggest issues is the lack of space to process containers, as clogged container yards prevent ships from unloading efficiently, leaving thieves the opportunity to do damage in those areas.

"There's container yards down there that bring in refrigerated containers from South America and those are being targeted," Lewis added.

'Optimal domain awareness'

Container ships wait off the coast of the congested ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, in Long Beach, California, U.S., September 29, 2021. REUTERS/Mike Blake

California topped the list of states most targeted by thieves, CargoNet data showed  followed by Texas and Florida. As much as $45 million in cargo thefts have been reported from January to September. In 2020, cargo thefts reached $68 million and in 2019 they hit $49 million, according to the analysis, with the pace of theft is expected to continue through 2022.

"We see this as going to continue for awhile," said Lewis. "Electronics, gaming, those types of things, peripheral devices for computers are going to be the trend for the future."

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Recently, NBC 4 News Los Angeles reported that there are thousands of boxes strewn along the railroad tracks. They appeared to have fallen, or been thrown from cargo containers hauled by Union Pacific trains, according to the report.

Union Pacific (UNP) transports goods from the Los Angeles County Ports, where the massive backlog of cargo continues. "We are aware of the problem, and we are working with local law enforcement in Los Angeles to address the issue and stop the thefts," A spokesperson from the train operator told Yahoo Finance in an email.

For months, the Port of Long Beach has been ground zero for backlogged shipments unable to reach their final destination. "Electronic surveillance is carried out on land, on the water and below the water with a variety of cameras, radar, sonar and various threat assessment technologies," a port spokesperson told Yahoo Finance in a statement.

"In addition, the Port is continually upgrading and adapting its approach to security to ensure optimal domain awareness," the spokesperson added.

Although most of the nations major ports have seen their container volumes skyrocket during the past year, the most damage from thieves isn't actually ports or rail yards, CargoNet's Lewis explained.

"We're seeing is an uptick in pilferage is people stealing something just off the back of the truck, or somewhere in the middle of the truck," said Lewis.

Yet it's a challenge to track theft because shippers simply don't know where thieves could strike, especially when freight is sitting around idle.

"It's much more difficult to predict exactly what load they may target, which loads they're going to hit, what area they're going to work in that day or that weekend," Scott Cornell, a crime and theft specialist at insurance giant Travelers (TRV), told Yahoo Finance on Friday.

And the rising levels of theft for fleets and businesses mean that ultimately, it's consumers that will feel the impact this holiday season. Already, widespread shortages and rising prices are making the Thanksgiving to Christmas rush harder than usual.

"Anytime that you have a theft or you take away some of the inventory that's going to be out there, you're going to have a shortage on different items," Cornell said.

"There's going to be less to choose from. Fewer things on the shelves or fewer choices to make when you go out to shop this year," he added.

Dani Romero is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter: @daniromerotv

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He then strangled her and hit her in the head with the gun before shoving it in her mouth. He told the woman, We are both going to die and go to hell.

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Davis refused to let the woman go to a hospital for treatment. He instead told her to clean up and get into bed. She complied and stayed there until about 4:30 this next morning, when she got up as if she was going to work.

She then slipped out of the bedroom, grabbed her son, and left. She met Deputy D.T. Aubrecht in a post office parking lot after her son got the deputys attention and told him his mother needed help.

Deputies later surrounded Davis home and eventually got him into custody with the assistance of police dog Havoc.

Prosecutor Jennifer Lindsey put on extensive evidence Friday about Davis criminal past. Among the prosecution witnesses was a woman who was 19 in 1979 when Davis broke into her Tidewater area home and raped her. When she was finally able to flee, he fired several shots at her. The woman didnt know Davis at the time of the attack.

Davis was also convicted of manslaughter in 2005 after he killed a man in Norfolk during an altercation.
A state-required $3,000 hazard pay bonus is due by the end of the month for 87 sworn officers at the Spotsylvania Sheriffs Office.

The bonuses have proven to be frustrating for the Board of Supervisors, with members lamenting the states mandated hazard pay because only certain county employees are getting bonuses.

The only employees on tap for the bonus are those whose salaries are paid by the Virginia Compensation Board, according to a report by Assistant County Administrator and Chief Financial Officer Bonnie Jewell during a meeting Tuesday. The cost is $280,967, all of which is covered by state funds.

Jewell said the compensation board slots are chosen by the county and are somewhat luck of the draw, with the higher-salary positions often being selected so the county gets the maximum reimbursement from the state for those positions.

She added that it would be detrimental to morale to limit the bonus payments to just those employees.

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Jewell showed the board five options, which ranged from giving only the required state-funded bonuses at no cost to the county, to giving bonuses to all 973 county employees. The county would be responsible for covering $406,917 in the latter scenario.
But domestic priorities both political and economic again kept nations from committing to the fast, big cuts that scientists say are needed to keep warming below dangerous levels which would produce extreme weather and rising seas capable of erasing some island nations.

Ahead of the Glasgow talks, the United Nations had set three criteria for success, and none of them were achieved. The U.N.s criteria included pledges to cut carbon dioxide emissions in half by 2030, $100 billion in financial aid from rich nations to poor, and ensuring that half of that money went to helping the developing world adapt to the worst effects of climate change.

We did not achieve these goals at this conference, Guterres said. But we have some building blocks for progress.

Swiss environment minister Simonetta Sommaruga said the change will make it harder to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial times - the more stringent threshold set in the 2015 Paris Agreement.

U.S. climate envoy John Kerry said governments had no choice but to accept Indias coal language change: If we hadnt done that we wouldnt have had an agreement.

But he insisted the deal was good news for the world.
VILLA DEL ROSARIO, Colombia. (AP)  Xiomara Ruiz woke up before dawn and boarded a bus with her son to make a one-hour trip to the bridge connecting Venezuela to Colombia, which they crossed on foot. Their goal: to get the 8-year-old vaccinated against the coronavirus.

By 7 a.m. the 27-year-old nurse and the boy were lining up at a vaccination center in Villa del Rosario, a Colombian town on the border with Venezuela.

About two dozen Venezuelans also stood in line for the shots, while an aid worker in a khaki vest yelled out instructions on a megaphone and told the crowd to keep a safe distance from each other as they waited for the vaccination center to open.

In the town where I live there are still no vaccines for children, said Ruiz, who traveled to Colombia from the border state of Tachira. She was concerned by a recent announcement by Venezuelas government that children under 12 will be vaccinated with Soberana, a coronavirus vaccine developed in Cuba.

That one is not approved by the World Health Organization, Ruiz said. Its better to make the trip here.

Hundreds of Venezuelans have been traveling to Colombia recently for coronavirus shots, as Venezuela struggles to get enough doses for its people.
Retired School Personnel

Fremont Area Association of Retired School Personnel met for their November meeting at the United Method Church.

The Methodist Church volunteers, under the leadership of Sandra Hansen, served the group lunch. Members were feeling somewhat normal after so many changes because of COVID-19. The health and safety of everyone was still a number one factor.

Lt. Ed Watts was the speaker, helping the seniors navigate through all the scams targeting seniors. It was very informative and necessary.

FAARSP honored the six veterans in its association. Ruth Register led the association through a short program honoring the six heroes. Veterans Bob Kroenke, Larry Marvin, Johnny Halladay, RJ Riggs, Al Martinez and Russell Robinson all received special gifts.

Linda Betkie, communication director, presented the minutes for approval. Wanda Samson, financial director, explained the financial report. Both reports were approved.

Samson updated the association on its membership numbers. The association has 104 members at this time with a couple of new possibilities looking the group over. Samson announced split the pot winner. Linda Betkie donated her share back to the scholarship fund. Ruth Register performed five drawings for prizes for members in attendance.

Beth Radtke reported on the donations for LifeHouse/Low Income from meeting times and drive-thru donations being held. Several hundred pounds are collected each time. Boxed meals and frozen meals will be collected at the Dec. 8 drive-thru from 3-4:30 p.m. at 2832 N. Belvedere.

Sally Ganem set up the schedule for bell ringers this year on Nov. 13 from 2-6 p.m. at Hy-Vee. Ruth Register filled the schedule with volunteers. Thanks to Sandra Hansen, Betkie, Mary Saggau, Kris Olson, Dave and Sue Strong, Laree Skelton and Norma Register for ringing this year.

Shonda Shirley reported on CHAD progress, Rosie Vogt on volunteer hours, Norma Register on holiday meals contributions and Carol Martin displayed some of the historical books she keeps for the association.

Ruth Register provided updates on the veterans Christmas bags and the process for delivering them this year. Thank you treats will be delivered to 22 local and area schools in appreciation for what they do. Deliveries will be made between after Thanksgiving and March. Members filled the slots on the sign-up sheet for their choice of schools before leaving the meeting. Members also picked up their new activity and informational calendar before leaving.

The next meeting will be Jan. 12, 2022. Because of COVID-19 and possible health situations, the association voted to do another sack lunch instead of the usual potluck for January. Register thanked the FAARSP members for all they have accomplished during another trying year and wished them happy holidays. The associations hard work will continue to be seen in its communities.

 Tribune staff

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As COVID-19 vaccines become available for children, Three Rivers Public Health Department has seen a large increase in cases.

Executive Director Terra Uhing said in a press release that in the last 30 days, the number of positive cases has almost tripled within its district of Dodge, Saunders and Washington counties.

We need individuals to stay home if they are sick and to avoid large crowds, she said. We do have a tool that can be utilized and that is the COVID-19 vaccination  Please consider getting vaccinated if you are not.

While the number of positive cases within the district was at 156 the week of Oct. 10, that number has risen to almost 300 for both the weeks of Oct. 31 and Nov. 7.

As of Wednesday, the department has reported 362 positive cases within the last seven days and 626 within the last 14 days.

Three Rivers has started offering first and second doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 at all of its walk-in clinics, which include:

9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on the first and third Mondays of the month at 1320 31st St. in Wahoo;

3-6:30 p.m. on Tuesdays at 2400 N. Lincoln Ave., in Fremont; and

Noon to 3:30 p.m. on Fridays at 2400 N. Lincoln Ave., in Fremont.

The department is also working with several area businesses and schools to offer vaccine clinics, with more information to come in the near future.

Currently, the Pfizer vaccine is the only authorized shot for children ages 5 to 17, who must receive a second dose after 21 days. Those ages 5 to 11 receive a third-dose, while children ages 12 and up receive a full dose.

Those who are age 18 years and older and received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine are recommended to receive a booster of any of three available vaccines at least two months after their initial dose.

Additionally, booster shots are recommended for those who received their second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines at least six months ago and are:

65 years and older;

Ages 18 and older and live in long-term care settings;

Ages 18 and older and have underlying medical conditions; or

Ages 18 and older who live or work in high-risk occupational settings.

If someone is homebound or requires special accommodations and wish to receive a COVID-19 test or vaccine can contact Three Rivers at 402-704-2245.

Additionally, those who are in need of resources such as access to food, assistance rent or other needs or know someone who is can reach out to Three Rivers Community Health Worker Evelyn Martinez at 402-704-2255.

More information on COVID-19 and updates on cases and vaccines can be found by visiting threeriverspublichealth.org/COVID-19/COVID-19-Updates, calling 402-727-5396 or emailing info@3rphd.org.
The former Nebraska trooper was charged with a felony civil-rights violation that could have sent him to prison for up to 10 years, but only two of 12 jurors voted to find him guilty.
BOISE, Idaho (AP)  A former state lawmaker on Friday sued Idahos redistricting commission, contending that the new map redrawing Idahos 35 legislative districts is unconstitutional because it splits up more counties than necessary.

Branden Durst filed the lawsuit against the bipartisan Idaho Commission for Reapportionment and Secretary of State Lawerence Denney.

The commission was tasked with redrawing the districts based on the population as counted in the 2020 census. Idaho has been one of the fastest-growing states in the nation, and the commissioners examined where that growth occurred and attempted to create districts roughly equal in population, with about 52,000 residents each.

The commission is required to map new legislative districts that do not have more than a 10% population variance and they are supposed to avoid dividing counties into multiple districts as much as possible.

Still, there is no way to avoid some splits. Internal splits occur when a legislative district is contained entirely within one count and external splits occur when a portion of a county is joined with other counties to create a district.

Durst  who is running for Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction as a Republican  said in the lawsuit that the plan the commission adopted divides eight counties externally with a total of 13 external splits between them.

He wants the Idaho Supreme Court to order the commission to use a different map that divides seven counties externally with a total of nine external splits, or to order the commission to come up with a new map.

Under state law, the Idaho Supreme Court has jurisdiction over redistricting challenges. The law sets a 35-day time period for challenging redistricting maps, starting from the day the maps are filed with the Secretary of State. The map challenged in Durst's lawsuit, however, had not yet been received by the Secretary of State's office when the lawsuit was filed. It's not yet clear how that might impact the legal case.

Redistricting lawsuits are common, with at least 10 cases filed over the last four redistricting attempts dating back to 1981.

In 2011, then-Secretary of State Ben Ysursa sued after Idahos redistricting committee failed to meet the deadline to agree to on new boundaries for legislative and congressional districts.

Ysursa wanted the high court to declare the map drawn in 2002 unconstitutional ahead of the 2012 election and order the redistricting committee to go back to work.

But the justices said that without any new maps to consider, they lacked the legal authority to get involved. Still, the justices said they would consider the constitutionality of the 2002 apportionment plan if anyone filed a case challenging it.

Twin Falls County sued over redistricting the following year, contending the map divided counties more than necessary. After considering the case, the Idaho Supreme Court ordered the commission to consider a new map.

In 2001 and 2002, three lawsuits were filed over Idahos then-new redistricting maps, contending that the maps failed to preserve traditional neighborhoods and communities of interest, that the commission was inconsistent in its decisions statewide or that it allowed too much population deviations between districts.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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A bomb attack on a minivan in a Shi'ite neighborhood of Kabul has killed a well-known Afghan television journalist, according to an Afghan media watchdog and the journalist's wife.

The Afghan Journalists' Center tweeted hours after the November 13 blast in western Kabul's Dasht-e Barchi neighborhood that the explosion had killed Hamid Seighani, who worked for the Ariana television network.

Seighani's wife, who is also a journalist, confirmed his death in a Facebook post, saying, "I have lost Hamid."

Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban's main spokesman, said the blast caused a fire in Dasht-e Barchi. He said at least one civilian was killed. Mujahid said an investigation by the Taliban was under way.

Residents of the Dasht-e Barchi neighborhood confirmed hearing an explosion and seeing a vehicle burning after the blast.

A local man who gave his name as Ismael said he helped carry wounded people to a nearby hospital. He said at least three people were killed.

There was no confirmation of casualty numbers from hospital workers and no immediate claim of responsibility.

But the director of a nearby hospital who specializes in burn cases said at least two people suffered serious burn injuries.

Dr. Hakim Nasir Khesrow Balkhi said two wounded people were in critical condition when they were admitted to the hospital.

The bus driver, who goes by the single name Murtaza, told the AP at the hospital that a suspicious man got onto the vehicle a few minutes before an explosion went off at the back of the bus.

The driver said he saw two passengers with their clothes on fire falling out of the back of the vehicle. He said other passengers escaped out the front.

The Dasht-e Barchi area is heavily populated by Shi'ite ethnic Hazara, who have been the target of repeated attacks by Islamic State militants -- including a bomb attack on May 12, 2020, at the maternity ward of the local hospital that killed 24 people.

The latest attack came a day after a bomb exploded inside a Sunni mosque in Afghanistan's eastern province of Nangarhar.

That blast, which killed at least three people, occurred during Friday Prayers at the village mosque of Tarela in the Spin Ghar district.

The office of Nangarhar's Taliban-appointed governor issued a statement on November 13 saying that two "perpetrators" were arrested in connection with the mosque attack. It did not provide further details about the suspects.

"Further investigation into the incident is ongoing and more actions will be taken," the statement said.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, and dpa
Two policemen have been killed and four more injured in separate incidents in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Baluchistan provinces of Pakistan.

Two police officers died when an improvised explosive device went off as they were on a routine patrol near Raghagan Dam in the Bajaur tribal district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, a district police spokesperson told Radio Mashaal on November 13.

Bajaur was the scene of another recent police killing, when authorities discovered the corpse of a missing police officer in the Alizai area on October 16.

In an incident farther south on November 13, three police officers were injured in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan Province, after police said unknown perpetrators placed an explosive device in a police vehicle.

There were no claims of responsibility in the incidents.
Brian Puerta told police he was bedded down at a truck stop in rural Huerfano County, snuggled up in a sleeping bag in the front passenger seat of his blue Buick when a stranger banged on the passenger window in the middle of the day and demanded that Puerta follow him.

The stranger, whom Puerta later described as looking like Charles Manson, with several dogs in tow, aimed a handgun at Puerta, who reached for his cellphone to call 911. Four shots rang out, blasting through the window and into Puertas right wrist, right hip, abdomen and cellphone.

An air ambulance flew Puerta, who was homeless, to Parkview Medical Center in Pueblo that March 30 day. Puerta woke later from anesthesia to find surgical staples embedded across his stomach. The surgeons had removed part of Puertas lower intestine, but they recovered one of the bullets that had torn into Puerta, 3 inches below his belly button.

When authorities apprehended a suspect later that day after a high-speed chase, they thought they had a lock on a conviction and lengthy prison sentence. Puerta picked out the suspect from a photo lineup. Police had seized a Sig Sauer .22 caliber handgun from the suspect's car. Prosecutors waited for the ballistics report that would match the bullet found deep in Puerta's gut with the handgun seized from the suspect's car  the final piece of evidence they felt they needed to persuade a jury to convict the suspect of attempted murder.

But that ballistics report would never come. And the suspect John William Wilson, now 40, might never see a day in prison.

The Huerfano County Sheriffs Department was not timely enough in sending the gun that was seized from Wilsons car, or the bullet recovered from Puerta's body, to the Colorado Bureau of Investigations crime lab, emails from prosecutors to the Sheriffs Office and crime lab show. By the time the crime lab was ready to process the evidence, discovery deadlines had passed, the emails show.

The lack of a timely ballistics report isnt an isolated incident in Huerfano County, according to a lawsuit filed on June 22 by the top prosecutor there, Third Judicial District Attorney Henry Solano. Solano, who was the top federal prosecutor in Colorado when he was U.S. attorney from 1994 to 1995 and has taught at Harvard Universitys John F. Kennedy School of Government, is asking a judge to fix what he calls persistent failures in basic law enforcement by the Huerfano County Sheriffs Office and Sheriff Bruce Newman. The lawsuit lists 43 felony cases and 20 misdemeanor cases in the past three years, including Puertas shooting, that Solano alleges the Sheriffs Office provided no discovery or failed to provide timely discovery.

In court documents Solano has filed in connection with that lawsuit, he alleges that Newman and the Sheriffs Office only provided timely evidence to the District Attorneys Office in 62.6% of the cases they initiated in the past three years.

In elementary school that is a D grade, Solanos court filing stated. It might just barely be passing in elementary school, but that is clearly not acceptable here where we are dealing with due process protections to a defendant and the need to support prosecutions for the protection of the public. Remedial action is necessary.

The problems have become so severe, according to Solanos lawsuit, that prosecutors had to dismiss at least 30 felony cases because of the failure by the Sheriffs Office to preserve or send evidence for testing.

In one case, 27 grams of heroin were not sent for crime lab processing, causing the dismissal of drug distribution charges pending against a habitual offender who faced up to 32 years in prison, the lawsuit contends. In another, prosecutors could not proceed with criminal charges against an inmate accused of assaulting a sheriffs deputy because surveillance footage was not preserved, according to the lawsuit.

In a homicide case, the sentencing judge remarked on the troubled history of evidentiary and discovery problems in Huerfano County.

Its been made clear to me in the four plus years that this case has been going on that theres been a lot of problems with the evidence procurement initially by law enforcement, a transcript attached as an exhibit to the lawsuit shows the judge said at the sentencing hearing. The lawsuit contends the prosecution of that homicide case was saved only by the intervention of the Colorado Attorney Generals Office and the work of investigators there.

Solano wants a judge to order Newman and the Sheriffs Office to start complying with evidentiary and discovery deadlines. Prosecutors are required to provide critical information about their cases to defense lawyers within 21 days after a defendant's first appearance in court, according to the rules of evidence guiding criminal cases.

Additional information must be provided to the defense 35 days prior to trial, according to those rules. Typically, most law enforcement agencies forward the information to the defense within 48 hours of an arrest.

Providing evidence in a timely manner to the defense is a core tenet of the judicial system, meant to ensure defendants can prepare and receive a fair trial. Violations of those evidentiary rules can lead to dismissals of cases, which Solano said has regularly happened in Huerfano County.

Solano said that if he succeeds in getting a judicial order against the sheriff, hell be able to seek contempt of court against the sheriff if the violations continue, which he said could lead to monetary penalties and even jail time.

It would give them added incentive to do their jobs, which they shouldnt have to have, Solano said.

Sheriff Newman said hes not to blame and that he welcomes Solanos lawsuit and believes he and his office will be absolved of wrongdoing.

He blames everyone else for his problems, Newman said. Mr. Solano points fingers at everybody. Court filings filed on behalf of the sheriff further assert the litigation is a waste of time. "This litigation has consumed the time and resources of this court, the District Attorney's Office, including District Attorney staff, in addition to the District Attorney himself, and one Assistant District Attorney, the Sheriff's Office, including the Sheriff himself and the Sheriff's Office staff, in addition to the time and resources of the county in order to provide four days of testimony," that filing states.

The case against Wilson, accused of randomly shooting a homeless man, wasnt dismissed, but Solano said a lack of timely evidence processing by the Sheriffs Office still compromised the case. Wilson originally faced six felony charges, the most serious of which was attempted murder, which carried up to 28 years in prison. He pleaded to a lesser charge that could allow him to escape prison.

Solano said the lack of timely processing of the evidence by the Sheriffs Office eventually left the prosecution with nothing but Puertas eyewitness account and circumstantial evidence.

We could not use that evidence to definitively establish that the defendant had used and shot the firearm in an attempt to kill or injure the victim, Solano said.

In this case, critical, important information  that is, the firearm alleged to be used and the projectile recovered from the victim  was not immediately sent to the crime lab and not sent after several emails from the prosecution. When it was sent, it was sent too late to use in trial. The defense counsel was going to be able to exclude all of the evidence related to the firearm in the case.

Puerta said he's left bewildered as he wonders how what he thought was a solid case could develop evidentiary issues. He said he was relieved to learn the authorities had a suspect when he woke after his surgery. Pueblo County deputies had confronted the suspect, Wilson, about an hour after Puertas shooting when they responded to a complaint of shots fired at an abandoned building near where Puerta had been shot.

Wilson fled, speeding away in a green car, the same color of car Puerta reported seeing his assailant flee in. After a high-speed chase, Wilson wrecked the car, ramming it through a barbed wire fence. He surrendered after a standoff with deputies on a dirt road.

Puerta, now 47, expected an open and shut case. In addition to Wilson's photo lineup identification, police also had other solid indications of Wilson's complicity. They found inside the Hyundai that Wilson had been driving four German Shepherd-type dogs, closely matching Puertas description of what he had seen. And they seized from the crashed vehicle a Sig Sauer .22 caliber handgun. At the abandoned building where Wilson had been shooting, they found an air rifle.

I cant do better as a victim, Puerta said. It has got to be impossible to prevent a guy who is going around shooting people randomly. Once you catch a guy shooting people randomly, youve got to keep him, and you cant just let him back out on the street. I am very upset about it.

Sheriff Newman defended his offices handling of the evidence. He said that once his office finally did send the gun and bullets off to the state crime lab for testing, Solanos office asked that the evidence not be processed.

But emails from the Third Judicial District Attorneys Office confirm that the Huerfano Sheriffs Office was slow to act.

Rex Delmas, then a prosecutor working for Solano, in emails on Aug. 25 and Aug. 31, asked Huerfano County sheriffs officer Roman Hijar and his superiors, Undersheriff Milan Rapo and Captain Craig Lessar, to send the gun seized from the defendants car and the round found in Puertas body to the crime lab for prints, DNA testing and to see if the bullet matched the gun.

It needs to go ASAP with a rush request to CBI, he said in the Aug. 31 email.

Stefanie Trahey, lab director of the state crime lab in Pueblo, in an email to the prosecutor on Oct. 15 said the crime lab had received the evidence on Sept. 30  six months after Puerta's shooting. She wanted to know if a trial continuance was possible to allow for processing of the crucial evidence. The trial at that point was scheduled for Nov. 8. The crime lab still had not received prints from the suspect or swabs of DNA from the suspect for comparison on the gun.

It is doubtful we can get a continuance, Delmas said in an email back to the crime lab director. Frankly, the deadline for discovery passed on [Oct. 6] .

Solano said he had to extend a plea agreement due to the evidentiary concerns. In exchange for dismissal of the more serious felony charges, including attempted murder, Wilson agreed to plead guilty to the lesser charge of vehicular eluding. Wilsons defense lawyer did not return telephone messages seeking comment.

Hijar, the Huerfano County Sheriff's officer who responded to Puerta's shooting, declined comment and referred questions to the sheriff. Investigators with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation who assisted in taking a statement from Puerta declined comment.

When hes sentenced Jan. 6, Wilson could get probation, allowing him to escape prison. If the judge opts for a prison sentence, it could be as little as six months.

Puerta is left with scars across his abdomen. A bullet remains lodged in his right wrist.

Puerta predicted his alleged assailant will turn violent when he's out on the streets.

Hes going to get back out there, and hes going to shoot someone else, Puerta said. Theres no doubt in my mind.
More than 200 COVID-19 deaths in Colorado can be avoided in the coming months if more sick residents are given monoclonal antibody treatments, state leaders said Friday, urging the use of the therapy to prevent mortality and avoid overwhelming the state's hospital capacity next month.
The El Paso County Elections Department is participating in a statewide risk limiting audit Monday, officials with the county announced Friday afternoon.

The audit allows officials to compare a sample of paper ballots against digital tallies to ensure that election results were properly tabulated, county officials said in a news release. Election rules for the audit say that the Secretary of State's Office must select a countywide and statewide race to be audited. El Paso County's elections department will focus on Proposition 119 and the Colorado Springs School Board District 11 director races.

The risk limiting audit is required by Colorado law and is coordinated by the Secretary of State's office. The audit provides "strong statistical evidence that the election outcome is consistent with what was counted," according to the release.

The audit board will meet at the Citizens Service Center in Colorado Springs around 1 p.m. Monday, the release said.

Audit board members will be given a seed from the Secretary of State's office, allowing the audit to begin. The seed determines which ballots are selected from ballot manifests created by the county. The seed is a number made up on at least 20 digits. Each digit is selected by sequential rolls of a 10-sided die. The Secretary of State will randomly select members of the public or staff members to roll the die.
More Information

Empty Stocking Fund benefits 20 health and human service agencies in the Pikes Peak region who serve over 350,000 neighbors in need from birth to end of life. One donation. 20 agencies. A whole community served.

Give now at EmptyStockingFundCO.org, or call 719-476-1673 to make a credit card or stock donation. Make checks payable to Empty Stocking Fund and mail to P.O. Box 910942, Denver, CO 80291-0942.
Reporter

Stephanie Earls is a news reporter and columnist at The Gazette. Before moving to Colorado Springs in 2012, she worked for newspapers in upstate NY, WA, OR and at her hometown weekly in Berkeley Springs, WV, where she got her start in journalism.
For investigators digging into the arson that killed five members of a family in a Green Valley Ranch home in August 2020, the break came when they decided to get a warrant for Google searches of that address spanning to a few weeks before the fire.

The results raised investigators suspicions: They traced back to a handful of people in the Green Mountain area in Lakewood, far from the burned homes northeast Denver location. Three people in particular had searched for the address several times, and one search sought information about the homes interior. Investigators discovered the three people doing the searching were teenagers, friends, and two went to the same high school.

In a Denver District Court hearing on Friday to determine whether there is enough evidence to charge two teens as adults, investigators said the teens were searching online for a stolen iPhone and, eventually, set fire to the wrong house in revenge.

Denver police Det. Neil Baker and other investigators had already figured the attack on the Green Valley Ranch home on North Truckee Street was targeted, given that the people who set it concealed their faces with full masks, a police dog had detected accelerant around the house, and that the house was located a few houses in from the neighborhoods entrance.

When police arrested the three teenagers in January this year, Baker interviewed Kevin Bui, now 17. He learned Bui had been robbed in July while trying to buy a gun in City Park, his phone and shoes taken. Bui used the Find My iPhone locator to trace his phone to a spot he believed was 5312 N. Truckee St. After that, he planned to go to the house  perhaps to find his phone, and possibly vandalize the home, Bui told Baker in an interview the morning of his arrest.

But Bui initially said beyond that, he and two others now accused of setting the fire that destroyed the home didnt have much of a plan about what they would do.

By 4:30 a.m. on Aug. 5, five people in the home lay dead of smoke inhalation, their bodies badly burned, as flames continued to ravage the home. Investigators determined the fire took just a few minutes to engulf the house. The man who owned the house managed to escape out a back window with his wife and daughter.

The five victims were Djibril Diol, his wife Adja, their toddler-age daughter Khadija, Diols sister Hassan and her infant daughter Hawa Baye. No one in the house had anything to do with the robbery involving Bui.

Bui, Gavin Seymour  also 17  and a third teenager identified by his initials D.S. now face dozens of charges in connection with the fire, including first-degree murder after deliberation, attempted murder and murder with extreme indifference. Prosecutors began presenting evidence for their cases against Bui and Seymour at the probable cause hearing Friday. The case of the third suspect remains in juvenile court.

Baker said in his testimony he believes more planning went into the arson than Bui has let on. Records show Bui sent a message to Seymour that said possibly ruin our futures and burn his house down, though the two didnt exchange any more messages referencing setting a fire.

They gonna get theirs like I got mine I swear, Bui texted his older sister, Tanya Bui, on July 17, a few days after he was robbed, according to message records included in a federal criminal case pending against Tanya Bui on gun and drug charges.

Bui sent the message to his sister after he texted her a screenshot of his Find My iPhone search showing his phone in the area of 5312 N. Truckee St., special agent Mark Sonnendecker of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives testified Friday.

Bui and D.S. searched for Spirit Halloween and Party City stores the afternoon before the fire, and went to a Party City in Belmar, buying three black full-face masks, according to Bakers testimony. He said surveillance footage captured Bui at the house in the early-morning hours of Aug. 5 wearing one of those masks, holding a gas can.

Phone records show Bui texted his sister shortly before 1 a.m. on Aug. 5 saying he was about to go to that kids [sic] house in response to her asking Bui where he was.

What kid, Tanya Bui responded, but Bui did not elaborate.

Only the day after the fire, when the story made the news, did Bui realize the people he was looking for didnt live in that house, Baker testified Friday.

Sonnendecker said records show Bui and Seymour each searched for news stories about the arson.

Seymour also searched how many years for one count of murder and what is ATF, Sonnendecker said.

Text message records between Bui and his sister show Bui was pulled over by police in early September, a month after the arson, and took off as the officer approached his car. Messages indicate Bui had liquor in his car and didnt know what to do.

Now you just made the car even hotter, Tanya Bui texted him. You had no reason to do that so now anytime they see your car and your plates theyre going to pull you over.

Later in the exchange Kevin Bui texted his sister, I just like what did I possibly get pulled over for besides them recognizing my car.

The exchange doesnt include details about why police might recognize his car or why Tanya Bui believed it was hot.

Defense attorneys for Bui and Seymour sought to establish that the three teenagers never talked directly about planning to hurt or kill anyone in their conversations. They requested Judge Martin Egelhoff dismiss the first-degree murder and attempted murder charges against the two teenagers.

One of Buis defense attorneys said while the teenagers actions were undoubtedly negligent, we run into a culpable mental state problem.  Was this setting of a fire, engaging in criminal mischief, really a killing act?

He said theres not indication the teenagers knew anyone was home or that the fire would spread so quickly.

Egelhoff declined to dismiss any of the charges, saying the standard for finding theres enough probable cause for the cases to go to trial is lower than the beyond a reasonable doubt standard required for conviction. He ordered Bui and Seymour be kept in custody.

Prosecutor Courtney Johnston said the details of how the teenagers carried out the arson  coming in the middle of the night when people would likely be home, bringing gas to use as an accelerant but apparently no other materials to vandalize the house  point to an intent to create a death trap from which no one was intended to escape.

They arrived with a gas can and a willingness to ruin their futures and burn his house down, she said.

Hearings are set for January in Bui and Seymours cases to determine whether to transfer them back to juvenile court.
For investigators digging into the arson that killed five members of a family in a Green Valley Ranch home in August 2020, the break came when they decided to get a warrant for Google searches of that address spanning to a few weeks before the fire.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, on her first day back after testing positive for COVID-19, speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., November 12, 2021. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
FILE PHOTO: Russian President Vladimir Putin takes part in a ceremony launching the Amur gas processing plant managed by Gazprom company via video link outside Moscow, Russia June 9, 2021. Sputnik/Sergei Ilyin/Kremlin via REUTERS
A lot of secret space exists downtown.

Oodles of square footage that could hold events, parties, extra tables for diners and revelers, and offer safer routes for bicyclists and walkers.

What are these magical portals to a more expansive, attractive downtown?

Alleys.

"Theyre underused," said Chelsea Gondeck, director of planning and mobility for Downtown Partnership of Colorado Springs. "Especially coming out of COVID, we recognize the importance of outdoor space for business. And it's about mobility. There would be additional accessible routes to getting through downtown. Bikes and scooters would be OK to go through there."

Five years ago, the Downtown Development Authority and City of Colorado Springs' Experience Downtown Master Plan set numerous goals to achieve, including activating six alleys on the east and west side of Tejon Street, between Colorado Avenue and Bijou Street. Three are on the east side of Tejon Street and three are on the west. Two years ago an architectural design was created for the eastern alleys, which included lighting for safety reasons. The plan was put on pause last year, as the DDA allocated money for small business loans and other issues due to the pandemic. Lighting the western alleys is postponed until financial reserves are rebuilt, said Gondeck.

Other elements planned to increase usage of the alleys include additional entrances for businesses, which will increase dining opportunities; public art, such as murals, to enhance the space for informal gatherings; waste service consolidation; creating access for deliveries; and undergrounding utilities.

"We want a pleasant experience," Gondeck said.

Alley activation isn't a new concept. Fort Collins is an early adaptor of the idea. The city of Fort Collins, its Downtown Development Authority and General Improvement Districts have invested $5.5 million in alley renovations since 2000, according to a 2018 article in the Coloradoan. Those improvements include new entry points, improved stormwater drainage systems, trash enclosures, cobblestone surfaces, overhead lighting, flower pots and public art.

When we first started, people couldnt imagine spending money on a dirty alleyway, said Todd Dangerfield, project manager for Fort Collins Downtown Development Authority, in The Topeka Capital-Journal in 2018. Once they saw what the space could be, its, Oh, come check out whats around this corner.

Gondeck and others involved with the Experience Downtown plan have used the city of Fort Collins as a source for advice and inspiration.

"They've streamlined the process there," she said. "We've been working with them for insight to make it go as smoothly as possible. Theyre well ahead of us. Were definitely learning from them."

Themed alleys

The Pikes Peak AdAmAn Club, a group of mountaineers founded in 1922 that hikes Pikes Peak every year to set off New Year's Eve fireworks, will celebrate its 100th anniversary in about 16 months. The group plans to mark the occasion by revamping the eastern alley between Colorado and Pikes Peak avenues, where sculptor Sean O'Meallie's popular brightly colored parrots once hung suspended. The tentative plan includes sculpture and a mural, LED light displays and augmented reality.

The city has committed to undergrounding utilities and repaving the space within the next year.

"We want to celebrate the communitys relationship with Pikes Peak," said AdAmAn President Dan Stuart. "It's not just about the AdAmAn Club. We're talking about the spirit of perseverance and overcoming adversity and welcoming in the new year  things the community does well. Pikes Peak drives all that. We're trying to bring that spirit downtown."

Already open for business

East of downtown, Cottonwood Center for the Arts has already activated its own secret space. The nonprofit recently grew its location by 6,000 square feet, all by paving the weed-filled, long rectangular alley on its south side and installing a wooden gate.

Executive Director Jon Khoury wanted to expand the reach of the complex for years, now that the building is packed to capacity with artist studios, galleries, classes, a theater and pottery studios. When the pandemic shut down the arts last year, it was an ideal time to get creative. So they looked outside the box, er, building. One could say it's the alley that COVID-19 built. It's on trend with many of the city's arts and culture organizations, which have reworked outdoor spaces to stage more performances and activities outside.

"We had the vision before COVID," Khoury said, "but COVID made it even more apparent it could be something we could run with."

A grant from El Pomar Foundation, a financial gift from Herman Tiemens and a brick-buying campaign allowed Cottonwood to pave the alley and populate it with a pergola, an outdoor bar for some events, seating and a mural. It will be home to summer camps for kids, music and spoken word poetry performances and more.

Tiemens sees it as a way to more directly help artists.

"With bigger arts nonprofits I support, its one foot removed from the actual artists," Tiemens said. "I see Cottonwood as being about as close to supporting the actual artists as you can get. This will create a great space for gallery openings. Hopefully theyll (the artists) see a direct benefit from this."
North Iowa Area Community Colleges is offering a new 4-week nurse aide training program.

Start the 75-hour training program on Dec. 20, complete the training by Jan. 14, take the state certification exam, and then start employment as a certified nurse assistant (CNA).

This four-week nurse aide training is free for Iowa residents. NIACC has programs that can assist with tuition/books, uniforms, testing fees, and transportation costs. Navigators assist students by monitoring progress, problem solving, and finding employment after training.

To learn more about the training option and the free support, contact Pathway Navigators  Melanie 641.422.4078 or Angela 641.422.4312. Navigators will walk you through the application process. Applications will be taken until the class is full or until Nov. 30, whichever comes first.

For more information about this or other nurse aide training options at NIACC visit https://www.niacc.edu/health/nurse-aide/. Interested in other short-term training options and supports/assistance available to help you with your goals? Visit https://www.niacc.edu/continuing-education/tuition-assistance-programs/.

North Iowa Area Community College, founded in 1918, is a nationally-recognized, two-year college located in central North Iowa.

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Ever wonder how you ended up voting where you do? Now is your chance to watch the sausage get made.

Every 10 years local and state governments undergo a redistricting process that comes after the nation's 10-year census is complete. Where people live is the foundation upon which political districts are built. Gov. Kim Reynolds recently signed into law the state's new political districts approved by the Legislature. Cerro Gordo County was specifically impacted by the new lines, moving from the current 4th Congressional District to the newly re-drawn 3rd. The county's voice in the U.S. House of Representatives went from Republican to Democrat.

Now, cities and counties all over Iowa, including Cerro Gordo, are following suit. The Cerro Gordo County Temporary Count Redistricting Commission will hold a public hearing on the new lines for the county's rural precincts at 11 a.m. Nov. 23 in the county's boardroom at the courthouse, 220 N. Washington Ave.

The redistricting commission can be made up of three, five or seven members, depending on what the county's board of supervisors determine. Cerro Gordo's board chose three. Since the majority party of Cerro Gordo's board of supervisors is Republican, the Republican party chose the majority of the members -- in this case, 2. Democrats picked 1. Members of the commission are Tim Latham, Emily Peters and Rich Paxson.

This commission is not required to change the county's rural precincts, but must at least review them. Based on population changes, the commission is proposing the following changes:

Falls Township becomes part of one precinct instead of two

Grimes Township becomes part of one precinct instead of two

Dougherty Township and city splits from the precinct that now includes them and Portland and Owen townships.

The city and township of Dougherty joins with Geneseo Township in one precinct.

Mason South, Owen, Bath and Portland townships become one precinct.

At the public hearing, Cerro Gordo County residents will be able to weigh in on the changes before they go to the county board for final approval. The new rural precinct lines will go into effect on Jan. 15, 2022.

The county's process doesn't apply to any city with a population of more than 3,000, so Mason City and Clear Lake will undergo their own redistricting.

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No matter what age you are, there is always something new you can learn.

Thats how Mason City native Carolyn Braastad has approached life. At 83, the retired teacher has always made a priority of following opportunities to further her education.

Braastad has bachelor degrees in both elementary education and psychology. She said she was just shy of receiving a masters degree, but stopped pursuing it because she was already earning a masters-level salary.

Braastad taught in a variety of locations for around 20 years, mostly in elementary education. She went on to do social work at schools for at-risk youth, was an employee at a Big Brothers Big Sisters, and spent time giving guided tours of caves in Texas. Braastad says she officially retired in 2001.

Since coming back to resettle in Mason City, Braastad has remained busy as a student of life, frequently going to the library and being a part of book clubs. Braastads passion for learning and reading is made evident by the collection of books she has, which spills into almost every room in her home. Some she has read; others are on her list.

Next to a large sign on the wall that says read, an array of Dr. Seuss books are prominently displayed in her living room. I really like [Seuss] because he has a lesson in all of them, Braastad said. Agatha Christie also makes her list of favorite authors. When I am reading for pleasure, I really like murder mysteries because I like to try to solve them.

Along with her expansive selection of books, Braastad has a tiny outdoor library in her front yard for neighbors and passersby who want to borrow books or share one of their own. She says this was an opportunity for her to clear some old books out of her home and hopefully spark a love for reading in others.

Braastad also continues her education through the literature classes she takes at North Iowa Area Community Colleges Lifelong Learning Institute, noting she always looks forward to attending the classes.

I just love to learn, she said.

The Lifelong Learning Institute is a program that allows participants to take a wide variety of academic-level classes, but without the pressure of grades, tests, or homework. From studies about the Elizabethan Age to Soto Zen Meditation, even an Arabic-language class, many of the courses are designed around the interests of the students.

Braastad tried her hand at learning Arabic for a bit.

I bought an 'Arabic for Dummies' book, thinking that would help, she laughed. Despite never getting a solid grasp of the language, she said it gave her some perspective of those around her who speak it.

One of Braastads instructors, NIACC Lifelong Learning director Darshini Jayawardena, said she has students from age 35 and up, but said the majority are of retirement age.

My oldest member is probably 95, said Jayawardena. What really inspires me every day is to see these members come. She said the classes have helped older adults remain active and create friendships.

When asked about what people could learn from Braastad, Jayawardena said it would be that learning never stops. Just because you retire, doesnt mean that your lifes over, said Jayawardena. Theres so much out there and so many things that people can do. And lifelong learners are like that. They keep coming back. They want to keep learning. Its good for their family, their brain, their minds, and their everything. I think (Braastad) epitomizes all of that.

I think over the years (Braastad has become sharper). She has never stopped coming, and that, for me, is an example of her love of learning, said Jayawardena.

Braastad agrees. I just think it sharpens your skills all the way along. You learn things  you may forget them  but you learn them at the time, Braastad smiled.

Abby covers education and public safety for the Globe Gazette. Follow her on Twitter at @MkayAbby. Email her at Abby.Koch@GlobeGazette.com

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Today is Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021. Let's get caught up.

Here are today's top stories, celebrity birthdays and a look back at this date in history:

TOP STORIES

South Africa's last apartheid president F.W. de Klerk dies

JOHANNESBURG (AP)  F.W. de Klerk, who shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Nelson Mandela and as South Africas last apartheid president oversaw the end of the countrys white minority rule, has died at the age of 85.

De Klerk died after a battle against cancer at his home in the Fresnaye area of Cape Town, a spokesman for the F.W. de Klerk Foundation confirmed on Thursday.

De Klerk was a controversial figure in South Africa where many blamed him for violence against Black South Africans and anti-apartheid activists during his time in power, while some white South Africans saw his efforts to end apartheid as a betrayal.

Keep scrolling for links to full versions of these top stories and more.

* * *

SpaceX crew launch marks 600 space travelers in 60 years

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP)  A SpaceX rocket carried four astronauts into orbit Wednesday night, including the 600th person to reach space in 60 years.

The repeatedly delayed flight occurred just two days after SpaceX brought four other astronauts home from the International Space Station. They should have been up there to welcome the newcomers, but NASA and SpaceX decided to switch the order based on Mondays ideal recovery weather in the Gulf of Mexico and pulled it off.

It was a great ride, better than we imagined," mission commander Raja Chari said shortly after the spacecraft reached orbit.

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Chris Stapleton takes 6 at CMA Awards, Combs wins top prize

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)  Chris Stapleton was the big winner with six trophies including song and album of the year and Luke Combs claimed the biggest prize with entertainer of the year at the Country Music Association Awards on Wednesday night.

Stapleton won song and single of the year for Starting Over and album of the year for his record of the same name. He walked away with two more trophies as a producer on the single and album.

He then won male vocalist of the year for the fifth time and it appeared he would sweep the night before Combs swooped in and kept it from becoming a coronation.

***

Click on the links below for full version of today's top stories. Keep scrolling for a look back at this day in history and today's celebrity birthdays:

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IMAGE OF THE DAY

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TODAY IN HISTORY

Today in history: Nov. 11 In 1987, following the failure of two Supreme Court nominations, President Ronald Reagan announced his choice of Judge Anthony M. Kennedy, who

Today in sports history: Nov. 11 In 2017, Dukes Mike Krzyzewski becomes the first mens Division I basketball coach to win 1,000 games at one school. See more sports moments 

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ...

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CEDAR FALLS  After his flight was delayed for more than a week, NASA astronaut Raja Chari, a Cedar Falls native, blasted off Wednesday evening from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida headed to the International Space Station.

It was a great ride, better than we imagined, said Chari, the mission commander, shortly after the spacecraft reached orbit.

He and his three NASA crewmates pulled up Thursday night at the space station, their new home until spring.

About a dozen fans from his hometown gathered at the Cedar Falls Public Safety Building to watch on television as the SpaceX Crew-3 launched into space. Other residents virtually came together to view it over Zoom.

About a dozen fans cheered when the spacecraft lifted off.

Mayor Rob Green, a self-proclaimed space nerd, organized the watch party for community members wanting to witness the momentous occasion involving Cedar Falls first astronaut. The 1995 Waterloo Columbus High School graduate served as the the mission commander on the spacecraft that took off at 8:03 p.m.

I loved it, and was glad to see it was a successful launch. Its amazing to see how much can happen in 15 minutes, Green said. And its always great to have the community come together, or else itd just be us in our own homes.

NASA to send Cedar Falls native to the moon The Artemis program, which will send the first woman and the next man to the lunar surface, is NASAs effort to establish a sustainable presence on the Moon and continue deep space exploration in preparation to go to Mars.

It was quiet at points during the launch as viewers listened to the experts on television, but upon reaching milestones  like when the spacecraft lifted off or entered orbit  there were cheers from those in attendance.

Others occasionally pointed out things they observed, like the sea turtle used as a zero-gravity indicator or how calm the astronauts seemed to be. Just like driving through Nebraska, one viewer quipped.

Im here to watch because I just wanted to say I was here. I didnt know Raja, but his younger brother knew my daughter who was the same age, said Sandy Formanek.

SpaceX needs to tame toilet trouble CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.  SpaceX is taming some toilet troubles in its Dragon capsules before launching four more astronauts.

David Swindlehurst, who graduated the same year from Columbus High School as Chari, noted how hes amazing, and hes beyond capable of doing this. I trust that hes got everything locked down.

He touted Charis natural talents and abilities and drive to be successful from their time in kindergarten through senior year, whether it be in cross country running, band, theater or academics.

I had seen a launch on TV years and years ago, but its great to see it this time with a local astronaut, and its always great to get out and see other Cedar Falls folks, said Mary Lyman.

The launch was originally scheduled for Oct. 31.

One of the astronauts  NASA isnt saying which one  was sidelined last week by an undisclosed medical issue. The crew member is fully recovered, according to NASA. Officials wont say whether it was an illness or injury, but noted it wasnt COVID-19.

Bad weather also contributed to their flight delays.

Sometimes when you try to fly on Halloween, you get a trick instead of a treat, Chari told mission control in the final minutes before launch.

All but one of the crew members are space rookies.

Chari, 44, is an Air Force colonel and the first space rookie in decades to lead a mission to orbit for NASA. A test pilot from Cedar Falls, Chari accumulated more than 2,500 hours in fighter jets, including combat missions in Iraq. He has also been selected for future lunar missions as part of NASAs Artemis program returning humans to the moon.

Andy Milone is a reporter with the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier.

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The federal government can spend more money in 10 minutes than Congress, its watchdog, can track in 10 years. Still, Congressional oversight--as late and limited as it often is--remains a vital element of government.

The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis proved just how vital in two reports released in October: Tens of millions in pandemic spending were wasted on programs run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, or USDA.

The first report, titled Farmers to Families? followed the money of the ill-conceived, poorly-run Farmers to Families Food Box program pushed in 2020 by the White House and Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue. Sold as a way to get fresh food to pandemic-hit American families, it also threw millions of taxpayer dollars at wildly unqualified vendors.

The second report, titled a Memorandum, describes an even bigger scandal. Documents given to the subcommittee by the five principle meatpackers in the U.S. (JBS USA, Tyson Foods, Smithfield Foods, Cargill, and National Beef) show at least 59,000 meatpacking workers were infected with the coronavirus during the first year of the pandemic--almost triple the 22,700 infections previously estimated.

Also, At least 269 meatpacking workers lost their lives to the coronavirus between March 1, 2020 and February 1, 2021--over three times higher than what was previously estimated noted the independent Food & Environment Reporting Network.

Worse, few of the workers had a choice in the-life-and-death matter. In late April 2020, the Trump Administration used the Defense Production Act to order slaughterhouse workers back into packing plants where thousands got ill and hundreds died.

On Sept. 14, 2020, however, emails obtained by ProPublica, an independent, non-profit newsroom, show(ed) that just a week before the order was issued, the meat industrys trade group, the North American Meat Institute, drafted an executive order that (carried) striking similarities to the one the president signed.

So Big AgBiz used its political muscle to bulldoze aside public health--and public decency--to keep its kill lines and profits flowing at top speeds.

One of the few things more profitable than meatpacking during the pandemic, according to the select subcommittee investigators, was contracting to distribute USDAs slapped-together Farmers to Families Food Box Program.

For example, according to the subcommittee, The Trump Administration awarded contracts worth $16.5 million to Yegg, Inc., a self-described Export Management, Trading, and Trade Finance company' that had listed its most recent annual sales as $250,000

With that kind of institutional blindness, little wonder USDA later reimbursed Yegg for more than $2.85 million worth of milk and dairy boxes purportedly delivered to a nonprofit operated by the wife of the company's CEO

USDA also oversaw a food box contract worth $39 million to CR8AD8, LLC, a company focused on wedding planning and event planning without significant food distribution experience

Experience? Come on, noted one of its owners, how hard could it be compared to... his usual work of stuffing tchotchkes into bags.

Actually, it paid far better than tchotchke-stuffing: CRE8AD8 was ultimately paid $31.5 million of this contract, explained the subcommittee report.

The slickest icing on the USDA cake, however, was the award of a $40 million contract to something called Ben Holtz Consulting, Inc. When the USDA application asked the company to list references, the applicant--presumably Mr. Ben Holtz himself--replied I dont have any, noted the investigators.

The companys honesty didnt pay; USDA canceled the contract before any payments were made, maybe, investigators suggest, because its proposal pitched an unusually broad range for delivery capacity: between 5,000 and 200,000 16-18 pound boxes of produce per week.

In releasing the Farmers to Families report Oct. 13, Subcommittee Chairman James Clyburn, D-SC, noted the program was marred by a structure that prioritized industry over families cutting corners over competence, and politics over the public good.

Thats another truism in Washington: Policy drift usually leads to political grift.

The Farm and Food File is published weekly throughout the U.S. and Canada. Past columns, events and contact information are posted at www.farmandfoodfile.com.

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She then drove a stake into the heart of the Democrats appeal to racism, discrimination and victimhood which the party has sold to Black people for generations: There are some who want to divide us, and we must not let that happen. They would like us to believe we are back in 1963. She then lowered the hammer about the progress made since then: We can live where we want. We can eat where we want. We own the water fountains. We have had a Black president elected, not once, but twice, and here I am living proof. She could have added that Virginia previously elected a Black governor, Douglas Wilder, a Democrat.

When was the last time a modern Democrat politician talked like Winsome Sears? Here is a role model for everyone, not just minorities: an intact family; a sense of duty to, and love of America; a strong work ethic; and a refusal to allow the dislike of others to keep one from pursuing the American dream.

Some cable news commentators claimed the Republican sweep in Virginia (Republicans also took back the House of Delegates) was because white racists turned out to vote in large numbers. New York Times columnist Charles Blow blamed racial anxiety. In addition to Sears profile, the incoming attorney general, Republican Jason Miyares, will be the states first Latino in that office. That charge doesnt fly anymore.
GREENSBORO  Late Thursday, a group of military veterans got off a plane at Piedmont Triad International Airport and received a rousing welcome from several hundred people waving American flags and signs.

It was a fitting tribute. Thursday was, after all, Veterans Day.

It was just something that sent chills down your spine, Harvey McDonald said.

The veterans were part of a free trip to Washington, D.C. to see war memorials. McDonald, who was in the Marines from 1957 to 1963, was one of them.

There was such an electricity in the air. Everybody was just laughing and having a good time, he added.

The trip was organized by Triad Honor Flight, which formed last year to take military veterans living in the area to see memorials that pay tribute to the fallen. The chapter is part of a national network of Honor Flight organizations that has provided trips to thousands of veterans over the past 15 years.

It was really a day to remember. Surreal is a word I use, said Alison Huber, the executive director of Triad Honor Flight.
Meadows had been in discussions with the committee since his subpoena was issued in September, but his lawyer said Friday that Meadows has a "sharp legal dispute" with the panel as Trump has claimed executive privilege over the testimony.

Thompson had threatened contempt charges against Meadows in a letter to the lawyer, George Terwilliger, on Thursday, saying that if he failed to appear to answer the committee's questions Friday it would be considered "willful non-compliance." The committee would first have to vote on the contempt recommendation, then the full House would vote to send it to the Justice Department.

Meadows' refusal to comply comes amid escalating legal battles between the committee and Trump as the former president has claimed privilege over documents and interviews the lawmakers are demanding.

The White House said in a letter Thursday that President Joe Biden would waive any privilege that would prevent Meadows from cooperating with the committee, prompting his lawyer to say Meadows wouldn't comply.

"Legal disputes are appropriately resolved by courts," said the lawyer, George Terwilliger. "It would be irresponsible for Mr. Meadows to prematurely resolve that dispute by voluntarily waiving privileges that are at the heart of those legal issues."
RALEIGH  Some city leaders want to let businesses back into residential areas.

Residents can comment through Nov. 22 on a proposed change to the citys zoning rules that would allow some businesses in neighborhoods as at-home offices or when physically attached to a house.

The businesses, called Accessory Commercial Units or ACUs, can help make Raleigh less car-dependent and bring goods and services closer to where people live, said Raleigh City Council member Jonathan Melton, who has championed this initiative.

ACUs were relatively common before modern zoning laws physically separated most residential and commercial development and exist today in places such as Portland, Memphis and New Orleans, according to the citys website. In recent years, ACUs have gained in popularity as a means to introduce retail and other opportunities into historically isolated and disinvested communities.

Heres a closer look at whats being considered.

What does it allow?

In short, the proposed rules would allow a business to be located on the same property as a home.

But there are a few caveats.
RALEIGH  Gov. Roy Cooper on Friday pardoned a man who spent 24 years behind bars for a murder he has long said he did not commit.

Coopers pardon of innocence allows Dontae Sharpe to apply for compensation up to $750,000 for his wrongful conviction.

Mr. Sharpe and others who have been wrongly convicted deserve to have that injustice fully and publicly acknowledged, the Democratic governor said in a statement announcing he had pardoned the man after a careful review of the case.

In 1995, Sharpe was given a life sentence at age 19 for the first-degree murder of 33-year-old George Radcliffe, whom he was accused of killing a year earlier during a drug deal. Sharpe had maintained his innocence throughout and said in a 2019 interview that his faith and knowledge he was innocent guided his refusal to accept offers of a lighter sentence in exchange for a guilty plea.

At a virtual news conference Friday just an hour after Coopers announcement, Sharpe said he was in disbelief when his lawyer called him with the news. He said he was still processing it and also was thinking of those who had taken to the streets and held vigils on his behalf.
Email Thomas Elias at tdelias@aol.com. His book, "The Burzynski Breakthrough, The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Governments Campaign to Squelch It" is now available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more Elias columns, visit www.californiafocus.net
" " The most distinct symptom by far of monkeypox is the pimplelike rash it causes that covers the entire body. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

On July 15, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the first known case of monkeypox in Texas. The patient, a resident of Dallas, had recently traveled to and from Nigeria. In the days since, the CDC announced that it is working with state and federal agencies in 27 states to monitor more than 200 individuals who may have been exposed.

This announcement struck with more resonance than usual. The COVID-19 pandemic still looms large over much of the world  for many, the idea of another global disease outbreak might feel both terrifying and all too possible.

But before you start stocking up on toilet paper again, let's take a moment to break down what monkeypox is, how it spreads and how much risk it poses.

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What Is Monkeypox?

Monkeypox is a viral infection that first presents with a basic suite of flu-like symptoms: fever, chills and body aches (sound familiar?). It may also cause fatigue and swollen lymph nodes. But its most distinct symptom by far is a pimple-like rash that can cover the entire body  including the palms and soles of feet of the person infected. The illness usually lasts for two to three weeks, and monkeypox has an incubation period of five to 12 days.

The monkeypox virus is a member of the Orthopoxvirus family, which includes both the smallpox and cowpox viruses. While all these viruses are serious, monkeypox is significantly less virulent than smallpox, despite causing similar symptoms.

"Monkeypox has so far about 11 percent mortality in individuals who do not have prior smallpox vaccination," says Dr. Andrea McCollum, an epidemiologist at the CDC, "but smallpox could have, you know, upward of 80 or 90 percent mortality."

Smallpox has the distinction of being the first disease to be eradicated by a modern vaccine. The World Health Organization (WHO) launched an intense vaccination program in 1967. The last known infection was in Somalia in 1977, and by 1980, the virus was declared functionally eliminated.

Monkeypox, however, has not been eradicated. In fact, cases have been on the rise over the last few decades. But where does monkeypox come from, and how does it spread?

" " The lesions that monkeypox creates, as seen here on the palms of a case patient from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, look very similar to the rash that appears when you're infected with smallpox. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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How Does Monkeypox Spread?

Contrary to its name, monkeypox is not usually spread by monkeys; it was given the moniker after it was first isolated from a monkey colony in 1958. The virus is typically spread by small rodents such as dormice, rats, and tree and rope squirrels. Scientists still haven't pinned down which species is the natural reservoir for the disease, though some kind of rodent seems likely.

In 1970, the first case of monkeypox in humans was recorded in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. To this day, the DRC and other Central and West African countries, including Nigeria, see the vast majority of monkeypox outbreaks. Cases usually crop up in heavily forested, rural areas. "These are populations that are routinely hunting wild animals or have close contact with wild animals in the forest," McCollum says.

Once a human contracts monkeypox, they can pass it to other humans via respiratory droplets or contact with skin lesions. It is much less contagious than COVID-19 or other respiratory viruses when spread through the air, but it can linger on surfaces. Typically, close family members or caregivers of people with monkeypox are at the highest risk of becoming infected. Animal-to-human transmission also can occur when someone is bitten or scratched by an infected animal or if they eat infected bush meat.

So how likely is monkeypox to become a pandemic? In short, it's highly unlikely. But we should continue to be cautious.

"In the United States, we have actually dealt with monkeypox," McCollum says. In 2003, monkeypox was accidentally imported into the U.S. along with several small West African mammals as part of the "pocket pet" industry. The mammals, which included Gambian giant pouched rats, were housed alongside a pack of prairie dogs also destined for the pet trade.

Prairie dogs (and their fleas) are notorious for transmitting zoonotic diseases, including bubonic plague  the little rodents picked up the monkeypox virus easily. The infected prairie dogs were then sold to a Wisconsin family from a company called Phil's Pocket Pets in Villa Park, Illinois.

In the end, more than 45 people across six states contracted the virus. The spread prompted the CDC to bust out a few reserve smallpox vaccines that the U.S. government had stockpiled in case of a bioterrorism attack. The smallpox and monkeypox viruses' similar physiology means that a dose of the smallpox vaccine can confer some immunity.

Fortunately, there were no fatalities from the 2003 outbreak. However, the incident did lead to a ban on the sale of Gambian giant pouched rats and other West African rodents.

" " Monkeypox is a rare disease caused by the monkeypox virus (seen here under microscope), according to the CDC. It was first discovered in 1958, when two outbreaks of a poxlike disease happened in colonies of monkeys that were kept for research. BSIP/Getty Images

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Is There a Monkeypox Vaccine?

Today, the U.S. wouldn't necessarily need to dip into its smallpox vaccine stores to fight a monkeypox outbreak. In 2019, the Federal Drug Administration approved Jynneos, its first-ever monkeypox vaccine. Like the smallpox vaccine, it uses a weakened  or attenuated  version of the vaccinia virus (a related pox virus) to stimulate an immune response. The one-shot vaccine is available for anyone 18 and older and also provides protection against smallpox. Jynneos is available as part of the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) supply of life-saving pharmaceuticals, which are for use in a public health emergency, or for anyone determined to be at high risk of either smallpox or monkeypox infection.

As for the current monkeypox case in Texas, McCollum says that swift action on the part of both the patient and medical experts likely limited the spread. The patient wore a facial mask on their flight back to the United States as required by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That alone reduced the risk of transmission to fellow passengers, and the infected patient went into isolation and reported their symptoms as soon as they became apparent.

But the CDC is working with the airlines and state and local health officials to monitor the risks to other passengers and anyone else who may have been in contact with the patient during two flights, including one from Lagos, Nigeria, to Atlanta July 8, and a second from Atlanta to Dallas July 9.

That said, the United States is not alone in recent monkeypox cases. Since 2017, six cases of monkeypox have been reported in the U.K., one in Singapore and one in Israel, all connected to individuals traveling back from West Africa. And in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the disease is endemic, more than 1,000 individuals are infected annually.

We live in a highly interconnected world, where a local epidemic in one corner can easily to spill over to another. "It's a good example of how diseases don't have borders," says McCollum.

Now That's Interesting When they aren't carrying monkeypox, Gambian giant pouched rats can save lives. The Belgian nonprofit group APOPO trains these rodents to sniff out everything from landmines to tuberculosis.
" " Safe to say that guy doesn't have a backup plan. DaveLongMedia/E+/Getty Images

Backup plans, we've always been told, are a good idea. Like your mom used to tell you about that clearly out-of-your-league girlfriend and your dream of becoming a Hollywood actor:

Remember, hon, it's nice to have something to fall back on. Just in case.

The problem is  and maybe we've known this all along?  backup plans can be kind of lame. They're for the meek, the overly cautious.

Worse, the mere idea of a backup plan can set you up to lose. At least that's what Jihae Shin, an assistant professor of management and human resources at the Wisconsin School of Business at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said back when we talked to her in 2016.

"People fear failure, and that makes them want to make a backup plan," Shin said. "But making a backup plan can actually make it more likely that failure comes to you."

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Testing Backup Plans

Shin and colleague Katherine L. Milkman of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School figured that out by doing what all good academics do: experimenting. They started off by surveying people at a U.S. train station about backup plans (almost half of the surveyed population had one for an identified goal), then took it further with a test that promised undergraduates an energy bar for performing well in unscrambling words into sentences.

The researchers asked half of the students to think about alternate ways (backup plans) to get snacks. Sure enough, the group with a fallback plan for scoring an energy bar if they failed to do their task didn't perform as well in constructing the sentences.

Shin and Milkman published the results of their study in a 2016 journal article titled, "How Backup Plans Can Harm Goal Pursuit: The Unexpected Downside of Being Prepared for Failure."

"Many of the goals we pursue in life require a great deal of effort, and we can't be certain of achieving them. The insurance of having a backup plan is thus very attractive," Milkman and Shin wrote in Scientific American. "However, this psychological insurance, just like other insurances, may come with a price."

Shin drew from personal experiences to come up with the idea for the study. After earning her Ph.D. from Wharton in 2014, she wandered into the job market, looking for something in academia. Jobs like the ones she was after aren't that easy to come by.

What if she looked and looked and looked and didn't find anything? What then? (She did, at Wisconsin.)

"It's really interesting and fascinating how we get those ideas," said Shin. "I was thinking, somehow, if I do make a backup plan, somehow I think it will make it more likely that I might fail. It will kind of hurt my chances of success."

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What's the Harm in a Backup Plan?

It's simple, really. People are less motivated and put in less effort to succeed when they know the consequences of failure aren't terribly severe. If you have that "insurance," as Milkman called it  a backup girlfriend, say, or a good job acting in local theater in case Hollywood falls through  you may not work as hard. Because, even if you fail, you'll be OK.

"You are effectively constructing an emotional safety net," the authors wrote, "which may dampen your goal desire."

Shin and Milkman went even further. They found that even thinking about a backup plan can impede your progress in achieving that primary goal.

"It's not about having a backup option that we can take into the real world," Shin said. "What we're studying here is more about planning what you're doing, in your mind."

Commitment, or the desire and effort needed to reach a goal, played a huge part in the study. "[P]rimary goal commitment is increased by having an additional means of attaining the primary goal," they wrote, "but primary goal desire is decreased by making a backup plan."

Shin was quick to point out that the study looks only at goals that can be achieved through effort. Those are the ones affected negatively by thinking about or having a plan B.

For other goals, like ones that involve luck? Say, a desire to get rich playing the stock market or to retire to Aruba once you hit on one of those scratch-off lottery tickets?

For those, it's probably best to have a backup plan.

NOW THAT'S INTERESTING Making plans isn't all bad, Shin said. In fact, it can be quite good. Many studies point out that there's a direct and positive correlation between making plans and success in achieving those goals. The difference: Those studies examine plans that are designed to help you reach your initial goal, perhaps multiple plans that all are designed to help you reach that goal, not backup plans in case you fail.

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Originally Published: Aug 23, 2016
A student's death by suicide in a parking lot across the street from Capital High School prompted the lockdown of three Helena schools Friday afternoon, authorities said.

The 16-year-old boy was found with a fatal gunshot wound in the parking lot of Helena Nazarene Church at 117 Valley Drive, where a prayer vigil was held that evening. The boy was a student a Capital High School, Helena Public Schools Superintendent Rex Weltz said in a message posted on Facebook.

Helena Police Department Capt. Brett Petty said calls for service began to come in around 12:30 p.m. Petty said one of the initial callers reported seeing a juvenile heading toward Capital High with a gun, which triggered a large law enforcement response.

Three officers were dispatched to the church, where some callers said a gunshot was heard, while the rest of the officers descended on the high school.

All HPD officers on shift at the time responded to the scene, and the area around the school was blocked off.

In addition, two HPD communication staff members, all HPD detectives, Montana Highway Patrol and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks responded to the scene.

"Nothing indicates there was an active shooter or anything moving in that direction," Petty said. "We had a lot of HPD officers and other agencies here quickly. ... The response was there."

The high school was placed on lockdown per internal protocol, but Petty said a short time later "the school is perfectly safe."

"Right now I have teams searching the school, but we believe this was an isolated incident," he said in an interview on the scene.

Broadwater and Four Georgians elementary schools were also locked down Friday afternoon, Weltz wrote in an email to families at 1:35 p.m.

"Law enforcement has determined that it is safe to resume normal operations," the email said. "The lockdowns for all locations have ended. There is no safety threat to students, staff or the community."

At the prayer vigil held by Daniel Thompson, pastor of the church where the teenager died, many gathered to grieve.

"This is a dark day, and we want to help any way we can," Thompson told those in attendance.

Among the attendees was Chair of the Helena Public Schools Board of Trustees Luke Muszkiewicz.

"The immediate priority (of the district) is supporting the two families of the students we've lost," he said, noting that a Helena High School student died by suicide last week. "Obviously we can't prevent every tragedy, but after a week like this, we need to introspect, have a conversation about everything we are doing and can do. We need to learn what is working and what isn't so we can do better in the days ahead."

In his Facebook post, Weltz said additional counseling staff were at Capital High School Friday afternoon and will continue to be available to students and staff Monday.

"Now is a good time to check in with young people in your life who may be affected by this tragedy," he wrote.

In an email to families, East Helena High School officials identified the deceased as "a former EHHS Vigilante," adding that they "anticipate that some of our students will be affected as the news of this event spreads throughout the community." Additional counselors will be available to students at EHHS as well.

Shodair Childrens Hospital scheduled three free peer support groups for students and others who may be struggling after the incident. The groups were slated for 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 1889 Coffee House at 1800 Prospect Ave., which will not be operating during the time. Shodair planned to have counselors and a therapy dog available, and resources about safety planning will be provided to parents.

Shodairs Outpatient Mental Health Services are also available for anyone who needs support immediately. Call 406-444-1126 to set up a time to meet.

Independent Record editor Jesse Chaney contributed to this story.

Need help? If you or someone you know is in crisis, the Montana Warmline is at 1-877-688-3377 or http://montanawarmline.org. The Montana Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) is also available.

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Some legislators earlier this week raised concerns about the equity of a school tax credit program the state Legislature dramatically expanded earlier this year.

In April, lawmakers passed a bill that increased the amount a person could claim as a tax credit by either donating to a public school or to a scholarship program for public or private schools. The cap went from $150 to $200,000.

A provision in the updated law also gives donors greater control over where their money goes if given to public schools. That, along with a $1 million cap on donations in the 2022 tax year, has some lawmakers worried larger districts could dominate contributions. The law passed on mostly party-line votes, with Republican support and Democratic opposition.

The concern is that the folks that might donate to this might be in those larger school districts like Kalispell and ... some of the larger areas and that some of the smaller schools might not be able to take advantage of this to the level that might happen in some of the larger school districts, said Sen. Jill Cohenour, an East Helena Democrat who heads the interim revenue committee. That's where the disparity might take place.

Montanas school funding model has long struggled with funding equity. In 1985 a coalition of more than 60 poorer school districts in the state filed a lawsuit saying Montana's funding model didnt provide the same opportunities to all students. A district court judge found in 1987, in a ruling upheld by the state Supreme Court, that Montana had failed in meeting constitutional requirements of equity in education.

Legislators held a special session in 1989, passing a bill that created the guaranteed tax base system, meant to equalize poorer and wealthier districts. More lawsuits questioned the sufficiency of that approach, which then spawned further legislation over the decades aimed at equalizing funding across districts.

A report provided to lawmakers during the interim meeting earlier this week illustrated the disparity in where tax credit donations went during the first four and a half years of the program.

Before the changes made earlier this year, taxpayers could direct their donations to one of 11 geographic regions or to one of the seven largest districts in the state. If a taxpayer didnt designate a region or district, the funding was allocated based on their address.

From 2016, the first year of the program, to 2021, the Bozeman School District saw the most funding, at $4,893, making up just over 21% of all contributions. The Great Falls School District came in second, at 14% of all contributions.

Nine districts or regions received less than $1,000, including the Kalispell School District at $428, or just 8% of what Bozeman received.

Theres quite a disparity, state Sen. Shannon OBrien, a Democrat from Missoula, said during the committee meeting. 'Im looking at $143 total in region five (Cascade, Fergus, Golden Valley, Judith Basin, Musselshell, Petroleum and Wheatland counties) and I'm looking at $3,135 in region 11 (Chouteau, Glacier, Lewis and Clark, Liberty, Pondera, Teton and Toole counties). And then Great Falls (School District) received $3,278.

In the first year of the program, only 43 districts received distributions, with 39 of those receiving $20 or less.

In 2018, the year the most money was donated to the program at $9,291, a total of 357 districts got distributions and only 79 received more than $20.

Many of the counties did not receive very much money over this timeframe, Megan Moore, a research analyst for the Legislative Services Division, told the committee. Just a few were above the $1,000 and many were under $1,000.  This method of distributing donations to school districts and multi-county regions resulted in small distributions to many school districts."

Moore also noted a now-decided challenge to the U.S. Supreme Court over the rules the Department of Revenue wrote to implement the program under a previous Democratic administration could have slowed the number of tax credits claimed.

The new law also changes the process for money donated to public schools.

Starting next year, taxpayers who want to claim the credit will contact school districts directly, which will then get preapproval from the state Department of Revenue to make sure the $1 million cap, which is expected to increase over time, hasnt been reached. If it hasnt, the district will then accept the donation and give the taxpayer a receipt to use when filing their tax return.

OBrien raised concerns about the possibility of taxpayers in a larger district rushing to make donations to reach the $1 million threshold before other districts could accept donations.

Has there been any consideration or discussion on the equity issue and looking at ways to ensure that my constituents in Missoula don't rush the stage, so to speak, and make contributions to Missoula County Public Schools and we hit that million dollar threshold and Missoula students get in, and Seeley Lake High School students get loads of cash and Butte or Ekalaka students suffer? OBrien asked.

Tony Zammit, the deputy chief legal counsel for the state Department of Revenue, told OBrien there was not a look at equity issues because thats not what the statute provides for.

On the student scholarship organization side of the program, Zammit said, at least one group informed the revenue department it anticipated a lot of people donating right at the start of the new year.

State Sen. Greg Hertz, a Republican from Polson who carried several tax bills in the most recent session, suggested the committee look at other states with tax credit programs to see how they addressed equity issues. But Moore noted most other states use a grant process to award funding and dont have donors direct money to schools.

Bob Story, the executive director of the Montana Taxpayers Association, predicted the issue of equity and access to education programs will eventually raise its head in a lawsuit sometime and the state will have to deal with that.

Story asked the committee if they were familiar with whats happening in the rural small town of Winifred, where wealthy benefactor Norm Asbjornson is financing a $40 million upgrade to the school.

Citing that example, state Sen. Brain Hoven, a Republican from Great Falls, said he believed the donations will mostly go to small districts around the state.

I think the districts that will benefit the most are the rural districts, where you have rural benefactors like is happening in Winifred, Hoven said. I think were going to see the rural districts benefit more than anyone else.

Its not clear how districts have spent their donations so far. The existing law requires districts to report to Office of Public Instruction how they spend the money, but of the 400 districts that have received distributions, only three have reported, Moore told the committee.

An elementary school in Richland County spent $25 on employee benefits, Moore said, and the Rapleje elementary and high school districts reported spending less than $4 on supplies and materials.

The update to the law earlier this year eliminated the reporting requirement, though some on the committee expressed an interest in requiring some form of it.

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A report released Friday by the state labor department shows that retirements, increased health care demand and the COVID-19 pandemic have led to an incredibly tight labor market for skilled nurses.

Just 1.2% of registered nurses and 2.3% of licensed practical nurses reported they were unemployed and actively seeking work, according to the report summarizing the results from the National Council State Board of Nursing 2020 survey.

The report also found that multi-state licensing has helped with workforce shortages, and that 40% of RNs and 26% of LPNs working in Montana held multi-state licenses.

The report also found Native nurses are underrepresented, accounting for just 2% of nurses in the state while Natives are more than 6% of Montana's population.

The average age of registered nurses in the state fell nearly a year, to 47.6, which the report said suggests older workers are retiring. Just over 18% of RNs said they planned to retire or leave the field within the next five years, which could equal 570 workers exiting annually.

The report also found the number of licensed LPNs out of the labor force increased from 15% to 23% over the last five years, citing an increase in retirements. LPNs are aging, with the median age up nearly three years to 53.5. And almost half of LPNs reported they planned on retiring or leaving the workforce over the next five years, for a drop of 175 LPNs annually.

LPNs generally work in nursing homes or in ambulatory care, with 9% working in hospitals, the survey noted.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the vital role nurses play in the states health care system and economy. Ensuring the states workforce is healthy and safe is critical to continued economic growth," the report reads. ... The health care sector has been acutely impacted by the workforce shortage due to the increased workload placed on healthcare workers during the pandemic, many of whom have grown mentally and physically weary from working on the front lines. Even after the pandemic, a growing and aging population will increase the demand for healthcare services."

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Todays Highlight in History:

On Nov. 13, 2015, Islamic State militants carried out a set of coordinated attacks in Paris on the national stadium, restaurants and streets, and a crowded concert hall, killing 130 people in the worst attack on French soil since World War II.

On Nov. 13:

In 1775, during the American Revolution, the Continental Army captured Montreal.

In 1849, voters in California ratified the states original constitution.

In 1940, the Walt Disney film Fantasia, featuring animated segments set to classical music, had its world premiere in New York.

In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a measure lowering the minimum draft age from 21 to 18.

In 1956, the Supreme Court struck down laws calling for racial segregation on public buses.

In 1969, speaking in Des Moines, Iowa, Vice President Spiro T. Agnew accused network television news departments of bias and distortion, and urged viewers to lodge complaints.

In 1971, the U.S. space probe Mariner 9 went into orbit around Mars.

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In 1974, Karen Silkwood, a 28-year-old technician and union activist at the Kerr-McGee Cimarron plutonium plant near Crescent, Oklahoma, died in a car crash while on her way to meet a reporter.

In 1979, former California Gov. Ronald Reagan announced in New York his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination.

In 1982, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

In 1985, some 23,000 residents of Armero, Colombia, died when a volcanic mudslide buried the city.

In 2011, President Barack Obama dove into a day of summit diplomacy in his home state of Hawaii as he gathered with leaders of 20 other nations of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

In 2016, President-elect Donald Trump named Republican Party chief Reince Priebus as White House chief of staff and conservative media executive Stephen Bannon as his top presidential strategist. Leon Russell, who performed, sang and produced some of rock musics top records, died in Nashville at age 74.

In 2019, the House Intelligence Committee opened two weeks of public impeachment hearings with a dozen current and former career foreign service officials and political appointees scheduled to testify about efforts by President Donald Trump and others to pressure Ukraine to investigate Trumps political rivals.+

In 2020, speaking publicly for the first time since his defeat by Joe Biden, President Donald Trump refused to concede the election. Masked workers in teams of two began counting ballots in counties across Georgia; the hand tally of the presidential race stemmed from an audit required by a new state law. Republicans suffered setbacks to court challenges over the election in the battleground states of Arizona, Michigan and Pennsylvania. The governors of Oregon and New Mexico ordered near-lockdowns in the most aggressive response yet to the latest wave of coronavirus infections shattering records across the U.S. Peter Sutcliffe, the British serial killer known as the Yorkshire Ripper, died at 74; he was serving a life sentence for the killings of 13 women. Former Green Bay Packers star Paul Hornung died at 84. The Miami Marlins hired Kim Ng as general manager, making her the highest-ranking woman in the operation of a major league team.

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DECATUR  Craving something sweet, police said a Decatur woman used a check from a someone else's bank account to buy items from a snack shop.

A sworn affidavit from the Decatur Police Department said officers received a report in July of a check being returned from a canceled Union Planters Bank account.

The check in question was used by a 26-year-old woman who entered Del's Popcorn Shop, 142 N. Merchant St., on May 24 and wrote a check for $255.77 to purchase some items.

Detective Jason Danner, who signed the affidavit, said he spoke with the actual account holder who told him that the account had been closed since 2011 and that he had the checks inside a previous residence which had been burglarized.

During an interview, Danner said the woman told him she received the check from a friend who obtained them from an abandoned house and knew that it was not her check.

According to police, she told them that a friend filled out the check except for the amount and when she went to the shop, she filled in the amount needed and gave it to the cashier.

The reported it was the second time a check from that account had been used by the woman.

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A check of Macon County Jail records on Friday showed the woman already in custody for three cases involving forgery, one case for aggravated identity theft and another case for possession of methamphetamine.

According to the Macon County Jail records, the woman remains in custody with her total bail set at $60,000 and is required to post $5,970 in order to be released.

All preliminary charges are subject to review by the state's attorneys office.

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DECATUR  After getting their COVID-19 vaccine this week at Crossing Healthcare, Jarrett Hess, 11, and his sister Stevie, 7, can tell their experience to others who are worried about getting the shot.

It didnt hurt, Stevie said.

It didnt hurt for me at all, Jarrett said.

The family knows members of the health care community who work among COVID patients, and they worry about their health. Tisha Hess wanted her children to understand the importance of getting the shot.

We can all do our part in helping reduce or eliminate the pandemic, she said. Its simple measures like this that make a big difference.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 this month. The Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are only authorized for adults.

Crossing Healthcare began offering pediatric vaccination clinics last week.

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The Macon County Health Department has 300 doses of the pediatric vaccination, with the ability to order more when needed, that it will begin administering at clinics next week.

Our team is fully prepared to meet this demand, said Marisa Hosier, director of health promotion and public relations at the health department. We will have more than enough vaccines for anyone who wishes to get their child vaccinated.

Nationwide, there are about 28 million kids ages 5 to 11 who are eligible for the vaccine. The White House says the federal government has procured enough of the two-dose vaccine for all of them.

About 900,000 kids ages 5 to 11 will have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in their first week of eligibility, the White House said, providing the first glimpse at the pace of the vaccination campaign for school-age kids.

We're off to a very strong start, White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients said during a briefing Wednesday with reporters. Kids who get their first of two shots by the end of next week will be fully vaccinated by Christmas.

The most recent local statistics from the Macon County Health Department indicate that 3,127 residents ages 19 and under have tested positive for COVID-19. There have been no deaths involving residents younger than 30.

The county has reported 15,988 positive cases and 248 COVID-related deaths since the start of the pandemic.

On Friday, the health department reported 72 new COVID-19 cases over the past two days, with 41 cases reported Thursday and 31 cases reported Friday. The total number of hospitalizations is at 10. Health officials also reported an additional COVID-related death, a female in her 70s.

The health department is concerned about the recent increase in positive cases.

"Our goal is to provide resources and services to help keep our community as healthy as possible," Hosier said. "When case numbers increase, there is a very real chance that hospitalizations and, sadly, deaths will also increase."

In Macon County, less than 50% of the adult population has received their first vaccination, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

"As the holidays approach, we encourage people to receive their flu and COVID-19 vaccines if possible; to practice healthy habits such as eating properly, getting an appropriate amount of sleep and exercise, limiting stress as much as possible and drinking plenty of water; and to not gather with others if feeling unwell," Hosier said.

As expected, the rollout of the pediatric vaccine locally has included health officials answering questions from caregivers regarding the vaccine and its development, effectiveness and the side effects.

Crossing pediatrician Tricia Scerba discussed any concerns the caregivers had before the shots were administered.

But a lot of parents are doing the research, she said. This is not a surprise topic. Parents have had time to formulate opinions.

The side effects of the shot include pain as well as swelling and redness at the injection site. Few have reported fever, body aches and fatigue.

But that is less common in children than in adults, Scerba said.

The fast rate at which the vaccines have been approved is due in part to the limited administration involved with approval, Scerba said.

There were no shortcuts. It went through the normal phase 1, 2 and 3 trials with the FDA, she said. It had to meet the same requirements as any other product.

A normal process through FDA approval will include long wait times through various administrative steps.

All of those barriers were removed for this," Scerba said.

The trials were immediately reviewed.

Thats where the acceleration happened, Scerba said. It wasnt at the level of the research. It was at the level of the review. Nothing else has a higher priority at this time.

Scerba compared the experience to an amusement park fast pass.

It got to go to the front of the line, she said. But there were no revisions made to the requirements.

The pediatric Pfizer vaccine requires two shots, three weeks apart, just like the grownup version. The company claims the shots are more than 90% effective in preventing or diminishing the symptoms of COVID.

Angela Harbin, a clinical support technician at Crossing Healthcare, greeted children before they received their vaccine.

The parents are super excited about it, she said. The kids, not so much.

Although the families understand how important the vaccine is, the kids react the same as if they were receiving any other shot, Harbin said.

We havent had anybody really throw a fit, she said. A lot of the kids say they dont really feel it, or it doesnt hurt.

Crossing nurses tried to make the experience as pleasant as possible.

So they do get a sticker that says that they are vaccinated, Harbin said.

Contact Donnette Beckett at (217) 421-6983. Follow her on Twitter: @donnettebHR

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BRESCIA, Italy (AP)  A provocative exhibit by dissident Chinese artist Badiucao opened Saturday in the industrial northern Italian city of Brescia despite pressure from the Chinese embassy in Rome to cancel it.

A letter from the embassy included veiled economic threats, noting Italys trade with China, in a bid to prevent the first solo exhibit by Badiucao  the pseudonym used by the artist whose work takes aim at China's policies and human rights record.

Brescia Mayor Emilio Del Bono responded with delicacy and firmness, said Elettra Stamboulis, curator of the exhibit at the citys Museum of Santa Giulia.

Of course we are always a little worried, not so much for the artists safety, but because we know there are more creepy ways to silence dissident artists," she said.

After a previous attempt to stage a solo show in Hong Kong in 2018 was canceled under pressure, Badiucao said he is proud and happy that the Brescia exhibit is finally open to the public.

Because my art is always focusing on human rights issues in China ... it makes me almost the type of No. 1 enemy, Badiucao said. They hunt me down. They harass me, harass my families, threatening the people working with me constantly. So that is why, for me, it is really hard to actually having an exhibition in an established a gallery, a museum like this.

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The exhibition, which runs until Feb. 13, traces Badiucaos artistic career from its start to most recent works created in response to the health crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. A former assistant to the Berlin-based Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei, Badiucau currently works in exile from Australia.

The works range from oil paintings to installations and performance art. They include one that evokes a scandal involving tainted baby formula exported by China in 2018, another that recalls the Tiananmen Square massacre and yet another that represents the Umbrella Movement as part of the Hong Kong pro-democracy demonstrations quelled by China.

During the exhibits opening days, Badiucao will sit in a torture chair and read from a diary shared with him by a resident of Wuhan, the Chinese city where the coronavirus was first detected.

Anyone who tried to tell the truth or some story different from Chinas governments narrative would be punished, so I made a public call on Twitter to the residents of Wuhan and said Id like to share the burden and risk with you, if you trust me you can send your information, Badiucao said.

The diary, which will be read in Mandarin, contains 100 days of records.

The artist kept his identity secret for many years, wearing masks during public appearances to protect his family members. The long-held secrecy drew comparisons to British graffiti artist Banksy, whose true identity remains shrouded in mystery.

But Badiucao said any comparison misses key points.

If Banksys identity gets revealed he is not or she is not going to be hunted by the UKs national security police, which in my case is totally different, he said. But also, I am really mad at Banksy, because he never does any artwork that criticizes the Chinese government.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them.
Floyd Cooper Jr. served as a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne in Desert Storm. He jumped out of airplanes and fought in the desert. When he returned to Fort Bragg a whole bunch of his family was there to meet him, including his Aunt Sammie, Uncle Steve and Cousin Stephen. Floyd gave his red beret to our 5-year-old son as a souvenir. It was a prized possession for almost 30 years. A few months ago Stephen returned the beret to Floyd so he could pass it on to his son Chris.

Jim Moore was in the USAF, stationed in the Philippines during the Vietnam War. Jims father fought in WW II and was killed in action in Korea. James Johnston named his son from a foxhole in Korea  Robert James Johnston, for his grandfather and father. Jim didnt get to know his father, but the man who married his widowed mother and adopted Jim was Bobby Lee Moore. Jims daddy had a career in the U.S. Air Force. Jim and I pray together every week and I am so thankful for his life.
BRISTOL, Tn. - The City of Bristol, Tennessee in association with United Way of Bristol, announced an initiative Friday to provide air purifiers at no cost to low-and-moderate income households affected by the odors and emissions from the Bristol, Virginia landfill.

Households interested in the program can complete the online air purifier assistance program application at unitedwaybristol.org. United Way representatives will contact applicants about eligibility documentation. Those approved will receive information about where they can pick up their unit.

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We are using the federal poverty guidelines provided by the City of Bristol, Tennessee. Lisa Cofer, the director of United Way, said about the criteria being used.

Units are scheduled to arrive on Thanksgiving week. The first delivery will consist of 60 air purifiers. Each unit is 13 inches tall, weighs about four pounds, and can cover around 1,000 square feet of indoor space. The purifiers have a five-speed adjustable fan and an H13 HEPA filter, as well as a UV light and a photocatalytic filter designed to remove volatile organic compounds. According to the United Way, the air purifiers are only for residents of Bristol, Tennessee.
Its devastating. Either way, its devastating. If you do this and lose even 3%-5% of your nurses, thats going to have a major effect  we already have a shortage and people feel it, Levine said.

Ballad is already dealing with a widespread nursing shortage.

These people  whether theyre vaccinated or not  are heroes. They have worked their tails off for almost two years to take care of our region, Levine said. Thinking they have strongly held beliefs and have to walk away from their jobs after taking care of us, its a hard pill to swallow. I understand why people would be upset about that because I am.

Less than 45% of all residents of Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia are fully vaccinated  making the health systems challenge even greater.

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While he didnt go into specifics, Levine said a notable number of nurses are presently unvaccinated.

Weve looked at it by job category and how many people in a job category are not vaccinated, and there was a surprisingly high number of nurses that are not vaccinated. Most of our nurses are young women of child-bearing years, and that is a population weve been trying very hard to educate, he said.
Also, a narrowly divided General Assembly demands Youngkin convert enemies to allies. Good luck with that.

Unless Youngkin, following Gilmores lead, dangles a high-paying administration job for a Senate Democrat to give up a seat that Republicans might win, tying the chamber, 20-20, and weaponizing the tie-breaking vote of the GOP lieutenant governor, Winsome Sears.

Master the facts  The Virginia Constitution is more about limiting power than expanding it. Youngkin cannot  as he vowed he would  ban, by executive order, critical race theory from public school classrooms. Never mind, its not taught. Education policy, under our constitution, requires collaboration: a governor who appoints a superintendent and state Board of Education and a legislature that pays for schools.

And doing away with the grocery tax  an idea on which Republicans and Democrats should agree  is easier said than done, given that the $500 million-plus it generates annually goes to such general services as education and is shared by state and local government. Fearing Son of Car Tax  the Gilmore-pushed rollback in 1998 that threatened local revenue  cities and counties will want to know how to make up money lost to food-tax repeal.
Around this field is a golden ring that assures us the abundant life provided through faith has no end.

Roger Long, a lifelong Lutheran, began researching and working with stained glass in the early 1990s. Over the past 30 years, he has worked to develop his own distinctive style, and all of his workmanship is designed in-house. Longs company, Sola Fide Stained Glass and Woodworking Designs, was a faith-inspired journey.

Currently, this is one of only two stained glass Luther roses created by Long. The other is in the Tennessee LCM bishops office.

The wooden frame supporting the rose was designed and built by George Ritchie of Hickory. Ritchie began making cabinets at the age of 14. He retired from Oyama Cabinet but continues to work part-time. Mt. Olive has benefited from the master craftsmans talents several times previously. He built the series of display cabinets in the narthex as well as the frame around the quilt in Heritage Hall.

Underneath the Luther rose stained glass on a green background are the embroidered Chi Rho symbol along with the Alpha and Omega symbols on either side.
" " Harpers Ferry sits at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers and has a rich and complex history. Dean Heinrichs/Getty Images

At the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers, near a spot in the water where Maryland, Virginia, and the easternmost tip of West Virginia converge, lies Harpers Ferry, a quaint, sometimes bucolic 19th-century town with a rich and dizzying history.

In the early 1800s, Harpers Ferry became a pioneer in the way goods were manufactured, beginning with munitions. Just 70 miles (112 kilometers) or so northwest of Washington, D.C., it bloomed into an American transportation hub, with railroads, bridges spanning the two rivers and boats carrying goods throughout the new country.

During the Civil War, it changed hands from Union to Confederate and back again at least eight times. Things got so confusing that the townspeople were called both rebels (when the Union army occupied) and Yankees (when the Confederates were in charge). A church in town flew a British flag, just to be safe.

But it was in 1859, a few years before the Civil War, with a bold and disastrous bid to launch a slave rebellion, that famed abolitionist John Brown truly put Harpers Ferry on the map.

"It's a very complicated place, and it's hard to tell one story of Harpers Ferry," says Paul Shackel, an archeologist and professor of anthropology at the University of Maryland. "There's a lot of different stories and a lot of different histories."

" " In the mid-1800s, the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, the Winchester & Potomac Railroad and the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad established Harpers Ferry as a transportation powerhouse. Library of Congress

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The Start of Harpers Ferry

Harpers Ferry sits in a gap among steep, rocky ridges that rise into the rolling hills of the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains. The Potomac and Shenandoah rivers flow east toward the Chesapeake Bay, meeting at an area of town known as the Point.

In 1783, Thomas Jefferson proclaimed the place "worth a voyage across the Atlantic." He wrote about it in his, "Notes on the State of Virginia," in 1785. (Harpers Ferry became part of West Virginia when it joined the Union in 1863.) An excerpt:

The passage of the Patowmac through the Blue Ridge is perhaps one of the most stupendous scenes in Nature. You stand on a very high point of land. On your right comes up the Shenandoah, having ranged along the foot of the mountain a hundred miles to seek a vent. On your left approaches the Patowmac in quest of a passage also. In the moment of their junction they rush together against the mountain, rend it asunder and pass off to the sea.

The town's setting was a natural for commerce and industry. George Washington pushed for Harpers Ferry as the spot of a new national armory, and one was erected in 1799. By the outbreak of the Civil War, in 1861, the U.S. Armory and Arsenal had churned out more than 600,000 muskets, rifles and other weapons.

John H. Hall, a Maine gunmaker, devised precision machinery to forge interchangeable parts that could be assembled by less-skilled workmen, rather than individual craftsmen making individual rifles. It increased production and quality and changed the face of American manufacturing.

At that time, the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, the Winchester & Potomac Railroad and the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad already had established the area as a transportation powerhouse. In the 1850s, Harpers Ferry was a bustling place, with pigs running through the streets, hundreds of people working in the armory, and many more laboring in associated mills along the rivers.

All that came to a halt, though, with the Civil War. Even before that, the abolitionist Brown made a move that hastened both the start of the war and the decline of Harpers Ferry.

" " The long-planned raid on Harpers Ferry included John Brown and fewer than two dozen men. Brown was eventually captured, tried and found guilty of treason. Library of Congress

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The John Brown Raid

Today, at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park (which covers parts of three states), you can visit the building where the famed abolitionist hero holed up  it's now called John Brown's Fort  as his plans for sparking a slave rebellion went terribly awry, almost from the start.

The long-planned raid Oct. 16, 1859 consisted of Brown and fewer than two dozen men taking over the armory. Two days later, the engine house into which he retreated  his "fort"  was surrounded by soldiers. Brown was captured and, about two weeks later, tried and found guilty of treason. He was hanged Dec. 2. That morning, he wrote these words:

I, John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with blood. I had, as I now think, vainly flattered myself that without very much bloodshed it might be done.

Brown's audacious plan of a slave uprising struck fear into slaveholders in the south. And when he was hanged, Northerners saw it as a rallying cry to finally end slavery.

Harpers Ferry found itself in the middle of everything once again.

" " Just before the Civil War, U.S. forces abandoned Harpers Ferry, burning the armory on their way out of town. Library of Congress

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The Town After John Brown

Once war erupted, Harpers Ferry turned out to be a critical spot to occupy but a difficult one to defend, stuck as it was under high ridges with few avenues for escape. "Whoever controlled Harpers Ferry could control the railroad, which would supply the Army," Shackel says. "It was considered key, but the North and the South did not invest enough to hold it. So they were always blowing up the bridge and rebuilding the bridge."

U.S. forces abandoned the town when the war began, burning the armory on the way out. But the soldiers didn't do a very good job of it and the Confederates took over, moving much of the gun-making machinery deeper into the South.

"The guns that were produced in the Civil War [for the South] were from Harpers Ferry equipment and technology and machinery," Shackel says. "That was just a major blunder on the part of the Union."

John Brown's Fort, used as a prison and a powder house at various times during the war, became a touchstone for both sides; Union soldiers often treating it with reverence, Confederates cursing it as they passed.

"It was one of the only buildings that wasn't destroyed," Shackel says. "U.S. troops would cross the bridge into Harpers Ferry, and there would be a silence as they would march by, or they would break out into song: 'John Brown's body lies a'mouldering in the grave' ..."

The damage inflicted as troops came and went (often burning buildings in their wake) eventually took its toll. From "The Making of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park: A Devil, Two Rivers, and a Dream," co-authored by Shackel and Teresa S. Moyer:

At the end of the war, Harpers Ferry lay in a deteriorated state. Union troops occupied the town for more than a year after Lee's surrender at Appomattox. Every day, residents endured, "the ear-piercing notes of the fife and the boom of the drum on the streets." ... "What a God forsaken place," wrote local resident Annie Marmion ...

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Harpers Ferry Today

The C&O Canal proved to be an economic boon postwar, and the town soon wobbled back to its feet. It became a pilgrimage of sorts to those who revered Brown and what he stood for, even as the town's main attraction  Brown's Fort  was moved to Chicago (for the World's Columbian Exhibition of 1893), back to a farm near Harpers Ferry (many Southern sympathizers didn't want it in town), to a black college established in Harpers Ferry shortly after the Civil War, and finally, in 1968 (years after the National Park Service bought it), to within 150 feet (45 meters) of its original location, now part of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park.

The hills and mountains around Harpers Ferry now are frequented by hikers and trail lovers. The waters are used by kayakers and rafters and are good for catching smallmouth bass. The town also marks the approximate halfway point of the Georgia-to-Maine Appalachian Trail and the headquarters of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy.

Many of the 19th-century buildings in the lower town now have been restored. John's Brown Fort continues to be a place visited by those still dreaming of racial equality. And the townspeople, thanks largely to the efforts of those telling the town's story at the national park, mostly have embraced their place in the middle of American history.

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NOW THAT'S INTERESTING In August 1906, Storer College in Harpers Ferry became the site for the first public meeting of the Niagara Movement. There, on John Brown's Day, members made a silent pilgrimage to the fort where the abolitionist was captured, removing their socks and shoes as they entered the "hallowed" ground. The Niagara Movement, founded in part by W.E.B. Du Bois, is considered the precursor to the NAACP.
Next Match: at Indiana 11/14/2021 | 1 PM B1G+ Huskers Radio Network

The No. 11 Nebraska volleyball team used a strong defensive and blocking effort to power past Maryland 3-0 (25-11, 26-24, 25-18) Friday night at the Devaney Center. With the win, the Huskers improved to 18-6 (12-3 Big Ten), while the Terrapins dropped to 18-9 (6-9) after their third straight loss.As a team, the Huskers set a school record for digs in a three-set match in the rally-scoring era with 78 scoops on the night.led the Huskers in kills for the 15th straight match, totaling 14 kills with seven digs, a career-high-tying four blocks and an ace.led the match with a season-high-tying seven blocks and had seven kills on .583 hitting with no attack errors. Her blocking performance brought her into the top 10 all-time at Nebraska for career blocks (518), passing Megan Korver (517 -- 1996-98).posted her 16th double-double off 31 assists and 21 digs. She was one of four Huskers to finish with a double-figure dig performance, joining(22),(11) and(10). Knuckles also collected a career-high five kills on six errorless swings from the back row for an .833 efficiency. Rodriguez added five assists and an ace.andchipped in six kills and three blocks apiece for the match.matched them with three more stops.Nebraska had the advantage in attack percentage (.170 - .000), kills (43-25), assists (38-21), digs (78-64) and blocks (11-9). Each team finished with two service aces.Maryland was led by nine kills from Sam Csire. The Terps, who lead the country in blocking, got five blocks from Laila Ricks and four more from both Hannah Thompson and Rainelle Jones.NU trailed just once  down 3-2 -- but rallied with a 5-0 run off three straight Terp attack errors, a block from Stivrins and, and a Rodriguez ace. A combined four kills between Stivrins and Knuckles, plus two more Maryland attacking miscues then powered a 6-0 stretch for a 13-5 Husker advantage. Kubik terminated on back-to-back rallies before a Terrapin timeout, and she added an ace out of the break to push it to 16-6.The Huskers doubled up Maryland at 20-10 after two more Terp errors. Four late kills between Kubik and Krause helped them close it out on a 5-0 run for a 25-11 set win.Maryland found itself error-prone in the first set, committing 10 attacking miscues, two serving errors and two reception errors. The Terps had seven attack errors in the first 21 rallies of the night. NU hit .167 but limited the Terps to -.139. Kubik had five kills to lead the way for the Huskers.It was Maryland who led early in set two, going up 7-4 with the help of three kills from Csire. The Huskers drew within one at 7-6 on a Stivrins/Lauenstein block and a Kubik kill, but UMD got it back out to a 10-6 lead before an NU timeout.The Huskers again got within one at 10-9 but still couldn't get over the hump. They cut it to one once more at 18-17 when Stivrins put down back-to-back kills, then twice again up to 21-20. Kills by Sun and Kubik tied it, but Maryland ended a long rally with a Ricks kill and prompted a timeout with the Huskers down 22-21.UMD got it to set point at 24-21, but NU collected itself and rattled off a 5-0 run to fend off the Terps. A Kubik/Stivrins block, followed by a kill from Lauenstein, tied it at 24-24, and a Lauenstein/Stivrins block gave the Huskers their first lead since the first point of the set. Out of a timeout, an errant Maryland swing gave NU the set, 26-24.Nebraska hit .186 to Maryland's .091. Kubik had six kills, and Stivrins added four blocks. Rodriguez accounted for 12 digs.UMD again assumed an early 4-0 edge after three Husker hitting errors. The Huskers tied it twice at 5-5 and 6-6 before taking their first lead on a Kubik/Stivrins block. Stivrins then added a kill on a slide attack.NU held a narrow advantage until a 7-1 run capped with kills from Caffey and Knuckles and a Kubik solo stop put them in control, 17-10. The Huskers put it away at the end with a Sun/Caffey block and a Kubik kill to seal the sweep at 25-18.-Tonight marked NU's 12th sweep of the year and eighth at home.-Nebraska leads the all-time series with Maryland 16-0, including 14-0 in theera. The Huskers have swept eight of the last nine matches.-The Huskers have a 10-0 advantage over Maryland in Lincoln, including 8-0 at the Devaney Center.-NU's 78 digs bested the previous school record set twice in the rally-scoring era for digs in a three-set match (72 vs. Texas A&M, Sept. 25, 2004; 72 vs. Kansas State, Oct. 4, 2006).-Tonight was Nebraska's eighth match with at least 10 blocks as a team.Nebraska visits Indiana on Sunday, Nov. 14, with first serve at 1 p.m. CT from Wilkinson Hall in Bloomington, Ind. The match will be streamed on Big Ten Network+, and John Baylor and Lauren Cook West will have the radio call on huskers Radio Network.
Frutig was later recognized for her efforts with a nomination for Atrium Health's Pinnacle Award, the highest honor Atrium gives for making an impact on co-workers, patients and the community.

The recognition team uses a database that identifies the veterans admitted to the hospital, and teams are sent to each department to deliver bags. When a veteran is admitted, a team member will ask if he or she is a veteran and mark the answer.

There is one catch with the database. Veterans self-identify, so if they don't identify themselves, they might not get a bag. It also means that veterans who end up having more than one stay at the hospital receive multiple bags. But Dorton said she would rather give out too many bags than too few. And the program definitely meets its goal, making veterans feel recognized.

"I have heard a lot of things in the community in regard to the veterans program," Dorton said, "and a lot of our veterans will connect us with other resources, too, and let us know."

Liz D'Amato, another team member, said the bag is sometimes the first recognition of service for a veteran.
Taylor joins Peoples Bank and Trust

CHARLESTON  Trevor Taylor recently joined Peoples Bank & Trust as vice president, Business Banking. In his role with the bank, Taylor will develop and build business and agricultural credit relationships.

Taylor will be based out of the Charleston location, but will service customers throughout Central Illinois.

Trevor is a great addition to our Charleston banking team. We believe he will be a tremendous asset to our bank and to the Charleston community, said John Gardner, Peoples Bank & Trust president and CEO. 

Taylor received his bachelors degree from St. Louis University and later received an MBA from Eastern Illinois University. Most recently, Taylor worked for the USDA Rural Development office in Champaign.

Taggart receives national award

CHARLESTON  COUNTRY Financial representative Matthew Taggart of Charleston received the National Quality Award (NQA) for Financial Advising and Investments for helping customers achieve financial security.

Presented annually by the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, the National Quality Award recognizes representatives who demonstrate a commitment to exceptional customer service, adhere to the NAIFA code of ethics and pursue ongoing education efforts in order to better serve their customers needs.

Taggart and his wife, Leslie, have four children: Grant, Claire, Luke and Kate. He serves customers in Clark, Coles, Cumberland and surrounding counties from his office at 105 S. Washington St, Westfield. He can be reached at 217-967-5222.

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John Jacob Astor

John Jacob Astor (July 17, 1763-March 29, 1848) was a colonial businessman who made his money in a fur trade monopoly, and by smuggling opium into China. With the money he made in these two endeavors he was able to purchase large tracts of real estate in or around New York City. He became the first multi-millionaire businessman of the United States.

It wasnt until after the end of the Revolutionary War that the young Astor emigrated to New York City from Germany. Upon arrival in New York, he rented a room from a widow who had lost her husband in the Revolutionary War. At this location he began courting the widows daughter, Sarah Cox Todd. The young couple married in 1785.

Astors intention was to work in his brothers butcher shop in New York City.

However, on his voyage from Germany, Astor met a fur trader who inspired him to look into dealing with furs. Astor would then join the North American fur trading industry when landing in New York.

Astor would purchase raw hides from Native Americans, prepare them himself, and resell them in London and elsewhere at a great profit. He opened his own fur goods shop in New York in the late 1789s.

Astor took advantage of the 1794 Jay Treaty between Great Britain and the United States, which opened new markets in Canada and the Great Lakes region. Astor made a contract with the North West Company, who from Montreal rivaled the trade interests of the Hudsons Bay Company, then based in London.

Astor imported furs from Montreal to New York and shipped them to Europe. By 1800, he had amassed almost a quarter of a million dollars. (This amount would be equivalent to $6 million in 2021).

Astor expanded his business by being the first American to trade with China. Astor traded furs, teas and sandalwood with China.

Astors fur trading ventures were disrupted during the War of 1812, when the British captured his trading posts. In 1816, Astor would join the opium-smuggling trade. Astor would purchase tons of Ottoman-produced opium and then ship the contraband to China. He would later abandon the Chinese opium trade and sold exclusively to Britain.

With the money accumulated, Astor had begun buying land in New York City. In 1799 he had acquired sizable holdings along the waterfront. Astor also purchased large tracts of land in the area which is now the heart of New York City.

With a keen insight into the future, Astor believed that New York City would become the worlds greatest city in the developing United States. Selling his interests in the fur business, he used the money to purchase yet more land in the then undeveloped New York City metro-area.

At the time of Astors death in 1848, he was the wealthiest person in the United States, leaving an estate estimated to be worth at least $20 million, the equivalent of $659 million in 2021 dollars.

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Today, psychological studies reveal that power exposes the true nature of a person; therefore, we have people in professional and personal relationships who use their positions for the good of others, and those who sacrifice others for their own benefit.

Countries are controlled by leaders with power and the option to govern by the will of the people or by force without the consent of the people. Military power can be used by countries to defend its citizens or used aggressively by corrupt leaders to subjugate people or countries. We should be alarmed that there are at least eight counties with weapons of mass destruction which could be used by power-hungry leaders to destroy many people.

Here in the United States, we have the right to elect leaders. We should be careful and knowledgeable about using the precious right to vote. We should elect people with wisdom and moral values. We should also be aware that corruption creeps in through tiny cracks and finds a permanent home.
The lights being replaced are still under warranty and Duke customers will not have to pay for the replacements.

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Through Sept. 30 Duke said it had replaced 4,543 of the purple lights in the Carolinas region.

Q: Regarding the COVID-19 vaccine mandate and boosters, if an employee received the Johnson and Johnson vaccine in September, are they still considered fully vaccinated come January 4th? What about those who received the Pfizer and Moderna? If they were fully vaccinated last spring and it is recommended they get a booster, are they considered fully vaccinated?

 M.A.

Answer: You are considered fully vaccinated if it has been at least two weeks after your single-dose vaccine or at least two weeks after the second dose of a two-dose vaccine series, Catie Armstrong, a spokeswoman for the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.

Booster doses do not change who is considered fully vaccinated.

For more information about the COVID-19 vaccinations, go to www.ncdhhs.gov, click on vaccines and click on frequently asked questions.
Winston-Salem police went the scene of a reported shooting at 12:17 a.m. Saturday on Gregory Street in the citys southwestern section, police said. Before arriving at that scene, an officer saw a suspicious vehicle leaving the area.

Police pursued the vehicle, and the chase ended in the 1100 block of South Marshall Street, police said.

Officers then arrested the vehicles driver, Treshawn Jaquez Plater, 22, of Lincoln Avenue in Winston-Salem, and found a shooting victim, Decorus Roundtree, 21, who also lives in Winston-Salem, in the vehicle.

Plater was charged with speeding to elude arrest, police said. Plater was being held Saturday in the Forsyth County Jail with his bond set at $5,000, the Forsyth County Sheriffs Office said.

Officers at Gregory Street found Terrian Simmone Sawyer, 22, of Thomasville, suffering from a gunshot wound, police said.

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A local hospital notified police that two additional gunshot victims, Jaurion Chrisean Springs, 18, and Jordan Kirara Pruit, 22, both of Winston-Salem, had arrived at that hospital for treatment, police said.

All four shooting victims were treated by medical personnel for non-life threatening injuries, police said.
Yadkin County health officials still havent determined a cause for the symptoms that about 40 students at Starmount Middle School suffered on Monday, a Yadkin school official said Friday.

Officials have found absolutely nothing in the school itself that would cause such an outbreak, said Superintendent Todd Martin of the Yadkin County Schools.

Since Monday, Yadkin health officials have investigated the circumstances that caused about 40 sixth-grade students at Starmount Middle School to experience the symptoms.

The school, at 2626 Longtown Road in Boonville, has an enrollment of 519 students, Martin said.

Jessica Wall, the director of the Yadkin County Human Service Agency, couldnt be reached Friday to comment on the matter. Yadkin health officials work in that agency.

The students were evaluated Monday by emergency personnel who responded to the school, but no students were transported to a hospital for treatment.

The affected students exhibited nausea, headaches and mild abdominal discomfort. Most students were feeling normal by the time that school dismissed on Monday.
A King man died Friday in a three-vehicle crash on U.S. 52 North near Rams Drive in Winston-Salem, authorities said.

Daryl William Neve, 75, of Elinor Court, was driving a Can Am Spyder, a three-wheeled motorcycle, north on the highway when Neves motorcycle hit the rear of a 2018 Toyota Camry, Winston-Salem police said.

Neve was ejected from his motorcycle, and he was then struck by a 2008 Dodge Ram pickup, police said.

After officers arrived at the crash site at 3:21 p.m., Neve was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

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Russell Ray Martin, 45, was driving the Toyota Camry, and Jesus Mejia Juarez, 36, was driving the Dodge Ram pickup, police said. The police news release didnt mention if Martin or Juarez were injured.

Neves death is the citys 28th traffic fatality this year, as compared to 22 traffic fatalities during the same period in 2020, police said.

Because of the crash, police closed U.S. 52 North from its interchanges with Interstate 40 to Salem Parkway for four hours Friday, police said.

Winston-Salem police are asking for the publics help in this case.
A court hearing for Nathan Tabor in Forsyth District Court has been continued until next year. Tabor, former Forsyth GOP chairman, has been accused of cyberstalking his pastor. He also faces numerous charges in Brunswick County, including allegations that he stole motor-vehicle parts. Tabor is also accused of harassing family members in Catawba County, including his mother-in-law, in an effort to get $250,000. Tabor said in an October interview that he is innocent of all charges.
Moore told The Associated Press in a text message that Cawthorn's announcement had zero role in his decision and that he had already determined to seek reelection to his current seat.

But one of his colleagues, Rep. Donny Lambeth, R-Forsyth, said Moore told him earlier that day that he had not yet made a final decision, though he was strongly leaning against a congressional run.

North Carolina is among a number of states that allow congressional candidates to run in whichever district they choose, so long as they reside in the state by the date of the general election.

Cawthorn doesnt live in the newly formed 13th district stretching across the southwestern part of the state outside the city of Charlotte. He presently represents voters in the 11th, North Carolinas westernmost district, where his Henderson County home would be in the 14th, one of three areas considered somewhat competitive for Democrats in 2022.

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This move is not an abandonment, Cawthorn said to voters he will no longer represent. In fact, quite the opposite. It is a move to take more ground for constitutional conservatism. In my heart, I represent North Carolina as a whole, not some arbitrary line that some politician drew this cycle.
This dataset focuses on the past, but could help world leaders make more informed decisions in the future. Indonesia is planning to move the country's capital from Jakarta  a city that is sinking below sea level  to Kalimantan. The development site is in an area of jungle between two cities, Samarinda and Balikpapan. Both cities have increasing heat exposure trends.

People in Balikpapan, located at the mouth of the Bakpapan Bay, could expect 10 more days of extreme heat in 2016 compared with 1983.

Samarinda, situated on the humid Mahakam River delta, could expect 19 more days. Jakarta, although sinking, did not register a significant increasing exposure trend in the dataset.

Africa's growing cities

Many cities that already experience extreme heat are growing rapidly.

Douala, Cameroon, grew from roughly 760,000 people in 1983 to nearly 3 million in 2016. United Nations population projections suggest that count will double by 2035. Douala's citizens endured 76 days of extreme heat in 2016.
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Casino startup price in Nebraska: $1 million

COURTESY PHOTO A rendering of the proposed casino gaming floor at Lincoln Race Course.

Companies that want to open a casino at a Nebraska horse racetrack will have to pony up $1 million for a license.

That's one of the requirements of the rules released Friday afternoon by the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission.

The 67-page document lays out everything from license applications, to how to handle money, to how to deal with problem gambling and sex trafficking.

Included are two key provisions that are likely to make some people happy and others unhappy: all casinos will be smoke-free, and no one other than law enforcement officers or licensed security guards will be allowed to carry firearms.

Read the regulations set out for Nebraska casinos

Racing and Gaming Executive Director Tom Sage said the proposed regulations are a "hodgepodge of best practices" from casino regulators across the Midwest.

The commission hired Gaming Labs International, an industry consultant that has worked with other states, including Ohio, to help it write rules for casino gaming.

"They basically took what worked in some of those other states and incorporated it into our rules," Sage said.

The $1 million fee, to be paid up front, would secure a license for 20 years. Casinos also would face an annual assessment to help fund the activities of the commission.

Sage said details of the annual assessment still have to be worked out, but it likely would be based on how many gaming machines and table game spots a casino has, meaning larger operations would pay more than smaller ones.

People involved with casinos also will have to be individually licensed, including all vendors and key operators. Vendors face an initial licensing fee of up to $5,000 for a three-year license, and an annual fee of up to $2,000. Key persons would face application fees ranging from $10,000-$15,000.

While the startup costs seem steep, they are actually quite low compared with some other states.

Iowa, for example, sets its initial application fees for racetrack casinos based on the size of the county where the casino will operate. It ranges from $5 million for a county with a population of 15,000 or less to $20 million for a county with at least 100,000 people.

State's horse racing could become a crowded field if commission approves five new proposals Applications for proposed tracks in Bellevue, York, Norfolk, North Platte and Gering led to a standing-room only crowd at Friday's meeting, where commissioners heard testimony for and against the proposals.

Temporary Lincoln casino will have more than 300 slot machines The Nebraska Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association has filed a building permit for alterations at the Lincoln Race Course, but it still could be months before patrons pull a lever.

Among other states, Virginia requires a $15 million fee for a 10-year license for any type of casino, while Pennsylvania requires horse track casinos to pay $1.5 million every five years for licensure.

In Nebraska, the $1 million initial fee and 20-year license were included in the language of the petitions circulated ahead of the November 2020 vote that authorized casino gambling at the state's licensed horse tracks.

In May, the Legislature approved a framework for casino gambling, and the Racing and Gaming Commission has spent several months coming up with the proposed rules.

The commission will hold a public hearing on the rules Dec. 17, and assuming it votes to approve them, they will be forwarded to the governor and attorney general for review. Once signed off on, they will go to the Secretary of State's Office for official recognition.

All six licensed horse tracks, in Lincoln, Omaha, South Sioux City, Columbus, Grand Island and Hastings, have announced plans to add casinos.

Plans at Lincoln Race Course call for a $220 million project that would include more than 1,200 gaming stations, a 196-room hotel, event space, several restaurants and other amenities such as a spa.

Lynne McNally, executive vice president of the Nebraska Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, which is partnering with Ho-Chunk Inc. to build casinos in Lincoln, Omaha and South Sioux City under the WarHorse name, said the rules are very thorough, especially when it comes to security and the background check process.

"I'm very pleased with the way they worked out," McNally said. "The Racing Commission worked efficiently and diligently, and we really appreciate their efforts."

In addition to the six existing tracks, there also have been proposals announced for new tracks in Bellevue, Gering, Kimball, Norfolk, North Platte and York, all of which are likely to seek casino licenses as well.

Global Gaming Nebraska, a subsidiary of the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma, hopes to operate casinos at the existing track in Hastings and proposed new tracks in North Platte and Gering.

Its president, Sean Boyd, said in a statement that the company is "thankful for the opportunity to work with the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission towards strict and integral regulation of gaming within the state.

Sage said any proposed new tracks will have to go through the racetrack license application process first and be approved before they can apply for a casino license.

Fonner Park CEO Chris Kotulak said he's concerned about new operators opening racetracks simply so they can open a casino.

He said with no limit on the number of horse tracks in the state, there's a risk of market oversaturation, especially considering the state's population.

"There's not the human or equine infrastructure in place to support any more racing than we already have," Kotulak said.

McNally expressed concern, too, but said there are new federal laws going into effect that will make it more expensive for horse track operators. She also pointed out that the proposed gaming regulations make clear that any casino operator must have an active track license, which could discourage any operator that's not dedicated to horse racing.

Sage said the Racing and Gaming Commission currently does not have the authority to set limits on the number of casinos it approves, nor can it consider proximity to other operations in its decision whether to grant a license.

Publishing the rules was a first step, but it remains unclear how long it will be before anyone can play a slot machine in Nebraska.

Once a license is approved, WarHorse officials have said they will put up a temporary casino at Lincoln Race Course while construction begins on the resort complex. Construction alone could take 18-24 months.
Nebraska artist Dale Nichols missing painting is now hanging at the Bone Creek Museum of Agrarian Art in David City, a happy ending to a mystery of more than 80 years.

Joel Ward, owner of Twist of Fate Estate Sales, delivered it to the town 25 miles southeast of Columbus earlier this week.

Its very satisfying knowing the painting is there where it belongs, Ward said. Its hard to put into words. This is what we wanted to have happen.

Ward was preparing an estate sale for an Omaha family when he discovered that Dan Sanley had been searching for the painting for years. Nichols painted The Sanley Farm in 1933 and took it to New York for an exhibition a few years later. But then it dropped out of sight.

Sanley, whose family lived next door to the farm in the painting, was overjoyed that it had been found. He wanted to purchase it and give it to the Bone Creek Museum.

But a bid of $35,000 didnt match the painting owners' expectations, and it looked as if it would be sold to someone else. Inquiries came in from every corner of the United States, Ward said.

Its incredible. I had given up, Sanley said. When I made the offer and they turned it down, I was just happy they found it.
HONOLULU (AP)  A biological sister of a 6-year-old Hawaii girl reported missing by their adoptive parents told police the parents forced her to keep it a secret that Isabella Kalua was not breathing inside a dog cage in the bathroom, with duct tape on her mouth and nose.

The new details were revealed in documents filed in court Friday to justify the arrests of Isaac and Lehua Kalua, who adopted Isabella and two of her siblings and were foster parents to another biological sibling, on suspicion of second-degree murder.

The Kaluas on Sept. 13 had reported to police that Isabella  also referred to by Honolulu police by her birth name of Ariel Sellers  was missing and that they had last seen her asleep in her room the night before.

Police arrested the Kaluas on Wednesday, saying they believe the girl was killed a month before they reported her missing. But a body has not been found.

The parents were being held without bail and appeared in court via video from a cellblock on Friday.

A deputy public defender entered not guilty pleas for them, but it's not yet clear who their attorneys will be, said state Public Defender James Tabe. He said if they both qualify for public defenders, one of them will have a private attorney appointed.
Fortenberry, his wife and his attorneys have maintained that he was "set up" and "misled" by federal investigators, who came to his Lincoln home to ask about the contributions. A year earlier, the feds had an informant call the congressman and tell him that the donations at the L.A. fundraiser in 2016 originated from Chagoury.

Fortenberrys attorneys, in a request filed Tuesday, asked that the lead prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Mack Jenkins, be disqualified from the case. Jenkins is a potential witness in the trial because he took statements from the congressman in a July 2019 meeting that led to the two of the charges, the motion states. He cannot act as both advocate and witness at the same trial, Fortenberrys attorneys argue.

The same motion also questioned the fairness of secretly recording a 2018 telephone call between an FBI informant and Fortenberry, as well as a 2019 interview with FBI agents at the congressmans house even though there was no evidence that he had done anything wrong. Approval from a deputy assistant attorney general, the motion said, was needed for such recordings.
Deputies with the Seward County Sheriff's Office seized more than 500 pounds of marijuana and THC concentrate over the course of four traffic stops on Interstate 80 in the past several weeks, according to the sheriff.

Altogether, the seized drugs are worth an estimated $3.34 million, the sheriff's office said in a news release Friday.

Deputies arrested five individuals  four of whom are from California  on various drug charges.

The most valuable seizure came in the form of 113 pounds of THC concentrate, which deputies found after performing a traffic stop on 64-year-old Bobby Richy.

Richy, of Anza, California, was arrested on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance. The concentrate's street value is about $2 million.

Jessica Ferreira, 31, was arrested on suspicion of possession of more than a pound of marijuana, possession with intent to deliver, and violating the drug tax stamp law. Deputies seized 190 pounds of marijuana from the San Jose woman, according to the news release, worth about $570,000.

Deputies arrested a Fortuna, California, man and 31-year-old Oregon woman after discovering 113 pounds of marijuana in another I-80 traffic stop.
Somewhat weary but well after a day of climbing through the fog, Nebraska's five intrepid mountain-climbing state senators settled in Saturday for a night of sleep in tents 12,522 feet high on Mount Kilimanjaro.

"We're in the clouds," Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon said in a satellite phone call from their Shira Camp overnight site on the storied mountain in Tanzania.

"Along the course today, fog was all around us," he said.

It's been "more of a demanding course than we anticipated," Brewer said. "We're toast when we're done for the day."

Except for Sen. Anna Wishart of Lincoln, he said, who is "like the energizer bunny" in this diverse group of senators who are headed to the 19,340-foot summit of the legendary mountain in Africa, a journey that will take them three miles high into the sky.

"There are some aches and pains and sore muscles" among the senators after the second day, Brewer said, but no altitude sickness. Doctors check the climbers as a safety measure, he said.

The temperature on the second day was probably between 35 and 40 degrees, he said, but as they continue to climb it will become much colder, especially when they reach the summit on a nighttime trek.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, a Racine County Republican, sat down for an interview with WKOW's Capitol Bureau Chief A.J. Bayatpour.

Vos told Bayatpour "The elections commission doesn't have a right to waive law ... That's illegal. It doesn't matter if they have good intentions or not. They have to follow the law."

Bayatpour then asked, "Should the DA charge them in Racine County?"

Vos replied: "I think probably, but I'm not a district attorney. ... I certainly think anybody who breaks the law should pay the ultimate price to say I won't do it again."
BURLINGTON  Saving the beloved but troubled Echo Lake could cost more than $5 million, while draining the lake and allowing the White River to flow free could be accomplished for about $1 million, the citys engineers have found.

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The cost, however, could become moot if state regulators reject a proposed strategy for saving the lake. The state could require the city to remove the manmade dam and drain the 70-acre body of water fed by the White River.

In a report released Friday, the engineering firm of Ayres Associates Inc. reported that the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has not committed to approving a compromise strategy under consideration to improve the dam and salvage the lake.

If the lake must be drained, the engineers concluded, it could cost as little as $1.1 million, and it could open up a variety of possibilities to redevelop the site for new public recreation options along the White River. That $1.1 million price tag includes basic rehabilitation of the site.

Citing the potential for new fishing, boating and hiking facilities, the engineers wrote: These project add-ons are intended to provide the city with ideas for what is possible at the site.

Burlington City Council members are scheduled to receive the Ayres Associates report and to begin deliberations Tuesday, moving toward a planned decision in February on what to do with Echo Lake.

Next steps

Ayres Associates noted that a March 4 deadline looms for seeking state funds to offset some of the costs. Whether the effort ultimately is directed toward saving the lake or removing it, the available state funding could total $1 million.

Beyond that amount, the report stated, the city should identify additional sources of funding based on what the community decides.

Burlingtons current annual budget for city government is about $26 million, which includes $8.1 million in property tax collections.

Ayres Associates concluded that saving Echo Lake would require modernization of the dam costing between $1.5 million and $2.6 million. That would involve replacing the main gate on the dam, adding two more gates, raising a nearby northern embankment, and rebuilding a downstream retaining wall and sidewalk. The cost of dredging the lake bottom, if it is not drained, is another estimated $2.5 million, aimed at correcting water quality problems.

The report also identifies other possible expenses, such as heating or aerating components to combat winter ice build-up.

City officials have said they plan to hold open houses and stakeholder meetings to consider options before making a decision in February. No dates have been announced yet for those meetings.

Whatever course of action the city chooses, the Department of Natural Resources will decide whether that approach satisfies the requirements of state safety standards for dams.

Safety, flooding worries

State regulators notified Burlington in 2015 that the estimated 50-year-old dam at Echo Lake was not adequate to meet requirements for containing a 500-year flood event. The state gave Burlington up to 10 years  until 2025  to rectify the situation by either improving or removing the dam.

As the citys engineers, Ayres Associates have delivered increasingly bleak assessments for those hoping to salvage Echo Lake.

First, the engineers determined that the physical geography surrounding the lake made it impossible to achieve the states goal of fortifying the dam for a 500-year flood. They approached state regulators about compromising on a lesser 100-year flood strategy.

The new report is based on protecting Burlington from a 100-year flood through an approach called submergence, which means permitting the dam to become submerged in floodwater as long as Ayres Associates can demonstrate that the dam would not collapse and unleash a catastrophic torrent from Echo Lake.

That approach also calls for building a raised embankment and installing new gates on the dam.

In an Oct. 7 email to the consulting firm, DNR engineer Andrea Stern wrote, Your conceptual idea looks fine. But, she added, DNR cannot make a guarantee that it will be approvable.

Community engagement

Echo Lake, which has been a part of Burlington since the 1800s, is located near the center of town and has been a popular spot for fishing, boating and other recreational activities. But water quality has deteriorated in recent years. Some community leaders have spoken out in favor of removing the dam and allowing the distressed lake to vanish into the history books.

Another group has created a Facebook page called Save Echo Lake & Dam to advocate for keeping the lake. The group has outlined a strategy of raising money through fundraisers and boat rentals to finance the endeavor.

In its new report, Ayres Associates reiterates that they have found no feasible way to comply with the states 500-year flood standard. But they outline a submergence approach that could pass the states review with an investment in upgrading the dam and surrounding facilities.

Depending whether the city wants to add new amenities later, the report found that the city could spend up to another $3 million or more to construct boardwalks, a kayak launch, a pedestrian bridge, and fishing ponds and docks; that $3 million would be in addition to the $1.1 million cost of getting rid of the dam and lake.

If the city wanted to complete all optional elements outlined in the scenario for removing Echo Lake, the engineers estimated that the costs could exceed $6 million.

The report stated that Burlington area residents probably would like to see some enhancements of the site, if Echo Lake is drained and the White River is restored.

We encourage these components to be thought of as a la carte items, the report states, that can be added or removed from the conceptual plan as desired.

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1. Yes. Nonprofit youth organizations are underfunded in the city. Its a good decision.

2. Yes. In conjunction with city-run programs, it will provide needed opportunities.

3. No. The money should be used to benefit all residents, not just the citys youth.

4. No. The funds should be invested in the area where the project is being developed..

5. Unsure. Its hard to say whether its an appropriate use of the money.

Vote

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Maybe by Thanksgiving, Ill look in a mirror and quash my desire to dive into a hole and stay there until spring. But not yet. This week, I got my droopy eyelids fixed. Healing is very slow. In recent years, my eyelids had been slowly descending like an automatic garage door.

My ophthalmologist in Cleveland suggested a surgical repair 15 years ago, but I dismissed him. Five years ago, my optometrist in Espanola, N.M.  an aging hippie from Taos who kept an uncaged parrot in his office  told me that my sagging eyelids were impairing my vision 50%, but he offered no solution.

Little by little, my eyelids kept dropping like temperatures in late fall. I chalked it up to age.

Early in May, my cousin Mindy in Ohio happened to mention in an email that both she and her husband had had their sagging eyelids lifted. Suddenly, I sniffed hope.

Poking around the internet, I learned that the Kearney Eye Institute offers this procedure, so I hurried over. Pre-surgical tests revealed that my half-closed eyelids blocked about 60% of my vision. Ouch. But Dr. Thomas Clinch said it would take just 45 minutes to fix both eyelids, so I scheduled the procedure.
Earlier this year, the city of Viroqua passed a new ordinance regarding on-street parking during the snow season.

Previously, city ordinances restricted all overnight parking on city streets between Nov. 15 and April 1 of each year. The new ordinance allows overnight parking on city streets at all times of the year EXCEPT in the instance of a winter snow event  which is defined as any instance in which there is snowfall of 1.5 inches or more. When the snowfall threshold is met, the Viroqua Public Works Department or Viroqua Police Department will issue a city-wide notification via the Nixle emergency alert. To sign up for Nixle alerts, residents can simply send a text message with their ZIP code to phone number 888777.

City residents and guests are strongly encouraged to monitor weather forecasts and relocate their vehicles ahead of time if snowfall is expected to exceed 1.5 inches.

Once a snow event has been declared, on-street parking will be prohibited in the downtown corridor between Decker and South Street, and Dunlap and Center streets between the hours of midnight to 7 a.m. OR until snow has been removed past the curb line to the sidewalk. In all other areas outside of the downtown corridor, on-street parking is prohibited until that street or alley has been plowed and the snow has been removed to the curb line.

For additional information, visit the city of Viroquas website at viroqua-wisconsin.com

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An arrest has been made in a threat that shut down La Crosse Central High School on Thursday.

According to the La Crosse Police Department, 17-year-old Elijah M. Kline gained access to another individuals accounts and sent threatening messages to the school. Officials deemed the threats serious and closed the school to students and staff. Evening activities resumed Nov. 11, and classes resumed the following day.

Kline was referred to the La Crosse County District Attorney for terroristic threats, disorderly conduct and unauthorized use of a persons identifying information.

La Crosse police say anyone with school safety concerns should call La Crosse Area Crime Stoppers at 608-784-TIPS or submit online at https://www.p3tips.com/459. People can also download the Crime Stoppers App P3 to submit a tip via cell phone.

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Pope Francis is supported universally by Catholics around the world. However, there are two exceptions, American bishops, and Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN).

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is scheduled to meet next week, Nov. 15-18. They will discuss a draft of the document on eucharistic coherence, a thinly veiled attack on President Joe Biden for receiving Communion.

The bishops, prior to their meeting in June, were urged by Vatican officials not to pursue this document and, instead, dialogue with bishops conferences in other countries about denying Communion to politicians. The American bishops response  they voted, by over a two-thirds majority, to have said document prepared for their meeting next week.

Since June, the pope has stated, I have never denied Communion to anyone. After his recent meeting with Pope Francis, President Biden reported that the pope told him to continue receiving Communion.

American bishops also fail to support Pope Francis on his efforts to teach about global warming. In 2015, Pope Francis wrote an encyclical (a long teaching letter), On Care of Our Common Home. A focus of this letter was reducing global warming and caring for the environment.

One method to measure the support of U.S. bishops is to read what they write through official diocesan channels to the faithful. Researchers at Creighton University read 12,077 of such columns between June 2014 and June 2019. The result  only 93 or 0.8 percent of their columns mentioned climate change at all. Some even downplayed the popes authority to teach about climate change.

Ironically on Oct. 4, about 40 faith leaders from other religious traditions joined Pope Francis urging COP26 to stop global warming. These leaders represent almost half of the 7.9 billion people on earth. U.S. bishops have been largely silent about Americas response to COP26.

This month, Pope Francis is beginning a seven-year process to mitigate global warming. It is to involve every diocese and parish in the world. Will the bishops next week focus on how this will be done in the U.S.?

Another initiative of Pope Francis is to start a three-year process to enable him to receive feedback from all members of the Catholic church, not just clerics. The process is to begin by promoting opportunities at the parish and diocesan levels for dialogue for all members of the community. Francis wants to develop a culture of encounter.

The first phase begins by instructing participants about the processes of individual and communal discernment. This phase has a formation quality before people enter into dialogue. It will focus more about how we make decisions together rather than who makes them.

Pope Francis wants to act as a spiritual director to the worlds 1.2 billion Catholics. In our divided country and divided church, he will have limited success. Yet any success in the U.S. church would be a step in the right direction. The question: How much time will be devoted to this topic on the bishops agenda?

Now to EWTN, which claims to be the largest religious media network in the world. Recently, in an informal discussion with fellow Jesuits in Slovakia, Pope Francis made a clear reference to this network. Francis remarked, There is, for example, a large Catholic television channel that has no hesitation in continually speaking ill of the pope. I personally deserve attacks and insults because I am a sinner, but the church does not deserve them.

Of particular concern to Michael Winters, writer for the National Catholic Reporter, is Raymond Arroyos weekly show, The World Over. Winters states, I watch Arroyos show most weeks. I watch EWTN News Nightly at least once a week. It is not that they only present one side of particular political issues. It is that the Catholic faith is always made subservient to a political agenda, a Republican and increasingly Trumpian agenda.

Admittedly, I write with my own biases. If you want to check for yourself, read or listen to the news coming from the bishops meeting next week and watch Raymond Arroyos The World Over on EWTN.

You be the judge.

Vince Hatt has been a spiritual director for over 40 years. He has a masters degree in religious education from Catholic University and a masters degree in theology from the Aquinas Institute.

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The power of a persons life is in the stories they leave behind.

Geraldine Deenie Laskey has long held this motto, and two years ago she put it into action  literally  by penning her autobiography, the experiences of a nurse, a veteran and a leader.

Deenie, 71, of La Crosse, was a journaler since childhood, and throughout her decades in healthcare and the military she continued to jot down her thoughts and the occurrences around her. In 2020, after 90,000 words and 275 pages, Journal from Iraq: A Nurses Story was published.

A year later Deenies name would once again appear in a book, this time a tome authored by James Patterson and Matt Eversmann. Titled ER Nurses: True Stories from Americas Greatest Unsung Heroes and released last month, the collection of nurse experiences featured not just one Laskey but two, with husband Roberts story also commemorated in print.

What are the odds that from this (relatively) small town in Wisconsin two nurses would be featured? Deenie marvels.

A mutual drive to serve

Deenie was in high school while the U.S. was at war in Vietnam, and while it sparked a desire to serve her country, Deenie had since childhood aspired to be a nurse. After graduating she attended nursing school and working at Gundersen Health System in La Crosse before joining the Wisconsin National Guard at age 34.

Deenie, a second lieutenant, was deployed to Saudi Arabia during Desert Storm, taking care of enemy patients as an Army Nurse Corps officer. She returned to civilian life for a period before heading to Kosovo in 2003 for a NATO peace giving mission, spending 10 months overseas.

Military life and her long deployments were hard on her marriage, and Deenie and her first husband, parents of four, were struggling. While at Fort McCoy, training for deployment to Iraq, Deenie met Robert, 55, himself a parent of two and experiencing difficulties in his marriage.

Robert had joined the military out of high school, following the path of many of the men in his family, and then became a registered nurse, specializing as a flight nurse, before returning to the military in 2000. The two developed a platonic friendship after Deenie, Lieutenant Colonel, selected Robert, a Captain, to be her assistant. Needing someone with computer skills, good work ethic, and trauma experience, Robert fit the bill.

Robert, like Deenie, long had a passion for service.

I chose nursing because it matched my values  youre going to be caring for people, youre going to be serving people. Its a fantastic profession, Robert says.

Upon return to the military, Robert trained medics, taught classes and served as a training officer and as a company commander. He had previously accompanied a training unit in Korea and commanded a medical mission trip in Guatemala, but Iraq was his first tour.

During Operation Iraqi Freedom, Deenie and Robert were on duty together for 8 to 12 hours a day, and Deenie appreciated that Robert shared her same views on leadership  You need to be willing to do exactly the same things you are asking others to do  which she found not every person in a lead position exemplified. Adversity, she says, does not build character, it reveals it.

Working in the emergency area of the Army Combat Support Hospital in Iraq was 90% sitting around and the other 10% was just pure chaos, Robert says.

People think in Iraq everything is intense, Robert notes. But the exemplary training of those serving enabled them to provide superior medical care, Robert says, and a wound is a wound no matter what the setting is, and trauma is trauma.

There were times when Deenie and Robert could have been killed  a helicopter Robert was in was shot at, and when the area was mortared, the two rushed out to care for the injured when they heard there had been casualties.

Thats where we needed to be. There was no fear, Deenie says.

The story continues

Upon return from Iraq, Robert moved home to Kentucky. Deenie, whose marriage was ending, relocated to Kentucky as well and got her own residence, taking a job as nurse manager at the VA Hospital in Lexington, KY. Robert also divorced, and he and Deenie became a couple.

We made a good team (during the war) and two years later we decided to stay a team and get married, Deenie says.

The couple moved back to Wisconsin, where Deenie grew up and much of her family lives, and Deenie retired, staying active in the Coulee Region Gospel Choir, while Robert took a job as a flight nurse at Gundersen in La Crosse, where he has worked the last five years.

GundersenAIR is one of the best flight services in the nation, it really is, Robert says.

No longer reporting to a job every day, Deenie began to contemplate putting her lifes story into a book. After seeing a TV ad for book publishing in 2019, she decided to start typing.

Im a nurse first  I was really, really scared of being an author, Deenie says. I prayed about it and said, Lord, help me take the reader with me.

Robert wasnt allowed to take a look until the book was finished.

I thought it was very well done. It showed our experience in Iraq and what we lived through, Robert says.

Notes Deenie, People dont know that (military) nurses have to shoot M16s, they have to know nuclear biological chemical warfare because it can be used on us. We were soldiers.

While Deenie used initials when referring to many people in her book, Robert was soon given the opportunity have have his full name published in a collection of nurse stories being co-authored by James Patterson. A coworker had let him know Pattersons team was looking to interview nurses, and they spoke to Deenie as well.

Though an honor to selected for a book by a bestselling author, Deenie and Robert dont see themselves as exceptional.

Were ordinary nurses who were blessed with extraordinary opportunities and we took them, Deenie says. I do want to give kudos to the nurses who go to work every day but they dont get featured in a book.

The nursing profession, Robert says, is suffering shortages but is a wonderful career, with diverse opportunities and profound impact. If the need arose, he says he would serve in the military again, and Deenie would kiss him goodbye  Id absolutely support him.

Deenie encourages everyone to treat their life as an opportunity to make a difference and leave a legacy.

You dont have to do anything grandiose, but you have influence around you  what can you do with it to make things better? Deenie poses. I always ask myself, what stories do I want my family to know about me?

Journal from Iraq: A Nurses Story and ER Nurses: True Stories from Americas Greatest Unsung Heroes, are available on Amazon.com.

Emily Pyrek can be reached at emily.pyrek@lee.net.

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SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP)  A judge sentenced a South Carolina man Friday to 50 years in prison for the 2020 stabbing death of his mother in Sioux City, Iowa.

District Judge Jeffrey Neary sentenced Paul Belk, 32, of Beaufort, South Carolina, after finding him guilty on Oct. 1 of second-degree murder and possession of marijuana, according to the Sioux City Journal. Belk must serve as least 35 years before he's eligible for parole.

Belk stabbed his mother, Lisa Belk, 16 times with two knives and a pair of scissors while they were an apartment on April 14, 2020. He had arrived in Sioux City the day before.

Belk's lawyers argued he was insane at the time of the assault but a prosecution psychologist said Belk was able to distinguish right from wrong.

Before the sentencing, Belk's sister Zoe Belk said their mother would have forgiven him, saying Mom still loved you when she died." His sister Suzi Belk said she was having a hard time forgiving him because you exposed my children to the most evil they will ever see."

The judge found Belk guilty of second-degree murder, saying his marijuana use aggravated an underlying mental illness and that prevented him from forming specific intent to kill his mother as required to convict on first-degree murder.

For copyright information, check with the distributor of this item, Sioux City Journal.

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GLASGOW, Scotland (AP)  Almost 200 nations accepted a compromise deal Saturday aimed at keeping a key global warming target alive, but it contained a last-minute change that watered down crucial language about coal.

Several countries, including small island states, said they were deeply disappointed by the change promoted by India to phase down, rather than phase out coal power, the single biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions.

Our fragile planet is hanging by a thread, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement. We are still knocking on the door of climate catastrophe.

Nation after nation had complained after two weeks of U.N. climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland, about how the deal did not go far or fast enough. But they said it was better than nothing and provided incremental progress, if not success.

In the end, the summit broke ground by singling out coal, however weakly, by setting the rules for international trading of carbon credits, and by telling big polluters to come back next year with improved pledges for cutting emissions.

But domestic priorities both political and economic again kept nations from committing to the fast, big cuts that scientists say are needed to keep warming below dangerous levels which would produce extreme weather and rising seas capable of erasing some island nations.

Ahead of the Glasgow talks, the United Nations had set three criteria for success, and none of them were achieved. The U.N.s criteria included pledges to cut carbon dioxide emissions in half by 2030, $100 billion in financial aid from rich nations to poor, and ensuring that half of that money went to helping the developing world adapt to the worst effects of climate change.

We did not achieve these goals at this conference, Guterres said. But we have some building blocks for progress.

Swiss environment minister Simonetta Sommaruga said the change will make it harder to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial times - the more stringent threshold set in the 2015 Paris Agreement.

U.S. climate envoy John Kerry said governments had no choice but to accept Indias coal language change: If we hadnt done that we wouldnt have had an agreement.

But he insisted the deal was good news for the world.

We are in fact closer than we have ever been before to avoiding climate chaos and securing cleaning air, safer water and healthier planet, he said later at a news conference.

Many other nations and climate campaigners criticized India for making demands that weakened the final agreement.

"Indias last-minute change to the language to phase down but not phase out coal is quite shocking, said Australian climate scientist Bill Hare, who tracks world emission pledges for the science-based Climate Action Tracker. India has long been a blocker on climate action, but I have never seen it done so publicly.

Others approached the deal from a more positive perspective. In addition to the revised coal language, the Glasgow Climate Pact included enough financial incentives to almost satisfy poorer nations and solved a long-standing problem to pave the way for carbon trading.

The agreement also says big carbon polluting nations have to come back and submit stronger emission cutting pledges by the end of 2022.

Negotiators said the deal preserved, albeit barely, the overarching goal of limiting Earth's warming by the end of the century to 1.5 degrees. The planet has already warmed 1.1 degrees Celsius (2 degrees Fahrenheit) compared to preindustrial times.

Governments used the word progress more than 20 times Saturday, but rarely used the word success and then mostly in that theyve reached a conclusion, not about the details in the agreement. Conference President Alok Sharma said the deal drives progress on coal, cars, cash and trees and is something meaningful for our people and our planet.

Environmental activists were measured in their not-quite-glowing assessments, issued before Indias last minute change.

Its meek, its weak and the 1.5 C goal is only just alive, but a signal has been sent that the era of coal is ending. And that matters, said Greenpeace International Executive Director Jennifer Morgan, a veteran of the U.N. climate talks known as the Conferences of Parties.

Former Irish President Mary Robinson, speaking for a group of retired leaders called The Elders, said the pact represents : the pact represents some progress, but nowhere near enough to avoid climate disaster....People will see this as a historically shameful dereliction of duty.

Indian Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav argued against a provision on phasing out coal, saying that developing countries were entitled to the responsible use of fossil fuels.

Yadav blamed unsustainable lifestyles and wasteful consumption patterns in rich countries for causing global warming.

After Yadav first raised the specter of changing the coal language, a frustrated European Union Vice President Frans Timmermans, the 27-nation EU's climate envoy, begged negotiators to be united for future generations.

For heaven's sake, don't kill this moment, Timmermans pleaded. "Please embrace this text so that we bring hope to the hearts of our children and grandchildren.

Helen Mountford, vice president of the World Resources Institute think tank, said India's demand may not matter as much as feared because the economics of cheaper, renewable fuel is making coal increasingly obsolete.

"Coal is dead. Coal is being phased out, Mountford said. Its a shame that they watered it down.

Kerry and several other negotiators said that good compromises leave everyone slightly unsatisfied and that countries had more work ahead of them over the coming years.

Paris built the arena and Glasgow starts the race," the veteran U.S. diplomat said. "And tonight the starting gun was fired.

Chinese negotiator Zhao Yingmin echoed that sentiment.

I think our biggest success is to finalize the rulebook," Zhao told the Associated Press. Now we can start implementing it and delivering it on our achieved consensus.

Among those highlighting the cost of failure was Aminath Shauna, the Maldives' minister for environment, climate change and technology.

Shauna pointed out that to stay within the warming limit nations agreed in Paris, the world must cut carbon dioxide emissions essentially in half in 98 months  a formidable task.

"The difference between 1.5 and 2 degrees is a death sentence for us," she said.

Yassmin Fouad Abdelaziz, Egypts environment minister, said next year's talks to be held in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh would focus on aid and compensation for poor countries.

As negotiators left the final session after congratulating themselves, they passed a young lone protester who sat silently with red blood-like writing on crossed arms that said: We are watching.



Associated Press writers Aniruddha Ghosal, Karl Ritter, David Keyton and Ellen Knickmeyer contributed to this report.



Follow AP's coverage of the talks at http://apnews.com/hub/climate
One day in 2018, a homeless man stopped in at the Moravian Center of Lancaster, next to the bus terminal in the city, asking for a bus ticket so that he could visit his wife in the hospital.

He left with not only the ticket but also a blessings bag of snacks, socks and toiletries. On the way out the door he said, Thanks for letting me shop at the hope shop.

Thus was born Your Friendly Neighborhood Hope Shop, a book by the Rev. Mandy M. Mastros, who is pastor of the church at 227 N. Queen St., as well as a licensed social worker.

It stuck, Mastros said. The stories are really about resilience, hope, people working together in the community to overcome obstacles. We all have a combination of hopeful and discouraging experiences.

The book, released in September, is an Advent devotional featuring 25 short stories about people on the streets of Lancaster with whom Mastros has worked on issues of homelessness, addiction, food insecurity and mental health since she became pastor of the church four years ago this month.

My hope with the book is to give some humanity and some voice to people not often heard or seen, Mastros said.

A simple question

In the introduction, Mastros wrote how deeply humbled and often in awe she is by the vulnerability people openly share with her, including their hurts, mistakes, losses, struggles and hopes. At the end of each meeting, she always asks, Are you a hug or a handshake type of person?

She says the answer is usually a hug.

Time and time again, that simple question opens the door to a deeper conversation, one that leads us into a relationship that goes beyond the need for a bus pass, a snack and some toiletries, Mastros said. I have learned to never underestimate the value of giving a person a safe space, a listening ear and an invitation to share his or her story.

Each day in the devotional includes a scripture verse, story, reflection, ponderings and a prayer. The first day is about Juan, whose name has been changed in the book to protect his privacy, who greeted her on the street outside the church.

He asked how I was doing, she wrote in Juans story. I responded and asked the same of him, and when I looked at him, he held my gaze a bit longer than normal. I knew he wanted to say something else, so I smiled at him and waited.

In the reflection, she wrote, By lingering for that extra moment, I gave him time to gather his courage to ask for help.

Her prayer began, Jesus, help us to look into the eyes of others in a way that sees what their lips are not saying.

Local events

The book is for sale at the Moravian Mission Gift Shop at Lititz Moravian Church, 8 Church Square; Aarons Books, 35 E. Main St., Lititz; and on Amazon.

The author will sign books from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Nov. 19 in front of the church on Queen Street. The book signing is part of the Extraordinary Give event that will be held that night in Penn Square.

Another book signing will be held from 1-3 p.m. Dec. 4 at a modified version (due to COVID-19) of the annual Lititz Moravian Advent Lovefeast event. (The Advent Lovefest is known for a special sweet: Moravian sugar cake will be served with coffee and hot chocolate.)

A portion of the proceeds from the book sales will benefit Lanc Co MyHome, 620 N. Duke St., formerly the Coalition to End Homelessness.

I sit on the board, Mastros said. One of the things I appreciate about the community is the number of entities that come together to provide care and services.

The book appendix lists 12 such entities, including United Way, Water Street Mission, CrossNet Ministries and Anchor Lancaster.

A new partnership

Last December, the church began sharing its space with the Islamic Community Center of Lancaster, established in 2013 and formerly at 275 Hess Blvd.

The partnership has been wonderful, Mastros said. We serve meals together and individuals together. Theyve shared about their faith with us.

When Mastros was consecrated as a Presbyter, the Islamic Center offered a call to prayer and a reading from the Koran.

Mastros, who now resides in the church parish in Neffsville, was born and raised in Lancaster.

I spent my first 13 years on West King Street across from McDonalds, she said.

A graduate of Hempfield High School, Mastros received her undergraduate degree online from the University of Phoenix, and masters degrees in divinity and social work from the Moravian Theological Seminary, in Bethlehem, and Marywood University, in Scranton, in 2017. She is now enrolled in a four-year doctoral program at the Lancaster Theological Seminary.

I use both sets of skills in my ministry here, she said.
Scrawled in bold letters across a piece of posterboard, the message was clear: Climate is going code red.

It was just one among numerous, similar warnings written on signs held up by a group of climate activists who, earlier this year, set out to be a weekly presence in Lancasters Penn Square, hoping to catch the attention of passersby heading to the nearby Central Market.

Its not a protest, insisted group leader Claudia Kirk. When people see the signs, they automatically call it a protest.

Instead, Kirk views the activism as an educational endeavor  a means through which she can encourage Lancaster County residents to pay attention to the potential threats of climate change.

Shes branded the local events under the name Lancaster Climate Vigil.

Someone who holds a vigil is someone who stays awake, Kirk said. And we feel like we are trying to stay awake to what is going on with the climate because a lot of people dont have it in the front of their mind.

The local vigils, Kirk said, were inspired by a documentary series chronicling the work of Greta Thunberg, the Swedish teen who has become a global presence in climate advocacy, meeting with scientists and calling on world leaders to take action.

Kirk said she started in early spring, sometimes standing alone with a sign outside of U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smuckers South Duke Street office, where she hoped to engage with the congressman about the issue.

But she soon moved to Penn Square where there was more foot traffic. There, on Tuesdays during the warmer months, she shared her concerns with a larger audience.

A certain number of people are aware of it (climate change), but they dont necessarily take it that seriously, she said. I want to kind of reframe that for people.

Soon, others  friends, strangers and fellow activists  joined her cause, becoming a group of just under a dozen county residents who take turns hosting and attending the vigils.

Along with Kirk, a couple of those group members  Sarah Brabson and Sandy Giger  met at a Strasburg coffee shop earlier this month to talk about their efforts.

The goal, they said, is to pique the interest of people they meet and give them a jumping off point to do their own research.

According to Brabson, theyve had success.

There was this one young woman who came up and she put her hand on her heart and she just said, Im so glad youre doing this, she said.

Similarly, Giger remembered supportive motorists passing by honking their horns and holding their thumbs up.

She also remembered the occasional difficulties of encountering climate change skeptics and naysayers. The women admitted that those interactions were often uncomfortable but not wholly discouraging.

This is the climate, and this is our earth. So that kind of incident would never stop me because the problem we face in the future is so daunting, Giger said.

Earlier this year, officials at the state Department of Environmental Protection published a new Climate Impacts Assessment that notes the state is already experiencing the effects of climate change.

From severe heat waves to significant flooding, climate change influences weather events that have economic, health, and other impacts across the commonwealth, it reads, before warning that Pennsylvania is expected to get warmer and wetter in the years to come.

An earlier Lancaster city Climate Action Plan offered many of the same warnings.

Lancaster city ranked 14th in the nation among the top 50 cities with the biggest increases in heavy downpours from 2005-2014, and seven of the 10 hottest days on record since 1914 in Lancaster have occurred in the last 20 years, it reads.

Influencing policymakers

With weather extremes like those in mind, Kirk said she set out to influence local officials to address human causes of climate change, such as emissions from power plants that burn fossil fuels and exhaust from vehicle tail pipes.

Last month, the activists submitted a petition to Rep. Smucker signed by more than 190 county residents, mostly by people who interacted with group members during their vigils.

We are a concerned group of citizens who are asking that you take climate change seriously, and that you advocate for any legislation to address it, including promotion of renewable energy, decrease of harmful fuel emissions and protection of our oceans, the petition reads.

On Wednesday afternoon, a spokesman for Smucker acknowledged that the congressman had received the petition and said he greatly appreciates constituents sharing their concerns and opinions, which help to inform his decision-making when Congress considers legislation.

Smucker, a Republican, so far hasnt made climate change a significant priority and has indicated that hes not convinced by the scientists who study it. While running for reelection in 2018, Smucker briefly shared his views on climate change during a recorded debate, saying: I do think the science is clear that the climate is changing. Where I think there is some disagreement is how much human activity has led to that.

But there is no debate over the cause of climate change. Scientists have linked the burning of fossil fuels and release of long-trapped methane gases directly to the observed changes in average temperatures, rising sea levels and ocean acidification. According to NASA, without these human causes, (n)atural drivers  would push our planet toward a cooling period.

Still, Smuckers views probably come closest to the views of his constituents. An August poll conducted by the Franklin & Marshall College Center for Opinion Research showed that people living in southcentral Pennsylvania are measurably less concerned about climate change. Nearly half of the respondents in the rest of the state said they believe Pennsylvania should do more to address climate change, but in the region that includes Smuckers district, just 27% shared that view.

Changing guard

Its those attitudes, Kirk said, that show the importance of her groups efforts, which continued Friday in downtown Lancaster just as the United Nations-sponsored climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, was drawing to a close.

There, representatives from 200 nations, including the United States, tried to map out an international strategy for cutting human-driven carbon emissions. Despite some nations pledges to limit emissions and the consumption of fossil fuels, disagreements about how to achieve those cuts were big enough that observers were declaring that the final agreements would fall well short of the summits overarching goal of limiting future warming.

Back in Lancaster, about a half dozen members of Lancaster Climate Vigil gathered near the Lancaster Central Market holding signs with messages like grandmother for climate mercy and people vs. fossil fuel.

Kathy Schreiber, an environmental geographer and professor at Millersville University, celebrated the Lancaster Climate Vigil group.

I think its critical, Schreiber said, noting that local activists are setting an example for others to follow.

The group is looking to take its message to the Millersville campus, where Kirk and Schreiber are organizing an event for 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 16, weather dependent.

Members of the universitys faculty, staff and students have been invited to participate, Schreiber said, hoping the event will reach many students.

Its been my experience that although there are some students that are aware of the dimensions of the climate crisis there are many that are not, she said.

Its an important event, according to Brabson, Giger and Kirk, who are in their 60s and 70s. Much of the vigil group is in the same age range, Kirk said.

Reaching university-aged students could inspire the next generation of activists, who will ultimately have to live with the consequences of climate change, she said.

Thats where my heart is, Kirk said.

According to Kirk, the outdoor vigils at Penn Square are likely to be on hiatus during the winter months, but they are expected to return next spring. Kirk encouraged those interested in the groups work to contact her at claudiakirk11@gmail.com.
Update: Pedestrian who died in Lancaster city crash was struck by hit-and-run driver, police searching for motorist

Local pediatrician Dr. Steven F. Killough died Friday as a result of injuries he suffered after being struck by a vehicle while walking in Lancaster city.

Thats according to an online post made by officials at Lancaster Pediatric Associates, where Killough had practiced for more than three decades.

It is with profound sadness that we share the news, the Lancaster Pediatrics post reads, later continuing. Lancaster Pediatrics mourns the loss of a great pediatrician and a loyal friend.

Lancaster County Coroner Dr. Stephen Diamantoni confirmed Killoughs death, explaining he died Friday in a hospital due to traumatic head injury.

According to the Lancaster Pediatric Associates post, Killough was struck by a vehicle while walking in the citys downtown area.

Diamantoni referred questions about the reported crash to police.

A Lancaster police officer answering phones at the station Friday said he didnt have information about a crash. Voice and email messages left for city polices public information officer late Friday afternoon were not immediately returned.

Its unclear exactly when or where a crash may have occurred.

Killough, a graduate of Brown University, had been with Lancaster Pediatric Associates since 1989, according to the online post.

Since then, he has cared for and touched the lives of thousands of children, it reads. He was a strong advocate for child health and safety and dedicated himself to many worthy causes including The Lancaster Cleft Palate Clinic, Habitat for Humanity, and St. James Episcopal Church.

His colleagues also remembered the late doctor for his love of music and poetry, as well as for his devotion to his family and patients.

The light and love of his life were his family; wife Nan, daughter Emily, son Andrew, and their families, the post reads. If you or your child were a patient of Dr. Killoughs, please know that his greatest honor was the privilege of caring for you.

Following the announcement, many of Killoughs former patients and parents of patients took to social media to offer their condolences and to share fond memories.

On Facebook, one of them wrote: This breaks my heart. Dr. Killough was such a calm, gentle man.

Another said: Dr. Killough was such a wonderful physician, so very caring and patient with my kids when we saw him in the office. We always appreciated his calm, quiet demeanor.
Two girls remain hospitalized in rehabilitation facilities nearly eight weeks after they were injured in a charter bus crash in Schuylkill County, where the vehicle left a highway while carrying a busload of people traveling to LCBCs Manheim campus.

Both girls have been courageously persevering through their physical therapy sessions, but even as potential signs of progress are being made, its really uncertain about what the future holds for their physical abilities, LCBC Senior Pastor David Ashcraft said, giving an update Friday afternoon.

Earlier that day, Trooper David Beohm said he had no update to give about a state police investigation of the crash. He did not answer questions about whether a cause for the crash has been determined or whether charges will be filed.

The crash took place Sept. 19, when Adam Wright, a driver for the Premiere #1 Limousine Service charter company, was piloting the bus on Route 25 in Frailey Township  about 47 miles north of Manheim.

Wright, 37, of Lancaster, was transporting a group of 31 church members who were returning to the Manheim LCBC following a religious retreat in New York.

About 2:30 p.m., the bus left the roadway, hitting a guardrail and striking an embankment before continuing about 50 yards into a wooded area, according to investigators.

All except one of the 31 church members  high school girls and older volunteers  were injured and transported to local hospitals for treatment.

Ashcraft spoke about those injured church members in a video message emailed to parishioners shortly after 3 p.m. Friday.

Our staff remains in contact with each family, and we continue to hear encouraging news of students and volunteers progressing in their healing journeys, Ashcraft said.

He later added: Their daily lives have also changed.  About half are not yet back to their regular rhythms of school and life.

In the email, Ashcraft told his congregation that the injured and their families are thankful for ongoing support and prayers from members of the church community.

And he asked those community members to continue that support, especially when it comes to the two girls hospitalized in the rehabilitation facilities.

Specifically, he asked them to pray for miracles  that sight would be restored in one girls damaged left eye and that both girls would have full feeling and strength return to their legs.

Wright also was injured in the crash and hospitalized, but a Premiere representative said previously that the driver was expected to be released by late September.

On Friday, a representative for Premiere would not comment on whether Wright had been released. She said company officials would no longer be sharing any comments about the crash. However, she also confirmed that an internal investigation remains ongoing.
When: Elizabethtown Area school board meeting, Nov. 9.

What happened: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl may be a New York Times bestseller that inspired an award-winning film, but this 2012 novel, a middle school library offering, was described as absolutely disgusting by one parent speaking at the public meeting.

The gist of it: Dan Matthews said his daughter asked about what was in the book, and he read to the board a brief excerpt of dialogue describing an oral sex act on a female in graphic terms.

Quotable: My 11-year-old brought this book home from this school. And there are five more copies in this library, Matthews said. How can any of you justify this being in this school right here?

Reaction: Matthews called for the resignation of the Elizabethtown Area School Districts superintendent, Michele Balliet. Several audience members applauded his remarks. Following the public comment period, Balliet immediately responded, offering a sincere apology to Mr. Matthews, his family and any other child that has taken that book out of the library. She assured the audience and board members that we are certainly going to look into that situation. That should not have happened, and my sincere apologies to you, sir, and to your family. Her remarks also received applause. Immediately following the meeting, Balliet declined any further comment on what specific action would be taken.

More public comment: After Matthews spoke but before Balliets comments, Tina Wilson reacted to what Matthews read, calling it pornographic material and horrendous. She asked for a heartfelt apology and an immediate scouring of that library and removing everything like that.

Background: The teen and young adult fiction novel by Jesse Andrews is described on the Amazon and Barnes & Noble websites as the funniest book youll ever read about death. Geared toward ages 14 and up, it tells the story of high school senior Greg Gaines, who deals with school by keeping a low profile and making mediocre films with his friend, Earl. He befriends Rachel, a girl who has cancer. The novel was adapted into a film of the same title, which won both the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival.
KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP)  Sudanese security forces fired live ammunition and tear gas on Saturday to disperse protesters denouncing the militarys tightening grip on the country, killing at least five and wounding several, activists said.

The violence came as thousands of pro-democracy protesters yet again took to the streets across Sudan to rally against the militarys takeover last month. The coup has drawn international criticism and massive protests in the streets of the capital of Khartoum and elsewhere in the country.

The killings on Saturday took place in Khartoum and its twin city of Omdurman, and the dead included four killed by gunshots and one who died from a tear gas canister, according to the Sudan Doctors Committee. Several other protesters were wounded, including from gunshots, it said.

The rallies, called by the pro-democracy movement, came two days after coup leader Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan reappointed himself head of the Sovereign Council, Sudan's interim governing body. Thursdays move angered the pro-democracy alliance and frustrated the United States and other countries that have urged the generals to reverse their coup.

For me, this is an illegitimate council and this was a unilateral decision that was taken by Burhan alone," said protester Wigdan Abbas, a 45-year-old healthcare worker. It was a decision by one person ... without consulting the coalition for freedom and change."

The Sudanese military seized power Oct. 25, dissolving the transitional government and arresting dozens of officials and politicians. The takeover upended a fragile planned transition to democratic rule, more than two years after a popular uprising forced the removal of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir and his Islamist government.

Saturdays protests were called by the Sudanese Professionals Association and the so-called Resistance Committees. Both groups were primary forces behind the uprising against al-Bashir in April 2019. Other political parties and movements joined the call. The Sudan Doctors Committee is also part of the pro-democracy movement.

They movement has opposed the return to the power-sharing deal that established the deposed transitional government late in 2019 and demand a full handover to civilians to lead the transition to democracy.

Earlier Saturday, protesters gathered in Khartoum neighborhoods waved Sudanese flags and posters of deposed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, who has been under house arrest since the coup. They also chanted civilian, civilian," a reference to their main demand that the generals hand over power to civilians.

Later, the demonstrators regrouped in Khartoum and barricaded at least one major street with stones and burning tires. There were also protests in other Sudanese cities and towns.

"The youth ... will not give up and will not stop this revolution until we achieve the goals of the revolution, said Mohammed Ahmed, a 28-year-old university student.

Hamza Baloul, the information minister in the deposed government, took part in Saturdays rallies following his release from detention earlier this month.

There should be no negotiations with the coup leaders, he told the protesters in Khartoum. The Sudanese people insist on a civilian government ... the civilian state (government) is our option and we will fight for it."

Later Saturday, security forces stormed the Arbaeen Hospital in Omdurman, pushing and beating up doctors, as well as injured protesters who were there for medical help and their families, the Sudan Doctors Committee said.

Pascal Cuttat, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross delegation in Khartoum, condemned the violence at the hospital. The work of medical professionals must be facilitated and the injured must have access to the care they need, he tweeted.

The U.S. Embassy in Khartoum also condemned the excessive use of force against protesters who took to the streets for freedom and and democracy.

Sudanese police, however, denied using live ammunition against the protesters and said that the demonstrators attacked several police stations and vehicles in Khartoum, leaving some 39 policemen with serious injuries.

The demonstrations took place amid tight security. Authorities had closed off bridges over the Nile River linking Khartoum's neighborhoods. Troops and paramilitary forces also sealed off the area around the military headquarters, where thousands of protesters set up camp in April 2019, forcing the military to remove al-Bashir.

Saturday's deaths have brought the tally to at least 19 protesters killed due to excessive force used by the countrys security forces since the Oct. 25 coup, according to Sudanese doctors and the United Nations.

Ongoing mediation efforts have sought a way out of the crisis in Sudan.

The U.N. envoy in Sudan, Volker Perthes, said he held good discussions Friday with representatives of the protest movement in Khartoum, civil society activists and Mohammed Hassan al-Taishi, a civilian member of the council dissolved in the coup. Nasredeen Abdulbari, justice minister of the deposed government, also took part.



Magdy reported from Cairo.
Parents, Community Members Plan Rally to Keep Trinity Elementary School Open

A rally to save Trinity Elementary from closing is expected to attract members of the community, students, parents and educators at the 117-year-old school today at 2 p.m.

Plans are to close the school and turn it into a corporate charter. Rally organizers say they want to put pressure on Los Angeles Unified School District Local District Superintendent Frances Baez to halt the closure of Trinity Elementary because it would destabilize students and families trying to recover emotionally and financially from the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Trinity Elementary has a 99% student of color population, according to a release from members from Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment-Los Angeles Education Chapter.

The alliance members are asking school board members and Superintendent Megan Reilly to assist in the effort to keep the school open. The rally, march and a news conference will be at Trinity Elementary, 3736 Trinity St. in Los Angeles.
As worldwide temperatures continue to rise, thick sheets of ice called glaciers are going away. Some are melting, while others are evaporating.

This will hurt the people and nations that depend on glaciers. They provide water for hydroelectric power. They bring in visitors  and money from visitors. And their layers of ice keep a record of climate history. In some places, people consider the ice on top of distant mountains to be representations of spirits.

The melting ice means trouble for people in Africa, Europe, South America and Indonesia.

The Rwenzori Mountains in Africa are on the border of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. There once were 40 glaciers but less than half remained by 2005. Experts believe all the glaciers in the Rwenzori Mountains will be gone in 20 years.

Richard Taylor is a professor who studies hydrogeology at University College in London. He said Uganda will have trouble if the water does not flow as usual. Uganda depends on the melting ice for hydroelectric power.

In Tanzania, Mount Kilimanjaro has lost about 90 percent of its ice. Some of the ice turns directly into water vapor and does not produce any water as it goes away.

People are worried that the lack of ice and snow on the mountain will mean fewer visitors. Tourists made up about 10 percent of Tanzanias economic output in 2019.

Rainer Prinz studies glaciers at the University of Innsbruck in Austria. He said people in Tanzania see the snow and ice on top of the mountains as the seat of god. It has a very spiritual meaning, he said. Prinz added that the loss of glaciers might also affect the religious beliefs of the people who live near the mountain.

In Europe, on the border of Germany and Austria, less than half a square kilometer of ice remains on five glaciers combined. Scientists estimate that is an 88 percent loss compared to 1850.

Christoph Mayer is a scientist at the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Munich, Germany. He believes the economy will be hurt when travel companies can no longer tell visitors they can see and walk on high mountains with glaciers.

People living around these regions really live from tourism ... there will be an impact on them if they lose these glaciers, Mayer said.

Scientists are also concerned about the loss of history as glaciers melt.

R. Dwi Susanto is an oceanographer, or ocean scientist. During a 2010 visit to the Carstensz glacier in Indonesia, he took samples from the ice. But the samples only let scientists examine climate records dating back to the 1960s.

He said the loss of the glacial ice is sad because its not only a loss of local or national heritage for Indonesia, but this is also the loss of climate heritage for the world.

Disappearing glaciers are also a problem in South America. Scientists are concerned that the Humboldt Glacier in Venezuela could be gone in 20 years. They are studying what is happening to the land around the glacier.

The scientists want to be able to warn other communities that still depend on large glaciers for water and power.

Lauren Vargo studies glaciers for the Antarctic Research Center in Wellington, New Zealand. She said losing glaciers will badly hurt Peru, which depends on melting ice as a water source. Peru already lost about 30 percent of its glaciers between 2000 and 2016.

Mayer, the scientist in Germany, said losing the glaciers will affect more than just the local communities. It will cause problems around the world  from higher sea levels to changes in usual weather.

He said losing the glaciers is really a warning sign of what is coming in the future.

Im Dan Friedell.

Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on a report by The Associated Press. Ashley Thompson was the editor.

What are some ways melting glaciers might change your life? Tell us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page.

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Words in This Story

tourist  n. a person who travels to a place for pleasure

region  n. a part of a country, of the world, etc., that is different or separate from other parts in some way

impact  n. a powerful or major influence or effect

sample  n. a small amount of something that gives you information about the thing it was taken from

heritage  n. the traditions, achievements, beliefs, etc., that are part of the history of a group or nation  usually singular


Today we tell a traditional American story called a "tall tale." A tall tale is a story about a person who is larger than life. The descriptions in the story are exaggerated  much greater than in real life. Long ago, the people who settled in undeveloped areas in America first told tall tales. After a hard day's work, people gathered to tell each other funny stories.



Pecos Bill was a larger than life hero of the American West. No one knows who first told stories about Pecos Bill. Cowboys may have invented the stories. Others say Edward O'Reilly invented the character in stories he wrote for the Century Magazine in the early 1900s. The stories were collected in a book called "The Saga of Pecos Bill," published in 1923.



Another writer, James Cloyd Bowman, wrote an award-winning children's book called "Pecos Bill: The Greatest Cowboy of All Time." The book won the Newbery Honor in 1938.



Pecos Bill was not a historical person. But he does represent the spirit of early settlers in the American West. His unusual childhood and extraordinary actions tell about people who believed there were no limits to what they could do. Now, here is Barbara Klein with our story.



Pecos Bill had one of the strangest childhoods a boy ever had. It all started after his father decided that there was no longer enough room in east Texas for his family.



"Pack up, Ma!" he cried. "Neighbors movin' in 50 miles away! It's getting too crowded!"



So they loaded up a wagon with all their things. Now some say they had 15 children while others say 18. However many there were, the children were louder than thunder. And as they set off across the wild country of west Texas, their mother and father could hardly hear a thing.

Now, as they came to the Pecos River, the wagon hit a big rock. The force threw little Bill out of the wagon and he landed on the sandy ground. Mother did not know Bill was gone until she gathered the children for the midday meal. Mother set off with some of the children to look for Bill, but they could find no sign of him.



Well, some people say Bill was just a baby when his family lost him. Others say he was four years old. But all agree that a group of animals called coyotes found Bill and raised him. Bill did all the things those animals did, like chase lizards and howl at the moon. He became as good a coyote as any.

Now, Bill spent 17 years living like a coyote until one day a cowboy rode by on his horse. Some say the cowboy was one of Bill's brothers. Whoever he was, he took one look at Bill and asked, "What are you?"



Bill was not used to human language. At first, he could not say anything. The cowboy repeated his question. This time, Bill said, "varmint."



That is a word used for any kind of wild animal.



"No you aren't," said the cowboy.



"Yes, I am," said Bill. "I have fleas."



"Lots of people have fleas," said the cowboy. "You don't have a tail."



"Yes, I do," said Bill.



"Show it to me then," the cowboy said.



Bill looked at his backside and realized that he did not have a tail like the other coyotes. "Well, what am I then?" asked Bill.



"You're a cowboy! So start acting like one!" the cowboy cried out. Well that was all Bill needed to hear. He said goodbye to his coyote friends and left to join the world of humans.



Now, Pecos Bill was a good cowboy. Still, he hungered for adventure. One day he heard about a rough group of men. There is some debate over what the group was called. But one storyteller calls it the "Hell's Gate Gang."



So Bill set out across the rough country to find this gang of men. Well, Bill's horse soon was injured so Bill had to carry it for a hundred miles. Then Bill met a rattlesnake 50 feet long. The snake made a hissing noise and was not about to let Bill pass. But after a tense minute, Bill beat the snake until it surrendered. He felt sorry for the varmint, though, and wrapped it around his arm.



After Bill walked another hundred miles, he came across an angry mountain lion. There was a huge battle, but Bill took control of the big cat and put his saddle on it. He rode that mountain lion all the way to the camp of the Hell's Gate Gang.



Now, when Bill saw the gang he shouted out, "Who's the boss around here?"



A huge cowboy, 9 feet tall, took one look at Bill and said in a shaky voice, "I was the boss. But you are the boss from here on in."



With his gang, Pecos Bill was able to create the biggest ranch in the Southwest. Bill and his men had so many cattle that they needed all of New Mexico to hold them. Arizona was the pasture where the cattle ate grass.



Pecos Bill invented the art of being a cowboy. He invented the skill of throwing a special rope called a lasso over a cow's head to catch wandering cattle.

Some say he used a rattlesnake for a lasso. Others say he made a lasso so big that it circled the whole Earth.



Bill invented the method of using a hot branding iron to permanently put the mark of a ranch on a cow's skin. That helped stop people from stealing cattle. Some say he invented cowboy songs to help calm the cattle and make the cowboy's life easier. But he is also said to have invented tarantulas and scorpions as jokes. Cowboys have had trouble with those poisonous creatures ever since.



Now, Pecos Bill could ride anything that ever was. So, as some tell the story, there came a storm bigger than any other. It all happened during the worst drought the West had ever seen. It was so dry that horses and cows started to dry up and blow away in the wind. So when Bill saw the windstorm, he got an idea. The huge tornado kicked across the land like a wild bronco. But Bill jumped on it without a thought.



He rode that tornado across Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, all the time squeezing the rain out of it to save the land from drought. When the storm was over, Bill fell off the tornado. He landed in California. He left a hole so deep that to this day it is known as Death Valley.



Now, Bill had a horse named Widow Maker. He got that name because any man who rode that horse would be thrown off and killed, and his wife would become a widow. No one could ride that horse but Bill.



And Widow Maker, in the end, caused the biggest problem for Pecos Bill. You see, one day Bill saw a woman. Not just any woman, but a wild, red-haired woman, riding a giant catfish down the Rio Grande River.



Her name was Slue-foot Sue. And Bill fell in love with her at first sight. Well, Bill would not rest until he had asked for her hand in marriage. And Slue-foot Sue accepted.



On their wedding day, Pecos Bill dressed in his best buckskin suit. And Sue wore a beautiful white dress with a huge steel-spring bustle in the back. It was the kind of big dress that many women wore in those days  the bigger the better.



Now, after the marriage ceremony Slue-foot Sue got a really bad idea. She decided that she wanted to ride Widow Maker. Bill begged her not to try. But she had her mind made up.



Well, the second she jumped on the horse's back he began to kick and buck like nothing anyone had ever seen. He sent Sue flying so high that she sailed clear over the new moon.



She fell back to Earth, but the steel-spring bustle just bounced her back up as high as before.



Now, there are many different stories about what happened next. One story says Bill saw that Sue was in trouble. She would keep bouncing forever if nothing was done. So he took his rope out -- though some say it was a huge rattlesnake -- and lassoed Sue to catch her and bring her down to Earth. Only, she just bounced him back up with her.

Somehow the two came to rest on the moon. And that's where they stayed. Some people say they raised a family up there. Their children were as loud and wild as Bill and Sue were in their younger days. People say the sound of thunder that sometimes carries over the dry land around the Pecos River is nothing more than Pecos Bill's family laughing up a storm.



This tall tale of Pecos Bill was adapted for Learning English and produced by Mario Ritter. Your storyteller was Barbara Klein. The video was produced by Adam Brock.

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Test your understanding of this story by taking this short quiz.

Quiz - Pecos Bill Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz

For Teachers

This lesson plan, based on the CALLA Approach, teaches the strategy classify to help students understand the story of Pecos Bill.



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Words in This Story

debate - n. a discussion between people in which they express different opinions about something

varmint - n. (chiefly US, old-fashioned + humorous) an animal that is considered a problem

lasso - n. a rope with a loop that is used for catching animals (such as cattle or horses)

tarantula - n. a large, hairy spider that lives in warm regions

scorpion - n. a small animal related to spiders that has two front claws and a curved tail with a poisonous stinger at the end

make up ones mind - idiom. to decide on something


The Apostolic Library in Vatican City is home to ancient writings, rare books and reading rooms. Now, it is opening a small new space to the public where modern-day artwork can be seen next to the librarys treasures.

The first show at the space is called Tutti, the Italian word for all. It was suggested by Pope Francis' 2020 letter called "Brothers All." The message appealed for environmental renewal, greater human unity and a more just socio-economic order in the world after the COVID-19 crisis.

Artist Pietro Ruffo of Italys capital, Rome, was invited to design the first show. Maps and migration are among the common subjects of his work. At the Library, he transformed one room into a tropical forest. In another room, Ruffo designed a modern version of one of the library's ancient maps of the Nile River. He placed both maps side by side.

The leader of the Roman Catholic Church and Vatican City ruler, Pope Francis, introduced the Apostolic Librarys new space last week. Pope Francis said the world was in need of new maps after COVID-19. He called for a greater sense of fraternity, or brotherhood.

"Humanity needs new maps to discover the sense of fraternity, of friendship and the common good," he said. "We need a new beauty, that isn't the usual reflection of power of some but a courageous mosaic of everyone's diversity."

The estate of former U.S. businessman Kirk Kerkorian paid for the project. Early in his time as pope, Francis had appealed for the Apostolic Library to open itself up more to the outside world. In 2016, Francis declared the papal summer home in Castel Gandolfo open to visitors.

The exhibit at the Apostolic Library is open Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The current show will close February 22, 2022. Visitors must seek admission through an online request. The price of admission is about $17.

The Apostolic Library is separate from the Vatican Apostolic Archives, which is home to all the documentation from papal headquarters and embassies. Both the library and the archives are open to researchers upon request.

I'm Caty Weaver.

The Associated Press reported on this story. Caty Weaver adapted it for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor.

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Words in This Story

transform  v. to change something completely often in a good way

reflection  n. something that shows the effect, existence or qualities of another thing

courageous  adj. brave; showing courage

mosaic  n. something made up of different things that together form a design  usually singular

diversity  n. the state of having people who are different races or who have different cultures in a group or organization

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As part of the Democrats' push for for lower prescription drug costs, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, visited a Corvallis pharmacy Friday, Nov. 12 to discuss a drug pricing agreement and his call for a federal review of pharmacy closures.

It's an issue that hits close to home following Bi-Mart's announcement that it will close 56 pharmacies in the Pacific Northwest, including 37 in Oregon.

Addressing a small audience at Rices Pharmacy & Gifts of mostly staffers, Wyden said across every region of Oregon small pharmacies face unprecedented challenges from what he called powerful health care middlemen  namely major insurance companies and pharmacy benefit managers  whom Wyden accused of squeezing small pharmacy owners to the breaking point.

A central problem is increasing direct and indirect remuneration fees imposed by Medicare Part D and pharmacy benefit managers, Wyden said. Those fees increased by 91,500% between 2010 and 2019 and doubled from 2018 to 2020, according to the National Community Pharmacists Association.

Wyden called the fees anti-competitive, inconsistent and arbitrary.

Its as if these middlemen, the insurance companies and (pharmacy benefit managers), can say, Gosh, were not making enough money right now, we havent been profitable enough this year. So were just going to go out and tell these small pharmacies theyve got to give us more money, Wyden said.

Wyden believes the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has the authority, without passing any new law, to fix the fee problem. He requested the agency propose and finalize a requirement to apply all pharmacy direct and indirect remuneration fees at the point of sale, halting additional fees at a later time.

Tom Field, pharmacist and Rices owner, hosted the event. He said weathering direct and indirect remuneration fees is the No. 1 concern when it comes to small pharmacy survival.

Austin Blakeslee, director of pharmacy with Hi-School Pharmacy, said Wydens remarks were on-point from his personal experience. He said pharmacies need reform now to protect older people and independent businesses. Blakeslee added that some pharmacies are turning away new clients because they cant afford enough staff to meet needs.

We will never do that, he said. But we can only meet this goal if we continue to run our business; [direct and indirect remuneration] fees are a significant burden to our ability to serve our patients, as evidenced by multiple businesses at this point exiting the pharmacy world. This issue cannot wait.

Local resident and business owner Saleem Noorani said American consumers are being forced in many cases to choose between filling life-saving prescriptions and paying for essentials. He said its outrageous to be paying three times the cost that people in other countries are charged for the same medicines.

Prescription drug prices keep rising, Noorani said, citing three in particular with substantial hikes in annual costs during the past five years:

Revlimid, which treats forms of cancer, went from $187,574 to $267,583.

Victoza, which treats diabetes, went from $7,936 to $11,300.

Spiriva went from $3,886 to $5,289.

There is no greater issue affecting the pocketbooks of seniors on Medicare than the ever-increasing costs of prescription drugs, he said. Allowing Medicare to finally negotiate drug prices is a big win for all of us.

Former Sweet Home Mayor Jim Gourley also spoke at the news conference. He said as a longtime elected official hes heard plenty about how people cant keep up with increasing drug costs, adding that people on fixed incomes are forced to constantly adjust their budgets around the cost changes.

We cant go on this way, Gourley said.

Wyden said the senate finance committee, of which he is the chairman, has written the major pieces of a price-control package that has been agreed upon by congressional leadership. Its ready for consideration as part of the Build Back Better legislation.

Background

In October, Wyden sent a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in response as Bi-Mart moved to close 56 pharmacies in the Pacific Northwest. He called on the federal agency to review pharmacy closures, many of which are in rural communities.

Wyden noted in his letter, which was directed to Administrator Chiquita Brooks-Lasure, that Bi-Mart has cited increasing costs and ongoing reimbursement pressure in its announcement of the pharmacies closing. Wyden said rural communities are particularly dependent on local community pharmacists for their care, and are especially impacted by these closures.

Walgreens issued a news release on Sept. 30 regarding an agreement to acquire Bi-Marts pharmacy business, including the 56 Bi-Mart pharmacies in Oregon, Idaho and Washington. Bi-Marts retail stores will remain open. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

A community reacts to alleged bias crime in Corvallis Local LGBTQ+ groups in Corvallis are still reeling from an assault police have labeled a bias crime at the 7-Eleven at 746 NW Kings Blvd. on O

Cody Mann covers the cities of Albany and Lebanon. He can be contacted at 541-812-6113 or Cody.Mann@lee.net.

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It's been almost three days since the Idaho athletic department decided to fire football coach Paul Petrino, and the reaction to the dismissal has been one of sadness for the players, but maybe a sigh of relief for the fan base.
Sun and warm weather provided ideal conditions for residents on Veterans Day as they honored former and active-duty military service members across the Central Coast.

Events from Atascadero to Santa Barbara were held Thursday, including the 21st annual Veterans Day barbecue organized by Santa Maria attorney Michael Clayton at Elks Lodge No. 1538 on North Bradley Road.

During a ceremony Thursday morning at the Santa Maria Cemetery, Mike Stadnick Jr. led an honor guard ceremony with several members of the community in attendance. Stadnick spent more than four decades in the military and retired as a captain in the Air Force.

Several more services were held, including one that took place at the Faces of Freedom memorial in Atascadero, which was formally dedicated in November 2008.

In San Luis Obispo, Central Coast Veterans Museum and American Legion Post 66 hosted a community celebration that included a barbecue, guided tours, free admission, an on-site blood drive and "Women in the Military: Local Heroes," a featured special display.

In Lompoc, Elks Lodge No. 2274 hosted a Veterans Day pulled pork barbecue, and services were held at the Rotary Club and the Veterans Memorial Building.

Several keynote speakers from Vandenberg Space Force Base gave speeches at ceremonies throughout the day. They included Col. David Rickards, director of staff for the 30th Space Wing at the Lompoc Veterans Memorial; Col. Jessica Spitler, commander of the 30th Medical Group, who spoke at the Santa Maria Cemetery; and Col. Chris Sheffield, Space Launch Delta 30 vice commander, who spoke in Guadalupe.

Additionally, Col. Robert Long, commander of Space Launch Delta 30, gave a speech honoring service members at the Solvang Veterans Memorial Hall.

In Santa Maria, Clayton's Veterans Day barbecue kicked off with a Santa Maria Police Department color guard led by Officer Rafael Torres, who is also a Marine Corps veteran.

The barbecue was a drive-through event, instead of being held in person due to coronavirus protocols, according to Clayton. It was the second year held at the Elks Lodge because coronavirus rules prevented him from holding it at the Santa Maria Veterans Memorial Building, where the barbecue had been held for 11 years, he added.
Three Santa Barbara County agencies are calling for artwork that expresses what environmental justice means to county residents for use in county documents, and the five top artists will receive honorariums or scholarships.
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Idlewood Subdivision moves to Precinct 2

This map shows what Angelina County precincts looked like from 2011 until commissioners redistricted Precinct 1 and 2 lines this week. Notably, it does not place the Idlewood subdivision, which is along the northeast side of U.S. Highway 69 north, in Precinct 2. A closeup of Angelina Countys precincts where they meet in Lufkin with the new precinct lines. These lines are the same as the ones prior to 2010.

Angelina County Commissioners on Friday approved the redistricting of commissioner Precincts 1 and 2 to rebalance their population in accordance with the Constitution.

The new precinct lines match those used prior to redistricting after the 2010 Census and move the Idlewood subdivision, which has been in Precinct 1 for the last 10 years, into Precinct 2. This subdivision sits on the northeast side of U.S. Highway 69 north, outside of Loop 287.

Idlewood will now be represented by Commissioner Kermit Kennedy.

Conversations on Tuesday about this decision indicated each precinct should hold 21,358 people. Precincts 1 and 2 were each about 7% off the mark, making the county about 15% out of balance, according to J. Eric Magee of Allison, Bass & Magee LLP, the firm helping the county navigate the redistricting process.

The commissioners needed to create a map that would add about 1,600 people to Precinct 2 and remove about 1,600 people from Precinct 1. In looking at maps from 2010, they found the solution.

The Idlewood subdivision now joins a precinct considered a majority-minority precinct, Magee said. A majority-minority area is one in which a racial minority makes up a majority of the population, according to the U.S. Population Reference Bureau website.

John Vaughn, vice president of the Idlewood Homeowners Association, moved into Idlewood shortly after the redistricting decision in 2011 moved it into Precinct 1. The subdivision includes more than 300 homes and more than a thousand county residents.

The roads in the subdivision have been subpar since the move and were better cared for when they were in Precinct 2, Vaughn said. He and resident Yvonne Smith think being in the larger precinct placed Idlewood in direct competition with large subdivisions in Hudson for the commissioners ear.

And their opinion may not be unfounded. Magee on Tuesday said people in the smaller precincts have a better shot of speaking with their commissioners.

Now going to Precinct 2, its going to relieve a lot of that, Vaughn said.

Precinct 2 has fewer roads, as a large chunk of it resides within Lufkin city limits and those roads are maintained by the city or state.

Precinct 1 also has had some turnover in the last year. Former Angelina County Commissioner Steve Allen took office in January before resigning in April. He beat former Commissioner Greg Harrison in the 2020 summer runoff.

Current Pct. 1 Commissioner Rodney Paulette was appointed to the position by County Judge Don Lymbery after Allens resignation. The unit-road system was then implemented in the hiring of county road engineer Chuck Walker.

Walker was hired by the county on a split-vote over the summer. It was one Paulette voted for in faith the system would fix county roads, as hes said many times. His intentions for his role as commissioner were to balance the budget and get the county operating like a business, a part of which is in implementing the unit-road system, he said in an interview in April.

Paulette supervised the completion of work on several roads, including McKnight Road, and across the precinct for culvert repairs in his time in office.

An attempt to reach Paulette for comment late Friday was not successful.

Weve been here a year and a half, Smith said. I think its going to be a positive change for us since we dont have to compete with the Hudson neighborhoods. I think, not just for us, but the whole redistricting process is going to be a positive thing for everybody.

This move does result in the closure of two voting precincts, county elections administrator Elizabeth Hawkins said on Friday.

What were going to have to do in our system is move the streets in that area to the correct voting precinct, the correct commissioner, and (ensure) everything is matching up correctly so they can pull up their correct ballot, she said.

The voting precinct closures are the only issue Vaughn and Smith are concerned with regarding the redistricting. Because the polling location at the Shrine Club is heavily utilized by the neighborhood, neither one wants to see that location closed.

Registered voters will be notified of any changes ahead of the election through a letter, Hawkins said. Although, on the issue of voting precincts, there is a decent chance it will not matter.

Smith does not think losing two precincts would affect voter turnout, especially as the county is moving toward a countywide voting system.

Hawkins is working on submitting information from the Constitutional Amendment Election to the Texas Secretary of State for a final decision on the countywide voting precincts plan. If the secretary of state deems the election successful, voters will be able to vote anywhere in the county.

Voting precinct locations will be published by The Lufkin Daily News ahead of elections for anyone who is unsure of where to go.
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As reports of confirmation of Norovirus in Kerala gain traction, State Health Minister Veena George took stock of the situation on Friday. According to a release by the state health ministry, Veena George chaired a meet with officials to guide them and further prevent the spread of the newly discovered Norovirus - wherein reports claim that this virus has high transmissibility. The virus is reported to be causing both diarrhoea and vomiting.

Kerela govt. urges citizens to be vigilant

A statement released by the state health ministry read that the Kerala govt had been notified of the reports of Norovirus rising.

State Health Minister Veena George while taking stock of the situation had said, "Currently there is no cause for concern but everyone should be vigilant. Drinking water sources need to be hygienic,"

The statement went on to mention that George had directed to intensify preventive measures and spread awareness regarding the gravity of the virus. She added that the citizens should not panic and remember that by adhering to proper treatment, Norovirus could be cured. She concluded by saying, "Everyone should be aware of the disease and its means of prevention."

Norovirus confirmed in Wayanad among 13 vet student

On Thursday, Wayanad district in Kerala reported the first case of Norovirus wherein 13 students studying in a veterinary college in Pookode had caught the deadly virus. The Veterinary college authorities said the infection was first found in students living in hostels outside the campus. The health authorities were quick to collect samples and send them to NIV in Alappuzha for testing. The health authorities who had taken up their cases had ensured that the situation was under control and further spread of the virus had been prevented.

What is Norovirus?

Norovirus is a highly infectious virus that causes vomiting and diarrhoea. While it passes in a couple of days, it is easily transmitted through contact with infected individuals or contaminated surfaces. According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), only a few norovirus particles can make other people sick. The infected person poses danger to the surrounding individuals especially in the first few days of infection if it results in vomiting.

Image Credit - Twitter - Veena George/ Rep
In a bid to counter China's 'expansionist' ambitions, India has teamed with United States (US), United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel to form a new 'quad' in the Middle East (West Asia). With climate change, energy and regional security in focus, India's new quad deal comes in the background of the Israel-US-UAE 'Abraham accords' which normalised Israel-UAE ties. Moreover, India's talks with China over de-escalation at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) have reached an impasse as the 13th round of talks were not fruitful after Chinese side did not agree to any of India's forward-looking proposals.

What is new Quad?

On October 18, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States began a new quadrilateral economic forum which will deal with climate change, energy, and maritime security. Similar to the original Quadrilateral Security Dialogue of India-US-Australia-Japan, this new quad engages India and US' cooperation against instability. While the original quad reortedly counters China, this quad targets the instability in the Middle East (West Asia). As per reports, the new quad meeting was joined by India's External Affairs minister S Jaishankar, US State secretary Anthony Blinken, Israeli foreign minister Yair Lapid and UAE foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

On the other hand, the first in-person meeting between the original 'Quad' partners wash held during PM Modi's 3-day tour in US. The QUAD partners - US (Joe Biden), Japan (Yoshihide Suga), India (PM Modi), Australia (Scott Morrison) held a joint meeting and vowed to bolster infrastructure, 5G, ASEAN cooperation, COVID vaccine partnership and announced a new Quad fellowship for STEM. The quad's main aim has been to counter China's maritime ambitions in the South China sea, with US-Australia announcing a new AUKUS submarine deal, miffing ally France.

Does the new Quad counter China?

As China takes on the European nations - UK, France, European Union, Germany and other global powers like Australia, Canada and the US to shift the world superpower, several multilateral coalitions have spurted - Five eyes (US, UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand), AUKUS (Australia-US), Quad (US, India, Japan, Australia) etc. Similarly, the new 'quad' aims to counter China's monopoly in the 5G race, semiconductors, technology, space and also limit its expansionist ideas - opening up new ports, naval base, surveillance and military incursions in South China sea and on land. Combined with UAE's capital and oil resources, Israel's advanced technology, India's manufacturing abilities and US' global demand, the new quad is a major power with geopolitical, security, climate and strategic intent.

Abraham Accords & Quad summit

Amid COVID, another Middle East coalition had sprung in August 2020, when the United Arab Emirates, forged ties with Israel and US, recognising the Jewish state for the first time. UAE-Israel ties' normalisation was facilitated by the then-US President Donald Trump after Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu held six weeks of indirect talks through Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed. Following UAE, Sudan, Morocco, and Bahrain too recognised Israel. While most nations have welcomed the deal which ended may end 72 years of hostilities in the region, Iran, Hamas have condemned the move raising concerns about the fate of Palestinians in the region. Apart from UAE, Egypt and Jordan are the other Arab nations that have forged peace with Israel.

Indo-China ties

The 13th round of Corps Commander-level talks between India and China failed to yield any outcome owing to the stubborn attitude of the latter. Calling out the "unilateral attempts" by the People's Liberation Army to alter the status quo, the Indian Army recalled that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had agreed in their recent meeting in Dushanbe to resolve the remaining issues at the earliest. At the same time, it added that the two sides have agreed to maintain communications and stability on the ground.

Over the past military talks, the Chinese People's Liberation Army has retreated from the Finger 4 area and Patrol point 14 along the LAC, while India pre-empted PLA activity on the Southern Bank of Pangong Tso Lake capturing positions of 'strategic importance' in the Fingers area. While disengagement has completed north and south of Pangong Tso, it is yet to be completed in friction points such as Hot Springs, Gogra and Depsang. 20 jawans were martyred on June 5-6, 2020 amid a violent face-off between Indo-China troops at LAC's Galwan Valley.
Noem has defended her actions, telling the AP last week that the agreement was already in place before the meeting and that it was not discussed at the meeting. The Republican governor, who has positioned herself for a 2024 White House bid, has cast the meeting as part of a long-standing effort to solve a shortage of appraisers in the state.

Secretary of Labor Marcia Hultman, who was also at the meeting in the governor's mansion last year, gave a similar account when questioned by lawmakers in October, although she said the agreement was briefly discussed at the end of the meeting.

After hearing from Hultman, lawmakers moved to request the agreement from her department to confirm the sequence of the agreement being implemented and the meeting. They also agreed to keep any documents confidential to the committee.

The Department of Labor and Regulation did not immediately respond to a question from the AP about whether it would fulfill the request from lawmakers.

Noem has indicated she is loath to turn it over.
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The insulation is below standards for Wisconsin winters and should be upgraded, Konkel said. The shelters will provide an indoor temperature about 40 degrees above the outside temperature, meaning if its 10 degrees outside it will feel like a still-chilly 50 degrees inside, said Tim Jones, facilities leader for MACH OneHealth.

The insulation ratings are below those for structures at nonprofit Occupy Madisons tiny hut village at 1901 Aberg Ave., and the nonprofits tiny houses at 304 N. Third St., both on the East Side, Konkel and Jones said.

We can do better, Konkel said, adding that some concern would be relieved if there was a congregate place people could be during the day when its really cold. I think people deserve better.

In coming days, MACH OneHealth hopes to retrofit the shelters with additional insulation similar to that installed in Occupy Madisons tiny huts.

The city has no objection to the operators retrofitting the shelters with more insulation, but wants to know what will be used, and is open to discussions about helping cover the cost, OKeefe said.

Other issues

The city and MACH OneHealth are also addressing other issues.
We should  all of us  be disgusted with Kyle Rittenhouse. That all of us arent is a problem. A profound one.

Set aside for now Rittenhouses legal guilt or innocence in the killing of two men and the injuring of a third during a night of protests and chaos in Kenosha. We now wait for Mondays closing arguments in his murder trial, and then well wait for the jurys verdict, and there will be time to approve or disapprove of the outcome.

For now, lets consider the bigger issues, the elements of this case that reflect where America stands as a society. Lets consider what the very idea of a Kyle Rittenhouse means, and how our divided reaction to him reveals a far deeper and far more dangerous problem than one armed person in a Midwestern town on a hot August night of civil unrest.

Bring back SROs to help stem violence in Madison schools STATE JOURNAL VIEW: Police are still at East High School most days, they just don't know the students and can't get ahead of trouble -- that needs to change

We have to consider these things because there are not just disagreements over Rittenhouses guilt or innocence. There are people  many  on the right who consider the now 18 year old not just innocent, but heroic. He has been hailed by them as an All-American patriot who did what the police or the government wasnt willing to do. Some say he should one day run for public office. Some have compared his prosecution to child abuse.
Maxing out your 401(k) is one of the best things to do to ensure a growing net worth, and ultimately, a secure retirement. There are many reasons for this: Tax-deferred growth, employer-matching contributions, and access to basic investments are a few. But how long does it take to reach an account balance of $1 million? The answer will be different for everyone, but we can break apart the numbers to find out some basic truths.

Here, we'll look at how long it takes to become a millionaire by simply contributing to (and investing in) your 401(k).

Some basic facts about 401(k)s

It's good to revisit the basics about 401(k)s before we get into the hard numbers. First, recall that 401(k)s are tax-deferred investment vehicles; in other words, you get a tax deduction in the current year for any amounts contributed to your 401(k) plan, and won't have to pay any tax on earnings or growth until you withdraw the money in retirement.

Next, the cap on employee contributions to 401(k) plans in 2021 is $19,500 (increased to $26,000 for those over 50). Many employers offer a matching contribution that can range from 2% to 6% of total compensation, which, over time, adds up to a meaningful amount if invested properly.

Finally, due to the magic of compound growth, your 401(k) plan is an extremely valuable tool when it comes to growing your net worth. While you won't be able to access the money without penalty until you're in your 50s, you'll be able to grow your overall net worth at a faster-than-average pace by making the most of your 401(k) plan.

What the numbers say

A couple of notes on the assumptions used:

We use an employer match of 4% and assume it's paid at the end of the year for a person earning $100,000 annually.

We use an investment return of 8%, a relatively conservative estimate based on historical averages.

We use a starting balance of zero, which assumes you haven't amassed any 401(k) savings whatsoever.

We assume you stick to the plan and don't touch it or interrupt your contributions for any reason.

Scenario Starting Balance Annual Contribution Matching Contribution Total Contribution Investment Return Future Value Time to Future Value Scenario A $0 $19,500 $4,000 $23,500 8% $1,000,000 19.26 Years Scenario B $0 $10,000 $4,000 $14,000 8% $1,000,000 24.74 Years Scenario C $0 $19,500 $4,000 $23,500 6% $1,000,000 21.76 Years

Scenario A, of the choices presented, is the fastest route to becoming a 401(k) millionaire. The individual contributes the maximum every single year, earns the full employer match, and reaches the seven-figure club in a little over 19 years.

In Scenario B, another entirely reasonable person decides not to contribute the full amount to their 401(k) plan, but still contributes $10,000 and earns the full employer match. With an 8% average return, this individual reaches $1 million in just under 25 years.

Finally, Scenario C depicts somebody who fell into a less-than-ideal market environment and only earned 6% on their investments. It would take this person nearly 22 years to become a 401(k) millionaire.

Of the variables you have control over, the most important one is to ensure that you're coming as close to the maximum as possible when it comes to contributing to your employer's 401(k) plan. You should also ensure you're getting the full employer match. As far as market returns go, you have no control, but you can make the most out of your long-term investments by picking an asset allocation that suits you and by sticking with it.

So how long does it really take?

The short answer as to how long it takes for someone to become a millionaire after annually maxing out their 401(k) is around 20 years. It may take less time if the market performs unusually well over the period, or it may be longer if the individual doesn't contribute to their plan consistently.

But the main takeaway is that becoming a millionaire via your 401(k) plan is absolutely possible with the right discipline as well as the right job luck. Take the time to read through your employer's plan document and equip yourself with some basic investing knowledge -- you'll be a millionaire in a few short decades.

The $16,728 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook

If you're like most Americans, you're a few years (or more) behind on your retirement savings. But a handful of little-known "Social Security secrets" could help ensure a boost in your retirement income. For example: one easy trick could pay you as much as $16,728 more... each year! Once you learn how to maximize your Social Security benefits, we think you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we're all after. Simply click here to discover how to learn more about these strategies.

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What is ones purpose in life when life throws you a curve ball?

What is ones purpose in life when life throws you a curve ball? Traumatic brain injury usually results from a violent blow or jolt to the head or body. Magic Valley Unitarian Universalist member Ike Eickley will talk about their struggles.

Our service Sunday will be both in person at our location 160 Ninth Ave. E. in Twin Falls as well as on Zoom. To access Zoom please email mvuuf83301@yahoo.com for sign in information. In the subject line write Zoom Service November 14th.

Unitarian Universalists covenant to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person; justice, equality and compassion in human relations; and acceptance of one another.

Newcomers of all religious paths or none at all are always welcome. We are handicapped accessible [in rear]. Please park in the rear of the building or on the street in front or the side of the building. Child care is available.

Join us Sunday at 10:30 a.m.

For further information please call 208-410-8904, email mvuuf83301@yahoo.com or visit magicvalleyUU.org.

Diocese of Idaho Convention; Gifts of Love Ingathering

There will be no worship services at Ascension Episcopal Church in Twin Falls this weekend while the annual Convention of the Diocese of Idaho convenes. The Convention Eucharist with a sermon by Bishop Brian Thom will be available on the Diocesan YouTube channel, https://rb.gy/cpk4yz , by 10 a.m. Sunday.

Ascension Studies and Reads will meet on Zoom at 4 p.m. Sunday to discuss the book Faith After Doubt by Brian McClaren. Contact Fr. Rob Schoeck or Dave Duhaime for the Zoom link.

Wednesday Night Formation concludes on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The program Pilgrim: a Course for the Christian Journey is led by Fr. Rob Schoeck. Call or email the church for more information.

The November ingathering at the Episcopal Church of the Ascension will be for Gifts of Love, a local non-profit program. Now in its 24th year, Gifts of Love provides a wide variety of books, decorative or smaller items, in new or like-new condition, to residents of four local care facilities, allowing them to select gifts to give to family. Gifts for all ages are welcome as well as gift-wrapping supplies and monetary donations. Donations would be appreciated by Monday so that items can be sorted, packaged and delivered to the residents in early December. Volunteer assistance would be appreciated also; please contact Nadine Adams, 208-308-4924.

Ascension Episcopal Church is handicapped accessible and is at 371 Eastland Drive N., Twin Falls. More information about Ascension can be found at ascension.episcopalidaho.org or 208-733-1248.

The Rescue Story Tour

Two-time Grammy winner Zach Williams with special guests We The Kingdom and Cain bring the Rescue Story Tour to Lighthouse Church in Twin Falls on Tuesday, Nov. 16.

The concert begins at 7 p.m. at the church, 960 Eastland Drive. Tickets are $25 for general admission, $40 for early access and $20 for groups and are available at eventbrite.com.

Part of a 40-city tour, concertgoers will get to hear many of Williams popular songs like his recent top-charting and Grammy-winning There Was Jesus along with longtime favorites such as Chain Breaker, Old Church Choir, and Fear Is A Liar, as well as newer hits such as Rescue Story, the No. 1 single Less Like Me, Stand My Ground, The Struggle, and many more.

To submit an item, email it in plain text to frontdoor@magicvalley.com.

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BOISE  With COVID-19 cases on the decline, Idahos largest health care system is seeing promising signs of improvement after eight weeks under crisis standards of care.

St. Lukes, the first local hospital system to request the crisis standards activation from the state in September, has seen marked signs of improvement in the past week, administrators said. As the number of new patients declines, the system has been able to close down overflow units and restart some of the thousands of nonemergency surgeries and procedures that hospitals had to put on hold.

The health system admitted 295 new COVID-19 patients on Sept. 23, according to the hospital dashboard. On Nov. 11, that number was just 66.

After needing to open more than a dozen overflow units to house patients in nontraditional settings, the hospital is now down to only two overflow units at its four main hospitals, according to Sandee Gehrke, senior vice president and chief operating officer of the health system. Staff are being assigned back to areas of hospitals where they normally work, and patients are not having to be cared for in irregular areas.

Weve backed off on almost all of that, Gehrke said of the reassignments, which saw more than 300 staff members moved to nontraditional areas. That number is down to 36, she said, and nurse-to-patient ratios have mostly returned to normal.

We are closer and closer to contingency care as it relates to where were providing care for our patients, Gehrke said.

Crisis standards of care are activated when hospitals are overwhelmed with patients to the point that they are unable to provide the usual levels of care, and might have to ration care. Contingency care is one level below that.

St. Lukes also is catching up on an estimated 5,000 medically necessary procedures and surgeries that had to be put on hold during the crisis standards. Hospitals have continued doing emergency surgeries, a category filled with more severe cases.

Dr. Frank Johnson, chief medical officer for the health systems hospitals in Boise, Elmore and McCall, said it could take up to six months for the hospital system to catch up in the medically necessary category, which includes orthopedic surgeries, some abdominal surgeries and pediatric operations.

Employee vaccination requirements

On Thursday, Gehrke also announced that 99% of the hospitals employees are in compliance with the systems COVID-19 vaccination requirements.

The health system first announced a vaccine requirement in July, but enforcement of that was paused in September when the latest surge became a crisis, with St. Lukes needing all hands on deck.

For employees who do not want to get vaccinated, St. Lukes and Saint Alphonsus both offer religious or medical exemptions, which are reviewed by each hospital on an individual basis. St. Lukes did not say how many of its employees have received an exemption.

For the roughly 100 employees who remain noncompliant, out of about 17,000, Gehrke said they will need to be fully vaccinated or have received an exemption by Jan. 4, as is required by the federal government.

The Biden administration has mandated vaccines for health care workers at facilities that receive Medicare or Medicaid funding. On Wednesday, 10 states sued over that requirement.

Though Idaho was not one of those 10, Gov. Brad Little has joined other states in suing the federal government over vaccine mandates for employees of large companies and for federal contractors.

Will there be another surge?

Though some hospital and state prediction models had expected infections to surge through November, cases and hospitalizations have been declining in Idaho. Johnson said the quicker-than-expected drop in Idahos fourth COVID-19 surge might be attributable to increased masking in some parts of the state, a vaccination rate that continues to inch up and overall immunity in the population.

He said he doesnt know whether another surge can be expected this winter.

I dont want to suggest that the mission is accomplished, he said. Be thoughtful over how we are interacting with groups and how were working to protect our neighbors through the next couple of months.

Johnson also said that even though the virus still will be present in Idahos communities, hes cautiously optimistic that we wont see this dramatic surge again like what we saw this time.
The mantel is meant to be draped in front of a Day of the Dead offering table and hangs to the floor. It has a Virgin Mary embroidered in the middle and yellow, orange and pink roses embroidered around her and a lavish crocheted border at the bottom. I dont do an offering table, but like to display the mantel from a fireplace mantel (same word, different pronunciation and meaning in Spanish and English). Fortunately, it also can be used at Christmas so it still has a chance at holiday display.

As my daughter packed, I took the Happy Thanksgiving plaque off the wall. It was a couple of weeks early, but the box has to be stored in a little attic space accessed by moving a dresser and crawling into the recess. Thats not something one wants to do more than necessary.

We left the orange tub in the hall for a couple of days. Thats a standard practice, to make it easy to store away the decorations we forget to pack but keep coming across: the crocheted pumpkin doorknob ring, the black cat on the shelf, the felt scarecrow hat the cat likes to nap on.

In the end, the hassle of crawling through that attic area to haul out bulky red and green tubs outweighed my daughters desire to start decorating for Christmas.
Last year, she helped initiate a bipartisan caucus to raise awareness of the benefits of personalized medicine, a pricey form of precision treatments for diseases that are hard to cure. Her current opposition to tax increases on corporate and high-earners comes after she voted in 2017 against President Donald Trump's tax cut legislation, which lowered the corporate rate to its current 21 percent while also giving a rebate to high earners.

Executives and a PAC for the drugmaker Amgen have given at least $21,500 in 2021, making Sinema second only to House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy of California in receiving contributions from the company this year. Almost all of the Amgen donations were clustered in late June, when Democrats were pushing legislation that would have curtailed pharmaceutical company earnings by allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices. Sinema's opposition was instrumental in leading lawmakers to pursue a scaled-back version that is now advancing in the House. The new plan would allow Medicare to negotiate the price of about 100 drugs within a few years, while limiting monthly insulin copayments to $35 for many.
Britney Spears has said the #FreeBritney movement saved her life, four days after her conservatorship finally came to an end.
A Nurse Practitioner works in an office at a Planned Parenthood clinic where she confers via teleconference with patients seeking self-managed abortions as containers of the medication used to end an early pregnancy sits on a table nearby Friday, Oct. 29, 2021, in Fairview Heights, Ill. Women with unwanted pregnancies are increasingly considering getting abortion pills by mail. Credit: AP Photo/Jeff Roberson

Before her daughter's birth, she spent weeks in bed. Another difficult pregnancy would be worse as she tried to care for her toddler.

Faced with that possibility, the 28-year-old Texas woman did what a growing number of people have considered: She had a friend in another state mail her the pills she needed to end her pregnancy. She took the pills, went to bed early and describes the experience as "calm" and "peaceful."

"If people can have births at birthing centers or in their own homes, why shouldn't people be able to have abortions in their own homes?" said the woman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because she worries about legal reprisals as Texas moves to join several other states in disallowing mail delivery of abortion medications. "It's a comfort thing."

The COVID-19 pandemic and Texas' near-ban on abortion fueled increased interest in obtaining abortion medications by mail. But with the legality in doubt in several states, some people looking to get around restrictions may not see it as worth the risk. The matter is taking on new urgency with the Supreme Court set to hear arguments next month in Mississippi's bid to erode the Roe v. Wade decision guaranteeing the right to an abortion.

Some abortion-rights advocates worry that whatever state officials and anti-abortion groups promise, people ending their pregnancies at home will face criminal prosecutions.

"We don't think that people are doing anything wrong to order medication from an online site," said Elisa Wells, co-founder and co-director of Plan C, which provides information about medical abortions. "I mean, that's how men get Viagra. They order it online, and nobody's talking about that and asking, is that illegal?"

Medication abortions have increased in popularity since regulators started allowing them two decades ago and now account for roughly 40% of U.S. abortions. The medication can cost as little as $110 to get by mail, compared with at least $300 for a surgical abortion.

However, people seeking abortion pills often must navigate differing state laws, including bans on delivery of the drugs and on telemedicine consultations to discuss the medication with a health care provider. And until Democrat Joe Biden became president, U.S. government policy banned mail delivery nationwide.

"We just didn't want women to use these medications and not have any protections, any guidance, any consultation," said Oklahoma state Sen. Julie Daniels, a Republican and lead sponsor of her state's law banning delivery of abortion medication by mail, which is on hold amid a legal challenge.

Plan C saw roughly 135,000 hits on its website in September, about nine times the number it had before the Texas law that bans abortion as early as six weeks into a pregnancy took effect Sept. 1, Wells said.

Aid Access, which helps women get abortion pills and covers costs for those who can't afford them, says it can't yet provide data from recent months. It saw a 27% increase in the U.S. in people seeking abortion pills as states instituted restrictions early in the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a University of Texas study. The biggest increase was in Texas, which had limited access to clinics, saying it was necessary to check the coronavirus' spread.

Aid Access has a physician based in Europe, Dr. Rebecca Gomperts, provide prescriptions to clients in 32 states that only allow doctors to do so. The pills are mailed from India.

"I don't think that any state level regulation is going to stop Dr. Gomperts from what she's doing," said Christie Pitney, a California nurse-midwife who is Aid Access' provider for that state and Massachusetts.

Indeed, Aid Access defied a 2019 order from the Food and Drug Administration to stop distributing medications in the U.S. In April, the Biden administration dropped the FDA ban on mail delivery of abortion medications during the pandemic.

Containers of the medication used to end an early pregnancy sit on a table inside a Planned Parenthood clinic Friday, Oct. 29, 2021, in Fairview Heights, Ill. Women with unwanted pregnancies are increasingly considering getting abortion pills by mail. Credit: AP Photo/Jeff Roberson

The divide among Democratic-leaning and Republican-leaning states is stark in the St. Louis area. On the Illinois side, Planned Parenthood offers telemedicine consultations and prescriptions by mail. Missouri, however, bars telemedicine and requires a pre-abortion pelvic exam, which providers see as unnecessary and invasive.

"In Missouri, we don't actually provide medication abortion because of the state requirement," said Dr. Colleen McNicholas, chief medical officer of the regional affiliate.

Abortion opponents don't expect the FDA restriction on abortion medication to be reinstated under Biden. GOP lawmakers in Arkansas,Arizona, Montana and Oklahoma already were working on new laws to ban mail delivery when the FDA acted. Texas' mail-delivery ban takes effect Dec. 2. South Dakota GOP Gov. Kristi Noem issued an executive order in September.

Even some abortion opponents believe it will be difficult for states to crack down on providers and suppliers outside their borders, especially outside the U.S.

"Obviously it would be a lot easier if we had the cooperation of the federal government," said John Seago, Texas Right to Life's legislative director. "There's no silver bullet yet identified of how we're going to approach this kind of next frontier of the fight."

Still, Seago says tough penalties give prosecutors an incentive to pursue violators. The Montana law, for example, mandates a 20-year prison term, a $50,000 fine, or both to anyone who mails pills to a state resident.

Pregnant people seek telemedicine consultations and abortion pills by mail because they don't want to or can't travel or can't arrange time off or child care, abortion-rights advocates said.

"Just because somebody can't access an abortion doesn't mean that they're going to all of a sudden want to continue a pregnancy that originally was not desired, right?" said Dr. Meera Shah, chief medical officer for the Planned Parenthood affiliate outside New York City, who also does abortions in Indiana.

A person in Ohio who identifies as nonbinary said they used an herbal remedy to self-manage an abortion alone in their college dorm room in 2016, before Aid Access launched its site, telling their roommate they had the stomach flu. They said they didn't have a car and didn't know they could get financial help, and called the Aid Access model "fantastic."

"Any avenue to help pregnant people facilitate their own abortions and have that experience in whatever way best suits them is a great way to give bodily autonomy back to a wider range of patients," they said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they fear harassment from anti-abortion protesters.

The new laws in Montana, Oklahoma and Texas say people can't face criminal penalties for having medication abortions. Yet those provisionsand assurances from abortion foes that their goal is not to prosecute people who have ended pregnanciesdon't comfort some abortion-rights advocates.

They say roughly two dozen women have been prosecuted since 2000 in the aftermath of self-managed abortions. An Indiana woman who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for feticide in 2015 for a self-induced abortion spent more than a year behind bars before her conviction was overturned.

Some abortion-rights advocates said prosecutors also can use child endangerment or manslaughter charges against people who have had abortionsor who have had miscarriages that authorities deem suspicious. They worry that the poor and people of color are especially vulnerable.

"They can't get drugs where they are, and so they may purchase pills from informal networks or online sites," said Melissa Grant, chief operating officer of carafem, which operates clinics in four states and provides abortion medications in nine. "But that's riskier in this country than actually taking the medicines."

 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Creative rendition of SARS-CoV-2 particles (not to scale). Credit: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH

The rise of more transmissible variants of SARS-CoV-2 has spurred growing interest in harnessing information about the genetic sequences of these variants to help treat patients. A new joint consensus review from the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) outlines the potential role of SARS-CoV-2 sequencing in clinical care and the challenges in implementing this process in laboratories. The review is published in Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Clinical Infectious Diseases.

"Although clinical uses of SARS-CoV-2 sequencing are currently limited, rapidly changing technology and the ability to interpret variants in near real-time suggests a growing role for SARS-CoV-2 genotyping in caring for patients as data emerge on vaccine and therapeutic efficacy," said Francesca M. Lee, M.D., an author of the review and a member of IDSA's Diagnostic Committee. Dr. Lee is also an associate professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine in the Departments of Pathology and Internal Medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

With more than 2 million SARS-CoV-2 genomes sequenced so far during the pandemic, this testing has provided critical information about the lineages and evolution of the virus that has supported the public health response. The new review publishing today describes several potential clinical applications of this testing process, including for screening immunocompromised COVID-19 patients being considered for monoclonal antibody therapy and for infection prevention efforts in health care facilities using whole genome sequencing.

The new IDSA-ASM article also outlines related issues, from assay validation and regulatory requirements to clinical reporting for laboratories and emerging challenges in clinical SARS-CoV-2 sequencing. Key considerations for implementing whole genome sequencing, including clinical/epidemiological and laboratory issues, such as accuracy and reproducibility, quality control, workflow and ordering decisions, and billing and reimbursement, are also summarized.

The consensus review, "Clinical Applications of SARS-CoV-2 Genotyping," is available online now. In addition to Dr. Lee, authors of the review include Alexander L. Greninger, M.D., Ph.D., M.S., MPhil; Jennifer Dien Bard, Ph.D.; Robert C. Colgrove, M.D.; Erin H. Graf, Ph.D.; Kimberly E. Hanson, M.D., M.H.S.; Mary K. Hayden, M.D.; Romney M. Humphries, Ph.D.; Christopher F. Lowe, M.D., M.Sc; Melissa B. Miller, Ph.D.; Dylan R. Pillai, M.D., Ph.D.; Daniel D. Rhoads, M.D.; and Joseph D. Yao, M.D.

Explore further New recommendations to improve diagnostic testing response for current COVID-19 pandemic and future emerging outbreaks
In this March 16, 2020, file photo, Tomas Aragon, the health officer for the city and county of San Francisco, speaks during a news conference in San Jose, Calif. In a letter to health providers dated Tuesday, Nov. 9. 2021, Aragon, now the State Public Health Officer, told providers they should "not turn a patient away who requesting a booster" if they are age 18 and up and it has been six months since they had their second Moderna or Pfizer vaccine or two months since their single Johnson & Johnson shot. Credit: Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group, File

California is among three U.S. states now allowing coronavirus booster shots for all adults even though federal health officials recommend limiting doses to those considered most at risk.

The nation's most populous state, along with Colorado and New Mexico, instituted their policies to try to head off a feared surge around the end-of-year holidays when more people are gathering inside.

Colorado and New Mexico have among the nation's highest rates of new infections, while Californialowest in the nation earlier this fallnow joins them in the "high" tier for transmission, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed an executive order Friday expanding eligibility for COVID-19 booster shots. Her state health department's acting secretary, Dr. David Scrase, said rising case numbers have some hospitals in New Mexico overwhelmed.

"COVID-19 is incredibly opportunistic and it's our job to ensure that the virus has fewer and fewer opportunities to spread," Scrase said. "If it's time for you to get a booster, please do so right away."

President Joe Biden's administration had sought approval for boosters for all adults, but U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisers in September decided it isn't clear that young healthy people need another dose. They instead recommended boosters only for those over 65 and younger people with certain underlying health conditions or whose jobs are high risk for the virus.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis speaks during a news conference about Colorado offering coronavirus vaccinations to children, Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021, in Denver. Infection rates have soared in Colorado over the past month, and Polis signed an executive order on Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021, to expand the use of booster shots to quell the recent surge in COVID-19 infections. Credit: AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File

In California, state Public Health Officer Tomas Aragon sent a letter to local health officials and providers saying they should "allow patients to self-determine their risk of exposure."

"Do not turn a patient away who is requesting a booster" if they are age 18 and up and it has been six months since they had their second Moderna or Pfizer vaccine or two months since their single Johnson & Johnson shot, he wrote.

He told pharmacies to prioritize boosters to those in skilled nursing or assisted living facilities due to waning immunity from the earlier shots. But generally, providers "should not miss any opportunity" to give vaccines to the unvaccinated or boosters to everyone else anytime they visit a drug store, hospital or medical office.

Many states are now experiencing rising cases and more hospitalizations. Nationwide in the last week there were about 73,000 new cases daily, roughly 10,000 more than three weeks ago.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, left, receives a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine booster shot from California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly at Asian Health Services in Oakland, Calif., Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021. In a letter to health providers dated Tuesday, Nov. 9. 2021, Dr. Tomas Aragon, the State Public Health Officer, told providers they should "not turn a patient away who requesting a booster" if they are age 18 and up and it has been six months since they had their second Moderna or Pfizer vaccine or two months since their single Johnson & Johnson shot. Credit: AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File

In Colorado, where some hospitals are stretched to the breaking point, Gov. Jared Polis signed an executive order on Thursday to expand use of booster shots. A day later he had a dire warning for the roughly 20% of eligible people in his state who have yet to get a single dose.

"We wouldn't even be here talking about this if everyone was vaccinated," the Democratic governor said at a news conference. "If you are not vaccinated, you're going to get COVID. Maybe this year, maybe next year."

Officials in Colorado, California and New Mexico said they have ample supplies of vaccines to provide initial vaccinations and boosters to all who want them.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Friday said the Biden administration continues to advise health leaders across the country "to abide by public health guidelines coming from the federal government."

Nurse Mary Ezzat prepares to administer a Pfizer COVID-19 booster shot to Jessica M., Thursday, Aug. 19, 2021, at UCI Medical Center in Orange, Calif. Jessica M. is a healthcare worker who is also immunocompromised. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, along with Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham have taken steps to expand the use of booster shots to quell the recent surge in COVID-19 infections. Credit: Jeff Gritchen/The Orange County Register via AP

A patient waits to be called for a COVID-19 vaccination booster shot outside a pharmacy in a grocery store, Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021, in downtown Denver. Infection rates have soared in Colorado over the past month, and Gov. Jared Polis signed an executive order on Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021, to expand the use of booster shots to quell the recent surge in COVID-19 infections. Credit: AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File

California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly earlier in the week said California's decision doesn't conflict with federal guidelines. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was "very clear that they had two categoriesgroups that should get a booster and groups that may." he said.

"We know that a number of Californians work in crowded public settings," Ghaly said. "Because of your work-related risk or even you live with people who have underlying conditions (and) are at higher risk themselves, or you're a member of a community that's been ravished and hard-hit by COVID ... it's permissive by the CDC and the FDA to go ahead and get the booster."

Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, a professor of epidemiology at University of California, San Francisco, said boosters have lagged. That's worrisome as winter approaches and the highly contagious delta variant, which caused a summer spike, continues to circulate.

The delta variant is "really good at finding people, including people who got vaccinated at the beginning of the year and now that vaccination is wearing off a little bit," she said. "Delta is a powerful force and everybody needs that third dose."

Explore further Colorado governor says all adults can get COVID booster shot

 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Prostate cancer cells. Credit: NIH Image Gallery

A team led by scientists at Baylor College of Medicine uncovered new evidence supporting a cancer-promoting role for enzyme MAPK6. The study, published in the journal Science Advances, shows that MAPK6 furthers cancer growth by activating the AKT pathway, a known cancer-promoting cellular mechanism. The findings suggest that therapies directed at interfering with MAPK6 activity in cancer may offer an effective treatment approach for this condition.

"Studies on the role of MAPK6 in human cancer have produced inconclusive results," said corresponding author Dr. Feng Yang, assistant professor of molecular and cellular biology at Baylor. "Some studies concluded that MAPK6 promoted cancer growth while others indicated the opposite effect. In the current study, we investigated the role of MAPK6 in several cancer cell lines and animal models of the condition and also studied the mechanism mediating MAPK6 effects."

Yang and his colleagues began by investigating the effect of overexpressing the MAPK6 gene in normal human prostate or breast epithelial cells grown in the lab.

"We found that overexpressing MAPK6 can transform normal cells into tumor-like cells," said Yang, a member of Baylor's Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center. "In addition, enhancing MAPK6 expression in prostate, ovarian, breast and non-small cell lung cancer cell lines that already had low to high levels of MAPK6 further promoted growth of all tumor cell lines."

These findings suggested that eliminating MAPK6 from tumor cells could reduce tumor growth. Indeed, genetically knocking down MAPK6 significantly reduced the growth of several types of cancer cells in the lab.

The researchers then investigated the mechanism mediating MAPK6 cancer-promoting activity.

"We had previously found that MAPK4, which is closely related to MAPK6, promotes cancer growth by activating the AKT pathway," Yang said. "Here, we discovered that MAPK6 also activates AKT to promote cancer growth. Both MAPK4 and MAPK6 add a phosphate group to AKT, a process called phosphorylation, but MAPK6 phosphorylates a different location in AKT than does MAPK4, and this is essential for the tumor-promoting activity of MAPK6."

MAPK6 adds a phosphate group to AKT location identified as S473, which is the same location that is phosphorylated by a cancer-promoting mTOR protein kinase complex called mTORC2.

"MAPK6 appears to phosphorylate location S473 in AKT independently of mTORC2," Yang said. "This is important because it may have relevant clinical implications."

The kinase inhibitors for mTOR are currently being tested in clinical trials for their ability to reduce cancer growth; however, over time cancer cells seem to resist this inhibitory effect and continue to grow. Yang and colleagues' findings in the lab show that while inhibiting MAPK6 and mTOR activities separately reduces AKT phosphorylation and cancer cell growth, inhibiting both simultaneously achieves a more robust tumor-suppressing activity.

"Our findings show that the cancer-promoting pathway AKT can be activated independently by mTORC2 and MAPK6. Therefore, we propose that inhibiting mTORC2 activity does not effectively control cancer growth because, in many cases, MAPK6 may compensate for the lack of mTORC2 activity by independently sustaining AKT activation and cancer growth," Yang explained.

The findings suggest that MAPK6 provides cancer cells with a way to escape the growth-suppressing effect of mTOR inhibitors that has been observed in the clinic.

"More studies are needed, but we suggest that combining both MAPK6 and mTOR inhibitors might provide a more effective and longer-lasting approach to reduce cancer growth," Yang said.

Other contributors to this work include Qinbo Cai, Wolong Zhou, Wei Wang, Bingning Dong, Dong Han, Tao Shen, Chad J. Creighton and David D. Moore. The authors are affiliated with one or more of the following institutions: Baylor College of Medicine, First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Xiangya Hospital of Central South University and University of CaliforniaBerkeley.

Explore further Targeting MAPK4 emerges as a promising therapy for prostate cancer

More information: Qinbo Cai et al, MAPK6-AKT signaling promotes tumor growth and resistance to mTOR kinase blockade, Science Advances (2021). www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abi6439 Journal information: Science Advances Qinbo Cai et al, MAPK6-AKT signaling promotes tumor growth and resistance to mTOR kinase blockade,(2021). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abi6439
The Reflex product suite from brightlamp, a Purdue University-affiliated company, allows a broad spectrum of medical professionals to securely capture critical diagnostic pupillary light reflex data. Reflex was used to perform a retrospective clinical review of patients cared for in neurological clinics. Results were published in the peer-reviewed journal Life. Credit: Image provided

Evaluating concussion patients for recovery and measuring compounding injuries can be done as simply as recording a video with a smartphone.

Reflex, a smartphone application developed by Purdue Foundry-affiliated startup brightlamp, works like a pupillometer. It takes a digital video recording of an individual's eye to measure a response called pupillary light reflex. The user holds the camera up to an eye and taps the smartphone screen. A light flashes to initiate a response from the pupil. Reflex is a Class I 510(k) exempt regulated medical device, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Doctors across North America used Reflex to perform a retrospective clinical review of patients cared for in neurological clinics. The results of the study were published in Life, an international, peer-reviewed, open access journal of life sciences scientific studies.

Dr. Frederick Carrick, professor of neurology at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine, said Reflex identifies biomarkers that might be used in clinical diagnosis, treatment and decision-making for concussions.

"Physicians have measured pupillary light reflex since the earliest time of recorded history," Carrick said. "It is only recently that advances in technology have allowed us to quantify it accurately. This is the largest study of concussion and PLR to date."

Kurtis Sluss, CEO and founder of brightlamp, said the published study in Life proves Reflex is entirely suitable as a concussion clinical decision support tool.

"We are rapidly integrating this knowledge into a new concussion-based clinical decision support metric that current and future users can use to monitor their patients more rigorously," Sluss said.

"Clinicians and trainers now have the evidence they need to confidently integrate Reflex into their concussion workflow. Our goal as a company is to optimize the recovery trajectory for concussion patients and prevent compounding injury so they can lead healthier lives."

Sluss has received commercialization guidance from the Purdue Foundry, an entrepreneurship and commercialization hub housed in the Convergence Center for Innovation and Collaboration in Discovery Park District at Purdue, adjacent to the Purdue campus.

Explore further Brightlamp launches smartphone app that can rapidly monitor the brain for signs of concussion

More information: Frederick Robert Carrick et al, The Pupillary Light Reflex as a Biomarker of Concussion, Life (2021). Frederick Robert Carrick et al, The Pupillary Light Reflex as a Biomarker of Concussion,(2021). DOI: 10.3390/life11101104
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

They say procrastination is the thief of timeactually deadlines are.

New research from the University of Otago has found that if you want someone to help you out with something, it is best not to set a deadline at all. But if you do set a deadline, make it short.

Professor Stephen Knowles, from the Otago Business School, Department of Economics, and his co-authors tested the effect of deadline length on task completion for their research published in Economic Inquiry.

Participants were invited to complete an online survey in which a donation goes to charity. They were given either one week, one month, or no deadline to respond.

Professor Knowles says the research began because he and his teamDr. Murat Genc, from Otago's Department of Economics, Dr. Trudy Sullivan, from Otago's Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, and Professor Maros Servatka, from the Macquarie Graduate School of Managementwere interested in helping charities raise more money.

However, the results are applicable to any situation where someone asks another person for help. This could be asking a colleague for help at work or asking your partner to do something for you, Professor Knowles says.

The study found responses to the survey were lowest for the one-month deadline, and highest when no deadline was specified.

No deadline and the one-week deadline led to many early responses, while a long deadline appeared to give people permission to procrastinate, and then forget.

Professor Knowles wasn't surprised to find that specifying a shorter deadline increased the chances of receiving a response compared to a longer deadline. However, he did find it interesting that they received the most responses when no deadline was specified.

"We interpret this as evidence that specifying a longer deadline, as opposed to a short deadline or no deadline at all, removes the urgency to act, which is often perceived by people when asked to help," he says.

"People therefore put off undertaking the task, and since they are inattentive or forget, postponing it results in lower response rates."

He says it is possible that not specifying a deadline might still have led participants to assume that there is an implicit deadline.

Professor Knowles hopes his research can help reduce the amount of procrastinating people do.

"Many people procrastinate. They have the best intentions of helping someone out, but just do not get around to doing it."

Explore further What deadline length is best for avoiding procrastination and completing tasks?

More information: Stephen Knowles et al, Procrastination and the nonmonotonic effect of deadlines on task completion, Economic Inquiry (2021). Stephen Knowles et al, Procrastination and the nonmonotonic effect of deadlines on task completion,(2021). DOI: 10.1111/ecin.13042
A downtown Missoula bookstore is donating a portion of its Maid sales to a local nonprofit organization that supports single mothers.

Fact & Fiction wrote a check earlier this week for just over $3,500 to Mountain Home Montana to help give resources to single mothers and survivors fleeing abusive relationships.

Missoula resident Stephanie Land is the author of Maid, a New York Times bestseller that tells her story as a single mother navigating poverty and U.S. systems so she and her daughter can survive. It recently was adapted into a Netflix series that has received wide acclaim.

Mountain Home is a one-stop organization providing several resources to mothers. Its building in Missoula hosts a seven-bedroom group home and five independent living apartments, an employment and education program, counseling services, case management support, childrens therapy and child care.

Steph Goble, executive director of Mountain Home Montana, said she is immensely grateful to both Fact & Fiction and Land for choosing her organization to receive this donation.

I would argue that a young mom in the first year of parenting, or even that first year of pregnancy, is probably one of the most vulnerable times in your life, Goble said. When we ask young parents to try to navigate that all on their own without any resources, we are creating a chain of trauma that's going to be felt generation after generation. So it's not just a single mom and child scenario, it's a community effort.

Goble anticipates the money will go to providing residential resources, such as personal hygiene products, diapers, bedding and cribs, among a host of other basic necessities.

Maid book sales exploded after the Netflix series debuted, Fact & Fiction owner Mara Panich said. She estimates the store has sold more than 1,200 copies.

It just went nuts. In the past, whenever weve done big events, we like to help out, especially if its associated with some kind of cause, Panich explained, adding the store has donated to various causes over the years such as Indigenous scholarships and the Montana Book Festival.

When Fact & Fiction started seeing the massive uptick in purchases, Panich reached out to Land about making donations from the book's sales. Land suggested Mountain Home, whose work in Missoula she had recently learned about.

It feels like an organization where there are very informed people, Land said, adding that their staff is great with helping single mothers find resources. Anytime you have someone there to support you, thats huge."

Remembering back to the days when she was struggling as a single mother leaving an abusive relationship, Land said the easiest way to support single parents is to spend time with their children. She recalled the gratitude she felt for people who spent time with her child and put in the effort to form a relationship with them.

Both Goble and Panich emphasized how Maid and the increased demand for it have linked the community together. For Panich, shes loved buying the shipping supplies from local stores and shipping from a local post office to share the work of a Missoula author. On Gobles end, Mountain Home has seen an increase in referrals and calls from community members asking how they can support the organization and single mothers.

Panich says orders for the book are continuing to pour in and about 400 more copies of "Maid" are on their way to Fact & Fiction.

If you or anyone you know is in need of support, Mountain Home can be reached at 406-541-4663 and more information can be found online at mountainhomemt.org.

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Missoula police have arrested a suspect in connection with a string of recent hotel and motel burglaries.

Alex S. Schmidt, 49, was booked into the Missoula County jail on Thursday afternoon. He is charged with five felony counts of burglary.

A Missoula police detective learned Schmidt was taking cash from hotel and motel tills using a tactic where he distracted front-desk employees by asking them to bring linens and toiletries to a random room, according to charging documents.

When the staff left to service his request, Schmidt would swoop in and empty the cash tills of their contents.

Schmidt was identified via a silver Honda he used during one of the alleged burglaries. The detective reviewed surveillance footage from five hotels and motels Schmidt is suspected of stealing from.

The first was on Oct. 31 at the Econolodge motel in Missoula  $600 in cash was taken and $100 in damage to the till was reported. A week later on Nov. 6, Schmidt used the same ruse at both the Holiday Inn Express and the TownPlace Suites motel. In both incidents, officers observed Schmidt was wearing the same clothing on the surveillance videos.

Schmidt is suspected to have used the same tactics Monday at the Fairbridge Inn and Suites, where $250 was taken from the till  $10 was recovered after it was found on the floor at the exit door. Two days later, on Wednesday, Schmidt tried to get money from the Motel 6 but his attempts were unsuccessful. Instead, he took an employee's belongings.

A sixth incident occurred on Sunday, but authorities are still waiting on surveillance footage and Schmidt has not been charged with it at this time.

The Missoula County Attorney's Office is requesting $25,000 bail. Schmidt has not appeared in court yet.

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Montana Veterans Affairs is hosting a clinic for Missoula-area veterans, spouses and caregivers to get their COVID booster shots at the Missoula County Fairgrounds next week.

People who fall into those categories will be able to receive either the Moderna or the Johnson & Johnson COVID booster vaccines. First, second and third doses of both vaccines will be available.

The clinic, which runs Nov. 16-18, will take place in the Commercial Building. Vaccines will be available from 9 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.

Regardless of a persons age or health status, the delta variant is a disease that is equally infectious unless we have the protection that the COVID-19 vaccines offer. All the data suggests that vaccines reduce the risk of contracting COVID-19 and, more importantly, of being hospitalized or dying from COVID-19, said Dr. Judy Hayman, Montana VAs executive director.

Vaccines are the best way we can protect veterans, employees, and all Montana communities against COVID-19. Booster shots allow us to better protect those at higher risk, the health care teams who care for them, and our communities, she added.

The Centers for Disease Control recommends the booster for people who have completed a two-dose regimen of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine at least six months ago if they are a person age 65 or older. It also recommends a booster shot for those age 18 years or older in a long-term care setting, who have underlying medical conditions or work or live in a high-risk setting.

Those seeking the booster can call 877-468-8387 to schedule an appointment as soon as possible. Vaccine cards must be brought in order to receive a booster shot and masking is required at all Montana VA booster events.

Jordan Hansen covers news and local government for the Missoulian. Shout at him on Twitter @jordyhansen or send him an email at Jordan.Hansen@Missoulian.com

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Complaints leveled against a medical doctor with the University of Montanas physician training program for spreading misinformation about the COVID pandemic  among other inflammatory comments  have prompted discussions about freedom of speech.

Dr. Justin Buls has been subject to timeouts on Facebook for spreading misinformation regarding the COVID pandemic and calling for Dr. Anthony Fauci to be executed for the crimes he has committed on humanity, as first reported by the Daily Montanan.

At one point, Buls profile picture on Facebook displayed a swastika made of syringe needles.

In several of his posts he likens mask requirements in schools to child abuse. At least four of his posts within the last year have been flagged by fact checkers for false or partly false information.

In one post from August, Buls shared a YouTube video of a cardiologist testifying before a Senate committee in Texas who said there is no reason for healthy people under 50 years old or those who have recovered from COVID to be vaccinated against the virus. The post was flagged by independent fact checkers for including false information.

"Mandating a vaccine that doesn't prevent infection and doesn't prevent transmission has nothing to do with science. Mandating masks in schools, when the science for 30 years has shown masks don't stop the spread of respiratory viruses is not about science. This is all about politics and control," Buls wrote on Oct. 26. "Attacking doctors for speaking up and supporting peoples' freedom and medical autonomy is not ok."

Buls is employed by the university through its Family Medicine Residency of Western Montana program as the Kalispell site director. The program is affiliated with the University of Washingtons Wyoming-Washington-Alaska-Montana-Idaho Family Medicine Residency Network. There are six resident students based in Kalispell, according to program director Dr. Rob Stenger.

The Family Medicine Residency of Western Montana and the University of Montana do not endorse the personal views contained in Dr. Buls social media posts," UM spokesman Dave Kuntz said in a statement to the Missoulian.

"We do not support any form of public intimidation, threats against public or private individuals or the use of hate speech or other symbols associated with anti-Semitism or white supremacy, he added.

We expect our faculty, staff and physicians-in-training to act professionally in all settings and to provide health care in accordance with the best available scientific evidence, the statement continued.

Kuntz is not aware of any investigation into Buls' comments, he said.

Dr. Frederick Chen, the director of the Family Medicine Residency Network at the University of Washington, distanced the program from the opinions expressed by Buls on Facebook, telling the Missoulian that it unequivocally follows guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in terms of vaccine efficacy and mask use.

Although the Family Medicine Residency of Western Montana is affiliated with the University of Washington, it does not have authority over Buls employment status, Chen said.

His opinions expressed through Facebook and by any other means regarding the effectiveness of vaccines and masking are solely his own, and in no way reflect the beliefs of the WWAMI Family Medicine Residency Network, Chen said.

Buls did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

This is at least the second time this semester that UM has had to navigate complaints against an employee for inflammatory comments they made online.

Earlier this semester, the university launched a Title IX investigation into then-computer science professor Rob Smiths controversial blog. Smith resigned from his position before the investigation was completed.

Before Smith departed, students rallied outside of Main Hall and called for the university to fire Smith or for him to resign. Hand-designed signs displayed slogans of fire Rob Smith and when will justice be served?

But firing public employees, which include those at UM, for speech is a complicated process.

The First Amendment protects the state from squashing peoples free speech rights, thats why were different from private employers, said Lucy France, legal counsel for UM. With that being said, a public employer is still an employer and we retain the ability to restrict what employees say and do when it relates to their particular jobs in the workplace.

Hate speech is protected by the First Amendment. Though there is no legal definition of hate speech, the American Library Association says that it is any form of expression in which speakers intend to vilify, humiliate or incite hatred against a group or class of people based on race, religion, skin color, gender or sexual identity, ethnicity, disability or national origin.

Rather than focusing on whether the speech is inflammatory, universities focus on the context of the speech. From there, they examine whether the employee is speaking in their official capacity or as a private citizen and whether the speech addresses a matter of private interest or public concern.

This analysis really also depends on the employee and the employee's duties and responsibilities," France said. "A faculty member, for example, has pretty broad duties and responsibilities in terms of research, scholarship and service. So there is a much broader ability for a faculty member to promote ideas.

When it comes to faculty sharing misinformation online that undermines their line of work or study, France said shed likely focus on whether the speech is a matter of public concern.

The university examines the context of the speech in an effort to protect the rights of everyone involved and follow existing laws and policies. If those steps are overlooked, it could backfire with a wrongful termination lawsuit or other legal action.

We are really proactive and make sure that we respect everybodys individual rights and when those conflict we navigate that with those in mind, France said.

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NEW YORK (AP)  A teenager who authorities say terrorized outdoor diners at a Manhattan eatery pleaded guilty Friday to carrying out a hoax bomb threat.

Malik Sanchez, 19, entered the plea in Manhattan federal court. Sentencing was scheduled for Feb. 8.

In the plea, he admitted to making the threat at a restaurant in Manhattans Flatiron neighborhood.

He posted to the internet a video on Feb. 13 that showed him loudly stating that a bomb was about to go off near a table where two women sat, authorities said in a release.

Prosecutors said Sanchez loudly said: Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar. Bomb detonation in two, in two minutes. I take you with me and I kill all you."

Sanchez self-identifies as an involuntary celibate or incel, a mostly online group of individuals, primarily men, who believe society unjustly denies them sexual or romantic attention, prosecutors say.

At a court hearing in May, Judge Colleen McMahon released him to home confinement three weeks after his arrest, saying she had watched the video.

The first thing I thought was, this is a kid who needs to be seeing a psychiatrist, this is somebody who needs mental health counseling, McMahon said.

The charge he pleaded guilty to can result in a prison sentence of up to five years, but his lawyer said at the May hearing that it was more likely any prison sentence would be measured in months rather than years.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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KALISPELL  Glacier National Park Superintendent Jeff Mow is retiring from the National Park Service at the end of the year.

Mow has worked for the agency for 33 years, the last eight at Glacier National Park in northern Montana, while the park dealt with destructive wildfires, rebuilding the historic Sperry Chalet, which was destroyed by fire in 2017, record visitation and a pandemic. This summer, for the first time, Glacier park adopted a ticketed entry system to limit traffic on the iconic Going-to-the-Sun Road.

"I would say he had the most complicated tenure of any superintendent at Glacier, and he did it with a lot of respect, kindness and grace," Michael Jamison, of the National Parks Conservation Association, told the Flathead Beacon. "It took a certain kind of person, honestly, especially at a park that is so intimately tied to its local communities and tribes. Jeff took that really seriously, and it's reflected by the depth of the relationships he developed."

In April, Mow assumed a temporary position overseeing the National Park Service's Alaska region, a move that allowed him to see that Glacier will be in capable hands as he retires.

"There was something about stepping away for the past six months and just watching that gave me a lot of confidence. I am just so pleased with how the staff carried out our mission," Mow said. "I think what every superintendent dreams of is having a staff that functions pretty seamlessly in their absence, and I definitely have a dream team."

During Mow's tenure, he deepened the park's relationship with the Blackfeet Nation, working with tribal leaders on a new program to return bison to their native landscape and closing the eastern entrances to the park so the tribe could protect its members from park visitors during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The Blackfeet Tribe takes this opportunity to thank Glacier National Park Superintendent Jeff Mow for his years of service to the park and for the wonderful working relationship he established with the Blackfeet Tribe," said James McNeely, a tribal spokesman. "Together, both entities worked in the best interest of all."

Mow, who lives in Whitefish with his wife Amy, said he is retiring to spend more time with his 98-year-old father, to be free to visit his son who is moving abroad and to enjoy the area.

"If there is a hallmark of my time at Glacier, I hope that it's to instill a sort of thinking about what is possible when you have strong relationships and partnerships with the local communities, agencies and tribes," Mow said. "Because whatever I may have accomplished wouldn't have been possible without them."

As superintendent of Glacier, Mow oversaw 1,562 square miles of wilderness, a staff of about 155 with an operating budget of more than $14 million.

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A split Federal Election Commission has ruled that an Australia-based mining company, mining advocates and a committee formed to oppose a 2018 Montana ballot initiative did not violate federal campaign finance laws barring foreign spending in U.S. elections, finding that the law does not apply to ballot measures.

The FEC recently released rationale for its 4-2 vote earlier this year dismissing a complaint filed in 2018 by Yes for Responsible Mining against Australia-based Sandfire NL and Canadian subsidiary Sandfire Resources America Inc. for making contributions to the Montana Mining Association and the group Stop I-186 to Protect Mining Jobs. The complaint alleged Sandfire donated more than $285,000 to the association and group in an effort to defeat I-186, an initiative that would have prohibited the state from permitting new hard rock mines that require perpetual treatment of polluted water.

Sandfire is the company developing a copper mine near White Sulphur Springs that has seen staunch opposition from conservation groups due to its proximity to a tributary of the Smith River. The company has touted the project as a job creator and said its design will ensure environmental protections. The project has cleared state environmental review for permitting but is the subject of ongoing litigation.

The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 prohibits spending by foreign nationals in federal, state and local elections. The complaint alleged Sandfires donations should be barred and that the mining association and opposition committee violated the law in knowingly accepting them.

By contributing more than $285,000 to the campaign against I-186 in connection with the November 2018 Montana election, Sandfire Resources NL and Sandfire Resources America acted in direct violation of (federal law) which prohibits the use of foreign money to influence elections in the United States, and is a crucial safeguard protecting the integrity of American democracy, the complaint states.

The complaint, made before the election, asked the commission to issue sanctions and prohibit similar actions in the future.

Responses from the company, association and committee do not dispute Sandfires foreign national status or the spending, but say that the activity is allowed under federal law and not prohibited by Montana law.

Ballot measures  constitute legislative activity and are not elections within the meaning of FECA as a matter of law, attorneys for Sandfire wrote. Thus, the Acts foreign national prohibition encompasses only federal, state, and local candidate elections and does not apply to pure state and local ballot measure activity.

FEC Chair Shana Broussard, a Democrat, sided with the committees three Republicans in dismissing the case. In documents explaining the decision issued Nov. 2, Broussard wrote commission precedent stretching back three decades limited its authority to barring foreign spending only on candidate elections.

This treatment flowed from the fundamental distinction campaign finance laws have long made between efforts to influence candidate elections, which are subject to regulation, and issue advocacy, which generally is not, Broussard wrote.

Tammy Johnson, executive director of the Montana Mining Association, agreed with the FECs conclusion that spending on ballot measures falls outside of its regulatory authority.

The commission has long held that donations made in connection with ballot initiatives are not subject to the Federal Election Act of 1971 because initiatives have no connection with elections for political office, Johnson said in a statement, adding that while the 1971 law has been amended, Congress has consistently and purposefully declined to apply it to state ballot initiatives and referenda.

David Brooks, executive director of Montana Trout Unlimited and part of the committee supporting I-186, said the FECs decision was disappointing.

It is quite shocking that Sandfire Resources, a foreign owned mining company, was allowed to finance and interfere with a Montana citizen ballot initiative, he said in a statement. Montanans, and all U.S. citizens, should be extremely concerned that foreign money is allowed to go directly to state law making via ballot initiative campaigns.

The complaint in Montana may be settled, but national media is reporting some bipartisan interest among federal lawmakers in prohibiting future foreign spending on state and local ballot measures. Broussard also concludes her explanation for the dismissal by encouraging changes to federal law.

Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., told Fox News last week that the decision was shortsighted and dangerous, in his decision to co-sponsor bipartisan legislation to prohibit foreign contributions.

Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., another co-sponsor of the House Bill, called the decision absurd in his criticism, Fox reported, characterizing the spending allowance as a loophole that Congress should work urgently to close.

Fox reports similar efforts in the Senate from lawmakers including Democrat Sen. Kristen Gillibrand of New York and Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida.

Tom Kuglin is the deputy editor for the Lee Newspapers State Bureau. His coverage focuses on outdoors, recreation and natural resources.

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While a few sprinkles fell, and the sky seemed to predict impending rain, it didnt dampen the excitement of those attending the 2021 Veterans Day parade and the opportunity to wave their flags and salute and honor veterans.

A large crowd gathered up and down Main Street, Mooresville, to watch the annual event, which began at 1 p.m. Thursday, escorted by members of the Mooresville Police Department and Iredell County Sheriffs Office.

The crowds clapped and cheered as the veterans, those walking and others riding in classic cars, passed by. This year, the special focus were those who served in Desert Storm, Desert Shield, Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation New Dawn and other wars since 1991.

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It was a stirring sight as 13 American flags, carried by members of the Exchange Club of Mooresville-Lake Norman, proceeded down Main Street, each representing one of the 13 service members, including 11 Marines, one Navy corpsman and one soldier, who were killed in Afghanistan. A banner preceded the flags noting the names of the heroes, who served as posthumous grand marshals for this years event.
Of all the words used to describe veterans  brave, sacrifice, commitment, honor, integrity, dedication  Major Alicia Hughes focused on sacrifice during her Veterans Day address Thursday at UNC Health Blue Ridge.

We could spend all day growing that list as we think about our veterans and their contributions, she said, but sacrifice brings them all together.

Hughes is a U.S. Air Force veteran and a meteorologist with the 14th Weather Squadron in Asheville. She is part of the exploitation team, where she serves as a climate analyst, writing climate narratives and assessments.

Hughes told two contrasting stories of sacrifice  one about an Army sergeant who sacrificed his life to save his men and the other about the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who sacrificed a tiny bit of time that made such an impact on her life.

Alwyn C. Cashe was a father, husband, and soldier who had enlisted in the Army and served during the Gulf War and briefly in Iraq. On Oct. 17, 2005, Sgt. 1st Class Cashes vehicle hit an improvised explosive device (IED) and burst into flames. He was drenched in fuel and caught fire himself, but he went back to the burning vehicle to rescue his men.
An article from May 20, 1964 lists his condition as fair. News Herald editor J.W. Long interviewed Willie, who had been sent home by doctors due to extreme exhaustion. She thanked the community for its support in the wake of the accident.

We want you to know we appreciate deeply your prayers, telegrams and messages of sympathy, Willie said. Without these and God watching over us, we could not bear these dark hours.

By the end of May, local residents had set up a fund to help pay for Macons medical expenses. An article said the hospital charged $50 per day just for basic services.

This is in addition to the medical charges, one of the funds organizers said. There are eight medical specialists involved in (Macons) care. Surgeons still have to perform basic repair work, and after that, there will be plastic surgery for a long, long time.

The fund swelled to more than $2,800. Willie visited Macon again in June and gave another report. Doctors had operated on his brain and skull, and he also had a successful skin graft on his leg. He saw his face in the mirror for the first time and seemed to take it well.
I want everyone to know that we have nothing to do with it. Everyone is trying to impose any responsibility on us for any reason and for no reason at all," Putin said in excerpts released Saturday of an interview with state television that is to be broadcast in full on Sunday.

He said that no Russian aviation companies carry the migrants to Belarus, and also lashed out at the West as a root cause for the crisis, with military operations in Iraq and elsewhere that have led to continued conflict in the region.

Is it Belarus that pioneered these problems, or what? No, these are causes that were created by the Western countries themselves, including European countries, Putin said.

A large number of migrants are in a makeshift camp on the Belarusian side of the border in frigid conditions. Polish authorities report daily new attempts by the migrants to breach the border.

The situation shows no signs of ending soon. Belarusian state news agency Belta reported that Lukashenko on Saturday ordered the military to set up tents at the border where food and other humanitarian aid can be gathered and distributed to the migrants.
DEER LODGE  It was snowing lightly Thursday morning as 25 veterans arrived at Powell County High School to attend the first Appreciation Reception for Veterans organized by the student council.

The culinary students baked cinnamon rolls and cookies and offered them with coffee.

PCHS Counselor Clay Moon greeted the honored guests, This is a powerful day. We want to thank you for answering the call to duty. Thank you for your service, thank you for protecting our Constitutional rights and for your positive influence on our youth.

At Hillcrest Cemetery the Deer Lodge Veterans Honor Guard performed a ceremony to commemorate the end of World War I  the war to end all wars  when the Armistice was signed in Paris at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month.

A crowd of 200 veterans and their guests enjoyed an evening together at Elks Lodge #1737 for dinner and other activities.

Elks Lodge Exalted Ruler and Veteran Navy Petty Officer Shelley Steyh led the Missing Man Table ceremony in remembrance of Americans still missing in action or POWs.

Powell County has more than 300 veterans, and those attending represented all branches of the military and deployment to World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Afghanistan, as well as other locations and peace-time service.

Fifteen quilts, made by volunteers, were presented to veterans who are also members of the Elks Lodge. In future years, they will give quilts to others in the community. The ladies donated their time to make the quilts, while others generously supported the effort with donations for materials (this is the second year of the project).

The oldest veteran honored was World War II Army Air Corps veteran Elmer Zoeteman.

Other recipients were: Dick Bauman (Navy 1956-1959); Fred Verlanic (Air Force, Vietnam; 28 years National Guard); Ed Janey (Marine); Don Cappa (Navy 1970-1981); Gerald Bender (Army, Thailand during Vietnam era); Jack Price (Marine, Korea); Shelley Steyh (2002-2009, Iraq and Kuwait); Father and daughter: Jerry Gallagher (Army, Air Force and National Guard); Melissa Gallagher Bender (Air Force, Army, Air Force, National Guard  nearing 30 years of service); Marty Dippold (Army, Korea); Dennis Rome (30 years U.S. Coast Guard); Leo Thomas (Army); Ray Worthey, (Air Force); Tom McElderry (Army, National Guard); Dave Hayden (Navy, Vietnam); Errol Hammond (Army, Japan), Dan Riddle (Navy) and John Wagner (Navy, Vietnam).

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In spite of, and because of, the pandemic, Montana has taken the top spot in the nation for its reliance on the outdoor recreation economy as a portion of its gross domestic product.

According to statistics released this week by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Montanas outdoor economy comprised 4.3% of the states total GDP in 2020, outpacing perennial favorite Hawaii, which fell to 3.8%.

Ill be curious to see if this holds up, said Jeremy Sage, interim director of the Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research at the University of Montana.

Billions

According to the federal analysis, Montanas outdoor industry generated $2.23 billion in 2020, down from $2.49 billion in 2019. Wyoming fell from $1.58 billion to $1.24 billion.

Retail sales play a big role in these figures, Sage pointed out.

For the nation, the retail trade sector was the largest contributor to U.S. outdoor recreation value added in 2020, accounting for $101.9 billion, according to the BEA. At the state level, retail trade was the largest contributor to outdoor recreation value added in 35 states.

Under the previous administration of Gov. Steve Bullock, Montana worked to recruit businesses and promote its outdoor recreation economy, creating the Office of Outdoor Recreation and hiring a director to lead the efforts. The website is still active, but clicking on the contact button now takes a visitor to a San Jose, California, business attraction manager. A call to the Department of Commerce's human resources office was not returned in time for this story.

"Our treasured public lands and many outdoor recreational opportunities do a lot to sell themselves, and the governor is committed to protecting, promoting, and growing this important industry for the enjoyment of Montanans and those who visit our state, said Brooke Stroyke, communications director for Gov. Greg Gianforte, in an email.

Drop

Despite its climb above GDP stats as a percentage over other states, the outdoor recreation industry in Montana took a hit in 2020 due to the pandemic, as did Wyomings.

This led to rapid changes in demand as consumers canceled, restricted, or redirected their spending, according to the BEA report.

In Montana, the outdoor recreation economy dropped by 0.4% in 2020 compared to 2019. In Wyoming the gap was larger, with a 0.8% drop.

Montana fared pretty well throughout the pandemic, Sage said, partly because the drive market in the Mountain States is so strong.

Montana also likely did well due to the out-migration of urban residents to states like Montana, said Gregory Gilpin, head of Montana State Universitys Department of Agricultural Economics and Economics.

In the year since the BEA report, Gilpin noted a lot has changed very quickly. He referred to reports noting that airport travel in Bozeman set a new record this year and Airbnb demand was high with premium prices commanded by homeowners there and in Whitefish.

I would suggest theres a lot more vibrance in Montana tourism for 2021 than in 2020, he said.

The question, he said, is how the state adapts going forward as the economy continues to shift in new ways, like the prominence of cryptocurrency creating a gold rush like economic boost and the workforces loss of almost 5 million people during the pandemic, some of which decided to retire early.

Thats a tremendous number of workers missing, Gilpin said. Were going to have to figure out how to automate.

Tourism

Montanas 2020 outdoor recreation decline is partly a reflection of a drop in tourism as people chose to stay closer to home during the uncertainty of COVID-19, as well as the loss of international travelers who were barred from the United States.

According to estimates from ITRR, tourism was down 12% in 2020 in Montana compared to 2019.

With fewer travelers and group sizes limited, outdoor recreation employment also fell  17.5% in Montana and 24.8% in Wyoming. Hawaii, which is heavily reliant on tourist traffic and air travel, saw the largest decline with a 27.2% drop in outdoor recreation employment.

U.S.

Nationally, the outdoor industry generated $688 billion and provided 4.3 million jobs, according to the BEA report.

Despite the pandemic, public lands and water closures, canceled trips and travel, gathering restrictions, supply chain issues and more, the outdoor recreation economy is a huge contributor to national and local economies, said Jessica Turner, president of the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable.

Higher spending on boating, fishing and RVing was reflected in the BEA statistics, with $30.8 billion in current-dollar value added. RVing was also the second largest activity under the BEAs conventional classification of activities across the nation. For Wyoming one of the largest generators of revenue was snow sports, totaling $92.2 million. Colorado led that category with $1.2 billion.

Less spending on amusement and water parks, festivals, sporting events and concerts was also highlighted. With such organized events and gatherings either delayed or closed, people sought out other outdoor activities.

In 2020, 53% of Americans ages 6 and over participated in outdoor recreation at least once, the highest participation rate on record, said Lise Aangeenbrug, executive director of the Outdoor Industry Association. Remarkably, 7.1 million more Americans participated in outdoor recreation in 2020 than in the year prior.

More people outdoors is a double-edged sword, straining facilities like campgrounds while also possibly building a constituency for outdoor issues, Sage noted.

The question remains just how much this phenomenon persists beyond COVID, he added.

Those who have made a large investment in equipment like a new RV, ski gear or a mountain bike may be less likely to abandon the activity, Sage said. For others, the outdoors may have been a one-off activity to be replaced by urban or foreign travel as restrictions ease.

Exploring

Although structured activities like guided rafting trips may have taken a hit in 2020, many Montanans continued to explore the outdoors, according to Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research polling.

So many people were out camping that 23% said they could not park at their chosen location. Most found another spot, the poll found, while about one quarter chose to go home.

The poll also found that as traditionally popular outdoor spots with public lands became more crowded, about one third of those polled opted to visit a new place, which is good news for tourism regions in Eastern Montana that are seeking some of the wests overflow.

Residents in the southwest, where popular locations like Yellowstone National Park and the Custer Gallatin National Forest are located, were more likely to seek out new spots than residents from other regions of the state, explaining the Gallatin County license plates seen pulling drift boats to the Hi-Line.

Recognizing the increasing pressure on public lands, 61% of state residents said they did not think public land management agencies were sufficiently staffed. That feeling was highest in the states Missouri River tourism region and lowest in Glacier Country.

Highlighting the increasing importance of computers in travel planning, 36% of Yellowstone County poll respondents said they made an attempt to use a public lands reservation system, the highest of any region. The top choice for how land managers should communicate with the public was social media.

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A student's death by suicide in a parking lot across the street from Capital High School prompted the lockdown of three Helena schools Friday afternoon, authorities said.

The 16-year-old boy was found with a fatal gunshot wound in the parking lot of Helena Nazarene Church at 117 Valley Drive, where a prayer vigil was held that evening. The boy was a student a Capital High School, Helena Public Schools Superintendent Rex Weltz said in a message posted on Facebook.

Helena Police Department Capt. Brett Petty said calls for service began to come in around 12:30 p.m. Petty said one of the initial callers reported seeing a juvenile heading toward Capital High with a gun, which triggered a large law enforcement response.

Three officers were dispatched to the church, where some callers said a gunshot was heard, while the rest of the officers descended on the high school.

All HPD officers on shift at the time responded to the scene, and the area around the school was blocked off.

In addition, two HPD communication staff members, all HPD detectives, Montana Highway Patrol and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks responded to the scene.

"Nothing indicates there was an active shooter or anything moving in that direction," Petty said. "We had a lot of HPD officers and other agencies here quickly. ... The response was there."

The high school was placed on lockdown per internal protocol, but Petty said a short time later "the school is perfectly safe."

"Right now I have teams searching the school, but we believe this was an isolated incident," he said in an interview on the scene.

Broadwater and Four Georgians elementary schools were also locked down Friday afternoon, Weltz wrote in an email to families at 1:35 p.m.

"Law enforcement has determined that it is safe to resume normal operations," the email said. "The lockdowns for all locations have ended. There is no safety threat to students, staff or the community."

At the prayer vigil held by Daniel Thompson, pastor of the church where the teenager died, many gathered to grieve.

"This is a dark day, and we want to help any way we can," Thompson told those in attendance.

Among the attendees was Chair of the Helena Public Schools Board of Trustees Luke Muszkiewicz.

"The immediate priority (of the district) is supporting the two families of the students we've lost," he said, noting that a Helena High School student died by suicide last week. "Obviously we can't prevent every tragedy, but after a week like this, we need to introspect, have a conversation about everything we are doing and can do. We need to learn what is working and what isn't so we can do better in the days ahead."

In his Facebook post, Weltz said additional counseling staff were at Capital High School Friday afternoon and will continue to be available to students and staff Monday.

"Now is a good time to check in with young people in your life who may be affected by this tragedy," he wrote.

In an email to families, East Helena High School officials identified the deceased as "a former EHHS Vigilante," adding that they "anticipate that some of our students will be affected as the news of this event spreads throughout the community." Additional counselors will be available to students at EHHS as well.

Shodair Childrens Hospital scheduled three free peer support groups for students and others who may be struggling after the incident. The groups were slated for 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 1889 Coffee House at 1800 Prospect Ave., which will not be operating during the time. Shodair planned to have counselors and a therapy dog available, and resources about safety planning will be provided to parents.

Shodairs Outpatient Mental Health Services are also available for anyone who needs support immediately. Call 406-444-1126 to set up a time to meet.

Independent Record editor Jesse Chaney contributed to this story.

Need help? If you or someone you know is in crisis, the Montana Warmline is at 1-877-688-3377 or http://montanawarmline.org. The Montana Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) is also available.

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A South Carolina man pleaded guilty Friday to human and drug trafficking charges that spanned multiple states, including Montana, and involved coercing women and girls into prostitution.

Louis Gregory Venning, 41, faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years to life in prison and a $250,000 fine for sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion, sex trafficking of a minor, and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. The charges stemmed from federal indictments filed in 2019 and 2020, which alleged Venning recruited and coerced at least 15 women and girls over a period of about eight years.

A grand jury indicted Venning on multiple counts of sex and drug trafficking following his arrest in May 2020. He had previously pleaded guilty to charges involving commercial sex in Missouri and Tennessee, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Montana.

Prosecutors alleged that Venning used violence or the threat of violence, along with drugs, to force women and girls into commercial sex in Billings and other Montana towns. He transported one survivor from Montana to Missouri and Georgia for prostitution in 2012, court documents say. In August 2018, he coerced a girl in Billings under the age of 18 into prostitution and allegedly assaulted another survivor in 2019 who he recruited in Missoula.

Two survivors told investigators that Venning gave them cocaine while they worked for him in commercial sex. FBI investigators also found a Facebook account connected to Venning in which he posted photos of himself with large amounts of cash and drugs. Venning also used Facebook in order to recruit women into his sex trafficking operation, documents say.

He reached an agreement with prosecutors before he was set to go to trial on Monday, when several survivors were expected to testify against him. U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto presided over the plea agreement, which recommended that nine other counts of sex and drug trafficking were dismissed.

A co-defendant in the cases against Venning, Destiny Lachelle Nilsen, pleaded guilty for her role in driving Venning and two women to a Billings bus station in August 2019. He intended to travel with the women to Georgia to engage in prostitution, according to court documents. Nilsen is awaiting sentencing.

Venning is in custody at the Yellowstone County Detention Center. His sentencing is scheduled for March 2022.

In June of this year, Yellowstone County District Court convicted a New Mexico man of coercing a 17-year-old into prostitution. Lavondrick Terelle Hogues, 35, is awaiting sentencing after being found guilty of sending the girl and a woman to engage in prostitution in New Mexico, Texas, North Dakota and Montana.

Anyone suspecting that they or someone they know may be victims of human trafficking can call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888, or talk with an advocate online.

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Seven members of rival Swedish gangs arrested in southern Spain



The criminal organisations have been involved in a bloody feud in the Costa del Sol for 8 years

The National Police in the Costa del Sol have arrested seven members of two violent Swedish criminal organisations in Malaga , Marbella, Fuengirola and Alicante

The rival gangs have been involved in a feud since 2013 when the head of one of the groups was assassinated. The murder led to a bloody battle between the two factions, mainly in Sweden, with explosive devices used on several occasions, putting the lives of innocent civilians at risk.

According to police sources, on October 30 five gang members stormed into a bar in Marbella carrying firearms and tried to kidnap a customer, and just a day later two hooded men shot at the occupants of van in Fuengirola, seriously injuring one of the occupants.

Officers managed to link the two altercations, proving that the men who had been shot at were the ones who had attempted the kidnapping the day before, and so set out to locate the gang members as soon as possible before any further violence ensued.

Just three days after the attack, the investigation culminated in the arrest of seven men, and several searches resulted in the seizure of vehicles, mobile phones and 12,000 euros in cash. All of the detainees have been remanded without bail on charges of attempted murder, attempted illegal detention, belonging to a criminal organisation, the illegal possession of firearms and robbery with violence.

Images: Policia Nacional
One year ago: Speaking publicly for the first time since his defeat by Joe Biden, President Donald Trump refused to concede the election. Masked workers in teams of two began counting ballots in counties across Georgia; the hand tally of the presidential race stemmed from an audit required by a new state law. Republicans suffered setbacks to court challenges over the election in the battleground states of Arizona, Michigan and Pennsylvania. The governors of Oregon and New Mexico ordered near-lockdowns in the most aggressive response yet to the latest wave of coronavirus infections shattering records across the U.S. Peter Sutcliffe, the British serial killer known as the "Yorkshire Ripper," died at 74; he was serving a life sentence for the killings of 13 women. Former Green Bay Packers star Paul Hornung died at 84. The Miami Marlins hired Kim Ng as general manager, making her the highest-ranking woman in the operation of a major league team.
Having a large neck circumference, either from being overweight or genetics, is also a key indicator of potential obstructive sleep apnea.

"Now you don't want to be a weirdo and start measuring your loved one's neck build at night," Dasgupta said. "The rule of thumb is always going to be a collar size of greater than 17 inches (43 centimeters) for a male and greater than 16 inches (40.6 centimeters) for a female will put you at a higher risk for sleep apnea."

G is for gender

Are you a man? Then unfortunately, that, too, makes you at increased risk for obstructive sleep apnea. Some of the reasons may be that men tend to have fatter tongues and carry more fat in their upper bodies than women, especially in the neck. Men also tend to have more "belly fat," which can make breathing in general more difficult.

"However, we definitely see a lot more obstructive sleep apnea in women after menopause," Dasgupta said.

High-risk needs evaluation

Now it's time to score your risk. Give yourself a point for every "yes" answer. If you scored between 5 and 8, you are at high risk of having obstructive sleep apnea and should be evaluated by a sleep specialist.
Ericksen missed more votes than any other state lawmaker during this year's legislative session, with some of his absences from legislative action happening while he was observing elections in El Salvador.

At the time Ericksen said that trip was separate from consulting and lobbying work he does for the country of Cambodia. He registered as a foreign agent for his work for Cambodia in 2019, and the company he launched with former state Rep. Jay Rodne has a $500,000 contract with the countrys government.

Reasons for his current visit werent clear.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says people should be fully vaccinated before visiting El Salvador where the current levels of COVID-19 are high.

Smith said he wasn't sure if Ericksen has been vaccinated.

Ericksen has been vocal in his opposition to Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee's requirement that thousands of workers in Washington prove theyve been fully vaccinated for COVID-19 or seek exemptions in order to keep their jobs and has called for Inslee's resignation.

Ericksens 42nd District colleagues, state Rep. Alicia Rule, D-Blaine, and state Rep. Sharon Shewmake, D-Bellingham, expressed their concern in text messages to the newspaper.

COVID-19 is not something you want anyone to get and I hope he makes a full recovery, Shewmake said.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Find out how many people have quit their jobs, plus how overdoses have risen during the pandemic, and more trends from this week's data with t
COPA recommended the suspension because French failed to wear a body-worn camera when she arrived at Young's home. But Young, who was handcuffed by officers when she was naked after they stormed into what turned out to be the wrong address, praised French as the one officer who treated her with dignity and respect that night.

Lightfoot suggested that COPA could have taken that praise by Young into consideration before including French's name in the report.

They could have taken different action, particularly in light of the fact that Ms. Young herself said that Officer French showed her respect and treated her with dignity," the mayor said on Friday. "It just doesnt make sense that COPA made this decision.

The officer's brother, Andrew French, was even more blistering in his critique of COPA. This is disgraceful, he told WGN-TV. "This is disrespectful to her name, disrespectful on so many levels.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP)  U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne said Friday she plans to seek reelection in the 3rd Congressional District, ending speculation that she might challenge Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds next November.

Axne, Iowas only Democrat in Congress, said she went to Washington to fight for Iowans and their needs and that she has delivered tax cuts, disaster relief and critical support to Iowa's families and businesses, but my work is far from over.

Axne defeated Republican David Young by more than 6,200 votes in November 2020. She first won the seat in 2018 by defeating Young, who had held the seat since January 2015.

On Wednesday, Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks said she would run for reelection in the southeast Iowa district, which was renumbered the 1st District under Iowas redistricting plan approved by lawmakers last month. Since her home in Ottumwa was redrawn into Axnes district, Miller-Meeks decision avoids a head-to-head campaign between them.
Marquart has known Ames-area illustrator Dorothia Rohner for many years and suggested Flyway editors look at her work.

The editors got really excited when we looked at her website, Marquart said. So this little adventure began.

The team planned to publish a standalone book about the story. Then came the COVID-19 lockdowns.

It was during that lockdown that things grew beyond the idea for a standalone book.

One thing kind of led to another, Marquart said. Publishing a book requires a certain number of steps  you have to get an ISBN number, for example.

Marquart herself has published seven books. Poet laureate for the state of Iowa and distinguished professor of Liberal Arts and Sciences, shes certainly no stranger to publishing. But shed never ordered an ISBN number before. The International Standard Book Number is a unique number assigned to a commercial book.

Ive never gone through the process of publishing someone elses book, she said. I contacted the ISBN vendor and ended up buying a package of 10.
Rittenhouses defense attorneys, Mark Richards and Corey Chirafisi, had argued against including the provocation language in the jury instructions, saying there was no evidence to support it. The prosecution argued that there was provocation, including what they say is evidence from drone video that came into the trial late. They said that video shows Rittenhouse pointing his AR-15 style rifle at a man and woman when he first arrived at the Car Source lot at 63rd Street and Sheridan Road, just before Rosenbaum ran after him.

Rittenhouse denied in his testimony that he was pointing the rifle at the couple, and defense attorneys argued Friday that the evidence is not clear.

An aid to the prosecution

Racine-based criminal defense attorney Patrick Cafferty said the inclusion of the provocation language helps the prosecution.

They need the provocation instruction to be able to argue to the jury that he did not have the right to defend himself using deadly force without first exhausting other avenues, Cafferty said, adding that those other options could include actions like retreating from the confrontation.

They would not be able to claim that Rittenhouse brought this on himself, Cafferty said. They are now open to argue all of that.
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP)  An Islamic State-linked extremist group blamed for killing thousands in Nigeria and neighboring West African countries has killed four members of the Nigerian army, including a general, the army said Saturday.

The Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) killed the security personnel during an attack in the Askira Uba area of Borno state, where a war against a rebel insurgency has been centered for more than a decade.

A Nigerian army spokesperson said its troops killed several ISWAP members in response to the attack, which residents told The Associated Press had also targeted a military base and unfolded over three days.

Hassan Chibok, a community leader in the neighboring Chibok council, said a classroom building and other structures were destroyed by the extremist insurgents.

The primary school (in Askira Uba) was burned down. The primary healthcare center was also burned down, and the house of the village head, he said.
Former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon exits the Manhattan Federal Court, following his arraignment hearing for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, in the Manhattan borough of New York City on Aug. 20, 2020.
Six developers who helped change the face of American Canyon have some tips for boosting the city's economic future, such as how to improve the main drag of Highway 29.

They had the virtual center stage during a Tuesday City Council Zoom meeting on economic development. They did most of the talking and council members did most of the listening.

Among the possible priorities mentioned for the county's second most populous city -- with about 20,000 residents  create a master plan to underground Highway 29 utility lines and extend Newell Drive to create a Highway 29 parallel route.

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City Manager Jason Holley introduced the session and the citys efforts to update its economic strategies. He saw value in getting a different perspective.

Nobody on the city staff and City Council is a commercial developer, he said.

Buzz Butler has worked in American Canyon for 20 years. He spearheaded the Napa Junction mixed-use center that includes Walmart Supercenter, a hotel, and a 364-unit apartment complex.

Butler said city studies show 79% of Highway 29 traffic in American Canyon comes from outside the city. But developers in American Canyon are left to address the impacts. Meanwhile, hundreds of wineries Upvalley haven't had to pay traffic impact fees.

Thats clearly one thing thats the elephant in the room in Napa County, Butler said.

Richard Hesss family has owned Oat Hill in the city since 1984. He developed Canyon Plaza and Canyon Corners shopping centers with about 70 tenants and recently won city approval for 291 housing units on Oat Hill.

Hess wants the city to do more to secure additional water supplies. The city relies mostly on the State Water Projects North Bay Aqueduct.

You spend these hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to get entitlements not knowing whether we have enough water to take care of it, he said.

Ross Hillesheim is with California Capital Group, which is building a Circle K gas station along Highway 29. He talked about all the agencies his firm had to work with on the project, from the San Francisco Bay Area Regional Water Quality Control Board to Caltrans to the Napa County Airport Land Use Commission to the U.S Army Corps of Engineers, to name a few.

He estimated the firm spent $150,000 on agency fees. Add that to the cost of 1,200 hours working with the agencies and thats about 22% of the land value for the 2-acre property, he said. This doesnt include American Canyon-related fees and time.

This is a huge impact, he said.

Ernie Knodel has worked on the Napa Logistics Center that is home to IKEA and an Amazon delivery station. PG&E plans to build a maintenance yard there.

The biggest challenge in trying to attract international and national clients has been gaining name recognition for American Canyon, he said

Nobody knew where American Canyon was, Knodel said. Did not know the name.

He promotes American Canyon as the really small city doing really big things.

American Canyon became a city in 1992. Before then, it was an unincorporated county area with some subdivisions and highway-fronting businesses.

Terrence McGrath is developing Watson Ranch, which is to have more than 1,000 homes, a hotel and an event center at the century-old cement factory ruins. He spent 17 years gaining project approvals.

He favored finding a way to finance the undergrounding of power lines along the citys Highway 29 front yard sooner rather than later. That would increase everybodys home values, he said.

Undergrounding those utilities, putting in landscaping, putting in sidewalks, putting in ped and putting in bike (paths)  that boat just floats the underlying property tax, underling value of that home immensely, day one, he said.

Hess said some properties have overhead lines, some don't. If the city waits to underground lines as each parcel develops, there will still be lines standing 40 years from now.

Steven Brock developed Wine Direct and other warehouses in the Green Valley industrial area.

Some things are looked at as, This is what we would like as government officials,' but in the business world, that doesnt have a chance, he said.

Several of the developers talked of demographics as being a challenge to attracting the types of businesses that the public wants in American Canyon. Hess said residents want a Trader Joes and four-star restaurant.

The community wants all these things, but they do not understand the financial reality of what it takes to get tenants in, Hess said.

Butler said tenants choose a city based on such factors as population density and household income. As more houses and hotels come in, American Canyon's demographics will change.

This was a session devoid of criticism of developers, either from the City Council or the public.

They have made our city what it is today, long-time resident Fran Lemos said. Im very, very proud of what they done really. I know when I came here, there wasnt even a store, I had to go to Vallejo or Napa.

Valerie Zizak-Morais, president of the American Canyon Chamber of Commerce, participated as a panelist.

Im behind you, she told the developers. Im rooting all the way. Im for development. Im for economic growth here.

City Councilmembers finished the session by reacting to what they had heard.

For example, City Councilmember Mark Joseph focused on something he said could be done along Highway 29 perhaps in the next three to five years. That is the welcome mat aspect of adding sidewalks, landscaping and bike paths.

Mayor Leon Garcia wrapped up the session by saying he sees undergrounding power lines on Highway 29 and a Newell Drive extension as priorities.

Weve had a tremendous, useful, productive conversation tonight, a lot of insight for me, he said.

You can reach Barry Eberling at 256-2253 or beberling@napanews.com.

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Land Trust of Napa County announced an addition to the Wragg Ridge Preserve that the Land Trust purchased in 2018 at the southern end of Lake Berryessa. The new 40-acre addition is surrounded on three sides by the preserve. With this addition, the preserve now totals 1,950 acres.

Were excited to add this property to protected lands in the area, said Doug Parker, CEO of the Land Trust. This acquisition ensures that an important gap within protected lands in this area is permanently protected for wildlife and helps to further protect the areas extensive oak woodlands. The Bay Area Conservation Lands Network identified this property as a high priority for conservation.

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The Wragg Ridge Preserve is dominated by extensive oak woodlands  predominantly blue oaks and interior live oaks, with some black oaks. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has documented habitat for more than 300 wildlife species that depend on oak woodlands for food and shelter. Protection is a priority as oak woodlands are endemic to the region and only a small percentage are protected statewide.

I want to thank the Goetze family for agreeing to work with the Land Trust to protect their land, said Parker. I know they have been long-time landowners in the area.

The Goetze family owned thousands of acres in the area for decades, living and ranching there, from the time of Bruno Goetze, the grandfather of the current owners. Bruno Goetze had a ranch in Wragg Canyon, where Pleasure Cove is now. A significant amount of this large landholding was sold by Brunos son, Ernie Goetze, to the federal government in 1955 as part of the eminent domain that led to the construction of Monticello Dam and the creation of Lake Berryessa.

Sharon Evensen, one of the siblings who sold to the Land Trust, remembered her childhood in Monticello, the town that was founded in 1866 and later inundated by the reservoir in 1957 after the dam was completed. I went to grammar school in the two-room schoolhouse right in the town of Monticello, she said. Our family house was in Steele Canyon, and our grandparents ranch was in Wragg Canyon. The parcel we just sold was the last of our familys parcels in the area. We are pleased to know the Land Trust will preserve and keep this land in its natural state for the benefit of future generations.

Besides extensive oak woodlands, the Wragg Ridge Preserve contains priority wetlands, including a creek, seasonal pools and year-round ponds. The wetlands provide habitat for rare species, including the federally listed California Red-legged Frog, one of the few federally listed species in Napa County. The largest native frog in the western United States, this species is estimated to have lost over 70% of its previous habitat. It was listed under the Federal Endangered Species Act in 1996. The Land Trust will work with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service on habitat enhancement and restoration efforts for this species as well as other wildlife on the preserve.

The new addition also touches the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) land that surrounds Lake Berryessa  30,000 acres, including the lake. The BOR land abuts the nearby 2,500-acre Quail Ridge Reserve, part of the University of Californias Natural Reserve System. The UC Natural Reserve System owns and manages natural areas statewide, providing priority sites for education and research carried out by faculty and students. The Quail Ridge Reserve is a partnership between UC, the Bureau of Land Management, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, BOR, and the Land Trust of Napa County.

For more information, visit Land Trust of Napa County at napalandtrust.org.
Napa Countys repaving job on rural Olive Hill Lane and Mount George Avenue in the shadow of Mount George last August is receiving a rough reception.

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Thats because residents expected a smoother surface. They say the new pavement has uneven spots and even some bald spots where the old pavement can be seen.

Napa County officials says the county used a different type of paving method  one involving an environmentally friendly, ambient-temperature mixture instead of the standard hot-mix asphalt  and the problems will be corrected.

Residents are waiting.

Its certainly passable, but it just looks like a really substandard piece of work thats likely to become problematic in a short period of time, Jim Jones said.

Its not like a smooth surface was just put down; its pitted in some places, Joe Pierret said.

Neighbors are up in arms about this sub-standard work, Vic Chiarella said.

Mount George Avenue is better than before repaving, Mia Malm said. But there were bald spots even when the repaving had just been finished, and there are places where pavement condition worsened after the rains.

The best they can do I assume at this point is patch it," she said, adding it's a shame the job didn't get done solidly the first time.

County Supervisor Alfredo Pedroza has heard the repaving complaints.

Were fully committed to making sure the quality of the work is consistent for what we expect from a new work project, Pedroza said. I would agree, there are areas that are substandard and need to be improved."

His message to residents: the county isn't ignoring the situation and will continue to improve the road.

This wasn't a typical county repaving job. The county Board of Supervisors in June agreed to purchase materials from Global Stabilization, LLC. A county report called the company a distributor of environmentally sensitive road building products.

A special solution would be combined with the countys crushed stockpile of recycled asphalt and transported by the Napa County road crew to be placed 2 inches thick on Olive Hill Lane and Mount George Avenue, the county report said.

But residents in the neighborhood said the thickness level varies and is non-existent in some spots.

The cost for materials, equipment leases, and assistance was up to $282,900. The money came from the $34 million settlement the county agreed to with Pacific Gas & Electric linked to the Atlas and Partrick fires of 2017. Cal Fire determined PG&E equipment sparked those fires.

As it turned out, the county had left-over materials and added west Zinfandel Lane and Finnell Road to the resurfacing project.

The Napa Valley Register this past week went to Olive Hill Lane and Mount George Avenue. The repaving job appears ununiform, certainly lacking the smoothness of such places as the repaved Trancas Street section in the city of Napa.

The ambient-temperature mixture used for Olive Lane Road/Mount George Avenue costs roughly $75 per ton, compared to $90 per ton for standard hot mix asphalt, a county report said.

Global Stabilization on its website said its product is free of hazardous solvents, non-flammable, non-corrosive to metal, not harmful to aquatic and mammal life and not carcinogenic.

Overall, we are quite pleased given the cost and environmental benefits, though there were some areas that didnt set up well and had to be reworked, county Public Works Director Steven Lederer said in an email. We will continue to monitor the road through the winter and beyond before we decide to use the product again, and we will make any corrections that are needed.

You can reach Barry Eberling at 256-2253 or beberling@napanews.com.

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The US and Japan are initiating consultations to address overcapacity in the steel and aluminum sector, the US Commerce Secretary noted.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and US Trade Representative Katherine Tai announced today that they will begin consultations with Japan to address overcapacity in steel and aluminum, the statement said. According to the press release, Washington is concerned about how the excess of non-market manufacturing capacity in the world, linked mainly to China is affecting American industry.

These consultations with Japan represent an opportunity to promote high standards, respond to common challenges, including climate change, and hold accountable countries such as China that allegedly support non-market measures and practices, the Ministry of Trade added. In the framework of the talks, in particular, the issue of the American duties introduced in 2018 on steel and aluminum from Japan will be discussed.

In late October, Washington and Brussels announced a settlement of their differences over US duties on steel and aluminum from the EU. As Raimondo explained at the time, the agreement allows a limited amount of steel and aluminum from the EU to be imported into the United States without duties, although some of these measures remain in place. According to Bloomberg, the agreements concern the abolition of duties on products totaling more than $ 10 billion a year.
18 citizens are apprehended for participation in Yerevan protests

Russian peacekeepers ensure control in Nagorno-Karabakh

Carbon monoxide causes death in Yerevan

In Yerevan, citizens block main streets to draw attention to the situation at the border

El Salvador plans to build the world's first Bitcoin city

Canadian portal publishes list of countries with strongest Air Force on Earth

Japan announces self-destruction of COVID-19 delta strain

Israel to sign solar energy agreement with Jordan in UAE

Japan concerned over joint air patrols of Russia and China near country's borders

In Mexico, 600 migrants were found in two trucks

Europe protests against coronavirus restrictions

Commander of Russian airbase in Armenia: Ready to perform tasks as intended

US is going to build a nuclear power plant on the moon

Biden's son helps Chinese company buy mine in Africa

China lowers level of diplomatic relations with Lithuania

Russia and US confirm their intentions to send joint mission to Venus

Putin and Pashinyan discuss situation in Nagorno-Karabakh and measures to stabilize it

Honored Art Worker of Armenia, composer Ruben Altunyan passes away

492 new cases of coronavirus confirmed in Armenia

Armenian Foreign Minister and Otto Luchterhandt discuss Nagorno-Karabakh settlement

Armenian contract soldier dies amid violation of rules for handling weapons

Man, 29, jumps from Yerevan bridge

Armenia MFA confirms PM Pashinyan's readiness to meet with Azerbaijans Aliyev on December 15

Quake shakes coast of Vanuatu

State minister: Nationwide quarantine, specific restrictions planned to be imposed in Karabakh

Artsakh President convenes National Security Service consultation

Opposition MP: Armenia FM stated that Turkey has proposed new precondition: corridor

Armenia military expert: US Embassy warns its citizens to avoid Karahunj-Davit Bek, Kapan-Chakaten road sections

Armenia opposition MP: Air carrier operating flights from Syunik Province cannot have any security guarantees

Singapore is good example for Armenia, says President Sarkissian

Iran seizes foreign ship in Persian Gulf

2 Azerbaijanis injured in anti-tank mine explosion at Karabakh conflict zone

US, Turkey presidential advisors discuss situation in South Caucasus

Synopsys boss pays tribute to Armenian Genocide victims

Russia peacekeepers escort 15 convoys to, from Artsakh in one week

Catholicos Karekin II to Patriarch Kirill: We appreciate your warm attitude towards Armenian Church, people

China fines Alibaba for violating antitrust law

36 new cases of coronavirus reported in Karabakh

UK Premier Johnson considering boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics

Artsakh President visits Askeran city, meets with regional capitals youth

President to Russia Patriarch: Armenian people highly value your efforts aimed at achieving peace in our region

870 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

8 injured in tragic accident on Yerevan-Gyumri motorway are discharged from hospital

China, Russia, US agree to promote political dialogue on Iran

Azerbaijan mother, son commit suicide on same day

One pedestrian dies on the spot, other hospitalized after hit by car in Armenia village area

US beauty consultant is accused of killing woman by injecting silicone into her butt

Brazil Amazon deforestation reaches highest level in 15 years

Newspaper: Armenia soldiers are prohibited from filming episodes from their service, posting them on internet

Newspaper: Armenia opposition is forming large-scale resistance network

Armenia President visits National University of Singapore

Gia, wanted by French law-enforcement authorities, found at Armenia's Bagratashen checkpoint

Leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia agree to meet in Brussels

European Council: Pashinyan and Aliyev agreed to establish direct communication line at level of defense ministers

Armenia's Representative to OSCE speaks about Azerbaijan's recent attack at Permanent Council's session

Armenia serviceman Meruzhan Harutyunyan, killed in Syunik Province, was buried at Yerablur Military Pantheon

Armenian News-NEWS.am's special report: Drive from Kapan to Tchakatashen is 150 km instead of previous 8 km

3 Armenian servicemen killed during Nov. 16 Azerbaijani attack posthumously awarded presidential medals

Left-wing trade unions hold protest against Turkey's Erdogan in Izmir

Armenia FM presents situation following Azerbaijani attack during meeting with Lithuanian Seimas Vice-President

Armenia delegation covers Azerbaijan's Nov. 16 attack during online meeting of CSTO PA Permanent Commissions

Armenia PM receives delegation led by Vice President of Lithuanian Seimas

Lavrov, Cavusoglu discuss bilateral ties and regional issues

Karabakh: Azerbaijani side, in Shushi, transfers bodies of 3 Armenian soldiers killed on Nov. 16

NEWS.am daily digest: 19.11.21

Armenian Embassy in Russia: Armenia citizens - mother and child - evacuated from Afghanistan

Georgia refuses to be a part of '3+3' format with regard to South Caucasus

The occupied Hadrut of our days (PHOTOS)

Arabologist: Photo of map of Turkic world shown by Erdogan and Bahceli is simply a gift for Armenian diplomacy

Situation is tense in Armenia's Kasakh, residents protesting against acting village head (LIVE)

Opposition With Honor legislature faction MP: No one knows if Armenia petitioned to Russia for military assistance

Armenia opposition MP: There is a threat that Baku will always get what it wants through use of force

Lavrov is certain that the Russia-Armenia-Azerbaijan summit will take place

Ann Linde: OSCE working very closely with Russia to resolve Karabakh conflict

Karabakh FM congratulates newly appointed Abkhazia counterpart

Dollar relatively stable in Armenia

Armenia parliament majority members do not deny possibility of exchange of territories with Azerbaijan

Armenia ruling party MP: Public and competent authorities need to know circumstances behind captures of soldiers

Armenia ruling party MP assures that situation on the border is currently stable

Armenia ruling party MP: Confidentiality of process of preparing for demarcation is strictly necessary

Armenia PM: Citizens of EEU countries will be able to receive loans in all territories of member states

Armenian serviceman, 19, dies in Georgia's Akhalkalaki

Armenia legislature majority faction lawmaker: Russia military intervention is not end in itself

High commissioner: Diaspora is considering ways to help hundreds of Ethiopia Armenians

Opposition With Honor parliament faction: Armenia authorities trying to push territorial losses issue to backburner

Legislature majority faction MP: Armenia authorities do not make any demands on Russia

Opposition Armenia Faction in parliament: Authorities are unable to distinguish between priority and secondary issues

3 more die of coronavirus in Artsakh

Bruno Retailleau: France must support Armenia more firmly against aggressions by Azerbaijan

Armenia parliament majority faction: Border delimitation preparation process will start from point zero

PM: Armenia exports to other EEU countries increased by 27.8%

Armenias Pashinyan: Azerbaijan provocations are aimed at disrupting arrangements reached by trilateral statements

California Armenian couple accused of fraud flee leaving their 3 children behind

799 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Katherine Clark: Azerbaijan must acknowledge and respect Armenian sovereignty

Eurasian Intergovernmental Council enlarged meeting underway in Yerevan

Russia peacekeepers patrol along Karabakh border delimitation line

MOD: According to current data Armenia has 6 military casualties as result of Tuesdays attack by Azerbaijan

Turkish Islamic preachers organization denies reports of his death

Newspaper: What happened to missing Armenia soldiers during recent hostilities?
The interstate road Stepanakert-Shushi-Berdzor is open on both sides; as a result of the incident, there are no wounded or injured among the citizens of Artsakh. This is stated in a statement circulated by the NSS of Artsakh.

The statement reads, in part:

"Today the Artsakh National Security Service received information that early in the morning on the Stepanakert-Berdzor interstate road at the Shushi checkpoint, in response to the provocative actions of the Azerbaijani servicemen, an unknown person threw an explosive device towards the checkpoint, after which the Stepanakert-Shushi interstate road Berdzor was closed on both sides.

The law enforcement agencies of Artsakh, together with the Russian peacekeeping contingent, are carrying out appropriate operational-search and criminal-procedural measures to identify the circumstances of the incident.

Now the Stepanakert-Shushi-Berdzor highway is open on both sides, as a result of the incident, there are no wounded or injured among the citizens of Artsakh.

We urge you not to panic and stay calm, refrain from spreading panic news, and follow only official information."
The US Department of Energy intends to print out strategic reserves in order to stabilize oil prices on the domestic market, RIA Novosti reported.

Since January, gasoline in the US has risen in price from $ 0.62 to $ 0.83 per liter, thereby updating the seven-year record. The agency notes that the Americans blame OPEC + for the rise in prices.

Bloomberg sources report that the US is preparing measures against OPEC+. The agency announces the formation of the strongest coalition in several years to pressure the cartel, while the parties to the OPEC + agreement firmly refuse to increase the planned pace.

In the current situation, the United States decided to open a strategic reserve, the volume of which, 600 million barrels, is enough to fully compensate for all imports from OPEC + countries for more than a year.

According to Bloomberg, 3.1 million barrels have already been withdrawn from the reserve to date.
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is concerned about the increase in the number of marriages with children in Afghanistan, said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore.

I am deeply concerned by reports that child marriage in Afghanistan is on the rise.

We have received credible reports of families offering daughters as young as 20 days old up for future marriage in return for a dowry.

Even before the latest political instability, UNICEFs partners registered 183 child marriages and 10 cases of selling of children over 2018 and 2019 in Herat and Baghdis provinces alone. The children were between 6 months and 17 years of age.

UNICEF estimates that 28 per cent of Afghan women aged 1549 years were married before the age of 18.

The COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing food crisis and the onset of winter have further exacerbated the situation for families. In 2020, almost half of Afghanistans population was so poor that they lacked necessities such as basic nutrition or clean water.

The extremely dire economic situation in Afghanistan is pushing more families deeper into poverty and forcing them to make desperate choices, such as putting children to work and marrying girls off at a young age.

As most teenage girls are still not allowed to go back to school, the risk of child marriage is now even higher. Education is often the best protection against negative coping mechanisms such as child marriage and child labour.

UNICEF is working with partners to raise communities awareness of the risks for girls if they are married early. Child marriage can lead to a lifetime of suffering. Girls who marry before they turn 18 are less likely to remain in school and more likely to experience domestic violence, discrimination, abuse and poor mental health. They are also more vulnerable to complications in pregnancy and childbirth.

We have started a cash assistance programme to help offset the risk of hunger, child labour and child marriage among the most vulnerable families. We plan to scale up this and other social services programmes in the months to come.

UNICEF will also work with religious leaders to ensure that they are not involved in the Nekah (the marriage contract) for young girls.

But this is not enough.

We call on central, provincial and local authorities to take concrete measures to support and safeguard the most vulnerable families and girls. We urge the de facto authorities to prioritize the reopening of schools for all secondary school girls and allow all-female teachers to resume their jobs without any further delays.

The future of an entire generation is at stake.
OSU Cowboy Innovations to host Technology Showcase

Media Contact: Harrison Hill | Research Communications Specialist | 405-744-5827 | harrison.c.hill@okstate.edu

If invention is born from necessity, then partnerships are born from innovation and OSUs Cowboy Innovations is focused on creating those partnerships.

To highlight how those partnerships benefit Oklahoma and the nation, Cowboy Innovations is hosting a technology showcase on Nov. 19 at OSU DISCOVERY in Oklahoma City. This showcase is an opportunity for research on the university level to make its debut in front of potential aerospace and defense industry partners.

The evening will feature booths exhibiting ongoing research at OSU campuses and break-out sessions for more in depth conversations and idea exchanges. Presentations are set to begin at 3 p.m. but attendees are invited to stay after for happy and network with researchers and entrepreneurs.

To learn more or register for the showcase visit https://bit.ly/3BJ1zYT
Student Veteran Success Center celebrates grand reopening

Media Contact: Mack Burke | Editorial Coordinator | 405-744-5540 | mack.burke_iv@okstate.edu

For many student veterans, discussing their shared experiences with fellow soldiers helps them adjust to the life of a college student.

Oklahoma State Universitys Student Veteran Success Center has been on campus to help student veterans with anything they may need, but until this summer, it was hard to find.

Previously located in the North Classroom Building on the edge of campus, the center was officially reopened Friday in a ceremony at the Student Union. OSU President Kayse Shrum, Coordinator of Student Veteran Success Vincent Rivera, as well as two OSU students, spoke at the event, highlighting OSUs sustained commitment to supporting veterans.

Dr. Shrum has a deep connection to the armed forces. Her father, Dennis Donnelly, is a Vietnam veteran, and her paternal grandparents served in World War II. Speaking to a crowd from the Student Union balcony, she gestured toward the 7,068 flags in front of Edmon Low Library representing service members lost in combat since 2001 as a reminder of the sacrifice veterans have made and continue to make.

I personally find supporting our veterans very near and dear to my heart. I know that freedom, our freedoms that we have, are not free, Dr. Shrum said. ... Someone paid those prices for us. And I think all we have to do is look across library lawn to be reminded of the importance of that, and what gratitude we all should have that we're here today, celebrating the way that we are.

Those that didn't lose their life still gave. They gave up their time, their innocence and many things we'll never know. And they did that for people they'll never meet. So we all have a debt of gratitude.

The Student Veteran Success Center, now located at 061 Student Union, is a dedicated space for veterans to relax, study and build community.

The Student Veteran Success Center at Oklahoma State University with Cowboys for Veterans Christmas bags in front.

Josh Fisher, a business administration major, served in the Army before attending OSU and said he owes a lot to the center. Fisher, who is working as a financial representative at Northwestern Mutual on top of his studies, met his wife at the center and said it really helped him through a difficult time.

The Student Veteran Center is a vital piece for the success of the student veterans attending this university, Spc. Fisher said. It's a place where we can find resources and meet other veterans. We find camaraderie here.

Most student veterans are not typical traditional students. We come from serving in the military, we are older and we have a much broader life experience. This can be difficult for some of us to blend into the college lifestyle. Some of us have spouses and children. So we have fuller plates. The center helps us veterans with resources we need to be successful on our journey to a higher education.

Rivera said without a Student Veteran Success Center, he thinks many veterans would feel lost. He knows he would have if he didnt have one when he went to college.

After serving in the Marine Corps for 14 years, he decided to go to college. But halfway through his first semester, he felt that he was in the wrong place as he felt he had nothing in common with his fellow students.

Every time I entered a classroom, I had a fear, a sinking feeling that someone's going to call me out and remind me, this space is reserved for real students, Gunnery Sgt. Rivera said. I did not know the term imposter syndrome at the time, but I was suffering from it nonetheless.

One week, I saw a flyer on campus advertising a meet and greet at the Veterans Center. I did not know at the time, but that table of muffins, pastries and coffee changed my life. I had found a place on campus where I knew I could be myself. Where the experiences of those around me were at the same time vastly different, but almost exactly the same. And I had a support system that I knew would go to bat for me when I was having issues in class.

This simple fact, knowing these basic tenants, I felt like I could breathe again. I met fellow veterans. They helped me realize I was a student and I belonged to the university. I've never left higher education since.

Rivera said moving the center to the Student Union has already produced an uptick in visitors seeking help with anything from classwork to financial aid. He thanked OSU leaders for supporting the move and helping to make it a reality: Dr. Jeanette Mendez, interim provost; Dr. Chris Francisco, interim assistant provost; Dr. Johnny Stephens, senior vice president for health affairs; and Lt. Col. Joel Kintsel, an OSU alumnus who serves as the executive director of the Oklahoma Department of Veteran Affairs.

We as an OSU family understand, there are some who make it back. But will never leave it behind, Rivera said. We are here to ensure that those veterans, whether they are a student or not, have a place where they feel safe.

Cowboys for Veterans initiative aims to collect 800 Christmas bags for veterans

OSU's Cowboys for Veterans initiative is partnering with a Christmas bag program to support veterans in hospice care throughout the state.

Emerson Newell, who founded the program in high school along with her mother, reached out to President Shrum for support and was surprised by the enthusiastic response.

Newell, a freshman from Shawnee, Oklahoma, said the project had humble beginnings but has grown to a full-scale production that assists veterans in all seven centers throughout the state in Ardmore, Claremore, Clinton, Lawton, Norman, Sulphur and Talihina.

It started as an idea to create 10 bags for veterans during the 2018 holiday season, Newell said. As my mom started talking about it on social media, people all over the state began donating to this project. It instantly became a state project and the hub of it was in my house.

It has been a blessing to see our home completely filled with hundreds of bags year after year. In the first year we had enough donations to cover six of the seven VA living centers in Oklahoma. Over 1,500 veterans received a Christmas bag. I learned so much in the first year of this project that we made an effort to get as many students as involved as possible.

Newell has had help from her friend Ashlyn Oliver and their sorority of Gamma Phi Beta. The bags have drop-off locations in four spots and can be filled with essentials like fleece blankets, pajamas and toiletries. For more information on how to participate, visit https://go.okstate.edu/campaigns/veterans-bag-program.html.

The program runs through Dec. 13.

Fisher voiced his support for the project as a veteran.

I support this service project because during my time here, I was the commander of the local VFW, Fisher said. And while I was the post commander, I worked a lot with older veterans, and I saw the need to continue to work, to try to provide services for those veterans.

It's important for us not to forget the time that they put in for this country and make sure that they are never forgotten."
The Follow, from left to right: Amy Rickertsen, Troy Rickertsen and Mat Matlack

Imagine assembling every band from the rock 'n' roll era in a giant concert hall, then asking each group how long they lasted. Five years. Ten years. With each interval, the show of hands would grow smaller.

Thirty years would yield rare company  the AC/DCs, U2s and Metallicas of the world. Mid-Missouri trio The Follow would be among their number, hands proudly held high.

In this way, Troy Rickertsen, Amy Rickertsen and Mat Matlack have achieved a dimension of success eluding many of history's most popular bands. Longevity enabled them to grow together as whole people  musicians and friends  influencing each other and creating together through the high and low notes of life.

Friday, Nov. 19, the band will gather to celebrate a 33-year run and say farewell  for now  playing their last show as one chapter of life closes but their collective book remains open.

Where rock 'n' roll dreams begin

Mat Matlack and Amy Rickertsen perform during a 2002 concert at the Boone County Courthouse square

The band's first two members met in ideal 1980s rock fashion. One night growing up in Moberly, Matlack sat in his garage blasting Loverboy songs from a boombox and lighting a makeshift blowtorch, which involved a can of WD-40.

Riding his bicycle past Matlack's house, Troy Rickertsen heard the guitars, saw the glow and stopped to catch the show, Matlack said. The pair became fast friends, spending time together from elementary school onward.

In high school, the two started working out musical notions, Rickertsen on guitar and vocals, Matlack on drums. Inspiration intersected  the pair shared a love for bands such as R.E.M., The Cure, The Cult, The Church and Pink Floyd, Matlack said.

More: Columbia's Blights offers dark anthems to dance away 'Bad News'

They also earnestly sought a way to wrap their young minds around ideas of faith and spirituality. For his part, Matlack struggled to uncover connection and relevance in organized expressions of Christianity. Music offered a lifeline toward some sense of the divine.

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"U2 became my church," he said.

Thirty-three years ago this fall, The Follow convened its first practice. And in January 1989, they played their first show  an entire set of U2 covers, Matlack said.

The future Amy Rickertsen moved into the area during high school; she and Troy would date and eventually marry. Amy Rickertsen didn't come on board as The Follow's bassist until 1997, but during the band's lifespan, she attended rehearsals and only missed one concert, Matlack said. Her friendship and spirit were crucial to the band's DNA before ever taking charge of the low end.

A chosen family is hard to leave. But the band saw the beginning of the end about four years ago. Matlack and his wife started to consider relocating their family to the Bahamas.

Initially, he thought any move would be the linchpin in a 10-year plan, but forward progress outpaced expectations. Creating and fortifying connections on travels there, he took on creative work  video and web design  on behalf of new friends there, and helped with hurricane recovery.

As his time and family leaned toward the Bahamas, conversations within the band progressed.

"I could see it, and they could see it, but something we really werent talking about was my focus," Matlack said.

More: Grammy nominee Ingrid Andress, coming to Blue Note, brings 'Lady Like' strength to country music

Stretched in several directions, The Follow faced a decision the same way they always had  together.

"Our bands music is really sacred to me," Matlack said, and he didn't want to dishonor it through divided attention.

The band chose to sound a definitive major chord, freeing Matlack to focus on the impending move and letting the music ring out in a way they all could stand behind. Matlack finds it hard to believe next Friday's show is a true final hurrah, but it does mark the end of an era.

"Im already daydreaming about reunions. I dont think were done playing together ever again. But this is it as we know it," he said.

The shifting sands of success

The Follow in an undated promotional photo

Recalling the trio's history, Matlack identified landmarks where many bands would gladly stake their careers.

The band played from "New York to L.A.," he said; was featured on hundreds of college radio stations and dozens of commercial stations at its peak; opened for major-label artists; and carved a niche through Second Life, performing often in the virtual world.

More: Mid-Missouri rapper REACEYUNG pens musical letter to the 'Heart of Lou'

The Follow didn't necessarily fulfill every one of Matlack's youthful ambitions. But they found something deeper.

"Success started to look a lot different. It was those beautiful moments that we were having as friends together playing music," he said.

That pursuit of goodness and beauty allowed Matlack and Troy Rickertsen to keep the pledge they made to each other when starting The Follow.

"Lets do this together. Lets do this the right way  and I say that because we dont even know what that means," Matlack said, recalling their "pact."

"I think what we meant was lets honor each other and the music as we do it, wherever it may lead us, and put our friendship first before everything else. And thats what we did over the years."

That friendship granted the band's members time and room to allow their music to evolve alongside their lives. Early efforts assumed a dark, ethereal sound, Matlack said. Professionals orbiting the music industry said the band's sound wasn't sufficiently accessible. They responded with 2006's "Up With the Sun," an album of pop songs that maintained their integrity, Matlack said.

More: Notes and tones: Concerts are back  even if 'normal' eludes us

Indeed, that record holds as much potential energy as MTV darlings the band grew up on; Troy Rickertsen's dreamy melodies soar over buzzy guitars and propulsive rhythms laid and locked down by Amy Rickertsen and Matlack. Keeping company with heroes such as U2, those songs account for seasons of life when you still haven't found what you're looking for  as well as the moments faith and fulfillment peek around the corner.

The band exercised its narrative side on a concept record like 2011's "Building Machines to Reach the Stars." And in 2015, they released "K," Matlack's favorite Follow record and the one that means most.

Those dozen songs honor Troy Rickertsen's brother, Kent, who died after living with ALS. The loss leveled the band, and Troy Rickertsen didn't touch his guitar for about a year, Matlack recalled. Upon engaging with music again, a "flood" of songs poured out, Matlack said.

Initially, Troy Rickertsen wanted to keep the heaviness of those songs separate from the band, Matlack said. But a common love for Kent, and the need to endure their grief together, led The Follow to spend itself in service of a truly moving album.

More: Robert Greene brings powerful 'Procession' to Missouri Theatre before Netflix run

If the band never enters the studio again, its final album will be last year's "Wilderness," a project that struck "a sound balance between great and small, loud and quiet, earthy and majestic," a Tribune review noted.

With next Friday's show drawing closer, Matlack simply hopes when people think of the Columbia music scene, they save a memory for The Follow. And he wishes similar longevity for younger bands  that they would find their people, he said. If they do, their legacy might resemble The Follow's.

"I hope people see that our friendship was the band," Matlack said.

The Follow's farewell show begins at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 19 at 4th Street Theatre, 110 N. Fourth Street in Moberly. Admission is free. Learn more at https://linktr.ee/thefollowofficial or on the group's Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/TheFollow.

Aarik Danielsen is the features and culture editor for the Tribune. Contact him at adanielsen@columbiatribune.com or by calling 573-815-1731.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: After 33 years, mid-Missouri band The Follow prepares to say farewell
Approximately 500 National Guard members are on standby in Wisconsin as the end of the homicide trial of Kyle Rittenhouse nears, Gov. Tony Evers said Friday.

Driving the news: The Wisconsin National Guard will post outside Kenosha, where Rittenhouse is standing trial for allegedly shooting two men and injuring another during protests following the police shooting of Jacob Blake last year.

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"I urge folks who are otherwise not from the area to please respect the community by reconsidering any plans to travel there and encourage those who might choose to assemble and exercise their First Amendment rights to do so safely and peacefully," the Democratic governor said in a statement Friday.

Closing arguments for the trial are expected Monday, NBC News reports.

The big picture: Rittenhouse, 18, is charged with intentional homicide, reckless homicide, attempted intentional homicide and endangering safety among other charges.

Anthony Huber, 26, and Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, were killed in the shooting and Gaige Grosskreutz, 27, was injured.

Rittenhouse, who was 17 at the time, was allegedly part of an armed group who said they were protecting private property from violent protesters. Rittenhouse's lawyers say he was acting in self-defense, according to CNN.

Rittenhouse faces a life sentence if he is convicted of first-degree intentional homicide.

What they're saying: "We stand ready to support our communities during times of need," Maj. Gen. Paul Knapp, Wisconsins adjutant general, said in a statement.

"In close coordination with the governor, we have assembled approximately 500 Soldiers to help keep the Kenosha community safe, should a request from our local partners come in."

Go deeper: Kenosha shooting lawsuit accuses police of coordinating with militia.

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Australia captain Aaron Finch is not underestimating New Zealand (Dan Mullan/PA) (PA Wire)

Australia captain Aaron Finch is relishing another one his sides great battles against New Zealand in Dubai on Sunday as both nations attempt to lift the T20 World Cup for the first time.

While both sides are accustomed to making the knockout stages of global events, few expected the final to be played between Antipodean rivals Australia and New Zealand, sixth and fourth respectively in the formats world rankings.

This is a rematch of the 2015 50-over World Cup final, which Australia won at a canter, although New Zealand had the upper hand when they met in five T20s earlier this year, with the Black Caps prevailing 3-2 in the series.

Its bloody exciting to be playing against New Zealand, Finch said. We play quite a bit against New Zealand now and we always have great battles regardless of the format. They are a great team and are led super by Kane Williamson.

Its not unexpected. We came here with a clear plan to try to win this tournament. We always felt as though weve got the depth of the squad and the quality in our squad to put ourselves in a position to do that.

And New Zealand, they have been in every final for a long time now in ICC events. They are a team that can never be underestimated. Maybe people on the outside do. Certainly inside, we dont. They have got class.

Australia overcame heavily-fancied Pakistan on Thursday although captain Finch got a golden duck after being trapped in front by talismanic left-arm quick Shaheen Shah Afridis nip-backer.

Shaheen Shah Afridi (pictured) dismissed Aaron Finch for a golden duck earlier this week (Kamran Jebreili/PA) (AP)

And while Australia got over the line in their last showpiece meeting against New Zealand six years ago, Finch was undone by the left-arm swing of Trent Boult early on, while fellow seamer Tim Southee has impressed in recent weeks.

Any time it nips back a little bit, I think if you look back at my career, thats no secret thats where Im most vulnerable, Finch said. Obviously that will be a challenge with Trent bowling left-arm swing.

With Tim Southee, you can swing the ball away, but he also bowls one where he knocks the ball off the seam and it slides off a little bit. But Ive had a really good hit at training, so Im feeling good going into the game.

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While there were concerns over Finchs opening partner David Warners run of low scores in the weeks and months leading up to the tournament, the veteran left-hander has made a mockery of suggestions he is on the slide.

New Zealands Devon Conway is out of Sundays final (Kamran Jebreili/AP) (AP)

Warner has amassed 236 runs at a 47.2 average and 148.42 strike-rate, having been backed to the hilt by Finch, who is similarly unfazed with Steve Smiths form heading into the final.

No, not concerned one bit, Finch said of a batter who has made just 69 runs in four innings in the United Arab Emirates. Hes a world-class player and hes someone who in big games has showed how valuable he is.

Hes been hitting the ball as well as Ive seen for a long time, so no concerns there whatsoever.

While Finch was tight-lipped about team selection, opposite number Kane Williamson intimated Tim Seifert would come in for the injured Devon Conway, who has been ruled out with a broken hand which he sustained when he punched his bat in frustration after being dismissed in New Zealands semi-final victory over England on Wednesday.

Tim Seifert on preparing to potentially play in the @T20WorldCup Final after Devon Conway's injury. #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/5etq2Z7JbW  BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) November 13, 2021

The loss of Devon is a big one, Williamson said. Its a disappointing and freak thing to happen. He still wants to give as much as he can to the team. Hes certainly right behind Tim and Tim is excited at getting involved.

For us, its keeping our focus on the task. We know how strong the Australian side is and we are looking forward to that opportunity.

Even though this is the third World Cup final New Zealand have reached in the last six years, the perception exists that they are still underdogs, but Williamson is not concerning himself with any labels.

It doesnt have a lot to do with us, really, he said. We focus on our cricket. The different tags and what not, thats not really something that we control.

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Nov. 12WILLMAR  New charges have been filed against one of the men accused of raping and cutting a woman this July in Willmar.

Authorities last week added two felony first-degree criminal sexual conduct charges and two misdemeanor theft charges for Davion Elijha Powell, 19, of Racine, Wisconsin, according to an amended criminal complaint.

Powell was already charged with two felony counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and a felony charge of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon related to the incident.

The criminal sexual conduct charges allege penetration, injury, use of force, being armed, causing fear of great bodily harm and acting with an accomplice.

The new charges filed in Kandiyohi County District Court allege that Powell held a shotgun over his shoulder after the woman was not compliant and that he attempted to sell AirPods he stole from the woman.

Powell is being held in the Kandiyohi County Jail on $750,000 bail or bond

The man's alleged accomplice, Marquiese Lafay Peet-Williams, 23, is charged with two felony counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and a felony charge of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon.

Powell and Peet-Williams are both being held in the Kandiyohi County Jail on $750,000 bail or bond.

According to the amended complaint:

Peet-Williams and Powell met the woman July 30 at the Mall of America, where she gave one of the men her phone number.

Later that night the woman agreed to let the men come to her Willmar residence because she had friends over. As a group, the women agreed not to do anything with either man.

After the men arrived, the woman's friends left and both Powell and Peet-Williams allegedly forcefully sexually assaulted and raped her in her residence. She attempted to get away multiple times during the assault.

Powell is alleged to have grabbed a nearby shotgun in the residence and put it over his shoulder when the pair thought the woman wasn't being compliant with their demands.

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That shotgun was later recovered in Wright County.

After alleged raping the woman, both men allegedly handcuffed the woman, put paper towels in her mouth and grabbed either scissors or a knife and "started carving up the front of her body. Powell and Peet-Williams forced her down onto the bed on her stomach and continued carving up the back of her body; this included carving the initials 'D.P.' on her," according to the complaint.

Peet-Williams allegedly filmed the assault, which included sexually assaulting the woman with the object they used to cut her, on his phone.

Law enforcement located bodily fluids in multiple places in the woman's residence where the alleged assaults occurred.

Witnesses identified both men to law enforcement.

The woman was taken to a hospital for examination but court documents do not specify her condition.

Both men allegedly attempted to sell a pair of stolen AirPods they took from the residence as well.

A warrant was issued for Peet-Williams' arrest in July and he was apprehended earlier this month in Wisconsin before being transferred to Kandiyohi County. Powell has been in custody in the Kandiyohi County Jail since August.

Powell's next hearing is scheduled for Dec. 6.

Peet-Williams' next hearing is scheduled Nov. 23.

Click to read more about Crime and Courts.
Lebanon police are asking for information after a 39-year-old Minersville resident was shot and killed early Saturday morning in the city.

At 1:14 a.m., city police were dispatched to the area of Seventh and Willow streets for a report of a gunshot fired, with a victim laying on the sidewalk.

An argument, which started outside a business in the area, had became physical, according to police. At some point a suspect police have not identified displayed a handgun and discharged the weapon, striking the victim.

Officer-involved shooting: Jonestown man shot and killed in struggle with state troopers in Lebanon County

Homicide investigation: Police seek second Lebanon teenager charged in fatal shooting that led to crash

Homicide investigation: Lebanon teenager charged in fatal shooting incident leading to Wednesday crash, police say

The suspect is described as a male, 5 feet 9 inches tall. Police say the suspect fled from the scene in a vehicle, which had been parked in a nearby parking lot.

"Police found a male with an apparent gunshot wound," Police Chief Todd Breiner said in a statement. "The 39-year-old Minersville resident was pronounced deceased by the Lebanon County Coroners Office."

Officials have not released the name of the victim as of Saturday morning. An autopsy is being scheduled by officials.

A second homicide in the city in less than a month, police are still looking for Jaden Pagan, 15, whose charges include homicide for a 16-year-old boy fatally shot Oct. 27 at 6th and Lehman streets. Jaedyn Gaines, 17, is currently incarcerated at Lebanon County Correctional Facility with no bail for the same crime, facing charges that include homicide and conspiracy to commit homicide.

Officials say Saturday's shooting remains under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call Lebanon City Police Department at 717-272-2054 or Crime Stoppers at 717-270-9800.

This investigation is ongoing. Please check back with the Lebanon Daily News for updates.

Matthew Toth is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at mtoth@ldnews.com or on Twitter at @DAMattToth.

This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: Argument at Lebanon business lead to the death of Minersville resident
When Novembers chill winds start to blow, we all sense the coming of winter and the almost involuntary desire to find a warm spot and curl up with a good book.

More than a century-and-a-half ago, a remarkable Portsmouth woman, Caroline McClintock Jenness (1803-1892), did just that, creating a fanciful story for her children that was later recorded by her youngest daughter, Clara Holmes Jenness (1837-1919) in a magnificent handmade book, lettered in elaborate Gothic script calligraphy and decorated with watercolor floral borders on every page.

"The Story of Zephyr," created by Clara H. Jenness of Portsmouth, was based on a story by Caroline M. Jenness.

The book was lovingly passed from mother to daughter for generations until the creators great-great granddaughter, Mavin Martin, donated her family treasure to the Athenaeum earlier this year.

The story begins with Boreas, the Greek god of the cold north wind and the bringer of winter. Boreas is lonely in his cold mansion and invites his relatives, the Breezes, to visit. He falls in love with their eldest daughter, Zephyr, named for Zephyrus, the Greek god of the west wind. He courts her by making clouds into cushions and lighting her room with fireflies.

This bust of Caroline E. Jenness by John Adams Jackson is in the Athenaeum collection.

They have a wedding and a grand ball. Jupiter marries them then abducts Zephyrs younger sister. The list of characters freely mixes the mythology of Greek, Roman, Hebrew, and Celtic cultures: Pleiades, Undine, Uriel, and Puck. It speaks of a time when ancient tales were shared and understood by everyone and imagination was a vocabulary, not a commodity.

The book is also material testament to a remarkable Portsmouth family. Caroline McClintock was born in Deerfield, where she married Richard Jenness, a prosperous hardware dealer. They moved to Portsmouth in 1828; in 1832 Richard joined the Portsmouth Athenaeum; and in 1851, their family moved into the large brick mansion at 93 Pleasant St., known as the Treadwell-Jenness mansion.

In 1857, Richard was elected mayor of Portsmouth. Their eldest daughter, Caroline Elizabeth (1824-1857) was a celebrated poet and artist. Daughter Annah St. Clair (1825-1892) married Elbridge Gerry, a representative in Congress from Portland, Maine.

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A page from "The Story of Zephyr" created by Clara H. Jenness of Portsmouth and based on a story by Caroline M. Jenness.

Son John Scribner Jenness (1836-1914) was Portsmouths premier historian of the Victorian era, writing dozens of books and articles, including the first major history of the Isles of Shoals. Josephine (1836-1914) married Dr. Emil Richter and lived in the grand mansion known as the Larkin-Rice house. Clara, the talented creator of the book, married William Hamilton of Maryland.

Family history tells that Caroline M. Jenness had a debilitating illness that confined her to bed and that Caroline Elizabeth, the eldest, had to run the household and raise her younger siblings. One may easily envision that it was in this situation of not being able to physically take care of her children that Caroline McClintock Jenness turned to using her imagination to invent a rollicking tale that would entertain them on a chill autumn evening.

Caroline Elizabeth, too, developed a debilitating illness in mid-life that confined her. She turned to writing poetry and religious stories that were widely published and admired. She taught flower painting to young girls to earn extra money for the family. It is clear that Clara benefited from her older sisters instruction.

The book ends wistfully: It was going on finely with the history of Zephyr when I discovered that the remainder of the leaves were torn from the Book of Folly and that the rest of her fortunes must be still unknown. It is to be hoped however that like all good people who get married in story books that she lived happy ever after and we may fancy that her children are the soft and tender breezes that play about us of a summer night, now bending down a tall lily head or anon, tossing a stray lock or hair or again making the leaves to dance lightly on the trees and we may venture to hope that of an afternoon she looks down upon us as lovingly as she once did or even throws her rainbow girdle across the sky to please the little ones who have listened so patiently to her story.

As we pull our collars up to deflect the cool November wind, let us remember Caroline Jenness and her lasting gift to her children that is now a gift to our city forever.

Tom Hardiman is the Keeper of the Portsmouth Athenaeum. The column At the Athenaeum appears the second Sunday of each month. The Athenaeum, 9 Market Square, is a nonprofit membership library and museum founded in 1817. It is open Tuesday through Saturday, 1 to 4 p.m. Visitors are asked to wear masks. For more information, call 603-431-2538 or email info@portsmouthathenaeum.org.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Caroline McClintock Jenness book donated to Portsmouth NH Athenaeum
A brothel in Austria is offering incentives for unvaccinated residents in the European country, granting free entry and private sessions for those who get the COVID-19 vaccine.

According to a report from the Daily Mail, FunPalast, a brothel located in Vienna, "offers clients a 30-minute session in the sexual 'sauna club' with the 'lady of their choice' if they get the vaccine at the on-site clinic."

The project began this month in an effort to boost revenue for the business after the COVID-19 pandemic affected its clientele totals and to increase vaccination rates across the country.

AUSTRIA SET TO IMPOSE NATIONWIDE LOCKDOWN FOR UNVACCINATED

According to recent data provided by Our World in Data, nearly 67% of Austria's population is partially or fully vaccinated.

Daily Mail's report on the matter also stated that boys as young as 14-years-old, so long as they are with an adult, are permitted to use the clinic. The report also said women are being encouraged to visit the brothel to coordinate with Austria's equality laws.

In an interview with NBC News, Christoph Lielacher, FunPalast's chief executive, said the effort started as a clever "marketing idea," but has become an "absolutely serious" operation.

"We have a perfect vaccination line. We have two doctors, we have nurses...We have a room where you are vaccinated and afterwards, we have a room where you can sit down or lie down, so it's not a joke. It's a perfect line for vaccination," he said.

The Austrian government is meeting over the weekend with the intent of imposing a nationwide lockdown on unvaccinated citizens, and at least two provinces are slated to be under such orders starting Monday.

Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said Friday that he and regional leaders would get together on Sunday to discuss the plans, and that "The aim is very clear: that we give the green light this Sunday for a nationwide lockdown for the unvaccinated," the Associated Press reported.

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VIENNA, AUSTRIA - AUGUST 14: Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg speaks at a joint press conference with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at Belvedere Palace on August 14, 2020 in Vienna, Austria. Mr. Pompeo's weeklong trip to central Europe, in which he is visiting the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Austria and Poland, comes shortly after the United States announced a defense "posture review" that sees it reduce its troop presence in Germany in favor of Poland and other countries. (Photo by Thomas Kronsteiner/Getty Images) Thomas Kronsteiner/Getty Images

Fox News reached out to the brothel for an update on the effort, but did not receive an immediate response.

Fox News' Breck Dumas contributed to this article.
FARMINGTON  The Navajo Police Department reported Nov. 12 that a body found that morning in a canal on the north side of Shiprock was that of a man who police said had been detained by that agency last month, but disappeared outside the Shiprock Police Department headquarters when an officer turned his back on the man to put on protective gloves.

A news release and a Facebook post by the department shortly before 7 p.m. on Nov. 12 said the FBI is investigating the death of 21-year-old Jevon Descheenie. He was detained and taken into custody on Oct. 25 by an unidentified officer after officers from Navajo Police Department, Shiprock District responded to a report of a highly intoxicated man in the median near Highway 64s Shiprock Bridge, the news release said.

Due to the lack of a corrections center in Shiprock, NM, Descheenie was transported to the Shiprock Police Department, the release said.

Descheenie was detained and handcuffed behind his back, the release said. The responding officer was able to identify the individuals place of employment where he was identified as Jevon Descheenie by his employer.

After identifying the man, the officers were going to find a responsible party and release the man, the news release stated.

The release provided the following narrative about how the handcuffed man left police custody.

While parked outside of the police building, Descheenie vomited in the rear passenger compartment of the police vehicle, the release stated. The officer removed Descheenie and seated him on the rear step of a transport van parked next to the police vehicle. The officer walked to the front of the police vehicle in order to put on protective gloves so that the rear passenger compartment could be cleaned. When the officer returned to the rear of the transport van, Descheenie was gone.

The release states that a search started and was not successful. Officers began searching the surrounding area for Descheenie and over several hours, expanded their search away from the police building and to the main road corridors, the news release said.

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Officers were also able to identify relatives and made them aware of Descheenies escape, the release said. After failing to return home, the family reported Descheenie missing on November 2, 2021, and he was entered in NCIC as a missing person.

The National Crime Information Center (NCIC) is a computerized index of criminal justice information available to federal, state, and local law enforcement and other criminal justice agencies, according to the FBIs website.

The missing persons flyer posted by police on social media in this case did not mention that the missing man had been detained by police and then went missing. It said "Jevon Descheenie was last seen on October 25, 2021, in Shiprock, New Mexico. Jevon was last seen wearing the vest he is pictured in below. He also has multi-colored shoulder-length hair."

More information about the time of the detention and disappearance, the scope of the search and agencies involved on Oct. 25 were not available from the police department at the time of this article's publication.

While the release stated that Descheenie was handcuffed behind his back when he disappeared, it didn't say whether he was still handcuffed when his body was found. The release didn't say if there was an apparent cause of death.

"Due to this being an active investigation by our federal partners, I will need to forward your inquiry to the FBI Public Affairs Office in Albuquerque New Mexico for any additional release of information," Navajo Police Department Public Information Officer Christina Tsosie told The Daily Times via email shortly after midnight on Nov. 13.

An inquiry was made to the FBI late on Nov. 12, but no reply has been received by The Daily Times as of 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 13.

Correction: The Navajo Police Department 's Facebook post and a news release about this case were released on Nov. 12. An earlier version of this story listed a different date.

Contact John R. Moses at 505-564-4624, or via email at jmoses@daily-times.com.

Support local journalism with a digital subscription: http://bit.ly/2I6TU0e

This article originally appeared on Farmington Daily Times: Body of missing Navajo Police detainee found Friday in Shiprock canal
(Bloomberg) -- Brazil Environment Minister Joaquim Leite blasted rich, polluting countries for spending too little to help the developing world adopt clean energy, after their failed promise to provide $100 billion in climate finance annually.

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Tensions over that failed finance pledge threaten to undermine negotiations in the final hours of the COP26 summit in Scotland. Leite, speaking on the sidelines of the conference, called finance the biggest challenge facing negotiators and said he was frustrated by the lack of progress.

The developed countries and biggest polluters should have been better prepared for this climate conference and ensure they had in their budget relevant funds to allow for a responsible transition to a net-zero economy and that hasnt happened, he said in an interview in Glasgow. They signed in 2015, promised for 2020 and now are kicking the can down the road to 2023 or 2024, for resources that are no longer enough.

A draft of the conference text released Saturday chides nations for not yet meeting their 2009 pledge -- reaffirmed in 2015 -- to provide $100 billion in annual climate finance by 2020. And it urges developed country parties to fully deliver on the $100-billion goal urgently and through to 2025.

However, there are no concrete measures to address the shortfall in funding expected for 2020 and 2021 and the latest draft doesnt say how rich nations will make up for the funding gap in the coming years. While a new ad hoc group would be tasked with developing a climate finance plan for the second half of the decade, negotiators removed earlier proposed language to set the floor at $100 billion annually and mobilize at least $1.3 trillion per year by 2030.

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Leite said the provided resources are not enough and its been difficult for the most climate-vulnerable nations to access them. The funding doesnt actually materialize, he said.

Negotiators were huddling at the conference Saturday trying to develop a final accord that would address climate finance, carbon-cutting ambition and rules for carbon trading. Brazil was one of the leading forces behind language in the drafts that could allow a deal on global emissions trading, and Leite said he expects negotiators to reach an agreement on the matter Saturday.

I think we will reach a consensus, he said, adding that Brazil had a major role in coming up with the text. I think weve arrived at a text that will be approved today.

Though activists praised stronger accounting provisions in the proposal, some said the draft plan could still allow some carbon credits to be double counted, potentially undermining emissions reductions.

Brazil earlier this week thought negotiations on the carbon trading rulebook, known as Article 6, wouldnt go forward, Leite said. China was the last country Brazil met on this issue, and nations have finally reached a compromise that avoids double counting, he said.

The proposal doesnt allow for the same credit to be used twice, but it also give countries the power to decide which sectors generate credits and how these credits would be utilized, he said. That was a solution proposed by Brazil that guarantees there wont be double counting.

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Howard Meyer walks towards the Guernsey County courthouse through a line of Hometown Heroes banners. The banners were on display thanks to Cambridge Main Street for the Veterans Day ceremonies.

Guernsey County veterans were honored on Thursday at the Veterans Day ceremony and parade. First responders, Boy Scouts, the Cambridge High School Marching Band, and others made their way down Wheeling Avenue before gathering on the courthouse lawn.

Cambridge Mayor Tom Orr addresses the crowd at the Veterans Day ceremony on the steps of the Guernsey County Courthouse.

Music was provided by members of the Cambridge City Band and also the men's group Chordial Chorus. Mayor Tom Orr, Commander Bill Strawsburg and others addressed the crowd, recognizing local veterans and bestowing the honor of Veteran of the Year to Michael St.Clair.

Crowds gather to enjoy the Veterans Day parade in Cambridge.

Wreaths were laid and saluted on the monuments in front of the courthouse prior to a 21-gun salute and the playing of Taps by Commander James L. Gibson, of the Guernsey County Veterans Council.

Members of the Cambridge Honor Guard stand steady at the Veterans Day parade and ceremony.

Cambridge high school and middle school students were able to attend the days' events, thanks to the school district. Students from St. Benedict's school also were in attendance, teaching our youth about Veterans Day and all it represents.

A crew of boys from Cambridge schools waves their flags during the Veterans Day parade. Cambridge high school and middle school students were in attendance, lining Wheeling Avenue for the ceremony.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Jeffersonian: Cambridge honors local veterans
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Missing Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai told Olympic officials in a video call from Beijing that she was safe and well, the International Olympic Committee said Sunday after Peng reappeared in public at a youth tournament in Beijing, according to photos released by the organizer. The 30-minute call came amid growing global alarm over Peng after she accused a former leading Communist Party official of sexual assault. China's ruling Communist Party has tried to quell fears abroad while suppressing information in China about Peng.
Phoblographer

Thankfully, film photography still holds its place in the world. Some shoot film because they're hipsters, while others do it because they feel deeply about the science behind it and the aesthetic it produces. Shooting film isn't easy, most people fail to get to right. But for those that nail it, the results can be spectacular. Naturally, we've featured many of the wins. And below is some film photography you'll love by photographers who love their film cameras.
Watch: Alok Sharma makes tearful apology for last-minute changes to Cop26 deal

The Cop26 climate summit finally concluded on Saturday after countries agreed to an historic deal aimed at reducing global warming, with the talks in Glasgow running into more than 24 hours of extra time.

An emotional Alok Sharma broke down on stage in the events final moments following a last-minute change, by China and India, to water down language in the final text on coal  revising it to phase down on unbated coal power instead of the stronger phase out.

The deal has been met with a mix of disappointment and pragmatism, with activists, vulnerable smaller states and non-governmental organisations in particular describing it as weak and lacking the urgency and scale required in the face of the climate crisis.

Despite many countries disagreeing with the last-minute change to the wording on coal, the Cop26 president Mr Sharma said it was vital that the deal remained on the table and announced it would be pushed through regardless. Before doing so, he paused to collect himself and  visibly upset  apologised for the way this process has unfolded.

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Cop26: Nations announce landmark Glasgow climate pact after last-minute weakening on coal

Cop26: 10 key takeaways from the final deal agreed in Glasgow

Cop26: Meek and weak climate pact blasted for lack of urgency on emission cuts

Key Points

Nations announce landmark climate pact in Glasgow...

...as Alok Sharma breaks down and apologises for events at Cop26

Countries express anger at last-minute watering down of coal commitment

UN calls out failure of negotiators to overcome deep contradictions

Politicians react to news of modest Cop26 agreement

Watch: Sharma gets emotional during summits final moments



UK must do more work to set example' to world on climate action, says Angela Rayner

09:44 , Emily AtkinsonThe deputy Labour leader has said that the UK has a responsibility to support poorer countries in the fight against climate change - adding we must do more to set an example to the world.Angela Rayner then went on to praise the work done by the Cop26 president, Alok Sharma, for doing his utmost in securing the Glasgow Climate Pact.This was followed by condemnation for Boris Johnson, whom she criticised for his do as I say, not as I do attitude. There is so much more we can do as a country to set an example to the world, she added.We have a responsibility to support the poorer countries.It comes after the Shadow Business and Energy Sectary, Ed Miliband, said that the governments decision to cut the international aid budget was the single worst decision in the build up to the UN climate summit in Glasgow.

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1.5C target in intensive care, says Ed Miliband

09:22 , Emily Atkinson

Miliband: The fight to really keep 1.5C alive starts now in the run-up to #COP27 https://t.co/z0X0ESU6fO  Beth Rigby (@BethRigby) November 14, 2021

Ed Miliband: UKs decision to slash the international aid budget ahead of Cop26 was a scandal

09:08 , Emily AtkinsonThe Shadow Business and Energy Sectary has said that the governments decision to cut the international aid budget was the single worst decision in the build up to the UN climate summit in Glasgow.Set to continue until at least 2024, the government reduced its annual aid budget from 0.7% of gross national income to 0.5 per cent. This represents a cut of between 4nb and 5bn.Speaking on Sky News this morning, Ed Miliband said: Cutting the aid budget was the single worst decision in the build up to Cop26.The money is an essential starting point for the costs developing countries are going to face.Its a scandal.Questioning then turned on the governments controversial decision to fund the Cambo oil field. He said: It should not go ahead. No prevarication.We need clarity and strength when it comes to the climate emergency.

10 key takeaways from the final deal agreed in Glasgow

08:31 , Emily AtkinsonIn case you missed it...Cop26: 10 key takeaways from the final deal agreed in Glasgow

The Glasgow deal is not nearly enough, and yet it is so much better than a failure would have been

08:24 , Emily AtkinsonIn the end, it was better that something was agreed in Glasgow rather than nothing agreed. As we feared, the final text was not enough to ensure that the aim of restricting the rise in global average temperatures to 1.5 degrees will be met, although it has not yet been definitively missed either.The full editorial is available via the Independent Premium:The Glasgow deal is not nearly enough, and yet it is so much better than failure

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If world leaders think COP26 was "a good step" because too many climate scientists, commentators, NGO leaders spin it and pat them on the back, then we'd have a double failure. We are out of time, folks.



I wish I could make the world realize what an emergency we are truly in.  Peter Kalmus (@ClimateHuman) November 14, 2021

Nations announce landmark Glasgow climate pact after last-minute weakening on coal

07:50 , Emily AtkinsonIn case you missed it...The Cop26 climate summit has finally concluded after nations agreed to a landmark deal aimed at preventing catastrophic global warming.Talks dragged on for more than 24 hours after the Glasgow conference was due to end amid intense negotiations over contentious issues like fossil fuel subsidies, emission-reduction timelines and climate finance for developing nations.Louise Boyle, Daisy Dunne and Andrew Woodcock have the full story here:Cop26: Nations announce landmark climate pact in Glasgow

Australian government won't amend targets after Cop26 deal

07:16 , Arpan RaiSpeaking on Sunday after the conclusion of COP26, Australian ministers said that their target of reducing greenhouse emissions by 28 per cent by 2030 has been fixed and will not be amended in the wake of the summit. Foreign minister Marise Payne and energy minister Angus Taylor said that Australias 2030 target is fixed and we are committed to meeting and beating it, in a joint statement. Australias health minister and former environment minister Greg Hunt was asked in an interview on ABCs Insiders programme if the Australian government will update its target. In an indirect response, Mr Hunt said the country has set its target but what well continue to do is update our projections. When prodded to explain, the minister paraphrased Shakespeares Henry IV to suggest Australia planned to beat the 28 per cent emissions cut but would not commit to it now.I never promised to pay thee, but now that Im here, Ill pay thee double, the minister said.It means under-promise and over-deliver.

Watch: COP26: Alok Sharma insists Glasgow climate summit 'delivered' - but it's claimed 1.5C warming goal is now in 'intensive care'

Reactions pour in to meek and weak Cop26 agreement

06:46 , Arpan RaiEnvironmental ministers and activists have called the final outcome of Cop26 disappointing, as they cited the ongoing destruction in their communities as a result of global warming. Even if leaders stuck to the promises they have made here in Glasgow, it would not prevent the destruction of communities like mine. Right now, at 1.2 degrees Celsius of global warming, drought and flooding are killing people in Uganda, said Fridays for Future activist Vanessa Nakate. Nakate, who is from Uganda, said that only immediate, drastic emissions cuts will give us hope of safety. Maldivess environment minister Shauna Aminath, while noting the incremental progress, said that the outcome of COP26 does not bring hope to our hearts.And Jennifer Morgan, the executive director of Greenpeace International, said: Its meek, its weak and the 1.5C goal is only just alive, but a signal has been sent that the era of coal is ending. And that matters. Glasgow was meant to deliver on firmly closing the gap to 1.5C and that didnthappen, but in 2022 nations will now have to come back with stronger targets.The only reason we got what we did is because young people, Indigenous leaders, activists and countries on the climate frontline forced concessions that were grudgingly given.

Why India objected to coal pledge

06:30 , Adam WithnallThere has been a lot of attention on the fact India objected to the Cop26 deal promising to "phase out" coal, instead amending the language to "phase down", and the country will inevitably face criticism in the coming days for its stance.But experts also note that, with as much as 70 per cent of India's energy currently coming from coal, such a commitment was seen by New Delhi as putting an unfair constriction on the country's ability to develop and bring its citizens out of poverty. Ulka Kelkar, climate programme director at the World Resources Institute India, explains this stance and the next steps for the country after Glasgow: India will be affected by COP26 asking countries to phase out polluting coal power and withdraw inefficient fossil fuel subsidies. India will also have to join other countries to escalate emission reduction actions more frequently. This will not be easy for a lower-middle income country that is trying to lift millions of people out of poverty. Indias battle against climate change will be led by scaling up renewable energy, which will be the foundation of our net zero future; by industry, who will fight to stay competitive in the global economy; and by states and cities, who will need to urbanise with respect for nature. Now that COP-26 has finalised the rules of carbon trading, India will be able to sell more than a million carbon credits from previous years, and can also create a domestic market for carbon trading.

#COP26 has failed us - humanitys future is sinking fast. There are no lifeboats on our planet.

A trio play Nearer, My God, to Thee, the music performed by musicians on the decks of the #RMSTitanic as they awaited their fate.

Love and courage, friends. pic.twitter.com/pq8Wg3qPgq  COP26_Extinction Rebellion (@COP26_XR) November 13, 2021

The Glasgow Climate Pact at a glace

Saturday 13 November 2021 22:40 , Ella GloverThe wording of the new Glasgow Pact might not seem controversial to the uninitiated, but they have been subject to months - and in some cases years - of legal wrangling.Here are some of the key elements of the agreement:Expresses alarm and utmost concern at the fact human activities have caused around 1.1C of warming, and that the Earths remaining carbon budget consistent with 1.5C is being rapidly depleted.Stresses the urgency of enhancing ambition and action in the 2020s to have any hope of meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Calls up parties to phase down unabated coal power and inefficient fossil fuel subsidies.

Invites parties to consider further action to cut greenhouse gas emissions, including methane, at a greater rate by 2030.

Expresses deep regret that the goal of developed countries to mobilise 100 US dollars a year by 2020 for developing countries to tackle climate change has not been met.

Urges developed countries to fully deliver on the 100 billion US dollars goal urgently and through to 2025.

A new post-2025 long term finance goal for climate finance for developing countries will be negotiated from 2022 and set in 2024 under the proposals.

Reiterates the urgency of scaling up action and support, including finance to developing countries to help them avert, minimise and address loss and damage associated with climate change.

Emphasises the importance of protecting, conserving and restoring nature and ecosystems to achieve the goal of the Paris Agreement of limiting warming to 1.5C and well below 2C.

Recognises the role of indigenous peoples, local communities and civil society, including youth and children in addressing and responding to climate change.

PA

Cop26 was not the finish line, says John Kerry

Saturday 13 November 2021 22:24 , Ella GloverAddressing the audience at Cop26, John Kerry said that Glasgow was not the finish line, but the start of the race.The US climate envoy said that the Glasgow Climate Pact has brought us closer than we have ever been before to avoiding climate chaos and securing cleaner air, safer water and a healthier planet.Comparing the Pact to the Paris Agreement he said: Paris wasnot a guarantee that we would be able to hold the earths temperature rise to well below 2C, let alone 1.5C.But now, here in Glasgow, we have 65 percent of global GDP committed to real plans.Addressing the issue of coal, he said: As a result of what took place here with nations who had never considered even having the word coal in a plan, it remains even today after what took place, the phasedown of coal is on the books.You have to phase down coal before you can end coal, so this is the beginning of something.

The reaction to the Glasgow Climate Pact has been highly critical, heres what people have to say

Saturday 13 November 2021 22:05 , Ella GloverThe Glasgow Climate Pact has garnered much disappointment from politicians, NGOs and countries themselves after last-minute talks led to the wording on coal being watered down.Our reporters Andrew Woodcock, Louise Boyle and Daisy Dunne have the full breakdown:Meek and weak climate pact blasted for lack of urgency on emission cuts

More campaign groups react to the Glasgow Climate Pact

Saturday 13 November 2021 21:52 , Ella GloverA number of charities and NGOs have reacted to the Glasgow Climate Pact, with many expressing disappointment at the outcome of Cop26. GreenpeaceJennifer Morgan, executive director of Greenpeace International, said: Its meek, its weak and the 1.5C goal is only just alive, but a signal has been sent that the era of coal is ending - and that matters.While the deal recognises the need for deep emissions cuts this decade, those commitments have been punted to next year.Young people whove come of age in the climate crisis wont tolerate many more outcomes like this. Why should they when theyre fighting for their futures?WWFTanya Steele, chief executive at WWF, said: This summit has seen the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5C become the North Star guiding us all but a clear pathway is far from certain and we still have a long way to go.We are encouraged by the recognition that nature must be an integral part of tackling the climate crisis and by commitments on curbing coal and fossil fuel subsidies.She added: We now need to see delivery with rapid, deep and ongoing emissions cuts alongside support for vulnerable countries facing current and future climate impacts.OxfamGabriela Bucher, international executive director of Oxfam, said: Clearly some world leaders think they arent living on the same planet as the rest of us.It seems no amount of fires, rising sea levels or droughts will bring them to their senses to stop increasing emissions at the expense of humanity.But she welcomed the decision to strengthen 2030 reduction targets by next year: Big emitters, especially rich countries, must heed the call and align their targets to give us the best possible chance of keeping 1.5 degrees within reach.Friends of the EarthRachel Kennerley, climate campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said: The road to 1.5 just got harder when these talks should have cleared the way to making it a whole lot easier.The UK government cunningly curated announcements throughout this fortnight so that it seemed rapid progress was being made.She added: Here we are though, and the Glasgow get-out clause means that leaders failed to phase out fossil fuels and the richest countries wont pay historic climate debt.PA

The wealthiest countries most responsible for climate change have failed, says advocacy group

Saturday 13 November 2021 21:38 , Ella GloverSome more reactions to the final deal are in, this time from advocacy group Global Citizen.Michael Sheldrick, Chief Policy and Government Affairs Officer at Global Citizen, said: The wealthiest countries who are responsible for and now continue to worsen climate change, have failed.And it is the poorest communities that will continue to suffer loss and damage, which continues to go unaddressed.Global Citizen calls for wealthy countries to meet their obligations, reach the $100bn per year in climate finance now not in 2023, provide financial support for loss and damage, annually update their Nationally Determined Contributions and move from pledges to the policies and legislation needed to avoid greater than 1.5C temperature rise.

We asked nations to come together for our planet at @COP26, and they have answered that call. I want to thank the leaders, negotiators and campaigners who made this pact happen  and the people of Glasgow who welcomed them with open arms. 1/4  Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) November 13, 2021

The #COP26 is over. Heres a brief summary: Blah, blah, blah.



But the real work continues outside these halls. And we will never give up, ever. https://t.co/EOne9OogiR  Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) November 13, 2021

Watch: Sharma gets emotional in Cop26s last moments

Saturday 13 November 2021 21:02 , Sam Hancock

#COP26



1/ The Glasgow Climate Pact is agreed.



Far from everything it should be, but many positives that must be built on. Limiting warming to 1.5 degrees now agreed imperative, movement on finance and (far too weak) wording on fossil fuels https://t.co/3rTi3tkQgc  Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) November 13, 2021

My statement on the #COP26 global climate agreement reached today in Glasgow: pic.twitter.com/FTE7MDbrDL  Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan (@MayorofLondon) November 13, 2021

Whatever my view of the shortcomings of this deal, Alok Sharma has shown himself to be a person of decency, integrity and commitment as #COP26 President.  Ed Miliband (@Ed_Miliband) November 13, 2021

UN Sec Gen @antonioguterres very downbeat. Key in his statement: Current NDCs still increase emissions this decade on a pathway to well above 2C

- Still knocking on door of climate catastrophe

- Time for emergency mode

- Were in fight of our lives. COP27 starts now. pic.twitter.com/hxZ4Cbjg6A  Beth Rigby (@BethRigby) November 13, 2021

Emotional Sharma apologises as coal phase out text watered down

Saturday 13 November 2021 20:16 , Sam HancockHeres Ella Glover with more detail on the moment Cop26 president Alok Sharma broke down on stage at the climate summit.Emotional Alok Sharma apologises as coal phaseout text in Cop26 deal watered down

Countries continue to express anger at last-minute change to coal wording

Saturday 13 November 2021 20:15 , Sam HancockMany island states, including the representative for Fiji, criticised the last-minute proposed change to call on parties to phase down rather than phase out coal.He told the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow: What we would like to express was not just our astonishment but our immense disappointment in the manner in which this has been introduced.He said days before they were warned against making last-minute changes to the text and said due process had not been followed.Meanwhile, EU executive vice-president Frans Timmermans said that despite his disappointment over the change, he still believed the outcome of Glasgow would help the world shift away from the use of fossil fuel.He said: [The EU] is going to work bloody hard on getting rid out of of coal, and I believe this conclusion will help us work in that direction.The European Union will be strongly committed to that not just within the European Union, but also with our partners worldwide.And for us the model we have found together with the United Kingdom, United States, Germany and France on South Africa should be the template of how we help other coal producing countries to rid themselves of this fossil.

Nations announce landmark climate pact in Glasgow

Saturday 13 November 2021 20:05 , Sam HancockThe Cop26 climate summit has finally concluded after nations agreed to a landmark deal aimed at preventing catastrophic global warming.Talks dragged on for more than 24 hours after the Glasgow conference was due to end amid intense negotiations over contentious issues like fossil fuel subsidies, emission-reduction timelines and climate finance for developing nations.China and India made a last-minute intervention to water down language in the final text on coal, changing it to phase down on unbated coal power instead of the stronger phase out.Our climate correspondents Louise Boyle and Daisy Dunne report:Cop26: Nations announce landmark climate pact in Glasgow

.@AlokSharma_RDG in tears on stage at COP26 - apologising for the process that has ended in further watering down of the fossil fuels lines. Gets big clap- hes been well received and praised.  Anushka Asthana (@AnushkaAsthana) November 13, 2021

Countries condemn last-minute change to coal language

Saturday 13 November 2021 19:44 , Sam HancockThe EU has said the last-minute revision to language around coal should not stop a deal being reached at Glasgow, and insists phasing down will still help to lessen the harmful impact of burning coal. Meanwhile, the representative of the Marshall Islands expresses bitter disappointment with the change.

India proposes changing coal wording from phase out to phase down'

Saturday 13 November 2021 19:39 , Sam HancockOver to the Indian representative now, who has proposed altered wording to the Cop26 UN climate summit in Glasgow, changing a call on parties to phase out unabated coal power and inefficient fossil fuel subsidies to phase down.The representative for Switzerland - who also represents the Environmental Integrity Group - strongly criticises the proposed change, calling it watered down, but says the group would not oppose this in order to prevent leaving Glasgow without a deal.This will not bring us closer to 1.5C but will make it more difficult to reach it, she says.

Final plenary session begins

Saturday 13 November 2021 19:35 , Sam HancockAlok Sharma has said it is decision time as the final plenary session gets underway at Cop26.The president of the summit acknowledges that talks have not been easy as other countries begin having their say.

Xie Zhenhua, Chinas special climate envoy (Getty)

China says deal has been struck at Cop26

Saturday 13 November 2021 19:22 , Sam HancockA final climate deal has been struck at Cop26, according to Chinas top climate envoy.Speaking through a translator, Xie Zhenhua told a Reuters reporter: We have a deal. He gave a thumbs up signal as he spoke, the news agency added.

India, China, US and EU hold last minute talks on phasing out of coal

Saturday 13 November 2021 18:30 , Ella GloverRepresentatives from India, China, the United States and the European Union were meeting Saturday evening to discuss details of an agreed phaseout of coal as nations pushed for a deal at the UN climate conference in Scotland, according to a member of the Indian delegation.Assuming the draft wont change, the final wording on coal, from the published agreement reads:Calls upon Parties to accelerate the development, deployment and dissemination of technologies, and the adoption of policies, to transition towards low-emission energy systems, including by rapidly scaling up the deployment of clean power generation and energy efficiency measures, including accelerating efforts towards the phase-out of unabated coal power and inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, recognizing the need for support towards a just transition.Additional reporting by PA

Iran unhappy with fossil fuels language

Saturday 13 November 2021 18:20 , Ella GloverIran has joined the list of nations unhappy with the part of the agreement that refers to a phase-out of coal and fossil fuel subsidies. We need to use fossil fuels for economic development. We request you modify this paragraph, says the representative.China, India and South Africa have also criticised this part of the text.

Final texts fully consistent with goals of Paris Agreement and Cop26, Alok Sharma says

Saturday 13 November 2021 18:00 , Ella GloverThe final texts are fully consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement and the ultimate objective of the convention, Cop26 President Alok Sharma has said.However, he warned against upsetting the current delicate balance and said he hoped countries could leave the conference unitedas one.He said: There is a fine and fragile green thread which is weaved around this balanced package. And I do think that if any of us tug, it will unravel all too easily.He added: I do think these texts are fully consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement and the ultimate objective of the convention.So I do hope that we can leave this conference united, having delivered something significant for our people and planet - together as one.

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Loss and damage facility fatally undermined by US/EU refusal and the knowledge that this process isn't equal:



Some countries had to choose between cash to help their suffering now or mitigation to prevent even worse suffering to come



That's a near impossible choice #COP26  Patrick Galey (@patrickgaley) November 13, 2021

Watch: Banners remain outside Cop26 venue in Glasgow

Saturday 13 November 2021 17:35 , Sam Hancock

Those addressing the session are Minister for @Environment_Ke Keriako Tobiko, US First Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry, EU Executive Vice-president, Frans Timmermans among other global leaders. #COP26 @MoICTKenya pic.twitter.com/P1IxMzJ1sE  CAS Maureen Mbaka (@MaureenMbaka1) November 13, 2021

Now as #COP26 is coming to an end, beware of a tsunami of greenwashing and media spin to somehow frame the outcome as good, progress, hopeful or a step in the right direction.  Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) November 13, 2021

Cop progress not in line with urgency and scale required - Maldives

Saturday 13 November 2021 17:02 , Sam HancockAndrew Woodcock, our political editor, has more detail on the climate talks:More from world leaders closing remarks now, the representative of the Maldives warned that the Glasgow agreement would not be enough to save the Indian Ocean island state.The progress achieved in the past fortnight was not in line with the urgency and scale required, she said.What is balanced and pragmatic to other parties will not help the Maldives adapt in time. It will be too late for the Maldives.For us, this is a matter of survival.Urging swifter action, she added: The difference between 1.5 and 2 degrees is a death sentence for us.

Marshall Islands appeal to emotional side of world leaders

Saturday 13 November 2021 16:55 , Sam HancockOur senior climate correspondent Louise Boyle has the following:The representative of the Marshall Islands made an emotional statement to fellow negotiators at Cop26. The Marshall Islands sit barely six feet above sea level in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and its people are among the most vulnerable in the world to severe climate impacts. The countrys representative noted that the Glasgow summit had represented real progress but there was much work to do, particularly on loss and damage - the issue of financial compensation for countries already facing a heavy burden.At the end of the Cop in Madrid I had to go back home and say to my children that Im afraid that we did not deliver. I cannot afford to do that again, she said.You can read more on some of the complex challenges facing the Marshall Islands here:The stolen climate crisis babies: US politician jailed for selling children

Seve Paeniu (Screengrab/YouTube)

Cop26 delivered strong message of hope, says Tuvalu

Saturday 13 November 2021 16:45 , Sam HancockOur political editor Andrew Woodcock reports:Seve Paeniu, the climate minster of the South Sea island state of Tuvalu, said that the Glasgow summit had delivered a strong message of hope, a strong message of promise, a strong message of ambition.Holding up a photograph of his three grandchildren, Mr Paeniu said: I will be able to tell them that Glasgow has made a promise to save their future. That will be the best ever Christmas gift I will present to them .

Watch: Oxfam stages protest urging world leaders to put out flames

Saturday 13 November 2021 16:35 , Sam Hancock

For heavens sake, dont kill this moment  EU

Saturday 13 November 2021 16:19 , Sam HancockOur climate correspondent Daisy Dunne reports the following from Glasgow:Frans Timmermans, vice-president of the European Commission, just took the floor at Cop26 to make an impassioned plea for countries to agree to reach a final deal today.For heavens sake, dont kill this moment by asking for more texts or different texts, he told delegates.I please implore you: embrace this text so [we] can bring hope to the hearts of our children and grandchildren. They will not forgive us if we fail them today.But he also conceded that we are only at the beginning of what we need to do on issues of providing finance for the loss and damage caused by the climate crisis, a major focus point for developing world countries. Earlier in the week, a large coalition of developing countries and island states came forward with a plan for a Glasgow financial facility for loss and damage. If created, this would be the first ever pot of money set aside specifically to help communities around the world that have been devastated by climate impacts such as rising seas and deadly droughts.But as negotiations wore on, the US and EU pushed back strongly against the idea, and the text that emerged on Saturday morning contained no reference to the facility at all.

Unsustainable lifestyles and wasteful consumption to blame for climate crisis, says Indias Cop representative

Saturday 13 November 2021 16:01 , Emily AtkinsonAs the Cop26 summit came down to the wire and countries made their inventions, Indias representative said that consensus remains elusive, blaming unsustainable lifestyles and wasteful consumption as having caused the climate crisis, reports Louise Boyle.Climate-friendly lifestyles and climate justice enshrined in the Paris Agreement are key to solving climate crisis, he noted. He went on to say that developing countries must be allowed to deal with their own domestic issues of poverty and economic development. Developing countries have their right to fair share of carbon budget [and] responsible use of fossil fuels, he said.There is still a lack of balance in the text, he said. India also criticized the call for countries to revisit emissions-reduction targets, known as nationally determined contributions, in 2022. There is a well-defined cycle for NDCs and no need to deviate from it, he said.

We should meet each other halfway, says China

Saturday 13 November 2021 15:43 , Emily AtkinsonThe worlds largest annual greenhouse gas emitter China has just had the floor during an eleventh-hour plenary at the Cop26 summit, Daisy Dunne reports.China said the latest Cop26 draft was improved over previous versions and that it had no intention to revisit texts again.However, the country took issue with two paragraphs in the draft agreement, including a critical section mentioning the need to move away from unabated coal power and inefficient fossil fuel subsidies. We should meet each other halfway, Chinas representative said, adding that the country was ready to work with partners to provide constructive proposals and ideas to reach a balanced final outcome.

Sharma appeals for nations to seal deal in moment of truth for world

Saturday 13 November 2021 15:33 , Emily AtkinsonClimate change summit president Alok Sharma has appealed to almost 200 nations gathered in Glasgow to agree a new deal to rein in global warming, telling them: This is the moment of truth.After last-minute wrangling which delayed the scheduled end of the two-week United Nations Cop26 summit, Mr Sharma said that a clean text for a final agreement had been reached and said he aimed to get it formally signed off later in the day.More to follow from Louise Boyle, Daisy Dunne and Andrew Woodcock.Sharma appeals for nations to seal Cop 26 deal in moment of truth for world

Extinction Rebellion activists are seen holding a Funeral for COP26 at the Necropolis on November 13, 2021 in Glasgow. (Getty Images)

XR conduct funeral for failed climate summit

Saturday 13 November 2021 15:11 , Emily AtkinsonExtinction Rebellion climate activists have conducted a funeral ceremony for the Cop26 in Glasgow they say has failed all of us.The so-called red and blue rebels led a procession across Church Lane Bridge, known locally as The Bridge of Sighs, to Glasgow Necropolis - before lying down between rows of headstones.One activist, draped in a black cloak labelled Cop26, was lowered into the ground by their fellow members.An XR spokesperson, identified as Karen, said: We are here grieving for a planet that has been sacrificed by the failure and stupidity of Cop26.The bare minimum needed from Cop26 were commitments to leaving oil in the ground and an immediate halt to fossil fuel funding.Anything less than that is idiocy.As intelligent life on this planet we are already extinct. We know exactly what we need to do and were not doing it.
Protesters near the COP conference, demonstrating in support of victims of oil exploration

While the Glasgow Climate Pact is an ambitious attempt to rein in rising temperatures, the last-minute row over coal has undoubtedly cast a shadow over the deal.

India was joined by China in pushing for a watering down of this key commitment, insisting on "phasing down" rather than "phasing out".

It was a brazen display of geo-political muscle that left developing countries and island states with little choice but to go along with the changes.

The new pact comes just a few days after another notable Chinese achievement.

Last Wednesday, the Xinhua news agency trumpeted the fact that the country produced more coal than ever before on a single day.

Some 12 million tonnes of the black stuff were mined. When consumed for energy, the one day of coal will produce carbon dioxide emissions roughly equivalent to Ireland's output for an entire year.

This is the carbon reality that's hitting our atmosphere every single day.

Seen in that light, the agreement reached here after extended negotiations looks like a limp sticking-plaster for the deep wound that's threatening life on this planet.

Chart

Negotiators who worked through the night to land the pact would undoubtedly disagree with that assessment.

The actual text of the final agreement is quite progressive, getting countries to come back again with strengthened plans next year.

It's also notable for naming coal as a root cause of the problem, for the first time in 30 years of UN diplomacy.

There's also a significant doubling of money to help poor countries adapt to the impacts of climate change - and the prospect of a trillion dollar a year fund from 2025, compared with the current goal of $100bn a year.

Observes also say there is the "start of a breakthrough" on the key question of loss and damage.

However, there are also some significant shortcomings in the agreement.

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There are weaselly clauses that will allow some countries to avoid updating their plans to cut emissions, depending on "differing national circumstances".

There are real worries that some bigger developing economies like India and China will use that clause to skip updating their plans next year.

Members of the India and China delegations on the last day - in the final moments, the two countries pushed to water down the deal

For countries on the front lines, there is still too much focus on cutting carbon emissions at the expense of helping them adapt to a changing climate.

Some of the real-world pledges signed here were beyond a joke. South Korea was named as a country due to give up coal in the 2030s. But the government in Seoul sheepishly pointed to a clause in the pledge saying "2030s or as soon as possible thereafter" to say they'll stop burning in 2050.

In a similar vein, the launch here of a global effort to move away for petrol and diesel engines was a damp squib, with major car countries like Germany and the US not signing up.

There are compromises in any process involving 197 parties.

But does the overall package agreed here keep the world from warming by more than 1.5C, the long stated goal of COP26?

The agreement will help revive the sense of international collaboration that's been badly damaged in recent years by nationalist tendencies around the world.

And ultimately, this pact - flawed and late as it may be - does keep the flame of hope alive that temperatures may be held in check, somewhere between 1.8C and 2.4C this century.

But that's a frightening prospect in a world that's warmed by just over half that amount already, with massive impacts around the globe.

The sad reality, as with record Chinese coal production, is that the atmosphere only responds to emissions, and not decisions made in a conference like COP26.

More on climate change top strapline

More on Climate Change bottom strapline

Climate stripes visualisation courtesy of Prof Ed Hawkins and University of Reading.
When President Joe Biden spoke about fossil fuels during a Democratic presidential debate in March 2020, he promised to take on the fossil fuel industry and rapidly transition the nation away from planet-warming fossil fuels.

No more subsidies for [the] fossil fuel industry, Biden said. No more drilling on federal lands. No more drilling, including offshore. No ability for the oil industry to continue to drill, period. Ends.

Environmental advocates say Biden is breaking that pledge now as the administration prepares to hold the largest offshore oil and gas lease sale in U.S. history on Nov. 17.

The sale comes on the heels of COP26, the United Nations climate talks in Scotland, where diplomats are on track to strike a deal that falls far short of what scientists say is necessary to avert catastrophic warming. The Department of the Interior will offer up more than 80 million acres  an area larger than the state of New Mexico  of the Gulf of Mexico for drilling. It is bigger than any lease sale conducted under President Donald Trumps fossil-fuel-friendly administration, and Interior estimates it will lead to the production of an additional 1.1 billion barrels of oil and 4.4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas over several decades.

The administration argues its hands are tied, following the June decision by a Trump-appointed federal judge in Louisiana to strike down Bidens executive order temporarily pausing new oil and gas leases across federal lands and waters.

The administration has made clear that it disagrees with the ruling and the Department of Justice has appealed it, but the government must comply with it in the meantime, White House spokesman Vedant Patel said in an email statement, noting that Interior previously canceled the pending lease sale.

The injunction stemmed from a lawsuit brought by 14 Republican attorneys against the administration. The judges opinion relied in part on a study of the leasing pauses potential economic impacts, which an industry trade group helped shape and that multiple independent researchers dismissed.

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Legal experts HuffPost interviewed said Biden and his team have some avenues to scale back, delay or cancel the sale, but that theyd come with legal and political risks the administration may be unwilling to take.

A climate activist wearing a mask of President Joe Biden takes part in a demonstration against the use of fossil fuels outside the venue for the COP26 U.N. Climate Summit in Glasgow, Scotland, on Friday. (Photo: via Associated Press)

Sam Kalen, a natural resources law professor at the University of Wyoming, called the Louisiana judges ruling as it pertains to offshore leasing quite questionable. If a non-governmental organization were to file a complaint seeking to enjoin the upcoming Gulf sale on legitimate grounds  for example, a faulty environmental analysis  then the administration could opt to postpone the auction pending a resolution in court, he said.

Drew Caputo, an attorney with environmental group Earthjustice, said the Biden administration could have gone further than simply appealing the judges ruling by requesting the appeals court stay, or suspend, the order while the administration argues its case in court.

Additionally, Caputo said, it could have declared the sale illegal under the National Environmental Policy Act due to its future climate impacts or used its authority under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to withdraw large offshore areas from future leasing, much like the Obama administration did with Arctic and Atlantic waters in 2016.

Im not saying there wouldnt be legal and political consequences of taking any of these steps. I assume that the industry and their political allies would sue instantly, Caputo said. But we have an unbroken, scientific consensus that we are out of time to take action to deal with climate change. Given the fact that 25% of U.S. carbon emissions come from federal oil, gas and coal, there is no way the U.S. can meet its climate obligations by continuing to operate the program with business as usual. And thats what proceeding with this lease sale does.

Earthjustice sued the administration in September in an attempt to block the Gulf lease sale.

In a letter last week, Earthjustice and more than 250 other organizations called on Biden to cancel the Gulf auction amid what Biden himself has warned is a code red moment on climate.

Going through with it, the groups said, would make a mockery of his own commitments on a global stage at the COP26 climate conference this month.

There is still time to keep your promise to end new leases on public lands and waters and address environmental racism, reads the letter, spearheaded by environmental organization Friends of the Earth. Please utilize your existing authority and defer Lease Sale 257 to reckon with the latest evidence and properly estimate and acknowledge the full range of impacts from lease sales in this region.

.@POTUS, you cant be a #ClimatePresident while allowing for fossil fuel expansion on public lands & oceans. Showing up at #COP26 w/ a major lease sale scheduled is a failure of leadership. #BidenKeepYourPromise#NoNewLeases#BuildBackFossilFreepic.twitter.com/5G6rtfdtTs  CBD Climate (@CBD_Climate) November 4, 2021

Interior is also moving ahead with onshore oil and gas auctions early next year across some 700,000 acres in multiple Western states, including Wyoming and Colorado, although the Bureau of Land Management recently announced it will for the first time begin analyzing greenhouse gas emissions and weighing the climate impacts of proposed leases  a move that could ultimately result in leases being scaled back or canceled.

Many advocates have grown increasingly frustrated with what they see as a disconnect between Bidens words and actions on climate.

During a keynote speech at the U.N. climate summit, Biden described the next 10 years as a decisive decade and assured world leaders that the U.S. will once again lead the global effort to confront the climate threat. But with gasoline prices soaring, the administration has asked foreign nations to boost fossil fuel production  a move that Biden acknowledged seems like an irony.

It does, on the surface, seem inconsistent, Biden said at the Group of 20 summit on Oct. 31 before heading to COP26. But its not at all inconsistent in that no one has anticipated that this year wed be in a position  or even next year  that were not going to use any more oil or gas; that were not going to be engaged in any fossil fuels.

John Kerry, the Biden administrations special climate envoy and lead COP26 negotiator, echoed that position.

If [Biden] were asking them to boost their production over five years, Id quit, Kerry said at the G20 summit. But hes not. Hes asking them to boost production in this immediate moment.

It remains to be seen what sort of interest the upcoming sale will generate. But any new leasing at home is all but certain to lock in domestic production for years to come. Acres sold during next weeks Gulf auction, for example, likely wouldnt be developed for five or 10 years.

Claiming that were only taking short term action to foster oil and gas production while we make the transition on the one hand, and on the other hand selling a carbon bomb of a lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico that cant go to production for close to 10 years  theres no way to square that circle, Caputo said. It really points out the inconsistency between the federal oil and gas program today and the climate needs of America and the world.

A gas flare from the Shell Chemical LP petroleum refinery illuminates the sky in Norco, Louisiana. (Photo: Drew Angerer via Getty Images)

The administration has set a goal of slashing U.S. carbon emissions by at least 50% below 2005 levels by 2030, and achieving net-zero emissions by the middle of the century. Congress is currently negotiating the presidents Build Back Better plan, which includes an historic $555 billion in climate spending.

Mark Squillace, a professor of natural resources law at the University of Colorado Boulder, said hes sympathetic to the concerns of environmentalists who want to see the Biden administration stop fossil fuel development on public lands and waters. But in light of the Louisiana court ruling, he said, there should be a greater focus on limiting development overall, both on federal and private land, and ensuring that all future drilling and mining is done in an environmentally responsible manner.

Just because youre stopping leasing on federal land doesnt mean youre stopping development on federal land, because so much land has already been leased, Squillace said. I think there needs to be a more holistic policy with respect to how oil and gas development occurs throughout the country.

The industry has stockpiled enough federal leases and permits to continue drilling on public lands and waters for decades. Shortly after Biden took office, the Interior Department launched a review of the federal oil and gas leasing program. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, who has described the program as fundamentally broken, said in May that the public could expect an interim report to come out this summer. Months later, it remains under wraps.

Even without the report, we know what needs to happen, she told reporters earlier this month, according to E&E News. We are doing whatever we can at the department to ensure we are analyzing these leases with climate change as a backdrop. We need to absolutely consider climate change, we need to consider the social cost of carbon in the things that we do.

If the administration follows through with the Gulf lease  there is no indication that it wont  it is certain to face heavy backlash from environmental and climate advocates.

When you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging, Caputo said. Were in a fossil fuel leasing hole, so the first thing to do is stop new leasing.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.

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Don Noble

In August, I read my first Donna Andrews mystery, Murder Most Fowl, a story loosely based around a theatrical production of Macbeth.

I had been unaware of Ms. Andrews and learned, to my chagrin, that she was a best-selling author, had won many prizes and that this was her 29th book. I determined to be on the lookout for her next one. To my surprise, it came in only a few weeks.

Andrews titles her books with bird puns. Among my favorites are Well Always Have Parrots, and The Falcon Always Wings Twice. 

The Twelve Jays of Christmas is, of course, a Christmas book. It appears Ms. Andrews has been doing two books a year: the summer book often features a family reunion, the second, a holiday gathering. Previous titles include The Gift of the Magpie, The Nightingale Before Christmas, How the Finch Stole Christmas, and Six Geese A-Slaying.

These mysteries are set in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. The protagonist, Meg Langslow, is an iron artist, a blacksmith. Her husband, Michael, is a drama professor at the local college. Her father, an M.D., is also the local medical examiner, and her grandfather is a zoo director with a passion for birds.

The large cast makes for lots of confusion, suspects and potential witnesses.

When this novel opens, we learn that Megs grandfather, to her dismay, is keeping two wombats, Ian and Bruce, in her basement. Wombats are not birds. Wikipedia tells us they are marsupials, from Australia, with a pouch, weigh between 44 and 77 pounds and have sharp teeth.

A bunch of wombats is a wisdom. and wombats drop between 80 and 100 pellets of feces per day, shaped like dice. Males arrange them like mahjong tiles to mark territory.

The wombats have little to do with this story, but who can resist looking up wombats?

The real narrative is, of course, about birds. Grandfather Langslow has hired an artist to paint pictures of blue jays and mockingbirds to illustrate his new ornithology guide.

The birds, 12 blue jays and 14 overwrought mockingbirds, get loose in the house. Everyone wears hats to keep from being pooped on and although we are told  jays and mockingbirds are two of the birds that most commonly display aggression toward humans, they are all very careful while capturing the birds because, as we all know, it is probably a sin to injure a mockingbird, much less kill it.

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The artist, Roderick Castlemayne, is a crank. Everybody hates him. He torments Harris, his mild-mannered assistant, and has two angry ex-wives stalking him for back alimony payments.

In a subtle allusion to the O. Henry story, The Cop and the Anthem, Curley, the village drunk, is freed from his cell by a young over-zealous attorney and, unable to stay warm and fed, nearly dies from having his civil rights exercised so vigorously.

As is usual in Andrews cozies, the obnoxious person is killed and there are several possible murderers. To make it all harder, the Valley has a blizzard and power goes out for days. At one point there are three suspects or potential witnesses in the hospital, suffering from wounds and/or frostbite.

Blood is always a problem in cozies. Violence must be off-stage but there must be a corpse, too. It is Meg who finds Castlemaynes body, stabbed to death, and to my amusement does not seem overly perturbed. After all, at her house, this happens twice a year. She has any blood cleaned up as soon as legally permitted, to avoid upsetting her house guests and I suspect, her readers.

The Andrews novels are gentle, entertaining, amusing, diverting.

Enjoy.

Don Nobles newest book is Alabama Noir, a collection of original stories by Winston Groom, Ace Atkins, Carolyn Haines, Brad Watson, and eleven other Alabama authors.

The Twelve Jays of Christmas: A Meg Langslow Mystery

Author: Donna Andrews

Publisher: Minotaur Books, New York, 2021

Pages: 320

Price: $25.99 (Hardcover)

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: DON NOBLE: Murder mystery makes suspenseful Christmas
MEXICO CITY (AP)  Dozens of farmers armed with rifles and shotguns gathered in a pocket of mountain forest in southern Mexico on Friday and angrily rejected a Supreme Court ruling on a decades-old land dispute.

Video posted by inhabitants of the hamlet of Rafael Cal Y Mayor showed about 20 men with guns  mostly hunting rifles. One of the men claimed there were 50 to 100 men under arms in the district.

Farmers in that area are demanding to remain part of Chiapas state and have vowed to resist plans to redraw boundary lines that will put them in neighboring Chiapas state.

One of the local farm representatives, Heriberto Cruz, said that we do not accept this ruling by the Supreme Court and warned of unfortunate consequences if authorities tried to enforce the ruling.

The conflict is centered on the Chimalapas, an area of tropical and cloud forest and pine-covered mountain tops that is threatened by logging and cattle ranching. For years, settlers have claimed the area belongs to Chiapas, while farmers in Oaxaca say their ancestral lands were invaded by people from Chiapas.

This week, the Supreme Court ruled that about 400,000 acres (160,000 hectares) rightfully belong to Oaxaca, saying its determination was based on a study of documents dating back to 1549. It gave authorities 2 1/2 years to enforce the ruling.
Europe was one of the first regions in the world to deploy coronavirus vaccines, yet parts of the continent are now seeing a resurgence in cases, with some countries experiencing their highest infection levels of the pandemic.

In the Czech Republic, new daily cases are up 33% over the past week, while recorded infections have jumped by 52% in Croatia and 49% in Austria, according to a Washington Post tracker.

Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post.

On Thursday, Germany's weekly case rate soared to a record 249 new infections per 100,000 people, according to the country's infectious-disease agency, eclipsing last winter's high of about 197.

The difference now is that safe and effective vaccines have been available for months. But as winter approaches in Central and Eastern Europe, vaccination rates in many countries are lagging behind.

"The pandemic is anything but over," German Health Minister Jens Spahn said at a recent news conference.

"We are currently experiencing a pandemic mainly among the unvaccinated," he said. "And it is massive."

About 66% of Germans are fully vaccinated, according to Our World in Data, which tracks publicly available figures, putting Germany just slightly behind Britain and France. The European Union's overall vaccination rate hovers at about 65%, buoyed in part by sky-high vaccine uptake in countries like Portugal, but bogged down by lagging efforts in Central and Eastern Europe.

In the Czech Republic, about 57% of people are fully vaccinated, a rate nearly identical to that of the United States, where officials have for months blamed the untamed spread of the virus on the unvaccinated. Only a third of the populations in Russia and Romania are fully vaccinated. In Russia, recorded infections are at their highest levels yet, with about 40,000 new cases reported each day.

More than a thousand coronavirus-related deaths are being recorded in Russia each day - a "startling" number, said Elizabeth King, a professor at the University of Michigan's School of Public Health whose research focuses on Russia and Eastern Europe.

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Vaccine hesitancy in the region can be attributed to distrust in the government and in the vaccines themselves, King said.

"Misinformation is spreading as fast as the virus," she said.

Conspiracy theories about the coronavirus and vaccines have spread in Bulgaria, fueling resistance to shots there.

"The people in my community don't want to get vaccinated," said Kapka Georgieva, a Bulgarian woman who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. "They are afraid and hearing on television and other sources that they might die. There is panic. I can't convince anyone to get the vaccine."

In Russia, the Sputnik V vaccine has been widely available since the spring but has been met with a mix of ambivalence and mistrust.

A doctor in St. Petersburg, Lev Averbakh, recently told The Washington Post that he was "so sick and tired of explaining to people what this virus is about and why they need to be vaccinated."

"This resistance from the population is huge," he said.

King said that "the spread of misinformation around vaccines was a concern" in Central and Eastern Europe "even prior to the covid-19 pandemic."

She pointed to measles outbreaks in recent years "due to lapses in vaccination" in countries like Ukraine, where less than 1 in 5 people are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. The surge there is particularly worrisome, she said, because the health-care system is "not adequately prepared" to deal with the deluge of cases.

The low vaccination rate in Ukraine comes despite a wide array of vaccines available, including shots by AstraZeneca, Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech and Sinovac. Officials there have made a push in recent weeks urging people to get vaccinated.

"I ask everyone to switch off your social networks and turn on your brains," Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, said recently in comments to reporters. "We must get vaccinated. It's the only solution."

The increase in cases across the continent come as the United States this week lifted restrictions on incoming travel from 33 countries, including many in Europe. Entry for foreigners is contingent upon proof of vaccination and a negative coronavirus test.

Sputnik V, however, was excluded from the U.S. list of accepted vaccines because it has not yet been approved by the World Health Organization. King said that authorization from the WHO or E.U. could make international travel an incentive for Russians to get vaccinated and also "eventually help change attitudes towards the vaccine within the country."

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At least 68 people have been killed and 12 are injured amid ongoing violence between rival gangs in an Ecuadorean prison, according to officials.

Clashes began on Friday at the Litoral Penitentiary in the city of Guayaquil and lasted nearly eight hours, with police deployed inside the prison reportedly discovering guns and explosives.

Videos on circulating on social media showed burned bodies lying inside the prison grounds, and officials said some of the inmates had tried to dynamite a prison wall to carry out a massacre against rival gang members.

Authorities linked the weekends violence to Ecuadors ongoing struggles with the influence of transnational drug gangs like the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation cartels.

We are fighting against drug trafficking, governor Pablo Arosemena of the Guayas province to the Associated Press. It is very hard.

On Saturday, family members of those inside the prison gathered outside its walls, awaiting news from inside.

Enough of this, Francisca Chancay, told the Associated Press. When will they stop the killing? This is a prison not a slaughterhouse, they are human beings.

The facility was the site last month of some of the countrys worst prison violence ever, when hundreds of soldiers were needed to quell the lethal fighting inside, and some inmates were decapitated. All told, the October blood bath killed at least 118 people, the latest rash of deaths after a February riot across multiple prisons killed 79 people.

Roughly 300 people have died in violence behind bars in Ecuador this year.

Prisons are overcrowded in the South American nation, with facilities in the country holding 9,000 more inmates than intended, more than 3,000 of whom are held in Litoral.

Ecuador president Guillermo Lasso has accused previous administrations of being passive on drug cartels, and has called for more support from partners like Colombia, the US, and the EU to help the country strengthen its armed forces and police. He warned the BBC in an interview earlier this month that tackling Ecuadors gang violence problem could take more than a decade of sustained interventions.

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Mexican drug cartels have been accused of collaborating with local gangs like Los Lobos and Los Choneros, battling in- and outside of prison for lucrative drug routes. According to the US Drug Enforcement agency, nearly three quarters of the cocaine that arrives in the US is carried across the Eastern Pacific region, with Ecuador serving as a key transit point.

Read More

New 'rocket docket' for migrant families raises old concerns

4 LatAm nations create fishing-free corridor in east Pacific

The Latest: COP26: Ecuador vows to expand Galapagos reserve
Ethiopia on Friday for the first time accused troops from neighbouring Eritrea of killing 110 civilians in a massacre in the war-hit Tigray region.

The attorney general's office sharply contradicted law enforcement officials who claimed earlier this month that the "great majority" of those killed in the city of Axum were fighters, not civilians.

The killings in Axum in late November represent one of the deadliest incidents of the six-month-old war in Ethiopia's Tigray region.

The Tigray conflict erupted in early November when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent troops to detain and disarm leaders of the regional ruling party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).

Abiy said the move came in response to TPLF attacks on federal army camps.

In earlier reports on what happened in Axum, both Human Rights Watch and Amnesty blamed Eritrean troops fighting in Tigray and said the dead were mostly civilians.

Amnesty said the Eritreans "went on a rampage and systematically killed hundreds of civilians in cold blood."

In Friday's statement, the attorney general's office said the Eritreans engaged in reprisal killings after pro-TPLF forces attacked them.

"The investigation indicates that 110 civilians have been killed on these dates by Eritrean troops," the statement said, referring to November 27 and November 28.

"The investigation shows that 70 civilians have been killed in the city while they were outdoors. On the other hand, 40 civilians seem to have been taken out of their homes and killed in home-to-home raids conducted by Eritrean troops," it said.

Eritrea's information minister did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.

Eritrean troops, who teamed up with the Ethiopian military, have been implicated in multiple massacres and other atrocities during the Tigray conflict, allegations Asmara denies.

The US and EU have repeatedly called for the Eritreans to withdraw.

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"The continued presence of Eritrean forces in Tigray further undermines Ethiopia's stability and national unity," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement last week.

"We again call upon the Government of Eritrea to remove its forces from Tigray."

- Ethiopians investigated -

Ethiopia has said it is committed to investigating human rights abuses committed during the conflict.

Friday's statement said that while Ethiopian troops had tried to minimise civilian casualties, "several allegations concerning the killing of civilians, sexual violence, [and] the looting and destruction of property have since been reported."

It said the government takes those allegations "seriously" and has begun prosecuting suspects.

Military prosecutors have pressed charges against 28 soldiers "suspected of killing civilians in a situation where there was no military necessity," it said.

"The trials of these suspects are underway and the verdicts are also expected to be handed down shortly."

An additional 25 soldiers have been charged with "committing acts of sexual violence and rape."

Three soldiers have already been convicted and sentenced for rape, while one soldier has been convicted and sentenced for killing a civilian, the statement said, without providing details.

rcb/ach
Astroworld. Illustrated | REUTERS, iStock

At the annual Astroworld music festival in Houston last Friday, nine people were killed and hundreds injured when the crowd surged during rapper Travis Scott's headlining set. How will this tragedy, as well as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, shape the way large-scale events are held in the future? Here's everything you need to know.

What happened at Astroworld?

An estimated 50,000 people were at Houston's NRG Park for night one of the sold-out festival. Hours before the music started, hundreds of fans waiting to get inside the venue broke through the gates in the VIP security area, and several ended up being trampled, ABC 13 reports. Scott has a long history of encouraging people to go wild at his shows  in 2015, he was arrested at Lollapalooza in Chicago after telling concertgoers to climb over the barricades, and during a 2017 concert at New York City's Terminal 5, he urged a young man to jump from a second-floor balcony  and when he finally took the stage in Houston, "everything started to happen," audience member Anita Amper told CNN. "People just went berserk."

Houston Fire Chief Sam Pena said that "for whatever reason," the crowd "began to push and surge towards the front of the stage, which caused the people in the front to be compressed. People began to fall out, become unconscious." Witnesses described being so close to others they couldn't lift up their arms and seeing their fellow concertgoers trying to give people who had passed out CPR as they waited for help to arrive.

Could any of this have been prevented?

Astroworld, like most outdoor festivals, was standing room only. This is "the most dangerous and deadly" crowd configuration, Paul Wertheimer of the consulting firm Crowd Management Strategies told People, because it's easy for a space to become overcrowded. The National Fire Protection Association has set standards for such events to prevent incidents like crowd surges, including having at least one crowd manager per 250 attendees. They monitor what is happening in their area, so if they notice trouble brewing, it can be addressed before things spiral out of control. Houston does not have an official capacity limit for outdoor events, and Wertheimer told Rolling Stone that "frankly, capacity should probably be determined by some sort of government entity."

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How do you stay safe at a large festival?

First, come dressed for success. Wear shoes that are sturdy so you don't get hurt if people step on your feet, and make sure they aren't slippery. You want to stay upright, because if you fall down, it will be difficult to get back up, and you don't want other people to trip and land on top of you. Upon arrival at a venue, make an exit plan before entering the crowd, and take note of the evacuation routes, Mark Herrera, director of safety and security at the International Association of Venue Managers, told People.

Research scientist Mehdi Moussaid studies crowd behavior, and he told NPR that if you feel the crowd getting dense and this makes you uncomfortable, move away. If you're caught in a surge, Wertheimer advises not to yell or scream  no one can hear over the loud music. "Do not resist the crowd surges and crowd pressure because you'll burn up what energy you have, and you can't resist the extraordinary pressure," he said. "Try to absorb it, let it pass through you, just enough that you can remain standing." Moussaid says it's best to steer clear of walls, because you can't go with the flow if a solid obstacle is in your way.

Will anyone face consequences for the Astroworld tragedy?

As of Tuesday, at least 18 lawsuits have been filed against Scott, festival producer Live Nation, and other organizers on behalf of victims who were killed or hurt. Attorney Benjamin Crump is representing the family of a 9-year-old boy who is now in a medically induced coma after being "trampled nearly to death by concertgoers." Crump said this "young child and his family will face life-altering trauma from this day forward, a reality that nobody expects when they buy concert tickets." This lawsuit accuses the organizers of "egregiously" failing to "protect the health, safety, and lives of those in attendance at the concert," and notes that Scott continued to perform even as "many individuals were seen lifting up the unconscious bodies of friends and strangers and surged them over the top of the crowd, hoping to send them to safety." (Scott's attorney said Friday the performer did not realize what was happening during his show.)

How might this change the way future events are managed?

The investigation into Astroworld is still in its preliminary stages, and experts say it's too early to know what might change. Many think it's likely it could become harder for festivals to get insurance, and there will be calls for more security personnel and checkpoints at a venue. In 2000, nine people died at the Roskilde Festival in Denmark during a Pearl Jam set, and in the wake of that tragedy, organizers met with crowd safety experts to enact best practices for large-scale events, which are now used throughout Europe. The techniques employed include limiting how many people can stand in front of a stage, leaving wide enough spaces in the crowd in case an ambulance needs to get through, and giving an independent security manager the power to end a show if necessary.

Wertheimer told Rolling Stone he thinks real change won't happen until criminal charges are filed against the promoters and agencies "that sign off on these reckless events. Do that, and safety will change overnight. If nobody's criminally charged, families of the deceased will sue, those injured will sue. And four years from now, they'll settle with everybody. We'll do the legal dance, and then in between and after, it will be business as usual."

What about COVID-19? How has the pandemic altered concerts?

It depends on where you live. In Los Angeles County, for example, if there are more than 10,000 people at an outdoor venue, like the famed Hollywood Bowl, attendees must show their COVID-19 vaccination card or proof of a negative test within 72 hours, and once inside, they have to wear masks unless actively eating and drinking. The rules aren't so stringent in other, more rural areas, although many venues and promoters are setting their own safety policies where restrictions aren't in place. Several artists have started livestreaming concerts and selling tickets for cheaper than what it would cost to see them in person, and it could be that many decide to keep it up so fans all over the world can see them anytime, anywhere, and without the risks of in-person shows.

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Festival goers are seen rushing into the VIP area prior to Travis Scott performing during day one of the Astroworld Music Festival at NRG Park on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021, in Houston. Amy Harris/Invision/AP

The father of a 9-year-old on life support following the Astroworld Festival said he's "not ready to lose" his son.

"We still got a bunch of living to do," Treston Blount said, according to KTRK-TV.

His son, Ezra, suffered severe damage to his organs after being trampled at the concert.

The father of a 9-year-old boy on life support following Travis Scott's Astroworld Festival said he's "not ready to lose" his son.

Treston Blount's son, Ezra, a fan of the rapper, was trampled amid a crowd surge during last week's concert at NRG Park in Houston that left nine dead and hundreds injured.

Blount told KTRK-TV that his son "was so stoked" to attend the concert. During the event, the two reportedly stood towards the back of the crowd, and Blount held his son on his shoulders.

But Blount told the news station that when Scott came on the stage for his set, the concertgoers started to push. Authorities said that the massive crowd of roughly 50,000 people began to compress toward the stage shortly after 9:30 p.m. Witnesses told Insider they struggled to breathe during the event.

"My son had Ezra on his shoulders at the concert, and my son couldn't breathe because of all the pressure that was being applied to him, and he passed out," the child's grandfather previously told KTRK-TV. "And when he passed out, Ezra fell into the crowd. He was trampled really bad."

When Blount woke up at the festival, his son had already been transported to the hospital, KTRK-TV reported, adding that he was informed that his son was suffering severe damage to major organs when he arrived.

"I could tell that he was damaged," Blount told the outlet. "I'm not ready to lose my boy at all. We still got a bunch of living to do... that's my boy."

A GoFundMe created by Blount has raised over $60,000 at the time of publication. National civil rights attorney Ben Crump is representing the family and is filing lawsuits on behalf of more than 100 Astroworld victims.

Read the original article on Insider
The FBI appears to have been used as a pawn in a fight between hackers and security researchers. According to Bleeping Computer, the FBI has confirmed intruders compromised its email servers early today (November 13th) to send fake messages claiming recipients had fallen prone to data breaches. The emails tried to pin the non-existent attacks on Vinny Troia, the leader of dark web security firms NightLion and Shadowbyte.

The non-profit intelligence organization Spamhaus quickly shed light on the bogus messages. The attackers used legitimate FBI systems to conduct the attack, using email addresses scraped from a database for the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN), among other sources. Over 100,000 addresses received the fake emails in at least two waves.

The FBI described the hack as an "ongoing situation" and didn't initially have more details to share. It asked email recipients to report messages like these to the bureau's Internet Crime Complaint Center or the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Troia told Bleeping Computer he believed the perpetrators might be linked to "Pompomourin," a persona that has attacked the researcher in the past.

Feuds between hackers and the security community aren't new. In March, attackers exploiting Microsoft Exchange servers tried to implicate security journalist Brian Krebs using a rogue domain. However, it's rare that they use real domains from a government agency like the FBI as part of their campaign. While that may be more effective than usual (the FBI was swamped with calls from anxious IT administrators), it might also prompt a particularly swift response  law enforcement won't take kindly to being a victim.
By Dan Whitcomb

(Reuters) -A U.S. appeals court on Friday upheld its decision to put on hold an order by President Joe Biden for companies with 100 workers or more to require COVID-19 vaccines, rejecting a challenge by his administration.

A three-member panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans affirmed its ruling despite the Biden administration's position that halting implementation of the vaccine mandate could lead to dozens or even hundreds of deaths.

"The mandate is staggeringly overbroad," the opinion said.

"The mandate is a one-size-fits-all sledgehammer that makes hardly any attempt to account for differences in workplaces (and workers)," Circuit Court Judge Kurt Engelhardt wrote for the panel.

Vaccine mandates are deeply controversial in the United States. Supporters say they are a must to put an end to the nearly two-year coronavirus pandemic, while opponents argue they violate the U.S. Constitution and curb individual liberty.

The Fifth Circuit judges appeared to agree with the opponents.

"The public interest is also served by maintaining our constitutional structure and maintaining the liberty of individuals to make intensely personal decisions according to their own convictions - even, or perhaps particularly, when those decisions frustrate government officials," Engelhardt wrote.

The rule was issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and mandates that businesses with at least 100 employees require staff to get vaccinated or face weekly tests and face mask requirements.

White House officials had no immediate comment on the ruling, which was hailed as a victory by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Texas joined other U.S. states, as well as private employers and religious organizations, in legal challenges to the order.

"Citing Texass 'compelling argument[s]' the 5th Circuit has stayed OSHAs unconstitutional and illegal private-business vaccine mandate", Paxton said on Twitter.

Biden imposed the requirement in September, telling Americans that "our patience is wearing thin" with those refusing to get inoculated.

(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Additional reporting by Kanishka Singh and Jonathan Stempelediting by Grant McCool)
Final commitment needed at COP26 for road ahead

The climate summit in Glasgow came to a close on Friday after two weeks of hopeful planning and promises, as well as frustration among many that this key opportunity was wasted.

For Canada, COP26 wrapped with a press conference delivered by Minister of the Environment, Steven Guilbeault, who emphasized the governments recent accomplishments on climate policy.

RELATED: COP26 pledges represent historic reduction in projected global warming

Minister Guilbeault said, I think its important for Canadians to take some quiet pride in the fact that over the past few years we have accomplished a lotto put Canada on the path to achieve the kinds of emission reduction weve been promising since the nineties and too often have failed to deliver.

He stated, for example, that when Canada, one of the four-largest oil and gas reserves in the world, makes a commitment to cap oil and gas emissions at current levels the world takes notice.

Of the commitments Canada made over the past two weeks, Minister Guilbeault expressed optimism that important progress was made, and revealed that he is planning to travel across the country by train to discuss how best to implement the agenda Canadians set for us.

Canada's Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Steven Guilbeault

Canada's Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Steven Guilbeault speaks during a press conference at the COP26 Climate Change Conference in Glasgow on November 12, 2021. - A new draft COP26 statement called on nations to ease reliance on fossil fuels and boost funding to help vulnerable nations face the climate crisis as talks entered their final hours on Friday. (Photo by Paul ELLIS/AFP) (Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

With a hint of lowering expectations, however, he admitted that this mandate is extremely ambitious, and some of the ministers remarks were clearly an attempt to pre-empt harsh criticism or a response to it.

One issue that has riled climate experts concerns the governments seeming unwillingness to take a hard stand against fossil fuels subsidies, an issue with weighty political implications.

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While activists have been pushing to have the phase-out of such subsidies enshrined as a key goal in the COP26 final textthe diplomatic document to define the road aheadthere has been push back from fossil fuel producing nations like Saudi Arabia and Australia.

Minister Guilbeault, a former activist himself, claimed Canada is in favour of having a text that states that we need to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies, and he agreed that a timeline should be put in there.

But in a letterto Minister Guilbeault, the Climate Action Network (CAN) calls on Canada to champion certain key elements absent from some versions of the COP text, including what they refer to as the elephant in the room: phasing out coal and fossil fuel subsidies.

The letter notes that this is the first-ever mention of the necessity to phase out and stop subsidizing fossil fuels in COP text and would represent a significant achievement.

Aerial view of the Athabasca oilsands near Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada

Aerial view of the Athabasca oil sands near Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada (Ben Nelms/Bloomberg/via Getty Images)

A poll taken in October found that 62% of Canadians favour the federal government putting in place a plan to end subsidies to the oil and gas sector.

Other elements that CAN demands be added to or kept in the final text include addressing the finance gap and a consideration of nations obligations to human rights, the right to health, the rights of Indigenous Peoples, local communities, migrants, refugees, racialized communities, children, and others.

Throughout COP26, so-called global leaders have been negotiating the future of our children and planet, stated Eriel Deranger, Executive Director of Indigenous Climate Action (ICA), in response to Minister Guilbealts press conference.

Its become clear that peppering human rights and rights of Indigenous Peoples' language throughout articles and negotiations means nothing if they are also giving dirty corporations and high polluting nations ways to offset their emissions by buying and trading the air and our lands and territories, Deranger added.

Importantly, the letter emphasized the need to support Just Transition policy, which would enable fair and dignified transition for workers in the fossil fuel sector into new fields.

The criticisms, from CAN, ICA, and groups like Destination Zero, echo frustrations voiced at marches throughout the summit. Over the two weeks, protestersincluding teen activist Greta Thunberghave claimed that not enough was being done, that governments have hedged between policy commitments and politics, and that the voice of the people was not heard.

VIDEO: TUVALU MINISTER STANDS IN KNEE-DEEP WATER WHILE ADDRESSING COP26

Click here to view the video

The hope and frustration continue regarding the culminating COP text, which is yet to be finalized, as of this writing.

Glasgow offers an opportunity for the world to signal that we will fight tooth and nail for a liveable planet, Eddy Perez, the CAN International Climate Diplomacy Manager, said in a press release. This draft only signals that well continue fiddling while the world burns.

This is a test for Minister Guilbeault as Canadas new Environment Minister, Perez added, while calling on the minister to do everything in [his] power to ensure the Glasgow cover decision matches the state of emergency our world faces.

Minister Guilbeault acknowledged the challenge that lies ahead. We have our work cut out for us, the minister admitted, to make our commitment a reality.

Thumbnail courtesy of PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images.
MALIBU, Calif. (AP)  Keith Fisher III had 13 points and 10 rebounds to carry Pepperdine to a 65-60 win over Idaho State on Friday night.

Jade Smith had 17 points for Pepperdine (1-1). Jan Zidek added 14 points. Mike Mitchell Jr. had 10 points.

Waves leading scorer Houston Mallette (18.0 ppg) had seven points, hitting just one of seven from 3-point range.

Tarik Cool had 13 points for the Bengals (1-1). Robert Ford III added 12 points and six rebounds. Zach Visentin had three assists.

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For more AP college basketball coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and http://twitter.com/AP_Top25

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This was generated by Automated Insights, http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap, using data from STATS LLC, https://www.stats.com
Blood samples from residents who live near the Chemours plant in Bladen County did not contain the compound most associated with the facility but did have high levels of similar chemicals.

Officials from North Carolina State University, East Carolina University and the Environmental Protection Agency are conducting research for the GenX Exposure Study, which started in November 2017 and is funded by the National Institutes of Health. Several county health departments and non-profit groups also are helping with the study.

The Chemours plant in Bladen County makes GenX. The compound also is a byproduct of other processes there.

Researchers provided an overview of the latest results at a meeting in Hope Mills on Thursday. The presentation also was available online.

The study is trying to determine if GenX and other per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances are in the bodies of residents who live near the Chemours plant and those who get their drinking water downstream from the facility.

The Chemours plant manufactures GenX, and the compound is a byproduct of other processes at the facility. The plant, which is known as the Fayetteville Works facility, is just off N.C. 87 between Fayetteville and Elizabethtown.

More: EPA assessment: GenX more toxic than thought; health effects might include liver, immune system

Hundreds of private wells around the facility have been contaminated with GenX and other similar compounds. The chemicals also have been discovered in the Cape Fear River, which is the source of drinking water for several communities downstream from the plant.

State officials have been investigating Chemours since 2017 when the Wilmington Star-News reported that researchers had found GenX and other similar compounds in the river.

The recent study involved blood samples from 153 people who live in Cumberland and Bladen counties near the Chemours plant. The participants use wells with water that contains GenX.

The blood was tested for a total of 26 PFAS compounds, including GenX and other compounds found in the area. The study also looked for PFAS compounds commonly found in residents of the United States.

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GenX was one of four compounds that were not detected, according to a letter sent to participants and a document presented at the meeting. Three of those compounds were associated with the Chemours plant, according to one of the researchers.

This means that either these PFAS were not present in the blood samples or they were present at levels too low for us to measure with our instrument, the letter said.

More: Chemours must take more action to address GenX, PFAS contamination, state DEQ officials say

The study found a compound known as Nafion byproduct 2 in more than half the samples, according to the letter.

Nafion byproduct 2 is a byproduct of production at the Fayetteville Works Facility in North Carolina, it said. Therefore, people in the Cape Fear River Basin have been uniquely exposed to Nafion byproduct 2.

Two other compounds associated with the Chemours plant were found in about 20% or more of the samples, according to the presentation.

Overall, six PFAS compounds were detected somewhat frequently, but 10 were found in less than 10% of the participants, according to the letter.

Five compounds were detected in more than 90% of the samples, it said. They included perfluorooctanoic acid, which is known as PFOA, and perfluorooctane sulfonate, PFOS.

Exposure to PFOA and PFOS above certain levels may result in adverse health effects, including cancer, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Chemours released a statement saying the test results showing that GenX was not in the blood of the participants is similar to previous studies.

Once again the results showed that legacy compounds not associated with Chemours manufacturing were the compounds most prevalent in participants, the statement said.

Chemours officials are not aware of the potential source data from the studies being released, according to the statement. The company provided river sampling data to state officials that included a report from July 2020, it said.

This report identified that legacy PFAS compounds were present along the sampled length of the Cape Fear River, including parts of the river upstream of the Fayetteville Works site, the statement said.

Local news editor Steve DeVane can be reached at sdevane@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3572.

Support local journalism with a subscription to The Fayetteville Observer. Click the "subscribe'' link at the top of this article.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: GenX compound not found in blood of residents near NC Chemours plant
It took almost 150 years, but America's oldest daily college newspaper, the Harvard Crimson, has elected its first Latina president, Raquel Coronell Uribe.

Coronell Uribe, from Miami, will oversee a storied publication founded in 1873 and whose alumni include Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy and journalist Linda Greenhouse. She has worked for the paper as a reporter on issues including police accountability and was elected to the "149th Guard" after a rigorous selection process known as the "Turkey Shoot."

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"The 149th Guard is an incredibly impressive group of leaders who are more than ready and qualified to tackle the challenges The Crimson will face in the coming year," current Crimson President Amanda Su said in a statement published Friday in the student newspaper. Coronell Uribe will begin her term as president in January.

Like other news organizations, the paper has grappled with how to become more reflective of the community it covers, particularly in the ranks of leadership. Harvard University's incoming freshman class is 12.5% Hispanic or Latino, a group that represents about 8.9% of the paper's staff, according to a recent diversity survey.

Coronell Uribe said that as president of the Crimson she hopes to continue a tradition of holding the powerful to account while prioritizing diversity and inclusion. No Latino has held the top editorial post in the paper's 148-year history.

"I want to make sure people feel and know there is a place for them at this organization," she said in an interview with The Washington Post.

Founded in 1873 as the Magenta, the newspaper became the Crimson in 1875 and remains "the only breakfast-table daily newspaper in Cambridge, Mass.," according to its website. Former student reporters and editors at the paper have gone on to illustrious careers in and outside journalism.

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"The Crimson has a rich tradition of journalistic integrity and counts among its ranks of editorship some of America's greatest journalists. Over 25 Crimson alumni have won the Pulitzer Prize," it says.

The daughter of two well-known Colombian journalists, Coronell Uribe fled with her parents to the United States at age 6. The family had received death threats in response to her father's investigative reporting. Colombia was in the throes of Latin America's longest-running conflict, and journalists frequently targeted. With the help of the Committee to Protect Journalists, she said they quickly packed their belongings into suitcases and flew to California.

"The Committee to Protect Journalists is an organization that quite literally saved my life," she said.

The family later moved back to Colombia before eventually returning to the United States., where her father, Daniel Coronell, become the president of Univision News.

Coronell Uribe initially planned to follow in her parents' footsteps by pursuing a career in journalism, but she changed trajectories after being diagnosed with leukemia at 16. She said her doctor left a lasting impression by making her feel safe in the face of a life-threatening condition, something she wanted to do for others.

"Having to come face-to-face with my mortality at such a young age really changed everything for me," she said.

But after starting pre-med classes at Harvard, she found herself drawn again to writing and journalism. She said she found her "home" on campus at the newspaper and began to think about how she might have a role in shaping its future as a leader. Senior leadership candidates must gain at least 75% of the vote to be elected.

Many on social media welcomed the news.

"It's always a delight to watch our young residents do big things - congratulations, Madam President," tweeted Daniella Levine Cava, first female mayor of Miami-Dade County. Texas congressman Joaquin Castro, D, also shared well wishes, while Jorge Ramos and other journalists wished her luck.

Coronell Uribe is not the only Crimson president to make history in recent years. In 2018, Kristine Guillaume became the first Black woman to lead the paper.

Across the industry, there remains significant underrepresentation of long-marginalized groups. A recent U.S. Government Accountability Office report found that Hispanic workers made up 8% of all employees working for newspaper, magazine, book and directory publishers in 2019. A survey by the News Leaders Association that year found that people of color make up 18.8% of newsroom managers at print and online-only publications.

Reflecting on her new role, Coronell Uribe said she hopes that by being the first she can ensure that she isn't the last Latino in the paper's top job.

"I do question why it took 148 years to elect a Latinx president," she said. "And I think that it's indicative of a problem that the Crimson has been working toward fixing and done a better job at, which is making sure that we are accessible to anyone who wants to join."

She added: "And that is not just in joining the organization but getting to the point where you can run for a leadership position or shoot for a leadership position. I hope to continue that work."

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FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP)  Winsome Sears says voters learned where she stands as she made history campaigning to become the first Black woman elected to statewide office in Virginia.

But Sears may be less known for her policy positions than for a campaign photo showing the 57-year-old former Marine posing with a military rifle. The image launched the Republican from political obscurity after a nearly 20-year absence from elected office to win the GOP's nomination for lieutenant governor, and she completed her comeback in November as Republicans swept Virginia's top offices.

Those who know her say Sears is more than a gun-toting caricature  they point to her willingness to buck her own party at times, and her dedication to school choice and other conservative education priorities. The photo grabbed attention, but she held it with an engaging, almost stream-of-consciousness speaking style, firing up the crowds for her ticket mate Glenn Youngkin, now the governor-elect.

She had one-liners ready for the press as well. When asked about her pro-gun stance after the votes were counted, she told a local television station: Harriet Tubman carried a gun and if it was good for her, then it was good for me too."

Having won 51% to 49% over Democratic state Del. Hala Ayala, who as a Black Hispanic also would have made history, Sears is ready to pivot again, from speechifying to governing.

Actions speak louder than words, Sears said in an interview with The Associated Press. And thats why I couldnt wait until we got to the end. So that I can really show the people that I mean to do right. That Im not just using flowery language.

The word that best describes Sears is authentic, according to Chris Braunlich, who served with her on Virginia's board of education a decade ago. She had little tolerance for local school superintendents who made excuses for their students poor performance, he said.

When you tell me that Im a victim ... how? Tell me how, she said in one campaign speech in which she emphasized, as she often does, the progress that's been made over the decades in American race relations. Everything Ive had, Ive had to work for. Everything.

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Sears has embraced President Donald Trump, serving as co-chair of a group called Black Americans to Re-elect President Trump, and defending him against charges of racism. Still, she has taken action when she believes Republicans fall short on racial issues.

In 2018, she launched a write-in campaign for U.S. Senate when Corey Stewart, whose campaign had links to white supremacists and used the Confederate flag as a prop, won the GOP nomination.

The Republican Party never saluted the Confederate flag, did not fight under the Confederate flag ... and he is our candidate, our nominee? she said at the time. He does not represent the party of Lincoln. ... He is not a true Republican.

When she is sworn in in January, she will be the first woman in the post, which is considered part time but often is a launching pad for future governors. Five of the past 10 lieutenant governors in Virginia have gone on to serve as governor.

Former Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder, the nation's first African American elected governor, said Sears has an independent streak that has served her well.

Shes experienced, and shes shown shes someone whos willing to listen, and willing to learn, said Wilder, a Democrat, who met with Sears during the campaign and has agreed to serve on Youngkins transition team.

Wilder, now a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, had been a lieutenant governor as well. He found the post to be a surprisingly sturdy platform for advancing an agenda, because it provides many opportunities to speak in front of influential audiences.

You can define your issues, he said.

Presiding over the Senate is one of the lieutenant governor's key duties but the job could be more than ceremonial for Sears since Republicans not only won the governors mansion, but also reclaimed a majority in the House of Delegates.

That leaves the 21-19 Senate as Democrats last bastion of power, with Sears poised to cast tie-breaking votes whenever a single Democrat can be lured to the Republican side.

Democrats are particularly concerned about her strong anti-abortion record. Ayala repeatedly warned voters that the Senate is essentially split 20-20 on the issue, with Democratic Sen. Joe Morrissey having voted against some legislation to expand abortion rights.

Sears said voters heard that pitch as Ayala more than doubled her fundraising, and rejected it.

Voters cared about the bread-and-butter issues that are facing them, she said. Sears pointed out that she would allow abortions in cases of rape or incest and to save a pregnant woman's life or health. Asked if she would like any changes to abortion in Virginia, she was noncommittal, saying only, Let me see about that.

Sears represented Hampton Roads in the legislature for a single term two decades ago, sponsoring legislation against KKK-style cross burnings and squabbling with the Legislative Black Caucus, where she was the only Republican.

While absent from electoral politics, she was appointed to the Veterans Administration, the Census Bureau and the state school board and ran a plumbing and electrical supply company in the Winchester area. She said she moved there to provide a better environment for one of her daughters, DeJon Williams, who had mental health problems. Williams and her two daughters died in a car crash in 2012 after witnesses reported her speed exceeded 100 mph.

Im reminded that God gave us the ability to grieve, he gave us tears for a reason, she told The Winchester Star in 2012.

Sears speaks frequently about her faith, writing a book titled Stop Being a Christian Wimp! long before she re-entered politics. She also led a prison Bible study.

Vinson Palathingal, a GOP activist from Fairfax County and an early supporter, said the party should have promoted her more prominently.

Expanding the tent is something Im working on, and that is exactly what Winsome is talking about, he said as he handed out sample ballots.

Sears argues that lower taxes, school choice and opposition to abortion have more appeal among minorities than conventional political wisdom allows.

Were going to need new voters if were going to win, she said in a GOP podcast earlier this year. You know where were going to get them from? The only place: the Democrats. Theyre in the Democratic Party, theyre conservatives, and they dont even know it.
For a certain sector of the economy the past week has been electric.

Item 1: Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk polls his Twitter followers if he should sell his Tesla shares. They say yes. TSLA tanks on the news and Musk loses $50 billion. Then Musk sells 5.2 million shares or $5.8 billion of stock (as of Friday.) Tesla shares rally. Musk is still the richest man in the world.

Item 2: On Tuesday, electric truck maker Rivian goes public. Its stock soars 29% in the biggest IPO since the company formerly known as Facebook debuted in 2012. Rivians (RIVN) market value of $100 billion is bigger than Fords or GMs.

Item 3: Also on Tuesday, Hertz, which had its IPO this week, confirms it is going to buy 100,000 Teslas, highlighted in an ad campaign, Lets Go! featuring Tom Brady.

So the week might sound kind of bananas but in this quarter of the business universe, thats actually pretty much SOP. Its also the case that EVs, Elon and all things electric arent fringe anymore. Theyre a massive, rapidly growing and increasingly core part of our world. This weeks New Yorker cover pretty much sums it up  Don Quixote looking to tilt a cluster of giant wind turbines. You dont want to fight this.

Welcome then to the new Economy Electric.

What do I mean by that? Simply that there is a revolution happening right now thats transforming all businesses, which use engines that burn fossil fuel, and forcing them over to electric power. Its begun with cars, (though were still early days at least in the U.S.) EV sales have been skyrocketing over the last couple years," says Ram Chandrasekaran, an EV analyst at Wood Mackenzie.

In the first three quarters, weve already exceeded all of 2020 sales. Its been an exceptionally strong year. 70% are coming from China and Europe. In China and Europe theyre firmly in the mainstream now. In the U.S., EV sales have been lagging compared to China and Europe around 6% or so, he said. That will change.

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And theres everything else. Like motorcycles, boats, and some day planes and all forms of transportation. And then theres generators, farm tractors and so on. It is a massive shift and its coming right now.

At this point  Rivian notwithstanding  it's mostly, one man, one company and one stock: Elon Musk and Tesla. So much has been written about Musk and Tesla, Ill just boil it down to this: Musk is a visionary. And Tesla is groundbreaking. Those two statements are unassailable and are immutable regardless of what Musk does or what happens to the company, car or stock going forward.

Certainly the market has more than validated this. Beyond the fact that Tesla has cumulatively sold more than 2 million cars, consider that Musk, the personification of the electric revolution, is worth some $294 billion, (way richer than Jeff Bezos  $200 billion), and up $124 billion this year. And of course Musks vision and strategy encompass much more than just Tesla, which is an element of an electric ecosystem hes building including SolarCity and a distributed power grid.

Teslas trillion dollar market capitalization  the most valuable car company on the planet  is of course tough to justify. I dont want to make any serious comment about Tesla's market cap  it being higher than the next seven or eight automakers combined is somewhat comical, says Chandrasekaran. But he adds: Thats how things are sometimes. (Its ironic that Tesla is on this kind of trajectory, while GE, a company rooted in the history of humanitys taming of electricity, is now a shadow of its former self and being broken up.)

FILE - Tesla and SpaceX Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk speaks at the SATELLITE Conference and Exhibition in Washington on March 9, 2020. After making a promise on Twitter, the Tesla CEO has sold about 900,000 shares of the electric car maker's stock, netting over $1.1 billion that will go toward paying tax obligations for stock options. The sales, disclosed in two regulatory filings late Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021, will cover tax obligations for stock options granted to Musk in September. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

But Tesla won't be the only (dare I say) blue chip e-company forever. In fact one of the most serious parlor games on Wall Street right now is picking which other e-businesses will become dominant tomorrow. I want to go through some of these companies, but before that, some brief history about, yes, electricity.

The word "electric" comes from the Latin word electricus ("of amber" or "like amber, also the elektron, the Greek word for "amber") because one way we humans first became aware of electricity was when amber is rubbed it becomes magnetic.

Yes, Ben Franklin was an early pioneer. Some version of the kite and the key story may in fact be true. But no, Franklin didnt "invent" electricity, (any more than Columbus "discovered" the new world.) Franklin did help harness it and maybe coined the phrase "electric battery."

Other giants in the history of electricity include the likes of Thomas Edison, (who among many other things, was a co-founder of the aforementioned General Electric company.) His rivalry with George Westinghouse (AC versus DC) makes for an excellent movie, "The Current War," starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Edison (I know, really?) Theres also of course the amazing Nikola Tesla, the namesake of two EV makers, which I wrote about here.

Then theres British physicist Michael Faraday, who in 1850 was asked by William Gladstone, then the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the practical value of electricity was. One day sir, you may tax it, was Faradays retort.

A quick word about Industrial Revolutions. The first one, from 1760 to 1820, wasnt about electricity at all and was in fact driven by localized steam engines, textile looms, the cotton gin and other simply powered machines. The Second Industrial Revolution however, from 1870 to 1914, is when electrification began which led to the creation of giant steel, chemical businesses and scores of other industries as well.

Of course electricity was used for cars early on and for rails and buses right through, but the powerful oil and gas industries promoted internal combustion engines at the expense of electrics from the early 20th century right up to, well now. ("Who Killed the Electric Car" is just a recent example of many such stories.)

But now thats all changing. Why? Awareness of global warming for one. Erika Myers, a senior EV analyst at the World Resources Institute, thinks electrifying the economy is our best chance to address climate change. I would not say EVs are a silver bullet, she adds. There needs to be a lot of strategies for transportation. Transport is 25% of global carbon dioxide emissions and fossil fuels have provided 95% of transportation fuels up to this point.

Theres not enough biofuels  you cant do enough sequestration to get there, says Saul Griffith, co-founder and chief scientist at Rewiring America, as well as the author of "Electrify: An Optimists Playbook for Our Clean Energy Future." 80% or 90% of our energy system has to go electric. People say hydrogen but hydrogen starts with green electricity.

Remember too that technology is driving down the cost of going electric.

Rivian Founder and CEO RJ Scaringe, left, unveils the first-ever electric adventure vehicle before its official reveal at the LA Auto Show at Griffith Observatory on Monday, Nov. 26, 2018 in Los Angeles. (Carlos Delgado/AP Images for Rivian)

Now back to the new electric companies. First, because the first wave of this third revolution has been cars, the category is usually referred to as EVs, (electric vehicles). But when you look up, say a list of best EV stocks, (like this one and this one), they invariably include battery makers and other suppliers as well.

There are a handful of EV ETFs, such as this one and this one that focuses on China plays, but most are still small and not really pure plays, i.e. they hold, say, diversified chipmakers that produce chips for EVs, but also have major other lines of business as well.

Here then are a few categories:

CARS AND TRUCKS

Even Bloomberg New Energy Finance, which Id hardly call radical, estimates in 2025, 2026 the electric vehicle will cost less in the showroom than an internal combustion engine, says Saul Griffith. When electric vehicles are more cost efficient in 2025  it has flipped in China, in Norway  then its game over.

There are EV makers selling right now, Tesla but also Lucid and Rivian. (BTW, Musks arch rival Jeff Bezoss company Amazon is a large investor in Rivian.) In China you have NIO, (a very popular ticker here at Yahoo Finance), BYD (which Charlie Munger has invested in), Xpeng and Li. Then there are those that shall we say, are on more extended timelines like Fisker (FSR), Canoo (GOEV), Faraday Future (FFIE), Lordstown (RIDE) and Xos (XOS).

Obviously Rivian has been the talk of the town, which as my colleague Rick Newman notes, is a bit bizarro, Electric-vehicle startup Rivian [with its giant market cap] has never sold a vehicle until this year. GM sells around 7 million vehicles per year; Ford, 4 million.

True that Rick. But sometimes Mr. Market likes bizarro.

Another interesting point about Rivian to consider. DataTrek suggests that: Rivian is the first legitimate competition Tesla has ever had in terms of institutional investor interest. That could pull capital out of TSLA, and therefore the S&P 500.

Of course Elon couldnt resist a poke Tweet at Rivian:

I hope theyre able to achieve high production & breakeven cash flow. That is the true test.



There have been hundreds of automotive startups, both electric & combustion, but Tesla is only American carmaker to reach high volume production & positive cash flow in past 100 years.  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 11, 2021

Some are saying that now is the time to sell Tesla, as in Own Tesla Stock? Be Like Elon Musk and Sell in the Wall Street Journal this week. Who knows, maybe this time the skeptics will be right. Ark Invests Cathie Wood is still a believer though, saying the recent dip in Tesla is, is nothing but a blip, on the way to her price target of $3,000.

MOTORCYCLES

What makes people love motorcycles; the noise, the vibration, the smell is exactly what electric motorcycles obviate. And of course, any self-respecting Harley rider would scoff at all that. (My colleague Pras Subramanian, who covers EVs and all things electric, details all in this primer on e-bikes.) In spite of or perhaps because of all that, I think e-motorcycles are going to be a home run. Here you have newbies like Zero Motorcycles and NIU (e-scooters) as well as Volcon (VLCN), a manufacturer of electric motorcycles, and ATVs based near Austin, an area that is poised to become the electric vehicle capital of the world.

With our current products, we found out 50% of people ordering directly from us hadnt ridden a motorcycle before, says CEO Jordan Davis. Our bike doesnt require a clutch; it doesnt require a shifting of gears. You dont need to be mechanically inclined  theres no spark plug, no oil changes. Maintenance on the bike is very, very low.

Wouldn't you kill to be a fly on the wall at Harley-Davidson, which has an electric motorcycle called LiveWire, as they discuss all this?

BATTERY MAKERS

I get out of my depth pretty quickly here, so Ill keep it short. This article is a great starting point. Bottom line: Most of the know-how and manufacturing is in China, which brings global politics into play as outlined in this New York Times guest essay by Steve LeVine, editor of The Electric, a publication focused on batteries and electric vehicles. His most recent book is The Powerhouse: America, China and the Great Battery War. (Im telling you there is so much here.)

SPACS

Unlike the other categories here, SPACs are an investment vehicle through which many e-companies choose to go public. Kristi Marvin, CEO and founder of SPACInsider.com and her team put together some numbers. Simply put EVs are big on SPACs. Since the beginning of 2020, when SPACs began to boom, 23 EV SPACs have been announced or completed including SPACs for Lordstown, Fisker, Lucid and Nikola, with a total enterprise value today of $67 billion, the second biggest SPAC category after tech.

The Volta, an all electric helicopter takes off at the Paris Heliport in Issy-les-Moulineaux, France, October 19, 2016. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau

PLANES AND HELICOPTERS

Even more speculative here. Right now batteries are just too heavy to be used successfully in commercial flights, says Erika Myers. (Theres also the question of whether anyone would fly in an electric plane, nevermind helicopter?) Still this too could be coming. There are numerous commercial projects underway, including those by Airbus, Cessna and EasyJet, as well as startups like Wright Electric (All short flights can be zero-emissions starting in 2026.) And check out the Pipistrel Velis Electro, plane of the year. As for choppers, going back to 1917 apparently there was an electrically-powered tethered job. (Yikes.) Sikorskys been working on the Firefly for a decade. Here too there are myriad projects that include hybrids and unmanned models. (That sounds better to me!)

OTHER

Want an electric tractor? Check out here. And here. Electric RV? Coming here and here. Electric boat? Got a whole fleet of em. Electric generators? Amazon has all kinds. And I could keep going here into any and all gas or diesel, etc. powered engines business again.

And that would include GM and Ford, right? It's kind of funny to put these two legacy giants in an "other" category, but yes, they too could be major EV companies... soon. In fact they better be. There are signs. Ford stock has quadrupled (to $19) since its COVID-19 low in March 2020 based to a large degree over optimism of achieving this transformation. (GM has tripled to $60 over the same time period.) For Ford, developing an electric F-150 is critical. To take something so central to Ford's entire brand image and make an electric version and price it at a price point that's extremely competitive, I think is a great achievement and is going to make a huge impact in the coming years, says Ram Chandrasekaran.

And then there are the others. Ferrari is going electric, at $320K a pop. (Whats a Ferrari without the VROOM, I wonder...) And so is the aforementioned Hertz. Hertz CEO and former Ford CEO Mark Fields telling Yahoo Finances Brian Sozzi: We are excited about the Tesla relationship. It's all wrapped around our strategy to lead the adoption of electric vehicles."

Everybodys in on the act because, well, you want to be in on the act, but also because you do it or you die.

Sound like an investment slam dunk? Not exactly. Im sure there are fortunes to be had for VCs and for ordinary people as well, (like buying TSLA two years ago when it was $70  it's now $1,045.) But please, please, please caveat emptor here. Theres all kinds of risk. For instance, hydrogen-powered vehicles for instance might make a quantum leap and win out over EVs.

Im also reminded of something Warren Buffett said back in 1999: There's a lot of difference between making money and spotting a wonderful industry." Heres how Buffett expounded:

You know, the two most important industries in the first half of this century in the United States  in the world, probably  were the auto industry and the airplane industry. Here you had these two discoveries, both in the first decade  essentially in the first decade  of the century. And if you'd foreseen, in 1905 or thereabouts, what the auto would do to the world, let alone this country, or what the airplane would do, you might have thought that it was a great way to get rich. But very, very few people got rich by being  by riding the back of that auto industry. And probably even fewer got rich by participating in the airline industry over that time. I mean, millions of people are flying around every day. But the number of people who've made money carrying them around is very limited. And the capital has been lost in that business, the bankruptcies. It's been a terrible business. It's been a marvelous industry. So you do not want to necessarily equate the prospects of growth for an industry with the prospects for growth in your own net worth by participating in it.

Meaning in some cases it might be great to be a customer, i.e., to own an EV, but it might not be as great to an EV shareholder. To wit: Living in the electric economy might be more rewarding and enjoyable than investing in it.

Wikipedia has a List of defunct automobile manufacturers of the United States with some 1,500 entries. While some EV makers will succeed wildly, no doubt others will be added to this list.

This article was featured in a Saturday edition of the Morning Brief on November 13, 2021. Get the Morning Brief sent directly to your inbox every Monday to Friday by 6:30 a.m. ET. Subscribe

Andy Serwer is editor-in-chief of Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter: @serwer

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The Hyundai Motor Company has launched its first Black American marketing campaign, dubbed OKAY Hyundai last week after partnering with a Black-owned marketing agency.

Hyundai hired Maryland-based Culture Brands in May in an effort to be more strategic, targeted and authentic in how we communicate with African American consumers, Erik Thomas, the automakers senior group manager for experiential and multicultural marketing said according to the New Pittsburgh Courier.

 We look to continue to connect with people on their own terms and in relevant ways. As we increase our share of voice with the African American market and communicate successfully, we anticipate sales growth will follow, Thomas added.

The OKAY Hyundai campaign will highlight two of Hyundais plug-in hybrid vehicles, on radio, television and social media.

We set out to make our marketing more inclusive and representative, and the result is working with Culture Brands to launch the OKAY Hyundai campaign to promote the 2022 Hyundai Tucson Plug-in Hybrid and the 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-in Hybrid in a culturally relevant way, Angela Zepeda, CMO, Hyundai Motor America said in a release. What makes this campaign unique is its relatability which we feel broadens Hyundais voice in the marketplace.

While Hyundai does not release its sales data by race, it does know Black consumers make a small percentage of hybrid or plug-in vehicle buyers. The company is trying to change that by connecting with a Black American market that accounted for $835 billion in spending in 2019 according to McKinsey and Co.

The move by Hyundai has been applauded by many and comes months after Black media mogul Byron Allen fought General Motors and its CEO Mary Barra over its significant lack of Black advertising. The Detroit Free Press reported that Allen isnt done either.

According to Hyundai, The campaign focuses on a less is more approach and efficiency is what counts. It also points to how the African American community acknowledges and praises someone with one word.

OKAY is defined as a word that is used to express assent, agreement, or acceptance, Eunique Jones Gibson, CEO & Chief Creative Officer of Culture Brands said in a release. In the African American community, placing OKAY before something is the quintessential way things worth noticing are acknowledged. Together, its the perfect nod to Hyundai and to our prospective buyers.
Deere & Co. and the United Auto Workers have agreed to a third potential contract, the union announced Friday night.

After UAW members in Iowa, Illinois and Kansas voted down two previous agreements over the last month, representatives for the company and the union met again Thursday and Friday. According to a UAW news release, the two sides reached an agreement that includes "modest modifications" over the most recent rejected contract offer.

Union members will vote on the contract Wednesday. UAW spokesperson Brian Rothenberg said Friday night that he was not sure when members will be given details about the contract.

"The UAW will present the Company's offer for ratification and, as has been the case throughout the bargaining process, will support the outcome," he said in a statement.

Rothenberg said the latest agreement is Deere's "last, best and final offer." Deere spokesperson Jennifer Hartmann declined to comment Friday night, but she previously told the Des Moines Register that the company would not increase its offer above the one members rejected Nov. 2.

More: Deere executive says increased overseas production possible as UAW strike continues

Workers with the UAW picket outside of John Deere Des Moines Works in Ankeny, Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021.

About 10,100 UAW members have been on strike since Oct. 14. They include some 7,000 Iowa workers in Ankeny, Davenport, Dubuque, Ottumwa and Waterloo.

About 90% of members rejected the first contract proposed by the union and the company on Oct. 10, saying its offer of 5% to 6% raises were inadequate in a period when Deere was posting record profits.

More: Everybody wants a John Deere tractor. But not everybody wants a John Deere job. Why?

The second contract offer would have raised wages by 10%, boosted retirement benefits and preserved the pension program that the company previously proposed to eliminate for new workers. Fifty-five percent of UAW members rejected that contract, continuing the strike.

More: After 3 weeks and two contract rejections, which side in John Deere strike can hold out longer?

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The union did not specify what Deere meant when it said the third contract is the company's "last, best and final offer." Managers often uses that language when declaring that they are at an impasse with unions.

If the company declares an impasse, labor lawyers say, Deere can offer the contract to any workers willing to cross the picket line. But the union could challenge Deere's declaration before the National Labor Relations Board, kicking off a potentially long, contentious court battle that could force the two sides back to the bargaining table.

Meanwhile, a Scott County District Court judge will hold a hearing Nov. 19 about whether to overturn her prior injunction against the UAW at John Deere Davenport Works. At the request of Deere, which cited what it said were safety hazards, Judge Marlita Greve in an Oct. 20 order restricted picketing to four members per gate and banned fire barrels.

Attorneys for the union have argued that the injunction is inappropriate because union members already follow safety rules. They have criticized Greve and asked her to step aside from the case because she issued the injunction without alerting the union about the complaint or giving the UAW's lawyers a chance to argue against an injunction.

A Polk County judge rejected a similar injunction request for Deere's Des Moines Works in Ankeny, saying the company provided no proof the picketers there had engaged in illegal activity.

Tyler Jett covers jobs and the economy for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at tjett@registermedia.com, 515-284-8215, or on Twitter at @LetsJett.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: For third time, John Deere, UAW reach tentative contract agreement
The judge in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial on Friday said he'll instruct the jury that unless the state proved the teen's AR-15-style rifle had an unlawfully short barrel, he can't be convicted of being a minor in possession of a firearm.

No such evidence was introduced, so it seems likely Rittenhouse will be acquitted on the one charge that seemed obvious to everyone but his lawyers who challenged it from the very start. It might not even get to the jury.

Kyle Rittenhouse, left, and his attorney Mark Richards enter the courtroom at the Kenosha County Courthouse on November 12, 2021 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Rittenhouse is accused of shooting three demonstrators, killing two of them, during a night of unrest that erupted in Kenosha after a police officer shot Jacob Blake seven times in the back while being arrested in August 2020. Rittenhouse, from Antioch, Illinois, was 17 at the time of the shooting and armed with an assault rifle. He faces counts of felony homicide and felony attempted homicide.

Rittenhouse was 17 when he killed two people and wounded a third during protests in Kenosha in August 2020. He testified he feared for his own life in each instance.

Gov. Tony Evers on Friday said he mobilized about 500 troops to be on standby in the area to help local law enforcement agencies if there is unrest following the verdict.

We continue to be in close contact with our partners at the local level to ensure the state provides support and resources to help keep the Kenosha community and greater area safe, Evers said in a statement. I urge folks who are otherwise not from the area to please respect the community by reconsidering any plans to travel there and encourage those who might choose to assemble and exercise their First Amendment rights to do so safely and peacefully.

The legal fight in the case continued in the courtroom, only this time it was outside the jury's earshot.

Judge Bruce Schroeder had denied earlier motions to dismiss the misdemeanor count based on the same defense argument that an exception in the poorly-worded statute allows 16- and 17-year-olds to carry long guns in public.

Prosecutors have argued repeatedly the statute clearly makes that a crime, and that an exception the defense cites applies only to teens those ages when they're hunting, and have a hunter safety certificate.

To interpret the statute otherwise, they said, results in the exception swallowing the rule, and makes it a crime for a 17-year-old to carry brass knuckle or nunchucks, but okay to carry assault-style rifles.

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Schroeder's refusal to dismiss the count left the defense to argue its interpretation of the statute's exception as an affirmative defense, and to ask that the judge explain that to the jury.

Prosecutors said the defense never raised the defense during trial, so they weren't entitled to the instruction.

Defense attorney Corey Chirafisi said he did bring it up when he asked a detective if there was anything illegal about the weapon when he recovered it as part of the investigation. The detective said no.

Assistant District Attorney James Kraus cited testimony from several witnesses who said they knew Rittenhouse couldn't possess the rifle last year because he was only 17. He had a friend buy it and store it for him in Kenosha until they each took rifles downtown on the third night of violent protesting in the wake of a police officer shooting Jacob Blake Jr.

Schroeder made a host of other rulings during Friday's session, which was held without the jury. Prosecutors sought to have lesser-included offenses added to several the original charges.

Rittenhouse is charged with first-degree reckless homicide in the death of Joseph Rosenbaum. To prove that charge, the state has to show Rittenhouse acted with utter disregard for human life.

Prosecutors want the jury to find Rittenhouse guilty of second-degree reckless homicide if they found all the other elements of the crime except utter disregard for human life.

Schroeder declined that request, and will give the standard instruction for first-degree reckless homicide and one about self-defense. Rittenhouse maintains all eight shots he fired that night of Aug. 25, 2020 were in self-defense.

Another count charges first-degree intentional homicide of Anthony Huber. Without objection from the defense, Schroeder will allow two possible lesser included offenses  second-degree intentional homicide and first-degree reckless homicide.

More: Rittenhouse jury gets long weekend; closing arguments in homicide trial set for Monday

More: Group posts address of prosecutor in Kyle Rittenhouse's homicide trial on extremist platform

The nonfatal shooting of Gaige Grosskreutz was charged as attempted first-degree intentional homicide. Prosecutors want to add attempted second-degree intentional homicide and first-degree reckless homicide as jury options.

The defense objected only to the reckless homicide option. Schroeder said he was leaning toward granting prosecutors' requests, but planned to do more research.

Rittenhouse is also charged with two counts of first-degree reckless endangerment, for shots fired toward a videographer who was in the line fire when he shot Rosenbaum and for two shots fired an unidentified man who jumped over Rittenhouse and kicked him in the face.

Schroeder said he's inclined to instruct on second-degree reckless endangerment in the videographer count, but said he would not give it for the kicker count.

Schroeder said he would send his final proposed jury instructions and verdict forms to the lawyers on Saturday and would address any final objections and changes Monday before reading them to the jury ahead of closing arguments.

Also Friday, the Kenosha County Sheriff's Department confirmed it has been monitoring social media after the home address of Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger was posted on a messaging platform favored by extremists.

Contact Bruce Vielmetti at (414) 224-2187 or bvielmetti@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ProofHearsay.

Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Jury instruction may clear Kyle Rittenhouse on gun possession charge
The 42m-long Kaws artwork, of the artist's Companion character, seen at The Float @ Marina Bay on Friday (12 November). (PHOTO: Dhany Osman / Yahoo News Singapore)

*This story was updated at 12.30am on 14 November to reflect responses to media queries from the event organisers AllRightsReserved, the artist Kaws and the Singapore Tourism Board.

SINGAPORE  The organisers of the Kaws: Holiday Singapore exhibition at The Float @ Marina Bay were on Saturday (13 November) served with a court order to halt the event.

The injunction was obtained by local non-profit outfit The Ryan Foundation (TRF), which is suing the Hong Kong-based organisers AllRightsReserved (ARR).

According to a statement from TRF, the Singapore court issued the order that the exhibition be stopped from taking place and the sale and distribution of relevant merchandise relating to the exhibition halted, as these were in breach of TRFs intellectual property rights and misuse of confidential information.

In addition, all advertising and/or publicity for the exhibition has been ordered to stop, said TRF.

The exhibition venue  The Float @ Marina Bay  has since been temporarily closed.

Responding to media queries, ARR said the allegations made against them were "groundless" and that the company is seeking "urgent legal advice and will apply to court to challenge the prohibitory injunction order".

"Our company takes this incident very seriously and will take all possible steps to ensure that this exhibition can progress in accordance with the laws of Singapore," said ARR in a statement.

Brian Donnelly, the American artist known as Kaws, said in a separate statement that he had "no contractual agreement" with TRF and that their "accusation is baseless". He also expressed his gratitude for the "overwhelmingly positive" reception he has received in Singapore so far.

Yahoo News Singapore understands that the court order was served on Saturday afternoon to a representative of ARR. Mobile phone footage taken after the order was served showed crowds gathered at the event site.

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The Kaws: Holiday Singapore exhibition, which is supported by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), is set to open to the public on Sunday and last till 21 November.

Part of the event's highlights include a 42m-long inflatable artwork of Kaws' signature Companion character set up at The Float @ Marina Bay, as well as the sale of merchandise relating to the Singapore show, such as vinyl figures, fans and apparel.

Yahoo News Singapore understands that TRF had previously worked with ARR to try and bring the Kaws: Holiday exhibition to Singapore in 2019, but negotiations for that event eventually fell apart.

TRFs suit relates to information that was allegedly shared between the parties during the discussions  which included a site visit  for the 2019 show.

Adrian Chan, TRF's director, described the courts granting of the injunction as a victory for all the people who had worked tirelessly on the exhibition since 2019. He added, The injunction could have been averted if questions were raised and stakeholders consulted.

In response to queries from Yahoo News Singapore, STB said it is "aware of the court injunction" against ARR and understands that the organisers are "pursuing all options".
Reuters

Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi has demanded a ban on issuing and trading mining permits until the country's mining registry has been audited, a measure aimed at combating fraud within the sector. Tshisekedi told ministers he wanted to end the squandering of mining assets by unnamed political actors and officials involved in the administration of the mining register, which records mining concessions, according to minutes of the meeting seen by Reuters. "This recommended clean-up will increase the contribution of the mining sector to the state's budget and help, as a priority, the people benefit from the mineral wealth of our country," Tshisekedi told ministers.
Kirsten Dunst: Face lifts, boob jobs youve got to be really careful with that kind of vanity' (Getty Images for Netflix)

Kirsten Dunst was 19 when a Spider-Man producer took her to get her teeth fixed. She didnt know that was the plan  not until the car pulled up at the dentists office. Poised on the brink of stardom, preparing to play Peter Parkers winsome love interest Mary Jane in the $130m comic-book adaptation, Dunst had everything producers were looking for: talent, youth, beauty. But wouldnt that upside-down kiss look better with straight teeth? She didnt get out of the car. I was like, Mmmmm, no, I like my teeth, says the 39-year-old now, her unaltered incisors crunching into a raw carrot. Also, Sofia loved my teeth.

Sofia Coppola, that is. When Dunst met the director, she had been working for well over a decade  shed already had a creepy kiss with Brad Pitt in Interview with the Vampire, escaped an icy death in Little Women, and played the worlds most dangerous board game in Jumanji. But it was in the 28-year-old Coppola that she found her mentor. In the first of many collaborations, Coppola cast 16-year-old Dunst in The Virgin Suicides, a woozy fever dream of a film about five alluring yet tormented sisters. Theres a certain innocence projected onto women who look like Dunst  blonde hair, blue eyes, pin-prick dimples  and as the rebellious Lux, she took that and twisted it into something deeper, darker. It was a skill shed deploy many times in the years that followed.

Coppola  who just this year described Dunst as the top actress of her age  took the teenager under her wing. The fact that the coolest girl liked how I looked, thats what preserved me, says Dunst now. She made me feel pretty. As a 16-year-old girl, you feel like crap about yourself, right? So to have my first experience of a more sexy role be through her eyes gave me a confidence that helped me deal with a lot of other things. Had it been a male director complimenting her looks Totally different! she interjects. Youd be like, Ew, dont say that, Im 16.

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Spider-Man was a far cry from the arthouse intrigue of The Virgin Suicides, but Dunst brought that same knowing glint to a character who could have been little more than a cipher. The film brought in $821m, its sequel $789m. Dunst didnt see much of that. The pay disparity between me and Spider-Man was very extreme, she says. I didnt even think about it. I was just like, Oh yeah, Tobey [Maguire] is playing Spider-Man. But you know who was on the cover of the second Spider-Man poster? She flashes a grin and points at her chest. Spider-Man and ME.

Dunst is like a lit-up circuit board; she speaks quickly, eagerly, as if she has news shes been dying to tell you. When she greets me, in the depths of a swanky London hotel, her first words are Look at us! because the pattern on her black-and-white dress is not dissimilar to that of my jumpsuit. Shes a little jet-lagged, she tells me, taking a seat next to a big plate of raw veg and dip, but its nice to have the bed to herself after months of doing the nights with the new baby. Her two boys, Ennis and James, are back home in Texas with her fiance, Jesse Plemons, who happens to play her husband in the film shes here to discuss: Jane Campions beautiful, austere frontier drama The Power of the Dog. I was full on for a good five and a half months and then I was like Byeeeee! she says with a laugh. I mean I miss them, but it has been nice to not be like, Oh is that my sweat or did he pee in the bed? You know what I mean? No, not really. Oh, well get ready! Its so tiring.

Anyway, back to the teeth. Does Dunst think shed have got into that dentists chair had she never met Coppola? Who knows? I mean, I have a really good mom, too, but my mom is someone who might have been like, Yeah, why not have straight teeth? Dunsts mum recently conceded to her daughter that she was too vain when she was younger. I just remember her wanting to get a face lift or a boob job, those kinds of things. It never looked good. That kind of vanity youve got to be really careful with that stuff. She laughs. It made me reject it more, I guess. So on the poster for Spider-Man, Mary Janes teeth were magically straightened, and Dunsts snaggle fangs lived to see another day.

It was a fitting decision for an actor who trades in imperfection  who rejects the glossy artifice of Hollywood while still operating within it. But if theres one thing that unites her performances, its that their genius tends to only be recognised years later. The cult teen movie Bring It On? She brought both edge and peppy charm to head cheerleader Torrance, but the films critics couldnt see past the pom poms to the sharp satire on white privilege. The pitch-black mockumentary Drop Dead Gorgeous? She was gamely tragic as a tap-dancing pageant hopeful brawling with her rivals. The critics hated it, and then changed their minds somewhere down the line. Even Sofia Coppolas Marie Antoinette, a lavish, anachronistic delight and one of Dunsts finest performances, was sneered at  and yet so many recent period dramas feel like they owe something to that film. I couldnt agree with you more, says Dunst, with such vehemence that she bursts out laughing. Maybe if a male director had directed it, it would have been [better received]. I think maybe people were threatened by Sofia too, in a way. At the time, she couldnt help but blame herself. I thought we made something special, and then everyone kind of didnt feel that way. Youre like, Oh, what did I do?

Web-slingin in the rain: Toby Maguire and Kirsten Dunst in the 2002 film Spider-Man' (Columbia Pictures)

She was even egregiously overlooked, by awards bodies if not critics, for Lars Von Triers Melancholia. As a newlywed hit with such all-consuming depression that her food tastes like ashes, she gives a performance so crushingly visceral, you can almost taste the ashes yourself. She should have won an Oscar for that, but she wasnt even nominated. Nor has she ever been. The Oscars, the Golden Globes, the Baftas  Dunst has been overlooked so often that in a viral interview a few years ago, she wondered aloud what she had done wrong.

She looks a little embarrassed when I mention that, but she stands by the sentiment. I did feel a little like, Huh, Ive been doing this for so long. Maybe Im just not She pauses, then decides not to go down that road. Id rather carve out my own career path than follow some kind of formula. Id rather be in that crew. After doing Melancholia, for example, she only got offered roles where the women were depressed  so she made the raucous comedy Bachelorette instead. And now Ive worked with Jane Campion. Im just fine. Im not worried. Im not complaining at all.

Lady in red: Kristen Dunst as Rose Gordon in Jane Campions latest film, The Power of the Dog' (Courtesy of Netflix)

Whisper it, but The Power of the Dog might just be the one to break the curse. In Campions first film in 12 years, Dunst plays Rose, a timid woman living in 1920s Montana, trampled under the heels of society and circumstance. The owner of a lodging house frequented by drunks, Rose is a suicide widow  as Benedict Cumberbatchs brutish cattle rancher Phil so callously puts it. The two first meet when Roses son Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee)  a quiet, feminine boy who crafts paper flowers and disembowels rabbits with equal care  is bullied by Phil while he serves him supper. When Phils pointed cruelty brings Rose to tears, it is his meekly benevolent brother George (Plemons) who comforts her. Soon, Rose and George are married, but living under Phils roof gradually erodes what little sense of worth Rose had to begin with. She turns to the bottle.

Dunst didnt exactly enjoy stepping into the shoes of someone so deeply insecure. The dynamic between Rose and Phil, one filled with noxious micro-aggressions, felt like having a controlling boyfriend, she says. Its like, How did he do that to me? Youre just so surprised by what you can let someone do to you. So for me as an actress, going to all those old feelings was a really painful place to live in. I dont want to be insecure. Its a very old part of myself that I had to re-hash. It would even make me question my acting. It was not a fun place to be every day.

When youre a little girl talking to older men, its a weird dynamic

Kirsten Dunst

When she was younger, I never stood up for myself or said anything back. Even just saying no and knowing your worth, thats such a big deal. She corrects herself. Its not that big of a deal. Guys have been doing it forever.

Were those old insecurities made worse by being an actor in the public eye? I dont think its an actor thing She thinks for a moment. I definitely had a controlling boyfriend at one time. But its also like, when youre a little girl, and youre talking to all these older men, and doing press, its a weird dynamic. I mention an old interview I dug up on YouTube, with an uncomfortably tactile David Letterman. She is 13, and he is probing her about her on-screen kiss with Brad Pitt, when she was 10 and Pitt was nearly 30. Was this the first time youd kissed a boy in a film? Was it odd? he asked her. I forgot about that interview, says Dunst now. Yeah, thats weird. Why was that OK?

Things are different now, of course, especially for young girls  but how would she feel if her boys wanted to go into the industry as young as she did? Then my kid would already be working, she scoffs. My three-year-old would already be doing, like, kid modelling. Dunsts first gig was a cereal advert when she was three, which led to a contract with Ford Modelling Agency. She has mixed feelings about being put through that so young. I judged it a lot more before I had kids. I was like, How could you do this to us? Who puts their children in you know, whatever. But when you have a cute kid and everyones like, Oh my God, you should take them in to do little kid modelling, I get it. Its fun.

Rose (Dunst) embraces George Burbank, played by real-life husband Jesse Plemons, in The Power of the Dog (Netflix)

She takes out her phone and pulls up a video of Ennis on his first day of school. There he is, hair as blond as the Milky Bar Kids, two huge dimples like his mum, arms stretched out as far as they can reach. Hes literally doing jazz hands! I mean, listen, he definitely has some theatrics in him. I was picking him up from his little school and he was the only kid who ran out and was like  she does a melodramatic gasp  Mommy! Its so sweet but I was also slightly embarrassed. She laughs. When your kid acts like that, you would think, Oh this kid needs to be seen. Lets try it. He seems like he would be into it, and well just put the money away for college. I could see how that could happen. More so than ever.

Besides, I say, most parents wouldnt predict that their kids going to end up extremely famous, being grilled by Letterman about kissing Brad Pitt. Yeah! Its a snowball effect. And I clearly enjoyed it. And Im still doing it. She shrugs. I love doing it.

The Power of the Dog is out in UK cinemas on Friday 19 November. It will be available on Netflix from 1 December

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By Ahmed Hagagy

KUWAIT (Reuters) - Kuwait's emir issued two decrees on Saturday granting pardons and reduced sentences to 35 dissidents, meeting a key demand of opposition lawmakers locked in a months-long standoff with the government.

Emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah paved the way in October for an amnesty for politicians and former MPs, which the opposition has made a condition to end a political impasse holding up planned fiscal reforms in the wealthy Gulf state.

Published in the Official Bulletin, the decree scrapped jail terms given to 11 politicians including Musallam al-Barrak, Jamaan al-Harbesh and Faisal al-Muslim, who were sentenced for storming the parliament building during the 2011 Arab Spring protests.

The dissidents, who joined protesters in accusing the government of corruption and mismanagement, have lived in self-imposed exile in Turkey since fleeing Kuwait.

The emir also pardoned members of the so-called "Abdali Cell", which was dismantled in 2015, who were sentenced for spying for Iran and Lebanese Shi'ite Muslim group Hezbollah.

Kuwait's government on Monday submitted its resignation to the emir, as authorities work to ease differences with the parliament which have blocked economic reforms and strained the state's coffers amid low oil prices and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The emir has yet to accept or reject the cabinet's resignation.

Kuwait does not permit political parties, but it has given its legislature more influence than similar bodies in other Gulf monarchies, including the power to pass and block laws, question ministers and submit no-confidence votes against senior government officials.

(Writing by Aziz El Yaakoubi; Editing by Alexander Smith and Helen Popper)
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers has authorised 500 National Guard service members to support local law enforcement preparing for potential unrest as the double homicide trial of Kyle Rittenhouse draws to a close.

Closing arguments are set to begin on 15 November, and a verdict could arrive next week.

We continue to be in close contact with our partners at the local level to ensure the state provides support and resources to help keep the Kenosha community and greater area safe, the governor said in a statement on 12 November.

Kenosha, with a population of fewer than 200,000 people, is strong, resilient, and has come together through incredibly difficult times, he added. That healing is still ongoing.

He is urging people who are not from the area to respect the community and avoid travelling, and for potential protesters to exercise their First Amendment rights ... safely and peacefully.

Wisconsin adjunct general Major Gen Paul Knapp said the National Guard has assembled 500 service members to keep the Kenosha community safe, should a request from our local partners come in.

On Thursday, a statement on verdict preparedness from the Kenosha County Sheriffs Department said the agency and the Kenosha Police Department have been and will continue to monitor the trial.

We recognize that some varying opinions and feelings revolve around the trial that may cause concerns. Both of our departments have dedicated staff working in conjunction with local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to ensure the safety of our communities.

Mr Rittenhouse  who claimed he travelled to Kenosha to provide medical aid and defend businesses during unrest after the police shooting of Jacob Blake in August 2020  killed two men, injured another and fired at another person with an AR-15-style rifle in the aftermath of protests.

He is charged with five felonies, including first-degree reckless homicide, first-degree intentional homicide and attempted first-degree intentional homicide, and two counts of recklessly endangering safety in the first degree. He also was charged with possession of a dangerous weapon under the age of 18, a misdemeanour. He has pleaded not guilty.

Story continues

Legal experts have contended the case will come down to whether prosecutors effectively argued that Mr Rittenhouses intentional use of deadly force with an AR-15 at close range undermines his claims of self-defence.

Prosecutors also have sought lesser charges to be included, in the event that he is acquitted on other charges.

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LOS ANGELES  Life was falling into place for Georgia Horton.

After more than 20 years in prison, she was building a new path forward with a blossoming career in sharing her story: She went from a prison inmate to finding religion and becoming an evangelist. But that all came to a screeching halt as the country shut down with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The happiness of her newfound success was replaced with worries about becoming homeless, joining the tens of thousands in the Los Angeles area who have no roof over their heads.

She credits a guaranteed basic income program that rolled out in Compton, just south of Los Angeles, called the Compton Pledge, with saving her. Each month, Horton receives $300  money that comes without any stipulations or strings attached on how she can use it. Shes used the funds for bills and purchases like a laptop, which she says allowed her to continue speaking engagements and broadened her reach. She was also able to save and start up Georgia Horton Ministries, a feat she says would have never happened without the money.

Georgia Horton says $300 monthly payments as part of a universal basic income program in California helped save her from being homeless and allowed her a successful future

The basic income program is just one of dozens rolling out in cities across the U.S.

The concept of universal basic income - namely, cash payments sent to citizens on a regular basis - has been around for decades. But it's seen an explosion of new supporters.

The pandemic, along with shifts in political tides and an influx of federal funds to communities across the country, have opened the door for cities to test out such programs.

It has been life changing, Horton said. It gave me breathing room and mental relief. I had so much anxiety. I mean, my livelihood and my life as a whole was in danger. But now, there are all these new doors opening. Its truly saved me.

In Los Angeles, a new program attracted nearly 60,000 applicants this week for a universal basic income pilot that will offer $1,000 a month to more than 3,000 people  the largest program of its kind in the country. Chicago, similarly, is in the works to roll out a similar program, offering $500 payments to 5,000 low-income households for one year.

Story continues

Supporters say a guaranteed income can alleviate stress and anxiety for those living in poverty while giving them the economic security needed to find good jobs and avoid debt. But critics argue free money with no strings attached could be used for illicit means and could eliminate the incentive to work and lead to the cutting of other government assistance programs.

More: Is universal basic income closer to reality? Cities are already testing monthly checks for residents

More: Push for universal basic income has outlived Andrew Yang's 2020 presidential campaign

L.A., Chicago to offer free money to low-income households

Los Angeles became the biggest city in the country to launch a basic income program this fall. Applications for those wanting to be considered for the cash assistance closed this week with nearly 60,000 people applying for the 3,200 available spots in project BIG:LEAP (Basic Income Guaranteed: Los Angeles Economic Assistance Pilot).

Only those with an income at or below the federal poverty line and who experienced economic or medical hardships due to COVID-19 can qualify. There aren't stipulations such as drug testing or background checks and even those who aren't U.S. citizens can apply. Those selected will be notified by January and funds will start being dispersed shortly after. The $1,000 payments will last one year.

Chicago is on track to become the second largest city to roll out a similar pilot program, offering $500 payments to 5,000 low-income households for one year.

In this photo taken Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2019, Susie Garza displays the city provided debit card she receives monthly through a trial program in Stockton, Calif. Garza is participating in the Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration. The program, which started in February, gives $500 a month to 125 people who earn at or below the median household income of $46,033. They can spend the money with no restrictions. Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs, who initiated the privately funded program, says it could be a solution to the city's poverty problem. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) ORG XMIT: SC101

Both programs will be the largest of their kind in the U.S.

Dozens of cities have launched similar programs or are in the midst of examining them, according to Mayors for a Guaranteed Income. That includes cities such as Minneapolis, Denver, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and New Orleans.

Still, the largest question about universal basic income programs is how to fund them.

When Andrew Yang, who made the issue a centerpiece of his 2020 presidential campaign, proposed offering $1,000 to every U.S. adult, it was estimated as costing $2.8 trillion per year. He said new taxes on businesses could help pay for the program.

Many cities eyeing programs are using federal money made available due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And the programs are being rolled out as short-term pilots with a clear end date. The future for them remains unknown.

Los Angeles is paying for its $38 million program in part with millions cut from the police budget after protests due to the police killing of George Floyd in 2020 in Minneapolis.

L.A. City Councilman Curren Price, who proposed the program, said the shift in resources is an example of how the city is both "reinvesting money in a way that benefits people in need" and reimagining everything from public safety to social services.

"We're looking for new ways to provide assistance and this program certainly provides an opportunity to reach individuals where they are," he said, adding that it "empowers" applicants with the "decisions on how the money is spent" since there aren't any rules or restrictions.

More than 59,000 people applied during the 10-day window. The need is great and this pilot program is a significant step in the right direction. https://t.co/4UirgRDNuA  Curren D. Price, Jr. (@CurrenDPriceJr) November 9, 2021

Price noted the pandemic put a spotlight on the concept of universal basic income. "People have been suffering, you know, working two or three jobs. And of course, COVID has just exacerbated that and really helped to illuminate the income inequality issues that plague urban areas all over the country."

He said L.A.'s one-year pilot will examine how the program is benefiting people and allow the city the opportunity to fine-tune any policies. But, Price added, the hope is to extend it and continue offering cash assistance to those who need it  noting the thousands who applied and the vast swaths of L.A. that are living in poverty and show a need to expand programs like this further.

Studies show universal basic incomes positive impacts. Critics remain skeptical.

The idea of providing a universal basic income has been around since at least the 18th century. Even the U.S. government experimented with it in the 1960s and 1970s under President Richard Nixon.

The program had some hiccups, including a woman who spent all the money on alcohol and a man who went into debt buying expensive furniture for his government-subsidized apartment, according to a 1970 New York Times story. But the experiment concluded that the money did not stop people from working.

Its gotten new life in recent years thanks to former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs, who launched a privately funded guaranteed income program in the Northern California city in 2019 that was one of the largest of its kind, and politicians like Yang. Then came the economic turmoil of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Already, a larger than average number of people in places like Chicago and L.A. were experiencing poverty, U.S. Census Bureau data shows. The pandemic hit many low-income households disproportionately, though relief funds, from stimulus checks to boosted unemployment benefits, helped decline the number of people living in poverty, the U.S. Census Bureau said.

All of this illustrates that these pilots [programs] are necessary but not sufficient, former Mayor Tubbs said in an interview. There has to be a policy because the issue of economic insecurity is not going to go away when this pandemics over. People demand  people deserve  dignity. People deserve the ability to breathe, and people deserve a guaranteed income.

Criticisms of giving away money persist. Aside from conservatives who argue against big government spending, those opposing such programs worry the cash assistance will demotivate people from working and eventually, put other government assistance and safety programs at risk.

Oren Cass, executive director of the conservative think tank American Compass, wrote in a National Review opinion piece that the concept of universal basic income is flawed to its core, writing it signifies cultural changes "that have absolved people of responsibility for themselves."

"A UBI would redefine the relationship between individuals, families, communities, and the state by giving government the role of provider," he wrote. "It would make work optional and render self-reliance moot. An underclass dependent on government handouts would no longer be one of societys greatest challenges but instead would be recast as one of its proudest achievements."

And a study last year by Pew Research Center showed a narrow majority of Americans, about 54%, opposed a government universal basic income of $1,000 per month. About 73% of Black adults favored the policy while only 35% of white adults did, the survey found.

More: California city gives residents $500 a month. Is this the future of progressive politics?

But a study examining the impacts of the cash assistance in Stockton found those who received the $500 monthly payments were able to pay off debt and had lower anxiety and depression. About 28% of those who got the assistance had full-time employment at the start of the program, but a year later that number jumped to 40%, the study found.

While supporters pointed to the study as evidence the money wouldnt lead to people quitting jobs and becoming dependent on the government, Matt Zwolinski, director of the Center for Ethics, Economics and Public Policy at the University of San Diego, noted the study was limited due to the program only lasting for two years. He said people were unlikely to drop out of the labor force if they know the extra money is temporary.

Still, the concept has been studied across the globe and programs have been tried out in places including Finland and Iran.

Ioana Marinescu, an economist and professor, studied the impacts of universal basic income at the University of Chicago and found those who received the cash assistance reported better mental and physical health along with boosts in education and parenting. She also found there was reduced criminal activity and an insignificant impact in the labor force.

Marinescu, now teaching at the University of Pennsylvania, just finished examining a statewide program in Alaska where every resident of the state is offered somewhere between $1,000 to $2,000 yearly  including children. She said the impacts of the program, which has been around for decades, could be used to learn more about the rolling out of a universal basic income program on a broader scale.

Such programs could also offer a boost to racial economic equality, she added. Chicago, in particular, has a lot of segregation and racial inequality, Marinescu said. These programs would make sure that everyone  no matter what  has something to live on. It levels up the playing field and brings people up to a certain level of economic security.

In Compton, Horton noted that people who look like her and who have pasts like hers are often overlooked. That's what made the money even more valuable for her life and future.

Look, I already have three strikes against me. Im Black, Im a former prison inmate and Im a woman, she said. The chips are already against me. Then, add in the pandemic. If it wasnt for this program, I dont know what I would have done.

Contributing: Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Universal basic income: L.A., Chicago giving away money to those in need
LAFAYETTE, Ind.  Eric Cordova-Bell was walking through the front door of his apartment in the 2500 block of Grenadier Lane around 6 p.m. on Nov. 11, when he heard a loud bang and glass shattering coming from his living room, according to police.

Upon investigation, police had discovered two bullets had gone through his sliding glass door and hit the wall.

No one was injured in the attack, said police.

Cordova-Bell mentioned to police that he had heard a car leaving the area after the shooting, but police are still unsure if it was related.

As of now, police do not have any suspects related to the incident

Police are requesting anyone with information involving this case to contact the Lafayette Police Department at (765) 807-1200 or the WeTip Hotline at (800) 78-CRIME.

Noe Padilla is a reporter for the Journal & Courier. Email him at Npadilla@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter at 1NoePadilla.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Lafayette police investigating shooting on Grenadier Lane
Local business owner Jason Estrada announced Sept. 15, 2021, that he'll run for Las Cruces mayor in 2023.

LAS CRUCES - A man running for mayor of Las Cruces was charged with a felony after police said he sold cannabis products to undercover agents in August.

Jason Estrada, 37, was charged with conspiracy to commit a violation of cannabis trafficking regulation, a fourth-degree felony. He appeared before a judge for the first time on Friday.

Estrada announced his run for mayor on Sept. 15, shortly before the charges were filed on Sept. 24. He owns Everything Las Cruces, a company which markets local businesses and promotes the city, and manages Speak Easy, a local shop that sells CBD products and cannabis-themed merchandise.

According to an affidavit, agents with the Dona Ana County Metro Narcotics unit went undercover into Speak Easy in August. The undercover agents said they purchased cannabis products in the form of marijuana cigarettes, wax and a bag of cannabis bud.

The agents said they bought the cannabis directly from Estrada. Currently, storefronts are not allowed to sell cannabis. While cannabis use was legalized by the New Mexico Legislature and governor, selling it is not legal yet. The state has until April 2022 to set up the parameters of a cannabis selling market.

Estrada told the Sun-News that he was not guilty of doing anything wrong. He has not yet had the opportunity to enter a formal plea in the Dona Ana County Magistrate court. He could face up to 18 months in prison if convicted.

Cease and desist

Friday's hearing was not Estrada's first time in legal trouble with cannabis.

Over the summer, Estrada received first the attention of media organizations, then the attention of the state government.

The store, called Speak Easy, held its official grand opening on July 17, according to its Facebook page.

Estrada advertised on Facebook that customers could walk in, buy a T-shirt and be gifted cannabis.

"We knew that there was going to be a little bit of pushback for things that people don't understand and for things that are brand new," Estrada said.

Story continues

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But regulatory agencies saw this as a problem. Ten days after Speak Easy's grand opening, New Mexico's Cannabis Control Division ordered Estrada to cease operations.

The Cannabis Control Division will not tolerate any individuals or businesses who violate the Cannabis Regulation Act or otherwise diminish the integrity of the adult-use cannabis industry in New Mexico, Regulation and Licensing Department Deputy Superintendent John Blair stated in a news release in July.

All New Mexicans should be on notice that violations of the Cannabis Regulation Act will be met with swift, strong action from the state.

Matt Madrid, Estrada attorney, said in a news release at the time that Speak Easy would comply with the order.

"The practice commonly referred to as 'gifting' will not occur on our premises, however, we are still able to assist the community with CBD products and merchandise," Madrid wrote in a news release.

But DASO agents said this did not occur.

According to the affidavit, the two undercover agents bought cannabis products from Estrada in August. The agents said they bought the cannabis products from Estrada directly and didn't have to buy a T-shirt.

Estrada: 'I am gonna fight it'

After his first appearance in court on Friday, Estrada was defiant in his opposition to the charges and professed his innocence.

"I didn't do this and so I'm gonna fight it," Estrada told the Sun-News. "My family and business colleagues and my attorneys and everybody behind me said, we're here to fight this with you."

Madrid, Estrada's attorney, issued a news release shortly after the hearing that declared his client's innocence and suggested that the City of Las Cruces was targeting his client.

"Make no mistake, this is not the cannabis control division coming after Mr. Estrada, this is a prosecution initiated by our local city government and law enforcement," Madrid said in a news release.

He added that the city was seeking to revoke Estrada's business license for Speak Easy before the criminal charges were filed.

"It's interesting that the alleged activity in the criminal complaint were widely publicized in July but the actions taken by the City of Las Cruces, administratively and criminally, were not initiated until Mr. Estrada announced his candidacy," Madrid said.

The City of Las Cruces Community Development office, which oversees business licenses, could not be reached for comment on Friday.

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Estrada said the charges came as a shock, then a worry, when he first learned of them.

"It's shock, it's worry, it's fear of the unknown of what's going to happen," Estrada said. "But then there was also a sense of anger on why this could be happening and what's about to happen."

Estrada said he believes the criminal charges are not in good faith. He didn't attribute the targeting to a specific person in city government but said that it reinforces his view that Las Cruces needs new leadership.

"That's why I announced early that I was running for mayor. And then these things started to happen right after that," he said.

Estrada was not arrested during the judicial process and was released on his own recognizance Friday morning. He's scheduled for a preliminary hearing in January.

"We're going to continue to fight and we're going to push this all the way," he said.

Justin Garcia is a public safety reporter for the Las Cruces Sun-News. He can be reached at JEGarcia@lcsun-news.com or on Twitter @Just516garc.

Other's are reading

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Mayoral candidate charged with a cannabis-related felony, accuses city of targeting him
ATLANTA  When Kevin Gough, a lawyer for one of the three men accused of killing Ahmaud Arbery, said that the presence of the Rev. Al Sharpton in the courtroom this week had been intimidating to jurors  and then added, We dont want any more Black pastors coming in here  Sharpton, like many others, seemed equally offended and astonished.

Ive been through a lot of trials over the decades, Sharpton, a 67-year-old civil rights veteran and TV personality, said in an interview with TMZ. Ive never had a lawyer ask that I not be able to come to court.

Goughs call Thursday for Judge Timothy Walmsley to ban high-profile members of the African American community, as Gough called them, from the Brunswick, Georgia, courtroom has been widely condemned.

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His statements also seem to fit a pattern of provocation from a lawyer who, during this trial and long before, seems to thrive on it.

Last week, Gough tried to call for a mistrial in the case before opening statements. He sought to convince Walmsley that it was unconstitutional to have jurors come to court on Veterans Day. And he tried unsuccessfully to have peaceful demonstrators  most of whom are calling for justice for Arbery  moved from the front lawn of the Glynn County Courthouse on grounds that they might intimidate or influence the jury.

Gough represents defendant William Bryan, who goes by Roddie and is facing a possible life sentence for his role in trying to detain Arbery as he ran through the Satilla Shores neighborhood near Brunswick in February 2020.

Outrage over Goughs comments about Sharpton and other Black pastors spread quickly. It says something that has been long part of the racist mindset, that Blackness equals intimidation, said the Rev. William J. Barber II, another civil rights leader who visited the courthouse this week.

On Friday morning, Gough issued an apology in court to anyone who might have inadvertently been offended. In a brief phone interview Friday evening, he added: I have nothing against Al Sharpton. But I dont represent Al Sharpton. Not today, anyway. In this trial, I represent Roddie Bryan, and my duty is to ensure that Mr. Bryan receives a fair trial.

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Gough, 59, is a well-known presence in the small legal community of Brunswick, population 16,000, in contrast with the other two defendants lawyers, who hail from the larger metropolitan areas of Atlanta and Macon.

It is Goughs demeanor that most closely resembles that of an aw-shucks country lawyer character from the movies, with a voice that honks and drawls and tends to ladle on the folksiness. On Thursday, as he called for  and then appeared to backpedal on  a ban on Black preachers in the courtroom, Gough wondered aloud what it would be like if a bunch of folks came in here dressed like Colonel Sanders with white masks sitting in the back.

But Goughs presentation is, like so much about him, confounding, and sometimes contradictory. Although he attended law school at the University of Georgia, Gough grew up in New York. He spent a number of years heading up the Republican Party in Glynn County, Georgia, and said he was legal director for two years of a group called the Poor and Minority Justice Association. From 1989 to 1993, he was a prosecutor in the local district attorneys office. For four years starting in 2012, he represented the poorest defendants in his community as the Brunswick Judicial Circuit public defender.

He was fired from the public defender job for a number of reasons. Among them was the allegation that he fomented a culture of fear and intimidation in the office, according to statements during his appeals hearing from Bryan P. Tyson, who was then the executive director of the state public defender council.

Tyson, in a letter firing Gough, noted that a female employee in Goughs office had accused him of retaliation after she had filed a sexual harassment complaint against another employee. The state public defender credited her claim of retaliation, Tyson wrote, and took remedial action.

Tyson also chided Gough for engaging in a media campaign that took aim at the Brunswick-area district attorney at the time, Jackie Johnson. Gough had publicly accused Johnson of failing to file cases in a timely manner, a move that he said wasted taxpayer money and impeded indigent clients right to a speedy trial.

Tyson said in his letter that Gough had also accused the district attorney of being too cozy with local police, and said that Gough had complained that the Superior Court was being run as a debtors prison, issuing steep restitution and probation fees to the poor.

On Friday, Gough declined to comment on the firing. But at the time, his dismissal was fervently opposed by the local NAACP chapter.

Take the person who is most capable of defending the poor, the needy and the downtrodden and remove him from the office, what will they replace it with? With someone who will go about to get along, the Rev. Leonard Small, an African American civil rights activist, said at that time in his defense of Gough, according to a TV news report.

Gough threatened to go on a hunger strike if a number of demands by the NAACP pertaining to the local justice system were not met.

Last year, Johnson was voted out of office amid criticism of her role in the Arbery case, in which his three pursuers walked free for weeks after the killing. This year, a grand jury indicted Johnson on charges of obstruction of police and violating her public oath, on grounds that she showed favor and affection to one of the defendants in the case, Gregory McMichael, who had formerly worked in her office as an investigator.

Long before the trial about Arberys death started, Gough raised eyebrows by appearing on CNN with his client, who had not yet been arrested, and intervening when the anchor, Chris Cuomo, tried to ask Bryan questions about the case.

My client is a mechanic with a high school education, and if youve ever been to the high schools around here, thats not necessarily saying much, OK? Gough said.

Three days before Bryans arrest, Gough released a statement saying that his client, who had recorded the killing of Arbery on his phone, was merely a witness to the February 2020 shooting.

Gough even pleaded with two high-profile lawyers working with Arberys family, Ben Crump and S. Lee Merritt, to stop calling for Bryan to be charged, arguing that they had made Bryan a sitting duck for retaliatory attacks.

Killing off the star witness for the prosecution will not help bring Ahmauds killers to justice, he said.

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Just like our neighbor to the north

What do health insurance companies and far too many politicians have in common? Insurance companies minimize coverage in order to maximize profitsand politicians pass laws that seek cuts in Medicare to maximize contributions from insurance companies, especially from drugmakers.

The drug companies justify their high prices as necessary for research, but, as Charlie Swanson pointed out (Letters, Oct 23), most drug research is funded by the government, meaning we the people pay for it.

Its time we the people start getting our moneys worth instead of making company stockholders rich. Thats why so many in our country are seeking not merely to enable Medicare to negotiate prices, but also to create a government-funded universal health care system that covers the medical needs of all of us, like so many other countries, including our neighbor, Canada.

Robert J. Granger, Eugene

RIP titans of Oregon

I've lived in Lane County for more than 50 years, and have always been a voracious reader of The Register-Guard. The older I get, the more I find myself reading the obituaries and death notices first.

More: Ted Baker, Register-Guard publisher and philanthropist, dies at 97

Though I had known of their passing previously, I read with a sense of awe, inspiration and admiration, but with a twinge of sadness, the obituaries last of three amazing men.

It's hard to believe that three greater gentlemen could have been memorialized in one edition of the paper than Erhman Giustina, Ted Baker and Clayton Walker. Each was a titan of industry throughout the region, devoted family men and committed civic leaders.

Our community has been well served by these great men and their families for many generations. They leave behind amazing legacies for all to recall. Rest in peace.

Michael Stephen Raz, Springfield

We need to be in business to prevent climate disasters

Science tells us we have to reduce our use of planet-heating fuels like natural gas by 50% by 2030 or face cascading climate disasters.

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However, the investor-owned, for-profit gas industry, including Northwest Natural, continues to incentivize residents to switch from electric to gas because their job is to maximize profits for shareholders. They are not in business to prevent climate disaster.

The government is in the business of protecting the entire community and fortunately our Eugene city councilors are pursuing policies that will lower harmful emissions locally, but the resistance from the business community is tremendous. They need our support.

I urge the City Council to instruct staff at its Nov. 17 work session to immediately begin drafting ordinance language to mandate all new construction be 100% electric. Please contact your city councilor with the same message. Eugene can then join dozens of other cities that are leading the way towards a sustainable future.

Michael Carrigan, Eugene

Oregon is not doable in a day

William Sullivans interesting travelogue missed the point. When my out-of-state and foreign guests show up asking to see Oregon in a single day, I politely suggest they visit Delaware or Rhode Island if they want to see a state in a single day. I ask for a week, though I have a three-day minimum to at least hit the coast, forests and mountains.

More: Oregon Trails: One day in Oregon: What to do with out-of-state guests? Try the Oregon Coast

The coast: Heceta Head, Honeyman Park, back through Reedsport then east on Highway 38 stopping at Dean Creek viewing area to gawk at the elk.

The forest: Highway 126 to the Old McKenzie Pass, Dee Wright Observatory, Sisters, Santiam Pass and Belknap Hot Springs Resort for an hour dip before heading home.

The mountain day includes the must-see of Oregon: Crater Lake, which unbelievably, many Oregonians never make it to.

Grab a picnic table with a view for lunch. Drive the rim clockwise to the south end. Walk through the historic lodge and the interpretive overlooks on the rim.

Having driven in all 50 states and nine foreign countries, I can say definitively that Oregon is not doable in a day.

Donald Ehrich, Creswell

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Letters: Farewell to titans of Oregon
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull rival Max Verstappen (Tim Goode/PA) (PA Wire)

Lewis Hamilton is facing the prospect of being thrown to the back of the grid for Saturdays sprint race at the Brazilian Grand Prix while title rival Max Verstappen could also be in trouble for an alleged breach of protocol.

Two hours and 15 minutes after qualifying fastest at Interlagos, Hamiltons Mercedes team were summoned to see the stewards following an alleged infringement on the rear wing of their drivers car.

It was claimed by Formula Ones technical delegate, Jo Bauer, that Hamiltons Drag Reduction System on the back of his Mercedes was operating at a bigger gap than is permitted, allowing him to produce a greater top speed.

Lewis Hamilton has been summoned to the stewards over DRS technical infringement #BrazilGP  #F1 https://t.co/DNTsxZVLwD  Formula 1 (@F1) November 12, 2021

Stewards confirmed the rear wing assembly of Hamiltons car would be removed and impounded overnight.

The saga then took another turn 30 minutes later when the stewards announced that they had summoned Verstappen and a Red Bull representative to appear before them at 9.30am local time on Saturday for an alleged breach of Article 2.5.1 of the FIA International Sporting Code.

That article states that in the parc ferme, only the officials assigned may enter. No operation, checking, tuning or repair is allowed unless authorised by the same officials or by the applicable regulations.

It means both title contenders could face penalties. Hamilton is currently 19 points behind Verstappen with just four rounds left.

P2 was the maximum we could do today, so no surprises there



Theres still a long weekend ahead and all to play for  pic.twitter.com/K2rfvWIPVw  Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) November 12, 2021

If Hamiltons car is adjudged to be illegal, the seven-time world champion could be excluded from qualifying  resulting in a pit-lane start for Saturdays 24-lap dash at Interlagos  and a catastrophic dent in his bid to secure a record-breaking eighth title.

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The winner of the sprint race is awarded three points, the runner-up two and third place one point. The result also determines the grid for the Grand Prix on Sunday.

Hamilton will already be demoted five places for Sundays grand prix after Mercedes changed his engine for a fifth time this season.

Only three engine changes are permitted under the rules.

MAX: "When they take a new engine naturally they have a bit more power for the weekend, so for me its not a big shock. Im just happy to be second" #BrazilGP  #F1 pic.twitter.com/L59W2a0Fp8  Formula 1 (@F1) November 12, 2021

Earlier, Hamilton had appeared to resurrect his fading hopes of beating Verstappen to the title after qualifying 0.438 seconds clear of his Red Bull rival.

Hamilton has been jeered by Verstappens travelling army at a number of venues this year but here in Sao Paulo, Brazils largest city, the British driver is the fans overwhelming favourite  his pole lap greeted with a deafening cheer.

His popularity was endorsed, too, by his choice of helmet design  a one-off nod to his childhood hero, the Brazilian triple world champion Ayrton Senna who is revered in this part of the world.

Firstly I am so happy to be back here in Brazil, said Hamilton before news of the investigation emerged.

Ayrtons colours ride again at Interlagos.  pic.twitter.com/nQgyFUYPQK  Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) November 12, 2021

One of the marshals that works here said I should use the Senna flag and colours more often because that is my first pole in a long time. It is crazy because it has been such a long time, it feels like my first.

It has been so hard coming from the last race in Mexico, the team have worked flat-out and the man hours they have put in are insane.

But today, was a really good qualifying session and I am super-happy with it.

We have got the penalty on Sunday but I will give it everything I have got. It is not easy to follow here. It is going to be hard to catch Max but I will do my best to come through the field.

Verstappen, speaking before news of his investigation had been announced, added: When they take on a new engine, naturally they have more power for the weekend so for me it is not a big shock, and I am just happy to be second.

Pierre Gasly finished fifth for AlphaTauri. British driver Lando Norris took eighth in his McLaren.

George Russell was beaten by a Williams team-mate over one lap for the first time in his 56-race career with the British team.

Russell, who will join Hamilton at Mercedes next year, lines up in 18th, a place behind Nicholas Latifi in the sister car.

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Her resulting memoir, "The Man I Knew: The Amazing Story of George H.W. Bushs Post-Presidency."

When Barbara Bush offered journalist Jean Becker a position in the White House, Becker initially hesitated to accept.

I loved being a journalist, Becker said. I loved writing.

But her dad gave her the encouraging nudge she needed: What in the hell do you mean you are hesitant? You should go to work for the First Lady! she recalls him saying.

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A USA Today reporter and graduate of the prestigious University of Missouri journalism school, Becker had no plans to enter the political arena. That shifted when she covered the 1988 election, during which she served as Barbara Bush and Kitty Dukakis editor when they agreed to write a weekly column for USA Today. The future First Lady saw in this young journalist skills that would take her down a path she could never have imagined  especially considering she grew up a Democrat!

Jean Becker, author of "The Man I Knew."

Becker went on to become the longest-serving chief of staff in the Bush 41 administration. Following Bushs presidency, she moved to Houston and continued to work by his side for the remaining 25 years of his life. Now, Becker has returned to doing what she loves most  writing  with her experience in the White House and beyond as material.

Until recently, Becker said she hadnt really considered writing a book about President Bush. She made it clear that tell-all stories were never an option. But there was no denying the fact that she was uniquely positioned to write about his post-presidency.

After President Bushs death, friends encouraged Becker to consider a book project. Her resulting memoir, "The Man I Knew: The Amazing Story of George H.W. Bushs Post-Presidency," is a compelling portrait of the most experienced and, some consider, undervalued President in modern history.

On Nov. 16, Becker will visit Tallahassee for a conversation at Midtown Reader to discuss her new book, written during the pandemic, and the singular life she has led as the longest-serving chief of staff to the 41st President.

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"The Man I Knew" is a story only Becker could tell. Through letters, emails, and memories, she takes her reader on a fascinating front-row journey through the years that followed the 41st presidency. Filled with personal stories, Beckers book is a reminder of what public service can and should be.

How many former presidents are joined by former heads-of-state Mikhail Gorbachev, John Major, and Brian Mulroney at their 80th birthday party? How many statements of condolence does a former President have to issue (and what happens when Beckers sister is enlisted to write one)? How do you confirm the suspected assassination of the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia? And Lady Gaga? Unsure who she was, he nonetheless found her quite charming.

Becker details Bushs unusual relationship with Bill Clinton as they came together to raise funds for the massive tsunami that hit South Asia on Christmas Day 2004, then later for Hurricane Katrina. Among the many moving anecdotes is Beckers travel with Bush upon his return to Chici Jima, the Japanese island where he was shot down as the youngest pilot in the US Navy during WWII.

He was a bigger-than-life person who lived life with so much joy and fun and energy, and as a result there were all these great stories, Becker said.

With so many years worth of stories, Becker said she agonized over which ones to include. She noted that her editor gave [her] a great gift in directing her not to interview anyone for the book. I just want you to tell your storythis is the behind-the-scenes look at a former president and what happens to our presidents when they leave office, he told her.

At a time in our nations history where political divide has left us feeling under siege, its refreshing to read about a man for whom personal relationships were more important than the political and whose service to country significantly exceeded his short four years in office.

Those of us fortunate to serve in the Bush administration know Jean as clever, tough, loyal, funny and always gracious  not unlike her boss. As a very young White House staffer, I considered Jean a rock star, and am grateful that she eventually became a mentor and friend.

Sally Bradshaw is the owner of Midtown Reader, an independent bookstore in Tallahassees Midtown.

Sally Bradshaw is the owner of Midtown Reader, an independent bookstore in Tallahassees Midtown,

If you go

What: Jean Becker, former Chief of Staff to President George H. W. Bush, speaks and signs her new book, The Man I Knew: The Amazing Story of George H. W. Bushs Post-Presidency

Where: In-person at Midtown Reader, 1123 Thomasville Road

When: 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 16. Arrive early; crowd expected.

Details: Contact Midtown Reader at 850-425-2665 or visit midtownreader.com

Never miss a story: Subscribe to the Tallahassee Democrat using the link at the top of the page.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Presidential aide Joan Becker visits Midtown Reader with Bush book
Lubbock leaders reflected on the communitys economic growth over the last year and had a hopeful outlook on a cheesy future during the 2021 Lubbock Economic Forecast Luncheon this week at the Overton Hotel and Conference Center.

The event hosted by the Lubbock Economic Development Alliance provided updates on economic developments in the past year.

Barry Orr, chairman of the board for LEDA, said that having a pro-business City Council has been a blessing as they have continued to pave the way for business to grow despite the lingering COVID-19 pandemic.

Barry Orr

Businesses continue not only to survive but thrive, Orr said. We have a unique population in this town - we were willing to put in the work and are willing to serve.

John Osborne, CEO and president of LEDA, said the opportunities that have been created in Lubbock throughout this year promise a bright future with growth.

This kind of growth does not happen overnight, this is a result of the decades of hard work, vision and leadership to build this future, Osborne said.

John Osborne

Osborne added that Lubbock businesses have added 5,000 new jobs in the past 12 months and sales tax collections have gone up over 9% year over year.

Osborne revisited the recent announcement of the single largest private capital investment made in the history of Lubbock, with the planned Leprino Foods mozzarella factory near East Loop 289. In September, Gov. Greg Abbott joined Lubbock officials and leaders with Leprino to announce the company will invest $870 million to build a manufacturing plant located on 258 acres in East Lubbock.

Abbott was joined by Lubbock Mayor Dan Pope, County Judge Curtis Parrish along with officials from LEDA, the city council and Leprino in making the announcement Friday afternoon at the FiberMax Center for Discovery Plains Cotton Room Growers Conference Center.

This represents the largest single private capital investment announced since LEDAs inception and the 12th largest private capital investment project in Texas since the establishment of the Texas Enterprise Fund in 2003, according to a statement from LEDA.

The economic impact of having a project of this magnitude in the community is far reaching, Osborne said.

The company will be providing high-paying jobs and economic opportunities to the residents of East Lubbock and give our graduates another reason to stay in Lubbock, Osborne said.

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A map of a the proposed location of a planned Leprino Foods manufacturing plant in East Lubbock County.

Anirban Basu, CEO and chairman of Sage Policy group, an economic policy consulting firm, served as the keynote speaker at the event.

During his presentation, Basu highlighted economic impacts post pandemic as consumer behavior and policies changed during the past few years.

Basu congratulated Lubbock on getting the Leprino Foods facility, and described it as a big victory that is making national news.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Lubbock's big cheese deal a highlight of economic development
Rainwater floods Lansing Park in Salem, Ore. on Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021.

NESKOWIN, Ore.  Downpours across northwestern Oregon, particularly in coastal communities in Lincoln and Tillamook counties, saw severe flooding Friday. Swollen rivers blocked roadways, threatened homes and trapped people.

At least two RV parks  one in Neskowin and one in Otis  were flooded and evacuated Friday morning. U.S. Highway 101 is seeing slow travel due to high water.

High water prompted the closure of Highway 18 at milepost 1, near the interchange with Highway 101 outside Otis.

Numerous rivers and creeks reached minor flood stage on the northern Oregon Coast, including the Siletz, Nestucca, Salmon, Trask and Wilson rivers. The rivers appear likely to crest Friday afternoon before dropping Friday night and Saturday, according to National Weather Service river gauges.

A NWS watch for flooding caused by excessive rainfall continues to be possible is effect until 6 a.m. Saturday for the Central Oregon Coast from Lincoln City to Florence and Veneta.

NWS said that in the past 24 hours, Tillamook and Lincoln counties have received between 2.77 and 4.04 inches of rain.

Residents in Neskowin and Otis flooded, evacuated

The park near Neskowin flooded Friday morning as deep water, fueled by rain and high tide, collected in the low-lying areas. Some people within the park were able to drive out before the water levels rose drastically, but dozens remain trapped.

U.S. Coast Guard estimates the number of people still in the RV park at around 50. Aircrews have evacuated 10 people and one dog, the Coast Guard said on social media.

The Coast Guard has two helicopters on the scene, evacuating people by air. Four local agencies also are responding. There are rescue boats and swimmers to aid with the evacuation as well.

Flooding from this weeks rain storm is hitting coastal communities hard. Roads are closed and evacuations are taking place. Im out near Lincoln City reporting for the @Salem_Statesman. Follow along for updates. (1/?) pic.twitter.com/NAbQvTBJ9B  Eddy Binford-Ross (@eddybinfordross) November 12, 2021

In some parts of the RV park, floodwaters have risen to 4 feet or more.

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An officer from Nestucca Fire and Rescue on the scene said the RV park has been "all hands on deck" since 7:30 a.m. when they were first notified of the flooding.

Since then, Tillamook County Sheriff, Lincoln Water Rescue, and the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department have been aiding Nestucca Fire and the Coast Guard. Buses from the local school district have been helping move those who have been evacuated from the park.

A different RV Park in Otis, along the Salmon River outside Lincoln City, also is seeing flooding, according to Lincoln County Emergency Management, which posted dramatic pictures of homes surrounded by water Friday morning. The town of Otis overall has seen dramatically high water as the Salmon River overflows its banks.

Ecola State Park south of Cannon Beach has been closed, likely into next week, state officials said Friday.

"Heavy rains and subsurface water flow beneath the entrance road caused a sinkhole and a void beneath the roadway," the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department said. "When the rain stops, we can take a closer look and figure out the next steps."

Road closures

As of Friday afternoon, Lincoln County emergency services reported two road closures:

East Devils Lake Road at Mile Post 3.2 at Hill Road junction (East of Lincoln City Outlet mall area)

South Drift Creek Road at Mile Post 1.5 to 1.8 (East of Cutler City area)

Sandbag station open

Lincoln County offices a self-service sandbag station open.

Location: 510 NE Harney St., Newport

Open to the public: No charge, but bring your own shovel.

Community members can utilize up to 10 sandbags and sand per person to protect property from flooding

Northern and central coast

Elsewhere on the northern and central coast, rising water levels, falling trees and landslides are putting people and homes at risk and making it difficult for people to move to safety.

"It's a pretty anomalous meteorological event, with one wave of rain after another over the same area," said John Bumgardner, a meteorologist with the Portland NWS.

Astoria, in the states far northwest corner, set a new record for rainfall Thursday with just over 2 inches of rain, the most since the previous record for the date set 70 years ago.

A flood watch was in effect for several counties on the Oregon Coast and standing water in the roadways made driving treacherous across the Portland metropolitan area.

Landslides were reported on the coast and along the Columbia River Highway east of Portland.

The storm also caused a power outage that closed several schools and district offices in Lake Oswego, a suburb south of Portland.

Western Washington state

In Washington, advisories were issued for the Skokomish River at Potlatch, the Tolt River above Carnation, the Snoqualmie River near Snoqualmie Falls, the Puyallup River near Orting and the Nisqually River affecting Lewis and Pierce counties.

Forecasters say the storms are being caused by an atmospheric river, known as the Pineapple Express. Rains may ease some Saturday but more precipitation is expected Saturday night through next week.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Eddy Binford-Ross is the Outdoors Intern at the Statesman Journal. Contact her at ebinfordross@statesmanjournal.com or follow on Twitter @eddybinfordross.

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Major flooding brings evacuations, road closures to Lincoln City area
Reuters Videos

Around 150 protesters started small fires in Oregon's capital but were quickly dispersed, according to an eyewitness, who said no tear gas or rubber bullets were fired.Jurors found Rittenhouse, 18, not guilty on all charges: two counts of homicide, one count of attempted homicide for wounding a third man, and two counts of recklessly endangering safety in protests marred by arson, rioting and looting on Aug. 25, 2020 in Kenosha, Wisconsin.The divisive trial and decision re-ignited fierce debate about gun rights and the boundaries of self-defense in the United States. The verdict was greeted with outrage by many on the political left and celebrated by gun-rights supporters.
WASHINGTON - The Trump administration repeatedly interfered with efforts by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last year to issue warnings and guidance about the evolving coronavirus pandemic, six current and former health officials told congressional investigators in recent interviews.

One of those officials, former CDC senior health expert Nancy Messonnier, warned in a Feb. 25, 2020, news briefing that the virus's spread in the United States was inevitable - a statement that prompted anger from President Donald Trump and led to the agency's media appearances being curtailed, according to interview excerpts and other documents released Friday by the House select subcommittee on the pandemic.

Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post.

The new information, including statements from former White House coronavirus coordinator Deborah Birx, confirms prior reporting and offers additional detail on how the pandemic response unfolded at the highest levels of government.

"Our intention was certainly to get the public's attention about the likelihood ... that it was going to spread and that we thought that there was a high risk that it would be disruptive," Messonnier told the panel in an Oct. 8 interview. But her public warning led to private reprimands, including from then-Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, she said.

"I specifically remember being upset after the call" with Azar, Messonnier told congressional investigators.

Messonnier and Azar did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In an event hosted by the conservative Heritage Foundation in January, Azar said Messonnier had been "right" to issue her warning.

Anne Schuchat, who served as the CDC's No. 2 official before retiring this year, also depicted chaotic efforts to control the government's messages in those early months, telling the panel that Trump officials scrambled to schedule a briefing several hours after Messonnier's public warning, even though "there was nothing new to report."

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Schuchat joined Trump and other officials for a briefing the very next day, where Trump insisted that the pandemic's spread to the United States was not "inevitable," even as Schuchat tried to warn Americans to prepare for "more cases."

"Mixed messaging was a major problem," Schuchat said in an interview with The Washington Post, characterizing that briefing as a low moment. "I think that the government lost credibility."

Other officials detailed why the CDC held no news briefings between March 9 and May 29, 2020, in the earliest days of the pandemic, effectively muzzling the scientific agency as the coronavirus spread rapidly across the United States.

Kate Galatas, a senior CDC communications official, told the panel that the White House repeatedly blocked the agency's media requests, including a planned April 2020 briefing that she said would have addressed the importance of wearing face coverings to contain the virus's spread.

"I think it would have been important for timely information to be kept coming from CDC," Galatas said, adding that officials in Vice President Mike Pence's office, such as communications official Devin O'Malley, told her that the agency's briefings were redundant to the White House press briefings led by Trump.

In a statement, O'Malley defended the decision to block the CDC from holding its own briefings.

"During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the White House Coronavirus Task Force held daily press briefings that routinely included senior CDC officials," O'Malley said. "It's imperative during a crisis that organizations communicate with a singular, clear, and consistent message, which is why the many communications errors on behalf of the CDC during the last year and a half have lead to a lack of trust for that organization among the American people."

Galatas did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The officials also corroborated that Trump appointees pressured the agency to change its regular research papers, the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports, to better align with the White House's more optimistic messaging about the state of the virus.

The panel separately released emails that detailed how White House officials sought to shape CDC guidance on how meatpacking plants and faith groups should take precautions when responding to the virus.

Rep. James E. Clyburn, D-S.C., the panel's chairman, called on former CDC director Robert Redfield to sit for an interview with investigators, citing the ongoing probes. For instance, Clyburn said two officials have told the panel that Redfield had called for staff to delete an email from a Trump appointee seeking control over the agency's scientific reports.

"These incidents degraded every major facet of the prior Administration's public health response and materially damaged the standing of the premier public health agency in the eyes of the world," Clyburn wrote in a letter to Redfield that the panel publicly released. "As CDC Director, you appear to have been unwilling or unable to prevent this unprecedented pattern of political interference."

Clyburn's panel also is requesting interviews with three longtime CDC officials - Martin Cetron, Daniel Jernigan and Henry Walke - saying that they "possess relevant information regarding key events under investigation." The Department of Health and Human Services will review the panel's request and respond directly to Clyburn, a spokesperson said.

The panel released additional excerpts from its interview last month with Birx, who alleged in the new excerpts that White House adviser Scott Atlas worked to curtail access to coronavirus tests last year.

According to Birx, Atlas helped spearhead changes to CDC testing recommendations in August 2020 that called for excluding people who did not have visible symptoms, even if they had been exposed to people infected with the virus.

"This document resulted in less testing and ... less aggressive testing of those without symptoms that I believed were the primary reason for the early community spread," Birx told the panel. She said she worked with Redfield and Walke to revise the agency's testing guidance to again include asymptomatic people, with that updated version released Sept. 18.

Through a representative, Birx declined to comment. In a statement, Atlas disputed her portrayal of his role.

"At no time did I try to reduce testing," Atlas said. "All testing guidelines were written by Dr. Redfield and the CDC."

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Investors are seeking answers about Microsoft's sexual harassment policies amid accusations about Bill Gates' behavior. Jens Buttner/picture alliance via Getty Images

Investors proposed an independent investigation at Microsoft ahead of its annual meeting.

Glass Lewis called for the removal of John Thompson, a director, The Times of London reported.

Arjuna Capital added a resolution for an independent investigation into sexual harassment claims.

Ahead of Microsoft's annual shareholder meeting later this month, investors are seeking additional information about policies that they say enabled alleged misconduct by co-founder Bill Gates.

Proxy firm Glass Lewis was calling for the removal of John Thompson, one of the company's directors, The Times of London reported on Saturday. Thompson was in charge of an investigation into Gates's alleged conduct, the report said.

And an investment firm, Arjuna Capital, in June announced it would add a shareholder resolution to this year's proxy, seeking an "independent and transparent" investigation into accusations of gender discrimination and sexual harassment at the company.

The text of that proposed resolution reads: "Reports of Bill Gates' inappropriate relationships and sexual advances towards Microsoft employees have only exacerbated concerns, putting in question the culture set by top leadership, and the board's role holding those culpable accountable."

It added: "Investors are concerned Microsoft may be facing a culture of systemic sexual harassment, putting at risk the company's ability to attract and retain talent."

Arjuna also called for the release of "any independent investigation into executive-level allegations, including recent Gates' allegations."

In its proxy materials, Microsoft urged shareholders to vote against the resolution, saying in part that it would duplicate measures already in place.

Microsoft plans to start an annual public report on its sexual harassment and gender discrimination policies, the company said.

"This reporting will substantially address the key topics identified in the shareholder proposal," the company said. "Microsoft does not tolerate harassment or discrimination."

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Investors will get their say at the company's annual meeting on November 30.

The investors' actions came amid a series of reports about alleged misconduct by Gates in the decades before his high-profile divorce from Melinda French Gates.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Nov. 12Minnesota's statewide deer harvest during the first four days of the state's firearms deer season was down 6% from 2020 and 7% below the five-year mean, statistics from the Department of Natural Resources show.

In statistical terms, mean refers to the average of a data set. Minnesota's firearms deer season opened Saturday, Nov. 6.

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Hunters registered an estimated 75,534 whitetails during the first four days of the firearms season, Barb Keller, big game program leader for the DNR in St. Paul, said Friday, Nov. 12. The cumulative harvest so far this fall, including archery, the October youth deer season and the firearms season to date, is 108,158, Keller said.

The estimated harvest for the firearms season through Tuesday, Nov. 9, represents a rally from the first two days of season. According to DNR statistics, hunters registered 58,370 whitetails during the opening weekend, a drop of 11% from the opening weekend in 2020. Harvest estimates tend to lag behind actual numbers because hunters have 48 hours to register their deer.

The biggest drop for the first two days of season occurred in the 100-series permit areas of northern Minnesota, where hunters registered 13,222 deer, down 20% from last year and 22% below the five-year mean.

In the 200-series deer permit areas, hunters registered 38,545 deer opening weekend, down 10% from 2020 and down 16% from the five-year mean.

The only increase for the first two days of season occurred in the 300-, 600- and 700-permit areas farther south, where hunters registered 6,603 deer, up 10% from last year and similar to the five-year mean.

By region, hunters in the DNR's Northwest Region registered 18,423 deer on the opening weekend, down 12% from 2020 and down 19%, when compared with the two-year mean.

Opening weekend tallies in other parts of the state were as follows:

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Northeast: Hunters registered 12,768 deer, down 12% from 2020 and 22% below the two-year mean.



Central: 18,208 deer were registered, down 10% from 2020 and 15% below the two-year mean.



Southwest: 8,971 deer, similar to last year and down only 1% from the two-year mean.

Regional breakdowns through Tuesday, Nov. 9, weren't immediately available.

Anecdotal reports from opening weekend suggested a slower opener, driven in part by balmy November weather that made the deer less apt to move. Still, the decline was unexpected, said Todd Froberg, acting big game program manager for the DNR in Altura, Minnesota.

"I think it is fairly surprising that it is down that much considering license sales were very similar, down 1% total" from 2020, Froberg said Wednesday, Nov. 10, in an email. "Weather was warmer than average but not outrageous, crop harvest was ahead of schedule from last year, and we didn't have too harsh of a winter anywhere. (There) should have been good numbers of deer in most places."

Perhaps, he said, last year's COVID-driven bump in deer harvest was real.

Despite the drop in opening weekend numbers, Froberg says he expects the harvest to catch up and level off by Sunday, Nov. 14, the last day of season in 200-series, 300-series and most 600-series deer permit areas. Based on Tuesday's update, that is already happening. The firearms deer season in 100-series permit areas and permit area 604 continues through Sunday, Nov. 21.

Minnesota hunters registered 159,762 deer during the 2020 firearms deer season for a success rate of 33.1%, DNR statistics show, up from 150,743 deer and a success rate of 31.2% in 2019.

Overall, Minnesota hunters had registered 79,106 deer so far this fall as of Wednesday, a number that includes archery but does not include special hunts.  Brad Dokken

Deer tales: Thompson woman shoots first deer

Good things come to those who wait, as the old saying goes, and such was the case for Sara Larson of Thompson, North Dakota, who shot her first deer, a whitetail buck, Monday, Nov. 8. Sara, who just turned 21, was hunting with her uncle, Jimmy Hejlik, near Fordville, North Dakota, when she shot the buck.

"Sara failed to get a deer during the North Dakota youth season a few years ago," said Grandpa Jim Hejlik of Fordville, who submitted the photo. "She has applied every year and finally was able to get a license this year."

And a dandy buck, to boot!

Do you have a hunting photo you'd like to share with Herald readers? Send jpeg photos to Brad Dokken at bdokken@gfherald.com. Please include the hunter's name, town of residence and general area the game was taken.  Brad Dokken

Beltrami CWD sampling falls short of goal

Sampling efforts in the surveillance zone near a Beltrami County deer farm that tested positive for chronic wasting disease last spring appear to have fallen just short of the DNR's goal to collect 1,800 samples for testing.

The testing operation wrapped up Tuesday, Nov. 9, said Blane Klemek, Northwest Region wildlife manager for the DNR in Bemidji. Klemek was part of a DNR crew working the surveillance zone from opening day through late Tuesday.

After the deer farm tested positive last spring, the DNR designated the area as a CWD "surveillance zone" and implemented mandatory testing of deer shot opening weekend in Deer Permit Area 184 and all or parts of adjacent permit areas 110, 169 and 197.

DNR crews collected 1,677 samples during the opening weekend surveillance effort, Klemek said.

"We came close," to our surveillance target, Klemek said. "It's hard to say what hunter compliance was like, but at ground zero, the Blackduck sampling station collected the most samples of any of the 21 stations."  Brad Dokken

N.D. CWD sampling update

A "decent" number of hunters dropped off deer heads for testing in parts of North Dakota hunting Unit 2B during the opening weekend of deer season after the Game and Fish Department set up last-minute dropoff sites in Fargo, Hillsboro and Grand Forks following the surprise finding of CWD in a healthy-looking buck taken last month southwest of Climax, Minnesota, during Minnesota's youth deer season.

"We had about 20 people come to get their deer sampled in Hillsboro on Saturday and Sunday," said Charlie Bahnson, wildlife veterinarian for Game and Fish in Bismarck. Game and Fish had staff onsite in Hillsboro over the weekend to remove the lymph nodes from deer for sampling. That way, hunters could still retain the deer heads for mounting.

In addition, Bahnson said, about a dozen deer heads were dropped off at each of the collection sites in Fargo and Grand Forks.

"Overall, the whole opening weekend was kind of slow for all of the units we're doing surveillance on," Bahnson said. "This next week and weekend will be pretty telling. By that time, people have got their animals boned out, and sometimes, it can take a few days for the head to actually get to our collection sites."

On the Minnesota side of the river, the DNR collected about 25 samples at drop sites in Climax and Nielsville during the first few days of the firearms deer season, according to Seth Goreham, acting wildlife research manager for the DNR. Hunters dropped off 30 deer heads, he said, but five were fawns and couldn't be used. Deer must be at least 1 year old to be tested.

The last-minute surveillance efforts on both sides of the Red River resulted when a man hunting with his daughter during Minnesota's youth deer season paid for CWD testing out of pocket for the mature buck his daughter shot, and the results unexpectedly came back positive last week.

No cases of the disease fatal to deer, elk and moose had ever been reported in the area.

Whether testing efforts will remain in place for future deer seasons will depend on the outcome of this year's surveillance, biologists on both sides of the river said.

Bahnson of Game and Fish said he'd like to see more samples collected.

"Overall, I think it's probably a little too early to draw conclusions on where we're at exactly for numbers," Bahnson said.  Brad Dokken

Armstrong co-sponsors CWD legislation

Rep. Kelly Armstrong, R-North Dakota, recently co-sponsored federal legislation to help combat chronic wasting disease, the contagious neurological disease that's fatal to deer, elk and moose.

Introduced by Reps. Ron Kind, D-Wisconsin, and Glenn Thompson, R-Pennsylvania, the Chronic Wasting Disease Research and Management Act will improve research and management aimed at reducing the spread of CWD, according to a news release from Armstrong's office.

The bill unanimously passed the House Agriculture Committee on Thursday, Oct. 21, and now awaits consideration on the House floor.

"CWD is a serious threat to deer herds in North Dakota and across our country," Armstrong said in a statement. "The Chronic Wasting Disease Research and Management Act brings scientists, local officials, and hunters to the table to help manage and prevent the spread of CWD. It is important that we better understand the implications of this disease for the well-being of wildlife and to preserve our state's hunting heritage for generations to come."

The bill authorizes $70 million annually from Fiscal Year 2022 through Fiscal Year 2028 for research and management of CWD, with the money to be split evenly between the two purposes. Funds will be administered through cooperative agreements.

Several wildlife and sportsmen organizations support the legislation, including the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, National Wildlife Federation, Boone & Crockett, National Deer Association, North American Deer Farmers Association, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and the Mule Deer Foundation.  Herald staff report

Montana sees muley bucks still in velvet

An abundance of mule deer bucks still in velvet this hunting season in north-central and northeast Montana may be suffering the effects of epizootic hemorrhagic disease, the Billings Gazette reported.

Caused by a biting midge that thrives during drought conditions, EHD hits white-tailed deer the hardest but may affect testosterone production in mule deer bucks, according to the Billings Gazette story.

"We saw several mule deer in velvet brought by the Havre check station this year, and many more were reported by hunters," Scott Hemmer, a biologist for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks in Havre, Montana, told the Gazette. "We have seen this phenomenon happen in Montana after past outbreaks of EHD, and past research has suggested a possible association between EHD and antler irregularities in deer, and other abnormalities like hoof sloughing."

Areas along the Missouri River in North Dakota were hit especially hard by EHD this fall, and localized cases also were encountered for the first time along the Red River near Warsaw and Drayton, North Dakota. The outbreak was severe enough in some western North Dakota hunting units that the Game and Fish Department offered deer license refunds for hunters who wanted them. The outbreak along the Red River wasn't extensive enough to warrant refund offers, Game and Fish officials said.  Herald staff report

Wanted: Your deer tales

Do you have a deer tale you'd like to share with Herald readers?

Send your hunting story, along with photos, if available, to Brad Dokken at bdokken@gfherald.com.

The Herald will run readers' hunting stories on the Northland Outdoors pages in Saturday's print edition as space permits.

The Northland Outdoors section of the Herald website is another option for sharing your hunting success, and photos usually are posted the same day they're received except for weekends. Send jpeg photos to Dokken at bdokken@gfherald.com. The Northland Outdoors section of the website can be found at grandforksherald.com/northland-outdoors.  Brad Dokken
Despite a concerted effort to bring more funding and ad dollars to minority-owned media businesses, there have yet to be many measurable results.

Why it matters: Without stronger and more reliable funding, it's harder for minority-owned media businesses to compete with well-funded mainstream media outlets.

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"From my experiences with (ad) agencies, there's a lot of good intent to make good on these pledges, and we're working to facilitate that ... but it's hard to get metrics," says Mark Larkin, president and chief operating officer of Group Black, a media collective and accelerator for Black-owned media properties.

Driving the news: Havas, one of the largest global media agencies, last month announced a new program in the U.K. called "Havas Boost" to invest in media and tech startups founded by people from underrepresented groups.

It had previously launched in the U.S. and is now extending the program globally. Havas' efforts follow those from major global ad agencies like GroupM and IPG to invest more in minority-owned properties.

Over the summer, GroupM, one of the largest media agencies within the advertising giant WPP, committed to spending at least $75 million of its clients' advertising budgets on Black-owned media companies through Group Black.

In June, 20 companies, including General Mills, Target and Tyson Foods, committed to spending at least 2% of their total annual media budgets on Black-owned media companies through GroupM.

IPG, another global advertising giant, committed to spending at least 5% of its clients' budgets on Black-owned media by 2023.

Between the lines: Most agencies and brands began to pay more attention to how they spent their clients' marketing budgets in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests and advertiser boycotts of social media platforms last June.

Media entrepreneur Byron Allen has led efforts to hold more brands accountable to their ad buy in the wake of the protests.

In March, he took out a full-page ad in the Detroit Free Press calling GM CEO Mary Barra racist for not directing enough of GM's advertising budget toward Black-owned media.

In May, he sued McDonald's, alleging bias in the way it spent its ad dollars. In June, Allen joined with Verizon to host the first-ever Black-owned media advertising "upfront" presentation.

The big picture: Black and bilingual newspapers, as well as magazines like Ebony and Jet, have rapidly declined or closed over the last decade, creating a new opportunity for startups to fill the void.

Story continues

Ten Black newspapers created a new online collaborative this year, Word In Black, to amplify the Black experience by reporting, collecting and sharing stories about real people in communities across our country.

The streaming service Canela Media, a New York-based minority- and female-owned digital media tech startup directed at U.S. Latinos, launched last year.

And former magazine editor DeShuna Spencer started kweliTV a few years ago. It's a streaming service that houses independent films, animation and documentaries from Black filmmakers around the world.

Yes, but: Startups owned by people of color often struggle to lure investment from venture capital and private equity firms.

Spencer told Axios that following the death of George Floyd, she heard a lot of lip service from VCs about wanting to invest more in Black-owned startups as a way to fight systemic racism.

"But since then, all I've heard is crickets ... I have a lot of people offering mentorship, but I don't need more mentors. I need funding."

Spencer said this year she received a $100,000 investment from a co-founder of Motley Fool and was able to hire her first employee.

The intrigue: Funding for Black entrepreneurs in the U.S. hit nearly $1.8 billion through the first half of 2021  a more than fourfold increase compared to the same time frame last year, Crunchbase reports.

But, but, but: Black startup entrepreneurs still received only 1.2% of the record $147 billion in venture capital invested in U.S. startups through the first half of this year, Crunchbase found.

Less than 1% of funds from the top 25 venture capital and private equity firms wound up in the hands of Latino-owned businesses last year despite the fast pace of Hispanics opening up new enterprises, according to a study by Bain & Co. and others.

Editor's note: This story corrects the amount Spencer says she received from the co-founder of Motley Fool.

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TAUNTON  Morton Hospital has transformed an entire floor into a $10 million state-of-the-art addiction center.

The opening of Morton Hospital's Comprehensive Addiction Program, or MORCAP, means 32 beds offering the highest level of addiction care  Level 4, in the jargon of addiction treatment  will start being available Tuesday.

Local politicians and medical leaders gathered Friday for a ribbon-cutting and tours of the brand-new facility.

Morton Hospital President Heidi Taylor speaks at the ribbon cutting for Morton Hospital's Comprehensive Addiction Program (MORCAP) on Friday, Nov. 12, 2021.

Morton Hospital President Heidi Taylor said the new center means "we can keep care local."

The double- and single-occupancy rooms are designed to meet both the medical and addiction treatment needs of patients. Previously, Morton would have to send medical patients to other facilities for addiction treatment.

More: Taunton's 2020 crime stats reveal COVID's impact

"We want to let the community and patients of Taunton know that they are in great hands here and we are here for them," said Taylor, a native Tauntonian who worked her way up to lead the city's only hospital.

It's a big deal to have Level 4 addiction treatment beds in Taunton, several attendees said. Level 4 is the most intensive level of inpatient substance use disorder treatment. It means round-the-clock availability of doctors, nurses and other addiction treatment pros.

Taunton Mayor Shaunna O'Connell speaks at the ribbon cutting for Morton Hospital's Comprehensive Addiction Program (MORCAP) on Friday, Nov. 12, 2021.

"This is it, right here," said state Sen. Marc Pacheco, D-Taunton. "We're going to be taking care of people who really need help."

In addition to the 32 beds, the program has rooms for group therapy and outpatient treatment.

The facility will partially open on Tuesday. It's not clear how long it will take to ramp up to full capacity, said Nancy Spirko, chief operating officer of Morton Hospital. It depends on how soon Morton can hire the needed personnel. Spirko said she hopes the prospect of working in a brand-new facility will attract talent.

State Sen. Marc Pacheco, D-Taunton, speaks at the ribbon cutting for Morton Hospital's Comprehensive Addiction Program (MORCAP) on Friday, Nov. 12, 2021.

"Staffing is very difficult to attract these days," said Pacheco.

Story continues

There's no net loss within the hospital of treatment rooms for other types of patients, because the floor was previously used only for offices, such as human resources.

Several attendees said the new program, more than two years in the making, wouldn't have happened without Taylor driving it forward.

"Without her here, it wouldn't have gotten done," said City Council President Chris Coute.

With the opening of MORCAP, Morton's parent company, Steward Health Care, will complete the closing of a lower-level addiction facility in Foxboro, known as NORCAP. That facility offered treatment up to Level 3.7.

Dr. Patricia De Lima, who specializes in internal medicine and addiction, and who will play a leading role at the new unit, said it will provide crucial care to patients who already face many hurdles in seeking treatment for a chronic medical condition  not a moral failing.

"What we're looking to provide here at MORCAP is compassionate, non-stigmatized, non-prejudiced care to this community that is so underserved," De Lima said.

This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Taunton Morton: Hospital to open addiction treatment unit
(KPIX5)

The mother of a toddler killed in his car seat by a stray bullet during a gun battle on a California highway has broken her silence on the tragic killing.

Jasper Wu died after being struck the gunshot as his family drove on the highway in Oakland, California, last week.

The 23-month-old was asleep in his car seat when the bullet from a shootout hit the vehicle, being driven by his mother, Cherry An.

Police are investigating the shooting but admit they do not have any suspects.

The family was heading from San Francisco to their home in Fremont when the tragedy unfolded and Jasper was rushed to the University of California San Francisco Benioff Childrens Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

If anyone has any information, please call authorities, the mother, Cherry An, told NBC Bay Area.

I want everybodys help to help find the killer.

An has lived in the US for 10 years, while Jaspers father never got to meet the youngster as he had to remain in Shanghai, China, while travel to the US was banned during the pandemic.

Jihao Wu flew to California on Monday as soon as the ban was lifted by the Biden administration.

Oakland Chinatown officials have announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to the identity of the gunmen and a GoFundMe account for the family had raised nearly $200,000 as of Thursday.

Carl Chan, the president of the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, has called for increased efforts to reduce violence in the city.

Its not acceptable to see this level of violence, not only in the Asian American community but throughout Oakland, he told The East Bay Times.

Oakland has seen a rise in violence in 2021, with 119 people having died by homicide so far this year.
Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon is accused of being involved in plotting of events that led to the 6 January riot (Getty)

If I was planning a coup detat and the overthrow of the government of the United States of America, Id not really go out of my way to blab about what I knew, before or after the event.

If what they say is true about Steve Bannon, a man best thought of as Donald Trumps Svengali, then I too wouldnt be cooperating that much with the authorities about what I did or did not know about the protests (to put things euphemistically) at the Capitol on 6 January.

Whether it was a pro-Trump rally where things got a bit out of hand or an attempt to seize control of the levers of government and to frustrate the ratification of a democratic election is what is in question at the the various Congressional inquiries now underway. What was Bannon doing in Washington on 6 January? And what did Bannon mean when he predicted, a day before, that all hell would be let loose? We all have our views.

From Bannons point of view, stonewalling must be the best option. Saying as little as possible is a constitutional right, arguably, and no one can actually force him to tell anyone anything. He can use his high-profile platform to argue, if hes minded to engage, that the whole process is illegitimate, being conducted by an unlawfully elected fake assembly, and motivated by a desire to protect a Democrat president elected through fraudulent means. Donald Trump, in this version of reality, is still the president of the United States, and Bannon and his allies only recognise his authority.

Therefore, Bannon might point out, hes under no obligation to hand anything over or give up any information to a body, the US Congress, that is operating under false pretences and has itself usurped the true democratic government of the US  the Trump administration. Indeed, silence would add to his aura of power and mystery. It gives him leverage, too  what will the establishment offer in return for his information?

The worst  and also the best  thing that could happen to Bannon is that Congress finds him guilty of contempt, sends him to jail for a year and slaps a $100,000 fine on him. The whole Bannon shtick, absurdly, is that hes the little guy being bullied by a fraudulent, selfish, crooked elite looking, as ever, after their own interests, and terrified of the people and the peoples continuing president, Donald J Trump.

Story continues

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Nothing suits Bannon more than to be seen as the victim, even if his travails are entirely self-inflicted. Nothing would be more satisfying than a one-year spell in prison, where, like some notable figures from the past, he would spend his time writing his memoirs and setting out his political philosophy and patriotic mission.

Congress presently seems set on making Steve Bannon into a sort of conservative Nelson Mandela, a political prisoner banged up for his beliefs, victimised for his defiance of an illegitimate regime. No doubt he will do well out of it.

You wonder, though, what might happen if the Congress ever tried to come after Trump personally  theyve already tried to get their hands on personal records  and Trump tells them to get lost and they send him to prison too. Trump and Bannon might share a cell, assuming the Justice Department can locate a cell big enough for these two outsize egos. It would be an unusual place to launch the Republicans 2024 presidential bid.

Read More

Imagine the Trump presidency if Russiagate had been exposed as fake | Mary Dejevsky

Its time for Democrats to reassess  or 2022 will be a bloodbath

Letters: This government is giving off quite the stink
Oregon is expected to receive at least $5.3 billion in federal funding for roads and other infrastructure when President Joe Biden signs the long-debated $1.2 trillion bill into law, according to estimates from the White House.

Most of that money, $3.4 billion, will be earmarked for roads; Oregon also will receive large amounts for bridges, public transportation, electric vehicle chargers, internet, airports and drinking water filtration and distribution systems from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

"This is the biggest investment in our highway and bridge system since Dwight D. Eisenhower, said U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader, a Democrat from Canby. Come on man, thats 60, 70 years ago. Biggest investment ever."

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Biden is expected to sign the bill into law on Monday.

As chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio, who represents District 4 that includes Eugene-Springfield region, played a key role in the drafting and enactment of the Build Back Better agenda, noting it "will make badly needed improvements to our rail systems, bridges and highways, transit, water and broadband infrastructure, as well as our ports and airports."

The Oregon Department of Transportation is expecting to receive about $1.2 billion of initial money.

The rest of the $3.4 billion for roads will go to counties, cities and metropolitan planning organizations.

According to ODOT, Eugene will receive $35 million for roads in the next five years, an increase of $8 million, and Salem will receive $34 million in funding, also an increase of $8 million.

President Joe Biden awaits the bipartisan infrastructure package passed in the House.

Eugenes public transit will receive $67 million, an increase of $17 million, while public transportation in Salem will receive $33 million, an increase of $8 million.

According to estimates by the White House, Oregon will reap huge amounts of money over the next five years:

$3.4 billion for highway program and $268 million for bridge repairs and replacement

$747 million for public transportation like busses

$529 million for improving water infrastructure

$211 million for infrastructure development at airports

$100 million for high-speed internet

$52 million for expansion of an electric vehicle charging network.

$39 million for wildfire prevention

$15 million to protect against cyberattacks

Sen. Ron Wyden, as chair of the Senate Finance Committee, will have a role in making sure the legislation invests in children, caregiving and affordable housing; lowers prescription drug costs; and tackles the climate crisis.

Story continues

"Ive said for a long time, you can't have a big league economy with little league infrastructure," Wyden said about the bill passing. "My work isn't over to deliver on equally important priorities in the Build Back Better package."

The funding hasnt been allocated to specific projects, but Schrader said hes looking forward to playing a little bit of Santa Claus in a fiscally responsible way to our communities.

More: Lane County sets ambitious goals of safety, reliability with proposed Bicycle Master Plan

Were going to be able to do things we could only imagine would have taken maybe another decade to accomplish, Schrader said. And for some of the smaller towns in the district, if youre up at Detroit Lake  youre going to have the opportunity to rebuild your water system with federal help. And that community, the tax base is destroyed.

Infrastructure like water filtration and distribution as well as roads in cities like Detroit and Blue River were damaged or destroyed in the Labor Day Wildfires in 2020.

How much money will flow to those communities is yet to be determined.

State and local agencies also will be able to apply for many pools of competitive grant funds from the federal government.

I put a slide up of Secretary of the Transportation Pete Buittigieg because hes going to be our new best friend, ODOT assistant director for revenue and finance Travis Brouwer said. Hes got $100 billion dollars that hes going to be able to dole out for discretionary grant opportunities for all different types of transportation programs across the country  road, transit rail, airports and other modes as well.

More: Federal relief funds offer an unexpected solution to costly local water projects

We are all going to be getting our grant writing pens out and spending a lot of time trying to bring additional money back to Oregon.

Brouwer said ODOT will go after grant funds for large Portland-area projects like the interstate bridge replacement and the Interstate 5 Rose Quarter.

He said funds made available in Oregon House Bill 2017, a $5.3 billion transportation package, gives the state the initial funds it needs to be competitive in going after those pools.

That means Oregon could end up with more than the initial $5 billion.

The feds love people who bring most of the money to the table and all they have to do is provide the last dollar in to finish off the finance plan for a major project, Brouwer said.

Oregon is going to have to spend a chunk of the money quickly.

About $150 million of the initial money it will receive must be allocated in the current fiscal year and the Oregon Transportation Commission will have to decide what programs it can get to that point quickly.

Brouwer said it usually takes four years once the OTC funds a program before it gets started.

This go around, we have more like four months, he said. This federal funding is 'use it or lose it.' If its not obligated to projects in the federal fiscal year, we lose the money. We have no intention of doing so.

More: Eugene downtown riverfront neighborhood one step closer with $4.7 million land sale

A screen capture from video of Congressman Kurt Schrader during a May 16th hearing of the House Natural Resources Committee Democrats who are investigating the health and safety risks of native children at BIE boarding schools.

Amtrak will receive $66 billion to improve service from the bill, and has the potential to significantly impact the line from Eugene and Salem north into Washington and Canada.

The Oregon Transportation Commission will receive a briefing about the additional funds it will receive at its Nov. 18 meeting and will decide by March how to spend about a third of the $1.2 billion it expects to receive from the bill.

For months, Bidens signature infrastructure bill was held up as it was connected with the now $1.75 trillion Build Back Better bill that includes things like child care, health care and climate change.

But a vote on the infrastructure bill in the House of Representatives finally took place Nov. 5, and now is waiting to be signed.

Were trying to get it implemented as soon as possible so the agencies could actually have the money in hand and be ready for the next building season, but we got disrespected," Schrader said of the beltway politics. "But we hung in there, despite people trying to put pressure on us, we said no, this is a good bipartisan bill, this is what America wants, were going to hang in there until we get that vote.

More: EWEB conducts underground blast at drinking water reservoir construction site in Eugene

Bill Poehler covers Marion County for the Statesman Journal. Contact him at bpoehler@statesmanjournal.com or Twitter.com/bpoehler

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Oregon to receive over $5 billion in five years from Biden's bill
The event will run from 14 to 18 November

The Dubai Airshow, the largest aviation trade event to be held since the pandemic, will kick off in Dubai on Sunday.

Two major European shows - the Paris Airshow in Le Bourget in 2021 and Britain's Farnborough International Airshow in 2020 - were cancelled, making this an opportunity for the aerospace industry to get together after two challenging years.

The biennial Dubai Airshow is famous for record-breaking, multi-billion-dollar commercial aircraft deals signed between airlines and manufacturers but this year's edition is expected to be different.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is not expecting "much in terms of large aircraft orders" at the upcoming Dubai Airshow.

"I'm not aware of any major announcements that are likely to be made and certainly the CEOs that I've spoken to have taken a cautious approach," Willie Walsh, Director-General of IATA said during a media briefing last week.

The event comes at a time when the financially battered airline industry is starting to emerge from the pandemic, looking to rebuild flight networks and review fleet plans - as they phase out older, less fuel-efficient aircraft.

The show will also see a significant attendance of defence firms with 20 countries, including Brazil, Russia, France and Israel, setting up their own country pavilions. According to organisers, the event will feature 1,200 exhibitors, and at least 160 commercial and military aircraft will be on display on the tarmac.

A Mil Mi-28NE attack helicopter on display ahead of Dubai Airshow 2021

Boeing to make a debut

Much of the attention will be on Boeing's much-delayed 777X jet, which is making its international debut during the event. The aircraft was originally expected to go into service in 2019, but has been hit with several delays, causing the manufacturer to slide the date to late 2023 at the earliest.

Dubai-based Emirates, which is the launch customer, has repeatedly lambasted Boeing over the delay of the twin-engine jumbo. Last month, it warned that the uncertainty would cause significant disruption for one of the world's biggest carriers. Emirates' President Sir Tim Clark said that he did not know when the first of the 777X jets Emirates had ordered would arrive.

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Boeing and Emirates will be holding talks during the course of the event regarding the delivery of the aircraft. Emirates had placed the mega order for 777X jets along with 30 of the 787 Dreamliner wide-body jets as part of its strategy to replace the current 777 jets that are the backbone of its wide-body fleet. But it is now considering exchanging some of its 777X jets on order for smaller 787 Dreamliners amid delays in the new aircraft's debut, the airline's chief executive, Sheikh Ahmed, had said in May.

Emirates is not the first client looking to cut down on its initial order. The delay in rolling out the aircraft has hurt Boeing, with its 777X order tally falling from 309 in 2019 to 191 a year later. Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific had also placed orders for the aircraft.

A 777X model seen appearing for a flyover of a PGA Tour event in Washington in August

The 777X will be the world's largest and most efficient twin-engine jet, delivering 10% better fuel use, emissions and operating costs compared to its competitors, according to Boeing.

The aerospace trade show also comes amid rising oil prices, with prices hovering above $80 per barrel, adding more challenges for the airline industry.

Aviation fuel makes up around a quarter of an airline's cost. Analysts warn that the constant rise in oil prices could impede the recovery for carriers, as they try to come out of the woods.
Police responding to a request to check on someones welfare found a gunshot victim at a Charlotte gas station late Friday.

Officers were called to the 1500 block of North Tryon Street, where they found the victim with a gunshot wound, according to a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department news release on Saturday.

Later Saturday, police identified the victim as 30-year-old Cornell Williams and announced the arrest of 32-year-old Demario Jamal Maye Wilson on charges of murder and possession of a firearm by a felon. Wilson was arrested without incident, according to CMPD.

Medic pronounced Williams dead, police said.

TV station footage showed Medic and police vehicles at an Exxon station.

Police said they responded to the scene at about 9:15 p.m.

CMPD urged anyone with information about the shooting to call the homicide unit at 704-432-8477 or Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.

This is a developing story.
Suspect sketch

MUNCIE, Ind.  City police have released a sketch of a suspect in an Oct. 30 shooting near the Ball State University campus.

A 20-year-old man  reportedly a Ball State student  was shot twice in the chest shortly before midnight that evening, along Linden Street near Carson Street.

The victim survived the shooting.

Muncie police have described his assailant as a light-skinned Black or bi-racial male, about six feet tall with an average build, with "a short afro-style haircut (approximately one inch in length)."

Steve Cox, a city police captain, released the sketch of the suspect on Friday, and asked that anyone with information call his department's investigations division at 765-747-4867.

A 20-year-old man was shot, reportedly twice in the chest, shortly before midnight on Saturday, Oct. 30. The shooting took place on North Linden Street east of the Ball State University campus.

Investigators had said the suspect likely suffered "obvious facial injuries in an altercation prior to the shooting."

He was seen in the area the night of the shooting with two or three other Black males in a "dark-colored sedan with tinted windows."

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Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Sketch of Muncie shooting suspect released
A Volato HondaJet Elite. Thomas Pallini/Insider

Volato is a private aviation company using the HondaJet as its flagship aircraft.

Wealthy flyers can purchase an ownership stake in the aircraft and pay an hourly rate of $3,200 plus fuel.

The HondaJet is underutilized in the US but offers an impressively spacious cabin with a range of nearly 1,500 nautical miles.

When Americans think of the name "Honda," chances are most of them aren't thinking about a private jet. But one company is looking to change that.

A Volato HondaJet Elite. Thomas Pallini/Insider

Volato is a fractional ownership company looking to rival the likes of NetJets and Flexjet by offering private flyers a luxurious compromise entry-level jet offering with the HondaJet.

A Volato HondaJet Elite. Thomas Pallini/Insider

Honda's aircraft division hasn't become as pervasive in the American market as its cars have. But Volato says the HondaJet's capabilities and features make it perfect for flights with four passengers are less, given that private flyers often find themselves on planes with more seats than needed.

A Volato HondaJet Elite. Thomas Pallini/Insider

"Volato is taking a fresh approach to private aviation by specifically focusing on the most ideal way to handle four-passenger or less missions," Matt Liotta, Volato's chief executive officer, told Insider.

A Volato HondaJet Elite. Thomas Pallini/Insider

Insider met up with Volato for a demonstration flight on one of its flagship HondaJets. Here's what it was like.

A Volato HondaJet Elite. Thomas Pallini/Insider

The HondaJet, which first debuted in 2014, has a distinct look that sets it apart from rivals. Most notably, its engines are attached directly to the wings rather than the fuselage.

A Volato HondaJet Elite. Thomas Pallini/Insider

Looks aside, Honda developed a pretty capable aircraft for a light jet. The upgraded HondaJet Elite, for example, has a range of 1,437 nautical miles that makes more than half of the Lower 48 accessible from New York on a non-stop flight.

A Volato HondaJet Elite. Thomas Pallini/Insider

Source: Honda Aircraft Company

And the wing-mounted GE Honda Aero Engines HF120 turbofan engines enable a top true airspeed of 422 knots and a top altitude of 43,000 feet.

A Volato HondaJet Elite. Thomas Pallini/Insider

Source: Honda Aircraft Company

On the inside, Volato's HondaJets are configured to seat only four passengers, despite the aircraft having a maximum capacity for six passengers in the passenger cabin.

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A Volato HondaJet Elite. Thomas Pallini/Insider

All four seats are leather club seats that can recline and swivel, with an abundance of legroom in between the seats given the low-density configuration.

A Volato HondaJet Elite. Thomas Pallini/Insider

Each seat has access to the tables that extend from the cabin sidewalls. The additional space in between the seats means the tables are similarly large.

A Volato HondaJet Elite. Thomas Pallini/Insider

Storage compartments are also located in the sidewall for smaller items like devices and laptops.

A Volato HondaJet Elite. Thomas Pallini/Insider

Instead of an extra seat in the cabin, Volato opted for a service galley complete with a coffee maker, ice bin, and multiple snack draws.

A Volato HondaJet Elite. Thomas Pallini/Insider

"As far I understand, we are the biggest taker of galleys there is for HondaJet," Liotta said, adding that snacks and drinks have been specifically curated beyond the standard offering.

A Volato HondaJet Elite. Thomas Pallini/Insider

Opposite the galley and connected to the boarding door is a small tray table to store drinks or other items.

A Volato HondaJet Elite. Thomas Pallini/Insider

But when the situation calls for it, the HondaJet can fit as many as six people. One of the flights prior to our demonstration saw a passenger occupy the co-pilot seat and another sit on the cushioned seat in the lavatory.

A Volato HondaJet Elite. Thomas Pallini/Insider

The lavatory is separated from the cabin through pocket doors for a private experience.

A Volato HondaJet Elite. Thomas Pallini/Insider

Not all light jets offer a lavatory, let alone one separated from the rest of the cabin. Inside is the standard toilet and a sink.

A Volato HondaJet Elite. Thomas Pallini/Insider

Rival companies have opted for smaller jets like the single-engine Cirrus Vision Jet. But Liotta says the HondaJet lets the jet-set crowd have an incredibly capable airplane with all the bells and whistles for a modest price.

A Volato HondaJet Elite. Thomas Pallini/Insider

"We don't think we should be getting into the business of competing on price, we're here to compete on service and we think that we provide the best value in the industry," Liotta said.

A Volato HondaJet Elite. Thomas Pallini/Insider

For those missions that require more than four seats, Liotta said that Volato isn't opposed to working with other operators to meet those needs. But another option is just sending two HondaJets, with a total of eight seats, to perform a given mission.

A Volato HondaJet Elite. Thomas Pallini/Insider

Volato is banking that private flyers that routinely fly with four passengers are less will see the value in the HondaJet. "It makes more sense for them to have our [HondaJet] offering for the majority of their needs, as opposed to getting into a jet that works for everything but does a poor job most of them," Liotta said.

A Volato HondaJet Elite. Thomas Pallini/Insider

As a fractional-ownership company first and foremost, private flyers have the option to buy an ownership stake in the aircraft, offering tax and usage benefits. Owners use the aircraft at a fixed rate plus the fuel cost and then earn revenue back when the plane is chartered out to on-demand customers.

A Volato HondaJet Elite. Thomas Pallini/Insider

For owners, a fee of $3,200 per hour of flight time is accessed from "wheels up to wheels down," with no charges for taxi time, and fuel fees are directly passed along with no markup from Volato. Owners will pay the same hourly rate regardless of their ownership stake but those that have a larger stake will receive a higher revenue share from when the aircraft is chartered.

A Volato HondaJet Elite. Thomas Pallini/Insider

"In our case, we don't limit your usage based on your share size," Liotta said of what differentiates Volato from competitors. "Your share size determines the cost of your uses and so, if you buy a bigger share than you use, we charter that jet out for the rest of its usages and provide a revenue share on that."

A Volato HondaJet Elite. Thomas Pallini/Insider

Volato projects that owners will see 800 hours of charter revenue hours. Liotta doesn't guarantee that number of revenue hours to owners but believes it to be a conservative estimate given the average number of charter flight hours a typical HondaJet sees.

A Volato HondaJet Elite. Thomas Pallini/Insider

It's a program that Liotta describes as decoupling "usage from ownership" where owners that have a higher stake in the aircraft receive a greater share of the charter receive even if they don't fly often.

A Volato HondaJet Elite. Thomas Pallini/Insider

Liotta also believes that this HondaJet ownership model is somewhat recession-proof, should the US see an economic downturn. "When recessions happen, generally the smaller the jet the better off you are than the bigger the jet," Liotta said.

A Volato HondaJet Elite. Thomas Pallini/Insider

After the brief tour, we climbed into the aircraft for a quick demonstration flight around Long Island. The time from startup to taxi out was just a few minutes and we were on our way to the runway.

A Volato HondaJet Elite. Thomas Pallini/Insider

Having the engines detached from the fuselage made the cabin incredibly quiet as we prepared for takeoff. Liotta even turned on the Bongiovi Acoustics sound system to show how well the system could work without having to compete with noisy engines.

A Volato HondaJet Elite. Thomas Pallini/Insider

And just a few minutes later, with only one pilot at the controls, we were airborne. Volato flights operate with two pilots by default but the jet only requires one pilot to fly it.

A Volato HondaJet Elite. Thomas Pallini/Insider

The flight was incredibly smooth and the HondaJet handled Long Island skies well, despite its small stature. And even with three full-size passengers in the cabin, there was still plenty of room to maneuver.

A Volato HondaJet Elite. Thomas Pallini/Insider

Panels at each seat also let passengers control aspects of the plane including the temperature and the volume of the audio system.

A Volato HondaJet Elite. Thomas Pallini/Insider

Volato is planning to convert its HondaJet Elites to the HondaJet Elite S models, a process that requires a software upgrade to allow it to carry more weight and a change to the nose-wheel steering system to help pilots better maneuver the aircraft.

A Volato HondaJet Elite. Thomas Pallini/Insider

Additional weight allowance would allow for Volato to carry more fuel that could be needed when the plane is fully loaded with bags and passengers. But the HondaJet already has an impressive baggage hold that can store 380 pounds of luggage.

A Volato HondaJet Elite. Thomas Pallini/Insider

Upgrading to the HondaJet Elite S is part of Volato's plan to offer the most luxurious and outfitted HondaJet on the market that is still ultimately cheaper than a larger aircraft with the same, if not fewer, amenities.

A Volato HondaJet Elite. Thomas Pallini/Insider

"What we're really trying to do here is provide that same level of high-end experience that you would see on bigger planes on bigger operators, but do so with the HondaJet at a significant reduction in cost," Liotta said.

A Volato HondaJet Elite. Thomas Pallini/Insider

Read the original article on Business Insider
A large chocolate cake made by Mitten Cafe and Bakery in Newport was served at the annual Monroe County Right to Life Chapter banquet Thursday night at LaRoy's Hall in LaSalle. The caption on the cake reads "How can there be too many children? That is like saying there are too many flowers."

LASALLE  Supporters of the prolife movement need not only to stand up for life at all stages, but focus on becoming more loving and pro eternal life in their relationship with God and quest to ban abortions in the United States.

That was a key message from Leonardo Defilippis, an actor, producer and film director who gave the main address at the annual Monroe County Right to Life benefit supper held at LaRoys Hall here Thursday night.

Using saints like St. Augustine, St. Francis de Sales and St. John Vianney (1786-1859), a French Catholic priest known for a radical spiritual transformation of his community and its surroundings, and people like Sister Faustina Kowalska, a Polish Catholic nun whose apparitions of Jesus Christ inspired the Catholic devotion to Divine Mercy, Defilippis urged his audience to remember that their bodies are not just flesh and blood, but have a divine spirit that lives within.

Thank you for the work youre doing to defend life, the married father of seven children told about 150 people at the dinner. Does God exist? He is with you in this room. We are created in his image and nothing will stop you because he lives within you and will do everything for you. We are eternal beings and not here just for this moment. We are also human beings (destined) for a relationship with our creator. Our hearts are restless until they rest in (God).

He said prolife supporters should move from being just prolife to pro eternal life and always be ready for combat against a culture of death that seeks to keep abortion legal in this country.

Being pro eternal life is something we dont hear or think about, Defilippis, 69, said. We think were here for a (limited) time and our bodies may die, but we live on in Heaven or Hell. We have the intellect and ability to know God and how important that relationship is in our battle to change the culture from death to life and be an instrument of grace and mercy.

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Leonardo Defilippis

He said Vianney lived during the French Revolution and was one of the most attacked saints in history by the devil in his work to defend life.

I want to contribute what little I have to inspire and encourage your good work and your pursuit of truth and the beauty of the human being, he said. There is a Heaven and Hell and there is a battle over good and evil in the world. This is the reality of life and existence. But God is love and we must attack the enemy with charity and love to bring down walls. We should terminate our hatred and division, useless talk and name calling and seek Divine Mercy or nothing will change in Michigan.

He showed clips from one of his upcoming films about Divine Mercy and Sister Faustina and her spiritual battles with Satan and her praying for a woman who was mentally torn by an abortion.

The beauty of healing and forgiveness is a great work to uphold to those who are falling, he said.

Brad Smith, a development and fundraising coordinator for Michigan Right to Life, was one of the speakers at the annual banquet of the Monroe County Right to Life Chapter. Also shown is his wife, Jesi, and daughter, Faith.

Everyone attending the banquet received a free CD of the musical soundtrack to his film Therese: An ordinary girl, extraordinary soul about St. Therese of Lisieux, France, who is popularly known as "The Little Flower of Jesus."

Robert Burke, president of the county chapter, served as master of ceremonies for the program. He said he has seen the theatre plays that Defilippis has produced and that improving ones relationship with God can only help the prolife movement.

The more we work on our relationship with God, the more effective we will be fighting for life, Burke said. We have people who work at crisis pregnancy centers and who stand along sidewalks at abortion clinics. We must be spiritually disciplined and pray for our enemy.

Other speakers included Brad Smith, development and fundraising coordinator for Michigan Right to Life for the Southeast Michigan; Jane Merz, a member of the chapters board of directors, and Bill Terrasi, another board member who gave the final prayer.

Smith told the story about his 12-year-old daughter, Faith, who has Down Syndrome and who continues to fight for her life while in the hospital. He said both he and his wife, Jesi, had to speak up on her behalf to assure she received treatment.

You are that voice for these children, Smith, 50, stressed. We must make a stand and stand firm.

Smith also encouraged the audience to contact their legislators about prolife issues facing Michigan and the nation. The states website is www.rtl.org.

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Prolife supporters need to be more 'pro eternal life,' speaker says
A Minneapolis Police officers unrolls caution tape at a crime scene on June 16, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

Fanta Bility, 8, was killed on August 27 when police opened fire on her family's vehicle.

The police were responding to a gunfight outside a football game in Sharon Hill, Pennsylvania.

Prosecutors have charged two teenagers with first-degree murder and aggravated assault.

When two teenagers got into a gunfight over the summer at a football game just outside Philadelphia, both walked away with their lives. The one who didn't was Fanta Bility, an 8-year-old girl, who was in a car with her family, who had nothing to do with the argument.

She was killed when police responding to the gunfight  not the teenagers  opened fire striking the vehicle as it drove away. Police gunfire also wounded three bystanders.

Bility's surviving family has filed a lawsuit that accuses the responding Sharon Hill Police Department of excessive force and "a specific intent to kill," saying they acted "unreasonably" by firing on the car while innocent bystanders who were also injured stood directly behind it. Several officers were put on leave following the incident, according to WHYY.

This week, the two teens, 16-year-old Angelo Ford and 18-year-old Hasein Strand, were charged with first-degree murder and aggravated assault. Ford was arrested, but as of Wednesday, Strand had not been apprehended.

The legal reasoning, per Delaware County First District Attorney Tanner Rouse, is "very simple": "They were attempting to kill one another that night, and as a direct result a little girl is dead."

But a legal expert who spoke to Insider said it is not a slam dunk

Guyora Binder is a professor at the University at Buffalo School of Law and author of the book, "Felony Murder," the legal doctrine that many states have used to hold people responsible for crimes they did not necessarily intend to, or personally, commit.

In this case, he noted, the prosecutor is relying on a section of the Pennsylvania legal code that holds a person responsible for a crime they intended to commit, but which had a different victim. It requires "persuading a jury that the 'only' difference between what they intended and what happened was that a different person was killed."

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According to a police affidavit, reported by The Philadelphia Inquirer, the fight between the two teenagers escalated outside a football game when one lifted their shirt to display a handgun. The other then went to his car and grabbed a handgun; the two then exchanged fire. One bystander was hit in their side.

A jury would need to be persuaded, in order to prove first-degree murder, that there was homicidal intent, "as opposed to merely frightening, or even wounding one another," Binder noted.

An additional hurdle: that neither shot Bility, either on purpose or by accident.

"So we may not have the required intent to kill and we probably do not have the required causation of death," Binder said. "We also have what appears to be an unreasonable use of deadly force by police against an innocent child."

Bruce Castor, an attorney for the Bility family who previously served as district attorney for neighboring Montgomery County, told local ABC affiliate WPVI that he likewise believes that prosecutors will "have a tough time in a transferred intent case charging these fellas with first-degree murder."

Castor said Friday's charging decision should not distract "from the fact that it was police officers acting recklessly and inappropriately that fired the fatal round that killed Fanta Billy."

Have a news tip? Email this reporter: cdavis@insider.com

Read the original article on Insider
Columnist Nancy Kaffer in 1999, the year she threw away her kitchen.

When I was 24, I threw away my kitchen.

The sink in my dishwasher-less apartment was piled so high, had become so distasteful, that I just couldnt imagine Id be able to scour it clean. With out-of-town friends due for a visit, I did the only thing that seemed remotely viable: I threw everything in the sink away, piling it into a big black garbage bag that would hulk limply in a corner of my kitchen until I finally remembered to haul it out to the street.

I wasnt wealthy; my second out-of-college job paid barely enough to scrape by. Throwing away my kitchen wasnt an act of spoiled indulgence. It was desperation.

When I told this story to friends, I didnt share the shame and panic Id felt in those moments. I told it in what I hoped was charmingly desultory fashion, an illustration of the quirky and flamboyant person I wanted others to see.

What no one saw, not even me, was a young woman with inattentive-type ADHD, struggling to perform the most basic tasks required for independent living.

It would be another 14 years before I finally got the diagnosis that explained what Id so often wondered: What was wrong with me?

Defined by shame

When I was in third grade, my teacher wrote my name and the names of others shed dubbed slow workers on laminated turtles, requiring us to move the turtles around the storage closet doors lining the classroom as we finished each subject. Later that year, she and another teacher dragged me to the janitor's closet, threatening to paddle me (I grew up in Alabama, where corporal punishment is still allowed in schools) for not finishing my work and talking too much in class. I was afraid to tell my parents what had happened, so clear was it to me that this was my profound personal failing. Its still difficult to talk about.

Its the first time I learned to be ashamed of how I was. But it wasn't the last.

For three and a half decades, I internalized the products of my ADHD as personal or moral failings. That was easy to do when I couldnt keep the lights on because I couldnt remember to pay the bill, regardless of whether I had money in the bank  an iffy prospect, anyway, in the dark years before I could check my account balance and transactions online. Or when my credit rating sank so low that I, an adult, needed my mother to co-sign for a cellphone and a car. Or when that car, a sedan that should have seated four or five, was so full of stuff  old newspapers, clothing, shoes, fast food wrappers, books, boxes from my last two or three moves  that any friend's suggestion that perhaps I could drive tonight filled me with a swell of shame. Or when I lost important items  keys, government documents, notebooks  again and again.

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I got better, as time went by, though "better" came and went. I found a career in journalism, deadlines offering external structure that compensated for the discipline I couldnt muster myself. Marriage brought some stability, but when I ended the marriage, that stability went, too.

Its hard to convey exactly what it is like to feel life constantly slipping out of control, the sinking feeling of desperation when you know your predicament is self-made. Friends in whom I confided would say, Oh, when I get that way, I just  which I learned to understand as the sort of well-intentioned thing said by people who don't have a behavioral health condition. But a person who suffers from depression cant just think happy thoughts, and I couldn't just not have ADHD.

Alone with a toddler in a too-large house, I was buried in laundry and dirty dishes. It was all happening again, this time with new and improved shame. Was I really raising my child like this? Didnt he deserve better?

Recognizing myself

He did, and Ive been able to give it to him, although that owed a lot to chance.

One day, a friend sent me a link to an article in The Atlantic, headlined Its Different for Girls With ADHD.

Writer Maria Yagoda described her own struggles with personal organization, basic functionality and her subsequent ADHD diagnosis. She explained that contrary to widespread assertions that ADHD was being over-diagnosed, the more serious threat for women and girls is underdiagnosis.

More: Opinion: Here's what happened when my 11-year-old son got the COVID-19 vaccine

More: Detroit voter turnout is a crisis. Officials need to fix it. | Opinion

For decades, the medical establishments understanding of ADHD was based on symptoms displayed by young boys, who typically manifested the hyperactivity component embedded in the disorders name. More recent research has shown that women and girls are more likely to have inattentive-type ADHD, characterized by an inability to sustain focus..

Women with ADHD are often called dreamy, if the speaker is being polite, flaky, if they arent. A lot of us find ways to function, running on a fast-burning combination of terror and sheer brainpower that works just often enough to avert total collapse.

Until it doesnt.

For Yagoda, it was college. For me, it was being a single mother. As I read her article, I saw myself, for the first time.

A path forward

En route to the appointment that would reveal the results of my ADHD evaluation, I cried nervous tears. I wasnt afraid I would be diagnosed with a behavioral health condition, but that I wouldnt. If ADHD didnt explain me, what could?

But the evaluation did not disappoint, and with the help of my wonderful therapist, I began the slow process of unwinding the damage of 38 years, learning to understand, and believe, that I am not lazy or foolish or incompetent.

These days, there's no shortage of helpful ADHD explainers online. One Im fond of likens the condition to living in a soft rain of Post-It notes. Information neurotypical minds disregard as inconsequential announces itself like a marching band in mine.

Finding the right dose of the right type of medication has taken time and work  a lot of consultation with my doctor, some heated communications with my insurance company  and its an ongoing process. I take a lower dosage now than I did two years ago, when navigating the busier, outside world offered more competition for my attention. My medication hasn't made me skinny, alas; nor does it give me the sort of enhanced performance that has fueled an illicit demand for such drugs among neurotypical folks. It quiets my hectic brain. It gives me space. It allows me to start tasks that once seemed insurmountable, and stay focused for more than a handful of minutes.

My diagnosis also gave me permission to find coping mechanisms. Before, needing such things felt like further admission of my failures. Now, I set calendar alerts to remind me of nearly everything, from school pickup to grocery shopping. When my laundry piles too high, I take it to get done. It costs a lot, but sometimes, its worth it. I married a man who believes me when I tell him I need help.

Eight years later, Im still learning about my diagnosis. A few months ago, I read that impulsive speech is part of ADHD, something I guarantee everyone around me knew already. I've also learned to value some of what ADHD has brought me. That soft rain of Post-It notes may seem filled with irrelevant information, but youd be surprised how often you need to know how the Germanic tribes defeated the Roman legions at the Battle of the Teutoberg Forest, or a few pertinent facts about 16th-century Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe. (He had a brass nose. Isn't that wild?) My attention may skip around, but I take a lot in.

Im pleased to report that my power hasnt been turned off in more than a decade. My car is still pretty messy, but I can accommodate at least four people, provided you give me a minute to swoosh debris off the seat. That sinking feeling of personal failure when Ive utterly failed to handle some normal piece of daily life only happens a few times a year.

And while I intended to write this column during ADHD awareness month  that would have been October  I understand that I have ADHD, and I've learned to accept the things I can't change.

Its progress, and Im grateful for it.

Nancy Kaffer is a columnist and member of the Free Press editorial board. She has covered local, state and national politics for two decades. Contact: nkaffer@freepress.com. Become a subscriber at Freep.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Opinion: Girls are underdiagnosed for ADHD. I missed my own symptoms.
Amy Mui, a 63-year-old Bridgeport resident, said she doesnt know much about her current alderman, Patrick Daley Thompson. But she does know that she is increasingly worried about recent crime in the neighborhood and reports of anti-Asian attacks throughout the U.S.

You feel unsafe here and then you feel nobody care about the Chinese society, and then we want to say something, Mui said. We need somebody to represent us.

Thats why Mui attended a Saturday afternoon rally with Asian American community leaders in Chicago demanding the next map drafted by the City Council include the citys first-ever Asian majority ward, one that would encompass her neighborhood.

About 50 people attended the event, at Chinatown Square, 2154 S. Archer Ave.

Organizing groups, which say such a ward is decades overdue and put forward the proposed map, include Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community, Chinese American Service League, Pui Tak Center and Midwest Asian Health Association.

These Chinatown leaders say the storied cultural hub deserves its own ward amid City Councils decennial redistricting process. Advocates argue the needs of the areas residents are underrepresented in City Hall, where there has only been one Asian American alderman: Ameya Pawar, who represented the majority-white North Side 47th Ward for two terms.

As a result, they say, the largely immigrant population that mainly speaks Mandarin and Cantonese is struggling to be heard.

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Currently, Chinatown is split between the 25th ward of Ald. Byron Sigcho Lopez and the 11th ward of indicted Ald. Daley Thompson. The latter ward also includes Bridgeport and chunks of McKinley Park, home to a fast-growing population of Asian Americans.

All three of those neighborhoods would unify under a proposal by the Asian community groups. Its triangular map shows the south branch of the Chicago river bounding the ward on the northwest, with a jagged southern border that stretches as far as West Pershing Road from South California Avenue to the Dan Ryan Expressway.

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The demographics of the potential ward would be 51% Asian, 24% Latino, 20% white and 3% Black. Supporters say such a ward is long overdue, especially after the 2020 Census found Asians were the fasting growing population in Chicago, making up 7% of the population. They also now make up the largest racial group in Bridgeport, according to a 2021 analysis by the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning.

The City Council is the body tasked with trying to pass a new map. If fewer than 41 aldermen agree on a single version, then any 10 aldermen can try to force a ballot referendum by backing a different proposal.

The head of the Latino caucus has signaled support for an Asian-majority ward in his remap proposals. Chairman Ald. Gilbert Villegas on Friday said the caucus would update its map proposal to make the 11th Ward that stretches from Bridgeport into Chinatown an Asian-majority ward in the remap.

I felt it would be hypocritical of us, as we try to get fair representation, to not also fight for a group that has grown and has done its part for the city of Chicago to get its fair representation as well, said Villegas, 36th.

And Black Caucus Chairman Ald. Jason Ervin said Saturday that his caucus is fully on board with making the 11th Ward an Asian-majority ward including Chinatown. The Black Caucus has not yet released its full remap proposal.

An independent group has also put out The Peoples Map that includes Chinatown in its own ward. For that to be viable, at least 10 aldermen would need to support that version after voting against the official remap plan presented by aldermen to City Council, triggering a referendum.

At Saturdays event, several leaders in Chicagos Chinese American communities spoke out against currently having no Asian American representation in City Council. They chanted in Mandarin and English, We want representation. We want rights. ... We do not want to be second-class citizens.

The last time we had a rally here in March, we were fighting against anti-Asian hate, Grace Chan McKibben, executive director of CBCAC, said. This time ... we have the opportunity to stand up for ourselves in a different way. We have the opportunity to unite the Chinese American community.

ayin@chicagotribune.com

jebyrne@chicagotribune.com
Hundreds stood, shivering, on the Rochester Adams High School football field Saturday morning to pray for the safe return of Brendan Santo, an 18-year-old from Rochester Hills who vanished last month while visiting friends at Michigan State University.

Santo, a freshman at Grand Valley State University, was in East Lansing for the MSU-vs-U-M football game and was last seen Oct. 29, leaving Yakeley Hall just before midnight to meet up with friends in the Brody neighborhood. He hasn't been seen since.

Santo's family hasn't given up hope that he will be found, and the friends, teammates, teachers and religious leaders who gathered Saturday at Santo's former high school haven't either. Many of them plan to join another search party planned for Sunday.

Jacob Turner, 18, of Rochester receives the microphone from Monsignor Mike Hrydziuszko to sing a song of praise during the prayer vigil for Brendan Santo, while Kensington Church's Founding Pastor Steve Andrews stands near on the football field at Rochester Adams High School on Nov. 13, 2021. Police in East Lansing have been searching for Brendan Santo for nearly two weeks. Santo, a Grand Valley State University student was last seen leaving Yakeley Hall on foot just before midnight on Oct. 29, according to Michigan State University police and suspect Santo may have been walking to the Brody neighborhood and do not believe he left the East Lansing area.

"Our hearts have been breaking for Brendan, and for his family, and for all of you that knew him so well and loved him," said Steve Andrews, a founding pastor of Kensington Church. "There's a recognition in reality that life is really short and to make it count, and I want to thank you that these people are here because they care about life. They care about Brendan, they care about family. They care about making their lives, lives of beauty and compassion for other people."

Amy King, a friend of the Santo family who organized the prayer gathering, said it was really wonderful to see the whole Rochester Hills community come together for Santo.

"This was amazing and beautiful that so many people came," she said. "It's having a faith in a God that moves mountains and we were just led to bring this to the community and our vision of having people come together and stand together to bring peace to someone that was listening."

King's son Zeke is a longtime friend of Santo. Zeke and Santo were supposed to meet up at MSU to watch the big game together, but Santo never made it.

The community gathers on the football field at Rochester Adams High School organized by a Facebook group 'Bring Brendan Santo Home' to pray on Nov. 13, 2021. Police in East Lansing have been searching for Brendan Santo for nearly two weeks. Santo, a Grand Valley State University student was last seen leaving Yakeley Hall on foot just before midnight on Oct. 29, according to Michigan State University police and suspect Santo may have been walking to the Brody neighborhood and do not believe he left the East Lansing area.

"(Santo) is the kid that you hope your kid has as a friend," she said. "He is a great kid, funny and very sweet."

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While they were in high school, King said, her son and Santo loved to longboard and play video games like Fortnite and Rocket League.

Sometimes, they'd even let Zeke's younger brother, Isaac King, hang out with them.

"(Santo) would just always be happy," Isaac, 16, said of Santo. "He's the person in the room who always tries to make the best of every situation."

Law enforcement agencies, including MSU Police and the FBI, have been searching for Santo since his disappearance.

A missing sign seen posted at a bus stop in East Lansing on Nov. 10, 2021, for missing GVSU student Brendan Santo, last seen Oct. 29 in East Lansing.

We have been collaborating with our local, state, and federal partners for several days, and this arrangement formalizes and expands our team while making additional expert resources and personnel available to assist us in bringing Brendan home, MSU Police Inspector Chris Rozman said in a Nov. 6 news release.

On Thursday, the Santo family increased the reward to $11,000 for anyone who comes forward with credible information that contributes to bringing Santo back home.

Santo's family has coordinated two searches so far: one on Nov. 6, where about 500 people from the community helped search, and another one this Sunday.

The public is welcome to participate in Sunday's search, according to Santo's aunt Dawn Brewer. The search will start at 10 a.m. at the MSU Union.

"We're just basically searching for anything that we could possibly find," she said. "The police have told us to look out for his baseball hat that he had, his cell phone, and he was carrying his friend's keys in his back pocket, so we also have a picture of that. And he did have on a gold necklace. So those are the things that we're trying to find, you know, other than him, personally."

Brendan Santo on the night he went missing. Police say to be on the lookout for his hat and necklace

More: Michigan reports 15,878 new COVID-19 cases, 83 deaths since Wednesday

More: Volunteers of America celebrates Veterans Day, gives away cars to veterans in need

The family has also started a GoFundMe to help pay for hiring private entities to aid in the search as well as family costs incurred due to absence from work and traveling between East Lansing and home, feeding the volunteers and more. As of Saturday afternoon, more than $91,000 has been raised for the family.

"We have to stay positive, because there is no other option for our family other than to find him and bring him home," Brewer said.

If you have any information on Santo, call MSU Police toll-free at 844-99-MSUPD or email tips@police.msu.edu. You can also contact Crime Stoppers of Mid-Michigan at 517-483-STOP.

Contact Emma Stein: estein@freepress.com and follow her on Twitter @_emmastein.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Community prays for safe return of teen who disappeared from MSU
Royal jewelry has long been a hot commodity on the auction block, and the recent sales of Marie Antoinettes diamond bracelets to pendants belonging to Queen Victoria, proves theyre not slowing down. Just this week, a distinguished group of jewels that belonged to the Romanovs made their own headlines.

Smuggled out of Russia during the 1917 revolution, the set of royal baubles sold for $883,641 at Sothebys in Geneva on November 10. The bi-annual jewelry sale offered a sapphire and diamond brooch, alongside matching earrings that once belonged to the Grand Dutchess Maria Pavlovnathe aunt of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II. The lot sold for nearly twice the high estimate of CHF 480,000. The new owner of the Romanov family jewels made their bids by telephone, and have chosen to remain anonymous.

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For historical context, Pavlovna was able to escape Russia in 1919 and died in France the following year. Before she fled, the jewels were entrusted to British diplomat Albert Henry Stopford. According to Reuters, Stopford was sent to secretly collect the jewels from the Grand Duchesss home, the 360-room Vladimir Palace, before it was pillaged by revolutionaries. Let in through a side door by the duchesss eldest son Boris, Stopford was able to dismantle the jewels and fold their pieces into old newspaper to protect them.

The sapphire and diamond brooch from the recently sold royal lot. - Credit: Denis Balibouse/Reuters

Denis Balibouse/Reuters

After his visit in 1917, he set off for London smuggling up to 244 pieces of the duchesss jewelry which were deposited into a bank for safekeeping. The auctioned items were passed on to her daughter, Princess Elena of Greece and Denmark. The eye-catching pieces were kept in the family for some time until they made their first appearance at auction in November 2009. According to the auctioneer, the European princely family who made the first purchase of the lot are also the recent sellers of the jewels.

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Staffing shortages in Seattle, due in part to the citys vaccine mandate for emergency workers, resulted in a 13-year-old boy watching his father die after he suffered a medical emergency.

Last week, the 13-year-old called 911 to report that his father was having a medical emergency but when Seattle Fire arrived they were told to wait for police before entering and Seattle police took 15 minutes to arrive which delayed the medics who were unable to save the father, according to the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH.

SEATTLE'S CRIME PROMPTS SECURITY ESCORTS FOR COUNTY EMPLOYEES AMID NEW PUSH TO DEFUND POLICE

The police precinct was reportedly down to two officers and was leaning on non-patrol volunteers to meet minimum staffing levels.

Two veteran medics told radio host Jason Rantz that the death was likely avoidable if emergency crews had gotten to the scene faster and one medic said, "Had it been addressed early, his chance of survival would have been 60%."

Additionally, the cautionary note that told first responders to wait for police because the location presented a danger to them was an outdated note and was assigned to a previous tenant.

FORMER SEATTLE POLICE CHIEF HIGHLIGHTS TRENDS IN THE MOVEMENT TO DEFUND THE POLICE

"Unfortunately, we learned during the most recent emergency response that the cautionary note was for a previous tenant," a spokesperson for Seattle Fire emailed the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH. "We are carefully reviewing this incident from many angles in our department (operations, dispatch, etc.) and our Premise Notes Policy."

Seattle has experienced a severe police staffing shortage since the George Floyd riots in 2020 and the North Precinct, where the teen lived, is the slowest precinct to respond to 911 calls. An August 2021 report shows the average response time for emergencies in progress was nearly 13 minutes in Q2 of this year and the average response time for "priority 2" calls was 61 minutes.

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SEATTLE, WA - JANUARY 22: Police look over the scene of a shooting at 3rd Avenue and Pine Streeton January 22, 2020 in the central business district of Seattle, Washington. Police say a woman was killed and seven people hurt, including a 9-year-old boy, by "multiple" shooters, but wouldn't elaborate. (Photo by Karen Ducey/Getty Imag Photo by Karen Ducey/Getty Images

Seattle's vaccine mandate for first responders has exacerbated the staffing issues taking 100 officers off the streets in October and leaving the police department with under 1,000 deployable officers.

"One call could take out an entire precinct, wiping us out completely," one officer told the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH.

In the 2022 budget, the Seattle City Council has proposed slashing the police budget by $11 million which includes cutting hiring incentives.

The Seattle Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News.


Reuters Videos

A video posted on the City of Waukesha's Facebook page showed a red sport utility vehicle speeding through the parade, missing participants before police vehicles raced after it.Another video later obtained from an eyewitness by Reuters showed emergency services assisting injured people at the scene just a few seconds after the car plowed into the crowd.Waukesha Police Chief Dan Thompson said a person of interest was in custody and the suspect's vehicle had been recovered after the incident in the town, about 20 miles (32 km) west of Milwaukee.Authorities said they had taken 11 adults and 12 children to six area hospitals, with more transported to hospitals by family and friends.Waukesha Police Chief Dan Thompson said a person of interest was in custody and the suspect's vehicle had been recovered after the incident in the town.It was not known whether the incident was related to terrorism, but there was no further danger and an earlier shelter-in-place order in the town of around 72,000 had been lifted, Thompson added.
San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department patch.

A specialized sheriffs team recently entered a gated community in Rancho Cucamonga with a warrant to search for an illegal cannabis grow operation. It left arresting multiple men on suspicions related to severe child abuse and electricity theft.

The San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department on Nov. 4 booked 48-year-old Jun Hou and 74-year-old Yingsheng Hou on suspected charges of child abuse that could cause great bodily injury or death and theft of a utility service worth more than $400, booking records show.

A third arrestee, 34-year-old Xiaolong Liang, was booked on only the suspected utility theft charge.

The three men were all released on bail the next day. Jun and Yingsheng Hou  who live in neighboring homes on Joliet Drive in Rancho Cucamonga  each paid a $100,000 bail, sheriffs spokesperson Mara Rodriguez told the Daily Press. Liang paid a $25,000 bail.

No charges have been filed and no court dates have been set for any of the men in the time since.

Rodriguez said additional charges will be at the discretion of the (San Bernardino County) District Attorneys Office. The DAs Office said it has not received a case to review regarding the three men and could not answer questions about them.

Officers served the warrant within the Community Association at Cornerstones gates as part of Operation Hammer Strike, a sheriffs initiative launched Aug. 30 as a crackdown on illegal cannabis farming throughout the county, including in the High Desert.

Rodriguez confirmed that the warrant in this case was for suspected illegal cultivation of marijuana. Both the roads and the land in the gated community are privately owned, according to county records.

The arrest of the three men living in the Joliet Drive homes was first disclosed with little detail in a sheriffs press release Nov. 6, one day after they were released on bail.

The release stated total statistics from the 26 search warrants served by Hammer Strike officers during week 10 of the operation. It listed only each mans name, age and gender among the final four names on a list of 34 total arrests made during the week. It did not indicate that any of the 34 arrestees were booked into jail or that any crimes beyond cannabis cultivation were suspected.

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Listed with the three men in that release was a fourth name, a 71-year-old female resident named Zong Ren, who was also apparently arrested in the Cornerstone search but not actually taken into custody and booked.

Few details are clear about the suspicions in the two older mens case of suspected child abuse, a felony punishable by up to six years in prison per count under California law.

Punishment for electricity theft depends on monetary value and past record. In this case, the alleged theft was achieved by the men using an electrical bypass, Rodriguez said.

This essentially means tampering with the cables used to transfer electricity to ensure that much of the power one uses is not registered with the meter that counts usage.

The three men were held at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga from the time of arrest until their release a day later, according to Rodriguez.

Booking records show all of them were booked at the same time, about 4:11 p.m. on Nov. 4. The next day, 74-year-old Yingsheng Hou was released on bail at about 8:49 p.m. while the other two men were released at the same earlier time, about 9 a.m.

Charlie McGee covers the city of Barstow and its surrounding communities for the Daily Press. He is also a Report for America corps member with the GroundTruth Project, an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization dedicated to supporting the next generation of journalists in the U.S. and around the world. McGee may be reached at 760-955-5341 or cmcgee@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @bycharliemcgee.

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Sheriff's 'Hammer Strike' raid brings suspected child abuse arrests in gated community in Rancho Cucamonga
Erica Bates, a 19-year-old Union University student, was found safe Saturday.

This is a shot of the unidentified white male seen with Erica Bates at a North Jackson restaurant on Friday

UPDATE: Jackson Police Department located 19-year-old Union University student Erica Bates around 5 p.m. Saturday, and she is being reunited with family.

Jackson Police and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation asked for help searching for Bates Saturday afternoon.

Previous report: Right now were just trying to locate her, said JPD Lieutenant Danielle Jones. She was last seen with a young man around 2 p.m. (Friday) at a restaurant in North Jackson.

It looked like they were there eating lunch.

According to the Facebook page from Union, Bates is a first-year student for its EDGE program, which helps special needs adults whove graduated high school gain life skills to enter life as an adult with more independence.

Union University President Samuel "Dub" Oliver issued a statement regarding Bates.

"We at Union University are deeply concerned by the disappearance of Erica Bates, a first-year student in our EDGE program," Oliver said. "The Union community is fervently praying for Erica's safe return and for her family during this difficult time.

"We encourage anyone with information on her whereabouts to contact the Jackson Police Department or the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation."

Bates is from Ohio.

This is a video surveillance still shot of Erica Bates and an unknown white male she was last seen with on Friday at a restaurant in North Jackson.

Jones said since Bates hasnt been seen in more than 24 hours and she has medication she has to take daily, that locating her is JPDs main objective at this point.

Theres no reason to believe any foul play is involved in this situation, Jones said. Its just important that we talk to him and see if he can help us locate her because that medication is important so we need to find her pretty quickly.

Jones said family and friends of Bates are out looking for her along with JPD.

Were doing everything we can to try to find contact info or identification of the male and locate her, Jones said. So if anyone has any information on who the person she was with is, wed appreciate the help.

Bates is 5-feet-5-inches tall and weighs 150 pounds. She has blonde hair and brown eyes, and she was wearing a light gray Aruba sweatshirt and black tights when she was last seen on Friday.

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This gray Hyandai Elantra is the vehicle Erica Bates and the unidentified male she had lunch with on Friday got into after eating at a North Jackson restaurantt.

Anyone with information that cold help in the search can call JPD at 731-467-0378 or TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND.

Reach Brandon Shields at bjshields@jacksonsun.com or at 731-425-9751. Follow him on Twitter @JSEditorBrandon or on Instagram at editorbrandon.

This article originally appeared on Jackson Sun: Union EDGE student found safe
Simu Liu took to Instagram yesterday to share positive comments he has received from Chinese Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings fans in a show of common ground being found above government and political rhetoric.



What theyre saying: The glowing reviews, which he reportedly received on Weibo, praised his performance in the Marvel blockbuster and expressed regret over its lack of Chinese release.



Hello, brother Liu. I couldn't help but feel excited after watching your movie yesterday. Shang-Chi is really a very excellent work, but I feel very sorry that such an excellent work cannot be released in China, one fan wrote. Unfortunately, our world is sometimes full of prejudice and misunderstanding. If it can be shown in the cinema in the future, I must go to support it. I hope that one day, all prejudices and discrimination can disappear in the world. I support you.

Another wrote, There is nothing demeaning... in the whole film, but too many people are subjectively positioned into not watching it. It's a pity that we couldn't watch it in the cinema. The content is really wonderful and the many dialogues in Mandarin are also friendly.

One distraught fan said the supposed ban made them feel like they were living in North Korea: What a pity. American friends are surprised that it won't be shown in China! This is essentially a Chinese film! I almost thought I was living in North Korea!

This film could definitely be released in the mainland two years ago and the box office would not be low, another fan speculated. Now I feel that it is a victim of the relationship between the two countries.

A desperate fan confessed to watching a stolen version of the film but promised to get a Disney Plus subscription. I really couldn't help it  Your performance really surprised me! And the whole film felt very different from other Marvel movies, they wrote. There are too many Chinese elements, and the pronunciation of all Chinese dialogue is very standard! It's a pity not to see your first superhero [role] on the big screen.



Why this matters: Released in theaters across the U.S. and other countries in September, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings received massive support as Marvels first Asian-led superhero movie. However, the Destin Daniel Cretton film has never been released in China, allegedly due to Lius old comments deemed critical of the Chinese government, as well as a controversy over the lead characters comic book history.



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In his Instagram Stories, Liu shared that his Weibo account is filled with more messages of love and support from Chinese fans. The Chinese Canadian actor apparently blamed the publics lack of awareness of such comments on the media, which he said is focused on sensationalist geopolitics.

The media only wants to report on sensationalist geopolitics, Liu wrote. Take away the government and the policies and rhetoric, and youll find that were not so dissimilar from each other.

This is not the first time Liu  who was born in the Chinese city of Harbin  spoke about the overwhelming support he has received from fans in China. Days after the films American release, he also shared similar positive comments from Weibo and criticized the media for polarizing us and turning us against each other.

I have seen the kindness and the empathy that all people possess, Liu wrote at the time. I know that we have fans from all over the world who cannot wait to watch our movie and make history with us!

Shang-Chi grossed over $400 million worldwide in October. Whether the film gets a Chinese release is yet to be seen.



Featured Image via Marvel Entertainment

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Friday was Demo Day for three startup businesses involved in Missouri State University's 2021 eFactory Accelerator program.

The eFactory took a pause from its Accelerator program during the 2020 pandemic year, but it's back this year. On Friday, representatives from Vendux, AgButler and MiddleCoast Solutions gave presentations at the Robert W. Plaster Free Enterprise Center in downtown Springfield.

Henning Schwinum, Vendux

Founder Henning Schwinum started Vendux, which is a matchmaker service that connects seasoned sales executives on a contract basis with companies facing growth challenges.

Schwinum said Vendux allows companies to get the exact sales leader they need while avoiding the cost of a full-time hire.

Kevin Johansen, AgButler

Kevin Johansen founded AgButler, which is a mobile application that brings agriculture labor into the modern day gig economy. It allows farmers and ranchers to connect with available laborers by location. Farmers can filter their searches by rating, work experience and availability.

Ali Lamphear, Middlecoast Solutions

Ali Lamphear is the CEO of MiddleCoast Solutions which is building HeroHub  a sophisticated emergency response software that allows organizations to quickly and efficiently respond to natural or man-made disaster like cyber attacks, break-ins, fires and more. This company helps put plans in place for emergency situations and gathers data to improve the future.

The Accelerator is not merely a chance to gain mentoring advice from a dedicated consultant and sharpen business plans, it's a deal. Companies selected for the fifth class of Accelerator startups each receive a $30,000 investment in exchange for an 8-percent stake in the business.

Ralph Green is a business reporter with the Springfield News-Leader. Contact him at RAGreen@gannett.com, by phone: (417-536-4061) or on Twitter at RalphGreenNL

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Startups show off their ideas at eFactory's Demo Day in Springfield
The student-led activist group Bucks Liberation Coalition will host its first political education event 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 14, on the lawn of the Bucks County Administration Building in Doylestown Borough.

Speakers will discuss the dangers of neoliberalism, and include Benjamin West, an attorney and graduate of NYU's School of Law. Youth band Pinewood Derby will perform, and free hot chocolate will be available.

Donations are welcome to support the group and its efforts to provide mutual aid.

RSVPs are requested.

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Student activist group to host political education event in Doylestown
Sudanese security forces killed at least five demonstrators Saturday in a crackdown on anti-coup protests, medics said, after the military tightened its grip by forming a new ruling council.

The pro-democracy protests come nearly three weeks after top general Abdel Fattah al-Burhan ousted the government, detained the civilian leadership and declared a state of emergency.

The independent Central Committee for Sudanese Doctors said five protesters were killed in Saturday's rallies, two in Khartoum's twin city of Omdurman and three in east Khartoum.

Four were shot dead, while one died from "suffocation by tear gas", the medics said.

A "large number of people" were also wounded by live rounds, they said.

Security forces stormed one hospital in Omdurman and detained several of the wounded, they added.

The latest deaths brings to 20 the number of people killed in anti-coup protests since the military takeover on October 25, according to the medics.

State television reported that 39 police personnel were "severely wounded" in clashes with protesters.

The police accused protesters of attacking police stations saying the demonstrations "began as peaceful but quickly veered off course".

They denied using "live rounds", saying they used only "minimum force".

Gunshots were heard and tear gas fired as security forces tried to break up the protests, witnesses and AFP correspondents said.

"No, no to military rule", "Civilian (rule) is the people's choice", protesters shouted.

The US embassy in Khartoum said it "deeply regrets the loss of life and injuries of dozens of Sudanese citizens demonstrating today for freedom and democracy."

- Protests in Sudan and beyond -

Tens of thousands rallied nationwide, with protests taking place in provincial cities, including Port Sudan in the east and the Darfur region in the west, witnesses said.

"The military should not have anything to do with politics, they should safeguard the constitution which Burhan himself has turned against," said protester Ahmed Abdelrahman.

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Any hopes the demonstrators had that the military would back down were dashed on Thursday, when Burhan named himself head of a new ruling Sovereign Council that excludes the country's main civilian bloc.

The move sparked international condemnation and on Saturday demonstrators shouted: "Down with the entire council".

Protesters braved a heavy presence of military, police and paramilitary forces in Khartoum, where bridges connecting the capital to neighbouring cities were sealed off.

The security forces also blocked roads leading to army headquarters, the site of a 2019 mass sit-in that prompted the generals to oust longtime president Omar al-Bashir.

Information Minister Hamza Baloul, who was briefly detained in the military takeover, took part in Saturday's protests in Khartoum.

"The Sudanese people have decided to create a civilian nation and there is no will stronger than that of the Sudanese people's," he said in a video posted online, urging people to press on with "peaceful demonstrations until the fall" of the coup leaders.

Demonstrations were also organised elsewhere around the world.

In Paris, around 400 people in a central square denounced the coup and called for the "immediate handover of power to civilians", an AFP reporter reported.

In Berlin, about 100 protesters at Brandenburg Gate carried a banner that read: "A victory for the Sudanese protesters... is a victory for all of us!"

- Call for restraint -

Saturday's demonstrations were largely organised by informal groups known as "resistance committees", which emerged during the 2019 protests against Bashir.

They have called for multiple protests since the coup and mobilised crowds via text messages as Sudan has faced an internet outage with phone lines intermittently disrupted.

On Friday, military figures and civilian members of a new ruling council were sworn in before Burhan.

Three former rebel leaders who were members of the ousted Sovereign Council and were appointed to the new one did not attend the ceremony. They had previously rejected the military coup.

The newly named council features several new and little-known figures to represent civilians.

But it excludes any members of the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC), an umbrella alliance which spearheaded the anti-Bashir protests, and the main bloc calling for a transition to civilian rule.

The UN has criticised the military's latest "unilateral" step, while Western countries said it "complicates efforts to put Sudan's democratic transition back on track".

Burhan insists the military's move on October 25 "was not a coup" but a push to "rectify the course of the transition".

bur/kir
By Keith Coffman

DENVER (Reuters) - Five Senegalese immigrants killed in a 2020 arson house fire were targeted by one of the teenagers charged in the case because he mistakenly thought someone at the Denver home had stolen his mobile phone, court testimony showed on Friday.

The disclosures came during a preliminary hearing for Kevin Bui and Gavin Seymour, who have been charged with first-degree murder, arson, assault and related offenses stemming from the August 2020 blaze.

Denver District Judge Martin Egelhoff ruled there was sufficient evidence in the case against the pair to proceed with prosecution and ordered the two youths to be held without bail.

Both boys were 16 when they were arrested in January 2021 and are being tried as adults, though their lawyers are seeking to have their cases moved to juvenile court.

A third suspect, who was 15 when arrested, is charged in juvenile court.

The fire erupted in the early morning hours, killing 29-year-old Djibril Diol, his wife Adja Diol, 23, and the couples 2-year-old daughter, Khadija.

Also killed were Hassan Diol, 25, the husbands sister, and her infant daughter, Hawa Beye. Three other family members escaped the flames by leaping from a second-story window.

Denver police detective Neil Baker testified on Friday that Bui confessed to the crime following his arrest. According to Baker, Bui told police he tracked his stolen cellphone to the northeast Denver house, where he and his two accomplices poured gasoline inside the dwelling and ignited it.

"He admitted to setting that house on fire," Baker testified.

After watching news stories about the fire, Bui realized that the victims were not the people who had robbed him, Baker said.

The crime roiled Denver's community of Senegalese immigrants who feared the arson's victims were singled out for attack because they were Muslim immigrants from the West African nation.

Police were led to the three suspects through cellphone data and tracking of the getaway vehicle, authorities said.

(Reporting by Keith Coffman in Denver; Editing by Steve Gorman and Daniel Wallis)
In Lubbock, Texas, the Metro Tower building has withstood the test of time -- as well as a direct hit from a tornado with winds reaching up to 200 mph. Now, nearly 50 years after the storm, it's undergoing a $25 million renovation to house nearly 90 affordable housing units along with luxury apartment units on the upper floors.

On May 11, 1970, the sky darkened and the wind picked up as a storm rumbled into the area, spawning two tornadoes. The first caused minimal damage, but the second tore across the city after night had fallen, claiming over 20 lives. By the time morning arrived, 600 apartment units and 430 houses had been destroyed, according to the National Weather Service. Roughly 250 businesses also saw their buildings either damaged or destroyed. The Guadalupe neighborhood in the city had been all but completely destroyed.

The Metro Tower took a direct hit from the tornado, resulting in a twist in the 271-foot-tall building's superstructure.

The Metro Tower, also known as the NTS Tower and formerly known as the Great Plains Life Building, is in the process of being renovated. (Bill Wadell)

"The building structural system was set up in such a way that on the north side where there's a stairwell, it is stiff. On the south side, it wasn't as stiff. And so when the wind came from the west and pushed it, it would twist more or it would deflect more on the south side as compared to the north side, and as a result, it twisted," Dr. Kishor Mehta, a civil engineering professor at Texas Tech University, told AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Wadell.

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The southern side of the building has since been braced and is "stronger now than what it was before the tornado," Mehta said.

Mehta was one of the several civil engineers who surveyed the damage from the catastrophic tornado, and his work in response to the tornado would lead to wind-load standards that architects and contractors would rely on to build safer structures.

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Dr. Kishor Mehta a civil engineering professor at Texas Tech University tells AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Wadell about the Metro Tower. (Bill Wadell)

Dr. Tetsuya Fujita, the meteorologist who conceptualized a six-point system to rate tornadoes and their damage in 1971, also flew down to survey the destruction.

"He was looking more from the meteorological side where we would look from the engineering side," Mehta said.

"You really cannot tell that this building has been through what it's been though, and hopefully people from Lubbock know this building and understand its history," Alison Blalack with WestMark Commercial/TCN Worldwide Real Estate told Wadell. Blalack had helped to broker the sale of the building from the telecommunications provider NTS Communications to MRE Capital and its partner Structure Development.

Because of its status as a historical building, there a few change that renovations will not be able to make like changing the exterior appearance. Much of the interior will retain its historic features as well from its flooring to the mail chute that runs from the first to 20th floor.

"You're going to see some modern improvements in the efficiencies and in the apartments, but then you're also going to see some of the historic materials that were used and things that were original to the building," Blalack said.

Alison Blalack with WestMark Commercial/TCN Worldwide Real Estate tells AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Wadell about the renovation plans for the Metro Tower. (Bill Wadell)

"There are so many opportunities for these buildings that are vacant that have been hit by storms or damaged," Blalack said. "There are so many things that are available to help get them renovated and to full occupancy again, and so I hope that others will take advantage of that."

The target move-in date for the complex is Jan. 1, 2022.

Reporting by AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Wadell.

For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
Barstow's City Council convenes with city management and staff in City Hall.

San Bernardino Countys head political-crime prosecutor penned a letter half a year ago to explain a conclusion his investigators had reached: Most of Barstows elected lawmakers likely broke laws in the process of ousting Councilwoman Barbara Rose from her former seat as the citys mayor pro tem.

Deputy District Attorney Phil Stemler wrote in May 28 letter to the Pasadena office of Barstow City Attorney Matthew Summers that through a series of one-on-one meetings in which Mayor Paul Courtney functioned as their intermediary, a majority of the City Councils members illegally agreed to orchestrate what the Mayor referred to as our plan" and boot Rose from her former seat.

A second legal violation was likely committed when the city released a public meeting agenda seemingly tailormade to hide its purpose and prevent the public from participating in removing and replacing its mayor pro team, Stemler said.

Beyond the letter, Stemler said his office would take no further action at this time based on an attempt the city made to correct its actions and on a promise that Summers would host a training session to teach Barstows five City Council members  three of whom won first terms in 2020  the laws they must follow in the conduct of the peoples business under Californias Ralph M. Brown Act.

We appreciate your agreement to counsel and train the Mayor and City Council on their obligations under the Brown Act so that they can best serve their constituents, Stemler wrote in a May 28 follow-up letter.

More than six months after the May 7 phone call, no such training has occurred. But in response to a recent order by the City Council and a more recent follow-up call from the deputy district attorney, Summers is now expected to fulfill his training promise.

Datobarstow052821 From Da by West Hub on Scribd

Conflicting narratives from city officials raise questions as to why it has taken so long to conduct the Brown Act training.

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Summers privately argued, according to Rose, that he was told to delay the training against his own wishes by the mayor and Jim Hart, Barstow's recently departed interim city manager. However, both Courtney and Hart strongly deny that recollection and say an order of this kind would not be in their power.

Summers declined to comment for this article, and did not confirm, deny or clarify his explanation. The counter-parties spoke candidly; I think that the city attorney may be trying to cover his own tail, Hart told the Daily Press.

Summers also told city officials that he sent a response letter to Stemler in June on the city's behalf. But according to the District Attorneys Office, neither Stemler nor anyone else at the agency ever received such a letter. What may be no more than a mailbag mix-up only adds to a series of unresolved questions.

Deliberately vague

Councilwoman Barbara Rose, one of Barstows post-2020 election newcomers, brought up Stemlers letter during a City Council meeting last month, Oct. 18.

Rose motioned for the city to require Summers to hold the training within one month of that night. Councilwoman Marilyn Dyer-Kruse, another newcomer, seconded the motion.

Summers emailed Stemler and the Daily Press on Oct. 28 stating that a date for the Brown Act training has been set: Nov. 15 at 6 p.m. in City Hall.

The Public Integrity Unit helmed by Stemler is charged with investigating and prosecuting elected and appointed public officials who break the law from their position of public trust, its website states.

Summers to Stem Ler 1028 by West Hub on Scribd

Stemler's talks with Summers this past May focused an effort supposedly led by Courtney, Barstows third post-2020 newcomer, to end Rose's stint as mayor pro tem a few months after it began.

The effort succeeded. Then-Councilman James Noble now holds the mayor pro tem role.

The mayor pro tem is not elected on a city ballot. They are appointed and confirmed by a majority City Council vote, and a sitting council member always holds the seat. The title comes from the Latin term pro tempore, which translates to for the time being, and is basically ceremonial in normal times with the same powers as any other council member in normal times.

If the sitting mayor is temporarily absent or vacates their seat, the mayor pro leads City Council meetings, influencing meeting agendas, being the citys default representative, and more.

Rose now publicly compliments Nobles job in her old role. But conflicts have flared for months between her and the mayor  who were relatively allied in 2020, one of the reasons Courtney initially appointed Rose to be his mayor pro tem  and even prompted denouncement in a recent anonymous letter from city staff, the Daily Press reported.

One code in the Brown Act requires cities to publicly release an agenda at least 72 hours before all regular meetings and include a brief general description of each item to be addressed.

In the lead-up to the City Councils May 3 meeting, Stemler said the agenda released by Barstow was deliberately vague. He even suggested in the letter that Courtney may have criminally violated the Brown Act by acting with the specific intent to deprive the public of information.

His issue was an item described only as City Council Organization in that agenda with a recommended action: City Council discusses the City Council organization and takes any action necessary.

These descriptors, as it turned out, were meant to inform people a discussion and vote would be happening to remove Rose as mayor pro tem and to replace her with Noble.

We understand from our discussion with you that the Mayor added this item to the agenda and that you reviewed the agenda prior to its posting, Stemler wrote to Summers.

Stemler said these descriptions must give the public a fair chance to participate by providing more than just mere clues from which the public must guess or surmise.

Barstows May 3 agenda, he continued, offered the public no clue that the mayor pro tem seat would be discussed, despite the City Council having devoted at least a quarter of its meeting time to discussing the subject when the meeting occurred.

It is difficult to conceive how any action could have provided adequate notice, Stemler wrote, adding that even City Council members expressed surprise to learn what it referred to when it came up in the meeting.

Rose resigned from her mayor pro tem post early in the discussion that night, saying she would continue to push back on proposals as a council member to ensure votes are critically considered.

Rose says prior to the meeting that night, she called Hart  the former interim city manager, who Willie Hopkins recently took over as Barstows full-time hire  to ask him what the agenda item meant. Hart says that he also did not know, and that Courtney told him to add the item to the agenda as it was written with no further context.

Clean my laundry

Stemler alleged a second violation: A majority of the City Council participated in a series of one-to-one nonpublic conversations for the purpose of collectively deciding on the mayor pro tem changes prior the May 3 meeting.

Courtney held with private talks with Dyer-Kruse, Noble and Councilman Tim Silva prior to the May 3 meeting that Stemler said would constitute a serial meeting in violation of the Brown Act with the mayor connecting the group as its intermediary.

Silva and Dyer-Kruse confirmed that the conversations occurred at the May 3 meeting but said they did not realize Courtney was speaking to other council members. Silva said he also did not know the May 3 agenda item had anything to do with the mayor pro tem gig.

Im going to clean my laundry, Silva said to Courtney during the May 3 meeting, and admit to the public that you did come to my office, you did speak to me, and after talking over the plan, then you told me this was an agendized item.

Ive told you before I will not discuss agendized items, Silva continued. Ive been, I believe, put into a possible Brown Act violation by you.

Dyer-Kruse said she was surprised to be finding out that there were other people that were spoke(n) to. She said Courtney asked my opinion and had some concerns, but told me that I was the only person he was going to ask and talk to. So I just want to make that perfectly clear.

Stemler said in the letter that although (Dyer-Kruse and Silva) each said that the Mayor told them he was not speaking to other councilmembers, the Mayors statements contradict them.

Courtney, in response to Silva, said at the meeting: If you read the agendized item, it says it very, very, very generically what our plan was, what the plan was, because I spoke to you a month ago.

Stemler counted this as an admission to the first alleged violation. He cited another quote from the meeting as an admission to the second violation.

Councilman Nobles name came up, and you indicated I should talk to the guys first, Courtney said to Dyer-Kruse at the May 3 meeting, and if the guys werent willing to fill in for Mayor Pro Tem, you would then fill in.

Summers, the city attorney, jumped in soon after this point in the meeting. Mr. Mayor, at this time, I might recommend that we refrain from further commentary as to who met with who, when and how.

The record is unclear as to what the facts exactly were, Summers continued, and it may not be helpful for the city for the record to clarify further at this time. I would recommend looking to the future.

From there, the City Council tabled its vote to make Noble the new mayor pro tem. It confirmed him 4-1 at the next meeting, on May 17, with a dissenting vote from Rose.

Stemlers letter noted that the mayor pro tem vote was properly noticed for public consideration in the May 17 meeting's agenda, representing an attempt by the city to correct its prior actions.

Yet, he did not mince words in describing how his office believed it was letting Barstow off the hook.

Even if these actions do not amount (to) a violation of the Brown Act, they fly in the face of its express purpose, Stemler wrote in the letter to Summers.

Trying to cover his own tail

Rose told the Daily Press that immediately after the Oct. 18 meeting, Summers told her the timing has gone far longer than he wanted to hold a Brown Act training session.

She says Summers claimed he was taking the directive of the former interim City Manager (Hart) and our mayor to put it off as long as he could.

Summers said in an email that I cannot comment on my communications with any officials of my client, the City of Barstow, in response to multiple requests for comment on this point and other conflicting narratives.

Hart and Courtney expressed bafflement at the allegation.

Thats just totally not true, and I think that the city attorney may be trying to cover his own tail, Hart said, adding that scheduling legal training is purely a city attorney responsibility.

Just thinking logically, Hart said, if the city attorney tells the DA, Ill make sure that theres training thats happening, do you think that hes going to take direction from me to not do it? His response to Councilmember Rose makes no sense.

Courtney said there is no truth to that. None. Any training recommendations that come my way or our way, its done.

The mayor also said the discussion by Rose last meeting was the first time he had heard anything about Stemlers letter or potential Brown Act violations being considered over the mayor pro tem replacement.

I wasnt even sure what she was talking about, to be honest with you, Courtney said. But if anybodys willing to give us additional training or whatever, were into getting additional training.

Rose also said at the Oct. 18 meeting that Summers sent a letter in response to Stemler.

The city provided the Daily Press a copy of this letter  dated June 28  in which Summers briefly restates some points from Stemlers letter and says he will invite him to attend the training when it was scheduled. The letter included each City Council member, as well as Hart and City Clerk Andrea Flores, in a CC line at its close.

Barstowtoda062821 From Bar by West Hub on Scribd

Yet, Deputy District Attorney Ron Webster told the Daily Press on Oct. 20 that I cannot find anything to suggest that our office or Phil Stemler directly received a letter in response to his letter.

After the Daily Press shared a copy of the document the city provided, Webster said, I have shown Phil Stemler the letter that you sent me and that was the first that he had seen it or was aware of it.

Hart remembered Summers emailing city leadership to say he would send a response to the May 28 letter from Stemler, but said he never actually saw the response letter in question.

Summers sent an email to Stemler on Oct. 21 thanking him for the heads-up phone call this morning and attaching a copy of the response letter I sent back in June.

Summers to Stem Ler 1021 by West Hub on Scribd

Summers sent another email one week later informing Stemler and the Daily Press that the training promised six months ago would occur on Nov. 15.

It is unclear if the District Attorneys Office has responded to any of Summers recent emails, or if Stemler or any other officials will accept his invite to attend the City Council meeting this month.

Charlie McGee covers the city of Barstow and its surrounding communities for the Daily Press. He is also a Report for America corps member with the GroundTruth Project, an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization dedicated to supporting the next generation of journalists in the U.S. and around the world. McGee may be reached at 760-955-5341 or cmcgee@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @bycharliemcgee.

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Narratives clash after DA found Barstow leaders likely broke laws
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Trump Organization does not need to pay millions of dollars in legal bills for Trump's former fixer and attorney Michael Cohen, a New York judge decided on Friday.

Michael Cohen had sued the Trump Organization for failing to make good on a promise to pay legal costs resulting from his work. But the judge said Cohen failed to prove the bills he incurred amid a criminal investigation and other lawsuits related to conduct done in his capacity as an employee of the Trump Organization.

The alleged missed reimbursements included $1.9 million for legal fees and costs, plus another $1.9 million related to Cohen's criminal case, according to Cohen's 2019 complaint.

"In a nutshell, Mr. Cohen's legal fees arise out of his (sometimes unlawful) service to Mr. Trump personally, to Mr. Trump's campaign, and to the Trump Foundation, but not out of his service to the business of the Trump Organization," the judge said in the filing.

The Trump Organization was the only defendant in Cohen's lawsuit.

In a statement on Twitter, Cohen's attorney Lanny Davis described the decision as "unfair".

Cohen, a longtime employee of the firm and Trump's, became a critic of the former president and testified that Trump had directed him to break the law. In 2018, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to prison for his role in making illegal hush-money payments to women to help Trump's 2016 election campaign and lying to Congress about a Trump project in Russia.

(Reporting by Chris Prentice in Washington; Additional reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
Two suspects were arrested Friday in connection with the stabbing death of a 17-year-old boy in Patterson a month ago, authorities said.

Jose Mendoza was stabbed during an apparent fight around 2 p.m. Oct. 8 in the area of Shearwater Drive and James Burke Avenue near Tilton Park. He died at Main Avenue and Carpenter Road, where first responders met his mother as she drove him to the hospital.

Patterson Police Services arrested one adult and one juvenile Friday afternoon in connection with the case, Stanislaus County Sheriffs Sgt. Luke Schwartz said. He said deputies served several search warrants, and more updates on this case are possible.

No other information about the suspects or their charges were released.

We hope todays arrests can bring a small degree of comfort to the victims family, a post on the Patterson Police Facebook page said. This is a sad case all around. The lives of three young men have been adversely altered by the choices made on a Friday afternoon.

In interviews with The Modesto Bee, friends and family described Mendoza as a hard-working and loving teen. He graduated in June from Patterson High School and was attending San Joaquin Community College to become an electrician.

His parents remembered their only son as a good child who was always around and wasnt known to get into trouble. Mendozas father, who is also named Jose Mendoza, said the three always had a good relationship.

He always told us that he loved us, Jose Mendoza said. Every day, every night.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP)  A Utah school district said Friday it will open an independent investigation into alleged bullying of a 10-year-old girl who died by suicide after her family says she was harassed by fellow students for being Black and autistic.

The family of Isabella Izzy Tichenor accuses the district of not doing enough to protect their daughter after they reported the bullying to the school.

The outside probe marks an escalation of action after the Davis School District said earlier this week it was doing its own investigation and that it had responded appropriately and worked extensively with the family over their complaints.

The district, where Black students account for only about 1% of the approximately 73,000 students north of Salt Lake City, was recently reprimanded by the U.S. Department of Justice for failing to address widespread racial discrimination.

The death of Izzy is tragic and devastating, the district said in a statement sent by spokeswoman Shauna Lund. We will be bringing in an independent investigation to look further into this and review our handling of critical issues, such as bullying, to provide a safe and welcoming environment for all students.

Related video: Utah Suicide Prevention Coalition's publishes new plan

Tyler Ayres, an attorney representing Izzys family and her mother Brittany Tichenor-Cox, said Izzy was bullied by a small group of other students at Foxboro Elementary School in North Salt Lake who called her the N-word, told her she was smelly and made fun of her for being autistic. Ayres said the family reported the bullying to teachers, as well as school and district administrators, but nothing was done to stop the harassment.

Ayres didnt immediately respond Friday for comment about the independent investigation.

The death last weekend of Izzy Tichenor, which police are investigating as a suicide, has triggered widespread outrage including from Utah Jazz players Donovan Mitchell and Joe Ingles, who has an autistic son.

Story continues

The Jazz held a moment of silence before their game Thursday night hours after Mitchell and Ingles expressed dismay and anger over what happened.

Its disgusting that it had to end like this for Izzy and her family, said Ingles, who spoke with the girl's mother and promised to help.

Its mind boggling, its sad, its just flat-out disgusting, Mitchell said.
When hundreds of thousands of Virginians had lost their jobs in the first summer of the pandemic, Glenn Youngkin, an executive of a private equity firm, had quit his.

The wealthy businessman from Northern Virginia was following political ambitions, soon taking jabs at Democratic leaders for how he believed they bungled the COVID-19 response. As health workers and elderly residents received the initial vaccines, he criticized the administration for not distributing doses faster.

All of a sudden, one of the most important linchpins to unlocking Virginias future was stuck on the sidelines because we did a bad job, he said during a February interview with Royal Examiner in Warren County. In my world, you get fired for that. All of a sudden, everybody is now starting to recognize that if we can just get the vaccine out, it will increase everyones confidence to do all the things we want them to do.

Months later, the candidate once proclaiming the vaccine as the key to fixing the economy was facing former Gov. Terry McAuliffe on the debate stage, rebuking vaccine and mask mandates and all but pledging to roll them back. Hospital systems fought the disease with policies, procedures and testing, he said  not making their employees get shots. Requiring immunization for anyone, even doctors and nurses, would only make peoples lives difficult, he said.

Now in the final months under Gov. Ralph Northam, residents wait to see how Youngkin will alter Virginias public health campaign against the worst pandemic in U.S. history. Though the late-summer surge in infections peaked and steadily declined during the homestretch of the governors race, COVID-19 may resurface as an issue when the political neophyte takes office Jan. 15. Infectious disease forecasters have warned of a potential sequel to last winters wave, perhaps rivaling its record caseload early next year.

Almost 700,000 Virginians have had confirmed cases of the disease, with about 1,300 new infections being reported each day lately. Over 14,200 residents, 11 of whom were children, have died.

Story continues

Based on previous remarks, Youngkin is likely to overturn mandates requiring vaccines for state workers and masks in schools. Though vaccinated, the Republican said other people should be free to decide whether to get inoculated.

Youngkin also said in the final debate that while he would keep vaccine requirements for measles, mumps and rubella for K-12 students, he would not support adding the coronavirus to that list, even after the shots get federal licensure.

In August, when the more aggressive delta variant caused cases to soar, particularly among children, he told a Christian Broadcasting Network reporter he would end school masking.

In the current set of data we see today, no mask mandate, he said.

Governors tend to have broad authority during emergencies. With that power, Northam has required state workers since September to show proof they are vaccinated or submit to weekly COVID-19 tests. State Health Commissioner Norm Oliver also signed a public health order in August forcing mask-wearing for students and teachers, drawing ire from school systems that opposed it.

The question is how Youngkin will handle localities and school boards that want to set or maintain their own requirements, said Bob Holsworth, founding director of the Center for Public Policy and the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Thats where the controversy has been in many other states, particularly in Florida, in Texas, where it wasnt just removing a state mandate, it was governors saying that the locals couldnt make decisions based on their judgment, Holsworth said. Govs. Ron DeSantis and Greg Abbott, are taking money away from school systems, taking them to court, doing everything possible to use state power to restrict local options.

Its unclear where Youngkin will land on the issue. He and his team declined through a spokesman to comment for this story, citing a busy schedule.

The governor-elect provided a few breadcrumbs on the campaign trail for how he may use his executive power to put his thumb on the scale. On the issue of virtual learning, for example, he told conservative radio host Mark Anthony in June Were not going to fund schools that are closed.

He also demonstrated how his views align with sitting Republican governors choices. Youngkin praised DeSantis for quickly lifting COVID-19 restrictions, saying Northam had miscalculated how long to continue the shutdown.

States that opened up faster than Virginia, like Florida, have had quite comparable health care statistics, he said during a James Madison University town hall meeting in March. There really has not been a demonstrated gain, from a health standpoint, by keeping Virginia closed like we have, and keeping our schools closed like we have.

Public opinion polls show Virginians have supported Northams handling of the pandemic, despite his overall approval dipping. In late September, for example, The Roanoke College Poll found 47% of voters thought the states response to slow the spread of the virus was appropriate. While the survey indicated 69% of participants thought the federal governments response had been appropriate or had not gone far enough, about 26% said the federal response went too far.

Most Republican governors have vowed to challenge President Joe Bidens plans to order vaccines for federal workers and companies with 100 or more employees. In the final gubernatorial debate, Youngkin avoided outright promising to fight the regulations but said he didnt believe the president had the authority to make them.

More than two-dozen states have filed legal challenges in at least six federal appeals courts. All the states have a Republican governor or attorney general. Judges on the New Orleans-based federal court have paused the rules from taking effect in January, saying it raises constitutional concerns.

Raymond Scheppach, professor of public policy at the University of Virginia, said its a close call whether Youngkin and the states soon-to-be attorney general, Jason Miyares, will join the legal battle.

When it comes to the states approach to the pandemic, Virginia has been less aggressive than some other Democratic states.

Its not New York, Scheppach said. So I would suspect hes going to be kind of a moderate Republican. Youre going to see a shift, but I dont think its going to be a huge shift.

The GOP litigation could have an outsize impact on Virginia, a state with many companies that contract with the federal government.

But Holsworth thinks Youngkin doesnt have to walk the line of being a moderate Republican on this issue.

I look at the people who elected him, he said. He wasnt elected by the voters in Northern Virginia.

Elisha Sauers, 757-839-4754, elisha.sauers@pilotonline.com
Komuro Kei, the husband of Japan's former Princess Mako, appears to have resolved a financial issue involving his mother and her former fiance.

Komuro met the ex-fiance and his representative on Friday evening at the office of Komuro's lawyer in Tokyo.

The representative says the two sides agreed that a payment from Komuro's side would settle the issue, and the ex-fiance had signed a document to confirm this.

The representative says he believes the matter has been settled and the ex-fiance will make no further demands in regard to it.

The financial entanglement was widely covered by domestic media since the announcement in 2017 that Komuro and Mako were to be engaged.

The reports referred to support payments to Komuro's mother of about 4 million yen, or over 35,000 dollars, which Komuro's mother received from the man for living expenses and other uses.

Komuro released a statement earlier this year in a bid to clarify the issue. It noted the man had said he did not need the money repaid. This reportedly led the Komuro side to believe the problem had been resolved.

Komuro added in the document that he still felt gratitude for the ex-fiance's support, and he was prepared to provide a payment to settle the issue.

Komuro and Mako are expected to leave Japan on Sunday for New York, where they will start a new life.
Pottawattamie County Community Foundation is excited to join the national network of over 800 community foundations throughout America who are celebrating National Community Foundation Week. Donors, nonprofit organizations and other key stakeholders make it possible for PCCF to continue to amplify impact throughout southwest Iowa. Today, PCCF is delighted to feature Elizabeth Collins for her philanthropic spirit and generous commitment to creating impact in our community.

Elizabeth became part of the Council Bluffs community in 1978, after she was hired as an elementary teacher in the Council Bluffs Community Schools District. Elizabeths teaching career spanned 35 years, including service at Madison, DeForest, Edison and College View schools until she retired in 2013.

When I became part of PCCF, I was impressed with the stated vision and emphasis on rural and urban Pottawattamie County, she said.

Elizabeth had already established a fund through Omaha Community Foundation, but felt the time was right and she was ready to establish a fund through PCCF, as well.

Elizabeth first came to PCCF several years back, to discuss her desire to make a difference in our southwest Iowa community.
Just in time for the holiday shopping season, the American Red Cross is offering Amazon gift cards to people who donate by Nov. 23.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning that Americans could see a spike in flu cases this year, which could impact blood donations this winter, according to the Red Cross. The organization is asking that people who are eligible, healthy and feeling well make appointments to donate blood or platelets.

According to the CDC, flu cases reached an all-time low last year due to masking, physical distancing and shutdowns across the country, and many Americans may have reduced immunity this year, a press release from the Red Cross stated. When seasonal illness increases, the number of healthy blood donors tends to decrease.

Winter weather, busy holiday schedules and concerns about COVID-19 will only add to the challenges, it said.

The press released noted that there is no waiting period for people who have recently received a flu shot or a COVID-19 vaccination or booster, regardless of the brand.
Sydney is a 1 1/2-year-old spayed female domestic shorthair who arrived at MHS as a stray at the end of July. She came to the shelter with kittens of her own.

After they were weaned, she fostered an orphaned litter until they were big and healthy to be put up for adoption. She is so deserving of a home of her own where she can collect on all her good karma and get spoiled like she deserves.

Jersey, a boxer/pit bull terrier mix is a sensitive girl with a big personality once she feels safe and comfortable. She is 2-years-old and ready to be part of a quiet home.

She does not do well with young children as they make her nervous so she would do best with adult-only home or children in their teens. She does know some basic commands and loves to show them off, especially when a treat is in store.

Stitch is a 4-year-old spayed female mastiff mix ready for her next stage in life. Stitch can be protective of her owners so extra training to manage that behavior is highly recommended.

Any children in the home should be 12-years-old and older and we feel she would do best in a home setting with her own yard.

Please visit our website, midlandshumanesociety.org/adopt to view available animals. MHS is not open on Sundays at this time, but you can visit with staff and volunteers at PetSmart in Council Bluffs this Sunday to visit with adoptable animals and take advantage of amazing adoption specials.
Deere & Co. and the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America have reached their third tentative agreement, according to a release from Brian Rothenberg, spokesperson for the UAW.

John Deere and Company has made a last, best and final offer to the UAW negotiating team that includes modest modifications to the last tentative agreement presented for ratification on November 2, Rothenberg said. As a result, the UAW will present the companys offer for ratification and, as has been the case throughout the bargaining process, will support the outcome as determined by our members.

The ratification vote will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 17, according to a worker.

Deere officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Deere and the UAW have also agreed to a Nov. 19 hearing about the injunction that limited behavior on picket lines, according to court documents.

The Scott County UAW filed a motion requesting the hearing be moved from a remote format to an in-person format.
What services does your agency provide, and who generally does it serve? We're an organization that matches a mentor and mentee that get together one hour a week on school grounds. It's meant for the mentee to have a positive role model in their lives. Mentees are children from grades 3-12.
One might not notice the plaque near the entrance to the Browns Shoe Fit store in downtown North Platte.

The tablet is on the wall to the left of the entrance to the store, and it marks the location of the first schoolhouse in Lincoln County in 1868. The house was built of logs. The plaque was placed by the Sioux Lookout Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1941.

Historian Jeff Barnes of Omaha pointed out there are many such markers and plaques across the state that many Nebraskans dont know about. Barnes spoke at the North Platte Public Library on Friday about his most recent book, Marking Nebraska: Our (Mostly) Hidden Historical Monuments.

He spoke about markers that commemorate numerous historic sites and offered interesting stories concerning several, many in out-of-the-way locations.

The markers and monuments of Nebraska actually go way, way back in our history, Barnes said, back to the earliest days of Nebraska as a territory.

Barnes said the first marker was an oak post placed in 1854 along the Nebraska-Kansas territory border, but the wood did not last long.
While attending Auburn, Hammond was a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Omicron Kappa Chapter and was the NPHC president in 2017 and 2018.

Hammond said that for a long time NPHC students wanted to have some type of marker on campus and the opportunity came for him to push forward the idea.

This is something wed all agree is overdue. Were excited, he said. We wanted to provide a place where students can learn and be educated as well as come together.

These kids worked awfully hard for a long period of time, said Jay Gogue, president of Auburn University. It shows tremendous leadership to come in, have a vision and to carry the vision all the way through.

Senior Jackson Thomas is the current NPHC president at Auburn and is a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Omicron Kappa Chapter.

This is a big step in the right direction, Thomas said. Auburn has one of the lowest diversity rates in the SEC, so this is breaking that barrier to bring more inclusion and more minority students to the Auburn family.

Auburn alumnus Linwood Moore pledged Kappa Alpha Psi at Auburn University in 1974, graduated in 1977 and is now a member of the Black Alumni Council. He also the first Black cheerleader at Auburn University.
Multimedia Reporter

Staff writer Harry Funk, a professional journalist for three-plus decades, has been on the staff of The Almanac since 2015. He has a bachelors degree in journalism and master of business administration, both from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.


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Home Economics also has a latina housekeeper and she is not even a fleshed out character.

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But why not flesh out the character and hire an diversity and inclusion manager and and make the part actually matter?



It seems way too easy just scrap the part than to actually listen to her valid objections to the role.

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Honestly fuck them, Im glad they didnt even try to do something sensible like that clearly it would have crashed and burned. They dont have the capacity or the grace to do something like that obviously so good riddance and fuck the show.

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Spite. They probably cut the character out of spite. Like, fine, if you dont like the way we wrote the Latina character, then you get no Latina character. Fucking assholes.

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yep. That's exactly how I read it. bastards.

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MTE. The better choice was to rework the role, rather than scrap one of the few roles for Latinas.

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i think that doing so would require actually responding to the inherently racist dynamic between the character and who she works for. that's not the intention of the show, writers, white people in general so it can't happen.

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NPH is an asshole so I'm not surprised that he was cool with that to begin with.

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my thoughts exactly

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Literally will never forgive him after the party with the Amy Winehouse ~snacks~

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Yup... that was literally it for me.

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other than literal rape/violence it's probably the most horrible thing I've ever seen a celebrity do. The lack of humanity that went into it + the long term planning is a shocking combination.

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MTE. Like of course NPH would go for a shitty racist stereotype joke and then not try to fix it in any meaningful way.

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First of all: let's not act like Americans speak any language but English broken, so why still turn it into a joke when esl people do it with English.



Secondly:NPH

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Let's be honest: most Americans don't even speak English correctly.

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I took Spanish all 4 years in high school. Then as an adult, I worked with a bunch of Hispanic immigrants. At that point, I barely spoke kitchen Spanish but I could hang in translating scenarios. Ive been out of that environment for a few years. Now I say I speak Spanish like a 2 year old. (Hablo espanol un poquito pero mi espanol es basura. como soy dos anos.)

Very limited & others will struggle to understand me.

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How do Americans speak broken English?

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You'll have to ask the user saying that.

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Hope Modern Family gets removed one day too lol

So done with Latina stereotypes, leave us alone

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The same Darren star who created Emily in Paris? I for one am shocked.

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I wouldn't expect anything else from the two of them. Fuck them

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Doogie Howser has been known as awful for years and years.

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lol yt gay dudes think they aren't just as bad as yt straight males 

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they're worse bc they be horrible then hide behind an imaginary oppressed card.

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Shocked that Neil Patrick Harris is involved in a problematic situation.

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Darren starr and NPH would

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I came to say this.

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Yep

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They should have changed the character but then again no latinx actor should have to be subject to working with these people.

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You are modern gay men. How would you like to watch or play an outdated, offensively stereotypical gay part?



White, gay men is the key here. Brought to you by the same people who won rights by strategically showing how similar to straight, white men and heteronormative families they were.

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i stand by my believe that white gay men is probably the most openly racist and misogynist group.

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There was a user on here who claimed to be Latino, and he was caping for white gays when I said that white gay men use their sexual minority status to shield themselves from criticism when they pull racist/sexist/transphobic/biphobic shit.



I do think it's gotten better over the years with more people calling out their bullshit. But I also mostly associate with non-scene-y gays. So I don't know what those vapid, Puerto Vallarta-sinking-ship-in-the-middle-of-a-p andemic gays are like. And, well, there's *motions at Neil Patrick Harris* all this.

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for sure. the irony is so many of them wanna be oppressed so bad and have all the #queer #blm etc but still act obnoxious.

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this thread is how i know none of you actually interact with straight white people lmao

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they are.

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darren star?? was emily in paris such a success that netflix gave him more shows?

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The obvious case for allowing the free market to make decisions in industries like energy is that, when changes are forced instead of adopted naturally (usually via laws or government subsidies), they often work against the interests of efficiency.

That's a lesson several companies found out first hand. In fact, Bloomberg writes there is now a "growing unease among climate activists and some investors that the policy many of them championed could lead to more coal being produced for longer".

For example, Anglo American Plc, one of the worlds most powerful mining companies, has become "a case study in unintended consequences" after climate activists and investors urged it to stop digging up coal, Bloomberg reported this week. Now, it has transformed mines that were one set for closure into "the engine room for a growth-hungry coal business".

Anglo American CEO Mark Cutifani had seen Rio Tinto sell off its coal mines and had a plan to shut down its seven South African mines. But the company wasn't taking action fast enough for activists and investors, so Anglo spun off another company called Thungela and tucked its coal operations into the SpinCo. Investors could then "decide for themselves" if they wanted to hold or sell shares of the SpinCo.

The SpinCo Chief Executive Officer, July Ndlovu, then announced they were looking to grow their coal production, not shrink it.

I didnt take up this role to close these mines, to close this business, Ndlovu said. Its South African mines have the potential to add a decade or more of mining, producing more than 10 million tons of coal per year.

BHP Group, a rival company, had trouble selling a colliery earlier this year so it applied to extend mining at the site for another two decades. It was thought of as a way to sweeten a deal to sell the mine, but may wind up turning into BHP simply mining at the site for longer than expected. Investors continue to bring up BHP's exit strategy from the mines as a point of contention.

Related: Can U.S Shale Drillers Help Prevent An Energy Crunch?

The big push from investors is around ensuring that any divestment that occurs is to parties that are responsible, BHP CEO Mike Henry said.

Glencore Plc announced earlier this year it would increase its ownership of a large Colombian coal mine after seeking out the opinions of activists, the report says. The company has promised to end its coal operations by 2050, but has also prepared "contingency" plans in the event investors "force it".

Nick Stansbury, head of climate solutions at Legal & General Group Plc, told Bloomberg: Everyone in the industry is starting to be more sophisticated, more nuanced and more careful on the way they think these issues through.

Ashley Hamilton Claxton, the head of responsible investment at Royal London Asset Management, concluded by stating that fossil fuel companies should hold on to their coal assets and manage their decline: Selling the problem to a third party has unintended consequences. We need to shift the debate in the investment industry about being more sophisticated around these things.

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
An Omaha police spokesman told The World-Herald that he hadnt heard of any police reports filed regarding striking employees as of Friday afternoon.

Along with union members at Kellogg production facilities in Tennessee, Michigan and Pennsylvania, 480 employees at the Omaha plant have been on strike since Oct. 5 after the expiration of the previous collective bargaining agreement.

Osborn said Kelloggs complaint does not deprive or take away any of our rights. He added that many union members have felt betrayed and bewildered by actions they allege that Kellogg has taken, including suspending insurance for employees and paying temporary workers more than what it pays union employees. Osborn said Kellogg is spending a significant amount of money to keep union members out of the facility.

Kris Bahner, a spokeswoman for Kellogg, said in a statement, We respect the right of employees to lawfully communicate their position in this matter. We sought a Temporary Restraining Order to help ensure the safety of all individuals in the vicinity of the plant, including the picketers themselves.
State-and-regional

Researchers find 102 names of students who died at Nebraska's Genoa Indian School

ANNA REED, THE WORLD-HERALD A stone commemorates the unknown number of Native children who died at the Genoa Indian Industrial School in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. ANNA REED, THE WORLD-HERALD Flags from 40 tribes represent the students at the Genoa Indian Industrial School in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

As the search continues for a cemetery once used by the Genoa U.S. Indian Industrial School, researchers say they have discovered the names of more than 100 students who died while at the federal boarding school.

A collaborative effort has thus far found 102 names of students  primarily young children  who died while at the school, which operated in Genoa, Nebraska, from 1884 to 1934.

Some of the names might be duplicates, but the true death toll is likely much higher, said Margaret Jacobs, a professor of history at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and co-director of the Genoa Indian School Digital Reconciliation Project. The project, formed in 2017, has focused in recent months on identifying students who perished at the school.

It comes amid a national push to learn the true toll of federal boarding schools for Native children and young adults.

The fourth such school to be built in the U.S., the Genoa Indian Industrial School was one of the largest in a system of 25 federal Indian boarding schools. At its peak in 1932, the schools 640-acre campus housed 599 students, who ranged in age from 4 to 22 years old.

When the school closed in 1934, documents were either destroyed or scattered across the country. Locating them has proved challenging for both the Genoa project and others working to gather information on the schools.

Many of the names linked to Genoa were found in newspaper archives, including the schools student newspapers, according to Jacobs. The research team hopes to eventually find an official government record on student deaths, something that hasnt yet turned up in the thousands of documents analyzed and uploaded to the projects website.

Exploring the scarred, 'tragic history' of Nebraska's Genoa Indian school As the government makes long-awaited strides in unveiling the untold history of Indian Boarding Schools, researchers in Nebraska are hopeful it brings a reckoning not yet seen in the United States.

Meanwhile, the Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs is working with the State Archeology Office to find the schools cemetery.

Guided by a 1920 Nance County plat map that denotes the cemeterys location, three areas have been searched using ground-penetrating radar in recent weeks, according to Judi gaiashkibos, executive director of the commission.

Data gathered from the searches will have to be further analyzed, but field observations did not detect anomalies consistent with graves.

Its disheartening, gaiashkibos said, that the graves havent yet been found.

I think America needs to take these little children back home, and if were not able to find them, I think we need to do something to recognize that they lost their lives there, said gaiashkibos, a citizen of the Ponca Tribe.

The existence of the cemetery isnt doubted.

Multiple references to children buried in the school cemetery have been found in newspapers and in the stories of former students, who, years after the school closed, recalled the burial of classmates on school grounds.

Many of the children who died at the school fell victim to disease, Jacobs said. Pneumonia is often mentioned in records, and tuberculosis was one of the most common killers of children at the school.

A school sees a lice check. Lakota people sense centuries of repression Norma LeRoy tries to understand why a school secretary cut her two girls hair without her consent in spring 2020. The secretary was checking for lice, LeRoy was told  lice the mother said they never found.

Through an annual report from the school superintendent in 1892 to the U.S. commissioner of Indian affairs, the reality of disease was described in stark numbers.

In February our school increased by about 140 Southern Indian children, the superintendent wrote. Soon after their arrival, an epidemic of measles broke out; it spread rapidly through the school. At one time there were 105 in bed at once. As a sequel, we had numerous cases of lung fever, 10 of which died. With two exceptions, the deaths were all confined to two tribes. Apaches and Arapahoes.

It is unclear if the 10 children were buried at the school, or if their remains were sent home.

There are also records of deadly accidents, like the drowning of a 16-year-old whose death was reported in 1909 by the Genoa Times. Another teen reportedly died after he was hit by a freight train near the school. And the Columbus Journal reported in 1898 that a student was accidentally shot by another boy while playing with pistols on school grounds.

Each is added to the researchers list. Their ages range from 4 to early 20s. Their cause of death and tribes are included if they can be found.

The names on that list wont be published until tribal leaders are consulted and an attempt to contact relatives of the dead is made.

These children died at the school; they didnt get a chance to go home, Jacobs said. I think that the descendants deserve to know what happened to their ancestors.

'A long time coming': Nebraska celebrates first Indigenous Peoples' Day Descendants of Nebraska's first people and descendants of later arrivals came together on a sun-soaked October Monday for events marking the state's first Indigenous Peoples' Day.

For descendants of those who attended the school, like gaiashkibos, whose mother went to the boarding school, unearthing the unknown brings a range of feelings.

I have a lot of feelings, a lot of mixed feelings, gaiashkibos said. As a country, I think there was a collective decision that this isnt the history that we want to tell. That the truth is too painful to reveal. I think its time to take responsibility for that, and to do something positive for the future.

gaiashkibos mother didnt share much about her time at the school.

Neither did Rick Williams ancestors.

Williams wishes that he had asked his great-grandmother and grandmother more about their time at the school. What he does know is that they had vastly different experiences.

His great-grandmother, Ida White Eyes, was one of the first students to attend the school in the mid-1880s. The 14-year-old was healthy when she was taken to the school. Months later, she was sent home completely blind.

White Eyes died when Williams was 10 years old, but he distinctly remembers watching a doctor examine his great-grandmothers eyes.

He had that little light and he opened her eyes and he said, Oh my god, somebody has done something to this womans eyes, Williams recalled.

ANNA REED, THE WORLD-HERALD A portion of the stile and gate surrounding the Genoa Indian Industrial School campus still stands near the Genoa Indian School Interpretive Center in Genoa, Nebraska.

Williams and his grandmother, Louisa Star, suspected that lye soap had been rubbed in the eyes of his strong-willed great-grandmother as a punishment.

Star also attended the school. After her graduation about 1914, she attended the Rapid City Indian School and eventually the Colorado School of Mines, receiving the equivalent of a business degree.

You have the tale of two very different experiences, said Williams, a member of the Oglala Lakota Tribe and a Cheyenne descendant.

Williams, who in 1975 became the first documented Native person to graduate from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a bachelors degree, recalls the anger he felt the first time he visited the Genoa schools former campus years ago.

One of the most frustrating experiences for me with Genoa was when my wife and I visited probably 25 years ago, he said. I was shocked that there was no cemetery, and there were hints about where the cemetery was, or some suggestion that it had been covered up, but no answers. I was angry.

Remembrance ceremony brings understanding, recognition of those who attended Genoa Indian School More than 50 people attended the Genoa U.S. Indian School Recognition and Remembrance Ceremony. The yearly event allows descendants of former students to share stories and learn more about the school's past.

Locating the cemetery is an effort gaiashkibos is committed to.

Im dedicated to spending the rest of my life to finding those children at Genoa, she said.

Local and state officials are not alone in their desire to learn more.

After the discovery of hundreds of children buried in unmarked graves at Canadas Indigenous residential schools, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland earlier this year started the Federal Indian Boarding School Truth Initiative.

It is meant to review the U.S. Indian Boarding Schools legacy of physical abuse and isolation. It will also provide resources to investigate known and suspected burial sites, including the Genoa schools cemetery.

Im looking to see something good come out of this, gaiashkibos said. Perhaps we will find some way to restore language, to restore some of the culture that was stripped from us. Also, hold people accountable. Everyone needs to learn the stories and say, America did this and we can do better.
We got a good buy on it when we bought it, he said.

Speaking generally and not specifically on Hikes vote, Frank Daley, executive director of the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission, said a mayor or city council member has a conflict of interest if they are faced with a decision that could result in a financial benefit or detriment to the official, a member of his or her immediate family or a business with which they are associated.

The financial benefit or detriment must be distinct from that experienced by the general public and must be reasonably foreseeable, Daley said.

Hike said he has made no official or verbal agreements with anyone regarding the property beyond the sale of the land.

If I had an agreement with Mercury, that would be a conflict of interest, Hike said. If Im making money, or Im taking city money for something, that would be a conflict on interest for me, and I have conflicted out on those instances.

Gehring, of Mercury, said he was unaware that Hike co-owned the property when he began the process of buying the land.
A North Carolina man arrived in Nebraska 59 years ago today after riding his bike 1,041 miles to a view a town that no longer existed.

Mark Dustin, a 29-year-old carpenter, left Durham, North Carolina, Oct. 21 on his bicycle and arrived in Nebraska on Nov. 13, 1962. Dustin had seen the name of Dustin, Nebraska, on maps and decided to find out what the community was like.

The town of Dustin was in northwest Holt County, but all that was left when Mark Dustin arrived was a faded town sign. The buildings had been moved away.

At the town's peak, there was a post office, general store, hardware store, drugstore, blacksmith shop, church, school, and a newspaper called the "Dustin Dispatch." The post office was probably established in the early 1880s.

The last store and the post office closed Aug. 16, 1957  five years before Mark Dustin made his pilgrimage.

In a 1962 interview, Mrs. Edward Eby, who with her husband once operated a store in Dustin, said the town was named after William Dustin.

Mark Dustin said he planned to stay in Nebraska, possibly in nearby O'Neill and work, preferably on a farm. He said he was most looking forward to snow and a white Christmas.
Fortenberry, his wife and his attorneys have maintained that he was set up and misled by federal investigators, who came to his Lincoln home to ask about the contributions. A year earlier, the feds had an informant call the congressman and tell him that donations at the L.A. fundraiser in 2016 originated from Chagoury.

Fortenberrys attorneys, in a request filed Tuesday, asked that the lead prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Mack Jenkins, be disqualified from the case. Jenkins is a potential witness in the trial because he took statements from the congressman in a July 2019 meeting that led to two of the charges, the motion states. He cannot act as both advocate and witness at the same trial, Fortenberrys attorneys argue.

The same motion also questioned the fairness of secretly recording a 2018 telephone call between an FBI informant and Fortenberry, as well as a 2019 interview with FBI agents at the congressmans house, even though there was no evidence that he had done anything wrong. Approval from a deputy assistant attorney general, the motion said, was needed for such recordings.
According to the press release from Petersons office, the bill would also require more sexual assault prevention training for military personnel and more instruction for prosecutors on how to handle sexual assault and domestic violence cases.

The bill is sponsored by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and has 65 cosponsors, including both of Nebraskas senators. Other key lawmakers and leaders of the military services have balked at including all major crimes. There are concerns that stripping control of all crimes from commanders could hurt military readiness, erode command authority and require far more time and resources.

The Armys handling of sexual assaults and other violence has come under significant scrutiny in the aftermath of a series of crimes, including murders and suicides last year at Fort Hood, Texas. A review panel found that military leaders at the post were not adequately dealing with high rates of sexual assault and harassment and were utterly neglecting the sexual assault prevention program.
His great-grandmother, Ida White Eyes, was one of the first students to attend the school in the mid-1880s. The 14-year-old was healthy when she was taken to the school. Months later, she was sent home completely blind.

White Eyes died when Williams was 10 years old, but he distinctly remembers watching a doctor examine his great-grandmothers eyes.

He had that little light and he opened her eyes and he said, Oh my god, somebody has done something to this womans eyes, Williams recalled.

Williams and his grandmother, Louisa Star, suspected that lye soap had been rubbed in the eyes of his strong-willed great-grandmother as a punishment.

Star also attended the school. After her graduation about 1914, she attended the Rapid City Indian School and eventually the Colorado School of Mines, receiving the equivalent of a business degree.

You have the tale of two very different experiences, said Williams, a member of the Oglala Lakota Tribe and a Cheyenne descendant.

Williams, who in 1975 became the first documented Native person to graduate from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a bachelors degree, recalls the anger he felt the first time he visited the Genoa schools former campus years ago.
Our propensity for fake news reflects our propensity for fake forms of the gospel.

This article originally appeared in Lausanne Global Analysis by the Lausanne Movement and is republished here with permission from the Lausanne Movement.

A few years ago, Jacob Cherian, dean of faculty at the Centre of Global Leadership Development in Bangalore, India, received a cash gift of several thousand rupees. He gave three of those notes to a friend to use at a hospital, only to discover that the notes were fake.

I decided then to learn the key characteristics of a real thousand rupee note, says Cherian. Soon he knew how to judge a real note from a counterfeit one, despite how much they resembled each other.

Cherian sees this as an analogy for being able to distinguish fake news from real news, and the true gospel story from the many fake gospels rampant today.

Fake News and the Sloganized Gospel

The Oxford Dictionary defines fake news as news that conveys or incorporates false, fabricated or deliberately misleading information, or that is characterized as or accused of doing so. Fake news is widespread and powerful in a global culture where people have 24/7 access to television, radio, news websites, podcasts, messaging apps, Facebook and Twitterall channels through which fake news proliferates.

A disturbing analysis of 4.5 million tweets shows that falsehoods are 70% more likely to get shared. This shows its not only an inability to decipher what is true that makes fake news so prolificwe also find it alluring, sensational.

Despite being the bearers of good news, Christians are not immune to fake news. For example, in the days leading up to the 2020 election in the U.S., the most popular Christian pages on Facebook were being run by troll farms in Eastern Europe. These groups, which work cooperatively to produce and publish provocative and often angering content to social networks, reached nearly half of all Americans.

Our propensity for fake news reflects our propensity for fake forms of the gospel. A 2020 survey by Ligonier Ministries showed that a significant number of evangelicals have a profound misunderstanding about God. Overall, U.S. adults appear to have a superficial attachment to well-known Christian beliefs, stated the ministry.

For example, a majority agreed that Jesus died on the cross for sin and that he rose from the dead. However, they rejected the Bibles teaching on (1) the gravity of mans sin, (2) the importance of the churchs gathering together for worship, and (3) the Holy Spirit.

How then does one distinguish what is fake from what is true, especially when it comes to Christianitylike Cherians rupee notes?

And how can we return to the true gospel in a world saturated with false gospels?

These were the key questions posed on 22 October 2021, when over 120 participants from around the world joined virtually for The Good News in a World of Fake News: Knowing the Story. The panel included Jacob Cherian as well as Ligon Duncan, chancellor and CEO of Reformed Theological Seminary, and Simon Chan, editor of Asia Journal of Theology, and was moderated by Conrad Mbewe, pastor of Kabwata Baptist Church in Zambia.

These leaders in Asia, Africa and North America agreed that nominalism is plaguing the global church. A lot of people who identify as Bible-believing Christians in America actually dont understand the gospel, says Duncan. The same is true all over the world.

The Barna Group has found that 66% of self-professing Christians are casual Christians, a term George Barna himself defines as [feeling] religious without having to prioritize their faith.  A casual Christian can be all the things that they esteem: a nice human being, a family person, religious, an exemplary citizen, a reliable employeeand never have to publicly defend or represent difficult moral or social positions or even lose much sleep over their private choices as long as they mean well and generally do their best. <sup>4</sup>

This convenient and comfortable approach to Christianity goes in stark contrast to how the Bible depicts what it means to be a follower of Christ.

Simon Chan attributes part of the nominalism problem to sloganizing.

The gospel has been reduced to a number of slogansJesus died for my sins, we are saved by grace not by works, I accept Jesus as my personal savior. While all these slogans capture important truths, they are inadequate, says Chan. Sloganizing gives people the vague sense that they know the truth, but they miss the full ramifications of it, because they fail to see the gospel as a coherent story. They get, as it were, snippets of the gospel through these cliches.

Cherian agreed, adding, Just a few disjointed verses are not going to help you understand the genuine gospel, the culmination of a wonderful long story, of Gods plan to bring Gods redemption to the world. Any gospel that doesnt connect to Gods story is problematic. Just like I had to learn what a real thousand-rupee note is, we need to know our four gospels really well. Then we will be saved from a lot of the distortions that are prevalent.

The Long-Term Memory of Christian Identity

According to Ligon Duncan, there are two ways false gospels get promulgated today.

One is to see Jesus as a means to something else thats greater than or more than, or in addition to Jesus. Any kind of theology of plusJesus plus something else, and the something else is what youre really aftercan actually end up clouding the gospel, says Duncan. Because theres nothing better than Jesus. Communion with Christ is what we all want more than anything else.

The other way false gospels can come about, says Duncan, is that we find ways to say that what we do is the gospel. The gospel is an announcement, a message. Its not something we do or be, he explains. If theres anything clear in the gospel, its that we are not the gospel and we do not do the gospel. God does the gospel, and we get to announce that to other people.

Being in Singapore, which epitomizes globalization, Chan says the same false gospels that are at work in many other countries are at work in his city. False gospels begun in other countries quickly make their way to the megachurches of Singapore, where the main consideration for a speaker is his or her ability to draw the crowdsbig bucks, big crowds.

Singapore is not only a major hub of commerce and communication, but a major consumer of religious fads, says Chan. Attraction to these false gospels is one thing, but it doesnt explain why many Christians continue to go after false prophets, despite repeated experiences of failed prophecies.

He says so many modern evangelicals lack long-term memory, which comes from having a clear Christian identity shaped by the gospel. This Christian identity is not just individualistic, but shaped primarily through communitythe church.

Within the context of our life in this community is where we discover our basic Christian identity, our sense of who we are as part of a larger body, enabling us to know who we really are. I think one of the problems of many modern Christians, at least in our context, especially among evangelicals, is that we have a very weak ecclesiology. This results in the formation of a very weak Christian identity.

When we dont remember that we are the people of God in a community shaped by the gospel, we cannot draw on the resources of our collective memory to assess our present challenges. Thats why we are easily drawn by fads, by what is current, and we become easy victims of all of these fashionable gospels.

Cherian says what will bring us back to the gospel are the Gospels themselvesMatthew, Mark, Luke and Johnas well as the letters of Paul.

Our people need to hear the gospel from the Gospels, and they need to walk along with the apostle Paul, says Cherian. If we can read those carefully, we will slowly begin to recapture the reality of the gospel, what the gospel of the kingdom is.

This article originally appeared on Lausanne.org and is reposted here by permission.

Sources
Tripping the Light Fantastic: Remembering Inez Hunter

by Jo Anne Quinn

January 2010

Many a local boy recalls being forced to dance with GIRLS (ewwwcooties!!) during the weekly classes led by Mrs. Inez Hunter at a number of Catholic grade schools in the Sunset and Richmond Districts.

Our teacher was born Inez Alma Berine on November 15, 1902, the daughter of Raymond Berine and Florence (Eisfelder) Berine, both of California. She graduated from San Francisco's Girl's High School in 1920.

She married Thomas "Jack" Hunter. Mrs. Hunter was a real character and her husband was like-mindeda big man with a hearty laugh and a deep, scratchy voice, who always sported a HUGE cigar. They were a perfectly matched couple.

She had two daughters, Nancyhelen and Carol Inez (now known as Rabia) and saw Nancyhelen go on to be a major feminist force in Washington State in the area of encouraging women to run for political office. Nancyhelen passed away on December 1, 2008 at the age of 77. Rabia, now 74, is currently an Advisory Council Member for the Sonoma County Council Committee on Ageing.

Why and how Mrs. Hunter decided to become involved in the art of dance is not known. Aside from teaching in Catholic schools, she also had a dance studio that she operated out of her own home, teaching ballet, tap, jazz and acrobatics. Your author was one of her students. She gave recitals at places like the Laguna Honda Home and the San Francisco Maritime Museum, usually during the holiday seasons. They were always great fun, despite the grueling rehearsals, mothers laboriously sewing elaborate costumes and dads building props.

In 1985, the St. Cecilia Class of 1960 invited Mrs. Hunter, along with our other teachers, to a 25th reunion held in the school's auditorium. As the photo shows she did not hesitate, just like in the "old days," to pick out the tallest boy to engage in an honorary dance. She also danced with a few of the girls, just to make sure they had remembered their long-ago lessons. Seeing this wonderful woman again, after so many years, added a welcomed and whimsical touch to the gathering.

On the occasion of her 85th birthday, she threw a big party at a hotel in San Francisco, and invited not only friends and family, but also former students. The turnout was impressive. Everyone brought old photos of their dance school days, which were pinned up on a bulletin board next to Mrs. Hunter's contributions. Her husband, with his ever-present large cigar, delighted in being surrounded by such an enthusiastic group. Mrs. Hunter even did a little dance for us. By golly, she still had all the right moves

Two contributors to the this Web site's message boards remembered Mrs. Hunter in previous posts:

Paul Judge: "Over in the Outer Richmond, Inez Hunter provided folk dancing lessons to every 1st through 8th grade on Tuesday mornings at St. Thomas the Apostle. She was regularly outfitted in one of her colorful folk dresses and soft dance shoes. She impressed me with how effortlessly and gracefully she glided across the floor. She worked pretty hard to teach us and didn't truck resistancethus we ended up being able to dance. It was nearly obligatory for us boys to decline interest or outward enthusiasm to this weekly task. I don't know how the girls felt, but it sure beat spending time at the chalkboard perpetually diagramming sentences. Like many youngsters in the neighborhood, my younger sister Mary took ballet lessons from Mrs. Hunter at her studio in the garage of her home on 44th or 46th and Cabrillo. It wasn't unusual to see grade school girls, dressed in their tights, toteing toe shoes and making their way to afternoon dance lessons while us boys played ball in the street."

W.M.: "I went to St. Cecilia from 1st grade (1961) through 4th grade. I remember dance classes with Mrs. Hunter. Because I was tall for my age, she always made me dance with her as my partner. It made me a better dancer."

One of her students recollects, "Mrs. Hunter was a godsend to me after my Mom died. Don't know what I would have done without her! Even though I quit ballet eventually, I still kept in touch with her. We went out to dinner quite frequently as she always wanted to eat somewhere that she couldn't go to on her own after her husband died. Because I could drive, we went to places all over San Francisco. And she was in pretty good health until she got cancer in one of her feet (isn't that ironic since she taught dancing). She went downhill pretty fast after that, and ended up with pneumonia."

Our teacher pirouetted into the Light of that Great Studio in the Sky on November 14, 1992, one day short of her 90th birthday and the big party her daughters had planned for her.

We owe a huge vote of thanks to Inez Alma Beirne Hunter for trying to teach a bunch of awkward pre-adolescents how to be social and graceful. Perhaps she did not always succeed, but she left us with some wonderful memories and a few dance steps to impress our dates with.

Contribute your own stories about western neighborhoods places!
BLOOMINGTON  A fresh taper, a line-up and a hot shave are not hard to come by in Bloomington-Normal; it just depends on what youre looking for in a barber.

The roots of Bloomington-Normals independent barber scene are still showing 80 years after Robert Gaston became one of the first Black barbers in town, opening Gastons Barbershop in Normal in 1960.

His son, Gary Muhammad, started cutting hair at the shop straight out of barber college in 1976, after it had moved to downtown Bloomington and become The Upper Cut  a beacon and home base for residents and Black students who moved to the area for college.

Now 65, Muhammad can be found with clippers in hand working alongside two other barbers at A Kut Above, 919 W. Market St. in Bloomington.

Having cut hair for three generations of Bloomington residents, Muhammad said he's not ready to retire.

Barbering can be a very lucrative business depending on how hard you work, he said with a laugh. It has also given me a level of independence. I can pretty much make my own hours, I dont have to punch a clock necessarily, but you do have to be accountable to your customer base. Thats real and that kind of keeps you grounded.

The American Barber Association estates the hair care industry in the U.S. totals $45 billion. And while franchise salons and barbers such as Sport Clips and Supercuts have become more popular nationwide, barbers in Bloomington-Normal say theyre nothing to worry about.

Davin Garrett, owner of Underground Barbershop for 13 years, said every barbershop has a niche, from the corporate-run to the locally owned.

A lot of people ask about competition. I think the only competition that people should be concerned about is yourself. I think if you can find enough people to support you, then you dont have to worry about other corporations, he said from his shop at 1531 E. College Ave. in Normal. I think everybody can find their own lane to support themselves or their lifestyle.

'The quality of the work'

A report by the research firm IBISWorld estimates revenue for the barber shop industry grew about 3% for the past five years. Various COVID restrictions have likely slowed the trendline.

In Bloomington, Jamonte Stewart said franchises have talented barbers, but theyre taking advantage of their employees, pushing them to cut within slim time frames and valuing quantity over quality.

Were not at risk, he said from Empire Barbershop, 1236 E. Empire St., where hes been the owner since 2011. Being an independent barber is a lot better than working for a major corporation. I kind of feel that thats whats going to happen in the next 15 years  people fighting against major corporations or rebelling.  Independency is not going anywhere.

Muhammad said he was surprised when those corporate shops started moving into Bloomington-Normal, and while they have all the bells and whistles, everything that glitters is not necessarily gold.

I think the nature of our business is that it doesnt matter the quantity of chairs that you have, the number of shops that you may have. Its really the quality of the work, he said. Therein is the key, I think: just making sure that you do excellent work, treat that person like theyre the most important person in the world at that time. That will always get you return customers.

Muhammad said its the personal touch of a hometown shop that makes a difference.

When you walk in a place, the smaller shops, the independent shops, they know your name when you come through the door. Thats kind of the thing that people cling to, that personal attention that they get, he said.

For Bloomington-Normal, there seems to be no shortage of barbershops, each reflecting a different personality.

Stewart wanted to create a more boutique experience, so he cuts in a room separate from the lobby, where guitars and local artwork hang and artisan soaps are available near the entrance. Empire is comfortable and warm, yet electric.

Garrett, who defines his style by his professionalism, has a shop lined with windows, letting light pour in, with bright LEDs lining his mirrors as well. Underground is sharp with clean lines.

A Kut Above is the traditional barbershop, born of the westside, welcoming in the communitys steady foot traffic.

The barbershop has always been kind of an institution in the Black community and when people come to the barbershop they feel like they can be themself, they can let their hair down  or up, Muhammad said. I guess you could say its fertile ground for any type of discussion. We can solve the worlds problems sometimes, just in the barbershop.

Friendly service, good work, consistency and respect were some of the key attributes the barbers said they believe keep their customers coming back.

Clients bounce around from shop to shop and they will tell you the things that they want, the things that were lacking at other establishments, so I just try to pick up the pieces where they fall. Thats how I lock in on my clientele, trying to give them the things that theyve missing, Garrett said. I just try to remember that when they come in for the first time or the fifth time. Thats how I conduct my business just to be successful.

Said Muhammad, I am really really inspired to see so many young people doing great works with the hair business nowadays. Thats what its all about: passing it on to another generation.

The stomping ground

As one of the oldest barbers in the city, Muhammad strives to keep an open mind when it comes to styles young people want  no matter how bad they might look to me, he said, laughing.

It really kind of makes you feel good when youve got some junior high or high school young people come in and want you, instead of maybe some younger barber that is more in their age group, maybe might understand what kind of styles they want better, but they still want you and Im 65, he said. So that makes you feel good when you feel like youre still current enough to do their hair.

Many of the barbers in Bloomington-Normal are connected. Theyve worked together, for each other or helped each other set up their own space. In listing off the names of just about every barber in the community and explaining how their stories cross, Stewart said they all continue to learn from each other, picking up new things from every experience.

Cassius Crittenden, owner of the Bloomington Normal Barber College, helped many of those barbers get their start, while Muhammad said some started in his fathers shop like he did.

They learned their craft very well and they went on to do good things with their own, Muhammad said. I think our shop, the Gastons Upper Cut, gave birth to several other excellent Black barbershops in town. Hopefully they carry some of the same culture that they learned being at Gastons.

You'll probably never really be able to dismiss the old-school nature of hair care; that includes barbers as well as beauticians.

Barbershops have been called the Black mans country club for decades, and Garrett agreed that the opportunity to build relationships with clients helps to create an environment that garners community.

This is a source of information for finding out things, seeing whats going on in the community, the neighborhood, events. Its a public stomping ground for everyone, he said.

The barbers also stressed the value of welcoming everyone into their shops  all races, ages and walks of life.

You've got to diversify what you're clipping, is what I say, Garrett said.

As a quasi community center, Muhammad said the shops hes worked in have played an active role in the community as well, including facilitating formal discussion at the shop when there are disputes and conflict.

We are a barbershop, we do service people, we are a business, but we also serve in other ways if we can, he said. As I was growing up I watched my father, and it entertained people from various walks of life throughout the years. So I couldnt help it; I guess I got it honestly, always helping people out.

Contact Kelsey Watznauer at (309) 820-3254. Follow her on Twitter: @kwatznauer.

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NORMAL  Illinois State University students presented 10 ideas for a new business at the Startup Showcase on Friday, and some left with thousands in funding for their project.

Ashley Garrett was named the first-place winner for her business, named Curlave. The company would sell curly hair extensions for Black women, she said. It was motivated by her own experience and wanting to make sure Black women have access to products that help them feel beautiful.

So they can embrace their natural hair, Garrett said.

The win comes with $6,000 in funding to help her get started. The second-place startup, named 360 Vision and focused on improving drone technology for agriculture, won $4,500. The third-place winner, an app for finding food trucks, called Truck It, received $1,500.

The six runners-up received $500 each.

The annual event, hosted by the George R. and Martha Means Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, moved into the Hancock Stadium Club this year. The competition had 23 entries, said Terry Lowe, event director at the Means Center and assistant professor in management and quantitative methods.

The 23 entrants sent in three-minute videos presenting their startup, Lowe said. The 10 finalists were invited to present their ideas to the judges in person in a "Shark Tank" kind of event. Local businesspeople Eric Cramer, Julie Dobski, Tim Hoerr and Scott Nancarrow served as judges.

This year, around half of the entries came from outside the School of Business, Lowe said. That is something the organizers really wanted to see.

There are entrepreneurs in every field, Lowe said.

Other entries included designing custom phone cases and handmade jewelry, he said.

The event gives students a chance to learn how to pitch their ideas in a real-world setting, said Avi Datta, director of the Means Center and professor of strategic management and entrepreneurship. That is especially true for students coming from outside the School of Business.

This is the first time they get a litmus test of their idea, he said.

The center also has an accelerator for startups as well as scholarships for students involved, Datta said.

This is one of the key events for our center, he said.

After the Startup Showcase came the inaugural ISU College of Business Entrepreneurial Awards. The ceremony recognized Liz Flores as Entrepreneurial Alumnus of the Year and Ken Myszka and the Epiphany Farms Hospitality Group as Economic Impact Entrepreneur of the Year.

Flores graduated from ISU in 2012 with a degree in entrepreneurship and small business management. She is now a painter and muralist in the Chicago area, where she works with clients including Lululemon, Sephora and the Chicago Bears, according to a Wednesday press release from the organizers.

Myszka is the founder of Epiphany Farms Hospitality Group, which includes several restaurants, including Epiphany Farms, Anju Above and Harmony Korean Bar-B-Que. All of the restaurants use local foods grown at the Epiphany Farms Estate in Downs, the release said.

At the award ceremony, attendees heard from the winners, along with ISU President Terri Goss Kinzy, Datta and Associate Vice President of Research Craig McLauchlan.

"This whole winding journey of being an entrepreneur, ISU has been such a big part of it," Flores said.

Contact Connor Wood at (309)820-3240. Follow Connor on Twitter: @connorkwood

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BLOOMINGTON  Barton McNeils quest for exoneration and a new trial for his 3-year-old daughters 1998 death could be fast-tracked to an evidentiary hearing which would include testimony about his petition for post-conviction relief filed on his behalf earlier this year.

McNeil, 62, is serving a 100-year prison sentence on murder charges in the June 15, 1998, suffocation death of his daughter, Christina McNeil, in Bloomington. McNeil was found guilty of the charges in a 1999 bench trial.

McLean County Assistant States Attorney Mary Koll said in a brief status hearing Friday that prosecutors have recently learned of appellate court guidance that could allow the case to skip second stage review and move directly to an evidentiary hearing.

Judge William Yoder scheduled a hearing for Dec. 10 to check the status of the states attorneys decision on whether to move forward to an evidentiary hearing or to ask for second stage review.

McNeils lawyers, Stephanie Kamel and John Hanlon, of the Illinois Innocence Project and the Exoneration Project, filed a 65-page petition for post-conviction relief in February based on new evidence that was not available at the time of his trial.

An evidentiary hearing would allow the court to hear new evidence and expert testimony.

"I'm looking forward to my cousin having, finally after 23 years, truly his day in court," said Chris Ross, McNeil's cousin who flew to Bloomington from the San Diego area for Friday's roughly five-minute hearing.

The petition notes that advances in the science of child abuse pediatrics confirm that there is no evidence whatsoever that Christina was sexually abused, which prosecutors had alleged of McNeil during his trial, and, therefore, the evidence presented to the trier of fact regarding McNeils alleged motive was entirely false.

Court documents also said: If Christinas death was, in fact, a murder, the evidence indicates that McNeils ex-girlfriend, Misook Nowlin  who was convicted of a separate, hauntingly similar murder 13 years after McNeils conviction and whose hair and DNA have now been discovered at the scene of Christinas death  is her killer.

Nowlin, who now goes by the last name Wang, was convicted in 2012 of murdering her 70-year-old mother-in-law, Linda Tyda, by strangulation in September 2011.

Hours before Christina McNeils death, McNeil and Nowlin got into a heated argument at a restaurant because McNeil was breaking the relationship off, he told The Pantagraph in a recent interview.

McNeil then picked up Christina later that night at his ex-wifes home, got her a McDonalds Happy Meal, and put her to bed.

The petition indicates that later that night, evidence suggests that someone entered Christinas room through a window. A window fan was knocked on the floor, holes were cut into the window screen, scuff marks were located outside the window, and some nearby plants were trampled.

Prosecutors at the time, however, concentrated efforts on McNeil and suggested that he was the only person around at the time of his daughters death.

Prosecutors also said at the time that a spider web was found the next day  about 12 hours later  on the outside of the window, indicating there was no intruder.

In a 2014 hearing, an arachnologist disputed that argument when he testified in court that spiders can create webs within an hour.

Im very, very pleased that things are progressing well for my cousin, said Ross, who also facilitates a website containing information and donations for his pursuit of exoneration.

Im here to support my cousin, Ross said. I will for every single future hearing until the point in time that theres an order that hes released, and Ill gladly be there when hes released from Pinckneyville Correctional Institute and be able to give this guy a hug, and he deserves to have his freedom back.

Contact Kade Heather at 309-820-3256. Follow him on Twitter: @kadeheather

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NORMAL  Normal West High School band students had a chance to learn from a nationally recognized jazz group on Friday during an in-person master class with the Daniel Bennett Group.

Sophomores Adam Russell and Jonathan Ditch were in the first class Bennetts group led. They were impressed by the cohesion the professionals had while playing together.

They just have a connection to each other, Russell said.

Bennett plays saxophone, flute and clarinet. He was joined by Kevin Hailey on bass and Koko Bermejo on drums and keyboard. Bermejo plays his instruments at the same time, using pedals and a hand for each.

The trio played some of their standard pieces for the students. While the group played, Bennett put the melody on pause for a bit to guide students through what the group was doing. He would clue them into key changes or the improvisational techniques being used.

Rhythm was a big focus for Bennett. He would ask students to identify time signatures, then guide them through what the musicians were doing to work with each other even when the rhythm was changing or one of the musicians would improvise with a different beat.

The drummer, and to a lesser extent the bassist, are the real drivers of the group, Bennett said. Bermejo agreed, showing the students how he could control not just the rhythm but the dynamics  which is the volume  the energy and even the style of music the group is playing.

While the rhythm section can seem repetitive or simple, it is really important that the musicians do it right, Hailey told the students.

On the face of it, what were doing is incredibly simple, but you put a foot wrong and youre dead, he said.

The group tries to visit schools while touring, Bennett said. They had a show in Vernon Hills on Thursday and played in DeKalb later on Friday.

We always try to build in some kind of educational clinic, Bennett said.

Bennett does a lot of teaching, including out of the New York Jazz Academy in Times Square. There he teaches many students who are older than 50 years old, while also holding master classes and clinics with high schools and colleges. When musicians get playing, it can be hard to tell any difference between their ages, Bennett said.

Once we start playing the music, students become part of our world, he said.

He has noticed that high school students tend to be shy when the class starts, but he tries to engage with them and get them to start asking questions. Teenagers are really fun to teach, he said, and are always full of questions and less set in their ways than older students can be.

I do think high school kids are open to learn, they are hungry, they ask questions, theyre just shy, Bennett said.

The Daniel Bennett Group has played outdoors during the pandemic, even during the winter. Their latest album, "New York Nerve," came from that experience.

'New York Nerve,' that was all conceived outdoors, under the heat lamps, Bennett said.

His teaching moved online during the pandemic, so he is especially excited to work with students in person during this tour.

The pandemic also brought a lot of people back to instruments they had set aside years ago, he said. People were even contacting from other continents to ask for lessons on Skype. It feels like a cultural renaissance, he said.

Everybody is so hungry to get back, he said.

Contact Connor Wood at (309)820-3240. Follow Connor on Twitter: @connorkwood

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BLOOMINGTON  A kidnapping victim from Ohio was found Friday night in McLean County, and the suspect is now in custody, McLean County Sheriff Jon Sandage announced Saturday morning.

At about 7:30 p.m. Friday, McLean County sheriffs deputies were dispatched to a suspicious vehicle on 1200 North Road between 750 East and 900 East roads near Stanford, according to a news release. The vehicle, described as a silver van, was parked along a field entrance and there was a male in the vehicle.

Stanford police officers arrived on scene first and, upon running the vehicle's registration plate, they learned there was an outstanding kidnapping warrant out of Ohio associated with the vehicle, along with an associated Amber Alert, also from Ohio, the news release stated.

Stanford police observed a male apparently asleep in the drivers seat. A young female child was located in the rear passenger area of the van and was identified as the kidnapped victim from Jackson Township, Ohio.

The release said the suspect was taken into custody without incident. Sheriffs deputies as well as an officer from the Danvers Police Department arrived to assist, and the 5-year-old was safely removed from the vehicle. Deputies took protective custody of the child, who was the child listed in the Amber Alert, and she was transported to OSF St. Joseph Medical Center for evaluation.

The suspect, Jonathan L. Stinnett, 36, was transported to the McLean County Sheriffs Office for an interview and then was booked into the McLean County jail on the kidnapping warrant, the release said.

The McLean County Sheriffs Office is working with the Canton (Ohio) Police Department, FBI and U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force on the investigation.

Contact Robyn Skaggs at (309) 820-3244.

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Scroll down to read the emails mentioned in this story.

BLOOMINGTON  LaSalle County officials drew on resources from numerous agencies in the days following Jelani Days disappearance as attention surrounding the case mounted nationwide, a review of emails by The Pantagraph has shown.

Through the Freedom of Information Act, The Pantagraph requested all emails containing the 25-year-old Illinois State University students name sent by county officials from August to October.

The 290 pages of documents for the first time shed light on what was happening in the county, which has released limited information about the case. That's despite being at the center of a missing person case turned death investigation that has sparked marches and demonstrations led by civil rights leader the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

Among the documents obtained from LaSalle County, The Pantagraph found:

More than 20 agencies have played a role in this case;

News and other media personnel sent more than two dozen inquiries to county officials during the period, including five FOIA requests;

Three tips were submitted by residents of Peru and the Illinois River Valley related to vehicles they thought could be connected to Days disappearance;

Five pieces of evidence were taken from Days car to be tested at state laboratories.

The emails also show fragments of a timeline of the investigations progression, including when federal agencies joined the case and when Days identity was verified as the person pulled from the river.

Day first was reported missing from Bloomington on Aug. 25. His car was found the next day in a hidden wooded area near the Illinois Valley YMCA in Peru, about an hour north of ISU, where he was a graduate student studying speech language pathology.

Days body was found in the Illinois River near Peru on Sept. 4 and confirmation of his identification was released to the public Sept. 23.

From day one, Days family has pushed to bring more attention to this story, calling for the FBI to take the lead on the investigation and for additional state and federal agencies to join the cause and find out what happened to Day. Jackson and his nonprofit organization, the Rainbow People United to Serve Humanity Coalition, have led marches through Peru and Bloomington-Normal pushing for the same goal.

"I want the Illinois Attorney General; I need the Illinois Department of Justice; I need the FBI because obviously the state police didnt think it was important for them to take over," Day's mother, Carmen Bolden Day, said to a crowd in Peru last month. "They just wanted to oversee. Now I need more than oversight; I need more than oversight. I need justice for Jelani."

'I am requesting a major case review'

The Peru and Bloomington police departments, LaSalle County sheriff's and coroner's offices, Illinois State Police and the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit have been named as part of the multi-unit task force conducting the investigation.

However, in the documents, The Pantagraph found several other agencies have had contact with the case. Among the 20 identified in the county email exchanges are four police departments, four fire departments, four emergency management agencies and three specialized search and rescue agencies, as well as Illinois State Police, two FBI offices and the bureaus Behavioral Analysis Unit.

Law enforcement officials have said several additional agencies were contacted during the missing person search, extending from Tazewell County to Days hometown of Danville.

The FBIs role has been limited as the agency has thus far declined to take the lead on the investigation. The Pantagraph last week reported the FBI can take the lead on a local investigation only when a federal law is violated or a case crosses state lines.

No law enforcement agency has publicly said a federal crime has occurred or is suspected in the case of Day.

The FBI Springfield office had been in communications with Bloomington police before Days body was found but had not moved into an official assistance role. When he was identified on Sept. 23, the case moved into the Chicago offices jurisdiction and that office has been assisting with the case, an agent confirmed last week.

On Sept. 30, Sgt. Investigator Josh McGrath of the LaSalle County Sheriffs Office wrote to Cari Robins, a supervisory special agent with the FBIs Behavioral Analysis Unit 4, requesting assistance on the Day case.

The BAU began assisting on the case in October.

ISP Crime Scene Investigator Trooper Brandi Field requested a major case review on Sept. 30 and asked that the related cases for Day open at the Peru, LaSalle and Bloomington police departments, the LaSalle County Sheriffs Office and ISP Zone 3 be linked, noting almost all the agencies have evidence for their prospective case.

Unfortunately the investigation into Mr. Days death continues to appear to get larger and larger. Because of this, I am requesting a major case review involving all three labs receiving/processing evidence, she wrote in an email to other members of state police.

A major case review is definitely needed, Cari Gordon-Sandberg, acting lab director for ISPs Morton Forensic Science Laboratory, wrote in an email response.

The Pantagraph requested documents related to the major case review, but on Wednesday, an ISP FOIA coordinator stated additional time was needed, extending the request deadline under the Freedom of Information Act.

The agency said the extension was made on the basis that requested records have not yet been located and additional time is needed to complete the search; the papers require examination and evaluation to determine if the documents are exempt from disclosure and/or must be redacted; and requested records cannot be provided within the prescribed time frame without causing undue burden or interfering with the operation of the department.

"The Illinois State Police Freedom of Information Act Office is working on this request to ensure the release of the requested information is completed within statutory timelines," a spokesperson for ISP said Friday.

5 items sent to lab and media interest

According to emails sent between LaSalle County and Bloomington police, five items of evidence from Days car have been sent from Bloomington to ISP forensic labs. Those include:

Steering wheel swab,

Front driver side interior door handle swab,

Front passenger side interior door handle swab.

Blue straw from a Styrofoam cup,

Partially smoked cigar blunt.

An email between Bloomington detectives indicates ISP labs in Morton, Joliet and Belleville would accept five items from each department involved in the case, but a list of items sent from LaSalle County officials was not found in The Pantagraphs review of the emails.

An additional laboratory, NMS Labs in Horsham, Pennsylvania, prepared the toxicology report which indicated Days remains tested positive for caffeine and evidence of nicotine and cannabis use.

Law enforcement also discussed recovering Days contact list from his phone records, although his phone was reportedly never found. Police did not return requests for comment Friday regarding rumors his phone had been located.

Four dental practices were used in the efforts to identify Days body, including offices in Danville, Bloomington, Detroit and Huntsville, Alabama. Ultimately a Bloomington dentist confirmed his dental records matched on Sept. 22.

Later that day, DNA results were returned from a bone sample, confirming the identity of the body pulled from the river as Day, according to an email from Field.

By 3 p.m. Sept. 23, a new release was approved by multiple agencies and sent out, identifying Day as the body pulled from the river two and half weeks earlier.

As this story unfolded over the last 11 weeks, the LaSalle County sheriffs and coroners offices fielded numerous media inquiries related to the Day case, from outlets across Illinois and even reaching as far as "Good Morning America" in New York City and BBC News in London.

Those media requests spiked after a Chicago Sun-Times report from columnist John Fountain was released Oct. 8 describing the state of Days body when a second autopsy was performed.

The familys private forensic pathologist could find no brain, according to Day and her attorney. No organs. Neither liver. Nor spleen," he wrote.

The story later explained the organs had decomposed after Day's body spent several days in the river and therefore were not present when a second autopsy was performed. But that clarification was somewhat lost in the social media response that followed that weekend.

From Oct. 11 to 13, LaSalle County Coroner Richard Ploch received 13 emails from members of the media, most of whom were seeking clarity on Fountains story.

NO organs were missing, Ploch repeated, explaining the organs were severely decomposed because the body had spent days in the river, but they were present during the first autopsy.

This is sadly more mis-information that has been reported on this case, he wrote to one journalist.

About this story: Jelani Day emails

The Pantagraph in mid-October filed a Freedom of Information Act request for all emails sent to and from lasallecounty.org accounts over the previous several weeks that included the words "Jelani Day."

Below are the emails, which have had private information such as cellphone numbers redacted. Additionally, some repeating email threads and other messages have not been included.

Contact Kelsey Watznauer at (309) 820-3254. Follow her on Twitter: @kwatznauer.

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BELLEVILLE  Former Madison County Assistant State's Attorney Don Weber has some choice words for the recent Illinois Prisoner Review Board decision to grant parole to Paula Sims, an Alton woman who killed her two infant daughters in the late 1980s.

Weber, 73, prosecuted the case and later co-authored a true-crime book called "Precious Victims: The Horrific Crime that Shocked America," which was made into a TV movie.

"These nitwits on the parole board and these urban bumpkins who came to support her were just that," Weber said last week. "They could have never stood up in a court of law in front of a jury and made their case.

GOP, voting rights group argue for more Latino representation in Illinois remap challenges Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Democrats have defended the map as legally reflecting the racial and ethnic diversity of the state.

"I would've loved to cross-examine them," he added.

Weber said he had been "neutral" on whether Sims, 62, deserved parole because he hadn't seen her since 1990, when she was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of 6-week-old daughter Heather, and he didn't know what she'd done with her life or whether she was remorseful.

Weber's objection relates to what he calls "ridiculous" reasons the Review Board decided to release Sims from prison, based on arguments by the board member in charge of researching her case, her attorney and two psychologists at an Oct. 28 hearing in Springfield.

They argued that Sims committed the crimes due to postpartum psychosis, a rare mental illness that causes some new mothers to experience delusions, hallucinations and paranoia; that experts didn't fully understand it three decades ago; and that a new Illinois law allows it to be a mitigating factor in sentencing.

"We knew about postpartum depression back then," Weber said. "It was looked at very carefully. She didn't have it."

Weber maintained that:

Sims clearly demonstrated that she knew right from wrong during police investigations and the trial.

She continued telling the lie that a masked intruder had kidnapped 13-day-old Loralie in 1986 and Heather in 1989.

She was represented by a "dream team" of capable attorneys who decided against an insanity defense due to her claims of innocence.

She admitted to killing the babies only after a jury convicted her and she faced a possible death-penalty sentence.

'I trust in the judgment of the psychologists'

In later years, Sims told another book author, Audrey Becker, that she didn't suffocate Loralie or Heather, as alleged by prosecutors, but allowed them to drown in their baths.

Not true, according to Weber.

"I asked Dr. Mary Case, a pathologist (who) did the autopsy on Heather ... I said, 'Is it possible that Paula drowned Heather?' She thinks that's kinder somehow rather than smothering her," he said.

"And the answer was, 'No. Scientifically, that cannot have happened.' Baby Heather had some striations, some bruises on the inside of her upper lip in the center. Those are always an indication of smothering, and there was no indication of drowning. That is a scientific fact, and it shows that Paula is still lying about it."

After the trial, Weber went on to serve as state's attorney, assistant Illinois attorney general and circuit court judge and now is semi-retired as an attorney in private practice.

Waukegan attorney Jed Stone represented Sims at the Review Board hearing with input from psychologists Susan Feingold and Diane Sanford, who had diagnosed and treated Sims.

Board member Donald Shelton made a presentation on Sims' behalf, describing his extensive research on postpartum psychosis and expressing his belief that she wasn't an "evil" person.

"I trust in the judgment of the psychologists," he said.

Shelton said Sims had an "outstanding" prison record, receiving only two tickets for non-violent incidents and earning a long list of educational certificates. She mentored other inmates and co-authored state legislation related to postpartum illnesses.

Review Board Chairman Craig Findley also spoke in support of Sims at the hearing. He had visited her years ago while doing research for another case in which a mother killed a child.

"I found Paula Sims to be a very gentle and kind soul, someone who said, 'I accept my fate. I understand that I will spend the rest of my life in prison,'" Findley said.

In March, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker commuted Sims' sentence from life in prison without parole to life in prison with the possibility of parole. The Review Board voted 12-1 to grant it.

Sims lawyer, Jed Stone, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch last month that she will be living in Decatur, at a home arranged by her employer, Words Matter Publishing.

Weber also is accusing Madison County State's Attorney Tom Haine of not fighting hard enough to keep Sims in prison. No one from Haine's office attended the Oct. 28 hearing.

"They didn't bother to call me and check out some of these things (that Sims claimed)," Weber said. "It sort of makes me think they were asleep at the switch on this."

"Whose job was it to make the state's case and who didn't do it?" he asked.

Haine said his office regularly gets Review Board requests for comment on Madison County cases involving prison inmates up for parole and that it can't send someone in person to every hearing.

Haine said his office did extensive research on the Sims case and sent a detailed, five-page letter to the Review Board. The letter argued that Sims lied about her crimes for years to avoid punishment and confessed only after she was found guilty of murder and wanted to avoid the death penalty.

The letter characterized Sims' request for clemency as a "shifting and far-fetched psychological story" that shouldn't change the conclusions of jurors at her trial or the decisions of judges who handled appeals, petitions and other court reviews.

"I think it's a travesty of justice that Paula Sims is on parole right now," Haine said in an interview last week. "And I think that's clear by the content of the very strongly worded letter of opposition that we sent to the Prisoner Review Board."

Tom Haine's father, the late William Haine, was state's attorney when Sims was charged and prosecuted.

'Truly insulting to those whose lives were destroyed by her crime'

Other Illinois officials also have spoken out against the Review Board for granting parole to Sims. State Sen. Rachelle Crowe, D-Glen Carbon, released the following statement:

"At the time of her trial, Sims created a fabricated story under oath, showed no remorse for murdering her daughters and as a result, worked to delegitimize mothers who suffer from postpartum mental health issues.

"The decision to grant parole to Sims is truly insulting to those whose lives were destroyed by her crimes. To secure justice for victims and protect the integrity of our criminal justice system, individuals must be held accountable for their vile actions."

State Sens. Jason Plummer, R-Edwardsville, Steve McClure, R-Springfield, and Terry Bryant, R-Murphysboro, released a statement that focused mainly on their previous criticisms about the board's make-up.

"Yet again, the 14-member Prisoner Review Board, 10 of which are acting and serving unconfirmed, has voted to release another individual who has committed heinous, unspeakable crimes," it read.

"It's the gravity of these crimes and the heavy responsibility that these board members hold that make it vital and imperative that they go through the constitutionally-required vetting process and come before the Illinois Senate for confirmation."

Paula Sims and her husband, Robert Sims, reported Heather missing from their Alton home on April 29, 1989. The baby's partially-frozen body was found four days later, wrapped in a garbage bag and dumped in a trash can in a public park in West Alton, Missouri.

Three years earlier, Loralei's skeletal remains had been found in a wooded ravine near the family's former home in Brighton.

In both cases, Paula Sims told police that the babies were abducted by a masked gunman. In the second, she described being knocked unconscious for 45 minutes.

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CHARLESTON  Eastern Illinois University has scheduled "Student Mental Health Days" on Tuesday and Wednesday.

"We recognize that mental health issues have increased on our campus and the broader community similar to other universities across the country. These issues have undoubtedly been exacerbated by the lingering pandemic which continues to create uncertainty and stress for our students. We hear this every day from students and concerned colleagues," the university said on its website.

Academic classes will be cancelled and "a variety of targeted, intentional, and focused wellness activities and educational events will be available for all students."

Classes resume Thursday and Friday.

"We hope our students will use these two days designed to help de-stress and to prepare their minds and bodies to finish the academic semester strong. Please know that EIU  as a community  is ALL IN for you, for your mental health and well-being, and committed to the success of every learner," the site said.

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Gov. J.B. Pritzker told reporters not long ago that he was worried about the plateauing COVID-19 hospitalization rate and said he wouldnt yet lift his statewide mask mandate.

But the governor told me something around the same time during an interview that he hasnt yet said publicly: Hes most concerned about what may happen in January and February and upbeat about the spring and summer.

What were trying to evaluate is, are the hospitalization numbers increasing, decreasing, or staying the same, Pritzker told reporters in early November. We want them decreasing. Theyre not currently, just to be clear. New hospitalizations are flat. That is not a good sign. That's not what's happened in previous dips from surges. We went down for a while here, but now we've leveled out at a level that is much higher than the summer. And so the question is, is that just a temporary situation? Are we going to start heading downward in those numbers?

Since the governor said that, hospitalizations have yet again begun to increase, rising by almost 22 percent as of this writing. Hospitalizations are up almost 30 percent since late Octobers low of 1,198.

That increase led Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Eziketo warn last week that the statewide mask mandate wouldnt be lifted before Thanksgiving, as some had hoped when hospitalizations were plateauing.

As weve moved indoors, Ezike told WGEM TV, we havent maybe taken our masks indoors with us. So a lot of unmasked indoor gatherings are likely part of the problem.

Last year, COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths shot up in November and continued ravaging our still mostly unvaccinated state through January.

I interviewed Gov. Pritzker not long ago and asked him if he was worried about yet another big wave starting in November.

Pritzker said the top epidemiologist in Illinois he speaks with outside of the Illinois Department of Public Health are telling him, Their expectation is that January and February we could see a surge of cases and the resulting hospitalizations. So, how worried am I? I am worried as much as the epidemiologists are.

Asked how worried the epidemiologists are, Pritzker said he didnt know how to characterize that, other than that they tell me that they expect to see a surge. I have to take it very seriously.

Pritzker also talked about the internal debate over what to do about the mitigations, like mask mandates, in the meantime. One of the questions that you have to ask yourself and that we all ask ourselves is, if we modify mitigations now as things are mildly reducing or getting better, what changes do you make now if you think that January and February, youre gonna see potentially a surge?

A little later in the interview, Pritzker asked if he could clarify some things.

I think when you look at the pattern here of surges, the surges are getting smaller because of vaccinations, because of where we are in the cycle. And so, the hope here is that each of the moves that were making going forward are really flattening those surges down.

Pritzker went on to say that hes hearing from the epidemiological community that by next spring or summer the virus will become more like the flu because people will be getting vaccinated on a regular basis or that boosters will be available, and because more people will have been vaccinated.

The governor quickly added that he wasnt suggesting COVID is anything like the flu. Im just saying if you look at other chronic diseases, other things that weve worked to overcome with vaccinations, this is becoming more and more like that because people are getting more and more vaccinated.

And, it should be added, effective treatments may be on the horizon. Pfizer is developing a pill that shows real promise at preventing severe illness, the New York Times has reported.

But, as Dr. Ezike also said this month, Of course, COVID is so complicated. Its been throwing us curveball after curveball.

Colorado is currently experiencing a surge in cases, and experts there have told reporters that they dont know why and dont know if theyll ever know. And, as pointed out in a Denver CBS4 TV news story on that topic, the popularity of home COVID testing means that private results arent being reported and therefore not tracked by state and local public health departments. That means the jobs of people who try to anticipate the future path of the disease have been made significantly more difficult, which is not what we need.

Rich Miller publishes Capitol Fax, a daily political newsletter, and CapitolFax.com.

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The police has provisionally accused the husband of Rhodaline Amoah-Darko, a staffer of the Lands Commission in Kumasi of being behind her disappearance.



The husband, Dr Wilberforce Aggrey, has therefore been put before the Asokwa District Court in Kumasi and accused of kidnapping.



He has provisionally been charged with kidnapping and has been remanded in police custody.



He is expected to re-appear in court on November 25, 2021.



Investigations by the police are still ongoing to determine the whereabouts of Rhodaline, who went missing on August 30, 2021.



According to the police, their investigations have so far revealed a linkage of mobile phone communications to implicate the husband, who is a lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi.



Rhodaline Amoah-Darko was reported missing after she reportedly left home at Gyenyase in Kumasi on August 30, 2021 and did not return.



After Rhodaline reportedly went missing, the husband reported the incident to the police on September 2, 2021.



Communication from her mobile phone allegedly from suspected kidnappers demanding a ransom emanated from a location (cell tower) close to her residence.



A communication from the husbands phone reporting the incident to some relatives also emanated from a similar location (cell tower), according to the police per their investigations.



According to the police, the husband has provided incoherent statements on the matter.



The Asokwa District Court has since granted an order for the police to submit Dr Aggrey for a psychiatric examination due to the incoherent statements from him on the matter.



A police prosecutor on Friday told the court that the husband in reporting the case said the Rhodaline had been kidnapped from their home and he can't find her.



From the police, per their investigations, the messages from Rhodaline's phone to the husband's phone, and later from the husband's phone to other relatives all emanated from a location (cell tower) near their residence.



Based on that, the husband was invited for interrogation.



According to the prosecutor, Aggrey admitted that he sent those messages from Rhodaline's phone because he was threatened that if he did not do that, his family will be harmed.



He indicated to the police, according to the prosecutor that he had to send his wife to a place closer to the Volta Lake to ensure that she was safe.



The police said he has since not been able to tell them the location of Rhodaline and that investigations are still ongoing.



He has also not been able to tell where Rhodaline's phone is as of now.



It will be recalled that on October 27, 2021, the police in a press statement indicated that there was no evidence to link the husband to the disappearance of Rhodaline.



"It must be placed on record, that as of today, Wednesday, October 27, 2021, the Police have no evidence linking Dr. Aggrey to the disappearance of Rhodaline," the police statement indicated.



"Investigations are still ongoing and at this point, we are unable to disclose any information to the public on the matter".



The Police statement further urged persons to desist from creating and circulating unconfirmed reports on the case since their actions can impede Police investigations.



"The public shall be fully updated on this issue once investigations are completed. Let us endeavour to respect the privacy of the families involved.

Source: graphiconline.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.

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Dr. Bernard Okoe Boye, a former Deputy Health Minister, has advised Ghanaians not to fall for former President John Dramani Mahama's grandiose comments about his ability to provide solutions to problems confronting Ghanaians.



The former President has been very critical of the governance of President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, blaming him for the woes of Ghanaians and calling for a change of government in 2024.



Mahama Jabs President Akufo-Addo & Veep



Mr. Mahama rounding up his nationwide "Thank You Tour" with a public lecture in Accra on Wednesday, November 10 attributed the hardships to "bad leadership" and "misguided priorities in economic management".



Aside his allegations of election fraud against the Electoral Commission and the incumbent government, the former President has also mocked Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia describing him as an "economic messiah" who has transmogrified into an "overnight IT champion".



Reacting to Dr. Bawumia's lecture on digitization at the Ashesi University, Mr Mahama said; "No amount of digital propaganda will take away the excruciating hardships Ghanaians are going through. This our country Ghana will be liberated.



"The recent brouhaha about upweighting the use and application of enhanced computer systems in our workflows, practices and lifestyles is needless. Some have opted to term the drive a digitalisation drive. I am not the type to be taken in by words or huge catchy phrases as I focus on the substance of the programme in terms of its objectives, mode of delivery, outcomes, and impacts at cost effective levels."



"It is quite amusing though, that even as the economy faces these severe challenges requiring urgent action, those who have been responsible for the mess, have attempted to make a fluid transition from failed, self-styled economic messiahs of the very recent past to overnight IT champions'', the NDC 2020 Presidential candidate undermined the Akufo-Addo government's achievements.



Don't Forget What Mahama Did To Us



But Dr. Okoe Boye believes the citizenry shouldn't forget what the Ex-President did to Ghana's economy while in power.



Contributing to Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo' Friday morning, he asked Ghanaians to remember their sufferings under the Mahama regime and not make a mistake of bringing him back because he will reinvent his bad governance, thereby worsening the living conditions of the populace.



''We should not forget ourselves so easily. JM(John Mahama) could not sustain basic things like electricity. JM could not sustain basic things like employing us. Under JM, factories were closing down. So, if you are in your car listening to me and saying you will show us something or we are tired, I beg you if you reach home and lights are out, you will get heat rashes. You will suffer," he cautioned.





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.

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Twenty-four persons, including Members of Parliament from the Minority side, were on the Governments delegation to the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland.



Mr Samuel Abu Jinapor, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources said: Its not correct that the Government sent a delegation of 300 people to Glasgow.



Mr Jinapor gave the number in reaction to a mention of 337 persons being on governments delegation to the conference, held from October 31 to November 12 in Glasgow, United Kingdom.



The Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Mr Andrew Amoako, chairing proceedings on the Floor of Parliament, gave Mr Jinapor the opportunity, when he stood for a point of correction, in reaction to Mr Rockson-Nelson Etse Dafeamekpors statement that records from the conference organisers indicated that 337 persons from Ghana participated.



Its not correct that the Government sent a delegation of 300 people to Glasgow, Mr Jinapor said, adding that such conferences had attracted three kinds of delegations; the Presidents Delegation, Government Delegation, and Country Delegation.



He said there were also civil society organisations and non-governmental organisations represented.



The government delegation involved both the Ranking Member on Lands and Forestry and his deputy, to the conference, he said.



Mr Joseph Cudjoe, the MP for Effia, who is also a finance analyst, said others apart from the Governments delegation were at the conference to prospect for investment.



Space had been created by global financial bodies for climate change activities, he said, and urged for business opportunities to be developed to take advantage of the space provided.



The Chair could not agree less.

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.

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" " An Ethiopian Orthodox priest shows an ancient Bible in a church in Lalibela, Ethiopia. Eric Lafforgue/Art in All of Us/Corbis via Getty Images

In his best-selling novel, "The Da Vinci Code," Dan Brown wrote that the Bible was assembled during the famous Council of Nicea in 325 C.E., when Emperor Constantine and church authorities purportedly banned problematic books that didn't conform to their secret agenda.

Except that's not how it really went. "The Da Vinci Code" was fiction, but Brown wasn't the first to credit the Council of Nicea with deciding which books to include in the Bible. Voltaire, writing in the 18th century, repeated a centuries-old myth that the Bible was canonized in Nicea by placing all of the known books on a table, saying a prayer and seeing which illegitimate texts fell to the floor.

In truth, there was no single church authority or council that convened to rubber stamp the biblical canon (official list of books in the Bible), not at Nicea or anywhere else in antiquity, explains Jason Combs, an assistant professor at Brigham Young University specializing in ancient Christianity.

"Dan Brown did us all a disservice," says Combs. "We don't have evidence that any group of Christians got together and said, 'Let's hash this out once and for all.'" (The Council of Nicea was convened to resolve a religious matter unrelated to the books of the Bible.)

What evidence scholars do have  in the form of theological treatises, letters and church histories that have survived for millennia  points to a much longer process of canonization. From the first through the fourth centuries and beyond, different church leaders and theologians made arguments about which books belonged in the canon, often casting their opponents as heretics.

The books that make up the Bible were written by various people over a period of more than 1,000 years, between 1200 B.C.E. and the first century C.E. The Bible contains a variety of literary genres, including poetry, history, songs, stories, letters and prophetic writings. These were originally written on scrolls of parchment, as opposed to being encapsulated in "books" as we think of them today. (Remember, the printing press wasn't invented until 1440.)

" " Rare and ancient biblical manuscripts are displayed at the "Book of Books" exhibition in the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem, Israel. Note they are all on scrolls. Uriel Sinai/Getty Images

Over time, the books that were deemed authentic and authoritative by the communities who used them were included in the canon and the rest were discarded. Although the bulk of that editing work ended in the late 300s, the debate over which books were theologically legit continued until at least the 16th century when church reformer Martin Luther published his German translation of the Bible.

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Disputed, Spurious and Downright Heretical

Luther had issues with the book of James, which emphasized the role of "works" alongside faith, so he stuck James and Hebrews in the back of the Bible alongside Jude and Revelation, which he also thought were questionable. Combs says that in Luther's original Bible, those four books don't even appear in the table of contents.

Eusebius was a Christian historian writing in the early 300s who provided one of the early lists of which books were considered legit and which were borderline bogus.

Eusebius broke his list down into different categories: recognized, disputed, spurious and heretical. Among the "recognized" were the four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), Acts and Paul's epistles. Under "disputed," Eusebius included James and Jude  the same books Luther didn't like  plus a few others that are now considered canon, like 2 Peter, 2 John and 3 John.

When Eusebius turns to the "spurious" and "heretical" categories, we get a glimpse into just how many other texts were in circulation in the second and third century C.E. Have you ever heard of the Apocalypse of Peter, the Epistle of Barnabas or the Gospel of Thomas? Combs says that there were hundreds of texts similar to those found in the New Testament and Old Testament that didn't make it into the canon.

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Making the Cut

Why did some books make the cut and not others? Combs cites three criteria used by early church leaders. The first was authorship, whether it was believed to have been written by an apostle, by Paul or by someone close to them. Mark, for example, wasn't an apostle, but was an interpreter for Peter. The second criterium was antiquity, with older texts taking priority over newer ones. And the third was orthodoxy, or how well the text conformed with current Christian teaching.

"That last reason is so interesting, of course, because 'current Christian teaching' changed over hundreds of years," says Combs.

While it's not true to say that a single church council ruled on which books to include in the canon, it's fair to say that over those first few centuries of theological debate, the winners got to decide which books would stay and which had to go.

It's important to mention that not all Christian denominations consider the same books to be canon. Most Protestant Bibles have 66 books, 39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament. The Roman Catholic Bible has 73 books including the seven known as the Apocrypha. And the Ethiopian Orthodox Church includes 81 total books in its Bible, including pseudepigrapha like 1 Enoch and Jubilees.

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What are the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha?

The word "apocrypha" comes from the Greek for "hidden" or "secret." It's a little confusing, because the word apocrypha is used in a couple of different ways when talking about books outside of the standard biblical canon.

First, there's the category of "New Testament Apocrypha" which includes a long list of non-canonical texts written mostly in the second century C.E. and beyond that pertain to Jesus and his apostles. As Combs says, there are hundreds of these texts and we don't have written specimens for all of them.

Then there's a subset of Old Testament books that are included in the Roman Catholic Bible. These seven books, including Tobit, Judith and 1 & 2 Maccabees, are published between the Old and New Testaments in the Catholic Bible and called "the Apocrypha" or sometimes the "Deuterocanon" which means "second canon."

And then there's a third category called "pseudepigrapha" from the Greek for "false author." This list includes more than 50 texts written between 200 B.C.E. and 200 C.E. by both Jewish and Christian writers expanding on stories and characters from the Old Testament. Notable Old Testament pseudepigrapha include 1 Enoch, Jubilees and the Treatise of Shem.

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Stories You Didn't Learn in Sunday School

Many of the New Testament texts familiar to Christians today were being used authoritatively already in the second century, but different congregations preferred some texts over others and included some texts that don't appear in the New Testament. Here are a few:

The Gospel of Peter: Only a fragment of this text was recovered in 1886 in Egypt, but it includes the only narrative account of the resurrected Jesus leaving his tomb. According to Peter's version, two giant angels descended to the tomb and escorted the resurrected Jesus out, who was also suddenly gigantic. But the oddest note was that the three figures were followed by a floating cross that could talk.

"And they heard a voice from the heavens, saying, 'Thou hast preached to them that sleep.' And a response was heard from the cross, 'Yea.'"

The Gospel of Mary: Combs says that some apocryphal texts reflected theological and doctrinal debates going on within the early church, such as the role of women. In the Gospel of Mary (discovered in the late 19th century), Mary Magdalene is not only referred to as one of Jesus's disciples, but perhaps his favorite one. In this text, after Jesus is resurrected, he relays esoteric teachings to Mary, who then tells the other disciples. Peter asks why they should listen to a woman, to which another disciple Levi [Matthew] responds:

"If the Savior made her worthy, who are you then, for your part, to cast her aside? Surely the Savior knows her full well. That is why he has loved her more than us."

1 Enoch: Purportedly written by the ancient prophet Enoch before the time of Noah, this text was well-known to early Christians like third-century theologian Tertullian and quoted as authoritative scripture. The text is famous for its description of the "Watchers," fallen angels mentioned briefly in the Old Testament book of Genesis. These angels lusted after human women and came down to Earth to be with them, creating giant offspring. In 1 Enoch, these angels also introduce evil into the world in the form of weapons, magic and sexy makeup.

Now That's Cool If you're curious, you can read English translations of dozens of New Testament apocrypha and Old Testament apocrypha online.
General view of a burnt area of the Amazon rainforest outside the city of Porto Velho in Brazil in September 2021.

Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest hit a new record in October, a Brazilian government agency said Friday, just days after President Jair Bolsonaro announced ambitious environmental goals at the COP26 climate summit.

An area more than half the size of the city of Rio de Janeiro877 square kilometers (339 square miles)of Amazon's lush rainforest was cleared, the largest ever recorded for October since Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE) started documenting deforestation in 2016.

The October figure was a five percent increase from the corresponding period last year.

Attributed mostly to illegal mining and farming activity, deforestation of the Amazon surged in 2020, and is on track to reach similar highs in 2021, with 7,880 square kilometers of forest cleared and two months yet to go.

Brazil was among the signatories to an international pledge made at the COP26 summit in Glasgow to end deforestation by 2030.

Bolsonaro also went further by pledging to eliminate illegal deforestation in the giant South American countryhome to 60 percent of the Amazonby 2028, pulling forward a previous target by two years.

But the commitments have been met with skepticism by environmental groups who along with Brazil's opposition squarely blame Bolsonaro for a spike in deforestation, due to his support for an increase in agriculture and mining work.

They have also accused him of defunding environmental protection organizations.

Those pledges "do not change the reality on the forest floor," said Romulo Batista, a spokesman for Greenpeace's Amazon campaign.

"Deforestation and fires remain out of control, and the violence against indigenous peoples and the traditional population is only increasing," he added.

INPE recorded more than 11,500 forest fires in the Amazon in October, fewer than the 17,300 of last year but still a jump on the 2019 figure of almost 7,900.

Since Bolsonaro took office in 2019, the Brazilian Amazon has lost more than 10,000 square kilometers a year of forest cover, an area the size of Lebanon, up from 6,500 square kilometers a year over the previous decade.

Explore further Brazil pledges higher greenhouse emissions cuts

 2021 AFP
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

New Delhi authorities announced Saturday a one-week closure of schools and said they would consider a "pollution lockdown" to protect citizens from toxic smog.

"Schools will be shut so that children don't have to breathe polluted air," Delhi's chief minister Arvind Kejriwal told reporters.

Delhi is ranked one of the world's most polluted cities, with a hazardous melange of factory and vehicle emissions, and smoke from agricultural fires, settling in the skies over its 20 million people each winter.

On Saturday, the Supreme Court suggested imposing a lockdown on Delhi to combat the air quality crisis.

"How will we live otherwise?" Chief Justice N.V. Ramana said.

Kejriwal said his government would consider the court's suggestion after consulting with stakeholders.

"Pollution lockdown has never happened before. It will be an extreme step," he said.

Kejriwal said that construction activity would be halted for four days to cut down dust from vast, open sites.

Government offices were asked to operate from home and private businesses advised to stick to work-from-home options as much as possible.

The Central Pollution Control Board on Friday advised authorities to prepare "for implementation of measures under 'emergency' category".

It added the poor air quality would likely run until at least November 18 due to "low winds with calm conditions during the night".

On Saturday, levels of PM 2.5 particlesthe smallest and most harmful, which can enter the bloodstreamtopped 300 on the air quality index.

That is 20 times the maximum daily limit recommended by the World Health Organization.

Hospitals were reporting a sharp rise in patients complaining of breathing difficulties, the Times of India reported.

"We are getting 12-14 patients daily in the emergency, mostly at night, when the symptoms cause disturbed sleep and panic," Dr. Suranjit Chatterjee from Apollo Hospitals told the paper.

Stubble smog

Delhi's government has been vowing for years to clean up the city's air.

The burning of agricultural waste in Delhi's neighbouring statesa major contributor to the city's pollution levels every winterhas continued despite a Supreme Court ban.

Tens of thousands of farmers around the capital burn their stubbleor crop residueat the start of every winter, clearing fields from recently harvested paddies to make way for wheat.

The number of farm fires this season has been the highest in the past four years, according to government data.

Earlier this year, the Delhi government opened its first "smog tower" containing 40 giant fans that pump 1,000 cubic metres of air per second through filters.

The $2 million installation halves the amount of harmful particulates in the air but only within a radius of one square kilometre (0.4 square miles), according to engineers.

A 2020 report by Swiss organisation IQAir found that 22 of the world's 30 most polluted cities were in India, with Delhi ranked the most polluted capital globally.

The same year, The Lancet said 1.67 million deaths were attributable to air pollution in India in 2019, including almost 17,500 in the capital.

In recent days the river flowing through Delhi, the Yamuna, was also choked with sickly white foam.

The city government has blamed the blight on "heavy sewage and industrial waste" discharged into the river from further upstream.

Explore further Delhi wakes to post-Diwali smog

 2021 AFP
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Ancient Indigenous fishing practices can be used to inform sustainable management and conservation today, according to a new study from Simon Fraser University.

Working with the Tsleil-Waututh Nation and using new palaeogenetic analytical techniques developed in SFU Archaeology's ancient DNA lab, directed by professor Dongya Yang, the results of a new collaborative study featured in Scientific Reports provides strong evidence that prior to European colonization, Coast Salish people were managing chum salmon by selectively harvesting males.

Selectively harvesting male salmon increases the overall size of the harvest, as male salmon are bigger than female salmon. It also helps ensure successful spawning as one male can mate with several females. This allows fisheries to maximize the size of their harvest without negatively impacting future returns.

"This management practice is also described in Coast Salish knowledge and, through archaeology, we were able to extend the time depth of this practice by 2,000 years," says Thomas Royle, a postdoctoral fellow working in the lab.

The research team applied the new palaeogenetic methods to archaeological salmon vertebrae to identify the sex of each sample, finding evidence to corroborate Coast Salish traditional knowledge that has been shared for centuries.

The Tsleil-Waututh ancestors worked to keep salmon populations plentiful for millennia, passing their knowledge on from one generation to the next. With current declines and collapses in many commercial fisheries, these traditional Tsleil-Waututh practices can potentially inform current management and conservation.

This research collaboration included the Tsleil-Waututh Nation (Michael George, Michelle George), SFU (Thomas C.A. Royle, Hua Zhang, Miguel Alcaide, Ryan Morin, Dongya Yang), University of British Columbia (Jesse Morin, Camilla Speller, Morgan Ritchie), and McMaster University (Aubrey Cannon) as part of a Tsleil-Waututh Nation project to establish the state of pre-contact ecosystems in Burrard Inlet.

Explore further Mapping the evolution of coastal waters in Metro Vancouver: The Burrard Inlet

More information: Jesse Morin et al, Indigenous sex-selective salmon harvesting demonstrates pre-contact marine resource management in Burrard Inlet, British Columbia, Canada, Scientific Reports (2021). Journal information: Scientific Reports Jesse Morin et al, Indigenous sex-selective salmon harvesting demonstrates pre-contact marine resource management in Burrard Inlet, British Columbia, Canada,(2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-00154-4
Fisherman William Alvarez cuts off the poisonous spines from a lionfish while cleaning it to prepare ceviche that he sells to tourists on the beach of Chichiviriche de la Costa, Vargas state, Venezuela, on October 30, 2021.

The dazzling, colorful lionfish is a must for any exotic aquarium, but it has also become a major threat to the western Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean.

"It's beautiful, but you have to kill it," says Mavi Escalona, a Venezuelan nurse and amateur spearfisher.

"It causes a lot of damage, and it's delicious!"

The spectacular, stripey lionfish with its venemous spines is a carnivore originally from the Indian and Pacific oceans that has now become an invasive species in the Atlantic and Caribbean, posing a threat to their ecosystems.

Known by many other names such as zebrafish, tastyfish and butterfly-cod, the lionfish can now be found from Florida to northern Brazil.

And it has a voracious appetite: eggs, small fish, crustaceans, molluscs. It is at least partly responsiblealongside over-fishing, pollution and climate changefor a drop in the numbers of other fish in the area.

"It's an invasive fish. It doesn't have competitors or predators," said Laura Gutierrez, a Venezuelan biologist now based in the Canary Islands of Spain but who studied lionfish for many years in her homeland.

The lionfish was first spotted in Florida in 1985.

"People that had them in their aquarium released them because they ate their other fish or it was difficult to feed them," said Gutierrez.

"It is eating all the commercial fish, crustaceans, fish and molluscs that keep reefs and corals clean, fish that eat algae."

What happens in an aquarium takes place on a much larger scale in the Caribbean, and could do so, too, in the Mediterranean, which lionfish have started to colonize.

"We're not talking about eradicating them, you can't. It's very difficult but we're talking about minimizing their impact," said Gutierrez.

Fisherman William Alvarez comes out of the water with a lionfish, an invasive species that is terrorizing Venezuela's coast.

Unprofitable

Venezuelan authorities have organized fishing competitions and promoted eating lionfish to try to stymy their inexorable spread.

"The only ones that can control them are us: fishermen," said Willy Alvarez, 35, a dreadlocked spearfisher in Chichiviriche de la Costa, a small village between the sea and the mountains, around 60 kilometers west of Caracas.

Alvarez, with his permanent smile, heads out to sea every day with his mask, snorkel and harpoon.

"The first time I saw one was in 2008 or 2009 ... I caught it to put in an aquarium," he said after climbing back on board his boat, a lionfish skewered on the end of his spear.

"Their reproduction is incredible: 30,000 to 40,000 eggs every three to four days."

He catches one every day and turns it into a cevichea marinated raw fish dishto sell on the beach to passers by.

It's not a very profitable business. To produce one kilogram of ceviche, which sells for $20, he needs to catch three kilograms of lionfish, meaning dozens of free diveseach one lasting around 40 seconds. And then there's the time taken to prepare the dish.

"It's a lot of effort. I can't live off that but one lionfish less is thousands of little fish it won't eat. It's satisfying to help the ecosystem," he said.

'Better than lobster'

A decade ago, the lionfish was still unknown off the Venezuelan coast and its sudden appearance caused fear amongst many locals.

A tourist eats ceviche prepared with lionfish on the beach of Chichiviriche de la Costa, Vargas state, Venezuela.

It's curious beauty and venemous spines that can cause sharp pain or even paralysis have contributed to the mystery around what many locals call the devilfish.

Some even think they are spirits.

Unsurprisingly, it is little eaten here.

"We have to involve the local community," said Gutierrez.

"We have to explain what the fish is. We have to explain that it's edible, that it's tasty."

The spines and skin can also be used to make jewelry.

"If we create demand, we'll ensure more are taken out of the sea and that will help limit the population," she added.

"Delicious" exclaimed Genesis Palma, a 20-year-old cashier, tasting lionfish for the first time in Chichiriviche.

"Lionfish is the best," added Juan Carlos Gutierrez, one of Alvarez's clients.

"It's better than lobster, better than caviar!"

Explore further Tool predicts which native fish species are most at risk from lionfish predators

 2021 AFP
LANAUDIERE, Quebec

She misses her favorite coffee mug the most.

And her mountain bike, pasta maker, jerseys, skis, snowshoes, wedding album, address book and perfume collection.

Liza Smith-Vedder misses her things.

Smith-Vedder, who graduated from Whitehall, has been living in Canada since the day before the border shut down between the United States and its neighbor to the north in mid-March of 2020.

What she thought would be a three-month stay at her wifes home outside of Montreal has lasted 20 months.

Its very odd to be in your house and have no items that reflect yourself or your history back at you, Smith-Vedder said. I do not understand Marie Kondo (the organizing consultant and author). You cannot feel at home if you look around and there isnt a photo, if there isnt anything older than three months old.

Smith-Vedder was still a newlywed after marrying Josee Lamoureux, who lived and worked in Canada. Smith-Vedder was living and working in Burlington, Vermont, and the two saw each other on the weekends.

She lives 60 miles north of Montreal, Smith-Vedder said. I live 60 miles south of Montreal.

Smith-Vedder was in the process of filling out the paperwork for residency in Canada, but hadnt completed it when her wife told her she heard the border was going to close.

She calls me on March 13 and she says, I think youve got to come up here. I think theyre going to close the border, and nobody knows whats going to happen, Smith-Vedder recalls. At this point, I have no paperwork. Were married, but Ive got nothing because we havent finished this application.

Oscillating between panicking and packing, Smith-Vedder made her bed, cleaned up her apartment, which she shared with a roommate, and found her immigration documents and birth certificate.

At the time, she recalled, my worst case scenario was, Its closing immediately and I could be there for a few months. March, April, May, June.

She grabbed only casual clothes to be able to work remotely.

I grabbed a pair of jean shorts and some short-sleeved T-shirts because I thought this could go into early summer, she laughed.

She also grabbed all the hand sanitizer in the house and made a quick stop at Bath & Body Works to pick up more. She packed the dogs food, some knitting yarn, a couple of books and her briefcase.

It took Smith-Vedder about 15 minutes to pack up items for what she thought would be a few months stay in Canada with her wife, who had just healed from a broken leg.

She had crossed the border many times, but never really brought a lot of personal items since that is frowned upon.

If youre married and youre working on becoming a Canadian resident, you dont bring stuff to make it look like youre moving, she said. So I was always really careful about that.

Two hours after her wifes phone call, Smith-Vedder crossed the border at Saint-Armand.

Her wife wasnt around during the work week, so Smith-Vedder was left alone in an unfamiliar house with just her rambunctious puppy, Benson.

My biggest regret is that I didnt pack anything comforting, sentimental, nothing, she said. So I just felt so decontextualized, and I felt so ripped out of my world that this whole place felt alien.

Their home was in a region with a lot of retired people, none of whom were eager to socialize during a pandemic.

They put a barrier around our town and you couldnt pass in and out of it without a pass from work that said you were allowed to leave, she said. Meanwhile, I have no paperwork, my IDs say I live in Vermont, I have green plates on my car.

People near her didnt speak English and spoke a dialect of French called Quebecois, which she found very difficult to understand. Toilet paper was in short supply, even though there was a toilet paper factory in town.

She felt like she was living in a somewhat familiar Airbnb. Shopping for new clothes became a horrible chore.

You just do not realize how many clothes you have stacked up over the years until youre trying to replace it, she said. Even though I have spent thousands of dollars on clothes over the past two years, I still always feel like Im missing something.

She lost a friend to COVID-19 in New York City. She missed her family ferociously. Hoping the border would open was futile.

And the maybes were killing her.

Oh, maybe itll happen in time for my birthday. Maybe itll happen in time for summer vacation, and I can go hang out with my niece and nephew. Oh, maybe itll happen in time for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, she said. It doesnt help. You need things to look forward to in life, but they have to be things you have some control over.

After about six months in Canada, she realized she no longer had to translate road signs to find her way to the dog park. It was starting to feel more like home.

Now that the border is open, she still cant cross it due to an immigration issue. You can only be in Canada for six out of 12 months unless you ask permission. When she couldnt cross the border during COVID, she did get that permission.

I have been in process with immigration to be a permanent resident for over 15 months now, she explained. But it turns out that the offices were closed for a bunch of COVID.

Theres a massive backlog. She is at the end of the process, but still waiting.

They may tell me no, they may tell me yes, but Im legally here until I hear back one way or the other, she said, pausing. Unless I leave. If I leave, my application is null and void.

She is not willing to take the risk.

Her wife, however, is allowed to cross into the states. They are planning to send her on a collection trip soon to gather some of Smith-Vedders personal items.

The terrible thing is my closet was full of dirty clothes when I left, she said. Like definitely laundry day was that weekend.

She is eager to get her hands on her guitar, wedding album and her favorite coffee mug.

She is also looking forward to friends and family visiting her in Canada.

I would pay people to come see me. Just let me know your rate, seriously, she laughed. Its so nice to see Americans and be able to make a joke that somebody gets. Its more foreign here than you realize. Its definitely another country.

Gretta Hochsprung can be reached at 518-742-3206 or ghochsprung@poststar.com.

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QUEENSBURY  Navy veteran and state Sen. Dan Stec described Friday afternoon as a fine Navy day as rain fell outside of Adirondack Hall, complementing the gray sky during SUNY Adirondacks annual Veterans Day ceremony.

The ceremony commenced from the Northwest Bay Conference Center at SUNY Adirondack as a crowd of 40 people paid tribute to all veterans. American Legion Post No. 533 performed color guard duties to begin the ceremony.

Kristine Duffy, president of SUNY Adirondack, opened the event saying that it can be easy to forget that many around the world arent afforded the same freedoms as those in America.

It is a somber occasion when we remember the sacrifice that our women, men and children have made to preserve and protect the freedoms that each of us enjoy, Duffy said.

Jacob Carpenter, student senate president at SUNY Adirondack, echoed the words of the universitys president.

He said that Veterans Day is a time to celebrate and remember veterans.

When duty called, you knew what you had to do. You knew what you were getting in to and you knew the risk. Yet you still put on your uniform, grabbed your gear and still went anyway, Carpenter said. That to me is the best definition of bravery.

Assemblyman Matt Simpson, R-Horicon, opened his speech by asking all veterans in attendance to raise their hands. The crowd of 40 gave them a round of applause.

Simpson remarked that Veterans Day provides everyone with the chance to reflect and offer gratitude and support to those who have made those sacrifices within the military.

Military service is truly a selfless act, he said.

Thanking a veteran, attending a parade and flying the American flag with pride are all ways to honor those who have served, according to Simpson.

But he stressed one way in particular.

Even more simply, embody this sentiment, he said. If you want to thank a soldier, be the kind of American worth fighting for. Emulating Americas core values of inclusivity, compassion and freedom for all is the ultimate tribute.

Anne Wojtowecz is the president of SUNY Adirondacks Veterans Club. She enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1999, fresh out of high school, and was deployed to Iraq from 2003 to 2004 and 2005 to 2006, according to SUNY Adirondacks website.

She said that we are all in the fight together.

We want to be reassured that we are fighting for citizens who value the American country, Wojtowecz said.

Stec, R-Queensbury, used his time to tell the crowd a story. His father is a Vietnam War veteran, and when he and his sister were younger they would tell their father they loved him.

He would respond by saying, Dont tell me you love me, show me you love me.

He said that as he grows older he understand what his father was saying, and implored those in attendance to strive to be worthy of the militarys service every day.

Its easy to say thank you, but as the saying goes, talk is cheap, Stec said.

Wojtowecz closed the event by speaking directly to her fellow veterans. She said that they didnt enlist alone, and asked them all to thank their families and loved ones for supporting them throughout their respective journeys.

As she asked them to remember their children, her voice began to shake and she said this hit home for her.

For they have never lost the faith that you would return to watch them grow and make you proud one day as you have made them proud. They endured a void that can only be filled when you return. All of them are why we continue to fight, a promise that we keep to them and our country, she said.

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Violet Rixey, chairwoman of the Womens Commission added, We are thrilled to recognize these outstanding women across Cape May County, and thankful for the generosity of those who support our mission. Each years event grows in participation and enthusiasm. We realize that not only are we celebrating the Women of Wonder recipients, we are all sharing in a blessing to the women awarded Atlantic Cape scholarships, who will ultimately enhance their lives.

During Wednesdays luncheon, each recipient was presented with a crystal star award.

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Your leadership and commitment to the citizens of Cape May County will have a lasting legacy, Atlantic Cape President Dr. Barbara Gaba told this years Women of Wonder.

Gaba also thanked all those in attendance and who donated to support the scholarship fund.

You are all making a difference in Cape May County, she said.

As director of the Sam. S. DeVico Middle Township Senior Center, Miller coordinates activities and events for 200 members and has worked to support the seniors since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Upon accepting her award, Miller thanked all of those who support her in her role.
The possible punishment for attempted second-degree intentional homicide is 30 years. Attempted first-degree reckless endangerment is punishable by up to 12 1/2 years.

COUNT 6: POSSESSION OF A DANGEROUS WEAPON BY A PERSON UNDER 18

The judge dismissed this charge on Monday.

Rittenhouse was armed with an AR-style semi-automatic rifle. He was 17 years old on the night of the shootings. Wisconsin law prohibits minors from possessing firearms except for hunting or when supervised by an adult in target practice or instruction in the proper use of a dangerous weapon. Rittenhouses attorneys argued that another subsection of the law, regarding short-barreled rifles, provided grounds for dismissing the charge.

Prosecutors argued the defense was misreading the statute, and Schroeder had earlier twice declined to dismiss the charge. But the judge also had said the statute was confusing. After prosecutors conceded that the rifle was not short-barreled, Schroeder dismissed the charge.

COUNT 7: FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH AN EMERGENCY ORDER FROM STATE OR LOCAL GOVERNMENT
All due respect to Your Honor, I think the defense is trying to take advantage of your lack of knowledge about technology which youve expressed, Kraus said.

Schroeders confusion with the technical details was obvious in court. Earlier in the week, he questioned whether using the pinch-and-zoom feature on an iPad would alter an image and barred prosecutors from using that while presenting video evidence to jurors.

I totally agree with your comment about my lack of familiarity with these concepts, although logic, I have some logical skills, he said on Thursday. This is a difficult concept for me, yes.

At one point, Schroeder, attorneys for both sides and Rittenhouse clustered around a television as a detective played the video footage repeatedly.

At least one forensic video expert uninvolved in the case said Rittenhouses attorneys were right to challenge the states approach to enlarging the video evidence. Grant Fredericks of Forensic Video Solutions said the states first proposal  the pinch and zoom method  is impossible to exactly replicate, which is essential when creating a record of a criminal case for potential appeal.
Millville

Harris doing nothing about border crisis

I cant believe that Vice President Kamala Harris was in Newark last month when other U.S. officials were in Mexico, meeting with the president about immigration. She is supposed to be the one in charge of the boarder crisis. Instead she is visiting another bakery. It seems like all she knows how to do is shop for donuts and pastry and giggle a lot.

I cant believe she can get away with being vice president of the United States and not even showing up for the job. Its no wonder half of the people dont want to work. Why should they when they can watch the second in command of the country not doing anything at all.

Thousands of people are walking across the boarder every day. While she was eating cake, they found over 650 immigrants in trucks. Where is the root cause??

Gary Shoff

Egg Harbor Township
If you watch the news, you get the impression that America is not doing well under the Biden administration. The media does not do justice to the great things that are happening in the country as a result of the Biden administration. President Biden has: cut child poverty in half, added 5.3 million jobs, recovered 80% of the jobs lost under the Trump recession, vaccinated 220 million Americans, reduced the deficit by $360 billion in one year, passed historic infrastructure investments for water, bridges, roads, and broadband. The Dow/401(k)s have been at an all-time high, hes taken important steps toward ending global warming and is trying to pass legislation to continue this process. These are all measures that directly affect Iowa. Despite all the whining, facts are stubborn. The United States is on a good path, thanks to President Joe Biden.
"One of the best responses I received was, 'I am so grateful for this message. Information is power and helps us all respond appropriately when confronted with misinformation,'" Guinn said.

Many of those who received Guinn's email declined to comment on the record, but generally agreed they appreciated hearing from the company. One said they didn't believe sharing negotiation offers between an employer and their employees was "any of my business," while another said they just wanted "the best outcome for all parties."

Former Waterloo Mayor Tim Hurley, a retired salaried Deere worker who continues to work closely with Deere executives on community and economic development projects, said the company had "every right to explain their position," though he acknowledged it was "a little unique" for them to be reaching out in that way.

"It makes no sense to me, nor anyone I talk with, how this offer is bad," Hurley said of the latest negotiation. "Obviously, (Deere) would like this to end amicably and fairly."

Elected officials with the Waterloo City Council and the Black Hawk County Board of Supervisors went on record supporting UAW workers shortly after the strike began.
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP)  Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska announced Friday she will run for reelection in 2022, setting up a race against a primary challenger endorsed by former President Donald Trump.

Playing up her centrist bona fides, Murkowski said in a campaign video that she would work across party lines to help Alaska and "stand up to any politician or special interest that threatens our way of life. Trump has vowed revenge against Murkowski and other Republican lawmakers who supported his impeachment over the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Murkowski told reporters in Anchorage on Friday there will be plenty of people on the outside who will be gunning for me, who will suggest that I am not right for Alaskans. I would put that directly to the people of this state.

It's very easy to get distracted by people on the outside. It's very easy to get distracted by those who would say theyre going to do something," she said later. "My focus needs to be on the people of Alaska, serving them and asking for their permission for continued service.
Wisconsin law allows the prosecution and defense to ask that jurors be told they can consider lesser charges as part of the instructions they receive before deliberating. Defense lawyers can object to lesser charges, and in some cases Friday, they did. For those that they didn't object to, Judge Bruce Schroeder asked Rittenhouse to confirm that he agreed with his attorneys' decision.

Schroeder told Rittenhouse that by including the lesser charges, youre raising the risk of conviction, although youre avoiding the possibility that the jury will end up compromising on the more serious crime. And youre also decreasing the risk that youll end up with a second trial because the jury is unable to agree.

Rittenhouse said he understood.

Schroeder said he would issue his final rulings Saturday, but he made some findings from the bench and indicated how he might rule on others. For counts where jurors will be allowed to consider lesser charges, they will be instructed to only consider them if they first acquit Rittenhouse of the more serious original corresponding charge.
After listening to arguments from the attorneys Friday, Schroeder decided that there would be provocation instructions included in that guide.

Its the jurys case and I think they should make the critical decisions. My decision will be to submit the case to the jury with the provocation instruction and you can argue the strength or lack of strength of the evidence, Schroeder said.

With that language in, the jury can consider whether Rittenhouses own actions caused the reactions of the men he then shot on Aug. 25, 2020: Anthony Huber, Joseph Rosenbaum and Gaige Grosskreutz. Huber and Rosenbaum were killed. Rittenhouse has maintained he was acting in self defense when he shot the men during the unrest in Kenosha following the police shooting of Jacob Blake.

Schroeder said he would issue his final rulings Saturday, but he made some findings from the bench and indicated how he might rule on others. For counts where jurors will be allowed to consider lesser charges, they will be instructed to only consider them if they first acquit Rittenhouse of the more serious original corresponding charge.

Friday's arguments over jury instructions were contentious at times, with attorneys rehashing debates they had earlier in the case. At one point, as prosecutors were seeking to add an instruction that would allow the jurors to consider whether Rittenhouse was provoked, the two sides debated about what a particular photo showed. Schroeder lost his temper, snapping: Youre asking me to give an instruction. I want to see the best picture!

Rittenhouse, now 18, faces one count of first-degree reckless homicide in the killing of Rosenbaum, who was the first person he shot after Rosenbaum chased him in a used car lot. Prosecutors sought to add a second-degree reckless homicide charge, but the defense objected. Schroeder said he was unlikely to allow the lesser charge because he thought a guilty verdict on the lesser charge would be overturned on appeal.

Rittenhouse also faces two charges of first-degree reckless endangerment: one for firing at an unknown man who tried to kick him in the face and another because a reporter was in the line of fire when Rittenhouse shot Rosenbaum.

Schroeder said he was inclined to allow a lesser charge of second-degree reckless endangerment when it comes to endangering the reporter, but he might not. He said he would not allow the lesser charge in the case of the unidentified man who tried to kick Rittenhouse.

Closing arguments will be Monday, after which names will be drawn to decide which 12 jurors will deliberate and which will be dismissed as alternates.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
USDA is projecting this years corn harvest to be the second largest in history, and farmers need somewhere for it to go. One of the best places is to local ethanol plants where it can be used to make low-carbon fuel. Unfortunately, market access could soon be slashed due to a lawsuit filed by oil refiners. Come June 1 of next year the sale of E15, a higher fuel blend containing 15% ethanol, will be stopped unless immediate action is taken. Fortunately, Governor Kim Reynolds is working on behalf of farmers like me to ensure consumers have access to E15 year-round.

Because of the refinery lawsuit, right now E10 (10% ethanol) and E15 have different volatility regulations which empowers refiners to provide gasoline that will only accommodate E10 and kicks E15 out of the market during the summer.

Governors have the option under the Clean Air Act to request E10 and E15 be regulated equally within their states. This would mean any gasoline the oil refiners send up the pipeline could be blended to produce E10 or E15. Last week, Governor Reynolds and six other Midwest governors sent a letter to EPA signaling interest in taking this action, which would allow E15 to be sold all year.
For Monica Lay, pulling off a successful play as the stage manager demands a quality not always associated with fast-moving, high-pressure situations.

I think it takes kindness, said Lay, a senior and the company stage manager for Central High Schools production of Our Town, by Thornton Wilder. To be a leader you have to be kind. I think I rely on everyone else more than they rely on me.

Lay is among about 40 students working together to present Our Town,  a play that embodies on stage, in some ways, Lays reflections on the community life surrounding the play.

Justin Speck, director of theater at Central High School, said that spirit of community has seeped into the theater throughout his career at the high school.

Its still a collaborative effort, said Speck, in his 18th year as director and on his 52nd production. It still requires the best of us. It still requires us to reflect on who we are as human beings.

Performances are scheduled for 7 p.m. on Nov. 18, Nov. 19 and Nov. 20. Tickets cost $5 and are available at Central High Schools Activities Office during business hours or one hour before each performance. The performances follow Stevens High School's production of "Peter and the Starcatcher" earlier this month.

Speck noted a kind of simplicity in the play's storytelling, along with a universality in its truths. But he also noted some subtle challenges the actors face in "Our Town," such as touching at least the edges of a New Hampshire accent when they speak. The play takes place in Grovers Corners, New Hampshire. The town is fictitious.

But New Hampshire is very much a real place, Speck said, adding that the actors are working to bring some of the sound of upper New England into their voices.

Not that were attempting to affect our speech drastically enough so that audiences will say, Oh, theyre doing an accent, he said. But we are affecting our speech in some way.

As students rehearsed during an afternoon still early on in the production phase, they were freshly off-book and beginning to let the story take shape. Star Sharp Fish, a senior serving as assistant director, talked to the group after a rehearsal, reminding them to make eye contact and to concentrate on their characters  and also congratulating them on their work.

Our Town combines a frame narrative that governs and stands outside of the characters interactions. Sharp Fish and senior Blake Bush, who plays the narrator, reflected on how the presence of a story surrounding the play can envelop the audience.

I think the point was to make it feel less like a play by getting you more invested in the town, Bush said of the narration. He noted the way the narrators tale weaves in small details about the town, such as the presence of a blanket factory and other realistic touches.

Sharp Fish emphasized the sense of community conveyed in the pronouns we and us and our as the narrator tells the story.

It really includes us and takes us along as if were experiencing someones everyday life, she said.

Speck said the text, with its colloquialisms, tends to elicit sounds of the place and time just through the dialogue. Students said they felt drawn to this sense of place as they rehearsed.

I like the feeling of being there at that exact moment, at that exact time, said Isaiah Schreiner, a junior playing Howie Newsome.

Others also enjoyed immersing themselves in the 1901 setting.

They didnt have sinks, so when it says you wash the dishes, you actually have to figure out how you wash the dishes, said Kiran Kelly, a senior playing Mrs. Webb.

Kelly was also referring to one of the challenges experienced by all of the cast members: pantomiming objects that dont actually exist on the stage. Speck said the absence of real, physical objects  a decision thats written into the script  prompts the audience to focus harder on the story, without distraction.

Abigail Flanegan, a freshman playing Mrs. Gibbs, described the challenge of seeing and feeling physical objects with precision, even though theyre not present on the stage.

Its hard to pretend that the object is physical, she said, but if you do it for everything, its easier to do it overall. You have to remember you grind the coffee with a mortar and pestle. You remember that the match has a box, and you strike it.

As students talked about their motivations for the theater, some noted the way theyd watched plays in the past and envisioned themselves on stage. Garrett Crossland, a sophomore who plays George Gibbs, recalled absorbing plays during his freshman year.

I watched the plays but didnt participate much, Crossland said. It blew my mind, and I really wanted to join theater.

Some students talked, too, about the way theater helped them in their lives outside of the plays.

I really wanted to meet some new people and make friends, said Enya Wallace, a sophomore who plays Emily Webb. I used to be a lot shyer than I am now. Theater was a way of boosting my confidence.

Keegan Colby, a senior playing Professor Willard, explained his path to theater.

The reason this is my first play, and the reason it took me so long, is that I have autism, he said. Its been a journey for me to get socially mature. Even just two years ago, I couldnt have done this.

Colby said he saw new skills emerging from the experience  skills that included how to rehearse things, memorize things, and plan ahead for speeches.

The plays spare set casts an unusual light on some of the technological tasks associated with production. Joey Lore is the technical director for Central High School, and like Speck, hes taught at the school for nearly 20 years.

In the shows that weve done in years past, one of my philosophies is that I like to go big, he said. I like to get that wow.

The production of Our Town takes on a more subdued tone  at least technologically  but the spareness of the play creates challenges of its own.

I always tell the students that for every scene change, it should appear to be flawless, Lore said, noting that he tells them: I want you to be quiet ninjas.

Lore also described how all of the student contributions in a play collapse into a kind of collage, with a host of varied actions merging into a single production.

One thing that we instill in our students is that it doesnt matter if youre sewing on a button, it doesnt matter if youre running a spotlight, it doesnt matter if youre on stage singing your guts out, he said. It takes all of us.

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Dr. Richard Gowen, who played a key role in bringing the Sanford Underground Science Laboratory to the Homestake Gold Mine, died Friday at age 86.

Gowen served as president of the university from 1987 to 2003. He was inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame in 2012.

Dr. Gowen was among the most passionate supporters of South Dakota Mines and his enthusiasm was contagious, said James Rankin, current South Dakota Mines president, in a statement to the Journal. He inspired many and he dedicated much of his life to the advancement of the institution. He was instrumental in shaping the university we all know today. He will be greatly missed.

In 2017, Gowen was honored along with the local steering committee of the International Collegiate Programming Contest by Mayor Steve Allender and the Rapid City Council.

Dick led an exemplary life and everything he did, he approached with a tireless commitment to excellence, Allender said in a statement. He approached projects as he did life, with a head-on approach and a full-speed dedication to giving it all he had and then some and expecting those around him to do the same.

Gowen came to South Dakota Mines from Dakota State University in Madison where he was president from 1984 to 1987.

He previously taught for 15 years at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He was also director of the joint NASA-Air Force Space Medical Instrumentation Project and a member of the NASA Astronaut Medical Research Launch and Recovery Team. He worked on the Apollo and Skylab space programs.

Gowen graduated in 1962 from graduate school at Iowa State University as the first Ph.D. in the nation in the new research area of biomedical engineering. He helped develop an engineering model of the cardiovascular system, according to his Hall of Fame biography.

Gowen was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey in 1935.

 Contact Siandhara Bonnet at siandhara.bonnet@rapidcityjournal.com 

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Residents on the southwest side of Ellsworth Air Force Base may get free water service from a potential new well near Black Hawk.

The South Dakota Ellsworth Development Authority is working with the base to establish the new water well to serve those with contaminated water from firefighting foam activities on the base.

Hundreds of residents and 26 private wells in the area were impacted with contamination of per and polyfluoroalkyl substances at levels 10 times what the Environmental Protection Agency deems safe. The substances are linked to cancer, thyroid disease, weakened immunity and other health systems.

Executive Director Scott Landguth said the authority has contracted with the base on the matter and is working on engineering and planning for the water. The well would pull water from the Madison Aquifer and bring it to the east and north of Interstate 90. He said they hope to have the project done by 2024. The engineering work will take about a year and construction would follow over two years.

The residents impacted by the contamination would receive the water free of charge. The main impacted area is southwest of the base, although there are some residents impacted farther to the east, Landguth said. The authority will work with homeowners from as far as New Underwood, on a separate solution. He said theyre too far out to benefit from the new proposed system.

Landguth said the base came to the authority to do this as the Air Force has rules about the base not providing water off of the base.

One of our goals is to make sure that South Dakota is a great place for the Air Force to do its mission and kind of deal with whatever problems they might have, he said. In this case, there are some water problems we need to help with.

Those impacted by the contamination are currently being provided bottled water or a filtration system attached to residential water systems, but Landguth said thats not a good long-term solution.

They need a more permanent good source of water, he said.

Landguth said he has been meeting with affected homeowners individually.

Every one of those homeowners has kind of a unique situation, in a way, he said.

He said the construction cost will be determined through engineering, but engineering costs will be about $1 million. He said the engineering will also determine the best route and length of pipes to provide the water, but there are too many unknowns to predict a cost. Landguth said the Air Force will fund the project.

 Contact Siandhara Bonnet at siandhara.bonnet@rapidcityjournal.com 

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The Rapid City Area School District Board of Education is considering a resolution to ban COVID-19 testing and administering of vaccines at all Rapid City Area School District 51-4 schools, buildings and properties. The resolution is on the agenda for the meeting at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in Rapid City Council Chambers.

The resolution asserts that K-12 schools are a place of learning fundamental skills and obtaining knowledge and that the district is not a licensed healthcare facility.

It also contends that valuable instruction time which would be used educating K-12 schoolchildren is lost during COVID-19 testing or administering of vaccines and subsequent waiting periods, that the COVID-19 testing kits that RCAS have are not diagnostic tests and that in the United States of America the current available COVID-19 vaccines to both age 5-17 year old children and adults have only been granted an FDA Experimental Use Authorization which is a far lower standard than a FDA approved vaccine.

Daniel Bucheli, communications director for the South Dakota Department of Health, noted that the vaccines received Emergency Use Authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, not Experimental Use Authorization. He encouraged people to research the vaccines through the FDAs and the South Dakota Department of Healths websites.

Regarding vaccines, these are not experimental, but rather have not received full FDA approval, he said, noting that detailed information about Emergency Use Authorization can be found at https://www.fda.gov/emergency-preparedness-and-response/mcm-legal-regulatory-and-policy-framework/emergency-use-authorization.

We would also encourage all your readers to visit our website, https://doh.sd.gov/, to get the latest information on vaccines as it becomes available, he said. Likewise, we also encourage parents to review: https://doh.sd.gov/documents/COVID19/Vaccine/ChildVaccineFAQs.pdf when deciding how to best protect their children against the virus.

Board President Kate Thomas explained the resolution's origins in an email.

"Breanna Funke (a board member) and I came up with this resolution because we had been hearing that the White House administration has been pushing for vaccines in schools," she said. "We heard from a number of teachers that were worried we would be mandating it. We are also very well aware of the VAERS reporting hundreds of thousands of adverse reactions, including thousands of deaths, from this vaccine."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued this statement regarding the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System:

"Reports of adverse events to VAERS following vaccination, including deaths, do not necessarily mean that a vaccine caused a health problem. A review of available clinical information, including death certificates, autopsy, and medical records has not established a causal link to COVID-19 vaccines. However, recent reports indicate a plausible causal relationship between the J&J/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine and TTS, a rare and serious adverse event that causes blood clots with low platelets, which has caused 5 deaths."

Thomas continued, "From a liability perspective, I would not want the possibility of RCAS being held responsible for an adverse reaction on a student or staff. We wanted to be proactive in messaging that the RCAS would not be providing this vaccine."

Regarding testing, Thomas said, "We felt that we should not be a testing facility as RCAS is an educational institution and no other district in SD is provided testing on site." According to representatives from the South Dakota Department of Health and the South Dakota Department of Education, over 100 school districts in the state participate in the school testing program for COVID-19, which may include on-site testing.

Thomas said she visited all of the state's school district websites to determine if they have on-site testing.

Dr. Halie Anderson, a board certified pediatrician, allergist and immunologist with Rapid City Medical Center, also noted that the vaccines were not experimental and added, The idea of this being a lower standard is misleading as well.

Anderson referred to an explanation on the FDAs website which notes that clinical trials are being conducted according to the rigorous standards set forth by the FDA.

Anderson, who has a child in Grandview Elementary School, disagreed with the resolutions claim that COVID-19 testing  and other health measures  sacrificed class time. She contended that allowing students to receive a COVID-19 test, with parental consent, can let them return to class if the test is negative rather than leaving to be tested elsewhere.

Taking away a resource that keeps them physically present in the schools goes exactly against what (board members) said they want to do in the resolution, she said.

Anderson also reflected on the role of schools in students health and well-being.

I would argue that schools very much play an active role in the health of children, she said, noting vision tests, along with behavioral and developmental assessments, as examples.

There are many things that schools do to promote health and to screen for health, she said.

The resolution asserts that it is solely the parental responsibility and decision to test or vaccinate their children, not Rapid City Area School District 51-4 and notes that there are multiple licensed health care facilities administering medical tests and vaccines to choose from throughout Rapid City and the surrounding communities.

Board member Amy Policky, reached by phone, said, I dont support ending testing. The teachers support it. Its a time saver and a money saver for them.

Katy Urban, public information manager for RCAS, said the school district began administering tests for COVID-19 last school year, with parental consent required each time a student is tested. The testing kits are supplied by the state of South Dakota, she said.

Our nurses can test them right at the school as long as the parents sign a consent form, Urban said. She said students may be tested  with parental consent  when they feel ill at school or if parents make an appointment through an online portal. Those are called BinaxNOW tests.

This school year, Urban said, students can also take home test kits  called QuikVue tests  with parental consent. Urban said area medical professionals have confirmed that they are diagnostic tests.

Natalie Slack, the parent of a middle school student and two high school students in the district and a candidate for the school board in the most recent election, expressed concern that the resolution could place parents who are already struggling in a more difficult predicament.

I often think about when I was a young mom with little kids in elementary school, and I was in a pretty difficult time in my life when I didnt have financial security, she said. For parents in that situation, she said, to be able to have their children tested at school takes a huge burden from them.

Kimberly Hayden, parent of an elementary school student at Grandview Elementary School, also questioned the separation of schools from participation in health measures. She recalled volunteering at a vaccination clinic at Central High School in November 2009, when, according to an article in the Rapid City Journal, the state Department of Health and Pennington County Emergency Management offered 2,300 H1N1 and 1,200 vaccines to children from ages 6 months to 18 years at Central High School.

The board's resolution culminates by declaring that no COVID-19 testing or administering of approved vaccines or experimental use authorization vaccines will be allowed in any Rapid City School District 51-4 building or any property at any time for any reason, effective immediately upon passage. It asserts that an employee who violates this resolution is subject to appropriate disciplinary action.

People seeking the complete text, along with other information about upcoming board meetings, can go to https://rcas.org/our-district/board-of-education/ and follow the appropriate links.

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Stephanie Judson, president/CEO of the South Dakota Community Foundation, received the "2021 eMarketer of the Year" award from Crescendo during the Practical Planned Giving Conference virtual event on Nov. 3.

Judson became president of the South Dakota Community Foundation in January 2013 after holding various positions with the Foundation since 1997. Currently, Judson oversees strategic vision, donor relations, and grant program development.

Charles Schultz, president of Crescendo, congratulated Judson on receiving the award.

"Stephanie is an excellent leader and has wonderful skills in serving both donors and the South Dakota community," Schultz said. "Stephanie and her team have used Crescendo's GiftLegacy tools and services since 2007 and they raised over $170 million in gifts in 2020.

Judson was selected from more than 1,700 nonprofit leaders nationwide and was recognized for philanthropic expertise in leading her statewide team.

I am deeply honored to be recognized for my work in the planned giving field, and I am grateful for the support we have received from Crescendo over the years," Judson said. "It is an honor to work with families as they create business, retirement and estate plans that include gifts to charitable causes that are important to them.

The South Dakota Community Foundation is a public nonprofit organization established in 1987. The organization has offices in Pierre, Rapid City, Sioux Falls and Aberdeen and administers more than 1,050 funds benefiting hundreds of charitable organizations annually.

The foundation distributed nearly $18 million in grants in 2020, making a difference in communities statewide. For more information, visit https://sdcommunityfoundation.org, or call 1-800-888-1842.

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Three children and three adults have serious, non-life threatening injuries following a two-vehicle crash Saturday.

A five-member family and a single individual were involved in the crash at United States Highway 16 and mile marker 61, said Tony Mangan, spokesperson for the Department of Public Safety. All were taken to Monument Health in Rapid City, he said.

Mangan said all information is preliminary at this time and South Dakota Highway Patrol is still investigation. The call came in around 11:55 a.m. Tony Dodd, 32, of Valentine, Nebraska, and four others, ranging in ages 3 to 27, were headed west on Hwy 16 in a 2011 GMC Sierra.

Herman Jones, 77, was traveling east in a 2005 Chevy Suburban and turned left and the two vehicles collided.

Both Dodd and Jones were not wearing seatbelts. Charges are pending.

Mangan said the report did not mention if weather was a factor, but did say that weather is always investigated in any type of crash.

Rockerville Volunteer Fire Chief Gail Schmidt said the west-bound lanes of traffic were closed from about noon to 1:15 p.m.

 Contact Siandhara Bonnet at siandhara.bonnet@rapidcityjournal.com 

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Community members will be able to place winter clothes on presidential statues in downtown Rapid City starting Monday.

This is the seventh year for the program that begins during National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, which is Nov. 14-20. Mayor Steve Allender approved the program in November 2015. The Rapid City Council approved a resolution in April 2016 to make it an annual event.

City Communications Coordinator Darrell Shoemaker said Nov. 15 was selected by Allender to coincide with the national week. March 15 was selected as the deadline since that's when warmer temperatures begin in the area.

He said it also provides a transition to the pending arrival of visitors to the community.

"The walking tour of the presidential statues is one of the highlights of the downtown experience," Shoemaker said. "Between Nov. 15 and March 15, the statues provide an appropriate means to bring awareness to the needs of the homeless and the overall issue of homelessness in our community, as well as a convenient opportunity for those in need to collect an item of warmth."

Gloves, hats, scarves, ear muffs, coats and socks can be donated.

"This fall we've already seen early placement of a few items on statues, coinciding with our early snow and the onset of late evening chilly temperatures," Shoemaker said.

Allender will read the proclamation for National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week at Monday night's Rapid City Council meeting. The proclamation will recognize the work of organizations like the Hope Center, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, Volunteers of America, Cornerstone Rescue Mission, the Black Hills Regional Homeless Coalition, the Youth Task Force, Working Against Violence, Inc., Feeding South Dakota and many others.

 Contact Siandhara Bonnet at siandhara.bonnet@rapidcityjournal.com 

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Two weeks ago, Stefani Jacksons phone rang.

She picked it up to hear the voice of the man she knew only as Jack on the line.

Jackson had met Jack a couple of years ago when she first started her nonprofit Laundry Love Hamilton program to help the homeless pay for their laundry.

He came up to me and said he wanted to help, Jackson remembered. He reached into his pocket and pulled out two dimes and a nickel. I thought I shouldnt take it because I knew it was all he had.

But she could see from the look in his eyes how important it was to him to be able to give.

Over the years, she got to know Jack and appreciate his compassion for others.

In the middle of the first week of November, Jackson received her first call from Missoula's St. Patrick Hospital. Jack was on the line.

He told Jackson he wasnt going to make it that week to do his laundry.

He said he didnt want to worry me but he was in the hospital, she said.

Jack had decided to try to walk from Hamilton to Missoula to get medical treatment for his feet and hands that had been bothering him since the cold settled in. He had collapsed alongside the highway near Victor.

He told me he didnt know how long he was on the ground, Jackson said. He thought he had died and that an angel had appeared when a really beautiful woman appeared alongside the road to help him.

A couple traveling to Washington state picked Jack up and took him north to Missoula.

Jack said they were going to have to take a couple of things off his body due to frostbite, Jackson said. He told me to take his supplies and money and give them to someone else who could use it. Before he hung up, he told me he would probably be back in a couple of weeks.

Three days later, Jackson received a call from the hospital.

Jack had died. The only piece of identification he had was the Laundry Love card with her phone number on it.

They asked me how I knew him, she said. My card was alongside his bed. They said everyone who came into his room had to hear about me.

I dont even know for sure that was his real name, Jackson said. All I know is that I wished I was half the person he was. No matter what, he was always positive and compassionate. He was always helping people.

I can tell you that I cried and cried after I hung up the phone, she said. Ill never forget him. I don't want his death to be in vain."

Jack was a common sight in Hamilton on his bicycle pulling a trailer, but Jackson knows that people probably drove by without a notice. She knows of other people living in their cars in parking lots who people never see.

With temperatures set to plunge again this week, the founder of Family Shelter of the Bitterroot, Gary Locke, hopes local residents will do whatever they can to ensure that other homeless people dont die this winter.

As a community, we need to ask them, Locke said. We need to ask them if theres something they need instead of assuming they will come and seek out help from others. All of us need to get involved so this doesnt happen again.

With rapidly rising rents, homelessness is on the rise in the Bitterroot.

In the 2021 community point of time survey, there were 188 people identified as homeless, Locke said. The year before the number was 100. The average has been in the 40s in the two decades since the community began its surveys.

Homelessness is just skyrocketing, Locke said. This year has been much worse with rents going up. People cant afford them.

Locke's organization has identified 27 families with children living in cars and vans in the Bitterroot Valley, he said.

Most are people who have found themselves in a pinch, he said. They had a relationship blow up or some other unexpected event that put them out on the street  One missed paycheck and they become homeless. These are folks who cant just get a bus ticket and go home. They live here.

For the first time in four years, the Family Shelter of the Bitterroot hasnt identified a place that will serve as a warming shelter for this winter. The organization is working with the Salvation Army to provide survival gear to people who dont have a warm place to go.

We are trying to get as much warm stuff as we can get to help people get through this next stretch, Locke said. If people see someone walking through the park with a full pack, I hope they will ask if they need something. If they dont have a phone, have them wait while you call me.

Lockes phone number is 406-239-8833.

Get them to stay put while we get them whatever they need, Locke said.

The organizations have a storage unit to store donated gear. If people have something they would like to donate, Locke said to call him.

If people want to help the effort financially, they can send a check to Family Shelter of the Bitterroot, P.O. Box 656, Hamilton, MT 59840.

On Tuesday morning, Jackson was driving around Hamilton looking for a place that could serve as a warming shelter this winter.

We need a warming shelter and we need it soon, Jackson said. When you have a nice warm bed to go to at night, you really dont think about the cold. People need to know that this is really happening right here in our own communities. These people need a warm place to go.

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The former chief executive of a tech company in suburban Chicago who lost his job after he threw a chair inside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot was sentenced on Friday to 30 days imprisonment.

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols also ordered Bradley Rukstales, of Inverness, Illinois, to pay $500 in restitution, court records show.

Rukstales previously acknowledged he stormed the Capitol, threw a chair in the direction of police officers who had been forced to retreat from rioters, was nearby as a melee between officers and rioters broke out and had to be dragged away by officers after he refused to comply with attempts to get him up from the floor.

Though they said the officers weren't in danger of being hit by the chair, prosecutors said Rukstales' noncompliance added to the chaos in the Capitol.

Rukstales was forced out as CEO of Cogensia and sold interests in the firm after his participation in the riot became known and the boards of directors for the firm's clients were ready to cancel contracts.

He made a public apology the day after the riot, saying he deeply regretted his actions and that entering the building was "the single worst personal decision of my life."

His attorney argued his client wasn't violent at the Capitol.

In another sentencing on Friday, a Montana man who brought his 10-year-old son to Washington for Donald Trump's "Stop the Steal" rally was given 60 days in prison for joining the mob that stormed the Capitol.

Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly told Boyd Camper that his presence in the mob "helped create the momentum for violence" and provided safety for violent rioters even though he personally didn't attack law enforcement officers.

Camper arrived at the Capitol with his son but, before entering the building, asked one of his friends from Montana to stay with the boy because he saw the danger from clashes between police and rioters.

Camper pleaded guilty to a charge of parading in the Capitol building, a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum of six months' imprisonment. The judge said he can report to prison on Jan. 3.

Camper, who has worked as a real estate agent, said he moved to another community after the Jan. 6 riot because he was ostracized by friends and neighbors and fired by two employers.

Another rioter who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor, Sean Cordon, was sentenced on Friday to one month of probation and was ordered to pay a $4,000 fine and $500 restitution.

Judge Trevor McFadden said Cordon, a California resident who came to the Capitol dressed in a gas mask and body armor, didn't appear to be just a bystander swept up in the riot, but Cordon didn't assault anyone or break anything and left the building four minutes after he went inside.

The judge said he deserved credit for leaving the riot as fast as he did. Still, he "participated in a shameful event, a national embarrassment, that made us all feel less safe," McFadden said.

Also on Friday, an Alabama man who acknowledged parking a pickup truck containing guns, Molotov cocktails and other weapons less than a mile from the Capitol on Jan. 6 pleaded guilty to firearms charges, authorities said.

Authorities say several loaded guns, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, a crossbow, machetes and a stun gun also were found in Lonnie Leroy Coffman's truck. They said other Molotov cocktails were later discovered in a search of Coffman's home in Falkville, Alabama.

More than 650 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the Jan. 6 riot, including more than 100 accused of assaulting law enforcement officers. More than 120 defendants have pleaded guilty, mostly to misdemeanors that carry a maximum of six months in prison. And 35 defendants have been sentenced as of Friday.

__

Associated Press writer Colleen Long contributed to this report.

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A student's death by suicide in a parking lot across the street from Capital High School prompted the lockdown of three Helena schools Friday afternoon, authorities said.

The 16-year-old boy was found with a fatal gunshot wound in the parking lot of Helena Nazarene Church at 117 Valley Drive, where a prayer vigil was held that evening. The boy was a student a Capital High School, Helena Public Schools Superintendent Rex Weltz said in a message posted on Facebook.

Helena Police Department Capt. Brett Petty said calls for service began to come in around 12:30 p.m. Petty said one of the initial callers reported seeing a juvenile heading toward Capital High with a gun, which triggered a large law enforcement response.

Three officers were dispatched to the church, where some callers said a gunshot was heard, while the rest of the officers descended on the high school.

All HPD officers on shift at the time responded to the scene, and the area around the school was blocked off.

In addition, two HPD communication staff members, all HPD detectives, Montana Highway Patrol and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks responded to the scene.

"Nothing indicates there was an active shooter or anything moving in that direction," Petty said. "We had a lot of HPD officers and other agencies here quickly. ... The response was there."

The high school was placed on lockdown per internal protocol, but Petty said a short time later "the school is perfectly safe."

"Right now I have teams searching the school, but we believe this was an isolated incident," he said in an interview on the scene.

Broadwater and Four Georgians elementary schools were also locked down Friday afternoon, Weltz wrote in an email to families at 1:35 p.m.

"Law enforcement has determined that it is safe to resume normal operations," the email said. "The lockdowns for all locations have ended. There is no safety threat to students, staff or the community."

At the prayer vigil held by Daniel Thompson, pastor of the church where the teenager died, many gathered to grieve.

"This is a dark day, and we want to help any way we can," Thompson told those in attendance.

Among the attendees was Chair of the Helena Public Schools Board of Trustees Luke Muszkiewicz.

"The immediate priority (of the district) is supporting the two families of the students we've lost," he said, noting that a Helena High School student died by suicide last week. "Obviously we can't prevent every tragedy, but after a week like this, we need to introspect, have a conversation about everything we are doing and can do. We need to learn what is working and what isn't so we can do better in the days ahead."

In his Facebook post, Weltz said additional counseling staff were at Capital High School Friday afternoon and will continue to be available to students and staff Monday.

"Now is a good time to check in with young people in your life who may be affected by this tragedy," he wrote.

In an email to families, East Helena High School officials identified the deceased as "a former EHHS Vigilante," adding that they "anticipate that some of our students will be affected as the news of this event spreads throughout the community." Additional counselors will be available to students at EHHS as well.

Shodair Childrens Hospital scheduled three free peer support groups for students and others who may be struggling after the incident. The groups were slated for 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 1889 Coffee House at 1800 Prospect Ave., which will not be operating during the time. Shodair planned to have counselors and a therapy dog available, and resources about safety planning will be provided to parents.

Shodairs Outpatient Mental Health Services are also available for anyone who needs support immediately. Call 406-444-1126 to set up a time to meet.

Independent Record editor Jesse Chaney contributed to this story.

Need help? If you or someone you know is in crisis, the Montana Warmline is at 1-877-688-3377 or http://montanawarmline.org. The Montana Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) is also available.

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U.S. sanctions Eritrea military, ruling party

NAIROBI, Kenya  The United States on Friday imposed economic sanctions on the military and ruling party of Eritrea over their role in neighboring Ethiopias brutal yearlong war, and it warned it would sanction Ethiopias government and rival Tigray forces if there is no meaningful progress toward a cease-fire and talks.

A Treasury Department statement cited the continued role the Eritreans play in the war that has killed thousands and displaced millions. Ethiopias government allowed Eritrean soldiers to enter Ethiopias Tigray region, where witnesses have accused them of some of the wars worst abuses, but then denied the soldiers were there for months.

Separately, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday the U.S. is very concerned about the potential for Ethiopia to implode.

Alaskas Murkowski to run again in 2022

JUNEAU, Alaska  Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska announced Friday she will run for reelection in 2022, setting up a race against primary challenger Kelly Tshibaka, who has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump.
Sixteen Virginians have been found guilty of soliciting sex in an online sting operation in March that involved the defendants responding to internet advertisements for prostitution services placed by Chesterfield County police. Charges against three other defendants were dropped or dismissed.

The evidence in all of the cases was similar in that the defendants responded to online ads for paid sex that detectives placed with a phone number to call on websites like skipthegames.com, an online escort service, said Chesterfield Assistant Commonwealths Attorney Joshua Loren.

The phone number was monitored by police, and the defendants would contact the number by text message. The defendants believed they were chatting with young girls offering sex, but they really were communicating with detectives, Loren said.

Arrangements were then made to meet at a Midlothian-area motel and, when the defendants arrived, they were taken into custody and arrested.

Each conversation was different which resulted in some of the cases being reduced to misdemeanors, Loren said.

The defendants and their dispositions in the order in which they were adjudicated are:
Lawrence West, the founder of BLM RVA, who was present for many of the protests in the summer of 2020 and was a fierce advocate for removal of the Robert E. Lee statue on Monument Avenue, attended Fridays hearing. Afterward, he said he was happy to see justice served.

If you can bring anyone to justice, you should bring everyone to justice, West said. The scales are not necessarily balanced, but its refreshing to see some movement toward that end.

Janowski and Brown are accused of assaulting three young women with O.C. fogger, a chemical irritant, at about 3:45 a.m. on May 31. It was the second night of unrest following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.

The teenagers, ages 17 to 19, were stopped at a red light in the 200 block of North Belvidere Street, shouting profanities at a group of officers standing nearby.

F-  it, spray em, an officer in the group said just before the two officers, who the Richmond Police Departments internal affairs identified as Janowski and Brown, crossed two lanes of traffic and sprayed into the open window of the car hitting the victims in their faces, according to prosecutors.
Because health care workers are strained and tired, the VHHA visited 16 hospitals over five days throughout the state, giving medical workers gift bags and saying thank you. Workers deserve a big thank you, Lunn said. And workers who have left bedside care should consider coming back. With a vaccine and two new drugs to treat COVID, health care workers have extra arrows in their quiver.

A drug called molnupiravir, developed by Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, could receive emergency use authorization at the end of this month. Pfizer announced the results of clinical trials for its COVID drug, Paxlovid, and plans to submit its data to the FDA in the weeks to come.

Chippenham and Johnston-Willis have used travel nurses to plug the leaks, but the nursing staff is still about 10% below where it should be, Lunn said. The two hospitals employ approximately 1,350 bedside nurses.
The futures of young Afghan women and girls, in Afghanistan and newly arrived in the U.S., are in the news lately. One Richmond-area woman, Mina Tabibi, herself a young Afghan refugee in the 1980s, spoke to a local television reporter and said she counseled worried new girls that with an education, you can have everything. And you dont need a husband for it.

Weve been here before. Its a story of clashing cultures, the importance of education and the role of women in society.

In the fall of 1995, I taught a course in American government at George Mason University. One of the students was a young woman who arrived in Northern Virginia as a girl in the early 1980s, part of a wave of Afghan immigrants fleeing an earlier war. During the semester, she volunteered her personal history in class.

She was a good student, always prepared and an active participant in class. She fit in with her peers  jeans and T-shirts, makeup (but not much), friends with other girls. Outwardly, this Afghan-born student was an all-American girl. Her story is our history, coping with competing cultures and values, fitting in at the university, getting an education to have a shot at everything.
National data echo what we see every day. Studies show that half of those who experience a mental illness during their lives also will experience a substance use disorder, and vice versa. Similarly, many studies show that about one-third of those with mental health disorders will experience homelessness.

The challenges we face are not getting easier. Our mission at CARITAS remains urgent, possibly more so than ever. The more challenging our work becomes, the more innovative we get with our resources. We partner with experts like FeedMore, which helps us serve nearly 800 meals a day across our programs. We look to Daily Planet Health Services for guidance and support on weekly changes related to COVID. Its staff members also offer medical, dental and mental health care to our residents.

Weve added and modified programs, and weve expanded our facilities throughout the pandemic. All the while, we opened the CARITAS Center. The community understood our vision and answered our call when we needed funding, donations and manpower.

Together, we transformed the abandoned Philip Morris Blended Leaf plant into a community hub that already is saving lives. For this work, the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development honored CARITAS with the Best Housing Program award at the recent Virginia Governors Housing Conference.

We are honored by our accolades and inspired by our progress, though were also looking toward the stark landscape ahead. We serve nearly 4,000 people every year. We know there are more who need help. We need the communitys help. The winter months will bring new challenges for CARITAS, our partners and the people we serve.
Construction education can

create a path for makers

Editor, Times-Dispatch:

Much of todays reality TV is about makers  those who use their hands for baking, bladesmithing, glassmaking and other talents. But construction itself is a very real craft.

In high school, my career journey was transformed when I enrolled in a welding program. My brain needed tangible evidence to connect academics to the real world. When I saw how math and science applied to projects I designed and fabricated, things suddenly clicked. Learning was exciting, and the experience led to a meaningful career in industry and later in management.

There are millions of high school students today still searching for that why in relation to the application of academics. For some students, a day of academics without application creates boredom that can result in poor performance or even dropping out.

Free or affordable construction education in high schools and community colleges remains one of this countrys best-kept secrets. These programs are high-skill, high-tech, and suitable for youths and those seeking to retrain for a new career. Build Your Future (byf.org) offers resources for students, parents and teachers.
But what I wanted to know is how did these journalists get this information? I grew up in New York City, watched TV news and read The New York Daily News and New York Post, and even the New York Times here and there, but it never occurred to me how much effort went in to gathering information and reporting news.

I could appreciate the hard work and dedication. I realized what journalists did was not only powerful and an important service to the public, it was exciting, too  and an equally rewarding career as being a performing artist.

Fast forward to the present. As I embrace my new role with the Richmond Times-Dispatch as an opinions editor, I am reflecting on my long journey as a journalist, the first aha moment sparking my curiosity and what it means to me today.

What we do is a powerful service to the public so readers can make informed choices on issues that shape their lives. I have been blessed to have had the opportunity to tell stories through the eyes of people affected and bring the communitys narrative to life, while spurring important conversation. I am thrilled to join an incredible team at the RTD and have an opportunity to offer perspective and fact-based, solutions-focused commentary on issues.
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There seems to be a lot of misinformation and confusion going around, said board Chairwoman Anna Weddle, in response after the 15-minute public comment session. Virginia schools are already required by law to follow CDC guidelines  All we are doing is continuing to follow the law.

People in the audience began speaking out, causing Weddle to call out two attendees by name and ask them to stop speaking out of turn. At least one person yelled at the elected school board representatives to stop vaccinating our children, and another shouted, youre complicit.

The current CDC guidelines do not include vaccine mandates. We will not be vaccinating your children, Weddle said. We cannot give a child a Tylenol without parental permission, as it should be. We are not going to secretly vaccinate your child.

Botetourt County used federal coronavirus relief funds for its summer academy this year, helping hundreds of kids get the extra education they needed to catch up in school. That program will be repeated in summer 2022, Weddle said.

This money is a good thing, she said, over shouting voices. Extra money to address learning loss is a good thing.
What would the benefits be for changing to R1? Crawford asked. She said there are several subdivisions in the county that are A1 and dont need to change to R1.

Kaufman said the purpose for the rezone was ultimately due to Boxwood Green being better suited to R1 zoning instead of A1.

Gills Creek District representative Jim Colby was the lone vote to approve the rezone request. I think we should accommodate our citizens when it is possible to do so, he said. I see it as a request for a correction.

Other members of the planning commission were concerned the rezone by Idlewood Shores and Boxwood Green could be the start of a wave of new rezone requests by subdivisions in the county. Snow Creek District representative and Chairman Sherri Mitchell questioned if there was a better way to handle the situation.

Mitchells concern was that the planning commission would be the applicant for the rezone request by Boxwood Green as it was for Idlewood Shores. The planning commission is required to name itself as the applicant when Idlewood Shores did not have 100% support from all property owners in the subdivision for the rezone.

Kaufman said he had not yet taken a survey of all Boxwood Green residents to gauge their willingness to change to R1.
The elections of Tanya Hockett, Casey Jenkins and Tim Wilson to the Christiansburg Town Council have been certified, Montgomery County election officials said Thursday.

The recent certification also formalizes the election of other candidates who won public office in the county.

The certification is among the post-Election Day activities that are performed to ensure the results. The entire process is usually viewed as a formality, but gained some greater attention over the past week due to the fact that it led to a change in the outcome of the six-way Christiansburg Town Council race.

Initial results posted to the Virginia Department of Elections website on election week showed that candidate Anthony Woodyard had finished third in the town council contest and had effectively won one of three open seats.

Later in the week, however, Woodyard was bumped down to fifth place, with Jenkins moving from fourth to second in the vote count.

The initial results were due to errors made by officers of election in the central absentee precinct when it came to counting the early votes, said Richard Langford, chairman of the Montgomery County Electoral Board. The wrong numbers were then communicated to the registrars office, he said during an interview on Nov. 5.
Famous Anthonys attorneys declined a request to interview the restaurants owner or answer any further questions due to pending litigation.

Hepatitis A is vaccine preventable. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has licensed two hepatitis A vaccines and one combination vaccine that protects against both Hepatitis A and B. The first vaccine was licensed in 1995, and since then, rates of hepatitis A have declined dramatically in the U.S. Since 2006, the hepatitis A vaccine has been recommended for all children at age one and is sometimes required by schools. But this means many adults have not been vaccinated.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified unprecedented widespread outbreaks of hepatitis A in the U.S. in 2016. Since then, more than 40,000 cases have been reported and at least 400 deaths. Many of the cases have been among people who are the most at risk, including those who use drugs or people who are experiencing homelessness.

Morrow said the district has seen an uptick in vaccines since the local outbreak and vaccinated as many as 45 people in one day.
NEW YORK (AP)  The National Labor Relations Board has confirmed that a group of Amazon workers in Staten Island, New York has withdrawn its petition to hold a vote to unionize.

The move comes less than two weeks before the labor board was expected to hold a hearing to determine whether there was sufficient interest to form a union at the Amazon distribution center.

NLRB spokesperson Kayla Blado declined to elaborate the reason for the pullback. But she noted workers can refile a petition.

Union organizers had said in late October that it delivered more than 2,000 signed union-support cards to the NLRBs Brooklyn office after launching the effort in April. That's a major step in authorizing a vote that could set up the first union at the nation's largest online retailer.

As part of its petition to hold a vote, organizers must submit signatures from at least 30% of the roughly 5,500 employees who the union says work at four adjoining Amazon facilities that it seeks to represent under collective bargaining.
March For Our Lives has evolved into a 300-chapter organization that has had a hand in helping pass many of the 130 gun violence prevention bills approved across the country since 2018 and regularly files amicus briefs in gun-related lawsuits.

Yet some of the original founders, including Emma Gonzalez, have left or taken a step back  or moved on to other issues. One of them is running for Congress in Florida.

Corin was so burned out from activism when she started college that she said she needed a year for herself.

A lot of our trauma from the shooting is inherently linked to the organization, she said.

Nearly four years after the shootings, the twenty-somethings have managed to keep the organization going and youth-led. Still, theyve struggled to achieve sustainable financing. The organization has raised over $31 million to date, but its operating costs were slightly higher than funds in 2020.

David Hogg, one of the most recognizable faces from the group and still one of its most active members, said the organization is much more stable now than in the early days
CHARLOTESVILLE  Im here because of the harm that was done to me on August 11 and August 12 at the torchlight rally and the car attack and Im here because I would like those who have harmed me to be held accountable, said Sines v. Kessler namesake Elizabeth Sines, helping wrap up the third week of trial.

Sines is one of nine plaintiffs alleging in a federal lawsuit that key organizers and participants of the rally conspired to come to Charlottesville and commit acts of racist violence. If successful, the plaintiffs could win millions of dollars in damages.

As with several other plaintiffs who have testified so far, Sines testimony Friday focused on the emotional and psychological toll the Unite the Right rally and preceding UVa torch march took on her. Now 27 years-old, the former law student was among the crowd of anti-racist protesters that was struck by James Alex Fields Jr. and also witnessed the torch march.

Working in Baltimore at the time, Sines said she traveled back to Charlottesville to counter-protest against the groups who traveled to the city ostensibly to protest a City Council vote to remove a monument to Robert E. Lee. After reading on Twitter about a white supremacist torch rally set for UVa Grounds, Sines and a friend went to the Rotunda and saw violence engulfing a group of counter-protesters.
The time that Orcutt resident David Oliver spent in the Navy was cut short in 2013, a year after an attack on his unit by an Afghanistan police officer.
Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
I first met Senator Hugh Leatherman in 1984 at a pool we used near our house when he came to bring his daughter to a pool outing for our baby girls. I had seen his campaign billboards when first alighting in Florence in 1980 and later joked with him that I was happy to be in a town that treated their Leather Workers so well (Leatherman  get it?). Through my job at the South Carolina Medical Association, I came to know him as The Senator starting to have breakfast about every quarter since 1988 and then over time true friends, and quietly, traveling companions. Now he is gone. Ah the tears come to my eyes, just writing this essay.

Two weeks ago, I spent 20 minutes sitting in front of his rocker, just chatting. I had not seen him for at least three months. He had just come through two surgeries and then his final diagnosis. But you know, he still had that old twinkle in his eye, and he wanted to reminisce a bit. He told me he didnt want to talk politics, but that he still was in touch with his Columbia office at least four times a day. He smiled and asked about Shirley and the kids. He said, You know, Doctor Steve, we had some good days together and as in many years past he joked about my days at Berkeley. It was just like old times, but for his weight loss and pallor. Like many sick folks, he didnt really want to talk about himself. But his brain was working better than mine. His final words to me were Dr. Steve, please come back next month.
Winter previously experienced intestinal issues  not uncommon among dolphins  but such problems have never affected her like this, Powell had said Thursday. But at the time, he said Winter was not responding to treatment as in the past, adding there was no evidence Winter had the coronavirus.

Winter was two months old when her tail became entangled in a crab trap near Cape Canaveral, which forced its amputation. "Dolphin Tale," which was released in 2011, chronicled Winter's recovery and the unprecedented, lengthy effort to fit her with a prosthetic tail.

The film, starring Harry Connick Jr., Ashley Judd, Kris Kristofferson, Morgan Freeman and Nathan Gamble, was largely shot at the Clearwater aquarium and surrounding Tampa Bay locations. It put the non-profit aquarium, first opened in 1972 on the site of a former water treatment plant, on the map internationally.

"This place wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Winter," Powell said.

Winter's story of rehabilitation has become an inspiration for disabled people around the world and the aquarium has received thousands of messages of support since Winter's illness became known.
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December 3, 2019

Honored to be helping Ohio Gov. DeWine with new "Expedited Pardon Project"

I am just back from an exciting gubernatorial press conference that was, conveniently, held in the building in which I work. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine held the press event at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law because OSU's Drug Enforcement and Policy Center (DEPC) is playing a big role in the Governor's new "Expedited Pardon Project."

As the name suggests, this project aspires to expedite the process by which people apply for a pardon under Ohio's laws. The Project was established in collaboration between Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, DEPC and the Reentry Clinic at The University of Akron School of Law. The universities and the governors office have already worked together with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction to create an expedited pardon application process, and the project was officially announced by Gov DeWine this afternoon. This local press article provides some context and particulars:

Saying many ex-criminals deserve a second chance to reach their full potential, Gov. Mike DeWine on Tuesday announced a streamlined process for those who have served time in prison or jail to obtain a pardon.

The governors Expedited Pardon Project seeks to accelerate the clemency process for those who have proven themselves to become contributing members of society but whose criminal record bars them from employment, housing, or other aspects of their life. The program is only open to those who have: A specific reason for seeking a pardon; Already been released from prison or jail; Not committed any additional crimes (other than minor traffic violations) in the past 10 years; Made good-faith efforts to pay any restitution or fines they owe; Have a post-offense job history or a compelling reason why they havent been working; Performed volunteer work or community service; Not been convicted of a number of disqualifying offenses, including murder, rape, and a number of other violent and/or sex-related crimes.... In some cases, the existing process for obtaining a pardon can take years. DeWine said he hopes this program will reduce that wait time to six months. Under the project, law-school students at Ohio State University and the University of Akron will help qualified applicants to prepare their pardon paperwork, then submit their information to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction for extensive background checks. The Ohio Parole Board will then hold a hearing for each applicant, during which victims, judges and prosecutors involved with his or her case can offer their thoughts. The Parole Board will then vote the same day about whether to recommend clemency to the governor, who alone has the power under the Ohio Constitution to issue pardons.... Neither DeWine nor Annette Chambers-Smith, director of the states prison agency, knew how many people are eligible for the program. DeWine said it will take about a year before he and other state officials can see how the program is working. To learn more about the Expedited Pardon Program or to apply, visit ohioexpeditedpardon.org. I have already learned a lot about pardon policies and practicalities in just the last few months as we have worked to help get this new "Expedited Pardon Project" launched. I am hopeful I will be able to share my continuing education in this space in the months to come (while also reporting on what I hope will be a lot of successful pardon applications).

December 3, 2019 at 04:24 PM | Permalink

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Given the utility of a Certificate for Qualification of Employment and the Ohio Supreme Court's ruling that a pardon will not help get you an expungement, why is a pardon worth anything in Ohio?

Posted by: Cleveland Attorney | Dec 4, 2019 3:41:32 PM

In some cases, it can remove a formal legal disability (e.g., to possess a firearm, serve as a juror) that is not addressed by other remedies. It might also impact other life opportunities not defined by formal legal exclusions. But you are right to highlight that this is not a perfect remedy for all, even if it might be helpful to some.

Posted by: Doug B. | Dec 4, 2019 5:24:01 PM

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Because I am directly involved in Ohio Governor Mike DeWine's exciting new "Expedited Pardon Project," I had an inkling I would like this new Columbus Dispatch editorial when I saw the headline "For those deserving pardons, relief is better sooner than later." Wonderfully, not only does the editorial rightly praise Gov DeWine for his vision and leadership, it also captures in a few paragraphs why this new program is so valuable for everyone involved. I recommend the editorial in full, and here are excerpts:

We welcome a movement in Ohio to make the criminal justice system more compassionate and pragmatic, and the Expedited Pardon Project recently announced by Gov. Mike DeWine is another positive development. The goal is to make it easier and much faster for nonviolent former felons who have stayed out of trouble for at least a decade to receive formal pardons.

Its not just a matter of pride; a felony conviction is a shackle that can keep people from reaching a good job, safe housing, an education loan or any number of things that could make the difference between getting ahead and giving up....

DeWines idea is to enlist the help of law students and educators at Ohio State Universitys Moritz College of Law and the University of Akron School of Law to vet applications and zero in on those who do have a chance: those who have committed no further crimes for at least 10 years; have paid any court-ordered fines and restitution; are working or have a good reason not to be; and have done volunteer or community service work. Those whose applications meet the criteria are expected to get a hearing before the parole board within six months.

The law schools deserve thanks for lending much-needed manpower to such a worthy cause, but they also are likely to benefit. Delving into those applications should give students and seasoned lawyers alike a better understanding of how the criminal justice system affects the lives of the human beings caught up in it. That cant help but make for more-enlightened lawyers and judges down the road, and that benefits everyone....

Punishment for a single nonviolent criminal episode should end when the prison sentence ends. Society has nothing to lose and much to gain by helping reclaim lives.
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Because I am directly involved in Ohio Governor Mike DeWine's "Expedited Pardon Project," I have been generally disinclined to blog about the work of the program. But this recent local piece, headlined "Ohio governor pushes to grant more pardons," includes a terrific video of a recent pardon recipient that I was eager to share. Here is a snippet from the story that provides some context:

15 years ago, Mutajah Taj Hussein says she could hardly draw a sober breath. During that time in my life, I experienced a level of hopelessness that most people cant imagine, Hussein said.

But that was 15 years ago. Now, shes called, Dr. Taj, a badge she wears proudly. Shes a licensed independent social worker. Shes served diverse populations and has worked abroad. She plans to launch a mental wellness agency soon in Parma, Ohio and sit for the BAR exam next year. She wants to be a foster parent.

The transformation didnt happen overnight. B efore she said she, built a spiritual connection with the universe in 2007, she had her run-ins with Ohios criminal justice system. She said back then, it was like living on autopilot. Her only focus was finding the next drug fox or drink.

She eventually repaired her relationships and got on a path to right her wrongs. Im very close with my family now, Hussein said. Before, they hated to see me coming. Now they love it when I visit.

Even while she was on the path to living her best life, Hussein still had a significant roadblock in her way: Her criminal history. My past was like an albatross around my neck, she said. Ive been denied apartments that Ive fallen in love with because of my background check. Ive been denied positions.

She was denied her dream job. The offer was rescinded after her background check was complete. I felt dejected, she said. I felt like I was trapped in a nightmare where no matter how much distance I put between myself and my past, it would never be enough. Although Ive fought to redeem myself through restorative justice efforts, on paper, I was still just an addict....

The pardon process in Ohio can take years. But she got in touch with the people involved with the Ohio Governors Expedited Pardon Project. Its a partnership between Gov. Mike Dewine, Ohio State University and the University of Akron. Students and faculty from the universities review applications and figure out who is more likely to receive a pardon. The team works with applicants to help them through the process, which takes around six months to a year, instead of multiple years.

Gov. DeWine called Dr. Taj to give her the news on Good Friday. He pardoned her. Ive always had hope, she said. But now Im fully redeemed in the eyes of the law. Thats a truly freeing feeling. I really feel like the sky is the limit for me, especially with this pardon. I cant wait to see what the universe has in store for the rest of my life.

Gov. DeWine has said he wants more low-level offenders to apply for pardons through the project that launched in Dec. 2019. Dr. Taj spoke as part of a panel Thursday night that answered questions about the expedited pardon process. Part of the panels goal was to raise awareness about the project in order to get more people to apply for a governors pardon....

DeWine hopes more people like Dr. Taj utilize the program to allow model citizens to maneuver what is usually a complicated and lengthy process. My expedited pardon project can benefit Ohioans who are living in the shadow of a dark past and regretted mistake, giving them the opportunity to truly have a second chance to reach their full potential, DeWine said.
 "Two Strikes and Youre in Prison Forever: Why Florida leads the nation in people serving life without chance of parole." | Main | "Racial, Gender Disparities and Prosecutorial Discretion: Evidence from Blakely v. Washington" 

November 13, 2021

Some clemency news and notes as we enter the holiday season

Regularly readers know that I view, and advocate for, the exercise of clemency to be a regular part of the work of chief executives, and that I consider regular use of the clemency power to be all that more important in our modern era of mass incarceration and mass punishment and massive collateral consequences. But, since it seems some chief executives seem to wait until the holiday season to think about clemency work, I will declare that the holiday season has begun.

Of course, the holiday season often includes my annual complaints about turkey pardons getting more attention than humans with real strong clemency cases. But, encouragingly, some of past week's news suggests advocates, and even some chief executives, are already getting into the holiday clemency spirit:

For anyone intrigued by all this attention to clemency for real people, here are a few obligatory turkey headlines:

Last but certainly not least, I am pleased to be able to highlight in this context that a terrific pardon project on which I have been working here in Ohio has been officially expanded as of this past week. This news release from the Governor of Ohio, "Governor DeWine Expands Expedited Pardon Project to Include Law Partners in Cleveland, Dayton, and Cincinnati," starts this way:

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine today announced the expansion of the Ohio Governors Expedited Pardon Project, which eliminates administrative hurdles and provides free one-on-one help for qualified citizens seeking legal absolution for past criminal offenses. Governor DeWine launched the Ohio Governor's Expedited Pardon Project in 2019 in partnership with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, and the University of Akron School of Law to fast-track the pardon applications of specific candidates who have become law-abiding and contributing members of society. The expansion of the program enlists new law partners to reach more potential pardon candidates and to help guide candidates through the pardon process.

A few prior posts about the Ohio "Expedited Pardon Project":

November 13, 2021 at 02:16 PM | Permalink

Comments

A great point about how pardons shouldnt just be thought of in the holiday season, and a nice, acidic point re the Turkey pardons. You could developmthis into an op-Ed for the NYT or WSJ (seriously).

Posted by: Michael Yaeger | Nov 13, 2021 8:34:15 PM

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A Hong Kong inquest has returned an open verdict in the case of a chronically ill man who died two days after receiving his first dose of Chinas Sinovac vaccine.

Fridays ruling meant the jury rejected a pathologists conclusion the mans death was a coincidental event, and held that the fatal lung episode that killed him was caused by unknown conditions other than his existing heart problem.

Fire safety consultant Timble Li Yu-kun was among the first recipients of a Sinovac shot after the Beijing-based firms doses arrived in Hong Kong on February 19.

Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.

The obese 63-year-old, who had heart disease, was immunised at a government-designated vaccination site at Kwun Chung Sports Centre in Jordan on February 26, the first day of the citys immunisation drive.

Timble Li had received his Sinovac jab at the Kwun Chung Sports Centre in Jordan (pictured). Photo: Felix Wong

He died hours after he was hospitalised with shortness of breath in the early hours of February 28. A postmortem examination listed the cause of death as acute pulmonary congestion induced by obstruction to the coronary arteries.

The court heard during the seven-day proceedings that Li had given his consent for vaccination in a checklist which warned that patients with uncontrolled severe chronic illnesses should not get the dose. The document, however, did not define the categorisation.

The jury suggested the Department of Health make further elaborations on the types of people unsuitable for vaccination, such as those suffering an unknown level of diabetes or coronary disease, in a pamphlet distributed to recipients before inoculation.

The checklist should also require recipients to indicate whether and what kind of chronic illnesses they were experiencing, so that doctors could make appropriate assessment before the jab, the jury added.

Story continues

All the members of an expert government committee monitoring adverse reactions to vaccines agreed that Lis death was a coincidental event under World Health Organization classifications. They found Li showed no symptoms of hypersensitivity that could have been connected with the shot.

The pathologist, along with an independent pharmacologist and cardiologist, all agreed that Li had displayed signs of a heart attack at least two weeks before he was admitted to hospital, and his smoking habits, obesity and chronic illnesses made him vulnerable to an acute condition.

The pharmacologist, however, acknowledged that the jab could have been the last straw for the patient with recurring heart problems.

In her instructions to the jurors, Coroner Monica Chow Wai-choo said they should return a verdict of death by natural causes regardless of whether they found the vaccine had accelerated Lis death, so long as they accepted the medical experts findings that his death could not have been prevented by medical intervention.

Only if the jury rejected the experts evidence, and found that the acute pulmonary congestion experienced by Li was induced by other unknown conditions should they return an open verdict, she added.

A spokesman for the health department said it would thoroughly study the jurys recommendations.

The mainland China-made Sinovac vaccine is currently approved for emergency use in 42 jurisdictions around the world. Some 1.8 billion doses had been supplied as of the end of August, according to the company.

As of Thursday, 3.34 million Sinovac doses had been administered in the city. Most of the recipients were middle-aged and elderly.

The Department of Health has recorded 47 reports of deaths within 14 days of the patient receiving Covid-19 shots, but none has been found to be related to the jab.

The efficacy and safety of the Sinovac vaccine were questioned at the beginning of the vaccination programme. The global health body did not approve the vaccine for emergency use until June, more than three months after the city launched its drive.

Medical experts have repeatedly said inactivated vaccines  the Sinovac jab is one  are very safe given decades of experience in their use.

Overseas studies have found that while the vaccine induces a lower level of antibodies it is effective in reducing severe conditions and deaths linked to Covid-19.

Additional reporting by Elizabeth Cheung

More from South China Morning Post:

This article Coronavirus: Hong Kong inquest returns open verdict on death of man 2 days after Covid-19 jab first appeared on South China Morning Post

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SIOUX CITY  After the Nov. 2 election, Woodbury County Auditor and Commissioner of Elections Pat Gill said there are areas that need to be fixed and addressed before the primary election next year.

Some of the areas improvements include more education on early voting and polling locations, better signage and drive-up voting.

Gill said 7,297 people voted on Election Day, only a 219 voter decrease compared to the 2019 combined city and school election.

Early voting had a drastic decrease, going from 5,206 votes in 2019 to 1,788 votes in 2021. Gill said this was a direct result of the new laws surrounding absentee ballots that do not allow auditors to send out absentee ballot request forms.

This caused election turnout to drop from 25 percent to 18 percent.

Gill said the election office needs to do a better job to educate voters on when they can request a ballot, when they need to return the ballot and where they can return their ballot.

Another challenge of the election was the polling places.

On Election Day some voters were confused where to vote. Gill said he believes the elections office did everything they could to inform voters of the locations including sending mailers to every registered voter, but the office will continue to try and inform voters.

Voters can find their polling location by going on the Woodbury County elections page or downloading the WhereYouVote app.

Previously, many polling places were held at local churches. Gill said according to Iowa Code that is illegal. Buildings that are public and supported by state taxes must be the priority for voting locations; he also said the code says voters need consistent polling places.

Once redistricting is complete, voters will have new, permanent polling places. The various Sioux City schools will be used as polling places. Previously when schools were used, parents expressed concerns with the security.

This election, students did not have school on Election Day. For the general election on Nov.8, 2022, students are out of school.

Voters also had difficulties finding the entrances to the polling places. Gill said he will be working with the poll workers to have proper and sufficient signage. He is also planning on having drive-up voting at all of the voting precincts.

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MANNING, Iowa -- It's been less than a month and already the redistricting forced by new election maps for Iowa's new congressional and legislative districts hasn't been kind.

State Sen. Craig Williams, R-Manning, who won the seat for the current Senate District 6 during the 2020 cycle, won't seek re-election when his term is up. The reason why? Because a chunk of the newly drawn Senate District 6, which includes all of the counties of Audubon, Carroll, Crawford, Ida and Shelby as well as a sliver of Pottawattamie County, has been represented by Sen. Jason Schultz, R-Schleswig, since 2014, the Carroll Times Herald reported.

Williams, an agri-businessman who also serves as chairman of the Carroll County Republican Party, represents all of Audubon, Carroll, Buena Vista and Sac counties and a portion of Crawford County in the current Senate District 6.

"Wed be giving people a choice between two very similar candidates, Williams told the Times Herald.

Thousands of Iowans will have different lawmakers representing their interests at the Statehouse in Des Moines and the U.S. Capitol in Washington.

After approval of the new district maps, Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley, R-New Hartford, who represents House District 50, quickly announced he will be seeking re-election in the newly formed House District 57, which includes all of Butler County and the western part of Bremer County.

In Linn County, Rep. Molly Donahue, who represents a district that stretches from northeast Cedar Rapids and Marion to Ely, now is in a district with fellow Democratic Rep. Eric Gjerde. She announced plans to run in Senate 37, where there is no incumbent.

Rep. Liz Bennett of Cedar Rapids previously announced plans to run for a seat held by fellow Democratic Sen. Rob Hogg, who is not seeking re-election in the new Senate 39. But Democrats Sami Scheetz and Peggy Stover are both running to succeed Bennett in the new southeast Cedar Rapids House 78.

Jared McNett is an online editor and reporter for the Sioux City Journal. You can reach him at 712-293-4234 and follow him on Twitter at TwoHeadedBoy98.

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WASHINGTON (AP)  President Joe Bidens $1.85 trillion social spending bill includes a provision that, if it becomes law, would mark the first time the federal government has offered targeted support in response to the decline of local news.

The help would come in the form of a payroll tax credit for companies that employ eligible local journalists. The measure would allow newspapers, digital news outlets and radio and television stations to claim a tax credit of $25,000 the first year and $15,000 the next four years for up to 1,500 journalists.

Its a response to growing alarm that the elimination of newsroom jobs is leaving communities without access to critical information. The concern has grown since a hedge fund with a reputation of ruthless cost-cutting acquired Tribune, one of the nation's largest newspaper chains, in May. Already, about one-fourth of the country's newspapers have closed and half of local journalism jobs have evaporated in the past 15 years, according to research from the University of North Carolina.

That leaves about 1,800 communities with no local newspaper.

But the credit, which would cost $1.67 billion over the next five years, does create some tension for the industry. Some top Republicans in Congress have derided it as a handout. Leading journalists also acknowledge that it's awkward to receive financial assistance from a government they cover independently.

Still, given the sense of crisis the industry is facing, many journalists say the risk is worth it.

This is only a reluctant response to this fear of the collapse of local news and their business models, said Steven Waldman, president and co-founder of Report for America, an organization that places journalists in local newsrooms, including The Associated Press. Most journalists start off with a healthy skepticism about the government getting involved and helping journalism. And thats appropriate.

But," he added, the reason why this is happening now is just the severity of the crisis.

Government support for media, in ways direct and indirect, is not new. It goes back to the earliest days of the country when Congress subsidized periodicals postal rates. More recently, a pandemic-era small business loan program provided millions to news organizations.

The provision is supported by more than a dozen House Republicans, though the second-ranking GOP leader, Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, called it a scam in a recent tweet. Make no mistake  this is Biden and Dems in Congress helping pay the reporters salaries who cover for them, he tweeted.

The proposal's fate ultimately hinges on how Congress proceeds with the broader legislation, which has only attracted Democratic support and has become bogged down by divisions in the House and Senate. Notably, it is one of the few provisions to which House and Senate Democrats have already agreed.

Lawmakers will resume debate on the bill when they return to Washington this coming week.

Though the proposals main objective was to rescue small papers that were hit hard as ad dollars evaporated at the start of the pandemic, it will help some larger companies. Should the tax break become law, Gannett, one of the nation's largest remaining newspaper chains, could gain as much as $127.5 million over five years, according to an analysis by the AP.

Maribel Perez Wadsworth, who runs the news division of Gannett, which employs more than 4,000 journalists at USA Today and local papers such as The Arizona Republic and Detroit Free Press, called the credit a good shot in the arm. She would not specify how the money would be used.

AP spokesperson Lauren Easton declined to comment on the tax credit.

Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Ariz., introduced the credit as a piece of legislation last year along with Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash.

One of the jobs tax credits proponents was community-newspaper chain Wick Communications, which is based in Sierra Vista, Arizona  Kirkpatricks congressional district. CEO Francis Wick said revenue has dropped by about half since 2009, with a steep ad-sales decline during the pandemic as local businesses reduced advertising. To cut costs, the company consolidated town papers into regional titles, cut print publication days and furloughed journalists.

The tax credit, which would add an extra $2 million for the company in its first year, would help the papers in the 11-state chain try to transition to a digital-centric model with more paying subscribers, Wick said, rather than focus so tightly on cutting expenses.

We need to make sure ultimately we can do our jobs, Wick said.

The proposal has a key supporter in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who had long supported efforts to help local journalism. But the issue became more personal when her hometown paper, The Baltimore Sun, was among those acquired by hedge fund Alden Global Capital despite efforts by journalists and community members to steer the paper to local ownership.

One of those local advocates, former Maryland county executive Ted Venetoulis, called Pelosi after Alden's purchase, to urge her to support the credit, which by the time of that phone call was already in the broader Biden package.

That would be the last time Venetoulis and Pelosi, D-Calif., would speak before he died in early October, the speaker said in an obituary in the newspaper and her office confirmed to AP.

The provision put in place guardrails to try to keep money from going to partisan sites that masquerade as local news or fake-news operations while casting a broad net about which organizations are considered legitimate local news outlets, whether they are hedge fund-owned chains, nonprofit, print, digital, radio or TV.

This isnt the government deciding who gets it and who doesnt get it, said Jon Schleuss, president of the NewsGuild, a union that represents journalists, including those at the AP. Are you employing local journalists? If so, heres a tax credit. Its really helpful because it is targeted to where weve lost so many journalists over the past decade and thats in the local.



Arbel reported from New York.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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MADISON, Wis. (AP)  Kyle Rittenhouse shot three men, killing two of them and wounding the third, during a protest against police brutality in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last year. Rittenhouse argued that he fired in self-defense after the men attacked him. Here's a look at the charges that prosecutors carried into court, as well as lesser charges that the judge put before the jury in his final instructions.

COUNT 1: FIRST-DEGREE RECKLESS HOMICIDE, USE OF A DANGEROUS WEAPON

This felony charge was connected to the death of Joseph Rosenbaum, the first man Rittenhouse shot. Bystander video shows Rosenbaum chasing Rittenhouse through a parking lot and throwing a plastic bag at him. Rittenhouse flees behind a car and Rosenbaum follows. Video introduced at trial showed Rittenhouse wheeling around and firing as Rosenbaum chased him. Richie McGinniss, a reporter who was trailing Rittenhouse, testified that Rosenbaum lunged for Rittenhouse's gun.

Reckless homicide differs from intentional homicide in that prosecutors weren't alleging that Rittenhouse intended to murder Rosenbaum. Instead, they were alleging that Rittenhouse caused Rosenbaum's death in circumstances showing an utter disregard for human life.

The charge was punishable by up to 60 years in prison. The dangerous weapon modifier carried an additional five years.

COUNT 2: FIRST-DEGREE RECKLESSLY ENDANGERING SAFETY, USE OF A DANGEROUS WEAPON

This felony charge was connected to the Rosenbaum shooting. McGinniss told investigators he was in the line of fire when Rittenhouse shot Rosenbaum. The charge would have been punishable by 12 1/2 years in prison. The weapons modifier carried an additional five years.

COUNT 3: FIRST-DEGREE RECKLESSLY ENDANGERING SAFETY, USE OF A DANGEROUS WEAPON

Video shows an unknown man leaping at Rittenhouse and trying to kick him seconds before Anthony Huber moves his skateboard toward him. Rittenhouse appears to fire two rounds at the man but apparently misses as the man runs away.

This charge is a felony punishable by 12 1/2 years in prison. The weapons modifier again would have added up to five more years.

COUNT 4: FIRST-DEGREE INTENTIONAL HOMICIDE, USE OF A DANGEROUS WEAPON

This charge was in Huber's death. Video shows Rittenhouse running down the street after shooting Rosenbaum when he falls to the street. Huber leaps at him and swings a skateboard at his head and neck and tries to grab Rittenhouse's gun before Rittenhouse fires. The criminal complaint alleged Rittenhouse aimed the weapon at Huber.

Intentional homicide means just that  a person killed someone and meant to do it. A conviction would have meant a mandatory life sentence. The weapons modifier would have added up to five years.

The jury also was given the option of second-degree intentional homicide and first-degree reckless homicide in Huber's death.

Second-degree intentional homicide would have been punishable by up to 60 years in prison.

The first-degree reckless homicide charge sought in Huber's death matched an original charge in Rosenbaum's death  it would have required jurors to decide that Rittenhouse caused Huber's death with an utter disregard for human life  and would have been punishable by up to 60 years in prison.

COUNT 5: ATTEMPTED FIRST-DEGREE INTENTIONAL HOMICIDE, USE OF A DANGEROUS WEAPON

This was the charge for Rittenhouse shooting Gaige Grosskreutz in the arm seconds after he shot Huber, and as Grosskreutz came toward him holding a pistol. Grosskreutz survived. Video shows Rittenhouse pointing his gun at Grosskreutz and firing a single round.

The charge carries a maximum sentence of 60 years. The weapons modifier would have added up to five more years.

The jury also was given the option of considering second-degree attempted intentional homicide and first-degree reckless endangerment charges.

The possible punishment for attempted second-degree intentional homicide is 30 years. Attempted first-degree reckless endangerment is punishable by up to 12 1/2 years.

COUNT 6: POSSESSION OF A DANGEROUS WEAPON BY A PERSON UNDER 18

The judge dismissed this charge on Monday.

Rittenhouse was armed with an AR-style semi-automatic rifle. He was 17 years old on the night of the shootings. Wisconsin law prohibits minors from possessing firearms except for hunting or when supervised by an adult in target practice or instruction in the proper use of a dangerous weapon. Rittenhouses attorneys argued that another subsection of the law, regarding short-barreled rifles, provided grounds for dismissing the charge.

Prosecutors argued the defense was misreading the statute, and Schroeder had earlier twice declined to dismiss the charge. But the judge also had said the statute was confusing. After prosecutors conceded that the rifle was not short-barreled, Schroeder dismissed the charge.

COUNT 7: FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH AN EMERGENCY ORDER FROM STATE OR LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Rittenhouse was charged with being out on the streets after an 8 p.m. curfew imposed by the city, a minor offense that carries a fine of up to $200. The judge dismissed this charge during the trial, saying the prosecution didn't offer enough evidence to prove it.



Find the APs full coverage of the Rittenhouse trial: https://apnews.com/hub/kyle-rittenhouse

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP)  Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin and the state's four U.S. House members on Friday endorsed Sarah Sanders' bid for governor, days after the former White House press secretary's path to the Republican nomination was cleared.

Hutchinson, who is barred by term limits from running for reelection, praised Sanders and said he's known her most of her life. Sanders became the only Republican left running for governor on Tuesday after Attorney General Leslie Rutledge dropped her bid. Several Democrats are also running for governor.

Sarah has earned the Republican nomination and Im delighted today to endorse her for governor," Hutchinson said in a statement. The state of Arkansas will be in good hands with Sarah as governor, and she has my full support.

Sanders is running with former President Donald Trump's endorsement and is campaigning primarily on national issues. Hutchinson has been in the national spotlight by distancing himself from the former president.

Sanders has been lining up endorsements from the state's top Republicans since Rutledge's exit from the race. Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin  who dropped out of the governor's race in February  on Friday also backed her bid, and Sanders later endorsed Griffin's candidacy for attorney general.

U.S. Reps. Rick Crawford, French Hill, Bruce Westerman and Steve Womack on Friday endorsed Sanders' bid, while Sens. Tom Cotton and John Boozman earlier this week backed her.

Hutchinson's nephew, state Sen. Jim Hendren, said Friday he hasn't ruled out running as an independent for governor. Hendren in February left the Republican Party to become an independent.

It seems like every month somebody changes what they're running for, so we're going to let the dust settle a little bit," Hendren said.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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RALEIGH, N.C. (AP)  Rep. Madison Cawthorn says hell run in a new congressional district under North Carolinas newly approved map.

His move to compete for a seat friendlier to Republicans could bolster his national profile and serve as a springboard to higher political office in a state slowly becoming more hospitable to Democrats.

The 26-year-old ally of former President Donald Trump announced his switch on Twitter Thursday night, casting it as an effort to thwart the bid pundits have expected from state House Speaker Tim Moore.

Knowing the political realities of the 13th district, Im afraid that another establishment, go-along-to-get-along Republican would prevail there. I will not let that happen, Cawthorn said in the video. I will be running for Congress in the 13th congressional district.

If the congressional map holds up in court, the district is likely to be one of the safest wins for Republicans next year.

Shortly after Cawthorns announcement, Moore said he would not run for the congressional seat that had been drawn near his home and instead plans to seek another term as state House leader.

I look forward to serving with my colleagues as Speaker of the House of Representatives and securing a supermajority for the Republicans next year, Moore said in a statement, adding that much of the speculation about my potential congressional candidacy has been driven by the media and political pundits.

Moore told The Associated Press in a text message that Cawthorn's announcement had zero role in his decision and that he had already determined to seek reelection to his current seat.

But one of his colleagues, Rep. Donny Lambeth, R-Forsyth, said Moore told him earlier that day that he had not yet made a final decision, though he was strongly leaning against a congressional run.

North Carolina is among a number of states that allow congressional candidates to run in whichever district they choose, so long as they reside in the state by the date of the general election.

Cawthorn doesnt live in the newly formed 13th district stretching across the southwestern part of the state outside the city of Charlotte. He presently represents voters in the 11th, North Carolinas westernmost district, where his Henderson County home would be in the 14th, one of three areas considered somewhat competitive for Democrats in 2022.

This move is not an abandonment, Cawthorn said to voters he will no longer represent. In fact, quite the opposite. It is a move to take more ground for constitutional conservatism. In my heart, I represent North Carolina as a whole, not some arbitrary line that some politician drew this cycle.

Looming over the March 2022 primary is a pair of lawsuits from voting rights groups accusing Republicans of partisan and racial gerrymandering in North Carolina. In a state where Trump narrowly defeated President Joe Biden with less than 50 percent of the votes, the GOP would likely hold 10 or 11 of the 14 districts up for grabs next year if the maps pass legal muster.

If Cawthorn wins the 13th, he would still represent about a third of the voters in his current district, since the new map moves all of McDowell and Polk and half of Rutherford County out of the 11th, said Chris Cooper, a Western Carolina University political science professor. Moving down from the mountains into the Charlotte media market also could elevate his political ambitions, he said.

There is no way to separate the goal from the attention, Cooper said. The goal is the attention in so many ways for Madison Cawthorn. Weve seen that from Day 1, and this is just another example.

Cawthorn, who uses a wheelchair after he was partially paralyzed in 2014, has amassed several hundred thousand followers on social media by appealing to Trump's most loyal base of supporters, making him one of the states most nationally visible lawmakers.

Since his political breakthrough in 2020, Cawthorn has faced criticism from Democrats and moderate Republicans for speaking at Trumps rally shortly before the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Since then, he's encouraged North Carolinians to take up arms in advance of potential bloodshed over future elections he claims could continue to be stolen, falsely suggesting Biden's 2020 win was illegitimate.

Hes bolstered his reputation by traversing the state to criticize how racial issues are taught in K-12 public schools, often making false or exaggerated claims of mass indoctrination.

During a Henderson County School Board meeting in September, Cawthorn allegedly brought a knife onto educational property. The county sheriff's office called the incident unacceptable, but declined to prosecute the congressman and instead issued a warning.

North Carolinians don't settle for the status quo. We defy it, Cawthorn said in his video.



Follow Anderson on Twitter at https://twitter.com/BryanRAnderson and Robertson at https://twitter.com/garydrobertson.



Anderson 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.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP)  South Dakota lawmakers are pressing Gov. Kristi Noems administration to hand over a document that could prove whether a plan was in place to give her daughter another chance to win a real estate appraiser license prior to a meeting last year that has spurred conflict-of-interest questions.

The Legislature's Government Operations and Audit Committee is readying to initiate a subpoena Monday if the Department of Labor and Regulation doesn't hand over a signed agreement between the governors daughter, Kassidy Peters, and state regulators. Peters won her appraiser certification after a state agency moved to deny it last year. Noems labor secretary has said the agreement was a road map for how Peters could improve her work.

Two lawmakers on the committee  Republican Rep. Randy Gross and Democrat Rep. Linda Duba  said the committee was ready to issue the subpoena. However, any subpoena would also require approval from the Executive Board, a ranking committee of top legislators that will meet later next week.

The timing of when the agreement was put into place has become a key question for lawmakers as they look into an episode that has prompted ethics experts to say Noem appeared to abuse the powers of her office. The Associated Press first reported that just days after a state agency moved to deny Peters application to upgrade her appraiser certification last year, Noem held a meeting with Peters and state employees overseeing her application. Four months later, Peters received her license.

Noem has defended her actions, telling the AP last week that the agreement was already in place before the meeting and that it was not discussed at the meeting. The Republican governor, who has positioned herself for a 2024 White House bid, has cast the meeting as part of a long-standing effort to solve a shortage of appraisers in the state.

Secretary of Labor Marcia Hultman, who was also at the meeting in the governor's mansion last year, gave a similar account when questioned by lawmakers in October, although she said the agreement was briefly discussed at the end of the meeting.

After hearing from Hultman, lawmakers moved to request the agreement from her department to confirm the sequence of the agreement being implemented and the meeting. They also agreed to keep any documents confidential to the committee.

The Department of Labor and Regulation did not immediately respond to a question from the AP about whether it would fulfill the request from lawmakers.

Noem has indicated she is loath to turn it over.

When you make a decision and open something up, it sets precedent, she said at a news conference last week after being asked if she would release the documents. Thats why for consistency and to make sure that Im being fair  because thats exactly what Im focused on  I would have to set that same precedent for everybody."

While the agreements themselves state they are open to public inspection, the Department of Labor and Regulation denied a request from the AP for them, citing an exemption that allows the government to keep records secret if they deal with examinations. An appeals office later ruled that the department was right to deny the records request.

Lawmakers may also subpoena the former director of the Appraiser Certification Program, Sherry Bren. She was pressured to retire late last year by Hultman, shortly after Peters received her license. Bren filed an age discrimination complaint and received a $200,000 payment from the state to withdraw the complaint and leave her job.

The committee this week sent a letter to Bren with 24 questions on the episode, but on Friday lawmakers released a letter from her lawyer, Tim Rensch, stating that she would prefer to receive a subpoena and testify in person.

Noem has said the settlement had nothing to do with her daughter.

The committee had requested that Bren appear before them last month, but she declined. Part of her settlement with the state bars her from disparaging state officials. However, Bren told the AP that she would work with lawmakers to correct any factual inaccuracies in Hultman's testimony to the committee.

Republican Rep. Chriss Karr, one of the lawmakers on the committee, said, Were just trying to sort through it and see what is accurate, what is true and what is misinformation so we get the facts."

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP)  Deere & Co. and union officials have reached a third preliminary contract agreement that workers who began striking four weeks ago will vote on soon.

The United Auto Workers said in a statement Friday night that the proposed contract with the agricultural machinery giant includes modest modifications" to the latest rejected proposal, which included immediate 10% raises. The union described the new proposal as the companys last, best and final offer in its statement.

The contract, which union members will vote on on Wednesday, would cover more than 10,000 Deere workers at 12 facilities in Iowa, Illinois and Kansas, who make the companys iconic John Deere green tractors and other equipment.

UAW spokesperson Brian Rothenberg said he wasn't sure when members would be filled in on the proposed contract's details, The Des Moines Register reported.

Deere spokesperson Jennifer Hartmann declined to comment Friday night.

For copyright information, check with the distributor of this item, The Des Moines Register.

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The dust has settled on redistricting in Iowa. The legislative debate is done, the approved plan received strong bipartisan support, and the governor has signed those new maps into law. Iowa has its new political boundaries for the next decade, starting with next years midterm elections.

Other states, including a couple just across the Mississippi River from Iowa, have not been so fortunate. In Wisconsin and Illinois, the redistricting process has been a highly partisan mess, and in Wisconsins case, still drags on.

The contrast speaks to the dangers of partisanship in decennial redistricting, and why Iowas process remains a model for the nation.

Iowas redistricting process is hailed for its nonpartisan nature. Nonpartisan analysts in the states Legislative Services Agency draw the maps, and state law forbids them from employing political considerations. Only after the maps are drawn do state lawmakers get involved, and even then they can only vote the maps up or down, with one exception.

That one exception did create perhaps a tinge of political intrigue in Iowa this year with Republicans in full control of state government. In Iowas process, if lawmakers reject the first two sets of proposed maps, they must accept the third. But they can also amend those third maps. Under unified control, a political party could, conceivably, put its thumbs on the scale by amending the third maps, thus interjecting partisanship into Iowas otherwise nonpartisan process.

But that didnt happen this year. State lawmakers rejected the first set of maps but approved the second set. And the votes to accept the maps were near-unanimous.

Wisconsin (Republicans) and Illinois (Democrats) state legislatures also are under single-party control. But in those states, like many others, state lawmakers both draw and vote on the maps. What has taken place in those neighboring states has been sadly predictable: Republicans in Wisconsin and Democrats in Illinois have done everything in their power to draw new boundaries that benefit their respective parties.

Wisconsin Republicans worked off the same maps they approved 10 years ago, when they also had majorities in the legislature and held the governors office. Then, they drew districts that maximized their ability to win majorities in the statehouse, helping to ensure their partys grip on the state capitol for a decade.

This time, Wisconsin has a Democratic governor, Tony Evers, who is expected to veto the proposed maps. That will send the issue to the states Supreme Court.

Illinois Democrats have been just as creative with their redistricting pencils, drawing maps that will increase their partys stronghold over the states legislative and congressional districts. The new maps in Illinois would likely yield Democrats an additional seat in the U.S. House while Republicans would likely lose two, according to WTTW-TV, a public news station out of Chicago.

Your maps make a farce of democracy and the process is a charade, said Illinois Republican state Rep. Jeff Keicher, according to WTTW-TV, although that quote could just as likely have been attributed to a Wisconsin Democrat.

Thats what happens when the drawing of political boundaries is left to the people who will have to earn votes within those boundaries. The people who live in those places, who will be casting votes, become an afterthought. The primary objective becomes political survival.

Thats no way to run a representative government. Thats why Iowas system is rightly praised and should be duplicated wherever possible and protected here.

Erin Murphy covers Iowa politics and government for Lee Enterprises. His email address is erin.murphy@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter at @ErinDMurphy

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Exports provide a vital financial contribution to Americas agricultural producers  on average, about a third of U.S. farm income. Half of our countrys annual soybean crop is sold abroad.

But while those global connections are now a familiar and central part of Nebraskas agricultural sector, it wasnt always this way. In trying to market products overseas, American agriculture long faced daunting obstacles abroad in the form of high tariffs and non-tariff barriers. It wasnt until the late 20th century that many of those barriers finally came down through international negotiations.

The key American negotiator who achieved that breakthrough was Clayton Yeutter. A native of Eustis, Nebraska, Yeutter provided all-important leadership in kicking down the doors when it came to agricultural trade, Mike Johanns, a former Nebraska governor and U.S. secretary of agriculture, has said.

When Nebraskas economy benefits from robust sales of corn and beef abroad, we can thank Dr. Yeutter for that, said Joseph Weber, an associate professor in the College of Journalism at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Weber is the author of a new book, Rhymes with Fighter: Clayton Yeutter, American Statesman, published by the University of Nebraska Press.

Yeutter, who died in 2017 at age 86, had more of an impact on global economic development over the past half century than any elected official, Weber said last week in a UNL event honoring Yeutters life and legacy.

Yeutter stood out for his notable combination of talents. He had a keen understanding of agriculture  Yeutter never left the farm, his friend and Nebraska business leader Duane Acklie once noted  as well as economics, law and politics. He held three degrees from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln: a bachelors, a law degree and a Ph.D. in agricultural economics. Remarkably, he pursued those last two degrees simultaneously.

Yeutter held Cabinet posts including U.S. trade representative and secretary of agriculture in the 1980s and 90s. He earlier had been the CEO of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and, in the late 1960s, was chief of staff for then-Gov. Norbert Tiemann.

At the UNL event last week, Warren Maruyama, who worked with Yeutter in the U.S. Trade Representative office and at a Washington, D.C., law firm, explained how Yeutter played a central role in opening trade with Canada, which led to a dramatic increase in U.S. trade with both Canada and Mexico in the 1990s. Yeutter showed particular skill in opening the Japanese market to U.S. beef, Maruyama said.

Until Yeutters determined efforts in the 1980s in international negotiations, agriculture had been at the periphery of discussions, hamstringing U.S. export ability, Maruyama said.

Agriculture is particularly vulnerable to trade barriers and really needs trade deals, he told the UNL audience. They open markets and bring some of the barriers under control.

The Nebraska Farm Bureau has pointed to the practical benefits from the states export trade. Every dollar in agricultural exports generates $1.28 in additional economic activities such as transportation, financing, warehousing and production. So, when Nebraska ag producers sold $5.8 billion overseas in 2019, those sales generated additional economic activity here of about $7.4 billion.

Yeutter devoted great energy to boosting public awareness of the global marketplaces importance for Nebraska agriculture. UNL has pursued that mission by creating the Yeutter Institute in 2017, to give students a broad-based understanding of economic, legal and agricultural dimensions relating to trade. The institutes faculty includes three endowed professors respectively in the disciplines in which Yeutter held UNL degrees: agriculture, economics and law.

Yeutter, Weber told the UNL audience, opened the world to global trade as never before. That legacy provides ongoing benefits to our state and deserves understanding and appreciation by future generations of Nebraskans.

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In the final installment of Impeachment: American Crime Story, what should be the climactic event of the story, President Bill Clintons impeachment by Congress (the Senate declined to convict), is almost a footnote. The focus of the episode returns to where the story started: the three women who had their lives derailed by the Paula Jones lawsuit and ensuing scandal. Monica Lewinsky has lost her job and career prospects and become the punchline to a national dirty joke, ruining her dream of finding a nice man to settle down and start a family with. Linda Tripps career is over and, far from being hailed as the heroic whistleblower she sees herself as, she is widely despised and subject to random hostility from strangers. Paula Jones marriage has fallen apart, shes lost her job as an Arkansas state employee and has moved back in with her mother, and shes struggling to pay her bills as her newfound conservative activist friends abandon her.

Monica Lewinskys Book Deal

Lewinsky tells her mother her book proposal has been turned down by several publishers but she has finally found one who wants to sign her and wants her to co-write it with Andrew Morton, author of the bestselling tell-all Diana: Her True Story. Lewinsky feels a book would help her pay for her lawyers and perhaps give her the opportunity to present her side of the story.

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Its not entirely true that no publishers were interested in acquiring Lewinskys book. According to the New Yorker, the tabloid the Star offered her $1 million for the exclusive rights to her story, followed by an offer from HarperCollins editor Judith Regan for $2 million and another from an undisclosed publisher for $6 million, the second-highest advance in publishing history to an American author for a single book.

However, in a New York Post interview, Regan declared no ones ever gotten $10 million and Monica Lewinsky is not going to be the first and denied offering $2 million herself, telling New York magazine she had withdrawn her offer based on the proposed content of the book. The idea that the book was not finding buyers gained currency in a Washington Post article that reported that five publishers had turned it down, with one saying Im as big a whore as anyone, but Id rather die first. This whole situation is so unseemly, why make it worse? The rights were ultimately bought by Mortons publisher Michael OMara, who sold the U.S. rights to St. Martins for an undisclosed sum (Slate put it at $12 million). Lewinskys decision was based on more than just big numbers, at least according to Barbara Walters, who said, Monica Lewinsky turned down a very large amount of money from Fox, which had offered millions for an interview/book deal.

Kavanaughs Sexy Talk

Brett Kavanaugh, busy writing the final Starr report, wants to put in language like he wanted to go down on her. Other lawyers object, not because they mind the crudity but because they think Kavanaugh is exceeding his brief, which is to cover grounds for impeachment, and is taking over their job of writing the full narrative.

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Documents released by the National Archives in 1998 contained a memo from Kavanaugh in which he recommends hitting Clinton with questions about specific acts of oral sex and masturbation. He should be forced to account for all of that and to defend his actions. It may not be our job to impose sanctions on him, but it is our job to make his pattern of revolting behavior clearpiece by painful piece, he wrote. But according to colleagues and at least one other memo, Kavanaugh was uneasy about including sexual details in the final reports legal argument for impeachment. Special counsel Kenneth Starr told CNN, There was a lively discussion within the office of what should be included. Brett was a voice arguing in favor of less, rather than more, in terms of the specificity of detail.

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The salacious element unsurprisingly overshadowed the constitutional arguments and may have hampered the report being taken seriously. In his book An Affair of State: The Investigation, Impeachment, and Trial of President Clinton, Richard Posner, a Reagan-appointed federal appeals judge, noted the details are a distraction to anyone who wants to understand and evaluate Clintons Presidency or the role and function of the President in American government and society, while University of Missouri law professor Douglas O. Linder observed that while doubtless some discussion of the sexual nature of the relationship between Clinton and Lewinsky was needed to establish that Clinton had lied in his deposition, the Starr report went far beyond what was necessary, with sexual details of various encounters that suggest the Report also had as its purpose to embarrass Clinton and thus limit his effectiveness as President.

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If the purpose of including the embarrassing details (so embarrassing that parents wondered whether the New York Times was suitable reading for their teenagers) was to dent Clintons prospects, it backfired. In November, two months after the report was released, Republicans became the first party without an incumbent president to lose House seats in a midterm election since 1934. A Gallup poll that same month showed Clintons job approval holding steady at 62 percent, while Starr had a 54 percent unfavorability rating and 58 percent disapproved of how he was handling the Clinton investigation.

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Did Linda Tripp Face Charges?

Linda gets some bad news from her lawyer: The Maryland state prosecutor is preparing to charge her with illegally recording another person without their knowledge. Linda refers back to her immunity guarantee from Starr, but the lawyer says that covers federal charges only, not state, and Linda may go to trial, leading her to ask, Why am I the villain here?

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After a yearlong investigation, Maryland prosecutors did issue an indictment charging Tripp with violating Maryland wiretap laws in July 1999. If convicted, Tripp could have faced five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. However, the state prosecutor who conducted the investigation said even then that the immunity agreement could pose legal hurdles. In May 2000, Maryland dropped the charges after a judge ruled that some testimony by Lewinsky was not admissible, testimony that the state prosecutor felt was essential to obtaining a conviction.

This was the only criminal case brought against a major figure in the Lewinsky affair.

Did Paula Join the Psychic Friends Network?

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Separated from her husband and unable to find a job once people find out who she is, Paula starts working for the Psychic Friends Network, an infomercial-based scheme that requires her to do psychic readings over the phone using a script, although she eventually has to quit because shes getting so many prank calls.

This is true. As of 1996, the PFN, which provided a $3.99/minute 900 number that let Americans chat with real psychics on the phone, received some 10 million calls a month, bringing in profits of over $100 million a year. But the scheme wasnt sustainable, and in February 1998, the PFN filed for Chapter 11.

In April 1999, Jones signed a deal with a different company to host a Paula Jones Celebrity Psychic Network for a 90-day trial, but later tried to find a way out of the contract after her mentor Susan Carpenter-McMillan told her its about psychics and witches. I am opposed to it. I am disgusted by it. This, however, may have been Jones way of saying she walked away instead of being pushed when the phones failed to ring after the services commercials aired in May 1999.
A federal appeals court kept its block on the implementation of the Biden administration rule that requires large companies to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for employees or carry out weekly testing starting in January. The rule, which the court characterized as a mandate, goes staggeringly overboard and grossly exceeds [the Occupational Safety and Health Administrations] statutory authority, Judge Kurt Engelhardt wrote in the 22-page ruling that was joined by Judges Edith H. Jones and Stuart Kyle Duncan.

The three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in New Orleans, issued the ruling saying that the challenges to the rule were likely to be successful so it further prevented the government from moving forward with its implementation. The panel is made up of one judge appointed by President Ronald Reagan and two others appointed by President Donald Trump.

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Dozens of lawsuits have been filed in numerous appeals courts against the rule by businesses, religious organizations, and states. Engelhardt said those who opposed the measure, including Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina, had standing to sue in the Fifth Circuit. Rather than a delicately handled scalpel, the mandate is a one-size fits-all sledgehammer, reads the ruling. The judges said the rule imposes a financial burden and could amount to a violation of the Constitutions commerce clause. The Mandate imposes a financial burden upon them by deputizing their participation in OSHAs regulatory scheme, exposes them to severe financial risk if they refuse or fail to comply, and threatens to decimate their workforces (and business prospects) by forcing unwilling employees to take their shots, take their tests, or hit the road, the judge wrote.

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The judges added that the mere specter of the mandate has contributed to untold economic upheaval in recent months. Even though the pandemic is tragic and devastating the government has failed to show that COVID-19 poses the kind of emergency that allows OSHA to take the extreme measure, the ruling reads. The rule issued by the Biden administration says private employers who have more than 100 employees must require them to get tested or face weekly testing and mandatory mask-wearing. Those who work alone or off-site can be exempted from the rule that was scheduled to take effect Jan. 4.

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The Biden administration had expected the legal challenges to the rule and had called on the Fifth Circuit to hold off on issuing a ruling until a lottery can take place that consolidates all the challenges to the measure. Todays decision is just the beginning of the process for review of this important OSHA standard, a Justice Department spokeswoman said in a statement. The department will continue to vigorously defend the standard and looks forward to obtaining a definitive resolution following consolidation of all of the pending cases for further review. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton called the ruling a massive victory.
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Among my friends and family, Im known as the weird snake lover.

Because of that, every few weeks or so Ill get a text with a grainy photo of a snake in a yard or by a local creek and some version of the message let live or kill?? Nine times out of 10 its a harmless species of snake. But every single time, venomous or no, Ill tell my friends to leave the poor reptile alone.

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This isnt borne out of my love for snakes, per se, even though I am definitely a fan (and because the most snake bites occur when humans try to move them). Its because we understand so very little about a species thats been feared and maligned for years. And as research continues and technologies evolve, one thing is becoming clearsnakes are potentially very useful in drug development, particularly venomous snakes.

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That realization has never been truer than this year. Just recently the University of Arizona published a study identifying a key molecular mechanism responsible for COVID-19 mortality: an enzyme related to the toxins found in rattlesnake venom. Now, researchers are exploring whether there are ways to engineer the enzyme to treat long-haul COVID.

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Research on snakes has historically been slow and fragmented, and for understandable reasons. Snake encounters used to be fairly rare, especially in developed countries, and many venomous species are elusive. But as climate change shifts environments and human settlements grow, snake encounters have been on the rise in some parts of the world.

The good news is that as technological advances continue and databases grow in the genomics, proteomics, and transcriptomics fields, our understanding of how venoms can lead to new medicines has started to flourish, and not just as treatments for COVID. One of the first blood pressure drugs approved for clinical use came from studying the venom of a pit viper. The blood glucose drug Byetta was created using the saliva of the Gila monster, a venomous lizard found in North America. The antiplatelet drug Aggrastat was derived from a molecule found in the saw-scaled viper.

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And we might even have a universal antivenom in as little as five years. Thats according to researchers at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicines Centre for Snakebite Research and Interventions who are studying how to use camels to produce more stable antivenom that doesnt require cold chain storage. This is huge news, especially for people in rural parts of the world, because antivenom is currently prohibitively expensive and hard to transport.

All of this is to say that while I love snakes, this isnt a love letter to them, or a reprimand to anyone I see on Facebook asking if they should kill the snake in their yard. Its a call to pause and consider the future the next time you stumble across a snakeor other creepy crawly speciesand decide you should unalive it. If at all possible, dont. The vast majority of snake species are harmless. And even if you do encounter the venomous kind (or, as I like to call them, a spicy nope rope), your best bet is to live and let live. Because theres a future not too far from now where that scaly creature could very well save someones life.

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Here are stories from the recent past of Future Tense.

Rebecca Onion A 4-Year-Olds Honest Review of the Sesame Street Vaccine Town Hall

Konstantinos Komaitis Internet Safety Is the New Internet Freedom

Nitish Pahwa Folks, the Infrastructure Bill Is Way Better Than You Realize

Aaron Mak What Is Web3 and Why Are All the Crypto People Suddenly Talking About It?

Emily Oster We Need to Admit Masking Kids at School Has Some Downsides

Josephine Wolff Joe Biden Cant Stop the Most Notorious Spyware Company in the World

Wish Wed Published This

Behind Elon Musks Twitter Poll Is a Tax Bill Coming Due, by Stephen Gandel, the New York Times

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Im very interested in per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, otherwise known as PFAS, the toxic forever chemical that the EPA recently announced a roadmap to try to tackle. Specifically, Im fascinated by what the tipping point has to be for countries to start regulating dangerous chemicals. Knowing that, a friend recommended I read Fake Silk by Paul David Blanc, which came out in 2016 and is very reminiscent of the current conversations happening around PFAS. The book follows the story of cellulose viscose, otherwise known as fake silk, a lucrative material that was used to make products such as rayon, tires, cellophane, and kitchen sponges. The manufacturing process was also toxic to humanscausing many factory workers who came into contact with the material to experience acute insanity, according to Blanc, along with other physiological symptoms. Im about three-quarters of the way through the book, but so far its raising a lot of questions I see echoed in todays conversations about other contaminantsparticularly, how much of human and environmental health are industries willing to sacrifice for profit andmost importantlywill we ever learn from our mistakes?

What Next: TBD

On this weeks episode of Slates technology podcast, host Lizzie OLeary talks to Indiana Universitys Aaron Carroll about why some parents who have been vaccinated themselves are reluctant to get their kids immunizedand how to persuade them otherwise. Last week, Lizzie and Priya Anand, a reporter at Bloomberg, discussed how schools turned to surveillance software while students were remoteand now seem disinclined to stop monitoring kids online behavior.

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On Tuesday, Nov. 16 at 8 p.m. Eastern, join Future Tense in conversation with Andrea Chapela about her latest Future Tense Fiction story The Wait, and the state of surveillance in Mexico. RSVP here.

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Kids vaccines are finally here. Earlier this month, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that children aged 5 to 11 be vaccinated against COVID-19. The American Academy of Pediatricians supports the vaccine, given that this year, COVID has been in the top 10 causes of deaths for kids. Chicago and New York are each offering kids $100 if they get vaccinated (in a gift card or debit card, respectively). Some puppets on Sesame Street even got their doses to encourage young kids to do the same.

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The data is clear: The COVID vaccine will protect kids and is very, very safe. But its unclear to what extent vaccinating young kids will make us all safer. To be sure, the more vaccinations, the better. But with politically divisive pediatric mandates on the horizon, and many of us trying to get some sense of what our second COVID winter will look like, its worth asking: How much will vaccinating kids actually reduce spread?

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It may come as no surprise that the data isnt as precise as we might like, so I spoke to a few experts to sort out what we know about kids, vaccines, and transmissionand what the implications are for policy.

I am, to be honest, still slightly unclear how often kids get COVID in the first place.

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Its been a confusing ride. Early in the pandemic, there was this misperception that kids didnt get COVID, and they couldnt transmit COVID, said Dr. Melissa Stockwell, chief of the division of child and adolescent health at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center. But during that time, schools were shut down and many parents were working from home. Many kids were simply not exposed to the virus, explains Stockwell, which made them appear to be somewhat immune to harboring it.

Researchers know better now. Kids are just as likely to carry the virus as adults according to a (pre-delta) study that Stockwell did in collaboration with the CDC, University of Utah, and Abt Associates. Their work lines up with more recent epidemiological data from the U.K. showing that the prevalence of infections in schoolchildren under 12 was nearly twice the national prevalence. In the U.S., as of Nov. 4, there have been 6.5 million known infections in children, and almost a quarter of all positive cases are currently in kids. I think we can say with complete certainty that children do get infected, Stockwell said.

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OK, we know they get infected. But I heard they carry less virus, so they are less likely to transmit it to other people?

The evidence on how much virus kids carry is mixed. Stockwells study found that young kids are asymptomatic 50 percent of the time (compared with 12 percent of the time in adults)intuitively, youd think that means theyd be less likely to transmit an infection. But some studies suggest that the amount of virus present in younger childrens nosesthe viral loadis higher than that in adults or adolescents. Whether that translates to increased infectivity is a little unclear. But its possible that it does.

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So its actually totally unclear whether kids are more or less likely to transmit the virus vs adults.

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Biologically speaking, yes, it is unclear. But theres more to whether youll spread a virus than how much of it you have in your body.

One very important fact to add to the mix: remember that younger kids cant isolate when they are infected. They need to be held, comforted, and cared for. You cant really social-distance from your sick 3 year old.

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Right.

All the viral load stuff aside, we do have direct evidence that kids can drive outbreaks. A Canadian study published in August found 6,000 households in Ontario with pediatric index casesthat is, instances in which a kid brought the virus into a home. They found that other members of the household became infected about a quarter of the time. When the virus did spread, typically two other household members would become infected. Children aged 4 to 13 were just as likely to transmit as older teenagersin line with systematic review of all studies on the topic.

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Theres a recent example thats more dramatic. A Chinese study posted on a preprint server on Monday painstakingly traced how two young school-age kids seeded an outbreak involving at least 223 people. The virus was transmitted mostly through schools, factories, and households. Of the cases, 132 were fully vaccinated teens and adults (with the Sinovac or Sinopharm vaccine), and six of the cases ended up being severe or life-threatening. The authors concluded children were critical hidden spreaders in this instance.

Whew! That is a lot. What is the bottom line on kids and spread?

Contrary to what we thought at the pandemics onset in the U.S., its now looking like kids catch and transmit the coronavirus about as much as adults and adolescents.

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Well, vaccination will fix this, I assume?

Yes. In the long run, vaccination in all groups will drive down case rates and make everything less COVID-y (more on that below). In the short run, a vaccinated kid will make your household a little safer.

And remember: Getting the vaccine will make your kid safer from any bad outcomes of the virus, which in kids, are somewhat rare anyway. Large-scale observational studies in adults suggest the vaccines effectiveness against bad outcomes remains reasonably highfrom 73 to 98 percent, depending on the vaccine and the details of the studyeven as protection against infection declines in the era of delta and waning antibodies.

Right. Right. They should get vaccinated. To what extent will them getting vaccinated prevent them from potentially bringing the virus home?

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Once the virus enters the home, being vaccinated helps, but it could matter less than you might think. So, say your kid gets the virusthat could still mean that your family is going to have to worry a bit about getting sick as a whole.

Both a Dutch study and a U.K. study, recently posted as preprints, came to similar conclusions: In teens and adults, vaccination lowers an infected persons chances of spreading delta to housemates by at least 50 percent. Being vaccinated (with Pfizer) reduced the chance of catching it from a housemate by 67 percent, according to the U.K. study. Pretty goodbut theres a big caveat. Those percentages were almost halved just three months post-vaccine. Another smaller but more detailed household contact tracing study paints an even starker picture. About a quarter of all household members ended up with an infection whether or not the originally infected person was fully vaccinated. On the receiving end, vaccination reduced a household members risk of catching the virus from 38 percent to 25 percent, but this trend didnt reach statistical significance.

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Sure sounds like you are saying that the vaccine doesnt really prevent spread!

No, thats not what I am trying to say. First, all studies above find some evidence that the vaccine is protective against household spreadjust not as much as wed hoped. Second, epidemiological data show that, overall, vaccinated people have much lower rates of COVID. That is, a vaccinated person is just less likely to get the virus in the first place. So yes, if the virus gets into your house, you have a decent chance of getting infected. However, vaccination means its less likely the virus will ever arrive on your doorstep.

I am confused.

It might seem contradictory that vaccines significantly lower the chance of catching the virus yet are only somewhat able to prevent spread within the house. Stockwell, the Columbia University pediatrician, pointed out one way to square these two facts: The house and the rest of the world are very different placesin the home, you have prolonged exposure in small, enclosed spaces. In other words, the perfect conditions for spread. Outside the house, exposure might be more transient, or depending on where you live or what youre doing, you might be masked up. At the community level, these small differences start to add up, meaning vaccination appreciably reduces overall spread.

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At the population level, what kind of impact will kids getting the vaccine have? Will cases go down as kids get vaccinated?

The short answer is yes, though it is very difficult to say by how much (and if youre trying to figure out your winter plans right now, know that there are so many other factors involved).

The CDC estimates that vaccinating half of all children 5- to 11-years old could prevent a cumulative 600,000 cases between now and March 2022. I spoke to Dr. Luke Mullany, a biostatistician and epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, who provided the numbers for the CDC. According to this estimate, averting 600,000 cases would avert 50,000 hospitalizations and 10,000 deaths. Models he analyzed on behalf of the Scenario Modeling Hub assumed vaccine uptake among 5- to 11-year-olds would be similar to uptake among 12- to 17-year-olds, which gives a ballpark estimate of about 1 preventable death per 1,300 childhood vaccinations. Given that the vaccine risks to children are vanishingly small, these numbers make a reasonable case for immunizing kids to save the lives of others.

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Thats great, that sounds like a very dramatic reduction of cases and deaths.

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Yes, it is. But thats still assuming half of kids get vaccinated, which is not a sure thing. I know that Dr. Fauci has said this [pediatric vaccine authorization] is a game changer, said Dr. William Raszka, director of pediatric infectious diseases at the University of Vermont Childrens Hospital and a professor of pediatrics at the Larner College of Medicine. But I am not nearly as sanguine as most of my peers that immunizing children 5 to 11 is going to dramatically decrease the number of infections.

The reason, he said, is that only 1 in 3 parents plan to vaccinate their children. The impact of those unvaccinated kids will probably be borne by communities with lower vaccination rates overall, continuing to put the brunt of COVID unevenly on some Americans. Adults who have not immunized themselves seem really unlikely to me to immunize their 5- to 11-year-olds, said Raszka. I just dont think thats really going to change. And because the adults in those communities are unvaccinated, pediatric transmission could result in far worse outcomes than just passing along an infection.

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It seems like some of that could be avoided by mandating the vaccine for kids.

Some jurisdictions are trying. Within 24 hours of the CDCs decision, the San Francisco Department of Public Health announced that schoolchildren would have to comply with the citys strict proof-of-vaccination requirement to enter public spaces such as restaurants. Its possible that other cities will follow suit. It may only be a matter of time before some schools mandate the vaccine for this age group.

Broader statewide mandates, however, could be politically tricky. COVID vaccine mandates, if you havent heard, are extremely divisive. And anything to do with schoolchildren is not only emotionally charged but also a politically potent tool. People are resentful with many schools for mishandling the pandemicthe delayed reopenings and evidence-free policies have profoundly disrupted the lives of children and parents alike. In the Virginia governor race, Republicans found a receptive audience for anti-school messaging of all stripes. Mixing mandates and children is bound to be explosive.
Darina Bancikova, the first female pastor ordained in Slovakia, faced many barriers during her lifetime under the communist regime.

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Named after the Slovak word for gift - dar - Darina Bancikova, the first female pastor ordained in the Evangelical Church in Slovakia, is said to have had a wonderful and loving relationship with her mother. But life was less than generous to the trailblazing pastor.

Born an illegitimate child in 1922, early in what later turned out to be a difficult century for Slovakia, Bancikovas life was full of barriers, some created by the communist regime, others by male pastors who were unwilling to be ordained alongside her. Today, close to half of all Lutheran pastors in Slovakia are women. Bancikova is now recognised as the one who has paved the way for them.

She fought against her feelings of inferiority but overcame them with vigor, boldness and ambition, Maria Hrobonova, the pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lucenec, told The Slovak Spectator. Outwardly, she didn't want to show that she was suffering.

Fighting for legitimacy
https://sputniknews.com/20211112/washington-post-edits-two-articles-on-steele-dossier-after-new-info-emerges---reports-1090698626.html

Washington Post Edits Two Articles on Steele Dossier After New Info Emerges - Reports

Washington Post Edits Two Articles on Steele Dossier After New Info Emerges - Reports

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The Washington Post corrected and removed parts of two articles about sources of the so-called "Steele dossier" that alleged collusion... 12.11.2021, Sputnik International

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washington post

steele dossier

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The latest developments were detailed by Washington Post Style reporter Paul Farhi said in a Friday article.References to the previously identified source, Belarusian-American businessman Sergei Millian, have been removed by the publication. Original versions of the articles were archived and dozens of other Washington Post stories that made the assertion have also been corrected and amended, Farhi said.The corrections came following the indictment of analyst and researcher Igor Danchenko for lying to the FBI about not having contact with the creator of the Steele dossier. The indictment was part of special counsel John Durhams investigation into the origins and handling of the FBIs probe into alleged Russian collusion.On Wednesday, Danchenko pleaded not guilty to all five counts of making false statements to the FBI. Danchenkos trial has been scheduled for the latter half of April 2022, prior to which he will stay under supervised release.Washington Post executive editor Sally Buzbee said the publication could no longer back up the accuracy of the claims. The articles headline was amended, sections identifying Millian as the dossiers source were removed, as was an accompanying video and an editors note explaining the changes was added, Farhi said.

https://sputniknews.com/20211104/us-judge-orders-release-of-russian-analyst-danchenko-detained-for-allegedly-lying-to-fbi-1090483864.html

Theodorebikel Danchenko's life is not safe. 2

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https://sputniknews.com/20211113/beware-of-drunken-grandpa-elderly-scooter-driver-bites-off-police-officers-thumb-in-taiwan-1090701755.html

Beware of Drunken Grandpa: Elderly Scooter Driver Bites Off Police Officer's Thumb in Taiwan

Beware of Drunken Grandpa: Elderly Scooter Driver Bites Off Police Officer's Thumb in Taiwan

People aren't exactly thrilled when they get a ticket, but sometimes their anger leads to extremely bizarre reactions. 13.11.2021, Sputnik International

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taiwan

police

scooter

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An altercation between an elderly scooter driver and a police officer in Hualien City resulted in surgery after a man decided to use his teeth as the ultimate weapon. According to the website Up Media, Wang te-lin, the chief of the Meilu Police Station was on patrol when he stopped a 71-year-old retired civil servant named Liu for erratic scooter driving. Liu was swaying side to side and ran two red lights. However, the elderly man refused a breathalyser test and went on a rant about his friends in high places.After Wang refused to let him go, the driver fell onto the road, banging his head against the pavement in a drunken fit. When the police officer tried to restrain the man and get him into his vehicle, the drunken senior suddenly bit a whole phalanx of the cop's thumb off, spitting it into the car.Luckily, the officer was able to round up the perpetrator and get him to the station and then rushed to the hospital, where his thumb was reattached.

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Evgeny Mikhaylov https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/09/07/1080390164_0:0:1440:1440_100x100_80_0_0_46c187f2ab0908f86849a7d09a7def57.jpg

Evgeny Mikhaylov https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/09/07/1080390164_0:0:1440:1440_100x100_80_0_0_46c187f2ab0908f86849a7d09a7def57.jpg

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taiwan, police, scooter
https://sputniknews.com/20211113/boris-johnson-tells-france-to-stop-taking-migrants-as-uk-accuses-paris-of-losing-control-1090706632.html

Boris Johnson Tells France to Stop Taking Migrants as UK Accuses Paris of Losing Control

Boris Johnson Tells France to Stop Taking Migrants as UK Accuses Paris of Losing Control

In July, Paris and London signed an agreement on assistance in tackling illegal immigration. Yet, since the deal was inked the UK has accused its ally of not... 13.11.2021, Sputnik International

2021-11-13T11:42+0000

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europe

uk

migration

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UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has urged France to act on the migrant crisis as Britain saw a record number of daily arrivals this week. Some 1,185 people crossed from France into the UK on Thursday, the Home Office said. In a veiled attack on Paris, PM Johnson signalled that French authorities are unwilling to deal with the issue.A government insider accused France of losing control of the situation, the BBC reported. MP Natalie Elphicke, representing Dover, said it is not credible that over 1,000 migrants could "hop onto small boats" and cross into the United Kingdom "without the French authorities noticing".UK media outlets write that the latest arrival has taken the number of migrants to over 23,500 this year.Last month, UK Home Secretary Priti Patel said if Paris doesn't do more to stop the flow of refugees coming to Britain, London would withhold the 54 million ($72.4 million) it had promised to pay France as part of its agreement on tackling immigration.UK authorities believe that reform of the country's immigration system may solve the problem. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the new law will distinguish between people, who arrived in the country legally and illegally. Reports say under the new rules individuals, who arrived in the country illegally, including those who come by boat, will no longer have entitlement to claim asylum in Britain.The reform is likely to face heated debates in parliament as it has prompted opposition both from MPs and human rights organisations. The Refugee Council said people fleeing war and terror don't have the luxury of choosing how to claim asylum.The people who cross the Channel mainly come from African and Middle Eastern nations, many of which are torn by war. These include Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Sudan, and Yemen.

Tom One The French have got no reason to want to stop the flow. After all it reduces their numbers there. It way past time the U.K. took firm action turning these boats back. Serious question need asked of the French. Sanctions need implement what ever they bleat. 0

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europe, uk, migration
https://sputniknews.com/20211113/cop26-negotiators-in-glasgow-finalize-historic-agreement-to-combat-climate-change-1090715234.html

COP26: Negotiators in Glasgow Finalize Historic Agreement to Combat Climate Change

COP26: Negotiators in Glasgow Finalize Historic Agreement to Combat Climate Change

At the COP26 summit, international negotiators have approved a climate agreement that aims to reduce the use of coal and other fossil fuels and transition the... 13.11.2021, Sputnik International

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cop26

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The agreement, known as the Glasgow Climate Pact, was reached on Saturday and is the first of its kind in the 25 years that the United Nations have held climate talks. Another key feature of the agreement is a call for wealthy industrialized nations, beginning in 2025, to double their financial support for adaptation efforts in the developing world - starting from $100 billion each year. The nations most at risk, however, received no real-world guarantees from those countries that have most contributed to climate change. The agreement appears to be a half-victory for the earth's climate. It is the first COP text to feature the term "fossil fuels," and also includes an agreement to "escalating effort to phase down unabated coal power and phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies."The agreement also provided a road map for stricter emissions cuts throughout the decade, calling for countries to bring their emission targets in line with the Paris Climate Accord's 1.5 C of warming by 2022, not to be revised in 2025, as had been previously agreed. Some activists, lawmakers and others were disappointed over the language surrounding coal use contained within the agreement. According to reports, due to pressure from Indian representatives, the language in the final agreement regarding the use of coal was shifted from "phase out" to "phase down".Concessions made to garner a broader support were noted by many. Alok Sharma, Britain's president of the COP26 climate conference, apologized and nearly broke down while speaking about the agreement and acknowledging the importance of its passage. Many in attendance acknowledged that the Glasgow Climate Pact does not go far enough, but admitted that it was a useful first step. Famed environmental activist Greta Thunberg was far less than impressed by the COP26 climate conference and the Glasgow Climate Pact.Climate scientists have revealed that if global warming increases beyond 1.5C from pre-industrial levels devastating climate catastrophes could come into play. In this scenario, the ice caps would largely disappear and some equatorial areas could become uninhabitable, leading to a massive human migration away from, hot spots. It is predicted that, to stay under the 1.5C threshold, global greenhouse gas emissions caused by the burning of fossil fuels must be cut in half by 2030.

keyboardcosmetics At least Sputnik takes these clowns seriously. I thought no one did :) 4

sharknbake21 COP 26; CAPITALISTS,OVERSEEING PIRACY/ 3

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https://sputniknews.com/20211113/deepfake-clip-of-leonardo-dicaprio-promoting-energy-drink-in-front-of-bolshoi-theatre-goes-viral-1090708254.html

Deepfake Clip of Leonardo DiCaprio 'Promoting' Energy Drink in Front of Bolshoi Theatre Goes Viral

Deepfake Clip of Leonardo DiCaprio 'Promoting' Energy Drink in Front of Bolshoi Theatre Goes Viral

Moscow's Red Square has welcomed a lot of famous people, as almost any celebrity coming to visit Russia can hardly resist stopping by one of the capital city's... 13.11.2021, Sputnik International

2021-11-13T12:53+0000

2021-11-13T12:53+0000

2021-11-13T12:53+0000

leonardo di caprio

viral

deepfakes

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A TikTok clip that appeared to show Leonardo DiCaprio in Moscow, walking by the city's iconic sites like Red Square and the Bolshoi Theatre, has tricked Russian social media users into thinking that the famous actor finally came to Moscow.However, the rejoicing fans were soon to be disappointed, as the two videos of "DiCaprio" in front of Moscow sites were posted by the account titled "DeepCaprio", which hints that the clips were made with the use of deep fake technology.Moreover, the "actor" is seen promoting a local energy drink - something that had many users wondering whether the creators behind the video had asked for DiCaprio's permission to use his image in advertising.Still, the clips had some fans believing that DiCaprio actually visited Moscow - some even suggested that he had celebrated his 47th birthday in the Russian capital on 11 November.And even though they turned out to be fake, the clips were very successful on social media, gaining over 420,000 likes.DiCaprio has been to Russia but only visited Saint Petersburg. He even met with Russian President Vladimir Putin back in 2010, when he visited the northern Russian city in order to take part in the Global Tiger Forum. The famous actor has never in fact made it to Moscow.

Uninformed Here's a Clip , at some award night when Caprio is seated in the audience , cameras there with a face shot , girl walks past and see the eyes on caprio checking out the arsehole on it , looked yellow to me (its fast) , not long after it went to see the Pope . 0

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leonardo di caprio, viral, deepfakes
https://sputniknews.com/20211113/disgraced-ny-governor-cuomo-reportedly-considers-running-for-office-of-state-attorney-general-1090714674.html

Disgraced NY Governor Cuomo Reportedly Considers Running for Office of State Attorney General

Disgraced NY Governor Cuomo Reportedly Considers Running for Office of State Attorney General

Cuomo was the New York state's attorney general prior to becoming its governor. He lost his governorship this year following a revelation of hidden death... 13.11.2021, Sputnik International

2021-11-13T19:34+0000

2021-11-13T19:34+0000

2021-11-13T19:30+0000

new york

us

andrew cuomo

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Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is mulling running for the office of state attorney general in 2022, the New York Post reported, citing an anonymous source. According to the newspaper, he mentioned the idea to Democratic officials and political insiders.The ex-governor reportedly still has around $18 million in his campaign coffer. He is also one of the most well-known names among candidates, running against a handful of district attorneys, state senators, a professor and a congressional lawmaker.Cuomo recently told the New York Magazine, however, that he was still not sure what his future career would look like. He asserted that he would battle accusations of sexual misconduct in court coming from several of his former female employees. The next court proceeding is currently scheduled for January 2022.Multiple ex-staffers earlier claimed that Cuomo on more than one occasion made unwanted sexual advances, forcibly touching them without consent. The former governor has adamantly denied the accusations, calling the case against him a part of New York Attorney General Letitia James' plan to oust him and run for governor herself. Incidentally, James announced her gubernatorial bid soon after Cuomo resigned under the pressure of blowback from the sexual misconduct scandal.

https://sputniknews.com/20211111/andrew-cuomo-wanted-female-staffers-to-defend-him-a-la-joe-biden-in-sexual-harassment-case-1090646020.html

helleb He would be in good Company, his kind. 1

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new york

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new york, us, andrew cuomo
https://sputniknews.com/20211113/eritrea-slams-us-sanctions-against-countrys-military-1090714011.html

Eritrea Slams US Sanctions Against Country's Military

Eritrea Slams US Sanctions Against Country's Military

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Eritrea decries the sanctions imposed by the United States against its armed forces, describing them as a blatant violation of its... 13.11.2021, Sputnik International

2021-11-13T18:01+0000

2021-11-13T18:01+0000

2021-11-13T18:01+0000

ethiopia

eritrea

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Washington sanctioned the Eritrean Defense Forces on Friday over its role in the ongoing armed conflict in Ethiopia, including alleged human rights abuses.Ethiopia has been embroiled in a domestic conflict since last November when the central government accused the Tigray People's Liberation Front of attacking a military base and launched a counter operation in the northern parts of the country. Neighboring Eritrea supported the Ethiopian authorities, although in the spring of 2021 it said it was withdrawing its troops from the Tigray region.

ethiopia

eritrea

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ethiopia, eritrea
https://sputniknews.com/20211113/friendly-rats-and-creepy-guards-ghislaine-maxwell-offers-raw-description-of-prison-conditions-1090714425.html

'Friendly Rats' And 'Creepy Guards': Ghislaine Maxwell Offers Raw Description of Prison Conditions

'Friendly Rats' And 'Creepy Guards': Ghislaine Maxwell Offers Raw Description of Prison Conditions

Ghislaine Maxwell is an alleged madame of late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein who is presently accused of procuring and grooming underage girls for... 13.11.2021, Sputnik International

2021-11-13T19:49+0000

2021-11-13T19:49+0000

2021-11-13T19:45+0000

society

ghislaine maxwell

jeffrey epstein

prison

sex trafficking ring

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Jeffrey Epstein's longtime friend Ghislaine Maxwell shared new details about her life in solitary confinement as she awaits trial over accusations of procuring minors to the late pedophile, The Daily Mail reported on Saturday.In her cell in Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center, according to Maxwell, there is an open sewer drain, from which a "friendly rat" comes out from time to time.Maxwell also claims that she stopped taking showers each day because there are "creepy guards who stand close and stare at me the whole time."This is not the first time Epstein's alleged madame has complained about her life in prison. Earlier, her lawyer said that she was being treated like "Hannibal Lecter", while her brother suggested that she was being "physically abused".Maxwell remains adamant she is innocent and has consistently raised questions about whether her upcoming trial will be fair. The jury selection is set to begin on Monday, with the six-week trial to kick off on 29 November.The trial will particularly focus on recent testimony made by one of Epstein's alleged sex trafficking victims, Virginia Roberts Giuffre. Giuffre, under oath, testified that she was sexually abused by Prince Andrew - who has been condemned for his ties with Epstein - when she was 17. The embattled UK royal has consistently denied wrongdoing, claiming that he had an alibi for the day the alleged sexual intercourse took place.Aside from Epstein and Prince Andrew, Giuffre provided testimony on Maxwell, describing her as a "monster" and stating that she orchestrated Epstein's pedophilic sex ring. "She's vicious, pure evil. Epstein was a sick pedophile but Ghislaine was the mastermind", Giuffre stated of Maxwell.Maxwell has remained under federal custody since her July 2020 arrest at a 156-acre property in Bradford, New Hampshire. Court documents later revealed that FBI agents were able to track down the former socialite by tapping the data on her cellphone.

https://sputniknews.com/20211113/feds-reportedly-want-to-ban-ghislaine-maxwells-lawyers-from-claiming-she-was-victim-of-epstein-1090708107.html

mandrake If you cant do the time dont do the crime - most certainly a willing acolyte of mossads epstain honey-trap operation! 5

Rade Stojkovic would conditions of Julian assange satisfy her? 4

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society, ghislaine maxwell, jeffrey epstein, prison, sex trafficking ring
https://sputniknews.com/20211113/judge-in-rittenhouse-case-reportedly-receives-threatening-emails-1090709743.html

Judge in Rittenhouse Case Reportedly Receives Threatening Emails

Judge in Rittenhouse Case Reportedly Receives Threatening Emails

The trial of Kyle Rittenhouse - a US teenager who shot two people dead and injured another last year in Kenosha and claimed he was only defending himself - has... 13.11.2021, Sputnik International

2021-11-13T15:25+0000

2021-11-13T15:25+0000

2021-11-13T15:25+0000

us

threats

judge

kyle rittenhouse

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Bruce Schroeder, who is the judge in the Kyle Rittenhouse case, appears to have gained some haters, as he has received several threatening emails, according to The Daily Mail.Apart from insults and criticism, Schroeder has also reportedly received threats aimed at his family, his children in particular. One of the emails cited by the Daily Mail referred to how Schroeder prohibited the prosecutor to call those shot by Rittenhouse "victims".Other messages slam Schroeder as a "racist", claiming that under his black court robe he "wear[s] a white robe of the [Ku Klux] klan"."There is no way a fair trial can be heard under your supervision. Better yet, resign", the email continues."Enjoy your term, judge, its going to be your LAST", one message read. "If I ever meet you in person, I fully intend to spit directly into your face, regardless the cost. Youre disgusting".According to the report, while some of the messages were anonymous, others were signed with full names.Schroeder himself told the Washington Examiner that over the course of the trial, he and his staffers have received "thousands of communications" and promised to "deal" with those who sent the threatening messages.Schroeder drew massive media and online attention after Thursday's court proceedings, which offered up a lot of other spicy moments. Rittenhouse, accused of murder, attempted murder, and unlawful possession of a dangerous weapon, broke into tears when delivering his testimony. Schroeder, in his turn, lashed out at prosecutor Thomas Binger, telling him "Don't get brazen with me!" after Binger questioned Rittenhouse about deadly force laws.The judge's phone also rang during the proceeding with the ringtone "God Bless the USA" by Lee Greenwood.Rittenhouse's legal team insists that he was defending himself and is seeking a mistrial with prejudice - a motion which, if greenlighted by the court, would make it impossible for the prosecutors to appeal the decision. The prosecution, in its turn, asserts that Rittenhouse - who was then 17 years old, travelled to Wisconsin from Illinois claiming that he wanted to help protect locals from violent protesters - was looking for trouble. It was also brought to the court's attention that Rittenhouse ended up being the only one who shot someone that night, as the city of Kenosha was rattled by violent protests against police brutality.

https://sputniknews.com/20211110/rosenbaum-threatened-my-life-twice-says-rittenhouse-as-he-takes-the-stand-1090630849.html

yaridanjo There is no justice, because all three of Kyle's assaulters were jewish. THAT IS WHY KYLE IS ON TRIAL! 3

vot tak The title of this article misrepresents the content of it and so does the writer of the emails she quote. The only one quoted that threatens the judge is by the person who says they want to spit in his face. A very mild threat, not anything near the dishonest hype bedenko promotes. The other emails quoted are not threatening and are either hate expressions or genuine anger over the bias this judge is exhibiting. Thumbs down, dittoheads. 0

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us, threats, judge, kyle rittenhouse
https://sputniknews.com/20211113/lachin-corridor-linking-nagorno-karabakh-armenia-reopens-after-incident-1090703454.html

Lachin Corridor Linking Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia Reopens After Incident

Lachin Corridor Linking Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia Reopens After Incident

YEREVAN (Sputnik) - The Stepanakert-Lachin Highway connecting Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia has reopened after temporarily being closed due to an incident... 13.11.2021, Sputnik International

2021-11-13T08:42+0000

2021-11-13T08:42+0000

2021-11-13T08:42+0000

world

nagorno-karabakh conflict

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Earlier in the day, an unidentified person drove up to Azeri soldiers, threw what appeared to be a grenade in their direction, prompting the soldiers to open fire, the news agency Artsakh Press reported.The international road Stepanakert - Shushi - Berdzor [Lachin] is open again in both directions, the media outlet said, adding that Russian peacekeepers will ensure free and safe traffic in the area.The conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh flared up in September 2020, and the region saw the most serious escalation of the protracted standoff in years. The hostilities ended with a Russia-brokered trilateral truce, in which Azerbaijan and Armenia agreed to a ceasefire and exchange of prisoners and bodies of the dead. In addition, the Kalbajar, Lachin, and part of the Agdam District were handed over to Azerbaijan. Russian peacekeepers have been deployed to the region to ensure the implementation of the truce.

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world, nagorno-karabakh conflict
Lukashenko's Spokeswoman on Possible Talk With Merkel on Migrants: Always Ready for Dialog

MINSK (Sputnik) - Belarusian presidential spokeswoman Natalya Eismont told Sputnik on Saturday that the Belarusian side is always ready for a dialogue with European politicians on resolving the migration crisis.

"I will tell you that we have always been ready, we are ready now, and we will be ready to discuss it. That was not us who ruined this dialogue", Eismont said when asked about the possibility of a talk between Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Earlier in the day, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Lukashenko and Merkel must have a conversation and expressed hope that it will happen soon.
https://sputniknews.com/20211113/oklahoma-national-guard-defies-dc-mandate-as-governor-replaces-forces-pro-vaccine-commander-1090706162.html

Oklahoma National Guard Defies DC Mandate as Governor Replaces Force's Pro-Vaccine Commander

Oklahoma National Guard Defies DC Mandate as Governor Replaces Force's Pro-Vaccine Commander

US President Joe Biden previously issued a vaccination mandate affecting all government employees and contractors, while Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin... 13.11.2021, Sputnik International

2021-11-13T11:06+0000

2021-11-13T11:06+0000

2021-11-13T11:06+0000

us

vaccination

covid-19

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Opponents of mandatory vaccination in the Oklahoma National Guard have breathed a sigh of relief after the incoming head of the force, Army Brigadier General Thomas Mancino, announced that the nationwide mandate will not affect them.The new adjutant general, appointed by Governor Kevin Stitt ahead of schedule, released a memo, in which he noted that the federal mandate does not include the National Guard since it reports to the state unless mobilised by the Pentagon.While the local National Guard indeed remains under state control until mobilised by the White House as per federal laws, it is not entirely clear whether it excludes the force from the vaccination mandate.Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt also asked the Pentagon on 2 November not to enforce the mandate on the local National Guard calling the requirement to get COVID-19 jabs to continue service "irresponsible". He noted that at least 10% of the guard's servicemen refused to take the shot.At the same time, Stitt ordered to appoint Mancino ahead of scheduled rotation on 15 January, thus replacing Army Major General Michael Thompson, who was a strong proponent of the vaccination mandate. The governor, however, rejected allegations that the move was prompted by Thompson's position on COVID vaccinations. He argued that it was done to uphold the "continuity of operations" without delving into the specifics of the matter.The US Army remains the least vaccinated division of the nation's armed forces, with roughly 7% of servicemen not having received even a single shot of a COVID-19 vaccine. Acting in line with the current administration's agenda, Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin on 25 August ordered all US service personnel and Pentagon employees to get a COVID jab. He justified the move by the need to maintain the operational capability of the forces, which could be incapacitated by sudden outbreaks of COVID-19 in their ranks.A month later, US President Joe Biden issued a federal vaccination mandate affecting all government employees and contractors. He later signed another executive order, mandating all large US companies to vaccinate their employees, but its implementation was suspended due to the order being challenged in court.

https://sputniknews.com/20211108/white-house-defends-bidens-vaccine-mandate-for-us-workers-after-measure-halted-by-court-1090553644.html

Thomas Turk They wake up.. COVID is an engineered spike protein bio weapon (Dr. Francis Boyle), and the injection.. a slow acting bio weapon. (Dr. Robert Young). . .I think its highly likely that the next phase will involve death [from Covid vaccine] on a scale which will dwarf the claims of covid-19 deaths to date.  Dr. Mike Yeadon, former Pfizer Vice President and Chief Science Officer. Global Research. 2

TruePatriot Outstanding. Well done. 1

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us, vaccination, covid-19
https://sputniknews.com/20211113/putin-recalls-how-ukraine-cut-off-gas-supplies-to-eu-in-2008-over-price-row-1090712500.html

Putin Recalls How Ukraine Cut Off Gas Supplies to EU in 2008 Over Price Row

Putin Recalls How Ukraine Cut Off Gas Supplies to EU in 2008 Over Price Row

A gas crisis that left Europe without sufficient natural gas supplies for nearly two weeks erupted under the Viktor Yushchenko administration in Ukraine, which... 13.11.2021, Sputnik International

2021-11-13T16:33+0000

2021-11-13T16:33+0000

2021-11-13T16:33+0000

europe

russia

ukraine

nord stream 2

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Russian President Vladimir Putin has recalled that even prior to the threats of his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko, there were precedents where transit countries blocked Russian gas supplies to Europe. He namely brought up a gas crisis that unfolded in 2008 and 2009 between Russia and Ukraine, resulting, at one point, in a cessation of supplies to the EU.Putin recalled that the two countries were stuck in "endless disputes" over the gas price and could not come to an agreement for a long time. It all led to Kiev eventually stopping Russian gas supplies to Europe through its territory.Recently, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko threatened to do the same with another pipeline  Yamal-Europe  if the EU proceeds with slapping his country with more economic sanctions. Brussels threatened Minsk with new economic measures after Warsaw and several other states baselessly accused Belarus of facilitating the migrant crisis on its border with Poland.Putin, however, expressed hope that Lukashenko would not proceed to go through with his threat. The Russian president said that his Belarusian counterpart never discussed the move with him and promised to talk to Lukashenko about it. At the same time, Putin suggested that the Belarusian president could have issued the threat in the heat of the moment.Ukrainian Government Stops Gas Transit Amid Row With RussiaThe crisis that Putin recalled started back in 2008, when the Ukrainian government refused to sign an agreement with Russia's Gazprom on a new gas price for 2009, which was substantially lower than the market one in Europe. At the same time, RosUkrEnergo, which was partially controlled by Ukrainian oligarchs and served as a middleman in Russia-Ukraine gas sales, racked up $2.4 billion in debt to Gazprom, purportedly due to corruption.Amid the failure to reach an agreement in the talks, Gazprom and Moscow threatened in December to cut gas supplies to Ukraine unless it would repay the entire debt and agree to buy the blue fuel at European prices. After the threat was implemented in January 2009, Ukraine responded by siphoning a portion of the Russian gas heading to Europe through its territory. This led to a full stop of transit on 7 January. Kiev repeatedly denied it stole any gas.The two countries eventually agreed on new prices for transit and gas for Ukraine itself at $232 per thousand cubic metres. While the transit to Europe was supposed to resume on 13 January, due to the actions of the Ukrainian authorities and state gas company Naftogaz, this only happened on 19 January 2009, thus leaving European countries without a significant portion of Russian gas supplies for almost three weeks. The incident prompted Moscow to boost the construction of alternative pipelines that could serve as backups, including Nord Stream.

https://sputniknews.com/20211113/ye-compares-himself-to-young-putin-heres-why-1090705049.html

ukraine

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europe, russia, ukraine, nord stream 2
https://sputniknews.com/20211113/russia-slams-us-and-natos-aggressive-military-activity-in-black-sea-as-threat-to-region-1090707600.html

Russia Slams US and NATO's 'Aggressive Military Activity' in Black Sea as Threat to Region

Russia Slams US and NATO's 'Aggressive Military Activity' in Black Sea as Threat to Region

President Putin addressed US activity in the Black Sea earlier in the day, noting that the use of NATO strategic aviation near Russian territory is a serious... 13.11.2021, Sputnik International

2021-11-13T11:52+0000

2021-11-13T11:52+0000

2021-11-13T12:17+0000

black sea

russia

us

nato

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The Russian Aerospace Forces detected four reconnaissance flights near the country's border on Saturday, the Defence Ministry has said. Moscow has also slammed the hostile activities of the bloc, stressing they are not contributing to stability in the Black Sea region.Those statements come as a response to drills in the Black Sea, held by the US, Turkey, Romania, and Ukraine. The drills occurred amid escalating activity by NATO nations in the Mediterranean and near Russia's borders.Moscow has repeatedly slammed NATO's activities in the area as a provocation to spur tensions and pursue a policy of containment of Russia.

Golem Russia has only itself to blame I'm afraid by being too accomodating and "reasonable" towards the western psychopaths which they then interpret as weakness, during the days of the Soviet Union NATO would never have DARED to do half of the things they are now routinely doing.... 4

ema.ruv CERA PIU' RISPETTO PER LA RUSSIA QUANDO CERA L URSS. RUSSIA + CINA + IRAN + VENEZUELA + CUBA + BIELLORUSSIA etc.. DOVREBBERO ORANIZZARE MOLTE ESERCITAZIONI MILITARI SUI CONFINI U.S.A., EUROPA, UK, MEDITERRANEO. LA RUSSIA DOVREBBE A QUESTOI PUNTO PENSARE DI ARMARE SERIAMENTE CUBA COME CONTRAPPESO...!!! 1

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black sea, russia, us, nato
https://sputniknews.com/20211113/turkish-court-extends-remand-of-israeli-couple-detained-for-allegedly-photographing-erdogans-home--1090699303.html

Turkish Court Extends Remand of Israeli Couple Detained for Allegedly Photographing Erdogan's Home

Turkish Court Extends Remand of Israeli Couple Detained for Allegedly Photographing Erdogan's Home

Earlier this week, it was reported that an Israeli couple had been detained by Turkish authorities after photographing the home of Turkish President Recep... 13.11.2021, Sputnik International

2021-11-13T02:18+0000

2021-11-13T02:18+0000

2021-11-13T02:14+0000

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A Turkish court ruled on Friday that the couple - identified by Israeli media as Mordy and Natali Oknin - must remain in custody for an extra 20 days after allegedly photographing Erdogan's home. Nir Jaslowitz, the attorney representing the couple, asserted that the couple was on an "innocent trip." It was initially presumed that the couple would be immediately deported back to their home in Modi'in, Israel."All in all, this is a couple [who are] bus drivers. I ask that you release them immediately to their home in Israel," stated the couple's lawyer. Prosecutors have argued that the couple was conducting espionage when they photographed the Turkish president's quarters. Citing a representative of the Turkish prosecutor's office, lawyers claimed that the couple snapped photos of several palace security stands and cameras. The pictures were then sent to a third party, prosecutors asserted. Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid reportedly met with the family on Friday to inform them that the government requested an urgent consular visit with the couple. Lapid also insisted in a same-day statement that the pair do not work for any Israeli agency.

vot tak I doubt craighead's support for these mossad agents will help them much. Looks like the turks did their homework. Too bad, zios. :-D 2

greg1242 Arrest these Mossadniks and charge them spying! 2

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turkey, israel
https://sputniknews.com/20211113/unlikely-that-tehran-was-behind-drone-attack-on-iraqi-pm-us-officials-say-1090715801.html

Unlikely That Tehran Was Behind Drone Attack on Iraqi PM, US Officials Say

Unlikely That Tehran Was Behind Drone Attack on Iraqi PM, US Officials Say

On November 7, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi survived what appeared to be an assassination attempt in which at least two weaponized quadcopter drones... 13.11.2021, Sputnik International

2021-11-13T21:48+0000

2021-11-13T21:48+0000

2021-11-13T21:44+0000

us

iraq

iran

drones

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armed drones

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As Iraqi officials continue to probe the Sunday assassination attempt, current and former US officials are pushing back on the possibility that the attack was ordered by the Iranian government. Speaking to NBC News this week, former US Ambassador to Iraq Douglas Silliman argued that it is extremely unlikely that Tehran was behind the attack on Kadhim, as such a move would likely trigger a chain of undesired violence on its border. "They simply want an Iraq that is off balance enough that they can have significant influence, both political and economic," he noted. An unnamed senior US defense official asserted to the outlet that Tehran has failed to maintain its regional influence since the January 2020 assassination of General Qasem Soleimani, Quds Force commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Norm Roule, who served in the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for 34 years, proclaimed that this is a "problem for everyone," as competition among militias in the region will likely continue amid a "political evolution" in Tehran. Roule suggested that Iraqi and Western forces should improve their intelligence on "Iran's proxies in Iraq" if the US wants to protect top Iraqi officials. The former CIA official also asserted that the group behind the attack may have been "created, trained, sustained, and [guided]" by Tehran. "If we are to be committed to Iraq's stability and preventing similar attacks in the future, the US and other partners must improve their understanding of militia plans and intentions," Roule asserted. The remarks from current and former US officials come days after Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Said Khatibzadeh suggested that such an attack would be in the interest of US forces. "They have sought to achieve their sinister regional goals by creating terrorist groups that seek to stir sedition."

https://sputniknews.com/20211108/iraqi-security-forces-ask-why-us-defences-in-baghdad-werent-working-during-uav-attack-on-pms-home-1090574011.html

None of this Matters Could be, but could have also been his bosses in Tel Aviv 7

vot tak "Unlikely That Tehran Was Behind Drone Attack on Iraqi PM, US Officials Say" ... We were. 4

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Evan Craighead

us, iraq, iran, drones, uav, armed drones, assassination attempt
https://sputniknews.com/20211113/us-court-of-appeals-judge-rejects-white-house-motion-to-reinstate-vaccination-mandate-1090714911.html

US Court of Appeals Judge Rejects White House Motion to Reinstate Vaccination Mandate

US Court of Appeals Judge Rejects White House Motion to Reinstate Vaccination Mandate

Last week, a New Orleans court suspended the implementation of US President Joe Biden's executive order directing all business with over 100 employees to... 13.11.2021, Sputnik International

2021-11-13T19:40+0000

2021-11-13T19:40+0000

2021-11-13T19:36+0000

us

vaccination

covid-19

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The fifth US circuit court of appeals has rejected a motion by both the US Departments of Justice and Labor to lift a stay order from the federal vaccination mandate for big business issued earlier by US President Joe Biden. A three-judge panel has ruled that keeping the stay order in place was "firmly in the public interest".Panel Judge Kurt D. Engelhardt clarified his position in the ruling by noting that the mandate had affected swathes of the population and had potential negative effects on the US economy and business.Engelhardt further suggested that the provisions of Biden's vaccination mandate, which require businesses with over 100 employees to vaccinate their workers or test them weekly for COVID-19, could potentially be in violation of a commerce clause in the US Constitution. The mandate potentially imposed hefty fines on businesses, essentially making them enforce regulatory functions of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), according to the judge.The judge noted that businesses faced risks of significant fines for failure to comply and that Biden's order threatened to, in his words, "decimate their workforces and business prospects".The latter possibly referred to already emerging protests and strikes by workers at some companies, particularly among those who refuse to be vaccinated. They first emerged after Biden implemented the first part of the mandate that affected federal workers and contractors, some of whom resigned or were suspended, because they refused to be vaccinated against the highly-infectious, deadly disease by the November deadline.The second part of the mandate reportedly affects businesses across the country, directing them to finish vaccinations of their workforce by 4 January, 2022. Last week, a judge in a New Orleans court put a stay on that order. The US Departments of Justice and of Labor appealed the decision, pointing out that failing to implement a vaccination mandate in the nation will "cost dozens or even hundreds of lives per day".

https://sputniknews.com/20211113/oklahoma-national-guard-defies-dc-mandate-as-governor-replaces-forces-pro-vaccine-commander-1090706162.html

Gone I used to think Americans were stupid. Now I see they live in a dictatorship. They are all in "a prison of their own device". You may never leave... 0

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us, vaccination, covid-19
https://sputniknews.com/20211113/us-should-not-send-wrong-signal-to-taiwan-pro-independence-forces-beijing-warns-1090701220.html

US Should Not Send Wrong Signal to 'Taiwan Pro-Independence Forces', Beijing Warns

US Should Not Send Wrong Signal to 'Taiwan Pro-Independence Forces', Beijing Warns

Tensions around Taiwan have been growing in recent months, after US and EU delegations visited the island, which Beijing considers a breakaway territory. 13.11.2021, Sputnik International

2021-11-13T05:22+0000

2021-11-13T05:22+0000

2021-11-13T05:52+0000

asia & pacific

us

china

taiwan

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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has warned Washington against backing pro-Taiwan independence forces, saying that the US is sending them "wrong signals". During virtual talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his American counterpart Joe Biden, Wang stressed that Washington should fulfil its commitments regarding Taiwan, and not pursue an attempt to support its independence.This statement comes after Biden pledged to defend Taiwan against any aggression, hinting at Beijing, while Taipei admitted it has hosted American troops on the island. At the same time, China criticised the US and European countries for trying to boost their contacts with Taiwan as meddling in China's internal business.Taiwan, which officially calls itself the "Republic of China", has been governed by a separate government since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949. Beijing considers Taiwan to be a breakaway Chinese province, while the island maintains that it is an autonomous country. Taipei has political and economic relations with several other nations that recognise its sovereignty.

Hess Taiwan is inseparable part of China and the Chinese people. 9

totundrac just like Guam or Puerto Rico? 4

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asia & pacific, us, china, taiwan
https://sputniknews.com/20211113/western-kabul-hit-by-explosion-source-says-1090709024.html

Blast Rocks Shi'ite Area in Western Kabul, Leaving at Least One Dead

Blast Rocks Shi'ite Area in Western Kabul, Leaving at Least One Dead

The country has recently been hit by a chain of blasts targeting mosques and other public places that have claimed dozens of lives and injured even more. 13.11.2021, Sputnik International

2021-11-13T13:08+0000

2021-11-13T13:08+0000

2021-11-13T14:26+0000

kabul

asia & pacific

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A powerful explosion hit the Dasht-e-Barchi district of the Afghan capital, a source told Sputnik on Saturday. According to Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman of the Taliban*, the blast killed at least one person and two more were injured Multiple videos purportedly taken at the site following the blast have been shared online.The blast is yet another terror attack targeting a Shia-populated area (over 90% of Dasht-e-Barchi's population belongs to the Hazara ethnic group, who are predominantly Shia Muslims).Terrorists have previously staged explosions at three Shia mosques across the country over the past weeks, killing up to 130 people in total: at least three were killed by a blast in Nangarhar, 63 in Kandahar, and over 60 in Kunduz.Responsibility for those attacks was claimed by a Daesh-linked* terror group. The situation in the country remains uncertain since the Taliban* seized power in August. The movement boosted its presence amid the US troop withdrawal from the country earlier this year and managed to seize the capital on 15 August, declaring an end to the two-decade-long war. * The Taliban is under UN sanctions over terrorist activities.* Daesh (also known as Islamic State/ISIS/IS) is a terrorist group banned in Russia and many other countries.

Norman Peterson No infidels for the Sunni to kill.... 0

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kabul, asia & pacific, afghanistan, explosion, blast
https://sputniknews.com/20211113/what-goals-are-dc--kiev-pursuing-by-peddling-story-of-russias-imminent-invasion-of-ukraine-1090707195.html

What Goals are DC & Kiev Pursuing by Peddling Story of Russia's 'Imminent Invasion' of Ukraine?

What Goals are DC & Kiev Pursuing by Peddling Story of Russia's 'Imminent Invasion' of Ukraine?

US officials had warned their European counterparts that Russia may be planning a potential invasion of Ukraine, Bloomberg reported on 11 November, falling... 13.11.2021, Sputnik International

2021-11-13T12:16+0000

2021-11-13T12:16+0000

2021-11-13T12:16+0000

black sea

world

europe

us

opinion

russia

ukraine

jens stoltenberg

antony blinken

military exercise

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During a Wednesday meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart, Secretary of State Antony Blinken justified Washington's suspicions by mentioning Russia's "playbook", admitting, however, that the US has zero "clarity into Moscow's intentions". The US secretary of state referred to the 2014 post-coup events in Ukraine  when Crimea held a peninsula-wide referendum on reunification with Russia  as an example of Moscow's "invasion" politics.Western Media Crying Wolf Over Potential Russian 'Invasion'Moscow has nothing to gain from war, echoes Dan Lazare, investigative journalist and author of "America's Undeclared War", stressing that the accusations against Russia are ridiculous. Kiev, however, does benefit from a buildup in tensions, according to him."The goal is more US aid, more US military support, and more American muscle aimed at forcing Moscow into some sort of humiliating retreat  or so the Zelensky government hopes and believes", Lazare says.This is not the first time the US and its NATO allies have sounded the alarm over Russia's alleged plans to enter its neighbour's territory. In mid-March 2021, western media circulated warnings about Moscow's potential preparations for a war with Ukraine, citing internal movements of Russian troops within the country's western regions. In particular, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg dubbed Russia's internal manoeuvres "the largest massing of Russian troops since the illegal annexation of Crimea". However, none of the fears cited by the western press has translated into reality.In October 2021, US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin revived the debate over Ukraine's NATO membership and groundlessly accused Russia of "occupying" Crimea and "perpetuating the war in eastern Ukraine". For its part, Moscow warned the US that any expansion of NATO military installations in Ukraine would cross its "red lines".Last week, 15 GOP House lawmakers called upon Joe Biden to increase the amount of lethal aid for the Kiev government and deploy American forces to the Black Sea. "Russia's behaviour is becoming more aggressive, and it has intensified rhetoric critical of Ukraine on topics ranging from Ukraine's military modernisation and military partnerships to Ukraine's admission into NATO", the congressmen's letter said as quoted by the New York Post.US-NATO Drills in the Black SeaEarlier this month, the US Sixth Fleet announced that its flagship, USS Mount Whitney, was heading to the Black Sea for routine maritime drills with the nation's NATO allies and partners. The Russian Defence Ministry noted on 11 November that US and NATO military activities in the Black Sea region had dramatically increased.In particular, four NATO reconnaissance planes were detected and escorted by Russian anti-aircraft missile forces. The transatlantic alliance's unscheduled drills in close proximity to Russia's borders have been called a threat to regional stability by Moscow.The root cause of Washington's belligerent rhetoric and brazen maneouvres is that "the US military/security complex needs Russia as an enemy for its power and profit and for its hold on Europe", highlights the former Reagan official. "President Trump threatened this need by saying he intended to restore 'normal relations' with Russia and was removed from office", Dr Roberts adds.Poland-Belarus Border CrisisThe situation has been exacerbated by the migrant crisis on the Poland-Belarus border, says Dan Lazare. Warsaw has already blamed Russia and Belarus for the influx of migrants, while Ursula von der Leyen described the situation as a "hybrid attack" against the EU. For its part, Washington is mulling over a fresh batch of sanctions against companies and state actors allegedly involved in transferring Middle Eastern and Central Asian refugees to Poland's border. Moscow has dismissed the allegations as false and beyond the pale, while Minsk explained that it cannot hold the refugees due to the pressure of western sanctions on the Belarusian economy.Lazare notes that the refugee crisis was originally caused by the US-NATO invasion of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya, and a proxy war on Syria. In addition, the US created further chaos by backing a coup d'etat in Kiev, the investigative journalist underscores. "Yet now [Washington] insists that the problem is exclusively that of Belarus", he stresses.The investigative journalist insists that conflict must be avoided at all costs, adding that "it's hard not to be pessimistic about how all this will end up".

https://sputniknews.com/20211020/ukraine-nato-membership-why-us-eu-wont-test-russias-red-lines-despite-pentagon-chiefs-bravado-1090076490.html

https://sputniknews.com/20211020/yalta-20-why-us-military-analysts-urge-biden-to-avoid-standoff-with-russia-china-at-all-costs-1090064167.html

https://sputniknews.com/20211111/nato-maneuvers-in-black-sea-show-alliances-longing-to-step-up-military-tensions-in-region-1090664129.html

https://sputniknews.com/20211112/scholars-eu-poland-need-to-talk-with-minsk-instead-of-fanning-enmity-against-belarus--russia-1090688744.html

Golem To justify a build up of their own forces in the region of course, same way they justified their presence in Iraq and Syria by saying they are there to "fight" ISIS. 7

Uninformed Like Golem says , The Excuse . 6

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Ekaterina Blinova

black sea, world, europe, us, opinion, russia, ukraine, jens stoltenberg, antony blinken, military exercise, naval drills, nato
https://sputniknews.com/20211113/ye-compares-himself-to-young-putin-heres-why-1090705049.html

Ye Compares Himself to Young Putin, Here's Why

Ye Compares Himself to Young Putin, Here's Why

One may admire rapper Ye - or, more commonly, Kanye West - for his world famous hip-hop music or designer items, while others know more about his recent... 13.11.2021, Sputnik International

2021-11-13T10:19+0000

2021-11-13T10:19+0000

2021-11-13T10:19+0000

vladimir putin

putin

kanye west

rapper

society

viral

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Kanye West, who has now changed his name to Ye, has declared that he is no less than a "young Putin" when it comes to culture. Speaking on Revolt TV's "Drink Champs" podcast on Thursday, the rapper did not just make the audacious comparison, but also provided an explanation.The claim threw the hosts for a loop, causing them to clarify whether he indeed meant "Vladimir Putin, the Russian president" - which he immediately confirmed.Social media users appreciated the comparison as well, even though it did not appear to surprise them too much.Comparing the pictures of Ye and actual young Putin, some users even ironically suggested the two could be "twins".Others chuckled and suggested Ye may compare himself to other Russian presidents too.West and politics are not exactly strangers, since the rapper appears to be very keen on the topic. Not only is Ye a vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump (something he recently reaffirmed), this isn't the first time he's touched upon the issue of Russian politics. In 2018, American analyst Eric Garland voiced concerns that Kanye was a "Kremlin agent" - something that, according to him, would explain the rapper's controversial statements and political views.

Uninformed Completely devoid of Reality , Alien robot just like its friends like Rihanna and that JAY-z , they all know each other from a "Before" , Twain and its 1st husband and they managed ac-dc , twain reckoned its Egyptian and the other half was Mutt the pharaoh , it's all in the propaganda videos and lyrics . 4

monti This is why the US is living in the twilight zone right now... The US is a zombie empire ... walking around the world, eating whatever shi..t it can eat just to keep taking others down with it..."Ye" in the US thinks he's Putin? ... whatever... 4

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https://sputniknews.com/20211113/yemeni-houthis-down-us-made-saudi-coalition-reconnaissance-drone-1090709453.html

Yemeni Houthis Down US-Made Saudi Coalition Reconnaissance Drone

Yemeni Houthis Down US-Made Saudi Coalition Reconnaissance Drone

It is still unclear what exactly the fighters used to shoot down the UAV, but a Houthi spokesman said that details of the operation to down the drone will be... 13.11.2021, Sputnik International

2021-11-13T13:45+0000

2021-11-13T13:45+0000

2021-11-13T13:45+0000

yemen

saudi arabia

middle east

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Yemeni Houthi fighters have reported downing a US-made Boeing Insitu ScanEagle drone that the Saudi-led military coalition used for reconnaissance missions in the oil-rich Ma'rib Province. A spokesmann for the Houthi rebel forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, said the fighters used "suitable" a surface-to-air missile to down the drone.Saree said in a Twitter post that more details about the operation that resulted in the downing of the drone, as well as footage of the incident, will be released later.This is the second ScanEagle drone to be downed this week by the Houthis, with the last UAV shot from the skies on 9 November. The ScanEagles were bought from the US by Saudi Arabia, which has been leading the military efforts of Gulf states to push back Houthis troops in Yemen for over five years with little success. Riyadh and other members of the coalition invaded Yemen after the Houthis, a local tribe and armed movement, overthrew the government and seized the capital of Sana'a.The invasion failed to reinstate exiled Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh or to substantially push back the Houthis, who launched drone strikes against Saudi Arabia in response to its military operation in the country. The fighting and coalition-initiated blockade of the country has since resulted in a humanitarian disaster, with most regions suffering from a lack of food and other basic necessities.Several foreign governments, especially Iran, which Riyadh accuses of aiding the Houthis, have called on the Saudi-led coalition to end the military campaign in the country and withdraw its troops, citing the humanitarian situation. However, the military operation continues to rage on.

https://sputniknews.com/20210911/us-inexplicably-pulls-patriot-missiles-out-of-saudi-arabia-amid-houthi-missile-and-drone-attacks-1088980127.html

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The horsemen from Monticello Raceway hosted their annual U.S. Armed Forces Veterans Race on Wednesday, November 10 to benefit the Sullivan County Federation for the Homeless Veterans Food Pantry. The Monticello Harness Horsemens Association and the North American Gentlemen Drivers Association made a generous donation.

In the winners circle after the fourth race, Kathy Kreiter, Director of the Sullivan County Federation for the Homeless, was presented with two cheques: one for $1,000 from the Monticello Harness Horsemens Association and another for $2,000 from the North American Gentlemen Drivers Association.



Alan Schwartz, president of the Monticello Harness Horsemens Association (L), his wife, Alicia (R), and Kathy Kreiter, Director of the Sullivan County Federation for the Homeless (C) Alan Schwartz, president of the Monticello Harness Horsemens Association (L), his wife, Alicia (R), and Kathy Kreiter, Director of the Sullivan County Federation for the Homeless (C)

Former veteran Alan Schwartz said, The timing of the donation works well as it will provide support to veterans just in time for Thanksgiving.

Makin Trouble K won the race in a 2:00.4 - $3.70 wire-to-wire effort, defeating Southwind Larado (Michael Merton) and Explosive (Kyle Dibenedetto). Makin Trouble K was driven to victory by Bruce Aldrich Jr., who also later scored with Vaganova. The son of Rose Run Hooligan Aa is trained by Laura Perino.

Bruce Aldrich Jr. is the second leading dash winning driver this season at Monticello with 183 wins. Leading the pack, with 218 wins, is Michael Merton.

(Monticello)
Officials with the Prince County Horsemen's Club wish to advise members of the organization's upcoming annual general meeting.

The annual general meeting for the Prince County Horsemen's Club will be held at Red Shores Summerside at 7 p.m. on December 13, 2021.

All members are encouraged to attend.
Chinese Climate Envoy Xie Zhenhua told Kerry in the hallway: I think the current draft is more close in a conversation that AP witnessed. When Kerry asked him if he felt better about it, Xie answered: Yes, I feel better about it because Alok Sharma is a smart guy.

No agreement was ready by the 6 p.m. local time scheduled end of the conference. And sometimes that helps diplomats get in a more deal-making mood.

The negotiating culture is not to make the hard compromises until the meeting goes into extra innings, as we now have done, said long-time climate talks observer Alden Meyer of the European think tank E3G. But the U.K. presidency is still going to have to make a lot of people somewhat unhappy to get the comprehensive agreement we need out of Glasgow.

Three sticking points were making people unhappy on Friday: cash, coal and timing.

A crunch issue is the question of financial aid for poor countries to cope with climate change. Rich nations failed to provide them with $100 billion annually by 2020, as agreed, causing considerable anger among developing countries going into the talks.
The state dashboard has been adapted to show a breakdown of pediatric cases to better inform people, she said. On average, children are making up about one-third of new cases reported each week in the Panhandle.

Because information on local hospitalizations has been limited, Schnell said she also thinks some parents arent aware that there have been hospitalizations of children suffering from COVID-19 in the Panhandle. Last fall, there were also several children who suffered from multi-inflammatory syndrome in children, another serious side effect of COVID-19 that can be prevented by children getting vaccinated.

I think some people dont think that it happens here unless they hear about a specific case, she said, saying that the public health department is not able to release those numbers. But it does happen, and it is here in the Panhandle. I think people often think that its not happening here or its not in the Midwest, or Nebraska.
As a Scottsbluff High School dropout, Oscar Gonzalez didnt feel like he had much going for him. Gonzalez was from a migrant-worker family. He was not very good at education and not dedicated to school.

I think I needed a big life-changing event to get me out of my environment, to kind of reset my thought process. The Army active duty did that for me. Gonzalez said.

When Gonzalez joined in 2007, he knew the country was at war, joining was not only an opportunity to change his lifestyle but also to serve his country that was going to war.

It wasnt a question of if, it was a question of when and that was a driving motivator, to be able to give back to this country, he said.

Basic training began in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, for Gonzalez, he then moved on to Airborne School where he became a parachutist. Gonzalez was first assigned to a military police brigade in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Basically, this was like infantry, we never did any kind of police work, Gonzalez said. We lived out in the woods and did a bunch of training.

In 2009, Gonzalez had his first deployment serving under the 82nd Airborne Division that was assigned to the Global Response Team.
In 1957, his time in the Marine Corps came to an end. He left with the rank of corporal, and said he learned a lot from the experience. But the Corps was not quite ready for him to leave.

I kept getting letters from the Marines wanting me to come back...and I just couldnt afford to do that.

His brother recommended an alternative: joining him in the Army National Guard. West switched branches and did just that. He would remain with the National Guard for the next 24 years, only leaving in 1982.

Due to his time there, he ascended to an E-9 rank of command sergeant major. For four years, he served in the 34th Infantry Division. Then, he spent the next 20 training with different types of artillery. His unit was preparing for the ongoing Vietnam War, he said. Unlike others in the state, his was never sent overseas.

Once West left the service, he joined the American Legion, a position he has held up to the present. West was promoted to senior vice commander within the legion in just his first week. He became the sergeant of arms for the state of Nebraska for a time, as well.

I always went out to the parades ... always went out to the cemetery. We had a program out there. I enjoyed it, West said of his Legion experience. I got a lot out of it.
She left the service after her time in San Antonio to pursue different opportunities, leaving the friends she had made in the process. The thing about military friendships, she said, is that the bonds formed in service never really fray. A decade later, with the advent of Facebook, she was able to reunite with her former comrades.

Everybody started hopping on this sort of social media thing and all of a sudden we found ourselves reconnecting, she said. ...As a matter of fact, I have a friend I was stationed with in San Antonio reach out to me and order a gift. It was his wifes birthday ... and I shipped it, packaged it all up, and sent it across the country to them. We got on the phone and we got to talk for the first time since 1997 and it was like we were right there.

Sharp-Druckenmiller runs the Shelby Lynn Floral Design shop, which opened earlier this year within Hotel 21 & Co. in Gering. In addition to sending flowers to her military friends, she offers a 10% discount to veterans and active service members.

Im an American. Im very patriotic, she said. Im proud of our country, Im proud of our flag, Im proud of the people who have chosen to go in, because Ill tell you right now its very different than going to college.
After three years holding the post, Brills desire to live in Wyoming had him moving to Torrington in the role of Goshen County weed supervisor. This would be a position Brill would retire from after 30 years of service.

Taking that job in Wyoming was one of the best moves I ever made, Brill said. As a kid I loved plants, I was really blessed that I got that job and thoroughly loved it.

Brill also said with a grin, he was really happy when he moved on from that job to the one he is currently enjoying doing invasive plant surveys and field maps across Wyoming. The weed supervisor position, he said, trained him well. He describes his summer job as spending days mapping, writing reports and sometimes never seeing people just maybe the wild horses, Its just awesome.

He is traveling through many very rural areas scouting and recording invasive plant species as well as establishing spray blocks. Once a spray block is marked, helicopters will spray test herbicides. Brill will then re-visit the sites to establish if they are working to control invasive plants or not.
Three Minatare/Melbeta ambulance personnel were injured Friday as they responded to a reported crash Friday.

The ambulance personnel, Minatare Fire Chief Brandi Ehler and firefighters Lashae Ehler and Aden Taylor Sr., were staffing a Minatare/Melbeta Fire Department rescue unit and were responding to a report of a motor vehicle accident in which a vehicle was reported to be submerged in water near County Road 34 and County Road S, which is southeast of Minatare, Scotts Bluff County Sheriff Mark Overman said in a press release. The ambulance rolled near County Road 31 and County Road R.

Taylor and Brandi Ehler were transported to Regional West Medical Center by Valley Ambulance. Lashae Ehler was transported by Air Link to Regional West.

Lashae Ehler remained hospitalized Saturday with injuries that werent life-threatening, Overman said. Brandi Ehler and Taylor were treated and released, but will both require further medical treatment.
NEW YORK (AP)  Donald Trumps company wont have to pay hefty legal bills incurred by his former personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, who became a vocal critic of the ex-president and went to prison after pleading guilty to tax and other crimes, a New York judge ruled Friday.

Judge Joel M. Cohen threw out Cohens breach of contract lawsuit against the Trump Organization, rejecting his claims that the company had promised to cover his legal bills and finding that fees he racked up as a result of the criminal investigation into his conduct werent the companys responsibility.

Michael Cohen said in the lawsuit, filed in March 2019, that the Trump Organization owed him at least $1.9 million for the cost of his defense. The judge noted in his ruling that after the lawsuit was filed, Trumps company did go ahead and pay some of his bills.

In a nutshell, Mr. Cohens legal fees arise out of his (sometimes unlawful) service to Mr. Trump personally, to Mr. Trumps campaign, and to the Trump Foundation, but not out of his service to the business of the Trump Organization, which is the only defendant in this case, the judge wrote in his decision.

Michael Cohen and the judge are not related.
Mathew Eberius, Celina Community Police Foundation board president, left, and Karen Williams, vice president/secretary, right, volunteered on Nov. 6 at the Troubadour Festival, marking the first time volunteers with the Volunteers in Policing program were on the field.
Mooresville Police are investigating an apparent suicide of a male student in a Mooresville High School bathroom who was discovered early Wednesday morning.

Administrators notified parents around 8:35 a.m. of the incident and said the school would be releasing students at 9 a.m. for early dismissal. MGSD Chief Communications Officer Tanae McLean said she was unsure of the students age or what grade he was in. She said the discovery of the student was reported immediately to an assistant principal.

The family is in the process of being notified, McLean said.

At dismissal time Wednesday, Principal Luke Brown was heard over the loudspeaker telling students and staff there had been an incident between the gym and the performing arts center. The gym hallway was closed, Brown said. Brown also said a crisis team would be available for students in the professional development room in the Magnolia center. McLean said the counselors would be available until 3 p.m. today. For staff, counselors would also be made available.

Students will not report to school Thursday because it is a districtwide holiday honoring Veterans Day. McLean said administration has not yet discussed if class will be held Friday.
A report to the meeting Nov. 9 by Rebecca Duncan, Family Services Specialist for the County Social Services office, said the continued increase of production and use of methamphetamine are requiring removing children from homes where parents are involved with the drug and other substances.

In some cases, the children may be transferred to relatives or foster homes with the hope of returning them to their parents if they get help.

In her report to the board, County Administrator Linda Millsaps said the countys application for a grant for help in dealing with bears brought approval for $8,000, far less than requested or needed. She said it will help but other efforts are under consideration.

She also said an application for funds for the Parks Department is being reviewed to make sure it provides needed focus of safety of kids and others using the park.

Millsaps said the search for a fulltime Information Technology technician continues and the board is expanding its search. Several interviews have not yet produced a tech. The county decided to replace the current consultant with a full-time employee after a hacker infiltrated the system and data was lost.
Kaiser Permanente employees in Southwest Washington are set to strike Nov. 15 unless a deal is reached between union officials and Kaiser management.

A strike could impact multiple facilities in Southwest Washington, including the Salmon Creek, Orchards and Cascade Park medical offices and the Longview-Kelso Medical Office.

When asked for an interview Tuesday, Kaiser officials provided a written statement.

Kaiser Permanente has a responsibility to be well-prepared for the possibility of a labor disruption, the statement read. If a strike occurs, we will keep our hospitals open and continue to care for our members and patients. We will inform our members of any service changes. This could include rescheduling some appointments and surgeries.

Additionally, Kaiser officials said that in the event of a strike, some facilities and pharmacies may temporarily close and that impacted locations will be listed online along with instructions on how to fill prescriptions and reschedule appointments.

People who need to reschedule appointments will also be contacted by text, phone call or email.

However, Kaiser officials stressed that they are optimistic that an agreement will be reached before Nov. 15.

Strike notice

Nearly 3,400 nurses and other workers in Oregon and Southwest Washington voted overwhelmingly to approve a strike in October, citing concerns over Kaisers proposed 1 percent wage increase and two-tiered system that would significantly lower compensation for new hires, as well as inadequate staffing.

Kaiser officials argue that their proposals aim to lower wages because they are currently 26-39 percent above the market average. Union officials say that claim is misleading, and that the cuts would pull wages below the market average.

Unions are required to give Kaiser management 10 days notice before striking, which the Oregon Federation of Nurses & Health Professionals  the union representing Oregon and Southwest Washington Kaiser employees  did Nov. 4.

OFNHP was joined by two large West Coast unions representing Kaiser employees. Altogether, the three unions represent some 32,000 employees, and other unions are expected to follow suit, according to a statement from The Alliance of Health Care Unions, a collection of 21 unions representing Kaiser employees.

Shane Burley, an OFNHP spokesperson, estimates that some 40,000 Kaiser employees could go on strike if other unions unaffiliated with the Alliance of Health Care Unions vote to strike as well.

This could be one of the largest health care strikes in American history, Burley said.

The Alliance of Health Care Unions wants a 4 percent wage increase and to abandon the proposed two-tiered wage system. Kaiser management has since upped its wage offer to 2 percent, which the Alliance deemed insulting in a press release. Negotiations will continue until an agreement is reached, even if a strike takes place.

Broad community support

Union officials are confident that Kaiser will honor their proposals, citing broad community support.

That support was evidenced by the large turnout of union members who voted to approve the strike. For example, 90 percent of voting OFNHP members participated in the strike vote, and it passed with 96 percent approval.

Those numbers are astounding, Ive never seen anything like it, said Burley. We have so much community support. Its important to support all workers, but I think people see this as their fight, because its about whether you can see a doctor. Its about supporting our nurses who worked so hard through the pandemic.

Burley said that Kaisers proposals could set a dangerous precedent for health care workers nationwide, especially a two-tiered wage system that would lower wages for incoming employees.

Two-tier systems are like an atom bomb dropped on staffing situations, Burley said. There is an absolute crisis happening right now when it comes to staffing hospitals, and this would be like setting it on fire. It will ripple through the entire health care system. I think its fair to say that were fighting for the future of public health.

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Most powerful Android phone, you ask? AnTuTu recently listed the top 10 Android smartphones that scored high on its test, including all the global models. And surprisingly, it wasn't the Asus ROG Phone 5. The list was dominated by the Nubia Red Magic 6, which is a gaming phone relying on the Snapdragon 888 chip.

The Red Magic 6 scored 858,734 points, edging out the ROG Phone 5 by some considerable margin, which itself managed to score 821,339 points. The third place was secured by the Realme GT, which also uses the Snapdragon 888 chipset. Note this, the top 10 phones are all powered by the Snapdragon 888, neither Exynos nor MediaTek Dimensity chips are to be seen anywhere.

Most powerful Android phones listed

Rest of the top slots are mostly taken by gaming phones that were launched in the later part of 2021. The iQOO 7 sits at fourth spot, followed by the OnePlus 9 Pro, Xiaomi 11i, and Asus ZenFone 8 Mini.

The Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra narrowly edges out the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra for the eighth position

Surprisingly, the Ultra phones of 2021 have been sitting lower than expected. The Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra narrowly edges out the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra for the eighth position, with the Sony Xperia 1 III 5G.

The list has not considered any of the phones with the Snapdragon 888 Plus chip, of which only a few exist. Moreover, with Qualcomm expected to announce the Snapdragon 898 soon, this list may see a major reshuffle by February 2022 at the earliest. Companies like Xiaomi, Motorola and Samsung are expected to unveil their high-end flagship phones in early 2022.

While higher benchmark scores are surely a nice thing to consider, the user experience is crucial and that may not be proportional to the AnTuTu scores. Hence, we advise that you should not buy smartphones based on AnTuTu or any other benchmark scores. These benchmark scores do not take into consideration your personal preferences.
Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen plans to tour universities next year and inspire a youth movement.

What exactly does one do after leaking thousands of documents from the world's most powerful social media company? For Frances Haugen, the answer is obvious: start a youth movement.

Facebook has faced stinging criticism over the whistleblower's document drop, not least the revelations that the company knew its Instagram photo app had the potential to harm teen mental health.

Ex-Facebook engineer Haugen believes young people have more reason than anyone else to pressure social media companies to do better.

"I want to start a youth movement," she told AFP in a wide-ranging interview, adding that youngsters who have grown up online should not feel so "powerless" over the social networks enmeshed in their lives.

Haugen has spent nearly two months in the spotlight over her claims that Facebook has consistently prioritised profits over people's safety, and supporters and foes alike are wondering what comes next.

The interview on Friday at a luxury Paris hotel, carefully watched by her lawyer, came at the end of a European tour that was managed by a slick public relations team, with financial backing from the philanthropic organisation of eBay founder, Pierre Omidyar.

Haugen, 37, has addressed lawmakers in London, Brussels and Paris, as well as a cheering crowd of thousands at a Lisbon tech conference.

Both Britain and the EU are currently debating new tech regulation, and she said the tour was an opportunity "to influence where those regulations are going".

Radicalised friend

Iowa-born Haugen knew very well before she went to work for Facebook that its sites were capable of sending people down dangerous rabbit holes.

A close friend who became radicalised in 2016 was convinced that billionaire George Soros secretly controlled the economy.

Haugen told AFP she was "very shocked" by Facebook's failure to tackle harmful side-effects of its platform.

"That was very painful," she said.

Haugen nonetheless worked at Facebook for two years before resigning in May, saying she was immediately "very shocked" by a persistent failure to tackle harmful side-effects such as spiralling hate speech in politically volatile countries like Myanmar.

Despite her attempt to influence legislation in Europe, Haugen's faith in regulation is limitedby the time lawmakers agree, the technology will have moved on.

Instead, she wants Facebook to be legally required to implement policies in response to potential harms identified by the people who use it.

"Facebook has never had to tell us before how it's going to fix harms. They always do the same thing when there's a scandal: they're like, 'we're sorry, this is hard, we're working on it'," Haugen said.

If Facebook was forced to release data indicating the scale of the problemthe number of misleading posts with more than 1,000 shares each week, for instancethe company might feel pressured to come up with better solutions, she argues.

"Anytime you have more sunlight, it makes things a little bit cleaner."

Astute crypto investments

Under the same principle, Haugen insists Facebook should be forced to address the potential dangers of its plans to build a "metaverse", a virtual reality internet which chief executive Mark Zuckerberg is so excited about that he has renamed the parent company Meta.

If people eventually spend all day in a virtual reality world where they have "a better haircut, better clothes, a nicer apartment", Haugen wonders, what might that do to people's mental health?

"I have not heard Facebook articulate how they're going to deal with that harm," she said. "They're about to invest 10,000 engineers in this. Is this not a conversation we should have now?"

Despite her attempt to influence legislation in Europe, Haugen's faith in regulation is limited.

She is not surprised that Facebook's response to the current scandal has largely been one of defiance, rather than humility.

"Facebook was founded by a bunch of Harvard kids who'd never done anything wrong in their life," she said, suggesting that taking criticism well was not part of company culture.

Their fellow Harvard graduate readily admits that she also enjoys a position of privilege: astute cryptocurrency investments she made in 2015 are now funding her life in Puerto Rico.

"There are many ways in which this risk for me is less risky than for someone who might not have the savings that I have," she said.

Haugen now plans to tour universities early next year.

At 37, she stresses her role would simply be to get the youth movement started, envisaging it as a campus-based movement where students could help teens deal with internet-related problems their parents might not understand, like app addiction.

Its wider role would be to encourage young people to lobby both companies and lawmakers for a "just and equitable social media".

She also plans to work with academics to build a "simulated social network"a model that trainee engineers could use to run experiments before changes are implemented on real-life platforms, where they can do real-world harm.

In the meantime, she'll be watching plans for new tech regulation.

"I've talked to a number of governmental regulators who said that this disclosure just changed the entire tone of the debate," she said. "My hope is that this time will be different."

Explore further Whistleblower blasts Facebook's Meta rebrand

 2021 AFP
While Airbus has returned to profit in the first 10 months of the year, Boeing remains in the red.

The aviation industry is slowly recovering from last year's Covid-induced downturn, but European aircraft maker Airbus is having a smoother ride than American rival Boeing, which has endured a series of crises.

The world's dominant aerospace companies will seek new business as they attend the five-day Dubai air show on Sunday, the industry's first major event since the pandemic started last year.

But while Airbus has returned to profit and delivered 460 aircraft in the first 10 months of the year, Boeing remains in the red and has supplied just 268 planes.

Boeing's 737 MAX returned to the skies last year after the entire fleet was grounded for 20 months following two crashesin Ethiopia and Indonesiathat left 346 people dead.

Almost 370 of the planes remain in inventory and Boeing chief executive David Calhoun has said that it will take two years to sell them all.

The 737 MAX has also yet to be re-certified in China, a major market for aircraft makers. Boeing's production plans will depend on access to the Chinese market, Calhoun says.

The 787 Dreamliner has had its share of problems which is estimated to have cost the company $1 billion.

The company halted deliveries of the 787 in May following a series of issues with the planethe second suspension in the past year.

Boeing announced in July that it had spotted additional problems near the nose of the plane and was working to fix them.

A delay for the first deliveries of its new wide-body 777X planewhich were pushed back from 2022 to late 2023is costing the company $6.5 billion.

"There's been so many problems that it's very difficult to say they're over," Richard Aboulafia, analyst at aerospace consultancy Teal Group, told AFP.

Covid cuts long-haul flights

Covid has also hit Boeing's strong pointlong-haul aircraftas international travel has been curbed by pandemic restrictions, said Remy Bonnery, an analyst at Archery Strategy Consulting.

International air traffic is only expected to return to pre-pandemic levels between 2023 and 2025.

Domestic air travel, meanwhile, is doing betterwhich benefits Airbus and its A320 family of narrow-body aircraft.

Airbus will display its latest single-aisle plane, the A321neo, in Dubai.

The company aims to release the long-range version of the aircraft in 2023, the A321XLR, which can fly for 10 hoursa feat only achieved by bigger planes until now.

"Airbus is alone in the single-aisle, long-haul market," said Bonnery at Archery Strategy Consulting.

"The next 10 years, we will have more plane deliveries by Airbus than Boeing," he said.

'Staunch the bleeding'

Boeing decided last year to hold off on launching its New Midsize Aircraft (NMA) project. The plan was to deliver by 2025 an aircraft that could transport up to 275 passengers nearly 9,000 kilometres (5,600 miles).

The US company "is losing 10 points of market share, largely due to the A321neo. Losing 10 points of market share is a road towards being a marginal player," Aboulafia said.

Boeing would have to launch a new plane to claw back market share, said Michel Merluzeau, an analyst at AIR consultancy.

"It must really staunch the bleeding against Airbus," Merluzeau said.

Regaining a place on the market "is very complicated and very expensive"at least $15 billionhe said.

Boeing's debt has increased five-fold in less than three years to $62 billion.

It would be hard for Boeing to get a new plane out before 2028-2029, according to Merluzeau.

Calhoun indicated in October that the company has put a team together to design a new plane and production system.

Explore further Steady need for new planes despite pandemic: Airbus

 2021 AFP
The field of eight candidates vying to be Brunswicks next mayor was reduced to two on Nov. 2 with Cosby Johnson and Ivan Figueroa emerging from the pack to qualify for the runoff.
BUILD UP THE WORKFORCE: A construction crew shapes up at the new Elmont Long Island Rail Road station serving the about-to-open UBS Arena for the New York Islanders as well as Belmont Park Racetrack. In addition to hundreds of billions of dollars allocated for roads, rail and infrastructure under President Biden's recently approved initiative, the spending package includes $40 billion for worker training, according to one prominent union leader.
THE RIGHT PERSON FOR THE JOB: Peter Zimroth, whose experience as both a top Federal and state prosecutor and city Corporation Counsel gave him good grounding in the justice system and community issues, according to the Federal Judge who tapped him as monitor for the settlement of the 2013 stop-and-frisk judgment against the city, was the right person because of his career and background to communicate with both sidesboth the police and the community, she said.
Looking for in-depth reporting on labor issues? You're in the right place.

Subscribe to The Chief and get stories that cover every side of civil service in New York City and beyond. You can sign up in minutes for immediate access.
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP)  Isabel Marcus, a University at Buffalo law professor and womens rights advocate who met with protesting students in Chinas Tiananmen Square and confronted Operation Rescue protesters closer to home, has died. She was 83.

Marcus spent most of her five decades in academia at the University at Buffalo, where she co-founded the Institute for Research and Education on Women and Gender, served as director of graduate and international programs at the law school, and was twice a Fulbright Scholar.

She died Oct. 31 in Los Angeles after living with advanced Alzheimers disease, according to family members.

At Buffalo, Marcus focused on womens rights and gender equality, becoming a scholar of international human rights. Her public conflicts with Operation Rescue, the anti-abortion group that staged a massive protest in Buffalo in 1992, led to death threats, her family said.

A lifetime of wanderlust took her to Latin America, Europe, Egypt, India, the Middle East and China, where as one of the few Westerners in Beijing in June 1989, she met with students at Tiananmen Square before China's bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters. She was evacuated on one of the last flights out along with other professors and students who were on a UB exchange with Beijing University.
Williams said he hopes the DED program can be made sustainable so it can continue to benefit other Nebraska communities into the future.

At Fridays event State Sen. Curt Friesen of Henderson said such community leadership and efforts critical to Nebraskas future.

Im glad to see Aurora growing. Henderson, weve got a subdivision going there, he said. If we want our young people to move back to the state, we have to provide things for them. We cant just sit on our hands and think theyre going to come back.

Ricketts noted that Grand Island was the only other city in Nebraska to be granted $1 million in NDED rural workforce housing funds.

That shows what youre doing, you and Grand Island are getting $1 million to be able to do this, he said. Creating 10 single-family homes, 16 duplexes, will allow you to bring in another estimated 45 workers to be housed here. That will continue to help your community grow.

Ricketts encouraged such community efforts to continue, citing it as the key to Nebraska having the lowest unemployment rate in its history and currently the lowest in the nation.
Prosecutors say the primary cause of the violence was Rittenhouse's decision to go to Kenosha with a rifle in a city wracked by protests after a white police officer shot a Black man, Jacob Blake.

Rittenhouse, who was 17 at the time, is charged with multiple counts including intentional and reckless homicide, as well as possession of a dangerous weapon by a minor. He and the men he shot are white.

Here is a look at how the presentation went for the defense, which rested its case Thursday:

HOW DID RITTENHOUSES TESTIMONY GO?

The defenses most consequential decision was to put Rittenhouse on the stand to let him tell jurors what was going through his mind when he opened fire.

Andrew Branca, a Colorado lawyer who wrote the book The Law of Self Defense: Principles, said on his blog about the trial that the decision was a high-stakes bet by the defense, and one that always has risk of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

Defendants claiming self-defense dont have to testify. But theres pressure on them to do so since what they were thinking when they used lethal force is so central to determining guilt.
Im still in a haze kind of, Sharpe said. When youre dealing with us human beings, it can go any way, yes and no. I didnt know what to expect. I was believing for a pardon.

The governments case against Sharpe relied in part on testimony from a 15-year-old girl at the time who claimed she saw Sharpe kill Radcliffe but later recanted and said she wasn't present at the time of the shooting. She later said her claims were made up, based on what investigators told her.

Sharpe was unsuccessful in his repeated efforts for a new trial until a former state medical examiner testified that the state's theory of the shooting was not medically or scientifically possible. A judge subsequently ordered more evidence to be heard. Sharpe was released from prison in August 2019 after the prosecutor said the state wouldn't pursue a retrial.

The NAACP had long pushed for Sharpe's release over the years and urged Cooper to issue a pardon of innocence. In recent months, racial justice groups have demanded the governor grant Sharpe the clemency needed in order to apply for compensation for his wrongful conviction. They held vigils in front of Cooper's state residence in downtown Raleigh for several weeks.
CHICAGO (AP)  An 18-year-old man was charged with murder in the shooting death of a Chinese student near the University of Chicago's campus after he was found carrying the gun used in the slaying, police announced Friday.

Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown said at a news conference that Alton Spann of Chicago was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, armed robbery and two counts of unlawful use of a weapon.

It wasn't immediately known Friday if Spann has an attorney.

Deputy Chief of Detectives Rahman Muhammad said that Shaoxiong Dennis Zheng, 24, was standing on a sidewalk in a residential area Tuesday afternoon in the Hyde Park neighborhood on the citys South Side when Spann approached Zheng and robbed him at gunpoint of some of his belongings, including electronics, before shooting him in the torso and running off.

Muhammad said surveillance cameras in the area recorded Spann running toward a Black Ford Mustang that then sped away.

Using video from the city's surveillance camera system, private residences and the school's cameras, the police were able to track the vehicle, which they later determined had been stolen from the nearby suburb of Markham on Nov. 3.
Social & Emotional Learning

PowerSchool to Acquire SEL Provider Kickboard

Education technology company PowerSchool has announced it will acquire Kickboard, which produces K-12 education behavior management software, to help educators manage social emotional learning (SEL) and multi-tiered systems of support. PowerSchool offers a number of products, including a K-12 student information system, a learning management system and enterprise resource planning. However, this specific purchase fills a gap since the company lacks dedicated software in the SEL realm.

"This announcement represents PowerSchool's continued commitment to helping ensure students can get the support they need for future success as lifelong learners," wrote PowerSchool CEO Hardeep Gulati in a message to customers. "I couldn't be more excited about bringing Kickboard into the PowerSchool family. Addressing students' social emotional well-being and mental health is critical, not just for schools and districts, but for our families and communities. By adding Kickboard's solutions, we're taking an important step to providing real, comprehensive insights that give educators a complete view of the whole student."

Eventually, PowerSchool officials noted, integration of the two companies' technology will enable schools to:

Centralize behavior management and reporting, including SEL, positive behavior intervention and support (PBIS), MTSS, overall student performance and professional development programs; and

Gain visibility to the "whole child," combining SEL well-being and mental health data with student performance, academic outcomes, demographic data and attendance.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The two companies said they expected the acquisition "to close soon."
Theres been increasing confusing over the legality of delta-8, a cannabis derivative that can be found in vape cartridges, tinctures and candy at smoke shops and CBD stores in Texas. While the Texas health department maintains that delta-8 is a controlled substance and is on the states list of unlawful drugs, the 2018 federal Farm Bill legalized the production of hemp, which naturally contains delta-8 and has less than 0.3% THC. In 2019, Texas also legalized hemp growing. Delta-8 retailers believed the substance was as legal to sell as hemp. Delta-8 is legal in Texas for now after a Travis County judge blocked the state from criminalizing it. Should delta-8 continue to be legal in Texas?

You voted:
MARION  As the need for mental health resources rises in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and other stressors, the Marion Police Department is developing a therapy dog division to help.

Marion police is set to receive their first therapy dog in January. The idea was sparked by a crisis intervention conference that reminded one officer of his own struggle with mental health on the job.

It was always something I thought about doing in this job. I just didnt know it actually existed, said Patrolman Jason Plichta. I went through some issues myself up north in my last police department with some on-duty trauma  I know the value of what my dog was able to do, personally, to get me through the issues I was dealing with.

The creation of a therapy dog division in Marion comes as federal health experts note a significant increase in depression and anxiety rates during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In one Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study earlier this year, the federal agency discovered adults with symptoms of anxiety or depression and those with unmet mental health needs significantly over a particular four-week period between August 2020 and February 2021.

Between Jan. 20, 2021 and Feb. 1, 2021, more than two in five adults above 18 experienced symptoms of anxiety or depression. One in four adults who experienced these symptoms reported that they needed but did not receive counseling or therapy for their mental health, according to the CDC.

After pitching the idea to Marion Police Chief David Fitts, the idea got passed up the chain of command until it was approved by Marion City Council.

These K-9s are unlike all other police dogs, according to Fitts.

They do not sniff drugs. They arent trained to bite. They arent trained to track. They are strictly for people to play with, hold, pet, and touch, in general, to make them feel better. Thats their whole role.

This will be the first therapy dog aiding law enforcement south of Champaign and the University of Illinois, according to Plichta and Fitts.

Once an officer has been selected to be the new dogs partner, they will travel to Brevard County, Florida to attend the Paws & Stripes College.

They will go through a week of bonding and training with the dog and then return home.

The Paws & Stripes program started in 2006 as a basic dog obedience program to help save the lives of dogs in the local animal shelter, according to the Brevard County Sheriffs Offices website.

Since then, it has evolved into an advanced training program for therapy dogs to serve as law enforcement and assisting police in comforting child victims, according to the sheriffs website.

However, the dogs will be able to provide support for more than just children.

They will be able to aid veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, senior citizens in elderly care facilities and hospitals, adults struggling with mental health episodes and in other areas, Plichta said.

The dogs will help the police better assist the mental health community, other officers, and children who are going through traumatic experiences by offering a calming distraction while engaging with officers, said Plichta.

Plichta and Fitts said they believe there could be large demand for their dog, should everything go well, as mental health crises are on the rise because of the pandemic.

The uses for therapy K-9s are versatile, they said. They have even been used during court proceedings, Fitts said.

Theres been instances across the country where some people, especially children, are getting kind of terrified to testify in court, said Fitts. These K-9s have been brought in and its calmed them down and theyve been able to complete that really important task.

The Canine Cares Therapy Dog Division is set to be entirely self-funded through donations and fundraising.

So far, they have received monetary or practical donations from organizations and businesses like Marion Subaru, The Watermark Foundation, Little Egypt Vet Clinic and Bonds Masterworks.

A steady stream of donations is critical as the dog will have continued expenses  such as veterinarian bills and food. The department plans to sell T-shirts and conduct additional fundraisers.

Once the dog arrives, Fitts hopes it will have an impact not only on mental health but also on the community relationships with the department.

Were doing this to help people, but if it also kind of helps bring us and the community closer than what we already are, that would be great, Fitts said.

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The Kinkaid-Reed's Creek Conservancy District Board remains tied up in a lawsuit with the management group operating the Kinkaid Lake Marina in seeking termination of the groups contract.

Despite the lawsuit, the board has been meeting in executive sessions to consider buying and operating the Marinas concessionaire for an estimated minimum of $1.6 million.

Critics of the purchase proposal, including Murphysboro Mayor Will Stephens, argue that there are too many unknowns.

The lawsuit the board is involved in with the Marina stems from when the board terminated the contract of the DAR group in September 2020 after board members learned DAR had collateralized structures at the public marina for a $1.3 million loan despite contract language the board says forbids it, according to The Southerns archives.

Stephens said his biggest concern is that most of the debate over whether to purchase the concessionaire took place in closed-door, executive sessions.

The public doesn't know if the board took it over. How many employees are going to need to be hired? What sort of compensation are they going to be given? What sort of increased liability costs are going to be incurred? These are all things that people need to know, because we're not talking about a small operation, we're not talking about hiring one or two people, it takes quite a few people to operate, the number of campsites, the number of boats slips a restaurant, and ultimately, tax payers need to know upfront what those costs are going to be, Stephens said.

At the Wednesday, Nov. 10 district board meeting, the board voted to cease negotiations with DAR regarding the concession contract litigation and allow the matter to be decided in Jackson County Circuit Court.

The board attorney said at the meeting the four owner/operators of the concessionaire met and things turned sour. Two of the individuals who are involved in the concessionaire wanted the board to buy them out and offered to sell for $1.6 million.

The attorney said the board considered the offer but found the price out of line, and counter offers were discussed. But ultimately, because of a lack of public support, the attorney said the board voted unanimously to let the lawsuit be decided in a courtroom instead.

I think that it's possible and perhaps likely, that regardless of whatever a judgment might find from a trial, the concessionaire will still have to be either bought out by the board or bought out by another private individual of some kind, Stephens said. So I think the question as to ultimately, if they end up buying it or not, is still an open one. But at least it does seem for now that that is off the table.

Board President Steve McGriff declined to comment. So did concessionaire operator Awak Alkan.

Stephens argued this debate should happen in public.

The board needs to quit having hours-long executive sessions, and much of this ought to be discussed in an open meeting, Stephens said. So that, you know, there is no question about where we're heading. I think the taxpayers are owed that much. And I think the continued use of executive sessions isn't helping the cause. Maybe there is an argument that can be made for the board taking over the ownership and operation of the marina and the campgrounds and the restaurant. But that argument doesn't seem to be being made out in the open, and it needs to be.

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Former Orangeburg lineman awarded $63 million; lawsuit claimed SCE&G training led to injuries

MARTHA ROSE BROWN, T&D James Westly Wes Garvin, right, with his attorneys, from left, Ginny Williams, her husband David Williams along with Gedney M. Howe IV and Robert Wyndham, confer during a court recess on Friday at the Orangeburg County Courthouse.

An Orangeburg County jury awarded a former Orangeburg Department of Public Utilities lineman $63 million on Friday after a two-week trial.

Orangeburg attorney David Williams said the verdict against Dominion South Carolina will lead to a safer utility industry.

The jury wont hear about it. They wont hear about the lives they saved, but I want them to know they can rest assured they just saved lives. They saved lives because anyone in the utility industry who hears about this verdict should take the time to learn from it, said Williams, of Williams & Williams Attorneys at Law.

Williams represented James Westly Garvin, who was electrocuted while working as a DPU lineman on June 27, 2016.

Kissam to become president of Dominion SC A Calhoun County native has been named president of Dominion Energy SC.

Garvin came in contact with a 14,000-volt powerline for a short while as he and three other linemen were working on Fanfare Drive, just off of Belleville Road in Orangeburg.

As a result of Garvins contact with the powerline, he had to have both of his arms amputated.

Garvin received his training from S.C. Electric & Gas, which trained linemen in municipalities across the state, including Orangeburg. Dominion Energy bought SCE&G, and its parent company SCANA, in 2019.

Williams argued that SCE&G didnt properly train Garvin about the use of rubber sleeves covering the arms and shoulders down to the elbows, in addition to protective gloves.

Williams said after the trial ended, A jury of 12 strangers just heard about the training municipal linemen receive, the same training Dominion South Carolina linemen received, and they heard from Dominion South Carolina and the way they train and declared it incomplete.

This jury was able to easily recognize that sleeves save lives and that fundamental training on personal protective equipment, as well as insulating protective equipment, is the backbone of qualifying someone as a lineman, he continued.

All utilities should evaluate their past and present training regimen and ensure their linemen are fully trained in not only recognizing the hazards but also in all of the available techniques and equipment that allow avoidance, he said.

Utilities should learn from this Orangeburg jury to recognize the dangers these hardworking men and women are faced with every day. Linemen are a special breed of person that have tremendous courage, hope and faith. We all owe it to them to make sure we provide the safest working environment. And as an Orangeburg jury just said: It starts with proper training and equipment, Williams said.

Williams asked the jury to consider awarding Garvin $50 million.

The jury awarded a total of $90 million, but reduced the award to 70 percent of the total, which is $63 million. The jury said Garvin was 30 percent negligent towards his injury, but Dominion South Carolina was 70 percent negligent.

Steven Pugh, who represented Dominion in the case, said in closing arguments, (Orangeburg) DPU had to ensure that Mr. Garvin was trained on DPUs safety practices and DPUs decision with regard to PPE and insulating protective equipment and ensure that its being used.

Pugh said that Garvins training by then S.C. Electric & Gas was exactly what SCAMPS wanted taught and exactly what SCAMPS approved to be taught. SCAMPS is an acronym for the S.C. Association of Municipal Power Systems.

Pugh further argued that Garvins training complied with Occupational Safety and Health Association and National Electric Safety Code standards.

TheTandD.com: $5 for 5 months Support local journalism by becoming a member at www.TheTandD.com The limited time offer is full access to all the website has to offer for $5 for 5 months. https://go.thetandd.com/nov5

Pugh declined to comment after the trial ended and deferred to a Dominion spokesperson.

Dominion is expected to appeal the jurys decision.
NEESES -- Town Clerk Sonja Gleaton distributed unofficial election results during the November Neeses Town Council meeting Tuesday evening, results which showed two new Council members being brought on board.

On the Thursday after the meeting, the results were confirmed with the Orangeburg County Election Commission which also reported there were no write-ins. Mason Browder and Paula Dyches Hutchins were elected to two council seats, with 26 and 27 votes respectively. Incumbent council members James Jimmy Hoffman and Wanda Ammons did not seek re-election. Incumbent council members Julie Renee Olenick and Wylie Williams each received 28 votes and are staying in their council seats.

Incumbent Mayor Kenneth Gleaton evidently ran unopposed with 29 votes. Mayor Gleaton and council members will be sworn in during the council meeting Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022.

During public comments, Al Jenkins, visiting representative with Sen. Tim Scotts office, discussed that there will be approximately 2 billion in Rescue Act funds coming to S.C. counties and cities, with 500 million of this going to small town water systems.

Later in the meeting, the mayor stated that he had applied for Rescue Act funding for the town but had not heard back yet.

If approved, we can use it for certain things such as infrastructure and will need to stay in compliance with what the requirements are, he said.

Jenkins also mentioned Sen. Scott being a member of the United States Special Committee on Aging and discussed the work he has done with the committee to fight fraud against senior citizens. Jenkins distributed a 32-page glossy booklet, which was compiled and published by the committee, on how seniors can fight fraud. According to the booklet, the top five scams reported to the Aging Committees Fraud Hotline (in order) are as follows: government impersonation scams; sweepstakes scams; illegal robocalls/unsolicited phone calls; computer scams; and grandparent scams.

According to the booklets advice on how to avoid phone scams, seniors should beware of callers that:

 Force you to make fast decisions and threaten you with police action.

 Pressure you not to tell friends and family about the call.

 Ask for personal information like Social Security or bank account numbers.

The booklet also states if seniors receive a suspicious call asking for personal or bank information to hang up immediately.

One type of scam Jenkins gave an example of was the grandparent scam.

Jenkins cautioned against calls which mention a young relative being overseas and in trouble and requesting money from a grandparent to be sent there. This can be double-checked, and there is a fraud hotline to report it and other suspected phone scams.

Neeses Town Hall has some copies of the aforementioned booklet. For reporting suspicious calls, seniors can call the U.S. Senate Special Committee Agings Fraud Hotline at 1-855-303-9470.

Mayor Gleaton next gave first reading of a town business license ordinance to put the town in compliance with a state act passed in 2020. Among other changes, the standard business license year will now be from May 1 of one year to April 30 of the following year.

In other business:

 Gleaton said he is still compiling a list of new names for the military memorial and has approximately 60 so far. He said he is working with a new individual at the company that makes the plaques

 Councilwoman Renee Olenick said there was a house in town with the roof falling apart that the town may need to look into.

 The Town of Neeses has purchased small flags and two banners to put out for Veterans Day. They plan to display them throughout the week of Veterans Day.

 The Neeses Adopt-a-Highway group, during the recent countywide cleanup, traveled 10 miles total and cleaned up 71 bags, weighing 35 pounds apiece, for a total of 2,485 pounds of trash picked up. Nineteen volunteers and four children were involved in the cleanup.

 Dominion Energy will be putting up the Christmas decorations in the town Saturday, Nov. 6.

 Family Health Centers, Inc. gave free first and second COVID-19 Moderna vaccine shots and booster shots Monday, Nov. 8, at the Neeses Seniors Recreation and Leisure Center.

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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP)  South Dakota lawmakers are pressing Gov. Kristi Noems administration to hand over a document that could prove whether there was a plan in place to give her daughter another chance to win a real estate appraiser license prior to a meeting last year that has spurred conflict-of-interest questions.

The Legislature's Government Operations and Audit Committee is readying to initiate a subpoena on Monday if the Department of Labor and Regulation doesn't hand over a signed agreement between the governors daughter, Kassidy Peters, and state regulators. Peters won her appraiser certification after a state agency moved to deny it last year. Noems labor secretary has said the agreement was a road map for how Peters could improve her work.

Two lawmakers on the committee  Republican Rep. Randy Gross and Democrat Rep. Linda Duba  said the committee was ready to issue the subpoena. However, any subpoena would also require approval from the Executive Board, a ranking committee of top legislators that will meet later next week.

The timing of when the agreement was put into place has become a key question for lawmakers as they look into an episode that has prompted ethics experts to say Noem appeared to abuse the powers of her office. The Associated Press first reported that just days after a state agency moved to deny Peters application to upgrade her appraiser certification last year, Noem held a meeting with Peters and state employees overseeing her application. Four months later, Peters received her license.

Noem has defended her actions, telling the AP last week that the agreement was already in place prior to the meeting and that it was not discussed at the meeting. The Republican governor, who has positioned herself for a 2024 White House bid, has cast the meeting as part of a long-standing effort to solve a shortage of appraisers in the state.

Secretary of Labor Marcia Hultman, who was also at the meeting in the governor's mansion last year, gave a similar account when she was questioned by lawmakers in October, although she said that the agreement was briefly discussed at the end of the meeting.

After hearing from Hultman, lawmakers moved to request the agreement from her department to confirm the sequence of the agreement being implemented and the meeting. They also agreed to keep any documents confidential to the committee.

The Department of Labor and Regulation did not immediately respond to a question from the AP about whether it would fulfill the request from lawmakers.

Noem has indicated she is loath to turn it over.

When you make a decision and open something up, it sets precedent, she said at a news conference last week after being asked if she would release the documents. Thats why for consistency and to make sure that Im being fair  because thats exactly what Im focused on  I would have to set that same precedent for everybody."

While the agreements themselves state they are open to public inspection, the Department of Labor and Regulation denied a request from the AP for them, citing an exemption that allows the government to keep records secret if they deal with examinations. An appeals office later ruled that the department was right to deny the records request.

Lawmakers also plan to finalize a list of questions to send to a lawyer representing the former director of the Appraiser Certification Program, Sherry Bren. She was pressured to retire late last year by Hultman, shortly after Peters received her license. Bren filed an age discrimination complaint and received a $200,000 payment from the state to withdraw the complaint and leave her job.

Noem has said the settlement had nothing to do with her daughter.

The committee had requested that Bren appear before them last month, but she declined. Part of her settlement agreement with the state bars her from disparaging state officials. However, Bren told the AP that she would answer questions from lawmakers through her attorney and that she would correct any factual inaccuracies in Hultman's testimony to the committee.

Republican Rep. Chriss Karr, one of the lawmakers on the committee, said, Were just trying to sort through it and see what is accurate, what is true and what is misinformation so we get the facts."

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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During World War II, on April 9, 1942, 75,000 United States soldiers and Filipino soldiers surrendered to Japanese forces after months of battling in extreme climate conditions.

Soon after the bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese forces began the invasion of the Philippines. The capture of the Philippines was crucial to the Japanese. It would bring them one step closer to the control of the Southwest Pacific. The Philippines were just as important to the U.S. Having troops in the Philippines gave the U.S. footing in the Southwest Pacific. After the invasion of the Philippines, U.S.-Filipino troops defended the crucial lands.

These brave soldiers were responsible for the defense of the islands of Luzon, Corregidor and the harbor-defense forts of the Philippines. They fought in a malaria-infested region and survived on little portions of food. Some lived off of half or quarter rations. The soldiers lacked medical attention. U.S. medics did what they could to help their fellow soldiers. They fought with outdated equipment and virtually no air power.

The soldiers retreated to the Philippine Peninsula when Japanese forces were reinforced and overwhelmed the U.S.-Filipino soldiers.

On April 9, 1942, the U.S. and Filipino soldiers surrendered after seven months of battle combined with exposure to the extreme elements, disease, and lack of vital supplies. The tens of thousands of U.S. and Filipino soldiers were forced to become prisoners of war to the Japanese. The soldiers faced horrifying conditions and treatment as POWs.

The soldiers were deprived of food, water and medical attention, and were forced to march 65 miles to confinement camps throughout the Philippines.

The captive soldiers were marched for days, approximately 65 miles through the scorching jungles of the Philippines. Thousands died. Those who survived faced the hardships of prisoner-of-war camps and the brutality of their Japanese captors.

The POWs would not see freedom until 1945 when U.S.-Filipino forces recaptured the lost territory.

In 1945, U.S.-Filipino forces recaptured the Philippines and freed the captive soldiers who were suffering in the confinement camps. These soldiers would be impacted by the poor conditions of the camps and the mistreatment by their Japanese captors. About a third of the prisoners died from health complications after they were freed. (The above information is from Bataan.com).

My wifes grandfather, Lyle C. Harlow, was one of the thousands who lived through the 65-mile march and almost four years as a prisoner of war. When he and the others who survived were freed, he came back to his wife in Kentucky who had also survived and a daughter born right after his departure overseas. He returned broken, weighing less than a hundred pounds and had to rebuild his life essentially from zero.

Harlow like thousands of others, never received a dime from the United States government after his release from the military. He received some VA medical benefits and would later die in a VA hospital. Until the last few years the VA has been a very undesirable place for medical attention but there has been improvement in recent years.

He and so many others had to rebuild their lives with no help from our country. This makes it difficult to understand how our government can consider handing out thousands of dollars to illegals pouring into our nation. Do we just hand them the American dream simply because they made it across our border?

Most Americans are charitable people. We do more than any nation to help others. Yet, when our homeless veterans are sleeping on Americas streets while shelters, medical insurance and even cash are made available for those who are unwilling to salute our flag, hate our culture and despise many of our values, then something is seriously wrong.

Dr. Glenn Mollette is a graduate of numerous schools including Georgetown College, Southern and Lexington seminaries in Kentucky. He is the author of 13 books, including "Uncommon Sense." His column is published weekly in over 600 publications in all 50 states.

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(TBTCO) - Viec quyet inh to chuc ky hop Quoc hoi bat thuong vao cuoi nam en nay chua uoc quyet inh chinh thuc, ma con phu thuoc vao cong tac chuan bi. Ky hop bat thuong nay chi giai quyet nhung van e cap bach va ot xuat, cap thiet cho quoc ke dan sinh va a uoc chuan bi ky luong.
The only bill to survive Wyomings recently completed special legislative session is now law.

Gov. Mark Gordon on Friday announced that he had signed House Bill 1002, which gives his office $4 million to spend on legal challenges to COVID-19 vaccination mandates passed by the federal government. Beyond that, the bill includes a resolution on Wyomings rights in the face of federal vaccine mandates.

The announcement noted that even before the special session, Gordon had committed to challenging the Biden administrations vaccine mandates in the courts.

While he appreciates the Legislatures support for Executive branch efforts previously in progress through this bill, he also expressed concern about the cost to taxpayers of holding the special session, the announcement said.

Lawmakers convened the special session following President Joe Bidens executive order mandating that employees of businesses with 100 or more workers get vaccinated against COVID-19 or submit to weekly testing. The order prompted widespread outrage among the Wyoming Republican Party, which pushed for the session before the federal rule-making process on the order was complete.

That decision made it more difficult for lawmakers to draft legislation opposing the mandate. Ultimately, lawmakers passed only one of the 20 bills that were drafted for the session, which cost roughly $233,000  or $33,000 per day.

The federal rules were finally released one day after lawmakers went home. And days afterward, a federal judge granted a temporary halt to the mandate as the matter is weighed in the courts.

Lawmakers who opposed the session latched onto the costs as a reason not to gather until the Wyoming Legislatures normal budget session in February. Other complained that it didnt make sense to gather before the rule-making process was done.

But backers of the session said the matter was too important to put off. Wyoming remains the nations most vaccine-hesitant state, with many residents here deeply skeptical of mandates.

The state is now part of three suits to challenge the federal vaccine mandates, which include a large-company mandate and ones pertaining to health care workers and federal contractors.

Before the special session was called by legislators, there were rumblings that Gordon would call them into session to fight the mandate. That never materialized, and the lawmakers voted to gather in Cheyenne.

This bill confirms the Legislatures support for the Executive branchs previously-expressed determination to fight federal overreach in the courts, Gordon said in the announcement. I thank the Legislature for recognizing their distinct constitutional responsibility as appropriators in forwarding resources to support this endeavor.

Follow state politics reporter Victoria Eavis on Twitter @Victoria_Eavis

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A variety of Wyoming professional organizations Friday decried the ongoing staffing problem within the states health care industry.

Spokespeople for the hospital association, medical society, nurses association and others told lawmakers that nurses are tired and physicians are unwilling to move to the state.

With workforce shortages nationwide, the state is also struggling to compete for rare and costly travelling nurses. National contractors list tens of thousands of open positions across the U.S.

The nurses, theyre just exhausted, Toni Decklever, with the nurses association, said. A year ago the nurses were all the heroes ... but now were the enemy.

Ten Wyoming hospitals reported a critical staffing shortage Friday. All who spoke Friday explained that full-time and part-time positions have remained open.

Sheila Bush, director of Wyoming Medical Society, stressed that the state has struggled with recruiting and retaining people for health care jobs, even before COVID-19.

The state has grappled with a physician shortage for a very long time, she said.

But now its gotten harder for providers to hire and keep staff, Bush said, explaining that its more expensive to offer a competitive wage, and there are fewer professionals seeking work in the field.

That highlights a problem many have been describing since the start of the pandemic.

We could expand beds in probably all of our facilities, said Josh Hannes, vice president of the Wyoming Hospital Association. Its not the issue of creating space for patients. Its that we dont have providers to take care of them.

None of the experts who testified to lawmakers said federal vaccine requirements were a major problem.

Many of us were already vaccinated, so the vaccine mandate in and of itself is not necessarily the reason nurses are leaving, explained Decklever. She said the larger problem is that nurses are tired, with too few people coming for backup.

COVID-19 patients have put added stress on Wyomings hospital system, as an increase in visits for a variety of routine emergencies like heart attacks puts the patient volumes at hospitals well above normal.

COVID-19 hospitalizations are less today than they were in late October, with 171 people hospitalized Friday. Still, that patient total is much higher than this summer when hospitals were treating fewer than 20 patients across the state.

Follow health and education reporter Morgan Hughes on Twitter @m0rgan_hughes

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The Colonial Life Insurance Company (Trinidad) Ltd (CLICO) now owes the Government $1.21 billion as part of its 2009 bailout arrangement.

Its taken 12 years to have the debt reduced from $18 billion in 2009 to now $1.2 billion in 2021.
Keep the faith. God is great and he knows best.

Thats the uplifting message from New York-based singer Kevon Carter to the people of T&T during the current spike in Covid-19 cases here at home. T&T recorded 537 new cases of Covid and 17 deaths on Thursday.

Carter, who returned to the United States earlier this year following the reopening of international borders, says he is disturbed by the continued rise in Covid cases in T&T.
A POLICE Constable and a Coastguardsman shot and killed each other yesterday morning in Diego Martin during an alleged dispute over a woman.

Police said around 2.20 a.m., PC Jomo Gulston, 37, a soon-to-be father of Endeavour, Chaguanas had just dropped off an unidentified woman at the home of her boyfriend, Coast Guard officer Jabari Francois, 33, at Waterwheel Road, River Estate, Diego Martin.
Gold mining in Glen Canyon reached a zenith from 1883 to 1912; the canyon had been explored by Native Americans and Spanish explorers much earlier.
In September, the bureau started publicizing only the most conservative of two types of five-year forecasts it had posted four times a year for longer-range reservoir levels at Lakes Mead and Powell. Its sole published forecast is now based only on what it calls stress test hydrology, using river flows from 1988 through 2019 to shape predictions. Until now, it had also posted separate, long-range forecasts relying on river flows dating as far back as 1906.

These forecast tools are significantly improved in the eyes of Brad Udall, a leading Colorado River climate scientist who for more than a decade has been at the forefront of warning about reservoir declines.

But he still says that instead of basing forecasts on climate from the late 1980s into the 1990s, the bureau should only use the 22 years since 2000, when the current hot, dry period began.

His review of the bureaus 24-month studies done since 2000, for instance, found their forecasts for Powells minimum likely reservoir level were about 30% too high on average, he said. Hes concerned the forecasts are underplaying and soft-pedaling the risks the reservoirs will go dry.
Tucsons understaffed Code Enforcement Division has been unable to handle the number of cases it has received this year, leading to a backlog of over 1,400 complaints concerning violations that can impact resident safety, property value and quality of life.

The division has a staff of 17 full-time employees who enforce city rules ranging from zoning codes to tall weeds in yards and junked vehicles, to building safety.

Inspectors make sure homeowners maintain their property and do not build structures that will devalue the neighborhood, for example. They also decide whether to demolish buildings if theyre liable to collapse because of structural damage.

But staffing problems and a large jump in cases have crippled the divisions ability to fulfill those duties, leaving residents wondering if their complaints have fallen into a black hole while nearby code violations threaten to tank their property values.

Our residents feel the system is broken, said Councilman Steve Kozachik. They dont know the status of whats happening as this thing kind of wanders through the process.

Kozachik and other city officials do not share the view that the system is broken. They say the issue was created by a combination of problems that have eroded and overloaded the code enforcement effort to the point that its no longer effective.

Plans have been set in motion to fix the problem  such as hiring more staff, changing division practices and creating disincentives to deter residents from ignoring citations  but it is unclear when residents will start seeing the results.

Staffing cuts, the pandemic and a surge of cases

Since 2006, the Code Enforcement Division has lost about 60% of its staff. Carlos De La Torre, who currently oversees the division, said the position cuts may have been a result of the financial hit Tucson took during the Great Recession.

Staffing levels had remained the same for at least the past seven years until the pandemic further diminished the divisions work force.

Ten out of the 17 positions were impacted by COVID, said De La Torre, who is the director of the Environmental and General Services Department that houses the Code Enforcement Division. Quite frankly, we were very lean, and we were not really equipped to handle the surge number of cases we have seen.

A number of factors created the unmanageable surge in enforcement cases that buried the division as it was trying to cope with the pandemic-related staffing challenges.

The summers heavy monsoon, for example, required code enforcers to mediate a number of complaints related to storm damage. More homelessness activity also demanded code enforcement to disperse camps blocking city rights-of-way, while increased levels of construction required long-term case processing.

The number of cases in 2021 is on track to be higher than it has been in the past three years, though it may have been more manageable if an earlier plan to protect against the recent overload problem had been successful.

City officials developed an approach in 2017 that tasked community service officers, who work for the police department, with handling weeds or junked car cases. Such complaints represented a fifth of the divisions cases this year, but the plan failed because of separate staffing issues in the TPD.

That was one of those ideas where it was a great idea, but what ended up happening was those resources, under my direction and approval, were deployed to police to help sure up some of the staffing issues they were having on their end, said City Manager Michael Ortega.

Tucsons code enforcement office already handles more cases with fewer employees than other major cities in Arizona and across the country.

Both Phoenix and Glendale have separate offices that handle long-term building safety cases. City code enforcers in Austin handle those cases but have nearly five times more inspectors per-capita than Tucson.

To make matters worse here, about half of Tucsons current code enforcement staff is set to retire in the next few years. De La Torre said its going to be a big hit because the division will lose a tremendous amount of experienced employees in such a small period of time.

This is critical because of the magnitude of the scope of the work, not only in terms of attending to normal priority calls, but high-priority and emergency calls, said De La Torre. If we dont shore up ourselves, we can certainly put ourselves and a lot of citizens at risk. Thats why we want to make sure that we do our best to maintain good staffing levels.

A plan to fix

City staff presented a plan to address the code enforcement problem at Tuesdays city council meeting. The strategy focuses on addressing the current caseload, shortening the case process to prevent buildup, and taking steps to squash violations proactively.

The division is onboarding two temporary customer service clerks who will process the 1,400 backlogged complaints, a step that needs to happen before a case can even be created. Five more inspectors will also be hired to handle the excess cases as quickly as possible.

Funding is available for those positions, according to a city memorandum.

The intent is to infuse a few customer service representatives to make sure that we can process those through our system, said De La Torre. Thats the initial step to be able to get caught up in terms of those outstanding cases in a relatively short period of time.

The division will speed up the case process by taking measures to work around the court system when possible, which could reduce case times by months in some instances.

For example, officials hope to use a reinspection fee to prompt residents to fix small violations before they have to go to court. De La Torre said the fee was previously abolished, but that it is necessary to avoid drawn-out cases over small issues.

A quick response team is another strategy that will be used to speed up the process. Team members will identify certain code violations, notify the owner and then enter the property after 30 days to resolve the problem.

The process does not require the courts involvement, and the city can recollect any money spent during the process after the case is closed.

Proactive efforts will include the revival of the Bush and Bulk Program. The Code Enforcement Division previously picked up bulk materials from residents twice a year under the initiative, which helped prevent future code violations from occurring.

The program relied on prison inmates to do the heavy lifting, however, and it was discontinued as a COVID-19 mitigation measure.

If we know that were going to be there twice a year, we can really create a plan or approach where were addressing a lot of the community a neighborhood needs on a proactive basis, De La Torre said.

He added that during those proactive sweeps, staffers can interact with community members to address issues that may otherwise be added to the code enforcement caseload later on.

Reporter Sam Kmack covers local government. Contact him at skmack@tucson.com.

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Pima County Democrats are digging into their decadal debate over congressional district lines.

As usual, the central questions are about how many Latinos to draw into the district that covers the western part of the Tucson metro area, and how many Democrats to draw into the eastern district.

Generally speaking, the more Latino voters who are in the district represented now by Rep. Raul Grijalva, the fewer Democrats are available for the district represented now by Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick. The margin of advantage or disadvantage for Democrats could make a big difference in 2022, expected to be a highly competitive election year.

To make matters confusing, the eastern area that was Congressional District 2 is now numbered 6, and the western area that was Congressional District 3 is now numbered 7. Both new districts, are, of course, shaped differently than their predecessors in the current maps drafted by the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission. But they largely overlap, except in the devilish details.

Tucson Mayor Regina Romero weighed into this and other issues in her Oct. 25 letter to the commission. In it, she argues that the north-south line that divides Tucsons two congressional districts in current maps is drawn too far west.
Federal judges in Tucson approved dozens of requests to gather data on calls and messages to BlackBerry devices, WhatsApp accounts and cellphones tied to Guzman-Loera.

Federal agents said Guzman was using a BlackBerry to discuss high level Sinaloa Cartel operational business and that other cartel members had frequent communications with a major U.S. bank; coordinated large shipments of cocaine from Colombia; and used a BlackBerry to discuss meetings with Mexican military and drug trafficking activities as well as provide information on rival drug cartels.

The widespread use of BlackBerrys by the Sinaloa Cartel came to light during the trial for El Chapo, according to Arizona Daily Star archives.

The announcement about the indictments and award came a day after Mexico reported its largest seizure of pure fentanyl at 260 pounds, worth an estimated $48 million, and arrested five suspects allegedly responsible for fabricating it, according to the Associated Press.

Fentanyl was responsible for more than 63% of the 96,779 drug overdose deaths in the United States between March 2020 and 2021, a federal news release said.
We wouldnt even be here talking about this if everyone was vaccinated, the Democratic governor said at a news conference. If you are not vaccinated, youre going to get COVID. Maybe this year, maybe next year.

Officials in Colorado, California and New Mexico said they have ample supplies of vaccines to provide initial vaccinations and boosters to all who want them.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Friday said the Biden administration continues to advise health leaders across the country to abide by public health guidelines coming from the federal government.

California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly earlier in the week said California's decision doesn't conflict with federal guidelines. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was very clear that they had two categories  groups that should get a booster and groups that may. he said.

We know that a number of Californians work in crowded public settings, Ghaly said. Because of your work-related risk or even you live with people who have underlying conditions (and) are at higher risk themselves, or youre a member of a community thats been ravished and hard-hit by COVID ... its permissive by the CDC and the FDA to go ahead and get the booster.
Our filing with Avangrid today shows that our companies together are truly committed to moving New Mexico forward and bringing benefits to PNMs customers and the community," Pat Vincent-Collawn, PNM Resources chairwoman, president and CEO, said in a statement to The Associated Press. We look forward to bringing all the commitments to our customers and New Mexico into reality.

New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas is among the parties in the case. He acknowledged Friday that the proposal has been hotly contested but remains supportive of the merger with the additional terms.

As the sole voice elected by and accountable to consumers in this negotiation, Im optimistic the commission will agree with the majority of the stakeholders that the merger is in the public interest, Balderas said in a statement.

Under the merger, Connecticut-based Avangrid and its parent firm, Iberdrola of Spain, would acquire PNM Resources and its New Mexico and Texas power subsidiaries. If approved, the $4.3 billion transaction would affect about 800,000 homes and businesses.

New Mexico customers earlier this year sounded the alarm over the proposal, citing a sordid track record of reliability and customer service among utilities owned by Avangrid in other states.
WASHINGTON (AP)  President Joe Biden and China's Xi Jinping will hold their much-anticipated virtual summit on Monday evening as the two sides look to dial back tensions after a rough start to the U.S.-China relationship since Biden took office earlier this year.

The White House is setting low expectations for the video call between the leaders. Biden looks to stress that the two nations need to set guardrails in deepening areas of conflict in the increasingly complicated relationship between the two nations. White House officials said that no major announcements are expected to come from the meeting.

I wouldnt set the expectation ... that this is intended to have major deliverables or outcomes," said White House press secretary Jen Psaki, who added that the two leaders would discuss how to manage the countries' competition and cooperate in areas where interests align.

The meeting will be the third engagement between the two leaders since February. It comes after the U.S. and China this week pledged at U.N. climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland to increase their cooperation and speed up action to rein in climate-damaging emissions.
The former chief executive of a tech company in suburban Chicago who lost his job after he threw a chair inside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot was sentenced Friday to 30 days imprisonment.

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols also ordered Bradley Rukstales, of Inverness, Illinois, to pay $500 in restitution, court records show.

Rukstales previously acknowledged he stormed the Capitol, threw a chair in the direction of police officers who had been forced to retreat from rioters, was nearby as a melee between officers and rioters broke out and had to be dragged away by officers after he refused to comply with attempts to get him up from the floor.

Though they said the officers werent in danger of being hit by the chair, prosecutors said Rukstales noncompliance added to the chaos in the Capitol.

Rukstales was forced out as CEO of Cogensia and sold interests in the firm after his participation in the riot became known and the boards of directors for the firms clients were ready to cancel contracts.

Rukstales, who made a public apology the day after the riot, issued a statement Friday night saying again that he is sorry for his actions on Jan. 6, accepts the sentence and looks forward to putting this chapter of his life behind him.
Nevada Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson is being nominated to be the U.S. attorney in that state. Frierson has served in the state Assembly since 2010 and also works as an assistant public defender in Clark County, Nevada, the county home to Las Vegas. Frierson was elected to his current Assembly run in 2016 after previously serving from 2011 to 2014. He has been the speaker of the lower chamber since 2016.

In Michigan, the White House has nominated Mark Totten to be U.S. attorney for the Western District of Michigan. Totten, a former law school professor, has served as Chief Legal Counsel for Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer since 2019. He is also a former federal and local prosecutor. And in the Eastern District of Michigan, officials are nominating Dawn Ison, who has served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the office since 2002.

The other nominees include Brandon Brown, an assistant U.S. attorney in the Western District of Louisiana, to run that office, and Ronald Gathe, Jr., to be the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Louisiana. Gathe is the chief of trials for the 18th Judicial District Attorneys Office in Louisiana and previously served as an assistant district attorney. He previously worked in private practice and is also the Vice President of Membership for the National Black Prosecutors Association, helping to establish the first and only chapter in Louisiana.
Defense attorney Dawn Parsons said DeValkenaere was doing his job, and maintained that a vehicle going 60 to 90 mph and running red lights was as dangerous as a bullet.

This case is about (the) everyday reality of policing in this city, Parsons said.

Prosecutors have suggested during the trial this week that police might have planted a gun that was found on the ground under Lamb's hand after he was shot. They said Lamb had previously injured that hand and could not have shot a gun with it.

The defense team presented photos from social media that show Lamb using his left hand and driving with a gun in his lap.

There is no body camera evidence in this trial. The shooting took place before police began widely using body cameras in April 2021.

Presiding Jackson County Judge J. Dale Youngs took the case under advisement and indicated he likely would make a decision next week.

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The ruling Sandinista Front and its allies control the congress and all government institutions. Ortega first served as president from 1985 to 1990, after the 1979 revolution that ousted the Samoza dictatorship, before returning to power in 2007. He recently declared his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, his co-president.

The opposition had called on Nicaraguans to stay home to protest. In June, police arrested seven potential presidential challengers to Ortega on charges that essentially amount to treason. They remained in detention on election day. Some two dozen other opposition leaders were also swept up ahead of the elections.

In a switch, Argentina voted in favor of the resolution. But Mexico walked a thin line, with its OAS representative saying Mexico had expressed concerns to Nicaragua about the election but would support any OAS measure condemning the vote.

Luz Elena Banos, Mexicos representative at the OAS, said Mexico has expressed our concerns to the government of Nicaragua about the political process carried out on Nov. 7, especially regarding freedom of expression and the right of citizens to participate in politics.

But Banos said Mexico would not vote for any measure aimed at intervention, isolating or imposing sanctions on Nicaragua.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Standing in the shade of a magnolia tree on the crisp fall day, the Quitman County Middle School Choir sang a gospel tune: Hold on just a little while longer. Everything will be all right."

Quitman County has about 6,800 residents, down from about 8,200 in 2010. Its poverty rate is about 35%, more than three times the U.S. poverty rate of 11%.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, whose expansive district includes Quitman County, said local residents had done the impossible by bringing health care back to the community. He also noted that the hospital's address is, appropriately, on Getwell Road.

You now start the process of growing Quitman County," he said.

Thompson also criticized Republican Gov. Tate Reeves, who was not present. Reeves has steadfastly opposed expanding Medicaid to the working poor, making Mississippi one of 12 states that have not taken advantage of that option under the health care overhaul signed into law by then-President Barack Obama in 2010.

Medicaid expansion dollars are available, should the governor of this state choose  and you could get millions of dollars invested at no cost, if the governor would just accept the money, Thompson said.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)  Pregnant people in Tennessee will continue to be required to wait at least 48 hours before getting abortions after reproductive rights advocates declined to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case, state Attorney General Herbert Slatery announced Friday.

Slatery says the six-year legal battle is now over" and the contentious state law is no longer subject to question.

In August, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the 2015 law, arguing that opponents had failed to identify instances where a woman had been significantly burdened by the requirement.

The decision came after a lower federal court last year struck down the law. The statute requires those seeking an abortion to make two trips to a clinic  first for mandatory counseling and then for the abortion at least 48 hours later.

After the law was upheld in August, the plaintiffs had the opportunity to bring the case to be further reviewed by the nation's highest court but did not.
One year ago: Speaking publicly for the first time since his defeat by Joe Biden, President Donald Trump refused to concede the election. Masked workers in teams of two began counting ballots in counties across Georgia; the hand tally of the presidential race stemmed from an audit required by a new state law. Republicans suffered setbacks to court challenges over the election in the battleground states of Arizona, Michigan and Pennsylvania. The governors of Oregon and New Mexico ordered near-lockdowns in the most aggressive response yet to the latest wave of coronavirus infections shattering records across the U.S. Peter Sutcliffe, the British serial killer known as the Yorkshire Ripper, died at 74; he was serving a life sentence for the killings of 13 women. Former Green Bay Packers star Paul Hornung died at 84. The Miami Marlins hired Kim Ng as general manager, making her the highest-ranking woman in the operation of a major league team.
Your voice is embodied in those that you elect on a local basis, said GOP Sen. Scott Sandall, who helped draw the Legislatures maps. Those 104 legislators that they have elected come here to debate that in our republic system of government, and their voice is represented through that.

Utah is conservative overall, but in recent years a more-progressive approach has made inroads as voters passed ballot initiatives on issues such as medial marijuana and Medicaid expansion. Though all four of its congressional districts are currently held by Republicans, one of those districts has historically flipped between Republicans and Democrats. The revamped boundaries bolster Republican chances, drawing the ire of Democrats.

Opponents have vowed the fight isn't over. Better Boundaries has formed a new political action committee to target lawmakers who voted for the maps.

Voters generally perceive redistricting to be fairer when done by independent commissions than when lawmakers draw their own maps, according to recent research by the University of Southern California.

But the key is creating commissions that are truly independent  not comprised of politicians or merely advisory to the legislature, said Christian Grose, a USC political scientist involved in the research.
Negotiations in Glasgow, Scotland on the worlds next moves in response to global warming entered their final hours Friday.

Many of the island nations at risk of disappearing under water under the current track of global warming are among the blocs pressing hardest to resolve some of the key debated points in the negotiations. Those include cutting fossil fuel pollution fast and soon enough to sharply rein in the Earths warming, and demands for the U.S. and other developed nations historically responsible for much of climate change to provide financial aid to developing countries.

In a statement, diplomats of the Marshall Islands in the Pacific said sticking to an emissions-cutting target that would allow theirs and other island nations to survive must be the North star for any deal.

They also demanded an end to government subsidies for fossil fuels, and doubling of financial support to help less-developed nations deal with climate change.

Kerry went out a different door after the talks and did not speak to reporters. Timmermans, asked about his mood on the last day of scheduled talks, pulled down his face mask to show his smile.


OPINION: "The Afghan refugees arriving in Tucson will have traveled almost 8,000 miles to get here. First wave, second wave, and now this wave. A man who crossed the Spin Gar Mountains with his sons on donkeys, the man pulling a cart of used clothes in Islamabad, the families caught in the crush to board a plane out of their homeland. Strip away the differences, and it is all the same trauma, the same displacement," writes Tucsonan Adele Barker.
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A woman who has served about four years of a 16-year prison sentence for a series of crimes related to the desecration of a corpse in a funeral home has been freed on jurisdictional grounds.

Tulsa County District Judge Michelle Keely on Monday signed off on an order that vacated the judgment and prison sentence given to Shaynna Lauren Sims in 2017, according to online court records.

It appeared that neither federal nor tribal officials would be able to pick up the case.

Sims, 33, successfully challenged her state convictions based on the U.S. Supreme Courts McGirt ruling.

The landmark ruling and subsequent state rulings reaffirmed the continuing existence of six tribal nation reservations in Oklahoma, including those of the Five Tribes.

Sims case was thrown out by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals because the victim in the case was a tribal citizen and the crime occurred within the Muscogee Nation reservation.

Crimes that occur in the state that are outside the jurisdiction of the state of Oklahoma may be charged by either federal or tribal law enforcement if certain conditions are met, with the federal government picking up most violent crimes.
Fostering a downtown Tulsa biomedical corridor anchored by the Oklahoma State University Medical Center and the adjacent Veterans Affairs hospital now under construction were among the legislative priorities set Friday by the Tulsa Regional Chambers OneVoice Agenda.

OneVoice is the chambers annual process for sorting and prioritizing area lobbying efforts for the coming year. In a change from previous years, half of the 15 state and 15 federal issues ultimately identified were chosen by subject-area task forces prior to Fridays summit at Tulsa Techs Client Center.

Some of the 30 items on the final list looked familiar, but others were new, in some cases prompted by a COVID-19 pandemic in its second year.

One of those is opposition to the Biden administrations proposed rule to make employers enforce a COVID-19 vaccination mandate. The item says vaccination is one of the best tools we have against COVID-19 but says businesses shouldnt bear the cost and difficulty of administering the proposed rule, which allows for regular COVID testing as an alternative to vaccination.
A federal rule issued last week by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services requires COVID-19 vaccinations for more than 17 million workers in about 76,000 health care facilities and home health care providers that get federal funding from the two health programs for senior citizens, the disabled and low-income residents. Staff must receive an initial dose by Dec. 6 and complete their vaccination by Jan. 4, unless granted a religious or medical exemption.

When initially announcing the vaccine requirement for nursing home staff in August, the CMS administrator said higher vaccination rates among staff are linked to fewer outbreaks among residents.

The most recent CMS data ranked Missouri last nationally with an average of 56.7% of its health care personnel in nursing homes having completed their COVID-19 vaccinations as of Oct. 31.

Some nursing home administrators have expressed concerns that they may have to close because of the vaccine mandate, said Nikki Strong, executive director of the Missouri Health Care Association, which represents about 350 long-term care facilities.

The vaccine hesitancy in all areas of the state  and especially rural areas  is very high, Strong said.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP)  Yo-Yo Ma spent the better part of the pandemic playing cello to an online audience seeking solace in his music.

On Friday, he marked his return to San Francisco by playing an energetic Bach cello suite before a live audience to inaugurate the opening of a new performance center designed to increase public access to classical and jazz music.

Ma praised the top-notch acoustics in the San Francisco Conservatory of Music's Bowes Center for Performing Arts and the safe space that actually gives the students and faculty ... the preconditions for creativity.

The towering campus in Civic Center was among a handful of construction projects that was allowed to continue during the pandemic to house students and provide them classrooms, a recording studio and a radio station under one roof.

The centerpiece of the $200 million building, however, is a street-level recital hall with floor-to-ceiling glass windows to let passersby watch students hone their craft. With the recital hall and two other performance spaces in the building, the conservatory plans to offer free admission to 90% of its concerts each year.

The goal is to create a welcoming space and broaden the audience to include those who may not be able afford to experience a live performance.
OKLAHOMA CITY  COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are on a downward trend in the state, Interim Health Commissioner Keith Reed said Friday.

We are pleased to report that our current case counts and hospitalizations have maintained their consistent decrease over the last month, showing an overall downward trajectory in COVID-19 trends, Reed said.

The seven-day case average is down 77% from its peak on Aug. 30, while hospitalizations are down 73% from the same date, Reed said.

These data points are the best indicators we have to convey our current story, he said.

Case counts are an early indicator, while hospitalizations trail by a couple of weeks, Reed said.

Health officials held a virtual press conference to provide an update on COVID-19 cases and vaccination rates.

The state continues to see progress in vaccination rates, he said.

To date, 4,621,558 total vaccine doses have been administered in Oklahoma, according to state data.

Some 2,003,377 residents are fully vaccinated, which is 62.5% of the adult population.
LONDON/MILAN -- Europe has become the epicentre of the pandemic again, prompting some governments to consider re-imposing unpopular lockdowns in the run-up to Christmas and stirring debate over whether vaccines alone are enough to tame COVID-19.

Europe accounts for more than half of the average 7-day infections globally and about half of latest deaths, according to a Reuters tally, the highest levels since April last year when the virus was at its initial peak in Italy.

Governments and companies are worried the prolonged pandemic will derail a fragile economic recovery. Countries including the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic are taking or planning measures to curb the spread.

Caretaker Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced a three-week partial lockdown from Saturday, Western Europe's first since the summer. "The virus is everywhere and needs to be combated everywhere," Rutte said in an address on Friday evening.

The fresh concerns over what British Prime Minister Boris Johnson described on Friday as "storm clouds" over Europe come as successful inoculation campaigns have plateaued ahead of the winter months and flu season.

About 65% of the population of the European Economic Area (EEA) - which includes the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway - have received two doses, according to EU data, but the pace has slowed in recent months.

Take-up in southern European countries is around 80%, but hesitancy has hampered rollout in central and eastern Europe and Russia, leading to outbreaks that could overwhelm healthcare.

Germany, France and the Netherlands are also experiencing a surge in infections, showing the challenge even for governments with high acceptance rates.

To be sure, hospitalisations and deaths are much lower than a year ago and big variations by country in use of vaccines and boosters as well as measures like social distancing make it hard to draw conclusions for the whole region.

A specialist wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) sprays disinfectant while sanitizing a chapel inside the building of the Leningradsky railway station amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Moscow, Russia October 19, 2021. Photo: Reuters

'Don't take eye off the ball'

But a combination of low vaccine take-up in some parts, waning immunity among those inoculated early and complacency about masks and distancing as governments relaxed curbs over the summer are likely to blame, virologists and public health experts told Reuters.

"If there's one thing to learn from this it's not to take your eye off the ball," said Lawrence Young, a virologist at Warwick Medical School in the UK.

The World Health Organization's report for the week to Nov. 7 showed that Europe, including Russia, was the only region to record a rise in cases, up 7%, while other areas reported declines or stable trends.

Similarly, it reported a 10% increase in deaths, while other regions reported declines.

The measures coming into force in the Netherlands include restaurants and shops ordered to close early and spectators barred from sporting events.

Germany will reintroduce free COVID-19 tests from Saturday, acting health minister Jens Spahn said on Friday. A draft law in Germany would allow for measures such as compulsory face masks and social distancing in public spaces to continue to be enforced until next March.

Austria's government is likely to decide on Sunday to impose a lockdown on people who are not vaccinated, Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said on Friday.

Booster shots

Most EU countries are deploying extra shots to the elderly and those with weakened immune systems, but expanding vaccination to more of the population should be a priority to avoid steps like lockdown, scientists said.

"The real urgency is to widen the pool of vaccinated people as much as possible," said Carlo Federico Perno, head of microbiology and immunology diagnostics at Rome's Bambino Gesu Hospital.

A healthcare worker prepares a dose of Sputnik V (Gam-COVID-Vac) vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a vaccination centre in Gostiny Dvor in Moscow, Russia July 6, 2021. Photo: Reuters

The EU's medicines regulator is also evaluating the use of Pfizer and BioNTech's vaccine in 5 to 11-year-olds. read more

Norway will offer a third COVID-19 vaccine dose to everyone aged 18 and older and will give municipalities the option of using digital "corona passes", the government said on Friday. Norway has so far given a third dose only to those aged 65 and older.

From Dec. 1, Italy will also offer the third dose to people over 40.

"This (outbreak) will probably make the EU look at booster doses and say 'we do need them pronto'," said Michael Head, senior research fellow in global health at the University of Southampton.

Central, eastern Europe

Still struggling to ramp up shots, central and eastern European governments have had to take drastic action.

Latvia, one of the least vaccinated countries in the EU, imposed a four-week lockdown in mid-October. Its parliament voted on Friday to ban lawmakers who refuse vaccination from voting on legislature and participating in discussions.

The Czech Republic, Slovakia and Russia have also tightened restrictions.

Vaccines alone are not the silver bullet to defeat the pandemic in the long term, virologists say.

Several pointed to Israel as an example of good practice: in addition to inoculations, it has reinforced mask wearing and introduced vaccine passports after cases spiked a few months ago.

Measures such as spacing, masks and vaccine mandates for indoor venues are essential, said Antonella Viola, professor of immunology at Italy's University of Padua.
Vietnams business hub Ho Chi Minh City wants to have more than 18 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine for its immunization plan next year, in addition to four million jabs for the rest of 2021, local health authorities have said.

The municipal Department of Health on Friday issued a dispatch to the Ministry of Healths Department of Preventive Medicine to report on the citys receipt and use of COVID-19 vaccines and its demand for vaccine allocation next year.

The department said it will offer booster shots to fully vaccinated people six months after their second jabs and need over 18 million vaccine doses for this inoculation plan.

Of the total, more than 14.4 million doses for people aged 18 and older, some 1.5 million doses for children aged 12 to 17, and over 2.1 million doses for those from three to 11 years old.

In addition, the city needs more than one million vaccine doses from now until the end of the year to provide the first shots for those who remain unvaccinated and the second dose for those who have got the first jabs.

This vaccine volume includes 696,000 AstraZeneca, 60,000 Pfizer and 264,000 Vero Cell jabs.

The city also needs over 2.9 million vaccine doses for children, including some 1.2 million doses for first shots and the remainder for second jabs.

Thus, the citys total vaccine demand from now to the year end is nearly four million doses.

By October 31, the Ministry of Health had allocated more than 14.2 million doses of vaccines to the city, the department said.

As of Friday, the city had administered a total of 13.75 million doses to residents, including 7.85 million first shots and 5.9 million second jabs, according to the national COVID-19 vaccination portal.

The corresponding numbers for the whole country are 63.68 million and 32.87 million.

Since the pandemic hit Vietnam since early 2020, the city has documented 442,306 and 17,099 deaths, according to the Ministry of Healths data.

Nationwide, a total 1,009,879 patients have been recorded, including 856,211 recoveries and 22,930 fatalities.

Despite its daily infection numbers increasing again recently, Ho Chi Minh Citys death toll has remarkably dropped, at 42 on Friday from 200 two months ago.

Similarly, the countrys fatalities plummeted from 261 two months back to 81 on Friday.

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Localities in Vietnams Mekong Delta region have recently reported more than 2,000 new COVID-19 cases per day, prompting authorities to immediately take measures to curb the coronavirus spread.

New COVID-19 outbreaks in this southern region erupted since the second half of October, when a slew of domestic migrant workers from the countrys COVID-19 epicenters, including Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Duong and Dong Nai Provinces, returned to their hometowns.

Two percent of these returnees had infected with the virus, and as a result, none of the 13 provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta was classified as level 1, or an area of low risk of COVID-19 according the governments four-level assessment scale, in the first week of November, according to the regions general statistics.

Consequently, despite the region accounting for around 17 percent of the countrys population, its combined number of COVID-19 patients represented for 35.7 percent of the countrys tally of infection cases on November 2.

By the end of November 9, the total number of daily infections in the Mekong Delta had exceeded 2,000.

On Friday evening, An Giang recorded an additional 548 COVID-19 cases, many of which were detected at industrial parks and the Chau Doc Market, local authorities reported.

Facing the rapid virus spread, the provincial Department of Health has fixed a level 4 label, meaning very high pandemic risk, on Chau Doc City and two districts of Tinh Bien and Tri Ton, level 2 (medium risk) and 3 (high risk) on all other locations except for Thoai Son District, the only one area qualified for level 1.

The same day, Soc Trang, which has received some 100,000 returnees from epidemic epicenters, saw 343 new infection cases, the highest ever figure, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases to 8,812.

Among the provinces population aged 18 and older, 89 percent have received the first COVID-19 vaccine dose but only 38 percent got two full doses.

Chairman of the Soc Trang administration Tran Van Lau requested all returnees to make a health declaration at local medical facilities and comply with epidemic prevention rules.

Local authorities have sped up rapid COVID-19 tests among communities, especially in high-risk areas, to early detect positive cases.

Can Tho City, meanwhile, reported 524 new infections on Friday, mainly from former COVID-19 clusters in O Mon, Thot Not and Ninh Kieu Districts, while the number of new positive cases at industrial parks have been jumping, local authorities reported, adding all hospitals have been overloaded with COVID-19 patients.

Can Thos health authorities have issued the procedures for treatment and control of COVID-19 patients at home, as well as the guidance on taking samples and tracing contacts of new COVID-19 cases and quarantine of COVID-19 patients.

In Tien Giang, 634 more COVID-19 cases and five fatalities were recorded by Friday evening, with My Tho City and Cai Be and Chau Thanh Districts being the provinces hotbeds, local authorities reported.

My Tho City authorities have applied epidemic level 3 for many communes and wards from 0:00 on Friday.

In Bac Lieu, chairman of the provincial administration Pham Van Thieu said the province has been shifted from level 1 straight to level 4 since November 1 before scaling down to level 3 on Tuesday.

Vinh Long Province has also turned into a red zone (level 4) from November 9, while Ca Mau Province has applied the same level to 101 communes and wards.

Vaccination coverage is still low while medical capacity is limited, so the province is trying its best to prevent the virus spread, said Ca Mau Province Party Committee Secretary Nguyen Tien Hai.

Since erupting in Vietnam in early 2020, the pandemic has caused a total of 1,009,879 COVID-19 cases, including 856,211 recoveries and 22,930 deaths, the Ministry of Health reported.

The Southeast Asian country has recently seen its COVID-19 death toll sharply drop, to 81 on Friday from 261 two months earlier, despite its daily infections numbers gradually increasing again from mid-October.

The Mekong Delta, which has 13 administrative units, including a centrally-run city (Can Tho) and 12 provinces, covers 40,547.2km and has a total population of over 17.2 million people, accounting for 13 percent of Vietnams area and nearly 18 percent of the countrys population, the General Statistics Office of Vietnam reported in 2019.

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Many people from seven households were evacuated on Friday after a serious landslide engulfed a house in a residential area in Vietnams Central Highlands city of Da Lat.

The landslide occurred on the Mimosa Pass in Ward 10 of Da Lat City, located in the mountainous province of Lam Dong, at around 3:00 pm on Friday, burying furniture, items, and corrugated iron roofs belonging to the affected households.

One house was entombed under rocks and soil.

In addition, the area prone to the aftermath of the landslide stretches 50 meters long and covers many hotels.

Some buildings even had their foundations exposed while some houses had cracked walls after the landslide.

A street is sealed off after a landslide in Da Lat City, Lam Dong Province, Vietnam, November 12, 2021. Photo: M. Vinh / Tuoi Tre

Da Lat City authorities sealed off the scene shortly after and relocated people, including local residents and tourists, from seven households along the Mimosa Pass to safety.

The cause of the incident has not been determined, but it is attributed to torrential rains in the past few days, which weakened the ground structure, according to Ton That Thanh Vu, chairman of the Peoples Committee of Ward 10.

Many other people believed that the geological structure of the area in question was originally weak and steep, but it was under heavy force of several high-rise buildings and hotels built along the slope of the Mimosa Pass, causing the ground to break and leading to landslides.

The scene of a landslide in Da Lat City, Lam Dong Province, Vietnam, November 12, 2021. Photo: M. Vinh / Tuoi Tre

The scene of a landslide in Da Lat City, Lam Dong Province, Vietnam, November 12, 2021. Photo: M. Vinh / Tuoi Tre

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Much has been written around Lisa Wilkinsons newly-published book It Wasnt Meant to Be Like This regarding salary negotiations at Nine.

But Wilkinson also details in the book how Rebel Wilsons court battle with Womans Day indirectly led to her move to The Project.

After Rebel Wilson won her defamation case, veteran news boss Peter Meakin, who had long been consulting for 10, invited her to speak on The Project around paparazzi and the tabloids.

With your background in magazines, and the fact that youve seen Mr Stefanovics life at close range over the last year, he said, youre uniquely placed to bring something interesting to that conversation.

Wilkinson told him he would need approval from Nine News boss Darren Wick, which ultimately was granted.

On The Project that night Waleed Aly, Natarsha Belling and Pete Helliar asked if Rebel Wilsons win would lead to more cases?

Like Karl! Is Karl going to take a stand? Helliar asked.

I couldnt tell you because I havent spoken to Karl since the judgment, but he may have a wry smile on his face. And look, having watched all of that closely, I have to tell you it was ridiculous some of the stories that were written about Karl. It was almost comical, but I wasnt personally involved, and when you are involved, its no laughing matter at all, Wilkinson replied.

Hmmm, tension on the Today show set  Aly joked.

No, no, no  thats only because hes hosting A Current Affair tonight, so were having network wars right now! she laughed.

And we know which side you chose, Lisa! Well chosen! Helliar replied.

Ive gone for Channel 10! joked Wilkinson.

The next morning Peter Meakin rang to thank her but also queried when her contract was up at Nine?

As fate would have it, an offer from 10 to manager Nick Fordham was then put forward before her negotiations at Nine began to disintegrate.

Wilkinson was able to announce her new home the same day Nine confirmed her departure.

It Wasnt Meant to Be Like This is published by HarperCollins.
The telling of true crime is never a pleasant experience for victims and those close to unlawful acts.

But that hasnt stopped audiences being fascinated with retellings of killers such as Jack the Ripper, Bonnie & Clyde, Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy, David Berkowitz, Dennis Nilsen, Fred & Rose West, Charles Sobhraj, Aileen Wuornos.

Australian drama has dramatised stories around Ivan Milat, the Peter Falconio murder, Underbelly, Chopper Reed and Snowtown, to name a few, while true crime podcasts sit at the top of the heap. What drives people to murder, how were they caught, and can we ever learn anything from it?

It was probably inevitable that somebody would address the massacre at Port Arthur in 1996 in which 35 people were killed and 23 others were wounded -its just a question of when and how.

Nitram is one of two projects to attempt such, directed by Justin Kurzel. Filmed in Victoria, the focus is on a young Martin Bryant (Caleb Landry Jones) and what drew him to the events of that horrific day, still etched in the memories of many Australians.

One of the most disturbing scenes is the opening, in which real-life newsreel shows a 12 year old Bryant in a Tasmanian Burns Unit having been licked by a firecracker mishap. When the reporter suggests he will never play with crackers again, the young boy rejects the notion. Its a harrowing glimpse of what is to come

The film, scripted by Shaun Grant, is largely a four hander with American Caleb Landry Jones in the title role (theres never a hint of US accent) as a 20-something misfit living with ageing parents. Socially inept, rejected by girls, he is rebel, aimless, smothered by his mother (Judy Davis) but devoted to his ailing father (Anthony La Paglia).

When attempting lawn-mowing odd jobs he befriends Helen (Essie Davis), an older, eccentric woman who lives alone in a rambling house full of dogs. As if needing each another, they find a bizarre middle ground and a strange, undefined relationship forges around them. But its not one that has the approval of Bryants mother.

In Grants hands the material is staged almost as improvisation. Dialogue overlaps, is sometimes mumbled, silences are embraced and the camera is sometimes a distant observer. This makes it even more real.

Added to this are four knockout performances. Caleb Landry Jones, Judy Davis, Anthony La Paglia and Essie Davis (who looks like she has just stepped out of Grey Gardens) are exemplary in difficult roles. It is necessarily bleak, a story where we know the outcome, yet its difficult to look away.

As other articles have noted, the final outcome is not portrayed, but there is no denying what transpires. Bryants name is also not uttered, with the title his name in reverse (youll discover why). So unlike gangster dramas where the cameras sensationalise gore and body counts, this attempts to explain how we got there.

Whether that qualifies it as entertainment is for the viewer to decide. Nitram wont be for everybody.

But theres no denying the level of craft and storytelling, which is staggeringly compelling.

Nitram screens Wednesday, 24 November on Stan.
Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. (Psalm 95:1-2)
State Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, (at left) speaks about the legislation he authored, Senate Bill 1, which will add new rules for mail-in voting and increase early voting hours, before Gov. Greg Abbott signed the bill into law earlier this year at the Plaza Tower in downtown Tyler. On Friday morning, Hughes announced he plans to file for reelection to the Texas State Senate.
(Bloomberg) -- Belarus strongman Alexander Lukashenko has faced more than a year of condemnation from the West for his post-election crackdown at home, including sanctions from Europe. For all of that, trade is booming.

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Exports to the European Union have almost doubled, rescuing the economy from recession and helping keep Lukashenko afloat. The bloc in June targeted petroleum products and potash, a substance mostly used in fertilizer and which Belarus produces in abundance, but stopped short of a full ban.

Lukashenko is now upping the ante with Europe, threatening to block the transit of natural gas supplies from Russia to Poland and beyond. Hes deployed migrants from the Middle East as a political weapon, ferrying them to his western borders and creating havoc with neighbors like Poland and Lithuania.

The EU is weighing further penalties as a result, but those are unlikely to include hefty restrictions on trade.

The feud is part of a broader tangle between the bloc and Vladimir Putin. The Russian president has backed Lukashenko against allegations he rigged his election win last year, and the two put meat on the bones of plans for economic and political integration in a Nov. 4 deal.

Poland has accused the Kremlin of masterminding the border chaos. The U.S. meanwhile is warning European officials it believes recent Russian troop movements could presage a renewed invasion of neighboring Ukraine. The Kremlin has dismissed both claims.

U.S. Warns Europe That Russia May Plan Ukraine Invasion

EU-Belarus trade data belie the tensions and sanctions.

In the first three quarters of this year, the bloc imported 96.1% more from Belarus than in January-September last year, according to Belstat, the official Belarus statistics agency.

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The EUs statistics agency Eurostat doesnt have a full set of comparable figures. But according to its data, imports from Belarus to the 27 EU states grew 58% in the year to August, compared to the same period in 2020. Any disparity is likely due to different methods each uses for counting exports, such as goods passing through European transit hubs to third countries.

Exports from Belarus to Russia have grown too, but at less than a quarter of the pace the Belarus data show for the EU. Its likely  if hard to prove as the Belarus government has classified the data  that sales of refined petroleum and potash, singled out by current EU sanctions, contributed to the boom.

The net result: An export-led recovery for Belarus that produced 5.8% growth in gross domestic product in the second quarter, compared to a year earlier, and 2.7% growth in the first three quarters.

Other economies in the region are also bouncing back from the hit they took in 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic. But the turnaround for Belarus is bigger than expected. After last years political turmoil, economists including at the World Bank were predicting a deepened recession.

Crowds, at times in the hundreds of thousands, had for months been protesting Lukashenkos claim to have won the August 2020 election. When he cracked down, throwing thousands into jail, the EU and U.S. threatened sanctions. Added to the challenges from the pandemic, it all spelled bad news for the economy.

Instead, says Dzmitry Kruk, senior fellow at the Belarusian Economic Research and Outreach Center, Belarus is among the few countries where exports of most product items have fully recovered from the pandemic shock between end-2020 and early 2021.

In one sense, theres no miracle required: Lukashenko has survived by wiping out opposition at home, securing Russian backing and  when it comes to economics  luck.

The U.S. and EU sanctions only took effect in June and were less punitive than billed. Restrictions on EU imports of potash from Belarus, for example, were crafted to exempt the grade it mainly produces. Belarus is the worlds third-largest supplier, after Canada and Russia, according to Canadian government data. In negotiations around further sanctions, according to an EU diplomat familiar with the talks, Belgium and Italy are blocking any expansion on potash, as well as petroleum measures. The focus is on grounding Belaruss national airline, Belavia, already blocked from the EU, and pressuring other airlines to stop carrying migrants to Minsk from the Middle East.

Turkey Agrees to Curb Migrant Flows to Belarus Under EU PressureLike other commodity exporters, Belarus benefited from the boom in global demand and prices that followed 2020s Covid-19 related lockdowns, including for fertilizers and refined petroleum. Its biggest exports to the EU are wood and metals, also in high demand.

In addition, Belarus gained from supply chain disruptions that reduced competition from Asia, boosting demand for Belarus products, including furniture and machinery. It didnt hurt that the International Monetary Fund decided in August to give Belarus its almost $1 billion share of a special distribution, propping up the nations foreign currency reserves. Even Lukashenkos pandemic-denying refusal to impose lockdowns may have supported growth, according to a World Bank report. That sequence of events surprised pretty much everyone, says Kruk. Domestic demand and investment did decline this year, but the surge in exports outweighed those losses. Worldwide, exports rose 36.1% in January to September, compared to the same period in 2020, according to Belstat. Much of the population continues to contest Lukashenko's legitimacy and there's no guarantee his luck on the economy will last. As sanctions begin to bite, the World Bank now forecasts the economy will shrink by 2.8% in 2022.

The weak outlook may help explain Lukashenkos attempt to get sanctions lifted. With few other cards to play, hes flying in migrants from war-torn countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan, with the sole aim of forcing a political crisis at the EUs border that he can then offer to end, according to Pavel Slunkin, a former Belarus Foreign Ministry official who is now a visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. The EU is unlikely to agree, but that wont stop Lukashenko, says Slunkin.

Lukashenko is the kind of guy who never steps back, he said. He tries to do what worked before, and when he tried to manipulate the EU before, it always worked.

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Essex-Hudson Greenway

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New Jersey is looking to expand its open-air spaces.

On Friday, Gov. Phil Murphy announced the state will be purchasing a nine-mile stretch of land in Northern New Jersey for $65 million to create a "greenway" for walkers, runners, hikers, and cyclists.

"I think when we look back 30, 40 years from now, this is a top five accomplishment," Murphy said during a news conference. "I really believe that. This is a big deal that folks will benefit from for a long, long time."

The Essex-Hudson Greenway will be New Jersey's first new state park since 2006.

The property, which spans about 135 acres, was formerly part of the Boonton Line railway owned by Norfolk Southern Railway. Passenger service was discontinued on this portion of the line in 2002, according to the project's website.

The land connects Montclair, Glen Ridge, Bloomfield, Belleville, Newark, Kearny, Secaucus, and Jersey City.

The State of New Jersey is securing purchase rights for the former Boonton Line to create the 9-Mi Greenway that will connect 8 towns! To learn more, click the link below. https://t.co/EuYmfQulqh#essexhudsongreenway #newjersey #njtrails #celebration pic.twitter.com/Oxi3H0Krml  Essex-Hudson Greenway (@EHGreenway) November 12, 2021

RELATED: Massive Smiley Face of Trees Appears in Oregon Every Fall  Here's How It Got There

The initiative to transform the railway into a linear park began with the Open Space Institute, which negotiated a sales agreement for the land last year.

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The goal is to create a safe, off-road trail that provides alternative commuting options and "much needed greenspace to urban communities that are traditionally and negatively impacted by infrastructure development."

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"Spanning an average of 100 feet or more in width throughout its route, the project has the potential to offer significant benefits, especially in light of the current health, environmental and fiscal crises," a press release announcing the state's funding said.

The railway has been off limits for nearly 20 years, Gov. Murphy said on Friday, adding that the greenway will take time to come to fruition.

"We can't snap our fingers and create a park," he said. "We are purchasing a gem, but please make no mistake it is a rough cut one at the moment."

Officials did not detail an exact timeline for the finalization of the park.
Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/Photos Getty Images

In politics, a week is a lifetime.

Just one week ago, the big stories were Republican Glenn Youngkin winning the Virginia gubernatorial election and Democrats spinning out in their trademark disarray. Among other problems, the party seemed out of touch with suburban moms and dads. On top of that, progressives were hindering Democrats from passing a bipartisan infrastructure bill that might havejust by demonstrating competence and momentumthrown Virginia Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe a lifeline.

Days later, Democrats, with the help of 13 Republicans, finally did pass an infrastructure bill. Then, rather than building on the promise of normal Republicanism (as represented by Youngkin), Republicans reminded everyone who they really were.

Seth Meyers Rips Into How Glenn Youngkin Won Virginia by Weaponizing Critical Race Theory

They did this with white nationalist-adjacent Rep. Paul Gosars bizarre and disturbing anime video (which depicts him killing Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez). They did this with Sen. Ted Cruzs attack on Big Bird. And they did this with threats aimed at the 13 House Republicans who broke ranks and voted for the infrastructure bill. (After Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene referred to them as traitors and posted their names and phone numbers, Rep. Fred Upton received death threats.)

The threats against these 13 Republicans are obviously beyond the pale, even if Im sympathetic to conservatives who feel frustrated with their actions (National Review called bailing out Dems political malpractice). But just as you might criticize the 13 Republicans for disobeying the maxim Never interfere with an enemy in the process of destroying himself, their critics are making the same mistake. Democrats, as recently as a week ago, were in the process of committing political suicide. Cruz, Gosar, and Greene effectively looked at the mess Democrats were in and said, Hold my beer!

Conservative writer Jonah Goldberg has made the observation that neither party wants to be a majority party. Instead, both major political parties seem hell-bent on achieving minority status. This assessment rings true, but it deserves an asterisk: You cant really blame the party leaders or the party apparatus for most of the problems. Social media and other innovations have made it much harder for leaders to maintain message discipline. Most of the crazy things attributed to both partiesthings that may rightly turn off normal Americansare the result of freelancing.

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AOCs Woke Whine Is Why the Dems Cant Stop Losing

Now, in my opinion, this is a distinction without much of a difference. When prominent progressive writers, athletes, academics, celebs, or Squad members on the left say or do something radical or extreme, it matterseven though it is not officially sanctioned by the DNC. Likewise, when former president Donald Trump (who wants to punish the 13 Republicans), Tucker Carlson, or Marjorie Taylor Greene say or do something controversial, that speaks to the character of the GOP.

The interesting thing is that these actors in both parties cannot leave well enough alone. This is true both in terms of silly things and in terms of substantive policy decisions. Six months ago, Joe Biden was riding high. Then, he decided to withdraw from Afghanistan, and all hell broke loose. In the intervening months, he has maybe had one or two good news cycles. Maybe. And the really crazy thing is that the withdrawal was largely a disaster of his choosing. All he had to do was nothing.

Likewise, Republicans couldnt revel in the Virginia victory for a few days without changing the narrative.

Again, the desire to meddle is the perfectly rational result of perverse incentives. There is money and attention and TV segments and Twitter buzz to be had for the politician willing to say or do outrageous things. So some of this is calculated and performative. Some of the craziness, though, is sincere. And some of this is simply the result of failed or unwise assumptions about what the public wants.

Whatever the motivation, crazy has consequencesthe worst get on top.

Just as it attracts abnormal candidates (see Herschel Walker and Sean Parnell), the far right deters serious people from seeking office. Such was the case this week when New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu announced he would not run for the U.S. Senate next year. This is a big deal, since Democrats currently hold a tenuous 50-50 majority. But as Esquires Charles Pierce speculated, Sununus disinclination to join his partys current congressional caucus might very well be a measure of how little he wants to join in as the Republicans in the House drive the Republicans in the Senate closer to establishing a unicameral monkeyhouse instead of a national legislature.

It has become fashionable to blame the public for our lousy politicians. And theres some truth in that. But just because pols respond to the intensity of the worst among us does not mean that the majority of Americans are not good and decent people who just want normal political leaders.

Glenn Youngkin demonstrated that there is pent-up demand for a return to normalcy. What remains to be seen is whether anyone in politics is paying attentionand whether either party really wants to win.

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Next Match: at University of Evansville 11/13/2021 | 5 pm ESPN3 UNIPanthers.com

 The UNI Panther volleyball team fought off a match point in the fourth set Friday but came up just short in a 3-2 decision to the Indiana State Sycamores at ISU Arena. Set scores favoring Indiana State were 26-24, 21-25, 25-15, 25-27, and 15-13.The Panthers held an 85-to-83 advantage in the dig department Friday. UNI posted a season-high 75 kills and 69 assists while hitting .189 for the contest. The Panthers also had five service aces and five blocks within the five-set match.tallied a career-best 17 kills on .394 hitting.produced a season-high 16 terminations.19 digs led a group of six Panthers in double figures that included(11) along with double-double efforts by(26 assists, 16 digs),(37 assists, 10 digs),(12 kills, 13 digs), and(12 kills, 12 digs).Indiana State overcame a quick 3-0 deficit and built leads of 15-7 and 16-8. UNI eventually surged ahead withserving and multiple kills byandhighlighting an 8-0 run. The Panthers pushed their edge to 24-20, but the Sycamores rallied for a 26-24 win.UNI never trailed while bouncing back from the tough finish in the first frame. The score was tied, 15-15, whenkill sparked a 4-0 outburst that put the Panthers ahead for good.collected a termination on set point and wrapped up a 25-21 victory to level the match, 1-1.After several early ties, Indiana State scored eight consecutive points for a 14-6 advantage. Ankill followed by a kill and a block frombrought the Panthers within 17-13 before the Sycamores closed on an 8-2 run to win by a 25-15 margin.The Panthers led from the start until the Sycamores pulled even at 22-22. Indiana State gained its first lead, 25-24, for a match-point opportunity. However,answered with back-to-back kills, and an Indiana State attack error ended the 27-25 UNI triumph that forced a 2-2 tie.A back-and-forth start swung to Indiana State out of a 6-6 tie. Late offense fromhelped UNI into ties of 12-12 and 13-13. Unfortunately for the Panthers, the Sycamores won back-to-back points to finish the 15-13 win and the 3-2 match victory.The Panthers will face the Evansville Purple Aces at 5 pm Saturday at Meeks Family Fieldhouse in Evansville, Indiana. This is UNI's final road contest of the regular season.
Former president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili offered to end his month-plus hunger strike if the government acceded to his demand to be transferred to a civilian medical facility, but the authorities have rejected the idea, Eurasianet writes.

Saakashvili made his proposal on November 11, following a call from the European Court of Human Rights for him to cease his hunger strike. The court also urged the Georgian government to report to it on Saakashvilis condition, as well as about the medical treatment dispensed in the prison hospital. They [Georgian authorities] should ensure his safety in prison in general and should provide him with appropriate medical care for the post-hunger strike recovery period, the court said in a decision in response to Saakashvilis appeal to the court for interim measures. In a Facebook post, Saakashvili responded to the ruling saying that a committee of doctors should recommend a suitable clinic to help him through the post-starvation rehabilitation process. [A]s soon as this decision is made and I am transferred from this facility to the appropriate facility, I will immediately end the hunger strike, he wrote. He repeatedly accused Russia of attempting to mastermind his killing: Vladimir Putin is the only one who ordered this assassination.

The potential compromise initially appeared to offer a way out of the crisis that has consumed Georgia since Saakashvilis return at the end of September. His subsequent arrest and hunger strike, and the governments unaccommodating stance in response, have resulted in a game of political chicken threatening the countrys tenuous stability. Saakashvili and his lawyers had been demanding that he be transferred to a civilian medical facility because the Rustavi prison clinic did not have all the capabilities needed to properly care for the hunger-striking former president. They also argued that being treated in prison would put him into close contact with criminals who had been convicted during the tough-on-crime former presidents time in office, rendering him vulnerable to revenge attacks.

But the government seems to see no need to meet Saakashvili halfway. On November 8, 42 days into his hunger strike, the authorities transferred the former president  against his will  to Gldani, the site of a dedicated prison hospital but which also is adjacent to other facilities holding criminals convicted of grave crimes. Indeed, immediately after Saakashvili was transferred to Gldani, footage emerged from various sources of other inmates shouting insults at the former president. Well get him. We will reach Misha! inmates were heard shouting in the videos. Other videos then were released by the State Penitentiary Service on November 11, showing Saakashvili being forcibly dragged to the Gldani prison. He was seen pushing medical equipment off a table, shouting belligerently, and shoving a prison employee. He called prison workers murderers, a dictators puppets, and Putins slaves.

The human rights ombudsmans of both Georgia and Ukraine (Saakashvili also is a Ukrainian citizen, and currently an adviser to President Volodomyr Zelensky) criticized the Georgian government for disturbing footage showing violation of the right to honor, dignity and torture and ill-treatment. Zelensky spoke with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on November 12; Zelensky said in a tweet that he insisted that the rights of Ukrainian citizen Mikheil Saakashvili must be fully guaranteed in accordance with international norms. Garibashvili, meanwhile, reported that he told Zelensky that Saakashvilis actions were provocative, destructive and a threat to the country's stability and that interference by Ukrainian citizens in Georgia's internal affairs was unacceptable.

Government officials seized on the language of the European courts ruling that the government should report on the medical treatment dispensed in the prison hospital and to ensure his [Saakashvilis] safety in prison in general as a tacit endorsement of their refusal to allow him to be transferred to a civilian clinic. The European court has called on Mr. Saakashvili to end the hunger strike. We will be very happy if he agrees ... but without any conditions, Justice Minister Rati Bregadze said in a November 11 interview with TV network Rustavi 2. Why should this person be taken to a private clinic? Can anyone explain to me?

But Deputy Health Minister Tamar Gabunia has at least partially supported Saakashvilis allies claims that the Gldani prison hospital is not properly equipped, saying that while it had some of the necessary capabilities it lacked some high-tech equipment that may be necessary.

Members of Saakashvilis United National Movement party also met with government representatives on November 11 and promised that if the former president were transferred to a civilian hospital, they would not hold rallies nearby. Officials have worried that Saakashvili may be using the demand for a transfer to a less-secure civilian facility as a ruse to allow his supporters to forcibly free him.
While no one is watching, the social and economic geography in the South Caucasus is continuing swiftly to evolve. Signal among these developments, indeed its driving force, is the rebuilding of the Karabakh region following the expulsion of occupying military forces from the Republic of Armenia, or under its direct control, which had been there for 30 years. The development has deep implications for the geopolitics of the broader region, Robert M. Cutler, Fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, writes for Geopolitical Monitor.

Danger still exists from Armenian irregular forces that continue to operate from the Azerbaijani territories where Russian peacekeeping troops are located. At the same time, there are periodic attempts to infiltrate special-operations teams from the body of Armenia proper into the newly liberated lands.

So far the headline story, but far from the only one, in the redevelopment of the Karabakh region is the opening of a new international airport in Fuzuli, a city that became a ghost town after its Azerbaijani population was driven out following its capture in August 1993 by Armenian forces who destroyed its civilian infrastructure.

It happens that the Azerbaijani army was able to retake important areas of Fuzuli district in 1994, although not the city itself. The development of non-occupied Fuzuli distinct since 1994 is an indicator of what to expect not only for Fuzuli city but for the whole of the de-occupied territories, once they are de-mined from the vast amounts of ordnance implanted by Armenian forces. This procedure is complicated by Yerevans general refusal to turn the requisite maps over to Baku. In one case where they did so, for the city of Aghdam, it was determined by inspection that these maps were only about 25 percent accurate.

In 1979, the city of Fuzuli had a population of 13,091. The whole of the Fuzuli district had population of 76,013, of which almost 97 percent was ethnic Azerbaijani. By 1989, the population of Fuzuli city had reached 17,090, an increase of 23 percent. Applying this rate of growth and ethnic apportionment to Fuzuli district would give it a population of 93,450, of which over 90,000 ethnic Azerbaijanis. This would be the number ethnically cleansed by Armenian forces from Fuzuli district alone during the First Karabakh War.

Making a very rough calculation based on Azerbaijans population growth of 42 percent over three decades, from 7.02 million in 1989 to 9.98 million in 2019, these figures indicate that proportionally the old Fuzuli district should be able to support almost 128,000 Azerbaijanis, or indeed more, given the now-planned economic development there.

It is estimated that in the mid-1990s 40,000 Azerbaijanis had returned already to those areas of Fuzuli district not under Armenian military control, where they have thrived. This established demographic and economic base, an advantage that most of the de-occupied administrative districts do not enjoy, will facilitate the further development of Fuzuli city and the rest of Fuzuli district.

Azerbaijan is building two more airports in the formerly occupied territories, in Zangilan and Lachin districts. Construction of Zangilan International Airport began in May 2021 and will be completed next year. These three airports will go far to re-integrate the region economically back into Azerbaijan. It is planned to create industrial zones adjacent to the airports. Private Turkish companies have already started to construct an agropark in Zangilan district.

Thus, it is planned that the new airports will also become foci for modern logistics and transportation centres. The airports and their associated infrastructure will strengthen the regions own security and connectivity by linking important new highways there, already under construction. New highways have already been finished that link major Karabakh cities, in the mountains, to the countrys eastern plain.

The catastrophe of the contamination of the de-occupied territories by land mines is becoming more widely recognized. Estimates made in 1998 supposed about 100,000 mines in the occupied territories. However. the mine maps provided for the city of Aghdam alone on 12 June 2021 showed no fewer than 97,000 mines. Official Baku believes that the occupying Armenian forces sowed no fewer than a million mines throughout the territories over the course of 30 years. The United Kingdom has provided US$677,000 to Azerbaijan for de-mining activities via the United Nations Development program. France has donated US$473,000 directly to Azerbaijan for the same purpose. The United States has recently pledged US$500,000. Other countries have stepped up by providing trained personnel as well as funding.

Azerbaijans deputy foreign minister Elnur Mammadov has told the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that Armenian forces continue to lay landmines in a campaign of ethnic cleansing and incitement to violence against Azerbaijanis [that] is ongoing and which have killed or injured at least 106 Azerbaijanis, including 65 civilians as of the middle of last month. Azerbaijan has applied to the ICJ for an order to Armenia to hand over maps showing the location of land mines in the liberated territories.

Baku is dedicating already in 2021 $1.5 billion dollars for the restoration of these territories. Similar figures may be foreseen for the future. This sum is not a great burden on the countrys state budget, which estimated an oil price of $45 per barrel; this price has risen to over $80 lately, with further increases likely. The results of these investments will not only transform the territories themselves. The broad rebuilding of the infrastructure, including international links, will equally transform the geostrategic map of the whole South Caucasus region and beyond.
The head of the Ministry of Health of Chechnya, Elkhan Suleimanov, visited the COVID centre on the basis of the M.T. Inderbiev Republican Clinical Hospital of War Veterans. There he inspected the conditions for the provision of medical care to patients with COVID-19 both in the therapeutic and in intensive care units.

According to him, 144 patients with COVID-19 are currently being treated in the centre's hospital, of which 22 are on non-invasive and invasive ventilation. "Today alone, 17 patients with moderate and severe forms of the disease have been admitted to the centre. At the same time, among those hospitalized, especially in intensive care, the percentage of those who are fully vaccinated is extremely low," he said.
MEP Anna Fotyga criticized the Georgian authorities and accused them of a lack of transparency and goodwill, as she was denied a meeting with ex-Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili.

Earlier, the MEP came to Georgia specifically to study the current situation in the country and meet with Saakashvili, who was sentenced to 6 years in two criminal cases and is currently in a prison clinic.
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Azerbaijan's Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'BB+' with a Stable Outlook, FitchRatings informs. The rating is supported by Azerbaijan's very strong external balance sheet, low public debt and strong financing flexibility from large sovereign wealth fund assets.

Fitch forecasts the current account returns to a surplus of 7.9% of GDP in 2021, from last year's deficit of 0.5%, before narrowing to average 5.3% in 2022-2023, mainly driven by our lower forecast average oil price (of USD55/b in 2022 and USD53/b in 2023, from USD63/b this year) but still the highest in the peer group. The net sovereign asset position is projected to increase to 84.1% of GDP at end-2023, from 83.1% at end-2020, compared with the 'BB' median of -2.1%.
The first-ever meeting of the Georgian and Iceland presidents took place in France. Salome Zurabishvili and Gvyudni Johannesson met during a working visit to Paris at a forum dedicated to the UNESCO 75th anniversary.

At the meeting, the parties discussed environmental issues related to climate change and biodiversity, noting the importance of joining efforts to overcome global challenges, Sputnik Georgia informs citing the presidential press service.

The presidents also addressed the problem of misinformation regarding the pandemic and vaccination. They noted that a balance is needed to protect freedom of expression while also reducing the harm of misinformation.
Poland is ready to block railway connections with Belarus and forbid the traffic between two countries, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Poland, Mariusz Kaminski, said.

They [the Belarusian authorities] know we can close crossings and block the railway traffic. Belarus is an important transit state, he said.

On November 9, Poland closed the Kuznica border crossing, where thousands of migrants from the Middle East accumulated.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that migrants are trying to get to the European Union through Minsk because of visa-free entry to Belarus.

The migrants are discovering the other routes, it is not surprising that they have chosen Belarus. According to Alexander Lukashenko, there is a visa-free entry into the country from the migrants countries of origin, the RIA Novosti quotes the president as saying.

Over the past several weeks, on the border of Belarus and Poland, there has been a sharp influx of migrants trying to get to the EU countries. In response the Polish authorities have strengthened the border protection and pulled the military, preventing illegal migrants to enter the country. Warsaw blames Belarus for the migrant crisis.
At this moment, another rally of ex-President of Georgia Mikhail Saakashvilis supporters is taking place in Tbilisi. Opposition representatives gathered in front of the parliament building.

According to the RIA Novosti correspondent, this time the Rustaveli Avenue adjacent to the parliament is not blocked, and patrol police brigades are at the place of the action.

Currently, the protesters are waiting for the arrival of supporters. The rally was organised by the UNM members.
The Turkish parliament officially decided to extend the mandate for the stay of Turkish military personnel in Azerbaijan for another year. The document, adopted at a plenary session of the Turkish parliament three days earlier, entered into force on Saturday, November 13, and was published in the official newspaper of the Turkish government, Resmi Gazete.

The document notes that thanks to the success of Azerbaijan in the struggle for the liberation of the lands occupied by Armenia, the situation in the region has changed. The efforts to ensure stability in the South Caucasus are ongoing in the framework of the tripartite statement by the leaders of Azerbaijan, Russia and Armenia on November 9, 2020, Anadolu Agency reports citing an official document.
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has expressed concern with the increasing number of marriages involving minors in Afghanistan, the Executive Director of the organization, Henrietta Fore said.

I am deeply concerned by reports that child marriage in Afghanistan is on the rise ... We have received credible reports of families offering daughters as young as 20 days old up for future marriage in return for a dowry, she said.

UNICEF reports that early marriage, a widespread phenomenon in Afghanistan, can cause domestic violence and discrimination against women, and, as a result, psychological disorders. According to UN statistics, 28% of women aged 15-49 in Afghanistan marry before the age of 18.
Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam has asked the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) and localities to design a support package for people returning to their jobs after lockdown.

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam

Dam, speaking at the National Assembly Q&A session on November 11, 2021 mentioned the departure of many workers from HCM City to their hometowns, saying it is necessary to apply necessary measures to attract workers who had left for their hometowns to return to work, and the interests of the workers and their families must be ensured.

He said that many problems were exposed during the fourth Covid wave, including accommodations for workers and welfare support.

The cabinet came to agreement on some principles and will submit to the National Assembly programs to solve these problems.

The matter of biggest concern is what to do in the next month.

The number of laborers moving between areas is 1.3 million, belonging to several groups.

First, laborers working under official contracts. These are part of a stable and long-term labor force, working at large corporations, especially in industrial zones (IZs) and export processing zones (EPZs). Most of them are in HCM City, Dong Nai, Binh Duong and Long An provinces and most received a part of salaries from employers while they were off work.

Second, laborers working in small enterprises, construction sites, or seasonal workers. In these cases, employers have not made commitments about calling workers back.

Third, freelancers who do not have official labor contracts. The number of these workers is very high, especially in HCM City.

Fourth, independent people. They come to HCM City and provinces to help their relatives who are factory workers to look after the workers children. They are not official workers, but it is necessary to take care of them.

Fifth, other workers coming to HCM City and southern provinces to seek job opportunities.

Dam said for the people belonging to the second, third, fourth and fifth groups, there are two problems that need to be solved.

First, Covid needs to be controlled because people are afraid that after they return to work, they may have to stop working if an outbreak occurs.

Second, schools should reopen, especially preschools and primary schools. Workers may also want to have support for travel and guesthouses for a certain time.

Workers also want to get a part of their salaries and ensure that labor contracts will not be broken if a new wave breaks out.

Restructuring production, labor force

Dam pointed out what needs to be done at the central level.

First, checking all the regulations on pandemic prevention and control to be sure they provide safety but are not too complicated. The regulations on testing and response to Covid cases and their close contacts need to be flexible.

This needs cooperation from businesses who need to take care of their workers and not put all the responsibility on the government, Dam said.

Dam asked localities to activate programs on building houses for workers and gradually restructure production and the workforce. Vietnam should not insist on developing a cheap workforce as an advantage in the future, he said.

It is also necessary to set temporary regulations that are practical for businesses.

For example, a temporary special regulation on limiting the numbers of working hours within a month or within a year is being considered. Businesses are gearing up to implement orders to be able to deliver products on time for the year-end sale season.

Enterprises have been recruiting workers, including high-quality, mid-level and senior workers, to resume operations in the new normal period and prepare orders for the Lunar New Year.

Localities need to take the initiative in connecting people who want to return to their workplaces. A survey found that half of workers prefer freedom and dont need the connection to local authorities. They go to HCM City and then think about where to apply for jobs.

We need to help the other 50 percent of workers who want help connecting to enterprises by providing sufficient information and vaccinating them, Dam said.

I talked to some provinces leaders and realized that localities are willing to pay money to bring workers back to work, if there are connections, he said.

In addition to aid packages, Dam proposed that MOLISA and localities consider specific aid packages for workers coming back to work.

He said that many people have to live in privately run boarding houses with very poor conditions. He asked localities to activate programs on building houses for workers and gradually restructure production and the workforce. Vietnam should not insist on developing a cheap workforce as an advantage in the future, he said.

National Assembly Chair Vuong Dinh Hue said the Government needs to clarify the responsibility of state management agencies in the migration of workers.

Will we pledge not to let this happen once again? We must give a clear answer to the question, Hue said. Settling labor shortages in areas where workers leave and creating livelihoods in areas where workers go is what we have to do.

Huong Quynh -Thu Hang - Tran Thuong

HCM City forecasts shortage of 60,000 workers in Q1 next year HCMC may face a shortage of some 60,000 workers in the first quarter of next year if the Covid-19 pandemic continues unabated in coming months, according to the municipal Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs.
A Riesel police officer was hit with shrapnel from a gunshot at a traffic stop last weekend, but the Riesel Police Department has no report on the incident, Chief Danny Krumnow said.

The officer may have surgery to remove the shrapnel but is expected to return to work soon, Krumnow said.

He declined to provide more information, including the identity of the officer, the reason for the traffic stop, the time and location of the stop or the circumstances that led to the gunshot.

The Tribune-Herald early this week submitted public information requests for reports on the stop, a subsequent arrest and the officers injuries. Under Section 552.108 of the Texas Public Information Act, basic information about an arrested person, an arrest, or a crime cannot be withheld from the public.

In an email response to the Tribune-Herald, Krumnow said there is no report from his agency, and all information on the incident was given verbally to the Texas Rangers, who made the arrest.

Texas Rangers responded to the Nov. 6 incident, but the officer had left the scene by the time they arrived, Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. Ryan Howard said.
Its us telling our story of how we've made it over, she said. We've made it through so many different trials and tribulations, and we're here now and we're seeing the progress. Weve still got more progress to go, but it's definitely good progress.

Provost Nancy Brickhouse said the center will be an important resource for students and scholars from a range of disciplines.

Musical historians could come from a lot of different places and make use of this amazing archive, and it will be available to everyone, Brickhouse said.

Robert Marovich's gospel record collection is still being digitized and added to the center's archive. As a music historian and founder of the Journal of Gospel Music, he said he shares Dardens obsession.

Thanks to the center, generations to come will not have to search fruitlessly like many of us had often done to find an example of a group or a singer or choir or original song, sound or style, Marovich said. It will be right here at Baylor University.

He said many of the recordings are obscure and few copies survive. From time to time, he receives calls from family members of gospel musicians and preachers and helps them locate recordings of their loved ones, who they might not have heard in years.

A lot are sung heroes in their day, but they've been forgotten now, Marovich said. Even those who knew them may have forgotten them, but they're not being forgotten here. And I think why gospel music matters is that it's keeping their stories alive.

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Flag disposal ceremony

The 20th annual flag disposal ceremony, hosted by the Elizabeth Gordon Bradley Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the city of Woodway and the McLennan County Veterans Association, will run from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday behind the Woodway Public Safety facility at Fairway Road and Estates Drive.

For details, call 254-744-6076 or 254-749-2146.

Silversmith demonstration

The Art Guild of Central Texas will host a live demonstration featuring silversmith Glenn Webster from 1:30 to 4 p.m. Sunday at Central Presbyterian Church, 9191 Woodway Drive. For more information, call 254-722-9928.

Shots for Souls Sunday

The Waco-McLennan County Public Health District has partnered with area African American churches, the Waco NAACP and VOICE to host a second Shots for Souls COVID-19 Vaccination Drive from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Health District, 225 W. Waco Drive.

Participants can choose from the Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

Adult vaccines, including boosters, and vaccines for children age 5 and older will be available.
Bui admitted to setting the fire, only to realize the next day through news coverage that the victims were not the ones who robbed him, said Baker, the lead investigator in the case.

In his interview with investigators, Bui also said he never intended for anyone to die, another investigator, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent Mark Sonnendecker, later said when questioned by one of Bui's lawyers.

Judge Martin Egelhoff found enough evidence for the case to proceed. While lawyers for Bui and Seymour emphasized that the teens never talked about a specific plan to set a fire or expressed a desire to hurt anyone in any of possibly thousands of messages obtained by investigators, Egelhoff noted that the fire was allegedly set in the middle of the night when people would likely be at home and sleeping with evidence of an accelerant to quickly spread it.

Seymour told investigators they went to the home without a plan, possibly to vandalize it but home surveillance video footage did not show the teens holding rocks or baseball bats that could be used to damage the home, just a gasoline can, Chief Deputy District Attorney Courtney Johnston said.

What they did was create a death trap that no one was intended to survive, she said.

Neither Bui nor Seymour have been asked to enter pleas to the charges yet. They are both seeking to have their cases moved to juvenile court where they would face less serious penalties if convicted.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
The Neskowin campground is tucked between two forks of Neskowin Creek and is about 7 miles (11 kilometers) north of Otis, a tiny coastal community that was devastated by a wind-driven wildfire just over a year ago.

We are okay for now ... but the rain in still coming, said Melynda Small, who lost her home to the fire in September 2020 and is worried about mudslides in the burn area.

Forecasters said the storms are being caused by an atmospheric river, known as the Pineapple Express. Rain was expected to remain heavy in Oregon and Washington through Friday night. Precipitation may ease some Saturday but more rain is expected Saturday night through next week.

In Oregon, the National Weather Service issued flood watches in several coastal counties and warned that heavy rains raised the risk of mudslides and debris flows in areas recently burned by wildfires.

More than 2 inches (5 centimeters) of rain fell in some areas in the western part of the state in a 24-hour period Thursday and heavy rains were expected to continue through Friday evening, the National Weather Service in Portland said. Astoria, in the states far northwest corner, set a new record for rainfall Thursday with just over 2 inches (5 centimeters) of rain, the most since the previous record for the date set 70 years ago.
So where were these loud parents years earlier as schools were watching out for their kids health, requiring numerous vaccinations for school enrollment? Oh, I forgot. That would have preceded Donald Trump, who like some mad scientist created the vaccines via warp speed, then cast doubts on them through his indifference when it developed he would not be able to take credit specifically for the vaccines saving lives. That would be left to his Democratic successor.

In a twisted Frankenstein story, Doctor Trump agitated the villagers and set them upon the castle of science and higher learning with torches and pitchforks. Anti-vaxx, anti-mask and anti-science are the rallying cries.

And they echoed in Benton County, Arkansas.

In the recent Zone 7 Bentonville school board race the incumbent Joe Quinn, who judiciously voted for masks to be worn as school district policy in August, was defeated by newcomer Mike Swanson. Swansons key platform planks were freedom for parents to choose to mask their children or not (a specific swipe at Quinn) and enhanced non-college education pathways for district students. These two issues were crucial in the election involving fewer than 1,200 votes with Swanson winning with 59%.
ASHLAND  The solution to safety issues at the intersection of Highway 6 and 66 is a roundabout, according to the Nebraska Department of Transportation.

Two representatives from the NDOT attended the Ashland City Council meeting on Nov. 4 to discuss the proposal to install a temporary modular roundabout at the busy intersection.

After the discussion, the council approved a resolution to support the development of the project.

Kyle Keller and Matt Neemann with the NDOT said the Ashland roundabout is a pilot project for the state. It is the first modular roundabout planned in Nebraska. However, the NDOT recently announced plans to install a similar roundabout in Wahoo at the intersection of Highways 77/93 and 109, the scene of two deadly collisions that took place within months of each other. Both will be constructed next summer.

Neemann said it will take one to two months to install and traffic should be able to continue in at least one lane as work is done.

We anticipate that the intersection will be accessible during construction, Neemann said.
Deere & Co. and the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America have reached their third tentative agreement, according to a release from Brian Rothenberg, spokesperson for the UAW.

John Deere and Company has made a last, best and final offer to the UAW negotiating team that includes modest modifications to the last tentative agreement presented for ratification on November 2, Rothenberg said. As a result, the UAW will present the companys offer for ratification and, as has been the case throughout the bargaining process, will support the outcome as determined by our members.

The ratification vote will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 17, according to a worker.

Deere officials had no comment.

Deere and the UAW have also agreed to a Nov. 19 hearing about the injunction that limited behavior on picket lines, according to court documents.

The Scott County UAW filed a motion requesting the hearing be moved from a remote format to an in-person format.

"The hearing is presently scheduled to be remote. The Defendants request that the hearing be held in person," a lawyer for the UAW wrote. "Despite the fact that defense counsel is from out of town, they are more than willing to participate in person due to the importance of this matter."

Deere officials did not have immediate comment on the matter.

The injunction filed on Oct. 20 limited how union members can conduct themselves on the picket lines at Deere's Davenport Works. Chief Judge Marlita Greve ordered the UAW to have no more than four picketers "near" each gate of Davenport Works, banned the use of chairs and barrel fires by picketers and prohibited harassment and intimidation tactics that at least five trucking companies said they had encountered.

Labor law experts who reviewed the Deere injunction said the ban on chairs and fire barrels is unusual and they believed the injunction lacked sufficient evidence to prove their role in impacting the ingress and egress at the Davenport plant.

Five days later, the UAW filed to have the injunction vacated. Attorneys for the union said Chief Judge Greve had only Deeres side of the story when issuing the injunction.

Prior to the latest motion, Deere had filed a resistance motion asking the judge to keep the restrictions in place.

On the picket lines

Picketers at Davenport Works were without burn barrels to guard against the windy mix of rain and snow on Friday. Picketers continue to walk the line 24 hours a day, seven days a week, despite shorter daylight hours.

Dave Cousins, meteorologist with National Weather Service Quad Cities, said the cold weather is going to stick around through the weekend, with temperatures in the upper 30s and lower 40s.

We're moving into the colder part of the year, Cousins said.

Here's a look at how union members are working the picket line:

John Deere Davenport Works

The winter weather is more challenging for picketers in Davenport because of the injunction. With faces red from the cold and wind, two workers said their main defense from the cold is layered clothing and donated hand warmers.

It wouldnt be so bad if it wasnt windy, one worker said. This is only the beginning.

Any donations are appreciated, the worker said. Especially for those at night. Theyve been forgotten about a little bit.

John Deere Harvester Works, East Moline

UAW members outside Harvester Works in East Moline unloaded used plywood from a trailer and started to build a temporary, four-walled structure where two blue tents had stood Thursday morning.

We are looking to set up something more permanent before the winds, one worker said, standing between two fire barrels. We were using tents but they all blew away.

Workers shielded the firewood, mostly donated from community members and other local unions, from the inclement weather, covering it with a tarp so later shifts would have enough to stay warm.

John Deere Seeding Group, Moline

Despite the gloomy and cold weather, a group of more than 10 picketers gathered outside the entrance to Deere Seeding Group in Moline. Most gathered around two fire barrels, sitting in chairs or huddled under their 10-foot tall tent.

Everyone was talking about how nice strike duty was, during the high-60 temperatures earlier in the week, a worker said. We got rained on.

John Deere Parts Distribution Center, Milan

Union members outside the PDC in Milan relied on a combination of fire barrels and winter gear to get through their shift.

Friday morning, all five workers on the picket line along Airport Road in Milan were wearing neck gaiters.

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Temperatures didnt get above 40 degrees in Waterloo on Saturday. But it was the frosty reception from Deere and UAW leadership that chilled striking Local 838 workers to the bone.

Deere & Co. and union officials reached a third preliminary contract agreement, it was announced Friday night, and workers who began striking four weeks ago will vote on it soon.

But while striking workers hadnt yet seen the latest offer or gotten a highlighter sheet from UAW leadership, picketers said they heard it wasnt much more than the companys second offer. That was rejected by a wide margin in Waterloo  home to 3,100 of the 10,100 total striking workers.

We just want higher wages, said one picketer. They can get rid of that ratification bonus.

The United Auto Workers said in a statement Friday night that the proposed contract with the agricultural machinery giant includes modest modifications to the latest rejected proposal, which included immediate 10% raises. The union described the new proposal as the companys last, best and final offer in its statement.

But those on the picket lines in Waterloo on Saturday said they thought the company was not bargaining in good faith, pointing to a recent letter sent to dozens of Waterloo-area business and community leaders from the John Deere Waterloo Works factory manager touting Deeres latest offer.

UAW members said Deere was misrepresenting how much workers were paid, including CIPP pay, or pay for meeting quotas that they say Waterloo workers dont routinely get because of shortages. If the latest offer didnt address that, picketers said, the local will vote it down again, undeterred even as winter creeps in.

Even with the gains that we made (in the most recent offer), it doesnt really make up for what weve lost the last 24 years, said another worker, saying they thought Target Distribution workers make more up front. I think (Deere is) interested in making that known that theyve offered quite a bit, but I guess we dont feel like that.

The contract, which union members will vote on Wednesday, would cover more than 10,000 Deere workers at 12 facilities in Iowa, Illinois and Kansas, who make the companys iconic John Deere green tractors and other equipment.

Deere officials had no comment.

The modified agreement isnt just a tentative agreement, according to a release from Brian Rothenberg, spokesperson for the UAW. With the second tentative agreement, Deere announced it was their last, best, and final offer after the vote. This time, Deere officially declared this the last, best and final offer at the negotiating table, which could potentially trigger legal action, Rothenberg said.

I know its caused a lot of confusion, Rothenberg said. Ive had people say, Well, you know, is it a tentative agreement? Well, yes, it is. But it just has a different connotation to it if it goes down.

James Cooney, employment law expert at Rutgers University, said although declaring best and final offers isnt unheard of, it doesnt take place in every labor negotiation.

Employers often claim to be making a last, best, final offer as leverage in bargaining to try to intimidate the union, Cooney said.

Cooney said an official best and last offer could signify Deere is at an impasse in negotiations. The National Labor Relations Board requires an employer and unions to actively negotiate on employment terms until they agree on a labor contract or reach a stand-off or impasse. An impasse is a total breakdown of the bargaining process that occurs after good-faith negotiations have been exhausted, according to the NLRB.

Thats not an agreement with the company when saying Hey, this is our last, best, final offer, Cooney said. A union may take that back to the membership but, on the other hand, may choose not to, especially if its perceived as more of a threat. And thats why theres probably more going on behind the scenes than certainly Im aware of, on both sides.

If they are truly at an impasse and the union votes this offer down, Deere has the ability to implement the terms of it with employees working during the strike, Cooney said. Workers would be expected to continue their strike even if the agreement is implemented for remaining employees.

If there is a true impasse, the law does allow an employer to unilaterally impose the conditions, but very often, theres not a true impasse and a third party such as the National Labor Relations Board might disagree that there was no further room for bargaining, Cooney said.

The UAW could file an unfair labor practice charge with the NLRB if the new agreement is implemented, he said.

In such cases, NLRB investigates, and if a company is found guilty of refusal to bargain, the NLRB can restore the old agreement and force the parties back to the negotiating table.

But if the NLRB decides the parties are at a true impasse, the company is legally allowed to implement the new agreement and hire replacement workers.

It depends on so many moving parts, Cooney said.

To keep negotiations open, Deere and the UAW could bring in a third-party mediator, like someone from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, if they havent already.

I hope the parties would be open to a mediator getting involved, Cooney said. But thats really up to them.

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AMES, Iowa (AP)  A national literary journal published by Iowa States English Department has spun-off a book publisher, Flyway Books, which is celebrating its first imprint  a childrens book titled A Moo Cow Came Traveling.

Flyway: Journal of Writing & Environment has been publishing poems, stories and essays from writers around the world for more than 20 years. A Moo Cow Came Traveling represents the publishers first book.

It was a story that just sang to senior editor Debra Marquart and her team of graduate student editors.

The whimsical story came from Irish writer Mark Mulholland. Marquart told the Ames Tribune that she and her team loved it but didnt think it was quite right for their online journal.

The story tells the tale of Elnorvow, a Moo Cow traveling through space on a flying bicycle. One day, he arrives in an Irish village to have tea with the proprietor at Meegans Pub, where he delights the local school children and discusses philosophy with the schools principal.

We started immediately talking about how it would really lend itself to illustration, Marquart said.

Marquart has known Ames-area illustrator Dorothia Rohner for many years and suggested Flyway editors look at her work.

The editors got really excited when we looked at her website, Marquart said. So this little adventure began.

The team planned to publish a standalone book about the story. Then came the COVID-19 lockdowns.

It was during that lockdown that things grew beyond the idea for a standalone book.

One thing kind of led to another, Marquart said. Publishing a book requires a certain number of steps  you have to get an ISBN number, for example.

Marquart herself has published seven books. Poet laureate for the state of Iowa and distinguished professor of Liberal Arts and Sciences, shes certainly no stranger to publishing. But shed never ordered an ISBN number before. The International Standard Book Number is a unique number assigned to a commercial book.

Ive never gone through the process of publishing someone elses book, she said. I contacted the ISBN vendor and ended up buying a package of 10.

As a result, Moo Cow is the first book of at least 10 the team plans to publish, and Marquart expects theyll release about one new book every year.

This was a project that sang to us, she said. Its incredibly labor- and time-intensive  and its incredibly expensive.

A donation from Roger S. Hanson made the project possible, Marquart said.

As the team worked through the pandemic, the author was locked down in southern France. New York-based book designer Christine Kettner, the illustrator and the editors were isolated at their locations, too, so much of the collaboration took place over Zoom.

It was kind of a whimsical adventure for all involved, Marquart said. Unwittingly, it became our pandemic preoccupation  we go back to Moo Cow and work on bits and pieces of it.

Marquart and her team will be looking for more stories that sing to them, although theyre not accepting submissions at this time.

Moo Cow can be purchased online from the Flyway website, FlywayJournal.org/books.

For copyright information, check with the distributor of this item, The Tribune.

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LE MARS, Iowa (AP)  Anxious for a getaway after months of being homebound during the pandemic, Mike and Cheryl Wells embarked on a cross country trip in the fall of 2020.

From their home in Le Mars, the couple traveled in a motor home over 4,100 miles in 21 days through several western states. Their journey took them through Hillcrest, California, where they marveled at a large red neon sign with the citys name in large letters. A prominent landmark, the sign was a gift to the community from a group of neighborhood merchants in 1940.

Later in their trip, they viewed another big illuminated sign as they entered Williams, Arizona, near the southern entrance to the Grand Canyon. That sign, bearing the citys name, extends over the iconic Route 66.

We came away from the experience thinking, Wouldnt it be cool to have a combination lighted sign with (Le Mars) name over a street downtown?  Mike Wells recalled. We came back and started dreaming with the architects and the engineers.

The Sioux City Journal reports that nearly a year later, that dream is becoming a reality. Last week, crews began installing a giant welcome sign at the entrance to downtown Le Mars. The 80-foot-wide by 20-foot tall steel sign extends over Central Avenue, between 1st Street NE and Plymouth Street.

Mike and Cheryl Wells donated the structure to help welcome and attract even more visitors to Le Mars, the Plymouth County seat of about 10,000.

We love our community, Mike Wells said. We wanted to create another unique way to differentiate Le Mars and create a landmark people would identify with.

Wells heads Wells Enterprises, the Le Mars-based family-run ice cream manufacturer that employs over 2,500 people, making it the largest employer by far in the Plymouth County seat.

Over 20,000 visitors per year stop at the Wells Visitor Center & Ice Cream Parlor, which is downtown at 115 Central Ave NW.

Wells said the new welcome sign has the potential to help draw even more traffic to the downtown business district. The sign is not far from the intersection with Route 3, which carries 10,000 vehicles per day.

The steel arched sign, which weighs over 20,000, will bear the words, Ice Cream Capital of the World, in white letters over a blue background. A sculpted plastic sundae, with vanilla ice cream with hot fudge and a cherry on top, will bear the word Le Mars in red letters, and Est. 1869 in black letters on the dish.

Both the sign and sundae will be illuminated, visible to northbound and southbound traffic.

Beneath the sign will be a 40-foot wide by 46-foot tall, double-sided banner that will promote seasonal community events. The first is The Joy of Christmas in Hometown Le Mars, set for Nov. 27, the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

The installation of the welcome center required temporarily shutting down Central Avenue, a major thoroughfare downtown. Wells said he and his wife met with local businesses ahead of time to give them a heads up about the plans.

The downtown merchants were super supportive, he said.

Local contractors were lined up for the installation. The sign was created by Mark Catton, who heads M. Catton & Co., a Le Mars-based firm that does work for museums, science centers and other clients around the country.

Other contractors on the project include: Interstate Metal Specialists, steel fabrication; Thompson Electric, electrical; Maurer Sign & Design, internally lighted sculpture and channel lights fabrication; Schlotfeldt Engineering, site plan and elevation drawings; and Timmins Construction, crane operator.

While the work was originally estimated to be finished by Nov. 5, wet weather pushed back completion by a few days, Wells said.

Were a little behind but well get the street open for the weekend, he said.

For copyright information, check with the distributor of this item, Sioux City Journal.

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Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

PNM Resources and Connecticut-based energy giant Avangrid say they will accept all conditions recommended by a Public Regulation Commission hearing examiner if the five-member commission decides to approve their proposed merger.

Hearing examiner Ashley Schannauer  who oversaw eight months of evidence-gathering, plus two weeks of public hearings in August with parties in the case  released a recommended decision on Nov. 1 that called on commissioners to reject the deal because, in his view, the potential harms outweigh the benefits.

However, if the commissioners do approve the deal, Schannauer recommended they attach a series of conditions to protect the interests of ratepayers and the state.

PNM Resources and Avangrid filed a response to Schanauer late Friday afternoon that, in short, affirms their willingness to accept all of his recommendations if the commission chooses to approve the merger under his conditions. Their acceptance reflects the merger partners commitment to do whats best for New Mexico, said PNM Resources Chairman, President and CEO Pat Vincent-Collawn.

We worked diligently to address the hearing examiners concerns and further mitigate potential risks, Vincent-Collawn told the Journal in an email. We hope we can receive approval and move forward with fulfilling the merger commitments to our customers and help New Mexicos economy realize its potential as a renewable leader.

The merger contains substantial benefits, said Avangrid Deputy CEO Robert Kump.

We are hopeful the PRC will see the many benefits and safeguards in the proposed transaction, Kump said in a statement.

If the commission approves the merger, Avangrid would acquire PNM Resources and its two utility subsidiaries  Public Service Company of New Mexico and Texas New Mexico Power  in an all-cash transaction valued at $4.3 billion.

The merger partners negotiated an extensive settlement agreement with parties in the case that contains more than $300 million in rate relief for PNM customers, assistance for low-income consumers, and economic development programs. It also includes significant safeguards to ensure continued grid reliability and local decision-making control of PNM after Avangrid takes over.

As a result, 23 of 24 parties now either directly support the merger or dont oppose it.

The parties involved negotiated those agreements over five months, with final commitments reached while public hearings were underway in August. But Schannauer said the negotiations were done piecemeal with individual organizations, with no overall consensus evident among all parties.

All settlement signatories, however, filed a joint response to Schannauer on Friday that clearly states everybodys agreement, said Steve Michel of Western Resource Advocates.

We all continue to support the settlement agreement, and we accept the additional modifications proposed by the hearing examiner, Michel told the Journal. Hopefully, that will give the commissioners the comfort they need to approve the merger.
Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  New Mexicos plan to completely overhaul its social studies standards for the first time in 20 years has gone from a low-profile task to a full-fledged culture clash in a matter of weeks.

The debate reached a crescendo Friday, with state public education officials hearing a wide range of views from more than 90 teachers, parents, school board members and legislators during a remote public hearing that lasted for more than five hours and took place after a GOP-backed rally against the standards.

Critics argued the new curriculum would inject liberal anti-gun and socialist ideologies like critical race theory into classrooms statewide, while backers defend the proposed standards as an overdue update that would reflect New Mexicos diverse population and sometimes bloody history.

Joe Garcia, the father of two children who attend Albuquerque Public Schools, said he supports the proposed social studies standards as both a parent and a citizen.

In order for children to be able to be invested in our state, they need to feel represented in our state, Garcia said in an interview.

But Tiffany Shirley, a newly-elected school board member in Carlsbad, said during Fridays hearing the proposed standards have caused great concern in her southeast New Mexico community and called on the PED to extend the public comment period for an additional six months.

And Valerie Fox, a Los Alamos parent, said teaching students about sexual orientation in particular would violate parents religious rights.

We do need to update, but I think these updates are dangerous, Fox said. These are our children, not yours.

The debate over the proposed New Mexico social studies standards comes amid rising national scrutiny of how schools teach racial conflicts and inequalities in American history  and how theyve shaped the nation.

Some critics of the new proposed curriculum cited recent events in Virginia, where Republican Glenn Youngkin was elected governor this month after making education issues a central part of his campaign.

And several parents vowed they would remove their children from New Mexico public schools and instead teach them at home if the standards are adopted.

In all, more than 1,000 people submitted written public comments on the standards before a Friday deadline, with those comments filling more than 1,400 pages as of Thursday, a spokeswoman for the Public Education Department said.

Public Education Secretary-designate Kurt Steinhaus said this week the department would consider all the feedback it gets before deciding whether to modify and adopt the standards.

He also said the proposed curriculum would better align the state in response to a 2018 court ruling that found New Mexico was not meeting its constitutional mandate to provide an adequate education to all students, especially Native Americans and non-English speakers.

At the end of the day, weve got to do whats best for the children of New Mexico, Steinhaus said.

Meanwhile, at least some individuals who testified Friday called the proposed changes necessary in a state where Native Americans make up 12.4% of the population and Hispanic residents make up 47.7%, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

This is not an indoctrination, this is simply inclusivity, said Mason Graham, a member of the New Mexico Black Leadership Council.

Group identities, NM history

The new social studies standards were crafted by a group of more than 60 educators from around New Mexico, who began their work in February.

If approved in the next two months, the standards would not take effect until fall 2023.

Top PED officials said this week that would give teachers more than a year to prepare and make lesson plans, though some teachers voiced concern Friday about whether they would be provided sufficient resources to implement the changes.

Under the proposed curriculum update, students starting in kindergarten would learn to communicate a positive view of themselves and identify some of their group identities.

By eighth grade, students would examine how and why diverse groups have been denied equality and opportunity both institutionally and informally.

The proposed curriculum would also include New Mexico history, including the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and the states role in producing uranium-fueled weapons during the Cold War.

Left out: Critical race theory

Much of the recent Republican-fueled opposition to the New Mexico social studies standards centered on the role of critical race theory, an academic concept that deals with structural racism.

Some states, including Texas, have enacted laws banning the teaching of critical race theory in schools and mandating the teaching of both sides of issues.

During the rally outside the Public Education Building in Santa Fe that drew about 50 people, critics of the states proposed curriculum changes said they would lead to students learning about their differences  not their similarities.

This is a national model for the state of New Mexico and I think its wrong, said state Sen. David Gallegos, R-Eunice, a former school board member. We are not California.

A few passing motorists weighed in with honks and shouts, and one nearby bystander could be heard calling the protesters racist trash.

Lt. Gov. Howie Morales, a former educator, defended the Public Education Departments handling of the standards, saying the department has allowed parents to provide input.

The lieutenant governor, a Democrat, also described the opposition to the new curriculum as being fueled by misinformation.

In reality, its a smokescreen because critical race theory isnt taught in the school system, Morales told the Journal.

PED Deputy Secretary Gwen Perea Warniment also insisted critical race theory is not included in the standards.

She said once they are adopted, in their current form or after being revised, school districts around New Mexico will be able to decide how to craft courses to teach them.

What are in the standards is historical accuracy, she told reporters this week. Truth-telling is vital to us as a community and to (our ability to) continue to progress.
Albuquerque police have launched a homicide investigation after finding a person with gunshot wounds inside a crashed car early Saturday.

Officer Chase Jewell, a spokesman for the Albuquerque Police Department, said the person was found in the area of Dallas and Copper NE.

He said officers were dispatched to numerous ShotSpotter gunshot detection system activations in the area around 4:30 a.m.

When they got there, they found a vehicle that appeared to have crashed and an occupant with apparent gunshot wounds, Jewell said.

The occupant had already succumbed to their injuries on scene, he said.

Police didnt say whether the victim was a man or a woman or provide any other details about the homicide.

This marks the 100th suspected homicide of the year for APD.

This year, there have been 103 suspected homicides in Albuquerque, although three of those are being investigated by New Mexico State Police.
Instagram Celebrity

Glen de Vries, who is the founder of Medidata Solutions, lost his life a month after he took off in Amazon boss Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin ship, alongside the 'Star Trek' icon'.

Nov 13, 2021

AceShowbiz - One of William Shatner's space mission pals has died in a plane crash. Businessman Glen de Vries lost his life on Thursday, November 11, a month after he took off in Amazon boss Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin ship, alongside the "Star Trek" icon.

De Vries and flight school instructor Thomas P. Fischer were killed in the crash in Sussex County, New Jersey.

A spokesman for Bezos' Blue Origin says, "We are devastated to hear of the sudden passing of Glen de Vries. He brought so much life and energy to the entire Blue Origin team and to his fellow crewmates. His passion for aviation, his charitable work, and his dedication to his craft will long be revered and admired."

De Vries, the founder of clinical research company Medidata Solutions, made history during his space trip - he was part of a crew that took the oldest person - 90-year-old Shatner - into space.

Federal Aviation Administration officials are currently investigating the plane crash to determine what caused it.

Shatner has not reacted publicly to De Vries' passing. He was previously involved in a war of words with his former "Star Trek" co-star George Takei for mocking his space travel.

"Don't hate George," he tweeted on Friday, October 15. Insinuating that Takei was only jealous of his fame, the former Captain James T. Kirk depicter added, "The only time he gets press is when he talks bad about me."

Bringing back their old feud, he added, "He claims 50+ years ago I took away a camera angle that denied him 30 more seconds of prime time TV. I'm giving it back to him now by letting him spew his hatred for the world to see! Bill the [pig emoji]."
Instagram Celebrity

When reflecting on her health journey for the last two years, the 23-year-old model daughter of the late 'Fast and Furious' actor shares a picture of her in a hospital.

Nov 13, 2021

AceShowbiz - Paul Walker's daughter could not be happier after having a tumor removed. When reflecting on her health journey for the last two years on social media, Meadow Walker said she feels "blessed and grateful" that she is now healed.

Taking to her Instagram account on Thursday, November 11, the 23-year-old beauty let out a picture of her wearing a medical hair cover in a hospital. In the accompanying message, she wrote, "2 years ago today. I've come a very long way. Bye bye tumor. Blessed & grateful."

Although she didn't offer more details about her health issue, Meadow received outpouring support from many. One in particular was "Fast and Furious" actor Vin Diesel, who commented with the prayer hands emoji. Supermodel Christy Turlington Burns penned, "Beyond blessed. LOVED."

The post arrived a few weeks after Meadow tied the knot with Louis Thornton-Allan. The couple exchanged wedding vows at a beach wedding in the Dominican Republic with Vin, who is also Meadow's godfather, walking her down the aisle.

On October 22, the model shared a compilation video from the ceremony, which was also attended by her father's "Fast and Furious" co-star Jordana Brewster. Alongside the footage, she exclaimed, "We're married!!!!"

Following their wedding ceremony, the newlyweds had a beach party. "We were all barefoot, dancing in the sand," the bride shared. "To finish the night, there was a wonderful display of fireworks, and we lit lanterns into the picturesque night sky."

Meadow and Louis first went public with their romance in mid-July. They later got engaged the following month. At that time, she shared a video in which she showed off her diamond engagement ring while swimming in a pool. In the clip, she could be seen holding up her hand in front of her face, showing off her sparkling bauble and giggling.
WENN/Mario Mitsis/FayesVision Movie

The 'Guardians of the Galaxy' actor put out an idea for the 'Lethal Weapon'-type buddy cop movie with him and the 'Aquaman' star as the leads on the microblogging site back in August.

Nov 13, 2021

AceShowbiz - Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista's new movie started life as an idea on Twitter.

Back in August 2021, Dave tweeted out an idea for a film that he wanted to make with Jason and his proposal instantly caught the attention of studio bosses.

"Just going to throw this out into the atmosphere and see what happens. Here we go... Me and Momoa in a Lethal Weapon type buddy cop movie directed by David Leitch. Ok! There it is. Now we wait," he penned in the August 19 post.

Dave Bautista shared an idea for a film he wanted to make with Jason Momoa.

According to Deadline, the duo, who appeared in "Dune" but didn't have scenes together, began pitching the project, with author Jonathan Tropper attached as a writer, this week (beginning November 8) and MGM is frontrunner to secure the title.

The publication reported the actors will "play brothers in a Lethal Weapon-esque buddy cop comedy likely to shoot in Hawaii."

Jason then reaffirmed Dave's idea during an appearance on "The Late Late Show with James Corden" a few days later. When asked by James Corden about the potential project, the "Aquaman" actor revealed that they will shoot in Hawaii, with Dave in a Speedo and he will be in his trademark board shorts.

Jason also joked that Dave would be "grumpy" while he would be "charming," and that the movie pitch "sells itself."

It is expected to shoot in 2023 and no director is attached yet.

Both Jason and Dave hold a lot of star power in Hollywood, owing to their successful franchises. Jason is currently busy filming the "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" while Dave gears up for "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3".
WENN/Avalon Celebrity

In a text message which was sent in August 2018, the Duchess of Sussex voiced concerns about the matter to her former communications secretary Jason Knauf.

Nov 13, 2021

AceShowbiz - Meghan Markle said that British royal family constantly berated Prince Harry over the drama with her father, Thomas Markle. In a new text message that were shared in court on Friday, November 12, Meghan voiced concerned about the matter to royal aide Jason Knauf.

In a text message which was sent in August 2018, the Duchess of Sussex said to her former communications secretary, "The catalyst for my doing this [sending the letter] is seeing how much pain this is causing H. Even after a week with his dad [Prince Charless] and endlessly explaining the situation, his family seem to forget the context - and revert to 'can't she just go and see him and make this stop?' "

"They fundamentally don't understand so at least by writing [a letter] H will be able to say to his family...'she wrote him a letter and he's still doing it,' " the mom of two added. "By taking this form of action I protect my husband from this constant berating, and while unlikely perhaps it will give my father a moment to pause." Meghan sent the letter after her and Harry's May 2018 nuptials.

"Obviously everything I have drafted is with the understanding that it could be leaked so I have been meticulous in my word choice but please do let me know if anything stands out for you as a liability," Meghan wrote in the text. Among the choice was calling Thomas "daddy."

"Given I've only ever called him daddy it makes sense to open as such (despite him being less than paternal), and in the unfortunate event that it leaked it would pull at the heartstrings," the Duchess told Jason, who accused Meghan of bullying later in October of the year.

Additionally, Jason addressed the court regarding his collaboration with "Finding Freedom" authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand. According to the former secretary, he and Meghan discussed the book "on a routine basis," adding that he corresponded with Prince Harry about his talks with Scobie and Durand.

Prince Harry allegedly responded in an email to Knauf, "I totally agree that we have to be able to say we didn't have anything to do with it. Equally, you giving the right context and background to them would help get some truths out there." Prince Harry and Meghan Markle previously claimed that they "were not interviewed and did not contribute to Finding Freedom."

Following Jason's testimony, Meghan apologized for forgetting about communications with him in which she authorized him to speak to the authors of the biography "Finding Freedom". "I had absolutely no wish or intention to mislead the Defendant or the Court," so she said.
Every child born into the world is a new thought of God, an ever-fresh and radiant possibility  Rabindranath Tagore

Coming close on the heels of the successful peak festive season in the country, Childrens Day this year is seeing brands highlight the innocence and playfulness of kids that need to be preserved as the world continues to fight the global pandemic. On the occasion of Childrens Day this year, brands have evoked a rush of nostalgia among every age group.

This year, several brands across categories are engaging with their audience through innovative campaigns and social media creatives. Here are some interesting creatives by brands:

BYJUS

BYJUS has launched its Childrens Day special digital campaign  #CelebrateCuriosity. The campaign celebrates the minds of curious children and stresses on the importance of helping them with the right answers.

Panasonic India

Panasonic India evokes the spirit of playful childhood and compassion with the launch of its #PlayForABetterWorld campaign. It is an endeavour by Panasonic to help build a better tomorrow for the underprivileged children.

Presenting #PanasonicBuildingBlocks  A game to show that you care. #PlayForABetterWorld & help us reach the goal of 1 Million points to build brighter smiles for the kids of @salaambaalakngo, @KhushiiNGO & @SOSVillageINDIA. #PlayForABetterWorld here: https://t.co/MiRcoOIeGJ pic.twitter.com/30iUAAwdJp  Panasonic India News (@PanasonicInNews) November 9, 2021

Unacademy

Childhood means creating a lot of memories, fun, games, school and many more things. Keeping these in mind, Unacademy celebrates Childrens Day this year by asking netizens about their favourite childhood game through a tweet:

Which was your favourite childhood game? And whats your #protip? #HappyChildrensDay  Unacademy (@unacademy) November 11, 2021

HDFC Mutual Fund

While not directly related to kids, HDFC Mutual Funds campaign is targetted at the parents and urges them to take steps today to secure the future of their children. Transitioning from school to college is expensive, but HDFC Mutual Funds helps growing childrens needs by supporting them in terms of finance. Hence, the finance company appeals to parents to invest in future of their kids this Childrens Day.

Outlook

Outlook has announced through a short video on YouTube that this Childrens Day, the magazine will be publishing art and drawings done by children to help encourage art amongst the younger generation.

Nickelodeon

This Childrens Day, Nickelodeon wants to give kids the opportunity to voice their opinions  be it about reducing the burden of homework or re-opening of schools or saving trees or anything that they feel strongly about.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Nick India (@nickindiaofficial)

&flix and &PriveHD

Age can never suppress the child that we have inside us. Deep within, all of us cherish the stress-free summer vacations, joy of bubbling at school with friends, and laughing at the smallest jokes. An important day in our childhood was Childrens Day, when we cherished the holiday with favourite shows on TV and the best snacks prepared by our moms. To satisfy this longing of the long-lost childhood, &flix and &PriveHD is bringing a special binge on November 14, 2021.

We're sure you are gonna love this one!



Tune in to the #FlixChildrensDayBinge and watch Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs on Sunday, November 14 at 11AM.#ChildrensDayBinge #ChildrensDay #Binge #Weekend #ChldrensWeekend #HappyChildrensDay pic.twitter.com/4BLh2ii0wx  @andflix (@AndFlix) November 12, 2021

9X Jalwa

9XMs popular characters Bade Chote and Friends will be entertaining all this Childrens Day on Loppipops  their YouTube channel.

Let's meet the super cute animated characters living in the wonderful world of Loppipops!

Bade Chote and Friends will be entertaining you this Sunday on Loppipops YouTube Channel!#Loppipops #ChildrensDay pic.twitter.com/o9nJ4slWDF  9X Jalwa (@9XJalwa) November 12, 2021

LaunchMyCareer

LaunchMyCareer, a career-success platform, has urged children to celebrate the freedom of choice and follow their dreams by choosing the right career path. In its campaign, titled #MeraFutureMeraHaq, the brand seeks to spread festive happiness by creating an awareness around the importance of choosing the right career, while reiterating that it is equally important for parents to understand their kids choices.

Nutralite

This #childrensday nutralite is celebrating all the super duper kids out there, so don't miss out.

Aashirvaad

Theres nothing more enjoyable to children than the tiffin break, and theres nothing more coveted to them than an incredible tiffin. aashirvaad ensure your little ones face always lights up, come tiffin time, at the sight of gloriously delicious tiffins that stay soft, fresh and yummy even when half the school day has passed.

House of Hiranandani

They say, a child without education is like a bird without wings. House of Hiranandani has inspired the little wonders at Karunalaya Social Service Society towards a brighter future with digital literacy because today's dreamers are the builders of tomorrow.

Carrom Champs by MPL

just another day Carrom Champs by MPL celebrates the kid in each of you with this trip down memory lane.

Glucon D

A gift by Glucon D for strong immunity for big dreams of children.

Sony Sports

Weve all been asked what we want to become when we grow old. Our answers were filled with enthusiasm, optimism & our doors were open to tell our minds we can be anything we want to be! Sony Sports embraces child in us & push ourselves & others to achieve their most desired goals

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MAS Holdings has announced that Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL), has acquired 100% of the retail lingerie businesses under the amante umbrella brand from MAS Brands, a wholly owned subsidiary of MAS Holdings, Sri Lanka.

The amante business, which was established by MAS in 2007/8, engages in the retail and wholesale distribution of premium lingerie brands amante, Ultimo and every de by amante. The products are sold through its own stores and multi-brand outlets, as well as through its e-commerce channels across India and Sri Lanka.

The acquisition of the amante business, by RRVL, Indias largest retailer, is another step in its journey of offering superior design led products and compelling value proposition for customers. RRVL will continue to collaborate and partner with MAS to leverage its design-to-delivery capabilities in sustainable manufacturing and product innovation.

Ms. Isha Ambani, Director, Reliance Retail Ventures Limited, said, At Reliance, we pride ourselves in offering the best and enhancing choices to our customers. We are proud to add the high quality, design-led fashion and lifestyle brand amante to our portfolio. MAS is a well-recognized product innovator and manufacturer for some of the iconic global brands in this segment - the partnership and collaboration we build together with them will offer Indian customers world class product quality and greater choices in this segment.

The acquisition by Reliance ensured that amante would benefit from Reliances scale and retail expertise, and that the brand we created and our employees in India and Sri Lanka will continue to benefit from being a part of a well-established retail company stated Mahesh Amalean, Chairman MAS Holdings. This was a business MAS built from the ground up, leveraging on years of expertise in the lingerie business, so we are excited to see it transition to new shareholders and a parent organisation that, without doubt, will enable the brand and the company to thrive added MAS Co-Founder Ajay Amalean, who was directly responsible for overseeing the amante business from its inception.

The teams at MAS Brands are excited at the new opportunities and prospects that this acquisition brings about and are anticipating the strategic advantages and new learning that will come from working as part of a retail giant such as Reliance said Vivek Mehta, the CEO of MAS Brands India.
The over year and a half of social isolation that we all have faced due to the global pandemic has brought about several changes in our behaviour and how we interact with each other. Even as adults have found this period tough to handle, the long months of being confined at home and attending online classes have been particularly difficult for children.

Parents have despaired over this loss of innocence in their children and the fear set within them while stepping out of the sanctity of their homes as schools reopen without a vaccination drive for children below the age of 18 years.

Therefore, this Childrens Day comes with a reassurance to the little ones that life is on the mend, and while some things have changed forever, kids can once engage in the fun and frolic that is so much a part of their childhood years.

TV channels and OTT platforms alike have come up with a slew of content for Childrens Day this year  be it series, animated features and films  to help ease the minds of the children as they immerse themselves in a magical world. Grown-ups, too, can join in the fun and discover their inner child once again.

Netflix

This Childrens Day, Netflix is encouraging parents to give their kids the Yes Day that they deserve, while at the same time taking the right viewing decisions for their family by using the amazing controls that Netflix offers  from pin controls to age ratings. Here are some of the amazing stories on Netflix that the whole family can enjoy:

For the little ones

Mighty Little Bheem [Series]: It centers around a toddler, inspired from the mythological character Bheem, who with his boundless curiosity and extraordinary might amazes his friends and everyone else around him.

Waffles and Mochi [Series]: Take a culinary adventure with these two taste-buddies and former first lady Michelle Obama with their magical flying shopping cart as they blast off on global ingredient missions, traveling to kitchens, restaurants, farms and homes all over the world, cooking up recipes with everyday ingredients alongside renowned chefs, home cooks, kids and celebrities.

StarBeam [Series]: This colorful animated series revolves around the life of the 8-year-old Zoey, who has a secret Identity and is responsible for keeping the people of Somerset safe. Watch as she transforms into StarBeam, a kid-sized superhero.

Vivo [Film]: Take a musical adventure with the one-of-a-kind, musically gifted Kinkajou, Vivo who spends his days playing music to the crowds with his beloved owner Andres.

Wish Dragon [Film]: Explore the fairytale life of Din, a teenager, who is on a quest to connect with his long lost childhood best friend Lina and stumbles across a powerful wish-granting dragon, Long. The enchanting series sets off with Din and Longs hilarious journey through modern day Shanghai in search of Lina.

For teens

Skater Girl [Film]: This is inspiring an adventure with Prerna a.k.a Skater Girl, a local teen from a remote village of Rajasthan, who discovers her life-changing passion for skateboarding.

To All the Boys Ive Loved Before [Film]: Explore the romantic adventures that Lara Jean Covey goes through in her high school with this trilogy. The movie presents a refreshing take on high school romance through genuine friendships, sisterhood and romantic encounters.

Never Have I Ever [Series]: A series revolving around an Indian-American teenage girl, Devi, who struggles to navigate through a different culture, trying to fit in at a new school in the US, meeting the expectations of her parents and establishing a social status for herself.

The Kissing Booth [Film]: Elle Evans is faced with the hardest decision of her life as she has to choose between moving across the country with her dreamy boyfriend Noah, fulfilling her lifelong promise to go to college with her BFF Lee or getting into the college of her dreams.

For the family

Yes Day [Film]: Dive into the lives of the typical American parents, Carlos and Allison, who are tired of saying No to their three kids and decide to give them a YES DAY, where the children are in-charge of making up the rules for 24 hours and the parents simply cannot say no.

The Secret Life of Pets: 2 [Film]: This colourful animated sequel explores the life of Max, the spoiled Terrier dog, who faces new fears and changing relationship dynamics with his owner, Katie, who now has a baby. It also explores the bonds between pets and the families that love them and answers the much-asked question: What are your pets doing when youre not at home?

Kung Fu Panda [Film]: Who doesnt love Po, the lovable, foodie, sometimes clumsy, super energetic Panda, who we just cannot stop laughing on sight of. Take a wild adventure with him and his crazy crew as they defend the valley from attack.

Hotel Transylvania [Film]: Count Dracula runs a high-end resort for monsters and is overprotective of his daughter Mavis. Watch as his worst fears are put to test when a human named Johnny enters the resort and puts a nail in his coffin forever.

Despicable Me [Film]: Time to take a trip to the skies with Gru, a supervillain and an adorable father, his three adopted girls  Margo, Agnes and Edith, and the ever-lovable minions as they hatch a plan to carry out the biggest heist and steal the moon.

Nickelodeon

Kids are gearing up for offline learning after a hiatus of more than a year. Through this period of staying away from school and friends, kids have seldom found a platform to express themselves. Keeping this in mind, this Childrens Day, Nickelodeon is all set to inspire kids to express themselves, unfiltered, through a fun and empowering campaign #NoStressExpress.

As part of this initiative, Nick through its super star Nicktoons  Chikoo & Bunty, Happy & Pinaki, Paw Patrol and others  has called for kids to candidly speak their heart out in a 10-second video and upload it on nickindia.com, and stand a chance to feature on Nick. In addition to this, special Childrens Day programming stunts are also planned on November 13 and 14 on the franchise channels to entertain kids. Not only is the channel taking kids on a stress-free ride through an Express-a-thon, but kids can also express their love for their favourite Nicktoons with 99Pancakes limited edition combos.

LionsGate

Lionsgate Play has curated special kids movies for Childrens Day  ranging from Furry Vengence and Mahek Mirza to I am Kalam. Also, Spy Kids 4, Cinderella, Astro Boy, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast and more are here to bring mystery to the screens. This Childrens Day, Lionsgate is letting kids experience the magic of innocence and enter the world of unending imagination.

9X Media

On this special occasion, music television network 9X Media has announced the launch of Loppipops, which combines learning and music. Starting November 14, Loppipops Kids learning channel will be available on YouTube. The channel will showcase a specially designed and curated playlist of kids rhymes and videos, presented by the popular duo Bade-Chote and their gang of animated characters. Loppipops is a destination for preschoolers to learn with music!

POGO

POGO will be airing the ever popular Shaktimaan (Mahayuddha ka Aarambh) - The Battle Begins. This action-packed installment of Shaktimaan follows a fierce battle between Vehaan Arya (AKA Shaktimaan) and Kilvish, a spurned enemy. The series also features the villains underlings Tick and Tock, a wi-fi controlling Cyber Soul, a destructive robot, and an oily Blob Monster  there are enough bad guys for Shaktimaan to quash this time around.

Cartoon Network

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets will be back with the magical world of wizards. The second installment in the Harry Potter film series follows boy wizard Harrys second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as the Heir of Salazar Slytherin opens the Chamber of Secrets, unleashing a monster that petrifies the schools denizens. The film stars Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, with Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley, and Emma Watson as Hermione Granger. Catch Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets on Cartoon Network on 14th November at 10:30 am.

&flix and &PriveHD

&flix and &PriveHD channels have come up with a fun-filled line-up featuring movies which take us on a nostalgic ride with films like Smurfs: The Lost Village, A Wrinkle in Time, where brave children go on a dangerous journey to a planet. Giving us memories of the profound teachings  fighting for good with determination pays off  comes Cloudy with the Chance of Meatballs, the story of Flint Lockwood, an inventor who is considered a nuisance, putting his latest invention to work when his town faces an economic crisis. His invention makes him popular until it spirals out of control.

Disney

Who said Children's Day can only be celebrated by kids?

This Children's Day, Disney India has decided to be a little goofy with their favourite hosts Vishal & Simran.

The 'Imagine That' hosts have let loose the kid in them and are goofing around with lots of fun, love and laughter.

Vishal & Simran are letting themselves be a little goofy and they hope you #GoofyItUp too.

Zee Theatre plays that take you back to the wonder years

Watch Daak Ghar' and Maya: Find Your Light to relive the innocence of childhood

On Childrens Day (November 14), revisit the fondest memories of childhood, tune into innocence and the wonders of unfettered imagination with Zee Theatre teleplays. Watch Gurudev Rabindranath Tagores famous creation, Daak Ghar, and the beautifully told, mythical tale, Maya - Find your light on Tata Sky Theatre at 2 pm and 8 pm respectively.

An overview of the plays:

Daak Ghar: Daak Ghar is an adaptation of Rabindranath Tagores poignant story of the same name and was originally written in 1912. The play follows the story of young boy Amal, who has been confined to a room because of ill health. A single window in the room is his only access to the world outside. On being informed that the King is building a Post Office nearby, the debilitated kid with a big imagination begins to yearn to become the Kings postmaster. Daak Ghar stars Krrish Chhabria, Saurabh Goyal, Kishore C. Srivastava, and Anupriya Goenka and is directed by Nagesh Kukunoor.

Maya - Find your light: When the evil king of darkness threatens to conquer the kingdom of light, the responsibility of saving the kingdom and its people falls on the shoulders of its 13- year- old princess Maya. She must travel through treacherous forests, mountains, and villages and lift three curses to defeat the king. Accompanied by her goofy peacock friend and a snake, Maya sets out on this life-transforming adventure to find her light. The play stars Khushi Chauhan, Prasad Kela, Priyanka Patil, Rutuja Bhoite, Shlok Sadlapurkar, Yash Agarwal and Aniket Sahani. It is directed by Laurent Festas and Sanaya Bharucha.
Public health arguments for vaccine mandates have disintegrated in the face of new evidence that vaccines do not prevent infection or transmission of SARS-CoV-2

How have we come to a place where our government feels comfortable coercing healthy Americans to undergo a risky medical procedure in order to provide for their families? Have we become North Korea?

 Leslie Manookian

SANDPOINT, IDAHO, UNITED STATES, November 9, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Health Freedom Defense Fund (HFDF) and six individual plaintiffs from California Educators for Medical Freedom (CAEMF) filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) challenging their COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all teachers and staff (Case No. 2:21-cv-08688). The defendants will be served this week.



The lawsuit alleges an utter lack of justification for LAUSDs mandate, citing robust science which demonstrates the inability of the currently authorized COVID-19 vaccines to prevent infection and transmission, the superior protection of natural immunity, and the significantly higher incidence of injuries, adverse reactions, and deaths from the COVID-19 injections compared to all prior vaccines brought to market.



Health Freedom Defense Fund opposes laws and regulations that force Americans to submit to the administration of medical products, procedures, and devices against their will. Never in the history of this nation have citizens been subjected to such violations of their individual rights and liberties as they have under the constant state of emergency in effect in the United States for the last twenty months. The COVID emergency has been used to justify lockdowns, ban worship services, suspend jury trials, impose mask mandates, and now, to force vaccines, in what amounts to a clear violation of the most basic of human rights, that of bodily autonomy.



Leslie Manookian, president of HFDF said, How have we come to a place in less than two years where many Americans now feel comfortable inquiring about the personal health choices of others and our government feels comfortable coercing healthy Americans to undergo a risky medical procedure in order to provide for their families? Have we become North Korea?



As CDC has admitted the COVID-19 vaccines do not prevent infection or transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and recent evidence demonstrates that vaccinated individuals are as likely to spread the Delta variant as the unvaccinated, any public health argument for the shots has disintegrated.
MOORETON, N.D.  The whole systems approach, from weeds to insects to soils, is how Abbey Wick, NDSU Extension soil health specialist, likes to look at soil health.

Wick headed up a NDSU Crop and Soil Center Day in late August where NDSU research centers across the state tuned in to watch a live broadcast from the Bagg Bonanza Farm in Mooreton during the morning before then holding their own soil health day on local issues during the afternoon.

NDSU Extension and research center staff from around the state were involved in the program, including soil science, plant science, entomology and grazing system specialists.

Wick explained the Soil Health and Agriculture Research Extension (SHARE) farm project in Mooreton, which began in 2013, is ending at NDSU.

The project was a field-scale soil health research project, bringing whole systems evaluation to soil health practices.

We are honoring the end of the SHARE farm project here at Mooreton, and it has always been about whole system approaches, Wick said, looking around her booth at the fields nearby. This was one of the first fields I looked at to see if there were things we could do for soil health practices.

After the SHARE farm was established, NDSU installed subsurface drainage on the northern half of the field.

In 2016, an NDAWN station was installed and no-till research began at the farm.

Cover crops, crop response to salinity, soil sampling projects and water management were some of the research projects over the years.
Question: Does low-dose aspirin offer any protection against COVID, especially for older people? My wife is 69, and I am 71. We both are fully vaccinated but have breakthrough cases.

We have been able to manage our care at home. I recall reading many months ago that low-dose aspirin reduces the inflammatory response and therefore might mitigate COVID symptoms. Has there been more definitive research on this?

Answer: There has been more research. However, as with so much regarding COVID, the answer is complicated.

A study published in the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis (Aug. 29, 2021) tracked more than 17,000 patients 50 or older with COVID. Those who had been taking aspirin before admission were less likely to die. The authors point out that previous studies have also found lower in-hospital mortality among COVID patients already taking aspirin.

On the other hand, a Korean study found that Aspirin use was associated with adverse effects in COVID-19 patients (Medicina, Sept. 4, 2021). No one should start taking aspirin against COVID without first checking with their health care provider.



Question: I take lisinopril and HCTZ to control my blood pressure. I took them at breakfast for 20 years and had decent blood pressure, but not consistently.

Last month I switched to taking them at bedtime, and I have seen a significant improvement with less variable results. The only exceptions were when I was doing taxes or trying to transfer files from an old computer to a new one. Once those two ugly things were done, I was back to steady and good.
One of the four owners of the Club West Golf Course said he and his partners will seek talks
Chauncey Devega, a race essentialist and staff writer for Salon, insists that Critical Race Theory is a fairytale. In his recent article, "'Critical race theory' is a fairytale  but America's monsters are real," Devega insists that CRT is a lie, a damn lie, and suggests everyday white folks are "doing the work of racism and white supremacy" by "[s]upporting Republican fascists who tell evil fairytales about 'Critical Race Theory.'"

Devega makes his case by bloviating for ten full paragraphs about an old Southern boogieman called the "Goat Man," a legendary monster that terrorized black communities in North Carolina by gobbling up black American men and boys. He'd heard this tale as a child from his grandmother, which turned out to be a metaphor for Jim Crow and white supremacy.

Devega wants the reader to know that the Goat Man is not real, but that "real evil takes the form of flesh-and-blood human beings, not ghosts or demons or spectral fiends." Trump and his supporters are the real monsters, Devega insists, along with "Republican fascists who tell evil fairytales about 'critical race theory.'"

He writes:

Their goal is to reclaim uncontested white power and white privilege over every significant aspect of American society. Their evil fairytales about "critical race theory" or "parental control" are but a means to that end.

At no point does Devega dare to take a real look at the issues at the heart of the pushback against CRT  at what is happening in school board meetings across the United States. He couldn't care less about the growing concerns of parents, teachers, and administrators in K12 schools or the rest of American society at large. CRT is a "fairytale" because arrogant race essentialists like Devega say it is. (For the record, Vox is parroting this same nonsense, as are NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, and NPR.)

Although this summary denial of CRT by people like Devega is frustrating, the reality is that Critical Race Theory is being effectively smoked out. There was a time not so long ago when people actually tried to defend the use of CRT, like Marc Lamont Hill during his interview with Christopher Rufo.

But now the playbook has changed. CRT is simply too toxic even to try to defend. This is why the National Education Association scrubbed Business Item #39  which supported the use of CRT in K12 schools across America  from its website in July. This is why the Biden administration removed the link to University of Georgia professor Bettina Love's Abolitionist Teaching Network from the Department of Education's website, claiming that the connection to the radical group (which aims to "disrupt Whiteness" in schools) was a mistake.

Defending CRT would be to defend the use of Robin DiAngelo's White Fragility in teacher training from coast to coast, a book that teaches that all whites are inherently racist and privileged and perpetuate white supremacy by default. It would be to defend the use of Ibram X. Kendi's How to Be an Antiracist, a book that polarizes Americans into tribal camps based on skin color, deeming one group "oppressors" and the other group "oppressed."

It would be to defend the use of Montclair State University professor Bree Picower's book, Reading, Writing, and Racism: Disrupting Whiteness in Teacher Education and the Classroom or the use of ultra-woke artist Anastasia Higginbotham's Not My Idea: A Book about Whiteness, which teaches elementary school children that "whiteness is a bad deal" and stereotypes police as racist killers.

It would be to defend the "Color Line" exercise, a teacher training activity developed by Glenn Singleton's Pacific Educational Group, which aims to help white educators identify their so-called "white privilege" so they can understand how this privilege is perpetuating white supremacy culture in K12 schools as well as the rest of America. According to University of Alabama history professor David Beito, this exercise is a Maoist-style scheme that "publicly humiliate[s] dissenters by having them wear signs around their necks expressing shame for their 'incorrect thoughts.'"

It would be to support forcing third-graders to deconstruct their racial identities and rank themselves according to their power and privilege. It would be to teach educators that babies show the first signs of racism at three months old and that White children "remain strongly biased in favor of Whiteness" by age five. It would be to argue that the United States was founded on a Eurocentric, White supremacist, capitalist, patriarchal, homophobic, and anthropocentric paradigm brought from Europe. It would require teachers to locate themselves on an "oppression matrix" and accept that White heterosexual Protestant males are inherently oppressive and therefore must atone for their "covert White supremacy."

It would be to defend turning MLK's "Dream" on its head, replacing judging a person by the "content of character" with judging a person by the color of his skin. It would be to defend replacing individualism with identity-based tribalism, with teaching children that race is the most important determinant of success, that meritocracy and American exceptionalism are evil, and that systemic racism is so deeply ingrained in our institutions that you are no longer the captain of your own ship.

In other words, it would be to defend the indefensible.

CRT is no fairytale. It negatively impacts teacher morale, school discipline, and instruction. You can squabble over semantics  call it "critical pedagogy," or "critical whiteness studies," or "intersectionality"  but this is simply a distraction. As Kentucky State University assistant professor Wilfred Reilly writes for City Journal:

This debate over semantics might provide an interesting basis for a panel at a scholarly conference, but it's of little use or interest for parents concerned that their children are being taught partisan nonsense. While technical differences exist between the various critical paradigms, virtually all of them share three baseline assumptions: that racism is "everywhere," and supposedly neutral systems, such as policing or standardized tests, are set up to oppress minorities; that to prove the existence of this oppression one need only note that large groups perform at different levels; and that the solution to this problem is equity  or proportional representation of all groups across all endeavors.

So people like Salon's Chauncey Devega pretend CRT and its insidious offshoots don't exist. It's easier to deny reality than to defend political and cultural kryptonite. Better to tell a long-winded, hokey story about the "Goat Man" and finish by calling everybody a racist and white supremacist.

CRT is very real. To quote Anthony Kinnett, a curriculum developer in Indiana, "When we tell you Critical Race Theory isn't being taught in our schools, we're lying. Keep looking."

Christopher Paslay is a longtime Philadelphia public school teacher. His book, A Parent's Guide to Critical Race Theory, is available on Amazon.

Image: Andy Witchger via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

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The two major political elements in play over the past year are closely intertwined. Those are the new left-wing blatancy, in which the American Left scarcely attempts to hide its actual agenda anymore, and the vast number of enemies the left is lining up against itself throughout American society.

In hindsight, this makes perfect sense. How could the Left hope to maintain the support of the mass of Americans once its actual goals and methods became evident? In the past, leftists made a serious effort to shield their true agenda from scrutiny using a wide range of methods  wrapping itself in a veil of compassion, claiming that all opposition arose from throwback right-wingers, and using the most ignorant and ill-informed members of the public (teenagers and suburban matrons) to spearhead its public-influence campaigns. Overall control of the media rendered this strategy workable.

But as of 2021, that appears to have gone by the board. Instead of hiding their goals or even sugar-coating them, the left is shouting them through bullhorns: youre not going to get Christmas. Get the jab or starve. Were turning your kids over to the tender mercies of sexual deviants. Get ready for the Jihadi terrorists coming to your neighborhood.

Its as if the Bolsheviks spent all of 1917 racing from village to village telling the peasants, When we take over, youre all being sent to Siberia. Yippee!

Why is this happening? It can be attributed to arrogance, stupidity, historical blindness, or any other factor youd care to name. That doesnt matter. What does matter is that it is happening, and is, by its very nature, one of those things that cant be unhappened once it does. From here on in, the American Left will be, in all its manifestations, the party of CRT, of COVID tyranny, of transexual rape, of economic chaos, of censorship and oppression.

This represents a massive change in the political battlespace, one that promises serious repercussions well beyond the standard electoral cycles. Among the results weve witnessed so far are the vast army of enemies created by the Lefts rhetoric and activities.

Its almost as if the American Left, having unveiled its actual plans, couldnt wait to get to the second stage, the one in which their iron boots would begin stomping on human faces.

In the USSR, they had the kulaks. Now, kulak means fist, and thats how the word was used in the old imperial Russia. A kulak was a hard guy, an SOB  a landlord or foreman who brutally overworked the peasants, or a moneylender who gouged serfs who took out loans after bad harvests or times of shortages. So when the Bolsheviks showed up and announced they were getting rid of the kulaks, the peasants rejoiced: no more brutal overwork, no more confiscatory interest payments.

But then the meaning expanded to embrace well-to-do peasants  people who owned their own homes or a small plot of farmland. And then peasants with a handful of cattle or horses. Then any peasant who owned a single cow. Eventually everybody got to be a kulak, with an equal chance of ending up in the Gulag.

Today, the equivalent would be domestic terrorist. Originally, this meant trash like Theodore Kaczynski or Timothy McVeigh. But this too expanded during the Clinton years to cover cranky religious leaders and backwoods off-the-gridders, and then Tea Party members, and Trump loyalists, until at last it has come to mean parents of small children.

Among the groups targeted by the Left on behalf of COVID vaccines, Jan. 6, or anything else they come up with are included:

Police  These were among the forefront of the new American kulaks. Following the George Floyd frenzy, there was suddenly no more criticism of poor law enforcement policymaking or the blue wall of silence, no more calls for reform, but simply defunding across the board, a code word for abolition of law enforcement nationwide. Results have included skyrocketing crime rates largely limited to blue cities, cops resigning in droves, and feuds, such as that involving Chicagos handsome, rugged mayor, between city departments and local governments. The left has begun running from this stance as if pursued by muggers.

Pilots  Along with other aircrew, airline pilots have been adamant about defying the vaccine mandate. They knew that they had a grip on important appendages of both industry and government, and they squeezed. President Asterisk, he no like, and went public with his disapproval. This had all the effect that might have been expected, and in short order Delta caved, followed by Southwest. The rest of the industry is quietly following, marking a wholesale defeat for vaccine mandates.

Medical personnel  These are people who understand medicine, know what a vaccine is, and what it is intended to do. When they refuse to accept a mandated vaccine, it would pay to listen. But the industry hierarchy knew better, and doctors, nurses, and attendants who held fast have been treated more harshly than workers in any field, large numbers of them being fired immediately. The result has been under-the-table efforts by hospitals and health conglomerates to hire personnel at vastly expanded salaries and large bonuses. Most of these offers have gone begging. This will not end well for healthcare.

Truckers  The supply chain debacle has been portrayed by media as one of those inexplicable black swans that come out of nowhere and are beyond human comprehension. This is nonsense. The sole cause of this crisis is a demented diktat from Gavin Newsom forbidding trucks more than three years old from loading at California ports. The logic behind this is unknown, but presumably has something to do with Gaia being angry. The end result is what we see: ships backed up off LA, containers piling up in the ports (or even dumped in hapless LA neighborhoods), and shortages as far as the eye can see. Lost amid all the uproar are the nations truckers, who must be boiling over with fury. (Try to find a single quote from one in the legacy media.) Florida governor Ron DeSantis has immediately leapt in to offer his states ports to all comers, and will presumably be followed by other governors, so long-term, the situation will right itself, as tends to happen in capitalist economies. But the wounds inflicted will last a long time  and California slides ever closer to the precipice.

Along with these, we can add people who celebrate Christmas (or the holidays in general), billionaires (people with over $600 in the bank, according to the Biden junta), enlisted military personnel, and Republicans and MAGA supporters in general. But nothing beats the government campaign against those enemies of the people and vile counterrevolutionary saboteurs -- parents of school-age children.

This is, evidently, a product of the mind of Merrick Garland. Anyone opposing Mitch McConnell needs to hold onto the thought that Cocaine Mitch prevented this creature from sitting on the Supreme Court.

This past year has revealed Garland to be a petty, vicious, small-minded bureaucrat. But his domestic terrorist order, identifying parents of schoolchildren as enemies of the state, has also revealed him to be a complete idiot.

Garland was triggered by an incident in Loudoun County, Virginia, in which a member of a government protected class  a male transexual  followed a young girl into a high-school bathroom and raped her in a particularly repellent fashion. Cops looked the other way, the school and school board initiated a coverup, and it looked as if Tootsie, Jr. was going to walk until the girls father, Steven Smith, showed up at the next school board meeting.

When Smith attempted to speak, the board declared the meeting a public disturbance and sicced the cops on him. The cops put Smith under arrest, attempting to humiliate him by tearing his pants off. Smith was booked on a series of specious charges.

A short time later the transexual rapist was also arrested  picked up and almost instantly released. Shortly after the start of the next school year, he attacked another child under similar circumstances.

The National Association of School Boards appealed to the regime to put an end to all this unseemly uproar. Garland attempted to do so by labelling school board critics domestic terrorists and threatening action through the FBI, going so far to refer to Smith in particular. Dont ever let it be said that you dont know what domestic terrorist means  according to the Department of Justice, its a father whose young daughter has been raped.

How far Garland intends to take it is difficult to say. Armored tactical teams pouring into school board meetings when somebody at the mike speaks a trigger word? Agents in varsity jackets sitting in the rear, taking surreptitious photos of attendees? Agents in dark suits and mirrorshades standing behind the school boards, glaring out at the assembled parents?

None of this is going to happen. In fact, nothing at all will. It was something far more than simply a stupid move. It was an impossible one.

There are nearly 700,000 cops in the U.S., 3.5 million truckers, nearly ten million health-care workers. But the number of parents, at over 63 million dwarfs them all. The Biden administration has made enemies of every last one.

Parents, particularly parents of school-age children, tend to inhabit a particular space along the political spectrum. They are quintessential moderates, middle-of-the-roaders who loathe extremes and yearn for stability above all, a steady environment in which to raise their families in peace and security. Independents is not the word  they are largely vote-splitters who cast their ballots for the least radical or frightening candidate of either party. They are easily gulled, easily led by platitudes and bogus promises. Many likely voted for Grandpa Joe as opposed to the fiery-haired monster knocking down buildings and frightening the horses. All this is now ended.

We saw the first consequence of the war between the woke left and Americas parents became apparent earlier this month. The left lost one gleaming jewel in its blue state crown and came with inches of losing another (and if it wasnt for the standard bogus vote from Essex and Hudson counties, Phil Murphy would be packing his bags right now). Theres no debating this conclusion: Terry McAuliffe directly and repeatedly challenged parents, and they responded.

But thats far from the end of it. The American Left has kicked open a door. The law of karma is simple: when you do that, you have to accept whatever comes through. That door is still swinging wide, and mammoth footfalls can be heard approaching.

Image: PxFuel

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Since the BLM protests began, actions to increase information about slavery and colonialism have become ordained facets of social, political, and cultural organizations. No person doubts that slavery was evil or that our ancestors were responsible for appalling behavior, or that past attitudes and views on race, gender, and social class are unacceptable today. Nevertheless, the revelations of these unacceptable actions should not cause confusion of mind. It is questionable for the National Gallery in London to start a project indicating the link of 19th-century donors of collections of its great paintings with the slave trade. The project is to find out what links to slave ownership can be traced with the Gallery and to what extent the profits from plantation slavery impacted early history. The data gathered aims to present, objectively, facts relevant to the long and complex history of the transatlantic slave trade. Observers therefore will be able to determine for themselves the nature and extent of these connections.

But is an action of this kind an appropriate function for internationally renowned museums such as the National Gallery which is now carrying out an audit of artworks that may have been owned by anyone linked to slavery? At this point, the NG has examined paintings acquired between 1824 and 1880. Already in 2019, Harvard Art Museum began updating the wall labels of some of its holdings to provide information of the complex histories of works such as Ingres Grande Odalisque, or Toulouse-Lautrecs The Black Countess. Visual art, directly or indirectly, can convey or reflect political or social views or be political barometers in sending coded messages without violating artistic integrity. Yet, visitors to the art museums of the world go to enjoy the rich heritage of artworks on display, not to be subjected to history lessons, available in many fashionable places, of individuals who acquired their wealth through unacceptable means as slave owners or colonialists. It is more appropriate for them to enjoy the cultural experience and to evaluate, and even assess the authenticity of the artworks.

John Keats thought Beauty is truth, truth beauty, that is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know. The National Gallery in London does not agree, in a sense giving voice to the argument of the French philosopher Michel Foucault that how you structure information is a source of power, and that it can be used as a form of social control.

The National Gallery has its share of the Renaissance and much more. A few of the treasures as well as the donors and their shortcomings can be mentioned. Leonardo da Vincis Virgin of the Rocks was bought from Henry Howard, the 18th Earl of Suffolk, but his ancestor the 17th Earl had owned slaves. The NG has The Hay Wain, the masterpiece by John Constable, and it is more enticing to see it as a representation of a perfect English summer day rather than know it is a painting given by Edmund Higginson, who inherited money from an uncle who traded in goods made by slaves in South Carolina. It has Raphaels Saint Catherine of Alexandria, more appreciated as a version of ecstasy and religious passion rather than as an item owned by the rake William Beckford who had plantations in the West Indies.

Botticellis Mystic Nativity, an unusual mixture of joy and sad premonitions, may have been influenced by Savonarola, but the NG shows it as once owned by William Ottley, who had slaves in Antigua. Raphaels Pope Julius II is more important as a work that influenced papal portraiture than one bought from the collection of John Julius Angerstein, a London businessman who had slave estates in Grenada, and who gave 38 paintings to NG.

Rembrandts Self Portrait at the age of 63 was bought from George Brodrick, Lord Midleton, who came from a slave-owning family. Titians Allegory of Prudence was once owned by the Rothschild family. Coincidentally, Hannah Rothschild is chair of the Gallerys board of trustees.

The problem for both museums and visitors is that hundreds of artworks were either bought by or donated by people whose ancestors were in some way involved in profiting from the slave trade. Are there degrees of separation? Former owners may have been responsible for nauseating or repulsive things but knowledge of this guilt, misplaced or not, made articulate by the museums, should not be allowed to impede aesthetic appreciation or enjoyment.

Wokery is hard at work in the prestigious National Gallery. Now the guilt occasioned by BLM protests is steaming ahead. Steam engines are being reassessed for their role in the Industrial Revolution, the expansion of colonial power, and links to slavery. The British National Railway Museum in York tells the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. Now the museum and universities in the north of England, the White Rose University consortium, have begun a large research project, Slavery and Steam, investigating the economic, social, and infrastructure legacies of steam across the 19th and 20th centuries, and the possible links between slavery and the global slave trade and steam power and the development of railways. The project is interested in the extent to which steam aided imperial expansion and drove sugar mills on plantations and cotton gins in industrial cities, and was a stimulus to industrialization.

It is considering the impact of steam power on plantations, the global distribution of materials and products, and the stimulus or industrializing of the wealth generated in the colonial economy after the abolition of slavery in the UK and U.S.

Trains are being assessed for their role in facilitating expansion. Steam engines replaced wind power on the plantations and waterpower in British cotton mills. Railways were vital for expanding colonial power. One example is the KF7 locomotive, built in 1935 for the Chinese railroad which was paid for by reparations from an indemnity fund that China had to pay into after the crushing of the Boxer Rebellion. The project research reveals the concern about the train that in 1965 carried Winston Churchills coffin, from Waterloo station in London to Hanborough, Oxfordshire. The fear was that this train would become the object of violent protests because of allegations that Churchill was linked to colonialism and empire. That stream engine is now safely at the Museum in York.

Also, Robert Stephensons Rocket engine built in Newcastle in 1829, which became the model for all subsequent steam locomotives, is endangered because Stephensons benefactor, Liverpool and Manchester Railway had links to profits stemming from the slave trade, and can be the focus of protest. This railway, the first inter-city line in the world, is said to have been financed by slaveowners to transport textiles grown by enslaved Africans, and the deputy head of the rail, John Moss, himself owned slaves. Engines named after Gladstone and Lord Nelson are also in the list of displays considered challenging because of BLM objections to them.

Is there any mention at all among these interpretations that steam power aided in the destruction of slavery by rendering it uneconomical, uncommercial, and nonviable? Its impossible to say, though it can be doubted.

Image: National Gallery

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Among the issues that voters made their voices heard on this past Election Day was whether Minneapolis, Minnesota would do away with its 1,100-member police department and replace it with a Department of Public Safety.

The new "Defunded Police" department was supposed to take a "comprehensive public safety approach." While it would have included some police officers, it would have also included professionals with experience dealing with issues such as mental health, housing, violence reduction, and intervention.

It was presented as a way to "Defund the Police," a national movement that views police as racist and dangerous to the black community.

More than 143,000 residents voted in an election that drew national attention. Supporters of Minnesota's Defund the Police Amendment had nationally known politicians like U.S. rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Minnesota attorney general Keith Ellison.

"We have an opportunity, once and for all, to listen to those most impacted by police brutality and the communities who have been demanding change for decades," Omar wrote in a Star Tribune opinion piece. "We have a mandate, in the wake of George Floyd's murder, to deliver a public safety system rooted in compassion, humanity and love, and to deliver true justice. I hope we fulfill it."

Most voters disagreed with her. By a margin of 56 percent to 44 percent, voters rejected the amendment.

Some pundits say the charter amendment failed because it was too complicated and not because people are happy with the police force. While this may be true in some cases, there are other reasons. One of those reasons would have to be that some people were afraid to trust either politicians or an understaffed police force to protect them. Lest we forget, many residents lost their businesses or other property in the riots following the death of George Floyd under the knee of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in May 2020. They didn't want to see that out-of-control behavior go unchecked. They saw it as a radical attack on law and order. Even black residents, whom this amendment pandered to, voted against the amendment.

Nekima Armstrong, a civil rights lawyer and a Minneapolis resident, explained it this way: "This wouldn't have saved George Floyd's life. They're doing this in his name, but in that situation, the store owner would have still called the cops."

Why? Because although the mainstream media like to focus on the black community as the victims of police violence, black citizens are also more likely to call on the police for help to fight violence in their communities.

The city's police department became a focal point for reform after Floyd's death. However, the calls for reform had also come with widespread rioting that led to 604 arrests, $550 million in damage, 1,500 properties damaged or destroyed, and 150 buildings set on fire. The same people calling for the police department to be abolished were also calling for the police to help them. In trying to advocate for reform, the social justice warriors showed citizens why they needed the police.

In my opinion, it sends a message that most people want the police. Indeed, they want a police force less plagued with problems and accusations of brutality. Still, they trust the police to protect them more than a group of people who are more worried about why the criminal is committing a crime than stopping the crime.

After the amendment failed, Bill Rodriguez, co-founder of Operation Safety Now, a group opposed to the amendment, said, "Of course there's work to do on how we approach public safety, but the notion that we can do it without police, or with a skeleton crew of officers, is fantasy."

The Minneapolis vote shows that the Defund the Police movement is out of touch with most Americans, regardless of their demographics or geographic location. As long as politicians rely only on social and biased media for their news and information, they will continue to make poor choices for their constituents.

Michael A Letts is the CEO and founder of In-VestUSA, a national grassroots non-profit organization helping hundreds of communities provide thousands of bulletproof vests for their police forces through educational, public relations, sponsorship, and fundraising programs.

Image: Tony Webster via Flickr, CC BY SA 2.0 (cropped).

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Democrats for years have held former Trump administration advisor Steve Bannon in an elevated place. He's the wizard on the mountain to them, the man with magical powers, Svengali to deplorables, and one year out from Trump's presidency, they'd still like to destroy him.

Which brings us to the House and Justice department's latest stunt: Indicting Bannon for refusing to testify for their Jan. 6 commission, which could subject him to a $1,000 per count fine, along with imprisonment for a year.

According to the New York Times:

WASHINGTON  Stephen K. Bannon, a onetime senior aide to former President Donald J. Trump, was indicted by a federal grand jury on Friday on two counts of contempt of Congress, after his refusal to provide information to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Mr. Bannon, 67, had declined last month to comply with subpoenas from the committee seeking testimony and documents from him. The House then voted to hold Mr. Bannon in criminal contempt of Congress. After holding Mr. Bannon in contempt, the House referred the matter to the U.S. attorneys office in Washington for a decision on whether to prosecute him.

This Latin America-style jail-your-opponents crap hasn't been done in the U.S. since 1983. It's effectively unprecedented. Not to Eric Holder. Not to Lois Lerner, to take but two examples of power abusers who clammed up and truly showed contempt for Congress as well as ordinary citizens. Bannon, though, is special.

MSNBC is brimming with coverage of it on YouTube as is CNN. NBC has a digitally altered image of Bannon on their news video of it, making Bannon look like a drunk. Put 'Bannon' in the YouTube search bar and that's what you get.

It goes to show how far gone the Biden administration is in terms of respecting the political balance, precedent, and process. He's got Bannon now. Hain't he got the power?

Why might this be happening? Why is the Jan. 6 commission so desperate to get Bannon to testify in the first place, and why are they so crazed that he hasn't?

Well, start at the root of it: That Biden was never legitimately elected president. He's in office by fraud. The fact that the fracas at the Capitol, which was never more than a crowd control issue, was all about Biden's fraudulent election. The Bidenites want to jail anyone involved in it in a draconian way, including Bannon who wasn't even at the Capitol when it happened, as a means of sending a message to everyone that questioning Joe Biden's legitimacy is a jailable offense. It's not enough to have control of the media "narrative." Nope, the actual incarceration of critics is the only thing left for an illegitimate president aside from death squads.

What's the end game? To institutionalize the idea that there actually was a coup attempt by Trump, a fanciful thing that drew him an impeachment, if such a thing could have happened with unarmed protestors, unlike how real coups do. And that would mean that Biden was legitimately elected, right? An innocent victim of dread Republican plotters secretly controlled by Steve Bannon, against a totally honest and legitimately elected president. Legitimizing Biden's tainted election is what this is this indictment is primarily about.

Yet it's completely absurd. Somehow, despite the fact that Bannon wasn't in government, he must have had omnipresent powers such that he could use them to launch a coup. So of course he must testify, on their terms, cherry-picking the facts they like and ignoring the significant issues.

Such as those about the real coup-mongers who circled Trump in his final days, like Gen. Mark Milley, who was on the phone with the Chinese in a bid to make common cause against Trump. There also were the liars now being exposed from the first Trump presidential impeachment, such as Fiona Hill, who fostered the creation of the Steele dossier with her buddy Chris Steele, hooking him up with creatures such Russian KGB-wannabe Igor Danchenko and Democrat operative Charles Dolan before she served as an impeachment "witness" regarding a phone call which occurred after she had quit her Trump NSC job. She certainly lied to Congress on her knowledge of the dossier in her own bid to launch a coup, just as Milley did as he made his paranoid ravings and got on the phone with the Chinese.

Those were real coup attempts, done with the leverage of government power. But who gets indicted here with jail time pending? Just Bannon, who has been a private citizen for years with absolutely no government power. That's the guy who did the coup.

The unprecedented nature of this indictment along with draconian punishment for Bannon is little more than Biden taking another political prisoner. We already know that he governs like a dictator, as a recent judicial ruling striking down his vaccine mandate shows. We also know that in the related issue of the Capitol rioters, who should have been handed notices to appear for trespassing offenses, remain jailed to this day in a notorious dungeon, complete with human rights violations. We also know that there's an election coming up in 2022 -- and having Bannon out of the picture would be very convenient for the embattled Democrat party.

There are a lot of political prisoners now in Joe Biden's America whose main "crime" has been to challenge Joe Biden. Besides Bannon and the Capitol rioters, there's the lunacy of the FBI targeting of investigative journalist James O'Keefe over a story he never published, there were several other instances of jailings of dissidents in draconian and unprecedented ways in what are all clear abuses of power. Biden's not in office legitimately, so his only way to halt criticism is to make his opponents fear him. As many observers noted, this was a bid to scare all the other potential witnesses into complying with this stacked, Trump-hating, congressional Kangaroo court.

Breitbart News summed up what this means for Biden in the long term (emphasis mine):

News of the indictment demonstrates the Biden administrations willingness to pursue former political rivals, opening up future administrations to possible prosecution. Previous American presidential administrations have resisted investigating their former rivals, even after promising during an election to do, on the merits of protecting executive privilege.

Left-skin privilege, in other words, might not be operative if there's a red tidal wave in 2022 and 2024. One side let the other side's purported transgressions go in the name of expecting the other to follow suit. That's why Trump never bothered to indict Hillary Clinton for her various email scandals or for that matter, the creation of the Steele dossier. Now all bets are off. Hunter Biden had some very interesting things on his laptop. Maybe there will be justice.

All the same, this is how it's done in Latin America as typically each president indicts his predecessor. Nobody expected we'd take that as a how-to guide instead of a caution. But this is Joe Biden we are talking about, a man who shouldn't even be in the presidency.

Image: Screen shot from MSNBC video, via YouTube

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Fairbourne is a tiny Welsh village of only 700 people, tucked between mountains and the Irish sea. Founded around 1865, the pace is so slow that "Dragon's Teeth" tank traps from World War II still dot the beach to fend off a German invasion that never came. There's nothing particularly outstanding about Fairbourne to attract visitors. It's just a lovely little place to live.

Or it was. In 2014, the authorities decided that Fairbourne was at high risk of flooding from climate change. Let's just ponder that for a moment. Seven years have gone by since the arbitrary decision that Fairbourne was at risk. During that time, the little community has continued to thrive. It hasn't been flooded out of existence. In fact, the sea level has risen only 4 inches in the past century.

The people of Fairbourne are not asking to be evacuated. They're hanging tough, angry that they are being asked to leave their homes because of some nebulous threat. It's true that Fairbourne is built on a salt marsh that is below sea level at spring high tide, and the community is also at the mouth of an estuary. Nevertheless, it's been there since 1865, and no one who lives in Fairbourne is complaining about anything other than being forced out of house and home.

The government has looked at computer models and decreed that the people must leave Fairbourne because in 40 years, the government believes that the sea will rise between 2 to 3 feet. The government says computer models show it will be too expensive to defend Fairbourne from the ocean because of this projected rise.



Image: Keith Havercroft, Fairbourne, CC BY-SA 2.0.

However, computer models are hardly models of accuracy. There are 29 major climate models that come up with different predictions. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change averages the results of all 29 models to forecast global warming.

That's like taking a store with no fruit and averaging it with a fruit stand to say that both stores have an equal amount of fruit. There are times when averages are useful. Aggregating climate models that were built to measure different parameters results in critical errors that undermine understanding the climate.

Climate models have also been shown to be inherently flawed because we simply do not have the capability to run controlled experiments on the climate, nor have models been able to replicate their own results. There is also a possibility that climate models are over-sensitive to carbon dioxide increases and that future projections of temperatures may be too high.

Climate alarmists have been using these shaky computer models for years to scold people for driving their cars, subsidize untenable green technology with taxpayer money, and give each other awards for being the most fervent in lip service to the idea that humans are destroying the planet by breathing and eating beef. Now they want to drive people out of their homes because their oracles, the climate models, have spoken of a future in which the ocean might rise between 2 and 3 feet  maybe  in the next 40 years.

The people of Fairbourne are having none of it. They don't find the computer models persuasive, and they don't understand why their village has been singled out for destruction from all the other coastal communities in Wales. They don't even know if they will be compensated if they are thrown out of their homes.

Many of the residents are just going on with their lives. There is Becky Offland, who recently took over the lease of the Glan Y Mor Hotel, hoping to bring in visitors and financial support for Fairbourne's future. Alan Jones owns the Fairbourne Chippy, a fish and chips restaurant. He says he's not going anywhere until the water comes in. That sounds remarkably like sense to me. If the climate models predicting the demise of Fairbourne are as accurate now as they have been in the past, the village has a very long future.

Pandra Selivanov is the author of Future Slave, a story about a 21st-century black teenager who goes back in time and becomes a slave in the Old South.

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The outlook for achieving herd immunity as regards the coronavirus is "very complicated," according to Dr. Jefferson Jones, a medical officer on the CDC's COVID-19 Epidemiology Task Force. "Thinking that we'll be able to achieve some kind of threshold where there'll be no more transmission of infections may not be possible," Jones acknowledged recently to members of a panel that advises the CDC on vaccines. He noted that none of the vaccines has proved reliable at blocking transmission of the virus and that recent evidence has also made clear that the immunity provided by the vaccines can wane in a matter of months. Jones said this means that, even if vaccination were universal, the coronavirus would likely continue to spread.

Remember January 2019? The beginning of that new year now seems as if it was decades ago, not a mere 34 months past. Most of us didn't fully realize then that we were living in the halcyon days of U.S. energy independence, record low unemployment, historically stout GDP growth, relatively stable relations with our potential adversaries...and that we were freer than we would ever be again. (Would that we could go back in time and party like it was 2019.)

Perhaps we would sing a verse from a Zac Brown Band song:

Just as free

Free as we'll ever be

Just as free

Free as we'll ever be

And ever be

Just a month or two after that the "pandemic" hit, we were told we just needed to take unusual precautions for a short while. "Two weeks to flatten the curve" should do it, the "experts" said. Stay in your dwellings for two weeks or so. That's not so bad, is it?

Two weeks or so went by, and the experts cried, "That's not enough." Our rulers told us we shouldn't leave our abodes unless absolutely necessary until further notice. We should wipe down and disinfect every single store-bought item we brought into our homes. Many of us were then informed that our jobs weren't "essential," even though they sure as hell were to us. We were told to smother our mouths and noses with masks and stay at least six feet away from other disease carriers people. And that we couldn't enjoy the holidays with our families or attend weddings and funerals.

But, they said, there is a light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel. Once we get a vaccine, then we can corral the coronavirus, and life can return to normal. Many did not see that they smirked while they said this, fingers crossed behind their backs. As they lived their lives as usual.

After the "vaccines" appeared, they told us that when 70% or so of us were vaccinated, we would achieve herd immunity, and the pandemic would be near an end. And then they (Dr. Fauci) said, "Well, maybe when 80 or 85 percent of Americans are vaccinated we will achieve herd-immunity. Or 90 percent."

And now, the CDC and the "experts" are telling us that, what with the quickly flagging efficacy of the vaccines and the emerging new mutations such as the delta variant that they have brought about, we might never be able to achieve herd immunity. (And our global rulers chuckle slyly to themselves, a gleam in their eyes.)

Al Stewart wrote a remarkably poignant song, "Roads to Moscow," about a Russian soldier who comes home at the end of World War II after having helped liberate Germany. Despite his fighting for the Motherland for four brutal years, his superiors are suspicious of what he thought of "the West," even in the form of the Nazi-run Third Reich, and they send him off to a re-education camp instead of thanking him for his service and treating him as a hero. Sickeningly, this actually happened to many Soviet soldiers. It is historical fact.

The song concludes:

And I wonder when I'll be home again and the morning answers 'never.'

And the evening sighs and the steely, Russian skies go on

Forever...

Why do I bring this up?

You tell me. When will we be free again?

Our rulers answer: "never."

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What was the first thing you learned in that Econ 101 class that you were required to take in school? My guess is that the professor explained "supply and demand." My professor was a wonderful gentleman from Korea who explained it so beautifully: less candy, you pay more for candy. He said something similar the next week: less beer, you pay more for beer, and then the class couldn't stop laughing. Candy or beer, but we got it!

Want to understand why you are paying more for gasoline? Let's check what Katie Pavlich wrote this week:

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, heating costs for American families will increase by 54 percent this winter, making it the most expensive in over a decade. Given President Biden's statements on the 2020 campaign trail, where he launched a war on domestic energy production, this was entirely predictable. "The Biden campaign made a clear and unequivocal campaign promise to end fossil fuel leasing on public land," Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune told The Washington Post shortly after Election Day. Just hours after his inauguration, President Biden walked into the Oval Office and issued an executive order stopping construction on the Keystone XL pipeline. One week later, he followed through on promises made to halt new oil and gas leasing on federal land. The White House justified the moves as crucial to combating climate change. Currently, the administration is considering the shutdown of the L5 pipeline that runs from Canada to Michigan, which would further limit energy transport and supply.

This is completely consistent with what I heard from an economist who said on the radio that we are producing a million barrels less now than we were under the previous administration. President Trump understood that cheap energy is essential to middle-class prosperity. Families are crushed when they have to pay $3.20 a gallon versus $2.20 in January. It messes up the budget, as a financial planner once told me.

Don't get mad at the pump or the oil companies. Get mad at bad policies made in the Oval Office. Or as my old Korean professor would probably say: no drilling  pay more for gas!

PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk).

Images: BP Statistical Review of World Energy.

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I've been sick with COVID for the past three weeks. After the first week, I wasn't at all confident that I was going to survive. The fact that I've had worse bouts with the flu did not have an impact on my attitude because COVID seems to bring its own reality with it. The mental density (AKA COVID-related brain fog) that is part of the COVID experience is just as damaging as the disease itself. It makes you believe that you can't survive and that it's not even worth the effort. How they managed to design a disease in Wuhan, China, under Anthony Fauci's and the NIH's auspices, that carries inside itself the nihilism that the left has been pushing for decades, is beyond me. But having lived to tell about it, they managed.

Having read a great deal about COVID since the spring of 2020, I maintained a somewhat cavalier attitude toward both the disease and the vaccine. There is no cavalier left in me. You can easily perish and, much worse, fear for your loved ones' lives. Though the flu is more punishing, it's one week and done. COVID is unrelenting, and, like some modern form of torture, it denies you the ability to sleep.

There's is no easy way to describe COVID. It has its own ecology and is an assault against the natural world from which it did not arise. Clearly the product of a laboratory (ostensibly for gain of function research), we may never really know the nefarious purposes for creating this virus. But when you follow the money, it seems clear that creating a disease along with the cure will make a whole lot of people rich and have the added "benefit" of depopulating the world of a large segment of its elderly, whom the left has long seen as a drag on government coffers.

We can gauge, however, the aftermath of COVID, which leaves the entire free world looking more like China with each passing day. Perhaps China's plan to defeat us without ever firing a shot is well underway. The American left also seems implicated in the whole affair via Dr. Fauci and virtually all the Deep State apparatus that now tells us we're responsible for the pandemic if we don't toe the line for vaccines and conformity.



Image: China's flag by Andrea Widburg.

As Dean Koontz writes in Life Expectancy:

We have instinct but we are not ruled by it. We feel the pull of the mindless herd, the allure of the pack, but we resist the extreme effects of this influence  and when we do not, we drag our societies down into the bloody wreckage of failed utopias, led by Hitler, Lenin, or Mao Tse-Tung. And the wreckage reminds us that God gave us our individualism and that to surrender it is to follow a dark path.

It's becoming clear that we are already fighting the initial skirmishes in this war the elites are waging against individual liberty. "Our brethren are in the field." The disease and the vaccine are both monstrous evils that threaten to rip our country apart.

Forcing people to vaccinate or lose their jobs, careers, and pensions is as antithetical to the American way as you can possibly steer, yet we continue careening down that road. The now obvious nature of the disease has had little impact on the governing class as they continue to give Beijing a pass and bear down even harder on their fellow Americans.

Is it rational to subject an entire population to an experimental vaccine? Is it rational to bypass politically the guardrails we've set up to protect the population from such excesses? Is it rational to ignore all the information coming into the various reporting agencies around the world that point to large numbers of deaths and serious illnesses surrounding the use of the vaccines? Is it rational to deny people simple therapeutics that have spared large populations around the globe simply because the elites can't profit from them?

Is it rational in a free society to force people to close down their livelihoods, cover their faces, and remain in their homes? Earlier in the same novel, Dean Koontz writes:

We need to laugh at the irrationality of evil, for in doing so we deny evil's power over us, diminish its influence in the world and tarnish the allure it has for some people.

Where laughter is not possible, the next best thing is refusing to capitulate. Many of our closest friends and relations do not understand our stance and our continuing refusal to accept the vaccine as legitimate. We believe, however, that we'll be vindicated eventually for what amounts to a deeply held moral stand against all the madness that threatens to engulf this great nation. But for now, we just count the days and pray for a full recovery.

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Despite (or perhaps because of) a long career spent reading judicial decisions, I really hate reading cases. A stellar exception arose on Friday, when the Fifth Circuit issued its decision in BST Holdings, L.L.C. et al. v. OSHA, reaffirming the initial stay it granted when multiple entities and individuals challenged OSHA's recently issued vaccine mandate. In one brutal paragraph after another, the Court rips apart the mandate, citing law, facts, OSHA precedent, and even a Ron Klain tweet. It's a tour de force that makes it unlikely that any halfway honest court can or would resuscitate the mandate or that either OSHA or even Congress could try again.

There are a few dates you should know: in June 2020, when fear about COVID was at a peak, OSHA "reasonably determined" that an emergency temporary standard (ETS) was unnecessary. Over a year later, on September 9, 2021, Biden announced that he was going to impose a national vaccine mandate. That same day, Ron Klain retweeted a Stephanie Ruhle tweet stating that an OSHA vaccine mandate "is the ultimate work-around for the Federal govt to require vaccinations." Finally, almost two months later, on November 5, OSHA finally got around to promulgating the ETS.

And there are two facts you need to know: Congress created OSHA

to assure Americans 'safe and healthful working conditions and to preserve our human resources.' ... It was not  and likely could not be, under the Commerce Clause and nondelegation doctrine  intended to authorize a workplace safety administration in the deep recesses of the federal bureaucracy to make sweeping pronouncements on matters of public health affecting every member of society in the profoundest of ways. [p. 6, citations and footnote omitted.]

OSHA's authority regarding issuing an ETS is also extremely narrow, requiring a grave danger from exposure to hazardous substances, toxic agents, or new hazards, all of which require urgent intervention. ETSes are "'an 'unusual response' to 'exceptional circumstances'" (p. 8, citations omitted). The legal standard is that this "extraordinary power" must be "delicately exercised" and only in "limited situations" (ibid.).



Image: Hard hat from freeiconspng; syringe from Piqsels.

To meet the legal requirements, OSHA would have had to act with incredible speed to issue a narrowly crafted mandate drilling into the places with the highest risk. (Perhaps targeting the New York subways or American meatpacking plants in Spring 2020.) Instead, notes the court, the mandate came almost two years into the virus's depredations and almost two long months after the president declared there was an emergency requiring a mandate. Moreover:

[R]ather than a delicately handled scalpel, the Mandate is a one-size-fits-all sledgehammer that makes hardly any attempt to account for differences in workplaces (and workers) that have more than a little bearing on workers' varying degrees of susceptibility to the supposedly "grave danger" the Mandate purports to address. (p. 8)

In another gem of a paragraph, the Court describes the mandate as "fatally flawed on its own terms." Thus:

[T]he Mandate's strained prescriptions combine to make it the rare government pronouncement that is both overinclusive (applying to employers and employees in virtually all industries and workplaces in America, with little attempt to account for the obvious differences between the risks facing, say, a security guard on a lonely night shift, and a meatpacker working shoulder to shoulder in a cramped warehouse) and underinclusive (purporting to save employees with 99 or more coworkers from a "grave danger" in the workplace, while making no attempt to shield employees with 98 or fewer coworkers from the very same threat). (p. 6)

And of course, there's chief of staff Klain's retweet, which the Court suggests is an admission that using OSHA was a deliberate attempt to circumvent the president's constitutional inability to issue such a mandate.

The Court touches upon a few other things, including the fact that COVID's risks are very uneven, depending on a person's age, general health, and immunity, and OSHA's past statements about its lack of power to make mandates for infectious diseases.

The Court also notes a couple of serious constitutional problems. While states have vast powers over public health, the Commerce Clause means that the federal government does not: "A person's choice to remain unvaccinated and forgo regular testing is noneconomic inactivity," and therefore within the states', not the federal government's, purview. Likewise, Separation of Powers principles mean that an agency operating under the Executive cannot exceed the narrow mandate Congress gave it.

With regard to this last point, the Court gave a nod to the Supreme Court's decision earlier this year holding that the CDC may not make housing policy by issuing eviction moratoriums. It noted that Congress can only give away so much of its authority, for "health agencies do not make housing policy, and occupational safety administrations do not make health policy" (p. 20).

There's much more in the opinion, and it's written almost entirely in intelligible English, so I suggest you may enjoy reading it yourself.

(Note: This post has been updated to clarify confusing language regarding Stephanie Ruhle's tweet.)

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
On December 13, 1636, reacting to threats to its survival, the Massachusetts Bay Colony General Court of Salem issued an edict ordering all able-bodied men between 16 and 60 to serve and protect their communities. The three original regiments authorized on that day were the ancestors of today's National Guard.

Once again, we must tap the National Guard's reservoir of bravery, selfless service, and professionalism to protect everything we hold dear.

The threats are like those our brave Puritan ancestors faced four centuries ago, both internal and external. Both dangers are real. Both threats are serious.

The internal strike was against once-proud cities. Rundown after decades of neglect from "liberal" politicians, they have been overrun with rioters. Some so-called "progressive" social justice protesters are calling for "reparations," abetted by vote-hungry politicians eager to "defund" our police. Egged on by the corrupt left-leaning media, these opportunists take advantage of under-funded and weary police to loot, destroy, and even kill in the name of "social justice."

The second assault  and likely a graver one  is external. An army is on the march against the U.S. What else can you call an organized group of 50,000 or more migrants looking to violate the sovereignty of another nation through illegal acts and violence? What if there were an army marching north through Mexico, laughing off the feeble, half-hearted actions of the local authorities attempting to stop them before they reach our border? Yet, even without this mass of humanity threatening to overwhelm us, this year has seen the largest spike of illegal entry into the United States in 25 years.

An external invasion of this magnitude is something we haven't seen in a generation. Couple this with the threat of violent, destructive insurrection in cities like Portland, Seattle, and Minneapolis, and we have more than just a hot mess. Add to this the rampant rash of inner-city murders in Chicago and other Democrat-run enclaves, and it's clear we are in perilous times, requiring extraordinary solutions.

One such solution is for the governors in affected states and cities to deploy our guardians of state security, the National Guard, both Air Force and Army. Even if authorities shy away from utilizing them directly against protesters or invading migrants, the Guard's specialized skills, training, equipment, and infrastructure can free up resources so our thinly stretched police and ICE agents can better do their jobs.

Despite what the "progressive" mainstream media would have you believe, there is ample precedent for military assistance during times of national strife and emergency. After 9/11, the National Guard was deployed at airports, shipping terminals, monuments, and other possible targets. For decades, in Texas, New Mexico, California, and Arizona, when illegal border crossings and smuggling were (as now) beyond the capacity of border-security agents to control, the Guard has always been there, providing intelligence, communications, and other indirect support.

After the 1992 riots in Los Angeles, the killings, destruction, and looting were stopped only with heavily armed Guardsmen (and U.S. Marines) in the streets. Hopefully, this time, a show of force  images of battle-ready men and women ready to defend our soil  will be enough deterrent to avoid violence. But if any army of 50,000 insists on breaching our sovereign border, we need to be prepared. It is not a viable alternative to take a so-called progressive approach and look the other way. Not doing so would be akin to rolling out a welcome mat for 500,000 to cross next time  or 500 million, for that matter.

Deploying the Guard is a straightforward solution to these threats. The only question is, do we have the will and fortitude to deploy adequate resources to solve the problem? Since the current administration is either unwilling or unable to solve these problems, it is up to state governors and city mayors to do what needs to be implemented to protect us. If they refuse to uphold their oath of office to protect their citizenry, they need to be removed from office.

After all, just as in 1636, our existence as a free and independent people is at risk. God bless our National Guard, police, and other sworn guardians of our Republic.

Michael A Letts is the CEO and founder of In-VestUSA, a national grassroots non-profit organization helping hundreds of communities provide thousands of bulletproof vests for their police forces through educational, public relations, sponsorship, and fundraising programs.

Image via Picryl.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
Alex Berenson, the former New York Times science writer who has been a voice of reason on the COVID epidemic, assembles evidence that the mandated COVID pseudo-vaccines have failed all over the world, in a Substack post titled "Worldwide vaccine failure."

If the COVID jabs are so effective that constitutionally dubious vaccine mandates are being pushed by the Biden regime, then those locales with the highest vaccination rates must have brought the virus under better control than elsewhere, obviously. But that is not the case. The countries with the highest vaccination rates are seeing soaring cases and even deaths.

Here is Singapore, where 85% of the entire population, not just adults, have been vaccinated.

Singapore is near the equator, so we can't blame the onset of cold weather, forcing people to spend more time indoors, for the upsurge.

Similar upsurges are found in the Netherlands (70% vaccinated), which is imposing partial lockdowns; Iceland (76% vaccinated), which is imposing more restrictions; and our own state of Vermont (71% vaccinated).

Yet vaccination frenzy continues to consume many government units, now extending mandatory vaccination to children 511, who face only a tiny risk.

It is madness.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
At the corner of South Lowe Avenue and West 63rd Street in Englewood, Chicago, where now stands a drab, two story building of the United States Postal Service, once stood one of the most sinister buildings ever built. Known as the Murder Castle, the building was erected in the late 19th century by the American serial killer Henry Howard Holmes to torture and murder an undetermined number of victims.

Henry Howard Holmes was born as Herman Webster Mudgett in Gilmanton, New Hampshire on May 16, 1861. Holmes had a fairly uneventful childhood. His father was a farmer, trader, and house painter, and the family was devoted Methodist. At the age of 16, after graduation, Holmes became a teacher, and later, after marriage, he became a certified public accountant and served as city manager of Orlando, Florida.

At the age of 21, Holmes enrolled at the University of Michigan's Department of Medicine and Surgery and graduated two years later. While studying medicine, Holmes had the first taste of dissection. First, he worked in the anatomy lab under the chief anatomy instructor. Then he apprenticed under a noted advocate of human dissection. It was during medical school when he first turned to crime. Holmes stole cadavers from the laboratory, burned or disfigured them, and then planted the bodies making it look as if they had been killed in an accident. Holmes then collected insurance money on these people. But these occasional acts of fraud were nothing compared to what was to come later.

Herman Webster Mudgett, better known as Dr. Henry Howard Holmes.

In 1886, Holmes changed his name to Henry Howard Holmes to distance himself from his previous scams, and moved to Chicago, where he got a job working at a drugstore. Holmes proved himself to be a hardworking employee, and when the owner of the drugstore passed away, he bought the business from the widow.

After Holmes had become the owner of the drugstore, he purchased an empty lot across the street with a very specific purposeto trap and kill victims and sell their organs on the black market and to medical institutions. For this, Holmes designed a 3-story hotel into which he would lure visitors to the city, especially young women, who came to Chicago for jobs during the World's Columbian Exposition.

The first floor of the building had several stores. The upper two levels consisted of apartment rooms. Some of these rooms were soundproof and contained gas lines so that Holmes could asphyxiate his guests whenever he felt like ithis favorite method of killing. Sometimes he would starve his victims or burn them alive. Throughout the building, there were trap doors, peepholes, stairways that led nowhere, and chutes that led into the basement, where Holmes had acid vats, quicklime and a crematorium to dispose of his victims' bodies. Holmes would use the chutes to deliver the bodies to the basement, and once there, he made use of surgical tables and an array of medical tools to dissect them before selling their organs and bones on the black market and to medical institutions. To keep the interior layout of the hotel a secret, Holmes hired and fired several construction crews so that no one would have a clear idea of what he was doing.

After the Worlds Fair ended and guests to his hotel dwindled, Holmes abandoned the hotel and focused on insurance scams instead. Holmes teamed up with another conman named Benjamin Pitezel and concocted a plan where Pitezel would take out a $10,000 life insurance policy and then fake his own death, allowing Pitezels wife to collect the sum. The money would then be split between themselves. Instead, Holmes actually killed Pitezel and then convinced his wife that her husband was still alive. Chillingly, Holmes then went on to manipulate Pitezel's unsuspecting wife into allowing three of her five children to be placed in his custody. Holmes then murdered all three. He killed the two girls by locking them inside a large trunk and filling it with gas. He buried their nude bodies in the cellar of his rental house. Holmes killed the youngest child and chopped up the body before he burned it.

Holmes' murder spree finally ended when he was arrested in Boston in 1894 on charges of horse theft, a felony he committed in Texas. Following the discovery of the bodies of Pitezels children, Chicago police began investigating Holmes' building in Englewood, now locally referred to as The Castle. However, no evidence of wrong doing was found that could have connected Holmes to the dozens of missing person cases reported in Chicago. The only conviction the police could make against Holmes was for the murder of Benjamin Pitezel. Holmes later confessed to 27 murders. But Holmes being a pathological liar, its difficult to ascertain whats true and what's fable. For instance, some people which he confessed to murdering were still alive.

On May 7, 1896, Holmes was hanged at Moyamensing Prison.

The castle was mysteriously gutted by fire in August 1895, while Holmes was still in prison. Arson was suspected. The building survived the fire and remained in use until it was torn down in 1938 to make way for the Post Office.
(Image source from: Twitter.com/trspartyonline)

Farmers Will Crush BJP: KTR:- Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), the ruling part of Telangana called for a protest across the state yesterday to mount pressure on the Centre to procure paddy from the state during the upcoming rabi season. All the key leaders of the state participated in the protest and there are talks that more than 5 lakh people of the state participated in the protest. Three hour long dharna is staged from 10 AM to 1 PM yesterday in all the constituencies of the state. TRS wants a clear announcement from the Centre to procure the paddy in the state. The leaders demanded the Centre to educate the farmers as they felt that the Centre ignored the farmers after the formation of Telangana state.

Slogans of Jai Telangana and Jai Jawan Jai Kisan have been made. The leaders of TRS declared a war against the Centre on the farmers' issue. TRS Working President KTR addressed the meeting in Sircilla, his own constituency saying that the farmers of the state will crush BJP very soon. "BJP will be crushed under the wheels of bullock carts and tractors if the Centre refuses to purchase the paddy from the state. These dharnas are just a beginning and we will intensify the protests all over. Special dharnas will be planned in the national capital too. We will expose the double standards of BJP on the paddy issue for the nation" told KTR during his speech.

(Video Source: T News Telugu)
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The Greek prime minister has issued a fresh call for the Parthenon Marbles to be returned to Greece, even offering to loan some of his countrys treasures to the British Museum in exchange.

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the 2,500-year-old sculptures, also known as the Elgin Marbles, were stolen from Athens and belong in the Acropolis Museum.

Mr Mitsotakis told the paper: Our position is very clear. The marbles were stolen in the 19th century, they belong in the Acropolis Museum and we need to discuss this issue in earnest.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis said he intends to raise the issue with Boris Johnson (PA)

I am sure that if there was a willingness on the part of the Government to move we could find an arrangement with the British Museum in terms of us sending abroad cultural treasures on loan, which have never left the country.

The marbles were removed from the Acropolis more than 200 years ago and have long been the subject of dispute.

They were once in the ancient Greek Parthenon temple and other buildings on the Acropolis but around half were taken to Britain in the early 19th century by staff working for the Earl of Elgin, Thomas Bruce.

Mr Mitsotakis told the paper he intends to raise the issue with Prime Minister Boris Johnson when they meet next week.

The Elgin marbles were removed from the Acropolis more than 200 years ago (PA)

He said: Refusing to discuss the topic seems to me, given the context of everything that has been happening in terms of the return of cultural treasures, to be rather an anachronistic approach.

It would be a fantastic statement by what Boris calls Global Britain if they were to move on this and look at it through a completely different lens.

Mr Johnson earlier this year ruled out returning the marbles to Greece, telling Greek newspaper Ta Nea: I understand the strong feelings of the Greek people  and indeed Prime Minister Mitsotakis  on the issue.

But the UK Government has a firm longstanding position on the sculptures which is that they were legally acquired by Lord Elgin under the appropriate laws of the time and have been legally owned by the British Museums Trustees since their acquisition.
The husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is ending his hunger strike in central London after almost three weeks.

Richard Ratcliffe has spent 21 days camped outside the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) without food.

He began his demonstration on October 24 after his wife lost her latest appeal in Iran, saying his family was caught in a dispute between two states.

On Saturday morning on King Charles Street, where Mr Ratcliffe has been staging his hunger strike, he told the PA news agency his job is to keep going, adding: We probably hoped wed get a breakthrough doing this. We havent yet.

Richard Ratcliffe was joined by his daughter Gabriella as he ended his hunger strike (Aaron Chown/PA)

I didnt want to go out in an ambulance. I want to walk out with my head held high.

Mr Ratcliffe also criticised Prime Minister Boris Johnson for his telling absence in talking to him during the protest.

He said the Defence Secretary Ben Wallace stopped to visit him earlier, and one other Government minister has come to see him, but he acknowledged he has seen more people from the Labour benches during the demo.

He told the PA news agency: Weve certainly not had the Prime Minister come. And yes, I do think he has the capacity to do a disappearing act.

I think his absence this past three weeks is telling. His absence on Nazanins case since he became Prime Minister is reasonably telling.

Mr Ratcliffe said he may have been naive, but I did expect he would step up and sort it and he would deliver on the promises he made as foreign secretary once he had the power to do so.

Earlier on Saturday Mr Ratcliffes local MP Tulip Siddiq tweeted earlier on Saturday: It has been three weeks since Richard Ratcliffe last ate any food.

In that time, not a single Government Minister has visited his camp outside the Foreign Office in solidarity.

Richard Ratcliffe once again urged the Prime Minister to intervene in the case (Aaron Chown/PA)

Will the Prime Minister take 5 minutes out of his day to visit my constituent today?

Mr Ratcliffe said he backed Ms Siddiqs view and said it is probably too late for Mr Johnson to visit him now, and he added that his wife has also requested a phone call from the Prime Minister.

His strike ended as a patchwork was due to be unveiled made from all the patches supporters have been sending throughout his time camped outside the FCDO.

Mr Ratcliffe said he was starting to get pains in his feet overnight, and after a chat with a doctor the decision was made to end the hunger strike.

He said he plans to go to hospital to get checked out on Saturday afternoon and then hopes to be able to eat something after that.

A meeting with Foreign Office minister James Cleverly, after FCDO officials had talks with Iranian deputy foreign minister Bagheri Kani on Thursday, left Mr Ratcliffe feeling deflated and stuck in the same status quo.

He said he did not feel things had moved forwards and accused the British Government of not giving a clear enough message to Iran that hostage-taking is wrong.

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian dual national, has been in custody in Iran since 2016 after being accused of plotting to overthrow the government.

She was taking the couples daughter Gabriella to see her family when she was arrested and sentenced to five years in jail, spending four years in Evin Prison and one under house arrest.

Richard Ratcliffe outside the Foreign Office on October 25 (Steve Parsons/PA)

According to her family, she was told by Iranian authorities that she was being detained because of the UKs failure to pay an outstanding 400 million debt to Iran.

While Mr Ratcliffe said the Government clammed up and would not talk about the debt during his discussion with officials, The Guardian newspaper reported that the UK told Iran it could not pay the debt owing to restrictions brought about by sanctions, quoting Tehrans deputy foreign minister.

According to the paper, Bagheri Kani said the two sides had agreed a payment of less than 500 million taking interest into account, and added: Now what the UK Government are bringing up is the limitations on banking interactions, saying it is a difficulty, and finally they cannot do it.

It is the second time Mr Ratcliffe has gone on hunger strike, having camped in front of the Iranian embassy for 15 days two years ago  a move he said had resulted in getting his daughter home.

During Mr Ratcliffes latest demonstration he has been visited by supporters including Strictly Come Dancing co-host Claudia Winkleman, writer and presenter Victoria Coren Mitchell, and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer as well as his local MP Tulip Siddiq.

Ms Siddiq tweeted on Friday to say she had secured a debate in Parliament on Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffes situation and urged people to contact their MPs to ask them to speak in Tuesdays discussion and make the case for bringing Nazanin home.
More unvaccinated workers will be required to get the COVID-19 vaccine by January 4th, or face regular testing under the new guidance from the U.S. Department of Labors Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released last week.

While the Biden Administrations vaccine mandate isnt in full effect yet, it's already caught up in the courts. On Saturday, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily blocked new vaccine mandates and testing regulations put in place by OSHA. Still, the White House said this week that businesses should move forward with the requirements for private businesses.

OSHA released its long-awaited emergency temporary standard (ETS) on Thursday that calls for employers with 100 or more employees to either implement a vaccine mandate to ensure workers are undergoing regular COVID-19 testing and wearing face masks at work.

The rule covers both full-time and part-time workers, which includes more than 84 million workers and two-thirds of the nations private sector workforce.

One area that remains unknown is who bears the cost of COVID testing. The federal government has not agreed to pick up the tab, nor has it said that businesses are required to cover the cost, unless stipulated by state or local laws or in labor union contracts.

The presidential mandate comes as employers across the nation are facing an acute labor shortage amplified by strong demand and pandemic-era stress factors.

Meanwhile, deep pockets of vaccine resistance are worsening the problem, with employers increasingly faced with the stark choice of complying with government mandates, or turning away talent that may not want to be vaccinated.

Lauren Winans, CEO of Pittsburgh-based human resources consultancy Next Level Benefits, expects employers will pay for COVID-19 testing to maintain operations and productivity flowing.

"They're going to need to start paying for that testing, as time goes on here because most employees will look for another employer if they're not able to feel comfortable in the environment that they're working in," Winans told Yahoo Finance Live on Thursday.

While it's unclear as to where these regular testing would need to be, Winans believes that most large businesses will offer the testing onsite.

"There may be some employers who choose to have that testing done at an offsite location but I do think that from a procedural and process standpoint, onsite is going to be the best way to go," she added.

There's going to be a lot of debate around what exactly is going to be required as part of the testing process, what type of test, how quickly the results will need to be, and where the employee goes while they're waiting for those results.Lauren Winans, Next Level Benefits CEO

As January is shaping up to be the new September for large U.S. companies to summon remote workers back to long-deserted offices. And the "weekly" testing requirement for unvaccinated employees could impact businesses at large.

"Getting that testing is going to take away time from you doing your job. It's going to slow down, your own productivity," said Winans. Another issue companies will have to consider is who will be tracking employees testing.

"That's going to take time and effort. It's going to take people away from their regular jobs, there might even need to be a head count added in certain circumstances," Winans added.

Roughly 70% of U.S. adults are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC. More than half of employees have said they support their current employer implementing vaccine mandates, no matter the size of the company, according to a Qualtrics survey of 1,309 U.S. workers in October.

The federal government has scrambled in recent months to shore up the U.S. supply of rapid tests, including at-home kits. OSHA's new rules, however, require that the employer to observe the test and the results, or an authorized Telehealth proctors observe workers taking the tests.

"Time is going to tell quite frankly," said Winans. "There's going to be a lot of debate around what exactly is going to be required as part of the testing process, what type of test, how quickly the results will need to be, and where the employee goes while they're waiting for those results."

COVID testing won't be cheap

A health care worker shows one of the at-home COVID-19 tests given to passengers arriving in Canada, as part of the country's new measures against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada February 24, 2021. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio

One thing appears certain: The testing requirement is likely to be a costly endeavor for workers and companies alike. Employers are required under fair labor standards to compensate employees for their time, if they get tested during normal working hours.

Meanwhile, the costs of an at-home COVID-19 test  which involve a nasal swab  vary widely: Prices at major hospitals ranging between $20 and a whopping $1,419 per test, with the median at $148, according to April 2021 data from Kaiser Family Foundation analysis.

Rapid tests costs in the range of $15 to $25. However, the median cost of more-likely-to be-accurate P.C.R. (polymerase chain reaction) tests is substantially higher, at $127, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

In New York City, residents can get a free P.C.R. test at one of the citys express testing centers, with results promised within 24 hours or less. But many clinics offer the tests at a cost in exchange for expedited results.

Clear-19 Rapid Testing, for example, which is located in Midtown Manhattan, charges a stiff $389 to deliver P.C.R. results in two hours, or $175 for a 24-hour turnaround.

The reason that were seeing differences in prices is partly because of out-of-network use of laboratories to process tests, Gerald Kominski, a health policy expert at the University of California Los Angeles, told Yahoo! Finance in an interview.

The other reason for the varying costs of the test is that there are different testing technologies, some of which are more accurate than others, he added.

While businesses face questions about the new requirements, it's unlikely that health insurances will cover the costs, according to Next Level's Winans.

"It's part of an employment contingency much like when you start a new position, and you might be required to do drug testing or background testing, that's not covered by your insurance," the CEO said.

Yet questions linger for remote workers, and whether they're subject to testing if that alternative is provided. The federal rules does not apply to employees who work remotely 100% of the time, or who work exclusively outdoors.

However, if employees do come into the office periodically, then they'll need to be tested. That makes it "challenging for employers who might be offering hybrid work arrangements, where their employees are mostly offsite and working remote, but occasionally come onsite," Winans told Yahoo Finance.

Vaccine mandate could require a 'tough call'

Oct 31, 2021; Inglewood, California, USA; Spectators take a COVID-19 test before the NFL game between the Los Angeles Chargers and the New England Patriots at SoFi Stadium. (Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)

Before the new OSHA standard, the pandemic caused various questions about which protective measures employers should cover for workers such as waiting for a temperature checks before entering a building.

In states like California, business are required to provide free personal protective equipment, and offer free COVID-19 testing to all employees if three or more employees are infected with the coronavirus within 14 days.

The standard also requires that vaccination status must be documented. However, the proposed language for the revised ETS doesn't match the language of the updated OSHA's ETS, leaving many wondering if California will align with the federal mandate.

"California is a very employee protected state and oftentimes does provide more protection to the employees than the federal government does," Natasha Chesler, a Los Angeles employment lawyer who represents workers and employers in wage and hour cases at Chesler McCaffrey LLP, said in an interview.

"There's a chance we see the employer being required to pay in California. It's a tough call," she added.

Companies that delay implementing a policy and tracking the vaccination or testing status of their employees could face costly fines if they miss those deadlines.

And OSHA can penalize employers up to $14,000 per employee who fails to comply with the rule. But that could escalate, and businesses may face additional fines of about $136,000.

Dani Romero is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter: @daniromerotv

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YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 13, ARMENPRESS. The Stepanakert-Shuhsi-Berdzor interstate road is currently open on both sides after a shutdown earlier today, the police of the Interior Ministry of Artsakh told Armenpress.

The free and safe traffic will be ensured by the Russian peacekeeping troops.

The Police of Artsakh will soon provide additional information about the incident that has taken place between the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides, the statement says.

Earlier it was reported that the Stepanakert-Berdzor inter-state road was closed on both sides due to the incident between the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides. The law enforcement agencies of Artsakh together with the Russian peacekeepers were holding negotiations with the Azerbaijani side to restore the traffic on the road.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
The government recently launched 'Har Ghar Dastak' campaign for house-to-house COVID vaccination of those who are yet to take a dose

In several states, 100 per cent of the adult population has received the first dose of the vaccine. (AFP file image)

New Delhi: Nearly 80 per cent of India's eligible adult population has been administered the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine while 38 per cent has been fully vaccinated, the Union Health Ministry said on Friday.

During an interactive webinar on the ongoing 'Har Ghar Dastak' campaign, Additional Secretary in the Union Health Ministry Manohar Agnani said that under the campaign, by November 30, the government wants the first dose coverage of COVID-19 vaccination in the country to reach at least 90 per cent.

"Also maximum of the people who are overdue for their second dose should also take the second dose by then," Agnani said.

The government recently launched the month-long 'Har Ghar Dastak' campaign for house-to-house COVID-19 vaccination of those who are yet to take a dose and those whose second dose is overdue.

"Going by India's current vaccination pace we can claim with confidence that the world's largest adult vaccination programme is well on track since its launch on January 16.

"To date, nearly 80 per cent of the eligible population in India has been vaccinated against COVID-19 with the first dose, while 38 per cent has been fully vaccinated," he stated.

In several states, 100 per cent of the adult population has received the first dose of the vaccine. He expressed confidence that with India's current vaccine delivery capacity, the entire adult population will soon be covered.

The Union Health Ministry has also written to several states and union territories asking them to prioritise administering the second dose to beneficiaries who have not got themselves jabbed even after the expiry of the prescribed interval between the two doses, official sources said.

Noting that more than 12 crore beneficiaries are due for their second dose of COVID-19 vaccine, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Thursday urged the health ministers of states and UTs to ensure that the entire adult population is covered with the first dose during the ongoing 'Har Ghar Dastak' campaign and those who are due for the second dose are motivated to take it.

On Friday, the 'Har Ghar Dastak' campaign got underway in the national capital.

According to a poster issued by the Delhi government, the drive will be carried out from November 12-27.
The first myth that needs to be buried then is that there is a difference between the BJP and the so-called fringe

Last month, on October 24, Bajrang Dal activists attacked the ongoing shooting of filmmaker Prakash Jhas series, Ashram, in Bhopal. With impunity they ransacked the sets, smashed the windscreens of buses, threw ink on Jha, and threatened further violence if the shooting did not stop. Anyone else taking the law in their own hands and indulging in this kind of vandalism would be afraid of the consequences. After all, we are a country where there is supposedly the rule of law, and no one is above it, or can openly flout it.

But apparently the Bajrang Dal activists were under the impression that they could, and for good reason. Narottam Mishra, the home minister of BJP ruled MP, where this happened, seemed to brazenly back their actions. Instead of coming down heavily on such lawless behaviour, he delivered a homily on how filmmakers should be careful and avoid scenes that hurt our sentiments while remaining mindful of the spirit of the majority society. Perhaps  but this might be too much to expect  Mr Mishra and his cohorts should have read a little of Adi Shankaracharya. In the Bhaja Govindam, the great thinker mocks at fake godmen who pick up the accoutrements of religion only for personal gain. Will the Bajrang Dal and Mr Mishra now attack Adi Shankaracharya?

It is this same Mr Mishra who backed the boycott of the Fab India Diwali ad campaign for the ridiculous reason that it was titled in Urdu, Jashn-e-Riwaaz, and because the models were not dressed as chaste Hindu women should be. It was Mr Mishra, too, that threatened to send the police if the fashion designer Sabyasachi did not withdraw his Mangalsutra collection because  no surprises  the models were not appropriately dressed as he would like to see them. Earlier, in November 2020, it was he again who ordered action against the web series, A Suitable Boy, for a kissing scene with a temple in the background.

But what is crucially significant is that Mr Mishra was last month promoted to the BJPs national executive. Quite obviously then, people like him, and the Bajrang Dal whom he patronises, are not some loony fringe of the BJP, but very much part of its mainstream, duly rewarded for their actions by the parent party.

The first myth that needs to be buried then is that there is a difference between the BJP and the so-called fringe. The two are one and the same. Both feed off each other. Both are hyphenated at the hip. Both have similar goals. Both encourage each other. It is this cozy relationship between the core and its parts that we need to understand. The fringe is only the violent extension of what the core believes. If Narottam Mishra, a BJP minister, condoned the violence of the Bajrang Dal activists in the Ashram matter, it was BJP MP Tejaswi Surya who led the campaign against Fab India. The stormtroopers are not autonomous actors; they act on the directions of what the BJP supports; otherwise, they would have been censured long ago, not rewarded.

Over time this happy condominium between BJP and the so-called fringe has empowered the mob, and led to the reduction of a great, refined and highly cerebral religion to its lowest common denominator. What are the signs of this lumpen leadership that is devaluing Hinduism? Firstly, it is characterised by a singular lack of knowledge about the nuances, complexities and intellectual grandeur of Hinduism.

Secondly  and for precisely this reason  it is averse to dialogue, discussion and debate. Thirdly, it has no compunction in resorting to violence to impose its views. Fourthly, it is highly conservative and orthodox in its interpretation of Hinduism, supportive of inequitable existing hierarchies, and completely unexposed to the liberality of thought that is the quintessential feature of Hinduism. Fifthly, it is deeply patriarchal, believing that women should accept their subordinate position, and conform to stereotypical notion of so-called Hindu values, which essentially means that men should decide what they should wear, who they should meet, what they should drink or eat and what kind of relationships they can have.

Sixthly, the dominant emotion is of hatred of the other, others being defined as primarily Muslim, but also including all those who are not part of its smug circle of like-minded largely upper-caste brethren. Seventhly, it is animated by the need to revive Indias great Hindu past, but its knowledge of what that really is, is highly superficial and mythical, thereby trivialising the real refinements and achievements of ancient India. Eighthly, it has scant regard for the rule of law. It believes that such niceties are the crutches of the weak, and has little or no application to those who are fighting for bigger causes like protecting Hinduism. Ninthly, it has little problem in conflating patriotism with religion. Through the prism of this narrow polarity, only a Hindu who supports them can be patriotic, while the patriotism of all others is suspect. And tenthly, it is particularly porous to false information so long as it buttresses its preconceived, narrow worldview.

The fact that Hinduism is now sought to be led by such a lumpen class with the active encouragement and participation of the BJP is a matter of deep worry. No Hindu, and indeed no Indian, can be immune to this impact. We may choose to remain silent, or ignore it, but we do so at our peril, for sooner or later we will become its victims. Filmmaker Abbas Tyrewala nailed it on Facebook. Theyre coming for you. Wait till you do something they think is wrong. Make a show. Make an ad. Sing a song. Wear clothes. Meet a friend. Fall in love. Eat something. Drink something. Smoke something. Pray. Dont pray. Say something. Dont say something. Ask anything. Believe anything. Other than what has been sanctioned. You may be next. Not yet. But unless youre in the mob, your turn and your familys turn and your childrens turn are inevitable.
FWD

For starters, the Civic Si bits and pieces arent particularly exciting. The 1.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine is easily outperformed by the 2.0-liter Accord Sport, and the six-speed manual transmission is available rather than standard as per the automakers press release for the Integra.Im aware that dual-clutch and some torque-converter automatics are quicker, but come on! In my honest opinion, the long-awaited revival of the Integra shouldve been more focused on the driving experience rather than how quickly the driver can upshift in auto mode or with the paddle shifters.Another problem with the five-door liftback is the number of doors, which is understandable because the Integra replaces the ILX in Acuras lineup. But for a low-volume car that is expected to appeal to enthusiasts, a three- or two-door Integra wouldve been more suitable. Finally, look at it!The INTEGRA decals look completely out of place, the Diamond Pentagon grille has this look at me aesthetics to it, and the automaker goes fully obnoxious with the INTEGRA embossings under the driver-side headlight and passenger-side taillight. Given this vanilla approach to exterior design, pixel artist Marouane Bembli is much obliged to fix up the Integra in Photoshop with a few notable mods, starting with the number of doors.Described as a missed opportunity, the virtual tuner also works his magic on the front-end styling, wheels, and the rear by adding a humongous wing inspired by the DC2. The DC2 Integra Type R also inspired the aforementioned embossings, but as opposed to the original, the 2023 model year will never ever be featured in a top 10 list of best-handlingcars.
Its called Xanadu 2.0 (though not officially), and it is literally the stuff of dreams , and a legend on its own.Situated in Medina, Washington, overlooking Lake Washington, Xanadu 2.0 is named so after the mansion in Citizen Kane. Bill Gates bought the first piece of land in 1988 for a reported $2 million and, over the next seven years, would spend $63 million to build the mansion, which he fashioned into his dream lone tech wizard abode. Over the years, it has been valued at anything between $120 and $150+ million.When Gates married Melinda in 1994, work on the house had already started and, as she revealed in a 2008 Forbes profile, she hated it. Designed by architects James Cutler and Peter Bohlin, it featured enough software and high-tech displays to make a newlywed feel as though she were living inside a video game, which was in keeping with how Gates himself described his dream house in his 1995 book The Road Ahead.Most details about Xanadu 2.0 available online are actually inferred from the same piece of literature. Others were passed down from eyewitness accounts, particularly one Microsoft interns tour of the place, which he won at auction for $35,000. Many more are still the stuff of legend  urban myth, more likely  and they all work to create the impression that Xanadu 2.0 is the house of tomorrow, built yesterday. Its smart, its eco-friendly, and its packed with technology and a little something for the car enthusiast.Xanadu 2.0 offers a total of 66,000 square feet (6,132 square meters), divided between several structures. Theres the main house, a detached guest house that is completely self-sufficient, an activities building that houses a massive pool, and a detached garage, to name just a few. Everything on site is incredibly detailed, painfully planned for, and brilliantly executed . Most importantly, everything just screams ultimate luxury, like you would expect from the former number one richest man in the world The estate is Earth-sheltered, which means its built into the surroundings to regulate temperature efficiently and reduce its carbon footprint. The floors and even the driveways are heated, and 500-year-old Douglas fir trees were integrated into the construction to create the impression of blending in with the natural backdrop.Assuming Gates got around to implementing his ideas about his perfect smart home , and reports say that he did, the house features entire walls made of oversize displays that allow guests to choose the art they wish to see. Todays tech-packed mansions use a similar method to display NFT galleries , so Gates was right in anticipating this trend.Guests spending the night at Xanadu 2.0 get a pin that comes with GPS tracking and syncs to a range of sensors that adjust things like lighting, temperature and even music according to that guests individual preference. Speakers hidden in walls play music as the guest moves from room to room, so that his or her favorite tune accompanies them as they move around.In total, Xanadu 2.0 can accommodate up to 23 cars in several garages. Legend has it that one of them is more like an underground cave, made of steel and concrete with an unpolished look to achieve a deconstructivist vibe. It can house 10 of Gates most prized cars  and the man, despite his discretion on this and most other topics, is a passionate car collector.Figures circulated online about the mansion are just as impressive as all of the above. The 59-foot (18-meter) pool has its own underwater sound system, and a wall of glass that you can swim under to get outside of the building, onto the private beach, which is made with sand shipped in yearly from the Caribbean. The dining room alone is 1,000 square feet (93 square meters) and can sit 150 people at dinner or 200 people standing. The gym and wellness area is 2,500 square feet (232 square meters) and includes spa and steam room. Also here is a trampoline room, with a 20-foot (6-meter) ceiling.The 2,100-square-foot (195-square-meter) library has at least two secret chambers, one of which houses a bar. This is also the home of the Codex Leicester, the 16th-century Leonardo da Vinci manuscript that Gates bought at auction for $30.8 million in 1994.Surprisingly, public records show that Xanadu 2.0, despite its gigantic size, has only seven bedrooms and an impressive number of 18.75 bathrooms, 10 of which are full baths. Considering the size of the reception room, its clear that Gates built the place with a goal of entertaining large parties, which also explains why there are so many bathrooms.Photos of the interior of the mansion were never made public, so you will have to use your imagination on that one. Even assuming only half of the above is accurate, Xanadu 2.0 is still the most impressive, smart, eco-friendly and luxurious mansion ever built or, as Gates himself once described it, the coolest house ever.
One field of human activity that benefited from the race is aviation . Having become essential to military operations during the war, airplanes were now seen as wonder weapons that could bring the enemy to its knees in no time, and with very little damage on the friendly side. But to do that, airplanes had to be, above all, fast.It was just two years after peace settled upon the world that Chuck Yeager climbed on board the Bell X-1, nicknamed Glamorous Glennis, and took off from the underbelly of a B-29 to make the first-ever supersonic level flight, effectively opening the doors to what would become common occurrence in the world of military and, for a brief time, civilian aviation.It was however since before this historic moment that the military top brass asked for a supersonic fighter planes capable of intercepting Russian aircraft when the Cold War would grow hot. The call to arms was answered by Bell, Vultee, and Republic, among others, and resulted in some insane machines being created and tested on the ground and in the sky.One of them is the XF-91 Thunderceptor. Designed by Republic Aviation (makers of smash hits like the P-47 Thunderbolt and F-105 Thunderchief), the Thunderceptor was supposed to be a machine powered by a mixed propulsion system, capable of accelerating faster than sound toward its target.The propulsion system comprised a General Electric afterburner engine capable of delivering 6,700 lbs. thrust, and a Reaction Motors rocket with four combustion chambers capable of boosting that by an extra 6,000 lbs. The firing of the two systems should have allowed the airplane to reach a top speed of 984 mph (1,584 kph), well beyond Mach 1.But its not necessarily the engine combo that made this plane stand out, but the way it is drawn. Its most distinctive feature is the shape of the wings - believe it or not, that was not only intentional, but also functional.You see, Republic went for a swept wing design on their supersonic fighter concept, and such a configuration comes with dangers that, on account of the aerodynamics of the wing, especially at its tips, could send the aircraft tumbling in extreme cases. To fix that, engineers decided to make the wing surface increasingly larger as they moved toward the tips, a design called reverse tapered. Although effective in achieving the desired goal, it makes this plane one ugly-looking bird.Republic managed to make two of these, and flew the first one in 1949. Two years later, the Thunderceptor flew past the sound barrier to become Americas first rocket-powered fighter to fly faster than the speed of sound, as the National Museum of the United States Air Force calls it.Crazy as it was, the design was not to the militarys liking (like all the others made during that era), especially since it could only fly for under half an hour at a time, defeating its purpose as an effective interceptor. Shortcomings, the lack of funding, and the arrival of the North American F-100 Super Sabre, the first fighter jet capable of level supersonic flight, killed the Thunderceptor program.Of the two made, only one remains, sitting inside the aforementioned museum ever since it was transferred from Edwards Air Force Base in 1955.
HP

Held in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, the car show starts on November 18th and concludes on the 28th. It has become one of the most celebrated of its kind in a short time, and the inclusion of this special Pagani showcase only furthers its notoriety.Nine different Pagani models will be featured, including a unique selection of iconic Hurayas. That list is short but staggering: it includes the Huarya Coupe, a Huryra Roadster, a Huryra BC and its Roadster sibling, as well as a Huryra Imola Those six cars alone are worth well over $15 million dollars. The Huayra Imola for example was last valued at more than $5 million on its own. It uses an 827 horsepower twin-turbocharged V12 to help it reach speeds of more than 230 miles per hour (370 kph).Just four examples of the Pagani Huayra Imola exist. Each of them is built to be a racetrack-only technology testbed for the brand to develop future products with.In addition to the Huayras on display, Pagani is bringing its original supercar the Zonda to the party as well. Four different Zondas will be there actually.Among them will be a Zonda F, a Zonda C12, a ZondaBarchetta, and the bonkers Zonda Aether. The Aether might be the wildest Zonda ever with a price tag of nearly $7 million on its own. Of course, it is just one of one so that almost makes sense.We're excited too at the thought of Pagani potentially releasing some new information on the car that will succeed the Huayra at the show. It would be fitting that it would be revealed to some degree as the rest of its family is gathered together.
kW

30k Superchargers around the world  and counting pic.twitter.com/Yw7m3cJ6HA  Tesla Charging (@TeslaCharging) November 11, 2021

The impressive number comes a few days after Tesla started testing broad access to these Superchargers. The move will help the company be eligible for government incentives exclusive to charging networks that work with more than a single brand.Our friends at InsideEVs said that Tesla has been adding around 2,400 new Superchargers per quarter. By the end of September, Tesla had 3,254 Supercharging stations, which can have from 9 to 80 stalls.Although Tesla offers the V3 Supercharger  with up to 250of charging speed  it has not changed the voltage in any of its cars. They currently work at around 450V. New companies such as Lucid and new products such as the Kia EV6, Hyundai Ioniq 5, BYD Dolphin, and Porsche Taycan all adopt voltages above 800V.The widespread network of fast chargers is indeed an advantage that Tesla vehicles have, but it is not yet clear if it is the best for electric vehicles. Submitting battery packs continuously to fast charging is not healthy, and they tend to degrade faster than they would by slowly charging at home. Even Tesla recommends that customers do not use Supercharging very often. Their goal is to allow people to make road trips every once in a while.In that sense, battery swapping seems to be a better solution. Tesla said in the very beginning that it would adopt it, but it did not manage to engineer it. NIO was the first company to create a feasible battery swapping system in China, and it is now expanding it to Europe. Geely and other Chinese manufacturers are also pursuing this model.
Steve Areen is an artistic individual whos passionate about everything that has to do with creativity. He is a musician, photographer, and he also likes to build all kinds of interesting structures, as long as they are curvy. He grabbed the Internets attention around a decade ago when he introduced the world to his dome house, a tiny home he built with his own hands in just six weeks.A few years ago, Areen decided to add another beautiful creation to his portfolio: a covered wagon made mostly from recycled materials. It is designed as a gypsy vardo, although the Unity Wagon is not pulled by a single horse. The curvy caravan is built on a 5 x 10 ft (1.5 x 3 m) trailer, to which he had a steel frame added.We write about a lot of modern tiny homes packed with the smartest, most insane high-tech features, but the Unity Wagon is nothing like that. In fact, when Steve started his tiny caravan project, he just wanted something simple for his stays on the Yandoit Farm close to Melbourne Australia. It is where he spends a lot of his time lately and the Unity Wagon had to fit well in those amazing Aussie landscapes. With its cute, curvy shape, small dimensions, woody, boat-like looks, and somewhat minimalist and rustic interior design, this tiny home on wheels is the very definition of Zen.And because it is meant to fully take advantage of its beautiful surroundings, the wagon has a design that makes the wagon open to the elements. It comes with canvas on the sides and a pulley system that makes it easy to roll the canvas all the way up when you just want to take in the scenery. Theres also a strap that pulls it back down, and also an insect screen, because, oh well, its AustraliaAn additional round window above the bed connects you even more with the outside. In the cool season, Steve uses a stove to warm up the house.Areen doesnt really move the house a lot, although that would be very doable. He mostly keeps it on the farm, as he wanted a little structure that he could sleep under the stars and entertain his friends in. Its name also reflects its purpose of bringing people together, as well as Australian hardwoods, as the Unity wagon is made of a combination of wood types, all attached to the steel skeleton. All the timber he used is discarded wood from a local mill, which Steve sanded and oiled piece by piece.While the curvy shape helps with gaining several feet in both directions, the space inside the wagon is still limited and had to be cleverly organized. Well start with whats missing from this tiny home, which is a toilet and shower, so you have to go with a portable system or rely on whats outside the wagon for those specific needs.The Unity Wagon has a compact kitchenette with a wood stove, a small sink with a lid on top, and when its on, you can use that space for preparing your food. A container collects the water, as Steve wanted to start simple and upgrade the tiny house on the way. Theres also enough room to fit an additional, portable cooking stove in there.The bed in the back can be used as a single bed during the day, to save space, but it can be expanded and turned into a double one during the night. Two small benches on the sides can sit three people each and theres a pull-out table between them. A lot of cushions make everything even cozier , and theres enough storage space inside, with drawers under the bed and cubby-holes on the back wall, where the circular window is.As far as electricity goes, a small solar system takes care of the lighting, including in the cubby-holes, as the round cutouts in the back also serve as lights.Steves Unity Wagon cost him under $20,000.
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Palmdale, CA (93550)

Today

Clear skies. Low 32F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Stronger winds in and below canyons and passes..

Tonight

Clear skies. Low 32F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Stronger winds in and below canyons and passes.
Secretary of State Tony Blinken told Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita in a phone call on Friday that the Biden administration would not reverse President Trump's recognition of Morocco's sovereignty over the Western Sahara, at least for the time being, two sources familiar with the call told me.

Why it matters: Trump's recognition of the Western Sahara as part of Morocco reversed decades of U.S. policy regarding the disputed territory, and was part of a broader deal that included the renewal of diplomatic relations between Morocco and Israel.

The U.S. decision last December was a long-sought diplomatic breakthrough for Morocco. The kingdom was concerned it could be reversed once Biden took office.

Israel was also concerned that a reversal of the policy would harm the normalization process with Morocco.

The U.S. is the only Western country to recognize Morocco's sovereignty over the Western Sahara, which was annexed by Morocco in 1975 after former colonial power Spain surrendered control.

The backstory: There had been almost no contact between the Biden administration and the Moroccan government over the first three months of the new administration.

Ten days ago, Biden's Middle East advisor, Brett McGurk, spoke to Bourita and gave the impression that there would be no change in the U.S. policy on Western Sahara, a source familiar with the call told me.

The State Department readout of Blinken's call with Bourita on Friday didn't mention Western Sahara, but two sources familiar with the call confirm that it was discussed and that Blinken said the Biden administration would not reverse Trump's policy for now.

According to the State Department readout Blinken "welcomed Moroccos steps to improve relations with Israel and noted the Morocco-Israel relationship will bring long-term benefits for both countries."

The state of play: Senior White House and State Department officials have held multiple discussions on this issue over the last few weeks.
In its annual report released today, the Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service paints a stark picture of China's attempts to silence criticism and dominate key technologies in Estonia and other democracies.

Why it matters: The small Baltic state has decades of experience in staring down Russia's authoritarian encroachment. China's actions in Estonia are now ringing similar alarm bells.

Driving the news: The report comes a week after Estonia and five other countries snubbed Beijing by sending lower-ranking ministers, rather than presidents or prime ministers, to the 17+1 summit convened by Chinese officials.

What the report says: "Implementing China's foreign policy doctrine, or creating a 'community of common destiny,' will lead to a silenced world dominated by Beijing. Faced with growing confrontation with the West, China's main goal is to create a divide between the United States and Europe."

The report's section on China highlights Beijing's growing ability to conduct influence operations in the West through economic leverage, surveillance of Chinese nationals abroad, and the cultivating of local elites.

The report also warns China's leadership "has a clear objective of making the world dependent on Chinese technology," mentioning 5G maker Huawei and navigation system BeiDou.

Background: Russia has long been Estonia's greatest security concern, particularly the threat of military invasion. China doesn't pose a military threat to Estonia. But throughout the 2010s, Estonia grew increasingly wary of Beijing's use of economic coercion for geopolitical ends, its cyber espionage, and its growing partnership with Russia. This year's foreign intelligence report uses the harshest language yet.

The country's biggest worry is the "dismantling of the world order that has allowed Estonia to regain its independence 30 years ago, and also the prosperity and development that we have taken part of in the past 30 years," said Frank Juris, research fellow at the Estonian Foreign Policy Institute at the International Centre for Defence and Security, located in Estonia's capital city Tallinn.

The big picture: Estonia, like the Czech Republic, is more outspoken in its criticism of China than larger European countries like Germany and France.

"This is not the first time that small European states have been the pioneers, leading in the right direction," said Juris. "It was mostly the small European states who had experience with an aggressive Russia that warned other European states of the Russian regime. "

Go deeper: Growing number of countries issue warnings on China's espionage
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has launched a Twitter campaign to get the U.S. Senate to back sanctions in a last-ditch effort to block the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

Why it matters: President Biden waived sanctions on the operator of the Kremlin-backed pipeline, which will bypass Ukraine and deliver Russian gas directly to Europe, in order to protect the U.S. relationship with Germany.

Congressional sanctions, already passed by the House of Representatives on a voice vote, would also need to be adopted by the Senate to be included in the annual National Defense Authorization Act.

The Senate version of the NDAA has advanced out of committee, but a floor vote has not yet been scheduled.

What were watching: In recent months, Russia has been leveraging its energy exports  and exacerbating an energy crisis in Ukraine and Europe  in some of the very ways that critics of Nord Stream 2 had warned about.

As Russian President Vladimir Putin squeezes Ukraine with his energy exports, he's amassing close to 100,000 troops near Ukraine's borders along with battle tanks and self-propelled artillery.

Sources in the U.S. national security community are increasingly concerned that Russia will invade Ukraine again and seize even more territory than it did in 2014.

Driving the news: "Blackmailing Europe over gas must be stopped forever," Zelensky tweeted on Friday. "We're grateful to the House for including an #NDAA amendment that will stop Nord Stream 2. Asking all friends of and in the US Senate to now back this amendment at the Senate level."

The amendment Zelensky is referring to has been introduced by a group of Republican senators, led by Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member James Risch (R-Idaho).

The amendment would impose mandatory sanctions on the company in charge of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, overriding the Biden waiver that effectively green-lit the completion of the pipeline earlier this year.

The amendment would also remove remaining waivers on sanctions against the companies involved in testing and certifying the pipeline.

Flashback: Biden reached an agreement with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in July intended to stop Russia from weaponizing energy projects like Nord Stream 2 to harm vulnerable nations such as Ukraine.

The agreement states that Germany will impose consequences on Russia if it uses energy as a weapon. The language leaves plenty of room for inaction, and on Oct. 26, the German Ministry of Economics certified that Nord Stream 2 does not pose a threat to the energy security of Germany or the European Union.

Opponents of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, including members of Congress and senior officials from Eastern European governments, criticized the U.S.-Germany deal for being toothless and carried out over their heads.

What they're saying: Biden officials are now acknowledging that Russia is using energy in a concerning way. Amos Hochstein, the State Department's senior adviser for global energy security, told CNBC that it almost amounts to weaponization.

"They [Russia] have come very close to the line of using it as a weapon," Hochstein said, "by suggesting that if a political decision was taken in Germany  to certify the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, all of a sudden, gas would appear, and there would be plenty of gas from Russia for Europe."

But by stopping short of calling it weaponization, the Biden administration is leaving itself room to avoid imposing additional sanctions on the pipeline.

The State Department and White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

What to watch: Construction on Nord Stream 2 has been completed, and the pipeline is now awaiting regulatory approval from Germany. It's unclear if the sanctions would stop the gas from flowing  but there's no doubt it would make moving forward very painful for Germany.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have accused each other of ceasefire violations along their border hours after three Azerbaijani soldiers were reportedly wounded in a blast at a Nagorno-Karabakh checkpoint in an incident that led to a temporary closure of the Russian-controlled corridor vital for the regions ethnic Armenians.

Armenias Ministry of Defense said on November 13 that Azerbaijani forces opened fire at Armenian positions in the eastern Gegharkunik province shortly after midday.

The enemy fire was suppressed with retaliatory actions. There are no casualties on the Armenian side, it said in a brief statement.

Azerbaijan, for its part, accused Armenian armed forces of using sniper rifles and grenade-launchers in firing at its military positions stationed in the Kalbajar district bordering on Armenia on Saturday afternoon. Military authorities in Baku said skirmishes were ongoing as of late afternoon, but reported no casualties.

The latest border escalation between Armenia and Azerbaijan comes amid rising tensions in Nagorno-Karabakh where one Armenian civilian was killed and three others were wounded by Azerbaijani forces near the Azeri-controlled town of Shushi (Susa) on November 8.

Ethnic Armenian authorities in Stepanakert condemned the attack against whom they said were utility workers repairing a water pipe.

An Armenian person threw an explosive device at an Azerbaijani checkpoint near Shushi early on November 13.

Russian peacekeepers detained the man and handed him over to the ethnic Armenian authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Azerbaijan, which said that three Azerbaijani soldiers were injured in the incident, identified the man as a national of Armenia who acted together with a group of criminals in carrying out what prosecutors in Baku described as a terrorist act.

De-facto Armenian authorities in Stepanakert said that a joint investigation with Russian peacekeepers was underway to establish the circumstances of the incident. In a statement they added, however, that the person who threw the explosive device did so in response to provocative actions of Azerbaijani soldiers. Nagorno-Karabakhs ethnic Armenian authorities also insisted that no one was hurt in the incident.

Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a 44-day war over Nagorno-Karabakh last fall. The hostilities in which nearly 7,000 people were killed were halted due to a Russia-brokered ceasefire agreement signed on November 9, 2020, that granted Azerbaijan control of parts of Nagorno-Karabakh as well as adjacent territories that had been controlled by Armenians for nearly three decades.
Giraffes are in peril, with fewer giraffes in the wild than African elephants or hippos. The devastating decline is catching the attention of wildlife experts around the world, even here in Arizona.
NAVAJO NATION, AZ (3TV/CBS 5)  Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez said hospitals on the reservation are currently 80% full, but two new hospitals are being built. Next year, he said a hospital will open north of Winslow, and a groundbreaking happened this week on the new Sage Memorial Hospital, about 30 minutes west of Window Rock.

The groundbreaking happened this week. (Source: Navajo Nation) 

Throughout the pandemic, many Navajo Nation patients have gone to hospitals in Phoenix for care. These new hospitals will make room for people on the reservation. "A lot of our people want to stay home," said Sage Memorial Hospital's interim CEO, Alden Joe. "They want to stay close to their relatives, so the importance of this bigger hospital will accommodate that."

"As we see cases rise all around us, it's starting to get very difficult to send some of our patients off of Navajo Nation," said President Nez. "There, at Sage Memorial, there will be 40 hospital beds, whereas right now, we don't have that many hospital beds, just a handful." Joe said plans for the facility started years ago before COVID-19 hit the world.

"The importance of gaining the additional bed space will really help the Navajo people because right now we're in a situation where we're sending a lot of our patients out to the border towns like Flagstaff, Phoenix, Albuquerque," said Joe.

Sage Memorial Hospital will be about 30 minutes west of Window Rock. (Source: Navajo Nation) 

President Nez said more than 70% of the Navajo Nation is fully vaccinated. He said many people currently in hospitals are non-COVID-19 patients. Many of them are getting surgeries after putting them on hold in 2020.
Bakersfield, CA (93308)

Today

Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. Low 41F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. Low 41F. Winds light and variable.
Executive Editor Christine Peterson answers your questions and takes your complaints about The Californians news coverage in this weekly feedback forum. Questions may be edited for space and clarity. To offer your input by phone, call 661-395-7649 and leave your comments in a voicemail message or email us at soundoff@bakersfield.com. Please include your name and phone number; they wont be published.
You can reach Ishani Desai at 661-395-7417. You can also follow her at @idesai98 on Twitter.
Bluefield, WV (24701)

Today

Cloudy skies early will become partly cloudy later in the day. High 41F. Winds WNW at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Mainly clear skies. Low 21F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.
Exploding Whale Day: More Each Year Behind the Oregon Coast Legend

Published 11/12/21 at 6:28 PM PST

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff





(Oregon Coast)  The most famous and yet infamous incident on the Oregon coast never fails to get chuckles, and its wacky footage seems to echo down the ages, now over 50 years old, including the smirk-inducing wishes of "Happy Exploding Whale Day" every November 12. (Above: a bar in Portland got in on the spirit of the holiday in 2020)

Few bits of Oregon coast history are as resilient to leaving the public consciousness, and no other has acquired its own giggling cult from around the world. Thus, it's no surprise new things about the incident or how people celebrate it come to light periodically. Such as did you know this was not the first exploding whale on the Oregon coast?

First, the event itself.

It began on November 9, 1970, when a beached whale carcass stranded about a mile and a half south of the Florence south jetty. Three days later, spectators and media gathered en masse to watch what the then-named Oregon Highway Division (now ODOT) had in mind for the hapless mammal. They wanted to get rid of it by blowing it up with dynamite.

The idea was to create thousands of smaller, manageable pieces, but the result was a literal rain of terror as myriad tiny bits of whale flesh and liquid goo was blown into the sky  and after all, what comes up must come down. One car had a massive chunk fall on it; some 100 people or more were soaked in disgusting liquid.

It was all filmed by KATU Channel 2 in Portland and reported by rookie Paul Linneman. Then the pre-digital footage largely disappeared, but was brought up periodically on KATU itself or by a writer here or there.

This where the Oregon coast legend took on a life of its own.

In the 80s, humorist Dave Barry wrote about it, bringing it up to a whole new generation and captivating millions. It wasn't until the advent of the internet in the mid 90s that it was suddenly available to those around the word, and it quickly became what was for decades the most watched clip ever.

Somewhere about then, a Eugene man named Steve Hackenstadt started theexplodingwhale.com, a site which found immediate success. But it also brought blowback and strange reactions, such as people accusing him of having blown up the whale or maybe faking the footage.

Either way, Hackenstadt's became the center of Exploding Whale cult culture, and somewhere in the 2000s the internet started wishing people happy exploding whale day every anniversary.

Since, more on the Exploding Whale keeps coming to light, including what famous Oregon resident was born on that day. Wacky Oregon Coast History: Nov. 12 is Happy Exploding Whale Day, New Facts

Florence took some time to make its peace with the infamous incident, with many locals resenting the constant reference and even the visitations. Others, however, laughingly embraced it and would hold little celebrations each anniversary. Those grew and grew over the years, and finally the City of Florence incorporated it into local culture, with even an Exploding Whale Memorial Park being erected along the riverfront (it's not the actual explosion site). Yes, There Is Now an Exploding Whale Park in Florence, Oregon Coast

Periodically, more background history is revealed about the wild incident and the filming of it, but the most interesting discovery was this past year when Oregon Coast Beach Connection found there was yet another blown-up whale incident in Warrenton thirty years before this one.

Florence was not the first to blow up a whale. Not at all. And it turns out the results were about the same. Warrenton Had an 'Exploding Whale' 30 Years Before Central Oregon Coast Was it as bad as the Florence Exploding Whale we all know and love? Quite likely

LATEST

New Song, Animation Pokes Fun at Oregon Coast's Exploding Whale A riotous new entry into the lore released by a cartoon band

Exploding Whale Celebrations Will Abound in Central Oregon Coast Burgh Florence will whoop it up in style on Nov. 13, day after the anniversary

Oregon Coast's Tillie the Whale History a Kooky and Dramatic One The origin story of the old Waldport attraction is dramatic - and hints at another 'exploding whale'

Brits on Telly Get Silly with Oregon Coast Exploding Whale Song | Video British comedian Jimmy Carr at the helm, one comedy / game show in Britain featured the new tune

Before Exploding Whale, Legend of Oregon Coast's Imploding Whale Also in Florence, if true the man 'was bound to the blubber beyond all bearable boundaries'

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FILE - Elf on the Shelf figures are piled in a box at the company's studio Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020, in Atlanta. Santa may have fewer eyes in homes in the 2021 Christmas season after a judge  jokingly  banned the Elf on the Shelf. Superior Court Chief Judge Robert Leonard posted a mock order on Twitter banishing these elves from Cobb County, Georgia as a gift to tired parents. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Bennington, VT (05201)

Today

Chance of a morning shower. Cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy in the afternoon. High 44F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

A few clouds from time to time. Low 23F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.
Greg Sukiennik has worked at all three Vermont News & Media newspapers and was their managing editor from 2017-19. He previously worked for ESPN.com, for the AP in Boston, and at The Berkshire Eagle in Pittsfield, Mass.
CLAIM: The CEO of Pfizer was arrested on Nov. 5 by FBI agents, charged with fraud and was being held in federal custody while awaiting a bail hearing.

THE FACTS: A conservative blog published an inaccurate article alleging that Albert Bourla, the CEO of the pharmaceutical company Pfizer, had been arrested at his home in a suburb of New York City and charged with fraud in connection with the companys COVID-19 vaccine. But Bourla has not been arrested, nor has he been charged with any federal crimes.

Pfizer spokesperson Pamela Eisele wrote in an email to the AP that the article was false news. Bourla made appearances on CNBC and CNN on Nov. 5  the same day the article falsely claimed he was arrested  to discuss the companys oral COVID-19 antiviral drug, and he has continued to post on social media.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons database does not list Bourla as an inmate and he is not listed on the inmate roster for Westchester County, where the article claimed Bourla was arrested. There are also no results for Bourla involving fraud in a database of federal court records and criminal complaints.

The incorrect article, published by the Conservative Beaver, erroneously stated that Bourla faced fraud charges for his role in deceiving customers on the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine. It also claimed Pfizer was accused of falsifying data, and paying out large bribes.

The site did not provide any evidence for its claims and attributed some information to an unnamed FBI agent. The FBI told the AP that it did not have any information on the allegations. The Conservative Beaver did not respond to a request seeking evidence for its claims or any comment on the matter.

 Sophia Tulp
Steve Bannon, a longtime ally to former President Donald Trump, has been indicted on two counts of criminal contempt of Congress after he defied a subpoena from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol
The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection has issued almost three dozen subpoenas as it aggressively seeks information about the origins of the attack and what former President Donald Trump did  or didnt do  to stop it
School COVID-19 vaccine clinics kicked off this week for kids ages 5 to 11. Clinic organizers said more than 1,000 students had been registered as of this week, with more sign-ups expected in coming weeks. Children can also get vaccinated at doctor's offices and pharmacies. Child vaccinations could boost the county's vaccination rate by several percentage points, depending on how many families opt in.
The Berkshire County Jail and House of Correction receives a record if someone booked into the facility previously attempted suicide while incarcerated, Sheriff Thomas Bowler said. But, it receives no such documentation if an attempt occurred outside of the criminal system.
Reporter

Greta Jochem, a Report for America Corps member, joined the Eagle in 2021. Previously, she was a reporter at the Daily Hampshire Gazette. She is also a member of the investigations team.
Chief Jason Wood stands in the entrance to the detective bureau at the police station in North Adams. Conditions in the building affect the department's ability to retain officers, as well as the ability to do their jobs, officers say. They want change, and they want to move into a better building, even while the city hunts for a long-term solution. I do know it affects the morale of the officers, Wood says.
The three-bay Williamstown Fire Department station on Water Street was built in 1950, and it can no longer house the full four-firetruck fleet or safely accommodate firefighters. A $400,000 state grant will assist the department with design work for a new station, which the town plans to build on a Main Street property that it purchased in 2018.
Information from the Washington Post, The New York Times and the Associated Press was included in this commentary. Clarence Fanto can be reached at cfanto@yahoo.com. The opinions expressed by columnists do not necessarily reflect the views of The Berkshire Eagle.
Spearfish, SD (57783)

Today

A few passing clouds, otherwise generally sunny. High around 60F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

A mostly clear sky. Low 39F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph.
EVART  Among the many issues school administrations face today, student-vaping continues to be one that districts are aiming to tackle. During this week's meeting, Evart school board members agreed to join a lawsuit against e-cigarette company JUUL.

The lawsuit, which is being managed by Frantz Law Group, a group based out of California, seeks compensation for schools and individuals impacted negatively by JUUL device usage.

Not only has JUUL been accused of intentionally trying to sell its nicotine-laden vape devices to children and teens, but it has also been accused of knowingly misrepresenting the safety  or lack of safety  of its products, according to the law groups page.

Evart Superintendent Shirley Howard told the Pioneer joining the lawsuit should be a positive step for the district.

Its a lawsuit against JUUL labs and also the vaping product manufacturers, Howard said. The lawsuit not only seeks monetary damages for costs schools have already incurred relating to vaping, but also funding for future vaping-related costs. We feel it will be beneficial and that it really cant hurt us. If theres a chance of recovering some costs, thats always a benefit.

The district has taken several steps to address vaping within the schools, including installing vaping detectors in several buildings.

Howard said the hope is that through joining the lawsuit the district may be able to get compensation for the purchase and installation.

We do have vaping detectors in all of our middle and high school bathrooms and that cost us around $47,000, so we may recoup the costs of that, Howard said. The reason we wanted the vaping detectors was because we wanted them for not just catching kids, but felt like putting in the detectors would make students stop and think about not doing it.

"We want to say, Stop and think, dont do that, its illegal,'" she added. "Really make kids think twice about using vaping products in our school system, and stop them from doing something they shouldnt be doing.

In September 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that e-cigarette use, or vaping, was likely a significant contributor to serious lung injuries and illnesses.

Most people who have experienced side effects from using a JUUL have had breathing complications, unexplained seizures, strokes and signs of nicotine poisoning. Others have experienced more serious consequences, including heart attacks, respiratory failure, popcorn lung and death.

Research data collected by the CDC has shown so far that about 530 patients across the United States have reported serious pulmonary complications after "JUULing" or vaping for an extended period of time, seven people have died due to pulmonary complications believed to be caused by using a JUUL or vape pen, and nearly 75% of all cases are male, and about 66% of cases are aged between 18 and 34.

In February 2020, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced that Michigan had joined a bipartisan, multistate investigation of Juul Labs. The 39-state coalition is investigating Juuls marketing and sales practices, including the targeting of youth, claims regarding nicotine content, and statements regarding risks, safety, and effectiveness as a smoking cessation device.

According to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Safety, as of May 12, 2021, the department has identified 83, 46 confirmed and 37 probable, cases of severe lung disease associated with vaping, including three deaths.

Howard said at the board meeting that joining the lawsuit could open new avenues for the school.

Theres no cost to joining this lawsuit, and were hoping it will help make a difference for the district, Howard said. If we can recover some of those costs for the detectors, we could use it for other projects, which I think would be great. Were hoping it makes a difference and comes through for those costs.

Free help is available for individuals who are interested in quitting tobacco, including the Michigan quitline 1-800-QuitNow for adults and MyLifeMyQuit for youth 18 years and younger.
Mobilised necessary medical equipment and supplies

Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs Thani Thongpakdi, together with President of the Thailand-Vietnam Friendship Association Sanan Angubolkul, presided over the handover ceremony of medical equipment and supplies for the treatment of COVID-19 patients in Vietnam to Ambassador of Vietnam to Thailand Phan Chi Thanh.



The Thai side, led by the Thailand-Vietnam Friendship Association, mobilized necessary medical equipment and supplies, worth about 2.5 million baht, from both the public and private sectors of Thailand to support Vietnams fight against COVID-19.

The medical equipment and supplies consist of N95 surgical marks, infusion pumps, emergency rescue beds, oxygen systems, and mobile x-ray scanners.



The objective of this contribution is to support the capacity of Vietnams healthcare system and foster cooperation between Thailand and Vietnam in controlling the spread of COVID-19.



It is also part of the activities marking the 45th anniversary of Thailand-Vietnam diplomatic relations this year, and a reflection of the close friendship between two neighboring countries.



Since the outbreak of the new wave of COVID-19 in Vietnam earlier this year, the Royal Thai Embassy in Ha Noi and the Consulate-General in Ho Chi Minh City, in cooperation with the Thai private sector in Vietnam, have provided support to Vietnams efforts to mitigate the effects caused by the pandemic, including through financial contribution to Vietnams Vaccine Fund and the provision of medical supplies to Vietnams local authorities.
CAN REVERSAL PROGRAMMES

BEAT DIABETES?

Our modern way of life is at odds with the optimal functioning and upkeep of the human machine. Unreasonable demands on the body and mind, coupled with erratic food habits has only added to the overall deterioration of the body-mind equilibrium, leaving us with numerous lifestyle disorders, which could have been avoided with a hard reset of our erring way of life as it stands. Unfortunately, there hasnt been much of an improvement in that department and consequently we are faced with a burgeoning diabetes-affected population. Healthcare providers are in the fray to launch various diabetes reversal programmes, to tackle this calamitous national (and international) healthcare challenge. We shall try and find out just how effective and viable these programmes are.
Combating White Language Supremacy

To combat White Language Supremacy, professor Inoue promotes Labor-Based Grading.

White language supremacy in writing classrooms is due to the uneven and diverse linguistic legacies that everyone inherits, and the racialized white discourses that are used as standards, which give privilege to those students who embody those habits of white language already, said Asao Inoue, professor of rhetoric and composition at Arizona State University. Inoue said white supremacy culture makes up the culture and normal practices of our classrooms and disciplines in his online talk Thursday titled The Possibilities of Antiracist Writing Assessment Ecologies. Inoue has emerged as one of the leading scholarly proponents within academia to denounce traditional spelling, grammar and punctuation grading norms as racist, and frequently gives talks to campuses to advance his argument. Inoue has coined the term Habits of White Language, or HOWL, to describe the standard writing teachers use to grade students work.

Labor-Based Grading

To dismantle white supremacy in writing classrooms, Inoue suggested implementing labor-based grading because it redistributes power in ways that allow for more diverse habits of language to circulate. The method involves assigning grades based on the labor students put into their assignments, rather than the grammar, style and quality of their work. Labor-based grading structurally changes everyones relationship to dominant standards of English that come from elite, masculine, heteronormative, ableist, white racial groups of speakers, Inoue said in his presentation.

Students Have a Right to Their Own Language

Topping off the insanity, Inoue also promotes the idea Students Have a Right to Their Own Language

Promoting one version of English, regardless of where in society that version comes from, says that you want everyone in the classroom to think about, see, hear, experience, and articulate the world in the same ways. And the difficulty for us teachers in all this is that from one perspective -- that is our white(ly) HOWLing perspective -- much of our students languaging is confusing, not precise, awkward, annoying, etc., while simultaneously being quite the opposite. We always teach paradox when we teach language.

Labor-Based Grading in Practice

How can that possibly work? For starters, how would anyone but the student know how much time was spent writing a paper?

And if everyone is entitled to their own language how could Inoue grade a paper written in Arabic or Chinese unless he was fluent in those and every other dialect on the planet?

Does this boil down to asking the students how long they spent writing a paper?

Then what happens in real life when someone demands to say "Are you how?" instead of "How are you?"

Person likely how is that hired be to? In case you did not understand what I asked, I meant to say "How likely is that person to be hired?"

Heres another "Tell dont dare what to do me you". Clearly thats worth an A+, especially if I could be consistent with my structure. Heres the translation: Dont you dare tell me what to do."

English Isnt White

By associating language with skin colors, Inoue promotes racism.

English isnt white anymore than Chinese is yellow. Anyone suggesting the latter would hear instantaneous howls.

Yet, somehow its 100% acceptable for academic racists to promote English as Racist White Language Supremacy.

I suggest teaching good English, good Chinese, and good Japanese, etc.

Instead, Inoue adopts racist "HOWLs" with an insane solution that openly encourages the right to bad grammar.

Inoue should be fired. Instead he tours the country making an English jackass out of himself with alleged solutions that are not only fatally flawed but obviously racist.

Roads Are Racist

Yesterday I noted Highways are Racist and Pete Buttigieg Says He Will Fix That

Today we can add the English Language is racist to the every-growing list of racist things like SAT scores, math, grades, and simply being white.

Please recall Coca Cola Confirms Training Employees Try To Be Less White

Meanwhile, Voters Send Messages to Democrats and Republicans: Is Anyone Listening?

The backlash in Virginia and the near miss in New Jersey were enormous warning signs that people are fed up with Woke madness.

* * *

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A non-binary associate professor at Old Dominion University has called for the stigma of pedophilia to be delegitimized.

Yes, really.

The Prostasia Foundation, a registered 503c which has called for child-like sex dolls to be legalized, posted an interview with Allyn Walker, a female-to-male transgender, who outlined her views on minor attraction.

Walker, an assistant professor of sociology and criminal justice at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, is the author of a book called A Long, Dark Shadow: Minor Attracted People and Their Pursuit of Dignity.

In the interview, Walker insists that the term minor attracted people should be used in preference to pedophile because pedophiles feelings might be hurt otherwise.

"I think we believe societally, that stigma against MAPs serves to protect children because we dont fully understand the differences between MAPs and sex offenders. Again, we have this confusion between the attraction and a criminal behavior." https://t.co/62YZGg9tbY pic.twitter.com/pPwEOjJUCo  Prostasia Foundation (@ProstasiaInc) November 9, 2021

She also highlights how, MAP advocacy groups like B4U-Act have advocated for use of the term, and theyve advocated for it primarily because its less stigmatizing than other terms like pedophile.

4W has previously covered the group B4U-Act, which was founded by convicted multi-child rapist Michael Melsheimer for the explicit purposes of normalizing pedophilia and distracting from prevention efforts, writes Anna Slatz. In Melsheimers own words, he wanted to ensure B4U-Act was never associated with the prevention of offending.

During the interview, Walker suggested that pedophilia is merely another form of sexual attraction and should be tolerated.

Sexuality can be fluid, and there are many MAPs who have a range of attractions to both children and adults, she said.

Walker also suggested that stigma against pedophiles is a huge problem and that she empathizes with how pedos are treated.

Although Im not a MAP, myself, I am queer, and so I too, have been through experiences and realized that I have attractions many people wouldnt understand, and that some people find to be immoral. And those experiences have really shaped who Ive become. And so I sort of empathize with those experiences, and I wanted to learn more, said Walker.

And these people are working inside universities.

We truly live in hell.

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Moderna, the worlds hottest new Big Pharma giant, now has four of its top players sitting on the annual Forbes list of Americas 400 richest. In early 2020, Moderna had none.

Modernas Forbes 400 billionaire quartet owes its current good fortune completely to the companys Covid-19 vaccine. And who made that vaccine possible? U.S. taxpayers. Modernas Covid vaccine, as Public Citizen research director Zain Rivzi puts it, would not exist without the massive contribution of the federal government at every step of the way.

The Biden administrations chief science officer for the Covid response, David Kessler, calculates that the federal tax dollars handed to Moderna for vaccine development, testing, and initial manufacture total about $10 billion. And that figure doesnt include the brainpower of the scientists at the U.S. National Institutes of Health who spent four years actively collaborating with Modernas researchers.

Moderna has now filed for a patent on the key vaccine breakthrough these scientists helped produce. The companys patent application makes no mention of the NIH scientists, a snub that could, notes a Wired analysis, have major ramifications.

What sort of ramifications? With a patent that gives the federal scientists the credit they deserve, the U.S. government would be able to license out the technology for Modernas vaccine to developing countries where vaccination rates remain low.

But if Moderna gets its way  gets approval for a crucial patent that denies credit to federal NIH scientists  the companys billionaires would have sole control over the Covid vaccine technology that U.S. scientists and tax dollars did so much to create. That control would enable Moderna to continue placing profits ahead of people. Way ahead of people.
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Just as the FDA approved the Pfizer jab for children ages 5-11 in the United States, medically tyrannical cities like San Francisco jumped at the opportunity to restrict the travel of children. Almost immediately after the emergency use authorization approval, San Francisco health officials announced that small children ages 5-11 will now have to have proof of vaccination status to get into restaurants, gyms, swimming pools and large events like a Warriors game.

Given that it wasnt even available for children to take the jab, officials stated that there will be a small grace period but that ultimately, kids will be forced to show their papers before the new year.

So that will happen no sooner than about eight weeks after the vaccine is available to kids, said Dr. Susan Philip of the San Francisco Public Health Department. So there will be a limited time in which there will not be those requirements is our plan. But then at some point, five to eleven year olds will also have to show proof of vaccination to access some of those same settings.

Other cities, like New York are now following suit with similar measures. As the Wall Street Journal points out, Advocates of mandating Covid vaccines equate them with standard childhood shots against polio, chickenpox, TDaP (tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis) and MMR (measles, mumps and rubella). But those decades-old vaccines have gone through the full FDA testing regime. The Covid vaccine has received only emergency-use authorization for this age group, meaning its safety and efficacy have not yet been established to the FDAs satisfaction.

The WSJ article goes further, and cites several statutes regarding the legality of such measures. In short, according to the WSJ, it is unlawful to mandate that children take these shots  yet a growing number of cities is doing just that.

As TFTP reported, this push to vaccinate children is in spite of the fact that children face a near-zero threat from the virus. Whats more, as Americans are quickly learning, the vaccine loses efficacy over time leading to a large number of breakthrough cases which has the Centers for Disease Control calling for boosters. We have zero data on the long term effects of boosters on children.

According to the recent data from the Centers for Disease Control, just 595 children under the age of 18 have died with coronavirus in the last two years, with nearly all of them having some debilitating underlying condition like cancer or another comorbidity. So, while this new vaccine mandate for children may ease the nerves of the Branch Covidians and Team Doom, to claim that it is for the benefit of children is baseless, and given the results of a recent study, outright insidious.

Research conducted by a team at the University of California has found that teenage boys are six times more likely to suffer from heart problems caused by the COVID-19 vaccine than to be hospitalized as a result of COVID-19 itself.

Read that again.

The team of researchers led by Dr. Tracy Heg, analyzed data reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) and looked specifically at reports filed between January 1, 2021, and June 18, 2021, among adolescents ages 12-17 who received mRNA vaccination against COVID-19.

Researchers identified 257 stratified cardiac adverse events (CAEs) within the data. As the Telegraph reports, they found that the risk of heart complications for boys aged 12-15 following the vaccine was 162.2 per million, which was the highest out of all the groups they looked at.

Conversely, according to the study, this incidence exceeds their expected 120-day COVID-19 hospitalization rate at both moderate (August 21, 2021 rates) and high COVID-19 hospitalization incidence.

Fast forward to this week and Taiwan appears to be seeing the harm detailed in this study. As a result, Taiwanese health authorities have suspended the administering of second doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccine for children aged between 12 and 17, citing concerns about an increased risk of heart inflammation.

The health authority opted to call a halt to the second jab due to concerns about an increased risk of myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) and pericarditis (inflammation of the hearts outer lining). Other countries like Hong Kong and the UK have made similar moves.

Even the CDC has noted reported cases of myocarditis among recipients of mRNA Covid vaccines, such as Pfizers, especially in male adolescents and young adults and which occurred more often after the second dose.

Hopefully logic prevails and we dont end up sacrificing the health of children to have a perception of safety for the elderly.
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A Brandon University music student says she is extremely thankful for the help getting back on her feet after the devastating Pacific Avenue apartment building fire in September.

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DREW MAY/THE BRANDON SUN Jia Zhang sits in front of her new piano, which replaces the one she lost in the devastating September fire at 1400 Pacific Ave. The blanket was also given to her in the aftermath of the fire.

A Brandon University music student says she is extremely thankful for the help getting back on her feet after the devastating Pacific Avenue apartment building fire in September.

"Many, many people helped me and my daughter, and I really feel so good," said Jia Zhang, who lost her home in the Sept. 21 fire at 1400 Pacific Ave.

Zhang, who is an international student, credits help from Brandon University School of Music, her professors, her daughters daycare, her insurance company and many others, after losing almost everything in the fire. Many of her possessions were damaged by water, so she had to replace most things.

The fire caused approximately $11 million in damage and started after someone carelessly disposed of smoking materials, the Manitoba Office of the Fire Commission said after investigating. There were 48 units in the building and more than 100 people lost their homes.

No one was reported injured in the blaze.

Zhang stayed at a hotel in the immediate aftermath of the fire at Valleyview Condominiums, but has been living in a new apartment for the past month, she said.

Someone bought her a new piano to replace the black lacquered Yamaha piano lost in the fire, which had been a gift from her husband for their daughters birthday. She said the new piano helps her memorize pieces of music.

"I feel so excited," she said about her new piano, which is electronic and lets her quietly practise at night.

"I really, really feel so grateful," she said. Her daughter also plays the instrument.

A total of 16 Brandon University students were affected by the fire, including several other music students.

Property manager Sam Esler previously told the Sun the future of the building was uncertain. Esler didnt respond to an interview request by press time.

An evaluation of the building involving architects, engineers and building inspectors was planned to decide on the future of the badly damaged structure.

"Theyll go through the building, theyll assess every suite and all the walls and what can be saved, what has to be garbage and then from there, theyll come up [with] options for the owners," he said in late September.

Zhang also has a grey and red wool blanket, which she was excited to show off. She said a local Brandonite knitted it for her after the fire.

"Things are getting much ... better and things are getting back to regular," she said.

"Everyone knows it was a bad experience, but from this experience, I feel warmth  I dont have much money, but I feel thankful.

"Before this, I felt I was lonely as Im an international student and Im not Canadian, but from this experience, I will not ever feel lonely."

 dmay@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @DrewMay_
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However, the wage increases were in the 2-3 per cent range, he said, and that was often a lot lower than what employees feel they are worth, which is creating a gap in expectations that employers will have to manage sensitively. A survey of 1000 people by HR platform Employment Hero in September found 48 per cent of Australian workers planned to look for a new job in the next six months and 15 per cent were already looking for a new job. Nearly half said a pay rise would entice them to stay. Loading John Buchanan, a business professor at the University of Sydney, said when employers talked about skill shortages it was often code for them not wanting to pay market rates or improve conditions. For example, it was often said there was a nursing shortage or a lack of trained chefs, yet there were plenty of qualified nurses or chefs not working in those occupations. They try and bring cheap labour from overseas because they dont want price as an allocative mechanism, so they intervene on the quantity side, Professor Buchanan said.

They report skill shortages because they advertise at the wage they want to pay and offer no training, then unsurprisingly they cant find people. Loading Mr Tindale said some employers were trying to snap back to pre-pandemic norms and get staff back in the office but workers were pushing back. In a survey of workers in Australia, at least 20 per cent of the respondents said they were either considering resigning or had resigned from a role if not offered flexibility, he said. Employees were barely changing jobs at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, with many focused on retaining employment and adjusting to working from home. ABS job mobility figures released in July show 975,000 people, or 7.5 per cent of employed, changed jobs in the year to February 2021, the lowest annual job mobility rate on record.

The ABS job mobility data wont be updated for some time, but the LinkedIn figures suggest employees, especially in white-collar jobs, are taking advantage of the tight labour market to secure better working conditions, pay rises or more interesting work. Men and women were equally likely to have changed jobs in Australia. LinkedIn has 12 million members in Australia, a high proportion of the workforce, though its membership is more weighted to professional and managerial jobs, and does not perfectly reflect the workforce as a whole. The figures are based on a rolling three-month total and adjust for account membership growth. Competition for jobs was down 63 per cent in Australia compared with a year ago, based on the platforms metrics, putting jobseekers in a stronger negotiating position. ABS figures show one in five businesses reported job vacancies in August, compared with one in eight in August 2020. Three out of four of the vacancies were to replace someone who had resigned.

Professor Buchanan analysed the August job vacancy figures alongside the labour account release for June and found four industries accounted for 153,3000  nearly half  of the vacancies. The sector with the most vacancies was health care, with 51,200 job openings in August despite a reduction of 27,000 jobs in the June quarter. Professor Buchanan said this was a sign of churn, with employees quitting because of poor work conditions. The next biggest sectors for high vacancies were administration and retail, which both had high vacancies off the back of strong growth in jobs. The final high-vacancy sector was professional services, such as accountancy, law and consulting, which had only marginal growth in jobs. The sector also had high vacancies before the pandemic, suggesting high turnover. Naomi Worrall from Lismore took voluntary redundancy as a union organiser and opened a cake business called Seasons and Whim.

Naomi Worrall, from Lismore, worked in community services for 10 years and then as a union organiser for 10 years before taking voluntary redundancy a month ago. She decided to take a few months off and dabble in some cake making, but interest has been so high that it has turned into a business, called Seasons and Whim. It has been a steep learning curve as she has had to do her own carpentry and learn how to run a business. Theres something about cakes  Ive not had one single person give me negative feedback about it being a silly idea, which I found surprising because usually people are happy to point out the flaws in your plan, Ms Worrall said. Everyones been overwhelmingly positive. Fiona Sives from Croydon in Sydney quit her administration job at a large medical devices company in July to join a start-up medical devices company, EMVision Medical Devices. She was at the previous company for 15 years and the main reason she left was because of lack of opportunity to develop and grow.
This trip to Sydney was initially about discovering if I wanted to study acting or musical theatre in 2001. My plan was to attend an open day at NIDA, then fly to Perth for the open day at WAAPA, the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. I never made it to Perth, and I never made it to NIDA either. Returning to Brisbane felt like trying to put toothpaste back into the tube. Every sentence that came out of my mouth was prefaced with In Sydney  And then came a nervous mental check: had I revealed my recently discovered proclivities? I couldnt tell anyone about my new life: nobody would understand. In my Brisbane experience there was no conversation about or visibility of queer people, but Sydney, at least the part Id seen, was a whole new world. I knew I had to move there somehow. By the end of 2000, I had come out (to myself and my new friends), found a Sydney broom closet to call my own, and I was now working as a barman in the cocktail bar upstairs at the Midnight Shift. Oxford Street really felt like a home, and it was: it was the beating heart of Sydneys LGBTQ+ community. This wasnt a convenient gathering: it was a necessary part of our survival. My identity was expanding fast: I was becoming all these new things and having so many fresh experiences. But as far as everyone from my Brisbane life knew, I was the same old Shane. Many of us had either been disowned by family or were in the closet in fear of rejection. In the queer community we have a chosen family. If love from biological families becomes conditional when our true identities are revealed, our chosen family becomes that unconditional love support system everyone needs. The scene was a safe haven that had been built over decades, where we could gather to socialise, work and live. Where we could walk down the street being visually different, without feeling the very real threat of violence that was all too familiar in the default world.

Within a hostile world that was never built for us, we created a bubble where we could thrive  a world where we were the majority. Though I should clarify that the we here mostly applied to white gay men. I know that the inclusion I felt in this scene was due largely to the privileges of my skin colour and sex; as in the world at large, prejudiced attitudes and behaviour can easily be found on the gay scene. My identity was expanding fast: I was becoming all these new things and having so many fresh experiences. But as far as everyone from my Brisbane life knew, I was the same old Shane. Id always had such an honest relationship with Mum and Dad, but now I was struggling to have regular conversations with them because everything I said felt like a lie. There were so many negative messages about coming out: boys I met in Sydney told me about being disowned by their parents; some were grateful their parents were at least talking to them again. No one had a positive story to tell. Coming out was tied to rejection, and I didnt want this wonderful new discovery of who I was to ruin my relationship with my parents.

Mum and Dad announced plans to visit, and I started building myself up to tell them my secret. Nothing they had ever said or done had given me the impression that theyd have an issue if I was gay, but still I was crippled by fear. I felt so confused, so afraid. I didnt understand what was going on in my brain. Nothing inside me seemed to match the world outside. All I knew for sure was that I had to come out as gay to Mum and Dad before they went home. I couldnt focus at work and when my lunch break came, I headed home; I needed to be somewhere private to try to gather myself. Instead, I fell apart. Someone had left a bottle of white wine in my fridge so I cracked it open and began to drink. This was out of character: I wasnt one to drink unless in a bar, and certainly not in the day by myself. Nothing they had ever said or done had given me the impression that theyd have an issue if I was gay, but still I was crippled by fear. I felt so confused, so afraid. I didnt understand what was going on in my brain. I had to pull the trigger. I couldnt keep my secret any more. I took out my Nokia 3210 with its black-and-green screen and wrote an SMS to my mum: I am gay. The world was a different place back then. Texting was barely a thing. Writing I am gay on a numeric keypad involved pressing 4 4 4, 0, 2, 6, 0, 4, 2, 9 9 9 *send*. Mum replied: Thats nice dear, see you at dinner.

I was in shock. Thats it? Id wrapped myself into an emotional knot. This was the hardest thing Id ever done and Thats nice dear, see you at dinner was it? How anticlimactic! A crushing weight lifted off my shoulders and I wept a whole new wave of tears. Tears of relief. Id done it. I could be honest with my parents again: that was the most important thing to me. Over dinner, I discovered I wasnt Mum and Dads first brush with a queer person. Do you know Carlotta? Mum asked. Apart from when I used to watch her on Beauty and the Beast in high school, I had met the Aussie icon a couple of times. I waxed Carlottas legs once, she continued. All the Les Girls used to come to the Persian Room, where I worked, for a knock-off drink after they finished up the road. Gosh! I used to love going to see the Les Girls show. They were wonderful! added Dad. Hey, Shaneo, did I ever tell you I lived with six drag queens back in the 70s?

Well, since you mention it  I also do drag. Loading I told Mum and Dad my name was Courtney Act, that Id started doing drag socially for fun and had even performed a couple of times. We drank more wine and I was surprised by how well Dad was taking the news. He was really leaning in (more than I was), interested to know about my love life, drag, my new world, relishing this fresh level of honesty as an opportunity for connection with a part of my life previously kept at arms length. This was the opposite of the rejection Id anticipated. I went to Sleaze Ball in Brisbane once in drag. WHAT? Dad! This is my coming out! It was tempting to put my fingers in my ears and start singing loudly. I wasnt quite ready for Dads level of solidarity. Despite this, it felt so good to share these things with my parents. I didnt care what other people thought, only Mum and Dad. Now I could walk around in the world with that confidence.
Military Road is at risk of turning into just another Parramatta Road, as councils and the state government seek to cut vehicle numbers on one of Sydneys busiest thoroughfares.

North Sydney councillor MaryAnn Beregi said development plans unveiled by North Sydney Council risked turning Military Road into a desolate, sun-deprived wind tunnel.

The councils plans for the road have become an election issue, with former co-chairman of Brightmore Precinct community group Chris Holding running as an independent in local government elections on December 4.

Peak hour traffic on Military Road, the seventh busiest road corridor in the state with about 69,500 vehicles and 34,000 bus passengers every day. Credit:Brook Mitchell

But local mayors and the state government say multi-billion dollar road tunnels under the north shore and Sydney Harbour will ease traffic congestion and provide an opportunity to reimagine Military Road.
As a member of the Hazara ethnic minority, Ramazan was a target. Human Rights Watch believes that during that time, at least 2000 Hazaras were massacred by the Taliban. Ramazan was working in a shop as a shoemaker the day planes flew into the World Trade Centre towers. Until that time, I didnt really know that there [was] a US in this world. And there is a president called George W. Bush. We found out that there was a country named America and they want to attack Afghanistan, to wipe out all these terrorists from this country. And it was good news, actually, we were so happy. Within 25 days, after aerial bombardment by the United States and a co-ordinated Afghan effort on the ground, the Talibans rule was ended. It was a new hope, Ramazan says.

He learnt English, the language of the market. He became a security adviser, working for USAID, the United Nations and Save the Children among others. When you live in Afghanistan, you need to know a lot about security just for your own sake, he says. After years of working as a tour guide, in 2016 he opened a company called Lets Be Friends Afghanistan, showing international tourists where the best kebabs with sour grape powder were, how to get a close shave on a busy Kabul street and which regions to be wary of. Hes featured in dozens of viral social media clips. The sweetest pomegranates are from Kandahar, Ramazan explains in one video, sunlight spilling through the orchard leaves. Its 2018 and hes walking American YouTuber Drew Binsky through a farm where small children, their mouths stained red, wave and speak broken English. These Facebook videos are a portal into Ramazans previous life.

But the Taliban have a saying: You may have watches, but we have time. Just a few years after the US invasion, they began recruiting again in the rural mountainous regions. Loading They came closer and closer and closer, Ramazan says. In November 2020, then president Donald Trump ordered a drawdown of US forces. In April 2021, US President Joe Biden announced the full withdrawal by September 11, marking the end of a 20-year military presence. A United Nations report in June found that 8000 to 10,000 fighters associated with the Taliban, al-Qaeda or the Islamic State-Khorasan group had filtered into Afghanistan from the North Caucasus region of Russia, Central Asia, Pakistan and western China.

A former Afghan security official, Ali Mohammad Ali, told The New York Times that Afghanistan had become the Las Vegas of the terrorists. By mid-June 2021, all ADF personnel had withdrawn and two months later, more than 95 per cent of the US withdrawal process was complete. On August 15, facing little to no resistance, the Taliban took Kabul. Taliban wave their flags in triumph outside the US embassy in Kabul in August. Credit:New York Times Ramazans work with Western tourists is one of the reasons hes been marked as a slave of infidels. Since he left, the Taliban have been searching for him and his brother. But it was thanks to one of those tourists, Sharon East, who visited Afghanistan in 2019, that Ramazan was accepted into Australia. She contacted her friend, Greens senator Janet Rice, to campaign for Ramazan and his family to get a visa.

Though securing a flight from Mazar-i-Sharif to Kabul was easy, getting through Kabuls Hamid Karzai International Airports gates was near impossible. The Australian embassy emailed Ramazan to instruct him to pass through the northern gate but when he arrived there, he faced a sea of people. I left my kids and wife behind in the car because the Taliban was shooting everywhere, he says. For two hours, he was pushed and pulled and squashed. It was extremely, extremely rough. The scramble to access Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul after the Taliban takeover. Credit:Noor Mohammad Ramazan The ground was littered with passports and shoes that had fallen from peoples feet in the scrum. Ramazan returned to his car to wait until dawn, but by 4am things had only gotten worse. He spent hours trying to find another gate. At the third gate, he saw British and Australian soldiers. It took five hours just to make 70 to 100 metres to the gate. The sun had risen and he was covered in sweat. People began fainting from dehydration.

The crowd moved like an ocean, he recalls: They were pushing and like a wave, it was coming. It was just taking you to almost five feet on the other side. And then another wave was coming in on the other side. Children too heavy for their parents shoulders were swept up in the tide. In his mind, he began repeating a mantra: Its only just one gate between us and Australia. Try to keep yourself strong. Be positive. Reach to Australia. Its only seven metres away. Children vanished: The scramble to access Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul after the Taliban takeover. Credit:Noor Mohammad Ramazan And then he made it. But when he finally spoke to the Australian delegation and asked about bringing his children through, they told him he had to enter through the chaos road he had first approached at the northern gate. I was kind of hopeless, he says. It took another five hours to leave. I asked my wife and children to drink some energy, make yourself powerful because its a buzkashi [a rowdy traditional Afghan sport involving horses and the body of a slaughtered goat] going on out there.

Night had fallen by the time they were taken inside the airport. People were divided into groups: German Army, Polish Army, Swedish Army, Australian Army. They searched our bags and our bodies just to make sure were not terrorists, he said. Then they were loaded onto an Australian army truck and taken into the compound, where they slept on freezing floors before their documents were checked. A blue ribbon on the wrist was their ticket onto the plane. It was about 2.30am when they finally got onto the evacuation flight. There was a stopover in Dubai and, after a few complications, they finally arrived in Australia. Eyes on the future

For the past couple of months, Ramazan and his family have been living in an inner-city Melbourne apartment block, full of Afghan refugees. At a nearby playground, Daniel swings off monkey bars. They are soaking in a new life and dealing with the sleep deprivation that comes with a baby and a five-year-old. Masuma wants to improve her English, study and work. She can go out by herself ... and nobody cares. Shes 27 years old and she has a nice bright future in front of her, Ramazan says. Hes dreaming about his childrens future. Im happy now that my children are going to be safe. They will go to school, they will grow in front of my eyes in a peaceful environment. But they remain in limbo. They are still waiting on their case manager to contact them about their visa. They arent sure how long they will be staying in the apartment. They arrived on a three-month 449 humanitarian visa, set to expire soon. Ramazan is not sure what that means. Carolyn Graydon is the principal solicitor and manager of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centres Human Rights Law Program. The centre recently launched a special Afghanistan Legal Clinic.

She says the 449 visa is flexible and useful for intervening quickly during the mayhem of an evacuation process. We saw events unfolding with horror around the airport perimeter and some people were being crushed, unable to get to the front, and then that horrific bombing occurred. It was the worst-case scenario for trying to conduct an evacuation in, she says. While Ramazan and his family were able to get through the airport gates, many who were issued 449 visas were not. They remain stuck, unable to get a flight out, in potential danger and wondering whether their visas will expire, given they are still in Afghanistan, or be renewed. In one case, an Afghan mother was pulled through the gates but separated from her two children and husband. She is now in Australia while they remain in Afghanistan and is desperately hoping to be reunited with them.

Theres a push from advocates to increase our intake in line with countries like Britain and Canada. Britain is promising to resettle up to 20,000 Afghan refugees and Canada has just increased their intake to 40,000. About 57 NSW MPs are part of the push. Ramazan feels he is one of the lucky ones. He knows many Afghans who have tried to come to Australia, some ending up in Nauru or Indonesia or worse, drowning at sea. I have a bunch of my cousins who migrated from Afghanistan eight years ago. And they came through very difficult borders and stuff. And finally they ended up in Indonesia, he says. There are 7612 Afghan refugees among the 14,000 in Indonesia. As Indonesia is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol on Refugees, their rights are limited and dont include the right to work. Despite failed attempts to reach Australia, theyve registered themselves with the UNHCR and received some assistance. Nobody asks them how they are, what are they doing there. They still hope to come to Australia after almost a decade, Ramazan says.

Melbourne already hosts about 5000 Hazara refugees, many of whom arrived by boat almost a decade ago and are still on temporary visas. The federal government has made it clear the 4427 refugees on temporary visas will never receive permanent residency. They are still separated from their families, unable to return home, unsure if they will ever be reunited. Loading Abbas, a Hazara refugee living in Melbourne who arrived by boat in 2014, says one of his brothers is a journalist in Kabul, while his other lives with their mother in southern Ghazni province. They hide themselves and keep changing locations. This is a very bad situation for them and for me here. He is so stressed he keeps losing concentration, and recently lost a job because of it. Hazara refugee Sajjad Askary arrived by boat in 2012, before policy on boat arrivals changed, and received a permanent protection visa. Hes now studying law in Melbourne. We are asking the Australian government to please immediately help us, grant permanent protection visas to all those Afghan refugees here in Australia, facilitate family reunification and expedite repatriation for those at risk, he says.

A Home Affairs spokesperson said Australia evacuated over 4160 people on 32 flights from Kabul between August 18 and 26. The government anticipates the initial allocation of 3000 humanitarian places for Afghans will increase over 2021-22. Afghan citizens have been in the top five countries of origin in the offshore Humanitarian Program over the past five years. Since July 1, 2013, more than 13,000 visas have been granted to Afghans under the Humanitarian Program (offshore and onshore), the spokesperson said. No Afghan on a Temporary Protection Visa (TPV) or SHEV (Safe Haven Enterprise Visa) currently in Australia will be asked to return to Afghanistan while it would be unsafe for them to return. According to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, as of October, there are 15 Afghans in offshore processing in Nauru and Papua New Guinea and 50 Afghan refugees held in immigration detention in Australia, at least one of whom contracted COVID-19 during an outbreak at Melbournes Park Hotel. Australia does not return individuals to situations where they face persecution or a real risk of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, arbitrary deprivation of life or the application of the death penalty.

The spokesperson said each case was assessed on its individual merits, with the safety in particular countries being a factor. Ramazan and his family are grateful to the federal government and Australians who have helped them get here. He hopes to raise his children to be good Australians. Noor Mohammad Ramazan with his wife Masuma Panahi, son Daniel and daughter Diana in Melbourne. But he is still a very patriotic person. Afghanistan is not al-Qaeda or the Taliban, he says. It is the sweetest pomegranates, the warmest people. Its a country rich with traditions, culture and language. I wish I could stay as long as I was old in Afghanistan, but sometimes things in this world dont happen as you wish. I wanted Afghanistan to be nice and peaceful. This crazy situation happened, so we had to leave. [Arriving in Australia] was like fairytales to me ... something you only hear in the stories.
Ms Taylor was speaking before the start of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide, which has its first hearing in Brisbane this month. She will give evidence in February. She now receives a war widows pension. Loading Between 2001 and 2019, there were 1273 deaths by suicide among serving ADF personnel and veterans, data shows  almost three times more than previously reported. In March this year, facing possible defeat on the floor of Parliament, Prime Minister Scott Morrison declared he would allow a move to finally examine the crisis. Since 2007 there have been multiple hearings, inquiries and investigations related to defence and veteran suicide which cover thousands of pages and hundreds of recommendations. The implementation of many of those recommendations has not started.

In October and November of last year, nine veterans took their lives, which prompted Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie to call for veteran suicides to be treated as one of Australias most pressing problems. Loading Solicitor Paul James, of Operational Legal Australia which specialises in veterans claims, is representing Ms Taylor and four other families giving evidence to the royal commission. For years she repeatedly asked the DVA to help her husband, but they didnt. Because that wasnt done his addictions and his mental health worsened and it became untenable for them to remain in the same household. She was asking for financial help because she was effectively a single mother. She had a hope of having the family back together provided he got well. They knew he had problems, but there was no proactive movement by the department. The bureaucracy caused further delays, Mr James said.

In a submission to the royal commission seen by The Sun-Herald, RSL NSW said the negative impact of interaction with the department was the main systemic issue identified in feedback from veterans and sub-branches. Many veterans saw the DVA system in a negative light, the RSL submission said. Of 51 veterans it surveyed, 43 (85 per cent) had a negative impression or comments about the department. Megan Rull, second from left, whose partner took his own life last year, is comforted at the Remembrance Day service in Martin Place on Thursday. Credit:Kate Geraghty One respondent, Ross, wrote in the survey: I can tell you from personal experience that DVA is a huge contribution in my attempts in committing suicide. The RSL NSW submission said the existing system of dealing with veterans was a patchwork of inconsistent availability and quality of service, sewn on a base of an overly complex legislation.

A spokesperson from the Department of Veterans Affairs said that as the Royal Commission is pending, it was not appropriate to comment on individual matters raised in submissions. The loss of any current or former serving member is a tragedy and is deeply felt by the entire Defence and veteran community, the statement said. The staff of DVA are unwavering in their commitment to supporting the veteran community. Many DVA staff have served in the ADF or a family member of a veteran. DVA is committed to ensuring veterans have access to the support they need, when and where they need it, especially those who are vulnerable or at risk. This includes a commitment to processing claims as quickly as possible, in a transparent, fair and equitable manner. The spokesperson said each year the government invests more than $11.5 billion to support about 336,000 veterans and their family members across Australia.

This includes free mental health care for life for all veterans, without the need to link the condition to their service. Loading The department welcomes the Royal Commission as an opportunity to reduce the instances of death by suicide in the Defence and veteran communities. Chief executive of the Invictus Games Michael Hartung said his organisation was also preparing a submission to the royal commission. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has identified that younger veterans and especially those medically discharged are most at risk of death by suicide, he said.

Veteran suicide is a national crisis. To address this challenge we need to seek a range of solutions and fresh approaches. Invictus Australia is an important development and we are well-placed to be part of the solution. Soldier On, which is partly funded by the Australian government and the Department of Veterans Affairs, in a 49-page submission stated: A significant number of veterans express a distrust of DVA, or a dissatisfaction in their interactions with the department. Many prefer to deal with more accessible tailored and local organisations. Loading Ms Taylor said if the system worked, she and her boys wouldnt be in the situation they are today. If they cared about their members my boys would have a dad and I would still have my husband. My oldest thinks he needs to be the man of the family. Hes 10. There are moments they have when I think, I just wish their dad could see this.
Rooftop bars are set to boom this summer as an easing of pandemic and planning rules entice drinkers out of dingy rooms into the open air.

New rooftop bars have opened in the Sydney CBD and suburbs since the end of lockdown, adding to the citys growing list of al fresco drinking options.

Lady Banks Rooftop Bar in Bankstown promises views from the Blue Mountains to Botany Bay. Credit:Wolter Peeters

Sky Bar in the historic Shell House opened its doors last week, giving drinkers a view of the city few people would have seen before, according to owner Brett Robinson. Given Sydneys temperate climate it has always been a surprise to us, and also a great opportunity, that there are not many great rooftop bars and restaurants, he said.

Mr Robinson said the City of Sydney had been very supportive of its al fresco dining plans, with outdoor terraces licensed until midnight and indoor areas until 2am: The pandemic has created a wind of change when it comes to planning.
Vaccination rates among pregnant women are estimated to lag up to 40 per cent behind state averages in some hospitals across the country, prompting doctors to urge expectant mothers to get inoculated against COVID-19 to avoid severe illness.

The Sun-Herald and Sunday Age have spoken to numerous obstetricians and midwives around Australia who say the proportion of pregnant women who have had a first dose is estimated roughly between 60 and 75 per cent, well below some states that have achieved over 94 per cent in the adult population.

At Monash Health, the largest maternity service in Victoria, current first dose COVID-19 vaccination coverage is at 61 per cent. Credit:iStock

The immediate past-president of The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Dr Vijay Roach, said that anecdotally we are seeing double-dose vaccination rates are estimated to be between 30 and 70 per cent depending on the jurisdiction, stressing that pregnant women are at much higher risk of hospitalisation, premature birth and ICU admission and if they contract the virus.

Dr Roach urged state and federal governments to collect and make available COVID-19 vaccination data for pregnant women to inform public health policy, combat misinformation and target areas with low coverage.
Vaccine mandates for construction industry workers have come into effect in Victoria as the state recorded 1221 COVID-19 cases and four deaths.

Staff at building sites will now need to be fully immunised against coronavirus to attend work, with residential aged care workers to follow suit on Monday.

Vaccination is now mandatory for construction workers in Victoria. Credit:Getty

The mandate has been deeply unpopular with some sectors of the industry and was at the heart of violent protests in September, that saw thousands of people march through Melbourne and vandalise the headquarters of the CFMEU.

It comes as a Sydney lawyer who unsuccessfully challenged the NSW mandate had his practising certificate suspended following posts on his firms social media accounts claiming the decision said it is OK to kill anyone you like.
What changes is that instead of the CHO, it would be the premiers role to make a pandemic declaration on the advice of the CHO and the health minister. The health minister would then make pandemic orders after consulting the CHO. They could include limiting peoples movement, closing businesses, banning gatherings and so on. The bill also introduces a new requirement for the government to provide explanations about the health advice underpinning any public health orders, and how the orders affect peoples human rights under the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities. Under the draft laws, a pandemic declaration could be renewed for up to three months with no outer limit on how many times a declaration can be renewed. What measures have people praised? The improved transparency around decision-making has been widely welcomed.

Supporters of the bill say this increases transparency because, unlike the CHO, the Premier and health minister are accountable and answerable to voters and to the Parliament. The proposed laws require the government to table in Parliament within a fortnight a statement of reasons, including the CHOs health advice, it relied upon to declare a pandemic. The government would also be required to provide an explanation of how the orders affect peoples human rights under Victorias Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities. According to Liberty Victoria, while the bill isnt perfect, it is an improvement in regulating the very extensive executive powers that already exist. It says that under the current state of emergency, there are few checks or balances on the exercise of state of emergency powers  including by Parliamentary oversight or scrutiny. What are the points of contention? The Victorian Bar, the professional association representing some 3000 barristers in this state, said the bill sought to take powers that had been used in a crisis conditions and render them ordinary. It said there was grossly insufficient Parliamentary supervision over the Ministers exercise of that power [to make pandemic orders].

As the laws stand, there would be no cross-party parliamentary committee specifically designed to scrutinise pandemic orders made by the health minister, although parliamentary committees would be free to conduct inquiries into whether they are justifiable and reasonable. Instead, there would be two oversight mechanisms: an independent panel appointed by the government  leading some critics to question its independence  and the cross-party Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee (SARC). SARC, which scrutinises all bills and regulations that come before Victorian Parliament, will also consider new pandemic orders put in place by the government. But the proposed legislation limits the committees capacity to place limits on pandemic orders, Associate Professor William Partlett of the University of Melbournes law school told this masthead. SARC could recommend pandemic orders be suspended, but the minister could recommend to the Governor in Council the suspension be overturned. More than 60 QCs have now signed an open letter to the government arguing the extraordinary powers the health minister would be able to wield under these draft laws should be limited.

One key criticism is that once a pandemic is declared, the health minister can make any order they believe is reasonably necessary to protect public health, giving the minister extraordinary and ongoing power that is almost impossible to challenge. The QCs said that, as in other jurisdictions, this power should not be open-ended but should be limited to specific powers such as borders closures, mask mandates and lockdowns. It is one thing to allow temporary rule by decree to deal with an unforeseen and extraordinary emergency in circumstances of extreme urgency. It is something else altogether to entrench rule by decree as a long-term norm. In our view, this is antithetical to basic democratic principles and should not be allowed to happen, they said. Further, the Victorian Bar observes: whilst the Bill allows for the Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee to suspend the Ministers pandemic order, it also allows for the Governor-in-Council, on the recommendation of the minister, to then declare it not suspended. What about detention?

Victorian authorities have placed people, including children, in 14-day quarantine throughout the pandemic  even, Liberty Victoria points out, when there have been no cases of COVID-19 in the community. But the bill has come under heavy fire for the provisions relating to the detention of people. It gives authorised officers the power to detain people if they are satisfied detention is reasonably necessary to reduce or eliminate risks to public health. Peoples detention must be reviewed daily by authorised officers, and they would have the right to apply for review by a Detention Review Officer, or to the Supreme Court for a writ of habeas corpus [which requires prisoners or detainees to be brought before court to assess whether their detention is legal]. However, the Bar argues this is insufficient when all that is required for detention to occur is an authorised officer being satisfied detention is reasonably necessary. What penalties are built in for non-compliance? The proposed laws introduce the harshest fines for non-compliance in the country.
Australian children aged from five to 11 will have to wait until January to get their COVID-19 jabs, according to the head of Australias vaccine rollout, with the smaller doses of the Pfizer vaccine secured in a purchase agreement but not yet in the country.

In an interview with The Sun-Herald and The Sunday Age, Lieutenant-General John Frewen said the rollout could begin at the start of January, which is the clearest signal yet from the federal government about the long-awaited start date.

COVID-19 Taskforce Commander, Lieutenant General John Frewen. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

However, its expected the program will not ramp up until late January  subject to a green light from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisations and the Therapeutic Goods Administration  as people return from summer holidays and the new school year begins.

Australia has secured more than 5 million doses for the rollout to younger kids. About 4.6 million of these will be for the 2.3 million children aged five to 11, who are likely to have two jabs, and about 800,000 doses for children aged zero to four, who are likely to get one dose.
Item No. 1 was the demand that Australia stop blocking Chinese investment on national security grounds. No. 2 was that Australia reverse its ban on Huawei. Three was that Australia dump its foreign interference and espionage laws. And so on, including the demands that Australian members of parliament and media cease making any comments critical of China. Recall that Beijing had banned all political contact with Australia and imposed punitive trade sanctions on at least $20 billion worth of Australian exports. Loading Both Australias government and opposition had flatly rejected the demands and refused any suggestion of negotiating over them. Now Kearsley asked Keating the pivotal question: Which of these 14 items would you be prepared to negotiate on? Keating began by replying: Look, the key point is, is the rise of China legitimate? ... The key is to recognise, if we give China the recognition I believe it is due, in terms of its legitimacy, in turning 20 per cent of the Earths population back into something approaching even $10,000 a head [in national income], then I think a lot of these issues, the so-called 14 points, sort of fall off the table. Two points here. First, he didnt answer the question. Second, even taking Keatings point on its merits, no Australian minister ever has challenged the legitimacy of Chinas rise. Or the scale of its achievement. In fact, just about every Australian political speech of recent years lauded Chinas enormous success in reducing poverty.

Kearsleys question remained. Pressed again, Keating evaded again. The implication, however, from his injunction that Australia give China the recognition I believe it is due, is that Australia should capitulate. If so, he should say so. If he has a better idea, he should say so. If he has nothing to say about the great impasse, why ask to appear before the National Press Club to talk about Australia and China in the first place? Loading By Friday afternoon, there was no indication that any of these governments  the US, Japan, India or Australia  was acting on Keatings instructions. As King Canute found in trying to turn back the tide, he was kidding himself. In the case of the 11th century King of England, scholars think that  if the tale is true, and its probably apocryphal  he was likely trying to demonstrate the limits of his powers, his humility before God. In the case of Keating, there is no such hint of self-awareness. Instead, the four countries, rather than yield to Beijing as Keating instructed, have come together to balance against it. The leaders of Australia, India, Japan and the US held the first in-person summit of the Quad  the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue  in Washington in September. The only reason the Quad has come together is its shared concern about Chinas new aggression. Bidens Indo-Pacific Co-ordinator, Kurt Campbell, put it this way: The subtext of all of this, of course, is the challenge that China presents and each of the countries in the last year in their own way has faced profound and unnerving challenges from Beijing. Keating had predicted the Quad would never advance beyond meetings at officials level. Asked about the Quad this week, Keating had nothing coherent to say about it and brushed it aside.

Here is a great disjunction in Keatings position. One of his longstanding themes is that Australia should find its security in Asia, not from Asia. But the Quad is centred on Asia, with Japan at the north of the four-pointed diamond, India to the west, Australia to the South and the US to the East. Why wont Keating accept it? Its committed to a free and open Indo-Pacific and explicitly acknowledges the centrality of ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. It seems that he wont acknowledge anything that doesnt have China in charge. Loading And that illustrates the central problem with Keatings appearance this week. He simply cannot accept anything or anyone that fails to conform to his preconception of the world order. Any inconvenient fact is attacked, mocked or ignored. So the US, Japan, India and Australia are wrong. Britain, because it has joined the AUKUS group and expressed concern about China, is to be ridiculed: Britain is like an old theme park sliding into the Atlantic compared to modern China. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is old coconut head. Australias national security agencies, which hed previously said were run by nutters who should be sacked, are wrong, too, in Keatings view. And The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age he dismissed this week as ning-nongs. Im happy to admit to being one of the leading ning-nongs of Keatings characterisation. The definition of ning-nong seems to include anyone who has recognised the reality that China has changed under the rule of Xi Jinping. Under Xi, China has transformed from being a status quo power to a revisionist one.

As Lavina Lee, senior lecturer in international relations at Macquarie University, put it on the ABCs Q+A: When you listen to Paul Keating, hes got a very benign view of China thats based on a 1970s assessment of its foreign policy objectives. I think thats a kind of wrong basis from which to act. China is the only dissatisfied power in Asia, in the region. It is revisionist and it has expanded its ideas of what its territorial borders are. It used to be satisfied with consolidating control over its land borders in Xinjiang and Tibet. Now it sees the South China Sea and the East China Sea as part of its natural territory and seeks a permanent presence there. Illustration: Jim Pavlidis Credit:The Age The more its power grows, the more territory and rights it demands from its neighbours. Yet in Keatings view, Beijing is correct; everyone else should fall back in awe. After 26 years, did Keatings return to the press club have any value? It did. Whether you agree with him or not, he revived debate about Australia, China and the world. And he drew attention to the growing tensions over Taiwan, which loom as a potential flash point between Beijing and Washington. If so, Australia will face a grave choice. Its one we discuss rarely, yet its consequences would be profound. Keating, naturally, wants Australia to stay out of any war over Taiwan. But could Australia remain indifferent if Beijing invaded an island democracy of 25 million people? If the US intervened to protect Taiwan, what would Australia do?
The peak tourism agency, Destination NSW, failed to hire any Indigenous staff members in nearly a decade despite boasting about the success of its Aboriginal cultural tourism programs.

The government body has a target for 3.3 per cent of its workforce to be Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. However, it wont say if any First Nations persons have ever been employed.

An advertisement for Destination NSWs most recent Aboriginal Tourism Action Plan, posted to its Facebook page.

Destination NSW says its NAIDOC Week involvement is an example of its celebration of diversity, but its latest annual report says 0.0 per cent of its current staff are Indigenous.

Previous annual reports reveal that the agency hasnt employed an Indigenous person since at least 2012, the year after the agency was created.
What does it mean for Australia? Australia remained isolated from its traditional friends and allies in Glasgow, and was instead viewed as part of a tacit alliance with other fossil fuel export nations such as Saudi Arabia, Brazil and Russia. These nations were perceived to be seeking to slow rather than accelerate the pace of transition from fossil fuels and weaken key parts of the COP text. Though some elements were watered down, the final version mentioned the need to accelerate the transition from coal for the first time, suggesting the world does not agree with the Australian governments view that the industry has a long-term future. Eventually, Australia endorsed a decision that for the first time mentioned a fossil fuel phase-out.

The deal also means the Morrison government will have to decide whether to ignore the summits request for stronger 2030 targets, or overturn its opposition to doing so. Why are people talking about loss and damage? One of the most contentious areas of the talks was the call by developing nations to create a financial mechanism for wealthy nations to pay for loss and damage being caused by climate change in climate-vulnerable developing nations. Such a mechanism has long been opposed by wealthy nations who fear it may imply culpability and set them up for heavy ongoing costs. To the voting bloc known as the G77 plus China  which represents 134 developing countries  this was a central element of the talks. Though the EU, the UK and the US backed many of the G77s concerns, they would not support the mechanism. Instead, the summit finished without a resolution on these big emerging questions, so organisers resorted to establishing a new dialogue to thrash out over the coming months arrangements for the funding of activities to avert, minimise and address loss and damage associated with the adverse impacts of climate change.

A man walks past a house abandoned because of the rising sea level in Sidogemah, Central Java, Indonesia. Credit:AP What happened with financing? A second concern of developing countries was the failure of wealthy nations to secure $US100 billion in annual finance by 2020 to help them green their economies, as was promised in 2010 but never delivered. The COP final decision noted the failure with deep regret and urged developed countries to fully deliver on the $US100 billion goal urgently and through to 2025. It also urged developed nations to at least double their collective provision of aid directed towards climate adaptation in developing countries by 2025. What happened with coal?

The summit failed to commit to the elimination of coal as hoped, after furious last-minute horse-trading saw language in the pact watered-down from a phase out to the much weaker phase down of unabated coal power. India and China led the charge to weaken the text, to the anger of other developed and developing countries. COP26 president Alok Sharma broke down while apologising for the weaker language making it into the text. Asked about getting emotional on stage, Sharma told reporters: Ive had about six hours sleep in the last three days. But you know, look, it is emotional, in the sense that collectively, as a team, we have achieved what I suspect, very many people doubted  probably until just the last few days. In a side-deal to the formal talks, 23 countries pledged to stop building and issuing permits for new coal plants, including major coal users such as Poland, Indonesia, South Korea, Vietnam and Ukraine. Australia, China and the US were among nations that did not sign the pledge. A separate pledge 20 countries, including the US, committed to end public financing for unabated overseas fossil fuel projects by the end of next year.

What happened with oil and gas? An effort to establish an alliance to end the use of oil and gas won only limited support on the sidelines, with Costa Rica, Denmark, France, Greenland, Ireland, Sweden, Wales and the Canadian province of Quebec signing up. Portugal, California and New Zealand are associate members of the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance, while Italy is deemed a friend of the coalition. What happened with cars? A push to replace all new fuel car production with electric cars by mid-century had only partial support.

The summit failed to make significant inroads into the decarbonisation of the transport industry, despite COP host British Prime Minister Boris Johnson nominating the phasing out of dirty cars as one of his top priorities for the talks. Transport emissions account for about a quarter of the worlds annual greenhouse gas emissions, with a transition to cleaner technology seen as crucial for leading economies to meet their Paris Agreement commitments. Just 32 countries signed a new pledge to stop selling petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040 at the latest, and major car-manufacturing nations such as China, the US, Germany and France all failed to sign up. What happened with methane? In a second side deal, more than 100 countries, including the US, Japan and Canada, pledged to cut emissions of methane to 30 per cent below 2020 levels by 2030. The move is considered important because, though there is less methane in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, it is a far more powerful warming agent. Australia did not sign the pledge.

The cover decision of the talks also mentioned methane for the first time, calling on nations consider further actions to reduce methane emissions by 2030. What happened with forests? More than 130 nations including forestry giants such as Brazil and Indonesia, as well as Australia, signed a pledge to end deforestation by 2030. The deal was accompanied by commitments of $US19 billion to help protect forests. Following the announcement, Indonesia clarified that it would not surrender economic growth to protecting forests and Brazil said it would only end illegal logging. How big was the US-China deal? US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry speaks with Special Climate Envoy of China Xie Zhenhua on the final day of the summit. Credit:Getty

One of the surprises of the meeting was a joint announcement by the US and China that they would work together on tackling climate change. In a statement the two countries said they would cooperate closely on cutting emissions and form a joint working group to meet regularly to address the climate crisis. Though light on detail, the announcement was welcomed by observers who were relieved that the worlds two largest economies and greenhouse gas emitters could isolate climate action from their increasing rivalry. However, the two nations were on opposite sides of the final debate over phasing out coal. Loading What about the private sector? The private sector was more engaged at this COP than ever before. Finance firms managing $US130 trillion in assets joined a net-zero pledge to be known as the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net-Zero (GFANZ).
Washington: Donald Trumps former campaign chief Steve Bannon has been indicted by a grand jury for defying a subpoena to appear before the US Congress to testify about the January 6 storming of the Capitol.

A federal magistrate was expected to issue an arrest warrant for Bannon following the criminal indictment.

Steve Bannon, Donald Trumps former chief strategist, has been indicted on two counts of contempt of Congress. Credit:AP

Bannon was indicted on two counts of contempt of Congress for refusing to provide documents to congressional investigators and refusing to sit for a deposition, the US Department of Justice announced.

As well as fines of up to $US1000, he faces between 30 days to a year in jail for each count of contempt.
Local

Kids getting vaccines as cases expected to drop

Williams County children are starting to get the COVID-19 vaccine as computer models expect cases to continue to drop.

Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended children 5-11 years old get the vaccine, a week after the Food and Drug Administration gave emergency use authorization to the Pfizer vaccine for that age group.

Williams County Health Commissioner Jim Watkins said the health department has already seen several people in that age range come in for the vaccine.

From our standpoint, everyone thats vaccinated is just another step in the wall there to stop COVID from being able to circulate so well, he said. Its great that were getting a few of our younger folks vaccinated.

While no big events are currently planned for the younger people, Watkins said the vaccine clinic hours at the health department have been modified.

According to the Community Talking Points memo released by the health department on Wednesday, Mondays and Wednesdays the clinic will vaccinate 5- to 11-year-olds from 3-4 p.m. Anyone 12 years old or older will be able get vaccinated on those same days from 9:15 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.

I know a lot of outlets are going to start popping up at physicians offices and stuff like that for the younger population, Watkins said. Certainly, I think there will be opportunity and well certainly do everything we can to make sure we give folks the opportunity for their young ones to be vaccinated.

Several people are also coming in for their booster shots, he added.

Anyone who had the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is eligible for a booster two months after getting their shot.

Meanwhile people who had the Pfizer or Moderna shots can get a booster after six months if they are at least 65 years old or at least 18 years old and live in a long-term care setting, have certain underlying medical conditions or are in high-risk settings.

The older population has come in and gotten their boosters if they did not get them at the clinics out in the community, he said. Also people younger than 65 are also coming in. Boosters have done very well.

Free transportation to COVID-19 vaccine appointments or clinics is available to Williams County residents through the Ohio Department of Transportation Rides to Community Immunity program. To schedule a ride, call 419-592-8726.

Watkins urged people to get the vaccine and boosters, both of which are readily available throughout the community.

So far in the United States, more than 900,000 doses have been given to the 5 to 11 age group. In Ohio, about 34,000 kids 5 to 11 have started the vaccination process, according to a COVID update Friday by Ohio Health Director Bruce Vanderhoff.

Numbers

Between Nov. 2 and Nov. 9, Williams County saw 190 new cases of COVID-19, an increase over the previous week when only 122 cases were reported, according to the Community Talking Points released Wednesday.

This placed the county seventh in the state with 635 cases per 100,000 people, up from the previous week when the county was eighth. The state average is 354 cases per 100,000 people.

In the area, Defiance County is rated ahead of Williams with 270 cases resulting in a per capita case rate of 708 while Van Wert County has the highest case rate with 799.

Victoria Smith, director of health education and prepared for the Williams County Health Department, said in an email the John Hopkins University model continues to forecast a decrease in cases over the next four weeks.

The John Hopkins University model (which Watkins has said previously has been most accurate for Williams County) predicts the following total cases over the next four weeks: 126, 105, 82, 61. Smith said even though these numbers show a decline, the cases are actually higher than the previous forecast.

We wished it would have come down faster than what it is, Watkins said. It seems to be not declining at the rate that the forecasts were telling us. Were still seeing some decline but its still holding on pretty good to the community, especially in the northern part of the community. Were seeing a lot of spread up in that area.
Lets face it, doesnt have many more movies left in him and the gooseflesh-inducing honorific Super Star might not show on the big screen anytime soon considering his health problems. However, the much-venerated Rajini Sir needs to plan a graceful exit. Considering his latest outing, Annatthe, one gets a feeling that Rajnikanth isnt paying any attention to the scripts.

This Diwali offering, directed by Siva, is about a village president Kalaiayyan (acted by you-know-who) whose whole world revolves around his younger sister Thanga Meenatchi (a mopey Keerthy Suresh). Twist in the tale comes when she elopes on the night of her wedding and moves to Kolkata to marry to her boyfriend. finds out the reason for her change of heart and helps her in every way without revealing his identity.

Instead of relying on others, Siva decided to rehash his own movies to deliver this cocktail thats more toxic than the TV serials of the 90s and punishingly same-y movies of the 80s. Imagine a regressive combo of Vedalam and Viswasam and youll come up with a better version of Annatthe in your head than what youll see on screen.

The movies first half is ostensibly about humour where Soori throws a word and finishes it with a rhyming word. Yes, its as horrible as it sounds. Khushbu and Meena are wasted in their headache-inducing variant of flirting with Rajinikanth, a comedy track that adds nothing to the plot but only makes the movie more bloated and unbearable.

The second half gets equally worse with Rajinikanth coming to the rescue of his sister who is facing troubles from a bunch of baddies led by a menacing Jagapathi Babu. He magically makes all her problems disappear without her ever questioning who is orchestrating the rescue mission. Nayanthara appears in a well-intentioned but lifeless cameo as a lawyer.

Kalanithi Marans Sun Pictures spent lavishly on this movie without paying heed to the lazy script and thats why Vetris quietly mesmerising cinematography is Annatthes sole redeeming factor. D Imman comes up with a decent soundtrack but the screeching background music makes one want to exit the cinema way before Rajinikanth entertains the thought of hanging up his acting boots. Its been over a decade since Enthiran released and Rajinikanth is yet to enthrall his die-hard fans with something that would be a blast from his glorious past. Annatthes setting is similar to Padayappa but the deadly swagger and the entertaining trashiness is missing here. No one expected Siva to re-invent the wheel but he shouldnt have come up with a script that is loaded with fannish obeisance for his leading man and little else.

Except the pre-interval fight, the action sequences are nothing much to rave about and this is a movie that stars the biggest action hero of Indian cinema. So bad that its good has been the secret cave of delight for the movie lovers years after the movie got a release not when the audience is supposed to revive the movie-going culture amid pandemic. I never thought I would say this, but yes, Annatthe is even worse than Lingaa.

This Diwali weekend if you are looking for a solid watch, you can do that well within the confines of your home with Jai Bhim streaming on Amazon Prime. Suriyas brilliant portrayal of a lawyer fighting for the rights of a pregnant tribal woman will leave you awestruck. Director TJ Gnanavel shows police brutality in a relentlessly bleak manner and thats why this unflinching ode to Ambedkarite values is a must watch rather than a moribund badly staged movie like Annatthe.
Solar (SWSL) on Saturday reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 284.35 crore for September quarter 2021-22.

The company had logged a consolidated net profit of Rs 15.09 crore in the year-ago period, a BSE filing stated.

Total income rose to Rs 1,469.74 crore in the quarter as against to Rs 1,375.94 crore in the same period a year ago.

"Our unexecuted order book as on November 13, 2021 (before adjusting for revenue post 30th September 2021) stands at Rs 6,730 crore. The company's revenue from operations for H1FY22 (April-September) stood at Rs 2,633 crore," the company said in a statement.

However, the profitability continues to remain impacted due to challenging environment across the entire solar industry value chain, it added.

Amit Jain, Global CEO, SWSL said,SWSL will immensely benefit from Reliance Group's integrated new energy vision which will further strengthen our position as a leading EPC and O&M player globally."



SWSL, with its engineering talent, deep domain knowledge, global presence, and experience of executing some of the most complex projects globally, will be a strategic partner in Reliance Group's solar value chain, he added.

The solar industry continued to face headwinds over the last year due to an unprecedented increase in the prices of modules and commodities along with the freight cost.

"Though these factors have impacted the short-term outlook, the long-term outlook continues to remain robust due to global thrust on clean energy and significant solar capacity additions planned by IPPs (independent power producers) globally," he added.

In October 2021, Reliance New Energy Solar Ltd (RNESL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) executed definitive agreements with the promoters of the company to acquire 40 per cent stake in SWSL via a combination of primary investment, secondary purchase and open offer.

This deal would entail a cash inflow of Rs 1,100 crore into SWSL from preferential issue to RNESL, thereby strengthening the balance sheet and further improving the financial profile of the company, the company stated.

(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 commanding officer of the Assam Rifles, his wife and son, besides four personnel of the country's oldest paramilitary were killed on Saturday in a welter of IED blasts and burst of gunfire in Manipur's Churachandpur district, Defence Minister said.

Viplav Tripathi, the Commanding Officer of Khuga Battalion of Assam Rifles, a colonel rank officer, his family, and others died in an ambush on Saturday morning, in fresh eruption of militant violence in the border state blamed on an insurgent outfit.

Tripathi's convoy was targeted at Sehkan village in Churachandpur district by suspected militants of the People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK), an insurgent group in Manipur, demanding a separate homeland.

"The cowardly attack on an Assam Rifles convoy in Churachandpur, is extremely painful & condemnable. The nation has lost 5 brave soldiers including CO 46 AR and two family members. My condolences to the bereaved families. The perpetrators will be brought to justice soon," the defence minister tweeted.

Condemning the attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the sacrifices of the soldiers and their families will never be forgotten.

"I pay homage to those soldiers and family members who have been martyred today. Their sacrifice will never be forgotten. My thoughts are with the bereaved families in this hour of sadness," the PM wrote on Twitter.

The incident is the first major attack on security forces since June 4, 2018 when an Army convoy was similarly targeted in Chandel district resulting in the death of 18 personnel and injury to others. The personnel of the Road Opening Patrol (ROP) of the 6 Dogra Regiment of the Army were felled.

The state that was for decades in the throes of insurgency was largely calm ever since.

On Saturday, Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) burst on a hill road, shattering the tenuous peace in Manipur, before the Assam Rifles personnel engaged the militants in a do-or-die firefight.

Bullets rained in a torrent from hilltops covered in foliage as security personnel ducked for cover and fired from behind trees and boulders.

"Five soldiers including Col Viplav Tripathi Commanding Officer of 46 Assam Rifles have made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty. The family of Commanding Officer i.e. wife and child also lost their lives in the incident. DG and all ranks of Assam Rifles offer condolences to the brave soldiers and families of the deceased," the force said in a press statement.

Earlier, it had said the commanding officer and three Quick Reaction Team personnel died in the attack.

Assam Rifles is the oldest paramilitary force in the country raised in 1835 under the British rule. It is under the administrative jurisdiction of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) but operational control of the Indian Army.

The force eulogised the slain officer who had previously served in Mizoram until his transfer to in July 2021.

"During his tenure at Mizoram, under his able and energetic leadership, the Battalion has been at the forefront in Border management thwarting illegal smuggling in the IMB and hinterland. Battalion has also recovered several weapons & War like stores which could have landed in the hands of Anti elements thus avoiding major casualties.

"Col Viplav though his remarkable endeavors has bonded closely with the locals of Mizoram. The Anti Drug campaign conducted by his battalion in January 2021 received several laurels and praise & the awareness was rightfully created by him in the entire state including the remote villages to ensure the youth are guided in the right direction," the statement said, adding his "goodwill for the society will last an eternity".

The Assam Rifles statement said it suspected that the insurgent group responsible for this massacre "must be from PREPAK cadre as the PREPAK remembrance day is celebrated on 12/13 November 2021".

(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 1,108 in active cases to take its count to 136,308. Indias share of global active cases now stands at 0.71 per cent (one in 141). The country is fifteenth among the most affected countries by active cases. On Friday, it added 11,850 cases to take its total caseload to 34,426,036 from 34,414,186  an increase of 0.1%. And, with 555 new fatalities, its Covid-19 reached 463,245, or 1.34 per cent of total confirmed infections.

With 5,842,530 more Covid-19 vaccine doses being administered on Friday, Indias total count of vaccine shots so far reached 1,114,048,134. The count of recovered cases across India, meanwhile, reached 33,826,483 or 98.26 per cent of total caseload  with 12,403 new cured cases being reported on Saturday.

Now the fifteenth-most-affected country by active cases, third by deaths, second by total cases and recoveries, India has added 81,353 cases in the past 7 days.

India now accounts for 0.71% of all active cases globally (one in every 141 active cases), and 9.08% of all deaths (one in every 11 deaths).

India has so far administered 1,114,048,134 vaccine doses. That is 3236.06 per cent of its total caseload, and 79.66 per cent of its population.

Among Indian states, the top 5 in terms of number of vaccine shots administered are Uttar Pradesh (143348038), Maharashtra (104334367), West Bengal (87897123), Gujarat (77331788), and Madhya Pradesh (77316151).

Among states with more than 10 million population, the top 5 in number of vaccine shots per one million population are Kerala (1214167), Gujarat (1210723), Jammu and Kashmir (1199888), Delhi (1184328), and Uttarakhand (1096187).

Backwards from here, the last 1 million cases for India have come in 56 days.

The count of active cases across India on Saturday saw a net reduction of 1,108, compared with 1,140 on Friday. States and UTs hat have seen the biggest daily net increase in active cases are Jammu and Kashmir (53), Andhra Pradesh (31), Manipur (29), Ladakh (28), and West Bengal (28).

With 12,403 new daily recoveries, Indias recovery rate stands at 98.26%, while fatality rate remained unchanged at 1.34%.

The Indian states and UTs with the worst case fatality rates at present are Punjab (2.75%), Nagaland (2.16%), and Uttarakhand (2.15%). The rate in as many as 13 is higher than the national average.

Indias new daily closed cases stand at 12,958  555 deaths and 12,403 recoveries. The share of deaths in total closed cases stands at 4.28%.

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 2013.4 days, and for deaths at 578.2 days.

Overall, five states with the biggest 24-hour jump in total cases are Kerala (6674), Maharashtra (925), West Bengal (860), Tamil Nadu (812), and Mizoram (669).

India on Friday conducted 1,266,589 to take the total count of tests conducted so far in the country to 622,333,939. The test positivity rate recorded was 0.9%.

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 Dadra & Nagar Haveli-Daman & Diu (14.75%), Kerala (13.08%), Sikkim (11.93%), Goa (11.88%), and Maharashtra (10.38%).

Five states with the highest TPR by daily numbers for tests and cases added  are Mizoram (15.12%), Kerala (10.24%), Sikkim (3.1%), Manipur (2.88%), and West Bengal (2.2%).

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 (1601522), J&K (1226127), Kerala (1081420), Karnataka (768237), and Telangana (710055).

The five most affected states by total cases are Maharashtra (6622345), Kerala (5048756), Karnataka (2991369), Tamil Nadu (2713216), and Andhra Pradesh (2069614).

Maharashtra, the most affected state overall, has reported 925 new cases to take its tally to 6622345.

Kerala, the second-most-affected state by total tally, has added 6674 cases to take its tally to 5048756.

Karnataka, the third-most-affected state, has reported 227 cases to take its tally to 2991369.

Tamil Nadu has added 812 cases to take its tally to 2713216.

Andhra Pradesh has seen its tally going up by 262 to 2069614.

Uttar Pradesh has added 9 cases to take its tally to 1710252.

Delhi has added 62 cases to take its tally to 1440332.
The "most modern" Habibganj railway station in has been renamed after Gond queen Rani Kamlapati, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister said on Saturday and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for this decision.

Chouhan hailed Rani Kamlapati as the pride of the Gond community and the last Hindu queen of Bhopal, whose kingdom was usurped by Afghan commander Dost Mohammed by deceit.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to dedicate this renamed railway station, redeveloped with modern airport-like amenities, on November 15, when he is visiting the MP capital to address a tribal convention to mark 'Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas' in remembrance of tribal icon and freedom fighter Birsa Munda.

People of Madhya Pradesh are thankful to the Prime Minister for renaming the Habibganj railway station after Rani Kamlapati, the Gond queen of Bhopal, the CM said in a statement.

He said the PM has enhanced the glory of tribals by renaming the most-modern railway station of the country after the Gond queen.

Rani Kamlapati is the pride of the Gond community and the last Hindu queen of Her kingdom was usurped by Afghan commander Dost Mohammed by deceit under a conspiracy. When she saw that victory was not possible, she committed 'Jal Jauhar' (a practice of committing suicide) to save her respect, Chouhan stated.

He said Rani Kamlapati's son Naval Shah had been killed at Lalghati, a part of

The Madhya Pradesh government had on Friday written to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs for renaming the upgraded Habibganj railway station stating that it will honour the legacy and bravery of the widow of the Gond ruler of Nizam Shah.

"She was the last Hindu queen of Bhopal. Habibganj railway station has been named 'Rani Kamlapati' after her. It is a matter of great satisfaction and joy for me. Prime minister shri Narendra Modi I thank you from my heart," Chouhan tweeted.

The Gond community comprises the largest tribal group of India with more than 1.2 crore population.

On Thursday, BJP MP from Bhopal Pragya Singh Thakur had demanded that the Habibganj station be renamed after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Rani Kamlapati railway station is located in Bhopal city and part of the West Central Railway.

It is said that Rani Kamlapati was the widow of the Gond ruler of Nizam Shah, the chief of Ginnorgarh.

The Kamlapati Palace overlooking the Upper and Lower lakes in Bhopal is named after the Gond queen.

(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 Madras High Court has deplored the "administrative arrogance" on the part of the officials of the leading premier public sector bank State Bank of India towards its customers.

What prompted Justice S M Subramaniam, who slammed the bank officials, was a statement of the officials that the customers (in this case the stamp vendors) are at liberty to approach any other bank for their transactions.

"The above statement in the counter filed by the State Bank of India is to be construed as an irresponsible one. The SBI is a public sector bank and the authorities are the public servants. The petitioners are depositing cash in the government accounts on behalf of the government through Treasury Challans issued to them."



"The statement portrays the 'administrative arrogance' on the part of the authorities in exercise of their powers and the tenor of the statement is a threat to the public administration, as the stamp vendors have no option but to deposit money only in government accounts at SBI branches," the judge said and directed its Assistant General Manager to initiate appropriate disciplinary proceedings by conducting an enquiry and find out on what circumstances such statements were allowed to be made in the counter affidavit filed before the High Court.

The judge also directed the bank's general manager to sensitize his subordinates in this regard to develop good conduct with the customers and the citizens. These employees/officials must be reminded that from and out of the transactions through the customers and citizens, their salaries are paid. Thus, they are expected to maintain good conduct always and honour the rights of the customers, the judge added.

The judge made the observations while allowing a batch of writ petitions from the stamp vendors, who prayed that the SBI authorities waive off fully the cash handling charges collected from them in pursuant to an official communication from the State Treasury authorities issued in March 3, 2016 and consequently forbear the relevant SBI branches in the City from collecting any cash handling charges forthwith from the petitioners for purchase of stamp papers.

The judge declared the collection of cash handling charges from the stamp vendors/petitioners by the SBI as illegal and without any authority and directed it not to do so, while the stamp vendors deposit cash in government accounts through treasury challans.

The highest authority of the SBI was also directed by the judge to communicate this order, along with necessary circular/instructions, to all SBI branches and upload the same in its official website, to enable the citizens to know their rights.

(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.)
Under attack for describing India's Independence as "bheek", a combative on Saturday asked which war took place in 1947 and said she would return her Padma Shri and apologise too if anyone could answer her question.

The actor, known for her provocative and often inflammatory statements, posted a series of questions on Instagram, also bringing in partition as well as Mahatma Gandhi and alleging that he let Bhagat Singh die and did not support Subhas Chandra Bose.

She shared a passage from a book quoting freedom fighters, including Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Aurobindo Ghosh and Bipin Chandra Pal, and said she knew about the "collective fight for freedom of 1857 but nothing about a war in 1947.

"Just to set the records (sic) straight... 1857 first collective fight for freedom along with sacrifice of greats like Subhash Chandra Bose, Rani Laxmibai and Veer Savarkar ji.

"...1857 I know but which war took place in 1947 I am not aware, if someone can bring to my awareness I will give back my Padma Shri and apologise also please help me with this (sic)," the 34-year-old actor wrote in a lengthy post in English in her Instagram Stories.

Ranaut had kicked off a major row with her comments at an event organised by a news channel on Wednesday evening, declaring that India attained "real freedom" in 2014, when the Narendra Modi-led government came to power, and saying Independence in 1947 was "bheek", or alms.

The controversial statement, two days after she was presented the Padma Shri by President Ram Nath Kovind, led to outrage from several quarters, including politicians from across the spectrum, historians, academics, fellow actors and others, with many saying she should return her award.

On Saturday, she kept up the discussion.

Referring to her 2019 period movie "Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi", in which she played the role of freedom fighter Rani Lakshmi Bai, the actor said she had done extensive research on the 1857 struggle.

"... nationalism rose so did right wing... but why it died a sudden death? And why Gandhi let Bhagat Singh die... why Neta Bose was killed and never got Gandhi ji's support? why line of partition was drawn by a white man... ?instead of celebrating freedom why Indians killed each other some of the answers I am seeking please help me find answers (sic)," she asked.

Saying that the British had looted India to the point of saturation, she went on to claim that even a small fight by the INA would have got us freedom and Bose could have been prime minister.

"Why freedom was placed in the begging bowl of congress when right wing was prepared to fight and take it... Can someone please help me understand (sic)," she wrote.

The ever defiant Ranaut went on to say she would return her Padma Shri if anyone could help her find answers to the questions and could prove that she had disrespected martyrs and freedom fighters.

The actor also clarified the part of her statement where she said the country gained "freedom in 2014".

"As far as Aazadi in 2014 concerned I specifically said physical Aazadi we may have but consciousness and conscience of India was set free in 2014... a dead civilisation came alive and fluttered its wings and now roaring and soaring high...

Leaders from the BJP are among those who have demanded action against the actor.

In Jodhpur, the Mahila Congress filed a complaint against her on Friday. In Indore, a group of freedom fighters set on fire an effigy of the actor, demanded an apology and submitted a memorandum at the Indore divisional commissioner's office. And in Mumbai, NSUI workers held a protest outside her home.

Political leaders, including BJP MP Varun Gandhi, Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrakant Patil, Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, are among the host of people who criticised Ranaut for her statement.

"#KanganaRanaut may think India got Independence in 2014 but this cannot be endorsed by any true Indian. This is an insult to millions of freedom fighters who gave up their lives so that present generations can live a life of self-respect & dignity as free citizens of a democracy," Times Now said on Twitter on Friday.

(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.)
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Colonel Viplav Tripati, the Commanding Officer of Khuga Battalion of Assam Rifles, his wife and son, besides four personnel of the paramilitary force were killed in an ambush in on Saturday morning, in fresh eruption of militant violence in the border state, officials said.

Tripathi's convoy was targeted at Sehkan village in Churachandpur district by suspected militants of the People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK), a militant group in demanding a separate homeland.

Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) burst, shattering tenuous peace in hills, before the Assam Rifles personnel engaged the militants in a firefight.

"In the firefight which followed with the Militants (Suspected PREPAK/ PLA cadres) the Commanding officer and three QRT (quick response team) personnel lost their lives on the spot. The family of the Commanding officer (wife and 6 yr old son) also lost their lives. The other injured personnel were admitted at Behianga health care center," Assam Rifles said in a press statement.

However, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who promised "justice" to the affected families, indicated one more personnel of the force had died.

"The cowardly attack on an Assam Rifles convoy in Churachandpur, Manipur is extremely painful & condemnable. The nation has lost 5 brave soldiers including CO 46 AR and two family members. My condolences to the bereaved families. The perpetrators will be brought to justice soon," he tweeted.

Though the defence minister's tweet indicated one more personnel was killed, there was no immediate confirmation from Assam Rifles, the oldest paramilitary force in the country raised in 1835 under the British rule.

It is under the administrative jurisdiction of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) but operational control of the Indian Army.

In addition to deaths of 4 personnel of Assam Rifles, an officer, his wife, and 8-year-old child, four other soldiers sustained injuries in the attack in Churachandpur, Manipur, said Indian Army in a statement.

Assam Rifles euologised the slain officer who had previously served in Mizoram until his transfer to Manipur in July 2021.

"During his tenure at Mizoram, under his able and energetic leadership, the Battalion has been at the forefront in Border management thwarting illegal smuggling in the IMB and hinterland. Battalion has also recovered several weapons & War like stores which could have landed in the hands of Anti elements thus avoiding major casualties.

"Col Viplav though his remarkable endeavors has bonded closely with the locals of Mizoram. The Anti Drug campaign conducted by his battalion in January 2021 received several laurels and praise & the awareness was rightfully created by him in the entire state including the remote villages to ensure the youth are guided in the right direction," the statement said, adding his "goodwill for the society will last an eternity".

The Assam Rifles statement said it suspected that the insurgent group responsible for this massacre "must be from PREPAK cadre as the PREPAK remembrance day is celebrated on 12/13 November 2021".



Terrorists first carried out IED blast to ambush the convoy of 46 Assam Rifles Commanding Officer Colonel Viplav Tripathi & then fired at the vehicles in Churachandpur, Manipur. The officer was returning from his forward company base to his battalion headquarters, Army officials told ANI.

(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.)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday condemned the terrorist attack on an Army convoy in in which an Assam Rifles Colonel, his wife and son, as well as four soldiers were killed.

"Strongly condemn the attack on the Assam Rifles convoy in I pay homage to those soldiers and family members who have been martyred today. Their sacrifice will never be forgotten. My thoughts are with the bereaved families in this hour of sadness" tweeted Prime Minister.

The Commanding Officer (CO) of 46 Assam Rifles Colonel Viplav Tripathy, his wife and 8-year-old son and four soldiers were killed in an ambush by terrorists near the India-Myanmar border in today.

Four other soldiers sustained injuries in the attack in Churachandpur district in Manipur, according to the Indian Army. The incident took place around 10 am on Saturday near S Sehken village under Behiang police station.

The insurgents ambushed a convoy of Assam Rifles around 11 am leading to the mass killing of the five Assam Rifles personnel, including the Colonel and his family, said an official statement of Director General, Assam Rifles.

"Five soldiers including Col Viplav Tripathi Commanding Officer of 46 Assam Rifles have made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty," mentioned the statement.

Police said the incident took place near Sehken village as the heavily armed militants fired upon the convoy of the Assam Rifles Colonel killing him, his wife, their son and three Quick Reaction Team jawans on the spot.

Militants attacked the convoy when the Colonel of the 46 Battalion of the Assam Rifles was going to supervise a civic action programme in the Churachandpur, bordering Myanmar.

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday condemned the terrorist attack.

"The cowardly attack on an Assam Rifles convoy in Churachandpur, Manipur is extremely painful and condemnable. The nation has lost five brave soldiers including CO 46 AR and two family members. My condolences to the bereaved families. The perpetrators will be brought to justice soon," tweeted the Defence Minister.

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh also condemned the attack on Assam Riffle's convoy. Taking to Twitter, he said, "Strongly condemn the cowardly attack on a convoy of 46 AR which has reportedly killed a few personnel including the CO and his family at Churachandpur today. The State forces and Paramilitary are already on their job to track down the militants. The perpetrators will be brought to justice.

(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.)
Chief Minister MK Stalin visited rain-affected areas of Cuddalore district on Saturday and distributed relief materials to the needy people.

The chief minister reviewed waterlogging and agricultural areas in Kurinjipaadi area in Cudallore district.

Stalin plans to visit the delta districts of Mayiladuthurai, Nagapattinam, Thiruvaarur and Thanjore on Saturday and review the situation. As many as 14 people have been killed in rain-related incidents in the state since last week, with the rain leaving a trail of destruction in several districts.

Thunderstorm with moderate rain is likely to occur at one or two places over the Kanniyakumari and Tirunelveli districts within the next two hours, as per alert issued by Regional Meteorological Centre, Chennai.

Earlier on Tuesday, CM Stalin announced that free food will be distributed through Amma Canteens until the current spell of intense rain ends.

Meanwhile, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Kanniyakumari and Tirunelveli districts on Saturday will likely witness thunderstorms with moderate rain.

On Friday, while speaking about the situation of incessant rainfall in Tamil Nadu, the IMD senior Scientist RK Jenamani informed that the department has withdrawn a 'red alert' for heavy rainfall in Chennai.

"We have withdrawn 'red alert' for heavy rainfall in Chennai. Rains are expected in Kerala and coastal Andhra Pradesh. A new system is expected to develop over the south Andaman sea on November 13 and 14, we are monitoring it," Jenamani 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.)
Top Maoist leader Prashant Bose, 75, who was carrying a reward of Rs 1 crore, has been arrested in Jharkhand along with his wife, officials said on Friday, terming the arrest a "big achievement" for the security forces.

"He was the number two in the politburo of CPI (Maoist) and was heading the eastern regional division of the extremist outfit, also in-charge of the Naxal activities in Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha and West Bengal. Following his arrest, the backbone of the Maoist has been broken," a senior official in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) said.

He also said that this was a joint operation of CRPF, Jharkhand Police and Intelligence Bureau officials, and a huge success for all stakeholders.

Bose, alias 'Krishan Da', 75, was caught along with his wife Sheela Marandi, another senior Maoist leader, in Jharkhand on November 11 (Thursday).

The officials also said that he used to change his locations frequently and never used any mobile phone to avoid detection.

"He was spotted by the intelligence officials but he never stayed in an area for a long time. Recently, he was operating from the Saranda forest in Jharkhand," an official said, adding that the police of Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh were tracking his movements for a long time.

A number two in the extremist outfit, he also used to head the Maoist Communist Centre of India which he merged with CPI-ML (People's War) to form the CPI (Maoist) in 2004.

His wife Sheela Marandi was reportedly the only woman member of the decision-making body central committee of the CPI (Maoist).

Bose was known as the intellectual guru of the cadre belonging to Jadavpur in Kolkata and he was caught because the forces had his details... his arrest was made possible because of the hard work of the state intelligence units of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, a CRPF official said.

Sharing the details of the arrests of Naxals made by the this year, the force said that 13 ultras were neutralised in encounters while 603 others were arrested, while 486 surrendered before the security forces or state police.

A senior Naxal leader Dubasi Shankar who went by the name of Ramesh in the Maoist party was arrested along with his associate by Odisha police near Biparguda village in September this year.

Dubasi Shankar, a native of Medak district, was carrying a cash reward of Rs 20 lakh, and was the member of the Andhra Orissa Special Zonal Committee who was associated with Maoist party for nearly three decades.

--IANS

ams/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.)
Prime Minister on Saturday chaired a meeting related to and their future in India, where there was a consensus that the crypto platforms are misleading the youth of the country and their non-transparent advertisements should be stopped, according to government sources.

The government will also engage in global partnerships to chalk out global strategies to meet the challenge of private, unregulated cryptocurrencies, sources said.

(RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das and (Sebi) chairperson Ajay Tyagi were present physically at the meeting held in New Delhi. The Bill is expected to be tabled during the Budget session of the Parliament.

The meeting was an outcome of a consultative process between the RBI, finance ministry, and the home ministry. The three bodies had done an elaborate exercise on the issue as well as consulted experts from across the country and the world, sources say.

Global examples and best practices were also looked at, they said.

"The RBI has serious concerns about private cryptocurrencies and had suggested ways to the government on how to deal with it", RBI governor Shaktikanta Das had said in the Business Standard BFSI Summit last week.

The governor also expressed his doubts if the number of users and amount being bandied around by the crypto platforms are true.

I am not so sure about the numbers being quoted by crypto platforms. With a reasonable amount of confidence, I can say the number of investors in the crypto market seems to be exaggerated, the governor said, adding most of the buyers of cryptos in those platforms have anyway invested just between Rs 1,000 to Rs 3,000.

According to the sources, the meeting chaired by the prime minister on the way forward for and related issues was a comprehensive one.

It was strongly felt that attempts to mislead the youth through over- promising & non-transparent advertising be stopped," government sources said.

The meeting decided that unregulated crypto cannot be allowed to become avenues for money laundering & terror financing.

However, the government is aware that this is an evolving technology, and hence, there is a need to keep a close watch and take proactive steps whenever necessary.

There was a consensus that the steps to be taken by the government will be progressive and forward-looking," sources said.

The government will continue to pro-actively engage with the experts and other stakeholders. And since the issue is cross border, "it was felt that it will also require global partnerships and collective strategies, sources said.
Blue Origin founder has predicted that will become humanity's home one day and that people will visit Earth on vacation.

Bezos said that in centuries to come, people will be born in and live in giant floating cylinders that could house up to a million people and re-create Earth's gravity and environment, with 'rivers, forests and wildlife' and regular Terran weather, Daily Mail reported.

The tech titan said this at the Washington Cathedral as part of the 2021 Ignatius Forum in DC, hosted by Adi Ignatius, editor in chief of Harvard Business Review, this week.

"Over centuries, many people will be born in space, it will be their first home," Bezos said.

"They will be born on these colonies, live on these colonies, then they'll visit Earth the way you would visit, you know, Yellowstone National Park," he said.

Bezos further noted that even his company's name, 'Blue Origin,' was a nod to the idea of Earth as humanity's origin point, not its final destiny.

Previously, Bezos talked up his idea about habitats, and called them 'O'Neill colonies', after physicist Gerard O'Neill, who theorised other planets might not be the best place to house humans beyond Earth.

AHe said own trip beyond Earth in July was even more transformational than he had imagined.

"The magnitude of that experience was so much bigger than I could have ever anticipated," he told the audience.

"It really is such a change in perspective that shows you in a very powerful and emotional way, just how fragile this Earth is. I wish everyone could have that perspective," he added.

Bezos said his passion for space exploration started when he was 5 years old and Neil Armstrong stepped foot on the moon.

"I've always had the dream of having a company like Blue Origin to build what I see as the road to space."

Bezos, 57, also confirmed he believed in extraterrestrial life.

"How could there not be? There are so many stars, just in this galaxy. And then so many galaxies," he added.

--IANS

rvt/arm

(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.)
Ahead of the virtual summit between Chinese President and his US counterpart next week, Beijing on Saturday asked Washington to stop support for Taiwan's independence, and said the two countries should meet halfway to repair the bilateral ties.

Xi will hold a virtual meeting with Biden on Tuesday morning, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said on Saturday.

The presidents will exchange opinions on China-US relations and issues of common concern, Hua said.

Xi and Biden have so far had two lengthy phone conversations this year as part of an effort to ensure stability in one of the world's most consequential and fraught relationships.

Ahead of the Xi-Biden meeting, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has said China and the US should meet each other halfway to ensure a successful virtual summit between their two leaders and bring bilateral ties back to the right track.

Wang made the remarks in a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

On Taiwan, which China claims as part of its mainland, Wang said that the history and the reality have proved that " independence" is the biggest threat to the peace and stability of the region.

Any support to " independence" will damage regional peace and eventually cause damage to itself, Wang said.

He urged the US to state its opposition to any " independence" moves clearly and firmly uphold the commitments made in the three China-US joint communiques.

He also called on the US to stick to its one-China policy with concrete actions instead of sending wrong signals to "Taiwan independence" forces.

Blinken was quoted by the official media here as saying that both sides are fully prepared for the summit as it will garner great attention around the world.

On Friday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that President Biden will discuss with President Xi ways to responsibly manage the competition between the United States and China, as well as ways to work together where our interests align.

Throughout, President Biden will make clear US intentions and priorities and be clear and candid about our concerns with the PRC, Psaki said in a statement.

Tensions between the two countries have deepened since the two leaders had a lengthy phone call in September, the surprise announcement of the AUKUS military alliance between the US, Britain and Australia, to counter China's growing military presence in the Asia-Pacific, as well as the US firming up the Quad alliance with Australia, India and Japan.

The US has also been expanding ties with Taiwanese government officials.

Ahead of the summit, the two countries, which are the top two emitters of global greenhouse gases, together accounting for about 40 per cent of the world's annual carbon output, reached a surprise agreement to cooperate on limiting emissions to address the global climate crisis.

The agreement, announced at the UN COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, aims to accelerate emissions reductions toward the goals set in the 2015 Paris Agreement, which mandated emissions cuts that would keep the global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius relative to pre-industrial times, with a target of 1.5 degrees Celsius.

It was seen as a major diplomatic breakthrough between the two countries as their current state of relations are going through turbulent times with Biden mostly carrying forward his predecessor Donald Trump's tough policy towards Beijing.

The Biden administration has worked more with traditional US allies to collectively put pressure on Beijing on a range of issues, including human rights, Taiwan, Xinjiang and Tibet.

Biden has also stepped-up America's engagement in the Indo-Pacific region, which has seen aggressive moves by the Chinese military.

Last month, Nicholas Burns, Biden's pick to be the US envoy to China said Beijing should halt its "genocide in Xinjiang, its abuses in Tibet, its smothering of Hong Kong's autonomy and freedoms, and its bullying of Taiwan.

(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.)
US President and Chinese President will exchange views on bilateral and issues during a virtual meeting next week, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Saturday.

During a daily briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying on Saturday confirmed that Xi and Biden will hold an online meeting on November 16, reported Global Times.

The spokesperson added that during the summit, the presidents are expected to exchange opinions on key bilateral and issues, Sputnik reported.

White House yesterday announced the much anticipated virtual summit between the two leaders

Since the beginning of the year, President Xi has held two phone conversations with Biden at the US' invitation, and the two leaders agreed to maintain regular communication through various ways, the Global Times reported.

Biden has staked out a broader foreign policy strategy toward China that involves managing and succeeding in competition with China but avoiding conflict.

At times, Biden's firm line on China over human rights abuses and other practices has complicated his administration's climate efforts. Disputes over commitments to tackle climate change are the latest flashpoint in tensions between the US and China.

Biden, in recent days, has rebuked China, saying President Xi Jinping's decision to skip a United Nations climate summit was a "big mistake" because it would diminish Beijing's influence. China subsequently hit back at America over the criticism.

(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 price of 10 gram of 24-carat gold on Saturday increased by Rs 930 to Rs 49,270 from Friday's trading price. The price of silver increased by Rs 600 per kg from Friday's price to Rs 67,100.

In Delhi, the rate of 24-carat gold stands at Rs 52,420, while in Mumbai the yellow metal's price stands at Rs 49,270. The price of 10 gram of 22-carat gold in Delhi and Mumbai is at Rs 48,050 and Rs 48,270, respectively.

In Chennai, 10 gram of 24-carat of the yellow metal is selling at Rs 50,460 on Saturday, while 10 gram of 22-carat gold is selling at Rs 46,260. In Kolkata, 24-carat gold is selling at Rs 51,200, while 22-carat gold's price is at Rs 48,500.

The price of 10 grams of 24-carat gold in Bengaluru and Hyderabad on Saturday is Rs 50,070, while that for 22-carat gold is Rs 45,900.

The price of gold varies across the nation due to excise duty, state taxes, and making charges.

In Chennai, the price of 1 kg of silver is at Rs 71,400 on Saturday while in Delhi and Mumbai, the metal is selling at Rs 67,100.
US President is scheduled to meet Chinese President on November 15, virtually.

"In the evening of Monday, November 15 in Washington, D.C., President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. will meet virtually with President of the People's Republic of (PRC)," said a statement of White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.

Following their September 9 phone call, the two leaders will discuss ways to responsibly manage the competition between the and the PRC, as well as ways to work together where our interests align, added the statement.

Psaki further added that President Biden will make clear US intentions and priorities and be clear and candid about America's concerns with the PRC.

According to Russian media Sputnik, no major deliverables are expected from the meeting but Biden and Xi are expected to discuss a range of issues including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang, visa restrictions, arms control and a possible framework to ease tensions between the two countries.

Biden has staked out a broader foreign policy strategy toward that involves managing and succeeding in competition with but avoiding conflict.

Still, tensions between the US and China have flared on a variety of fronts, including Chinese military activity near Taiwan.

At times, Biden's firm line on China over human rights abuses and other practices has complicated his administration's climate efforts.

Disputes over commitments to tackle climate change are the latest flashpoint in tensions between the US and China.

Biden, in recent days, has rebuked China, saying President Xi Jinping's decision to skip a United Nations climate summit was a "big mistake" because it would diminish Beijing's influence. China subsequently hit back at America over the criticism.

(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.)
Underlining the importance of internal security, Advisor (NSA) on Friday pointed out that the new frontiers of war is the civil society that can be manipulated to hurt the interests of a nation.

Doval made the remarks while addressing the passing out parade of the 73rd batch of IPS probationers at Sardar Vallabhai Patel Police Academy in Hyderabad.

Addressing the ceremony, Doval said, "The new frontiers of war, what you call the fourth generation warfare, is the civil society. Wars have ceased to become an effective instrument for achieving political or military objectives. They are too expensive or unaffordable and, at the same time, there is uncertainty about their outcome. But it is the civil society that can be subverted, suborned, divided, manipulated to hurt the interests of a nation. You are there to see they stand fully protected."

Congratulating the 132 officer trainees of the IPS batch and 17 foreign police officers from Maldives, Bhutan and Nepal, Doval exhorted the young probationers to develop a perspective to efficiently contribute their might to the nation's service. "You are for India and India is for you. Every other identity gets subsumed to this Indian identity," he said.

He emphasised that the young probationers' responsibility includes not only the safety and of the people but also the 32 lakh square kilometres of land area across the country. He urged them to be trained and prepared for border management as well as challenges of highly specialised investigations in agencies such as the National Investigation Agency (NIA) or Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

He also highlighted the importance of technology as a frontier that officers need to excel in. "Without your success, the nation cannot succeed. If internal fails, no country can be great. If the people are not safe and secure, they cannot rise to their potential, and probably, the country can never grow," he added.

Doval further said that the officer trainees are at the threshold of a challenging career.

Academy Director Atul Karwal pointed out that the academy, apart from trying to impart skills and knowledge, has built upon values of courage, integrity, compassion, teamwork and humility. He expressed confidence that the young trainees will prove to be officers of high standards of professionalism and sterling personal qualities.

Doval, who graduated from the National Police Academy 52 years ago, also handed over the trophies for outstanding performances. Darpan Ahluwalia of Punjab cadre, the topper of Phase-1 training and the Parade Commander for the day, was handed over the KS Vyas Trophy for Internal Security and Public Order and Field Crafts and Tactics.

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A US federal grand jury indicted former Donald Trump's adviser on two counts of contempt of Congress for failing to cooperate with the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 events at the Capitol, the Justice Department of Justice said.

"Stephen K. Bannon was indicted today by a federal grand jury on two counts of contempt of Congress stemming from his failure to comply with a subpoena issued by the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol," the Justice Department said in a press release on Friday.

On January 6, a group of supporters of former President entered the US Capitol in a bid to protest the lawmakers certifying the 2020 election results from several states that Trump said were fraudulent.

One protester was shot dead during the incident and the law enforcement authorities charged 500 people for participating in the event.

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Union Home Minister on Saturday said that Azamgarh, which was known for radicalisation during Samajwadi Party rule, will now be known for education.

The Union Home Minister on Saturday laid the foundation stone of a state university in Azamgarh and later addressed a public rally.

While speaking at the public rally, Shah said, "Azamgarh was known for radicalisation during the Samajwadi Party rule. Now, Azamgarh will be known for education."

The Union Minister suggested that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath name the university being built in Azamgarh after Maharaja Suheldev.

"Azamgarh is witnessing transformation under Yogi government and Mafia-raj has ended under CM Yogi Adityanath," said.

The Union Home Minister further said that CM Yogi brought an end to casteism, nepotism and appeasement.

"Before 2015, UP's economy ranked sixth in the country but today it ranks second. The unemployment rate was gone down to 4.1 per cent. There are 40 medical colleges and medical seats have gone up to 3800.

Speaking at the public rally, Yogi Adityanath said, "In 2007, there was an attack on me in Azamgarh. Ajit Rai, an ABVP member was killed inside Shibli National College for demanding to recitation of Vande Mataram during Republic Day and no FIR was registered for a month after the incident. But today, no one commits such acts."

Along with Shah, CM Yogi Adityanath, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and other BJP leaders were present during the foundation stone laying function of the university in Azamgarh.

Azamgarh is Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav's Lok Sabha constituency.

Assembly elections in are slated to be held early next year.

(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.)
Praising Chief Minister for effecting an all-round development of the state, Union Home Minister on Saturday sought another term for the BJP with a record victory to let it take forward its 'vikas ki aandhi".

"A lot has been done by (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi ji and (CM) Yogi ji but a lot still needs to be done, Shah said addressing people attending the inauguration of the 'Sansad khel mahakumbh' here by him



The 'vikas ki aandhi' (the development wave) has to be taken forward for which your blessings are required once again. Will we get it? he asked.

In the coming elections, a record-breaking victory has to be given to the Bharatiya Janata Party for it," the home minister added.

Starting Friday, Shah is on a two-day visit to poll-bound

Lauding Adityanath for him making UP a riot-free state, the union home minister asked if there are any more mafia elements seen now in the state.

"The elections are around the corner. I want to ask you if any mafia is seen now in the entire Purvanchal. Have the mafias not been removed?" Home Minister Shah asked.

Attributing UP's development to the elimination of Mafia barons by the Yogi government, Shah said, "The state where law and order is not right, no development can take place.

Be it agriculture, education, industry or infrastructure, an all-round development is taking in UP place under the leadership of Yogi ji," he stressed.

Referring to previous governments' tenure, he said, Once the policemen here were afraid of bahubalis' (strongmen) but the situation is different now.

There were riots and curfew but this change has been brought by the government, Shah said.

Hailing Prime Minister Modi's leadership and citing an array of statistics on various welfare schemes of the government, Shah said no prime minister since Independence has been able to do as much work for farmers as Modi has done.

"Modi himself is an MP from UP and is continuously working for the state's development. He has opened the coffers of the government of India for UP and Purvanchal, he said.

As a result of this, the state has performed very well in different schemes of the central government and has become the second largest economy in the country," the home minister added.

Shah also lauded the party MP from Basti, Harish Dwivedi, for organising the 'Sansad Khel Mahakumbh" here, saying he himself is an MP, but he cannot organise a sporting event like it.

Different kinds of changes are being seen today in UP at the same time. While projects worth crores are being inaugurated on one hand, a khel mahakumbh' connecting youth is being held on the other hand, he added.

(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.)
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai called on former Chief Minister amid the opposition allegations that the BJP government was not doing enough to probe the alleged scam.

The two leaders reportedly had a discussion for about 30 minutes late on Friday, sources close to Bommai said.

After his meeting with Yediyurappa, Bommai went to the BJP state headquarters and was closeted with the BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel for more than an hour.

The meetings assume significance as Bommai had recently visited Delhi and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior party leaders, including BJP president J P Nadda.

Soon after the meeting, he told reporters that Modi had asked him not to worry and to work with loyalty and boldness in the interest of the people "and rest everything will be fine."



Bommai had paid a two day visit to capital on Thursday and discussed in detail many issues, especially related to the administrative steps taken in the last 100 days since he took over as Chief Minister of

He had termed his visit to the capital as successful,saying the Prime Minister was all praise for some of his initiatives during this period.

Soon after his return, senior BJP leader and former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar rushed to Delhi, which gave rise to speculation.

These meetings were held amid Congress mounting an attack on the Chief Minister for "not initiating proper action" in the alleged scam involving a hacker.

Congress leaders have alleged that 'influential politicians' are involved in the scam after officials seized bitcoins worth Rs nine crore from a city based hacker, Srikrishna alias Sriki, who is also accused of hacking into government portals, sourcing drugs through the dark net and paying for it through cryptocurrency.

The party has alleged that the size of the scam could be much bigger because just on two days on December 1, 2020 and April 14, 2021 illegal transactions worth Rs 5,240 crore took place.

The Congress has also wondered why Sriki, has been in custody for more than 100 days on "one pretext or the other", while no proper action was taken against him.

It also demanded to know why the RBI was not informed and assistance of Interpol was not sought.

The party has also demanded a Supreme Court monitored probe as it has international ramifications.

(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 Saturday alleged a multi-crore scam and its cover-up by the BJP government in and demanded that an independent investigation be conducted into the matter by a Supreme Court-monitored SIT.

Addressing a press conference, general secretary and chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala posed a set of six questions to the prime minister and asked what was the role of Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, who was the state's home minister when the scam took place.

He asked why international investigative agencies, including the Interpol, were not informed about the stolen Bitcoins.

"India's biggest ever ' Scam' has been unearthed in Instead of conducting a fair investigation, the BJP government of Karnataka appears to be preoccupied with 'Operation Scam Coverup'," he alleged.

"This is not a money laundering crime alone, this is an international crime. Considering how shoddily and compromised the investigation has been done, I don't think that the ED (Enforcement Directorate) or Karnataka Police can do a fair job. That is why we demand that an SIT (special investigation team) should be set up and monitored by the Supreme Court which should investigate this case and bring out the truth," the leader said.

Surjewala also questioned the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the case and claimed that the prime minister was told by the FBI about it during his recent visit to the US.

"It is a multi-country investigation and the truth must come out. The government is either colluding or is working shoddily in the investigation.... There are doubts being raised on the reputation of Basavaraj Bommai and his political career and reputation are at stake and that is why he should write to the government for constituting an SIT monitored by the SC to probe this," he said.

Surjewala, along with party spokesperson Gourav Vallabh, alleged that an alleged hacker, Sri Krishna, was arrested along with his associate Robin Khandelwal by the Karnataka Police on November 14 last year and was kept in police custody for over 100 days by repeatedly arresting him in at least five criminal cases registered one after the other. He was released on bail on April 17 this year.

He alleged that Sri Krishna made a voluntary statement before the Metropolitan Magistrate, Bengaluru, sometime in December 2020, wherein he has allegedly given the names of various foreign companies/portals which were hacked by him, and millions of dollars earned illegally.

The Congress leaders also alleged that Sri Krishna was involved in alleged hacking of Bitcoin/Cryptocurrency exchanges and websites that includes from Bitfinex, registered in noted tax haven, the British Virgin Islands and reports suggest that it was hacked on August 2, 2016 and 1,20,000 bitcoins were stolen. However, in his voluntary statement, he admits to having taken 2000 Bitcoins.

He said 'Whale Alert' is a Twitter account which tracks large scale cryptocurrency transactions and it reflects that on December 1, 2020, and on April 14, 2021, Bitcoins from the 2016 hack of Bitfinex Bitcoin exchange were transferred and its value comes out to be USD 704.8 million USD (equivalent to Rs 5,240 crore).

"Despite multiple international crimes of significant magnitude, Interpol was not informed for over five months. Only on April 24, 2021, more than five months after the initial arrest, did the Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru wrote to Interpol Liaison Officer (CBI) asking to inform Interpol and other agencies. Even ED/CBI/SFIO were not informed by the Karnataka's BJP government," Surjewala said, adding that Bommai was the state's home minister between August 20, 2019, to July 28, 2021.

"Should the then Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai be punished for not taking action in the case," he asked, alleging that the fraud happened under his watch and when the accused was kept in custody.

"Who are the actors in the Bitcoin Coverup Scam? Were the stolen bitcoins transferred from the wallet of alleged hacker Sri Krishna? How many bitcoins and of what value? How does the Bengaluru police then suggest (in its third Panchnama dated 22nd January 2021) that the 31 and 186 Bitcoins allegedly transferred to police wallet were lost or were found to be fake transactions," he asked.

He also asked what was the role and responsibility of Bommai and others in the state government.

(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 a friend of all indigenous languages and India's prosperity lies in the prosperity of all its languages, Union Home Minister said on Saturday.

Addressing the All-India Rajbhasha conference here, Shah also said a country that cannot preserve its languages, cannot preserve its culture and organic thought process either.

Thus, he said, it is very important for everyone to preserve and nurture India's all languages.

" is the friend (sakhee) of all indigenous languages (swabhasha). India's prosperity lies in the prosperity of our Indian languages," he said.

The home minister said a sense of inferiority complex was instilled in the minds of some children who couldn't speak English.

Shah said it is his firm belief that the time is not far when those who cannot speak their mother tongue will feel inferiority complex.

The home minister said once the people of the country decide and its languages become the language of the governance, India will automatically get back the knowledge trove of Maharishi Patanjali and Panini.

He said there is a need to rid youths of the inferiority complex instilled during British rule.

"We need to create an environment wherein people take pride in speaking their mother tongue," he said.

The home minister also said efforts were made to create a lot of controversies around the language but that time is over now.

Shah said the conversation and development of Indian languages is a central pillar of the National Education Policy and the syllabi of engineering and medical courses have been translated into eight Indian languages so far.

"Today I feel very proud to say that not even a single file is written in English in the Union Home Ministry. We have completely adopted the official language (Hindi)," he said.

Terming Hindi as 'sakhee' (friend) of all indigenous languages, he emphasised that there cannot be any 'antarvirodh' (differences) among friends.

"There are no differences between Hindi and our indigenous languages. Hindi is the friend of all indigenous languages and there cannot be differences among friends, he reiterated.

"This is a year for the Hindi lovers to take a pledge that by the time we complete 100 years of Independence, indigenous languages and Raj Bhasha (official language) should become so strong that we do not need to take the help of a foreign language, he said.

Shah also rued that Hindi has been unable to accomplish its full growth and destine status in an independent India.

This work should have been accomplished immediately after the Independence, he said.

There are three pillars of Independence -- 'swaraj' (self-rule), 'swadeshi' (use of domestic products) and 'swabhasha' (indigenous language). We have got 'swaraj', but 'swadeshi' and 'swabhasha' have lagged behind, he observed.

Shah said though Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken steps to ensure the growth of swadeshi', swabhasha' has lagged behind.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the first time spoke about swadeshi through Make in India. One of our aims, which got left behind was 'swabhasha'. We must remember it, and make it a part of our life," he said.

Shah also lauded Prime Minister Modi for promoting Hindi across the world.

"No Prime Minister has got so much of global accolades as much as Narendra Modi ji. He has put forth India's point of view in the world in Raj Bhasha (Hindi) and has enhanced the pride of the Raj Bhasha," 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.)
The TMC, which is looking to expand its footprints nationally, on Saturday appointed firebrand Lok Sabha MP as the state in-charge of the party's Goa unit, months ahead of the assembly polls there.

In a statement, the party said, "Our honourable chairperson Mamata Banerjee is pleased to appoint Mahua Moitra, (MP, Krishnanagar Lok Sabha) as the state in-charge of AITC Goa unit with immediate effect."



Earlier in the day, the party nominated former Goa chief minister Luizinho Faleiro for bypoll to a Rajya Sabha seat in West Bengal.

Faleiro, who left the Congress to join the Mamata Banerjee camp in September, currently holds the post of TMC vice-president.

Banerjee, the TMC supremo, had visited Goa last month and interacted with party workers and leaders there.

(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.)
All India Congress Committee (AICC) Uttar Pradesh Incharge Vadra on Saturday targetted Union Home Minister over the increasing snatching incidents in the state.

Taking to Twitter, the Congress general secretary, "The Home Minister of the country gives the jumla (rhetoric) of "stepping out laden with jewellery", but only the women of UP knows what kind of things they have to deal with every day. That's why 'I am girl, I can fight' is necessary, to increase the participation of women in and in making security-related policies."

She also cited a news report which reported the recent crime incidents in the Kanpur district of Uttar Pradesh.

Last month in Lucknow, Shah had praised the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh and said that today even a 16-year-old girl can roam around wearing jewellery at 12 in the night, and not have to fear for their safety.

The next elections are scheduled to be held early next year to elect 403 members of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly.

BJP in the 2017 polls, won 312 seats with a vote share of 39.67 per cent. This was followed by a strong electoral performance in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls when the BJP won 62 of the state's 80 parliamentary constituencies.

(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.)
American tech-giant says that it is bringing a fix for the update to Photos removed one of the Pixel 6's big features

As per The Verge, an update to Photos removed one of the Pixel 6's big features: the Magic Eraser tool that lets you remove unwanted objects or people from your photos.

If you are also among those whose Pixel downloaded the affected version (5.67, according to Android Central), fear not: Google says it's working on a fix.

Google spokesperson Alex Moriconi told The Verge that the company "identified an issue early in the rollout of [its] latest Photos update and are providing a fix shortly." Google also says that the issue didn't affect everyone.

The update seems to be no longer available, but it was one of Google's main selling points when it launched the phone around a month ago.

(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.)
Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], November 13 (ANI/BusinessWire India): The India Game Developer Conference (IGDC), India's premier event for game developers, announces an impressive line-up of speakers for its 13th edition set to take place virtually between 16th - 18th November.

Meet with Torfi, creative director of Minecraft or hear from Brenda Remero, BAFTA Awards winner. If you are an aspiring game developer, then come and interact with Ben, VP at Digipen, a premier college in game and media education or Joseph to know about job opportunities and competitive market salaries. It is all there!

This year we bring you over 120+ speakers to share their insights and knowledge. From Indian trendsetters like Moonfrog, Playsimple, Nazaara; who showed India its true potential with over half a Billion USD exits in 2021 to world best game makers of Borderland, Doom, Fortnite.

For more information on the speakers and discussion panels, please visit the event website: (https://indiagdc.com/2021)

This year's event is being supported by companies like (https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US) Unreal Engine as presenting sponsor, (https://www.mpl.live) MPL, (https://aws.amazon.com/gametech) AWS, (https://www.jungleegames.com) Junglee, and (https://glance.com) Glance as gold sponsors, and (https://www.yesgnome.com) YesGnome,(https://lakshyadigital.com) Lakshya Digital and (https://www.gametion.com) Gametion as silver sponsors. (https://www.kwalee.com) Kwalee and (https://gameon.app) Gameon are also onboard as bronze sponsors while (https://sunday.gg) Sunday is onboard as a sponsor for the Hyper-casual track.

"The enthusiasm and interest we have received from the speakers, sponsors and participants for this conference has been great so far," said Rajesh Rao, Convener, IGDC.

"We are excited to bring all these passionate, knowledgeable individuals together and inspire innovative discussions around the advancements in the online gaming ecosystem. Their clear understanding of gaming and game development will give the audience deep insights into an emerging industry and further aid the overall growth of the industry."

The speakers will cover topics related to these tracks:

1. Design

2. Art

3. Engineering

4. Production

5. Applied Games

6. Indie

7. eSports

8. Hyper-casual

9. Careers

10. Business and Product Management

Speaking about the event, Rajesh said: "The thirteenth edition of our virtual summit will bring together industry experts from India and abroad to discuss ground-breaking industry innovations, success stories, development strategies as well as unique challenges posed to the entire ecosystem. Participants can look forward to the insights from known figures in the industry and amass a wealth of knowledge through this year's presentations and thought-provoking conversations."

IGDC is the anchor event for IndiaJoy and is in partnership with the Government of Telangana. Its goal is to support game developers in the presence of industry leaders and investors, providing insights, training, and networking opportunities. The event will be attended by around 10,000 people, more than 100 industry professionals, 30 publishers and investors.

For more information, visit the event website:(https://indiagdc.com/2021)

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Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], November 13 (ANI/PRNewswire): Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Limited, a research-led global integrated pharmaceutical company, today announced its financial results for the second quarter ended Sept 30, 2021.

For the second quarter of FY 2021-22, Glenmark's consolidated revenue was at Rs 31,474 Mn as against Rs 29,525 Mn recording an increase of 6.6%.

Consolidated EBITDA was at Rs 5,902 Mn in the quarter ended Sept 30, 2021 as against Rs 5,699 Mn in the previous corresponding quarter, registering an increase of 6.8%.

Profit after Tax (PAT) was at Rs 2,577 Mn for the quarter ended Sept 30, 2021 as compared to Rs 2,340 Mn in the previous corresponding quarter, recording a growth of 10.1%.

"We delivered yet another quarter of consistent performance, both in revenue growth and profitability. We have continued to perform well in our core therapy areas and launched differentiated products." said Glenn Saldanha, Chairman & Managing Director, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

He further added, "We have substantially reduced our debt through a combination of internal accruals and IPO proceeds. We are focused on enhancing free cash generation and achieving our strategic objectives going forward.

GLENMARK PHARMACEUTICALS LTD. (GPL)

India

Sales from the formulation business in India for the Second Quarter of FY 2021-22 was at Rs 9,689 Mn as against Rs 10,507 Mn in the previous corresponding quarter, recording de-growth of (7.8)%.

USA

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Inc., USA registered revenue from the sale of finished dosage formulations of Rs 7,543 Mn for the quarter ended Sept 30, 2021 as against revenue of Rs 7,522 Mn for the previous corresponding quarter, recording growth of 0.3%.

Africa, Asia and CIS Region (ROW)

For the second quarter of FY 2021-22, revenue from Africa, Asia and CIS region was Rs 6,526 Mn as against Rs 3,806 Mn for the previous corresponding quarter, recording growth of 71.5%.

Europe

Glenmark Europe's operations revenue for the second quarter of FY 2021-22 was at Rs 3,383 Mn as against Rs 3,181 Mn recording growth of 6.3%.

Latin America

Glenmark's revenue from its Latin American & Caribbean operations was at Rs 960 Mn for the second quarter of FY 2021-22 as against Rs 984 Mn, recording revenue decline of (2.4)%.

GLENMARK LIFE SCIENCES LTD. (GLS)

For the second quarter of the financial year, Glenmark Life Sciences Limited (GLS) registered revenues from operations including captive sales of Rs 5,618 Mn as against Rs 5,208 Mn, growing at 7.9% YoY. Generic API revenues grew at 18.2% YoY and CDMO segment registered a growth of 25.2% YoY in the first half of this financial year. Growth in Generic API was led by robust demand in key regulated markets mainly North America, LATAM & Japan. The EBITDA margins stood at 30.2% for Q2 FY 2021-22.

For the Q2 FY 2021-22, external sales for Glenmark Life Sciences was at Rs 3,354 Mn as against Rs 3,213 Mn, recording growth of 4.4% over the corresponding period last year. The growth was impacted due to higher base of COVID products in the previous year.

For further updates on the organization, please log on to .

ICHNOS Sciences

For the second quarter of the financial year, Glenmark invested Rs 1,850 Mn as compared to Rs 2,250 Mn invested in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year. For the first six month of the current financial year, Glenmark has invested Rs 3,467 Mn as compared to Rs 3,980 Mn invested in the corresponding period of the previous financial year.

For further updates on the pipeline and the organization, please log on to (https://www.ichnossciences.com).

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New Delhi [India], November 13 (ANI/PRNewswire): HarperCollins India presents a richly detailed narrative of Vishwanath Pratap Singh's extraordinarily eventful life, told in the context of his times, releasing on December 8, 2021.

Order Now: (bit.ly/VPSinghBook)

"An extremely impressive work ... Impossible to put this book down," said Karan Thapar, a journalist, television anchor and author.

"An admiring and admirable account of the life of a very complex public personality," said Jairam Ramesh, Member of Parliament, author and former union minister.

A sneak peeks into the book:

Part 4, Chapter 3: The rivalry with Amitabh Bachchan, pp. 248 to 250

Part 4, Chapter 2: As Finance Minister, VP Singh's 'raid raj' against corporate corruption, pp. 222 to 230; Taking on Reliance, pp. 230 to 238; pp. 250 to 252

Part 5, Chapter 1: VP Singh-Rajiv Gandhi fallout and his dramatic resignation as Defence Minister, pp. 237 to 260; pp. 265 to 268; pp. 276 to 279

Part 5, Chapter 3: Defamatory campaign against VP Singh by the Congress, pp. 253 to 256; pp. 265 to 266; pp. 276 to 279; pp. 301 to 303

Part 6, Chapter 2: VP Singh curtailing his own security cover, accused of reducing Rajiv Gandhi's, pp. 350 to 352; pp. 430 to 431

India could have gone nuclear but VP Singh chose not to, pp. 357-358

Biggest airlift evacuation in world history, pp. 358-360

Steps initiated by VP Singh's government, but completed and claimed by later governments: RTI Act, Lok Pal Act, OROP, MNREGA, pp. 360 to 363

Part 7, Chapter 1, Implementing the Mandal Commission Report, pp. 386 to 405

"By bringing together a divided Opposition to usher in an era of coalition governments at the Centre, as also by implementing the Mandal Commission report which provided job reservations for the Other Backward Classes, Vishwanath Pratap Singh permanently altered India's political landscape. A politician ambivalent about pursuing power, and obsessed with financial integrity, he was also an extremely complex human being. The main issues he confronted - caste disparities, communal tensions and corruption - continue to bedevil the country even today. All these reasons prompted me to attempt this biography, which sets VP Singh against the context of his turbulent times," said author Debashish Mukerji.

"VP Singh was Prime Minister of India for just about eleven months, and yet his short time in office proved immensely consequential in shaping the country. As a leader who took on a party with an overwhelming majority in Parliament, his career is also relevant in the context of the politics of today. For all his achievements, VP Singh remains an understudied former Prime Minister. November marks the anniversary both of his death (in 2008) as well as of the fall of his government (in 1990), and this meticulously researched biography by a seasoned journalist will throw much-needed light on Singh's extraordinary life and times," said Siddhesh Inamdar, Executive Editor, HarperCollins India.

"The Disruptor is an extremely impressive work. It brings together all the important but often-forgotten facts about VP Singh's life and career and fits them into a convincing and comprehensive argument and analysis, which is then presented in an engaging and readable style. Once you start reading, it's almost impossible to put this book down. This is not simply a biography--it is a serious work of history," said Karan Thapar.

"This is an admiring and admirable account of the life of a very complex public personality. VP Singh commands our attention because he became a pivotal figure in Indian politics between 1987 and 1990; his brief tenure as Prime Minister was both consequential and controversial; and because he played an important role in the formation of the United Front and UPA governments," said Jairam Ramesh.

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Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], November 13 (ANI/PRNewswire): On Friday, November 12, 2021, Ryan Group hosted its biggest online student-alumni networking event, Alumpics powered by Univariety.

The event witnessed great success with the participation of over 15,000 high school students from across 100+ campuses. Students had the opportunity to interact with eight notable alumni from the batch of 2003 to 2019, who have created a niche for themselves in their respective fields.

Alumni from top universities like IIT-Madras, Monash University-Melbourne, SRCC-Delhi University, Christian Medical College, and more shared their transformation journeys to inspire their juniors.

The 2-hour event kicked off with a welcome keynote by Ryan Pinto, CEO of the Ryan Group of Institutions. Speaking on the initiative, Pinto said, "It is great to see that Ryanites across the world will connect on one platform and exchange experiences on how current students can seek real-life guidance from their alumni to make better career choices. Our motto is Excellence in education and all-around development. With this initiative, we are reinforcing our commitment to giving the best learning opportunities for our students. We ask the Lord Almighty for his blessing over the start of this whole new concept & platform for our Ryanites."

During the event, students gained insights on the college admission process, how to crack entrance exams, the X factor in college success, mistakes to avoid during this crucial stage and more.

The alumni not only shared their journeys but also reminisced their favourite memories from school. In addition to these, students enjoyed unwinding with celebrity alumni from the music and television industry. It was definitely an evening filled with lots of learning, music and laughter.

"We are excited and pleased with the outcome. We are thankful to Ryan Group of Schools for giving us a free hand that enabled us to push our limits. The scale of the event was a first of its kind in Asia. I am proud of how our cross-functional teams came together for seamless execution along with the school's team. This is just the beginning, with our strong combination of technology and team, we will develop several exciting formats for schools to utilise their alumni asset", says Jaideep Gupta, Founder & CEO of Univariety.

The event concluded with a closing address by Dr. Snehal Pinto, Director of the Ryan Group of Institutions. She emphasized the importance of receiving real-life guidance from seniors who have been through that phase and gained success.

Given the current global situation, an event like this, that brings together thousands of students and alumni together to foster learning and growth is a huge achievement in itself.

Alumpics was much appreciated by students, parents, alumni and principals.

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New Delhi [India], November 13 (ANI/PRNewswire): The nature of power is changing just as is the global architecture and countries will increasingly be defined by technology, innovation, ideas and talent, Union Minister for External Affairs, Dr. S Jaishankar noted as he delivered his message virtually in the Diplomatic Conclave organised by Chandigarh University, Punjab under the guidance of Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Education, Government of India.

As many as 175 ambassadors and senior diplomats from 130 nations came together on one platform and deliberated on the global issues including exploring avenues for internationalisation of higher education, enhancing the standards of higher education in India as well as in participating nations, and the challenges to international collaborations in higher education.

The idea of global partnerships endorsing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision on internationalisation of education which is the theme of the Diplomatic Conclave has drawn immense response internationally, as validated by the presence of Ambassadors and Senior Diplomatic from 130 nations, who attended the first of its kind Diplomatic Conclave organised on Friday at Sushma Swaraj Bhavan, New Delhi.

Union Minister for External Affairs, Dr. S Jaishankar addressed the Conclave virtually while Foreign Secretary, Harsh Vardhan Shringla was the chief guest at the Valedictory session of the Conclave.

Chancellor Chandigarh University, Satnam Singh Sandhu, and higher officials of the Ministry of External Affairs were also present.

During the valedictory session of the conclave, Union Minister for External Affairs, Dr. S Jaishankar noted that the quest for education has for long mobilised students, both Indians going to other countries and the foreign students studying in India.

"More than a million Indian students study abroad. And by doing so, they have laid the basis for strong relationships across many geographies. This is complemented by a long tradition of foreign students studying in India, currently about 50,000 students from 164 nations. The challenge today is to re-imagine this two-way interaction and make it work better for the world as a whole," said the minister in a special video message for the ambassadors and diplomats.

"The nature of power is changing just as is the global architecture. Countries will increasingly be defined by technology, innovation, ideas and talent. It is their centrality that should be the subject of greater global discourse. I believe that today's event is one step in that direction, and will help in promoting and fostering greater international cooperation," the minister said.

In his address, Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Foreign Secretary, who was the chief guest at the Valedictory session said, "A more diversified, enriching exchange of ideas, creativity and knowledge is a must if we are striving for a multi-cultural and democratic world. As a civilisation State, India has a particular interest in ensuring this exchange."

"I am glad that Chandigarh University and its Chancellor Satnam Singh Sandhu have taken the initiative to organise this Diplomatic Conclave with a view to strengthening India's rising position in the world of higher education," he added.

The conclave also featured comprehensive deliberations among ambassadors divided into different groups on exploring avenues for internationalisation of higher education, enhancing the standards of higher education in India as well as in participating nations, and the challenges to international collaborations in higher education.

Carlos Pereira Marques, Portuguese Ambassador to India, acknowledged India's ability to offer higher education in English at a fraction of the cost of the industrialised countries, combined with its physical proximity to regions that are teeming with higher education hopefuls.

"India has a huge unmet demand for high-quality higher education. It must look beyond the IITs and IIMs, and do an effort for branding the other qualified higher education institutions. Foreign institutions see a tremendous opportunity for lucrative growth in the Indian market. There is now a need to devise a mechanism for common curriculum and research, besides recognition of titles regarding academic studies," Marques said.

Wael Hamid, Egyptian Ambassador to India noted that the world has effectively become a global village and the importance of internationalisation needs to be apprised to the students.

"To bring the participating countries together, universities need to stress more on cultural diversity to know each other better. There is a need to introduce collaborative multidimensional, multicultural facilities by using physical mobility like quality initiative programmes and faculty exchange programs. The universities must exchange resources for sharing of knowledge," he said.

Abdulrahman Algaoud, Bahrain's Ambassador to India said that the higher education institutions should be encouraged to become a catalyst for sustainable development of the country.

"The universities and the nations need to collaborate for acquiring global competencies and multi-cultural skills for mutual benefit. If any university can engage students in the current issues by the in-video content, that content can be shared with other countries and certificates can be awarded and standards can be set. A degree can be awarded jointly with a legislative framework that allows a student to get knowledge in a collaborative manner. The focus must be laid on infusing research culture for solving the social and industrial problem in the participating nations," he said.

Speaking on the challenges to international collaborations in higher education, GKG Sarath Godakanda, Minister Counsellor, High Commission of Sri Lanka said that there is a need to ensure that the education policies in both countries are implemented in an effective manner. There is a great problem in research and innovation wherein MOUs need to be signed between universities to try in exchange for resources.

"The issues related to immigration-related procedures for student mobility and inter-country mobility of faculty has to be solved. There are challenges in terms of languages when other students come to India. With non-English speaking countries, there is a need for a credible approach for accreditation. Also, the elements of living conditions and education and the whole system need to be looked into in a more holistic context," he said.

This story is provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PRNewswire)

DISCLAIMER

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
This is the third of a three-part story. Be sure to check out part one and part two.

Here is my analysis on whether Chinas cross-border data flow rules comply with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)

1. Clause 1 of CPTPP Article 14.11

Clause 1 of CPTPP Article 14.11 states that members may formulate their own regulatory requirements for the cross-border transfer of electronic information. This clause does not contain mandatory obligations.

Chinas regulatory requirements on cross-border data flows can be summarized as follows: (1) 'A limited amount of data involving national security and major public interests must be stored locally; (2) Data can be transferred out of the country if certain conditions are met in general, including that of obtaining clearances from the security assessment, personal information protection certification and the standard contract; (3) A security review must be carried out under special circumstances that involves national security threats; (4) Data transfer restrictions can be imposed on other countries if they engage in discriminatory conduct.

2. Clause 2 of CPTPP Article 14.11

Clause 2 of CPTPP Article 14.11 requires that the government allow the cross-border transfer of electronic information as long as it is for business purposes. This mandatory obligation is the core rule of the CPTPP on cross-border data flows.

Based on the above regulatory framework, China allows cross-border data flows for business purposes, and the premise of the security assessment for cross-border data transfer is that it is necessary for the data to be transferred out of the country for business needs, which is in line with for the conduct of the business mentioned in Clause 2. The data banned from being transferred overseas is limited to national core data, such as map data and population health information, while the scope of national core data needs to be clarified. In addition, various restrictions on cross-border data transfers  whether they are the security assessment, security review, personal information protection certification or the standard contract  essentially set certain conditions for cross-border data flows rather than disallow cross-border data transfer. Article 14.11 only stipulates that its members shall allow the cross-border transfer of electronic information, but it does not say that no conditions shall be imposed, nor does it use the term free transfer. Therefore, Chinas framework of cross-border data transfer does not violate Clause 2 in general.

3. Exception clauses

Even if Chinas regulations violate Clause 2, the exception clauses in the CPTPP can be invoked for defense.

(1) Essential security exception

The essential security exception can be invoked to defend the data security review and prohibition of national core data from being transferred overseas, because both restrictions are aimed at safeguarding national security and major public interests areas that fall under the scope of essential security. The security exception clause in CPTPP Chapter 32 does not limit the content of essential security, unlike the Article 21 of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which narrowly limit the essential security to military security and international peace. The security exception in the CPTPP, therefore, can cover the need to ensure cybersecurity and data security. It is worth noting that in the World Trade Organization (WTO) e-commerce negotiations, members put forward different versions of security exceptions. Chinas version was the closest to the essential security exception in the CPTPP, while those proposed by Canada, Japan, Brazil and other countries were influenced by the current GATT Article 21, and were, thus, insufficient to address issues concerning cybersecurity and data security. Hence, in the WTO e-commerce negotiation, the acceptance of the cross-border data flow rules of the CPTPP requires appropriate arrangements for security exceptions.

(2) Exception in Clause 3 of CPTPP Article 14.11

Clause 3 of CPTPP Article 14.11 can be invoked for the defense of personal information protection certification and the standard contract, and the security assessment of cross-border data transfers. The defense of the former is not difficult because it is a mechanism commonly used by many countries in the cross-border flows of personal information, and no country should even question that personal information protection certification and the standard contract violate the rules of Clause 2.

The security assessment of cross-border data transfer is a mechanism design that is relatively unique to China, which is the key issue. China cant accept the CPTPPs cross-border data flow rules unless its security assessment passes the test of Clause 3.

Clause 3 has three core rules.

First, it requires measures restricting cross-border data transfer to be developed to achieve legitimate public policy objectives. According to the aforementioned framework of Chinas cross-border data flow system, the security assessment for cross-border data transfer applies mainly to two scenarios: either the subject (data processor) is important  for example, when the data processor is a critical information infrastructure operator or national authority, or the object (data) is important when the data to be transferred overseas is identified as important data. In either case, the security assessment is aimed at protecting important public interests, or at least the legitimate rights and interests of individuals and organizations, so it shall be a legitimate public policy objective as referred to in Clause 3. With regard to the scope of legitimate public policy objectives, China, Japan and Canada listed three legitimate public policy objectives in the WTO e-commerce negotiations, including safeguarding cybersecurity, protecting cyberspace sovereignty and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of citizens, legal persons and other organizations; these can cover most, but not all, of the public interests that need to be protected by the cross-border data transfers security assessment. Therefore, it is better not to explicitly list or limit the extension of the legitimate public policy objectives in Clause 3.

Second, the restrictive measures cannot to be arbitrary or discriminatory, or constitute disguised trade restrictions. Although the specific rules for the security assessment of cross-border data transfer have not yet been finalized, there shall be a set of objective standards for the assessment, including assessment procedures, content and key factors. These standards are objective, and the security assessment is run by the Cyberspace Administration of China in order to maintain objective and unified standards in concrete implementation. Therefore, there should be no arbitrary, discriminatory or disguised trade restrictions based on the normal application of the security assessment procedures and standards. In addition, when some countries are at a disadvantage in the security assessment due to imperfect domestic data protection rules or other reasons, it is the result of objective assessment standards being applied to a specific country and should not be considered discrimination against that country.

Some may think that setting up a security assessment for cross-border data transfers but not one for domestic transfers constitutes discrimination and trade restrictions on data receivers abroad.

In my opinion, the establishment of a specific procedure does not constitute discrimination or a trade restriction in itself, and it depends on whether the assessment standards applied to data receivers abroad are substantially higher than those applied to domestic data receivers, putting the former in a relatively disadvantageous competitive position. Chinas Personal Information Protection Law, Data Security Law and other regulations set strict obligations on domestic data processors (including receivers). The Measures on Security Assessment of Cross-Border Export of Data (draft issued for public comment in October 2021) provides that the factors to be considered in security assessment include whether the data receivers abroad meet the protection level stipulated by PRC's laws, regulations and mandatory national standards. The domestic and foreign data receivers, therefore, shall meet the same set of rules in regard of data protection level. In this way, the security assessment of cross-border data transfer should not be considered discrimination or a trade restriction as long as there are no additional unreasonable requirements specifically for foreign receivers.

Third, restrictive measures shall meet the necessity test. Although Clause 3 of CPTPP Article 14.11 does not use the term necessary, it is generally considered a necessity test. The core requirement of the necessity test is that restrictions on trade shall be kept to a minimum and there shall be no alternative measures that could also achieve legitimate public policy objectives but be less restrictive. For exception clauses, the necessity test has always been the hardest to pass. But I think the security assessment of cross-border data transfer is still likely to pass the necessity test.

First, proving that restrictive measure is unnecessary usually requires the party questioning the security assessment to propose a less restrictive alternative that would achieve the same policy objectives as China's data security protection policy. Chinas security assessment of cross-border data transfer is aimed at important data or data processed by CIIOs. The current cross-border data flow systems of various countries are mostly for personal information or cross-border data transferred for law enforcement purposes, and the cross-border data flow system that meets the policy objectives of Chinas security assessment of cross-border data transfer is rarely seen in other countries. Therefore, alternative measures that can also achieve Chinas policy goals are difficult to find. In this sense, Chinas security assessment of cross-border data transfer is a kind of system innovation.

Even if there is an alternative measure, it will not necessarily be less restrictive to trade. The U.S. also has a category of important data similar to that of China, namely controlled unclassified information (CUI). Take the relevant regulations on sensitive safety information (SSI) regarding transportation in 800-171 and CUI categories as an example. I think U.S. regulation of the cross-border transfer of CUI has three characteristics. First, the U.S. does not have separate regulations on cross-border data transfer, so it appears that the U.S. does not restrict cross-border data transfers, which is clever in wording. However, it has strict regulations on accessing CUI, which can be done both domestically and from abroad. Thus, logically, its regulations on access cover cross-border data transfer, because accessing data from abroad is essentially a type of cross-border data transfer. Second, the core condition for accessing CUI is to be authorized; that is, only authorized people who carry out authorized business can access CUI. Such authorization cannot be obtained easily, but only by going through some kind of procedure, which is essentially similar to Chinas security assessment. At the very least, Chinas security assessment will publish relevant rules, standards and procedures, while the U.S. does not clarify how the authorization required to access CUI should be obtained, what the standards are and what the special requirements are for foreign nationals. Third, foreign nationals may be unable to access CUI at all. In the case of SSI, it can only be accessed by people with a need to know. Only those approved, funded, recommended or directed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or Department of Transportation (DOT) to conduct traffic safety activities are persons who have a need to know. I am skeptical about how many foreign nationals and foreign businesses actually qualify to be approved, funded, recommended or directed by the DHS or DOT to conduct traffic safety activities, and then access SSI for the cross-border transfer of CUI. Thus, even though the U.S. seemingly has no restrictions on cross-border data transfer in most cases, its regulations on accessing CUI could essentially result in a large amount of CUI being stored in the U.S. or accessed only by U.S. businesses and individuals. It is difficult to say whether such a system is less restrictive to digital trade than Chinas cross-border data transfer security assessment.

In conclusion, I am optimistic that Chinas cross-border data transfer security assessment can pass the review based on the exception rule of CPTPP Article 14.11.

Finally, there is a potential problem regarding Chinas reciprocal retaliation against other countries for their discrimination and restriction on data in terms of the international trade rules.

According to the general principle of the international trade rules, a country marred by other countries wrongdoing shall seek multilateral relief; that is, resort to the dispute settlement mechanism, rather than conduct unilateral retaliation. Reciprocal retaliation is essentially a unilateral retaliatory measure. However, the wording in Chinese law is that measures can be taken on a reciprocal basis according to the actual situation. This can be understood as follows: Unilateral reciprocal retaliation is just one of the policy options authorized by law to the Chinese government, which can either choose unilateral reciprocal retaliation or resort to other means, such as bilateral consultation with the other country or by proposing a settlement to the dispute. Thus, the regulation does not necessarily put China in violation of international rules.

Plan of action

If China wants to pass CPTPP requirements on cross-border data, several things can be done.

First and foremost, key rules for cross-border data transfer, especially the cross-border data transfer security assessment and the identification of important data, should be issued as soon as possible.

Somestic regulations are the basis for formulating international rules. If the details of China's domestic regulations are not clarified, it is impossible for China to participate in negotiations on international rules. Meanwhile, the less clear the details of the rules are, the more likely it is that various parties will interpret those details in the most conservative way. If domestic businesses do not dare to explore cross-border data transfer, foreigners will take advantage of this to accuse China of carrying out the worst data localization in the world, and this rumor will gradually spread among and be believed by other countries.

Additionally, when the rules for the cross-border data transfer security assessment are formulated, compliance with the international rules should be considered.

On the one hand, the security assessment should be conducted in compliance with risk analysis principles, objective criteria and the most uniform implementation standards possible for both internal and external use. On the other hand, close attention should be paid to the progress of system-related practices in other countries regarding critical information infrastructure and important data, and any system designed for cross-border data transfer that can be referenced should be referenced in a timely manner. As the case of learning from the EUs General Data Protection Regulation on personal information protection certification and the standard contract shows, this can help prevent others from being able to claim that there exist less restrictive alternative measures.

Moreover, all sectors should sort out the current policies on cross-border data transfer in a timely manner and comply with the overall system design and wording of the governing laws. If certain data really cannot be transferred overseas, its attribute as national core data should be clarified as far as possible. If the data belong to important data but not core data, the system for cross-border data transfer should be unified in the security assessment, making it clear that due to business needs, the data can be transferred overseas after a security assessment. It must not be stated that the data should be stored in the country without giving conditions for cross-border transfer.

Tough negotiations ahead

Those at the front lines of the negotiations should learn more about the progress of legislation from Chinese domestic authorities, build up confidence in the domestic system and explain how the system actually works to the international community, especially the main negotiating partners.

Many of Chinas systems may not yet be fully fledged, but they are reasonable. If we can explain the reasonableness of the systems to other countries, I believe most of them will understand. The better the international community understands Chinas domestic framework and the rationality of its systems, the better the environment will be for China to negotiate international rules.

At the same time, China needs to offer public goods to the international community if it wishes to gain speaking rights in making the rules. The problems solved by the cross-border data transfer security assessment might be a concern in other countries, and they may need solutions provided by China. Thus, it is an opportunity for China to provide public good.

In addition, there should be room for negotiation on exceptions to the rules. For example, no excessively detailed limits should be placed on the content of legitimate public policy objectives. We should follow the security exceptions in the CPTPP, as those in the GATT cannot truly adapt to the current era.

Xu Chengjin is a researcher at the Center for International Economic and Technological Cooperation.

Contact editor Michael Bellart (michaelbellart@caixin.com)

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A cold wave is hitting most parts of China, bringing freezing wind and snowfall to many northern regions. In Northeast Chinas Heilongjiang province, temperatures have plunged to below -10 degrees Celsius, with over 100 weather alerts issued. The cold weather is expected to spread further south over the coming days, according to the countrys meteorology bureau

Nov 22, 2021 03:38 PM
The Facebook Papers project represents a unique collaboration among 17 American news organizations, including The Associated Press. Journalists from a variety of newsrooms, large and small, worked together to gain access to thousands of pages of internal company documents obtained by Frances
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FILE - A flock of birds fly past a Catholic church as the sun rises Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021, in Damar, Kan. For many Christians, the relationship between birds and faith does not stray farther than seeing a dove carrying an olive branch on a banner at church. However, for Christian birdwatchers  or to use a phrase coined by theologian John Stott, ornitheologists  birding is a kind of worship. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
Photo: Contributed Kristen Peturson-Laprise (right) with her friend Merle King

I am off to Vancouver this week to see a friend who lives across the world.

We've been friends since I was 19-years-old. I am a godmother to her daughter and she and her daughter were in my bridal party. We have visited on three continents and even when years went by between visits, it has always felt like I just had tea and biscuits with her yesterday when I saw her.

My girlfriend and I met on a bus tour in Europe. We made friends the first night in Paris. We were sent out on the Left Bank to find somewhere to enjoy a French coffee. We were informed of the way things work: you will pay more if you sit at a table than if you stand at the bar and you will pay even more if you choose to sit on the patio outside. (If you want to be seen, then the French philosophy is you should pay for the privilege.)

Well, the two of us came back quite chuffed (her South African expression, meaning pumped or pleased with oneself or the situation). We managed to not only have a delicious cappuccino but also spend more than anyone else, as we wanted to watch the people go by and enjoy the view. Living life to the fullest was our motto on that trip and has been ever since.

Maybe you have a friend like this. Is your friendship linked in part by the food you've shared? Are there recipes that connect you with that person?

Way back before there was the Internet, my first exposure to South African cooking was when I received a missive from my girlfriend with hand-copied recipessome of them her favourites. They are now some of mine and every time I pull out the stationery with her beautiful notes, I think of the memories we have shared.

It can be fun to feel like a worldly cook with just a simple Google search and a bit of easy shopping in the international aisle, but I must admit I especially adore the recipes that have been passed to me by someone I know. I consider it an act of faith that they share something they enjoy and trust me to recreate. It brings friends closer together.

Over the years, my girlfriend and I have shared our flavours. I discovered Roobois tea and she discovered maple syrup. We traded favourite store-bought cookies and chocolate and candies. Different spice blends were exciting to try. She likes using my husbands Taboo BBQ spice rub and I have a cook's spice blend she sent from England that is delicious. We have broadened our horizons together.

Of course, we have beautiful, shared memories of meals together too.

One of my favourite Christmases was when our two families shared the holiday in Vancouver. Martin cooked the turkey on the BBQ, which they had never seen and just to make it magical, it snowed a little bit on Christmas night while he was cooking.

Another was visiting them in England years ago. We drove up the lane to their farmhouse and saw pheasants in the field, the picture of English country living. Sitting in the kitchen with the large hearth and stone walls, we were only a bit surprised to find out it was pheasant for dinner. It was a delicious Sunday dinner that felt like something out of a BBC drama.

Then there was my trip to South Africa to visit her in 1995. We had a most memorable day in Stellenbosch wine country. I'll never forget the picnic lunch at Blaauwklippen Wine Estate. The basket was bursting with local flavours and of course, chilled wine from the estate. It was a quintessential example of South African hospitality and a postcard memory.

After 37 years of friendship, the coffee and the tea toois still a staple of our visits. Many cups a day are shared amidst the catching up and reminiscing.

The crumbs of treats shared has made part of the fabric of our friendship over the years, and the recipes we have used while apart, helped hold the links together. Every morsel of time we share adds to the meal that makes up our relationship.

I will leave you this week with a classic South African recipe that I got in a letter many years ago. It's still one of my faves.

In winter I like it with a cup of tea and in summer I add a bit of fresh fruit on the side. I hope you can enjoy it with one of your friends.

MERLE'S MILK TART

I write the recipe as she did on that blue airmail stationery I still have in my recipe journal:

1. Make the biscuit base:

 1 cup graham wafer crumbs

 1/3 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

 2 tbsp sugar

 1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted

Mix ingredients in a bowl till well mixed. Spread into bottom of a pie plate or small rectangular baking dish. Refrigerate.

2. Boil together (bring to a boil, then remove from heat and stir):

 2 cups milk

 1/2 cup margarine or butter

3. Beat in a medium bowl:

 2 egg yolks (save whites)

 3/4 cup sugar

4. Mix to a paste:

 1/4 cup milk

 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

5. Add paste to egg and sugar mixture.

6. Add paste mixture to boiled milk mixture. Cook over medium heat until thick, stirring constantly. Bring to a slow boil, then set aside to cool.

7. Beat egg whites till stiff (the 2 whites you saved). Fold into cooled custard.

8. Pour custard over biscuit base. Refrigerated till firm - at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.

9. Sprinkle tart 1/4 tsp cinnamon before serving. Serve with tea
Photo: Contributed

The province of British Columbia is partnering with tree fruit growers to help create a blueprint to enhance competitiveness and stabilize the industry which has been hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and weather-related incidents which have hurt production.

"B.C.'s tree fruit growers play a key role in our province's food system and our government is committed to the industry's lasting prosperity," said Lana Popham, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries. "The recommendations from this plan provide a clear path on how the sector can change course as we all work together to ensure the economic viability and ongoing legacy of this century-old industry."

The Province has created and released The Path Forward: A Blueprint for B.C.'s Tree Fruit Industry, which recommends several actions to address the leadership and governance of the sector, enhancing its competitiveness and building on the support provided by the B.C. government.

B.C. tree fruit growers have seen a decrease in acreage and profitability over the last decade, in addition to market and climate challenges.

The blueprint has 19 recommendations created from feedback received during 30 consultation sessions with more than 165 individuals representing all aspects of the industry, including producers, packers, marketers, retailers, researchers and government.

"The Tree Fruit Industry Stabilization Plan is an important framework to help stabilize our industry. I appreciate how government has engaged us to tackle the important challenges, like climate change and labour, facing apple, cherry and other tree fruit producers. The long-term viability of the tree fruit industry is not only important to those in it, but to all British Columbians," says Sukhpaul Bal, grower and president, BC Cherry Growers Association.

The ministry and industry indicate they will work together to implement the recommendations in the report.
Photo: The Canadian Press Former White House strategist Steve Bannon poses prior to an interview with The Associated Press.

Steve Bannon, a longtime ally to former President Donald Trump, was indicted Friday on two counts of contempt of Congress after he defied a congressional subpoena from the House committee investigating the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

The Justice Department said Bannon, 67, was indicted on one count for refusing to appear for a deposition and the other for refusing to provide documents in response to the committees subpoena. It wasnt immediately clear when he would be due in court.

The indictment comes as a second witness, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, defied a similar subpoena from the committee on Friday. The chairman of the panel, Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, said he will be recommending contempt charges against Meadows next week.

Attorney General Merrick Garland said Bannon's indictment reflects the Justice Departments steadfast commitment to ensuring that the department adheres to the rule of law. Each count carries a minimum of 30 days of jail and a sentence of up to a year behind bars.

Bannons attorney did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

This is not the first time Bannon has faced legal peril. In August of last year, he was pulled from a luxury yacht and arrested on allegations that he and three associates ripped off donors trying to fund a southern border wall. Trump later pardoned Bannon in the final hours of his presidency.

Meadows had been in discussions with the committee since his subpoena was issued in September, but his lawyer said Friday that Meadows has a sharp legal dispute with the panel as Trump has claimed executive privilege over the testimony.

Thompson had threatened contempt charges against Meadows in a letter to the lawyer, George Terwilliger, on Thursday, saying that if he failed to appear to answer the committee's questions Friday it would be considered willful non-compliance." The committee would first have to vote on the contempt recommendation, then the full House would vote to send it to the Justice Department.

Meadows' refusal to comply comes amid escalating legal battles between the committee and Trump as the former president has claimed privilege over documents and interviews the lawmakers are demanding.

The White House said in a letter Thursday that President Joe Biden would waive any privilege that would prevent Meadows from cooperating with the committee, prompting his lawyer to say Meadows wouldn't comply.

Legal disputes are appropriately resolved by courts, said the lawyer, George Terwilliger. It would be irresponsible for Mr. Meadows to prematurely resolve that dispute by voluntarily waiving privileges that are at the heart of those legal issues.

As the sitting president, Biden has so far waived most of Trump's assertions of privilege over documents. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan has backed Biden's position, noting in one ruling this week that Presidents are not kings, and Plaintiff is not President.

The panel's proceedings and attempts to gather information have been delayed as Trump appealed Chutkan's rulings. On Thursday, a federal appeals court temporarily blocked the release of some of the White House records the panel is seeking, giving that court time to consider Trump's arguments.

Still, the House panel is continuing its work, and lawmakers have already interviewed more than 150 witnesses so far as they attempt to build the most comprehensive record yet of how a violent mob of Trump's supporters broke into the Capitol and temporarily halted the certification of Biden's victory.

The committee has subpoenaed almost three dozen people, including former White House staffers, Trump allies who strategized about how to overturn his defeat and people who organized the giant rally on the National Mall the morning of Jan. 6. While some, like Meadows and Bannon, have balked, others have spoken to the panel and provided documents.

Meadows, a former GOP congressman from North Carolina, is a key witness for the panel. He was Trump's top aide in the time between Trump's loss in the November election and the insurrection, and was one of several people who pressured state officials to try and overturn the results. He was also by Trump's side during much of the time, and he could provide information about what the former president was saying and doing during the attack.

You were the president's chief of staff and have critical information regarding many elements of our inquiry, Thompson wrote in a letter accompanying the Sept. 23 subpoena to Meadows. It appears you were with or in the vicinity of President Trump on Jan. 6, had communications with the president and others on January 6 regarding events at the Capitol and are a witness regarding activities of that day.

The appeals court will hear arguments Nov. 30 in Trump's separate case against the committee and the National Archives, an attempt to withhold documents from the panel. The arguments will take place before three judges nominated by Democratic presidents: Patricia Millett and Robert Wilkins, nominated by former President Barack Obama, and Ketanji Brown Jackson, an appointee of Biden.

Given the cases magnitude, whichever side loses before the circuit court is likely to eventually appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Photo: The Canadian Press Alberta Education Minister Adriana LaGrange provides an update on COVID-19 and back-to-school guidance in Edmonton .

The Alberta government is deleting a decades-old reference in a curriculum guidance paper that urges teachers to focus on positive and negative aspects of the Nazi Germany regime.

Education Minister Adriana LaGrange says the reference has existed since 1984, but was as wrong then as it is now and is being expunged.

LaGrange says she and her staff acted immediately after they were made aware of the reference by the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies.

The center raised concerns about a paragraph in an Alberta Education document titled Guidelines for Recognizing Diversity and Promoting Respect.

The guidelines urge teachers to promote both sides in debates, using as an example an argument that there were atrocities under the Nazis but some of their policies strengthened Germanys prewar economy.

LaGrange said there is no positive side to the Nazi story and a both sides concept regarding the Hitler regime is not being taught in Alberta schools.

The wrong-headed views outlined have no place in our society and I categorically denounce what is written, LaGrange wrote on Twitter on Friday.

There is not a positive side to tell of the murderous Nazi regime, as this document wrongfully suggests, she tweeted.

This was the first time that I or anyone in my office had seen this document, and I immediately instructed my department to remove it from all Alberta Education publications.

Michael Levitt, head of the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, said in a statement Friday that he was shocked to discover such a reference given Nazis murdered six million Jews and millions of others, in addition to completely destroying their country because they initiated a war."

The fact that Alberta students could have possibly been fed such an outrageous proposition is extremely troubling, said Levitt.

LaGrange said she is reaching out to groups, including Levitt's, to let them know action has been taken.

The specific section being deleted asks teachers to consider both sides when using resources: Does the resource reveal both the positive and negative behaviours and attitudes of the various groups portrayed? For instance, if a video details war atrocities committed by the Nazis, does it also point out that before World War II, German governments policies substantially strengthened the countrys economy?
Amid the rise in terror attacks in Afghanistan, questions are been raised over the Taliban's ability and willingness to protect the civilians especially the minorities of the country, said a media report.

Di Valerio Fabbri, writing in Geopolitica.info, said the Taliban is now facing its biggest test of managing the country's governance as it struggles with the tag of being a 'rogue state', outcast by the international community.

"Moreover, the mounting terrorist attacks by the Islamic State-Khorasan Province (ISKP) have raised questions over the Taliban's ability and willingness to protect religious minorities and Afghan civilians. Unless the Taliban steps up to tackle these challenges, Afghanistan is undoubtedly destined to descend into civil war," Fabbri said.

In its report, Fabbri highlighted the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report. Earlier, issuing its most dire warning to date, the UNDP recently cautioned that the 38 million Afghans are at risk of being plunged into near-universal poverty, faced with a "catastrophic deterioration" of the country's heavily aid-dependent economy due to the Taliban's capture of power.

The UNDP's study suggested that as many as 97 per cent of Afghans can potentially slide below the poverty line by next year - a staggering increase of 25 per cent. This negates the significant progress made in the last two decades, when expanding economic prospects and substantial foreign aid created new employment opportunities for the Afghans.

According to Fabbri, Taliban's governance tests are too many. But it looks like the regime doesn't realise the enormity of the challenges as it pursues the single-line agenda of international recognition.

"Taliban has pressed the Western financial institutions to release Afghan Central Bank's money. Probably by now, the group would have realised that capturing a country through force and violence is easier than governing it, Fabbri added.

(ANI)

Also Read: UN Security Council appeals for end to violence in Myanmar
A 16-year-old Georgia student who was shot in the head while waiting for a school bus has died
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Here is the upcoming City Council agenda for Tuesday:

I. Call to Order by Vice-Chairman Smith.



II. Pledge of Allegiance/Invocation (Councilman Hester).



III. Special Presentation.



IV. Minute Approval.



V. Ordinances  Final Reading:



FINANCE



a. An ordinance to amend the Operations Budget Ordinance No. 13710, known as the Fiscal Year 2021-2022 Operations Budget Ordinance, to amend Section 6(B) so as to appropriate $38,640,506.00 from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.



PLANNING



b.

2021-0164 CTF Alpaca Racing Group, LLC (C-5 Neighborhood Commercial Zone to UGC Urban General Commercial Zone). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone property located at 1310 Hanover Street located in the 200 to 300 block of Tremont Street, from C-5 Neighborhood Commercial Zone to UGC Urban General Commercial Zone, subject to certain conditions. (District 2) (Recommended for approval by Planning and Staff)c. 2021-0177 Bill Dickson (R-2 Residential Zone to C-2 Convenience CommercialZone). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone property located at 5468 Hixson Pike, from R-2 Residential Zone to C-2 Convenience Commercial Zone for the front portion of the site fronting Hixson Pike (see attached map) and O-1 Office Zone for the rear portion of the site along Old Hixson Pike (see attached map), subject to certain conditions. (District 3) (Recommended for approval by Planning)d. 2021-0166 PBD Development, GP & Napier Associates (Amend Condition). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to amend Condition No. 9 of Ordinance No. 13110 of previous Case No. 2016-0060 for properties located at 2415, 2423, and 2441 Elam Lane and parts of 2440 Elam Lane and parts of 2515, 2519, and 2527 Gunbarrel Road. (District 4) (Recommended for approval by Planning and Staff)e. 2021-0161 Glen Craig (R-3 Residential Zone to UGC Urban General Commercial Zone). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone properties located at 1213, 1215, and an unaddressed parcel on East 13th Street (Tax Map No. 146P-C-008), from R-3 Residential Zone to UGC Urban General Commercial Zone, subject to certain conditions. (District 8) (Recommended for approval by Planning)f. 2021-0174 1101 Main, LLC (M-1 Manufacturing Zone to UGC Urban General CommercialZone). AnordinancetoamendChattanoogaCityCode,PartII,Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone properties located at 1101 East Main Street and 1490 Top Street, from M-1 Manufacturing Zone to UGC Urban General Commercial Zone, subject to certain conditions. (District 8) (Recommended for approval by Planning and Staff)g. 2021-0178 Henry and Kathleen DeHart (R-1 Residential Zone to R-4 Special Zone). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone property located at 1502 East 14th Street, from R-1 Residential Zone to R-4 Special Zone, subject to certain conditions. (District 8) (Recommended for approval by Planning and denial by Staff)h. 2021-0175 Ethan Collier (M-2 Light Industrial Zone to C-3 Central Business Zone). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone property located at 2517 East 16th Street, from M-2 Light Industrial Zone to C-3 Central Business Zone, subject to certain conditions. (District 9) (Recommended for approval by Planning and Staff)i. 2021-0176 Ethan Collier (R-2 Residential Zone to C-3 Central Business Zone). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone property located at 1805, 1807, 1809, and 1811 South Lyerly Street, from R-2 Residential Zone to C-3 Central Business Zone, subject to certain conditions. (District 9) (Recommended for approval by Planning and Staff)j. 2021-0181 Nathan Brown (R-2 Residential Zone to UGC Urban General CommercialZone). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone property located at 2500 East 19th Street, from R-2 Residential Zone to UGC Urban General Commercial Zone, subject to certain conditions. (District 9) (Recommended for approval by Planning and Staff and denial of R-3 Residential Zone by Planning and Staff)k. An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to address exterior building material requirements.VI. Ordinances  First Reading: COUNCIL OFFICEa. An ordinance amending Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 12, Section 12-50, to provide for a rate of pay for the City Judge and benefits which is appropriate for duties as determined by the City Council at the beginning of the next term of office on August 31, 2022.PLANNINGb. 2021-0186 David Gardner (R-1 Residential Zone to R-3 Residential Zone). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone properties located at 2997 Edgmon Forest Lane, 6420 Shallowford Road, and a portion of 6418 Shallowford Road, from R-1 Residential Zone to R-3 Residential Zone, subject to certain conditions. (District 6) (Recommended for approval by Planning) (Deferred from 11-09-2021)2021-0186 David Gardner (R-1 Residential Zone to R-3 Residential Zone). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone properties located at 2997 Edgmon Forest Lane, 6420 Shallowford Road, and a portion of 6418 Shallowford Road, from R-1 Residential Zone to R-3 Residential Zone, subject to certain conditions. (Staff Version)2021-0186 David Gardner (R-1 Residential Zone to R-3 Residential Zone). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone properties located at 2997 Edgmon Forest Lane, 6420 Shallowford Road, and a portion of 6418 Shallowford Road, from R-1 Residential Zone to R-3 Residential Zone. (Applicant Version)c. 2021-0162 Lentorry Coleman (M-1 Manufacturing Zone to UGC Urban General CommercialZone). AnordinancetoamendChattanoogaCityCode,PartII,Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone properties located at 2101 and 2103 South Watkins Street, from M-1 Manufacturing Zone to UGC Urban General Commercial Zone, subject to certain conditions. (District 9) (Recommended for approval by Planning and Staff) (Deferred from 11-09-2021)2021-0162 Lentorry Coleman (M-1 Manufacturing Zone to UGC Urban General CommercialZone). AnordinancetoamendChattanoogaCityCode,PartII,Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone properties located at 2101 and 2103 South Watkins Street, from M-1 Manufacturing Zone to UGC Urban General Commercial Zone. (Applicant Version)VII. Resolutions: COUNCIL OFFICEa. A resolution recognizing the name change of the Heritage House Arts and Civic Center  City of Chattanooga to the Don Eaves Heritage House Arts and Civic Center  City of Chattanooga in honor of former Councilperson Don Eaves.ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTb. A resolution to make certain findings relating to the Steam Logistics Project, to delegate certain authority to the Industrial Development Board of the City of Chattanooga, and to authorize the Mayor to enter into and execute an Agreement for Payments in Lieu of Ad Valorem Taxes. (District 7)c. A resolution authorizing the Interim Administrator of Economic Development to enter into an Artwork Donation Agreement, in substantially the form attached, with RiverCity Company to accept The Scramble, artwork installation valued at $553,073.00, with leftover project contingency funds in the amount of $57,827.65, designated towards the Public Art Maintenance Fund. (District 7)d. A resolution authorizing the Interim Administrator of Economic Development to enter into an Artwork Donation Agreement, in substantially the form attached, with SoundCorps to accept the mural Vibes Resonance, valued at $14,100.00 with leftover project contingency funds in the amount of $2,350.00, designated towards the Public Art Maintenance Fund. (District 7)e. A resolution authorizing the Interim Administrator of Economic Development to award up to $40,000.00 in HOME program funds to Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga Area to construct a house located at 219 Canary Circle for affordable homeownership, contingent upon the project being approved through the established application review process. (District 7)f. A resolution authorizing the Interim Administrator of Economic Development to amend a HOME Project Agreement previously approved by City Council Resolution No. 30849, by increasing the award to the Chattanooga Community Housing Development Organization by $30,000.00, for a total award of $146,136.00 to construct a house at 198 N. Willow Street for an income qualified household. (District 8)g. A resolution authorizing the Interim Administrator of Economic Development to amend a HOME Project Agreement previously approved by City Council Resolution No. 30851, by increasing the award to the Chattanooga Community Housing Development Organization by $24,000.00, for a total award of $151,086.00 to construct a house at 200 N. Willow Street for an income qualified household. (District 8)h. A resolution authorizing the Mayor or his designee to enter into a First Agreement to Exercise Option to Renew with Missionary Ridge Neighborhood Association, Inc., in substantially the form attached, for the lease of 36 Sheridan Avenue, identified as Tax Parcel No. 156E-B-001.01, for an additional term of one (1) year, through December 16, 2022, for the amount of one dollar ($1.00) per year. (District 9)MAYORS OFFICEi. A resolution confirming Mayor Kellys appointment of Sushma Shantha to a three-year term on the Library Board of Directors.j. A resolution confirming Mayor Kellys appointment of David Nordy to a four-year term on the Board of Electrical Examiners.PLANNINGk. Michael A. Wolff, Sr./Hixson Wine & Spirits, Inc. (Special Exceptions Permit). A resolution approving a Special Exceptions Permit for an existing liquor store, change in ownership, located at 6401 Hixson Pike, Suite A. (District 3)PARKS AND PUBLIC WORKSPublic Worksl. A resolution authorizing the Administrator for the Department of Public Works to enter into an agreement with CTI Engineers, Inc. for professional design services for Contract No. R-21-001-101, Ross Landing Water Cannon Improvements, for the contract amount of $121,777.00. (District 7)m. A resolution authorizing the Administrator for the Department of Public Works to approve Change Order No. 4 (Final) for J&J Contractors, Inc., of Chattanooga, TN, relative to Contract No. Y-15-008-201, The New Avondale YFD Center, for an increased amount of $4,540.00, for a revised contract amount of $5,973,728.25, and to release the remaining contingency amount of $5,460.00. (District 8)n. A resolution declaring surplus of a mini-trackhoe manufactured by IHI, Model #55N2, Serial Number WP000964, and authorizing the sale of the unit and buckets in as-is condition to the Highway 58 Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. for training purposes, in the amount of $5,000.00.o. A resolution to amend Resolution No. 30476, as adopted on September 8, 2020, relative to the agreement for the Closure/Post Closure Plan for the City Landfill with the State of Tennessee, Division of Solid Waste Management, by deleting an amount not to exceed $1,546,300.95 and substituting in lieu thereof an amount not to exceed $1,494,464.73.p. A resolution to amend Resolution No. 30477, as adopted on September 8, 2020, relative to the agreement for the Closure/Post Closure Plan for the City Landfill, Lateral Expansion Area 3, with the State of Tennessee, Division of Solid Waste Management, by deleting an amount not to exceed $8,028,182.88 and substituting in lieu thereof an amount not to exceed $8,128,535.16.q. A resolution to amend Resolution No. 30478, as adopted on September 8, 2020, relative to the agreement for the Closure/Post Closure Plan for the Summit Sanitary Landfill, with the State of Tennessee, Division of Solid Waste Management, by deleting an amount not to exceed $1,424,995.67 and substituting in lieu thereof an amount not to exceed $1,262,457.10.VIII. Purchases.IX. Committee Reports.X. Other Business. (Items Listed Below):? Hixson Wine & Spirits, Inc. d/b/a Hixson Liquors (6401 Hixson Pike)  Certificate of Compliance (District 3)? APPROVAL OF INJURY ON DUTY SETTLEMENT: (1) BrianMoseley-$55,407.18XI. Recognition of Persons Wishing to Address the Council.XII. Adjournment.TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2021 CITY COUNCIL AGENDA 6:00 PM1. Call to Order by Chairman Henderson.2. Pledge of Allegiance/Invocation (Councilwoman Berz).3. Special Presentation.4. Minute Approval.Order of Business for City Council5. Ordinances - Final Reading:COUNCIL OFFICEa. An ordinance amending Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 12, Section 12-50, to provide for a rate of pay for the City Judge and benefits which is appropriate for duties as determined by the City Council at the beginning of the next term of office on August 31, 2022.PLANNINGb. 2021-0186 David Gardner (R-1 Residential Zone to R-3 Residential Zone). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone properties located at 2997 Edgmon Forest Lane, 6420 Shallowford Road, and a portion of 6418 Shallowford Road, from R-1 Residential Zone to R-3 Residential Zone, subject to certain conditions. (District 6) (Recommended for approval by Planning) (Deferred from 11-09-2021)2021-0186 David Gardner (R-1 Residential Zone to R-3 Residential Zone). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone properties located at 2997 Edgmon Forest Lane, 6420 Shallowford Road, and a portion of 6418 Shallowford Road, from R-1 Residential Zone to R-3 Residential Zone, subject to certain conditions. (Staff Version)2021-0186 David Gardner (R-1 Residential Zone to R-3 Residential Zone). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone properties located at 2997 Edgmon Forest Lane, 6420 Shallowford Road, and a portion of 6418 Shallowford Road, from R-1 Residential Zone to R-3 Residential Zone. (Applicant Version)c. 2021-0162 Lentorry Coleman (M-1 Manufacturing Zone to UGC Urban General CommercialZone). AnordinancetoamendChattanoogaCityCode,PartII,Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone properties located at 2101 and 2103 South Watkins Street, from M-1 Manufacturing Zone to UGC Urban General Commercial Zone, subject to certain conditions. (District 9) (Recommended for approval by Planning and Staff) (Deferred from 11-09-2021)2021-0162 Lentorry Coleman (M-1 Manufacturing Zone to UGC Urban General CommercialZone). AnordinancetoamendChattanoogaCityCode,PartII,Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone properties located at 2101 and 2103 South Watkins Street, from M-1 Manufacturing Zone to UGC Urban General Commercial Zone. (Applicant Version)6. Ordinances - First Reading: PLANNINGa. 2021-0169 ASA Engineering (C-5 Neighborhood Commercial Zone to C-2 Convenience Commercial Zone). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone properties located at 5116, 5120, and 5134 Highway 58 and several unaddressed tracts (120N-D-012, 014, 015, 016, and 018) of land in the 5100 block of Highway 58, from C-5 Neighborhood Commercial Zone to C-2 Convenience Commercial Zone, subject to certain conditions. (District 5) (Recommended for approval by Planning) (Deferred from 11-09-2021)2021-0169 ASA Engineering (C-5 Neighborhood Commercial Zone to C-2 Convenience Commercial Zone). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone properties located at 5116, 5120, and 5134 Highway 58 and several unaddressed tracts (120N-D-012, 014, 015, 016, and 018) of land in the 5100 block of Highway 58, from C-5 Neighborhood Commercial Zone to C-2 Convenience Commercial Zone for Tax Map No. 120N-D-012 through 120N-D-018 only, subject to certain conditions. (Staff Version)2021-0169 ASA Engineering (C-5 Neighborhood Commercial Zone to C-2 Convenience Commercial Zone). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone properties located at 5116, 5120, and 5134 Highway 58 and several unaddressed tracts (120N-D-012, 014, 015, 016, and 018) of land in the 5100 block of Highway 58, from C-5 Neighborhood Commercial Zone to C-2 Convenience Commercial Zone. (Applicant Version)7. Resolutions:ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTa. A resolution authorizing the Mayor or his designee to enter into an Office Lease with the Childrens Advocacy Center of Hamilton County, Inc., in substantially the form attached, for the five (5) year term of December 1, 2021, through November 30, 2026, with the option to renew for one (1) additional term of five (5) years, for the use of 9,155 square feet of space at the Family Justice Center located at 5705 Uptain Road, identified as Tax Map No. 157M-A-012, for the rent of one dollar ($1.00) annually. (District 6)b. A resolution authorizing the Mayor or his designee to collectively with Hamilton County, enter into a Lease Agreement with the Chattanooga Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc., in substantially the form attached, for the lease of the building at 2 Aquarium Way, Suite 138, further identified as a portion of Tax Parcel No. 135K-A-001, with the building to be used exclusively for the operation of a Visitor Information Center, for a term of three (3) years, with the option to renew for two (2) additional terms of one (1) year each, at the consideration of one dollar ($1.00) per year. (District 7) (Deferred from 11-09-2021)c. A resolution authorizing the Mayor or his designee to enter into a Lease with the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, in substantially the form attached, for the use of approximately 19,296 square feet of space at 301 N. Holtzclaw Avenue, identified as Tax Map No. 146G-A-001, for the four (4) year term of February 16, 2021, through February 15, 2025, for use as an indoor softball facility, for the annual rent of one dollar ($1.00). (District 8)d. A resolution authorizing the Mayor or his designee to collectively with Hamilton County enter into a commercial/public recreation License Agreement with the Tennessee Valley Authority, in substantially the form attached, for approximately 5.7 acres of TVA land on Chickamauga Dam Reservation on Nickajack Reservoir, for the operation and maintenance of public recreational facilities related to the existing operation of the Tennessee Riverpark. (District 8)e. A resolution authorizing the Mayor or his designee to enter into a Non-Profit Lease Standard Form Agreement with the Forgotten Child Fund, Inc., in substantially the form attached, to lease approximately 19,516 square feet of warehouse space located at 1815 E. Main Street, identified as Tax Map No. 156B-D-009, for the eleven (11) month term of March 1, 2021, through January 31, 2022, for the annual rent of one dollar ($1.00). (District 8)HUMAN RESOURCESf. A resolution authorizing the appointment of Emily Johnson, as special police officer (unarmed) for the McKamey Animal Center, to do special duty as prescribed herein, subject to certain conditions.POLICEg. A resolution authorizing the Mayor to accept a Tennessee Highway Safety Office (THSO) Grant on behalf of the Chattanooga Police Department for Enforcement of Tennessee Driving Under the Influence Laws to be used for overtime, supplies, and training/travel, with a contract period of October 1, 2021, through September 30, 2022, in the amount of $200,000.00.8. Purchases.9. Committee Reports.10. Recognition of Persons Wishing to Address the Council.11. Adjournment.
In November 2019, Josh Duggar shuttered his car lot just days after federal agents raided the business. While the Duggar family was quick to dismiss reports of the raid, family followers would find out exactly what the presence of federal agents was all about in April 2021. Critics and fans were stunned when federal marshals arrested Josh, 33, on two child pornography charges. With his trial looming, former customers are coming out to outline shady business practices at both of the familys car lots.

What did Josh Duggar do for a living before his arrest?

Once upon a time, the Duggar family thought Josh had a promising career. After graduating from his homeschooling program, Josh began working at several family businesses and eventually began operating a car lot. After marriage and a couple of kids, Josh accepted a job with Family Research Council, a pro-life lobbying organization in the nations capital. He left the job disgraced.

Josh Duggar | Kris Connor/Getty Images

Long before he was arrested on two child pornography charges, Josh had another scandal. In 2015, Media outlets revealed that he had molested several of his siblings when he was a teen. A few months later, the world learned that he had been cheating on his wife. The back-to-back scandals ended his career. Josh and his family fled Washington D.C.

After leaving his job amid scandal, Josh settled, with his family, back in Arkansas. He returned to operating a car lot called Wholesale Motorcars. Josh owned and managed the lot before marrying Anna Duggar and during their early marriage, too. TLC featured the lot on the familys first show, 19 Kids and Counting. In the years since Josh was ousted from the series, hes worked exclusively at the lot and at others owned by the Duggar family.

Josh and his siblings have been accused of shady business dealings

Several Duggar men may make their living by selling used cars, but according to former customers, their business tactics arent always honest. The U.S. Sun spoke to a former customer who accused Josh of selling defective and poorly maintained cars and RVs. Another former customer claims she was left hanging when no one was at one of the Duggar car lots to meet her at a designated time. The former customer says she knows of several other people who were treated similarly.

Google reviews appear to shore up both stories. While Wholesale Motorcars is now listed as permanently closed, its 13 Google reviews are still available. Several reviewers complain that the lot didnt have offerings its website advertised. Others claimed the lot never appeared to be open or that they were sttood up by sales people. Champion Motorcars, now operated by some of the other Duggar boys, has reviews complaining of the same issues, although it does have several five-star writeups, too.

Who worked at Josh Duggars car lot?

While Duggar family followers originally suspected that several of Joshs brothers worked with him at Wholesale Motorcars, court documents indicate that none of the other Duggar boys were officially working at the lot at the time of the federal raid. Court documents seem to suggest that Josh hired people known to the Duggar family to serve as employees, though. According to the documents, Joshua Williams, the brother of Caleb Williams, is listed as a potential employee. The Williams family runs in the same social circles as the Duggars. According to Radar Online, Both Joshua and Caleb have had legal troubles in Arkansas.

Josh Duggar | Washington County Sheriffs Office via Getty Images

While the Duggar boys dont appear to have been working in an official capacity at the time of the raid, it doesnt mean they never helped out at Josh Duggars car lot. Several of Joshs siblings appear to work at Champion Motorcars and may have swapped between the lots when they were both open. According to the customer who spoke with The U.S. Sun, Jedidiah Duggar and Josh worked together at Champion Motorcars following the federal raid. Interestingly, Jedidiah worked hard to distance himself from his older brother and the entire Duggar family after news of the raid broke. He even revealed that he no longer lived at the Duggar familys Springdale, Arkansas compound when quizzed by a news station.
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS

Jeremy Renner worked with Yellowstone creator Taylor Sherdan on Wind River.

Sheridans new show Mayor of Kingstown is about the corrupt prison industry.

Renner describes Sheridans work as violent but equally beautiful.

Taylor Sheridan and Jeremy Renner | Rich Polk/Getty Images for IMDb

Mayor of Kingstown is Jeremy Renners first leading television role, but the transition from film hasnt been easy. The Marvel star says theres been a big learning curve on the set of the new Paramount+ series. But he says its been worth it to work with Taylor Sheridan again. According to Renner, Sheridans work is violent, but its also equally beautiful.

The Mayor of Kingstown star worked with Taylor Sheridan on Wind River

Before he took on the role of Mike McLusky  the titular Mayor in the new series  Renner worked with Sheridan in the 2018 film Wind River. The Hawkeye actor says hes enjoying working with Sheridan again. And hes excited to dig into the complex and rough-around-the-edges character that Sheridan created for him.

In a world otherwise forgotten in society, Mike serves as a flawed system of checks and balances. Taylor has brought to life a layered and poignant universe that is not only incredibly intriguing but also more relevant than ever, Renner said.

Jeremy Renner describes Taylor Sheridans work as violent but equally beautiful

While speaking with Parade magazine about his latest collaboration with Sheridan  which also stars Kyle Chandler and Diane Wiest  Renner said the one thing that stands out about the Yellowstone creators writing is how wonderfully honest it is.

It comes with the ferocity of his words, and the actions that he uses the words against him. You know, violent [but] as equally beautifully thematically poetic and timely and important with social issues, Renner explained.

And when you have that sort of yin and yang of dialogue, let alone storytelling, it just creates a wonderful smash of drama. And its always purposeful. Everything is purposeful, theres no fat in it. Its just like a David and Goliath. Its just like Greek mythology.

Mayor of Kingstown is about the corrupt prison industry

Mayor of Kingstown follows Renners Mike and his McLusky family  power brokers in the town of Kingstown, Michigan. The only thriving industry in Kingstown is the business of incarceration, which is the world that this series will explore.

The McLusky family runs the Kingstown Penitentiary, and the series will follow them as they try to bring order and justice to the Michigan town that has neither. The drama will tackle themes of systemic racism, corruption, and inequality. And Renner says he felt the responsibility of bringing the proper tone and work ethic to the project.

Both [Mayor and Hawkeye] were anchored on the characters I played, Renner explained. And with that became the responsibility and the duties that come along with that [] setting the tone for the show, and how to work and work ethic; Ill always work the hardest.

Jeremy Renner was introduced to a whole new world

After playing a superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe for more than a decade, Renner says there was a learning curve transitioning to TV. He described every day as relentless, and pointed out that it just does not stop.

Building the character of Mike in such a corrupt world wasnt easy, either. Renner said that trying to find some sort of grounded stand on the world that was pretty foreign to him was the first challenge.

Once I got a grasp of that, then it was all the more emotional sort of context of the character that was very complex, Renner said. With his fortitude and strength and his fearlessness and his actionability, all those types of things were, you know, all assets and characteristics that I like to play.

Taylor Sheridans writing in Mayor of Kingstown is captivating

Renner noted that Mayor of Kingstown is also a whole new setting for Sheridan because its set in a more urban community instead of in the cowboy world. The urban setting has its own issues, and the towns prison is a central part of life for everyone.

Youre either inside the prison, or youre outside the prison, work for the prison, or waiting for someone to come out of that prison, Renner said. Thats the world, and that world exists. And I think its captivating what hes written, and to challenge himself to understand the issues and associations that happen just inside the prisons and outside the prisons. Its fascinating to me. And I cant wait for people to watch it.

Mayor of Kingstown premieres Sunday, Nov. 14, after episode 3 of Yellowstone on Paramount. New episodes will drop on the streamer every Sunday.

RELATED: Yellowstone Creator Taylor Sheridan Adds Jeremy Renner and Kyle Chandler to His Paramount Universe With Mayor of Kingstown
Meghan Markle found a palace aides suggestion on what to do about her father, Thomas Markle, completely unrealistic. At one time the Duchess of Sussex, who joined the British royal family in 2018 when she married Prince Harry, spoke fondly of her father. But now Meghan and her father dont speak. So how did people inside the Firm tell Meghan to deal with her father? By having her travel across the world.

Thomas Markles been talking to the press

Meghans father hasnt stopped speaking to the media since before her royal wedding to Harry. The former actors lighting director father staged paparazzi photos in the lead-up to her nuptials and spoke publicly about her. Then Meghans father suffered a heart attack and didnt attend the wedding.

In the years since Meghan married Harry, her father has continued to speak to the press. Hes given many interviews and remarked on the status of his relationship with his daughter.

Most recently, in October 2021, Meghans father went on the U.K.s Good Morning Britain to offer updates. Ive made it quite clear that until I hear from her, until she does speak to me, that I will continue to do [interviews], he said, according to Us Weekly.

A palace aide once suggested Meghan fly to Mexico to speak to her father in person

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in November 2021 | Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

Meghans privacy lawsuit with the U.K. tabloid, Mail on Sunday, has given the public an inside look at various aspects of her life. After winning the lawsuit in February 2021, Mail on Sunday appealed the decision.

Now Meghan and her former press secretary, Jason Knauf, have given witness statements. Among the topics they discussed? Meghans relationship with her father. More specifically, how she and the palace were going to get him to stop talking to the press.

In a 20-page witness statement, Meghan explained a palace aide  and other royals  told her, in August 2018, to go to her fathers home in Mexico.

It had been suggested by the Duke of Cambridges Private Secretary (at the time), and senior members of the family that I personally arrange to fly out to see my father and speak with him in person, Meghan said, according to Newsweek.

The Duchess of Sussex continued, describing the idea as completely unrealistic.

It seemed to me, however, that, even had I wanted to, it was completely unrealistic to think that I could fly discreetly to Mexico, arrive unannounced on his doorstep (as I had no secure means of communication with my father), she said.

Not only that but shed be showing up to a location and residence I had never visited or known, in a small border town that had been descended upon by the press. On top of that, shed somehow hope to speak privately to my father without causing a frenzy of media attention and intrusion that could bring yet more embarrassment to the Royal Family.

So what did Meghan do? She chose to write a five-page letter to her father. After initially hanging on to it, Meghans father later gave the letter to Mail on Sunday who published lengthy excerpts of it.

Where do Meghan and Thomas Markle stand now?

Meghan Markle | Robert Kamau/GC Images

The Duchess of Sussexs relationship with her father hasnt changed much in recent years. Theyre still not on speaking terms. Meghans father is still speaking to the press. But now he wants to meet his grandchildren.

Meghans father has threatened to bring her and Harry to court so he can spend time with Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, 2, and Lilibet Lili Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, five months. Meanwhile, the court proceedings over the letter and privacy lawsuit continue.

RELATED: Why Thomas Markle, Is Incredibly Disappointed By Lifetimes New Film About Meghan Markle and Prince Harrys Relationship
Since Nancy Drews creation in the 1930s, the titular teen detective has appeared in dozens of iterations across video games, film, television, comics, and more. Most recently, Nancy Drew and her mystery-solving friends appeared in the CWs modernized television adaptation, which is now in its third season. The show takes more of a horror approach than other iterations, following Nancy (played by Kennedy McMann) on supernatural adventures to stop various sinister entities in her town of Horseshoe Bay, Maine.

Despite its dark forces, Horseshoe Bay undeniably has a small-town charm. Is the Nancy Drew location real, or is Horseshoe Bay as fictional as its heroine?

Nancy Drew star Kennedy McMann | Roy Rochlin/Getty Images

Where is Nancy Drew filmed?

Nancy Drew might take place in Maine, but the show was never filmed in the U.S. The magic actually happened in Vancouver, Canada, much like the CWs other teen mystery-drama, Riverdale.

According to MovieMaps, Nancy Drew used various local buildings in Vancouver as the shows most-visited locations. For example, George Faynes (Leah Lewis) restaurant, The Claw, was really the Sunset Marina. Other television shows have used this spot in the past, including Supernatural and 2016s The Exorcist. North Vancouver Cemetery, Garry Point Park, and Whytecliff Park have also appeared in Nancy Drew.

Horseshoe Bay is technically real, but its not the town in Nancy Drew

Horseshoe Bay is facing a new supernatural threat. A new episode airs tonight at 9/8c! #NancyDrew pic.twitter.com/nOP0Hhjagi  Nancy Drew (@cw_nancydrew) October 29, 2021

Horseshoe Bay does exist, but not in the way Nancy Drew portrays it. While the fictional town sits in Maine, the real Horseshoe Bay is in Vancouver  and yes, the show has filmed there. Nancy Drew used Horseshoe Bay Park as a beach location in the pilot episode.

The fictional Horseshoe Bay is home to several spooky tales and traditions, but the real town doesnt seem to have as much haunted history. Heres a description of Vancouvers Horseshoe Bay, per British Columbia:

The gateway to Howe Sound, the Sunshine Coast and central Vancouver Island, Horseshoe Bay is a quaint and picturesque seaside village on the North Shore of Vancouver. Located to the northwest of Vancouver, Horseshoe Bay is best known for its BC Ferry terminal, serving Snug Cove on Bowen Island, Langdale on the Sunshine Coast, and Departure Bay in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. Ferries glide in and out of Horseshoe Bay, and the wake from the larger boats creates surf as they hit the shoreline. Modest though these waves are, its an unusual sight in these sheltered waters.

Why did the CW change the town name from the Nancy Drew books?

She'll connect the dots. Stream a new episode free only on The CW: https://t.co/HUvfHTXBEt #NancyDrew pic.twitter.com/FPc7UeZXgh  Nancy Drew (@cw_nancydrew) November 8, 2021

Fans of the Nancy Drew books may recall that the young sleuth lived in a town called River Heights. The town appeared in many iterations after the novels, so why did the CW decide to move Nancy to Horseshoe Bay? Apparently, Riverdale had somewhat of an influence on the decision.

Executive producers Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage told International Business Times in 2019 that they wanted to avoid too many similarities between Riverdale and Nancy Drew. After all, the Archie Comics adaptation already had its own teen detective storylines. Riverdale even referenced Nancy Drew books a few times.

To help differentiate between the two shows, Nancy Drews EPs decided to go with Horseshoe Bay. However, its worth noting that Riverdale wasnt the only factor in the decision; Nancy Drews filming location didnt give river town vibes.

[With all the] bluffs and ocean and rocky shores, it didnt quite feel like a river town, Schwartz said.

New episodes of Nancy Drew premiere on Friday evenings at 9 p.m. on the CW.

RELATED: How The CWs Nancy Drew Will Differ From Past Versions
Its no secret that Prince Harry grew up in a life of privilege. Before marrying Meghan Markle and moving to California, the Duke of Sussex spent much of his life living in a palace. But that changed when he trained and served in the military. The prince learned plenty of lessons during his training at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst including doing things for himself like daily chores.

As a royal author reported, there are a couple of common household items weve all used before that Harry never touched until he began his officer training.

Photo of Prince Harry during a visit to the NHS Manchester Resilience Hub | Chris Jackson  Pool/Getty Images

Prince Harry said being in the military were some of the happiest times of his life

Prince Harry has previously revealed that his time as an active member of the armed forces were some of the best times of his life. In 2017, the future-duke spoke to biographer Angela Levin about how much he had enjoyed being in the military.

The Daily Mail noted that Harry told her that his time in the army was the happiest of his life and thats because he was accepted as someone other than a royal. He said to me that he was the happiest in the army because he was just Captain Wales, Levin recalled. He wasnt Prince Harry.

Prince Harry in Afghanistan | John Stillwell  WPA Pool/Getty Images

The 2 household items Harry never touched before joining the army

Royal writer and historian for Netflixs The Crown Robert Lacey also talked about how Harry was treated no differently than anyone else during his military training.

In his book Battle of Brothers Lacey explained: That summer of 2005 saw the perpetual spare setting off to the Royal Military Academy to start his officer training. On arrival, along with every other cadet, Harry had his head completely shaved and was assigned a room not much larger or different in character than a prison cell. Lacey added that some of the things each of the cadets were given included an iron and a toilet bowl brush, neither of which Harry had any experience using.

He was given his own iron and ironing board, which he had never used before  and he later admitted that Sandhurst was the first time in his life that he wielded a lavatory brush, Lacey wrote (per Express).

Prince Harry in uniform along with other British troops saluting on Remembrance Day | Matt Cardy/Getty Images

What the duke said about leaving the miliary

Harry graduated Stardust in 2006 and was promoted to lieutenant in 2008. When it was leaked that he was serving with the army in Helmand, Afghanistan, he was removed over fears he was a target.

The prince served a total of 10 years in the military, rising to the rank of Captain. In 2015, he talked to Sky News about why he had chosen to leave the army saying: I suppose with wanting to take on slightly more of this role I dont really feel as though I would be in the right position to take on the careers of more soldiers and to take on the responsibility of continuing to fly.

In 2020, when Harry and his wife stepped down as senior royals, his positions as Captain General of the Royal Marines, Honorary Air Commandant of RAF Honington and Commodore-in-Chief, Small Ships and Diving were taken away.

RELATED: Father of Solider Who Prince Harry Called a Slur Doesnt Buy Dukes Claim That Other Royals Are Racist
Fans might know laid-back Australian actor Travis Fimmel best for playing fighting farmer Ragnar Lothbrok on Historys Vikings series. But some might not know about his real-life love for horses. While he once curiously said all women hate him, he counted his faithful horse among his most prized possessions. So, theres no way all women could really hate him!

Keep reading to find out more about Fimmels history of horseback riding.

Travis Fimmel | Mike Pont/WireImage

Travis Fimmel knows roping and everything

According to stunt coordinator Walter Scott, Fimmel showed up at his ranch in 2010 to get riding lessons. Just ask me about when I first met him, Scott said to Outside in 2016. He said the Vikings actor fibbed about his knowledge of the animals.

Scott revealed, He says he knew about horses  everything he learned right here, on that horse. Roping and everything. For the curious, a video on YouTube shows Fimmels cowboy skills. And Scott was referring to a horse named Wanker  Fimmels learning partner and beloved companion.

Travis Fimmel | Gregg DeGuire/WireImage

Writer Grayson Schaffer noted their chat for Outside was conducted at Fimmels minimalist broasis where the actor and Wanker live. Fimmel was barefoot in a pair of camo cargo shorts and a surf tee  and also horseback  when he approached the writer.

During the interview, Fimmel told Schaffer he counted Wanker as one of his most valued possessions. But he still let the writer take him for a ride, which seems like a very nice gesture.

Im just getting him warmed up so he doesnt buck you off, Fimmel said. He later even helped the writer into the saddle. When it was time to move on, Schaffer noted, We put the horses up, Fimmel hosed Wanker down, and we went for a Bud Light at the VFW.

For those who dont know, VFW stands for Veterans of Foreign Wars and refers to posts in communities where members can go to enjoy adult beverages. Schaffer noted, If any of the vets and bikers recognized him, they didnt show it.

Travis Fimmel grew up in Australia and wants to get back

Fimmel said in various interviews that hes not crazy about fame. His life goal is to move back to Australia. In the meantime, hed like to have a kangaroo.

While he joked to Outside hed live with three or four wives if he could, it didnt sound like he was having much romantic luck with women. He admitted, They all hate me, although its not for lack of trying.

It sounds like the problem was related to his schedule. When you do a lot of traveling, its hard, he noted. Maybe thats another reason Fimmel doesnt seem interested in staying in the profession.

A Calvin Klein modeling campaign gave him his Hollywood break, but hes since tried to put that behind him. Hes told multiple outlets the modeling job only served to get him a work visa to come to the U.S. But he eventually hopes to make it back to Australia. He once told GQ of acting, I hopefully wont be doing it for too much longer. I just want to make a bit of money and get home.

But it sounds like hes pretty comfortable living on a ranch with Wanker and drinking at the local VFW for now.

RELATED: Vikings Star Travis Fimmel Moved on From His Iconic Modeling Career  but Fans Cant Let It Go
RuPauls Drag Race skyrocketed host RuPauls career in every regard. He officially brought drag into the mainstream. However, many people have asked: is RuPaul nice in real life? Audiences and other drag queens have criticized him for fracking, his supposed etiquette with contestants, and his views on transgender drag art. RuPauls Drag Race winner Alaska recently spoke up about her experiences with RuPaul off-camera.

Alaska has remained close to the RuPauls Drag Race brand

Alaska | Chelsea Guglielmino/Getty Images

The drag queen Alaska competed on season 5 and All Stars 2. She earned her spot in the finale in her original season but ultimately took home the crown on the spinoff series. Alaska is one of the most iconic queens to ever appear on the franchise. She has a signature style that fans instantly recognize.

Alaska has built up a very successful career. She continues to perform and makes event appearances. But, she hasnt entirely ditched RuPauls Drag Race. Alaska co-hosts the Race Chaser podcast with season 4 contestant Willam. They discuss the reality competition television show. She has also worked on a couple of web series with RuPauls Drag Race production company World of Wonder.

Alaska says what RuPaul is like off-camera

Alaska opened up in a memoir she wrote called My Names Yours, Whats Alaska?: A Memoir. She wrote about her experiences on RuPauls Drag Race. Alaska explained what RuPaul is really like off-camera. She addresses the drag queens who previously described the host as cold with her own experience.

There are people who talk about Ru and say she doesnt care about the contestants or that shes cold, Alaska wrote. My experience with her was never like that. Even when the cameras were down, she was chatting with the girls and making jokes.

Alaska starred on the show two separate times but she specifically points to her first time on the show in season 5. She had a very different experience than some other drag queen contestants. She doubled down on this statement as she wrote about RuPauls level of respect for the shows queens.

Especially during season five, I got the feeling she was just as excited to be there as we were. There was definitely a mutual respect between the contestants and the host. The respect went both ways.

RuPaul has had drama with previous RuPauls Drag Race contestants

RuPauls Drag Race fans might remember Pearl from season 7. She had an incredibly tense moment with the shows host and later explained that RuPaul told her to not speak unless the cameras are rolling. He admitted that he was close to kicking Pearl out of the competition, but knew that the fans would like her. As a result, she didnt get eliminated.

Additionally, RuPaul has blocked some RuPauls Drag Race contestants on social media, which has drawn more attention to the matter. However, some queens highly benefit from remaining in RuPauls good favor with media appearances and other job opportunities.

RuPaul continues to draw some controversy, but hes still very highly respected. RuPauls Drag Race is continuing to grow with franchise spinoffs in different countries around the world. Drag Race Italia is the most recently announced iteration. However, RuPaul doesnt always appear in every international version of the show.

RELATED: RuPauls Drag Race: RuPaul Fought Behind-the-Scenes to Get This Guest Judge on the Show
Meghan McCain is sharing some details from her previous gig on The View in her new book Bad Republican. Describing a toxic environment with staff and her fellow co-hosts, McCain revealed a not-so-flattering moniker she was given after first joining the daytime talk show in 2017.

Meghan McCain | Lou Rocco/ABC via Getty Images

Meghan McCain was nicknamed after a Disney princess but not in a good way

When McCain made her first appearance as co-host on The View in October 2017, her position as the resident conservative was clear from the start. With the rest of the panel leaning toward the left, McCain was often outnumbered during political topics. Her outspoken nature was soon branded as difficult and McCain became the subject of gossip.

People were not comfortable around me, McCain told Variety. I was there less than a month when the first article came out about me, about what a disappointment I was and my nickname backstage was Elsa the ice princess [from Frozen].

McCains father, Senator John McCain, was battling brain cancer when she started on The View panel, which consumed her time away from the set.

My dad was dying of glioblastoma, she explained. I got permission from the network to take every other Friday off to go home to Arizona and help him get treatment. If I was cold, with this giant show with a group of strangers, I was trying to do well.

RELATED: The View: Fans Rally in Support of Meghan McCain After Details of Toxic Environment Are Revealed

The View felt isolating to Meghan McCain

The former Fox News contributor described feeling on the outs with The View co-hosts and staff due to her conservative stance and lack of colleagues who shared her perspective.

You can watch the show and see that its unhinged and disorganized and rowdy, McCain remarked. For me personally, it felt extremely isolating because of my political ideology. I was the only conservative on the show.  I always thought for TV, for the viewers watching, it benefits everybody to have more balance. I didnt feel like there was balance.

As the outlier of the panel, McCain became an easy target for tabloid headlines.

There were never bad stories leaked about anyone else, and there was certainly bad behavior that could have leaked, she revealed. Do you think all those women are peaches and cream in the morning? Are you f*cking kidding me? But it was always like, Meghan is  I thought it was unfair.

Meghan McCain has no desire to go back to The View

In her memoir, McCain discusses the contentious environment both on- and off-camera on The View and how it created constant tumult.

The atmosphere of The View breeds drama, McCain said on her Audible book. Producers cant control hosts, manage conflict or control leaking. My take on the show is that working at The View brings out the worst in people. I believe that all the women and the staff are working under conditions where the culture is so f*cked up, it feels like quicksand.

RELATED: How Old Is The View Alum Meghan McCain?

When asked if she would return to the Hot Topics table, McCain was quick to respond.

Thats not going to happen, she replied. Someone else should get a shot at it. They should be giving conservative women opportunities to be on TV.
Food Network star Valerie Bertinelli has got a flavorful grilled turkey breast recipe that will bring a little heat, a little zest, and an incredibly mouthwatering aroma to your Thanksgiving table.

Heres how to create this unforgettable holiday centerpiece, as well as two of the Emmy Award winners show-stopping side dishes.

Valerie Bertinelli gets cooking at the Food Network & Cooking Channel New York City Wine & Food Festival in 2015 |

Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for NYCWFF

Valerie Bertinellis Chipotle Spiced Grilled Turkey Breast packs on the sass

As the former One Day at a Time star posted on Instagram recently, This season, if you feel like switching things up a bit, try my super moist and oh so delicious Chipotle Spiced Grilled Turkey Breast! With a few teaspoons of paprika, chipotle powder, a little celery salt, ground coriander, and cumin, your upgraded turkey will arrive at the dining table with a brand new flavor profile and a little sass!

If you have a grill and have always wanted to try grilling your Thanksgiving bird, a turkey breast is a great place to start, and this recipe (full recipe can also be found on the Valeries Home Cooking hosts website) is even better. Bertinelli notes to start by preheating your grill for indirect cooking at about 350 degrees F.

In a bowl, combine two teaspoons of paprika, one and a quarter teaspoons of chipotle chile powder, one teaspoon of celery salt, one teaspoon of ground coriander, one teaspoon of ground cumin, and one tablespoon of kosher salt.

The turkey is grilled over the indirect heat, rotating once halfway through, for a little over 1 1/2 hours until a thermometer reads 165 degrees. Remove the turkey breast from the grill and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Bertinelli suggests slicing the meat and serving with herbs and citrus.

A great turkey leftover idea from Valerie Bertinelli

Her Cranberry Walnut Stuffing is simple and delicious

With a foundation of ground sweet Italian sausage, Bertinellis stuffing (full recipe and video can be found on the Food Network website) brings a blend of sweet and salty to the table. Start by browning eight ounces of the sausage in a pan with a couple tablespoons of butter so it doesnt stick.

What Bertinelli loves most about this dressing, she said in the Food Network video for this recipe, is the unexpected bite of sausage. Chop one and a half cups of walnuts into big rough chops. I like big chunks of walnut in my stuffing. Two celery stalks and one medium onion are chopped and added to the same pan as the sausage, followed by a cup and a half of dried cranberries. If they dont plump up in the pan, Bertinelli says, they will once they go in the oven.

One tablespoon of sage and two of thyme are chopped and added to the pan mixture.

Now, in a large bowl, two cups of turkey broth and one beaten egg are combined with packaged cornbread stuffing mix. The sausage mixture is stirred with the cornbread stuffing mix and poured into a greased two-quart pan. Bake in a preheated 400-degree F oven for 40 minutes and serve hot. Smells like Thanksgiving!, Bertinelli said.

Bertinellis Herbed Mashed Cauliflower might fool some mashed potatoes fans

For those loyal to their mashed potatoes side dish, it might be worth giving Bertinellis Herbed Mashed Cauliflower (recipe can be found on Food Networks website) a go. Just as creamy and satisfying as the spuddy original, this alternative might just hit the spot.

And it couldnt be easier to prepare, as a food processor does all the work for you. A head of cauliflower is cut into florets and cooked in boiling water until its fork-tender. Place the cauliflower in a food processor along with a six-ounce container of plain, nonfat Greek yogurt, a tablespoon of butter, two chopped garlic cloves, two tablespoons each of fresh dill and fresh parsley until its creamy. Add salt, pepper, and two tablespoons of Parmesan cheese. Thats it! Serve this side dish hot with extra herbs, if desired.

RELATED: Valerie Bertinelli Says Her Moms Applesauce Cake Is Perfect for Your Holiday Dessert Menu
Memorial service for Kevin Hair, 65, of Chickasha, OK will be held at 2:00pm, Saturday, November 13, 2021 at the Southern Oaks Church of Christ in Chickasha. Floyd Kevin Hair was a well loved father, son and brother. He was such a good brother-in-law that he just had to be called "brother." 
Democrat senator denied communion over abortion says he is careful when he goes to new churches

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Democratic Sen. Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, a practicing Catholic who has been unable to receive communion in his home diocese because of his pro-choice voting record, says he is careful when he goes to a church for the first time because you just dont quite know what kind of reaction youre going to get from local clergy.

Calling the experience of being denied communion uncomfortable, Durbin of Illinois told American Magazine in an interview this week that he is careful when he goes to a church that he has never been to before for any occasion. Durbin has not received communion in his home diocese in Springfield for the last 17 years after his priest said that he would be reticent to offer the sacrament to Durbin due to his support for legal abortion.

You just dont quite know what kind of reaction youre going to get from local clergy, he said.

And it may not be just the priest. It could be members of the congregation. Ive had occasions where theyve written letters and showed up to protest and such. I dont want to be the subject of that any more than I have to be. So I keep a lower profile.

In 2019, an Illinois bishop issued a decree directed at politicians who support abortion access ordering them not to receive communion. The decree came after a bill labeling abortion access a fundamental right was signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

Durbin was disinvited from taking communion by the Diocese of Springfield and says he does not attended its churches. Even though some priests have urged him to attend their churches, he says he feels uncomfortable because he doesnt want to be the center of attention for religious purposes.

Durbins interview comes as there has been much debate this year among American Catholic leaders on whether communion should be denied to politicians who support abortion, as the Catholic Church has long opposed the practice.

Supporters of denying communion to pro-abortion Catholic politicians point to the Catholic Churchs Code of Canon Law, which states that those obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to Holy Communion as the justification for their position.

They also cite a 2004 letter from then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who would later become Pope Benedict XVI, to two high-ranking officials in the U.S. Catholic Church, noting that the Church teaches that abortion or euthanasia is a grave sin.

Late last month, President Joe Biden received communion at St. Patricks Church in Rome, where he was taking part in the G20 summit.

Biden is the second Catholic to become president of the United States, drawing ire from some within the church who feel his policies and support for codifying abortion rights into federal law contradict the Catholic Churchs teaching against abortion.

Biden has said while he is personally opposed to abortion, he cannot impose his views on others as an elected official. While running for president in 2019, Biden was denied communion by a South Carolina priest.

Last month, when Pope Francis was asked about the U.S. communion debate, he called abortion, even soon after conception, murder. However, he added that communion is not a prize for the perfect.  Communion is a gift, the presence of Jesus and his Church, according to Reuters.

At its General Assembly meeting earlier this year, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops voted to move ahead with drafting a document clarifying the meaning of the Eucharist in the life of the Church. Initially characterized as a rebuke to pro-abortion Catholic politicians, the USCCB emphasized that the question of whether or not to deny any individual or groups Holy Communion was not on the ballot.

According to a question-and-answer document about the vote published by the USCCB, the document being drafted is not meant to be disciplinary in nature, nor is it targeted at any one individual or class of persons.

It will include a section on the Churchs teaching on the responsibility of every Catholic, including bishops, to live in accordance with the truth, goodness and beauty of the Eucharist we celebrate, the USCCB clarified.

In his interview with America Magazine, Durbin said he has found a new faith home in the Archdiocese of Chicago, where they were willing to let me in and allowed my wife to join me.

So its become my new faith home, he said. But now thats been complicated again. Three out of four Catholic bishops voted in June to consider a document on the Eucharist, which makes me concerned that three-quarters of the U.S. bishops think this should be the official policy of the Catholic Church in America.

I was told by many to wait, because the pope had his last word on the subject coming, and as you mentioned a few weeks ago, he said as much, Durbin added. But it is uncomfortable.
Gunmen kill 2 of 66 kidnapped Baptist church members in Nigeria; 3 injured

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Armed bandits in Nigerias Kaduna State have killed two of the more than 60 worshipers of Emmanuel Baptist Church whom they had kidnapped during a church service about two weeks ago, a local Christian leader has confirmed.

The bandits opened fire on five of their victims  and killed two people while three others were seriously injured and are currently in the hospital, Rev. Joseph Hayab, Kaduna chapters chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, said in a statement, as quoted by the PUNCH news outlet.

The gunmen stormed Emmanuel Baptist Church in Kakau Daji area in southern Kaduna on Oct. 31, the international Christian persecution watchdog Open Doors reported at the time, adding that the telecom networks were down at the time of the attack.

The church was unable to call for help, whilst the bandits have reportedly asked for a higher ransom because they had to travel farther for network service to contact the victims relations.

The lives of the abducted Christians are in danger and require urgent intervention of government and security agencies, Rev. Hayab said.

The insecurity in Kaduna State has continued to grow beyond our imagination and is threatening the peace of the nation.

Haya earlier told the anti-communist global news outlet Epoch Times that the Baptist church is the worst-hit church in this state.

More than 140 students were abducted in July as they were scheduled to take their final exams at Bethel Baptist High School in the Chikun local government area in Kaduna.

The abductors promised the parents that their children would not starve if they provided rice, beans, palm oil, salt and stock cubes. They said a ransom demand would follow, Reuters reported at the time.

Terrorist groups with a foothold in Nigeria have carried out mass kidnappings in recent years, including kidnapping over 200 girls from a school in Chibok in 2014.

Dede Laugesen, the executive director of Save the Persecuted Christians, told The Christian Post in an earlier interview that terrorists will often kidnap boys and brainwash them to become jihadis.

Many Nigerians have raised concerns about what they perceive as the governments inaction in holding terrorists accountable for the rising number of murders and kidnappings.

In an earlier interview with CP, Emeka Umeagbalai of the Anambra-based International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law said kidnappings of Christians happen for various reasons.

Some terrorists, like Boko Haram, the Islamic State West Africa Province and radicalized members of the Fulani herding communities are motivated by money, while others are inspired by Islamic radicalism.

Security analysts say kidnapping for ransom is becoming a lucrative industry in Nigeria. And weapons are becoming readily available to militants in Nigeria thanks to war-torn Libya.

CAN has appealed to well-meaning individuals, organizations, those in authority, especially the Federal Government and the international community, to come to our rescue.

The evil we are experiencing is more than what an ordinary person in Kaduna and Nigeria can handle. CAN is appealing to all Christians and people of our state to be united in fighting this evil and be watchful, Rev. Haya added.

In Kaduna and across Nigerias farm-rich Middle Belt, there has been an increasing trend of attacks in recent years on predominantly Christian farming communities. Some pinpoint the beginning of the trend to have started around 2015 as estimates suggest that thousands have been killed as Fulani radicals have been accused of invading countless communities.

Despite calls for government action to thwart the violence, the government has long attributed attacks and reprisals as part of decades-old farmer-herder clashes, a defense some human rights advocates say ignores the religious components of the violence.

That is a distorted representation of whats really happening. In fact, there is a farmer-herder aspect to the violence, Epoch Times Africa Desk Editor Doug Burton told The Christian Post this week. But that discounts the fact that the preponderance of the attacks are sectarian in  nature.

Critics have warned that the governments lack of action in the Middle Belt could lead to a religious genocide similar to those seen in Darfur or Rwanda. However, the Nigerian government has pushed back on such claims.

Christian persecution watchdog group Open Doors USA ranks Nigeria at No. 9 on its 2021 World Watch List of countries where Christians face the most severe persecution. Nigeria is also recognized as a country of particular concern by the U.S. State Department for tolerating or engaging in severe violations of religious freedom.
House Republicans condemn Finland's prosecution of Christian MP over beliefs on sexuality

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Six members of Congress have condemned Finland for prosecuting a Christian politician who is facing six years in prison for sharing her biblical beliefs on sexuality and marriage, voicing their concern with the top federal religious freedom advisory committee.

Led by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, the Republican House members sent a letter to Nadine Maenza, the chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, on Wednesday.

They condemned the prosecutions of Parliament Member Paivi Rasanen and Evangelical Lutheran Mission Bishop Juhana Pohjola, which they argue to be infringements on religious freedom.

Rasanen has been charged with three counts of ethnic agitation over statements expressing her beliefs about human sexuality and marriage. Pohjola, the bishop-elect of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland, has been charged with one count of ethnic agitation for publishing Rasanens booklet.

The lawmakers urged the bipartisan panel that advises Congress and federal government on international religious freedom issues to consider these prosecutions when recommending which countries the U.S. State Department should place on a special watch list of countries that engage in religious freedom violations.

The Finnish government is currently prosecuting well-known Christians for publicly supporting long-standing Christian doctrine, the letter reads.

Rasanen publicly voiced her opinion on marriage in a 2004 booklet on sexual ethics, describing marriage as between one man and one woman. She also expressed her views on a 2019 radio show and tweeted church leadership on the matter.

The House members argue that the prosecutions are specific examples of the Finnish governments violation of freedom of religion.

These criminal prosecutions raise serious questions regarding the extent of Finlands commitment to protecting freedom of religion for its citizens, as agreed to with its participation in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and other multi-lateral organizations, the letter reads.

Prosecutors in Finland determined that Rasanens previous statements disparage and discriminate against LGBT individuals and foment intolerance and defamation.

The mother of five maintains that her expressions are legal and should not be censored.

I cannot accept that voicing my religious beliefs could mean imprisonment, said Rasanen in a statement previously issued by ADF International, a legal organization representing her. I do not consider myself guilty of threatening, slandering or insulting anyone. My statements were all based on the Bibles teachings on marriage and sexuality.

Signatories of Wednesdays letter include Rep. Jody Hice, R-Ga, a pastor and former first vice president of the Georgia Baptist Convention; Doug Lamborn, R-Colo.; Paul Gosar, R-Ariz.; Michael Cloud, R-Texas; R-Fla.

The Republican lawmakers say punishing citizens for remarks made on social media and a booklet that has been in the public eye for more than 17 years is a clear abuse of government power.

These actions by the Finnish government will undoubtedly have a chilling effect on free speech in Finland and the West, the letter says. At the center of religious liberty is the freedom for individuals to live in accordance to their conscience and beliefs.

True religious liberty both protects an individuals right both to hold beliefs that are unpopular with the prevailing cultural winds of the world, but also their right to live out authentically and profess the truths they hold dear without fear of government interference, the lawmakers add. Those rights are fundamental and unalienable to the whole human race, and it is critical to the flourishing of both the human soul and civil society.

In his address this week at an Alliance Defending Freedom freedom office in Washington, D.C., Pohjola warned that his prosecution illustrates that the Gospel of Christ is at stake because of postmodernism and cancel culture.

He believes hate speech laws have been unfairly used against him.

When postmodernism first swept over Western countries, its basic core was denial of absolute truth. The only truth was that you must allow everyone to have his or her own subjective truth, Pohjola said. This hyper-individualism continues, but it has now a different tone. If you are against LGBTQ+ ideology, so-called diversity, equality and inclusiveness, you are not only considered to be old-fashioned  but rejected as morally evil. This is what the prosecutor general understands her duty to be, to protect fragile citizens and victims from the intolerant and hateful Christians.

In May, professors from Ivy League institutions like Harvard University, Yale University and Princeton University were among legal scholars to urge USCIRF to pressure the State Department to sanction Finlands prosecutor general for prosecuting Pohjola and Rasanen.

No reasonable balance of the goods of public order, civil equality, and religious liberty can ever support this suppression of the right to believe and express ones beliefs. The prosecutions are straightforward acts of oppression, they wrote.

To uphold the internationally recognized rights of freedom of expression and religious liberty, the United States must now respond to the abuses in Finland as it has recently responded to other violations of religious liberty in non-western nations.

This summer, the International Lutheran Council issued a statement calling the prosecutions egregious.
Alabama church members protest pastor, call for resignation over mismanagement allegations

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Members of an Alabama church protested Sunday for their pastor to step down amid accusations of financial mismanagement, saying the congregation effectively voted to oust him.

Some members of Greater Saint John Baptist Church in Birmingham took to the front of the church Sunday morning to protest Senior Pastor Nathanial Brooks.

Protesters allege that Brooks, who has been the churchs pastor for five years, has engaged in misconduct with church finances. According to Birmingham-based 6 WBRC, a vote took place in April among church members outside of the church to oust the pastor.

However, Brooks denied allegations of financial mismanagement and has refused to step down.

We have an affidavit on record where the full leadership that's still standing still supports this pastor, Brooks told the news outlet.

Brooks claims that questionable accounting practices already occurred when he was first hired at Greater Saint John.

He argues that he implemented changes  including to personnel  to stop the questionable practices.

Whenever someone wants to discredit your name, they have to bring up some type of scandal or money, Brooks said. There was no money taken away from the church. Im not on any type of bank account. ... I cant even get into the safe.

Outside the church, protesters held up signs, some of which read: We believe in Gods guidance, Brooks: Deceptions, Allegations, Misconduct and Brooks Terminated!!! April 21, 2021.

Protesters contend that Brooks had made changes to the bylaws.

We have gotten together as a congregation and collectively as a majority and terminated the pastor, congregant Carla Carter told WBRC as she participated in the protest.

Brooks maintains that his future at the church depends on the deacons and the church board.

Although some church members want Brooks gone, other church members dont want Brooks to leave and appreciate what he has done for the congregation.

He has built this church up when it was torn down  financially, spiritually, Diandra Cohill said. He brought back a lot of things that were missing here.

Arthur Hardy, who attended Greater Saint John for over 60 years, said he hopes both sides will have a meeting to get some of these things straightened out. He added that the division is hurting the church.

The Christian Post reached out to Greater Saint John Baptist Church for comment on the protest. A statement was not received by press time.



According to the church's website, Brooks was ordained in 2007. He previously served at Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church in Herndon, Virginia. He also served as a youth and young adult minister at Park Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Judge refuses to dismiss Duggar sisters' 'invasion of privacy' lawsuit against police, county

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A federal judge has declined a request to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the Duggar sisters regarding the release of police records that the reality stars believe was an invasion of privacy.

In 2017, Jill, Jessa, Jinger and Joy Duggar filed a lawsuit against the Springdale Police Department and Washington County for releasing private documents in 2015 concerning claims they made as minors against their brother, Josh, who had been investigated for child molestation accusations.

Josh Duggar now faces up to 20 years in prison for allegedly having over 200 images of child porn on his devices of children ranging from about 18 months of age to 12 years of age. His trial is set for Nov. 30

The sisters argue in their lawsuit that when they spoke to investigators in 2006 about the molestations, they were assured their statements were legally protected and would only be shared with police and child protective services officials because they were minors.

The four sisters are suing an Arkansas police department and a host of defendants for leaking their private documents.

The sisters lawsuit was first filed on May 18, 2017, claiming that actions were hastily and improperly taken.

The defendants listed in the lawsuit have been narrowed down to Maj. Rick Hoyt of the Washington County Sheriffs Office, Springdale city attorney Ernest Cate and former Police Chief Kathy OKelley.

The accusations were made under an Arkansas law for outrage, invasion of privacy by intrusion upon seclusion and invasion of privacy by public disclosure of private facts, Fox 24 reported.

The defendants petitioned that the lawsuit be dismissed.

OKelley, Cate and Hoyts attorney argued that the Duggar sisters claims are the same made unsuccessfully by their brother in a past lawsuit that was dismissed.

Judge Timothy L. Brooks of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas ruled on Nov. 4 that the state-court dismissal of Mr. Duggars case has no bearing on this case.

Plaintiffs and Mr. Duggar are siblings, but Plaintiffs allegations against the City of Springdale and Washington County are factually dissimilar to their brothers allegations, the judge was quoted as writing in a court order.

According to The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, lawyers for the sisters argued that the women hadnt been identified publicly as victims before records were released. Additionally, one of the sisters was a minor when the documents were released to the media.

In the lawsuit, the Duggars say In Touch magazine filed a Freedom of Information Act request in 2015 to obtain the police files. The Duggars said the magazine published at least eight stories that revealed personal information about them even though Arkansas laws prohibit police from disclosing any information related to sexual misconduct involving children.

As a result, the Duggars show, 19 Kids and Counting, was canceled, and their brother Josh entered a rehab program. The aftermath is not the reason why theyve filed the lawsuit, the sisters say, noting that theyre doing it to protect the rights of other minors.

The four sisters are seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages against the city of Springdale, the Springdale Police Department, In Touch and other Springdale authorities because they were revictimized. They contend that the information released contained cosmetic redactions, which allowed them to be identified as their brothers victims.

At the time of the media firestorm in 2015, the names of the sisters were never revealed. But Jessa and Jill Duggar identified themselves as two of Joshs five underage victims in an interview with Megyn Kelly on The Kelly File.

The lawsuit confirms that Jinger and Joy were also victims. The identity of the fifth victim, however, remains undisclosed.

The sisters case will be heard on Dec. 9.
Babylon Bee makes fun of the Left in newly released Guide to Wokeness

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The minds behind the popular Christian satire site The Babylon Bee have released a new book that pokes fun at the ideas and actions of those who identify as woke.

The Babylon Bee Guide to Wokeness was released earlier this month as a satirical critique of woke ideology. The book was dedicated to communist dictator Joseph Stalin, whom it calls a woke hero and champion of the oppressed proletariat.

The book promises to help readers take your wokeness to the next level by canceling friends, breaking windows, and burning it all to the ground.

Wokeness isnt a private religion you can keep to yourself, explains the introduction. Once you see the world through woke eyes, youll never be the same, and youll never be able to stop telling your friends about your new beliefs. Kind of like when you join CrossFit or become vegan  or get an air fryer.

The guide defines woke as [f]inding your identity not in objective reality, but in your feelings, [w]orshiping the planet because humanity is evil, [f]inding the racism, sexism, and hatred in everything and [b]rainwashing your kids to hate life and be miserable.

Because you dont want to raise a generation of happy, well-adjusted kids  thats what NAZIS do, the guide warns.

Babylon Bee Managing Editor Joel Berry, one of the guides authors, told The Christian Post about why they focused on wokeness, some of the books influences and if he believed woke ideology had any valid points.

Below are some excerpts from Berrys interview with CP.

CP: Given that The Babylon Bee is known for sparing no one, why did you all decide to focus the book on woke ideology?

Berry: There are several reasons.

One of those reasons being its the prevailing conversation thats been happening in our culture for the last couple years. And the ideology that undergirds it has become so much a part of our institutions, our universities, our churches, our corporate life, HR departments and the way we interact at work and then in the news cycle.

Its just become such a pervasive ideology that we decided it warranted a more longer-form critique, Babylon Bee style.

So much about it is very low-hanging fruit for comedy.

Theres a lot thats inherently funny about wokeness, and what was funny in writing this book is we found that we didnt have to exaggerate wokeness all that much for it to be funny. We could present it in an overly honest way, and that alone created quite a lot of comedy.

CP: At one point in the book, you quoted C.S. Lewis classic book The Screwtape Letters. Did Lewis book also serve as an inspiration for how you wrote your book?

Berry: The interesting thing about what he did with The Screwtape Letters is he talked about how, well, it is a satirical work, but he really hated writing in the voice of a demon. He felt like it just wasnt good for his spirit to be writing that.

We werent writing in the voice of a demon, but we were writing in the voice of a very earnest, maybe not very self-aware, woke person. So, in that sense, we kind of followed that format where were writing it from someone elses perspective and explaining it as a woke person might explain wokeness to someone who wants to learn how to be more woke.

And so, we are very much inspired by writers like C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton before him, other great satirists like Mark Twain. These guys were very prophetic in their understanding of the culture, what it was doing and where it was going, and we find a lot of wisdom in what they wrote. It helps us see our current moment a lot more clearly, as well.

CP: Although you have just released a book that pokes fun at wokeness, are there any aspects of woke ideology  be it Black Lives Matter, critical race theory, etc.  that might hold merit or have a level of validity?

Berry: I think that at its core, wokeness appeals to our better instincts or maybe our desire to be good people. And they do use seeds of truth to accomplish that.

For example, you talked about CRT or racial wokeness, for lack of a better term. It does use that kernel of truth that there was racism, prejudice and oppression in Americas past, and it kind of preys on everyones desire to make those historical injustices right.

Where it errs is it then takes that good and godly desire to right past wrongs and correct injustices and shoehorns in this very materialistic, neo-Marxist ideology that strips away the value and individual worth of humans, as made in the image of God. And instead, replaces it with this value based on a group identity.

It replaces original sin with whiteness. It replaces individual sin with systemic sin and systemic injustice. And in that sense, it kind of pulls peoples attention away from where the Gospel wants our attention, which is on the sin of our own heart.

Jesus is a great example, where He appeared to what was essentially a politically and socially oppressed minority when He came and lived as a Jew and appeared to the Jews. The Jews wanted a revolutionary liberator who would throw off the oppression of the Romans and correct all of these political injustices that they were experiencing. But instead, Jesus came and talked to them about the sin that was in their heart. And that rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. I think that rubs all of us the wrong way.

People on the left and people on the right are both guilty of this. Everyone wants to take this person of Jesus and turn Him into the avatar of whatever their preferred political ideology is. Right-wingers want a right-wing Jesus and left-wingers want a left-wing Jesus. When you look at Jesus honestly, as He presents Himself in the Gospels, Jesus is not as easy to pin down as we might like, and He kind of has a way of cutting past all of our partisan divides and speaking directly to the sin thats in our hearts. And Hes going to say stuff thats going to tick people off on both sides.

Part of our critique of wokeness is what it tries to do to Jesus in turning Him into a political liberator instead of the Savior of the world who came to save us from our sins.

CP: What do you hope readers take away from your book?

Berry: I hope it works on two levels.

I hope people can come away with a better understanding of what wokeness is. In spite of the silliness of our book, we did read the critical theorists and the peer-reviewed papers and try to really make sure that we were understanding and properly defining what we were critiquing.

And on a different level, we hope it just works as a laugh riot for people. There are a lot of really silly illustrations, silly diagrams.

Its an easy book to just pick up and find something fun in.

In addition to informing people about wokeness, we hope it entertains. We hope it helps people to laugh a little bit and kind of lighten up about this crazy situation our culture is in. Theres a lot to laugh about, and its not always good to be despairing and handwringing over the way we feel our culture is going.

Sometimes, laughter is warranted and its a healing thing.
Dennis Quaid announces gospel album, opens up about his path back to Christ

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Actor Dennis Quaid is gearing up to release a gospel album and shared why he returned to Christianity after becoming disillusioned by the Southern Baptist church of his upbringing.

Quaid performed a solo, intimate evening concert on Wednesday in Chicagos City Winery. The iconic actor wanted people to just come and have a good time.

It is just me. Its the first time Ive been doing music on stage by myself since I was 19 years old, he shared in an interview with The Chicago Sun-Times.

For the past 20 years, Quaid has performed with his band The Sharks, but hes turned to making inspirational music in recent years. He told the newspaper that he is working on a gospel/inspirational album, due next year.

Quaid said that his new album will feature spiritual songs I grew up with in church.

Quaid is joined by Billy Ray Cyrus on the new song Fallen. Tanya Tucker, Kris Kristofferson and Brandi Carlisle are all featured on the remake of On My Way to Heaven.

The I Can Only Imagine star released a single titled On My Way to Heaven in 2018 for the Christian films soundtrack.

Ive always been spiritual. I grew up in a Southern Baptist church, became disillusioned with it as a teenager. I turned to Eastern religions and philosophies, he told The Chicago Sun-Times.

I read the Bible twice, read the Koran, went to India nine times. Along the way, I came back to Christianity, and well, finding that its really the same all throughout the world, he added.

Quaid noted that people are people with the same sort of yearnings.

Were all spiritual beings whether we know it or not, he added. So thats what I speak to: ones relationship with God or non-relationship with God, he explained.

The Hollywood actor grew up attending a Baptist church in Texas and recently said in a promotional video that he was baptized at age 9. As he grew older, he began to ask, Who [is] God? But the actor maintained that Jesus is the One for him.

In a past interview with The Christian Post, this reporter asked Quaid for his thoughts on what Heaven will be like. Quaids song, On My Way to Heaven, written for his mother, revealed that he has thought about the afterlife.

What do I imagine Heaven will be like? I think we all get a little taste of it here on Earth through prayer and meditation. Thats actually the good news thats given  you feel it here on Earth. To imagine it? I dont know  that takes other eyes, he said at the time.
Journalist arrested, charged after reporting on attacks against Christians in Nigeria

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A Nigerian journalist faces prolonged detention allegedly for his reporting about attacks against predominantly Christian communities in Nigeria and the governments response.

Luka Binniyat, a Nigerian Roman Catholic journalist and father who writes for the anti-communist Epoch Times, was arrested last week. On Tuesday, Binniyat was arraigned at the Barnawa Magistrates Court in Kaduna state. He was charged with cyberstalking, a charge that critics say is often used in the African country to silence the media.

On Nov. 4, Binniyat informed Epoch Times Africa Desk Editor Doug Burton that he was arrested and urged the editor to contact all relevant persons.

Burton elaborated on the circumstances leading up to Binniyats arrest and the dangers he faces in an interview with The Christian Post.

Burton attributed Binniyats arrest to an Oct. 29 article he wrote titled In Nigeria, Police Decry Massacres as Wicked But Make No Arrests. The article is part of The Epoch Times coverage of the deadly persecution of Christian farming communities in the African country that human rights advocates say have escalated to near genocidal levels in recent years as thousands have been killed.

In the article, Binniyat pushed back on Kadunas Commissioner of Internal Security and Home Affairs Samuel Aruwans characterization of an attack on Christian farmers in the state as a clash.

The Nigerian government has long refuted claims by human rights activists that a religious genocide is taking place in Nigerias Middle Belt states, where radicals from the Fulani herding community have been accused of invading countless Christian farming communities. The government has long attributed attacks and reprisals as being part of decades-old farmer-herder clashes.

In his article, Binniyat included a quote from a Nigerian senator, who accused the Kaduna government of using Samuel Aruwan, a Christian, to cause confusion to cover up the genocide going on in Christian Southern Kaduna by describing the measure as a clash as opposed to a targeted act of violence against Christians.

What he [Binniyat] did there is he showed that the commissioner was projecting a false narrative, Burton explained. For this reason, I think the authorities, though they knew they would get pushback for prosecuting a dissident journalist, they decided they had to do it because  they want to shut his voice down.

Burton told CP that the journalist was accused of cyberstalking Aruwan. Cyberstalking is a federal offense.

The magistrate ruled that he does not have authority to try the charge of cyberstalking because its a federal charge, its a federal statute. So the case will have to be transferred to a federal court. And so, therefore, in the meantime, he cant get bail because the magistrate doesnt have authority to give him bail since he doesnt have authority over this crime.

Sources Burton spoke to believe that the prosecution is using a legal technicality to keep Luka in jail.

By having his charges presented first in a lower court, a district court where he was charged, they expected him to be charged with defamation and injurious falsehood, Burton said. These are statutes  in the criminal code in Nigeria and can be tried at the lower court level.

But the charge of  cyberstalking is a federal charge that  has to be issued by a higher court, he continued. And so by doing that deliberately, the prosecution knew that bail couldnt be given, and that is the whole idea.

On Monday morning, Binniyat texted that he felt like his life was in danger, Burton said.

Additionally, Binniyat said he had been held for five days in a very cramped and dingy cell that he described as uncomfortable. Binniyat further alleged that he hadnt gotten much sleep.

He texted to another person, another journalist I know named John Shiklam. And Shiklam said he feared for his life, Burton detailed.

Based on conversations with other people who have faced detention for cyberstalking in Nigeria, Burton estimates that Binniyat could spend about five months in prison.

Burton specifically cited the case of Stephen Kefas, who wrote something on Facebook that embarrassed a government official. The government official claimed he was being cyberstalked and feared he could be attacked because of what Kefas wrote.

Burton indicated that prolonged detention could have an impact on Binniyats physical health.

The folks who have to spend time in custody, they have to endure pretty harsh conditions and they get sick, he warned.

Kefas contracted Hepatitis C while in prison, and members of the Adara tribe who spent time in prison caught malaria, typhoid and/or dysentery, Burton stressed.

Based on what I have learned with my many conversations with Steven Kefas, the conditions in prison are not only uncomfortable, but theyre dangerous and toxic, he stated. The Adara elders were in a common cell with other criminals. They had no toilet. They have a sewer trench that goes through the middle of the cell, which serves as their toilet. Apparently, the prisoners dont have proper protection from mosquitoes because many of them come out with malaria.

Based on a conversation Burton had International Committee on Nigeria Executive Director Kyle Abts, who has delivered rations to prisoners in the past, the prisons  and jails dont provide food and water for the prisoners.

All their food and water has to be brought to them by their relatives, he said.

Those without relatives or anyone to bring them food and water can beg for charitable donations from other prisoners.

Because Binniyat is not wealthy, Burton predicted he will need assistance in his legal proceedings.

His legal bills will have to be paid by his friends. That would be the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union, SKPU, and also he will be getting some financial aid probably from the International Committee on Nigeria, Burton detailed. His friends and allies are  planning some kind of a legal defense fund, but its not clear who will take the lead.

Binniyats arrest for cyberstalking is not the first time the journalist has faced legal headwinds for his reporting.

Burton recalled that Binniyat was previously imprisoned in 2017 for breach of the peace.

Binniyat had previously served as the bureau chief of Vanguard Newspapers until 2017.

Then after he was imprisoned, I dont think he got hired by any newspaper group because, the way it was explained to me, hes considered a controversial reporter, he said.

So I started working with him in March this year, maybe May of this year. And I encouraged him to  compile reports for The Epoch Times. I worked with him as his editor. And so hes published some very timely and factual reports about kidnappings and mass murders this year.

Burton maintained that the central claim made by Aruwan highlighted in Binniyats Oct. 29 story, that the attacks on Christian farming communities in Nigeria are simply clashes between farmers and herders, is widely held and promoted by Nigerian government officials.

That is a distorted representation of whats really happening. In fact, there is a farmer-herder aspect to the violence, the editor added. But that discounts the fact that the preponderance of the attacks are sectarian in  nature.

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Share of children living in 2-parent homes reaches highest level in nearly 30 years: report

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The percentage of children living in a two-parent household has hit its highest point in nearly 30 years, according to a report by the Institute for Family Studies.

In an analysis of 2020 United States Census data, the conservative think tank released a report earlier this month titled Growing Up With Mom and Dad: New Data Confirm The Tide Is Turning.

According to 2020 data, 70.4% of people under 18 live in a home with two parents, while 25.5% live with one parent and 4.1% live with neither parent.

The finding on children living in two-parent homes is a slight increase from the 69.4% reported in 2010 and 69.1% reported in 2000. However, it remains slightly below the 72.5% recorded in 1990 and well below the 87.7% from 1960.

The report also drew from 2012 and 2020 data from the U.S. Department of Education's National Household Education Survey, which likewise shows increases in the presence of two-parent households for high school seniors.

This data suggests that from 2012 to 2019, the percentage of white high school seniors living in two-parent homes went from 55.8% to 59.1%, while the share of black high school seniors living in two-parent homes went from 24.3% to 29.6%.

Nicholas Zill, research psychologist and a senior fellow at IFS, wrote in the report that although certainly not out of intensive care, the supposed corpse of the two-parent family seems to be breathing new life.

All the experts agreed: the nuclear family was on its way out. The two-parent family of married mother and father bringing up their own biological children would soon be replaced by a menagerie of alternate family forms, wrote Zill.

And for more than a half-century, each years tabulation from the Census Bureau on childrens living arrangements seemed to be proving the experts right.

In comments emailed to The Christian Post on Tuesday, Zill explained that he found the increase in two-parent homes for children to be a somewhat surprising result.

He attributed the slight turnaround to multiple factors, among them marriages happening at older ages and education levels, a decline in teen childbirth and a greater awareness of benefits of two-parent upbringing.

In his analysis, Zill states that before "celebrating the turning of the tide," it's important to note that "the standard Census Bureau family trend charts underestimate how grave the condition of the two-parent family has been and still is."

"The Bureau lumps stepparent and adoptive families with both birth-parent families, making their two-parent category more inclusive than commonly understood," Zill wrote. "Furthermore, children in stepfamilies and adoptive families have experienced family disruption. The evidence is that they have higher rates of emotional, behavior, and learning problems than those residing with both birth parents."

Despite the recent uptick, the Census Bureau warned in April that the percentage of children living only with their mothers has doubled since 1968.

In 1968, 85% of children under 18 lived with two parents. About 11% of children lived with their mothers only in 1968. By comparison, 21% of children in 2020 were reported to live with their mothers only.

The number of children living with their fathers only has quadrupled from about 1% in 1968 to 4.5% in 2020.

Last November, IFS released a report based on the Census Bureaus American Community Survey, which found that in 2019, the U.S. had its lowest divorce rate since 1970.

In 2019, according to the report, for every 1,000 marriages, 14.9 ended in divorce. The figure is lower than it was in 1970, which had a rate of 15 divorces per 1,000 marriages.

The 2019 numbers on divorce were also considerably lower than the data from 1980 when the National Vital Statistics had reported a divorce rate of 22.6 divorces per 1,000 marriages.

IFS Director of Research Dr. Wendy Wang, the author of the 2020 report, told CP at the time that while the divorce rate has been declining since the 1980s, the rate has been falling much faster in the past decade.

People are getting married later in life these days, and they are less likely to rush into a marriage which they may regret later on. On the other hand, we've seen the record low marriage rate happening in the U.S., explained Wang in 2020.

College-educated adults are more likely than those without a college degree to get married, and their divorce rate is lower.
Over 2 dozen Navy SEALs sue Biden admin. over COVID-19 vaccine mandate

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A group of about 35 U.S. Navy personnel, including 26 Navy SEALs, have filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration and the U.S. Department of Defense over the militarys COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

The lawsuit filed on Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas names President Joe Biden, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III, the U.S. Defense Department, and Secretary of the Navy Carlos del Toro as defendants.

In addition to the 26 Navy SEALs, plaintiffs also include five U.S. Navy Special Warfare Combatant Craft Crewmen, three U.S. Navy Divers and one U.S. Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician.

The complaint argues that the Navy fails to provide an adequate exemption to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for those with sincerely held religious objections.

Multiple Plaintiffs hold the sincere religious belief that all life is sacred, from conception to natural death, and that abortion is the impermissible taking of an innocent life in the womb, the legal filing argues.

As a result of their sincerely held religious beliefs regarding life and abortion, multiple Plaintiffs are unable to receive any of the COVID-19 vaccines due to what they believe and understand is a connection between these vaccines and their testing, development, or production using aborted fetal cell lines.

The complaint quoted a Navy spokesperson who stated last month that while the military branch was processing multiple religious exemption requests, it has yet to approve any.

Multiple plaintiffs received a formal COVID-19 Vaccination Administrative Counseling/Warning that stated that those who refuse to get vaccinated based on personal or religious beliefs will be disqualified from special operations duty unless their disqualification is waived. The provision doesnt pertain to medical contraindications or allergies to vaccine administration.

Plaintiffs also have been informed that any religious accommodation that will be

offered will preclude them from deploying, the lawsuit reads.

When at least one Plaintiff told his command that he would be requesting a religious

accommodation, he was ordered to remove his special warfare device pin from his uniform. Other Plaintiffs have been threatened with the same adverse treatment.

The lawsuit further noted that multiple Plaintiffs have had their requests for religious accommodations officially denied.

Multiple Plaintiffs have not been officially informed that their requests have been

denied but have been advised that they will be denied, the lawsuit adds.

The Navy personnel are represented by the First Liberty Institute, a Texas-based conservative legal nonprofit specializing in religious liberty litigation. The group argues that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 states that the [g]overnment shall not substantially burden a persons exercise of religion even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability.

The act broadly defines the exercise of religion to include any exercise of religion, whether or not compelled by, or central to, a system of religious belief, the lawsuit maintains.

First Liberty General Counsel Mike Berry said in a statement that the reported failure of the government to grant any religious exemptions indicated that it is engaging in an attempted ideological purge.

Forcing a service member to choose between their faith and serving their country is abhorrent to the Constitution and Americas values, Berry contends.

After all these elite warriors have done to defend our freedoms, the Navy is now threatening their careers, families, and finances. Its appalling and it has to stop before any more harm is done to our national security.

In August, the Pentagon announced it would require U.S. military personnel to receive a COVID-19 vaccine by mid-September, citing combat readiness as a justification for the mandate.

Now that the Pfizer vaccine has been approved, the department is prepared to issue updated guidance, requiring all service members to be vaccinated, stated Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby.

These efforts ensure the safety of our service members and promote the readiness of our force, not to mention the health and safety of the communities around the country in which we live.

Rear Adm. Bruce Gillingham, who serves as surgeon general of the U.S. Navy, released a statement at the end of August supporting the Defense Departments vaccine mandate.

The DoDs mandatory vaccination policy is the proven way to ensure the readiness and the safety of our naval force, DoD civilian work force, and the American people and our allies and partners, Gillingham said.

Vaccinating every eligible service member improves readiness and ensures our Sailors and Marines are equipped with the biological body armor needed to protect ourselves from biological threats.

The Military Times reports that as of last week, 97% of active-duty personnel have received at least a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 87% are fully vaccinated.

There has been debate among Christian and Catholic leaders as to whether churches should support those seeking religious exemptions to vaccine mandates.

In October, Roman Catholic Archbishop for the Military Services Timothy P. Broglio defended those who object to the fact that vaccines use aborted fetal cell lines in their testing or development. He argued that "no one should be forced to receive a COVID-19 vaccine if it would violate the sanctity of his or her conscience."

The Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines were tested using an abortion-derived cell line. That type of a link has been for centuries considered remote material cooperation with evil and is never sinful, Broglio wrote.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine was developed, tested, and is produced, with abortion-derived cell lines. That vaccine is, therefore, more problematic. If it were the only vaccine available, it would be morally permissible, he added.

In September, Dallas megachurch Pastor Robert Jeffress argued that there is no "credible" religious argument against COVID-19 vaccines. He specifically questioned those who object to the fact that the vaccines used aborted fetal cell lines in their testing or development.

Christians who are troubled by the use of a fetal cell line for the testing of the vaccines would also have to abstain from the use of Tylenol, Pepto Bismol, Ibuprofen, and other products that used the same cell line if they are sincere in their objection, the Southern Baptist pastor told The Associated Press.
Feds offer reward amid investigation of Molotov cocktail attack on Tennessee church

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Federal investigators are offering a financial reward for any helpful information in their investigation of a recent fire at a nondenominational church in Tennessee.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives released a statement Monday regarding a fire at Axis Church in Nashville in September. The ATF is offering a reward of $1,000 to anyone who provides helpful information leading to the arrest and conviction of responsible parties.

Members of the Metro Nashville Arson and Explosives Task Force and ATF officials responded when a fire occurred in the main lobby of Axis Church on Sept. 13.

Upon reviewing surveillance video from the church, investigators determined that a bottle that was lit on fire was thrown through the front glass window at approximately 10 p.m. on September 13, 2021, the ATF statement explains.

For those providing information, include as many details as possible relating to the identity and/or whereabouts of the individual. If a reward is sought, please include your name and contact information.

To be eligible for the reward, information provided must lead to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for this incident.

Around 2 a.m. on Sept. 14, the Nashville Fire Department responded to the fire at Axis Church, which occurred when an unknown party threw a Molotov cocktail through a window.

The ATF was immediately contacted by the firefighters because the arson took place at a church. Investigators dismissed an earlier report claiming that it was an accidental fire, according to local media outlet WKRN.

The fire damaged many of their chairs in the worship space to the point that they were permanently unusable. The blaze also damaged the technical equipment used to livestream church services.

Lead Pastor Jeremy Rose posted a video on the churchs Facebook page on Sept. 14 stating that he believed the arson was a remarkable reminder of why were here in the city of Nashville and not somewhere else.

Were here to bring hope to everybody, including people who think this is the way forward, explained Rose, pointing to the arson damage.

Rose added that the church would hold services as scheduled on the following Sunday, albeit with no child care and worship being a little bit more brief.

In a Facebook post from Sept. 16, the church explained that it would have one shortened service at 10:00 AM and encouraged people to bring their own chairs.

Progress is being made throughout the building, and we have been given the green light from ServPro under government safety approval that we will be able to open part of our building that has completed restoration and undergone full air quality testing for this Sunday, the church stated at the time.

Although the fire happened about two months ago, the church is still working to fix the damage, WSMV reports.

"That dirty smoke throughout our whole building has destroyed tens of thousands of dollars worth of stuff  from pews to Bibles to copiers to furniture to rugs," Rose told the news outlet. "We've had to strip everything down to studs and have to rebuild."
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It is in many ways odd that we observe Reformation Day on October 31. Setting aside the somewhat fruitless debates about whether Luther actually posted the Ninety-Five Theses on the Wittenberg castle church door on that day in 1517 (for the record, I believe he did), it is well-known that he had said more radical things about the Church before (for example, in his Disputation Against Scholastic Theology in September 1517) and would do so again shortly afterward (at the Heidelberg Disputation in April 1518).

Intellectually, either is a better candidate for the dating of the inception of the Reformation than the often obscure theses against indulgences that triggered Luthers rise to fame.

Still, the very obscurity of many of the individual theses points to an interesting element in the Reformations popular success. The Reformation was not a popular success solely  or even primarily  because the populace read and embraced the arguments of the Reformers.

As a Protestant, I rejoice that the Reformers carried the day in many places, with their appropriate emphasis on biblical authority, divine grace and the finished work of Christ. They recovered the Gospel and paved the way for many of the freedoms we in the West now take for granted. But I am not naive enough to believe that they won simply by force of argument.

Few people would have had the background to understand the issues, and that would have applied to many subsequent debates, particularly regarding the real presence of Christ in the Lords Supper. Few members of the populace could actually read. So what made the Reformation a popular success in so many places?

There is no simple answer to this, but a key element was the pamphlet war: the production of short, cheap, polemical publications, often illustrated with woodcuts, that served to shape the mind of the populace. Both Protestants and Catholics engaged in this pamphlet war, which was perhaps the first battle for the popular mind in Western history. What is interesting about these pamphlets is that they were not in general designed to seek and establish truth, but rather to discredit the opposition.

It takes no advanced degree in theology to understand the intended message of woodcuts depicting the pope being excreted from the backside of a horned and cloven-hoofed devil. And it takes no training in Thomist metaphysics to understand the intended message of sexually explicit pictures of Luther and his wife. It is also rather obvious what kind of publication  major expositions of the faith by Calvin and Bellarmine, or the penny dreadfuls that the presses churned out in vast numbers  had more immediate effect.

There is a suggestive parallel in today's world. It is increasingly clear that social media, particularly in forms like Twitter, is the modern-day equivalent of Reformation pamphlets as produced by all sides. Two hundred and eighty characters are hardly enough to mount a coherent argument about anything. The character limit renders argument impossible  at least impossible about anything that really matters since thoughtful interaction with opposing views is a basic ingredient of expressing a worthwhile opinion on anything.

One can, of course, string tweets together in a thread  but one might as well actually write an article at that point. Twitter may have its legitimate uses  offering the occasional witty one-liner, for example, or linking to articles discussing serious topics that cannot be reduced to tweetable truisms  but the pursuit of truth is not one of them. Indeed, it is singularly ill-equipped for the sophistication and subtlety necessary for such a task.

Yet Twitter not only persists, but it is also popular. Even intelligent people use it. Why? Part of the answer is surely this: It fulfills the same function as Reformation pamphlets.

It does not seriously engage with the arguments of the perceived foe; it seeks to discredit those arguments  not by engaging them, but by indulging in the far lazier and far more effective strategy of discrediting the character of the person making the arguments. Thus when we mistake Twitter as a medium for truth, we are in trouble. Insults are seen as an argument, slander as reality, superficiality as depth.

Occasionally someone will bring a tweet to my attention by saying, Did you see that so-and-so responded on Twitter to that article you wrote? My answer is always that one does not respond to an article in 280 characters, or even in a chain of five or six sets of 280 characters. On Twitter, one can only dismiss the author in a concise fashion  and not with arguments, but with mere assertion concerning my character or intellectual abilities in general. Twitter is both a symptom and a contributing cause of the collapse of rationality we see all around us. And sadly, too many Christians are willing accomplices in this cultural disaster.

One last thought: the Reformation, Protestantism and Catholicism may have been fueled by pamphlets. But who, beyond a small group of scholars, reads those pamphlets today? To the rest of us, they are, at best, the throwaway productions of a bygone age, at worst an example of the way in which human beings can treat each other with pride and venom and no concern for the truth.



The works that really counted  Luthers On the Freedom of a Christian, Calvins Institutes, Loyolas Spiritual Exercises, Bellarmines Disputations  continue to shape how Christian leaders approach the faith and teach it to their congregations. And those writings could not be encapsulated in pamphlet form. There is a lesson there for those of us who have eyes to see.

Originally published at First Things.
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It's clear that many churches have closed or have considerably shrunk in size since COVID-19. Reasons range from church-goers are still scared to return, to they prefer watching live feeds. But why have bold churches experienced tremendous growth? This issue is much deeper  its crystal clear that people are hungry for the truth.

As a church in California located in Los Angeles County, I understand the enormous challenges of pastoring in these dire times. But, if the truth be told, the COVID crisis simply revealed the foundation of many churches, as well as the heart of many pastors. But thank God, there is hope!

Pastors, Im writing this to you to encourage you to be bold as you lead your congregation through these difficult and challenging times. But this boldness wont come naturally, it will come supernaturally. It will have a cost: Life-giving preaching costs the preacher much  death to self, crucifixion to the world, and the travail of his own soul. Crucified preaching only can give life. Crucified preaching can come only from a crucified man (E.M. Bounds).

As I was working on my latest article, A measure of revival in our bondage, the thought came to me to tailor it to pastors and Christian leaders and to re-release it with that theme in mind. Here are some of the points:

The fire of the Spirit is contagious

On October 25, 2021, we began having church every night at 6 pm for two straight weeks. At times, the atmosphere was overwhelming  a full altar, dozens of baptisms, the demonic realm being crushed and countless lives changed, both in person and through livestream. As the old-timers used to say, God heard our cries and showed up! The key verse for us was Isaiah 64:1, Oh, that You would rend the heavens! That You would come down! That the mountains might shake at Your presence. (You can view the services here.)

Speaking boldly is no longer optional, its essential. Thats the missing ingredient today. God is no respecter of persons, status, or achievement, but He is a respecter of principles (Acts 10:34). If you seek Him with all your heart you will find Him. Then you will be better equipped to lead your congregation to the Fountain of Living Water once you yourself have drunk deeply. The fire of the Spirit is contagious.

This doesnt mean that your church will grow; it could shrink, but it does mean that youll now have the power of the Spirit resting upon your life.Churches filled with the Spirit do the works of the Spirit. Jesus said that whoever believes in Me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these because I am going to the Father (John 14:12 NIV). If your church doesnt look like the New Testament church, are you sure that youre truly having church?

Dead is for a graveyard, not a church

The Christian life is to be living and vibrant, not dry and dead. It begs the question: Where are the rivers of living water that Jesus spoke about in John 7:38? When it comes to experiencing a spiritual awakening (revival), it cant be worked up, it must be brought down from heaven.

In Lev. 9:23-24, the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people and the fire came down and consumed the burnt offering. God brought down the fire, but the responsibility fell on the leaders to keep the fire burning. They were to remove the waste but not the fuel. The same holds true for you and me. We must remove the waste of pride and add the fuel of humility.

Ignite your church with prayer meetings and worship nights. Humble yourself and lead the way and find comfort on the altar as you cry out to God for boldness. The two-week event described above was over a decade in the making as we persisted in seeking the heart of God. He truly is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Heb. 11:6). When God chooses to give us a measure of revival in our bondage, worship, humility, and obedience, He will keep the flame going.

The beauty of brokenness

The beauty of brokenness is that humility crushes pride and ushers in the presence of God. Moses spent years on the backside of the desert as God broke and prepared him. Joshua's humility no doubt came from lingering in the presence of the Lord. Isaiah was completely broken when he cried, Woe to me!  I am ruined! .... My eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty (Isaiah 6:5). Jeremiah collapsed and cried out for humility in the people, My soul will weep in secret for your pride (Jeremiah 13:17).

The Psalms are saturated with the brokenness of David, and Jesus disciples had to be crushed like olives so the anointing oil could flow. Paul had to be knocked to the ground and his eyes blinded by the glory of God before true humility became a mark of his ministry.

Do you sound like a voice crying in the wilderness because youve been touched by God, or a voice whining in the wilderness because youre dying spiritually? You can change that today.

We provide the sacrifice, He provides the fire

When you lose intimacy with God, you lose boldness and the Spirits fire. Return to Him, and He will return to you (Zechariah 1:3). The strength of your church is in its purity and spiritual power, not in its numbers. God doesnt need a majority  He is the Majority. We are not CEOs running a business, we are watchmen warning a nation. Prayer can no longer be a footnote at the end of a sermon; instead, prayer and worship must guide the church in these critical times.

How can you receive a measure of revival in these dire times if there is no desperation? God cant pour into your heart if it's already full of self: Self-willed. Self-sufficient. Self-made. Self must die in you before God can really live within you.

The greatest hindrance to revival is within your own heart. Its time to break up your fallow ground and seek the Lord while He still may be found (cf. Hosea 10:12). Again, although we cant work revival up, God can bring it down from heaven if we prepare the soil of our hearts. We provide the sacrifice  He provides the fire.
BRESCIA, Italy (AP)  A provocative exhibit by dissident Chinese artist Badiucao opened Saturday in the industrial northern Italian city of Brescia despite pressure from the Chinese embassy in Rome to cancel it.

A letter from the embassy included veiled economic threats, noting Italys trade with China, in a bid to prevent the first solo exhibit by Badiucao  the pseudonym used by the artist whose work takes aim at China's policies and human rights record.

Brescia Mayor Emilio Del Bono responded with delicacy and firmness, said Elettra Stamboulis, curator of the exhibit at the citys Museum of Santa Giulia.

Of course we are always a little worried, not so much for the artists safety, but because we know there are more creepy ways to silence dissident artists," she said.

After a previous attempt to stage a solo show in Hong Kong in 2018 was canceled under pressure, Badiucao said he is proud and happy that the Brescia exhibit is finally open to the public.

Because my art is always focusing on human rights issues in China ... it makes me almost the type of No. 1 enemy, Badiucao said. They hunt me down. They harass me, harass my families, threatening the people working with me constantly. So that is why, for me, it is really hard to actually having an exhibition in an established a gallery, a museum like this.

The exhibition, which runs until Feb. 13, traces Badiucaos artistic career from its start to most recent works created in response to the health crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. A former assistant to the Berlin-based Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei, Badiucau currently works in exile from Australia.

The works range from oil paintings to installations and performance art. They include one that evokes a scandal involving tainted baby formula exported by China in 2018, another that recalls the Tiananmen Square massacre and yet another that represents the Umbrella Movement as part of the Hong Kong pro-democracy demonstrations quelled by China.

During the exhibits opening days, Badiucao will sit in a torture chair and read from a diary shared with him by a resident of Wuhan, the Chinese city where the coronavirus was first detected.

Anyone who tried to tell the truth or some story different from Chinas governments narrative would be punished, so I made a public call on Twitter to the residents of Wuhan and said Id like to share the burden and risk with you, if you trust me you can send your information, Badiucao said.

The diary, which will be read in Mandarin, contains 100 days of records.

The artist kept his identity secret for many years, wearing masks during public appearances to protect his family members. The long-held secrecy drew comparisons to British graffiti artist Banksy, whose true identity remains shrouded in mystery.

But Badiucao said any comparison misses key points.

If Banksys identity gets revealed he is not or she is not going to be hunted by the UKs national security police, which in my case is totally different, he said. But also, I am really mad at Banksy, because he never does any artwork that criticizes the Chinese government.
Conde Nast Traveler recently praised a San Antonio hotel for being one of the most romantic getaways in Texas.

On Thursday, November 11, the magazine released its list, naming Hotel Emma in its article. The listing featured gem spots like the Hotel Drover in Fort Worth, The Bloomhouse Airbnb in Austin, The Carr Mansion in Galveston, and more.

All listings featured on Conde Nast Traveler were independently selected by its editors.

In the article, the magazine stated the local hotel is set inside the former Pearl Brewery along the "less-touristy part of the River Walk." The listing says Hotel Emma is all about the details.

Jerry Lara /San Antonio Express-News

"Look closely and you'll see remnants of old machinery, repurposed as light fixtures and works of art. Macarons at turndown service and seersucker Dos Carolinas robes are a nice touch, too," the article reads. "At the on-site Sternewirth Bar, ask for the Three Emmas cocktail, along with the juicy backstory involving a lovers' quarrel. When hunger strikes, some of the best restaurants in the city can be found just steps from the hotels front door, but for dinner and a show, make reservations in advance at Jazz, TX."

This isn't the first recognition Hotel Emma has received from publications. The hotel has also been listed as a top hotel from Travel & Leisure and U.S. News and World Report.

In 2019, pop icon Cher stayed at the hotel and called it "one of the most unique, beautiful hotels ever." She was in San Antonio for her tour when she learned about the hotel's fascinating backstory.

Jerry Lara /Staff photographer

According to the hotel's website, Emma Koehler, wife of Pearl Brewery president Otto Koehler, was injured in a car accident in 1910. Her husband hired a live-in nurse and her friend, both named Emma, to take care of her. Otto was soon having affairs with both women.

On Nov. 12, 1914, Otto visited the Southside house he had set up the pair in. An argument occurred, and the taller, blonder Emma shot him dead. She was charged with murder, fled to Europe as a WWI nurse, then returned to San Antonio four years later.

She was found not guilty by an all-male jury, according to the hotel's website. She later married one of the jurors.

The other nurse Emma got married, while Emma Koehler took over Pearl Brewery after her husband was killed. She led employees through Prohibition before passing away in 1947.
Recently an episode of the television show The Bucket List featured a segment on the Montgomery County Veterans Memorial Park in Conroe.

The segment aired on Nov. 6 on the Houston-affliate of NBC Channel 2 and Montgomery County Veterans Memorial Park Chairman Judge Jimmie C. Edwards III, said hes already getting calls from across the state about the park. Edwards calls the park a gift to the nation and welcomes all veterans from across the country to be recognized at the park.

The video may be viewed at https://thetexasbucketlist.com/ as the most recent video posted.

On yourcouriernews.com: Montgomery County honors, remembers its veterans

The show is a weekly syndicated television program hosted by Shane McAuliffe and produced by McAuliffe Productions, based in College Station. McAuliffe travels around the state visiting must-see restaurants, historic sites and destinations famous in the Lone Star State.

The show airs on 22 Texas media markets and stations in Laughlin, Nevada, Greenville, North Carolina and Knoxville, Tennessee. It can be viewed locally on NBC Channel 2 at 5 p.m. on Saturdays and 11 p.m. on Sundays.

In June, McAuliffe and his crew filmed the episode at Spirits of Texas bank in Conroe and at the adjacent Montgomery County Veterans Memorial Park. The show has previously filmed at Gods Garage in Conroe.

Edwards spoke of his growing up in Conroe in the 1950s and life in the then-small town.

It was great then and its great now, Edwards said. He also talked about drag-racing in his Volkswagen on Interstate 45 as it was being constructed in the early 1960s. Edwards lost his legs in Vietnam and came home to serve the community as a state representative and County Judge.

In recent years, Edwards has lead the effort to revitalize the Montgomery County Veterans Memorial Park and have it moved to a more visible location at Texas 105 and Interstate 45. It was previously in downtown Conroe next to the Montgomery County Tax Office.

For more information about the Montgomery County Veterans Memorial Park, visit honoredmission.org or see www.facebook.com/honoredmission. For more information on The Texas Bucket List, visit https://thetexasbucketlist.com/.

shernandez@hcnonline.com
Having just gotten his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday afternoon at Texas Childrens Hospital The Woodlands, 5-year-old Chase Venketramen and his mother sat in the waiting area while animated Disney movies were being screened.

Catherine Venketramen, 42, had beamed at how Chase did not so much as flinch when the needle pricked his arm. Meanwhile, the preschooler was eager about what this first of two doses meant for his immediate future: a visit to Kangas Indoor Playcenter.

I havent been to Kangas in two years, Chase said, gesturing two of his small fingers to underscore the importance of returning to The Woodlands attraction where he enjoys playing on a pirate ship.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Kids line up for first chance at COVID vaccine

A former FBI intelligence analyst and now a stay-at-home parent, Venketramen is among moms in The Woodlands who within the past couple of weeks have secured their children between ages 5 and 11 get the Pfizer vaccine as they became eligible following authorization on Oct. 29 by the U..S Food and Drug Administration and recommendation on Nov. 2 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

This group of moms spoke about how the vaccine is helping restore their childrens lives.

The vaccine is restoring their sense of freedom and giving them their normalcy back, Javeria Arif, 45, said about her 8-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter getting their shots on Nov. 4, the second day they became eligible.

Is my kid next?

These moms have been anxiously waiting for their kids to be vaccinated like the parents themselves have been for months.

The mothers  three of whom have children enrolled in the Conroe Independent School District  expressed worry about the threat posed by the virus as in-person classes resumed in August amid the highly contagious Delta variant. Conroe ISD nearly closed campuses as the 2021-22 school year began and it reached its second-to-highest COVID-19 threat level.

We are excited about the availability of pediatric COVID-19 vaccines and the opportunity for our families to make the best choice for their students, said Conroe ISD spokeswoman Sarah Blakelock in a Friday email.

As of Tuesday, according to the Montgomery County Public Health District, a reported 5,943 children ages 5 to 11 have tested positive since March 2020.

There has been at least one Montgomery County child, a girl younger than 9, who died related to COVID-19, the public health district disclosed in late April.

Is my kid next (in testing positive)? Theres really just no way to predict what your next day is gonna look like, so we were really excited about the vaccine, Arif said.

For Lisa Uber, 45, her daughter, Sophie Uber, getting the vaccine on the first weekend after it became available to her was an early gift as she approached her 10th birthday.

On HoustonChronicle.com: My child is afraid of needles. How do I prepare them for the COVID vaccine?

Its very important to get fully vaccinated so others around you can be safe, Sophie said as she celebrated her birthday on Thursday, noting she closed her eyes to avoid seeing the needle.

Sophie is looking forward to visiting her grandparents in Florida over the holidays, the first time she will see them since the pandemic broke out.

As of now, five of the six children whose mothers spoke about their first COVID-19 vaccine dose, have experienced no side effects other than slightly sore arms. Chase had a fever but was feeling all well by Friday, his mother said.

It was so quick, like, nobody cried. After they were done, it was almost like a badge of honor, Arif said about her children getting the shot.

High priority

Some of the woman discussed what they considered a general sense of cultural and institutional resistance to mask usage in Montgomery County. Mask usage and the vaccination of children, some of them said, have become political wedge issues.

Two of the women shared how the pandemic has hit close to home.

Indu Chempath, 39, is a stay-at-home mom who on Nov. 4 had her 10-year-old daughter and 8-year-old son vaccinated. She has a friend in India whose husband died of COVID-19.

The Chempaths moved from The Woodlands to India in 2018 for her husbands work in setting up an IT center for the ExxonMobil Corp. there, she said. The Texas-based energy company, she detailed, evacuated the family back to The Woodlands as a result of the second COVID-19 wave striking India earlier this year and making it the epicenter of the global pandemic.

As soon as she was back home in May, Chempath got her first dose of the vaccine.

That was kind of a high priority thing for me to get vaccinated and I knew that I would be vaccinating my kids too, she said.

The Venketramen family experienced a loss to COVID-19 in June 2020.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Will the U.S. authorize a pill to treat COVID-19 anytime soon?

Dad Romalan Venketramen had an uncle he was close to die in his native South Africa. Because of measures to mitigate the viruss spread, family mourners had to stand in their driveway to pay their respects as the mans remains were carried past them in a hearse.

We jumped at the chance for Chase to get it as soon as possible because you want to protect your child the best you can and this is the way to do it right now, Catherine Venketramen said.

Disease of the unvaccinated

Dr. Huay-Ying Lo, a Texas Childrens Hospital The Woodlands pediatrician who specializes in the care of hospitalized children, said the number of child patients from COVID-19 have been exponentially higher since August and the Delta variant than they were before.

A resident of The Woodlands, the physician highlighted the importance of getting children vaccinated against the virus.

Vaccines are safe, theyre effective. Kids are impacted by COVID  thankfully to a lesser degree than adults, Lo said. But it is important to get them the vaccine so they can be the most protected against Delta or new variants that come around  its becoming clear this is a disease of the unvaccinated.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Tips to help make getting a COVID-19 vaccine less scary for kids

On Sept. 15, the CDC published a scientific brief outlining how evidence showed COVID-19 vaccinations in the U.S. have substantially reduced the burden of disease in the country by preventing serious illness in fully vaccinated people and interrupting chains of transmission.

Lo pointed to multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), a condition which inflames organs and is common among kids who have had the virus that causes COVID-19. An all-time high number of MIS-C admissions in September were reported by Texas Childrens Hospital.

The pediatricians 6-year-old daughter participated in the Moderna vaccine trial, she mentioned, adding she was notified last week her child had been a recipient of the vaccine.

Both Lo and Venketramen have 2-year-olds they said they are waiting to be eligible for vaccination, which they have understood could happen as early as February. Lo already has a trip to Walt Disney World planned for shortly after as her family has not vacationed since the start of the pandemic.

More freedom

Texas Childrens Hospitals three campuses as of Tuesday had booked more than 38,000 appointments through Thanksgiving Day for the first dose of the vaccine for children between 5 and 11, according to spokesman Enrique Garay.

As the nurse was preparing to administer the shot into Chases right arm, she got him talking by asking him about school  his friends and his teacher. It was over as soon as it started. He chose a Paw Patrol Band-Aid to put over where he received his injection.

The nurse advised his mom to ensure he drink a lot of water and keep his arm moving as much possible. But on Chases mind was the treat he was getting after they left the hospital. He would get a serving of cotton candy ice cream at Baskin-Robbins, he said.

Chase is an adventurous boy.

Befitting his name, he likes running. He has already broken a couple of boards with his hand and foot in his taekwondo class. Along with returning to the indoor playground, Venketramen said Chase could now go on more adventures like boarding a plane again.

He understands once he gets the shot, he will have more freedom, his mom said.

Jamie Swinnerton contributed to this report.

jose.gonzalez@chron.com

twitter.com/jrgzztx
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP)  Twenty-four employees at the University of Kentucky have been placed on administrative leave for not complying with COVID-19 testing policies, university officials said.

In addition, 146 students havent complied with the university rule that unvaccinated students and staff must get tested regularly for COVID-19, news outlets reported. University spokesman Jay Blanton said about 90% of those students are, in large measure, not coming to campus.
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP)  Seven Cambodian laborers have died after drinking alcohol they were given as a disinfectant in a quarantine and mixed it with water and soft drinks, the Health Ministry said Saturday.

The laborers had returned from Thailand and were placed in a coronavirus quarantine camp in northwestern Banteay Meanchey province.
The utilization of apprenticeship as a workforce strategy dates back to the Middle Ages. While the concept has been sharpened and refined over time, its basic principles of applied learning and rewards for achieving certain levels of competency are as effective in developing a highly-trained, well-paid workforce today as they were back then. Simply put, apprenticeship works.

There are nearly 17,000 registered apprentices in the state of Illinois, on pathways to challenging, high-wage careers in fields as varied as skilled trades, manufacturing, healthcare, information technology, clean energy, insurance, financial services, and others. Name the occupation, and chances are theres an apprenticeship model that fits it.

Over 500 companies and trade councils are sponsoring apprentices in Illinois. Companies like Aon and Zurich are leading the way nationally and here in Illinois in the insurance industry. Healthcare systems like FHN in Rockford are sponsoring registered apprenticeship programs in Medical Assisting. Illinois-based Walgreens has pharmacy technician apprentices training and working in stores across the country. Ten Illinois community colleges are working to grow the number of apprentices working in Information Technology at companies as large as Continental Tire and as small as SunDog IT. Manufacturers like Hoffer Plastics are promoting apprenticeship through their Break the Mold campaign. Twenty building trade councils issued proclamations this week in support of apprenticeships in construction and building trades. The first Food Truck Apprenticeship program in the United States was approved in southern Illinois recently.

Kathy earned her Medical Assistant certificate as the result of a partnership between SIFH Healthcare, Lewis and Clark Community College, and the Local Workforce Investment Areas that make up Illinois Economic Development Region 9 in southwestern Illinois.

Kyle enrolled in a 10-week pre-apprenticeship program at Rend Lake Community College that led to a manufacturing apprenticeship at North American Lighting. When he completes the apprenticeship, he will have earned an associate degree in Industrial Electronics and Maintenance and be compensated at a higher rate based on his education. I will be at top pay within four years, he said. With the three years of hands-on training and the schooling, its a really good deal.

Christopher was displaced from his job by the pandemic, but found his way to a better future using his love for engineering and working with his hands. An Electro-Mechanical Technician apprenticeship offered through OAI Inc. gave Christopher the skills and knowledge to build and service the electronic and mechanical components of almost any equipment found in a factory or distribution center. He excelled in the yearlong program of intense classroom/lab-based related instruction combined with on-the-job training. Now hes designing and building custom packaging and container movement systems at Morrison Container Handling Solutions.

Christina is flourishing in her role as an Industrial Maintenance Mechanic apprentice at Mauser Packaging Solutions, combined with classroom and laboratory learning at Elgin Community College.

These and hundreds more success stories can be found at ApprenticeshipIllinois.com, and will be shared on social media during the National Apprenticeship Week observance in Illinois, which takes place November 15-19, 2021.

There are nearly 500 businesses and trade councils across the state sponsoring apprentices, and more are learning every day about the value of apprenticeship for businesses and employers, job seekers and employees, and society writ large. There is truly something for everyone in apprenticeship.

Employers see a return of $1.47 for every dollar they invest in apprenticeship programs by improving retention measures and elevating the technical know-how of their workforce. Nationally, 94 percent of workers who complete an apprenticeship program continue to work for the same company, and well over 90 percent of employers who have tried apprenticeship as a workforce development strategy would recommend it to their peers. In 2020, Illinois started an apprenticeship education tax credit to help employers cover the costs of related instruction.

Workers are assured living wages for their efforts, enjoy debt-free postsecondary learning opportunities, and earn portable, highly valued credentials. The average completer of a registered apprenticeship program earns an annual salary of $70,000.

Our local, state, and national economies benefit through a greater capacity for producing and supplying the goods and services the population demands. Every dollar that is invested in apprenticeship leads to about $28 in related public benefit. As the pool of available workers dwindles and our collective consciousness of the importance of equity grows, the practical, moral, and ethical exigencies of diversity and inclusion in the workplace are met through apprenticeship programs. More than ever before, persons of color, the disabled, veterans, and prison re-entry populations are enrolling and thriving in apprenticeship programs. Likewise, apprenticeship offers unprecedented opportunity for women to break through gender barriers, high school students to carve out career pathways that dont necessarily include four-year degrees and mountains of educational debt, and out-of-school youth seeking a path to self-sufficiency.

As Illinois prepares to celebrate National Apprenticeship Week November 15-19, including the combined efforts of Illinois apprentices, employers, the US. Department of Labors Office of Apprenticeship in Illinois, community colleges and training providers, state and local workforce employees, and Illinois leaders in workforce development, please join us by participating in one or more of the physical or virtual events and learning more at ApprenticeshipIL.com.
BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP)  Jurors in the trial of three white men charged in Ahmaud Arberys killing saw graphic photos of the shotgun wounds that killed him.

They heard a defendants description of having the 25-year-old Black man trapped like a rat during the five-minute chase that ended in his death. And they heard the mens explanation for thinking Arbery was suspicious, and possibly armed.

The trial of father and son Greg and Travis McMichael and their neighbor William Roddie Bryan wrapped up its first full week of testimony Friday. Each is charged with murder and other crimes in the death of Arbery, who was fatally shot last year after he was spotted running in the defendants' coastal Georgia neighborhood.

Bryan's cellphone video of the shooting dramatically raised the killing's profile, making it part of a larger national outcry over racial injustice.

The trial is expected to continue through at least next week. Here are some key moments so far.

___

GRUESOME IMAGES

Several jurors squirmed when a Glynn County police investigator walked them through dozens of crime scene photos of Arbery's body as it lay in the street where he fell dead after being shot three times on a Sunday afternoon in February 2020. They included close-up images of shotgun wounds to his wrist and grievous injuries to his chest and underneath one of his arms.

Arbery's mother remained in the courtroom throughout the presentation, while his father stepped outside before it began.

___

SHIFTING SUSPICION

The jury heard from two police officers about Greg McMichael changing his story on the day of the shooting, when asked why he initiated the deadly chase.

Officer Jeff Brandeberry said McMichael told him at the scene that Arbery had been recorded by security cameras breaking in all these houses out here. Later that day, McMichael told Detective Parker Marcy that Arbery had been recorded inside a single home  one that was still under construction, with no doors or windows. He noted there had been other break-ins in the neighborhood, and logic tells you this guy may be the one thats doing it."

Prosecutors say there's no evidence Arbery took anything from the unfinished home.

___

INACTIVE INVESTIGATION

Prosecutors have called to the witness stand eight officers who took part in the initial investigation by Glynn County police  which ended up making no arrests in the case. Arbery had been dead for more than two months when the McMichaels and Bryan were charged with murder. That happened only after the video of the shooting leaked online and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over.

Stephan Lowrey, the lead county investigator in Arbery's killing, testified that he hadn't closed the case before it got handed to the bureau. It was still open but not getting much traction, Lowrey testified. He added: I think inactive was a fair summary.

___

TRAPPED LIKE A RAT

Glynn County investigators testified that on the day of the shooting, both Greg McMichael and Bryan described using pickup trucks to prevent Arbery from fleeing the Satilla Shores neighborhood, named for the Little Satilla River that flows past its homes on Brunswicks edge.

McMichael said he wanted the running man detained until police could arrive and question him. He was trapped like a rat, McMichael told police Sgt. Roderic Nohilly.

Bryan said he joined the pursuit without knowing Arbery, the McMichaels or why they were chasing him. Lowrey testified that Bryan several times mentioned maneuvering his truck to edge Arbery off the road, though the investigator said none of the actions Bryan described struck him as a serious crime.

I didnt hit him, Bryan said. Wish I would have. Might have took him out and not get him shot.

___

A WITNESS, NOT A SUSPECT

Lowrey also told Bryan's attorney, Kevin Gough, from the witness stand that he considered Bryan to be a witness to the shooting. Asked by Gough if he thought Bryan committed aggravated assault or any other felonies with his truck during the chase, the investigator replied: No, that wasnt the way I interpreted it at the time.

Meanwhile, Glynn County police Officer Robert Rash noted that 12 days before Arbery was shot, Travis McMichael reported seeing him trespassing in the neighborhood. McMichael told police Arbery reached toward his pocket as if reaching for a gun. Rash's body camera video showed him searching that night for Arbery with a flashlight and his gun drawn.

So its standard procedure when youre going into a possibly armed situation to be sure you have your gun ready, for your protection? Robert Rubin, one of Travis McMichael's attorneys, asked the officer. Rubin added: Travis McMichael has a right to carry a gun. He has a right to protect himself.

___

OBJECTION OVER SHARPTON

The Rev. Al Sharpton visited the Glynn County courthouse to pray with Arbery's parents outside and then joined them in the courtroom to hear some of the trial testimony.

The civil rights activist's visit upset Bryan's attorney, Gough, who told the judge he believed Sharpton was trying to influence the jury.

Obviously theres only so many pastors they can have, Gough said. And if their pastors Al Sharpton right now thats fine, but then thats it. We dont want any more Black pastors coming in here."

Sharpton shot back that Gough's comments showed "arrogant insensitivity to Arbery's family.

There was no ruling from the judge, as Gough made no formal motion to exclude pastors from court.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP)  An Arkansas panel voted Friday to issue a casino license to the Cherokee Nation, voiding an earlier license to a competitor that the state Supreme Court said didn't meet the state's qualifications.

The Arkansas Racing Commission voted 3-2 to issue the license to build and operate the casino in Pope County, the last of four casinos voters authorized under a 2018 constitutional amendment, to Oklahoma-based Cherokee Nation Businesses.

The move came after the state Supreme Court last month ruled that the endorsement required for a casino license must come from elected local officials in office at the time of the application. The Cherokee Nation Business proposal had the backing of Pope County's judge.

The commission voided an earlier license that had been issued to a competing casino applicant, Mississippi-based Gulfside Casino Partnership, which submitted its application in 2019 with a letter of support from Pope Countys former judge.

Cherokee Nation said it hoped to move closer toward building the casino.

We are eager to put forth our large-scale development plans to the Russellville Planning commission, and ultimately, for litigation to come to an end so that we can proceed with construction," Cherokee Nation Businesses CEO Chuck Garrett said in a statement.

But Gulfside wasn't ready to concede citing the pending court cases and questioned whether Legends Resort and Casino LLC  the company that was set up by the Cherokee Nation  qualified for the license. Cherokee Nation operated 10 casinos in Oklahoma.

Legends has no casino gaming experience and, therefore, is not a qualified applicant," Lucas Rowan, Gulfside's attorney, said in a statement. This issue is pending in circuit court, and we expect it will be resolved through the legal system.

Voters in 2018 approved an amendment requiring the state to allow four casinos. Since then, casinos have opened at racetracks in Hot Springs and West Memphis, and in Pine Bluff.
CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP)  President Joe Biden's administration on Friday nominated Nevada Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson to serve as U.S. Attorney in the state.

Frierson, who has worked as a public defender and local prosecutor when not in the statehouse, is among 37 U.S. attorneys that the Biden administration has nominated since taking office. The Las Vegas Democrat has served as Assembly Speaker since 2016 and is currently presiding over the Nevada Legislature's redistricting process.
PHOENIX (AP)  When renters are evicted, constables deliver the court orders  sought by landlords  that demand the tenants move out.

But the board that trains and disciplines Arizonas elected constables has close ties to the most powerful landlord group in the state.

The relationship drew new scrutiny during the COVID-19 pandemic, when constables played an even more important role in the eviction process, sometimes deciding whether tenants qualified for eviction moratoriums, the Arizona Republic reported.

The Constable Ethics, Standards and Training Board has been administered by Capitol Consulting since 2014. The CEO of that group, Courtney LeVinus, is also the CEO of the Arizona Multihousing Association.

State law also requires that a representative from the Arizona Multihousing Association serve on the Constable Board, which some tenant advocates say creates an unfair bias when the board hears complaints. State law doesnt require a board member who specifically represent tenants.

Relatively few constable complaints have been filed since 2015, according to an Arizona Republic investigation. Of those, the Constable Board didnt side with any renters who filed complaints but did for landlords several times.

A former constable says oversight of the constables needs to be reformed, citing the boards relationship with the state landlord association.

But David Leibowitz, a spokesman for the Arizona Multihousing Association who also provided responses for Capitol Consulting, said there is no conflict of interest.

In its contractual role with the CESTB (the Constable Board), the firm has been hired to provide clerical support and office space. Thats it, he said.

It is unusual for the state to hire an outside entity to manage a board instead of employing state employees to do the job. Megan Rose, spokesperson for the Arizona Department of Administration, said she was not aware of any other boards managed this way.

The unique management setup and the connection between constables and landlords has some advocates and ethics experts concerned about a real or perceived conflict of interest.

Its outrageous and pure political patronage, said Corinne Cooper, a Tucson landlord, tenant advocate and former law professor, of the connection between the Constable Board and the Arizona Multihousing Association.

John Pelissero, senior scholar at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, said the fact that the consulting firm also represents landlords can cause an appearance of a conflict, which can be as damaging as an actual conflict.

It can undermine the confidence that the public has in the workings of the constables office, he said.

He said the state should consider adopting policies that would prohibit firms from winning state contracts to manage boards or agencies if they also work with entities that will interact with those boards or agencies.

Minimally, you want to do everything to avoid the appearance that youre not acting in the public interest, Pelissero said.

The Constable Ethics Board doesnt have the power to suspend or fire a constable, and The Republic found some of the boards recommendations for the elected officials to resign or retire were ignored.

In nine complaints, the board recommended the constable resign, retire or be suspended. At least three did not resign.

The states Constable Board is made up of seven members: two constables, a justice of the peace, a county administrator, an appointee from the Arizona Peace Officer Standards Board, a member of the public appointed by the governor and a member of the Arizona Multifamily Association, also appointed by the governor.

The board was created by state law in 2007, replacing the Constable Ethics Committee, which had been established in 2001.

In 2007, the state solicited proposals from private organizations to take over administration of the board, which was previously managed by the Arizona Association of Counties.

Capitol Consulting, the only entity to respond to the states solicitation, was awarded a one-year contract, which later was extended to 2019. In 2019, the state entered into a new contract with Capitol Consulting, which expires in 2022.

The state pays the consulting group $36,000 per year to provide office space for the board and handle all of the boards administrative needs  such as processing complaints, preparing for meetings and handling all correspondence.

The office used by the board is shared by the Arizona Multihousing Association, a 20-year client of Capitol Consulting. LeVinus, Capitol Consulting president and co-founder, also has served as the CEO of the Arizona Multihousing Association since 2018.

In Capitol Consultings proposals, the company said LeVinus would be the primary point of contact and administrator for CESTB. It also said LeVinus was one of the original stakeholders developing and supporting the legislation establishing CESTB.

In the proposal, Capitol Consulting disclosed it also works for the Arizona Multihousing Association, Arizona Property Owners and Landlords Association and other organizations related to real estate.

We do not believe there will be any direct or indirect conflicts of interest, Capitol Consulting said in its proposal.

Rose said the State Procurement Office did not identify any conflicts of interest before the approval of Capitol Consultings contract.

Leibowitz, who answered questions for Capitol Consulting, said there is no conflict of interest at all, nor is there even the appearance of a conflict, because Capitol Consulting only provides clerical support and does not have any decision-making authority over any constable in the state of Arizona or over the Constable Ethics Standard and Training Board.

The firm plays no role in the investigation or adjudication of complaints made against constables and no one associated with the firm sits on the board, he said.

Mike Cobb, a Mohave County constable representing the Kingman precinct who also serves on the Constable Board, said he doesnt believe the Arizona Multihousing Association has any influence over the board. Capitol Consulting only provides one employee to assist the board, and its not LeVinus, he said.

The firm plays no role in the investigation or adjudication of complaints made against constables and no one associated with the firm sits on the board.

In all the time Ive been there, you wouldnt even know (the Arizona Multihousing Association) had anything to do with anything, said Cobb, who has been on the board for four years.

Maricopa County Constable Scott Blake, representing the Hassayampa precinct, is the chair of the Constable Ethics, Standards and Training Board. He provided a written response to The Republics questions on behalf of the board.

He said he doesnt know how any landlord group, including the Arizona Multihousing Association, could influence the board. He said Capitol Consultings work for the board is purely clerical.

All (board) decisions whether financial or complaint related are made during public meetings, and records of the (board) are open for public review, so everything is very transparent, Blake said.

Beyond the Capitol Consulting connection, state law requires a board member from the Arizona Multihousing Association to sit on the Constable Ethics, Standards and Training Board. Currently, that is Christine Shipley, vice president of Dunlap and Magee Property Management Inc., which manages 51 Arizona apartment complexes.

She didnt respond to requests for comment, the Republic reported.

Cooper, the landlord and tenant advocate in Tucson, said that if landlords get a seat on the board, a member representing tenants should sit on the board as well.
LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP)  Southern California police shot and wounded a man Friday morning after he pointed a BB gun at them, authorities said.

The man was shot in the upper body in the city of Long Beach around 8:20 a.m., police said. His injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.

The Long Beach Police Department initially told media the weapon was a gun and a later news release said investigators had determined it was a replica. The department then issued a correction to say it was a BB gun.

Long Beach police officers were called to the area for several reports of a person waving a knife and a gun, police said in a news release.

The officers spoke to a man inside a parked vehicle and saw he was holding what appeared to be a gun. Police said officers made several attempts to de-escalate the situation but the man would not put down the firearm.

The man threatened to harm himself and then pointed the weapon at the officers, one of whom opened fire, according to the news release.

No officers were injured in the shooting. The man's name has not been released; he was only identified as a 40-year-old man from Palmdale.

Investigators are reviewing body camera footage from the shooting.
MERIDIAN, Miss. (AP)  Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Mike Randolph says the state should put more money into programs like drug courts. He says the interventions save millions of taxpayer dollars.

The Meridian Star reported that Randolph spoke Wednesday to Rotary Club members in Meridian.
AMES, Iowa (AP)  A national literary journal published by Iowa States English Department has spun-off a book publisher, Flyway Books, which is celebrating its first imprint  a childrens book titled A Moo Cow Came Traveling.

Flyway: Journal of Writing & Environment has been publishing poems, stories and essays from writers around the world for more than 20 years. A Moo Cow Came Traveling represents the publishers first book.

It was a story that just sang to senior editor Debra Marquart and her team of graduate student editors.

The whimsical story came from Irish writer Mark Mulholland. Marquart told the Ames Tribune that she and her team loved it but didnt think it was quite right for their online journal.

The story tells the tale of Elnorvow, a Moo Cow traveling through space on a flying bicycle. One day, he arrives in an Irish village to have tea with the proprietor at Meegans Pub, where he delights the local school children and discusses philosophy with the schools principal.

We started immediately talking about how it would really lend itself to illustration, Marquart said.

Marquart has known Ames-area illustrator Dorothia Rohner for many years and suggested Flyway editors look at her work.

The editors got really excited when we looked at her website, Marquart said. So this little adventure began.

The team planned to publish a standalone book about the story. Then came the COVID-19 lockdowns.

It was during that lockdown that things grew beyond the idea for a standalone book.

One thing kind of led to another, Marquart said. Publishing a book requires a certain number of steps  you have to get an ISBN number, for example.

Marquart herself has published seven books. Poet laureate for the state of Iowa and distinguished professor of Liberal Arts and Sciences, shes certainly no stranger to publishing. But shed never ordered an ISBN number before. The International Standard Book Number is a unique number assigned to a commercial book.

Ive never gone through the process of publishing someone elses book, she said. I contacted the ISBN vendor and ended up buying a package of 10.

As a result, Moo Cow is the first book of at least 10 the team plans to publish, and Marquart expects theyll release about one new book every year.

This was a project that sang to us, she said. Its incredibly labor- and time-intensive  and its incredibly expensive.

A donation from Roger S. Hanson made the project possible, Marquart said.

As the team worked through the pandemic, the author was locked down in southern France. New York-based book designer Christine Kettner, the illustrator and the editors were isolated at their locations, too, so much of the collaboration took place over Zoom.

It was kind of a whimsical adventure for all involved, Marquart said. Unwittingly, it became our pandemic preoccupation  we go back to Moo Cow and work on bits and pieces of it.

Marquart and her team will be looking for more stories that sing to them, although theyre not accepting submissions at this time.

Moo Cow can be purchased online from the Flyway website, FlywayJournal.org/books.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP)  One wants to be an aerospace engineer, the other a labor and delivery nurse.

Both are finding paths to their goals through a program at Hillsborough Community College that takes Honors College students and turns them into agents of change.

We have a great opportunity to meet people in strategic positions, and to hear their testimony and experiences, said the would-be engineer, Peruvian-born Kevin Ospina, 18.

Natalia Philippus, 21, the future nurse, is developing her social skills through the HCC Leadership program.

I think its a great class to build our leadership skills and improve our communication, she said.

The Leadership program is required for HCCs 278 Honors College students. The largest share of them, 44 percent, are Hispanic.

The program explores the values of a leader, and how to set personal goals with an eye toward helping the larger community. It has been part of the Honors College since its creation in 1996.

Among the requirements of Honors College applicants are college-level reading and writing skills and a grade-point average of 3.4 or higher. They also must be pursuing an associates degree at the college.

First of all we are talking about a personal discovery, because we want to reach an understanding of what leadership means, so our students can learn to take action, said Odette Figueruelo, a language and education professor in the Leadership course.

Students must complete a project addressing a need in the community, putting into practice the leadership lessons they learn.

Their lessons come, in part, through presentations from experts and authorities. This year, they include Melissa Morgado, supervisor of world languages with the Hillsborough County School District; Dennis Small, former Hispanic liaison officer with the Tampa Police Department; and Anthony Perez, former chairperson of the Mayors Hispanic Advisory Committee and the current chairperson of the University of South Florida Latin Advisory Committee.

The exciting part for me is when our community leaders have the chance to talk to our students about leadership, said Figueruelo, who came to the United States with her parents at 15 after living in Cuba and Spain. Its a life experience.

Student Thomas Erdos, a 23-year-old student from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, said the program is helping him develop the awareness of a leader.

All of this is a source of inspiration, said Erdos, who is studying to become an orbital trajectory design engineer.

Students also learn how to apply for jobs and scholarships. They underwent mock interviews recently with Aimee Busquet, associate dean of academic affairs at HCC, and Ann Menchen, a volunteer with the HCC Foundation.

In Figueruelos Leadership course, they take field trips to museums, universities and government offices, and one day recently visited the Tampa Bay History Center and the USF School of Medicine. They also met with Tampa Mayor Jane Castor.

This field trip was arranged through the Development Accelerator for Latinos Education, or DALE, a program run by the Mayors Hispanic Advisory Council that encourages local Hispanic students to pursue higher education as a means of increasing the talent, innovation and diversity of the local workforce.

Said Perez, Listening to the students talk about how much fun they are having, watching them exchange ideas on career choices as they open their minds to all the possibilities, tells me we are doing something right.
HONG KONG (AP)  Hong Kong authorities declined to renew a visa for a foreign journalist working for The Economist without any explanation, the magazine said.

Sue-Lin Wong, who is Australian, was based in Hong Kong and covered China and the southern semi-autonomous city.

We regret their decision. ... We urge the government of Hong Kong to maintain access for the foreign press, which is vital to the territorys standing as an international city, Zanny Minton Beddoes, The Economists editor-in-chief, said in a statement Friday.

Immigration authorities did not immediately respond to an email request for comment. Phone calls to the information office outside of business hours went unanswered.

Many have worried about the erosion of press freedom in a city that was once a bastion for it.

Last week, a survey by the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents Club found nearly half its members were considering leaving the city. They said they were concerned about a decline in press freedoms under a sweeping national security law imposed by Beijing following massive anti-government protests in 2019.

Very sad I wont be able to continue reporting from Hong Kong. I loved getting to know the city and its people. I will miss you all, Wong said in a message posted on Twitter.

Wong previously worked for the Financial Times and Reuters in China.

In August last year, Hong Kong immigration authorities denied a visa to Aaron Mc Nicholas, an incoming editor for Hong Kong Free Press, an independent news outlet, without giving a reason.

In June, Apple Daily, the Chinese-language tabloid backed by pro-democracy billionaire Jimmy Lai, was forced to shut down after police froze $2.3 million of its assets, searched its office and arrested five top editors and executives. Police also accused the individuals of foreign collusion to endanger national security.
He's not particularly close to the White House. He's never won statewide office or a seat in Congress. And just last year, he lost a high-profile Senate race by double digits.

But if you ask him, Jaime Harrison will tell you he is uniquely prepared to lead a Democratic Party confronting fierce Republican obstruction, intense infighting and the burden of history heading into next year's midterm elections.

He will tell you of his own childhood of poverty in rural South Carolina, where he ate cereal with water instead of milk before eventually becoming an attorney, a congressional aide, the first Black state party chair, a prodigious fundraiser and now, at 45 and the father of two young children, the chair of the Democratic National Committee.

He will also tell you about the intense pressure he feels to stave off political disaster in 2022.

Let me tell you, man, it is a big weight. It is a tremendous weight," Harrison said in an interview from a makeshift television studio in the basement of his South Carolina home. My experiences are the experiences that we need at this moment to help really thread a needle. This is going to be challenging."

Harrison is leading a party in peril.

A year after seizing control of Congress and the White House, Democrats are struggling with painful losses across several states in the recent off-year elections that raised serious concerns about a much larger Republican wave in 2022. Suddenly, the Democratic optimism of this spring has been replaced by doubt as party officials ponder whether they have the right message, the right messengers and the right political strategy.

The finger-pointing has already begun.

DNC members, who accepted Harrison as President Joe Biden's pick for chair in January, have begun to grumble about his limited engagement with the rank-and-file activists and state party officials who do much of the day-to-day heavy lifting in Democratic politics. Others believe the White House isn't giving him the freedom he needs to do the job well.

Some allies worry that Biden's team hasn't let Harrison select the members he wants, hire his preferred staff or drive the party's messaging.

Jaime Harrison knows how to do that job. I fear that he may not be allowed to do the job, said Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., whom Harrison describes as a father figure and mentor.

Clyburn declined to criticize the White House directly but questioned whether Harrison is being hamstrung by people who never ran for anything."

The White House declined to comment publicly, while Harrison played down any tension as a simple matter of navigating a new relationship with Biden's chief political emissary, Jen O'Malley Dillon. Harrison said they meet two times to three times a month, and after getting to know each other better, are building a friendship.

Are there challenges that we all have to navigate in this process because the DNC is not normally involved in the midterms? Yes, there always will be, and there are now, Harrison said. Im going to continue to push, Im going to continue to be creative, but Jen and I are working hand in glove in terms of trying to make this work.

These days, Harrison is doing most of his work from his basement in Columbia, South Carolina, his home of the past five years. The DNC's Washington headquarters is still largely closed because of pandemic concerns. So, like thousands of Americans working from home, he is balancing his work life with the demands of raising two young sons, scheduling video meetings with the White House and television interviews around nap times, school activities and even the occasional COVID-19 scare.

From his home base 500 miles (800 kilometers) south of Washington, he acknowledges that he is fighting tremendous odds. Political parties that hold the White House have lost congressional seats in virtually every midterm election in the modern era. And Democrats are clinging to the narrowest majorities in both chambers of Congress.

Polling suggests there is cause for concern.

Gallup found in September that 55% of Americans had a negative view of the Democratic Party, the highest disapproval in five years. At the same time, majorities of Americans believe the nation is on the wrong track with Democrats in charge.

Democratic concerns deepened earlier this month after losses across Virginia, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. The party's Trump-era advantages eroded in the suburbs, while their struggle in rural areas worsened.

Harrison rejected a popular takeaway from the off-year drubbing that Democrats should no longer focus on former President Donald Trump as a centerpiece of their message to voters. Such a strategy failed in Virginia, among other states.

The odds are Donald Trump is gonna run for president in 2024. And hes the odds-on favorite to get the Republican nomination, Harrison said. And so I think itd be foolhardy for us to say, Lets forget Donald Trump because hes not here.' Hes going to have his presence felt all over the 2022 midterms.

At the same time, Democrats believe that a positive message focused on their legislative accomplishments will also lift their standing  if they can effectively sell their achievements to voters.

Earlier in the year, Democrats enacted a $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package, which sent $1,400 checks to most Americans and provided billions more in support for people and businesses affected by the pandemic. On Nov. 6, Democrats, with some Republicans, approved the biggest infrastructure package in generations, a $1 trillion measure that will fund years' worth of major construction projects in every state in the nation. Biden will sign the bill into law on Monday.

Still unsettled is Biden's larger social spending plan, which features unprecedented government funding to address climate change, childhood poverty and health care.

A week after Democrats approved the infrastructure package, however, the party has yet to unveil a comprehensive plan to promote their accomplishment, which polls suggest is overwhelmingly popular despite pockets of conservative opposition.

In an attempt to get things started, Harrison participated in four cable television interviews this past week. At the same time, some DNC leaders have made television or radio appearances. Elected officials in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Georgia, North Carolina and Michigan held news conferences to highlight the infrastructure bill.

Harrison said the modest start is intentional.

The party is planning a slow simmer strategy to sell the infrastructure package, he said, a shift from the burst of attention surrounding the passage of the Democrat-backed pandemic relief plan earlier in the year.

Whats the use of really jumping high into this right now, and then dropping off in December, and then by February or March, people are like, What? What happened? Harrison said. The goal is to burn this into the minds of the American people and to have it sustained as we move forward into the 2022 midterms.

Soon, the DNC will begin rolling out a new wave of TV ads, radio spots and digital ads featuring a combination of Biden and everyday Americans talking about the impact of the infrastructure package on their lives. The party would then focus on highlighting the flood of nationwide groundbreakings and ribbon cuttings expected in the subsequent months.

This has to be a long-term and sustained thing," Harrison said. It just cant be a flash in the pan.

Beyond Washington, some Democrats aren't so sure the DNC should be focused on selling infrastructure at all  at least, not now.

John Verdejo, a North Carolina-based DNC member who describes himself as Harrison's friend, said he hears gripes from other members concerned that Harrison isn't engaged enough with local officials on the ground in key states. Others worry that he's simply repeating White House talking points instead of addressing more pressing issues affecting people's everyday lives.

Hes selling it, but people ain't buying it, Verdejo said of the Democrats' achievements. Thats not his fault because hes getting his messaging from the White House. Infrastructure is great and all, but thats way down the road, and Im paying 17 bucks for a family pack of chicken wings.

Verdejo continued: "Its disappointing to see a guy like that with so much potential almost being handcuffed."

Meanwhile, the memories of 2010 are persistent.

That year, Democrats went into the first midterm election of Barack Obamas presidency struggling to sell another major policy achievement, the health care law now known as Obamacare, to frustrated voters. Democrats ultimately lost 63 seats in the House and six in the Senate.

Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, who led the DNC from 2009 to 2011, says that much of the responsibility of selling Biden's accomplishments will fall to Harrison, even if the White House ultimately controls the big decisions on messaging and strategy.

The leader of the party is the president, and when he goes out, he has the loudest microphone of anybody, Kaine said. But the DNC chair does many, many more political events and many, many more calls to rally the troops.

The fact that hes a young guy, African American, hes from a state thats not the bluest state, this gives him the ability to connect with a lot of folks, Kaine added. Hes very effective at it.

Harrison has another advantage that Kaine did not in 2010.

Democrats struggled to sell the health care overhaul to midterm voters in part because Obama personally didnt like having to sell the partys accomplishments, Kaine said. The Biden White House, Kaine suggested, seems more committed to ensuring that voters give Democrats credit for major achievements on the pandemic and infrastructure  and Bidens Build Back Better agenda, if approved.

But well-publicized Democratic infighting on Capitol Hill between competing factions has clouded the party's message. And Harrison is worried.

He said it's critical for Democrats from the party's moderate and progressive wings to come together on Capitol Hill to enact Biden's agenda.

All of this infighting, it has to stop. It has to stop, he said. We have to be on the same page. We have to pass these bills. Get them done and then get out on the ground and sell the hell out of them.

Harrison acknowledges he does not have enough clout on his own to persuade his party's warring factions to come together. So for now, he's focusing on the things he can control. A big piece of that is fundraising.

Harrison was Biden's pick for DNC chair, in part because of the extraordinary fundraising success he had in his underdog campaign against South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham last year. Harrison's campaign raised an eye-popping $109 million, although he lost the election by 10 percentage points.

By any measure, he has carried that fundraising acumen to the DNC.

So far in 2021 alone, the DNC and its allied Democratic Grassroots Victory Fund has raised more than $127.6 million, the most ever for a nonpresidential year. The committees currently boast $74.5 million in the bank.

The DNC has also announced plans to invest $23 million in state parties ahead of the 2022 midterms, including a new red state fund to put Republicans on the defensive in traditionally Republican-leaning states.

The commitment to state parties has drawn praise from people like Ray Buckley, the New Hampshire Democratic Party chair, who praised Harrison's personal relationships with the committee's large delegation of rank-and-file members and state party leaders. He noted that Harrison served as the South Carolina Democratic chair and then as a senior DNC aide before become the national chair, which allowed him to develop connections to members across the country.

He has the backing of the membership and the trust of the membership, Buckley said. But we certainly are aware that when you have the White House, there are different challenges. Youre not a free agent."

Meanwhile, Harrison has not lost sight of the big picture: History suggests that Democrats will soon lose their House and Senate majorities. But he insists there is hope for his party.

We can buck history. We can make our own history, he said. "The question is whether we can get all together in order to do so. That is the real question.
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP)  An Islamic State-linked extremist group blamed for killing thousands in Nigeria and neighboring West African countries has killed four members of the Nigerian army, including a general, the army said Saturday.

The Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) killed the security personnel during an attack in the Askira Uba area of Borno state, where a war against a rebel insurgency has been centered for more than a decade.

A Nigerian army spokesperson said its troops killed several ISWAP members in response to the attack, which residents told The Associated Press had also targeted a military base and unfolded over three days.

Hassan Chibok, a community leader in the neighboring Chibok council, said a classroom building and other structures were destroyed by the extremist insurgents.

The primary school (in Askira Uba) was burned down. The primary healthcare center was also burned down, and the house of the village head, he said.

In the fierce encounter, which is still raging at the time of filing this report, troops supported by the air component of OPHK (Operation HADIN KAI, the code name for the military operation in the northeast) have destroyed five A-Jet, two A-29, two dragon combat vehicles and nine gun trucks, the army's spokesperson, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, said in a statement.

The development is yet another sign that the IS-linked group remains a threat in the northeastern part of Africas most populous country despite the Nigerian militarys repeated claims of successes in the war against insurgency especially after ISWAP lost two leaders in the last few months.

ISWAP split from Boko Haram in 2016. The rival extremist groups remain united in an insurgency against the Nigerian government that has expanded to neighboring Niger, Chad and Cameroon.

Militants in the IS-linked group have sought to consolidate their position in the Lake Chad basin and northeast Nigeria following the death of Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau.

Despite losing two of its leaders - Abu Musab al-Barnawi and successor Malam Bako  in the last few months, ISWAP continues to target the Nigerian military and those who aid soldiers.
LE MARS, Iowa (AP)  Anxious for a getaway after months of being homebound during the pandemic, Mike and Cheryl Wells embarked on a cross country trip in the fall of 2020.

From their home in Le Mars, the couple traveled in a motor home over 4,100 miles in 21 days through several western states. Their journey took them through Hillcrest, California, where they marveled at a large red neon sign with the citys name in large letters. A prominent landmark, the sign was a gift to the community from a group of neighborhood merchants in 1940.

Later in their trip, they viewed another big illuminated sign as they entered Williams, Arizona, near the southern entrance to the Grand Canyon. That sign, bearing the citys name, extends over the iconic Route 66.

We came away from the experience thinking, Wouldnt it be cool to have a combination lighted sign with (Le Mars) name over a street downtown?  Mike Wells recalled. We came back and started dreaming with the architects and the engineers.

The Sioux City Journal reports that nearly a year later, that dream is becoming a reality. Last week, crews began installing a giant welcome sign at the entrance to downtown Le Mars. The 80-foot-wide by 20-foot tall steel sign extends over Central Avenue, between 1st Street NE and Plymouth Street.

Mike and Cheryl Wells donated the structure to help welcome and attract even more visitors to Le Mars, the Plymouth County seat of about 10,000.

We love our community, Mike Wells said. We wanted to create another unique way to differentiate Le Mars and create a landmark people would identify with.

Wells heads Wells Enterprises, the Le Mars-based family-run ice cream manufacturer that employs over 2,500 people, making it the largest employer by far in the Plymouth County seat.

Over 20,000 visitors per year stop at the Wells Visitor Center & Ice Cream Parlor, which is downtown at 115 Central Ave NW.

Wells said the new welcome sign has the potential to help draw even more traffic to the downtown business district. The sign is not far from the intersection with Route 3, which carries 10,000 vehicles per day.

The steel arched sign, which weighs over 20,000, will bear the words, Ice Cream Capital of the World, in white letters over a blue background. A sculpted plastic sundae, with vanilla ice cream with hot fudge and a cherry on top, will bear the word Le Mars in red letters, and Est. 1869 in black letters on the dish.

Both the sign and sundae will be illuminated, visible to northbound and southbound traffic.

Beneath the sign will be a 40-foot wide by 46-foot tall, double-sided banner that will promote seasonal community events. The first is The Joy of Christmas in Hometown Le Mars, set for Nov. 27, the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

The installation of the welcome center required temporarily shutting down Central Avenue, a major thoroughfare downtown. Wells said he and his wife met with local businesses ahead of time to give them a heads up about the plans.

The downtown merchants were super supportive, he said.

Local contractors were lined up for the installation. The sign was created by Mark Catton, who heads M. Catton & Co., a Le Mars-based firm that does work for museums, science centers and other clients around the country.

Other contractors on the project include: Interstate Metal Specialists, steel fabrication; Thompson Electric, electrical; Maurer Sign & Design, internally lighted sculpture and channel lights fabrication; Schlotfeldt Engineering, site plan and elevation drawings; and Timmins Construction, crane operator.

While the work was originally estimated to be finished by Nov. 5, wet weather pushed back completion by a few days, Wells said.

Were a little behind but well get the street open for the weekend, he said.
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP)  Interstate 10 in Louisiana's capital city has been narrowed for westbound motorists as part of ongoing construction work, sparking periodic traffic backups on a stretch of highway already clogged with motorists.

But Shawn Wilson, state transportation secretary, told The Advocate that the sudden squeeze from three lanes to two near the I-10/I-12 split is a temporary measure linked to the $52 million overhaul of a major interstate exit in the area at College Drive. Wilson called it a temporary pinch point.
BERLIN (AP)  Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday called on all unvaccinated Germans to get their shots as quickly as possible as the countrys coronavirus infection rate hit the latest in a string of new highs and death numbers were growing.

If we stand together, if we think about protecting ourselves and caring for others, we can save our country a lot this winter, Merkel said in her weekly podcast.

Still, the chancellor warned that "these are very difficult weeks ahead of us.

Germanys disease control center said that the country's infection rate climbed to 277.4 new cases per 100,000 residents over seven days, up from 263.7 the previous day.

The Robert Koch Institute reported 45,081 new infections, two days after the daily total topped 50,000 for the first time.

Another 228 COVID-19 deaths brought Germanys total in the pandemic so far to 97,617.

While the infection rate isnt yet as high as in some other European countries, its relentless rise in Germany has set off alarm bells. Outgoing Chancellor Merkel plans to meet with the countrys 16 state governors to coordinate nationwide measures next week, and parliament is mulling legislation that would provide a new legal framework for restrictions over the winter.

German magazine Der Spiegel reported that the army wants to mobilize up to 12,000 soldiers until Christmas to help out in overwhelmed hospitals, support vaccination and testing efforts in nursing homes, and aid health offices with contact tracing of infected people to contain the virus.

More than 10,000 soldiers of Germany's Bundeswehr army have helped out in previous waves of the coronavirus pandemic, but the mobilization underlines that the authorities expect the pandemic situation to get worse in coming weeks.

Already, several hospitals in the hard-hit eastern states of Saxony and Thuringia, as well as in Bavaria, have started transferring intensive care patients to other regions of the country because they are full, German news agency dpa reported. Planned surgeries have been postponed as well so medical staff can focus on COVID-19 patients again.

Merkel expressed her concern about the high number of intensive care patients and rising death numbers  especially in regions with low vaccination rates.

Think about it again, Merkel said to those who still hadn't got the jab. We just need to grab it, grab it fast.

"I am asking you: Join us, and try to convince relatives and friends as well, she added.

The chancellor also called on those who are vaccinated already to get a booster shot against COVID-19.

The booster vaccinations are "a real chance to break the severe fall and winter wave of the pandemic, Merkel said.

Germany has struggled to bring new momentum to its vaccination campaign lately, with a bit over two-thirds of the population fully vaccinated. It has balked so far at ordering vaccine mandates for any professional group.

Children under the age of 12, who cannot yet get vaccinated in Germany, are among the worst hit group.

The head of the German Teachers' Association warned Saturday that local health offices were struggling to keep control amid the many outbreaks in schools across the country.

The reality is that we are already on the verge of losing control in some hotspot areas, Heinz-Peter Meidinger told weekly paper Welt am Sonntag. We no longer know how to contain infection outbreaks in schools."

Also on Saturday, the government started offering free rapid COVID-19 tests again. They were scrapped a month ago in an effort to persuade more people to get vaccinated.

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Follow APs pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic
NEW YORK (AP)  The General Assembly of the Organization of American States voted Friday to condemn Nicaraguas Nov. 7 presidential vote, saying the elections were not free, fair or transparent, and lack democratic legitimacy.

Twenty-five countries in the Americas voted in favor of the resolution, while seven  including Mexico  abstained. Only Nicaragua voted against it.

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega won more than 75% of the votes in Sundays election, but the outcome was never in doubt after his government jailed seven of the leading potential opposition candidates.

Friday's resolution instructs the OAS Permanent Council to draw up a report by Nov. 30 in order to weigh appropriate actions to be taken.

U.S. officials previously called the vote undemocratic, and the European Union said they lacked legitimacy.

The resolution could open the way to more sanctions on Nicaraguan officials, many of whom are already under U.S. sanctions.

Alexa Zamora, a leader of the Nicaraguan opposition group Blue and White Unity, welcomed the resolution.

The fact that the OAS recognizes the regime as illegitimate gives us a powerful tool to demand the cutoff of outside financing for the dictator, Zamora said, suggesting that international development loans could be a target of such a cutoff.

Nicaragua's OAS representative, Michael Rene Campbell, said that the OAS does not have the authority to become our official vote counter ... the OAS is not the arbiter or auditor of the elections. 

When the regional body voted last month to condemn repression and demand the release of political prisoners in Nicaragua, seven members abstained, including Guatemala, Mexico and Honduras, which neighbors Nicaragua.

Much the same group, including Bolivia, abstained this time. In a switch, Argentina voted in favor of the resolution.

The Ortega administration has continued to close avenues for democratic participation with police banning public protests, electoral authorities banning some opposition political parties and potential candidates being arrested.

With all government institutions firmly within Ortegas grasp and the opposition exiled, jailed or in hiding, the 75-year-old leader eroded what hope remained the country could soon return to a democratic path.

U.S. President Joe Biden has called Sunday's vote rigged and says the U.S. will use the tools at its disposal to hold the Nicaraguan government accountable.

The Ortega and Murillo family now rule Nicaragua as autocrats, no different from the Somoza family that Ortega and the Sandinistas fought four decades ago, Biden said.

The ruling Sandinista Front and its allies control the congress and all government institutions. Ortega first served as president from 1985 to 1990, after the 1979 revolution that ousted the Samoza dictatorship, before returning to power in 2007. He recently declared his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, his co-president.

The opposition had called on Nicaraguans to stay home to protest. In June, police arrested seven potential presidential challengers to Ortega on charges that essentially amount to treason. They remained in detention on election day. Some two dozen other opposition leaders were also swept up ahead of the elections.

In a switch, Argentina voted in favor of the resolution. But Mexico walked a thin line, with its OAS representative saying Mexico had expressed concerns to Nicaragua about the election but would support any OAS measure condemning the vote.

Luz Elena Banos, Mexicos representative at the OAS, said Mexico has expressed our concerns to the government of Nicaragua about the political process carried out on Nov. 7, especially regarding freedom of expression and the right of citizens to participate in politics.

But Banos said Mexico would not vote for any measure aimed at intervention, isolating or imposing sanctions on Nicaragua.
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP)  The Navajo Nation reported 77 more cases of COVID-19 on Friday and no recent deaths.

The figures put the tribe's overall number of cases at 37,966 since the pandemic began more than a year ago. The death toll stood at 1,507.
CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP)  Frustrations from Republicans and progressive organizers alike slowly surfaced Friday as Nevada lawmakers began the once-a-decade process of redrawing the state's political maps.

The state's Democratic-controlled Legislature introduced new bills to reapportion and redraw districts used to elect representatives to U.S. Congress, the statehouse and the Board of Regents, which oversees public colleges and universities.

With majorities in the state Senate and Assembly, Democrats will likely pass the maps in the coming days without major changes. They will then go to Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak for final approval.

Though the maps will likely spark lawsuits, the opening day of the redistricting session saw few fireworks. Lawmakers introduced a revised Board of Regents map and heard a proposal to change filing deadlines for judicial candidates.

Discussions over the maps has yet to begin, but Republicans lobbed attacks at Democrats for deciding to hold most of them in a subcommittee rather than allowing the entire Legislature to weigh in, propose changes and revise bills containing the maps.

Lobbyists for progressive voting rights groups roamed the hallways of the statehouse, preparing to voice their opposition to proposals that they claim divide the heart of Las Vegas' Latino community into multiple districts and dilute the voting power of working class communities by combining them into districts with affluent cities and retiree neighborhoods.

Redrawn districts must account for a decades worth of growth and movement of people. Nevadas population increased by 404,000 over the past decade to 3.1 million. The 15% spike in population was largely driven by growth in southern Nevada.

Baseline maps, which legislative leaders proposed on Tuesday, peel votes away from safely Democratic congressional and statehouse districts to add neighborhoods with more Democrats to historically competitive districts. They propose reshaping U.S. Rep. Dina Titus' downtown Las Vegas district and adding minority communities to adjacent congressional districts that have traded hands over the past decade.

Parts of solidly blue statehouse districts represented by Assemblywoman Cecelia Gonzalez and state Sen. Chris Brooks are shifted and elongated in the proposals in a way that adds Democratic voters to historically competitive districts.

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Metz 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.
SAN DIEGO (AP)  A 3-month-old baby's parents have been arrested on suspicion of killing her in San Diego, authorities said Friday.

Officers were called to a home in the City Heights neighborhood of San Diego on Tuesday around 11:15 p.m. following a report of an unresponsive infant who needed medical attention, police said in a news release.
MANILA, Philippines (AP)  Philippine President Rodrigo Dutertes daughter on Saturday registered her candidacy for vice president in next years elections and was chosen as the running mate of Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the late dictator's son, in an alliance that has alarmed human rights activists.

Sara Duterte backed out this week from her reelection bid as mayor of southern Davao city then took the place of a largely unknown vice-presidential candidate of her political party, Lakas CMD, in a maneuver that allowed her to seek the second-highest post even after a deadline lapsed for candidates in the May 9 elections.

Marcos Jr. filed his papers at the Commission on Elections last month. His party, Partido Federal ng Pilipinas, named Sara Duterte on Saturday as his running mate.

In a chaotic turn of events that bolstered speculations of a discord between the president and his daughter, the elder Duterte suddenly trooped to the elections commission Saturday to accompany his former aide, Sen. Bong Go, who shifted his vice-presidential candidacy to a presidential run. Duterte may even reconsider his earlier plan, which he has dropped, to run for vice president, said Communications Secretary Martin Andanar. Such a race would pit the president, who is constitutionally limited to a single six-year term, against his daughter.

Philippine presidents and vice presidents are elected separately and could forge an alliance even if they run under different political parties. If theyre elected from rival camps, they often end up in a hostile relationship.

Ferdinand Marcos, who was toppled in a 1986 people power pro-democracy uprising and died in U.S. exile three years later, and the current president both have been criticized for gross human rights abuses.

Marcos had placed the Philippines under martial law in 1972 in an era that was marked by widespread atrocities and economic plunder. Duterte has been condemned by Western governments and human rights groups for a brutal anti-drugs crackdown that has left more than 6,000 mostly poor suspects dead in large-scale killings that are being investigated by the International Criminal Court.

The Marcos-Duterte tandem is the biggest threat to the democratic aspirations of the people, said Renato Reyes of Bayan, a prominent left-wing coalition. It has the most self-serving aims: a Marcos restoration and the protection of outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte.

Reyes said the Duterte-Marcos alliance serves only the narrow interests of their dynastic families. His group immediately launched an online protest and scheduled a rally at the Commission on Human Rights on Sunday.

There were no immediate comments from Sara Duterte or Marcos Jr., a former senator and provincial governor who is widely known by his nickname Bongbong.

Initially, Duterte and his ruling party wanted his daughter to succeed him. That prospect has renewed calls for Philippine Congress to enact a law to enforce a constitutional prohibition against political dynasties in a Southeast Asian country where powerful and wealthy clans have dominated local politics for generations.

The 43-year-old Sara, a mother of three and a lawyer like her father, has been a longtime mayor of Davao, an economically vibrant city where the elder Duterte first carved a political name with his populist rhetoric and often bloody approach against criminality, especially the widespread trafficking and use of illegal drugs, before he rose to the presidency in 2016.

Dutertes rule, which ends in June next year, became one of the most tumultuous and controversial in Philippine history, after Marcos. The ailing president, known for his brash rhetoric and expletive-laden outbursts against domestic critics, Western leaders and even the pope, initially planned to run for vice president. But he backed out from his vice presidential aspiration after his popularity ratings dropped and prompted him to announce his retirement early last month  although he has walked back on such public declarations in the past.

The president has said he was ready to face a possible array of criminal complaints for his deadly campaign against illegal drugs when he steps down but would never cooperate with the International Criminal Courts investigation.

Marcos Jr.s father died in exile in Hawaii in 1989 without admitting any wrongdoing, including accusations that he and his family amassed an estimated $5 billion to $10 billion while he was in power.

Marcos Jr. has called the allegations against his father lies.

At least six groups of petitioners have asked the elections commission to either cancel or reject Marcos Jr.s candidacy, citing a 1995 tax evasion conviction. He has played down the petition as the work of political opponents.

At least six key candidates have declared their intention to succeed Duterte, including Vice President Leni Robredo, the opposition leader who narrowly defeated Marcos Jr. in the 2016 vice presidential race. She has criticized him for his refusal to apologize and express remorse for his fathers dictatorship.
GAUHATI, India (AP)  At least five Indian soldiers and two civilians were killed Saturday in an ambush by suspected rebels in the northeastern state of Manipur bordering Myanmar, police said.

The rebels ambushed a convoy of Indias paramilitary soldiers who were on their way to inspect a remote village in Churachandpur district, a police officer in the state capital Imphal said. The dead include a colonel of the Assam Rifles, a paramilitary force of the Indian army, his wife and his son.
Thais Perkins is the owner of Reverie Books in Austin, Texas, and the parent of a middle school student and high school student. Among the books she is eager to have in her store, and in the schools, is an expanded edition of The 1619 Project" that comes out this week.

My store is a social-justice oriented bookstore, and this book fits very well within that mission, she says. I am promoting community sponsorships of the book, where people can purchase a copy and have it donated to one of the schools.

That is assuming, of course, the school will be allowed to accept it.

The 1619 Project, which began two years ago as a special issue of The New York Times magazine, has been at the heart of an intensifying debate over racism and the country's origins and how they should be presented in the classroom.

The project has been welcomed as a vital new voice that places slavery at the center of American history and Black people at the heart of a centuries-long quest for the U.S. to meet the promise  intended or otherwise  that all men are created equal. Project creator Nikole Hannah-Jones received a Pulitzer Prize for commentary.

At the same time, opposition has come from such historians as the Pulitzer Prize winner Gordon Wood, who denounced the project's initial assertion that protecting slavery was a primary reason for the American Revolution (the language has since been amended) and from Republican officials around the country. Sen. Tom Cotton, of Arkansas, has proposed a bill that would ban federal funding for teaching the project, and the Trump administration issued a "1776 Commission report it called a rebuttal against reckless re-education attempts that seek to reframe American history around the idea that the United States is not an exceptional country but an evil one.

In 2021, Republican objections to the 1619 project and to critical race theory have led to widespread legislative action. According to Jonathan Friedman, director of free expression and education at PEN America, dozens of bills around the country have been proposed or enacted that call for various restrictions on books seen as immoral or unpatriotic. Two bills passed in Texas specifically mention the 1619 project.

When you look at the current movement about critical race theory, you can see some of its origins in the fight over the 1619 project, Friedman says.

The Texas laws, Friedman says, are opaque about how or whether a given school such as the ones attended by Perkins' kids could receive a copy of the 1619 book. He cites a passage which reads a teacher, administrator, or other employee of a state agency, school district, or open-enrollment charter school may not ... require an understanding of the 1619 Project. The provision effectively bars a teacher from teaching or assigning any materials from the 1619 Project, he says, but not the school library from stocking it  especially if the book has been donated.

A spokesperson for the Austin Independent School District says in a statement that the academics team is currently working on this internally, and we are not yet able to speak to the issue.

The 1619 book appears destined for political controversy, but it's also a literary event. Contributors range from such prize-winning authors on poverty and racial justice as Matthew Desmond, Bryan Stevenson and Michelle Alexander, to Oscar-winning filmmaker Barry Jenkins, to Waiting to Exhale novelist Terry McMillan and author Jesmyn Ward, a two-time winner of the National Book Award for fiction. Along with essays on religion, music, politics, medicine and other subjects, the book includes poetry from the Pulitzer winners Tracy K. Smith, Yusef Komunyakaa, Rita Dove and Natasha Trethewey.

It's just such an amazing part of this book, Hannah-Jones says of the poems and prose fiction. "It gives you these beautiful breaks between these essays."

The 1619 Project book already has reached the top 100 on the bestseller lists of Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com. Online seller Bookshop.org has set up a partnership with the publisher One World, an imprint of Penguin Random House, for independent stores such as Reverie Books to donate copies to local libraries, schools, book banks and other local organizations.

Hannah-Jones' promotional tour is a mix of bookstores and performing venues, and at least one very personal journey. She will make appearances at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Free Library of Philadelphia. She will visit Waterloo West High School in her home state of Iowa, partner with Loyalty Bookstore and Mahogany Books for an event at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Washington and attend the Chicago Humanities Festival.

She also will speak at the annual convention of the National Council of Teachers of English. Lynsey Burkins, who leads the council's Build Your Stack initiative, which helps teachers build their classroom libraries, says it was important to reflect a diversity of experiences in the classroom texts. Burkins, a third grade teacher in Ohio, says that its easier to engage students with topics like history when they can see themselves in the work theyre reading.

The more books that we have in our menu, the more that students get to start learning about historical events in a way that is humanizing for them, Burkins says.

Hannah-Jones says that reaching classrooms was not on her mind when she conceived of The 1619 project, but that schools have become important outlets. Through a partnership with the Pulitzer Center, which has teamed with the Times before, the project has been embraced by dozens of schools and educational centers around the country, from high school history faculty in Baltimore to grade school teachers in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to the advocacy group Texas Trailblazers for Equity in Education.

Hannah has a second book out this week. The Penguin Random House imprint Kokila is publishing the picture story Born On the Water, a collaboration among Hannah-Jones, co-writer Renee Watson and illustrator Nikkolas Smith that Hannah-Jones says she was inspired to work on after readers of the Times magazine asked for something addressed to younger readers.

It is a mini-history, with verse and images, that traces centuries of Black lives from their thriving communities in Africa to their forced passage overseas and enslavement to their hard-earned freedom. Those once brokenhearted, beaten and bruised became healers, pastors and activists, Hannah-Jones and Watson write, because the people fought/America began to live up to its promise of democracy.

Jess Lifshitz, who teaches fifth grade literacy in the Chicago suburbs, says that although she was familiar with The 1619 Project, she didnt plan to directly incorporate the work into her classroom because of her students age. That changed when she received a preview copy of Born on the Water.

It honors what children are able to wrestle with and grapple with, and I think so many books written for children underestimate what theyre capable of, Lifshitz says. With all the tension that is swirling around adults, sometimes its hard to remember what a beautiful picture book that tells an accurate story about history can do for the kids sitting in the room.

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Annie Ma, who covers education and equity for APs Race and Ethnicity team, contributed to this report. Follow her on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/anniema15

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This story has been updated to correct a quotation in the second paragraph to read social-justice oriented instead of socially justice oriented," and to add the word up in the quotation America began to live up to its promise of democracy.
KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP)  Sudanese security forces fired live ammunition and tear gas on Saturday to disperse protesters denouncing the militarys tightening grip on the country, killing at least five and wounding several, activists said.

The violence came as thousands of pro-democracy protesters yet again took to the streets across Sudan to rally against the militarys takeover last month. The coup has drawn international criticism and massive protests in the streets of the capital of Khartoum and elsewhere in the country.

The killings on Saturday took place in Khartoum and its twin city of Omdurman, and the dead included four killed by gunshots and one who died from a tear gas canister, according to the Sudan Doctors Committee. Several other protesters were wounded, including from gunshots, it said.

The rallies, called by the pro-democracy movement, came two days after coup leader Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan reappointed himself head of the Sovereign Council, Sudan's interim governing body. Thursdays move angered the pro-democracy alliance and frustrated the United States and other countries that have urged the generals to reverse their coup.

For me, this is an illegitimate council and this was a unilateral decision that was taken by Burhan alone," said protester Wigdan Abbas, a 45-year-old healthcare worker. It was a decision by one person ... without consulting the coalition for freedom and change."

The Sudanese military seized power Oct. 25, dissolving the transitional government and arresting dozens of officials and politicians. The takeover upended a fragile planned transition to democratic rule, more than two years after a popular uprising forced the removal of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir and his Islamist government.

Saturdays protests were called by the Sudanese Professionals Association and the so-called Resistance Committees. Both groups were primary forces behind the uprising against al-Bashir in April 2019. Other political parties and movements joined the call. The Sudan Doctors Committee is also part of the pro-democracy movement.

They movement has opposed the return to the power-sharing deal that established the deposed transitional government late in 2019 and demand a full handover to civilians to lead the transition to democracy.

Earlier Saturday, protesters gathered in Khartoum neighborhoods waved Sudanese flags and posters of deposed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, who has been under house arrest since the coup. They also chanted civilian, civilian," a reference to their main demand that the generals hand over power to civilians.

Later, the demonstrators regrouped in Khartoum and barricaded at least one major street with stones and burning tires. There were also protests in other Sudanese cities and towns.

"The youth ... will not give up and will not stop this revolution until we achieve the goals of the revolution, said Mohammed Ahmed, a 28-year-old university student.

Hamza Baloul, the information minister in the deposed government, took part in Saturdays rallies following his release from detention earlier this month.

There should be no negotiations with the coup leaders, he told the protesters in Khartoum. The Sudanese people insist on a civilian government ... the civilian state (government) is our option and we will fight for it."

Later Saturday, security forces stormed the Arbaeen Hospital in Omdurman, pushing and beating up doctors, as well as injured protesters who were there for medical help and their families, the Sudan Doctors Committee said.

Pascal Cuttat, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross delegation in Khartoum, condemned the violence at the hospital. The work of medical professionals must be facilitated and the injured must have access to the care they need, he tweeted.

The U.S. Embassy in Khartoum also condemned the excessive use of force against protesters who took to the streets for freedom and and democracy.

Sudanese police, however, denied using live ammunition against the protesters and said that the demonstrators attacked several police stations and vehicles in Khartoum, leaving some 39 policemen with serious injuries.

The demonstrations took place amid tight security. Authorities had closed off bridges over the Nile River linking Khartoum's neighborhoods. Troops and paramilitary forces also sealed off the area around the military headquarters, where thousands of protesters set up camp in April 2019, forcing the military to remove al-Bashir.

Saturday's deaths have brought the tally to at least 19 protesters killed due to excessive force used by the countrys security forces since the Oct. 25 coup, according to Sudanese doctors and the United Nations.

Ongoing mediation efforts have sought a way out of the crisis in Sudan.

The U.N. envoy in Sudan, Volker Perthes, said he held good discussions Friday with representatives of the protest movement in Khartoum, civil society activists and Mohammed Hassan al-Taishi, a civilian member of the council dissolved in the coup. Nasredeen Abdulbari, justice minister of the deposed government, also took part.

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Magdy reported from Cairo.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP)  Scottsdale police announced Saturday that they were investigating allegations against a school board president who the school district's superintendent has said allegedly distributed a dossier on some parents, including photos and personal finances.

The Scottsdale Police Department said in a statement it was aware of the allegations against Scottsdale Unified School District President Jann-Michael Greenburg. We are conducting an investigation into the matter and will report our findings once it is complete."

The brief statement also encouraged anyone with information about the case to contact police.

Greenburg, a business executive and attorney, did not immediately respond Saturday to an emailed request by The Associated Press for comment.

Scottsdale Unified is one of the largest suburban school districts in metro Phoenix. It serves most of Scottsdale as well as parts of Phoenix, Paradise Valley and Tempe. Like many school boards nationwide, Scottsdales has clashed with some parents over coronavirus-related policies.

District officials announced Friday that the district will hire an outside forensic investigator to see if any school resources were utilized in the creation of Google Drive folders on certain parents.

In a statement, Superintendent Scott Menzel said the private dossier was allegedly made by the father of Greenburg and shared by the latter."

Menzel stressed that the district was not involved with the dossier, and he said no information from student records were in the folders.

Menzel says board members would only have access to student information if they are overseeing discipline cases.

One parent, Amanda Wray, told AZFamily.com a fellow parent noticed a link to the Google Drive in a computer screenshot attached to an email from Greenburg. She says they found folders on nearly 50 parents. Each had background information like divorce decrees, Social Security numbers and property records.

Hundreds of parents and other community members have signed a petition calling for Greenburg to resign his elected seat on the board, KSAZ-TV reported.
BELLINGHAM, Wash. (AP)  State Sen. Doug Ericksen of Ferndale is sickened with COVID-19 in El Salvador and is unable to receive antibody drugs to treat it.

Ericksen, a Republican who represents the 42nd District in Whatcom County, has reached out to legislative colleagues for advice on how to receive monoclonal antibodies, which are unavailable in that Latin American nation, his spokesman Erik Smith told The Bellingham Herald on Friday.

In a message to members of the state House and Senate, Ericksen said he took a trip to El Salvador and tested positive for COVID-19 shortly after he arrived.

Smith said members of the senators staff have been unable to reach Ericksen directly.

We have been unable to get ahold of Sen. Ericksen but we believe (the message) to be true, Smith said.

In his message to legislators, Ericksen said his condition was to the point that I feel it would be beneficial for me to receive an IV or monoclonal antibodies (Regeneron). I have a doctor here who can administer the IV, but the product is not available here.

Former President Donald Trump was given Regeneron, which has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms, when he contracted the disease last year.

Ericksen missed more votes than any other state lawmaker during this year's legislative session, with some of his absences from legislative action happening while he was observing elections in El Salvador.

At the time Ericksen said that trip was separate from consulting and lobbying work he does for the country of Cambodia. He registered as a foreign agent for his work for Cambodia in 2019, and the company he launched with former state Rep. Jay Rodne once had a $500,000 contract with the countrys government.

Reasons for his current visit werent clear.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says people should be fully vaccinated before visiting El Salvador where the current levels of COVID-19 are high.

Smith said he wasn't sure if Ericksen has been vaccinated.

Ericksen has been vocal in his opposition to Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee's requirement that thousands of workers in Washington prove theyve been fully vaccinated for COVID-19 or seek exemptions in order to keep their jobs and has called for Inslee's resignation.

Ericksens 42nd District colleagues, state Rep. Alicia Rule, D-Blaine, and state Rep. Sharon Shewmake, D-Bellingham, expressed their concern in text messages to the newspaper.

COVID-19 is not something you want anyone to get and I hope he makes a full recovery, Shewmake said.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP)  Its a way of getting work done real cheap.

Thats what Cherrene Horazuk, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 3800 Union for University of Minnesota clerical workers, said as she talked about why the University readily uses student workers labor to run its departments.

Horazuk is the aid to the Dean of the Universitys Humphrey School of Public Affairs and advocates for a change in the minimum wage for municipal employees and University student workers.

The reality is, I think there are many departments who really look at hiring student workers in order to save as much money as possible, Horazuk said.

As campus buzz grows around raising the Universitys $10.08 minimum wage to match Minneapolis minimum wage, workers have expressed feeling exploited by the University because of the amount of responsibility put on students shoulders, often for low pay, The Minnesota Daily reported.

Student workers often endure financial stress because of low pay from University jobs combined with Minneapolis high cost of living. Some student workers said they had to go on government assistance to be able to afford groceries on their University wage.

Akadia Johnson graduated from the University last spring and worked as the head house manager for the Universitys Rarig Center. Johnson said although they loved their job on campus, the low pay and irregular hours caused increased anxiety.

After two years of working in their position, Johnson said their office hours were reduced from five hours to two hours which affected pay.

Once my office hours got cut, so it was two hours a week, I was under so much financial stress, Johnson said. I didnt know if I was going to be able to afford groceries at any given week.

Erin Brockmeier, a University second-year student, held a similar sentiment. Brockmeier currently works as an office assistant (OA) at a residential dorm and had to cut down on food because their University wage is not enough to afford groceries.

Brockmeier added they would like to see the University support student workers by creating more affordable food initiatives on campus.

If you look at the prices of anything in the campus marketplaces, they are kind of insane. So affordable food costs would be a huge thing for me at least, Brockmeier said. We live in a food desert more or less.

Brockmeier was one of many students and staff picketing outside of Boynton Health on Tuesday, Oct. 19 to demand the University leadership acknowledge the sacrifices essential health care workers made during the pandemic as they renegotiate their contracts.

University alumnus Adam Drabek, a College of Liberal Arts 1001 teaching assistant, said he pursued the TA position because he was studying education and thought it would be a good opportunity to work with students and run a classroom. Reflecting on his experience as a TA, Drabek said the low pay and work place experience did not compensate for the amount of responsibility coming with the position.

Throughout his experience as a TA, Drabek said he attended extensive unpaid training sessions in addition to his work hours. At the end of every month, he received a $500 stipend that totaled to around half of what he would have earned from the Universitys hourly minimum wage.

I did the math, Drabek said. Lets say its fifteen weeks, four hours a week, so 60 hours (of paid work). Plus 40 hours of unpaid training, if you include welcome week and weekends. Thats five dollars an hour.

Since the University is a land-grant institution, Horazuk argued, it is able to avoid paying Minneapolis minimum wage despite the majority of campus residing in Minneapolis.

Because the University is a land-grant institution and they are viewed as kind of a separate entity, they have a different relationship with the state and the legislature, Horazuk said. The University has been able to convince the legislature that laws such as the minimum wage laws and statutes in Minneapolis dont apply to the University.

Katie Daly, a University fourth-year and student worker, has worked three student jobs throughout her studies at the University. She said the position she felt most exploited in was her role as a TA.

I TAd a couple of classes and in that I felt more exploited, Daly said. The professors would put a lot more responsibility (on TAs), especially during COVID.

Daly and her roommate started an online petition about a month ago in light of Minneapolis enacting a new minimum wage of $15 that asks the University to follow in Minneapolis footsteps. The petition now has over 760 signatures.

We are going somewhere that we cant afford. We are getting paid below Minneapolis standard minimum wage. We have student loans now, Daly said. Thats kind of what inspired the two of us to write it.

According to Jack Ricker, the Universitys Director of Public Relations, the $10.08 minimum wage is determined based on guidelines set by the U.S. Department of Education, although many student jobs pay more than minimum wage depending on factors such as the time worked in a position and the amount of industry knowledge required upon being hired.

Other benefits of student employment, according to Ricker, are the workplace experience and valuable training gained in a position, the networking opportunities, and the ability to have a real-world application of skills.

Along with student-led efforts to raise University minimum wage, University essential health care workers are asking for recognition for their continuous work through the pandemic, despite the risks.

Deborah Pavlica, the president of AFSCMEs Local 3260 union for University health care workers, said the Universitys leadership has been unresponsive to the demands of essential workers as they renegotiate their contracts, despite work by essential workers to keep University facilities running during the pandemic.

Pavlica works at Boynton as a licensed practical nurse. She and other essential health care workers kept Boynton running through the pandemic for a hazard pay of two dollars an hour, according to Pavlica.

(The University) had us come out and only gave us two dollars an hour, Pavlica said. So my life is worth sixteen bucks a day for like three months.

Although Pavlica works on a yearly salary, she said the additional two dollars an hour in hazard pay provided by the University did not atone for the high risk of COVID-19 that essential workers endured, especially at the beginning of the pandemic because of more uncertainty of COVID-19 transmissibility and what safety precautions should be taken.

Essential workers also had to pay more for services during the pandemic. This included the costs of day care for children, commuting when some public transportation options were shut down at the start of the pandemic, which the hazard pay did not accommodate for, according to Pavlica.

Essential and student workers both expressed how they would like to see the University start valuing its workers instead of profits.

Ginger Beezley is in her second semester at the University and has worked two different on-campus jobs so far. Beezley said the challenges of her job did not stem from on-duty managers, but the perceived lack of involvement and leadership from the University.

A common theme of working at the U is, not necessarily the OA directors (because) they are doing the best they can, is the lack of support from higher up, Beezley said. I guess they have something better to do than worry about people who actually work at their university, they just have to think about making money.

More recently, University students have mobilized to raise the minimum wage. Cassidy Drummond, a past member of the Minnesota Student Association (MSA) and University alumna said MSA passed a resolution around raising the minimum wage in the 2019-2020 academic year, but the pandemic hindered their progress around this issue.

While studying at the University, Drummond worked for the Universitys Housing and Residential Life and said she believes that the University is unwilling to support students through mental health struggles.

After seeing the treatment of student workers struggling with mental health and the lack of flexibility in student worker positions in accommodating academic schedules, Drummond said she thinks it is discouraging that the University, in her opinion, is not addressing the needs of students.

Housing very much preaches that they care about their employees and prioritize self-care, but when it really comes down to it, when it comes to actual action, they really have shown that they dont care, Drummond said.
WILLISTON, Vt. (AP)  Construction is likely to start in the spring on a commuter park-and-ride lot at Exit 12 on Interstate 89 in Williston, after more than a decade of discussion and planning.

A state permit was awarded this week to start construction, the Burlington Free Press reported.
Less than a month after returning from the edge of space with crewmate William Shatner, space passenger Glen M. de Vries has died in a plane crash in northern New Jersey, said state police.

The single-engine Cessna 172 was carrying de Vries, 49, of New York City, and Thomas P. Fischer, 54, of Hopatcong, N.J.

Both men died when the plane crashed in a heavily wooded area Thursday.

De Vries co-founded Medidata Solutions, a software company specializing in clinical research and ways to use technology to help pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Alongside Shatner and two others, he traveled to the edge of space Oct. 13 aboard the New Shepard spacecraft, owned by Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin company. Bezos also owns The Washington Post.

The launch was the venture's second human spaceflight mission and took place three months after Bezos himself flew to the edge of space.

"Such a tragic loss. Warm and full of life, Glen made us laugh and lit up the room. He was a visionary, and an innovator - a true leader," Bezos said on Twitter.

The plane carrying de Vries and Fischer, who owned a flight school, left Essex County Airport in Caldwell, near the New York City area, and was headed to Sussex Airport in rural northwestern New Jersey, according to the Associated Press, when the Federal Aviation Administration alerted public safety agencies to look for a missing plane around 3 p.m.

Authorities have not said which man was piloting the plane. Emergency crews found the wreckage in Hampton Township around 4 p.m., the FAA said.

The space adventure last month was part of a historic year in which the private astronauts who reached space outnumbered those sent by NASA and could signal the opening up of space travel to individuals without specialist training.

The October flight made Shatner, 90, the oldest person to have visited space. Lasting just over 10 minutes, aloft and free-floating above the Earth, the crew took in views of planet Earth below and the dark skies beyond, and experienced brief weightlessness.

"It's going to take me a while to be able to describe it. It was incredible," de Vries had said on returning.

In a statement, Blue Origin said it was "devastated" to learn of de Vries's death. "He brought so much life and energy to the entire Blue Origin team and to his fellow crewmates. His passion for aviation, his charitable work, and his dedication to his craft will long be revered and admired."

De Vries also served on the board of Carnegie Mellon University. He graduated in 1994 from the Mellon College of Science with a degree in molecular biology and genetics.

"The entire Carnegie Mellon University community is devastated by the loss of alumnus and trustee Glen de Vries," CMU President Farnam Jahanian said in a statement. "To be in Glen's presence was to be immersed in his exuberance and zest for life, and I am filled with tremendous sorrow that we will no longer be able to experience this gift or share it with others."

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the plane crash.
I dont want to go back into the office.

Not exactly employee of the month stuff, but it is just the reality of a professional life impacted by the COVID pandemic. I wrote a while back that my happy place is at my desk at home with my old dog snoring away on his bed. It still true.

The interesting thing is I was the one fighting the move to remote work. I didnt like it one bit. Around 19 months later, I will be the one kicking and screaming the most to go back in. Yes, my company has provided us a new home, and yes, it is nice. But I have enjoyed the convenience of sleeping 5 feet away from my work desk, not wearing work clothes, of being there when my daughters return home from school, of going to the pantry for lunch (and other times), and of having CNBC on in the background so I always know the price of West Texas Intermediate Crude.

Thats a lot of change

A lot can change in 19 months. Since leaving the old Reporter-Telegram building on Illinois Avenue, we sold it to a man named Pat Brown. He runs the nonprofit Thriving United, which helps people fight substance abuse. My expectation is that building is in good hands. I hope all Midlanders give a look at Mr. Browns organization and consider supporting its mission. It is a most worthy endeavor.

I also return to work without my sidekick of nearly a decade. You know about that, but, yes, she is still retired. Bad for me but good for her. Other changes in Midland since March 2020 include:

The price of oil fell to (-$37.63) in the spring of 2020 and reached higher than $84 earlier this week. A tale of two eras there.

Pioneer Natural Resources and Diamondback are bigger; and downtown Midlands dominant player started the pandemic as Concho but ended flying the flag of ConocoPhillips.

There is a new MISD superintendent and permanent Midland city manager, a new congressman and we know that we are guaranteed a new state senator and two new council members.

We had Chinese protestors in Midland and Midland protestors in Washington.

Midlanders saw one tax election pass (for the hospital district in July 2020) and one fail miserably (the county assistance district last week).

And the unemployment rate in Midland, which was 3.4 percent when the pandemic began, rose quickly to 12.4 percent and has dropped to 4.9 percent as reported in October.

As far as COVID goes, there have been nearly 26,000 cases inside Midland County, according to the Department of State Health Services, and more than 372 deaths. That is a sobering statistic.

A new routine

Im sure Monday there will be a realization that life is again changing. Maybe it will be when I put on the editors uniform (slacks and a button down). It will probably hit me when I drive to a parking space that is as unfamiliar as Legacy was to Rebel fans prior to the pandemic.

Will the vehicle want to steer itself downtown, past the police department and across from First Methodist Midland? Will it be different not walking to Midland City Council meetings for the first time in 20 years? I expect the answer to both is yes.

Will there be a benefit to the new routine? Absolutely. Many of them.

One benefit is this. The Reporter-Telegram offices need to be open. We are the No. 1 source for Midland news. That isnt in dispute, but there are some who used the sale of our previous home and then the pandemic to tell a story that the Reporter-Telegram was no longer based in Midland. That has been and remains categorically false.

On Nov. 22 our new offices open to the public. Give me a call and I will give you the nickel tour. I might not have my snoring buddy at my side in my happiest of places, but I will be home just like I have been every workday since Jan. 9, 1995.

--

Stewart Doreen is the editor of the Reporter-Telegram. He can be reached at sdoreen@hearstnp.com or on Stewarts cell phone at 432-352-0605.
Noam Galai / FilmMagic

All the neighbors on Sesame Street are coming together to support Big Bird in his run for Texas office. Were not actually talking about the real gang, but a parody that has now evolved on social media and continues to gain traction. It all stems from Sen. Ted Cruz criticizing the real Big Bird for getting the COVID-19 vaccine. Cruz accused the beloved childrens character of spreading government propaganda in a Twitter post on Saturday, November 6.

"Government propaganda...for your 5 year old," Cruz wrote in a quote retweet of Big Bird's tweet.
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A. The board should increase their bid.

B. If private support is coming, citizens shouldnt have to wait for more details.

C. Its time to move on, the county has other pressing matters.

Vote

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Ashburnham, Massachusetts

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Population in 2010: 6,081.

Population change since 2000: +9.6%

6,081.+9.6%

Males: 3,089 (50.8%) Females: 2,992 (49.2%)

Median resident age: 40.8 years Massachusetts median age: 39.2 years

Zip codes: 01430.

Estimated median household income in 2019: $90,936 (it was $55,568 in 2000)

Ashburnham: $90,936 MA: $85,843

Estimated per capita income in 2019: $36,846 (it was $21,659 in 2000)



Ashburnham town income, earnings, and wages data



Estimated median house or condo value in 2019: $287,577 (it was $132,200 in 2000) Ashburnham: $287,577 MA: $418,600

Mean prices in 2019: all housing units: $345,896; detached houses: $359,605; townhouses or other attached units: $293,904; in 2-unit structures: $294,624; in 3-to-4-unit structures: $296,728; in 5-or-more-unit structures: $198,605; mobile homes: $74,819; occupied boats, rvs, vans, etc.: $20,048 $90,936 ($55,568$36,846 ($21,659$287,577 ($132,200$345,896;$359,605;$293,904;$294,624;$296,728;$198,605;$74,819;$20,048

March 2019 cost of living index in Ashburnham: 129.5 (high, U.S. average is 100)

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5,713 93.9% White alone 155 2.5% Hispanic 79 1.3% Two or more races 71 1.2% Asian alone 53 0.9% Black alone 6 0.10% American Indian alone 2 0.03% Native Hawaiian and Other

Pacific Islander alone 2 0.03% Other race alone

Races in Ashburnham detailed stats: ancestries, foreign born residents, place of birth





According to our research of Massachusetts and other state lists, there were 3 registered sex offenders living in Ashburnham, Massachusetts as of November 22, 2021.

The ratio of all residents to sex offenders in Ashburnham is 2,027 to 1.

The ratio of registered sex offenders to all residents in this city is lower than the state average.





Crime rates in Ashburnham by year Type 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Murders

(per 100,000) 1

(16.6) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) Rapes

(per 100,000) 0

(0.0) 3

(49.5) 0

(0.0) 1

(16.5) 2

(33.1) 2

(32.7) 0

(0.0) 2

(32.4) 2

(32.3) 3

(48.3) 2

(32.2) 1

(16.0) 1

(15.8) 2

(31.6) Robberies

(per 100,000) 0

(0.0) 1

(16.5) 1

(16.6) 1

(16.5) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 1

(16.2) 1

(16.2) 2

(32.3) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 1

(16.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) Assaults

(per 100,000) 5

(83.1) 12

(197.9) 5

(83.2) 9

(148.7) 11

(181.8) 8

(130.8) 9

(146.2) 2

(32.4) 6

(96.9) 8

(128.9) 8

(128.9) 5

(79.9) 5

(78.9) 6

(94.8) Burglaries

(per 100,000) 34

(565.1) 36

(593.6) 18

(299.6) 16

(264.3) 23

(380.2) 18

(294.2) 20

(324.9) 20

(324.4) 22

(355.4) 16

(257.8) 11

(177.2) 9

(143.9) 4

(63.1) 7

(110.6) Thefts

(per 100,000) 26

(432.1) 29

(478.2) 25

(416.0) 39

(644.2) 56

(925.6) 48

(784.6) 36

(584.9) 44

(713.6) 33

(533.1) 48

(773.4) 34

(547.9) 40

(639.5) 17

(268.4) 18

(284.4) Auto thefts

(per 100,000) 3

(49.9) 3

(49.5) 2

(33.3) 3

(49.6) 4

(66.1) 2

(32.7) 3

(48.7) 1

(16.2) 1

(16.2) 1

(16.1) 0

(0.0) 1

(16.0) 3

(47.4) 3

(47.4) Arson

(per 100,000) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 4

(66.6) 5

(82.6) 1

(16.5) 0

(0.0) 1

(16.2) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 1

(16.1) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) City-Data.com crime index 110.7 148.7 61.9 96.1 131.7 106.9 84.2 89.8 102.4 114.7 85.9 70.5 47.4 67.1 The City-Data.com crime index weighs serious crimes and violent crimes more heavily. Higher means more crime, U.S. average is 270.6. It adjusts for the number of visitors and daily workers commuting into cities. Click on a table row to update graph

Crime rate in Ashburnham detailed stats: murders, rapes, robberies, assaults, burglaries, thefts, arson



Full-time law enforcement employees in 2019, including police officers: 17 (12 officers).

Officers per 1,000 residents here: 1.90 Massachusetts average: 2.37



Latest news from Ashburnham, MA collected exclusively by city-data.com from local newspapers, TV, and radio stations

Ancestries: Irish (25.7%), French (21.2%), French Canadian (14.7%), English (13.0%), Italian (11.1%), German (5.9%).

Current Local Time: EST time zone

Elevation: 1028 feet

Land area: 38.7 square miles. Population density: 157 people per square mile (very low).

235 residents are foreign born (2.0% North America, 1.4% Europe, 0.5% Latin America). This town: 4.2% Massachusetts: 12.2%

Median real estate property taxes paid for housing units in 2000: Ashburnham town: 1.5% ($1,934) Massachusetts: 1.3% ($2,336)

Latitude: 42.66 N, Longitude: 71.93 W

Area code: 978

Single-family new house construction building permits: 1997: 32 buildings , average cost: $111,800

32 $111,800 1998: 28 buildings , average cost: $107,400

28 $107,400 1999: 39 buildings , average cost: $111,600

39 $111,600 2000: 32 buildings , average cost: $107,400

32 $107,400 2001: 28 buildings , average cost: $118,300

28 $118,300 2002: 47 buildings , average cost: $115,500

47 $115,500 2003: 37 buildings , average cost: $129,100

37 $129,100 2004: 49 buildings , average cost: $191,900

49 $191,900 2005: 28 buildings , average cost: $384,300

28 $384,300 2006: 17 buildings , average cost: $332,600

17 $332,600 2007: 21 buildings , average cost: $304,300

21 $304,300 2008: 18 buildings , average cost: $273,600

18 $273,600 2009: 12 buildings , average cost: $216,000

12 $216,000 2010: 11 buildings , average cost: $135,400

11 $135,400 2011: 8 buildings , average cost: $135,400

8 $135,400 2012: 6 buildings , average cost: $285,500

6 $285,500 2013: 10 buildings , average cost: $177,700

10 $177,700 2014: 11 buildings , average cost: $179,100

11 $179,100 2015: 14 buildings , average cost: $137,000

14 $137,000 2016: 18 buildings , average cost: $142,800

18 $142,800 2017: 16 buildings , average cost: $209,500

16 $209,500 2018: 12 buildings , average cost: $196,200

12 $196,200 2019: 20 buildings, average cost: $174,300

Unemployment in November 2020:

Here: 5.5% Massachusetts: 6.2%

Most common industries in Ashburnham, MA (%) Both Males Females

Educational services (14.6%)

Health care (8.4%)

Construction (7.5%)

Public administration (6.2%)

Professional, scientific, technical services (6.1%)

Computer & electronic products (4.1%)

Metal & metal products (3.8%)

Construction (13.1%)

Educational services (10.3%)

Public administration (8.3%)

Metal & metal products (5.6%)

Computer & electronic products (5.5%)

Professional, scientific, technical services (4.0%)

Administrative & support & waste management services (3.8%)

Educational services (19.1%)

Health care (13.9%)

Professional, scientific, technical services (8.2%)

Social assistance (5.7%)

Accommodation & food services (5.1%)

Finance & insurance (4.8%)

Public administration (4.0%) Most common occupations in Ashburnham, MA (%) Both Males Females

Preschool, kindergarten, elementary, and middle school teachers (5.0%)

Other production occupations, including supervisors (4.7%)

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations (3.7%)

Other management occupations, except farmers and farm managers (3.5%)

Metal workers and plastic workers (3.4%)

Information and record clerks, except customer service representatives (3.1%)

Other sales and related occupations, including supervisors (3.1%)

Other production occupations, including supervisors (8.3%)

Metal workers and plastic workers (6.3%)

Electrical equipment mechanics and other installation, maintenance, and repair workers, including supervisors (5.6%)

Other management occupations, except farmers and farm managers (4.8%)

Law enforcement workers, including supervisors (4.0%)

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations (4.0%)

Operations specialties managers, except financial managers (3.9%)

Preschool, kindergarten, elementary, and middle school teachers (8.6%)

Information and record clerks, except customer service representatives (6.3%)

Registered nurses (6.2%)

Secretaries and administrative assistants (5.4%)

Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks (4.4%)

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations (3.5%)

Other office and administrative support workers, including supervisors (3.2%)

Average climate in Ashburnham, Massachusetts Based on data reported by over 4,000 weather stations

Air pollution and air quality trends

(lower is better) AQI CO NO 2 SO 2 Ozone PM 2.5

Air Quality Index (AQI) level in 2018 was 52.3. This is significantly better than average. City: 52.3 U.S.: 74.2

Carbon Monoxide (CO) [ppm] level in 2018 was 0.150. This is significantly better than average. Closest monitor was 14.3 miles away from the city center. City: 0.150 U.S.: 0.267

Nitrogen Dioxide (NO 2 ) [ppb] level in 2008 was 2.01. This is significantly better than average. Closest monitor was 8.4 miles away from the city center. City: 2.01 U.S.: 5.56

Sulfur Dioxide (SO 2 ) [ppb] level in 2018 was 0.809. This is significantly better than average. Closest monitor was 6.3 miles away from the city center. City: 0.809 U.S.: 1.789

Ozone [ppb] level in 2018 was 33.7. This is about average. Closest monitor was 9.7 miles away from the city center. City: 33.7 U.S.: 33.3

Particulate Matter (PM 2.5 ) [g/m3] level in 2018 was 3.43. This is significantly better than average. Closest monitor was 8.6 miles away from the city center. City: 3.43 U.S.: 8.46

Tornado activity: Ashburnham-area historical tornado activity is slightly above Massachusetts state average. It is 19% smaller than the overall U.S. average.

On 6/9/1953, a category F4 (max. wind speeds 207-260 mph) tornado 17.8 miles away from the Ashburnham town center killed 90 people and injured 1228 people and caused between $50,000,000 and $500,000,000 in damages. On 6/22/1981, a category F3 (max. wind speeds 158-206 mph) tornado 7.7 miles away from the town center injured 3 people and caused between $5000 and $50,000 in damages.

Earthquake activity: Ashburnham-area historical earthquake activity is significantly above Massachusetts state average. It is 71% smaller than the overall U.S. average.



On 10/7/1983 at 10:18:46, a magnitude 5.3 (5.1 MB, 5.3 LG, 5.1 ML, Class: Moderate, Intensity: VI - VII) earthquake occurred 150.7 miles away from the city center

On 4/20/2002 at 10:50:47, a magnitude 5.3 (5.3 ML, Depth: 3.0 mi) earthquake occurred 155.7 miles away from Ashburnham center

On 4/20/2002 at 10:50:47, a magnitude 5.2 (5.2 MB, 4.2 MS, 5.2 MW, 5.0 MW) earthquake occurred 154.9 miles away from the city center

On 1/19/1982 at 00:14:42, a magnitude 4.7 (4.5 MB, 4.7 MD, 4.5 LG, Class: Light, Intensity: IV - V) earthquake occurred 60.6 miles away from the city center

On 10/16/2012 at 23:12:25, a magnitude 4.7 (4.7 ML, Depth: 10.0 mi) earthquake occurred 91.5 miles away from Ashburnham center

On 10/2/1994 at 11:27:22, a magnitude 3.7 (3.5 LG, 3.7 LG, Depth: 6.2 mi, Class: Light, Intensity: II - III) earthquake occurred 27.8 miles away from the city center

Magnitude types: regional Lg-wave magnitude (LG), body-wave magnitude (MB), duration magnitude (MD), local magnitude (ML), surface-wave magnitude (MS), moment magnitude (MW)

Natural disasters: The number of natural disasters in Worcester County (27) is a lot greater than the US average (15).

Major Disasters (Presidential) Declared: 15

Emergencies Declared: 12



Causes of natural disasters: Floods: 9, Storms: 8, Hurricanes: 6, Snowstorms: 5, Winter Storms: 4, Blizzards: 2, Snows: 2, Fire: 1, Heavy Rain: 1, Snowfall: 1, Tornado: 1, Wind: 1 (Note: some incidents may be assigned to more than one category).

Hospitals and medical centers in Ashburnham: NAUKEAG HOSPITAL CORPORATION (216 LAKE RD) Other hospitals and medical centers near Ashburnham: GARDNER VNA (Home Health Center, about 5 miles away; GARDNER, MA)

WACHUSETT MANOR NURSING HOME (Nursing Home, about 6 miles away; GARDNER, MA)

HEYWOOD HOSPITAL Acute Care Hospitals (about 6 miles away; GARDNER, MA)

Acute Care Hospitals GARDNER MANOR (Nursing Home, about 6 miles away; GARDNER, MA)

GARDNER SKILLED NURSING CENTER (Nursing Home, about 6 miles away; GARDNER, MA)

WACHUSETT MANOR (Nursing Home, about 7 miles away; GARDNER, MA)

LEGEND REHABILITATION AND NURSING CENTER (Nursing Home, about 7 miles away; GARDNER, MA)

Library in Ashburnham: STEVENS MEMORIAL LIBRARY (Operating income: $265,228; Location: 20 MEMORIAL DRIVE; 39,708 books; 928 audio materials; 2,587 video materials; 34 state licensed databases; 70 print serial subscriptions)

Birthplace of: Harrison Carroll Hobart - Politician.

Worcester County has a predicted average indoor radon screening level greater than 4 pCi/L (pico curies per liter) - Highest Potential

Drinking water stations with addresses in Ashburnham and their reported violations in the past: ASHBURNHAM WATER DEPARTMENT (Population served: 3,670, Purch surface water): Past monitoring violations: Monitoring and Reporting (DBP) - Between APR-2014 and JUN-2014 , Contaminant: Chlorine . Follow-up actions: St AO (w/o penalty) issued (SEP-10-2014)

APR-2014 JUN-2014 Chlorine St AO (w/o penalty) issued (SEP-10-2014) Monitoring and Reporting (DBP) - Between JUL-2012 and SEP-2012 , Contaminant: Chlorine . Follow-up actions: St AO (w/o penalty) issued (DEC-05-2012), St Compliance achieved (JUL-01-2013)

JUL-2012 SEP-2012 Chlorine St AO (w/o penalty) issued (DEC-05-2012), St Compliance achieved (JUL-01-2013) Monitoring and Reporting (DBP) - Between APR-2011 and JUN-2011 , Contaminant: Chlorine . Follow-up actions: St AO (w/o penalty) issued (SEP-09-2011), St Compliance achieved (JAN-31-2014)

APR-2011 JUN-2011 Chlorine St AO (w/o penalty) issued (SEP-09-2011), St Compliance achieved (JAN-31-2014) Monitoring and Reporting (DBP) - Between JAN-2011 and MAR-2011 , Contaminant: Chlorine . Follow-up actions: St AO (w/o penalty) issued (JUN-07-2011), St Compliance achieved (JAN-31-2012)

JAN-2011 MAR-2011 Chlorine St AO (w/o penalty) issued (JUN-07-2011), St Compliance achieved (JAN-31-2012) Monitoring and Reporting (DBP) - Between OCT-2010 and DEC-2010 , Contaminant: Chlorine . Follow-up actions: St AO (w/o penalty) issued (FEB-17-2011), St Compliance achieved (FEB-17-2011)

OCT-2010 DEC-2010 Chlorine St AO (w/o penalty) issued (FEB-17-2011), St Compliance achieved (FEB-17-2011) One minor monitoring violation

One regular monitoring violation

6 other older monitoring violations Drinking water stations with addresses in Ashburnham that have no violations reported: ASH/WIN JOINT WATER AUTHORITY (Address: 204 LAKE ROAD , Population served: 9,221, Primary Water Source Type: Surface water) ASHBURNHAM WATER DEPARTMENT (3,670Purch surface water):

Average household size: This town: 2.8 people Massachusetts: 2.5 people

Percentage of family households: This town: 77.3% Whole state: 63.0%

Percentage of households with unmarried partners: This town: 8.3% Whole state: 7.0%



Likely homosexual households (counted as self-reported same-sex unmarried-partner households) Lesbian couples: 0.7% of all households

0.7% Gay men: 0.4% of all households Residents with income below the poverty level in 2009:

This town: 6.4% Whole state: 9.3% Residents with income below 50% of the poverty level in 2009:

This town: 2.4% Whole state: 4.4%

107 people in workers' group living quarters and job corps centers in 2010

60 people in college/university student housing in 2010

17 people in nursing homes in 2000

Banks with branches in Ashburnham (2011 data): Athol Savings Bank: Ashburnham Branch at 52 Main Street, branch established on 1972/09/15. Info updated 2008/03/03: Bank assets: $327.4 mil, Deposits: $277.2 mil, headquarters in Athol, MA, positive income, Mortgage Lending Specialization, 8 total offices

For population 15 years and over in Ashburnham: Never married: 22.6%

22.6% Now married: 64.0%

64.0% Separated: 1.9%

1.9% Widowed: 3.8%

3.8% Divorced: 7.7%

For population 25 years and over in Ashburnham: High school or higher: 90.0%

90.0% Bachelor's degree or higher: 26.1%

26.1% Graduate or professional degree: 9.0%

9.0% Unemployed: 3.2%

3.2% Mean travel time to work (commute): 31.4 minutes

Education Gini index (Inequality in education) Here: 10.0 Massachusetts average: 13.1



Religion statistics for Ashburnham, MA (based on Worcester County data) Religion Adherents Congregations Catholic 306,925 118 Mainline Protestant 43,326 171 Evangelical Protestant 37,511 203 Other 18,931 69 Orthodox 7,935 15 Black Protestant 497 6 None 383,427 - Source: Clifford Grammich, Kirk Hadaway, Richard Houseal, Dale E.Jones, Alexei Krindatch, Richie Stanley and Richard H.Taylor. 2012. 2010 U.S.Religion Census: Religious Congregations & Membership Study. Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies. Jones, Dale E., et al. 2002. Congregations and Membership in the United States 2000. Nashville, TN: Glenmary Research Center. Graphs represent county-level data

Food Environment Statistics: Number of grocery stores: 135 Worcester County : 1.73 / 10,000 pop. Massachusetts : 1.98 / 10,000 pop. Number of supercenters and club stores: 4 This county : 0.05 / 10,000 pop. State : 0.05 / 10,000 pop. Number of convenience stores (no gas): 140 Worcester County : 1.79 / 10,000 pop. Massachusetts : 2.22 / 10,000 pop. Number of convenience stores (with gas): 174 Worcester County : 2.22 / 10,000 pop. State : 1.77 / 10,000 pop. Number of full-service restaurants: 569 Here : 7.27 / 10,000 pop. State : 8.76 / 10,000 pop. Adult diabetes rate: This county : 8.0% Massachusetts : 8.1% Adult obesity rate: Worcester County : 24.0% Massachusetts : 22.5% Low-income preschool obesity rate: This county : 16.6% State : 16.5%

4.16% of this county's 2016 resident taxpayers lived in other counties in 2015 ($64,114 average adjusted gross income) Here: 4.16% Massachusetts average: 5.79% 0.03% of residents moved from foreign countries ($598 average AGI) Worcester County: 0.03% Massachusetts average: 0.05%

Top counties from which taxpayers relocated into this county between 2015 and 2016:

from Middlesex County, MA 1.22% ($72,434 average AGI) from Norfolk County, MA 0.28% ($80,228) from Suffolk County, MA 0.20% ($65,864)



4.47% of this county's 2015 resident taxpayers moved to other counties in 2016 ($70,534 average adjusted gross income) Here: 4.47% Massachusetts average: 6.31% 0.03% of residents moved to foreign countries ($414 average AGI) Worcester County: 0.03% Massachusetts average: 0.08%

Top counties to which taxpayers relocated from this county between 2015 and 2016:

to Middlesex County, MA 0.92% ($71,780 average AGI) to Norfolk County, MA 0.26% ($69,053) to Suffolk County, MA 0.23% ($82,087)

Businesses in Ashburnham, MA Dunkin Donuts: 1

1 True Value: 1

Strongest AM radio stations in Ashburnham: WEIM (1280 AM; 5 kW; FITCHBURG, MA; Owner: LIVEAIR COMMUNICATIONS, INC.)

LIVEAIR COMMUNICATIONS, INC.) WCRN (830 AM; 50 kW; WORCESTER, MA; Owner: CARTER BROADCASTING CORPORATION)

CARTER BROADCASTING CORPORATION) WFGL (960 AM; 3 kW; FITCHBURG, MA; Owner: CSN INTERNATIONAL)

CSN INTERNATIONAL) WRKO (680 AM; 50 kW; BOSTON, MA; Owner: ENTERCOM BOSTON LICENSE, LLC)

ENTERCOM BOSTON LICENSE, LLC) WVNE (760 AM; daytime; 25 kW; LEICESTER, MA; Owner: BLOUNT MASSCOM, INC.)

BLOUNT MASSCOM, INC.) WKOX (1200 AM; 50 kW; FRAMINGHAM, MA; Owner: CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP)

CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP) WEEI (850 AM; 50 kW; BOSTON, MA; Owner: ENTERCOM BOSTON LICENSE, LLC)

ENTERCOM BOSTON LICENSE, LLC) WBIX (1060 AM; 40 kW; NATICK, MA; Owner: LANGER BROADCASTING CORPORATION)

LANGER BROADCASTING CORPORATION) WGAW (1340 AM; 1 kW; GARDNER, MA; Owner: ANASTOS MEDIA GROUP, INC.)

ANASTOS MEDIA GROUP, INC.) WNNZ (640 AM; 50 kW; WESTFIELD, MA; Owner: CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.)

CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.) WWZN (1510 AM; 50 kW; BOSTON, MA; Owner: ROSE CITY RADIO CORPORATION)

ROSE CITY RADIO CORPORATION) WALE (990 AM; 50 kW; GREENVILLE, RI; Owner: NORTH AMERICAN BROADCASTING CO., INC.)

NORTH AMERICAN BROADCASTING CO., INC.) WAMG (890 AM; 25 kW; DEDHAM, MA; Owner: MEGA COMMUNICATIONS OF DEDHAM LICENSEE, LLC) Strongest FM radio stations in Ashburnham: WFEX (92.1 FM; PETERBOROUGH, NH; Owner: FNX BROADCASTING OF NEW HAMPSHIRE LLC)

FNX BROADCASTING OF NEW HAMPSHIRE LLC) WINQ (97.7 FM; WINCHENDON, MA; Owner: SAGA COMMUNICATIONS OF NEW ENGLAND, LLC)

SAGA COMMUNICATIONS OF NEW ENGLAND, LLC) WXLO (104.5 FM; FITCHBURG, MA; Owner: CITADEL BROADCASTING COMPANY)

CITADEL BROADCASTING COMPANY) WAAF (107.3 FM; WORCESTER, MA; Owner: ENTERCOM BOSTON LICENSE, LLC)

ENTERCOM BOSTON LICENSE, LLC) WAHL (99.9 FM; ATHOL, MA; Owner: CITADEL BROADCASTING COMPANY)

CITADEL BROADCASTING COMPANY) WSRS (96.1 FM; WORCESTER, MA; Owner: CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP)

CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP) WGIR-FM (101.1 FM; MANCHESTER, NH; Owner: CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP)

CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP) WQLL (96.5 FM; BEDFORD, NH; Owner: SAGA COMMUNICATIONS OF NEW ENGLAND, LLC)

SAGA COMMUNICATIONS OF NEW ENGLAND, LLC) WLMW (90.7 FM; MANCHESTER, NH; Owner: KNOWLEDGE FOR LIFE)

KNOWLEDGE FOR LIFE) WHDQ (106.1 FM; CLAREMONT, NH; Owner: GREAT NORTHERN RADIO, L.L.C.)

GREAT NORTHERN RADIO, L.L.C.) WZID (95.7 FM; MANCHESTER, NH; Owner: SAGA COMMUNICATIONS OF NEW ENGLAND, LLC)

SAGA COMMUNICATIONS OF NEW ENGLAND, LLC) WFCR (88.5 FM; AMHERST, MA; Owner: UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS)

UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS) WVPR (89.5 FM; WINDSOR, VT; Owner: VERMONT PUBLIC RADIO)

VERMONT PUBLIC RADIO) WKNE (103.7 FM; KEENE, NH; Owner: SAGA COMMUNICATIONS OF NEW ENGLAND, LLC)

SAGA COMMUNICATIONS OF NEW ENGLAND, LLC) WEQX (102.7 FM; MANCHESTER, VT; Owner: NORTHSHIRE COMMUNICATIONS, INC.)

NORTHSHIRE COMMUNICATIONS, INC.) WEVN (90.7 FM; KEENE, NH; Owner: NEW HAMPSHIRE PUBLIC RADIO, INC.)

NEW HAMPSHIRE PUBLIC RADIO, INC.) WYRY (104.9 FM; HINSDALE, NH; Owner: TRI-VALLEY BROADCASTING CORPORATION)

TRI-VALLEY BROADCASTING CORPORATION) WOQL (98.7 FM; WINCHESTER, NH; Owner: SAGA COMMUNICATIONS OF NEW HAMPSHIRE, LLC)

SAGA COMMUNICATIONS OF NEW HAMPSHIRE, LLC) WBMX (98.5 FM; BOSTON, MA; Owner: INFINITY RADIO OPERATIONS INC.)

INFINITY RADIO OPERATIONS INC.) WJMN (94.5 FM; BOSTON, MA; Owner: AMFM RADIO LICENSES, L.L.C.) TV broadcast stations around Ashburnham: WUNI ( Channel 27; WORCESTER, MA; Owner: ENTRAVISION HOLDINGS, LLC)

27; WORCESTER, MA; ENTRAVISION HOLDINGS, LLC) WUTF ( Channel 66; MARLBOROUGH, MA; Owner: TELEFUTURA BOSTON LLC)

66; MARLBOROUGH, MA; TELEFUTURA BOSTON LLC) WCVB-TV ( Channel 5; BOSTON, MA; Owner: WCVB HEARST-ARGYLE TV, INC.)

5; BOSTON, MA; WCVB HEARST-ARGYLE TV, INC.) WGBH-TV ( Channel 2; BOSTON, MA; Owner: WGBH EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION)

2; BOSTON, MA; WGBH EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION) WYDN ( Channel 48; WORCESTER, MA; Owner: EDUCATIONAL PUBLIC TV CORPORATION)

48; WORCESTER, MA; EDUCATIONAL PUBLIC TV CORPORATION) WHDH-TV ( Channel 7; BOSTON, MA; Owner: WHDH-TV)

7; BOSTON, MA; WHDH-TV) WMFP ( Channel 62; LAWRENCE, MA; Owner: WSAH LICENSE, INC.)

62; LAWRENCE, MA; WSAH LICENSE, INC.) WBZ-TV ( Channel 4; BOSTON, MA; Owner: VIACOM INC.)

4; BOSTON, MA; VIACOM INC.) WGBX-TV ( Channel 44; BOSTON, MA; Owner: WGBH EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION)

44; BOSTON, MA; WGBH EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION) WSBK-TV ( Channel 38; BOSTON, MA; Owner: VIACOM INC.)

38; BOSTON, MA; VIACOM INC.) WLVI-TV ( Channel 56; CAMBRIDGE, MA; Owner: WLVI, INC.)

56; CAMBRIDGE, MA; WLVI, INC.) WFXT ( Channel 25; BOSTON, MA; Owner: FOX TELEVISION STATIONS INC.)

25; BOSTON, MA; FOX TELEVISION STATIONS INC.) WFXZ-CA ( Channel 24; BOSTON, MA; Owner: BOSTON BROADCASTING CORP.)

24; BOSTON, MA; BOSTON BROADCASTING CORP.) WNDS (Channel 50; DERRY, NH; Owner: CTV OF DERRY, INC)

Ashburnham fatal accident statistics for 1975 - 2019

See more detailed statistics of Ashburnham fatal car crashes and road traffic accidents for 1975 - 2019 here

National Bridge Inventory (NBI) Statistics

5 Number of bridges

Number of bridges 13ft / 3.8m Total length

Total length $1,383,000 Total costs

Total costs 3,727 Total average daily traffic

Total average daily traffic 70 Total average daily truck traffic

Total average daily truck traffic 5,338 Total future (year 2031) average daily traffic

2002 - 2018 National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) incidents Based on the data from the years 2002 - 2018 the average number of fires per year is 19. The highest number of fire incidents - 51 took place in 2002, and the least - 5 in 2015. The data has a dropping trend.



Fire incident types reported to NFIRS in Ashburnham, MA



170 52.8% Structure Fires



111 34.5% Outside Fires



28 8.7% Mobile Property/Vehicle Fires



13 4.0% Other When looking into fire subcategories, the most incidents belonged to: Structure Fires (52.8%), and Outside Fires (34.5%). See full National Fire Incident Reporting System statistics for Ashburnham, MA

Houses and condos Apartments 83.2% Fuel oil, kerosene, etc.

6.4% Wood

5.4% Bottled, tank, or LP gas

2.3% Utility gas

2.2% Electricity

0.2% Coal or coke

0.2% Other fuel 72.7% Fuel oil, kerosene, etc.

24.1% Bottled, tank, or LP gas

3.2% Wood





Ashburnham compared to Massachusetts state average: Unemployed percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Black race population percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Hispanic race population percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Foreign-born population percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Renting percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Length of stay since moving in significantly above state average.

significantly above Number of rooms per house significantly below state average.

significantly below House age significantly below state average.

Ashburnham on our top lists: #7 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of males in occupations: secondary school teachers (population 5,000+)"

#9 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of females in industries: fuel dealers (population 5,000+)"

#18 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of males in industries: music stores (population 5,000+)"

#21 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of males in occupations: operations specialties managers except financial managers (population 5,000+)"

#23 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of males in industries: fuel dealers (population 5,000+)"

#33 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of females in occupations: pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters (population 5,000+)"

#40 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of males in industries: plastics and rubber products (population 5,000+)"

#45 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of females in industries: religious, grantmaking, civic, professional, and similar organizations (population 5,000+)"

#60 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of females in occupations: information and record clerks except customer service representatives (population 5,000+)"

#62 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of males in industries: miscellaneous durable goods merchant wholesalers (population 5,000+)"

#63 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of males in industries: paper (population 5,000+)"

#68 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of males in occupations: motor vehicle operators except bus and truck drivers (population 5,000+)"

#71 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of females in occupations: secondary school teachers (population 5,000+)"

#76 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of males in industries: metals and minerals, except petroleum, merchant wholesalers (population 5,000+)"

#91 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of females in industries: machinery (population 5,000+)"

#91 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of females in industries: sewing, needlework, and piece goods stores (population 5,000+)"

#99 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of females in industries: paper and paper products merchant wholesalers (population 5,000+)" #4 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the highest carbon monoxide air pollution readings in 2012 (ppm)"

#5 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the most Catholic congregations"

#12 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the highest surface withdrawal of fresh water for public supply"

#16 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the highest total withdrawal of fresh water for public supply"

#23 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the highest Sulfur Oxides Annual air pollution readings in 2012 (g/m3)"

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Big Island, Virginia

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Population in 2010: 303.

Males: 157 (52.0%) Females: 146 (48.0%)

Median resident age: 66.9 years Virginia median age: 38.5 years

Zip codes: 24526.

Estimated median household income in 2019: $69,125

Big Island: $69,125 VA: $76,456

Estimated per capita income in 2019: $36,405



Big Island CDP income, earnings, and wages data



Estimated median house or condo value in 2019: $211,900 Big Island: $211,900 VA: $288,800

Mean prices in 2019: all housing units: $147,570; detached houses: $146,442 $69,125$36,405$211,900$147,570;$146,442

March 2019 cost of living index in Big Island: 83.6 (less than average, U.S. average is 100)

Percentage of residents living in poverty in 2019: 11.8%

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Most recent value % change since 2k Data: Median household income ($) Median household income (% change since 2000) Household income diversity Ratio of average income to average house value (%) Ratio of average income to average rent Median household income ($) - White Median household income ($) - Black or African American Median household income ($) - Asian Median household income ($) - Hispanic or Latino Median household income ($) - American Indian and Alaska Native Median household income ($) - Multirace Median household income ($) - Other Race Median household income for houses/condos with a mortgage ($) Median household income for apartments without a mortgage ($) Races - White alone (%) Races - White alone (% change since 2000) Races - Black alone (%) Races - Black alone (% change since 2000) Races - American Indian alone (%) Races - American Indian alone (% change since 2000) Races - Asian alone (%) Races - Asian alone (% change since 2000) Races - Hispanic (%) Races - Hispanic (% change since 2000) Races - Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone (%) Races - Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone (% change since 2000) Races - Two or more races (%) Races - Two or more races (% change since 2000) Races - Other race alone (%) Races - Other race alone (% change since 2000) Racial diversity Unemployment (%) Unemployment (% change since 2000) Unemployment (%) - White Unemployment (%) - Black or African American Unemployment (%) - Asian Unemployment (%) - Hispanic or Latino Unemployment (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Unemployment (%) - Multirace Unemployment (%) - Other Race Population density (people per square mile) Population - Males (%) Population - Females (%) Population - Males (%) - White Population - Males (%) - Black or African American Population - Males (%) - Asian Population - Males (%) - Hispanic or Latino Population - Males (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Population - Males (%) - Multirace Population - Males (%) - Other Race Population - Females (%) - White Population - Females (%) - Black or African American Population - Females (%) - Asian Population - Females (%) - Hispanic or Latino Population - Females (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Population - Females (%) - Multirace Population - Females (%) - Other Race Coronavirus confirmed cases (Nov 21, 2021) Deaths caused by coronavirus (Nov 21, 2021) Coronavirus confirmed cases (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) Deaths caused by coronavirus (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) Daily increase in number of cases (Nov 21, 2021) Weekly increase in number of cases (Nov 21, 2021) Cases doubled (in days) (Nov 21, 2021) Hospitalized patients (Nov 21, 2021) Negative test results (Nov 21, 2021) Total test results (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses distributed (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses administered (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses distributed (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses administered (Nov 21, 2021) Likely homosexual households (%) Likely homosexual households (% change since 2000) Likely homosexual households - Lesbian couples (%) Likely homosexual households - Lesbian couples (% change since 2000) Likely homosexual households - Gay men (%) Likely homosexual households - Gay men (% change since 2000) Cost of living index Median gross rent ($) Median contract rent ($) Median monthly housing costs ($) Median house or condo value ($) Median house or condo value ($ change since 2000) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 1, detached ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 1, attached ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 2 ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure by units in structure - 3 or 4 ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 5 or more ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - Boat, RV, van, etc. ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - Mobile home ($) Median house or condo value ($) - White Median house or condo value ($) - Black or African American Median house or condo value ($) - Asian Median house or condo value ($) - Hispanic or Latino Median house or condo value ($) - American Indian and Alaska Native Median house or condo value ($) - Multirace Median house or condo value ($) - Other Race Median resident age Resident age diversity Median resident age - Males Median resident age - Females Median resident age - White Median resident age - Black or African American Median resident age - Asian Median resident age - Hispanic or Latino Median resident age - American Indian and Alaska Native Median resident age - Multirace Median resident age - Other Race Median resident age - Males - White Median resident age - Males - Black or African American Median resident age - Males - Asian Median resident age - Males - Hispanic or Latino Median resident age - Males - American Indian and Alaska Native Median resident age - Males - Multirace Median resident age - Males - Other Race Median resident age - Females - White Median resident age - Females - Black or African American Median resident age - Females - Asian Median resident age - Females - Hispanic or Latino Median resident age - Females - American Indian and Alaska Native Median resident age - Females - Multirace Median resident age - Females - Other Race Commute - mean travel time to work (minutes) Travel time to work - Less than 5 minutes (%) Travel time to work - Less than 5 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 5 to 9 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 5 to 9 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 10 to 19 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 10 to 19 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 20 to 29 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 20 to 29 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 30 to 39 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 30 to 39 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 40 to 59 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 40 to 59 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 60 to 89 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 60 to 89 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 90 or more minutes (%) Travel time to work - 90 or more minutes (% change since 2000) Marital status - Never married (%) Marital status - Now married (%) Marital status - Separated (%) Marital status - Widowed (%) Marital status - Divorced (%) Median family income ($) Median family income (% change since 2000) Median non-family income ($) Median non-family income (% change since 2000) Median per capita income ($) Median per capita income (% change since 2000) Median family income ($) - White Median family income ($) - Black or African American Median family income ($) - Asian Median family income ($) - Hispanic or Latino Median family income ($) - American Indian and Alaska Native Median family income ($) - Multirace Median family income ($) - Other Race Median year house/condo built Median year apartment built Year house built - Built 2005 or later (%) Year house built - Built 2000 to 2004 (%) Year house built - Built 1990 to 1999 (%) Year house built - Built 1980 to 1989 (%) Year house built - Built 1970 to 1979 (%) Year house built - Built 1960 to 1969 (%) Year house built - Built 1950 to 1959 (%) Year house built - Built 1940 to 1949 (%) Year house built - Built 1939 or earlier (%) Average household size Household density (households per square mile) Average household size - White Average household size - Black or African American Average household size - Asian Average household size - Hispanic or Latino Average household size - American Indian and Alaska Native Average household size - Multirace Average household size - Other Race Occupied housing units (%) Vacant housing units (%) Owner occupied housing units (%) Renter occupied housing units (%) Vacancy status - For rent (%) Vacancy status - For sale only (%) Vacancy status - Rented or sold, not occupied (%) Vacancy status - For seasonal, recreational, or occasional use (%) Vacancy status - For migrant workers (%) Vacancy status - Other vacant (%) Residents with income below the poverty level (%) Residents with income below 50% of the poverty level (%) Children below poverty level (%) Poor families by family type - Married-couple family (%) Poor families by family type - Male, no wife present (%) Poor families by family type - Female, no husband present (%) Poverty status for native-born residents (%) Poverty status for foreign-born residents (%) Poverty among high school graduates not in families (%) Poverty among people who did not graduate high school not in families (%) Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - White Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Black or African American Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Asian Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Hispanic or Latino Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Multirace Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Other Race Air pollution - Air Quality Index (AQI) Air pollution - CO Air pollution - NO2 Air pollution - SO2 Air pollution - Ozone Air pollution - PM10 Air pollution - PM25 Air pollution - Pb Crime - Murders per 100,000 population Crime - Rapes per 100,000 population Crime - Robberies per 100,000 population Crime - Assaults per 100,000 population Crime - Burglaries per 100,000 population Crime - Thefts per 100,000 population Crime - Auto thefts per 100,000 population Crime - Arson per 100,000 population Crime - City-data.com crime index Crime - Violent crime index Crime - Property crime index Crime - Murders per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Rapes per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Robberies per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Assaults per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Burglaries per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Thefts per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Auto thefts per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Arson per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - City-data.com crime index (5 year average) Crime - Violent crime index (5 year average) Crime - Property crime index (5 year average) 1996 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Clinton) 1996 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Dole) 1996 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2000 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Gore) 2000 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Bush) 2000 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2004 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Kerry) 2004 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Bush) 2004 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2008 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Obama) 2008 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (McCain) 2008 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2012 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Obama) 2012 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Romney) 2012 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2016 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Clinton) 2016 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Trump) 2016 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2020 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Biden) 2020 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Trump) 2020 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other Ancestries Reported - Arab (%) Ancestries Reported - Czech (%) Ancestries Reported - Danish (%) Ancestries Reported - Dutch (%) Ancestries Reported - English (%) Ancestries Reported - French (%) Ancestries Reported - French Canadian (%) Ancestries Reported - German (%) Ancestries Reported - Greek (%) Ancestries Reported - Hungarian (%) Ancestries Reported - Irish (%) Ancestries Reported - Italian (%) Ancestries Reported - Lithuanian (%) Ancestries Reported - Norwegian (%) Ancestries Reported - Polish (%) Ancestries Reported - Portuguese (%) Ancestries Reported - Russian (%) Ancestries Reported - Scotch-Irish (%) Ancestries Reported - Scottish (%) Ancestries Reported - Slovak (%) Ancestries Reported - Subsaharan African (%) Ancestries Reported - Swedish (%) Ancestries Reported - Swiss (%) Ancestries Reported - Ukrainian (%) Ancestries Reported - United States (%) Ancestries Reported - Welsh (%) Ancestries Reported - West Indian (%) Ancestries Reported - Other (%) Educational Attainment - No schooling completed (%) Educational Attainment - Less than high school (%) Educational Attainment - High school or equivalent (%) Educational Attainment - Less than 1 year of college (%) Educational Attainment - 1 or more years of college (%) Educational Attainment - Associate degree (%) Educational Attainment - Bachelor's degree (%) Educational Attainment - Master's degree (%) Educational Attainment - Professional school degree (%) Educational Attainment - Doctorate degree (%) School Enrollment - Nursery, preschool (%) School Enrollment - Kindergarten (%) School Enrollment - Grade 1 to 4 (%) School Enrollment - Grade 5 to 8 (%) School Enrollment - Grade 9 to 12 (%) School Enrollment - College undergrad (%) School Enrollment - Graduate or professional (%) School Enrollment - Not enrolled in school (%) School enrollment - Public schools (%) School enrollment - Private schools (%) School enrollment - Not enrolled (%) Median number of rooms in houses and condos Median number of rooms in apartments Housing units lacking complete plumbing facilities (%) Housing units lacking complete kitchen facilities (%) Density of houses Urban houses (%) Rural houses (%) Households with people 60 years and over (%) Households with people 65 years and over (%) Households with people 75 years and over (%) Households with one or more nonrelatives (%) Households with no nonrelatives (%) Population in households (%) Family households (%) Nonfamily households (%) Population in families (%) Family households with own children (%) Median number of bedrooms in owner occupied houses Mean number of bedrooms in owner occupied houses Median number of bedrooms in renter occupied houses Mean number of bedrooms in renter occupied houses Median number of vehichles in owner occupied houses Mean number of vehichles in owner occupied houses Median number of vehichles in renter occupied houses Mean number of vehichles in renter occupied houses Mortgage status - with mortgage (%) Mortgage status - with second mortgage (%) Mortgage status - with home equity loan (%) Mortgage status - with both second mortgage and home equity loan (%) Mortgage status - without a mortgage (%) Average family size Average family size - White Average family size - Black or African American Average family size - Asian Average family size - Hispanic or Latino Average family size - American Indian and Alaska Native Average family size - Multirace Average family size - Other Race Geographical mobility - Same house 1 year ago (%) Geographical mobility - Moved within same county (%) Geographical mobility - Moved from different county within same state (%) Geographical mobility - Moved from different state (%) Geographical mobility - Moved from abroad (%) Place of birth - Born in state of residence (%) Place of birth - Born in other state (%) Place of birth - Native, outside of US (%) Place of birth - Foreign born (%) Housing units in structures - 1, detached (%) Housing units in structures - 1, attached (%) Housing units in structures - 2 (%) Housing units in structures - 3 or 4 (%) Housing units in structures - 5 to 9 (%) Housing units in structures - 10 to 19 (%) Housing units in structures - 20 to 49 (%) Housing units in structures - 50 or more (%) Housing units in structures - Mobile home (%) Housing units in structures - Boat, RV, van, etc. (%) House/condo owner moved in on average (years ago) Renter moved in on average (years ago) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1999 to March 2000 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1995 to 1998 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1990 to 1994 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1980 to 1989 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1970 to 1979 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1969 or earlier (%) Means of transportation to work - Drove car alone (%) Means of transportation to work - Carpooled (%) Means of transportation to work - Public transportation (%) Means of transportation to work - Bus or trolley bus (%) Means of transportation to work - Streetcar or trolley car (%) Means of transportation to work - Subway or elevated (%) Means of transportation to work - Railroad (%) Means of transportation to work - Ferryboat (%) Means of transportation to work - Taxicab (%) Means of transportation to work - Motorcycle (%) Means of transportation to work - Bicycle (%) Means of transportation to work - Walked (%) Means of transportation to work - Other means (%) Working at home (%) Industry diversity Most Common Industries - Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining (%) Most Common Industries - Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (%) Most Common Industries - Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (%) Most Common Industries - Construction (%) Most Common Industries - Manufacturing (%) Most Common Industries - Wholesale trade (%) Most Common Industries - Retail trade (%) Most Common Industries - Transportation and warehousing, and utilities (%) Most Common Industries - Transportation and warehousing (%) Most Common Industries - Utilities (%) Most Common Industries - Information (%) Most Common Industries - Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing (%) Most Common Industries - Finance and insurance (%) Most Common Industries - Real estate and rental and leasing (%) Most Common Industries - Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services (%) Most Common Industries - Professional, scientific, and technical services (%) Most Common Industries - Management of companies and enterprises (%) Most Common Industries - Administrative and support and waste management services (%) Most Common Industries - Educational services, and health care and social assistance (%) Most Common Industries - Educational services (%) Most Common Industries - Health care and social assistance (%) Most Common Industries - Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation and food services (%) Most Common Industries - Arts, entertainment, and recreation (%) Most Common Industries - Accommodation and food services (%) Most Common Industries - Other services, except public administration (%) Most Common Industries - Public administration (%) Occupation diversity Most Common Occupations - Management, business, science, and arts occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Management, business, and financial occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Management occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Business and financial operations occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Computer, engineering, and science occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Computer and mathematical occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Architecture and engineering occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Life, physical, and social science occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Education, legal, community service, arts, and media occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Community and social service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Legal occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Education, training, and library occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Health diagnosing and treating practitioners and other technical occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Health technologists and technicians (%) Most Common Occupations - Service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Healthcare support occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Protective service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Fire fighting and prevention, and other protective service workers including supervisors (%) Most Common Occupations - Law enforcement workers including supervisors (%) Most Common Occupations - Food preparation and serving related occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Personal care and service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Sales and office occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Sales and related occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Office and administrative support occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Construction and extraction occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Production, transportation, and material moving occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Production occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Transportation occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Material moving occupations (%) People in Group quarters - Institutionalized population (%) People in Group quarters - Correctional institutions (%) People in Group quarters - Federal prisons and detention centers (%) People in Group quarters - Halfway houses (%) People in Group quarters - Local jails and other confinement facilities (including police lockups) (%) People in Group quarters - Military disciplinary barracks (%) People in Group quarters - State prisons (%) People in Group quarters - Other types of correctional institutions (%) People in Group quarters - Nursing homes (%) People in Group quarters - Hospitals/wards, hospices, and schools for the handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Hospitals/wards and hospices for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Hospices or homes for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Military hospitals or wards for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Other hospitals or wards for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Hospitals or wards for drug/alcohol abuse (%) People in Group quarters - Mental (Psychiatric) hospitals or wards (%) People in Group quarters - Schools, hospitals, or wards for the mentally retarded (%) People in Group quarters - Schools, hospitals, or wards for the physically handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Institutions for the deaf (%) People in Group quarters - Institutions for the blind (%) People in Group quarters - Orthopedic wards and institutions for the physically handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Wards in general hospitals for patients who have no usual home elsewhere (%) People in Group quarters - Wards in military hospitals for patients who have no usual home elsewhere (%) People in Group quarters - Juvenile institutions (%) People in Group quarters - Long-term care (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for abused, dependent, and neglected children (%) People in Group quarters - Residential treatment centers for emotionally disturbed children (%) People in Group quarters - Training schools for juvenile delinquents (%) People in Group quarters - Short-term care, detention or diagnostic centers for delinquent children (%) People in Group quarters - Type of juvenile institution unknown (%) People in Group quarters - Noninstitutionalized population (%) People in Group quarters - College dormitories (includes college quarters off campus) (%) People in Group quarters - Military quarters (%) People in Group quarters - On base (%) People in Group quarters - Barracks, unaccompanied personnel housing (UPH), (Enlisted/Officer), ;and similar group living quarters for military personnel (%) People in Group quarters - Transient quarters for temporary residents (%) People in Group quarters - Military ships (%) People in Group quarters - Group homes (%) People in Group quarters - Homes or halfway houses for drug/alcohol abuse (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for the mentally ill (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for the mentally retarded (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for the physically handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Other group homes (%) People in Group quarters - Religious group quarters (%) People in Group quarters - Dormitories (%) People in Group quarters - Agriculture workers' dormitories on farms (%) People in Group quarters - Job Corps and vocational training facilities (%) People in Group quarters - Other workers' dormitories (%) People in Group quarters - Crews of maritime vessels (%) People in Group quarters - Other nonhousehold living situations (%) People in Group quarters - Other noninstitutional group quarters (%) Residents speaking English at home (%) Residents speaking English at home - Born in the United States (%) Residents speaking English at home - Native, born elsewhere (%) Residents speaking English at home - Foreign born (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home - Born in the United States (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home - Native, born elsewhere (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home - Foreign born (%) Residents speaking other language at home (%) Residents speaking other language at home - Born in the United States (%) Residents speaking other language at home - Native, born elsewhere (%) Residents speaking other language at home - Foreign born (%) Class of Workers - Employee of private company (%) Class of Workers - Self-employed in own incorporated business (%) Class of Workers - Private not-for-profit wage and salary workers (%) Class of Workers - Local government workers (%) Class of Workers - State government workers (%) Class of Workers - Federal government workers (%) Class of Workers - Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business and Unpaid family workers (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Utility gas (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Bottled, tank, or LP gas (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Electricity (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Fuel oil, kerosene, etc. (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Coal or coke (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Wood (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Solar energy (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Other fuel (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - No fuel used (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Utility gas (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Bottled, tank, or LP gas (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Electricity (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Fuel oil, kerosene, etc. (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Coal or coke (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Wood (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Solar energy (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Other fuel (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - No fuel used (%) Armed forces status - In Armed Forces (%) Armed forces status - Civilian (%) Armed forces status - Civilian - Veteran (%) Armed forces status - Civilian - Nonveteran (%) Fatal accidents locations in years 2005-2019 Fatal accidents locations in 2005 Fatal accidents locations in 2006 Fatal accidents locations in 2007 Fatal accidents locations in 2008 Fatal accidents locations in 2009 Fatal accidents locations in 2010 Fatal accidents locations in 2011 Fatal accidents locations in 2012 Fatal accidents locations in 2013 Fatal accidents locations in 2014 Fatal accidents locations in 2015 Fatal accidents locations in 2016 Fatal accidents locations in 2017 Fatal accidents locations in 2018 Fatal accidents locations in 2019 Alcohol use - People drinking some alcohol every month (%) Alcohol use - People not drinking at all (%) Alcohol use - Average days/month drinking alcohol Alcohol use - Average drinks/week Alcohol use - Average days/year people drink much Audiometry - Average condition of hearing (%) Audiometry - People that can hear a whisper from across a quiet room (%) Audiometry - People that can hear normal voice from across a quiet room (%) Audiometry - Ears ringing, roaring, buzzing (%) Audiometry - Had a job exposure to loud noise (%) Audiometry - Had off-work exposure to loud noise (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Has high blood pressure (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Checking blood pressure at home (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Frequently checking blood cholesterol (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Has high cholesterol level (%) Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on food at supermarket/grocery store Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on food at other stores Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on eating out Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on carryout/delivered foods Consumer Behavior - Income spent on food at supermarket/grocery store (%) Consumer Behavior - Income spent on food at other stores (%) Consumer Behavior - Income spent on eating out (%) Consumer Behavior - Income spent on carryout/delivered foods (%) Current Health Status - General health condition (%) Current Health Status - Blood donors (%) Current Health Status - Has blood ever tested for HIV virus (%) Current Health Status - Left-handed people (%) Dermatology - People using sunscreen (%) Diabetes - Diabetics (%) Diabetes - Had a blood test for high blood sugar (%) Diabetes - People taking insulin (%) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Diet health (%) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Milk product consumption (# of products/month) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Meals not home prepared (#/week) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Meals from fast food or pizza place (#/week) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Ready-to-eat foods (#/month) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Frozen meals/pizza (#/month) Drug Use - People that ever used marijuana or hashish (%) Drug Use - Ever used hard drugs (%) Drug Use - Ever used any form of cocaine (%) Drug Use - Ever used heroin (%) Drug Use - Ever used methamphetamine (%) Health Insurance - People covered by health insurance (%) Kidney Conditions-Urology - Avg. # of times urinating at night Medical Conditions - People with asthma (%) Medical Conditions - People with anemia (%) Medical Conditions - People with psoriasis (%) Medical Conditions - People with overweight (%) Medical Conditions - Elderly people having difficulties in thinking or remembering (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever received blood transfusion (%) Medical Conditions - People having trouble seeing even with glass/contacts (%) Medical Conditions - People with arthritis (%) Medical Conditions - People with gout (%) Medical Conditions - People with congestive heart failure (%) Medical Conditions - People with coronary heart disease (%) Medical Conditions - People with angina pectoris (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever had heart attack (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever had stroke (%) Medical Conditions - People with emphysema (%) Medical Conditions - People with thyroid problem (%) Medical Conditions - People with chronic bronchitis (%) Medical Conditions - People with any liver condition (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever had cancer or malignancy (%) Mental Health - People who have little interest in doing things (%) Mental Health - People feeling down, depressed, or hopeless (%) Mental Health - People who have trouble sleeping or sleeping too much (%) Mental Health - People feeling tired or having little energy (%) Mental Health - People with poor appetite or overeating (%) Mental Health - People feeling bad about themself (%) Mental Health - People who have trouble concentrating on things (%) Mental Health - People moving or speaking slowly or too fast (%) Mental Health - People having thoughts they would be better off dead (%) Oral Health - Average years since last visit a dentist Oral Health - People embarrassed because of mouth (%) Oral Health - People with gum disease (%) Oral Health - General health of teeth and gums (%) Oral Health - Average days a week using dental floss/device Oral Health - Average days a week using mouthwash for dental problem Oral Health - Average number of teeth Pesticide Use - Households using pesticides to control insects (%) Pesticide Use - Households using pesticides to kill weeds (%) Physical Activity - People doing vigorous-intensity work activities (%) Physical Activity - People doing moderate-intensity work activities (%) Physical Activity - People walking or bicycling (%) Physical Activity - People doing vigorous-intensity recreational activities (%) Physical Activity - People doing moderate-intensity recreational activities (%) Physical Activity - Average hours a day doing sedentary activities Physical Activity - Average hours a day watching TV or videos Physical Activity - Average hours a day using computer Physical Functioning - People having limitations keeping them from working (%) Physical Functioning - People limited in amount of work they can do (%) Physical Functioning - People that need special equipment to walk (%) Physical Functioning - People experiencing confusion/memory problems (%) Physical Functioning - People requiring special healthcare equipment (%) Prescription Medications - Average number of prescription medicines taking Preventive Aspirin Use - Adults 40+ taking low-dose aspirin (%) Reproductive Health - Vaginal deliveries (%) Reproductive Health - Cesarean deliveries (%) Reproductive Health - Deliveries resulted in a live birth (%) Reproductive Health - Pregnancies resulted in a delivery (%) Reproductive Health - Women breastfeeding newborns (%) Reproductive Health - Women that had a hysterectomy (%) Reproductive Health - Women that had both ovaries removed (%) Reproductive Health - Women that have ever taken birth control pills (%) Reproductive Health - Women taking birth control pills (%) Reproductive Health - Women that have ever used Depo-Provera or injectables (%) Reproductive Health - Women that have ever used female hormones (%) Sexual Behavior - People 18+ that ever had sex (vaginal, anal, or oral) (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever had vaginal sex with a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever performed oral sex on a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever had anal sex with a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever had any sex with a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever had vaginal sex with a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever performed oral sex on a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever had anal sex with a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever had any kind of sex with a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Average age people first had sex Sexual Behavior - Average number of female sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of female vaginal sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average age people first performed oral sex on a woman (18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of woman performed oral sex on in lifetime (18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male anal sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average age people first performed oral sex on a man (18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male oral sex partners in lifetime (18+) Sexual Behavior - People using protection when performing oral sex (%) Sexual Behavior - Average number of times people have vaginal or anal sex a year Sexual Behavior - People having sex without condom (%) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male sex partners in lifetime (females 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male vaginal sex partners in lifetime (females 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of female sex partners in lifetime (females 18+) Sexual Behavior - Circumcised males 18+ (%) Sleep Disorders - Average hours sleeping at night Sleep Disorders - People that has trouble sleeping (%) Smoking-Cigarette Use - People smoking cigarettes (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ having problems with smell (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ having problems with taste (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had wisdom teeth removed (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had tonsils teeth removed (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had a loss of consciousness because of a head injury (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had a broken nose or other serious injury to face or skull (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had two or more sinus infections (%) Weight - Average height (inches) Weight - Average weight (pounds) Weight - Average BMI Weight - People that are obese (%) Weight - People that ever were obese (%) Weight - People trying to lose weight (%) Settings Get link Loading data... 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123 Hide US histogram



156 76.5% White alone 47 23.0% Black alone

Races in Big Island detailed stats: ancestries, foreign born residents, place of birth





According to our research of Virginia and other state lists, there were 8 registered sex offenders living in Big Island, Virginia as of November 22, 2021.

The ratio of all residents to sex offenders in Big Island is 31 to 1.





Ancestries: Brazilian (24.4%), German (10.5%).

Current Local Time: EST time zone

Elevation: 720 feet

21 residents are foreign born (10.3% Latin America). This place: 10.3% Virginia: 12.4%

Median real estate property taxes paid for housing units with mortgages in 2019: $804 (0.6%)

Median real estate property taxes paid for housing units with no mortgage in 2019: $382 (0.4%)



Latitude: 37.53 N, Longitude: 79.36 W

Area code: 434

Unemployment in November 2020:

Here: 3.8% Virginia: 4.6%

Air pollution and air quality trends

(lower is better) AQI Ozone

Air Quality Index (AQI) level in 2018 was 46.9. This is significantly better than average. City: 46.9 U.S.: 74.2

Ozone [ppb] level in 2018 was 24.3. This is better than average. Closest monitor was 10.6 miles away from the city center. City: 24.3 U.S.: 33.3

Tornado activity: Big Island-area historical tornado activity is below Virginia state average. It is 65% smaller than the overall U.S. average.

On 6/16/1966, a category F3 (max. wind speeds 158-206 mph) tornado 32.4 miles away from the Big Island place center caused between $500 and $5000 in damages. On 7/15/1996, a category F2 (max. wind speeds 113-157 mph) tornado 16.4 miles away from the place center caused $140,000 in damages.

Earthquake activity: Big Island-area historical earthquake activity is significantly above Virginia state average. It is 39% smaller than the overall U.S. average.



On 8/23/2011 at 17:51:04, a magnitude 5.8 (5.8 MW, Depth: 3.7 mi, Class: Moderate, Intensity: VI - VII) earthquake occurred 82.1 miles away from the city center

On 8/9/2020 at 12:07:37, a magnitude 5.1 (5.1 MW, Depth: 4.7 mi) earthquake occurred 120.5 miles away from Big Island center

On 12/9/2003 at 20:59:18, a magnitude 4.5 (4.5 ML, Depth: 6.2 mi, Class: Light, Intensity: IV - V) earthquake occurred 71.0 miles away from the city center

On 12/9/2003 at 20:59:14, a magnitude 4.5 (4.5 MB, 4.5 LG) earthquake occurred 80.0 miles away from Big Island center

On 8/25/2011 at 05:07:52, a magnitude 4.5 (4.5 ML, Depth: 4.2 mi) earthquake occurred 81.4 miles away from Big Island center

On 7/27/1980 at 18:52:21, a magnitude 5.2 (5.1 MB, 4.7 MS, 5.0 UK, 5.2 UK) earthquake occurred 254.5 miles away from Big Island center

Magnitude types: regional Lg-wave magnitude (LG), body-wave magnitude (MB), local magnitude (ML), surface-wave magnitude (MS), moment magnitude (MW)

Natural disasters: The number of natural disasters in Bedford County (20) is greater than the US average (15).

Major Disasters (Presidential) Declared: 16

Emergencies Declared: 4



Causes of natural disasters: Storms: 9, Floods: 6, Winter Storms: 4, Hurricanes: 3, Droughts: 2, Ice Storms: 2, Blizzard: 1, Snowstorm: 1, Tornado: 1, Tropical Storm: 1, Wind: 1, Other: 1 (Note: some incidents may be assigned to more than one category).

Hospitals and medical centers near Big Island: WESTMINSTER-CANTERBURY -LYNCHB (Nursing Home, about 11 miles away; LYNCHBURG, VA)

VA BAP HOSP DIV CEN (Nursing Home, about 12 miles away; LYNCHBURG, VA)

FIRST DOMINION HM HLTH CARE (Home Health Center, about 12 miles away; LYNCHBURG, VA)

GENERATION SOLUTIONS OF THE ROANOKE VALLEY (Home Health Center, about 13 miles away; FORT HILL, VA)

UVA LYNCHBURG DIALYSIS (Dialysis Facility, about 13 miles away; LYNCHBURG, VA)

AVANTE AT LYNCHBURG (Nursing Home, about 13 miles away; LYNCHBURG, VA)

SEVEN HILLS HEALTH CARE CTR (Nursing Home, about 13 miles away; LYNCHBURG, VA)

Amtrak station near Big Island: 15 miles: LYNCHBURG (825 KEMPER ST.) . Services: ticket office, partially wheelchair accessible, enclosed waiting area, public restrooms, public payphones, free short-term parking, free long-term parking, call for taxi service.

Colleges/universities with over 2000 students nearest to Big Island: Lynchburg College ( about 14 miles; Lynchburg, VA ; Full-time enrollment: 2,456)

14 ; 2,456) Central Virginia Community College ( about 16 miles; Lynchburg, VA ; FT enrollment: 2,759)

16 ; 2,759) Liberty University ( about 17 miles; Lynchburg, VA ; FT enrollment: 61,625)

17 ; 61,625) Virginia Western Community College ( about 40 miles; Roanoke, VA ; FT enrollment: 4,762)

40 ; 4,762) American National University ( about 40 miles; Salem, VA ; FT enrollment: 2,297)

40 ; 2,297) Roanoke College ( about 42 miles; Salem, VA ; FT enrollment: 2,316)

42 ; 2,316) Longwood University (about 56 miles; Farmville, VA; FT enrollment: 4,565) Public elementary/middle school in Big Island: BIG ISLAND ELEM (Students: 186, Location: 1114 SCHOOLDAYS RD, Grades: PK-6) See full list of schools located in Big Island

Bedford County has a predicted average indoor radon screening level between 2 and 4 pCi/L (pico curies per liter) - Moderate Potential

Average household size: This place: 2.3 people Virginia: 2.5 people

Percentage of family households: This place: 71.5% Whole state: 67.0%

Percentage of households with unmarried partners: This place: 4.6% Whole state: 5.7%



No gay or lesbian households reported





For population 15 years and over in Big Island: Never married: 16.1%

16.1% Now married: 34.4%

34.4% Separated: 5.2%

5.2% Widowed: 16.3%

16.3% Divorced: 27.9%

For population 25 years and over in Big Island: High school or higher: 74.3%

74.3% Bachelor's degree or higher: 0.0%

0.0% Graduate or professional degree: 0.0%

Education Gini index (Inequality in education) Here: 8.3 Virginia average: 12.1



Religion statistics for Big Island, VA (based on Bedford County data) Religion Adherents Congregations Evangelical Protestant 20,822 64 Mainline Protestant 5,052 40 Catholic 2,119 2 Other 13 - None 40,670 - Source: Clifford Grammich, Kirk Hadaway, Richard Houseal, Dale E.Jones, Alexei Krindatch, Richie Stanley and Richard H.Taylor. 2012. 2010 U.S.Religion Census: Religious Congregations & Membership Study. Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies. Jones, Dale E., et al. 2002. Congregations and Membership in the United States 2000. Nashville, TN: Glenmary Research Center. Graphs represent county-level data

Food Environment Statistics: Number of grocery stores: 7 Bedford County : 1.05 / 10,000 pop. State : 2.03 / 10,000 pop. Number of supercenters and club stores: 1 Bedford County : 0.15 / 10,000 pop. Virginia : 0.17 / 10,000 pop. Number of convenience stores (no gas): 7 Bedford County : 1.05 / 10,000 pop. Virginia : 1.43 / 10,000 pop. Number of convenience stores (with gas): 18 Bedford County : 2.70 / 10,000 pop. Virginia : 4.03 / 10,000 pop. Number of full-service restaurants: 28 This county : 4.21 / 10,000 pop. Virginia : 7.65 / 10,000 pop. Adult diabetes rate: Bedford County : 8.6% State : 9.3% Adult obesity rate: Bedford County : 27.1% Virginia : 26.7%

7.79% of this county's 2016 resident taxpayers lived in other counties in 2015 ($53,779 average adjusted gross income) Here: 7.79% Virginia average: 9.50% 10 or fewer of this county's residents moved from foreign countries between 2015 and 2016.

Top counties from which taxpayers relocated into this county between 2015 and 2016:

from Lynchburg city, VA 1.59% ($57,044 average AGI) from Campbell County, VA 0.89% ($48,235) from Roanoke County, VA 0.69% ($43,673)



6.91% of this county's 2015 resident taxpayers moved to other counties in 2016 ($53,213 average adjusted gross income) Here: 6.91% Virginia average: 9.76% 10 or fewer of this county's residents moved to foreign countries between 2015 and 2016.

Top counties to which taxpayers relocated from this county between 2015 and 2016:

to Lynchburg city, VA 1.14% ($46,738 average AGI) to Campbell County, VA 0.74% ($40,384) to Roanoke city, VA 0.62% ($30,984)

Strongest AM radio stations in Big Island: WLLL (930 AM; 10 kW; LYNCHBURG, VA; Owner: HUBBARD'S ADVERTISING AGENCY, INC.)

HUBBARD'S ADVERTISING AGENCY, INC.) WLVA (590 AM; 5 kW; LYNCHBURG, VA)

WKPA (1170 AM; 5 kW; LYNCHBURG, VA; Owner: SEVEN HILLS MEDIA, INC.)

SEVEN HILLS MEDIA, INC.) WTRU (830 AM; 50 kW; KERNERSVILLE, NC; Owner: TRUTH BROADCASTING CORPORATION)

TRUTH BROADCASTING CORPORATION) WKBA (1550 AM; daytime; 10 kW; VINTON, VA; Owner: TINKER CREEK BROADCASTERS, INC.)

TINKER CREEK BROADCASTERS, INC.) WFTK (1030 AM; daytime; 50 kW; WAKE FOREST, NC; Owner: POSITIVE RADIO GROUP, INC.)

POSITIVE RADIO GROUP, INC.) WVBE (610 AM; 5 kW; ROANOKE, VA; Owner: MEL WHEELER, INC.)

MEL WHEELER, INC.) WPTF (680 AM; 50 kW; RALEIGH, NC; Owner: FIRST STATE COMMUNICATIONS)

FIRST STATE COMMUNICATIONS) WAMV (1420 AM; 2 kW; AMHERST, VA; Owner: COMMUNITY FIRST BROADCASTERS, INC.)

COMMUNITY FIRST BROADCASTERS, INC.) WOWZ (1280 AM; 5 kW; APPOMATTOX, VA; Owner: ONECOM, INC.)

ONECOM, INC.) WBRG (1050 AM; 1 kW; LYNCHBURG, VA; Owner: TRI-COUNTY BROADCASTING, INC.)

TRI-COUNTY BROADCASTING, INC.) WSVA (550 AM; 10 kW; HARRISONBURG, VA; Owner: M. BELMONT VERSTANDIG, INC.)

M. BELMONT VERSTANDIG, INC.) WFNR (710 AM; daytime; 10 kW; BLACKSBURG, VA; Owner: PERCEPTION MEDIA GROUP, INC.) Strongest FM radio stations in Big Island: WYYD (107.9 FM; AMHERST, VA; Owner: CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP)

CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP) WNRS-FM (89.9 FM; SWEET BRIAR, VA; Owner: SWEET BRIAR COLLEGE)

SWEET BRIAR COLLEGE) WZZU (97.9 FM; LYNCHBURG, VA; Owner: TRAVIS MEDIA L.L.C.)

TRAVIS MEDIA L.L.C.) WREL-FM (96.7 FM; BUENA VISTA, VA; Owner: EQUUS COMMUNICATIONS, INC.)

EQUUS COMMUNICATIONS, INC.) WRXT (90.3 FM; ROANOKE, VA; Owner: POSITIVE ALTERNATIVE RADIO, INC.)

POSITIVE ALTERNATIVE RADIO, INC.) WBWR (106.9 FM; BEDFORD, VA; Owner: BEDFORD RADIO PARTNERS, LLC)

BEDFORD RADIO PARTNERS, LLC) WXCF-FM (103.9 FM; CLIFTON FORGE, VA; Owner: IMPACT BROADCASTING, INC.)

IMPACT BROADCASTING, INC.) WRVL (88.3 FM; LYNCHBURG, VA; Owner: LIBERTY UNIVERSITY, INC.)

LIBERTY UNIVERSITY, INC.) W229AE (93.7 FM; LYNCHBURG, VA; Owner: CALVARY CHAPEL OF TWIN FALLS, INC.)

CALVARY CHAPEL OF TWIN FALLS, INC.) WVBE-FM (100.1 FM; LYNCHBURG, VA; Owner: MEL WHEELER, INC.)

MEL WHEELER, INC.) WTON-FM (94.3 FM; STAUNTON, VA; Owner: HIGH IMPACT COMMUNICATIONS INC)

HIGH IMPACT COMMUNICATIONS INC) W280DB (103.9 FM; LYNCHBURG, VA; Owner: POSITIVE ALTERNATIVE RADIO, INC.)

POSITIVE ALTERNATIVE RADIO, INC.) WWMC (90.9 FM; LYNCHBURG, VA; Owner: LIBERTY UNIVERSITY, INC.)

LIBERTY UNIVERSITY, INC.) WROV-FM (96.3 FM; MARTINSVILLE, VA; Owner: CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP)

CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP) W265AS (100.9 FM; CONCORD, VA; Owner: PAUL H. PASSINK)

PAUL H. PASSINK) WXLK (92.3 FM; ROANOKE, VA; Owner: MEL WHEELER, INC.)

MEL WHEELER, INC.) WSLC-FM (94.9 FM; ROANOKE, VA; Owner: MEL WHEELER, INC.)

MEL WHEELER, INC.) WSLQ (99.1 FM; ROANOKE, VA; Owner: MEL WHEELER, INC.)

MEL WHEELER, INC.) WVTF (89.1 FM; ROANOKE, VA; Owner: VIRGINIA TECH FOUNDATION INC)

VIRGINIA TECH FOUNDATION INC) WZZI (101.5 FM; VINTON, VA; Owner: TRAVIS MEDIA, L.L.C.) TV broadcast stations around Big Island: WSET-TV ( Channel 13; LYNCHBURG, VA; Owner: WSET INCORPORATED)

13; LYNCHBURG, VA; WSET INCORPORATED) WJPR ( Channel 21; LYNCHBURG, VA; Owner: GRANT BROADCASTING SYSTEMS II, INC.)

21; LYNCHBURG, VA; GRANT BROADCASTING SYSTEMS II, INC.) W40BM ( Channel 40; LYNCHBURG, VA; Owner: TRINITY BROADCASTING NETWORK)

40; LYNCHBURG, VA; TRINITY BROADCASTING NETWORK) WTLU-CA ( Channel 19; LYNCHBURG, VA; Owner: LIBERTY UNIVERSITY, INC.)

19; LYNCHBURG, VA; LIBERTY UNIVERSITY, INC.) W80AN (Channel 80; AMHERST, VA; Owner: BLUE RIDGE PUBLIC TELEVISION, INC.)

Big Island fatal accident list: Feb 17, 2017 08:30 PM, Us-501, Lat: 37.548897, Lon: -79.367831, Vehicles: 1, Persons: 3, Fatalities: 1, Drunk persons involved: 1

Mar 1, 2004 04:25 PM, Sr-122, Rt-600, Lat: 37.536279, Lon: -79.367245, Vehicles: 1, Persons: 1, Fatalities: 1, Drunk persons involved: 1

Jan 5, 2001 01:45 AM, Sr-122, Vehicles: 1, Persons: 1, Fatalities: 1, Drunk persons involved: 1

Apr 30, 2000 03:50 AM, Sr-122, Lat: 37.536279, Lon: -79.367245, Vehicles: 1, Persons: 2, Pedestrians: 1, Fatalities: 1, Drunk persons involved: 1

Dec 26, 1982 02:25 PM, Vehicles: 1, Persons: 4, Fatalities: 1



National Bridge Inventory (NBI) Statistics

38 Number of bridges

Number of bridges 472ft / 144m Total length

Total length $15,443,000 Total costs

Total costs 90,857 Total average daily traffic

Total average daily traffic 5,346 Total average daily truck traffic

Total average daily truck traffic 132,857 Total future (year 2030) average daily traffic

New bridges - historical statistics

1 1910-1919

2 1920-1929

7 1930-1939

10 1950-1959

7 1960-1969

5 1970-1979

2 1980-1989

2 1990-1999

1 2000-2009

1 2010-2018 See full National Bridge Inventory statistics for Big Island, VA

FCC Registered Antenna Towers: 12 (



FCC Registered Commercial Land Mobile Towers: 3 Wcnv- Transmitter Site ( Lat: 37.470417 Lon: -79.374750), Structure height: 62 m, Call Sign: KPI979,

Assigned Frequencies: 455.010 MHz, Grant Date: 08/01/1985, Expiration Date: 10/01/2027, Registrant: Iheartmedia, Inc., 7136 S. Yale Avenue, Suite 501, Tulsa, OK 74136, Phone: (918) 664-4581, Fax: (918) 664-3066, Email:

37.470417 -79.374750), 62 m, KPI979, 455.010 MHz, 08/01/1985, 10/01/2027, Iheartmedia, Inc., 7136 S. Yale Avenue, Suite 501, Tulsa, OK 74136, (918) 664-4581, (918) 664-3066, 4 Miles S. Big Island ( Lat: 37.470417 Lon: -79.374750), Structure height: 62 m, Call Sign: KPJ867,

Assigned Frequencies: 455.010 MHz, Grant Date: 09/13/1985, Expiration Date: 10/01/2027, Registrant: Iheartmedia, Inc., 7136 S. Yale Avenue, Suite 501, Tulsa, OK 74136, Phone: (918) 664-4581, Fax: (918) 664-3066, Email:

37.470417 -79.374750), 62 m, KPJ867, 455.010 MHz, 09/13/1985, 10/01/2027, Iheartmedia, Inc., 7136 S. Yale Avenue, Suite 501, Tulsa, OK 74136, (918) 664-4581, (918) 664-3066, Lat: 37.470417 Lon: -79.374750, Call Sign: WPWB215,

Assigned Frequencies: 161.700 MHz, Grant Date: 10/01/2002, Expiration Date: 10/01/2027, Certifier: Stephen G Davis, Registrant: Iheartmedia, Inc., 7136 S. Yale Avenue, Suite 501, Tulsa, OK 74136, Phone: (918) 664-4581, Fax: (918) 664-3066, Email:

FCC Registered Broadcast Land Mobile Towers: 3 400 Yards N Of Bedford Hydroelectric Plant ( Lat: 37.573750 Lon: -79.287528), Call Sign: KBH785,

Assigned Frequencies: 45.2000 MHz, Grant Date: 08/29/2012, Expiration Date: 09/01/2022, Registrant: City Of Bedford, 2115 E Main St, Bedford, VA 24523, Phone: (540) 587-6011, Fax: (540) 586-7198, Email:

37.573750 -79.287528), KBH785, 45.2000 MHz, 08/29/2012, 09/01/2022, City Of Bedford, 2115 E Main St, Bedford, VA 24523, (540) 587-6011, (540) 586-7198, Us Hwy 501 N ( Lat: 37.534583 Lon: -79.356972), Type: Building, Structure height: 23 m, Overall height: 26 m, Call Sign: WPPW206,

Assigned Frequencies: 452.300 MHz, 452.650 MHz, Grant Date: 01/06/2015, Expiration Date: 02/04/2025, Certifier: Herb Baty, Registrant: Georgia-Pacific Corporation, 133 Peachtree Street, Ne, Atlanta, GA 30303, Phone: (404) 652-4943

37.534583 -79.356972), Building, 23 m, 26 m, WPPW206, 452.300 MHz, 452.650 MHz, 01/06/2015, 02/04/2025, Herb Baty, Georgia-Pacific Corporation, 133 Peachtree Street, Ne, Atlanta, GA 30303, (404) 652-4943 APPLE ORCHARD MTN, Apple Orchard Mountain, Bedford County (Lat: 37.517250 Lon: -79.509500), Type: Ltower, Structure height: 21.3 m, Call Sign: WQNA753,

Assigned Frequencies: 151.385 MHz, Grant Date: 09/01/2020, Expiration Date: 11/26/2030, Certifier: John E Furlough, Registrant: Department Of State Police, Richmond, VA 23261-7472, Phone: (804) 674-2651, Fax: (804) 674-2602, Email:

FCC Registered Microwave Towers: 3 APPLE ORCHAR, Apple Orchard Mountain, Bedford County ( Lat: 37.517194 Lon: -79.509500), Type: Mast, Structure height: 21.3 m, Call Sign: WQLG871,

Assigned Frequencies: 6197.24 MHz, 6034.15 MHz, 6093.45 MHz, 6775.62 MHz, Grant Date: 10/24/2019, Expiration Date: 01/19/2030, Certifier: Captain John E Furlough, Registrant: Virginia State Police, 7700 Midlothian Turnpike, North Chesterfield, VA 23261, Phone: (804) 674-4644, Fax: (804) 674-2602, Email:

37.517194 -79.509500), Mast, 21.3 m, WQLG871, 6197.24 MHz, 6034.15 MHz, 6093.45 MHz, 6775.62 MHz, 10/24/2019, 01/19/2030, Captain John E Furlough, Virginia State Police, 7700 Midlothian Turnpike, North Chesterfield, VA 23261, (804) 674-4644, (804) 674-2602, BIG ISLAND, 1177 Sunset Hill Rd. ( Lat: 37.533500 Lon: -79.361056), Type: Mtower, Structure height: 59.4 m, Overall height: 60.6 m, Call Sign: WRJH231,

Assigned Frequencies: 10755.0 MHz, Grant Date: 08/28/2020, Expiration Date: 08/28/2030, Certifier: Douglas W Chambers, Registrant: Holland & Knight LLP, 800 17th Street, N.W., Suite #1100, Washington, DC 20006-3906, Phone: (202) 955-3000, Fax: (202) 955-5564, Email:

37.533500 -79.361056), Mtower, 59.4 m, 60.6 m, WRJH231, 10755.0 MHz, 08/28/2020, 08/28/2030, Douglas W Chambers, Holland & Knight LLP, 800 17th Street, N.W., Suite #1100, Washington, DC 20006-3906, (202) 955-3000, (202) 955-5564, NO BUSINESS, Top Of No Business Mountain (Lat: 37.472194 Lon: -79.374056), Type: Gtower, Structure height: 60.5 m, Overall height: 61.3 m, Call Sign: WLO331,

Assigned Frequencies: 944.000 MHz, Grant Date: 03/09/1989, Expiration Date: 10/01/2027, Registrant: Iheartmedia, Inc., 7136 S. Yale Avenue, Suite 501, Tulsa, OK 74136, Phone: (918) 664-4581, Fax: (918) 664-3066, Email:

FCC Registered Amateur Radio Licenses: 13 (



FAA Registered Aircraft: 1 Aircraft: PIPER PA-22-135 (Category: Land, Seats: 4, Weight: Up to 12,499 Pounds, Speed: 94 mph), Engine: LYCOMING 0-290 SERIES (140 HP) (Reciprocating)

N-Number: 1533P, N1533P, N-1533P, Serial Number: 22-2398, Airworthiness Date: 06/16/1975, Certificate Issue Date: 05/13/2004

Registrant (Individual): John S Hager, 2375 Red Hill Rd, Big Island, VA 24526

12 ( See the full list of FCC Registered Antenna Towers in Big Island 13 ( See the full list of FCC Registered Amateur Radio Licenses in Big Island

2002 - 2018 National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) incidents Based on the data from the years 2002 - 2018 the average number of fire incidents per year is 26. The highest number of reported fires - 60 took place in 2008, and the least - 12 in 2018. The data has a declining trend.



Fire incident types reported to NFIRS in Big Island, VA



250 56.1% Structure Fires



145 32.5% Outside Fires



29 6.5% Mobile Property/Vehicle Fires



22 4.9% Other When looking into fire subcategories, the most reports belonged to: Structure Fires (56.1%), and Outside Fires (32.5%). See full National Fire Incident Reporting System statistics for Big Island, VA

Houses and condos Apartments 36.7% Wood

35.8% Bottled, tank, or LP gas

27.5% Fuel oil, kerosene, etc. 100.0% Electricity





Big Island compared to Virginia state average: Median house value significantly below state average.

significantly below Unemployed percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Hispanic race population percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Median age above state average.

above Foreign-born population percentage below state average.

below Renting percentage below state average.

below Length of stay since moving in significantly above state average.

significantly above House age significantly above state average.

significantly above Number of college students significantly below state average.

significantly below Percentage of population with a bachelor's degree or higher significantly below state average.

Big Island on our top lists: #38 on the list of "Top 100 cities with highest percentage of college students" #6 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the largest increase in the number of deaths per 1000 residents 2000-2006 to 2007-2013 (pop. 50,000+)"

#18 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the lowest total withdrawal of fresh water for public supply (pop. 50,000+)"

#50 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the lowest ground withdrawal of fresh water for public supply (pop. 50,000+)"

#72 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the lowest surface withdrawal of fresh water for public supply (pop. 50,000+)"

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Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

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Population in 2019: 3,997 (100% urban, 0% rural).

Population change since 2000: +1.4%

3,997 (100% urban, 0% rural).+1.4%

Males: 2,047 (51.2%) Females: 1,950 (48.8%)

Median resident age: 51.1 years Michigan median age: 39.8 years

Zip codes: 48304.

Estimated median household income in 2019: $182,243 (it was $170,790 in 2000)

Bloomfield Hills: $182,243 MI: $59,584

Estimated per capita income in 2019: $105,923 (it was $104,920 in 2000)



Bloomfield Hills city income, earnings, and wages data



Estimated median house or condo value in 2019: $936,701 (it was $787,300 in 2000) Bloomfield Hills: $936,701 MI: $169,600

Mean prices in 2019: all housing units: over $1,000,000; detached houses: over $1,000,000; townhouses or other attached units: $427,826; in 3-to-4-unit structures: $176,893; in 5-or-more-unit structures: $358,209 $182,243 ($170,790$105,923 ($104,920$936,701 ($787,300over $1,000,000;over $1,000,000;$427,826;$176,893;$358,209

Median gross rent in 2019: $1,560.

March 2019 cost of living index in Bloomfield Hills: 93.9 (less than average, U.S. average is 100)

Percentage of residents living in poverty in 2019: 2.3%

(1.7% for White Non-Hispanic residents, 7.2% for two or more races residents)

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Most recent value % change since 2k Data: Median household income ($) Median household income (% change since 2000) Household income diversity Ratio of average income to average house value (%) Ratio of average income to average rent Median household income ($) - White Median household income ($) - Black or African American Median household income ($) - Asian Median household income ($) - Hispanic or Latino Median household income ($) - American Indian and Alaska Native Median household income ($) - Multirace Median household income ($) - Other Race Median household income for houses/condos with a mortgage ($) Median household income for apartments without a mortgage ($) Races - White alone (%) Races - White alone (% change since 2000) Races - Black alone (%) Races - Black alone (% change since 2000) Races - American Indian alone (%) Races - American Indian alone (% change since 2000) Races - Asian alone (%) Races - Asian alone (% change since 2000) Races - Hispanic (%) Races - Hispanic (% change since 2000) Races - Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone (%) Races - Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone (% change since 2000) Races - Two or more races (%) Races - Two or more races (% change since 2000) Races - Other race alone (%) Races - Other race alone (% change since 2000) Racial diversity Unemployment (%) Unemployment (% change since 2000) Unemployment (%) - White Unemployment (%) - Black or African American Unemployment (%) - Asian Unemployment (%) - Hispanic or Latino Unemployment (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Unemployment (%) - Multirace Unemployment (%) - Other Race Population density (people per square mile) Population - Males (%) Population - Females (%) Population - Males (%) - White Population - Males (%) - Black or African American Population - Males (%) - Asian Population - Males (%) - Hispanic or Latino Population - Males (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Population - Males (%) - Multirace Population - Males (%) - Other Race Population - Females (%) - White Population - Females (%) - Black or African American Population - Females (%) - Asian Population - Females (%) - Hispanic or Latino Population - Females (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Population - Females (%) - Multirace Population - Females (%) - Other Race Coronavirus confirmed cases (Nov 21, 2021) Deaths caused by coronavirus (Nov 21, 2021) Coronavirus confirmed cases (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) Deaths caused by coronavirus (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) Daily increase in number of cases (Nov 21, 2021) Weekly increase in number of cases (Nov 21, 2021) Cases doubled (in days) (Nov 21, 2021) Hospitalized patients (Nov 21, 2021) Negative test results (Nov 21, 2021) Total test results (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses distributed (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses administered (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses distributed (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses administered (Nov 21, 2021) Likely homosexual households (%) Likely homosexual households (% change since 2000) Likely homosexual households - Lesbian couples (%) Likely homosexual households - Lesbian couples (% change since 2000) Likely homosexual households - Gay men (%) Likely homosexual households - Gay men (% change since 2000) Cost of living index Median gross rent ($) Median contract rent ($) Median monthly housing costs ($) Median house or condo value ($) Median house or condo value ($ change since 2000) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 1, detached ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 1, attached ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 2 ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure by units in structure - 3 or 4 ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 5 or more ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - Boat, RV, van, etc. ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - Mobile home ($) Median house or condo value ($) - White Median house or condo value ($) - Black or African American Median house or condo value ($) - Asian Median house or condo value ($) - Hispanic or Latino Median house or condo value ($) - American Indian and Alaska Native Median house or condo value ($) - Multirace Median house or condo value ($) - Other Race Median resident age Resident age diversity Median resident age - Males Median resident age - Females Median resident age - White Median resident age - Black or African American Median resident age - Asian Median resident age - Hispanic or Latino Median resident age - American Indian and Alaska Native Median resident age - Multirace Median resident age - Other Race Median resident age - Males - White Median resident age - Males - Black or African American Median resident age - Males - Asian Median resident age - Males - Hispanic or Latino Median resident age - Males - American Indian and Alaska Native Median resident age - Males - Multirace Median resident age - Males - Other Race Median resident age - Females - White Median resident age - Females - Black or African American Median resident age - Females - Asian Median resident age - Females - Hispanic or Latino Median resident age - Females - American Indian and Alaska Native Median resident age - Females - Multirace Median resident age - Females - Other Race Commute - mean travel time to work (minutes) Travel time to work - Less than 5 minutes (%) Travel time to work - Less than 5 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 5 to 9 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 5 to 9 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 10 to 19 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 10 to 19 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 20 to 29 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 20 to 29 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 30 to 39 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 30 to 39 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 40 to 59 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 40 to 59 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 60 to 89 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 60 to 89 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 90 or more minutes (%) Travel time to work - 90 or more minutes (% change since 2000) Marital status - Never married (%) Marital status - Now married (%) Marital status - Separated (%) Marital status - Widowed (%) Marital status - Divorced (%) Median family income ($) Median family income (% change since 2000) Median non-family income ($) Median non-family income (% change since 2000) Median per capita income ($) Median per capita income (% change since 2000) Median family income ($) - White Median family income ($) - Black or African American Median family income ($) - Asian Median family income ($) - Hispanic or Latino Median family income ($) - American Indian and Alaska Native Median family income ($) - Multirace Median family income ($) - Other Race Median year house/condo built Median year apartment built Year house built - Built 2005 or later (%) Year house built - Built 2000 to 2004 (%) Year house built - Built 1990 to 1999 (%) Year house built - Built 1980 to 1989 (%) Year house built - Built 1970 to 1979 (%) Year house built - Built 1960 to 1969 (%) Year house built - Built 1950 to 1959 (%) Year house built - Built 1940 to 1949 (%) Year house built - Built 1939 or earlier (%) Average household size Household density (households per square mile) Average household size - White Average household size - Black or African American Average household size - Asian Average household size - Hispanic or Latino Average household size - American Indian and Alaska Native Average household size - Multirace Average household size - Other Race Occupied housing units (%) Vacant housing units (%) Owner occupied housing units (%) Renter occupied housing units (%) Vacancy status - For rent (%) Vacancy status - For sale only (%) Vacancy status - Rented or sold, not occupied (%) Vacancy status - For seasonal, recreational, or occasional use (%) Vacancy status - For migrant workers (%) Vacancy status - Other vacant (%) Residents with income below the poverty level (%) Residents with income below 50% of the poverty level (%) Children below poverty level (%) Poor families by family type - Married-couple family (%) Poor families by family type - Male, no wife present (%) Poor families by family type - Female, no husband present (%) Poverty status for native-born residents (%) Poverty status for foreign-born residents (%) Poverty among high school graduates not in families (%) Poverty among people who did not graduate high school not in families (%) Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - White Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Black or African American Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Asian Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Hispanic or Latino Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Multirace Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Other Race Air pollution - Air Quality Index (AQI) Air pollution - CO Air pollution - NO2 Air pollution - SO2 Air pollution - Ozone Air pollution - PM10 Air pollution - PM25 Air pollution - Pb Crime - Murders per 100,000 population Crime - Rapes per 100,000 population Crime - Robberies per 100,000 population Crime - Assaults per 100,000 population Crime - Burglaries per 100,000 population Crime - Thefts per 100,000 population Crime - Auto thefts per 100,000 population Crime - Arson per 100,000 population Crime - City-data.com crime index Crime - Violent crime index Crime - Property crime index Crime - Murders per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Rapes per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Robberies per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Assaults per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Burglaries per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Thefts per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Auto thefts per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Arson per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - City-data.com crime index (5 year average) Crime - Violent crime index (5 year average) Crime - Property crime index (5 year average) 1996 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Clinton) 1996 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Dole) 1996 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2000 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Gore) 2000 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Bush) 2000 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2004 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Kerry) 2004 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Bush) 2004 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2008 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Obama) 2008 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (McCain) 2008 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2012 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Obama) 2012 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Romney) 2012 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2016 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Clinton) 2016 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Trump) 2016 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2020 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Biden) 2020 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Trump) 2020 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other Ancestries Reported - Arab (%) Ancestries Reported - Czech (%) Ancestries Reported - Danish (%) Ancestries Reported - Dutch (%) Ancestries Reported - English (%) Ancestries Reported - French (%) Ancestries Reported - French Canadian (%) Ancestries Reported - German (%) Ancestries Reported - Greek (%) Ancestries Reported - Hungarian (%) Ancestries Reported - Irish (%) Ancestries Reported - Italian (%) Ancestries Reported - Lithuanian (%) Ancestries Reported - Norwegian (%) Ancestries Reported - Polish (%) Ancestries Reported - Portuguese (%) Ancestries Reported - Russian (%) Ancestries Reported - Scotch-Irish (%) Ancestries Reported - Scottish (%) Ancestries Reported - Slovak (%) Ancestries Reported - Subsaharan African (%) Ancestries Reported - Swedish (%) Ancestries Reported - Swiss (%) Ancestries Reported - Ukrainian (%) Ancestries Reported - United States (%) Ancestries Reported - Welsh (%) Ancestries Reported - West Indian (%) Ancestries Reported - Other (%) Educational Attainment - No schooling completed (%) Educational Attainment - Less than high school (%) Educational Attainment - High school or equivalent (%) Educational Attainment - Less than 1 year of college (%) Educational Attainment - 1 or more years of college (%) Educational Attainment - Associate degree (%) Educational Attainment - Bachelor's degree (%) Educational Attainment - Master's degree (%) Educational Attainment - Professional school degree (%) Educational Attainment - Doctorate degree (%) School Enrollment - Nursery, preschool (%) School Enrollment - Kindergarten (%) School Enrollment - Grade 1 to 4 (%) School Enrollment - Grade 5 to 8 (%) School Enrollment - Grade 9 to 12 (%) School Enrollment - College undergrad (%) School Enrollment - Graduate or professional (%) School Enrollment - Not enrolled in school (%) School enrollment - Public schools (%) School enrollment - Private schools (%) School enrollment - Not enrolled (%) Median number of rooms in houses and condos Median number of rooms in apartments Housing units lacking complete plumbing facilities (%) Housing units lacking complete kitchen facilities (%) Density of houses Urban houses (%) Rural houses (%) Households with people 60 years and over (%) Households with people 65 years and over (%) Households with people 75 years and over (%) Households with one or more nonrelatives (%) Households with no nonrelatives (%) Population in households (%) Family households (%) Nonfamily households (%) Population in families (%) Family households with own children (%) Median number of bedrooms in owner occupied houses Mean number of bedrooms in owner occupied houses Median number of bedrooms in renter occupied houses Mean number of bedrooms in renter occupied houses Median number of vehichles in owner occupied houses Mean number of vehichles in owner occupied houses Median number of vehichles in renter occupied houses Mean number of vehichles in renter occupied houses Mortgage status - with mortgage (%) Mortgage status - with second mortgage (%) Mortgage status - with home equity loan (%) Mortgage status - with both second mortgage and home equity loan (%) Mortgage status - without a mortgage (%) Average family size Average family size - White Average family size - Black or African American Average family size - Asian Average family size - Hispanic or Latino Average family size - American Indian and Alaska Native Average family size - Multirace Average family size - Other Race Geographical mobility - Same house 1 year ago (%) Geographical mobility - Moved within same county (%) Geographical mobility - Moved from different county within same state (%) Geographical mobility - Moved from different state (%) Geographical mobility - Moved from abroad (%) Place of birth - Born in state of residence (%) Place of birth - Born in other state (%) Place of birth - Native, outside of US (%) Place of birth - Foreign born (%) Housing units in structures - 1, detached (%) Housing units in structures - 1, attached (%) Housing units in structures - 2 (%) Housing units in structures - 3 or 4 (%) Housing units in structures - 5 to 9 (%) Housing units in structures - 10 to 19 (%) Housing units in structures - 20 to 49 (%) Housing units in structures - 50 or more (%) Housing units in structures - Mobile home (%) Housing units in structures - Boat, RV, van, etc. (%) House/condo owner moved in on average (years ago) Renter moved in on average (years ago) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1999 to March 2000 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1995 to 1998 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1990 to 1994 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1980 to 1989 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1970 to 1979 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1969 or earlier (%) Means of transportation to work - Drove car alone (%) Means of transportation to work - Carpooled (%) Means of transportation to work - Public transportation (%) Means of transportation to work - Bus or trolley bus (%) Means of transportation to work - Streetcar or trolley car (%) Means of transportation to work - Subway or elevated (%) Means of transportation to work - Railroad (%) Means of transportation to work - Ferryboat (%) Means of transportation to work - Taxicab (%) Means of transportation to work - Motorcycle (%) Means of transportation to work - Bicycle (%) Means of transportation to work - Walked (%) Means of transportation to work - Other means (%) Working at home (%) Industry diversity Most Common Industries - Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining (%) Most Common Industries - Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (%) Most Common Industries - Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (%) Most Common Industries - Construction (%) Most Common Industries - Manufacturing (%) Most Common Industries - Wholesale trade (%) Most Common Industries - Retail trade (%) Most Common Industries - Transportation and warehousing, and utilities (%) Most Common Industries - Transportation and warehousing (%) Most Common Industries - Utilities (%) Most Common Industries - Information (%) Most Common Industries - Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing (%) Most Common Industries - Finance and insurance (%) Most Common Industries - Real estate and rental and leasing (%) Most Common Industries - Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services (%) Most Common Industries - Professional, scientific, and technical services (%) Most Common Industries - Management of companies and enterprises (%) Most Common Industries - Administrative and support and waste management services (%) Most Common Industries - Educational services, and health care and social assistance (%) Most Common Industries - Educational services (%) Most Common Industries - Health care and social assistance (%) Most Common Industries - Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation and food services (%) Most Common Industries - Arts, entertainment, and recreation (%) Most Common Industries - Accommodation and food services (%) Most Common Industries - Other services, except public administration (%) Most Common Industries - Public administration (%) Occupation diversity Most Common Occupations - Management, business, science, and arts occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Management, business, and financial occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Management occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Business and financial operations occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Computer, engineering, and science occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Computer and mathematical occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Architecture and engineering occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Life, physical, and social science occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Education, legal, community service, arts, and media occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Community and social service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Legal occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Education, training, and library occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Health diagnosing and treating practitioners and other technical occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Health technologists and technicians (%) Most Common Occupations - Service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Healthcare support occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Protective service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Fire fighting and prevention, and other protective service workers including supervisors (%) Most Common Occupations - Law enforcement workers including supervisors (%) Most Common Occupations - Food preparation and serving related occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Personal care and service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Sales and office occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Sales and related occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Office and administrative support occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Construction and extraction occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Production, transportation, and material moving occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Production occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Transportation occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Material moving occupations (%) People in Group quarters - Institutionalized population (%) People in Group quarters - Correctional institutions (%) People in Group quarters - Federal prisons and detention centers (%) People in Group quarters - Halfway houses (%) People in Group quarters - Local jails and other confinement facilities (including police lockups) (%) People in Group quarters - Military disciplinary barracks (%) People in Group quarters - State prisons (%) People in Group quarters - Other types of correctional institutions (%) People in Group quarters - Nursing homes (%) People in Group quarters - Hospitals/wards, hospices, and schools for the handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Hospitals/wards and hospices for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Hospices or homes for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Military hospitals or wards for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Other hospitals or wards for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Hospitals or wards for drug/alcohol abuse (%) People in Group quarters - Mental (Psychiatric) hospitals or wards (%) People in Group quarters - Schools, hospitals, or wards for the mentally retarded (%) People in Group quarters - Schools, hospitals, or wards for the physically handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Institutions for the deaf (%) People in Group quarters - Institutions for the blind (%) People in Group quarters - Orthopedic wards and institutions for the physically handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Wards in general hospitals for patients who have no usual home elsewhere (%) People in Group quarters - Wards in military hospitals for patients who have no usual home elsewhere (%) People in Group quarters - Juvenile institutions (%) People in Group quarters - Long-term care (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for abused, dependent, and neglected children (%) People in Group quarters - Residential treatment centers for emotionally disturbed children (%) People in Group quarters - Training schools for juvenile delinquents (%) People in Group quarters - Short-term care, detention or diagnostic centers for delinquent children (%) People in Group quarters - Type of juvenile institution unknown (%) People in Group quarters - Noninstitutionalized population (%) People in Group quarters - College dormitories (includes college quarters off campus) (%) People in Group quarters - Military quarters (%) People in Group quarters - On base (%) People in Group quarters - Barracks, unaccompanied personnel housing (UPH), (Enlisted/Officer), ;and similar group living quarters for military personnel (%) People in Group quarters - Transient quarters for temporary residents (%) People in Group quarters - Military ships (%) People in Group quarters - Group homes (%) People in Group quarters - Homes or halfway houses for drug/alcohol abuse (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for the mentally ill (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for the mentally retarded (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for the physically handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Other group homes (%) People in Group quarters - Religious group quarters (%) People in Group quarters - Dormitories (%) People in Group quarters - Agriculture workers' dormitories on farms (%) People in Group quarters - Job Corps and vocational training facilities (%) People in Group quarters - Other workers' dormitories (%) People in Group quarters - Crews of maritime vessels (%) People in Group quarters - Other nonhousehold living situations (%) People in Group quarters - Other noninstitutional group quarters (%) Residents speaking English at home (%) Residents speaking English at home - Born in the United States (%) Residents speaking English at home - Native, born elsewhere (%) Residents speaking English at home - Foreign born (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home - Born in the United States (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home - Native, born elsewhere (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home - Foreign born (%) Residents speaking other language at home (%) Residents speaking other language at home - Born in the United States (%) Residents speaking other language at home - Native, born elsewhere (%) Residents speaking other language at home - Foreign born (%) Class of Workers - Employee of private company (%) Class of Workers - Self-employed in own incorporated business (%) Class of Workers - Private not-for-profit wage and salary workers (%) Class of Workers - Local government workers (%) Class of Workers - State government workers (%) Class of Workers - Federal government workers (%) Class of Workers - Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business and Unpaid family workers (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Utility gas (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Bottled, tank, or LP gas (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Electricity (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Fuel oil, kerosene, etc. (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Coal or coke (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Wood (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Solar energy (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Other fuel (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - No fuel used (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Utility gas (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Bottled, tank, or LP gas (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Electricity (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Fuel oil, kerosene, etc. (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Coal or coke (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Wood (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Solar energy (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Other fuel (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - No fuel used (%) Armed forces status - In Armed Forces (%) Armed forces status - Civilian (%) Armed forces status - Civilian - Veteran (%) Armed forces status - Civilian - Nonveteran (%) Fatal accidents locations in years 2005-2019 Fatal accidents locations in 2005 Fatal accidents locations in 2006 Fatal accidents locations in 2007 Fatal accidents locations in 2008 Fatal accidents locations in 2009 Fatal accidents locations in 2010 Fatal accidents locations in 2011 Fatal accidents locations in 2012 Fatal accidents locations in 2013 Fatal accidents locations in 2014 Fatal accidents locations in 2015 Fatal accidents locations in 2016 Fatal accidents locations in 2017 Fatal accidents locations in 2018 Fatal accidents locations in 2019 Alcohol use - People drinking some alcohol every month (%) Alcohol use - People not drinking at all (%) Alcohol use - Average days/month drinking alcohol Alcohol use - Average drinks/week Alcohol use - Average days/year people drink much Audiometry - Average condition of hearing (%) Audiometry - People that can hear a whisper from across a quiet room (%) Audiometry - People that can hear normal voice from across a quiet room (%) Audiometry - Ears ringing, roaring, buzzing (%) Audiometry - Had a job exposure to loud noise (%) Audiometry - Had off-work exposure to loud noise (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Has high blood pressure (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Checking blood pressure at home (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Frequently checking blood cholesterol (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Has high cholesterol level (%) Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on food at supermarket/grocery store Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on food at other stores Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on eating out Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on carryout/delivered foods Consumer Behavior - Income spent on food at supermarket/grocery store (%) Consumer Behavior - Income spent on food at other stores (%) Consumer Behavior - Income spent on eating out (%) Consumer Behavior - Income spent on carryout/delivered foods (%) Current Health Status - General health condition (%) Current Health Status - Blood donors (%) Current Health Status - Has blood ever tested for HIV virus (%) Current Health Status - Left-handed people (%) Dermatology - People using sunscreen (%) Diabetes - Diabetics (%) Diabetes - Had a blood test for high blood sugar (%) Diabetes - People taking insulin (%) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Diet health (%) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Milk product consumption (# of products/month) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Meals not home prepared (#/week) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Meals from fast food or pizza place (#/week) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Ready-to-eat foods (#/month) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Frozen meals/pizza (#/month) Drug Use - People that ever used marijuana or hashish (%) Drug Use - Ever used hard drugs (%) Drug Use - Ever used any form of cocaine (%) Drug Use - Ever used heroin (%) Drug Use - Ever used methamphetamine (%) Health Insurance - People covered by health insurance (%) Kidney Conditions-Urology - Avg. # of times urinating at night Medical Conditions - People with asthma (%) Medical Conditions - People with anemia (%) Medical Conditions - People with psoriasis (%) Medical Conditions - People with overweight (%) Medical Conditions - Elderly people having difficulties in thinking or remembering (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever received blood transfusion (%) Medical Conditions - People having trouble seeing even with glass/contacts (%) Medical Conditions - People with arthritis (%) Medical Conditions - People with gout (%) Medical Conditions - People with congestive heart failure (%) Medical Conditions - People with coronary heart disease (%) Medical Conditions - People with angina pectoris (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever had heart attack (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever had stroke (%) Medical Conditions - People with emphysema (%) Medical Conditions - People with thyroid problem (%) Medical Conditions - People with chronic bronchitis (%) Medical Conditions - People with any liver condition (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever had cancer or malignancy (%) Mental Health - People who have little interest in doing things (%) Mental Health - People feeling down, depressed, or hopeless (%) Mental Health - People who have trouble sleeping or sleeping too much (%) Mental Health - People feeling tired or having little energy (%) Mental Health - People with poor appetite or overeating (%) Mental Health - People feeling bad about themself (%) Mental Health - People who have trouble concentrating on things (%) Mental Health - People moving or speaking slowly or too fast (%) Mental Health - People having thoughts they would be better off dead (%) Oral Health - Average years since last visit a dentist Oral Health - People embarrassed because of mouth (%) Oral Health - People with gum disease (%) Oral Health - General health of teeth and gums (%) Oral Health - Average days a week using dental floss/device Oral Health - Average days a week using mouthwash for dental problem Oral Health - Average number of teeth Pesticide Use - Households using pesticides to control insects (%) Pesticide Use - Households using pesticides to kill weeds (%) Physical Activity - People doing vigorous-intensity work activities (%) Physical Activity - People doing moderate-intensity work activities (%) Physical Activity - People walking or bicycling (%) Physical Activity - People doing vigorous-intensity recreational activities (%) Physical Activity - People doing moderate-intensity recreational activities (%) Physical Activity - Average hours a day doing sedentary activities Physical Activity - Average hours a day watching TV or videos Physical Activity - Average hours a day using computer Physical Functioning - People having limitations keeping them from working (%) Physical Functioning - People limited in amount of work they can do (%) Physical Functioning - People that need special equipment to walk (%) Physical Functioning - People experiencing confusion/memory problems (%) Physical Functioning - People requiring special healthcare equipment (%) Prescription Medications - Average number of prescription medicines taking Preventive Aspirin Use - Adults 40+ taking low-dose aspirin (%) Reproductive Health - Vaginal deliveries (%) Reproductive Health - Cesarean deliveries (%) Reproductive Health - Deliveries resulted in a live birth (%) Reproductive Health - Pregnancies resulted in a delivery (%) Reproductive Health - Women breastfeeding newborns (%) Reproductive Health - Women that had a hysterectomy (%) Reproductive Health - Women that had both ovaries removed (%) Reproductive Health - Women that have ever taken birth control pills (%) Reproductive Health - Women taking birth control pills (%) Reproductive Health - Women that have ever used Depo-Provera or injectables (%) Reproductive Health - Women that have ever used female hormones (%) Sexual Behavior - People 18+ that ever had sex (vaginal, anal, or oral) (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever had vaginal sex with a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever performed oral sex on a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever had anal sex with a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever had any sex with a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever had vaginal sex with a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever performed oral sex on a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever had anal sex with a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever had any kind of sex with a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Average age people first had sex Sexual Behavior - Average number of female sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of female vaginal sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average age people first performed oral sex on a woman (18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of woman performed oral sex on in lifetime (18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male anal sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average age people first performed oral sex on a man (18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male oral sex partners in lifetime (18+) Sexual Behavior - People using protection when performing oral sex (%) Sexual Behavior - Average number of times people have vaginal or anal sex a year Sexual Behavior - People having sex without condom (%) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male sex partners in lifetime (females 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male vaginal sex partners in lifetime (females 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of female sex partners in lifetime (females 18+) Sexual Behavior - Circumcised males 18+ (%) Sleep Disorders - Average hours sleeping at night Sleep Disorders - People that has trouble sleeping (%) Smoking-Cigarette Use - People smoking cigarettes (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ having problems with smell (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ having problems with taste (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had wisdom teeth removed (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had tonsils teeth removed (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had a loss of consciousness because of a head injury (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had a broken nose or other serious injury to face or skull (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had two or more sinus infections (%) Weight - Average height (inches) Weight - Average weight (pounds) Weight - Average BMI Weight - People that are obese (%) Weight - People that ever were obese (%) Weight - People trying to lose weight (%) Settings Get link Loading data... Based on 2000-2020 data Loading data...

123 Hide US histogram



3,306 82.3% White alone 304 7.6% Asian alone 209 5.2% Two or more races 144 3.6% Black alone 32 0.8% Hispanic

Races in Bloomfield Hills detailed stats: ancestries, foreign born residents, place of birth





According to our research of Michigan and other state lists, there were 19 registered sex offenders living in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan as of November 22, 2021.

The ratio of all residents to sex offenders in Bloomfield Hills is 211 to 1.





Crime rates in Bloomfield Hills by year Type 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Murders

(per 100,000) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) Rapes

(per 100,000) 1

(26.0) 0

(0.0) 1

(26.5) 1

(26.6) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 1

(25.7) 1

(25.3) 1

(25.1) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 1

(24.9) 0

(0.0) 1

(24.8) Robberies

(per 100,000) 0

(0.0) 1

(26.2) 1

(26.5) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 1

(24.8) Assaults

(per 100,000) 2

(52.1) 1

(26.2) 0

(0.0) 2

(53.3) 1

(26.8) 0

(0.0) 4

(102.7) 0

(0.0) 1

(25.1) 2

(49.7) 4

(99.2) 0

(0.0) 2

(49.9) 3

(74.5) Burglaries

(per 100,000) 9

(234.3) 14

(366.7) 10

(265.3) 13

(346.2) 23

(616.5) 8

(206.9) 5

(128.4) 7

(177.1) 7

(175.6) 0

(0.0) 8

(198.5) 9

(223.8) 3

(74.8) 4

(99.3) Thefts

(per 100,000) 63

(1,640) 46

(1,205) 30

(795.8) 42

(1,119) 45

(1,206) 50

(1,293) 32

(821.6) 27

(683.2) 36

(902.9) 19

(472.5) 26

(645.0) 30

(746.1) 20

(498.9) 19

(471.8) Auto thefts

(per 100,000) 4

(104.1) 1

(26.2) 4

(106.1) 6

(159.8) 0

(0.0) 1

(25.9) 0

(0.0) 2

(50.6) 1

(25.1) 3

(74.6) 1

(24.8) 3

(74.6) 1

(24.9) 2

(49.7) Arson

(per 100,000) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 1

(26.5) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) City-Data.com crime index 121.6 89.1 88.1 113.7 96.8 68.3 82.9 64.0 75.5 34.8 61.5 71.4 37.2 72.0 The City-Data.com crime index weighs serious crimes and violent crimes more heavily. Higher means more crime, U.S. average is 270.6. It adjusts for the number of visitors and daily workers commuting into cities. Click on a table row to update graph

Crime rate in Bloomfield Hills detailed stats: murders, rapes, robberies, assaults, burglaries, thefts, arson



Full-time law enforcement employees in 2019, including police officers: 26 (23 officers).

Officers per 1,000 residents here: 5.71 Michigan average: 1.74



Latest news from Bloomfield Hills, MI collected exclusively by city-data.com from local newspapers, TV, and radio stations

Ancestries: English (13.0%), German (8.2%), Polish (7.0%), Irish (4.9%), Italian (4.0%), Greek (3.8%).

Current Local Time: EST time zone

Elevation: 830 feet

Land area: 4.95 square miles. Population density: 808 people per square mile (low).

701 residents are foreign born (5.5% Asia, 3.7% Europe, 2.3% North America). This city: 17.4% Michigan: 6.9%

Median real estate property taxes paid for housing units with mortgages in 2019: $10,320 (1.1%)

Median real estate property taxes paid for housing units with no mortgage in 2019: $10,356 (1.1%)



Latitude: 42.57 N, Longitude: 83.24 W

Daytime population change due to commuting: +5,430 (+135.1%)

Workers who live and work in this city: 320 (19.1%)

Area code commonly used in this area: 248

Single-family new house construction building permits: 1997: 9 buildings , average cost: $944,400

9 $944,400 1998: 10 buildings , average cost: $798,500

10 $798,500 1999: 8 buildings , average cost: $963,500

8 $963,500 2000: 21 buildings , average cost: $875,800

21 $875,800 2001: 11 buildings , average cost: $1,033,900

11 $1,033,900 2002: 8 buildings , average cost: $2,481,900

8 $2,481,900 2003: 9 buildings , average cost: $1,000,000

9 $1,000,000 2004: 14 buildings , average cost: $1,431,200

14 $1,431,200 2005: 8 buildings , average cost: $1,528,100

8 $1,528,100 2006: 4 buildings , average cost: $1,525,000

4 $1,525,000 2007: 8 buildings , average cost: $2,015,600

8 $2,015,600 2008: 1 building , cost: $1,100,000

1 $1,100,000 2010: 5 buildings , average cost: $1,350,000

5 $1,350,000 2011: 5 buildings , average cost: $1,375,800

5 $1,375,800 2012: 7 buildings , average cost: $850,800

7 $850,800 2013: 15 buildings , average cost: $970,500

15 $970,500 2014: 8 buildings , average cost: $1,141,300

8 $1,141,300 2015: 4 buildings , average cost: $1,692,200

4 $1,692,200 2016: 4 buildings , average cost: $945,900

4 $945,900 2017: 7 buildings , average cost: $436,000

7 $436,000 2018: 9 buildings , average cost: $258,600

9 $258,600 2019: 9 buildings, average cost: $837,100

Unemployment in November 2020:

Here: 6.8% Michigan: 6.3%

Most common industries in Bloomfield Hills, MI (%) Both Males Females

Health care (19.1%)

Professional, scientific, technical services (13.8%)

Transportation equipment (10.5%)

Educational services (10.2%)

Real estate & rental & leasing (3.7%)

Construction (3.1%)

Metal & metal products (3.1%)

Health care (15.8%)

Professional, scientific, technical services (15.5%)

Transportation equipment (12.3%)

Educational services (6.8%)

Metal & metal products (4.9%)

Motor vehicle & parts dealers (3.2%)

Miscellaneous manufacturing (2.9%)

Health care (24.8%)

Educational services (16.0%)

Professional, scientific, technical services (11.0%)

Transportation equipment (7.2%)

Real estate & rental & leasing (6.5%)

Social assistance (4.7%)

Construction (4.2%) Most common occupations in Bloomfield Hills, MI (%) Both Males Females

Other management occupations, except farmers and farm managers (12.4%)

Top executives (12.3%)

Physicians and surgeons (11.1%)

Lawyers (6.6%)

Other sales and related occupations, including supervisors (4.9%)

Sales representatives, services, wholesale and manufacturing (4.5%)

Preschool, kindergarten, elementary, and middle school teachers (2.8%)

Top executives (17.4%)

Other management occupations, except farmers and farm managers (14.5%)

Physicians and surgeons (14.2%)

Lawyers (8.1%)

Sales representatives, services, wholesale and manufacturing (6.0%)

Other sales and related occupations, including supervisors (4.3%)

Material recording, scheduling, dispatching, and distributing workers (3.0%)

Other management occupations, except farmers and farm managers (8.7%)

Other office and administrative support workers, including supervisors (6.5%)

Other sales and related occupations, including supervisors (5.9%)

Physicians and surgeons (5.7%)

Preschool, kindergarten, elementary, and middle school teachers (5.6%)

Information and record clerks, except customer service representatives (5.0%)

Lawyers (3.9%)

Average climate in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan Based on data reported by over 4,000 weather stations

Air pollution and air quality trends

(lower is better) AQI CO NO 2 SO 2 Ozone PM 2.5 Pb

Air Quality Index (AQI) level in 2018 was 90.4. This is worse than average. City: 90.4 U.S.: 74.2

Carbon Monoxide (CO) [ppm] level in 2018 was 0.459. This is significantly worse than average. Closest monitor was 8.3 miles away from the city center. City: 0.459 U.S.: 0.267

Nitrogen Dioxide (NO 2 ) [ppb] level in 2018 was 12.4. This is significantly worse than average. Closest monitor was 5.2 miles away from the city center. City: 12.4 U.S.: 5.6

Sulfur Dioxide (SO 2 ) [ppb] level in 2018 was 0.929. This is significantly better than average. Closest monitor was 5.2 miles away from the city center. City: 0.929 U.S.: 1.789

Ozone [ppb] level in 2018 was 26.3. This is better than average. Closest monitor was 8.3 miles away from the city center. City: 26.3 U.S.: 33.3

Particulate Matter (PM 2.5 ) [g/m3] level in 2018 was 10.1. This is about average. Closest monitor was 8.3 miles away from the city center. City: 10.1 U.S.: 8.5

Lead (Pb) [g/m3] level in 2010 was 0.00583. This is significantly better than average. Closest monitor was 5.2 miles away from the city center. City: 0.00583 U.S.: 0.00984

Tornado activity: Bloomfield Hills-area historical tornado activity is slightly above Michigan state average. It is 37% greater than the overall U.S. average.

On 3/20/1976, a category F4 (max. wind speeds 207-260 mph) tornado 4.7 miles away from the Bloomfield Hills city center killed one person and injured 55 people and caused between $5,000,000 and $50,000,000 in damages. On 7/4/1957, a category F4 tornado 7.4 miles away from the city center injured 6 people and caused between $50,000 and $500,000 in damages.

Earthquake activity: Bloomfield Hills-area historical earthquake activity is significantly above Michigan state average. It is 48% smaller than the overall U.S. average.



On 9/25/1998 at 19:52:52, a magnitude 5.2 (4.8 MB, 4.3 MS, 5.2 LG, 4.5 MW, Depth: 3.1 mi, Class: Moderate, Intensity: VI - VII) earthquake occurred 164.4 miles away from the city center

On 1/31/1986 at 16:46:43, a magnitude 5.0 (5.0 MB) earthquake occurred 126.3 miles away from the city center

On 7/12/1986 at 08:19:37, a magnitude 4.5 (4.5 MB, Class: Light, Intensity: IV - V) earthquake occurred 152.5 miles away from the city center

On 7/27/1980 at 18:52:21, a magnitude 5.2 (5.1 MB, 4.7 MS, 5.0 UK, 5.2 UK) earthquake occurred 304.4 miles away from Bloomfield Hills center

On 5/2/2015 at 16:23:07, a magnitude 4.2 (4.2 MW, Depth: 2.8 mi) earthquake occurred 114.0 miles away from the city center

On 8/23/2011 at 17:51:04, a magnitude 5.8 (5.8 MW, Depth: 3.7 mi) earthquake occurred 427.2 miles away from the city center

Magnitude types: regional Lg-wave magnitude (LG), body-wave magnitude (MB), surface-wave magnitude (MS), moment magnitude (MW)

Natural disasters: The number of natural disasters in Oakland County (12) is smaller than the US average (15).

Major Disasters (Presidential) Declared: 6

Emergencies Declared: 5



Causes of natural disasters: Storms: 6, Floods: 5, Tornadoes: 3, Winter Storms: 2, Blizzard: 1, Hurricane: 1, Power Outage: 1, Snowstorm: 1, Wind: 1, Other: 1 (Note: some incidents may be assigned to more than one category).

Main business address for: FLAGSTAR BANCORP INC (SAVINGS INSTITUTION, FEDERALLY CHARTERED), UNITED AUTO GROUP INC (RETAIL-AUTO DEALERS & GASOLINE STATIONS), UAG CONNECTICUT I LLC (RETAIL-AUTO DEALERS & GASOLINE STATIONS), HBL LLC (RETAIL-AUTO DEALERS & GASOLINE STATIONS), SOTHEBYS HOLDINGS INC (SERVICES-BUSINESS SERVICES, NEC), UAG MENTOR ACQUISITION LLC (RETAIL-AUTO DEALERS & GASOLINE STATIONS), TAUBMAN CENTERS INC (REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS), TRIMAS CORP (METAL FORGING & STAMPINGS) and 1 other public companies.

Hospitals and medical centers in Bloomfield Hills: CRANBROOK HOSPICE CARE (281 ENTERPRISE COURT, SUITE 300)

COVENANT HOME CARE, L L C (4066 TELEGRAPH ROAD 1A)

MERCY AMICARE HOME HEALTHCARE (281 ENTERPRISE COURT)

PREMIERCARE HOME HEALTH SOLUTIONS (10 WEST SQUARE LAKE ROAD, SUITE 219)

PRIME HOMECARE AGENCY, L L C (44004 WOODWARD AVENUE, SUITE 105)

BLOOMFIELD HILLS CARE CENTER (50 W SQUARE LAKE ROAD)

HEARTLAND HEALTH CARE CENTER-GEORGIAN BLOOMFIELD (2975 N ADAMS ROAD)

MEDILODGE OF BLOOMFIELD HILLS, INC (50 WEST SQUARE LAKE ROAD)

WOODWARD HILLS NURSING CENTER (39312 WOODWARD)

Amtrak stations near Bloomfield Hills: 4 miles: BIRMINGHAM (449 S. ETON ST.) . Services: public payphones, free short-term parking, free long-term parking, call for taxi service, public transit connection.

BIRMINGHAM (449 S. ETON ST.) . public payphones, free short-term parking, free long-term parking, call for taxi service, public transit connection. 5 miles: PONTIAC (1600 WIDE TRACK DR.) . Services: partially wheelchair accessible, enclosed waiting area, public payphones, vending machines, free short-term parking, free long-term parking, call for taxi service, intercity bus service, public transit connection.

PONTIAC (1600 WIDE TRACK DR.) . partially wheelchair accessible, enclosed waiting area, public payphones, vending machines, free short-term parking, free long-term parking, call for taxi service, intercity bus service, public transit connection. 8 miles: ROYAL OAK (201 S. SHERMAN DR.) . Services: enclosed waiting area, public payphones, vending machines, paid short-term parking, taxi stand, intercity bus service, public transit connection.

Library in Bloomfield Hills: BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP PUBLIC LIBRARY (Operating income: $6,085,731; Location: 1099 LONE PINE ROAD; 234,645 books; 25,520 e-books; 25,135 audio materials; 18,792 video materials; 73 local licensed databases; 16 other licensed databases; 548 print serial subscriptions; 6 electronic serial subscriptions)

Birthplace of: Bob Woodruff - Journalist, Alex Winston - Musician, Kate Markgraf - Soccer player, Steve Stockman - Politician, Andrew Miller (ice hockey b. 1988) - Ice hockey player, Dey Young - Actor.

Oakland County has a predicted average indoor radon screening level between 2 and 4 pCi/L (pico curies per liter) - Moderate Potential

Drinking water stations with addresses in Bloomfield Hills and their reported violations in the past: SITTO J.O.B.S. (Population served: 200, Groundwater): Past health violations: MCL, Monthly (TCR) - In JUL-2007 , Contaminant: Coliform . Follow-up actions: St Public Notif issued (JUL-10-2007) , St Violation/Reminder Notice (JUL-10-2007) , St Public Notif requested (JUL-10-2007) , St Tech Assistance Visit (JUL-13-2007) , St Public Notif received (JUL-16-2007) , St Violation/Reminder Notice (OCT-09-2007) , St Public Notif issued (OCT-09-2007) , St Compliance achieved (NOV-13-2007)

JUL-2007 Coliform St Public Notif issued (JUL-10-2007) St Violation/Reminder Notice (JUL-10-2007) St Public Notif requested (JUL-10-2007) St Tech Assistance Visit (JUL-13-2007) St Public Notif received (JUL-16-2007) St Violation/Reminder Notice (OCT-09-2007) St Public Notif issued (OCT-09-2007) St Compliance achieved (NOV-13-2007) MCL, Monthly (TCR) - In JUL-2006, Contaminant: Coliform. Follow-up actions: St Public Notif requested (JUL-24-2006), St Violation/Reminder Notice (JUL-24-2006), St Public Notif issued (JUL-24-2006), St Compliance achieved (OCT-06-2006) Past monitoring violations: 4 routine major monitoring violations

One regular monitoring violation TOWN AND COUNTRY MARKET (Population served: 100, Groundwater): Past monitoring violations: 3 routine major monitoring violations Drinking water stations with addresses in Bloomfield Hills that have no violations reported: BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP ( Population served: 41,070 , Primary Water Source Type: Purch surface water)

41,070 Purch surface water) BALTIMORE TERRACE ( Population served: 155 , Primary Water Source Type: Groundwater)

155 Groundwater) HIGHLAND TOWN CENTER II (Population served: 100, Primary Water Source Type: Groundwater) SITTO J.O.B.S. (200Groundwater):TOWN AND COUNTRY MARKET (100Groundwater):

Average household size: This city: 2.4 people Michigan: 2.5 people

Percentage of family households: This city: 74.9% Whole state: 66.0%

Percentage of households with unmarried partners: This city: 2.7% Whole state: 6.4%



Likely homosexual households (counted as self-reported same-sex unmarried-partner households) Lesbian couples: 0.0% of all households

0.0% Gay men: 0.5% of all households

People in group quarters in Bloomfield Hills in 2010: 144 people in nursing facilities/skilled-nursing facilities

75 people in college/university student housing

15 people in other noninstitutional facilities

7 people in workers' group living quarters and job corps centers people in nursing homes in 2000

55 people in other noninstitutional group quarters in 2000 in 200055in 2000

Banks with most branches in Bloomfield Hills (2011 data): JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association: West Maple-Inkster Road Branch, West Long Lake + Telegraph Branch, Town Square Branch, West Maple & Cranbrook Branch, Woodward & Long Lake Banking Center . Info updated 2011/11/10: Bank assets: $1,811,678.0 mil , Deposits: $1,190,738.0 mil , headquarters in Columbus, OH , positive income , International Specialization , 5577 total offices , Holding Company: Jpmorgan Chase & Co.

2011/11/10: $1,811,678.0 mil $1,190,738.0 mil Columbus, OH , International Specialization 5577 Jpmorgan Chase & Co. Comerica Bank: Pinehurst Branch, Maple-Telegraph Branch, Woodward-Winthrop Branch, Telegraph - Long Lake Branch . Info updated 2011/07/29: Bank assets: $60,970.5 mil , Deposits: $48,300.9 mil , headquarters in Dallas, TX , positive income , Commercial Lending Specialization , 497 total offices , Holding Company: Comerica Incorporated

2011/07/29: $60,970.5 mil $48,300.9 mil Dallas, TX , Commercial Lending Specialization 497 Comerica Incorporated PNC Bank, National Association: Birmingham Branch, Maple/Lahser Branch, Bloomfield Hills Branch . Info updated 2012/03/20: Bank assets: $263,309.6 mil , Deposits: $197,343.0 mil , headquarters in Wilmington, DE , positive income , Commercial Lending Specialization , 3085 total offices , Holding Company: Pnc Financial Services Group, Inc., The

2012/03/20: $263,309.6 mil $197,343.0 mil Wilmington, DE , Commercial Lending Specialization 3085 Pnc Financial Services Group, Inc., The Bank of America, National Association: Woodward/Oak, Lahser Road Branch, Long-Tel Branch . Info updated 2009/11/18: Bank assets: $1,451,969.3 mil , Deposits: $1,077,176.8 mil , headquarters in Charlotte, NC , positive income , 5782 total offices , Holding Company: Bank Of America Corporation

2009/11/18: $1,451,969.3 mil $1,077,176.8 mil Charlotte, NC 5782 Bank Of America Corporation RBS Citizens, National Association: Bloomfield Hills at 2500 West Maple Road , branch established on 1934/05/01; Woodward / Long Lake at 39510 Woodward Avenue , branch established on 1934/05/01 . Info updated 2007/09/19: Bank assets: $106,940.6 mil , Deposits: $75,690.2 mil , headquarters in Providence, RI , positive income , 1135 total offices , Holding Company: Uk Financial Investments Limited

2500 West Maple Road 1934/05/01; Woodward / Long Lake 39510 Woodward Avenue 1934/05/01 2007/09/19: $106,940.6 mil $75,690.2 mil Providence, RI 1135 Uk Financial Investments Limited Independent Bank: Bloomfield Hills Branch at 4140 West Maple Road , branch established on 1996/08/19 . Info updated 2010/10/20: Bank assets: $2,304.7 mil , Deposits: $2,092.2 mil , headquarters in Ionia, MI , negative income in the last year , Commercial Lending Specialization , 107 total offices , Holding Company: Independent Bank Corporation

4140 West Maple Road 1996/08/19 2010/10/20: $2,304.7 mil $2,092.2 mil Ionia, MI , Commercial Lending Specialization 107 Independent Bank Corporation Citizens Bank: Bloomfield Hills at 39520 Woodward Ave , branch established on 1989/01/20 . Info updated 2011/08/01: Bank assets: $9,212.3 mil , Deposits: $7,452.0 mil , headquarters in Flint, MI , positive income , Commercial Lending Specialization , 220 total offices , Holding Company: Citizens Republic Bancorp, Inc.

39520 Woodward Ave 1989/01/20 2011/08/01: $9,212.3 mil $7,452.0 mil Flint, MI , Commercial Lending Specialization 220 Citizens Republic Bancorp, Inc. The PrivateBank and Trust Company: Privatebank Michigan Branch at 38505 Woodward Avenue, Suite 1300 , branch established on 1989/10/03 . Info updated 2010/11/19: Bank assets: $12,392.4 mil , Deposits: $10,542.5 mil , headquarters in Chicago, IL , positive income , Commercial Lending Specialization , 30 total offices , Holding Company: Privatebancorp, Inc.

38505 Woodward Avenue, Suite 1300 1989/10/03 2010/11/19: $12,392.4 mil $10,542.5 mil Chicago, IL , Commercial Lending Specialization 30 Privatebancorp, Inc. Fifth Third Bank: Bloomfield South Squirrel Bc Branch at 3120 South Boulevard , branch established on 2005/08/22 . Info updated 2009/10/05: Bank assets: $114,540.4 mil , Deposits: $89,689.1 mil , headquarters in Cincinnati, OH , positive income , Commercial Lending Specialization , 1378 total offices , Holding Company: Fifth Third Bancorp

3120 South Boulevard 2005/08/22 2009/10/05: $114,540.4 mil $89,689.1 mil Cincinnati, OH , Commercial Lending Specialization 1378 Fifth Third Bancorp 2 other banks with 2 local branches

For population 15 years and over in Bloomfield Hills: Never married: 28.1%

28.1% Now married: 55.0%

55.0% Separated: 1.1%

1.1% Widowed: 8.2%

8.2% Divorced: 7.6%

For population 25 years and over in Bloomfield Hills: High school or higher: 95.4%

95.4% Bachelor's degree or higher: 67.9%

67.9% Graduate or professional degree: 38.8%

38.8% Unemployed: 2.3%

2.3% Mean travel time to work (commute): 20.0 minutes

Education Gini index (Inequality in education) Here: 10.3 Michigan average: 10.8



Religion statistics for Bloomfield Hills, MI (based on Oakland County data) Religion Adherents Congregations Catholic 289,116 64 Evangelical Protestant 155,826 319 Mainline Protestant 73,373 159 Other 58,590 117 Black Protestant 16,826 35 Orthodox 13,844 23 None 594,787 - Source: Clifford Grammich, Kirk Hadaway, Richard Houseal, Dale E.Jones, Alexei Krindatch, Richie Stanley and Richard H.Taylor. 2012. 2010 U.S.Religion Census: Religious Congregations & Membership Study. Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies. Jones, Dale E., et al. 2002. Congregations and Membership in the United States 2000. Nashville, TN: Glenmary Research Center. Graphs represent county-level data

Food Environment Statistics: Number of grocery stores: 293 Here : 2.44 / 10,000 pop. Michigan : 2.34 / 10,000 pop. Number of supercenters and club stores: 22 This county : 0.18 / 10,000 pop. Michigan : 0.18 / 10,000 pop. Number of convenience stores (no gas): 162 Here : 1.35 / 10,000 pop. Michigan : 1.52 / 10,000 pop. Number of convenience stores (with gas): 292 Oakland County : 2.43 / 10,000 pop. State : 2.99 / 10,000 pop. Number of full-service restaurants: 983 Oakland County : 8.18 / 10,000 pop. State : 6.80 / 10,000 pop. Adult diabetes rate: Here : 8.8% State : 9.7% Adult obesity rate: Oakland County : 25.6% State : 29.7% Low-income preschool obesity rate: Oakland County : 13.0% Michigan : 13.4%

Health and Nutrition: Healthy diet rate: Bloomfield Hills: 63.8% State: 50.3%

Average overall health of teeth and gums: This city: 64.5% Michigan: 47.9%

Average BMI: Bloomfield Hills: 27.4 Michigan: 28.7

People feeling badly about themselves: This city: 14.5% Michigan: 20.6%

People not drinking alcohol at all: This city: 6.7% Michigan: 10.4%

Average hours sleeping at night: Bloomfield Hills: 7.1 Michigan: 6.8

Overweight people: This city: 35.6% Michigan: 34.1%

General health condition: Bloomfield Hills: 66.8% Michigan: 57.0%

Average condition of hearing: Bloomfield Hills: 80.4% Michigan: 79.6%

More about Health and Nutrition of Bloomfield Hills, MI Residents

Local government employment and payroll (March 2017) Function Full-time employees Monthly full-time payroll Average yearly full-time wage Part-time employees Monthly part-time payroll Police Protection - Officers 24 $138,174 $69,087 0 $0 Police - Other 4 $16,034 $48,102 3 $3,992 Streets and Highways 4 $20,157 $60,471 0 $0 Other Government Administration 3 $17,502 $70,008 0 $0 Financial Administration 2 $11,320 $67,920 0 $0 Other and Unallocable 1 $2,887 $34,644 0 $0 Firefighters 0 $0 46 $11,916 Totals for Government 38 $206,074 $65,076 49 $15,908

Expenditure Revenue Bloomfield Hills government finances - Expenditure in 2017 (per resident): Current Operations - General - Other: $3,826,000 ($957.22) Water Utilities: $1,717,000 ($429.57) Regular Highways: $1,336,000 ($334.25) Sewerage: $943,000 ($235.93) Judicial and Legal Services: $676,000 ($169.13) Protective Inspection and Regulation - Other: $521,000 ($130.35) Financial Administration: $510,000 ($127.60) Libraries: $289,000 ($72.30) Central Staff Services: $254,000 ($63.55) General Public Buildings: $201,000 ($50.29)

$3,826,000 ($957.22) General - Interest on Debt: $637,000 ($159.37)

$637,000 ($159.37) Other Capital Outlay - Sewerage: $1,200,000 ($300.23) Regular Highways: $1,093,000 ($273.46) General - Other: $241,000 ($60.30)

$1,200,000 ($300.23) Total Salaries and Wages: $3,067,000 ($767.33)

$3,067,000 ($767.33) Water Utilities - Interest on Debt: $63,000 ($15.76) Bloomfield Hills government finances - Revenue in 2017 (per resident): Charges - Sewerage: $2,253,000 ($563.67) Other: $75,000 ($18.76)

$2,253,000 ($563.67) Miscellaneous - General Revenue - Other: $544,000 ($136.10) Fines and Forfeits: $425,000 ($106.33) Donations From Private Sources: $157,000 ($39.28) Interest Earnings: $67,000 ($16.76) Sale of Property: $24,000 ($6.00) Special Assessments: $4,000 ($1.00)

$544,000 ($136.10) Revenue - Water Utilities: $3,161,000 ($790.84)

$3,161,000 ($790.84) State Intergovernmental - Highways: $379,000 ($94.82) General Local Government Support: $318,000 ($79.56) Other: $167,000 ($41.78)

$379,000 ($94.82) Tax - Property: $8,761,000 ($2191.89) Other License: $590,000 ($147.61) Occupation and Business License - Other: $6,000 ($1.50) Bloomfield Hills government finances - Debt in 2017 (per resident): Long Term Debt - Beginning Outstanding - Unspecified Public Purpose: $23,719,000 ($5934.20) Outstanding Unspecified Public Purpose: $21,861,000 ($5469.35) Retired Unspecified Public Purpose: $1,895,000 ($474.11) Issue, Unspecified Public Purpose: $37,000 ($9.26) Bloomfield Hills government finances - Cash and Securities in 2017 (per resident): Other Funds - Cash and Securities: $11,300,000 ($2827.12)

5.79% of this county's 2016 resident taxpayers lived in other counties in 2015 ($67,400 average adjusted gross income) Here: 5.79% Michigan average: 5.43% 0.05% of residents moved from foreign countries ($1,525 average AGI) Oakland County: 0.05% Michigan average: 0.03%

Top counties from which taxpayers relocated into this county between 2015 and 2016:

from Wayne County, MI 1.66% ($55,624 average AGI) from Macomb County, MI 1.00% ($59,917) from Genesee County, MI 0.21% ($52,122)



6.00% of this county's 2015 resident taxpayers moved to other counties in 2016 ($72,081 average adjusted gross income) Here: 6.00% Michigan average: 5.69% 0.09% of residents moved to foreign countries ($1,458 average AGI) Oakland County: 0.09% Michigan average: 0.04%

Top counties to which taxpayers relocated from this county between 2015 and 2016:

to Wayne County, MI 1.36% ($53,755 average AGI) to Macomb County, MI 1.03% ($48,295) to Livingston County, MI 0.25% ($76,620)

Businesses in Bloomfield Hills, MI Name Count Name Count AT&T 2 LA Fitness 2 Ace Hardware 1 LensCrafters 1 BMW 1 Lowe's 1 Bally Total Fitness 1 McDonald's 1 Blockbuster 1 Nike 1 CVS 1 OfficeMax 1 Circle K 1 Panera Bread 1 Cold Stone Creamery 1 Rite Aid 2 FedEx 15 Staples 1 GNC 3 Starbucks 3 Honda 1 T-Mobile 2 IHOP 1 T.J.Maxx 1 Jimmy John's 1 Target 1 Kincaid 1 UPS 22 Kmart 1 Vans 1 Kroger 2

Strongest AM radio stations in Bloomfield Hills: WXYT (1270 AM; 50 kW; DETROIT, MI; Owner: INFINITY BROADCASTING CORP. OF DETROIT)

INFINITY BROADCASTING CORP. OF DETROIT) WWJ (950 AM; 50 kW; DETROIT, MI; Owner: INFINITY BROADCASTING OPERATIONS, INC.)

INFINITY BROADCASTING OPERATIONS, INC.) WJR (760 AM; 50 kW; DETROIT, MI; Owner: ABC, INC.)

ABC, INC.) WCHB (1200 AM; 50 kW; TAYLOR, MI; Owner: RADIO ONE OF DETROIT, LLC)

RADIO ONE OF DETROIT, LLC) WDFN (1130 AM; 50 kW; DETROIT, MI; Owner: AMFM RADIO LICENSES, L.L.C.)

AMFM RADIO LICENSES, L.L.C.) WFDF (910 AM; 50 kW; FLINT, MI; Owner: ABC, INC.)

ABC, INC.) WUFL (1030 AM; daytime; 5 kW; STERLING HEIGHTS, MI; Owner: FAMILY LIFE BROADCASTING SYSTEM)

FAMILY LIFE BROADCASTING SYSTEM) WOAP (1080 AM; 50 kW; OWOSSO, MI)

WDEO (990 AM; 9 kW; YPSILANTI, MI; Owner: WORD BROADCASTERS, INC.)

WORD BROADCASTERS, INC.) WXDX (1310 AM; 5 kW; DEARBORN, MI; Owner: AMFM RADIO LICENSES, L.L.C.)

AMFM RADIO LICENSES, L.L.C.) WEXL (1340 AM; 1 kW; ROYAL OAK, MI; Owner: WMUZ RADIO, INC.)

WMUZ RADIO, INC.) WTKA (1050 AM; 10 kW; ANN ARBOR, MI; Owner: CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP)

CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP) WKNR (850 AM; 50 kW; CLEVELAND, OH; Owner: CARON BROADCASTING, INC.) Strongest FM radio stations in Bloomfield Hills: WKRK-FM (97.1 FM; DETROIT, MI; Owner: INFINITY BROADCASTING OPERATIONS, INC.)

INFINITY BROADCASTING OPERATIONS, INC.) WRIF (101.1 FM; DETROIT, MI; Owner: GREATER BOSTON RADIO, INC.)

GREATER BOSTON RADIO, INC.) WBFH (88.1 FM; BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MI; Owner: BLOOMFIELD HILLS SCHOOL DISTRICT)

BLOOMFIELD HILLS SCHOOL DISTRICT) WYCD (99.5 FM; DETROIT, MI; Owner: INFINITY BROADCASTING CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN)

INFINITY BROADCASTING CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN) WDTJ (105.9 FM; DETROIT, MI; Owner: RADIO ONE OF DETROIT, LLC)

RADIO ONE OF DETROIT, LLC) WMGC-FM (105.1 FM; DETROIT, MI; Owner: GREATER BOSTON RADIO, INC.)

GREATER BOSTON RADIO, INC.) WCSX (94.7 FM; BIRMINGHAM, MI; Owner: GREATER BOSTON RADIO, INC.)

GREATER BOSTON RADIO, INC.) WDRQ (93.1 FM; DETROIT, MI; Owner: ABC, INC.)

ABC, INC.) WDVD (96.3 FM; DETROIT, MI; Owner: ABC, INC.)

ABC, INC.) WKQI (95.5 FM; DETROIT, MI; Owner: AMFM RADIO LICENSES, L.L.C.)

AMFM RADIO LICENSES, L.L.C.) WAHS (89.5 FM; AUBURN HEIGHTS, MI; Owner: AVONDALE SCHOOL DISTRICT)

AVONDALE SCHOOL DISTRICT) WNIC (100.3 FM; DEARBORN, MI; Owner: AMFM RADIO LICENSES, L.L.C.)

AMFM RADIO LICENSES, L.L.C.) WOMC (104.3 FM; DETROIT, MI; Owner: INFINITY BROADCASTING CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN)

INFINITY BROADCASTING CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN) WJLB (97.9 FM; DETROIT, MI; Owner: AMFM RADIO LICENSES, L.L.C.)

AMFM RADIO LICENSES, L.L.C.) WVMV (98.7 FM; DETROIT, MI; Owner: INFINITY BROADCASTING OPERATIONS, INC.)

INFINITY BROADCASTING OPERATIONS, INC.) WMUZ (103.5 FM; DETROIT, MI; Owner: WMUZ RADIO, INC.)

WMUZ RADIO, INC.) WMXD (92.3 FM; DETROIT, MI; Owner: AMFM RADIO LICENSES, L.L.C.)

AMFM RADIO LICENSES, L.L.C.) WDTR-FM (90.9 FM; DETROIT, MI; Owner: BOARD OF EDUCATION, CITY OF DETROIT)

BOARD OF EDUCATION, CITY OF DETROIT) WDTW (106.7 FM; DETROIT, MI; Owner: AMFM RADIO LICENSES, L.L.C.)

AMFM RADIO LICENSES, L.L.C.) WXOU (88.3 FM; AUBURN HILLS, MI; Owner: OAKLAND UNIVERSITY) TV broadcast stations around Bloomfield Hills: WXYZ-TV ( Channel 7; DETROIT, MI; Owner: CHANNEL 7 OF DETROIT, INC.)

7; DETROIT, MI; CHANNEL 7 OF DETROIT, INC.) WJBK ( Channel 2; DETROIT, MI; Owner: FOX TELEVISION STATIONS, INC.)

2; DETROIT, MI; FOX TELEVISION STATIONS, INC.) WDIV-TV ( Channel 4; DETROIT, MI; Owner: POST-NEWSWEEK STATIONS, MICHIGAN, INC.)

4; DETROIT, MI; POST-NEWSWEEK STATIONS, MICHIGAN, INC.) WKBD ( Channel 50; DETROIT, MI; Owner: VIACOM STATIONS GROUP OF DETROIT INC.)

50; DETROIT, MI; VIACOM STATIONS GROUP OF DETROIT INC.) WWJ-TV ( Channel 62; DETROIT, MI; Owner: CBS BROADCASTING INC.)

62; DETROIT, MI; CBS BROADCASTING INC.) WDWB ( Channel 20; DETROIT, MI; Owner: WXON LICENSE, INC.)

20; DETROIT, MI; WXON LICENSE, INC.) WTVS ( Channel 56; DETROIT, MI; Owner: DETROIT EDUC. TV FOUNDATION)

56; DETROIT, MI; DETROIT EDUC. TV FOUNDATION) WBXD-CA ( Channel 5; DETROIT, MI; Owner: THE BOX WORLDWIDE LLC)

5; DETROIT, MI; THE BOX WORLDWIDE LLC) WADL ( Channel 38; MOUNT CLEMENS, MI; Owner: ADELL BROADCASTING CORPORATION)

38; MOUNT CLEMENS, MI; ADELL BROADCASTING CORPORATION) WFUM ( Channel 28; FLINT, MI; Owner: UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN)

28; FLINT, MI; UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN) W33BY ( Channel 68; DETROIT, MI; Owner: HIGHLAND PARK BROADCASTING, L.P.)

68; DETROIT, MI; HIGHLAND PARK BROADCASTING, L.P.) WLPC-LP ( Channel 26; DETROIT, MI; Owner: GLENN R. AND KARIN A. PLUMMER)

26; DETROIT, MI; GLENN R. AND KARIN A. PLUMMER) WDWO-CA ( Channel 18; DETROIT, MI; Owner: TCT OF MICHIGAN, INC.)

18; DETROIT, MI; TCT OF MICHIGAN, INC.) WEYI-TV ( Channel 25; SAGINAW, MI; Owner: WEYI BROADCASTING, LLC)

25; SAGINAW, MI; WEYI BROADCASTING, LLC) WPXD ( Channel 31; ANN ARBOR, MI; Owner: PAXSON COMMUNICATIONS LICENSE COMPANY, LLC)

31; ANN ARBOR, MI; PAXSON COMMUNICATIONS LICENSE COMPANY, LLC) W48AV (Channel 48; DETROIT, MI; Owner: PAXSON COMMUNICATIONS LICENSE COMPANY, LLC)

Bloomfield Hills fatal accident statistics for 1975 - 2019

See more detailed statistics of Bloomfield Hills fatal car crashes and road traffic accidents for 1975 - 2019 here

National Bridge Inventory (NBI) Statistics

3 Number of bridges

Number of bridges 7ft / 1.7m Total length

Total length $50,000 Total costs

Total costs 7,880 Total average daily traffic

Total average daily traffic 147 Total average daily truck traffic

Total average daily truck traffic 8,890 Total future (year 2015) average daily traffic

Home Mortgage Disclosure Act Aggregated Statistics For Year 2009

(Based on 1 full tract) A) FHA, FSA/RHS & VA

Home Purchase Loans B) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans C) Refinancings

D) Home Improvement Loans

E) Loans on Dwellings For 5+ Families

F) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A B C & D) G) Loans On Manufactured

Home Dwelling (A B C & D) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 6 $283,000 30 $510,200 89 $505,539 0 $0 0 $0 3 $221,333 0 $0 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 0 $0 8 $362,875 10 $683,500 1 $700,000 0 $0 1 $106,000 0 $0 APPLICATIONS DENIED 2 $128,500 7 $917,429 40 $617,450 1 $1,260,000 1 $86,000 5 $317,600 1 $21,000 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 0 $0 4 $340,250 11 $348,000 1 $120,000 0 $0 3 $299,000 0 $0 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 0 $0 10 $473,800 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2008

(Based on 1 full tract) A) FHA, FSA/RHS & VA

Home Purchase Loans B) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans C) Refinancings

D) Home Improvement Loans

F) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A B C & D) G) Loans On Manufactured

Home Dwelling (A B C & D) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 1 $117,000 38 $589,079 75 $674,080 3 $22,000 7 $940,857 1 $417,000 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 0 $0 11 $443,000 13 $624,231 2 $484,000 2 $546,500 0 $0 APPLICATIONS DENIED 0 $0 12 $586,833 30 $751,467 2 $762,500 4 $888,750 0 $0 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 0 $0 5 $362,600 12 $580,667 0 $0 1 $150,000 0 $0 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 2 $758,500 5 $459,200 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2007

(Based on 1 full tract) B) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans C) Refinancings

D) Home Improvement Loans

F) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A B C & D) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 74 $697,554 123 $755,041 6 $925,167 5 $701,200 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 18 $911,944 25 $928,640 2 $69,000 2 $241,000 APPLICATIONS DENIED 72 $746,361 35 $756,200 5 $1,200,000 10 $573,800 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 17 $878,294 18 $1,309,889 1 $2,800,000 0 $0 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 5 $252,800 10 $540,200 0 $0 1 $473,000 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2006

(Based on 1 full tract) A) FHA, FSA/RHS & VA

Home Purchase Loans B) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans C) Refinancings

D) Home Improvement Loans

F) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A B C & D) G) Loans On Manufactured

Home Dwelling (A B C & D) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 1 $177,000 65 $688,538 116 $837,922 9 $589,778 13 $931,077 1 $24,000 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 0 $0 10 $1,167,700 18 $1,167,222 3 $718,000 0 $0 0 $0 APPLICATIONS DENIED 0 $0 24 $1,329,917 55 $955,927 0 $0 6 $672,000 0 $0 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 0 $0 19 $1,663,737 22 $1,387,500 2 $925,000 3 $1,594,667 0 $0 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 2 $2,565,000 6 $489,000 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2005

(Based on 1 full tract) A) FHA, FSA/RHS & VA

Home Purchase Loans B) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans C) Refinancings

D) Home Improvement Loans

F) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A B C & D) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 0 $0 48 $889,708 135 $769,948 4 $475,250 7 $593,000 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 1 $138,000 11 $600,545 16 $667,500 0 $0 1 $202,000 APPLICATIONS DENIED 0 $0 12 $1,795,583 46 $810,587 3 $147,667 7 $1,214,571 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 0 $0 11 $741,727 22 $525,636 0 $0 5 $628,400 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 5 $1,226,800 9 $393,222 0 $0 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2004

(Based on 1 full tract) A) FHA, FSA/RHS & VA

Home Purchase Loans B) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans C) Refinancings

D) Home Improvement Loans

E) Loans on Dwellings For 5+ Families

F) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A B C & D) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 1 $169,000 69 $760,841 189 $624,534 1 $750,000 1 $400,000 10 $349,100 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 1 $218,000 14 $295,571 38 $461,289 0 $0 0 $0 1 $65,000 APPLICATIONS DENIED 1 $123,000 6 $1,227,833 52 $593,519 8 $275,500 0 $0 4 $292,250 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 0 $0 4 $1,011,750 18 $456,944 1 $238,000 0 $0 1 $125,000 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 1 $188,000 12 $766,833 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2002

(Based on 1 full tract) A) FHA, FSA/RHS & VA

Home Purchase Loans B) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans C) Refinancings

D) Home Improvement Loans

F) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A B C & D) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 2 $119,000 88 $576,739 478 $563,180 6 $40,167 6 $297,167 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 0 $0 14 $611,286 47 $494,298 1 $20,000 0 $0 APPLICATIONS DENIED 0 $0 15 $517,133 52 $768,923 3 $68,000 0 $0 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 0 $0 11 $1,021,818 48 $608,938 1 $60,000 3 $263,000 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 5 $626,400 21 $500,524 0 $0 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2001

(Based on 1 full tract) B) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans C) Refinancings

D) Home Improvement Loans

F) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A B C & D) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 83 $496,759 274 $528,135 16 $56,188 8 $846,000 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 5 $481,200 32 $571,000 1 $15,000 0 $0 APPLICATIONS DENIED 11 $1,226,273 37 $710,730 4 $57,500 3 $307,333 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 3 $709,667 32 $438,469 1 $15,000 2 $19,000 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 2 $212,500 13 $424,154 0 $0 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2000

(Based on 1 full tract) B) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans C) Refinancings

D) Home Improvement Loans

E) Loans on Dwellings For 5+ Families

F) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A B C & D) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 97 $600,598 68 $543,103 6 $77,833 1 $10,000,000 4 $79,500 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 13 $841,385 6 $624,833 3 $116,667 0 $0 1 $228,000 APPLICATIONS DENIED 8 $479,875 21 $666,619 3 $81,333 0 $0 1 $103,000 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 3 $838,667 7 $430,143 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 5 $286,000 1 $188,000 0 $0 1 $255,000 Aggregated Statistics For Year 1999

(Based on 1 full tract) B) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans C) Refinancings

D) Home Improvement Loans

F) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A B C & D) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 92 $384,817 165 $549,885 5 $211,680 4 $154,785 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 8 $452,924 20 $461,372 1 $31,800 0 $0 APPLICATIONS DENIED 15 $295,225 22 $656,947 2 $41,740 1 $645,970 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 9 $514,126 17 $584,998 1 $175,900 0 $0 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 5 $611,386 7 $719,369 0 $0 0 $0 Choose year: 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2002 2001 2000 1999

Detailed HMDA statistics for the following Tracts: 1520.00



Private Mortgage Insurance Companies Aggregated Statistics For Year 2009

(Based on 1 full tract) A) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans B) Refinancings

Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 1 $217,000 0 $0 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 0 $0 1 $142,000 APPLICATIONS DENIED 0 $0 1 $144,000 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 0 $0 0 $0 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2008

(Based on 1 full tract) A) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 2 $378,500 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 1 $371,000 APPLICATIONS DENIED 0 $0 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 0 $0 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2007

(Based on 1 full tract) A) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans B) Refinancings

C) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A & B) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 8 $290,000 0 $0 0 $0 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 0 $0 1 $376,000 0 $0 APPLICATIONS DENIED 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 1 $624,000 2 $558,000 1 $624,000 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2006

(Based on 1 full tract) A) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans B) Refinancings

C) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A & B) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 3 $225,000 1 $585,000 1 $114,000 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 APPLICATIONS DENIED 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2005

(Based on 1 full tract) A) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans B) Refinancings

C) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A & B) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 2 $222,500 2 $184,000 1 $200,000 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 APPLICATIONS DENIED 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2004

(Based on 1 full tract) B) Refinancings

Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 1 $204,000 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 1 $314,000 APPLICATIONS DENIED 0 $0 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 0 $0 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2003

(Based on 1 full tract) A) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans B) Refinancings

Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 5 $225,800 2 $148,500 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 0 $0 2 $173,000 APPLICATIONS DENIED 0 $0 0 $0 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 0 $0 0 $0 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2002

(Based on 1 full tract) A) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans B) Refinancings

Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 4 $213,750 6 $390,167 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 0 $0 0 $0 APPLICATIONS DENIED 0 $0 0 $0 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 0 $0 1 $180,000 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2001

(Based on 1 full tract) A) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans B) Refinancings

C) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A & B) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 6 $144,333 3 $217,000 0 $0 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 0 $0 1 $256,000 0 $0 APPLICATIONS DENIED 1 $630,000 0 $0 1 $630,000 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2000

(Based on 1 full tract) A) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 4 $185,250 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 1 $500,000 APPLICATIONS DENIED 1 $378,000 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 0 $0 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 1999

(Based on 1 full tract) A) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans B) Refinancings

Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 8 $256,400 4 $351,558 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 1 $187,830 1 $306,090 APPLICATIONS DENIED 0 $0 0 $0 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 0 $0 0 $0 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 0 $0 Choose year: 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999

Detailed PMIC statistics for the following Tracts: 1520.00





Most common first names in Bloomfield Hills, MI among deceased individuals Name Count Lived (average) Mary 193 84.2 years John 182 79.6 years Robert 155 76.2 years William 133 78.3 years Helen 104 86.2 years James 91 75.4 years Dorothy 84 84.3 years Margaret 81 86.4 years George 76 79.8 years Charles 75 78.3 years Most common last names in Bloomfield Hills, MI among deceased individuals Last name Count Lived (average) Smith 49 80.3 years Brown 36 82.9 years Miller 29 82.2 years Davis 29 78.4 years Johnson 26 82.7 years Williams 23 82.0 years Jones 20 84.5 years Martin 20 81.6 years Anderson 18 79.8 years Campbell 17 75.1 years

Houses and condos Apartments 80.7% Utility gas

18.2% Electricity

0.7% No fuel used

0.5% Bottled, tank, or LP gas 60.6% Utility gas

27.5% Electricity

11.9% Fuel oil, kerosene, etc.





Bloomfield Hills compared to Michigan state average: Median household income significantly above state average.

significantly above Median house value significantly above state average.

significantly above Unemployed percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Black race population percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Hispanic race population percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Median age significantly above state average.

significantly above Foreign-born population percentage significantly above state average.

significantly above Renting percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Number of rooms per house significantly above state average.

significantly above Institutionalized population percentage above state average.

above Percentage of population with a bachelor's degree or higher significantly above state average.

Bloomfield Hills on our top lists: #33 on the list of "Top 101 cities with the most residents born in Western Europe (population 500+)"

#34 on the list of "Top 101 cities with the most residents born in Lebanon (population 500+)"

#35 on the list of "Top 100 cities with biggest houses"

#44 on the list of "Top 101 cities with the most residents born in Germany (population 500+)"

#91 on the list of "Top 101 cities with the most residents born in Czechoslovakia (includes Czech Republic and Slovakia) (population 500+)" #87 (48304) on the list of "Top 101 zip codes with the highest 2012 average taxable interest for individuals (pop 5,000+)"

#89 (48304) on the list of "Top 101 zip codes with the highest 2012 average reported profit/loss from business (pop 5,000+)"

#96 (48304) on the list of "Top 101 zip codes with the highest 2012 average Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) for individuals (pop 5,000+)" #6 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the highest percentage of residents that visited a dentist within the past year"

#12 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the most Orthodox congregations"

#14 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the most Orthodox adherents"

#38 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the most Mainline Protestant adherents"

#39 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the most Catholic adherents"

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Camden, North Carolina

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Population in 2010: 599.

Males: 327 (54.6%) Females: 272 (45.4%)

Median resident age: 40.3 years North Carolina median age: 39.1 years

Zip codes: 27921.

Estimated median household income in 2019: $67,811

Camden: $67,811 NC: $57,341

Estimated per capita income in 2019: $29,356



Camden CDP income, earnings, and wages data



Estimated median house or condo value in 2019: $233,856 Camden: $233,856 NC: $193,200

Mean prices in 2019: all housing units: $252,903; detached houses: $251,198 $67,811$29,356$233,856$252,903;$251,198

Median gross rent in 2019: $990.

March 2019 cost of living index in Camden: 82.3 (low, U.S. average is 100)

Percentage of residents living in poverty in 2019: 11.0%

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Most recent value % change since 2k Data: Median household income ($) Median household income (% change since 2000) Household income diversity Ratio of average income to average house value (%) Ratio of average income to average rent Median household income ($) - White Median household income ($) - Black or African American Median household income ($) - Asian Median household income ($) - Hispanic or Latino Median household income ($) - American Indian and Alaska Native Median household income ($) - Multirace Median household income ($) - Other Race Median household income for houses/condos with a mortgage ($) Median household income for apartments without a mortgage ($) Races - White alone (%) Races - White alone (% change since 2000) Races - Black alone (%) Races - Black alone (% change since 2000) Races - American Indian alone (%) Races - American Indian alone (% change since 2000) Races - Asian alone (%) Races - Asian alone (% change since 2000) Races - Hispanic (%) Races - Hispanic (% change since 2000) Races - Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone (%) Races - Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone (% change since 2000) Races - Two or more races (%) Races - Two or more races (% change since 2000) Races - Other race alone (%) Races - Other race alone (% change since 2000) Racial diversity Unemployment (%) Unemployment (% change since 2000) Unemployment (%) - White Unemployment (%) - Black or African American Unemployment (%) - Asian Unemployment (%) - Hispanic or Latino Unemployment (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Unemployment (%) - Multirace Unemployment (%) - Other Race Population density (people per square mile) Population - Males (%) Population - Females (%) Population - Males (%) - White Population - Males (%) - Black or African American Population - Males (%) - Asian Population - Males (%) - Hispanic or Latino Population - Males (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Population - Males (%) - Multirace Population - Males (%) - Other Race Population - Females (%) - White Population - Females (%) - Black or African American Population - Females (%) - Asian Population - Females (%) - Hispanic or Latino Population - Females (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Population - Females (%) - Multirace Population - Females (%) - Other Race Coronavirus confirmed cases (Nov 21, 2021) Deaths caused by coronavirus (Nov 21, 2021) Coronavirus confirmed cases (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) Deaths caused by coronavirus (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) Daily increase in number of cases (Nov 21, 2021) Weekly increase in number of cases (Nov 21, 2021) Cases doubled (in days) (Nov 21, 2021) Hospitalized patients (Nov 21, 2021) Negative test results (Nov 21, 2021) Total test results (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses distributed (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses administered (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses distributed (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses administered (Nov 21, 2021) Likely homosexual households (%) Likely homosexual households (% change since 2000) Likely homosexual households - Lesbian couples (%) Likely homosexual households - Lesbian couples (% change since 2000) Likely homosexual households - Gay men (%) Likely homosexual households - Gay men (% change since 2000) Cost of living index Median gross rent ($) Median contract rent ($) Median monthly housing costs ($) Median house or condo value ($) Median house or condo value ($ change since 2000) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 1, detached ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 1, attached ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 2 ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure by units in structure - 3 or 4 ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 5 or more ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - Boat, RV, van, etc. ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - Mobile home ($) Median house or condo value ($) - White Median house or condo value ($) - Black or African American Median house or condo value ($) - Asian Median house or condo value ($) - Hispanic or Latino Median house or condo value ($) - American Indian and Alaska Native Median house or condo value ($) - Multirace Median house or condo value ($) - Other Race Median resident age Resident age diversity Median resident age - Males Median resident age - Females Median resident age - White Median resident age - Black or African American Median resident age - Asian Median resident age - Hispanic or Latino Median resident age - American Indian and Alaska Native Median resident age - Multirace Median resident age - Other Race Median resident age - Males - White Median resident age - Males - Black or African American Median resident age - Males - Asian Median resident age - Males - Hispanic or Latino Median resident age - Males - American Indian and Alaska Native Median resident age - Males - Multirace Median resident age - Males - Other Race Median resident age - Females - White Median resident age - Females - Black or African American Median resident age - Females - Asian Median resident age - Females - Hispanic or Latino Median resident age - Females - American Indian and Alaska Native Median resident age - Females - Multirace Median resident age - Females - Other Race Commute - mean travel time to work (minutes) Travel time to work - Less than 5 minutes (%) Travel time to work - Less than 5 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 5 to 9 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 5 to 9 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 10 to 19 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 10 to 19 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 20 to 29 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 20 to 29 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 30 to 39 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 30 to 39 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 40 to 59 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 40 to 59 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 60 to 89 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 60 to 89 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 90 or more minutes (%) Travel time to work - 90 or more minutes (% change since 2000) Marital status - Never married (%) Marital status - Now married (%) Marital status - Separated (%) Marital status - Widowed (%) Marital status - Divorced (%) Median family income ($) Median family income (% change since 2000) Median non-family income ($) Median non-family income (% change since 2000) Median per capita income ($) Median per capita income (% change since 2000) Median family income ($) - White Median family income ($) - Black or African American Median family income ($) - Asian Median family income ($) - Hispanic or Latino Median family income ($) - American Indian and Alaska Native Median family income ($) - Multirace Median family income ($) - Other Race Median year house/condo built Median year apartment built Year house built - Built 2005 or later (%) Year house built - Built 2000 to 2004 (%) Year house built - Built 1990 to 1999 (%) Year house built - Built 1980 to 1989 (%) Year house built - Built 1970 to 1979 (%) Year house built - Built 1960 to 1969 (%) Year house built - Built 1950 to 1959 (%) Year house built - Built 1940 to 1949 (%) Year house built - Built 1939 or earlier (%) Average household size Household density (households per square mile) Average household size - White Average household size - Black or African American Average household size - Asian Average household size - Hispanic or Latino Average household size - American Indian and Alaska Native Average household size - Multirace Average household size - Other Race Occupied housing units (%) Vacant housing units (%) Owner occupied housing units (%) Renter occupied housing units (%) Vacancy status - For rent (%) Vacancy status - For sale only (%) Vacancy status - Rented or sold, not occupied (%) Vacancy status - For seasonal, recreational, or occasional use (%) Vacancy status - For migrant workers (%) Vacancy status - Other vacant (%) Residents with income below the poverty level (%) Residents with income below 50% of the poverty level (%) Children below poverty level (%) Poor families by family type - Married-couple family (%) Poor families by family type - Male, no wife present (%) Poor families by family type - Female, no husband present (%) Poverty status for native-born residents (%) Poverty status for foreign-born residents (%) Poverty among high school graduates not in families (%) Poverty among people who did not graduate high school not in families (%) Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - White Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Black or African American Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Asian Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Hispanic or Latino Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Multirace Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Other Race Air pollution - Air Quality Index (AQI) Air pollution - CO Air pollution - NO2 Air pollution - SO2 Air pollution - Ozone Air pollution - PM10 Air pollution - PM25 Air pollution - Pb Crime - Murders per 100,000 population Crime - Rapes per 100,000 population Crime - Robberies per 100,000 population Crime - Assaults per 100,000 population Crime - Burglaries per 100,000 population Crime - Thefts per 100,000 population Crime - Auto thefts per 100,000 population Crime - Arson per 100,000 population Crime - City-data.com crime index Crime - Violent crime index Crime - Property crime index Crime - Murders per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Rapes per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Robberies per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Assaults per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Burglaries per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Thefts per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Auto thefts per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Arson per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - City-data.com crime index (5 year average) Crime - Violent crime index (5 year average) Crime - Property crime index (5 year average) 1996 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Clinton) 1996 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Dole) 1996 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2000 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Gore) 2000 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Bush) 2000 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2004 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Kerry) 2004 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Bush) 2004 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2008 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Obama) 2008 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (McCain) 2008 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2012 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Obama) 2012 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Romney) 2012 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2016 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Clinton) 2016 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Trump) 2016 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2020 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Biden) 2020 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Trump) 2020 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other Ancestries Reported - Arab (%) Ancestries Reported - Czech (%) Ancestries Reported - Danish (%) Ancestries Reported - Dutch (%) Ancestries Reported - English (%) Ancestries Reported - French (%) Ancestries Reported - French Canadian (%) Ancestries Reported - German (%) Ancestries Reported - Greek (%) Ancestries Reported - Hungarian (%) Ancestries Reported - Irish (%) Ancestries Reported - Italian (%) Ancestries Reported - Lithuanian (%) Ancestries Reported - Norwegian (%) Ancestries Reported - Polish (%) Ancestries Reported - Portuguese (%) Ancestries Reported - Russian (%) Ancestries Reported - Scotch-Irish (%) Ancestries Reported - Scottish (%) Ancestries Reported - Slovak (%) Ancestries Reported - Subsaharan African (%) Ancestries Reported - Swedish (%) Ancestries Reported - Swiss (%) Ancestries Reported - Ukrainian (%) Ancestries Reported - United States (%) Ancestries Reported - Welsh (%) Ancestries Reported - West Indian (%) Ancestries Reported - Other (%) Educational Attainment - No schooling completed (%) Educational Attainment - Less than high school (%) Educational Attainment - High school or equivalent (%) Educational Attainment - Less than 1 year of college (%) Educational Attainment - 1 or more years of college (%) Educational Attainment - Associate degree (%) Educational Attainment - Bachelor's degree (%) Educational Attainment - Master's degree (%) Educational Attainment - Professional school degree (%) Educational Attainment - Doctorate degree (%) School Enrollment - Nursery, preschool (%) School Enrollment - Kindergarten (%) School Enrollment - Grade 1 to 4 (%) School Enrollment - Grade 5 to 8 (%) School Enrollment - Grade 9 to 12 (%) School Enrollment - College undergrad (%) School Enrollment - Graduate or professional (%) School Enrollment - Not enrolled in school (%) School enrollment - Public schools (%) School enrollment - Private schools (%) School enrollment - Not enrolled (%) Median number of rooms in houses and condos Median number of rooms in apartments Housing units lacking complete plumbing facilities (%) Housing units lacking complete kitchen facilities (%) Density of houses Urban houses (%) Rural houses (%) Households with people 60 years and over (%) Households with people 65 years and over (%) Households with people 75 years and over (%) Households with one or more nonrelatives (%) Households with no nonrelatives (%) Population in households (%) Family households (%) Nonfamily households (%) Population in families (%) Family households with own children (%) Median number of bedrooms in owner occupied houses Mean number of bedrooms in owner occupied houses Median number of bedrooms in renter occupied houses Mean number of bedrooms in renter occupied houses Median number of vehichles in owner occupied houses Mean number of vehichles in owner occupied houses Median number of vehichles in renter occupied houses Mean number of vehichles in renter occupied houses Mortgage status - with mortgage (%) Mortgage status - with second mortgage (%) Mortgage status - with home equity loan (%) Mortgage status - with both second mortgage and home equity loan (%) Mortgage status - without a mortgage (%) Average family size Average family size - White Average family size - Black or African American Average family size - Asian Average family size - Hispanic or Latino Average family size - American Indian and Alaska Native Average family size - Multirace Average family size - Other Race Geographical mobility - Same house 1 year ago (%) Geographical mobility - Moved within same county (%) Geographical mobility - Moved from different county within same state (%) Geographical mobility - Moved from different state (%) Geographical mobility - Moved from abroad (%) Place of birth - Born in state of residence (%) Place of birth - Born in other state (%) Place of birth - Native, outside of US (%) Place of birth - Foreign born (%) Housing units in structures - 1, detached (%) Housing units in structures - 1, attached (%) Housing units in structures - 2 (%) Housing units in structures - 3 or 4 (%) Housing units in structures - 5 to 9 (%) Housing units in structures - 10 to 19 (%) Housing units in structures - 20 to 49 (%) Housing units in structures - 50 or more (%) Housing units in structures - Mobile home (%) Housing units in structures - Boat, RV, van, etc. (%) House/condo owner moved in on average (years ago) Renter moved in on average (years ago) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1999 to March 2000 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1995 to 1998 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1990 to 1994 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1980 to 1989 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1970 to 1979 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1969 or earlier (%) Means of transportation to work - Drove car alone (%) Means of transportation to work - Carpooled (%) Means of transportation to work - Public transportation (%) Means of transportation to work - Bus or trolley bus (%) Means of transportation to work - Streetcar or trolley car (%) Means of transportation to work - Subway or elevated (%) Means of transportation to work - Railroad (%) Means of transportation to work - Ferryboat (%) Means of transportation to work - Taxicab (%) Means of transportation to work - Motorcycle (%) Means of transportation to work - Bicycle (%) Means of transportation to work - Walked (%) Means of transportation to work - Other means (%) Working at home (%) Industry diversity Most Common Industries - Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining (%) Most Common Industries - Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (%) Most Common Industries - Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (%) Most Common Industries - Construction (%) Most Common Industries - Manufacturing (%) Most Common Industries - Wholesale trade (%) Most Common Industries - Retail trade (%) Most Common Industries - Transportation and warehousing, and utilities (%) Most Common Industries - Transportation and warehousing (%) Most Common Industries - Utilities (%) Most Common Industries - Information (%) Most Common Industries - Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing (%) Most Common Industries - Finance and insurance (%) Most Common Industries - Real estate and rental and leasing (%) Most Common Industries - Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services (%) Most Common Industries - Professional, scientific, and technical services (%) Most Common Industries - Management of companies and enterprises (%) Most Common Industries - Administrative and support and waste management services (%) Most Common Industries - Educational services, and health care and social assistance (%) Most Common Industries - Educational services (%) Most Common Industries - Health care and social assistance (%) Most Common Industries - Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation and food services (%) Most Common Industries - Arts, entertainment, and recreation (%) Most Common Industries - Accommodation and food services (%) Most Common Industries - Other services, except public administration (%) Most Common Industries - Public administration (%) Occupation diversity Most Common Occupations - Management, business, science, and arts occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Management, business, and financial occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Management occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Business and financial operations occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Computer, engineering, and science occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Computer and mathematical occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Architecture and engineering occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Life, physical, and social science occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Education, legal, community service, arts, and media occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Community and social service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Legal occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Education, training, and library occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Health diagnosing and treating practitioners and other technical occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Health technologists and technicians (%) Most Common Occupations - Service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Healthcare support occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Protective service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Fire fighting and prevention, and other protective service workers including supervisors (%) Most Common Occupations - Law enforcement workers including supervisors (%) Most Common Occupations - Food preparation and serving related occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Personal care and service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Sales and office occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Sales and related occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Office and administrative support occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Construction and extraction occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Production, transportation, and material moving occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Production occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Transportation occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Material moving occupations (%) People in Group quarters - Institutionalized population (%) People in Group quarters - Correctional institutions (%) People in Group quarters - Federal prisons and detention centers (%) People in Group quarters - Halfway houses (%) People in Group quarters - Local jails and other confinement facilities (including police lockups) (%) People in Group quarters - Military disciplinary barracks (%) People in Group quarters - State prisons (%) People in Group quarters - Other types of correctional institutions (%) People in Group quarters - Nursing homes (%) People in Group quarters - Hospitals/wards, hospices, and schools for the handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Hospitals/wards and hospices for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Hospices or homes for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Military hospitals or wards for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Other hospitals or wards for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Hospitals or wards for drug/alcohol abuse (%) People in Group quarters - Mental (Psychiatric) hospitals or wards (%) People in Group quarters - Schools, hospitals, or wards for the mentally retarded (%) People in Group quarters - Schools, hospitals, or wards for the physically handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Institutions for the deaf (%) People in Group quarters - Institutions for the blind (%) People in Group quarters - Orthopedic wards and institutions for the physically handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Wards in general hospitals for patients who have no usual home elsewhere (%) People in Group quarters - Wards in military hospitals for patients who have no usual home elsewhere (%) People in Group quarters - Juvenile institutions (%) People in Group quarters - Long-term care (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for abused, dependent, and neglected children (%) People in Group quarters - Residential treatment centers for emotionally disturbed children (%) People in Group quarters - Training schools for juvenile delinquents (%) People in Group quarters - Short-term care, detention or diagnostic centers for delinquent children (%) People in Group quarters - Type of juvenile institution unknown (%) People in Group quarters - Noninstitutionalized population (%) People in Group quarters - College dormitories (includes college quarters off campus) (%) People in Group quarters - Military quarters (%) People in Group quarters - On base (%) People in Group quarters - Barracks, unaccompanied personnel housing (UPH), (Enlisted/Officer), ;and similar group living quarters for military personnel (%) People in Group quarters - Transient quarters for temporary residents (%) People in Group quarters - Military ships (%) People in Group quarters - Group homes (%) People in Group quarters - Homes or halfway houses for drug/alcohol abuse (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for the mentally ill (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for the mentally retarded (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for the physically handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Other group homes (%) People in Group quarters - Religious group quarters (%) People in Group quarters - Dormitories (%) People in Group quarters - Agriculture workers' dormitories on farms (%) People in Group quarters - Job Corps and vocational training facilities (%) People in Group quarters - Other workers' dormitories (%) People in Group quarters - Crews of maritime vessels (%) People in Group quarters - Other nonhousehold living situations (%) People in Group quarters - Other noninstitutional group quarters (%) Residents speaking English at home (%) Residents speaking English at home - Born in the United States (%) Residents speaking English at home - Native, born elsewhere (%) Residents speaking English at home - Foreign born (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home - Born in the United States (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home - Native, born elsewhere (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home - Foreign born (%) Residents speaking other language at home (%) Residents speaking other language at home - Born in the United States (%) Residents speaking other language at home - Native, born elsewhere (%) Residents speaking other language at home - Foreign born (%) Class of Workers - Employee of private company (%) Class of Workers - Self-employed in own incorporated business (%) Class of Workers - Private not-for-profit wage and salary workers (%) Class of Workers - Local government workers (%) Class of Workers - State government workers (%) Class of Workers - Federal government workers (%) Class of Workers - Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business and Unpaid family workers (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Utility gas (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Bottled, tank, or LP gas (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Electricity (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Fuel oil, kerosene, etc. (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Coal or coke (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Wood (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Solar energy (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Other fuel (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - No fuel used (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Utility gas (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Bottled, tank, or LP gas (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Electricity (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Fuel oil, kerosene, etc. (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Coal or coke (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Wood (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Solar energy (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Other fuel (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - No fuel used (%) Armed forces status - In Armed Forces (%) Armed forces status - Civilian (%) Armed forces status - Civilian - Veteran (%) Armed forces status - Civilian - Nonveteran (%) Fatal accidents locations in years 2005-2019 Fatal accidents locations in 2005 Fatal accidents locations in 2006 Fatal accidents locations in 2007 Fatal accidents locations in 2008 Fatal accidents locations in 2009 Fatal accidents locations in 2010 Fatal accidents locations in 2011 Fatal accidents locations in 2012 Fatal accidents locations in 2013 Fatal accidents locations in 2014 Fatal accidents locations in 2015 Fatal accidents locations in 2016 Fatal accidents locations in 2017 Fatal accidents locations in 2018 Fatal accidents locations in 2019 Alcohol use - People drinking some alcohol every month (%) Alcohol use - People not drinking at all (%) Alcohol use - Average days/month drinking alcohol Alcohol use - Average drinks/week Alcohol use - Average days/year people drink much Audiometry - Average condition of hearing (%) Audiometry - People that can hear a whisper from across a quiet room (%) Audiometry - People that can hear normal voice from across a quiet room (%) Audiometry - Ears ringing, roaring, buzzing (%) Audiometry - Had a job exposure to loud noise (%) Audiometry - Had off-work exposure to loud noise (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Has high blood pressure (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Checking blood pressure at home (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Frequently checking blood cholesterol (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Has high cholesterol level (%) Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on food at supermarket/grocery store Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on food at other stores Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on eating out Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on carryout/delivered foods Consumer Behavior - Income spent on food at supermarket/grocery store (%) Consumer Behavior - Income spent on food at other stores (%) Consumer Behavior - Income spent on eating out (%) Consumer Behavior - Income spent on carryout/delivered foods (%) Current Health Status - General health condition (%) Current Health Status - Blood donors (%) Current Health Status - Has blood ever tested for HIV virus (%) Current Health Status - Left-handed people (%) Dermatology - People using sunscreen (%) Diabetes - Diabetics (%) Diabetes - Had a blood test for high blood sugar (%) Diabetes - People taking insulin (%) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Diet health (%) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Milk product consumption (# of products/month) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Meals not home prepared (#/week) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Meals from fast food or pizza place (#/week) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Ready-to-eat foods (#/month) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Frozen meals/pizza (#/month) Drug Use - People that ever used marijuana or hashish (%) Drug Use - Ever used hard drugs (%) Drug Use - Ever used any form of cocaine (%) Drug Use - Ever used heroin (%) Drug Use - Ever used methamphetamine (%) Health Insurance - People covered by health insurance (%) Kidney Conditions-Urology - Avg. # of times urinating at night Medical Conditions - People with asthma (%) Medical Conditions - People with anemia (%) Medical Conditions - People with psoriasis (%) Medical Conditions - People with overweight (%) Medical Conditions - Elderly people having difficulties in thinking or remembering (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever received blood transfusion (%) Medical Conditions - People having trouble seeing even with glass/contacts (%) Medical Conditions - People with arthritis (%) Medical Conditions - People with gout (%) Medical Conditions - People with congestive heart failure (%) Medical Conditions - People with coronary heart disease (%) Medical Conditions - People with angina pectoris (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever had heart attack (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever had stroke (%) Medical Conditions - People with emphysema (%) Medical Conditions - People with thyroid problem (%) Medical Conditions - People with chronic bronchitis (%) Medical Conditions - People with any liver condition (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever had cancer or malignancy (%) Mental Health - People who have little interest in doing things (%) Mental Health - People feeling down, depressed, or hopeless (%) Mental Health - People who have trouble sleeping or sleeping too much (%) Mental Health - People feeling tired or having little energy (%) Mental Health - People with poor appetite or overeating (%) Mental Health - People feeling bad about themself (%) Mental Health - People who have trouble concentrating on things (%) Mental Health - People moving or speaking slowly or too fast (%) Mental Health - People having thoughts they would be better off dead (%) Oral Health - Average years since last visit a dentist Oral Health - People embarrassed because of mouth (%) Oral Health - People with gum disease (%) Oral Health - General health of teeth and gums (%) Oral Health - Average days a week using dental floss/device Oral Health - Average days a week using mouthwash for dental problem Oral Health - Average number of teeth Pesticide Use - Households using pesticides to control insects (%) Pesticide Use - Households using pesticides to kill weeds (%) Physical Activity - People doing vigorous-intensity work activities (%) Physical Activity - People doing moderate-intensity work activities (%) Physical Activity - People walking or bicycling (%) Physical Activity - People doing vigorous-intensity recreational activities (%) Physical Activity - People doing moderate-intensity recreational activities (%) Physical Activity - Average hours a day doing sedentary activities Physical Activity - Average hours a day watching TV or videos Physical Activity - Average hours a day using computer Physical Functioning - People having limitations keeping them from working (%) Physical Functioning - People limited in amount of work they can do (%) Physical Functioning - People that need special equipment to walk (%) Physical Functioning - People experiencing confusion/memory problems (%) Physical Functioning - People requiring special healthcare equipment (%) Prescription Medications - Average number of prescription medicines taking Preventive Aspirin Use - Adults 40+ taking low-dose aspirin (%) Reproductive Health - Vaginal deliveries (%) Reproductive Health - Cesarean deliveries (%) Reproductive Health - Deliveries resulted in a live birth (%) Reproductive Health - Pregnancies resulted in a delivery (%) Reproductive Health - Women breastfeeding newborns (%) Reproductive Health - Women that had a hysterectomy (%) Reproductive Health - Women that had both ovaries removed (%) Reproductive Health - Women that have ever taken birth control pills (%) Reproductive Health - Women taking birth control pills (%) Reproductive Health - Women that have ever used Depo-Provera or injectables (%) Reproductive Health - Women that have ever used female hormones (%) Sexual Behavior - People 18+ that ever had sex (vaginal, anal, or oral) (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever had vaginal sex with a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever performed oral sex on a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever had anal sex with a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever had any sex with a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever had vaginal sex with a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever performed oral sex on a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever had anal sex with a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever had any kind of sex with a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Average age people first had sex Sexual Behavior - Average number of female sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of female vaginal sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average age people first performed oral sex on a woman (18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of woman performed oral sex on in lifetime (18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male anal sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average age people first performed oral sex on a man (18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male oral sex partners in lifetime (18+) Sexual Behavior - People using protection when performing oral sex (%) Sexual Behavior - Average number of times people have vaginal or anal sex a year Sexual Behavior - People having sex without condom (%) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male sex partners in lifetime (females 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male vaginal sex partners in lifetime (females 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of female sex partners in lifetime (females 18+) Sexual Behavior - Circumcised males 18+ (%) Sleep Disorders - Average hours sleeping at night Sleep Disorders - People that has trouble sleeping (%) Smoking-Cigarette Use - People smoking cigarettes (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ having problems with smell (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ having problems with taste (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had wisdom teeth removed (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had tonsils teeth removed (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had a loss of consciousness because of a head injury (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had a broken nose or other serious injury to face or skull (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had two or more sinus infections (%) Weight - Average height (inches) Weight - Average weight (pounds) Weight - Average BMI Weight - People that are obese (%) Weight - People that ever were obese (%) Weight - People trying to lose weight (%) Settings Get link Loading data... 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631 76.4% White alone 189 22.9% Black alone

Races in Camden detailed stats: ancestries, foreign born residents, place of birth





According to our research of North Carolina and other state lists, there were 8 registered sex offenders living in Camden, North Carolina as of November 22, 2021.

The ratio of all residents to sex offenders in Camden is 88 to 1.





Ancestries: English (24.0%), Irish (16.2%), American (4.8%), Italian (3.8%), Scottish (3.0%), Ukrainian (3.0%).

Current Local Time: EST time zone

Elevation: 15 feet

Latitude: 36.33 N, Longitude: 76.17 W

Area code commonly used in this area: 252

Unemployment in November 2020:

Here: 4.7% North Carolina: 6.1%

Air pollution and air quality trends

(lower is better) AQI Ozone

Air Quality Index (AQI) level in 2004 was 84.6. This is about average. City: 84.6 U.S.: 74.2

Ozone [ppb] level in 2004 was 34.1. This is about average. Closest monitor was 2.8 miles away from the city center. City: 34.1 U.S.: 33.3

Tornado activity: Camden-area historical tornado activity is slightly below North Carolina state average. It is 32% smaller than the overall U.S. average.

On 11/23/1992, a category F3 (max. wind speeds 158-206 mph) tornado 3.2 miles away from the Camden place center injured 44 people and caused between $500,000 and $5,000,000 in damages. On 3/28/1984, a category F3 tornado 20.7 miles away from the place center killed 2 people and injured 10 people and caused between $500,000 and $5,000,000 in damages.

Earthquake activity: Camden-area historical earthquake activity is significantly above North Carolina state average. It is 66% smaller than the overall U.S. average.



On 8/23/2011 at 17:51:04, a magnitude 5.8 (5.8 MW, Depth: 3.7 mi, Class: Moderate, Intensity: VI - VII) earthquake occurred 146.4 miles away from Camden center

On 12/9/2003 at 20:59:14, a magnitude 4.5 (4.5 MB, 4.5 LG, Class: Light, Intensity: IV - V) earthquake occurred 129.3 miles away from the city center

On 12/9/2003 at 20:59:18, a magnitude 4.5 (4.5 ML, Depth: 6.2 mi) earthquake occurred 146.0 miles away from the city center

On 8/25/2011 at 05:07:52, a magnitude 4.5 (4.5 ML, Depth: 4.2 mi) earthquake occurred 149.4 miles away from Camden center

On 8/9/2020 at 12:07:37, a magnitude 5.1 (5.1 MW, Depth: 4.7 mi) earthquake occurred 274.1 miles away from the city center

On 1/15/2019 at 23:30:48, a magnitude 4.6 (4.6 MW, Depth: 6.2 mi) earthquake occurred 186.0 miles away from Camden center

Magnitude types: regional Lg-wave magnitude (LG), body-wave magnitude (MB), local magnitude (ML), moment magnitude (MW)

Natural disasters: The number of natural disasters in Camden County (15) is near the US average (15).

Major Disasters (Presidential) Declared: 7

Emergencies Declared: 6



Causes of natural disasters: Hurricanes: 12, Blizzard: 1, Flood: 1, Storm: 1, Tropical Storm: 1, Wind: 1, Other: 1 (Note: some incidents may be assigned to more than one category).

Hospitals and medical centers near Camden: ALBEMARLE HOSPITAL AUTHORITY Acute Care Hospitals (about 3 miles away; ELIZABETH CITY, NC)

Acute Care Hospitals ALBEMARLE HOME CARE (Home Health Center, about 4 miles away; ELIZABETH CITY, NC)

GUARDIAN CARE OF ELIZABETH CITY INC (Nursing Home, about 5 miles away; ELIZABETH CITY, NC)

KINDRED TRANSITIONAL CARE AND REHAB-ELIZABETH CITY (Nursing Home, about 5 miles away; ELIZABETH CITY, NC)

W R WINSLOW MEMORIAL HOME INC (Nursing Home, about 5 miles away; ELIZABETH CITY, NC)

SENTARA NURSING CENTER (Nursing Home, about 12 miles away; BARCO, NC)

Camden County has a predicted average indoor radon screening level less than 2 pCi/L (pico curies per liter) - Low Potential

Average household size: This place: 2.3 people North Carolina: 2.5 people

Percentage of family households: This place: 60.2% Whole state: 66.7%

Percentage of households with unmarried partners: This place: 3.8% Whole state: 5.9%



Likely homosexual households (counted as self-reported same-sex unmarried-partner households) Lesbian couples: 0.0% of all households

0.0% Gay men: 0.8% of all households

Banks with branches in Camden (2011 data): Towne Bank: Camden Branch at Highway 168, branch established on 1977/10/06. Info updated 2011/01/04: Bank assets: $4,081.8 mil, Deposits: $3,206.8 mil, headquarters in Portsmouth, VA, positive income, Commercial Lending Specialization, 28 total offices

For population 15 years and over in Camden: Never married: 32.9%

32.9% Now married: 54.0%

54.0% Separated: 4.2%

4.2% Widowed: 1.9%

1.9% Divorced: 7.0%

For population 25 years and over in Camden: High school or higher: 66.0%

66.0% Bachelor's degree or higher: 21.1%

21.1% Graduate or professional degree: 8.1%

Education Gini index (Inequality in education) Here: 14.6 North Carolina average: 11.8



Religion statistics for Camden, NC (based on Camden County data) Religion Adherents Congregations Evangelical Protestant 1,341 8 Black Protestant 1,240 6 Mainline Protestant 775 5 None 6,624 - Source: Clifford Grammich, Kirk Hadaway, Richard Houseal, Dale E.Jones, Alexei Krindatch, Richie Stanley and Richard H.Taylor. 2012. 2010 U.S.Religion Census: Religious Congregations & Membership Study. Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies. Jones, Dale E., et al. 2002. Congregations and Membership in the United States 2000. Nashville, TN: Glenmary Research Center. Graphs represent county-level data

Food Environment Statistics: Number of grocery stores: 1 Camden County : 1.06 / 10,000 pop. State : 2.05 / 10,000 pop. Number of convenience stores (no gas): 1 Camden County : 1.06 / 10,000 pop. North Carolina : 0.92 / 10,000 pop. Number of convenience stores (with gas): 5 This county : 5.28 / 10,000 pop. North Carolina : 4.75 / 10,000 pop. Number of full-service restaurants: 1 This county : 1.06 / 10,000 pop. North Carolina : 7.57 / 10,000 pop. Adult diabetes rate: Camden County : 10.2% State : 9.8% Adult obesity rate: Camden County : 31.8% North Carolina : 28.3% Low-income preschool obesity rate: This county : 10.1% North Carolina : 15.6%

8.92% of this county's 2016 resident taxpayers lived in other counties in 2015 ($48,562 average adjusted gross income) Here: 8.92% North Carolina average: 7.88% 10 or fewer of this county's residents moved from foreign countries between 2015 and 2016.

Top counties from which taxpayers relocated into this county between 2015 and 2016:

from Pasquotank County, NC 2.06% ($39,145 average AGI) from Chesapeake city, VA 0.98% ($58,639) from Virginia Beach city, VA 0.98% ($47,472)



8.33% of this county's 2015 resident taxpayers moved to other counties in 2016 ($51,062 average adjusted gross income) Here: 8.33% North Carolina average: 7.23% 10 or fewer of this county's residents moved to foreign countries between 2015 and 2016.

Top counties to which taxpayers relocated from this county between 2015 and 2016:

to Pasquotank County, NC 2.40% ($39,545 average AGI) to Currituck County, NC 0.71% ($51,500) to Chesapeake city, VA 0.55% ($65,550)

Businesses in Camden, NC U-Haul: 1

1 UPS: 1

Strongest AM radio stations in Camden: WGAI (560 AM; 1 kW; ELIZABETH CITY, NC; Owner: MAX RADIO OF THE CAROLINAS LICENSES LLC)

MAX RADIO OF THE CAROLINAS LICENSES LLC) WCNC (1240 AM; 1 kW; ELIZABETH CITY, NC; Owner: EAST CAROLINA RADIO, INC.)

EAST CAROLINA RADIO, INC.) WCKO (1110 AM; daytime; 50 kW; NORFOLK, VA; Owner: WORD BROADCASTING NETWORK, INC.)

WORD BROADCASTING NETWORK, INC.) WTAR (850 AM; 50 kW; NORFOLK, VA; Owner: SINCLAIR COMMUNICATIONS)

SINCLAIR COMMUNICATIONS) WGH (1310 AM; 20 kW; NEWPORT NEWS, VA; Owner: CHESAPEAKE BAY BROADCASTING, LLC)

CHESAPEAKE BAY BROADCASTING, LLC) WPMH (1010 AM; 10 kW; PORTSMOUTH, VA; Owner: ABC, INC.)

ABC, INC.) WRJR (670 AM; 20 kW; CLAREMONT, VA; Owner: CHESAPEAKE-PORTSMOUTH BROADCASTING CORPORATION)

CHESAPEAKE-PORTSMOUTH BROADCASTING CORPORATION) WHKT (1650 AM; 10 kW; PORTSMOUTH, VA; Owner: ABC, INC.)

ABC, INC.) WRVA (1140 AM; 50 kW; RICHMOND, VA; Owner: CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.)

CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.) WFOG (1050 AM; 5 kW; NORFOLK, VA; Owner: CHESAPEAKE BAY BROADCASTING, LLC)

CHESAPEAKE BAY BROADCASTING, LLC) WPTF (680 AM; 50 kW; RALEIGH, NC; Owner: FIRST STATE COMMUNICATIONS)

FIRST STATE COMMUNICATIONS) WKGM (940 AM; 10 kW; SMITHFIELD, VA; Owner: WKGM, INC.)

WKGM, INC.) WVAB (1550 AM; 5 kW; VIRGINIA BEACH, VA) Strongest FM radio stations in Camden: WKOC (93.7 FM; CHESAPEAKE, VA; Owner: COMMONWEALTH RADIO, L.L.C.)

COMMONWEALTH RADIO, L.L.C.) WRVS-FM (89.9 FM; ELIZABETH CITY, NC; Owner: ELIZABETH CITY STATE UNIVERSITY)

ELIZABETH CITY STATE UNIVERSITY) WGPS (88.3 FM; ELIZABETH CITY, NC; Owner: CSN INTERNATIONAL)

CSN INTERNATIONAL) WCXL (104.1 FM; KILL DEVIL HILLS, NC; Owner: MAX RADIO OF THE CAROLINAS LICENSES LLC)

MAX RADIO OF THE CAROLINAS LICENSES LLC) WFMZ (104.9 FM; HERTFORD, NC; Owner: MARANATHA BROADCASTING COMPANY, INC.)

MARANATHA BROADCASTING COMPANY, INC.) WRSF (105.7 FM; COLUMBIA, NC; Owner: EAST CAROLINA RADIO, INC.)

EAST CAROLINA RADIO, INC.) WFMI (100.9 FM; SOUTHERN SHORES, NC; Owner: COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS, INC.)

COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS, INC.) WHRO-FM (90.3 FM; NORFOLK, VA; Owner: HAMPTON ROADS EDUCATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATION,INC)

HAMPTON ROADS EDUCATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATION,INC) WHRV (89.5 FM; NORFOLK, VA; Owner: HAMPTON ROADS EDUCATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATION,INC)

HAMPTON ROADS EDUCATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATION,INC) WAFX (106.9 FM; SUFFOLK, VA; Owner: TIDEWATER COMMUNICATIONS, LLC)

TIDEWATER COMMUNICATIONS, LLC) WERX-FM (102.5 FM; COLUMBIA, NC; Owner: LAWRENCE LOESCH & MARGARET LOESCH)

LAWRENCE LOESCH & MARGARET LOESCH) WVKL (95.7 FM; NORFOLK, VA; Owner: ENTERCOM NORFOLK LICENSE, LLC)

ENTERCOM NORFOLK LICENSE, LLC) WBHH (92.1 FM; MOYOCK, NC; Owner: CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.) TV broadcast stations around Camden: W18BB ( Channel 18; ELIZABETH CITY, NC; Owner: ELIZABETH CITY STATE UNIVERSITY)

18; ELIZABETH CITY, NC; ELIZABETH CITY STATE UNIVERSITY) WUND-TV ( Channel 2; COLUMBIA, NC; Owner: UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA)

2; COLUMBIA, NC; UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA) WSKY-TV ( Channel 4; MANTEO, NC; Owner: SKY TELEVISION, L.L.C.)

4; MANTEO, NC; SKY TELEVISION, L.L.C.) WTKR ( Channel 3; NORFOLK, VA; Owner: NEW YORK TIMES MANAGEMENT SERVICES)

3; NORFOLK, VA; NEW YORK TIMES MANAGEMENT SERVICES) WTVZ-TV ( Channel 33; NORFOLK, VA; Owner: WTVZ LICENSEE, LLC)

33; NORFOLK, VA; WTVZ LICENSEE, LLC) WHRO-TV ( Channel 15; HAMPTON-NORFOLK, VA; Owner: HAMPTON ROADS EDUCATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSOC, INC.)

15; HAMPTON-NORFOLK, VA; HAMPTON ROADS EDUCATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSOC, INC.) WPXV ( Channel 49; NORFOLK, VA; Owner: PAXSON COMMUNICATIONS LICENSE COMPANY, LLC)

49; NORFOLK, VA; PAXSON COMMUNICATIONS LICENSE COMPANY, LLC) WVEC-TV ( Channel 13; HAMPTON, VA; Owner: WVEC TELEVISION, INC.)

13; HAMPTON, VA; WVEC TELEVISION, INC.) WVBT ( Channel 43; VIRGINIA BEACH, VA; Owner: WAVY BROADCASTING, LLC)

43; VIRGINIA BEACH, VA; WAVY BROADCASTING, LLC) WITD-CA ( Channel 23; CHESAPEAKE, VA; Owner: WAVY BROADCASTING, LLC)

23; CHESAPEAKE, VA; WAVY BROADCASTING, LLC) WGNT ( Channel 27; PORTSMOUTH, VA; Owner: UPN TELEVISION STATIONS INC.)

27; PORTSMOUTH, VA; UPN TELEVISION STATIONS INC.) WAVY-TV ( Channel 10; PORTSMOUTH, VA; Owner: WAVY BROADCASTING, LLC)

10; PORTSMOUTH, VA; WAVY BROADCASTING, LLC) WNLO-CA (Channel 45; NORFOLK, VA; Owner: WAVY BROADCASTING, LLC)

Camden fatal accident list: May 17, 2008 08:31 PM, Us-158, Lat: 36.328400, Lon: -76.171900, Vehicles: 2, Persons: 3, Fatalities: 1

Oct 7, 2008 06:11 AM, Us-158, Lat: 36.314890, Lon: -76.181310, Vehicles: 2, Persons: 2, Fatalities: 1



National Bridge Inventory (NBI) Statistics

11 Number of bridges

Number of bridges 62ft / 18.8m Total length

Total length 42,660 Total average daily traffic

Total average daily traffic 3,242 Total average daily truck traffic

Total average daily truck traffic 85,320 Total future (year 2025) average daily traffic

New bridges - historical statistics

1 1960-1969

1 1970-1979

6 1980-1989

1 2000-2009

2 2010-2018 See full National Bridge Inventory statistics for Camden, NC

Houses and condos Apartments 97.5% Electricity

2.5% Bottled, tank, or LP gas 100.0% Electricity





Camden compared to North Carolina state average: Unemployed percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Hispanic race population percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Median age below state average.

below Foreign-born population percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Length of stay since moving in below state average.

below Number of college students below state average.

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Carbonville, Utah

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Population in 2010: 1,567.

Males: 835 (53.3%) Females: 732 (46.7%)

Median resident age: 46.7 years Utah median age: 31.2 years

Estimated median household income in 2019: $54,129

Carbonville: $54,129 UT: $75,780

Estimated per capita income in 2019: $25,462



Carbonville CDP income, earnings, and wages data



Estimated median house or condo value in 2019: $166,629 Carbonville: $166,629 UT: $330,300

Mean prices in 2019: all housing units: $172,959; detached houses: $197,187; mobile homes: $87,309 $54,129$25,462$166,629$172,959;$197,187;$87,309

Median gross rent in 2019: $710.

March 2019 cost of living index in Carbonville: 84.1 (less than average, U.S. average is 100)

Percentage of residents living in poverty in 2019: 12.4%

(12.2% for White Non-Hispanic residents, 16.9% for Hispanic or Latino residents)

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Most recent value % change since 2k Data: Median household income ($) Median household income (% change since 2000) Household income diversity Ratio of average income to average house value (%) Ratio of average income to average rent Median household income ($) - White Median household income ($) - Black or African American Median household income ($) - Asian Median household income ($) - Hispanic or Latino Median household income ($) - American Indian and Alaska Native Median household income ($) - Multirace Median household income ($) - Other Race Median household income for houses/condos with a mortgage ($) Median household income for apartments without a mortgage ($) Races - White alone (%) Races - White alone (% change since 2000) Races - Black alone (%) Races - Black alone (% change since 2000) Races - American Indian alone (%) Races - American Indian alone (% change since 2000) Races - Asian alone (%) Races - Asian alone (% change since 2000) Races - Hispanic (%) Races - Hispanic (% change since 2000) Races - Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone (%) Races - Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone (% change since 2000) Races - Two or more races (%) Races - Two or more races (% change since 2000) Races - Other race alone (%) Races - Other race alone (% change since 2000) Racial diversity Unemployment (%) Unemployment (% change since 2000) Unemployment (%) - White Unemployment (%) - Black or African American Unemployment (%) - Asian Unemployment (%) - Hispanic or Latino Unemployment (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Unemployment (%) - Multirace Unemployment (%) - Other Race Population density (people per square mile) Population - Males (%) Population - Females (%) Population - Males (%) - White Population - Males (%) - Black or African American Population - Males (%) - Asian Population - Males (%) - Hispanic or Latino Population - Males (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Population - Males (%) - Multirace Population - Males (%) - Other Race Population - Females (%) - White Population - Females (%) - Black or African American Population - Females (%) - Asian Population - Females (%) - Hispanic or Latino Population - Females (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Population - Females (%) - Multirace Population - Females (%) - Other Race Coronavirus confirmed cases (Nov 21, 2021) Deaths caused by coronavirus (Nov 21, 2021) Coronavirus confirmed cases (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) Deaths caused by coronavirus (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) Daily increase in number of cases (Nov 21, 2021) Weekly increase in number of cases (Nov 21, 2021) Cases doubled (in days) (Nov 21, 2021) Hospitalized patients (Nov 21, 2021) Negative test results (Nov 21, 2021) Total test results (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses distributed (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses administered (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses distributed (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses administered (Nov 21, 2021) Likely homosexual households (%) Likely homosexual households (% change since 2000) Likely homosexual households - Lesbian couples (%) Likely homosexual households - Lesbian couples (% change since 2000) Likely homosexual households - Gay men (%) Likely homosexual households - Gay men (% change since 2000) Cost of living index Median gross rent ($) Median contract rent ($) Median monthly housing costs ($) Median house or condo value ($) Median house or condo value ($ change since 2000) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 1, detached ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 1, attached ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 2 ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure by units in structure - 3 or 4 ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 5 or more ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - Boat, RV, van, etc. ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - Mobile home ($) Median house or condo value ($) - White Median house or condo value ($) - Black or African American Median house or condo value ($) - Asian Median house or condo value ($) - Hispanic or Latino Median house or condo value ($) - American Indian and Alaska Native Median house or condo value ($) - Multirace Median house or condo value ($) - Other Race Median resident age Resident age diversity Median resident age - Males Median resident age - Females Median resident age - White Median resident age - Black or African American Median resident age - Asian Median resident age - Hispanic or Latino Median resident age - American Indian and Alaska Native Median resident age - Multirace Median resident age - Other Race Median resident age - Males - White Median resident age - Males - Black or African American Median resident age - Males - Asian Median resident age - Males - Hispanic or Latino Median resident age - Males - American Indian and Alaska Native Median resident age - Males - Multirace Median resident age - Males - Other Race Median resident age - Females - White Median resident age - Females - Black or African American Median resident age - Females - Asian Median resident age - Females - Hispanic or Latino Median resident age - Females - American Indian and Alaska Native Median resident age - Females - Multirace Median resident age - Females - Other Race Commute - mean travel time to work (minutes) Travel time to work - Less than 5 minutes (%) Travel time to work - Less than 5 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 5 to 9 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 5 to 9 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 10 to 19 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 10 to 19 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 20 to 29 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 20 to 29 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 30 to 39 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 30 to 39 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 40 to 59 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 40 to 59 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 60 to 89 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 60 to 89 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 90 or more minutes (%) Travel time to work - 90 or more minutes (% change since 2000) Marital status - Never married (%) Marital status - Now married (%) Marital status - Separated (%) Marital status - Widowed (%) Marital status - Divorced (%) Median family income ($) Median family income (% change since 2000) Median non-family income ($) Median non-family income (% change since 2000) Median per capita income ($) Median per capita income (% change since 2000) Median family income ($) - White Median family income ($) - Black or African American Median family income ($) - Asian Median family income ($) - Hispanic or Latino Median family income ($) - American Indian and Alaska Native Median family income ($) - Multirace Median family income ($) - Other Race Median year house/condo built Median year apartment built Year house built - Built 2005 or later (%) Year house built - Built 2000 to 2004 (%) Year house built - Built 1990 to 1999 (%) Year house built - Built 1980 to 1989 (%) Year house built - Built 1970 to 1979 (%) Year house built - Built 1960 to 1969 (%) Year house built - Built 1950 to 1959 (%) Year house built - Built 1940 to 1949 (%) Year house built - Built 1939 or earlier (%) Average household size Household density (households per square mile) Average household size - White Average household size - Black or African American Average household size - Asian Average household size - Hispanic or Latino Average household size - American Indian and Alaska Native Average household size - Multirace Average household size - Other Race Occupied housing units (%) Vacant housing units (%) Owner occupied housing units (%) Renter occupied housing units (%) Vacancy status - For rent (%) Vacancy status - For sale only (%) Vacancy status - Rented or sold, not occupied (%) Vacancy status - For seasonal, recreational, or occasional use (%) Vacancy status - For migrant workers (%) Vacancy status - Other vacant (%) Residents with income below the poverty level (%) Residents with income below 50% of the poverty level (%) Children below poverty level (%) Poor families by family type - Married-couple family (%) Poor families by family type - Male, no wife present (%) Poor families by family type - Female, no husband present (%) Poverty status for native-born residents (%) Poverty status for foreign-born residents (%) Poverty among high school graduates not in families (%) Poverty among people who did not graduate high school not in families (%) Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - White Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Black or African American Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Asian Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Hispanic or Latino Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Multirace Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Other Race Air pollution - Air Quality Index (AQI) Air pollution - CO Air pollution - NO2 Air pollution - SO2 Air pollution - Ozone Air pollution - PM10 Air pollution - PM25 Air pollution - Pb Crime - Murders per 100,000 population Crime - Rapes per 100,000 population Crime - Robberies per 100,000 population Crime - Assaults per 100,000 population Crime - Burglaries per 100,000 population Crime - Thefts per 100,000 population Crime - Auto thefts per 100,000 population Crime - Arson per 100,000 population Crime - City-data.com crime index Crime - Violent crime index Crime - Property crime index Crime - Murders per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Rapes per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Robberies per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Assaults per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Burglaries per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Thefts per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Auto thefts per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Arson per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - City-data.com crime index (5 year average) Crime - Violent crime index (5 year average) Crime - Property crime index (5 year average) 1996 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Clinton) 1996 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Dole) 1996 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2000 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Gore) 2000 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Bush) 2000 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2004 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Kerry) 2004 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Bush) 2004 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2008 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Obama) 2008 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (McCain) 2008 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2012 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Obama) 2012 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Romney) 2012 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2016 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Clinton) 2016 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Trump) 2016 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2020 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Biden) 2020 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Trump) 2020 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other Ancestries Reported - Arab (%) Ancestries Reported - Czech (%) Ancestries Reported - Danish (%) Ancestries Reported - Dutch (%) Ancestries Reported - English (%) Ancestries Reported - French (%) Ancestries Reported - French Canadian (%) Ancestries Reported - German (%) Ancestries Reported - Greek (%) Ancestries Reported - Hungarian (%) Ancestries Reported - Irish (%) Ancestries Reported - Italian (%) Ancestries Reported - Lithuanian (%) Ancestries Reported - Norwegian (%) Ancestries Reported - Polish (%) Ancestries Reported - Portuguese (%) Ancestries Reported - Russian (%) Ancestries Reported - Scotch-Irish (%) Ancestries Reported - Scottish (%) Ancestries Reported - Slovak (%) Ancestries Reported - Subsaharan African (%) Ancestries Reported - Swedish (%) Ancestries Reported - Swiss (%) Ancestries Reported - Ukrainian (%) Ancestries Reported - United States (%) Ancestries Reported - Welsh (%) Ancestries Reported - West Indian (%) Ancestries Reported - Other (%) Educational Attainment - No schooling completed (%) Educational Attainment - Less than high school (%) Educational Attainment - High school or equivalent (%) Educational Attainment - Less than 1 year of college (%) Educational Attainment - 1 or more years of college (%) Educational Attainment - Associate degree (%) Educational Attainment - Bachelor's degree (%) Educational Attainment - Master's degree (%) Educational Attainment - Professional school degree (%) Educational Attainment - Doctorate degree (%) School Enrollment - Nursery, preschool (%) School Enrollment - Kindergarten (%) School Enrollment - Grade 1 to 4 (%) School Enrollment - Grade 5 to 8 (%) School Enrollment - Grade 9 to 12 (%) School Enrollment - College undergrad (%) School Enrollment - Graduate or professional (%) School Enrollment - Not enrolled in school (%) School enrollment - Public schools (%) School enrollment - Private schools (%) School enrollment - Not enrolled (%) Median number of rooms in houses and condos Median number of rooms in apartments Housing units lacking complete plumbing facilities (%) Housing units lacking complete kitchen facilities (%) Density of houses Urban houses (%) Rural houses (%) Households with people 60 years and over (%) Households with people 65 years and over (%) Households with people 75 years and over (%) Households with one or more nonrelatives (%) Households with no nonrelatives (%) Population in households (%) Family households (%) Nonfamily households (%) Population in families (%) Family households with own children (%) Median number of bedrooms in owner occupied houses Mean number of bedrooms in owner occupied houses Median number of bedrooms in renter occupied houses Mean number of bedrooms in renter occupied houses Median number of vehichles in owner occupied houses Mean number of vehichles in owner occupied houses Median number of vehichles in renter occupied houses Mean number of vehichles in renter occupied houses Mortgage status - with mortgage (%) Mortgage status - with second mortgage (%) Mortgage status - with home equity loan (%) Mortgage status - with both second mortgage and home equity loan (%) Mortgage status - without a mortgage (%) Average family size Average family size - White Average family size - Black or African American Average family size - Asian Average family size - Hispanic or Latino Average family size - American Indian and Alaska Native Average family size - Multirace Average family size - Other Race Geographical mobility - Same house 1 year ago (%) Geographical mobility - Moved within same county (%) Geographical mobility - Moved from different county within same state (%) Geographical mobility - Moved from different state (%) Geographical mobility - Moved from abroad (%) Place of birth - Born in state of residence (%) Place of birth - Born in other state (%) Place of birth - Native, outside of US (%) Place of birth - Foreign born (%) Housing units in structures - 1, detached (%) Housing units in structures - 1, attached (%) Housing units in structures - 2 (%) Housing units in structures - 3 or 4 (%) Housing units in structures - 5 to 9 (%) Housing units in structures - 10 to 19 (%) Housing units in structures - 20 to 49 (%) Housing units in structures - 50 or more (%) Housing units in structures - Mobile home (%) Housing units in structures - Boat, RV, van, etc. (%) House/condo owner moved in on average (years ago) Renter moved in on average (years ago) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1999 to March 2000 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1995 to 1998 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1990 to 1994 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1980 to 1989 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1970 to 1979 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1969 or earlier (%) Means of transportation to work - Drove car alone (%) Means of transportation to work - Carpooled (%) Means of transportation to work - Public transportation (%) Means of transportation to work - Bus or trolley bus (%) Means of transportation to work - Streetcar or trolley car (%) Means of transportation to work - Subway or elevated (%) Means of transportation to work - Railroad (%) Means of transportation to work - Ferryboat (%) Means of transportation to work - Taxicab (%) Means of transportation to work - Motorcycle (%) Means of transportation to work - Bicycle (%) Means of transportation to work - Walked (%) Means of transportation to work - Other means (%) Working at home (%) Industry diversity Most Common Industries - Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining (%) Most Common Industries - Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (%) Most Common Industries - Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (%) Most Common Industries - Construction (%) Most Common Industries - Manufacturing (%) Most Common Industries - Wholesale trade (%) Most Common Industries - Retail trade (%) Most Common Industries - Transportation and warehousing, and utilities (%) Most Common Industries - Transportation and warehousing (%) Most Common Industries - Utilities (%) Most Common Industries - Information (%) Most Common Industries - Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing (%) Most Common Industries - Finance and insurance (%) Most Common Industries - Real estate and rental and leasing (%) Most Common Industries - Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services (%) Most Common Industries - Professional, scientific, and technical services (%) Most Common Industries - Management of companies and enterprises (%) Most Common Industries - Administrative and support and waste management services (%) Most Common Industries - Educational services, and health care and social assistance (%) Most Common Industries - Educational services (%) Most Common Industries - Health care and social assistance (%) Most Common Industries - Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation and food services (%) Most Common Industries - Arts, entertainment, and recreation (%) Most Common Industries - Accommodation and food services (%) Most Common Industries - Other services, except public administration (%) Most Common Industries - Public administration (%) Occupation diversity Most Common Occupations - Management, business, science, and arts occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Management, business, and financial occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Management occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Business and financial operations occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Computer, engineering, and science occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Computer and mathematical occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Architecture and engineering occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Life, physical, and social science occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Education, legal, community service, arts, and media occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Community and social service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Legal occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Education, training, and library occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Health diagnosing and treating practitioners and other technical occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Health technologists and technicians (%) Most Common Occupations - Service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Healthcare support occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Protective service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Fire fighting and prevention, and other protective service workers including supervisors (%) Most Common Occupations - Law enforcement workers including supervisors (%) Most Common Occupations - Food preparation and serving related occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Personal care and service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Sales and office occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Sales and related occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Office and administrative support occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Construction and extraction occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Production, transportation, and material moving occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Production occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Transportation occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Material moving occupations (%) People in Group quarters - Institutionalized population (%) People in Group quarters - Correctional institutions (%) People in Group quarters - Federal prisons and detention centers (%) People in Group quarters - Halfway houses (%) People in Group quarters - Local jails and other confinement facilities (including police lockups) (%) People in Group quarters - Military disciplinary barracks (%) People in Group quarters - State prisons (%) People in Group quarters - Other types of correctional institutions (%) People in Group quarters - Nursing homes (%) People in Group quarters - Hospitals/wards, hospices, and schools for the handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Hospitals/wards and hospices for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Hospices or homes for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Military hospitals or wards for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Other hospitals or wards for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Hospitals or wards for drug/alcohol abuse (%) People in Group quarters - Mental (Psychiatric) hospitals or wards (%) People in Group quarters - Schools, hospitals, or wards for the mentally retarded (%) People in Group quarters - Schools, hospitals, or wards for the physically handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Institutions for the deaf (%) People in Group quarters - Institutions for the blind (%) People in Group quarters - Orthopedic wards and institutions for the physically handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Wards in general hospitals for patients who have no usual home elsewhere (%) People in Group quarters - Wards in military hospitals for patients who have no usual home elsewhere (%) People in Group quarters - Juvenile institutions (%) People in Group quarters - Long-term care (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for abused, dependent, and neglected children (%) People in Group quarters - Residential treatment centers for emotionally disturbed children (%) People in Group quarters - Training schools for juvenile delinquents (%) People in Group quarters - Short-term care, detention or diagnostic centers for delinquent children (%) People in Group quarters - Type of juvenile institution unknown (%) People in Group quarters - Noninstitutionalized population (%) People in Group quarters - College dormitories (includes college quarters off campus) (%) People in Group quarters - Military quarters (%) People in Group quarters - On base (%) People in Group quarters - Barracks, unaccompanied personnel housing (UPH), (Enlisted/Officer), ;and similar group living quarters for military personnel (%) People in Group quarters - Transient quarters for temporary residents (%) People in Group quarters - Military ships (%) People in Group quarters - Group homes (%) People in Group quarters - Homes or halfway houses for drug/alcohol abuse (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for the mentally ill (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for the mentally retarded (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for the physically handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Other group homes (%) People in Group quarters - Religious group quarters (%) People in Group quarters - Dormitories (%) People in Group quarters - Agriculture workers' dormitories on farms (%) People in Group quarters - Job Corps and vocational training facilities (%) People in Group quarters - Other workers' dormitories (%) People in Group quarters - Crews of maritime vessels (%) People in Group quarters - Other nonhousehold living situations (%) People in Group quarters - Other noninstitutional group quarters (%) Residents speaking English at home (%) Residents speaking English at home - Born in the United States (%) Residents speaking English at home - Native, born elsewhere (%) Residents speaking English at home - Foreign born (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home - Born in the United States (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home - Native, born elsewhere (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home - Foreign born (%) Residents speaking other language at home (%) Residents speaking other language at home - Born in the United States (%) Residents speaking other language at home - Native, born elsewhere (%) Residents speaking other language at home - Foreign born (%) Class of Workers - Employee of private company (%) Class of Workers - Self-employed in own incorporated business (%) Class of Workers - Private not-for-profit wage and salary workers (%) Class of Workers - Local government workers (%) Class of Workers - State government workers (%) Class of Workers - Federal government workers (%) Class of Workers - Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business and Unpaid family workers (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Utility gas (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Bottled, tank, or LP gas (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Electricity (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Fuel oil, kerosene, etc. (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Coal or coke (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Wood (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Solar energy (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Other fuel (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - No fuel used (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Utility gas (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Bottled, tank, or LP gas (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Electricity (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Fuel oil, kerosene, etc. (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Coal or coke (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Wood (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Solar energy (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Other fuel (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - No fuel used (%) Armed forces status - In Armed Forces (%) Armed forces status - Civilian (%) Armed forces status - Civilian - Veteran (%) Armed forces status - Civilian - Nonveteran (%) Fatal accidents locations in years 2005-2019 Fatal accidents locations in 2005 Fatal accidents locations in 2006 Fatal accidents locations in 2007 Fatal accidents locations in 2008 Fatal accidents locations in 2009 Fatal accidents locations in 2010 Fatal accidents locations in 2011 Fatal accidents locations in 2012 Fatal accidents locations in 2013 Fatal accidents locations in 2014 Fatal accidents locations in 2015 Fatal accidents locations in 2016 Fatal accidents locations in 2017 Fatal accidents locations in 2018 Fatal accidents locations in 2019 Alcohol use - People drinking some alcohol every month (%) Alcohol use - People not drinking at all (%) Alcohol use - Average days/month drinking alcohol Alcohol use - Average drinks/week Alcohol use - Average days/year people drink much Audiometry - Average condition of hearing (%) Audiometry - People that can hear a whisper from across a quiet room (%) Audiometry - People that can hear normal voice from across a quiet room (%) Audiometry - Ears ringing, roaring, buzzing (%) Audiometry - Had a job exposure to loud noise (%) Audiometry - Had off-work exposure to loud noise (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Has high blood pressure (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Checking blood pressure at home (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Frequently checking blood cholesterol (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Has high cholesterol level (%) Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on food at supermarket/grocery store Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on food at other stores Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on eating out Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on carryout/delivered foods Consumer Behavior - Income spent on food at supermarket/grocery store (%) Consumer Behavior - Income spent on food at other stores (%) Consumer Behavior - Income spent on eating out (%) Consumer Behavior - Income spent on carryout/delivered foods (%) Current Health Status - General health condition (%) Current Health Status - Blood donors (%) Current Health Status - Has blood ever tested for HIV virus (%) Current Health Status - Left-handed people (%) Dermatology - People using sunscreen (%) Diabetes - Diabetics (%) Diabetes - Had a blood test for high blood sugar (%) Diabetes - People taking insulin (%) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Diet health (%) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Milk product consumption (# of products/month) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Meals not home prepared (#/week) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Meals from fast food or pizza place (#/week) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Ready-to-eat foods (#/month) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Frozen meals/pizza (#/month) Drug Use - People that ever used marijuana or hashish (%) Drug Use - Ever used hard drugs (%) Drug Use - Ever used any form of cocaine (%) Drug Use - Ever used heroin (%) Drug Use - Ever used methamphetamine (%) Health Insurance - People covered by health insurance (%) Kidney Conditions-Urology - Avg. # of times urinating at night Medical Conditions - People with asthma (%) Medical Conditions - People with anemia (%) Medical Conditions - People with psoriasis (%) Medical Conditions - People with overweight (%) Medical Conditions - Elderly people having difficulties in thinking or remembering (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever received blood transfusion (%) Medical Conditions - People having trouble seeing even with glass/contacts (%) Medical Conditions - People with arthritis (%) Medical Conditions - People with gout (%) Medical Conditions - People with congestive heart failure (%) Medical Conditions - People with coronary heart disease (%) Medical Conditions - People with angina pectoris (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever had heart attack (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever had stroke (%) Medical Conditions - People with emphysema (%) Medical Conditions - People with thyroid problem (%) Medical Conditions - People with chronic bronchitis (%) Medical Conditions - People with any liver condition (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever had cancer or malignancy (%) Mental Health - People who have little interest in doing things (%) Mental Health - People feeling down, depressed, or hopeless (%) Mental Health - People who have trouble sleeping or sleeping too much (%) Mental Health - People feeling tired or having little energy (%) Mental Health - People with poor appetite or overeating (%) Mental Health - People feeling bad about themself (%) Mental Health - People who have trouble concentrating on things (%) Mental Health - People moving or speaking slowly or too fast (%) Mental Health - People having thoughts they would be better off dead (%) Oral Health - Average years since last visit a dentist Oral Health - People embarrassed because of mouth (%) Oral Health - People with gum disease (%) Oral Health - General health of teeth and gums (%) Oral Health - Average days a week using dental floss/device Oral Health - Average days a week using mouthwash for dental problem Oral Health - Average number of teeth Pesticide Use - Households using pesticides to control insects (%) Pesticide Use - Households using pesticides to kill weeds (%) Physical Activity - People doing vigorous-intensity work activities (%) Physical Activity - People doing moderate-intensity work activities (%) Physical Activity - People walking or bicycling (%) Physical Activity - People doing vigorous-intensity recreational activities (%) Physical Activity - People doing moderate-intensity recreational activities (%) Physical Activity - Average hours a day doing sedentary activities Physical Activity - Average hours a day watching TV or videos Physical Activity - Average hours a day using computer Physical Functioning - People having limitations keeping them from working (%) Physical Functioning - People limited in amount of work they can do (%) Physical Functioning - People that need special equipment to walk (%) Physical Functioning - People experiencing confusion/memory problems (%) Physical Functioning - People requiring special healthcare equipment (%) Prescription Medications - Average number of prescription medicines taking Preventive Aspirin Use - Adults 40+ taking low-dose aspirin (%) Reproductive Health - Vaginal deliveries (%) Reproductive Health - Cesarean deliveries (%) Reproductive Health - Deliveries resulted in a live birth (%) Reproductive Health - Pregnancies resulted in a delivery (%) Reproductive Health - Women breastfeeding newborns (%) Reproductive Health - Women that had a hysterectomy (%) Reproductive Health - Women that had both ovaries removed (%) Reproductive Health - Women that have ever taken birth control pills (%) Reproductive Health - Women taking birth control pills (%) Reproductive Health - Women that have ever used Depo-Provera or injectables (%) Reproductive Health - Women that have ever used female hormones (%) Sexual Behavior - People 18+ that ever had sex (vaginal, anal, or oral) (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever had vaginal sex with a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever performed oral sex on a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever had anal sex with a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever had any sex with a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever had vaginal sex with a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever performed oral sex on a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever had anal sex with a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever had any kind of sex with a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Average age people first had sex Sexual Behavior - Average number of female sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of female vaginal sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average age people first performed oral sex on a woman (18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of woman performed oral sex on in lifetime (18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male anal sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average age people first performed oral sex on a man (18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male oral sex partners in lifetime (18+) Sexual Behavior - People using protection when performing oral sex (%) Sexual Behavior - Average number of times people have vaginal or anal sex a year Sexual Behavior - People having sex without condom (%) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male sex partners in lifetime (females 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male vaginal sex partners in lifetime (females 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of female sex partners in lifetime (females 18+) Sexual Behavior - Circumcised males 18+ (%) Sleep Disorders - Average hours sleeping at night Sleep Disorders - People that has trouble sleeping (%) Smoking-Cigarette Use - People smoking cigarettes (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ having problems with smell (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ having problems with taste (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had wisdom teeth removed (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had tonsils teeth removed (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had a loss of consciousness because of a head injury (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had a broken nose or other serious injury to face or skull (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had two or more sinus infections (%) Weight - Average height (inches) Weight - Average weight (pounds) Weight - Average BMI Weight - People that are obese (%) Weight - People that ever were obese (%) Weight - People trying to lose weight (%) Settings Get link Loading data... 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1,157 83.1% White alone 189 13.6% Hispanic 32 2.3% American Indian alone 12 0.9% Other race alone

Races in Carbonville detailed stats: ancestries, foreign born residents, place of birth





According to our research of Utah and other state lists, there was 1 registered sex offender living in Carbonville, Utah as of November 22, 2021.

The ratio of all residents to sex offenders in Carbonville is 1,634 to 1.

The ratio of registered sex offenders to all residents in this city is much lower than the state average.





Ancestries: English (14.6%), Scandinavian (9.2%), American (8.8%), Italian (7.9%), Slavic (7.6%), Scotch-Irish (4.9%).

Current Local Time: MST time zone

Elevation: 5600 feet

9 residents are foreign born This place: 0.6% Utah: 8.5%

Median real estate property taxes paid for housing units with mortgages in 2019: $1,029 (0.6%)

Median real estate property taxes paid for housing units with no mortgage in 2019: $892 (0.6%)



Latitude: 39.62 N, Longitude: 110.83 W

Area code commonly used in this area: 435

Unemployment in November 2020:

Here: 5.2% Utah: 3.9%

Air pollution and air quality trends

(lower is better) AQI NO 2 Ozone

Air Quality Index (AQI) level in 2018 was 64.4. This is about average. City: 64.4 U.S.: 74.2

Nitrogen Dioxide (NO 2 ) [ppb] level in 2018 was 1.81. This is significantly better than average. Closest monitor was 1.9 miles away from the city center. City: 1.81 U.S.: 5.56

Ozone [ppb] level in 2018 was 42.5. This is worse than average. Closest monitor was 1.9 miles away from the city center. City: 42.5 U.S.: 33.3

Earthquake activity: Carbonville-area historical earthquake activity is significantly above Utah state average. It is 2370% greater than the overall U.S. average.



On 8/18/1959 at 06:37:13, a magnitude 7.7 (7.7 UK, Class: Major, Intensity: VIII - XII) earthquake occurred 342.2 miles away from Carbonville center, causing $26,000,000 total damage

On 10/3/1915 at 06:52:48, a magnitude 7.6 (7.6 UK) earthquake occurred 358.0 miles away from Carbonville center

On 10/28/1983 at 14:06:06, a magnitude 7.3 (6.2 MB, 7.3 MS, 7.0 MW) earthquake occurred 344.1 miles away from Carbonville center, causing 2 deaths (2 shaking deaths) and 3 injuries, causing $15,000,000 total damage

On 3/28/1975 at 02:31:05, a magnitude 6.2 (6.1 MB, 6.0 MS, 6.2 ML, Class: Strong, Intensity: VII - IX) earthquake occurred 186.4 miles away from Carbonville center

On 12/21/1932 at 06:10:09, a magnitude 7.2 (7.2 UK) earthquake occurred 396.8 miles away from the city center

On 3/18/2020 at 13:09:31, a magnitude 5.7 (5.7 MW, Depth: 7.4 mi, Class: Moderate, Intensity: VI - VII) earthquake occurred 102.2 miles away from the city center

Magnitude types: body-wave magnitude (MB), local magnitude (ML), surface-wave magnitude (MS), moment magnitude (MW)

Natural disasters: The number of natural disasters in Carbon County (4) is a lot smaller than the US average (15).

Major Disasters (Presidential) Declared: 1

Emergencies Declared: 2



Causes of natural disasters: Drought: 1, Flood: 1, Hurricane: 1, Landslide: 1, Storm: 1, Other: 1 (Note: some incidents may be assigned to more than one category).

Hospitals and medical centers near Carbonville: CASTLEVIEW HOSPITAL Acute Care Hospitals (about 2 miles away; PRICE, UT)

Acute Care Hospitals CASTLEVIEW DIALYSIS (Dialysis Facility, about 2 miles away; PRICE, UT)

CASTLE COUNTRY CARE CENTER (Nursing Home, about 3 miles away; PRICE, UT)

CNS COMMUNITY HOSPICE (Hospital, about 3 miles away; PRICE, UT)

Amtrak station near Carbonville: 5 miles: HELPER (1 DEPOT ST.) . Services: partially wheelchair accessible, enclosed waiting area, public restrooms, free short-term parking, free long-term parking, call for taxi service.

Colleges/universities with over 2000 students nearest to Carbonville: Snow College ( about 44 miles; Ephraim, UT ; Full-time enrollment: 3,224)

44 ; 3,224) Brigham Young University-Provo ( about 62 miles; Provo, UT ; FT enrollment: 33,525)

62 ; 33,525) Utah Valley University ( about 66 miles; Orem, UT ; FT enrollment: 24,403)

66 ; 24,403) Stevens-Henager College-Murray ( about 92 miles; Murray, UT ; FT enrollment: 6,395)

92 ; 6,395) Western Governors University ( about 92 miles; Salt Lake City, UT ; FT enrollment: 31,481)

92 ; 31,481) Salt Lake Community College ( about 94 miles; Salt Lake City, UT ; FT enrollment: 20,797)

94 ; 20,797) Westminster College (about 94 miles; Salt Lake City, UT; FT enrollment: 2,870)

Carbon County has a predicted average indoor radon screening level greater than 4 pCi/L (pico curies per liter) - Highest Potential

Average household size: This place: 2.6 people Utah: 3.1 people

Percentage of family households: This place: 69.4% Whole state: 75.2%

Percentage of households with unmarried partners: This place: 8.5% Whole state: 4.6%



Likely homosexual households (counted as self-reported same-sex unmarried-partner households) Lesbian couples: 0.5% of all households

0.5% Gay men: 0.2% of all households

For population 15 years and over in Carbonville: Never married: 12.7%

12.7% Now married: 61.0%

61.0% Separated: 3.4%

3.4% Widowed: 6.8%

6.8% Divorced: 16.1%

For population 25 years and over in Carbonville: High school or higher: 89.4%

89.4% Bachelor's degree or higher: 14.5%

14.5% Graduate or professional degree: 1.1%

Education Gini index (Inequality in education) Here: 7.4 Utah average: 10.2



Religion statistics for Carbonville, UT (based on Carbon County data) Religion Adherents Congregations Other 11,370 32 Catholic 4,091 4 Evangelical Protestant 1,002 14 Mainline Protestant 367 3 Orthodox 280 1 None 4,293 - Source: Clifford Grammich, Kirk Hadaway, Richard Houseal, Dale E.Jones, Alexei Krindatch, Richie Stanley and Richard H.Taylor. 2012. 2010 U.S.Religion Census: Religious Congregations & Membership Study. Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies. Jones, Dale E., et al. 2002. Congregations and Membership in the United States 2000. Nashville, TN: Glenmary Research Center. Graphs represent county-level data

Food Environment Statistics: Number of grocery stores: 5 Carbon County : 2.55 / 10,000 pop. Utah : 1.37 / 10,000 pop. Number of supercenters and club stores: 1 This county : 0.51 / 10,000 pop. Utah : 0.18 / 10,000 pop. Number of convenience stores (no gas): 1 This county : 0.51 / 10,000 pop. State : 0.41 / 10,000 pop. Number of convenience stores (with gas): 11 This county : 5.61 / 10,000 pop. State : 2.82 / 10,000 pop. Number of full-service restaurants: 13 Carbon County : 6.63 / 10,000 pop. Utah : 5.09 / 10,000 pop. Adult diabetes rate: Carbon County : 8.2% State : 6.3% Adult obesity rate: Carbon County : 25.1% State : 23.6%

5.51% of this county's 2016 resident taxpayers lived in other counties in 2015 ($41,396 average adjusted gross income) Here: 5.51% Utah average: 7.04% 10 or fewer of this county's residents moved from foreign countries between 2015 and 2016.

Top counties from which taxpayers relocated into this county between 2015 and 2016:

from Salt Lake County, UT 0.80% ($39,623 average AGI) from Emery County, UT 0.66% ($38,886) from Utah County, UT 0.56% ($35,081)



6.21% of this county's 2015 resident taxpayers moved to other counties in 2016 ($41,475 average adjusted gross income) Here: 6.21% Utah average: 6.65% 10 or fewer of this county's residents moved to foreign countries between 2015 and 2016.

Top counties to which taxpayers relocated from this county between 2015 and 2016:

to Salt Lake County, UT 1.06% ($33,859 average AGI) to Utah County, UT 0.76% ($31,941) to Emery County, UT 0.63% ($39,595)

Strongest AM radio stations in Carbonville: KOAL (750 AM; 10 kW; PRICE, UT; Owner: EASTERN UTAH BROADCASTING CO.)

EASTERN UTAH BROADCASTING CO.) KSLL (1080 AM; daytime; 10 kW; PRICE, UT; Owner: AGAINST THE WIND BROADCASTING, INC.)

AGAINST THE WIND BROADCASTING, INC.) KMTI (650 AM; 10 kW; MANTI, UT; Owner: SANPETE COUNTY BROADCASTING COMPANY)

SANPETE COUNTY BROADCASTING COMPANY) KALL (700 AM; 50 kW; NORTH SALT LAKE CITY, UT; Owner: CITICASTERS LICENSES, L.P.)

CITICASTERS LICENSES, L.P.) KIQN (1010 AM; 50 kW; TOOELE, UT)

KSL (1160 AM; 50 kW; SALT LAKE CITY, UT; Owner: BONNEVILLE HOLDING COMPANY)

BONNEVILLE HOLDING COMPANY) KNZZ (1100 AM; 50 kW; GRAND JUNCTION, CO; Owner: M B C GRAND BROADCASTING, INC.)

M B C GRAND BROADCASTING, INC.) KTKK (630 AM; 10 kW; SANDY, UT; Owner: UNITED BROADCASTING COMPANY)

UNITED BROADCASTING COMPANY) KOVO (960 AM; 5 kW; PROVO, UT; Owner: MILLCREEK BROADCASTING LLC)

MILLCREEK BROADCASTING LLC) KBEE (860 AM; 10 kW; SALT LAKE CITY, UT; Owner: CITADEL BROADCASTING COMPANY)

CITADEL BROADCASTING COMPANY) KKDS (1060 AM; 10 kW; SOUTH SALT LAKE, UT; Owner: HOLIDAY BROADCASTING COMPANY)

HOLIDAY BROADCASTING COMPANY) KJOL (620 AM; 10 kW; GRAND JUNCTION, CO; Owner: UNITED MINISTRIES)

UNITED MINISTRIES) KTNN (660 AM; 50 kW; WINDOW ROCK, AZ; Owner: THE NAVAJO NATION) Strongest FM radio stations in Carbonville: K208AQ (89.5 FM; PRICE, UT; Owner: UNIVERSITY OF UTAH)

UNIVERSITY OF UTAH) K288AN (105.5 FM; PRICE, UT; Owner: CARBON COUNTY)

CARBON COUNTY) KARB (98.3 FM; PRICE, UT; Owner: EASTERN UTAH BROADCASTING COMPANY)

EASTERN UTAH BROADCASTING COMPANY) KMXU (105.1 FM; MANTI, UT; Owner: MILLCREEK BROADCASTING, LLC)

MILLCREEK BROADCASTING, LLC) KLGL (97.5 FM; RICHFIELD, UT; Owner: SANPETE COUNTY BROADCASTING CO.)

SANPETE COUNTY BROADCASTING CO.) K220ET (91.9 FM; PRICE, UT; Owner: EDUCATIONAL MEDIA FOUNDATION)

EDUCATIONAL MEDIA FOUNDATION) KQMB (102.7 FM; MIDVALE, UT; Owner: SIMMONS-SLC, LS, LLC)

SIMMONS-SLC, LS, LLC) KXRK (96.3 FM; PROVO, UT; Owner: SIMMONS-SLC, LS, LLC)

SIMMONS-SLC, LS, LLC) KTCE (92.3 FM; PAYSON, UT; Owner: MOENKOPI COMMUNICATIONS, INC.)

MOENKOPI COMMUNICATIONS, INC.) KENZ (107.5 FM; OREM, UT; Owner: CITADEL BROADCASTING COMPANY)

CITADEL BROADCASTING COMPANY) KZHT (94.9 FM; PROVO, UT; Owner: CITICASTERS LICENSES, L.P.)

CITICASTERS LICENSES, L.P.) K264AC (100.7 FM; RURAL UTAH COUNTY, UT; Owner: SIMMONS-SLC, LS, LLC)

SIMMONS-SLC, LS, LLC) KWSA (100.9 FM; PRICE, UT; Owner: AGAINST THE WIND BROADCASTING, INC.)

AGAINST THE WIND BROADCASTING, INC.) K208BZ (89.5 FM; SPANISH FORK, UT; Owner: BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY)

BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY) K244AE (96.7 FM; HELPER, UT; Owner: CARBON COUNTY) TV broadcast stations around Carbonville: K05GX ( Channel 5; EAST PRICE, UT; Owner: CARBON COUNTY)

5; EAST PRICE, UT; CARBON COUNTY) K07OQ ( Channel 7; EAST PRICE, UT; Owner: CARBON COUNTY)

7; EAST PRICE, UT; CARBON COUNTY) K04IW ( Channel 4; EAST PRICE, UT; Owner: CARBON COUNTY)

4; EAST PRICE, UT; CARBON COUNTY) K02OT ( Channel 2; EAST PRICE, UT; Owner: CARBON COUNTY)

2; EAST PRICE, UT; CARBON COUNTY) KUTF ( Channel 3; PRICE, UT; Owner: PRICE BROADCASTING, INC.)

3; PRICE, UT; PRICE BROADCASTING, INC.) K07NS ( Channel 7; HELPER, UT; Owner: CARBON COUNTY)

7; HELPER, UT; CARBON COUNTY) K09BQ ( Channel 9; HELPER, UT; Owner: CARBON COUNTY)

9; HELPER, UT; CARBON COUNTY) K11BV ( Channel 11; HELPER, UT; Owner: CARBON COUNTY)

11; HELPER, UT; CARBON COUNTY) K13BZ (Channel 13; HELPER, UT; Owner: CARBON COUNTY)

Carbonville fatal accident list: Apr 10, 2009 11:30 AM, Us-6, Lat: 39.634778, Lon: -110.862008, Vehicles: 1, Persons: 1, Fatalities: 1

Aug 18, 2006 02:51 PM, Sr-6, Lat: 39.615510, Lon: -110.840680, Vehicles: 1, Persons: 4, Fatalities: 1

Dec 23, 2006 11:57 PM, Sr-6, Lat: 39.612350, Lon: -110.836490, Vehicles: 2, Persons: 5, Fatalities: 1

Oct 28, 2005 05:15 PM, Sr-6, Lat: 39.636610, Lon: -110.862610, Vehicles: 2, Persons: 2, Fatalities: 1



National Bridge Inventory (NBI) Statistics

17 Number of bridges

Number of bridges 98ft / 29.6m Total length

Total length 81,121 Total average daily traffic

Total average daily traffic 14,536 Total average daily truck traffic

New bridges - historical statistics

1 1950-1959

10 1970-1979

3 1980-1989

2 1990-1999

1 2000-2009 See full National Bridge Inventory statistics for Carbonville, UT

Houses and condos Apartments 94.5% Utility gas

3.0% Electricity

2.5% Wood 83.0% Utility gas

17.0% Bottled, tank, or LP gas





Carbonville compared to Utah state average: Median house value below state average.

below Unemployed percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Black race population percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Median age above state average.

above Foreign-born population percentage significantly below state average.




Clinton, Pennsylvania

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Population in 2010: 434.

Males: 225 (51.9%) Females: 209 (48.1%)

Median resident age: 47.3 years Pennsylvania median age: 40.8 years

Estimated median household income in 2019: $64,871

Clinton: $64,871 PA: $63,463

Estimated per capita income in 2019: $41,585



Clinton CDP income, earnings, and wages data



Estimated median house or condo value in 2019: $170,100 Clinton: $170,100 PA: $192,600

Mean prices in 2019: all housing units: $151,839; detached houses: $224,788; mobile homes: $12,198 $64,871$41,585$170,100$151,839;$224,788;$12,198

Median gross rent in 2019: $1,528.

March 2019 cost of living index in Clinton: 97.4 (near average, U.S. average is 100)

Percentage of residents living in poverty in 2019: 7.2%

Business Search - 14 Million verified businesses

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Most recent value % change since 2k Data: Median household income ($) Median household income (% change since 2000) Household income diversity Ratio of average income to average house value (%) Ratio of average income to average rent Median household income ($) - White Median household income ($) - Black or African American Median household income ($) - Asian Median household income ($) - Hispanic or Latino Median household income ($) - American Indian and Alaska Native Median household income ($) - Multirace Median household income ($) - Other Race Median household income for houses/condos with a mortgage ($) Median household income for apartments without a mortgage ($) Races - White alone (%) Races - White alone (% change since 2000) Races - Black alone (%) Races - Black alone (% change since 2000) Races - American Indian alone (%) Races - American Indian alone (% change since 2000) Races - Asian alone (%) Races - Asian alone (% change since 2000) Races - Hispanic (%) Races - Hispanic (% change since 2000) Races - Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone (%) Races - Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone (% change since 2000) Races - Two or more races (%) Races - Two or more races (% change since 2000) Races - Other race alone (%) Races - Other race alone (% change since 2000) Racial diversity Unemployment (%) Unemployment (% change since 2000) Unemployment (%) - White Unemployment (%) - Black or African American Unemployment (%) - Asian Unemployment (%) - Hispanic or Latino Unemployment (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Unemployment (%) - Multirace Unemployment (%) - Other Race Population density (people per square mile) Population - Males (%) Population - Females (%) Population - Males (%) - White Population - Males (%) - Black or African American Population - Males (%) - Asian Population - Males (%) - Hispanic or Latino Population - Males (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Population - Males (%) - Multirace Population - Males (%) - Other Race Population - Females (%) - White Population - Females (%) - Black or African American Population - Females (%) - Asian Population - Females (%) - Hispanic or Latino Population - Females (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Population - Females (%) - Multirace Population - Females (%) - Other Race Coronavirus confirmed cases (Nov 21, 2021) Deaths caused by coronavirus (Nov 21, 2021) Coronavirus confirmed cases (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) Deaths caused by coronavirus (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) Daily increase in number of cases (Nov 21, 2021) Weekly increase in number of cases (Nov 21, 2021) Cases doubled (in days) (Nov 21, 2021) Hospitalized patients (Nov 21, 2021) Negative test results (Nov 21, 2021) Total test results (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses distributed (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses administered (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses distributed (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses administered (Nov 21, 2021) Likely homosexual households (%) Likely homosexual households (% change since 2000) Likely homosexual households - Lesbian couples (%) Likely homosexual households - Lesbian couples (% change since 2000) Likely homosexual households - Gay men (%) Likely homosexual households - Gay men (% change since 2000) Cost of living index Median gross rent ($) Median contract rent ($) Median monthly housing costs ($) Median house or condo value ($) Median house or condo value ($ change since 2000) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 1, detached ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 1, attached ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 2 ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure by units in structure - 3 or 4 ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 5 or more ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - Boat, RV, van, etc. ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - Mobile home ($) Median house or condo value ($) - White Median house or condo value ($) - Black or African American Median house or condo value ($) - Asian Median house or condo value ($) - Hispanic or Latino Median house or condo value ($) - American Indian and Alaska Native Median house or condo value ($) - Multirace Median house or condo value ($) - Other Race Median resident age Resident age diversity Median resident age - Males Median resident age - Females Median resident age - White Median resident age - Black or African American Median resident age - Asian Median resident age - Hispanic or Latino Median resident age - American Indian and Alaska Native Median resident age - Multirace Median resident age - Other Race Median resident age - Males - White Median resident age - Males - Black or African American Median resident age - Males - Asian Median resident age - Males - Hispanic or Latino Median resident age - Males - American Indian and Alaska Native Median resident age - Males - Multirace Median resident age - Males - Other Race Median resident age - Females - White Median resident age - Females - Black or African American Median resident age - Females - Asian Median resident age - Females - Hispanic or Latino Median resident age - Females - American Indian and Alaska Native Median resident age - Females - Multirace Median resident age - Females - Other Race Commute - mean travel time to work (minutes) Travel time to work - Less than 5 minutes (%) Travel time to work - Less than 5 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 5 to 9 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 5 to 9 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 10 to 19 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 10 to 19 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 20 to 29 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 20 to 29 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 30 to 39 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 30 to 39 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 40 to 59 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 40 to 59 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 60 to 89 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 60 to 89 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 90 or more minutes (%) Travel time to work - 90 or more minutes (% change since 2000) Marital status - Never married (%) Marital status - Now married (%) Marital status - Separated (%) Marital status - Widowed (%) Marital status - Divorced (%) Median family income ($) Median family income (% change since 2000) Median non-family income ($) Median non-family income (% change since 2000) Median per capita income ($) Median per capita income (% change since 2000) Median family income ($) - White Median family income ($) - Black or African American Median family income ($) - Asian Median family income ($) - Hispanic or Latino Median family income ($) - American Indian and Alaska Native Median family income ($) - Multirace Median family income ($) - Other Race Median year house/condo built Median year apartment built Year house built - Built 2005 or later (%) Year house built - Built 2000 to 2004 (%) Year house built - Built 1990 to 1999 (%) Year house built - Built 1980 to 1989 (%) Year house built - Built 1970 to 1979 (%) Year house built - Built 1960 to 1969 (%) Year house built - Built 1950 to 1959 (%) Year house built - Built 1940 to 1949 (%) Year house built - Built 1939 or earlier (%) Average household size Household density (households per square mile) Average household size - White Average household size - Black or African American Average household size - Asian Average household size - Hispanic or Latino Average household size - American Indian and Alaska Native Average household size - Multirace Average household size - Other Race Occupied housing units (%) Vacant housing units (%) Owner occupied housing units (%) Renter occupied housing units (%) Vacancy status - For rent (%) Vacancy status - For sale only (%) Vacancy status - Rented or sold, not occupied (%) Vacancy status - For seasonal, recreational, or occasional use (%) Vacancy status - For migrant workers (%) Vacancy status - Other vacant (%) Residents with income below the poverty level (%) Residents with income below 50% of the poverty level (%) Children below poverty level (%) Poor families by family type - Married-couple family (%) Poor families by family type - Male, no wife present (%) Poor families by family type - Female, no husband present (%) Poverty status for native-born residents (%) Poverty status for foreign-born residents (%) Poverty among high school graduates not in families (%) Poverty among people who did not graduate high school not in families (%) Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - White Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Black or African American Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Asian Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Hispanic or Latino Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Multirace Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Other Race Air pollution - Air Quality Index (AQI) Air pollution - CO Air pollution - NO2 Air pollution - SO2 Air pollution - Ozone Air pollution - PM10 Air pollution - PM25 Air pollution - Pb Crime - Murders per 100,000 population Crime - Rapes per 100,000 population Crime - Robberies per 100,000 population Crime - Assaults per 100,000 population Crime - Burglaries per 100,000 population Crime - Thefts per 100,000 population Crime - Auto thefts per 100,000 population Crime - Arson per 100,000 population Crime - City-data.com crime index Crime - Violent crime index Crime - Property crime index Crime - Murders per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Rapes per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Robberies per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Assaults per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Burglaries per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Thefts per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Auto thefts per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Arson per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - City-data.com crime index (5 year average) Crime - Violent crime index (5 year average) Crime - Property crime index (5 year average) 1996 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Clinton) 1996 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Dole) 1996 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2000 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Gore) 2000 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Bush) 2000 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2004 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Kerry) 2004 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Bush) 2004 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2008 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Obama) 2008 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (McCain) 2008 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2012 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Obama) 2012 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Romney) 2012 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2016 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Clinton) 2016 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Trump) 2016 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2020 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Biden) 2020 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Trump) 2020 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other Ancestries Reported - Arab (%) Ancestries Reported - Czech (%) Ancestries Reported - Danish (%) Ancestries Reported - Dutch (%) Ancestries Reported - English (%) Ancestries Reported - French (%) Ancestries Reported - French Canadian (%) Ancestries Reported - German (%) Ancestries Reported - Greek (%) Ancestries Reported - Hungarian (%) Ancestries Reported - Irish (%) Ancestries Reported - Italian (%) Ancestries Reported - Lithuanian (%) Ancestries Reported - Norwegian (%) Ancestries Reported - Polish (%) Ancestries Reported - Portuguese (%) Ancestries Reported - Russian (%) Ancestries Reported - Scotch-Irish (%) Ancestries Reported - Scottish (%) Ancestries Reported - Slovak (%) Ancestries Reported - Subsaharan African (%) Ancestries Reported - Swedish (%) Ancestries Reported - Swiss (%) Ancestries Reported - Ukrainian (%) Ancestries Reported - United States (%) Ancestries Reported - Welsh (%) Ancestries Reported - West Indian (%) Ancestries Reported - Other (%) Educational Attainment - No schooling completed (%) Educational Attainment - Less than high school (%) Educational Attainment - High school or equivalent (%) Educational Attainment - Less than 1 year of college (%) Educational Attainment - 1 or more years of college (%) Educational Attainment - Associate degree (%) Educational Attainment - Bachelor's degree (%) Educational Attainment - Master's degree (%) Educational Attainment - Professional school degree (%) Educational Attainment - Doctorate degree (%) School Enrollment - Nursery, preschool (%) School Enrollment - Kindergarten (%) School Enrollment - Grade 1 to 4 (%) School Enrollment - Grade 5 to 8 (%) School Enrollment - Grade 9 to 12 (%) School Enrollment - College undergrad (%) School Enrollment - Graduate or professional (%) School Enrollment - Not enrolled in school (%) School enrollment - Public schools (%) School enrollment - Private schools (%) School enrollment - Not enrolled (%) Median number of rooms in houses and condos Median number of rooms in apartments Housing units lacking complete plumbing facilities (%) Housing units lacking complete kitchen facilities (%) Density of houses Urban houses (%) Rural houses (%) Households with people 60 years and over (%) Households with people 65 years and over (%) Households with people 75 years and over (%) Households with one or more nonrelatives (%) Households with no nonrelatives (%) Population in households (%) Family households (%) Nonfamily households (%) Population in families (%) Family households with own children (%) Median number of bedrooms in owner occupied houses Mean number of bedrooms in owner occupied houses Median number of bedrooms in renter occupied houses Mean number of bedrooms in renter occupied houses Median number of vehichles in owner occupied houses Mean number of vehichles in owner occupied houses Median number of vehichles in renter occupied houses Mean number of vehichles in renter occupied houses Mortgage status - with mortgage (%) Mortgage status - with second mortgage (%) Mortgage status - with home equity loan (%) Mortgage status - with both second mortgage and home equity loan (%) Mortgage status - without a mortgage (%) Average family size Average family size - White Average family size - Black or African American Average family size - Asian Average family size - Hispanic or Latino Average family size - American Indian and Alaska Native Average family size - Multirace Average family size - Other Race Geographical mobility - Same house 1 year ago (%) Geographical mobility - Moved within same county (%) Geographical mobility - Moved from different county within same state (%) Geographical mobility - Moved from different state (%) Geographical mobility - Moved from abroad (%) Place of birth - Born in state of residence (%) Place of birth - Born in other state (%) Place of birth - Native, outside of US (%) Place of birth - Foreign born (%) Housing units in structures - 1, detached (%) Housing units in structures - 1, attached (%) Housing units in structures - 2 (%) Housing units in structures - 3 or 4 (%) Housing units in structures - 5 to 9 (%) Housing units in structures - 10 to 19 (%) Housing units in structures - 20 to 49 (%) Housing units in structures - 50 or more (%) Housing units in structures - Mobile home (%) Housing units in structures - Boat, RV, van, etc. (%) House/condo owner moved in on average (years ago) Renter moved in on average (years ago) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1999 to March 2000 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1995 to 1998 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1990 to 1994 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1980 to 1989 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1970 to 1979 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1969 or earlier (%) Means of transportation to work - Drove car alone (%) Means of transportation to work - Carpooled (%) Means of transportation to work - Public transportation (%) Means of transportation to work - Bus or trolley bus (%) Means of transportation to work - Streetcar or trolley car (%) Means of transportation to work - Subway or elevated (%) Means of transportation to work - Railroad (%) Means of transportation to work - Ferryboat (%) Means of transportation to work - Taxicab (%) Means of transportation to work - Motorcycle (%) Means of transportation to work - Bicycle (%) Means of transportation to work - Walked (%) Means of transportation to work - Other means (%) Working at home (%) Industry diversity Most Common Industries - Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining (%) Most Common Industries - Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (%) Most Common Industries - Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (%) Most Common Industries - Construction (%) Most Common Industries - Manufacturing (%) Most Common Industries - Wholesale trade (%) Most Common Industries - Retail trade (%) Most Common Industries - Transportation and warehousing, and utilities (%) Most Common Industries - Transportation and warehousing (%) Most Common Industries - Utilities (%) Most Common Industries - Information (%) Most Common Industries - Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing (%) Most Common Industries - Finance and insurance (%) Most Common Industries - Real estate and rental and leasing (%) Most Common Industries - Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services (%) Most Common Industries - Professional, scientific, and technical services (%) Most Common Industries - Management of companies and enterprises (%) Most Common Industries - Administrative and support and waste management services (%) Most Common Industries - Educational services, and health care and social assistance (%) Most Common Industries - Educational services (%) Most Common Industries - Health care and social assistance (%) Most Common Industries - Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation and food services (%) Most Common Industries - Arts, entertainment, and recreation (%) Most Common Industries - Accommodation and food services (%) Most Common Industries - Other services, except public administration (%) Most Common Industries - Public administration (%) Occupation diversity Most Common Occupations - Management, business, science, and arts occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Management, business, and financial occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Management occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Business and financial operations occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Computer, engineering, and science occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Computer and mathematical occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Architecture and engineering occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Life, physical, and social science occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Education, legal, community service, arts, and media occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Community and social service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Legal occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Education, training, and library occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Health diagnosing and treating practitioners and other technical occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Health technologists and technicians (%) Most Common Occupations - Service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Healthcare support occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Protective service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Fire fighting and prevention, and other protective service workers including supervisors (%) Most Common Occupations - Law enforcement workers including supervisors (%) Most Common Occupations - Food preparation and serving related occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Personal care and service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Sales and office occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Sales and related occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Office and administrative support occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Construction and extraction occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Production, transportation, and material moving occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Production occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Transportation occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Material moving occupations (%) People in Group quarters - Institutionalized population (%) People in Group quarters - Correctional institutions (%) People in Group quarters - Federal prisons and detention centers (%) People in Group quarters - Halfway houses (%) People in Group quarters - Local jails and other confinement facilities (including police lockups) (%) People in Group quarters - Military disciplinary barracks (%) People in Group quarters - State prisons (%) People in Group quarters - Other types of correctional institutions (%) People in Group quarters - Nursing homes (%) People in Group quarters - Hospitals/wards, hospices, and schools for the handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Hospitals/wards and hospices for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Hospices or homes for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Military hospitals or wards for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Other hospitals or wards for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Hospitals or wards for drug/alcohol abuse (%) People in Group quarters - Mental (Psychiatric) hospitals or wards (%) People in Group quarters - Schools, hospitals, or wards for the mentally retarded (%) People in Group quarters - Schools, hospitals, or wards for the physically handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Institutions for the deaf (%) People in Group quarters - Institutions for the blind (%) People in Group quarters - Orthopedic wards and institutions for the physically handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Wards in general hospitals for patients who have no usual home elsewhere (%) People in Group quarters - Wards in military hospitals for patients who have no usual home elsewhere (%) People in Group quarters - Juvenile institutions (%) People in Group quarters - Long-term care (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for abused, dependent, and neglected children (%) People in Group quarters - Residential treatment centers for emotionally disturbed children (%) People in Group quarters - Training schools for juvenile delinquents (%) People in Group quarters - Short-term care, detention or diagnostic centers for delinquent children (%) People in Group quarters - Type of juvenile institution unknown (%) People in Group quarters - Noninstitutionalized population (%) People in Group quarters - College dormitories (includes college quarters off campus) (%) People in Group quarters - Military quarters (%) People in Group quarters - On base (%) People in Group quarters - Barracks, unaccompanied personnel housing (UPH), (Enlisted/Officer), ;and similar group living quarters for military personnel (%) People in Group quarters - Transient quarters for temporary residents (%) People in Group quarters - Military ships (%) People in Group quarters - Group homes (%) People in Group quarters - Homes or halfway houses for drug/alcohol abuse (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for the mentally ill (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for the mentally retarded (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for the physically handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Other group homes (%) People in Group quarters - Religious group quarters (%) People in Group quarters - Dormitories (%) People in Group quarters - Agriculture workers' dormitories on farms (%) People in Group quarters - Job Corps and vocational training facilities (%) People in Group quarters - Other workers' dormitories (%) People in Group quarters - Crews of maritime vessels (%) People in Group quarters - Other nonhousehold living situations (%) People in Group quarters - Other noninstitutional group quarters (%) Residents speaking English at home (%) Residents speaking English at home - Born in the United States (%) Residents speaking English at home - Native, born elsewhere (%) Residents speaking English at home - Foreign born (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home - Born in the United States (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home - Native, born elsewhere (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home - Foreign born (%) Residents speaking other language at home (%) Residents speaking other language at home - Born in the United States (%) Residents speaking other language at home - Native, born elsewhere (%) Residents speaking other language at home - Foreign born (%) Class of Workers - Employee of private company (%) Class of Workers - Self-employed in own incorporated business (%) Class of Workers - Private not-for-profit wage and salary workers (%) Class of Workers - Local government workers (%) Class of Workers - State government workers (%) Class of Workers - Federal government workers (%) Class of Workers - Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business and Unpaid family workers (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Utility gas (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Bottled, tank, or LP gas (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Electricity (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Fuel oil, kerosene, etc. (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Coal or coke (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Wood (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Solar energy (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Other fuel (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - No fuel used (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Utility gas (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Bottled, tank, or LP gas (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Electricity (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Fuel oil, kerosene, etc. (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Coal or coke (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Wood (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Solar energy (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Other fuel (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - No fuel used (%) Armed forces status - In Armed Forces (%) Armed forces status - Civilian (%) Armed forces status - Civilian - Veteran (%) Armed forces status - Civilian - Nonveteran (%) Fatal accidents locations in years 2005-2019 Fatal accidents locations in 2005 Fatal accidents locations in 2006 Fatal accidents locations in 2007 Fatal accidents locations in 2008 Fatal accidents locations in 2009 Fatal accidents locations in 2010 Fatal accidents locations in 2011 Fatal accidents locations in 2012 Fatal accidents locations in 2013 Fatal accidents locations in 2014 Fatal accidents locations in 2015 Fatal accidents locations in 2016 Fatal accidents locations in 2017 Fatal accidents locations in 2018 Fatal accidents locations in 2019 Alcohol use - People drinking some alcohol every month (%) Alcohol use - People not drinking at all (%) Alcohol use - Average days/month drinking alcohol Alcohol use - Average drinks/week Alcohol use - Average days/year people drink much Audiometry - Average condition of hearing (%) Audiometry - People that can hear a whisper from across a quiet room (%) Audiometry - People that can hear normal voice from across a quiet room (%) Audiometry - Ears ringing, roaring, buzzing (%) Audiometry - Had a job exposure to loud noise (%) Audiometry - Had off-work exposure to loud noise (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Has high blood pressure (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Checking blood pressure at home (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Frequently checking blood cholesterol (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Has high cholesterol level (%) Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on food at supermarket/grocery store Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on food at other stores Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on eating out Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on carryout/delivered foods Consumer Behavior - Income spent on food at supermarket/grocery store (%) Consumer Behavior - Income spent on food at other stores (%) Consumer Behavior - Income spent on eating out (%) Consumer Behavior - Income spent on carryout/delivered foods (%) Current Health Status - General health condition (%) Current Health Status - Blood donors (%) Current Health Status - Has blood ever tested for HIV virus (%) Current Health Status - Left-handed people (%) Dermatology - People using sunscreen (%) Diabetes - Diabetics (%) Diabetes - Had a blood test for high blood sugar (%) Diabetes - People taking insulin (%) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Diet health (%) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Milk product consumption (# of products/month) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Meals not home prepared (#/week) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Meals from fast food or pizza place (#/week) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Ready-to-eat foods (#/month) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Frozen meals/pizza (#/month) Drug Use - People that ever used marijuana or hashish (%) Drug Use - Ever used hard drugs (%) Drug Use - Ever used any form of cocaine (%) Drug Use - Ever used heroin (%) Drug Use - Ever used methamphetamine (%) Health Insurance - People covered by health insurance (%) Kidney Conditions-Urology - Avg. # of times urinating at night Medical Conditions - People with asthma (%) Medical Conditions - People with anemia (%) Medical Conditions - People with psoriasis (%) Medical Conditions - People with overweight (%) Medical Conditions - Elderly people having difficulties in thinking or remembering (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever received blood transfusion (%) Medical Conditions - People having trouble seeing even with glass/contacts (%) Medical Conditions - People with arthritis (%) Medical Conditions - People with gout (%) Medical Conditions - People with congestive heart failure (%) Medical Conditions - People with coronary heart disease (%) Medical Conditions - People with angina pectoris (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever had heart attack (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever had stroke (%) Medical Conditions - People with emphysema (%) Medical Conditions - People with thyroid problem (%) Medical Conditions - People with chronic bronchitis (%) Medical Conditions - People with any liver condition (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever had cancer or malignancy (%) Mental Health - People who have little interest in doing things (%) Mental Health - People feeling down, depressed, or hopeless (%) Mental Health - People who have trouble sleeping or sleeping too much (%) Mental Health - People feeling tired or having little energy (%) Mental Health - People with poor appetite or overeating (%) Mental Health - People feeling bad about themself (%) Mental Health - People who have trouble concentrating on things (%) Mental Health - People moving or speaking slowly or too fast (%) Mental Health - People having thoughts they would be better off dead (%) Oral Health - Average years since last visit a dentist Oral Health - People embarrassed because of mouth (%) Oral Health - People with gum disease (%) Oral Health - General health of teeth and gums (%) Oral Health - Average days a week using dental floss/device Oral Health - Average days a week using mouthwash for dental problem Oral Health - Average number of teeth Pesticide Use - Households using pesticides to control insects (%) Pesticide Use - Households using pesticides to kill weeds (%) Physical Activity - People doing vigorous-intensity work activities (%) Physical Activity - People doing moderate-intensity work activities (%) Physical Activity - People walking or bicycling (%) Physical Activity - People doing vigorous-intensity recreational activities (%) Physical Activity - People doing moderate-intensity recreational activities (%) Physical Activity - Average hours a day doing sedentary activities Physical Activity - Average hours a day watching TV or videos Physical Activity - Average hours a day using computer Physical Functioning - People having limitations keeping them from working (%) Physical Functioning - People limited in amount of work they can do (%) Physical Functioning - People that need special equipment to walk (%) Physical Functioning - People experiencing confusion/memory problems (%) Physical Functioning - People requiring special healthcare equipment (%) Prescription Medications - Average number of prescription medicines taking Preventive Aspirin Use - Adults 40+ taking low-dose aspirin (%) Reproductive Health - Vaginal deliveries (%) Reproductive Health - Cesarean deliveries (%) Reproductive Health - Deliveries resulted in a live birth (%) Reproductive Health - Pregnancies resulted in a delivery (%) Reproductive Health - Women breastfeeding newborns (%) Reproductive Health - Women that had a hysterectomy (%) Reproductive Health - Women that had both ovaries removed (%) Reproductive Health - Women that have ever taken birth control pills (%) Reproductive Health - Women taking birth control pills (%) Reproductive Health - Women that have ever used Depo-Provera or injectables (%) Reproductive Health - Women that have ever used female hormones (%) Sexual Behavior - People 18+ that ever had sex (vaginal, anal, or oral) (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever had vaginal sex with a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever performed oral sex on a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever had anal sex with a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever had any sex with a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever had vaginal sex with a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever performed oral sex on a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever had anal sex with a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever had any kind of sex with a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Average age people first had sex Sexual Behavior - Average number of female sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of female vaginal sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average age people first performed oral sex on a woman (18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of woman performed oral sex on in lifetime (18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male anal sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average age people first performed oral sex on a man (18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male oral sex partners in lifetime (18+) Sexual Behavior - People using protection when performing oral sex (%) Sexual Behavior - Average number of times people have vaginal or anal sex a year Sexual Behavior - People having sex without condom (%) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male sex partners in lifetime (females 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male vaginal sex partners in lifetime (females 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of female sex partners in lifetime (females 18+) Sexual Behavior - Circumcised males 18+ (%) Sleep Disorders - Average hours sleeping at night Sleep Disorders - People that has trouble sleeping (%) Smoking-Cigarette Use - People smoking cigarettes (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ having problems with smell (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ having problems with taste (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had wisdom teeth removed (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had tonsils teeth removed (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had a loss of consciousness because of a head injury (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had a broken nose or other serious injury to face or skull (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had two or more sinus infections (%) Weight - Average height (inches) Weight - Average weight (pounds) Weight - Average BMI Weight - People that are obese (%) Weight - People that ever were obese (%) Weight - People trying to lose weight (%) Settings Get link Loading data... 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According to our research of Pennsylvania and other state lists, there were 2 registered sex offenders living in Clinton, Pennsylvania as of November 22, 2021.

The ratio of all residents to sex offenders in Clinton is 293 to 1.





Ancestries: Lebanese (42.8%), Russian (18.2%), Italian (15.1%), American (8.8%), Irish (7.5%), Polish (7.5%).

Current Local Time: EST time zone

99 residents are foreign born (5.9% Europe). This place: 20.0% Pennsylvania: 6.9%

Latitude: 40.05 N, Longitude: 79.46 W

Area code commonly used in this area: 724

Unemployment in November 2020:

Here: 6.1% Pennsylvania: 6.1%

Air pollution and air quality trends

(lower is better) AQI CO NO 2 SO 2 Ozone PM 10 PM 2.5 Pb

Air Quality Index (AQI) level in 2018 was 74.8. This is about average. City: 74.8 U.S.: 74.2

Carbon Monoxide (CO) [ppm] level in 2015 was 0.273. This is about average. Closest monitor was 17.8 miles away from the city center. City: 0.273 U.S.: 0.267

Nitrogen Dioxide (NO 2 ) [ppb] level in 2018 was 5.23. This is about average. Closest monitor was 17.8 miles away from the city center. City: 5.23 U.S.: 5.56

Sulfur Dioxide (SO 2 ) [ppb] level in 2018 was 0.429. This is significantly better than average. Closest monitor was 17.8 miles away from the city center. City: 0.429 U.S.: 1.789

Ozone [ppb] level in 2018 was 26.3. This is better than average. Closest monitor was 12.2 miles away from the city center. City: 26.3 U.S.: 33.3

Particulate Matter (PM 10 ) [g/m3] level in 2008 was 18.6. This is about average. Closest monitor was 17.8 miles away from the city center. City: 18.6 U.S.: 19.6

Particulate Matter (PM 2.5 ) [g/m3] level in 2018 was 7.29. This is about average. Closest monitor was 17.8 miles away from the city center. City: 7.29 U.S.: 8.46

Lead (Pb) [g/m3] level in 2009 was 0.0400. This is significantly worse than average. Closest monitor was 22.7 miles away from the city center. City: 0.0400 U.S.: 0.0098

Tornado activity: Clinton-area historical tornado activity is slightly below Pennsylvania state average. It is 38% smaller than the overall U.S. average.

On 6/2/1998, a category F4 (max. wind speeds 207-260 mph) tornado 12.9 miles away from the Clinton place center injured 5 people and caused $6 million in damages. On 6/3/1980, a category F4 tornado 36.8 miles away from the place center injured 140 people and caused between $50,000,000 and $500,000,000 in damages.

Earthquake activity: Clinton-area historical earthquake activity is significantly above Pennsylvania state average. It is 49% smaller than the overall U.S. average.



On 8/23/2011 at 17:51:04, a magnitude 5.8 (5.8 MW, Depth: 3.7 mi, Class: Moderate, Intensity: VI - VII) earthquake occurred 169.2 miles away from Clinton center

On 9/25/1998 at 19:52:52, a magnitude 5.2 (4.8 MB, 4.3 MS, 5.2 LG, 4.5 MW, Depth: 3.1 mi) earthquake occurred 111.0 miles away from the city center

On 1/31/1986 at 16:46:43, a magnitude 5.0 (5.0 MB) earthquake occurred 139.4 miles away from Clinton center

On 7/27/1980 at 18:52:21, a magnitude 5.2 (5.1 MB, 4.7 MS, 5.0 UK, 5.2 UK) earthquake occurred 272.1 miles away from the city center

On 8/9/2020 at 12:07:37, a magnitude 5.1 (5.1 MW, Depth: 4.7 mi) earthquake occurred 262.5 miles away from Clinton center

On 1/16/1994 at 01:49:16, a magnitude 4.6 (4.6 MB, 4.6 LG, Depth: 3.1 mi, Class: Light, Intensity: IV - V) earthquake occurred 182.1 miles away from Clinton center

Magnitude types: regional Lg-wave magnitude (LG), body-wave magnitude (MB), surface-wave magnitude (MS), moment magnitude (MW)

Natural disasters: The number of natural disasters in Allegheny County (15) is near the US average (15).

Major Disasters (Presidential) Declared: 12

Emergencies Declared: 3



Causes of natural disasters: Floods: 6, Storms: 6, Winter Storms: 3, Hurricanes: 2, Tornadoes: 2, Blizzard: 1, Snowfall: 1, Snowstorm: 1, Tropical Depression: 1, Tropical Storm: 1, Other: 1 (Note: some incidents may be assigned to more than one category).

Hospitals and medical centers in Clinton: ALLEGHENY VALLEY SCHOOL (1302 U S ROUTE 30) Other hospitals and medical centers near Clinton: HIGHLANDS HOSPITAL Acute Care Hospitals (about 7 miles away; CONNELLSVILLE, PA)

Acute Care Hospitals SCOTTDALE MANOR REHABILITATION (Nursing Home, about 8 miles away; SCOTTDALE, PA)

WESTVIEW NURSING HOME (Nursing Home, about 8 miles away; SCOTTDALE, PA)

DCI OF MOUNT PLEASANT (Dialysis Facility, about 8 miles away; MOUNT PLEASANT, PA)

HARMON HOUSE CARE CENTER (Nursing Home, about 9 miles away; MOUNT PLEASANT, PA)

EXCELA HEALTH FRICK HOSPITAL Acute Care Hospitals (about 9 miles away; MOUNT PLEASANT, PA)

Acute Care Hospitals FRICK HOSPITAL SNU (Nursing Home, about 9 miles away; MOUNT PLEASANT, PA)

Amtrak stations near Clinton: 8 miles: CONNELLSVILLE (FRONT & WATER STS.) . Services: enclosed waiting area, public payphones, free short-term parking, call for taxi service, public transit connection.

CONNELLSVILLE (FRONT & WATER STS.) . enclosed waiting area, public payphones, free short-term parking, call for taxi service, public transit connection. 19 miles: GREENSBURG (HARRISON AVE.) . Services: enclosed waiting area, public payphones, free short-term parking, free long-term parking, call for taxi service.

GREENSBURG (HARRISON AVE.) . enclosed waiting area, public payphones, free short-term parking, free long-term parking, call for taxi service. 20 miles: LATROBE (329 KCKINLEY AVE.) . Services: enclosed waiting area, public payphones, full-service food facilities, call for taxi service.

Colleges/universities with over 2000 students nearest to Clinton: Westmoreland County Community College ( about 14 miles; Youngwood, PA ; Full-time enrollment: 4,669)

14 ; 4,669) Seton Hill University ( about 19 miles; Greensburg, PA ; FT enrollment: 2,167)

19 ; 2,167) California University of Pennsylvania ( about 23 miles; California, PA ; FT enrollment: 7,773)

23 ; 7,773) Wyo Tech-Blairsville ( about 31 miles; Blairsville, PA ; FT enrollment: 2,602)

31 ; 2,602) University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown ( about 37 miles; Johnstown, PA ; FT enrollment: 2,815)

37 ; 2,815) Carnegie Mellon University ( about 38 miles; Pittsburgh, PA ; FT enrollment: 14,186)

38 ; 14,186) University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus (about 38 miles; Pittsburgh, PA; FT enrollment: 27,137) Public high school in Clinton: GLENDALE JSHS (Students: 431, Location: 1466 BEAVER VALLEY RD, Grades: 7-12) Public elementary/middle school in Clinton: GLENDALE EL SCH (Students: 432, Location: 1500 BEAVER VALLEY RD, Grades: KG-6) See full list of schools located in Clinton

Points of interest: Click to draw/clear place borders

Allegheny County has a predicted average indoor radon screening level greater than 4 pCi/L (pico curies per liter) - Highest Potential

Drinking water stations with addresses in Clinton and their reported violations in the past: LITTLE TRAVERSE INN (Population served: 100, Groundwater): Past monitoring violations: 3 routine major monitoring violations

6 regular monitoring violations ANKROM ACRES MHP (Population served: 45, Groundwater): Past monitoring violations: Monitoring of Treatment (SWTR-Unfilt/GWR) - In JUL-2014 , Contaminant: GROUNDWATER RULE . Follow-up actions: St Violation/Reminder Notice (AUG-25-2014)

JUL-2014 GROUNDWATER RULE St Violation/Reminder Notice (AUG-25-2014) Monitoring of Treatment (SWTR-Unfilt/GWR) - In MAY-2014 , Contaminant: GROUNDWATER RULE . Follow-up actions: St Compliance achieved (JUL-14-2014)

MAY-2014 GROUNDWATER RULE St Compliance achieved (JUL-14-2014) Monitoring of Treatment (SWTR-Unfilt/GWR) - In APR-2014 , Contaminant: GROUNDWATER RULE . Follow-up actions: St Violation/Reminder Notice (MAY-28-2014), St Compliance achieved (MAY-28-2014)

APR-2014 GROUNDWATER RULE St Violation/Reminder Notice (MAY-28-2014), St Compliance achieved (MAY-28-2014) Monitoring of Treatment (SWTR-Unfilt/GWR) - In MAR-2014 , Contaminant: GROUNDWATER RULE . Follow-up actions: St Site Visit (enforcement) (APR-28-2014), St Compliance achieved (MAY-22-2014)

MAR-2014 GROUNDWATER RULE St Site Visit (enforcement) (APR-28-2014), St Compliance achieved (MAY-22-2014) Follow-up Or Routine LCR Tap M/R - In OCT-01-2013 , Contaminant: Lead and Copper Rule . Follow-up actions: St Violation/Reminder Notice (NOV-12-2013), St Public Notif requested (NOV-25-2013), St Compliance achieved (JUL-14-2014), St Public Notif received (JUL-14-2014)

OCT-01-2013 Lead and Copper Rule St Violation/Reminder Notice (NOV-12-2013), St Public Notif requested (NOV-25-2013), St Compliance achieved (JUL-14-2014), St Public Notif received (JUL-14-2014) 51 regular monitoring violations

One other older monitoring violation VALLEY BOYS (Population served: 25, Groundwater): Past monitoring violations: One routine major monitoring violation

2 regular monitoring violations LITTLE TRAVERSE INN (100Groundwater):ANKROM ACRES MHP (45Groundwater):VALLEY BOYS (25Groundwater):

Average household size: This place: 2.1 people Pennsylvania: 2.5 people

Percentage of family households: This place: 56.4% Whole state: 65.0%

Percentage of households with unmarried partners: This place: 7.4% Whole state: 6.6%



Likely homosexual households (counted as self-reported same-sex unmarried-partner households) Lesbian couples: 0.5% of all households

0.5% Gay men: 0.0% of all households

For population 15 years and over in Clinton: Never married: 40.3%

40.3% Now married: 23.2%

23.2% Separated: 3.5%

3.5% Widowed: 4.4%

4.4% Divorced: 28.6%

For population 25 years and over in Clinton: High school or higher: 92.1%

92.1% Bachelor's degree or higher: 25.5%

25.5% Graduate or professional degree: 7.3%

Education Gini index (Inequality in education) Here: 7.7 Pennsylvania average: 11.3



Religion statistics for Clinton, PA (based on Allegheny County data) Religion Adherents Congregations Catholic 460,672 183 Mainline Protestant 139,551 414 Evangelical Protestant 78,101 349 Other 38,781 98 Black Protestant 14,268 75 Orthodox 9,606 29 None 482,369 - Source: Clifford Grammich, Kirk Hadaway, Richard Houseal, Dale E.Jones, Alexei Krindatch, Richie Stanley and Richard H.Taylor. 2012. 2010 U.S.Religion Census: Religious Congregations & Membership Study. Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies. Jones, Dale E., et al. 2002. Congregations and Membership in the United States 2000. Nashville, TN: Glenmary Research Center. Graphs represent county-level data

Food Environment Statistics: Number of grocery stores: 209 This county : 1.72 / 10,000 pop. Pennsylvania : 2.04 / 10,000 pop. Number of supercenters and club stores: 11 Allegheny County : 0.09 / 10,000 pop. Pennsylvania : 0.09 / 10,000 pop. Number of convenience stores (no gas): 133 Allegheny County : 1.09 / 10,000 pop. Pennsylvania : 0.88 / 10,000 pop. Number of convenience stores (with gas): 297 Here : 2.44 / 10,000 pop. State : 2.52 / 10,000 pop. Number of full-service restaurants: 993 This county : 8.15 / 10,000 pop. Pennsylvania : 7.12 / 10,000 pop. Adult diabetes rate: Allegheny County : 8.7% Pennsylvania : 9.1% Adult obesity rate: Allegheny County : 26.3% Pennsylvania : 27.2% Low-income preschool obesity rate: Allegheny County : 12.9% State : 11.5%

3.75% of this county's 2016 resident taxpayers lived in other counties in 2015 ($61,767 average adjusted gross income) Here: 3.75% Pennsylvania average: 4.58% 0.03% of residents moved from foreign countries ($680 average AGI) Allegheny County: 0.03% Pennsylvania average: 0.03%

Top counties from which taxpayers relocated into this county between 2015 and 2016:

from Westmoreland County, PA 0.39% ($36,372 average AGI) from Washington County, PA 0.25% ($52,773) from Butler County, PA 0.21% ($69,147)



4.40% of this county's 2015 resident taxpayers moved to other counties in 2016 ($97,201 average adjusted gross income) Here: 4.40% Pennsylvania average: 4.96% 0.06% of residents moved to foreign countries ($1,013 average AGI) Allegheny County: 0.06% Pennsylvania average: 0.04%

Top counties to which taxpayers relocated from this county between 2015 and 2016:

to Westmoreland County, PA 0.44% ($52,408 average AGI) to Washington County, PA 0.32% ($79,340) to Butler County, PA 0.28% ($90,393)

Businesses in Clinton, PA FedEx: 1

1 GNC: 1

1 U-Haul: 1

Strongest AM radio stations in Clinton: WVSC (990 AM; 10 kW; SOMERSET, PA; Owner: FOREVER OF JOHNSTOWN, INC.)

FOREVER OF JOHNSTOWN, INC.) KDKA (1020 AM; 50 kW; PITTSBURGH, PA; Owner: INFINITY BROADCASTING OPERATIONS, INC.)

INFINITY BROADCASTING OPERATIONS, INC.) WKHB (620 AM; 6 kW; IRWIN, PA; Owner: BROADCAST COMMUNICATIONS, INC.)

BROADCAST COMMUNICATIONS, INC.) WPNT (1340 AM; 1 kW; CONNELLSVILLE, PA; Owner: KEYMARKET LICENSES, LLC)

KEYMARKET LICENSES, LLC) WLYE (850 AM; 10 kW; JOHNSTOWN, PA; Owner: FOREVER OF JOHNSTOWN, INC.)

FOREVER OF JOHNSTOWN, INC.) WYSN (1330 AM; 5 kW; SOMERSET, PA; Owner: DAME BROADCASTING, LLC)

DAME BROADCASTING, LLC) WWVA (1170 AM; 53 kW; WHEELING, WV; Owner: CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP)

CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP) WASP (1130 AM; daytime; 5 kW; BROWNSVILLE, PA; Owner: KEYMARKET LICENSES, LLC)

KEYMARKET LICENSES, LLC) WFRB (560 AM; 5 kW; FROSTBURG, MD; Owner: WTBO-WKGO CORPORATION, L.L.C.)

WTBO-WKGO CORPORATION, L.L.C.) WCCS (1160 AM; 10 kW; HOMER CITY, PA; Owner: RENDA RADIO, INC.)

RENDA RADIO, INC.) WWCS (540 AM; 5 kW; CANONSBURG, PA; Owner: BIRACH BROADCASTING CORPORATION)

BIRACH BROADCASTING CORPORATION) WMBS (590 AM; 1 kW; UNIONTOWN, PA; Owner: FAYETTE BROADCASTING CORP.)

FAYETTE BROADCASTING CORP.) WAVL (910 AM; 5 kW; APOLLO, PA; Owner: EVANGEL HEIGHTS ASSEMBLY OF GOD) Strongest FM radio stations in Clinton: WLSW (103.9 FM; SCOTTDALE, PA; Owner: L. STANLEY WALL)

L. STANLEY WALL) WOGG (94.9 FM; OLIVER, PA; Owner: KEYMARKET LICENSES, LLC)

KEYMARKET LICENSES, LLC) WVPM (90.9 FM; MORGANTOWN, WV; Owner: WEST VIRGINIA EDUCATIONAL BROADCASTING AUTHORITY)

WEST VIRGINIA EDUCATIONAL BROADCASTING AUTHORITY) WQZS (93.3 FM; MEYERSDALE, PA; Owner: ROGER WAHL)

ROGER WAHL) WQEJ (89.7 FM; JOHNSTOWN, PA; Owner: WQED MULTIMEDIA)

WQED MULTIMEDIA) WFRJ (88.9 FM; JOHNSTOWN, PA; Owner: FAMILY STATIONS, INC.)

FAMILY STATIONS, INC.) WKYE (95.5 FM; JOHNSTOWN, PA; Owner: FOREVER OF JOHNSTOWN, INC.)

FOREVER OF JOHNSTOWN, INC.) WQKK (92.1 FM; JOHNSTOWN, PA; Owner: DAME BROADCASTING, LLC)

DAME BROADCASTING, LLC) WROG (102.9 FM; CUMBERLAND, MD; Owner: TSCHUDY RADIO, INC)

TSCHUDY RADIO, INC) WFWM (91.9 FM; FROSTBURG, MD; Owner: FROSTBURG STATE UNIVERSITY)

FROSTBURG STATE UNIVERSITY) WRIJ (106.9 FM; MASONTOWN, PA; Owner: HE'S ALIVE INC.)

HE'S ALIVE INC.) WKGO (106.1 FM; CUMBERLAND, MD; Owner: WTBO-WKGO CORPORATION, L.L.C.)

WTBO-WKGO CORPORATION, L.L.C.) WLIC (97.1 FM; FROSTBURG, MD; Owner: HE'S ALIVE, INC.)

HE'S ALIVE, INC.) WWPN (101.1 FM; WESTERNPORT, MD; Owner: ERNEST F. SANTMYIRE)

ERNEST F. SANTMYIRE) WSSZ (107.1 FM; GREENSBURG, PA; Owner: MCL/MCM-INC.)

MCL/MCM-INC.) WUZY (97.7 FM; SOMERSET, PA; Owner: FOREVER OF JOHNSTOWN,INC.)

FOREVER OF JOHNSTOWN,INC.) WFRB-FM (105.3 FM; FROSTBURG, MD; Owner: WTBO-WKGO CORPORATION, L.L.C.)

WTBO-WKGO CORPORATION, L.L.C.) WBVE (107.5 FM; BEDFORD, PA; Owner: CESSNA COMMUNICATIONS, INC.)

CESSNA COMMUNICATIONS, INC.) WSHH (99.7 FM; PITTSBURGH, PA; Owner: RENDA B/CING CORP. OF NEVADA)

RENDA B/CING CORP. OF NEVADA) WZPT (100.7 FM; NEW KENSINGTON, PA; Owner: INFINITY RADIO SUBSIDIARY OPERATIONS INC.) TV broadcast stations around Clinton: WTAE-TV ( Channel 4; PITTSBURGH, PA; Owner: WTAE HEARST-ARGYLE TV, INC. (CA CORP.))

4; PITTSBURGH, PA; WTAE HEARST-ARGYLE TV, INC. (CA CORP.)) WPCB-TV ( Channel 40; GREENSBURG, PA; Owner: CORNERSTONE TELEVISION, INC.)

40; GREENSBURG, PA; CORNERSTONE TELEVISION, INC.) WCWB ( Channel 22; PITTSBURGH, PA; Owner: WCWB LICENSEE, LLC)

22; PITTSBURGH, PA; WCWB LICENSEE, LLC) W65CG ( Channel 65; PITTSBURGH, PA; Owner: TRINITY BROADCASTING NETWORK)

65; PITTSBURGH, PA; TRINITY BROADCASTING NETWORK) WNPA ( Channel 19; JEANNETTE, PA; Owner: VIACOM STATIONS GROUP OF PITTSBURGH INC.)

19; JEANNETTE, PA; VIACOM STATIONS GROUP OF PITTSBURGH INC.) WBGN-LP ( Channel 59; PITTSBURGH, PA; Owner: BRUNO GOODWORTH NETWORK, INC.)

59; PITTSBURGH, PA; BRUNO GOODWORTH NETWORK, INC.) WPTG-LP ( Channel 69; PITTSBURGH, PA; Owner: ABACUS TELEVISION)

69; PITTSBURGH, PA; ABACUS TELEVISION) WQEX ( Channel 16; PITTSBURGH, PA; Owner: WQED MULTIMEDIA)

16; PITTSBURGH, PA; WQED MULTIMEDIA) WWCP-TV ( Channel 8; JOHNSTOWN, PA; Owner: PEAK MEDIA OF PA LICENSEE LLC)

8; JOHNSTOWN, PA; PEAK MEDIA OF PA LICENSEE LLC) WNPB-TV ( Channel 24; MORGANTOWN, WV; Owner: WEST VIRGINIA EDUCATIONAL BROADCASTING AUTHORITY)

24; MORGANTOWN, WV; WEST VIRGINIA EDUCATIONAL BROADCASTING AUTHORITY) W35AW ( Channel 35; UNIONTOWN, PA; Owner: DEBRA GOODWORTH)

35; UNIONTOWN, PA; DEBRA GOODWORTH) W56CG ( Channel 56; GREENSBURG, PA; Owner: TURNPIKE TELEVISION)

56; GREENSBURG, PA; TURNPIKE TELEVISION) WWAT-CA (Channel 45; UNIONTOWN, PA; Owner: ABACUS TELEVISION)

National Bridge Inventory (NBI) Statistics

49 Number of bridges

Number of bridges 633ft / 193m Total length

Total length $1,121,000 Total costs

Total costs 249,724 Total average daily traffic

Total average daily traffic 13,689 Total average daily truck traffic

Total average daily truck traffic 106,987 Total future (year 2032) average daily traffic

New bridges - historical statistics

1 1930-1939

1 1940-1949

2 1970-1979

2 1980-1989

3 1990-1999

38 2000-2009

2 2010-2018 See full National Bridge Inventory statistics for Clinton, PA

Houses and condos Apartments 38.9% Electricity

38.9% Fuel oil, kerosene, etc.

22.2% Utility gas 74.6% Utility gas

25.4% Fuel oil, kerosene, etc.





Clinton compared to Pennsylvania state average: Unemployed percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Black race population percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Hispanic race population percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Median age above state average.

above Foreign-born population percentage significantly above state average.

significantly above House age significantly below state average.

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Dalmatia, Pennsylvania

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Population in 2010: 488.

Males: 236 (48.4%) Females: 252 (51.6%)

Median resident age: 48.7 years Pennsylvania median age: 40.8 years

Zip codes: 17017.

Estimated median household income in 2019: $47,349

Dalmatia: $47,349 PA: $63,463

Estimated per capita income in 2019: $25,677



Dalmatia CDP income, earnings, and wages data



Estimated median house or condo value in 2019: $116,300 Dalmatia: $116,300 PA: $192,600

Mean prices in 2019: all housing units: $160,481; detached houses: $187,328; townhouses or other attached units: $61,017; in 2-unit structures: $117,128; in 3-to-4-unit structures: $82,536; in 5-or-more-unit structures: $70,605; mobile homes: $58,646 $47,349$25,677$116,300$160,481;$187,328;$61,017;$117,128;$82,536;$70,605;$58,646

Median gross rent in 2019: $699.

March 2019 cost of living index in Dalmatia: 93.5 (less than average, U.S. average is 100)

Percentage of residents living in poverty in 2019: 11.4%

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Most recent value % change since 2k Data: Median household income ($) Median household income (% change since 2000) Household income diversity Ratio of average income to average house value (%) Ratio of average income to average rent Median household income ($) - White Median household income ($) - Black or African American Median household income ($) - Asian Median household income ($) - Hispanic or Latino Median household income ($) - American Indian and Alaska Native Median household income ($) - Multirace Median household income ($) - Other Race Median household income for houses/condos with a mortgage ($) Median household income for apartments without a mortgage ($) Races - White alone (%) Races - White alone (% change since 2000) Races - Black alone (%) Races - Black alone (% change since 2000) Races - American Indian alone (%) Races - American Indian alone (% change since 2000) Races - Asian alone (%) Races - Asian alone (% change since 2000) Races - Hispanic (%) Races - Hispanic (% change since 2000) Races - Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone (%) Races - Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone (% change since 2000) Races - Two or more races (%) Races - Two or more races (% change since 2000) Races - Other race alone (%) Races - Other race alone (% change since 2000) Racial diversity Unemployment (%) Unemployment (% change since 2000) Unemployment (%) - White Unemployment (%) - Black or African American Unemployment (%) - Asian Unemployment (%) - Hispanic or Latino Unemployment (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Unemployment (%) - Multirace Unemployment (%) - Other Race Population density (people per square mile) Population - Males (%) Population - Females (%) Population - Males (%) - White Population - Males (%) - Black or African American Population - Males (%) - Asian Population - Males (%) - Hispanic or Latino Population - Males (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Population - Males (%) - Multirace Population - Males (%) - Other Race Population - Females (%) - White Population - Females (%) - Black or African American Population - Females (%) - Asian Population - Females (%) - Hispanic or Latino Population - Females (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Population - Females (%) - Multirace Population - Females (%) - Other Race Coronavirus confirmed cases (Nov 21, 2021) Deaths caused by coronavirus (Nov 21, 2021) Coronavirus confirmed cases (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) Deaths caused by coronavirus (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) Daily increase in number of cases (Nov 21, 2021) Weekly increase in number of cases (Nov 21, 2021) Cases doubled (in days) (Nov 21, 2021) Hospitalized patients (Nov 21, 2021) Negative test results (Nov 21, 2021) Total test results (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses distributed (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses administered (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses distributed (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses administered (Nov 21, 2021) Likely homosexual households (%) Likely homosexual households (% change since 2000) Likely homosexual households - Lesbian couples (%) Likely homosexual households - Lesbian couples (% change since 2000) Likely homosexual households - Gay men (%) Likely homosexual households - Gay men (% change since 2000) Cost of living index Median gross rent ($) Median contract rent ($) Median monthly housing costs ($) Median house or condo value ($) Median house or condo value ($ change since 2000) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 1, detached ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 1, attached ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 2 ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure by units in structure - 3 or 4 ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 5 or more ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - Boat, RV, van, etc. ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - Mobile home ($) Median house or condo value ($) - White Median house or condo value ($) - Black or African American Median house or condo value ($) - Asian Median house or condo value ($) - Hispanic or Latino Median house or condo value ($) - American Indian and Alaska Native Median house or condo value ($) - Multirace Median house or condo value ($) - Other Race Median resident age Resident age diversity Median resident age - Males Median resident age - Females Median resident age - White Median resident age - Black or African American Median resident age - Asian Median resident age - Hispanic or Latino Median resident age - American Indian and Alaska Native Median resident age - Multirace Median resident age - Other Race Median resident age - Males - White Median resident age - Males - Black or African American Median resident age - Males - Asian Median resident age - Males - Hispanic or Latino Median resident age - Males - American Indian and Alaska Native Median resident age - Males - Multirace Median resident age - Males - Other Race Median resident age - Females - White Median resident age - Females - Black or African American Median resident age - Females - Asian Median resident age - Females - Hispanic or Latino Median resident age - Females - American Indian and Alaska Native Median resident age - Females - Multirace Median resident age - Females - Other Race Commute - mean travel time to work (minutes) Travel time to work - Less than 5 minutes (%) Travel time to work - Less than 5 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 5 to 9 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 5 to 9 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 10 to 19 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 10 to 19 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 20 to 29 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 20 to 29 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 30 to 39 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 30 to 39 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 40 to 59 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 40 to 59 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 60 to 89 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 60 to 89 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 90 or more minutes (%) Travel time to work - 90 or more minutes (% change since 2000) Marital status - Never married (%) Marital status - Now married (%) Marital status - Separated (%) Marital status - Widowed (%) Marital status - Divorced (%) Median family income ($) Median family income (% change since 2000) Median non-family income ($) Median non-family income (% change since 2000) Median per capita income ($) Median per capita income (% change since 2000) Median family income ($) - White Median family income ($) - Black or African American Median family income ($) - Asian Median family income ($) - Hispanic or Latino Median family income ($) - American Indian and Alaska Native Median family income ($) - Multirace Median family income ($) - Other Race Median year house/condo built Median year apartment built Year house built - Built 2005 or later (%) Year house built - Built 2000 to 2004 (%) Year house built - Built 1990 to 1999 (%) Year house built - Built 1980 to 1989 (%) Year house built - Built 1970 to 1979 (%) Year house built - Built 1960 to 1969 (%) Year house built - Built 1950 to 1959 (%) Year house built - Built 1940 to 1949 (%) Year house built - Built 1939 or earlier (%) Average household size Household density (households per square mile) Average household size - White Average household size - Black or African American Average household size - Asian Average household size - Hispanic or Latino Average household size - American Indian and Alaska Native Average household size - Multirace Average household size - Other Race Occupied housing units (%) Vacant housing units (%) Owner occupied housing units (%) Renter occupied housing units (%) Vacancy status - For rent (%) Vacancy status - For sale only (%) Vacancy status - Rented or sold, not occupied (%) Vacancy status - For seasonal, recreational, or occasional use (%) Vacancy status - For migrant workers (%) Vacancy status - Other vacant (%) Residents with income below the poverty level (%) Residents with income below 50% of the poverty level (%) Children below poverty level (%) Poor families by family type - Married-couple family (%) Poor families by family type - Male, no wife present (%) Poor families by family type - Female, no husband present (%) Poverty status for native-born residents (%) Poverty status for foreign-born residents (%) Poverty among high school graduates not in families (%) Poverty among people who did not graduate high school not in families (%) Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - White Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Black or African American Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Asian Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Hispanic or Latino Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Multirace Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Other Race Air pollution - Air Quality Index (AQI) Air pollution - CO Air pollution - NO2 Air pollution - SO2 Air pollution - Ozone Air pollution - PM10 Air pollution - PM25 Air pollution - Pb Crime - Murders per 100,000 population Crime - Rapes per 100,000 population Crime - Robberies per 100,000 population Crime - Assaults per 100,000 population Crime - Burglaries per 100,000 population Crime - Thefts per 100,000 population Crime - Auto thefts per 100,000 population Crime - Arson per 100,000 population Crime - City-data.com crime index Crime - Violent crime index Crime - Property crime index Crime - Murders per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Rapes per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Robberies per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Assaults per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Burglaries per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Thefts per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Auto thefts per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Arson per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - City-data.com crime index (5 year average) Crime - Violent crime index (5 year average) Crime - Property crime index (5 year average) 1996 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Clinton) 1996 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Dole) 1996 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2000 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Gore) 2000 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Bush) 2000 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2004 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Kerry) 2004 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Bush) 2004 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2008 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Obama) 2008 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (McCain) 2008 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2012 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Obama) 2012 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Romney) 2012 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2016 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Clinton) 2016 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Trump) 2016 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2020 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Biden) 2020 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Trump) 2020 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other Ancestries Reported - Arab (%) Ancestries Reported - Czech (%) Ancestries Reported - Danish (%) Ancestries Reported - Dutch (%) Ancestries Reported - English (%) Ancestries Reported - French (%) Ancestries Reported - French Canadian (%) Ancestries Reported - German (%) Ancestries Reported - Greek (%) Ancestries Reported - Hungarian (%) Ancestries Reported - Irish (%) Ancestries Reported - Italian (%) Ancestries Reported - Lithuanian (%) Ancestries Reported - Norwegian (%) Ancestries Reported - Polish (%) Ancestries Reported - Portuguese (%) Ancestries Reported - Russian (%) Ancestries Reported - Scotch-Irish (%) Ancestries Reported - Scottish (%) Ancestries Reported - Slovak (%) Ancestries Reported - Subsaharan African (%) Ancestries Reported - Swedish (%) Ancestries Reported - Swiss (%) Ancestries Reported - Ukrainian (%) Ancestries Reported - United States (%) Ancestries Reported - Welsh (%) Ancestries Reported - West Indian (%) Ancestries Reported - Other (%) Educational Attainment - No schooling completed (%) Educational Attainment - Less than high school (%) Educational Attainment - High school or equivalent (%) Educational Attainment - Less than 1 year of college (%) Educational Attainment - 1 or more years of college (%) Educational Attainment - Associate degree (%) Educational Attainment - Bachelor's degree (%) Educational Attainment - Master's degree (%) Educational Attainment - Professional school degree (%) Educational Attainment - Doctorate degree (%) School Enrollment - Nursery, preschool (%) School Enrollment - Kindergarten (%) School Enrollment - Grade 1 to 4 (%) School Enrollment - Grade 5 to 8 (%) School Enrollment - Grade 9 to 12 (%) School Enrollment - College undergrad (%) School Enrollment - Graduate or professional (%) School Enrollment - Not enrolled in school (%) School enrollment - Public schools (%) School enrollment - Private schools (%) School enrollment - Not enrolled (%) Median number of rooms in houses and condos Median number of rooms in apartments Housing units lacking complete plumbing facilities (%) Housing units lacking complete kitchen facilities (%) Density of houses Urban houses (%) Rural houses (%) Households with people 60 years and over (%) Households with people 65 years and over (%) Households with people 75 years and over (%) Households with one or more nonrelatives (%) Households with no nonrelatives (%) Population in households (%) Family households (%) Nonfamily households (%) Population in families (%) Family households with own children (%) Median number of bedrooms in owner occupied houses Mean number of bedrooms in owner occupied houses Median number of bedrooms in renter occupied houses Mean number of bedrooms in renter occupied houses Median number of vehichles in owner occupied houses Mean number of vehichles in owner occupied houses Median number of vehichles in renter occupied houses Mean number of vehichles in renter occupied houses Mortgage status - with mortgage (%) Mortgage status - with second mortgage (%) Mortgage status - with home equity loan (%) Mortgage status - with both second mortgage and home equity loan (%) Mortgage status - without a mortgage (%) Average family size Average family size - White Average family size - Black or African American Average family size - Asian Average family size - Hispanic or Latino Average family size - American Indian and Alaska Native Average family size - Multirace Average family size - Other Race Geographical mobility - Same house 1 year ago (%) Geographical mobility - Moved within same county (%) Geographical mobility - Moved from different county within same state (%) Geographical mobility - Moved from different state (%) Geographical mobility - Moved from abroad (%) Place of birth - Born in state of residence (%) Place of birth - Born in other state (%) Place of birth - Native, outside of US (%) Place of birth - Foreign born (%) Housing units in structures - 1, detached (%) Housing units in structures - 1, attached (%) Housing units in structures - 2 (%) Housing units in structures - 3 or 4 (%) Housing units in structures - 5 to 9 (%) Housing units in structures - 10 to 19 (%) Housing units in structures - 20 to 49 (%) Housing units in structures - 50 or more (%) Housing units in structures - Mobile home (%) Housing units in structures - Boat, RV, van, etc. (%) House/condo owner moved in on average (years ago) Renter moved in on average (years ago) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1999 to March 2000 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1995 to 1998 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1990 to 1994 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1980 to 1989 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1970 to 1979 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1969 or earlier (%) Means of transportation to work - Drove car alone (%) Means of transportation to work - Carpooled (%) Means of transportation to work - Public transportation (%) Means of transportation to work - Bus or trolley bus (%) Means of transportation to work - Streetcar or trolley car (%) Means of transportation to work - Subway or elevated (%) Means of transportation to work - Railroad (%) Means of transportation to work - Ferryboat (%) Means of transportation to work - Taxicab (%) Means of transportation to work - Motorcycle (%) Means of transportation to work - Bicycle (%) Means of transportation to work - Walked (%) Means of transportation to work - Other means (%) Working at home (%) Industry diversity Most Common Industries - Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining (%) Most Common Industries - Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (%) Most Common Industries - Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (%) Most Common Industries - Construction (%) Most Common Industries - Manufacturing (%) Most Common Industries - Wholesale trade (%) Most Common Industries - Retail trade (%) Most Common Industries - Transportation and warehousing, and utilities (%) Most Common Industries - Transportation and warehousing (%) Most Common Industries - Utilities (%) Most Common Industries - Information (%) Most Common Industries - Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing (%) Most Common Industries - Finance and insurance (%) Most Common Industries - Real estate and rental and leasing (%) Most Common Industries - Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services (%) Most Common Industries - Professional, scientific, and technical services (%) Most Common Industries - Management of companies and enterprises (%) Most Common Industries - Administrative and support and waste management services (%) Most Common Industries - Educational services, and health care and social assistance (%) Most Common Industries - Educational services (%) Most Common Industries - Health care and social assistance (%) Most Common Industries - Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation and food services (%) Most Common Industries - Arts, entertainment, and recreation (%) Most Common Industries - Accommodation and food services (%) Most Common Industries - Other services, except public administration (%) Most Common Industries - Public administration (%) Occupation diversity Most Common Occupations - Management, business, science, and arts occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Management, business, and financial occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Management occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Business and financial operations occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Computer, engineering, and science occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Computer and mathematical occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Architecture and engineering occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Life, physical, and social science occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Education, legal, community service, arts, and media occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Community and social service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Legal occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Education, training, and library occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Health diagnosing and treating practitioners and other technical occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Health technologists and technicians (%) Most Common Occupations - Service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Healthcare support occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Protective service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Fire fighting and prevention, and other protective service workers including supervisors (%) Most Common Occupations - Law enforcement workers including supervisors (%) Most Common Occupations - Food preparation and serving related occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Personal care and service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Sales and office occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Sales and related occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Office and administrative support occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Construction and extraction occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Production, transportation, and material moving occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Production occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Transportation occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Material moving occupations (%) People in Group quarters - Institutionalized population (%) People in Group quarters - Correctional institutions (%) People in Group quarters - Federal prisons and detention centers (%) People in Group quarters - Halfway houses (%) People in Group quarters - Local jails and other confinement facilities (including police lockups) (%) People in Group quarters - Military disciplinary barracks (%) People in Group quarters - State prisons (%) People in Group quarters - Other types of correctional institutions (%) People in Group quarters - Nursing homes (%) People in Group quarters - Hospitals/wards, hospices, and schools for the handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Hospitals/wards and hospices for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Hospices or homes for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Military hospitals or wards for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Other hospitals or wards for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Hospitals or wards for drug/alcohol abuse (%) People in Group quarters - Mental (Psychiatric) hospitals or wards (%) People in Group quarters - Schools, hospitals, or wards for the mentally retarded (%) People in Group quarters - Schools, hospitals, or wards for the physically handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Institutions for the deaf (%) People in Group quarters - Institutions for the blind (%) People in Group quarters - Orthopedic wards and institutions for the physically handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Wards in general hospitals for patients who have no usual home elsewhere (%) People in Group quarters - Wards in military hospitals for patients who have no usual home elsewhere (%) People in Group quarters - Juvenile institutions (%) People in Group quarters - Long-term care (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for abused, dependent, and neglected children (%) People in Group quarters - Residential treatment centers for emotionally disturbed children (%) People in Group quarters - Training schools for juvenile delinquents (%) People in Group quarters - Short-term care, detention or diagnostic centers for delinquent children (%) People in Group quarters - Type of juvenile institution unknown (%) People in Group quarters - Noninstitutionalized population (%) People in Group quarters - College dormitories (includes college quarters off campus) (%) People in Group quarters - Military quarters (%) People in Group quarters - On base (%) People in Group quarters - Barracks, unaccompanied personnel housing (UPH), (Enlisted/Officer), ;and similar group living quarters for military personnel (%) People in Group quarters - Transient quarters for temporary residents (%) People in Group quarters - Military ships (%) People in Group quarters - Group homes (%) People in Group quarters - Homes or halfway houses for drug/alcohol abuse (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for the mentally ill (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for the mentally retarded (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for the physically handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Other group homes (%) People in Group quarters - Religious group quarters (%) People in Group quarters - Dormitories (%) People in Group quarters - Agriculture workers' dormitories on farms (%) People in Group quarters - Job Corps and vocational training facilities (%) People in Group quarters - Other workers' dormitories (%) People in Group quarters - Crews of maritime vessels (%) People in Group quarters - Other nonhousehold living situations (%) People in Group quarters - Other noninstitutional group quarters (%) Residents speaking English at home (%) Residents speaking English at home - Born in the United States (%) Residents speaking English at home - Native, born elsewhere (%) Residents speaking English at home - Foreign born (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home - Born in the United States (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home - Native, born elsewhere (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home - Foreign born (%) Residents speaking other language at home (%) Residents speaking other language at home - Born in the United States (%) Residents speaking other language at home - Native, born elsewhere (%) Residents speaking other language at home - Foreign born (%) Class of Workers - Employee of private company (%) Class of Workers - Self-employed in own incorporated business (%) Class of Workers - Private not-for-profit wage and salary workers (%) Class of Workers - Local government workers (%) Class of Workers - State government workers (%) Class of Workers - Federal government workers (%) Class of Workers - Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business and Unpaid family workers (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Utility gas (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Bottled, tank, or LP gas (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Electricity (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Fuel oil, kerosene, etc. (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Coal or coke (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Wood (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Solar energy (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Other fuel (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - No fuel used (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Utility gas (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Bottled, tank, or LP gas (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Electricity (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Fuel oil, kerosene, etc. (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Coal or coke (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Wood (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Solar energy (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Other fuel (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - No fuel used (%) Armed forces status - In Armed Forces (%) Armed forces status - Civilian (%) Armed forces status - Civilian - Veteran (%) Armed forces status - Civilian - Nonveteran (%) Fatal accidents locations in years 2005-2019 Fatal accidents locations in 2005 Fatal accidents locations in 2006 Fatal accidents locations in 2007 Fatal accidents locations in 2008 Fatal accidents locations in 2009 Fatal accidents locations in 2010 Fatal accidents locations in 2011 Fatal accidents locations in 2012 Fatal accidents locations in 2013 Fatal accidents locations in 2014 Fatal accidents locations in 2015 Fatal accidents locations in 2016 Fatal accidents locations in 2017 Fatal accidents locations in 2018 Fatal accidents locations in 2019 Alcohol use - People drinking some alcohol every month (%) Alcohol use - People not drinking at all (%) Alcohol use - Average days/month drinking alcohol Alcohol use - Average drinks/week Alcohol use - Average days/year people drink much Audiometry - Average condition of hearing (%) Audiometry - People that can hear a whisper from across a quiet room (%) Audiometry - People that can hear normal voice from across a quiet room (%) Audiometry - Ears ringing, roaring, buzzing (%) Audiometry - Had a job exposure to loud noise (%) Audiometry - Had off-work exposure to loud noise (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Has high blood pressure (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Checking blood pressure at home (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Frequently checking blood cholesterol (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Has high cholesterol level (%) Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on food at supermarket/grocery store Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on food at other stores Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on eating out Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on carryout/delivered foods Consumer Behavior - Income spent on food at supermarket/grocery store (%) Consumer Behavior - Income spent on food at other stores (%) Consumer Behavior - Income spent on eating out (%) Consumer Behavior - Income spent on carryout/delivered foods (%) Current Health Status - General health condition (%) Current Health Status - Blood donors (%) Current Health Status - Has blood ever tested for HIV virus (%) Current Health Status - Left-handed people (%) Dermatology - People using sunscreen (%) Diabetes - Diabetics (%) Diabetes - Had a blood test for high blood sugar (%) Diabetes - People taking insulin (%) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Diet health (%) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Milk product consumption (# of products/month) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Meals not home prepared (#/week) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Meals from fast food or pizza place (#/week) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Ready-to-eat foods (#/month) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Frozen meals/pizza (#/month) Drug Use - People that ever used marijuana or hashish (%) Drug Use - Ever used hard drugs (%) Drug Use - Ever used any form of cocaine (%) Drug Use - Ever used heroin (%) Drug Use - Ever used methamphetamine (%) Health Insurance - People covered by health insurance (%) Kidney Conditions-Urology - Avg. # of times urinating at night Medical Conditions - People with asthma (%) Medical Conditions - People with anemia (%) Medical Conditions - People with psoriasis (%) Medical Conditions - People with overweight (%) Medical Conditions - Elderly people having difficulties in thinking or remembering (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever received blood transfusion (%) Medical Conditions - People having trouble seeing even with glass/contacts (%) Medical Conditions - People with arthritis (%) Medical Conditions - People with gout (%) Medical Conditions - People with congestive heart failure (%) Medical Conditions - People with coronary heart disease (%) Medical Conditions - People with angina pectoris (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever had heart attack (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever had stroke (%) Medical Conditions - People with emphysema (%) Medical Conditions - People with thyroid problem (%) Medical Conditions - People with chronic bronchitis (%) Medical Conditions - People with any liver condition (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever had cancer or malignancy (%) Mental Health - People who have little interest in doing things (%) Mental Health - People feeling down, depressed, or hopeless (%) Mental Health - People who have trouble sleeping or sleeping too much (%) Mental Health - People feeling tired or having little energy (%) Mental Health - People with poor appetite or overeating (%) Mental Health - People feeling bad about themself (%) Mental Health - People who have trouble concentrating on things (%) Mental Health - People moving or speaking slowly or too fast (%) Mental Health - People having thoughts they would be better off dead (%) Oral Health - Average years since last visit a dentist Oral Health - People embarrassed because of mouth (%) Oral Health - People with gum disease (%) Oral Health - General health of teeth and gums (%) Oral Health - Average days a week using dental floss/device Oral Health - Average days a week using mouthwash for dental problem Oral Health - Average number of teeth Pesticide Use - Households using pesticides to control insects (%) Pesticide Use - Households using pesticides to kill weeds (%) Physical Activity - People doing vigorous-intensity work activities (%) Physical Activity - People doing moderate-intensity work activities (%) Physical Activity - People walking or bicycling (%) Physical Activity - People doing vigorous-intensity recreational activities (%) Physical Activity - People doing moderate-intensity recreational activities (%) Physical Activity - Average hours a day doing sedentary activities Physical Activity - Average hours a day watching TV or videos Physical Activity - Average hours a day using computer Physical Functioning - People having limitations keeping them from working (%) Physical Functioning - People limited in amount of work they can do (%) Physical Functioning - People that need special equipment to walk (%) Physical Functioning - People experiencing confusion/memory problems (%) Physical Functioning - People requiring special healthcare equipment (%) Prescription Medications - Average number of prescription medicines taking Preventive Aspirin Use - Adults 40+ taking low-dose aspirin (%) Reproductive Health - Vaginal deliveries (%) Reproductive Health - Cesarean deliveries (%) Reproductive Health - Deliveries resulted in a live birth (%) Reproductive Health - Pregnancies resulted in a delivery (%) Reproductive Health - Women breastfeeding newborns (%) Reproductive Health - Women that had a hysterectomy (%) Reproductive Health - Women that had both ovaries removed (%) Reproductive Health - Women that have ever taken birth control pills (%) Reproductive Health - Women taking birth control pills (%) Reproductive Health - Women that have ever used Depo-Provera or injectables (%) Reproductive Health - Women that have ever used female hormones (%) Sexual Behavior - People 18+ that ever had sex (vaginal, anal, or oral) (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever had vaginal sex with a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever performed oral sex on a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever had anal sex with a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever had any sex with a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever had vaginal sex with a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever performed oral sex on a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever had anal sex with a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever had any kind of sex with a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Average age people first had sex Sexual Behavior - Average number of female sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of female vaginal sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average age people first performed oral sex on a woman (18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of woman performed oral sex on in lifetime (18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male anal sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average age people first performed oral sex on a man (18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male oral sex partners in lifetime (18+) Sexual Behavior - People using protection when performing oral sex (%) Sexual Behavior - Average number of times people have vaginal or anal sex a year Sexual Behavior - People having sex without condom (%) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male sex partners in lifetime (females 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male vaginal sex partners in lifetime (females 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of female sex partners in lifetime (females 18+) Sexual Behavior - Circumcised males 18+ (%) Sleep Disorders - Average hours sleeping at night Sleep Disorders - People that has trouble sleeping (%) Smoking-Cigarette Use - People smoking cigarettes (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ having problems with smell (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ having problems with taste (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had wisdom teeth removed (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had tonsils teeth removed (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had a loss of consciousness because of a head injury (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had a broken nose or other serious injury to face or skull (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had two or more sinus infections (%) Weight - Average height (inches) Weight - Average weight (pounds) Weight - Average BMI Weight - People that are obese (%) Weight - People that ever were obese (%) Weight - People trying to lose weight (%) Settings Get link Loading data... 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According to our research of Pennsylvania and other state lists, there were 5 registered sex offenders living in Dalmatia, Pennsylvania as of November 22, 2021.

The ratio of all residents to sex offenders in Dalmatia is 89 to 1.





Ancestries: German (74.1%), Pennsylvania German (8.4%), Dutch (5.4%), Irish (3.8%), Hungarian (2.5%), Polish (1.3%).

Current Local Time: EST time zone

Elevation: 420 feet

Median real estate property taxes paid for housing units with mortgages in 2019: $1,349 (1.2%)

Median real estate property taxes paid for housing units with no mortgage in 2019: $986 (1.3%)



Latitude: 40.65 N, Longitude: 76.90 W

Area code commonly used in this area: 717

Unemployment in November 2020:

Here: 6.2% Pennsylvania: 6.1%

Air pollution and air quality trends

(lower is better) AQI NO 2 SO 2 Ozone Pb

Air Quality Index (AQI) level in 2014 was 47.9. This is significantly better than average. City: 47.9 U.S.: 74.2

Nitrogen Dioxide (NO 2 ) [ppb] level in 2013 was 2.78. This is significantly better than average. Closest monitor was 19.4 miles away from the city center. City: 2.78 U.S.: 5.56

Sulfur Dioxide (SO 2 ) [ppb] level in 2014 was 0.468. This is significantly better than average. Closest monitor was 19.4 miles away from the city center. City: 0.468 U.S.: 1.789

Ozone [ppb] level in 2014 was 27.1. This is better than average. Closest monitor was 19.4 miles away from the city center. City: 27.1 U.S.: 33.3

Lead (Pb) [g/m3] level in 2016 was 0.00035. This is significantly better than average. Closest monitor was 20.8 miles away from the city center. City: 0.00035 U.S.: 0.00984

Tornado activity: Dalmatia-area historical tornado activity is near Pennsylvania state average. It is 14% smaller than the overall U.S. average.

On 5/31/1985, a category F4 (max. wind speeds 207-260 mph) tornado 44.8 miles away from the Dalmatia place center caused between $5,000,000 and $50,000,000 in damages. On 7/14/2004, a category F3 (max. wind speeds 158-206 mph) tornado 31.0 miles away from the place center caused $18 million in damages.

Earthquake activity: Dalmatia-area historical earthquake activity is significantly above Pennsylvania state average. It is 63% smaller than the overall U.S. average.



On 8/23/2011 at 17:51:04, a magnitude 5.8 (5.8 MW, Depth: 3.7 mi, Class: Moderate, Intensity: VI - VII) earthquake occurred 197.7 miles away from the city center

On 1/16/1994 at 01:49:16, a magnitude 4.6 (4.6 MB, 4.6 LG, Depth: 3.1 mi, Class: Light, Intensity: IV - V) earthquake occurred 50.8 miles away from the city center

On 9/25/1998 at 19:52:52, a magnitude 5.2 (4.8 MB, 4.3 MS, 5.2 LG, 4.5 MW, Depth: 3.1 mi) earthquake occurred 191.1 miles away from the city center

On 10/7/1983 at 10:18:46, a magnitude 5.3 (5.1 MB, 5.3 LG, 5.1 ML) earthquake occurred 263.1 miles away from the city center

On 1/16/1994 at 00:42:43, a magnitude 4.2 (4.2 MB, 4.0 LG, Depth: 3.1 mi) earthquake occurred 52.3 miles away from the city center

On 1/31/1986 at 16:46:43, a magnitude 5.0 (5.0 MB) earthquake occurred 231.3 miles away from Dalmatia center

Magnitude types: regional Lg-wave magnitude (LG), body-wave magnitude (MB), local magnitude (ML), surface-wave magnitude (MS), moment magnitude (MW)

Natural disasters: The number of natural disasters in Northumberland County (17) is near the US average (15).

Major Disasters (Presidential) Declared: 13

Emergencies Declared: 4



Causes of natural disasters: Storms: 5, Floods: 4, Tropical Storms: 3, Hurricanes: 2, Tropical Depressions: 2, Winter Storms: 2, Blizzard: 1, Flash Flood: 1, Heavy Rain: 1, Mudslide: 1, Snowfall: 1, Snowstorm: 1, Tornado: 1, Wind: 1, Other: 1 (Note: some incidents may be assigned to more than one category).

Hospitals and medical centers near Dalmatia: FRESENIUS MEDICAL CARE MILLERSBURG (Dialysis Facility, about 8 miles away; MILLERSBURG, PA)

MANOR AT SUSQUEHANNA VILLAGE,THE (Nursing Home, about 8 miles away; MILLERSBURG, PA)

NIPPLE CONVALESCENT HOME (Nursing Home, about 8 miles away; LIVERPOOL, PA)

KEPLER HOME, INC, THE (Nursing Home, about 9 miles away; ELIZABETHVILLE, PA)

LOVING CARE NURSING CENTER INC (Nursing Home, about 11 miles away; SELINSGROVE, PA)

BAYADA HOME HEALTH CARE INC (Home Health Center, about 11 miles away; SELINSGROVE, PA)

DAVITA - SELINSGROVE DIALYSIS (Dialysis Facility, about 12 miles away; SELINSGROVE, PA)

Colleges/universities with over 2000 students nearest to Dalmatia: Susquehanna University ( about 11 miles; Selinsgrove, PA ; Full-time enrollment: 2,495)

11 ; 2,495) Bucknell University ( about 21 miles; Lewisburg, PA ; FT enrollment: 3,418)

21 ; 3,418) Harrisburg Area Community College-Harrisburg ( about 25 miles; Harrisburg, PA ; FT enrollment: 13,276)

25 ; 13,276) Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg ( about 33 miles; Middletown, PA ; FT enrollment: 3,797)

33 ; 3,797) Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania ( about 35 miles; Bloomsburg, PA ; FT enrollment: 9,452)

35 ; 9,452) Messiah College ( about 35 miles; Mechanicsburg, PA ; FT enrollment: 3,035)

35 ; 3,035) Dickinson College (about 35 miles; Carlisle, PA; FT enrollment: 2,505)

Northumberland County has a predicted average indoor radon screening level greater than 4 pCi/L (pico curies per liter) - Highest Potential

Drinking water stations with addresses in Dalmatia and their reported violations in the past: MAHANTANGO CAMPGROUND (Population served: 100, Groundwater): Past monitoring violations: One routine major monitoring violation THE SKATERY (Population served: 25, Groundwater): Past monitoring violations: One routine major monitoring violation

4 regular monitoring violations MAHANTANGO CAMPGROUND (100Groundwater):THE SKATERY (25Groundwater):

Average household size: This place: 2.4 people Pennsylvania: 2.5 people

Percentage of family households: This place: 64.3% Whole state: 65.0%

Percentage of households with unmarried partners: This place: 6.8% Whole state: 6.6%



Likely homosexual households (counted as self-reported same-sex unmarried-partner households) Lesbian couples: 0.5% of all households

0.5% Gay men: 1.4% of all households

Banks with branches in Dalmatia (2011 data): Mid Penn Bank: Dalmatia Branch at 205 School Road, branch established on 1912/04/26. Info updated 2007/03/02: Bank assets: $715.4 mil, Deposits: $634.1 mil, headquarters in Millersburg, PA, positive income, Commercial Lending Specialization, 14 total offices, Holding Company: Mid Penn Bancorp, Inc.

For population 15 years and over in Dalmatia: Never married: 21.2%

21.2% Now married: 56.4%

56.4% Separated: 4.3%

4.3% Widowed: 7.9%

7.9% Divorced: 10.3%

For population 25 years and over in Dalmatia: High school or higher: 87.7%

87.7% Bachelor's degree or higher: 14.7%

14.7% Graduate or professional degree: 2.5%

2.5% Mean travel time to work (commute): 33.7 minutes

Education Gini index (Inequality in education) Here: 7.7 Pennsylvania average: 11.3



Religion statistics for Dalmatia, PA (based on Northumberland County data) Religion Adherents Congregations Mainline Protestant 21,455 102 Catholic 14,540 12 Evangelical Protestant 9,794 62 Other 2,662 9 Black Protestant 118 1 Orthodox 76 1 None 45,883 - Source: Clifford Grammich, Kirk Hadaway, Richard Houseal, Dale E.Jones, Alexei Krindatch, Richie Stanley and Richard H.Taylor. 2012. 2010 U.S.Religion Census: Religious Congregations & Membership Study. Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies. Jones, Dale E., et al. 2002. Congregations and Membership in the United States 2000. Nashville, TN: Glenmary Research Center. Graphs represent county-level data

Food Environment Statistics: Number of grocery stores: 19 This county : 2.09 / 10,000 pop. Pennsylvania : 2.04 / 10,000 pop. Number of supercenters and club stores: 1 Here : 0.11 / 10,000 pop. Pennsylvania : 0.09 / 10,000 pop. Number of convenience stores (no gas): 6 Northumberland County : 0.66 / 10,000 pop. Pennsylvania : 0.88 / 10,000 pop. Number of convenience stores (with gas): 34 Northumberland County : 3.74 / 10,000 pop. Pennsylvania : 2.52 / 10,000 pop. Number of full-service restaurants: 63 Here : 6.92 / 10,000 pop. Pennsylvania : 7.12 / 10,000 pop. Adult diabetes rate: Here : 9.6% State : 9.1% Adult obesity rate: Northumberland County : 29.3% Pennsylvania : 27.2% Low-income preschool obesity rate: Here : 11.5% Pennsylvania : 11.5%

4.50% of this county's 2016 resident taxpayers lived in other counties in 2015 ($36,774 average adjusted gross income) Here: 4.50% Pennsylvania average: 4.58% 10 or fewer of this county's residents moved from foreign countries between 2015 and 2016.

Top counties from which taxpayers relocated into this county between 2015 and 2016:

from Union County, PA 0.64% ($34,238 average AGI) from Snyder County, PA 0.53% ($28,851) from Lycoming County, PA 0.47% ($37,731)



4.88% of this county's 2015 resident taxpayers moved to other counties in 2016 ($46,595 average adjusted gross income) Here: 4.88% Pennsylvania average: 4.96% 10 or fewer of this county's residents moved to foreign countries between 2015 and 2016.

Top counties to which taxpayers relocated from this county between 2015 and 2016:

to Union County, PA 0.70% ($55,460 average AGI) to Snyder County, PA 0.50% ($38,427) to Lycoming County, PA 0.40% ($52,405)

Strongest AM radio stations in Dalmatia: WKOK (1070 AM; 10 kW; SUNBURY, PA; Owner: SUNBURY BROADCASTING CORPORATION)

SUNBURY BROADCASTING CORPORATION) WHP (580 AM; 5 kW; HARRISBURG, PA; Owner: CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.)

CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.) WWJZ (640 AM; 50 kW; MOUNT HOLLY, NJ; Owner: ABC, INC.)

ABC, INC.) WCBM (680 AM; 50 kW; BALTIMORE, MD; Owner: WCBM MARYLAND, INC.)

WCBM MARYLAND, INC.) WEEU (830 AM; 20 kW; READING, PA; Owner: WEEU BROADCASTING COMPANY)

WEEU BROADCASTING COMPANY) WVCH (740 AM; 50 kW; CHESTER, PA; Owner: WVCH COMMUNICATIONS, INC.)

WVCH COMMUNICATIONS, INC.) WYGL (1240 AM; 1 kW; SELINSGROVE, PA; Owner: SUNAIR COMMUNICATIONS, INC.)

SUNAIR COMMUNICATIONS, INC.) WIEZ (670 AM; daytime; 5 kW; LEWISTOWN, PA; Owner: FIRST MEDIA RADIO, LLC)

FIRST MEDIA RADIO, LLC) WBAL (1090 AM; 50 kW; BALTIMORE, MD; Owner: HEARST RADIO, INC.)

HEARST RADIO, INC.) WZZD (990 AM; 50 kW; PHILADELPHIA, PA; Owner: PENNSYLVANIA MEDIA ASSOCIATES, INC.)

PENNSYLVANIA MEDIA ASSOCIATES, INC.) WPEN (950 AM; 50 kW; PHILADELPHIA, PA; Owner: GREATER PHILADELPHIA RADIO, INC.)

GREATER PHILADELPHIA RADIO, INC.) WRKK (1200 AM; 10 kW; HUGHESVILLE, PA; Owner: CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.)

CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.) KYW (1060 AM; 50 kW; PHILADELPHIA, PA; Owner: INFINITY BROADCASTING OPERATIONS, INC.) Strongest FM radio stations in Dalmatia: WYGL-FM (100.5 FM; ELIZABETHVILLE, PA; Owner: SUNAIR COMMUNICATIONS, INC.)

SUNAIR COMMUNICATIONS, INC.) WLZS (106.1 FM; BEAVER SPRINGS, PA; Owner: STARVIEW MEDIA, INC)

STARVIEW MEDIA, INC) WQKX (94.1 FM; SUNBURY, PA; Owner: SUNBURY BROADCASTING CORPORATION)

SUNBURY BROADCASTING CORPORATION) WEGH (107.3 FM; NORTHUMBERLAND, PA; Owner: SUNBURY BROADCASTING CORPORATION)

SUNBURY BROADCASTING CORPORATION) WQLV (98.9 FM; MILLERSBURG, PA; Owner: HEPCO COMMUNICATIONS, INC.)

HEPCO COMMUNICATIONS, INC.) WITF-FM (89.5 FM; HARRISBURG, PA; Owner: WITF, INC.)

WITF, INC.) WJUN-FM (92.5 FM; MEXICO, PA; Owner: STARVIEW MEDIA, INC.)

STARVIEW MEDIA, INC.) WRVV (97.3 FM; HARRISBURG, PA; Owner: CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.)

CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.) WLGL (92.3 FM; RIVERSIDE, PA; Owner: SUNAIR COMMUNICATIONS, INC.)

SUNAIR COMMUNICATIONS, INC.) WQJU (107.1 FM; MIFFLINTOWN, PA; Owner: CENTRAL PA CHRISTIAN INSTITUTE, INC.)

CENTRAL PA CHRISTIAN INSTITUTE, INC.) WJRC (90.9 FM; LEWISTOWN, PA; Owner: SALT AND LIGHT MEDIA MINISTRIES, INC)

SALT AND LIGHT MEDIA MINISTRIES, INC) WVLY-FM (100.9 FM; MILTON, PA; Owner: MILTON-LEWISBURG BROADCASTING, INC.)

MILTON-LEWISBURG BROADCASTING, INC.) WWBE (98.3 FM; MIFFLINBURG, PA; Owner: B-98 BROADCASTING, INC)

B-98 BROADCASTING, INC) WCXR (103.7 FM; LEWISBURG, PA; Owner: SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT SABRECOM, INC.)

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT SABRECOM, INC.) WNNK-FM (104.1 FM; HARRISBURG, PA; Owner: CUMULUS LICENSING CORP.)

CUMULUS LICENSING CORP.) WRBT (94.9 FM; HARRISBURG, PA; Owner: CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.)

CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.) WFYY (106.5 FM; BLOOMSBURG, PA; Owner: RADIO FRIENDZ, INC.)

RADIO FRIENDZ, INC.) WQSU (88.9 FM; SELINSGROVE, PA; Owner: SUSQUEHANNA UNIVERSITY)

SUSQUEHANNA UNIVERSITY) WRVH (107.9 FM; WILLIAMSPORT, PA; Owner: SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT SABRECOM, INC.)

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT SABRECOM, INC.) WJAZ (91.7 FM; SUMMERDALE, PA; Owner: TEMPLE UNIV. COMMWEALTH SYS. HGHR ED) TV broadcast stations around Dalmatia: WITF-TV ( Channel 33; HARRISBURG, PA; Owner: WITF, INC.)

33; HARRISBURG, PA; WITF, INC.) WLYH-TV ( Channel 15; LANCASTER, PA; Owner: TELEVISION STATION GROUP LICENSE SUBSIDIARY, LLC)

15; LANCASTER, PA; TELEVISION STATION GROUP LICENSE SUBSIDIARY, LLC) WHTM-TV ( Channel 27; HARRISBURG, PA; Owner: HARRISBURG TELEVISION, INC.)

27; HARRISBURG, PA; HARRISBURG TELEVISION, INC.) WHP-TV ( Channel 21; HARRISBURG, PA; Owner: CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.)

21; HARRISBURG, PA; CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.) W18BC (Channel 18; MIDDLEBURG, PA; Owner: HEIRLOOM MINISTRIES, INC.)

Medal of Honor Recipients Medal of Honor Recipient born in Dalmatia: Norman W. Ressler.

Dalmatia fatal accident list: Dec 28, 2003 05:34 PM, Sr-147, Lat: 40.642506, Lon: -76.908020, Vehicles: 2, Persons: 2, Fatalities: 1



National Bridge Inventory (NBI) Statistics

22 Number of bridges

Number of bridges 200ft / 61.5m Total length

Total length $7,562,000 Total costs

Total costs 83,496 Total average daily traffic

Total average daily traffic 8,945 Total average daily truck traffic

Total average daily truck traffic 85,245 Total future (year 2028) average daily traffic

New bridges - historical statistics

1 1900-1909

1 1920-1929

2 1930-1939

1 1940-1949

1 1950-1959

4 1960-1969

4 1970-1979

1 1980-1989

4 1990-1999

2 2000-2009

1 2010-2018 See full National Bridge Inventory statistics for Dalmatia, PA

FCC Registered Cell Phone Towers: 1 (

FCC Registered Antenna Towers: 19 (



FCC Registered Microwave Towers: 1 Dalmatia, Box 261 Rr 1 (015440) (Lat: 40.640250 Lon: -76.906694), Type: Ltower, Structure height: 70.7 m, Overall height: 73.1 m, Call Sign: WQWK390,

Assigned Frequencies: 6123.10 MHz, 6123.10 MHz, 6123.10 MHz, 6123.10 MHz, 6123.10 MHz, 6123.10 MHz, 6123.10 MHz, Grant Date: 09/21/2015, Expiration Date: 09/21/2025, Cancellation Date: 11/14/2017, Certifier: Amir Rajwany, Registrant: Wilkinson Barker Knauer, LLP, 1800 M Street, Nw, Suite 800n, Washington, DC 20036, Phone: (202) 783-4141, Fax: (202) 783-5851, Email:

FCC Registered Amateur Radio Licenses: 7 Call Sign: K3JYU, Grant Date: 05/01/1998, Expiration Date: 05/01/2008, Cancellation Date: 05/04/2010, Registrant: Charles T Reitz, Dalmatia, PA 17017-0220

K3JYU, 05/01/1998, 05/01/2008, 05/04/2010, Charles T Reitz, Dalmatia, PA 17017-0220 Call Sign: KB3BEL, Licensee ID: L00898703, Grant Date: 07/29/2004, Expiration Date: 08/30/2014, Cancellation Date: 08/31/2016, Certifier: Craig T Peterman, Registrant: Craig T Peterman, 1121 Hickory Rd, Dalmatia, PA 17017

KB3BEL, L00898703, 07/29/2004, 08/30/2014, 08/31/2016, Craig T Peterman, Craig T Peterman, 1121 Hickory Rd, Dalmatia, PA 17017 Call Sign: N3YHO, Licensee ID: L00849238, Grant Date: 06/30/2014, Expiration Date: 07/08/2024, Certifier: Paul C Nell Jr, Registrant: Paul C Nell Jr, 1462 Deiblers Gap Rd, Dalmatia, PA 17017

N3YHO, L00849238, 06/30/2014, 07/08/2024, Paul C Nell Jr, Paul C Nell Jr, 1462 Deiblers Gap Rd, Dalmatia, PA 17017 Call Sign: WB3FHU, Licensee ID: L00369497, Grant Date: 11/08/2017, Expiration Date: 12/24/2027, Certifier: David A Newman, Registrant: David A Newman, 161 Ridge Rd, Dalmatia, PA 17017

WB3FHU, L00369497, 11/08/2017, 12/24/2027, David A Newman, David A Newman, 161 Ridge Rd, Dalmatia, PA 17017 Call Sign: KB3LHB, Licensee ID: L00879606, Grant Date: 03/28/2014, Expiration Date: 06/17/2024, Certifier: Todd M Mace, Registrant: Todd M Mace, 256 Middle Road, Dalmatia, PA 17017

KB3LHB, L00879606, 03/28/2014, 06/17/2024, Todd M Mace, Todd M Mace, 256 Middle Road, Dalmatia, PA 17017 Call Sign: KC3BVA, Licensee ID: L01832620, Grant Date: 12/27/2013, Expiration Date: 12/27/2023, Certifier: Steven L Bahner, Registrant: Steven L Bahner, 227 Hickory Rd, Dalmatia, PA 17017

KC3BVA, L01832620, 12/27/2013, 12/27/2023, Steven L Bahner, Steven L Bahner, 227 Hickory Rd, Dalmatia, PA 17017 Call Sign: KC3RFY, Licensee ID: L02420626, Grant Date: 02/17/2021, Expiration Date: 02/17/2031, Certifier: Frank Percoskie, Registrant: Frank Percoskie, 934 State Route 147, Dalmatia, PA 17017

FAA Registered Aircraft: 2 Aircraft: CESSNA 172D ( Category: Land, Seats: 4, Weight: Up to 12,499 Pounds, Speed: 105 mph), Engine: CONT MOTOR 0-300 SER (145 HP) (Reciprocating)

N-Number: 2490U, N2490U, N-2490U, Serial Number: 17250090, Year manufactured: 1963, Airworthiness Date: 03/07/1963, Certificate Issue Date: 04/16/1963

Registrant (Individual): Carl A Bredbenner, 452 Flying Eagle Rd, Dalmatia, PA 17017

CESSNA 172D ( Land, 4, Up to 12,499 Pounds, 105 mph), CONT MOTOR 0-300 SER (145 HP) (Reciprocating) 2490U, N2490U, N-2490U, 17250090, 1963, 03/07/1963, 04/16/1963 Carl A Bredbenner, 452 Flying Eagle Rd, Dalmatia, PA 17017 Aircraft: AEROSTAR INTERNATIONAL INC RAVEN S49A (Category: Land, Weight: Up to 12,499 Pounds), Engine: None

N-Number: 6320W, N6320W, N-6320W, Serial Number: S49A-3011, Certificate Issue Date: 10/26/1993

Registrant (Individual): Carl Bredbenner, 452 Flying Eagle Rd, Dalmatia, PA 17017

Deregistered: Cancel Date: 04/26/1966, Exported to: Canada

1 ( See the full list of FCC Registered Cell Phone Towers in Dalmatia 19 ( See the full list of FCC Registered Antenna Towers

Houses and condos Apartments 59.5% Fuel oil, kerosene, etc.

14.6% Coal or coke

8.9% Electricity

7.6% Wood

4.4% Bottled, tank, or LP gas

3.2% Other fuel

1.9% Utility gas 54.1% Fuel oil, kerosene, etc.

18.9% Electricity

10.8% Bottled, tank, or LP gas

8.1% Utility gas

8.1% Other fuel





Dalmatia compared to Pennsylvania state average: Median house value below state average.

below Unemployed percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Black race population percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Hispanic race population percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Foreign-born population percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Percentage of population with a bachelor's degree or higher below state average.

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Deep River, Connecticut

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Population in 2010: 4,629.

Population change since 2000: +0.4%

4,629.+0.4%

Males: 2,301 (49.7%) Females: 2,328 (50.3%)

Median resident age: 43.9 years Connecticut median age: 39.2 years

Zip codes: 06417.

Estimated median household income in 2019: $66,822 (it was $51,677 in 2000)

Deep River: $66,822 CT: $78,833

Estimated per capita income in 2019: $49,218 (it was $32,604 in 2000)



Deep River town income, earnings, and wages data



Estimated median house or condo value in 2019: $289,910 (it was $162,900 in 2000) Deep River: $289,910 CT: $280,700

Mean prices in 2019: all housing units: $316,380; detached houses: $327,084; townhouses or other attached units: $216,823; in 2-unit structures: $209,461; in 3-to-4-unit structures: $491,274; in 5-or-more-unit structures: $217,419; mobile homes: $33,354 $66,822 ($51,677$49,218 ($32,604$289,910 ($162,900$316,380;$327,084;$216,823;$209,461;$491,274;$217,419;$33,354

March 2019 cost of living index in Deep River: 137.1 (high, U.S. average is 100)

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4,164 90.0% White alone 277 6.0% Hispanic 73 1.6% Black alone 53 1.1% Asian alone 47 1.0% Two or more races 7 0.2% American Indian alone 6 0.1% Other race alone 2 0.04% Native Hawaiian and Other

Pacific Islander alone

Races in Deep River detailed stats: ancestries, foreign born residents, place of birth





According to our research of Connecticut and other state lists, there were 7 registered sex offenders living in Deep River, Connecticut as of November 22, 2021.

The ratio of all residents to sex offenders in Deep River is 661 to 1.

The ratio of registered sex offenders to all residents in this city is near the state average.







Latest news from Deep River, CT collected exclusively by city-data.com from local newspapers, TV, and radio stations

Deep River, CT City Guides: Deep River, CT Guides 2

Ancestries: Irish (23.4%), English (20.0%), Italian (17.4%), German (13.5%), Polish (10.5%), French (6.2%).

Current Local Time: EST time zone

Elevation: 150 feet

Land area: 13.6 square miles. Population density: 342 people per square mile (very low).

71 residents are foreign born This town: 1.5% Connecticut: 10.9%

Median real estate property taxes paid for housing units in 2000: Deep River town: 1.4% ($2,320) Connecticut: 1.8% ($2,961)

Latitude: 41.38 N, Longitude: 72.45 W

Area code: 860

Single-family new house construction building permits: 1997: 15 buildings , average cost: $177,800

15 $177,800 1998: 23 buildings , average cost: $196,000

23 $196,000 1999: 25 buildings , average cost: $204,800

25 $204,800 2000: 23 buildings , average cost: $165,000

23 $165,000 2001: 19 buildings , average cost: $251,400

19 $251,400 2002: 10 buildings , average cost: $221,000

10 $221,000 2003: 7 buildings , average cost: $255,700

7 $255,700 2004: 14 buildings , average cost: $255,100

14 $255,100 2005: 4 buildings , average cost: $205,000

4 $205,000 2006: 5 buildings , average cost: $300,500

5 $300,500 2007: 6 buildings , average cost: $221,100

6 $221,100 2008: 2 buildings , average cost: $356,000

2 $356,000 2009: 2 buildings , average cost: $247,500

2 $247,500 2010: 3 buildings , average cost: $197,700

3 $197,700 2011: 3 buildings , average cost: $221,300

3 $221,300 2012: 2 buildings , average cost: $143,300

2 $143,300 2013: 7 buildings , average cost: $178,800

7 $178,800 2014: 2 buildings , average cost: $253,900

2 $253,900 2015: 1 building , cost: $180,000

1 $180,000 2016: 2 buildings , average cost: $218,000

2 $218,000 2017: 2 buildings , average cost: $352,000

2 $352,000 2018: 2 buildings , average cost: $231,000

2 $231,000 2019: 1 building, cost: $99,700

Unemployment in November 2020:

Here: 6.2% Connecticut: 7.7%

Most common industries in Deep River, CT (%) Both Males Females

Educational services (10.3%)

Construction (9.9%)

Health care (7.4%)

Professional, scientific, technical services (6.0%)

Public administration (4.7%)

Accommodation & food services (4.2%)

Finance & insurance (4.0%)

Construction (17.4%)

Professional, scientific, technical services (5.7%)

Educational services (5.7%)

Public administration (5.1%)

Utilities (4.2%)

Metal & metal products (4.1%)

Transportation equipment (4.1%)

Educational services (15.4%)

Health care (13.4%)

Professional, scientific, technical services (6.2%)

Finance & insurance (5.9%)

Accommodation & food services (4.9%)

Social assistance (4.9%)

Food & beverage stores (4.6%) Most common occupations in Deep River, CT (%) Both Males Females

Preschool, kindergarten, elementary, and middle school teachers (5.1%)

Other management occupations, except farmers and farm managers (4.8%)

Carpenters (3.7%)

Sales representatives, services, wholesale and manufacturing (3.7%)

Other sales and related occupations, including supervisors (3.5%)

Other production occupations, including supervisors (3.5%)

Metal workers and plastic workers (3.3%)

Carpenters (7.1%)

Other management occupations, except farmers and farm managers (6.1%)

Metal workers and plastic workers (5.7%)

Other production occupations, including supervisors (5.6%)

Sales representatives, services, wholesale and manufacturing (3.8%)

Other sales and related occupations, including supervisors (3.2%)

Food and beverage serving workers, except waiters and waitresses (3.0%)

Preschool, kindergarten, elementary, and middle school teachers (7.8%)

Assemblers and fabricators (5.5%)

Other office and administrative support workers, including supervisors (5.1%)

Registered nurses (4.9%)

Other sales and related occupations, including supervisors (4.0%)

Cashiers (3.8%)

Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks (3.7%)

Average climate in Deep River, Connecticut Based on data reported by over 4,000 weather stations

Air pollution and air quality trends

(lower is better) AQI CO NO 2 SO 2 Ozone PM 10 PM 2.5

Air Quality Index (AQI) level in 2018 was 82.1. This is about average. City: 82.1 U.S.: 74.2

Carbon Monoxide (CO) [ppm] level in 2018 was 0.245. This is about average. Closest monitor was 19.2 miles away from the city center. City: 0.245 U.S.: 0.267

Nitrogen Dioxide (NO 2 ) [ppb] level in 2018 was 12.4. This is significantly worse than average. Closest monitor was 6.3 miles away from the city center. City: 12.4 U.S.: 5.6

Sulfur Dioxide (SO 2 ) [ppb] level in 2018 was 0.238. This is significantly better than average. Closest monitor was 6.3 miles away from the city center. City: 0.238 U.S.: 1.789

Ozone [ppb] level in 2018 was 27.1. This is better than average. Closest monitor was 0.5 miles away from the city center. City: 27.1 U.S.: 33.3

Particulate Matter (PM 10 ) [g/m3] level in 2004 was 41.5. This is significantly worse than average. Closest monitor was 7.6 miles away from the city center. City: 41.5 U.S.: 19.6

Particulate Matter (PM 2.5 ) [g/m3] level in 2018 was 6.93. This is better than average. Closest monitor was 19.1 miles away from the city center. City: 6.93 U.S.: 8.46

Tornado activity: Deep River-area historical tornado activity is slightly below Connecticut state average. It is 43% smaller than the overall U.S. average.

On 7/10/1989, a category F4 (max. wind speeds 207-260 mph) tornado 23.6 miles away from the Deep River town center injured 40 people and caused between $50,000,000 and $500,000,000 in damages. On 8/21/1951, a category F3 (max. wind speeds 158-206 mph) tornado 14.2 miles away from the town center injured 8 people and caused between $50,000 and $500,000 in damages.

Earthquake activity: Deep River-area historical earthquake activity is significantly above Connecticut state average. It is 72% smaller than the overall U.S. average.



On 10/7/1983 at 10:18:46, a magnitude 5.3 (5.1 MB, 5.3 LG, 5.1 ML, Class: Moderate, Intensity: VI - VII) earthquake occurred 202.4 miles away from the city center

On 4/20/2002 at 10:50:47, a magnitude 5.3 (5.3 ML, Depth: 3.0 mi) earthquake occurred 225.8 miles away from the city center

On 4/20/2002 at 10:50:47, a magnitude 5.2 (5.2 MB, 4.2 MS, 5.2 MW, 5.0 MW) earthquake occurred 224.4 miles away from the city center

On 1/19/1982 at 00:14:42, a magnitude 4.7 (4.5 MB, 4.7 MD, 4.5 LG, Class: Light, Intensity: IV - V) earthquake occurred 152.9 miles away from Deep River center

On 8/22/1992 at 12:20:32, a magnitude 4.8 (4.8 MB, 3.8 MS, 4.7 LG, Depth: 6.2 mi) earthquake occurred 193.2 miles away from Deep River center

On 8/23/2011 at 17:51:04, a magnitude 5.8 (5.8 MW, Depth: 3.7 mi) earthquake occurred 378.2 miles away from the city center

Magnitude types: regional Lg-wave magnitude (LG), body-wave magnitude (MB), duration magnitude (MD), local magnitude (ML), surface-wave magnitude (MS), moment magnitude (MW)

Natural disasters: The number of natural disasters in Middlesex County (21) is greater than the US average (15).

Major Disasters (Presidential) Declared: 12

Emergencies Declared: 9



Causes of natural disasters: Hurricanes: 6, Storms: 6, Floods: 5, Blizzards: 3, Snowstorms: 3, Winter Storms: 3, Snow: 1, Snowfall: 1, Tropical Storm: 1, Wind: 1 (Note: some incidents may be assigned to more than one category).

Hospitals and medical centers near Deep River: CHESTERFIELDS HEALTH CARE CENTER (Nursing Home, about 2 miles away; CHESTER, CT)

VISITING NURSES OF THE LOWER V (Home Health Center, about 3 miles away; CENTERBROOK, CT)

AARON MANOR NURSING AND REHABILITATION (Nursing Home, about 3 miles away; CHESTER, CT)

ESSEX MEADOWS HEALTH CENTER (Nursing Home, about 4 miles away; ESSEX, CT)

PETTIPAUG MANOR (Nursing Home, about 4 miles away; ESSEX, CT)

GLADEVIEW HEALTH CARE CENTER (Nursing Home, about 7 miles away; OLD SAYBROOK, CT)

FERRY POINT SKILL NURSING CARE (Nursing Home, about 7 miles away; OLD SAYBROOK, CT)

Amtrak stations near Deep River: 7 miles: OLD SAYBROOK (455 BOSTON POST RD.) . Services: ticket office, partially wheelchair accessible, enclosed waiting area, public restrooms, public payphones, free short-term parking, free long-term parking, call for car rental service, call for taxi service, public transit connection.

OLD SAYBROOK (455 BOSTON POST RD.) . ticket office, partially wheelchair accessible, enclosed waiting area, public restrooms, public payphones, free short-term parking, free long-term parking, call for car rental service, call for taxi service, public transit connection. 19 miles: NEW LONDON (27 WATER ST.) . Services: ticket office, partially wheelchair accessible, enclosed waiting area, public restrooms, public payphones, paid short-term parking, paid long-term parking, call for car rental service, taxi stand, intercity bus service, public transit connection.

Operable nuclear power plants near Deep River: 16 miles: Millstone 1 and 2 in Waterford, CT.



Millstone 1 and 2 in Waterford, CT. 16 miles: Millstone 3 in Waterford, CT.



Local government website: www.deepriverct.com

Library in Deep River: DEEP RIVER PUBLIC LIBRARY (Operating income: $132,221; Location: 150 MAIN ST.; 38,579 books; 18 e-books; 2,330 audio materials; 2,230 video materials; 30 state licensed databases; 2 other licensed databases; 106 print serial subscriptions)

Birthplace of: Alpheus S. Williams - Union Army general, Gretchen Mol - Film actor.

Middlesex County has a predicted average indoor radon screening level greater than 4 pCi/L (pico curies per liter) - Highest Potential

Drinking water stations with addresses in Deep River that have no violations reported: MOUNT SAINT JOHN SCHOOL (Population served: 144, Primary Water Source Type: Groundwater)

Average household size: This town: 2.4 people Connecticut: 2.5 people

Percentage of family households: This town: 63.9% Whole state: 66.3%

Percentage of households with unmarried partners: This town: 8.0% Whole state: 6.6%



Likely homosexual households (counted as self-reported same-sex unmarried-partner households) Lesbian couples: 0.3% of all households

0.3% Gay men: 0.3% of all households Residents with income below the poverty level in 2009:

This town: 5.1% Whole state: 7.9% Residents with income below 50% of the poverty level in 2009:

This town: 2.1% Whole state: 3.9%

people in residential treatment centers for juveniles (non-correctional) in 2010

7 people in group homes intended for adults in 2010

People in group quarters in Deep River in 2000: 81 people in residential treatment centers for emotionally disturbed children

31 people in other noninstitutional group quarters

6 people in homes for the mentally retarded 29in 2010in 2010

Banks with branches in Deep River (2011 data): RBS Citizens, National Association: Deep River Branch at 141 Main Street , branch established on 1991/12/31 . Info updated 2007/09/19: Bank assets: $106,940.6 mil , Deposits: $75,690.2 mil , headquarters in Providence, RI , positive income , 1135 total offices , Holding Company: Uk Financial Investments Limited

141 Main Street 1991/12/31 2007/09/19: $106,940.6 mil $75,690.2 mil Providence, RI 1135 Uk Financial Investments Limited Liberty Bank: Main Street Branch at 151 Main Street, branch established on 1992/03/23. Info updated 2011/01/06: Bank assets: $3,394.1 mil, Deposits: $2,747.0 mil, headquarters in Middletown, CT, positive income, Commercial Lending Specialization, 43 total offices

For population 15 years and over in Deep River: Never married: 21.8%

21.8% Now married: 54.6%

54.6% Separated: 1.3%

1.3% Widowed: 7.2%

7.2% Divorced: 15.0%

For population 25 years and over in Deep River: High school or higher: 89.6%

89.6% Bachelor's degree or higher: 32.3%

32.3% Graduate or professional degree: 14.1%

14.1% Unemployed: 3.7%

3.7% Mean travel time to work (commute): 24.0 minutes

Education Gini index (Inequality in education) Here: 10.4 Connecticut average: 12.8



Religion statistics for Deep River, CT (based on Middlesex County data) Religion Adherents Congregations Catholic 46,800 18 Mainline Protestant 15,015 56 Evangelical Protestant 3,978 29 Other 2,921 11 Black Protestant 974 5 Orthodox 85 1 None 95,903 - Source: Clifford Grammich, Kirk Hadaway, Richard Houseal, Dale E.Jones, Alexei Krindatch, Richie Stanley and Richard H.Taylor. 2012. 2010 U.S.Religion Census: Religious Congregations & Membership Study. Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies. Jones, Dale E., et al. 2002. Congregations and Membership in the United States 2000. Nashville, TN: Glenmary Research Center. Graphs represent county-level data

Food Environment Statistics: Number of grocery stores: 28 Middlesex County : 1.71 / 10,000 pop. Connecticut : 2.21 / 10,000 pop. Number of convenience stores (no gas): 16 Here : 0.98 / 10,000 pop. Connecticut : 1.02 / 10,000 pop. Number of convenience stores (with gas): 42 Middlesex County : 2.56 / 10,000 pop. Connecticut : 2.27 / 10,000 pop. Number of full-service restaurants: 177 Middlesex County : 10.80 / 10,000 pop. Connecticut : 9.19 / 10,000 pop. Adult diabetes rate: This county : 7.0% State : 7.3% Adult obesity rate: This county : 21.1% Connecticut : 21.5% Low-income preschool obesity rate: Middlesex County : 13.6% State : 15.8%

6.43% of this county's 2016 resident taxpayers lived in other counties in 2015 ($71,277 average adjusted gross income) Here: 6.43% Connecticut average: 4.51% 10 or fewer of this county's residents moved from foreign countries between 2015 and 2016.

Top counties from which taxpayers relocated into this county between 2015 and 2016:

from Hartford County, CT 1.95% ($71,069 average AGI) from New Haven County, CT 1.59% ($68,153) from New London County, CT 0.56% ($67,038)



6.60% of this county's 2015 resident taxpayers moved to other counties in 2016 ($72,410 average adjusted gross income) Here: 6.60% Connecticut average: 5.34% 0.08% of residents moved to foreign countries ($1,116 average AGI) Middlesex County: 0.08% Connecticut average: 0.07%

Top counties to which taxpayers relocated from this county between 2015 and 2016:

to Hartford County, CT 1.71% ($63,792 average AGI) to New Haven County, CT 1.22% ($62,540) to New London County, CT 0.56% ($66,551)

Businesses in Deep River, CT Dunkin Donuts: 1

1 FedEx: 1

1 Walgreens: 1

Strongest AM radio stations in Deep River: WLIS (1420 AM; 5 kW; OLD SAYBROOK, CT; Owner: CROSSROADS COMM. OLD SAYBROOK, LLC)

CROSSROADS COMM. OLD SAYBROOK, LLC) WTIC (1080 AM; 50 kW; HARTFORD, CT; Owner: INFINITY RADIO OPERATIONS INC.)

INFINITY RADIO OPERATIONS INC.) WNNZ (640 AM; 50 kW; WESTFIELD, MA; Owner: CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.)

CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.) WALE (990 AM; 50 kW; GREENVILLE, RI; Owner: NORTH AMERICAN BROADCASTING CO., INC.)

NORTH AMERICAN BROADCASTING CO., INC.) WCRN (830 AM; 50 kW; WORCESTER, MA; Owner: CARTER BROADCASTING CORPORATION)

CARTER BROADCASTING CORPORATION) WFAN (660 AM; 50 kW; NEW YORK, NY; Owner: INFINITY BROADCASTING OPERATIONS, INC.)

INFINITY BROADCASTING OPERATIONS, INC.) WMRD (1150 AM; 3 kW; MIDDLETOWN, CT; Owner: CROSSROADS COMMUNICATIONS, INC.)

CROSSROADS COMMUNICATIONS, INC.) WCBS (880 AM; 50 kW; NEW YORK, NY; Owner: INFINITY BROADCASTING OPERATIONS, INC.)

INFINITY BROADCASTING OPERATIONS, INC.) WMCA (570 AM; 50 kW; NEW YORK, NY; Owner: SALEM MEDIA OF NEW YORK, LLC)

SALEM MEDIA OF NEW YORK, LLC) WGSM (740 AM; 25 kW; HUNTINGTON, NY; Owner: K RADIO LICENSEE, INC.)

K RADIO LICENSEE, INC.) WVNE (760 AM; daytime; 25 kW; LEICESTER, MA; Owner: BLOUNT MASSCOM, INC.)

BLOUNT MASSCOM, INC.) WELI (960 AM; 5 kW; NEW HAVEN, CT; Owner: CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.)

CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.) WEEI (850 AM; 50 kW; BOSTON, MA; Owner: ENTERCOM BOSTON LICENSE, LLC) Strongest FM radio stations in Deep River: W227AJ (93.3 FM; NORTHFORD, CT; Owner: SACRED HEART UNIVERSITY)

SACRED HEART UNIVERSITY) W233AJ (94.5 FM; OLD SAYBROOK, CT; Owner: MONROE BOARD OF EDUCATION)

MONROE BOARD OF EDUCATION) WKCI-FM (101.3 FM; HAMDEN, CT; Owner: CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.)

CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.) WRCH (100.5 FM; NEW BRITAIN, CT; Owner: INFINITY RADIO OPERATIONS INC.)

INFINITY RADIO OPERATIONS INC.) WKSS (95.7 FM; HARTFORD-MERIDEN, CT; Owner: CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP)

CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP) WWYZ (92.5 FM; WATERBURY, CT; Owner: CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP)

CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP) WZMX (93.7 FM; HARTFORD, CT; Owner: INFINITY RADIO OPERATIONS INC.)

INFINITY RADIO OPERATIONS INC.) WHCN (105.9 FM; HARTFORD, CT; Owner: CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP)

CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP) WPLR (99.1 FM; NEW HAVEN, CT; Owner: COX RADIO, INC.)

COX RADIO, INC.) WMRQ (104.1 FM; WATERBURY, CT; Owner: CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP)

CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP) WPKT (90.5 FM; MERIDEN, CT; Owner: CONNECTICUT PUBLIC BROADCASTING, INC)

CONNECTICUT PUBLIC BROADCASTING, INC) WDRC-FM (102.9 FM; HARTFORD, CT; Owner: BUCKLEY BROADCASTING CORPORATION)

BUCKLEY BROADCASTING CORPORATION) WIHS (104.9 FM; MIDDLETOWN, CT; Owner: CONNECTICUT RADIO FELLOWSHIP, INC.)

CONNECTICUT RADIO FELLOWSHIP, INC.) WCTY (97.7 FM; NORWICH, CT; Owner: WICH, INC.)

WICH, INC.) WKNL (100.9 FM; NEW LONDON, CT; Owner: HALL COMMUNICATIONS, INC.)

HALL COMMUNICATIONS, INC.) WTIC-FM (96.5 FM; HARTFORD, CT; Owner: INFINITY RADIO OPERATIONS INC.)

INFINITY RADIO OPERATIONS INC.) WILI-FM (98.3 FM; WILLIMANTIC, CT; Owner: NUTMEG BROADCASTING COMPANY)

NUTMEG BROADCASTING COMPANY) WWUH (91.3 FM; WEST HARTFORD, CT; Owner: UNIVERSITY OF HARTFORD)

UNIVERSITY OF HARTFORD) WBMW (106.5 FM; LEDYARD, CT; Owner: RED WOLF BROADCASTING CORPORATION)

RED WOLF BROADCASTING CORPORATION) WSUF (89.9 FM; NOYACK, NY; Owner: SACRED HEART UNIVERSITY, INC.) TV broadcast stations around Deep River: WHPX ( Channel 26; NEW LONDON, CT; Owner: PAXSON HARTFORD LICENSE, INC.)

26; NEW LONDON, CT; PAXSON HARTFORD LICENSE, INC.) WTIC-TV ( Channel 61; HARTFORD, CT; Owner: TRIBUNE TELEVISION COMPANY)

61; HARTFORD, CT; TRIBUNE TELEVISION COMPANY) W11BJ ( Channel 11; HARTFORD, CT; Owner: COMMUNICATIONS SITE MANAGEMENT LLC)

11; HARTFORD, CT; COMMUNICATIONS SITE MANAGEMENT LLC) WTXX ( Channel 20; WATERBURY, CT; Owner: WTXX INC.)

20; WATERBURY, CT; WTXX INC.) WVIT ( Channel 30; NEW BRITAIN, CT; Owner: OUTLET BROADCASTING, INC)

30; NEW BRITAIN, CT; OUTLET BROADCASTING, INC) WEDH ( Channel 24; HARTFORD, CT; Owner: CONNECTICUT PUBLIC BROADCASTING, INC.)

24; HARTFORD, CT; CONNECTICUT PUBLIC BROADCASTING, INC.) WTNH ( Channel 8; NEW HAVEN, CT; Owner: WTNH BROADCASTING, INC.)

8; NEW HAVEN, CT; WTNH BROADCASTING, INC.) WUVN ( Channel 18; HARTFORD, CT; Owner: ENTRAVISION HOLDINGS, LLC)

18; HARTFORD, CT; ENTRAVISION HOLDINGS, LLC) WEDN ( Channel 53; NORWICH, CT; Owner: CONNECTICUT PUBLIC BROADCASTING, INC.)

53; NORWICH, CT; CONNECTICUT PUBLIC BROADCASTING, INC.) WEDY ( Channel 65; NEW HAVEN, CT; Owner: CONNECTICUT PUBLIC BROADCASTING, INC.)

65; NEW HAVEN, CT; CONNECTICUT PUBLIC BROADCASTING, INC.) WCTX ( Channel 59; NEW HAVEN, CT; Owner: WTNH BROADCASTING, INC.)

59; NEW HAVEN, CT; WTNH BROADCASTING, INC.) W51BZ ( Channel 51; NEW HAVEN, CT; Owner: it COMMUNICATIONS, INC.)

51; NEW HAVEN, CT; it COMMUNICATIONS, INC.) WPXQ (Channel 69; BLOCK ISLAND, RI; Owner: OCEAN STATE TELEVISION, L.L.C.)

Deep River fatal accident statistics for 1975 - 2019

See more detailed statistics of Deep River fatal car crashes and road traffic accidents for 1975 - 2019 here

National Bridge Inventory (NBI) Statistics

18 Number of bridges

Number of bridges 121ft / 37.5m Total length

Total length $1,270,000 Total costs

Total costs 122,719 Total average daily traffic

Total average daily traffic 6,815 Total average daily truck traffic

Total average daily truck traffic 163,923 Total future (year 2034) average daily traffic

New bridges - historical statistics

1 1910-1919

2 1930-1939

1 1940-1949

10 1960-1969

2 1980-1989

1 1990-1999

1 2010-2018 See full National Bridge Inventory statistics for Deep River, CT



FCC Registered Broadcast Land Mobile Towers: 6 57 Union St ( Lat: 41.384000 Lon: -72.440083), Call Sign: KGW330, Licensee ID: L00102565,

Assigned Frequencies: 46.0800 MHz, 46.1800 MHz, Grant Date: 03/10/1997, Expiration Date: 02/11/2002, Cancellation Date: 05/05/2002, Registrant: Deep River, Town Of, Elm & Union St, Deep River, CT 06417, Phone: (860) 526-6036

41.384000 -72.440083), KGW330, L00102565, 46.0800 MHz, 46.1800 MHz, 03/10/1997, 02/11/2002, 05/05/2002, Deep River, Town Of, Elm & Union St, Deep River, CT 06417, (860) 526-6036 Corner Of Rt 80 & Rt 144 ( Lat: 41.357056 Lon: -72.477306), Call Sign: KGY227, Licensee ID: L00102565,

Assigned Frequencies: 46.0800 MHz, 46.1800 MHz, Grant Date: 11/17/2011, Expiration Date: 01/21/2022, Registrant: Deep River, Town Of, 57 Union St, Deep River, CT 06417, Phone: (860) 526-6036

41.357056 -72.477306), KGY227, L00102565, 46.0800 MHz, 46.1800 MHz, 11/17/2011, 01/21/2022, Deep River, Town Of, 57 Union St, Deep River, CT 06417, (860) 526-6036 Town Hall 174 Main St ( Lat: 41.387611 Lon: -72.432861), Call Sign: KNCQ753, Licensee ID: L00401471,

Assigned Frequencies: 153.800 MHz, Grant Date: 04/10/1997, Expiration Date: 06/24/2002, Cancellation Date: 10/27/2002, Registrant: Deep River, Town Of, 174 Main St, Deep River, CT 06417, Phone: (860) 526-6036

41.387611 -72.432861), KNCQ753, L00401471, 153.800 MHz, 04/10/1997, 06/24/2002, 10/27/2002, Deep River, Town Of, 174 Main St, Deep River, CT 06417, (860) 526-6036 Corner Of Warsaw St W Elm St & Winthrop Rd ( Lat: 41.386222 Lon: -72.457861), Call Sign: KNEF536,

Assigned Frequencies: 46.0400 MHz, Grant Date: 03/04/1998, Expiration Date: 02/05/2003, Cancellation Date: 05/11/2003, Registrant: Deep River Ambulance Assoc Inc, Deep River, CT 06417

41.386222 -72.457861), KNEF536, 46.0400 MHz, 03/04/1998, 02/05/2003, 05/11/2003, Deep River Ambulance Assoc Inc, Deep River, CT 06417 WINTHROP ROAD, Winthrop Road ( Lat: 41.363944 Lon: -72.457000), Type: Tower, Structure height: 30 m, Call Sign: WQEE817,

Assigned Frequencies: 453.337 MHz, Grant Date: 12/10/2015, Expiration Date: 01/10/2026, Certifier: Jack White, Registrant: Radio Communications Associates, 12 Sweetbrier Road, East Granby, CT 06026, Phone: (860) 651-3007, Fax: (203) 248-9167, Email:

41.363944 -72.457000), Tower, 30 m, WQEE817, 453.337 MHz, 12/10/2015, 01/10/2026, Jack White, Radio Communications Associates, 12 Sweetbrier Road, East Granby, CT 06026, (860) 651-3007, (203) 248-9167, Lat: 41.386000 Lon: -72.434556, Call Sign: WRDT873,

Assigned Frequencies: 72.2600 MHz, Grant Date: 07/18/2019, Expiration Date: 07/18/2029, Certifier: Peter Waz, Registrant: Primex Wireless, Inc., 965 Wells St., Lake Geneva, WI 53147, Phone: (262) 249-2327, Fax: (262) 248-0061, Email:

FCC Registered Microwave Towers: 1 WINTHROP RD, Winthrop Road (Lat: 41.363944 Lon: -72.457000), Type: Tower, Structure height: 30 m, Call Sign: WQGI731,

Assigned Frequencies: 942.575 MHz, Grant Date: 02/01/2017, Expiration Date: 01/30/2027, Certifier: Rich Darin, Registrant: Rmf Consulting, 16 Crescent Ct, East Hartford, CT 06118, Phone: (860) 205-0761, Email:

FCC Registered Amateur Radio Licenses: 34 (



FAA Registered Aircraft: 3 Aircraft: JIHLAVAN AIRPLANES SRO KP5 ( Category: Land, Seats: 2, Weight: Up to 12,499 Pounds), Engine: 4 Cycle

N-Number: 235KP, N235KP, N-235KP, Serial Number: 5110128K, Certificate Issue Date: 03/12/2013

Registrant (Individual): Kevin D Clark, 325 Cedar Lake Rd, Deep River, CT 06417

JIHLAVAN AIRPLANES SRO KP5 ( Land, 2, Up to 12,499 Pounds), 4 Cycle 235KP, N235KP, N-235KP, 5110128K, 03/12/2013 Kevin D Clark, 325 Cedar Lake Rd, Deep River, CT 06417 Aircraft: NEW PIPER AIRCRAFT INC PA-34-220T ( Category: Land, Engines: 2, Seats: 7, Weight: Up to 12,499 Pounds), Engine: CONT MOTOR TSIO-360 SER (225 HP) (Reciprocating)

N-Number: 3108C, N3108C, N-3108C, Serial Number: 3449308, Airworthiness Date: 07/29/2004, Certificate Issue Date: 11/18/2019

Registrant (LLC): Seneca Chester LLC, 39 Winthrop Rd, Deep River, CT 06417

NEW PIPER AIRCRAFT INC PA-34-220T ( Land, 2, 7, Up to 12,499 Pounds), CONT MOTOR TSIO-360 SER (225 HP) (Reciprocating) 3108C, N3108C, N-3108C, 3449308, 07/29/2004, 11/18/2019 Seneca Chester LLC, 39 Winthrop Rd, Deep River, CT 06417 Aircraft: HARRINGTON GYRO COPTER B7MC (Category: Land, Weight: Up to 12,499 Pounds, Speed: 45 mph), Engine: MCCULLOCH 4318A&E/0-100 (72 HP) (Reciprocating)

N-Number: 2991C, N2991C, N-2991C, Serial Number: HA-1, Year manufactured: 1960

Registrant (Individual): Kipp Soldwedel, Post Light Farm Po Box 36, Deep River, CT 06417

Deregistered: Cancel Date: 06/05/2020

34 ( See the full list of FCC Registered Amateur Radio Licenses in Deep River

2002 - 2018 National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) incidents According to the data from the years 2002 - 2018 the average number of fires per year is 9. The highest number of reported fire incidents - 19 took place in 2006, and the least - 1 in 2012. The data has a constant trend.



Fire incident types reported to NFIRS in Deep River, CT



77 50.7% Structure Fires



48 31.6% Outside Fires



19 12.5% Mobile Property/Vehicle Fires



8 5.3% Other When looking into fire subcategories, the most incidents belonged to: Structure Fires (50.7%), and Outside Fires (31.6%). See full National Fire Incident Reporting System statistics for Deep River, CT

Houses and condos Apartments 84.2% Fuel oil, kerosene, etc.

11.4% Electricity

2.9% Wood

1.5% Bottled, tank, or LP gas 61.6% Fuel oil, kerosene, etc.

33.2% Electricity

3.9% Bottled, tank, or LP gas

1.3% Utility gas





Deep River compared to Connecticut state average: Unemployed percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Black race population percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Hispanic race population percentage below state average.

below Median age above state average.

above Foreign-born population percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Length of stay since moving in significantly above state average.

significantly above Number of rooms per house significantly below state average.

significantly below House age significantly below state average.

Deep River on our top lists: #13 on the list of "Top 101 cities with the largest percentage of people in residential treatment centers for emotionally disturbed children (population 1,000+)" #4 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the highest percentage of residents that visited a dentist within the past year"

#11 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the best general health status score of residents (1-5), 3 years of data"

#17 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the lowest number of births per 1000 residents 2007-2013"

#25 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the highest average weight of females"

#32 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the largest decrease in the number of births per 1000 residents 2000-2006 to 2007-2013 (pop 50,000+)"

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Deer Island, Oregon

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Population in 2010: 294.

Males: 137 (46.7%) Females: 157 (53.3%)

Median resident age: 59.8 years Oregon median age: 39.7 years

Zip codes: 97054.

Estimated median household income in 2019: $66,459

Deer Island: $66,459 OR: $67,058

Estimated per capita income in 2019: $33,553



Deer Island CDP income, earnings, and wages data



Estimated median house or condo value in 2019: $300,876 Deer Island: $300,876 OR: $354,600

Mean prices in 2019: all housing units: $157,568; detached houses: $271,873; mobile homes: $88,504 $66,459$33,553$300,876$157,568;$271,873;$88,504

Median gross rent in 2019: $893.

March 2019 cost of living index in Deer Island: 99.7 (near average, U.S. average is 100)

Percentage of residents living in poverty in 2019: 6.1%

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Most recent value % change since 2k Data: Median household income ($) Median household income (% change since 2000) Household income diversity Ratio of average income to average house value (%) Ratio of average income to average rent Median household income ($) - White Median household income ($) - Black or African American Median household income ($) - Asian Median household income ($) - Hispanic or Latino Median household income ($) - American Indian and Alaska Native Median household income ($) - Multirace Median household income ($) - Other Race Median household income for houses/condos with a mortgage ($) Median household income for apartments without a mortgage ($) Races - White alone (%) Races - White alone (% change since 2000) Races - Black alone (%) Races - Black alone (% change since 2000) Races - American Indian alone (%) Races - American Indian alone (% change since 2000) Races - Asian alone (%) Races - Asian alone (% change since 2000) Races - Hispanic (%) Races - Hispanic (% change since 2000) Races - Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone (%) Races - Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone (% change since 2000) Races - Two or more races (%) Races - Two or more races (% change since 2000) Races - Other race alone (%) Races - Other race alone (% change since 2000) Racial diversity Unemployment (%) Unemployment (% change since 2000) Unemployment (%) - White Unemployment (%) - Black or African American Unemployment (%) - Asian Unemployment (%) - Hispanic or Latino Unemployment (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Unemployment (%) - Multirace Unemployment (%) - Other Race Population density (people per square mile) Population - Males (%) Population - Females (%) Population - Males (%) - White Population - Males (%) - Black or African American Population - Males (%) - Asian Population - Males (%) - Hispanic or Latino Population - Males (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Population - Males (%) - Multirace Population - Males (%) - Other Race Population - Females (%) - White Population - Females (%) - Black or African American Population - Females (%) - Asian Population - Females (%) - Hispanic or Latino Population - Females (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Population - Females (%) - Multirace Population - Females (%) - Other Race Coronavirus confirmed cases (Nov 21, 2021) Deaths caused by coronavirus (Nov 21, 2021) Coronavirus confirmed cases (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) Deaths caused by coronavirus (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) Daily increase in number of cases (Nov 21, 2021) Weekly increase in number of cases (Nov 21, 2021) Cases doubled (in days) (Nov 21, 2021) Hospitalized patients (Nov 21, 2021) Negative test results (Nov 21, 2021) Total test results (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses distributed (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses administered (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses distributed (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses administered (Nov 21, 2021) Likely homosexual households (%) Likely homosexual households (% change since 2000) Likely homosexual households - Lesbian couples (%) Likely homosexual households - Lesbian couples (% change since 2000) Likely homosexual households - Gay men (%) Likely homosexual households - Gay men (% change since 2000) Cost of living index Median gross rent ($) Median contract rent ($) Median monthly housing costs ($) Median house or condo value ($) Median house or condo value ($ change since 2000) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 1, detached ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 1, attached ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 2 ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure by units in structure - 3 or 4 ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 5 or more ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - Boat, RV, van, etc. ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - Mobile home ($) Median house or condo value ($) - White Median house or condo value ($) - Black or African American Median house or condo value ($) - Asian Median house or condo value ($) - Hispanic or Latino Median house or condo value ($) - American Indian and Alaska Native Median house or condo value ($) - Multirace Median house or condo value ($) - Other Race Median resident age Resident age diversity Median resident age - Males Median resident age - Females Median resident age - White Median resident age - Black or African American Median resident age - Asian Median resident age - Hispanic or Latino Median resident age - American Indian and Alaska Native Median resident age - Multirace Median resident age - Other Race Median resident age - Males - White Median resident age - Males - Black or African American Median resident age - Males - Asian Median resident age - Males - Hispanic or Latino Median resident age - Males - American Indian and Alaska Native Median resident age - Males - Multirace Median resident age - Males - Other Race Median resident age - Females - White Median resident age - Females - Black or African American Median resident age - Females - Asian Median resident age - Females - Hispanic or Latino Median resident age - Females - American Indian and Alaska Native Median resident age - Females - Multirace Median resident age - Females - Other Race Commute - mean travel time to work (minutes) Travel time to work - Less than 5 minutes (%) Travel time to work - Less than 5 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 5 to 9 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 5 to 9 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 10 to 19 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 10 to 19 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 20 to 29 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 20 to 29 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 30 to 39 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 30 to 39 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 40 to 59 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 40 to 59 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 60 to 89 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 60 to 89 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 90 or more minutes (%) Travel time to work - 90 or more minutes (% change since 2000) Marital status - Never married (%) Marital status - Now married (%) Marital status - Separated (%) Marital status - Widowed (%) Marital status - Divorced (%) Median family income ($) Median family income (% change since 2000) Median non-family income ($) Median non-family income (% change since 2000) Median per capita income ($) Median per capita income (% change since 2000) Median family income ($) - White Median family income ($) - Black or African American Median family income ($) - Asian Median family income ($) - Hispanic or Latino Median family income ($) - American Indian and Alaska Native Median family income ($) - Multirace Median family income ($) - Other Race Median year house/condo built Median year apartment built Year house built - Built 2005 or later (%) Year house built - Built 2000 to 2004 (%) Year house built - Built 1990 to 1999 (%) Year house built - Built 1980 to 1989 (%) Year house built - Built 1970 to 1979 (%) Year house built - Built 1960 to 1969 (%) Year house built - Built 1950 to 1959 (%) Year house built - Built 1940 to 1949 (%) Year house built - Built 1939 or earlier (%) Average household size Household density (households per square mile) Average household size - White Average household size - Black or African American Average household size - Asian Average household size - Hispanic or Latino Average household size - American Indian and Alaska Native Average household size - Multirace Average household size - Other Race Occupied housing units (%) Vacant housing units (%) Owner occupied housing units (%) Renter occupied housing units (%) Vacancy status - For rent (%) Vacancy status - For sale only (%) Vacancy status - Rented or sold, not occupied (%) Vacancy status - For seasonal, recreational, or occasional use (%) Vacancy status - For migrant workers (%) Vacancy status - Other vacant (%) Residents with income below the poverty level (%) Residents with income below 50% of the poverty level (%) Children below poverty level (%) Poor families by family type - Married-couple family (%) Poor families by family type - Male, no wife present (%) Poor families by family type - Female, no husband present (%) Poverty status for native-born residents (%) Poverty status for foreign-born residents (%) Poverty among high school graduates not in families (%) Poverty among people who did not graduate high school not in families (%) Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - White Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Black or African American Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Asian Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Hispanic or Latino Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Multirace Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Other Race Air pollution - Air Quality Index (AQI) Air pollution - CO Air pollution - NO2 Air pollution - SO2 Air pollution - Ozone Air pollution - PM10 Air pollution - PM25 Air pollution - Pb Crime - Murders per 100,000 population Crime - Rapes per 100,000 population Crime - Robberies per 100,000 population Crime - Assaults per 100,000 population Crime - Burglaries per 100,000 population Crime - Thefts per 100,000 population Crime - Auto thefts per 100,000 population Crime - Arson per 100,000 population Crime - City-data.com crime index Crime - Violent crime index Crime - Property crime index Crime - Murders per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Rapes per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Robberies per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Assaults per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Burglaries per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Thefts per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Auto thefts per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Arson per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - City-data.com crime index (5 year average) Crime - Violent crime index (5 year average) Crime - Property crime index (5 year average) 1996 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Clinton) 1996 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Dole) 1996 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2000 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Gore) 2000 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Bush) 2000 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2004 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Kerry) 2004 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Bush) 2004 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2008 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Obama) 2008 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (McCain) 2008 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2012 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Obama) 2012 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Romney) 2012 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2016 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Clinton) 2016 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Trump) 2016 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2020 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Biden) 2020 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Trump) 2020 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other Ancestries Reported - Arab (%) Ancestries Reported - Czech (%) Ancestries Reported - Danish (%) Ancestries Reported - Dutch (%) Ancestries Reported - English (%) Ancestries Reported - French (%) Ancestries Reported - French Canadian (%) Ancestries Reported - German (%) Ancestries Reported - Greek (%) Ancestries Reported - Hungarian (%) Ancestries Reported - Irish (%) Ancestries Reported - Italian (%) Ancestries Reported - Lithuanian (%) Ancestries Reported - Norwegian (%) Ancestries Reported - Polish (%) Ancestries Reported - Portuguese (%) Ancestries Reported - Russian (%) Ancestries Reported - Scotch-Irish (%) Ancestries Reported - Scottish (%) Ancestries Reported - Slovak (%) Ancestries Reported - Subsaharan African (%) Ancestries Reported - Swedish (%) Ancestries Reported - Swiss (%) Ancestries Reported - Ukrainian (%) Ancestries Reported - United States (%) Ancestries Reported - Welsh (%) Ancestries Reported - West Indian (%) Ancestries Reported - Other (%) Educational Attainment - No schooling completed (%) Educational Attainment - Less than high school (%) Educational Attainment - High school or equivalent (%) Educational Attainment - Less than 1 year of college (%) Educational Attainment - 1 or more years of college (%) Educational Attainment - Associate degree (%) Educational Attainment - Bachelor's degree (%) Educational Attainment - Master's degree (%) Educational Attainment - Professional school degree (%) Educational Attainment - Doctorate degree (%) School Enrollment - Nursery, preschool (%) School Enrollment - Kindergarten (%) School Enrollment - Grade 1 to 4 (%) School Enrollment - Grade 5 to 8 (%) School Enrollment - Grade 9 to 12 (%) School Enrollment - College undergrad (%) School Enrollment - Graduate or professional (%) School Enrollment - Not enrolled in school (%) School enrollment - Public schools (%) School enrollment - Private schools (%) School enrollment - Not enrolled (%) Median number of rooms in houses and condos Median number of rooms in apartments Housing units lacking complete plumbing facilities (%) Housing units lacking complete kitchen facilities (%) Density of houses Urban houses (%) Rural houses (%) Households with people 60 years and over (%) Households with people 65 years and over (%) Households with people 75 years and over (%) Households with one or more nonrelatives (%) Households with no nonrelatives (%) Population in households (%) Family households (%) Nonfamily households (%) Population in families (%) Family households with own children (%) Median number of bedrooms in owner occupied houses Mean number of bedrooms in owner occupied houses Median number of bedrooms in renter occupied houses Mean number of bedrooms in renter occupied houses Median number of vehichles in owner occupied houses Mean number of vehichles in owner occupied houses Median number of vehichles in renter occupied houses Mean number of vehichles in renter occupied houses Mortgage status - with mortgage (%) Mortgage status - with second mortgage (%) Mortgage status - with home equity loan (%) Mortgage status - with both second mortgage and home equity loan (%) Mortgage status - without a mortgage (%) Average family size Average family size - White Average family size - Black or African American Average family size - Asian Average family size - Hispanic or Latino Average family size - American Indian and Alaska Native Average family size - Multirace Average family size - Other Race Geographical mobility - Same house 1 year ago (%) Geographical mobility - Moved within same county (%) Geographical mobility - Moved from different county within same state (%) Geographical mobility - Moved from different state (%) Geographical mobility - Moved from abroad (%) Place of birth - Born in state of residence (%) Place of birth - Born in other state (%) Place of birth - Native, outside of US (%) Place of birth - Foreign born (%) Housing units in structures - 1, detached (%) Housing units in structures - 1, attached (%) Housing units in structures - 2 (%) Housing units in structures - 3 or 4 (%) Housing units in structures - 5 to 9 (%) Housing units in structures - 10 to 19 (%) Housing units in structures - 20 to 49 (%) Housing units in structures - 50 or more (%) Housing units in structures - Mobile home (%) Housing units in structures - Boat, RV, van, etc. (%) House/condo owner moved in on average (years ago) Renter moved in on average (years ago) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1999 to March 2000 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1995 to 1998 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1990 to 1994 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1980 to 1989 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1970 to 1979 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1969 or earlier (%) Means of transportation to work - Drove car alone (%) Means of transportation to work - Carpooled (%) Means of transportation to work - Public transportation (%) Means of transportation to work - Bus or trolley bus (%) Means of transportation to work - Streetcar or trolley car (%) Means of transportation to work - Subway or elevated (%) Means of transportation to work - Railroad (%) Means of transportation to work - Ferryboat (%) Means of transportation to work - Taxicab (%) Means of transportation to work - Motorcycle (%) Means of transportation to work - Bicycle (%) Means of transportation to work - Walked (%) Means of transportation to work - Other means (%) Working at home (%) Industry diversity Most Common Industries - Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining (%) Most Common Industries - Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (%) Most Common Industries - Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (%) Most Common Industries - Construction (%) Most Common Industries - Manufacturing (%) Most Common Industries - Wholesale trade (%) Most Common Industries - Retail trade (%) Most Common Industries - Transportation and warehousing, and utilities (%) Most Common Industries - Transportation and warehousing (%) Most Common Industries - Utilities (%) Most Common Industries - Information (%) Most Common Industries - Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing (%) Most Common Industries - Finance and insurance (%) Most Common Industries - Real estate and rental and leasing (%) Most Common Industries - Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services (%) Most Common Industries - Professional, scientific, and technical services (%) Most Common Industries - Management of companies and enterprises (%) Most Common Industries - Administrative and support and waste management services (%) Most Common Industries - Educational services, and health care and social assistance (%) Most Common Industries - Educational services (%) Most Common Industries - Health care and social assistance (%) Most Common Industries - Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation and food services (%) Most Common Industries - Arts, entertainment, and recreation (%) Most Common Industries - Accommodation and food services (%) Most Common Industries - Other services, except public administration (%) Most Common Industries - Public administration (%) Occupation diversity Most Common Occupations - Management, business, science, and arts occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Management, business, and financial occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Management occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Business and financial operations occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Computer, engineering, and science occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Computer and mathematical occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Architecture and engineering occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Life, physical, and social science occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Education, legal, community service, arts, and media occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Community and social service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Legal occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Education, training, and library occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Health diagnosing and treating practitioners and other technical occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Health technologists and technicians (%) Most Common Occupations - Service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Healthcare support occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Protective service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Fire fighting and prevention, and other protective service workers including supervisors (%) Most Common Occupations - Law enforcement workers including supervisors (%) Most Common Occupations - Food preparation and serving related occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Personal care and service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Sales and office occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Sales and related occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Office and administrative support occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Construction and extraction occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Production, transportation, and material moving occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Production occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Transportation occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Material moving occupations (%) People in Group quarters - Institutionalized population (%) People in Group quarters - Correctional institutions (%) People in Group quarters - Federal prisons and detention centers (%) People in Group quarters - Halfway houses (%) People in Group quarters - Local jails and other confinement facilities (including police lockups) (%) People in Group quarters - Military disciplinary barracks (%) People in Group quarters - State prisons (%) People in Group quarters - Other types of correctional institutions (%) People in Group quarters - Nursing homes (%) People in Group quarters - Hospitals/wards, hospices, and schools for the handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Hospitals/wards and hospices for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Hospices or homes for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Military hospitals or wards for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Other hospitals or wards for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Hospitals or wards for drug/alcohol abuse (%) People in Group quarters - Mental (Psychiatric) hospitals or wards (%) People in Group quarters - Schools, hospitals, or wards for the mentally retarded (%) People in Group quarters - Schools, hospitals, or wards for the physically handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Institutions for the deaf (%) People in Group quarters - Institutions for the blind (%) People in Group quarters - Orthopedic wards and institutions for the physically handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Wards in general hospitals for patients who have no usual home elsewhere (%) People in Group quarters - Wards in military hospitals for patients who have no usual home elsewhere (%) People in Group quarters - Juvenile institutions (%) People in Group quarters - Long-term care (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for abused, dependent, and neglected children (%) People in Group quarters - Residential treatment centers for emotionally disturbed children (%) People in Group quarters - Training schools for juvenile delinquents (%) People in Group quarters - Short-term care, detention or diagnostic centers for delinquent children (%) People in Group quarters - Type of juvenile institution unknown (%) People in Group quarters - Noninstitutionalized population (%) People in Group quarters - College dormitories (includes college quarters off campus) (%) People in Group quarters - Military quarters (%) People in Group quarters - On base (%) People in Group quarters - Barracks, unaccompanied personnel housing (UPH), (Enlisted/Officer), ;and similar group living quarters for military personnel (%) People in Group quarters - Transient quarters for temporary residents (%) People in Group quarters - Military ships (%) People in Group quarters - Group homes (%) People in Group quarters - Homes or halfway houses for drug/alcohol abuse (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for the mentally ill (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for the mentally retarded (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for the physically handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Other group homes (%) People in Group quarters - Religious group quarters (%) People in Group quarters - Dormitories (%) People in Group quarters - Agriculture workers' dormitories on farms (%) People in Group quarters - Job Corps and vocational training facilities (%) People in Group quarters - Other workers' dormitories (%) People in Group quarters - Crews of maritime vessels (%) People in Group quarters - Other nonhousehold living situations (%) People in Group quarters - Other noninstitutional group quarters (%) Residents speaking English at home (%) Residents speaking English at home - Born in the United States (%) Residents speaking English at home - Native, born elsewhere (%) Residents speaking English at home - Foreign born (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home - Born in the United States (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home - Native, born elsewhere (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home - Foreign born (%) Residents speaking other language at home (%) Residents speaking other language at home - Born in the United States (%) Residents speaking other language at home - Native, born elsewhere (%) Residents speaking other language at home - Foreign born (%) Class of Workers - Employee of private company (%) Class of Workers - Self-employed in own incorporated business (%) Class of Workers - Private not-for-profit wage and salary workers (%) Class of Workers - Local government workers (%) Class of Workers - State government workers (%) Class of Workers - Federal government workers (%) Class of Workers - Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business and Unpaid family workers (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Utility gas (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Bottled, tank, or LP gas (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Electricity (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Fuel oil, kerosene, etc. (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Coal or coke (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Wood (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Solar energy (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Other fuel (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - No fuel used (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Utility gas (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Bottled, tank, or LP gas (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Electricity (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Fuel oil, kerosene, etc. (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Coal or coke (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Wood (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Solar energy (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Other fuel (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - No fuel used (%) Armed forces status - In Armed Forces (%) Armed forces status - Civilian (%) Armed forces status - Civilian - Veteran (%) Armed forces status - Civilian - Nonveteran (%) Fatal accidents locations in years 2005-2019 Fatal accidents locations in 2005 Fatal accidents locations in 2006 Fatal accidents locations in 2007 Fatal accidents locations in 2008 Fatal accidents locations in 2009 Fatal accidents locations in 2010 Fatal accidents locations in 2011 Fatal accidents locations in 2012 Fatal accidents locations in 2013 Fatal accidents locations in 2014 Fatal accidents locations in 2015 Fatal accidents locations in 2016 Fatal accidents locations in 2017 Fatal accidents locations in 2018 Fatal accidents locations in 2019 Alcohol use - People drinking some alcohol every month (%) Alcohol use - People not drinking at all (%) Alcohol use - Average days/month drinking alcohol Alcohol use - Average drinks/week Alcohol use - Average days/year people drink much Audiometry - Average condition of hearing (%) Audiometry - People that can hear a whisper from across a quiet room (%) Audiometry - People that can hear normal voice from across a quiet room (%) Audiometry - Ears ringing, roaring, buzzing (%) Audiometry - Had a job exposure to loud noise (%) Audiometry - Had off-work exposure to loud noise (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Has high blood pressure (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Checking blood pressure at home (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Frequently checking blood cholesterol (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Has high cholesterol level (%) Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on food at supermarket/grocery store Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on food at other stores Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on eating out Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on carryout/delivered foods Consumer Behavior - Income spent on food at supermarket/grocery store (%) Consumer Behavior - Income spent on food at other stores (%) Consumer Behavior - Income spent on eating out (%) Consumer Behavior - Income spent on carryout/delivered foods (%) Current Health Status - General health condition (%) Current Health Status - Blood donors (%) Current Health Status - Has blood ever tested for HIV virus (%) Current Health Status - Left-handed people (%) Dermatology - People using sunscreen (%) Diabetes - Diabetics (%) Diabetes - Had a blood test for high blood sugar (%) Diabetes - People taking insulin (%) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Diet health (%) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Milk product consumption (# of products/month) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Meals not home prepared (#/week) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Meals from fast food or pizza place (#/week) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Ready-to-eat foods (#/month) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Frozen meals/pizza (#/month) Drug Use - People that ever used marijuana or hashish (%) Drug Use - Ever used hard drugs (%) Drug Use - Ever used any form of cocaine (%) Drug Use - Ever used heroin (%) Drug Use - Ever used methamphetamine (%) Health Insurance - People covered by health insurance (%) Kidney Conditions-Urology - Avg. # of times urinating at night Medical Conditions - People with asthma (%) Medical Conditions - People with anemia (%) Medical Conditions - People with psoriasis (%) Medical Conditions - People with overweight (%) Medical Conditions - Elderly people having difficulties in thinking or remembering (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever received blood transfusion (%) Medical Conditions - People having trouble seeing even with glass/contacts (%) Medical Conditions - People with arthritis (%) Medical Conditions - People with gout (%) Medical Conditions - People with congestive heart failure (%) Medical Conditions - People with coronary heart disease (%) Medical Conditions - People with angina pectoris (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever had heart attack (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever had stroke (%) Medical Conditions - People with emphysema (%) Medical Conditions - People with thyroid problem (%) Medical Conditions - People with chronic bronchitis (%) Medical Conditions - People with any liver condition (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever had cancer or malignancy (%) Mental Health - People who have little interest in doing things (%) Mental Health - People feeling down, depressed, or hopeless (%) Mental Health - People who have trouble sleeping or sleeping too much (%) Mental Health - People feeling tired or having little energy (%) Mental Health - People with poor appetite or overeating (%) Mental Health - People feeling bad about themself (%) Mental Health - People who have trouble concentrating on things (%) Mental Health - People moving or speaking slowly or too fast (%) Mental Health - People having thoughts they would be better off dead (%) Oral Health - Average years since last visit a dentist Oral Health - People embarrassed because of mouth (%) Oral Health - People with gum disease (%) Oral Health - General health of teeth and gums (%) Oral Health - Average days a week using dental floss/device Oral Health - Average days a week using mouthwash for dental problem Oral Health - Average number of teeth Pesticide Use - Households using pesticides to control insects (%) Pesticide Use - Households using pesticides to kill weeds (%) Physical Activity - People doing vigorous-intensity work activities (%) Physical Activity - People doing moderate-intensity work activities (%) Physical Activity - People walking or bicycling (%) Physical Activity - People doing vigorous-intensity recreational activities (%) Physical Activity - People doing moderate-intensity recreational activities (%) Physical Activity - Average hours a day doing sedentary activities Physical Activity - Average hours a day watching TV or videos Physical Activity - Average hours a day using computer Physical Functioning - People having limitations keeping them from working (%) Physical Functioning - People limited in amount of work they can do (%) Physical Functioning - People that need special equipment to walk (%) Physical Functioning - People experiencing confusion/memory problems (%) Physical Functioning - People requiring special healthcare equipment (%) Prescription Medications - Average number of prescription medicines taking Preventive Aspirin Use - Adults 40+ taking low-dose aspirin (%) Reproductive Health - Vaginal deliveries (%) Reproductive Health - Cesarean deliveries (%) Reproductive Health - Deliveries resulted in a live birth (%) Reproductive Health - Pregnancies resulted in a delivery (%) Reproductive Health - Women breastfeeding newborns (%) Reproductive Health - Women that had a hysterectomy (%) Reproductive Health - Women that had both ovaries removed (%) Reproductive Health - Women that have ever taken birth control pills (%) Reproductive Health - Women taking birth control pills (%) Reproductive Health - Women that have ever used Depo-Provera or injectables (%) Reproductive Health - Women that have ever used female hormones (%) Sexual Behavior - People 18+ that ever had sex (vaginal, anal, or oral) (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever had vaginal sex with a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever performed oral sex on a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever had anal sex with a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever had any sex with a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever had vaginal sex with a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever performed oral sex on a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever had anal sex with a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever had any kind of sex with a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Average age people first had sex Sexual Behavior - Average number of female sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of female vaginal sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average age people first performed oral sex on a woman (18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of woman performed oral sex on in lifetime (18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male anal sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average age people first performed oral sex on a man (18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male oral sex partners in lifetime (18+) Sexual Behavior - People using protection when performing oral sex (%) Sexual Behavior - Average number of times people have vaginal or anal sex a year Sexual Behavior - People having sex without condom (%) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male sex partners in lifetime (females 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male vaginal sex partners in lifetime (females 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of female sex partners in lifetime (females 18+) Sexual Behavior - Circumcised males 18+ (%) Sleep Disorders - Average hours sleeping at night Sleep Disorders - People that has trouble sleeping (%) Smoking-Cigarette Use - People smoking cigarettes (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ having problems with smell (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ having problems with taste (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had wisdom teeth removed (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had tonsils teeth removed (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had a loss of consciousness because of a head injury (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had a broken nose or other serious injury to face or skull (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had two or more sinus infections (%) Weight - Average height (inches) Weight - Average weight (pounds) Weight - Average BMI Weight - People that are obese (%) Weight - People that ever were obese (%) Weight - People trying to lose weight (%) Settings Get link Loading data... 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107 71.3% White alone 20 13.3% Hispanic 19 12.7% Two or more races 4 2.7% American Indian alone

Races in Deer Island detailed stats: ancestries, foreign born residents, place of birth





According to our research of Oregon and other state lists, there was 1 registered sex offender living in Deer Island, Oregon as of November 22, 2021.

The ratio of all residents to sex offenders in Deer Island is 385 to 1.





Ancestries: American (29.0%), Irish (19.4%), Scandinavian (19.4%), Norwegian (16.1%).

Current Local Time: PST time zone

Elevation: 40 feet

Latitude: 45.93 N, Longitude: 122.84 W

Area code commonly used in this area: 360

Unemployment in November 2020:

Here: 5.9% Oregon: 5.5%

Air pollution and air quality trends

(lower is better) AQI Ozone PM 2.5 Pb

Air Quality Index (AQI) level in 2018 was 73.2. This is about average. City: 73.2 U.S.: 74.2



Particulate Matter (PM 2.5 ) [g/m3] level in 2018 was 6.15. This is better than average. Closest monitor was 11.8 miles away from the city center. City: 6.15 U.S.: 8.46

Lead (Pb) [g/m3] level in 2001 was 0.00444. This is significantly better than average. Closest monitor was 5.0 miles away from the city center. City: 0.00444 U.S.: 0.00984

Earthquake activity: Deer Island-area historical earthquake activity is significantly above Oregon state average. It is 1479% greater than the overall U.S. average.



On 4/13/1949 at 19:55:42, a magnitude 7.0 (7.0 UK, Class: Major, Intensity: VIII - XII) earthquake occurred 92.6 miles away from Deer Island center, causing $80,000,000 total damage

On 2/28/2001 at 18:54:32, a magnitude 6.8 (6.5 MB, 6.6 MS, 6.8 MW, Class: Strong, Intensity: VII - IX) earthquake occurred 81.1 miles away from Deer Island center, causing $2,000,000,000 total damage and $305,000,000 insured losses

On 2/28/2001 at 18:54:32, a magnitude 6.8 (6.8 MD, Depth: 32.2 mi) earthquake occurred 84.4 miles away from the city center

On 4/29/1965 at 15:28:43, a magnitude 6.6 (6.6 UK) earthquake occurred 98.8 miles away from Deer Island center, causing $28,000,000 total damage

On 1/31/1922 at 13:17:28, a magnitude 7.6 (7.6 UK) earthquake occurred 386.6 miles away from Deer Island center

On 8/17/1991 at 22:17:14, a magnitude 7.1 (6.2 MB, 7.1 MS, 7.1 MW, 6.8 ML, Depth: 8.4 mi) earthquake occurred 320.0 miles away from the city center

Magnitude types: body-wave magnitude (MB), duration magnitude (MD), local magnitude (ML), surface-wave magnitude (MS), moment magnitude (MW)

Natural disasters: The number of natural disasters in Columbia County (15) is near the US average (15).

Major Disasters (Presidential) Declared: 12

Emergencies Declared: 1



Causes of natural disasters: Floods: 9, Landslides: 6, Mudslides: 6, Winter Storms: 6, Storms: 5, Winds: 3, Snows: 2, Fire: 1, Heavy Rain: 1, Hurricane: 1, Other: 1 (Note: some incidents may be assigned to more than one category).

Hospitals and medical centers near Deer Island: PNRS ST HELENS DIALYSIS (Dialysis Facility, about 5 miles away; SAINT HELENS, OR)

ST HELENS HOSPITAL AND HEALTH CENTER (Hospital, about 5 miles away; SAINT HELENS, OR)

MEADOW PARK HEALTH AND SPECIALTY (Nursing Home, about 5 miles away; SAINT HELENS, OR)

MOOREHAVEN CARE CENTER (Nursing Home, about 9 miles away; LA CENTER, WA)

RIDGEFIELD CARE FACILITY (Nursing Home, about 10 miles away; RIDGEFIELD, WA)

COLUMBIA CARE CENTER (Nursing Home, about 13 miles away; SCAPPOOSE, OR)

AMERICANA HEALTH AND REHAB CTR (Nursing Home, about 15 miles away; LONGVIEW, WA)

Amtrak station near Deer Island: 15 miles: KELSO-LONGVIEW (KELSO, 501 S 1ST AVE.) . Services: fully wheelchair accessible, enclosed waiting area, public restrooms, public payphones, free short-term parking, free long-term parking, call for taxi service, intercity bus service, public transit connection.

Colleges/universities with over 2000 students nearest to Deer Island: Lower Columbia College ( about 16 miles; Longview, WA ; Full-time enrollment: 2,595)

16 ; 2,595) Clark College ( about 23 miles; Vancouver, WA ; FT enrollment: 9,330)

23 ; 9,330) University of Portland ( about 26 miles; Portland, OR ; FT enrollment: 4,030)

26 ; 4,030) Concordia University-Portland ( about 27 miles; Portland, OR ; FT enrollment: 3,996)

27 ; 3,996) Portland State University ( about 31 miles; Portland, OR ; FT enrollment: 21,450)

31 ; 21,450) Pacific University ( about 32 miles; Forest Grove, OR ; FT enrollment: 2,967)

32 ; 2,967) Lewis & Clark College (about 35 miles; Portland, OR; FT enrollment: 2,864)

Points of interest: Click to draw/clear place borders

Columbia County has a predicted average indoor radon screening level between 2 and 4 pCi/L (pico curies per liter) - Moderate Potential

Average household size: This place: 2.3 people Oregon: 2.5 people

Percentage of family households: This place: 63.5% Whole state: 63.4%

Percentage of households with unmarried partners: This place: 8.7% Whole state: 8.0%



Likely homosexual households (counted as self-reported same-sex unmarried-partner households) Lesbian couples: 0.8% of all households

0.8% Gay men: 0.0% of all households

For population 15 years and over in Deer Island: Never married: 27.7%

27.7% Now married: 41.7%

41.7% Separated: 0.0%

0.0% Widowed: 14.6%

14.6% Divorced: 16.0%

For population 25 years and over in Deer Island: High school or higher: 55.5%

55.5% Bachelor's degree or higher: 7.8%

7.8% Graduate or professional degree: 0.0%

Education Gini index (Inequality in education) Here: 27.4 Oregon average: 11.2



Religion statistics for Deer Island, OR (based on Columbia County data) Religion Adherents Congregations Evangelical Protestant 4,269 47 Other 2,835 11 Catholic 1,377 4 Mainline Protestant 1,342 9 None 39,528 - Source: Clifford Grammich, Kirk Hadaway, Richard Houseal, Dale E.Jones, Alexei Krindatch, Richie Stanley and Richard H.Taylor. 2012. 2010 U.S.Religion Census: Religious Congregations & Membership Study. Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies. Jones, Dale E., et al. 2002. Congregations and Membership in the United States 2000. Nashville, TN: Glenmary Research Center. Graphs represent county-level data

Food Environment Statistics: Number of grocery stores: 9 Here : 1.84 / 10,000 pop. Oregon : 2.03 / 10,000 pop. Number of supercenters and club stores: 1 This county : 0.20 / 10,000 pop. Oregon : 0.33 / 10,000 pop. Number of convenience stores (no gas): 5 This county : 1.02 / 10,000 pop. Oregon : 2.01 / 10,000 pop. Number of convenience stores (with gas): 15 Columbia County : 3.07 / 10,000 pop. Oregon : 1.69 / 10,000 pop. Number of full-service restaurants: 32 Columbia County : 6.54 / 10,000 pop. Oregon : 9.93 / 10,000 pop. Adult diabetes rate: Columbia County : 8.1% Oregon : 7.4% Adult obesity rate: Columbia County : 30.4% Oregon : 25.6% Low-income preschool obesity rate: Here : 19.7% Oregon : 14.2%

8.49% of this county's 2016 resident taxpayers lived in other counties in 2015 ($51,130 average adjusted gross income) Here: 8.49% Oregon average: 8.52% 10 or fewer of this county's residents moved from foreign countries between 2015 and 2016.

Top counties from which taxpayers relocated into this county between 2015 and 2016:

from Washington County, OR 2.30% ($56,125 average AGI) from Multnomah County, OR 1.89% ($52,876) from Clackamas County, OR 0.48% ($48,560)



5.65% of this county's 2015 resident taxpayers moved to other counties in 2016 ($47,403 average adjusted gross income) Here: 5.65% Oregon average: 7.23% 10 or fewer of this county's residents moved to foreign countries between 2015 and 2016.

Top counties to which taxpayers relocated from this county between 2015 and 2016:

to Washington County, OR 1.05% ($51,396 average AGI) to Multnomah County, OR 0.76% ($42,239) to Cowlitz County, WA 0.58% ($44,849)

Strongest AM radio stations in Deer Island: KPAM (860 AM; 50 kW; TROUTDALE, OR; Owner: PAMPLIN BROADCASTING-OREGON, INC.)

PAMPLIN BROADCASTING-OREGON, INC.) KPOJ (620 AM; 50 kW; PORTLAND, OR; Owner: CITICASTERS LICENSES, L.P.)

CITICASTERS LICENSES, L.P.) KKAD (1550 AM; 50 kW; VANCOUVER, WA; Owner: PAMPLIN BROADCASTING-WASHINGTON, INC)

PAMPLIN BROADCASTING-WASHINGTON, INC) KOTK (1080 AM; 50 kW; PORTLAND, OR; Owner: FISHER BROADCASTING - PORTLAND RADIO, L.L.C.)

FISHER BROADCASTING - PORTLAND RADIO, L.L.C.) KXL (750 AM; 50 kW; PORTLAND, OR; Owner: ROSE CITY RADIO CORPORATION)

ROSE CITY RADIO CORPORATION) KEX (1190 AM; 50 kW; PORTLAND, OR; Owner: CITICASTERS LICENSES, L.P.)

CITICASTERS LICENSES, L.P.) KKSN (1520 AM; 50 kW; OREGON CITY, OR; Owner: ENTERCOM PORTLAND LICENSE, LLC)

ENTERCOM PORTLAND LICENSE, LLC) KOHI (1600 AM; 1 kW; ST. HELENS, OR)

KBAM (1270 AM; 5 kW; LONGVIEW, WA; Owner: ENTERCOM LONGVIEW LICENSE, LLC)

ENTERCOM LONGVIEW LICENSE, LLC) KFXX (910 AM; 10 kW; VANCOUVER, WA; Owner: ENTERCOM PORTLAND LICENSE, LLC (DE))

ENTERCOM PORTLAND LICENSE, LLC (DE)) KKGT (1150 AM; 5 kW; PORTLAND, OR; Owner: WESTERN BROADCASTING COMPANY)

WESTERN BROADCASTING COMPANY) KIRO (710 AM; 50 kW; SEATTLE, WA; Owner: ENTERCOM SEATTLE LICENSE, LLC)

ENTERCOM SEATTLE LICENSE, LLC) KJR (950 AM; 50 kW; SEATTLE, WA) Strongest FM radio stations in Deer Island: K273AI (102.5 FM; ARIEL, WA; Owner: CALVARY CHAPEL OF TWIN FALLS, INC.)

CALVARY CHAPEL OF TWIN FALLS, INC.) KJVH (89.5 FM; LONGVIEW, WA; Owner: FAMILY STATIONS, INC.)

FAMILY STATIONS, INC.) K216DH (91.1 FM; CATHLAMET, WA; Owner: TILLICUM FOUNDATION)

TILLICUM FOUNDATION) KUKN (105.5 FM; LONGVIEW, WA; Owner: WASHINGTON INTERSTATE BROADCASTING, INC.)

WASHINGTON INTERSTATE BROADCASTING, INC.) KRVO (105.9 FM; VANCOUVER, WA; Owner: CITICASTERS LICENSES, L.P.)

CITICASTERS LICENSES, L.P.) KWYQ (90.3 FM; LONGVIEW, WA; Owner: WAY-FM MEDIA GROUP, INC.)

WAY-FM MEDIA GROUP, INC.) KINK (101.9 FM; PORTLAND, OR; Owner: INFINITY RADIO OPERATIONS INC.)

INFINITY RADIO OPERATIONS INC.) KKCW (103.3 FM; BEAVERTON, OR; Owner: CITICASTERS LICENSES, L.P.)

CITICASTERS LICENSES, L.P.) KRQT (107.1 FM; CASTLE ROCK, WA; Owner: ENTERCOM LONGVIEW LICENSE, LLC)

ENTERCOM LONGVIEW LICENSE, LLC) KPDQ-FM (93.7 FM; PORTLAND, OR; Owner: SALEM MEDIA OF OREGON, INC.)

SALEM MEDIA OF OREGON, INC.) KOPB-FM (91.5 FM; PORTLAND, OR; Owner: OREGON PUBLIC BROADCASTING)

OREGON PUBLIC BROADCASTING) KKRZ (100.3 FM; PORTLAND, OR; Owner: CITICASTERS LICENSES, L.P.)

CITICASTERS LICENSES, L.P.) KMHD (89.1 FM; GRESHAM, OR; Owner: MT. HOOD COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT)

MT. HOOD COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT) KVMX (107.5 FM; BANKS, OR; Owner: INFINITY RADIO OPERATIONS INC.)

INFINITY RADIO OPERATIONS INC.) KLTH (106.7 FM; LAKE OSWEGO, OR; Owner: INIFINITY RADIO OF PORTLAND INC.)

INIFINITY RADIO OF PORTLAND INC.) KUPL-FM (98.7 FM; PORTLAND, OR; Owner: INFINITY RADIO OF PORTLAND INC.)

INFINITY RADIO OF PORTLAND INC.) KUFO-FM (101.1 FM; PORTLAND, OR; Owner: INFINITY RADIO OPERATIONS INC.)

INFINITY RADIO OPERATIONS INC.) KBVM (88.3 FM; PORTLAND, OR; Owner: CATHOLIC BROADCASTING NORTHWEST, INC)

CATHOLIC BROADCASTING NORTHWEST, INC) KBPS-FM (89.9 FM; PORTLAND, OR; Owner: SCHOOL DISTRICT #1, MULTNOMAH COUNTY, OR)

SCHOOL DISTRICT #1, MULTNOMAH COUNTY, OR) KNRK (94.7 FM; CAMAS, WA; Owner: ENTERCOM PORTLAND LICENSE, LLC (DE)) TV broadcast stations around Deer Island: KATU ( Channel 2; PORTLAND, OR; Owner: FISHER BROADCASTING - PORTLAND TV, L.L.C.)

2; PORTLAND, OR; FISHER BROADCASTING - PORTLAND TV, L.L.C.) KPDX ( Channel 49; VANCOUVER, WA; Owner: MEREDITH CORPORATION)

49; VANCOUVER, WA; MEREDITH CORPORATION) KPTV ( Channel 12; PORTLAND, OR; Owner: MEREDITH CORPORATION)

12; PORTLAND, OR; MEREDITH CORPORATION) K57IF ( Channel 57; SALEM, OR; Owner: LaGRANDE BROADCASTING, INC.)

57; SALEM, OR; LaGRANDE BROADCASTING, INC.) KOIN ( Channel 6; PORTLAND, OR; Owner: EMMIS TELEVISION LICENSE CORPORATION)

6; PORTLAND, OR; EMMIS TELEVISION LICENSE CORPORATION) KNMT ( Channel 24; PORTLAND, OR; Owner: NATIONAL MINORITY T.V., INC.)

24; PORTLAND, OR; NATIONAL MINORITY T.V., INC.) KGW ( Channel 8; PORTLAND, OR; Owner: KING BROADCASTING COMPANY)

8; PORTLAND, OR; KING BROADCASTING COMPANY) KOPB-TV ( Channel 10; PORTLAND, OR; Owner: OREGON PUBLIC BROADCASTING)

10; PORTLAND, OR; OREGON PUBLIC BROADCASTING) KPXG-LP ( Channel 54; PORTLAND, OR; Owner: PAXSON COMMUNICATIONS LICENSE COMPANY, LLC)

54; PORTLAND, OR; PAXSON COMMUNICATIONS LICENSE COMPANY, LLC) K14HN ( Channel 14; VANCOUVER/CAMAS, WA; Owner: MEREDITH CORPORATION)

14; VANCOUVER/CAMAS, WA; MEREDITH CORPORATION) KWBP-LP ( Channel 4; PORTLAND, OR; Owner: TRIBUNE BROADCASTING HOLDINGS, INC.)

4; PORTLAND, OR; TRIBUNE BROADCASTING HOLDINGS, INC.) K36DG (Channel 36; LONGVIEW, WA; Owner: NATIONAL MINORITY T.V., INC.)

Deer Island fatal accident list: Aug 8, 2019 02:13 PM, Us-30 Odot 92, Lat: 45.935825, Lon: -122.848678, Vehicles: 1, Persons: 5, Fatalities: 1



National Bridge Inventory (NBI) Statistics

2 Number of bridges

Number of bridges 33ft / 9.5m Total length

Total length $1,598,000 Total costs

Total costs 16,600 Total average daily traffic

Total average daily traffic 1,494 Total average daily truck traffic

Total average daily truck traffic 16,800 Total future (year 2036) average daily traffic



FCC Registered Antenna Towers: 6 Edward G Roach, 67501 Butler Road ( Lat: 45.977056 Lon: -122.876500), Type: 76.2, Overall height: 73.2 m, Registrant: None

45.977056 -122.876500), 76.2, 73.2 m, None Edward G Roach, 67501 Butler Road ( Lat: 45.977056 Lon: -122.876500), Type: 76.2, Overall height: 73.2 m, Registrant: None

45.977056 -122.876500), 76.2, 73.2 m, None Edward G Roach, 67501 Butler Road ( Lat: 45.977056 Lon: -122.876500), Type: 76.2, Overall height: 73.2 m, Registrant: None

45.977056 -122.876500), 76.2, 73.2 m, None Shannon Kraus, Island Rd ( Lat: 45.953889 Lon: -122.830000), Type: 60.9, Structure height: 41009 m, Overall height: 60.9 m, Registrant: T-Mobile West LLC, Fccregulatorycompliancecontact@t-Mobile.Com, , Belle-vue, Phone: (425) 383-8401

45.953889 -122.830000), 60.9, 41009 m, 60.9 m, T-Mobile West LLC, Fccregulatorycompliancecontact@t-Mobile.Com, , Belle-vue, (425) 383-8401 Shannon Kraus, Island Rd ( Lat: 45.953889 Lon: -122.830000), Type: 60.9, Structure height: 41009 m, Overall height: 60.9 m, Registrant: T-Mobile West LLC, Fccregulatorycompliancecontact@t-Mobile.Com, , Belle-vue, Phone: (425) 383-8401

45.953889 -122.830000), 60.9, 41009 m, 60.9 m, T-Mobile West LLC, Fccregulatorycompliancecontact@t-Mobile.Com, , Belle-vue, (425) 383-8401 Island Rd (Lat: 45.953889 Lon: -122.830000), Type: 60.9, Overall height: 60.9 m, Registrant: Western Pcs I Corporation, Portl-and, Phone: (503) 284-2255

FCC Registered Broadcast Land Mobile Towers: 3 2 Mi W Of Hwy 30 On Canaan Rd Nr ( Lat: 45.923444 Lon: -122.865111), Call Sign: KNCG390,

Assigned Frequencies: 154.130 MHz, 154.295 MHz, 154.400 MHz, Grant Date: 01/03/2012, Expiration Date: 12/04/2021, Registrant: Radio Licensing Services, Milwaukie, OR 97269, Phone: (503) 594-2702, Fax: (503) 794-3759, Email:

45.923444 -122.865111), KNCG390, 154.130 MHz, 154.295 MHz, 154.400 MHz, 01/03/2012, 12/04/2021, Radio Licensing Services, Milwaukie, OR 97269, (503) 594-2702, (503) 794-3759, Lat: 45.919694 Lon: -123.035750, Call Sign: WPZY567,

Assigned Frequencies: 159.847 MHz, 160.087 MHz, 160.162 MHz, 173.262 MHz, 173.262 MHz, Grant Date: 01/28/2014, Expiration Date: 04/09/2024, Certifier: Sally J Jones, Registrant: Radio Licensing Services, 351 N. Williamson Blvd, Milwaukie, OR 97269, Phone: (503) 659-1240, Fax: (503) 794-3759, Email:

45.919694 -123.035750, WPZY567, 159.847 MHz, 160.087 MHz, 160.162 MHz, 173.262 MHz, 173.262 MHz, 01/28/2014, 04/09/2024, Sally J Jones, Radio Licensing Services, 351 N. Williamson Blvd, Milwaukie, OR 97269, (503) 659-1240, (503) 794-3759, Lat: 45.919694 Lon: -123.035750, Call Sign: WQYT260,

Assigned Frequencies: 157.477 MHz, 157.492 MHz, Grant Date: 01/10/2017, Expiration Date: 01/10/2027, Certifier: Steve Watson, Registrant: Apco International, Inc., 351 N. Williamson Blvd., Dayton Beach, FL 32114, Phone: (386) 944-2469, Fax: (386) 322-2502, Email:

FCC Registered Microwave Towers: 1 DEER ISLAND, 65640 Island Rd (Lat: 45.954056 Lon: -122.828750), Type: Mtower, Structure height: 46 m, Overall height: 47.8 m, Call Sign: WQPT202,

Assigned Frequencies: 10955.0 MHz, 11035.0 MHz, 10955.0 MHz, 10955.0 MHz, 10955.0 MHz, 10955.0 MHz, 10955.0 MHz, 10955.0 MHz, 11035.0 MHz, 11035.0 MHz... (+3 more), Grant Date: 08/08/2012, Expiration Date: 08/08/2022, Certifier: Gregory M Romano, Registrant: Verizon, 1300 I St Nw - Suite 500 East, Washington, DC 20005, Phone: (202) 515-2453, Email:

FCC Registered Amateur Radio Licenses: 19 (



FAA Registered Aircraft: 1 Aircraft: CESSNA 172G (Category: Land, Seats: 4, Weight: Up to 12,499 Pounds, Speed: 105 mph), Engine: CONT MOTOR 0-300 SER (145 HP) (Reciprocating)

N-Number: 4200L, N4200L, N-4200L, Serial Number: 17254269, Year manufactured: 1966, Airworthiness Date: 02/14/1966, Certificate Issue Date: 10/26/2009

Registrant (Individual): Michael C Dewey, 64630 Meissner Rd, Deer Island, OR 97054

19 ( See the full list of FCC Registered Amateur Radio Licenses in Deer Island

Houses and condos Apartments 89.8% Electricity

10.2% Bottled, tank, or LP gas 57.1% Electricity

42.9% Utility gas





Deer Island compared to Oregon state average: Median house value below state average.

below Unemployed percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Black race population percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Hispanic race population percentage below state average.

below Median age significantly above state average.

significantly above Foreign-born population percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Renting percentage below state average.

below Percentage of population with a bachelor's degree or higher significantly below state average.

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Fairdale, Kentucky

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Population in July 2007: 7,853.

Males: 3,829 (48.8%) Females: 4,024 (51.2%)

Median resident age: 32.9 years Kentucky median age: 35.9 years

Zip codes: 40118.

Estimated median household income in 2019: $52,705 (it was $35,218 in 2000)

Fairdale: $52,705 KY: $52,295

Estimated per capita income in 2019: $24,721 (it was $16,275 in 2000)



Fairdale CDP income, earnings, and wages data



Estimated median house or condo value in 2019: $120,484 (it was $65,400 in 2000) Fairdale: $120,484 KY: $151,700

Mean prices in 2019: all housing units: $231,759; detached houses: $237,582; townhouses or other attached units: $241,397; in 2-unit structures: $344,859; in 3-to-4-unit structures: $168,724; in 5-or-more-unit structures: $145,939; mobile homes: $31,814 $52,705 ($35,218$24,721 ($16,275$120,484 ($65,400$231,759;$237,582;$241,397;$344,859;$168,724;$145,939;$31,814

March 2019 cost of living index in Fairdale: 90.3 (less than average, U.S. average is 100)

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7,352 96.0% White alone 100 1.3% Hispanic 80 1.0% Two or more races 68 0.9% Black alone 27 0.4% Asian alone 25 0.3% American Indian alone 6 0.08% Other race alone

Races in Fairdale detailed stats: ancestries, foreign born residents, place of birth





According to our research of Kentucky and other state lists, there were 12 registered sex offenders living in Fairdale, Kentucky as of November 22, 2021.

The ratio of all residents to sex offenders in Fairdale is 654 to 1.

The ratio of registered sex offenders to all residents in this city is lower than the state average.







Latest news from Fairdale, KY collected exclusively by city-data.com from local newspapers, TV, and radio stations

Ancestries: United States (22.7%), German (14.6%), Irish (14.4%), English (6.5%), Dutch (2.0%), Italian (1.9%).

Current Local Time: EST time zone

Elevation: 470 feet

Land area: 5.70 square miles. Population density: 1,377 people per square mile (low).

48 residents are foreign born This place: 0.6% Kentucky: 2.0%

Median real estate property taxes paid for housing units in 2000: Fairdale CDP: 0.9% ($607) Kentucky: 0.8% ($610)

Latitude: 38.11 N, Longitude: 85.76 W

Daytime population change due to commuting: -2,341 (-30.6%)

Workers who live and work in this place: 348 (9.9%)

Unemployment in November 2020:

Here: 5.5% Kentucky: 5.1%

Most common industries in Fairdale, KY (%) Both Males Females

Construction (11.7%)

Health care (7.7%)

Accommodation & food services (6.7%)

Educational services (6.2%)

Other transportation, support activities, couriers (5.2%)

Administrative & support & waste management services (4.2%)

Metal & metal products (3.5%)

Construction (19.9%)

Other transportation, support activities, couriers (5.7%)

Administrative & support & waste management services (5.1%)

Metal & metal products (4.7%)

Repair & maintenance (4.6%)

Transportation equipment (3.9%)

Printing & related support activities (3.5%)

Health care (15.9%)

Accommodation & food services (10.3%)

Educational services (10.3%)

Finance & insurance (4.8%)

Other transportation, support activities, couriers (4.6%)

Department & other general merchandise stores (4.2%)

Social assistance (3.6%) Most common occupations in Fairdale, KY (%) Both Males Females

Laborers and material movers, hand (5.7%)

Other production occupations, including supervisors (5.7%)

Other office and administrative support workers, including supervisors (5.6%)

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations (5.3%)

Other sales and related occupations, including supervisors (5.2%)

Electrical equipment mechanics and other installation, maintenance, and repair workers, including supervisors (5.0%)

Material recording, scheduling, dispatching, and distributing workers (4.0%)

Electrical equipment mechanics and other installation, maintenance, and repair workers, including supervisors (9.3%)

Other production occupations, including supervisors (7.8%)

Laborers and material movers, hand (7.6%)

Other sales and related occupations, including supervisors (6.4%)

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations (5.9%)

Driver/sales workers and truck drivers (5.7%)

Vehicle and mobile equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers (3.9%)

Other office and administrative support workers, including supervisors (10.6%)

Material recording, scheduling, dispatching, and distributing workers (5.5%)

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations (4.6%)

Other food preparation and serving workers, including supervisors (4.4%)

Retail sales workers, except cashiers (4.3%)

Secretaries and administrative assistants (4.2%)

Cashiers (4.2%)

Average climate in Fairdale, Kentucky Based on data reported by over 4,000 weather stations

Air pollution and air quality trends

(lower is better) AQI CO NO 2 SO 2 Ozone PM 10 PM 2.5

Air Quality Index (AQI) level in 2018 was 89.1. This is worse than average. City: 89.1 U.S.: 74.2

Carbon Monoxide (CO) [ppm] level in 2018 was 0.285. This is about average. Closest monitor was 5.7 miles away from the city center. City: 0.285 U.S.: 0.267

Nitrogen Dioxide (NO 2 ) [ppb] level in 2018 was 13.1. This is significantly worse than average. Closest monitor was 4.2 miles away from the city center. City: 13.1 U.S.: 5.6

Sulfur Dioxide (SO 2 ) [ppb] level in 2018 was 0.696. This is significantly better than average. Closest monitor was 4.2 miles away from the city center. City: 0.696 U.S.: 1.789

Ozone [ppb] level in 2018 was 25.4. This is better than average. Closest monitor was 6.0 miles away from the city center. City: 25.4 U.S.: 33.3

Particulate Matter (PM 10 ) [g/m3] level in 2018 was 18.2. This is about average. Closest monitor was 5.6 miles away from the city center. City: 18.2 U.S.: 19.6

Particulate Matter (PM 2.5 ) [g/m3] level in 2018 was 9.75. This is about average. Closest monitor was 5.6 miles away from the city center. City: 9.75 U.S.: 8.46

Tornado activity: Fairdale-area historical tornado activity is slightly above Kentucky state average. It is 61% greater than the overall U.S. average.

On 4/3/1974, a category F5 (max. wind speeds 261-318 mph) tornado 19.1 miles away from the Fairdale place center killed 31 people and injured 270 people and caused between $500,000 and $5,000,000 in damages. On 5/28/1996, a category F4 (max. wind speeds 207-260 mph) tornado 2.7 miles away from the place center injured 10 people and caused $101 million in damages.

Earthquake activity: Fairdale-area historical earthquake activity is significantly above Kentucky state average. It is 116% greater than the overall U.S. average.



On 4/18/2008 at 09:36:59, a magnitude 5.4 (5.1 MB, 4.8 MS, 5.4 MW, 5.2 MW, Class: Moderate, Intensity: VI - VII) earthquake occurred 117.9 miles away from Fairdale center

On 7/27/1980 at 18:52:21, a magnitude 5.2 (5.1 MB, 4.7 MS, 5.0 UK, 5.2 UK) earthquake occurred 98.9 miles away from Fairdale center

On 4/18/2008 at 09:36:59, a magnitude 5.2 (5.2 MW, Depth: 8.9 mi) earthquake occurred 117.9 miles away from the city center

On 6/10/1987 at 23:48:54, a magnitude 5.1 (4.9 MB, 4.4 MS, 4.6 MS, 5.1 LG) earthquake occurred 125.2 miles away from the city center

On 6/18/2002 at 17:37:15, a magnitude 5.0 (4.3 MB, 4.6 MW, 5.0 LG) earthquake occurred 110.5 miles away from Fairdale center

On 4/18/2008 at 15:14:16, a magnitude 4.8 (4.5 MB, 4.8 MW, 4.6 MW, Class: Light, Intensity: IV - V) earthquake occurred 116.2 miles away from the city center

Magnitude types: regional Lg-wave magnitude (LG), body-wave magnitude (MB), surface-wave magnitude (MS), moment magnitude (MW)

Natural disasters: The number of natural disasters in Jefferson County (17) is near the US average (15).

Major Disasters (Presidential) Declared: 13

Emergencies Declared: 2



Causes of natural disasters: Floods: 10, Storms: 10, Tornadoes: 6, Mudslides: 3, Landslides: 2, Winds: 2, Winter Storms: 2, Blizzard: 1, Explosion: 1, Hurricane: 1, Tropical Depression: 1, Other: 1 (Note: some incidents may be assigned to more than one category).

Hospitals and medical centers near Fairdale: SIGNATURE HEALTHCARE OF SOUTH LOUISVILLE (Nursing Home, about 3 miles away; LOUISVILLE, KY)

ESSEX NURSING AND REHABILITATION CENTER (Nursing Home, about 4 miles away; LOUISVILLE, KY)

PARK TERRACE HEALTH CAMPUS (Nursing Home, about 5 miles away; LOUISVILLE, KY)

FRANCISCAN HEALTH CARE CENTER (Nursing Home, about 5 miles away; LOUISVILLE, KY)

FILSON CARE HOME (Nursing Home, about 5 miles away; LOUISVILLE, KY)

REGENCY CARE AND REHABILITATION CENTER (Nursing Home, about 5 miles away; LOUISVILLE, KY)

AMEDISYS HOME HEALTH OF LOUISVILLE SOUTH (Home Health Center, about 5 miles away; LOUISVILLE, KY)

Amtrak station near Fairdale: 14 miles: LOUISVILLE/JEFFERSONVILLE (JEFFERSONVILLE, 500 WILLINGER LANE) . Services: enclosed waiting area, public payphones, snack bar, taxi stand, intercity bus service.

Colleges/universities with over 2000 students nearest to Fairdale: University of Louisville ( about 8 miles; Louisville, KY ; Full-time enrollment: 16,640)

8 ; 16,640) Bellarmine University ( about 8 miles; Louisville, KY ; FT enrollment: 3,180)

8 ; 3,180) Sullivan University ( about 9 miles; Louisville, KY ; FT enrollment: 5,129)

9 ; 5,129) Jefferson Community and Technical College ( about 10 miles; Louisville, KY ; FT enrollment: 7,950)

10 ; 7,950) The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary ( about 11 miles; Louisville, KY ; FT enrollment: 2,360)

11 ; 2,360) Indiana University-Southeast ( about 17 miles; New Albany, IN ; FT enrollment: 5,050)

17 ; 5,050) Elizabethtown Community and Technical College (about 29 miles; Elizabethtown, KY; FT enrollment: 3,762) Public high schools in Fairdale: FAIRDALE HIGH SCHOOL ( Location: 1001 FAIRDALE RD, Grades: 9-12)

( 1001 FAIRDALE RD, 9-12) SOUTH PARK TAPP (Location: 1010 NEIGHBORHOOD PL, Grades: 9-12) Public elementary/middle schools in Fairdale: FAIRDALE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ( Students: 488, Location: 10104 MITCHELL HILL RD, Grades: KG-5)

( 488, 10104 MITCHELL HILL RD, KG-5) CORAL RIDGE ELEMENTARY (Students: 462, Location: 10608 NATIONAL TURNPIKE, Grades: PK-5) See full list of schools located in Fairdale

Birthplace of: Jude Deveraux - Novelist.

Jefferson County has a predicted average indoor radon screening level greater than 4 pCi/L (pico curies per liter) - Highest Potential

Average household size: This place: 2.6 people Kentucky: 2.5 people

Percentage of family households: This place: 73.1% Whole state: 69.8%

Percentage of households with unmarried partners: This place: 8.4% Whole state: 4.5%



Likely homosexual households (counted as self-reported same-sex unmarried-partner households) Lesbian couples: 0.1% of all households

0.1% Gay men: 0.1% of all households Residents with income below the poverty level in 2009:

This place: 14.5% Whole state: 15.8% Residents with income below 50% of the poverty level in 2009:

This place: 7.0% Whole state: 6.6%

2 people in religious group quarters in 2000

Banks with branches in Fairdale (2011 data): FORCHT BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION: Louisville - Fairdale at 10706 West Manslick Road, branch established on 2000/08/11. Info updated 2008/01/08: Bank assets: $992.1 mil, Deposits: $796.4 mil, headquarters in Lexington, KY, positive income, 34 total offices, Holding Company: Forcht Bancorp, Inc.

For population 15 years and over in Fairdale: Never married: 25.6%

25.6% Now married: 52.0%

52.0% Separated: 1.4%

1.4% Widowed: 7.7%

7.7% Divorced: 13.3%

For population 25 years and over in Fairdale: High school or higher: 70.2%

70.2% Bachelor's degree or higher: 4.6%

4.6% Graduate or professional degree: 1.2%

1.2% Unemployed: 3.4%

3.4% Mean travel time to work (commute): 23.1 minutes

Education Gini index (Inequality in education) Here: 10.1 Kentucky average: 13.8



Religion statistics for Fairdale, KY (based on Jefferson County data) Religion Adherents Congregations Evangelical Protestant 180,149 384 Catholic 120,620 60 Mainline Protestant 48,598 129 Black Protestant 35,305 70 Other 19,947 58 Orthodox 1,180 3 None 335,297 - Source: Clifford Grammich, Kirk Hadaway, Richard Houseal, Dale E.Jones, Alexei Krindatch, Richie Stanley and Richard H.Taylor. 2012. 2010 U.S.Religion Census: Religious Congregations & Membership Study. Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies. Jones, Dale E., et al. 2002. Congregations and Membership in the United States 2000. Nashville, TN: Glenmary Research Center. Graphs represent county-level data

Food Environment Statistics: Number of grocery stores: 127 Here : 1.79 / 10,000 pop. Kentucky : 2.19 / 10,000 pop. Number of supercenters and club stores: 11 Here : 0.16 / 10,000 pop. Kentucky : 0.25 / 10,000 pop. Number of convenience stores (no gas): 50 Jefferson County : 0.71 / 10,000 pop. Kentucky : 0.74 / 10,000 pop. Number of convenience stores (with gas): 195 This county : 2.75 / 10,000 pop. State : 4.36 / 10,000 pop. Number of full-service restaurants: 486 Jefferson County : 6.86 / 10,000 pop. Kentucky : 5.74 / 10,000 pop. Adult diabetes rate: Jefferson County : 10.6% Kentucky : 11.0% Adult obesity rate: Jefferson County : 27.6% Kentucky : 30.0% Low-income preschool obesity rate: This county : 13.4% State : 15.9%

5.23% of this county's 2016 resident taxpayers lived in other counties in 2015 ($54,733 average adjusted gross income) Here: 5.23% Kentucky average: 6.45% 0.02% of residents moved from foreign countries ($356 average AGI) Jefferson County: 0.02% Kentucky average: 0.03%

Top counties from which taxpayers relocated into this county between 2015 and 2016:

from Bullitt County, KY 0.37% ($42,579 average AGI) from Oldham County, KY 0.25% ($63,903) from Clark County, IN 0.23% ($39,209)



5.50% of this county's 2015 resident taxpayers moved to other counties in 2016 ($57,811 average adjusted gross income) Here: 5.50% Kentucky average: 6.57% 0.04% of residents moved to foreign countries ($418 average AGI) Jefferson County: 0.04% Kentucky average: 0.04%

Top counties to which taxpayers relocated from this county between 2015 and 2016:

to Bullitt County, KY 0.45% ($47,332 average AGI) to Oldham County, KY 0.32% ($95,469) to Clark County, IN 0.26% ($43,758)

Businesses in Fairdale, KY Name Count Name Count Circle K 1 La-Z-Boy 1 Dairy Queen 1 Lane Furniture 1 H&R Block 1

Strongest AM radio stations in Fairdale: WHAS (840 AM; 50 kW; LOUISVILLE, KY; Owner: CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.)

CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.) WDRD (680 AM; 1 kW; NEWBURG, KY; Owner: ABC, INC.)

ABC, INC.) WKJK (1080 AM; 10 kW; LOUISVILLE, KY; Owner: CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.)

CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.) WXXA (790 AM; 5 kW; LOUISVILLE, KY)

WGTK (970 AM; 5 kW; LOUISVILLE, KY; Owner: SALEM MEDIA OF KENTUCKY, INC.)

SALEM MEDIA OF KENTUCKY, INC.) WLOU (1350 AM; 2 kW; LOUISVILLE, KY; Owner: MORTENSON BROADCASTING CO., INC.)

MORTENSON BROADCASTING CO., INC.) WLCR (1470 AM; daytime; 2 kW; SHEPHERDSVILLE, KY; Owner: LCR PARTNERS, L.P.)

LCR PARTNERS, L.P.) WFIA (900 AM; 1 kW; LOUISVILLE, KY; Owner: SCA LICENSE CORPORATION)

SCA LICENSE CORPORATION) WLLV (1240 AM; 1 kW; LOUISVILLE, KY; Owner: MORTENSON BROADCASTING COMPANY)

MORTENSON BROADCASTING COMPANY) WLW (700 AM; 50 kW; CINCINNATI, OH; Owner: JACOR BROADCASTING CORPORATION)

JACOR BROADCASTING CORPORATION) WAVG (1450 AM; 1 kW; JEFFERSONVILLE, IN; Owner: SUNNYSIDE COMMUNICATIONS, INC)

SUNNYSIDE COMMUNICATIONS, INC) WXLN (1570 AM; 2 kW; NEW ALBANY, IN; Owner: MORTENSON BROADCASTING COMPANY)

MORTENSON BROADCASTING COMPANY) WSAI (1530 AM; 50 kW; CINCINNATI, OH; Owner: JACOR BROADCASTING CORPORATION) Strongest FM radio stations in Fairdale: WAMZ (97.5 FM; LOUISVILLE, KY; Owner: CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.)

CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.) WJIE-FM (88.5 FM; OKOLONA, KY; Owner: EVANGEL SCHOOLS, INC.)

EVANGEL SCHOOLS, INC.) WLRS (105.1 FM; SHEPHERDSVILLE, KY; Owner: BLUE CHIP BROADCASTING LICENSES II, LTD.)

BLUE CHIP BROADCASTING LICENSES II, LTD.) WFPL (89.3 FM; LOUISVILLE, KY; Owner: KENTUCKY PUBLIC RADIO, INC.)

KENTUCKY PUBLIC RADIO, INC.) WRVI (105.9 FM; VALLEY STATION, KY; Owner: SALEM MEDIA OF KENTUCKY, INC.)

SALEM MEDIA OF KENTUCKY, INC.) WQMF (95.7 FM; JEFFERSONVILLE, IN; Owner: CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.)

CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.) WSFR (107.7 FM; CORYDON, IN; Owner: CXR HOLDINGS, INC.)

CXR HOLDINGS, INC.) WPTI (103.9 FM; LOUISVILLE, KY; Owner: CXR HOLDINGS, INC.)

CXR HOLDINGS, INC.) WTFX-FM (100.5 FM; LOUISVILLE, KY; Owner: CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.)

CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.) WMJM (101.3 FM; JEFFERSONTOWN, KY; Owner: BLUE CHIP BROADCASTING LICENSES II, LTD.)

BLUE CHIP BROADCASTING LICENSES II, LTD.) WFPK (91.9 FM; LOUISVILLE, KY; Owner: KENTUCKY PUBLIC RADIO, INC.)

KENTUCKY PUBLIC RADIO, INC.) WUOL-FM (90.5 FM; LOUISVILLE, KY; Owner: KENTUCKY PUBLIC RADIO, INC.)

KENTUCKY PUBLIC RADIO, INC.) WDJX (99.7 FM; LOUISVILLE, KY; Owner: BLUE CHIP BROADCASTING LICENSES II, LTD.)

BLUE CHIP BROADCASTING LICENSES II, LTD.) WXMA (102.3 FM; LOUISVILLE, KY; Owner: BLUE CHIP BROADCASTING LICENSES II, LTD.)

BLUE CHIP BROADCASTING LICENSES II, LTD.) WVEZ (106.9 FM; LOUISVILLE, KY; Owner: CXR HOLDINGS, INC.)

CXR HOLDINGS, INC.) W284AD (104.7 FM; NEW ALBANY, IN; Owner: LIFETALK RADIO, INC.)

LIFETALK RADIO, INC.) WRKA (103.1 FM; ST. MATTHEWS, KY; Owner: CXR HOLDINGS, INC.)

CXR HOLDINGS, INC.) W216BM (91.1 FM; OKOLONA, KY; Owner: CALVARY CHAPEL OF TWIN FALLS, INC.)

CALVARY CHAPEL OF TWIN FALLS, INC.) WFIA-FM (94.7 FM; NEW ALBANY, IN; Owner: SALEM MEDIA OF KENTUCKY, INC.)

SALEM MEDIA OF KENTUCKY, INC.) WJZL (93.1 FM; CLARKSVILLE, IN; Owner: CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.) TV broadcast stations around Fairdale: WBKI-CA ( Channel 28; LOUISVILLE, KY; Owner: LOUISVILLE COMMUNICATIONS, LLC)

28; LOUISVILLE, KY; LOUISVILLE COMMUNICATIONS, LLC) W24BW ( Channel 24; LOUISVILLE, KY; Owner: GREATER LOUISVILLE COMMUNICATIONS)

24; LOUISVILLE, KY; GREATER LOUISVILLE COMMUNICATIONS) WVHF-LP ( Channel 5; JEFFERSONVILLE, ETC., IN; Owner: JOHN W. SMITH, JR.)

5; JEFFERSONVILLE, ETC., IN; JOHN W. SMITH, JR.) WHAS-TV ( Channel 11; LOUISVILLE, KY; Owner: BELO KENTUCKY, INC.)

11; LOUISVILLE, KY; BELO KENTUCKY, INC.) WBXV-CA ( Channel 13; LOUISVILLE, KY; Owner: THE BOX WORLDWIDE LLC)

13; LOUISVILLE, KY; THE BOX WORLDWIDE LLC) WAVE ( Channel 3; LOUISVILLE, KY; Owner: LIBCO, INC.)

3; LOUISVILLE, KY; LIBCO, INC.) WDRB ( Channel 41; LOUISVILLE, KY; Owner: INDEPENDENCE TELEVISION COMPANY)

41; LOUISVILLE, KY; INDEPENDENCE TELEVISION COMPANY) WFTE ( Channel 58; SALEM, IN; Owner: INDEPENDENCE TELEVISION COMPANY)

58; SALEM, IN; INDEPENDENCE TELEVISION COMPANY) WLKY-TV ( Channel 32; LOUISVILLE, KY; Owner: WLKY HEARST-ARGYLE TELEVISION, INC.)

32; LOUISVILLE, KY; WLKY HEARST-ARGYLE TELEVISION, INC.) WJYL-CA ( Channel 45; CLARKSVILLE, IN; Owner: JOHN W. SMITH, JR.)

45; CLARKSVILLE, IN; JOHN W. SMITH, JR.) WKPC-TV ( Channel 15; LOUISVILLE, KY; Owner: KENTUCKY AUTHORITY FOR EDUC'L. TV)

15; LOUISVILLE, KY; KENTUCKY AUTHORITY FOR EDUC'L. TV) WKMJ-TV ( Channel 68; LOUISVILLE, KY; Owner: KENTUCKY AUTHORITY FOR EDUCATIONAL TV)

68; LOUISVILLE, KY; KENTUCKY AUTHORITY FOR EDUCATIONAL TV) WBNA ( Channel 21; LOUISVILLE, KY; Owner: WORD BROADCASTING NETWORK, INC.)

21; LOUISVILLE, KY; WORD BROADCASTING NETWORK, INC.) W50CI ( Channel 50; LOUISVILLE, KY; Owner: SOUTH CENTRAL COMMUNICATIONS CORP.)

50; LOUISVILLE, KY; SOUTH CENTRAL COMMUNICATIONS CORP.) WKZT-TV ( Channel 23; ELIZABETHTOWN, KY; Owner: KENTUCKY AUTHORITY FOR EDUCATIONAL TV)

23; ELIZABETHTOWN, KY; KENTUCKY AUTHORITY FOR EDUCATIONAL TV) WBKI-TV (Channel 34; CAMPBELLSVILLE, KY; Owner: LOUISVILLE COMMUNICATIONS, LLC)

National Bridge Inventory (NBI) Statistics

22 Number of bridges

Number of bridges 161ft / 48.9m Total length

Total length $3,949,000 Total costs

Total costs 413,955 Total average daily traffic

Total average daily traffic 30,672 Total average daily truck traffic

Total average daily truck traffic 325,257 Total future (year 2026) average daily traffic

New bridges - historical statistics

1 1940-1949

1 1950-1959

1 1970-1979

16 1980-1989

1 1990-1999

1 2000-2009

1 2010-2018 See full National Bridge Inventory statistics for Fairdale, KY

Home Mortgage Disclosure Act Aggregated Statistics For Year 2009

(Based on 1 full and 1 partial tracts) A) FHA, FSA/RHS & VA

Home Purchase Loans B) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans C) Refinancings

D) Home Improvement Loans

F) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A B C & D) G) Loans On Manufactured

Home Dwelling (A B C & D) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 11 $110,115 25 $67,808 89 $96,386 5 $12,290 9 $67,009 11 $20,091 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 1 $56,000 12 $30,511 6 $123,470 1 $82,400 0 $0 10 $19,813 APPLICATIONS DENIED 4 $83,718 10 $76,735 42 $97,891 8 $18,108 1 $54,000 5 $11,226 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 5 $96,284 4 $99,908 24 $103,368 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 0 $0 7 $103,346 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2008

(Based on 1 full and 1 partial tracts) A) FHA, FSA/RHS & VA

Home Purchase Loans B) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans C) Refinancings

D) Home Improvement Loans

E) Loans on Dwellings For 5+ Families

F) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A B C & D) G) Loans On Manufactured

Home Dwelling (A B C & D) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 17 $100,423 39 $65,703 44 $99,129 11 $21,519 1 $3,700,000 13 $78,934 15 $22,533 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 3 $104,667 6 $31,978 6 $257,088 2 $6,000 0 $0 1 $1,034,000 5 $22,502 APPLICATIONS DENIED 5 $115,022 14 $59,023 45 $111,034 16 $47,003 0 $0 4 $46,455 9 $24,138 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 1 $106,000 3 $53,110 17 $98,986 2 $111,650 0 $0 1 $85,110 0 $0 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 3 $83,953 3 $110,863 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2007

(Based on 1 full and 1 partial tracts) A) FHA, FSA/RHS & VA

Home Purchase Loans B) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans C) Refinancings

D) Home Improvement Loans

F) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A B C & D) G) Loans On Manufactured

Home Dwelling (A B C & D) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 13 $104,632 50 $75,011 76 $87,726 19 $34,456 16 $70,931 11 $16,665 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 0 $0 12 $56,248 16 $77,061 3 $55,270 1 $89,000 9 $23,444 APPLICATIONS DENIED 4 $106,658 22 $64,796 81 $102,288 28 $45,498 7 $74,194 8 $32,620 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 2 $119,000 9 $81,876 24 $96,213 1 $50,340 1 $63,390 0 $0 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 1 $146,000 3 $103,983 10 $88,758 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2006

(Based on 1 full and 1 partial tracts) A) FHA, FSA/RHS & VA

Home Purchase Loans B) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans C) Refinancings

D) Home Improvement Loans

F) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A B C & D) G) Loans On Manufactured

Home Dwelling (A B C & D) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 15 $116,899 76 $76,786 78 $82,594 18 $35,367 19 $77,386 14 $18,031 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 2 $69,000 17 $41,271 21 $88,900 4 $23,153 5 $68,084 13 $18,372 APPLICATIONS DENIED 4 $74,500 33 $68,196 74 $93,983 13 $32,256 7 $61,443 14 $34,099 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 2 $72,740 13 $104,282 22 $114,775 6 $94,037 2 $78,810 0 $0 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 1 $68,000 4 $107,148 10 $107,624 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2005

(Based on 1 full and 1 partial tracts) A) FHA, FSA/RHS & VA

Home Purchase Loans B) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans C) Refinancings

D) Home Improvement Loans

F) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A B C & D) G) Loans On Manufactured

Home Dwelling (A B C & D) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 15 $117,604 74 $84,527 133 $85,169 19 $26,059 29 $79,910 3 $24,667 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 4 $105,570 29 $46,482 13 $96,543 3 $35,667 0 $0 17 $20,309 APPLICATIONS DENIED 4 $54,750 48 $65,590 90 $88,918 18 $32,290 6 $46,093 33 $39,925 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 1 $189,820 4 $83,360 34 $110,464 6 $160,272 1 $63,000 1 $15,000 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 1 $88,000 3 $65,900 8 $85,241 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2004

(Based on 1 full and 1 partial tracts) A) FHA, FSA/RHS & VA

Home Purchase Loans B) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans C) Refinancings

D) Home Improvement Loans

F) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A B C & D) G) Loans On Manufactured

Home Dwelling (A B C & D) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 27 $117,014 74 $79,329 119 $77,868 17 $29,269 15 $90,611 17 $28,526 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 2 $50,705 14 $61,656 36 $75,577 0 $0 2 $60,000 14 $31,216 APPLICATIONS DENIED 4 $144,433 36 $46,325 101 $81,924 24 $39,166 5 $103,410 37 $32,622 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 1 $98,950 5 $80,124 49 $101,351 5 $31,546 2 $52,210 0 $0 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 2 $102,000 9 $66,106 13 $74,740 1 $15,000 0 $0 3 $21,667 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2003

(Based on 1 full and 1 partial tracts) A) FHA, FSA/RHS & VA

Home Purchase Loans B) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans C) Refinancings

D) Home Improvement Loans

F) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A B C & D) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 21 $100,575 54 $82,871 200 $81,522 14 $33,860 21 $71,868 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 0 $0 10 $53,542 48 $70,542 2 $16,755 1 $13,000 APPLICATIONS DENIED 2 $124,765 23 $44,193 87 $73,046 20 $16,436 3 $34,020 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 2 $85,000 9 $70,374 66 $81,232 1 $72,210 4 $57,500 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 1 $82,000 2 $691,095 17 $83,098 1 $30,000 1 $56,000 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2002

(Based on 1 full and 1 partial tracts) A) FHA, FSA/RHS & VA

Home Purchase Loans B) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans C) Refinancings

D) Home Improvement Loans

F) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A B C & D) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 31 $97,863 54 $68,859 173 $71,503 17 $17,374 21 $60,525 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 0 $0 6 $64,392 24 $69,450 1 $39,550 0 $0 APPLICATIONS DENIED 9 $98,951 49 $48,367 55 $70,178 25 $9,152 2 $9,405 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 0 $0 3 $82,657 37 $79,301 5 $29,234 1 $152,390 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 3 $65,690 5 $80,870 0 $0 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2001

(Based on 1 full and 1 partial tracts) A) FHA, FSA/RHS & VA

Home Purchase Loans B) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans C) Refinancings

D) Home Improvement Loans

F) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A B C & D) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 25 $87,692 69 $52,370 175 $65,653 28 $20,581 19 $71,985 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 1 $51,890 9 $33,854 41 $60,031 5 $29,618 2 $38,500 APPLICATIONS DENIED 6 $78,057 61 $32,400 95 $51,806 26 $11,588 4 $42,470 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 2 $52,025 8 $49,461 39 $58,629 2 $19,465 1 $41,830 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 3 $105,290 11 $82,681 1 $55,000 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2000

(Based on 1 full and 1 partial tracts) A) FHA, FSA/RHS & VA

Home Purchase Loans B) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans C) Refinancings

D) Home Improvement Loans

F) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A B C & D) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 24 $73,540 83 $42,214 76 $52,810 35 $13,907 7 $55,509 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 1 $58,340 22 $39,831 30 $58,059 11 $15,873 1 $84,050 APPLICATIONS DENIED 4 $88,563 122 $30,906 72 $53,607 22 $15,820 3 $36,457 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 1 $90,600 3 $74,740 28 $55,674 3 $33,123 1 $27,490 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 1 $46,560 7 $59,594 0 $0 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 1999

(Based on 1 full and 1 partial tracts) A) FHA, FSA/RHS & VA

Home Purchase Loans B) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans C) Refinancings

D) Home Improvement Loans

F) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A B C & D) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 33 $77,445 112 $38,134 116 $53,233 36 $13,526 13 $39,081 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 1 $67,440 28 $34,773 43 $55,497 14 $12,330 3 $30,077 APPLICATIONS DENIED 4 $69,170 122 $31,139 89 $51,930 22 $16,430 2 $51,215 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 2 $72,375 6 $45,700 39 $60,572 4 $21,223 1 $45,110 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 1 $95,140 4 $66,405 0 $0 0 $0 Choose year: 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999

Detailed HMDA statistics for the following Tracts: 0120.01 , 0120.02



Private Mortgage Insurance Companies Aggregated Statistics For Year 2009

(Based on 1 full and 1 partial tracts) A) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans B) Refinancings

Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 1 $91,420 3 $133,113 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 1 $93,000 0 $0 APPLICATIONS DENIED 0 $0 0 $0 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 0 $0 0 $0 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2008

(Based on 1 full and 1 partial tracts) A) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans B) Refinancings

C) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A & B) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 9 $110,441 3 $130,123 1 $87,400 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 8 $106,250 7 $98,439 1 $60,400 APPLICATIONS DENIED 1 $60,000 0 $0 0 $0 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 0 $0 1 $89,760 0 $0 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2007

(Based on 1 full and 1 partial tracts) A) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans B) Refinancings

C) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A & B) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 21 $101,633 11 $122,664 0 $0 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 3 $126,193 4 $145,313 0 $0 APPLICATIONS DENIED 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 3 $102,667 2 $99,500 1 $104,000 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2006

(Based on 1 full and 1 partial tracts) A) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans B) Refinancings

C) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A & B) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 19 $107,863 10 $101,020 2 $94,000 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 2 $89,000 5 $97,800 0 $0 APPLICATIONS DENIED 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 1 $37,310 0 $0 0 $0 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2005

(Based on 1 full and 1 partial tracts) A) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans B) Refinancings

Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 11 $98,307 12 $108,952 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 4 $116,425 1 $75,000 APPLICATIONS DENIED 0 $0 0 $0 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 3 $115,667 1 $87,770 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2004

(Based on 1 full and 1 partial tracts) A) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans B) Refinancings

C) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A & B) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 11 $105,279 5 $89,984 3 $109,257 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 3 $118,333 5 $85,134 1 $47,690 APPLICATIONS DENIED 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 1 $140,000 2 $75,855 0 $0 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2003

(Based on 1 full and 1 partial tracts) A) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans B) Refinancings

C) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A & B) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 11 $113,722 22 $98,360 4 $91,750 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 3 $115,103 7 $108,547 0 $0 APPLICATIONS DENIED 0 $0 1 $112,000 0 $0 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 1 $139,000 0 $0 1 $139,000 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2002

(Based on 1 full and 1 partial tracts) A) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans B) Refinancings

C) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A & B) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 9 $75,387 17 $82,181 1 $76,560 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 1 $76,000 4 $99,425 0 $0 APPLICATIONS DENIED 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 2 $108,500 0 $0 0 $0 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2001

(Based on 1 full and 1 partial tracts) A) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans B) Refinancings

C) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A & B) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 9 $90,041 19 $91,477 1 $39,830 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 1 $134,480 3 $67,163 0 $0 APPLICATIONS DENIED 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 1 $139,470 0 $0 0 $0 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2000

(Based on 1 full and 1 partial tracts) A) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans B) Refinancings

C) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A & B) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 7 $86,111 5 $96,414 1 $55,000 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 0 $0 1 $77,700 0 $0 APPLICATIONS DENIED 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 1 $72,000 0 $0 0 $0 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 1999

(Based on 1 full and 1 partial tracts) A) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans B) Refinancings

C) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A & B) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 6 $87,267 7 $77,991 1 $57,520 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 APPLICATIONS DENIED 1 $49,210 0 $0 0 $0 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 Choose year: 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999

Detailed PMIC statistics for the following Tracts: 0120.01 , 0120.02





2002 - 2018 National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) incidents According to the data from the years 2002 - 2018 the average number of fires per year is 49. The highest number of fire incidents - 95 took place in 2007, and the least - 0 in 2003. The data has a declining trend.



Fire incident types reported to NFIRS in Fairdale, KY



369 44.7% Outside Fires



212 25.7% Mobile Property/Vehicle Fires



204 24.7% Structure Fires



41 5.0% Other When looking into fire subcategories, the most incidents belonged to: Outside Fires (44.7%), and Mobile Property/Vehicle Fires (25.7%). See full National Fire Incident Reporting System statistics for Fairdale, KY

Houses and condos Apartments 71.1% Utility gas

26.0% Electricity

1.3% Bottled, tank, or LP gas

0.7% Fuel oil, kerosene, etc.

0.6% No fuel used

0.3% Wood 59.3% Utility gas

38.6% Electricity

1.3% Other fuel

0.8% Bottled, tank, or LP gas





Fairdale compared to Kentucky state average: Unemployed percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Black race population percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Hispanic race population percentage below state average.

below Median age significantly below state average.

significantly below Foreign-born population percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Renting percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Length of stay since moving in significantly above state average.

significantly above Number of rooms per house significantly below state average.

significantly below House age significantly below state average.

significantly below Number of college students below state average.

below Percentage of population with a bachelor's degree or higher significantly below state average.

Fairdale on our top lists: #3 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of females in industries: other transportation, and support activities, and couriers (population 5,000+)"

#5 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of females in occupations: plant and system operators (population 5,000+)"

#5 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of females in industries: warehousing and storage (population 5,000+)"

#6 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of females in industries: machinery, equipment, and supplies merchant wholesalers (population 5,000+)"

#7 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of males in occupations: laborers and material movers, hand (population 5,000+)"

#7 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of females in occupations: other food preparation and serving workers including supervisors (population 5,000+)"

#9 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of males in industries: leather and allied products (population 5,000+)"

#17 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of males in industries: printing and related support activities (population 5,000+)"

#18 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of females in occupations: material recording, scheduling, dispatching, and distributing workers (population 5,000+)"

#21 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of males in industries: other transportation, and support activities, and couriers (population 5,000+)"

#22 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of females in occupations: laborers and material movers, hand (population 5,000+)"

#22 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of males in industries: music stores (population 5,000+)"

#22 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of males in industries: personal and laundry services (population 5,000+)"

#25 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of females in occupations: other office and administrative support workers including supervisors (population 5,000+)"

#33 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of males in industries: warehousing and storage (population 5,000+)"

#38 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of males in industries: metals and minerals, except petroleum, merchant wholesalers (population 5,000+)"

#39 on the list of "Top 101 cities with the smallest percentage of likely homosexual households (counted as self-reported same-sex unmarried-partner households) (population 5,000+)"

#41 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of females in industries: leather and allied products (population 5,000+)"

#49 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of males in industries: book stores and news dealers (population 5,000+)"

#57 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of males in industries: professional and commercial equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers (population 5,000+)" #18 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the worst general health status score of residents (1-5), 3 years of data"

#22 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the highest average weight of females"

#23 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the highest Particulate Matter (PM 2.5 ) Annual air pollution readings in 2012 (g/m 3 )"

#23 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the most Black Protestant adherents"

#31 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the lowest percentage of residents that exercised in the past month"

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Fairfield, North Carolina

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Population in 2010: 258.

Males: 89 (34.8%) Females: 169 (65.2%)

Median resident age: 71.8 years North Carolina median age: 39.1 years

Zip codes: 27826.

Estimated median household income in 2019: $41,653

Fairfield: $41,653 NC: $57,341

Estimated per capita income in 2019: $18,979



Fairfield CDP income, earnings, and wages data



Estimated median house or condo value in 2019: $158,480 Fairfield: $158,480 NC: $193,200

Mean prices in 2019: all housing units: $92,102; detached houses: $91,310 $41,653$18,979$158,480$92,102;$91,310

March 2019 cost of living index in Fairfield: 78.9 (low, U.S. average is 100)

Percentage of residents living in poverty in 2019: 13.2%

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Most recent value % change since 2k Data: Median household income ($) Median household income (% change since 2000) Household income diversity Ratio of average income to average house value (%) Ratio of average income to average rent Median household income ($) - White Median household income ($) - Black or African American Median household income ($) - Asian Median household income ($) - Hispanic or Latino Median household income ($) - American Indian and Alaska Native Median household income ($) - Multirace Median household income ($) - Other Race Median household income for houses/condos with a mortgage ($) Median household income for apartments without a mortgage ($) Races - White alone (%) Races - White alone (% change since 2000) Races - Black alone (%) Races - Black alone (% change since 2000) Races - American Indian alone (%) Races - American Indian alone (% change since 2000) Races - Asian alone (%) Races - Asian alone (% change since 2000) Races - Hispanic (%) Races - Hispanic (% change since 2000) Races - Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone (%) Races - Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone (% change since 2000) Races - Two or more races (%) Races - Two or more races (% change since 2000) Races - Other race alone (%) Races - Other race alone (% change since 2000) Racial diversity Unemployment (%) Unemployment (% change since 2000) Unemployment (%) - White Unemployment (%) - Black or African American Unemployment (%) - Asian Unemployment (%) - Hispanic or Latino Unemployment (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Unemployment (%) - Multirace Unemployment (%) - Other Race Population density (people per square mile) Population - Males (%) Population - Females (%) Population - Males (%) - White Population - Males (%) - Black or African American Population - Males (%) - Asian Population - Males (%) - Hispanic or Latino Population - Males (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Population - Males (%) - Multirace Population - Males (%) - Other Race Population - Females (%) - White Population - Females (%) - Black or African American Population - Females (%) - Asian Population - Females (%) - Hispanic or Latino Population - Females (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Population - Females (%) - Multirace Population - Females (%) - Other Race Coronavirus confirmed cases (Nov 21, 2021) Deaths caused by coronavirus (Nov 21, 2021) Coronavirus confirmed cases (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) Deaths caused by coronavirus (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) Daily increase in number of cases (Nov 21, 2021) Weekly increase in number of cases (Nov 21, 2021) Cases doubled (in days) (Nov 21, 2021) Hospitalized patients (Nov 21, 2021) Negative test results (Nov 21, 2021) Total test results (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses distributed (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses administered (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses distributed (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses administered (Nov 21, 2021) Likely homosexual households (%) Likely homosexual households (% change since 2000) Likely homosexual households - Lesbian couples (%) Likely homosexual households - Lesbian couples (% change since 2000) Likely homosexual households - Gay men (%) Likely homosexual households - Gay men (% change since 2000) Cost of living index Median gross rent ($) Median contract rent ($) Median monthly housing costs ($) Median house or condo value ($) Median house or condo value ($ change since 2000) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 1, detached ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 1, attached ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 2 ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure by units in structure - 3 or 4 ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 5 or more ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - Boat, RV, van, etc. ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - Mobile home ($) Median house or condo value ($) - White Median house or condo value ($) - Black or African American Median house or condo value ($) - Asian Median house or condo value ($) - Hispanic or Latino Median house or condo value ($) - American Indian and Alaska Native Median house or condo value ($) - Multirace Median house or condo value ($) - Other Race Median resident age Resident age diversity Median resident age - Males Median resident age - Females Median resident age - White Median resident age - Black or African American Median resident age - Asian Median resident age - Hispanic or Latino Median resident age - American Indian and Alaska Native Median resident age - Multirace Median resident age - Other Race Median resident age - Males - White Median resident age - Males - Black or African American Median resident age - Males - Asian Median resident age - Males - Hispanic or Latino Median resident age - Males - American Indian and Alaska Native Median resident age - Males - Multirace Median resident age - Males - Other Race Median resident age - Females - White Median resident age - Females - Black or African American Median resident age - Females - Asian Median resident age - Females - Hispanic or Latino Median resident age - Females - American Indian and Alaska Native Median resident age - Females - Multirace Median resident age - Females - Other Race Commute - mean travel time to work (minutes) Travel time to work - Less than 5 minutes (%) Travel time to work - Less than 5 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 5 to 9 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 5 to 9 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 10 to 19 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 10 to 19 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 20 to 29 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 20 to 29 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 30 to 39 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 30 to 39 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 40 to 59 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 40 to 59 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 60 to 89 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 60 to 89 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 90 or more minutes (%) Travel time to work - 90 or more minutes (% change since 2000) Marital status - Never married (%) Marital status - Now married (%) Marital status - Separated (%) Marital status - Widowed (%) Marital status - Divorced (%) Median family income ($) Median family income (% change since 2000) Median non-family income ($) Median non-family income (% change since 2000) Median per capita income ($) Median per capita income (% change since 2000) Median family income ($) - White Median family income ($) - Black or African American Median family income ($) - Asian Median family income ($) - Hispanic or Latino Median family income ($) - American Indian and Alaska Native Median family income ($) - Multirace Median family income ($) - Other Race Median year house/condo built Median year apartment built Year house built - Built 2005 or later (%) Year house built - Built 2000 to 2004 (%) Year house built - Built 1990 to 1999 (%) Year house built - Built 1980 to 1989 (%) Year house built - Built 1970 to 1979 (%) Year house built - Built 1960 to 1969 (%) Year house built - Built 1950 to 1959 (%) Year house built - Built 1940 to 1949 (%) Year house built - Built 1939 or earlier (%) Average household size Household density (households per square mile) Average household size - White Average household size - Black or African American Average household size - Asian Average household size - Hispanic or Latino Average household size - American Indian and Alaska Native Average household size - Multirace Average household size - Other Race Occupied housing units (%) Vacant housing units (%) Owner occupied housing units (%) Renter occupied housing units (%) Vacancy status - For rent (%) Vacancy status - For sale only (%) Vacancy status - Rented or sold, not occupied (%) Vacancy status - For seasonal, recreational, or occasional use (%) Vacancy status - For migrant workers (%) Vacancy status - Other vacant (%) Residents with income below the poverty level (%) Residents with income below 50% of the poverty level (%) Children below poverty level (%) Poor families by family type - Married-couple family (%) Poor families by family type - Male, no wife present (%) Poor families by family type - Female, no husband present (%) Poverty status for native-born residents (%) Poverty status for foreign-born residents (%) Poverty among high school graduates not in families (%) Poverty among people who did not graduate high school not in families (%) Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - White Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Black or African American Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Asian Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Hispanic or Latino Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Multirace Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Other Race Air pollution - Air Quality Index (AQI) Air pollution - CO Air pollution - NO2 Air pollution - SO2 Air pollution - Ozone Air pollution - PM10 Air pollution - PM25 Air pollution - Pb Crime - Murders per 100,000 population Crime - Rapes per 100,000 population Crime - Robberies per 100,000 population Crime - Assaults per 100,000 population Crime - Burglaries per 100,000 population Crime - Thefts per 100,000 population Crime - Auto thefts per 100,000 population Crime - Arson per 100,000 population Crime - City-data.com crime index Crime - Violent crime index Crime - Property crime index Crime - Murders per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Rapes per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Robberies per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Assaults per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Burglaries per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Thefts per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Auto thefts per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Arson per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - City-data.com crime index (5 year average) Crime - Violent crime index (5 year average) Crime - Property crime index (5 year average) 1996 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Clinton) 1996 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Dole) 1996 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2000 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Gore) 2000 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Bush) 2000 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2004 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Kerry) 2004 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Bush) 2004 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2008 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Obama) 2008 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (McCain) 2008 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2012 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Obama) 2012 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Romney) 2012 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2016 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Clinton) 2016 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Trump) 2016 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2020 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Biden) 2020 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Trump) 2020 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other Ancestries Reported - Arab (%) Ancestries Reported - Czech (%) Ancestries Reported - Danish (%) Ancestries Reported - Dutch (%) Ancestries Reported - English (%) Ancestries Reported - French (%) Ancestries Reported - French Canadian (%) Ancestries Reported - German (%) Ancestries Reported - Greek (%) Ancestries Reported - Hungarian (%) Ancestries Reported - Irish (%) Ancestries Reported - Italian (%) Ancestries Reported - Lithuanian (%) Ancestries Reported - Norwegian (%) Ancestries Reported - Polish (%) Ancestries Reported - Portuguese (%) Ancestries Reported - Russian (%) Ancestries Reported - Scotch-Irish (%) Ancestries Reported - Scottish (%) Ancestries Reported - Slovak (%) Ancestries Reported - Subsaharan African (%) Ancestries Reported - Swedish (%) Ancestries Reported - Swiss (%) Ancestries Reported - Ukrainian (%) Ancestries Reported - United States (%) Ancestries Reported - Welsh (%) Ancestries Reported - West Indian (%) Ancestries Reported - Other (%) Educational Attainment - No schooling completed (%) Educational Attainment - Less than high school (%) Educational Attainment - High school or equivalent (%) Educational Attainment - Less than 1 year of college (%) Educational Attainment - 1 or more years of college (%) Educational Attainment - Associate degree (%) Educational Attainment - Bachelor's degree (%) Educational Attainment - Master's degree (%) Educational Attainment - Professional school degree (%) Educational Attainment - Doctorate degree (%) School Enrollment - Nursery, preschool (%) School Enrollment - Kindergarten (%) School Enrollment - Grade 1 to 4 (%) School Enrollment - Grade 5 to 8 (%) School Enrollment - Grade 9 to 12 (%) School Enrollment - College undergrad (%) School Enrollment - Graduate or professional (%) School Enrollment - Not enrolled in school (%) School enrollment - Public schools (%) School enrollment - Private schools (%) School enrollment - Not enrolled (%) Median number of rooms in houses and condos Median number of rooms in apartments Housing units lacking complete plumbing facilities (%) Housing units lacking complete kitchen facilities (%) Density of houses Urban houses (%) Rural houses (%) Households with people 60 years and over (%) Households with people 65 years and over (%) Households with people 75 years and over (%) Households with one or more nonrelatives (%) Households with no nonrelatives (%) Population in households (%) Family households (%) Nonfamily households (%) Population in families (%) Family households with own children (%) Median number of bedrooms in owner occupied houses Mean number of bedrooms in owner occupied houses Median number of bedrooms in renter occupied houses Mean number of bedrooms in renter occupied houses Median number of vehichles in owner occupied houses Mean number of vehichles in owner occupied houses Median number of vehichles in renter occupied houses Mean number of vehichles in renter occupied houses Mortgage status - with mortgage (%) Mortgage status - with second mortgage (%) Mortgage status - with home equity loan (%) Mortgage status - with both second mortgage and home equity loan (%) Mortgage status - without a mortgage (%) Average family size Average family size - White Average family size - Black or African American Average family size - Asian Average family size - Hispanic or Latino Average family size - American Indian and Alaska Native Average family size - Multirace Average family size - Other Race Geographical mobility - Same house 1 year ago (%) Geographical mobility - Moved within same county (%) Geographical mobility - Moved from different county within same state (%) Geographical mobility - Moved from different state (%) Geographical mobility - Moved from abroad (%) Place of birth - Born in state of residence (%) Place of birth - Born in other state (%) Place of birth - Native, outside of US (%) Place of birth - Foreign born (%) Housing units in structures - 1, detached (%) Housing units in structures - 1, attached (%) Housing units in structures - 2 (%) Housing units in structures - 3 or 4 (%) Housing units in structures - 5 to 9 (%) Housing units in structures - 10 to 19 (%) Housing units in structures - 20 to 49 (%) Housing units in structures - 50 or more (%) Housing units in structures - Mobile home (%) Housing units in structures - Boat, RV, van, etc. (%) House/condo owner moved in on average (years ago) Renter moved in on average (years ago) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1999 to March 2000 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1995 to 1998 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1990 to 1994 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1980 to 1989 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1970 to 1979 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1969 or earlier (%) Means of transportation to work - Drove car alone (%) Means of transportation to work - Carpooled (%) Means of transportation to work - Public transportation (%) Means of transportation to work - Bus or trolley bus (%) Means of transportation to work - Streetcar or trolley car (%) Means of transportation to work - Subway or elevated (%) Means of transportation to work - Railroad (%) Means of transportation to work - Ferryboat (%) Means of transportation to work - Taxicab (%) Means of transportation to work - Motorcycle (%) Means of transportation to work - Bicycle (%) Means of transportation to work - Walked (%) Means of transportation to work - Other means (%) Working at home (%) Industry diversity Most Common Industries - Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining (%) Most Common Industries - Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (%) Most Common Industries - Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (%) Most Common Industries - Construction (%) Most Common Industries - Manufacturing (%) Most Common Industries - Wholesale trade (%) Most Common Industries - Retail trade (%) Most Common Industries - Transportation and warehousing, and utilities (%) Most Common Industries - Transportation and warehousing (%) Most Common Industries - Utilities (%) Most Common Industries - Information (%) Most Common Industries - Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing (%) Most Common Industries - Finance and insurance (%) Most Common Industries - Real estate and rental and leasing (%) Most Common Industries - Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services (%) Most Common Industries - Professional, scientific, and technical services (%) Most Common Industries - Management of companies and enterprises (%) Most Common Industries - Administrative and support and waste management services (%) Most Common Industries - Educational services, and health care and social assistance (%) Most Common Industries - Educational services (%) Most Common Industries - Health care and social assistance (%) Most Common Industries - Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation and food services (%) Most Common Industries - Arts, entertainment, and recreation (%) Most Common Industries - Accommodation and food services (%) Most Common Industries - Other services, except public administration (%) Most Common Industries - Public administration (%) Occupation diversity Most Common Occupations - Management, business, science, and arts occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Management, business, and financial occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Management occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Business and financial operations occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Computer, engineering, and science occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Computer and mathematical occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Architecture and engineering occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Life, physical, and social science occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Education, legal, community service, arts, and media occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Community and social service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Legal occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Education, training, and library occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Health diagnosing and treating practitioners and other technical occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Health technologists and technicians (%) Most Common Occupations - Service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Healthcare support occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Protective service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Fire fighting and prevention, and other protective service workers including supervisors (%) Most Common Occupations - Law enforcement workers including supervisors (%) Most Common Occupations - Food preparation and serving related occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Personal care and service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Sales and office occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Sales and related occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Office and administrative support occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Construction and extraction occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Production, transportation, and material moving occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Production occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Transportation occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Material moving occupations (%) People in Group quarters - Institutionalized population (%) People in Group quarters - Correctional institutions (%) People in Group quarters - Federal prisons and detention centers (%) People in Group quarters - Halfway houses (%) People in Group quarters - Local jails and other confinement facilities (including police lockups) (%) People in Group quarters - Military disciplinary barracks (%) People in Group quarters - State prisons (%) People in Group quarters - Other types of correctional institutions (%) People in Group quarters - Nursing homes (%) People in Group quarters - Hospitals/wards, hospices, and schools for the handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Hospitals/wards and hospices for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Hospices or homes for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Military hospitals or wards for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Other hospitals or wards for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Hospitals or wards for drug/alcohol abuse (%) People in Group quarters - Mental (Psychiatric) hospitals or wards (%) People in Group quarters - Schools, hospitals, or wards for the mentally retarded (%) People in Group quarters - Schools, hospitals, or wards for the physically handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Institutions for the deaf (%) People in Group quarters - Institutions for the blind (%) People in Group quarters - Orthopedic wards and institutions for the physically handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Wards in general hospitals for patients who have no usual home elsewhere (%) People in Group quarters - Wards in military hospitals for patients who have no usual home elsewhere (%) People in Group quarters - Juvenile institutions (%) People in Group quarters - Long-term care (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for abused, dependent, and neglected children (%) People in Group quarters - Residential treatment centers for emotionally disturbed children (%) People in Group quarters - Training schools for juvenile delinquents (%) People in Group quarters - Short-term care, detention or diagnostic centers for delinquent children (%) People in Group quarters - Type of juvenile institution unknown (%) People in Group quarters - Noninstitutionalized population (%) People in Group quarters - College dormitories (includes college quarters off campus) (%) People in Group quarters - Military quarters (%) People in Group quarters - On base (%) People in Group quarters - Barracks, unaccompanied personnel housing (UPH), (Enlisted/Officer), ;and similar group living quarters for military personnel (%) People in Group quarters - Transient quarters for temporary residents (%) People in Group quarters - Military ships (%) People in Group quarters - Group homes (%) People in Group quarters - Homes or halfway houses for drug/alcohol abuse (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for the mentally ill (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for the mentally retarded (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for the physically handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Other group homes (%) People in Group quarters - Religious group quarters (%) People in Group quarters - Dormitories (%) People in Group quarters - Agriculture workers' dormitories on farms (%) People in Group quarters - Job Corps and vocational training facilities (%) People in Group quarters - Other workers' dormitories (%) People in Group quarters - Crews of maritime vessels (%) People in Group quarters - Other nonhousehold living situations (%) People in Group quarters - Other noninstitutional group quarters (%) Residents speaking English at home (%) Residents speaking English at home - Born in the United States (%) Residents speaking English at home - Native, born elsewhere (%) Residents speaking English at home - Foreign born (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home - Born in the United States (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home - Native, born elsewhere (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home - Foreign born (%) Residents speaking other language at home (%) Residents speaking other language at home - Born in the United States (%) Residents speaking other language at home - Native, born elsewhere (%) Residents speaking other language at home - Foreign born (%) Class of Workers - Employee of private company (%) Class of Workers - Self-employed in own incorporated business (%) Class of Workers - Private not-for-profit wage and salary workers (%) Class of Workers - Local government workers (%) Class of Workers - State government workers (%) Class of Workers - Federal government workers (%) Class of Workers - Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business and Unpaid family workers (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Utility gas (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Bottled, tank, or LP gas (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Electricity (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Fuel oil, kerosene, etc. (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Coal or coke (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Wood (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Solar energy (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Other fuel (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - No fuel used (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Utility gas (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Bottled, tank, or LP gas (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Electricity (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Fuel oil, kerosene, etc. (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Coal or coke (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Wood (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Solar energy (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Other fuel (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - No fuel used (%) Armed forces status - In Armed Forces (%) Armed forces status - Civilian (%) Armed forces status - Civilian - Veteran (%) Armed forces status - Civilian - Nonveteran (%) Fatal accidents locations in years 2005-2019 Fatal accidents locations in 2005 Fatal accidents locations in 2006 Fatal accidents locations in 2007 Fatal accidents locations in 2008 Fatal accidents locations in 2009 Fatal accidents locations in 2010 Fatal accidents locations in 2011 Fatal accidents locations in 2012 Fatal accidents locations in 2013 Fatal accidents locations in 2014 Fatal accidents locations in 2015 Fatal accidents locations in 2016 Fatal accidents locations in 2017 Fatal accidents locations in 2018 Fatal accidents locations in 2019 Alcohol use - People drinking some alcohol every month (%) Alcohol use - People not drinking at all (%) Alcohol use - Average days/month drinking alcohol Alcohol use - Average drinks/week Alcohol use - Average days/year people drink much Audiometry - Average condition of hearing (%) Audiometry - People that can hear a whisper from across a quiet room (%) Audiometry - People that can hear normal voice from across a quiet room (%) Audiometry - Ears ringing, roaring, buzzing (%) Audiometry - Had a job exposure to loud noise (%) Audiometry - Had off-work exposure to loud noise (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Has high blood pressure (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Checking blood pressure at home (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Frequently checking blood cholesterol (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Has high cholesterol level (%) Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on food at supermarket/grocery store Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on food at other stores Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on eating out Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on carryout/delivered foods Consumer Behavior - Income spent on food at supermarket/grocery store (%) Consumer Behavior - Income spent on food at other stores (%) Consumer Behavior - Income spent on eating out (%) Consumer Behavior - Income spent on carryout/delivered foods (%) Current Health Status - General health condition (%) Current Health Status - Blood donors (%) Current Health Status - Has blood ever tested for HIV virus (%) Current Health Status - Left-handed people (%) Dermatology - People using sunscreen (%) Diabetes - Diabetics (%) Diabetes - Had a blood test for high blood sugar (%) Diabetes - People taking insulin (%) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Diet health (%) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Milk product consumption (# of products/month) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Meals not home prepared (#/week) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Meals from fast food or pizza place (#/week) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Ready-to-eat foods (#/month) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Frozen meals/pizza (#/month) Drug Use - People that ever used marijuana or hashish (%) Drug Use - Ever used hard drugs (%) Drug Use - Ever used any form of cocaine (%) Drug Use - Ever used heroin (%) Drug Use - Ever used methamphetamine (%) Health Insurance - People covered by health insurance (%) Kidney Conditions-Urology - Avg. # of times urinating at night Medical Conditions - People with asthma (%) Medical Conditions - People with anemia (%) Medical Conditions - People with psoriasis (%) Medical Conditions - People with overweight (%) Medical Conditions - Elderly people having difficulties in thinking or remembering (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever received blood transfusion (%) Medical Conditions - People having trouble seeing even with glass/contacts (%) Medical Conditions - People with arthritis (%) Medical Conditions - People with gout (%) Medical Conditions - People with congestive heart failure (%) Medical Conditions - People with coronary heart disease (%) Medical Conditions - People with angina pectoris (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever had heart attack (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever had stroke (%) Medical Conditions - People with emphysema (%) Medical Conditions - People with thyroid problem (%) Medical Conditions - People with chronic bronchitis (%) Medical Conditions - People with any liver condition (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever had cancer or malignancy (%) Mental Health - People who have little interest in doing things (%) Mental Health - People feeling down, depressed, or hopeless (%) Mental Health - People who have trouble sleeping or sleeping too much (%) Mental Health - People feeling tired or having little energy (%) Mental Health - People with poor appetite or overeating (%) Mental Health - People feeling bad about themself (%) Mental Health - People who have trouble concentrating on things (%) Mental Health - People moving or speaking slowly or too fast (%) Mental Health - People having thoughts they would be better off dead (%) Oral Health - Average years since last visit a dentist Oral Health - People embarrassed because of mouth (%) Oral Health - People with gum disease (%) Oral Health - General health of teeth and gums (%) Oral Health - Average days a week using dental floss/device Oral Health - Average days a week using mouthwash for dental problem Oral Health - Average number of teeth Pesticide Use - Households using pesticides to control insects (%) Pesticide Use - Households using pesticides to kill weeds (%) Physical Activity - People doing vigorous-intensity work activities (%) Physical Activity - People doing moderate-intensity work activities (%) Physical Activity - People walking or bicycling (%) Physical Activity - People doing vigorous-intensity recreational activities (%) Physical Activity - People doing moderate-intensity recreational activities (%) Physical Activity - Average hours a day doing sedentary activities Physical Activity - Average hours a day watching TV or videos Physical Activity - Average hours a day using computer Physical Functioning - People having limitations keeping them from working (%) Physical Functioning - People limited in amount of work they can do (%) Physical Functioning - People that need special equipment to walk (%) Physical Functioning - People experiencing confusion/memory problems (%) Physical Functioning - People requiring special healthcare equipment (%) Prescription Medications - Average number of prescription medicines taking Preventive Aspirin Use - Adults 40+ taking low-dose aspirin (%) Reproductive Health - Vaginal deliveries (%) Reproductive Health - Cesarean deliveries (%) Reproductive Health - Deliveries resulted in a live birth (%) Reproductive Health - Pregnancies resulted in a delivery (%) Reproductive Health - Women breastfeeding newborns (%) Reproductive Health - Women that had a hysterectomy (%) Reproductive Health - Women that had both ovaries removed (%) Reproductive Health - Women that have ever taken birth control pills (%) Reproductive Health - Women taking birth control pills (%) Reproductive Health - Women that have ever used Depo-Provera or injectables (%) Reproductive Health - Women that have ever used female hormones (%) Sexual Behavior - People 18+ that ever had sex (vaginal, anal, or oral) (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever had vaginal sex with a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever performed oral sex on a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever had anal sex with a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever had any sex with a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever had vaginal sex with a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever performed oral sex on a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever had anal sex with a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever had any kind of sex with a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Average age people first had sex Sexual Behavior - Average number of female sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of female vaginal sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average age people first performed oral sex on a woman (18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of woman performed oral sex on in lifetime (18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male anal sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average age people first performed oral sex on a man (18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male oral sex partners in lifetime (18+) Sexual Behavior - People using protection when performing oral sex (%) Sexual Behavior - Average number of times people have vaginal or anal sex a year Sexual Behavior - People having sex without condom (%) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male sex partners in lifetime (females 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male vaginal sex partners in lifetime (females 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of female sex partners in lifetime (females 18+) Sexual Behavior - Circumcised males 18+ (%) Sleep Disorders - Average hours sleeping at night Sleep Disorders - People that has trouble sleeping (%) Smoking-Cigarette Use - People smoking cigarettes (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ having problems with smell (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ having problems with taste (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had wisdom teeth removed (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had tonsils teeth removed (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had a loss of consciousness because of a head injury (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had a broken nose or other serious injury to face or skull (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had two or more sinus infections (%) Weight - Average height (inches) Weight - Average weight (pounds) Weight - Average BMI Weight - People that are obese (%) Weight - People that ever were obese (%) Weight - People trying to lose weight (%) Settings Get link Loading data... Based on 2000-2020 data Loading data...

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162 60.0% Black alone 107 39.6% White alone

Races in Fairfield detailed stats: ancestries, foreign born residents, place of birth





According to our research of North Carolina and other state lists, there was 1 registered sex offender living in Fairfield, North Carolina as of November 22, 2021.

The ratio of all residents to sex offenders in Fairfield is 272 to 1.





Ancestries: American (28.4%), English (18.3%), Irish (12.8%).

Current Local Time: EST time zone

Median real estate property taxes paid for housing units with mortgages in 2019: $671 (0.9%)

Median real estate property taxes paid for housing units with no mortgage in 2019: $416 (0.4%)



Latitude: 36.10 N, Longitude: 79.82 W

Area code commonly used in this area: 336

Unemployment in November 2020:

Here: 6.6% North Carolina: 6.1%

Air pollution and air quality trends

(lower is better) AQI CO NO 2 SO 2 Ozone PM 10 PM 2.5

Air Quality Index (AQI) level in 2018 was 70.0. This is about average. City: 70.0 U.S.: 74.2

Carbon Monoxide (CO) [ppm] level in 2008 was 0.415. This is significantly worse than average. Closest monitor was 1.6 miles away from the city center. City: 0.415 U.S.: 0.267

Nitrogen Dioxide (NO 2 ) [ppb] level in 2018 was 6.65. This is about average. Closest monitor was 1.9 miles away from the city center. City: 6.65 U.S.: 5.56

Sulfur Dioxide (SO 2 ) [ppb] level in 2018 was 0.173. This is significantly better than average. Closest monitor was 0.7 miles away from the city center. City: 0.173 U.S.: 1.789

Ozone [ppb] level in 2018 was 32.1. This is about average. Closest monitor was 1.1 miles away from the city center. City: 32.1 U.S.: 33.3

Particulate Matter (PM 10 ) [g/m3] level in 2018 was 16.7. This is about average. Closest monitor was 1.1 miles away from the city center. City: 16.7 U.S.: 19.6

Particulate Matter (PM 2.5 ) [g/m3] level in 2018 was 7.39. This is about average. Closest monitor was 1.1 miles away from the city center. City: 7.39 U.S.: 8.46

Tornado activity: Fairfield-area historical tornado activity is slightly below North Carolina state average. It is 24% smaller than the overall U.S. average.

On 5/5/1989, a category F3 (max. wind speeds 158-206 mph) tornado 17.8 miles away from the Fairfield place center injured 30 people and caused between $5,000,000 and $50,000,000 in damages. On 5/22/1985, a category F3 tornado 22.5 miles away from the place center caused between $500,000 and $5,000,000 in damages.

Earthquake activity: Fairfield-area historical earthquake activity is significantly above North Carolina state average. It is 33% smaller than the overall U.S. average.



On 8/23/2011 at 17:51:04, a magnitude 5.8 (5.8 MW, Depth: 3.7 mi, Class: Moderate, Intensity: VI - VII) earthquake occurred 162.7 miles away from Fairfield center

On 8/9/2020 at 12:07:37, a magnitude 5.1 (5.1 MW, Depth: 4.7 mi) earthquake occurred 75.7 miles away from Fairfield center

On 7/27/1980 at 18:52:21, a magnitude 5.2 (5.1 MB, 4.7 MS, 5.0 UK, 5.2 UK) earthquake occurred 269.9 miles away from the city center

On 8/2/1974 at 08:52:09, a magnitude 4.9 (4.3 MB, 4.9 LG, Class: Light, Intensity: IV - V) earthquake occurred 215.9 miles away from the city center

On 12/9/2003 at 20:59:14, a magnitude 4.5 (4.5 MB, 4.5 LG) earthquake occurred 147.7 miles away from the city center

On 12/9/2003 at 20:59:18, a magnitude 4.5 (4.5 ML, Depth: 6.2 mi) earthquake occurred 149.8 miles away from Fairfield center

Magnitude types: regional Lg-wave magnitude (LG), body-wave magnitude (MB), local magnitude (ML), surface-wave magnitude (MS), moment magnitude (MW)

Natural disasters: The number of natural disasters in Hyde County (24) is greater than the US average (15).

Major Disasters (Presidential) Declared: 10

Emergencies Declared: 8



Causes of natural disasters: Hurricanes: 19, Fire: 1, Snowfall: 1, Storm: 1, Tornado: 1, Tropical Storm: 1, Winter Storm: 1, Other: 1 (Note: some incidents may be assigned to more than one category).

Hospitals and medical centers near Fairfield: HUMANA HOSPITAL-GREENSBORO (Hospital, about 1 miles away; GREENSBORO, NC)

CHARTER GREENSBORO BEHAVIORAL HLTH SYS (Hospital, about 2 miles away; GREENSBORO, NC)

WESLEY LONG COMMUNITY HOSPITAL (Hospital, about 2 miles away; GREENSBORO, NC)

RHA/HOWELL CARE CENTERS/HOLDEN (Hospital, about 2 miles away; GREENSBORO, NC)

GOLDEN LIVINGCENTER - GREENSBORO (Nursing Home, about 2 miles away; GREENSBORO, NC)

GREENSBORO HEALTH CARE CENTER (Nursing Home, about 2 miles away; GREENSBORO, NC)

MOSES H CONE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL, THE Acute Care Hospitals (about 2 miles away; GREENSBORO, NC)

Amtrak stations near Fairfield: 3 miles: GREENSBORO (2603 OAKLAND AVE.) . Services: ticket office, fully wheelchair accessible, enclosed waiting area, public restrooms, public payphones, vending machines, free short-term parking, free long-term parking, call for car rental service, call for taxi service.

GREENSBORO (2603 OAKLAND AVE.) . ticket office, fully wheelchair accessible, enclosed waiting area, public restrooms, public payphones, vending machines, free short-term parking, free long-term parking, call for car rental service, call for taxi service. 15 miles: HIGH POINT (100 W. HIGH ST.) . Services: partially wheelchair accessible, enclosed waiting area, public restrooms, public payphones, vending machines, paid short-term parking, paid long-term parking, call for car rental service, call for taxi service, public transit connection.

Colleges/universities with over 2000 students nearest to Fairfield: University of North Carolina at Greensboro ( about 3 miles; Greensboro, NC ; Full-time enrollment: 16,174)

3 ; 16,174) North Carolina A & T State University ( about 4 miles; Greensboro, NC ; FT enrollment: 9,805)

4 ; 9,805) Guilford College ( about 4 miles; Greensboro, NC ; FT enrollment: 2,211)

4 ; 2,211) Guilford Technical Community College ( about 10 miles; Jamestown, NC ; FT enrollment: 13,068)

10 ; 13,068) High Point University ( about 14 miles; High Point, NC ; FT enrollment: 4,240)

14 ; 4,240) Elon University ( about 18 miles; Elon, NC ; FT enrollment: 6,403)

18 ; 6,403) Winston-Salem State University (about 23 miles; Winston-Salem, NC; FT enrollment: 5,378)

Points of interest: Click to draw/clear place borders Church in Fairfield: Star Zion Church (A) . Display/hide its location on the map Tourist attractions: Mattamuskeet Outfitters (Tours & Charters; 6216 Nc Highway 94), Lakeside Farms Guide Service (Tours & Charters; Highway 94).

Hyde County has a predicted average indoor radon screening level less than 2 pCi/L (pico curies per liter) - Low Potential

Average household size: This place: 2.4 people North Carolina: 2.5 people

Percentage of family households: This place: 71.7% Whole state: 66.7%

Percentage of households with unmarried partners: This place: 3.8% Whole state: 5.9%



Likely homosexual households (counted as self-reported same-sex unmarried-partner households) Lesbian couples: 0.0% of all households

0.0% Gay men: 0.9% of all households

5 people in group homes intended for adults in 2010

Banks with branches in Fairfield (2011 data): The East Carolina Bank: Fairfield Branch at State Highway 94, branch established on 1973/06/14. Info updated 2010/05/27: Bank assets: $921.7 mil, Deposits: $797.6 mil, headquarters in Engelhard, NC, positive income, Commercial Lending Specialization, 25 total offices, Holding Company: Ecb Bancorp, Inc.

For population 15 years and over in Fairfield: Never married: 2.7%

2.7% Now married: 82.7%

82.7% Separated: 7.3%

7.3% Widowed: 7.2%

7.2% Divorced: 0.0%

For population 25 years and over in Fairfield: High school or higher: 87.0%

87.0% Bachelor's degree or higher: 7.1%

7.1% Graduate or professional degree: 0.0%

Education Gini index (Inequality in education) Here: 4.7 North Carolina average: 11.8



Religion statistics for Fairfield, NC (based on Hyde County data) Religion Adherents Congregations Mainline Protestant 736 14 Evangelical Protestant 334 13 Other 1 - Catholic - - None 4,739 - Source: Clifford Grammich, Kirk Hadaway, Richard Houseal, Dale E.Jones, Alexei Krindatch, Richie Stanley and Richard H.Taylor. 2012. 2010 U.S.Religion Census: Religious Congregations & Membership Study. Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies. Jones, Dale E., et al. 2002. Congregations and Membership in the United States 2000. Nashville, TN: Glenmary Research Center. Graphs represent county-level data

Food Environment Statistics: Number of grocery stores: 3 Hyde County : 5.75 / 10,000 pop. North Carolina : 2.05 / 10,000 pop. Number of convenience stores (no gas): 1 Hyde County : 1.92 / 10,000 pop. North Carolina : 0.92 / 10,000 pop. Number of convenience stores (with gas): 6 This county : 11.50 / 10,000 pop. North Carolina : 4.75 / 10,000 pop. Number of full-service restaurants: 10 Hyde County : 19.17 / 10,000 pop. State : 7.57 / 10,000 pop. Adult diabetes rate: Hyde County : 12.0% North Carolina : 9.8% Adult obesity rate: Here : 31.2% North Carolina : 28.3% Low-income preschool obesity rate: Here : 13.1% North Carolina : 15.6%

4.06% of this county's 2015 resident taxpayers moved to other counties in 2016 ($31,353 average adjusted gross income) Here: 4.06% North Carolina average: 7.23% 10 or fewer of this county's residents moved to foreign countries between 2015 and 2016.

Strongest AM radio stations in Fairfield: WWBG (1470 AM; 10 kW; GREENSBORO, NC; Owner: TRUTH BROADCASTING COPORATION)

TRUTH BROADCASTING COPORATION) WTRU (830 AM; 50 kW; KERNERSVILLE, NC; Owner: TRUTH BROADCASTING CORPORATION)

TRUTH BROADCASTING CORPORATION) WKEW (1400 AM; 1 kW; GREENSBORO, NC; Owner: TRUTH BROADCASTING CORPORATION)

TRUTH BROADCASTING CORPORATION) WCOG (1320 AM; 5 kW; GREENSBORO, NC; Owner: TRUTH BROADCASTING CORPORATION)

TRUTH BROADCASTING CORPORATION) WEAL (1510 AM; daytime; 1 kW; GREENSBORO, NC)

WPET (950 AM; 1 kW; GREENSBORO, NC; Owner: ENTERCOM GREENSBORO LICENSE, LLC)

ENTERCOM GREENSBORO LICENSE, LLC) WSML (1200 AM; 10 kW; GRAHAM, NC; Owner: INFINITY RADIO OPERATIONS INC.)

INFINITY RADIO OPERATIONS INC.) WPTF (680 AM; 50 kW; RALEIGH, NC; Owner: FIRST STATE COMMUNICATIONS)

FIRST STATE COMMUNICATIONS) WPCM (920 AM; 5 kW; BURLINGTON-GRAHAM, NC; Owner: CAROLINA RADIO GROUP, INC.)

CAROLINA RADIO GROUP, INC.) WFTK (1030 AM; daytime; 50 kW; WAKE FOREST, NC; Owner: POSITIVE RADIO GROUP, INC.)

POSITIVE RADIO GROUP, INC.) WIST (790 AM; 3 kW; THOMASVILLE, NC; Owner: GHB RADIO, INC.)

GHB RADIO, INC.) WSJS (600 AM; 5 kW; WINSTON-SALEM, NC)

WKXR (1260 AM; 5 kW; ASHEBORO, NC; Owner: RANDOLPH BROADCASTING, INC.) Strongest FM radio stations in Fairfield: WNAA (90.1 FM; GREENSBORO, NC; Owner: NC AGRICULTURAL & TECHNICAL STATE UNIVERSITY)

NC AGRICULTURAL & TECHNICAL STATE UNIVERSITY) WUAG (103.1 FM; GREENSBORO, NC; Owner: U. OF NORTH CAROLINA AT GREENSBORO)

U. OF NORTH CAROLINA AT GREENSBORO) WOZN (98.7 FM; GREENSBORO, NC; Owner: ENTERCOM GREENSBORO LICENSE, LLC)

ENTERCOM GREENSBORO LICENSE, LLC) WVBZ (100.3 FM; HIGH POINT, NC; Owner: CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP)

CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP) WQMG-FM (97.1 FM; GREENSBORO, NC; Owner: ENTERCOM GREENSBORO LICENSE, LLC)

ENTERCOM GREENSBORO LICENSE, LLC) WMAG (99.5 FM; HIGH POINT, NC; Owner: CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP)

CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP) WJMH (102.1 FM; REIDSVILLE, NC; Owner: ENTERCOM GREENSBORO LICENSE, LLC)

ENTERCOM GREENSBORO LICENSE, LLC) WMQX-FM (93.1 FM; WINSTON-SALEM, NC; Owner: ENTERCOM GREENSBORO LICENSE, LLC)

ENTERCOM GREENSBORO LICENSE, LLC) WQFS (90.9 FM; GREENSBORO, NC; Owner: GUILFORD COLLEGE)

GUILFORD COLLEGE) WFDD (88.5 FM; WINSTON-SALEM, NC; Owner: WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY)

WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY) WKRR (92.3 FM; ASHEBORO, NC; Owner: DICK BROADCASTING COMPANY, INC. OF TENNESSEE)

DICK BROADCASTING COMPANY, INC. OF TENNESSEE) WKZL (107.5 FM; WINSTON-SALEM, NC; Owner: DICK BROADCASTING COMPANY, INC. OF TENNESSEE)

DICK BROADCASTING COMPANY, INC. OF TENNESSEE) WGBT (94.5 FM; EDEN, NC; Owner: CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.)

CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.) WKXU (101.1 FM; BURLINGTON, NC; Owner: CAROLINA RADIO GROUP, INC.)

CAROLINA RADIO GROUP, INC.) WIST-FM (98.3 FM; THOMASVILLE, NC; Owner: WEAM QUALITY RADIO CORP.)

WEAM QUALITY RADIO CORP.) WTQR (104.1 FM; WINSTON-SALEM, NC; Owner: CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.)

CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.) WHPE-FM (95.5 FM; HIGH POINT, NC; Owner: BIBLE BROADCASTING NETWORK, INC.)

BIBLE BROADCASTING NETWORK, INC.) W243AL (96.5 FM; BROWNS SUMMIT, NC; Owner: CALVARY CHAPEL OF TWIN FALLS, INC.)

CALVARY CHAPEL OF TWIN FALLS, INC.) W285DJ (104.9 FM; MOUNT AIRY, NC; Owner: TRIAD FAMILY NETWORK, INC,)

TRIAD FAMILY NETWORK, INC,) WRSN (93.9 FM; BURLINGTON, NC; Owner: CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP) TV broadcast stations around Fairfield: WFMY-TV ( Channel 2; GREENSBORO, NC; Owner: WFMY TELEVISION CORPORATION)

2; GREENSBORO, NC; WFMY TELEVISION CORPORATION) WUPN-TV ( Channel 48; GREENSBORO, NC; Owner: WUPN LICENSEE, LLC)

48; GREENSBORO, NC; WUPN LICENSEE, LLC) WXLV-TV ( Channel 45; WINSTON-SALEM, NC; Owner: WXLV LICENSEE, LLC)

45; WINSTON-SALEM, NC; WXLV LICENSEE, LLC) WTWB-TV ( Channel 20; LEXINGTON, NC; Owner: WTWB OF THE TRIAD, LLC)

20; LEXINGTON, NC; WTWB OF THE TRIAD, LLC) WLXI-TV ( Channel 61; GREENSBORO, NC; Owner: TRI-STATE CHRISTIAN TV, INC.)

61; GREENSBORO, NC; TRI-STATE CHRISTIAN TV, INC.) WGPX ( Channel 16; BURLINGTON, NC; Owner: PAXSON GREENSBORO LICENSE, INC.)

16; BURLINGTON, NC; PAXSON GREENSBORO LICENSE, INC.) WGHP ( Channel 8; HIGH POINT, NC; Owner: WGHP LICENSE, INC.)

8; HIGH POINT, NC; WGHP LICENSE, INC.) WUNC-TV ( Channel 4; CHAPEL HILL, NC; Owner: UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA)

4; CHAPEL HILL, NC; UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA) WRAZ ( Channel 50; RALEIGH, NC; Owner: WRAZ-TV, INC.)

50; RALEIGH, NC; WRAZ-TV, INC.) WXIV-LP (Channel 14; REIDSVILLE, NC; Owner: CAROLINA BLUE COMMUNICATIONS, INC.)

National Bridge Inventory (NBI) Statistics

9 Number of bridges

Number of bridges 423ft / 129m Total length

Total length 5,970 Total average daily traffic

Total average daily traffic 408 Total average daily truck traffic

Total average daily truck traffic 11,920 Total future (year 2025) average daily traffic

Houses and condos Apartments 63.5% Bottled, tank, or LP gas

36.5% Electricity 100.0% Electricity





Fairfield compared to North Carolina state average: Median house value below state average.

below Unemployed percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Black race population percentage significantly above state average.

significantly above Hispanic race population percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Foreign-born population percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Renting percentage below state average.

below Length of stay since moving in above state average.

above Number of rooms per house above state average.

above Number of college students significantly below state average.

significantly below Percentage of population with a bachelor's degree or higher significantly below state average.

Fairfield on our top lists: #2 on the list of "Top 100 most racially diverse cities"




Hampstead, New Hampshire

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Population in 2010: 8,523.

Population change since 2000: +2.7%

8,523.+2.7%

Males: 4,220 (49.5%) Females: 4,303 (50.5%)

Median resident age: 45.7 years New Hampshire median age: 43.9 years

Zip codes: 03841.

Estimated median household income in 2019: $107,542 (it was $68,533 in 2000)

Hampstead: $107,542 NH: $77,933

Estimated per capita income in 2019: $54,726 (it was $29,195 in 2000)



Hampstead town income, earnings, and wages data



Estimated median house or condo value in 2019: $411,740 (it was $180,800 in 2000) Hampstead: $411,740 NH: $281,400

Mean prices in 2019: all housing units: $389,306; detached houses: $426,651; townhouses or other attached units: $310,390; in 2-unit structures: $460,741; in 3-to-4-unit structures: $419,218; in 5-or-more-unit structures: $243,946; mobile homes: $98,803 $107,542 ($68,533$54,726 ($29,195$411,740 ($180,800$389,306;$426,651;$310,390;$460,741;$419,218;$243,946;$98,803

March 2019 cost of living index in Hampstead: 141.7 (very high, U.S. average is 100)

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8,258 96.9% White alone 84 1.0% Hispanic 80 0.9% Two or more races 68 0.8% Asian alone 20 0.2% Black alone 7 0.08% American Indian alone 5 0.06% Other race alone 1 0.01% Native Hawaiian and Other

Pacific Islander alone

Races in Hampstead detailed stats: ancestries, foreign born residents, place of birth





According to our research of New Hampshire and other state lists, there were 5 registered sex offenders living in Hampstead, New Hampshire as of November 22, 2021.

The ratio of all residents to sex offenders in Hampstead is 1,705 to 1.

The ratio of registered sex offenders to all residents in this city is much lower than the state average.





Crime rates in Hampstead by year Type 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Murders

(per 100,000) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) Rapes

(per 100,000) 2

(22.8) 0

(0.0) 4

(44.5) 1

(11.1) 1

(11.1) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 1

(11.7) 6

(69.9) 1

(11.6) 1

(11.6) 2

(23.2) 1

(11.5) 3

(34.6) Robberies

(per 100,000) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 1

(11.1) 1

(11.1) 3

(35.2) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 1

(11.6) 0

(0.0) 1

(11.5) 0

(0.0) Assaults

(per 100,000) 4

(45.6) 4

(44.9) 7

(77.8) 1

(11.1) 3

(33.4) 4

(46.9) 2

(23.3) 5

(58.4) 2

(23.3) 1

(11.6) 2

(23.3) 8

(92.8) 0

(0.0) 4

(46.2) Burglaries

(per 100,000) 13

(148.2) 24

(269.5) 21

(233.4) 26

(288.1) 26

(289.5) 23

(269.5) 35

(408.5) 31

(361.8) 10

(116.5) 10

(116.2) 10

(116.4) 15

(173.9) 5

(57.5) 1

(11.5) Thefts

(per 100,000) 70

(798.0) 63

(707.5) 87

(966.9) 101

(1,119) 63

(701.5) 61

(714.8) 72

(840.4) 53

(618.6) 33

(384.3) 31

(360.2) 47

(547.3) 39

(452.2) 38

(437.0) 45

(519.5) Auto thefts

(per 100,000) 6

(68.4) 6

(67.4) 4

(44.5) 4

(44.3) 3

(33.4) 6

(70.3) 12

(140.1) 5

(58.4) 7

(81.5) 2

(23.2) 2

(23.3) 4

(46.4) 4

(46.0) 2

(23.1) Arson

(per 100,000) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 1

(11.7) 0

(0.0) 1

(11.6) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) City-Data.com crime index 75.1 61.5 109.7 82.9 69.9 73.0 78.1 75.7 90.6 36.0 49.4 71.1 37.8 60.4 The City-Data.com crime index weighs serious crimes and violent crimes more heavily. Higher means more crime, U.S. average is 270.6. It adjusts for the number of visitors and daily workers commuting into cities. Click on a table row to update graph

Crime rate in Hampstead detailed stats: murders, rapes, robberies, assaults, burglaries, thefts, arson



Full-time law enforcement employees in 2019, including police officers: 9 (9 officers).

Officers per 1,000 residents here: 1.04 New Hampshire average: 2.05



Latest news from Hampstead, NH collected exclusively by city-data.com from local newspapers, TV, and radio stations

Ancestries: Irish (24.3%), Italian (15.7%), English (15.2%), French (11.4%), German (8.5%), French Canadian (8.0%).

Current Local Time: EST time zone

Elevation: 329 feet

Land area: 13.3 square miles. Population density: 640 people per square mile (low).

243 residents are foreign born (1.6% Europe, 0.5% Asia, 0.4% Latin America, 0.4% North America). This town: 2.9% New Hampshire: 4.4%

Median real estate property taxes paid for housing units in 2000: Hampstead town: 2.0% ($3,625) New Hampshire: 2.3% ($2,946)

Latitude: 42.88 N, Longitude: 71.17 W

Area code: 603

Single-family new house construction building permits: 1997: 35 buildings , average cost: $146,100

35 $146,100 1998: 37 buildings , average cost: $162,000

37 $162,000 1999: 36 buildings , average cost: $158,200

36 $158,200 2000: 13 buildings , average cost: $163,100

13 $163,100 2001: 18 buildings , average cost: $169,100

18 $169,100 2002: 10 buildings , average cost: $142,000

10 $142,000 2003: 21 buildings , average cost: $183,700

21 $183,700 2004: 17 buildings , average cost: $260,900

17 $260,900 2005: 12 buildings , average cost: $246,700

12 $246,700 2006: 12 buildings , average cost: $194,500

12 $194,500 2007: 11 buildings , average cost: $187,700

11 $187,700 2008: 7 buildings , average cost: $186,400

7 $186,400 2009: 8 buildings , average cost: $164,600

8 $164,600 2010: 5 buildings , average cost: $147,000

5 $147,000 2011: 2 buildings , average cost: $200,000

2 $200,000 2012: 13 buildings , average cost: $163,600

13 $163,600 2013: 7 buildings , average cost: $164,300

7 $164,300 2014: 14 buildings , average cost: $162,900

14 $162,900 2015: 15 buildings , average cost: $189,900

15 $189,900 2016: 7 buildings , average cost: $226,400

7 $226,400 2017: 8 buildings , average cost: $227,500

8 $227,500 2018: 12 buildings , average cost: $298,400

12 $298,400 2019: 13 buildings, average cost: $265,600

Unemployment in November 2020:

Here: 3.6% New Hampshire: 3.5%

Most common industries in Hampstead, NH (%) Both Males Females

Educational services (11.7%)

Computer & electronic products (11.0%)

Professional, scientific, technical services (8.0%)

Health care (7.5%)

Construction (6.7%)

Public administration (3.9%)

Finance & insurance (3.6%)

Computer & electronic products (14.3%)

Construction (11.8%)

Professional, scientific, technical services (7.6%)

Educational services (5.6%)

Administrative & support & waste management services (3.6%)

Public administration (3.5%)

Health care (2.7%)

Educational services (18.0%)

Health care (12.5%)

Professional, scientific, technical services (8.3%)

Computer & electronic products (7.5%)

Finance & insurance (5.5%)

Public administration (4.4%)

Accommodation & food services (4.4%) Most common occupations in Hampstead, NH (%) Both Males Females

Other management occupations, except farmers and farm managers (6.1%)

Top executives (4.4%)

Preschool, kindergarten, elementary, and middle school teachers (3.9%)

Sales representatives, services, wholesale and manufacturing (3.9%)

Secretaries and administrative assistants (3.6%)

Engineers (3.5%)

Registered nurses (3.5%)

Other management occupations, except farmers and farm managers (7.3%)

Engineers (6.4%)

Top executives (6.1%)

Material recording, scheduling, dispatching, and distributing workers (5.1%)

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations (4.5%)

Sales representatives, services, wholesale and manufacturing (4.1%)

Computer specialists (3.9%)

Preschool, kindergarten, elementary, and middle school teachers (8.0%)

Secretaries and administrative assistants (7.3%)

Registered nurses (7.1%)

Other management occupations, except farmers and farm managers (5.0%)

Customer service representatives (4.3%)

Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks (4.0%)

Other office and administrative support workers, including supervisors (3.8%)

Average climate in Hampstead, New Hampshire Based on data reported by over 4,000 weather stations

Air pollution and air quality trends

(lower is better) AQI CO NO 2 SO 2 Ozone PM 2.5

Air Quality Index (AQI) level in 2018 was 62.9. This is about average. City: 62.9 U.S.: 74.2

Carbon Monoxide (CO) [ppm] level in 2018 was 0.179. This is significantly better than average. Closest monitor was 10.6 miles away from the city center. City: 0.179 U.S.: 0.267

Nitrogen Dioxide (NO 2 ) [ppb] level in 2018 was 3.23. This is significantly better than average. Closest monitor was 8.2 miles away from the city center. City: 3.23 U.S.: 5.56

Sulfur Dioxide (SO 2 ) [ppb] level in 2018 was 0.825. This is significantly better than average. Closest monitor was 8.7 miles away from the city center. City: 0.825 U.S.: 1.789

Ozone [ppb] level in 2018 was 27.2. This is better than average. Closest monitor was 8.5 miles away from the city center. City: 27.2 U.S.: 33.3

Particulate Matter (PM 2.5 ) [g/m3] level in 2018 was 5.35. This is significantly better than average. Closest monitor was 8.5 miles away from the city center. City: 5.35 U.S.: 8.46

Tornado activity: Hampstead-area historical tornado activity is slightly above New Hampshire state average. It is 42% smaller than the overall U.S. average.

On 6/9/1953, a category F3 (max. wind speeds 158-206 mph) tornado 11.9 miles away from the Hampstead town center injured 5 people and caused between $5000 and $50,000 in damages. On 9/29/1974, a category F3 tornado 18.2 miles away from the town center injured one person and caused between $50,000 and $500,000 in damages.

Earthquake activity: Hampstead-area historical earthquake activity is significantly above New Hampshire state average. It is 72% smaller than the overall U.S. average.



On 4/20/2002 at 10:50:47, a magnitude 5.3 (5.3 ML, Depth: 3.0 mi, Class: Moderate, Intensity: VI - VII) earthquake occurred 169.3 miles away from the city center

On 1/19/1982 at 00:14:42, a magnitude 4.7 (4.5 MB, 4.7 MD, 4.5 LG, Class: Light, Intensity: IV - V) earthquake occurred 47.8 miles away from the city center

On 10/7/1983 at 10:18:46, a magnitude 5.3 (5.1 MB, 5.3 LG, 5.1 ML) earthquake occurred 175.6 miles away from Hampstead center

On 10/16/2012 at 23:12:25, a magnitude 4.7 (4.7 ML, Depth: 10.0 mi) earthquake occurred 55.9 miles away from the city center

On 4/20/2002 at 10:50:47, a magnitude 5.2 (5.2 MB, 4.2 MS, 5.2 MW, 5.0 MW) earthquake occurred 168.9 miles away from the city center

On 8/22/1992 at 12:20:32, a magnitude 4.8 (4.8 MB, 3.8 MS, 4.7 LG, Depth: 6.2 mi) earthquake occurred 265.0 miles away from Hampstead center

Magnitude types: regional Lg-wave magnitude (LG), body-wave magnitude (MB), duration magnitude (MD), local magnitude (ML), surface-wave magnitude (MS), moment magnitude (MW)

Natural disasters: The number of natural disasters in Rockingham County (26) is a lot greater than the US average (15).

Major Disasters (Presidential) Declared: 17

Emergencies Declared: 9



Causes of natural disasters: Storms: 12, Floods: 9, Winter Storms: 5, Hurricanes: 4, Snowstorms: 4, Snows: 2, Winds: 2, Blizzard: 1, Snowfall: 1, Tornado: 1 (Note: some incidents may be assigned to more than one category).

Hospitals and medical centers in Hampstead: HAMPSTEAD HOSP (provides emergency services, 218 EAST ROAD) Other hospitals and medical centers near Hampstead: LENOX NH INC (Nursing Home, about 6 miles away; HAVERHILL, MA)

WARDE HEALTH CENTER (Nursing Home, about 7 miles away; WINDHAM, NH)

AURORA SENIOR LIVING OF DERRY, LLC (Nursing Home, about 8 miles away; DERRY, NH)

SALEMHAVEN (Nursing Home, about 8 miles away; SALEM, NH)

KENOZA HILLCREST NURSING HOME (Nursing Home, about 8 miles away; HAVERHILL, MA)

KENOZA MANOR CONV HOME (Nursing Home, about 8 miles away; HAVERHILL, MA)

WINGATE AT HAVERHILL REHAB AND SKILLED NURSING RESID (Nursing Home, about 8 miles away; HAVERHILL, MA)

Amtrak stations near Hampstead: 9 miles: HAVERHILL (WASHINGTON ST. @ RAILROAD SQUARE) . Services: ticket office.

HAVERHILL (WASHINGTON ST. @ RAILROAD SQUARE) . ticket office. 13 miles: EXETER (60 LINCOLN ST.) . Services: ticket office.

Operable nuclear power plant near Hampstead: 17 miles: Seabrook in Seabrook, NH.



Library in Hampstead: HAMPSTEAD PUBLIC LIBRARY (Operating income: $424,365; Location: 9 MARY E. CLARK DRIVE; 43,516 books; 2,607 audio materials; 1,636 video materials; 14 local licensed databases; 22 state licensed databases; 84 print serial subscriptions)

Birthplace of: Ephraim Webster - Pioneer.

Rockingham County has a predicted average indoor radon screening level between 2 and 4 pCi/L (pico curies per liter) - Moderate Potential

Drinking water stations with addresses in Hampstead and their reported violations in the past: SANBORN SHORE ACRES (Population served: 370, Groundwater): Past monitoring violations: 2 routine major monitoring violations ROCKY RIVER RESORT (Population served: 100, Groundwater): Past health violations: MCL, Average - Between JAN-2011 and MAR-2011 , Contaminant: Fluoride . Follow-up actions: St Public Notif requested (MAR-07-2011) , St Violation/Reminder Notice (MAR-07-2011) , St Public Notif received (MAY-03-2011) , St Compliance achieved (OCT-20-2011)

JAN-2011 MAR-2011 Fluoride St Public Notif requested (MAR-07-2011) St Violation/Reminder Notice (MAR-07-2011) St Public Notif received (MAY-03-2011) St Compliance achieved (OCT-20-2011) MCL, Average - Between OCT-2008 and DEC-2008 , Contaminant: Fluoride . Follow-up actions: St Public Notif requested (JAN-23-2009) , St Violation/Reminder Notice (JAN-23-2009) , St Public Notif received (FEB-05-2009) , St Compliance achieved (MAY-28-2009)

OCT-2008 DEC-2008 Fluoride St Public Notif requested (JAN-23-2009) St Violation/Reminder Notice (JAN-23-2009) St Public Notif received (FEB-05-2009) St Compliance achieved (MAY-28-2009) MCL, Average - Between JUL-2008 and SEP-2008 , Contaminant: Fluoride . Follow-up actions: St Public Notif requested (AUG-15-2008) , St Violation/Reminder Notice (AUG-15-2008) , St Public Notif received (SEP-16-2008) , St Compliance achieved (MAY-28-2009)

JUL-2008 SEP-2008 Fluoride St Public Notif requested (AUG-15-2008) St Violation/Reminder Notice (AUG-15-2008) St Public Notif received (SEP-16-2008) St Compliance achieved (MAY-28-2009) MCL, Average - Between APR-2008 and JUN-2008 , Contaminant: Fluoride . Follow-up actions: St Public Notif requested (JUL-11-2008) , St Violation/Reminder Notice (JUL-11-2008) , St Public Notif received (AUG-05-2008) , St Compliance achieved (MAY-28-2009)

APR-2008 JUN-2008 Fluoride St Public Notif requested (JUL-11-2008) St Violation/Reminder Notice (JUL-11-2008) St Public Notif received (AUG-05-2008) St Compliance achieved (MAY-28-2009) MCL, Average - Between JAN-2008 and MAR-2008 , Contaminant: Fluoride . Follow-up actions: St Public Notif requested (MAR-17-2008) , St Violation/Reminder Notice (MAR-17-2008) , St Public Notif received (MAR-28-2008) , St Compliance achieved (MAY-28-2009)

JAN-2008 MAR-2008 Fluoride St Public Notif requested (MAR-17-2008) St Violation/Reminder Notice (MAR-17-2008) St Public Notif received (MAR-28-2008) St Compliance achieved (MAY-28-2009) MCL, Average - Between OCT-2007 and DEC-2007 , Contaminant: Fluoride . Follow-up actions: St Public Notif requested (JAN-17-2008) , St Violation/Reminder Notice (JAN-17-2008) , St Public Notif received (JUL-03-2008) , St Compliance achieved (MAY-28-2009)

OCT-2007 DEC-2007 Fluoride St Public Notif requested (JAN-17-2008) St Violation/Reminder Notice (JAN-17-2008) St Public Notif received (JUL-03-2008) St Compliance achieved (MAY-28-2009) 9 other older health violations Past monitoring violations: 25 regular monitoring violations Drinking water stations with addresses in Hampstead that have no violations reported: SUNSET PARK CAMPGROUND (Population served: 125, Primary Water Source Type: Groundwater) SANBORN SHORE ACRES (370Groundwater):ROCKY RIVER RESORT (100Groundwater):

Average household size: This town: 2.5 people New Hampshire: 2.5 people

Percentage of family households: This town: 70.4% Whole state: 66.3%

Percentage of households with unmarried partners: This town: 5.8% Whole state: 8.3%



Likely homosexual households (counted as self-reported same-sex unmarried-partner households) Lesbian couples: 0.3% of all households

0.3% Gay men: 0.3% of all households Residents with income below the poverty level in 2009:

This town: 3.8% Whole state: 6.5% Residents with income below 50% of the poverty level in 2009:

This town: 1.7% Whole state: 2.8%

4 people in group homes intended for adults in 2010

3 people in other noninstitutional group quarters in 2000

Banks with branches in Hampstead (2011 data): People's United Bank: Hamstead-Villae Square Branch at 456 Route 111 , branch established on 1892/01/01 . Info updated 2012/02/16: Bank assets: $27,319.3 mil , Deposits: $20,835.4 mil , headquarters in Bridgeport, CT , positive income , Commercial Lending Specialization , 374 total offices

456 Route 111 1892/01/01 2012/02/16: $27,319.3 mil $20,835.4 mil Bridgeport, CT , Commercial Lending Specialization 374 Pentucket Bank: Hampstead Nh Branch at 201 Route 111 , branch established on 2006/10/02 . Info updated 2006/11/03: Bank assets: $642.8 mil , Deposits: $550.1 mil , headquarters in Haverhill, MA , positive income , Commercial Lending Specialization , 5 total offices

201 Route 111 2006/10/02 2006/11/03: $642.8 mil $550.1 mil Haverhill, MA , Commercial Lending Specialization 5 TD Bank, National Association: Hampstead Branch at 220 Main Street, branch established on 1974/10/28. Info updated 2010/10/04: Bank assets: $188,912.6 mil, Deposits: $153,149.8 mil, headquarters in Wilmington, DE, positive income, 1314 total offices, Holding Company: Toronto-Dominion Bank, The

For population 15 years and over in Hampstead: Never married: 18.4%

18.4% Now married: 66.0%

66.0% Separated: 0.6%

0.6% Widowed: 5.6%

5.6% Divorced: 9.4%

For population 25 years and over in Hampstead: High school or higher: 93.3%

93.3% Bachelor's degree or higher: 36.3%

36.3% Graduate or professional degree: 12.5%

12.5% Unemployed: 2.3%

2.3% Mean travel time to work (commute): 32.9 minutes

Education Gini index (Inequality in education) Here: 10.1 New Hampshire average: 10.9



Religion statistics for Hampstead, NH (based on Rockingham County data) Religion Adherents Congregations Catholic 84,697 24 Mainline Protestant 19,072 78 Evangelical Protestant 7,456 61 Other 3,490 20 Orthodox 200 1 None 180,308 - Source: Clifford Grammich, Kirk Hadaway, Richard Houseal, Dale E.Jones, Alexei Krindatch, Richie Stanley and Richard H.Taylor. 2012. 2010 U.S.Religion Census: Religious Congregations & Membership Study. Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies. Jones, Dale E., et al. 2002. Congregations and Membership in the United States 2000. Nashville, TN: Glenmary Research Center. Graphs represent county-level data

Food Environment Statistics: Number of grocery stores: 47 This county : 1.59 / 10,000 pop. New Hampshire : 2.14 / 10,000 pop. Number of supercenters and club stores: 5 This county : 0.17 / 10,000 pop. New Hampshire : 0.15 / 10,000 pop. Number of convenience stores (no gas): 55 Rockingham County : 1.86 / 10,000 pop. New Hampshire : 1.78 / 10,000 pop. Number of convenience stores (with gas): 98 This county : 3.31 / 10,000 pop. New Hampshire : 4.02 / 10,000 pop. Number of full-service restaurants: 283 Rockingham County : 9.56 / 10,000 pop. New Hampshire : 9.70 / 10,000 pop. Adult diabetes rate: This county : 7.6% New Hampshire : 7.6% Adult obesity rate: This county : 23.3% New Hampshire : 24.4% Low-income preschool obesity rate: Rockingham County : 16.8% New Hampshire : 15.9%

7.23% of this county's 2016 resident taxpayers lived in other counties in 2015 ($84,203 average adjusted gross income) Here: 7.23% New Hampshire average: 6.87% 0.04% of residents moved from foreign countries ($696 average AGI) Rockingham County: 0.04% New Hampshire average: 0.04%

Top counties from which taxpayers relocated into this county between 2015 and 2016:

from Essex County, MA 1.37% ($74,166 average AGI) from Hillsborough County, NH 1.32% ($68,726) from Middlesex County, MA 0.75% ($85,602)



6.92% of this county's 2015 resident taxpayers moved to other counties in 2016 ($74,046 average adjusted gross income) Here: 6.92% New Hampshire average: 6.70% 0.06% of residents moved to foreign countries ($512 average AGI) Rockingham County: 0.06% New Hampshire average: 0.06%

Top counties to which taxpayers relocated from this county between 2015 and 2016:

to Hillsborough County, NH 1.37% ($54,619 average AGI) to Strafford County, NH 0.88% ($52,198) to Essex County, MA 0.74% ($57,814)

Businesses in Hampstead, NH FedEx: 1

1 U-Haul: 1

1 UPS: 2

Strongest AM radio stations in Hampstead: WDER (1320 AM; 10 kW; DERRY, NH; Owner: BLOUNT COMMUNICATIONS, INC. OF NH)

BLOUNT COMMUNICATIONS, INC. OF NH) WRKO (680 AM; 50 kW; BOSTON, MA; Owner: ENTERCOM BOSTON LICENSE, LLC)

ENTERCOM BOSTON LICENSE, LLC) WCEC (1110 AM; daytime; 5 kW; SALEM, NH; Owner: COSTA-EAGLE RADIO VENTURES LTD PARTNERSHIP)

COSTA-EAGLE RADIO VENTURES LTD PARTNERSHIP) WEEI (850 AM; 50 kW; BOSTON, MA; Owner: ENTERCOM BOSTON LICENSE, LLC)

ENTERCOM BOSTON LICENSE, LLC) WWZN (1510 AM; 50 kW; BOSTON, MA; Owner: ROSE CITY RADIO CORPORATION)

ROSE CITY RADIO CORPORATION) WBZ (1030 AM; 50 kW; BOSTON, MA; Owner: INFINITY BROADCASTING OPERATIONS, INC.)

INFINITY BROADCASTING OPERATIONS, INC.) WGIR (610 AM; 5 kW; MANCHESTER, NH; Owner: CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP)

CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP) WKOX (1200 AM; 50 kW; FRAMINGHAM, MA; Owner: CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP)

CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP) WBIX (1060 AM; 40 kW; NATICK, MA; Owner: LANGER BROADCASTING CORPORATION)

LANGER BROADCASTING CORPORATION) WCRN (830 AM; 50 kW; WORCESTER, MA; Owner: CARTER BROADCASTING CORPORATION)

CARTER BROADCASTING CORPORATION) WGIP (1540 AM; 5 kW; EXETER, NH; Owner: CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP)

CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP) WFEA (1370 AM; 5 kW; MANCHESTER, NH; Owner: SAGA COMMUNICATIONS OF NEW ENGLAND, LLC)

SAGA COMMUNICATIONS OF NEW ENGLAND, LLC) WCAP (980 AM; 5 kW; LOWELL, MA; Owner: NORTHEAST RADIO, INC.) Strongest FM radio stations in Hampstead: WXRV (92.5 FM; HAVERHILL, MA; Owner: BEANPOT BROADCASTING CORP.)

BEANPOT BROADCASTING CORP.) WKLB-FM (99.5 FM; LOWELL, MA; Owner: GREATER BOSTON RADIO, INC.)

GREATER BOSTON RADIO, INC.) WGIR-FM (101.1 FM; MANCHESTER, NH; Owner: CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP)

CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP) WQLL (96.5 FM; BEDFORD, NH; Owner: SAGA COMMUNICATIONS OF NEW ENGLAND, LLC)

SAGA COMMUNICATIONS OF NEW ENGLAND, LLC) WLMW (90.7 FM; MANCHESTER, NH; Owner: KNOWLEDGE FOR LIFE)

KNOWLEDGE FOR LIFE) WZID (95.7 FM; MANCHESTER, NH; Owner: SAGA COMMUNICATIONS OF NEW ENGLAND, LLC)

SAGA COMMUNICATIONS OF NEW ENGLAND, LLC) WHOB (106.3 FM; NASHUA, NH; Owner: TELE-MEDIA COMPANY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE, L.L.C.)

TELE-MEDIA COMPANY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE, L.L.C.) W227AM (93.3 FM; ANDOVER, MA; Owner: GREATER BOSTON RADIO, INC.)

GREATER BOSTON RADIO, INC.) WNEF (91.7 FM; NEWBURYPORT, MA; Owner: UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS)

UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS) WFEX (92.1 FM; PETERBOROUGH, NH; Owner: FNX BROADCASTING OF NEW HAMPSHIRE LLC)

FNX BROADCASTING OF NEW HAMPSHIRE LLC) WSAK (102.1 FM; HAMPTON, NH; Owner: CITADEL BROADCASTING COMPANY)

CITADEL BROADCASTING COMPANY) WXKS-FM (107.9 FM; MEDFORD, MA; Owner: AMFM RADIO LICENSES, L.L.C.)

AMFM RADIO LICENSES, L.L.C.) WMJX (106.7 FM; BOSTON, MA; Owner: GREATER BOSTON RADIO, INC.)

GREATER BOSTON RADIO, INC.) WBMX (98.5 FM; BOSTON, MA; Owner: INFINITY RADIO OPERATIONS INC.)

INFINITY RADIO OPERATIONS INC.) WSCY (106.9 FM; MOULTONBOROUGH, NH; Owner: NORTHEAST COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION)

NORTHEAST COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION) WJMN (94.5 FM; BOSTON, MA; Owner: AMFM RADIO LICENSES, L.L.C.)

AMFM RADIO LICENSES, L.L.C.) WCRB (102.5 FM; WALTHAM, MA; Owner: CHARLES RIVER BROADCASTING WCRB LICE)

CHARLES RIVER BROADCASTING WCRB LICE) WTKK (96.9 FM; BOSTON, MA; Owner: GREATER BOSTON RADIO, INC.)

GREATER BOSTON RADIO, INC.) WROR-FM (105.7 FM; FRAMINGHAM, MA; Owner: GREATER BOSTON RADIO, INC.)

GREATER BOSTON RADIO, INC.) WBOS (92.9 FM; BROOKLINE, MA; Owner: GREATER BOSTON RADIO, INC.) TV broadcast stations around Hampstead: WFXZ-CA ( Channel 24; BOSTON, MA; Owner: BOSTON BROADCASTING CORP.)

24; BOSTON, MA; BOSTON BROADCASTING CORP.) WHDN-LP ( Channel 26; BOSTON, MA; Owner: GUENTER MARKSTEINER)

26; BOSTON, MA; GUENTER MARKSTEINER) WNDS ( Channel 50; DERRY, NH; Owner: CTV OF DERRY, INC)

50; DERRY, NH; CTV OF DERRY, INC) WCVB-TV ( Channel 5; BOSTON, MA; Owner: WCVB HEARST-ARGYLE TV, INC.)

5; BOSTON, MA; WCVB HEARST-ARGYLE TV, INC.) WGBH-TV ( Channel 2; BOSTON, MA; Owner: WGBH EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION)

2; BOSTON, MA; WGBH EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION) WMEA-TV ( Channel 26; BIDDEFORD, ME; Owner: MAINE PUBLIC BROADCASTING CORP.)

26; BIDDEFORD, ME; MAINE PUBLIC BROADCASTING CORP.) WHDH-TV ( Channel 7; BOSTON, MA; Owner: WHDH-TV)

7; BOSTON, MA; WHDH-TV) WENH-TV ( Channel 11; DURHAM, NH; Owner: UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE)

11; DURHAM, NH; UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE) WMFP ( Channel 62; LAWRENCE, MA; Owner: WSAH LICENSE, INC.)

62; LAWRENCE, MA; WSAH LICENSE, INC.) WUTF ( Channel 66; MARLBOROUGH, MA; Owner: TELEFUTURA BOSTON LLC)

66; MARLBOROUGH, MA; TELEFUTURA BOSTON LLC) WBZ-TV ( Channel 4; BOSTON, MA; Owner: VIACOM INC.)

4; BOSTON, MA; VIACOM INC.) WGBX-TV ( Channel 44; BOSTON, MA; Owner: WGBH EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION)

44; BOSTON, MA; WGBH EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION) WSBK-TV ( Channel 38; BOSTON, MA; Owner: VIACOM INC.)

38; BOSTON, MA; VIACOM INC.) WLVI-TV ( Channel 56; CAMBRIDGE, MA; Owner: WLVI, INC.)

56; CAMBRIDGE, MA; WLVI, INC.) WFXT ( Channel 25; BOSTON, MA; Owner: FOX TELEVISION STATIONS INC.)

25; BOSTON, MA; FOX TELEVISION STATIONS INC.) WBPX ( Channel 68; BOSTON, MA; Owner: PAXSON BOSTON-68 LICENSE, INC.)

68; BOSTON, MA; PAXSON BOSTON-68 LICENSE, INC.) WUNI ( Channel 27; WORCESTER, MA; Owner: ENTRAVISION HOLDINGS, LLC)

27; WORCESTER, MA; ENTRAVISION HOLDINGS, LLC) WTMU-LP ( Channel 32; BOSTON, MA; Owner: ZGS BOSTON, INC.)

32; BOSTON, MA; ZGS BOSTON, INC.) WCEA-LP ( Channel 58; BOSTON, MA; Owner: CHANNEL 19 TV CORPORATION)

58; BOSTON, MA; CHANNEL 19 TV CORPORATION) W40BO ( Channel 40; BOSTON, MA; Owner: PAXSON COMMUNICATIONS LPTV, INC.)

40; BOSTON, MA; PAXSON COMMUNICATIONS LPTV, INC.) WPXG ( Channel 21; CONCORD, NH; Owner: PAXSON BOSTON-68 LICENSE, INC.)

21; CONCORD, NH; PAXSON BOSTON-68 LICENSE, INC.) W29AT (Channel 29; MANCHESTER, NH; Owner: CENTER BROADCASTING CORP. OF NEW HAMPSHIRE)

Hampstead fatal accident statistics for 1975 - 2019

See more detailed statistics of Hampstead fatal car crashes and road traffic accidents for 1975 - 2019 here



FCC Registered Broadcast Land Mobile Towers: 6 Fire Dept Main St ( Lat: 42.842028 Lon: -71.179778), Call Sign: KRI740, Licensee ID: L00008549,

Assigned Frequencies: 31.9000 MHz, Grant Date: 08/08/2001, Expiration Date: 09/18/2011, Cancellation Date: 11/19/2003, Registrant: The State Of New Hampshire, Department Of Resources And Economic Development, 172 Pembroke Road, Concord, NH 03302-1856, Phone: (603) 271-2217, Fax: (603) 271-6488, Email:

42.842028 -71.179778), KRI740, L00008549, 31.9000 MHz, 08/08/2001, 09/18/2011, 11/19/2003, The State Of New Hampshire, Department Of Resources And Economic Development, 172 Pembroke Road, Concord, NH 03302-1856, (603) 271-2217, (603) 271-6488, Emerson Ave ( Lat: 42.883972 Lon: -71.161444), Call Sign: KGW733, Licensee ID: L00002006,

Assigned Frequencies: 155.460 MHz, Grant Date: 02/13/2003, Expiration Date: 02/11/2013, Cancellation Date: 04/13/2013, Registrant: County Of Rockingham, 101 North Rd, Bremtwppd, NH 03833, Phone: (603) 679-2225

42.883972 -71.161444), KGW733, L00002006, 155.460 MHz, 02/13/2003, 02/11/2013, 04/13/2013, County Of Rockingham, 101 North Rd, Bremtwppd, NH 03833, (603) 679-2225 Hampstead Police Dept Emerson Ave ( Lat: 42.883972 Lon: -71.161444), Call Sign: KVI696,

Assigned Frequencies: 155.475 MHz, 156.090 MHz, Grant Date: 05/03/2012, Expiration Date: 07/09/2022, Registrant: Nh Dept. Of Safety/Emergency Services And Communications, 33 Hazen Dr (Mailing), Concord, NH 03305, Phone: (603) 528-7541, Fax: (603) 271-6629, Email:

42.883972 -71.161444), KVI696, 155.475 MHz, 156.090 MHz, 05/03/2012, 07/09/2022, Nh Dept. Of Safety/Emergency Services And Communications, 33 Hazen Dr (Mailing), Concord, NH 03305, (603) 528-7541, (603) 271-6629, Granite Village Pump Station ( Lat: 42.900889 Lon: -71.175361), Type: Building, Structure height: 6.1 m, Overall height: 7.6 m, Call Sign: WQFK756,

Assigned Frequencies: 465.012 MHz, 451.412 MHz, Grant Date: 05/28/2016, Expiration Date: 08/07/2026, Certifier: Robert Levine, Registrant: Tcs Communications Corp, 85 Lafayette Rd, Salisbury, MA 01952, Phone: (978) 465-7932, Fax: (978) 462-8980, Email:

42.900889 -71.175361), Building, 6.1 m, 7.6 m, WQFK756, 465.012 MHz, 451.412 MHz, 05/28/2016, 08/07/2026, Robert Levine, Tcs Communications Corp, 85 Lafayette Rd, Salisbury, MA 01952, (978) 465-7932, (978) 462-8980, Lat: 42.874528 Lon: -71.180056, Call Sign: WQKU585,

Assigned Frequencies: 467.212 MHz, Grant Date: 09/17/2009, Expiration Date: 09/17/2019, Cancellation Date: 11/23/2019, Certifier: Michael Hall, Registrant: Innovation Wireless, 11869 Teale Street, Culver City, CA 90230, Phone: (888) 559-5565, Fax: (310) 482-3480, Email:

42.874528 -71.180056, WQKU585, 467.212 MHz, 09/17/2009, 09/17/2019, 11/23/2019, Michael Hall, Innovation Wireless, 11869 Teale Street, Culver City, CA 90230, (888) 559-5565, (310) 482-3480, HAMPSTEAD MS, Lat: 42.880083 Lon: -71.177389, Call Sign: WRJB676,

Assigned Frequencies: 467.212 MHz, Grant Date: 08/01/2020, Expiration Date: 08/01/2030, Certifier: Jeffrey M Mackey, Registrant: Innovation Wireless, 11869 Teale St, Culver City, CA 90230, Phone: (888) 559-5565, Fax: (310) 482-3480, Email:

FCC Registered Amateur Radio Licenses: 32 (



FAA Registered Aircraft: 5 Aircraft: TL ULTRALIGHT SRO STINGSPORT ( Category: Land, Seats: 2, Weight: Up to 12,499 Pounds), Engine: ROTAX 912ULS SERIES (100 HP) (4 Cycle)

N-Number: 464N, N464N, N-464N, Serial Number: TLUSA149, Year manufactured: 2006, Airworthiness Date: 01/02/2007, Certificate Issue Date: 09/05/2012

Registrant (Individual): Richard A Jones, Po Box 589, Hampstead, NH 03841

TL ULTRALIGHT SRO STINGSPORT ( Land, 2, Up to 12,499 Pounds), ROTAX 912ULS SERIES (100 HP) (4 Cycle) 464N, N464N, N-464N, TLUSA149, 2006, 01/02/2007, 09/05/2012 Richard A Jones, Po Box 589, Hampstead, NH 03841 Aircraft: PIPER PA-22-108 ( Category: Land, Seats: 2, Weight: Up to 12,499 Pounds, Speed: 94 mph), Engine: LYCOMING 0-235 SERIES (115 HP) (Reciprocating)

N-Number: 5819Z, N5819Z, N-5819Z, Serial Number: 22-9676, Year manufactured: 1963, Airworthiness Date: 08/06/1963, Certificate Issue Date: 03/31/2004

Registrant (Co-Owned): Anthony J Leocha, 60 Holiday Ln, Hampstead, NH 03841, Other Owners: Phyllis Leocha

PIPER PA-22-108 ( Land, 2, Up to 12,499 Pounds, 94 mph), LYCOMING 0-235 SERIES (115 HP) (Reciprocating) 5819Z, N5819Z, N-5819Z, 22-9676, 1963, 08/06/1963, 03/31/2004 Anthony J Leocha, 60 Holiday Ln, Hampstead, NH 03841, Phyllis Leocha Aircraft: CESSNA 150M ( Category: Land, Seats: 2, Weight: Up to 12,499 Pounds, Speed: 81 mph), Engine: CONT MOTOR 0-200 SERIES (100 HP) (4 Cycle)

N-Number: 66755, N66755, N-66755, Serial Number: 15076253, Year manufactured: 1974, Airworthiness Date: 10/22/1974, Certificate Issue Date: 01/19/1982

Registrant (Individual): A Edward Jr Fischer, 62 Spring Brook Drive, Hampstead, NH 03841

CESSNA 150M ( Land, 2, Up to 12,499 Pounds, 81 mph), CONT MOTOR 0-200 SERIES (100 HP) (4 Cycle) 66755, N66755, N-66755, 15076253, 1974, 10/22/1974, 01/19/1982 A Edward Jr Fischer, 62 Spring Brook Drive, Hampstead, NH 03841 Aircraft: PIPER PA-20 ( Category: Land, Seats: 4, Weight: Up to 12,499 Pounds, Speed: 94 mph), Engine: LYCOMING 0-290 SERIES (140 HP) (Reciprocating)

N-Number: 6923K, N6923K, N-6923K, Serial Number: 20-26, Year manufactured: 1950, Airworthiness Date: 08/21/1964, Certificate Issue Date: 06/22/2007

Registrant (Co-Owned): Anthony J Leocha, 60 Holiday Ln, Hampstead, NH 03841, Other Owners: Phyllis Leocha

PIPER PA-20 ( Land, 4, Up to 12,499 Pounds, 94 mph), LYCOMING 0-290 SERIES (140 HP) (Reciprocating) 6923K, N6923K, N-6923K, 20-26, 1950, 08/21/1964, 06/22/2007 Anthony J Leocha, 60 Holiday Ln, Hampstead, NH 03841, Phyllis Leocha Aircraft: PIPER PA-22-150 (Category: Land, Seats: 4, Weight: Up to 12,499 Pounds, Speed: 94 mph), Engine: LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 HP) (Reciprocating)

N-Number: 7551D, N7551D, N-7551D, Serial Number: 22-5282, Year manufactured: 1957, Airworthiness Date: 05/24/1957, Certificate Issue Date: 09/22/1987

Registrant (Co-Owned): Anthony J Leocha, 18 Stage Road, Hampstead, NH 03841, Other Owners: Phyllis Leocha

32 ( See the full list of FCC Registered Amateur Radio Licenses in Hampstead

2002 - 2018 National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) incidents According to the data from the years 2002 - 2018 the average number of fire incidents per year is 17. The highest number of reported fire incidents - 32 took place in 2018, and the least - 3 in 2006. The data has a growing trend.



Fire incident types reported to NFIRS in Hampstead, NH



162 56.3% Structure Fires



85 29.5% Outside Fires



29 10.1% Mobile Property/Vehicle Fires



12 4.2% Other When looking into fire subcategories, the most incidents belonged to: Structure Fires (56.3%), and Outside Fires (29.5%). See full National Fire Incident Reporting System statistics for Hampstead, NH

Houses and condos Apartments 78.6% Fuel oil, kerosene, etc.

12.9% Bottled, tank, or LP gas

2.9% Electricity

1.9% Other fuel

1.7% Utility gas

1.3% Wood

0.4% No fuel used

0.3% Coal or coke 40.9% Fuel oil, kerosene, etc.

31.3% Bottled, tank, or LP gas

15.8% Electricity

8.9% Utility gas

3.1% No fuel used





Hampstead compared to New Hampshire state average: Unemployed percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Black race population percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Hispanic race population percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Foreign-born population percentage below state average.

below Renting percentage below state average.

below Length of stay since moving in significantly above state average.

significantly above Number of rooms per house significantly below state average.

significantly below House age significantly below state average.

Hampstead on our top lists: #10 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of females in industries: data processing, libraries, and other information services (population 5,000+)"

#12 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of males in industries: computer and electronic products (population 5,000+)"

#12 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of females in industries: petroleum and petroleum products merchant wholesalers (population 5,000+)"

#13 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of males in occupations: financial managers (population 5,000+)"

#20 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of females in industries: computer and electronic products (population 5,000+)"

#24 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of males in industries: recyclable material merchant wholesalers (population 5,000+)"

#25 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of females in occupations: supervisors of transportation and material moving workers (population 5,000+)"

#27 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of females in occupations: top executives (population 5,000+)"

#31 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of males in industries: motor vehicles, parts and supplies merchant wholesalers (population 5,000+)"

#36 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of males in industries: u. s. postal service (population 5,000+)"

#50 on the list of "Top 101 cities with the largest city-data.com crime index increase from 2002 to 2012 (population 5,000+)"

#54 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of females in occupations: life and physical scientists (population 5,000+)"

#59 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of males in occupations: media and communication equipment workers (population 5,000+)"

#64 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of females in occupations: registered nurses (population 5,000+)"

#67 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of males in industries: lumber and other construction materials merchant wholesalers (population 5,000+)"

#68 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of males in industries: hardware, plumbing and heating equipment, and supplies merchant wholesalers (population 5,000+)"

#70 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of males in industries: radio, tv, and computer stores (population 5,000+)"

#88 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of females in industries: fuel dealers (population 5,000+)"

#91 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of males in industries: vending machine operators (population 5,000+)" #9 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the largest decrease in the number of births per 1000 residents 2000-2006 to 2007-2013 (pop 50,000+)"

#14 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the best general health status score of residents (1-5), 3 years of data"

#16 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the lowest number of births per 1000 residents 2007-2013"

#22 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the lowest Particulate Matter (PM 10 ) Annual air pollution readings in 2012 (g/m 3 )"

#36 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the highest percentage of residents that visited a dentist within the past year"

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Hope Hull, Alabama

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Population in July 2007: 8,913.

Males: 4,178 (46.9%) Females: 4,735 (53.1%)

Median resident age: 36.1 years Alabama median age: 35.8 years

Zip code: 36043

Estimated median household income in 2019: $52,690 (it was $35,673 in 2000)

Hope Hull: $52,690 AL: $51,734

Estimated per capita income in 2019: $23,426 (it was $15,467 in 2000)



Hope Hull CCD income, earnings, and wages data



Estimated median house or condo value in 2019: $102,188 (it was $64,600 in 2000) Hope Hull: $102,188 AL: $154,000 $52,690 ($35,673$23,426 ($15,467$102,188 ($64,600

March 2019 cost of living index in Hope Hull: 83.5 (less than average, U.S. average is 100)

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5,898 66.8% Black alone 2,816 31.9% White alone 43 0.5% Two or more races 35 0.4% Hispanic 17 0.2% American Indian alone 10 0.1% Asian alone 5 0.06% Other race alone 1 0.01% Native Hawaiian and Other

Pacific Islander alone

Races in Hope Hull detailed stats: ancestries, foreign born residents, place of birth





According to our research of Alabama and other state lists, there were 28 registered sex offenders living in Hope Hull, Alabama as of November 22, 2021.

The ratio of all residents to sex offenders in Hope Hull is 318 to 1.





Current Local Time: CST time zone

Elevation: 209 feet

Land area: 151.5 square miles. Population density: 59 people per square mile (very low).

Median real estate property taxes paid for housing units in 2000: Hope Hull CCD: 0.3% ($199) Alabama: 0.4% ($289)

Latitude: 32.25 N, Longitude: 86.35 W

Area code commonly used in this area: 334

Unemployment in November 2020:

Here: 6.2% Alabama: 4.0%

Most common industries in Hope Hull, AL (%) Both Males Females

Public administration (10.2%)

Health care (10.2%)

Educational services (9.7%)

Construction (7.4%)

Finance & insurance (4.9%)

Accommodation & food services (4.4%)

Administrative & support & waste management services (4.0%)

Construction (14.4%)

Public administration (10.7%)

Metal & metal products (4.7%)

Accommodation & food services (4.7%)

Administrative & support & waste management services (4.5%)

Food & beverage stores (4.2%)

Health care (3.9%)

Educational services (17.7%)

Health care (16.4%)

Public administration (9.7%)

Finance & insurance (6.3%)

Social assistance (4.1%)

Accommodation & food services (4.0%)

Food & beverage stores (3.7%) Most common occupations in Hope Hull, AL (%) Both Males Females

Other office and administrative support workers, including supervisors (6.9%)

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations (5.9%)

Other production occupations, including supervisors (5.1%)

Preschool, kindergarten, elementary, and middle school teachers (3.8%)

Driver/sales workers and truck drivers (3.5%)

Metal workers and plastic workers (3.2%)

Material recording, scheduling, dispatching, and distributing workers (3.2%)

Driver/sales workers and truck drivers (7.1%)

Metal workers and plastic workers (6.2%)

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations (6.0%)

Other production occupations, including supervisors (4.8%)

Vehicle and mobile equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers (4.6%)

Construction traders workers except carpenters, electricians, painters, plumbers, and construction laborers (4.3%)

Other office and administrative support workers, including supervisors (4.0%)

Other office and administrative support workers, including supervisors (9.8%)

Preschool, kindergarten, elementary, and middle school teachers (7.5%)

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations (5.8%)

Other production occupations, including supervisors (5.5%)

Nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides (4.6%)

Cashiers (4.3%)

Secretaries and administrative assistants (4.2%)

Average climate in Hope Hull, Alabama Based on data reported by over 4,000 weather stations

Air pollution and air quality trends

(lower is better) AQI Ozone PM 10 PM 2.5

Air Quality Index (AQI) level in 2018 was 74.9. This is about average. City: 74.9 U.S.: 74.2

Ozone [ppb] level in 2018 was 26.3. This is better than average. Closest monitor was 12.4 miles away from the city center. City: 26.3 U.S.: 33.3



Particulate Matter (PM 2.5 ) [g/m3] level in 2018 was 13.8. This is significantly worse than average. Closest monitor was 12.4 miles away from the city center. City: 13.8 U.S.: 8.5

Tornado activity: Hope Hull-area historical tornado activity is slightly below Alabama state average. It is 40% greater than the overall U.S. average.

On 4/18/1969, a category F4 (max. wind speeds 207-260 mph) tornado 27.4 miles away from the Hope Hull place center killed 2 people and injured 14 people and caused between $50,000 and $500,000 in damages. On 5/3/1984, a category F3 (max. wind speeds 158-206 mph) tornado 9.0 miles away from the place center killed 5 people and injured 37 people and caused between $500,000 and $5,000,000 in damages.

Earthquake activity: Hope Hull-area historical earthquake activity is significantly above Alabama state average. It is 64% greater than the overall U.S. average.



On 10/24/1997 at 08:35:17, a magnitude 4.9 (4.8 MB, 4.2 MS, 4.9 LG, Depth: 6.2 mi, Class: Light, Intensity: IV - V) earthquake occurred 94.9 miles away from the city center

On 1/18/1999 at 07:00:53, a magnitude 4.8 (4.8 MB, 4.0 LG, Depth: 0.6 mi) earthquake occurred 95.9 miles away from Hope Hull center

On 4/29/2003 at 08:59:39, a magnitude 4.9 (4.4 MB, 4.6 MW, 4.9 LG) earthquake occurred 160.8 miles away from the city center

On 6/24/1975 at 11:11:36, a magnitude 4.5 (4.5 MB) earthquake occurred 133.7 miles away from Hope Hull center

On 11/7/2004 at 11:20:21, a magnitude 4.3 (4.3 MW, Depth: 3.1 mi) earthquake occurred 96.7 miles away from the city center

On 4/29/2003 at 08:59:39, a magnitude 4.6 (4.6 MW, Depth: 12.3 mi) earthquake occurred 160.8 miles away from the city center

Magnitude types: regional Lg-wave magnitude (LG), body-wave magnitude (MB), surface-wave magnitude (MS), moment magnitude (MW)

Natural disasters: The number of natural disasters in Montgomery County (15) is near the US average (15).

Major Disasters (Presidential) Declared: 9

Emergencies Declared: 5



Causes of natural disasters: Storms: 7, Floods: 5, Hurricanes: 5, Tornadoes: 5, Winds: 3, Drought: 1, Snowfall: 1, Winter Storm: 1, Other: 1 (Note: some incidents may be assigned to more than one category).

Hospitals and medical centers near Hope Hull: JOHN KNOX MANOR INC I I (Nursing Home, about 7 miles away; MONTGOMERY, AL)

SOUTH HAVEN HEALTH AND REHABILITATION CENTER (Nursing Home, about 7 miles away; MONTGOMERY, AL)

WOODLEY MANOR HEALTH AND REHABILITATION (Nursing Home, about 7 miles away; MONTGOMERY, AL)

FMC MONTGOMERY BAPTIST (Dialysis Facility, about 7 miles away; MONTGOMERY, AL)

SAME DAY SURGERY CENTER MONTGOMERY (Hospital, about 8 miles away; MONTGOMERY, AL)

MONTGOMERY COUNTY HOME CARE (Home Health Center, about 8 miles away; MONTGOMERY, AL)

BAPTIST MEDICAL CENTER SOUTH Acute Care Hospitals (about 8 miles away; MONTGOMERY, AL)

Amtrak station near Hope Hull: 6 miles: MONTGOMERY (950 W. SOUTH BLVD.) - Bus Station . Services: enclosed waiting area, public payphones, paid short-term parking, paid long-term parking, call for car rental service, call for taxi service, intercity bus service, public transit connection.

Colleges/universities with over 2000 students nearest to Hope Hull: Alabama State University ( about 9 miles; Montgomery, AL ; Full-time enrollment: 5,457)

9 ; 5,457) Faulkner University ( about 13 miles; Montgomery, AL ; FT enrollment: 2,887)

13 ; 2,887) Auburn University at Montgomery ( about 14 miles; Montgomery, AL ; FT enrollment: 4,092)

14 ; 4,092) Troy University ( about 39 miles; Troy, AL ; FT enrollment: 16,148)

39 ; 16,148) Tuskegee University ( about 40 miles; Tuskegee, AL ; FT enrollment: 2,810)

40 ; 2,810) Auburn University ( about 56 miles; Auburn University, AL ; FT enrollment: 22,741)

56 ; 22,741) University of Montevallo (about 67 miles; Montevallo, AL; FT enrollment: 2,826) Private high school in Hope Hull: HOOPER ACADEMY (Students: 380, Location: 380 FISCHER RD, Grades: PK-12) Public elementary/middle school in Hope Hull: PINTLALA ELEM SCH (Students: 199, Location: 215 FEDERAL RD, Grades: KG-6) See full list of schools located in Hope Hull

Birthplace of: Bibb Graves - Soilder.

Montgomery County has a predicted average indoor radon screening level between 2 and 4 pCi/L (pico curies per liter) - Moderate Potential

Drinking water stations with addresses in Hope Hull that have no violations reported: PINTLALA WATER SYSTEM, INC. (Address: 123 FEDERAL ROAD , Population served: 5,253, Primary Water Source Type: Purch surface water)

Average household size: This place: 2.5 people Alabama: 2.5 people

Percentage of family households: This place: 71.9% Whole state: 67.8%

Percentage of households with unmarried partners: This place: 4.2% Whole state: 4.7%



Likely homosexual households (counted as self-reported same-sex unmarried-partner households) Lesbian couples: 0.3% of all households

0.3% Gay men: 0.3% of all households Residents with income below the poverty level in 2009:

This place: 17.0% Whole state: 16.1% Residents with income below 50% of the poverty level in 2009:

This place: 9.1% Whole state: 7.3%

13 people in nursing homes in 2000

12 people in other noninstitutional group quarters in 2000

For population 15 years and over in Hope Hull: Never married: 29.6%

29.6% Now married: 51.4%

51.4% Separated: 2.7%

2.7% Widowed: 6.3%

6.3% Divorced: 12.7%

For population 25 years and over in Hope Hull: High school or higher: 72.3%

72.3% Bachelor's degree or higher: 16.5%

16.5% Graduate or professional degree: 7.5%

7.5% Unemployed: 7.5%

7.5% Mean travel time to work (commute): 23.0 minutes

Education Gini index (Inequality in education) Here: 13.1 Alabama average: 13.2



Religion statistics for Hope Hull, AL (based on Montgomery County data) Religion Adherents Congregations Evangelical Protestant 69,894 182 Black Protestant 44,089 89 Mainline Protestant 31,983 54 Catholic 9,480 9 Other 4,424 19 Orthodox 85 1 None 69,408 - Source: Clifford Grammich, Kirk Hadaway, Richard Houseal, Dale E.Jones, Alexei Krindatch, Richie Stanley and Richard H.Taylor. 2012. 2010 U.S.Religion Census: Religious Congregations & Membership Study. Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies. Jones, Dale E., et al. 2002. Congregations and Membership in the United States 2000. Nashville, TN: Glenmary Research Center. Graphs represent county-level data

Food Environment Statistics: Number of grocery stores: 38 This county : 1.68 / 10,000 pop. State : 1.89 / 10,000 pop. Number of supercenters and club stores: 4 Montgomery County : 0.18 / 10,000 pop. Alabama : 0.20 / 10,000 pop. Number of convenience stores (no gas): 8 This county : 0.35 / 10,000 pop. Alabama : 0.65 / 10,000 pop. Number of convenience stores (with gas): 108 Here : 4.78 / 10,000 pop. Alabama : 6.32 / 10,000 pop. Number of full-service restaurants: 144 Montgomery County : 6.37 / 10,000 pop. Alabama : 5.75 / 10,000 pop. Adult diabetes rate: This county : 11.7% State : 11.8% Adult obesity rate: Here : 33.0% Alabama : 31.7% Low-income preschool obesity rate: This county : 12.0% Alabama : 13.5%

5.72% of this county's 2016 resident taxpayers lived in other counties in 2015 ($45,627 average adjusted gross income) Here: 5.72% Alabama average: 5.95% 0.13% of residents moved from foreign countries ($1,472 average AGI) Montgomery County: 0.13% Alabama average: 0.05%

Top counties from which taxpayers relocated into this county between 2015 and 2016:

from Elmore County, AL 0.68% ($40,170 average AGI) from Autauga County, AL 0.33% ($50,858) from Jefferson County, AL 0.21% ($37,409)



6.54% of this county's 2015 resident taxpayers moved to other counties in 2016 ($51,684 average adjusted gross income) Here: 6.54% Alabama average: 5.97% 0.11% of residents moved to foreign countries ($1,299 average AGI) Montgomery County: 0.11% Alabama average: 0.05%

Top counties to which taxpayers relocated from this county between 2015 and 2016:

to Elmore County, AL 0.87% ($48,501 average AGI) to Autauga County, AL 0.43% ($37,690) to Jefferson County, AL 0.29% ($50,996)

Businesses in Hope Hull, AL Name Count Name Count Dairy Queen 1 Subway 1 FedEx 3 UPS 1 Hilton 1

Strongest AM radio stations in Hope Hull: WLWI (1440 AM; 5 kW; MONTGOMERY, AL; Owner: CUMULUS LICENSING CORP.)

CUMULUS LICENSING CORP.) WMSP (740 AM; 10 kW; MONTGOMERY, AL; Owner: CUMULUS LICENSING CORP.)

CUMULUS LICENSING CORP.) WACV (1170 AM; 10 kW; MONTGOMERY, AL; Owner: MONTGOMERY BROADCAST PROPERTIES, LTD)

MONTGOMERY BROADCAST PROPERTIES, LTD) WXVI (1600 AM; 5 kW; MONTGOMERY, AL; Owner: SUNSHINE 16 RADIO NETWORK, INC.)

SUNSHINE 16 RADIO NETWORK, INC.) WNZZ (950 AM; 1 kW; MONTGOMERY, AL; Owner: CUMULUS LICENSING CORP.)

CUMULUS LICENSING CORP.) WAPZ (1250 AM; 5 kW; WETUMPKA, AL; Owner: J & W PROMOTIONS, INC.)

J & W PROMOTIONS, INC.) WJOX (690 AM; 50 kW; BIRMINGHAM, AL; Owner: CITADEL BROADCASTING COMPANY)

CITADEL BROADCASTING COMPANY) WMGY (800 AM; 1 kW; MONTGOMERY, AL; Owner: WMGY RADIO, INC.)

WMGY RADIO, INC.) WDJC (850 AM; 50 kW; BIRMINGHAM, AL; Owner: KIMTRON, INC.)

KIMTRON, INC.) WAPI (1070 AM; 50 kW; BIRMINGHAM, AL; Owner: CITADEL BROADCASTING COMPANY)

CITADEL BROADCASTING COMPANY) WNSI (810 AM; 50 kW; JACKSONVILLE, AL; Owner: UNITED BROADCASTING NETWORK, INC.)

UNITED BROADCASTING NETWORK, INC.) WTBF (970 AM; 5 kW; TROY, AL; Owner: TROY BROADCASTING CORP.)

TROY BROADCASTING CORP.) WASG (550 AM; 25 kW; ATMORE, AL; Owner: 550 AM, INC) Strongest FM radio stations in Hope Hull: WMCZ (97.1 FM; MILLBROOK, AL; Owner: CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP)

CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP) WLWI-FM (92.3 FM; MONTGOMERY, AL; Owner: CUMULUS LICENSING CORP.)

CUMULUS LICENSING CORP.) WQKS-FM (96.1 FM; MONTGOMERY, AL; Owner: MONTGOMERY BROADCAST PROPERTIES, LTD)

MONTGOMERY BROADCAST PROPERTIES, LTD) WVAS (90.7 FM; MONTGOMERY, AL; Owner: ALABAMA STATE UNIVERSITY (ASU))

ALABAMA STATE UNIVERSITY (ASU)) WBAM-FM (98.9 FM; MONTGOMERY, AL; Owner: DEEP SOUTH BROADCASTING COMPANY)

DEEP SOUTH BROADCASTING COMPANY) WHHY-FM (101.9 FM; MONTGOMERY, AL; Owner: CUMULUS LICENSING CORP.)

CUMULUS LICENSING CORP.) WMXS (103.3 FM; MONTGOMERY, AL; Owner: CUMULUS LICENSING CORP.)

CUMULUS LICENSING CORP.) WQLD (104.3 FM; LUVERNE, AL; Owner: CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP)

CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP) WZHT (105.7 FM; TROY, AL; Owner: CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP)

CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP) WAPR (88.3 FM; SELMA, AL; Owner: UA-ASU-TSU EDUCATIONAL RADIO CORP.)

UA-ASU-TSU EDUCATIONAL RADIO CORP.) WLBF (89.1 FM; MONTGOMERY, AL; Owner: FAITH BROADCASTING, INC)

FAITH BROADCASTING, INC) W230AM (93.9 FM; MONTGOMERY, AL; Owner: BHAGWAN DADLANI, INDIVIDUALLY)

BHAGWAN DADLANI, INDIVIDUALLY) WXFX (95.1 FM; PRATTVILLE, AL; Owner: CUMULUS LICENSING CORP.)

CUMULUS LICENSING CORP.) WTSU (89.9 FM; MONTGOMERY-TROY, AL; Owner: TROY STATE UNIVERSITY)

TROY STATE UNIVERSITY) WJWZ (97.9 FM; WETUMPKA, AL; Owner: MONTGOMERY BROADCAST PROPERTIES, LTD)

MONTGOMERY BROADCAST PROPERTIES, LTD) WKXN (95.9 FM; GREENVILLE, AL; Owner: AUTAUGAVILLE RADIO, INC.)

AUTAUGAVILLE RADIO, INC.) WQZX (94.3 FM; GREENVILLE, AL; Owner: HAYNES BROADCASTING, INC.)

HAYNES BROADCASTING, INC.) W219CR (91.7 FM; SNOWDOUN, AL; Owner: PENSACOLA CHRISTIAN COLLEGE, INC.) TV broadcast stations around Hope Hull: WNCF ( Channel 32; MONTGOMERY, AL; Owner: CHANNEL 32 MONTGOMERY LLC)

32; MONTGOMERY, AL; CHANNEL 32 MONTGOMERY LLC) WMCF-TV ( Channel 45; MONTGOMERY, AL; Owner: TRINITY BROADCASTING NETWORK)

45; MONTGOMERY, AL; TRINITY BROADCASTING NETWORK) WETU-LP ( Channel 39; WETUMPKA, AL; Owner: CABLE VIDEO PRODUCTIONS, INC.)

39; WETUMPKA, AL; CABLE VIDEO PRODUCTIONS, INC.) WRJM-TV ( Channel 67; TROY, AL; Owner: JOSIE PARK BROADCASTING, INC.)

67; TROY, AL; JOSIE PARK BROADCASTING, INC.) WSFA ( Channel 12; MONTGOMERY, AL; Owner: LIBCO, INC.)

12; MONTGOMERY, AL; LIBCO, INC.) WCOV-TV ( Channel 20; MONTGOMERY, AL; Owner: WOODS COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION)

20; MONTGOMERY, AL; WOODS COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION) WAIQ ( Channel 26; MONTGOMERY, AL; Owner: ALABAMA EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION COMMISSION)

26; MONTGOMERY, AL; ALABAMA EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION COMMISSION) WAKA ( Channel 8; SELMA, AL; Owner: ALABAMA BROADCASTING PARTNERS)

8; SELMA, AL; ALABAMA BROADCASTING PARTNERS) W61DH ( Channel 61; MONTGOMERY, AL; Owner: FRAZER MEMORIAL UNITED METHODIST CHURCH)

61; MONTGOMERY, AL; FRAZER MEMORIAL UNITED METHODIST CHURCH) WBIH ( Channel 29; SELMA, AL; Owner: FLINN BROADCASTING CORPORATION)

29; SELMA, AL; FLINN BROADCASTING CORPORATION) WBXM-CA (Channel 5; MONTGOMERY, AL; Owner: THE BOX WORLDWIDE LLC)

National Bridge Inventory (NBI) Statistics

2 Number of bridges

Number of bridges 3ft / 1.1m Total length

Total length $7,534,000 Total costs

Total costs 39,170 Total average daily traffic

Total average daily traffic 8,060 Total average daily truck traffic

FCC Registered Cell Phone Towers: 2 (

FCC Registered Antenna Towers: 77 (



FCC Registered Broadcast Land Mobile Towers: 1 TANK #2, 1160 John Sellers Rd (Lat: 32.121778 Lon: -86.348250), Type: Tank, Structure height: 15 m, Call Sign: WQPB914,

Assigned Frequencies: 460.375 MHz, Grant Date: 04/02/2012, Expiration Date: 04/02/2022, Certifier: Wayne Hatcher, Registrant: Duke Instrument Service, 1110-A Shelton Beach Rd, Saraland, AL 36571, Phone: (251) 675-6067, Fax: (251) 675-5938, Email:

FCC Registered Microwave Towers: 5 ALWJS1022302, 4701a Tower Rd ( Lat: 32.295222 Lon: -86.397833), Type: Tower, Structure height: 38.6 m, Overall height: 41.2 m, Call Sign: WPXK438,

Assigned Frequencies: 19320.0 MHz, Grant Date: 04/22/2003, Expiration Date: 04/22/2013, Cancellation Date: 06/22/2013, Certifier: Joseph M Sandri Jr., Registrant: Idt Spectrum, LLC, 550 Broad Street, Newark, NJ 07102, Phone: (516) 204-4950, Fax: (973) 438-1874, Email:

32.295222 -86.397833), Tower, 38.6 m, 41.2 m, WPXK438, 19320.0 MHz, 04/22/2003, 04/22/2013, 06/22/2013, Joseph M Sandri Jr., Idt Spectrum, LLC, 550 Broad Street, Newark, NJ 07102, (516) 204-4950, (973) 438-1874, MONAL0018, 270 Fischer Rd ( Lat: 32.258111 Lon: -86.358528), Type: Tower, Structure height: 56.4 m, Overall height: 60.9 m, Call Sign: WQNJ544,

Assigned Frequencies: 10935.0 MHz, Grant Date: 02/23/2011, Expiration Date: 02/23/2021, Cancellation Date: 04/11/2017, Certifier: Patricia Morrison, Registrant: Radyn, Inc, Silver Spring, MD 20914, Phone: (301) 493-5171, Fax: (301) 576-4553, Email:

32.258111 -86.358528), Tower, 56.4 m, 60.9 m, WQNJ544, 10935.0 MHz, 02/23/2011, 02/23/2021, 04/11/2017, Patricia Morrison, Radyn, Inc, Silver Spring, MD 20914, (301) 493-5171, (301) 576-4553, HOPE HULL, 270 Fischer Rd ( Lat: 32.258111 Lon: -86.358528), Type: Tower, Structure height: 56.4 m, Overall height: 60.9 m, Call Sign: WQNR253,

Assigned Frequencies: 5945.20 MHz, Grant Date: 04/26/2011, Expiration Date: 04/26/2021, Cancellation Date: 10/26/2012, Certifier: Pamelia Y Hoof, Registrant: Verizon Wireless, 1120 Sanctuary Pkwy, #150 Gasa5reg, Alpharetta, GA 30009-7630, Phone: (770) 797-1070, Fax: (770) 797-1036, Email:

32.258111 -86.358528), Tower, 56.4 m, 60.9 m, WQNR253, 5945.20 MHz, 04/26/2011, 04/26/2021, 10/26/2012, Pamelia Y Hoof, Verizon Wireless, 1120 Sanctuary Pkwy, #150 Gasa5reg, Alpharetta, GA 30009-7630, (770) 797-1070, (770) 797-1036, TYSON, End Of Hargrove Lane ( Lat: 32.217861 Lon: -86.402222), Type: Gtower, Structure height: 76.2 m, Overall height: 80.2 m, Call Sign: WQWN297,

Assigned Frequencies: 10855.0 MHz, 10895.0 MHz, 10855.0 MHz, 10895.0 MHz, 10855.0 MHz, 10895.0 MHz, 10855.0 MHz, 10895.0 MHz, 10855.0 MHz, 10895.0 MHz... (+38 more), Grant Date: 10/08/2015, Expiration Date: 10/08/2025, Certifier: Larry F Butts, Registrant: Southern Company Services, 600 North 18th Street / Bin 5n-8409, Birmingham, AL 35203-2206, Phone: (205) 257-3223, Email:

32.217861 -86.402222), Gtower, 76.2 m, 80.2 m, WQWN297, 10855.0 MHz, 10895.0 MHz, 10855.0 MHz, 10895.0 MHz, 10855.0 MHz, 10895.0 MHz, 10855.0 MHz, 10895.0 MHz, 10855.0 MHz, 10895.0 MHz... (+38 more), 10/08/2015, 10/08/2025, Larry F Butts, Southern Company Services, 600 North 18th Street / Bin 5n-8409, Birmingham, AL 35203-2206, (205) 257-3223, MGMZ-TRACO, 4701a Tower Rd (Lat: 32.295222 Lon: -86.397833), Type: Tower, Structure height: 38.6 m, Overall height: 41.2 m, Call Sign: WRAG849,

Assigned Frequencies: 11345.0 MHz, 6815.00 MHz, 11345.0 MHz, 6815.00 MHz, 11345.0 MHz, 6815.00 MHz, 11345.0 MHz, 6815.00 MHz, 11345.0 MHz, 6815.00 MHz... (+6 more), Grant Date: 11/14/2017, Expiration Date: 11/14/2027, Certifier: Nilsa Brown, Registrant: L3harris Technologies, Inc., 1025 West Nasa Boulevard, Ms F-11 A, Melbourne, FL 32919, Phone: (321) 309-2452, Fax: (321) 726-3336, Email:

FCC Registered Amateur Radio Licenses: 16 (



FAA Registered Aircraft: 4 Aircraft: SCHWEIZER SGS 1-26A ( Category: Land, Weight: Up to 12,499 Pounds, Speed: 58 mph), Engine: None

N-Number: 2712Z, N2712Z, N-2712Z, Serial Number: 225, Year manufactured: 1964, Airworthiness Date: 04/29/1964, Certificate Issue Date: 04/17/2019

Registrant (Individual): Daniel Nezgoda, 695 Deebeck Rd, Hope Hull, AL 36043

SCHWEIZER SGS 1-26A ( Land, Up to 12,499 Pounds, 58 mph), None 2712Z, N2712Z, N-2712Z, 225, 1964, 04/29/1964, 04/17/2019 Daniel Nezgoda, 695 Deebeck Rd, Hope Hull, AL 36043 Aircraft: CESSNA 172N ( Category: Land, Seats: 4, Weight: Up to 12,499 Pounds, Speed: 105 mph), Engine: LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 HP) (Reciprocating)

N-Number: 5082G, N5082G, N-5082G, Serial Number: 17273531, Year manufactured: 1979, Airworthiness Date: 11/20/1979, Certificate Issue Date: 02/07/2012

Registrant (Individual): David L Goodwin, 355 W Mclean Rd, Hope Hull, AL 36043

CESSNA 172N ( Land, 4, Up to 12,499 Pounds, 105 mph), LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 HP) (Reciprocating) 5082G, N5082G, N-5082G, 17273531, 1979, 11/20/1979, 02/07/2012 David L Goodwin, 355 W Mclean Rd, Hope Hull, AL 36043 Aircraft: SCHWEIZER SGS 1-26B ( Category: Land, Weight: Up to 12,499 Pounds, Speed: 58 mph), Engine: None

N-Number: 5844V, N5844V, N-5844V, Serial Number: 274, Year manufactured: 1964, Certificate Issue Date: 02/26/2020

Registrant (Individual): Daniel W Nezgoda, 695 Deebeck Rd, Hope Hull, AL 36043

SCHWEIZER SGS 1-26B ( Land, Up to 12,499 Pounds, 58 mph), None 5844V, N5844V, N-5844V, 274, 1964, 02/26/2020 Daniel W Nezgoda, 695 Deebeck Rd, Hope Hull, AL 36043 Aircraft: AERONCA 7AC (Category: Land, Seats: 2, Weight: Up to 12,499 Pounds, Speed: 90 mph), Engine: CONT MOTOR C85-12F (85 HP) (Reciprocating)

N-Number: 83746, N83746, N-83746, Serial Number: 7AC-2424, Year manufactured: 1946, Airworthiness Date: 07/26/2013, Certificate Issue Date: 10/04/2010

Registrant (Individual): Robert A Bowling, 6205 Sugarberry Lake Rd, Hope Hull, AL 36043

2 ( See the full list of FCC Registered Cell Phone Towers in Hope Hull 77 ( See the full list of FCC Registered Antenna Towers 16 ( See the full list of FCC Registered Amateur Radio Licenses in Hope Hull

Houses and condos Apartments 38.4% Electricity

37.5% Utility gas

22.8% Bottled, tank, or LP gas

1.3% Wood 56.0% Electricity

29.6% Utility gas

14.4% Bottled, tank, or LP gas





Hope Hull compared to Alabama state average: Median house value below state average.

below Unemployed percentage below state average.

below Black race population percentage above state average.

above Hispanic race population percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Median age below state average.

below Foreign-born population percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Length of stay since moving in significantly above state average.

significantly above Number of rooms per house significantly below state average.

significantly below House age significantly below state average.

Hope Hull on our top lists: #19 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of males in industries: miscellaneous durable goods merchant wholesalers (population 5,000+)"

#36 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of males in occupations: other office and administrative support workers including supervisors (population 5,000+)"

#36 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of males in industries: alcoholic beverages merchant wholesalers (population 5,000+)"

#52 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of females in occupations: other office and administrative support workers including supervisors (population 5,000+)"

#52 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of males in industries: groceries and related products merchant wholesalers (population 5,000+)"

#57 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of females in industries: warehousing and storage (population 5,000+)"

#60 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of males in occupations: other healthcare support occupations (population 5,000+)"

#61 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of males in industries: farm product raw materials merchant wholesalers (population 5,000+)"

#68 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of females in industries: food (population 5,000+)"

#82 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of males in industries: apparel, fabrics, and notions merchant wholesalers (population 5,000+)"

#83 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of males in occupations: transportation, tourism, and lodging attendants (population 5,000+)"

#86 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of females in occupations: other production occupations including supervisors (population 5,000+)"

#86 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of males in industries: food and beverage stores (population 5,000+)"

#87 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of males in occupations: registered nurses (population 5,000+)"

#88 on the list of "Top 101 larger cities with the lowest real estate taxes percentage (population 50,000+)"

#89 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of males in industries: private households (population 5,000+)"

#99 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of males in industries: other transportation, and support activities, and couriers (population 5,000+)" #3 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the worst general health status score of residents (1-5), 3 years of data"

#16 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the most Black Protestant adherents"

#22 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the most Black Protestant congregations"

#28 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the lowest percentage of residents that visited a dentist within the past year"

#38 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the lowest percentage of residents that exercised in the past month"

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Lemont Furnace, Pennsylvania

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Population in 2010: 827.

Males: 383 (46.3%) Females: 444 (53.7%)

Median resident age: 33.6 years Pennsylvania median age: 40.8 years

Estimated median household income in 2019: $48,509

Lemont Furnace: $48,509 PA: $63,463

Estimated per capita income in 2019: $28,732



Lemont Furnace CDP income, earnings, and wages data



Estimated median house or condo value in 2019: $101,100 Lemont Furnace: $101,100 PA: $192,600

Mean prices in 2019: all housing units: $92,737; detached houses: $106,157; mobile homes: $59,857 $48,509$28,732$101,100$92,737;$106,157;$59,857

Median gross rent in 2019: $716.

March 2019 cost of living index in Lemont Furnace: 91.3 (less than average, U.S. average is 100)

Percentage of residents living in poverty in 2019: 14.5%

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Most recent value % change since 2k Data: Median household income ($) Median household income (% change since 2000) Household income diversity Ratio of average income to average house value (%) Ratio of average income to average rent Median household income ($) - White Median household income ($) - Black or African American Median household income ($) - Asian Median household income ($) - Hispanic or Latino Median household income ($) - American Indian and Alaska Native Median household income ($) - Multirace Median household income ($) - Other Race Median household income for houses/condos with a mortgage ($) Median household income for apartments without a mortgage ($) Races - White alone (%) Races - White alone (% change since 2000) Races - Black alone (%) Races - Black alone (% change since 2000) Races - American Indian alone (%) Races - American Indian alone (% change since 2000) Races - Asian alone (%) Races - Asian alone (% change since 2000) Races - Hispanic (%) Races - Hispanic (% change since 2000) Races - Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone (%) Races - Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone (% change since 2000) Races - Two or more races (%) Races - Two or more races (% change since 2000) Races - Other race alone (%) Races - Other race alone (% change since 2000) Racial diversity Unemployment (%) Unemployment (% change since 2000) Unemployment (%) - White Unemployment (%) - Black or African American Unemployment (%) - Asian Unemployment (%) - Hispanic or Latino Unemployment (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Unemployment (%) - Multirace Unemployment (%) - Other Race Population density (people per square mile) Population - Males (%) Population - Females (%) Population - Males (%) - White Population - Males (%) - Black or African American Population - Males (%) - Asian Population - Males (%) - Hispanic or Latino Population - Males (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Population - Males (%) - Multirace Population - Males (%) - Other Race Population - Females (%) - White Population - Females (%) - Black or African American Population - Females (%) - Asian Population - Females (%) - Hispanic or Latino Population - Females (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Population - Females (%) - Multirace Population - Females (%) - Other Race Coronavirus confirmed cases (Nov 21, 2021) Deaths caused by coronavirus (Nov 21, 2021) Coronavirus confirmed cases (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) Deaths caused by coronavirus (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) Daily increase in number of cases (Nov 21, 2021) Weekly increase in number of cases (Nov 21, 2021) Cases doubled (in days) (Nov 21, 2021) Hospitalized patients (Nov 21, 2021) Negative test results (Nov 21, 2021) Total test results (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses distributed (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses administered (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses distributed (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses administered (Nov 21, 2021) Likely homosexual households (%) Likely homosexual households (% change since 2000) Likely homosexual households - Lesbian couples (%) Likely homosexual households - Lesbian couples (% change since 2000) Likely homosexual households - Gay men (%) Likely homosexual households - Gay men (% change since 2000) Cost of living index Median gross rent ($) Median contract rent ($) Median monthly housing costs ($) Median house or condo value ($) Median house or condo value ($ change since 2000) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 1, detached ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 1, attached ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 2 ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure by units in structure - 3 or 4 ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 5 or more ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - Boat, RV, van, etc. ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - Mobile home ($) Median house or condo value ($) - White Median house or condo value ($) - Black or African American Median house or condo value ($) - Asian Median house or condo value ($) - Hispanic or Latino Median house or condo value ($) - American Indian and Alaska Native Median house or condo value ($) - Multirace Median house or condo value ($) - Other Race Median resident age Resident age diversity Median resident age - Males Median resident age - Females Median resident age - White Median resident age - Black or African American Median resident age - Asian Median resident age - Hispanic or Latino Median resident age - American Indian and Alaska Native Median resident age - Multirace Median resident age - Other Race Median resident age - Males - White Median resident age - Males - Black or African American Median resident age - Males - Asian Median resident age - Males - Hispanic or Latino Median resident age - Males - American Indian and Alaska Native Median resident age - Males - Multirace Median resident age - Males - Other Race Median resident age - Females - White Median resident age - Females - Black or African American Median resident age - Females - Asian Median resident age - Females - Hispanic or Latino Median resident age - Females - American Indian and Alaska Native Median resident age - Females - Multirace Median resident age - Females - Other Race Commute - mean travel time to work (minutes) Travel time to work - Less than 5 minutes (%) Travel time to work - Less than 5 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 5 to 9 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 5 to 9 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 10 to 19 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 10 to 19 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 20 to 29 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 20 to 29 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 30 to 39 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 30 to 39 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 40 to 59 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 40 to 59 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 60 to 89 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 60 to 89 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 90 or more minutes (%) Travel time to work - 90 or more minutes (% change since 2000) Marital status - Never married (%) Marital status - Now married (%) Marital status - Separated (%) Marital status - Widowed (%) Marital status - Divorced (%) Median family income ($) Median family income (% change since 2000) Median non-family income ($) Median non-family income (% change since 2000) Median per capita income ($) Median per capita income (% change since 2000) Median family income ($) - White Median family income ($) - Black or African American Median family income ($) - Asian Median family income ($) - Hispanic or Latino Median family income ($) - American Indian and Alaska Native Median family income ($) - Multirace Median family income ($) - Other Race Median year house/condo built Median year apartment built Year house built - Built 2005 or later (%) Year house built - Built 2000 to 2004 (%) Year house built - Built 1990 to 1999 (%) Year house built - Built 1980 to 1989 (%) Year house built - Built 1970 to 1979 (%) Year house built - Built 1960 to 1969 (%) Year house built - Built 1950 to 1959 (%) Year house built - Built 1940 to 1949 (%) Year house built - Built 1939 or earlier (%) Average household size Household density (households per square mile) Average household size - White Average household size - Black or African American Average household size - Asian Average household size - Hispanic or Latino Average household size - American Indian and Alaska Native Average household size - Multirace Average household size - Other Race Occupied housing units (%) Vacant housing units (%) Owner occupied housing units (%) Renter occupied housing units (%) Vacancy status - For rent (%) Vacancy status - For sale only (%) Vacancy status - Rented or sold, not occupied (%) Vacancy status - For seasonal, recreational, or occasional use (%) Vacancy status - For migrant workers (%) Vacancy status - Other vacant (%) Residents with income below the poverty level (%) Residents with income below 50% of the poverty level (%) Children below poverty level (%) Poor families by family type - Married-couple family (%) Poor families by family type - Male, no wife present (%) Poor families by family type - Female, no husband present (%) Poverty status for native-born residents (%) Poverty status for foreign-born residents (%) Poverty among high school graduates not in families (%) Poverty among people who did not graduate high school not in families (%) Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - White Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Black or African American Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Asian Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Hispanic or Latino Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Multirace Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Other Race Air pollution - Air Quality Index (AQI) Air pollution - CO Air pollution - NO2 Air pollution - SO2 Air pollution - Ozone Air pollution - PM10 Air pollution - PM25 Air pollution - Pb Crime - Murders per 100,000 population Crime - Rapes per 100,000 population Crime - Robberies per 100,000 population Crime - Assaults per 100,000 population Crime - Burglaries per 100,000 population Crime - Thefts per 100,000 population Crime - Auto thefts per 100,000 population Crime - Arson per 100,000 population Crime - City-data.com crime index Crime - Violent crime index Crime - Property crime index Crime - Murders per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Rapes per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Robberies per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Assaults per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Burglaries per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Thefts per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Auto thefts per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Arson per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - City-data.com crime index (5 year average) Crime - Violent crime index (5 year average) Crime - Property crime index (5 year average) 1996 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Clinton) 1996 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Dole) 1996 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2000 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Gore) 2000 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Bush) 2000 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2004 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Kerry) 2004 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Bush) 2004 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2008 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Obama) 2008 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (McCain) 2008 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2012 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Obama) 2012 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Romney) 2012 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2016 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Clinton) 2016 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Trump) 2016 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2020 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Biden) 2020 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Trump) 2020 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other Ancestries Reported - Arab (%) Ancestries Reported - Czech (%) Ancestries Reported - Danish (%) Ancestries Reported - Dutch (%) Ancestries Reported - English (%) Ancestries Reported - French (%) Ancestries Reported - French Canadian (%) Ancestries Reported - German (%) Ancestries Reported - Greek (%) Ancestries Reported - Hungarian (%) Ancestries Reported - Irish (%) Ancestries Reported - Italian (%) Ancestries Reported - Lithuanian (%) Ancestries Reported - Norwegian (%) Ancestries Reported - Polish (%) Ancestries Reported - Portuguese (%) Ancestries Reported - Russian (%) Ancestries Reported - Scotch-Irish (%) Ancestries Reported - Scottish (%) Ancestries Reported - Slovak (%) Ancestries Reported - Subsaharan African (%) Ancestries Reported - Swedish (%) Ancestries Reported - Swiss (%) Ancestries Reported - Ukrainian (%) Ancestries Reported - United States (%) Ancestries Reported - Welsh (%) Ancestries Reported - West Indian (%) Ancestries Reported - Other (%) Educational Attainment - No schooling completed (%) Educational Attainment - Less than high school (%) Educational Attainment - High school or equivalent (%) Educational Attainment - Less than 1 year of college (%) Educational Attainment - 1 or more years of college (%) Educational Attainment - Associate degree (%) Educational Attainment - Bachelor's degree (%) Educational Attainment - Master's degree (%) Educational Attainment - Professional school degree (%) Educational Attainment - Doctorate degree (%) School Enrollment - Nursery, preschool (%) School Enrollment - Kindergarten (%) School Enrollment - Grade 1 to 4 (%) School Enrollment - Grade 5 to 8 (%) School Enrollment - Grade 9 to 12 (%) School Enrollment - College undergrad (%) School Enrollment - Graduate or professional (%) School Enrollment - Not enrolled in school (%) School enrollment - Public schools (%) School enrollment - Private schools (%) School enrollment - Not enrolled (%) Median number of rooms in houses and condos Median number of rooms in apartments Housing units lacking complete plumbing facilities (%) Housing units lacking complete kitchen facilities (%) Density of houses Urban houses (%) Rural houses (%) Households with people 60 years and over (%) Households with people 65 years and over (%) Households with people 75 years and over (%) Households with one or more nonrelatives (%) Households with no nonrelatives (%) Population in households (%) Family households (%) Nonfamily households (%) Population in families (%) Family households with own children (%) Median number of bedrooms in owner occupied houses Mean number of bedrooms in owner occupied houses Median number of bedrooms in renter occupied houses Mean number of bedrooms in renter occupied houses Median number of vehichles in owner occupied houses Mean number of vehichles in owner occupied houses Median number of vehichles in renter occupied houses Mean number of vehichles in renter occupied houses Mortgage status - with mortgage (%) Mortgage status - with second mortgage (%) Mortgage status - with home equity loan (%) Mortgage status - with both second mortgage and home equity loan (%) Mortgage status - without a mortgage (%) Average family size Average family size - White Average family size - Black or African American Average family size - Asian Average family size - Hispanic or Latino Average family size - American Indian and Alaska Native Average family size - Multirace Average family size - Other Race Geographical mobility - Same house 1 year ago (%) Geographical mobility - Moved within same county (%) Geographical mobility - Moved from different county within same state (%) Geographical mobility - Moved from different state (%) Geographical mobility - Moved from abroad (%) Place of birth - Born in state of residence (%) Place of birth - Born in other state (%) Place of birth - Native, outside of US (%) Place of birth - Foreign born (%) Housing units in structures - 1, detached (%) Housing units in structures - 1, attached (%) Housing units in structures - 2 (%) Housing units in structures - 3 or 4 (%) Housing units in structures - 5 to 9 (%) Housing units in structures - 10 to 19 (%) Housing units in structures - 20 to 49 (%) Housing units in structures - 50 or more (%) Housing units in structures - Mobile home (%) Housing units in structures - Boat, RV, van, etc. (%) House/condo owner moved in on average (years ago) Renter moved in on average (years ago) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1999 to March 2000 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1995 to 1998 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1990 to 1994 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1980 to 1989 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1970 to 1979 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1969 or earlier (%) Means of transportation to work - Drove car alone (%) Means of transportation to work - Carpooled (%) Means of transportation to work - Public transportation (%) Means of transportation to work - Bus or trolley bus (%) Means of transportation to work - Streetcar or trolley car (%) Means of transportation to work - Subway or elevated (%) Means of transportation to work - Railroad (%) Means of transportation to work - Ferryboat (%) Means of transportation to work - Taxicab (%) Means of transportation to work - Motorcycle (%) Means of transportation to work - Bicycle (%) Means of transportation to work - Walked (%) Means of transportation to work - Other means (%) Working at home (%) Industry diversity Most Common Industries - Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining (%) Most Common Industries - Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (%) Most Common Industries - Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (%) Most Common Industries - Construction (%) Most Common Industries - Manufacturing (%) Most Common Industries - Wholesale trade (%) Most Common Industries - Retail trade (%) Most Common Industries - Transportation and warehousing, and utilities (%) Most Common Industries - Transportation and warehousing (%) Most Common Industries - Utilities (%) Most Common Industries - Information (%) Most Common Industries - Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing (%) Most Common Industries - Finance and insurance (%) Most Common Industries - Real estate and rental and leasing (%) Most Common Industries - Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services (%) Most Common Industries - Professional, scientific, and technical services (%) Most Common Industries - Management of companies and enterprises (%) Most Common Industries - Administrative and support and waste management services (%) Most Common Industries - Educational services, and health care and social assistance (%) Most Common Industries - Educational services (%) Most Common Industries - Health care and social assistance (%) Most Common Industries - Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation and food services (%) Most Common Industries - Arts, entertainment, and recreation (%) Most Common Industries - Accommodation and food services (%) Most Common Industries - Other services, except public administration (%) Most Common Industries - Public administration (%) Occupation diversity Most Common Occupations - Management, business, science, and arts occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Management, business, and financial occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Management occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Business and financial operations occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Computer, engineering, and science occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Computer and mathematical occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Architecture and engineering occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Life, physical, and social science occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Education, legal, community service, arts, and media occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Community and social service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Legal occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Education, training, and library occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Health diagnosing and treating practitioners and other technical occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Health technologists and technicians (%) Most Common Occupations - Service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Healthcare support occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Protective service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Fire fighting and prevention, and other protective service workers including supervisors (%) Most Common Occupations - Law enforcement workers including supervisors (%) Most Common Occupations - Food preparation and serving related occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Personal care and service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Sales and office occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Sales and related occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Office and administrative support occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Construction and extraction occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Production, transportation, and material moving occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Production occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Transportation occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Material moving occupations (%) People in Group quarters - Institutionalized population (%) People in Group quarters - Correctional institutions (%) People in Group quarters - Federal prisons and detention centers (%) People in Group quarters - Halfway houses (%) People in Group quarters - Local jails and other confinement facilities (including police lockups) (%) People in Group quarters - Military disciplinary barracks (%) People in Group quarters - State prisons (%) People in Group quarters - Other types of correctional institutions (%) People in Group quarters - Nursing homes (%) People in Group quarters - Hospitals/wards, hospices, and schools for the handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Hospitals/wards and hospices for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Hospices or homes for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Military hospitals or wards for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Other hospitals or wards for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Hospitals or wards for drug/alcohol abuse (%) People in Group quarters - Mental (Psychiatric) hospitals or wards (%) People in Group quarters - Schools, hospitals, or wards for the mentally retarded (%) People in Group quarters - Schools, hospitals, or wards for the physically handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Institutions for the deaf (%) People in Group quarters - Institutions for the blind (%) People in Group quarters - Orthopedic wards and institutions for the physically handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Wards in general hospitals for patients who have no usual home elsewhere (%) People in Group quarters - Wards in military hospitals for patients who have no usual home elsewhere (%) People in Group quarters - Juvenile institutions (%) People in Group quarters - Long-term care (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for abused, dependent, and neglected children (%) People in Group quarters - Residential treatment centers for emotionally disturbed children (%) People in Group quarters - Training schools for juvenile delinquents (%) People in Group quarters - Short-term care, detention or diagnostic centers for delinquent children (%) People in Group quarters - Type of juvenile institution unknown (%) People in Group quarters - Noninstitutionalized population (%) People in Group quarters - College dormitories (includes college quarters off campus) (%) People in Group quarters - Military quarters (%) People in Group quarters - On base (%) People in Group quarters - Barracks, unaccompanied personnel housing (UPH), (Enlisted/Officer), ;and similar group living quarters for military personnel (%) People in Group quarters - Transient quarters for temporary residents (%) People in Group quarters - Military ships (%) People in Group quarters - Group homes (%) People in Group quarters - Homes or halfway houses for drug/alcohol abuse (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for the mentally ill (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for the mentally retarded (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for the physically handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Other group homes (%) People in Group quarters - Religious group quarters (%) People in Group quarters - Dormitories (%) People in Group quarters - Agriculture workers' dormitories on farms (%) People in Group quarters - Job Corps and vocational training facilities (%) People in Group quarters - Other workers' dormitories (%) People in Group quarters - Crews of maritime vessels (%) People in Group quarters - Other nonhousehold living situations (%) People in Group quarters - Other noninstitutional group quarters (%) Residents speaking English at home (%) Residents speaking English at home - Born in the United States (%) Residents speaking English at home - Native, born elsewhere (%) Residents speaking English at home - Foreign born (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home - Born in the United States (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home - Native, born elsewhere (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home - Foreign born (%) Residents speaking other language at home (%) Residents speaking other language at home - Born in the United States (%) Residents speaking other language at home - Native, born elsewhere (%) Residents speaking other language at home - Foreign born (%) Class of Workers - Employee of private company (%) Class of Workers - Self-employed in own incorporated business (%) Class of Workers - Private not-for-profit wage and salary workers (%) Class of Workers - Local government workers (%) Class of Workers - State government workers (%) Class of Workers - Federal government workers (%) Class of Workers - Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business and Unpaid family workers (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Utility gas (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Bottled, tank, or LP gas (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Electricity (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Fuel oil, kerosene, etc. (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Coal or coke (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Wood (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Solar energy (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Other fuel (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - No fuel used (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Utility gas (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Bottled, tank, or LP gas (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Electricity (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Fuel oil, kerosene, etc. (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Coal or coke (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Wood (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Solar energy (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Other fuel (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - No fuel used (%) Armed forces status - In Armed Forces (%) Armed forces status - Civilian (%) Armed forces status - Civilian - Veteran (%) Armed forces status - Civilian - Nonveteran (%) Fatal accidents locations in years 2005-2019 Fatal accidents locations in 2005 Fatal accidents locations in 2006 Fatal accidents locations in 2007 Fatal accidents locations in 2008 Fatal accidents locations in 2009 Fatal accidents locations in 2010 Fatal accidents locations in 2011 Fatal accidents locations in 2012 Fatal accidents locations in 2013 Fatal accidents locations in 2014 Fatal accidents locations in 2015 Fatal accidents locations in 2016 Fatal accidents locations in 2017 Fatal accidents locations in 2018 Fatal accidents locations in 2019 Alcohol use - People drinking some alcohol every month (%) Alcohol use - People not drinking at all (%) Alcohol use - Average days/month drinking alcohol Alcohol use - Average drinks/week Alcohol use - Average days/year people drink much Audiometry - Average condition of hearing (%) Audiometry - People that can hear a whisper from across a quiet room (%) Audiometry - People that can hear normal voice from across a quiet room (%) Audiometry - Ears ringing, roaring, buzzing (%) Audiometry - Had a job exposure to loud noise (%) Audiometry - Had off-work exposure to loud noise (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Has high blood pressure (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Checking blood pressure at home (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Frequently checking blood cholesterol (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Has high cholesterol level (%) Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on food at supermarket/grocery store Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on food at other stores Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on eating out Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on carryout/delivered foods Consumer Behavior - Income spent on food at supermarket/grocery store (%) Consumer Behavior - Income spent on food at other stores (%) Consumer Behavior - Income spent on eating out (%) Consumer Behavior - Income spent on carryout/delivered foods (%) Current Health Status - General health condition (%) Current Health Status - Blood donors (%) Current Health Status - Has blood ever tested for HIV virus (%) Current Health Status - Left-handed people (%) Dermatology - People using sunscreen (%) Diabetes - Diabetics (%) Diabetes - Had a blood test for high blood sugar (%) Diabetes - People taking insulin (%) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Diet health (%) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Milk product consumption (# of products/month) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Meals not home prepared (#/week) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Meals from fast food or pizza place (#/week) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Ready-to-eat foods (#/month) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Frozen meals/pizza (#/month) Drug Use - People that ever used marijuana or hashish (%) Drug Use - Ever used hard drugs (%) Drug Use - Ever used any form of cocaine (%) Drug Use - Ever used heroin (%) Drug Use - Ever used methamphetamine (%) Health Insurance - People covered by health insurance (%) Kidney Conditions-Urology - Avg. # of times urinating at night Medical Conditions - People with asthma (%) Medical Conditions - People with anemia (%) Medical Conditions - People with psoriasis (%) Medical Conditions - People with overweight (%) Medical Conditions - Elderly people having difficulties in thinking or remembering (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever received blood transfusion (%) Medical Conditions - People having trouble seeing even with glass/contacts (%) Medical Conditions - People with arthritis (%) Medical Conditions - People with gout (%) Medical Conditions - People with congestive heart failure (%) Medical Conditions - People with coronary heart disease (%) Medical Conditions - People with angina pectoris (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever had heart attack (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever had stroke (%) Medical Conditions - People with emphysema (%) Medical Conditions - People with thyroid problem (%) Medical Conditions - People with chronic bronchitis (%) Medical Conditions - People with any liver condition (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever had cancer or malignancy (%) Mental Health - People who have little interest in doing things (%) Mental Health - People feeling down, depressed, or hopeless (%) Mental Health - People who have trouble sleeping or sleeping too much (%) Mental Health - People feeling tired or having little energy (%) Mental Health - People with poor appetite or overeating (%) Mental Health - People feeling bad about themself (%) Mental Health - People who have trouble concentrating on things (%) Mental Health - People moving or speaking slowly or too fast (%) Mental Health - People having thoughts they would be better off dead (%) Oral Health - Average years since last visit a dentist Oral Health - People embarrassed because of mouth (%) Oral Health - People with gum disease (%) Oral Health - General health of teeth and gums (%) Oral Health - Average days a week using dental floss/device Oral Health - Average days a week using mouthwash for dental problem Oral Health - Average number of teeth Pesticide Use - Households using pesticides to control insects (%) Pesticide Use - Households using pesticides to kill weeds (%) Physical Activity - People doing vigorous-intensity work activities (%) Physical Activity - People doing moderate-intensity work activities (%) Physical Activity - People walking or bicycling (%) Physical Activity - People doing vigorous-intensity recreational activities (%) Physical Activity - People doing moderate-intensity recreational activities (%) Physical Activity - Average hours a day doing sedentary activities Physical Activity - Average hours a day watching TV or videos Physical Activity - Average hours a day using computer Physical Functioning - People having limitations keeping them from working (%) Physical Functioning - People limited in amount of work they can do (%) Physical Functioning - People that need special equipment to walk (%) Physical Functioning - People experiencing confusion/memory problems (%) Physical Functioning - People requiring special healthcare equipment (%) Prescription Medications - Average number of prescription medicines taking Preventive Aspirin Use - Adults 40+ taking low-dose aspirin (%) Reproductive Health - Vaginal deliveries (%) Reproductive Health - Cesarean deliveries (%) Reproductive Health - Deliveries resulted in a live birth (%) Reproductive Health - Pregnancies resulted in a delivery (%) Reproductive Health - Women breastfeeding newborns (%) Reproductive Health - Women that had a hysterectomy (%) Reproductive Health - Women that had both ovaries removed (%) Reproductive Health - Women that have ever taken birth control pills (%) Reproductive Health - Women taking birth control pills (%) Reproductive Health - Women that have ever used Depo-Provera or injectables (%) Reproductive Health - Women that have ever used female hormones (%) Sexual Behavior - People 18+ that ever had sex (vaginal, anal, or oral) (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever had vaginal sex with a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever performed oral sex on a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever had anal sex with a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever had any sex with a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever had vaginal sex with a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever performed oral sex on a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever had anal sex with a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever had any kind of sex with a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Average age people first had sex Sexual Behavior - Average number of female sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of female vaginal sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average age people first performed oral sex on a woman (18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of woman performed oral sex on in lifetime (18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male anal sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average age people first performed oral sex on a man (18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male oral sex partners in lifetime (18+) Sexual Behavior - People using protection when performing oral sex (%) Sexual Behavior - Average number of times people have vaginal or anal sex a year Sexual Behavior - People having sex without condom (%) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male sex partners in lifetime (females 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male vaginal sex partners in lifetime (females 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of female sex partners in lifetime (females 18+) Sexual Behavior - Circumcised males 18+ (%) Sleep Disorders - Average hours sleeping at night Sleep Disorders - People that has trouble sleeping (%) Smoking-Cigarette Use - People smoking cigarettes (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ having problems with smell (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ having problems with taste (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had wisdom teeth removed (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had tonsils teeth removed (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had a loss of consciousness because of a head injury (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had a broken nose or other serious injury to face or skull (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had two or more sinus infections (%) Weight - Average height (inches) Weight - Average weight (pounds) Weight - Average BMI Weight - People that are obese (%) Weight - People that ever were obese (%) Weight - People trying to lose weight (%) Settings Get link Loading data... Based on 2000-2020 data Loading data...

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885 87.5% White alone 51 5.0% Black alone 29 2.9% Two or more races 26 2.6% Hispanic 12 1.2% Native Hawaiian and Other

Pacific Islander alone

Races in Lemont Furnace detailed stats: ancestries, foreign born residents, place of birth





According to our research of Pennsylvania and other state lists, there were 8 registered sex offenders living in Lemont Furnace, Pennsylvania as of November 22, 2021.

The ratio of all residents to sex offenders in Lemont Furnace is 101 to 1.





Ancestries: German (26.7%), Italian (19.4%), American (9.3%), Polish (7.5%), Dutch (5.8%), Hungarian (5.5%).

Current Local Time: EST time zone

Elevation: 1400 feet

Median real estate property taxes paid for housing units with mortgages in 2019: $1,588 (2.0%)

Median real estate property taxes paid for housing units with no mortgage in 2019: $1,324 (2.8%)



Latitude: 39.91 N, Longitude: 79.67 W

Unemployment in November 2020:

Here: 7.8% Pennsylvania: 6.1%

Air pollution and air quality trends

(lower is better) AQI CO NO 2 SO 2 Ozone PM 10 PM 2.5 Pb

Air Quality Index (AQI) level in 2018 was 72.1. This is about average. City: 72.1 U.S.: 74.2

Carbon Monoxide (CO) [ppm] level in 2015 was 0.273. This is about average. Closest monitor was 20.2 miles away from the city center. City: 0.273 U.S.: 0.267

Nitrogen Dioxide (NO 2 ) [ppb] level in 2018 was 5.23. This is about average. Closest monitor was 20.2 miles away from the city center. City: 5.23 U.S.: 5.56

Sulfur Dioxide (SO 2 ) [ppb] level in 2018 was 0.713. This is significantly better than average. Closest monitor was 20.1 miles away from the city center. City: 0.713 U.S.: 1.789

Ozone [ppb] level in 2018 was 26.3. This is better than average. Closest monitor was 7.2 miles away from the city center. City: 26.3 U.S.: 33.3

Particulate Matter (PM 10 ) [g/m3] level in 2008 was 19.6. This is about average. Closest monitor was 20.2 miles away from the city center. City: 19.6 U.S.: 19.6

Particulate Matter (PM 2.5 ) [g/m3] level in 2018 was 8.57. This is about average. Closest monitor was 20.2 miles away from the city center. City: 8.57 U.S.: 8.46

Lead (Pb) [g/m3] level in 2014 was 0.00291. This is significantly better than average. Closest monitor was 13.8 miles away from the city center. City: 0.00291 U.S.: 0.00984

Tornado activity: Lemont Furnace-area historical tornado activity is below Pennsylvania state average. It is 42% smaller than the overall U.S. average.

On 6/2/1998, a category F4 (max. wind speeds 207-260 mph) tornado 25.6 miles away from the Lemont Furnace place center injured 5 people and caused $6 million in damages. On 6/3/1980, a category F4 tornado 46.9 miles away from the place center injured 140 people and caused between $50,000,000 and $500,000,000 in damages.

Earthquake activity: Lemont Furnace-area historical earthquake activity is significantly above Pennsylvania state average. It is 47% smaller than the overall U.S. average.



On 8/23/2011 at 17:51:04, a magnitude 5.8 (5.8 MW, Depth: 3.7 mi, Class: Moderate, Intensity: VI - VII) earthquake occurred 167.1 miles away from Lemont Furnace center

On 9/25/1998 at 19:52:52, a magnitude 5.2 (4.8 MB, 4.3 MS, 5.2 LG, 4.5 MW, Depth: 3.1 mi) earthquake occurred 115.5 miles away from Lemont Furnace center

On 1/31/1986 at 16:46:43, a magnitude 5.0 (5.0 MB) earthquake occurred 140.4 miles away from Lemont Furnace center

On 7/27/1980 at 18:52:21, a magnitude 5.2 (5.1 MB, 4.7 MS, 5.0 UK, 5.2 UK) earthquake occurred 258.1 miles away from Lemont Furnace center

On 8/9/2020 at 12:07:37, a magnitude 5.1 (5.1 MW, Depth: 4.7 mi) earthquake occurred 250.1 miles away from Lemont Furnace center

On 8/25/2011 at 05:07:52, a magnitude 4.5 (4.5 ML, Depth: 4.2 mi, Class: Light, Intensity: IV - V) earthquake occurred 164.0 miles away from the city center

Magnitude types: regional Lg-wave magnitude (LG), body-wave magnitude (MB), local magnitude (ML), surface-wave magnitude (MS), moment magnitude (MW)

Natural disasters: The number of natural disasters in Fayette County (15) is near the US average (15).

Major Disasters (Presidential) Declared: 10

Emergencies Declared: 5



Causes of natural disasters: Floods: 4, Snowstorms: 4, Winter Storms: 4, Storms: 3, Hurricanes: 2, Blizzard: 1, Snowfall: 1, Tornado: 1, Tropical Storm: 1, Other: 1 (Note: some incidents may be assigned to more than one category).

Hospitals and medical centers in Lemont Furnace: FAYETTE HOME CARE (110 YOUNGSTOWN RAOD)

INTERIM HEALTHCARE OF UNIONTOWN (1325 CONNELLSVILLE STREET SUITE 24) Other hospitals and medical centers near Lemont Furnace: ABBY HEALTH CARE INC (Home Health Center, about 1 miles away; UNIONTOWN, PA)

LAUREL RIDGE CENTER (Nursing Home, about 3 miles away; UNIONTOWN, PA)

ALBERT GALLATIN SERVICES CORPORATION (Home Health Center, about 4 miles away; UNIONTOWN, PA)

FRESENIUS MEDICAL CARE UNIONTOWN (Dialysis Facility, about 4 miles away; UNIONTOWN, PA)

UNIONTOWN HOSPITAL Acute Care Hospitals (about 4 miles away; UNIONTOWN, PA)

Acute Care Hospitals PROGRESSIVE CARE CENTER (Nursing Home, about 4 miles away; UNIONTOWN, PA)

MT MACRINA MANOR (Nursing Home, about 5 miles away; UNIONTOWN, PA)

Amtrak station near Lemont Furnace: 9 miles: CONNELLSVILLE (FRONT & WATER STS.) . Services: enclosed waiting area, public payphones, free short-term parking, call for taxi service, public transit connection.

College/University in Lemont Furnace: Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Fayette- Eberly (Full-time enrollment: 791; Location: 2201 University Drive; Public; Website: www.fe.psu.edu/) Colleges/universities with over 2000 students nearest to Lemont Furnace: California University of Pennsylvania ( about 16 miles; California, PA ; Full-time enrollment: 7,773)

16 ; 7,773) Westmoreland County Community College ( about 23 miles; Youngwood, PA ; FT enrollment: 4,669)

23 ; 4,669) West Virginia University ( about 25 miles; Morgantown, WV ; FT enrollment: 27,429)

25 ; 27,429) Waynesburg University ( about 28 miles; Waynesburg, PA ; FT enrollment: 2,080)

28 ; 2,080) Seton Hill University ( about 28 miles; Greensburg, PA ; FT enrollment: 2,167)

28 ; 2,167) Carnegie Mellon University ( about 40 miles; Pittsburgh, PA ; FT enrollment: 14,186)

40 ; 14,186) Fairmont State University (about 40 miles; Fairmont, WV; FT enrollment: 3,714)

Fayette County has a predicted average indoor radon screening level between 2 and 4 pCi/L (pico curies per liter) - Moderate Potential

Average household size: This place: 2.6 people Pennsylvania: 2.5 people

Percentage of family households: This place: 69.0% Whole state: 65.0%

Percentage of households with unmarried partners: This place: 7.5% Whole state: 6.6%



No gay or lesbian households reported





For population 15 years and over in Lemont Furnace: Never married: 31.7%

31.7% Now married: 49.6%

49.6% Separated: 1.9%

1.9% Widowed: 4.4%

4.4% Divorced: 12.4%

For population 25 years and over in Lemont Furnace: High school or higher: 71.6%

71.6% Bachelor's degree or higher: 3.0%

3.0% Graduate or professional degree: 1.3%

Education Gini index (Inequality in education) Here: 6.3 Pennsylvania average: 11.3



Religion statistics for Lemont Furnace, PA (based on Fayette County data) Religion Adherents Congregations Catholic 24,544 29 Mainline Protestant 20,117 103 Evangelical Protestant 13,148 109 Other 1,434 9 Black Protestant 931 8 Orthodox 344 6 None 76,088 - Source: Clifford Grammich, Kirk Hadaway, Richard Houseal, Dale E.Jones, Alexei Krindatch, Richie Stanley and Richard H.Taylor. 2012. 2010 U.S.Religion Census: Religious Congregations & Membership Study. Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies. Jones, Dale E., et al. 2002. Congregations and Membership in the United States 2000. Nashville, TN: Glenmary Research Center. Graphs represent county-level data

Food Environment Statistics: Number of grocery stores: 36 Fayette County : 2.49 / 10,000 pop. Pennsylvania : 2.04 / 10,000 pop. Number of supercenters and club stores: 2 Fayette County : 0.14 / 10,000 pop. Pennsylvania : 0.09 / 10,000 pop. Number of convenience stores (no gas): 13 Fayette County : 0.90 / 10,000 pop. Pennsylvania : 0.88 / 10,000 pop. Number of convenience stores (with gas): 33 Fayette County : 2.29 / 10,000 pop. Pennsylvania : 2.52 / 10,000 pop. Number of full-service restaurants: 89 This county : 6.16 / 10,000 pop. Pennsylvania : 7.12 / 10,000 pop. Adult diabetes rate: Fayette County : 11.8% Pennsylvania : 9.1% Adult obesity rate: Fayette County : 32.0% State : 27.2% Low-income preschool obesity rate: Fayette County : 16.1% State : 11.5%

3.25% of this county's 2016 resident taxpayers lived in other counties in 2015 ($39,533 average adjusted gross income) Here: 3.25% Pennsylvania average: 4.58% 10 or fewer of this county's residents moved from foreign countries between 2015 and 2016.

Top counties from which taxpayers relocated into this county between 2015 and 2016:

from Westmoreland County, PA 0.88% ($36,068 average AGI) from Washington County, PA 0.38% ($45,384) from Allegheny County, PA 0.33% ($31,460)



3.77% of this county's 2015 resident taxpayers moved to other counties in 2016 ($43,141 average adjusted gross income) Here: 3.77% Pennsylvania average: 4.96% 0.04% of residents moved to foreign countries ($174 average AGI) Fayette County: 0.04% Pennsylvania average: 0.04%

Top counties to which taxpayers relocated from this county between 2015 and 2016:

to Westmoreland County, PA 0.97% ($42,431 average AGI) to Washington County, PA 0.42% ($32,405) to Allegheny County, PA 0.39% ($56,922)

Businesses in Lemont Furnace, PA FedEx: 1

1 Subway: 1

1 True Value: 1

Strongest AM radio stations in Lemont Furnace: WMBS (590 AM; 1 kW; UNIONTOWN, PA; Owner: FAYETTE BROADCASTING CORP.)

FAYETTE BROADCASTING CORP.) KDKA (1020 AM; 50 kW; PITTSBURGH, PA; Owner: INFINITY BROADCASTING OPERATIONS, INC.)

INFINITY BROADCASTING OPERATIONS, INC.) WASP (1130 AM; daytime; 5 kW; BROWNSVILLE, PA; Owner: KEYMARKET LICENSES, LLC)

KEYMARKET LICENSES, LLC) WKHB (620 AM; 6 kW; IRWIN, PA; Owner: BROADCAST COMMUNICATIONS, INC.)

BROADCAST COMMUNICATIONS, INC.) WPNT (1340 AM; 1 kW; CONNELLSVILLE, PA; Owner: KEYMARKET LICENSES, LLC)

KEYMARKET LICENSES, LLC) WWVA (1170 AM; 53 kW; WHEELING, WV; Owner: CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP)

CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP) WVSC (990 AM; 10 kW; SOMERSET, PA; Owner: FOREVER OF JOHNSTOWN, INC.)

FOREVER OF JOHNSTOWN, INC.) WAJR (1440 AM; 5 kW; MORGANTOWN, WV; Owner: WEST VIRGINIA RADIO CORPORATION)

WEST VIRGINIA RADIO CORPORATION) WWCS (540 AM; 5 kW; CANONSBURG, PA; Owner: BIRACH BROADCASTING CORPORATION)

BIRACH BROADCASTING CORPORATION) WLYE (850 AM; 10 kW; JOHNSTOWN, PA; Owner: FOREVER OF JOHNSTOWN, INC.)

FOREVER OF JOHNSTOWN, INC.) WFRB (560 AM; 5 kW; FROSTBURG, MD; Owner: WTBO-WKGO CORPORATION, L.L.C.)

WTBO-WKGO CORPORATION, L.L.C.) WYSN (1330 AM; 5 kW; SOMERSET, PA; Owner: DAME BROADCASTING, LLC)

DAME BROADCASTING, LLC) WPIT (730 AM; 5 kW; PITTSBURGH, PA; Owner: PENNSYLVANIA MEDIA ASSOCIATES, INC.) Strongest FM radio stations in Lemont Furnace: WOGG (94.9 FM; OLIVER, PA; Owner: KEYMARKET LICENSES, LLC)

KEYMARKET LICENSES, LLC) WVPM (90.9 FM; MORGANTOWN, WV; Owner: WEST VIRGINIA EDUCATIONAL BROADCASTING AUTHORITY)

WEST VIRGINIA EDUCATIONAL BROADCASTING AUTHORITY) WLSW (103.9 FM; SCOTTDALE, PA; Owner: L. STANLEY WALL)

L. STANLEY WALL) WPKL (99.3 FM; UNIONTOWN, PA; Owner: KEYMARKET LICENSES, LLC)

KEYMARKET LICENSES, LLC) WRIJ (106.9 FM; MASONTOWN, PA; Owner: HE'S ALIVE INC.)

HE'S ALIVE INC.) WQZS (93.3 FM; MEYERSDALE, PA; Owner: ROGER WAHL)

ROGER WAHL) WWPN (101.1 FM; WESTERNPORT, MD; Owner: ERNEST F. SANTMYIRE)

ERNEST F. SANTMYIRE) WANB-FM (103.1 FM; WAYNESBURG, PA; Owner: BROADCAST COMMUNICATIONS, INC.)

BROADCAST COMMUNICATIONS, INC.) WROG (102.9 FM; CUMBERLAND, MD; Owner: TSCHUDY RADIO, INC)

TSCHUDY RADIO, INC) WFWM (91.9 FM; FROSTBURG, MD; Owner: FROSTBURG STATE UNIVERSITY)

FROSTBURG STATE UNIVERSITY) WKGO (106.1 FM; CUMBERLAND, MD; Owner: WTBO-WKGO CORPORATION, L.L.C.)

WTBO-WKGO CORPORATION, L.L.C.) WLIC (97.1 FM; FROSTBURG, MD; Owner: HE'S ALIVE, INC.)

HE'S ALIVE, INC.) WKMM (96.7 FM; KINGWOOD, WV; Owner: MARPAT CORPORATION)

MARPAT CORPORATION) WFRB-FM (105.3 FM; FROSTBURG, MD; Owner: WTBO-WKGO CORPORATION, L.L.C.)

WTBO-WKGO CORPORATION, L.L.C.) WQEJ (89.7 FM; JOHNSTOWN, PA; Owner: WQED MULTIMEDIA)

WQED MULTIMEDIA) WYFU (88.5 FM; MASONTOWN, PA; Owner: BIBLE BROADCASTING NETORK, INC.)

BIBLE BROADCASTING NETORK, INC.) WWHC (92.3 FM; OAKLAND, MD; Owner: OAKLAND MEDIA GROUP, INC)

OAKLAND MEDIA GROUP, INC) WSHH (99.7 FM; PITTSBURGH, PA; Owner: RENDA B/CING CORP. OF NEVADA)

RENDA B/CING CORP. OF NEVADA) WVAQ (101.9 FM; MORGANTOWN, WV; Owner: WEST VIRGINIA RADIO CORPORATION)

WEST VIRGINIA RADIO CORPORATION) WSSZ (107.1 FM; GREENSBURG, PA; Owner: MCL/MCM-INC.) TV broadcast stations around Lemont Furnace: W35AW ( Channel 35; UNIONTOWN, PA; Owner: DEBRA GOODWORTH)

35; UNIONTOWN, PA; DEBRA GOODWORTH) WWAT-CA ( Channel 45; UNIONTOWN, PA; Owner: ABACUS TELEVISION)

45; UNIONTOWN, PA; ABACUS TELEVISION) WTAE-TV ( Channel 4; PITTSBURGH, PA; Owner: WTAE HEARST-ARGYLE TV, INC. (CA CORP.))

4; PITTSBURGH, PA; WTAE HEARST-ARGYLE TV, INC. (CA CORP.)) WNPB-TV ( Channel 24; MORGANTOWN, WV; Owner: WEST VIRGINIA EDUCATIONAL BROADCASTING AUTHORITY)

24; MORGANTOWN, WV; WEST VIRGINIA EDUCATIONAL BROADCASTING AUTHORITY) WPCB-TV ( Channel 40; GREENSBURG, PA; Owner: CORNERSTONE TELEVISION, INC.)

40; GREENSBURG, PA; CORNERSTONE TELEVISION, INC.) WCWB ( Channel 22; PITTSBURGH, PA; Owner: WCWB LICENSEE, LLC)

22; PITTSBURGH, PA; WCWB LICENSEE, LLC) W65CG ( Channel 65; PITTSBURGH, PA; Owner: TRINITY BROADCASTING NETWORK)

65; PITTSBURGH, PA; TRINITY BROADCASTING NETWORK) WBGN-LP ( Channel 59; PITTSBURGH, PA; Owner: BRUNO GOODWORTH NETWORK, INC.)

59; PITTSBURGH, PA; BRUNO GOODWORTH NETWORK, INC.) WPTG-LP ( Channel 69; PITTSBURGH, PA; Owner: ABACUS TELEVISION)

69; PITTSBURGH, PA; ABACUS TELEVISION) WQEX ( Channel 16; PITTSBURGH, PA; Owner: WQED MULTIMEDIA)

16; PITTSBURGH, PA; WQED MULTIMEDIA) W26AV (Channel 26; CHARLEROI, PA; Owner: DEBRA GOODWORTH)

National Bridge Inventory (NBI) Statistics

7 Number of bridges

Number of bridges 52ft / 15.7m Total length

Total length 43,620 Total average daily traffic

Total average daily traffic 3,699 Total average daily truck traffic

Total average daily truck traffic 28,749 Total future (year 2032) average daily traffic



FCC Registered Antenna Towers: 5 SIGNATURE ON FILE, Connellsville Airport; ( Lat: 39.958333 Lon: -79.658056), Type: 7.9, Overall height: 7.9 m, Registrant: Matthews Communications, Matthewsmarkj@juno.Com, , Sipes-ville, Phone: (814) 443-4762

39.958333 -79.658056), 7.9, 7.9 m, Matthews Communications, Matthewsmarkj@juno.Com, , Sipes-ville, (814) 443-4762 CARISSA L BICK, Connelsville Street (009195) ( Lat: 39.913972 Lon: -79.632278), Type: 35.4, Overall height: 31.6 m, Registrant: American Towers, Inc., Atcfaa-Fccnortheast@americantower.Com, , Bosto-n, Phone: (617) 585-7600

39.913972 -79.632278), 35.4, 31.6 m, American Towers, Inc., Atcfaa-Fccnortheast@americantower.Com, , Bosto-n, (617) 585-7600 CARISSA L BICK, Connelsville Street (009195) ( Lat: 39.913972 Lon: -79.632278), Type: 35.4, Overall height: 31.6 m, Registrant: American Towers, Inc., Atcfaa-Fccnortheast@americantower.Com, , Wobur-n, Phone: (617) 585-7614

39.913972 -79.632278), 35.4, 31.6 m, American Towers, Inc., Atcfaa-Fccnortheast@americantower.Com, , Wobur-n, (617) 585-7614 CARISSA L BICK, Connelsville Street (009195) ( Lat: 39.913972 Lon: -79.632278), Type: 35.4, Overall height: 31.6 m, Registrant: American Towers, Inc., Atcfaa-Fccnortheast@americantower.Com, , Wobur-n, Phone: (617) 585-7614

39.913972 -79.632278), 35.4, 31.6 m, American Towers, Inc., Atcfaa-Fccnortheast@americantower.Com, , Wobur-n, (617) 585-7614 Bridget Carter, Connelsville Street (009195) (Lat: 39.913972 Lon: -79.632278), Type: 35.4, Structure height: 42051 m, Overall height: 31.6 m, Licensee ID: L, Registrant: American Towers, LLC, Faa-Fcc@americantower.Com, , Wobur-n, Phone: (678) 265-6730

FCC Registered Broadcast Land Mobile Towers: 2 100 W Of Leg Rt 26047 2 Mi E Of Rt 119 ( Lat: 39.933139 Lon: -79.649750), Call Sign: KTU442, Licensee ID: L00070726,

Assigned Frequencies: 31.9200 MHz, Grant Date: 02/27/2013, Expiration Date: 04/22/2023, Cancellation Date: 10/02/2017, Registrant: A C Moyer Company Inc, 139 Rosy Hill Road, Lemont Furnace, PA 15456, Phone: (724) 438-4261, Fax: (724) 438-4622

39.933139 -79.649750), KTU442, L00070726, 31.9200 MHz, 02/27/2013, 04/22/2023, 10/02/2017, A C Moyer Company Inc, 139 Rosy Hill Road, Lemont Furnace, PA 15456, (724) 438-4261, (724) 438-4622 TERMINAL BLDG, Connellsville Airport (Lat: 39.962389 Lon: -79.651806), Type: Building, Structure height: 6 m, Overall height: 7 m, Call Sign: WRFL566,

Assigned Frequencies: 453.112 MHz, Grant Date: 03/24/2020, Expiration Date: 03/24/2030, Certifier: John Neckeraur, Registrant: Rw Sleighter LLC, 1060 Eberly Way, Lemont Furnace, PA 15456, Phone: (724) 438-4010, Fax: (724) 438-4017, Email:

FCC Registered Microwave Towers: 1 HARDYAIRPORT, 988 Sky Drive (Lat: 39.962000 Lon: -79.651806), Type: Bant, Structure height: 13.7 m, Overall height: 14.3 m, Call Sign: WQRN646,

Assigned Frequencies: 6555.00 MHz, Grant Date: 06/25/2013, Expiration Date: 06/25/2023, Certifier: Roy A Shipley Jr, Registrant: County Of Fayette, 61 East Main Street, Uniontown, PA 15401, Phone: (724) 430-1277, Fax: (724) 430-1281, Email:

FCC Registered Amateur Radio Licenses: 5 Call Sign: KB3BZD, Licensee ID: L00209772, Grant Date: 11/15/2017, Expiration Date: 12/15/2027, Certifier: Daniel L Guthrie, Registrant: Daniel L Guthrie, 1424 Connellsville Rd, Lemont Furnace, PA 15456

KB3BZD, L00209772, 11/15/2017, 12/15/2027, Daniel L Guthrie, Daniel L Guthrie, 1424 Connellsville Rd, Lemont Furnace, PA 15456 Call Sign: WC3BH, Previous Call Sign: KA3AIA, Licensee ID: L01370751, Grant Date: 01/23/2018, Expiration Date: 03/10/2028, Registrant: Charles B Humbert, 386 Yauger Hollow Rd, Lemont Furnace, PA 15456

WC3BH, KA3AIA, L01370751, 01/23/2018, 03/10/2028, Charles B Humbert, 386 Yauger Hollow Rd, Lemont Furnace, PA 15456 Call Sign: KB3OUW, Licensee ID: L01262264, Grant Date: 07/12/2017, Expiration Date: 03/27/2027, Certifier: John D Paull, Registrant: John D Paull, 355 Maple Street, Lemont Furnace, PA 15456

KB3OUW, L01262264, 07/12/2017, 03/27/2027, John D Paull, John D Paull, 355 Maple Street, Lemont Furnace, PA 15456 Call Sign: KC3FNZ, Licensee ID: L01972228, Grant Date: 09/24/2015, Expiration Date: 09/24/2025, Certifier: Clarence R Brangard, Registrant: Clarence R Brangard, 120 Coal St, Lemont Furnace, PA 15456

KC3FNZ, L01972228, 09/24/2015, 09/24/2025, Clarence R Brangard, Clarence R Brangard, 120 Coal St, Lemont Furnace, PA 15456 Call Sign: KC3QAI, Licensee ID: L02376058, Grant Date: 09/15/2020, Expiration Date: 09/15/2030, Certifier: Christopher M Kazulen, Registrant: Christopher M Kazulen, 108 James St, Lemont Furnace, PA 15456

FAA Registered Aircraft: 7 Aircraft: PIPER PA-34-200T ( Category: Land, Engines: 2, Seats: 7, Weight: Up to 12,499 Pounds, Speed: 105 mph), Engine: CONT MOTOR TSIO-360 SER (225 HP) (Reciprocating)

N-Number: 19MB, N19MB, N-19MB, Serial Number: 34-7970031, Airworthiness Date: 11/22/1978, Certificate Issue Date: 01/03/2019

Registrant (LLC): Keystone State Aviation Iii LLC, 890 Airport Rd, Lemont Furnace, PA 15456

PIPER PA-34-200T ( Land, 2, 7, Up to 12,499 Pounds, 105 mph), CONT MOTOR TSIO-360 SER (225 HP) (Reciprocating) 19MB, N19MB, N-19MB, 34-7970031, 11/22/1978, 01/03/2019 Keystone State Aviation Iii LLC, 890 Airport Rd, Lemont Furnace, PA 15456 Aircraft: PIPER PA-31-325 ( Category: Land, Engines: 2, Seats: 8, Weight: Up to 12,499 Pounds, Speed: 162 mph), Engine: LYCOMING TI0-540 SER (310 HP) (Reciprocating)

N-Number: 24CK, N24CK, N-24CK, Serial Number: 31-7512049, Year manufactured: 1975, Airworthiness Date: 06/17/1975, Certificate Issue Date: 06/15/2020

Registrant (LLC): Air Travel Management LLC, 890 Airport Rd, Lemont Furnace, PA 15456

PIPER PA-31-325 ( Land, 2, 8, Up to 12,499 Pounds, 162 mph), LYCOMING TI0-540 SER (310 HP) (Reciprocating) 24CK, N24CK, N-24CK, 31-7512049, 1975, 06/17/1975, 06/15/2020 Air Travel Management LLC, 890 Airport Rd, Lemont Furnace, PA 15456 Aircraft: CESSNA 172I ( Category: Land, Seats: 4, Weight: Up to 12,499 Pounds, Speed: 105 mph), Engine: LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 HP) (Reciprocating)

N-Number: 35738, N35738, N-35738, Serial Number: 17256944, Year manufactured: 1968, Airworthiness Date: 05/22/1968, Certificate Issue Date: 08/25/2020

Registrant (Corporation): Fayette Aviation Inc, 847 Airport Rd, Lemont Furnace, PA 15456

CESSNA 172I ( Land, 4, Up to 12,499 Pounds, 105 mph), LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 HP) (Reciprocating) 35738, N35738, N-35738, 17256944, 1968, 05/22/1968, 08/25/2020 Fayette Aviation Inc, 847 Airport Rd, Lemont Furnace, PA 15456 Aircraft: PIPER PA-34-200T ( Category: Land, Engines: 2, Seats: 7, Weight: Up to 12,499 Pounds, Speed: 105 mph), Engine: CONT MOTOR TSIO-360 SER (225 HP) (Reciprocating)

N-Number: 51157, N51157, N-51157, Serial Number: 34-7970392, Year manufactured: 1979, Airworthiness Date: 11/18/1993, Certificate Issue Date: 08/15/2020

Registrant (LLC): Air Travel Management LLC, 890 Airport Rd, Lemont Furnace, PA 15456

PIPER PA-34-200T ( Land, 2, 7, Up to 12,499 Pounds, 105 mph), CONT MOTOR TSIO-360 SER (225 HP) (Reciprocating) 51157, N51157, N-51157, 34-7970392, 1979, 11/18/1993, 08/15/2020 Air Travel Management LLC, 890 Airport Rd, Lemont Furnace, PA 15456 Aircraft: CESSNA 172N ( Category: Land, Seats: 4, Weight: Up to 12,499 Pounds, Speed: 105 mph), Engine: LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 HP) (Reciprocating)

N-Number: 75885, N75885, N-75885, Serial Number: 17268019, Year manufactured: 1976, Airworthiness Date: 10/21/1976, Certificate Issue Date: 03/27/2012

Registrant (LLC): Mds Enterprises LLC, 854 Airport Rd, Lemont Furnace, PA 15456

CESSNA 172N ( Land, 4, Up to 12,499 Pounds, 105 mph), LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 HP) (Reciprocating) 75885, N75885, N-75885, 17268019, 1976, 10/21/1976, 03/27/2012 Mds Enterprises LLC, 854 Airport Rd, Lemont Furnace, PA 15456 Aircraft: CESSNA 150F ( Category: Land, Seats: 2, Weight: Up to 12,499 Pounds, Speed: 90 mph), Engine: CONT MOTOR 0-200 SERIES (100 HP) (Reciprocating)

N-Number: 8699G, N8699G, N-8699G, Serial Number: 15062799, Year manufactured: 1966, Airworthiness Date: 01/03/1966, Certificate Issue Date: 06/08/2016

Registrant (Corporation): Fayette Aviation Inc, 847 Airport Rd, Lemont Furnace, PA 15456

CESSNA 150F ( Land, 2, Up to 12,499 Pounds, 90 mph), CONT MOTOR 0-200 SERIES (100 HP) (Reciprocating) 8699G, N8699G, N-8699G, 15062799, 1966, 01/03/1966, 06/08/2016 Fayette Aviation Inc, 847 Airport Rd, Lemont Furnace, PA 15456 Aircraft: PIPER PA-28-180 (Category: Land, Seats: 4, Weight: Up to 12,499 Pounds, Speed: 107 mph), Engine: LYCOMING O&VO-360 SER (180 HP) (Reciprocating)

N-Number: 9742J, N9742J, N-9742J, Serial Number: 28-3937, Year manufactured: 1967, Airworthiness Date: 03/10/1967

Registrant (Individual): Pending Registration, 2034 University Dr, Lemont Furnace, PA 15456

Deregistered: Cancel Date: 06/26/2018



2004 - 2018 National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) incidents Based on the data from the years 2004 - 2018 the average number of fires per year is 8. The highest number of fires - 77 took place in 2009, and the least - 0 in 2008. The data has a growing trend.



Fire incident types reported to NFIRS in Lemont Furnace, PA



54 43.5% Structure Fires



46 37.1% Outside Fires



17 13.7% Mobile Property/Vehicle Fires



7 5.6% Other When looking into fire subcategories, the most incidents belonged to: Structure Fires (43.5%), and Outside Fires (37.1%). See full National Fire Incident Reporting System statistics for Lemont Furnace, PA

Houses and condos Apartments 54.9% Fuel oil, kerosene, etc.

15.0% Coal or coke

14.2% Electricity

6.1% Bottled, tank, or LP gas

5.7% Wood

4.1% Utility gas 53.7% Fuel oil, kerosene, etc.

26.0% Electricity

20.3% Utility gas





Lemont Furnace compared to Pennsylvania state average: Median house value significantly below state average.

significantly below Unemployed percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Black race population percentage below state average.

below Hispanic race population percentage below state average.

below Foreign-born population percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Number of college students below state average.

below Percentage of population with a bachelor's degree or higher significantly below state average.

Lemont Furnace on our top lists: #77 on the list of "Top 101 cities with the most residents born in Other South America (population 500+)" #8 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the lowest percentage of residents relocating to other counties in 2011"

#11 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the lowest percentage of residents that visited a dentist within the past year"

#11 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the lowest percentage of residents that exercised in the past month"

#13 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the lowest percentage of residents relocating from other counties between 2010 and 2011"

#14 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the highest number of deaths per 1000 residents 2007-2013 (pop. 50,000+)"




Lupton, Michigan

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Population in 2010: 348.

Males: 157 (45.4%) Females: 191 (54.6%)

Median resident age: 49.9 years Michigan median age: 39.8 years

Estimated median household income in 2019: $42,097

Lupton: $42,097 MI: $59,584

Estimated per capita income in 2019: $24,671



Lupton CDP income, earnings, and wages data



Estimated median house or condo value in 2019: $107,519 Lupton: $107,519 MI: $169,600

Mean prices in 2019: all housing units: $93,462; detached houses: $100,935; mobile homes: $43,881 $42,097$24,671$107,519$93,462;$100,935;$43,881

Median gross rent in 2019: $735.

March 2019 cost of living index in Lupton: 82.5 (low, U.S. average is 100)

Percentage of residents living in poverty in 2019: 9.9%

(9.5% for White Non-Hispanic residents, 100.0% for American Indian residents)

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Most recent value % change since 2k Data: Median household income ($) Median household income (% change since 2000) Household income diversity Ratio of average income to average house value (%) Ratio of average income to average rent Median household income ($) - White Median household income ($) - Black or African American Median household income ($) - Asian Median household income ($) - Hispanic or Latino Median household income ($) - American Indian and Alaska Native Median household income ($) - Multirace Median household income ($) - Other Race Median household income for houses/condos with a mortgage ($) Median household income for apartments without a mortgage ($) Races - White alone (%) Races - White alone (% change since 2000) Races - Black alone (%) Races - Black alone (% change since 2000) Races - American Indian alone (%) Races - American Indian alone (% change since 2000) Races - Asian alone (%) Races - Asian alone (% change since 2000) Races - Hispanic (%) Races - Hispanic (% change since 2000) Races - Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone (%) Races - Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone (% change since 2000) Races - Two or more races (%) Races - Two or more races (% change since 2000) Races - Other race alone (%) Races - Other race alone (% change since 2000) Racial diversity Unemployment (%) Unemployment (% change since 2000) Unemployment (%) - White Unemployment (%) - Black or African American Unemployment (%) - Asian Unemployment (%) - Hispanic or Latino Unemployment (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Unemployment (%) - Multirace Unemployment (%) - Other Race Population density (people per square mile) Population - Males (%) Population - Females (%) Population - Males (%) - White Population - Males (%) - Black or African American Population - Males (%) - Asian Population - Males (%) - Hispanic or Latino Population - Males (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Population - Males (%) - Multirace Population - Males (%) - Other Race Population - Females (%) - White Population - Females (%) - Black or African American Population - Females (%) - Asian Population - Females (%) - Hispanic or Latino Population - Females (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Population - Females (%) - Multirace Population - Females (%) - Other Race Coronavirus confirmed cases (Nov 21, 2021) Deaths caused by coronavirus (Nov 21, 2021) Coronavirus confirmed cases (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) Deaths caused by coronavirus (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) Daily increase in number of cases (Nov 21, 2021) Weekly increase in number of cases (Nov 21, 2021) Cases doubled (in days) (Nov 21, 2021) Hospitalized patients (Nov 21, 2021) Negative test results (Nov 21, 2021) Total test results (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses distributed (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses administered (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses distributed (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses administered (Nov 21, 2021) Likely homosexual households (%) Likely homosexual households (% change since 2000) Likely homosexual households - Lesbian couples (%) Likely homosexual households - Lesbian couples (% change since 2000) Likely homosexual households - Gay men (%) Likely homosexual households - Gay men (% change since 2000) Cost of living index Median gross rent ($) Median contract rent ($) Median monthly housing costs ($) Median house or condo value ($) Median house or condo value ($ change since 2000) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 1, detached ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 1, attached ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 2 ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure by units in structure - 3 or 4 ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 5 or more ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - Boat, RV, van, etc. ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - Mobile home ($) Median house or condo value ($) - White Median house or condo value ($) - Black or African American Median house or condo value ($) - Asian Median house or condo value ($) - Hispanic or Latino Median house or condo value ($) - American Indian and Alaska Native Median house or condo value ($) - Multirace Median house or condo value ($) - Other Race Median resident age Resident age diversity Median resident age - Males Median resident age - Females Median resident age - White Median resident age - Black or African American Median resident age - Asian Median resident age - Hispanic or Latino Median resident age - American Indian and Alaska Native Median resident age - Multirace Median resident age - Other Race Median resident age - Males - White Median resident age - Males - Black or African American Median resident age - Males - Asian Median resident age - Males - Hispanic or Latino Median resident age - Males - American Indian and Alaska Native Median resident age - Males - Multirace Median resident age - Males - Other Race Median resident age - Females - White Median resident age - Females - Black or African American Median resident age - Females - Asian Median resident age - Females - Hispanic or Latino Median resident age - Females - American Indian and Alaska Native Median resident age - Females - Multirace Median resident age - Females - Other Race Commute - mean travel time to work (minutes) Travel time to work - Less than 5 minutes (%) Travel time to work - Less than 5 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 5 to 9 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 5 to 9 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 10 to 19 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 10 to 19 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 20 to 29 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 20 to 29 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 30 to 39 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 30 to 39 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 40 to 59 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 40 to 59 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 60 to 89 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 60 to 89 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 90 or more minutes (%) Travel time to work - 90 or more minutes (% change since 2000) Marital status - Never married (%) Marital status - Now married (%) Marital status - Separated (%) Marital status - Widowed (%) Marital status - Divorced (%) Median family income ($) Median family income (% change since 2000) Median non-family income ($) Median non-family income (% change since 2000) Median per capita income ($) Median per capita income (% change since 2000) Median family income ($) - White Median family income ($) - Black or African American Median family income ($) - Asian Median family income ($) - Hispanic or Latino Median family income ($) - American Indian and Alaska Native Median family income ($) - Multirace Median family income ($) - Other Race Median year house/condo built Median year apartment built Year house built - Built 2005 or later (%) Year house built - Built 2000 to 2004 (%) Year house built - Built 1990 to 1999 (%) Year house built - Built 1980 to 1989 (%) Year house built - Built 1970 to 1979 (%) Year house built - Built 1960 to 1969 (%) Year house built - Built 1950 to 1959 (%) Year house built - Built 1940 to 1949 (%) Year house built - Built 1939 or earlier (%) Average household size Household density (households per square mile) Average household size - White Average household size - Black or African American Average household size - Asian Average household size - Hispanic or Latino Average household size - American Indian and Alaska Native Average household size - Multirace Average household size - Other Race Occupied housing units (%) Vacant housing units (%) Owner occupied housing units (%) Renter occupied housing units (%) Vacancy status - For rent (%) Vacancy status - For sale only (%) Vacancy status - Rented or sold, not occupied (%) Vacancy status - For seasonal, recreational, or occasional use (%) Vacancy status - For migrant workers (%) Vacancy status - Other vacant (%) Residents with income below the poverty level (%) Residents with income below 50% of the poverty level (%) Children below poverty level (%) Poor families by family type - Married-couple family (%) Poor families by family type - Male, no wife present (%) Poor families by family type - Female, no husband present (%) Poverty status for native-born residents (%) Poverty status for foreign-born residents (%) Poverty among high school graduates not in families (%) Poverty among people who did not graduate high school not in families (%) Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - White Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Black or African American Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Asian Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Hispanic or Latino Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Multirace Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Other Race Air pollution - Air Quality Index (AQI) Air pollution - CO Air pollution - NO2 Air pollution - SO2 Air pollution - Ozone Air pollution - PM10 Air pollution - PM25 Air pollution - Pb Crime - Murders per 100,000 population Crime - Rapes per 100,000 population Crime - Robberies per 100,000 population Crime - Assaults per 100,000 population Crime - Burglaries per 100,000 population Crime - Thefts per 100,000 population Crime - Auto thefts per 100,000 population Crime - Arson per 100,000 population Crime - City-data.com crime index Crime - Violent crime index Crime - Property crime index Crime - Murders per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Rapes per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Robberies per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Assaults per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Burglaries per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Thefts per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Auto thefts per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Arson per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - City-data.com crime index (5 year average) Crime - Violent crime index (5 year average) Crime - Property crime index (5 year average) 1996 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Clinton) 1996 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Dole) 1996 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2000 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Gore) 2000 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Bush) 2000 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2004 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Kerry) 2004 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Bush) 2004 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2008 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Obama) 2008 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (McCain) 2008 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2012 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Obama) 2012 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Romney) 2012 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2016 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Clinton) 2016 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Trump) 2016 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2020 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Biden) 2020 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Trump) 2020 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other Ancestries Reported - Arab (%) Ancestries Reported - Czech (%) Ancestries Reported - Danish (%) Ancestries Reported - Dutch (%) Ancestries Reported - English (%) Ancestries Reported - French (%) Ancestries Reported - French Canadian (%) Ancestries Reported - German (%) Ancestries Reported - Greek (%) Ancestries Reported - Hungarian (%) Ancestries Reported - Irish (%) Ancestries Reported - Italian (%) Ancestries Reported - Lithuanian (%) Ancestries Reported - Norwegian (%) Ancestries Reported - Polish (%) Ancestries Reported - Portuguese (%) Ancestries Reported - Russian (%) Ancestries Reported - Scotch-Irish (%) Ancestries Reported - Scottish (%) Ancestries Reported - Slovak (%) Ancestries Reported - Subsaharan African (%) Ancestries Reported - Swedish (%) Ancestries Reported - Swiss (%) Ancestries Reported - Ukrainian (%) Ancestries Reported - United States (%) Ancestries Reported - Welsh (%) Ancestries Reported - West Indian (%) Ancestries Reported - Other (%) Educational Attainment - No schooling completed (%) Educational Attainment - Less than high school (%) Educational Attainment - High school or equivalent (%) Educational Attainment - Less than 1 year of college (%) Educational Attainment - 1 or more years of college (%) Educational Attainment - Associate degree (%) Educational Attainment - Bachelor's degree (%) Educational Attainment - Master's degree (%) Educational Attainment - Professional school degree (%) Educational Attainment - Doctorate degree (%) School Enrollment - Nursery, preschool (%) School Enrollment - Kindergarten (%) School Enrollment - Grade 1 to 4 (%) School Enrollment - Grade 5 to 8 (%) School Enrollment - Grade 9 to 12 (%) School Enrollment - College undergrad (%) School Enrollment - Graduate or professional (%) School Enrollment - Not enrolled in school (%) School enrollment - Public schools (%) School enrollment - Private schools (%) School enrollment - Not enrolled (%) Median number of rooms in houses and condos Median number of rooms in apartments Housing units lacking complete plumbing facilities (%) Housing units lacking complete kitchen facilities (%) Density of houses Urban houses (%) Rural houses (%) Households with people 60 years and over (%) Households with people 65 years and over (%) Households with people 75 years and over (%) Households with one or more nonrelatives (%) Households with no nonrelatives (%) Population in households (%) Family households (%) Nonfamily households (%) Population in families (%) Family households with own children (%) Median number of bedrooms in owner occupied houses Mean number of bedrooms in owner occupied houses Median number of bedrooms in renter occupied houses Mean number of bedrooms in renter occupied houses Median number of vehichles in owner occupied houses Mean number of vehichles in owner occupied houses Median number of vehichles in renter occupied houses Mean number of vehichles in renter occupied houses Mortgage status - with mortgage (%) Mortgage status - with second mortgage (%) Mortgage status - with home equity loan (%) Mortgage status - with both second mortgage and home equity loan (%) Mortgage status - without a mortgage (%) Average family size Average family size - White Average family size - Black or African American Average family size - Asian Average family size - Hispanic or Latino Average family size - American Indian and Alaska Native Average family size - Multirace Average family size - Other Race Geographical mobility - Same house 1 year ago (%) Geographical mobility - Moved within same county (%) Geographical mobility - Moved from different county within same state (%) Geographical mobility - Moved from different state (%) Geographical mobility - Moved from abroad (%) Place of birth - Born in state of residence (%) Place of birth - Born in other state (%) Place of birth - Native, outside of US (%) Place of birth - Foreign born (%) Housing units in structures - 1, detached (%) Housing units in structures - 1, attached (%) Housing units in structures - 2 (%) Housing units in structures - 3 or 4 (%) Housing units in structures - 5 to 9 (%) Housing units in structures - 10 to 19 (%) Housing units in structures - 20 to 49 (%) Housing units in structures - 50 or more (%) Housing units in structures - Mobile home (%) Housing units in structures - Boat, RV, van, etc. (%) House/condo owner moved in on average (years ago) Renter moved in on average (years ago) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1999 to March 2000 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1995 to 1998 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1990 to 1994 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1980 to 1989 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1970 to 1979 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1969 or earlier (%) Means of transportation to work - Drove car alone (%) Means of transportation to work - Carpooled (%) Means of transportation to work - Public transportation (%) Means of transportation to work - Bus or trolley bus (%) Means of transportation to work - Streetcar or trolley car (%) Means of transportation to work - Subway or elevated (%) Means of transportation to work - Railroad (%) Means of transportation to work - Ferryboat (%) Means of transportation to work - Taxicab (%) Means of transportation to work - Motorcycle (%) Means of transportation to work - Bicycle (%) Means of transportation to work - Walked (%) Means of transportation to work - Other means (%) Working at home (%) Industry diversity Most Common Industries - Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining (%) Most Common Industries - Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (%) Most Common Industries - Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (%) Most Common Industries - Construction (%) Most Common Industries - Manufacturing (%) Most Common Industries - Wholesale trade (%) Most Common Industries - Retail trade (%) Most Common Industries - Transportation and warehousing, and utilities (%) Most Common Industries - Transportation and warehousing (%) Most Common Industries - Utilities (%) Most Common Industries - Information (%) Most Common Industries - Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing (%) Most Common Industries - Finance and insurance (%) Most Common Industries - Real estate and rental and leasing (%) Most Common Industries - Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services (%) Most Common Industries - Professional, scientific, and technical services (%) Most Common Industries - Management of companies and enterprises (%) Most Common Industries - Administrative and support and waste management services (%) Most Common Industries - Educational services, and health care and social assistance (%) Most Common Industries - Educational services (%) Most Common Industries - Health care and social assistance (%) Most Common Industries - Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation and food services (%) Most Common Industries - Arts, entertainment, and recreation (%) Most Common Industries - Accommodation and food services (%) Most Common Industries - Other services, except public administration (%) Most Common Industries - Public administration (%) Occupation diversity Most Common Occupations - Management, business, science, and arts occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Management, business, and financial occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Management occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Business and financial operations occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Computer, engineering, and science occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Computer and mathematical occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Architecture and engineering occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Life, physical, and social science occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Education, legal, community service, arts, and media occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Community and social service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Legal occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Education, training, and library occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Health diagnosing and treating practitioners and other technical occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Health technologists and technicians (%) Most Common Occupations - Service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Healthcare support occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Protective service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Fire fighting and prevention, and other protective service workers including supervisors (%) Most Common Occupations - Law enforcement workers including supervisors (%) Most Common Occupations - Food preparation and serving related occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Personal care and service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Sales and office occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Sales and related occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Office and administrative support occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Construction and extraction occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Production, transportation, and material moving occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Production occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Transportation occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Material moving occupations (%) People in Group quarters - Institutionalized population (%) People in Group quarters - Correctional institutions (%) People in Group quarters - Federal prisons and detention centers (%) People in Group quarters - Halfway houses (%) People in Group quarters - Local jails and other confinement facilities (including police lockups) (%) People in Group quarters - Military disciplinary barracks (%) People in Group quarters - State prisons (%) People in Group quarters - Other types of correctional institutions (%) People in Group quarters - Nursing homes (%) People in Group quarters - Hospitals/wards, hospices, and schools for the handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Hospitals/wards and hospices for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Hospices or homes for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Military hospitals or wards for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Other hospitals or wards for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Hospitals or wards for drug/alcohol abuse (%) People in Group quarters - Mental (Psychiatric) hospitals or wards (%) People in Group quarters - Schools, hospitals, or wards for the mentally retarded (%) People in Group quarters - Schools, hospitals, or wards for the physically handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Institutions for the deaf (%) People in Group quarters - Institutions for the blind (%) People in Group quarters - Orthopedic wards and institutions for the physically handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Wards in general hospitals for patients who have no usual home elsewhere (%) People in Group quarters - Wards in military hospitals for patients who have no usual home elsewhere (%) People in Group quarters - Juvenile institutions (%) People in Group quarters - Long-term care (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for abused, dependent, and neglected children (%) People in Group quarters - Residential treatment centers for emotionally disturbed children (%) People in Group quarters - Training schools for juvenile delinquents (%) People in Group quarters - Short-term care, detention or diagnostic centers for delinquent children (%) People in Group quarters - Type of juvenile institution unknown (%) People in Group quarters - Noninstitutionalized population (%) People in Group quarters - College dormitories (includes college quarters off campus) (%) People in Group quarters - Military quarters (%) People in Group quarters - On base (%) People in Group quarters - Barracks, unaccompanied personnel housing (UPH), (Enlisted/Officer), ;and similar group living quarters for military personnel (%) People in Group quarters - Transient quarters for temporary residents (%) People in Group quarters - Military ships (%) People in Group quarters - Group homes (%) People in Group quarters - Homes or halfway houses for drug/alcohol abuse (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for the mentally ill (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for the mentally retarded (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for the physically handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Other group homes (%) People in Group quarters - Religious group quarters (%) People in Group quarters - Dormitories (%) People in Group quarters - Agriculture workers' dormitories on farms (%) People in Group quarters - Job Corps and vocational training facilities (%) People in Group quarters - Other workers' dormitories (%) People in Group quarters - Crews of maritime vessels (%) People in Group quarters - Other nonhousehold living situations (%) People in Group quarters - Other noninstitutional group quarters (%) Residents speaking English at home (%) Residents speaking English at home - Born in the United States (%) Residents speaking English at home - Native, born elsewhere (%) Residents speaking English at home - Foreign born (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home - Born in the United States (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home - Native, born elsewhere (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home - Foreign born (%) Residents speaking other language at home (%) Residents speaking other language at home - Born in the United States (%) Residents speaking other language at home - Native, born elsewhere (%) Residents speaking other language at home - Foreign born (%) Class of Workers - Employee of private company (%) Class of Workers - Self-employed in own incorporated business (%) Class of Workers - Private not-for-profit wage and salary workers (%) Class of Workers - Local government workers (%) Class of Workers - State government workers (%) Class of Workers - Federal government workers (%) Class of Workers - Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business and Unpaid family workers (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Utility gas (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Bottled, tank, or LP gas (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Electricity (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Fuel oil, kerosene, etc. (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Coal or coke (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Wood (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Solar energy (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Other fuel (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - No fuel used (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Utility gas (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Bottled, tank, or LP gas (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Electricity (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Fuel oil, kerosene, etc. (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Coal or coke (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Wood (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Solar energy (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Other fuel (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - No fuel used (%) Armed forces status - In Armed Forces (%) Armed forces status - Civilian (%) Armed forces status - Civilian - Veteran (%) Armed forces status - Civilian - Nonveteran (%) Fatal accidents locations in years 2005-2019 Fatal accidents locations in 2005 Fatal accidents locations in 2006 Fatal accidents locations in 2007 Fatal accidents locations in 2008 Fatal accidents locations in 2009 Fatal accidents locations in 2010 Fatal accidents locations in 2011 Fatal accidents locations in 2012 Fatal accidents locations in 2013 Fatal accidents locations in 2014 Fatal accidents locations in 2015 Fatal accidents locations in 2016 Fatal accidents locations in 2017 Fatal accidents locations in 2018 Fatal accidents locations in 2019 Alcohol use - People drinking some alcohol every month (%) Alcohol use - People not drinking at all (%) Alcohol use - Average days/month drinking alcohol Alcohol use - Average drinks/week Alcohol use - Average days/year people drink much Audiometry - Average condition of hearing (%) Audiometry - People that can hear a whisper from across a quiet room (%) Audiometry - People that can hear normal voice from across a quiet room (%) Audiometry - Ears ringing, roaring, buzzing (%) Audiometry - Had a job exposure to loud noise (%) Audiometry - Had off-work exposure to loud noise (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Has high blood pressure (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Checking blood pressure at home (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Frequently checking blood cholesterol (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Has high cholesterol level (%) Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on food at supermarket/grocery store Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on food at other stores Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on eating out Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on carryout/delivered foods Consumer Behavior - Income spent on food at supermarket/grocery store (%) Consumer Behavior - Income spent on food at other stores (%) Consumer Behavior - Income spent on eating out (%) Consumer Behavior - Income spent on carryout/delivered foods (%) Current Health Status - General health condition (%) Current Health Status - Blood donors (%) Current Health Status - Has blood ever tested for HIV virus (%) Current Health Status - Left-handed people (%) Dermatology - People using sunscreen (%) Diabetes - Diabetics (%) Diabetes - Had a blood test for high blood sugar (%) Diabetes - People taking insulin (%) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Diet health (%) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Milk product consumption (# of products/month) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Meals not home prepared (#/week) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Meals from fast food or pizza place (#/week) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Ready-to-eat foods (#/month) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Frozen meals/pizza (#/month) Drug Use - People that ever used marijuana or hashish (%) Drug Use - Ever used hard drugs (%) Drug Use - Ever used any form of cocaine (%) Drug Use - Ever used heroin (%) Drug Use - Ever used methamphetamine (%) Health Insurance - People covered by health insurance (%) Kidney Conditions-Urology - Avg. # of times urinating at night Medical Conditions - People with asthma (%) Medical Conditions - People with anemia (%) Medical Conditions - People with psoriasis (%) Medical Conditions - People with overweight (%) Medical Conditions - Elderly people having difficulties in thinking or remembering (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever received blood transfusion (%) Medical Conditions - People having trouble seeing even with glass/contacts (%) Medical Conditions - People with arthritis (%) Medical Conditions - People with gout (%) Medical Conditions - People with congestive heart failure (%) Medical Conditions - People with coronary heart disease (%) Medical Conditions - People with angina pectoris (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever had heart attack (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever had stroke (%) Medical Conditions - People with emphysema (%) Medical Conditions - People with thyroid problem (%) Medical Conditions - People with chronic bronchitis (%) Medical Conditions - People with any liver condition (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever had cancer or malignancy (%) Mental Health - People who have little interest in doing things (%) Mental Health - People feeling down, depressed, or hopeless (%) Mental Health - People who have trouble sleeping or sleeping too much (%) Mental Health - People feeling tired or having little energy (%) Mental Health - People with poor appetite or overeating (%) Mental Health - People feeling bad about themself (%) Mental Health - People who have trouble concentrating on things (%) Mental Health - People moving or speaking slowly or too fast (%) Mental Health - People having thoughts they would be better off dead (%) Oral Health - Average years since last visit a dentist Oral Health - People embarrassed because of mouth (%) Oral Health - People with gum disease (%) Oral Health - General health of teeth and gums (%) Oral Health - Average days a week using dental floss/device Oral Health - Average days a week using mouthwash for dental problem Oral Health - Average number of teeth Pesticide Use - Households using pesticides to control insects (%) Pesticide Use - Households using pesticides to kill weeds (%) Physical Activity - People doing vigorous-intensity work activities (%) Physical Activity - People doing moderate-intensity work activities (%) Physical Activity - People walking or bicycling (%) Physical Activity - People doing vigorous-intensity recreational activities (%) Physical Activity - People doing moderate-intensity recreational activities (%) Physical Activity - Average hours a day doing sedentary activities Physical Activity - Average hours a day watching TV or videos Physical Activity - Average hours a day using computer Physical Functioning - People having limitations keeping them from working (%) Physical Functioning - People limited in amount of work they can do (%) Physical Functioning - People that need special equipment to walk (%) Physical Functioning - People experiencing confusion/memory problems (%) Physical Functioning - People requiring special healthcare equipment (%) Prescription Medications - Average number of prescription medicines taking Preventive Aspirin Use - Adults 40+ taking low-dose aspirin (%) Reproductive Health - Vaginal deliveries (%) Reproductive Health - Cesarean deliveries (%) Reproductive Health - Deliveries resulted in a live birth (%) Reproductive Health - Pregnancies resulted in a delivery (%) Reproductive Health - Women breastfeeding newborns (%) Reproductive Health - Women that had a hysterectomy (%) Reproductive Health - Women that had both ovaries removed (%) Reproductive Health - Women that have ever taken birth control pills (%) Reproductive Health - Women taking birth control pills (%) Reproductive Health - Women that have ever used Depo-Provera or injectables (%) Reproductive Health - Women that have ever used female hormones (%) Sexual Behavior - People 18+ that ever had sex (vaginal, anal, or oral) (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever had vaginal sex with a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever performed oral sex on a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever had anal sex with a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever had any sex with a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever had vaginal sex with a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever performed oral sex on a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever had anal sex with a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever had any kind of sex with a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Average age people first had sex Sexual Behavior - Average number of female sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of female vaginal sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average age people first performed oral sex on a woman (18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of woman performed oral sex on in lifetime (18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male anal sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average age people first performed oral sex on a man (18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male oral sex partners in lifetime (18+) Sexual Behavior - People using protection when performing oral sex (%) Sexual Behavior - Average number of times people have vaginal or anal sex a year Sexual Behavior - People having sex without condom (%) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male sex partners in lifetime (females 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male vaginal sex partners in lifetime (females 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of female sex partners in lifetime (females 18+) Sexual Behavior - Circumcised males 18+ (%) Sleep Disorders - Average hours sleeping at night Sleep Disorders - People that has trouble sleeping (%) Smoking-Cigarette Use - People smoking cigarettes (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ having problems with smell (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ having problems with taste (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had wisdom teeth removed (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had tonsils teeth removed (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had a loss of consciousness because of a head injury (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had a broken nose or other serious injury to face or skull (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had two or more sinus infections (%) Weight - Average height (inches) Weight - Average weight (pounds) Weight - Average BMI Weight - People that are obese (%) Weight - People that ever were obese (%) Weight - People trying to lose weight (%) Settings Get link Loading data... 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251 85.7% White alone 33 11.3% Hispanic 5 1.7% American Indian alone 4 1.4% Two or more races

Races in Lupton detailed stats: ancestries, foreign born residents, place of birth





According to our research of Michigan and other state lists, there were 8 registered sex offenders living in Lupton, Michigan as of November 22, 2021.

The ratio of all residents to sex offenders in Lupton is 35 to 1.





Ancestries: American (34.7%), Polish (17.3%), German (9.3%), French (4.0%), Irish (2.7%).

Current Local Time: EST time zone

Elevation: 920 feet

Median real estate property taxes paid for housing units with mortgages in 2019: $716 (0.9%)

Median real estate property taxes paid for housing units with no mortgage in 2019: $647 (1.3%)



Latitude: 44.43 N, Longitude: 84.03 W

Area code: 989

Unemployment in November 2020:

Here: 5.2% Michigan: 6.3%

Tornado activity: Lupton-area historical tornado activity is below Michigan state average. It is 45% smaller than the overall U.S. average.

On 3/27/1991, a category F3 (max. wind speeds 158-206 mph) tornado 3.6 miles away from the Lupton place center caused between $500,000 and $5,000,000 in damages. On 3/30/1976, a category F3 tornado 6.7 miles away from the place center killed one person and injured 7 people and caused between $50,000 and $500,000 in damages.

Earthquake activity: Lupton-area historical earthquake activity is significantly above Michigan state average. It is 64% smaller than the overall U.S. average.



On 9/25/1998 at 19:52:52, a magnitude 5.2 (4.8 MB, 4.3 MS, 5.2 LG, 4.5 MW, Depth: 3.1 mi, Class: Moderate, Intensity: VI - VII) earthquake occurred 274.0 miles away from the city center

On 1/31/1986 at 16:46:43, a magnitude 5.0 (5.0 MB) earthquake occurred 243.5 miles away from the city center

On 5/2/2015 at 16:23:07, a magnitude 4.2 (4.2 MW, Depth: 2.8 mi, Class: Light, Intensity: IV - V) earthquake occurred 167.4 miles away from Lupton center

On 7/12/1986 at 08:19:37, a magnitude 4.5 (4.5 MB) earthquake occurred 269.9 miles away from Lupton center

On 9/2/1994 at 21:23:06, a magnitude 3.5 (3.4 LG, 3.5 LG, Depth: 3.1 mi, Class: Light, Intensity: II - III) earthquake occurred 116.6 miles away from the city center

On 4/18/2008 at 09:36:59, a magnitude 5.4 (5.1 MB, 4.8 MS, 5.4 MW, 5.2 MW) earthquake occurred 459.3 miles away from Lupton center

Magnitude types: regional Lg-wave magnitude (LG), body-wave magnitude (MB), surface-wave magnitude (MS), moment magnitude (MW)

Natural disasters: The number of natural disasters in Ogemaw County (5) is a lot smaller than the US average (15).

Emergencies Declared: 4



Causes of natural disasters: Blizzard: 1, Drought: 1, Hurricane: 1, Snowstorm: 1, Winter Storm: 1, Other: 1 (Note: some incidents may be assigned to more than one category).

Hospitals and medical centers near Lupton: BORTZ HEALTH CARE OF ROSE CITY (Nursing Home, about 5 miles away; ROSE CITY, MI)

LEELIN HOME HEALTH CARE (Home Health Center, about 15 miles away; WEST BRANCH, MI)

HOSPICE OF HELPING HANDS INC (Hospital, about 15 miles away; WEST BRANCH, MI)

MICHIGAN PREMIER HOME HEALTH CARE (Home Health Center, about 15 miles away; WEST BRANCH, MI)

BORTZ HEALTH CARE OF WEST BRANCH (Nursing Home, about 16 miles away; WEST BRANCH, MI)

WEST BRANCH GERIATRIC VILLAGE (Nursing Home, about 16 miles away; WEST BRANCH, MI)

HEARTLAND HOME CARE INC. MIDLA (Home Health Center, about 16 miles away; WEST BRANCH, MI)

Colleges/universities with over 2000 students nearest to Lupton: Mid Michigan Community College ( about 49 miles; Harrison, MI ; Full-time enrollment: 3,653)

49 ; 3,653) Northwood University-Michigan ( about 57 miles; Midland, MI ; FT enrollment: 2,763)

57 ; 2,763) Delta College ( about 61 miles; University Center, MI ; FT enrollment: 7,480)

61 ; 7,480) Saginaw Valley State University ( about 61 miles; University Center, MI ; FT enrollment: 9,021)

61 ; 9,021) Central Michigan University ( about 70 miles; Mount Pleasant, MI ; FT enrollment: 22,758)

70 ; 22,758) Northwestern Michigan College ( about 81 miles; Traverse City, MI ; FT enrollment: 3,276)

81 ; 3,276) Ferris State University (about 89 miles; Big Rapids, MI; FT enrollment: 11,238)

Ogemaw County has a predicted average indoor radon screening level less than 2 pCi/L (pico curies per liter) - Low Potential

Drinking water stations with addresses in Lupton that have no violations reported: LOST VALLEY CAMP.STORE/RES#1 ( Population served: 650 , Primary Water Source Type: Groundwater)

650 Groundwater) LOST VALLEY CAMP.PAVIL.#3 ( Population served: 650 , Primary Water Source Type: Groundwater)

650 Groundwater) LOST VALLEY CAMP.BATH#2 ( Population served: 650 , Primary Water Source Type: Groundwater)

650 Groundwater) PARKVIEW ACRES INC ( Population served: 500 , Primary Water Source Type: Groundwater)

500 Groundwater) LUPTON FRIENDS CHURCH ( Population served: 80 , Primary Water Source Type: Groundwater)

80 Groundwater) WEST BRANCH POKER ROOM ( Population served: 80 , Primary Water Source Type: Groundwater)

80 Groundwater) THE NEW SUNRISE CAFE' ( Population served: 50 , Primary Water Source Type: Groundwater)

50 Groundwater) KENYONS RESORT ( Population served: 50 , Primary Water Source Type: Groundwater)

50 Groundwater) HARRY'S CONEY ISLAND ( Population served: 30 , Primary Water Source Type: Groundwater)

30 Groundwater) PARKVIEW ACRES SHOWER BLD & CG (Population served: 25, Primary Water Source Type: Groundwater)

Average household size: This place: 2.4 people Michigan: 2.5 people

Percentage of family households: This place: 71.2% Whole state: 66.0%

Percentage of households with unmarried partners: This place: 8.9% Whole state: 6.4%



No gay or lesbian households reported





For population 15 years and over in Lupton: Never married: 23.4%

23.4% Now married: 32.1%

32.1% Separated: 1.1%

1.1% Widowed: 14.6%

14.6% Divorced: 28.8%

For population 25 years and over in Lupton: High school or higher: 85.9%

85.9% Bachelor's degree or higher: 5.6%

5.6% Graduate or professional degree: 2.8%

Education Gini index (Inequality in education) Here: 7.8 Michigan average: 10.8



Religion statistics for Lupton, MI (based on Ogemaw County data) Religion Adherents Congregations Catholic 2,839 3 Evangelical Protestant 2,576 20 Mainline Protestant 1,101 6 Other 306 4 None 14,877 - Source: Clifford Grammich, Kirk Hadaway, Richard Houseal, Dale E.Jones, Alexei Krindatch, Richie Stanley and Richard H.Taylor. 2012. 2010 U.S.Religion Census: Religious Congregations & Membership Study. Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies. Jones, Dale E., et al. 2002. Congregations and Membership in the United States 2000. Nashville, TN: Glenmary Research Center. Graphs represent county-level data

Food Environment Statistics: Number of grocery stores: 6 Here : 2.82 / 10,000 pop. State : 2.34 / 10,000 pop. Number of convenience stores (no gas): 3 Here : 1.41 / 10,000 pop. State : 1.52 / 10,000 pop. Number of convenience stores (with gas): 10 Here : 4.71 / 10,000 pop. State : 2.99 / 10,000 pop. Number of full-service restaurants: 22 Ogemaw County : 10.35 / 10,000 pop. State : 6.80 / 10,000 pop. Adult diabetes rate: Ogemaw County : 10.4% Michigan : 9.7% Adult obesity rate: This county : 29.7% Michigan : 29.7% Low-income preschool obesity rate: Ogemaw County : 15.0% State : 13.4%

6.18% of this county's 2016 resident taxpayers lived in other counties in 2015 ($35,222 average adjusted gross income) Here: 6.18% Michigan average: 5.43% 10 or fewer of this county's residents moved from foreign countries between 2015 and 2016.

Top counties from which taxpayers relocated into this county between 2015 and 2016:

from Iosco County, MI 0.65% ($34,865 average AGI) from Wayne County, MI 0.39% ($46,677) from Genesee County, MI 0.35% ($29,071)

Strongest AM radio stations in Lupton: WTCM (580 AM; 35 kW; TRAVERSE CITY, MI; Owner: WTCM RADIO, INC.)

WTCM RADIO, INC.) WLDR (1210 AM; daytime; 50 kW; KINGSLEY, MI; Owner: FORT BEND BROADCASTING COMPANY)

FORT BEND BROADCASTING COMPANY) WOAP (1080 AM; 50 kW; OWOSSO, MI)

WWJ (950 AM; 50 kW; DETROIT, MI; Owner: INFINITY BROADCASTING OPERATIONS, INC.)

INFINITY BROADCASTING OPERATIONS, INC.) WJR (760 AM; 50 kW; DETROIT, MI; Owner: ABC, INC.)

ABC, INC.) WXYT (1270 AM; 50 kW; DETROIT, MI; Owner: INFINITY BROADCASTING CORP. OF DETROIT)

INFINITY BROADCASTING CORP. OF DETROIT) WFDF (910 AM; 50 kW; FLINT, MI; Owner: ABC, INC.)

ABC, INC.) WCHB (1200 AM; 50 kW; TAYLOR, MI; Owner: RADIO ONE OF DETROIT, LLC)

RADIO ONE OF DETROIT, LLC) WDFN (1130 AM; 50 kW; DETROIT, MI; Owner: AMFM RADIO LICENSES, L.L.C.)

AMFM RADIO LICENSES, L.L.C.) WCCW (1310 AM; 15 kW; TRAVERSE CITY, MI; Owner: WCCW RADIO, INC.)

WCCW RADIO, INC.) WJML (1110 AM; 10 kW; PETOSKEY, MI)

WTMJ (620 AM; 50 kW; MILWAUKEE, WI; Owner: JOURNAL BROADCAST CORPORATION)

JOURNAL BROADCAST CORPORATION) WSGW (790 AM; 5 kW; SAGINAW, MI; Owner: NM LICENSING LLC) Strongest FM radio stations in Lupton: WMSD (90.9 FM; ROSE TOWNSHIP, MI; Owner: BIBLE BAPTIST CHURCH SCHOOL)

BIBLE BAPTIST CHURCH SCHOOL) WKJC (104.7 FM; TAWAS CITY, MI; Owner: CARROLL ENTERPRISES, INC.)

CARROLL ENTERPRISES, INC.) WBMI (105.5 FM; WEST BRANCH, MI; Owner: NORTHERN RADIO NETWORK CORPORATION)

NORTHERN RADIO NETWORK CORPORATION) WUPS (98.5 FM; HOUGHTON LAKE, MI; Owner: COLTRACE COMMUNICATIONS, INC.)

COLTRACE COMMUNICATIONS, INC.) WQLB (103.3 FM; TAWAS CITY, MI; Owner: CARROLL BROADCASTING, INC.)

CARROLL BROADCASTING, INC.) WCMB-FM (95.7 FM; OSCODA, MI; Owner: CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY)

CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY) WATZ-FM (99.3 FM; ALPENA, MI; Owner: WATZ RADIO, INC.)

WATZ RADIO, INC.) WAVC (93.9 FM; MIO, MI; Owner: NORTHERN STAR BROADCASTING, L.L.C.)

NORTHERN STAR BROADCASTING, L.L.C.) WHST (106.1 FM; TAWAS CITY, MI; Owner: NORTHERN CHRISTIAN RADIO, INC.) TV broadcast stations around Lupton: WCML ( Channel 6; ALPENA, MI; Owner: CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY)

6; ALPENA, MI; CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY) W61CS ( Channel 61; HOUGHTON LAKE, MI; Owner: MS COMMUNICATIONS, LLC)

61; HOUGHTON LAKE, MI; MS COMMUNICATIONS, LLC) W50CD (Channel 50; HOUGHTON LAKE, MI; Owner: MS COMMUNICATIONS, LLC)

National Bridge Inventory (NBI) Statistics

2 Number of bridges

Number of bridges 10ft / 3.3m Total length

Total length 6,541 Total average daily traffic

Total average daily traffic 538 Total average daily truck traffic

Total average daily truck traffic 10,001 Total future (year 2018) average daily traffic

FCC Registered Amateur Radio Licenses: 13 (



FAA Registered Aircraft: 2 Aircraft: ROCKWELL INTERNATIONAL 112B ( Category: Land, Seats: 4, Weight: Up to 12,499 Pounds, Speed: 128 mph), Engine: Reciprocating

N-Number: 1416J, N1416J, N-1416J, Serial Number: 531, Airworthiness Date: 02/01/1977, Certificate Issue Date: 11/17/2003

Registrant (Individual): Richard Settles, 2628 Shady Shores Rd, Lupton, MI 48635

ROCKWELL INTERNATIONAL 112B ( Land, 4, Up to 12,499 Pounds, 128 mph), Reciprocating 1416J, N1416J, N-1416J, 531, 02/01/1977, 11/17/2003 Richard Settles, 2628 Shady Shores Rd, Lupton, MI 48635 Aircraft: CESSNA 305A (Category: Land, Seats: 2, Weight: Up to 12,499 Pounds, Speed: 99 mph), Engine: CONT MOTOR O-470 SERIES (230 HP) (Reciprocating)

N-Number: 5290G, N5290G, N-5290G, Serial Number: 21225, Year manufactured: 1972, Airworthiness Date: 06/14/1972, Certificate Issue Date: 08/05/1995

Registrant (Individual): Judson E Cotner, 2315 Thayer Rd, Lupton, MI 48635

Deregistered: Cancel Date: 01/04/2018

13 ( See the full list of FCC Registered Amateur Radio Licenses in Lupton

2002 - 2018 National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) incidents Based on the data from the years 2002 - 2018 the average number of fire incidents per year is 10. The highest number of reported fires - 23 took place in 2003, and the least - 1 in 2018. The data has a decreasing trend.



Fire incident types reported to NFIRS in Lupton, MI



86 52.4% Structure Fires



55 33.5% Outside Fires



15 9.1% Mobile Property/Vehicle Fires



8 4.9% Other When looking into fire subcategories, the most reports belonged to: Structure Fires (52.4%), and Outside Fires (33.5%). See full National Fire Incident Reporting System statistics for Lupton, MI

Houses and condos Apartments 59.8% Bottled, tank, or LP gas

27.0% Wood

7.4% Other fuel

5.7% Fuel oil, kerosene, etc. 86.4% Bottled, tank, or LP gas

13.6% Utility gas





Lupton compared to Michigan state average: Median house value significantly below state average.

significantly below Unemployed percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Black race population percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Hispanic race population percentage above state average.

above Foreign-born population percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Renting percentage below state average.

below Number of rooms per house below state average.

below Number of college students significantly below state average.

significantly below Percentage of population with a bachelor's degree or higher significantly below state average.

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Nicholson, Mississippi

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Population in 2010: 3,092.

Males: 1,801 (58.3%) Females: 1,291 (41.7%)

Median resident age: 40.5 years Mississippi median age: 38.3 years

Estimated median household income in 2019: $47,641

Nicholson: $47,641 MS: $45,792

Estimated per capita income in 2019: $24,835



Nicholson CDP income, earnings, and wages data



Estimated median house or condo value in 2019: $148,884 Nicholson: $148,884 MS: $128,200

Mean prices in 2019: all housing units: $114,996; detached houses: $141,739; mobile homes: $25,794 $47,641$24,835$148,884$114,996;$141,739;$25,794

Median gross rent in 2019: $680.

March 2019 cost of living index in Nicholson: 75.1 (low, U.S. average is 100)

Percentage of residents living in poverty in 2019: 30.9%

(33.1% for White Non-Hispanic residents, 11.0% for Black residents, 21.5% for Hispanic or Latino residents, 100.0% for other race residents, 92.9% for two or more races residents)

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Most recent value % change since 2k Data: Median household income ($) Median household income (% change since 2000) Household income diversity Ratio of average income to average house value (%) Ratio of average income to average rent Median household income ($) - White Median household income ($) - Black or African American Median household income ($) - Asian Median household income ($) - Hispanic or Latino Median household income ($) - American Indian and Alaska Native Median household income ($) - Multirace Median household income ($) - Other Race Median household income for houses/condos with a mortgage ($) Median household income for apartments without a mortgage ($) Races - White alone (%) Races - White alone (% change since 2000) Races - Black alone (%) Races - Black alone (% change since 2000) Races - American Indian alone (%) Races - American Indian alone (% change since 2000) Races - Asian alone (%) Races - Asian alone (% change since 2000) Races - Hispanic (%) Races - Hispanic (% change since 2000) Races - Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone (%) Races - Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone (% change since 2000) Races - Two or more races (%) Races - Two or more races (% change since 2000) Races - Other race alone (%) Races - Other race alone (% change since 2000) Racial diversity Unemployment (%) Unemployment (% change since 2000) Unemployment (%) - White Unemployment (%) - Black or African American Unemployment (%) - Asian Unemployment (%) - Hispanic or Latino Unemployment (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Unemployment (%) - Multirace Unemployment (%) - Other Race Population density (people per square mile) Population - Males (%) Population - Females (%) Population - Males (%) - White Population - Males (%) - Black or African American Population - Males (%) - Asian Population - Males (%) - Hispanic or Latino Population - Males (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Population - Males (%) - Multirace Population - Males (%) - Other Race Population - Females (%) - White Population - Females (%) - Black or African American Population - Females (%) - Asian Population - Females (%) - Hispanic or Latino Population - Females (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Population - Females (%) - Multirace Population - Females (%) - Other Race Coronavirus confirmed cases (Nov 21, 2021) Deaths caused by coronavirus (Nov 21, 2021) Coronavirus confirmed cases (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) Deaths caused by coronavirus (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) Daily increase in number of cases (Nov 21, 2021) Weekly increase in number of cases (Nov 21, 2021) Cases doubled (in days) (Nov 21, 2021) Hospitalized patients (Nov 21, 2021) Negative test results (Nov 21, 2021) Total test results (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses distributed (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses administered (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses distributed (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses administered (Nov 21, 2021) Likely homosexual households (%) Likely homosexual households (% change since 2000) Likely homosexual households - Lesbian couples (%) Likely homosexual households - Lesbian couples (% change since 2000) Likely homosexual households - Gay men (%) Likely homosexual households - Gay men (% change since 2000) Cost of living index Median gross rent ($) Median contract rent ($) Median monthly housing costs ($) Median house or condo value ($) Median house or condo value ($ change since 2000) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 1, detached ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 1, attached ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 2 ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure by units in structure - 3 or 4 ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 5 or more ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - Boat, RV, van, etc. ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - Mobile home ($) Median house or condo value ($) - White Median house or condo value ($) - Black or African American Median house or condo value ($) - Asian Median house or condo value ($) - Hispanic or Latino Median house or condo value ($) - American Indian and Alaska Native Median house or condo value ($) - Multirace Median house or condo value ($) - Other Race Median resident age Resident age diversity Median resident age - Males Median resident age - Females Median resident age - White Median resident age - Black or African American Median resident age - Asian Median resident age - Hispanic or Latino Median resident age - American Indian and Alaska Native Median resident age - Multirace Median resident age - Other Race Median resident age - Males - White Median resident age - Males - Black or African American Median resident age - Males - Asian Median resident age - Males - Hispanic or Latino Median resident age - Males - American Indian and Alaska Native Median resident age - Males - Multirace Median resident age - Males - Other Race Median resident age - Females - White Median resident age - Females - Black or African American Median resident age - Females - Asian Median resident age - Females - Hispanic or Latino Median resident age - Females - American Indian and Alaska Native Median resident age - Females - Multirace Median resident age - Females - Other Race Commute - mean travel time to work (minutes) Travel time to work - Less than 5 minutes (%) Travel time to work - Less than 5 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 5 to 9 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 5 to 9 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 10 to 19 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 10 to 19 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 20 to 29 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 20 to 29 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 30 to 39 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 30 to 39 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 40 to 59 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 40 to 59 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 60 to 89 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 60 to 89 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 90 or more minutes (%) Travel time to work - 90 or more minutes (% change since 2000) Marital status - Never married (%) Marital status - Now married (%) Marital status - Separated (%) Marital status - Widowed (%) Marital status - Divorced (%) Median family income ($) Median family income (% change since 2000) Median non-family income ($) Median non-family income (% change since 2000) Median per capita income ($) Median per capita income (% change since 2000) Median family income ($) - White Median family income ($) - Black or African American Median family income ($) - Asian Median family income ($) - Hispanic or Latino Median family income ($) - American Indian and Alaska Native Median family income ($) - Multirace Median family income ($) - Other Race Median year house/condo built Median year apartment built Year house built - Built 2005 or later (%) Year house built - Built 2000 to 2004 (%) Year house built - Built 1990 to 1999 (%) Year house built - Built 1980 to 1989 (%) Year house built - Built 1970 to 1979 (%) Year house built - Built 1960 to 1969 (%) Year house built - Built 1950 to 1959 (%) Year house built - Built 1940 to 1949 (%) Year house built - Built 1939 or earlier (%) Average household size Household density (households per square mile) Average household size - White Average household size - Black or African American Average household size - Asian Average household size - Hispanic or Latino Average household size - American Indian and Alaska Native Average household size - Multirace Average household size - Other Race Occupied housing units (%) Vacant housing units (%) Owner occupied housing units (%) Renter occupied housing units (%) Vacancy status - For rent (%) Vacancy status - For sale only (%) Vacancy status - Rented or sold, not occupied (%) Vacancy status - For seasonal, recreational, or occasional use (%) Vacancy status - For migrant workers (%) Vacancy status - Other vacant (%) Residents with income below the poverty level (%) Residents with income below 50% of the poverty level (%) Children below poverty level (%) Poor families by family type - Married-couple family (%) Poor families by family type - Male, no wife present (%) Poor families by family type - Female, no husband present (%) Poverty status for native-born residents (%) Poverty status for foreign-born residents (%) Poverty among high school graduates not in families (%) Poverty among people who did not graduate high school not in families (%) Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - White Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Black or African American Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Asian Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Hispanic or Latino Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Multirace Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Other Race Air pollution - Air Quality Index (AQI) Air pollution - CO Air pollution - NO2 Air pollution - SO2 Air pollution - Ozone Air pollution - PM10 Air pollution - PM25 Air pollution - Pb Crime - Murders per 100,000 population Crime - Rapes per 100,000 population Crime - Robberies per 100,000 population Crime - Assaults per 100,000 population Crime - Burglaries per 100,000 population Crime - Thefts per 100,000 population Crime - Auto thefts per 100,000 population Crime - Arson per 100,000 population Crime - City-data.com crime index Crime - Violent crime index Crime - Property crime index Crime - Murders per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Rapes per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Robberies per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Assaults per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Burglaries per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Thefts per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Auto thefts per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Arson per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - City-data.com crime index (5 year average) Crime - Violent crime index (5 year average) Crime - Property crime index (5 year average) 1996 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Clinton) 1996 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Dole) 1996 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2000 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Gore) 2000 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Bush) 2000 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2004 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Kerry) 2004 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Bush) 2004 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2008 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Obama) 2008 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (McCain) 2008 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2012 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Obama) 2012 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Romney) 2012 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2016 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Clinton) 2016 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Trump) 2016 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2020 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Biden) 2020 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Trump) 2020 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other Ancestries Reported - Arab (%) Ancestries Reported - Czech (%) Ancestries Reported - Danish (%) Ancestries Reported - Dutch (%) Ancestries Reported - English (%) Ancestries Reported - French (%) Ancestries Reported - French Canadian (%) Ancestries Reported - German (%) Ancestries Reported - Greek (%) Ancestries Reported - Hungarian (%) Ancestries Reported - Irish (%) Ancestries Reported - Italian (%) Ancestries Reported - Lithuanian (%) Ancestries Reported - Norwegian (%) Ancestries Reported - Polish (%) Ancestries Reported - Portuguese (%) Ancestries Reported - Russian (%) Ancestries Reported - Scotch-Irish (%) Ancestries Reported - Scottish (%) Ancestries Reported - Slovak (%) Ancestries Reported - Subsaharan African (%) Ancestries Reported - Swedish (%) Ancestries Reported - Swiss (%) Ancestries Reported - Ukrainian (%) Ancestries Reported - United States (%) Ancestries Reported - Welsh (%) Ancestries Reported - West Indian (%) Ancestries Reported - Other (%) Educational Attainment - No schooling completed (%) Educational Attainment - Less than high school (%) Educational Attainment - High school or equivalent (%) Educational Attainment - Less than 1 year of college (%) Educational Attainment - 1 or more years of college (%) Educational Attainment - Associate degree (%) Educational Attainment - Bachelor's degree (%) Educational Attainment - Master's degree (%) Educational Attainment - Professional school degree (%) Educational Attainment - Doctorate degree (%) School Enrollment - Nursery, preschool (%) School Enrollment - Kindergarten (%) School Enrollment - Grade 1 to 4 (%) School Enrollment - Grade 5 to 8 (%) School Enrollment - Grade 9 to 12 (%) School Enrollment - College undergrad (%) School Enrollment - Graduate or professional (%) School Enrollment - Not enrolled in school (%) School enrollment - Public schools (%) School enrollment - Private schools (%) School enrollment - Not enrolled (%) Median number of rooms in houses and condos Median number of rooms in apartments Housing units lacking complete plumbing facilities (%) Housing units lacking complete kitchen facilities (%) Density of houses Urban houses (%) Rural houses (%) Households with people 60 years and over (%) Households with people 65 years and over (%) Households with people 75 years and over (%) Households with one or more nonrelatives (%) Households with no nonrelatives (%) Population in households (%) Family households (%) Nonfamily households (%) Population in families (%) Family households with own children (%) Median number of bedrooms in owner occupied houses Mean number of bedrooms in owner occupied houses Median number of bedrooms in renter occupied houses Mean number of bedrooms in renter occupied houses Median number of vehichles in owner occupied houses Mean number of vehichles in owner occupied houses Median number of vehichles in renter occupied houses Mean number of vehichles in renter occupied houses Mortgage status - with mortgage (%) Mortgage status - with second mortgage (%) Mortgage status - with home equity loan (%) Mortgage status - with both second mortgage and home equity loan (%) Mortgage status - without a mortgage (%) Average family size Average family size - White Average family size - Black or African American Average family size - Asian Average family size - Hispanic or Latino Average family size - American Indian and Alaska Native Average family size - Multirace Average family size - Other Race Geographical mobility - Same house 1 year ago (%) Geographical mobility - Moved within same county (%) Geographical mobility - Moved from different county within same state (%) Geographical mobility - Moved from different state (%) Geographical mobility - Moved from abroad (%) Place of birth - Born in state of residence (%) Place of birth - Born in other state (%) Place of birth - Native, outside of US (%) Place of birth - Foreign born (%) Housing units in structures - 1, detached (%) Housing units in structures - 1, attached (%) Housing units in structures - 2 (%) Housing units in structures - 3 or 4 (%) Housing units in structures - 5 to 9 (%) Housing units in structures - 10 to 19 (%) Housing units in structures - 20 to 49 (%) Housing units in structures - 50 or more (%) Housing units in structures - Mobile home (%) Housing units in structures - Boat, RV, van, etc. (%) House/condo owner moved in on average (years ago) Renter moved in on average (years ago) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1999 to March 2000 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1995 to 1998 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1990 to 1994 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1980 to 1989 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1970 to 1979 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1969 or earlier (%) Means of transportation to work - Drove car alone (%) Means of transportation to work - Carpooled (%) Means of transportation to work - Public transportation (%) Means of transportation to work - Bus or trolley bus (%) Means of transportation to work - Streetcar or trolley car (%) Means of transportation to work - Subway or elevated (%) Means of transportation to work - Railroad (%) Means of transportation to work - Ferryboat (%) Means of transportation to work - Taxicab (%) Means of transportation to work - Motorcycle (%) Means of transportation to work - Bicycle (%) Means of transportation to work - Walked (%) Means of transportation to work - Other means (%) Working at home (%) Industry diversity Most Common Industries - Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining (%) Most Common Industries - Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (%) Most Common Industries - Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (%) Most Common Industries - Construction (%) Most Common Industries - Manufacturing (%) Most Common Industries - Wholesale trade (%) Most Common Industries - Retail trade (%) Most Common Industries - Transportation and warehousing, and utilities (%) Most Common Industries - Transportation and warehousing (%) Most Common Industries - Utilities (%) Most Common Industries - Information (%) Most Common Industries - Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing (%) Most Common Industries - Finance and insurance (%) Most Common Industries - Real estate and rental and leasing (%) Most Common Industries - Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services (%) Most Common Industries - Professional, scientific, and technical services (%) Most Common Industries - Management of companies and enterprises (%) Most Common Industries - Administrative and support and waste management services (%) Most Common Industries - Educational services, and health care and social assistance (%) Most Common Industries - Educational services (%) Most Common Industries - Health care and social assistance (%) Most Common Industries - Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation and food services (%) Most Common Industries - Arts, entertainment, and recreation (%) Most Common Industries - Accommodation and food services (%) Most Common Industries - Other services, except public administration (%) Most Common Industries - Public administration (%) Occupation diversity Most Common Occupations - Management, business, science, and arts occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Management, business, and financial occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Management occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Business and financial operations occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Computer, engineering, and science occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Computer and mathematical occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Architecture and engineering occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Life, physical, and social science occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Education, legal, community service, arts, and media occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Community and social service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Legal occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Education, training, and library occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Health diagnosing and treating practitioners and other technical occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Health technologists and technicians (%) Most Common Occupations - Service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Healthcare support occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Protective service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Fire fighting and prevention, and other protective service workers including supervisors (%) Most Common Occupations - Law enforcement workers including supervisors (%) Most Common Occupations - Food preparation and serving related occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Personal care and service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Sales and office occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Sales and related occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Office and administrative support occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Construction and extraction occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Production, transportation, and material moving occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Production occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Transportation occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Material moving occupations (%) People in Group quarters - Institutionalized population (%) People in Group quarters - Correctional institutions (%) People in Group quarters - Federal prisons and detention centers (%) People in Group quarters - Halfway houses (%) People in Group quarters - Local jails and other confinement facilities (including police lockups) (%) People in Group quarters - Military disciplinary barracks (%) People in Group quarters - State prisons (%) People in Group quarters - Other types of correctional institutions (%) People in Group quarters - Nursing homes (%) People in Group quarters - Hospitals/wards, hospices, and schools for the handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Hospitals/wards and hospices for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Hospices or homes for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Military hospitals or wards for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Other hospitals or wards for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Hospitals or wards for drug/alcohol abuse (%) People in Group quarters - Mental (Psychiatric) hospitals or wards (%) People in Group quarters - Schools, hospitals, or wards for the mentally retarded (%) People in Group quarters - Schools, hospitals, or wards for the physically handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Institutions for the deaf (%) People in Group quarters - Institutions for the blind (%) People in Group quarters - Orthopedic wards and institutions for the physically handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Wards in general hospitals for patients who have no usual home elsewhere (%) People in Group quarters - Wards in military hospitals for patients who have no usual home elsewhere (%) People in Group quarters - Juvenile institutions (%) People in Group quarters - Long-term care (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for abused, dependent, and neglected children (%) People in Group quarters - Residential treatment centers for emotionally disturbed children (%) People in Group quarters - Training schools for juvenile delinquents (%) People in Group quarters - Short-term care, detention or diagnostic centers for delinquent children (%) People in Group quarters - Type of juvenile institution unknown (%) People in Group quarters - Noninstitutionalized population (%) People in Group quarters - College dormitories (includes college quarters off campus) (%) People in Group quarters - Military quarters (%) People in Group quarters - On base (%) People in Group quarters - Barracks, unaccompanied personnel housing (UPH), (Enlisted/Officer), ;and similar group living quarters for military personnel (%) People in Group quarters - Transient quarters for temporary residents (%) People in Group quarters - Military ships (%) People in Group quarters - Group homes (%) People in Group quarters - Homes or halfway houses for drug/alcohol abuse (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for the mentally ill (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for the mentally retarded (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for the physically handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Other group homes (%) People in Group quarters - Religious group quarters (%) People in Group quarters - Dormitories (%) People in Group quarters - Agriculture workers' dormitories on farms (%) People in Group quarters - Job Corps and vocational training facilities (%) People in Group quarters - Other workers' dormitories (%) People in Group quarters - Crews of maritime vessels (%) People in Group quarters - Other nonhousehold living situations (%) People in Group quarters - Other noninstitutional group quarters (%) Residents speaking English at home (%) Residents speaking English at home - Born in the United States (%) Residents speaking English at home - Native, born elsewhere (%) Residents speaking English at home - Foreign born (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home - Born in the United States (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home - Native, born elsewhere (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home - Foreign born (%) Residents speaking other language at home (%) Residents speaking other language at home - Born in the United States (%) Residents speaking other language at home - Native, born elsewhere (%) Residents speaking other language at home - Foreign born (%) Class of Workers - Employee of private company (%) Class of Workers - Self-employed in own incorporated business (%) Class of Workers - Private not-for-profit wage and salary workers (%) Class of Workers - Local government workers (%) Class of Workers - State government workers (%) Class of Workers - Federal government workers (%) Class of Workers - Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business and Unpaid family workers (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Utility gas (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Bottled, tank, or LP gas (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Electricity (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Fuel oil, kerosene, etc. (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Coal or coke (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Wood (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Solar energy (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Other fuel (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - No fuel used (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Utility gas (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Bottled, tank, or LP gas (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Electricity (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Fuel oil, kerosene, etc. (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Coal or coke (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Wood (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Solar energy (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Other fuel (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - No fuel used (%) Armed forces status - In Armed Forces (%) Armed forces status - Civilian (%) Armed forces status - Civilian - Veteran (%) Armed forces status - Civilian - Nonveteran (%) Fatal accidents locations in years 2005-2019 Fatal accidents locations in 2005 Fatal accidents locations in 2006 Fatal accidents locations in 2007 Fatal accidents locations in 2008 Fatal accidents locations in 2009 Fatal accidents locations in 2010 Fatal accidents locations in 2011 Fatal accidents locations in 2012 Fatal accidents locations in 2013 Fatal accidents locations in 2014 Fatal accidents locations in 2015 Fatal accidents locations in 2016 Fatal accidents locations in 2017 Fatal accidents locations in 2018 Fatal accidents locations in 2019 Alcohol use - People drinking some alcohol every month (%) Alcohol use - People not drinking at all (%) Alcohol use - Average days/month drinking alcohol Alcohol use - Average drinks/week Alcohol use - Average days/year people drink much Audiometry - Average condition of hearing (%) Audiometry - People that can hear a whisper from across a quiet room (%) Audiometry - People that can hear normal voice from across a quiet room (%) Audiometry - Ears ringing, roaring, buzzing (%) Audiometry - Had a job exposure to loud noise (%) Audiometry - Had off-work exposure to loud noise (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Has high blood pressure (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Checking blood pressure at home (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Frequently checking blood cholesterol (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Has high cholesterol level (%) Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on food at supermarket/grocery store Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on food at other stores Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on eating out Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on carryout/delivered foods Consumer Behavior - Income spent on food at supermarket/grocery store (%) Consumer Behavior - Income spent on food at other stores (%) Consumer Behavior - Income spent on eating out (%) Consumer Behavior - Income spent on carryout/delivered foods (%) Current Health Status - General health condition (%) Current Health Status - Blood donors (%) Current Health Status - Has blood ever tested for HIV virus (%) Current Health Status - Left-handed people (%) Dermatology - People using sunscreen (%) Diabetes - Diabetics (%) Diabetes - Had a blood test for high blood sugar (%) Diabetes - People taking insulin (%) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Diet health (%) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Milk product consumption (# of products/month) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Meals not home prepared (#/week) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Meals from fast food or pizza place (#/week) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Ready-to-eat foods (#/month) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Frozen meals/pizza (#/month) Drug Use - People that ever used marijuana or hashish (%) Drug Use - Ever used hard drugs (%) Drug Use - Ever used any form of cocaine (%) Drug Use - Ever used heroin (%) Drug Use - Ever used methamphetamine (%) Health Insurance - People covered by health insurance (%) Kidney Conditions-Urology - Avg. # of times urinating at night Medical Conditions - People with asthma (%) Medical Conditions - People with anemia (%) Medical Conditions - People with psoriasis (%) Medical Conditions - People with overweight (%) Medical Conditions - Elderly people having difficulties in thinking or remembering (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever received blood transfusion (%) Medical Conditions - People having trouble seeing even with glass/contacts (%) Medical Conditions - People with arthritis (%) Medical Conditions - People with gout (%) Medical Conditions - People with congestive heart failure (%) Medical Conditions - People with coronary heart disease (%) Medical Conditions - People with angina pectoris (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever had heart attack (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever had stroke (%) Medical Conditions - People with emphysema (%) Medical Conditions - People with thyroid problem (%) Medical Conditions - People with chronic bronchitis (%) Medical Conditions - People with any liver condition (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever had cancer or malignancy (%) Mental Health - People who have little interest in doing things (%) Mental Health - People feeling down, depressed, or hopeless (%) Mental Health - People who have trouble sleeping or sleeping too much (%) Mental Health - People feeling tired or having little energy (%) Mental Health - People with poor appetite or overeating (%) Mental Health - People feeling bad about themself (%) Mental Health - People who have trouble concentrating on things (%) Mental Health - People moving or speaking slowly or too fast (%) Mental Health - People having thoughts they would be better off dead (%) Oral Health - Average years since last visit a dentist Oral Health - People embarrassed because of mouth (%) Oral Health - People with gum disease (%) Oral Health - General health of teeth and gums (%) Oral Health - Average days a week using dental floss/device Oral Health - Average days a week using mouthwash for dental problem Oral Health - Average number of teeth Pesticide Use - Households using pesticides to control insects (%) Pesticide Use - Households using pesticides to kill weeds (%) Physical Activity - People doing vigorous-intensity work activities (%) Physical Activity - People doing moderate-intensity work activities (%) Physical Activity - People walking or bicycling (%) Physical Activity - People doing vigorous-intensity recreational activities (%) Physical Activity - People doing moderate-intensity recreational activities (%) Physical Activity - Average hours a day doing sedentary activities Physical Activity - Average hours a day watching TV or videos Physical Activity - Average hours a day using computer Physical Functioning - People having limitations keeping them from working (%) Physical Functioning - People limited in amount of work they can do (%) Physical Functioning - People that need special equipment to walk (%) Physical Functioning - People experiencing confusion/memory problems (%) Physical Functioning - People requiring special healthcare equipment (%) Prescription Medications - Average number of prescription medicines taking Preventive Aspirin Use - Adults 40+ taking low-dose aspirin (%) Reproductive Health - Vaginal deliveries (%) Reproductive Health - Cesarean deliveries (%) Reproductive Health - Deliveries resulted in a live birth (%) Reproductive Health - Pregnancies resulted in a delivery (%) Reproductive Health - Women breastfeeding newborns (%) Reproductive Health - Women that had a hysterectomy (%) Reproductive Health - Women that had both ovaries removed (%) Reproductive Health - Women that have ever taken birth control pills (%) Reproductive Health - Women taking birth control pills (%) Reproductive Health - Women that have ever used Depo-Provera or injectables (%) Reproductive Health - Women that have ever used female hormones (%) Sexual Behavior - People 18+ that ever had sex (vaginal, anal, or oral) (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever had vaginal sex with a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever performed oral sex on a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever had anal sex with a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever had any sex with a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever had vaginal sex with a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever performed oral sex on a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever had anal sex with a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever had any kind of sex with a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Average age people first had sex Sexual Behavior - Average number of female sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of female vaginal sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average age people first performed oral sex on a woman (18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of woman performed oral sex on in lifetime (18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male anal sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average age people first performed oral sex on a man (18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male oral sex partners in lifetime (18+) Sexual Behavior - People using protection when performing oral sex (%) Sexual Behavior - Average number of times people have vaginal or anal sex a year Sexual Behavior - People having sex without condom (%) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male sex partners in lifetime (females 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male vaginal sex partners in lifetime (females 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of female sex partners in lifetime (females 18+) Sexual Behavior - Circumcised males 18+ (%) Sleep Disorders - Average hours sleeping at night Sleep Disorders - People that has trouble sleeping (%) Smoking-Cigarette Use - People smoking cigarettes (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ having problems with smell (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ having problems with taste (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had wisdom teeth removed (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had tonsils teeth removed (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had a loss of consciousness because of a head injury (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had a broken nose or other serious injury to face or skull (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had two or more sinus infections (%) Weight - Average height (inches) Weight - Average weight (pounds) Weight - Average BMI Weight - People that are obese (%) Weight - People that ever were obese (%) Weight - People trying to lose weight (%) Settings Get link Loading data... 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2,232 87.2% White alone 193 7.5% Black alone 110 4.3% Hispanic

Races in Nicholson detailed stats: ancestries, foreign born residents, place of birth





According to our research of Mississippi and other state lists, there was 1 registered sex offender living in Nicholson, Mississippi as of November 22, 2021.

The ratio of all residents to sex offenders in Nicholson is 2,774 to 1.

The ratio of registered sex offenders to all residents in this city is much lower than the state average.





Ancestries: American (36.8%), German (8.4%), English (5.0%), French (4.9%), Irish (3.3%), Polish (3.3%).

Current Local Time: CST time zone

Elevation: 47 feet

26 residents are foreign born This place: 1.0% Mississippi: 2.4%

Median real estate property taxes paid for housing units with mortgages in 2019: $382 (0.5%)

Median real estate property taxes paid for housing units with no mortgage in 2019: $581 (0.8%)



Latitude: 30.48 N, Longitude: 89.69 W

Unemployment in November 2020:

Here: 6.2% Mississippi: 6.0%

Air pollution and air quality trends

(lower is better) AQI NO 2 Ozone PM 2.5 Pb

Air Quality Index (AQI) level in 2018 was 61.4. This is better than average. City: 61.4 U.S.: 74.2

Nitrogen Dioxide (NO 2 ) [ppb] level in 2004 was 3.83. This is significantly better than average. Closest monitor was 18.6 miles away from the city center. City: 3.83 U.S.: 5.56

Ozone [ppb] level in 2018 was 27.9. This is about average. Closest monitor was 16.1 miles away from the city center. City: 27.9 U.S.: 33.3

Particulate Matter (PM 2.5 ) [g/m3] level in 2018 was 7.38. This is about average. Closest monitor was 3.6 miles away from the city center. City: 7.38 U.S.: 8.46



Tornado activity: Nicholson-area historical tornado activity is slightly below Mississippi state average. It is 64% greater than the overall U.S. average.

On 5/19/1980, a category F3 (max. wind speeds 158-206 mph) tornado 22.4 miles away from the Nicholson place center injured 8 people and caused between $5,000,000 and $50,000,000 in damages. On 5/19/1980, a category F3 tornado 31.4 miles away from the place center injured 4 people and caused between $500,000 and $5,000,000 in damages.

Earthquake activity: Nicholson-area historical earthquake activity is significantly above Mississippi state average. It is 52% smaller than the overall U.S. average.



On 10/24/1997 at 08:35:17, a magnitude 4.9 (4.8 MB, 4.2 MS, 4.9 LG, Depth: 6.2 mi, Class: Light, Intensity: IV - V) earthquake occurred 150.6 miles away from the city center

On 9/10/2006 at 14:56:08, a magnitude 5.9 (5.9 MB, 5.5 MS, 5.8 MW, Class: Moderate, Intensity: VI - VII) earthquake occurred 346.7 miles away from the city center

On 5/6/2018 at 16:47:09, a magnitude 4.6 (4.6 MB, Depth: 6.2 mi) earthquake occurred 190.4 miles away from Nicholson center

On 1/18/1999 at 07:00:53, a magnitude 4.8 (4.8 MB, 4.0 LG, Depth: 0.6 mi) earthquake occurred 248.0 miles away from the city center

On 11/7/2004 at 11:20:21, a magnitude 4.3 (4.3 MW, Depth: 3.1 mi) earthquake occurred 182.6 miles away from Nicholson center

On 6/30/1994 at 01:08:24, a magnitude 4.2 (4.2 MB, Depth: 6.2 mi) earthquake occurred 179.9 miles away from the city center

Magnitude types: regional Lg-wave magnitude (LG), body-wave magnitude (MB), surface-wave magnitude (MS), moment magnitude (MW)

Natural disasters: The number of natural disasters in Pearl River County (22) is greater than the US average (15).

Major Disasters (Presidential) Declared: 17

Emergencies Declared: 4



Causes of natural disasters: Hurricanes: 10, Floods: 6, Storms: 6, Tornadoes: 5, Tropical Storms: 3, Drought: 1, Freeze: 1, Heavy Rain: 1, Other: 1 (Note: some incidents may be assigned to more than one category).

Hospitals and medical centers near Nicholson: HIGHLAND COMMUNITY HOSPITAL Acute Care Hospitals (about 6 miles away; PICAYUNE, MS)

Acute Care Hospitals PEARL RIVER DIALYSIS (Dialysis Facility, about 6 miles away; PICAYUNE, MS)

FMCNA - SLIDELL (Dialysis Facility, about 12 miles away; SLIDELL, LA)

POTTER'S CLAY COMMUNITY HOME (Hospital, about 12 miles away; SLIDELL, LA)

ST PETER THE FISHERMAN COMMUNI (Hospital, about 13 miles away; SLIDELL, LA)

GREENBRIAR COMMUNITY CARE CENTER (Nursing Home, about 13 miles away; SLIDELL, LA)

GREENBRIAR NURSING AND CONVALESCENT HOME (Nursing Home, about 13 miles away; SLIDELL, LA)

Amtrak stations near Nicholson: 4 miles: PICAYUNE (U.S. 11 & TATE ST.) . Services: free short-term parking, free long-term parking, call for taxi service.

PICAYUNE (U.S. 11 & TATE ST.) . free short-term parking, free long-term parking, call for taxi service. 15 miles: SLIDELL (1827 FRONT ST.) . Services: enclosed waiting area, public payphones, free short-term parking, free long-term parking, call for taxi service.

Colleges/universities with over 2000 students nearest to Nicholson: Pearl River Community College ( about 28 miles; Poplarville, MS ; Full-time enrollment: 3,074)

28 ; 3,074) University of New Orleans ( about 39 miles; New Orleans, LA ; FT enrollment: 8,201)

39 ; 8,201) Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College ( about 39 miles; Perkinston, MS ; FT enrollment: 8,320)

39 ; 8,320) Delgado Community College ( about 42 miles; New Orleans, LA ; FT enrollment: 12,843)

42 ; 12,843) Xavier University of Louisiana ( about 44 miles; New Orleans, LA ; FT enrollment: 2,492)

44 ; 2,492) Tulane University of Louisiana ( about 46 miles; New Orleans, LA ; FT enrollment: 11,089)

46 ; 11,089) Loyola University New Orleans (about 46 miles; New Orleans, LA; FT enrollment: 3,912)

Pearl River County has a predicted average indoor radon screening level less than 2 pCi/L (pico curies per liter) - Low Potential

Average household size: This place: 2.6 people Mississippi: 2.6 people

Percentage of family households: This place: 68.1% Whole state: 69.0%

Percentage of households with unmarried partners: This place: 9.2% Whole state: 5.7%



Likely homosexual households (counted as self-reported same-sex unmarried-partner households) Lesbian couples: 0.3% of all households

0.3% Gay men: 0.2% of all households

For population 15 years and over in Nicholson: Never married: 22.2%

22.2% Now married: 47.2%

47.2% Separated: 4.5%

4.5% Widowed: 5.2%

5.2% Divorced: 20.9%

For population 25 years and over in Nicholson: High school or higher: 76.2%

76.2% Bachelor's degree or higher: 13.1%

13.1% Graduate or professional degree: 7.0%

7.0% Mean travel time to work (commute): 31.0 minutes

Education Gini index (Inequality in education) Here: 11.7 Mississippi average: 11.5



Religion statistics for Nicholson, MS (based on Pearl River County data) Religion Adherents Congregations Evangelical Protestant 26,655 63 Catholic 4,079 2 Other 2,260 5 Mainline Protestant 1,918 10 Black Protestant 1,110 6 None 19,812 - Source: Clifford Grammich, Kirk Hadaway, Richard Houseal, Dale E.Jones, Alexei Krindatch, Richie Stanley and Richard H.Taylor. 2012. 2010 U.S.Religion Census: Religious Congregations & Membership Study. Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies. Jones, Dale E., et al. 2002. Congregations and Membership in the United States 2000. Nashville, TN: Glenmary Research Center. Graphs represent county-level data

Food Environment Statistics: Number of grocery stores: 10 Pearl River County : 1.75 / 10,000 pop. Mississippi : 2.08 / 10,000 pop. Number of supercenters and club stores: 1 Here : 0.18 / 10,000 pop. Mississippi : 0.24 / 10,000 pop. Number of convenience stores (no gas): 2 This county : 0.35 / 10,000 pop. State : 0.80 / 10,000 pop. Number of convenience stores (with gas): 40 Pearl River County : 7.02 / 10,000 pop. State : 6.36 / 10,000 pop. Number of full-service restaurants: 33 Pearl River County : 5.79 / 10,000 pop. State : 5.03 / 10,000 pop. Adult diabetes rate: This county : 11.6% Mississippi : 12.3% Adult obesity rate: This county : 30.4% Mississippi : 33.1% Low-income preschool obesity rate: This county : 15.8% Mississippi : 14.4%

6.09% of this county's 2016 resident taxpayers lived in other counties in 2015 ($42,392 average adjusted gross income) Here: 6.09% Mississippi average: 6.54% 10 or fewer of this county's residents moved from foreign countries between 2015 and 2016.

Top counties from which taxpayers relocated into this county between 2015 and 2016:

from St. Tammany Parish, LA 1.29% ($43,288 average AGI) from Hancock County, MS 0.60% ($40,596) from Jefferson Parish, LA 0.35% ($55,754)



5.78% of this county's 2015 resident taxpayers moved to other counties in 2016 ($40,046 average adjusted gross income) Here: 5.78% Mississippi average: 6.87% 10 or fewer of this county's residents moved to foreign countries between 2015 and 2016.

Top counties to which taxpayers relocated from this county between 2015 and 2016:

to St. Tammany Parish, LA 0.93% ($29,906 average AGI) to Hancock County, MS 0.75% ($42,163) to Harrison County, MS 0.38% ($39,364)

Businesses in Nicholson, MS Subway: 1

Strongest AM radio stations in Nicholson: WRJW (1320 AM; 5 kW; PICAYUNE, MS; Owner: PEARL RIVER COMMUNICATIONS, INC.)

PEARL RIVER COMMUNICATIONS, INC.) WLNO (1060 AM; 50 kW; NEW ORLEANS, LA; Owner: COMMUNICOM CO. OF LOUISIANA, L.P.)

COMMUNICOM CO. OF LOUISIANA, L.P.) WWL (870 AM; 50 kW; NEW ORLEANS, LA; Owner: ENTERCOM NEW ORLEANS LICENSE, LLC)

ENTERCOM NEW ORLEANS LICENSE, LLC) WOMN (1110 AM; daytime; 30 kW; FRANKLINTON, LA; Owner: PITTMAN BROADCASTING SERVICES, LLC.)

PITTMAN BROADCASTING SERVICES, LLC.) WRPM (1530 AM; daytime; 10 kW; POPLARVILLE, MS; Owner: DOWDY & DOWDY PARTNERS)

DOWDY & DOWDY PARTNERS) WTIX (690 AM; 10 kW; NEW ORLEANS, LA; Owner: WTIX, INC.)

WTIX, INC.) WBSL (1190 AM; daytime; 5 kW; BAY ST. LOUIS, MS; Owner: HANCOCK BROADCASTING CORPORATION)

HANCOCK BROADCASTING CORPORATION) WSJC (810 AM; 50 kW; MAGEE, MS; Owner: FAMILY TALK RADIO)

FAMILY TALK RADIO) WYLD (940 AM; 10 kW; NEW ORLEANS, LA; Owner: CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.)

CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.) WROA (1390 AM; 5 kW; GULFPORT, MS; Owner: DOWDY/DOWDY PARTNERSHIP)

DOWDY/DOWDY PARTNERSHIP) WJNT (1180 AM; 50 kW; PEARL, MS; Owner: BUCHANAN BROADCASTING CO., INC.)

BUCHANAN BROADCASTING CO., INC.) WTNI (1640 AM; 10 kW; BILOXI, MS; Owner: MONTEREY LICENSES, LLC)

MONTEREY LICENSES, LLC) WSLA (1560 AM; daytime; 1 kW; SLIDELL, LA; Owner: MAPA BROADCASTING, L.L.C.) Strongest FM radio stations in Nicholson: WOPR (94.7 FM; LACOMBE, LA; Owner: CITADEL BROADCASTING COMPANY)

CITADEL BROADCASTING COMPANY) WZKX (107.9 FM; BAY ST. LOUIS, MS; Owner: DOWDY & DOWDY PARTNERSHIP)

DOWDY & DOWDY PARTNERSHIP) WKSY (106.1 FM; PICAYUNE, MS; Owner: GUARANTY BROADCASTING COMPANY OF NEW ORLEANS, LLC)

GUARANTY BROADCASTING COMPANY OF NEW ORLEANS, LLC) WZNF (95.3 FM; LUMBERTON, MS; Owner: JMD, INC.)

JMD, INC.) WAOY (91.7 FM; GULFPORT, MS; Owner: AMERICAN FAMILY ASSOCIATION, INC.)

AMERICAN FAMILY ASSOCIATION, INC.) WMAH-FM (90.3 FM; BILOXI, MS; Owner: MISSISSIPPI AUTHORITY FOR EDUCATIONAL TV)

MISSISSIPPI AUTHORITY FOR EDUCATIONAL TV) WNOE-FM (101.1 FM; NEW ORLEANS, LA; Owner: CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.)

CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.) WRNO-FM (99.5 FM; NEW ORLEANS, LA; Owner: CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.)

CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.) WKZN (105.3 FM; KENNER, LA; Owner: ENTERCOM NEW ORLEANS LICENSE, LLC)

ENTERCOM NEW ORLEANS LICENSE, LLC) WQUE-FM (93.3 FM; NEW ORLEANS, LA; Owner: CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.)

CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.) WLMG (101.9 FM; NEW ORLEANS, LA; Owner: ENTERCOM NEW ORLEANS LICENSE, LLC)

ENTERCOM NEW ORLEANS LICENSE, LLC) WEZB (97.1 FM; NEW ORLEANS, LA; Owner: ENTERCOM NEW ORLEANS LICENSE, LLC)

ENTERCOM NEW ORLEANS LICENSE, LLC) WTKL (95.7 FM; NEW ORLEANS, LA; Owner: ENTERCOM NEW ORLEANS LICENSE, LLC)

ENTERCOM NEW ORLEANS LICENSE, LLC) WYLD-FM (98.5 FM; NEW ORLEANS, LA; Owner: CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.) TV broadcast stations around Nicholson: WUPL ( Channel 54; SLIDELL, LA; Owner: UPN TELEVISION STATIONS INC.)

54; SLIDELL, LA; UPN TELEVISION STATIONS INC.) WXXV-TV ( Channel 25; GULFPORT, MS; Owner: MORRIS NETWORK OF MISSISSIPPI, INC.)

25; GULFPORT, MS; MORRIS NETWORK OF MISSISSIPPI, INC.) WLOX ( Channel 13; BILOXI, MS; Owner: LIBCO, INC.)

13; BILOXI, MS; LIBCO, INC.) WMAH-TV ( Channel 19; BILOXI, MS; Owner: MISSISSIPPI AUTHORITY FOR EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION)

19; BILOXI, MS; MISSISSIPPI AUTHORITY FOR EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION) WGNO ( Channel 26; NEW ORLEANS, LA; Owner: TRIBUNE TELEVISION NEW ORLEANS, INC.)

26; NEW ORLEANS, LA; TRIBUNE TELEVISION NEW ORLEANS, INC.) WNOL-TV ( Channel 38; NEW ORLEANS, LA; Owner: TRIBUNE TELEVISION NEW ORLEANS, INC.)

38; NEW ORLEANS, LA; TRIBUNE TELEVISION NEW ORLEANS, INC.) WLAE-TV ( Channel 32; NEW ORLEANS, LA; Owner: EDUCATIONAL BROADCASTING FOUNDATION, INC.)

32; NEW ORLEANS, LA; EDUCATIONAL BROADCASTING FOUNDATION, INC.) WPXL ( Channel 49; NEW ORLEANS, LA; Owner: FLINN BROADCASTING CORPORATION)

49; NEW ORLEANS, LA; FLINN BROADCASTING CORPORATION) WYES-TV ( Channel 12; NEW ORLEANS, LA; Owner: GREATER NEW ORLEANS ED TV FOUNDATION)

12; NEW ORLEANS, LA; GREATER NEW ORLEANS ED TV FOUNDATION) WBXN-CA ( Channel 10; NEW ORLEANS, LA; Owner: THE BOX WORLDWIDE LLC)

10; NEW ORLEANS, LA; THE BOX WORLDWIDE LLC) WVUE ( Channel 8; NEW ORLEANS, LA; Owner: EMMIS TELEIVISION LICENSE CORPORATION)

8; NEW ORLEANS, LA; EMMIS TELEIVISION LICENSE CORPORATION) W26BR ( Channel 26; MERIDIAN, MS; Owner: MS COMMUNICATIONS, LLC)

26; MERIDIAN, MS; MS COMMUNICATIONS, LLC) WWL-TV ( Channel 4; NEW ORLEANS, LA; Owner: WWL-TV, INC.)

4; NEW ORLEANS, LA; WWL-TV, INC.) WDSU (Channel 6; NEW ORLEANS, LA; Owner: NEW ORLEANS HEARST-ARGYLE TELEVISION, INC.)

Nicholson fatal accident statistics for 1975 - 2019

See more detailed statistics of Nicholson fatal car crashes and road traffic accidents for 1975 - 2019 here

National Bridge Inventory (NBI) Statistics

16 Number of bridges

Number of bridges 197ft / 60.1m Total length

Total length $2,436,224,000 Total costs

Total costs 80,100 Total average daily traffic

Total average daily traffic 11,138 Total average daily truck traffic

Total average daily truck traffic 62,750 Total future (year 2030) average daily traffic

New bridges - historical statistics

2 1950-1959

3 1960-1969

1 1980-1989

1 1990-1999

2 2000-2009

7 2010-2018 See full National Bridge Inventory statistics for Nicholson, MS

FCC Registered Antenna Towers: 20 (



FCC Registered Broadcast Land Mobile Towers: 4 I 59 1 Mi E ( Lat: 30.476306 Lon: -89.680056), Call Sign: KUA791,

Assigned Frequencies: 154.665 MHz, 154.905 MHz, 155.460 MHz, 155.490 MHz, Grant Date: 02/27/2014, Expiration Date: 03/17/2024, Registrant: Ms Dept. Of Transportation, 2567 N. West Street, Jackson, MS 39215, Phone: (601) 359-1513, Fax: (601) 359-5388, Email:

30.476306 -89.680056), KUA791, 154.665 MHz, 154.905 MHz, 155.460 MHz, 155.490 MHz, 02/27/2014, 03/17/2024, Ms Dept. Of Transportation, 2567 N. West Street, Jackson, MS 39215, (601) 359-1513, (601) 359-5388, I59 .8 Mi E ( Lat: 30.477417 Lon: -89.681444), Call Sign: KUA792,

Assigned Frequencies: 154.665 MHz, 154.905 MHz, 155.460 MHz, 155.490 MHz, Grant Date: 02/27/2014, Expiration Date: 03/17/2024, Registrant: Ms Dept Of Transportation, 2552 N Mill Street, Jackson, MS 39215, Phone: (601) 359-1513, Fax: (601) 359-5388, Email:

30.477417 -89.681444), KUA792, 154.665 MHz, 154.905 MHz, 155.460 MHz, 155.490 MHz, 02/27/2014, 03/17/2024, Ms Dept Of Transportation, 2552 N Mill Street, Jackson, MS 39215, (601) 359-1513, (601) 359-5388, Interstate Hwy 59 1 Mi E ( Lat: 30.476306 Lon: -89.680056), Call Sign: KUA793, Licensee ID: L00001601,

Assigned Frequencies: 155.520 MHz, 155.520 MHz, Grant Date: 08/23/2000, Expiration Date: 09/25/2005, Cancellation Date: 11/16/2001, Registrant: State Of Mississippi, Jackson, MS 39215-1850, Phone: (601) 354-6206

30.476306 -89.680056), KUA793, L00001601, 155.520 MHz, 155.520 MHz, 08/23/2000, 09/25/2005, 11/16/2001, State Of Mississippi, Jackson, MS 39215-1850, (601) 354-6206 Interstate Hwy 59 .8 Mi E (Lat: 30.477417 Lon: -89.681444), Call Sign: KUA794, Licensee ID: L00001601,

Assigned Frequencies: 155.520 MHz, Grant Date: 08/23/2000, Expiration Date: 09/25/2005, Cancellation Date: 11/16/2001, Registrant: State Of Mississippi, Jackson, MS 39215-1850, Phone: (601) 354-6206

20 ( See the full list of FCC Registered Antenna Towers in Nicholson

2003 - 2018 National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) incidents According to the data from the years 2003 - 2018 the average number of fires per year is 16. The highest number of reported fire incidents - 50 took place in 2011, and the least - 0 in 2009. The data has a decreasing trend.



Fire incident types reported to NFIRS in Nicholson, MS



145 57.5% Outside Fires



72 28.6% Structure Fires



19 7.5% Mobile Property/Vehicle Fires



16 6.3% Other When looking into fire subcategories, the most incidents belonged to: Outside Fires (57.5%), and Structure Fires (28.6%). See full National Fire Incident Reporting System statistics for Nicholson, MS

Houses and condos Apartments 71.1% Electricity

21.5% Utility gas

4.6% Wood

2.8% No fuel used 89.9% Electricity

10.1% Utility gas





Nicholson compared to Mississippi state average: Median house value below state average.

below Unemployed percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Black race population percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Foreign-born population percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Number of college students significantly below state average.




North Hartland, Vermont

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Population in 2010: 302.

Males: 146 (48.5%) Females: 156 (51.5%)

Median resident age: 44.1 years Vermont median age: 42.8 years

Zip codes: 05052.

Estimated median household income in 2019: $61,999

North Hartland: $61,999 VT: $63,001

Estimated per capita income in 2019: $37,431



North Hartland CDP income, earnings, and wages data



Estimated median house or condo value in 2019: $229,923 North Hartland: $229,923 VT: $233,200

Mean prices in 2019: all housing units: $306,901; detached houses: $323,335; townhouses or other attached units: $267,298; in 2-unit structures: $268,878; in 3-to-4-unit structures: $197,610; in 5-or-more-unit structures: $208,338; mobile homes: $146,934 $61,999$37,431$229,923$306,901;$323,335;$267,298;$268,878;$197,610;$208,338;$146,934

Median gross rent in 2019: $2,254.

March 2019 cost of living index in North Hartland: 99.8 (near average, U.S. average is 100)

Percentage of residents living in poverty in 2019: 0.0%

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Most recent value % change since 2k Data: Median household income ($) Median household income (% change since 2000) Household income diversity Ratio of average income to average house value (%) Ratio of average income to average rent Median household income ($) - White Median household income ($) - Black or African American Median household income ($) - Asian Median household income ($) - Hispanic or Latino Median household income ($) - American Indian and Alaska Native Median household income ($) - Multirace Median household income ($) - Other Race Median household income for houses/condos with a mortgage ($) Median household income for apartments without a mortgage ($) Races - White alone (%) Races - White alone (% change since 2000) Races - Black alone (%) Races - Black alone (% change since 2000) Races - American Indian alone (%) Races - American Indian alone (% change since 2000) Races - Asian alone (%) Races - Asian alone (% change since 2000) Races - Hispanic (%) Races - Hispanic (% change since 2000) Races - Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone (%) Races - Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone (% change since 2000) Races - Two or more races (%) Races - Two or more races (% change since 2000) Races - Other race alone (%) Races - Other race alone (% change since 2000) Racial diversity Unemployment (%) Unemployment (% change since 2000) Unemployment (%) - White Unemployment (%) - Black or African American Unemployment (%) - Asian Unemployment (%) - Hispanic or Latino Unemployment (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Unemployment (%) - Multirace Unemployment (%) - Other Race Population density (people per square mile) Population - Males (%) Population - Females (%) Population - Males (%) - White Population - Males (%) - Black or African American Population - Males (%) - Asian Population - Males (%) - Hispanic or Latino Population - Males (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Population - Males (%) - Multirace Population - Males (%) - Other Race Population - Females (%) - White Population - Females (%) - Black or African American Population - Females (%) - Asian Population - Females (%) - Hispanic or Latino Population - Females (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Population - Females (%) - Multirace Population - Females (%) - Other Race Coronavirus confirmed cases (Nov 21, 2021) Deaths caused by coronavirus (Nov 21, 2021) Coronavirus confirmed cases (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) Deaths caused by coronavirus (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) Daily increase in number of cases (Nov 21, 2021) Weekly increase in number of cases (Nov 21, 2021) Cases doubled (in days) (Nov 21, 2021) Hospitalized patients (Nov 21, 2021) Negative test results (Nov 21, 2021) Total test results (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses distributed (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses administered (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses distributed (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses administered (Nov 21, 2021) Likely homosexual households (%) Likely homosexual households (% change since 2000) Likely homosexual households - Lesbian couples (%) Likely homosexual households - Lesbian couples (% change since 2000) Likely homosexual households - Gay men (%) Likely homosexual households - Gay men (% change since 2000) Cost of living index Median gross rent ($) Median contract rent ($) Median monthly housing costs ($) Median house or condo value ($) Median house or condo value ($ change since 2000) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 1, detached ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 1, attached ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 2 ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure by units in structure - 3 or 4 ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 5 or more ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - Boat, RV, van, etc. ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - Mobile home ($) Median house or condo value ($) - White Median house or condo value ($) - Black or African American Median house or condo value ($) - Asian Median house or condo value ($) - Hispanic or Latino Median house or condo value ($) - American Indian and Alaska Native Median house or condo value ($) - Multirace Median house or condo value ($) - Other Race Median resident age Resident age diversity Median resident age - Males Median resident age - Females Median resident age - White Median resident age - Black or African American Median resident age - Asian Median resident age - Hispanic or Latino Median resident age - American Indian and Alaska Native Median resident age - Multirace Median resident age - Other Race Median resident age - Males - White Median resident age - Males - Black or African American Median resident age - Males - Asian Median resident age - Males - Hispanic or Latino Median resident age - Males - American Indian and Alaska Native Median resident age - Males - Multirace Median resident age - Males - Other Race Median resident age - Females - White Median resident age - Females - Black or African American Median resident age - Females - Asian Median resident age - Females - Hispanic or Latino Median resident age - Females - American Indian and Alaska Native Median resident age - Females - Multirace Median resident age - Females - Other Race Commute - mean travel time to work (minutes) Travel time to work - Less than 5 minutes (%) Travel time to work - Less than 5 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 5 to 9 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 5 to 9 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 10 to 19 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 10 to 19 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 20 to 29 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 20 to 29 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 30 to 39 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 30 to 39 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 40 to 59 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 40 to 59 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 60 to 89 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 60 to 89 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 90 or more minutes (%) Travel time to work - 90 or more minutes (% change since 2000) Marital status - Never married (%) Marital status - Now married (%) Marital status - Separated (%) Marital status - Widowed (%) Marital status - Divorced (%) Median family income ($) Median family income (% change since 2000) Median non-family income ($) Median non-family income (% change since 2000) Median per capita income ($) Median per capita income (% change since 2000) Median family income ($) - White Median family income ($) - Black or African American Median family income ($) - Asian Median family income ($) - Hispanic or Latino Median family income ($) - American Indian and Alaska Native Median family income ($) - Multirace Median family income ($) - Other Race Median year house/condo built Median year apartment built Year house built - Built 2005 or later (%) Year house built - Built 2000 to 2004 (%) Year house built - Built 1990 to 1999 (%) Year house built - Built 1980 to 1989 (%) Year house built - Built 1970 to 1979 (%) Year house built - Built 1960 to 1969 (%) Year house built - Built 1950 to 1959 (%) Year house built - Built 1940 to 1949 (%) Year house built - Built 1939 or earlier (%) Average household size Household density (households per square mile) Average household size - White Average household size - Black or African American Average household size - Asian Average household size - Hispanic or Latino Average household size - American Indian and Alaska Native Average household size - Multirace Average household size - Other Race Occupied housing units (%) Vacant housing units (%) Owner occupied housing units (%) Renter occupied housing units (%) Vacancy status - For rent (%) Vacancy status - For sale only (%) Vacancy status - Rented or sold, not occupied (%) Vacancy status - For seasonal, recreational, or occasional use (%) Vacancy status - For migrant workers (%) Vacancy status - Other vacant (%) Residents with income below the poverty level (%) Residents with income below 50% of the poverty level (%) Children below poverty level (%) Poor families by family type - Married-couple family (%) Poor families by family type - Male, no wife present (%) Poor families by family type - Female, no husband present (%) Poverty status for native-born residents (%) Poverty status for foreign-born residents (%) Poverty among high school graduates not in families (%) Poverty among people who did not graduate high school not in families (%) Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - White Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Black or African American Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Asian Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Hispanic or Latino Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Multirace Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Other Race Air pollution - Air Quality Index (AQI) Air pollution - CO Air pollution - NO2 Air pollution - SO2 Air pollution - Ozone Air pollution - PM10 Air pollution - PM25 Air pollution - Pb Crime - Murders per 100,000 population Crime - Rapes per 100,000 population Crime - Robberies per 100,000 population Crime - Assaults per 100,000 population Crime - Burglaries per 100,000 population Crime - Thefts per 100,000 population Crime - Auto thefts per 100,000 population Crime - Arson per 100,000 population Crime - City-data.com crime index Crime - Violent crime index Crime - Property crime index Crime - Murders per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Rapes per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Robberies per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Assaults per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Burglaries per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Thefts per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Auto thefts per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Arson per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - City-data.com crime index (5 year average) Crime - Violent crime index (5 year average) Crime - Property crime index (5 year average) 1996 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Clinton) 1996 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Dole) 1996 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2000 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Gore) 2000 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Bush) 2000 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2004 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Kerry) 2004 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Bush) 2004 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2008 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Obama) 2008 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (McCain) 2008 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2012 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Obama) 2012 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Romney) 2012 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2016 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Clinton) 2016 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Trump) 2016 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2020 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Biden) 2020 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Trump) 2020 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other Ancestries Reported - Arab (%) Ancestries Reported - Czech (%) Ancestries Reported - Danish (%) Ancestries Reported - Dutch (%) Ancestries Reported - English (%) Ancestries Reported - French (%) Ancestries Reported - French Canadian (%) Ancestries Reported - German (%) Ancestries Reported - Greek (%) Ancestries Reported - Hungarian (%) Ancestries Reported - Irish (%) Ancestries Reported - Italian (%) Ancestries Reported - Lithuanian (%) Ancestries Reported - Norwegian (%) Ancestries Reported - Polish (%) Ancestries Reported - Portuguese (%) Ancestries Reported - Russian (%) Ancestries Reported - Scotch-Irish (%) Ancestries Reported - Scottish (%) Ancestries Reported - Slovak (%) Ancestries Reported - Subsaharan African (%) Ancestries Reported - Swedish (%) Ancestries Reported - Swiss (%) Ancestries Reported - Ukrainian (%) Ancestries Reported - United States (%) Ancestries Reported - Welsh (%) Ancestries Reported - West Indian (%) Ancestries Reported - Other (%) Educational Attainment - No schooling completed (%) Educational Attainment - Less than high school (%) Educational Attainment - High school or equivalent (%) Educational Attainment - Less than 1 year of college (%) Educational Attainment - 1 or more years of college (%) Educational Attainment - Associate degree (%) Educational Attainment - Bachelor's degree (%) Educational Attainment - Master's degree (%) Educational Attainment - Professional school degree (%) Educational Attainment - Doctorate degree (%) School Enrollment - Nursery, preschool (%) School Enrollment - Kindergarten (%) School Enrollment - Grade 1 to 4 (%) School Enrollment - Grade 5 to 8 (%) School Enrollment - Grade 9 to 12 (%) School Enrollment - College undergrad (%) School Enrollment - Graduate or professional (%) School Enrollment - Not enrolled in school (%) School enrollment - Public schools (%) School enrollment - Private schools (%) School enrollment - Not enrolled (%) Median number of rooms in houses and condos Median number of rooms in apartments Housing units lacking complete plumbing facilities (%) Housing units lacking complete kitchen facilities (%) Density of houses Urban houses (%) Rural houses (%) Households with people 60 years and over (%) Households with people 65 years and over (%) Households with people 75 years and over (%) Households with one or more nonrelatives (%) Households with no nonrelatives (%) Population in households (%) Family households (%) Nonfamily households (%) Population in families (%) Family households with own children (%) Median number of bedrooms in owner occupied houses Mean number of bedrooms in owner occupied houses Median number of bedrooms in renter occupied houses Mean number of bedrooms in renter occupied houses Median number of vehichles in owner occupied houses Mean number of vehichles in owner occupied houses Median number of vehichles in renter occupied houses Mean number of vehichles in renter occupied houses Mortgage status - with mortgage (%) Mortgage status - with second mortgage (%) Mortgage status - with home equity loan (%) Mortgage status - with both second mortgage and home equity loan (%) Mortgage status - without a mortgage (%) Average family size Average family size - White Average family size - Black or African American Average family size - Asian Average family size - Hispanic or Latino Average family size - American Indian and Alaska Native Average family size - Multirace Average family size - Other Race Geographical mobility - Same house 1 year ago (%) Geographical mobility - Moved within same county (%) Geographical mobility - Moved from different county within same state (%) Geographical mobility - Moved from different state (%) Geographical mobility - Moved from abroad (%) Place of birth - Born in state of residence (%) Place of birth - Born in other state (%) Place of birth - Native, outside of US (%) Place of birth - Foreign born (%) Housing units in structures - 1, detached (%) Housing units in structures - 1, attached (%) Housing units in structures - 2 (%) Housing units in structures - 3 or 4 (%) Housing units in structures - 5 to 9 (%) Housing units in structures - 10 to 19 (%) Housing units in structures - 20 to 49 (%) Housing units in structures - 50 or more (%) Housing units in structures - Mobile home (%) Housing units in structures - Boat, RV, van, etc. (%) House/condo owner moved in on average (years ago) Renter moved in on average (years ago) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1999 to March 2000 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1995 to 1998 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1990 to 1994 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1980 to 1989 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1970 to 1979 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1969 or earlier (%) Means of transportation to work - Drove car alone (%) Means of transportation to work - Carpooled (%) Means of transportation to work - Public transportation (%) Means of transportation to work - Bus or trolley bus (%) Means of transportation to work - Streetcar or trolley car (%) Means of transportation to work - Subway or elevated (%) Means of transportation to work - Railroad (%) Means of transportation to work - Ferryboat (%) Means of transportation to work - Taxicab (%) Means of transportation to work - Motorcycle (%) Means of transportation to work - Bicycle (%) Means of transportation to work - Walked (%) Means of transportation to work - Other means (%) Working at home (%) Industry diversity Most Common Industries - Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining (%) Most Common Industries - Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (%) Most Common Industries - Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (%) Most Common Industries - Construction (%) Most Common Industries - Manufacturing (%) Most Common Industries - Wholesale trade (%) Most Common Industries - Retail trade (%) Most Common Industries - Transportation and warehousing, and utilities (%) Most Common Industries - Transportation and warehousing (%) Most Common Industries - Utilities (%) Most Common Industries - Information (%) Most Common Industries - Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing (%) Most Common Industries - Finance and insurance (%) Most Common Industries - Real estate and rental and leasing (%) Most Common Industries - Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services (%) Most Common Industries - Professional, scientific, and technical services (%) Most Common Industries - Management of companies and enterprises (%) Most Common Industries - Administrative and support and waste management services (%) Most Common Industries - Educational services, and health care and social assistance (%) Most Common Industries - Educational services (%) Most Common Industries - Health care and social assistance (%) Most Common Industries - Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation and food services (%) Most Common Industries - Arts, entertainment, and recreation (%) Most Common Industries - Accommodation and food services (%) Most Common Industries - Other services, except public administration (%) Most Common Industries - Public administration (%) Occupation diversity Most Common Occupations - Management, business, science, and arts occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Management, business, and financial occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Management occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Business and financial operations occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Computer, engineering, and science occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Computer and mathematical occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Architecture and engineering occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Life, physical, and social science occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Education, legal, community service, arts, and media occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Community and social service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Legal occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Education, training, and library occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Health diagnosing and treating practitioners and other technical occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Health technologists and technicians (%) Most Common Occupations - Service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Healthcare support occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Protective service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Fire fighting and prevention, and other protective service workers including supervisors (%) Most Common Occupations - Law enforcement workers including supervisors (%) Most Common Occupations - Food preparation and serving related occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Personal care and service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Sales and office occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Sales and related occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Office and administrative support occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Construction and extraction occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Production, transportation, and material moving occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Production occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Transportation occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Material moving occupations (%) People in Group quarters - Institutionalized population (%) People in Group quarters - Correctional institutions (%) People in Group quarters - Federal prisons and detention centers (%) People in Group quarters - Halfway houses (%) People in Group quarters - Local jails and other confinement facilities (including police lockups) (%) People in Group quarters - Military disciplinary barracks (%) People in Group quarters - State prisons (%) People in Group quarters - Other types of correctional institutions (%) People in Group quarters - Nursing homes (%) People in Group quarters - Hospitals/wards, hospices, and schools for the handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Hospitals/wards and hospices for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Hospices or homes for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Military hospitals or wards for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Other hospitals or wards for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Hospitals or wards for drug/alcohol abuse (%) People in Group quarters - Mental (Psychiatric) hospitals or wards (%) People in Group quarters - Schools, hospitals, or wards for the mentally retarded (%) People in Group quarters - Schools, hospitals, or wards for the physically handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Institutions for the deaf (%) People in Group quarters - Institutions for the blind (%) People in Group quarters - Orthopedic wards and institutions for the physically handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Wards in general hospitals for patients who have no usual home elsewhere (%) People in Group quarters - Wards in military hospitals for patients who have no usual home elsewhere (%) People in Group quarters - Juvenile institutions (%) People in Group quarters - Long-term care (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for abused, dependent, and neglected children (%) People in Group quarters - Residential treatment centers for emotionally disturbed children (%) People in Group quarters - Training schools for juvenile delinquents (%) People in Group quarters - Short-term care, detention or diagnostic centers for delinquent children (%) People in Group quarters - Type of juvenile institution unknown (%) People in Group quarters - Noninstitutionalized population (%) People in Group quarters - College dormitories (includes college quarters off campus) (%) People in Group quarters - Military quarters (%) People in Group quarters - On base (%) People in Group quarters - Barracks, unaccompanied personnel housing (UPH), (Enlisted/Officer), ;and similar group living quarters for military personnel (%) People in Group quarters - Transient quarters for temporary residents (%) People in Group quarters - Military ships (%) People in Group quarters - Group homes (%) People in Group quarters - Homes or halfway houses for drug/alcohol abuse (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for the mentally ill (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for the mentally retarded (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for the physically handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Other group homes (%) People in Group quarters - Religious group quarters (%) People in Group quarters - Dormitories (%) People in Group quarters - Agriculture workers' dormitories on farms (%) People in Group quarters - Job Corps and vocational training facilities (%) People in Group quarters - Other workers' dormitories (%) People in Group quarters - Crews of maritime vessels (%) People in Group quarters - Other nonhousehold living situations (%) People in Group quarters - Other noninstitutional group quarters (%) Residents speaking English at home (%) Residents speaking English at home - Born in the United States (%) Residents speaking English at home - Native, born elsewhere (%) Residents speaking English at home - Foreign born (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home - Born in the United States (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home - Native, born elsewhere (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home - Foreign born (%) Residents speaking other language at home (%) Residents speaking other language at home - Born in the United States (%) Residents speaking other language at home - Native, born elsewhere (%) Residents speaking other language at home - Foreign born (%) Class of Workers - Employee of private company (%) Class of Workers - Self-employed in own incorporated business (%) Class of Workers - Private not-for-profit wage and salary workers (%) Class of Workers - Local government workers (%) Class of Workers - State government workers (%) Class of Workers - Federal government workers (%) Class of Workers - Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business and Unpaid family workers (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Utility gas (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Bottled, tank, or LP gas (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Electricity (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Fuel oil, kerosene, etc. (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Coal or coke (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Wood (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Solar energy (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Other fuel (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - No fuel used (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Utility gas (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Bottled, tank, or LP gas (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Electricity (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Fuel oil, kerosene, etc. (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Coal or coke (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Wood (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Solar energy (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Other fuel (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - No fuel used (%) Armed forces status - In Armed Forces (%) Armed forces status - Civilian (%) Armed forces status - Civilian - Veteran (%) Armed forces status - Civilian - Nonveteran (%) Fatal accidents locations in years 2005-2019 Fatal accidents locations in 2005 Fatal accidents locations in 2006 Fatal accidents locations in 2007 Fatal accidents locations in 2008 Fatal accidents locations in 2009 Fatal accidents locations in 2010 Fatal accidents locations in 2011 Fatal accidents locations in 2012 Fatal accidents locations in 2013 Fatal accidents locations in 2014 Fatal accidents locations in 2015 Fatal accidents locations in 2016 Fatal accidents locations in 2017 Fatal accidents locations in 2018 Fatal accidents locations in 2019 Alcohol use - People drinking some alcohol every month (%) Alcohol use - People not drinking at all (%) Alcohol use - Average days/month drinking alcohol Alcohol use - Average drinks/week Alcohol use - Average days/year people drink much Audiometry - Average condition of hearing (%) Audiometry - People that can hear a whisper from across a quiet room (%) Audiometry - People that can hear normal voice from across a quiet room (%) Audiometry - Ears ringing, roaring, buzzing (%) Audiometry - Had a job exposure to loud noise (%) Audiometry - Had off-work exposure to loud noise (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Has high blood pressure (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Checking blood pressure at home (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Frequently checking blood cholesterol (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Has high cholesterol level (%) Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on food at supermarket/grocery store Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on food at other stores Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on eating out Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on carryout/delivered foods Consumer Behavior - Income spent on food at supermarket/grocery store (%) Consumer Behavior - Income spent on food at other stores (%) Consumer Behavior - Income spent on eating out (%) Consumer Behavior - Income spent on carryout/delivered foods (%) Current Health Status - General health condition (%) Current Health Status - Blood donors (%) Current Health Status - Has blood ever tested for HIV virus (%) Current Health Status - Left-handed people (%) Dermatology - People using sunscreen (%) Diabetes - Diabetics (%) Diabetes - Had a blood test for high blood sugar (%) Diabetes - People taking insulin (%) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Diet health (%) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Milk product consumption (# of products/month) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Meals not home prepared (#/week) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Meals from fast food or pizza place (#/week) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Ready-to-eat foods (#/month) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Frozen meals/pizza (#/month) Drug Use - People that ever used marijuana or hashish (%) Drug Use - Ever used hard drugs (%) Drug Use - Ever used any form of cocaine (%) Drug Use - Ever used heroin (%) Drug Use - Ever used methamphetamine (%) Health Insurance - People covered by health insurance (%) Kidney Conditions-Urology - Avg. # of times urinating at night Medical Conditions - People with asthma (%) Medical Conditions - People with anemia (%) Medical Conditions - People with psoriasis (%) Medical Conditions - People with overweight (%) Medical Conditions - Elderly people having difficulties in thinking or remembering (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever received blood transfusion (%) Medical Conditions - People having trouble seeing even with glass/contacts (%) Medical Conditions - People with arthritis (%) Medical Conditions - People with gout (%) Medical Conditions - People with congestive heart failure (%) Medical Conditions - People with coronary heart disease (%) Medical Conditions - People with angina pectoris (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever had heart attack (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever had stroke (%) Medical Conditions - People with emphysema (%) Medical Conditions - People with thyroid problem (%) Medical Conditions - People with chronic bronchitis (%) Medical Conditions - People with any liver condition (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever had cancer or malignancy (%) Mental Health - People who have little interest in doing things (%) Mental Health - People feeling down, depressed, or hopeless (%) Mental Health - People who have trouble sleeping or sleeping too much (%) Mental Health - People feeling tired or having little energy (%) Mental Health - People with poor appetite or overeating (%) Mental Health - People feeling bad about themself (%) Mental Health - People who have trouble concentrating on things (%) Mental Health - People moving or speaking slowly or too fast (%) Mental Health - People having thoughts they would be better off dead (%) Oral Health - Average years since last visit a dentist Oral Health - People embarrassed because of mouth (%) Oral Health - People with gum disease (%) Oral Health - General health of teeth and gums (%) Oral Health - Average days a week using dental floss/device Oral Health - Average days a week using mouthwash for dental problem Oral Health - Average number of teeth Pesticide Use - Households using pesticides to control insects (%) Pesticide Use - Households using pesticides to kill weeds (%) Physical Activity - People doing vigorous-intensity work activities (%) Physical Activity - People doing moderate-intensity work activities (%) Physical Activity - People walking or bicycling (%) Physical Activity - People doing vigorous-intensity recreational activities (%) Physical Activity - People doing moderate-intensity recreational activities (%) Physical Activity - Average hours a day doing sedentary activities Physical Activity - Average hours a day watching TV or videos Physical Activity - Average hours a day using computer Physical Functioning - People having limitations keeping them from working (%) Physical Functioning - People limited in amount of work they can do (%) Physical Functioning - People that need special equipment to walk (%) Physical Functioning - People experiencing confusion/memory problems (%) Physical Functioning - People requiring special healthcare equipment (%) Prescription Medications - Average number of prescription medicines taking Preventive Aspirin Use - Adults 40+ taking low-dose aspirin (%) Reproductive Health - Vaginal deliveries (%) Reproductive Health - Cesarean deliveries (%) Reproductive Health - Deliveries resulted in a live birth (%) Reproductive Health - Pregnancies resulted in a delivery (%) Reproductive Health - Women breastfeeding newborns (%) Reproductive Health - Women that had a hysterectomy (%) Reproductive Health - Women that had both ovaries removed (%) Reproductive Health - Women that have ever taken birth control pills (%) Reproductive Health - Women taking birth control pills (%) Reproductive Health - Women that have ever used Depo-Provera or injectables (%) Reproductive Health - Women that have ever used female hormones (%) Sexual Behavior - People 18+ that ever had sex (vaginal, anal, or oral) (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever had vaginal sex with a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever performed oral sex on a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever had anal sex with a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever had any sex with a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever had vaginal sex with a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever performed oral sex on a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever had anal sex with a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever had any kind of sex with a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Average age people first had sex Sexual Behavior - Average number of female sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of female vaginal sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average age people first performed oral sex on a woman (18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of woman performed oral sex on in lifetime (18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male anal sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average age people first performed oral sex on a man (18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male oral sex partners in lifetime (18+) Sexual Behavior - People using protection when performing oral sex (%) Sexual Behavior - Average number of times people have vaginal or anal sex a year Sexual Behavior - People having sex without condom (%) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male sex partners in lifetime (females 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male vaginal sex partners in lifetime (females 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of female sex partners in lifetime (females 18+) Sexual Behavior - Circumcised males 18+ (%) Sleep Disorders - Average hours sleeping at night Sleep Disorders - People that has trouble sleeping (%) Smoking-Cigarette Use - People smoking cigarettes (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ having problems with smell (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ having problems with taste (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had wisdom teeth removed (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had tonsils teeth removed (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had a loss of consciousness because of a head injury (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had a broken nose or other serious injury to face or skull (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had two or more sinus infections (%) Weight - Average height (inches) Weight - Average weight (pounds) Weight - Average BMI Weight - People that are obese (%) Weight - People that ever were obese (%) Weight - People trying to lose weight (%) Settings Get link Loading data... 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According to our research of Vermont and other state lists, there was 1 registered sex offender living in North Hartland, Vermont as of November 22, 2021.

The ratio of all residents to sex offenders in North Hartland is 118 to 1.





Ancestries: French Canadian (43.3%), English (20.6%), Canadian (14.2%), Irish (9.9%), Scotch-Irish (6.4%), French (5.7%).

Current Local Time: EST time zone

Elevation: 365 feet

19 residents are foreign born (8.4% North America). This place: 8.4% Vermont: 4.7%

Median real estate property taxes paid for housing units with mortgages in 2019: $1,862 (0.8%)



Latitude: 43.59 N, Longitude: 72.35 W

Unemployment in November 2020:

Here: 2.6% Vermont: 2.8%

Air pollution and air quality trends

(lower is better) AQI SO 2 Ozone PM 2.5

Air Quality Index (AQI) level in 2018 was 57.3. This is better than average. City: 57.3 U.S.: 74.2

Sulfur Dioxide (SO 2 ) [ppb] level in 2001 was 4.62. This is significantly worse than average. Closest monitor was 15.8 miles away from the city center. City: 4.62 U.S.: 1.79

Ozone [ppb] level in 2018 was 24.6. This is better than average. Closest monitor was 3.3 miles away from the city center. City: 24.6 U.S.: 33.3

Particulate Matter (PM 2.5 ) [g/m3] level in 2018 was 6.34. This is better than average. Closest monitor was 3.3 miles away from the city center. City: 6.34 U.S.: 8.46

Tornado activity: North Hartland-area historical tornado activity is slightly above Vermont state average. It is 63% smaller than the overall U.S. average.

On 8/20/1968, a category F3 (max. wind speeds 158-206 mph) tornado 40.9 miles away from the North Hartland place center injured one person and caused between $5000 and $50,000 in damages. On 7/9/1962, a category F2 (max. wind speeds 113-157 mph) tornado 16.5 miles away from the place center caused between $5000 and $50,000 in damages.

Earthquake activity: North Hartland-area historical earthquake activity is significantly above Vermont state average. It is 70% smaller than the overall U.S. average.



On 4/20/2002 at 10:50:47, a magnitude 5.3 (5.3 ML, Depth: 3.0 mi, Class: Moderate, Intensity: VI - VII) earthquake occurred 92.3 miles away from the city center

On 10/7/1983 at 10:18:46, a magnitude 5.3 (5.1 MB, 5.3 LG, 5.1 ML) earthquake occurred 102.5 miles away from North Hartland center

On 4/20/2002 at 10:50:47, a magnitude 5.2 (5.2 MB, 4.2 MS, 5.2 MW, 5.0 MW) earthquake occurred 91.9 miles away from North Hartland center

On 1/19/1982 at 00:14:42, a magnitude 4.7 (4.5 MB, 4.7 MD, 4.5 LG, Class: Light, Intensity: IV - V) earthquake occurred 38.3 miles away from the city center

On 10/16/2012 at 23:12:25, a magnitude 4.7 (4.7 ML, Depth: 10.0 mi) earthquake occurred 85.0 miles away from the city center

On 6/16/1995 at 12:13:11, a magnitude 3.8 (3.8 LG, Depth: 3.1 mi, Class: Light, Intensity: II - III) earthquake occurred 52.7 miles away from the city center

Magnitude types: regional Lg-wave magnitude (LG), body-wave magnitude (MB), duration magnitude (MD), local magnitude (ML), surface-wave magnitude (MS), moment magnitude (MW)

Natural disasters: The number of natural disasters in Windsor County (20) is greater than the US average (15).

Major Disasters (Presidential) Declared: 16

Emergencies Declared: 2



Causes of natural disasters: Floods: 14, Storms: 13, Tropical Storms: 2, Heavy Rain: 1, Hurricane: 1, Ice Storm: 1, Landslide: 1, Snowstorm: 1, Wind: 1, Winter Storm: 1 (Note: some incidents may be assigned to more than one category).

Hospitals and medical centers near North Hartland: WHITE RIVER JCT VA MEDICAL CENTER (Hospital, Acute Care - Veterans Administration, about 5 miles away; WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, VT)

BROOKSIDE HEALTH AND REHABILITATION (Nursing Home, about 6 miles away; WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, VT)

VNA AND HOSPICE OF VERMONT AND NH (Hospital, about 8 miles away; WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, VT)

MT ASCUTNEY HOSPITAL Critical Access Hospitals (about 8 miles away; WINDSOR, VT)

Critical Access Hospitals FRESENIUS MEDICAL CARE OF LEBANON (Dialysis Facility, about 8 miles away; LEBANON, NH)

HANOVER TERRACE HEALTHCARE (Nursing Home, about 10 miles away; HANOVER, NH)

KENDAL AT HANOVER (Nursing Home, about 11 miles away; HANOVER, NH)

Amtrak stations near North Hartland: 5 miles: WHITE RIVER JUNCTION (RAILROAD ROW) . Services: ticket office, fully wheelchair accessible, enclosed waiting area, public restrooms, public payphones, free short-term parking, paid long-term parking, call for car rental service, call for taxi service, public transit connection.

WHITE RIVER JUNCTION (RAILROAD ROW) . ticket office, fully wheelchair accessible, enclosed waiting area, public restrooms, public payphones, free short-term parking, paid long-term parking, call for car rental service, call for taxi service, public transit connection. 8 miles: WINDSOR-MOUNT ASCUTNEY (WINDSOR, DEPOT AVE.) . Services: public payphones, free short-term parking, free long-term parking, call for car rental service, intercity bus service.

WINDSOR-MOUNT ASCUTNEY (WINDSOR, DEPOT AVE.) . public payphones, free short-term parking, free long-term parking, call for car rental service, intercity bus service. 16 miles: CLAREMONT (PLAINS RD.) . Services: public payphones, free short-term parking, free long-term parking.

Colleges/universities with over 2000 students nearest to North Hartland: Dartmouth College ( about 9 miles; Hanover, NH ; Full-time enrollment: 6,030)

9 ; 6,030) Plymouth State University ( about 35 miles; Plymouth, NH ; FT enrollment: 4,838)

35 ; 4,838) Norwich University ( about 41 miles; Northfield, VT ; FT enrollment: 4,221)

41 ; 4,221) Castleton State College ( about 42 miles; Castleton, VT ; FT enrollment: 2,079)

42 ; 2,079) Keene State College ( about 47 miles; Keene, NH ; FT enrollment: 5,098)

47 ; 5,098) NHTI-Concord's Community College ( about 49 miles; Concord, NH ; FT enrollment: 2,865)

49 ; 2,865) Middlebury College (about 51 miles; Middlebury, VT; FT enrollment: 3,077)

Windsor County has a predicted average indoor radon screening level between 2 and 4 pCi/L (pico curies per liter) - Moderate Potential

Drinking water stations with addresses in North Hartland and their reported violations in the past: NORTH HARTLAND LAKE (Population served: 350, Groundwater): Past health violations: MCL, Monthly (TCR) - In AUG-2007, Contaminant: Coliform. Follow-up actions: St Boil Water Order (NOV-14-2007), St Formal NOV issued (NOV-14-2007), St Tech Assistance Visit (NOV-14-2007), St Public Notif requested (NOV-14-2007), St Public Notif received (NOV-26-2007), St Compliance achieved (SEP-25-2009) Past monitoring violations: 2 routine major monitoring violations UNION VILLAGE DAM (Population served: 25, Groundwater): Past health violations: MCL, Monthly (TCR) - In AUG-2009, Contaminant: Coliform. Follow-up actions: St Tech Assistance Visit (AUG-27-2009), St Formal NOV issued (AUG-27-2009), St Public Notif requested (AUG-27-2009), St Boil Water Order (AUG-27-2009), St Compliance achieved (FEB-07-2011) Past monitoring violations: One minor monitoring violation NORTH HARTLAND LAKE (350Groundwater):UNION VILLAGE DAM (25Groundwater):

Average household size: This place: 2.3 people Vermont: 2.3 people

Percentage of family households: This place: 62.6% Whole state: 62.5%

Percentage of households with unmarried partners: This place: 7.6% Whole state: 9.2%



Likely homosexual households (counted as self-reported same-sex unmarried-partner households) Lesbian couples: 2.3% of all households

2.3% Gay men: 0.0% of all households

For population 15 years and over in North Hartland: Never married: 40.8%

40.8% Now married: 43.0%

43.0% Separated: 0.0%

0.0% Widowed: 5.1%

5.1% Divorced: 11.1%

For population 25 years and over in North Hartland: High school or higher: 100.0%

100.0% Bachelor's degree or higher: 40.9%

40.9% Graduate or professional degree: 20.5%

Education Gini index (Inequality in education) Here: 10.7 Vermont average: 10.9



Religion statistics for North Hartland, VT (based on Windsor County data) Religion Adherents Congregations Catholic 6,485 10 Mainline Protestant 4,700 45 Other 1,964 17 Evangelical Protestant 1,750 21 Orthodox 55 1 None 41,716 - Source: Clifford Grammich, Kirk Hadaway, Richard Houseal, Dale E.Jones, Alexei Krindatch, Richie Stanley and Richard H.Taylor. 2012. 2010 U.S.Religion Census: Religious Congregations & Membership Study. Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies. Jones, Dale E., et al. 2002. Congregations and Membership in the United States 2000. Nashville, TN: Glenmary Research Center. Graphs represent county-level data

Food Environment Statistics: Number of grocery stores: 28 Here : 4.93 / 10,000 pop. State : 3.84 / 10,000 pop. Number of convenience stores (no gas): 7 This county : 1.23 / 10,000 pop. Vermont : 1.95 / 10,000 pop. Number of convenience stores (with gas): 45 Here : 7.93 / 10,000 pop. State : 6.40 / 10,000 pop. Number of full-service restaurants: 85 This county : 14.97 / 10,000 pop. Vermont : 11.52 / 10,000 pop. Adult diabetes rate: This county : 7.1% Vermont : 6.8% Adult obesity rate: Windsor County : 22.8% Vermont : 22.3% Low-income preschool obesity rate: This county : 9.7% Vermont : 13.3%

6.86% of this county's 2016 resident taxpayers lived in other counties in 2015 ($56,226 average adjusted gross income) Here: 6.86% Vermont average: 5.96% 10 or fewer of this county's residents moved from foreign countries between 2015 and 2016.

Top counties from which taxpayers relocated into this county between 2015 and 2016:

from Grafton County, NH 1.00% ($55,796 average AGI) from Orange County, VT 0.52% ($35,195) from Rutland County, VT 0.41% ($42,971)



6.92% of this county's 2015 resident taxpayers moved to other counties in 2016 ($54,435 average adjusted gross income) Here: 6.92% Vermont average: 6.30% 10 or fewer of this county's residents moved to foreign countries between 2015 and 2016.

Top counties to which taxpayers relocated from this county between 2015 and 2016:

to Grafton County, NH 0.80% ($72,721 average AGI) to Orange County, VT 0.59% ($33,513) to Sullivan County, NH 0.48% ($55,320)

Strongest AM radio stations in North Hartland: WNHV (910 AM; 1 kW; WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, VT)

WNTK (1020 AM; 10 kW; NEWPORT, NH; Owner: KOOR COMMUNICATIONS, INC.)

KOOR COMMUNICATIONS, INC.) WTSL (1400 AM; 1 kW; HANOVER, NH; Owner: CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP)

CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP) WDCR (1340 AM; 1 kW; HANOVER, NH; Owner: TRUSTEES OF DARTMOUTH COLLEGE)

TRUSTEES OF DARTMOUTH COLLEGE) WRKO (680 AM; 50 kW; BOSTON, MA; Owner: ENTERCOM BOSTON LICENSE, LLC)

ENTERCOM BOSTON LICENSE, LLC) WNNZ (640 AM; 50 kW; WESTFIELD, MA; Owner: CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.)

CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.) WNBX (1480 AM; 5 kW; SPRINGFIELD, VT)

WCRN (830 AM; 50 kW; WORCESTER, MA; Owner: CARTER BROADCASTING CORPORATION)

CARTER BROADCASTING CORPORATION) WGY (810 AM; 50 kW; SCHENECTADY, NY; Owner: CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.)

CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.) WEEI (850 AM; 50 kW; BOSTON, MA; Owner: ENTERCOM BOSTON LICENSE, LLC)

ENTERCOM BOSTON LICENSE, LLC) WKOX (1200 AM; 50 kW; FRAMINGHAM, MA; Owner: CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP)

CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP) WCHP (760 AM; 35 kW; CHAMPLAIN, NY; Owner: CHAMPLAIN RADIO, INC.)

CHAMPLAIN RADIO, INC.) WBIX (1060 AM; 40 kW; NATICK, MA; Owner: LANGER BROADCASTING CORPORATION) Strongest FM radio stations in North Hartland: WVPR (89.5 FM; WINDSOR, VT; Owner: VERMONT PUBLIC RADIO)

VERMONT PUBLIC RADIO) WXXK (100.5 FM; LEBANON, NH; Owner: CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP)

CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP) WWOD (104.3 FM; HARTFORD, VT; Owner: FAMILY BROADCASTING, INC.)

FAMILY BROADCASTING, INC.) WMXR (93.9 FM; WOODSTOCK, VT; Owner: CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.)

CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.) WHDQ (106.1 FM; CLAREMONT, NH; Owner: GREAT NORTHERN RADIO, L.L.C.)

GREAT NORTHERN RADIO, L.L.C.) W232AP (94.3 FM; WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, VT; Owner: CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.)

CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.) WEVH (91.3 FM; HANOVER, NH; Owner: NEW HAMPSHIRE PUBLIC RADIO INC)

NEW HAMPSHIRE PUBLIC RADIO INC) WJJR (98.1 FM; RUTLAND, VT; Owner: 6 JOHNSON ROAD LICENSES, INC.)

6 JOHNSON ROAD LICENSES, INC.) WZRT (97.1 FM; RUTLAND, VT; Owner: CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP)

CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP) WGXL (92.3 FM; HANOVER, NH; Owner: CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP)

CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP) WEBK (105.3 FM; KILLINGTON, VT; Owner: 6 JOHNSON ROAD LICENSES, INC.)

6 JOHNSON ROAD LICENSES, INC.) WVRR (101.7 FM; NEWPORT, NH; Owner: CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP)

CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP) W294AB (106.7 FM; HANOVER, NH; Owner: GREAT NORTHERN RADIO, L.L.C.)

GREAT NORTHERN RADIO, L.L.C.) WFRD (99.3 FM; HANOVER, NH; Owner: TRUSTEES OF DARTMOUTH COLLEGE)

TRUSTEES OF DARTMOUTH COLLEGE) WGLV (91.7 FM; WOODSTOCK, VT; Owner: CHRISTIAN MINISTRIES INC)

CHRISTIAN MINISTRIES INC) WHDQ-FM1 (106.1 FM; RUTLAND, VT; Owner: GREAT NORTHERN RADIO, L.L.C.)

GREAT NORTHERN RADIO, L.L.C.) W272AU (102.3 FM; HANOVER, ETC., NH; Owner: CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP)

CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP) W280CS (103.9 FM; HANOVER, ETC., NH; Owner: CHRISTIAN MINISTRIES, INC.)

CHRISTIAN MINISTRIES, INC.) WSSH (95.3 FM; WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, VT; Owner: GREAT NORTHERN RADIO, L.L.C.)

GREAT NORTHERN RADIO, L.L.C.) WRJT (103.1 FM; ROYALTON, VT; Owner: LISBON COMMUNICATIONS, INC.) TV broadcast stations around North Hartland: WVTA ( Channel 41; WINDSOR, VT; Owner: VERMONT ETV, INC.)

41; WINDSOR, VT; VERMONT ETV, INC.) W15BK ( Channel 15; HANOVER, NH; Owner: UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE)

15; HANOVER, NH; UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE) WNNE ( Channel 31; HARTFORD, VT; Owner: HEARST-ARGYLE STATIONS, INC.)

31; HARTFORD, VT; HEARST-ARGYLE STATIONS, INC.) W17CI ( Channel 17; CLAREMONT, NH; Owner: UPPER VALLEY BROADCASTING, LLC)

17; CLAREMONT, NH; UPPER VALLEY BROADCASTING, LLC) W65AM (Channel 65; LEBANON, ETC., NH; Owner: HEARST-ARGYLE STATIONS, INC.)



FCC Registered Broadcast Land Mobile Towers: 1 Rt 5 (Lat: 43.643139 Lon: -72.345639), Structure height: 6 m, Call Sign: KNDL801,

Assigned Frequencies: 456.425 MHz, 456.500 MHz, Grant Date: 09/09/2011, Expiration Date: 10/16/2021, Cancellation Date: 11/14/2012, Certifier: Shirley J Linn, Registrant: Fairpoint Communications, Inc., 521 East Morehead Street Suite 500, Charlotte, NC 28202, Phone: (704) 344-8150, Fax: (704) 344-1594, Email:

FCC Registered Amateur Radio Licenses: 4 Call Sign: KB1BJC, Licensee ID: L00197450, Grant Date: 07/19/2005, Expiration Date: 07/14/2014, Cancellation Date: 07/15/2016, Certifier: Karen L Ekstrom, Registrant: Karen L Ekstrom, North Hartland, VT 05052

KB1BJC, L00197450, 07/19/2005, 07/14/2014, 07/15/2016, Karen L Ekstrom, Karen L Ekstrom, North Hartland, VT 05052 Call Sign: N1HZB, Licensee ID: L00490396, Grant Date: 06/16/2012, Expiration Date: 06/23/2022, Registrant: Philip J Adams, 660 Us Route 5, North Hartland, VT 05052

N1HZB, L00490396, 06/16/2012, 06/23/2022, Philip J Adams, 660 Us Route 5, North Hartland, VT 05052 Call Sign: WC1S, Licensee ID: L01466533, Grant Date: 05/21/2019, Expiration Date: 07/20/2029, Registrant: Ronald S Kobylenski, North Hartland, VT 05052

WC1S, L01466533, 05/21/2019, 07/20/2029, Ronald S Kobylenski, North Hartland, VT 05052 Call Sign: KC1AFH, Licensee ID: L01748409, Grant Date: 07/17/2013, Expiration Date: 07/17/2023, Certifier: Kevin E White, Registrant: Kevin E White, North Hartland, VT 05052



Houses and condos Apartments 47.2% Fuel oil, kerosene, etc.

38.9% Bottled, tank, or LP gas

13.9% Wood 52.0% Other fuel

48.0% Fuel oil, kerosene, etc.





North Hartland compared to Vermont state average: Unemployed percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Black race population percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Hispanic race population percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Median age below state average.

below Length of stay since moving in below state average.

below House age above state average.

above Number of college students below state average.

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Orange, Connecticut

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Population in 2010: 13,956.

Population change since 2000: +5.5%

Males: 6,810 (48.8%) Females: 7,146 (51.2%)

Median resident age: 46.5 years Connecticut median age: 41.2 years

Zip codes: 06477.

Estimated median household income in 2019: $121,041 (it was $79,365 in 2000)

Orange: $121,041 CT: $78,833

Estimated per capita income in 2019: $54,666 (it was $36,471 in 2000)



Orange CDP income, earnings, and wages data



Estimated median house or condo value in 2019: $394,448 (it was $254,200 in 2000) Orange: $394,448 CT: $280,700

Mean prices in 2019: all housing units: $286,890; detached houses: $312,086; townhouses or other attached units: $188,225; in 2-unit structures: $202,190; in 3-to-4-unit structures: $175,155; in 5-or-more-unit structures: $145,618; mobile homes: $75,104 $121,041 ($79,365$54,666 ($36,471$394,448 ($254,200$286,890;$312,086;$188,225;$202,190;$175,155;$145,618;$75,104

Median gross rent in 2019: $1,645.

March 2019 cost of living index in Orange: 130.7 (high, U.S. average is 100)

Percentage of residents living in poverty in 2019: 2.6%

(2.4% for White Non-Hispanic residents, 20.5% for Hispanic or Latino residents, 2.9% for other race residents)

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Most recent value % change since 2k Data: Median household income ($) Median household income (% change since 2000) Household income diversity Ratio of average income to average house value (%) Ratio of average income to average rent Median household income ($) - White Median household income ($) - Black or African American Median household income ($) - Asian Median household income ($) - Hispanic or Latino Median household income ($) - American Indian and Alaska Native Median household income ($) - Multirace Median household income ($) - Other Race Median household income for houses/condos with a mortgage ($) Median household income for apartments without a mortgage ($) Races - White alone (%) Races - White alone (% change since 2000) Races - Black alone (%) Races - Black alone (% change since 2000) Races - American Indian alone (%) Races - American Indian alone (% change since 2000) Races - Asian alone (%) Races - Asian alone (% change since 2000) Races - Hispanic (%) Races - Hispanic (% change since 2000) Races - Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone (%) Races - Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone (% change since 2000) Races - Two or more races (%) Races - Two or more races (% change since 2000) Races - Other race alone (%) Races - Other race alone (% change since 2000) Racial diversity Unemployment (%) Unemployment (% change since 2000) Unemployment (%) - White Unemployment (%) - Black or African American Unemployment (%) - Asian Unemployment (%) - Hispanic or Latino Unemployment (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Unemployment (%) - Multirace Unemployment (%) - Other Race Population density (people per square mile) Population - Males (%) Population - Females (%) Population - Males (%) - White Population - Males (%) - Black or African American Population - Males (%) - Asian Population - Males (%) - Hispanic or Latino Population - Males (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Population - Males (%) - Multirace Population - Males (%) - Other Race Population - Females (%) - White Population - Females (%) - Black or African American Population - Females (%) - Asian Population - Females (%) - Hispanic or Latino Population - Females (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Population - Females (%) - Multirace Population - Females (%) - Other Race Coronavirus confirmed cases (Nov 21, 2021) Deaths caused by coronavirus (Nov 21, 2021) Coronavirus confirmed cases (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) Deaths caused by coronavirus (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) Daily increase in number of cases (Nov 21, 2021) Weekly increase in number of cases (Nov 21, 2021) Cases doubled (in days) (Nov 21, 2021) Hospitalized patients (Nov 21, 2021) Negative test results (Nov 21, 2021) Total test results (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses distributed (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses administered (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses distributed (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses administered (Nov 21, 2021) Likely homosexual households (%) Likely homosexual households (% change since 2000) Likely homosexual households - Lesbian couples (%) Likely homosexual households - Lesbian couples (% change since 2000) Likely homosexual households - Gay men (%) Likely homosexual households - Gay men (% change since 2000) Cost of living index Median gross rent ($) Median contract rent ($) Median monthly housing costs ($) Median house or condo value ($) Median house or condo value ($ change since 2000) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 1, detached ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 1, attached ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 2 ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure by units in structure - 3 or 4 ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 5 or more ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - Boat, RV, van, etc. ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - Mobile home ($) Median house or condo value ($) - White Median house or condo value ($) - Black or African American Median house or condo value ($) - Asian Median house or condo value ($) - Hispanic or Latino Median house or condo value ($) - American Indian and Alaska Native Median house or condo value ($) - Multirace Median house or condo value ($) - Other Race Median resident age Resident age diversity Median resident age - Males Median resident age - Females Median resident age - White Median resident age - Black or African American Median resident age - Asian Median resident age - Hispanic or Latino Median resident age - American Indian and Alaska Native Median resident age - Multirace Median resident age - Other Race Median resident age - Males - White Median resident age - Males - Black or African American Median resident age - Males - Asian Median resident age - Males - Hispanic or Latino Median resident age - Males - American Indian and Alaska Native Median resident age - Males - Multirace Median resident age - Males - Other Race Median resident age - Females - White Median resident age - Females - Black or African American Median resident age - Females - Asian Median resident age - Females - Hispanic or Latino Median resident age - Females - American Indian and Alaska Native Median resident age - Females - Multirace Median resident age - Females - Other Race Commute - mean travel time to work (minutes) Travel time to work - Less than 5 minutes (%) Travel time to work - Less than 5 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 5 to 9 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 5 to 9 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 10 to 19 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 10 to 19 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 20 to 29 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 20 to 29 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 30 to 39 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 30 to 39 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 40 to 59 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 40 to 59 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 60 to 89 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 60 to 89 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 90 or more minutes (%) Travel time to work - 90 or more minutes (% change since 2000) Marital status - Never married (%) Marital status - Now married (%) Marital status - Separated (%) Marital status - Widowed (%) Marital status - Divorced (%) Median family income ($) Median family income (% change since 2000) Median non-family income ($) Median non-family income (% change since 2000) Median per capita income ($) Median per capita income (% change since 2000) Median family income ($) - White Median family income ($) - Black or African American Median family income ($) - Asian Median family income ($) - Hispanic or Latino Median family income ($) - American Indian and Alaska Native Median family income ($) - Multirace Median family income ($) - Other Race Median year house/condo built Median year apartment built Year house built - Built 2005 or later (%) Year house built - Built 2000 to 2004 (%) Year house built - Built 1990 to 1999 (%) Year house built - Built 1980 to 1989 (%) Year house built - Built 1970 to 1979 (%) Year house built - Built 1960 to 1969 (%) Year house built - Built 1950 to 1959 (%) Year house built - Built 1940 to 1949 (%) Year house built - Built 1939 or earlier (%) Average household size Household density (households per square mile) Average household size - White Average household size - Black or African American Average household size - Asian Average household size - Hispanic or Latino Average household size - American Indian and Alaska Native Average household size - Multirace Average household size - Other Race Occupied housing units (%) Vacant housing units (%) Owner occupied housing units (%) Renter occupied housing units (%) Vacancy status - For rent (%) Vacancy status - For sale only (%) Vacancy status - Rented or sold, not occupied (%) Vacancy status - For seasonal, recreational, or occasional use (%) Vacancy status - For migrant workers (%) Vacancy status - Other vacant (%) Residents with income below the poverty level (%) Residents with income below 50% of the poverty level (%) Children below poverty level (%) Poor families by family type - Married-couple family (%) Poor families by family type - Male, no wife present (%) Poor families by family type - Female, no husband present (%) Poverty status for native-born residents (%) Poverty status for foreign-born residents (%) Poverty among high school graduates not in families (%) Poverty among people who did not graduate high school not in families (%) Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - White Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Black or African American Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Asian Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Hispanic or Latino Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Multirace Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Other Race Air pollution - Air Quality Index (AQI) Air pollution - CO Air pollution - NO2 Air pollution - SO2 Air pollution - Ozone Air pollution - PM10 Air pollution - PM25 Air pollution - Pb Crime - Murders per 100,000 population Crime - Rapes per 100,000 population Crime - Robberies per 100,000 population Crime - Assaults per 100,000 population Crime - Burglaries per 100,000 population Crime - Thefts per 100,000 population Crime - Auto thefts per 100,000 population Crime - Arson per 100,000 population Crime - City-data.com crime index Crime - Violent crime index Crime - Property crime index Crime - Murders per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Rapes per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Robberies per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Assaults per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Burglaries per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Thefts per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Auto thefts per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Arson per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - City-data.com crime index (5 year average) Crime - Violent crime index (5 year average) Crime - Property crime index (5 year average) 1996 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Clinton) 1996 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Dole) 1996 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2000 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Gore) 2000 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Bush) 2000 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2004 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Kerry) 2004 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Bush) 2004 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2008 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Obama) 2008 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (McCain) 2008 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2012 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Obama) 2012 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Romney) 2012 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2016 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Clinton) 2016 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Trump) 2016 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2020 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Biden) 2020 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Trump) 2020 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other Ancestries Reported - Arab (%) Ancestries Reported - Czech (%) Ancestries Reported - Danish (%) Ancestries Reported - Dutch (%) Ancestries Reported - English (%) Ancestries Reported - French (%) Ancestries Reported - French Canadian (%) Ancestries Reported - German (%) Ancestries Reported - Greek (%) Ancestries Reported - Hungarian (%) Ancestries Reported - Irish (%) Ancestries Reported - Italian (%) Ancestries Reported - Lithuanian (%) Ancestries Reported - Norwegian (%) Ancestries Reported - Polish (%) Ancestries Reported - Portuguese (%) Ancestries Reported - Russian (%) Ancestries Reported - Scotch-Irish (%) Ancestries Reported - Scottish (%) Ancestries Reported - Slovak (%) Ancestries Reported - Subsaharan African (%) Ancestries Reported - Swedish (%) Ancestries Reported - Swiss (%) Ancestries Reported - Ukrainian (%) Ancestries Reported - United States (%) Ancestries Reported - Welsh (%) Ancestries Reported - West Indian (%) Ancestries Reported - Other (%) Educational Attainment - No schooling completed (%) Educational Attainment - Less than high school (%) Educational Attainment - High school or equivalent (%) Educational Attainment - Less than 1 year of college (%) Educational Attainment - 1 or more years of college (%) Educational Attainment - Associate degree (%) Educational Attainment - Bachelor's degree (%) Educational Attainment - Master's degree (%) Educational Attainment - Professional school degree (%) Educational Attainment - Doctorate degree (%) School Enrollment - Nursery, preschool (%) School Enrollment - Kindergarten (%) School Enrollment - Grade 1 to 4 (%) School Enrollment - Grade 5 to 8 (%) School Enrollment - Grade 9 to 12 (%) School Enrollment - College undergrad (%) School Enrollment - Graduate or professional (%) School Enrollment - Not enrolled in school (%) School enrollment - Public schools (%) School enrollment - Private schools (%) School enrollment - Not enrolled (%) Median number of rooms in houses and condos Median number of rooms in apartments Housing units lacking complete plumbing facilities (%) Housing units lacking complete kitchen facilities (%) Density of houses Urban houses (%) Rural houses (%) Households with people 60 years and over (%) Households with people 65 years and over (%) Households with people 75 years and over (%) Households with one or more nonrelatives (%) Households with no nonrelatives (%) Population in households (%) Family households (%) Nonfamily households (%) Population in families (%) Family households with own children (%) Median number of bedrooms in owner occupied houses Mean number of bedrooms in owner occupied houses Median number of bedrooms in renter occupied houses Mean number of bedrooms in renter occupied houses Median number of vehichles in owner occupied houses Mean number of vehichles in owner occupied houses Median number of vehichles in renter occupied houses Mean number of vehichles in renter occupied houses Mortgage status - with mortgage (%) Mortgage status - with second mortgage (%) Mortgage status - with home equity loan (%) Mortgage status - with both second mortgage and home equity loan (%) Mortgage status - without a mortgage (%) Average family size Average family size - White Average family size - Black or African American Average family size - Asian Average family size - Hispanic or Latino Average family size - American Indian and Alaska Native Average family size - Multirace Average family size - Other Race Geographical mobility - Same house 1 year ago (%) Geographical mobility - Moved within same county (%) Geographical mobility - Moved from different county within same state (%) Geographical mobility - Moved from different state (%) Geographical mobility - Moved from abroad (%) Place of birth - Born in state of residence (%) Place of birth - Born in other state (%) Place of birth - Native, outside of US (%) Place of birth - Foreign born (%) Housing units in structures - 1, detached (%) Housing units in structures - 1, attached (%) Housing units in structures - 2 (%) Housing units in structures - 3 or 4 (%) Housing units in structures - 5 to 9 (%) Housing units in structures - 10 to 19 (%) Housing units in structures - 20 to 49 (%) Housing units in structures - 50 or more (%) Housing units in structures - Mobile home (%) Housing units in structures - Boat, RV, van, etc. (%) House/condo owner moved in on average (years ago) Renter moved in on average (years ago) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1999 to March 2000 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1995 to 1998 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1990 to 1994 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1980 to 1989 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1970 to 1979 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1969 or earlier (%) Means of transportation to work - Drove car alone (%) Means of transportation to work - Carpooled (%) Means of transportation to work - Public transportation (%) Means of transportation to work - Bus or trolley bus (%) Means of transportation to work - Streetcar or trolley car (%) Means of transportation to work - Subway or elevated (%) Means of transportation to work - Railroad (%) Means of transportation to work - Ferryboat (%) Means of transportation to work - Taxicab (%) Means of transportation to work - Motorcycle (%) Means of transportation to work - Bicycle (%) Means of transportation to work - Walked (%) Means of transportation to work - Other means (%) Working at home (%) Industry diversity Most Common Industries - Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining (%) Most Common Industries - Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (%) Most Common Industries - Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (%) Most Common Industries - Construction (%) Most Common Industries - Manufacturing (%) Most Common Industries - Wholesale trade (%) Most Common Industries - Retail trade (%) Most Common Industries - Transportation and warehousing, and utilities (%) Most Common Industries - Transportation and warehousing (%) Most Common Industries - Utilities (%) Most Common Industries - Information (%) Most Common Industries - Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing (%) Most Common Industries - Finance and insurance (%) Most Common Industries - Real estate and rental and leasing (%) Most Common Industries - Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services (%) Most Common Industries - Professional, scientific, and technical services (%) Most Common Industries - Management of companies and enterprises (%) Most Common Industries - Administrative and support and waste management services (%) Most Common Industries - Educational services, and health care and social assistance (%) Most Common Industries - Educational services (%) Most Common Industries - Health care and social assistance (%) Most Common Industries - Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation and food services (%) Most Common Industries - Arts, entertainment, and recreation (%) Most Common Industries - Accommodation and food services (%) Most Common Industries - Other services, except public administration (%) Most Common Industries - Public administration (%) Occupation diversity Most Common Occupations - Management, business, science, and arts occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Management, business, and financial occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Management occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Business and financial operations occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Computer, engineering, and science occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Computer and mathematical occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Architecture and engineering occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Life, physical, and social science occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Education, legal, community service, arts, and media occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Community and social service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Legal occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Education, training, and library occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Health diagnosing and treating practitioners and other technical occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Health technologists and technicians (%) Most Common Occupations - Service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Healthcare support occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Protective service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Fire fighting and prevention, and other protective service workers including supervisors (%) Most Common Occupations - Law enforcement workers including supervisors (%) Most Common Occupations - Food preparation and serving related occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Personal care and service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Sales and office occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Sales and related occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Office and administrative support occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Construction and extraction occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Production, transportation, and material moving occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Production occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Transportation occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Material moving occupations (%) People in Group quarters - Institutionalized population (%) People in Group quarters - Correctional institutions (%) People in Group quarters - Federal prisons and detention centers (%) People in Group quarters - Halfway houses (%) People in Group quarters - Local jails and other confinement facilities (including police lockups) (%) People in Group quarters - Military disciplinary barracks (%) People in Group quarters - State prisons (%) People in Group quarters - Other types of correctional institutions (%) People in Group quarters - Nursing homes (%) People in Group quarters - Hospitals/wards, hospices, and schools for the handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Hospitals/wards and hospices for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Hospices or homes for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Military hospitals or wards for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Other hospitals or wards for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Hospitals or wards for drug/alcohol abuse (%) People in Group quarters - Mental (Psychiatric) hospitals or wards (%) People in Group quarters - Schools, hospitals, or wards for the mentally retarded (%) People in Group quarters - Schools, hospitals, or wards for the physically handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Institutions for the deaf (%) People in Group quarters - Institutions for the blind (%) People in Group quarters - Orthopedic wards and institutions for the physically handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Wards in general hospitals for patients who have no usual home elsewhere (%) People in Group quarters - Wards in military hospitals for patients who have no usual home elsewhere (%) People in Group quarters - Juvenile institutions (%) People in Group quarters - Long-term care (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for abused, dependent, and neglected children (%) People in Group quarters - Residential treatment centers for emotionally disturbed children (%) People in Group quarters - Training schools for juvenile delinquents (%) People in Group quarters - Short-term care, detention or diagnostic centers for delinquent children (%) People in Group quarters - Type of juvenile institution unknown (%) People in Group quarters - Noninstitutionalized population (%) People in Group quarters - College dormitories (includes college quarters off campus) (%) People in Group quarters - Military quarters (%) People in Group quarters - On base (%) People in Group quarters - Barracks, unaccompanied personnel housing (UPH), (Enlisted/Officer), ;and similar group living quarters for military personnel (%) People in Group quarters - Transient quarters for temporary residents (%) People in Group quarters - Military ships (%) People in Group quarters - Group homes (%) People in Group quarters - Homes or halfway houses for drug/alcohol abuse (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for the mentally ill (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for the mentally retarded (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for the physically handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Other group homes (%) People in Group quarters - Religious group quarters (%) People in Group quarters - Dormitories (%) People in Group quarters - Agriculture workers' dormitories on farms (%) People in Group quarters - Job Corps and vocational training facilities (%) People in Group quarters - Other workers' dormitories (%) People in Group quarters - Crews of maritime vessels (%) People in Group quarters - Other nonhousehold living situations (%) People in Group quarters - Other noninstitutional group quarters (%) Residents speaking English at home (%) Residents speaking English at home - Born in the United States (%) Residents speaking English at home - Native, born elsewhere (%) Residents speaking English at home - Foreign born (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home - Born in the United States (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home - Native, born elsewhere (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home - Foreign born (%) Residents speaking other language at home (%) Residents speaking other language at home - Born in the United States (%) Residents speaking other language at home - Native, born elsewhere (%) Residents speaking other language at home - Foreign born (%) Class of Workers - Employee of private company (%) Class of Workers - Self-employed in own incorporated business (%) Class of Workers - Private not-for-profit wage and salary workers (%) Class of Workers - Local government workers (%) Class of Workers - State government workers (%) Class of Workers - Federal government workers (%) Class of Workers - Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business and Unpaid family workers (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Utility gas (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Bottled, tank, or LP gas (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Electricity (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Fuel oil, kerosene, etc. (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Coal or coke (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Wood (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Solar energy (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Other fuel (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - No fuel used (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Utility gas (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Bottled, tank, or LP gas (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Electricity (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Fuel oil, kerosene, etc. (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Coal or coke (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Wood (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Solar energy (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Other fuel (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - No fuel used (%) Armed forces status - In Armed Forces (%) Armed forces status - Civilian (%) Armed forces status - Civilian - Veteran (%) Armed forces status - Civilian - Nonveteran (%) Fatal accidents locations in years 2005-2019 Fatal accidents locations in 2005 Fatal accidents locations in 2006 Fatal accidents locations in 2007 Fatal accidents locations in 2008 Fatal accidents locations in 2009 Fatal accidents locations in 2010 Fatal accidents locations in 2011 Fatal accidents locations in 2012 Fatal accidents locations in 2013 Fatal accidents locations in 2014 Fatal accidents locations in 2015 Fatal accidents locations in 2016 Fatal accidents locations in 2017 Fatal accidents locations in 2018 Fatal accidents locations in 2019 Alcohol use - People drinking some alcohol every month (%) Alcohol use - People not drinking at all (%) Alcohol use - Average days/month drinking alcohol Alcohol use - Average drinks/week Alcohol use - Average days/year people drink much Audiometry - Average condition of hearing (%) Audiometry - People that can hear a whisper from across a quiet room (%) Audiometry - People that can hear normal voice from across a quiet room (%) Audiometry - Ears ringing, roaring, buzzing (%) Audiometry - Had a job exposure to loud noise (%) Audiometry - Had off-work exposure to loud noise (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Has high blood pressure (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Checking blood pressure at home (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Frequently checking blood cholesterol (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Has high cholesterol level (%) Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on food at supermarket/grocery store Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on food at other stores Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on eating out Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on carryout/delivered foods Consumer Behavior - Income spent on food at supermarket/grocery store (%) Consumer Behavior - Income spent on food at other stores (%) Consumer Behavior - Income spent on eating out (%) Consumer Behavior - Income spent on carryout/delivered foods (%) Current Health Status - General health condition (%) Current Health Status - Blood donors (%) Current Health Status - Has blood ever tested for HIV virus (%) Current Health Status - Left-handed people (%) Dermatology - People using sunscreen (%) Diabetes - Diabetics (%) Diabetes - Had a blood test for high blood sugar (%) Diabetes - People taking insulin (%) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Diet health (%) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Milk product consumption (# of products/month) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Meals not home prepared (#/week) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Meals from fast food or pizza place (#/week) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Ready-to-eat foods (#/month) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Frozen meals/pizza (#/month) Drug Use - People that ever used marijuana or hashish (%) Drug Use - Ever used hard drugs (%) Drug Use - Ever used any form of cocaine (%) Drug Use - Ever used heroin (%) Drug Use - Ever used methamphetamine (%) Health Insurance - People covered by health insurance (%) Kidney Conditions-Urology - Avg. # of times urinating at night Medical Conditions - People with asthma (%) Medical Conditions - People with anemia (%) Medical Conditions - People with psoriasis (%) Medical Conditions - People with overweight (%) Medical Conditions - Elderly people having difficulties in thinking or remembering (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever received blood transfusion (%) Medical Conditions - People having trouble seeing even with glass/contacts (%) Medical Conditions - People with arthritis (%) Medical Conditions - People with gout (%) Medical Conditions - People with congestive heart failure (%) Medical Conditions - People with coronary heart disease (%) Medical Conditions - People with angina pectoris (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever had heart attack (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever had stroke (%) Medical Conditions - People with emphysema (%) Medical Conditions - People with thyroid problem (%) Medical Conditions - People with chronic bronchitis (%) Medical Conditions - People with any liver condition (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever had cancer or malignancy (%) Mental Health - People who have little interest in doing things (%) Mental Health - People feeling down, depressed, or hopeless (%) Mental Health - People who have trouble sleeping or sleeping too much (%) Mental Health - People feeling tired or having little energy (%) Mental Health - People with poor appetite or overeating (%) Mental Health - People feeling bad about themself (%) Mental Health - People who have trouble concentrating on things (%) Mental Health - People moving or speaking slowly or too fast (%) Mental Health - People having thoughts they would be better off dead (%) Oral Health - Average years since last visit a dentist Oral Health - People embarrassed because of mouth (%) Oral Health - People with gum disease (%) Oral Health - General health of teeth and gums (%) Oral Health - Average days a week using dental floss/device Oral Health - Average days a week using mouthwash for dental problem Oral Health - Average number of teeth Pesticide Use - Households using pesticides to control insects (%) Pesticide Use - Households using pesticides to kill weeds (%) Physical Activity - People doing vigorous-intensity work activities (%) Physical Activity - People doing moderate-intensity work activities (%) Physical Activity - People walking or bicycling (%) Physical Activity - People doing vigorous-intensity recreational activities (%) Physical Activity - People doing moderate-intensity recreational activities (%) Physical Activity - Average hours a day doing sedentary activities Physical Activity - Average hours a day watching TV or videos Physical Activity - Average hours a day using computer Physical Functioning - People having limitations keeping them from working (%) Physical Functioning - People limited in amount of work they can do (%) Physical Functioning - People that need special equipment to walk (%) Physical Functioning - People experiencing confusion/memory problems (%) Physical Functioning - People requiring special healthcare equipment (%) Prescription Medications - Average number of prescription medicines taking Preventive Aspirin Use - Adults 40+ taking low-dose aspirin (%) Reproductive Health - Vaginal deliveries (%) Reproductive Health - Cesarean deliveries (%) Reproductive Health - Deliveries resulted in a live birth (%) Reproductive Health - Pregnancies resulted in a delivery (%) Reproductive Health - Women breastfeeding newborns (%) Reproductive Health - Women that had a hysterectomy (%) Reproductive Health - Women that had both ovaries removed (%) Reproductive Health - Women that have ever taken birth control pills (%) Reproductive Health - Women taking birth control pills (%) Reproductive Health - Women that have ever used Depo-Provera or injectables (%) Reproductive Health - Women that have ever used female hormones (%) Sexual Behavior - People 18+ that ever had sex (vaginal, anal, or oral) (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever had vaginal sex with a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever performed oral sex on a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever had anal sex with a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever had any sex with a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever had vaginal sex with a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever performed oral sex on a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever had anal sex with a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever had any kind of sex with a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Average age people first had sex Sexual Behavior - Average number of female sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of female vaginal sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average age people first performed oral sex on a woman (18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of woman performed oral sex on in lifetime (18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male anal sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average age people first performed oral sex on a man (18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male oral sex partners in lifetime (18+) Sexual Behavior - People using protection when performing oral sex (%) Sexual Behavior - Average number of times people have vaginal or anal sex a year Sexual Behavior - People having sex without condom (%) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male sex partners in lifetime (females 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male vaginal sex partners in lifetime (females 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of female sex partners in lifetime (females 18+) Sexual Behavior - Circumcised males 18+ (%) Sleep Disorders - Average hours sleeping at night Sleep Disorders - People that has trouble sleeping (%) Smoking-Cigarette Use - People smoking cigarettes (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ having problems with smell (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ having problems with taste (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had wisdom teeth removed (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had tonsils teeth removed (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had a loss of consciousness because of a head injury (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had a broken nose or other serious injury to face or skull (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had two or more sinus infections (%) Weight - Average height (inches) Weight - Average weight (pounds) Weight - Average BMI Weight - People that are obese (%) Weight - People that ever were obese (%) Weight - People trying to lose weight (%) Settings Get link Loading data... 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123 Hide US histogram



11,699 84.2% White alone 1,182 8.5% Asian alone 329 2.4% Two or more races 275 2.0% Black alone 233 1.7% Hispanic 19 0.1% Other race alone

Races in Orange detailed stats: ancestries, foreign born residents, place of birth





According to our research of Connecticut and other state lists, there were 6 registered sex offenders living in Orange, Connecticut as of November 22, 2021.

The ratio of all residents to sex offenders in Orange is 2,313 to 1.

The ratio of registered sex offenders to all residents in this city is much lower than the state average.





Crime rates in Orange by year Type 2006 2007 2008 2009 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Murders

(per 100,000) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 1

(7.2) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) Rapes

(per 100,000) 1

(7.2) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 1

(7.2) 2

(14.3) 0

(0.0) 1

(7.2) 1

(7.2) 2

(14.3) 1

(7.2) 2

(14.3) 0

(0.0) Robberies

(per 100,000) 3

(21.5) 7

(50.2) 3

(21.6) 10

(72.2) 3

(21.5) 5

(35.8) 9

(64.6) 5

(35.8) 6

(43.0) 6

(43.0) 4

(28.8) 4

(28.6) 3

(21.5) Assaults

(per 100,000) 2

(14.3) 1

(7.2) 1

(7.2) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 1

(7.2) 2

(14.3) 0

(0.0) 1

(7.2) 2

(14.4) 1

(7.1) 1

(7.2) Burglaries

(per 100,000) 51

(365.6) 43

(308.4) 45

(324.0) 50

(361.2) 61

(436.3) 33

(236.2) 25

(179.5) 32

(229.4) 55

(394.2) 39

(279.8) 19

(136.7) 52

(371.4) 25

(179.2) Thefts

(per 100,000) 326

(2,337) 423

(3,034) 420

(3,024) 387

(2,796) 329

(2,353) 332

(2,376) 290

(2,082) 301

(2,158) 324

(2,322) 285

(2,044) 326

(2,345) 376

(2,685) 326

(2,337) Auto thefts

(per 100,000) 19

(136.2) 14

(100.4) 8

(57.6) 10

(72.2) 16

(114.4) 11

(78.7) 14

(100.5) 22

(157.7) 13

(93.2) 18

(129.1) 17

(122.3) 37

(264.2) 19

(136.2) Arson

(per 100,000) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) 4

(28.6) 0

(0.0) 1

(7.2) 0

(0.0) 1

(7.2) 1

(7.2) 0

(0.0) 0

(0.0) City-Data.com crime index 145.0 167.5 156.2 164.6 146.0 140.1 124.7 148.7 146.6 137.5 130.4 176.0 124.8 The City-Data.com crime index weighs serious crimes and violent crimes more heavily. Higher means more crime, U.S. average is 270.6. It adjusts for the number of visitors and daily workers commuting into cities. Click on a table row to update graph

Crime rate in Orange detailed stats: murders, rapes, robberies, assaults, burglaries, thefts, arson



Full-time law enforcement employees in 2019, including police officers: 56 (45 officers).

Officers per 1,000 residents here: 3.23 Connecticut average: 2.01



Latest news from Orange, CT collected exclusively by city-data.com from local newspapers, TV, and radio stations

Ancestries: Italian (25.3%), Irish (13.2%), American (8.0%), Polish (5.1%), English (4.0%), German (2.9%).

Current Local Time: EST time zone

Elevation: 185 feet

Land area: 17.2 square miles. Population density: 812 people per square mile (low).

1,708 residents are foreign born (4.1% Europe, 2.0% Asia). This place: 12.3% Connecticut: 14.6%

Median real estate property taxes paid for housing units with mortgages in 2019: $7,944 (2.0%)

Median real estate property taxes paid for housing units with no mortgage in 2019: $8,039 (2.0%)



Latitude: 41.28 N, Longitude: 73.03 W

Daytime population change due to commuting: +4,062 (+29.2%)

Workers who live and work in this place: 1,291 (18.5%)

Area code commonly used in this area: 203

Single-family new house construction building permits: 1997: 15 buildings , average cost: $134,100

15 $134,100 1998: 13 buildings , average cost: $167,000

13 $167,000 1999: 19 buildings , average cost: $209,600

19 $209,600 2000: 19 buildings , average cost: $171,600

19 $171,600 2001: 16 buildings , average cost: $221,600

16 $221,600 2002: 60 buildings , average cost: $247,200

60 $247,200 2003: 19 buildings , average cost: $224,800

19 $224,800 2004: 10 buildings , average cost: $219,000

10 $219,000 2005: 7 buildings , average cost: $298,000

7 $298,000 2006: 8 buildings , average cost: $139,100

8 $139,100 2007: 5 buildings , average cost: $369,800

5 $369,800 2008: 2 buildings , average cost: $270,000

2 $270,000 2009: 6 buildings , average cost: $305,800

6 $305,800 2010: 8 buildings , average cost: $242,400

8 $242,400 2011: 6 buildings , average cost: $231,300

6 $231,300 2012: 18 buildings , average cost: $253,900

18 $253,900 2013: 20 buildings , average cost: $375,700

20 $375,700 2014: 26 buildings , average cost: $295,900

26 $295,900 2015: 20 buildings , average cost: $249,800

20 $249,800 2016: 25 buildings , average cost: $318,900

25 $318,900 2017: 17 buildings , average cost: $239,800

17 $239,800 2018: 17 buildings , average cost: $216,300

17 $216,300 2019: 21 buildings, average cost: $182,600

Unemployment in November 2020:

Here: 8.1% Connecticut: 7.7%

Most common industries in Orange, CT (%) Both Males Females

Educational services (14.1%)

Health care (12.5%)

Professional, scientific, technical services (7.7%)

Finance & insurance (6.5%)

Public administration (4.9%)

Construction (4.8%)

Administrative & support & waste management services (3.2%)

Health care (7.8%)

Construction (7.6%)

Educational services (7.1%)

Professional, scientific, technical services (7.1%)

Public administration (6.8%)

Finance & insurance (6.1%)

Transportation equipment (3.8%)

Educational services (22.8%)

Health care (18.3%)

Professional, scientific, technical services (8.5%)

Finance & insurance (6.9%)

Social assistance (3.3%)

Administrative & support & waste management services (3.2%)

Accommodation & food services (3.0%) Most common occupations in Orange, CT (%) Both Males Females

Other management occupations, except farmers and farm managers (6.3%)

Other sales and related occupations, including supervisors (5.3%)

Preschool, kindergarten, elementary, and middle school teachers (5.3%)

Other office and administrative support workers, including supervisors (3.7%)

Engineers (3.2%)

Retail sales workers, except cashiers (3.2%)

Secretaries and administrative assistants (3.1%)

Other management occupations, except farmers and farm managers (7.6%)

Other sales and related occupations, including supervisors (6.3%)

Engineers (5.4%)

Electrical equipment mechanics and other installation, maintenance, and repair workers, including supervisors (4.6%)

Sales representatives, services, wholesale and manufacturing (3.8%)

Top executives (3.8%)

Physicians and surgeons (3.3%)

Preschool, kindergarten, elementary, and middle school teachers (10.2%)

Secretaries and administrative assistants (6.8%)

Other office and administrative support workers, including supervisors (6.2%)

Other management occupations, except farmers and farm managers (4.8%)

Registered nurses (4.3%)

Other sales and related occupations, including supervisors (4.2%)

Retail sales workers, except cashiers (3.5%)

Average climate in Orange, Connecticut Based on data reported by over 4,000 weather stations

Air pollution and air quality trends

(lower is better) AQI CO NO 2 SO 2 Ozone PM 10 PM 2.5

Air Quality Index (AQI) level in 2018 was 93.9. This is worse than average. City: 93.9 U.S.: 74.2

Carbon Monoxide (CO) [ppm] level in 2018 was 0.269. This is about average. Closest monitor was 5.3 miles away from the city center. City: 0.269 U.S.: 0.267

Nitrogen Dioxide (NO 2 ) [ppb] level in 2018 was 12.0. This is significantly worse than average. Closest monitor was 3.6 miles away from the city center. City: 12.0 U.S.: 5.6

Sulfur Dioxide (SO 2 ) [ppb] level in 2018 was 0.245. This is significantly better than average. Closest monitor was 3.6 miles away from the city center. City: 0.245 U.S.: 1.789

Ozone [ppb] level in 2018 was 25.8. This is better than average. Closest monitor was 4.1 miles away from the city center. City: 25.8 U.S.: 33.3

Particulate Matter (PM 10 ) [g/m3] level in 2004 was 41.5. This is significantly worse than average. Closest monitor was 4.9 miles away from the city center. City: 41.5 U.S.: 19.6

Particulate Matter (PM 2.5 ) [g/m3] level in 2018 was 7.72. This is about average. Closest monitor was 3.2 miles away from the city center. City: 7.72 U.S.: 8.46

Tornado activity: Orange-area historical tornado activity is slightly below Connecticut state average. It is 38% smaller than the overall U.S. average.

On 7/10/1989, a category F4 (max. wind speeds 207-260 mph) tornado 6.2 miles away from the Orange place center injured 40 people and caused between $50,000,000 and $500,000,000 in damages. On 7/29/1971, a category F3 (max. wind speeds 158-206 mph) tornado 18.7 miles away from the place center injured 2 people and caused between $50,000 and $500,000 in damages.

Earthquake activity: Orange-area historical earthquake activity is significantly above Connecticut state average. It is 70% smaller than the overall U.S. average.



On 10/7/1983 at 10:18:46, a magnitude 5.3 (5.1 MB, 5.3 LG, 5.1 ML, Class: Moderate, Intensity: VI - VII) earthquake occurred 196.7 miles away from the city center

On 4/20/2002 at 10:50:47, a magnitude 5.3 (5.3 ML, Depth: 3.0 mi) earthquake occurred 226.2 miles away from the city center

On 4/20/2002 at 10:50:47, a magnitude 5.2 (5.2 MB, 4.2 MS, 5.2 MW, 5.0 MW) earthquake occurred 224.6 miles away from the city center

On 8/23/2011 at 17:51:04, a magnitude 5.8 (5.8 MW, Depth: 3.7 mi) earthquake occurred 350.4 miles away from the city center

On 1/19/1982 at 00:14:42, a magnitude 4.7 (4.5 MB, 4.7 MD, 4.5 LG, Class: Light, Intensity: IV - V) earthquake occurred 170.0 miles away from Orange center

On 8/22/1992 at 12:20:32, a magnitude 4.8 (4.8 MB, 3.8 MS, 4.7 LG, Depth: 6.2 mi) earthquake occurred 207.5 miles away from Orange center

Magnitude types: regional Lg-wave magnitude (LG), body-wave magnitude (MB), duration magnitude (MD), local magnitude (ML), surface-wave magnitude (MS), moment magnitude (MW)

Natural disasters: The number of natural disasters in New Haven County (26) is a lot greater than the US average (15).

Major Disasters (Presidential) Declared: 15

Emergencies Declared: 11



Causes of natural disasters: Storms: 7, Hurricanes: 6, Floods: 5, Snowstorms: 5, Winter Storms: 4, Blizzards: 3, Snows: 3, Snowfall: 1, Tornado: 1, Tropical Storm: 1, Wind: 1 (Note: some incidents may be assigned to more than one category).

Main business address for: HUBBELL INC (ELECTRIC LIGHTING & WIRING EQUIPMENT).

Hospitals and medical centers in Orange: LYDIAN INC (324 GRASSY HILL RD)

ORANGE HEALTH CARE CENTER (225 BOSTON POST RD)

ORANGE REST HOME (255 BOSTON POST RD)

DSI ORANGE DIALYSIS (240 INDIAN RIVER RD, SUITE D)

ORANGE VISITING NURSE ASSN (525 ORANGE CENTER RD)

Amtrak stations near Orange: 6 miles: NEW HAVEN (50 UNION AVE.) . Services: ticket office, partially wheelchair accessible, enclosed waiting area, public restrooms, public payphones, snack bar, ATM, paid short-term parking, paid long-term parking, car rental agency, taxi stand, intercity bus service, public transit connection.

NEW HAVEN (50 UNION AVE.) . ticket office, partially wheelchair accessible, enclosed waiting area, public restrooms, public payphones, snack bar, ATM, paid short-term parking, paid long-term parking, car rental agency, taxi stand, intercity bus service, public transit connection. 12 miles: BRIDGEPORT (525 WATER ST.) . Services: fully wheelchair accessible, enclosed waiting area, public restrooms, public payphones, snack bar, paid short-term parking, paid long-term parking, call for car rental service, taxi stand, intercity bus service, public transit connection.

BRIDGEPORT (525 WATER ST.) . fully wheelchair accessible, enclosed waiting area, public restrooms, public payphones, snack bar, paid short-term parking, paid long-term parking, call for car rental service, taxi stand, intercity bus service, public transit connection. 17 miles: WALLINGFORD (37 HALL AVE.) . Services: partially wheelchair accessible, enclosed waiting area, public payphones, free short-term parking, call for car rental service, call for taxi service.

Library in Orange: CASE MEMORIAL LIBRARY (Operating income: $602,006; Location: 176 TYLER CITY RD.; 100,570 books; 18 e-books; 5,548 audio materials; 5,255 video materials; 30 state licensed databases; 161 print serial subscriptions)

Birthplace of: William Atherton - Film actor, Timothy Sykes - Finance and investment writer.

New Haven County has a predicted average indoor radon screening level greater than 4 pCi/L (pico curies per liter) - Highest Potential

Drinking water stations with addresses in Orange and their reported violations in the past: MANSFIELD VILLAGE, LLC (Population served: 40, Groundwater): Past health violations: MCL, Monthly (TCR) - In MAY-2010, Contaminant: Coliform. Follow-up actions: St Public Notif received (MAY-28-2010), St Public Notif requested (JUN-01-2010), St Violation/Reminder Notice (JUN-01-2010), St Compliance achieved (JUL-31-2010) Past monitoring violations: One routine major monitoring violation MANSFIELD VILLAGE, LLC (40Groundwater):

Average household size: This place: 2.7 people Connecticut: 2.5 people

Percentage of family households: This place: 78.0% Whole state: 66.3%

Percentage of households with unmarried partners: This place: 3.5% Whole state: 6.6%



Likely homosexual households (counted as self-reported same-sex unmarried-partner households) Lesbian couples: 0.5% of all households

0.5% Gay men: 0.3% of all households

People in group quarters in Orange in 2010: 60 people in nursing facilities/skilled-nursing facilities

5 people in workers' group living quarters and job corps centers

3 people in group homes intended for adults

2 people in other noninstitutional facilities People in group quarters in Orange in 2000: 85 people in nursing homes

18 people in homes for the mentally retarded

10 people in religious group quarters

Banks with most branches in Orange (2011 data): People's United Bank: Orange Stop And Shop Branch at 259 Bull Hill Lane , branch established on 1996/06/17; Orange Branch at 653 Orange Center Road , branch established on 1964/03/09 . Info updated 2012/02/16: Bank assets: $27,319.3 mil , Deposits: $20,835.4 mil , headquarters in Bridgeport, CT , positive income , Commercial Lending Specialization , 374 total offices

259 Bull Hill Lane 1996/06/17; Orange Branch 653 Orange Center Road 1964/03/09 2012/02/16: $27,319.3 mil $20,835.4 mil Bridgeport, CT , Commercial Lending Specialization 374 Bank of America, National Association: Orange Branch at 445 Boston Post Road , branch established on 1956/03/15 . Info updated 2009/11/18: Bank assets: $1,451,969.3 mil , Deposits: $1,077,176.8 mil , headquarters in Charlotte, NC , positive income , 5782 total offices , Holding Company: Bank Of America Corporation

445 Boston Post Road 1956/03/15 2009/11/18: $1,451,969.3 mil $1,077,176.8 mil Charlotte, NC 5782 Bank Of America Corporation Wells Fargo Bank, National Association: Orange Branch at 297 Boston Post Road , branch established on 1966/10/17 . Info updated 2011/04/05: Bank assets: $1,161,490.0 mil , Deposits: $905,653.0 mil , headquarters in Sioux Falls, SD , positive income , 6395 total offices , Holding Company: Wells Fargo & Company

297 Boston Post Road 1966/10/17 2011/04/05: $1,161,490.0 mil $905,653.0 mil Sioux Falls, SD 6395 Wells Fargo & Company First Niagara Bank, National Association: Orange Branch at 34 Old Tavern Road , branch established on 1977/01/08 . Info updated 2011/06/09: Bank assets: $32,750.6 mil , Deposits: $19,595.4 mil , headquarters in Buffalo, NY , positive income , Commercial Lending Specialization , 351 total offices , Holding Company: First Niagara Financial Group, Inc.

34 Old Tavern Road 1977/01/08 2011/06/09: $32,750.6 mil $19,595.4 mil Buffalo, NY , Commercial Lending Specialization 351 First Niagara Financial Group, Inc. Prime Bank: at 7 Old Tavern Road , branch established on 1990/02/28 . Info updated 2006/11/03: Bank assets: $53.8 mil , Deposits: $45.4 mil , local headquarters , positive income , Commercial Lending Specialization , 1 total offices

7 Old Tavern Road 1990/02/28 2006/11/03: $53.8 mil $45.4 mil , Commercial Lending Specialization 1 JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association: Boston Post Road & Racebrook Banking at 262 Boston Post Road , branch established on 2009/12/08 . Info updated 2011/11/10: Bank assets: $1,811,678.0 mil , Deposits: $1,190,738.0 mil , headquarters in Columbus, OH , positive income , International Specialization , 5577 total offices , Holding Company: Jpmorgan Chase & Co.

262 Boston Post Road 2009/12/08 2011/11/10: $1,811,678.0 mil $1,190,738.0 mil Columbus, OH , International Specialization 5577 Jpmorgan Chase & Co. Webster Bank, National Association: Orange Branch at 247 Boston Post Road , branch established on 1972/05/01 . Info updated 2008/12/23: Bank assets: $18,674.3 mil , Deposits: $13,861.5 mil , headquarters in Waterbury, CT , positive income , Commercial Lending Specialization , 167 total offices , Holding Company: Webster Financial Corporation

247 Boston Post Road 1972/05/01 2008/12/23: $18,674.3 mil $13,861.5 mil Waterbury, CT , Commercial Lending Specialization 167 Webster Financial Corporation RBS Citizens, National Association: Orange Branch at 222 Boston Post Road , branch established on 1984/04/30 . Info updated 2007/09/19: Bank assets: $106,940.6 mil , Deposits: $75,690.2 mil , headquarters in Providence, RI , positive income , 1135 total offices , Holding Company: Uk Financial Investments Limited

222 Boston Post Road 1984/04/30 2007/09/19: $106,940.6 mil $75,690.2 mil Providence, RI 1135 Uk Financial Investments Limited TD Bank, National Association: Orange Office Branch at 175 Boston Post Road, branch established on 2006/06/17. Info updated 2010/10/04: Bank assets: $188,912.6 mil, Deposits: $153,149.8 mil, headquarters in Wilmington, DE, positive income, 1314 total offices, Holding Company: Toronto-Dominion Bank, The

For population 15 years and over in Orange: Never married: 23.6%

23.6% Now married: 61.6%

61.6% Separated: 0.5%

0.5% Widowed: 7.3%

7.3% Divorced: 7.0%

For population 25 years and over in Orange: High school or higher: 97.4%

97.4% Bachelor's degree or higher: 59.3%

59.3% Graduate or professional degree: 30.1%

30.1% Unemployed: 2.9%

2.9% Mean travel time to work (commute): 26.1 minutes

Education Gini index (Inequality in education) Here: 9.8 Connecticut average: 12.3



Religion statistics for Orange, CT (based on New Haven County data) Religion Adherents Congregations Catholic 304,677 104 Mainline Protestant 52,851 149 Evangelical Protestant 33,484 208 Other 19,943 79 Black Protestant 6,471 35 Orthodox 3,731 11 None 441,320 - Source: Clifford Grammich, Kirk Hadaway, Richard Houseal, Dale E.Jones, Alexei Krindatch, Richie Stanley and Richard H.Taylor. 2012. 2010 U.S.Religion Census: Religious Congregations & Membership Study. Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies. Jones, Dale E., et al. 2002. Congregations and Membership in the United States 2000. Nashville, TN: Glenmary Research Center. Graphs represent county-level data

Food Environment Statistics: Number of grocery stores: 172 Here : 2.04 / 10,000 pop. Connecticut : 2.21 / 10,000 pop. Number of supercenters and club stores: 7 New Haven County : 0.08 / 10,000 pop. Connecticut : 0.07 / 10,000 pop. Number of convenience stores (no gas): 96 New Haven County : 1.14 / 10,000 pop. State : 1.02 / 10,000 pop. Number of convenience stores (with gas): 186 New Haven County : 2.20 / 10,000 pop. State : 2.27 / 10,000 pop. Number of full-service restaurants: 764 Here : 9.05 / 10,000 pop. Connecticut : 9.19 / 10,000 pop. Adult diabetes rate: This county : 8.2% State : 7.3% Adult obesity rate: Here : 24.0% Connecticut : 21.5% Low-income preschool obesity rate: This county : 15.4% Connecticut : 15.8%

Health and Nutrition: Healthy diet rate: This city: 60.8% Connecticut: 50.0%

Average overall health of teeth and gums: Orange: 61.3% Connecticut: 47.5%

Average BMI: Orange: 27.6 Connecticut: 28.7

People feeling badly about themselves: This city: 16.1% Connecticut: 20.9%

People not drinking alcohol at all: Here: 7.3% Connecticut: 10.5%

Average hours sleeping at night: Orange: 7.1 State: 6.8

Overweight people: This city: 34.4% Connecticut: 34.2%

General health condition: Orange: 65.2% Connecticut: 56.4%

Average condition of hearing: Orange: 80.7% Connecticut: 78.9%

More about Health and Nutrition of Orange, CT Residents

4.17% of this county's 2016 resident taxpayers lived in other counties in 2015 ($58,955 average adjusted gross income) Here: 4.17% Connecticut average: 4.51% 0.03% of residents moved from foreign countries ($381 average AGI) New Haven County: 0.03% Connecticut average: 0.04%

Top counties from which taxpayers relocated into this county between 2015 and 2016:

from Fairfield County, CT 0.98% ($57,745 average AGI) from Hartford County, CT 0.48% ($54,707) from Middlesex County, CT 0.25% ($62,540)



5.02% of this county's 2015 resident taxpayers moved to other counties in 2016 ($67,766 average adjusted gross income) Here: 5.02% Connecticut average: 5.34% 0.07% of residents moved to foreign countries ($768 average AGI) New Haven County: 0.07% Connecticut average: 0.07%

Top counties to which taxpayers relocated from this county between 2015 and 2016:

to Fairfield County, CT 0.74% ($67,908 average AGI) to Hartford County, CT 0.57% ($52,965) to Middlesex County, CT 0.32% ($68,153)

Businesses in Orange, CT Name Count Name Count AT&T 1 New Balance 1 Applebee's 1 Nike 3 Arby's 1 Olive Garden 1 Ashley Furniture 1 On The Border 1 AutoZone 1 Outback 1 Burger King 1 Outback Steakhouse 1 Burlington Coat Factory 1 Payless 1 CVS 1 Penske 1 Catherines 1 Plato's Closet 1 Chuck E. Cheese's 1 Quiznos 1 Cold Stone Creamery 1 RadioShack 1 Curves 1 Raymour & Flanigan 1 DressBarn 1 SAS Shoes 1 Dressbarn 1 Sam's Club 1 Dunkin Donuts 2 Sprint Nextel 1 Famous Footwear 1 Staples 1 FedEx 3 Starbucks 2 GameStop 1 Stop & Shop 1 H&R Block 1 Subway 2 Harmon Face Values 1 T-Mobile 3 Home Depot 1 T.G.I. Driday's 1 IHOP 1 T.J.Maxx 1 Jamba Juice 1 Taco Bell 1 Jones New York 1 Talbots 1 KFC 1 Target 1 Kohl's 1 The Room Place 1 LA Fitness 1 Toys"R"Us 1 La-Z-Boy 1 Trader Joe's 1 Lowe's 1 U-Haul 1 Marriott 1 UPS 6 MasterBrand Cabinets 3 Verizon Wireless 1 McDonald's 1 Walgreens 1 Men's Wearhouse 1 Wendy's 1

Strongest AM radio stations in Orange: WADS (690 AM; daytime; 3 kW; ANSONIA, CT; Owner: RADIO AMOR, INC.)

RADIO AMOR, INC.) WELI (960 AM; 5 kW; NEW HAVEN, CT; Owner: CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.)

CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.) WFIF (1500 AM; daytime; 5 kW; MILFORD, CT)

WYBC (1340 AM; 1 kW; NEW HAVEN, CT; Owner: YALE BROADCASTING COMPANY, INC.)

YALE BROADCASTING COMPANY, INC.) WAVZ (1300 AM; 1 kW; NEW HAVEN, CT; Owner: CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.)

CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.) WTIC (1080 AM; 50 kW; HARTFORD, CT; Owner: INFINITY RADIO OPERATIONS INC.)

INFINITY RADIO OPERATIONS INC.) WFAN (660 AM; 50 kW; NEW YORK, NY; Owner: INFINITY BROADCASTING OPERATIONS, INC.)

INFINITY BROADCASTING OPERATIONS, INC.) WGSM (740 AM; 25 kW; HUNTINGTON, NY; Owner: K RADIO LICENSEE, INC.)

K RADIO LICENSEE, INC.) WCBS (880 AM; 50 kW; NEW YORK, NY; Owner: INFINITY BROADCASTING OPERATIONS, INC.)

INFINITY BROADCASTING OPERATIONS, INC.) WDJZ (1530 AM; daytime; 5 kW; BRIDGEPORT, CT; Owner: PEOPLE'S BROADCAST NETWORK, LLC)

PEOPLE'S BROADCAST NETWORK, LLC) WMCA (570 AM; 50 kW; NEW YORK, NY; Owner: SALEM MEDIA OF NEW YORK, LLC)

SALEM MEDIA OF NEW YORK, LLC) WNNZ (640 AM; 50 kW; WESTFIELD, MA; Owner: CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.)

CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.) WABC (770 AM; 50 kW; NEW YORK, NY; Owner: WABC-AM RADIO, INC.) Strongest FM radio stations in Orange: WYBC-FM (94.3 FM; NEW HAVEN, CT; Owner: YALE BROADCASTING CO., INC.)

YALE BROADCASTING CO., INC.) WKCI-FM (101.3 FM; HAMDEN, CT; Owner: CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.)

CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.) WMNR-FM1 (88.1 FM; HUNTINGTON, CT; Owner: MONROE BOARD OF EDUCATION)

MONROE BOARD OF EDUCATION) W252AS (98.3 FM; NEW HAVEN, CT; Owner: MONROE BOARD OF EDUCATION)

MONROE BOARD OF EDUCATION) WPLR (99.1 FM; NEW HAVEN, CT; Owner: COX RADIO, INC.)

COX RADIO, INC.) WEZN-FM (99.9 FM; BRIDGEPORT, CT; Owner: CXR HOLDINGS, INC.)

CXR HOLDINGS, INC.) WSHU-FM (91.1 FM; FAIRFIELD, CT; Owner: SACRED HEART UNIVERSITY, INC.)

SACRED HEART UNIVERSITY, INC.) WRXC (90.1 FM; SHELTON, CT; Owner: MONROE BOARD OF EDUCATION)

MONROE BOARD OF EDUCATION) WPKN (89.5 FM; BRIDGEPORT, CT; Owner: WPKN, INC.)

WPKN, INC.) WNHU (88.7 FM; WEST HAVEN, CT; Owner: UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAVEN)

UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAVEN) W220CF (91.9 FM; HUNTINGTON, CT; Owner: MONROE BOARD OF EDUCATION)

MONROE BOARD OF EDUCATION) WEBE (107.9 FM; WESTPORT, CT; Owner: CUMULUS LICENSING CORP.)

CUMULUS LICENSING CORP.) WKSS (95.7 FM; HARTFORD-MERIDEN, CT; Owner: CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP)

CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP) WWYZ (92.5 FM; WATERBURY, CT; Owner: CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP)

CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP) WMNR (88.1 FM; MONROE, CT; Owner: MONROE BOARD OF EDUCATION)

MONROE BOARD OF EDUCATION) WZMX (93.7 FM; HARTFORD, CT; Owner: INFINITY RADIO OPERATIONS INC.)

INFINITY RADIO OPERATIONS INC.) WHCN (105.9 FM; HARTFORD, CT; Owner: CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP)

CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP) WMRQ (104.1 FM; WATERBURY, CT; Owner: CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP)

CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP) WPKT (90.5 FM; MERIDEN, CT; Owner: CONNECTICUT PUBLIC BROADCASTING, INC)

CONNECTICUT PUBLIC BROADCASTING, INC) WDRC-FM (102.9 FM; HARTFORD, CT; Owner: BUCKLEY BROADCASTING CORPORATION) TV broadcast stations around Orange: W28AJ ( Channel 28; ALLINGTOWN, CT; Owner: PAGING ASSOCIATES, INC.)

28; ALLINGTOWN, CT; PAGING ASSOCIATES, INC.) WTNH ( Channel 8; NEW HAVEN, CT; Owner: WTNH BROADCASTING, INC.)

8; NEW HAVEN, CT; WTNH BROADCASTING, INC.) WEDY ( Channel 65; NEW HAVEN, CT; Owner: CONNECTICUT PUBLIC BROADCASTING, INC.)

65; NEW HAVEN, CT; CONNECTICUT PUBLIC BROADCASTING, INC.) WCTX ( Channel 59; NEW HAVEN, CT; Owner: WTNH BROADCASTING, INC.)

59; NEW HAVEN, CT; WTNH BROADCASTING, INC.) WEDW ( Channel 49; BRIDGEPORT, CT; Owner: CONNECTICUT PUBLIC BROADCASTING, INC.)

49; BRIDGEPORT, CT; CONNECTICUT PUBLIC BROADCASTING, INC.) WSAH ( Channel 43; BRIDGEPORT, CT; Owner: WSAH LICENSE, INC.)

43; BRIDGEPORT, CT; WSAH LICENSE, INC.) WTIC-TV ( Channel 61; HARTFORD, CT; Owner: TRIBUNE TELEVISION COMPANY)

61; HARTFORD, CT; TRIBUNE TELEVISION COMPANY) W11BJ ( Channel 11; HARTFORD, CT; Owner: COMMUNICATIONS SITE MANAGEMENT LLC)

11; HARTFORD, CT; COMMUNICATIONS SITE MANAGEMENT LLC) WTXX ( Channel 20; WATERBURY, CT; Owner: WTXX INC.)

20; WATERBURY, CT; WTXX INC.) WVIT ( Channel 30; NEW BRITAIN, CT; Owner: OUTLET BROADCASTING, INC)

30; NEW BRITAIN, CT; OUTLET BROADCASTING, INC) WEDH ( Channel 24; HARTFORD, CT; Owner: CONNECTICUT PUBLIC BROADCASTING, INC.)

24; HARTFORD, CT; CONNECTICUT PUBLIC BROADCASTING, INC.) WUVN ( Channel 18; HARTFORD, CT; Owner: ENTRAVISION HOLDINGS, LLC)

18; HARTFORD, CT; ENTRAVISION HOLDINGS, LLC) WFTY ( Channel 67; SMITHTOWN, NY; Owner: UNIVISION NEW YORK LLC)

67; SMITHTOWN, NY; UNIVISION NEW YORK LLC) WLNY ( Channel 55; RIVERHEAD, NY; Owner: WLNY-TV, INC.)

55; RIVERHEAD, NY; WLNY-TV, INC.) WHPX ( Channel 26; NEW LONDON, CT; Owner: PAXSON HARTFORD LICENSE, INC.)

26; NEW LONDON, CT; PAXSON HARTFORD LICENSE, INC.) W51BZ ( Channel 51; NEW HAVEN, CT; Owner: it COMMUNICATIONS, INC.)

51; NEW HAVEN, CT; it COMMUNICATIONS, INC.) W65DZ (Channel 65; BRIDGEPORT, CT; Owner: PAGING ASSOCIATES, INC.)

National Bridge Inventory (NBI) Statistics

19 Number of bridges

Number of bridges 95ft / 28.6m Total length

Total length $2,250,000 Total costs

Total costs 507,172 Total average daily traffic

Total average daily traffic 18,434 Total average daily truck traffic

Total average daily truck traffic 293,018 Total future (year 2031) average daily traffic

New bridges - historical statistics

1 Before 1900

10 1940-1949

1 1960-1969

3 1980-1989

4 2000-2009 See full National Bridge Inventory statistics for Orange, CT

Home Mortgage Disclosure Act Aggregated Statistics For Year 2009

(Based on 4 full tracts) A) FHA, FSA/RHS & VA

Home Purchase Loans B) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans C) Refinancings

D) Home Improvement Loans

F) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A B C & D) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 17 $314,353 77 $281,026 436 $258,950 20 $171,750 2 $154,500 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 1 $271,000 12 $287,000 29 $274,241 1 $392,000 3 $208,000 APPLICATIONS DENIED 1 $334,000 10 $265,900 101 $305,020 12 $86,667 3 $299,667 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 0 $0 14 $317,857 70 $264,971 3 $231,333 0 $0 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 1 $311,000 1 $315,000 10 $256,200 1 $325,000 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2008

(Based on 4 full tracts) A) FHA, FSA/RHS & VA

Home Purchase Loans B) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans C) Refinancings

D) Home Improvement Loans

F) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A B C & D) G) Loans On Manufactured

Home Dwelling (A B C & D) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 13 $313,385 94 $299,085 177 $268,469 34 $105,118 3 $468,333 0 $0 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 1 $284,000 15 $281,133 34 $335,853 7 $81,714 0 $0 2 $29,500 APPLICATIONS DENIED 4 $300,000 17 $311,118 80 $287,175 11 $116,000 2 $285,000 1 $203,000 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 1 $295,000 9 $374,556 32 $290,813 2 $65,000 0 $0 0 $0 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 6 $306,167 7 $349,857 3 $46,667 0 $0 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2007

(Based on 4 full tracts) A) FHA, FSA/RHS & VA

Home Purchase Loans B) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans C) Refinancings

D) Home Improvement Loans

F) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A B C & D) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 1 $259,000 149 $288,691 215 $269,181 77 $118,312 9 $284,667 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 0 $0 23 $333,435 55 $236,091 11 $62,364 1 $168,000 APPLICATIONS DENIED 0 $0 29 $313,655 95 $329,284 27 $168,185 3 $271,333 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 0 $0 8 $301,875 44 $364,477 10 $67,500 2 $222,500 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 6 $274,667 25 $275,960 1 $100,000 1 $256,000 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2006

(Based on 4 full tracts) A) FHA, FSA/RHS & VA

Home Purchase Loans B) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans C) Refinancings

D) Home Improvement Loans

E) Loans on Dwellings For 5+ Families

F) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A B C & D) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 1 $295,000 184 $294,527 236 $243,000 74 $84,405 1 $7,800,000 14 $260,571 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 0 $0 29 $312,241 63 $199,063 11 $67,364 0 $0 0 $0 APPLICATIONS DENIED 0 $0 29 $260,897 110 $307,673 22 $132,273 0 $0 1 $250,000 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 0 $0 21 $349,238 82 $232,793 7 $112,429 0 $0 4 $298,500 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 2 $257,500 26 $313,192 3 $90,333 0 $0 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2005

(Based on 4 full tracts) A) FHA, FSA/RHS & VA

Home Purchase Loans B) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans C) Refinancings

D) Home Improvement Loans

F) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A B C & D) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 2 $254,500 210 $286,052 298 $241,832 70 $131,357 11 $235,364 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 0 $0 29 $259,310 61 $211,885 10 $81,300 1 $329,000 APPLICATIONS DENIED 0 $0 31 $253,161 86 $261,337 22 $99,364 4 $368,000 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 0 $0 18 $334,556 108 $282,630 14 $136,643 5 $335,000 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 6 $229,167 47 $294,000 3 $28,333 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2004

(Based on 4 full tracts) A) FHA, FSA/RHS & VA

Home Purchase Loans B) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans C) Refinancings

D) Home Improvement Loans

F) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A B C & D) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 1 $295,000 219 $267,082 342 $230,094 54 $128,481 11 $221,000 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 0 $0 37 $322,054 54 $229,815 10 $137,900 2 $212,000 APPLICATIONS DENIED 0 $0 19 $305,526 115 $265,635 32 $79,969 4 $394,250 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 0 $0 20 $247,450 128 $239,625 6 $125,500 8 $166,500 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 5 $380,200 27 $259,667 2 $80,000 1 $102,000 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2003

(Based on 4 full tracts) B) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans C) Refinancings

D) Home Improvement Loans

F) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A B C & D) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 209 $278,866 1,158 $194,972 32 $78,406 12 $194,500 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 27 $274,074 140 $207,664 11 $51,455 0 $0 APPLICATIONS DENIED 15 $343,000 156 $208,769 13 $28,231 4 $199,750 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 19 $300,684 118 $214,924 4 $53,000 3 $159,333 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 7 $208,143 20 $219,900 3 $45,000 1 $130,000 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2002

(Based on 4 full tracts) A) FHA, FSA/RHS & VA

Home Purchase Loans B) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans C) Refinancings

D) Home Improvement Loans

F) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A B C & D) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 0 $0 189 $250,265 685 $184,905 58 $46,655 8 $163,875 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 1 $107,000 26 $242,154 82 $172,061 11 $47,273 2 $355,000 APPLICATIONS DENIED 0 $0 11 $212,727 78 $179,949 20 $47,600 1 $125,000 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 0 $0 17 $279,176 95 $184,505 11 $46,091 1 $138,000 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 2 $182,000 31 $188,484 1 $35,000 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2001

(Based on 4 full tracts) A) FHA, FSA/RHS & VA

Home Purchase Loans B) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans C) Refinancings

D) Home Improvement Loans

F) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A B C & D) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 8 $206,250 182 $206,154 403 $174,012 44 $59,636 7 $126,143 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 0 $0 14 $215,214 58 $150,017 6 $38,667 1 $220,000 APPLICATIONS DENIED 0 $0 6 $186,167 75 $137,067 13 $35,077 6 $121,833 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 0 $0 22 $188,227 47 $163,213 10 $54,500 2 $11,500 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 2 $239,000 21 $173,667 2 $50,000 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2000

(Based on 4 full tracts) A) FHA, FSA/RHS & VA

Home Purchase Loans B) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans C) Refinancings

D) Home Improvement Loans

E) Loans on Dwellings For 5+ Families

F) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A B C & D) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 5 $180,800 145 $185,959 101 $133,248 42 $33,190 1 $2,784,000 5 $138,400 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 0 $0 21 $180,571 16 $119,375 8 $40,625 0 $0 2 $58,000 APPLICATIONS DENIED 0 $0 11 $148,364 53 $140,396 19 $59,632 0 $0 3 $79,333 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 0 $0 17 $209,471 28 $98,607 5 $44,400 0 $0 1 $50,000 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 1 $32,000 7 $195,571 1 $2,000 0 $0 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 1999

(Based on 4 full tracts) A) FHA, FSA/RHS & VA

Home Purchase Loans B) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans C) Refinancings

D) Home Improvement Loans

F) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A B C & D) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 6 $168,625 195 $184,978 228 $149,629 43 $43,504 7 $98,223 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 1 $110,630 14 $170,698 38 $146,993 10 $29,342 3 $237,143 APPLICATIONS DENIED 0 $0 18 $163,211 50 $148,022 10 $27,047 2 $195,715 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 0 $0 15 $186,411 46 $140,294 15 $92,022 0 $0 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 2 $157,010 11 $157,264 0 $0 0 $0 Choose year: 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999

Detailed HMDA statistics for the following Tracts: 1571.00 , 1572.00, 1573.00, 1574.00



Private Mortgage Insurance Companies Aggregated Statistics For Year 2009

(Based on 4 full tracts) A) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans B) Refinancings

Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 18 $315,222 6 $331,000 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 5 $298,200 0 $0 APPLICATIONS DENIED 2 $356,500 0 $0 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 0 $0 0 $0 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 1 $317,000 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2008

(Based on 4 full tracts) A) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans B) Refinancings

Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 18 $329,500 6 $407,333 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 3 $484,333 4 $335,250 APPLICATIONS DENIED 0 $0 0 $0 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 1 $285,000 0 $0 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2007

(Based on 4 full tracts) A) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans B) Refinancings

Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 16 $364,000 7 $405,286 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 3 $369,000 4 $418,750 APPLICATIONS DENIED 0 $0 0 $0 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 1 $250,000 0 $0 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 1 $349,000 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2006

(Based on 4 full tracts) A) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans B) Refinancings

C) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A & B) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 12 $300,500 1 $597,000 1 $387,000 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 3 $332,000 2 $365,500 0 $0 APPLICATIONS DENIED 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 1 $387,000 0 $0 1 $387,000 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2005

(Based on 4 full tracts) A) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans B) Refinancings

Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 17 $330,765 2 $429,500 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 5 $315,000 3 $322,667 APPLICATIONS DENIED 2 $850,000 0 $0 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 1 $397,000 0 $0 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2004

(Based on 4 full tracts) A) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans B) Refinancings

C) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A & B) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 20 $323,700 4 $230,250 2 $245,500 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 2 $331,000 2 $338,500 0 $0 APPLICATIONS DENIED 0 $0 1 $202,000 0 $0 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 0 $0 1 $202,000 0 $0 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2003

(Based on 4 full tracts) A) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans B) Refinancings

Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 23 $269,348 7 $268,714 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 7 $246,286 8 $247,750 APPLICATIONS DENIED 0 $0 0 $0 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 2 $299,500 1 $385,000 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2002

(Based on 4 full tracts) A) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans B) Refinancings

C) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A & B) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 26 $247,423 13 $230,231 1 $167,000 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 5 $159,600 5 $250,000 1 $155,000 APPLICATIONS DENIED 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 3 $226,333 0 $0 1 $138,000 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2001

(Based on 4 full tracts) A) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans B) Refinancings

C) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A & B) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 34 $233,559 6 $216,667 2 $132,000 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 2 $242,500 2 $180,500 0 $0 APPLICATIONS DENIED 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 2000

(Based on 4 full tracts) A) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans B) Refinancings

Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 30 $214,667 5 $213,400 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 7 $246,286 2 $201,500 APPLICATIONS DENIED 2 $163,000 0 $0 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 1 $131,000 1 $161,000 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 0 $0 Aggregated Statistics For Year 1999

(Based on 4 full tracts) A) Conventional

Home Purchase Loans B) Refinancings

C) Non-occupant Loans on

< 5 Family Dwellings (A & B) Number Average Value Number Average Value Number Average Value LOANS ORIGINATED 43 $206,797 13 $192,180 0 $0 APPLICATIONS APPROVED, NOT ACCEPTED 7 $206,667 2 $239,720 1 $133,580 APPLICATIONS DENIED 2 $255,260 0 $0 0 $0 APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN 3 $203,677 0 $0 0 $0 FILES CLOSED FOR INCOMPLETENESS 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0 Choose year: 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999

Detailed PMIC statistics for the following Tracts: 1571.00 , 1572.00, 1573.00, 1574.00





2002 - 2018 National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) incidents According to the data from the years 2002 - 2018 the average number of fires per year is 58. The highest number of reported fire incidents - 87 took place in 2010, and the least - 27 in 2017. The data has a growing trend.



Fire incident types reported to NFIRS in Orange, CT



450 46.0% Outside Fires



252 25.7% Structure Fires



248 25.3% Mobile Property/Vehicle Fires



29 3.0% Other When looking into fire subcategories, the most reports belonged to: Outside Fires (46.0%), and Structure Fires (25.7%). See full National Fire Incident Reporting System statistics for Orange, CT

Houses and condos Apartments 78.8% Fuel oil, kerosene, etc.

13.1% Utility gas

3.7% Bottled, tank, or LP gas

2.3% Electricity

1.7% Wood

0.4% Other fuel 43.2% Utility gas

32.4% Fuel oil, kerosene, etc.

17.3% Electricity

4.0% Coal or coke

3.2% Bottled, tank, or LP gas





Orange compared to Connecticut state average: Median household income above state average.

above Unemployed percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Black race population percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Hispanic race population percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Median age above state average.

above Renting percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Number of rooms per house above state average.

above Percentage of population with a bachelor's degree or higher above state average.

Orange on our top lists: #63 on the list of "Top 101 cities with the lowest number of assaults per 100,000 residents (population 5,000+)"

#86 on the list of "Top 101 cities with the most residents born in Belarus (population 500+)"

#95 on the list of "Top 101 cities with the largest city-data.com crime index increase from 2002 to 2012 (population 5,000+)" #7 on the list of "Top 101 counties with highest percentage of residents voting for Obama (Democrat) in the 2012 Presidential Election"

#14 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the most Catholic congregations"

#36 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the most Catholic adherents"

#38 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the lowest percentage of residents that keep firearms around their homes"

#47 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the highest carbon monoxide air pollution readings in 2012 (ppm)"

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Readfield, Maine

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Population in 2010: 2,598.

Population change since 2000: +10.1%

2,598.+10.1%

Males: 1,290 (49.7%) Females: 1,308 (50.3%)

Median resident age: 43.4 years Maine median age: 43.0 years

Zip codes: 04355.

Estimated median household income in 2019: $74,200 (it was $48,893 in 2000)

Readfield: $74,200 ME: $58,924

Estimated per capita income in 2019: $36,246 (it was $20,707 in 2000)



Readfield town income, earnings, and wages data



Estimated median house or condo value in 2019: $208,106 (it was $103,500 in 2000) Readfield: $208,106 ME: $200,500

Mean prices in 2019: all housing units: $195,094; detached houses: $211,393; townhouses or other attached units: $175,581; in 2-unit structures: $139,149; in 3-to-4-unit structures: $205,301; in 5-or-more-unit structures: $178,587; mobile homes: $68,894 $74,200 ($48,893$36,246 ($20,707$208,106 ($103,500$195,094;$211,393;$175,581;$139,149;$205,301;$178,587;$68,894

March 2019 cost of living index in Readfield: 92.7 (less than average, U.S. average is 100)

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2,516 96.8% White alone 27 1.0% Two or more races 17 0.7% Hispanic 15 0.6% Asian alone 8 0.3% Black alone 9 0.3% American Indian alone 4 0.2% Native Hawaiian and Other

Pacific Islander alone 2 0.08% Other race alone

Races in Readfield detailed stats: ancestries, foreign born residents, place of birth





According to our research of Maine and other state lists, there were 6 registered sex offenders living in Readfield, Maine as of November 22, 2021.

The ratio of all residents to sex offenders in Readfield is 433 to 1.

The ratio of registered sex offenders to all residents in this city is near the state average.







Latest news from Readfield, ME collected exclusively by city-data.com from local newspapers, TV, and radio stations

Ancestries: English (29.2%), United States (16.3%), French (14.7%), Irish (14.6%), German (9.5%), French Canadian (4.8%).

Current Local Time: EST time zone

Elevation: 300 feet

Land area: 29.2 square miles. Population density: 89 people per square mile (very low).

19 residents are foreign born This town: 0.8% Maine: 2.9%

Median real estate property taxes paid for housing units in 2000: Readfield town: 1.5% ($1,574) Maine: 1.5% ($1,417)

Latitude: 44.38 N, Longitude: 69.95 W

Area code: 207

Single-family new house construction building permits: 1997: 6 buildings , average cost: $100,000

6 $100,000 1998: 10 buildings , average cost: $95,500

10 $95,500 1999: 6 buildings , average cost: $148,300

6 $148,300 2000: 8 buildings , average cost: $122,000

8 $122,000 2001: 17 buildings , average cost: $97,100

17 $97,100 2002: 23 buildings , average cost: $130,400

23 $130,400 2003: 26 buildings , average cost: $150,000

26 $150,000 2004: 25 buildings , average cost: $160,000

25 $160,000 2005: 17 buildings , average cost: $147,100

17 $147,100 2006: 20 buildings , average cost: $15,000

20 $15,000 2007: 15 buildings , average cost: $181,200

15 $181,200 2008: 11 buildings , average cost: $154,500

11 $154,500 2009: 4 buildings , average cost: $156,300

4 $156,300 2010: 1 building , cost: $260,000

1 $260,000 2011: 2 buildings , average cost: $290,000

2 $290,000 2012: 3 buildings , average cost: $191,700

3 $191,700 2013: 3 buildings , average cost: $133,300

3 $133,300 2014: 6 buildings , average cost: $154,500

6 $154,500 2015: 1 building , cost: $200,000

1 $200,000 2016: 7 buildings , average cost: $186,800

7 $186,800 2017: 7 buildings , average cost: $186,800

7 $186,800 2018: 9 buildings , average cost: $188,900

9 $188,900 2019: 5 buildings, average cost: $125,000

Unemployment in November 2020:

Here: 3.2% Maine: 4.7%

Most common industries in Readfield, ME (%) Both Males Females

Educational services (18.5%)

Health care (11.2%)

Public administration (8.6%)

Construction (8.2%)

Professional, scientific, technical services (5.3%)

Accommodation & food services (3.6%)

Social assistance (3.3%)

Construction (13.9%)

Educational services (11.1%)

Health care (7.9%)

Public administration (7.9%)

Professional, scientific, technical services (5.9%)

Utilities (4.6%)

Paper (3.7%)

Educational services (27.3%)

Health care (15.1%)

Public administration (9.5%)

Social assistance (7.3%)

Professional, scientific, technical services (4.6%)

Accommodation & food services (4.6%)

Finance & insurance (4.0%) Most common occupations in Readfield, ME (%) Both Males Females

Preschool, kindergarten, elementary, and middle school teachers (7.3%)

Teachers, secondary school (4.1%)

Electrical equipment mechanics and other installation, maintenance, and repair workers, including supervisors (3.8%)

Other management occupations, except farmers and farm managers (3.5%)

Other sales and related occupations, including supervisors (3.4%)

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations (3.2%)

Other office and administrative support workers, including supervisors (2.9%)

Electrical equipment mechanics and other installation, maintenance, and repair workers, including supervisors (5.6%)

Other sales and related occupations, including supervisors (5.4%)

Preschool, kindergarten, elementary, and middle school teachers (4.6%)

Carpenters (4.6%)

Top executives (4.0%)

Other management occupations, except farmers and farm managers (3.7%)

Computer specialists (3.5%)

Preschool, kindergarten, elementary, and middle school teachers (10.4%)

Teachers, secondary school (6.7%)

Child care workers (5.5%)

Other office and administrative support workers, including supervisors (4.7%)

Counselors, social workers, and other community and social service specialists (4.7%)

Secretaries and administrative assistants (4.4%)

Registered nurses (3.8%)

Average climate in Readfield, Maine Based on data reported by over 4,000 weather stations

Air pollution and air quality trends

(lower is better) AQI NO 2 SO 2 PM 2.5

Air Quality Index (AQI) level in 2018 was 51.1. This is significantly better than average. City: 51.1 U.S.: 74.2

Nitrogen Dioxide (NO 2 ) [ppb] level in 2018 was 3.28. This is significantly better than average. Closest monitor was 10.0 miles away from the city center. City: 3.28 U.S.: 5.56

Sulfur Dioxide (SO 2 ) [ppb] level in 2018 was 0.402. This is significantly better than average. Closest monitor was 9.5 miles away from the city center. City: 0.402 U.S.: 1.789

Particulate Matter (PM 2.5 ) [g/m3] level in 2018 was 5.18. This is significantly better than average. Closest monitor was 9.3 miles away from the city center. City: 5.18 U.S.: 8.46

Earthquake activity: Readfield-area historical earthquake activity is significantly above Maine state average. It is 76% smaller than the overall U.S. average.



On 4/20/2002 at 10:50:47, a magnitude 5.3 (5.3 ML, Depth: 3.0 mi, Class: Moderate, Intensity: VI - VII) earthquake occurred 185.2 miles away from Readfield center

On 10/16/2012 at 23:12:25, a magnitude 4.7 (4.7 ML, Depth: 10.0 mi, Class: Light, Intensity: IV - V) earthquake occurred 64.4 miles away from the city center

On 4/20/2002 at 10:50:47, a magnitude 5.2 (5.2 MB, 4.2 MS, 5.2 MW, 5.0 MW) earthquake occurred 186.2 miles away from Readfield center

On 10/7/1983 at 10:18:46, a magnitude 5.3 (5.1 MB, 5.3 LG, 5.1 ML) earthquake occurred 219.8 miles away from the city center

On 1/19/1982 at 00:14:42, a magnitude 4.7 (4.5 MB, 4.7 MD, 4.5 LG) earthquake occurred 102.2 miles away from Readfield center

On 2/26/1999 at 03:38:43, a magnitude 3.8 (3.8 LG, Depth: 2.0 mi, Class: Light, Intensity: II - III) earthquake occurred 22.4 miles away from Readfield center

Magnitude types: regional Lg-wave magnitude (LG), body-wave magnitude (MB), duration magnitude (MD), local magnitude (ML), surface-wave magnitude (MS), moment magnitude (MW)

Natural disasters: The number of natural disasters in Kennebec County (21) is greater than the US average (15).

Major Disasters (Presidential) Declared: 16

Emergencies Declared: 4



Causes of natural disasters: Floods: 13, Storms: 11, Snows: 5, Hurricanes: 3, Heavy Rains: 2, Blizzard: 1, Ice Storm: 1, Snowfall: 1, Wind: 1, Other: 2 (Note: some incidents may be assigned to more than one category).

Hospitals and medical centers near Readfield: HERITAGE REHAB AND LIVING CTR (Nursing Home, about 6 miles away; WINTHROP, ME)

KENNEBEC KIDNEY CENTER (Dialysis Facility, about 8 miles away; AUGUSTA, ME)

KENNEBEC VALLEY MEDICAL CENTER (Hospital, about 10 miles away; AUGUSTA, ME)

RIVERVIEW PSYCHIATRIC CENTER (Hospital, about 11 miles away; AUGUSTA, ME)

MAINE GENERAL REHAB AND NURSING AT GLENRIDGE (Nursing Home, about 11 miles away; AUGUSTA, ME)

SUPPORTIVE LIVING SYSTEMS INC (Home Health Center, about 11 miles away; AUGUSTA, ME)

KINDRED TRANSITIONAL CARE AND REHAB-AUGUSTA (Nursing Home, about 11 miles away; AUGUSTA, ME)

Library in Readfield: READFIELD COMMUNITY LIBRARY (Operating income: $25,325; Location: 1151 MAIN STREET; 10,297 books; 445 audio materials; 529 video materials; 52 other licensed databases; 18 print serial subscriptions)

Birthplace of: William Henry Allen (academician) - Second president of Penn State University.

Kennebec County has a predicted average indoor radon screening level greater than 4 pCi/L (pico curies per liter) - Highest Potential

Drinking water stations with addresses in Readfield and their reported violations in the past: RSU 38 MARANACOOK COMMUNITY SCHOOL (Population served: 832, Groundwater): Past health violations: MCL, Monthly (TCR) - In JAN-2012 , Contaminant: Coliform . Follow-up actions: St Public Notif requested (FEB-02-2012) , St Formal NOV issued (FEB-02-2012) , St Public Notif received (FEB-14-2012) , St Compliance achieved (FEB-29-2012)

JAN-2012 Coliform St Public Notif requested (FEB-02-2012) St Formal NOV issued (FEB-02-2012) St Public Notif received (FEB-14-2012) St Compliance achieved (FEB-29-2012) MCL, Monthly (TCR) - In NOV-2011 , Contaminant: Coliform . Follow-up actions: St Public Notif requested (DEC-01-2011) , St Formal NOV issued (DEC-01-2011) , St Public Notif received (DEC-14-2011) , St Compliance achieved (FEB-29-2012)

NOV-2011 Coliform St Public Notif requested (DEC-01-2011) St Formal NOV issued (DEC-01-2011) St Public Notif received (DEC-14-2011) St Compliance achieved (FEB-29-2012) MCL, Monthly (TCR) - In OCT-2011 , Contaminant: Coliform . Follow-up actions: St Public Notif requested (NOV-02-2011) , St Formal NOV issued (NOV-02-2011) , St Public Notif received (DEC-14-2011) , St Compliance achieved (FEB-29-2012)

OCT-2011 Coliform St Public Notif requested (NOV-02-2011) St Formal NOV issued (NOV-02-2011) St Public Notif received (DEC-14-2011) St Compliance achieved (FEB-29-2012) MCL, Monthly (TCR) - In AUG-2011 , Contaminant: Coliform . Follow-up actions: St Public Notif requested (SEP-02-2011) , St Formal NOV issued (SEP-02-2011) , St Public Notif received (2 times from SEP-07-2011 to DEC-14-2011) , St Compliance achieved (FEB-29-2012)

AUG-2011 Coliform St Public Notif requested (SEP-02-2011) St Formal NOV issued (SEP-02-2011) St Public Notif received (2 SEP-07-2011 to DEC-14-2011) St Compliance achieved (FEB-29-2012) MCL, Average - Between APR-2011 and JUN-2011 , Contaminant: Arsenic . Follow-up actions: St Public Notif requested (JUL-19-2011) , St Formal NOV issued (JUL-19-2011) , St Public Notif received (2 times from JUL-20-2011 to DEC-14-2011) , St Compliance achieved (SEP-26-2012)

APR-2011 JUN-2011 Arsenic St Public Notif requested (JUL-19-2011) St Formal NOV issued (JUL-19-2011) St Public Notif received (2 JUL-20-2011 to DEC-14-2011) St Compliance achieved (SEP-26-2012) MCL, Monthly (TCR) - In JAN-2011 , Contaminant: Coliform . Follow-up actions: St Public Notif requested (JAN-10-2011) , St Formal NOV issued (JAN-10-2011) , St Public Notif received (JAN-24-2011) , St Compliance achieved (FEB-18-2011) , St Public Notif received (DEC-14-2011) , St Compliance achieved (FEB-29-2012)

JAN-2011 Coliform St Public Notif requested (JAN-10-2011) St Formal NOV issued (JAN-10-2011) St Public Notif received (JAN-24-2011) St Compliance achieved (FEB-18-2011) St Public Notif received (DEC-14-2011) St Compliance achieved (FEB-29-2012) 5 other older health violations Past monitoring violations: Monitoring and Reporting (DBP) - Between JAN-2012 and DEC-2012 , Contaminant: TTHM . Follow-up actions: St Public Notif requested (NOV-08-2012), St Formal NOV issued (NOV-08-2012), St Public Notif received (NOV-19-2012), St Compliance achieved (JUN-13-2013)

JAN-2012 DEC-2012 TTHM St Public Notif requested (NOV-08-2012), St Formal NOV issued (NOV-08-2012), St Public Notif received (NOV-19-2012), St Compliance achieved (JUN-13-2013) Monitoring and Reporting (DBP) - Between JAN-2012 and DEC-2012 , Contaminant: Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) . Follow-up actions: St Public Notif requested (NOV-08-2012), St Formal NOV issued (NOV-08-2012), St Public Notif received (NOV-19-2012), St Compliance achieved (JUN-13-2013)

JAN-2012 DEC-2012 Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) St Public Notif requested (NOV-08-2012), St Formal NOV issued (NOV-08-2012), St Public Notif received (NOV-19-2012), St Compliance achieved (JUN-13-2013) Monitoring, Repeat Major (TCR) - In SEP-2011 , Contaminant: Coliform (TCR) . Follow-up actions: St Public Notif requested (NOV-02-2011), St Formal NOV issued (NOV-02-2011), St Public Notif received (NOV-29-2011), St Compliance achieved (FEB-29-2012)

SEP-2011 Coliform (TCR) St Public Notif requested (NOV-02-2011), St Formal NOV issued (NOV-02-2011), St Public Notif received (NOV-29-2011), St Compliance achieved (FEB-29-2012) Follow-up Or Routine LCR Tap M/R - In JAN-11-2006 , Contaminant: Lead and Copper Rule . Follow-up actions: St Public Notif requested (NOV-21-2005), St Violation/Reminder Notice (NOV-21-2005), St Compliance achieved (MAR-30-2007)

JAN-11-2006 Lead and Copper Rule St Public Notif requested (NOV-21-2005), St Violation/Reminder Notice (NOV-21-2005), St Compliance achieved (MAR-30-2007) One routine major monitoring violation

16 regular monitoring violations RSU 38 READFIELD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (Population served: 240, Groundwater): Past monitoring violations: Follow-up Or Routine LCR Tap M/R - In JAN-10-2006 , Contaminant: Lead and Copper Rule . Follow-up actions: St Public Notif requested (FEB-28-2006), St Violation/Reminder Notice (FEB-28-2006), St Compliance achieved (JUN-14-2006), St Intentional no-action (JUL-26-2011)

JAN-10-2006 Lead and Copper Rule St Public Notif requested (FEB-28-2006), St Violation/Reminder Notice (FEB-28-2006), St Compliance achieved (JUN-14-2006), St Intentional no-action (JUL-26-2011) 3 routine major monitoring violations WEATHERVANE RESTAURANT & LOUNGE (Population served: 225, Groundwater): Past health violations: MCL, Monthly (TCR) - In SEP-2010, Contaminant: Coliform. Follow-up actions: St Public Notif requested (OCT-26-2010), St Formal NOV issued (OCT-26-2010), St Public Notif received (NOV-10-2010), St Compliance achieved (NOV-22-2010) Past monitoring violations: 4 routine major monitoring violations RSU 38 MT VERNON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (Population served: 170, Groundwater): Past health violations: MCL, Monthly (TCR) - In SEP-2010, Contaminant: Coliform. Follow-up actions: St Public Notif requested (SEP-29-2010), St Formal NOV issued (SEP-29-2010), St Compliance achieved (OCT-12-2010), St Public Notif received (APR-07-2011) Past monitoring violations: Follow-up Or Routine LCR Tap M/R - In JAN-10-2006 , Contaminant: Lead and Copper Rule . Follow-up actions: St Violation/Reminder Notice (FEB-28-2006), St Public Notif requested (FEB-28-2006), St Compliance achieved (AUG-24-2009), St Intentional no-action (AUG-18-2011)

JAN-10-2006 Lead and Copper Rule St Violation/Reminder Notice (FEB-28-2006), St Public Notif requested (FEB-28-2006), St Compliance achieved (AUG-24-2009), St Intentional no-action (AUG-18-2011) 2 routine major monitoring violations RSU 38 WAYNE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (Population served: 79, Groundwater): Past monitoring violations: 2 routine major monitoring violations MENATOMA ASSOCIATION (Population served: 60, Groundwater): Past monitoring violations: Monitoring, Repeat Major (TCR) - In OCT-2012 , Contaminant: Coliform (TCR) . Follow-up actions: St Public Notif requested (NOV-28-2012), St Formal NOV issued (NOV-28-2012), St Public Notif received (DEC-20-2012), St Compliance achieved (MAY-20-2013)

OCT-2012 Coliform (TCR) St Public Notif requested (NOV-28-2012), St Formal NOV issued (NOV-28-2012), St Public Notif received (DEC-20-2012), St Compliance achieved (MAY-20-2013) Monitoring, Source Water (GWR) - In OCT-2012 , Contaminant: E. COLI . Follow-up actions: St Public Notif requested (NOV-28-2012), St Formal NOV issued (NOV-28-2012), St Public Notif received (DEC-20-2012)

OCT-2012 E. COLI St Public Notif requested (NOV-28-2012), St Formal NOV issued (NOV-28-2012), St Public Notif received (DEC-20-2012) One routine major monitoring violation SAUNDERS MFG CO INC (Population served: 54, Groundwater): Past health violations: MCL, Average - Between OCT-2007 and DEC-2007 , Contaminant: Arsenic . Follow-up actions: St Public Notif requested (NOV-28-2007) , St Formal NOV issued (NOV-28-2007) , St Public Notif received (2 times from DEC-11-2007 to DEC-11-2007) , St Compliance achieved (JAN-30-2008)

OCT-2007 DEC-2007 Arsenic St Public Notif requested (NOV-28-2007) St Formal NOV issued (NOV-28-2007) St Public Notif received (2 DEC-11-2007 to DEC-11-2007) St Compliance achieved (JAN-30-2008) MCL, Average - Between JUL-2007 and SEP-2007, Contaminant: Arsenic. Follow-up actions: St Public Notif requested (NOV-28-2007), St Formal NOV issued (NOV-28-2007), St Public Notif received (2 times from DEC-11-2007 to DEC-11-2007), St Compliance achieved (JAN-30-2008) Drinking water stations with addresses in Readfield that have no violations reported: SUMMER HAVEN APARTMENTS (Population served: 55, Primary Water Source Type: Groundwater) RSU 38 MARANACOOK COMMUNITY SCHOOL (832Groundwater):RSU 38 READFIELD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (240Groundwater):WEATHERVANE RESTAURANT & LOUNGE (225Groundwater):RSU 38 MT VERNON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (170Groundwater):RSU 38 WAYNE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (79Groundwater):MENATOMA ASSOCIATION (60Groundwater):SAUNDERS MFG CO INC (54Groundwater):

Average household size: This town: 2.6 people Maine: 2.3 people

Percentage of family households: This town: 73.9% Whole state: 62.9%

Percentage of households with unmarried partners: This town: 8.4% Whole state: 9.4%



Likely homosexual households (counted as self-reported same-sex unmarried-partner households) Lesbian couples: 0.7% of all households

0.7% Gay men: 0.4% of all households Residents with income below the poverty level in 2009:

This town: 5.2% Whole state: 10.9% Residents with income below 50% of the poverty level in 2009:

This town: 1.2% Whole state: 4.1%

39 people in workers' group living quarters and job corps centers in 2010

Banks with branches in Readfield (2011 data): The Bank of Maine: Readfield Branch at 13 Winthrop Avenue, branch established on 2005/11/21. Info updated 2011/10/17: Bank assets: $783.5 mil, Deposits: $655.7 mil, headquarters in Portland, ME, negative income in the last year, Commercial Lending Specialization, 33 total offices

For population 15 years and over in Readfield: Never married: 19.5%

19.5% Now married: 64.9%

64.9% Separated: 1.1%

1.1% Widowed: 3.1%

3.1% Divorced: 11.4%

For population 25 years and over in Readfield: High school or higher: 92.0%

92.0% Bachelor's degree or higher: 40.8%

40.8% Graduate or professional degree: 15.6%

15.6% Unemployed: 4.4%

4.4% Mean travel time to work (commute): 25.6 minutes

Education Gini index (Inequality in education) Here: 10.1 Maine average: 11.2



Religion statistics for Readfield, ME (based on Kennebec County data) Religion Adherents Congregations Catholic 21,758 11 Mainline Protestant 8,999 60 Evangelical Protestant 5,829 56 Other 2,466 17 None 83,099 - Source: Clifford Grammich, Kirk Hadaway, Richard Houseal, Dale E.Jones, Alexei Krindatch, Richie Stanley and Richard H.Taylor. 2012. 2010 U.S.Religion Census: Religious Congregations & Membership Study. Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies. Jones, Dale E., et al. 2002. Congregations and Membership in the United States 2000. Nashville, TN: Glenmary Research Center. Graphs represent county-level data

Food Environment Statistics: Number of grocery stores: 24 Kennebec County : 1.99 / 10,000 pop. Maine : 2.80 / 10,000 pop. Number of supercenters and club stores: 2 Kennebec County : 0.17 / 10,000 pop. Maine : 0.14 / 10,000 pop. Number of convenience stores (no gas): 17 Kennebec County : 1.41 / 10,000 pop. State : 2.20 / 10,000 pop. Number of convenience stores (with gas): 77 This county : 6.38 / 10,000 pop. Maine : 5.75 / 10,000 pop. Number of full-service restaurants: 105 This county : 8.70 / 10,000 pop. Maine : 11.02 / 10,000 pop. Adult diabetes rate: Here : 8.6% Maine : 8.2% Adult obesity rate: Here : 28.2% Maine : 25.0%

5.51% of this county's 2016 resident taxpayers lived in other counties in 2015 ($44,517 average adjusted gross income) Here: 5.51% Maine average: 5.91% 10 or fewer of this county's residents moved from foreign countries between 2015 and 2016.

Top counties from which taxpayers relocated into this county between 2015 and 2016:

from Somerset County, ME 0.72% ($35,189 average AGI) from Androscoggin County, ME 0.60% ($41,631) from Cumberland County, ME 0.53% ($42,981)



5.59% of this county's 2015 resident taxpayers moved to other counties in 2016 ($47,228 average adjusted gross income) Here: 5.59% Maine average: 5.73% 0.27% of residents moved to foreign countries ($3,664 average AGI) Kennebec County: 0.27% Maine average: 0.06%

Top counties to which taxpayers relocated from this county between 2015 and 2016:

to Somerset County, ME 0.71% ($35,563 average AGI) to Cumberland County, ME 0.53% ($47,178) to Androscoggin County, ME 0.49% ($36,402)

Strongest AM radio stations in Readfield: WFAU (1280 AM; 5 kW; GARDINER, ME; Owner: CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP)

CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP) WTME (780 AM; 10 kW; RUMFORD, ME; Owner: MOUNTAIN VALLEY BROADCASTING, INC.)

MOUNTAIN VALLEY BROADCASTING, INC.) WSKW (1160 AM; 10 kW; SKOWHEGAN, ME; Owner: MOUNTAIN WIRELESS, INCORPORATED)

MOUNTAIN WIRELESS, INCORPORATED) WMDR (1340 AM; 1 kW; AUGUSTA, ME; Owner: LIGHT OF LIFE MINISTRIES, INC.)

LIGHT OF LIFE MINISTRIES, INC.) WEZW (1400 AM; 1 kW; AUGUSTA, ME; Owner: CITADEL BROADCASTING COMPANY)

CITADEL BROADCASTING COMPANY) WLAM (1470 AM; 5 kW; LEWISTON, ME; Owner: RADIO PARTNERS OF MAINE, L.P.)

RADIO PARTNERS OF MAINE, L.P.) WMTW (870 AM; 10 kW; GORHAM, ME; Owner: RADIO PARTNERS OF MAINE, L.P.)

RADIO PARTNERS OF MAINE, L.P.) WRKO (680 AM; 50 kW; BOSTON, MA; Owner: ENTERCOM BOSTON LICENSE, LLC)

ENTERCOM BOSTON LICENSE, LLC) WGAN (560 AM; 5 kW; PORTLAND, ME; Owner: SAGA COMMUNICATIONS OF NEW ENGLAND, LLC)

SAGA COMMUNICATIONS OF NEW ENGLAND, LLC) WEEI (850 AM; 50 kW; BOSTON, MA; Owner: ENTERCOM BOSTON LICENSE, LLC)

ENTERCOM BOSTON LICENSE, LLC) WBZ (1030 AM; 50 kW; BOSTON, MA; Owner: INFINITY BROADCASTING OPERATIONS, INC.)

INFINITY BROADCASTING OPERATIONS, INC.) WCRN (830 AM; 50 kW; WORCESTER, MA; Owner: CARTER BROADCASTING CORPORATION)

CARTER BROADCASTING CORPORATION) WZON (620 AM; 5 kW; BANGOR, ME; Owner: THE ZONE CORPORATION) Strongest FM radio stations in Readfield: WABK-FM (104.3 FM; GARDINER, ME; Owner: CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP)

CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP) WKCG (101.3 FM; AUGUSTA, ME; Owner: CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP)

CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP) WWWA (95.3 FM; WINSLOW, ME; Owner: LIGHT OF LIFE MINISTRIES, INC.)

LIGHT OF LIFE MINISTRIES, INC.) WMME-FM (92.3 FM; AUGUSTA, ME; Owner: CITADEL BROADCASTING COMPANY)

CITADEL BROADCASTING COMPANY) WCYI (93.9 FM; LEWISTON, ME; Owner: CITADEL BROADCASTING COMPANY)

CITADEL BROADCASTING COMPANY) WPKQ (103.7 FM; NORTH CONWAY, NH; Owner: CITADEL BROADCASTING COMPANY)

CITADEL BROADCASTING COMPANY) WTOS-FM (105.1 FM; SKOWHEGAN, ME; Owner: CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP)

CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP) WHOM (94.9 FM; MT. WASHINGTON, NH; Owner: CITADEL BROADCASTING COMPANY)

CITADEL BROADCASTING COMPANY) WLOB-FM (96.3 FM; RUMFORD, ME; Owner: ATLANTIC COAST RADIO, LLC)

ATLANTIC COAST RADIO, LLC) WTBM (100.7 FM; MEXICO, ME; Owner: MOUNTAIN VALLEY BROADCASTING, INC.)

MOUNTAIN VALLEY BROADCASTING, INC.) WBLM (102.9 FM; PORTLAND, ME; Owner: CITADEL BROADCASTING COMPANY)

CITADEL BROADCASTING COMPANY) WMEA (90.1 FM; PORTLAND, ME; Owner: MAINE PUBLIC BROADCASTING CORPORATION)

MAINE PUBLIC BROADCASTING CORPORATION) WHQO (107.9 FM; SKOWHEGAN, ME; Owner: MOUNTAIN WIRELESS, INC.)

MOUNTAIN WIRELESS, INC.) WMEP (90.5 FM; CAMDEN, ME; Owner: MAINE PUBLIC BROADCASTING CORP.)

MAINE PUBLIC BROADCASTING CORP.) WQSS (102.5 FM; CAMDEN, ME; Owner: CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.)

CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.) WTHT (107.5 FM; LEWISTON, ME; Owner: RADIO PARTNERS OF MAINE, L.P.)

RADIO PARTNERS OF MAINE, L.P.) WBCI (105.9 FM; BATH, ME; Owner: BLOUNT COMMUNICATIONS, INC.)

BLOUNT COMMUNICATIONS, INC.) WMEW (91.3 FM; WATERVILLE, ME; Owner: MAINE PUBLIC BROADCASTING CORPORATION)

MAINE PUBLIC BROADCASTING CORPORATION) WWBX (97.1 FM; BANGOR, ME; Owner: CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.)

CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC.) WJBQ (97.9 FM; PORTLAND, ME; Owner: CITADEL BROADCASTING COMPANY) TV broadcast stations around Readfield: WPFO ( Channel 23; WATERVILLE, ME; Owner: CMCG PORTLAND LICENSE LLC)

23; WATERVILLE, ME; CMCG PORTLAND LICENSE LLC) WCBB ( Channel 10; AUGUSTA, ME; Owner: MAINE PUBLIC BROADCASTING CORP.)

10; AUGUSTA, ME; MAINE PUBLIC BROADCASTING CORP.) WGME-TV ( Channel 13; PORTLAND, ME; Owner: WGME LICENSEE, LLC)

13; PORTLAND, ME; WGME LICENSEE, LLC) WMTW-TV ( Channel 8; POLAND SPRING, ME; Owner: WMTW BROADCAST GROUP, LLC)

8; POLAND SPRING, ME; WMTW BROADCAST GROUP, LLC) WFYW-LP ( Channel 69; FAIRFIELD/WATERVILLE, ME; Owner: THREE ANGELS BROADCASTING NETWORK, INC.)

69; FAIRFIELD/WATERVILLE, ME; THREE ANGELS BROADCASTING NETWORK, INC.) DW23AB ( Channel 23; WATERVILLE, ME; Owner: RUSSELL COMMUNICATIONS)

23; WATERVILLE, ME; RUSSELL COMMUNICATIONS) W21BI (Channel 21; FARMINGTON, ME; Owner: TRINITY BROADCASTING NETWORK)

Readfield fatal accident statistics for 1975 - 2019

See more detailed statistics of Readfield fatal car crashes and road traffic accidents for 1975 - 2019 here



FCC Registered Microwave Towers: 1 Readfield, 38 Lane Rd (Lat: 44.382500 Lon: -70.003722), Type: Ltower, Structure height: 51.8 m, Overall height: 53.3 m, Call Sign: WQRG784,

Assigned Frequencies: 10775.0 MHz, 10775.0 MHz, 10775.0 MHz, 10775.0 MHz, 10775.0 MHz, 10775.0 MHz, 10775.0 MHz, 10775.0 MHz, 10775.0 MHz, 19475.0 MHz... (+8 more), Grant Date: 05/10/2013, Expiration Date: 05/10/2023, Cancellation Date: 07/24/2020, Certifier: Jessica B Lyons, Registrant: At&t Services, Inc., 208 S. Akard Street, Room 2100, Dallas, TX 75202, Phone: (855) 699-7073, Email:

FCC Registered Amateur Radio Licenses: 15 (



FAA Registered Aircraft: 5 Aircraft: CESSNA 180K ( Category: Land, Seats: 4, Weight: Up to 12,499 Pounds, Speed: 114 mph), Engine: CONT MOTOR IO 520 SERIES (285 HP) (Reciprocating)

N-Number: 2582K, N2582K, N-2582K, Serial Number: 18053003, Year manufactured: 1978, Airworthiness Date: 08/11/1989, Certificate Issue Date: 08/04/2014

Registrant (Individual): David B Sherman, 148 Packard Shores Rd, Readfield, ME 04355

CESSNA 180K ( Land, 4, Up to 12,499 Pounds, 114 mph), CONT MOTOR IO 520 SERIES (285 HP) (Reciprocating) 2582K, N2582K, N-2582K, 18053003, 1978, 08/11/1989, 08/04/2014 David B Sherman, 148 Packard Shores Rd, Readfield, ME 04355 Aircraft: CESSNA 170 ( Category: Land, Seats: 4, Weight: Up to 12,499 Pounds, Speed: 105 mph), Engine: CONT MOTOR C145 SERIES (145 HP) (Reciprocating)

N-Number: 2589V, N2589V, N-2589V, Serial Number: 18094, Year manufactured: 1948, Airworthiness Date: 07/27/1956, Certificate Issue Date: 10/25/2018

Registrant (Co-Owned): Stephen L Vorpagel, Po Box 173, Readfield, ME 04355, Other Owners: Cathy J Vorpagel

CESSNA 170 ( Land, 4, Up to 12,499 Pounds, 105 mph), CONT MOTOR C145 SERIES (145 HP) (Reciprocating) 2589V, N2589V, N-2589V, 18094, 1948, 07/27/1956, 10/25/2018 Stephen L Vorpagel, Po Box 173, Readfield, ME 04355, Cathy J Vorpagel Aircraft: CESSNA 172P ( Category: Land, Seats: 4, Weight: Up to 12,499 Pounds), Engine: LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 HP) (Reciprocating)

N-Number: 65057, N65057, N-65057, Serial Number: 17275677, Year manufactured: 1982, Airworthiness Date: 03/09/1982, Certificate Issue Date: 04/06/1999

Registrant (Individual): Karen B Peterson, 378 Winthrop Rd, Readfield, ME 04355

CESSNA 172P ( Land, 4, Up to 12,499 Pounds), LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 HP) (Reciprocating) 65057, N65057, N-65057, 17275677, 1982, 03/09/1982, 04/06/1999 Karen B Peterson, 378 Winthrop Rd, Readfield, ME 04355 Aircraft: KOLB MARK III ( Category: Land, Seats: 2, Weight: Up to 12,499 Pounds), Engine: ROTAX 912UL SERIES (80 HP) (4 Cycle)

N-Number: 3698V, N3698V, N-3698V, Serial Number: M1070, Year manufactured: 1996, Airworthiness Date: 10/13/2007, Certificate Issue Date: 09/12/2011

Registrant (Individual): Phillip D Tedrick, 27 North Rd, Readfield, ME 04355

Deregistered: Cancel Date: 04/18/2018

KOLB MARK III ( Land, 2, Up to 12,499 Pounds), ROTAX 912UL SERIES (80 HP) (4 Cycle) 3698V, N3698V, N-3698V, M1070, 1996, 10/13/2007, 09/12/2011 Phillip D Tedrick, 27 North Rd, Readfield, ME 04355 04/18/2018 Aircraft: CORNING DONALD R KINGFISHER (Category: Land, Seats: 2, Weight: Up to 12,499 Pounds), Engine: LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 HP) (Reciprocating)

N-Number: 8003Z, N8003Z, N-8003Z, Serial Number: DJC-14, Year manufactured: 1992, Airworthiness Date: 05/20/1992, Certificate Issue Date: 02/29/2000

Registrant (Individual): Phillip D Tedrick, 30 Church Rd, Readfield, ME 04355

15 ( See the full list of FCC Registered Amateur Radio Licenses in Readfield

2005 - 2018 National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) incidents According to the data from the years 2005 - 2018 the average number of fires per year is 14. The highest number of reported fires - 24 took place in 2009, and the least - 6 in 2013. The data has a rising trend.



Fire incident types reported to NFIRS in Readfield, ME



153 76.5% Structure Fires



28 14.0% Outside Fires



17 8.5% Mobile Property/Vehicle Fires



2 1.0% Other When looking into fire subcategories, the most reports belonged to: Structure Fires (76.5%), and Outside Fires (14.0%). See full National Fire Incident Reporting System statistics for Readfield, ME

Houses and condos Apartments 84.4% Fuel oil, kerosene, etc.

11.1% Wood

3.0% Bottled, tank, or LP gas

1.0% Electricity

0.4% Coal or coke 83.5% Fuel oil, kerosene, etc.

6.8% Wood

4.9% Bottled, tank, or LP gas

4.9% Electricity





Readfield compared to Maine state average: Unemployed percentage below state average.

below Black race population percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Hispanic race population percentage below state average.

below Foreign-born population percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Renting percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Length of stay since moving in significantly above state average.

significantly above Number of rooms per house significantly below state average.

significantly below House age significantly below state average.

significantly below Percentage of population with a bachelor's degree or higher above state average.

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Wiley Ford, West Virginia

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Population in 2010: 1,026.

Population change since 2000: -6.3%

Males: 384 (37.5%) Females: 642 (62.5%)

Median resident age: 38.3 years West Virginia median age: 42.9 years

Zip codes: 26767.

Estimated median household income in 2019: $35,078 (it was $32,017 in 2000)

Wiley Ford: $35,078 WV: $48,850

Estimated per capita income in 2019: $19,608 (it was $15,380 in 2000)



Wiley Ford CDP income, earnings, and wages data



Estimated median house or condo value in 2019: $88,554 (it was $66,100 in 2000) Wiley Ford: $88,554 WV: $124,600

Mean prices in 2019: all housing units: $182,319; detached houses: $179,086 $35,078 ($32,017$19,608 ($15,380$88,554 ($66,100$182,319;$179,086

Median gross rent in 2019: $815.

March 2019 cost of living index in Wiley Ford: 87.0 (less than average, U.S. average is 100)

Percentage of residents living in poverty in 2019: 30.0%

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Most recent value % change since 2k Data: Median household income ($) Median household income (% change since 2000) Household income diversity Ratio of average income to average house value (%) Ratio of average income to average rent Median household income ($) - White Median household income ($) - Black or African American Median household income ($) - Asian Median household income ($) - Hispanic or Latino Median household income ($) - American Indian and Alaska Native Median household income ($) - Multirace Median household income ($) - Other Race Median household income for houses/condos with a mortgage ($) Median household income for apartments without a mortgage ($) Races - White alone (%) Races - White alone (% change since 2000) Races - Black alone (%) Races - Black alone (% change since 2000) Races - American Indian alone (%) Races - American Indian alone (% change since 2000) Races - Asian alone (%) Races - Asian alone (% change since 2000) Races - Hispanic (%) Races - Hispanic (% change since 2000) Races - Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone (%) Races - Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone (% change since 2000) Races - Two or more races (%) Races - Two or more races (% change since 2000) Races - Other race alone (%) Races - Other race alone (% change since 2000) Racial diversity Unemployment (%) Unemployment (% change since 2000) Unemployment (%) - White Unemployment (%) - Black or African American Unemployment (%) - Asian Unemployment (%) - Hispanic or Latino Unemployment (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Unemployment (%) - Multirace Unemployment (%) - Other Race Population density (people per square mile) Population - Males (%) Population - Females (%) Population - Males (%) - White Population - Males (%) - Black or African American Population - Males (%) - Asian Population - Males (%) - Hispanic or Latino Population - Males (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Population - Males (%) - Multirace Population - Males (%) - Other Race Population - Females (%) - White Population - Females (%) - Black or African American Population - Females (%) - Asian Population - Females (%) - Hispanic or Latino Population - Females (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Population - Females (%) - Multirace Population - Females (%) - Other Race Coronavirus confirmed cases (Nov 21, 2021) Deaths caused by coronavirus (Nov 21, 2021) Coronavirus confirmed cases (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) Deaths caused by coronavirus (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) Daily increase in number of cases (Nov 21, 2021) Weekly increase in number of cases (Nov 21, 2021) Cases doubled (in days) (Nov 21, 2021) Hospitalized patients (Nov 21, 2021) Negative test results (Nov 21, 2021) Total test results (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses distributed (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses administered (per 100k population) (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses distributed (Nov 21, 2021) COVID Vaccine doses administered (Nov 21, 2021) Likely homosexual households (%) Likely homosexual households (% change since 2000) Likely homosexual households - Lesbian couples (%) Likely homosexual households - Lesbian couples (% change since 2000) Likely homosexual households - Gay men (%) Likely homosexual households - Gay men (% change since 2000) Cost of living index Median gross rent ($) Median contract rent ($) Median monthly housing costs ($) Median house or condo value ($) Median house or condo value ($ change since 2000) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 1, detached ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 1, attached ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 2 ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure by units in structure - 3 or 4 ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - 5 or more ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - Boat, RV, van, etc. ($) Mean house or condo value by units in structure - Mobile home ($) Median house or condo value ($) - White Median house or condo value ($) - Black or African American Median house or condo value ($) - Asian Median house or condo value ($) - Hispanic or Latino Median house or condo value ($) - American Indian and Alaska Native Median house or condo value ($) - Multirace Median house or condo value ($) - Other Race Median resident age Resident age diversity Median resident age - Males Median resident age - Females Median resident age - White Median resident age - Black or African American Median resident age - Asian Median resident age - Hispanic or Latino Median resident age - American Indian and Alaska Native Median resident age - Multirace Median resident age - Other Race Median resident age - Males - White Median resident age - Males - Black or African American Median resident age - Males - Asian Median resident age - Males - Hispanic or Latino Median resident age - Males - American Indian and Alaska Native Median resident age - Males - Multirace Median resident age - Males - Other Race Median resident age - Females - White Median resident age - Females - Black or African American Median resident age - Females - Asian Median resident age - Females - Hispanic or Latino Median resident age - Females - American Indian and Alaska Native Median resident age - Females - Multirace Median resident age - Females - Other Race Commute - mean travel time to work (minutes) Travel time to work - Less than 5 minutes (%) Travel time to work - Less than 5 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 5 to 9 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 5 to 9 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 10 to 19 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 10 to 19 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 20 to 29 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 20 to 29 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 30 to 39 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 30 to 39 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 40 to 59 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 40 to 59 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 60 to 89 minutes (%) Travel time to work - 60 to 89 minutes (% change since 2000) Travel time to work - 90 or more minutes (%) Travel time to work - 90 or more minutes (% change since 2000) Marital status - Never married (%) Marital status - Now married (%) Marital status - Separated (%) Marital status - Widowed (%) Marital status - Divorced (%) Median family income ($) Median family income (% change since 2000) Median non-family income ($) Median non-family income (% change since 2000) Median per capita income ($) Median per capita income (% change since 2000) Median family income ($) - White Median family income ($) - Black or African American Median family income ($) - Asian Median family income ($) - Hispanic or Latino Median family income ($) - American Indian and Alaska Native Median family income ($) - Multirace Median family income ($) - Other Race Median year house/condo built Median year apartment built Year house built - Built 2005 or later (%) Year house built - Built 2000 to 2004 (%) Year house built - Built 1990 to 1999 (%) Year house built - Built 1980 to 1989 (%) Year house built - Built 1970 to 1979 (%) Year house built - Built 1960 to 1969 (%) Year house built - Built 1950 to 1959 (%) Year house built - Built 1940 to 1949 (%) Year house built - Built 1939 or earlier (%) Average household size Household density (households per square mile) Average household size - White Average household size - Black or African American Average household size - Asian Average household size - Hispanic or Latino Average household size - American Indian and Alaska Native Average household size - Multirace Average household size - Other Race Occupied housing units (%) Vacant housing units (%) Owner occupied housing units (%) Renter occupied housing units (%) Vacancy status - For rent (%) Vacancy status - For sale only (%) Vacancy status - Rented or sold, not occupied (%) Vacancy status - For seasonal, recreational, or occasional use (%) Vacancy status - For migrant workers (%) Vacancy status - Other vacant (%) Residents with income below the poverty level (%) Residents with income below 50% of the poverty level (%) Children below poverty level (%) Poor families by family type - Married-couple family (%) Poor families by family type - Male, no wife present (%) Poor families by family type - Female, no husband present (%) Poverty status for native-born residents (%) Poverty status for foreign-born residents (%) Poverty among high school graduates not in families (%) Poverty among people who did not graduate high school not in families (%) Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - White Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Black or African American Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Asian Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Hispanic or Latino Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - American Indian and Alaska Native Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Multirace Residents with income below the poverty level (%) - Other Race Air pollution - Air Quality Index (AQI) Air pollution - CO Air pollution - NO2 Air pollution - SO2 Air pollution - Ozone Air pollution - PM10 Air pollution - PM25 Air pollution - Pb Crime - Murders per 100,000 population Crime - Rapes per 100,000 population Crime - Robberies per 100,000 population Crime - Assaults per 100,000 population Crime - Burglaries per 100,000 population Crime - Thefts per 100,000 population Crime - Auto thefts per 100,000 population Crime - Arson per 100,000 population Crime - City-data.com crime index Crime - Violent crime index Crime - Property crime index Crime - Murders per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Rapes per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Robberies per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Assaults per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Burglaries per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Thefts per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Auto thefts per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - Arson per 100,000 population (5 year average) Crime - City-data.com crime index (5 year average) Crime - Violent crime index (5 year average) Crime - Property crime index (5 year average) 1996 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Clinton) 1996 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Dole) 1996 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2000 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Gore) 2000 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Bush) 2000 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2004 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Kerry) 2004 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Bush) 2004 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2008 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Obama) 2008 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (McCain) 2008 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2012 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Obama) 2012 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Romney) 2012 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2016 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Clinton) 2016 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Trump) 2016 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other 2020 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Democratic Party (Biden) 2020 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Republican Party (Trump) 2020 Presidential Elections Results (%) - Other Ancestries Reported - Arab (%) Ancestries Reported - Czech (%) Ancestries Reported - Danish (%) Ancestries Reported - Dutch (%) Ancestries Reported - English (%) Ancestries Reported - French (%) Ancestries Reported - French Canadian (%) Ancestries Reported - German (%) Ancestries Reported - Greek (%) Ancestries Reported - Hungarian (%) Ancestries Reported - Irish (%) Ancestries Reported - Italian (%) Ancestries Reported - Lithuanian (%) Ancestries Reported - Norwegian (%) Ancestries Reported - Polish (%) Ancestries Reported - Portuguese (%) Ancestries Reported - Russian (%) Ancestries Reported - Scotch-Irish (%) Ancestries Reported - Scottish (%) Ancestries Reported - Slovak (%) Ancestries Reported - Subsaharan African (%) Ancestries Reported - Swedish (%) Ancestries Reported - Swiss (%) Ancestries Reported - Ukrainian (%) Ancestries Reported - United States (%) Ancestries Reported - Welsh (%) Ancestries Reported - West Indian (%) Ancestries Reported - Other (%) Educational Attainment - No schooling completed (%) Educational Attainment - Less than high school (%) Educational Attainment - High school or equivalent (%) Educational Attainment - Less than 1 year of college (%) Educational Attainment - 1 or more years of college (%) Educational Attainment - Associate degree (%) Educational Attainment - Bachelor's degree (%) Educational Attainment - Master's degree (%) Educational Attainment - Professional school degree (%) Educational Attainment - Doctorate degree (%) School Enrollment - Nursery, preschool (%) School Enrollment - Kindergarten (%) School Enrollment - Grade 1 to 4 (%) School Enrollment - Grade 5 to 8 (%) School Enrollment - Grade 9 to 12 (%) School Enrollment - College undergrad (%) School Enrollment - Graduate or professional (%) School Enrollment - Not enrolled in school (%) School enrollment - Public schools (%) School enrollment - Private schools (%) School enrollment - Not enrolled (%) Median number of rooms in houses and condos Median number of rooms in apartments Housing units lacking complete plumbing facilities (%) Housing units lacking complete kitchen facilities (%) Density of houses Urban houses (%) Rural houses (%) Households with people 60 years and over (%) Households with people 65 years and over (%) Households with people 75 years and over (%) Households with one or more nonrelatives (%) Households with no nonrelatives (%) Population in households (%) Family households (%) Nonfamily households (%) Population in families (%) Family households with own children (%) Median number of bedrooms in owner occupied houses Mean number of bedrooms in owner occupied houses Median number of bedrooms in renter occupied houses Mean number of bedrooms in renter occupied houses Median number of vehichles in owner occupied houses Mean number of vehichles in owner occupied houses Median number of vehichles in renter occupied houses Mean number of vehichles in renter occupied houses Mortgage status - with mortgage (%) Mortgage status - with second mortgage (%) Mortgage status - with home equity loan (%) Mortgage status - with both second mortgage and home equity loan (%) Mortgage status - without a mortgage (%) Average family size Average family size - White Average family size - Black or African American Average family size - Asian Average family size - Hispanic or Latino Average family size - American Indian and Alaska Native Average family size - Multirace Average family size - Other Race Geographical mobility - Same house 1 year ago (%) Geographical mobility - Moved within same county (%) Geographical mobility - Moved from different county within same state (%) Geographical mobility - Moved from different state (%) Geographical mobility - Moved from abroad (%) Place of birth - Born in state of residence (%) Place of birth - Born in other state (%) Place of birth - Native, outside of US (%) Place of birth - Foreign born (%) Housing units in structures - 1, detached (%) Housing units in structures - 1, attached (%) Housing units in structures - 2 (%) Housing units in structures - 3 or 4 (%) Housing units in structures - 5 to 9 (%) Housing units in structures - 10 to 19 (%) Housing units in structures - 20 to 49 (%) Housing units in structures - 50 or more (%) Housing units in structures - Mobile home (%) Housing units in structures - Boat, RV, van, etc. (%) House/condo owner moved in on average (years ago) Renter moved in on average (years ago) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1999 to March 2000 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1995 to 1998 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1990 to 1994 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1980 to 1989 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1970 to 1979 (%) Year householder moved into unit - Moved in 1969 or earlier (%) Means of transportation to work - Drove car alone (%) Means of transportation to work - Carpooled (%) Means of transportation to work - Public transportation (%) Means of transportation to work - Bus or trolley bus (%) Means of transportation to work - Streetcar or trolley car (%) Means of transportation to work - Subway or elevated (%) Means of transportation to work - Railroad (%) Means of transportation to work - Ferryboat (%) Means of transportation to work - Taxicab (%) Means of transportation to work - Motorcycle (%) Means of transportation to work - Bicycle (%) Means of transportation to work - Walked (%) Means of transportation to work - Other means (%) Working at home (%) Industry diversity Most Common Industries - Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining (%) Most Common Industries - Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (%) Most Common Industries - Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (%) Most Common Industries - Construction (%) Most Common Industries - Manufacturing (%) Most Common Industries - Wholesale trade (%) Most Common Industries - Retail trade (%) Most Common Industries - Transportation and warehousing, and utilities (%) Most Common Industries - Transportation and warehousing (%) Most Common Industries - Utilities (%) Most Common Industries - Information (%) Most Common Industries - Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing (%) Most Common Industries - Finance and insurance (%) Most Common Industries - Real estate and rental and leasing (%) Most Common Industries - Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services (%) Most Common Industries - Professional, scientific, and technical services (%) Most Common Industries - Management of companies and enterprises (%) Most Common Industries - Administrative and support and waste management services (%) Most Common Industries - Educational services, and health care and social assistance (%) Most Common Industries - Educational services (%) Most Common Industries - Health care and social assistance (%) Most Common Industries - Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation and food services (%) Most Common Industries - Arts, entertainment, and recreation (%) Most Common Industries - Accommodation and food services (%) Most Common Industries - Other services, except public administration (%) Most Common Industries - Public administration (%) Occupation diversity Most Common Occupations - Management, business, science, and arts occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Management, business, and financial occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Management occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Business and financial operations occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Computer, engineering, and science occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Computer and mathematical occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Architecture and engineering occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Life, physical, and social science occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Education, legal, community service, arts, and media occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Community and social service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Legal occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Education, training, and library occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Health diagnosing and treating practitioners and other technical occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Health technologists and technicians (%) Most Common Occupations - Service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Healthcare support occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Protective service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Fire fighting and prevention, and other protective service workers including supervisors (%) Most Common Occupations - Law enforcement workers including supervisors (%) Most Common Occupations - Food preparation and serving related occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Personal care and service occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Sales and office occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Sales and related occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Office and administrative support occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Construction and extraction occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Production, transportation, and material moving occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Production occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Transportation occupations (%) Most Common Occupations - Material moving occupations (%) People in Group quarters - Institutionalized population (%) People in Group quarters - Correctional institutions (%) People in Group quarters - Federal prisons and detention centers (%) People in Group quarters - Halfway houses (%) People in Group quarters - Local jails and other confinement facilities (including police lockups) (%) People in Group quarters - Military disciplinary barracks (%) People in Group quarters - State prisons (%) People in Group quarters - Other types of correctional institutions (%) People in Group quarters - Nursing homes (%) People in Group quarters - Hospitals/wards, hospices, and schools for the handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Hospitals/wards and hospices for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Hospices or homes for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Military hospitals or wards for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Other hospitals or wards for chronically ill (%) People in Group quarters - Hospitals or wards for drug/alcohol abuse (%) People in Group quarters - Mental (Psychiatric) hospitals or wards (%) People in Group quarters - Schools, hospitals, or wards for the mentally retarded (%) People in Group quarters - Schools, hospitals, or wards for the physically handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Institutions for the deaf (%) People in Group quarters - Institutions for the blind (%) People in Group quarters - Orthopedic wards and institutions for the physically handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Wards in general hospitals for patients who have no usual home elsewhere (%) People in Group quarters - Wards in military hospitals for patients who have no usual home elsewhere (%) People in Group quarters - Juvenile institutions (%) People in Group quarters - Long-term care (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for abused, dependent, and neglected children (%) People in Group quarters - Residential treatment centers for emotionally disturbed children (%) People in Group quarters - Training schools for juvenile delinquents (%) People in Group quarters - Short-term care, detention or diagnostic centers for delinquent children (%) People in Group quarters - Type of juvenile institution unknown (%) People in Group quarters - Noninstitutionalized population (%) People in Group quarters - College dormitories (includes college quarters off campus) (%) People in Group quarters - Military quarters (%) People in Group quarters - On base (%) People in Group quarters - Barracks, unaccompanied personnel housing (UPH), (Enlisted/Officer), ;and similar group living quarters for military personnel (%) People in Group quarters - Transient quarters for temporary residents (%) People in Group quarters - Military ships (%) People in Group quarters - Group homes (%) People in Group quarters - Homes or halfway houses for drug/alcohol abuse (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for the mentally ill (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for the mentally retarded (%) People in Group quarters - Homes for the physically handicapped (%) People in Group quarters - Other group homes (%) People in Group quarters - Religious group quarters (%) People in Group quarters - Dormitories (%) People in Group quarters - Agriculture workers' dormitories on farms (%) People in Group quarters - Job Corps and vocational training facilities (%) People in Group quarters - Other workers' dormitories (%) People in Group quarters - Crews of maritime vessels (%) People in Group quarters - Other nonhousehold living situations (%) People in Group quarters - Other noninstitutional group quarters (%) Residents speaking English at home (%) Residents speaking English at home - Born in the United States (%) Residents speaking English at home - Native, born elsewhere (%) Residents speaking English at home - Foreign born (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home - Born in the United States (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home - Native, born elsewhere (%) Residents speaking Spanish at home - Foreign born (%) Residents speaking other language at home (%) Residents speaking other language at home - Born in the United States (%) Residents speaking other language at home - Native, born elsewhere (%) Residents speaking other language at home - Foreign born (%) Class of Workers - Employee of private company (%) Class of Workers - Self-employed in own incorporated business (%) Class of Workers - Private not-for-profit wage and salary workers (%) Class of Workers - Local government workers (%) Class of Workers - State government workers (%) Class of Workers - Federal government workers (%) Class of Workers - Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business and Unpaid family workers (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Utility gas (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Bottled, tank, or LP gas (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Electricity (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Fuel oil, kerosene, etc. (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Coal or coke (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Wood (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Solar energy (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - Other fuel (%) House heating fuel used in houses and condos - No fuel used (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Utility gas (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Bottled, tank, or LP gas (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Electricity (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Fuel oil, kerosene, etc. (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Coal or coke (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Wood (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Solar energy (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - Other fuel (%) House heating fuel used in apartments - No fuel used (%) Armed forces status - In Armed Forces (%) Armed forces status - Civilian (%) Armed forces status - Civilian - Veteran (%) Armed forces status - Civilian - Nonveteran (%) Fatal accidents locations in years 2005-2019 Fatal accidents locations in 2005 Fatal accidents locations in 2006 Fatal accidents locations in 2007 Fatal accidents locations in 2008 Fatal accidents locations in 2009 Fatal accidents locations in 2010 Fatal accidents locations in 2011 Fatal accidents locations in 2012 Fatal accidents locations in 2013 Fatal accidents locations in 2014 Fatal accidents locations in 2015 Fatal accidents locations in 2016 Fatal accidents locations in 2017 Fatal accidents locations in 2018 Fatal accidents locations in 2019 Alcohol use - People drinking some alcohol every month (%) Alcohol use - People not drinking at all (%) Alcohol use - Average days/month drinking alcohol Alcohol use - Average drinks/week Alcohol use - Average days/year people drink much Audiometry - Average condition of hearing (%) Audiometry - People that can hear a whisper from across a quiet room (%) Audiometry - People that can hear normal voice from across a quiet room (%) Audiometry - Ears ringing, roaring, buzzing (%) Audiometry - Had a job exposure to loud noise (%) Audiometry - Had off-work exposure to loud noise (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Has high blood pressure (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Checking blood pressure at home (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Frequently checking blood cholesterol (%) Blood Pressure & Cholesterol - Has high cholesterol level (%) Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on food at supermarket/grocery store Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on food at other stores Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on eating out Consumer Behavior - Money monthly spent on carryout/delivered foods Consumer Behavior - Income spent on food at supermarket/grocery store (%) Consumer Behavior - Income spent on food at other stores (%) Consumer Behavior - Income spent on eating out (%) Consumer Behavior - Income spent on carryout/delivered foods (%) Current Health Status - General health condition (%) Current Health Status - Blood donors (%) Current Health Status - Has blood ever tested for HIV virus (%) Current Health Status - Left-handed people (%) Dermatology - People using sunscreen (%) Diabetes - Diabetics (%) Diabetes - Had a blood test for high blood sugar (%) Diabetes - People taking insulin (%) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Diet health (%) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Milk product consumption (# of products/month) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Meals not home prepared (#/week) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Meals from fast food or pizza place (#/week) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Ready-to-eat foods (#/month) Diet Behavior & Nutrition - Frozen meals/pizza (#/month) Drug Use - People that ever used marijuana or hashish (%) Drug Use - Ever used hard drugs (%) Drug Use - Ever used any form of cocaine (%) Drug Use - Ever used heroin (%) Drug Use - Ever used methamphetamine (%) Health Insurance - People covered by health insurance (%) Kidney Conditions-Urology - Avg. # of times urinating at night Medical Conditions - People with asthma (%) Medical Conditions - People with anemia (%) Medical Conditions - People with psoriasis (%) Medical Conditions - People with overweight (%) Medical Conditions - Elderly people having difficulties in thinking or remembering (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever received blood transfusion (%) Medical Conditions - People having trouble seeing even with glass/contacts (%) Medical Conditions - People with arthritis (%) Medical Conditions - People with gout (%) Medical Conditions - People with congestive heart failure (%) Medical Conditions - People with coronary heart disease (%) Medical Conditions - People with angina pectoris (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever had heart attack (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever had stroke (%) Medical Conditions - People with emphysema (%) Medical Conditions - People with thyroid problem (%) Medical Conditions - People with chronic bronchitis (%) Medical Conditions - People with any liver condition (%) Medical Conditions - People who ever had cancer or malignancy (%) Mental Health - People who have little interest in doing things (%) Mental Health - People feeling down, depressed, or hopeless (%) Mental Health - People who have trouble sleeping or sleeping too much (%) Mental Health - People feeling tired or having little energy (%) Mental Health - People with poor appetite or overeating (%) Mental Health - People feeling bad about themself (%) Mental Health - People who have trouble concentrating on things (%) Mental Health - People moving or speaking slowly or too fast (%) Mental Health - People having thoughts they would be better off dead (%) Oral Health - Average years since last visit a dentist Oral Health - People embarrassed because of mouth (%) Oral Health - People with gum disease (%) Oral Health - General health of teeth and gums (%) Oral Health - Average days a week using dental floss/device Oral Health - Average days a week using mouthwash for dental problem Oral Health - Average number of teeth Pesticide Use - Households using pesticides to control insects (%) Pesticide Use - Households using pesticides to kill weeds (%) Physical Activity - People doing vigorous-intensity work activities (%) Physical Activity - People doing moderate-intensity work activities (%) Physical Activity - People walking or bicycling (%) Physical Activity - People doing vigorous-intensity recreational activities (%) Physical Activity - People doing moderate-intensity recreational activities (%) Physical Activity - Average hours a day doing sedentary activities Physical Activity - Average hours a day watching TV or videos Physical Activity - Average hours a day using computer Physical Functioning - People having limitations keeping them from working (%) Physical Functioning - People limited in amount of work they can do (%) Physical Functioning - People that need special equipment to walk (%) Physical Functioning - People experiencing confusion/memory problems (%) Physical Functioning - People requiring special healthcare equipment (%) Prescription Medications - Average number of prescription medicines taking Preventive Aspirin Use - Adults 40+ taking low-dose aspirin (%) Reproductive Health - Vaginal deliveries (%) Reproductive Health - Cesarean deliveries (%) Reproductive Health - Deliveries resulted in a live birth (%) Reproductive Health - Pregnancies resulted in a delivery (%) Reproductive Health - Women breastfeeding newborns (%) Reproductive Health - Women that had a hysterectomy (%) Reproductive Health - Women that had both ovaries removed (%) Reproductive Health - Women that have ever taken birth control pills (%) Reproductive Health - Women taking birth control pills (%) Reproductive Health - Women that have ever used Depo-Provera or injectables (%) Reproductive Health - Women that have ever used female hormones (%) Sexual Behavior - People 18+ that ever had sex (vaginal, anal, or oral) (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever had vaginal sex with a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever performed oral sex on a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever had anal sex with a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Males 18+ that ever had any sex with a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever had vaginal sex with a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever performed oral sex on a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever had anal sex with a man (%) Sexual Behavior - Females 18+ that ever had any kind of sex with a woman (%) Sexual Behavior - Average age people first had sex Sexual Behavior - Average number of female sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of female vaginal sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average age people first performed oral sex on a woman (18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of woman performed oral sex on in lifetime (18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male anal sex partners in lifetime (males 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average age people first performed oral sex on a man (18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male oral sex partners in lifetime (18+) Sexual Behavior - People using protection when performing oral sex (%) Sexual Behavior - Average number of times people have vaginal or anal sex a year Sexual Behavior - People having sex without condom (%) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male sex partners in lifetime (females 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of male vaginal sex partners in lifetime (females 18+) Sexual Behavior - Average number of female sex partners in lifetime (females 18+) Sexual Behavior - Circumcised males 18+ (%) Sleep Disorders - Average hours sleeping at night Sleep Disorders - People that has trouble sleeping (%) Smoking-Cigarette Use - People smoking cigarettes (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ having problems with smell (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ having problems with taste (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had wisdom teeth removed (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had tonsils teeth removed (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had a loss of consciousness because of a head injury (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had a broken nose or other serious injury to face or skull (%) Taste & Smell - People 40+ that ever had two or more sinus infections (%) Weight - Average height (inches) Weight - Average weight (pounds) Weight - Average BMI Weight - People that are obese (%) Weight - People that ever were obese (%) Weight - People trying to lose weight (%) Settings Get link Loading data... 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According to our research of West Virginia and other state lists, there were 2 registered sex offenders living in Wiley Ford, West Virginia as of November 22, 2021.

The ratio of all residents to sex offenders in Wiley Ford is 419 to 1.

The ratio of registered sex offenders to all residents in this city is lower than the state average.







Latest news from Wiley Ford, WV collected exclusively by city-data.com from local newspapers, TV, and radio stations

Ancestries: German (48.8%), English (16.9%), Irish (6.0%), American (4.5%), Scottish (4.5%).

Current Local Time: EST time zone

Elevation: 627 feet

Land area: 2.89 square miles. Population density: 355 people per square mile (very low).

12 residents are foreign born This place: 1.1% West Virginia: 1.1%

Median real estate property taxes paid for housing units in 2000: Wiley Ford CDP: 0.8% ($497) West Virginia: 0.6% ($378)

Latitude: 39.62 N, Longitude: 78.77 W

Unemployment in November 2020:

Here: 5.1% West Virginia: 5.7%

Most common industries in Wiley Ford, WV (%) Both Males Females

Health care (12.1%)

Accommodation & food services (12.1%)

Rail transportation (9.1%)

Food & beverage stores (7.6%)

Transportation equipment (6.1%)

Public administration (4.4%)

Repair & maintenance (4.2%)

Rail transportation (14.5%)

Transportation equipment (9.8%)

Accommodation & food services (8.8%)

Repair & maintenance (6.8%)

Food & beverage stores (6.4%)

Religious, grantmaking, civic, professional, similar organizations (5.1%)

Public administration (4.7%)

Health care (25.0%)

Accommodation & food services (17.6%)

Food & beverage stores (9.7%)

Apparel (8.0%)

Professional, scientific, technical services (6.3%)

Finance & insurance (4.5%)

Motor vehicle & parts dealers (4.0%) Most common occupations in Wiley Ford, WV (%) Both Males Females

Assemblers and fabricators (7.0%)

Driver/sales workers and truck drivers (6.1%)

Vehicle and mobile equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers (5.5%)

Electrical equipment mechanics and other installation, maintenance, and repair workers, including supervisors (5.3%)

Other management occupations, except farmers and farm managers (5.1%)

Cashiers (5.1%)

Other office and administrative support workers, including supervisors (4.4%)

Assemblers and fabricators (11.1%)

Driver/sales workers and truck drivers (9.8%)

Vehicle and mobile equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers (8.8%)

Other management occupations, except farmers and farm managers (6.4%)

Retail sales workers, except cashiers (6.4%)

Electrical equipment mechanics and other installation, maintenance, and repair workers, including supervisors (5.1%)

Law enforcement workers, including supervisors (4.7%)

Other office and administrative support workers, including supervisors (11.9%)

Textile, apparel, and furnishings workers (10.8%)

Cashiers (9.7%)

Waiters and waitresses (8.0%)

Nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides (8.0%)

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations (8.0%)

Registered nurses (6.8%)

Average climate in Wiley Ford, West Virginia Based on data reported by over 4,000 weather stations

Air pollution and air quality trends

(lower is better) AQI CO NO 2 SO 2 Ozone PM 2.5

Air Quality Index (AQI) level in 2018 was 59.2. This is better than average. City: 59.2 U.S.: 74.2

Carbon Monoxide (CO) [ppm] level in 2018 was 0.126. This is significantly better than average. Closest monitor was 2.4 miles away from the city center. City: 0.126 U.S.: 0.267

Nitrogen Dioxide (NO 2 ) [ppb] level in 2018 was 1.78. This is significantly better than average. Closest monitor was 2.4 miles away from the city center. City: 1.78 U.S.: 5.56

Sulfur Dioxide (SO 2 ) [ppb] level in 2018 was 1.58. This is about average. Closest monitor was 1.5 miles away from the city center. City: 1.58 U.S.: 1.79

Ozone [ppb] level in 2018 was 33.0. This is about average. Closest monitor was 2.4 miles away from the city center. City: 33.0 U.S.: 33.3

Particulate Matter (PM 2.5 ) [g/m3] level in 2018 was 5.81. This is significantly better than average. Closest monitor was 14.1 miles away from the city center. City: 5.81 U.S.: 8.46

Tornado activity: Wiley Ford-area historical tornado activity is above West Virginia state average. It is 42% smaller than the overall U.S. average.

On 6/2/1998, a category F4 (max. wind speeds 207-260 mph) tornado 3.1 miles away from the Wiley Ford place center injured 5 people and caused $6 million in damages. On 5/31/1998, a category F3 (max. wind speeds 158-206 mph) tornado 13.0 miles away from the place center killed one person and injured 15 people and caused $4 million in damages.

Earthquake activity: Wiley Ford-area historical earthquake activity is significantly above West Virginia state average. It is 50% smaller than the overall U.S. average.



On 8/23/2011 at 17:51:04, a magnitude 5.8 (5.8 MW, Depth: 3.7 mi, Class: Moderate, Intensity: VI - VII) earthquake occurred 126.4 miles away from the city center

On 9/25/1998 at 19:52:52, a magnitude 5.2 (4.8 MB, 4.3 MS, 5.2 LG, 4.5 MW, Depth: 3.1 mi) earthquake occurred 155.2 miles away from the city center

On 1/31/1986 at 16:46:43, a magnitude 5.0 (5.0 MB) earthquake occurred 185.9 miles away from the city center

On 8/25/2011 at 05:07:52, a magnitude 4.5 (4.5 ML, Depth: 4.2 mi, Class: Light, Intensity: IV - V) earthquake occurred 123.4 miles away from Wiley Ford center

On 12/9/2003 at 20:59:18, a magnitude 4.5 (4.5 ML, Depth: 6.2 mi) earthquake occurred 132.5 miles away from the city center

On 1/16/1994 at 01:49:16, a magnitude 4.6 (4.6 MB, 4.6 LG, Depth: 3.1 mi) earthquake occurred 153.3 miles away from the city center

Magnitude types: regional Lg-wave magnitude (LG), body-wave magnitude (MB), local magnitude (ML), surface-wave magnitude (MS), moment magnitude (MW)

Natural disasters: The number of natural disasters in Mineral County (16) is near the US average (15).

Major Disasters (Presidential) Declared: 9

Emergencies Declared: 6



Causes of natural disasters: Floods: 5, Hurricanes: 4, Storms: 4, Droughts: 2, Mudslides: 2, Winter Storms: 2, Blizzard: 1, Heavy Rain: 1, Landslide: 1, Snowfall: 1, Snowstorm: 1, Other: 1 (Note: some incidents may be assigned to more than one category).

Hospitals and medical centers near Wiley Ford: WESTERN MARYLAND HEALTH SYSTEM HOME CARE (Home Health Center, about 2 miles away; CUMBERLAND, MD)

SACRED HEART HOSPITAL HOME HEALTH (Home Health Center, about 2 miles away; CUMBERLAND, MD)

MEMORIAL HOSPITAL AND MEDICAL CENTER OF CUMBERLAND (Hospital, about 3 miles away; CUMBERLAND, MD)

HOSPICE MEM HOSP AND MED CNTR CUMBERLAND (Hospital, about 3 miles away; CUMBERLAND, MD)

SACRED HEART HOSPITAL ECU (Nursing Home, about 3 miles away; CUMBERLAND, MD)

GOLDEN LIVINGCENTER-CUMBERLAND (Nursing Home, about 3 miles away; CUMBERLAND, MD)

WESTERN MARYLAND REGIONAL DIALYSIS CENTER (Dialysis Facility, about 4 miles away; CUMBERLAND, MD)

Amtrak station near Wiley Ford: 3 miles: CUMBERLAND (E. HARRISON ST. & QUEEN CITY DR.) . Services: fully wheelchair accessible, enclosed waiting area, public restrooms, public payphones, free short-term parking, free long-term parking, call for taxi service, intercity bus service.

Operable nuclear power plant near Wiley Ford: 15 miles: Three Mile Island 1 in Londonderry Twp., PA.



Colleges/universities with over 2000 students nearest to Wiley Ford: Allegany College of Maryland ( about 4 miles; Cumberland, MD ; Full-time enrollment: 2,407)

4 ; 2,407) Frostburg State University ( about 9 miles; Frostburg, MD ; FT enrollment: 4,944)

9 ; 4,944) University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown ( about 46 miles; Johnstown, PA ; FT enrollment: 2,815)

46 ; 2,815) Shenandoah University ( about 46 miles; Winchester, VA ; FT enrollment: 3,010)

46 ; 3,010) Lord Fairfax Community College ( about 49 miles; Middletown, VA ; FT enrollment: 4,144)

49 ; 4,144) Shepherd University ( about 54 miles; Shepherdstown, WV ; FT enrollment: 3,745)

54 ; 3,745) American Public University System (about 54 miles; Charles Town, WV; FT enrollment: 43,829) Public elementary/middle school in Wiley Ford: ASHFORD-RUMBLE ELEMENTARY (Students: 93, Location: 1649 ASHFORD NELLIS ROAD, Grades: PK-6) See full list of schools located in Wiley Ford

Mineral County has a predicted average indoor radon screening level greater than 4 pCi/L (pico curies per liter) - Highest Potential

Drinking water stations with addresses in Wiley Ford and their reported violations in the past: FRANKFORT PSD (Population served: 5,468, Surface water): Past monitoring violations: Monitoring and Reporting (DBP) - Between MAR-2014 and MAY-2014 , Contaminant: TTHM

MAR-2014 MAY-2014 TTHM Monitoring and Reporting (DBP) - Between MAR-2014 and MAY-2014 , Contaminant: Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)

MAR-2014 MAY-2014 Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) Follow-up Or Routine LCR Tap M/R - In OCT-01-2013 , Contaminant: Lead and Copper Rule . Follow-up actions: St Formal NOV issued (NOV-09-2013), St Public Notif requested (NOV-09-2013)

OCT-01-2013 Lead and Copper Rule St Formal NOV issued (NOV-09-2013), St Public Notif requested (NOV-09-2013) Monitoring and Reporting (DBP) - Between JUL-2013 and SEP-2013 , Contaminant: CARBON, TOTAL . Follow-up actions: St Formal NOV issued (NOV-15-2013), St Public Notif requested (NOV-15-2013)

JUL-2013 SEP-2013 CARBON, TOTAL St Formal NOV issued (NOV-15-2013), St Public Notif requested (NOV-15-2013) Monitoring of Treatment (SWTR-Filter) - In AUG-2012 . Follow-up actions: St Formal NOV issued (OCT-11-2012), St Compliance achieved (OCT-17-2012)

AUG-2012 St Formal NOV issued (OCT-11-2012), St Compliance achieved (OCT-17-2012) One minor monitoring violation

58 regular monitoring violations

10 other older monitoring violations FRANKFORT PSD WILEY FORD (Population served: 938, Groundwater): Past monitoring violations: Treatment Technique No Certif. Operator - In JUL-01-2004 , Contaminant: DBP Stage 1 . Follow-up actions: St Public Notif requested (SEP-20-2005), St Formal NOV issued (SEP-20-2005), St Compliance achieved (JAN-20-2006)

JUL-01-2004 DBP Stage 1 St Public Notif requested (SEP-20-2005), St Formal NOV issued (SEP-20-2005), St Compliance achieved (JAN-20-2006) 87 regular monitoring violations FRANKFORT PSD (5,468Surface water):FRANKFORT PSD WILEY FORD (938Groundwater):

Average household size: This place: 2.2 people West Virginia: 2.4 people

Percentage of family households: This place: 63.8% Whole state: 65.8%

Percentage of households with unmarried partners: This place: 7.3% Whole state: 6.6%



Likely homosexual households (counted as self-reported same-sex unmarried-partner households) Lesbian couples: 0.2% of all households

0.2% Gay men: 0.2% of all households

For population 15 years and over in Wiley Ford: Never married: 43.5%

43.5% Now married: 37.7%

37.7% Separated: 0.0%

0.0% Widowed: 5.4%

5.4% Divorced: 13.4%

For population 25 years and over in Wiley Ford: High school or higher: 91.9%

91.9% Bachelor's degree or higher: 9.6%

9.6% Graduate or professional degree: 5.0%

5.0% Unemployed: 4.5%

4.5% Mean travel time to work (commute): 30.4 minutes

Education Gini index (Inequality in education) Here: 6.9 West Virginia average: 11.0



Religion statistics for Wiley Ford, WV (based on Mineral County data) Religion Adherents Congregations Mainline Protestant 5,102 34 Evangelical Protestant 4,903 47 Catholic 1,347 3 Black Protestant 178 1 Other 46 1 None 16,636 - Source: Clifford Grammich, Kirk Hadaway, Richard Houseal, Dale E.Jones, Alexei Krindatch, Richie Stanley and Richard H.Taylor. 2012. 2010 U.S.Religion Census: Religious Congregations & Membership Study. Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies. Jones, Dale E., et al. 2002. Congregations and Membership in the United States 2000. Nashville, TN: Glenmary Research Center. Graphs represent county-level data

Food Environment Statistics: Number of grocery stores: 4 Here : 1.50 / 10,000 pop. West Virginia : 2.41 / 10,000 pop. Number of supercenters and club stores: 1 This county : 0.37 / 10,000 pop. West Virginia : 0.28 / 10,000 pop. Number of convenience stores (no gas): 7 This county : 2.62 / 10,000 pop. West Virginia : 1.09 / 10,000 pop. Number of convenience stores (with gas): 7 Mineral County : 2.62 / 10,000 pop. West Virginia : 5.38 / 10,000 pop. Number of full-service restaurants: 21 This county : 7.87 / 10,000 pop. West Virginia : 6.22 / 10,000 pop. Adult diabetes rate: Here : 11.3% West Virginia : 12.2% Adult obesity rate: This county : 31.8% West Virginia : 31.1% Low-income preschool obesity rate: Mineral County : 7.3% West Virginia : 13.1%

4.35% of this county's 2015 resident taxpayers moved to other counties in 2016 ($38,502 average adjusted gross income) Here: 4.35% West Virginia average: 5.62% 10 or fewer of this county's residents moved to foreign countries between 2015 and 2016.

Top counties to which taxpayers relocated from this county between 2015 and 2016:

to Allegany County, MD 1.15% ($31,585 average AGI) to Hampshire County, WV 0.53% ($39,877) to Grant County, WV 0.35% ($42,081)

Strongest AM radio stations in Wiley Ford: WCBC (1270 AM; 5 kW; CUMBERLAND, MD; Owner: CUMBERLAND BROADCASTING COMPANY)

CUMBERLAND BROADCASTING COMPANY) WNTR (1230 AM; 1 kW; CUMBERLAND, MD; Owner: TSCHUDY RADIO, INC)

TSCHUDY RADIO, INC) WTBO (1450 AM; 1 kW; CUMBERLAND, MD; Owner: WTBO-WKGO CORPORATION, L.L.C.)

WTBO-WKGO CORPORATION, L.L.C.) WFRB (560 AM; 5 kW; FROSTBURG, MD; Owner: WTBO-WKGO CORPORATION, L.L.C.)

WTBO-WKGO CORPORATION, L.L.C.) WVSC (990 AM; 10 kW; SOMERSET, PA; Owner: FOREVER OF JOHNSTOWN, INC.)

FOREVER OF JOHNSTOWN, INC.) WZSK (1040 AM; daytime; 10 kW; EVERETT, PA; Owner: NEW MILLENNIUM COMMUNICATIONS GROUP, INC.)

NEW MILLENNIUM COMMUNICATIONS GROUP, INC.) WLYE (850 AM; 10 kW; JOHNSTOWN, PA; Owner: FOREVER OF JOHNSTOWN, INC.)

FOREVER OF JOHNSTOWN, INC.) WCBM (680 AM; 50 kW; BALTIMORE, MD; Owner: WCBM MARYLAND, INC.)

WCBM MARYLAND, INC.) KDKA (1020 AM; 50 kW; PITTSBURGH, PA; Owner: INFINITY BROADCASTING OPERATIONS, INC.)

INFINITY BROADCASTING OPERATIONS, INC.) WMET (1150 AM; 50 kW; GAITHERSBURG, MD; Owner: BELTWAY ACQUISITION CORPORATION)

BELTWAY ACQUISITION CORPORATION) WKCW (1420 AM; 50 kW; WARRENTON, VA; Owner: WAY BROADCASTING, INC.)

WAY BROADCASTING, INC.) WTEM (980 AM; 50 kW; WASHINGTON, DC; Owner: AMFM RADIO LICENSES, L.L.C.)

AMFM RADIO LICENSES, L.L.C.) WYSN (1330 AM; 5 kW; SOMERSET, PA; Owner: DAME BROADCASTING, LLC) Strongest FM radio stations in Wiley Ford: WROG (102.9 FM; CUMBERLAND, MD; Owner: TSCHUDY RADIO, INC)

TSCHUDY RADIO, INC) WKGO (106.1 FM; CUMBERLAND, MD; Owner: WTBO-WKGO CORPORATION, L.L.C.)

WTBO-WKGO CORPORATION, L.L.C.) WLIC (97.1 FM; FROSTBURG, MD; Owner: HE'S ALIVE, INC.)

HE'S ALIVE, INC.) WFWM (91.9 FM; FROSTBURG, MD; Owner: FROSTBURG STATE UNIVERSITY)

FROSTBURG STATE UNIVERSITY) WCBC-FM (107.1 FM; KEYSER, WV; Owner: PROSPERITAS BROADCASTING SYSTEM, L P)

PROSPERITAS BROADCASTING SYSTEM, L P) WDZN (100.1 FM; ROMNEY, WV; Owner: CHARTER EQUITIES, INC.)

CHARTER EQUITIES, INC.) WFRB-FM (105.3 FM; FROSTBURG, MD; Owner: WTBO-WKGO CORPORATION, L.L.C.)

WTBO-WKGO CORPORATION, L.L.C.) WWPN (101.1 FM; WESTERNPORT, MD; Owner: ERNEST F. SANTMYIRE)

ERNEST F. SANTMYIRE) W263AJ (100.5 FM; CUMBERLAND, MD; Owner: CHARTER EQUITIES, INC.)

CHARTER EQUITIES, INC.) WQZK-FM (94.1 FM; KEYSER, WV; Owner: STARCAST SYSTEMS, INC.)

STARCAST SYSTEMS, INC.) WQZS (93.3 FM; MEYERSDALE, PA; Owner: ROGER WAHL)

ROGER WAHL) WVSB (104.1 FM; ROMNEY, WV; Owner: WEST VA. SCHS. FOR DEAF AND BLIND)

WEST VA. SCHS. FOR DEAF AND BLIND) WBVE (107.5 FM; BEDFORD, PA; Owner: CESSNA COMMUNICATIONS, INC.)

CESSNA COMMUNICATIONS, INC.) WAYC (100.9 FM; BEDFORD, PA; Owner: CESSNA COMMUNICATIONS, INC.)

CESSNA COMMUNICATIONS, INC.) WAIJ (90.3 FM; GRANTSVILLE, MD; Owner: HE'S ALIVE, INC.)

HE'S ALIVE, INC.) WTRM (91.3 FM; WINCHESTER, VA; Owner: TIMBER RIDGE MINISTRIES, INC.)

TIMBER RIDGE MINISTRIES, INC.) WQWV (103.7 FM; FISHER, WV; Owner: MCGUIRE BROADCASTING, L.L.C.)

MCGUIRE BROADCASTING, L.L.C.) WSKE (104.3 FM; EVERETT, PA; Owner: NEW MILLENNIUM COMMUNICATIONS GROUP, INC.)

NEW MILLENNIUM COMMUNICATIONS GROUP, INC.) WEEO-FM (103.7 FM; MCCONNELLSBURG, PA; Owner: ALLEGHENY MOUNTAIN NETWORK)

ALLEGHENY MOUNTAIN NETWORK) W253AB (98.5 FM; CUMBERLAND, MD; Owner: WTBO-WKGO CORPORATION, L.L.C.) TV broadcast stations around Wiley Ford: W43BP (Channel 43; CRESAPTOWN, MD; Owner: TRINITY BROADCASTING NETWORK)

Wiley Ford fatal accident list: May 5, 2017 11:48 AM, Sr-28, Lat: 39.618056, Lon: -78.773986, Vehicles: 2, Persons: 2, Fatalities: 1

Mar 7, 2016 04:37 PM, Sr-28, Sherwood Dr, Lat: 39.572550, Lon: -78.792136, Vehicles: 2, Persons: 5, Fatalities: 1

Jul 29, 2010 04:23 PM, Sr-28, Lat: 39.605258, Lon: -78.776478, Vehicles: 3, Persons: 3, Fatalities: 1

Oct 6, 2001 07:53 PM, Sr-28, Vehicles: 2, Persons: 4, Fatalities: 1, Drunk persons involved: 1

Jan 26, 1980 04:45 AM, Vehicles: 1, Persons: 2, Fatalities: 1

Sep 2, 1978 02:40 PM, Vehicles: 3, Persons: 7, Fatalities: 1



National Bridge Inventory (NBI) Statistics

1 Number of bridges

Number of bridges 43ft / 13.3m Total length

Total length 11,501 Total average daily traffic

Total average daily traffic 460 Total average daily truck traffic

Total average daily truck traffic 13,560 Total future (year 2026) average daily traffic



FCC Registered Antenna Towers: 5 Jeff Blank, 2 Miles Sw Of ( Lat: 39.593833 Lon: -78.800889), Type: 26.2, Overall height: 26.2 m, Registrant: Board Of Education Of Allegany County, Jblank@allconet.Org, , 1724 Cumbe-rland, Phone: (301) 759-2000

39.593833 -78.800889), 26.2, 26.2 m, Board Of Education Of Allegany County, Jblank@allconet.Org, , 1724 Cumbe-rland, (301) 759-2000 Jeff Blank, 1.3 Miles North Of ( Lat: 39.634472 Lon: -78.778028), Type: 25.3, Overall height: 25.3 m, Registrant: Allegany County Of Maryland, Jblank@allconet.Org, , 1724 Cumbe-rland, Phone: (301) 759-2000

39.634472 -78.778028), 25.3, 25.3 m, Allegany County Of Maryland, Jblank@allconet.Org, , 1724 Cumbe-rland, (301) 759-2000 JOHN R JENNINGS, Rt 1 Box 99 Wiley Ford Wv ( Lat: 39.618333 Lon: -78.759167), Type: 1.0, Overall height: 0 m, Registrant: Potomac Highlands Airport Authority, 99 Wiley- Ford, Phone: (304) 738-0002

39.618333 -78.759167), 1.0, 0 m, Potomac Highlands Airport Authority, 99 Wiley- Ford, (304) 738-0002 JOHN R JENNINGS, Rt 1 Box 99 ( Lat: 39.618333 Lon: -78.759167), Type: 11.0, Overall height: 10 m, Registrant: Potomac Highlands Airport Authority, Wiley- Ford, Phone: (304) 738-0002

39.618333 -78.759167), 11.0, 10 m, Potomac Highlands Airport Authority, Wiley- Ford, (304) 738-0002 JOHN R JENNINGS, Rt 1 Box 99 (Lat: 39.618139 Lon: -78.759806), Type: 11.0, Overall height: 10 m, Registrant: Potomac Highlands Airport Authority, Wiley- Ford, Phone: (304) 738-0002

FCC Registered Broadcast Land Mobile Towers: 2 2 Mi Sw ( Lat: 39.593833 Lon: -78.800889), Type: Ltower, Structure height: 26.2 m, Call Sign: KDG881,

Assigned Frequencies: 456.825 MHz, 451.825 MHz, Grant Date: 12/23/2011, Expiration Date: 01/16/2022, Registrant: Custom Computers & Communications, B 547 Hill Rd Hc 78 Box 182, Augusta, WV 26704-9267, Phone: (304) 496-8818, Fax: (304) 496-8818, Email:

39.593833 -78.800889), Ltower, 26.2 m, KDG881, 456.825 MHz, 451.825 MHz, 12/23/2011, 01/16/2022, Custom Computers & Communications, B 547 Hill Rd Hc 78 Box 182, Augusta, WV 26704-9267, (304) 496-8818, (304) 496-8818, AVIATION CUMBERLAND, Msp Aviation Cumberland Arprt (Lat: 39.615083 Lon: -78.761972), Type: Building, Structure height: 11 m, Call Sign: KNFP368,

Assigned Frequencies: 39.1000 MHz, 39.2400 MHz, 39.3400 MHz, 39.6200 MHz, 39.0800 MHz, 39.2600 MHz, 39.3200 MHz, 39.4000 MHz, 39.5200 MHz, 39.6800 MHz, 39.9200 MHz, Grant Date: 06/13/2015, Expiration Date: 08/31/2025, Registrant: Maryland Department Of State Police, 7755 Washington Blvd, Jessup, MD 20794, Phone: (410) 799-3466, Fax: (410) 799-3853, Email:

FCC Registered Microwave Towers: 4 KNOBBLY S, 2 Mi Sw Of ( Lat: 39.593833 Lon: -78.800889), Type: Ltower, Structure height: 26.2 m, Call Sign: WQCW374,

Assigned Frequencies: 17900.0 MHz, 17980.0 MHz, 11565.0 MHz, 11565.0 MHz, 11565.0 MHz, 11565.0 MHz, 11565.0 MHz, 11565.0 MHz, 11565.0 MHz, 11565.0 MHz... (+16 more), Grant Date: 05/06/2015, Expiration Date: 06/09/2025, Certifier: Jeffrey Blank, Registrant: Micronet Communications, Inc., 812 Lexington Dr, Plano, TX 75075, Phone: (972) 422-7200, Email:

39.593833 -78.800889), Ltower, 26.2 m, WQCW374, 17900.0 MHz, 17980.0 MHz, 11565.0 MHz, 11565.0 MHz, 11565.0 MHz, 11565.0 MHz, 11565.0 MHz, 11565.0 MHz, 11565.0 MHz, 11565.0 MHz... (+16 more), 05/06/2015, 06/09/2025, Jeffrey Blank, Micronet Communications, Inc., 812 Lexington Dr, Plano, TX 75075, (972) 422-7200, KNOBBLY NORTH, 1.3 Mi North Of ( Lat: 39.634472 Lon: -78.778056), Type: Tower, Structure height: 25.3 m, Call Sign: WQCW383,

Assigned Frequencies: 11155.0 MHz, 11155.0 MHz, 11155.0 MHz, 11155.0 MHz, 11155.0 MHz, 11155.0 MHz, 11155.0 MHz, 11155.0 MHz, 11155.0 MHz, 11155.0 MHz... (+3 more), Grant Date: 05/06/2015, Expiration Date: 06/09/2025, Certifier: Jeffrey Blank, Registrant: Micronet Communications, Inc., 812 Lexington Dr, Plano, TX 75075, Phone: (972) 422-7200, Email:

39.634472 -78.778056), Tower, 25.3 m, WQCW383, 11155.0 MHz, 11155.0 MHz, 11155.0 MHz, 11155.0 MHz, 11155.0 MHz, 11155.0 MHz, 11155.0 MHz, 11155.0 MHz, 11155.0 MHz, 11155.0 MHz... (+3 more), 05/06/2015, 06/09/2025, Jeffrey Blank, Micronet Communications, Inc., 812 Lexington Dr, Plano, TX 75075, (972) 422-7200, KNOBBLYNORTH, 1.3 Miles North Of ( Lat: 39.634472 Lon: -78.778028), Type: Ltower, Structure height: 25.3 m, Call Sign: WQVX433,

Assigned Frequencies: 17820.0 MHz, 17980.0 MHz, 17900.0 MHz, 18060.0 MHz, 17820.0 MHz, 17980.0 MHz, 17820.0 MHz, 17980.0 MHz, 17820.0 MHz, 17980.0 MHz... (+12 more), Grant Date: 06/05/2015, Expiration Date: 06/05/2025, Certifier: Beth Thomas, Registrant: Allconet2, 701 Kelly Rd, Cumberland, MD 21502, Phone: (301) 777-2438

39.634472 -78.778028), Ltower, 25.3 m, WQVX433, 17820.0 MHz, 17980.0 MHz, 17900.0 MHz, 18060.0 MHz, 17820.0 MHz, 17980.0 MHz, 17820.0 MHz, 17980.0 MHz, 17820.0 MHz, 17980.0 MHz... (+12 more), 06/05/2015, 06/05/2025, Beth Thomas, Allconet2, 701 Kelly Rd, Cumberland, MD 21502, (301) 777-2438 KNOBBLY S, 2 Miles Sw Of (Lat: 39.593833 Lon: -78.800889), Type: Mast, Structure height: 26.2 m, Call Sign: WQXU874, Licensee ID: L01384490,

Assigned Frequencies: 17820.0 MHz, 17820.0 MHz, 17820.0 MHz, 17820.0 MHz, 17820.0 MHz, 17820.0 MHz, 17820.0 MHz, 17820.0 MHz, 17820.0 MHz, 17820.0 MHz, Grant Date: 06/16/2016, Expiration Date: 06/16/2026, Certifier: David Kartchner, Registrant: Conxx, Inc., 434 North Centre Street, Cumberland, MD 21502, Phone: (240) 580-2767, Email:

FCC Registered Amateur Radio Licenses: 3 Call Sign: N8EBZ, Previous Call Sign: WD8IBD, Grant Date: 01/19/1988, Expiration Date: 01/19/1998, Cancellation Date: 01/20/2000, Registrant: Paul W Lail, Rt 1 Box 28k, Wiley Ford, WV 26762

N8EBZ, WD8IBD, 01/19/1988, 01/19/1998, 01/20/2000, Paul W Lail, Rt 1 Box 28k, Wiley Ford, WV 26762 Call Sign: KC8QJZ, Licensee ID: L00325239, Grant Date: 03/08/2011, Expiration Date: 02/13/2021, Certifier: William S Smith, Registrant: William S Smith, Rt 1 Box 46, Wiley Ford, WV 26767

KC8QJZ, L00325239, 03/08/2011, 02/13/2021, William S Smith, William S Smith, Rt 1 Box 46, Wiley Ford, WV 26767 Call Sign: KE8HLW, Licensee ID: L02120487, Grant Date: 07/28/2017, Expiration Date: 07/28/2027, Certifier: Adam J Morgan, Registrant: Adam J Morgan, Wiley Ford, WV 26767

FAA Registered Aircraft: 5 Aircraft: SCHWEIZER SGS 1-26B ( Category: Land, Weight: Up to 12,499 Pounds, Speed: 58 mph), Engine: None

N-Number: 2428W, N2428W, N-2428W, Serial Number: 360, Year manufactured: 1966, Airworthiness Date: 05/02/1967, Certificate Issue Date: 08/19/1996

Registrant (Corporation): Cumberland Soaring Group Inc, Po Box 346, Wiley Ford, WV 26767

SCHWEIZER SGS 1-26B ( Land, Up to 12,499 Pounds, 58 mph), None 2428W, N2428W, N-2428W, 360, 1966, 05/02/1967, 08/19/1996 Cumberland Soaring Group Inc, Po Box 346, Wiley Ford, WV 26767 Aircraft: SCHWEIZER SGS 2-33 ( Category: Land, Seats: 2, Weight: Up to 12,499 Pounds, Speed: 73 mph), Engine: None

N-Number: 2446W, N2446W, N-2446W, Serial Number: 11, Year manufactured: 1967, Airworthiness Date: 04/13/1967, Certificate Issue Date: 08/20/1996

Registrant (Corporation): Cumberland Soaring Group Inc, Po Box 346, Wiley Ford, WV 26767

SCHWEIZER SGS 2-33 ( Land, 2, Up to 12,499 Pounds, 73 mph), None 2446W, N2446W, N-2446W, 11, 1967, 04/13/1967, 08/20/1996 Cumberland Soaring Group Inc, Po Box 346, Wiley Ford, WV 26767 Aircraft: CESSNA 150E ( Category: Land, Seats: 2, Weight: Up to 12,499 Pounds, Speed: 90 mph), Engine: CONT MOTOR 0-200 SERIES (100 HP) (Reciprocating)

N-Number: 4041U, N4041U, N-4041U, Serial Number: 15061441, Year manufactured: 1965, Certificate Issue Date: 08/20/1996

Registrant (Corporation): Cumberland Soaring Group Inc, Po Box 346, Wiley Ford, WV 26767

CESSNA 150E ( Land, 2, Up to 12,499 Pounds, 90 mph), CONT MOTOR 0-200 SERIES (100 HP) (Reciprocating) 4041U, N4041U, N-4041U, 15061441, 1965, 08/20/1996 Cumberland Soaring Group Inc, Po Box 346, Wiley Ford, WV 26767 Aircraft: SCHWEIZER SGS 1-34 ( Category: Land, Weight: Up to 12,499 Pounds, Speed: 58 mph), Engine: None

N-Number: 65917, N65917, N-65917, Serial Number: 87, Year manufactured: 1974, Airworthiness Date: 03/06/1974, Certificate Issue Date: 03/03/2008

Registrant (Corporation): Cumberland Soaring Group Inc, Po Box 346, Wiley Ford, WV 26767

SCHWEIZER SGS 1-34 ( Land, Up to 12,499 Pounds, 58 mph), None 65917, N65917, N-65917, 87, 1974, 03/06/1974, 03/03/2008 Cumberland Soaring Group Inc, Po Box 346, Wiley Ford, WV 26767 Aircraft: SCHEMPP-HIRTH CIRRUS (Category: Land, Weight: Up to 12,499 Pounds, Speed: 60 mph), Engine: None

N-Number: 8169, N8169, N-8169, Serial Number: 67, Year manufactured: 1969, Airworthiness Date: 09/29/1969, Certificate Issue Date: 04/16/2004

Registrant (Corporation): Cumberland Soaring Group Inc, Po Box 346, Wiley Ford, WV 26767



2003 - 2018 National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) incidents Based on the data from the years 2003 - 2018 the average number of fires per year is 14. The highest number of fires - 26 took place in 2011, and the least - 3 in 2004. The data has a rising trend.



Fire incident types reported to NFIRS in Wiley Ford, WV



124 57.4% Structure Fires



67 31.0% Outside Fires



18 8.3% Mobile Property/Vehicle Fires



7 3.2% Other When looking into fire subcategories, the most incidents belonged to: Structure Fires (57.4%), and Outside Fires (31.0%). See full National Fire Incident Reporting System statistics for Wiley Ford, WV

Most common first names in Wiley Ford, WV among deceased individuals Name Count Lived (average) James 10 79.7 years Mary 9 75.3 years Robert 7 70.4 years Dorothy 4 72.0 years George 4 83.7 years Clarence 4 72.3 years Elizabeth 4 79.7 years John 4 69.2 years Margaret 4 72.7 years Walter 4 72.3 years Most common last names in Wiley Ford, WV among deceased individuals Last name Count Lived (average) Johnson 7 78.7 years Whitacre 6 74.3 years Houdersheldt 5 68.4 years Kline 5 76.6 years Malone 5 73.0 years Cox 4 85.0 years Robinette 4 74.0 years Ross 4 74.3 years Harris 3 78.0 years Layton 3 76.0 years

Houses and condos Apartments 54.3% Utility gas

27.4% Electricity

12.6% Fuel oil, kerosene, etc.

5.7% Wood 50.0% Electricity

19.5% Fuel oil, kerosene, etc.

18.7% Utility gas

11.7% Wood





Wiley Ford compared to West Virginia state average: Unemployed percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Black race population percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Hispanic race population percentage significantly below state average.

significantly below Foreign-born population percentage below state average.

below Renting percentage below state average.

below Length of stay since moving in above state average.

above Percentage of population with a bachelor's degree or higher below state average.

Wiley Ford on our top lists: #37 on the list of "Top 101 cities with the most people born in other U.S. states (population 500+)"

no pilots and There arepilots and 1 other airmen in this city.
Avis "Darlene" Searan, age 75, formerly of California, passed away at Restwell Home Plus in Oskaloosa, KS, on Tuesday, November 16, 2021. She was born the daughter of Leo Abraham and Avis Amelia (Gabbert) Searan in Claremore, OK, on June 25, 1946. Darlene loved watching baseball, especially,
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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 13)  Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque has failed to get a seat at the United Nations International Law Commission, an announcement from the organization indicates.

The election of new ILC members was held during UN's 32nd plenary meeting at its 76th session on November 12.

Among 11 nominees from the Asia-Pacific region, Roque got the least number of votes at 87. Only eight representatives from the said region were chosen.

All in all, there are 34 newly-elected members who will begin their five-year term on January 1, 2023.

In June, Roque confirmed that he was nominated by the Philippine government to be part of the UN body that develops and codifies international law.

His candidacy was opposed by over 150 Filipino lawyers from various organizations, who said he was unqualified after repeatedly justifying President Rodrigo Dutertes unacceptable positions on human rights, justice, pandemic response, and good governance.

READ: Roque unbothered by opposition to his ILC nomination

In a statement early Saturday, Roque said, My candidature at the ILC was a challenging campaign throughout but we met it head on.

He also thanked Duterte for the nomination and those who supported him.

I wish the new members of the ILC success, especially as they tackle challenging issues such as rising sea levels and vaccine equality - issues which I will continue to advocate for as well, he said.

CNN Philippines Anjo Alimario contributed to this report.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 13)  The Department of Health has not ruled out the possibility that a two-year-old boy, who reportedly tested positive in a COVID-19 antigen test after a mall visit, may have contracted the virus at home.

According to Department of Health spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire, the agency has already launched an investigation into the case, stressing the source of the toddler's infection has yet to be determined.

"We already instructed our regional office to look into this matter pero kailangan maintindihan na maraming pwedeng maging factor and reasons kung bakit nagkasakit ang bata," she said during a virtual briefing.

"Hindi lang ang pagpunta sa mall, maaaring dun sa bahay dun na siya nahawa. May factors na kailangang tingnan," Vergeire said.

[Translation: We have already instructed our regional office to look into this matter but they should understand that there are many possible factors and reasons why the child became ill. Maybe he did not catch the virus at the mall, but at home. There are factors that need to be looked at.]

The issue emerged after a doctor posted on a social media site that a two-year-old boy was infected with COVID, three days after visiting a shopping mall.

Vergeire said the DOH will provide more information about the case in the coming days.

However, she reminded the parents and guardians of children their responsibility to ensure they strictly follow health protocols, especially when visiting public places.

"The objective of having children out is for them to have sunlight, have exercise, but not to go to these crowded malls," she said.

The pandemic response task force earlier allowed minors in malls in the capital after the movement restrictions shifted to Alert Level 2.

In a separate interview, Dr. Benjamin Co, infectious diseases specialist, said officials must "check the veracity of that report".

"In the first place, there are many places you can get COVID. You know, let's face it there are many loopholes in the doctor... I'm not against... I'm not saying the doctor is wrong. I'm just saying the doctor should be careful in saying that the boy got it from the mall," he told CNN Philippines.

"You have to find out. How did the parents go there? Number one, baka (maybe) they took public transportation. Number two, is there anybody else sick in the house? Number three, are the parents vaccinated?" Co added.

CNN Philippines correspondent Paige Javier contributed to this report.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 13)  Former Labor chief Marianito Roque, the lone Lakas-CMD Senate bet, withdrew his candidacy on Saturday, saying it is a personal decision.

"Mabigat yung gagawing campaign eh saka masyadong maraming yung nasa field ngayon, siguro I'll take my chances sometime," he told reporters in an interview.

[Translation: The campaign will be difficult and there are also many in the field now, so maybe I will take my chances some other time.]

He said he has no idea if Lakas-CMD will field a substitute candidate.

But according to Roque's withdrawal form shared by the Commission on Elections' law department, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III will be his substitute.

The Department of Labor Employment, however, said Bello "has yet to decide" if he will be seeking a Senate seat in the 2022 polls.

The poll body will accept substitutions until Nov. 15 only.

Presidential aspirant Antonio Valdes also withdrew his candidacy and his documents stated that former anti-communist task force spokesman Antonio Parlade was to be his substitute.

Based on Comelecs tentative list, Valdes is an independent candidate. Comelec rules do not allow substitution for independent candidates.

CNN Philippines Correspondent Melissa Lopez contributed to this report.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 13) The country received on Saturday a fresh batch of 1.2 million doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.

The shipment containing a total of 1,279,000 government-procured vials arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1, state media reported.

This brings the total number of doses delivered to the country to over 123 million.

A portion of the new vaccines will be allocated for the inoculation of minors, according to the National Task Force Against COVID-19.

Officials have expressed optimism that the country will be able to hit its vaccination target for 2021 amid the increasing vaccine supply. The national government will also roll out a three-day vaccination drive from Nov. 29 to Dec. 1.  which targets to inoculate 15 million people.
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Funeral service for Otis C. Harrison, Jr., 47, formerly of Oakwood, passed away November 6, 2021 in Cypress, CA. Viewing will be on, Monday, November 22 at Emanuel Funeral Home of Palestine from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Funeral will be held on Tuesday, November 23, at True Vine DOXA Center, Fairfie
News

Racing commission issues casino license to Cherokee Nation Businesses

Randal Seyler | The Courier In this screen grab from the streaming Arkansas Racing Commission meeting on Friday, commissioners discuss awarding the Pope County casino license to Cherokee Nation Businesses.

The Arkansas Racing Commission voted 3-2 Friday afternoon to award the Pope County casino license to Cherokee Nation Businesses.

The meeting, which consisted of a conference call, was streamed on the Arkansas PBS website.

Commissioners Michael Post of Altus and Bo Hunter of Fort Smith voted against issuing the license.

Commissioners Mark Lamberth of Batesville, Steve Landers of Little Rock and Denny East of Marion voted in favor of issuing the license.

Commissioners Alex Lieblong of Conway and Butch Rice of Beebe did not vote.

The Arkansas Supreme Court ruled on Oct. 21 in favor of Cherokee Nation Businesses in their case against Gulfside Casino Partnership. The states high court reversed decisions by Circuit Judge Tim Fox, which had previously secured Gulfside to receive Pope Countys lone casino license. After this ruling, Cherokee Nation Businesses became the only qualified applicant.

The Racing Commission moved to void the license issued to Gulfside and to refund the Mississippi-based companys $250,000 deposit.

In turn, the commission will deposit the Cherokee Nation Businesses check for $250,000.

Chairman Lamberth opened the meeting by telling the commissioners the panel was required to issue the license within 30 days of the decision. Some debate over when that 30 days began ensued.

Some Pope County residents have raised concerns about a lack of transparency of people in Pope County, Post said, adding that the commission should not make a hasty decision.

The issue of Pope County is beyond the scope of this commission, Lamberth said. That is not what we are here to do today. Were here to carry out the law. What we do here today will not affect the people of Pope County.

Attorneys from the state Attorney Generals office were on hand to recommend the commissioners proceed with awarding the license to CNB.

Hunter asked if the 30-day period should not have begun on Monday when the Supreme Court was issued.

It should be noted that the applicant process has long since passed, Lamberth said. The fact of the matter is we have only one qualified applicant.

Lamberth said he did not see the wisdom in delaying the process any longer. This process has gone on for a long, long time, he said.

Politics in Pope County have muddied the waters, Lamberth said. But we have no authority over whether or not there is a casino in Pope County. Thats not the issue.

When no commissioner would make a motion on the issue, Lamberth ordered the CNB license to be issued and the Gulfside license voided and their deposit refunded.

Finally, Landers made a motion, which was seconded by East, and the roll call vote was cast.

Racing Commission spokesman Scott Hardin said that the Racing Commission staff formally issued the Pope County casino license to Cherokee Nation Businesses/Legends Resort and Casino on Friday afternoon. The name on the license is Cherokee Nation Businesses/Legends Resort and Casino LLC.

The confirmation ruling in issuance of a casino gaming license to Legends Resort, LLC on Friday marks the conclusion of many legal issues which have surrounded the enactment of Amendment 100, Pope County Judge Ben Cross said Friday afternoon. Furthermore, I have instructed legal counsel to dismiss the current litigation against the Arkansas Racing Commission which sought to prohibit a temporary casino from being constructed by previously licensed Gulfside Casino Partnership. The ruling by the Arkansas Supreme Court, and the Racing Commission actions today, render moot the need for any such litigation, as Legends Resort is being constructed in a single phase, all-inclusive build out.

The addition of several thousand construction jobs, as well as, over one thousand permanent jobs in the River Valley, will stimulate the economy and allow for public infrastructure improvements not realized since the early 1980s in this region. The resort construction, combined with an economic development agreement valued at a minimum of $38.8 million in up front dollars for local governments and nonprofits, will serve to alleviate many of the aging infrastructure issues which have beleaguered many of our smaller communities. The concurrent establishment of a nonprofit board to specifically fund local initiatives will produce an additional $16 million during the first licensure period as well. Combine all this with the influx of future tax revenue, and we have a recognized asset in keeping our local tax rates considerably lower than our neighboring counties who compete for economic growth.

I sincerely thank the Arkansas Attorney Generals Office and the Arkansas Racing Commission for their work in this complicated matter, said Dustin McDaniel, legal counsel for CNB. Mr. Campbell presented us with the license shortly after the meeting. We then filed nonsuits in two cases and motions to dismiss in the remaining cases. We will act quickly to resolve all litigation issues so that CNB can proceed with breaking ground and delivering the $38.8 million check committed in the Economic Development Agreement with Pope County.
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Well, folks, it seems Waylon Smithers (a.k.a. Springfield's most diligent executive simp) has finally grown tired of standing idly by while Monty Burns (his decades-spanning crush/boss/Jeff Bezos's final form) blocks out the sun, casually dumps vats of nuclear waste around their geographically-ambiguous town of Springfield, and, generally treats him like Homer Simpson treats anything that isn't beer, his family, or various cursed snack foods, like 64 slices of American cheese.

It may have taken upwards of three decades, but Smithers will apparently find himself a lover  one that notably isn't Mr. Burns  in an upcoming installment of The Simpsons entitled Portrait Of A Lackey On Fire," according to longtime writer Rob LaZebnik. In the installment, which hits the small screen on November 21, Smithers will romance Michael De Graaf, a fashion mogul voiced by Alias's Victor Garber, a plotline LaZebnik says he took very seriously.

"So often, gay romances are a subplot or alluded to or shown in some kind of montage or as a punchline," the writer told the New York Post of his landmark work. And what I think I was really excited about, with this episode, we get to see -- without spoiling too much -- the beginning, middle and who knows how it ends of a gay relationship, of really getting into the nitty-gritty of how gay people date, how they meet, what it's like, he continued.
WILTON  Online survey pioneer Toluna is the latest company to leave town, which was an early destination for city dwellers seeking suburban living during the COVID pandemic, but has also endured a recent surge of businesses packing up.

Toluna is moving south on Route 7 to the Merritt 7 Corporate Park in Norwalk, taking 8,000 square feet of space in the complex located just off the Merritt Parkway.

It is the second major employer Wilton has lost in recent weeks, after Beiersdorf chose Stamford for a new office. And after spending $245 million three years ago to acquire SiriusDecisions in Wilton, Forrester Research moved the office to Merritt 7 in the summer of 2020.

Last spring, Wilton vaulted Danbury for the highest vacancy rate of sub-markets in Fairfield County, at about 50 percent as calculated by Cushman & Wakefield of Connecticut.

Bridgewater Associates accounted for a substantial portion of that bump after the hedge fund moved its Wilton Woods office to Westport, according to Wilton First Selectwoman Lynne Vanderslice.

Vanderslice said she anticipates some office complexes being converted to residential uses, whether for apartments or older adult living communities.

In our plan of conservation and development, we were encouraging different kinds of housing, because weve got a lot of single-family, Vanderslice said. We have big blocks  I dont think thats all going to stay offices.

Wiltons largest employer is ASML, which has spent the past several years expanding and modernizing its semiconductor manufacturing equipment plant that employs more than 2,000 people. And more than four years after acquiring Blue Buffalo for $8 billion, General Mills has maintained the pet food makers Wilton headquarters in the same River Road complex where Toluna has been located.

Toluna offers vouchers and other rewards to people who take short surveys on how they feel about a particular product or service, providing those companies with better insights to improve marketing or the product itself.

Incorporated by Andy Greenfield in 1995 as Greenfield Online, the company was an early pioneer in online survey panels. Greenfield Online went public a decade later, then drew a $486 million buyout from Microsoft in 2008.

Microsoft kept a European e-commerce unit called Ciao that Greenfield had acquired, and sold the remaining survey business in 2009 to Paris-based Toluna, which paid $40 million. The following year, Toluna renewed a Greenfield lease for 21,000 square feet at 21 River Road.

In choosing its new Connecticut office, Toluna opted for Merritt 7 Corporate Park that is home to several headquarters offices, including those for Xerox, Datto, Emcor, the Financial Accounting Foundation, Frontier Communications, Hearst Connecticut Media, and the craft soda maker Reeds. JLL and CBRE provided brokerage advisory services in the deal.

Heading into the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Merritt 7 lost its biggest tenant after FactSet moved across the tracks of Metro North to The Towers complex.

But Merritt 7 has since gotten a boost, after the state Department of Transportation under Gov. Ned Lamont pushed ahead with a new rail station that is now under construction, despite initial doubts about tax revenue and commuting patterns that the pandemic created in the early going.

The station will include an overhead footbridge to the Merritt 7 complex, which has long run shuttles to provide easier access to trains on the Danbury Line.

Hearst Connecticut Media Group has office space in the Merritt 7 complex.

Includes prior reporting by Emily Morgan and Paul Schott.

Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-842-2545; @casoulman
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RALEIGH, N.C. (AP)  Two men imprisoned for nearly 30 years for a murder they said they did not commit have been freed following plea deals with the state of North Carolina.

Brandon Jones, 49, and Leroy Spruill, 63, had to drop their long-running innocence claims as part of the deal, but the state agreed DNA evidence tested years after their convictions, while not conclusive, could have had a direct and material bearing on their case, WRAL reported Friday.

Jones and Spruill entered Alford pleas in the case and were sentenced to time served. An Alford plea allows someone to maintain their innocence while acknowledging there is enough evidence for a conviction.

A Superior Court judge vacated the convictions Monday and followed on Wednesday with a written court order. The men were released Tuesday afternoon.

The North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission reviewed the two cases over nine years. In October 2018, the commission unanimously decided there was enough evidence for a panel of judges to review the case. The hearings were delayed, in part because authorities could not find a witness whose story shifted several times but was key to the convictions.

Jones and Spruill were convicted in the 1995 murder of Frank Swain, who was beaten, stabbed and had his throat cut in what appeared to be a robbery. They maintained they were together at a bar that night and never wavered, despite plea deals promising much less prison time if either flipped on the other.

A tire iron found at the scene did not have any fingerprints on it, according to court records. It had DNA from three people, but none from the accused, records show. These and other inconsistencies convinced observers the two men did not commit the slaying.

Willie Williams, an investigator in the initial murder case and now police chief in Plymouth, declined to comment Wednesday. Washington County District Attorney Seth Edwards also declined to comment because he had been Spruills defense counsel. Edwards also testified on Spruills behalf in Innocence Inquiry proceedings.

By dropping their innocence claims, Jones and Spruill forgo the possibility of a pardon and the $750,000 payment theyd each be eligible for if proven innocent. Chris Mumma, executive director of the North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence, said the issue could be reopened, though, if new evidence is found. The Center on Actual Innocence would provide the men with some financial support and raise money online to help them restart their lives, she said.

Spruill said he plans to return to his native Washington County, where he was convicted. Jones will head to Tennessee, where he has family.

I cant say it strongly enough or often enough, but these two men are absolutely innocent, Mumma said. Had nothing to do with the murder of Frank Swain.
BRIDGEPORT  City high schools have plans to roll out new and robust after-school arts programs.

A district-wide Afterschool Arts Academy, formally announced later this month, is slated to start in January. The program will run four days per week at Harding High School.

Bridgeport educators told Hearst Connecticut Media that as students return to school buildings and the pandemic wanes, the programs inaugural season is particularly well-timed.

There are so many benefits to the arts, said Sara-Jane Henry, the school districts performing and visual arts director. Not only critical thinking and creativity, but social-emotional growth and support.

The Afterschool Arts Academy will be open to students at Harding, Central, Bassick, Bridgeport Military Academy and Fairchild Wheeler, and could offer theater, dance, choir, drum line and music lessons.

In suburban communities, parents sign their kids up to do things like this, said Henry. Giving my Bridgeport students this opportunity thats in their city, on their doorsteps, is really motivating.

Spots will be application-based at first, Henry said, to ensure enough discipline-specific staff to support students.

Henry and others are currently in the process of interviewing staff to work each of the arts, connecting with local organizations to bring in visiting artists based on student interest, and promoting family participation.

In some ways, the jump to a district-wide interdisciplinary academy is not as big as it may seem. Bassick already has a small theater program, and its popular, so were going to expand that to make it district wide, said Henry.

A small group of students at Harding, too, formed a high school drum line that she said would be scaled up.

Long-term, Henry said she hopes to build some of these programs up to early college after-school courses to earn higher education credits.

Harding has also offered several other arts programs since it moved into its new building in 2018, which has state-of-the-art facilities that include an impressive auditorium, a Mac lab where students create digital music, a photography and video classroom, and a voice-over room. At the school-level, local groups and grants, including Connecticut Arts for Learning and the Mary Fitch grant award, have supported Hardings arts in recent years.

When I was teaching, we didnt have those things, saidKathryn Silver, a long-time visual arts teacher in the district who is currently an assistant principal at Harding. These are professional-grade equipment.

The academy is funded by COVID-relief dollars, though administrators are also using other sources to ensure their blueprints are sustainable. The new funding could also mean the return of many arts initiatives cut by the oft cash-strapped district over several years.

A lot of those elective-area classes have been trimmed because of budget, but we all know its those classes that keep our students better connected to school, said Silver.

We really believe as a staff here at Harding that it is through the arts that we will help our students and community be able to make sense of COVID and help them process what theyve experienced and be able to make sense of their world now, Silver said.

A formal announcement of the program with more information is expected around Thanksgiving.
FAIRFIELD  Sacred Heart University Community Theatre is this years host for the annual Connecticuts Got Talent competition.

The statewide showdown kicks off Saturday with the first of three rounds of auditions, with rounds two and three following on Nov. 20 and Dec. 10. The finale will be Dec. 18. All of the shows start at 7:30 p.m. at the theater, 1420 Post Road in Fairfield.

Fifteen finalists will be selected from the three rounds of auditions.

There will be a variety of performers, including singers, bands, dancers, magicians and comedians.

The live and online streaming audience will help pick the final winner. The winner receives $1,000 and the opportunity to headline a show at the SHU Community Theatre.

Tickets are general admission and cost $10 for the preliminary rounds and $25 for the finale. Visit https://shucommunitytheatre.org/ for tickets.

Anyone interested in auditioning should email AuditionsGotTalent@gmail.com.

Please check https://shucommunitytheatre.org/ for the most up-to-date announcements regarding current COVID-19 protocols.
BRIDGEPORT  As world leaders, including President Joe Biden, gathered in Glasgow, Scotland during the last two weeks for a United Nations climate summit, Mayor Joe Ganim recently joined them.

Ganim confirmed by phone Friday morning, the gatherings final day, that he was on an unannounced trip to participate in the 26th climate change summit. He arrived Tuesday and planned to head home this weekend after complying with the necessary coronavirus pandemic travel protocols.

The mayor said his participation was arranged through the United States Conference of Mayors and emphasized the importance local elected officials like himself play in achieving global goals through municipal policy-making.

For us to grasp on to that and be a part of it is critical, Ganim said in the brief interview. There is a role here and we need to lift our heads up.

But the mayor faced some criticism back home for the secrecy surrounding his trip, which was only made public Friday morning after Hearst Connecticut Media approached his office about rumors he was abroad.

Its always better to be at the table than not. If he can bring back something to us, for us, I think thats great, said City Councilman Scott Burns, one of that all-Democrat legislative bodys most vocal environmentalists. But I would have loved to have known that he was going and what sort of agenda he was looking to achieve there.

Ganims participation is not unusual given Bridgeports recent history. Beginning when his fellow Democrat, Bill Finch, was mayor from 2007 until 2015  Ganim defeated him in that years primary  elected and business officials in Connecticuts largest municipality have slowly but persistently sought to reinvent the ex-manufacturing hub into a leader in the green economy.

Some of the highlights have included: The shuttering and replacing of the aged coal-burning power plant  Connecticuts last  with a natural gas-fired facility; installation of solar panels atop the capped landfill at Seaside Park; Massachusetts-based Vineyard Winds choosing Bridgeport for its headquarters and the staging area to install wind turbines off of Marthas Vineyard; continued efforts to build a hydrogen fuel cell plant and related thermal loop to heat downtown buildings; Greater Bridgeport Transits introduction of electric buses; and many smaller, less-flashy efforts like installing solar panels atop the libraries.

Ganim said he has been impressed this week by the commitment to the cause by people from all over the world.

Weve got protesters outside saying, Not enough. Not enough, he added. You need that. You need that push from the extreme advocates to keep the pressure on.

Joe Gresko, a state representative from Stratford, has been Ganims part-time environmental initiatives chief for the past five years. Gresko did not accompany the mayor on the overseas trip but said it is an important part of keeping Bridgeport engaged in the national and worldwide conversation.

Weve a proven record here and Im hoping showing everyone were serious about this will result in some good things happening, Gresko said, adding the projects in the city are not only about helping the environment, but creating jobs.

Ganim was never the outspoken environmental advocate Finch was, defeating the former in 2015 by focusing on other issues like taxes and crime. But members of the business community who appreciated Finchs vision urged Ganim following his election to continue his predecessors work, and he has attended other climate summits in Denmark and Ecuador.

Rowena White, Ganims communications director, said her boss flight cost $842 and his lodgings, booked through Airbnb, $700. She said no other staff accompanied the mayor but could not state if he had friends or family along, as was the case in 2016 when his parents joined him on an official trip to Israel but paid their own way.

City Council President Aidee Nieves, who is acting chief executive in Ganims absence, said his participation in Glasgow speaks to how Bridgeport is transitioning and addressing its carbon footprint (and) to our commitment. The mayors being at the table just further highlights the positive work were doing.

Hopefully this will bring more projects and investment into Bridgeport, she said.

But she, like Burns, also expressed frustration that Ganims office did not make public and promote his trip.

He should have made the announcement that Bridgeport was at the table and he missed that opportunity, Nieves said.

Although he shared with Hearst some video from and photos of the event, including him posing with U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and London Mayor Sadiq Khan, Ganims Twitter feed and Facebook page give no indication he is gone.

White said the mayors decision to participate in the climate summit was last minute.

But Burns noted that earlier this week he and some council colleagues participated in a teleconference with Ganims staff about federal coronavirus aid and were only told the mayor was not available. Burns had been hoping Friday to speak with Ganim about applying for a state environmental grant, only to learn the mayor is in Scotland.

I dont know of any other cities whose mayors are heading over, Burns said. It would speak pretty well for us that weve got a mayor whos at least interested.

Ganim and his staff have a history of not revealing when he is away, from when he flew to Lebanon in 2017 to last December when even Nieves was unaware the mayor was traveling to an undisclosed location while health officials were encouraging people to stay home because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In contrast, when Ganim ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2018, he made sure to promote a quick trip to Texas to protest then-Republican President Donald Trumps controversial immigration policies.

Nieves said often politicians are unfairly criticized for going on business trips and wasting taxpayer dollars and Ganim is sensitive to that, thus his hesitancy to reveal what he is doing, at least until his return.

Its been stigmatized when you leave the city youre going to these junkets and just hanging out. Everybody thinks its like were going to a party, Nieves said. I think thats his way to shelter himself from that banter.

One of Ganims biggest critics, Councilwoman Maria Pereira, called his Scotland trip ridiculous and a vacation, arguing most of Bridgeports success with combating global warming stems from projects Finch began.

If you had told me Finch was there, I would believe that would be credible, she said. Do I believe its credible for Mayor Ganim? No.
LONDON (AP)  The husband of a British-Iranian woman who has been detained for more than five years in Iran said Saturday that he is ending his hunger strike outside Britain's Foreign Office after 21 days.

Richard Ratcliffe has been sleeping in a tent outside the Foreign Offices main entrance in an effort to pressure the British government to secure the release of his wife and other detained British-Iranian nationals. He began his demonstration last month after his wife, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, lost her latest appeal in Iran.

Ratcliffe, who was joined by the couples 7-year-old daughter Gabriella and several supporters as he announced the end of his hunger strike, thanked the many well-wishers who stopped to talk to him but said the failure of Prime Minister Boris Johnson to drop by was telling. He added that his wife has requested a phone call from Johnson.

While no breakthrough happened in the last three weeks, Ratcliffe said his hunger strike had shone a greater spotlight on his wifes case and added pressure on the governments in London and Tehran.

I think weve stopped the backward movement," he said.

Ratcliffe said he had started to get pains in his feet overnight, and a discussion with a doctor persuaded him to end the hunger strike. He said he planned to go to a hospital to get checked and hopes to be able to eat something after that.

I didnt want to go out in an ambulance," he said. "I want to walk out with my head held high.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe served five years in prison after being taken into custody at Tehrans airport in April 2016 and convicted of plotting the overthrow of Irans government, a charge that she, her supporters and rights groups deny.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe was employed by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of the news agency, and was arrested as she was returning home to Britain after visiting family. Rights groups accuse Iran of holding dual-nationals as bargaining chips for money or influence in negotiations with the West, something Tehran denies.

In May, she was sentenced to an additional year in prison on charges of spreading propaganda against the system for having participated in a protest outside the Iranian Embassy in London in 2009. An appeals court last month upheld the verdict, which includes a one-year travel ban, meaning she wouldnt be able to leave Iran until 2023.

Her husband appeared glum after he met Thursday with British foreign minister James Cleverly in the wake of discussions he had with Iranian officials in London.

He's hoping that his hunger strike will resonate as the government has seen theres a huge depth of care around the country for Nazanins case, and they need to take notice.

Ratcliffe has said his wife is being used as leverage by Tehran, specifically with regard to the U.K.s failure to pay an outstanding 400 million-pound ($540 million) debt to Iran.

Ratcliffes local lawmaker, Tulip Siddiq, said she had secured a parliamentary debate on Zaghari-Ratcliffe's case set for Tuesday with cross-party support.

Nazanin knows that so many people are doing what they can to bring her home," Siddiq said in a tweet.
KENOSHA, Wis. (AP)  The jurors who will decide Kyle Rittenhouses fate will be allowed to consider lesser charges if they opt to acquit him on some of the original counts prosecutors brought, the judge said Friday during a contentious hearing in which both sides could claim partial victory.

Rittenhouse, of nearby Antioch, Illinois, testified that he acted in self-defense when he fatally shot two protesters and wounded a third during an August 2020 night of unrest in Kenosha following the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man.

Jurors are expected to begin deliberating on Monday after closing arguments in a case that has left Americans divided over whether Rittenhouse was a patriot who took a stand against lawlessness or a vigilante who brought a gun to a protest to provoke a response.

With a verdict near, Gov. Tony Evers said Friday that 500 National Guard members would be prepared for duty in Kenosha if local law enforcement requested them.

Rittenhouse, who was 17 at the time of the shootings, is charged with intentional homicide and other counts for killing Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and wounding Gaige Grosskreutz.

Wisconsin law allows the prosecution and defense to ask that jurors be told they can consider lesser charges as part of the instructions they receive before deliberating. Defense lawyers can object to lesser charges, and in some cases Friday, they did. For those that they didn't object to, Judge Bruce Schroeder asked Rittenhouse to confirm that he agreed with his attorneys' decision.

Schroeder told Rittenhouse that by including the lesser charges, youre raising the risk of conviction, although youre avoiding the possibility that the jury will end up compromising on the more serious crime. And youre also decreasing the risk that youll end up with a second trial because the jury is unable to agree.

Rittenhouse said he understood.

Schroeder said he would issue his final rulings Saturday, but he made some findings from the bench and indicated how he might rule on others. For counts where jurors will be allowed to consider lesser charges, they will be instructed to only consider them if they first acquit Rittenhouse of the more serious original corresponding charge.

Friday's arguments over jury instructions were contentious at times, with attorneys rehashing debates they had earlier in the case. At one point, as prosecutors were seeking to add an instruction that would allow the jurors to consider whether Rittenhouse was provoked, the two sides debated about what a particular photo showed. Schroeder lost his temper, snapping: Youre asking me to give an instruction. I want to see the best picture!

Schroeder ultimately said he would allow the provocation instruction, which would ask the jury to consider whether Rittenhouse provoked Rosenbaum into attacking him. If the jury finds he did, that would negate self-defense.

Rittenhouse, now 18, faces one count of first-degree reckless homicide in the killing of Rosenbaum, who was the first person he shot after Rosenbaum chased him in a used car lot. Prosecutors sought to add a second-degree reckless homicide charge, but the defense objected. Schroeder said he was unlikely to allow the lesser charge because he thought a guilty verdict on the lesser charge would be overturned on appeal.

Rittenhouse also faces two charges of first-degree reckless endangerment: one for firing at an unknown man who tried to kick him in the face and another because a reporter was in the line of fire when Rittenhouse shot Rosenbaum.

Schroeder said he was inclined to allow a lesser charge of second-degree reckless endangerment when it comes to endangering the reporter, but he might not. He said he would not allow the lesser charge in the case of the unidentified man who tried to kick Rittenhouse.

Rittenhouse also faces one count of first-degree intentional homicide in Hubers death. That's the most serious charge against him and carries a mandatory life sentence. Huber swung his skateboard at Rittenhouse shortly after Rittenhouse killed Rosenbaum.

The defense did not object to adding lesser counts of second-degree intentional homicide and first-degree reckless homicide as it relates to Huber. It did object to adding a charge of second-degree reckless homicide. Schroeder said he embraced that argument.

Rittenhouse also faces one count of attempted first-degree intentional homicide for shooting and wounding Grosskreutz in the arm. Grosskreutz, who had a gun in his hand, confronted Rittenhouse right after Rittenhouse shot Huber.

Prosecutors asked to add second-degree attempted intentional homicide, first-degree reckless endangerment and second-degree reckless endangerment options. Rittenhouse attorney Corey Chirafisi didn't object to the second-degree attempted homicide count, but he objected to adding the reckless endangerment counts, saying he doesn't believe someone can attempt to be reckless.

Schroeder said he would mull it over but was inclined to agree with prosecutors.

Rittenhouse is also charged with possessing a dangerous weapon while under the age of 18. It was not clear Friday what Schroeder intended to tell jurors on that charge.

Legal observers said both sides got some wins during the hearing. Julius Kim, a Milwaukee criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor, said no matter how confident Rittenhouse may be of his defense, accepting the lesser charge on the most serious count minimizes the risk of him being convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

I think that they recognize it could be a good thing for Mr. Rittenhouse to allow the jury to potentially convict him of a lesser offense if they convict him of anything, Kim said, adding that the lack of a defense objection on that count could signal that they might not be confident in an acquittal.

Still, the fact that prosecutors are seeking a lesser offense is a tacit acknowledgement that they aren't confident the jury will convict Rittenhouse on the original charges.

I think they are trying to salvage something at his point in time, Kim said.

Michael OHear, a criminal law professor at Marquette University in Milwaukee, agreed, saying lesser included charges are usually sought by the defense.

Normally the prosecutor would not request a lesser included instruction if the prosecution had a very high degree of confidence in the likelihood of conviction of the greater offense," O'Hear said, noting that adding it practically invites the jury to compromise on the lesser offense.

Testimony in the case ended Thursday after nearly two weeks. The most riveting moment in the trial came when Rittenhouse told the jury that he was defending himself from attack when he used his rifle to shoot the three men.

Closing arguments will be Monday, after which names will be drawn to decide which 12 jurors will deliberate and which will be dismissed as alternates. Eighteen people have been hearing the case. The panel appears to be overwhelmingly white, like Rittenhouse and those he shot.

The protests were set off by the wounding of Blake by a white police officer. Rittenhouse went to the protest with a rifle and a medical kit in what the former police and fire youth cadet said was an effort to protect property after rioters set fires and ransacked businesses on previous nights.

The case has stirred fierce debate over vigilantism, self-defense, the Second Amendment right to bear arms and the unrest that erupted throughout the U.S. over the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and other police violence against Black people.

___

Bauer reported from Madison and Forliti reported from Minneapolis.

___

Find APs full coverage of the Rittenhouse trial: https://apnews.com/hub/kyle-rittenhouse
New London Police / Contributed

NEW LONDON  Police were called to New London High School on Friday morning to break up a fight, according to the New London Police Department.

The fight allegedly involved at least eight students. The students allegedly pushed and threatened intervening high school staff members, police said.
Operators of the Millstone nuclear power complex in Connecticut were too late in activating storm protection protocols when the remnants of Hurricane Ida hit the East Coast in September, resulting in minor flooding at the plant, federal regulators said Friday.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission report said Dominion Energy, which runs the Millstone plant in Waterford along Long Island Sound, violated federal requirements, but deemed the violations of very low safety significance and did not issue penalties. The flooding did not affect any nuclear or safety equipment, the report said.

The commission, however, said Dominion's performance deficiency was more than minor and that required steps to protect risk significant structures, systems, and components from external flooding were not taken until after the consequential rainfall event was in progress.

Ken Holt, a spokesperson for Dominion, said the company was not contesting the findings of violations. He said operators at the plant initially relied on a forecast from the National Weather Service that predicted rainfall amounts below the level that requires activation of flood control measures at the plant. That level is 3 inches over a six-hour period.

But the operators received a different forecast with a higher rainfall prediction later in the day from state emergency management officials that prompted the closure of flood gates and other safety protocols, Holt said. In the future, operators will have access to multiple forecasts to prevent similar problems, he said.

The operators at Unit 2 were obviously monitoring the incoming inclement weather, Holt said. They were using the National Weather Service data, and that forecast was not predicting a local intense precipitation event.' And so the operators were following the procedures.

The remnants of Hurricane Ida blew through the mid-Atlantic states on Sept. 1. At least 50 people were killed in six Eastern states, including a state trooper in Connecticut, as record rainfall overwhelmed rivers and sewer systems, flooded roads and damaged homes.

About 3.6 inches of rain fell at Groton-New London Airport, not far from Millstone, according to the National Weather Service. Holt said 3 inches of rain did not fall within six hours in Waterford during the storm, so it ended up being below the level that requires flood safety measures.

Millstone has two operating nuclear reactors that provide electricity to New England, enough to power 2 million homes.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission report said the plants operators should have activated flood prevention measures before the storm hit, including closing flood gates, based on forecasts made earlier in the day. But they did not do so until after 8 p.m., when heavy rains already were falling. Two flood gates were not closed at all during the storm, resulting in minor flooding in an area near the Unit 2 reactor, the report said.

The commission said Dominion did not take timely actions to place the plant in a safe condition prior to the arrival of a major storm.

In another finding of violations deemed of very low safety significance," the commission said in the same report that two Millstone workers were exposed to higher radiation levels than expected while performing maintenance at the Unit 3 reactor in June. Regulators said the workers both set off contamination alarms when leaving the work area and required skin decontamination.

According to the report and data from the commission, the workers were exposed to levels of radiation that were below exposure levels typically seen during certain medical scans, including CT scans. Holt said Dominion is taking steps to prevent similar incidents in the future.
MOSCOW (AP)  Russia sent paratroopers to Belarus on Friday, in a show of support for its ally amid tensions over migrants and refugees amassing on the Belarus-Poland border, but two of the Russian soldiers were killed in a parachute accident.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that as part of joint war games, about 250 Russian paratroopers jumped from heavylift Il-76 transport planes into the Grodno region of Belarus, which borders Poland.

The ministry said in a statement later that the two paratroopers parachutes collided in a gust of wind and deflated. It noted that one of the soldiers tried to use a reserve chute but the altitude was too low for it to deploy. Both died of their injuries in a hospital.

The ministry said that the paratroopers who took part in the drills re-boarded the transport planes and flew back to Russia after the exercise.

The Belarusian military said the exercise involving a battalion of Russian paratroopers was intended to test the readiness of the allies' rapid response forces due to an increase of military activities near the Belarusian border."

It said the drills that involved Belarusian air defense assets, helicopter gunships and other forces envisaged targeting enemy scouts and illegal armed formations, along with other tasks.

Earlier this week, Russia sent nuclear-capable strategic bombers on patrol missions over Belarus for two straight days. Russia's deputy U.N. ambassador, Dmitry Polyansky, told reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York that the flights came in response to a massive buildup on the Polish-Belarusian border.

Russia has strongly supported Belarus amid a tense standoff this week as thousands of migrants and refugees, most of them from the Middle East, gathered on the Belarusian side of the border with Poland in hopes of crossing into the European Union.

The EU has accused Belarus authoritarian president, Alexander Lukashenko, of encouraging illegal border crossings as a hybrid attack to retaliate against EU sanctions on his government for its crackdown on domestic protests after Lukashenkos disputed 2020 reelection.

Belarus denies the allegations but has said it will no longer stop refugees and migrants from trying to enter the EU.

The Belarusian Defense Ministry has accused Poland of an unprecedented military buildup on the border, saying that migration control did not warrant the concentration of 15,000 troops backed by tanks, air defense assets and other weapons.

Id like to warn hotheads not to overestimate their capabilities," Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin said Friday. "Language of ultimatums, threats and blackmail is not acceptable. Belarus armed forces are ready to respond harshly to any attacks.

Russia and Belarus have a union agreement envisaging close political and military ties. Lukashenko has stressed the need to boost military cooperation in the face of what he has described as aggressive actions by NATO allies.
Cullman hosted the two-day Rock the South music event last week and will be the site of a rally for former President Donald Trump this weekend. The biggest issue is when you have large gatherings of people in a state with high transmission disease, said Judy Smith, Alabama Department of Public Health area administrator. They are attending events and then going back to their home communities.
Shirrel Rhoades is a former executive with Marvel Entertainment, a writer, publisher, professor and filmmaker. He is from North Carolina and lives in Florida. Contact him at srhoades@aol.com.
Elizabeth City, NC (27909)

Today

Rain likely. High 58F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies. Low 32F. Winds NNW at 10 to 20 mph.
State Sen. John Gordner and state Reps. Lynda Culver and David Rowe make the first donation in the 2021 Salvation Army campaign kickoff Friday while Maj. Tammy Hench of the Sunbury branch and Jared Starns of the Milton branch look on. The event was held at Cameron Park, in Sunbury.
Turning 60 was no big deal for me. I scarcely noticed as it slithered past and frankly, if it werent for the wretched song, I would probably feel the same about 64, writes ALEXANDRA SHULMAN (pictured)

A few years ago, a friend invited me to a last-minute dinner for his 64th birthday. When I arrived, who should be part of the group but Sir Paul McCartney  which obviously provoked an even great number of jokes than usual involving the birthday boy and Lennon and McCartneys well known ditty, When Im Sixty-Four.

It wasnt that funny at the time but this weekend, as I turn 64 myself, its even less amusing. I found it hard to raise the merest glimmer of a smile as my younger siblings mockingly chanted: Will you still need me, will you still feed me?

Turning 60 was no big deal for me. I scarcely noticed as it slithered past and frankly, if it werent for the wretched song, I would probably feel the same about 64. But it has added a dispiriting tarnish to the number.

Apart from the lyrics, Ive always disliked its nursery rhyme tempo, which amplifies the infantilising Lets pop you up here, dearie tone that people use for the elderly, as if they cant grasp normal conversation. I know its meant to be a love song but its an old peoples love song. And, tell you what. I am not old. Not in any way.

My friend Adam Boulton, a mere stripling at 62, announced last week that hes leaving his political role at Sky News. He claims its the end of the era for his gang of media figures, born in the late 1950s and early 1960s, whom he describes in a Times interview as tail-end baby boomers. Various reports of his decision included such phrases as the veterans retirement.

Yet veteran and retirement are words I simply dont associate with Adam, whom I still view as a young boy straight out of Oxford, hanging out at bring-a-bottle parties in Shepherds Bush with a load of other super-clever and ambitious young people.

However, he was only articulating something I was thinking recently. Which is that although we  I count him and myself as the same vintage  are not, repeat not, old, we are certainly no longer young.

And many of us were lucky to have fantastic jobs when we were very definitely very young. And kept them for decades. Adam and I entered the jobs market in the 1980s at a time when there was an explosion of UK media and there were huge opportunities in the newspaper, magazine and television worlds for bright young things in London. At 27, I became womens page editor of the Sunday Telegraph. At 34, I became editor of Vogue where I remained until I decided to leave, aged 59.

Paul McCartney (left) and John Lennon (right) of The Beatles on 3rd October 1964. ALEXANDRA SHULMAN writes: 'I wish that ghastly song When I'm Sixty-Four by The Beatles had never been written'

In 1989 when Sky launched, Adam, then 29, joined as political editor, having already worked at TV-am and the BBC.

We both had more than 30 years of great jobs and now it certainly seems reasonable that younger people should be allowed a turn.

I cant speak for Adam, but when I thought about whether to leave Vogue, I knew I was more than delighted to hand over many aspects of my role.

The juggling of millions of often-tricky personalities, the growing bureaucracy of the HR department, the intractable diary block-booked for months ahead.

And, of course, the fact that Id been round many of the race tracks not once, but maybe ten or 20 times, before. How long could I continue to be genuinely interested in compiling another Power List or wrangling for a cover star? These were good reasons to hand on the baton.

Its never easy to watch someone else do the job that you had, but at a certain point, rather than keeping on doing the same thing, its more interesting and fulfilling to claim a different life.

Which is why that ghastly song rankles so, with its hackneyed depiction of a fading, dependent existence filled with weeding and knitting (no offence intended to either activity).

Thats not my 64 nor, if I have anything to do with it, my 68 or 70. With a smidgen of good luck in terms of health, now is the time for all kinds of new adventures. Gen Z and the millennials are more than welcome to the day jobs.

We tail-end boomers have new places to go, people to see.

Can I have the room? Lets talk Succession

Fans of Succession are obsessing over Shiv, the media magnates scheming daughter played by Sarah Snook not least for her wardrobe of silk shirts and wildly expensive trouser suits.

But my greatest pleasure lies in the shows American corporate-speak. Americans have a way with such words.

I remember that the first time I heard the phrase comfort zone was in a meeting about a dinner Vogue was hosting with Ralph Lauren.

Fans of Succession are obsessing over Shiv, the media magnates scheming daughter played by Sarah Snook (middle) not least for her wardrobe of silk shirts and wildly expensive trouser suits

Their very intense Vice President of Entertaining  or some such title  kept informing us that she wasnt sure if Ralphs son David would be in his comfort zone as we discussed the guest list of people she wanted us to reach out to. Back then, such now-commonplace jargon was completely new to me.

Thanks to Succession, my current favourite phrase is Can I have the room?  an order for everyone to get out.

Next time I want a bit of privacy, Im going to try this out and see where it gets me.

Is an intern lusting after Sleepy Joe?



Hillary Clinton's long-standing aide, Huma Abedin, has just published an autobiography called Both/And, chronicling her journey from the outer circle of White House interns to the innermost sanctum of what she calls a lifelong club known as Hillaryland.

And there she remains today, having also survived the dramatic implosion of her marriage to Anthony Weiner, a US politician who turned out to be a mind-boggling sex addict. Its intriguing to contrast her story with that of another White House intern, the unfortunate Monica Lewinsky, whose well-known tale is currently being dramatised in the TV series Impeachment: American Crime Story.

Hillary Clinton's (pictured right) long-standing aide, Huma Abedin, (left) has just published an autobiography called Both/And

Huma became a gatekeeper for her boss and its been suggested that these two women further bonded over the shared experience of marriage to philanderers.

But its the utter infatuation of the two interns  Huma and Monica  with a Clinton that I find more fascinating. Monica has always appeared to be an eager, naive, star-struck girl who fell tragically for the most powerful man in the Western world. He took sexual advantage of her and then threw her to the wolves.

Huma, seemingly of greater brains and sophistication, falls in a different, non-sexual, but equally deep and unquestioning way for Hillary, to whom she dedicates most of her life.

Are there currently White House interns developing similar passions for Jill and Joe Biden?
Fifty years ago, French adventurer Jacques Cousteau introduced millions to the wonders of the ocean.

His TV series The Undersea World Of Jacques Cousteau, which ran on the BBC from 1968 to 1976, became a global sensation as it brought footage of fantastical marine life into our homes.

In trademark red cap and swimming trunks, Cousteau took audiences on breathtaking trips beneath the waves from the deck of his boat, Calypso.

Yet Cousteau, born in 1910, was so much more than a charming Gallic TV star. As a new film, Becoming Cousteau, reveals, not only did he invent scuba diving by co-creating the first underwater breathing apparatus, but he was decades ahead of his time in alerting the world to the importance of marine conservation.

This film is important because climate change and the environment are at the forefront of our discourse today, explains Mridu Chandra, the producer of Becoming Cousteau, which has just been released in cinemas. And theres so much to learn from Cousteaus life and legacy. We wanted to revisit that because people are forgetting.

But making Becoming Cousteau required a heck of a lot of effort on dry land. Its Emmy-winning director Liz Garbus and her team pored over 550 hours of footage and 100 hours of audio interviews, as well as searching through the Cousteau familys archive of 8,500 film reels that span a century.

Fifty years ago, French adventurer Jacques Cousteau introduced millions to the wonders of the ocean. Pictured, Jacques filming underwater in 1984

Amazingly, Cousteau first dreamed of taking to the skies. But in 1935 a car crash derailed his naval pilot training. Recuperating by swimming in the Mediterranean, he became hooked on sea life and wanted to spend more time beneath the waves. I am miserable out of the water, he said. It is as though youve been introduced to heaven and then forced back to Earth.

Back then, however, staying underwater was impossible. People could free dive, holding their breath, but Cousteau wanted to go further, explains Mridu. He found an engineer in his wifes fathers company, who co-invented the aqualung with him, and that let them swim freely underwater.

As a filmmaker, he wanted to show that to the world. There were no underwater cameras, so he created a camera casing that would hold filmmaking equipment, says Mridu. It was the first time people had seen any footage from beneath the waves.

The film is timely, with the Cop26 climate change conference just finishing. Cousteaus own efforts for the environment included convincing the French not to dump nuclear waste in the Med in 1960, and lobbying world leaders in 1986 to pass the moratorium on commercial whaling.

Jacques with his son Philippe in 1975. Cousteau died in 1997, aged 87, after introducing the world to the wonders of the sea and the need to conserve them

The film is awash with shots of his boat Calypso, a former Navy minesweeper. Footage of Cousteau joking on board with his tanned young crew brought 60s French glamour to his films.

His first wife Simone often sailed on the Calypso, as did their two sons  second son Philippe died in a plane crash in 1979. He had two more children with his second wife, Francine, all of whom promote his legacy.

And what a legacy it is. Cousteau died in 1997, aged 87, after introducing the world to the wonders of the sea and the need to conserve them. The thing I would say about Cousteau is that everything about him stems from his passion, says Mridu. n

Becoming Cousteau is in cinemas now.
As a nation we love our police dramas, but murderous television can sometimes be a little sterile. The focus is more on the whodunnit rather than what they actually did. That is turned on its head with new thriller Crime, a drama that draws you down into an underbelly of vice and trauma that can be as seductive as it is shocking.

Perhaps thats unsurprising as its based on a novel by Irvine Welsh, the man behind seminal druggie movie Trainspotting, and hes adapted the book for the BritBox series.

Ive never seen anything that looks like this show, says Irvine of the six-part drama, which incorporates abuse, drugs and murder. Whether its going to be a bit much for some, or not what people expect from a British show, I dont know. But I cant think of anything like it on British TV.

Its certainly the grittiest crime drama weve seen since Luther, and its just as compelling, says one of its stars, Angela Griffin, who found fame in Coronation Street and Holby City. Its a dark thriller which is as sexy as hell. Its one of those shows Id normally look at and think, I wish I was in that. Now I am!

Dougray Scott as detective Ray Lennox with Joanna Vanderham as his partner Amanda

Angela appears as Trudi, the girlfriend of troubled detective Ray Lennox, played by Mission: Impossible star Dougray Scott. All you know about Lennox is that theres something murky in his past, and then hes asked to investigate the disappearance of a girl, says Angela. There are so many gentle crime dramas, but I think the popularity of shows like Squid Game proves that people get excited by something really grim.

Making the series was a passion project for Dougray, who is a huge fan of Welsh (see panel below). While in the book the action takes place in Miami, the TV series is set in Dougrays native Scotland and goes back into Lennoxs past  and a crime that forms the background of the novel.

To prepare for the role, Dougray plunged deep into documentaries about how serial killers were captured and worked with an ex-policeman whos an adviser on the show. We meet Lennox at the start of an investigation into a missing schoolgirl. But it becomes clear that he has issues of his own.

Hes a rough, fragile, avenging angel whos determined to protect the vulnerable, says Dougray. Stuff happened to him as a child so he became a copper because he felt that was the best way to avenge what was done to him. But what makes him a great copper also makes him a bad copper; hes impetuous, he works off the cuff, on instinct.

Its certainly the grittiest crime drama weve seen since Luther, and its just as compelling, says one of its stars, Angela Griffin, left, who found fame in Coronation Street and Holby City

The story here is brutal. But at the same time theres a tenderness in the characters. I think it will appeal to lots of people.

HOW DOUGRAY SPOTTED A HIT Dougray Scott spent five years trying to get the series made after becoming convinced he had to play Irvine Welshs creation, detective Ray Lennox. The Fife-born actor says he bonded with Welshs work from the moment he picked up his first novel, Trainspotting, in 1993. Written in a raw Scots dialect and drawing on Welshs experiences growing up in Edinburgh, it was turned into a hit film starring Ewan McGregor (left). Dougray was also bowled over by the authors 2008 novel Crime, about Lennox, and knew he wanted to bring him to life. He told that to Welsh when they met at a charity function, saying he was the character I was born to play. For someone who had a very similar upbringing to Irvine, and I did, to read your world portrayed in novel form is really exciting and accessible, he says. Advertisement

We get glimpses of Lennoxs interior world through innovative direction, which at times shows him screaming in mental pain when he seems outwardly calm. Theres one scene where Dougray just changed before my eyes, says Angela. It was so brilliant I got this feeling in my tummy  it made me sit up and think. It was incredible to see him physically change in front of me.

Trudis relationship with Ray is just a few months old, and she thinks her boyfriend is gentle and calm. But she begins to realise how troubled he is. This case awakens part of him she didnt know existed, says Angela. It begins in a warm, supportive place; he wants to open his life up to her. But the relationship gets tested beyond all imagining. The show is about the darkest things in life and is very complex. But Trudis a fighter  I dont think he knows that shes going to be as strong as she is.

The story is firmly set in the modern world; Lennox is a gruff new man. He might be patronising to his young partner DS Amanda Drummond, played by Joanna Vanderham, but when she pulls him up on it, he thinks about it and apologises.

Meanwhile, when Trudi gets involved in a #MeToo style storyline at work, Lennox backs her up. Ray is there to help but takes her to the dark side, you could say, says Angela.

Despite all the bleak scenes, the series isnt unremittingly harsh. There are touches of lightness and, ultimately, humanity. Irvines writing is confronting but hes also a funny man, says Angela. He manages to capture that depravity and characters that should really be unlikeable, but you invest in them. You want to go on a journey with them.

Irvine Welshs Crime is available from Thursday on BritBox.
He has a fine singing voice, an excellent eight-piece band accompanying him on stage, and there are some cracking jokes mixed in with anecdotes from his life.

But what strikes you most about Rob Brydons touring show A Night Of Songs & Laughter, apart from the fact it does exactly what it says on the tin, is his unforced rapport with the audience.

But is it just a front? In reality, is his heart hammering in his chest? Hes a bona fide household name these days, as famous for his role as Uncle Bryn in Gavin & Stacey as he is for his voiceovers of Julia Donaldsons festive adaptations and his TV road trips with Steve Coogan, but holding a stage is a different matter.

Im choosing my words carefully here, he says in that familiar Welsh lilt. At the end of a serious song  the Billy Joel lullaby I sang to my newborn daughter, for instance  the lights dim and then black out. Theres a moment when Im waiting for the audience to clap and yes, for a split second my heart is in my mouth.

He neednt worry  when I caught the show in Brighton last month the audience clapped like seals at feeding time. But then the songs are as important as the laughter in this show, which Rob is touring into next year.

What strikes you most about Rob Brydons (pictured) touring show A Night Of Songs & Laughter, apart from the fact it does exactly what it says on the tin, is his unforced rapport with the audience

But is it just a front? In reality, is his heart hammering in his chest? Rob's (pictured) a bona fide household name these days, as famous for his role as Uncle Bryn in Gavin & Stacey as he is for his voiceovers of Julia Donaldsons festive adaptations and his TV road trips with Steve Coogan, but holding a stage is a different matter

He dips into Carole Kings songbook and gives a sweet-sounding rendition of Elviss Always On My Mind. Theres a bit of Tom Waits, but the biggest cheer is reserved for the Tom Jones hit Delilah, which has the audience singing along.

When it comes to interacting with the audience, Rob says hes learned much from Barry Humphries, both in his guise as Dame Edna and as Sir Les Patterson. The point is to be sharp but never cruel, he says.

When two punters scrambled to their seats 20 minutes into the show in Brighton, they were like catnip to Rob. The lady explained that she thought curtain-up was half an hour later. And what do you do for a living? Rob asked her companion. Im a builder, came the reply. Oh, that explains why youre late, Rob shot back.

Hes had 20 years now of honing what he calls crowd control, yet astonishingly Rob, 56, didnt taste any kind of substantial success until he reached his mid-30s. After six years as a disc jockey on Radio Wales he was sacked. Then the shopping channel where he worked as a presenter went bust. Next came a film show on Sky TV, from which he was let go. He was earning a crust doing voiceovers, but his big break stubbornly failed to materialise.

He neednt worry  when I caught the show in Brighton last month the audience clapped like seals at feeding time. But then the songs are as important as the laughter in this show, which Rob (pictured) is touring into next year

Yet despite these setbacks, the fact hes not the tallest man on the planet (hes 5ft 7in) and the ravages of teenage acne, its legacy still visible today, the thread that ran through his early adulthood was a belief in himself.

And to some degree, as I look back, that kind of mystifies me, he says. My parents always believed in me. Friends and family too. Yet when I sent my autobiography to my dad, he said he was amazed at what a struggle it had been for me until I got my breakthrough. I read it again myself and realised I possessed a drive, a tenacity, a refusal to give up.

He had some solid friendships to fall back on too. He first met his Gavin & Stacey co-star Ruth Jones at Porthcawl Comprehensive in his mid-teens.

We clicked immediately. Were best friends to this day. I like to say shes the sister I never wanted. I take credit for encouraging her not to give up on the business when the breaks werent happening for her. What I couldnt have predicted was that she and James Corden would end up writing the role of Bryn for me in Gavin & Stacey, or the scale of its success. Back then she was just my best schoolfriend. We appeared in productions together like Guys And Dolls.

Talking of school, is it true he once stole dinner money from fellow pupil Catherine Zeta-Jones?

Thats a lovely line, but the truth is I sort of knew the family  her brother was friendly with my brother. One day as I was arriving at school I bumped into her mother, whod forgotten to give Catherine her dinner money and asked if Id pass it on to her. So I put it in my pocket and forgot all about it. Later on I was buying fish and chips and unthinkingly I spent it on that.

When he reached his mid-30s with no breakthrough, even Robs self-belief was starting to fray.

But they say the darkest hour is just before dawn. And along came two hits in the same year.

Hed been introduced to Steve Coogan, who had a production company that commissioned Marion And Geoff, a series of bleak ten-minute TV monologues about a naive taxi driver called Keith Barret who didnt seem to realise his wife was having an affair.

This was 2000, and that same year Rob teamed up with comedy actress Julia Davis with whom he co-wrote and co-starred in the even blacker Human Remains, which explored the depths of despair triggered by death and divorce. I cant overstate how those two projects made me feel like Id come home, he says. Id been knocking on this door for so long and suddenly Id been invited in.

The Trip (pictured) in which Rob and Steve Coogan play friends and fellow restaurant critics who laugh and bicker their way around the north of England, Italy, Spain and Greece

But while professional success was at long last his, it wasnt matched by personal happiness.

Hed married his first wife, Martina, in 1992, and theyd had three children (Katie is now 27, Harry 25 and Amy 23). But by the turn of the century the marriage was unravelling.

Im loath to discuss it because of my grown-up children and my ex-wife with whom I now have a fantastic relationship, he says. Ive spoken about it before and Ive always regretted it. What I will say is that the two things happened around the same time, so it became a very confusing period. Suddenly Im winning at the British Comedy Awards and Michael Palin is congratulating me. But inside you feel an utter failure. Thats not a nice mix.

Its a cliche, but comedians are often said to have a dark side. Yes, I do have that in me. But I also have this mainstream streak. Growing up, some of my contemporaries only liked the offbeat stuff. I was a fan of Monty Python, sure, but I also admired Bruce Forsyth and Des OConnor.

When he first received the script for Gavin & Stacey, he was unsure whether Bryn was a bit too close to Keith Barret in Marion And Geoff. Did I want to play another naive Welshman? he says. There were other considerations too.

In 2006 hed got married for a second time to TV producer Clare Holland, and they now have two children, Tom, 13, and George, ten.

We were starting a family and my priorities had changed. In the end I decided to take on the role of Bryn as it wouldnt involve weeks and weeks away from the family. More than that, I wanted to work with Ruth and James and I was thrilled at the prospect of working with Alison Steadman. And pretty soon I knew it had caught on with what I can only describe as indecent haste.

Uncle Bryn was one of the shows standout characters. I dont think Bryns creepy, I think hes an innocent, says Rob. Youre never really told his sexual orientation. I rather like playing with that ambiguity.

Rob first met James Corden on a film called Cruise Of The Gods in 2002, which also co-starred Steve Coogan and David Walliams.

My first impression of James was that he was keen, green, provincial and very talented. Id immediately struck up a friendship with David, and James was this 24-year-old kid from High Wycombe who used to follow us around  he says so himself  like somebodys nephew whos come to stay. I remember him trailing behind us as we walked round Istanbul. I also remember him telling me that what he wanted to do was write. I simply told him to get on and do it. Not the most profound piece of advice, though it worked out pretty well, didnt it?

No one though, Rob included, could have foreseen the way in which James subsequently took over the world, with Gavin & Stacey and then The Late Late Show, which hes hosted since 2015.

For The Late Late Show he had the odds stacked against him: an English guy going to Los Angeles to host a chat show in an overcrowded market. So many people were willing him to fail.

Rob and his family went on holiday to the US in 2019, ending up in LA. James invited us to come and see the show. I remember driving through Hollywood and seeing all these giant billboards for shows I knew but most I didnt. I was struck by the brutal competition in that town. It made me shiver. I was so glad Id resisted moving there in an attempt to make my mark. We arrived at CBS and there was a massive billboard of James. You couldnt fail to be impressed.

When he first received the script for Gavin & Stacey, he was unsure whether Bryn was a bit too close to Keith Barret in Marion And Geoff. Pictured, Rob with his Gavin & Stacey co-stars

Years ago I might have wanted a bit of that, but Im very happy now with where I am. Dont get me wrong, I dont want to go down but I dont need to go up. The key to happiness is not more, better, best. The key to happiness is within you, how you view life, how you are with your family. Its not to do with how high up the ladder you go. Im happy touring the theatres with this latest show. It works with my type of comedy. I dont need the arenas.

In America, I hosted the BAFTA Britannia Awards on a couple of occasions, playing to big stars like George Clooney, Julia Roberts and Dustin Hoffman. I was on Jimmy Fallons talk show. I did a few episodes of a show for HBO. There was a feeling of ticking those things off a list. But it didnt make me feel I wanted to be one rung higher. I think now I can trace that back to success coming to me relatively late and coinciding with my first marriage ending. I knew then your home life has to be good if youre to enjoy things going well in your career. It taught me an important lesson.

Family always comes first now, which is why he doesnt like to be away from home for extended periods. But he did make an exception when it came to filming The Trip, four series put together by director Michael Winterbottom in which Rob and Steve Coogan play friends and fellow restaurant critics who laugh and bicker their way around the north of England, Italy, Spain and Greece.

Its a drama, insists Rob, although its clear the two of them are playing lightly fictionalised versions of themselves. Yes, essentially its us. The nearest thing to it is Paul Whitehouse and Bob Mortimers fishing show, which I so envy because theres no artifice. Its lovely and its gentle.

The Trip, by comparison, is a construct. Michael Winterbottom writes the story and Steve and I colour it in. All the prickliness and conflict are given to us. Its true that occasionally we can get under each others skin, touch a nerve, but thats what gives it its edge.

It can be misunderstood, though. Absolutely. In The Trip To Italy my character spent the night with a girl on a boat. After it had been shown on TV, somebody at school said to my wife that it must be a difficult time for her. Clearly not everyone sees it as fiction.

Their characters are carefully delineated. Rob is the softer, warmer one, Steve is spikier. But try to suggest that Coogan might be a tricky customer in real life and Rob is having none of it. I would never say that. Steve is a very special talent, the equal of anyone in comedy the world over. Ive grown so fond of him, but his is not a friendship like I have with some other people.

Coogan will soon be seen as the disgraced Jimmy Savile in a TV series about his life. I think hell be great, says Rob. I know people are asking whether there should be a drama about Jimmy Savile, but Steve will be brilliant.

THE CRUELTY OF REJECTION Rob has voiced ads for everything from P&O Cruises to Toilet Duck and Crunchy Nut Cornflakes, but hes had plenty of knockbacks too, some of them downright cruel. For instance, he once managed to get a meeting with a fancy casting agency in central London in the hope theyd put him forward for a TV chocolate advert. Id sent them an artfully lit photograph of myself, he recalls. But the moment I stepped into this mans office he took one look at me and said, Oh dear, oh no. I didnt realise about your skin. I mean, I can hardly set you up for a chocolate promotion. What would the line be, eat our chocolate and youll look like me? Unbelievable! Funnily enough though, after the initial shock, it just made me redouble my efforts. Advertisement

He slips into an effortless impersonation of Coogan, an uncanny ability that includes everyone from Michael Caine and Alan Bennett to Tom Jones and, particularly, Ronnie Corbett. We became friends because he knew that, when I mimicked him, it was done with affection, says Rob of the late Ronnie. Ours was a genuine friendship, one that I treasured.

He also identifies with him. Im not in his league but his comic timing was exquisite, something I aspire to. If you look at The Two Ronnies, Barker was the more clinical one. You saw the same with Peter Cook and the much warmer Dudley Moore. And theres a clear comparison with Steve and me.

These days Rob hangs out with Lee Mack, team captain on quiz show Would I Lie To You?, in which the celebrity panellists must convince their opponents a statement they read out about themselves is true. Were very friendly with Lee and his family, says Rob, who hosts the show. They live quite near us and we see them often. Hes as funny off-screen as he is on Would I Lie To You?.

Steve, though, takes no particular pleasure in making you laugh, unless he chooses to. You could be having lunch with the leader of the local council. But Lee loves making people laugh. Its what makes Would I Lie To You? such fun to do. But then, Lee, the other team captain David Mitchell and I have real respect for each other.

His next project reunites him with his old pal Ruth Jones in a one-off Comedy Playhouse production for BBC1 called Gaynor & Ray, following a newlywed couple on their honeymoon in Scotland as they discover more about each other, not all of it endearing. Things seem to have a habit of coming full circle for Rob, and contentment radiates off him in such palpable waves that theres no need to ask if hes happy. I am, he says. Because so much of what I want, I have.

For tour details see robbrydon.live.
Melissa Rivers has opened up about her fears for her 20-year-old son Cooper Endicott's mental health, saying they have had many conversations about her father's suicide and how there is a 'genetic component' he needs to be aware of.

The 53-year-old daughter of iconic comedian Joan Rivers and TV producer Edgar Rosenberg has been candid with her only child about depression and suicide, but she admitted it was difficult to keep the lines of communication open during the COVID-19 pandemic.

'Obviously, I live in fear  the teen suicide numbers break my heart. And sadly, the age is getting younger, and younger, and younger, Rivers told People.

Honest: Melissa Rivers, 53, has opened up about her concerns for her 20-year-old son Cooper's mental health after losing her father to suicide

Honest: Rivers (pictured with Cooper) admitted the alarming rise in teen suicides has her living in 'fear'

Cooper was in his freshman year of college when he had to leave school and go into lockdown with his mother, which was a struggle for both of them.

'It was scary. With my son, I had to really encourage conversation, because he's not the kind of kid that does that, yet he's very, very sensitive,' she explained 'We had to talk about how hard it was, and encourage him and his friends to have these conversations.'

Suicide attempts among 12- to 17-year-old surged during the pandemic, particularly among girls, according to recent study Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Last month, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the Childrens Hospital Association declared a national emergency in child and adolescent mental health.

Family photo: Rivers is the only child of iconic comedian Joan Rivers and TV producer Edgar Rosenberg

Heartbreak: The mental health advocate was just 18 when she lost her father to suicide in 1987, and she admitted the alarming rise in teen suicides has her living in 'fear'

Rivers, who has been a mental health advocate since she lost her father to suicide in 1987, admitted that it was stressful for her to be a source of comfort during a time of such uncertainty.

'It puts so much pressure on the parent. At least it did for me, because I had to be the strong one. I had to be the [one saying], "It's okay, we're going to get through this,"' she said. 'And there were times that I said to him, "You're miserable being here  trust me, I'm not so happy being trapped in the house either."'

Rivers was only 18 when her father died by suicide at age 62. She and her comedian mother Joan worked to shatter the stigma surrounding depression and suicide by speaking openly about their loss.

The mother of one said frank conversations about mental health struggles have 'always' been a part of her relationship with her son, but quarantine 'pushed it to the forefront.'

'We've talked very openly for years about surviving the suicide of my father, how it is not a solution, and the damage it leaves behind.  I'm really honest with the stories about what I went through, and what my mother went through, the issues it's caused, and the things that I have to be aware of as an adult,' she said.

Co-parents: Cooper is Rivers' only child with her ex-husband John Endicott, whom she was married to from 1998 to 2003

Open: Rivers shared that she has had a number of conversations with Cooper about her father's depression and the effect his suicide had on her and her mother (pictured in 2013)

'I have abandonment issues that are very difficult for me at times for different reasons in my life, but my dad killing himself when I was 18 years old  it affects you. So it's always been a very big discussion in our house.'

Rivers noted that any time there is a 'very public suicide,' she will talk about it with Cooper, saying he 'has the vocabulary to discuss it.'

She has also made sure he is well aware of the 'bigger umbrella' factors that contribute to suicide risk and how they pertain to him.

'I don't think mental illness per se runs in our family. ... I always am very careful about the implications of [saying] that, which can be so negative rather than saying, "Hey, my father suffered from depression, and we didn't know it until it was too late and we had already survived his suicide,"' she said.

Looking back: Rivers (pictured with Cooper in 2015) said frank conversations about mental health struggles have 'always' been a part of her relationship with her son

Warning: Rivers has also made sure Cooper's aware of the 'bigger umbrella' factors that contribute to suicide risk, explaining there can be a 'genetic component' to depression

'So it's like, "Hey, there can be a [genetic] component to that, just like alcoholism or heart disease or cancer, that you have to be aware of and not be afraid to address. If you're not feeling well you're going to tell me, so you have to also tell me mentally when you're not feeling well."'

Rivers will pay tribute to the 2,160 lives lost to suicide each day at the Alive Together: Uniting to Prevent Suicide event that will be live-streamed globally from Exposition Park in Los Angeles on Sunday.

As part of her advocacy, she is also a board member of Didi Hirsch, a non-profit in Los Angeles that offers free mental health, suicide prevention, and substance abuse rehabilitation services.

Rivers encouraged others to help increase mental health services by making donations to non-profits like Didi Hirsch and take part in community engagement events.

'You can save a life today,' she said. 'Literally, you can make a difference today.'

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a United States-based suicide prevention network of over 160 crisis centers that provides 24/7 service via a toll-free hotline with the number 1-800-273-8255.

It is available to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress.
Amanda Knox has opened up about her fears that 'motherhood had been stolen from her' following her wrongful murder conviction in Italy, saying she imagined 'all the ways she could kill herself in her prison cell in the wake of her 26-year sentence.

The 34-year-old had already spent two years in prison when she was convicted of her British roommate Meredith Kercher's 2007 murder in December 2009. After spending nearly four years behind bars, she was acquitted in 2011 and returned home to the United States.

Knox welcomed her first child  a daughter Eureka Muse Knox-Robinson  with her husband Christopher Robinson earlier this year after suffering a devastating miscarriage.

In a new essay for Oprah Daily, she detailed how her dreams of being a mother were first dashed when she was sentenced to spend her childbearing years behind bars.

'My first infertility crisis occurred when I was sentenced to 26 years in prison for a murder I didnt commit,' she wrote in the piece, titled 'Sentenced to Infertility,' admitting she had 'naively assumed that the truth couldn't help but win out.'

Fear: In new essay for Oprah Daily, Amanda Knox (pictured pregnant earlier this year) detailed how her dreams of being a mother were dashed after she was wrongfully convicted of murder

Lost time: Knox (pictured in 2008) had already spent two years in prison in Italy when she was convicted of her British roommate Meredith Kercher's 2007 murder in December 2009

'That guilty verdict shook the foundations of my world,' she recalled 'I realized the truth could be overpowered by a false but captivating story, and while I continued to fight for my innocence, appealing my conviction, I no longer had faith that my innocence guaranteed my freedom. I adjusted to a new and sad reality; I started to plan for life that involved 26 years behind bars.'

Knox explained she had always imagined being a mother, and up until that point, it was a given that she would have children.

'Now I was facing the prospect of being released back into free society at age 46. It wasnt just my freedom that had been stolen from me; motherhood had been stolen from me,' she shared.

'I thought of my own mom, a schoolteacher whose greatest wish for me was that I grow up to be kind. She had poured all her love into me. And I wanted to be just like her. Now where would I pour my own love? Not into a daughter of my own but into the void of my empty future.

Tragedy: Kercher was sexually assaulted and stabbed to death in November 2007 while studying abroad in Perugia, Italy, in a case that garnered international media attention

'I didnt cry. But I did imagine all the ways I might kill myself in that prison cell,' she admitted.

Kercher was sexually assaulted and stabbed to death in November 2007 while studying abroad in Perugia, Italy, in a case that garnered international media attention.

Knox and her then Raffaele Sollecito  who had also been wrongly convicted of the murder in 2009  were acquitted in 2011 after an appeals court found that legal procedures had not been followed and there was no DNA tying either of them to the scene.

A local man, Rudy Guede, was convicted in a separate trial after his DNA was found on Kercher's body and in the room where she died. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2008, but he was released in December 2020 and will spend the rest of his sentence doing community work.

Knox was later tried again absentia, convicted, and then ultimately had the conviction overturned by Italy's highest court in 2015.

'Bewildered, I emerged into the free world thinking naively that I was the only person whod ever been through something so traumatizing and bizarre,' she recalled.

She said her mother took her to the Innocence Network Conference for the first time to help her feel less alone. There, she met with hundreds of other wrongfully convicted people, whom she noted were 'mostly Black and brown men.'

She also connected with women 'who were few and far between,' saying they faced similar infertility concerns while they were in prison.

Accused: Knox's then-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito (pictured shortly after Kercher's body was found) was also wrongfully convicted of the murder in 2009

Hard: Knox (pictured during her appeal trial in 2011) admitted that the thought of spending her childbearing years in prison had her imagining 'all the ways' she might kill herself in her cell

One of the women Knox bonded with, Stephanie Louden, was 21 years old when she was convicted of manslaughter in the 1985 death of her college roommate Stacie Pannell.

Loudon was in her 30s and going through perimenopause when she was released from prison after serving nearly a decade behind bars. She was told she wouldn't be able to carry a child.

'This is something that is often not acknowledged when women are imprisoned,' Knox wrote. 'Both men and women can lose their most productive years when sentenced to overly long and punitive sentences, but mens reproductive functions do not expire the way womens do.

'When a woman is convicted and given a long sentence, she is effectively sentenced not just to time, but to infertility.'

Louden defied the odds and got pregnant with her son, whom she calls a 'miracle child,' but Knox pointed out that not everyone is that lucky.

The activist referenced an anonymous friend who spent more than 15 years in prison before she was exonerated. She eventually gave up trying to have a child after going through 'the gamut of fertility treatments' that failed.

Troubles: Knox (pictured speaking at the Criminal Justice Festival in Modena, Italy, in 2019) was later tried absentia, convicted again, and then ultimately had the conviction overturned

Reminder: 'When a woman is convicted and given a long sentence, she is effectively sentenced not just to time, but to infertility,' Knox wrote in her essay

In July, Knox revealed on her podcast, Labyrinths, that she had suffered a devastating and painful first-trimester miscarriage during the pandemic while she and Robinson were trying for their first child.

She admitted that the loss made her question whether 'something had happened to her in Italy' to cause fertility issues.

In her essay for Oprah Daily, she recalled how she was 'glowing' when she walked into her eight-week ultrasound appointment, but then she found out there was no heartbeat.

'I passed the miscarriage over two days, shaking with pain, my teeth chattering, each clump of blood in the toilet a repeated question: Was that my baby?' she wrote.

'It was far more emotionally and physically painful than I expected, in part because I was completely unprepared,' she continued. 'From what Id gathered from high school sex ed and popular culture, pregnancy was a given, and miscarriage  well, no one talked about it.

'In the aftermath, we tried again, and the months went by with negative tests. I started to worry that something deeper was wrong.'

News: Knox and her husband Christopher Robinson announced she was pregnant in August, just weeks after she opened up about the miscarriage she suffered during the pandemic

Surprise: In October, she told The New York Times that she had given birth to their daughter, Eureka, 'several months ago' and kept the baby's birth a secret

Knox's experience inspired her to create a miniseries about infertility on her podcast in which anonymous women shared their struggles.

'It brought home to me how lucky I am that I was imprisoned for only four years, that I was able to find love, and start trying, and Im thrilled to say that Im no longer staring down negative tests and am now enjoying motherhood,' she said.

Knox encouraged readers to combat infertility via prison sentencing by supporting organizations such as the Sentencing Project, which is fighting mass incarceration

'We can recognize the stakes for getting it right when women are accused of crimes, and we can take their fertility into account during sentencing,' she wrote at the end of her essay. 'A 20-year sentence for a woman isnt just time  its a life that could be, a child waiting for the chance to be born.'

Knox announced she was pregnant in August, just weeks after she opened up about her miscarriage. She had likely already given birth at that point  or was just about to.

In October, she told the The New York Times that she and Robinson had welcomed their daughter 'several months ago.' They documented her pregnancy on her podcast, but the episodes were released on a delay to keep the birth a secret.

On the day her interview with The Times was published, the final installment of the podcast in which she detailed giving birth was released.

Secret: Knox documented her pregnancy on her podcast, Labyrinths, and on social media as if it were in real time. Fans later learned via The Times that the posts were shared on a delay

Candid: 'Im thrilled to say that Im no longer staring down negative tests and am now enjoying motherhood,' Knox wrote in her new essay

'I'm still nervous about the paparazzi bounty on her head,' said Knox, speaking to the paper from their home on Vashon Island near Seattle, in Washington state.

'I will say I'm excited to not have to keep pretending not to be a mom. 'Cause it's like, my brain is just there.'

Knox told The Times that she has continued to struggle to find a balance between disliking fame and needing to make money to live from.

In 2013 she wrote a memoir, Waiting to Be Heard, for which she was given an advance of $3.8 million.

However, her father Curt said only around $200,000 of the advance remained after she paid her legal bills; her PR team, the three mortgages her parents and grandmother took out to fund the fight; and a loan for her younger sister Deanna, who dropped out of college.

Knox and Robinson, whom she married in a time travel-themed wedding in 2020, currently survive off their earnings from their podcast, but they are pitching a film adaptation of her memoir, a TV project about wrongful conviction, and a new book.

They also are considering, the paper reported, a series of NFTs out of famous tabloid covers with Knox's face on them.

'What I keep telling Chris is that I want to get to a place where I don't have to keep living the worst experience of my life so that we can pay the mortgage,' Knox said.

'I keep telling myself if all else fails, I can make cuckoo clocks for a living.'

Grateful: The activist said she considers herself lucky that she was only in jail for four years, saying she still had time to find love and start a family after her release

Done: Following the release of her New York Times profile, the new mom shared on Instagram that she won't be sharing any future photos of her daughter on social media

Robinson, a novelist and poet, is working on a sci-fi novel and a nonfiction book about evolution, the future, and psychedelics.

Knox has spent the decade since her release from prison finishing her undergraduate degree, in creative writing, at the University of Washington and then taking a series of low-paying jobs.

She worked in a used-book store and wrote for her local newspaper, initially under a pseudonym.

'Getting a forward-facing, regular job was complicated by the fact that people would recognize me,' she said.

Knox also became an advocate for others who said they were wrongfully convicted.

The new mom posted a photo from her New York Times profile on Instagram, saying it was the only image of her daughter she would ever share on social media.

'Since my exoneration, I've struggled to reclaim my identity and protect the people I love from being exploited as tabloid content,' she explained.

'It's not easy, and I often feel like I'm trying to invent good choices out of bad whole cloth. I know that I cannot 100% protect my daughter from the kind of treatment I've suffered, but I'm doing the best I can.

'Which is why this will be the only picture of her I will ever share on social media. I'm so grateful to everyone who has wished @emceecarbon and I well on our journey to parenthood.

'Thank you for believing in us.'
James Middleton and his new wife Alizee Thevenet were in high spirits last night as they made their first public appearance together since their French Riveria wedding.

James, the younger sibling of the Duchess of Cambridge, 39, and Pippa Middleton, 37, who got engaged to Alizee, 32, in September 2019 but had to delay the ceremony twice in the last year due to Covid, finally tied the knot in Bormes-les-Mimosas in Provence in September.

The newlyweds appeared more in love than ever as they arrived at the switch on of Bulgari's Serpenti Christmas lights at its flagship boutique, before attending a star studded party in conjunction with Save The Children.

The couple were joined by fellow socialites including Lady Mary Charteris at the event in London last night.

James Middleton and his new wife Alizee Thevenet were in high spirits last night as they made their first public appearance together since their French Riveria wedding

The newlyweds appeared more in love than ever as they arrived at the switch on of Bulgari's Serpenti Christmas lights at its flagship boutique, before attending a star studded party in conjunction with Save The Children

Alizee opted for a stunning white trouser suit for the outing, wearing her long blonde tresses in loose waves across her shoulders.

Meanwhile she wore minimal makeup, allowing her outfit to take centre stage.

James donned a smart navy blazer for the outing, which he paired with a pair of red tartan trousers.

The duo posed for pictures alongside Bulgari Europe Managing Direcotr Vincenzo Puji and UK Managing Director Joyce Weng at the star-studded party.

The couple were joined by fellow socialites including Lady Mary Charteris at the event in London last night

The model and DJ opted for a lilac purple cardigan with white fluffy detailing and a pair of statement snakeskin trousers

The mother-of-one, who welcomed her first baby in the summer, could be seen DJing the event in London last night

Meanwhile other socialites to attend included Lady Mary, who could be seen djing at the event last night.

It comes days after, James took to Instagram and posted a snap of one of his Cocker Spaniels, believed to be Ella, breaking his 'unintentional' social media detox following his September wedding.

Alongside the photo, he penned: 'I've been so immersed in embracing and enjoying the first few months of being with my new wife. I've realised I have unintentionally taken a social detox which I suppose is no bad thingBUT we are back - hope you don't mind.'

James, who occasionally goes weeks without posting on social media, urged his follows to take the odd break from being online.

Alizee opted for a stunning white trouser suit for the outing, wearing her long blonde tresses in loose waves across her shoulders (pictured with James, Bulgari Europe Managing Director Vincenzo Pujia and Bulgari UK Managing Director Joyce Weng)

Other socialites in attendance at the event last night included Sabine Getty, who opted for a little black dress for the occasion

Sabine, who also posed for pictures alongside Vincenzo, donned a glittering statement necklace for the outing in London

'I highly recommend taking a social media detox from time to time - in fact I believe the saying is disconnect to reconnect,' he wrote. 'Over the last few months many of you have reached outand thank you for checking up on me it means a lot.'

Prior to this, James' last post was on September 12, when he announced his marriage with a picture of him and bride Alizee on Instagram and penned: 'Words cannot describe how happy I am.'

Alizee, who swept her hair into a half-up do for the event, with two tendrils down each side of her face, opted for an off-the-shoulder gown which featured pretty lace detailing across the bodice.

Meanwhile, James looked every piece the proud groom, donning a white linen suit for the laid back event.

Journalist Stephen Doig posed for snaps on the orange carpet at the Bulgari event last night in London

Others to attend included Zara Martin, who wore a glittering black mini dress, (left) and Hermione Olivia (right)

Meanwhile Alicia Agneson turned up the glamour in a floor length glittering white gown which she paired with a leather jacket

The newlyweds were joined by 50 guests including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their three children at the Chateau Leoube, an exclusive vineyard in the village that produces some of France's finest rose wine.

Chateau Leoube is owned by British billionaire JCB chairman Anthony Bamford and his wife Carole.

Carole is quoted on the vineyard's website about how the couple fell in love with the place when they set eyes upon it in 1997.

She says: 'Anthony and I had been looking for a house in Provence for a while when we eventually found Leoube, our sleeping beauty.

'Set back from a quiet bay on the coastline, the house had been owned by the same family for years but hadn't really been touched  we fell in love with it.'

Announcing his marriage with a picture of him and bride Alizee on Instagram, James said: 'Words cannot describe how happy I am'

This is the luxury chateau where James Middleton and his bride Alizee celebrated their secret wedding at the weekend

Mr Middleton and Miss Thevenet, a trilingual French financial analyst, met in 2018 when his cocker spaniel, Ella, approached her at a private members' club in London.

The couple, who announced their engagement in 2019, had originally planned to get married in May last year.

But they were twice forced to push back the date. He said in a post on Instagram in September last year: 'It's a year since I asked Alizee to marry me what a year it's been!

'Two homes, lockdown, two attempts at a wedding, a litter of [dog emoji], launching of new company @ella.co, a beard shave and much more but the best part is that I get to share it with you @alizeethevenet and I can't wait to take on whatever the future holds for us.'

Chateau Leoube is an exclusive vineyard in the village of Bormes-les-Mimosas in Provence that produces some of France's finest rose wine
Prince Albert cut a lonely figure as he attended Monaco's National Day at Expo 2020 in Dubai without his wife Charlene, days after she returned from a 10 month trip to South Africa.

The mother-of-two, 43, arrived back in Monaco last week after flying by private jet from the South African city of Durban to Nice, France, and posed for snaps with Albert, 63, and their two children Jacques and Gabriella.

The mother-of-two, who underwent several surgeries while in South Africa and was taken to hospital after collapsing in September, still looked frail on her return to Monaco.

In the days that followed, it quickly emerged Princess Charlene of Monaco may not live in her husband Albert's palace following her return home and does not plan to immediately resume public engagements.

And today, Albert attended the Expo in Dubai without his wife, instead appearing with his sister Princess Stephanie and her son Louis Ducruet.

Prince Albert cut a lonely figure as he attended Monaco's National Day at Expo 2020 in Dubai without his wife Charlene, days after she returned from a 10 month trip to South Africa

The mother-of-two, 43, arrived back in Monaco last week after flying by private jet from the South African city of Durban to Nice, France , and posed for snaps with Albert, 63, and their two children Jacques and Gabriella

Expo 2020 is a World Expo currently hosted by Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, and was originally scheduled for 20 October 2020  10 April 2021.

However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Arab Emirates, the new dates are 1 October 2021  31 March 2022.

It comes days after Chantell Wittstock, Charlene's sister-in-law and PR for her charitable Foundation in South Africa, said not only that it is 'unclear' whether the princess will be living full-time in the Palace, but also that her return to formal duties is dependent on her recovery from a mystery illness.

Before she left in January, Charlene had raised eyebrows in Monaco by living in a modest two-bedroom apartment above an old chocolate factory about 300m away, rather than in the 12th Century Palace itself. It is thought she could return to living at the property.

Despite posing for snaps with Charlene earlier this week, Prince Albert attended the event with his sister Princess Stephanie and her son Louis

Albert wore a red facemask and dark sunglasses throughout the event on Monaco's National Day at Expo Dubai 2020 (pictured)

Asked whether the Princess would now return to the arm's-length arrangement the couple had before her departure, Ms Wittstock, married to Charlene's brother Sean, who is on the board of her charitable foundation, said: 'Oh, we don't know yet. She'll probably be commuting between the two, wherever she's comfortable.

'And none of that is clear yet where she'll be settling or anything like that. I mean, she only just arrived back, so it's everybody finding their feet. The Princess is very excited to see her kids and they're very excited to see their mom again.

'So we'll see where she'll be settling. But it will be with her husband and her children.

Ms Wittstock, asked about media stories focusing on the state of her sister-in-law's marriage to Prince Albert, added: 'It is absolutely not something I can comment on. But what I can say is the princess is back in Monaco with her husband and children that should say it all.'

The claims will inevitably cast a shadow of doubt over the staged photocall earlier this week when Charlene was reunited with Albert, 63, and their children after a 10-month absence from Monaco.

Charlene spent months without her family in her native South Africa while she recovered from surgery following a sinus infection she contracted during a solo charity trip earlier this year.

Separate lives? Before she left in January, Charlene had raised eyebrows by living in a modest two-bedroom apartment above an old chocolate factory about 300m away, rather than in the Palace itself, as illustrated. There is debate over whether she might return to the property

Low-key: Instead of enjoying palatial rooms overlooking the Mediterranean, and a domestic staff including butlers and cooks, the apartment, pictured, is a pared back apartment

The reunion, shared on Instagram, was eyed with scepticism by French commentators amid feverish speculation about the state of the Grimaldis' marriage.

Charlene's time away followed fresh allegations last December that Albert had fathered a love-child (which would be his third, if proven) with an unnamed Brazilian woman during the time when he and Charlene, a former Olympic swimmer for South Africa, were already in a relationship.

On the question of Charlene's return to public engagements, she sounded equally equivocal, saying: 'She absolutely will - if everything goes well, if she is definitely still healing and recovering.

'That doesn't just happen overnight. She's definitely going to be taking it easy. And yeah, her main focus right now will be spending time with her children and her family.

Grand return: Charlene spent months without her family in her native South Africa while she recovered from surgery following a sinus infection she contracted during a solo charity trip earlier this year. Pictured, the princess arriving in Monaco on Monday

Carefully choreographed: Albert, 63, was waiting for her at the Monte Carlo helipad, along with their six-year-old twins, Princess Gabriella and Prince Jacques. The family were joined by a hand-picked photographer inside the Palace walls for the 'reunion' photos, pictured

Hidden message? Posting a snap of the reunion on Instagram, Charlene wrote: 'Happy day today. Thankyou all for keeping me strong,' but did not name check her husband

Delighted to be reunited: Charlene's sister-in-law said she is thrilled to be back with her children. Pictured, Charlene with her son Jacques on her return to Monaco on Monday

How Charlene and Albert made solo outings in South Africa and Monaco during nine months apart 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 8 - Albert, Jacques and Gabriella attend a Grand Prix event in Monaco without Charlene May 10 - Albert attends Monaco Gala Awards in Monaco without Charlene May 18 - Charlene shares her first picture from her conservation trip in South Africa June 1 - Prince Albert II, Jacques and Gabriella attend event at Oceanic Museum in Monaco June 3 - New photos emerge of Charlene on her conservation trip June 5- Charlene puts on a united front as she shares a photo with her family to mark her niece's fifth birthday with her brother's family and Albert and the twins in South Africa June 7 - Albert and the twins attend the World Rugby Sevens without Charlene June 17 - Prince Albert attends Red Cross Summer concert in Monte Carlo with his sister Princess Caroline of Hanover June 18 - Prince Albert appears alone Monte Carlo TV Festival 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 July 2 - Charlene and Albert mark their 10th anniversary separately. '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,' Her Serene Highness Princess Charlene said in a statement. July 3 - Albert appears with glamorous niece Charlotte Casiraghi at the 15th international Monte-Carlo Jumping event, which is part of the Longines Global Champions Tour of Monaco, July 27 - Prince Albert attends Olympics alone in Tokyo August 13 - Charlene undergoes a four-hour operation. The reason is not announced August 25 - Charlene shares photos of Prince Albert, Gabriella and Jacques visiting her in South Africa August 31 - Speculation mounts in the media about couple's relationship

September 1 - Charlene is admitted under an alias to the Netcare Alberlito Hospital after suddenly 'collapsing' September 2 - She is discharged, with a statement from the Palais Princier reading: 'Her Highness is closely monitored by Her medical team who said that Her condition was not worrying' September 23 - Prince Albert attends the 2021 Monte Carlo Gala for Planetary Health September 29 - Prince Albert is joined on the red carpet by actress Sharon Stone for a first look at the eagerly anticipated James Bond release September 30 - Charlene releases a stylish video promoting her anti-poaching campaign from her South African bolthole October 3 - Princess Charlene shares a photograph of herself smiling in front of a bible in her first snap since being discharged from hospital following her health scare October 5 - Prince Albert attends Sportel Awards Ceremony in Monte Carlo with nephew Louis Ducruet October 6 - Albert tells RMC radio Charlene is 'ready to come home' October 8 - Princess undergoes surgery in South Africa November 8 - Charlene arrives back in Monaco Advertisement

'All we can say right now is all of her procedures in South Africa were a success. So medically the doctors have cleared her to fly back. And that's why she's obviously back in Monaco with her kids.'

She said the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation, which promotes water safety and wildlife conservation in Africa, would soon expand to cover the whole continent.

'The main reason for coming to Africa in the first place was to launch more Foundation projects, which is when she fell ill and the Foundation team in South Africa absolutely carried on with all of those, making sure that everything happened exactly the way she wanted it.

'Even during recovery, in between procedures, the princess still tried to be completely hands-on and on the ground and work with us. The foundation will also be expanding into the whole of Africa as of next year.

'As far as Charlene goes. The outlook is is positive and you know she's going to get back to full strength and be full steam ahead. It's not going to happen overnight.'

The new development will certainly add fuel to the intense speculation over the future of the marriage of Charlene and Albert.

Monday's photos were greeted with a hefty dose of scepticism by the French media.

Albert was waiting for her at the Monte Carlo helipad, along with their six-year-old twins, Princess Gabriella and Prince Jacques. The family were joined by a hand-picked photographer inside the Palace walls for the 'reunion' photos.

But there was already doubt cast over the couple's living arrangements.

'Reunion of Albert and Charlene of Monaco: but where exactly do they sleep?' was the headline question in the respected French celebrity outlet Gala on Tuesday.

And Voici  another popular magazine read widely across Monaco and France  ran with: 'Charlene of Monaco back: the Princess breaks the silence and forgets to mention her husband'.

This was a reference to Charlene using a social media video to thank everybody who had helped her through months of ill-health, without name-checking Albert at all.

In the streets in the shadow of the 12th century Prince's Palace, people could not conceal their concern for Charlene this week, having seen the photos of her looking so obviously frail.

'We are glad to have her back, but she doesn't look well and it feels we don't yet have the full picture,' said one cafe owner on the Rock, in his 50s, who asked not to be named.

He admitted that in years past, he like many Monegasques, had expressed frustration at the way Charlene has been less visible than other royals.

'There was a while when there was a sense that she was a reluctant princess,' he said, 'but this is different - there's obviously something not quite right either with her or the marriage and for whatever reason we're not being told what.'

There certainly appears to be a wall of silence around Charlene, especially since she retreated behind the ramparts of the Palace, at least for the time being.

Her Palace press officer said she could not return calls from MailOnline and did not reply to a list of questions we sent her.

Doubts about the central relationship of Monaco's royal family are not new of course. Several residents living in the narrow medieval alleys of Monaco Ville confirmed to MailOnline that before she left for South Africa Charlene was spending most of her time outside the Palace at the Chocolate factory apartment.

'We often saw her outside the Palace and she would usually be alone or with a bodyguard,' said one source, 'but she was never with Albert - it was obvious she chose to spend most of her time in the apartment rather than the palace.'

Another Monte Carlo source who knows the couple well told MailOnline: 'The way to stop all the friction and put an end to the speculation about their marriage is for Charlene to proudly move back into the Palace and start living like a proper Princess.

'That's what the people of Monaco want, because they love their Royals, and don't want them living separate lives.'

Charlene came in for criticism before she travelled to South Africa for dividing her time between several properties outside the Palais, the official residence of the Sovereign, Albert II.

Instead of enjoying palatial rooms overlooking the Mediterranean, and a domestic staff including butlers and cooks, Charlene chose the Chocolate Factory.

Charlene, who wed Prince Albert II of Monaco in 2011, has been living in her home country of South Africa for much of this year, and the extended stay has stoked speculation that the royal couple may be headed for divorce. Albert took their children to visit in August

Last Monaco outing together before her departure: Charlene and Albert were last pictured together at an official event together in January at the Sainte Devote Ceremony in Monaco

It only had two bedrooms, and had been used in the past by Albert's sister, Princess Stephanie.

Stephanie, 56, led an extremely turbulent personal life herself that included two divorces and high-profile affairs with security guards and an elephant trainer.

Princess Charlene's trials and tribulations 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. It's 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'In another interview, she said she found motherhood 'exhausting' 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. It is the last time she has been seen in Monaco this year. Advertisement

Charlene also escaped Royal protocol by staying at Roc Agel, a mountain retreat on the outskirts of Monaco originally restored for Albert's late mother, the Hollywood star Grace Kelly who became Princess Grace before her tragic death in a car crash on the treacherously steep road approaching Roc Agel.

Charlene was also a frequent visitor to a holiday home owned by friends on the Mediterranean island of Corsica.

Paris Match, the celeb bible, has always had particularly close ties with the Grimaldis  the ancient dynasty now headed by Albert and Charlene.

'Charlene and Albert on the Verge of Breaking Up?' was the lead headline in an edition of Match in August.

'There will be no photo for their 10th anniversary wedding anniversary,' it noted.

All the high-end French publications  the kind that Albert and Charlene would normally grant fawning interviews to  concurred.

The upmarket and very conservative Madame Figaro ran with the stark headline: 'Are Charlene and Albert II of Monaco on the verge of divorce?'

Historian and author Philippe Delorme told the magazine: 'Lots of people got the impression it was an arranged marriage, it's true.

'Albert chose a wife who resembled his mother and Charlene clearly felt very ill at ease in this Grace Kelly role they wanted her to play.

'As Karl Marx put it: History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.'

The 2011 wedding itself was an ostentatious three-day event featuring a concert by the Eagles. But onlookers were concerned by photos of the bride in tears with her husband appearing distant, but Charlene insisted later she was just emotional.

Charlene has been notable by her absence from every single flagship event in the tax haven principality this year.

They have included the Monaco Grand Prix on May 23, and the Fashion Awards hosted by the Princess's own charitable foundation on May 18.

Charlene infamously shaved half her head in the style of a punk rocker last December.

This was seen as the first public sign of a worsening crisis that could end in a multi-million pound divorce.

Charlene's exile in South Africa began a month after it emerged last December that Albert was facing yet another paternity suit.

A Brazilian woman who cannot be named for legal reasons said her 15-year-old daughter was the result of an affair with Albert in 2004.

Albert and Charlene were not yet engaged at this time, but they had known each over for four years after meeting at a swimming gala in Monaco in 2000.

Lawyers for the claimant were scheduled to demand a DNA test from Albert at a court in Milan earlier this year, while his own counsel branded the action 'a hoax'.

Neither party is now commenting, suggesting some kind of generous settlement may have been reached, as happened with Albert's earlier love children.

They are Jazmin Grace Grimaldi, who is now 29 and the result of Albert's affair with an American estate agent, and Alexandre Coste, 17, whose mother is a former Togolese air hostess.

Both children were struck off Monaco's line of succession in return for vast financial settlements.
They are the unsung backbone of the NHS  going in to peoples homes to perform everything from wound dressings to support at the end of life. Yet what was once a thriving district nurse workforce has, over the past decade, been decimated.

An ever-increasing caseload, limited resources and far more complex and challenging health needs have left them burnt out and fed up.

As a result, theyre leaving in droves  at a time when we need them more than ever. Today, a record 5.7 million people are on waiting lists for hospital treatment or surgery while their conditions deteriorate.

The number of people dying at home is up by one third since before the pandemic, and those who do make it into hospital for care are discharged faster than ever to free up beds, long before theyve made a full recovery.

The number of district nurses working in the community has been slashed over recent years

Ministers have tabled some ambitious ideas to address the vital need for at-home care, including a wave of new community health hubs, or more video appointments. But none are a quick fix, nor are they proven to solve the problem

Ministers have tabled some ambitious ideas to address the vital need for at-home care, including a wave of new community health hubs, or more video appointments. But none are a quick fix, nor are they proven to solve the problem. Recruiting more district nurses could help alleviate these pressures, say experts, as well as tackling what threatens to be a spiralling crisis in community care. But this might be harder than it sounds.

Its well-known that GP services are buckling in the present climate, but local district nursing teams are also now under near-intolerable pressure.

Even before Covid, things were in a bad way. Since 2009, the number of district nurses in England has plummeted from more than 7,000 to just over 4,000. District nursing charity the Queens Nursing Institute warned that most of these nurses were being forced to delay treating patients on a daily basis because they simply didnt have time to see them.

An analysis by the Royal College of Nursing found there is only one for every 14,000 people in England, compared with one GP for every 1,600.

And what does this mean for patients? To date, few widescale studies have been carried out, but organisations such as the Royal College of Nursing and QNI  along with district nurses themselves  say it may well have led to chronic conditions worsening, or complications being missed.

Fewer district nurses means those who remain are hugely overstretched and spend less time with patients, or have to delegate cases to less experienced staff. The concern is that patients are being needlessly admitted to hospital as a result when their conditions deteriorate without being spotted early enough.

One study, not yet published, is understood to have found a link between the decline in district nursing numbers and an increase in avoidable hospital admissions.

Professor Alison Leary, a healthcare expert at London South Bank University who carries out research for the QNI, describes district nurses as the air traffic control of healthcare. Cut their numbers, she says, and you might expect more plane crashes or not being able to take off at all.

One study, not yet published, is understood to have found a link between the decline in district nursing numbers and an increase in avoidable hospital admissions

She adds: It is a risk to all of us. Were more likely to need nursing care in our lives than any other kind of care. In terms of safety, it is essential this care is co-ordinated, with different specialists speaking to one another about patients individual needs. Thats what district nurses do. We have a lot of evidence that specialist nursing helps prevent avoidable admissions to hospital.

Now, if you need a district nurse, you might not get one. Increasingly, the chances of you being able to get care at home, or have a good death there, are diminishing because the services are just not there.

District nurses have long been among the most respected and experienced in the profession. They are based either in GP practices or community healthcare Trusts, but spend the majority of their working day in patients homes.

Their duties are diverse, from tending to catheters, to prescribing medication and even administering injections such as insulin for diabetics. They monitor chronic conditions, help deliver chemotherapy, support those with degenerative illnesses and provide vital end-of-life care to patients and their families.

But their role is also holistic. They develop long-term relationships with patients and their families, which allows them to spot complications such as sepsis or gangrene, new or developing health issues, and assess whether living arrangements are appropriate and how families are coping. They can flag worrying signs of a potentially dangerous problem that may have otherwise gone unnoticed  such as if a patient isnt eating  and liaise with GPs, pharmacies, physiotherapists and occupational therapists.

Veteran district nurses have told The Mail on Sunday  on condition of anonymity  how privileged they feel doing such work.

Its the best job in the world, one said. Theres so much joy in it. You really get to know patients and its so rewarding being able to help them the way we can.

The families of patients with terminal illnesses we cared for write to us saying we were the only light in the darkest times of their lives. Thats beautiful. But Im 60 and thinking about retiring  not because I want to, but because Im not sure I can do it any more.

Many feel the profession has changed beyond recognition over the past few decades.

My district nurse has been amazing Vicky Saynor understands the crucial role of district nurses more than most. The 45-year-old, from Hertfordshire, who has an aggressive form of breast cancer, underwent six rounds of chemotherapy in her own home in 2019. A district nurse came every week to give her the life-saving medication and to clean the medical tubes inserted into the arm that carry the drugs into her bloodstream. On one occasion the nurse spotted a potentially dangerous infection near to where the tube was inserted, and visited every day to make sure that it was swiftly stamped out. She also helped deal with side effects from a new chemotherapy combination. Without her, Vicky, who runs cancer charity True Cancer Bodies, knows she would have ended up in hospital  and could have been very seriously ill. I know so many people who were not told this was an option, Vicky admits today. Other women have told me theyve had no option but to go to A&E with problems, where theyre at even greater risk of picking up an infection. Theyve been amazed and envious at the care Ive had at home. For me, the alternative would have been unthinkable. She absolutely kept me out of hospital. Advertisement

In the 1980s and 1990s, patients with complicated problems would be in hospital until they did not need any further clinical support. Then, district nursing teams were largely made up of district nurses themselves and the occasional healthcare assistant for support.

Now, though, thanks to a combination of technological advances in at-home care, and a push to keep patients out of hospital, far more people are treated at home for increasingly complex, multiple problems. Many district nurses say theyve become a remote hospital and the work is now more technical, time-consuming and demanding.

One nurse said: Patients who would have died 30 years ago are now being managed at home with really complex needs. It was rare that Id treat people in their 80s and 90s. Now it is normal, and they have chronic, long-term illnesses.

You go to see someone because theyve fallen over and you realise theyre dealing with 12 other different problems. And because they havent been seeing their GP or going in for hospital appointments, theyre a lot sicker than they were before the pandemic.

Teams now manage up to 600 patients each, but today they may have only one or two district nurses who lead them. Increasingly, they are having to rely on less experienced staff nurses, agency nurses and lower-grade healthcare assistants to plug gaps. Three-quarters of teams have vacancies they cannot fill, or are not allowed to fill because of funding problems.

District nurses are now also tasked with being part of the urgent response team sent to unwell patients who have called the NHS helpline 111. These patients  who are in need of emergency care but not sick enough for hospital  must be assessed within two hours.

Unlike hospital wards, we cant close when were full, we cant say no, one nurse says. But we cant guarantee a patient will be seen when they need to be, or that itll be a district nurse  we have to delegate. Youll see someone who can do the task, but might not have our level of expertise to assess a patients entire situation.

That has serious implications for patients. One nurse described how she recently spotted the warning signs of life-threatening sepsis in an elderly patient she was seeing for routine wound care.

She said: Her legs looked fine but she was a bit muddled and couldnt remember if her son had visited that day, or if shed eaten breakfast. That was unusual for her, and I knew something serious was wrong. Someone less experienced, who didnt know that lady well, wouldnt necessarily have picked that up.

Agency staff have alleviated the pressure, but one nurse said: Personally, Im not happy giving an agency nurse a complex task unless Ive actually seen them do it.

So you give them the least complicated jobs, but that means were not there to spot something that can become a bigger, more complex problem later.

Vicky Saynor, pictured, who has an aggressive form of breast cancer, said the regular visits from her district nurse kept her out of hospital for a long period of time

Prof Leary added: You can teach anyone to take blood pressure or clean a wound. But Ive come across cases where less experienced workers were going in and beautifully dressing wounds but the patient becomes very unwell because they didnt recognise the signs of, say, gangrene.

District nurses say they routinely deal with up to 15 patients a day, in which they have to perform a thorough assessment of health needs as well as the care. But time restraints mean this usually has to be done in 20 minutes. If a patients condition has deteriorated, or there are a lot of red flags, it can take far longer, so for subsequent patients this means delays. A survey for the Royal College of Nursing found 79 per cent found time allocated for patients wasnt enough.

Its a problem for patients, a nurse said. You might be going to see someone whos immunocompromised with swollen legs due to chemotherapy, but they need a lung drained and pressure wound care. You know you shouldnt rush it, but inside youre thinking, Ive got to get to the next patient. The danger is something gets missed or overlooked.

I originally went into district nursing to be completely present with the patient rather than running around a ward, but the pressure now is to keep moving.

Unfortunately, lots of district nurses are burnt out and retiring or leaving.

About 46 per cent of district nurses in one recent workforce survey said they planned to retire or leave in the next six years, which will only compound current problems. Another study found working conditions were partly to blame, with nurses becoming frustrated with limited IT support and poor IT, including slow laptops and a lack of wi-fi.

But unpaid overtime, and unmanageable caseloads, is the major factor. One in ten said they were doing more than ten hours of unpaid overtime a week  while one nurse told The Mail on Sunday they regularly worked nearly double their contracted 37.5 hours.

The average salary for district nurses is between 25,000 and 45,000 a year. You dont do it for the money, one nurse said.

Nursing leaders are calling for more district nurses to be trained to make up the shortfall.

Part of the problem, explains Dr Crystal Oldman, QNI chief executive, is that the job has an image problem. She said: When I first went into the community, in 1982, it was seen as high status. Im often asked whats happened to that view.

I think television dramas like Casualty and ER has made hospital nursing seem more exciting and glamorous  and its hard to dramatise keeping people at home and out of hospital.

NHS training body Health Education England has increased the number of training places, with more district nurses set to qualify over the next few years. But Dr Oldman says: They need to be double what they are right now.

Becoming a district nurse involves a specialist qualification  a further year of training which, crucially, incurs a reduction in pay. Some nurses instead elect to move sideways into other roles that have career progression and better pay.

In addition, newly qualified nurses have very different expectations of the job compared with older nurses.

One district nurse said: Theyre pickier about what they will and wont do, and they wont work certain hours.

The Royal College of Nursing and QNI are both calling for greater investment in district nursing to make staff feel valued and to support the extra work being carried out.

Carolyn Doyle, Royal College of Nursings lead for community and end-of-life care, says: These nurses make an enormous contribution, which is often invisible  a patients front door is their front line. The impact of what they do is vast. We have to invest in that, for patients and for the nurses themselves.
One of the UKs most controversial Covid-19 prevention policies came into force last week, when care home workers were told: No jab, no job.

Its the Governments much debated plan  the first mandatory vaccination order for social care workers to try to push almost 40,000 unvaccinated staff into getting both doses.

The same rule will apply to all NHS staff, but they have until April to get it.

Studies show the jab reduces the chance of passing on Covid by at least 50 per cent, and Ministers say the policy will protect disabled and vulnerable patients who may not respond well to the vaccine themselves.

But Dr Chaand Nagpaul, a GP partner and chairman of the British Medical Association, called the policy irresponsible, predicting mass walkouts from NHS staff during the immense pressure of the winter period. The care home sector already has about 105,000 vacancies and, according to a Government report on Thursday, the NHS could lose more than 73,000 staff by spring.

Care worker, 36-year-old Louise Akester from Hull was sacked from her job because she refused to get vaccinated against Covid-19

One care worker, 36-year-old Louise Akester from Hull, posted a video of herself crying minutes after being fired from her job for refusing to get jabbed.

While the deadline for jabs has passed, health chiefs say it will take a number of weeks before the effect on care home staffing levels becomes clear.

During the past week we spoke to a number of healthcare workers who are willing to sacrifice their job to avoid the vaccine, asking them to explain why. We have hidden their identities to protect them from online abuse.

Nursing is the only thing Ive ever known, since starting as a nursing assistant in 1998, said one woman. But I will not follow medicine down this dark road.

A 23-year-old social worker said: I honestly dont know what I will do. If I was a carer then I would have left by now, no hesitation, but most carers havent spent three years at university doing a specific degree for their job. Ive worked very hard to get where I am.

Care home worker David, 66, who has now quit his job, told The Mail on Sundays Medical Minefield podcast that he and his wife caught Covid in February 2020 on a flight from New Zealand to the UK, which he believes granted him enough natural immunity to protect the residents in his care.

He said: I dont see why my right to make my own choice should be violated. I am determined to stand by my principles. If that means you dont want me working in your company  fine.

My natural immunity was well demonstrated this year. Ive been working in the care home alongside patients  many of whom caught Covid  for six days a week for a year and didnt catch the infection.

One NHS worker complained: I am being forced to have an injection against something to which I am already immune'

I am being forced to have an injection against something to which I am already immune.

David said he isnt necessarily anti-vaccine but has read online that the jab has not been subject to adequate medical trials. This is despite experts assurances that the Covid-19 vaccines have undergone greater medical scrutiny than perhaps any other widely used jab. He added: I would like to go back to my old job. But for that to happen  as I explained when I resigned  logic, sanity and legality will need to return to the situation.

But just how popular are these opinions among healthcare staff? And will mandatory vaccination be as catastrophic for the NHS as has been suggested?

We probably wont see swarms of health and care staff leaving their jobs, said Dr Simon Williams, a public health expert at Swansea University. These estimates are worst-possible-scenario predictions based on surveys that ask staff members how they feel about the vaccine, which doesnt always reflect peoples true behaviour.

According to Government figures, roughly 90 per cent of NHS workers have had both doses of a Covid-19 jab. Thats about ten per cent higher than the uptake for everyone over 12, which stands at about 80 per cent. But in social care, take-up is lower. Figures last week showed 74.6 per cent of care workers in the community had had two doses.

Research shows the vast majority of unvaccinated people will be delaying the jab because they dont really want it, said Dr Williams. But if there becomes a reason to get it, such as to keep a job, they will be encouraged to do so. Weve already seen this in other countries where Covid-19 vaccine mandates have come into force.

According to Government figures, roughly 90 per cent of NHS workers have had both doses of a Covid-19 jab

In July, the mayor of New York City introduced a vaccine mandate for all public-facing civil servants, including police and firefighters. The New York Police Departments union warned that the force would lose 10,000 officers when the law came into effect on November 1. In the end, just 34 officers resigned.

A similar situation happened in France  unions warned that mandating jabs for medical staff would be a health catastrophe, but since it was introduced two months ago, just 0.1 per cent of health workers have been suspended.

Mandating vaccination is never ideal, says Dr Williams. Research shows a small number who are on the fence may double down in their views, because they dont like the idea of being forced.

But he says a lot of these studies relate to non-healthcare occupations and were carried out in the US where vaccines are required by many employers, as well as schools  a culture linked to high rates of vaccine hesitancy and anti-vax communities.

In the UK, many healthcare workers are already required to have certain vaccines  in England, staff working with patients with open wounds must be vaccinated against the hepatitis B infection.

Dr Peter English, a retired consultant in disease control and a vaccines expert, said: Healthcare workers have a duty to ensure they minimise their risk of infecting their patients  including, where appropriate, vaccination.
A pill used for diabetes is set to revolutionise the treatment of deadly kidney disease  potentially sparing tens of thousands from dialysis and organ transplants, and saving hundreds of lives every year.

NHS chiefs have granted roughly 91,000 sufferers access to the drug, the first new development in treatment of the condition in 20 years.

The approval follows a study which found a daily dose of dapagliflozin slashed the risk of needing dialysis, a transplant and even death by up to 39 per cent.

At least 30,000 people need kidney dialysis  hooked up to a machine that clears waste products and excess fluid from the blood.

The gruelling procedure can involve trips to the hospital three times a week.

A new treatment for kidney patients could see the numbers of people requiring dialysis

And about 1,500 kidney transplants a year are carried out, with patients waiting an average of two to three years for a suitable donor.

This drug represents an exciting new opportunity for patients, said Dr Graham Lipkin, a specialist and trustee of the charity Kidney Care UK. It can slow the progression of the disease and we anticipate it will reduce the number of patients needing dialysis, or a transplant.

The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs deep inside the abdomen that filter out toxins from the blood and flush them out through urine.

Between them, they process a whopping 200 litres of fluid a day.

But they can become damaged beyond repair by conditions such as diabetes or high blood pressure, which restricts blood flow to the organs by narrowing the arteries that supply them.

This permanently reduces their ability to flush harmful toxins, leading to chronic kidney disease.

Toxins and fluids then accumulate in the body, causing symptoms such as extreme fatigue, persistent headaches, facial swelling and lower back pain.

Gradually, the kidneys pack up, leaving patients reliant on dialysis. Or in many cases, a transplant.

England alone has about 1.8 million known cases, with many more patients going undiagnosed.

Over time, kidney disease damages the heart, with cardiac failure being a major cause of death in those dying with the illness

Patients are advised to adopt lifestyle tweaks  like maintaining a healthy weight, cutting back on salt and exercising regularly.

But there is no cure and drugs can only control the symptoms, such as high blood pressure.

Over time, kidney disease damages the heart, with cardiac failure being a major cause of death in those dying with the illness.

The outcome of kidney failure is not much better than cancer, says Dr Charlie Tomson from the charity Kidney Research UK.

So anything that reduces the risk of kidney failure, or patients dying from cardiovascular disease or other causes, is welcome. This drug does both of those things.

Dapagliflozin, which has the brand name Forxiga, belongs to a group of medicines used to flush excess glucose from the blood of diabetics. But researchers noticed that the drugs also improve kidney function, even in patients without diabetes.

Health watchdog NICE previously recommended such drugs for only a few patients with kidney disease and type 2 diabetes.

But the results of a clinical trial involving nearly 5,000 patients published in the New England Journal Of Medicine showed that many more patients could benefit.

The results were so impressive that the trial was cut short, so the drug could quickly be delivered. NICE has recommended the drug be used more widely, alongside existing medicines that keep the kidneys working, such as blood pressure medications.

Mark Smith, a 49-year-old father- of-two from Harrogate, is one patient whose life would have been transformed had dapagliflozin been available sooner. He had a combined kidney and pancreas transplant in 2009, after decades of damage caused by type 1 diabetes. He had already spent three years reliant on dialysis to stay alive.

A drug like this would have been a huge benefit to me  and in future it will be for tens of thousands of people, says Mark.

It could have meant I had another 15 years before needing a transplant, or I may not have needed one at all.

Chronic kidney disease costs the NHS an estimated 1.5 billion a year  more than breast, lung, bowel and skin cancer combined.
A digital revolution of BT's home phone network has been roundly criticised by pensioner groups who believe it leaves millions of vulnerable people at risk and isolated if the system goes into temporary meltdown.

They accuse the phone giant of not consulting over its rollout and alarming some customers by sending them emails in the middle of the night saying their landline is to be changed. On Friday, Jan Shortt, general secretary of the National Pensioners Convention, told The Mail on Sunday: 'What on earth was BT thinking when it decided to bring in such a huge change without properly consulting those who rely on traditional home phone lines the most?'

BT's digital changeover sees the traditional handset replaced by a new 'digital' phone (powered by electricity) that relies upon the internet for calls to be made.

Concern: BT's digital changeover sees the traditional handset replaced by a new 'digital' phone (powered by electricity) that relies upon the internet for calls to be made

If there is a power cut, this digital phone line will no longer work  and a potential lifeline for elderly people will be suddenly lost. Those needing to make an emergency '999' call or raise an alarm via a health pendant could be left stranded  and unable to call anyone to ask for life-saving support.

The Mail on Sunday has been inundated with messages from readers fearful about BT's change. Particularly galling has been those emails from the company in the middle of the night warning of the switchover. Flummoxed by the message, many have been left worried that when their old landline is switched, they will no longer be able to call anyone on their phone  family, friends or emergency numbers.

Shortt has had numerous pensioners contact her about the changeover, prompting her to question BT.

She says: 'I asked BT what might happen to the vulnerable living on their own if a power cut left them without access to their phone.

'BT said people should then use a mobile phone instead. It has no idea that many older people do not want a fancy smartphone or cannot afford one  and rely on their landline as a lifeline. It is wrong to discriminate against those  primarily the elderly  who are not wired up to the internet.'

There are an estimated 1.5million homes in the country that don't have internet access. BT's switchover, grandly branded 'Digital Voice', began two years ago and has so far made slow progress with only two million landlines converted.

But with an end-of-2025 deadline for switching 29million home landlines, there are fears that the new system's flaws will be increasingly exposed.

The change also involves replacing old copper phone lines with internet cables. Phone calls are then made over the internet using 'voice over internet protocol' (VoIP) technology, rather than the old system of analogue signals sent down copper wires.

Most users will not notice any change in sound quality, but the new technology requires modern handsets that connect to a router socket  not compatible with many old phones. Potential problems are compounded by the fact that broadband depends on an electrical supply and the new handsets have to be plugged into mains electricity  not exactly helpful in these 'green' and big energy bill times.

Retired IT consultant Frank Coma is one of the early adopters of digital voice, switching a year ago when fibre optic cables were laid to his remote home on the Isle of Skye. Frank, 66, says: 'When it works well, the technology is great and there is no loss of quality when talking to someone on the phone. But there is a massive problem if there is a power cut  and we get several a year that can last for a day or more. Then, the phone line simply dies.

'It's annoying, but fine if you have mobile phone reception. Yet it's a real problem if, like us, you don't.'

Frank, who is editor of the local Waternish Hall newsletter, decided he needed battery-powered backup for his router and phone when his home was hit by a power cut. This cost 160, but after a fight BT agreed to provide the equipment for free. Under guidelines laid down by industry regulator Ofcom, BT must ensure customers can contact emergency services in a power cut that lasts more than an hour. But how this can be achieved if you lose access from an internet phone line or do not have a mobile phone  or signal  is not clear.

BT offers a basic, free, 'advanced digital phone' handset. It is worth about 50 and should include an answering machine service as well as a 'call protect' option to screen calls. But if you want additional handsets you must pay the extra cost (you keep your old phone number). Charity Age UK is fearful the changeover could attract criminals claiming to be involved in the switch. Director Caroline Abrahams says: 'About half of those aged over 75 are not online. We are concerned the changes could make many elderly feel more isolated than they do already. Steps must also be taken to ensure the vulnerable do not become victims of any digital voice scams.'

Martyn James, of complaints service Resolver, says a growing number of BT customers have contacted the website worried about the digital switchover.

James says: 'They don't understand what is going on. It is as if BT is wanting to keep the rollout a secret.'

He adds: 'Scant publicity is only going to add to the unfolding shambles  and cause distress to vulnerable people. Landline phone users should not be forced online.'

Homes already on the internet should find the switch relatively straightforward. But the minority who do not already have an internet connection will have to be wired up to accept the new digital phone technology.

This will involve an engineer visiting for free to fix 'digital voice' sockets inside your home.

Even if you do not have fibre optic cables running to your front door and rely on traditional copper wire, these can still be adapted to provide an internet connection for phone calls  with the wires later replaced with fibre optic technology.

BT, for its part, claims customers should not see prices rise due to the change. Those already signed up to an internet service will see the landline charge included as part of the total bill  whether they use BT or a competitor.

Those just paying for a landline and not using the internet will be charged separately and not pay more. The move to digital for all phone calls is being led by the Government  which has charged BT with the task. Other phone providers will also help with the rollout.

On Friday, BT said: 'We have put precautions in place to exclude older or vulnerable customers from the Digital Voice migration while we look into solutions that can help those customers who cannot access or do not want broadband or a mobile phone in their home.'

BT ordered to keep call boxes open to public

Protection: An iconic phone box

BT is not only under fire over the scrapping of traditional landlines  it is also now being ordered to keep its iconic phone boxes open.

The telecoms giant has been told by regulator Ofcom that around 5,000 are to be protected from closure in areas where they are deemed to offer a vital lifeline to those in need. This includes in rural areas that have a poor  or non-existent  mobile phone reception.

Phone boxes that are close to road accident blackspots or where people have committed suicide are also among those to be put on the new protection list. After consultation, the rules will be enforced next year. Selina Chadha, a director at Ofcom, says: 'Public phone boxes can be a lifeline. We also support a rollout of boxes with free wi-fi and charging.'

There are 21,000 phone boxes dotted across the country that are still in use. But their number has plummeted in recent years with more people now relying on mobile phones. Yet five million calls a year are still being made from a public phone box.

At the start of the 1980s there were 77,000 kiosks  the vast majority of which were a classic red cast-iron design. Since then, about 6,500 have been turned into community services, housing defibrillators or books.

BT says: 'We look forward to working constructively with Ofcom to ensure our network of public phones meets the needs of customers.'
Early this year, I raised major concerns over the proposed takeover of mutual insurer Liverpool Victoria (or LV= as it now likes to call itself) by American private equity group Bain Capital.

Three issues troubled me. First, LV's board, led by former Post Office boss Alan Cook, seemed far too keen to cosy up to greedy private equity  and far too quick to dismiss other more suitable buyers such as fellow mutual Royal London.

A merger of likes, I suggested, seemed a far more sensible way forward than getting into bed with a profit-centric private equity company with no experience of running a UK life and pensions business.

Is the writing on the wall?: The screw is being turned on the LV board

Secondly, the board's determination to get the deal done meant Cook et al were quite happy to lower the hurdles over which the mutual must jump in order to get membership approval.

Thirdly, Cook and his chief executive Mark Hartigan appeared reluctant to reveal how they would personally benefit financially if the takeover proceeded.

Ten months on  and with a membership vote on the deal taking place next month  these issues have not been allayed.

Indeed, Cook and his board have gone into tunnel vision mode. With the finish line in sight and the prospect of undisclosed personal financial enrichment on the horizon, they are more determined than ever that the Bain Capital takeover must go ahead  despite the paucity of the offer made to the mutual's 1.2million members (in most cases, a measly 100).

Shamefully, they are threatening to reduce this 100 windfall to 60 if members do not sanction a rule change that would allow the deal to proceed on a turnout vote of less than 50 per cent.

In recent weeks, our sister newspaper, the Daily Mail, has turned the screw on LV's board.

Tory grandees, a host of MPs and most important of all a number of LV customers, have all spoken out against the deal. The board's response has been to say little and hope that it can get the deal over the line.

Although the City regulator has ticked off LV's board for the poor way it has communicated details of the deal to members, it appears powerless to stop the takeover, even though it is in no one's best interests other than Bain Capital's and LV's board members.

What that says about the effectiveness of the Financial Conduct Authority I will leave you to judge, but the words 'toothless' and 'useless' spring to mind.

Cook's record as a fit and proper person to oversee a company is questionable given he was the boss of the Post Office while it was busy, wrongly (and disgracefully) prosecuting postmasters and postmistresses for an IT shambles of the organisation's own making. He also presided over a massive  and damaging  programme of post office closures.

Time is running out for Cook to stop his reputation descending into the gutter. He should pull the plug on the Bain Capital deal and go back to the drawing board.

As we report, Royal London is happy to discuss a deal. It could be a better outcome for LV's members  not just LV's greedy board.

Make your voice heard on LV We are encouraging LV members, customers, or others, who would like to see it retain its mutual status, rather than be bought out by private equity, to write to it. You could use the wording from the letter printed in the Daily Mail newspaper's City pages (pictured here). We have included the words for you to copy and paste into a letter below. Send it to Alan Cook, Chairman of LV=, Liverpool Victoria, County Gates, Bournemouth, BH1 2NF Dear Alan Cook, I, the undersigned, urge you to reconsider your decision to sell LV= to Bain Capital and instead maintain its mutual status.

BT must address elderly concerns over digital switch

I trust BT's executives take time out today to read Toby Walne's worrying report on the company's digitalisaton of its home phone network  and then act to address the concerns raised.

Although digitalisation is welcome technological progress, BT has not thought through how some elderly and vulnerable people could suffer from the move.

In the worst case scenario, a power cut  the new phones unhelpfully rely on electricity to work, unlike traditional handsets  or an internet outage (calls are made via the internet) could leave some unable to make a '999' call if they suddenly needed emergency help.

BT needs to nip this potential problem in the bud by offering to provide all customers with a free battery powered back-up for both their router and phone.
The Great Resignation is sweeping across the developed world, with huge numbers of unfilled jobs just about everywhere, and in the UK we are being swept along by it. Something very big  and very puzzling  is going on.

In the first week of this month there were 221,000 new jobs advertised, according to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation. That brings the total jobs advertised to nearly 2.7million, the highest ever.

We will get new figures on Tuesday from the Office for National Statistics, which will probably show a new record for unfilled vacancies  though a lower number than the REC's as it calculates in a different way. So it looks as though the country will have managed the end of the furlough scheme without soaring unemployment.

On the move: It seems that many people don't want to do the same jobs as they did before

That will be a relief. But it is also part of the puzzle. Unemployment may not have risen nearly as much as feared, but there are still 1.5million people registered unemployed.

So there is clearly a mismatch. The people looking for jobs don't have the right skills, or perhaps don't live in the right place, to fill them.

That would make sense. There is huge unfilled demand for HGV drivers, care workers (more now given the requirement to be double-jabbed), IT experts and so on.

Many of the jobs lost have been in high street retail. But it is not easy for someone accustomed to working in a shop to train to become an IT expert, or to drive a lorry across Europe.

This upheaval in demand for labour is the most sudden transformation since demobilisation after the Second World War. So there was bound to be a mismatch of skills.

But the revolution is not only on the demand side. It is happening on the supply side too. That is what the Great Resignation is about. It seems that many people don't want to do the same jobs as they did before. This is pretty much universal.

The expression was invented in America but it is evident in Germany, where one-third of companies report staff shortages. They had trouble in Italy getting the grape harvest in. The huge hospitality industry in France is struggling to re-staff as it has opened up. And so on.

It seems that many people don't want to do the same jobs as they did before

What's up? What seems to have happened is twofold. The period during the lockdowns when people were forced to work differently, or perhaps were laid off, has led many to rethink their careers.

Do I really want to go on doing this for another 20 years?

Some older workers have retired early. Some younger people have decided to retrain. Others have decided to work fewer hours and cut their living costs. Work/life balance is something that just about everyone has pondered. For some this has been the opportunity to make the leap.

But it is not just that. The other driver is the cash pile that collectively we have accumulated through the lockdowns.

Here in the UK, the so-called excess savings  the money people have on their bank accounts as a result of being unable to spend over the past 18 months  stands at around 150billion.

Of course that money is unevenly spread, but for many it provides a cushion. Similarly, the house price boom will help downsizers who find they can retire earlier than they expected.

Pull all this together and the result is a huge shift in power between employer and employee.

The result is a huge shift in power between employer and employee

So employers find they have to offer all sorts of incentives to get people on board.

City legal firms are offering upwards of 100,000 a year for newly qualified lawyers. Amazon is offering 3,000 as a signing-on bonus at its Exeter warehouse ahead of the Christmas rush.

The chief executive of Uber, Dara Khosrowshahi, rushed over to London last week to tackle the driver shortage crisis. Pay and conditions, and of course fees, are rising sharply. Other employers are being forced to offer retention bonuses to stop staff leaving.

So where does it all end?

Well, as the world adjusts to the pandemic the labour market will come back to some sort of normality. But there are good reasons to expect the power to stay with employees for some years yet.

One is demography. A shortage of young people will push up their wages. Another is the push-back against offshoring jobs. Do you really want to risk another breakdown in global supply chains?

Still another is the realisation that work is not just about pay. It is about satisfaction and fulfilment. Wise employers will learn to behave better to their staff. And that is no bad thing at all, is it?
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.

Mystery: The bank failed to reveal the account during probate

E.W. writes: More than five years after my father passed away, Barclays has informed me that there is still money left in an investment account.

In 2015 and again in 2016, it led me to believe everything had been sorted out.

Now it says that it still holds about 4,000, but it insists on seeing the original grant of probate, which is no longer available.

Tony Hetherington replies: Every silver lining has a cloud. Suddenly finding that your father left 4,000 more than you expected is certainly good news. But then finding a pretty hefty stumbling block stops you getting access to the cash is more than a bit frustrating.

You sent Barclays a copy of the grant of probate, signed by your solicitor to certify that it is genuine. You also sent copies of your father's will, death certificate and other paperwork, including some documents which you have told me the bank lost, so which had to be supplied again.

But the stumbling block remained the bank's insistence that before parting with the money, it wanted the grant of probate.

To obtain this would have meant a legal bill for 400 or more, even though the bank had, of course, been actively involved several years ago, when your father's estate was being wound up and distributed. And the problem would never have arisen if Barclays had revealed the savings account at the proper time.

What went wrong? The bank's letter to you does not say. It simply tells you: 'Barclays undertakes periodic reviews of transactions and customer files. A recent review of documentation relating to the investments has identified there are assets due to be paid from the account following the passing of the late J.W. deceased.'

I asked officials at the bank to explain why they now needed the grant of probate, and they have told me that because they overlooked the savings account at the time, there was only a modest amount of money to hand over to you.

Because of this, they accepted a simple claim form, without seeing the grant of probate. If they had spotted the 4,000-plus, they would have asked for the grant.

A Barclays spokesman said: 'We offer our sincere apologies to Mr W for failing to identify his father's investment account when executing his estate back in 2015. We recognise that he has not received the high level of service he would rightly expect at such a difficult time, and have offered Mr W compensation for the initial error and a gesture of goodwill for the distress and inconvenience caused.'

In practical terms, what this means is that Barclays itself has now applied for and received an electronic version of the grant of probate at its own expense. Your father's account holds 4,092. The bank has added 788 interest and a further 250 by way of apology, and your account has now received a total of 5,130.

I've lost 505 in Amazon vouchers

M.G. writes: As well as my Amazon UK account, I had a US account that I decided to close. I went into Chat on the US website and was told I should deal with this through Amazon UK. I did so, and Amazon UK linked me to the US site.

However, I was never warned that closing the Amazon US account would also close down my UK account.

I have lost 505 in gift vouchers and a 53 refund.

Loss: M.G. was never warned that closing the Amazon US account would also close down the UK account

Tony Hetherington replies: Apart from the financial losses, your Wish List also disappeared, leaving your friends clueless as to what you might like for special occasions. And when UK customer services staff failed to help, you emailed Amazon boss Jeff Bezos himself, but all you received was an acknowledgement and no follow-up assistance.

In fairness to Amazon, its website terms and conditions do warn that closing your account through one Amazon website will close any accounts you have on others. It adds: 'Your available Gift Cards balance will no longer be available for you to spend.'

However, I am surprised the Chat staff who helped you close your account never thought to ask why you would wish to throw away 500. The good news is that I have had a word with Amazon. Your account has been reopened. Your 53 refund has arrived in it. And your Gift Cards worth 505 have been validated again. You have not lost a penny.

NS&I blocked my withdrawal...but won't give me a proper explanation

P.S. writes: I attempted to withdraw funds from my NS&I Direct Saver account, but the transaction failed, returning a message telling me to telephone its call centre.

I did this and was told that 'additional security' had been placed on my account, and that staff would call me  but, of course, this did not happen.

I emailed a number of times, but received no meaningful reply, so I wrote to NS&I's chief executive Ian Ackerley, but received no response.

Tony Hetherington replies: The replies you got from NS&I were hardly helpful. All you wanted was to make a withdrawal of your own money, so it was beyond annoying to be told: 'We're very busy at the moment, so we are only replying to emails that are a complaint, a request to cancel an account within the cooling-off period, a Freedom of Information request, or about your rights under the Data Protection Act.'

And when you did make a formal complaint, NS&I's customer service team told you it only acted as a go-between, passing messages to the customer care team  as if NS&I's internal organisation should be of any significance to you, when all you wanted was to make a withdrawal from your account, and an explanation of why it was blocked in the first place.

I have that explanation. When you applied for a withdrawal online, you were caught by a random security check. The check should have been completed quickly and your account restored, but this was not done and officials then got bogged down in the complaints process without anyone sorting it out until you waited patiently for three months before contacting me.

As you know, your account has been unfrozen and your withdrawal has gone ahead. NS&I has offered its apologies and 100 as an 'inconvenience payment', but you have decided to press on with a complaint through the Financial Ombudsman Service.

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.
Savers are going wild for green and ethical investments  there's no doubt about it. Two in every three pounds invested in September went into funds considered 'green' or 'responsible'  a total of 1.6 billion in one month alone.

Some are choosing to invest in funds that stay well away from fossil fuels. Others are putting their savings and pension money in funds that won't touch armaments, tobacco or alcohol companies.

Funds that aim to have a positive impact on the world are also surging in popularity. But while these funds may be saving the planet, they are often costing the investor.

Ethical: Savers are going wild for green and ethical investments  there's no doubt about it

Green and ethical funds tend to be more expensive overall than traditional alternatives. The difference in cost may only be a basis point here or there, but over time it can add up. Unless these funds outperform traditional options, they will leave savers worse off financially. So is it possible to invest in a way that benefits the planet and society  without paying over the odds?

WHY IS IT MORE EXPENSIVE TO MAKE GREEN INVESTMENTS?

Finding the companies that do good  or at least don't do harm  and that will also grow savers' wealth requires expertise. It's not as straightforward as building an unconstrained portfolio that doesn't take these factors into consideration.

Until recently, green and ethical investing have been largely the domain of active fund managers, who hand-pick companies with these mandates.

Fund managers take time to check the ethical credentials of companies in which they invest, measure their impact and sort between companies that dubiously claim they are environmentally friendly and those that really are.

All of this research is invaluable  but inevitably investors pay for it. Ongoing charges for this type of fund can easily reach close to one per cent in some cases.

There are no standard definitions of terms used by companies and the investment industry such as ethical, SRI (socially-responsible investment), green or ESG (environmental, social, governance). As a result, funds with a manager to pick through the confusion and nuance still dominate.

Dzmitry Lipski is head of funds research at wealth platform Interactive Investor. He says: 'As ESG standards are still evolving and investors are puzzled by different ESG definitions, active fund managers take the lead in this game, doing their own detailed in-house analysis and using it as a key selling point.'

WHAT ARE THE CHEAPER OPTIONS, IF ANY?

Rising numbers of asset managers are also offering passive ethical and green funds. Passive funds tend to be much cheaper than active, because they do not rely on fund managers to construct them.

Instead, they invest in an index of companies put together by a ratings agency. The index may, for example, invest in the biggest global companies, but exclude those not considered socially responsible or those that make most of their profits from fossil fuels.

Passive funds tend to screen out companies that are considered to do harm, rather than seek out those that actively do good. Some investors see this option as a light touch version of green and ethical investing.

HOW DO LOW-COST 'ESG' FUNDS WORK?

Vanguard offers a number of low-cost ethical and green funds. The Vanguard SRI European Stock Fund is one example.

Costing just 0.14 per cent, this fund invests in large and mid-sized companies in developed markets in Europe, and promotes environmental and social characteristics by excluding companies based on the impact of their conduct or products on society and the environment.

BlackRock also offers a number of low-cost choices. One example is its Select ESG fund, which is part of its low-cost MyMap range. This costs just 0.17 per cent and keeps charges down by tracking several indices.

It considers a range of themes when selecting its investments, including climate change, pollution and wealth, corporate governance and environmental opportunities.

Interactive Investor has recently added the awkwardly-named UBS MSCI UK IMI SRI ETF into its ACE 40 list of its favourite ESG funds. This fund invests in UK companies of all sizes that have a lower carbon exposure than average and that have high ESG performance. It has an ongoing charge of 0.28 per cent.

WILL MY FUND REALLY MEET MY GREEN VALUES?

Passive funds are more likely than active to include companies that may not fit your ethical or environmental criteria. That's because indices are put together using data supplied by companies, which is often far from perfect.

Index construction also varies considerably  each index provider will have a different methodology for rating and ranking the ethical and green credentials of firms.

Finally, a single passive fund will often invest in hundreds or even thousands of companies, which inevitably come under less scrutiny than the handful of companies held in an active manager's portfolio.

Take the funds listed above, for example. The Vanguard fund, while promoting environmental and social characteristics, has holdings in Shell, BP, Rio Tinto and Diageo.

The BlackRock fund, for all its ESG considerations, invests in Gazprom, China Steel, Chevron and British American Tobacco.

DOES IT PAY TO HOLD SOME 'UNETHICAL' STOCKS?

Some investors may be surprised to find these sorts of companies in their SRI or ESG fund. But it's not uncommon.

Clare Reilly is chief engagement officer at online pension provider PensionBee. She says: 'It's essential that you look under the bonnet to check what you are actually investing in  many indexing approaches will still include tobacco and oil companies.'

However, many asset managers say that holding these companies  which may not align with your values  may be more powerful than simply ditching them.

Fong Yee Chan, Vanguard's head of ESG strategy for Europe, says: 'Holding and engaging with companies is more effective than excluding or reducing the allocation in your portfolio. Through engagement, you can try to influence their strategies. We try to work with companies, but if that does not work we can vote against board or director appointments.'

Nick Hutton, head of UK iShares and Wealth at BlackRock, says that passive index funds have a duty to track the whole index  they cannot just drop individual companies from them. However, he believes that as the world's largest investor, BlackRock is in a ideal position to engage with firms to change their practices.

'If you look at some of the biggest companies that might be a bit surprising, they may actually be putting significant resources into improving their operations and cleaning them up,' he adds.

James McManus is chief investment officer at investing platform Nutmeg, which offers a socially responsible portfolio made of low-cost funds.

He believes that rather than acting as a restraint, the inability of a passive fund to pick and choose companies may even work to its advantage.

'At Nutmeg, we believe the stewardship wielded through passive investing is more powerful, precisely because one cannot sell and walk away,' he says.

CAN I INVEST IN A THEME... LIKE CLEAN ENERGY?

Some investors use exchange traded funds (ETFs) as a low-cost way to gain exposure to particular themes in ethical and green investing. ETFs also follow an index and tend to be cheap, but they are listed as shares and therefore can be easier to trade.

There are a growing number of ETFs that invest in niche areas of ethical and green investing. For example, there are ETFs that invest just in clean energy, battery production or solar energy.

CAN YOU GET CHEAP ACTIVE FUNDS YET?

There are a few funds that combine both active management and low fees. The BMO Sustainable Universe MAP range, for example, has five funds with an ongoing charge of 0.39 per cent. Portfolio manager Simon Holmes explains that they are able to keep costs down due to economies of scale; BMO has offered a number of sustainable products for many years. 'As well as reporting on returns, every quarter we show investors the impact their money has had,' he adds.

As the number of green and responsible funds blooms, increased competition is pushing down costs. Lipski points out that fees for ESG funds are falling faster than for conventional funds.

The industry is also undergoing dramatic transformation. Companies are getting better at reporting their credentials; fund managers are getting better at asking the right questions; and indices are being honed. In time, the landscape should be much easier for investors to navigate.

In the meantime, investors of all  but especially low-cost green and responsible funds  need to check the holdings of funds they invest in. Independent wealth expert Adrian Lowcock says: 'Fund managers are making improvements so it makes sense for investors to be patient, diversify and ask questions.'
On Bonfire Night just gone, investment trust Fidelity European celebrated its 30th anniversary. Despite some occasional difficulties along the way, the 1.4billion stock market-listed fund has done shareholders proud. Anyone who invested 10,000 at launch in November 1991 would now be sitting on a holding not far short of 500,000.

Originally run by former star manager Anthony Bolton, the trust is now overseen by Sam Morse who has been at the helm since early 2011. Last year, its name was changed from Fidelity European Values to Fidelity European so as not to be mistaken for a trust investing in value stocks  companies undervalued by the market.

Although the new name doesn't truly reflect Morse's investment approach, it's an improvement on what went before. Yet it should be called Fidelity European Income or Fidelity European Dividend Growth because Morse's focus is very much on income-friendly stocks.

'I look for companies that can deliver dividend growth over a three to five-year time period,' he says. 'But I will not pay too much for these stocks. They have got to be reasonably priced.'

It's a strategy that is working. Under Morse's wing, the trust has enjoyed ten years of dividend growth and is on course to make it 11.

The interim dividend it has just paid shareholders is slightly up on the equivalent made last year  2.65pence a share, compared to 2.5pence  while 80 per cent of the portfolio's holdings are now paying dividends higher than in 2019 before the pandemic struck. 'I am hopeful we can grow the dividend from here,' he says confidently.

In terms of overall shareholder profits, the trust has generated ten-year returns of 324 per cent. 'We've delivered some impressive returns,' admits Morse.

'Europe is sometimes seen as a backwater, but there are some extraordinary companies out there generating earnings from all four corners of the globe and delivering the dividend growth we seek.'

The trust's strong record, says Morse, is testimony to three key ingredients  successful stock picking; the compounding effect of reinvesting dividends as they are received; and astute gearing.

The trust has 50 holdings  ideas all from Fidelity's pan-European research team. Among the newest holdings is Spanish bank Bankinter. 'Spain's banking sector is in consolidation mode,' says Morse. 'But Bankinter hasn't participated in this.

As a result, it's picked up new business from people who have been unhappy that their bank has been taken over or their local branch has been shut. It's also now paying dividends again and has successfully listed its insurance subsidiary Line Directa. We hold shares in both companies.'

In terms of gearing, the Fidelity trust uses contracts for difference (complex derivative instruments) to gain additional market exposure  in the hope of generating extra investment returns.

Over the past ten years, its sister fund Fidelity European  which cannot borrow, is not stock market-listed, but is also run by Morse  has generated a 223 per cent return from a similar portfolio (against 324 per cent for the trust).

The difference in returns is in part a result of the trust's successful use of CFDs.

The trust's ongoing charges are 0.87 per cent and the dividend is equivalent to a modest annual yield of 1.93 per cent.

The stock market identification code is BK1PKQ9 and ticker is FEV. Other European funds with an income bent include BlackRock Continental European Income and Montanaro European Income.
Vietnam is one of the world's economic success stories. In the space of 30 years, the country has embraced the private sector, launched a stock market, benefited from massive inward investment by big multi-national companies, and enjoyed annual economic growth of between seven and eight per cent.

Such success has increasingly caused fund managers  and some brave UK investors  to look at Vietnam as an exciting investment opportunity.

As a result, a raft of Asian investment funds now hold Vietnamese companies in their portfolios while three specialist  and risky  trusts invest exclusively in listed and unlisted Vietnamese businesses. Shares in these trusts trade on the London Stock Exchange.

Opportunity: Vietnam is bouncing back strongly after the pandemic

Although the economy  like all worldwide  has been stymied by Covid and lockdown, it's getting back on track as restrictions have been lifted. While subdued growth of 1.5 per cent is predicted for this year, a return to pre-pandemic high growth is forecast for next year.

Its stock market is also among the best performing across Asia, up more than 30 per cent this year despite the challenging economic backdrop. Only Indian stocks have performed better. More of the same, say experts, is likely next year as corporate earnings in Vietnam recover strongly.

The country's growing stock market is also expected to benefit from it being reclassified next year  from an embryonic 'frontiers' market to a fully-fledged emerging market. If this happens, it will attract the interest of big international investors, driving prices higher.

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Investment house Waverton is a big fan. Brook Tellwright, a fund manager with Waverton based in Thailand, says Vietnam is currently one of its favourite stock markets across South East Asia  alongside Indonesia and the Philippines.

He says: 'Yes, the country is only just coming out of lockdown and the government was slow in terms of getting its vaccination programme moving. But my hope is that we will see a strong economic recovery next year. This in turn will result in improved corporate earnings, which should help drive the stock market forward.'

Emily Fletcher, co-manager of investment trust BlackRock Frontiers, agrees. She says Vietnam's 'explosive' economic growth in the run up to the pandemic created huge opportunities for businesses in Vietnam.

She believes this will continue as the country enjoys 'substantial economic acceleration' after the lifting of Covid restrictions.

Some 10 per cent of the trust's assets are invested in Vietnam with key holdings being mobile phone retailer Mobile World and IT company FPT. She adds: 'We continue to find opportunities to invest in companies where their stock market valuations are not reflective of their prospective earnings growth.'

Although labelled a frontiers trust, the BlackRock fund will be able to continue to hold stakes in Vietnamese companies if the country's stock market gets emerging markets status. This is because only the eight largest emerging markets are off limits.

Vietnam's emergence as a key Asian stock market prompted the investment team running VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity to visit London last week on a flag waving mission. The 862million trust, a constituent of the FTSE250 Index, has generated a total return over the past year of 50 per cent.

Ismael Pili, head of research at VinaCapital, says domestic investors are the biggest participants in the Vietnamese stock market. But he believes this will change next year as foreign investors start to invest again after the country's emergence from lockdown. 'The market is cheap,' he says. 'There is value to be had.'

Other Vietnam funds, listed in London, are Vietnam Holding (managed by Dynam Capital) and Vietnam Enterprise, run by Dragon Capital. Brian Dennehy, managing director of investment scrutineer FundExpert, says Vietnam represents an 'interesting' investment opportunity. But he cautions: 'Singling it out as a sole destination for an investor is not something we would encourage.' Dennehy believes a better approach for investors is to consider a fund broadly invested across Asia such as Barings ASEAN Frontiers. This 470million fund has 2.5 per cent of its assets in Vietnam.

Jason Hollands, a director of wealth manager Tilney, agrees. Although he admits the big picture economic story for Vietnam is enticing, he says the range of companies available to invest in is pretty narrow. This means Vietnam-only trusts have heavily concentrated portfolios. For example, VinaCapital Vietnam and Vietnam Enterprise have 18 per cent and 15 per cent of their assets invested in just one stock  steel maker Hoa Phat.

Dzimtry Lipski, head of funds research at Interactive Investor, says investors should only allocate a 'very tiny amount of their portfolio to Vietnam'. But he also points out that despite VinaCapital Vietnam's strong investment performance over the past year, its shares still stand at an 18 per cent discount to the value of the trust's underlying assets.

An opportunity to buy 'cheap' shares in a market experts believe is undervalued. For bravehearts only.
Pensions giant Royal London has proposed a secret deal that could lead to the break-up of insurer LV with the spoils shared with private equity firm Bain Capital.

Royal London chief executive Barry O'Dwyer has made the highly controversial proposal to LV chief executive Mark Hartigan in recent days via an explosive email seen by The Mail on Sunday.

The message canvasses support for an 'enhanced' deal that would 'be more attractive' to the mutual's membership. The existing 530million deal to sell LV in full to the private equity giant Bain has come under fire over fears that it would spell an end to the insurer's mutual status and leave members short-changed.

Secret deal: Royal London chief executive Barry O'Dwyer has made the highly controversial proposal to LV chief executive Mark Hartigan in recent days

The Royal London email suggests an 'early three way discussion between Liverpool Victoria, Bain Capital and Royal London' if members vote against the Bain takeover on December 10. It claims this would be worthwhile because Royal London and Bain are 'principally interested in different parts of the Liverpool Victoria business'.

However, Royal London insiders admitted last night that LV members would likely lose their mutual rights under its secret alternative proposal  even though their policies would ultimately still be owned by a mutual.

It is understood that Royal London is interested in buying only LV's old with-profits policies and other existing business such as annuities.

Bain Capital would take on the LV brand as a separate business aimed at attracting new customers.

LV bosses have insisted both sides are contractually committed to completing the Bain transaction if members approve the crunch vote next month.

The email has emerged after bosses at Royal London, a rival mutual, were last week said to be considering plans to resurrect a previous offer for the business if members rebelled over the private equity deal.

That in turn led to a groundswell of support from critics of the Bain deal, who argued that a sale of LV to another mutual should be put back on the table. But the email proposal seen by The Mail on Sunday puts a new twist on Royal London's intentions for LV, formerly known as the Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society  a 'penny policy' insurance company founded in 1843 to cover the funeral expenses of members.

Royal London boss O'Dwyer raises with Hartigan the 'risk your members will reject the proposal'.

The message continues: 'If it becomes clear to you that this is a likely outcome, I would propose an early three way discussion between Liverpool Victoria, Bain Capital and Royal London to consider if the current proposal could be enhanced in order to be more attractive to your members. It strikes me that there may be room for discussion if Bain Capital and Royal London are principally interested in different parts of the Liverpool Victoria business.'

The communication also alludes to a previous approach made by Royal London, discussed with the LV board, in which the pension giant 'explained our belief that the combination of our two mutuals would represent an excellent choice for your members'.

It asks Hartigan to inform Bain Capital of its approach and to share the contents of the email with chairman Alan Cook and the rest of the company's board. It is understood LV has not yet responded to the proposal. Lord Heseltine, the former Conservative Deputy Prime Minister, and Ed Miliband, the former Labour leader, have emerged as critics of the agreement with Bain.

There have also been complaints about a 100 payout offered to its 1.2million members and modest enhancements worth 340 for the 297,000 with-profits policyholders, who are the legal owners of the business.

But LV insists Bain's offer was the most attractive of the 12 proposals it received. Sources said Royal London's original offer would have led to LV office closures and job losses in Hitchin and Exeter to cut costs.

Royal London has been agitating against the deal, and said in a public statement following publication of the terms with Bain: 'We think the case for demutualising is very weak if there is an alternative, equivalent option to allow a mutual to retain its status.' But a source close to the deal said of Royal London's secret offer last night: 'This reveals Royal London's real intentions. This proposal would be like taking a chainsaw to the company and is clear evidence of a proposed carve-up that would be in no one's interests but their own.'

Another source described Royal London as 'a wolf in sheep's clothing'. The source said the deal could be similar to one struck by Royal London in 2011 when it transferred Royal Liver into Royal London, skewing benefits to its own members.

In a rare intervention last night, Bain told the MoS it planned to almost double the number of policyholders and pledged not to increase LV's 350 million debt pile.

Matt Popoli, head of insurance at Bain Capital, said: 'This is a growth investment for us. LV is a fantastic brand with a rich heritage which is not reflected by its market position. 'We see potential to grow LV's current 1.2 million policyholders to around two million in the long term.

'We have an ambition to restore LV to its position as a top three life insurance provider across a wide range of products. Our proposal is strengthening LV's financial position.

'Not only are we providing access to investment capital for growth, we will not be increasing LV's debt.'
The boss of Britain's markets watchdog has threatened to break up the US tech giants if a new crackdown on their monopoly power fails to protect consumers and fails to stop the big firms from bullying smaller rivals.

Andrea Coscelli, chief executive of the Competition and Markets Authority, has warned that breakups are 'in play' if regulators can't rein in the likes of Facebook, Apple, Google and Amazon.

He said that break-ups would become an attractive option for the CMA if other countries were also struggling to constrain the big tech firms. The US and the EU have joined efforts to draw up new rules to promote competition online.

Finger on the pulse: Andrea Coscelli, chief executive of the Competition and Markets Authority, has warned that breakups are 'in play'

Coscelli made the comments in a speech on regulation as part of a lecture series run by the influential Westminster think-tank the Institute of Economic Affairs. His remarks come after the CMA set up a digital regulator to stop tech companies snapping up smaller rivals that could one day grow into major competitors.

Coscelli said: 'It is also important to bear in mind that structural remedies  break-ups  are in play if [new] regulation does not deliver.

'In particular, structural remedies become increasingly attractive to us if other jurisdictions are also interested in structural solutions.'

The digital regulator  called the Digital Markets Unit  is already operational but will not receive the power to take on the tech giants until new laws pass through Parliament. It is thought that the DMU will be officially launched in 2022.

US President Joe Biden has stepped up global efforts to tackle the monopoly power of the tech companies. He signed a sweeping order aimed at promoting competition and curbing corporate monopolies in July, and pushed for the creation of new rules on how internet providers and tech companies use data. Speaking at the launch of the initiative, Biden said: 'Capitalism without competition isn't capitalism. It's exploitation.'

The US has spearheaded some of the most ambitious company break-ups in corporate history. The US government dismantled the AT&T telecoms monopoly in 1984. President Theodore Roosevelt launched the campaign that led to the break-up of JD Rockefeller's Standard Oil in 1911.

The CMA has already launched a number of investigations into tech companies. It is investigating whether Amazon and Google have done enough to combat fake reviews online, and it blocked Facebook's 300million takeover of image firm Giphy
Matt Moulding has a code under which he operates  always give investors a big return. His 'golden rule' is one that The Hut Group founder and chief executive stuck to like glue in the years he ran his business as a privately owned company.

'You should have huge sympathy for people giving you finance because ultimately they're giving you money on the understanding you're going to give them more back,' he said in an interview to a handful of entrepreneurs in May this year, unearthed by The Mail on Sunday.

'That's the golden rule. So that's a principle on which I've always taken someone's money and we always intend to  touch wood. I've always done it spectacularly well. I've given them way more back.'

Impulsive: Matt Moulding reveals to one of The Hut Group's investors, Sir Tom Hunter, how he decided to float the firm in the space of just a couple of days

Now, following last year's stock market flotation, it seems that rule is no longer sacrosanct. Many investors who bought into the flotation  which some warned at the time was overhyped  are now, quite rightly, seething.

THG stock listed in September last year at 5 and peaked at 7.99 in early January. But on Friday the shares closed at a new all-time low of 1.91. That means they are down 62 per cent on the flotation price and an astonishing 76 per cent down since the start of the year.

Perhaps the worst part? The public bought into the newly-listed company just as other investors, such as the US private equity giant KKR, sold out and netted large sums.

In other words, Moulding delivered for his early backers as promised, but has not  so far at least  provided the same rich returns to smaller investors lured in after the float.

In a separate interview in the summer, conducted by Sir Tom Hunter, an investor in THG, Moulding described how he made the decision to float in 'a couple of days, not much longer if I'm honest'.

He said: 'We were in the pandemic and sat there thinking the world is going to change. Things should accelerate from this. If I can access capital now I can bridge the gap between a UK business and the US guys.

'So I wrestled with it for a couple of days, not much longer if I'm honest, and just thought 'I'm doing it'. I remember making the phone call to my merger and acquisitions guy, saying: 'By the way, we're doing it and we're doing it now'.'

What a contrast a few months makes. Just over a week ago, the boss of THG emerged to complain that his time since listing on the London stock exchange in September last year had been 'miserable'.

He said in candid comments at a GQ Magazine event that he wished he had floated in the US instead, where he suggested investors would better understand tech firms like his. He also appeared to indicate he might buy the company back if shareholders do not wise up, while doubling down on his previous complaint that voracious short-sellers were mainly to blame for the drop.

He said at the moment he 'just gets through the day' and his wife has found him at 4am in the morning 'literally doing phone calls, starfish lying on the floor, just because it's a cold surface'.

The comments did little to settle investor nerves. When asked back in the summer how he deals with criticism and people who doubt his vision, Moulding  known for his single-minded focus on building his beauty, health food and tech business  responded: 'It happens all day, every day now. More so today than at any point in my career.'

He said of listing on the London Stock Exchange: 'The moment you go public, everyone has a view on everything you're doing. Like it or not. For me, I love it.

'It hurts when anyone is criticising you. But then you can use that as fuel. Collect it all up. There are quotes that people send me now and again about people throwing stones. Then you put them together and build an empire  so you can lob all your stones if you want.'

He added: 'But prove it silently. Don't prove it with noise and all the rest of it. Just go and do it.'

One wealthy entrepreneur, who asked not to be named, told The Mail on Sunday: 'That advice couldn't be more to the point. I wonder what people he's taking advice from?

'He needs to go away for a bit and come back with a plan to answer some of the questions about what has been going on here  not blame other people that aren't under his control.'

Moulding also admitted: 'I've probably had my toughest five months since I was running THG and last year would have probably been up there as well.'

He revealed he also once took some sound advice from an old friend during a 'dark hour' several years ago, who told him: 'No one can walk in your shoes.'

He said he interpreted that as: 'Ultimately you've got to man up and it's all down to you. That's what he was saying in a polite way. 'Sort yourself out.'

The founder and chief executive of the group that owns the FeelUnique and MyProtein brands may want to go back for another of those pep talks.

He said that the decade that followed that conversation had been filled with 'a lot of dark hours, believe me'.
Starling Bank has bought a mortgage book worth around 1billion to turbocharge growth ahead of a flotation as early as next year.

The start-up, founded by Anne Boden in 2014, is understood to have bought the home loans portfolio from Kensington Mortgages, a specialist lender.

Kensington focuses on mortgages for customers who might not get the best deals elsewhere and those who are overlooked by high street banks, such as the self-employed.

Finger on the pulse: Starling is understood to have bought the home loans portfolio from Kensington Mortgages

Kensington  owned by private equity firms Blackstone and Sixth Street  recently appointed Morgan Stanley to lead a sale process.

The deal is part of a big push by the fledgling bank to grow ahead of a stock market listing which could come next year or in 2023.

It follows Starling's first acquisition in July, when it bought Fleet Mortgages for 50million in shares and cash.

Fleet Mortgages, based in Hampshire, focuses on lending to professional landlords through advisers.

Boden said at the time 'the acquisition... is the start of our move into mortgages'.

Starling is one of a clutch of new digital banks without branches that offer services through mobile phone apps. Analysts said these banks have helped shake up the shoddy services offered by the high street banks.

But few have grown to a size where they can pose a meaningful challenge to the big four  Barclays, HSBC, NatWest and Lloyds Banking Group.

These new banks are also under pressure to turn a profit after the Financial Conduct Authority warned last year that it wants to see start-ups reach profitability within five years of launching to be sustainable.

Starling said recently that it was on track to post its first annual profit for the year ending March 2022. The bank has been posting a monthly profit since last October.

Boden founded the bank with Tom Blomfield, who later left to set up a competitor, Monzo.

It was backed at launch by the mysterious billionaire investor Harald McPike, who invested 150million.

Boden told The Mail on Sunday earlier this year it was an opportune time to launch a bank because regulations had been relaxed to make way for new lenders, and the high street banks were not investing in digital customer services.

Starling has since attracted a string of top investors, including Jupiter, Fidelity and Goldman Sachs.

It raised 272million in March in a funding round, led by Fidelity, which included backing from the Qatar Investment Authority, the investment arm of the Railways Pension Scheme and the fund group Millennium Management.

Starling is valued at around 1.1billion.

The bank has amassed more than 2.3million accounts. In its last financial update, Starling said losses after tax halved to 23.3million in the 16 months to the end of March. Revenue increased by 600 per cent to 97.6million.

Starling's deposits have grown to 5.8billion, although its total lending lags at 2.2billion.

Kensington and Starling declined to comment.
Superdry founder Julian Dunkerton has never lacked confidence. But even by his standards, the scale of the ambition represented by the clothing firm's giant new megastore on Oxford Street is surprising.

Just days ago the store opened to the sounds of pumping music, Superdry-label gin, new brand ambassador Brooklyn Beckham and hundreds of social media influencers  all to lift Superdry back into the hearts and wardrobes of Britain's youngest fashionistas, and keep it there.

'I don't think anyone has done something like this since the original Abercrombie & Fitch store in New York,' enthuses Dunkerton, referring to a place that gained worldwide notoriety for looking and sounding more like a nightclub than a shop. 'I think this is of that scale,' he says.

Challenge: Julian Dunkerton in the Oxford Street Superdry megastore, David Beckham and, left, Brooklyn

A stone's throw from Selfridges, the new Superdry shop is now the first thing you see when exiting London's Bond Street station.

Adorned inside with dark wooden timbers, antique furniture, funky music and stocked to the rafters with an intriguingly broad range of products, the store is an ode to where Dunkerton wants the brand to be right now and in the future. 'You'll see by the time you've finished in here, that man likes some product!' he says, referring to the vast ranges of organic cotton T-shirts, sweat shirts and coats as we whizz through the store's mini-departments.

'This is a company that stopped looking forwards, stopped realising that trends change,' he says. He pauses to look me in the eye. We both know he's harking back to a time when he himself was absent from Superdry  forced out only to exact a coup and muscle his way back into the boardroom in 2019.

He continues: 'But we're brilliant at capitalising on those trends.

'Miniskirts  finally we are communicating to 15, 16, 17-year-olds, which we haven't done for a long time. Flared denim  eight out of ten of our best-selling jeans are flares. Superlong jackets  we are the masters of jackets and outerwear, no one has conquered that market like we have.'

Dunkerton, known to his friends as Jules, stepped down from the board in March 2018 citing 'other demands on his time'. But as the brand's appeal waned, the share price dropped to a quarter of its one-time 20 value.

Dunkerton, 56, lost his patience, re-emerging later that year to take aim at what he described as the board's 'misguided strategy' in reducing product ranges. It wasn't the only time he hit the headlines during the period. In August 2018, he got hitched to Jade Holland Cooper, a designer two decades his junior  with whom he now has a baby daughter. It later emerged that his former wife (also the mother of his two older children) was dating Holland Cooper's ex-boyfriend.

One of the criticisms levelled at Dunkerton before his departure in 2018 was having too many different types and styles of clothes. But, Covid disruption now hopefully behind us, he seems to be turning his obsession with big Superdry ranges into a strategic virtue.

He says: 'What you'll see in here is that there is so much product, so many different ways of wearing Superdry, it becomes your own personal journey. It's about your interpretation of Superdry which could be completely different to someone else's.' He says the brand  which some say lost some of its appeal because 'too many dads' had begun wearing it  is now surfing across demographics again.

The company is working with more than 1,500 influencers compared with 'zero' just 18 months ago, Dunkerton says.

The whole basement floor is a large showroom  and bar  closed to the public and instead dedicated to hosting the Instagram stars.

On the ground floor, the vast array of brightly coloured sweaters and T-shirts gives way to a smarter, more sophisticated department at the back called 'The Studio', where the Superdry logo on one coat is shrunk to the size of a brass button.

'Superdry's skill is changing the branding to suit the product, when most brands put the same logo on everything,' Dunkerton says. 'There's a part of society that always wants to show they've bought into a particular brand. A statement of who they are. [There's another part who] prefer branded clothes, but in a sensible way that really sits with the product,' he says pointing to the myriad styles of new logos.

Upstairs, customers can select from vintage Superdry tops like those worn by David Beckham nearly 20 years ago  a marketing wheeze that undoubtedly contributed to the brand's early success.

It's an obvious connection with the arrival of Beckham's son, Brooklyn, as a brand ambassador. In a sign of how seriously Dunkerton is taking the Superdry revitalisation, Beckham junior is being paid 1million while his dad reputedly earned nothing.

Elsewhere, a 'Vintage Nike' shop with hundreds of items will help reconnect with fast fashion-averse teenagers, Dunkerton says. As will a drive to green clothing that began in 2014. Half of Superdry's clothes are now 'sustainable' fabrics from recycled bottles to organic cotton  a figure to put most fast fashion and high street chains to shame.

Any turnaround will not come quickly enough for long-term shareholders. They watched the 20 share price drop to a quarter in just 12 months by early 2019. It is still only 2.95 today.

Dunkerton reels off names of executives he's brought in to help from rival clothing retailers, adding: 'This isn't just the Jules show. But the clothing business is a business of confidence and you need to know what data to look for to make the right decisions. There are certain people who love this industry and are really good at it  and I'm lucky because I'm one of them.'

So what's the goal?

'The first stage is to catch up. The next is to take it way beyond where we ever were before. Now we're talking to multiple more demographics, the prize is much bigger. There is no limit. Are we big in the US? No, we're not. Are we big in China? No, we're not.'

'We as a group believe our ability to take over where we were [valued at 872million at its peak in 2019] is clearly in view.

'So one would expect us to way exceed that number.'
The parent company of British Airways could tap shareholders for more cash early next year, an aviation industry expert has predicted.

The reopening of the US to fully vaccinated foreign visitors last week gave a major boost to IAG, which has said it now expects to return to profit by next summer.

As the outlook for long-haul travel improves, HSBC aviation analyst Andrew Lobbenberg said a rights issue would be the fastest way for the aviation giant to tackle its 12.3billion debt and allow it to restart paying a dividend.

Brighter outlook: The reopening of the US to fully vaccinated foreign visitors last week gave a major boost to IAG

He said the only alternative to tapping shareholders as the company tries to boost its credit rating is gradually paying down debt 'using cash flows'.

Lobbenberg said any decision on a rights issue is likely to be taken by IAG's new finance chief Nicholas Cadbury, who starts early next year after joining from Whitbread.

The Premier Inn owner completed a discounted 1billion rights issue last June to cover Covid losses while its hotels and pubs were closed.

Lobbenberg previously told The Mail on Sunday in September that any plans to raise cash for IAG could be tied to positive news such as the reopening of the US.

Earlier this month, IAG secured a 1 billion five-year credit line for BA, backed by UK Export Finance.

IAG made a 452million (387million) loss for the three months to September and it forecasts a 3billion (2.57billion) loss for the full year. Rivals Air France-KLM and Lufthansa have returned to operating profit.
It should have been the happiest day of their lives, but Joshua and Marie Neowhouse's wedding ended with police turning up, an embarrassing court case - and now the groom in jail.

The young couple, from Wallacia in Sydney's west, tied the knot at home in front of just five close relatives on September 25, because the state was still in Covid lockdown.

But just before 9pm, the intimate wedding celebration turned ugly when police said they were called to an argument between the newlyweds after the groom expressed his desire to have sex with a guest, Penrith Local Court documents reveal.

Police arrived at the house to find a shirtless Mr Neowhouse on the front lawn with his fists clenched, screaming and calling them 'f**king dogs'.

The officers had responded to a 'heated verbal argument' which erupted when the groom allegedly made a sexual comment about a guest, upsetting his new wife.

But Mrs Neowhouse - who spent her wedding night alone while her husband was in a police cell - told Daily Mail Australia it was all a complete misunderstanding.

'I don't know where any of that came from - it's so far-fetched and it's not correct,' the mother-of-one said.

Marie Neowhouse said her wedding to Joshua (pictured) was a wonderful day before the police arrived

Joshua Neowhouse (pictured on his wedding day) performed a sing for his new wife as she walked down the isle

'We only had my mum, dad and daughter, and his mum and sister, the celebrant, and make-up artist - who's also my good friend - that's it.'

Mrs Neowhouse said their families had been celebrating with drinks and loud music on the night of the nuptials, but the atmosphere was 'pretty quiet' by the time cops arrived.

Police claim Neowhouse was standing in the hall with his fists clenched when they arrived, but his wife said he was actually in the shower at the time and had no idea officers were at the door.

'Police asked me to go and get him, so I went to the bathroom and they followed me in uninvited and pulled him out of the shower,' she said.

'Josh didn't know the police had been called, and he was naked and they were in plain clothes and he said : "Who the f**k are you?".'

Mr and Mrs Neowhouse (pictured with family). Mrs Neowhouse said her family is distraught by the reports following her husband's custodial sentence

Joshua Neowhouse (pictured) was trying to 'turn his life around' before he was arrested on his wedding day

Marie, who works as a cleaner, said her new husband resisted arrest and pushed an officer 'which he shouldn't have done'.

'Yes he did push a cop but, not knowing who they were, I understand why he was confused.'

Mrs Neowhouse said police grabbed the construction worker, pushed him to the floor and blasted him in the face with pepper.

He started yelling 'f***ing let me go you f***ing dogs, take the mask off let's go', she said.

Mr Neowhouse was thrown in the back of a police van and charged with assaulting an officer and resisting or hindering police.

An emotional Mrs Neowhouse broke down when explaining she only saw the court documents with the 'false claim about his sexual advances with a wedding guest' on the day of her husband's court case, and she told his lawyer the details were wrong.

The couple had been together for two years before they got married in September this year

Joshua Neowhouse (pictured with Marie on his wedding day) pleaded guilty and was handed a four-month jail sentence

'I was really upset by what was on there because it looked like our marriage wasn't legit, and that Josh had no respect,' she said.

Daily Mail Australia contacted NSW Police about Mrs Neowhouse's claims, but a spokesman said the details could be obtained in the court documents.

Mr Neowhouse pleaded guilty and was handed a four-month jail sentence.

Mrs Neowhouse was upset when Magistrate Mijovich noted he had previously completed alcohol and drug programs, but still chose to drink heavily at his wedding.

'Police are just doing their job and they have to put up with this rubbish,' Mr Mijovich said, according to the Daily Telegraph.

'I'm told there are mental health issues but I have no material before me to support that.'

Mr Neowhouse's lawyer said his client deserved another chance before being jailed.

'There were matters in 2020 for domestic violence and larceny and a high range drink driving,' Mr Mijovich said.

Joshua Neowhouse asked if he could hug his new wife (pictured together) before he was escorted to jail

'This is coming from someone who said he's done drug and alcohol courses.'

Mrs Neowhouse acknowledged her husband has been before the courts in the past, but said he was trying to turn his life around.

'I'm shocked that this is what people will think about our wedding now,' she said.

'During the ceremony, Josh wrote me a song that he played on his guitar and I walked down to him to him playing it for me. He also wrote a poem and read it out to me.

'This is very upsetting for me and my family.'

Mrs Neowhouse supported her husband in court this week when he was sentenced to four months in jail.

'I'm gonna miss Christmas again,' he said after he was sentenced.

His request to give his wife a hug before going into custody was denied.

Instead, he yelled 'I love you' as he was escorted through the dock.
Republican Jack Ciattarelli has conceded the race for New Jersey governor to Democratic incumbent Phil Murphy, after a surprise close result that saw the GOP hopeful lose by just three points in the deep blue state.

On Friday, more than a week after election day, the former state assemblyman admitted defeat. He did so after admitting he could not overcome Murphy's three point lead, but added that he plans to run again in four years.

'I called Gov. Murphy earlier today and congratulated him on his reelection and wished him well,' Ciattarelli said during a news conference packed with supporters in his home town of Raritan, where he said his grandparents from Italy immigrated 100 years ago.

On Friday, more than a week after election day, Republican Jack Ciattarelli (pictured) conceded after admitting he could not overcome Democratic incumbent Phil Murphy's lead

Phil Murphy (pictured) won reelection after delivering on a number of progressive policies, including higher taxes on the rich and raising the minimum wage

With this win, Murphy became the first Democratic governor in 44 years to win reelection, but the three point margin with Ciattarelli was much closer than public polls indicated the contest would be in a state where Democrats have 1 million more registered voters, AP reported.

Ciattarelli refused to throw in the towel after election results showed him with a lead after polls closed November 2.

But the lead soon evaporated after officials counted mail-in ballots that trended heavily Democratic.

In his concession speech Ciattarelli did not criticize the election results, keeping his earlier promise to have confidence results would be fair no matter the outcome.

In his concession speech Ciattarelli did not criticize the election results, keeping his earlier promise to have confidence results would be fair even if he lost

Murphy's three point margin with Ciattarelli was much closer than public polls indicated the contest would be in New Jersey, where Democrats have 1 million more registered voters

Despite losing two gubernatorial races in a row, Ciattarelli said he is not discouraged and when asked whether he would run again in 2025, he responded: 'That's exactly my plan.'

Ciattarelli told reporters on Friday lowering the state's property taxes - among the highest in the country at an average of more than $9,000 a year - and reducing the size of state government remain his top priorities.

Murphy won reelection after delivering on a number of progressive policies, including higher taxes on the rich, raising the minimum wage and signing legislation requiring paid sick leave.

'Over the next four years, we will govern as we have since day one - committed to building a stronger and fairer New Jersey from the middle out and the bottom up,' Murphy said in a statement Friday where he acknowledged Ciattarelli's concession.

'I thank the Assemblyman, his wife Melinda, and his family for a spirited campaign and their commitment to public service,' Murphy said.

Murphy's narrow victory kept election night from being a total disaster for Democrats, who lost big in Virginia.

Despite campaigning from some of the biggest names on the left, Republican Glenn Youngkin pulled off a stunning upset to beat Democrat Terry McAuliffe.

With his victory, 54-year-old Youngkin became the state's first red Governor since 2009.

Youngkin was able to secure a victory despite Biden winning Virginia by 10 points in the presidential election just a year ago. Anger over the teaching of critical race theory-inspired lessons in Virginia public schools is credited with pushing his campaign over the line.

Youngkin is a political newcomer and wealthy businessman who previously served as CEO of the Carlyle Group, a private equity firm. Though he won Trump's endorsement, Youngkin has distanced himself from the former president, who faired poorly in Virginia in 2020.

Trump held an 11th-hour tele-rally for the Virginia race, but Youngkin said he did not participate.

Youngkin's personal wealth launched him into the spotlight, as he provided $5.5 million to his own campaign. The Republican has sought to mobilize voters by tying the race to school choice and education issues, holding Parents Matter rallies where he hit out against teachings like critical race theory.
A mystery operative known only as 'Antman' allowed an undercover cop to swap a 900kg shipment of cocaine with a 'sham load' disrupting the plans of alleged kingpin Mostafa Baluch.

Baluch, from Sydney's northern beaches, had allegedly been attempting to import $270million shipment from Ecuador to a Lake Macquarie warehouse, on the NSW coast, in May.

'Antman', named after the popular superhero film, used his influence over senior members of a drug syndicate to plant an undercover cop in the massive operation, The Daily Telegraph reported.

The undercover operative spent months allegedly helping to find a facility to store the import and communicated with alleged key organiser Mende Trajkoski.

A man only known as 'Antman' used an undercover cop to swap a 900kg shipment of cocaine with a 'sham load' before arresting alleged kingpin Mostafa Baluch

'Antman', named after the popular superhero film, used his influence over senior members of a drug syndicate to plant an undercover cop in the massive operation (pictured, popular superhero film Antman)

Police allege Trajkoski, 42, and Djelos Nikolic, 57, were 'responsible for the storage and distribution of the cocaine' when it reached Australia. Both men have since been charged.

Antman had allegedly introduced the undercover operative to Trajkoski in September 2020.

He allegedly passed on the contact details of the undercover operative's encrypted Ciphr phone and suggested the pair work together to find a storage facility.

Trajkoski and the undercover cop sent each other encrypted messages and met each other several times between January and June, according to court documents.

Bail documents state the undercover operative was allegedly paid $30,000 for his help.

Trajkoski has been charged with multiple commercial drug supplying offences plus one count of participating in a criminal group.

He has been refused bail and will front Central Local Court on December 1.

Trajkoski is also understood to have originally been introduced to Antman after his bosses were put into contact with him by another mystery person by the name of Robin Hood.

Baluch - who is facing charges over a 900kg haul of cocaine - allegedly went on the run from police for 16 days after cutting off his ankle monitor while on bail and sparking 'one of the largest fugitive hunts in the country'.

Baluch's desperate bid for freedom ended when he was found hiding in a grey Mercedes in a shipping container at the Queensland/ NSW border on Wednesday morning.

NSW Police have since charged Baluch - who was expected to face Sydney's Central Local Court on Friday - with an outstanding arrest warrant.

Baluch finally left the Southport watchhouse around 1pm on Thursday under heavy police guard for his long-awaited return to NSW.

He scowled as he was escorted onto a waiting police plane, shoeless and wearing green prison-issue clothing.

The accused drug lord then landed in a small PolAir6  a Cessna Grand Caravan - at Bankstown Airport on Thursday evening, with images from the runway showing him being led off the plane in shackles.

Baluch was believed to be attempting to flee Australia but has now arrived in Sydney to face a series of major drug charges

Baluch - dubbed 'Australia's Pablo Escobar' - allegedly went on the run from police for 16 days after cutting off his ankle monitor (pictured at Bankstown Airport on Thursday evening)

He was escorted to Coolangatta Airport by Tactical Police Officers and then flown to Bankstown Airport.

Baluch has sine been transferred to the Metropolitan Remand and Reception Centre where he will face further charges by Organised Crime Squad detectives.

He is accused of attempting to import more than 900kg shipment of cocaine into Australia with a street value of $270million.

The alleged kingpin appeared sullen as he was driven from the Southport Watchhouse in handcuffs after being extradited from Queensland to NSW.

An officer holding a clear bag of his belongings revealed Baluch had packed a Colgate toothbrush, a Nivea moisturiser, deodorant and a few disposable razors.

A piece of Adidas clothing with the $59.99 tag still attached was also in the bag, as well as his drivers license and bizarrely, a pack of Maggi noodles.

A scrawled note on the side of the clear bag read: 'Watch and cash in safe'.

He is accused of attempting to import more than 900kg shipment of cocaine into Australia with a street value of $270million (pictured, disembarking a plane at Bankstown Airport)

An officer holding a clear bag of his belongings revealed Baluch had packed a Colgate toothbrush, a Nivea moisturiser, deodorant and a few disposable razors (pictured)

Baluch was loaded into PolAir6  a Cessna Grand Caravan  for his flight to Bankstown Airport

Baluch's desperate dash for freedom ended when he was found hiding in a grey Mercedes concealed in a shipping container being transported on the back of a truck

He is expected to face Sydney's Central Local Court on Friday.

Before his arrest on Wednesday, he was last seen in Bayview on Sydney's northern beaches on October 25, days after being granted bail.

He was released on strict conditions, including $4 million surety on his waterfront home at Bayview.

Queensland officers searched dozens of trucks in the days leading up to the arrest, zeroing in on the transport after noticing the container wasn't properly secured.

As he is unvaccinated against Covid, Baluch remained in isolation for his extradition hearing on Thursday and listened to the proceedings by speakerphone.

The only words he said during the hearing were 'yes, I can hear you' when asked to confirm he was there, NCA NewsWire reported.

Lawyer Nicholas Andrews consented to the extradition application without objection, with Baluch expected to return to Sydney later in the day.

'I've spoken to him only very briefly,' Mr Andrews told Daily Mail Australia.

'He seems to be in good spirits and doing about as well as anyone who finds themselves in this sort of situation.'

Baluch allegedly went on the run from police for 16 days after cutting off his ankle monitor while on bail

Baluch will also face charges over his alleged breach of bail.

The man who was driving the truck in which Baluch was found - who police say owns a transport company - was also arrested.

The 46-year-old has been charged with doing an act intended to pervert the course of justice and denied bail.

A photo released by police shows Baluch dressed in a T-shirt and shorts sitting on the side of the road moments after his dramatic arrest.

Organised Crime Squad Commander Detective Superintendent Rob Crichlow paid tribute to investigators who have spent the last two weeks working around the clock to track Baluch down.

'He had a lot of help but there were a lot of people against him,' Det Supt Crichlow said.

'The community have turned the criminal element against him. He attracted a lot of attention and it's caused impacts for people he knows.

The fugitive had been on the run from police when he was nabbed during a botched bid to cross the Queensland border on Wednesday morning

Baluch pictured outside his home in Mona Vale on October 25, just hours before the alleged international drug lord disappeared

'We will look at everybody he knows and everybody he talks to and we have and we've achieved excellent results. We'll continue with that.'

Police left no stone unturned in their quest to ensure Baluch didn't flee the country.

'We didn't want to leave any opportunities for this man to flee,' Det Supt Crichlow said.

'We knew people overseas were waiting for him to come and join with them. That was a great concern. As the commander said, high-end targets live overseas and that causes enormous harm to Australians. So we were determined he wouldn't leave Australia.'

Baluch was found in the boot of this grey Mercedes (pictured) in a shipping container on the back of a truck crossing the NSW/Queensland border at Tweed Heads
A female state trooper who accused deposed ex-New York Governor Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment also alleged that he had been 'making out' like a high schooler with his former top aide, Melissa DeRosa.

The romance between the sex pest former governor, 68, and 39 year-old DeRosa is allegedly revealed in Attorney General Letitia James' questioning of the state trooper.

The latest rumor was shared eight months after photos of Cuomo and DeRosa looking very cozy at a Manhattan restaurant resurfaced.

That snap was taken in 2016, and showed the colleagues apparently deep in conversation while gazing at one another.

Andrew Cuomo's top aide Melissa DeRosa was allegedly seen kissing her boss. The pair are pictured during an intimate Manhattan dinner in 2016

DeRosa is not identified by name in the new documents alleging the smooch, but sources said that hers is among several names blacked out and replaced with their position in the administration.

In DeRosa's case, 'Senior Staffer #1.' She vehemently denied the allegations in a statement released Friday night, and hinted that she was considering legal action.

The unidentified trooper who worked security for Cuomo was asked by a member of James' team if she'd ever seen anything happen between Cuomo and his senior staff.

'I had heard from Senior Investigator #1 that he once witnessed the Governor and Senior Staffer #1 like making out on the sidewalk like they were high schoolers,' the trooper responded. 'Again, he told me this. I didn't witness this. I wasn't even here at the time. But that's what I had heard.' It is unclear when the alleged kiss took place.

DeRosa (pictured left) was often seen at Cuomo's side during his COVID-19 press conferences

DeRosa herself denied the accusations in a tweet and a statement Friday

DeRosa seen in August arriving at her parents house before moving to a new residence

DeRosa, seen here with estranged husband Matthew Wing. The two announced their divorce a month ago

The trooper continued: 'I think everyone kind of like assumes or thinks that there's something going on between them.'

She was asked if she'd heard anything further: 'I heard a rumor that before Senior Staffer #1 [redacted] that the Governor and her were in a hotel room by themselves for like an hour. And then one of the two left the room.'

The trooper also said that during the early parts of COVID-19 lockdowns, the two staffers in question were 'basically living' at the governor's mansion.

She also claimed that the staffers would bring 'bikinis and bathing suits' to the residence.

'I don't really know anyone who stays at their boss' house like that.'

During an interview with James, Cuomo refused to deny that he had kissed DeRosa on the lips.

'It may have,' Cuomo said. 'I don't recall doing it, having a kiss on the lips with her.'

'You know, I was at her wedding,' he added. 'So sometimes there's different social functions. But I don't remember that, no,' he said.

'Okay. But it may have happened?' asked a lawyer on James' investigative team.

The trooper said that DeRosa and one other staffer basically 'lived' at the governor's mansion early on during lockdown

The revelations come from interviews with Cuomo and the staffers with Attorney General Letitia James' (pictured) investigative team. James has since announced a run for Cuomo's old job

'It may have happened,' Cuomo responded.

James' report, released August 3, detailed several allegations against Cuomo, 63, which forced him to resign under threat of impeachment a week later.

He also faces a misdemeanor charged for alleged groping of another aide, 33-year-old Brittany Commisso.

Former staffers previously told the New York Post that Cuomo either was dating or pursuing female aides while living with ex-girlfriend Sandra Lee was 'an open secret.'

DeRosa was revealed to be separating from Matt Wing, her husband of five years, last month.

DeRosa and Wing confirmed their impending divorce in a joint state that said, 'Despite the fact that this chapter in our lives is ending, we are and always will be very close friends.'

Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi vehemently denied any romance between DeRosa and Cuomo in a statement.

'The fact that Tish James included these completely false bottom of the barrel rumors in her selectively released, partially redacted transcripts says more about her character and motivations than anything else,' he said.

Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi denied the reports and heavily criticized James in a statement Friday

Cuomo's senior spokesman Rich Azzopardi

Azzopardi has been a consistent critic of James' investigation.

'Multiple people have testified under oath that the Governor did not have a romantic relationship with any staffer and the AG's continued weaponization of this report for her own political gain is even more evidence of prosecutorial misconduct.'

Since the report was released, James has announced a primary challenge to Cuomo's successor and current Governor Kathy Hochul in 2022.

DeRosa denied the accusations herself in a statement Friday, and claims the allegations are sexist.

'As a young woman who has worked at the highest levels of government and politics, I'm used to other people making up and spreading rumors about me,' she said. 'Am I senior staffer #1? I have no idea  you'd have to ask the AG's office, but the things this person says is flat out false,' DeRosa added.

She then suggested she might take legal action against the unidentified trooper.

'It's beyond the pale for this trooper, who by her own admission I barely knew  who has already attempted to extort me for money  to make these accusations based on false rumors and for them to be printed in a newspaper. Not only is this ludicrous, it's hurtful, and potentially actionable.'

De Rosa has since issued a second set of Twitter screenshots which appear to confirm she had minimal contact with the state trooper who has made the allegations against her.

PANDEMIC HERO TO ZERO - TIMELINE OF CUOMO'S RISE AND FALL 2006: Cuomo is elected AG of New York 2010: Cuomo is elected Governor of New York 2014: Re-elected, with Kathy Hochul as Lt. Gov 2018: Re-elected, defeating actress Cynthia Nixon March 2020: Cuomo becomes a pandemic hero with his daily press briefings on how New York, under his guidance, was responding to the crisis. He routinely sparred with then President Donald Trump and he basked in people calling him the people's real president in the time of crisis March 25: At the height of New York's COVID crisis, Cuomo signs a directive telling nursing homes they have to accept COVID-19 patients May 10: Cuomo rescinds the nursing home directive amid intense criticism of it as COVID deaths climb October 2020: Cuomo releases his book, Lessons in Leadership, about the pandemic November 2020: Cuomo is awarded an Emmy for his daily COVID briefings December 2020: Lindsey Boylan tweets that Cuomo abused her when she worked for him February 2021: The AP releases a damning report into how Cuomo's administration counted nursing home deaths as hospital deaths which made the numbers smaller March 2021: Letitia James launches sexual harassment investigation into Cuomo Assembly Judiciary Committee opens impeachment investigation August 3: AG releases her report finding Cuomo did sexually harass 11 women Cuomo issues statement insisting he is innocent but refuses to stand down August 10: Cuomo resigns, citing the good of the people as his reason for it October 28: Cuomo is charged with forcible touching Advertisement

James' office has yet to respond to a request for comment.

The majority of the allegations that James said amounted to serial sexual harassment were non-physical.

One of them applied to a nurse who gave the governor his first on-camera COVID-19 test.

He told her she made the 'gown look good', which James considered sexual harassment.

Others said Cuomo asked them about their boyfriends - which he admits - and that he 'clearly' insinuated wanting to sleep with them, but never did.

Cuomo fight the claims, resisting an Albany impeachment proceeding and pushing on with the COVID governance he was revered for at the start of the year, before eventually bowing out.

Since resigning, he has made few public statements aside from to bash James and her report, which he says is all politically motivated.

The allegations of sexual misconduct peppered the final year of his ten year governorship.

He got the job after his predecessor, Elliot Spitzer, resigned in shame having been caught patronizing a prostitution service.

Cuomo always denied that he was a sex pest and said at worst, he made inappropriate comments and jokes as an affectionate Italian man, like his father was.

The sexual misconduct allegations came at the same time as claims of gross negligence stemming from Cuomo's order to send thousands of COVID-19 positive elderly people back into New York nursing homes, a decision which many say proved fatal.

Not only did those infected patients infect others and lead to more deaths, critics say Cuomo's administration also tried to cover it up by deliberately skewing COVID deaths numbers.

For months, his administration reported the deaths of people who contracted COVID in nursing homes as 'hospital deaths' because they had died in hospitals.

He was only reporting nursing home deaths for people who contracted COVID in the nursing home and died in the nursing home.

His administration says it was an innocent error in numbers reporting.

Cuomo's political enemies seized on that scandal and the sexual misconduct claims, both of which were made even more irresistible when he released a smug memoir last October in the height of the second wave, titled Lessons in Leadership.

Cuomo was panned for writing the self-congratulatory book at a time when dozens of people were still dying every day in the state.
A Norwegian undersea surveillance network that is capable of detecting submarines has had its cables mysteriously cut.

Police were called in to investigate amid suspicion Russia could have 'sabotaged' the undersea sensors, which predominantly monitor fish but can pick up the movement of submarines.

The cables were cut and then disappeared, with the Institute of Marine Research describing 'extensive damage' to the outer area of the Lofoten-Vesteralen (LoVe) Ocean Observatory.

LoVe consists of a network of underwater cables and sensors located on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, an area of strategic interest for both Norway and Russia.

LoVe, which was only declared fully operational in August 2020, has been offline since the outage in April.

Police were called in to investigate amid suspicion Russia could have 'sabotaged' the undersea sensors, which predominantly monitor fish but can pick up the movement of submarines. Pictured, the surveillance network

Norway's military and the country's Police Security Service are allegedly investigating what could have happened to the research surveillance system, which is in place to monitor the effects of climate change.

It measures methane emissions and fish stocks, providing scientists with a live feed of imagery, sound and other data.

Data gathered by its sensors, which can also pick up submarine activity, is first sent to the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI).

'FFI is believed to routinely remove traces of any submarine activity in the area before turning over the observatorys data to IMR so that it only contains fishing, currents, and climate information,' according to a report from Norways News in English website.

'We dont care so much about the submarines in the area (located not far from onshore military installations at Andya, Evenes and other bases in Northern Norway), but we know the military is,' IMR director Sissel Rogne told the Norwegian newspaper Dagens Nringsliv.

'You could see whats going on down there regarding all types of U-boats [submarines] and all other countries U-boats.'

In a press statement last Friday Geir Pedersen, the LoVe project leader, said 'something or someone has torn out cables in outlying areas'.

More than 2.5miles of LoVe's 40 miles of fiber optic and electrical cables were removed, reports claimed.

An unmanned submarine traced the cause to Node 2, a surveillance platform 820 feet underwater that was dragged away from its normal location. Another mission in September found Node 3 had also been moved and its cables were missing

RAF Typhoons intercept Russian bombers A pair of Russian nuclear bombers yesterday forced the RAF to defend British airspace over the North Sea. Amid a heightening of tensions between East and West thanks to the escalating crisis on the Polish-Belarus border, two TU-160 'Blackjack' strategic bombers, which are capable of launching cruise missiles, launched a menacing sortie. The entered the Nato zone  for which the Netherlands is responsible  without warning the Dutch, Amsterdam's defence ministry confirmed. Belgium and the Netherlands take turns to look after air defence in the area for Nato on behalf of the Benelux region, which also includes Luxembourg. Belgian F-16s escorted the Russian aircraft out of the area towards a zone policed by Britain, where they were met by a pair of RAF Typhoons from the Quick Reaction Alert force at RAF Lossiemouth in Moray, north-east Scotland, along with a refuelling jet from Brize Norton, Oxfordshire. The TU-160s were then 'deterred from entering UK aerial territory', with the Russian pilots turning back and heading north. The RAF's protection mission was completed by 2.30pm when all British aircraft returned to base, nearly three hours after take-off. Last night, an RAF spokesperson confirmed that it scrambled the British Typhoons, which 'intercepted and escorted two Russian TU-160 Blackjack, long-range strategic bomber aircraft'. Advertisement

And the observatory has been affected by interference since at least last April, according to reports in the Dagens Nringsliv.

That was when the connection between the sensor network and the control station at Hovden on the northern island of Langya was lost.

An unmanned submarine traced the cause to Node 2, a surveillance platform 820 feet underwater that was dragged away from its normal location.

Another mission in September found Node 3 had also been moved and its cables were missing.

Rogne told Dagens Nringsliv whatever vessel severed it would need considerable power because of the cables' size and weight.

Around 9.5 tonnes of cable remains missing, as IMRs ystein Brun claimed it was likely they were cut deliberately.

The damage could not have been an accident, Rogne claimed, because a vessel would notice dislodging the cables and would have reported it.

But any vessel that could have tampered with the cables could be untraceable because its transponder would likely be off, meaning it wasn't transmitting its position to the Coast Guard.

It comes as British soldiers have been deployed to the Polish border with Belarus yesterday as tensions in Eastern Europe threatened to spill over.

The escalating migrant crisis at the edge of the EU triggered a rapid military build-up in the region, with Russian paratroopers touching down on the opposite side of the border.

The deployment of Royal Engineers on a reconnaissance mission came as a pair of Kremlin nuclear-capable bombers forced the RAF to defend British airspace.

Vladimir Putin was also warned against making a 'serious mistake' after America said satellite images of troops suggested Russia could be planning to invade Ukraine.

The small forward party of British soldiers, thought to number about ten, will help Polish forces strengthen their border with Belarus, where as many as 4,000 migrants, mainly from Iraq, Syria and Yemen, have gathered hoping to cross into Europe.

The escalating migrant crisis at the edge of the EU triggered a rapid military build-up in the region, with Russian paratroopers touching down on the opposite side of the border

Belarus started building camps yesterday to house those who have spent night after night sleeping in freezing forests with little food

Belarus started building camps yesterday to house those who have spent night after night sleeping in freezing forests with little food.

Katarzyna Zdanowicz, spokesman for Poland's border guards in the eastern Podlasie region, said 'The scale of the problem is not diminishing.'

She said Belarusian forces had brought wood and water to migrant camps on the border, adding: 'We can see they are preparing for a longer stay.'

Another 15,000 migrants are thought to be in Belarus and heading for the border, having been brought in from the Middle East to flood into Europe by president Alexander Lukashenko in revenge for EU sanctions.

Moscow, a key Lukashenko ally, has been accused of helping to fuel the crisis.

As the Royal Engineers arrived in the region, hundreds of Russian paratroopers jumped from military aircraft into Belarus. They conducted tactical rehearsals 25 miles from the flashpoint at the border. The Russian defence ministry said the troops, two of whom died, flew home after the exercise, which was interpreted as a show of support for Lukashenko.

Another 15,000 migrants are thought to be in Belarus and heading for the border, having been brought in from the Middle East to flood into Europe by president Alexander Lukashenko in revenge for EU sanctions

Last night, Tory former defence minister Tobias Ellwood backed the Ministry of Defence's demonstration of solidarity with Poland.

He said: 'Nato states will need to act swiftly to stay ahead of the threat, while countries which share borders with Russia will require further support.

'Any failure to do so would be interpreted as weak behaviour by President Putin.

'He could absolutely invade Ukraine. It is a reflection of just how weak the West has become.'

America warned European leaders this week that Russia may be about to invade Ukraine, having annexed the Ukrainian territory of Crimea in 2014. The warning was based on satellite images showing tens of thousands of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Moscow would commit a 'serious mistake' if any of the 90,000 Russian troops positioned to march into Ukraine did so.

Last night, Tory former defence minister Tobias Ellwood backed the Ministry of Defence's demonstration of solidarity with Poland

He assured Kiev this week that Washington's commitment to Ukraine's security was 'iron-clad'.

He said yesterday: 'We don't know Russia's intentions. But we do know that we've seen in the past  Russia mass forces on Ukraine's borders, claim some kind of provocation by Ukraine, and then invade. That's what they did in 2014.'

France urged Russia to use its ties with Belarus to bring the migrant crisis to an end, and warned that any Russian threat to Ukraine would have 'serious consequences'. The EU expressed alarm at Russia's activities by Ukraine's border.

Belarus said it was ready to defend itself, accusing Poland of an 'unprecedented' military build-up on the border, with 15,000 troops and guards backed by tanks, air defences and other weapons. Defence minister Viktor Khrenin added: 'Belarus armed forces are ready to respond harshly to any attacks.'

Turkey said yesterday that Iraqis, Syrians and Yemenis would no longer be allowed on flights to Belarus. Iraq also stopped direct journeys, and said it would repatriate Iraqis in Belarus.
A reformed Hells Angel president has revealed how he became swept up in gang life, the stresses that came with being a bikie boss and opened up about the confronting moment he knew he had to give up his life of crime.

Mohammed 'Moe' Khodr gave rare insights into how he became president of his own Hells Angels chapter in Melbourne while speaking on The Felon Show, hosted by a former Port Phillip inmate.

His days with the Darkside chapter came to an end after he served nearly eight years in prison for drug trafficking and gun offences.

Khodr, who is now 34 and a father, said the reality of life in an outlaw motorcycle gang was nothing like what is shown in the HBO show Sons of Anarchy.

'It's not like Sons of Anarchy where we ride around and drink piss. It's a rough life,' he said.

He said the real way recruits have to prove their loyalty to become a bikie is nothing like it's made out to be.

Mohammed 'Moe' Khodr gave rare insights into how he became president of his own Hells Angels chapter before he served nearly eight years years in prison for drug trafficking and gun offences. He is pictured in a police car in 2013

'Everyone glorifies it  (they) say youre going to go to strip clubs  (but) all youre doing is buying drinks and cleaning the bar,' he said.

He was busted after supplying an undercover cops 910g of ice worth $220,000, a handgun and ammunition in police sting operation in 2013.

Police also alleged Khodr threatened to burn down a Boronia factory and kill the owner before taking control of it and turning it into a gang party house.

He was also charged over an attack on prison guards while in custody - which earned him two years under 22 hour lockdown at Port Phillip maximum security prison.

Khodr was busted after supplying an undercover cops 910g of ice, a firearm and ammunition in police sting operation in 2013 - but today he is a free man, a father of two, and wants to discourage others from following his path. He is pictured with his partner after serving his sentence.

Khodr said his path to gang life started with vehicle offences, such as driving unlicensed.

One day he got pulled in by older gang members asking 'do you wanna deliver something for me?'

'You go ''yeah f***ing oath brother. $500? f***! where do I drop it off''. Then it's ''we'll carry a gun, put a gun in the car, just in case''.'

'You're young. The concept of how much jail you're about to do doesn't enter your little brain.'

Mohammed 'Moe' Khodr described how his path to crime and gangs began with driving offences around the age of 13. Khodr was speaking with his friend and former Port Phillip inmate and G-Fam gang member David Obeda (pictured) on The Felon Show podcast.

Khodr was a member of the Nomads before starting his own Hells Angels chapter on Melbourne's Mornington Peninsula in 2012

Khodr regrets his path into crime, which he says began with driving offences before accepting money to deliver good for gang members, then taking a gun with him

He admitted being on bail ever since he was 13 years old and is still not allowed to leave Australia to visit extended family in Lebanon - even though he's a free man.

Khodr said as soon as he became a 'patched' gang member life was suffocating, with police seemingly waiting for him at every turn.

'You may as well draw a f**king target on your back. The days of just cruising around and making some money are over.

'You can't do anything  (police) are waiting at the end of the street,'

Starting his own chapter so he could become a boss was stressful, he said.

'It was like having two fulltime jobs (full of) dramas, politics, this guy, that guy... your phone rings at 5 in the morning, you gotta get up and go and talk to some c***.'

Despite the dramas, Khodr said he was 'committed [until] death'.

'I had the whole gang member til I die mentality.... ride or die.'

He brought friends who were not gang members into the Hells Angels life.

'I kick myself for doing that,' he said.

When good friends left or died, and he found himself without affiliations while in jail - and being continually tossed into solitary confinement, during this time he started to reconsider his choices.

'One day it dawned on me  what the f*** am I doing with my life?' Khodr said.

'I wasted six years. I'm in jail, no c*** gives a f*** about me... whether I'm dead or alive.

Khodr is now 34 and father to a boy and a girl and regrets ever getting involved in bikie gangs and crime

'You think 'where does it end? Do I end up dead? Do I end up doing 35, 40 years like some of the other boys? [with] no chance of having kids, no missus, what opportunities do you have'?'

What finally turned him away from gang life was missing the birth of his daughter - again in solitary confinement after an indiscretion.

'That three months was rough, just waiting, waiting.'

Khodr warned anyone who believes its a gangster life to think again.

'I've done it and there's nothing at the top of the mountain,' he said.

'If you wanna watch your mum grow old in a visitor's centre, do what I did.'

He said he has turned his life around and is now a family man living in Melbourne.
President Donald Trump took a victory lap Friday after former 'Apprentice' star Sumner Zervos ended her five-year defamation lawsuit without any monetary payment from the former president after accusing him of sexually assaulting her.

The abrupt decision to discontinue the lawsuit, without an apology or compensation from Trump, spares the former president from being questioned under oath about Zervos' accusations that he subjected her to unwanted kissing and groping in 2007.

It brings to a close a legal saga that drew extensive media coverage while Trump was in the White House, and came after other women also accused him of assault or harassment during the 2016 campaign.

A statement by Trump, which referred to Trump in the third person, stated: 'The lawsuit brought by a woman who made up false accusations against President Trump for publicity or money has just been dropped in its totality.'

The Trump statement continued with an attack on the media. 'The Fake News Media totally and completely distorted the factsthey are corrupt,' it said. 'President Trump has been totally vindicated. No money of any kind, or legal fees, were paid by President Trump, who stated, 'It is so sad when things like this can happen, but so incredibly important to fight for the truth and justice. Only victory can restore one's reputation!'

Former Apprentice contestant Summer Zervos is being countersued by Donald Trump after she filed a defamation case against him in 2016 as she claims he allegedly kissed and groped her while they were on the show together. Zervos is pictured leaving Manhattan Supreme Court on December 5, 2017

Statement by former President Trump on Sumner Zervos dropping her lawsuit The lawsuit brought by a woman who made up false accusations against President Trump for publicity or money has just been dropped in its totality. The Fake News Media totally and completely distorted the factsthey are corrupt. President Trump has been totally vindicated. No money of any kind, or legal fees, were paid by President Trump, who stated, It is so sad when things like this can happen, but so incredibly important to fight for the truth and justice. Only victory can restore ones reputation! Advertisement

Zervos had sued Trump in January 2017 in a New York state court in Manhattan, saying he harmed her reputation by calling such allegations by women 'lies' and retweeting a post calling her claims a 'hoax.'

Trump has also denied Zervos' assault claims, calling them politically motivated. Zervos had appeared on Trump's reality television show in 2005.

'Ms. Zervos no longer wishes to litigate against the defendant and has secured the right to speak freely about her experience,' her lawyers Beth Wilkinson and Moira Penza said in a joint statement. 'Ms. Zervos stands by the allegations in her complaint.'

The sudden turnaround came after Trump indicated he was planning to countersue, after the former 'Apprentice' contestant who claimed he had groped and kissed her without consent.

Zervos' lawyers called that effort an attempt to escape a court-ordered Dec. 23 deadline to be deposed.

'Ms. Zervos made the prudent decision to voluntarily drop her case without the exchange of any compensation or attorneys fees,' Trump's lawyer Alina Habba said in an email. 'She had no choice but to do so as the facts unearthed in this matter made it abundantly clear that our client did nothing wrong.'

The former reality star accused Trump of defaming her after he denied her sexual assault allegations.

Donald Trump had previously denied Zervo's claims along other sexual misconduct allegations as he believed they were trying to diminish his success during the 2016 presidential election He is seen here greeting people on the tarmac as he arrives at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida on December 22, 2017

Zervos had filed the defamation suit in 2016 nearly a decade after she appeared with the former President on The Apprentice in 2007.

Trump's lawyer requested the court's permission to pursue a counterclaim against Zervos as he had previously refuted her accusations.

The former President's denial of the claims included retweeting a message that called her claims 'a hoax.'

He also described a series of women who accused him of sexual assault and harassment as 'liars' trying to torpedo his White House hopes.

One, former Elle magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll, is also suing Trump for defamation after he denied having raped her in a Manhattan department store in the mid-1990s.

Trump's former lawyers responded years ago that he didn't defame Zervos. They said his statements were true and protected by free speech rights.

Both Trump and Zervos were to undergo questioning under oath by December 23.

Now he wants to bolster his defense by drawing on a 2020 New York law that makes it easier to defeat defamation claims involving public communication on issues of public interest.

The law was envisioned as helping journalists, activists and others beat back groundless claims from powerful interests that want to sue them into silence.

Trump lawyer Alina Habba argues it applies to statements the future president 'made at the highest levels of the national stage,' including during a debate.

Zervos sued 'for the sole purpose of harassing, intimidating, punishing or otherwise maliciously inhibiting' Trump and his free speech rights, Habba wrote in court papers filed Monday. They seek unspecified damages, plus attorneys fees.

Zervos lawyers, Beth Wilkinson and Moira Penza, said New York's laws don't 'provide a license for Mr. Trump to avoid accountability for his words.'

'We look forward to taking Mr. Trumps deposition and zealously fighting his unwarranted attacks against our client,' Wilkinson and Penza said in a statement.

They called his filing 'a desperate reaction' to the December deadline for depositions in Zervos's case against him. Depositions are sworn pretrial questioning by the other sides attorneys.

The former President had appeared as the host of NBC's The Apprentice for 14 seasons beginning in 2004

Zervos appeared alongside Trump in Season 5 of The Apprentice but was 'fired' within the first week

Monday's filing came as Trump answered hours of questions in a deposition in a different lawsuit, filed by protesters who say his security team roughed them up in 2015.

He said in a statement after the deposition that the protesters' claim was 'baseless harassment' and that he was glad to tell his side of that story.

Zervos, a California restaurateur, appeared on The Apprentice in 2006, when Trump hosted the show.

She says she contacted him the next year to talk about her career, and is now being represented by Gloria Allred.

According to her, he then made unwanted advances during meetings at his New York office and at a California hotel where he was staying.

Shes seeking unspecified damages, a retraction of his allegedly defamatory statements and an apology.
A senior Tory figure looks set to make a fortune from the sale of British mutual insurer LV to US private equity predators, the Daily Mail can reveal.

Malik Karim, co-treasurer of the Conservative Party, is founder and chief executive of Fenchurch Advisory, the investment bank advising LV on the 530million deal.

LV bosses are backing the takeover by Bain Capital  and using members' funds to force it through, though they refuse to reveal the costs. There is no obligation on them to do so. If the takeover were of a public company, the fees would have to be disclosed.

The deal is likely to prove highly lucrative for Fenchurch, with City sources estimating its fees could be worth more than 5million.

Malik Karim (pictured), co-treasurer of the Conservative Party, is founder and chief executive of Fenchurch Advisory, the investment bank advising LV on the 530million deal

As boss of the discreet investment bank, Mr Karim, who stepped up to his role in the party last month, is likely to be one of the biggest beneficiaries.

According to Companies House filings, Mr Karim was also a member of Ingenious Film Partners 2 between 2006 and 2011  a controversial film investment scheme accused by HMRC of being a means of avoiding tax.

From refugee to top City banker Lauded as the City of London's most successful Muslim, Malik Karim  the investment banking tycoon advising on the LV deal  came to the UK as a refugee aged 12 in 1974 after his family fled Uganda. He studied economics at Manchester University, joined the City in the 1980s and co-founded his firm Fenchurch in 2004. The father of two was last month appointed co-treasurer of the Conservative Party. He and his firm have donated 85,000 to the party. Mr Karim has earned 68.6million in the past 16 years alone. He and his wife own a mansion in north-west London worth 5million with a gated drive and a swimming pool. Their son and daughter both attended private school. Mr Karim personally netted 17.5million in 2019 alone. French bank Natixis took a controlling stake in Fenchurch last year, but Mr Karim remains chief executive. Advertisement

Mr Karim said he was advised to join the scheme by his financial adviser at the time and added: 'I have made all interim payments to HMRC as requested and will settle any remaining outstanding amounts once the matter is resolved.'

Other advisers set to make money from the sale of LV include lawyers at magic circle law firm Clifford Chance and spin doctors at City PR outfit FTI Consulting. It is thought the spoils shared by bankers, lawyers, PRs and other advisers could be close to 10million. When the AA was bought by private equity firms last year for less than Bain is spending on LV, fees to third parties were around 50million. The figure for the Bain deal is shrouded in secrecy  despite the fact the fees will be paid by LV's 1.2million members.

Tory peer Baroness Altmann said: 'This is members' money being spent to change terms for members without their say-so. There should be proper disclosure rather than secrecy. Is it because LV bosses are concerned the amount would seem inappropriate?'

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said the 'lack of transparency' was 'troubling', adding: 'It would be completely unacceptable if a senior Conservative were to personally profit from the potential asset-stripping [of LV]'.

It is just the latest secrecy row in the controversial buyout after chief executive Mark Hartigan was accused this week of trying to 'hoodwink' members into supporting it.

He and LV chairman Alan Cook have been criticised for failing to share details about rival bids, job security for its 1,500 staff and how much they will earn from the takeover.

Mr Hartigan is in line to make millions while Mr Cook will hang on to a 205,000-a-year chairmanship for at least two years. They have been accused of 'misleading' members with claims neither will make 'a penny' from the sale. LV has been owned by its customers since it was set up in 1843. But the sale to Bain would see it run by profit-hungry investors.

Labour MP Gareth Thomas, chairman of the cross-party group on mutuals, said it 'beggars belief' that members' money is being paid out to already 'incredibly wealthy business people'.

He added: 'It adds insult to injury that members are being asked to fork up their own hard-earned money to polish this dreadful deal and force it through.' LV has said its board 'unanimously concluded that the transaction with Bain Capital presents the most positive outcome for all members, the future of the LV business and its people'.

Mr Karim denied any potential conflicts of interest between advising LV and his Tory Party role. Fenchurch declined to comment.

Labour MP Gareth Thomas, (pictured) chairman of the cross-party group on mutuals, said it 'beggars belief' that members' money is being paid out to already 'incredibly wealthy business people'

Why will members get only 100?

By City Correspondent for the Daily Mail

The paltry 100 that LV members will get for giving up ownership of the insurer falls thousands short of some windfalls reaped in previous deals.

LV customers, who together own the firm, are being asked to accept the payment in return for giving up their rights to the business in the buyout by private equity shark Bain Capital. Many LV customers have objected to the deal on the grounds that it could see the cost of policies rise, and service plummet.

Even with-profits members, who hold more generous policies, will get only a small uplift to their eventual pay-out. It will be worth just 0.1 per cent of the value of their policy for every year they have held it. For most with-profits members, this will come to a grand total of just 52 on average.

The paltry 100 that LV members will get for giving up ownership of the insurer falls thousands short of some windfalls reaped in previous deals (file image)

Martin Shaw, chief executive of the Association of Financial Mutuals, said: 'The one-off payment of 100 is low compared to previous demutualisations.'

When Scottish Widows was demutualised and bought by Lloyds in 2000, the average windfall was 6,000. And Friends Provident handed out 1,200 in 2001.
Dominic Raab accepted 25,000 from a former Russian banker whose money had been rejected by the Prince of Waless charitable foundation.

The deputy prime ministers local party was given the five-figure sum by Dmitry Leus earlier this year. Mr Raab declared the donations made to the Esher and Walton Conservative Association for campaigning costs on the Commons register of interests in July.

Mr Leus was found guilty of money laundering and jailed in Russia in 2004  but the conviction was later overturned and he claims the prosecution was politically motivated.

Dominic Raab accepted 25,000 from a former Russian banker whose money had been rejected by the Prince of Waless charitable foundation

The businessman made a 100,000 donation to the Princes Foundation last year but it was returned after it was rejected by the charitys ethics committee.

After the money was initially received, Prince Charles wrote to Mr Leus to thank him for very generously deciding to support the charity. But the cash was later handed back after the ethics committee raised concerns about its provenance.

Mr Leus, who was born in Turkmenistan, holds permanent residency in Britain. He also has Russian and Israeli citizenship.

The 51-year-old lives in Surrey with his wife and their four sons. He has donated millions to British charities, including those involved in education and health.

After the money was initially received, Prince Charles wrote to Mr Leus to thank him for very generously deciding to support the charity. But the cash was later handed back after the ethics committee raised concerns about its provenance

On his foundations website, he describes himself as an established and successful businessman within the finance and investment industries in England and overseas.

A spokesman for Mr Raab last night said: Mr Leus had a wrongful conviction overturned on appeal. Professional due diligence was conducted before accepting. Like all donations, it was properly and transparently declared and complies fully with the law.

Regarding the donation to Mr Raabs local party, a spokesman for Mr Leus said he had simply responded to what was presented as a need for funding in his local area.
A stranded family-of-four will have to wait weeks before they can be rescued after they became trapped by floodwaters in South Australia.

The Perth family were on a road trip and travelling across the Simpson Desert when they drove into heavy rainfall on Wednesday.

Wild weather has battered the state bringing near-record breaking rainfall, flash flooding and gale force winds in the regional areas.

A stranded family-of-four will have to wait weeks before they can be rescued after they became trapped by floodwaters in South Australia

Video shows their fridge packed with food and comfort drinks including eggs, meat and bottles of Coca-Cola

The family's caravan became bogged down prompting the family to set off the emergency locator device for help.

Emergency services fear they will be unable to rescue the family for at least another two weeks.

The family say they have enough supplies to wait out the rescue and released footage of life inside their caravan.

Video shows their fridge packed with food and comfort drinks including eggs, meat and bottles of Coca-Cola.

Up to 70k/hr winds were recorded in Adelaide while gusts of up to 100k/hr were reported in Renmark, a regional town 250km northeast of the capital city.

Trees were uprooted while a McDonald's sign was torn down in the town.

Shocked residents filmed the wreckage left behind showing the iconic big 'M' had been lifted off the pole and blown down to the below carpark.

Floodwaters rose rapidly around the state with Boolcunda Creek inundated and the Alberga River, in the far north, flowing for the first time in 18 months.

Gusts of up to 100km/h battered Renmark, a regional town 250km northeast of Adelaide, uprooting trees and tearing down a McDonald's sign

Floodwaters rose rapidly around the state with Boolcunda Creek inundated and the Alberga River, in the far north, flowing for the first time in 18 months (pictured, floods in Melbourne over the weekend)

The wild weather has begun to ease with the Bureau of Meteorology downgrading a flood warning in the Flinders Rangers rivers and creeks.

The area had been expected to flood but showers are expected to ease throughout the day.

The cold pressure system travelled across Australia bringing heavy rain and flash flooding across NSW, Victoria and Queensland.

Flash flooding hit Melbourne's south-eastern suburbs with streets between Clayton and Dandenong completely submerged on Saturday.

The SES received more than 300 calls for help including motorists who had become trapped in their vehicles.
A Washington Post columnist has sharply criticized CNN for failing to retract its claim that British ex-spy Christopher Steele's dossier is 'corroborated,' following a federal indictment that raised serious questions about the document.

Media critic Erik Wemple issued the harsh rebuke in a column on Friday, calling on CNN to correct its longstanding claim that its reporting had verified substantial portions of the 2016 dossier alleging Donald Trump conspired with Russia.

Last week, a federal indictment alleged that Russian-born analyst Igor Danchenko, a key source for the Steele dossier, fabricated conversations with one source, and used a Democratic political operative as another.

Following the revelation, the Washington Post took the unusual step of substantially editing and publicly correcting several of its prior stories about the dossier -- and Wemple believes CNN should take similar measures.

Washington Post columnist Erik Wemple has sharply criticized CNN for failing to retract its claim that British ex-spy Christopher Steele's dossier is 'corroborated'

CNN hosts including Don Lemon (left) and Wolf Blitzer (right) have repeatedly claimed on-air that the network had verified or corroborated substantial portions of the Steele dossier

Information in a new indictment has cast serious doubt on the veracity of British ex-spy Christopher Steele's 'dirty dossier,' much of which had already been debunked. Steele is pictured arriving for a London court appearance in July 2020

As Wemple noted, CNN hosts including Don Lemon and Wolf Blitzer have repeatedly claimed on-air that the network had verified or corroborated substantial portions of the dossier.

Those remarks appear to refer to a 2017 CNN report that cited unnamed US investigators had 'corroborated some of the communications' in the dossier.

That report stated that some conversations described in the dossier could be confirmed as taking place at the time and place described -- but did not confirm the contents of the conversations.

'Narrow though the reporting was, it served as a springboard for broader expressions of confidence in Steeles work,' wrote Wemple.

'Whatever the distortions, corroboration" is a poor word to associate with the dossier,' he added.

Wemple argued that CNN had provided breathless, splashy coverage of its alleged corroboration of the dossier, but only muted and grudging air time for the Danchenko indictment that seriously undermined the dossier's claims.

'That brand of asymmetry helps explain why many people mistrust CNN,' he wrote.

An indictment charging Russian-born analyst Igor Y. Danchenko (above) has raised serious questions about the veracity of the Steele dossier, alleging that Danchenko fabricated one source, and used a Democratic operative as the source of at least one allegation in the dossier

A CNN spokeswoman did not immediately respond to an inquiry from DailyMail.com on Friday evening.

The network also did not respond to Wempel, leaving the columnist to cite a statement CNN provided last year.

'CNN stands by our reporting. Our approach to the dossier has been consistent since day one,' the 2020 statement said.

'CNN only reported details when they were corroborated, part of a government filing, or publicly discussed by officials or those mentioned,' the statement added.

In contrast, the Washington Post took strong and extraordinary steps to correct its prior original reporting on the Steele dossier this week.

Two online articles published by the newspaper in March 2017 and February 2019 were heavily edited, and an editor's note was attached to them explaining that certain claims in the reports were 'contradicted by allegations in a federal indictment and undermined by further reporting.'

An editor's note appended to a 2017 Washington Post article explains that the newspaper now believes the report was based on faulty information

Both articles had alleged that Belarusian American businessman Sergei Millian was a key source of the Steele dossier.

However, the new indictment alleged that Danchenko had lied when he claimed that he'd spoken to Millian when gathering information that was included in the dossier.

'As a result, portions of the story and an accompanying video have been removed and the headline has been changed,' one of the Washington Post editor's notes stated.

Though policies differ among different media outlets, it is unusual to substantially edit and republish an online article when new information comes to light.

Charles H. Dolan Jr, also known as Chuck, was revealed as a source for Danchenko

Many outlets simply publish a new article containing the further information, possibly adding an editor's note to the outdated article.

The original Post articles had alleged that Millian was the dossier's 'Source D', the source who claimed Russian intelligence had videos of Trump engaged in deviant behavior in a Moscow hotel room.

The new indictment strongly suggests, but does not directly allege, that the source for that salacious claim was actually an American public relations executive, whose identity has been confirmed by his attorney as Charles Dolan.

Dolan was a state chairman for both of Bill Clinton's successful presidential campaigns in 1992 and 1996, and an advisor to Hillary Clinton's 2008 campaign.

He also previously worked as executive director of the Democratic Governors Association, and actively campaigned for Hillary Clinton in 2016, according to the indictment.

The Post substantially edited and corrected articles claiming that Belarusian American businessman Sergei Millian (left in 2014) was a key source of the Steele dossier

The indictment was brought by Special Counsel John Durham, who is investigating the origins of the FBI's Crossfire Hurricane probe into claims that Trump conspired with Russia during the 2016 election.

The Steele dossier, which remains largely unproven or debunked, was cited by the FBI and Special Counsel Robert Mueller in warrant applications to spy on Trump campaign advisor Carter Page, who has never been charged with a crime.

Danchenko was charged with five counts of lying to the FBI about his contact with sources in compiling information that Steele included in the dossier.

He has pleaded not guilty and is currently free on an unsecured bond.

In a statement to DailyMail.com, Danchenko's attorney Mark E. Schamel said: 'For the past five years, those with an agenda have sought to expose Mr. Danchenkos identity and tarnish his reputation while undermining U.S. National Security.'

'From the moment he was inappropriately revealed, he has been the focus of unrelenting politically motivated attacks,' the attorney said.

'This latest injustice will not stand. We will expose how Mr. Danchenko has been unfairly maligned by these false allegations,' Schamel concluded.
Although he and his team faced 'abuse', their claims were vindicated by the ONS

Tony Sewell is the chairman of the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities

The author of a government race report who came under fire for saying white people have a lower life expectancy claims he has been vindicated.

Tony Sewell, chairman of the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities, said he and his team faced abuse following the publication of the report in March.

It found that pre-pandemic health outcomes among ethnic minority groups were better than among white people  a finding that was later supported by the Office for National Statistics.

The British Medical Journal was among those to have criticised Mr Sewell but it has now published an analysis of the official data that backs his findings. It concedes that between 2012 and 2019, the White ethnic group had lower life expectancy and higher overall mortality than all ethnic minority groups except the Mixed group.

Dr Tony Sewell defended his controversial racism report in the face of fierce criticism and refused to be cowed by personal attacks

The Race Commission, launched by Boris Johnson following Black Lives Matter protests, hailed the UK a 'beacon to the rest of Europe and the world'

It continues: For individual causes of death, the picture was more varied, with ethnic minority groups generally having lower mortality than the White group for half of the 30 leading causes of death (responsible for about 80 per cent of all deaths). The BMJ analysis pointed to the healthy migrant effect and lower rates of tobacco and alcohol use as possible explanations.

However, it also notes that the overall mortality advantage of some ethnic groups, namely Bangladeshi, Pakistani and black Caribbean males, had been reversed due to their higher risk of death from Covid.

It was likely this was down to the higher chance of living in densely populated urban areas, in large and multi-generational households, and of working in public-facing roles such as health and social care, it adds.

Mr Sewell told the Daily Telegraph that his team knew their findings on the mortality of ethnic groups would be backed up by the ONS when they published their report.

Essentially what happened was people didnt look at the data, he said. What they were driven by was a bit of hysteria around the Covid results.

We are not denying racism is a factor, but we are looking at race disparities and some people didnt realise white people could fare worse.

Making that statement seemed to worry people. People wanted us to say something along the lines that black peoples health outcomes were worse than whites, but that wasnt true. The wider report into racism in Britain caused outrage after finding no evidence of institutional racism.

It recommended that the UK should act as a model for other white-majority countries.

United Nations experts said the report could fuel racism.

An article in the BMJ accused the Government-appointed commission of cherrypicking the evidence. Mr Sewell said: I feel very vindicated by this and if people had bothered to read our report rather than listening to the news, they would have seen we were telling the truth.

The ONS study, on which the latest BMJ analysis is based, used data from more than 50million people. The BMJ authors  including those from the University of Cambridge and Imperial College London  describe the paradox of better mortality outcomes among some ethnic groups, despite higher levels of deprivation.
Ministers are backing away from threats to tear up parts of Boris Johnsons Brexit deal, amid rising hopes of an agreement on resolving the Northern Ireland border problem.

European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic said yesterday there had been a change in tone during talks in London with Brexit minister Lord Frost.

Speculation has been mounting in Whitehall that Article 16 of the Northern Ireland protocol will be triggered this month, suspending EU customs checks despite Brussels warning it would spark an all-out trade war.

However, a Government source said last night that although the plan remains on the table it is not imminent.

European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic (right) said yesterday there had been a change in tone during talks in London with Brexit minister Lord Frost (left). Irish Europe minister Thomas Byrne (centre) yesterday warned there was a danger of complete instability in Northern Ireland unless the post-Brexit issues are resolved

A 'No Hard Border' poster is seen below a road sign on the Irish side of the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland near Bridgend, Ireland

A hard border in Ireland risks more scenes like this from April 2021, when it was thought rising discontent about the border situation between Britain and Ireland fuelled violence

Irish Europe minister Thomas Byrne yesterday warned there was a danger of complete instability in Northern Ireland unless the post-Brexit issues are resolved. Mr Sefcovic said Brussels had made a big move by offering to slash 80 per cent of checks on goods entering Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK, and urged Lord Frost to drop demands for the European Court of Justice to be stripped of its role overseeing the protocol.

Mr Sefcovic said serious headway was needed this week to prevent possible disruption to the flow of medicines to Northern Ireland. He said the EU was ready to change its own laws to facilitate this, but wanted an agreed solution with London.

The Brexit deal effectively keeps Northern Ireland within the EU single market, meaning that trade goods must be checked on arrival from mainland UK.

A Government spokesman said last night the UKs preference is to find a consensual way forward.
Families planning to travel abroad this Christmas face complications over the use of the Covid app because it does not allow children to log their vaccination status.

Children under 16 are not eligible to download a Covid pass on the NHS app which would allow them to prove they are vaccinated or have tested negative.

But countries including Italy and France require adults and children over 12 to present proof they're vaccinated or have tested negative for Covid-19 in order to enter the majority of their indoor venues and some outdoor spaces.

This means parents could be forced to fork out to have their children tested repeatedly throughout their trip in order to prove their status and gain entry to hospitality venues.

Earlier this year, Italy introduced 'green passes' which are awarded to those who have shown proof of vaccination or negative tests to access various venues.

To be eligible for a pass, individuals must prove they have received at least one vaccine dose in the last nine months, recovered from COVID-19 in the last six months or tested negative in the previous 48 hours.

Families planning to travelling abroad this Christmas face complications over the use of the Covid app because it does not allow children to log their vaccination status (file picture)

The NHS app does not allow children under 16 to register their vaccination or Covid-19 status

But children under 16 from the UK will not be able to do this via the NHS app because only those over 16 are eligible to use it.

This means parents face the prospect of paying for recorded lateral flow tests every two days if they want to visit venues with their young children.

Even the prospect of testing creates its own complications as children recovering from Covid risk not passing a lateral flow test.

This is because 'fragments of inactive virus can be persistently detected', according to the Government's guidance, even after a person is no longer infectious.

So even if a child tests negative ahead of a trip abroad, they will still be required to test regularly while in the country of choice in order to access venues and risk being barred if they have recently recovered from Covid but are no longer infectious.

Similarly, France also requires adults and children over the age of 12 to provide proof they are vaccinated or have tested negative for Covid to access certain venues.

This means children aged 13 to 15 must take a test every 72 hours if they wish to visit the majority of hospitality venues in France.

Stephen Smith and his family, from Chelmsford, are due to travel to Italy but have concerns because his daughter has recently had the virus.

The complications are the latest concern over the app as earlier this month it was revealed the app did not allow over-60s to register their booster jab which is required by some countries

He told the i he believed the current system was unfair, adding: 'Because she's recovering from Covid and it would be within 90 days [of her testing positive], my understanding is that there's a heightened risk of a false positive if you're testing during that period.'

The NHS says on its website that the 'age limit is aligned to wider NHS services which generally consider those aged 16 and above to have sufficient maturity and capacity to make decisions relating to health care'.

But it fails to address the lack of internationally recognised means that a child under 16 can use to prove their Covid status.

Paul Charles, chief executive of the PC Agency, a travel consultancy, told the Times: 'The government's digital app urgently needs updating to enable children to not only show their vaccinated status domestically, at school for example, but also overseas where more border officials and restaurants require digital proof for access.

'Vaccines should mean a return to normality, not fewer freedoms abroad. The government needs an urgent fix to the app to enable families to plan and book Christmas holidays, otherwise many will be put off.'

Earlier this month concerns were raised over the fact that the app was unable to register booster jabs.

Some countries have set expiry dates for vaccinations meaning boosters will be required to travel to the country and to gain access to certain types of venues in some destinations

As some countries, including Austria and Israel, are setting time limits on the validity of vaccinations, proof of boosters could become a requirement to travel to some European destinations.

For example in France, from next month, those aged over 65 will be required to have a booster jab if they wish to visit hospitality venues including restaurants and museums.

Similar to under 16s, if you do not have proof of this, you will need to pay for a test every 72 hours if you wish to visit the majority of venues.

Other countries that have set expiry dates for the validity of vaccinations include Switzerland, Croatia, Vietnam and China.
Tomorrow morning, at exactly 11 oclock, Britain will fall silent. Young and old, black and white, rich and poor, millions of people will stand united to remember the fallen.

Known originally as Armistice Day, Britains first day of remembrance was held on November 11, 1919, marking the first anniversary of the end of World War I. Today, as Remembrance Sunday, it remains one of the few truly sacred moments in our national calendar.

But what was it all about, that first Great War? Why did it happen? And how did more than five million young men from Britain and Ireland find themselves on the beaches of Gallipoli, in the deserts of Mesopotamia, in the hills of Palestine and, above all, in the mud of the Western Front?

At the time, ordinary soldiers found the whole thing utterly baffling. What devil has brought this war upon us? they would mutter. What is all this about, God help us?

And even now, more than 100 years after the guns fell silent, historians still argue about the underlying causes.

Imperial greed? Nationalist bloodlust? Or simply a saga of accidents and misunderstandings?

Today, with the planet so febrile, understanding the causes of World War I has never been so important. As in the years before 1914, we live in an age of feverish uncertainty. The certainties of the Cold War, terrifying as they were, are gone.

With China challenging U.S. power in the Pacific, and Vladimir Putin and his clients rattling their sabres in Belarus and eastern Ukraine, who would bet against provocation escalating into war one of these days?

In the past few weeks, there have been reminders of the chilling fragility of the peace we take for granted.

China has reasserted its claim to the U.S.-backed island of Taiwan, while the U.S. State Department has explicitly warned that Russian troops are massing on the border of Ukraine. An exercise, or the prelude to invasion? Who knows?

The footage that emerged yesterday of Russian and Belarusian paratroopers taking part in unnannounced military drills close to the Polish border  where thousands of migrants are gathering  is certainly little cause for comfort.

Has the global situation ever been so unpredictable?

And isnt it possible that the resulting adventurism, hubris, fear and distrust could build into precisely the same kind of cataclysm that tore the world apart in 1914?

Here, then, is a lesson in how arrogance, weakness, insecurity and the psychological flaws of individual leaders can lead to disaster  and many millions of deaths.

First, let us get back to what history is really all about  not vast, impersonal forces, but human beings. With a grim irony, given the agonies World War I brought to millions of mothers, the story begins with that most fundamental human instinct  a mothers love for her child.

Marija Princip, a farmers wife from the tiny village of Obljaj, in the wooded mountains of Bosnia-Herzegovina, had great hopes for her son Gavrilo. The boy was bright and bookish, and when he was 13, Marija persuaded her husband to send him to the capital, Sarajevo. There, she thought, he could go to school and become a great man.

In August 1907, Gavrilo Princips train pulled into Sarajevo, a bustling city of mosques and bazaars that were overwhelming to a country boy.

At first, he knuckled down to his studies but, lonely, awkward and short of money, he began to fall behind. He started to miss lessons and when, aged 17, he skipped a crucial exam, that was that.

Gavrilo had found a new and incendiary passion  politics. He sought somebody to blame for his misfortunes and, like other youngsters from his Bosnian Serb background, he focused on the Austrians who had ruled Bosnia since 1878.

Over the years, Gavrilos hatred festered. He moved to Belgrade, the capital of the neighbouring Kingdom of Serbia, and became involved with nationalist terrorist groups.

Then, in the spring of 1914, one of his friends showed him a newspaper cutting. In June the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, would be visiting Sarajevo. Gavrilo saw the potential for a terrorist spectacle that would shock the world.

So it was that on June 28, 1914, the Archduke and his assassin were brought together in one of the most fateful moments in human history.

When Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie drove into Sarajevo, one of Gavrilos comrades threw a bomb at their car, but it missed by inches. Shaken but determined to continue, the couple went on to a reception. Then, in a change of plans, they decided to visit the wounded in hospital. En route, their driver made a wrong turn and put the car into reverse. The engine cut out.

A British ammunition column during World War I, circa 1915

For a moment, the vehicle was motionless, as if frozen in time. Then a man stepped forward from the pavement  thin, frail and shabbily dressed, with an unblinking stare. It was Gavrilo Princip. Scarcely believing his luck, he took out his pistol and fired two shots. Sophie was hit in the abdomen; Franz Ferdinand in the neck. As his wife slumped at his side, the Archduke whispered: Sophie, Sophie, dont die. Stay alive for our children!

News of the murders flashed around the world, setting in train the events that led to war.

After rounding up Princip and his friends, the Austrians decided on military reprisals. Not unreasonably, their generals held Serbia responsible.

For years Serbias politicians had whipped up anti-Austrian sentiment, and Princips gang had been encouraged and armed by Serbian intelligence agents.

Now, it was time to teach Serbia a lesson.

There was, however, an obvious problem.

If Austria declared war, Serbia would undoubtedly appeal to its most powerful protector, the eastern colossus of tsarist Russia.

So, a week after Franz Ferdinands murder, on Sunday, July 5, two men had lunch in Berlin. One was the Austrian ambassador. The other was perhaps the most powerful man in Europe: Kaiser Wilhelm II, Emperor of Germany.

Later, Allied propaganda painted Wilhelm as a blood-crazed monster. In fact, he was simply bumptious and insecure.

At Wilhelms birth almost 60 years earlier, the doctors had accidentally torn the nerves in his neck. His left arm was crippled and useless, and as a child he suffered from agonising earaches.

His mother Vicky  a daughter of Queen Victoria  treated him like a freak, and he never got over it. Even after becoming Kaiser in 1888, he remained hot-tempered, needy and desperate for attention.

On the international stage, Wilhelm cut a ridiculous figure, forever fuming at his British relatives. The English, he said bitterly, will be brought low some day!

What was more, he and his generals felt threatened by their neighbours: France to the west, Russia to the east. They were convinced that Russia, industrialising at a breakneck rate, was bound to challenge them at some point.

Indeed, some German generals thought they should fight Russia now, before it became too strong. War the sooner the better, the army chief, Helmuth von Moltke, told the Kaiser in 1912.

So when the ambassador confided Austrias plans to strike against Serbia, Wilhelm offered them a blank cheque, promising unconditional support.

Did he seriously think this meant war? Almost certainly not. Wilhelm was never entirely convinced that the Austrians would follow through, and certainly never thought the Russians would risk a global conflagration to resist them.

In fact, the very next day he left for his summer yachting holiday hardly the behaviour of a would-be warmonger.

But in the next few weeks the crisis spiralled out of control, driven not just by the alliances of European powers but by the flaws and anxieties of some very powerful men.

In other circumstances, Russias Nicholas II might have hesitated to pour petrol on the flames. But now his own family background came into play.

Nicholass father, the domineering Alexander III, had taught him to rule as an autocrat. That had provoked years of domestic unrest, including an abortive revolution in 1905.

As a result, Nicholass advisers were desperate to win popularity at home by asserting Russian strength abroad.

Then there were the French, seething with resentment after their defeat by Wilhelms grandfather in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871. Terrified of falling farther behind, they urged the Russians to stand up to German pressure.

Polish Military Police soldiers guard the fence during 'Operation Strong Support' near the Polish-Belarusian border crossing in Kuznica, eastern Poland, 09 November 2021

Today we often assume these men had no idea what was coming. But thats simply not true. Their letters and diaries show they knew that in an age of aeroplanes, battleships, barbed wire and machine guns, millions of people might be killed.

So why did they do it? The basic truth is that they were frightened. Afraid of looking weak, afraid of being left behind by their rivals, none wanted to back down.

Instead, they gambled on standing firm, staking the lives of millions on a bet they might easily lose.

So, one by one, they tumbled over the brink. Austria declared war on Serbia. Russia mobilised its troops against Austria, then Germany declared war on Russia and France.

But what about Britain? Few ordinary Britons had given Franz Ferdinands murder much thought  including the Liberal Prime Minister, Herbert Henry Asquith.

A clever, worldly Yorkshireman, he had been running the country since 1908 and now, in his 60s, was desperately weary.

He also had other things on his mind. He was completely besotted with his daughters best friend, Venetia Stanley, who was in her early 20s. He wrote her hundreds of love letters, often several times a day.

Both sides, he told her, were as bad as each other. The Serbs deserved a thorough thrashing, but the Austrians were quite the stupidest people in Europe.

If war broke out, it might build into a real Armageddon. But there seems to be no reason why we should be anything more than spectators. His Foreign Secretary, Sir Edward Grey, had other ideas.

For years he had worked to bind Britain into close alliance with France, and he was determined to honour it.

Grey lived under a deepening shadow. His wife had died young and his brother had been killed by a lion in Africa. Now he was beginning to lose his eyesight  a cruel affliction for a passionate birdwatcher.

Brooding, lonely and depressive, he became convinced that Britain must fight. If we stayed out, he thought, the Germans would win, France would be finished and we would be friendless on the world stage.

Was he right? Some historians think he was. Sceptics, however, argue that Britains youth paid a heavy price for Greys loneliness and pessimism.

Yet on the first weekend of August 1914, as Germany and France headed for war, Britains destiny remained uncertain. But now came the decisive twist.

To deal with a war on two fronts, the Germans had concocted a plan to knock out the French first, striking through neutral little Belgium.

The Kaisers generals knew Britain was pledged to guarantee Belgiums independence. So that Sunday night, August 2, 1914, they took a catastrophic gamble, perhaps the worst mistake of World War I.

Hoping to bully the Belgians into agreement  and thereby avoid British reprisals  they issued an ultimatum, demanding free passage. The Belgians, a proud people, said no.

Two days later, on August 4, the German army crashed across the Belgian border.

At midday, King Albert asked Britain for help. Two hours later, our government delivered an ultimatum to the Kaiser. If he failed to reply by 11 that evening, it would mean war. Darkness fell.

In his office overlooking St Jamess Park, Sir Edward Grey stood with a friend, watching the men light the lamps in the street below.

The lamps are going out all over Europe, he said quietly. We shall not see them lit again in our lifetime.

At 11pm, the chimes of Big Ben echoed through the open windows, followed by the sound of crowds singing God Save The King. There had been no reply from Berlin. A few moments later, a signal flashed from the Admiralty to Britains fleet across the world. It read simply: Commence Hostilities At Once Against Germany.

And so began the Great War. Not by design, but through a combination of accidents, misadventures and miscalculations, born of the insecurities of a handful of individuals, from a disaffected teenage dropout to the master of imperial Germany.

Some 886,000 British and colonial servicemen and women lost their lives  leaving almost a million families scarred by grief and loss.

Was it worth it? The debate will never be settled, but the lessons are surely clear. Today, more than ever, the Western world needs clear, decisive, unambiguous leadership.

Impulsive posturing and naive adventurism are just as dangerous as spineless appeasement and vague good intentions.

And in the face of mounting provocation from Russia and China, our leaders need to remain calm and think clearly. They need to be firm, but not aggressive  and above all to keep talking.

Tomorrow, though, what matters is to remember the fallen, not just in World War I but in all Britains wars ever since.

There are more than 80,000 war memorials in every corner of the UK, from the solemn grandeur of the Cenotaph to the tiniest country village.

Behind every name is a once living, breathing human being, with hopes and dreams of their own, who gave their life to defend this country. And tomorrow, as the clocks strike 11 and The Last Post sounds, we should remember them.

Adventures In Time: The First World War, by Dominic Sandbrook, is published by Particular Books at 14.99. Dominic Sandbrook 2021. To order a copy for 13.49, go tomailshop.co.uk/books or call 020 3176 2937. Free UK delivery on orders over 20. Promotional price valid until 28/11/2021.
A federal court has upheld its previous decision to put a hold on President Joe Biden's COVID vaccine mandate for companies with 100 workers or more.

A three-member panel of the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, which covers Texas, Louisiana and parts of Mississippi, affirmed it's ruling in a new opinion published Friday.

That saw it order the US Department of Labor to take no further steps to implement its mandate, whose deadline is January 4.

The Biden administration argued that halting implementation of the vaccine mandate could lead to dozens or even hundreds of deaths.

However, Circuit Court Judge Kurt Engelhardt wrote in the prevailing opinion that the mandate goes too far, and that he has 'grave' concerns about whether the edict is legal or constitutional.

'The mandate is staggeringly overbroad,' the opinion said. 'The mandate is a one-size-fits-all sledgehammer that makes hardly any attempt to account for differences in workplaces (and workers).'

US 5th District Court of Appeals Judges (L-R) Edith Jones, Kurt Engelhardt and Stuart Kyle Duncan upheld their decision to put a hold on President Joe Biden's Covid-19 vaccine mandate for companies with 100 workers or more

The US 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans

Biden had issued a vaccine mandate for all employers with 100 or more workers to issue their own vaccine mandate by January 4

Lawyers for the Justice and Labor departments filed a response Monday in which they said stopping the mandate from taking effect will only prolong the COVID-19 pandemic and would 'cost dozens or even hundreds of lives per day.'

The mandate, which requires private companies with 100 or more employees to impose vaccine mandates on their workers by January 4, was officially announced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on Thursday  immediately leading to a flurry of lawsuits from Republican states and entities.

Engelhardt, on the other hand, argued that the mandate is causing more harm than good.

'From economic uncertainty to workplace strife, the mere specter of the Mandate has contributed to untold economic upheaval in recent months,' Engelhardt wrote.

At least 27 states have filed legal challenges in at least six federal appeals courts after OSHA released its rules on November 4.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday Republicans are 'getting in the way of saving lives' by fighting back against Joe Biden's new vaccine mandates

The federal government said in its court filings Monday that the cases should be consolidated and that one of the circuit courts where a legal challenge has been filed should be chosen at random on November 16 to hear it.

Vaccine mandates are deeply controversial in the United States. Supporters say they are a must to put an end to the nearly two-year coronavirus pandemic, while opponents argue they violate the Constitution and curb individual liberty.

The Fifth Circuit judges appeared to agree with the opponents.

'The public interest is also served by maintaining our constitutional structure and maintaining the liberty of individuals to make intensely personal decisions according to their own convictions - even, or perhaps particularly, when those decisions frustrate government officials,' Engelhardt wrote.

The rule was issued by OSHA and mandates that businesses with at least 100 employees require staff to get vaccinated or face weekly tests and face mask requirements.

White House officials had no immediate comment on the ruling, which was hailed as a victory by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

'Citing Texass 'compelling argument' the 5th Circuit has stayed OSHAs unconstitutional and illegal private-business vaccine mandate', Paxton said on Twitter.

Fellow Texan and Congressman Chip Roy praised the ruling as helping to stop vaccine mandates.

He tweeted: '5th Circuit reaffirms stay - because @JoeBiden is acting unlawfully and unconstitutionally in issuing order for employer vaccine mandate. #HealthcareFreedom #StopVaxMandates.'

And Libertarian commentator Robert Henneke also praised Friday's decision, writing: 'WE DID IT (AGAIN)!! 5th Cir. reaffirms grant of stay motion with 22 page published opinion explaining why #BidenAdministration private employer vaccine mandate is likely unlawful & unconstitutional.'

5th Circuit reaffirms stay - because @JoeBiden is acting unlawfully and unconstitutionally in issuing order for employer vaccine mandate. #HealthcareFreedom #StopVaxMandates https://t.co/iW2Y0qFljN  Chip Roy (@chiproytx) November 12, 2021

 WE DID IT (AGAIN)!! 5th Cir. reaffirms grant of @TPPF stay motion with 22 page published opinion explaining why #BidenAdministration private employer vaccine mandate is likely unlawful & unconstitutional. https://t.co/bVX6HiKB5g pic.twitter.com/HJOt4s6uFh  Robert Henneke (@robhenneke) November 12, 2021

5th Circuit reaffirms stay - because @JoeBiden is acting unlawfully and unconstitutionally in issuing order for employer vaccine mandate. #HealthcareFreedom #StopVaxMandates https://t.co/iW2Y0qFljN  Chip Roy (@chiproytx) November 12, 2021

Nearly 68 percent of Americans have gotten at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine

Biden imposed the requirement in September, telling Americans that 'our patience is wearing thin' with those refusing to get inoculated.

Earlier this week, The White House said it was confident that it could beat any Republican challenges to its new workplace vaccine mandate and claimed Thursday that the GOP was trying to block the Biden administration from saving lives.

'The question that we always have is and that we ask to the Republicans is why are they getting in the way?' Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during Thursday's White House press briefing.

'Why are they getting in the way of trying to protect and save lives? That's all we're trying to do,' she added.

Jean-Pierre said the White House is 'pretty confident' the new Occupational Safety and Health Administration rules imposing compulsory vaccines on private companies will hold up in court against a slew of GOP lawsuits currently being filed.

'The administration clearly has the authority to protect workers and actions announced by the president are designed to save lives and stop the spread of COVID,' Jean-Pierre said.

The debate over the mandate comes as infection rates in the US continue to drop.

On Friday, the nation reported less than 97,000 new daily cases and about 2,300 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.

About 67 per cent of eligible Americans are fully vaccinated against COVID, and more than 78 per cent have gotten at least one jab.

The new rule comes as there are already concerns over impacts the mandates could have on the already stunted U.S. economy, which is experiencing a worker shortage and supply chain issues ahead of the holiday season.

'If you're asking if we think the rules impact supply chain, the answer is no, we don't think that it will,' Jean-Pierre said at Thursday's briefing.
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New York City has dropped out of the top 20 most expensive ZIP codes in the United States, despite skyrocketing rents in the resurgent, post-COVID Big Apple.

New York City failed to crack the top 20 in Property Shark's ranking of 2021's most expensive ZIP codes as the borough continue to struggle post-pandemic despite it's recent resurgence in the real estate market over the last few months.

Manhattan's swanky 10013 ZIP code - which covers parts of the Tribeca, Soho, Little Italy and Hudson Square neighborhoods- was the highest ranking NYC ZIP code at number 22 with the median sale price of $3,212,000.

Property Shark's top 25 most expensive ZIP codes in 2021

Despite NYC's famously steep property prices, its most expensive zip code is now only the 22nd most expensive in the US. A Manhattan street is pictured

The California town of Atherton, (pictured) in San Mateo County (94027) took the top spot this year, where the median sale price in 2021 came in at a whopping $7,475,000

Coming in second was Boston, (pictured) with the ZIP code 02199, where the median sale was $5.5 million

New York state ZIP codes fared better with Sagaponack and Water Mill - both in Suffolk County in Long Island's famed Hamptons enclave - ranking in the top 15.

And in 25th place was the Downtown Manhattan 10007 ZIP code- which covers parts of Tribeca- where the median sale price was $3,125,000.

The California town of Atherton, in San Mateo County (94027) took the top spot this year, where the median sale price in 2021 came in at a whopping $7,475,000.

Coming in second was Boston, with the ZIP code 02199, where the median sale was $5.5 million.

Rounding out the top five was Miami Beach (33109) in Florida where the median sale was $4,475,000 in 2021

That was followed by Sagaponack (11962) in Suffolk County, New York, where the median sale is $5,000,000, followed by the California town of Ross (94957) in Marin County where the median sale was $4,583,000 and rounding out the top five was Miami Beach (33109) in Florida where the median sale was $4,475,000 in 2021.

Although New York City ZIP codes did not make it to the top 20 this year, this summer Manhattan real estate prices experienced a sudden surge, as buyers return to the city and boost demand for extravagant and costly properties.

The median resale prices for Manhattan apartments hit $999,000 in the second quarter of 2021 - an all-time high since before the COVID-19 pandemic hit - according to the report from Douglas Elliman and Miller Samuel.

Average sale prices in the area rose 12% in the quarter, surpassing $1.9 million.

The buying frenzy comes despite a net 70,000 New Yorkers fleeing the city at the height of the pandemic - costing the city roughly $34 billion in lost income, according to estimates from Unacast.

Wealthy neighborhoods, like Hell's Kitchen and the Upper East Side, saw the biggest exodus with nearly 11% of its residents fleeing, according to research from CRBE. Most of those are young professionals who work in financial hubs of Midtown and the Financial District, as well as creatives working in Broadway Theaters.

But rents have since soared again, with last year's famous bargains now a thing of the past.

Net effective rents in Manhattan jumped 10.1 per cent between January and July - the biggest leap in over 30 years.

That has sparked concern that tenants who bagged a bargain last year will be in for a nasty shock when their rent jumps at their latest lease renewal, as professionals flood the city again.
Princes William and Harry will be pleased that Michael Fawcett has resigned as they felt he was a pernicious influence on their fathers household, sources said last night.

Insiders said both the Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex have long believed that Prince Charles was unwise to rely so heavily on his right-hand man.

Harry even turned down an offer from Charles to have Mr Fawcetts private events company, Premier Mode, help out with his 2018 wedding to Meghan as he wanted him to have nothing to do with it.

Divisive role: Fawcett behind William and Charles at Holyroodhouse

One source said: They were concerned at the way in which Fawcett was allowed to operate a personal fiefdom at the heart of their fathers household.

'They felt it divisive and unwise.

'They will not be disappointed by what has happened.

Yesterday the Daily Mail revealed that Mr Fawcett, who was in charge of Charless charity operations, had dramatically quit over an ongoing cash for access inquiry.

He has resigned from his 95,000-a-year post as chief executive of the Princes Foundation, with friends saying he is shattered by events.

He has also had his private contract to organise events and entertaining for Charles severed, ending 40 years of service to the prince.

Prince Charles' closest aide Michael Fawcett pictured outside his South West London home in September

It follows reports he offered to help a billionaire Saudi donor to the princes charity secure both a knighthood and British citizenship.

It is understood that the princes former valet is not seeking to pre-empt an official investigation into the claims, which is still under way.

Mr Fawcett, 59, has twice previously been forced to resign over scandals, including accusations of bullying and selling on unwanted royal gifts. But each time the Prince of Wales took him back and even promoted him.

Palace insiders expressed their shock that Charles had finally let him go. One said: Honestly, no one ever thought it would happen.

Friends say Mr Fawcett is a shadow of the man he once was, both literally and metaphorically, having lost five stone.

Michael Fawcett (pictured left with the Duchess of Cornwall and Prince Charles), aide & former valet to the Prince of Wales, resigned over Honour Claims

They say that is the reason for his decision to resign, not the inquiry.

Many in royal circles were questioning yesterday what the prince will do without him. One said: He was the princes crutch, he relied on him completely.

Michael made things happen that others couldnt or wouldnt do. He will be bereft without him.

Clarence House has said previously they are supportive of the investigation into the allegations.

But Mr Fawcett could still face the prospect of a police investigation over an alleged cash-for-honours scandal, it emerged yesterday.

In September, Met Commissioner Cressida Dick received complaints from former Liberal Democrat minister Norman Baker and the campaign group Republic about a possible breach of the Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act of 1925.

Scotland Yard is still making initial inquiries.
Boris Johnson's sister has claimed that Rupert Murdoch told him to 'get rid of the BBC' during a visit to the Prime Minister's country house.

Rachel Johnson claimed the media mogul 'dandled' Mr Johnson's son Wilfred on his knee at Chequers as he made the case for scrapping the licence fee-funded broadcaster.

Miss Johnson, 56, a presenter for the LBC radio station, told an industry event this week the long-term future of the BBC was going to be an 'increasing struggle' amid competition from streaming and subscription services.

She said part of the pressure was coming from the likes of Mr Murdoch, 90, who was making the case that the corporation was a threat to competition.

Boris Johnson's sister has claimed that Rupert Murdoch (pictured) told him to 'get rid of the BBC' during a visit to the Prime Minister's country house

Miss Johnson said: 'In my judgment the BBC will be here in ten years.

'But it is going to be an increasing struggle when the whole of the television story is about streaming and subscription, to have the BBC which costs 4billion to run, which gets 3billion in from the licence fee, to have that entity as a competitor.

'Especially when you have got people like Rupert Murdoch going to Chequers and saying to my brother, as he dandles Wilf on his knee, 'Boris you've got to get rid of the BBC, it's eating my lunch, they got a website, they're a publisher, it's not competitive'. You can see that there are pressures from all sides.'

Downing Street would not be drawn on details. A spokesman said only that ministers 'declare all meetings' with senior media bosses in their 'quarterly transparency return'. It was reported earlier this year that Mr Murdoch has met Mr Johnson, whose youngest son was born in April 2020, three times since he became PM. According to transparency data released by the Government, the pair met on September 18 last year for a 'general discussion'.

Rachel Johnson (pictured), 56, a presenter for the LBC radio station, told an industry event this week the long-term future of the BBC was going to be an 'increasing struggle' amid competition from streaming and subscription services

It was also previously reported they had a 'social meeting' in September 2019, the day it was revealed Mr Johnson would seek to hold a general election if his Brexit plans were blocked. The location of the meetings was not disclosed.

Mr Murdoch's UK empire includes The Sun, The Times and the Sunday Times as well as the Wireless Group, which operates radio stations including Virgin Radio and Talkradio, and the publisher HarperCollins.

News UK is launching a TV channel called talkTV next year which has signed Piers Morgan as its star presenter.

Miss Johnson told Radiocentre's Tuning In event the Government should create a better environment for British broadcasters to make quality content.The BBC needs 'an environment where the Government actually encourages British producers to tell British stories to British audiences that we can then sell globally', she said.

A spokesman for News UK said last night: 'The supposed quote is preposterous. It is well known that our focus has been on the threat of the big digital platforms to publishers large and small.'
The Scottish government is planning to put tampons and sanitary towels in male toilets in case they are required by transgender civil servants.

Various female hygiene items would be put in men's lavatories 'close to meeting/conference rooms and/or main entrances to premises,' officials said, in a 209-page submission to LGBT charity Stonewall.

Nicola Sturgeon's government stated it was 'providing sanitary bins and a varied selection of sanitary products... in those premises where gender neutral facilities do not exist', the Daily Telegraph reported.

The submission also said the civil servants could use the title 'Mx' on the government's computer systems and staff directory, instead of Mr, Mrs or Ms.

The revelation comes a month after it emerged the Scottish civil service agreed to delete the word 'mother' from its maternity leave policy after pressure from Stonewall.

The Scottish government (above) is planning to put tampons and sanitary towels in male toilets in case they are required by transgender civil servants

Various female hygiene items would be put in men's lavatories 'close to meeting/conference rooms and/or main entrances to premises,' officials said, in a 209-page submission to LGBT charity Stonewall

Documents released under Freedom of Information laws uncovered how Leslie Evans, the permanent secretary, agreed to make the change in a bid to climb the lobby group's controversial Workplace Equality Index (WEI).

Stonewall requests ministers to remove 'gendered' words from official policies as part of its advice on becoming more LGBT friendly.

The Scottish government's WEI ranking fell to 127 in 2020, from 72 in 2019.

In order to achieve a better ranking, the Scottish government removed 'mother' from its maternity policy, replacing a passage including the term with 'you must be the spouse or partner (including same-sex partner) or the pregnant woman'.

The submission regarding sanitary products, obtained by the Telegraph through a Freedom of Information request, was also made in connection with the WEI.

Nicola Sturgeon's government stated it was 'providing sanitary bins and a varied selection of sanitary products... in those premises where gender neutral facilities do not exist'

That document also revealed how the Scottish government introduced a policy in July which made clear 'some transgender men' and non-binary people, who do not identify as male or female, 'may also experience menopause'.

Earlier this week, the BBC withdrew from a diversity scheme run by Stonewall.

The decision to leave was due to the 'risk of a perception of bias', one of the corporation's bosses has said.

Director of Nations Rhodri Talfan Davies said public trust that the BBC can approach 'very complex areas' with complete impartiality is 'the absolute bedrock' of its decision-making.

The organisation said in a statement on Wednesday that it would not be renewing its participation in the Stonewall Diversity Champions Programme but will continue to work with a range of organisations to support its LGBT staff.

Mr Talfan Davies told Women's Hour on Thursday the BBC is trying to create an inclusive working environment, while ensuring it remains balanced with its output.

Earlier this week, the BBC withdrew from a diversity scheme run by Stonewall. The decision to leave was due to the 'risk of a perception of bias', one of the corporation's bosses has said

He said the issues of transgender and women's rights are 'highly polarised debates'.

'The key thing for the BBC, as a broadcaster utterly committed to impartiality, is to ensure that audiences have trust in us to come into these very complex areas dispassionately and fairly,' he said.

'In the case of the Stonewall Diversity Champions Programme, it had led to questions about whether the BBC could be truly impartial when reporting on public policy debates like this, given that Stonewall has an active campaigning role in this space.

'For that reason we believe it's the right time to step back from that programme.'

More than 900 organisations in the UK have signed up to the scheme, which aims to promote inclusion in the workplace.

It is described by Stonewall as 'the leading employers' programme for ensuring all LGBTQ+ staff are free to be themselves in the workplace'.

Following the announcement, Stonewall said the BBC's decision was 'a shame'.

LGBT staff at the BBC have heavily criticised the broadcaster for how it has handled stories about transgender people - with many threatening to quit.

The BBC Pride Network - a group of LGBTQ+ employees - used a 'listening session' on Monday to share frustrations with bosses after BBC News published an article claiming that some trans women are rapists, according to VICE World News.

The BBC was forced to edit the piece - headlined 'We're being pressured into sex by some trans women' - after it emerged that former porn actress Lily Cade, who was quoted in the article, had previously described trans women 'vile, weak and disgusting' and appeared to call for high-profile trans women to be lynched.

The corporation said the article - which questioned whether a lesbian is 'transphobic if she does not want to have sex with trans women' - was edited to remove Ms Cade's quotes 'in light of comments she has published on blog posts in recent days, which we have been able to verify'.
Britain could bring forward plans to go carbon neutral by five years, despite warnings that it would push the 1trillion bill even higher.

Government officials are considering bringing forward the 2050 target for going net zero to 2045 to encourage big polluting countries to take action more quickly.

It follows dismay at the failure of many of the worlds biggest carbon emitters to sign up to the 2050 target at the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow.

Britain could bring forward plans to go carbon neutral by five years, despite warnings that it would push the 1trillion bill even higher

It follows dismay at the failure of many of the worlds biggest carbon emitters to sign up to the 2050 target at the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow (stock image)

The UK accounts for less than 1 per cent of global emissions, so moving to a 2045 deadline would make little difference to the worldwide total.

But senior figures believe that by going faster, the UK could shame other countries into taking more action.

China, the planets biggest polluter, has said it will not go carbon neutral until 2060. Russia has set the same deadline.

India, the worlds third biggest carbon emitter, has said it will not achieve net zero until 2070. One British minister said Indias pledge was almost worthless, adding: If you are saying 2070 you might as well say never.

India (pictured is a busy road in Delhi), the worlds third biggest carbon emitter, has said it will not achieve net zero until 2070

Another let-down! Eco mob hit SUVs Eco zealots targeting SUVs have got the wrong vehicles. The group Tyred of SUVs claimed responsibility for deflating car tyres in Glasgows West End. But the activists targeted cars that were not SUVs, known for their large engine size. The group Tyred of SUVs claimed responsibility for deflating car tyres in Glasgows West End Solicitor Lucy Conn, 31, found the tyres on her average 1.6-litre engine car flat as she went to drive her three-year-old to nursery with her baby. A leaflet on the bonnet read: Your SUV contributes to the second biggest cause of carbon emissions rise in the last decade. This is why we have disarmed your car by deflating one or more of its tyres. She said her neighbours 1.2-litre engine car had also been hit. A Police Scotland spokesman said: We are aware of these incidents and there will be increased patrols in the area. Advertisement

A senior UK official insisted that countries such as India were now agreeing to take more action to cut emissions by 2030  and Britain could try to nudge foot-dragging nations into speedier action by bringing forward its own target.

The source added: Six years ago in Paris, the discussion about accelerating things this decade wasnt even on the agenda. Now we are seeing progress.

It may be that in the future we move to 2045 in the UK and that helps move India and others to take a more ambitious approach. It isnt going to happen right now, but a couple of years down the line it is possible. Downing Street played down the idea, saying there were no plans to bring forward the net zero date.

However, the suggestion will alarm Conservative MPs who fear the 2050 deadline already risks being ruinously expensive for families and businesses.

Former minister Steve Baker, of the Net Zero Watch group of Tory MPs, said the Government still did not have a politically and economically viable plan for reaching net zero by 2050.

He added: The idea of moving up the deadline just because things arent moving fast enough elsewhere is an absurd recipe for failure.

The Treasury has declined to put a figure on the cost of meeting the current net zero target.

But in documents released last month it said that the capital costs alone would average 60billion a year. The Treasury said the green push would drive prices up and would require additional taxes if the Government was asked to fund the transition to a greener economy.

Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies think-tank, said the final bill would be well over 1trillion, spread over the next 30 years.

Mr Baker said it was inevitable that the bill would rise if Britain moved faster.

There are also fears that parts of the economy could become uncompetitive if the UK moves faster than foreign rivals, leading to a loss of jobs without any reduction in global emissions.

Some of the expense of achieving net zero comes from the shift to electric vehicles. But much of the cost involves moving away from the use of gas boilers.

A Treasury analysis suggested that heating bills could rise by 50 per cent.

A No10 source dismissed the idea of an earlier deadline, adding: The UK was the first major economy to legislate for net zero by 2050 and we are focused on achieving that and meeting important interim targets.

Q&A: What is Cop26s goal? The 196-nation summits aim is keep 1.5C alive  referring to Cop21 in Paris six years ago, at which leaders agreed to pursue efforts to curb global temperature rises to 1.5C. What does the deal say? IT calls for CO2 emissions to be cut by 45 per cent by 2030. Countries should axe coal plants unless they can capture CO2 and store it. Also, cuts to methane emissions and more aid for nations hit by warming. Can we limit global warming to 1.5C? yes, but pledges at the summit to cut emissions will still let global warming rise by 2.4C. The Earth is 1.1C warmer than pre-industrial levels  2.4C would be catastrophic. How will we get to 1.5C? If the deal is accepted, nations must pledge further cuts next year. But even a 1.5C rise will have severe impacts. What else is agreed? The US and China agreed to work together to limit global temperature rise to 1.5C. More than 100 leaders promised to reverse deforestation by 2030, including Brazil. The US and EU created a global partnership to cut methane emissions by 2030. More than 40 countries committed to move away from coal  but not big users such as China and the US. The sticking points? Britain and others want more ambitious targets. Developing countries want more money to help them adapt to the effects of climate change. Why make rich nations pay to help poor ones? Poorer nations argue that the first world was able to grow rich on cheap power from coal, oil and gas, the use of which must now be stopped or limited, leaving them at an economic disadvantage. What is not in the deal? the treaty does not call for an end to all use of fossil fuels. Has a deal been agreed? No. The summit was meant to finish yesterday but continued into the early hours today. Advertisement

Climate hopes teeter as Cop26 talks to stop global warming go to the wire

By Claire Ellicott and Colin Fernandez for the Daily Mail

The Cop26 climate change talks were on the brink yesterday as negotiations to stop global warming continued into the night.

World leaders were warned the draft text left the goal of limiting rising temperatures to 1.5C in mortal peril as negotiators battled over the final wording.

The Glasgow summit, which was due to end last night, went into extra time as countries clashed over fossil fuel policies.

Boris Johnson said the goal of the UN conference was to keep 1.5C alive, but experts warned the current pledges would still let Earth warm up by 2.4C.

World leaders were warned the draft text left the goal of limiting rising temperatures to 1.5C in mortal peril as negotiators battled over the final wording. And Boris Johnson said the goal was to 'keep 1.5C alive'

The Prime Minister warned: People need to understand that the deal thats on the table... that is the text.

We either find a way of agreeing it or Im afraid we risk blowing it. Thats the reality.

He urged leaders to find the courage to strike a deal, adding: What we cant do is stop global warming at Glasgow  weve got to accept that. What we can do is keep alive the prospect of restraining the increase in temperatures to 1.5 degrees by the end of the century.

Scientists say capping warming at 1.5C is crucial to stop climate change wreaking havoc.

But a draft deal published last night made little movement to meeting that goal. Nations such as Saudi Arabia, Australia, China, the US and Russia were blamed for delaying progress.

Although the draft talked of ending the worlds dependence on coal and fossil fuels for the first time, the language was watered down.

Countries were requested to strengthen their 2030 targets by next year, when they are expected to meet in Egypt.

A pledge for richer nations to give the poorest 73billion a year to adapt to climate change also appears to have been diluted.

The Glasgow summit, which was due to end last night, went into extra time as countries clashed over fossil fuel policies

Asked whether the draft met his hopes, climate expert Lord Stern said: It falls short of what one would hope for in the sense of really driving to 1.5C and tackling clean development  but it goes beyond where I thought it might be a few days ago.

The peer, who led the 2006 Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, added: This new text is stronger, has a greater sense of urgency.

Dr Thomas Hale, associate professor in Public Policy at Oxfords Blavatnik School of Government, said: We have seen some progress. But we need to see much more next year.

As talks dragged on, the amount of aid for vulnerable countries such as island states to help them rebuild after the effects of climate change was becoming a make-or-break issue.
The Cop26 climate change talks were on the brink yesterday as negotiations to stop global warming continued into the night.

World leaders were warned the draft text left the goal of limiting rising temperatures to 1.5C in mortal peril as negotiators battled over the final wording.

The Glasgow summit, which was due to end last night, went into extra time as countries clashed over fossil fuel policies.

Boris Johnson said the goal of the UN conference was to keep 1.5C alive, but experts warned the current pledges would still let Earth warm up by 2.4C.

World leaders were warned the draft text left the goal of limiting rising temperatures to 1.5C in mortal peril as negotiators battled over the final wording. And Boris Johnson said the goal was to 'keep 1.5C alive'

The Prime Minister warned: People need to understand that the deal thats on the table... that is the text.

We either find a way of agreeing it or Im afraid we risk blowing it. Thats the reality.

He urged leaders to find the courage to strike a deal, adding: What we cant do is stop global warming at Glasgow  weve got to accept that. What we can do is keep alive the prospect of restraining the increase in temperatures to 1.5 degrees by the end of the century.

Scientists say capping warming at 1.5C is crucial to stop climate change wreaking havoc.

But a draft deal published last night made little movement to meeting that goal. Nations such as Saudi Arabia, Australia, China, the US and Russia were blamed for delaying progress.

Although the draft talked of ending the worlds dependence on coal and fossil fuels for the first time, the language was watered down.

Countries were requested to strengthen their 2030 targets by next year, when they are expected to meet in Egypt.

A pledge for richer nations to give the poorest 73billion a year to adapt to climate change also appears to have been diluted.

The Glasgow summit, which was due to end last night, went into extra time as countries clashed over fossil fuel policies

Asked whether the draft met his hopes, climate expert Lord Stern said: It falls short of what one would hope for in the sense of really driving to 1.5C and tackling clean development  but it goes beyond where I thought it might be a few days ago.

The peer, who led the 2006 Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, added: This new text is stronger, has a greater sense of urgency.

Dr Thomas Hale, associate professor in Public Policy at Oxfords Blavatnik School of Government, said: We have seen some progress. But we need to see much more next year.

As talks dragged on, the amount of aid for vulnerable countries such as island states to help them rebuild after the effects of climate change was becoming a make-or-break issue.
A Sydney man has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly shoving a woman before dousing her in fuel and trying to set her alight.

Emergency services were called to a home in Carramar on Friday afternoon, after a domestic violence incident was reported.

Police will allege a man became physically aggressive toward a woman, pushing her head against a cupboard, before pouring a flammable liquid over her body and clothing.

A Sydney man has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly shoving a woman before dousing her in fuel and trying to set her alight

He then attempted to light the woman on fire, they say, but was unsuccessful.

The woman cried out to neighbours for help, before the man fled the scene in a vehicle.

She was taken to hospital for treatment and assessment, as specialist police forensically examined a crime scene at the home.

A 46-year-old man was arrested at Fairfield Police Station about 10pm on Friday, and charged with attempt murder, causing grievous bodily harm to person with intent and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

He was also charged with contravening an AVO restriction.

He was refused bail to appear at Parramatta Bail Court on Saturday.
Royal Marine Lance Corporal Rian Ilett's tumour was benign when it appeared on an MRI scan in 2017

A Royal Marine is facing death after a Ministry of Defence-sponsored medical trial failed to identify his brain tumour.

Lance Corporal Rian Iletts tumour was benign when it appeared on an MRI scan in 2017, but those leading the study into soldiers brains did not recognise it, it is claimed.

It was only after he was caught in an explosion two years later that the tumour was identified, the marine alleges.

By then it was malignant, according to medical documents.

L/Cpl Ilett, 33, has already outlived the most optimistic assessments of his life expectancy.

And the father of two is determined to spend Christmas with his 13-year-old twins.

A year ago, he launched legal action against the MoD for possibly causing his condition and clinical negligence.

Yet officials have failed to process his claim and to comply with requests for documents.

The MoD has apologised for these delays but has still not provided the paperwork.

L/Cpl Ilett said: I love the military and my comrades who have stuck by me throughout my overwhelming fight. I intend to keep fighting this disease as long as I can and to inspire others.

But it is some kind of sick joke how officials treat veterans and casualties suffering from mental and physical issues.

'I want my case settled for my familys sake, to give me peace of mind.

L/Cpl Ilett joined the Royal Marines in 2006, and in 2010 suffered concussion when a Taliban bomb went off in Afghanistan.

'I want my case settled for my familys sake, to give me peace of mind,': L/Cpl Ilett joined the Royal Marines in 2006, and in 2010 suffered concussion when a Taliban bomb went off in Afghanistan

Despite evidence that brain trauma may be linked to tumours, according to his solicitors the MoD may have failed to carry out appropriate health checks for this incident and his frequent usage of heavy/anti-tank weaponry.

In 2017 he signed up for a study into how soldiers brains function in battlefield scenarios, run by the MoDs Defence, Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) and Bangor University in North Wales.

On a patient information sheet, volunteers were told: If something out of the ordinary is suspected in one of your scans, we will ask a department neurologist who is a medical doctor with experience interpreting brain MRI scans and treating brain disorders to review the images with us.

'If they think there may be a problem, we will then contact you.

L/Cpl Iletts tumour appeared on his scan, it is claimed. But without the relevant documents, it is unclear what action, if any, the MoD took as a result and whether a resident neurologist was engaged.

The shocking blunder was uncovered after he was caught in a second explosion during a battle with Islamic State in the Middle East. He was flown back to UK for medical tests at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham.

On the day he was due to return to the war zone, his mother drove him from his home in Portsmouth to Birmingham. L/Cpl Ilett was counting down the hours until his flight.

Lance Corporal Rian Ilett on secret mission in the 'Middle East', before he was blown up

Events took a dark turn when consultants told him his scan had revealed the tumour, which by then was malignant, he claims.

The marine, whose book Every day is a Battle details his ordeal, recalled: They took the malignant chunk out but I was diagnosed with Stage 4 brain cancer, with a life expectancy of 12 to 14 months.

Obviously that was a blow. Only later did they get the scans from the research programme in 2017 showing the tumour when it was benign. That was hard to take.

Representing L/Cpl Ilett, Gary Boyd at Gorvins Solicitors in Stockport, said: The MoDs failure to engage has necessitated an avoidable application to the court for an order compelling them to disclose to us important evidence. This has wasted a lot of time  a very precious commodity to L/Cpl Ilett  and delayed the peace of mind he seeks knowing his children will have some security after he has gone.

An MoD spokesman said: Due to the ongoing legal case we cannot comment on specifics, but our thoughts are with Lance Corporal Ilett and his family at this time.
Boris Johnson warned last night that tackling the migrant crisis is impossible without tougher action from France after 1,185 people crossed in a day.

The record number on Thursday smashed the tally of 853 set on November 3. French authorities are only stopping as few as one in 13 of the migrants heading across the Channel for the UK.

Britain previously indicated it expected France to stop three in four, and could withhold 54million in funding as a result.

The Prime Minister insisted ministers were dealing with the crisis 'in the most effective way possible'. But he added: 'They are coming from France. In the end, if the French will not or cannot control those departures it is very difficult for us to turn them back at sea. We want to do that in a humane and safe way but it is very difficult.'

Mr Johnson stressed the Government was changing the law to distinguish between those who arrive legally or illegally. He said this would make an 'important difference' but would 'not be the end of the story'.

The record number on Thursday smashed the tally of 853 set on November 3. French authorities are only stopping as few as one in 13 of the migrants heading across the Channel for the UK. Pictured: Migrants heading for UK

He urged French President Emmanuel Macron to do more, saying that shutting down the Channel route would result in fewer migrants being attracted to France.

'The whole of Europe faces a migration crisis but we need to focus on those French beaches,' he said. 'What I would say to our French friends is... you need to close down that movement from the French beaches to the UK if you want to stop people coming to France to come to the UK.'

With no solutions in sight a UK Border Force source warned the numbers are likely to rise even further thanks to the thousands of asylum seekers now being funnelled by Belarus into Europe.

Boris Johnson urged French President Emmanuel Macron to do more, saying that shutting down the Channel route would result in fewer migrants being attracted to France

Almost 20,000 are in the ex Soviet republic with about 4,000 already in the freezing forests on Poland's porous eastern border.

Yesterday Polish defence minister Mariusz Blaszczak revealed Britain is sending military engineers to help with constructing a new fence on its frontier with Belarus.

A Border Force source said: 'How many massing on the border with Poland now will be in northern France in six weeks' time, and then the UK a week after that?'

With no solutions in sight a UK Border Force source warned the numbers are likely to rise even further thanks to the thousands of asylum seekers now being funnelled by Belarus into Europe. Pictured: Children arriving at Dover docks being helped

In total 1,185 migrants were detained by Border Force officers from 33 craft, the Home Office confirmed. French authorities intercepted just seven voyages, with 99 people on board  just under one in 13 of those known to have attempted the trip.

However, three people were feared drowned after French coastguards were alerted to two kayaks adrift near Calais. Two migrants on board were rescued  but a search was unable to find their companions.

The latest figures take the number known to have crossed the Channel to more than 23,500 this year, almost treble the 2020 record of 8,400.

Home Secretary Priti Patel has authorised tactics to stop and turn around the small boats, but they have yet to be deployed.

Pierre-Henri Dumont, the MP for Calais, warned that France's hundreds of miles of coast could never be completely secure, saying: 'We are doing whatever we can. But when we are talking about hundreds of people trying to cross every night, we cannot stop everyone because of the length of the shore.'

But Dover's Tory MP Natalie Elphicke said: 'It's simply not credible that 1,000 people in one day can go down the beach and hop onto small boats without the French authorities noticing.

Home Secretary Priti Patel has authorised tactics to stop and turn around the small boats, but they have yet to be deployed

'The French need to get a grip and clamp down on the organised criminal gangs who are behind this problem.'

The Immigration Service Union complained that the huge numbers arriving at the migrant reception centre at Dover had left hundreds sleeping on concrete floors.

The Home Office's Clandestine Channel Threat Commander Dan O'Mahoney said: 'Migrants making these dangerous crossings are putting their lives at risk. As part of our response it is important we have a maritime deterrent in the Channel and Border Force officers are authorised to use safe and legal options for stopping small boats.'

A spokesman for French interior minister Gerald Darmanin failed to reply to requests for comment.
Thousands of angry 'freedom' protesters stormed Melbourne streets to demonstrate against mandatory vaccinations and new laws set to be introduced by Daniel Andrews.

The 'pro-choice', anti-government demonstrators marched through the city shouting 'kill the bill' on Saturday, they carried flags and provocative banners targeting the premier.

Families and young children were among the crowd, which included activists carrying a fake gallows and wearing horror movie masks.

One man's sign depicted Andrews wearing a Nazi officer's uniform and cap, another showed him as a gremlin and others simply displayed his face above words including 'liar' and 'scum'.

Marchers within the crowd chanted 'sack Dan Andrews' as they headed for Victorian State Parliament.

Thousands of 'Pro-choice' and anti-vax protesters marched through showers to register their opposition to mandatory vaccination and a proposed expansion of the premier's powers

Premier Dan Andrews was the obvious target of hundreds of signs and banners and stunts, which ranged from amusing to dramatic to sick

'Pro-choice' protestors, including one in a horror movie mask, flooded Melbourne streets displaying protest banners and even a fake gallows to protest the Andrews government on Saturday

Protestors in Melbourne today carried aggressive messages and signs directed at Victorian premier Dan Andrews

At Parliament House on Spring Street, the crowd was confronted with a line of Victorian mounted police.

Many of the demonstrators claimed they were not anti-vax, just opposed to Victorians being forced to get vaccinated.

Many others appeared supportive of popular conspiracy theories too.

Some carried obvious anti-vax messages, others bore anarchy insignia, attacked major media in their signs.

One man, who wore an Akubra and the flag as a cape, proudly displayed an 'Infowars' t-shirt in reference to discredited American extremist Alex Jones.

The law the 'kill the bill' signs refers to would give the premier the power to make pandemic 'declarations' which could be extended by three-months at a time - for as long as he deemed necessary.

Many held signs, some of which read 'coercion is not consent' and 'Dan is the virus'.

The huge crowd was in the thousands - estimated as much as 20,000 by rogue MP Craig Kelly, who gave a dramatic speech

The demonstration was organised under the 'Rise Up Melbourne' banner and planned in an encrypted Telegram chat group

The crowd was mixed between 'pro-choice' marchers opposed to forced Covid-19 vaccinations, anti-vaxxers and conspiracy theorists

Thousands of protestors took to the streets to demonstrate against mandatory vaccinations and new laws set to be introduced by Victorian premier Daniel Andrews

Other messages included 'the ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world that it leaves it children'.

The demonstration was organised under the 'Rise Up Melbourne' banner, the Herald Sun reported.

One protester, Mark, who claimed to be fully-vaccinated, said he attended because he was 'pro-choice'.

'I just want there to be options and for nothing to be forced on us,' he said.

Organisers directed plans via an encrypted Telegram group, instructing marchers to 'bring signs, megaphones and flag'.

Protestors gathered in Melbourne at the State Library to march towards State Parliament with Premier Dan Andrews and proposed Victorian government laws in their sights

Rogue MP Craig Kelly attended and claimed 20,000 were at the Melbourne march. On Friday he posted 'end the tyranny' referring to proposed Victorian laws

The huge crowd carried signs attacking the media as well as Dan Andrews

Controversial anti-vax MP Craig Kelly, of the United Australia Party, travelled from Sydney to attend.

In a speech to the crowd he said the public was 'in the face of tyranny and corruption'.

'I have decided to take a stand like many of you have here today  I hear you,' he told the crowd.

'We are no longer governed for the people or by the people.

'I stand with all those who stand for freedom.'

Earlier Kelly encouraged people to attend via Twitter, posting 'We must stop this tyranny'.

Kelly regularly tweeted during the march, claiming up to 20,000 people were present.
Iran has claimed that the UK is ready to pay a 400million debt which could free Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.

Tehran's deputy foreign minister Ali Bagheri Kani said the countries were working on a payment method.

The development came as the British-Iranian's husband, Richard Ratcliffe, begins his third week of a hunger strike today.

Iran has claimed that the UK is ready to pay a 400million debt which could free Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe (file photo)

Discussing his meeting with UK ministers on Thursday, Mr Bagheri Kani said: 'The main issue about paying the debt and its level is agreed, but the method and process of how the payment is made hasn't yet been resolved.'

Her family claim Iranian authorities told Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe she was being held on spying charges because of the debt, part of a 1971 arms deal dispute.

UK ministers did not respond to the reports, but Mr Ratcliffe told the Daily Mail: 'The fact there's movement is a cause for hope. It has felt for a while that the Iranians want to resolve it. It is less clear the Brits want to.'

He is on hunger strike outside the Foreign Office to try to prevent his wife, pictured, who is under house arrest at her parents' house in Tehran, being sent back to jail.
The export ban was announced by arts minister Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay

The head that once adorned the throne of an 18th-century Indian ruler

A gold tigers head that once adorned the throne of an 18th-century Indian ruler must remain in Britain under a temporary export ban.

The finial, or ornamental furniture decoration, pictured, is set with rubies, diamonds and emeralds and is worth an estimated 1.5million.

It had been put up for sale in Britain by its current owner, whose identity has been kept secret, before the export ban was announced by arts minister Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay.

A gold tigers head that once adorned the throne of an 18th-century Indian ruler must remain in Britain under a temporary export ban

It was one eight gold tiger heads on the throne of Tipu Sultan, ruler of the former Kingdom of Mysore.

Known as the Tiger of Mysore, he was considered the greatest threat to the British East India Company until his defeat and death in 1799.

The throne was broken up by British Army agents and its parts, as well as other objects from Tipus treasury, came to the UK amid great public interest.

The tigers head is one of four to survive and the temporary ban was imposed in the hope that a UK buyer such as a gallery may be found, Lord Parkinson said.
A school board in Oregon that recently banned teachers from displaying symbols including those supporting gay pride and Black Lives Matter has abruptly fired the superintendent, apparently for failing to enforce the new policy.

Superintendent Joe Morelock was fired in a 4-3 vote by the conservative majority of the Newberg School Board on Tuesday night, learning his fate during a public meeting over Zoom.

The conservatives who sealed Morelock's fate refused to comment on their vote. An earlier meeting had been held in private, but topics discussed have not been released.

Board member Rebecca Piros - one of three who opposed his firing - told Morelock she was sorry, choking up as she expressed her disappointment in the vote.

Morelock, who was paid $260,000-a-year, replied: 'Just remember that from the darkest dark comes the brightest light, so everything will work out eventually.' Piros broke down in tears when she heard those words.

Scroll down for video

Superintendent Joe Morelock was fired in a 4-3 vote by the conservative majority of the Newberg School Board on Tuesday night, learning his fate during a public meeting over Zoom

The school board's conservative majority did not state why they fired Morelock (seen above) but they were reportedly frustrated that he didn't enforce a ban on political symbols in schools

On Wednesday, some residents of Newberg, a town of 23,000 situated 25 miles southwest of Portland, erected signs quoting Morelock's reply to Piros.

Newberg Equity in Education, a group composed mostly of parents who oppose the school boards recent conservative tilt, planned a demonstration Thursday at the school district office.

The escalating disputes in Newberg come as schools nationwide have become ideological battlegrounds, with arguments over vaccine and mask mandates, how racism is addressed in teaching, instruction related to sexuality, and gender-neutral bathrooms.

Conservatives say too many schools are choosing to teach lessons inspired by critical race theory, which examines how racism pervades every aspect of society.

They have expressed fury over lessons where children have been taught to see themselves as oppressors or victims depending on their skin color, as well as 'affinity groups' composed entirely of people of color. Those have been condemned as a woke form of segregation.

Board member Brandy Penner said Wednesday she believes the conservative board members fired Morelock because he didn't aggressively implement their ban on controversial political symbols, adding that the policy didn't define what symbols would be unacceptable.

The policy forbids teachers from displaying 'political, quasi-political, or controversial' symbols in classrooms, and was reportedly written in response to complains about BLM and LGBT flags in schools.

Both had earlier been banned by the district. Threats ensued, prompting them to issue a more comprehensive set of guidelines about was and wasn't allowed to be displayed.

The four conservative board members offered no explanation as they summarily fired Morelock, giving him 10 days left on the job.

People rallied in September ahead of the Newberg, Oregon School Board vote on whether to ban Black Lives Matter and Pride flags at school. The same board has now fired the superintendent, apparently for failing to enforce the ban

The superintendent's advisory cabinet, composed of administrators across the school district, quickly objected, saying they were 'shocked and dismayed that the board would take this disruptive action in the middle of the school year.'

They described Morelock as a tireless advocate for the schools, noting that he took over as interim superintendent in 2018 'with the district in significant financial difficulty after having to lay off staff.'

'Under his leadership, new contracts with our associations brought better pay to teachers and staff, more educational school days for our students, a stabilized financial situation with a safety net of over $9 million in the ending fund balance, and the passage of the largest construction bond in the history of Newberg Public Schools,' the administrators said.

Attempts to reach Morelock for comment were referred to the school district spokesman, who did not immediately return phone calls.

The teachers union in Newberg denounced Morelock's termination as 'yet another example of a board majority bringing instability to our schools.'

The Newberg Education Association union has already filed a lawsuit over a policy passed by the conservative school board members that limits what kinds of images or signs school employees can display on campus.

'Just remember that from the darkest dark comes the brightest light, so everything will work out eventually,' said Morelock after the vote to fire him passed

The board initially passed a rule banning school staff from displaying Black Lives Matter and gay pride symbols, but then expanded it to all political or controversial signs and symbols after being advised the first rule wouldn't survive a legal challenge.

The union argues the policy violates the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment protecting free speech and the Fourteenth Amendment guaranteeing equal protection.

In Tuesday night's meeting, board member Penner called the conservative members 'cowards' and predicted they'd be sued for firing Morelock. She also pointed out that Morelock would be receiving his salary for a year and that an interim superintendent will now need to be hired.

'So we'll be paying for two superintendents and the financial and legal liabilities to the district are endless,' she said.

Newberg Mayor Rick Rogers has previously told the four conservative board members their actions can hurt the town, which features a dozen wine tasting rooms and a university founded by Quakers.

'While you may believe your actions only affect the school district, please know in truth your actions impact us all. To thrive, Newberg must be welcoming to all,' he wrote.
A tradie desperate for workers has made a tongue-in-cheek appeal on TikTok and promised potential candidates free sunscreen and a cold esky to store their lunch.

AustoBuild boss Matt Austin had exhausted all his options in trying to find workers to join his construction business in Perth.

Mr Austin had even whittled down his requirements and was accepting anyone regardless of age, gender or prior experience. Nobody was responding to his ad.

The hard-done by tradie decided to take a unique approach and advertised the role on TikTok on Wednesday.

A tradie desperate for workers has made a tongue-in-cheek appeal on TikTok and promised potential candidates free sunscreen and a cold esky to store their lunch

AustoBuild boss Matt Austin had exhausted all his options in trying to find workers to join his construction business in Perth

The short 40-second video showcased the perks of the job with a portable microwave, esky and espresso machine among the benefits.

'Just so you know, we've got a fridge, you can put your soda pop or whatever it is in there to keep it fresh, a microwave [for] sausage rolls [to] warm them up, a coffee machine, if you're young you probably don't drink coffee so you can heat up your minute noodles,' he says.

Mr Austin is seen in the video showing off the creature comforts that are set up on a trailer attached to the back of his ute.

He directs the camera to the foldout boot and calls it 'basically a sofa'.

Mr Austin then walks around the trailer to reveal several portable phone charging stations.

'In case you're worried about your phone dying: one charger, I have another charger up here somewhere and I have another charger in the car.'

He then points the camera to a bottle of sunscreen.

'Also we've got spoof 50 so you can look fresh for the Lookout on Sundays,' he says.

The Lookout is a popular clubhouse along the beach that is busy on the weekend.

Mr Austin directs the camera to the foldout boot and calls it 'basically a sofa' (pictured)

'Also we've got spoof 50 so you can look fresh for the Lookout on Sundays,' Mr Austin says

A microwave, esky and portable phone chargers are among the many perks on offer

Mr Austin saves the biggest perk for last and looks directly into the camera as he makes the big reveal.

'I'll even let you do a TikTok video every day.'

The video has since gone viral with plenty of offers pouring in to Mr Austin.

The labourer admitted he was surprised by the massive reaction online.

'I just didn't realise the actual power of social media to be honest, to that extent anyway,' he told news.com.au.
One of the U.S. Air Force's Boeing B-52 bombers has been damaged after its wing clipped a fence while it was being moved around on an airbase in Louisiana.

The bomber, also known as the Stratofortress, was being positioned in order to be put on display when the driver of a tow misjudged the distance between the plane's right wing and a metal perimeter fence.

The fence appeared to have penetrated through the skin of the aircraft and punctured the right wing leaving a significant amount of structural damage and its starboard fuel tank on display.

The right wing of a U.S. Air Force B-52H bomber has been damaged during an incident

Substantial damage to the wing occurred as the bomber was being moved on the ground at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana

The aircraft's right wing hit a fence while it was 'being positioned for static display' The damaged fence can be seen in this photo

'While positioning the aircraft for static display on the site, the aircraft collided with the fence directly in front of the MXG [maintenance] building,' a statement from the 2nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron explains.

'No personnel were reported injured. All pieces were recovered from the fence and the aircraft and there is significant damage to the right wing tip and the leading edge wing outboard of the right external tank.'

Offices working in Barksdale's public affairs department confirmed to The War Zone that an incident had occurred on the base.

If the damage is significant, the cost of repairs is also likely to be substantial given that the last B-52H bombers came off the production line in 1962.

There are currently 76 of such bombers in operation with some additional airframes and spare parts at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona.

Barksdale Air Force base is home to the active-duty 2nd Bomb Wing and the Air Force Reserve's 343rd Bomb Wing.

The details were mentioned in a maintenance log with the right wing and external fuel tank hit

The bombers are often moved around in order for various PR exercises. Munitions are on display here which show off the full capabilities of the B-52H Stratofortress

Damage could be costly to repair - last B-52 bomber's were built in 1962

B-52H Stratofortresses from the 2nd Bomb Wing line up on the runway at Barksdale Air Force Base, in Louisiana in October 2020

The B-52 is a long-range, heavy bomber that can perform a variety of missions and has been the backbone of U.S. strategic bomber forces for more than 60 years
A shopper has made an unsettling discovery claiming she found 'fingerprints' on the chocolate cake she bought from a Woolworths supermarket.

The customer shared her disgust via Facebook on Thursday suggesting the cake had been handled by an employee while packaging the product.

'Ever wonder how Woolworths packages their slab cakes?' She wrote on Facebook.

A woman claims she found fingerprints on her Woolworths chocolate slab cake in a Facebook post on Thursday (pictured)

'Fingerprints anyone? Hope they were wearing gloves!'

Alongside the post was a picture of the chocolate block cake showing the baked treat with four indents on its side.

'As you can see I used a spatula to remove to lift it out,' she added.

Woolworths told Daily Mail Australia it treats food preparation standards very seriously and are currently investigating the incident.

'We treat product quality seriously and always strive to uphold the highest food preparation standards.

'We've apologised to the customer for their experience and will be looking into this with our store team.'

The chocolate slab cake is a lesser known variety compared to Woolworths insanely popular mud cakes.

In October, a Woolworths worker revealed the astonishing amount of mud cakes it sold per year since the product soared in popularity after its release in 2001.

Liam Kirley, who runs the Woolworths TikTok account revealed 1,920 tonnes of mud cakes were sold each year which is the equivalent to about three Airbus A380s.

On special occasions like Mother's day and Father's day, popularity surges with the supermarket giant selling three times the amount than usual.

The famous mud cakes, which cost $4.50, are available in chocolate, white chocolate, and caramel.
The Oklahoma National Guard will not enforce the US Defense Department's Covid-19 vaccine mandate after a change in commanding officers.

Army Brigadier General Thomas Mancino will be the new adjutant general, Governor Kevin Stitt said. He has yet to be confirmed by the state senate.

His predecessor, Army Major General Michael Thompson, said that he found out he'd lost his job via social media.

Thompson was scheduled to transition out of the job in favor of Mancino on January 15, but these changes will now take place as soon as possible.

Thompson is a public supporter of the vaccines, and posted a picture of himself receiving a COVID booster shot in late October on Twitter.

Army Brigadier General Thomas Mancino (pictured right) replaces Army Major General Michael Thompson, who found out he'd lost his job via social media

Governor Kevin Stitt (pictured above) announced that Mancino would be taking over two months earlier than previously expected

Mancino sent out a memo on his first day on the job saying the state would not enforce Covid-19 vaccine mandates

He was asked by reporters if his support for vaccinations cost him his job.

He replied: 'You would probably have to ask the Governor that.' Stitt, a Republican, has come out against federal vaccine mandates touted by the Biden administration.

Governor Stitt's office said that the change of plans in the transition timeline was for 'continuity of operations.'

'The decision had been in the works for a while and was not related to his support of vaccine mandates,' a spokesperson continued.

The day after he took the job from Thompson, Mancio put out a policy memo confirming the state would not enforce the mandate on state-controlled forces.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin favors the vaccination mandates for soldiers

Around 67.7 percent of Americans have had at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine

'No Oklahoma Guardsman will be required to take the COVID-19 Vaccine,' Mancino says in the Thursday memo, which adds that Stitt is the force's 'lawful Commander in Chief' when not mobilized by the Pentagon.

Stitt wrote a letter on November 2 requesting the Defense Department not enforce the mandate on Oklahoma Army and Air National Guard members, claiming 10 percent of the state's troops had declined the vaccine.

He added that the mandate was 'irresponsible.'

A spokesman for the Pentagon said the DoD is aware of the memo and the letter and said it will respond to the governor appropriately.

'That said, [Defense] Secretary [Lloyd] Austin believes a vaccinated force is a more ready force,' added Kirby. 'That is why he has ordered mandatory vaccines for the total force, and that includes our National Guard, who contribute significantly to national missions at home and abroad.'

National Guard troops are under the control of governors unless mobilized by Washington, which means federal law could eventually supersede Stitt's.

Title 32, the section of the U.S. Code that pertains to the National Guard, has a section specifying that states that do not comply with Title 32 regulations forfeit their federal funding for the Guard. It's not clear, though, whether the vaccine mandate meets that legal threshold.

It is estimated that about 93 percent of the US Army is vaccinated, according to Defense Department data.

Those numbers are slightly lower than the Marine Corps, Air Force and Navy.

It is estimated that about 93 percent of the US Army is vaccinated, according to Defense Department data.

President Joe Biden had announced that the federal government is requiring all employees to get the jab by November 22 and all government contractors have until Jan. 4, 2022.

The military has previously faced blowback for its vaccine mandates, with about 16 percent of pilots and crew members in the Air Force reserve units either seeking a transfer to another unit to delay anthrax vaccine regiments in the 1990s, switched to an inactive status or left the service all together.

Required vaccinations are nothing new to the U.S. military. Members currently have to be vaccinated against Adenovirus, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Influenza, measles, mumps, rubella, meningococcal, poliovirus, tetanus-diphtheria and varicella.
Two Arizona mothers who were targeted in a secret dossier on parents who opposed school policies on CRT and masks have spoken out, demanding the immediate resignation of the school board president who had access to the documents.

Scottsdale Unified School District Governing Board President Jann-Michael Greenburg's access to the Google Drive folder was revealed after he accidentally displayed the link in a screenshot he sent to parents in a heated email chain.

One of the parents on the email, Amy Carney, appeared in an interview with Fox News on Friday alongside fellow mom Michelle Dillard to voice outrage over the dossier, which included Social Security numbers, financial information, and divorce records of parents who voiced disagreement with the district.

'This latest scandal in Scottsdale just shows -- is proof -- who the label domestic terrorist really belongs to. It's not the parents,' said Carney, who is running for a position on the school board next year.

'This is like an authoritarian regime,' agreed host Laura Ingraham. 'This is like something out of Kafka going on in Scottsdale, Arizona.'

Scottsdale moms Amy Carney (left) and Michelle Dillard (right) spoke out on Friday, after the school board president's secret dossier on them and other mothers was revealed

Carney was referring to a recent letter sent by the National School Boards Association to the Biden administration, referring to parents who protest certain policies as potential extremists or domestic terrorists.

The most commonly fought battles at school boards at the minute concern the teaching of critical race theory-inspired lessons, as well as compulsory masking for unvaccinated children.

On Thursday, it emerged that NSBA liaised with the White House and Justice Department before writing the infamous memo. The association represents more than 90,000 school board members in 14,000 public school districts.

Tensions between parents and school leadership have run high across the country in recent months, with heated debates over curriculums, school reopenings and mask and vaccine mandates.

School Board President Jann-Michael Greenburg had editing access to the Google Drive, but blames his father for creating it

In Scottsdale, the secret dossier tied to Greenburg, which was reviewed at length by DailyMail.com, appeared to be an attempt to collect damaging information on parents who opposed Critical Race Theory, mask mandates and remote learning policies.

Some of this information was then crafted into meme-like images, with rambling text disclosing purportedly embarrassing personal or financial information.

The district blames Greenburg's father Mark, who shares a home and computer with his son, for creating the bizarre dossier, and the school board president has denied involvement, vowing an investigation by 'forensic IT staff'.

'Parents are so disappointed by the district trying to deflect what was going on,' Carney said of the district letter responding to the scandal. 'That was just for damage control, but I mean we really need the district to step up and send out an apology and let us know they are investigating this.'

'We are calling for the resignation of this president because parents felt threatened, they felt endangered and this is not something the district can just brush to the side,' Carney added.

Amy Carney, who is calling for Greenburg's resignation, speaks on behalf of parents during a protest last May against critical race theory being taught at Scottsdale schools

The link to the Google Drive was accidentally made public when Greenburg shared this screenshot with a parent, who discovered that the drive was public

Dillard, the other mother who spoke out on Friday, also called for Greenburg's resignation and slammed the creation of the dossier.

'This behavior, while it's shocking is absolutely not surprising at all,' she said.

'We've been seeing it over the past few years that we've been active in going to school board meetings here in Arizona, to where they are actually using law enforcement to investigate, follow us on our social media groups all in an effort to intimidate, harass and silence us,' said Dillard.

The existence of the Scottsdale dossier first came to light in August, when Jann-Michael Greenburg apparently sent a screenshot of a Facebook conversation to area resident Kim Stafford, accusing her of anti-Jewish sentiment.

Stafford dismissed the accusation in a reply, saying that Greenburg had read the conversation out of order and misinterpreted her post accusing someone else of anti-Islamic sentiment.

However, the mom noticed that at the top of the screenshot, a Google Drive address was visible, and when she entered the address into her browser, found that the cloud drive was publicly accessible.

The drive has since been set to private, but a copy of its contents has been reviewed by DailyMail.com.

The sprawling drive contains folders with names including 'SUSD Wackos,' 'Press Conference Psychos' and 'Anti Mask Lunatics.'

The drive contains a disorganized collection of hundreds of screenshots of Facebook posts, memes mocking parents, and an investigative background report on certain parents

It contains a disorganized collection of hundreds of screenshots of Facebook posts and conversations in Facebook groups dedicated to the Scottsdale school system, with the apparent theme of tracking the political sentiments of various parents.

Some of the files include memes mocking certain parents, PTA leaders and local elected officials.

Disturbingly, the drive also contains a background report that appears to have been generated by a private investigator, which includes personal details such as financial and criminal records of parents.

Among the files are bodycam videos that appear to have been filmed by Mark Greenburg, the school board president's father, as he rides his motorcycle.

In one video, Mark Greenburg is heard confiding with friendly parents in the parking lot of a school, apparently before a school board meeting.

'Somewhere around here, we have a private investigator, who's writing down all their plates,' he can be heard saying.

'That you've hired?' asks one of the allied moms.

'Yeah, I did. Yeah. I had our law firm do it so that it's protected. So that we can get the information,' Mark Greenburg is heard saying.

Mark Greenburg was listed as the owner of the original Google Drive, and Jann-Michael Greenburg had editing access, according to Independent Newsmedia.

In a phone interview with the outlet, Jann-Michael Greenburg furiously denied that he was behind the sprawling dossier.

'I categorically deny having anything to do with any of this. If you are going to claim in a story right now, that I had anything to do with this, I would argue that crosses the line,' Jann-Michael said, while his father was also on the call.

'We are going to have forensic IT staff look into this and figure out what that is. You can file with law enforcement.'

Asked if his father had access to the Google Drive, he replied: 'I am not my father's keeper.'

'I think that has been made clear previously,' he added, apparently referring to his father's creation of a parody website targeting a former SUSD board member.

'I have been sent screenshots on what is done on [a parent's Facebook group]. I have been sent videos, and, yes, from parents, including my own father,' he said.

'Yes, people send me emails and text messages, but I don't store them and I don't know who stores them if that is what you are asking.'

Jann-Michael Greenburg has filed to run for re-election in November 2022.
Donald Trump's former spokeswoman at the State Department has taken House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff to task again for his promotion of a dossier used to discredit the former president.

Morgan Ortagus was a guest host on The View on Tuesday, and grilled Schiff for his enthusiastic embrace of the discredited document.

He dodged her questions, with Ortagus also since taking to Fox News, where she blamed Schiff's enthusiasm for the dossier's widespread coverage in liberal media outlets, and revealed her nerves at getting to confront him on the popular show.

Speaking on Fox News Wednesday, Ortagus said: 'I will say that in the moment, I'll confess, my hands were shaking a little because I knew it was just incredibly important in that moment to be able to hold him accountable, not for the Republican Party but for everybody who wants to seek truth and justice.'

She said that Schiff was so 'obsessed' with stopping Trump that he took shortcuts and politicized the intelligence community.

'I think the big problem is that we always knew that this dossier, the media always knew, that it was unverified. Members of Congress knew this,' Ortagus said.

'Adam Schiff, either being the ranking minority leader on the Intel Committee, now the Democrats are in charge he's the chair of that committee, given his prestigious position in the Intelligence Committee, he is given extra special briefings, so to speak, that are different even than what other member of Congress get.

'So he understands intelligence. He understands how all of this works.'

Ortagus said Schiff essentially 'took a document totally unverified, that had not been vetted properly' and defended and promoted it.

'He read it into the congressional record,' she said, adding that the media believed the dossier 'hook, line and sinker' because of Schiff's role on the Intelligence Committee.

'They thought, 'Oh he's got to have some sort of special access and information we don't know about that proves that the dossier is true,' Ortagus said.

'Well, now what have we learned: people are being indicted who were involved in this dossier.

'They're being indicted for lying and it's quite possible that this is just a Russian disinformation project, so it's just sort of mind blowing.'

Ortagus appeared on Fox News on Wednesday to discuss her interview with Schiff the day before

Schiff, representing California, had placed great weight on the controversial file produced by Christopher Steele, a British intelligence specialist hired by the Democrats to research Trump and Russia.

The dossier he produced claimed that Russia had cultivated Trump as a target for years; the Russians were likely blackmailing him; and Trump allies were conspiring with Russians to defeat Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Yet last week one of his key sources, Igor Danchenko, was charged with lying to the FBI and questions are being asked as to how media organizations gave so much time to the uncorroborated dossier.

Morgan Ortagus, who served as a State Department spokeswoman during the Trump presidency, was a guest host on The View on Tuesday

Adam Schiff, chair of the House Intelligence Committee, was also on the show - to promote his book - and was grilled by Ortagus

'You defended, promoted and even read into the congressional record the Steele dossier,' she told Schiff, who was on The View to promote his new book.

'We know last week the main source of the dossier was indicted by the FBI for lying about most of the key claims in that dossier. Do you have any reflections on your role in promoting this to the American people?'

Schiff dodged the question, referencing 'whoever lied' to the former British intelligence officer or the FBI to be prosecuted.

'You spread disinformation yourself, for years, by promoting this,' Ortagus told Schiff, saying many people were concerned about 'your culpability in all of this'.

Schiff replied: 'I completely disagree with your premise.

'It's one thing to say allegations should be investigated - and they were.

'It's another to say that we should have foreseen in advance that some people were lying to Christopher Steele, which is impossible of course to do.'

Schiff insisted that the substance of Steele's dossier - that the Russians worked to discredit Clinton and help Trump - was still valid.

He said questions about Steele's sources should not detract from that.

'Let's not use that as a smokescreen to somehow shield Donald Trump's culpability for inviting Russia to help him win the election, which they did,' Schiff said.

'None of that is undercut - none of that serious misconduct is in any way diminished by the fact that people lied to Christopher Steele.'

Ortagus replied: 'No, I think just your credibility is.'

Christopher Steele (left) produced a dossier for the Democrats full of allegations against Donald Trump. One of his sources, Igor Danchenko (right) was arrested last week for lying to the FBI

Trump is seen with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Helsinki on July 16, 2018
A man has survived allegedly being robbed, bashed and shot in a 24-hour saga on the Gold Coast after the luxury car he hired to impress his girlfriend was allegedly stolen by violent thieves.

Theo Penemenos, 27, hired a black 2020 Mercedes Benz S450L, worth an estimated $285,000, before it was allegedly stolen at gunpoint at Budds Beach, Surfer's Paradise on Thursday.

Police allege Mr Penemenos and his girlfriend went to visit a friend when they were attacked by two men, one with a Glock handgun and the other with a 'pirate knife'.

He was forced to catch an Uber back to his home in Brisbane.

The following day Mr Penemenos was allegedly lured to a high-rise unit at Lawson Street, Southport to negotiate buying back the Merc after receiving an anonymous phone call, the Courier Mail reported.

Brisbane man Theo Penemenos, 27, hired a black 2020 Mercedes Benz S450L, worth an estimated $285,000, before it was allegedly stolen at gunpoint at Surfer's Paradise

The following day Mr Penemenos, 27, was allegedly lured by an anonymous phone call high-rise unit at Lawson Street, Southport to negotiate buying back - when he was allegedly violently attacked

According to court documents, Mr Penemenos was sent $4,000 by his parents to pay for it and had handed over $2,000 when he was allegedly attacked by three men inside the Lawson Street apartment.

It is alleged he was hit in the head and shot with a sawn-off shotgun on the upper right thigh through a pillow placed against his leg.

'It will be alleged that around midday today, two other men - one of whom was known to the 27-year-old - lured him to a high-rise unit on Lawson Street to negotiate payment for the return of the vehicle,' a Queensland police statement read.

'An altercation allegedly took place inside the unit resulting in the 27-year-old sustaining a gunshot wound to his upper right leg.

'Three men, and a woman associated with the offenders, then rode the elevator to ground floor where the 27-year-old fled on foot and the three others allegedly fled in the stolen Mercedes,' court documents read.

The three alleged attackers then fled the unit, before the wounded Mr Penemenos managed to get in the lift and stagger into a ground floor shop.

He rushed into a grocery store at 12.30pm, where proprietors called the police.

Mr Penemenos drove his luxury rental to Budd's Beach on the Gold Coast when he was allegedly confronted by two armed men who stole his wheels

The man was transported to the Gold Coast University Hospital with a bullet wound to his leg and facial injuries and remains in a stable condition.

It is understood the three men left the scene in the allegedly stolen Merc - only to be tracked down by Queensland police two hours later.

Cops allegedly found the two men in a home on Acacia Avenue, Surfers Paradise with two women.

Police charged Joel Hindson, 25, Leum Kostopolous and Bronson Samuel Godfrey, both 29, with several offences including 'deprivation of liberty, committing acts intending to maim, robbery with violence, extortion and unlawful use of a motor vehicle'.

Hindson was also charged with possession of ice and GHB.

They were all remanded in custody after appearing at Southport Magistrates Court.

Police arrested five people on the Gold Coast on Friday afternoon after Mr Penemenos was allegedly bashed and shot after trying to hand over $2000 for the stolen rental

Kostopoulos appears again November 19 while Hindson and Godfrey return to court on December 9.

Two women, 26 and 32, who were apprehended by police with two of the alleged attackers also face drug and motor vehicle charges.

They were granted bail to appear again on November 25.
The owner of Australia's best-rated Airbnb has been charged with threatening a guest who left a negative review about his prized holiday home.

David Penman, 53, was due to appear in Melbourne Magistrates' Court this week for allegedly using a carriage device to harass and menace Matthew Taylor last June.

Mr Taylor, who is a sales manager, booked the luxury accommodation Clifftop at Hepburn when he claims the booking was abruptly cancelled after a minor price dispute.

Dave Penman, 53, owner of the best rated Airbnb in Australia - Clifftop at Hepburn - has been charged with allegedly using a carriage device to threaten and menace

The property, which is owned by Mr Penman, costs $563 a night to rent and boasts an array of travel, hospitality and architectural awards, according to its Airbnb listing.

In a review posted to Tripadvisor in 2020, Mr Taylor left a one star rating after claiming his four night stay was cancelled for challenging the price of a second room.

'I said no problem, we were just enquiring because we were thinking about taking our parents,' he said.

Mr Taylor claimed there was contrary price information on the website at the time and suggested the alleged details be taken down if they are incorrect.

The Airbnb costs $563 a night and boasts an array of travel, hospitality and architectural awards according to its listing

But instead Mr Taylor claims Mr Penman refused to honour the supposed offer on the website and cancelled his family's entire stay instead, citing an email exchange as evidence of the dispute.

The negative review left by Mr Taylor allegedly triggered a string of abusive and threatening messages from Mr Penman.

Police later charged Mr Penman with one count of using a carriage device to menace on June 25, and one count of using a carriage device to harass between June 25 and June 28.

The negative review left by Mr Taylor allegedly triggered a string of abusive and threatening messages from Mr Penman

The matter was adjourned in court on Monday until February next year, when Mr Penman plans to dispute the allegations, WA Today reported.

This is not the first time Mr Penman has made headlines after a negative online rating.

In October 2020, Dave Penman sued Kaleen Dalliston for defamation after she slammed his holiday rental in a series of posts on Facebook and Tripadvisor.

Ms Dalliston was due to stay at the property in August last year and she claimed she was not refunded when Victoria's longest lockdown put a pause on her trip, so she went on social media to warn other travellers about her experience.

In her online review she claimed Mr Penman was only professional when she was providing him with money and 'disappeared' when it came time to ask for a refund.

Ms Dalliston also posted 'whatever you do, don't stay here' on her personal account.

Shortly after leaving the review Mr Taylor allegedly received a barrage of abusive messages from Mr Penman

Documents filed in County Court of Victoria and seen by Herald Sun at the time read Mr Penman sought aggravated damages after claiming the reputation of his business was damaged by Ms Dalliston's posts.

Mr Penman believed the accommodation was held to contempt and ridicule after claiming Ms Dalliston urged readers to share her posts to spread the damage.

He also claimed Ms Dalliston did not disclose that she was offered a full refund and had agreed to wait before being contacted by the business.

Last year Mr Penman took customer Kaleen Dalliston to court over a negative Airbnb review

Mr Penman had sought a permanent injunction from the court to stop Ms Dalliston from posting further statements of a similar nature.

The legal dispute was resolved when both parties agreed to an undisclosed settlement.

The two-bedroom guest house boasts a unique fireplace, infinity daybed, kitchen, amenities, spa and shower for two and heating and cooling systems.

'From the moment you step into Clifftop at Hepburn, you're in another world,' the Airbnb description reads.

'A world where flickering flames and floor-to-ceiling windows frame breath-taking panoramic views that plunge from the site of an old pine forest down a sheer cliff face, unrolling onto native bushland below.

'Imagine a leisurely evening in your private spa, sipping champagne to the backdrop of surround sound and a crackling fireplace.

'Imagine each night falling asleep to a towering wall of stars and waking each morning to sunbeams welcoming dramatic views.

'Imagine a retreat where you leave real life at the door, choosing instead to lounge in the lap of luxury.'
A teenager who livestreamed himself terrorizing outdoor diners in Manhattan by pretending to be a suicide bomber faces five years in jail.

Malik Sanchez, 19, entered a guilty plea at Manhattan federal court to conveying false and misleading information and hoaxes on Friday, over the February incident outside a Flatiron restaurant.

He shouted 'Allahu Akbar! during the frightening incident, which saw two women flee back into the restaurant as Sanchez warned he was two minutes off blowing them up.

He will be sentenced next February.

The drama began when the online pest posted a video to his YouTube channel on February 13th that showed him loudly stating that a bomb was about to go off near a table where two women were sitting eating a meal.

Malik Sanchez, 19, has pleaded guilty to terrorizing outdoor diners at a Manhattan eatery earlier this year

A livestreamed video showed him approaching an outdoor seating area in front of the restaurant saying 'Let's enhance their meal'

'Let's enhance their meal,' he suggested as he positioned himself close to diner's table.

Prosecutors said Sanchez loudly said: 'Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar. 'Bomb detonation in two, in two minutes. I take you with me and I kill all you,' he yelled.

The women quickly jumped up from their table and fled with several other diners sitting nearby.

'Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar. Bomb detonation in two, in two minutes. I take you with me and I kill all you. I kill all you right now. And I kill all you for Allah. F***, f*** that s***. I'm gonna Allah. I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna f*****g do it for Allah. I'm gonna do it, for, Allah, Allah, Allahu Akbar, Come on. I do it, bomb now, bomb now,' he said.

All-the-while, Sanchez could be heard laughing having been egged on by viewers to his live-streamed video - some of whom even paid him cash tips.

He then loudly stated that a bomb was about to go off near a table where two women sat

The two women appear startled, gather their belongings and fled inside

'Yo, all of them scattered,' he said. 'Holy s*** boys. That was f***ing five stars. That was five stars.'

At least one person called 911. By the time police had responded to the scene, Sanchez was nowhere to be found, but he had left video incident of his sick joke online.

That clip has since been removed from his official channel, although it remains on other news reports about the incident.

'As alleged, Malik Sanchez perpetrated a hoax bomb threat at a Manhattan restaurant that frightened innocent victims, sowed chaos, and diverted precious law enforcement resources,' Manhattan U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said during a court hearing in May.

Sanchez has made a number of disturbing videos all of which are posted to his YouTube channel.

The women didn't spend any time waiting around to see what would happen and ran inside

On another one from earlier this year he could be seen yelling at two women walking down the street staying he had 'incel rage'. He was also filmed using anti-Semitic language, and shouting the n-word at two young black women out walking close to Washington Square Park.

He also stated he was a supporter of Elliot Rodger, a man who is credited with starting the incel movement. It stands for 'involuntary celibate,' and is comprised of men who consider themselves too unattractive to find a partner. Rodger murdered six women including two from a sorority house in California in 2014.

Sanchez stated Rodger's victims 'deserved to be run over and hit by a truck. They deserved to be slaughtered.'

Sanchez self-identifies as an 'involuntary celibate' or 'incel,' a mostly online group of individuals, primarily men, who believe society unjustly denies them sexual or romantic attention, prosecutors say.

The women got up and ran away from from the table where they were sitting

Four other individuals in the seating area nearby also grabbed their things and ran away

The women ran inside the restaurant to escapeSanchez's harassment

Incels have been responsible for at least five deadly attacks in the United States and Canada since 2014, resulting in 28 deaths, the prosecutions' complaint noted

Many of his videos, which often last for several hours at time, see him approaching random strangers in the street, often young women, and insulting them to their face.

Sanchez will often follow his subjects for several blocks at a time while continuing to stalk his subjects, emboldened by followers on YouTube who donate money for him to carry out further acts of irritation.

He had been arrested in the past for scaling the Queensboro Bridge and pepper spraying at least five people during other livestreamed stunts.

Sanchez pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct for scaling the bridge which was he livestreamed last year.

Federal Defender Clay Kaminsky said Sanchez was 'an attention-seeking 19-year-old' in need of help.

Sanchez pleaded guilty Friday to carrying out a hoax bomb threat on Valentine's Day weekend - he will be sentenced in February

At a court hearing in May, Judge Colleen McMahon released him to home confinement three weeks after his arrest, saying she had watched the video.

'The first thing I thought was, this is a kid who needs to be seeing a psychiatrist, this is somebody who needs mental health counseling,' McMahon said.

'I've seen the crime. I've seen it, because he videotaped it, and he broadcast it on YouTube and it's disgusting. It's absolutely disgusting. It's juvenile, it's puerile, it's deeply troubling, but it's bailable,' she added.

'Anybody who thinks what I saw in the video was funny is definitely in need of mental health care, definitely.'

The charge he pleaded guilty to can result in a prison sentence of up to five years.

A lawyer at his hearing in May said it was more likely any prison sentence would be measured in months rather than years.
Queensland is set to achieve a major vaccine milestone on Sunday with the state edging towards being 70 per cent fully vaccinated.

On Saturday afternoon, 69.39 per cent of residents in the Sunshine State are double jabbed.

Once the milestone is surpassed residents from Covid hotspots interstate will be able to fly into Queensland as long as they are fully vaccinated and can prove they have had a negative Covid test 72 hours before arriving.

They will also then need to complete 14 days of home quarantine.

Health Minister Yvette D'Ath said the border pass system will go live no later than 24 hours after the 70 per cent target is reached.

Queensland is set to achieve a major vaccine milestone on Sunday, with the state edging towards being 70 per cent fully vaccinated (pictured, nurses preparing Covid jabs at a clinic in Brisbane)

Providing they meet the outlined criteria, interstate guests will be permitted to fly into Queensland once the state achieves a milestone of 70 per full vaccination (pictured, a couple at Brisbane Airport)

She added it was mandatory individuals meet the outlined criteria.

'When we hit that 70 per cent mark, at that stage people can start booking their flights, going off and getting their test and waiting for their negative results,' she told reporters on Saturday.

'Once they have all that information - they've got their vaccination status, their negative tests and their flights - they can go on to the border pass system and they can put that (details) in.'

The health minister also issued a stern warning for people looking to potentially cheat the system.

'If you think you can get a border pass and get on a plane and get off the other end and not be caught  you will be found out,' she said.

Rapid antigen tests will not be accepted as they are not deemed as accurate compared to PCR tests.

Driving into Queensland from interstate won't be permitted until after the state reaches the 80 per cent fully vaccinated milestone.

That is expected to occur no later than December 17.

Once 90 per cent of eligible Queenslanders are vaccinated, quarantine will also be scrapped for fully jabbed international travellers who test negative to Covid.

Once 90 per cent of eligible Queenslanders are vaccinated, quarantine will also be scrapped for fully jabbed international travellers who test negative to Covid (pictured, a man getting his Covid jab last month in Brisbane at a pop up clinic
New York City mayor-elect Eric Adams challenged his fellow Democrats to condemn Black Lives Matter activist Hawk Newsome who said Adam's new policing plans would trigger 'riots and bloodshed' in NYC streets.

At a press conference on Friday, Adams - a centrist who has taken a tough stance on law and order - questioned why members of his party have not spoken out against Newsome's calls to violence.

'I think that this is an excellent moment for the local and state and federal Democratic Party to state: We could have justice without violence,' Adams said.

'National, state and city electeds should stand up and say, 'we will never allow anyone to make those comments,' that there will be blood in our streets, because you know where that blood ends up? In the streets of our community,' Adams added.

NYC mayor-elect Eric Adams (pictured) questioned why members of his party have not spoken out against BLM leader Hawk Newsome's calls to violence

He spoke two days after a tense meeting at Borough Hall with members of the Black Lives Matter of Greater New York, co-founder of the group Hawk Newsome had some harsh words for the incoming mayor if he went through with his plans to reinstate the NYPD's plainclothes cop units.

'If he thinks that they're going to go back to the old ways of policing, then we are going to take to the streets again. There will be riots, there will be fire and there will be bloodshed because we believe in defending our people,' Newsome told reporters outside Borough Hall.

Hawk Newsome (pictured) told reporters 'There will be riots. There will be fire, and there will be bloodshed,' if Mayor-elect Eric Adams reinstates the NYPD's anti-crime units

Newsome told the New York Daily News Friday that he made his 'riot' comments because he was triggered by a question about plainclothes officers.

'It made me think about the death of Eric Garner, it made me think about the death of Breonna Taylor, it made me think of the death of George Floyd,' he told the Daily News in a phone interview, referring to three black Americans killed by cops. 'And to think that Eric Adams is legitimately wanting to put our children in danger  it scares me.'

Newsome said that Adams was trying to distract from the real issue by zeroing in on his threat.

'So he wants to make this a political circus. What I want is to stick to the issue  what's the plan?' Newsome said.

BLM activist Newsome (pictured) said that Adams was trying to distract from the real issue by zeroing in on his threat

Adams, a moderate candidate, defeated progressive rivals in June's Democratic primary on a law-and-order ticket, pledging to crack down on violent crime that has soared in New York City since the coronavirus pandemic.

However, on the campaign trail last year, he was criticized by progressive candidates for vowing to reinstate the anti-crime unit.

At the closed-door event on Wednesday, Adams told leaders that as the city's second black mayor, he was the best-equipped to usher in meaningful socioeconomic and educational change to New York's communities.

'There's one thing that we do agree on, that we need to change conditions that people are living in, historical conditions. And the conditions have not changed,' Adams said during the discussion, which was live-streamed on Instagram.

And as the city's second black mayor - after Democrat David Dinkins, who was elected in the early 90s as New York dealt with instances of racial unrest, crime and fiscal turmoil eerily similar to what the city is currently facing amid fallout from the pandemic - he was the person best-suited to bring positive change to the community, Adams said.

'What I know for sure, is there is no one in this city that's going to deal with this issue as the mayor of this city better than I'm going to,' he said.

Adams during a tense meeting on Wednesday at Borough Hall with members of the Black Lives Matter of Greater New York

But Adams and the BLM representatives got into a shouting match as they argued over police policies, with the mayor-elect becoming incensed when Hawk Newsome told him the organization would hold him accountable for future NYPD misconduct.

Adams responded: 'You're on the ground: Stop the violence in my community. I'm holding you accountable.

'Don't hold me accountable,' Adams went on. 'Being the mayor, being the borough president, being the state senator  I put my body on the line for my community, so I'm not here for folks to come and say, 'Eric, we're gonna hold you accountable.'

'No, it's us. We need to do this together.'

Adam's comments prompted Chivona Newsome to retort: 'You're the mayor of New York! There's only so much we can do.'

Adams said he disagreed, but Chivona Newsome pressed on, telling him that she believes public safety would improve in the city if the mayor creates better jobs and education. 'That's a government issue,' she said.

'You need to be corrected,' Adams interjected. 'You need to be corrected based on what you're saying. Don't tell me, 'I need to do this'  say, 'We need to do this.''

Adams' election comes as New York City has been crippled by increasing crime.

Shootings soared across the city last summer after Mayor Bill de Blasio did away with the plainclothes unit in June 2020, after an outpour of anti-police sentiment following George Floyd's death in Minneapolis and the 'defund the police' movement.

Violent crime has since continued to escalate in New York City, with total crime up 2.6% in September 2021 compared to September 2020.

According to NYPD crime data, the city has had 1,526 shooting victims this year through October 17, nearly double the amount of gun violence victims through the same time as 2019, which had 760. There were 1,507 shooting victims through October 17, 2020.

The data recorded 89 shooting victims 17 years old and younger from January 1 to September 26 of this year. In 2019, there were 45 shooting victims in that age group during the same time period.

Of those injured in shootings, 16 young people were killed by gun violence between January 1 and September 26, 2021 - an increase of more than 136 percent compared with the same time period in 2019, when three children or teens were killed.

According to the NYPD's latest monthly numbers, overall crime was up 1.73 percent last month compared with November 2020. Felony assault was up by 8.3 percent and robbery rose by 2.1 percent.
The notorious century-old 'dry area' rule that banned pubs and clubs from affluent Melbourne suburbs has been abolished in a move that has unwittingly outraged locals living within those prized regions.

The well-to-do residents of Camberwell, Canterbury, Balwyn, Mont Albert, and Surrey Hills in the city's east have been required to vote in a poll for years to allow cafes, restaurants and bars to obtain a liquor licence.

However, the historic law, introduced in the 1920s amid a vigorous anti-alcohol movement, has been revoked this week alongside amendments to the Victorian laws.

The Liquor Control Reform Amendment Act 2021, approved on Tuesday, stated: 'The repeal removes the ability of local residents to vote on a proposed liquor license application in those designated areas.

The notorious century-old 'dry area' rule that banned pubs and clubs from affluent suburbs in Melbourne's east have been abolished this week (Pictured: Bartender makes drinks at 3 Monkeys in Prahan)

The well-to-do residents of Camberwell, Canterbury, Balwyn, Mont Albert, and Surrey Hills in the city's east have been required to vote in a poll to allow businesses to obtain a liquor license (stock image of Melbourne CBD)

'It will bring the licence application process in those dry areas into line with the application process applying throughout the rest of the state.'

The bill further stated that the abolition of the laws would reduce 'red tape' and the 'burden on taxpayers who fund licence polling in the dry areas'.

The Palace Hotel on Camberwell's Burke Road had long been one of the very few watering holes in the area, but with the new law coming in, it means more pubs will pop up as competition.

But wealthy residents of the exclusive eastern suburbs are fuming over the removal of the dry areas.

The removal of the law 'will bring the licence application process in those dry areas into line with the application process applying throughout the rest of the state' (Pictured: Palace Hotel on Camberwell's Burke Road - one of very few watering holes in the exclusive area)

Mary Drost, a lifelong resident of Camberwell and organiser of lobby group Planning Backlash said she was furious about the amendment.

'It's been a much safer place this area being dry, let me tell you,' she told The Herald Sun.

Ms Drost also said she feels unsafe when she walks through areas by herself as a woman where drinks are regularly flowing.

Premier Daniel Andrews (pictured) had previously entered the 2018 election with a pledge to abolish the 'archaic law', citing the expense and burden of the polls on residents

Premier Daniel Andrews had previously entered the 2018 election with a pledge to abolish the 'archaic law', citing the expense and burden of the polls on residents.

But Ms Drost said she is sure the community doesn't even know that the law had been scrapped and believes they will be displeased with the move.

'It's been snuck through purposely because they didn't want all of us screaming out about it,' she added.

Mary Drost, a lifelong resident of Camberwell and organiser of lobby group Planning Backlash said she was appalled and furious over the amendment (Pictured: Suburb of Camberwell)

Garry Thompson, Mayor of Boroondara Council, argued the state government's move was anti-democratic and accommodated pubs more than the residents.

'While supporting the ability of cafes and family restaurants to serve alcohol within designated hours, the City of Boroondara maintains a strong opposition to changes to the 'Dry Area' requirements,' Mr Thompson said.

It is understood that the mandatory alcohol polls in the leafy eastern suburbs have cost Victorian taxpayers a staggering $500,000 since 2004.

Additionally, residents who didn't vote in the polls have previously been fined $83.

The dry areas of the conservative suburbs were bounded to the west by Burke Road, Middleborough Road in the east, bounded to the north by Koonung Creek and Gardiner's Creek, Warringal Road and Riverdale Road in the south.
Russia's Defense Ministry has complained about what it says is 'aggressive U.S. military action' as tension mounts over Ukraine and Putin's planes intercepted American jets over international waters.

The US 6th Fleet took issue with Russia's criticism, and called the interactions with the Kremlin's jets 'safe and professional,' according to Military.com.

But the incident provides further cause for concern in European capitals and in DC, as relations between Moscow and the world sink further - driven by Russia's troop movements near Ukraine, and threats by their ally Belarus to shut of natural gas supplies flowing from Russia through Belarus.

Vladimir Putin, the only friend of Belarus's dictator, rapped Lukashenko over the knuckles for his threat, insisting that Russia would not allow the gas tap to be turned off.

Vladimir Putin, seen on Friday at an Artificial Intelligence conference in Moscow, is presiding over a period of heightened tension with the West

President Joe Biden and U.S. officials are increasingly alarmed at Russia's maneuvers in Eastern Europe

Putin has also rapped ally Aleksandr Lukashenko, pictured, who is the president of Belarus, over his decision to channel migrants towards the European Union

Fears are growing of an imminent conflict in eastern Europe as Russia and Belarus carry out snap military drills close to where a migrant crisis is playing out on Poland's border, while Washington warns Putin is preparing to invade eastern Ukraine

Amid the tensions between Russia and Ukraine, Belarus is pressuring Europe over migrants and has threatened to cut off gas supplies to the continent by shutting the Yamal-Europe pipeline which runs through its territory (pictured)

Poland has deployed some 15,000 troops to its eastern border where they have spent much of this week trying to hold back thousands of migrants that Lukashenko's regime is accused of forcing into the region

Poland, along with the leaders of nearby Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, has been warning that the crisis has the potential to spill over into a full-blown conflict

Poland has reported dozens of attempts to cross the border today, including a group of migrants who broke through the Belarusian side of the crossing and began trying to cross the Polish side of the fence

However, Putin has not addressed claims that Lukashenko is deliberately ferrying migrants from the Middle East and North Africa to the European Union - a move which has infuriated the EU, and seen troops from Britain and other countries move into the region.

President Joe Biden issued his own expression of concern as he left the White House for Camp David on Friday.

'Its of great concern. Weve communicated our concern to Russia. Weve communicated our concern to Belarus. We think its a problem,' he said in response to a shouted question from a reporter about the migrant situation.

On Friday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and Defense Minister Florence Parly met their Russian counterparts in Paris, in a bid to calm tensions.

Sergei Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, and Sergei Shoygu, head of the Ministry of Defense, were in Paris, amid mounting concern at Russia's activities in Eastern Europe.

'The two [French] ministers shared their concerns about the deterioration of the security situation in Ukraine and clearly warned of serious consequences related to any new harm to Ukraine's territorial integrity,' the joint statement from the French foreign and defense ministries said.

Yet Shoygu's ministry on the same day condemned the U.S. and NATO for their own actions in the region.

'We view the US aggressive military activity in the Black Sea region as a threat to regional security and strategic stability,' said a statement from the Defense Ministry.

A U.S. Air Force RC-135 Rivet Joint reconnaissance aircraft, like the one pictured, took off from Crete and spotted by Russian radar

A U-2 Dragon Lady (pictured) was also one of the five American planes that the Russian radars spotted

Three P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, like the one pictured, took off from Sicily and were picked up over international waters by Russian radar

USS Porter of US Navy passes through the Dardanelles Strait in Canakkale, Turkey in 2019. The ship is currently in the Black Sea

The USS Mount Whitney is seen sailing towards the Black Sea on November 4

Washington's warning comes as Putin masses his forces close to Ukrainian territory, with satellite images taken in the last few weeks showing large camps of tanks and artillery pieces in the region

Ukraine warns there are now some 90,000 Russian soldiers near its border, where it has been fighting a years-long insurgency in its eastern regions by Russian-backed separatists

Russia and Belarus said paratroopers from both countries had been involved in joint drills in Gozhsky today, located just 20 miles from the Polish border where migrants are trying to cross

The Belarusian defense ministry said the troops practiced capturing bridges, hunting down and destroying targets, and defeating enemy patrols during the drill to 'test combat readiness'

The NATO countries that are holding unscheduled drills in the Black Sea have intensified air reconnaissance near the Russian borders, the ministry said.

'The true goal of the US actions unprovoked by Russia are to study the theater of military operations in case of the use-of-force scenario in the southeast.

'The intensity of NATO air reconnaissance near the borders of the Russian Federation in the Black Sea continues growing,' the statement says.

Moscow said that their radars spotted and tracked six NATO reconnaissance planes over the Black Sea in the past 24 hours.

The radars picked up five U.S. planes and one French.

They reported spotting three U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol planes, which had taken off from the U.S. airbase on Sicily; a U.S. Air Force RC-135 strategic reconnaissance plane from the airbase on Crete; and a U.S. Air Force U-2S strategic reconnaissance aircraft from their Cyprus airbase.

The French Air Force plane was a C-160G Gabriel reconnaissance aircraft, which had taken off from the airbase in Romania.

The Russians also noted seeing the US Navy guided missile destroyer Porter, the command ship Mount Whitney and the tanker John Lenthall.

The flotilla is currently deployed in the southwestern part of the Black Sea, after completing their transit from the Georgian port of Batumi and continue moving westward, the ministry said.

'The Black Sea Fleet's ships: the missile cruiser Moskva, the frigate Admiral Essen and the patrol vessel Pavel Derzhavin are closely watching the US warships in the Black Sea,' Russia's Defense Ministry said.
Dramatic cockpit footage has captured the moment an RAF jet intercepted a Russian bomber as it headed towards British airspace on Friday, as tensions on the Poland-Belarus border ratcheted up and fears grew of an invasion of Ukraine.

The two nuclear-capable Russian Tu-160 'White Swan' bombers entered 'the UK area of interest,' the MoD confirmed after the incident.

The Kremlin warplanes approached Dutch airspace before being intercepted by the RAF and were seen heading north into international airspace over the North Sea at around 12.45pm, according to Mil Radar.

The dramatic video from inside the cockpit of one of the Russian planes - often used to probe NATO air defences - shows its its flight above 'neutral waters'.

Pictured: A still grab from a video inside the cockpit of a Russian nuclear-capable bomber showing the aircraft being intercepted by a British Typhoon fighter jet

Pictured: A british Typhoon figher jet is shown in video from inside a Russian bomber as it is intercepted

After demonstrating the two supersonic bombers taking off and re-fuelling in mid-air, the video cuts to showing British Typhoon fighter jets flying closely along-side.

The Typhoons were scrambled from Lossiemouth, Scotland, and Coningsby, Lincolnshire, along with a refuelling jet from Brize Norton, Oxfordshire as British troops were deployed at the Polish border amid a Kremlin-backed migrant crisis.

'Typhoon fighters were scrambled against unidentified aircraft approaching the UK area,' an RAF spokesperson said. 'Subsequently, our fighters escorted the Russian aircraft out of the UK's area of interest.

'At no time did the Russian bombers enter UK sovereign airspace.'

A Russian spokesperson insisted: 'All flights of aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Force are performed in strict compliance with the international rules of using air space.'

A Russian defence ministry spokesperson admitted the enormous long-range aircraft carried out 15-hour flights off the north coast of Scotland, but were escorted away by the RAF jets.

'Two strategic Tu-160 long-range aviation rocket carriers performed a scheduled flight in the air space above the neutral waters of the Barents, Norwegian and North Seas,' a spokesperson said.

The incursion came with Europe at battle stations, as Putin is backing a 'hybrid war' using migrants to sow chaos at Poland's border while sending tens of thousands of troops to the frontier with Ukraine for a possible invasion.

Two nuclear-capable Russian Tu-160 'White Swan' bombers (pictured) entered 'the UK area of interest' on Friday, the MoD confirmed after the incident

Pictured: The pilot of one of the Russian bombers is shown in this still video grab

The Typhoons (pictured) were scrambled from Lossiemouth, Scotland, and Coningsby, Lincolnshire, along with a refuelling jet from Brize Norton, Oxfordshire as British troops were deployed at the Polish border amid a Kremlin-backed migrant crisis

And Putin was warned against making a 'serious mistake' after America said satellite images of troops suggested Russia could be planning to invade.

Speaking on Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he considered recent Black Sea exercises by US and other NATO ships as a serious challenge.

'The United States and its allies in NATO are carrying out unplanned exercises in the Black Sea. Not only is a rather powerful naval group involved in these exercises, but also aviation, including strategic aviation. This is a serious challenge for us,' he said in an interview with Russian state broadcaster Vesti.

Following the interception, RAF fighter pilots and heavy US bombers took to the skies above the North Sea in a show of strength as tensions in Eastern Europe threaten to spill over.

British Typhoons and F35 Lightning jets teamed up with US B1 and B52 bombers in a joint military exercise dubbed Operation Point Blank this week.

The US air force said the mission showed its 'commitment to work closely with our allies and partners to deter any potential adversary from aggressive actions.'

UK and US fighter jets and bombers took to the skies over the North Sea amid rising tensions in Eastern Europe (Pictured: U.S. Air Force F-15C Eagles, F-15E Strike Eagles, assigned to the 48th Fighter Wing, and Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s escort B-1 Lancer Bombers, assigned to Dyess Air Force Base, Texas)

The show of strength came just two days before a pair of Russian nuclear bombers forced the RAF to defend British airspace over the North Sea (Pictured: U.S. Air Force F-15C Eagles, F-15E Strike Eagles, assigned to the 48th Fighter Wing, and Royal Air Force fighter aircraft escort KC-135 Statotankers, assigned to Royal Air Force Mildenhall)

The US-UK exercise over the North Sea on Wednesday (pictured) enabled crews to train the vital drills needed during Air to Air refueling

A fighter jet is refuelled mid air during a joint exercise between the US and UK over the North Sea amid rising tensions in Europe

Flight tracking data was available for the RAF Tanker Voyager which left Brize Norton to support the Typhoons. A NATO jet also left Cologne to circle around Norway. The two Russian Tu-160 bombers flew over the North Sea before heading back north into international airspace

Polish police find body of Syrian man near Belarus border The body of a young Syrian man has been found in Poland near the border with Belarus, Polish police said on Saturday, amid mounting international tension over a migrant crisis the European Union says has been orchestrated by Minsk. Thousands of migrants from the Middle East are sheltering in freezing conditions in the woods on the border between Belarus and EU states Poland and Lithuania, which are refusing to let them cross. Some have already died and there are fears for the safety of the rest as bitter winter conditions settle in. 'Yesterday, in the woods, near the border, near Wolka Terechowska, the body of a young Syrian man was found,' Podlaska Police said on Twitter. The police said they had been unable to determine the cause of death at the scene. The discovery of the body comes amid mounting international tension over the migrant crisis, with neighbours of Belarus warning the situation could escalate into a military conflict and U.S. President Joe Biden expressing his concern. Russian President Vladimir Putin, the most important ally of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, was quoted by Ifax on Saturday as saying Belarus has nothing to do with the migrant crisis. The Polish Border Guard said on Saturday that during the night Belarusian soldiers had torn up a section of the temporary fence erected by Poland to deter migrants. Reporting by Reuters Advertisement

In the interview on Saturday, Putin said he had nothing to do with the migrant crisis on close ally Belarus's border with the European Union.

'I want everyone to know. We have nothing to with it,' he said in the interview.

He added that he hoped Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and German Chancellor Angela Merkel would speak directly about the crisis and that the migrants primarily wanted to go to Germany.

Poland and other Western critics accused Moscow of working with Minsk to orchestrate the sending of thousands of migrants to the border.

Meanwhile, British soldiers were deployed to the Polish border with Belarus Thursday as tensions heated up.

The escalating migrant crisis at the edge of the EU triggered a rapid military build-up in the region, with Russian paratroopers touching down on the opposite side of the border.

The small forward party of British soldiers, thought to number about ten, will help Polish forces strengthen their border with Belarus, where as many as 4,000 migrants, mainly from Iraq, Syria and Yemen, have gathered hoping to cross into Europe.

Belarus started building camps to house those who have spent night after night sleeping in freezing forests with little food.

Katarzyna Zdanowicz, spokesman for Poland's border guards in the eastern Podlasie region, said 'The scale of the problem is not diminishing.'

She said Belarusian forces had brought wood and water to migrant camps on the border, adding: 'We can see they are preparing for a longer stay.'

Another 15,000 migrants are thought to be in Belarus and heading for the border, having been brought in from the Middle East to flood into Europe by president Alexander Lukashenko in revenge for EU sanctions.

On Saturday, Polish police said the body of a young Syrian man has been found in Poland near the border with Belarus.

Thousands of migrants from the Middle East are sheltering in freezing conditions in the woods on the border between Belarus and EU states Poland and Lithuania, which are refusing to let them cross.

Some have already died and there are fears for the safety of the rest as bitter winter conditions settle in.

'Yesterday, in the woods, near the border, near Wolka Terechowska, the body of a young Syrian man was found,' Podlaska Police said on Twitter.

The police said they had been unable to determine the cause of death at the scene.

British troops were deployed at the Polish border amid a Kremlin-backed migrant crisis as the Typhoons were scrambled (pictured) from Lossiemouth, Scotland, and Coningsby, Lincolnshire, along with a refuelling jet from Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, on Friday

An RAF fighter jet intercepting a Russian military aircraft approaching a UK area of interest

The Kremlin warplanes approached Dutch airspace before being intercepted by the RAF and were seen heading north into international airspace over the North Sea at around 12.45pm, according to Mil Radar

Moscow, a key Lukashenko ally, has been accused of helping to fuel the crisis.

As the Royal Engineers arrived in the region, hundreds of Russian paratroopers jumped from military aircraft into Belarus.

They conducted tactical rehearsals 25 miles from the flashpoint at the border.

The Russian defence ministry said the troops, two of whom died, flew home after the exercise, which was interpreted as a show of support for Lukashenko.

Tory former defence minister Tobias Ellwood backed the Ministry of Defence's demonstration of solidarity with Poland.

He said: 'Nato states will need to act swiftly to stay ahead of the threat, while countries which share borders with Russia will require further support.

'Any failure to do so would be interpreted as weak behaviour by President Putin.

'He could absolutely invade Ukraine. It is a reflection of just how weak the West has become.'

America warned European leaders this week that Russia may be about to invade Ukraine, having annexed the Ukrainian territory of Crimea in 2014.

The warning was based on satellite images showing tens of thousands of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Moscow would commit a 'serious mistake' if any of the 90,000 Russian troops positioned to march into Ukraine did so.

Pictured: Soldiers from the Polish Armed Forces patrol the Belarus-Polish border on November 11, 2021 in Kuznica, Poland

Pictured: Belarusian servicemen control the situation while migrants get humanitarian aid as they gather at the Belarus-Poland border near Grodno, Belarus, Friday, Nov. 12, 2021

Pictured: A camp of asylum-seekers, refugees and migrants on the Belarus-Polish border in the Grodno region, not far from the checkpoint Bruzgi, Belarus, 12 November 2021

Polish army have erected 180 kilometres of barber wire fencing (pictured) across the border with Belarus. Pictures from Poland Ministry of Defence

Tory former defence minister Tobias Ellwood backed the Ministry of Defence's demonstration of solidarity with Poland

He assured Kiev this week that Washington's commitment to Ukraine's security was 'iron-clad'.

He said: 'We don't know Russia's intentions. But we do know that we've seen in the past  Russia mass forces on Ukraine's borders, claim some kind of provocation by Ukraine, and then invade. That's what they did in 2014.'

France urged Russia to use its ties with Belarus to bring the migrant crisis to an end, and warned that any Russian threat to Ukraine would have 'serious consequences'. The EU expressed alarm at Russia's activities by Ukraine's border.

Belarus said it was ready to defend itself, accusing Poland of an 'unprecedented' military build-up on the border, with 15,000 troops and guards backed by tanks, air defences and other weapons.

Defence minister Viktor Khrenin added: 'Belarus armed forces are ready to respond harshly to any attacks.'

Turkey said Thursday that Iraqis, Syrians and Yemenis would no longer be allowed on flights to Belarus. Iraq also stopped direct journeys, and said it would repatriate Iraqis in Belarus.

It comes after Russia and Belarus held snap paratrooper drills just 20 miles from a border crossing where thousands of migrants are gathered, saying it was to 'test the readiness' of their troops, at the same time as two Russian bombers flew close to the UK - with RAF Typhoons scrambled to escort them.

A 'small' detachment of British troops, thought to be from Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers, were also deployed to the Polish border to help beef up the defences, the Ministry of Defence confirmed.

Separately, the US also warned that Putin could be preparing for an attack on eastern Ukraine after he was spotted massing thousands of troops, tanks and artillery pieces near the border.

Ukraine's defence minister accused Russia of waging 'hybrid warfare' on Europe, saying Putin is ultimately responsible for the Polish border crisis.

Fears are growing of an imminent conflict in eastern Europe as Russia and Belarus carry out snap military drills close to where a migrant crisis is playing out on Poland's border, while Washington warns Putin is preparing to invade eastern Ukraine

Lukashenko wants payback for EU sanctions and Putin enjoys mischief: Why Belarus and Russia are causing chaos in Europe What is behind the crisis? Belarus was rocked by months of massive protests following the August 2020 election that gave authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko a sixth term in office. The opposition and the West rejected the result as a sham. Belarusian authorities responded to the demonstrations with a fierce crackdown that saw more than 35,000 people arrested and thousands beaten by police. The European Union and the U.S. reacted by imposing sanctions on Lukashenko's government. Those restrictions were toughened after an incident in May when a passenger jet flying from Greece to Lithuania was diverted by Belarus to Minsk, where authorities arrested dissident journalist Roman Pratasevich. The EU called it air piracy and barred Belarusian carriers from its skies and cut imports of the country's top commodities, including petroleum products and potash, an ingredient in fertilizer. A furious Lukashenko shot back by saying he would no longer abide by an agreement to stem illegal migration, arguing that the EU sanctions deprived his government of funds needed to contain flows of migrants. Planes carrying migrants from Iraq, Syria and other countries began arriving in Belarus, and they soon headed for the borders with Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. Pavel Latushka, a member of the Belarusian opposition, claimed that state-controlled tourist agencies were involved in offering visa support to migrants and helping them drive to the border. The EU accused Lukashenko of using the migrants as pawns in a 'hybrid attack' against the 27-nation bloc in retaliation for the sanctions. Lukashenko denies encouraging the flow of migrants and said the EU is violating migrants' rights by denying them safe passage. What has been the response by EU countries? During the summer, Lithuania introduced a state of emergency to deal with an influx of migrants and strengthen its border with Belarus. It set up tent camps to accommodate the growing number of migrants. In previous months, small groups of asylum-seekers tried to sneak into Lithuania, Poland and Latvia at night, using forest paths away from populated areas. This week, much larger groups gathered openly at the Polish border, and some people used shovels and wire cutters to try to break through a razor-wire fence at Poland's border. Authorities in Warsaw estimated the crowds at about 3,000-4,000 and said they prevented hundreds of people from entering the country. Poland deployed riot police and other forces to bolster the border guards. Eight deaths have been confirmed at the Belarus-Poland border,, and temperatures have fallen below freezing at night. The EU has made a strong show of solidarity with Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. EU officials are expected to discuss another round of sanctions against Belarus, and European Council President Charles Michel said for the first time that the bloc would consider the possibility of financing 'physical infrastructure' such as barriers or fences on the border. What is Russia's role? Belarus has received strong support from its main ally, Russia, which has helped buttress Lukashenko's government with loans and political support. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the migrants flows resulted from the U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and Western-backed Arab Spring uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa. He challenged the EU to offer financial assistance to Belarus to deal with the influx. At the same time, the Kremlin angrily rejected Poland's claim that Russia bears responsibility for the crisis. Usau said Russia could step in as a mediator in the hope of improving ties with Germany and other EU nations. Advertisement

French ministers warned their Russian counterparts of 'serious consequences' if Ukraine is invaded and called on the Kremlin to re-open dialogue with Kiev.

But Kremin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed those allegations, saying that Russia 'doesn't threaten anyone' while describing fears of an attack on Ukraine as a 'hollow and unfounded attempt to incite tensions'.

Peskov also claimed that Russia needed to protect its security against 'increasing provocations' near its borders.

He pointed at the US naval deployment to the Black Sea and increasingly frequent US and NATO intelligence flights.

'We take measures to ensure our security when our opponents take defiant action near our borders,' Peskov said. 'We can't stay indifferent to that; we must be on our guard.'

Poland has moved 15,000 troops to its border to help manage the unfolding crisis, while Ukraine has deployed 8,500 soldiers to the eastern border region where it has been fighting a years-long war with Russian-backed separatist rebels.

Russia's defence ministry said the unannounced drill involved paratroopers from both countries dropping at the Gozhsky range, just 20 miles from where thousands of migrants are gathered at the Polish border, where they practiced capturing bridges as well as hunting down and destroying enemy patrols.

Belarus said the drill was in response to the 'build-up of military activity' at the Polish border, where 15,000 troops have been stationed to hold back the migrants, while Russia said it was to test the 'combat readiness' of its troops.

At the same time, Polish defence minister Mariusz Baszczak revealed that British military engineers have been deployed to help strengthen the border defences, amid warnings from all sides that the crisis risks spilling over into an armed conflict. The MoD confirmed a 'small team' has been sent to provide engineering support.

The troops are likely from the light cavalry squadron that the UK currently has stationed in Poland as part of NATO's Enhanced Forward Presence, which includes soldiers from the Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers.

Amidst the tensions, RAF Typhoons from Lossiemouth & Coningsby were also scrambled to escort two Russian nuclear-capable bombers which flew over the North Sea and towards the English Channel today. They were joined on the mission by a Voyager Tanker from RAF Brize Norton, the RAF said.

Meanwhile Sergei Shoigu, Russia's defence minister, warned his French counterparts that the military situation in Europe 'continues to deteriorate' while slamming NATO for 'building up its military presence' near Russia's border.

Speaking after a meeting with French officials in Paris, Shoigu insisted that Russia is working to 'increase predictability and reduce the risk of incidents' in the border region.

NATO said on Friday it is looking out for any escalation in the situation on its members' borders with Belarus, after Belarusian and Russian paratroopers staged joint drills near the Polish and Lithuanian borders.

'We will remain vigilant against the risk of further escalation and provocation by Belarus at its borders with Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia, and will continue to monitor the implications for the security of the alliance,' the North Atlantic Council, representing the alliance's member states, said in a statement.

'NATO allies call on Belarus to cease these actions, to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms, and to abide by international law.'

American intelligence sources briefed their European counterparts of a possible Kremlin military operation in Ukraine's east to annex territory similar to the 2014 annexation of the Crimean peninsula, Bloomberg reported.

The US has refused to share exactly what intel it has of an imminent attack, but the warning comes after satellite images revealed a build-up of tens of thousands of Russian troops, tanks and artillery pieces close to the border.

The EU accuses Belarus dictator Alexander Lukashenko of forcing migrants to make illegal crossings into Poland in a cynical attempt to destabilise the bloc using vulnerable people as his weapon.

On Thursday, Lukashenko himself warned of the risk of a conflict and accused armed groups in the Donbas region of Ukraine of trying to ship weapons to the migrants on the Polish border in order to spark fighting.

'They are Kurds, and the Kurds are militant,' he said according to Polish newspaper Wyborcza. 'When Poles beat them, cut them, torment them, etc., they become desperate. One rifle, one gun, and armed conflict is ready.'

Lukashenko has also threatened to cut off natural gas supplies running from Russia and through his country into Europe - though that threat was angrily slapped down by Moscow today.

Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesman, said Lukashenko had not coordinated with Moscow before making the remark and added that Russian pledged to fulfil gas contracts are 'beyond doubt'.

Washington's warning comes as Putin masses his forces close to Ukrainian territory, with satellite images taken in the last few weeks showing large camps of tanks and artillery pieces in the region

Ukraine warns there are now some 90,000 Russian soldiers near its border, where it has been fighting a years-long insurgency in its eastern regions by Russian-backed separatists

It came after Lukashenko spoke out at a meeting of government officials on Thursday, musing: 'We are heating Europe and they are threatening us... What if we cut off their natural gas?

'I would recommend the Polish and Lithuanian authorities to think before they speak up.'

Russia's Yamal-Europe pipeline runs through Belarus and into Poland, representing about 20 per cent of the country's total gas-carrying capacity into Europe.

The continent relies on natural gas for around a quarter of its energy needs, more than half of which is piped in from Russia - which sits on top of the world's largest gas reserves.

Just weeks ago, European leaders were trying to negotiate with Russia to increase supplies as stockpiles of gas ran low due to surging demand as economies reopen post-Covid.

The EU accused Putin of throttling the flow of gas as a political bargaining tool to try and get a new gas pipeline - the multi-billion dollar Nord Stream 2 - opened. He denied the allegations.

Amid the tensions between Russia and Ukraine, Belarus is pressuring Europe over migrants and has threatened to cut off gas supplies to the continent by shutting the Yamal-Europe pipeline which runs through its territory (pictured)

Concerns about Russian troops on Ukraine's border have been ongoing since at least April this year, when Putin moved around 100,000 soldiers, tanks and artillery pieces to the region without warning.

He later said the exercise was to test 'military readiness' and pulled some of the units back, but NATO warned that many of them had remained at the front even after the 'exercise' was over.

Russia then held more military drills around the Crimean peninsula and Ukraine's eastern border over the summer, with yet more troops moved to the region.

The drills were closely watched by western powers with tensions almost spilling over into confrontation, including an episode in which Russian warships fired warning shots at a British vessel.
Family and friends have been reunited in emotional scenes after 450 men and women who embarked on the HMAS Canberra returned to Sydney following a five-month deployment.

The Landing Helicopter Dock left Sydney in July and took part in Exercise Talisman Sabre 21 off Queensland, before joining the US-led Large Scale Global exercise 21 in the Western Pacific.

Recently, the ship took part in exercise Bersama Gold near Singapore to mark the 50th anniversary of the Five Power Defence Arrangements.

Family and friends have been reunited after about 450 men and women who embarked on the HMAS Canberra returned to Sydney following a five-month deployment

The Landing Helicopter Dock left Sydney in July and took part in Exercise Talisman Sabre 21 off Queensland, before joining the US-led Large Scale Global exercise 21 in the Western Pacific (Pictured: Emotional reunions after the crew returned to Sydney)

HMAS Canberra also led an Australian task group that included HMA Ships Anzac and Sirius on Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2021 (IPE21) - Australia's flagship regional engagement activity.

Images from the emotional reunion in Sydney captured a lot of big hugs and teary family and friends who were glad to see the crew return.

Commander IPE21, Commodore Mal Wise, said while there were difficulties with Covid-19, the contactless deployment was able to achieve meaningful engagement with many regional partners.

HMAS Canberra also led an Australian task group that included HMA Ships Anzac and Sirius on Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2021 (IPE21) - Australia's flagship regional engagement activity (Crew member embracing his partner after returning home)

Images from the emotional reunion in Sydney captured a lot of big hugs, happy and teary family friends that were glad to see the crew return

Pictured: Friends and family excited to see the crew members return to Sydney

'We engaged directly with eight regional nations, conducting virtual workshops on issues of importance and practicing interoperability between navies,' Commodore Wise said.

'IPE continues to be an important way for Australia and partner nations to reinforce that an open, inclusive and resilient IndoPacific benefits all nations in the region.'

IPE21 involved several engagements with countries in Southeast Asia, including Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

IPE21 involved several engagements with countries in Southeast Asia, including Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam (Pictured: A family sharing a happy and emotional reunion)

The endeavour also included interactions with ships from the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand (Pictured: Crew member receiving gifts from her family)

The endeavour also included interactions with ships from the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand.

HMAS Canberra was one of seven major fleet units deployed to East Asia this year to demonstrate Australia's commitment to security cooperation and partnerships with the nation's immediate region.

Commanding Officer of HMAS Canberra Captain Jace Hutchinson commended his crew for their professionalism.

HMAS Canberra was one of seven major fleet units deployed to East Asia to demonstrate Australia's commitment to security cooperation with the nation's immediate region (Pictured: Crew member hugging a family member after returning to Sydney)

Now that the crew has arrived home, they will be able to enjoy some well-deserved relaxation and time with their family and friends (Pictured: A couple shares a teary reunion)

'Being at sea for such a long period of time can be very challenging,' he said.

'The crew has demonstrated resilience, professionalism and a great deal of commitment while deployed and I couldn't be more proud of them.'

'Of course, standing behind the crew are countless family and friends without whom we could not do this job. I thank them for their support,' Captain Hutchinson added.

Now that the crew has arrived home, they will be able to enjoy some well-deserved relaxation and time with their family and friends.

But the crew will remain at 48-hours notice to move over Christmas and New Year's as part of Navy's contingency planning for the high risk weather season.
U.S. Climate Envoy John Kerry has hailed the COP26 agreement as a 'good deal' even after a last-minute change that let major coal users such as China off the hook for reigning in their emissions.

The Glasgow agreement, aimed at capping global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius, was altered at the last minute on Saturday to call for coal power to 'phase down,' rather than 'phase out.'

India, backed by China and other coal-dependent developing nations, demanded the change and asked for the wording to be rewritten, and the clause was hurriedly amended in the final minutes of negotiation.

China, which uses coal-fired power plants to fuel its explosive economic growth, consumes half the world's coal, while India is in second place accounting for 11 percent of global coal use.

'It's a good deal for the world,' Kerry insisted in an interview with The Associated Press after the agreement was gaveled in.

Alok Sharma, the conference chairman, was visibly emotional before banging down his gavel to signal that there were no vetoes to the deal.

His voice broke after he heard small island nations vulnerable to rising sea levels express their fury over the last-minute changes going easy on coal.

'May I just say to all delegates, I apologize for the way this process has unfolded and I am deeply sorry,' he told the assembly.

'I also understand the deep disappointment but I think, as you have noted, it's also vital that we protect this package.'

US Climate Envoy John Kerry has hailed the COP26 agreement as a 'good deal' even after a last minute change that let major coal users such as China off the hook

India's environment and climate minister, Bhupender Yadav, pushed for the change, backed by China and other coal-dependent developing nations

A coal fired power plant is seen last month in Hanchuan, Hubei province, China. China accounts for half of all coal consumption in the world

Alok Sharma, the conference chairman, was visibly emotional before banging down his gavel to signal that there were no vetoes to the deal

India's environment and climate minister, Bhupender Yadav, said the revision to the language on coal was needed to reflect the 'national circumstances of emerging economies.'

'We are becoming the voice of the developing countries,' he told Reuters, adding that coal had been 'singled out' during the COP26 talks while there was no similar call to phase out oil or natural gas.

'We made our effort to make a consensus that is reasonable for developing countries and reasonable for climate justice,' he said, alluding to the fact that rich nations historically emitted the largest share of greenhouse gases.

The one-word change in the agreement was met with dismay by the rich economies of the European Union and Switzerland, as well as by a large group of small island states, whose existence is under threat from rising sea levels.

But all said they would let it stand for the sake of an overall agreement.

'The approved texts are a compromise. They reflect the interests, the conditions, the contradictions and the state of political will in the world today,' said U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

'They take important steps, but unfortunately the collective political will was not enough to overcome some deep contradictions.'

Dr. Yasmine Fouad, Minister of Environment for Egypt, puts her hand on her head in frustration after the coal compromise made at the COP26 UN Climate Summit in Scotland, Saturday

Delegates celebrate the passage of the agreement during the Plenary session of the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland on Saturday

Nation after nation had complained earlier on the final day of two weeks of UN climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland about how the deal did not go far or fast enough, but they said it was better than nothing and provided incremental progress, if not success.

Negotiators from Switzerland and Mexico called the coal language change against the rules because it came so late. However, they said they had no choice but to hold their noses and go along with it.

Swiss environment minister Simonetta Sommaruga said the change will make it harder to achieve the international goal to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, since pre-industrial times.

'Our fragile planet is hanging by a thread,' United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement.

'We are still knocking on the door of climate catastrophe.'

John Kerry, United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate gestures during a press conference at the end of the COP26 U.N. Climate Summit in Glasgow, Scotland, Saturday

Climate activists hold a demonstration through the venue of the COP26 UN Climate Summit in Glasgow, Scotland, Friday, November 12

Many other nations and climate campaigners pointed at India for making demands that weakened the final agreement.

'India's last-minute change to the language to phase down but not phase out coal is quite shocking,' said Australian climate scientist Bill Hare, who tracks world emission pledges for the science-based Climate Action Tracker.

'India has long been a blocker on climate action, but I have never seen it done so publicly.'

Others approached the deal from a more positive perspective. In addition to the revised coal language, the Glasgow Climate Pact included enough financial incentives to almost satisfy poorer nations and solved a long-standing problem to pave the way for carbon trading.

The agreement also says big carbon polluting nations have to come back and submit stronger emission cutting pledges by the end of 2022.

A climate activist holds a placard next to police officers near the venue for the COP26 UN Climate Summit in Glasgow, Scotland, Friday

Delegates from different countries pose for a group photograph together on stage in the plenary room at the COP26 UN Climate Summit

Conference President, Britain's Alok Sharma, pictured, said the deal drives 'progress on coal, cars, cash and trees' and is 'something meaningful for our people and our planet.'

Before the India change, negotiators said the deal preserved, albeit barely, the overarching goal of limiting Earth's warming by the end of the century to 1.5 degrees Centigrade.

The world has already warmed one degree Centigrade compared to pre-industrial times.

Ahead of the Glasgow talks, the United Nations had set three criteria for success, and none of them were achieved.

The UN's criteria included pledges to cut carbon dioxide emissions in half by 2030, $100 billion in financial aid from rich nations to poor, and ensuring that half of that money went to helping the developing world adapt to the worst effects of climate change.

'We did not achieve these goals at this conference,' Guterres said Saturday night.

'But we have some building blocks for progress.'

Negotiators Saturday used the word 'progress' more than 20 times, but rarely used the word 'success' and then mostly in that they've reached a conclusion, not about the details in the agreement.

Pictured: a climate protester walks from Times Square to New York Governor Kathy Hochul's office to demand more action against climate change on Saturday in New York City

Climate activist Zainab Sunmisola Yunusa, pictured, takes part in a demonstration through the venue of the COP26 summit on Friday

Conference President Alok Sharma said the deal drives 'progress on coal, cars, cash and trees' and is 'something meaningful for our people and our planet.'

Environmental activists were measured in their not-quite-glowing assessments, issued before India's last minute change.

'It's meek, it's weak and the 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit goal is only just alive, but a signal has been sent that the era of coal is ending. And that matters,' said Greenpeace International Executive Director Jennifer Morgan, a veteran of the UN climate talks known as the Conferences of Parties.

Former Irish President Mary Robinson, speaking for a group of retired leaders called The Elders, said the pact represents: the pact represents 'some progress, but nowhere near enough to avoid climate disaster... People will see this as a historically shameful dereliction of duty.'

Next year's talks are scheduled to take place in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Dubai will host the next world climate meeting in 2023.
A married police chief, 38, has been suspended from duty after an alleged improper relationship with a 21-year-old officer.

It is understood investigators will look into Chief Superintendent Daniel Greenwood's text messages and meetings with PC Caitlin Howarth, who was under his command.

Chief Supt Greenwood has been in the West Yorkshire Police for almost 20 years.

PC Caitlin Howarth, 21, has also been suspended pending the outcome of the investigation into her relationship with Chief Superintendent Daniel Greenwood

He is the Bradford District Commander and lives in Bingley, West Yorkshire.

PC Howarth, a probationary officer for the force, has also been suspended pending the investigation's outcome, The Sun reports.

A spokesman said: 'West Yorkshire Police's Professional Standards Directorate are investigating alleged misconduct of officers in Bradford District.

'Two officers have been suspended from duty pending the outcome of that investigation.'

PC Howarth, who has more than 10 thousand followers on a private Instagram account, was also spotted in Bingley at her mother's home and going on shopping trips with her

The Chief Constable has also been made aware of the allegation and West Yorkshire Police's Professional Standards Directorate is investigating any alleged misconduct.

Chief Supt Greenwood's temporary replacement had to send staff an email explaining what happened after news of the suspensions went 'round like wildfire among officers in Bradford and Leeds', according to a source.

They added that everyone is 'shocked' by the chief's suspension who they called a 'family man'.

Chief Superintendent Daniel Greenwood, 38, is married and has been on the force for nearly 20 years

PC Howarth has more than 10 thousand followers on a private Instagram account with some 240 posts.

According to The Sun she regularly uses it to upload glamorous photos of herself in fashionable outfits.

Chief Constable John Robins is likely to have final say on the outcome of the investigation.
Australia's Black Summer bushfires - the worst the country has ever seen - will be remembered for devastating a wildlife population, destroying thousands of homes, producing an image of an 11-year-old boy piloting a tinny away from a fiery red coastline and Charlotte O'Dwyer's dad.

Of all the heartbreaking moments that were witnessed during those months of horror signalling the end of 2019 and the start of 2020, most Australians won't forget the two young fathers and volunteer firefighters who piled into the back of a truck and never returned home to their families.

Andrew O'Dwyer, 36, and Geoffrey Keaton, 32, died at the Green Wattle Creek fire near Buxton, NSW, on December 19, 2019 - just a week before Christmas.

The best mates were killed when a burnt gum tree slammed into their fire truck while travelling to fight a nearby blaze.

Now, almost a year on from the tragedy, three-year-old Charlotte and her mother Mel O'Dwyer have shared a heartbreaking message directed at those who deliberately light up the bush for a 'thrill' - with a warning about what playing with fire may cost.

Andrew O'Dwyer (left) and Geoffrey Keaton (right) were killed when a burnt gum tree slammed into their fire truck while travelling to fight a blaze near Buxton

Young Charlotte was just 19 months old when her father sadly passed away but knows of his heroic and brave actions

Allison Marion's photo of her son Finn fleeing the advancing bushfires in the seaside town of Mallacoota in Victoria's far east became a symbol of the Black Summer bushfire crisis

Charlotte was just 19 months old when her father Andrew was killed, and while she doesn't remember much about her dad's fun-loving nature, she understands why he's not with her today.

'The people, ambulance and fire engines couldn't help him and he had to go up into the sky,' the young girl told The Saturday Telegraph.

Mel O'Dwyer said she has been candid with Charlotte about how the Black Summer devastated a nation - and their family.

On October 26 a 13-year-old was allegedly caught deliberately lighting a fire in the western Sydney suburb Doonside, and it caused Ms O'Dwyer to stop and think about the upcoming bushfire season.

'I would just say to you to think before you do something like that. You might get a thrill out of it for however long it takes to burn, but for us, we have this hell for a lifetime,' she said.

'Sometimes I think to myself how did this happen to me? When I looked at my life I would never picture this. You fear it happening but never think it will and what makes it worse is so many of these fires that destroy people and lives can be avoided.'

Mel O'Dwyer said she has been candid with Charlotte about how the Black Summer bushfires devastated a nation - and their family (Pictured: Prime Minister Scott Morrison helps Charlotte from a playground fire truck dedicated to her father)

Firefighters were called to Western Sydney Parklands at 4pm after there were reports of three different fires that demolished 1.3 hectares of bushland on the same day.

The teenager is set to face a youth sentencing hearing because of her age and will listen to a panel of firefighters and arson attack victims to appreciate just how problematic her crime was.

She will appear before the court if she doesn't follow the rehabilitation program or show deep regret over her alleged actions.

Ms O'Dwyer (pictured left) sent a heartbreaking message to those who plan to light up the bush deliberately and told them to think before they act

Ms O'Dwyer has finally come to terms with being at home without Andrew and has started teaching swimming lessons part-time so she can balance taking care of their daughter.

After the two friends' tragic deaths, Mr Keaton was remembered at a funeral at Pinegrove Memorial Park in Minchinbury on January 2, 2020.

Fiancee Jess Hayes and young son Harvey were part of a long procession of fire trucks that drove to the service in tribute to Mr Keaton.

NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons also honoured Mr Keaton with a Commendation for Bravery and a Commissioner's Commendation for Service.

Mr O'Dwyer was remembered at a mass held at Our Lady of Victories in Horsley Park on January 7 2020 - a week after Mr Keaton's funeral.

On December 5, 2020, Prime Minister Scott Morrison formally opened a commemorative park and children's playground at Telopea Park in Buxton to honour Mr O'Dwyer and Mr Keaton

Pictured: Charlotte and Ms O'Dwyer with Horsley Park RFS Captain Darren Nation

Pictured: Ms Keaton receiving a gift from the RFS Commissioner at the Buxton RFS Memorial opening

A member of the Horsley Park RFS brigade for more than a decade, Mr O'Dwyer was given a guard of honour as his coffin left the requiem mass.

As the procession made its out of the church grounds, Maori members of the RFS performed an impromptu haka in tribute to their fallen colleague.

In a lasting tribute to him, a Horsley Park RFS fire truck will forever have 'in memory of Andrew O'Dwyer' written on the passenger side door.

While on December 5, 2020, Prime Minister Scott Morrison formally opened a commemorative park and children's playground at Telopea Park in Buxton to honour the two men.

The 2019/20 fire season brought unprecedented fire activity to southeast Australia, with fires in southern NSW, eastern Victoria and the ACT from October to February (Pictured: Out-of-control Green Wattle Creek bushfire)

The 2019/20 fire season brought unprecedented fire activity to southeast Australia, with fires in southern NSW, eastern Victoria and the ACT from October to February.

Scientists say the fires were categorically linked to climate change and worsened by a year-long drought, with very dry fuel and hot weather leading to the high fire activity in southeast Australia.

The horror bushfire season killed 33 Australians, and nearly a billion animals as a fifth of the continent's forests were destroyed.

The tragic fires left over 19 million hectares of land burnt and 3,000 homes destroyed.
Boris Johnson ruled out the return of the sculptures to Greece earlier this year

The Greek PM even offered to loan treasures to the British Museum in return

The Greek prime minister has issued a fresh call for the Elgin Marbles to be returned to Greece - offering to loan some of his country's treasures to the British Museum in exchange.

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the 2,500-year-old sculptures, also known as the Parthenon Marbles, were 'stolen' from Athens and 'belong in the Acropolis Museum'.

Mr Mitsotakis told the paper: 'Our position is very clear.

'The marbles were stolen in the 19th century, they belong in the Acropolis Museum and we need to discuss this issue in earnest.

The marble were once in the ancient Greek Parthenon temple but around half were taken to Britain in the early 19th century by staff working for the Earl of Elgin, Thomas Bruce

'I am sure that if there was a willingness on the part of the Government to move we could find an arrangement with the British Museum in terms of us sending abroad cultural treasures on loan, which have never left the country.'

The marbles were removed from the Acropolis more than 200 years ago and have long been the subject of dispute.

They were once in the ancient Greek Parthenon temple and other buildings on the Acropolis but around half were taken to Britain in the early 19th century by staff working for the Earl of Elgin, Thomas Bruce.

Mr Mitsotakis told the paper he intends to raise the issue with Prime Minister Boris Johnson when they meet next week.

Mr Mitsotakis told the paper he intends to raise the issue with Prime Minister Boris Johnson when they meet next week

He said: 'Refusing to discuss the topic seems to me, given the context of everything that has been happening in terms of the return of cultural treasures, to be rather an anachronistic approach.

'It would be a fantastic statement by what Boris calls Global Britain if they were to move on this and look at it through a completely different lens.'

Mr Johnson earlier this year ruled out returning the marbles to Greece, telling Greek newspaper Ta Nea: 'I understand the strong feelings of the Greek people - and indeed Prime Minister Mitsotakis - on the issue.

'But the UK Government has a firm longstanding position on the sculptures which is that they were legally acquired by Lord Elgin under the appropriate laws of the time and have been legally owned by the British Museum's Trustees since their acquisition.'
Zac Goldsmith's luxury Costa del Sol villa - where Boris Johnson holidayed last month - has been linked to a multi-million pound tax evasion probe.

According to Spanish court papers, the Torre Tramores estate near Marbella is linked to two of the Goldsmith family's property businesses, which were ordered to pay 24m (20m) in unpaid taxes and fines.

The tax authority could now legally seize parts of the family's land - consisting of more than 600 hectares of private woodland in Benahavis, 10 miles from the Marbella coastline - if they don't pay up.

But a lawyer for the one of the companies told the Guardian that the dispute stems from a land valuation error, dubbing the case as 'extremely hard to understand', while Ben Goldsmith, Zac's brother, said the whole affair should serve as a 'warning for Brits thinking of owning a property in Spain.'

Mr Johnson caught controversy when he stayed at the villa with his wife Carrie and son Wilfred last month, while the country was battling a fuel crisis and suffering through the supply chain crisis.

He is likely to now face questions over whether he knew the home was linked to an investigation by the Spanish tax authorities.

According to Spanish court papers, the Torre Tramores estate (pictured) is linked to two of the Goldsmith family's property businesses, which were ordered to pay 24m (20m) in unpaid taxes and fines

The investigation is said to have begun in Spain almost ten years ago, in 2012, when tax inspectors probed a deal which saw one of the Goldsmith companies transfer land on a large estate to a related company, reports the Guardian.

Court documents from 2008 show the family transferred plots of land near Benahavis village from Guadalmansa Administraciones to Benaltos Inversiones - in exchange for settling a 5m debt.

But the authorities accused the debt of being 'fictitious' and said it should have been labelled a 'profitable transfer' instead of a debt repayment.

They also said the land was significantly undervalued in the deal and that it was actually worth 23.2m.

The companies were ordered to pay 24m in unpaid taxes, interest and penalties for allegedly violating a legal requirement which states that transfers of assets between related entities must be priced at their normal market value.

Authorities also said the companies had not properly declared their financial gains from the transfer in their tax returns.

The Goldsmith companies appealed to the central economic-administrative court (CEAT) in 2016 - insisting that the debt was genuine and that the 23m land valuation was flawed.

However their appeal was rejected when the court agreed the debt was fictitious.

It said the deal was not a standard arrangement, citing the fact that 'several companies domiciled in tax havens' were involved 'for no apparent economic reason'.

The CEAT also believed the valuation by tax inspectors to be kosher given that less than a year after the transfer, the land was used as security for a loan worth 23m - adding it had 'no doubt' Benaltos was guilty and that its improper actions had 'resulted in a loss to the public treasury'.

The ruling was upheld by the audiencia nacional, one of Spain's highest courts, two years later in 2018.

A further appeal is believed to have been filed by the companies with the country's supreme court.

The Swiss lawyer for Guadalmansa told the Guardian that the Spanish tax inspectors significantly overvalued the property, adding that the assessment was 'based entirely on one wildly aberrant valuation' by an agency-appointed valuation company which has since acknowledged they 'made a mistake'.

Boris Johnson caught controversy when he stayed at the villa with his wife Carrie Johnson and son Wilfred last month (pictured together), while the country was battling a fuel crisis and suffering through the supply chain crisis

The estate is a short drive from the picturesque village of Benahavis, and has its own helipad to make sure VIP holidaymakers can arrive and leave without being seen

She added: 'The purchase was proper, and all taxes associated with the property have always been paid in full.'

She added that the sprawling villa where Johnson holidayed was 'entirely separate' from the property and company caught up in the tax dispute.

However public records suggest it does form part of the Goldsmiths' wider sprawling property holdings in Benahavis.

The Prime Minister quietly revealed in a list of ministerial interests earlier this month that Lord Goldsmith allowed him, Carrie and their son Wilfred to stay at the estate without payment.

Lord Goldsmith is the former MP for Richmond Park - a close friend of the PM's wife - who was elevated to the peerage by Mr Johnson after losing his seat at the 2019 election.

The move allowed the 46-year-old to remain in Government as an environment minister. He is currently Minister for the Pacific and the Environment having been given an additional role in a 2020 reshuffle.

Downing Street previously said the luxury villa was 'unconnected with the PM's parliamentary and political activities'.

Mail Online has contacted Lord Goldsmith for comment.

His brother Ben, a non-executive director at the environment department, simply told the Guardian: 'This whole thing serves as a warning to any Brit thinking of owning a property in Spain.'

Neither have commented on how far they were involved with or aware of the property deal at the heart of the Spanish tax probe.

Lord Zac Goldsmith (pictured) is the former MP for Richmond Park - a close friend of the PM's wife - who was elevated to the peerage by Mr Johnson after losing his seat at the 2019 election

The siblings inherited 1.2bn when their father Sir James Goldsmith died in 1997.

The Tramores Estate was purchased by the Goldsmiths in the 1980s, and by 1999, a company linked to a Cayman Islands structure is said to have been used by the family to purchase more land around the villa.

The property came under fresh attention in October when it emerged that it was featured in the so-called 'Pandora Papers' - the notorious long-running leak of almost 12 million documents which revealed hidden wealth, tax avoidance and even money laundering by some of the world's rich and powerful.

The documents showed that the estate is held by an opaque offshore structure based in multiple tax havens.

This structure apparently involves the property being owned through a Maltese company which in turn is held by companies in the Turks and Caicos Islands and administered by a wealth planning firm based in Switzerland.

Such offshore companies have recently been used to own the land and properties of the Goldsmiths dotted in the hills around the mountain town of Benahavis, reports the Guardian.

But Zac Goldsmith has only declared one company as owning part of his family's land outside the village, when there are in fact at least three.

The Lords register of interests lists only a Spanish and Maltese company as holding an interest in land in Andalucia, Spain's southern-most autonomous region.

But the Guardian reports that documents suggest companies which have not been declared have been used to hold land and generate income from holiday rentals.

A spokesperson for the peer insisted: 'All reportable interests have been correctly and transparently declared.'

Guadalmansa told Mail Online via a statement: 'The source of the dispute with the Spanish Tax Authority (STA) was an assessment by their own valuer, many years later, that the land was worth 23m at the time of purchase... the entire case put forward by the STA is based on this single assessment.

'However it subsequently transpired that the STA's valuer had calculated the value of the land on the basis that it was zoned for development. It wasn't.'

It added: 'The STA's valuers have since formally acknowledged that they made a mistake and that should have been the end of the matter. However, inexplicably, the STA refused to even acknowledge the corrected assessment (from its own land valuer), and have pursued the case as if the correction had never happened.

'The STA's position is extremely hard to understand, to put it mildly.;
The businessman whose wife left him for shamed former Health Secretary Matt Hancock has had better news: getting to split a near 1m dividend, MailOnline has discovered.

Newly single Oliver Tress, founder director of posh lifestyle retailer Oliver Bonas, shared the sum of 990,000 with just one other fellow director during the year to December 31, accounts show.

The eye-watering pay day comes despite Oliver Bonas, which sells fashion and homeware, furloughing staff with money from the Treasury's Job Retention Scheme during the Covid-19 crisis.

Oliver Tress with Gina Coladangelo, who left him for shamed former Health Secretary Matt Hancock

Mr Tress, 54, who attended Marlborough College and Durham University before founding the store, has been married to Gina Coladangelo for about 12 years.

But their relationship hit the rocks after Ms Coladangelo, 44, and her then boss at the Health Ministry Mr Hancock, also married, were exposed for having a tryst.

CCTV Images of Ms Coladangelo and 43-year-old Mr Hancock locked in a lover's clinch in his office were widely published in June, leading to his resignation from Government.

She reportedly fled the 4.5 family home she shares with Mr Tress after the affair was exposed, and is understood to now be in an ongoing relationship with Mr Hancock, who in turn walked out on his wife and young children.

It's not clear how Mr Tress and his co-director Timothy Hollidge split the 990,000 dividend between them, but the mega payout eclipsed the firm's 708,039 post tax profit for the year, the documents show.

The dividend bonanza was revealed in accounts for Oliver Bonas Limited and its group of subsidiary companies, published last month.

CCTV Images of Ms Coladangelo and 43-year-old Mr Hancock locked in a lover's clinch in his office were widely published in June, leading to his resignation from Government

Matt Hancock and Gina Coladangelo in 2019. She reportedly fled the 4.5 family home she shares with Mr Tress after the affair was exposed

A note from Mr Tress in the company's 2020 gender pay gap report states: 'Like many other businesses, the pandemic led to the closure of many of our stores for significant periods of time.

'Furloughing on and off 88 per cent of Team OB.

'This meant that we used the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and 88 per cent of our team members were furloughed at some point.'

According to Oliver Bonas' latest accounts, the average number of employees, including the directors, last year was 1,119.

This suggests that approximately 984 Oliver Bonas employees were furloughed.

Mr Tress and Mr Hollidge's generous dividend payment could raise questions over the appropriateness of Oliver Bonas using the furlough scheme.

Posh lifestyle retailer Oliver Bonas, products pictured, furloughed staff with money from the Treasury's Job Retention Scheme during the Covid-19 crisis

The Government launched the Job Retention scheme in March last year to pay the wages of people who couldn't work or whose bosses couldn't afford to pay them.

It initially paid 80 per cent of a furloughed employee's wages, up to 2,500 a month.

But in August and September the Government reduced its contribution to 60 per cent of wages, with bosses paying 20 per cent.

The scheme finished at the end of last month.

Oliver Bonas boasts 77 stores in the UK and one in Ireland and also flogs its goods online in the UK, US and Ireland.

It is known for its middle class clothing and trendy homeware items.

Mr Tress launched the trendy business and opened its first shop in 1993.

Ministers say about 11 million jobs were subsidised at some point during the furlough scheme, costing a mammoth 70 billion.

Oliver Bonas was contacted for comment.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said today Russia has nothing to do with the migrant crisis on the Belarus-Poland border.

'I want everyone to know. We have nothing to do with it,' he said in an interview with state broadcaster Vesti, after Poland and other Western critics accused Moscow of working with Minsk to send thousands of migrants to the EU border.

Putin said European leaders needed to talk to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko if they want to resolve the crisis, which has left hundreds of migrants, mainly from the Middle East, trapped on the border.

'As I understand it, Alexander Lukashenko and (German Chancellor Angela) Merkel are ready to talk to each other,' Putin said.

'I hope this will happen in the near future - this is most important.'

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said today in an interview with Russian state television (pictured) that Russia has nothing to do with the migrant crisis on the Belarus-Poland border

Putin said in the interview (pictured) that European leaders needed to talk to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko if they want to resolve the crisis, which has left hundreds of migrants, mainly from the Middle East, trapped on the border

Pictured: Soldiers from the Polish Armed Forces patrol the Belarus-Polish border on November 11, 2021 in Kuznica, Poland. Poland and other Western critics have accused Moscow of working with Minsk to send thousands of migrants to the EU border

He again blamed the West for the crisis, saying its policies in the Middle East were the reasons migrants wanted to go to Europe in the first place.

'We should not forget where these crises associated with migrants came from. What, is Belarus the cause of these problems or something?' Putin said.

'No, these reasons were created by Western countries themselves, including European countries. They are political, military and economic in nature.'

Putin also said on Saturday that Moscow considered recent Black Sea exercises by US and other NATO ships as a serious challenge.

'The United States and its allies in NATO are carrying out unplanned exercises in the Black Sea. Not only is a rather powerful naval group involved in these exercises, but also aviation, including strategic aviation. This is a serious challenge for us,' he said in an interview with state broadcaster Vesti.

Thousands of migrants from the Middle East are sheltering in freezing conditions in the woods on the border between Belarus and EU states Poland and Lithuania, which are refusing to let them cross.

Some have already died and there are fears for the safety of the rest as bitter winter conditions settle in, with Polish police saying on Saturday they found the body of a young Syrian man in the woods.

'Yesterday, in the woods, near the border, near Wolka Terechowska, the body of a young Syrian man was found,' Podlaska Police said on Twitter.

The police said they had been unable to determine the cause of death at the scene.

The death brings to 11 the number of migrants found dead on both sides since the crisis began in the summer, according to aid groups.

Police also said that a group of around 100 migrants had attempted to cross the border during the night in the same area. 'After seeing police and soldiers, the people on the Belarusian side fled into the forest,' it said.

Thousands of migrants - most of them from the Middle East - have crossed or attempted to cross the EU and NATO border since the summer.

The crisis escalated this week when larger groups of hundreds of migrants began arriving at the border and attempting to get through. Polish border guards estimate there are currently up to 4,000 migrants camped out along the border.

Western countries have accused the Belarusian regime, which is backed by Russia, of engineering the crisis in retaliation against EU sanctions, charges that Minsk has denied.

Polish army have erected 180 kilometres of barber wire fencing (pictured) across the border with Belarus. Pictures from Poland Ministry of Defence

Pictured: A camp of asylum-seekers, refugees and migrants on the Belarus-Polish border in the Grodno region, not far from the checkpoint Bruzgi, Belarus, 12 November 2021

Pictured: Belarusian servicemen control the situation while migrants get humanitarian aid as they gather at the Belarus-Poland border near Grodno, Belarus, Friday, Nov. 12, 2021

Lukashenko wants payback for EU sanctions and Putin enjoys mischief: Why Belarus and Russia are causing chaos in Europe What is behind the crisis? Belarus was rocked by months of massive protests following the August 2020 election that gave authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko a sixth term in office. The opposition and the West rejected the result as a sham. Belarusian authorities responded to the demonstrations with a fierce crackdown that saw more than 35,000 people arrested and thousands beaten by police. The European Union and the U.S. reacted by imposing sanctions on Lukashenko's government. Those restrictions were toughened after an incident in May when a passenger jet flying from Greece to Lithuania was diverted by Belarus to Minsk, where authorities arrested dissident journalist Roman Pratasevich. The EU called it air piracy and barred Belarusian carriers from its skies and cut imports of the country's top commodities, including petroleum products and potash, an ingredient in fertilizer. A furious Lukashenko shot back by saying he would no longer abide by an agreement to stem illegal migration, arguing that the EU sanctions deprived his government of funds needed to contain flows of migrants. Planes carrying migrants from Iraq, Syria and other countries began arriving in Belarus, and they soon headed for the borders with Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. Pavel Latushka, a member of the Belarusian opposition, claimed that state-controlled tourist agencies were involved in offering visa support to migrants and helping them drive to the border. The EU accused Lukashenko of using the migrants as pawns in a 'hybrid attack' against the 27-nation bloc in retaliation for the sanctions. Lukashenko denies encouraging the flow of migrants and said the EU is violating migrants' rights by denying them safe passage. What has been the response by EU countries? During the summer, Lithuania introduced a state of emergency to deal with an influx of migrants and strengthen its border with Belarus. It set up tent camps to accommodate the growing number of migrants. In previous months, small groups of asylum-seekers tried to sneak into Lithuania, Poland and Latvia at night, using forest paths away from populated areas. This week, much larger groups gathered openly at the Polish border, and some people used shovels and wire cutters to try to break through a razor-wire fence at Poland's border. Authorities in Warsaw estimated the crowds at about 3,000-4,000 and said they prevented hundreds of people from entering the country. Poland deployed riot police and other forces to bolster the border guards. Eight deaths have been confirmed at the Belarus-Poland border,, and temperatures have fallen below freezing at night. The EU has made a strong show of solidarity with Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. EU officials are expected to discuss another round of sanctions against Belarus, and European Council President Charles Michel said for the first time that the bloc would consider the possibility of financing 'physical infrastructure' such as barriers or fences on the border. What is Russia's role? Belarus has received strong support from its main ally, Russia, which has helped buttress Lukashenko's government with loans and political support. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the migrants flows resulted from the U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and Western-backed Arab Spring uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa. He challenged the EU to offer financial assistance to Belarus to deal with the influx. At the same time, the Kremlin angrily rejected Poland's claim that Russia bears responsibility for the crisis. Usau said Russia could step in as a mediator in the hope of improving ties with Germany and other EU nations. Advertisement

The discovery of the body comes amid mounting international tension over the migrant crisis, with neighbours of Belarus warning the situation could escalate into a military conflict and U.S. President Joe Biden expressing his concern.

Putin's comments came after Washington this week raised alarms over Russian military activities close to Ukraine's border.

US top diplomat Antony Blinken on Wednesday warned Russia against making another 'serious mistake' on Ukraine as Washington sought clarity about troop movements near the border.

The EU on Friday said it was also concerned by Russian military activities close to Ukraine's border. The 27-nation bloc said it was monitoring the situation with partners including the US and Britain.

A Pentagon spokesman said the Russian movement was 'unusual in its size and scope.'

Ukraine has fought a war with pro-Moscow separatists in its eastern regions since 2014 when Russia seized the Crimea peninsula from Kiev.

Putin's comments came after RAF fighter pilots and heavy US bombers took to the skies above the North Sea in a show of strength in the region.

British Typhoons and F35 Lightning jets teamed up with US B1 and B52 bombers in a joint military exercise dubbed Operation Point Blank this week.

The US air force said the mission showed its 'commitment to work closely with our allies and partners to deter any potential adversary from aggressive actions.'

The exercise came as a pair of Russian nuclear bombers forced the RAF to defend British airspace over the North Sea on Friday.

The Typhoons were scrambled from Lossiemouth, Scotland, and Coningsby, Lincolnshire, along with a refuelling jet from Brize Norton, Oxfordshire as British troops were deployed at the Polish border amid a Kremlin-backed migrant crisis.

The two Russian Tu-160 'White Swan' bombers entered 'the UK area of interest,' the MoD confirmed, without giving further details, as photographs show the RAF jets escorting the bombers.

The Kremlin warplanes approached Dutch airspace before being intercepted by the RAF and were seen heading north into international airspace over the North Sea at around 12.45pm, according to Mil Radar.

Meanwhile, British soldiers were deployed to the Polish border with Belarus Thursday as tensions heated up.

The escalating migrant crisis at the edge of the EU triggered a rapid military build-up in the region, with Russian paratroopers touching down on the opposite side of the border.

The small forward party of British soldiers, thought to number about ten, will help Polish forces strengthen their border with Belarus, where as many as 4,000 migrants, mainly from Iraq, Syria and Yemen, have gathered hoping to cross into Europe.

Belarus started building camps to house those who have spent night after night sleeping in freezing forests with little food.

Katarzyna Zdanowicz, spokesman for Poland's border guards in the eastern Podlasie region, said 'The scale of the problem is not diminishing.'

She said Belarusian forces had brought wood and water to migrant camps on the border, adding: 'We can see they are preparing for a longer stay.'

Another 15,000 migrants are thought to be in Belarus and heading for the border, having been brought in from the Middle East to flood into Europe by president Alexander Lukashenko in revenge for EU sanctions.

Moscow, a key Lukashenko ally, has been accused of helping to fuel the crisis.

As the Royal Engineers arrived in the region, hundreds of Russian paratroopers jumped from military aircraft into Belarus.

They conducted tactical rehearsals 25 miles from the flashpoint at the border.

The Russian defence ministry said the troops, two of whom died, flew home after the exercise, which was interpreted as a show of support for Lukashenko.

Tory former defence minister Tobias Ellwood backed the Ministry of Defence's demonstration of solidarity with Poland.

He said: 'Nato states will need to act swiftly to stay ahead of the threat, while countries which share borders with Russia will require further support.

'Any failure to do so would be interpreted as weak behaviour by President Putin.

'He could absolutely invade Ukraine. It is a reflection of just how weak the West has become.'

The show of strength came just two days before a pair of Russian nuclear bombers forced the RAF to defend British airspace over the North Sea (Pictured: U.S. Air Force F-15C Eagles, F-15E Strike Eagles, assigned to the 48th Fighter Wing, and Royal Air Force fighter aircraft escort KC-135 Statotankers, assigned to Royal Air Force Mildenhall)

UK and US fighter jets and bombers took to the skies over the North Sea amid rising tensions in Eastern Europe (Pictured: U.S. Air Force F-15C Eagles, F-15E Strike Eagles, assigned to the 48th Fighter Wing, and Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s escort B-1 Lancer Bombers, assigned to Dyess Air Force Base, Texas)

Putin is massing his forces close to Ukrainian territory, with satellite images taken in the last few weeks showing large camps of tanks and artillery pieces in the region

America warned European leaders this week that Russia may be about to invade Ukraine, having annexed the Ukrainian territory of Crimea in 2014.

The warning was based on satellite images showing tens of thousands of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Moscow would commit a 'serious mistake' if any of the 90,000 Russian troops positioned to march into Ukraine did so.

He assured Kiev this week that Washington's commitment to Ukraine's security was 'iron-clad'.

He said: 'We don't know Russia's intentions. But we do know that we've seen in the past  Russia mass forces on Ukraine's borders, claim some kind of provocation by Ukraine, and then invade. That's what they did in 2014.'

In 2014, Moscow annexed Kiev's Crimea peninsula and since then Ukraine has fought a conflict with pro-Russia rebels in the east of the country. The conflict has claimed more than 13,000 lives.

France urged Russia to use its ties with Belarus to bring the migrant crisis to an end, and warned that any Russian threat to Ukraine would have 'serious consequences'. The EU expressed alarm at Russia's activities by Ukraine's border.

Belarus said it was ready to defend itself, accusing Poland of an 'unprecedented' military build-up on the border, with 15,000 troops and guards backed by tanks, air defences and other weapons.

Defence minister Viktor Khrenin added: 'Belarus armed forces are ready to respond harshly to any attacks.'

Turkey said Thursday that Iraqis, Syrians and Yemenis would no longer be allowed on flights to Belarus. Iraq also stopped direct journeys, and said it would repatriate Iraqis in Belarus.
Boris Johnson's senior advisors are letting Stonewall dictate the Government's trans rights policy, a former aide to the Prime Minister has claimed.

Nikki da Costa, Johnson's former director of legislative affairs, told The Times that a group of aides who supported the controversial LGBT rights group were giving the PM 'skewed' advice that she believed was undermining women's rights.

Da Costa who stood down in August said: ''There is no other organisation  no business, or charity, no matter how big  that can pick up the phone to a special adviser sitting outside Boris Johnson's office and get that person to speak directly to the prime minister.

'But that is the kind of access that Stonewall has'.

Nikki da Costa said that Boris Johnson's views on trans rights were being skewed by pro-Stonewall senior aides who regulate the opinions being put to the PM

The former aide refused to name the aides but senior advisors have supported the role of Stonewall's diversity training programme in government in the past.

Ms da Costa alleged that the group of aides controlled the views that Johnson was presented with in Government papers and stopping him from taking meetings with people with differing views on trans issues.

Carrie Johnson - Boris's wife - said her husband was an ally to LGBT people at a pro-Stonewall event at the Conservative party conference in Manchester in October.

Ms da Costa said Stonewall was also influencing the ongoing Government consultation on a potential ban on conversion therapy.

Da Costa said she believed the Government's consultation could potentially make it a criminal offence for therapists to try to help patients with gender dysphoria to feel comfortable in their birth sex.

Da Costa said that the controversial LGBT rights group had unparalleled access to Downing Street staffers and used this to influence policy

Boris Johnson's government is currently consulting on a proposed ban on conversion therapy which Da Costa claimed is being influenced by Stonewall

Big Stonewell scheme quitters so far Equality and Human Rights Commission

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The consultation period was halved from the normal 12-week period to six weeks, which da Costa said was 'driven' by a desire 'to get a good news story' in time for next year's government-backed LGBTQ equality conference.

'The fear is that if we don't get this right then therapists, doing perfectly legitimate work, particularly supporting vulnerable children, could find themselves in court accused of coercing someone into not undergoing gender alignment surgery.'

Da Costa added that women in Downing Street presenting so-called 'gender-critical' views were risking alienation.

She added that there was an 'imbalance' of view in the room when trans rights were being discussion which led to 'skewed' decision-making, despite admitting it is common practice for aides to 'filter' the information which the PM sees.

The ex-aide followed up the interview with a series of tweets this morning about

A Downing Street response to the claims said: 'The prime minister has been consistently clear that he is hugely proud of our country's record on LGBT issues but we must not rest on our laurels.

'The government is making progress in a variety of areas, from banning LGBT conversion therapy to extending same-sex marriage to all parts of the UK.'

Backlash against Stonewall's role in public institutions has become pronounced in recent months.

The BBC withdrew from the LGBT rights group's Diversity Champions Scheme on Thursday in an effort to assuage accusations of bias on trans issues.

They followed Ofcom, Ofsted, and the Department of Health's decisions to leave the scheme over issues with Stonewall's stance on trans people being able to self-identify.

The corporation said in a statement on Wednesday that it would not be renewing its participation in the programme but will continue to work with a range of organisations to support its LGBT staff.

Mr Talfan Davies told Women's Hour on Thursday the BBC is trying to create an inclusive working environment, while ensuring it remains balanced with its output.
A stunned taxi driver has recalled the moment he found the world's 'most venomous spider' inside a packet of supermarket bananas.

When Joe Stein, 37, opened his bag of fruit he discovered a 2in 'dark mass' hanging from the fruit - and was terrified to see it twitch.

He threw it into the bin outside and after steadying his nerves, retrieved it, and looked up the hairy specimen - only to discover it appeared to be a deadly Brazilian wandering spider.

Brazilian wandering spiders belong to the genus Phoneutria - which means 'murderess' in Greek. It's one of the most venomous spiders on Earth and its bite can be deadly to humans.

Joe, from Beckenham, Kent, said: 'I sort of had to refocus my eyes so I could see his big bony, hairy legs. It was a bit shocking!'

'Obviously I was shocked, my girlfriend was a bit shocked, finding out it was a venomous spider if alive.

'Luckily I think it was dead, but it was enough to make us both jump and feel on edge.

'I want to make people aware and to be careful.'

Stunned taxi driver Joe Stein revealed he found the world's 'most venomous arachnid', the Brazillian wandering spider (pictured), inside a packet of supermarket bananas

Joe Stein, 37, (pictured) found the 2in creature hiding inside a bag of bananas he had bought from Sainsbury's in Bromley

The taxi driver had bought the bunch of bananas, grown in Colombia, from a Sainsbury's store in West Wickham, Bromley on Monday.

When he went to slice up the bananas to have with his porridge the next morning, he opened the bag and discovered the terrifying spider's carcass.

He said: 'Opened the bag, everything fine, turned the bananas over and all I saw was this huge dark mass hanging on to the bananas.

'It was a spider and it started to move so I shouted to my girlfriend "don't come in the kitchen!"'

He quickly threw the whole bag in his outside bin, warning his girlfriend Natasha Gooda, 39, to stay away.

Arachnophobe Joe crept back out after three hours had passed and fished the bag containing the spider out the bin.

He said: 'I emptied the whole bag into a plastic box, and as soon as it fell out I put lid on it and I could tell it wasn't moving.

'We Googled it and it looks 99% like the wandering spider.'

The Brazilian wandering spider, or Phoneutria fera, is commonly found in South America and is often found on banana leaves or bunches.

Also known as the banana spider, they gain their name from the habit of moving across jungle floors at night in search of food.

The spider, understood to be dead, can be seen wedged between two bananas that were imported from Colombia

The Guinness Book of World Records has named it the most venomous spider in the world for possessing the most active neurotoxic venom of any living spider.

Their venom is toxic to the nervous system, causing symptoms such as salivation and an irregular heartbeat.

The venom can also be known to cause a long, painful erection to human males.

Stepfather-of-one Joe said: 'I saw a few pictures, it looked identical; the big hairy legs, the big abdomen with the little humps coming out and a black line.

'I was a bit shocked to find out it's one of the most venomous and dangerous spiders in the world.'

Joe and mental health nurse Natasha contacted Sainsbury's who told them to send the spider to them for further investigation.

The bananas are in the bin, but the spider remains in a plastic wrapper outside their home.

A Sainsbury's spokesperson said: 'We're in touch with the customer to apologise for their experience.

'Incidents like this are extremely rare and we have processes in place to prevent them.'
Armed forces head General Sir Nick Carter has defended his 'laddish culture' comment as he says he needs 'people who are good at winning on battlefields'.

The army chief came under fire this week after giving evidence to the Commons Defence Committee where he acknowledged the forces encouraged a 'laddish culture'.

His appearance came after Defence Secretary Ben Wallace summoned senior commanders on the Army Board for a 'full and frank' discussion on the treatment of women in the service.

Armed forces head General Sir Nick Carter (pictured) has defended his 'laddish culture' comment as he says he needs 'people who are good at winning on battlefields'

In an interview published today, Carter said: 'The point I was trying to make is that quite clearly one needs to have a culture in which we grow people who are able to close with and engage with an enemy at close quarters.

'We need to recognise that were going to try and establish people who are good at winning on battlefields, OK?'

'That doesnt mean that they have to behave in an unacceptable or reprehensible way, or allow laddishism to get out of control,' he told the Times.

He added that he has never personally referred to himself as a he/him, but didn't 'necessarily disapprove of it'.

He also said that it was difficult to be a public figure in the world of modern media and admitted that militarys leaders have failed as they didn't get behind eradicating 'unacceptable behaviour that encourages a lack of respect for the other members of the team'.

Asked about the rising tensions on Polands border with Belarus, he said there is a 'greater risk' of an accidental war with Russia than during the Cold War.

The army chief came under fire this week after giving evidence to the Commons Defence Committee (above) where he acknowledged the forces encouraged a 'laddish culture'

Carter, who stands down at the end of the month, was questioned about a recent report by the defence sub-committee which found 58% of women serving in the forces and 68% of female veterans had experienced bullying, harassment or discrimination during their careers.

He said the issue needed to be tackled while at the same time maintaining the fighting spirit of the services.

He told Defence Committee MPs: 'Part of the reason that we encourage a laddish culture is that ultimately our soldiers have to go close and personal with the enemy.

'What you have got to try and do is to square both these outputs.

'What one has to do is one has to get people who are building these teams to understand that the team will be a better team if it is more diverse and more inclusive and therefore women and ethnic minorities and all the rest of it are part of the equation.

'There is a fundamental cultural shift that needs to been made there. The chiefs of staff committee get this.

'The trick is how you cascade that level of commitment down through the layers of the chain of command to get people to get people right down at the face of what we are talking about to understand that this is totally unacceptable.

'How we fix it I think we have a sense of, but we are going to have to keep going at it hard.'

The head of the British armed forces also said it is too early to say the Nato alliance suffered a defeat in Afghanistan

The head of the British armed forces also said it is too early to say the Nato alliance suffered a defeat in Afghanistan.

General Sir Nick Carter said in evidence to the Commons Defence committee that the Taliban authorities who took over after the collapse of the Afghan government in August were very different to the previous Taliban government.

Under their rule he said it was possible Afghanistan could become a more inclusive country than would otherwise have been the case.

He said: 'Taliban 2.0 is different. There are a lot of people in Taliban 2.0 who who would like to govern in a more modern way, but they are divided among themselves, as political entities so often are.

'If the less repressive elements end up gaining control... then I think there is no reason to suppose that Afghanistan over the next five years might not turn out into a country that is more inclusive than it might have otherwise.

'I think it is too early to say that defeat has occurred. Victory here needs to be measured in the results and not some great military extravaganza.'

British forces were never defeated on the battlefield in Afghanistan, the head of the UKs armed forces said.
Britain and its allies are at a greater risk of sleepwalking into war with Russia than at any time since the Cold War, the UK's most senior military officer has warned.

General Nick Carter, chief of the defence staff, said the new era of a 'multipolar world', where governments compete for different objectives and agendas, is creating a greater risk of tensions.

His comments come as the West and Russia are bolstering up troops along the borders of Poland, Ukraine and Belarus while ramping up displays of strength amid the ongoing Kremlin-fuelled migrant crisis in Eastern Europe.

General Carter told Times Radio: 'I think we have to be careful that people don't end up allowing the bellicose nature of some of our politics to end up in a position where escalation leads to miscalculation.'

Tensions have been mounting in eastern Europe in recent weeks after the European Union accused Belarus of flying in thousands of migrants to engineer a humanitarian crisis on its border with EU-member state Poland, a dispute that threatens to draw in Russia and NATO.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that unscheduled NATO drills in the Black Sea posed a serious challenge for Moscow and that Russia had nothing to do with the crisis on close ally Belarus's border with the bloc.

General Nick Carter (pictured), chief of the defence staff, said the new era of a 'multipolar world', where governments compete for different objectives and different agendas, is creating a greater risk of tensions.

In an interview set to be aired Sunday, General Carter said authoritarian rivals were willing to use any tool at their disposal, such as migrants, surging gas prices, proxy forces or cyber attacks.

'The character of warfare has changed,' he said.

The Cold War, which ended in 1991, saw the world organised by bi-polarity, as the US and the Soviet Union battled for global hegemony, pitting capitalism against communism.

It was followed by a unipolar era throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, in which the US dominated the international arena.

But under the current world order, in which there are several global superpowers competing for dominance, including the US, Russia and China, diplomats face a more complex scenario.

And General Carter warned that 'traditional diplomatic tools and mechanisms' of the Cold War were no longer available.

In an interview set to be aired Sunday, General Carter (pictured) said authoritarian rivals were willing to use any tool at their disposal, such as migrants, surging gas prices, proxy forces or cyber attacks

'Without those tools and mechanisms there is a greater risk that these escalations or this escalation could lead to miscalculation,' he said.

'So I think that's the real challenge we have to be confronted with.'

Britain said on Friday that a small team of UK military personnel had been deployed to explore 'engineering support' for Poland on its border with Belarus.

British Typhoon fighters also escorted two Russian military aircraft out of its area of interest on Friday, working with NATO partners to monitor the jets as they passed through international airspace.
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The bitter dispute between Warsaw and Minsk dramatically escalated last night when Belarusian troops ripped up the border fence and prevented Polish soldiers from rebuilding it.

Film footage released this morning by Poland's Border Force reveals how its troops were blinded by lasers and strobe lights as they tried to shore up the frontier.

Hours earlier Belarus forces had destroyed part of the 120 miles of barbed wire fencing that separates the east European states. Migrants were also armed with tear gas by the Belarus military to attack Polish forces once they got across the border.

The incursion occurred near the town of Czeremcha which has seen hundreds of migrants pass through the frontier in recent weeks, amid accusations that Belarus is weaponizing the crisis with backing from Moscow.

The soldiers were carrying out the orders of their Minsk dictator leader Alexander Lukashenko to help migrants across the border to destabilise the EU.

A spokesman for the Polish Border Force told MailOnline: 'Last night near Czeremcha, Belarusian soldiers began to destroy the temporary border by tearing up fence posts.

'Polish forces were blinded by laser beams and strobe light,' they said. 'Also, a group of about 100 migrants were to cross and Poland says Belarusians gave them tear gas, which was used against the Polish forces.'

Speaking on Saturday, Lukashenko said that he wanted Russian nuclear-capable Iskander missile systems to deploy them in the south and west of the country.

The dictator told the National Defence magazine that he needed the Iskander mobile ballistic missile system, which has a range of up to 500 kilometres and can carry either conventional or nuclear warheads.

'I need several divisions in the west and the south, let them stand (there),' he said.

EU members Poland and Lithuania lie to the west of Belarus. Its south borders Ukraine. Lukashenko gave no indication of whether he had held any talks with Moscow about receiving the missile system.

Russia's Defence Ministry did not immediately reply to a request to comment.

Belarus and Russia are formally part of a 'union state' and have been in talks for years to move closer together.

As the crisis escalated, Britain's most senior military officer warned that there is a greater risk of an accidental war breaking out between the West and Russia than at any time since the Cold War.

Pictured: Asylum-seekers, refugees and migrants, gather to receive humanitarian aid distributed by Belarusian military at a camp at the Belarus-Polish border in the Grodno region, not far from the checkpoint Bruzgi, Belarus, 12 November 2021

The soldiers at the border shining the lights were carrying out the orders of their Minsk dictator leader Alexander Lukashenko (pictured on Friday in Minsk) to help migrants across the border to destabilise the EU

Plish soldiers and police watch migrants at the Poland/Belarus border near Kuznica, Poland, in this photograph released by the Territorial Defence Forces, November 12, 2021. The bitter dispute between Warsaw and Minsk dramatically escalated last night when Belarusian troops ripped up the border fence and prevented Polish soldiers from rebuilding it

Migrants and Belarusian servicemen at a camp on the Belarusian-Polish border surrounded by barbed wire and fences

Migrants at a camp on the Belarusian-Polish border. The migrant crisis on the border of Belarus with Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia escalated during the last few days

Migrants charge their mobile phones at a tent camp on the Belarusian-Polish border as tensions fester and the crisis escalates

A woman receives leg prostheses with black trousers and trainers for her child that was repaired by Belarusian border guards

Migrants used wood from the nearby forest as fuel for their fires to keep them warm as the evening drew in

Fears are growing of an imminent conflict in eastern Europe as Russia and Belarus carry out snap military drills close to where a migrant crisis is playing out on Poland's border, while Washington warns Putin is preparing to invade eastern Ukraine

General Nick Carter, chief of the defence staff, told Times Radio there was a greater risk of tensions in the new era of a 'multipolar world', where governments compete for different objectives and different agendas.

'I think we have to be careful that people don't end up allowing the bellicose nature of some of our politics to end up in a position where escalation leads to miscalculation,' he said in an interview to be broadcast on Sunday.

Tensions have been mounting in eastern Europe in recent weeks after the European Union accused Belarus of flying in thousands of migrants to engineer a humanitarian crisis on its border with EU-member state Poland, a dispute that threatens to draw in Russia and NATO.

Putin said on Saturday that unscheduled NATO drills in the Black Sea posed a serious challenge for Moscow and that Russia had nothing to do with the crisis on close ally Belarus's border with the bloc.

Carter said authoritarian rivals were willing to use any tool at their disposal, such as migrants, surging gas prices, proxy forces or cyber attacks. 'The character of warfare has changed,' he said.

Following the bi-polar world of the Cold War, and the unipolar world of U.S. dominance, diplomats now face a more complex multi-polar world, he said, adding that 'traditional diplomatic tools and mechanisms' of the Cold War were no longer available.

'Without those tools and mechanisms there is a greater risk that these escalations or this escalation could lead to miscalculation,' he said. 'So I think that's the real challenge we have to be confronted with.'

Britain said on Friday that a small team of UK military personnel had been deployed to explore 'engineering support' for Poland on its border with Belarus.

British Typhoon fighters also escorted two Russian military aircraft out of its area of interest on Friday, working with NATO partners to monitor the jets as they passed through international airspace.

There are also tensions over the Russian border with Ukraine. Earlier this week, America warned European leaders that Russia may be about to invade its neighbour, having annexed the Ukrainian territory of Crimea in 2014.

The warning was based on satellite images showing tens of thousands of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Moscow would commit a 'serious mistake' if any of the 90,000 Russian troops positioned to march into Ukraine did so.

Meanwhile, Polish police said on Saturday the body of a young Syrian man was found in Poland near the border with Belarus, police said on Saturday, amid mounting international tension over the migrant crisis the EU says has been orchestrated by Minsk.

Film footage released this morning (pictured) by Poland's Border Force reveals how its troops were blinded by lasers and strobe lights as they tried to shore up the frontier

Pictured: Bright lights are shown streaming through a barbed wire fence last night on the Poland-Belarus border, as Belarusian troops stopped Polish troops from fixing the fence

Pictured: A grab from a video showing a green laser is shone through a barbed wire fence

Polish army have erected 180 kilometres of barber wire fencing (pictured) across the border with Belarus. Pictures from Poland Ministry of Defence

Thousands of migrants from the Middle East are sheltering in freezing conditions on the border between Belarus and EU states Poland and Lithuania, which are refusing to let them cross. Some have already died and there are fears for the safety of the rest as bitter winter conditions settle in.

The death brings to 11 the number of migrants found dead on both sides since the crisis began in the summer, according to aid groups.

'Yesterday, in the woods, near the border, near Wolka Terechowska, the body of a young Syrian man was found,' Podlaska Police said on Twitter.

The police said they had been unable to determine the cause of death at the scene.

The discovery comes amid mounting international tension over the crisis, with neighbours of Belarus warning the situation could escalate into a military conflict and U.S. President Joe Biden expressing his concern.

Polish border guards estimate there are currently up to 4,000 migrants camped out along the border.

A large number of them are in a makeshift camp on the Belarusian side of the border in frigid conditions. Polish authorities report daily new attempts by the migrants to breach the border.

There is growing concern for their plight as temperatures continue to fall, with Poland refusing to allow them to cross and accusing Belarus of preventing them from leaving the area.

Belarusian authorities said Saturday they were delivering aid including tents and heaters to the migrant camp - a move that could make it a semi-permanent presence on the borders of the EU.

State news agency Belta reported that government bodies were erecting tents at the camp and that a generator had been delivered.

'The Belarusian side is doing everything to provide them with what they need. Water, firewood and humanitarian aid have been delivered,' Igor Butkevich, the deputy head of the state border committee, told Belta.

Belarus said on Saturday that the number of migrants arriving at a makeshift camp on the border was growing daily, and that a group of up to 100 had crossed into Polish territory.

'There's a group (of migrants) close to the crossing point... They are indeed on Polish territory. Up to 100 people,' the RIA news agency quoted the Belarusian state border committee as saying.

The Polish Border Guard said Belarusian soldiers had torn up a section of the temporary fence erected by Poland to deter migrants during the night.

On Saturday, Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski told private broadcaster RMF FM he would meet U.S. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines to discuss the situation next week. He said around 1,500 people were camped at the border and that this number was growing.

Poland, Austria, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have asked international aid organizations to organise humanitarian and medical assistance in Belarus to 'avoid tragedies and prevent (a) humanitarian crisis' at the Polish border.

The Polish Border Guard said there were 219 attempts to illegally cross the border on Friday. The Lithuanian border guard says 144 migrants attempted to enter on Friday.

Migrants have been trying to cross the border for months, but the crisis came to a head when hundreds made a concerted effort on Monday and were pushed back by Polish border guards.

Sporadic attempts to cross have continued, and Polish police said Saturday that the body of a young Syrian man had been found in a forest close to the border.

Police said the cause of death could not be immediately determined and that a group of around 100 migrants had attempted to cross the border during the night in the area.

Many of the reported incidents at the border are very hard to verify. Independent journalists face limits to their reporting in Belarus, and a state of emergency in Poland's border zone prevents media from entering the area.

The state of emergency ends Nov. 30, and the Polish government said Saturday that it is working on a plan to let journalists at that time be able to again report from the border area with the permission of the Border Guards.

European leaders have accused Lukashenko, who has ruled ex-Soviet Belarus for nearly 30 years, of luring the migrants to his country to send across the border in revenge for sanctions imposed over a bloody crackdown on his opponents.

The EU is expected next week to widen the penalties to include new sanctions for 'human trafficking'.

Belarusian Red Cross worker and military distribute food for asylum-seekers, refugees and migrants who gather at the Belarus-Polish border in the Grodno region, not far from the checkpoint Bruzgi, Belarus, 12 November 2021

Migrants unload a truck with tree trunks delivered by the Belarusian officials in a camp on the Belarusian-Polish border in the Grodno region on November 12, 2021

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said today in an interview with Russian state television (pictured) that Russia has nothing to do with the migrant crisis on the Belarus-Poland border

Lukashenko wants payback for EU sanctions and Putin enjoys mischief: Why Belarus and Russia are causing chaos in Europe What is behind the crisis? Belarus was rocked by months of massive protests following the August 2020 election that gave authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko a sixth term in office. The opposition and the West rejected the result as a sham. Belarusian authorities responded to the demonstrations with a fierce crackdown that saw more than 35,000 people arrested and thousands beaten by police. The European Union and the U.S. reacted by imposing sanctions on Lukashenko's government. Those restrictions were toughened after an incident in May when a passenger jet flying from Greece to Lithuania was diverted by Belarus to Minsk, where authorities arrested dissident journalist Roman Pratasevich. The EU called it air piracy and barred Belarusian carriers from its skies and cut imports of the country's top commodities, including petroleum products and potash, an ingredient in fertilizer. A furious Lukashenko shot back by saying he would no longer abide by an agreement to stem illegal migration, arguing that the EU sanctions deprived his government of funds needed to contain flows of migrants. Planes carrying migrants from Iraq, Syria and other countries began arriving in Belarus, and they soon headed for the borders with Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. Pavel Latushka, a member of the Belarusian opposition, claimed that state-controlled tourist agencies were involved in offering visa support to migrants and helping them drive to the border. The EU accused Lukashenko of using the migrants as pawns in a 'hybrid attack' against the 27-nation bloc in retaliation for the sanctions. Lukashenko denies encouraging the flow of migrants and said the EU is violating migrants' rights by denying them safe passage. What has been the response by EU countries? During the summer, Lithuania introduced a state of emergency to deal with an influx of migrants and strengthen its border with Belarus. It set up tent camps to accommodate the growing number of migrants. In previous months, small groups of asylum-seekers tried to sneak into Lithuania, Poland and Latvia at night, using forest paths away from populated areas. This week, much larger groups gathered openly at the Polish border, and some people used shovels and wire cutters to try to break through a razor-wire fence at Poland's border. Authorities in Warsaw estimated the crowds at about 3,000-4,000 and said they prevented hundreds of people from entering the country. Poland deployed riot police and other forces to bolster the border guards. Eight deaths have been confirmed at the Belarus-Poland border,, and temperatures have fallen below freezing at night. The EU has made a strong show of solidarity with Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. EU officials are expected to discuss another round of sanctions against Belarus, and European Council President Charles Michel said for the first time that the bloc would consider the possibility of financing 'physical infrastructure' such as barriers or fences on the border. What is Russia's role? Belarus has received strong support from its main ally, Russia, which has helped buttress Lukashenko's government with loans and political support. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the migrants flows resulted from the U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and Western-backed Arab Spring uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa. He challenged the EU to offer financial assistance to Belarus to deal with the influx. At the same time, the Kremlin angrily rejected Poland's claim that Russia bears responsibility for the crisis. Usau said Russia could step in as a mediator in the hope of improving ties with Germany and other EU nations. Advertisement

Speaking on Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia has nothing to do with the migrant crisis on the Belarus-Poland border.

'I want everyone to know. We have nothing to do with it,' he said in an interview with state broadcaster Vesti, after Poland and other Western critics accused Moscow of working with Minsk to send thousands of migrants to the EU border.

Putin said European leaders needed to talk to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko if they want to resolve the crisis, which has left hundreds of migrants, mainly from the Middle East, trapped on the border.

'As I understand it, Alexander Lukashenko and (German Chancellor Angela) Merkel are ready to talk to each other,' Putin said.

'I hope this will happen in the near future - this is most important.'

He again blamed the West for the crisis, saying its policies in the Middle East were the reasons migrants wanted to go to Europe in the first place.

'We should not forget where these crises associated with migrants came from. What, is Belarus the cause of these problems or something?' Putin said.

'No, these reasons were created by Western countries themselves, including European countries. They are political, military and economic in nature.'

Putin also said on Saturday that Moscow considered recent Black Sea exercises by US and other NATO ships as a serious challenge.

'The United States and its allies in NATO are carrying out unplanned exercises in the Black Sea. Not only is a rather powerful naval group involved in these exercises, but also aviation, including strategic aviation. This is a serious challenge for us,' he said in an interview with state broadcaster Vesti.

Putin also appeared to ease concerns after Lukashenko threatened on Thursday to retaliate against any new European Union sanctions against Minsk over the migrant standoff.

The Russian strongman said Belarus had not consulted him before raising the possibility of cutting Russian natural gas flows to Europe, adding that such a move would risk harming ties between Minsk and its key ally Moscow.

His warning briefly lifted spot gas prices in Europe, which gets about a third of its supplies of the fuel from Russia, including via the Yamal-Europe pipeline that runs through Belarus to Poland and Germany.

The Belarusian section of the Yamal-Europe pipeline is owned by Russia's state gas monopoly, Gazprom.

'I've recently spoken to (Lukashenko) twice and he didn't mention this to me once, he didn't even hint,' Putin said in a state television interview, making his first public comments about the Belarusian threat.

'Of course, in theory, Lukashenko as president of a transit country could order our (gas) supplies to be cut to Europe. But this would mean a breach of our gas transit contract and I hope this will not happen,' Putin added.

Russia has been Belarus's closest ally for years, helping with everything from cash to cheap energy supplies and military assistance, but Lukashenko's comments come at a sensitive time for Russia's energy exports to Europe.

Analysts say Lukashenko's gas comments have likely tested Putin's patience. Russian gas supplies already at the centre of heated debate in Europe.

European gas prices - and therefore, energy bills - are on the rise this year as the recovery from the pandemic has triggered a spike in demand, forcing customers from Europe to Asia to fight for supplies.

Some European politicians have accused Moscow of failing to do more than just send contractual gas volumes, in order to calm down prices.

The European Commission said on Friday that if Lukashenko made good on his threats, it would further harm gas suppliers.

During Saturday's interview, Putin said that if Belarus did cut off supplies, it would 'cause great damage' to the European energy sector 'and would not help in developing our relations with Belarus as a transit country'.

'I will raise this with him (Lukashenko) in case this wasn't something (he) said in the heat of the moment,' Putin said.

Russia, which this week started to increase supplies to refill its European storage ahead of the winter heating season, has said more could come once its newly built Nord Stream 2 pipeline gets a green light from Germany.

Nord Stream 2 is another Russian pipeline designed to bypass transit countries, particularly Ukraine, which has a history of gas pricing standoffs with Moscow.

The Kremlin calls the pipeline a 'purely commercial project' and denies that politics are behind it in any way.

Putin's comments came after RAF fighter pilots and heavy US bombers took to the skies above the North Sea in a show of strength as tensions in Eastern Europe threaten to spill over.

UK and US fighter jets and bombers took to the skies over the North Sea amid rising tensions in Eastern Europe (Pictured: U.S. Air Force F-15C Eagles, F-15E Strike Eagles, assigned to the 48th Fighter Wing, and Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s escort B-1 Lancer Bombers, assigned to Dyess Air Force Base, Texas)

The show of strength came just two days before a pair of Russian nuclear bombers forced the RAF to defend British airspace over the North Sea (Pictured: U.S. Air Force F-15C Eagles, F-15E Strike Eagles, assigned to the 48th Fighter Wing, and Royal Air Force fighter aircraft escort KC-135 Statotankers, assigned to Royal Air Force Mildenhall)

Flight tracking data was available for the RAF Tanker Voyager which left Brize Norton to support the Typhoons. A NATO jet also left Cologne to circle around Norway. The two Russian Tu-160 bombers flew over the North Sea before heading back north into international airspace

Amid the tensions between Russia and Ukraine, Belarus is pressuring Europe over migrants and has threatened to cut off gas supplies to the continent by shutting the Yamal-Europe pipeline which runs through its territory (pictured)

British Typhoons and F35 Lightning jets teamed up with US B1 and B52 bombers in a joint military exercise dubbed Operation Point Blank this week.

The US air force said the mission showed its 'commitment to work closely with our allies and partners to deter any potential adversary from aggressive actions.'

The exercise came as a pair of Russian nuclear bombers forced the RAF to defend British airspace over the North Sea on Friday.

The Typhoons were scrambled from Lossiemouth, Scotland, and Coningsby, Lincolnshire, along with a refuelling jet from Brize Norton, Oxfordshire as British troops were deployed at the Polish border amid a Kremlin-backed migrant crisis.

The two Russian Tu-160 'White Swan' bombers entered 'the UK area of interest,' the MoD confirmed, without giving further details, as photographs show the RAF jets escorting the bombers.

The US-UK exercise over the North Sea on Wednesday (pictured) enabled crews to train the vital drills needed during Air to Air refueling

A fighter jet is refuelled mid air during a joint exercise between the US and UK over the North Sea amid rising tensions in Europe

The Kremlin warplanes approached Dutch airspace before being intercepted by the RAF and were seen heading north into international airspace over the North Sea at around 12.45pm, according to Mil Radar.

As the Royal Engineers arrived in the region, hundreds of Russian paratroopers jumped from military aircraft into Belarus. They conducted tactical rehearsals 25 miles from the flashpoint at the border.

The Russian defence ministry said the troops, two of whom died, flew home after the exercise, which was interpreted as a show of support for Lukashenko.

Tory former defence minister Tobias Ellwood backed the Ministry of Defence's demonstration of solidarity with Poland.

He said: 'Nato states will need to act swiftly to stay ahead of the threat, while countries which share borders with Russia will require further support. 'Any failure to do so would be interpreted as weak behaviour by President Putin. He could absolutely invade Ukraine. It is a reflection of just how weak the West has become.'

Meanwhile, European Commission vice president Margaritis Schinas said in an interview in Saturday's edition of French newspaper Le Figaro that sanctions on Belarus would be 'approved and applied'.

He said they would apply among others to Belarusian state airline Belavia, which has been accused of ferrying groups of migrants from Turkey and elsewhere to Minsk.

The EU said Friday it was having some success in efforts to stem the flow of migrants to Belarus, after Ankara banned Iraqis, Syrians and Yemenis from flying to the country from Turkey.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's top foreign policy adviser told AFP on Saturday that Turkey was also not to blame.

'Travellers are going to Belarus and from there to Lithuania, Poland and other EU countries. Blaming Turkey for that, or Turkish Airlines, is simply so misguided, misplaced,' Ibrahim Kalin said.

Tensions remain high at the border, where thousands of troops have been deployed on both sides.

Belarus said Friday it would 'respond harshly to any attacks' and held joint drills with Russian paratroopers near the border.

Russia, Lukashenko's main ally, sent planes including strategic bombers to patrol over Belarus this week.

But Moscow's support for Minsk is often cautious, and Putin in the interview said Lukashenko was acting entirely on his own when he threatened this week to cut off Russian gas transit through Belarus to Europe.

'Honestly speaking, it was the first I heard about it,' Putin said. 'He never told me, did not even hint. Well, he can probably. But it would not be good.'

After the large migration into Europe in 2015, Europe has been reinforcing its borders to discourage the arrival of more migrants and refugees. Still, every year, tens of thousands try to get in, embarking on dangerous and sometimes deadly journeys by sea and land.

Since the summer, thousands have been lured by what appeared to be a new and easier way to slip into Europe, through Belarus.

The EU accuses Lukashenko of creating the artificial route in order to retaliate for sanctions against his regime imposed after an election in 2020 widely viewed as flawed and a harsh crackdown on internal dissent that followed.

The restrictions were toughened after an incident in May when a passenger jet flying from Greece to Lithuania was diverted by Belarus to Minsk, where authorities arrested dissident journalist Raman Pratasevich. The EU called it air piracy, barred Belarusian carriers from its skies and cut imports of the country's top commodities, including petroleum products and potash, an ingredient in fertilizer.

A furious Lukashenko shot back by saying he would no longer abide by an agreement to stem illegal migration, arguing that the EU sanctions deprived his government of funds needed to contain flows of migrants. Planes carrying migrants from Iraq, Syria and other countries began arriving in Belarus.
Professor Lockdown Neil Ferguson has said that a Netherlands-style lockdown is 'unlikely' in Britain despite an 'uptick' in Covid cases in the UK.

The member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) said Britain's situation is different from other European nations as the wave of infections seems to be peetering out.

The professor at Imperial College London told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'We've had two or three weeks of declining cases and admission to hospitals - that may be petering out, it is too early to say.

'There is a hint of an uptick in the last few days.

'But we are in quite a different situation from those European countries you are talking about (the Netherlands, Germany).

'We've had very high case numbers - between 30,000 and 50,000 a day - really for the last four months, since the beginning of July.

'That has obviously had some downsides. It has also paradoxically had an upside of boosting the immunity of the population compared with countries like Germany, the Netherlands and France, which have had much lower case numbers and are only now seeing an uptick.'

The epidemiologist, whose modelling helped instigate the first lockdown last year, said he hopes the UK can 'avoid' returning to social distancing restrictions this winter.

He said: 'I think it is unlikely we will get anything close to what we had last year, that catastrophic winter wave.

'We might see slow increases as we did in October, for instance, but not anything as rapid as we saw last year.

'We can't be complacent, but at the moment I don't think we'll be in a situation the Netherlands is coming into where they really do need to get on top of rising case numbers using social distancing.

'I very much hope we can avoid that in this country.'

The expert also said modelling from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine has indicated that rolling out booster vaccinations to the 'younger age groups' once the most vulnerable have been jabbed could help 'drive down transmission to low levels' in Britain.

The calmer outlook comes a day after Britain's daily Covid cases rose by nearly a fifth and Boris Johnson used Europe's soaring epidemic as a warning of what's to come if Britons don't get their booster vaccines.

The Department of Health reported another 40,375 infections across the UK on Friday, marking a rise of 19 per cent compared to a week before.

It is the second day in a row that cases have risen week-on-week and brings an abrupt end to nearly a fortnight of falling infection numbers.

The rebounding figures came moments after the Prime Minister pointed to outbreaks in Europe and warned there were 'storm clouds gathering over the continent' that could hit Britain next.

Austria will become the first Western European country to impose a lockdown since the summer from Monday, with unvaccinated people in the two worst-hit regions subjected to restrictions again. The Netherlands is also reintroducing a 7pm curfew on bars, restaurants and other amenities from Saturday.

'I've got to be absolutely frank with people, we've been here before  and we remember what happens when a wave starts rolling in,' Mr Johnson said during a visit to a pharmacy in South London.

The PM, who is currently embroiled in a Tory sleaze row, warned that Britain's fate this winter hinges on how many people get their boosters. 'What I'm saying today is the urgency of getting that booster jab is more evident than ever,' he said.

'If you can get it, it's a great thing, the levels of protection it gives you are terrific and so over-50s, who we're calling forward, should come and get it.'

But he added: 'What I'm also saying is that if we don't do it fast enough, we can see the potential risks to the state of the pandemic in what's happening in other parts of Europe.'

However, experts told MailOnline the UK's third wave peaked months ahead of Europe's. Cambridge University epidemiologist Dr Raghib Ali said: 'Britain could well suffer a spike this winter, but it won't be because of imported cases from Europe, like in previous waves.'

Meanwhile, latest hospital data shows there were 993 Covid admissions on November 8 which was 7 per cent lower than the figure the previous week.

Another 145 coronavirus deaths were also registered today in a 25 per cent decrease compared to the toll last Friday. Hospitalisations and deaths  which are both lagging indicators  have been falling for seven and four days in a row, respectively.

Despite the falling hospital numbers, Independent SAGE yesterday demanded the Government activates its winter 'Plan B' to protect the NHS.

The pressure group, made up of eminent experts who've pushed for an Australian-style virus elimination strategy, said compulsory masks and widespread WFH were 'urgently' needed to 'save the NHS and Christmas'.

There are questions about whether the current Covid situation is to blame for the NHS crisis, given that there are half as many Covid inpatients now than this time last year (shown)

The group  which includes a former Government chief scientific adviser, a Communist Party member and some of No10's own scientists  claimed the 'very high levels of Covid' were putting 'extreme pressure' on the health service.

Independent Sage's call to action comes after a swathe of shocking statistics laid bare the extent of the crisis within the NHS, with waiting lists for routine care soaring to another high and 999 calls and ambulance waits hitting record levels.

Doctors said the NHS was being brought 'to its knees' with patients being left to die in the back of ambulances and waiting rooms because staff are so busy.

But other experts argue the current Covid situation doesn't justify moving to Plan B, given that admissions for the virus have fallen for nearly a week straight and are projected to fall even more in the coming weeks.

Covid cases have also been trending down since October 24, in line with the country's major surveillance study which found a 16 per cent weekly fall last week, and death rates have also started to follow suit.

'The Government needs to urgently bring in Plan B... The pressure on the NHS is extreme and increasing, the backlog of treatment is at a record high, it needs to act now,' Independent Sage said.

'Most importantly, working from home where possible and mandated facemasks in indoor spaces are needed. We also believe additional protective measures should be brought in, including ensuring good ventilation in schools and other public spaces and financial support for self-isolation.'

Admissions for the virus have fallen for nearly a week straight (shown) with around 800 per day on average now compared to almost 1,600 in November 2020

The NHS waiting list for routine hospital treatment in England has reached 5.83million, official data revealed on Thursday, marking the eleventh month in a row that the figure has hit a record high. Some 1.6million more Britons were waiting for elective surgery  such as hip and keen operations  at the end of September compared to the start of the pandemic

Despite the total A&E admissions in England being just two per cent more than one month earlier and equal to the number of people who came forward during the same month in 2019, 7,059 patients were forced to wait more than 12 hours to be seen at A&E. The record-high figure is 40 per cent more than the 5,024 forced to wait that long one month earlier. It is also five times bigger than in September 2020 and ten times more than the same month in 2019

The NHS has long struggled to meet its recommended ambulance response times for Category 2 incidents which include medical emergencies such as strokes and severe burns but the last few months months have seen unprecedented rise with patients waiting nearly an hour on average for an ambulance after calling 99.

A record number of 999 calls were made in England in October with 1,012,143 urgent calls for medical help made. But the time it took answer these calls also increased to a record 56 seconds

No10 has said it will only revert to its winter Covid 'Plan B' strategy if the NHS faces 'unsustainable' pressure, which ministers argue is not the case yet despite health leaders insisting otherwise.

Cambridge University epidemiologist Dr Raghib Ali, who is also an NHS consultant in acute medicine, said the current NHS crisis was not the result of Covid but a 'chronic staffing shortage'.

He said reverting to Plan B now would not solve the problem, adding: 'Although there has often been too much alarmism, this is a genuine problem which is harming many patients... [but] there is no easy short-term solution.'

Independent Sage's Professor Susan Michie, a behavioural expert who also sits on the Government's official science panel SAGE, slammed Mr Johnson directly.

'To save the NHS and Christmas, the Government needs to enable behaviours to get our high transmission rates down,' she said. 'The PM walking mask less round a hospital with vulnerable patients undermines that effort.'

Professor Michie, a member of Communist Party of Britain for more than 40 years, added: 'Enabling behaviour change is everyone's responsibility especially those in positions of authority and influence.

'The PM walking mask-less round a hospital with vulnerable patients undermines the behaviours needed to keep us all safe.'

Mr Johnson was criticised this week after he was pictured walking through a hospital corridor without a mask in Northumberland on Monday - even though the NHS trust leapt to his defence and claimed he wore one in wards.

Dr Ali said the focus should be on the booster vaccines, which are proven to be highly effective at preventing hospital admissions, rather than masks which only slightly reduce transmission.

He added: 'Of course there are many other things you can and should do to help yourself (and the pressure on NHS) by taking care of your health but most of these won't impact in the very short-term hence my focus on the booster jabs which can reduce admissions by 80 per cent within two weeks.'

The demands come after monthly NHS England data published yesterday revealed that the NHS is facing a crisis even without a major surge in Covid.

The Office for National Statistics, which calculates case numbers based on thousands of random swab tests, found 925,400 people in the country were infected on any given day in the week ending November 6. The figure equates to one in 60 people having the virus and is 16.1 per cent lower than the estimated 1,103,300 cases one week earlier, when one in 50 people were infected

A record-high 5.83million patients are now on the NHS waiting list for routine treatment, with the mammoth toll having snowballed during the pandemic.

Army to continue supporting crisis-hit NHS Scotland after being called in in October The Army will continue helping two health boards with acute services after their request for the assistance to be extended was approved by the Ministry of Defence. Army personnel were called in to help NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Borders in October amid pressures on the health service. A request by the health boards to extend the acute services Military Aid to the Civilian Authority (MACA) task, which was originally due to last until November 10, has now been approved by Ministry of Defence, the Army said. In total 84 personnel will continue with the work, with 21 personnel in the Borders and 63 in Lanarkshire. Their involvement is expected to continue until December 8 in the Borders and December 17 in Lanarkshire, with the timelines kept under regular review. The Army is also supporting the Scottish Ambulance Service with non-emergency drivers and delivering testing through mobile units. An Army statement said: 'More than 450 Armed Forces personnel are supporting multiple MACA tasks in Scotland. These tasks fall under Operation Rescript, defence's efforts to support the UK's response to the pandemic which began in March 2020. 'Defence have supported communities across the UK throughout the pandemic, from planning support alongside resilience teams and governments, to ambulance drivers and health care assistants in hospitals, as well as the vaccine rollout. 'The Armed Forces stand ready to step up and support civil authorities, devolved nations and communities as required in the coming months where the requests meet the MACA principles.' Advertisement

At the same time, the average ambulance response time for heart attack and stroke patients is now nearly an hour, which paramedics admitted is putting patients' lives 'at risk'.

And 999 response times for category two calls are now three times above the health service's 18-minute safety target.

Doctors warned the grim performance figures were 'concerning' because winter pressures and staffing absences have yet to hit peak levels.

A poll of NHS bosses found nine in 10 felt the current situation  dealing with the pandemic-induced backlog and Covid  is 'unsustainable' and patient care is being compromised.

There have been reports of some elderly Brits having to wait up to 14 hours for an ambulance, and investigations are underway into the deaths of several patients in parked ambulances unable to handover patients to overwhelmed A&Es.

NHS England statistics reveal it took crews nearly 55 minutes to respond to Category 2 calls  including strokes, heart attacks and severe burns  in October, compared to the 18-minute target.

The most urgent incidents, which includes events such as cardiac arrests and life-threatening accidents, also saw record delays last month. Paramedics took, on average, nine minutes and 20 seconds to respond to Category 1 calls, well above the target of seven minutes.

Trade union GMB warned the ambulance wait times showed the NHS was at risk of moving from a winter crisis to a winter catastrophe.

Ambulance leaders described how they are facing the 'highest level of emergency activity in history' and raised concerns about the time lost to hospital handover delays.

It came as a poll for the NHS Confederation found that health leaders believe the pressure on the NHS is now at unsustainable levels and patient safety and care are being put at risk by staff shortages.

NHS leaders in England warned the health service has reached 'tipping point', with nearly nine in 10 (88 per cent) saying the demands on their organisation are unsustainable.

Almost the same number (87 per cent) said a lack of staffing in the NHS as a whole is putting patient safety and care at risk.

The survey of 451 leaders included those from hospitals, ambulance services, mental health providers, community services and primary care.

But Covid cases in England dropped by 16 per cent last week, leading to questions about the virus is truly behind the NHS pressure.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS), which calculates case numbers based on thousands of random swab tests, found 925,400 people in the country were infected on any given day in the week ending November 6.

No10's top scientists tracking the R rate  which measures the speed the outbreak is growing at  estimated that it was between 0.8 and 1 in England. This suggests that for every ten people who have the virus, they are passing it on to between eight and 10 others

The figure equates to one in 60 people having the virus and is 16.1 per cent lower than the estimated 1,103,300 cases one week earlier, when one in 50 people were thought to be infected.

And cases appear to be dropping in all age groups, most notably among 11 to 16-year-olds, with 4.8 per cent thought to have the virus in the last week, compared to 7.5 in the previous seven days.

It comes as one expert said the drop has been triggered 'almost entirely by the wall of immunity, rather than behavioural changes or restrictions'.

JVT says Covid crisis a 'lot calmer' after Easter... but other scientist warns of EIGHT years of misery Britain's Covid crisis is set to become 'a lot calmer' after Easter, Jonathan Van-Tam predicted today  but other scientists warned it could drag on another eight years. England's deputy chief medical officer warned there will be some 'twists and bumps' along the way and admitted that the situation was becoming harder to forecast. But he told a medical conference today: 'I think, generally speaking, waters will be quite a lot calmer after Easter.' Professor Van-Tam warned this was dependent on the successful roll out of the booster doses, which are being offered to all over-50s. His words were in stark contrast to eminent epidemiologist Professor Tim Spector, who warned that it could take years to become a manageable, seasonal virus. 'We need to be thinking in terms of time scales  it is not in months, it is not by next Christmas, it is a question as to whether it will be three years or eight years,' he said. Advertisement

And separate data published on Thursday by the UK's largest symptom-tracking study revealed cases fell by almost a fifth in the biggest weekly drop since the summer.

Meanwhile, Department for Health data yesterday showed Covid cases increased 14 per cent, marking the first rise in 10 days. But hospitalisations and deaths both fell week-on-week too.

There are about 6,800 Covid patients in English hospitals now compared to more than 12,000 at the same point last year.

Meanwhile, it emerged today that the Army will continue helping two health boards in Scotland with acute services after their request for the assistance to be extended was approved by the Ministry of Defence.

Army personnel were called in to help NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Borders in October amid pressures on the health service.

A request by the health boards to extend the acute services Military Aid to the Civilian Authority (MACA) task, which was originally due to last until November 10, has now been approved by Ministry of Defence, the Army said.

In total 84 personnel will continue with the work, with 21 personnel in the Borders and 63 in Lanarkshire.

Their involvement is expected to continue until December 8 in the Borders and December 17 in Lanarkshire, with the timelines kept under regular review.

The Army is also supporting the Scottish Ambulance Service with non-emergency drivers and delivering testing through mobile units.

An Army statement said: 'More than 450 Armed Forces personnel are supporting multiple MACA tasks in Scotland. These tasks fall under Operation Rescript, defence's efforts to support the UK's response to the pandemic which began in March 2020.

'Defence have supported communities across the UK throughout the pandemic, from planning support alongside resilience teams and governments, to ambulance drivers and health care assistants in hospitals, as well as the vaccine rollout.

'The Armed Forces stand ready to step up and support civil authorities, devolved nations and communities as required in the coming months where the requests meet the MACA principles.'

Meanwhile, the latest daily coronavirus figures show Scotland recorded 17 Covid-linked deaths and 3,349 new cases in the past 24 hours.

It means the death toll under this daily measure - of people who first tested positive for the virus within the previous 28 days - is 9,375.

The daily test positivity rate was 9.8 per cent, up from 8.2 per cent the previous day, according to data published by the Scottish Government on Friday.

There were 759 people in hospital on Thursday with recently confirmed Covid-19, down nine, with 55 in intensive care, down five.

So far, 4,325,523 people have received their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccination and 3,922,893 have had their second.
China has issued a chilling warning to Australians declaring a 'heavy attack' would quickly follow if our forces came to the defence of Taiwan.

In explosive comments published in Chinese tabloid The Global Times on Saturday, editor-in-chief Hu Xijin was blunt in his analysis of Australia's promise to come to Taiwan's aid should US allied forces get involved in the conflict.

'If Australian troops come to fight in the Taiwan Straits, it is unimaginable that China won't carry out a heavy attack on them and the Australian military facilities that support them,' Mr Xijin tweeted.

'So Australia (had) better be prepared to sacrifice for Taiwan island and the US.'

The ominous words are believed to be connected to comments made by Australia's Defence Minister Peter Dutton on Friday, where he intimated Aussie troops would step in and help the US if Taiwan was attacked by the global superpower.

Hu Xijin (pictured), the editor-in-chief of The Global Times, has declared China will attack Australia should they come to the defence of Taiwan

Mr Xijin also declared Australia 'better be prepared to sacrifice' in an ominous warning via his Twitter page

Defence Minister Peter Dutton outlined earlier this week how Australia intends to help defend Taiwan

In the eyes of Mr Dutton, the move would leave Australia in a global position of strength.

'(China's) been very clear about their intent to go into Taiwan and we need to make sure that there is a high level of preparedness, a greater sense of deterrence by our capability, and that is how I think we put our country in a position of strength,' he told The Australian.

'It would be inconceivable that we wouldn't support the US in an action if the US chose to take that action.'

Professor Peter Dean, Chair of Defence Studies and Director of UWA's Defence and Security Institute, told Daily Mail Australia in October war was a real possibility in the region within five or six years.

'You certainly can't rule out the potential for the use of force. If the Chinese get to the point where they think they can take Taiwan by force, win and be successful, and they think either that US resolve is lacking or won't be enough, they could be encouraged to risk something really stupid,' he said.

'We've seen them be much more risky in recent years under Xi Jinping as he's become more authoritarian.'

A Chinese invasion of Taiwan is inevitable within the next five or six years, with the US and its allies such as Australia forced to come to its defence, military experts warn

But Professor Dean said it is the current so-called 'grey-zone warfare', with China signalling its stance over Taiwan's air defence identification zone (ADIZ), that posed the greatest current risk to world security.

'What the Chinese are really risking here is an incident that comes about by accident or someone gets trigger-happy,' he said.

'The real risk in the region is we don't have any proper, formal mechanisms for de-escalating these things.

'The Chinese are being very adventurous, very coercive, and really raising the levels of risk to levels they really shouldn't be doing.'

The Chinese Communist Party has claimed Taiwan ever since it was established as the Republic of China by the Nationalist Kuomintang under Chiang Kai-shek in 1949, after they fled mainland China during its civil war.

The Republic of China views itself as an autonomous country, while China sees it as a breakaway province.

Diplomatically, western nations such as the US and Australia acknowledge a 'One China' policy which recognises Beijing as the government.

For nations to maintain diplomatic relations with China, it insists they do not formally recognise Taiwan.

Yet the US has sold billions in arms to Taiwan and has repeatedly said it would help defend the island from military threat, despite an official policy of 'strategic ambiguity'.

In the same address on Friday Mr Dutton also explained why rejection of the French's $90billion submarine deal had to be an eleventh hour decision.

'If you had have informed the French earlier and they had have made that public and not respected the advice that we had given them, the Americans probably would have pulled out of the deal with the violent reaction from the French,' he said.

Professor Peter Dean, Chair of Defence Studies and Director of UWA's Defence and Security Institute, told Daily Mail Australia in October war was a real possibility in the region within five or six years

Earlier this month the French ambassador to Australia accused the Australian government of a 'stab in the back' for the way it cancelled a deal to buy 12 French submarines, causing an ongoing diplomatic crisis

CHINA-TAIWAN - A TIMELINE OF TENSION 1949: Chiang Kai-shek and his troops fled Mao Zedong's Communist armies to the island of Taiwan, where the remnants of his Kuomintang (KMT) government set up a new nation. China continued to regard Taiwan as part of the mainland, as it does to this day. 1980s: China developed its 'one country, two systems' policy for Taiwan, offering it a degree of political and economic autonomy if it accepted Chinese reunification. Taiwan resisted the offer. 1991: Taiwan proclaimed the war with the People's Republic of China on the mainland was over. Unofficial talks between representatives from both sides continued. 2000: Taiwan elected pro-independence president Chen Shui-bian, alarming the mainland. 2004: China passed a law giving it the right to use 'non-peaceful means' against Taiwan if it tried to secede from the mainland. 2016: Current president Tsai Ing-wen was elected. Her party, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), is known to favour official independence from China. August 2020: Taiwan began to report increased activity by Chinese military aircraft over its air defence identification zone (ADIZ). April 2021: The Taiwanese government said China flew the largest number of military jets into its air defence zone for a year. October 1-3, 2021: China flies a record 150 into the ADIZ in its largest show of force to date, leading Taiwan's Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng to say relations between it and the mainland were the worst in 40 years. Advertisement

Australia's defence minister went on to reject the notion from US President Joe Biden that the cancellation of the contract and announcement of AUKUS were poorly handled, insisting 'it was was choreographed to the minute'.

Earlier this month, the French ambassador to Australia accused the Australian government of a 'stab in the back' for the way it cancelled a deal to buy 12 French submarines, causing an ongoing diplomatic crisis.

Jean-Pierre Thebault said Prime Minister Scott Morrison intended to deceive France before he scrapped the contract in favour of a nuclear submarine partnership with the US and UK in September.

'This decision was deliberately kept secret for months, even years,' Mr Thebault told the National Press Club in Canberra on November 3.

Mr Thebault said Australia never consulted France about the possibility of nuclear-powered subs and instead turned its back on its ally to announce a new AUKUS partnership.

On the topic of the dumped $90billion French submarine deal, Mr Dutton was adamant its rejection at the eleventh hour was necessary (The French Ambassador to Australia pictured)

Scott Morrison has conceded Mr Macron was not aware of negotiations with the US and the UK

'The way this Australian government decided to turn its back on our solemn and far reaching partnership without ever frankly consulting with France, when there were countless opportunities, without having shared frankly and openly, or having looked for alternatives with France, is just out of this world,' he said.

Mr Morrison announced his decision to cancel the French submarine contract in a joint press conference with Boris Johnson and Mr Biden on September 16, labelling the new union between countries as AUKUS.

Mr Morrison wants US or UK-style nuclear-powered submarines, which are faster, stealthier and can stay at sea longer than conventional submarines, by 2040.

The Prime Minister conceded Mr Macron was not aware of negotiations with the US and the UK, but said the French leader was told as early as June that Australia was consulting on other options for submarines.

He denied lying to President Macron but Mr Thebault said his leader was 'misled' and this amounted to a lie among allies.
The former Home Secretary has said Boris Johnson 'can't talk about banning second jobs, he's done plenty of that himself' as he earned more than 4m from outside interests.

Amber Rudd, in an interview on LBC today, predicted the Prime Minister will come under increased pressure amid the Tory sleaze scandal.

Rudd, who was elected as MP for Hastings and Rye in 2010, resigned as a cabinet minister in 2019 over the way Johnson was handling Brexit negotiations.

She said: 'He can't talk about banning second jobs because he's done plenty of that himself.

'I think it's a very difficult discussion which is going to have to take place over the next few weeks and months about what the correct approach is to second jobs.'

Rudd added: 'I think that part of the confusion, in a way, is that our whole ministerial system is set up for second jobs.'

She also said during the interview that she didn't feel it was as dramatic as the parliamentary expenses scandal in 2009.

Amber Rudd (pictured), in an interview on LBC today, predicted the Prime Minister will come under increased pressure amid the Tory sleaze scandal

Rudd (above), who was elected as MP for Hastings and Rye in 2010, resigned as a cabinet minister in 2019 over the way Johnson was handling Brexit negotiations

4m from outside interests Earnings included: 450,000 from speeches 600,000 from columns 500,000 from book advances and royalties 250,000-a-year Daily Telegraph column Advertisement

It was revealed this week that Boris Johnson has earned more than 4m from outside interests in the last 14 years.

When he returned to parliament in 2015, he earned 1.6m, mainly as a backbencher between 2018 and 2019, the Financial Times reported.

The earnings included: 600,000 from columns, 500,000 from book advances and royalties and 450,000 from speeches.

Between 2007 and 2015, tax returns while he was mayor of London revealed he earnt 2.7m.

Those earnings included a 250,000-a-year Daily Telegraph column.

He is also allegedly continuing work on a Shakespeare biography which publisher Hodder and Stoughton commissioned in 2015.

In addition, he was editor of the Spectator magazine from 2001 at the same time as serving as an MP.

Boris Johnson has not declared any new sources of private income since becoming Prime Minister in July 2019.

It comes after the Prime Minister's disastrous attempt to block the suspension of former minister Owen Paterson for breaking lobbying rules.

It was revealed this week that Boris Johnson has earned more than 4m from outside interests in the last 14 years

The Prime Minister ordered Tory MPs to push through measures to tear up anti-sleaze rules to help Mr Paterson.

The vote was passed, but dozens of Tory MPs rebelled and the PM was forced to abandon the plan the following day.

The Government was then rocked by the Mails revelation that Sir Geoffrey had been working in the British Virgin Islands, a tax haven accused of corruption.

He has earned more than 5.5million from his second jobs since 2009. In some years he averaged more than 30 hours a week on his outside interests.

Mr Johnson told MPs this week to put your job as an MP first and said that rule-breakers should be punished.

But he has repeatedly refused to apologise, prompting concern among ministers that he has failed to grasp the scale of public anger.

Senior ministers have let it be known they were not consulted on the PMs decision to back Mr Paterson, who was accused of an egregious breach of lobbying rules on behalf of two firms that paid him more than 500,000.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak hinted at tensions over the issue, saying the Government had to do better on the toxic issue.
Real Time host Bill Maher slammed the 'level of hate' Americans have for each other, saying he believes in a 'colorblind' society and criticized the idea of secession.

Maher pulled a quote from Pennsylvania Republican representative Scott Perry who told people to 'go fight' Democrats, who he claimed are the 'opposite of everything you believe in.' He was referring to the Build Back Better infrastructure bill in Congress and the political divide.

'I read this not because it's remarkable, but it's typical,' the liberal Real Time host said regarding Perry's quote on Friday's show. 'This is the rhetoric - we never used to do this in America. Yes, the parties were at each other's throats, but they never said they're the opposition of everything you love and believe in.'

Maher, 65, suggested the long-term strategy was to stop the hate. 'We have to stop this level of hate,' he said, and questioned: 'Why do they [Republicans] hate us [Democrats]?'

Second panelist and Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, 61, blamed former President Donald Trump for creating a divide that taught that the 'reason why people were suffering was because of the people that don't look like them'

HBO Real Time host Bill Maher, 65, slammed the 'level of hate' Americans have for each other and said he's an 'old-school liberal' who believes in a 'colorblind society' Maher said on Friday: 'I'm an old-school liberal. I believe in a colorblind society. That's not where the woke is, okay? There's a lot of re-segregation going on. There's a lot of: "You're either a racist or you don't know you're a racist." So yes, there's some "we" on the other side too'

'It's not so much when people have nothing that they feel like a revolution, it's when they have something they're worried about losing,' Schiff said.

Panelist and KBLA talk show host Tavis Smiley, 57, Smiley agreed, saying, 'People are determined to win by any means necessary. That's the answer.'

During a panel discussion, Maher said he doesn't think 'we are being led in the right direction by either side.'

He compared it to 'prison' and said 'it's troubling' when people say they don't trust each other.

'It's troubling as an omen of things to come when we divide this way. Oh, "I don't trust any black people. I don't trust any white people." It's like prison,' Maher said.

He said that American is being led in that direction and it's not the 'right direction.'

But Smiley questioned Maher, asking 'When you say "we" are you talking about? Black folk and brown people ain't doing nothing to the larger white community,' he said, suggesting white ignorance was the problem.

Maher clarified he didn't mean 'we' from a racial standpoint, but as in 'we the country.'

Smiley persisted, telling the HBO host: 'But who's the "we?" Some of us are not engaged in that nonsense or activity.'

Maher described himself as an 'old-school liberal' who believes in a 'colorblind society,' but said that's not where the 'woke' are.

The Real Time host pulled a MSNBC headline up that read: Glenn Youngkin proves white ignorance is a powerful weapon.

'There's a lot of re-segregation going on. There's a lot of: "You're either a racist or you don't know you're a racist." So yes, there's some "we" on the other side too,' he clarified.

Panelist Tavis Smiley, 57, disagreed with Maher, stating: 'But who's the "we?" Some of us are not engaged in that nonsense or activity'

Second panelist Congressman and author Adam Schiff, 61, said that people don't revolutionize when then think they have nothing but when 'have something they're worried about losing'

Last week, Maher told Vanderbilt University professor Michael Dyson that schools were 'separating children by race' and said 'children are coming home who feel traumatized by this.'

Dyson fired back that it's 'not critical race theory, it's the notion of centering black people as historical agents' and there are 'stories on both sides.'

Maher, who has been vocal about his position on critical race theory and the presidential election, also discussed January 5, 2025, where he said he was 'concerned' Donald Trump would be reelected.

He worried that he was 'concerned' about the 'past as it affects the future' and that there's a 'purge going on behind the scenes.'

He predicted the Democrats will lose more seats in 2022 and that former President Donald Trump will run for reelection.

'I think Trump is gonna declare for office. I think he's going to get the nomination. I think the rallies are going to start, people are going to be- It's going to get very violent out there,' Maher told panelists Smiley and Schiff.

The panel also talked about the next presidential election, with Maher saying he thinks Trump will run again. Schiff (right) agreed and said it was potent the Democrats don't 'lose the House'

The liberal predicted, regardless of the votes, the former president would say he won.

'So next time he calls [Republicans] up for a few votes, they're going to ask: "how many?" He's going to have his stooges in place.'

Maher was referring to what he called the 'purge' where Trump was 'replacing' the people who disagree with him.

Schiff agreed, saying: 'If he couldn't find the 11,000 votes in Georgia, he couldn't find a corrupt elections official to give him those votes, he's determined that next time to have someone in that position who will.'

Schiff also said it was important that liberals don't 'lose the House.'

'If Kevin McCarthy had been the speaker in 2020, if we had lost a few more seats in the 2020 election in the House, he would have overturned the result in the House,' he said.

'He will do whatever Donald Trump tells him to do. Someone like that can never be allowed to go near the Speaker's office.'
A man in his 30s has been arrested after fatally stabbing a man and injuring an elderly woman in west London, the Metropolitan Police said.

Officers were called to Albany Parade, Brentford, at around 7.50pm on Friday and found a man, aged 20, dead at the scene after he allegedly tried to protect the pensioner from the frenzied knifeman.

The 84-year-old woman, named locally as Betty Walsh, was found at the scene with stab wounds and was taken to hospital after a man armed with a knife went on the rampage outside a kebab shop.

The retired barmaid's condition is described as 'serious' but not life-threatening.

Friends told of their concern for the pensioner who worked for several years in The Griffin pub in Brentford.

Julie Carter, 62, said: 'I am friends with her daughter. I am in shock.

'She was in the wrong place at the wrong time, I really hope she pulls through.

Police cordoned off the scene of the double stabbing while they investigated the incident on Friday night

Betty Walsh, 84, was injured after a man trying to protect her from the knifeman was stabbed to death outside the Brentford kebab shop

'She worked at The Griffin pub many years ago and was very sociable and chatty.

'She had lots of friends around here and I would always say 'hello' to her if she walked past.'

Another local resident said Betty had gone for a kebab when the knifeman punched her, got her on the floor and stabbed her.

He said a friend, who witnessed the shocking attack, told them the 20-year-old had jumped in to help Betty before being fatally stabbed himself.

The man added: 'He was a hero. What he did was so honourable and it is such a shame he died.'

Another witness said: 'I was going to get a kebab, but when I went out I saw the police arrive.

'He was on the floor covered in blood and they were trying to give CPR, but he could not be saved.'

Betty's son said 'This is England, this is society' as he arrived at the scene.

A man has been arrested after the fatal stabbing of a man in his 20s and the injuring of 84-year-old Betty Walsh who is in hospital. Pictured: Police at the scene

Police say Betty, 84, was taken to hospital suffering stab injuries and her condition is 'serious' but not life-threatening

He asked police to let him through the cordon on Albany Parade to visit his family on the other side.

He declined to speak in depth to reporters, except to say that his mother is aged 84, not 82 as had been reported by the Metropolitan Police.

The Met said a man aged in his 30s was arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder on Saturday morning and he remains in custody at a London police station.

Police said there is no evidence linking the stabbings to terrorism and no-one else is being sought over the incident.

Police said there is no evidence linking the stabbings to terrorism and no-one else is being sought over the incident

Inquiries are ongoing to establish if anyone involved was known to each other.

The grandson of the 84-year-old left flowers at the scene on Saturday morning.

He walked up to the police cordon and put down a bouquet, then left the scene. He refused to speak to reporters.

Officers believe they know the identity of the man killed and are providing support to his family, police said.

The double stabbing happened on Albany Parade in Brentford on Friday. Police are investigating if there is any link between the assailant and the victims

An urgent investigation is being led by homicide detectives from Specialist Crime.

Detective Chief Inspector Brain Howie said: 'A number of cordons remain in place in and around Albany Parade, Albany Road and the surrounding area.

'Any local people who have information or concerns should speak with officers working at these location.

'I would like to hear from anyone who witnessed the incident or had any interaction with the suspect near the scene but has yet to speak with police.

'Also, anyone who may have footage, whether from doorbells, dashcams or mobile devices, is also urged to check that material and make contact with police should there by anything relevant to our investigation.'

Anyone with any information has been asked to call 101, quoting the reference number 6423 of November 12.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has not ruled out the possibility of a fresh round of tax cuts for more than 10 million Australians next year.

If Mr Morrison is re-elected in early 2022 he claims tax cuts could again be on the agenda for low and middle income earners after they were introduced to inject cash into the economy after Covid lockdowns.

The current $1,080 cash bonus, which was refunded to taxpayers who earned between $48,000 and $126,000 during the 2020-21 financial year, is due to expire on June 20, 2022.

'We've got a very strong record of delivering tax cuts,' Mr Morrison told the Herald Sun.

'If you really want people and business to get on and do things, you can't keep more of what they earn, it has to go back the other way.'

Mr Morrison's refusal to rule out further tax cuts comes as a federal election date looms, with the Government needing to stage it before May 21 next year.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has not ruled out the possibility of a fresh round of tax cuts for millions of Australians at tax time

If re-elected in 2022, the PM said tax cuts could again be on the agenda for low and middle income earners (stock image)

During this year's Federal Budget Treasurer Josh Frydenberg confirmed the Morrison Government would extend the low and middle income tax offset at a cost of more than $7 billion.

The tax cuts are paid as a lump sum as soon as Australians lodge their tax returns.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the extra payment was designed to inject much-needed cash into the economy, which suffered major hits from ongoing government lockdowns due to the Covid pandemic.

'This is more money to spend in local businesses, giving them the confidence to take on an extra worker, offer an extra shift or buy a new piece of equipment,' he said at the time.

'It will flow through the economy just as our tax relief has done during the pandemic to fuel record growth in household spending.'

Another 1.8 million people earning between $37,000 and $48,000 got back $255 in their tax return.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg (pictured) said the government handout is a way to inject much-needed cash into the economy

H&R Block tax communications director Mark Chapman said at the time the government should not get credit for merely delaying a tax rise, which in his eyes is all the payment represents.

'Let's call this what it is and ignore the government spin  this isn't a tax cut, its simply the deferral of a tax rise,' Mr Chapman said.

'Nobody should be counting the extra dollars in next year's pay packets because there aren't any.

'The tax burden for low and middle income individuals next year is exactly the same as it was this year.'
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Vice President Kamala Harris wrapped up her four-day trip to France by honoring the victims of the 2015 Paris terror attacks.

Harris, accompanied by husband Douglas Emhoff, laid flowers for the 130 victims of the November 13 attacks after attending ceremonies at the Le Carillon bar and Le Petit Cambodge restaurant.

It was six years ago that a 14-man cell from the Islamic State detonated suicide vests and opened fire on Parisian cafes before killing spectators at the Bataclan concert hall. More than 350 others were injured.

Harris's visit to the site comes a day after the vice president announced that the US and France have renewed their commitment to combatting global terrorism.

Vice President Kamala Harris and husband Doug Emhoff dropped attended a memorial service for the sixth anniversary of the 2015 Paris terror attacks

It marked the final day of Harris' trip to France, where she announced that the US and France would recommit to combatting global terrorism

Harris visited one of the sites where the Islamic State attacked Parisian cafe goers

She attended ceremonies at the Le Carillon bar and Le Petit Cambodge restaurant

About 130 people were killed in the attacks and more than 350 were left injured

After memorial services were cancelled last year due to the pandemic, the French government allowed public memorials to resume this year.

One of the memorial services at the Bataclan was led by the Paris Mosque, which held ceremony on Friday to remember those killed six years ago.

'It is to show our solidarity with the victims that we have offered to meet here this Friday, which is for Muslims an important day,' Paris Mosque rector Chems-Eddine Hafiz told Fox News.

'We wanted the imams to come to meet the relatives of the victims, share a moment of solidarity and hand over a wreath of flowers in memory of all the victims of the Bataclan, all without exception.'

Harris and Emhoff, right, mourned with family members and friends of the victims at the Le Carillon bar and Le Petit Cambodge restaurant

The memorial service marked the last day of the VP's trip as she headed to Paris Orly Airport

The city held several ceremonies centered around the Bataclan concert hall, where terrorist attacked spectators after their assault on the local cafes

Members of the Paris Mosque led a ceremony on Friday in solidarity with the victims

The ceremonies brought not only a renewed focus on the deadly attacks, but also on the trial of the 20 men who stand accused of coordinating the tragedy.

More than 300 survivors and family members of victims have testified since October against the 20 men, the New York Time reported.

Among them was a woman named Maya, 33, who told the court she lost her husband and two of her best friends at the Le Carillon bar.

Another woman, Gaelle, 40, recounted how her cheek was blown off by a bullet as she laid on the floor of the Bataclan. She said she had gone through 40 surgeries since then.

The 2015 attacks broke out in the Paris streets as ISIS attacked cafe goers

First responders rescued survivors trapped inside the Bataclan

Harris is in Paris to double down on America's friendship with its oldest ally after French fury in the wake of a submarine deal between the United States and Australia caused France to lose out on a $90 billion contract.

France claimed it had no warning of the deal and recalled its ambassador to the United States in the aftermath.

President Joe Biden offered his personal words of contrition to Macron during a G20 meeting in Rome, when he said the announcement was 'clumsy' and 'without grace.'

Harris was dispatched to Paris to help make nice with the French. She and Macron have met, held hands, waved to the crowds and presented a show of force during her stop.

The vice president addressed the Paris Peace Forum on Thursday, where she said the COVID pandemic had presented an opportunity for world leaders to better see where inequality exists.

'As we recover from this pandemic, from the crisis, we must challenge the status quo and build something better,' Harris said during a speech that focused on global inequality and called for world leaders not to stand by as wealth and equality gaps widen.

'To get at the root of this challenge we must look critically at the longstanding systems that are fractured,' she added.

Harris also joined President Macron at the Arc de Triomphe to commemorate Armistice Day as part of her four-day charm offensive.

Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband Douglas Emhoff arrive at the Elysee Palace for dinner as part of the Paris Peace Forum

Vice President Kamala Harris is in Frace as part of a charm offensive; she and husband Doug Emhoff joined French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron for dinner at the Elysee President Palace
A professor at the University of Southern California is facing backlash for refusing to remove the pro-police Blue Lives Matter flag outside his office insisting that the message black lives are disproportionately at risk of police violence is a 'lie.'

James Moore, professor of engineering and policy, has ignored repeated calls to take the flag down from students and administrators who he says live in a 'progressive bubble.'

Moore spoke with Fox & Friends on Friday to defend his stance. 'I feel a responsibility right now. I wanted to communicate to progressively-oriented students that there's a competing point of view,' he said.

'They live in something of a progressive bubble on a college campus I wanted to communicate to conservative students, of which there are many, that in fact they're entitled to their voice, that the messages they hear are really not representative of society at large.'

James Moore, professor of engineering and policy at the University of Southern California, refuses to remove his Blue Lives Matter flag claiming that the message that black people are disproportionately impacted by police violence is a 'lie'

Moore hung this Blue Lives Matter flag on his door at the beginning of the semester to remind students on the campus that they are living in a 'progressive bubble' and that other opinions exist out in the world

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While intended to show support for law enforcement, the Blue Lives Matter flag has come to represent opposition to the Black Lives Matter movement. Several of these flags were seen flying at the Capitol insurrection on January 6.

He says he hung the flag at the beginning of the semester to contradict the Black Lives Matter message that black lives are at risk of police violence.

'I think it's a lie,' he said. 'Black lives benefit rather strongly, disproportionately from the activities of police. We can't diminish police violence by diminishing policing. That's ridiculous. Black lives are at greatest risk from reduced police service.'

Instead he argues: 'If all lives matter and black lives in particular matter, then we need to make sure that they're secure.'

According to Mapping Police Violence, black people accounted for 26% of those killed by police in 2021 despite being only 13% of the population. The same data showed that black people are 3 times more likely to be killed by police than white people and 1.3 times more likely to be unarmed than white people.

There is no correlation between crime rates and police violence with most killings by police beginning with traffic stops, mental health checks, and domestic disturbances, according to the data.

Police killings began when a person was seen with a weapon at the same rate that they began when no crime was alleged, the data shows.

But 98.3% of police killings between 2013 and 2020 resulted in no charge for the officer.

Students on the California college campus were vocal about their concerns about the controversial flag 'citing the flag's racist origins and Moore's past remarks regarding Title IX and USC's diversity initiatives,' the Daily Trojan reported.

USC graduate student Shai Porat is one of the many students who raised concerns about the flag to administrators.

'This is an inappropriate and unnecessary symbol to have on an office door where USC is, within the last year or two, trying to have a much broader diversity initiative and to be inclusive, especially in the STEM area,' Porat told the Daily Trojan.

He believes Moore is 'trolling' the university and its students: '[Moore] had to know this would be an inappropriate thing to have, especially with USC's diversity initiatives.'

The engineering professor claimed that USC's diversity, equity and inclusion efforts are 'counterproductive' and said he was 'skeptical' that the university fosters racism and inequality in any way.

Another graduate student, Maricarmen Pachicano, is also upset by Moore's Blue Lives Matter flag and claims USC needs to take harsher action against the professor.

'I want them to take it down, and I want them to do something about Professor Moore because this is not the first controversial thing he's done,' Pachicano said to the Daily Trojan.

Moore also made waves at the university in 2018 when he responded to a schoolwide email regarding Title IX sexual abuse allegations saying that 'accusers sometimes lie.'

The California professor's recent comments have students calling for the university to take action against the provocative educator yet again.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul has notified Ben & Jerry's that she's looking into barring the super-woke ice cream company from receiving state investments after it refused to abandon its boycott against Israel.

New York state is prohibited from investing in companies who engage in boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) campaigns against Israel under an anti-boycott executive order prolonged by Hochul and first issued by disgraced ex-Governor Andrew Cuomo in 2016.

The state's Office of General Services warned Ben & Jerry's on Friday that it now has 90 days to provide the state with compelling reasons as to why the company should not be subject to a prohibition on state investments and against contracting with it or its subsidiaries.

This summer, the trademark announced it would stop selling its products in Israeli-controlled Palestinian territories, but has since maintained its social cause is not part of a BDS.

The Empire State is home to the largest Jewish population in America. More than 1,538,000 of the city's 19 million residents are Jewish.

Ben & Jerry's have yet to respond to the notice from Hochul's office.

Governor Kathy Hochul notified Ben & Jerry's that the company might be barred from state investments after it refused to stop its boycott against Israel (File picture)

B&J has 90 days to prove why the company should not be penalized for its refusal to sell its products in Occupied Palestinian Territory

The decision would mean Unilever has 90 days to force Ben & Jerry's to end its boycott or face prohibition on New York state investments in the company and against contracting with it or its subsidiaries. Pictured Ben & Jerry's main factory in Beer Tuvia, Israel on July 22

New York Office of Global Services deputy counsel Bradley Allen also issued a letter to Ben & Jerry's parent company Unilever CEO Alan Jope, saying that the state might add Ben & Jerry's to the blacklist of companies supporting BDS.

'OGS has determined that Unilever PLC, through its subsidiary Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc, appears to have engaged in boycott, divestment or sanction actions targeting Israel that may require Unilever PC to be included on a list of companies or institutions that affected state entities are required to divest from,' Allen wrote on November 12.

On July 19, Ben & Jerry's announced it would end its sales in regions such as the West Bank because 'it is inconsistent with our values for Ben & Jerrys ice cream to be sold in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT).'

The company had also announced in the statement that it would not be renewing its license agreement with the Israeli company that manufactures and distributes the ice cream in Israel.

Bennett Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, who co-founded the ice cream chain in 1978 and sold it to the British conglomerate Unilever in 2000, endorsed the decision in an op-ed for the New York Times.

'We are the founders of Ben & Jerry's. We are also proud Jews. It's part of who we are and how we've identified ourselves for our whole lives. As our company began to expand internationally, Israel was one of our first overseas markets. We were then, and remain today, supporters of the State of Israel,' Cohen and Greenfield wrote.

Bennett Cohen and Jerry's Greenfield, who co-founded the ice cream chain in 1978 and sold it to the British conglomerate Unilever in 2000, endorsed the decision in an op-ed for the New York Times

State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli (left) said on October 29 New York would divest $111million in pension funds from the company and blacklist it for engaging in BSD. City Comptroller Scott Stringer (right), on the other hand, said that while he's been 'monitoring' the situation, he won't take any actions just yet after meeting with CEO Jope

What is a BDS campaign? The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement (BDS) is a Palestinian-led movement promoting boycotts, divestments, and economic sanctions against Israel. Since 2014, anti-boycott legislation targeting the movement for Palestinian rights has been introduced in federal, state, and local legislatures and adopted by executive orders. In several states, individuals who support BDS have filed lawsuits after being denied or unable to enter into contracts with the state because of the written certification requirement. In Kansas, Arizona, and Texas, federal courts blocked enforcement of state anti-boycott laws on First Amendment grounds. While all anti-boycott laws raise First Amendment concerns because they single out individuals and entities for second-class treatment because of their political views, written certifications draw particular attention because they compel speech, requiring would-be government contractors to take a position in favor of Israel. Source: Palestine Legal On July 19, Ben & Jerry announced it would end its sales in regions such as the West Bank because 'it is inconsistent with our values for Ben & Jerrys ice cream to be sold in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT)' Advertisement

'But it's possible to support Israel and oppose some of its policies, just as we've opposed policies of the U.S. government.'

The company has faced previous penalizations but has remained defiant in its negative to abandon the boycott.

In October, New York pulled $111million in investments out of Unilever.

'After a thorough review, the New York State Common Retirement Fund will divest its equity holdings in Unilever PLC. Our review of the activities of the company, and its subsidiary Ben & Jerry's, found they engaged in BDS activities under our pension fund's policy,' state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli said on October 29.

City Comptroller Scott Stringer, on the other hand, said that while he's been 'monitoring' the situation, he won't take any actions just yet after meeting with CEO Jope.

'...I underscored the potential for risk that this decision creates for shareholders and as a Jew, I reiterated my opposition to BDS actions. Mr.Jope affirmed Unilever's full commitment to Israel and the company's opposition to BDS activity. Ben & Jerry's current licensing agreement will expire in December 2022 and discussions will continue in the interim. I will continue engaging and monitoring the situation for any impact on the retirement security of our pensioners,' Stringer said in a November 11 statement.

Ben & Jerry's, however, has contended that its refusal to sell ice cream in Israeli-occupied Palestinian regions is not a boycott against the whole state of Israel.

'Unilever has a strong and longstanding commitment to our business in Israel. We employ nearly 2,000 people in the country across our four factories and head office, and we have invested approximately $250 million in the Israeli market over the last decade,' the company said in a statement.

In August, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis placed Unilever on the state's list of 'scrutinized companies.'

In the past, B&J has engaged in other political causes.

In September, it announced a new ice cream flavor in support of a $10 billion bill by Rep. Cori Bush that would replace police officers with social workers and other first responders in incidents of mental health and substance abuse.

Unilever CEO Alan Jope (pictured above in New York in 2019) said that while his company remains 'fully committed' to Israel, it cannot force its subsidiary, Ben & Jerry's, to reverse its decision to stop selling ice cream in Jewish settlements on the Israeli-occupied West Bank

In the wake of George Floyd's killing, in June 2020, the brand spoke out in support of the Black Lives Matter movement after a wave of protests. It encouraged people to 'tackle systemic and institutionalized racism,' and said: 'All lives do matter. But all lives will not matter until black lives matter.'

In August 2020, the company faced a boycott in the UK and was slammed for 'virtue signaling' after it hit out at Home Secretary Priti Patel over her treatment of migrants crossing the English Channel.

In September 2020, the brand launched a podcast about American white supremacy, titled Who We Are: a Chronicle of Racism in America.
A four-year-old boy who was accidentally shot while a relative was doing target practice in South Carolina last week has died, authorities said.

Jeremiah Groves Jr. was pronounced dead around 2:40 pm Thursday, after he and his seven-year-old sister were shot on Sunday, November 7 outside of a home along Staunton Bridge Road in Greenville, according to Greenville County Coroner Parks Evans.

The young girl was only wounded, Evans added.

The two had been playing in the backyard when an adult family member, who was not immediately identified, accidentally shot them both with one bullet as they were shooting target practice, local news outlet WYFF reported on Friday.

'It appears that some adults had been outside doing some target practice,' Lt. Ryan Flood said.

Deputies on scene after a four-year-old boy and his sister, 7, were accidentally shot while a family member was shooting target practice in South Carolina on November 7

Pictured: the residence where Jeremiah Groves Jr. and his sister were shot last Sunday

'The children were playing nearby. One of the adults was handling a firearm whenever it went off and that one round struck both children.'

Deputies told Fox Carolina Monday morning that both children were in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit in critical condition just days before Groves Jr. was pronounced dead.

Neighbors told the outlet that they regularly heard gunshots coming from the property, while adding that the family had only moved in the home few months ago.

A deputy tapers off the crime scene after the two siblings were shot with one bullet as a family member was shooting at a target

The two young siblings were playing in the backyard of a home along Staunton Bridge Road in Greenville, pictured, when the relative accidentally shot them while doing target practice

Neighbors told the outlet that they regularly heard gunshots coming from the property, while adding that the family had only moved in the home few months ago

'Any time you're handling guns, we always stress for people to be as careful and safe as they possibly can,' Flood said.

'This is an accident. Just a tragic, heartbreaking accident that unfortunately left these children in the condition they're in now. Our prayers are to the family.'

Authorities said no charges have been filed as of yet, however an investigation into the fatal shooting by the Greenville County Sheriff's Office and the Greenville County Coroner's Office is still ongoing.
A man was found dead in New Mexico on Friday after he admitted to murdering his ex-girlfriend at her mother's Texas home and then taking his own life.

Jose Gallegos, 27, had called the Harris County Sheriff's Office Homicide Unit to confess to the murder of Nitzie Valencia, 28, after she had been shot to death on Wednesday at the 22100 block of Diane Drive in Spring, Texas.

During his confession, Gallegos told detectives that he would be dead by the time they found him, according to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.

His body was later found by New Mexico State Police in his car that was parked near tribal land in Albuquerque. He was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gun wound.

Jose Gallegos, 27, (left) was found dead in his car on Friday in New Mexico after he confessed to the murder of his ex-girlfriend Nitzi Valencia, 28, (right) and took his own life

Gallegos had shot Valencia to death inside her mother's home at the 22100 block of Diane Drive of Spring, Texas

Bullet holes were found on the door of the home

Valencia's family members told Eyewitness News that she had been living with Gallegos before moving two to three days prior to the incident to stay with her mother.

She had been returning from the gym with a family friend who lived next door to Gallegos.

Her ex-boyfriend had shot her and a family friend inside her home, according to investigators.

The family friend was taken to to the hospital after receiving a graze wound from a bullet.

The surviving victim told ABC13 that a dog inside the home had also reportedly been fatally shot.

Valencia had been shot by Gallegos at around 11pm on Wednesday while she was with a family friend

The family friend had received a graze wound from the incident and a dog inside the home was also reportedly shot to death

Valencia's mother Betty said that she had known something was wrong after her only daughter wasn't responding to her text messages.

'She is my daughter,' she told Click2Houston. 'Im so sad. He killed her. I dont know why. I dont understand.'

She also added that her daughter and Gallegos had a rocky relationship for the past nine years.

'I think he asked for (a second) chance, and she said no more,' she said.

'Hes jealous of her. (Hes a) jealous male, and he killed her.'

A GoFundMe page was organized for Valencia to help with funeral expenses.

DailyMail.com reached out to the Harris County Sheriff's Office for comment.
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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex revealed one of their son Archie's favourite songs as they visited Afghan refugees being housed at a US military base.

Harry and Meghan met the refugees during a trip to Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey on Thursday, according to a spokesperson for their foundation Archewell.

More than 10,000 Afghans evacuated when their country fell to the Taliban are being accommodated temporarily at a compound in the base as part of Task Force Liberty.

Harry and Meghan visited a classroom full of children learning English, and spoke to several pupils who practiced phrases such as 'nice to meet you'.

Meghan was pictured holding up a red pen, as the children shouted out the English words for colours they were learning that day.

The couple were also pictured pointing at their heads as they led the class in singing Head, Shoulders, Knees And Toes.

Harry and Meghan visit a classroom full of children learning English during a visit to Task Force Liberty at a US military base in New Jersey (Pictured: Couple sing Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes with children)

Meghan was pictured holding up a red pen, as the children shouted out the English words for colours they were learning that day

More than 10,000 Afghans evacuated when their country fell to the Taliban are being accommodated temporarily at a compound in the base as part of Task Force Liberty (Pictured: Harry with refugee children at the base)

They were told the song is one of the children's favourites, and the couple said it is also a favourite of two-year-old Archie.

Harry and Meghan asked teachers about words in Dari, a language spoken in Afghanistan, and thanked everyone they spoke to by using the Dari term 'tashakur'.

They thanked the teachers in particular for their efforts, and reminded them to take care of their own mental health as well.

The couple also spoke with women who had recently arrived.

The Afghan refugees are referred to as 'guests' on the base, where they are housed in a compound called Liberty Village.

Task Force Liberty was launched in August, when the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan as US troops completed their withdrawal from the country, to support Afghan evacuees arriving in the US.

Harry and Meghan also spoke with women who had recently arrived to base (pictured)

The refugees are being provided with transportation, medical services and temporary housing until they transition to their new home.

During their visit to Joint Base McGuire's-Dix-Lakehurst, which is the US Department of Defence's only tri-service base, the duke and duchess joined members of the Armed Forces to mark Remembrance Day in the UK and Veterans Day in the US.

More than 46,000 personnel and their families live on the base.

The duke and duchess also hosted a lunch with service members from all six branches of the military.
The husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is ending his hunger strike in central London after almost three weeks.

Richard Ratcliffe has spent 21 days camped outside the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) without food and was applauded by supporters as he left.

He began his demonstration on October 24 after his wife lost her latest appeal in Iran, saying his family was 'caught in a dispute between two states'.

Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, is ending his hunger strike in central London after almost three weeks

Mr Ratcliffe, pictured, has spent 21 days camped outside the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office without food

On Saturday morning on King Charles Street, where Mr Ratcliffe has been staging his hunger strike, he told the PA news agency his job is to 'keep going'.

He added: 'We probably hoped we'd get a breakthrough doing this. We haven't yet.

'I didn't want to go out in an ambulance. I want to walk out with my head held high.'

His strike ended as a patchwork was due to be unveiled made from all the patches supporters have been sending throughout his time camped outside the FCDO.

Mr Ratcliffe said he was starting to get pains in his feet overnight, and after a chat with a doctor the decision was made to end the hunger strike.

People applauded Mr Ratcliffe as he left the FCDO after 21 days of his hunger strike

Mr Ratcliffe as he leaves the FCDO. During Mr Ratcliffe's latest demonstration he has been visited by supporters including Claudia Winkleman, Victoria Coren Mitchell, Sir Keir Starmer as well as his local MP Tulip Siddiq

He said he plans to go to hospital to get checked out on Saturday afternoon and then hopes to be able to eat something after that.

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was taking the pair's daughter Gabriella to see her family when she was arrested and jailed for five years in 2016 after being accused of plotting to overthrow the Iranian government.

Her family said she was told by Iranian authorities that she was being detained because of the UK's failure to pay an outstanding 400 million debt to Iran.

She is now living under house-arrest in Tehran after spending four years in Evin Prison, where political prisoners are usually tortured.

On her release the the 43-year-old charity worker received yet another year's sentence of confinement this April for allegedly 'spreading propaganda', which she strongly denies.

There are concerns that Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian dual national, may now be sent back to Evin Prison.

A meeting with Foreign Office minister James Cleverly, after FCDO officials had talks with Iranian deputy foreign minister Bagheri Kani on Thursday, left Mr Ratcliffe feeling 'deflated' and 'stuck in the same status quo'.

He said he did not feel things had 'moved forwards' and accused the British Government of not giving a 'clear enough message to Iran that hostage-taking is wrong'.

Mr Ratcliffe, the husband of Iranian detainee Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, ended his hunger strike because he said the pair's daughter 'needs two parents'

In 2008 an international arbitration process ruled that Britain owes Iran the debt. But since then London has failed to repay it, with talks between the countries breaking down over the summer.

While Mr Ratcliffe said the Government 'clammed up' and would not talk about the debt during his discussion with officials, The Guardian earlier this week reported that the UK told Iran it could not pay the debt owing to restrictions brought about by sanctions, quoting Tehran's deputy foreign minister.

According to the paper, Bagheri Kani said the two sides had agreed a payment of less than 500 million taking interest into account.

He said: 'Now what the UK Government are bringing up is the limitations on banking interactions, saying it is a difficulty, and finally they cannot do it.'

Mr Ratcliffe said he was starting to get pains in his feet overnight, and after a chat with a doctor the decision was made to end the hunger strike

Today the Daily Mail reported that Iran claimed the UK is ready to pay the 400million debt which could free Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe and that Mr Kani said the countries were working on a payment method.

UK ministers did not respond to the reports, but Mr Ratcliffe told the paper: 'The fact there's movement is a cause for hope.

'It has felt for a while that the Iranians want to resolve it. It is less clear the Brits want to.'

It is the second time Mr Ratcliffe has gone on hunger strike, having camped in front of the Iranian embassy for 15 days two years ago; a move he said had resulted in getting his daughter home.

During Mr Ratcliffe's latest demonstration he has been visited by supporters including Strictly Come Dancing co-host Claudia Winkleman, writer and presenter Victoria Coren Mitchell, and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer as well as his local MP Tulip Siddiq.

Ms Siddiq tweeted on Friday to say she had secured a debate in Parliament on Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe's situation and urged people to contact their MPs to ask them to speak in Tuesday's discussion and 'make the case for bringing Nazanin home'.
The Louisiana Board of Pardons on Friday unanimously voted to pardon Homer Plessy, whose decision to sit in a 'whites-only' railroad car to protest discrimination led to the US Supreme Court's 1896 'separate but equal' ruling.

The pardon comes 125 years after the ruling in the Plessy v. Ferguson case, which cemented racial segregation in public spaces until it was overruled by the Supreme Court in 1954.

Officials sent the pardon recommendation to Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards for final approval.

His office told the Washington Post he was traveling 'but looks forward to receiving and reviewing the recommendation of the Board upon his return.'

The pardon recommendation came as New Orleans began a weekend marking the tumultuous integration of its public schools on November 14, 1960, six years after the Supreme Court's Brown v. the Board of Education decision, which led to the widespread desegregation of schools and the eventual stripping away of Jim Crow laws.

Keith Plessy, a descendant of Plessy's cousin, said he felt as if 'his feet weren't touching the ground' when he learned of the Board's recommendation.

'Not only is this 125 years of long-time-coming,' Keith, 64, said. 'But the way things have happened at such a rapid pace just lets you know that [Plessy and the civil rights group he was working with] were right.'

The Louisiana Board of Pardons on Friday unanimously voted to pardon Homer Plessy (burial marekr pictured above), whose decision to sit in a 'whites-only' railroad car to protest discrimination led to the US Supreme Court's 1896 'separate but equal' ruling

Keith Plessy and Phoebe Ferguson (pictured together in 2011) - descendants of the principals in the Plessy V. Ferguson court case - said they are hopeful that the Louisiana governor will approve the pardon, alleging the decision 'could be something for him to hang his hat on'

Plessy, described in the Supreme Court opinion as of 'one-eighth African blood,' was arrested in 1892 after boarding the train car as part of an effort by civil rights activists to challenge a state law that mandated segregated seating.

The 18-member Citizens Committee was trying to overcome laws that rolled back post-Civil War advances in equality.

Plessy - a 30-year-old shoemaker who was said to have lacked the business, political and educational accomplishments of most of the other committee members - pleaded guilty to violating the Separate Car Act a year later and was fined $25.

He died in 1925 with the conviction still on his record.

Keith and Phoebe Ferguson, the great-great-granddaughter of Judge John Howard Ferguson who oversaw Plessy's case in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court, now lead a nonprofit - the Plessy and Ferguson Foundation - that advocates for civil rights education.

'We cannot undo the wrongs of the past but we can and should acknowledge them,' Phoebe Ferguson told the pardon board.

The descendants said they are hopeful that Gov. Edwards will approve the pardon, alleging the decision 'could be something for him to hang his hat on.'

The Louisiana Board of Pardons has sent their recommendation to Gov. John Bel Edwards for final approval

The governor's office said he was traveling 'but looks forward to receiving and reviewing the recommendation of the Board upon his return'

Plessy was arrested on June 7, 1892 after he purchased a first-class ticket on the 4.15pm train from New Orleans to Covington, Louisiana and attempted to enjoy the ride from the first-class car.

After the train left the station, Plessy was confronted by a conductor who requested to see his ticket. There are several accounts of how the interaction allegedly went.

According to a white-run newspaper, the conducted asked: 'Are you a colored man?'

'Yes,' Plessy answered.

'Then you will have to retire to the colored car,' the conductor replied.

A version published by a black-run newspaper claims the conductor asked Plessy, 'Are you a white man?' and that he responded 'no.'

Plessy told the conductor who was an American citizen who had purchased his ticket and intended to receive the ride he paid for.

The conductor then flagged down a detective and Plessy was arrested.

He was released a few hours later after the Citizens' Committee paid his bail.

'His one attribute was being white enough to gain access to the train and black enough to be arrested for doing so,' Plessy biographer Keith Weldon Medley wrote of the incident in his book We As Freemen: Plessy v. Ferguson.

Plessy, described in the Supreme Court opinion as of 'one-eighth African blood,' was arrested in 1892 after boarding the train car as part of an effort by civil rights activists to challenge a state law that mandated segregated seating

Judge Ferguson, who received Plessy's case, delayed a trial and instead ruled on the constitutionality of the state law he had been charged with violating.

His attorneys appealed the ruling and Plessy's case eventually made it to the Supreme Court.

On May 18, 1896 the Supreme Court issued a 7-1 ruling that state racial segregation laws didn't violate the Constitution as long as the facilities for the races were of equal quality.

'We consider the underlying fallacy of the plaintiff's argument to consist in the assumption that the enforced separation of the two races stamps the colored race with a badge of inferiority. If this be so, it is not by reason of anything found in the act, but solely because the colored race chooses to put that construction upon it,' Justice Henry Billings Brown wrote of the decision.

'The argument also assumes that social prejudices may be overcome by legislation, and that equal rights cannot be secured to the negro except by an enforced commingling of the two races. We cannot accept this proposition.'

'We as freemen still believe that we were right and our cause is sacred,' The Citizens' Committee said in response to the 1896 ruling.

Phoebe (pictured with Keith in 2017) alleges the Plessy v. Ferguson case 'started an explosion of activism' and made New Orleans the 'cradle' of the civil rights movement

Phoebe, speaking to the Washington Post after the announcement of the pardon recommendation, said Plessy v. Ferguson 'started an explosion of activism' and made New Orleans the 'cradle' of the civil rights movement.

The move to pardon Plessy comes amid a wider discussion about whether convictions or arrest records of civil rights activists should be overturned or removed.

Claudette Colvin, a black woman who was 15 when she refused to move to the back of a bus months before Parks did so, has sued to wipe out her conviction. Civil rights attorney Fred Gray, who represented Parks and Martin Luther King Jr., has said he might file a suit to do the same for them.

But some civil rights advocates have said they don't want their arrest records expunged.

King biographer Clayborne Carson called his own civil rights arrest record 'a badge of honor.' Expunging the record 'doesn't change the historical reality that you were arrested,' he told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

After the Supreme Court ruling in 1896, 'Homer Plessy returned to obscurity,' Medley wrote.

He worked as a laborer, warehouseman, clerk and, starting in 1910, a collector for a black-owned insurance company.

His obituary noted only the date and time of death and that he was the 'beloved husband of Louise Bordenave.'
A man who appeared in court today has been charged with the murder of a company director as her 'devastated' family say it is 'unbearable'.

Antanas Jankauskas, 38, of Wookey, Somerset, spoke through a Lithuanian interpreter to confirm his name and date of birth when he appeared in custody at Taunton Magistrates Court.

He has been charged with the murder of Sarah Ashwell, 47, who was formally identified as the victim of a 'suspicious death' after her body was found at her home in Wells, Somerset, last weekend.

Sarah Ashwell (pictured), 47, was formally identified as the victim of a 'suspicious death' after her body was found at home in Wells, Somerset, last weekend

Antanas Jankauskas, 38, of Wookey, Someset, spoke through a Lithuanian interpreter to confirm his name and date of birth when he appeared in custody at Taunton Magistrates Court

Emma Lenanton, prosecuting, and defence solicitor Natasha Steele were also in court for the hearing.

Jankauskas was remanded in custody until Tuesday, November 16 when he is due to appear at Bristol Crown Court.

Paying tribute earlier, Sarah's family said in a statement: 'We are absolutely devastated by what has happened to Sarah, who we all loved so very much.

'Nothing can prepare you for such terrible news and we are utterly heartbroken. Sarah had so much of her life still to live.

Paying tribute earlier, Sarah's family said in a statement: 'We are absolutely devastated by what has happened to Sarah, who we all loved so very much'

'It is unbearable for us to think that this has been taken away from her and that she has been taken away from us.

'We are incredibly touched by the many kind and loving tributes that have been posted on social media by friends and loved ones in the last few days.

'It is a comfort for us to be reminded how well loved she was and that so many people had such affection for her.'

Detective Superintendent Gary Haskins, who is heading the enquiry, described the investigation as 'fast-moving and complex'.

He said: 'It's clear from our enquiries so far that Sarah was much loved as a daughter, mother and friend.

'Our family liaison officers are supporting her parents and two sons and the thoughts of all the team are with them. We ask that they be given privacy and consideration in their loss.

'This is a fast-moving, complex investigation and we're exploring a number of lines of enquiry. We're grateful to everyone who has contacted us with information, shared CCTV and spent time speaking with officers on house to house enquiries.'

The force has said it has also made a mandatory formal referral to the IOPC (Independent Office for Police Conduct) due to recent police contact with Sarah.
Ghislaine Maxwell has spoken from behind bars to claim she's been forced to stop taking showers because of the 'creepy guards' who stand and stare at her.

In a world exclusive published in tomorrow's Mail on Sunday, the heiress has spoken of the hell of her life in Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center, saying that conditions are so bad a rat would sit beside an open sewer in her cell as she went to the toilet.

She said: 'I used to go to the loo with an open sewer drain and a friendly rat would regularly visit.

'I told the guards, but nothing was done until the rat popped out and charged a guard who screamed in terror.

'Finally, the sewer drain was covered.'

Maxwell faces a maximum of 80 years in prison if found guilty of abusing and procuring young girls for her ex-boyfriend, convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

In a world exclusive published in tomorrow's Mail on Sunday, Ghislaine Maxwell has spoken of the hell of her life in Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center, saying that conditions are so bad a rat would sit beside an open sewer in her cell as she went to the toilet (Pictured: Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein at an event in New York in 1995)

With the trial rapidly approaching, she has pleaded not guilty to all charges and says she will vehemently protest her innocence in court.

Maxwell, who was this week refused bail for a fourth time, says she fears it will be impossible to get a fair trial.

Maxwell has been held in the notorious New York jail since her arrest 16 months ago.

She complains she has been kept in 'inhumane' solitary confinement the entire time, adding: 'I used to take a shower every day but I've stopped because of the creepy guards who stand close and stare at me the whole time.'

With jury selection beginning on Monday and the six-week trial due to start on November 29, Maxwell's relationship with Prince Andrew will be put back under the spotlight.

Virginia Roberts, the woman who claims she was allegedly 'sex trafficked' to the Prince three times - the first when she was just 17 and legally under age - is expected to face Maxwell across the courtroom.

Maxwell faces a maximum of 80 years in prison if found guilty of abusing and procuring young girls for her ex-boyfriend, convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein (Pictured: Maxwell being led to court in an artist's sketch on November 1)

Prince Andrew vehemently denies all claims and insists he cannot remember ever meeting Ms Roberts.

Ms Roberts has described Maxwell as 'a monster' adding: 'She's vicious, pure evil. Epstein was a sick paedophile but Ghislaine was the mastermind.'

The Mail on Sunday exclusive also includes the first interview with the former Paratrooper who guarded Maxwell during the 11-months between Epstein's suicide in August 2019 and her arrest in July 2020.

He tells interviewer Daphne Barak the extraordinary lengths they went to conceal her whereabouts including hiring lookalikes to throw the press off her trail.

For the full astonishing story don't miss tomorrow's Mail on Sunday.
Well-wishers have raised 10,000 in just one day for the funeral of a schoolboy who was mauled to death by a 115lb dog in South Wales.

The grieving family of Jack Lis, 10, set up the fundraiser on behalf of his mother Emma Whitfield to raise funds for his funeral costs.

Jack died from 'severe injuries to the head and neck' that were described as 'unsurvivable' after he was attacked by a 'Beast' dog at his friend's house in Penyrheol, Caerphilly, on Monday.

The 115lb dog, which had only been with his friend's family for a matter of days after being sold by roofer Lee Jenkins, savaged the boy in a 'violent and unnatural' attack, an inquest in Newport was told.

Now, around 900 kind strangers have raised more than 10,000 in just one day via the fundraiser, which was set up by Ms Whitfield's cousin Matthew Young.

Around 900 strangers have raised more than 10,000 after the heartbroken family of 10-year-old schoolboy Jack Lis (pictured) set up a campaign to raise funds for his funeral costs

Mr Young initially set up the GoFundMe campaign on Friday with a modest target of 5,000 before doubling it following a string of generous donations from well-wishers.

A description on the page read: 'Many people have expressed their deepest condolences and have asked to contribute in some way towards the funeral costs to help the family at this very difficult and emotional time.

'So it is with extreme heartache that I write this to give those wishing to donate, a place to do so.

'Jack was a loving caring young boy who will be greatly missed, never forgotten, and always in our hearts. Fly high 'sweet, sweet boy'.'

The fundraising campaign incredibly racked up more than 900 donations in just 24 hours, reaching a staggering total of 11,748.

On Saturday, Mr Young thanked people for donating and sending his family 'love and thoughts' and explained that he had set up the campaign to give Jack's parents time to grieve without them having to worry about funeral costs.

Jack died from 'severe injuries to the head and neck' after he was attacked by a 'Beast' 15-month-old dog (pictured) at his friend's house in Penyrheol, Caerphilly, on Monday

He wrote: 'We all want Jack to have the best send off possible following such a devastating end to his young life.

'I have set up this page to try to help Jack's parents to take time to grieve without the added stress and pressure of funding a beautiful funeral for him and all other costs that arise from this tragic circumstance.'

Mr Young also confirmed that it was his decision to change the fundraising target, not Jack's parents, as he said he had been asked why the amount had been altered.

He continued: 'It's terrible that I have to try to add an amount for something as devastating and emotional as this but it's a requirement of the site. It's myself that has added the amount, not Jack's parents.'

It comes after an inquest into Jack's death revealed the youngster had been 'playing with a friend' outside his house before the attack.

The two then went to his friend's home in a neighbouring street after classes on Monday when the dog attack happened, the Newport inquest heard.

Senior coroner Caroline Saunders told the inquest in Newport: 'Upon entering the home Jack was attacked by a dog.'

A coroner heard his injuries were 'unsurvivable' with a pathologist giving the provisional cause of Jack's death as severe head and neck wounds.

Jack was identified by family photos provided to the mortuary manager at the Royal Gwent Hospital.

Miss Saunders said the circumstances surrounding Jack's death were 'violent and unnatural' and so formally opened an inquest into his death.

The 115lb dog, which had only been with his friend's family for a matter of days after being sold by roofer Lee Jenkins (pictured), savaged the boy in a 'violent and unnatural' attack

The coroner then adjourned the inquest for 'further inquiries' to be made and it will be resumed at a later date.

After the hearing, Jack's devastated family paid tribute to the youngster in a statement.

They said: 'We are absolutely heartbroken. Our lives will never be the same without Jack. This is not something any parent should ever have to be writing.

'We have so many words we want to say about our beautiful boy, but they do not seem enough.

'We love him more than words can describe. Our boy made us the proudest parents and family on the planet. He was the sweetest of boys.

'We will forever miss his quirky ways and his stories that he would spend so long telling us. He's forever in our hearts. Sweet dreams Jack, our perfect boy.'

The powerful dog which savaged the schoolboy had only been with his friend's family for a matter of days after being sold by roofer Lee Jenkins.

Jenkins called the dog 'Beast' when he advertised it on Facebook, saying the 15-month-old dog was 'great with people' but that it did not like other dogs.

The advert on Facebook described the animal as having a height of 24ttw - about the same as a labrador - and weighing 115lbs.

A coroner heard his injuries were 'unsurvivable' with a pathologist giving the provisional cause of Jack's death as severe head and neck wounds. Pictured: Floral tributes for Jack in Penyrheol

The powerful brown and white beast was shot seven times by armed officers after it launched a horror attack on Jack.

Neighbours described the animal as having 'huge muscles' protruding from its shoulders as they saw it moments after Jack's death.

Police say a dog legislation expert has now been brought in to examine its features to see if it the dog is a breed allowed in the UK.

Chief Superintendent Mark Hobrough said experts will 'look at the character traits of the dog' to see if it is a banned breed.

He said: 'We are looking at all potential offences and all potential actions that need to come as a result of this investigation.'

A 28-year-old woman from the Caerphilly area was arrested on suspicion of being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control causing injury resulting in death. She was later released on conditional bail.

Two men - a 34-year-old from the Mountain Ash area and a 19-year-old from the Caerphilly area - attended voluntarily in relation to an offence of being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control causing injury resulting in death.

Both were later released.
It is true people are preoccupied with themselves, but a new study shows that they're thinking about, and even like you, more than you realize.

A study conducted by social psychologists from the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University found that we underestimate the frequency and positivity with which people think about us.

These phenomena have been coined the Thought Gap and the Liking Gap.

People spend about half their waking hours in some form of conversation. After we leave these conversations, we often replay these interactions in our head to reminisce, revisit advice, and reconsider our every little move.

But as we go over the conversations we had in our heads, we often believe that our conversation partner isn't doing the same.

'Just as our conversation partners echo in our minds, we echo in theirs,' the study found.

A new study shows that people are generally pessimistic about the 'the content and frequency' of others thoughts about them: 'Just as our conversation partners echo in our minds, we echo in theirs'

Study one found 'people believe that they thought more about their conversation partner than their conversation partner thought about them'

Studies one, two, and three were conducted with strangers getting to know one another

The first three studies corroborated the existence of the Thought Gap

As the study explains, not knowing someone else's thoughts poses a challenge to understand whether you have impacted them 'to the same degree that they have impacted you.'

During conversations, people grant us insight to their inner thoughts through dialogue, tone, body language, etc. but that access ends with the conversation.

'This is a significant psychological transition, as people go from being intimately connected with another person's thoughts to being alone with their own thoughts,' the study explains.

'But because other people's thoughts remain hidden from us, the impact we have on our conversation partners remains greater than we know,' the study states.

As more time after the conversation passes a 'gulf widens' between your thoughts and theirs. One of the experiments tracked the Thought Gap over time to find that it widens as the hours grow after the conversation.

Through the eight different situations in which the Thought Gap was studied, it remained an overall truth: after walking away from a conversation, people continued to mull it over but assumed that their partner had moved on.

Whether it be getting to know someone, an intimate dialogue with your best friend, or an arguments with a partner, they're laying awake at night thinking about it too.

'The Thought Gap may blind people to the basic truth that our friends think about us just as much as we think about them after conversations,' the study notes.

The Thought Gap happens for most conversations but it doesn't happen for all as one of the study's authors explained. Gus Cooney, a professor at The Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania, said: 'Maybe your mom really does think about you more than you think about her, sadly.'

While the Thought Gap proved consistent for both positive and negative conversations, the Liking Gap proves that people generally perceive your interactions more positively than you think.

Previous research found that 'people systematically underestimated how much their partner liked them and enjoyed their company,' the study notes.

The Liking Gap is also caused by our inability to know someone else's thoughts and our preoccupation with ourselves. Even when others are giving us nonverbal signs that they like us we are too caught up in what we're doing and thinking about how its going to perceive the indicators the other is giving.

Researchers found that people replay conversations and think of them positively at higher rates than most people perceive

One experiment found the Thought Gap over time to find that it widens as the hours grow after the conversation

People tend to overestimate themselves in most capacities but most people leave conversations pessimistically pondering how it went.

Multiple studies have found the Liking Gap in both short and long conversations, all genders, group and one-on-one conversations, and children as young as five years old.

The Thought Gap and the Liking Gap combined shows that people are generally pessimistic about the 'the content and frequency' of others thoughts about them.

Adam Mastroianni, a postdoctoral research scholar at Columbia Business School who has done work on the liking gap, explained to Vice that while sometimes anxiety inducing, fixating on our interactions and perceived 'social shortcomings' can have positive impacts when we attempt to fix them.

'We obsess over the joke that didn't land, the name we forgot, the careless thing we shouldn't have said, and that makes us funnier, more attentive, and more careful the next time around,' he said. 'But it also fills our heads with negative thoughts about ourselves, leading us to assume the worst about what others think of us  in this case, that they don't think of us much at all, and when they do, it ain't good.'

Responding to the study, people were overall 'pleasantly surprised' when they discovered their conversation partners were also thinking about them in a more positive way than they originally believed.
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The holiday season has officially begun in New York City with the arrival of this year's Rockefeller Center Christmas tree from Maryland.

This year's tree is a 79-foot-tall Norway spruce from the small town of Elkton, Maryland. It is 46-feet in diameter and weighs 12 tons.

The tree was driven nearly 150 miles on a 115-foot-long tractor trailer.

This 79-foot-long tree is the first from the state of Maryland to be featured at Rockefeller Center for the holiday season.

The official lighting ceremony is set for December 1 and the tree will be wrapped with more than 50,000 multi-colored lights and topped with a 900lbs Swarovski star with 70 spikes and 3 million crystals.

The tree is set to be on display in Rockefeller Plaza until January 16, 2022.

Onlookers watch the Christmas tree being installed at the Rockefeller Center on Saturday

Workers pull on guide ropes to raise this year's Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center

The 2021 Rockefeller Center Christmas tree arrived into NYC from Elkton, Maryland on Saturday

This year's tree is a 79-foot-tall Norway spruce which is 46-feet in diameter and weighs 12 tons

The tree was transported nearly 150 miles on a 115-foot tractor trailer

It had been cut down from the Elkton site on November 11 and arrived into the city two days later.

The delivery of the tree, however, proved not to be as easy as it appeared.

'We need New Jersey permits to bring it up on the turnpike, it stays overnight by the Meadowlands,' New York Truck Escorts and Permits President Maureen Mandich told ABC13. 'We need Maryland and Delaware permits for it to travel because it's an oversized load.

'It has to have special permits, special escorts, police escort, obviously, for security reasons and just to get it here safe.'

The Rockefeller Center had posted a picture of the tree on November 4 through their Twitter page with the caption 'Meet the 2021 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree!'

This year's tree will be the 90th featured at Rockefeller Center as it has been a holiday tradition since 1931.

The first tree, which stood at only 20 feet, was a balsam fir that was decorated with paper garlands, a string of cranberries and only a few ornaments.

Construction workers line up for pay beside the first Rockefeller Center tree in 1931

The 1946 tree is seen being lifted to the Rockefeller Center site

The installation of the 1951 tree which was the first broadcast on television

The tallest tree in Rockefeller Center history was a 100-foot-tall tree from Killington, Connecticut in 1999

The 2017 tree was the first to use energy efficient LED lights that were powered by 100 solar panels

Since its conception, trees have been scouted throughout the northeastern United States, with one coming from as far as Canada.

The first broadcast of the tree lighting was in 1951 and will be featured on TV for the 70th time this year.

The largest tree featured at Rockefeller Center was a 100-foot-tall tree from Killington, Connecticut that was on display for the 1999 holiday season.

In 2017, energy efficient LED lights powered by 100 solar panels were used for the ceremony for the first time in history, according to AccuWeather.

This year's upcoming tree lighting comes after the 2020 ceremony which received criticism for featuring a 'skimpy' selection.

The 75-foot-tall tree, also a Norway Spruce, was brought in from Oneonta, New York.

Many mocked the appearance as they believed it had reflected 2020 which had been plagued by the effects of the pandemic.

After adding some extensions and quality lighting, however, it looked as good as ever and helped to bring a bit of joy into the end of a long year.

The Rockefeller Christmas tree will be lit from 6am to midnight every day following the ceremony.

The tree will also be lit for 24 hours on Christmas Day and from 6am to 9pm on New Year's Eve.
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The head electrician on the Rust movie set who held dying Halyna Hutchins in his arms has been seen for the first time since suing Alec Baldwin.

Serge Svetnoy was seen smoking a cigarette and talking to an unidentified woman in his garage in Los Angeles, California, after suing Alec Baldwin for 'severe emotional distress'.

He said he felt a whoosh of air and heard the loudest shot he had ever heard before watching helplessly as Halyna Hutchins faded away in his arms.

Svetnoy claimed he suffered an injury following the shooting and was almost hit by the flying bullet on set.

The Rust gaffer was seen looking tired, dressed in a simple gray t-shirt with a motorcycle on it and black jeans with his hair thrown up in a bun.

He leaned heavily on the counter of his garage as he frowned at something, surrounded by what appeared to be tools. He was later seen talking to a woman and smoking a cigarette.

Gaffer Serge Svetnoy was seen looking tired in his garage in Los Angeles, California, on Thursday for the first time since suing Alec Baldwin

He frowned as he looked out the door of his garage as he leans on the work counter, surrounded by tools

He was later seen smoking a cigarette and speaking to an unidentified woman

He claimed the event caused him 'severe emotional distress.' He also sued rookie armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and assistant director Dave Halls after the fatal shooting and revealed that the scene did not call for Baldwin to fire the gun

Svetnoy (left), held dying Halyna Hutchins (right) in his arms after she was shot

He also sued rookie armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and assistant director Dave Halls over 'severe emotional distress' after the fatal shooting and revealed that the scene did not call for Baldwin to fire the gun.

Svetnoy filed the suit against the three crew members - as well as others, who remain unnamed - and claimed that their alleged negligence led to the shooting and put him in emotional turmoil.

Svetnoy alleged in the court documents that the bullet struck director Joel Souza, 48, and killed Hutchins, 42, nearly hit him, too, according to TMZ.

He also said that he was one of the first people to tend to Halyna while she was bleeding out and attempted to keep her conscious.

He told TMZ that he's suing Baldwin because he 'owed a duty to the Plaintiff and other crew members and actors on the "Rust" set to handle the Colt Revolver provided to him by Defendant Halls with reasonable care and diligence for the safety of "Rust" cast and crew.'

Baldwin, 63, also looked worse for wear while strolling through New York City earlier this week

Svetnoy sued Alec Baldwin, 63, for his negligence as an actor and as a producer of the movie, claiming that 'the scene did not call for Defendant Baldwin to shoot the Colt Revolver'

The experienced crew member also sued 24-year-old armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed (left) and the movie's assistant director David Hall (right), who told Baldwin that the gun was cold

Svetnoy said in an emotional Facebook post that he and Hutchins were friends and had worked on a number of films before

'This duty called for Defendant Baldwin to double-check the Colt Revolver with Halls upon being handled to ensure that it did not contain live ammonization,' he added in the court documents.

Svetnoy went on to claim that if Baldwin knew the gun was loaded with a real bullet, he had another duty to 'refrain from pointing it at anyone'.

In a bombshell line, the lawsuit also revealed that the scene Baldwin was doing did not call for him to pull the trigger. The script supposedly directed the actor to draw the gun and point it in the general direction of the camera.

However, 'the scene did not call for Defendant Baldwin to shoot the Colt Revolver,' the document stated.

Besides his alleged negligence as an actor Svetnoy also pointed to the 63-year-old's negligence as a producer of the movie.

He wrote: 'They attempted to save money by hiring an insufficient number of crew members to safely handle the props and firearms.'

According to TMZ the suit went on to claim that there were other failings on set, including violating 'industry norms, declining requests for weapons training days, failing to allow proper time to allow for gunfire, failing to send out safety bulletins and spreading the staff too thin'.

Svetnoy, who asked for damages and a jury trial, also called the target practice that took place before the fatal accident 'outrageous'.

The head electrician said he was standing next to Hutchins when she was killed in rehearsals as Baldwin practiced drawing the weapon in the church pew and it accidentally fired.

He said that he was friends with Hutchins for five years and considered her a good friend after sharing the final photo of the cinematographer filming on set in the church where she was shot dead.

Svetnoy posted the picture to Facebook, captioned: 'This is the last photo with Halyna on set.'

The photo was taken on the same day of the incident and shows Hutchins holding a camera while Baldwin stands in costume surrounded by crew members in the dimly lit sparse church setting.

Svetnoy described the harrowing moment he held his friend in his arms as she lay dying while she bled over his hands in an emotional tribute post on Facebook.

She was shot in the chest, while director Joel Souza was also wounded, and she stumbled back before collapsing, saying: 'I can't feel my legs.'

In the post Svetnoy also blamed Hutchins' death on 'negligence and unprofessionalism' as he blasted those responsible for not doing their jobs properly and claimed producers hired an inexperienced armorer.

Svetnoy shared the final photo of Halyna Hutchins (pictured holding the camera) on set in the church just moments before she was shot dead

Hutchins' October 19, 2021 Instagram post showed cast members and staffers, including Baldwin alongside Hutchins herself and armorer Gutierrez-Reed (circled left to right) on the set of Rust in Santa Fe, New Mexico

Authorities have been scouring the set of the film as they investigate how a live round came to be in the firearm

He wrote: 'Yes, I was standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Halyna during this fatal shot that took her life and injured the director Joel Souza. I was holding her in my arms while she was dying. Her blood was on my hands.

'I do not wish anyone to go through what I went through, what her husband Matt Hutchins and her son Andros went through, and the actor Alec Baldwin, who has been handed a gun on set. He has to live with the thought that he took the life of the human because of unprofessional people.'

The electrician said Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, 24, who was named at the end of October as the person who loaded Baldwin's vintage Colt pistol, was too young to be doing her job.

Guttierrez-Reed reportedly supplied the gun to the movie set and it was checked by assistant director David Hall, who told Baldwin that it was a 'cold gun,' meaning it had blanks.

He added: 'The negligence from the person who was supposed to check the weapon on the site did not do this; the person who had to announce that the loaded gun was on the site did not do this; The person who should have checked this weapon before bringing it to the set did not do it.

'And the DEATH OF THE HUMAN IS THE RESULT!

'I'm sure that we had the professionals in every department, but one - the department that was responsible for the weapons.

'There is no way a twenty-four-year-old woman can be a professional with armory; there is no way that her more-or-less the same-aged friend from school, neighborhood, Instagram, or God knows where else, can be a professional in this field.'

Svetnoy called on producers to ensure such an accident is never repeated by hiring qualified staff who know how to be safe on potentially dangerous sets.

He said: 'To save a dime sometimes, you hire people who are not fully qualified for the complicated and dangerous job, and you risk the lives of the other people who are close and your lives as well.

'I understand that you always fight for the budget, but you cannot allow this to happen.

'There should always be at least one professional in each department who knows the job. It is an absolute must to avoid such a tragedy, like the tragedy with Halyna.'

Svetnoy finished off his post by saying: 'We all loved Halyna. May God bless her soul.'

The investigation remains ongoing but in the most recent development in the case, the District Attorney (DA) in charge of looking into the shooting has said she knows who loaded the gun.

Mary Carmack-Altwies told Good Morning America that there were 'so many levels of failures' on the set before Hutchins was accidentally shot and killed by Baldwin on October 21.

Baldwin accidentally shot and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins (pictured) on October 21 when he was handed prop gun with live ammunition

Mary Carmack-Altwies (pictured), the District Attorney in charge of the investigation, said there were 'so many levels of failures' on the set before Hutchins' death

Authorities have been probing how a suspected live round came to be in the firearm, which had been declared safe by an assistant director. When asked if she knew who had loaded the fatal shot, Carmack-Altwies said 'yes'.

The DA added that investigators found additional live rounds on set but could not specify how many because the investigation was ongoing.

'We still don't know how they got on the set and how they got there I think will be one of the most important factors going into a charging decision,' Carmack-Altwies said.

'It's probably more important to focus on what led up to the shooting because the moment of the shooting, we know that at least Mr Baldwin had no idea that the gun was loaded, so it's more how did that gun get loaded, what levels of failure happened and were those levels of failure criminal?'

She also refuted claims made by the attorney of the film's armorer who suggested the weapon could have been intentionally loaded with live ammo.

'Defense attorneys have come up with conspiracy theories and used the word "sabotage". We do not have proof,' Carmack-Atlwies added.

Gutierrez-Reed's attorney Jason Bowles has claimed that the incident could have been caused by sabotage by a third party who intentionally placed live ammo in a box of blanks, but Carmack-Altwies said that was unlikely.

The Santa Fe county sheriff said there had been 'some complacency' in how weapons were handled and the set has been shut down since that day in October as authorities probe the scene of the incident.

Baldwin himself has said it is unlikely the low-budget movie will ever be completed.

Last week the grieving actor shared a post from a crew member of Rust dismissing concerns about safety on the set of the film.

He was also recently spotted going to a New York City salon with his wife, Hilaria, on November 9.

On November 9 a tired-looking Baldwin and his wife Hilaria were seen strolling in New York City on the unseasonably warm fall day

In the weeks since the shooting, several former crew members have spoken out about the unsafe environment on the set.

Lane Luper, who served as the film's A-camera first assistant, said he quit one day before the fatal shooting because employees were being overworked, Covid safety was not being enforced properly and gun safety was poor.

'I think with Rust, it was the perfect storm of the armorer, the assistant director, the culture that was on set, the rushing. It was everything,' he told Good Morning America when asked about the events that led up to the fatal shooting.

'It wasn't just one individual. Everything had to fall into place for this one-in-a-trillion thing to happen.'

He then disputed the producers' claim that safety was a top priority on set, saying: 'I only personally remember two safety meetings that involved the entire crew.'

Luper ultimately accused the film's production of breaking the cardinal rule of having guns on set. 'There shall never be live rounds anywhere on a studio lot, or stage or set,' he added.

He then choked up when describing the late Hutchins, saying: 'She genuinely was something special.'

In his letter of resignation, Luper said there had been two accidental weapon discharges on set and one accidental sound-effects explosion that went off around the crew.

'There have been NO explanations as to what to expect for these shots. When anyone from production is asked we are usually met with the same answers about not having enough time to complete the day if we rehearse or that "this is a 21 day shoot,"' Luper wrote in the letter.

He added that the crew grew exhausted of long commutes from the set to their lodging, which for some was more than two hours away.

'In my 10 years as a camera assistant I've never worked on a show that cares so little for the safety of its crew,' Luper said.

Last week, Baldwin fired back at the claims that the working conditions on the set were unsafe, though, sharing a social media post from one crew member slamming her coworkers for painting a 'blatantly false' picture of the set as 'chaotic and unsafe'.

Baldwin shared a screenshot of the post written by costume designer Terese Magpale Davis to his Instagram account with the caption: 'Read this.'

'I am so sick of this narrative,' Davis wrote in her post. 'I worked on this movie. The story being spun of us being overworked and surrounded by unsafe, chaotic conditions is bull***t.'

Davis' post refuted many of the complaints of crew members - including that they routinely worked more than 12-hour days.

'We never worked more than a 12.5-hour shoot day. That was once,' Davis wrote.

'Most days were under 12. The day Halyna died we had come off of a 12 hour turnaround after an 11 hour shoot day. We had (including camera) gotten off by 6.30pm.'

Davis continued, sharing that the fatal shooting that occurred on set will haunt her for a long time. She noted that she is angry at Dave Hall, the assistant director who handed Baldwin the gun, but would not accuse him of not caring about safety.

'I am heartbroken and furious,' she wrote. 'I will never get the sound of that gunshot or my director's screams out of my head as a result.'

'My friend is dead. Am I angry at him? Yes. But I won't jump on the bandwagon and pretend that he was uncaring about our safety the whole way through.'

Baldwin had remained silent about the incident on Rust prior to sharing the post.
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Belarus wants Russian nuclear-capable Iskander missile systems to deploy them in the south and west of the country, President Alexander Lukashenko said in an interview with a Russian defence magazine published today.

Russia is a close ally of Belarus, which the European Union has accused of engineering a crisis on its border by flying in thousands of migrants and pushing them to try to cross illegally into Poland.

However, the publication of the interview comes after Russia's President Vladimir Putin suggested he was growing frustrated with the Belarusian strongman after Lukashenko threatened on Thursday to retaliate against any new European Union sanctions against Minsk over the migrant standoff by restricting Europe's gas supply.

Brussels is currently gearing up to sanction Minsk over the crisis at the Poland-Belarus border, while Russia has been accused by the West of helping Belarus to weaponize the crisis amid warnings the Kremlin is also also mobilising to invade Ukraine.

And on Friday, two nuclear-capable Russian Tu-160 'White Swan' bombers entered 'the UK area of interest,' the MoD confirmed after the incident, forcing the RAF to scramble its own fighter jets to escort them away.

Lukashenko told the National Defence magazine that he needed the Iskander mobile ballistic missile system, which has a range of up to 500 kilometres and can carry either conventional or nuclear warheads.

'I need several divisions in the west and the south, let them stand (there),' he said in the interview.

EU members Poland and Lithuania lie to the west of Belarus. Its south borders Ukraine.

Lukashenko gave no indication of whether he had held any talks with Moscow about receiving the missile system, while Russia's Defence Ministry did not immediately reply to a request to comment from Reuters news agency.

Belarus wants Russian nuclear-capable Iskander missile systems to deploy them in the south and west of the country, President Alexander Lukashenko (pictured Friday) said in an interview with a Russian defence magazine published today

Lukashenko told the National Defence magazine that he needed the Iskander mobile ballistic missile system, which has a range of up to 500 kilometres and can carry either conventional or nuclear warheads. Pictured: A quasi ballistic missile is loaded into a a Iskander-M missile launcher during a military exercise held by Russian military (2016, file photo)

Pictured: An Iskander missile system during a fire demonstration at the Army-2017 International Military-Technical Forum, at the Patriot military park outside Moscow (file photo)

Pictured: A handout photo issued by Ministry of Defence (MoD) of a RAF fighter jet intercepting a Russian military aircraft approaching a UK area of interest. On Friday, two nuclear-capable Russian Tu-160 'White Swan' bombers entered 'the UK area of interest,' the MoD confirmed after the incident, forcing the RAF to scramble its own fighter jets to escort them away

Fears are growing of an imminent conflict in eastern Europe as Russia and Belarus carry out snap military drills close to where a migrant crisis is playing out on Poland's border, while Washington warns Putin is preparing to invade eastern Ukraine

Amid the tensions between Russia and Ukraine, Belarus is pressuring Europe over migrants and has threatened to cut off gas supplies to the continent by shutting the Yamal-Europe pipeline which runs through its territory (pictured) . But Putin said on Saturday that the Belarusian strongman had not consulted him over the threat

Belarus and Russia are formally part of a 'union state' and have been in talks for years to move closer together.

But Lukashenko's comments could add to Putin's annoyance, with the Russian leader saying earlier today the dictator had not consulted him before raising the possibility of cutting Russian natural gas flows to Europe, adding that such a move would risk harming ties between Minsk and its key ally Moscow.

'He can, I guess, it's no good, though, and I'll talk to him about it  in case he just said it out of anger,' Putin told Russian TV channel Rossiya 1 in response to the threat from Lukashenko to cut off the gas supply to the EU.

'I've recently spoken to (Lukashenko) twice and he didn't mention this to me once, he didn't even hint,' Putin said.

'Of course, in theory, Lukashenko as president of a transit country could order our (gas) supplies to be cut to Europe. But this would mean a breach of our gas transit contract and I hope this will not happen,' Putin added.

Putin's comments briefly lifted spot gas prices in Europe, which gets about a third of its supplies of the fuel from Russia, including via the Yamal-Europe pipeline that runs through Belarus to Poland and Germany.

The Belarusian section of the Yamal-Europe pipeline is owned by Russia's state gas monopoly, Gazprom.

Russia has been Belarus's closest ally for years, helping with everything from cash to cheap energy supplies and military assistance, but Lukashenko's comments come at a sensitive time for Russia's energy exports to Europe.

Analysts say Lukashenko's gas comments have likely tested Putin's patience. Russian gas supplies already at the centre of heated debate in Europe.

The bitter dispute between Warsaw and Minsk dramatically escalated last night when Belarusian troops ripped up the border fence and prevented Polish soldiers from rebuilding it.

Film footage released this morning by Poland's Border Force reveals how its troops were blinded by lasers and strobe lights as they tried to shore up the frontier.

Film footage released this morning (pictured) by Poland's Border Force reveals how its troops were blinded by lasers and strobe lights as they tried to shore up the frontier

Pictured: Bright lights are shown streaming through a barbed wire fence last night on the Poland-Belarus border, as Belarusian troops stopped Polish troops from fixing the fence

Pictured: A grab from a video showing a green laser is shone through a barbed wire fence

Hours earlier Belarus forces had destroyed part of the 120 miles of barbed wire fencing that separates the east European states. Migrants were also armed with tear gas by the Belarus military to attack Polish forces once they got across the border.

The incursion occurred near the town of Czeremcha which has seen hundreds of migrants pass through the frontier in recent weeks, amid accusations that Belarus is weaponizing the crisis with backing from Moscow.

The soldiers were carrying out the orders of their Minsk dictator leader Alexander Lukashenko to help migrants across the border to destabilise the EU.

A spokesman for the Polish Border Force told MailOnline: 'Last night near Czeremcha, Belarusian soldiers began to destroy the temporary border by tearing up fence posts.

'Polish forces were blinded by laser beams and strobe light,' they said. 'Also, a group of about 100 migrants were to cross and Poland says Belarusians gave them tear gas, which was used against the Polish forces.'

As the crisis escalated, Britain's most senior military officer warned that there is a greater risk of an accidental war breaking out between the West and Russia than at any time since the Cold War.

General Nick Carter, chief of the defence staff, told Times Radio there was a greater risk of tensions in the new era of a 'multipolar world', where governments compete for different objectives and different agendas.

'I think we have to be careful that people don't end up allowing the bellicose nature of some of our politics to end up in a position where escalation leads to miscalculation,' he said in an interview to be broadcast on Sunday.

Tensions have been mounting in eastern Europe in recent weeks after the European Union accused Belarus of flying in thousands of migrants to engineer a humanitarian crisis on its border with EU-member state Poland, a dispute that threatens to draw in Russia and NATO.

Putin said on Saturday that unscheduled NATO drills in the Black Sea posed a serious challenge for Moscow and that Russia had nothing to do with the crisis on close ally Belarus's border with the bloc.

Pictured: A Polish army truck is seen in Poland as the country's army sets up a forward operating base close to the border with Belarus as tensions rise over the growing migrant crisis

Polish army set up forward operating base close to the border with Belarus as tensions rise over the growing migrant crisis

Pictured: Three helicopters line up by a forest as part of the Polish army setting up a forward operating base close to the Belarusian border

A pair of Polish trucks parked on grass in front of what appea to be portable toilets and barbed wire at Poland's base near the border

Poland also has camouflaged tanks, such as the one pictured above, at the makeshift base as tensions continue to rise over the migrant crisis

A large military camp and military vehicles are seen near Szudzialoowo, Poland today

A military truck is seen being refueled at an Orlen gas station near Sokolka, Poland as tensions continue to bubble up with Belarus

Pictured: Asylum-seekers, refugees and migrants, gather to receive humanitarian aid distributed by Belarusian military at a camp at the Belarus-Polish border in the Grodno region, not far from the checkpoint Bruzgi, Belarus, 12 November 2021

Plish soldiers and police watch migrants at the Poland/Belarus border near Kuznica, Poland, in this photograph released by the Territorial Defence Forces, November 12

The bitter dispute between Warsaw and Minsk dramatically escalated last night when Belarusian troops ripped up the border fence and prevented Polish soldiers from rebuilding it. Pictured: Migrants and Belarusian servicemen at a camp on the Belarusian-Polish border

Carter said authoritarian rivals were willing to use any tool at their disposal, such as migrants, surging gas prices, proxy forces or cyber attacks. 'The character of warfare has changed,' he said.

Following the bi-polar world of the Cold War, and the unipolar world of U.S. dominance, diplomats now face a more complex multi-polar world, he said, adding that 'traditional diplomatic tools and mechanisms' of the Cold War were no longer available.

'Without those tools and mechanisms there is a greater risk that these escalations or this escalation could lead to miscalculation,' he said. 'So I think that's the real challenge we have to be confronted with.'

Britain said on Friday that a small team of UK military personnel had been deployed to explore 'engineering support' for Poland on its border with Belarus.

British Typhoon fighters also escorted two Russian military aircraft out of its area of interest on Friday, working with NATO partners to monitor the jets as they passed through international airspace.

There are also tensions over the Russian border with Ukraine. Earlier this week, America warned European leaders that Russia may be about to invade its neighbour, having annexed the Ukrainian territory of Crimea in 2014.

The warning was based on satellite images showing tens of thousands of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Moscow would commit a 'serious mistake' if any of the 90,000 Russian troops positioned to march into Ukraine did so.

Meanwhile, Polish police said on Saturday the body of a young Syrian man was found in Poland near the border with Belarus, police said on Saturday, amid mounting international tension over the migrant crisis the EU says has been orchestrated by Minsk.

Polish army have erected 180 kilometres of barber wire fencing (pictured) across the border with Belarus. Pictures from Poland Ministry of Defence

Lukashenko wants payback for EU sanctions and Putin enjoys mischief: Why Belarus and Russia are causing chaos in Europe What is behind the crisis? Belarus was rocked by months of massive protests following the August 2020 election that gave authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko a sixth term in office. The opposition and the West rejected the result as a sham. Belarusian authorities responded to the demonstrations with a fierce crackdown that saw more than 35,000 people arrested and thousands beaten by police. The European Union and the U.S. reacted by imposing sanctions on Lukashenko's government. Those restrictions were toughened after an incident in May when a passenger jet flying from Greece to Lithuania was diverted by Belarus to Minsk, where authorities arrested dissident journalist Roman Pratasevich. The EU called it air piracy and barred Belarusian carriers from its skies and cut imports of the country's top commodities, including petroleum products and potash, an ingredient in fertilizer. A furious Lukashenko shot back by saying he would no longer abide by an agreement to stem illegal migration, arguing that the EU sanctions deprived his government of funds needed to contain flows of migrants. Planes carrying migrants from Iraq, Syria and other countries began arriving in Belarus, and they soon headed for the borders with Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. Pavel Latushka, a member of the Belarusian opposition, claimed that state-controlled tourist agencies were involved in offering visa support to migrants and helping them drive to the border. The EU accused Lukashenko of using the migrants as pawns in a 'hybrid attack' against the 27-nation bloc in retaliation for the sanctions. Lukashenko denies encouraging the flow of migrants and said the EU is violating migrants' rights by denying them safe passage. What has been the response by EU countries? During the summer, Lithuania introduced a state of emergency to deal with an influx of migrants and strengthen its border with Belarus. It set up tent camps to accommodate the growing number of migrants. In previous months, small groups of asylum-seekers tried to sneak into Lithuania, Poland and Latvia at night, using forest paths away from populated areas. This week, much larger groups gathered openly at the Polish border, and some people used shovels and wire cutters to try to break through a razor-wire fence at Poland's border. Authorities in Warsaw estimated the crowds at about 3,000-4,000 and said they prevented hundreds of people from entering the country. Poland deployed riot police and other forces to bolster the border guards. Eight deaths have been confirmed at the Belarus-Poland border,, and temperatures have fallen below freezing at night. The EU has made a strong show of solidarity with Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. EU officials are expected to discuss another round of sanctions against Belarus, and European Council President Charles Michel said for the first time that the bloc would consider the possibility of financing 'physical infrastructure' such as barriers or fences on the border. What is Russia's role? Belarus has received strong support from its main ally, Russia, which has helped buttress Lukashenko's government with loans and political support. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the migrants flows resulted from the U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and Western-backed Arab Spring uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa. He challenged the EU to offer financial assistance to Belarus to deal with the influx. At the same time, the Kremlin angrily rejected Poland's claim that Russia bears responsibility for the crisis. Usau said Russia could step in as a mediator in the hope of improving ties with Germany and other EU nations. Advertisement

Thousands of migrants from the Middle East are sheltering in freezing conditions on the border between Belarus and EU states Poland and Lithuania, which are refusing to let them cross. Some have already died and there are fears for the safety of the rest as bitter winter conditions settle in.

The death brings to 11 the number of migrants found dead on both sides since the crisis began in the summer, according to aid groups.

'Yesterday, in the woods, near the border, near Wolka Terechowska, the body of a young Syrian man was found,' Podlaska Police said on Twitter.

The police said they had been unable to determine the cause of death at the scene.

The discovery comes amid mounting international tension over the crisis, with neighbours of Belarus warning the situation could escalate into a military conflict and U.S. President Joe Biden expressing his concern.

Polish border guards estimate there are currently up to 4,000 migrants camped out along the border.

A large number of them are in a makeshift camp on the Belarusian side of the border in frigid conditions. Polish authorities report daily new attempts by the migrants to breach the border.

There is growing concern for their plight as temperatures continue to fall, with Poland refusing to allow them to cross and accusing Belarus of preventing them from leaving the area.

Belarusian authorities said Saturday they were delivering aid including tents and heaters to the migrant camp - a move that could make it a semi-permanent presence on the borders of the EU.

State news agency Belta reported that government bodies were erecting tents at the camp and that a generator had been delivered.

'The Belarusian side is doing everything to provide them with what they need. Water, firewood and humanitarian aid have been delivered,' Igor Butkevich, the deputy head of the state border committee, told Belta.

Belarus said on Saturday that the number of migrants arriving at a makeshift camp on the border was growing daily, and that a group of up to 100 had crossed into Polish territory.

'There's a group (of migrants) close to the crossing point... They are indeed on Polish territory. Up to 100 people,' the RIA news agency quoted the Belarusian state border committee as saying.

The Polish Border Guard said Belarusian soldiers had torn up a section of the temporary fence erected by Poland to deter migrants during the night.

On Saturday, Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski told private broadcaster RMF FM he would meet U.S. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines to discuss the situation next week. He said around 1,500 people were camped at the border and that this number was growing.

Poland, Austria, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have asked international aid organizations to organise humanitarian and medical assistance in Belarus to 'avoid tragedies and prevent (a) humanitarian crisis' at the Polish border.

The Polish Border Guard said there were 219 attempts to illegally cross the border on Friday. The Lithuanian border guard says 144 migrants attempted to enter on Friday.

Migrants have been trying to cross the border for months, but the crisis came to a head when hundreds made a concerted effort on Monday and were pushed back by Polish border guards.

Sporadic attempts to cross have continued, and Polish police said Saturday that the body of a young Syrian man had been found in a forest close to the border.

Police said the cause of death could not be immediately determined and that a group of around 100 migrants had attempted to cross the border during the night in the area.

Many of the reported incidents at the border are very hard to verify. Independent journalists face limits to their reporting in Belarus, and a state of emergency in Poland's border zone prevents media from entering the area.

The state of emergency ends Nov. 30, and the Polish government said Saturday that it is working on a plan to let journalists at that time be able to again report from the border area with the permission of the Border Guards.

European leaders have accused Lukashenko, who has ruled ex-Soviet Belarus for nearly 30 years, of luring the migrants to his country to send across the border in revenge for sanctions imposed over a bloody crackdown on his opponents.

The EU is expected next week to widen the penalties to include new sanctions for 'human trafficking'.

Belarusian Red Cross worker and military distribute food for asylum-seekers, refugees and migrants who gather at the Belarus-Polish border in the Grodno region, not far from the checkpoint Bruzgi, Belarus, 12 November 2021

Migrants unload a truck with tree trunks delivered by the Belarusian officials in a camp on the Belarusian-Polish border in the Grodno region on November 12, 2021

Speaking on Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia has nothing to do with the migrant crisis on the Belarus-Poland border.

'I want everyone to know. We have nothing to do with it,' he said in an interview with state broadcaster Vesti, after Poland and other Western critics accused Moscow of working with Minsk to send thousands of migrants to the EU border.

Putin said European leaders needed to talk to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko if they want to resolve the crisis, which has left hundreds of migrants, mainly from the Middle East, trapped on the border.

'As I understand it, Alexander Lukashenko and (German Chancellor Angela) Merkel are ready to talk to each other,' Putin said.

'I hope this will happen in the near future - this is most important.'

He again blamed the West for the crisis, saying its policies in the Middle East were the reasons migrants wanted to go to Europe in the first place.

'We should not forget where these crises associated with migrants came from. What, is Belarus the cause of these problems or something?' Putin said.

'No, these reasons were created by Western countries themselves, including European countries. They are political, military and economic in nature.'

Putin also said on Saturday that Moscow considered recent Black Sea exercises by US and other NATO ships as a serious challenge.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said today in an interview with Russian state television (pictured) that Russia has nothing to do with the migrant crisis on the Belarus-Poland border

'The United States and its allies in NATO are carrying out unplanned exercises in the Black Sea. Not only is a rather powerful naval group involved in these exercises, but also aviation, including strategic aviation. This is a serious challenge for us,' he said in an interview with state broadcaster Vesti.

Some European politicians have accused Moscow of failing to do more than just send contractual gas volumes, in order to calm down prices.

The European Commission said on Friday that if Lukashenko made good on his threats, it would further harm gas suppliers.

During Saturday's interview, Putin said that if Belarus did cut off supplies, it would 'cause great damage' to the European energy sector 'and would not help in developing our relations with Belarus as a transit country'.

'I will raise this with him (Lukashenko) in case this wasn't something (he) said in the heat of the moment,' Putin said.

Russia, which this week started to increase supplies to refill its European storage ahead of the winter heating season, has said more could come once its newly built Nord Stream 2 pipeline gets a green light from Germany.

Nord Stream 2 is another Russian pipeline designed to bypass transit countries, particularly Ukraine, which has a history of gas pricing standoffs with Moscow.

The Kremlin calls the pipeline a 'purely commercial project' and denies that politics are behind it in any way.

Putin's comments came after RAF fighter pilots and heavy US bombers took to the skies above the North Sea in a show of strength as tensions in Eastern Europe threaten to spill over.

British Typhoons and F35 Lightning jets teamed up with US B1 and B52 bombers in a joint military exercise dubbed Operation Point Blank this week.

The US air force said the mission showed its 'commitment to work closely with our allies and partners to deter any potential adversary from aggressive actions.'

The exercise came as a pair of Russian nuclear bombers forced the RAF to defend British airspace over the North Sea on Friday.

The Typhoons were scrambled from Lossiemouth, Scotland, and Coningsby, Lincolnshire, along with a refuelling jet from Brize Norton, Oxfordshire as British troops were deployed at the Polish border amid a Kremlin-backed migrant crisis.

The two Russian Tu-160 'White Swan' bombers entered 'the UK area of interest,' the MoD confirmed, without giving further details, as photographs show the RAF jets escorting the bombers.

The Kremlin warplanes approached Dutch airspace before being intercepted by the RAF and were seen heading north into international airspace over the North Sea at around 12.45pm, according to Mil Radar.

As the Royal Engineers arrived in the region, hundreds of Russian paratroopers jumped from military aircraft into Belarus. They conducted tactical rehearsals 25 miles from the flashpoint at the border.

The Russian defence ministry said the troops, two of whom died, flew home after the exercise, which was interpreted as a show of support for Lukashenko.

UK and US fighter jets and bombers took to the skies over the North Sea amid rising tensions in Eastern Europe (Pictured: U.S. Air Force F-15C Eagles, F-15E Strike Eagles, assigned to the 48th Fighter Wing, and Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s escort B-1 Lancer Bombers, assigned to Dyess Air Force Base, Texas)

The show of strength came just two days before a pair of Russian nuclear bombers forced the RAF to defend British airspace over the North Sea (Pictured: U.S. Air Force F-15C Eagles, F-15E Strike Eagles, assigned to the 48th Fighter Wing, and Royal Air Force fighter aircraft escort KC-135 Statotankers, assigned to Royal Air Force Mildenhall)

Flight tracking data was available for the RAF Tanker Voyager which left Brize Norton to support the Typhoons. A NATO jet also left Cologne to circle around Norway. The two Russian Tu-160 bombers flew over the North Sea before heading back north into international airspace

The US-UK exercise over the North Sea on Wednesday (pictured) enabled crews to train the vital drills needed during Air to Air refueling

A fighter jet is refuelled mid air during a joint exercise between the US and UK over the North Sea amid rising tensions in Europe

Tory former defence minister Tobias Ellwood backed the Ministry of Defence's demonstration of solidarity with Poland.

He said: 'Nato states will need to act swiftly to stay ahead of the threat, while countries which share borders with Russia will require further support. 'Any failure to do so would be interpreted as weak behaviour by President Putin. He could absolutely invade Ukraine. It is a reflection of just how weak the West has become.'

Meanwhile, European Commission vice president Margaritis Schinas said in an interview in Saturday's edition of French newspaper Le Figaro that sanctions on Belarus would be 'approved and applied'.

He said they would apply among others to Belarusian state airline Belavia, which has been accused of ferrying groups of migrants from Turkey and elsewhere to Minsk.

The EU said Friday it was having some success in efforts to stem the flow of migrants to Belarus, after Ankara banned Iraqis, Syrians and Yemenis from flying to the country from Turkey.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's top foreign policy adviser told AFP on Saturday that Turkey was also not to blame.

'Travellers are going to Belarus and from there to Lithuania, Poland and other EU countries. Blaming Turkey for that, or Turkish Airlines, is simply so misguided, misplaced,' Ibrahim Kalin said.

Tensions remain high at the border, where thousands of troops have been deployed on both sides.

Belarus said Friday it would 'respond harshly to any attacks' and held joint drills with Russian paratroopers near the border.

Russia, Lukashenko's main ally, sent planes including strategic bombers to patrol over Belarus this week.

But Moscow's support for Minsk is often cautious, and Putin in the interview said Lukashenko was acting entirely on his own when he threatened this week to cut off Russian gas transit through Belarus to Europe.

'Honestly speaking, it was the first I heard about it,' Putin said. 'He never told me, did not even hint. Well, he can probably. But it would not be good.'

After the large migration into Europe in 2015, Europe has been reinforcing its borders to discourage the arrival of more migrants and refugees. Still, every year, tens of thousands try to get in, embarking on dangerous and sometimes deadly journeys by sea and land.

Since the summer, thousands have been lured by what appeared to be a new and easier way to slip into Europe, through Belarus.

The EU accuses Lukashenko of creating the artificial route in order to retaliate for sanctions against his regime imposed after an election in 2020 widely viewed as flawed and a harsh crackdown on internal dissent that followed.

The restrictions were toughened after an incident in May when a passenger jet flying from Greece to Lithuania was diverted by Belarus to Minsk, where authorities arrested dissident journalist Raman Pratasevich. The EU called it air piracy, barred Belarusian carriers from its skies and cut imports of the country's top commodities, including petroleum products and potash, an ingredient in fertilizer.

A furious Lukashenko shot back by saying he would no longer abide by an agreement to stem illegal migration, arguing that the EU sanctions deprived his government of funds needed to contain flows of migrants. Planes carrying migrants from Iraq, Syria and other countries began arriving in Belarus.
A Michigan woman pleaded guilty after trying to hire someone to kill her ex-husband through a fake murder-for-hire website called 'Rent-A-Hitman,' according to authorities.

Wendy Lynn Wein, 52, of South Rockford, entered in a guilty plea Friday after using the phony website last year in an effort to have her former husband murdered, according to Fox 2 Detroit and Rolling Stone magazine.

'Got A Problem That Needs Resolving? With Over 17,985 US Based Field Operatives, We Can Find A Solution That's Right For You!' the website reads, alongside a badge showing that the website is the only organization in the world that is '100 percent compliant with the Hitman Information Privacy & Protection Act of 1964.'

'All of our competitors websites cannot say that and shouldn't be trusted  Capisce!'

Wein completed a service request on the site in July of 2020, writing to a made-up contracted killer by the name of Guido Fanelli that she wanted to have her ex-husband killed because he stole $20,000 from her.

Pictured: Wendy Lynn Wein, 52, of South Rockford, entered in a guilty plea Friday after using the phony website last year in an effort to have her former husband murdered

'Got A Problem That Needs Resolving? With Over 17,985 US Based Field Operatives, We Can Find A Solution That's Right For You!' the fake ' Rent-A-Hitman' website, pictured, reads

The owner behind the fake website, an IT professional who's real name is Bob Innes, immediately contacted state police, who in turn sent an undercover detective posing as a hitman to meet with her, according to FOX 2.

'She completed a "service request form" on the website and requested a consultation to help her with an "issue,"' Detective Sgt. Michael Peterson said.

'Wein specified her ex-husband as the target of her problems.'

She had added in her request for a hired killer that she did not want to commit the murder herself, as she didn't want to go to jail.

'I prefer not going jail. Thank you for your time,' her hitman request concluded.

Wein eventually met with the undercover detective and provided him information about her ex-husband before paying him a $200 down payment for the hit, while agreeing on a $5,000 total for the job.

The website, pictured, claims it is the only organization in the world that is '100 percent compliant with the Hitman Information Privacy & Protection Act of 1964'

She was not the only person to fall for the fake website, according to authorities.

Over the last several years, the website has nabbed over a dozen others who have tried to use the website to hire a contract killer, the Rolling Stone reported after Wein's arrest last year.

Wein will be sentenced on January 13, 2022, and could face up to nine years in prison on charges of solicitation of murder and using a computer to commit a crime, Fox 2 Detroit reports.

She plead guilty to two charges, one of solicitation of murder and the other for using a computer to commit a crime.

Her plea agreement has a cap of 108 months in prison.
SpaceX expanded its constellation of low Earth orbit satellites on Saturday with the launch of 53 Starlink satellites from Florida.

A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 7.19 am local time, and deployed the satellites about 16 minutes after launch.

The rockets reusable first stage, which has been used for multiple launches, including the first crewed test flight of SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft, successfully returned and landed on the 'Just Read the Instructions' droneship in the Atlantic Ocean.

Starlink is a satellite-based global internet system that SpaceX has been building for years to bring internet access to underserved areas of the world.

Earlier this week, SpaceX launched four astronauts to the International Space Station, including the 600th person to reach space in 60 years.

SpaceX expanded its constellation of low Earth orbit satellites with the launch of 53 Starlink satellites from Florida

The launch of 53 Starlinks is SpaceX's second rocket this week, and the 25th launch of the company this year. Starlink is a satellite-based global internet system that SpaceX has been building for years to bring internet access to underserved areas of the world

It took 21 hours for the flight from NASAs Kennedy Space Center to reach the glittering outpost. SpaceX has now launched 1,844 Starlinks since the first two prototypes were sent up in 2018.

The launch of 53 Starlinks is SpaceX's second rocket this week, and the 25th launch of the company this year.

The astronauts got emotional when they first spotted the space station from 20 miles out, calling it 'a pretty glorious sight.'

Three astronauts welcomed the crew instead of the preferred seven. Thats because SpaceX brought four of them back on Monday after the launch of their replacements kept getting delayed.

The new crew will spend the next six months at the space station and, during that time, host two groups of visiting tourists.

Russia will launch the first group in December and SpaceX the second in February.

London-based rival OneWeb has launched 358 out of 648 planned internet satellites, Other companies, such as Amazon, are making plans for more.

Some, however, have opposed the launchings to low Earth orbit, citing that it might make space a more congested and dangerous place.

NASA has argued in the past that these probes need to be de-orbited reliably.

Falcon 9's 25th launch of 2021 pic.twitter.com/hq1835HEgJ  SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 13, 2021

London-based rival OneWeb has launched 358 out of 648 planned internet satellites, Other companies, such as Amazon, are making plans for more

It took 21 hours for the flight from NASAs Kennedy Space Center to reach the glittering outpost. SpaceX has now launched 1,844 Starlinks since the first two prototypes were sent up in 2018

Critics are concerned that possible collisions will become more frequent as the low Earth orbit becomes more crowded, a hypothetical scenario known as Kessler syndrome.

Users on Twitter voiced their worries on the subject. 'More junk orbiting earth, is it really necessary for all the satellites? All because someone wants a good signal for the internet when that can already be achieved,'

User @Boyanbc questioned the regulations to launch satellites and tweeted: 'Look, I'm not perse against it, but I just find it weird that I need permission from the authorities to change something in my backyard, but you can just dump thousands (in total 42k) satellites as you please. Just a tiny bit weird. Don't you think?'

But @localzuk contended that regulations already in place have been efficient.

'They have to go through a huge amount of regulatory red tape to get these things up there. Every last part of it goes through some approval or other. So, in essence, they need permission to do everything they've done as well,' they wrote.

In 2009, a derelict Russian satellite crashed into a US communications probe, causing massive orbital debris.

However, collisions have been rare ever since and the broadband services provided by the satellites could positively impact commerce and education.
Reports said the van rolled backwards after being stopped at the top of a ramp

The unnamed pair have been described as Vietnamese nationals living in the UK

Her partner, a 57-year-old man, was 'seriously injured' and was rushed to hospital

A woman, 53, was killed after being hit by her own van in Granada on Saturday

A British-based woman has been killed and her husband has been left seriously injured after they were run over by their own van in Spain.

The horror incident happened at around 9.30am on Saturday morning in the centre of the southern Spanish city of Granada.

The couple were hit by their own van after it rolled backwards down a ramp leading out of an underground car park.

A woman was killed and her partner was seriously injured when their own van (pictured) rolled backwards and ran over them in an underground car park in the Spanish city of Granada

Unconfirmed reports said the couple left the vehicle at the top of a ramp (pictured) leading out of the underground car park when it rolled backward at around 9.30am on Saturday morning

The unnamed pair, thought to be on holiday in Spain at the time, have been described as Vietnamese nationals who were living in England.

The 53-year-old woman was killed after being trapped under the vehicle when it rolled backwards down the ramp.

Her partner, a 57-year-old man, was 'seriously injured' in the incident and was rushed to Virgen de las Nieves Hospital in Grenada.

Photos of the damaged white vehicle, which ended up coming to a stop after hitting a car park pillar, showed a GB sticker on the back.

The woman, 53, was killed after being trapped under the vehicle, while her 57-year-old partner was 'seriously injured' and was rushed to Virgen de las Nieves Hospital (pictured)

Photos of the damaged white vehicle, which ended up coming to a stop after hitting a car park pillar, showed a GB sticker on the back

According to unconfirmed local reports, the couple stopped and left the vehicle at the top of the ramp as they drove out the car park to walk to a nearby information booth for reasons that have not yet been made clear.

A witness said they had appeared to try to stop the van with their hands as it started moving and rolled backwards.

Police investigating the incident are thought to be focusing on the theory the driver had forgotten to put the handbrake on properly.

A local police spokesman confirmed in a tweet this morning/yesterday morning (SAT): 'A traffic accident has occurred inside a car park in Granada around 9.30am.

'A woman has died and a man is seriously injured.

'The causes of the incident are being investigated.'
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Week-on-week Covid cases rose in the UK by a quarter on Saturday, as lockdown measures were reimposed in European countries and Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned of 'storm clouds' brewing over the continent.

The Department of Health posted 38,351 confirmed infections today, up by almost a quarter (24.95 per cent) on the 30,693 that were recorded on Saturday, November 6.

Saturday marked the first day since Thursday that daily confirmed case numbers did not rise in the UK, as figures surged in the latter half of the week and brought an abrupt end to nearly a fortnight of falling infection numbers.

The number of people dying with the virus also rose on Saturday by 1.2 percent, to 157 up from the 155 that were published last Saturday.

Hospitalisations tumbled by 8.9 per cent on Tuesday, the most recent date that data is available, down to 968 from 1,055. There are about 8,600 Covid patients in English hospitals now compared to more than 12,000 at the same point last year.

However 'Professor Lockdown' Neil Ferguson said today that a Netherlands-style lockdown is 'unlikely' in Britain despite an 'uptick' in Covid cases in the UK.

The member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) said Britain's situation is different from other European nations as the wave of infections seems to be peetering out.

The professor at Imperial College London told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'We've had two or three weeks of declining cases and admission to hospitals - that may be petering out, it is too early to say.

'There is a hint of an uptick in the last few days.

'But we are in quite a different situation from those European countries you are talking about (the Netherlands, Germany).

'We've had very high case numbers - between 30,000 and 50,000 a day - really for the last four months, since the beginning of July.

'That has obviously had some downsides. It has also paradoxically had an upside of boosting the immunity of the population compared with countries like Germany, the Netherlands and France, which have had much lower case numbers and are only now seeing an uptick.'

The new data comes as epidemiologists, including 'Professor Lockdown' Neil Ferguson, said it was 'unlikely' UK would not have to follow in the footsteps of European countries like the Netherlands and Austria in re-imposing lockdown measures this winter.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson compared the continent's surging Covid outbreak to 'storm clouds' that could hit Britain next as infections continued to rise in the UK.

And England's 'wall of immunity' was praised as a mass-testing study by the Office for National Statistics showed the total size of the country's Covid outbreak shrank by 16 per cent last week to below 1million.

Total size of England's Covid outbreak SHRANK by 16% last week to below 1million, mass-testing study shows as experts praise nation's 'wall of immunity'... but one in 60 people were still infected on any day England's Covid outbreak shrank in size by 16 per cent last week, official figures revealed today as experts hailed the country's 'wall of immunity' for keeping the virus at bay. The Office for National Statistics (ONS), a Government agency which analyses tens of thousands of random tests to track the spread of the infection, estimated 925,400 people were infected on any given day in the week ending November 6. It equates to one in 60 people being infected and is a marked drop on the calculation of 1,103,300 published last week, which had yet to indicate any downturn despite a swathe of separate data showing England's outbreak was naturally retreating. Cases appear to be dropping in all age groups, most notably among 11 to 16-year-olds. But around 4.8 per cent of secondary school pupils were still thought to have been carrying the virus in the last week, compared to roughly 7.5 per cent during half-term week. Meanwhile, Government advisers today also revealed the R rate has fallen the second consecutive week. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) now estimates the rate stands at between 0.8 and 1, offering more proof that the outbreak is in decline. One expert claimed the drop has been triggered 'almost entirely by the wall of immunity, rather than behavioural changes or restrictions', with the combination of the explosion in cases triggered by schools going back and the country's vaccination drive credited for the drop. Separate data published yesterday confirmed the trend. The UK's largest symptom-tracking study revealed cases fell by almost a fifth in the biggest weekly drop since the summer. But Department for Health testing statistics yesterday showed Covid cases increased 14 per cent on the previous week, marking the first rise in 10 days. But hospitalisations and deaths both fell week-on-week. Advertisement

In other Covid developments:

Protestors clashed with riot police in the Netherlands and demonstrations took place in Austria as lockdown measures were reimposed as Covid cases rose on the continent

'Professor Lockdown' Neil Ferguson said it is 'unlikely' that Britain will need to follow the lead of European countries like the Netherlands and Austria in adopting winter lockdown measures

Prime Minister Boris Johnson compared Europe's escalating Covid crisis to brewing 'storm clouds' that could hit Britain as he urged the public to get booster jabs

But England's 'wall of immunity' was praised by experts as a mass-testing study showed the total size of the country's Covid outbreak shrank by 16 per cent last week to below 1million

Austria will become the first Western European country to impose a lockdown since the summer from Monday, with unvaccinated people in the two worst-hit regions subjected to restrictions again.

The Netherlands is also reintroducing an 8pm curfew on bars, restaurants and other amenities from today.

A group of around 200 anti-lockdown protesters clashed with riot police outside the government building in The Hague where Dutch PM Mark Rutte was speaking. Several people were detained for setting off fireworks and throwing objects at the police.

Armed with placards, whistles and megaphones, protestors initially began with a peaceful demonstration but scenes eventually turned to chaos as bicycles, projectiles and road signs were being thrown and flares let off.

Meanwhile, similar action was taken in Austria on Friday evening after Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg announced plans to impose lockdown measures on unvaccinated members of the population.

In Linz, Austria's third-largest city, hundreds of protestors lined the streets to rage at the prospective measures which would come into force from Sunday. 20 per cent of intensive care beds are being used by Covid patients in the country, according to Reuters.

And in Milan, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nephew of former U.S. President John F. Kennedy, was pictured greeting anti-vaxxers and addressing a crowd of protestors as demonstrations against Covid jabs continue in the Italian city.

The news comes as Boris Johnson used Europe's soaring epidemic as a warning of what's to come if Britons don't get their booster vaccines.

No10 has said it will only revert to its winter Covid 'Plan B' strategy if the NHS faces 'unsustainable' pressure, which ministers argue is not the case yet despite health leaders insisting otherwise.

'Ive got to be absolutely frank with people, weve been here before  and we remember what happens when a wave starts rolling in,' Mr Johnson said during a visit to a pharmacy in South London.

The PM, who is currently embroiled in a Tory sleaze row, warned that Britain's fate this winter hinges on how many people get their boosters. 'What Im saying today is the urgency of getting that booster jab is more evident than ever,' he said.

'If you can get it, its a great thing, the levels of protection it gives you are terrific and so over-50s, who were calling forward, should come and get it.'

But he added: 'What Im also saying is that if we dont do it fast enough, we can see the potential risks to the state of the pandemic in whats happening in other parts of Europe.'

Coronavirus infections in the Netherlands have been rising for a month after most social distancing measures were scrapped in late September, and reached their highest level since July in the past week. Meanwhile, cases in the UK have trended downwards since October 24

Covid-related deaths in the Netherlands have been trending up since the start of November according to data, with hospitals put under strain

There are about 8,600 Covid patients in English hospitals now compared to more than 12,000 at the same point last year. Pictured: Ambulances parked outside A&E at the Royal Liverpool Hospital, Merseyside

Hundreds of anti-lockdown protestors clashed with riot police in The Hague in the Netherlands on Friday evening as a raft of new lockdown measures were announced and due to come into force from Saturday

Army to continue supporting crisis-hit NHS Scotland after being called in in October The Army will continue helping two health boards with acute services after their request for the assistance to be extended was approved by the Ministry of Defence. Army personnel were called in to help NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Borders in October amid pressures on the health service. A request by the health boards to extend the acute services Military Aid to the Civilian Authority (MACA) task, which was originally due to last until November 10, has now been approved by Ministry of Defence, the Army said. In total 84 personnel will continue with the work, with 21 personnel in the Borders and 63 in Lanarkshire. Their involvement is expected to continue until December 8 in the Borders and December 17 in Lanarkshire, with the timelines kept under regular review. The Army is also supporting the Scottish Ambulance Service with non-emergency drivers and delivering testing through mobile units. An Army statement said: 'More than 450 Armed Forces personnel are supporting multiple MACA tasks in Scotland. These tasks fall under Operation Rescript, defence's efforts to support the UK's response to the pandemic which began in March 2020. 'Defence have supported communities across the UK throughout the pandemic, from planning support alongside resilience teams and governments, to ambulance drivers and health care assistants in hospitals, as well as the vaccine rollout. 'The Armed Forces stand ready to step up and support civil authorities, devolved nations and communities as required in the coming months where the requests meet the MACA principles.' Advertisement

Professor Lockdown Neil Ferguson has said that a Netherlands-style lockdown is 'unlikely' in Britain despite an 'uptick' in Covid cases in the UK.

The member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) said Britain's situation is different from other European nations as the wave of infections seems to be peetering out.

The professor at Imperial College London told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'We've had two or three weeks of declining cases and admission to hospitals - that may be petering out, it is too early to say.

'There is a hint of an uptick in the last few days.

'But we are in quite a different situation from those European countries you are talking about (the Netherlands, Germany).

'We've had very high case numbers - between 30,000 and 50,000 a day - really for the last four months, since the beginning of July.

'That has obviously had some downsides. It has also paradoxically had an upside of boosting the immunity of the population compared with countries like Germany, the Netherlands and France, which have had much lower case numbers and are only now seeing an uptick.'

The epidemiologist, whose modelling helped instigate the first lockdown last year, said he hopes the UK can 'avoid' returning to social distancing restrictions this winter.

He said: 'I think it is unlikely we will get anything close to what we had last year, that catastrophic winter wave.

'We might see slow increases as we did in October, for instance, but not anything as rapid as we saw last year.

'We can't be complacent, but at the moment I don't think we'll be in a situation the Netherlands is coming into where they really do need to get on top of rising case numbers using social distancing.

'I very much hope we can avoid that in this country.'

The expert also said modelling from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine has indicated that rolling out booster vaccinations to the 'younger age groups' once the most vulnerable have been jabbed could help 'drive down transmission to low levels' in Britain.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS), which calculates case numbers based on thousands of random swab tests, found 925,400 people in the country were infected on any given day in the week ending November 6.

The figure equates to one in 60 people having the virus and is 16.1 per cent lower than the estimated 1,103,300 cases one week earlier, when one in 50 people were thought to be infected.

And cases appear to be dropping in all age groups, most notably among 11 to 16-year-olds, with 4.8 per cent thought to have the virus in the last week, compared to 7.5 in the previous seven days.

It comes as one expert said the drop has been triggered 'almost entirely by the wall of immunity, rather than behavioural changes or restrictions'.

Separate data published on Thursday confirmed the trend. The UK's largest symptom-tracking study revealed cases fell by almost a fifth in the biggest weekly drop since the summer.

Professor lockdown Neil Ferguson says it's 'unlikely' Britain will need another lockdown like the Netherlands because the UK opened up and had a Covid 'exit wave' in summer... but warns cases could still rise in November

By Chay Quinn for MailOnline

Professor Lockdown Neil Ferguson has said that a Netherlands-style lockdown is 'unlikely' in Britain despite an 'uptick' in Covid cases in the UK.

The member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) said Britain's situation is different from other European nations as the wave of infections seems to be peetering out.

The professor at Imperial College London told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'We've had two or three weeks of declining cases and admission to hospitals - that may be petering out, it is too early to say.

'There is a hint of an uptick in the last few days.

'But we are in quite a different situation from those European countries you are talking about (the Netherlands, Germany).

'We've had very high case numbers - between 30,000 and 50,000 a day - really for the last four months, since the beginning of July.

'That has obviously had some downsides. It has also paradoxically had an upside of boosting the immunity of the population compared with countries like Germany, the Netherlands and France, which have had much lower case numbers and are only now seeing an uptick.'

The epidemiologist, whose modelling helped instigate the first lockdown last year, said he hopes the UK can 'avoid' returning to social distancing restrictions this winter.

He said: 'I think it is unlikely we will get anything close to what we had last year, that catastrophic winter wave.

'We might see slow increases as we did in October, for instance, but not anything as rapid as we saw last year.

'We can't be complacent, but at the moment I don't think we'll be in a situation the Netherlands is coming into where they really do need to get on top of rising case numbers using social distancing.

'I very much hope we can avoid that in this country.'

The expert also said modelling from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine has indicated that rolling out booster vaccinations to the 'younger age groups' once the most vulnerable have been jabbed could help 'drive down transmission to low levels' in Britain.

The calmer outlook comes a day after Britain's daily Covid cases rose by nearly a fifth and Boris Johnson used Europe's soaring epidemic as a warning of what's to come if Britons don't get their booster vaccines.

The Department of Health reported another 40,375 infections across the UK on Friday, marking a rise of 19 per cent compared to a week before.

It is the second day in a row that cases have risen week-on-week and brings an abrupt end to nearly a fortnight of falling infection numbers.

The rebounding figures came moments after the Prime Minister pointed to outbreaks in Europe and warned there were 'storm clouds gathering over the continent' that could hit Britain next.

Austria will become the first Western European country to impose a lockdown since the summer from Monday, with unvaccinated people in the two worst-hit regions subjected to restrictions again. The Netherlands is also reintroducing a 7pm curfew on bars, restaurants and other amenities from Saturday.

'I've got to be absolutely frank with people, we've been here before  and we remember what happens when a wave starts rolling in,' Mr Johnson said during a visit to a pharmacy in South London.

The PM, who is currently embroiled in a Tory sleaze row, warned that Britain's fate this winter hinges on how many people get their boosters. 'What I'm saying today is the urgency of getting that booster jab is more evident than ever,' he said.

'If you can get it, it's a great thing, the levels of protection it gives you are terrific and so over-50s, who we're calling forward, should come and get it.'

But he added: 'What I'm also saying is that if we don't do it fast enough, we can see the potential risks to the state of the pandemic in what's happening in other parts of Europe.'

However, experts told MailOnline the UK's third wave peaked months ahead of Europe's. Cambridge University epidemiologist Dr Raghib Ali said: 'Britain could well suffer a spike this winter, but it won't be because of imported cases from Europe, like in previous waves.'

Meanwhile, latest hospital data shows there were 993 Covid admissions on November 8 which was 7 per cent lower than the figure the previous week.

Another 145 coronavirus deaths were also registered today in a 25 per cent decrease compared to the toll last Friday. Hospitalisations and deaths  which are both lagging indicators  have been falling for seven and four days in a row, respectively.

Despite the falling hospital numbers, Independent SAGE yesterday demanded the Government activates its winter 'Plan B' to protect the NHS.

The pressure group, made up of eminent experts who've pushed for an Australian-style virus elimination strategy, said compulsory masks and widespread WFH were 'urgently' needed to 'save the NHS and Christmas'.

There are questions about whether the current Covid situation is to blame for the NHS crisis, given that there are half as many Covid inpatients now than this time last year (shown)

The group  which includes a former Government chief scientific adviser, a Communist Party member and some of No10's own scientists  claimed the 'very high levels of Covid' were putting 'extreme pressure' on the health service.

Independent Sage's call to action comes after a swathe of shocking statistics laid bare the extent of the crisis within the NHS, with waiting lists for routine care soaring to another high and 999 calls and ambulance waits hitting record levels.

Doctors said the NHS was being brought 'to its knees' with patients being left to die in the back of ambulances and waiting rooms because staff are so busy.

But other experts argue the current Covid situation doesn't justify moving to Plan B, given that admissions for the virus have fallen for nearly a week straight and are projected to fall even more in the coming weeks.

Covid cases have also been trending down since October 24, in line with the country's major surveillance study which found a 16 per cent weekly fall last week, and death rates have also started to follow suit.

'The Government needs to urgently bring in Plan B... The pressure on the NHS is extreme and increasing, the backlog of treatment is at a record high, it needs to act now,' Independent Sage said.

'Most importantly, working from home where possible and mandated facemasks in indoor spaces are needed. We also believe additional protective measures should be brought in, including ensuring good ventilation in schools and other public spaces and financial support for self-isolation.'

Admissions for the virus have fallen for nearly a week straight (shown) with around 800 per day on average now compared to almost 1,600 in November 2020

The NHS waiting list for routine hospital treatment in England has reached 5.83million, official data revealed on Thursday, marking the eleventh month in a row that the figure has hit a record high. Some 1.6million more Britons were waiting for elective surgery  such as hip and keen operations  at the end of September compared to the start of the pandemic

Despite the total A&E admissions in England being just two per cent more than one month earlier and equal to the number of people who came forward during the same month in 2019, 7,059 patients were forced to wait more than 12 hours to be seen at A&E. The record-high figure is 40 per cent more than the 5,024 forced to wait that long one month earlier. It is also five times bigger than in September 2020 and ten times more than the same month in 2019

The NHS has long struggled to meet its recommended ambulance response times for Category 2 incidents which include medical emergencies such as strokes and severe burns but the last few months months have seen unprecedented rise with patients waiting nearly an hour on average for an ambulance after calling 99.

A record number of 999 calls were made in England in October with 1,012,143 urgent calls for medical help made. But the time it took answer these calls also increased to a record 56 seconds

No10 has said it will only revert to its winter Covid 'Plan B' strategy if the NHS faces 'unsustainable' pressure, which ministers argue is not the case yet despite health leaders insisting otherwise.

Cambridge University epidemiologist Dr Raghib Ali, who is also an NHS consultant in acute medicine, said the current NHS crisis was not the result of Covid but a 'chronic staffing shortage'.

He said reverting to Plan B now would not solve the problem, adding: 'Although there has often been too much alarmism, this is a genuine problem which is harming many patients... [but] there is no easy short-term solution.'

Independent Sage's Professor Susan Michie, a behavioural expert who also sits on the Government's official science panel SAGE, slammed Mr Johnson directly.

'To save the NHS and Christmas, the Government needs to enable behaviours to get our high transmission rates down,' she said. 'The PM walking mask less round a hospital with vulnerable patients undermines that effort.'

Professor Michie, a member of Communist Party of Britain for more than 40 years, added: 'Enabling behaviour change is everyone's responsibility especially those in positions of authority and influence.

'The PM walking mask-less round a hospital with vulnerable patients undermines the behaviours needed to keep us all safe.'

Mr Johnson was criticised this week after he was pictured walking through a hospital corridor without a mask in Northumberland on Monday - even though the NHS trust leapt to his defence and claimed he wore one in wards.

Dr Ali said the focus should be on the booster vaccines, which are proven to be highly effective at preventing hospital admissions, rather than masks which only slightly reduce transmission.

He added: 'Of course there are many other things you can and should do to help yourself (and the pressure on NHS) by taking care of your health but most of these won't impact in the very short-term hence my focus on the booster jabs which can reduce admissions by 80 per cent within two weeks.'

The demands come after monthly NHS England data published yesterday revealed that the NHS is facing a crisis even without a major surge in Covid.

The Office for National Statistics, which calculates case numbers based on thousands of random swab tests, found 925,400 people in the country were infected on any given day in the week ending November 6. The figure equates to one in 60 people having the virus and is 16.1 per cent lower than the estimated 1,103,300 cases one week earlier, when one in 50 people were infected

A record-high 5.83million patients are now on the NHS waiting list for routine treatment, with the mammoth toll having snowballed during the pandemic.

Army to continue supporting crisis-hit NHS Scotland after being called in in October The Army will continue helping two health boards with acute services after their request for the assistance to be extended was approved by the Ministry of Defence. Army personnel were called in to help NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Borders in October amid pressures on the health service. A request by the health boards to extend the acute services Military Aid to the Civilian Authority (MACA) task, which was originally due to last until November 10, has now been approved by Ministry of Defence, the Army said. In total 84 personnel will continue with the work, with 21 personnel in the Borders and 63 in Lanarkshire. Their involvement is expected to continue until December 8 in the Borders and December 17 in Lanarkshire, with the timelines kept under regular review. The Army is also supporting the Scottish Ambulance Service with non-emergency drivers and delivering testing through mobile units. An Army statement said: 'More than 450 Armed Forces personnel are supporting multiple MACA tasks in Scotland. These tasks fall under Operation Rescript, defence's efforts to support the UK's response to the pandemic which began in March 2020. 'Defence have supported communities across the UK throughout the pandemic, from planning support alongside resilience teams and governments, to ambulance drivers and health care assistants in hospitals, as well as the vaccine rollout. 'The Armed Forces stand ready to step up and support civil authorities, devolved nations and communities as required in the coming months where the requests meet the MACA principles.' Advertisement

At the same time, the average ambulance response time for heart attack and stroke patients is now nearly an hour, which paramedics admitted is putting patients' lives 'at risk'.

And 999 response times for category two calls are now three times above the health service's 18-minute safety target.

Doctors warned the grim performance figures were 'concerning' because winter pressures and staffing absences have yet to hit peak levels.

A poll of NHS bosses found nine in 10 felt the current situation  dealing with the pandemic-induced backlog and Covid  is 'unsustainable' and patient care is being compromised.

There have been reports of some elderly Brits having to wait up to 14 hours for an ambulance, and investigations are underway into the deaths of several patients in parked ambulances unable to handover patients to overwhelmed A&Es.

NHS England statistics reveal it took crews nearly 55 minutes to respond to Category 2 calls  including strokes, heart attacks and severe burns  in October, compared to the 18-minute target.

The most urgent incidents, which includes events such as cardiac arrests and life-threatening accidents, also saw record delays last month. Paramedics took, on average, nine minutes and 20 seconds to respond to Category 1 calls, well above the target of seven minutes.

Trade union GMB warned the ambulance wait times showed the NHS was at risk of moving from a winter crisis to a winter catastrophe.

Ambulance leaders described how they are facing the 'highest level of emergency activity in history' and raised concerns about the time lost to hospital handover delays.

It came as a poll for the NHS Confederation found that health leaders believe the pressure on the NHS is now at unsustainable levels and patient safety and care are being put at risk by staff shortages.

NHS leaders in England warned the health service has reached 'tipping point', with nearly nine in 10 (88 per cent) saying the demands on their organisation are unsustainable.

Almost the same number (87 per cent) said a lack of staffing in the NHS as a whole is putting patient safety and care at risk.

The survey of 451 leaders included those from hospitals, ambulance services, mental health providers, community services and primary care.

But Covid cases in England dropped by 16 per cent last week, leading to questions about the virus is truly behind the NHS pressure.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS), which calculates case numbers based on thousands of random swab tests, found 925,400 people in the country were infected on any given day in the week ending November 6.

The figure equates to one in 60 people having the virus and is 16.1 per cent lower than the estimated 1,103,300 cases one week earlier, when one in 50 people were thought to be infected.

And cases appear to be dropping in all age groups, most notably among 11 to 16-year-olds, with 4.8 per cent thought to have the virus in the last week, compared to 7.5 in the previous seven days.

It comes as one expert said the drop has been triggered 'almost entirely by the wall of immunity, rather than behavioural changes or restrictions'.

No10's top scientists tracking the R rate  which measures the speed the outbreak is growing at  estimated that it was between 0.8 and 1 in England. This suggests that for every ten people who have the virus, they are passing it on to between eight and 10 others

JVT says Covid crisis a 'lot calmer' after Easter... but other scientist warns of EIGHT years of misery Britain's Covid crisis is set to become 'a lot calmer' after Easter, Jonathan Van-Tam predicted today  but other scientists warned it could drag on another eight years. England's deputy chief medical officer warned there will be some 'twists and bumps' along the way and admitted that the situation was becoming harder to forecast. But he told a medical conference today: 'I think, generally speaking, waters will be quite a lot calmer after Easter.' Professor Van-Tam warned this was dependent on the successful roll out of the booster doses, which are being offered to all over-50s. His words were in stark contrast to eminent epidemiologist Professor Tim Spector, who warned that it could take years to become a manageable, seasonal virus. 'We need to be thinking in terms of time scales  it is not in months, it is not by next Christmas, it is a question as to whether it will be three years or eight years,' he said. Advertisement

And separate data published on Thursday by the UK's largest symptom-tracking study revealed cases fell by almost a fifth in the biggest weekly drop since the summer.

Meanwhile, Department for Health data yesterday showed Covid cases increased 14 per cent, marking the first rise in 10 days. But hospitalisations and deaths both fell week-on-week too.

There are about 6,800 Covid patients in English hospitals now compared to more than 12,000 at the same point last year.

Meanwhile, it emerged today that the Army will continue helping two health boards in Scotland with acute services after their request for the assistance to be extended was approved by the Ministry of Defence.

Army personnel were called in to help NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Borders in October amid pressures on the health service.

A request by the health boards to extend the acute services Military Aid to the Civilian Authority (MACA) task, which was originally due to last until November 10, has now been approved by Ministry of Defence, the Army said.

In total 84 personnel will continue with the work, with 21 personnel in the Borders and 63 in Lanarkshire.

Their involvement is expected to continue until December 8 in the Borders and December 17 in Lanarkshire, with the timelines kept under regular review.

The Army is also supporting the Scottish Ambulance Service with non-emergency drivers and delivering testing through mobile units.

An Army statement said: 'More than 450 Armed Forces personnel are supporting multiple MACA tasks in Scotland. These tasks fall under Operation Rescript, defence's efforts to support the UK's response to the pandemic which began in March 2020.

'Defence have supported communities across the UK throughout the pandemic, from planning support alongside resilience teams and governments, to ambulance drivers and health care assistants in hospitals, as well as the vaccine rollout.

'The Armed Forces stand ready to step up and support civil authorities, devolved nations and communities as required in the coming months where the requests meet the MACA principles.'

Meanwhile, the latest daily coronavirus figures show Scotland recorded 17 Covid-linked deaths and 3,349 new cases in the past 24 hours.

It means the death toll under this daily measure - of people who first tested positive for the virus within the previous 28 days - is 9,375.

The daily test positivity rate was 9.8 per cent, up from 8.2 per cent the previous day, according to data published by the Scottish Government on Friday.

There were 759 people in hospital on Thursday with recently confirmed Covid-19, down nine, with 55 in intensive care, down five.

So far, 4,325,523 people have received their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccination and 3,922,893 have had their second.
Schools across the United States are holding temporary shutdowns or returning to remote learning as district leaders struggle to combat impacts of the pandemic including widespread resignations, staffing shortages on buses and in cafeterias, teacher exhaustion and other coronavirus concerns.

Thousands of students in Washington state had an unexpected four-day weekend after more than 600 teachers requested the day off on Friday and administrators were unable to find substitutes due to a shortage stemming from COVID-related protocols.

A district in Colorado also extended the Veteran's Day weekend after more than 480 teachers requested Friday off, leaving approximately 200 classrooms without instructors.

Meanwhile, at least eight schools in Michigan have shut down or returned to online instruction due to staff shortages.

Experts say the mass staffing crisis was expected after surveys conducted over the summer by nonprofit organization RAND Corp revealed that 25 percent of educators were considering quitting at the end of the school year.

Schools across the United States are holding temporarily shutdowns or returning to remote learning as district leaders struggle to combat impacts of the pandemic (Pictured: George Washington High School in Denver, Colorado which switched to remote learning for three days last week due to staff shortages)

'Those are alarming numbers. It's clear teachers are experiencing acute stress in their jobs,' Elizabeth Steiner, who co-led the summer study, told USA Today. 'It suggests that something has to give, something has to change pretty quickly.'

The study has cited stress and burnout as the most reasons for teacher resignation.

However, researchers say there is no easy solution to the problems districts are facing and argue that administrators, principals and teachers need to work together to address the specific causes of stress and burnout within their local academic communities.

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said educators feel trapped between COVID tensions, supply chain disruptions and ongoing fights over critical race theory, transgender bathrooms and test scores.

'You don't just have the Great Resignation. You also have the Great Exhaustion,' Weingarten explained.

'This is a year to listen to the pain and the anxiety and work together to get through it. This is a moment when people have to come together because none of us are going to get through this alone.'

Districts have been faced with widespread resignations, staffing shortages on buses and in cafeterias, teacher exhaustion and other coronavirus concerns (Pictured: A Massachusetts teacher giving hand sanitizers to students)

Last week, leaders with the Seattle and neighboring Bellevue school districts announced that students would have an extended Veteran's Day weekend after an 'unusually large number of staff' requested leave on Friday (Pictured: Bellevue Public Schools main offices)

Allison Snow, president of the Bellevue Education Association, (pictured) says staff are burnt out from pandemic instruction and the constant struggle to teach, provide mental and emotional support to their students, and make up for lost instruction during quarantine shutdowns

Last week, leaders with the Seattle and neighboring Bellevue school districts announced that students would have an extended Veteran's Day weekend after an 'unusually large number of staff' requested leave on Friday.

Allison Snow, a fifth-grade teacher and president of the Bellevue Education Association, argued staff are feeling burnt out from pandemic instruction and the constant struggle to teach, provide mental and emotional support to their students, and make up for lost instruction during quarantine shutdowns.

'We're trying to plow through so much that people are exhausted. And it's across the board,' Snow explained. 'We have bled our teachers dry for so long that we shouldn't be surprised they have no more to give. And nobody wants to give up.

'But it's so hard to keep going when you feel set up to fail. One of the superpowers teachers usually have is patience. And people don't have that right now. All of it means it's harder for us to take care of kids.'

Similarly, the Seattle Education Association, in response to the extended weekend, said in a statement that teachers were not requesting the day off due to a planned work stoppage.

The shortage also wasn't a response to vaccine mandates, the union said. The school announced last month than 99 percent of its staff had gotten the COVID shot.

Relieving missing staff is more difficult than usual, the union said, due to COVID-19 protocols.

'Educators are stretching themselves to the limit to provide COVID-safe, quality services and learning for all of our students but we cannot succeed without adequate support,' the teachers union statement continued.

'The state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) needs to hear how the staffing shortages and systemic underfunding of public education is directly impacting our abilities to meet the needs of children in this pandemic.'

The union posited in its letter to parents that the number of sick leave requests was 'indicative' of fatigue experienced by students and teachers since they have returned to the classroom from COVID-driven remote learning, and the forced four-day weekend 'may offer physical, mental and emotional restoration.'

Boulder Valley School District in Colorado also cancelled classes on Friday due to time-off requests from staff members.

District spokesman Randy Barber explained that pre-pandemic, officials had a pool of 900 substitute teachers to pick from, but entered the current academic year with just 300.

Boulder Valley School District in Colorado (main officer pictured) also cancelled classes on Friday due to time-off requests from staff members

District spokesman Randy Barber says that pre-pandemic, officials had a pool of 900 substitute teachers to pick from, but entered the current academic year with just 300

He also noted that many substitutes have limited the amount of days they're willing to work or are avoiding classrooms with younger students who are unable to be vaccinated.

He said that having class when at least 486 teachers had requested the day off was not in the best interest of the students.

'We knew we would be stretching too thin and we knew it wouldn't be safe for students,' Barber shared.

'Especially following the pandemic, we want our students to be in classrooms, learning as much as possible because they're trying to catch up. But there's a point at which our teachers are stretched too thin.'

Colorado Education Association President Amie Baca-Oehlert echoed Barber's claims saying: 'There's an overwhelming sense of exhaustion.'

'The reality is that these districts just don't feel they have any other options than canceling school for the day. This should serve as a wakeup call that we need to do better by our students and our public schools.'

Denver Public Schools, also in Colorado, switched three schools to remote learning last week and will be starting Thanksgiving early for its 92,000 students by closing all schools in the district on November 19 for a preemptive mental health day.

'It is of the heaviest of decisions we make, to disrupt students' ability to come to school again,' Amber Elias, Denver Public Schools lead operational superintendent, said.

'We need to make sure we're not compounding those achievement gaps.'

Brevard Public Schools in Florida has also agreed to extend Thanksgiving break while at least eights schools in Michigan have either shut down or returned to remote instruction.

School leaders nationwide have acknowledged the last-minute changes are hard on parents and students, but also say educators 'desperately need time to recharge'.

Some districts, including Washington's Bellevue School District, are offering childcare services to those in need.

'We recognize that this notice may result in the need for childcare for families,' Bellevue officials told parents when announcing the long weekend.

'Right at School, our partner in providing childcare, is on hand to assist those who wish to get quick access to their services. Specific information regarding Right at School will be provided on our website.'
Nearly two-thirds of vaccinated Americans will likely ban unvaccinated family members from gatherings this upcoming politically-heated holiday season, as an expert warns that too many Americans can't separate politics from their personal lives.

The study by OnePoll, conducted on November 2, surveyed 2,000 Americans in an effort to provide insight into how the COVID-19 vaccine has impacted people's relationships with their loved ones ahead of the holidays this year.

The staggering findings mirror the national divide that the COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated. Of the 65 percent surveyed individuals who reported being fully vaccinated, 58 percent said they've cut off family members who have refused the jab.

Author and political commentator Andrew Sullivan believes that even those who make it to the dining table on Christmas and Thanksgiving, will have divisive debates about politics in the country.

'There's a lot of what you might call rough and tumble shut-up rhetoric and that's healthy. What is not healthy is when that isn't just retained and kept in the political area but becomes personal, becomes something you bring to the supermarket - you bring to Thanksgiving dinner, becomes something that permeates everything,' Sullivan said during a CBS's 60 Minutes interview set to air on Sunday.

'And that separation between politics and life is what we're losing, and it is a terrible thing to lose,' he added.

Nearly two-thirds of vaccinated Americans will likely ban unvaccinated family members from gatherings this upcoming politically-heated holiday season

'That separation between politics and life is what we're losing, and it is a terrible thing to lose,' author and political commentator Andrew Sullivan

Nearly 67 percent of those polled said they felt they couldn't go home for the holidays without being vaccinated first, while 22 percent of unvaccinated respondents have already been excluded from all family gatherings.

Sixty-three of the vaccinated surveyed don't feel comfortable inviting unvaccinated relatives to their parties and almost half of unvaccinated respondents have stopped communicating with family members who don't understand why they refuse the shot.

On the other hand, 14 percent of survey respondents don't plan to ever get the shot but feel as though their reasons for opting out of it have been dismissed and diminished by family members who are vaccinated.

One respondent said they 'don't trust the vaccine is safe,' while others were concerned about side effects and thought the vaccine 'was rushed and people who are getting vaccinated are still getting sick.'

The feeling is not unilateral, vaccinated family members also share their frustration and feel their opinions are disregarded.

Fifty-three percent agree that the vaccine has completely divided their families, and 56 percent anticipate having arguments with their families about the vaccine during this holiday season

During the 60 Minutes segment, Sullivan explained how Americans' inability to set their differences aside is a symptom of a larger illness that saw its peak during the January 6 Capital riot.

'This country came to a point where we have violence in the usual peaceful transfer of power. That is a huge warning to how unstable our system can be if we remain rivals in a system that is supposed to be designed for reasonable citizens,' Sullivan said.

The OnePoll study also shed light on how the vaccine has played a role in the workforce.

According to results, 43 percent of unvaccinated respondents said they're 'worried' about potentially losing their jobs and benefits, or paying higher health insurance premiums because they're not vaccinated.

An area most of those interviewed seemed to find consensus on was that politics should not play a role in science or medicine - with 79 percent voting in favor of the separation.

Fifty-three percent agree that the vaccine has completely divided their families, and 56 percent anticipate having arguments with their families about the vaccine during this holiday season.
Disgraced former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is considering running for political rival Letitia James' attorney general post, sources said.

Cuomo, 63, held the position from 2007 to 2010 before becoming governor and now sources close to the politician told the New York Post he could run for the position in 2022.

'People in Cuomos orbit are tossing it out there,' a person close to Cuomo told the New York Post. 'Theyre floating [the idea].'

The source said Cuomo and his team are gauging reaction after the former governor's reputation hit an all-time low following the probe into sexual harassment claims.

Cuomo has been keeping a low profile and enjoying fishing trips with his dog Captain. He claims he has no plans to make a political comeback

Despite resigning from his position and having to move out of the Executive Mansion, Cuomo's war chest - money that can be used to campaign - remains high at $18million, the New York Post reported.

His political rival Letitia James, 63, won the attorney general position with $1million.

Rich Azzopardi, Cuomo's spokesperson, said: 'There is a ton of idle speculation out there and we cant control if we continue to take up valuable real estate in peoples heads.'

Cuomo himself told New York Magazine that he didn't 'know what the future holds,' in their latest edition and said: 'I'm at peace. Look, it's simple: I trust the people and the truth will [win] out.'

Cuomo told the magazine he's enjoying his 'vacation.'

'I never took summer vacation. I didn't do that. I never took vacations, period,' he said. 'So, I'm enjoying time with family and friends. That's all I'm doing.'

Earlier this week, Cuomo celebrated his beloved dog Captain's fourth birthday with a picture of the two on a boat with superimposed clouds masking the background. Captain was seen giving his owner a kiss on the cheek.

Although the former governor is enjoying some fishing trips with his dog, he's also been gearing up a defense against those he believes antagonized him.

James being his biggest opponent, alongside State Senators Jessica Ramos and Alessandra Biaggi, who were both very vocal about calling for his resignation.

Former staff said it would be a total betrayal of his character not to fight back in some form at some point, and that it's just a matter of time before he does.

Cuomo was not impeached so can still run for governor again next year if he wants to.

It's unclear if that is likely, but one anonymous Albany lawmaker told New York Magazine they fear he may attack them by bankrolling their opponents in smaller local elections.

'To say hes, like, an intense person doesnt quite capture it,' said one former aide who did not want to give their name for fear of reprisal.

Cuomo was charged with forcible touching, two months after being pushed out of office by James following her report on the sexual harassment allegations.

Cuomo's rival current AG Letitia James announced recently that she will be running for NY Governor following Cuomo's resignation

But he could have his sex crime charge tossed out after the Albany County district attorney called the complaint 'potentially defective.'

District Attorney David Soares said that Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple filed the complaint 'unilaterally and inexplicably' while his investigation was still ongoing.

Soares, a Democrat, added that the complaint did not even include a sworn statement by the alleged victim, former aide Brittany Commisso, that would allow them to prosecute the deposed governor.

The DA noted that parts of Commisso's prior testimony were excluded and that one part of the complaint incorrectly stated the relevant law that Cuomo had allegedly broken.

Judge Holly Trexler of Albany City Court agreed to Soares' request to postpone Cuomo's arraignment until January 7, giving the district attorney 60 days 'to reduce the risk of a procedural dismissal of this case' and give Soares 'time to continue with our independent and unbiased review of the facts.'
An Icelandic tourism campaign poked fun at Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in a video mocking the social media giant's name change announcement.

The video features Zuckerberg lookalike 'Zack Mossbergsson' introducing the 'Icelandverse', a parody of Metaverse, as part of a travel campaign for the campaign Inspired by Iceland.

Mimicking Zuckerberg's stiff tone, Mossbergsson promotes Iceland.

The video starts off with Mossbergsson being introduced as the 'Chief Visionary Officer' awkwardly addressing the camera while wearing Zuckerberg's black sweater and sporting short-combed haircut.

Mark Zuckerberg impersonator 'Zach Mossbergsson' made a tourism campaign video for the company Inspired by Iceland, spoofing the Facebook founder's Meta announcement

The impersonator copied Zuckerberg's stiff tone while donning his black sweater and sporting his short combed haircut in the video

'Hello and welcome to this very natural setting,' he says. 'Today I want to talk about a revolutionary approach to connect our world without being super weird.'

'Some said its not possible. Some said its out of reach. To them, we say its already here. Seriously. Look, its right here,' the Zuckerberg look-alike adds as he shows off Iceland's landscape from his window.

Mossbergsson then introduces the name of this 'product' which he dubs the 'Icelandverse' which is an 'enhanced actual reality without silly looking headsets.'

'In our open world experience, everything is real,' he says as he fumbles to open a locked glass door.

'And has been for millions of years,' he adds, awkwardly folding his arms in silence.

He is also seen donning a full face of sunscreen as he heads to a heated pool, mocking an embarrassing incident for Zuckerberg last summer when he was captured wind surfing in Hawaii with his face completely caked.

The video continues to advertise the landscape in a humorous way describing, it is a place where 'the water is wet' and with 'skies you can see with your own eyeballs' as well as various waterfalls 'you can stand near.'

The spoof also featured the impersonator making other Zuckerberg references such as caking his face in sunscreen, similar to the Facebook founder's embarrassing sunscreen mishap when he was on vacation in 2020

The video featured the impersonator awkwardly explaining the country's landscape

'The Icelandverse is a world with possibilities so endless they'll be here forever,' Mossbergsson says.

'So join us today...or tomorrow...or whenever...we are really easygoing,' he adds.

The Zuckerberg impersonator signs off the video with 'now please enjoy our logo' showing off the Icelandverse symbol, which is similar in style to the Meta\one.

The two-minute clip has gone viral since it was posted on Thursday, garnering 2.5 millions likes on Twitter.

Commenters, including Zuckerberg, delighted in the uncanny comparison between the two videos.

'Amazing. I need to make a trip to the Icelandverse soon,' Zuckerberg said.

'Glad youre wearing sunscreen too,' he added, mocking the reference made in the video.

'Oh hi Mark!', Inspired by Iceland responded. 'You're always welcome. Icelandverse is open 24/7.'

Zuckerberg, along with other commenters, were humored by the video as he called it 'amazing'

The 'metaverse' is a science fiction term referred to as a futuristic method of accessing the Internet designed to create a virtual and augmented reality.

This new evolution is a part of Zuckerberg's rebranding plan after he renamed Facebook to Meta in October.

The new concept has received a mixed reception from the public with several notable people such as Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey mocking the idea.

Zuckerberg said during the pitch he wanted Meta to be primarily 'metaverse first, not Facebook first' with the hopes of gaining a billion users within the first ten years of the launch.

Notable companies such as Nike have also been signing onto the metaverse deal as they plan to sell virtual sneakers that are only available on digital settings.
Former Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer (above) is calling for a prime suspect in the IRA murders of three British soldiers to face justice  more than 18 months after he was discovered by The Mail on Sunday

Former Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer is calling for a prime suspect in the IRA murders of three British soldiers to face justice  more than 18 months after he was discovered by The Mail on Sunday.

Police have now concluded a fresh review into the murders of soldiers John and Joseph McCaig, aged 17 and 18, and their friend Dougald McCaughey, 23, in March 1971, which was launched after this newspapers revelations.

But it is understood that suspect Anthony Dutch Doherty, a former IRA man who was arrested over the killings in 1971 but later escaped jail and was never prosecuted, has not been interviewed by officers as part of the inquiry.

The families of the three victims, all off-duty members of the Royal Highland Fusiliers, and Tory MP Mr Mercer, a former Army officer, are now urging the authorities to act.

'It has been over 18 months since The Mail on Sunday tracked down one of the key suspects in these horrific murders, and still no action has been taken by the authorities', said Kris McGurk, on behalf of the soldiers' families.

'We will continue to fight for justice and are simply asking those with the proper power to help us achieve this.'

Police have now concluded a fresh review into the murders of soldiers John (right) and Joseph McCaig (left), aged 17 and 18, and their friend Dougald McCaughey, 23, in March 1971, which was launched after this newspaper's revelations

Dougald McCaughey (above), 23, was executed on a remote road in Belfast by an IRA hit squad in 1971

It is understood that suspect Anthony 'Dutch' Doherty, a former IRA man who was arrested over the killings in 1971 but later escaped jail and was never prosecuted, has not been interviewed by officers as part of the inquiry. (Doherty is pictured in 1972 and in 2019)

It also emerged that the Metropolitan Police has still not interviewed former priest Patrick Ryan, now 92, who said in a 2019 BBC documentary he arranged for explosives and bomb timers to be supplied to the IRA for the Hyde Park and Brighton bombs.

Mr Mercer, MP for Plymouth Moor View, said the two cases showed why the Government's planned amnesty for unsolved crimes from the Troubles was flawed.

'It is absolutely right that these individuals should be brought to justice,' he said.

'It's possible to do that without persistently hounding veterans - it's just that it requires a little bit more work, application and understanding that the current thinkers in this space simply don't have.

'They highlight the dangers of the legislation the Government is trying to pass at the moment. You are cutting off pathways to justice for British citizens murdered by the IRA - I don't know how the government countenances that.'

The MoS can also reveal that repeated requests by families involved in the Hyde Park Justice Campaign, represented by lawyers McCue Jury & Partners, for a meeting with Home Secretary Priti Patel about the case have gone unanswered.

Mark Tipper, whose brother Simon was killed in the 1982 IRA attack, said: 'Are we not important? Why can't the Home Secretary meet with us? Patrick Ryan should face justice - that's all we're asking for and we won't stop till we get it.'

It also emerged that the Metropolitan Police has still not interviewed former priest Patrick Ryan (above), now 92, who said in a 2019 BBC documentary he arranged for explosives and bomb timers to be supplied to the IRA for the Hyde Park and Brighton bombs

Following enquiries by the MoS, a Home Office source said the Hyde Park campaign group would be 'contacted next week'.

Detective Superintendent Stephen Wright, of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, commenting on the soldiers' murders, said: 'There are no outstanding further lines of inquiry to progress at this stage and the case does not form part of the current caseload of Legacy Investigation Branch.

'However, the case is open and should any new evidence come to light, it will be thoroughly investigated.'

Commenting on Ryan, a Scotland Yard spokesman said: 'Our investigation into the Hyde Park and Regents Park bombings in 1982 remains open.

'The investigation team is aware of comments featured as part of a BBC documentary aired in September 2019. We are not prepared to discuss further details of the investigation at this time.'
Campaigners fear churches have become 'easy targets' for criminals with more than 10 crimes a day recorded at places of worship during the coronavirus pandemic.

The shocking figures show churches have been hit by a wave of criminal damage attacks, thefts and violence over the last year.

More than 4,000 crimes were recorded in the 12 months to July this year despite eight months of lockdown restrictions.

There are concerns that pandemic lockdowns have seen criminals focus on churches because they are deemed to be 'softer targets'.

Figures show churches have been hit by criminal damage attacks and thefts. In Caldecote, Hertfordshire, vandals smashed the church windows of St Mary Magdalene's (pictured)

Crimes include rape, arson, drug trafficking and violent attacks with 39 of the UK's 45 police forces responding to Freedom of Information requests by the Countryside Alliance.

There were 4,170 incidents including 1,356 cases of theft or burglary, 1,688 incidents of criminal damage, at least 115 lead thefts and 823 violent attacks.

The worst-hit areas are largely in the south-east of England with Sussex Police recording 367 crimes, Kent 209 cases and the Metropolitan Police 575.

In Sussex police recorded six sexual assaults including a rape in churchyards while there was another alleged rape of an underage girl and three sex offences in cemeteries.

Other offences include thieves stealing lead from the roof of St Saviour's Church in Eastbourne last year and vandalising its war memorial.

In May, a bronze cross including a sculpture of Jesus Christ was also stolen from All Saints Church in Gosforth, Newcastle, with a 1,000 reward issued for its return.

In May, a bronze cross including a sculpture of Jesus Christ was also stolen from All Saints Church in Gosforth, Newcastle, with a 1,000 reward issued for its return

Last year, a vicar at Chadwell Heath Baptist Church in east London tackled a vandal trying to rip a cross off the church roof and held him until police arrived to arrest the suspect.

And in Caldecote, Hertfordshire, vandals smashed the church windows of 15th century St Mary Magdalene's in August, which had just reopened after paying 150,000 to repair criminal damage.

Since 2017 the Countryside Alliance has catalogued 30,169 crimes committed on church premises from police data.

Mo Metcalf-Fisher, of the Countryside Alliance said: 'We are presented with a grim reality that many churches and places of worship are being treated as easy targets by criminals.

'These are supposed to be places where people go to seek solace, but all too often they subjected to heinous crimes, either in or on their property.

'We cannot allow these precious places, which are often the centre of villages and towns across the country, to go unguarded and be so exposed.

'Irrespective of faith, having the public keep an ever watchful eye on churches and reporting suspicious behaviour to police is vital as is easy access protective funding schemes.'

There are concerns that pandemic lockdowns have seen criminals focus on churches. Pictured: Smashed windows at 15th century St Mary Magdalene's in Caldecote in August

A Church of England spokeswoman said: 'The Church of England has nearly 16,000 buildings and is a presence in every community, it provides a space that is available to all that includes churchyards.

'Crime on church premises is not always crime directed against the church. We encourage churches to engage with the police and others over crime on their premises.'

Assistant Chief Constable Rachel Nolan, National Police Chiefs' Council lead for heritage crime, said: 'Metal theft is still a problem that blights all aspects of society and the targeting of churches for metal is one area in which we work closely with heritage organisations across the UK to help protect potential victims of crime.

'Over the last twelve months there have been two national weeks of intensification focused on metal crime, leading to thousands of items of stolen property being recovered, hundreds of arrests and the disruption of criminal activity in the waste industry.

'This work continues and while we have seen a reduction in metal crime nationally, we have a renewed focus to ensure that those who engage in thefts of these types have nowhere to run.'
The first transgender officer to serve in Britain's Armed forces said it will be a 'proud moment' when LGBTQ+ veterans officially attend the National Service of Remembrance for the first time.

Caroline Paige, who served in the Royal Air Force for 35 years as a navigator on fast jets and battlefield helicopters, will be one of 21 LGBTQ+ veterans marching at the Cenotaph in central London on Sunday.

Ms Paige said it will be 'emotional' to see LGBTQ+ veterans attending at the Armistice Day service for the first time and being part of the 'military family'.

She said: 'It's going to be a proud moment, it's going to be an emotional one as well.

Caroline Paige, who served in Royal Air Force for 35 years, will be one of 21 LGBTQ+ veterans marching at the National Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph in London on Sunday

'It will be fantastic to see all the veterans together marching for the first time, bearing in mind that many of them were dismissed from the service, and it's just so nice to see them as part of the military family.

'It's going to be a moment of reflection on friends I've lost, as well as the people that we've lost throughout the ages in wars; it's going to be a mix of emotions.'

Ms Paige is the joint chief executive of the charity Fighting With Pride, which supports the health and wellbeing of LGBTQ+ veterans and has been given more than 20 places at Sunday's event.

Ms Paige said the charity was formed last year to bring together LGBTQ+ service personnel who were dismissed before the so-called 'gay ban' in the UK armed forces was lifted in 2000.

The charity aims to show LGBTQ+ veteran that 'times have changed and their service is respected and support is out there'.

'It's shocking that nothing had been done previously,' she said.

Of the 21 LGBTQ+ veterans who are marching as part of the charity's contingent on Sunday, 16 were dismissed from service.

Chris Ferguson, who was a medic and radiographer in the Royal Navy medical branch before being dismissed in 1982 for being gay, will be marching with his fellow LGBTQ+ veterans.

Speaking about her experience in the armed forces, Ms Paige (pictured) said had to 'hide' who she was for 18 years in service before she decided that she 'needed to be true to myself'

Ms Paige said it will be 'emotional' to see LGBTQ+ veterans at the Armistice Day service for the first time. Pictured: War veterans at the annual memorial service at the Cenotaph in 2019

He said it will 'profoundly moving' to be able to march at the National Service of Remembrance, as he never thought he would be able to do so.

He continued: 'To march to remember the fallen is an honour I thought I would never be able to perform.

'For all service personnel, present and former, it is remembering our own family. The forces are one family, no matter in which generation we served.

'To be able finally to remember our family properly, as the equal of other veterans, is a profoundly moving experience for me.'

Another veteran who will be attending is Lieutenant Commander Duncan Lustig-Prean, who was among those who led the campaign to have the so-called 'gay ban' overturned.

Speaking about the march, he said: 'It is 25 years since LGBTQ+ service personnel last marched, under condition of anonymity, together at the Cenotaph.

'It is our duty to honour all those who gave their lives for freedom and we do that with pride.'

Lt Cdr Lustig-Prean was discharged from the Royal Navy in 1995 and was a prominent test case at the European Court of Human Rights.

Taking to Twitter on Saturday, Fighting With Pride wrote: 'Tomorrow will be a proud and poignant occasion for us all, as we march to the Cenotaph in a solemn act of remembrance to honour the fallen.

'We will remember them.'

Speaking about her experience serving in the armed forces, Ms Paige said had to 'hide' who she was for 18 years in service before she decided that she 'needed to be true to myself'.

In 1999, the flight lieutenant became the first openly-serving transgender officer in the Armed Forces - a year before the 'gay ban' ended.

Lieutenant Commander Duncan Lustig-Prean (pictured) was among those who led the campaign to have the so-called 'gay ban' overturned and will be marching on Sunday

Of the 21 LGBTQ+ veterans who are marching at the service on Sunday, 16 were dismissed from service. Pictured: Cadets march at The Cenotaph on November 11, 2021

She said she was 'lucky' not to be dismissed, as less fortunate LGBTQ+ personnel were imprisoned, stripped of their medals or forced to resign.

But Ms Paige said she faced hostility from many people, who asked for her to be thrown out and told her she didn't 'belong' and she was a 'liability'.

But she overcame the obstacles and served for another 16 years, becoming a tactics specialist and receiving multiple commendations for exceptional service in Iraq and Afghanistan.

She flew air defence fighters during the Cold War, was deployed in the Gulf War and switched to helicopters in Bosnia and Northern Ireland.

Ms Paige said: 'It took a while for people to eventually realise that I could do my job well.

'Slowly, I saw the military go from a really hostile place to a period where it was quite difficult for three, four years or more, and then it got better until obviously now it's really inclusive'.

Craig Jones MBE, Fighting With Pride's other joint chief executive who was a lieutenant commander in the Royal Navy, said: 'It's with immense pride that we will see LGBT+ veterans remember the service and sacrifice of members of our Armed Forces who gave their lives for our peace and freedom at the National Cenotaph.

'Standing alongside fellow veterans means a great deal to our community and being able to play a role in the day is a great honour for us all.'

It comes as the Ministry of Defence has promised to return medals to all veterans who had them stripped because of their sexual orientation or gender identity in time for Sunday.
Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie is taking jabs at Donald Trump in his new book, Republican Rescue, which is released on Tuesday.

In his book, Christie, 59, argues that the GOP faces danger from conspiracy theorists trying to overtake the party, and writes that Republicans 'need to renounce the conspiracy theories and truth deniers, the ones who know better and the ones who are just plain nuts.'

'We need to give our supporters facts that will help put all these fantasies to rest, so everyone can focus with clear minds on the issues that really matter. We need to quit wasting our time, our energy and our credibility on claims that won't ever convince anyone or bring fresh converts onboard,' Christie wrote in excerpts published by The Guardian on Saturday.

He is appearing to reference Trump's repeated claims that voter fraud was to blame for his loss in the 2020 election.

The book will be released just a week after the former two-term governor mocked Trump for his failed re-election bid and loss to Joe Biden.

Chris Christie paints himself as the future of the Republican Party in his upcoming book, Republican Rescue, where he says the GOP should reject conspiracy theories

Republican Rescue slams conspiracy theories of the far-right, including those of election fraud

Donald Trump has repeatedly made false claims about the 2020 presidential election. He has also mocked Chris Christie for speaking out about the conspiracy

'I'm not gonna get into a back-and-forth with Donald Trump,' Christie told Axios on HBO. 'But what I will say is this: When I ran for reelection in 2013, I got 60 per cent of the vote.'

Although he does not name Trump directly in the book as one of those who needs to be renounced, Christie does take aim at the former president's allies, like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green, the Georgia congresswoman who has openly supported the QAnon conspiracy theory.

Christie wrote that QAnon's conspiracies, which accuses Democrats of running a secret child abuse ring, 'would be ridiculous' if they were not 'so sad.'

He also claims Trump never did enough to squash the conspiracies because they were centered on making the former president look good.

'Many in our society use these wild, untrue conspiracy theories to advance their political agendas,' Christie wrote.

Christies book covers his ideas for the future of the GOP as he presents himself as the future of the party, and discusses his battle with COVID and work alongside Trump, who he helped and endorsed in 2020.

Christie had spoken at a GOP meeting last week and said the party can move on from Trump

Christie, pictured shaking Trump's hand in 2017, was once a strong ally of the former president

Last week, Christie spoke at an event for the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Vegas where he urged his party to move past Trump's 2020 election fraud claims to win in future elections.

Without mentioning the former president by name Christie told his audience of top GOP donors that Republicans' election victory in Virginia and strong showing in New Jersey proved the party could 'take our eyes off the rearview mirror,' even if that meant leaving the de facto leader of the party behind.

On Monday a furious Trump claimed Christie was 'absolutely massacred' for his pleas to move on.

'Chris Christie, who just made a speech at the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) in Las Vegas, was just absolutely massacred by his statements that Republicans have to move on from the past, meaning the 2020 Election Fraud,' Trump said in a statement.

'Everybody remembers that Chris left New Jersey with a less than 9% approval ratinga record low, and they didnt want to hear this from him!'

But Christie, who in fact left office with a still-dismal 19 percent approval rating, stood by his sentiments on Thursday.

'I've made the conscious decision that I want to spend my time combating the policies of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, and trying to help Republicans win governorships and the House and the Senate in 2022,' he said.

'This is not an argument that I'll walk away from.'

The two had been allies after a biting 2016 primary, but Christie soured on Trump after the January 6 Capitol riot.

Christie broke ties with the president following the January 6 Capitol riot, where Trump supporters stormed the Capitol to stop the certification of Joe Biden

Christie was among a number of top Republicans who have been floated as 2024 candidates to speak at the weekend event in Nevada - also including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and even Trump himself.

Once a rising GOP star with an 80 per cent approval rating, Christie left office as the most unpopular governor in New Jersey history.

Christie had earned praise for his handling of Hurricane Sandy but a number of scandals sent his approval rating plummeting and even led to criminal convictions for two of his top deputies, though they were later overturned by the Supreme Court.

In 2013 one of Christie's aides and the deputy director of the Port Authority conspired to shut down multiple traffic lanes between the town of Fort Lee, New Jersey and New York City in a scandal dubbed 'Bridgegate.'

The public and town officials weren't notified and it caused traffic jams so severe that Fort Lee dubbed it a public safety threat.

The lanes were re-opened days later and subsequent records indicate it was done in retaliation for Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich not endorsing Christie in 2013.
Apple has agreed to pay $29.9 million to store workers in California after the Supreme Court ruled Friday against the tech giant's policy of forcing its employees to submit to security bag checks, despite them being off the clock.

The ruling comes following an eight-year legal battle, when a group of Apple employees sued their employer back in 2013, arguing the company was violating California state law by not paying them for their time spent undergoing the security checks, according to court documents.

The employees also had to let their Apple products be inspected and verified during the searches.

'This is a significant, non-reversionary settlement reached after nearly eight years of hard-fought litigation,' the plaintiffs' attorney Lee Shalov, wrote in the proposed settlement.

'If approved, this will be the largest reported settlement in a security search case in California,' Shalov added prior to Friday's ruling.

The lawsuit specifically covers employees who work at California's 52 Apple stores.

Apple agreed to pay $29.9 million to store workers in California due to the tech giant forcing its employees to submit to security bag checks, despite them being off the clock

A group of Apple employees sued back in 2013, where they argued the company was violating California state law by not paying them for their time spent undergoing the security checks (file image)

Attorneys said in the court filing that 14,683 workers will receive $1,286 from the settlement, according to Bloomberg.

Apple had argued that the bag searches were necessary to ensure workers were not stealing electronics from their California stores, and that it didn't control its employees during searches.

The tech giant also argued in court that any employee who didn't agree with the policy should not bring a bag with them to work.

However, the California Supreme Court disagreed with Apple's assessment of the policy while referring to a legal requirement in the state's wage law that states employees should be paid for the entire time they are subject to the company's control.

Justices also criticized Apple for its seemingly inconsistent arguments over iPhones and other Apple products.

'The irony and inconsistency of Apple's argument must be noted. Its characterization of the iPhone as unnecessary for its own employees is directly at odds with its description of the iPhone as an "integrated and integral" part of the lives of everyone else,' wrote California Supreme Court Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye.

Apple argued that the bag searches were necessary to insure workers were not stealing from their California stores, and that it didn't control its employees during searches

'Apple employees are clearly under Apple's control while awaiting, and during, the exit searches. Apple controls its employees during this time in several ways,' Cantil-Sakauye added.

The lawsuit has had quite the history over the eight-years since it was initially filed.

In 2015, a judge granted Apples request to dismiss the lawsuit.

However, in February 2020 the case was brought back after the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the company was on the hook for compensating employees for their time spent having bags checked.

The company wrote in the settlement agreement that it had discontinued the bag check policy back in December 2015.

Apple did not immediately return a request for comment on the settlement.
Of all the many thousands of lockdown career changes, it must count as one of the most surprising.

Flora Connell seemed set for stardom with her band One Eleven. Shed supported Bryan Ferry, the Roxy Music legend at the Royal Albert Hall and was about to embark on a tour of America when Covid-19 struck.

Yet today finds her back home in the Cotswolds feeding the chickens and working for her father.

More surprising still, this dramatic change of heart has little to do with the virus.

Rather, while the world gets back to normal and concert venues open up, the 31-year-old has turned her back on showbusiness for a very different mission  an innovative news service designed to cut through the lies and contradictions of the internet.

Flora Connell, 31, (pictured) was set for stardom with her band One Eleven and was about to embark on a tour of America when Covid-19 struck. Now she has turned her back on showbusiness and has teamed up with her father Jon Connell to create a news website

Dismayed by the relentless fear-mongering of the net, Flora dreamed up The Knowledge with her father Jon Connell, the entrepreneur behind the hugely successful global magazine The Week.

And the result is a joint father-daughter site that offers everything you might need to know about current world events in bite-sized chunks, all delivered through a concise, light-hearted app plus a newsletter and a website.

Their mission is to entertain as well as educate. And to declare war on doomscrolling, the obsessive hunt for bad news that has fuelled so much of the web and social media in the past two years.

As Flora found during lockdown, the internet can be a hostile and confusing place, even for digital natives  younger people who have grown up using computers and smartphones.

So with time on her hands, she started to think of a way to make sense of it all.

Promising all the weeks wisdom in one place, The Knowledge is like having a GPS for the internet  a signpost telling you which way to go, explains Flora.

The idea was to arm people with the information they need to join a conversation. It should give them something interesting and witty to say at a dinner party. Even the name is smart. The Knowledge, of course, is also the name of the training for Londons black cab drivers who must commit to memory the whole street plan of the city, and its famous landmarks.

Now working in an office for the first time in her life, Flora says she has shelved plans to reunite with her band.

One minute I was on stage at the Royal Albert Hall and the next I was back home feeding the hens and sitting in front of the fire.

But in a way, starting The Knowledge is not too dissimilar to starting a band, she says. When you first tell people youre doing it, they all think youre mad. Its a risk.

This all sounds very familiar to her father, Jon, the other driving force behind the project. When he left his position as Deputy Editor at The Sunday Telegraph in 1995 to set up The Week, there were plenty of people lining up to tell him he was mad.

His critics included the Duke of Edinburgh, a family friend. (Jon had been a contemporary of Prince Charles at Gordonstoun school in Scotland.)

Flora (pictured right) teamed up with father, Jon (left) to create The Knowledge, which offers everything you might need to know about current world events in bite-sized chunks. Their mission is to entertain as well as educate

Prince Philip had come up to my cousins estate in Scotland to compete in a carriage driving competition. When I told him of my plan, he said, No, no, no. We need you at the Telegraph! 

Fortunately for Jon, he ignored the Duke and pressed on, selling the family home in London to fund half the start-up costs. He went cap in hand to family and friends for the rest.

Before long, The Week caught the eye of publisher Felix Dennis who became a major financial backer and, with serious investment behind it, the magazine soon amassed loyal supporters from around the world.

Of the 2,750 curious readers who subscribed to The Week in 1995, 700 were still signed up more than 20 years later. With its succinct summary of the past weeks news, it drew in more than 200,000 readers in the UK and nearly 600,000 in the US.

In August, Dennis Publishing, which also owns Country Life, bought The Week outright for 300 million.

But Jon believes this new digital news service could even eclipse his past success.

I love The Week, but however much I like it, there is a gap in the digital market, he says. Just 25 years ago, we were living in a sea of newspapers and the internet scarcely existed. Today, its a totally different world.

At 69, he shows no intention of retiring or even slowing down as he bounds around his Cotswolds estate, pointing out things of interest. Theres the lake where we would go swimming in the summer, that way is the old manor house

Jon and his wife Alexandra live in a renovated former laundry  now very much a country mansion  near the pretty village of Lacock.

The family of Floras mother  Lady Alexandra Moncreiffe Hay  has been linked to the area for generations. There is also a family association to colonial East Africa and the notorious Happy Valley set. Floras great-grandfather on her mothers side was Josslyn Hay, shot dead in Kenya in what became known as the White Mischief murder. Her great-grandmother was Lady Idina Sackville who became known as the bolter for leaving her children behind to head to Africa.

(Lady Idina inspired the character of The Bolter in Nancy Mitfords comic novel Love In A Cold Climate, who was played by Emily Mortimer in the recent BBC TV adaptation.)

As you might expect from such a family, the walls are full of gold-framed paintings, family photographs and some mementoes of Jons time as a Washington correspondent for The Sunday Times, when he interviewed President Ronald Reagan.

The family home was full again for the first time in years during lockdown as Flora and her older brother Ivar, Alexandras son from a previous relationship, returned home.

Flora is happy to needle her father, saying: Dad was ready for lockdown for years before it happened because he has been stockpiling his whole life!

The cupboards are full of bags of Scottish oats and enough Marmite to last a decade.

But the result of many hours of lockdown walks and debating was The Knowledge  a project now funded by DMG media group, which also publishes The Mail on Sunday and the Daily Mail.

I told him it had to be Daily not Weekly and it had to have an app, explains Flora. He didnt even know what an app was.

I do now, he interjects, brandishing his mobile. Ive got more on my phone than you now!

Flora, too, is having to adjust. A desk job alongside her father is quite a change from the music industry.

One of her earlier roles, for example, was working in a studio for the artist Prince  which entailed ensuring his personal ping-pong table was always ready.

I heard a banging noise at the back of the studio one day and it was Prince knocking on the door with his cane, she recalls. Hed managed to get himself locked out in his purple cravat by the bins.

I think Im good at adapting and changing so this makes sense. There are parts of working in an office that I adore and other parts that make me want to rip my clothes off and run off down the road.

Jon says: We take what we do seriously. Theres an intellectual rigour there. But we dont take ourselves seriously and thats the key.

In the past few days, the app has seen a mixture of pithy stories and punchy opinion pieces.

It has covered everything from the moment that President Joe Biden was caught napping at COP26 (Is sleepy Joe too woke?)  to a succinct summary of the Governments U-turn on the former Cabinet minister Owen Paterson and a piece about Professor Kathleen Stock, who was hounded out of Sussex University by trans activists. Like any self-respecting current affairs magazine, it also carries sport, property and money sections.

Theres a From the archives section, too, recalling earlier interviews with people back in the news today.

Then there is the heroes and villains segment. Last week, the heroes included hungry baleen whales, which have been found to eat three times as much as previously thought  the equivalent of 80,000 Big Macs a day in krill  and in doing so trap and lock away vast amounts of carbon.

And the villains? The standout was Jayne Rivera, a fitness model and social-media influencer who pulled sultry yoga poses in front of her dead fathers coffin. Her social-media posts have since been deleted.

The internet is such a confusing place, says Flora. We can learn about anything we want in a flash, but it can destroy peoples lives. Weve created a world within a world.

Everybody needs help navigating their way through it, otherwise its exhausting. What were doing is searching in all the dark corners to direct people to the Crown Jewels.

As Jon puts it: One of my former colleagues in magazines said to me: theres so much to read out there, you can never finish it. But at the end of our five-minute newsletter it says, Thats it. Youre done.

And people tell me thats what they love  the feeling that they have accomplished something.

Sign up to the free daily newsletter at theknowledge.com.
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The Duchess of Cambridge shared a fond moment with Prince Charles last night as they joined other family members for the annual Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall.

For the first time, it was apparent how slimmed down the Family has become, with fewer in the Royal Box than in 2019  the year before Covid struck.

The Queen was not herself in attendance - marking only the sixth time she has missed the annual event - as she is still resting on medical advice - but she is expected to be present at the ceremony at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday.

Neither Prince Andrew nor Prince Harry were among the group, since both have stepped down from official duties. The Duchess of Sussex also did not attend.

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall led the diminished family group, which also included Prince William, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, the Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, and the Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra

Pictured: The Royal Family attending the Festival in the Royal Box than in 2019  the year before Covid struck

Members of the Royal Family took their seats at the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall this evening, the Queen was not in attendance

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were amongst the royals who joined the Prince of Wales in the Royal Box this evening

The 100-year anniversary of the Royal British Legion was also highlighted, with poet Tomos Roberts will give an emotional rendition of his specially commissioned piece 'Alive with Poppies' at the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall

Alfie Boe, Gregory Porter (pictured), Cynthia Erivo, Alexandra Burke and Ramin Karimloo all led performances

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall led the diminished family group, which also included Prince William, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, the Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, and the Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra.

All were dressed in dark clothing as they watched from the box, clapping and giving standing ovations throughout the service.

Prince Charles and Camilla were joined at the front of the Royal box by Prince William and Kate ahead of the Festival.

In remembrance of her late mother-in-law, Kate wore Princess Dianas Collingwood pearl earrings and pearl bracelet. And in what royal-watchers saw as a nod to her three children, she chose a crystal and gold-plated three-poppy brooch, which is sold for 45 on the Royal British Legions website.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson sat in a box on the left hand side of the royal box, while Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer sat in a box on the other side. The Festival was dedicated to all those that have served and sacrificed from Britain and the Commonwealth, as well as those who lost their lives protecting others during the pandemic.

The ceremony was started by singer Alfie Boe who performed a rendition of the Take That song 'Greatest Day'.

Guests inside the Royal Albert Hall wore wristbands throughout the service, which lit up throughout the night, at one point turning red

Paying their respects: Prince Charles, alongside Camilla, were seen solemnly clapping with the rest of the guests inside the hall during the Festival. And Prime Minister Boris Johnson also joined in with the clapping

At one point in the Festival, members of the different arms of the military were welcomed into the Albert Hall to rounds of applause

Walking down the stairs in the venue, the military personnel cut solemn figures during the performances as they were welcomed onto the stage

Every arm of the military forces were welcomed into the venue by the crowds, all paying their respects to those who had lost their lives

The 100-year anniversary of the Royal British Legion was also highlighted, with poet Tomos Roberts will give an emotional rendition of his specially commissioned piece 'Alive with Poppies' at the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall.

After the poem finished, the audience lifted their wristbands - which glowed red, creating a similar effect to the image of a field of poppies.

American singer Gregory Porter was the next guest to take to the stage, performing a song in the centre of the venue.

The Royal Marines fanfare team opened the ceremony and were then followed by Royal British Legion members carrying blue and gold standards.

The blue indicates loyalty and fidelity and the gold represents trial by fire.

Prince Charles is seen entering the Royal Albert Hall alongside the Duchess of Cornwall this evening before the Festival of Remembrance

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge joined Prince Charles and Camilla in the royal box at the annual Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall this evening

William and Kate, both wearing poppies, smiled warmly as they were greeted at the entrance to the venue this evening

The Duchess of Cornwall also looked to be in high spirits as she arrived at the annual Remembrance festival this evening

Following the performance, the Chelsea Pensioners were welcomed into the venue to a rapturous round of applause.

Attendees could be seen wiping away tears as a video showed Sallie and David Wright telling the story of their son James - who was killed in Afghanistan 10 years ago.

Sixteen bereaved families then entered the hall to a standing ovation.

To mark 100 years of the British Legion, 100 members of the organisation were welcomed to the centre of the Albert hall by a wave of applause, as the song 'You raise me up' played.

Cynthia Erivo, Alexandra Burke and Ramin Karimloo also led performances at the Royal British Legion's annual event.

Few of those attending the annual event wore face coverings but attendees were asked to provide proof of vaccination or a negative Covid-19 test taken within 48 hours of arrival.

The Earl and Countess of Wessex were among the members of the royal family who arrived at the venue earlier this evening

Prime Minister Boris Johnson was also in attendance at the event this evening, and was seated in his own box to the left-hand side of the royal box

Boris Johnson was seated to the side of the royal box, with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer also in attendance, on the other side of the Royal family to the Prime Minister

The Royal Albert Hall's guidance states: 'Please help us to keep everyone safe by wearing a face covering where possible and by respecting other people's personal space in order to reduce your risk and the risk to others.'

The service pays tribute to all those who lost in their lives in conflicts.

This years show marks the 100th anniversary of the Royal British Legion charity. Its first royal guest was the then Prince of Wales who later became Edward VIII. Since 1927, the show has been broadcast by BBC Radio and was screened live last night on BBC One.

It also marked the 30th anniversary of the first Gulf War and the 10th anniversary of the end of military operations in Iraq.
The mother of an 11-year-old girl who was groped by a New York middle school teacher was left angry after he was able to avoid prison thanks to a plea deal.

Daniel Santiago, 31, a teacher at the Brooklyn Science and Engineering Academy in East Flatbush, will be put on probation for 10 years after pleading guilty to attempted sex abuse in the first degree on Wednesday.

He was arrested in April 2019 after he reportedly groped the young female student multiple times and even sent her inappropriate text messages.

He was forced to permanently surrender his license, register as a sex offender and is prohibited from contacting the young victim as part of the agreement. Santiago's sentencing is set for January 10.

The girl's mother, who has asked not to be named, spoke out on Friday in anger of the decision.

'Im disappointed and a little bit outraged that hes not going to serve time. My daughter is also upset,' she told the Daily News.

The mother of an 11-year-old girl was angered on Friday after her daughter's middle school teacher Daniel Santiago, 31, (above) was given 10 years of probation on a plea deal after he had been arrested in April 2019 for groping the young girl. He is seen above leaving Brooklyn Criminal Court after being arraigned in 2019

The girl was a student at Brooklyn Science and Engineering Academy in East Flatbush when she had been groped by Santiago multiple times

The now 14-year-old victim, who is undergoing therapy, will also not have to testify in trial, much to her mother's relief.

'It was going to be traumatizing for her to testify, to stand up to an adult in open court,' she said. 'Its already been really traumatic for her.'

Before reaching the plea deal, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez's office said they had spoken with the girl's mother.

'While the mothers sentiment in wishing for jail time is understandable in light of what this family has been through, this felony conviction was an agreed upon disposition that spares the victim from testifying against her abuser in open court,' they said in a statement.

'The defendant is now held accountable for his actions, must register as a sex offender, will have his teaching license revoked and be fired, and, finally, will be monitored on probation for a decade.'

The girls' family lawyer Scott Rynecki said that the case represented one of many that were not thoroughly investigated by the Department of Education and that it was 'extremely discouraging' that Santiago only got probation.

'As children continue to return to an in-person school experience, it is incumbent upon the City of New York and the Department of Education to do a better job training, overseeing and vetting individuals that will be dealing with our students,' Rynecki said.

Santiago was arrested on charges of sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child under 17

During Santiago's 2019 arrest, he had been charged with sex abuse and endangering the welfare of a child under 17.

Santiago had reportedly groped the girl multiple times before his arrest which included an incident on April 5 where he had touched her chest during a class trip on a bus full of other students, according to prosecutors.

The pair had also touched each other's genitals on the return trip home.

Prosecutors also said that he had groped her two more times in the classroom and bathroom between April 9 and 10.

The girl's mother added that he had had even brought her daughter candy and threw a birthday party for her as well at the school.

The girl's mother, who has not been named, said she is 'disappointed' by the decision as her daughter, now 14, is still undergoing therapy over the incident

The police were contacted by school officials after hearing reports throughout the school.

The girl's cousin had also found the pair's text exchanges which she claimed were of a sexual nature.

The department obtained access to the text messages on Santiago's iPad after he had deleted them on his phone.

The girl's family filed a $26 million lawsuit in May 2019 against the DOE and the city.

The Department of Education had also previously released a statement in April following Santiago's arrest.

'This teacher was immediately reassigned away from the classroom when we were made aware of this disturbing allegation,' the statement read.

'We'll seek to remove him from payroll as quickly as possible while the investigation is pending.'
Wells Fargo has sued to sell the Standard High Line Hotel in Manhattan, claiming the Hong Kong-based owner has failed to make any payments in over a year on a $170 loan.

In a complaint filed to the Manhattan federal court in early November, Well Fargo said Gaw Capital Partners Chairman Goodwin Gaw owes more than $186 million in principal, interest and fees on the 338-room hotel and asks that it be foreclosed on to recoup the bank's investments.

Gaw, who purchased the hotel in 2017 for $340 million, lashed out against the lawsuit and said he would 'vigorously defend' the 18-story Chelsea hotel against foreclosure, Bloomberg reported.

The hotel recently played host to a Studio 54-themed Halloween Party for stars like Lorde and Ava Max and was where Solanges Knowles was recorded attacking brother-in-law Jay-Z inside an elevator in 2014.

Wells Fargo sued to sell the Standard High Line Hotel, an 18-story, 338-room hotel, in NYC

Goodwin Gaw, chairman of Gaw Capital Partners, said he would 'vigorously defend' the hotel against foreclosure and blamed other loaners for his failure to make payments

Gaw Capital has blamed Apollo Global Management Inc., which can take control of the hotel in case of default, for spurring settlement offers and payments on the loan.

'Apollo Global Management and its affiliates, who own a small sliver - 18% - of the loan, have demonstrated that they are more interested in putting their financial greed above interests of all involved including the bondholders,' Gaw Capital spokesman Kai Speth said in a statement.

Well Fargo issued the lawsuit after Gaw failed to make payments on the $170 million loan

Apollo denied being the reason why Wells Fargo was seeking to foreclose on the property.

'Apollo is not a party to the foreclosure action, which was initiated by the special servicer,' a spokesperson said in an email responding to questions. 'The debtor in this case has failed to make payments under the loan and has been in default since May 2020.'

CWCaptial Asset management, the special servicer managing the hotel's mortgage, filed a formal notice of default in June 2020. A year later, the company told Gaw it was accelerating the debt collection process because of the unpaid balance and rising interest costs.

Like most hotels in New York City, the Standard High Line had been struggling after the pandemic forced it to shutdown.

The hotel later reopened, with occupancy at a meager 30 per cent in December 2020 before rising up to 76 per cent in June.

Rooms at the hotel can go for as much as $2,300 a night.

Like most hotels in New York City, the Standard High Line had been hit hard by the pandemic

Gaw Capital Partners owns investments in hotels all around the world, like the Hilton Del Mar, in California

But even as Gaw fell behind on payments for the NYC hotel, he continued to further invest his companies money in other projects, like a $437 million hotel in Singapore, Bloomberg reported.

Gaw Capital had about $3.25 billion under management in 2021, according to the company's website.

It owns investments in multiple hotels in the US and around the world, including the Hilton Del Mar, in California and the Soho House, in Chicago.
A former Trump White House aide was reportedly told to stop playing Taylor Swift's music after a tough meeting because the star wasn't 'a fan' of the president and it could get her 'fired.'

Olivia Troye, who worked as an aide for former Vice President Mike Pence, 62, came from a stressful meeting and started playing Taylor Swift's music in her office when a colleague knocked on her door and asked her to be 'careful' what she played.

'I remember a moment in the spring where I came back very angry after a meeting where I lost an argument with someone [over] something I didn't agree with related to the pandemic, and I came back and was playing Taylor Swift very loud in my office that night,' she told MSNBC.

She told MSNBC that the colleague asked if she wanted to get fired and that she 'should be careful' about the music she plays since Swift isn't a fan of former President Donald Trump, 75

Olivia Troye was warned by a colleague not to play Taylor Swift's music after she played it in her office following a stressful meeting

'And I had a colleague knock on the door and he said "are you trying to get fired?" and I was super confused about that and I was like "for being blunt in meetings or for what?"'

The colleague reportedly replied: 'Well I don't think [Taylor's] a fan of Trump's, so if someone hears that you should really watch your back, you should be careful on that.'

Troye admitted she was 'astonished' and that she could 'listen to whatever music' she wanted.

In another incident, reported by The Atlantic, an unidentified staffer liked Swift's Instagram post encouraging her followers to vote and a later post of Swift, 31, holding a tray of cookies with Biden-Harris written on the baked goods.

Although the staffer liked all of Swift's posts, regardless of whether they had anything to do with politics, Mark Meadows - Trump's Chief of Staff - reportedly received a phone call about it while he attended the Supreme Court confirmation of conservative judge Amy Coney Barrett.

The 31-year-old publicly denounced Tennessee Republican Marsha Blackburn and actively campaigned for President Joe Biden. She was later seen backstage at the AMAs laughing about Trump liking her music less after the statement in her Netflix documentary Ms. Americana

Trump told the media that he likes 'Taylor's music about 25 per cent less now' after her public comments on Blackburn, who he endorsed

Top staff Andrew Hughes is said to have reported the 'like' to him.

'We really cant have our people liking posts promoting Joe Biden,' Meadows reportedly told Hughes, according to the Atlantic.

Trump, 75, has publicly announced his distaste for the country-darling-turned-global-popstar.

'Let's say that I like Taylor's music about 25 per cent less now, okay,' Trump said after Taylor denounced Tennessee Republican Marsha Blackburn, who he endorsed.

Later, in her Netflix documentary Ms. Americana, Swift was seen laughing backstage as she got ready for the American Music Awards in 2018 about the comment.

She also publicly supported the Equality Act and mentioned it throughout several of her award winning speeches through the award season.

She also released a political song called Only The Young in connection with the documentary's release that encourages the young to vote and get political.
Stepping furtively through the streets of Paris, her face mysteriously shrouded, the figure in the heavy shawl was bound to attract attention  and so it proved.

For this was just months after the suicide of paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. And the woman who seemed so anxious to avoid attention bore a remarkable resemblance to Epsteins former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell  now the most hunted woman on the planet. Had she fled from America to France?

From the moment Epstein was found dead in his New York cell in August 2019, the focus of attention turned to longtime associate Ghislaine, even though she had never been charged with any crime. Victims of Epstein accused her of being a madam  claims she vehemently denies and will vigorously contest in court when her trial begins later this month.

Victims of Jeffrey Epstein accused Ghislaine Maxwell (Pictured) of being a madam  claims she vehemently denies and will vigorously contest in court when her trial begins later this month

A Ghislaine and brother Kevin lookalike (pictured) in Paris to dupe the worlds media and help her keep a low profile

Today, for the first time, we can reveal the lengths that Ghislaine went to in order to keep a low profile  which included the extraordinary tactic of hiring lookalikes to stroll through Paris to dupe the worlds media.

In an exclusive interview, British security expert Matt Hellyer, a decorated former Paratrooper who headed the crack security team staffed with ex-SAS members that guarded the heiress for a year, said: We went to an agency in France. A security collaborating agency. They found us two people who resembled Ghislaine and her brother Kevin.

They strolled in Paris for a couple of days and we leaked it to a newspaper. That is how we distracted the attention away from where Ghislaine really was. She was in the US at all times.

Ghislaine was not running from the authorities, she was running from the media.

And, you know, many people dont believe Epstein killed himself. So we were also hired to protect her from a potential killer.

The astonishing details of Ghislaine Maxwells year-long cat and mouse game can be revealed for the first time today.

She insists that, far from being on the run as many have accused her of being, she was, in fact, available at all times to the American authorities had they wished to question her.

Instead, she says, the FBI staged a dramatic early-morning raid on her final hideaway  an 800,000 estate in New Hampshire  to gain maximum publicity and paint her in the worst light possible.

Mr Hellyer, a friend of Ghislaines brother Kevin, was hired within hours of Epsteins death.

A friend of Ghislaines brother Kevin (pictured) Mr Hellyer, was hired within hours of Epsteins death to 'get her out of her home'

At the time, Ghislaine was living in a secluded 3 million ocean-front property in Manchester-by-Sea, Massachusets, with her husband Scott Borgerson, the couples dogs and Scotts two children.

In his first interview for a new documentary Ghislaine, which will air in the UK and US after her November 29 trial ends, Mr Hellyer said: Our assignment was to get her out of her home within 12 hours of Epsteins death. She was worried about Scotts kids. She didnt want the cameras around them or anything to happen that could affect their lives. I told her we could fly her out of the country immediately. She refused.

Ghislaine, who was turned down for bail for the fourth time this week, claims she never planned to flee the US. After all, why would she? She insists she is innocent of all charges against her of procuring young women for Epstein and of engaging in sexual assaults against them herself. Her youngest alleged victim was just 14.

Despite having UK, French and US passports, Ghislaine chose to remain in the States, a fact that she and her supporters insist shows she has nothing to hide.

But she was constantly on the move, from one safe house to another, as she tried to outrun the media.

Mr Hellyer recalled: Scott felt he could protect her but we convinced him she had to go. From then on, it was, Where in the world is Ghislaine? Everyone was speculating.

We did not hide her from the authorities. They knew that at any point if they wanted to talk to Ghislaine we would bring her safely to them.

Indeed, Ghislaines legal team claim they reached out to the FBI  but never heard back.

Some media outlets offered readers lucrative bounties for the first pictures of the elusive heiress.

At one stage, Ghislaine was photographed outside an In-N-Out burger joint in Los Angeles. Bizarrely, she was reading The Book of Honour: The Secret Lives and Deaths of CIA Operatives.

According to reports at the time, a stunned fellow diner asked: Are you who I think you are? to which she replied: Yes, I am.

The photograph was pored over, with some claiming it was a fake because a poster on a bus stop behind her had long been removed by the time the image was released, according to the ad agency who controlled the bus stop hoarding.

Yet Ghislaine really was in Los Angeles  staying at the home of an old friend. So was it a stunt?

Mr Hellyer says not, adding: We had to move her immediately after that photo came out.

Ghislaine remained on the move, even as speculation about her whereabouts reached fever pitch.

Everyone, it seemed, had a theory, each one wilder than the last. The New York Post speculated she was in Israel or even on a submarine (she is a qualified submersible pilot). There were rumours she was with Epsteins friend, former model agent Jean-Luc Brunel, in Brazil.

Was she a secret agent for Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency linked to her late father, disgraced newspaper tycoon Robert Maxwell? Was it true she had been seen being spirited away in the dead of night by Israeli agents?

There were theories that she was holed up in a private villa in the South of France, had been hidden by South African supporters deep in the bush, and even that she was in an underground bunker owned by rich and powerful friends who were terrified of the secrets she might spill if she chose to tell all.

There were sightings in New Zealand, the Caribbean, London and, yes, Paris.

The Sun newspaper reported that she had been seen there, claiming to have identified her from a distinctive signet ring.

She rarely went out, but when she did, she wore a large patterned blanket which she pulled tightly around her face and draped across her shoulders, it said.

She clearly didnt want to be recognised and was able to blend in.

The ruse was a good one. Epstein owned an apartment there on the Avenue Foch, close to the Arc de Triomphe. It is now on the market for 10 million. Ghislaines mother is French and Ghislaine was born in France and has French citizenship.

Everyone loved the Paris sighting, said a source close to the case. Sometimes its a matter of giving the people what they want. The sighting kept everyone happy for a while and sent the dogs barking down the wrong trail. She never left America.

In reality, Ghislaine would move from safe house to safe house, always under cover of darkness.

She regularly changed her phone to avoid being tracked and spoke only to her closest family.

Everything she needed was bought with cash. But by early last year, she was tired of being, in effect, homeless.

Mr Hellyer said: She missed her family. She was getting tired. She needed a home.

Ghislaine told her security team: Enough running! A refuge was found in the sleepy town of Bradford, New Hampshire, an hours drive away from the home she shared with her husband and stepchildren.

Isolated in 156 acres of rural woodland, it was the perfect spot for her to relax and stop running.

Mr Hellyer said: She and Scott and the kids reunited at weekend. We brought the family to her home, her animals. They were able to be a real, loving family.

But in the early hours of July 2, 2020, all that changed.

Ghislaine and her guards heard a small plane flying directly over the property at around 5am.

Mr Hellyer recalled: I immediately knew it was the authorities. We were in the pandemic lockdown. What small plane could it be unless it was the authorities?

He insists Ghislaine was trained to go to a safe room and did not try to flee as FBI agents broke through the door, as authorities claimed in a press conference later that day.

FBI assistant director William Sweeney told assembled reporters: She is one of the villains who slithered away to a gorgeous property where she was continuing to live a life of privilege while her victims live with the trauma inflicted upon them years ago.

But Mr Hellyer claimed: She did exactly what she was told by us. She did not run from the authorities like some have claimed.

The moment we identified it was the authorities, she cooperated.

She was not handcuffed.

She asked to say goodbye to her beloved animals.

Ghislaines brother Ian added: The authorities knew at all times where my sister was, so to have this big show, the aeroplanes, the press conference. They had an agenda. Clearly.

It is a charge the FBI denies. In court filings agents claimed they tracked her via her mobile, which she opened in the name of G Max and used to call her sister Isabel.

Regardless, Ghislaine has spent every night since then behind bars. Within weeks, a jury will decide if she will walk free  or remain locked up for ever.
No more self-isolation for those testing positive when laws expire in March

Free Covid testing to be scrapped for everyone under 'Rampdown' plans

'Britain will have to learn to live with Covid as an 'endemic' illness for many years'

The 160-page plan is in Government documents leaked to The Mail on Sunday

Britain's response to Covid is set to be dramatically scaled back early next year as part of a pandemic 'exit strategy' codenamed Rampdown.

The secret Whitehall plan is detailed in official Government documents leaked to The Mail on Sunday. They describe how much of the Government's 37 billion emergency programme for dealing with the virus will be dismantled and the country prepared for living with Covid 'for years to come'.

The extraordinary 160-page dossier includes a string of documents marked 'official sensitive' drawn up by the senior Government officials tasked with winding down Britain's battle against the pandemic.

Britain's Covid response set to be dramatically scaled back early next year. It's part of a secret Whitehall pandemic 'exit strategy' codenamed Rampdown

The file reveals how the Government is set to:

Axe the legal requirement for those who catch the virus to self-isolate for ten days;

End free Covid tests and instead allow private companies to charge for lateral flow and PCR tests;

Shut down the national 'Test and Trace' system, which identifies those who may have been exposed to the virus;

Focus the fight against Covid on tackling local outbreaks and protecting 'highest risk settings', such as care homes;

Scrap 500 payments for those on low incomes who must quarantine.

In the documents, experts say Covid will remain at 'endemic' levels for years and that mutant strains of the virus will also 'remain a very real risk'. But, crucially, the Government's central planning assumption  described as the 'leaving soon' scenario  predicts there will be 'no winter resurgence' of the virus.

The revelations come as the number of new Covid cases plunged by more than a quarter in just over three weeks  from 52,009 a day to 38,351  and more than 12 million people have had their booster vaccines.

The leaked Rampdown plans will be hailed by business owners and families exhausted by Britain's two-year battle against the virus.

Professor Robert Dingwall of Nottingham Trent University, one of the UK's leading sociologists and a former Government adviser, said: 'I very much welcome the fact that people are planning for the end of the emergency and the restoration of everyday life. Treating Covid like any other respiratory infection should encourage people to dial down the fear and anxiety that have bedevilled the country for the past couple of years.'

But one Whitehall source has told The Mail on Sunday that some systems for monitoring the spread of the disease have already been shut down, sparking alarm among top Government scientists.

Crucially, the documents reveal that Ministers are set to abandon attempts to stop Covid-19 spreading 'at all costs'

Another source also said large numbers of health experts who have led the fight against the virus for 18 months are 'just walking away' from the Government, resulting in a huge 'loss of knowledge'.

'It's totally over, in the minds of Ministers,' the source said. 'But what happens if a new variant arrives and they have just shut down the whole national infrastructure? Are we retaining enough knowledge from the 37 billion investment over the past two years? I really don't think we are.'

The Rampdown strategy is being hammered out as part of a six-week review of the Government's 'test, trace and isolate regime' by officials at the UK Health Security Agency, a new body headed by former Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Jenny Harries.

The documents reveal that the officials are examining 'what activities can we start ramping down before April?' and what the 'end state' of Britain's response to Covid should be after April.

Their conclusions are due to be finalised by Dr Harries and other key officials this weekend before being submitted to Health Secretary Sajid Javid. It is likely the Government will unveil the plan by the end of the year, unless there is a resurgence of cases caused by an unmanageable new strain of the virus.

Crucially, the documents reveal that Ministers are set to abandon attempts to stop Covid-19 spreading 'at all costs'.

Instead, health officials will judge future policies against the same kind of cost-benefit analysis used to decide whether the NHS can afford expensive new drugs.

'We will no longer be prioritising the previous objectives of breaking chains of transmission at all costs,' one document stated.

Another document, discussed earlier this month, declared the Government will 'end national trace and self-isolation policies' and 'move from whole population approaches to targeting the vulnerable'.

Insiders say the Rampdown strategy was partly being driven by the need to rein in the vast sums being spent on the pandemic.

The dossier reveals that the Government is drawing up plans to scrap the hugely costly free tests. Instead, testing will be prioritised for the most 'vulnerable', including those in care homes and hospitals, and used to contain local outbreaks

The controversial Test and Trace service was set up in May 2020 with a whopping 22 billion budget. It received a further 15 billion this year but its funding is expected to be dramatically cut next year.

'Essentially they have to run everything down by the end of March because then the funding has gone,' a source said. Meanwhile, a second major review, codenamed Rising Tide, is drawing up plans for how to respond to any new mutant strain of the virus arriving in the UK.

Ministers will be presented with a list of 'core functions' that will be needed to respond to any future devastating outbreak.

A Government spokesman said last night: 'We have published the autumn and winter plan for managing the response to coronavirus, which remains a serious risk.

'We keep our approach under review, and no decisions have been taken about next year.'

Britain will have to learn to live with Covid as an 'endemic' illness for many years, say the experts

BY ISABEL OAKESHOTT

Britain will have to learn to live with Covid as an 'endemic' illness for many years, according to the documents.

The virus is expected to remain widespread within the population, with 'seasonal surges' in the winter like flu and other respiratory diseases.

But thanks to vaccine booster jabs, Covid is forecast to enter what Government health experts are calling a 'steady state', with hospital admissions not expected to exceed recent levels of about 750 patients per day.

'Given the extent of transmission throughout the world, we now have to consider how society might concurrently suppress and live with the virus and reach an endemic state for years to come,' one document, outlining the autumn strategy for the NHS Test and Trace service, states.

The documents describe in detail for the first time the four different planning scenarios that have underpinned Boris Johnson's response to the third wave of the virus. They include an optimistic scenario, named 'quick farewell', in which Covid cases would have peaked in July at 30,000 per day, and a 'reasonable worst case' scenario, named 'long goodbye', which forecast a summer peak of 85,000 cases per day.

The central planning assumption is known as 'leaving soon' and would have involved a peak in July of 65,000 cases a day, with 'modest levels' by October. In fact, all of the scenarios were wrong.

Daily UK cases in the third wave peaked in July at 54,674 but then remained high for three months, hitting 52,009 on October 21. Since then the numbers fell steadily, before moving slightly upwards in recent days.

Daily UK cases in the third wave peaked in July at 54,674 but then remained high for three months, hitting 52,009 on October 21. Since then the numbers fell steadily, before moving slightly upwards in recent days

The central planning assumption is known as 'leaving soon' and would have involved a peak in July of 65,000 cases a day, with 'modest levels' by October. In fact, all of the scenarios were wrong

Mr Johnson last week warned that 'storm clouds' are gathering over Europe and said cases could rise in the UK

Government officials also privately believe that a World Health Organisation target of having 70 per cent of the world vaccinated is 'unlikely to happen'. Nearly 80 countries, half of them in Africa, are set to miss a separate target of vaccinating 40 per cent of their population by the end of this year

Ominously, the Government documents warn that 'an extreme event could emerge at any time'. This could include the spread of a vaccine-busting new strain or 'severe supply chain issues' with booster jabs.

'In any of our scenarios there is the potential for an unforeseen event or combination of events occurring to derail our planning and leave us in a worst case scenario with no end in sight,' one document warns.

New 'variants of concern', like the Delta strain which arrived earlier this year and quickly swept the country, remain a 'very real risk', it is claimed, especially if many people have Covid.

Mr Johnson last week warned that 'storm clouds' are gathering over Europe and said cases could rise in the UK.

Separate scenarios reported in the i newspaper yesterday show that the Government does not expect the pandemic to be declared over for at least another year.

Government officials also privately believe that a World Health Organisation target of having 70 per cent of the world vaccinated is 'unlikely to happen'.

Nearly 80 countries, half of them in Africa, are set to miss a separate target of vaccinating 40 per cent of their population by the end of this year.

Free Covid testing to be scrapped for everyone under 'Rampdown' plans

BY MARK HOOKHAM

Universal free Covid testing is set to be scrapped under the Government's Rampdown plans.

Currently, anyone can request the delivery of free lateral flow tests to their homes, while those with symptoms are told to take free PCR tests, which are analysed in laboratories.

But the dossier reveals that the Government is drawing up plans to scrap the hugely costly free tests. Instead, testing will be prioritised for the most 'vulnerable', including those in care homes and hospitals, and used to contain local outbreaks.

One document, written in September, shows how officials warned that the move could result in a stampede of families 'stockpiling' lateral flow tests. 'There is a risk that a public announcement on the end of free testing provision could lead to stockpiling of tests or incentivise people to access free testing through symptomatic routes.

'Any decision to charge for tests is likely to discourage the most vulnerable, including the poorest, from testing.'

The document also reveals that officials are preparing to kick-start a 'private testing market' in which companies will charge people for tests. About 500 firms offering 150 different testing products are already undergoing the accreditation process, the document states.

'We have put in place a foundation for a regulated private market for both PCR and LFDs [lateral flow devices] To mobilise a private market, we would need to signal publicly and directly a firm end date for universal free testing.'

Handing the whole lucrative testing regime over to private firms is likely to prove controversial. Currently, people have to pay for their own PCR tests for travel from the open market, which created a 'Wild West' of misleading advertising and inflated pricing.

Mass testing had been a critical part of Britain's fight against the virus, but a damning report by MPs last month found that despite an 'eye-watering' 37 billion budget over two years, NHS Test and Trace has failed in its main objective of helping stop the virus spreading.

More than 691 million free lateral flow tests have been distributed in the past year but only 96 million of these  14 per cent  have been used to register a test result with the NHS, the report by the Public Accounts Committee found.

France ended free tests last month and the six million adults there who are not vaccinated now have to pay between 18 and 37 per test.

Free tests were axed in Germany on October 11 and now cost 16. One option being considered in England is for the Government to initially charge people for tests, as early as January, before handing over to private firms.

Officials are also considering sweeping away regular testing in schools in the New Year as vaccination rates among pupils rise. Currently all secondary school and college students should take lateral flow tests at home twice a week.

Ministers have ruled that regular mass testing will last until at least the Christmas holidays but officials are considering whether to then ditch them in favour of targeted testing to manage local outbreaks.

No more self-isolation for those who test positive for Covid when legal powers expire in March

BY MARK HOOKHAM

Strict rules that force those who test positive for Covid to self-isolate are set to be scrapped.

Last September, MPs extended laws that force those who catch the virus  as well as unvaccinated people who may have been exposed to it  to self-isolate for ten days.

But Government officials now assume that mandatory self-isolation will be ditched in March when the legal powers expire.

'Working assumption [is] that legal duties will cease after March,' a document written last month states.

A scheme that pays out 500 to those on low incomes who are self-isolating is expected to be axed at the same time to save cash. The Test and Trace Support Payment has paid out 167.9 million to 335,000 low-income workers during the pandemic.

Officials are also drawing up plans to slash the costs of the NHS's contact-tracing system, which attempts to find those who might have been exposed to coronavirus.

The Treasury handed the NHS a further 94 million to bankroll its tracing service until the end of this month, but officials are now poring over 'potential cost savings, including reducing staff numbers'.

Currently, those who self-isolate are called at home by NHS Test and Trace staff, who check they are complying with the rules. Officials, however, are preparing to recommend to Ministers that these calls be axed.

'We are undertaking a review of the future approach to tracing to improve cost efficiency,' one of the documents obtained by The Mail on Sunday states.

Unvaccinated travellers who arrive in the UK from abroad also have to self-isolate for ten days and are called every day. Those calls may also be ditched, it is suggested.

In the longer term, the UK Health Security Agency is planning to end the entire nationwide 'trace' regime as part of its 'rampdown' strategy as the country comes to live with Covid.

Instead, the responsibility could be handed over to local authorities, the documents suggest.
Home Office chiefs have sparked anger by sending out an email reminding staff to celebrate Transgender Parents Day.

Shocked workers were informed that November 7 was the day we celebrate all parents of transgender children  an event first marked in 2009 in the US as an alternative to the traditional Mothers Day or Fathers Day.

The lengthy email, sent across the Government departments computer system on November 5, also included a personal account by a mother whose son transitioned from male to female at 22.

It was sent by Caroline Wild, co-deputy chairwoman of the Home Offices Spectrum Committee, which was set up to support the departments LGBT+ staff. She is both transgender and a parent.

She told staff: Whilst Transgender Parents Day remains today as a non-official date in the LGBTI+ calendar, the fact that it is becoming known gives parents who are trans and the parents of trans children an opportunity on a personal level to celebrate that the bond of family endures the transitioning of one of its members.

One Home Office worker said: 'It was quite triggering for me, especially because the whole spirit of the email is that we should be celebrating families going through this, when there are lots of families battling with issues such as children being encouraged to take puberty blockers. When we get emails telling us we should be happy about this sort of thing, that just sticks in the craw'

THE CHILLING ONLINE HIT-LIST Transgender activists have created a chilling piece of software that allows them to publicly label people online as transphobic. A colour-coded database has been drawn up, with those deemed anti-trans marked in red, and trans-friendly in green, on pages including Facebook, Twitter and Wikipedia. Internet-users can download the software, named Shinigami Eyes, to see the results. Last night, feminist campaigner Julie Bindel  marked red on Shinigami Eyes  said: This is extremely creepy and positively chilling. It is an insidious form of online harassment and bullying. Advertisement

But one Home Office employee, struggling with the challenge of parenting a teenager who says they are transgender, criticised the email as highly inappropriate.

She said: It bore no relevance to the work we do and nothing to do with the work of any branch of the Home Office.

This is a very subjective issue and its not an issue that everyone is going to be on board with.

Also, at the moment its an area thats very political. So emails like this make you feel as if someone is pushing a particular agenda. Weve had a few of these types of emails recently. We were sent something previously on Asexual Day.

The worker said she was particularly incensed by the celebratory nature of the email, adding: Anyone whos got any sense realises that these situations exist, but within the work arena at the Home Office its not the place to be dealing with issues that parents and families are struggling with.

It was quite triggering for me, especially because the whole spirit of the email is that we should be celebrating families going through this, when there are lots of families battling with issues such as children being encouraged to take puberty blockers. When we get emails telling us we should be happy about this sort of thing, that just sticks in the craw.

The backlash came as it emerged the Home Office is one of the Government departments still signed up to Stonewalls controversial diversity scheme for employers.

Home Office chiefs have sparked anger by sending out an email reminding staff to celebrate Transgender Parents Day

The programme has sparked widespread criticism that it fosters workplace cultures where employees who disagree with transgender ideology fear being silenced or even sacked.

Several high-profile public bodies have quit the scheme over the furore, including the Equality and Human Rights Commission and the BBC. Government departments covering health, education, work and pensions and the Treasury are also reviewing their links.

A Home Office spokesman said: To mark this internationally recognised day, an immigration enforcement officer outlined the support available from a number of organisations for young trans people and their families.
Ministers privately believe that falling Covid infection levels in the UK  and rising cases on the continent  amount to a vindication of Boris Johnsons decision to release lockdown restrictions earlier than European countries.

The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that about one in 60 people in England had Covid in the week to November 6  down from one in 50 the previous week.

Government sources are pointing to the contrast with Germany, which is in the grip of a devastating fourth wave with the number of confirmed daily cases quadrupling in a month.

FLASHPOINT: Riot police officers face anti-lockdown demonstrators as they gather in The Hague on Friday night

The Netherlands has returned to a three-week partial lockdown after its prime minister, Mark Rutte, said: The virus is everywhere and needs to be combated everywhere.

The move was greeted by anger on the streets of The Hague on Friday night as demonstrators hurled stones, fireworks and bicycles.

Riot police retaliated by firing water cannon after warnings that hospitals would be overwhelmed without closing bars, restaurants and supermarkets early. Austria is also set to impose a lockdown on unvaccinated people.

The UK is in a different position and yesterday Professor Neil Ferguson said Britain was in quite a different situation from those European countries.

The epidemiologist, dubbed Professor Lockdown for his modelling that influenced the first UK shutdown, added: I think it is unlikely we will get anything close to what we had last year, that catastrophic winter wave.

We might see slow increases as we did in October, for instance, but not anything as rapid as we saw last year.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4s Today programme, he continued: We cant be complacent, but at the moment I dont think well be in a situation the Netherlands is coming into where they really do need to get on top of rising case numbers using social distancing. I very much hope we can avoid that in this country.

The Netherlands has returned to a three-week partial lockdown after its prime minister, Mark Rutte, said: The virus is everywhere and needs to be combated everywhere.

Mr Johnson took the decision to open up in July based on advice that it would be better to experience a spike in infections before winter set in. It led to a surge in cases among school pupils and young adults, which is now starting to abate.

A Government source said: It was a bold move but it looks as if it has paid off  getting the worst out of the way while the evenings were still light and without the compounding effect of flu.

No 10 was also quicker off the mark in launching booster jabs for older people. The decision, which was made despite opposition from parts of the medical establishment who wanted to send stocks to poorer nations, has helped to protect the most vulnerable members of society from severe Covid illness.

On Friday, Mr Johnson warned of storm clouds gathering over Europe as a warning to encourage the over-50s to get their jabs as soon as they are eligible.

After a faltering start, 12 million people have now had their booster across the UK with 2.4 million given in the last week alone.

Epidemiologist Professor Neil Ferguson told BBC Radio 4's Today programme Britain was in quite a different situation from those European countries. Pictured speaking to the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee in June 2020

A new report on the boosters effectiveness in Britain is due to be published this week. But Professor Ferguson said the UKs quick booster rollout might be a fundamental reason it is now faring better than Germany, the Netherlands, and other continental countries.

By the start of November, Germany had only administered about two million boosters, with health minister Jens Spahn lamenting: That is much too few  the pace of boosters is not sufficient.

The German effort has been hamstrung by fighting between its vaccination committee  which has taken a cautious approach, only approving boosters for the over-70s  and politicians who want to go faster.

If every country waited for data before they do anything, we wouldnt have any data, a frustrated Mr Spahn has said.

Yesterday, the UK recorded 38,351 Covid cases in the past 24-hour period and 157 deaths.
Ghislaine Maxwell faces six charges including enticement of minors and sex trafficking of children, which carry a maximum punishment of 80 years in prison.

From 1994 to 2004, she allegedly 'facilitated and contributed' to the abuse of children by her ex-boyfriend, the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

The youngest alleged victim was just 14 at the time she claims she was sexually assaulted by Maxwell.

Four women, one British, are listed in the indictment although only American Annie Farmer has waived her anonymity.

Ghislaine Maxwell faces six charges including enticement of minors and sex trafficking of children, which carry a maximum punishment of 80 years in prison

The youngest alleged victim was just 14 at the time she claims she was sexually assaulted by Maxwell. Four women, one British, are listed in the indictment although only American Annie Farmer (pictured) has waived her anonymity

From 1994 to 2004, Ghislaine Maxwell allegedly 'facilitated and contributed' to the abuse of children by her ex-boyfriend, the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein (pictured with Ms Maxwell)

Farmer claims Maxwell posed as a 'big sister' figure before molesting her at Epstein's New Mexico ranch in 1996. She called Maxwell 'a sexual predator who has never shown any remorse'.

Prince Andrew's accuser Virginia Roberts is expected to attend the trial and may give evidence. She has described Maxwell as 'pure evil', saying: 'Epstein was a sick paedophile but Maxwell was the mastermind.'

Another alleged victim said: 'We thought she [Maxwell] was Mary Poppins because she acted like she was our friend and had that lovely English accent.

'But she turned out to be a monster in designer clothing. She lured us in. She knew exactly what she was doing. I hope she rots in hell.'

Maxwell faces a maximum of 80 years in prison if found guilty of abusing and procuring young girls for her ex-boyfriend, convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein (Pictured: Maxwell being led to court in an artist's sketch on November 1)

Maxwell has pleaded not guilty to all charges and has vowed to prove her innocence.

She claims she is being used as a scapegoat for Epstein, who committed suicide in August 2019.

'This will be a knock-down fight to the end,' said one lawyer involved in the case.

'Ghislaine is determined to prove she did nothing wrong and is prepared to enter the witness box and be cross-examined if necessary.

'She has maintained her innocence since the start and is determined to prove to the world she didn't do any of these heinous crimes she has been accused of.'

The trial starts on November 29 and is expected to last six weeks. Jury selection begins tomorrow.
The outgoing head of the UK Border Force has triggered a political row by describing bloody borders as just such a pain in the bloody a***.

Paul Lincolns incendiary remarks  made in a speech to mark his departure as director general of the Border Force  comes amid growing anger among Boris Johnsons backbenchers over the migrant crisis.

Last week, the number of asylum seekers crossing the English Channel in small boats hit a new daily record of 1,185. More than 23,500 have made the crossing from France so far this year, a sharp rise on the 8,404 in 2020.

Mr Lincoln, who left his position last month as part of a shake-up by Home Secretary Priti Patel, ended his speech by quoting lines from rock star Shane MacGowan, of The Pogues, saying: People are talking about immigration, emigration and the rest of the bloody thing. Its all bloody crap.

The speech by Paul Lincoln, pictured during a media briefing in Downing Street in May this year, concluded: Were all human beings, were all mammals, were all rocks, plants, rivers. Bloody borders are just such a pain in the bloody a***.

The speech, which has been obtained by The Mail on Sunday, concluded: Were all human beings, were all mammals, were all rocks, plants, rivers. Bloody borders are just such a pain in the bloody a***.

Last night, the Home Office declined to comment. A source confirmed that Mr Lincoln had made the remarks but declined to explain the context, saying only: It was a small part of a much wider speech to friends and colleagues.

However, a senior Government source said: We have held more meetings about the small boats than any issue other than Covid, but it just seems as if we are always banging our head against the wall. Perhaps this explains why.

Mr Lincoln left his 135,000-a-year post last month amid mounting criticism of the Border Forces handling of the Channel migrant crisis and the long queues endured by travellers at Heathrow.

He was one of four senior civil servants heading immigration enforcement to leave under changes Home Secretary Priti Patel made in response to growing frustration within the Government at the failure to stem the flow of migrants.

A spokesman said at the time Mr Lincoln had made the decision to depart, and described him as a hugely respected leader who had notched up major achievements.

There are fears within Whitehall that the situation will deteriorate further when migrants currently crossing from Belarus into the EU reach the Channel.

The crisis has stoked growing tensions between Tory MPs over the direction of the Government, especially from Red Wall MPs who handed Mr Johnson his majority in 2019 by seizing lifelong Labour seats in the North and Midlands.

Many are also furious at Mr Johnsons disastrous handling of the Owen Paterson sleaze row, and at being whipped to support the doomed effort to spare him from censure. The affair reignited a storm over Tory MPs lucrative second jobs and has given Labour its first sizeable poll lead in a year.

Migrants picked up by RLNI Dover lifeboat on record day for crossings on November 11

A Savanta ComRes survey published yesterday put Labour on 40 per cent and the Tories on 34 per cent, a switch from a three-point Tory lead to a six-point Labour lead in the space of a week

Last night, one Red Wall Tory MP, Rother Valleys Alexander Stafford, said the migrants crisis was more important for most voters than the COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow, which ended yesterday. The South Yorkshire MP said: Apart from Covid, dealing with the migrant crisis is the No 1 priority for my constituents. The Government must put relentless focus on sorting out the mess going on in the Channel.

Mr Stafford, the first Tory to represent the former mining community for more than 100 years, told The Mail on Sunday: People in my area  not just Tory voters  see the migrant crisis as hugely important. They voted heavily here to leave the EU and a key part of that was to regain control of our borders.

We are paying France 54 million to police that border but clearly, the French and the EU are reneging on their side of the bargain. We should suspend all further negotiations with the EU  including the Northern Ireland talks  until the French start stopping migrants.

Another Red Wall MP warned the Prime Minister that his handling of the crisis could define the future of his Government  more than the COP climate talks, more than sleaze, more than anything else  and could cost Mr Johnson victory at the next General Election.

The second group of up to 40 migrants brought into Dungeness Lifeboat station after being picked up in the English Channel, pictured on November 9

He added the Prime Minister had to show that the UK was not like some sort of hapless giant that could be slapped around, with no real control of its own borders.

He said: Were hosting this huge world climate conference but we cant stop people crossing 25 miles of water in a rubber dinghy.

Mr Johnson has appeared to recognise the scale of the anger by launching a belated charm offensive, inviting Tory MPs first elected in 2019 to drinks in Downing Street this week.

But angry Red Wallers said privately it would take more than a glass of warm white wine in No 10 to appease them.

Last night, the PM faced a parliamentary inquiry into his Governments lack of regard for scrutiny by the Commons. Lib Dem chief whip Wendy Chamberlain wrote to the Commons privileges committee to demand a formal inquiry.
Covid is set to for what health experts within the Government call a 'steady state'

The virus is expected to remain widespread within the population, with 'seasonal surges' in the winter like flu

Britain will have to learn to live with Covid as an 'endemic' illness for many years, according to leaked documents

Britain will have to learn to live with Covid as an 'endemic' illness for many years, according to leaked documents obtained by the Mail on Sunday.

The virus is expected to remain widespread within the population, with 'seasonal surges' in the winter like flu and other respiratory diseases.

But thanks to vaccine booster jabs, Covid is forecast to enter what Government health experts are calling a 'steady state', with hospital admissions not expected to exceed recent levels of about 750 patients per day.

'Given the extent of transmission throughout the world, we now have to consider how society might concurrently suppress and live with the virus and reach an endemic state for years to come,' one document, outlining the autumn strategy for the NHS Test and Trace service, states.

The virus is expected to remain widespread within the population, with 'seasonal surges' in the winter like flu and other respiratory diseases

The documents describe in detail for the first time the four different planning scenarios that have underpinned Boris Johnson's response to the third wave of the virus. They include an optimistic scenario, named 'quick farewell', in which Covid cases would have peaked in July at 30,000 per day, and a 'reasonable worst case' scenario, named 'long goodbye', which forecast a summer peak of 85,000 cases per day.

The central planning assumption is known as 'leaving soon' and would have involved a peak in July of 65,000 cases a day, with 'modest levels' by October. In fact, all of the scenarios were wrong.

Daily UK cases in the third wave peaked in July at 54,674 but then remained high for three months, hitting 52,009 on October 21. Since then the numbers fell steadily, before moving slightly upwards in recent days.

Daily UK cases in the third wave peaked in July at 54,674 but then remained high for three months, hitting 52,009 on October 21. Since then the numbers fell steadily, before moving slightly upwards in recent days

The central planning assumption is known as 'leaving soon' and would have involved a peak in July of 65,000 cases a day, with 'modest levels' by October. In fact, all of the scenarios were wrong

Mr Johnson last week warned that 'storm clouds' are gathering over Europe and said cases could rise in the UK

Government officials also privately believe that a World Health Organisation target of having 70 per cent of the world vaccinated is 'unlikely to happen'. Nearly 80 countries, half of them in Africa, are set to miss a separate target of vaccinating 40 per cent of their population by the end of this year

Ominously, the Government documents warn that 'an extreme event could emerge at any time'. This could include the spread of a vaccine-busting new strain or 'severe supply chain issues' with booster jabs.

'In any of our scenarios there is the potential for an unforeseen event or combination of events occurring to derail our planning and leave us in a worst case scenario with no end in sight,' one document warns.

New 'variants of concern', like the Delta strain which arrived earlier this year and quickly swept the country, remain a 'very real risk', it is claimed, especially if many people have Covid.

Mr Johnson last week warned that 'storm clouds' are gathering over Europe and said cases could rise in the UK.

Separate scenarios reported in the i newspaper yesterday show that the Government does not expect the pandemic to be declared over for at least another year.

Government officials also privately believe that a World Health Organisation target of having 70 per cent of the world vaccinated is 'unlikely to happen'.

Nearly 80 countries, half of them in Africa, are set to miss a separate target of vaccinating 40 per cent of their population by the end of this year.
Britain's ambassador to China has been accused of lobbying Cabinet Ministers on behalf of the Beijing regime.

Sources said that Dame Caroline Wilson, who was appointed to the critical diplomatic position last year, sends letters to Ministers attending secret meetings of the National Security Council (NSC) that effectively argue for the appeasement of China.

The move risks putting Dame Caroline at odds with Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, one of the most hawkish members of the Cabinet on China.

When Ms Truss and Dame Caroline discussed China during Ms Trusss previous job as International Trade Secretary, Dame Caroline asked why the UK didnt adopt a more emollient approach to China, similar to how we treat the French.

Dame Caroline Wilson, Britain's ambassador to China has been accused of lobbying Cabinet Ministers on behalf of the Beijing regime

Ms Truss replied: Because the French arent committing genocide. Beijing has faced international criticism for its persecution of minorities such as the Uighurs, including forced sterilisation and slave labour.

Ms Trusss promotion to the Foreign Office was a provocative move by Boris Johnson  placing a Brexiteer and China-sceptic Minister into a bastion of pro-EU and Sinophile diplomats.

Dame Carolines career at the Foreign Office is straight from central casting. After private school and Cambridge University, she took a degree in European Community law at the Institute for European Studies of the Universite Libre in Brussels  where she was later posted.

When she became ambassador she said that she would bring a mature, positive UK-China relationship, in line with UK values.

Her allies dispute the characterisation of her as slavishly pro-China, stressing that she has angered Beijing by supporting the principle of a free press in the country.

Ms Truss has argued that Britain must not become strategically dependent on China or submit to its economic coercion, saying she intends to build up alliances in the Indo-Pacific region to rein in Beijing.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is welcomed to. technology showcase event in Bogor by the Governor of West Java, Ridwan Kamil on November 12

The NSC was set up in 2010 by former Prime Minister David Cameron as the main forum to discuss foreign policy, defence, international relations and development, resilience, energy and resource security.

It is made up of eight Cabinet Ministers, including Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Ms Truss, although other Ministers attend when the agenda is relevant to their portfolios. The security threats posed to the UK by China and Russia are a top priority.

Last night, a Foreign Office spokesman said: We dont comment on leaks. Ultimately decisions at NSC are made by those Ministers attending, not officials. A source added that letters from ambassadors updating on the situation in their post are sent to Ministers regularly.
Universal free Covid testing is set to be scrapped under the Government's Rampdown plans.

Currently, anyone can request the delivery of free lateral flow tests to their homes, while those with symptoms are told to take free PCR tests, which are analysed in laboratories.

But a dossier leaked to the Mail on Sunday reveals that the Government is drawing up plans to scrap the hugely costly free tests. Instead, testing will be prioritised for the most 'vulnerable', including those in care homes and hospitals, and used to contain local outbreaks.

One document, written in September, shows how officials warned that the move could result in a stampede of families 'stockpiling' lateral flow tests. 'There is a risk that a public announcement on the end of free testing provision could lead to stockpiling of tests or incentivise people to access free testing through symptomatic routes.

Universal free Covid testing is set to be scrapped under the Government's Rampdown plans

Daily UK cases in the third wave peaked in July at 54,674 but then remained high for three months, hitting 52,009 on October 21. Since then the numbers fell steadily, before moving slightly upwards in recent days

The central planning assumption is known as 'leaving soon' and would have involved a peak in July of 65,000 cases a day, with 'modest levels' by October. In fact, all of the scenarios were wrong

Mr Johnson last week warned that 'storm clouds' are gathering over Europe and said cases could rise in the UK

Government officials also privately believe that a World Health Organisation target of having 70 per cent of the world vaccinated is 'unlikely to happen'. Nearly 80 countries, half of them in Africa, are set to miss a separate target of vaccinating 40 per cent of their population by the end of this year

'Any decision to charge for tests is likely to discourage the most vulnerable, including the poorest, from testing.'

The document also reveals that officials are preparing to kick-start a 'private testing market' in which companies will charge people for tests. About 500 firms offering 150 different testing products are already undergoing the accreditation process, the document states.

'We have put in place a foundation for a regulated private market for both PCR and LFDs [lateral flow devices] To mobilise a private market, we would need to signal publicly and directly a firm end date for universal free testing.'

Handing the whole lucrative testing regime over to private firms is likely to prove controversial. Currently, people have to pay for their own PCR tests for travel from the open market, which created a 'Wild West' of misleading advertising and inflated pricing.

Mass testing had been a critical part of Britain's fight against the virus, but a damning report by MPs last month found that despite an 'eye-watering' 37 billion budget over two years, NHS Test and Trace has failed in its main objective of helping stop the virus spreading.

More than 691 million free lateral flow tests have been distributed in the past year but only 96 million of these  14 per cent  have been used to register a test result with the NHS, the report by the Public Accounts Committee found.

France ended free tests last month and the six million adults there who are not vaccinated now have to pay between 18 and 37 per test.

Free tests were axed in Germany on October 11 and now cost 16. One option being considered in England is for the Government to initially charge people for tests, as early as January, before handing over to private firms.

Officials are also considering sweeping away regular testing in schools in the New Year as vaccination rates among pupils rise. Currently all secondary school and college students should take lateral flow tests at home twice a week.

Ministers have ruled that regular mass testing will last until at least the Christmas holidays but officials are considering whether to then ditch them in favour of targeted testing to manage local outbreaks.
A Canadian tribe understood and practiced sustainable fishing for a thousand years before European settlers demolished their carefully balanced system with their arrival in the 19th century, according to a new study.

The Tsleil-Waututh Nation that once thrived in British Columbia used sex selection when fishing to ensure the population of chum salmon remained robust enough for coming seasons.

Analyzing fish bones taken from the sites of Tsleil-Waututh villages around the Burrard Inlet, archaeologists found most of the remains were male.

The researchers said this indicates they released female salmon back into the water.

'If you take a good number of the males out of the system, the remaining males can still mate with the females to no detriment to the population,' lead author Jesse Morin, an archeologist with the University of British Columbia, told The Canadian Press.

'One male can mate with 10 females and have just as many baby salmon the next year.'

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Archaeologists in British Columbia ran genetic tests on ancient fish bones, some more than 2,000 years old, and found Tsleil-Waututh fishermen had been sex-selecting for male salmon and tossing the females back

The bones dated from between 400 BC and AD 1200, and were from four archeological sites around the Burrard Inlet.

'People were harvesting the same sort of fish consistently, probably from the same places, for 1,000 years,' Morin told the Press. 'Here we are ... [after] 150 years' worth of industrial harvesting, and we've really destroyed these resources.'

The study was recently published in the journal Scientific Reports.

The Tsleil-Waututh put large weirs, or partial dams, in the inlet to direct and then trap salmon preparing to spawn.

Only taking male fish kept the stock replenished, since one male can mate with as many as 10 females, researcher said. Pictured: Members of the Tsleil-Waututh First Nation sail with Olympic torch before the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010

the Tsleil-Waututh fished in the shallows of the Burrard Inlet (above) off Vancouver Island

The haul would then be brought ashore and sorted, with the females let go.

'I would imagine big traps set up for these weirs as well, so the salmon just swim into them,' Morin said.

'Big wickerwork traps, and then you just roll these traps off to the beach, out of the river, and then you pull up out the salmon that you want.'

The researchers analyzed fish vertebrae that had been collected during excavations in the early 1970s using a DNA test to screen for the Y chromosome found only in male fish.

If the Tsleil-Waututh had just been gathering fish at random, the breakdown between male and female would be closer to 50-50.

This is the first time the technique  called a polymerase chain reaction, or PCR test  has been used on ancient fish remains, co-author Tom Royle, a post-doctoral candidate in archaeology at Simon Fraser University, told the paper.

Humans came to British Columbia at least 14,000 years ago but Europeans didn't begin to visit the area until the 1750s.

By the mid 1800s, the Hudson Bay Company had set up trading outposts and the Vancouver Islands were colonized by the British.

An example of a weir used by the Quamichan of Vancouver Island

A subsequent gold rush brought more even Europeans to the region, who destroyed the Tsleil-Waututh weirs and began a process of overfishing that, coupled with climate change, has had a devastating impact today.

Almost all species of Pacific salmon are in decline and half of Canada's Chinook, some of which still spawn in Burrard Inlet, are considered endangered, according to the Guardian.

That's upset the environmental equilibrium and threatens the killer whales and grizzlies that prey on Chinook.

To help rebuild stocks, the Press reported, some members of the Tsleil-Waututh have refrained from fishing on their traditional territory even though they have treaty rights to do so.

The Tsleil-Waututh are just one of several Coast Salish Nations in the Pacific Northwest that developed sophisticated and sustainable fishing methods that were lost with the arrival of Western settlers.

The explorers exposed native coastal communities to disease and forced them from their culture and land.

In 1863, 30,000 natives  or 60 percent of the British Columbia's Indigenous population died from smallpox brought to the area by an unsuspecting miner from San Francisco, according to Macleans.

The decimation of local tribes in the century following first contact, leading to a loss of knowledge, skills and techniques.

Last month, archaeologists reported that wooden stakes in the shallows off Vancouver Island that had baffled historians for years are the last evidence of hundreds of ancient fish traps placed there by the K'omoks People between 1,300 and 100 years ago.

The traps would have provided food security for up to 12,000 K'omoks, the traditional inhabitants of the Comox Valley.

The sticks had been a mystery to archaeologists and even the modern K'omoks community.

Archaeologist Nancy Greene spent months recording the locations of the exposed stakes, which range from thumb-sized in the shallows to the size of a tree trunk in deeper water.

The remnants of more than 150,000 sticks are exposed during low tide in Canada's Comox estuary (pictured), off Vancouver Island

She recorded 13,602 exposed stakes made from Douglas fir and red cedar but predicted there would have been between 150,000 and 200,000 forming the core of 300 traps in the shallow wetland, according to Hakai magazine, one of the most extensive and sophisticated indigenous fishing operations ever recorded.

The traps were laid out in two styles  a heart-shaped one and a chevron-shaped trap that were lined with a removable woven-wood panel that let water in, but didn't let the fish get through.

Archaeologists found that the stakes are what is left of hundreds of ancient fish traps placed there by Canada's First Nation people between 1,300 and about 100 years ago

When the tide rose, herring and salmon flowed into the center and when it receded, they were stranded, ready to be collected by K'omoks fishermen.

According to Greene, they only took enough fish to meet their needs for trade and food, without depleting the overall stock.

If a spawn rate looked weak, the tribe would opt not to fish that season, according to K'omoks oral record, leaving them to reproduce.
In the future, space will be humanity's home and people will visit Earth on vacation, according to billionaire Jeff Bezos.

The Blue Origin founder said on Wednesday that in centuries to come, people will be born in space and live in giant floating cylinders that could house up to a million people and re-create Earth's gravity and environment, with 'rivers, forests and wildlife' and regular Terran weather.

Bezos made his prediction during a surprise appearance at a discussion about U.S. space policy featuring NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines.

'Over centuries, many people will be born in space, it will be their first home,' Bezos said. 'They will be born on these colonies, live on these colonies, then they'll visit Earth the way you would visit, you know, Yellowstone National Park.'

The talk was held at the Washington Cathedral as part of the 2021 Ignatius Forum in DC, hosted by Adi Ignatius, editor in chief of Harvard Business Review.

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In an appearance in Washington, DC, Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos predicted that, 'over centuries, many people will be born in space, it will be their first home'

Bezos has talked up his idea for space habitats, called 'O'Neill colonies,' before.

In a 2019 Blue Origin presentation, the world's second richest man described them the three-mile-long cylinders as having 'high-speed transport' and 'agricultural areas,' with some designed for recreation, Business Insider reported at the time.

Some areas would have zero gravity to allow inhabitants to fly recreationally, others might mimic Earth metropolises.

'This is Maui on its best day, all year long,' Bezos said of the colonies in 2019, according to The Guardian. 'No rain. No earthquakes. People are going to want to live here.'

An artist's concept of Bezos' O'Neill space colony, with agriculture and high-speed transport.

At the talk Wednesday, Bezos said even his company's name, 'Blue Origin,' was a nod to the idea of Earth as humanity's origin point, not its final destiny.

He named the colonies after physicist Gerard O'Neill, who theorized other planets might not be the best place to house humans beyond Earth.

Speaking at the forum Wednesday, Bezos said he agreed with O'Neill's suggestion.

'Even if you were to terraform Mars or do something very dramatic like that  which could be very, very challenging, by the way  even if you were to do that, that is, at most, a doubling of Earth,' he said.

'Then you're going from 10 billion people to 20 billion people.'

He said own trip beyond Earth in July was even more transformational than he had imagined.

'The magnitude of that experience was so much bigger than I could have ever anticipated,' he told the audience.

In his talk Wednesday, Bezos said future generations born in space colonies would visit Earth the way you would visit, you know, Yellowstone National Park'Yellowstone National Park (pictured)

'It really is such a change in perspective that shows you in a very powerful and emotional way, just how fragile this Earth is. I wish everyone could have that perspective.'

Bezos said his passion for space exploration started when he was 5 years old and Neil Armstrong stepped foot on the moon.

'I've always had the dream of having a company like Blue Origin to build what I see as the road to space.'

A longtime Star Trek fan, Bezos also commented on actor William Shatner's trip last month aboard a Blue Origin suborbital capsule.

'I opened the hatch and he came out of that capsule, and he was almost catatoniche could barely move. When he did start to speak there were tears moving down his cheek. It was transformational for him.'

The two men each gave each other 'the gift of space,' Bezos said. 'He gave it to me in fourth grade and I gave it to him when he was 90.'

Bezos, 57, also confirmed he believed in extraterrestrial life.

Jeff Bezos traveled to space on July 2021 with his younger brother, Mark, a teenage physics student and pioneering astronaut Wally Funk, 82.

'How could there not be? There are so many stars, just in this galaxy. And then so many galaxies,' he added.

Last week, Bezos and Blue Origin lost a lawsuit the company filed against NASA over a nearly $3 billion contract that the space agency awarded to SpaceX.

Blue Origin originally filed a suit in August that claimed NASA had originally intended to award multiple contracts for the lunar lander.

But NASA eventually chose the Elon Musk-led SpaceX as the sole provider for the $2.91 billion award.

'Blue Origin remains deeply committed to the success of the Artemis program, and we have a broad base of activity on multiple contracts with NASA to achieve the United States' goal to return to the Moon to stay,' a Blue Origin spokesperson said last week.

Blue Origin is still contracted with NASA to design sustainable landers, lunar space robotics and other technology.

Bezos publicly commented on the ruling, saying it was 'not the decision [Blue Origin] wanted, but we respect the court's judgement, and wish full success for NASA and SpaceX on the contract.'
Real Madrid are reportedly closely monitoring Paul Pogba's situation as the Manchester United midfielder is no closer to signing a new contract.

The 28-year-old suffered a thigh injury in training with France on Monday that could keep him out for the rest of 2021, with his current Red Devils deal running out in June next year.

Pogba's agent Mino Raiola said last month that 'there is no update' on whether his client will extend his stay at Old Trafford as MARCA report that Los Blancos are said to be 'remaining attentive' over the next few months ahead of a possible approach.

Paul Pogba's Manchester United future is no closer to being sorted as his contract ticks down

Pogba's agent Mino Raiola said last month that there was no update on his client's situation

He is said to have also attracted interest from Paris Saint-Germain, former club Juventus and Xavi's Barcelona.

If a new deal is not agreed by the January transfer window, Pogba can speak to other clubs and sign a pre-contract agreement before moving next summer.

While Real have been heavily linked with Monaco sensation Aurelien Tchouameni, the 21-year-old is viewed as someone who can be nurtured into a regular starter - much like compatriot Eduardo Camavinga - while Pogba is already equipped to take on that responsibility.

Ancelotti will need to perform major surgery on the team's midfield over the next couple of years.

Luka Modric, while still making a massive contribution to the cause at 36, will see his current contract expire in June and is likely to only get a year more at best.

Isco is out of favour under the Italian and is set to leave imminently, while Toni Kroos and the injured Dani Ceballos both see their contracts expire in 2023.

Real Madrid are weighing up a possible move for the Frenchman ahead of the January window

Pogba is more likely to slot into Real's starting line-up regularly than Aurelien Tchouameni

Federico Valverde, despite being tied down for the long term, is injury-prone, having missed 23 games since the start of last season with various issues, while Casemiro is set to be a long-term fixture in the side as well as Camavinga.

Pogba's salary could be a stumbling block though as, even though he would be a free transfer were he to move, he would be expecting at least the roughly 10million a year he is currently on at United for what would most likely be his last big contract, with MARCA reporting that Pogba would want a transfer bonus.

Despite Zinedine Zidane's public admiration of the midfielder, the Real legend's departure is said to have not dampened Pogba's enthusiasm for a move there.

Pogba may well be injured, but he would have missed the trip to Watford next Saturday anyway, having picked up a three-game league ban for a rash red-card challenge on Naby Keita in the 5-0 humiliation against Liverpool.

Pogba's biggest stumbling block to a Bernabeu move could well be his 10million-a-year salary

The former world-record signing has come in for some stinging criticism in recent weeks, with Paul Scholes saying after the sending-off that Pogba should never play for the club again, and following up that remark by claiming that the ex-Juve man was 'away with the fairies' and that he would still be making the same mistakes aged 35 after a sub-standard display in the 2-2 draw at Atalanta.

A win over the Hornets would be just the second league victory in eight for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men, who are now five points adrift of the Champions League places.

Real meanwhile are second in LaLiga, one point behind surprise table-toppers Real Sociedad, albeit with a game in hand on the team from San Sebastian.
Zaragoza is said to be home to more bars per capita than any other Spanish city. Yet, as raucous as this may sound, the capital of the region of Aragon  roughly halfway between Barcelona and Madrid  is nothing of the sort.

Most are elegant drinking holes tucked away on labyrinthine lanes, offering tasty tapas.

There are also two fine cathedrals, a Moorish castle, art museums  and no tourist hordes.

There's plenty to do in Zaragoza, from wandering around art museums to dropping in to elegant drinking holes

Where to stay

Hotel Hispania

Its entrance may be nondescript  hidden beneath a colonnaded walkway by a tram stop  but this homely hotel is brilliantly located by Mercado Central (Central Market) and the main city square, Plaza del Pilar. Staff are friendly, and rooms are spotless and good value. Breakfasts are 4.60 extra. Doubles from 39 (hotelhispania.com)

NH Ciudad de Zaragoza

Next to Puente de Santiago (Santiago Bridge), this slick, modern hotel has rooms with splendid views of the River Ebro and the Basilica del Pilar. Its a minimalist affair, and theres a cosy lobby bar. Its worth paying 10 extra for a better view. Doubles from 49 (nh-hotels.com).

The Puente de Santiago (Santiago Bridge), pictured above, sits next to the modern NH Ciudad de Zaragoza hotel

Hotel Inca

This boutique hotel is on a quiet lane 100 metres from Plaza del Pilar and a moments stroll from the Church of Santa Isabel. Rooms have a fresh look with splashes of modern art. The design is by renowned Spanish firm Alfaro-Manrique. Doubles from 42 (hotelincazaragoza.com)

Hotel Pilar Plaza

Overlooking Basilica del Pilar, this is great if you want to be bang in the centre. You can pay an extra 10 or so for a room facing the basilica, or opt for one of the fancy superior interior hot tub rooms for 30 more. Doubles from 40 (hotelpilarplaza.es).

What to see and do

Moorish masterpiece

The Palace of Aljaferia, pictured above, predates Granadas Alhambra and Sevilles Alcazar

The Palace of Aljaferia, with its turrets, towers and high stone wall, dates from the 11th century. It predates Granadas Alhambra and Sevilles Alcazar. Its enchanting courtyard has orange trees and intricate plaster reliefs in Arab designs. You must book ahead to visit. Entrance costs 4.20  call +34 976 28 96 83.

Brilliant basilica

According to legend, the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared as an apparition on a pillar before the apostle St James the Greater at the site of what is now the Basilica del Pilar. The extraordinary cathedral, built around the 17th and 18th centuries, is free to visit (catedraldezaragoza.es).

It's free to visit the extraordinary Basilica del Pilar (pictured), which was built around the 17th and 18th centuries

Tapestries and towers

The other famous Christian place of worship is the Catedral de San Salvador, which is home to a collection of French and Flemish tapestries.

A 5.90 ticket also gives you a ride up one of the neighbouring basilicas towers (catedraldezaragoza.es).

Enjoy some Goya

Just off Plaza del Pilar, Museo Goya houses 75 works of the 18th- and 19th-century Spanish artist Francisco de Goya, including evocative etchings of bullfights and tavern scenes. Entrance costs 5.10 (museogoya.ibercaja.es).

Where to eat

Bodegas Almau

Dine at Bodegas Almau, pictured, which has a charming interior lined with wine bottles. Picture courtesy of Creative Commons

El Fuelle restaurant in Zaragoza. While in the city, try tapas or tender roast lamb, an Aragon speciality

Many of the best restaurants are in the Old Towns popular El Tubo area.

Bodegas Almau (bodegasalmau.es), dating from 1870, has a charming interior lined with wine bottles and a courtyard with barrel tables.

Delicious tapas featuring chorizo, cheeses, olives, Iberico hams and salty/sweet anchovies are served at speed. It costs about 30 for eight dishes with a bottle of wine.

La Ternasca

Next door to Bodegas Almau, the bustling La Ternasca (laternasca.com) specialises in tender roast lamb, an Aragon speciality.

A perfectly cooked portion with potatoes and roasted peppers costs 15. Other dishes include steaming chorizo, tomato salads and chicken fritters with oyster sauce. A meal for two with wine costs about 40.

El Champi

Also in El Tubo, El Champi is a cheap, no-nonsense tapas bar serving chilled canas (small beers) of local Ambar lager, regional wines and a signature tapas dish: three mushrooms drenched in garlic sauce, topped with a prawn and skewered to a baguette. Delicious. A drink and tapas cost 3.50.

Cibeles

On Plaza de Santiago Sas in the Old Town, Cibeles is a great spot for a breakfast of tortilla, crepes or ham and tomato toasties. A slice of tortilla and a coffee is 3.

The exterior of Mercado Central, which houses stalls that offer cured meats, cheeses, fresh fruit and vegetables

Mercado Central

Most of this old central market (mercadocentralzaragoza.com) with a wrought iron roof comprises stalls with cured meats, cheeses, fresh fruit and vegetables.

In the middle are a couple of relaxed bars serving olives, anchovies and tortillas. It costs about 4 for a beer and tapas.

Need to know

Double-jabbed visitors are welcome in Zaragoza with proof of vaccinations. Pictured to the centre-right is the city's Catedral de San Salvador

A return ticket from Stansted to Zaragoza costs from 9.50 (ryanair.com). Airport-to-city buses cost 1.60 and take 45 minutes. Complete a Spanish Health Control Form before travel (spth.gob.es). Double-jabbed visitors are welcome with proof of vaccinations.

Visitors should wear face masks at all times except when dining (mscbs.gob.es). You must book a lateral flow test to be taken before day two of returning and complete the UKs Passenger Locator Form, too (gov.uk).
Boost Juice founder Janine Allis has sold her beachside Fairhaven home in a $10 million dollar deal.

Allis, 56, who is also a former reality TV star, listed the pad in Victoria earlier this year as her family plan to move north to the Northern Beaches in NSW, Realestate.com.au reported on Friday.

The stunning Great Ocean Road home was famously featured in the original 1979 Mad Max film as Max's beach house and had garnered a lot of interest from buyers before the sale.

What a deal: Boost Juice founder and reality TV star Janine Allis has sold her stunning 'Mad Max' beachside pad in a $10 million dollar deal

'It was a relatively quick sale - the people definitely knew what they were looking for and acted on it,' recalled Great Ocean Properties, Aireys Inlet agent Marty Maher.

Maher explained the buyers love the 'privacy' offered by the pad and the beachside location.

The sale of the home is a brand new property record for the Surf Coast Shire.

A piece of movie history: The Great Ocean Road home was famously featured in the original 1979 Mad Max film as Max's beach house

'The people definitely knew what they were looking for and acted on it': The stunning property garnered a lot of interest from buyers, according to Great Ocean Properties, Aireys Inlet agent Marty Maher

The best on the coast: The sale of the home is a brand new property record for the Surf Coast Shire

Allis had purchased the home with her family back in 2000 for $1.1 million.

She transformed the former beach shack and piece of movie history into a striking, contemporary pad.

The 3009 square metre property features five bedrooms, six bathrooms, powder room, balcony, media room, outdoor pool and a private car space for four vehicles.

There is also generous open living spaces that always provide clear, expansive views of the gorgeous beachside scenery and surrounding landscape.

Transformed: Allis had purchased the home with her family in 2000 for $1.1 million. She changed the former beach shack into a striking, contemporary pad

Inclusions: The 3009 square metre property features five bedrooms, six bathrooms, powder room, balcony, media room, outdoor pool and a private car space for four vehicles

'It's just such a special place,' said Allis.

'You have everything on your doorstep  you see dolphins and whales out the front and you get these incredible views,' she added.

Janine founded Boost Juice in 2000 - the same year she purchased the home.

She is also a former TV star who appeared on Shark Tank, the sixth season of Australian Survivor in 2019 and the fifth season of Celebrity Apprentice in 2021.
Christina Applegate was pictured on the set of Netflix's Dead To Me for the first time since she revealed her multiple sclerosis diagnosis in August.

The 49-year-old actress was seen flashing a fake baby bump while shooting scenes on the beaches of Malibu on Thursday with co-star Linda Cardellini, 46.

After Applegate revealed her diagnosis over the summer, production had come to a halt with CBS and Netflix releasing a joint statement about giving the Married With Children star 'time and space' to process it all.

Back to work! Christina Applegate, 49, was pictured back on the set of Dead To Me in Malibu on Thursday with co-star Linda Cardellini, after her multiple sclerosis diagnosis caused production to halt to give her 'time and space'

Christina was seen laying on a beach chaise in striped pants and a turquoise long sleeve T-shirt with a very prominent fake baby bump  which teases a large development in season three.

Her blonde locks were styled in soft curls and a spray bottle of sunscreen and glass of water were pictured on the table beside her.

Laying next to her was Cardellini who looked beach chic in a red flowing dress with an oversized straw hat while sipping on wine.

The ladies  who star as Jen (Applegate) and Judy (Cardellini) were seen doing a few takes of the scene while a hefty group of production personnel looked on.

Multiple delays: The show was renewed for a third and final season in July 2020 but on account of the COVID-19 pandemic production was delayed until the spring of 2021 which then was halted again after Applegate's MS news

Back with a bang: In honor of the show's production return a large group of production personnel were seen camped out on the beach in Malibu on Thursday

In the hit Netflix show Christina stars as Jen Harding  a mother, widow and realtor who develops a friendship with Cardellini's Judy Hale when they meet at a grief support group.

Hale is a health care assistant with a dead fiance who has endured five miscarriages, and the women  who both have their fair share of dark secrets  bond over their shared trauma.

Season two premiered in May 2020  and earned Applegate a nomination for Lead Actress in a Comedy Series at the 71st primetime Emmys.

The show was renewed for a third and final season in July 2020 but on account of the COVID-19 pandemic production was delayed until the spring of 2021.

Expecting? Christina was seen laying on a beach chaise with a very prominent baby bump  which teases a large development in her character Jen's life in season three

Just two months after production started up again, Applegate went public with her MS diagnosis which delayed filming for a second time.

On August 9 she tweeted the news revealing she had been diagnosed months prior and called it a 'tough road.'

'Hi friends. A few months ago I was diagnosed with MS. It's been a strange journey. But I have been so supported by people that I know who also have this condition. It's been a tough road. But as we all know, the road keeps going. Unless some a**hole blocks it.'

In a follow-up tweet she wrote in excerpt: 'So now I ask for privacy. As I go through this thing. Thank you xo.'

Going public: Just two months after production started up again, Applegate went public with her MS diagnosis which delayed filming for a second time, as she shared the news via Twitter

Challenges: Prior to her MS diagnosis, Applegate had been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008, but after undergoing a double mastectomy she revealed she was cancer free; pictured January 2020

ollowing the announcement, CBS and Netflix threw their support behind her and production went dark.

'We love and support Christina and respect her privacy as she takes the time and space she needs in this moment,' reps told the Hollywood Reporter.

Prior to her MS diagnosis, Applegate had been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008 and underwent a double mastectomy.

Following the procedure she revealed she was cancer-free, and Dead To Me even included that storyline in the show.

Season three is currently slated to hit the streaming giant sometime in 2022.
Olivia Munn and her mother Kim Schmid are being sued for wrongful death by the family of a man hired to replace the roof on their home, fell, and died weeks later due to the injuries according to a new report.

The pregnant 41-year-old actress and her mother have been named in a lawsuit obtained by TMZ on Friday as it is claimed Celso Merida was hired to replace the roof in May but on the fourth day of work he fell and suffered several critical injuries.

According to the legal documents, the man died a few weeks later as the cause of death was noted as blunt force traumatic injuries.

DailyMail.com has reached out to representatives for Munn and have not heard back.

Lawsuit: Olivia Munn (seen in February 2020) and her mother Kim Schmid are being sued for wrongful death by the family of a man hired to replace the roof on their home, fell, and died weeks later due to the injuries according to a new report

Controversy: The pregnant 41-year-old actress and her mother (seen in an Instagram post) have been named in a lawsuit obtained by TMZ on Friday as it is claimed Celso Merida was hired to replace the roof in May but on the fourth day of work he fell and suffered several critical injuries

In the lawsuit it was claimed that the actress and her mother had hired an unlicensed contractor named Fernando that had hired Merida whose family says the two were negligent in recruiting an unlicensed contractor.

Merida's family also claim that Olivia and her mother had instructed him to work on the roof despite required safety guards and fall protection not being in place as the legal documents say the environment created what the family describes as an unreasonable risk of injury.

It is also claimed in the lawsuit that the star and Kim did not give the man the proper tools for him to work safely on the roof in addition to not participating in a workers compensation program.

Debate: In the lawsuit it was claimed that the actress and her mother had hired an unlicensed contractor named Fernando that had hired Merida whose family says the two were negligent in recruiting an unlicensed contractor

Merida's family also claim that Olivia and her mother had instructed him to work on the roof despite required safety guards and fall protection not being in place as the legal documents say the environment created what the family describes as an unreasonable risk of injury

Ultimately Merida's family is suing Olivia and her mother for wrongful death and going after damages.

Munn had previously featured the home for a '73 Questions' video with Vogue back in June 2014.

It is an interesting time in Olivia's life as she is currently pregnant with her first child with comedian John Mulaney.

Fan-driven speculation that Olivia was pregnant first began when images of her wearing a baggy sweatshirt and sweatpants surfaced, sending Twitter into a frenzy.

Days later, Mulaney confirmed the pair's baby bliss during a September 7 appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers.

Baby love! Munn and her boyfriend John Mulaney are expecting their first child together; pictured June 2021

'I'm gonna be a dad': Days later, Mulaney confirmed the pair's baby bliss during a September 7 appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers

'I got into this relationship that's been really beautiful with someone incredible. And we're having a baby together. I was nervous when I was about to say the news!'

'I'm gonna be a dad. I'm... we're both really, really happy,' he continued to say.

Earlier this month Olivia said she was 'scared' but 'excited' as she prepared to welcome her first child.

'I'm looking at everything I have to open up and it's overwhelming,' the star went on.

'I feel good. l feel scared. I feel nervous, and I'm excited. I feel every day the feelings are just rotating through,' she said on the Today show.
Kim Kardashian delighted her fans with a new Instagram post on Friday.

The 41-year-old trendsetter shared three photos from a trip to New York City she took in September.

On a roll: Kim Kardashian delighted her fans with a new Instagram grid post for the second day in a row

In the trio of snapshots Kim posed in a glossy all-black look, consisting of pants, a turtleneck, and a trench coat - all in the same shiny material. Sticking to her new go-to accessory, she added a pair of black gloves.

On her feet, the mom-of-four rocked a pair of black and brown booties with a heel.

Even though she was indoors, Kim flaunted a pair of narrow black shades for the photo opp.

Kim stood on a carpeted floor in front of a white wall in one snapshot. In another she crouched down as she clutched a black flask with 'H20' written on it in white.

Lithoplast XI Earrings from Balenciaga hung from her ears. The reality TV personality's long, dark hair was parted down the middle and slicked behind her ears.

Strategic: Known for her carefully-curated social media feed, the SKIMS founder waited for just the right time to share the images

One image included her big sister Kourtney Kardashian, her fiance Travis Barker, and Kim's BFF LaLa Anthony.

Travis wore a short-sleeve, white, graphic t-shirt, white pants, and black shoes.

His future bride Kourtney donned a satin corset-like top with very thin straps, and sheer arm warmers.

She wore black pants with cutouts and criss-cross laces. Her hair was styled in a wet and wavy look.

Flashback: The 41-year-old trendsetter shared three photos from a trip to New York City she took in September

LaLa was also in a completely black ensemble. She wore a black bodysuit with large cutouts at the midriff and chest, showing off ample cleavage.

On top of the one-piece she layered a full-length black jacket with a dramatically thick collar.

Her dark hair was in a perfectly-positioned power ponytail at the top of her head.

All three women rocked carefully made up glam looks on their visages.

Proud mother: The share comes after the entrepreneur shared photos of her children on Thursday

Kardashian simply captioned the photos, 'Swipe.'

Lala reposted the group snapshot on her Instagram page. She captioned it: 'The cool kids.'

The share comes after the entrepreneur shared photos of her children on Thursday.

In the precious pictures the siblings posed together on a haystack. Kim, who shares the tots with estranged husband Kanye West, wrote: 'Heart and Soul.'

Wedding guests: Thursday night Kim made a surprise appearance at Paris Hilton's Bel-Air wedding ceremony, where she attended with friend Kimora Lee Simmons as her date; seen with Nicole Richie

Thursday night Kim made a surprise appearance at Paris Hilton's Bel-Air wedding ceremony, where she attended with friend Kimora Lee Simmons as her date.

Kim wore a strapless black Rick Owens gown with angular cutouts down the center of the front and back of the bodice.

Her glossy raven hair was parted in the middle and slicked back into a dramatically long, tight braid. And she was seen in the same Balenciaga earrings that she wore in the photos she posted on Friday.
Alessandra Ambrosio sent temperatures soaring when she stepped out for dinner with her beau Richard Lee on Thursday night.

The 40-year-old supermodel showed off her ample cleavage in a sexy little black dress as she and her beau left the Giorgio Baldi restaurant in Santa Monica.

The Brazilian beauty's endless legs were on full display in the short dress as she picked up her car from the valet.

Date night: Alessandra Ambrosio sent temperatures soaring when she stepped out for dinner with her beau Richard Lee on Thursday night

The former Victoria's Secret Angel's clingy long-sleeved dress featured a scooped sweetheart neckline.

Alessandra draped a chic brown blazer over her shoulders as she strolled to her car.

The catwalk queen accessorized with gold earrings, gold statement rings and gold necklaces, one of which had a heart pendant.

Sizzling: The 40-year-old supermodel showed off her ample cleavage in a sexy little black dress as she and her beau left the Giorgio Baldi restaurant in Santa Monica

She sported Lucite stiletto sandals and carried a black leather and silver clutch handbag.

The stunning brunette wore her long glossy locks parted in the center and half-up, half down.

Richard was clad in a gray turtleneck under a black jacket with black trousers and black and white sneakers.

Chivalrous: Lee was seen opening the passenger door of the car for his girlfriend as they left the upscale Italian eatery

Lee was seen opening the passenger door of the car for his girlfriend as they left the upscale Italian eatery.

Last month, the pair dressed up in matching blue Squid Game tracksuits while celebrating Halloween in Los Angeles.

Ambrosio was first seen out with Richard in March after she split with her boyfriend of three years, Nicolo Oddi.

The couple frequently share romantic posts about each other on social media.

In June, Alessandra posted a photo of the two in Las Vegas and wrote in the caption, 'Happy birthday to my favorite person in the world @_bigasia. I Love you with all my heart meu coracao !!!'

Sweet: The couple frequently share romantic posts about each other on social media. In June, the pair went to Las Vegas to celebrate Richard's birthday

Lee, who is also a model, shared an image of the loved-up couple in September. He captioned the shot: 'You are everything good in this existence, and I cant look at you without being compelled to fall in love with you.

'Obrigado, meu amor. For the love you give me. It is as endless as your soul, and perfect in its passion. The best of you is your heart, and I am so grateful that you give a part of it to me. Te amo, meu tudo.'

Alessandra and Richard have also been spotted out with Ambrosio's daughter Anja, 13, and son Noah, nine.

The runway star shares her two children with her former fiance Jamie Mazur.
Khloe Kardashian was looking and feeling fierce on Friday.

The reality star, 37, proudly her body on display in a leopard print workout jumpsuit by Sweat Glo.

Posing this way and that on her Instagram Stories, Khloe even gave fans a close-up look at her backside as she showcased the outfit's ruched detailing.

Wild thing! Khloe Kardashian proudly her body on display in a leopard print workout jumpsuit by Sweat Glo on Friday

The jumpsuit fit Khloe, who loves hitting the gym, like a glove, and accentuated her beautifully toned body to full effect.

The spaghetti strap jumpsuit fit snug around her waist and clung to her ankles.

She was perfectly styled in the videos with her blonde hair tumbling down in loose waves and a coat of makeup complimenting her famous face.

In the video, Khloe gave a shout-out to Evelyn Lozada for sending her the outfit.

Cat's meow! The jumpsuit fit Khloe, who loves hitting the gym, like a glove, and accentuated her beautifully toned body to full effect

Simply stunning: She was perfectly styled in the videos with her blonde hair tumbling down in loose waves and a coat of makeup complimenting her famous face

'I love this workout jumpsuit. Evelyn just sent me this and it's so fab. But check out the butt detail, there's all this ruching. It makes your butt look real good.'

She gave a close-up shot of her derriere as she raved about the garment's many details.

'So there's this detail here. It laces up here. It's so cute! Ev, I'm so proud of you!'

Va va voom: The beauty showcased her backside as she admired the garment's many details

Dangerous curves ahead! The jumpsuit clung to her phenomenal body

Khloe looked overjoyed in the video after recovering from COVID-19 alongside daughter True, three, who she shares with on-off beau Tristan Thompson.

On October 29, Khloe had tweeted: 'Hi guys I wanted to let you know True and I tested positive for Covid. I've had to cancel several commitments and I'm sorry I won't be able to make those happen.

'Luckily I have been vaccinated so all will be ok. We will be over here in quarantine and following current guidelines.'

Up close and personal! The star showed off the ruched detailing of her backside

All glammed up: The 37-year-old showed off her dazzling earrings

But despite having recovered from a breakthrough case of COVID-19, recently Khloe came under fire for posting a thirst trap series just three days after Travis Scott's Astroworld tragedy in Houston, Texas.

She was lambasted for being 'tone deaf' and 'uncaring' with one person quipping 'People are dead Khloe,' after she seemed to go back to posting as usual in wake of the tragedy.

Additionally people were quick to note that though Kylie Jenner had penned a statement on behalf of she and Travis  understandably being closest to the mass casualty incident which killed eight  none of the other sisters had spoken out.

Following Khloe's public shaming, sister Kim penned an Instagram statement which was then re-posted by the Good American founder, with Kendall Jenner (who was also present at the Houston based festival) also speaking out shortly after.
Amber Turner sent pulses racing as she made her way to the launch party for her new shoe range with Envy at London's Ours restaurant on Friday night.

The TOWIE star, 28, turned up the heat as she flashed her ample assets in a white mini dress, which highlighted her svelte waist.

Joining her was Georgia Steel, 23, who left little to the imagination as she showed off some serious underboob in a black cutout crop top.

Emerging: Amber Turner (left) sent pulses racing as she made her way to the launch party for her new shoe range with Envy with Georgia Steel (right) at Ours restaurant on Friday night

Strutting her bronzed legs through the city in a pair of lace-up silver heels, Amber clutched a miniature nude handbag and donned a pair of gold hoop earrings.

Accessorising her look with a coordinating watch and bracelet, she wore her bleach blonde tresses in gorgeous waves and painted her lips an eye-popping shade of red.

Georgia paired the sizzling number with a pair of matching baggy trousers and heels, while slinging a charcoal handbag over her shoulder.

Sizzling: The TOWIE star, 28, turned up the heat as she flashed her ample assets in a white mini dress, which highlighted her svelte waist

Posing: Strutting her bronzed legs through the city in a pair of lace-up silver heels, Amber clutched a miniature nude handbag and donned a pair of gold hoop earrings

Looking good: Georgia paired the sizzling number with a pair of matching baggy trousers and heels, while slinging a charcoal handbag over her shoulder

Centre of attention: Accessorising her look with a coordinating watch and bracelet, she wore her bleach blonde tresses in gorgeous waves

Unmissable: Amber had painted her lips an eye-popping shade of red for the outing

Her glossy chocolate locks had been styled into a chic fringe and she posed for photographers with her hands in her pockets.

Mia Sully exhibited her enviable physique in a tight brown midi dress featuring darker stripes while accessorising her look with a peach handbag.

The influencer sported a pair of matching heels and had sensationally applied a set of fluttering eyelashes to her beautiful bronzed visage.

Stunning: Mia Sully exhibited her enviable physique in a tight brown midi dress featuring darker stripes while accessorising her look with a peach handbag

Show-stopping: The influencer sported a pair of matching heels and had sensationally applied a set of fluttering eyelashes to her beautiful bronzed visage

Vision: Chloe Brockett certainly put her best fashion foot forward in snakeskin printed bell-bottom trousers while showing off her cleavage in a black bra

Team: Fellow Essex natives Chloe and Courtney Green joined the trio for a stunning group picture on the streets of swanky South Kensington (L-R Georgia, Amber, Mia, Chloe, Courtney)

Fellow Essex natives Chloe Brocket and Courtney Green joined the trio for a stunning group picture on the streets of swanky South Kensington.

Chloe certainly put her best fashion foot forward in snakeskin printed bell-bottom trousers while showing off her cleavage in a black bra.

Courtney flashed her toned pins in a smart grey blazer, while cutting a pair of knee-high black leather boots and a matching handbag.

Dressed to impress: Meanwhile, Georgia Harrison put her best fashion foot forward as she headed to Duo Shoreditch's launch party in East London

Confident: She elevated her height with a pair of black heels and tied her light brown tresses into a sleek bun

Woah! Amber Woods was a vision in an eye-popping green crop top and matching skirt. Theo Campbell teamed up a white T-shirt with a black denim jacket

Emerging: AJ Bunker wrapped up in a light brown trench coat

Stylish: She carried a black crocodile skin clutch, along with her mobile phone

Meanwhile, Georgia Harrison put her best fashion foot forward as she headed to Duo Shoreditch's launch party in East London.

The former Love Island contestant showcased her toned midriff in a green snakeskin-printed crop top, which she teamed up with a pair of burgundy vinyl trousers.

Flashing a peace sign for onlookers, she elevated her height with a pair of black heels and tied her light brown tresses into a sleek bun.

Legs for days: Once inside, she stripped off the coat to reveal a sizzling green mini dress
Eamonn Holmes has been tipped to replace Simon McCoy on GB News as part of a lucrative deal.

Holmes, who has hosted ITV's This Morning for 15 years, has been offered a top presenting role, it is understood.

Sources said one possibility is that he could take over Great British Breakfast, currently hosted by former BBC News anchor McCoy, who is expected to leave by the spring.

Insiders said 61-year-old Holmes would probably leave This Morning if he took that job. He presents the show with his wife Ruth Langsford, also 61, during the school holidays.

Insiders said 61-year-old Eamonn Holmes would probably leave This Morning if he took the GB News job. He presents the show with his wife Ruth Langsford, also 61, during the school holidays

There has been speculation for months that McCoy, 60, will quit GB News, following the departure of lead presenter and chairman Andrew Neil.

One insider said nothing had been 'formally agreed' with Holmes and described the situation as an 'early conversation'. However, some reports have said the move was sealed.

It is also rumoured that Holmes might end up presenting his own show on the channel a couple of times a week. Holmes angered ITV bosses last year when he appeared to promote conspiracy theories about 5G technology and coronavirus.

Since its launch in June, GB News has been hit with an advertising boycott, technical problems, plummeting ratings and the departure of senior executives. Speaking to the Daily Mail in September, Neil described his stint at GB News as the 'worst eight months of my career'.

A GB News spokesman declined to comment on the Holmes' reports.
Gus Worland has been best friends with Hugh Jackman for five decades.

The Triple M radio host has gone on many wild adventures with the famous actor, 53, including singing songs at Kirk Douglas' 100th, private jet rides, overseas birthdays and smoking Cuban cigars on the set of Jackman's 2001 thriller film Swordfish.

In an interview with Stellar, Worland, 52, revealed that the friendship between the duo began at the young age of five in the early 1970's.

Great mates: Radio personality Gus Worland has revealed how he and Hugh Jackman became best friends

'At age five at Pymble Public School, the teacher goes, "OK, grab someone by the hand." I get Wolverine,' the radio personality recalled.

Worland and Jackman have been inseparable since, enjoying a fruitful mateship for nearly five decades.

One of the most memorable nights the radio host remembers is when he and the X-Men star attended Hollywood actor Kirk Douglas' 100th birthday party in Los Angeles in December 2016.

History: In an interview with Stellar, the 52-year-old radio host said the pair's friendship began at school in the early 1970's when they were both only five-years-old

'One of the greatest nights was when he sang three songs from Les Miserables at Michael Douglas' dad's 100th birthday in LA,' Worland said before revealing that Douglas even offered the pair a ride to New York in his private plane.

Besides his role in the media, Worland is also passionate about mental health and is the founder of suicide prevention charity Gotcha4Life.

He credits his friendship with Jackman to bringing his message on mental health to the public eye in his 2016 ABC docuseries Man Up, which delves into male suicide and masculinity.

Wild adventures: One of the most memorable nights the radio host remembers is when he and the X-Men star attended Hollywood actor Kirk Douglas' 100th birthday party in Los Angeles in December 2016. Both pictured together with actor Zac Efron (right)

'He (Jackman) is generous, caring and loving; we've been best friends for almost 49 years and we're real with each other. And our friendship has gone to a much deeper level since Man Up,' Gus continued.

Worland added that if he hasn't heard from his best friend for a few days, he'll send him a voice message to see what he's been up to.

The radio host revealed the replies he usually gets from Jackman often amount to something along the lines of 'I've been busy preparing to host the Oscars'.
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Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid and Hailey Bieber were all spotted stepping out to dinner in Miami Beach this Friday night.

The trio of supermodels had flown down to Florida in order to attend the seaside wedding of their friend Lauren Perez.

And after the nuptials were over they were seen getting together with their sizzling male model friend Fai Khadra for an evening out on the town.

On the town: (from left) Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid and Hailey Bieber were all spotted stepping out to dinner in Miami Beach this Friday night

Kendall was seen unleashing her animal instinct in a zebra print dress with a plunging neckline that threw her cleavage into relief.

Letting her luxurious dark hair down, she sharpened her screen siren features with makeup and accessorized with a black handbag.

Her sensational cocktail dress, which was perfectly fitted to accentuate her hourglass frame, complemented her simple black shoes.

Meanwhile Bella bared her sculpted midriff in a low-cut polka dot crop top and a matching skirt, opting for sandals with straps up to the knee.

Handsome: And after the nuptials were over they were seen getting together with their sizzling male model friend Fai Khadra for an evening out on the town

The little sister of Gigi Hadid added a splash of dazzle to the look with a couple of necklaces as well as a pair of hoop earrings.

Hailey on the other hand slid herself into a strapless walnut brown dress that emphasized her decolletage.

The wife of Justin Bieber wore a simple unobtrusive necklace and clashed her dress fashionably against a white purse.

During the wedding Bella and Kendall, who appeared as if they might be bridesmaids, were wearing matching blue dresses and holding bouquets.

Meanwhile: Bella bared her sculpted midriff in a low-cut polka dot crop top and a matching skirt, opting for sandals with straps up to the knee.

Hailey, who was in a brown sequined Magda Butrym and had no bouquet, was nevertheless seated on the same row as Kendall and Bella for the ceremony.

The wedding itself took place on the beach with seats arranged on the sand, so the delighted supermodels were sitting barefoot as Lauren tied the knot.

Kendall went viral that evening for flashing the flesh in a revealing black peekaboo ensemble during the reception.

Bella, Kendall and Hailey set off for their Florida getaway as all three of their families cope with massive public controversies.

Looking fab: The little sister of Gigi Hadid added a splash of dazzle to the look with a couple of necklaces as well as a pair of hoop earrings

Hailey's uncle Alec Baldwin accidentally killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza with a prop gun on the set of the film Rust last month.

Meanwhile Bella's family is involved with a scandal involving her mother Yolanda Hadid and Gigi's ex Zayn Malik, with whom Gigi shares a one-year-old daughter.

Zayn and Yolanda allegedly had an altercation recently, and although he has denied claims he was physically violent, he pled no contest to four harassment charges.

On the go: The wife of Justin Bieber wore a simple unobtrusive necklace and clashed her dress fashionably against a white purse

He cannot have any contact with Yolanda or the security guard who saw the incident, and must complete an anger management course and 360 days probation.

The fracas reportedly started when Yolanda entered Gigi and Zayn's Pennsylvania home without Zayn's permission while Gigi was in Paris for work.

A week ago Kendall and her pregnant sister Kylie attended an Astroworld festival concert by Kylie's beau Travis Scott where a deadly crush of bodies occurred.

When you got it: Kendall was seen unleashing her animal instinct in a zebra print dress with a plunging neckline that threw her cleavage into relief

The death toll from the tragic incident rose to nine this Thursday when computer science student Bharti Shahani succumbed to her injuries in the hospital.

Footage shows the music briefly stopped as an ambulance tried to get through the crowd - then the music resumed and Travis vowed to make the 'ground shake.'

His performance, which also included a surprise spot by Drake, went on for half an hour after the fire department declared a 'mass casualty event.'
He has been recognized and acclaimed for his acting, directing and screenwriting, which resulted in two Academy Award wins over his career.

But on Thursday, Ben Affleck played the role of doting dad when he went to personally pick up at least one of his three children out front of their school in the Santa Monica neighborhood of Los Angeles.

And from the looks of his big beaming smile, the Good Will Hunting star was looking forward to spending some quality time with family over the weekend.

Ben Affleck, 49, couldn't hold back his enthusiasm when he went to pick up at least one of his children out front of their school in the Santa Monica neighborhood of Los Angeles on Friday

Affleck, 49, couldn't hold back his enthusiasm when he pulled his car up to greet the pickup line organizer for the school.

He could be seen smiling, while behind the wheel, as he exchanged a few pleasantries with one of the workers in charge of making sure students are safe when they're dropped off and picked up by their parents or guardians.

The Gone Baby Gone writer and director made small talk with the woman for a minute or two, and eventually he was off, seemingly to spend time with some, if not all, of his three kids he co-parents with ex-wife Jennifer Garner.

The actor, director and writer was all smiles when he played the role of doting dad and made small talk with a pickup line organizer

Affleck and Garner are the proud parents of daughters Violet, 15, and Seraphina, 12, and son Samuel, nine.

The former couple were married for 10 years before deciding the separate and move forward with their divorce in 2015.

With talk of Affleck's battle with substance abuse, and subsequent in and out-patient treatments, they would end up finalizing their divorce in November 2017.

After dating actress Ana de Armas following their work together on Deep Water in 2019, Affleck has since rekindled his romance with superstar entertainer Jennifer Lopez, whom he previously had a relationship with from 2002 to 2004.

Family man: Both Affleck and Garner make a point of picking up daughters Violet, 15, and Seraphina, 12, and son Samuel, nine, from school over the years; the leading man and his children are pictured while out to lunch after school in September 2021

On the work front: Affleck is just winding down filming for the sci-fi action thriller, Hypnotic, which is slated to wrap on November 19.

The film, which also stars Alice Braga, Hala Finley, Dayo Okeniyi, William Fichtner and JD Pardo, follows a detective who becomes entangled in a mystery involving his missing daughter and a secret government program, while investigating a string of impossible high-end heists.

Affleck also stars in the coming-of-age drama film, The Tender Bar, directed by George Clooney, that drops on January 7, 2022.

Fans will get to see the work he and his former lady, Ana de Armas, did together on Deep Water when its premieres on January 14, 2022.

He also slipped into the role of Bruce Wayne / Batman for the DC Comics superhero film, The Flash, with Ezra Miller portraying the iconic Barry Allen / The Flash.

It is scheduled to be released in the United States on November 4, 2022.
Alicia Silverstone wasn't clueless when she found out Paul Rudd was named sexiest man alive.

The actress, 45, posted a video to her TikTok and referenced an iconic moment from the classic 1995 film Clueless in which she co-starred alongside the actor, 52.

In the TikTok, Silverstone's character, Cher, looked up to the sky at a superimposed image of Paul Rudd on the cover of People and mouthed, 'Oh My God' while Know Yourself by Drake played in the background.

Responding to the news: Alicia Silverstone cracked a Clueless joke when she found out that Paul Rudd had been named People's Sexiest Man Alive (pictured September 2021)

The Batman & Robin star captioned the video, 'I mean... Cher's been saying he is kind of a Baldwin since 1995.'

Silverstone's caption refers to a moment in the film when her character goes through a long inner monologue regarding Josh, the character Rudd plays in the film.

The monologue goes, 'He dresses funny, he listens to complaint rock, hes not even cute in a conventional way. I mean, hes just like this slug that hangs around the house all the time! Ugh! And hes a hideous dancer, couldnt take him anywhere.'

Taking to social media: In the TikTok, Silverstone's character, Cher, looked up to the sky at a superimposed image of Paul Rudd on the cover of People and mouthed, 'Oh My God'

Aging like fine wine: Paul Rudd was named People's Sexiest Man Alive earlier this week at 52 years old

A cultural icon: Alicia Silverstone made a reference to her beloved film Clueless that came out in 1995

She then changes her tone saying, 'What am I stressing about, this is like, Josh. Okay, okay, so hes kind of a Baldwin.'

'Oh my god! I love Josh! Im majorly, totally, butt crazy in love with Josh! But now I dont know how to act around him.'

Silverstone has come a long way since playing Cher in the 1990s classic, and she's still acting quite a bit.

Co-stars: Rudd and Silverstone co-starred in the movie more than 25 years ago

Keeping busy: Silverstone, seen in 1996, has stayed busy over the years and currently has several projects on the way

The Golden Globe nominee currently has two films currently in post-production including the Rebel Wilson lead Senior Year and the survival film The Requin.

She is currently filming Reptile, a film she will star in that follows a hardened detective as he pursues a case that slowly dismantles the illusions of his life. Silverstone will star opposite Benicio Del Toro.

While her professional life is booming, her personal life has been more of a bust in recent years. The Rock My World actress recently admitted on The Drew Barrymore Show she was kicked off Bumble for using a fake name and then again later on even though she was using her real name.

Silverstone was married to Christopher Jarecki from 2005 to 2018. The couple had one child, Bear, together in 2011.
He starred as the title character in the original Dune movie in 1984.

And on Thursday, Kyle MacLachlan returned to the world of Arrakis when he attended the red carpet premiere of the latest film adaptation of the epic science fiction saga in Queensland.

The 62-year-old actor was all smiles as he posed for the camera in front of the poster for the new movie.

He's back! Kyle MacLachlan (pictured right) starred as the lead character in the original Dune. And on Thursday, he attended the premiere of the latest film adaptation in Queensland

The Twin Peaks star dressed casual in a long-sleeve black button-up, navy-blue jeans and completed the look with a pair of black and white sneakers.

MacLachlan is currently in Queensland, Australia filming the upcoming Joe Exotic TV series, which is based on the 2020 Netflix documentary miniseries Tiger King.

Kyle is playing Howard Baskin, the husband of Carole Baskin who owns Big Cat Rescue and was a significant star in the documentary.

All smiles: MacLachlan poses with his friend and his friend's son at the premiere

Carole will be portrayed by comedic actress Kate McKinnon.

At the premiere for Dune, Kyle also took photos with Joe Exotic TV producer Dan Kaplow, cinematographer Jules O'Loughlin and Screen Queenslands Head of Studios Derek Hall.

The Joe Exotic series is currently in production at Screen Queenslands Studios in Brisbane.

Cheers! The Hollywood actor raised his beer bottle in the air and toasted the new film

Kyle famously played Paul Atreides in the original 1984 Dune, which was directed by MacLachlan's long time friend and filmmaker David Lynch.

The science fiction epic was also MacLachlan's film debut, after which he starred in Lynch's mystery thriller Blue Velvet in 1986.

The latest version of Dune stars Timothee Chalamet in the lead role.

It is directed by Denis Villeneuve, who previously helmed Sicario, Arrival, and Blade Runner 2049.

Watch the iconic series Twin Peaks, on Stan in Australia.
Maggie Gyllenhaal was seen attending Film Independent Presents An Evening With...Maggie Gyllenhaal at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills on Friday.

The 43-year-old performer appeared to be enjoying the spotlight as she posed for a few solo shots during the event, where she discussed various aspects of her upcoming film, The Lost Daughter.

The forthcoming feature previously premiered at the 78th Venice International Film Festival, and it will be released on the Netflix streaming service next month.

Featured guest: Maggie Gyllenhaal was seen attending Film Independent Presents An Evening With...Maggie Gyllenhaal at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills on Friday

Gyllenhaal sported an all-black ensemble that included a sleek sleeve dress that covered up much of her form.

The Frank actress also wore a pair of high-heeled shoes and accessorized with several hoop earrings.

Her beautiful brunette locks were cut short and fell towards her shoulders and backside during the event.

Gyllenhaal began working on The Lost Daughter in 2018 when she acquired the rights to the project.

Doing her thing: Gyllenhaal began working on The Lost Daughter in 2018 when she acquired the rights to the project

The film is based on Elena Ferrante's novel of the same name, which was published in 2008.

In addition to serving as the project's director, the actress also penned its screenplay.

The story is centered on a woman who becomes obsessed with a young mother and her daughter and eventually confronts her own memories of early motherhood.

Olivia Colman stars as Leda Caruso, and Jessie Buckley portrays a younger version of the character.

Adaptation: The film is based on Elena Ferrante's novel of the same name, which was published in 2008; stars Olivia Colman, Dakota Johnson and Jessie Buckley are seen at the 65th BFI London Film Festival in October

Also included in the feature's cast are performers such as Dakota Johnson, Ed Harris and the director's husband, Peter Sarsgaard.

Physical production on the project initially began in September of last year, with Greece serving as a primary filming location.

Producer Talia Kleinhendler previously spoke to Deadline and told the media outlet that Gyllenhaal was well-prepared to direct the feature.

'Maggie is not a novice, because she's been on sets half her life. So, she has a very, very good understanding of how films work, especially on set,' she said.

Good to go: Producer Talia Kleinhendler previously spoke to Deadline and told the media outlet that Gyllenhaal was well-prepared to direct the feature; she is seen at the 24th SCAD Savannah Film Festival in October

Kleinhendler then spoke about the performer's strengths as a filmmaker and noted that she was well-prepared to helm a feature for the first time.

'I think...[Gyllenhaal] has two qualities that I think make her brilliant as a director. One is she really knows what she wants, but two is, she's very open to learning and understanding new things,' she said.

The feature went on to premiere at the Venice International Film Festival, where it was met with widespread approval from critics and audiences.

High praise: The feature went on to premiere at the Venice International Film Festival, where it was met with widespread approval from critics and audiences

Gyllenhaal notably won the Golden Osella Award for Best Screenplay during the Film Festival.

The Lost Daughter was also nominated for the Golden Lion Award for Best Film, although it lost to the period drama Happening.

The feature is currently set to have a limited release on December 17th, and it will be made available on the Netflix streaming service on the 31st of that month.
Crown Princess Mary of Denmark was every bit the friendly royal as she stepped out to attend a state school in Copenhagen on Friday.

The 49-year-old attended the educational institution in a bid to work on one of her charity's initiatives which helps prevent and deal with bullying in the school.

For the outing, she wore a pair of wide-leg grey trousers, teamed with a navy turtleneck sweater and a long black coat.

Feeling charitable: Crown Princess Mary of Denmark was every bit the friendly royal as she stepped out to attend a state school in Copenhagen on Friday for her anti-bullying charity

Mary completed her ravishing look with pencilled brows, a sweep of blush on her cheek bones and a few coats of neutral coloured lipstick to accentuate her stunning features.

For the low-key but important event, she let her mousey brown locks fall loosely on her shoulders.

As she walked through the playground, the Australian native was all smiles when greeted by students and their families.

At one stage, some children even gave her a high five.

Fashionable royal! For the outing, she wore a pair of wide-leg grey trousers, teamed with a navy turtle neck and a long black coat

All smiles: As she walked through the playground, the Australian native was all smiles when greeted by students and their families

Still humble: At one stage, some children even gave her a high five

Photos of her visit were documented on the Denmark royal family's Instagram account.

'At Vigerslev Alles School in Copenhagen, they work with the school well-being program Skolestyrken, which @mary_fonden together with Brns Vilkar and Save the Children is behind,' the caption began.

'Vigerslev Alles School is one of the country's first schools to have worked with the School Force, and on that occasion Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess visited the school today to hear more about the school's participation in the program,' the message continued.

Making a difference: Photos of her charitable visit were documented on the Denmark royal family's Instagram account.

Royal future: The Crown Princess will become Queen of Denmark when Frederik ascends to the throne, following the death or abdication of his mother

The Crown Princess will become Queen of Denmark when Frederik ascends to the throne, following the death or abdication of his mother.

When Mary met Frederik at the Slip Inn during the 2000 Olympics, she had no idea he was the heir to a European throne.

The couple maintained a long distance relationship until Mary moved to Copenhagen where they married in May 2004.

Denmark's future king and queen share four children, Prince Christian, 15, Princess Isabella, 14, and 10-year-old twins, Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine.
Justin Hemmes has added another venture to his impressive portfolio of pubs and clubs.

The billionaire celebrated the opening of his new inner west Sydney restaurant, Totti's Rozelle, on Thursday.

The 49-year-old was in great spirits as he was joined by a number of friends, including girlfriend Madeline Holtzangel, 26.

New venue: Justin Hemmes (pictured) has added another venture to his impressive portfolio of pubs and clubs. The billionaire celebrated the opening of his new inner west Sydney restaurant, Totti's Rozelle, on Thursday

Surrounded by gorgeous women and a number male pals, Justin was animated and even left the venue with a drink in hand.

Madeline was also in good spirits, dancing and chatting inside the venue, raising her arms in the air at times.

She left the restaurant holding a gold trophy in the air as she strolled to a waiting car.

Happy days: Madeline left the restaurant holding a gold trophy as he strolled to a waiting car

Looking good: Model Madeline was dressed casually in a black tank top

The model was dressed in a black tank top with a pair of skinny jeans in a matching dark tone.

Her blonde hair was pulled off her face and behind her ears at one point, while wearing it down the rest of the time.

Justin stopped to talk to a bearded male friend outside the venue, before the friends all piled into a car.

Ready for fun: She had on a pair of skinny jeans in a dark tone

Friends: Justin was in the company of several female friends

Having fun! He flashed a smile as he left the venue alongside friends

Back in black: He was wearing a black jumper and matching jeans

Good times: Madeline carried a small Yves Saint Laurent purse with a gold logo on the front

Madeline and Justin's relationship has been going from strength to strength.

Justin shared a sweet tribute to girlfriend Madeline Holtznagel on her 26th birthday in October.

Posting a rare image of the pair together to his Instagram Stories, the pub baron marked the occasion with a sweet caption.

What a night! The beauty seemed in a great mood indeed

Hoot! She raised her hand in the air as she bopped he way to the car

Friends like these! Justin's posse all left together after the festivities

Pals: Justin placed his hand on the shoulder of one friend as they exited

'Happy birthday beautiful girl,' he wrote alongside a photo of the couple arm in arm and beaming for the camera.

In August, Madeline had herself paid tribute to her boyfriend as he celebrated his 49th birthday.

'Happy birthday' the beauty captioned a sweet set of black and white images shared to Instagram.

Cheers! The pub owner held onto his drink as he left the restaurant

All white! One of Justin's friends was a leggy brunette in an all white ensemble

Hipster chic: Justin was wearing his hair tied off his face and was sporting a man bun

Listen, listen! A bearded mate pulled Justin aside for a chat outside

Funny! The men stood outside having a very animated conversation

One photo showed the pair embracing on a cliffside with an ocean view in the background while a second photo depicted the pair linking hands as they enjoyed a drink alongside a beach.

The couple have remained quite private through the duration of their relationship.

While it's not known exactly how long Justin and Madeline have been dating, she hinted their relationship has carried on longer than many people expect.

Happy days: Madeline and Justin's relationship has been going from strength to strength

Tribute: Justin shared a sweet tribute to girlfriend Madeline on her 26th birthday in October

Tributes: In August, Madeline had herself paid tribute to her boyfriend as he celebrated his 49th birthday

History: Speaking to The Sydney Morning Herald in October, Madeline said they'd actually met two years before reports emerged of their relationship early last year

Speaking to The Sydney Morning Herald in October, Madeline said they'd actually met two years before reports emerged of their relationship early last year.

'We have known each other for two years and met when I was modelling in Singapore,' she said at the time.

It was also reported that Madeline was living in a penthouse apartment owned by Justin in the Sydney beachside suburb of Coogee.
Kourtney Kardashian sizzled in a sexy outfit as she left a dinner in West Hollywood on Friday with her fiance Travis Barker.

The Poosh founder, 42, and the Blink-182 drummer, 45, held hands as they headed home after attending Simon Huck's pre-wedding party at the Sunset Towers Hotel.

Kourtney looked incredible in a black lace mini dress and PVC coat worn over the top as she commanded attention with her outfit.

Together: Kourtney Kardashian sizzled in a sexy outfit as she left a dinner in West Hollywood on Friday with her fiance Travis Barker

She showed off a hint of her ample assets and toned and tanned pins in the revealing number and boosted her height with huge heels.

Meanwhile Travis also rocked an all-black ensemble, with a leather jacket and tight jeans.

The newly engaged couple were seen in good spirits as they left the swanky eatery together clutching each others hands.

Wow: Kourtney looked incredible in a black lace mini dress and PVC coat worn over the top as she commanded attention with her outfit

It comes after last weekend Travis joined the whole Kardashian clan  minus Kendall and Kylie Jenner  as they celebrated mom Kris Jenner's birthday on Friday evening.

He had paid tribute to his soon-to-be mother-in-law on social media and even gifted her a stunning bouquet of red roses.

Though the drummer had been a longtime family friend who was always welcomed at family gatherings, slipping a ring onto Kourtney's finger solidified his spot in their most intimate circle.

Travis' ex Shanna Moakler gave a seemingly two-faced seal of approval on their engagement this week following some cryptic posts, as she told Page Six: 'I think they're very deserving of one another...I hope they get good ratings.'

Out and about: The Poosh founder, 42, and the Blink-182 drummer, 45, held hands as they headed home after attending Simon Huck's pre-wedding party at the Sunset Towers Hotel

Their sighting comes amid woes in the Kardashian-Jenner family, after her half-sister Kylie's boyfriend Travis Scott's concert was thwarted by tragedy last week.

Scott's catastrophic Astroworld set on Friday November 5, saw a rampage that left eight dead and many injured. Cops said 367 police officers and 241 security officers were working the event prior to the crush.

Harrowing accounts from concert-goers had described the show as 'hell,' with one eyewitness saying it was a 'floor of bodies.' Others had even described the show as having 'demonic energy' as a whole.

Photo dump: It comes after Travis' ex Shanna Moakler gave the pair a seemingly two-faced seal of approval on their engagement as she told Page Six 'I think they're very deserving of one another...I hope they get good ratings'

The event left eight dead and 11 victims were in cardiac arrest and needed CPR, with the youngest deceased concert-goer being just 14-years-old.

As of November 7 two lawsuits have been filed against the rapper.

A man by the name of Manuel Souza who attended the Houston music festival, filed a lawsuit on Saturday in Harris County District Court, suing Scott himself, as well as organizer ScoreMore and concert giant Live Nation.

A second attendee by the name of Kristian Paredes filed a civil lawsuit against both he and Drake, blaming the rappers for negligently inciting 'a riot and violence,' and seeking $1 million in damages.
Peter Andre has hit back at his ex-wife Katie Price's claims he's making money from her ahead of her fourth wedding to fiance Carl Woods.

Katie, 43, has jetted out to Las Vegas to tie the knot with Carl, 32, and after stories emerged that Pete and her other ex-husband Kieran Hayler had sent legal letters raising concern for their children over the plans, she hit out at them on Instagram.

Naming Pete and Kieran in a damning Instagram post, she wrote: 'I'm asking you both kindly to leave me alone now and stop making money from my name.'

But Pete, 48, broke his silence this weekend to deny her allegations he was trying to make money off of her ahead of the nuptials and 'never gets involved' when it comes to commenting on her turbulent love life.

'I never get involved': Peter Andre has hit back at his ex-wife Katie Price's claims he's making money from her, ahead of her fourth wedding to fiance Carl Woods (pictured in June)

'Nice try though' Pete denied all of Katie's claims as he took to his Instagram story to let 'anyone interested' know he wasn't involved

He wrote bluntly: 'I don't do stories. It's not my bag. I never get involved. Just thought I'd let anyone interested know. Nice try though [smiley emoji].'

Pete, who generally doesn't engage with Katie's social media activity, took to Instagram with his side of the story after the reality star made accusations online.

Katie had posted on her Instagram story she felt ex-husbands 'Peter and Kieran have contributed to the state of my mental health' and asks them both to stop using their children as a 'pawn because it isn't fair.'

The exes, who met in the I'm A Celeb jungle in 2004 and split in 2009 after four years of marriage share children Junior, 16, and Princess, 14.

At war: Katie told Pete and Kieran to leave her alone after a story emerged claiming she could be kept away from her children if she marries Carl Woods (pictured in Vegas with Carl)

A lifetime ago: Katie and Peter met in the I'm A Celebrity jungle in 2004 were married from 2005 and 2009 and share children Junior, 16, and Princess, 14 (pictured together in 2004)

The online spat comes as pals of her ex-husband Kieran claimed Katie could be kept away from some of her children if she marries Carl in Las Vegas.

A friend told MailOnline both Kieran and Peter have sent legal letters raising concerns for their children Junior and Princess and Jett, eight, and Bunny, seven, if the troubled model goes ahead with marrying former Love Island star Carl.

The pal branded Katie 'a selfish mother' for putting herself first rather than focussing on the relationship with her family, who they claim have been kept in the dark about her fourth marriage.

They told MailOnline: 'Kieran and Peter are livid Katie hasn't taken the children's feelings into consideration and has gone completely behind everybody's back.

'Pete has already sent legal letters today. Kieran feels she is putting Carl first and is a very selfish mother and has done this because all she cares about is her relationship with him.'

'Selfish mother': A friend told MailOnline both Kieran and Peter have sent legal letters raising concerns for their children including Jett and Bunny (pictured) if the model marries Carl

The source claims Katie's children, in particular Jett, doesn't want to be around their future stepdad Carl and they're 'shocked' the former Loose Women panelist 'wants to marry a man that her children don't like.'

MailOnline understands that Katie plans to get married in the next couple of days and will broadcast the nuptials on her YouTube channel.

However, the source believes it is unlikely Katie will have the time to buy a white gown for the occasion, adding 'they wouldn't be surprised if she walks down the aisle in some prostitute's dress or a short skirt and high heels, which is so her style right now.'

'All she cares about is him': The online spat comes as pals of her ex-husband Kieran claimed Katie could be kept away from some of her children if she marries Carl

Katie was pictured on Friday drinking what appeared to be an alcoholic cocktail despite the fact she was meant to have taken a course at The Priory following her drink drive charge at the end of September.

The mother-of-five faces a possible prison sentence after pleading guilty to drink-driving and admitting taking drugs after a crash near her home in Sussex.

Kieran's friend added they believed Katie would have 'laid low' following the charge in which she is due to be sentenced on December 15 and questioned how she was allowed to go to America given 'how strict' rules are allowing tourists into the country.

They're also surprised Katie has agreed to have a second Vegas wedding after she married her third husband Alex Reid, 46, in Sin City 10 years ago.

'Pete has already sent legal letters': The source revealed to MailOnline Pete, pictured with Junior, and Princess, along with his wife Emily, is acting over 'concerns' for his children

Friends close to Kieran said he had no idea she was flying to America or getting married to Carl but as soon as he saw her in Vegas, he knew she would be walking down the aisle 'because she's obsessed with this romance.'

However, the pal doubts this marriage will last very long, and won't receive backing from her close family members including her mum, Amy.

They said: 'Their marriage will be over before it's even got going, which will be embarrassing for them. I would love to know what her mum thinks, what Amy f***ing Price thinks.'
Emily Ratajkowski welcomed her first child, Sylvester Apollo Bear, in March.

And the stunning American model incurred the wrath of critics when she showed off her flat tummy in a mirror self shared to Instagram just 11 days after his birth.

Despite the backlash, the 30-year-old says she 'doesn't pay attention' to comments about her body.

Looking good: Emily Ratajkowski welcomed her first child, Sylvester Apollo Bear, in March. And the stunning American model incurred the wrath of critics when she showed off her flat tummy in a mirror self shared to Instagram just 11 days after his birth (pictured)

'I have a hard relationship with that kind of stuff because it's just my body and it's my experience,' she tells this week's Stellar Magazine.

'I think that women's bodies get talked about whether you snap back too fast or not quick enough, or your boobs are too big or too small, or you're too skinny or too fat or whatever.'

Australian actress Claire Holt, 32, best known her role on Vampire Diaries, was among those who took a swipe at Emily in March, and said that she found her post 'annoying'.

'Women's bodies get talked about whether you snap back too fast or not quick enough, or your boobs are too big or too small, or you're too skinny or too fat or whatever' she says. 'I've just sort of gotten used to it to the point that now I don't even pay attention'. Pictured last week

'It it makes other people feel s**ty about themselves, and it's not normal, and you're an outlier, and you're lucky,' Claire wrote in post on Instagram.

'I've just sort of gotten used to it to the point that now I don't even pay attention' Emily told Stellar of the criticism.

Elsewhere in the interview, Emily revealed how motherhood has changed her for the better.

Changes: Elsewhere in the interview, Emily revealed how motherhood has changed her for the better. 'I see things differently... Becoming a mother  it's definitely the hardest I've ever worked in my life' she said. Pictured with her son

'I see things differently... I felt so much growth from my previous self. It felt nice, like I'm evolving, and my life is growing and changing, and that feels really satisfying.' she said.

'Becoming a mother  it's definitely the hardest I've ever worked in my life. Nothing compares to it. And I don't think anybody can prepare you for it. But it's also, of course, incredibly rewarding.'

Emily and her husband Sebastian Bear-McClard, who married in 2018, welcomed Sebastian, their first child together, into the world in March 2021.

Family: Emily and her husband Sebastian Bear-McClard (left), who married in 2018, welcomed Sebastian, their first child together, into the world in March 2021

Announcing his birth on Instagram, Emily gushed: 'Sylvester Apollo Bear has joined us earth side. Sly arrived 3/8/21 on the most surreal, beautiful, and love-filled morning of my life.'

When Emily announced her pregnancy in Vogue, she wrote that she didn't want to reveal the child's gender.

'When my husband and I tell friends that I'm pregnant, their first question after: "Congratulations" is almost always "Do you know what you want?"' she wrote.

'We like to respond that we won't know the gender until our child is 18 and that they'll let us know then,' she shared.
Brooke Blurton recently spoke about the hardships she dealt with growing up in the Western Australian town of Carnarvon.

And just days after doing so, The Bachelorette star, 26, revealed she has devoted time in her day to attend to her own mental health.

'I hugely prioritise taking care of my mental health, which I think comes with looking at it from a more holistic way,' she told Health Hacker of The Daily Telegraph.

Self-care matters: After recently speaking about the hardships she dealt with growing up in the Western Australian town of Carnarvon, The Bachelorette's Brooke Blurton revealed she has devoted time in her day to attend to her own mental health

'I like to take care of myself by making sure Im doing everything to give myself the best nourishment, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

'I feel that these are all entwined and all need attention at different times. When Im nourishing my body with healthy food and exercise, I feel like my mental health is at its peak,' she added.

Earlier this week, Brooke shared heartbreaking details from her childhood, as she was raised in the Perth town of Carnarvon.

The coastal town has recently become infamous as the home of four-year-old kidnap victim Cleo Smith and her alleged abductor.

And Blurton gave details of her own harrowing childhood in the region in an interview with SBS' Noongar Dandjoo.

Brooke (pictured) has spoken about the hardships she dealt with growing up in the Western Australian town of Carnarvon

Brooke told the program she lived in Carnarvon 'up until I was about 11, when my mum, unfortunately, passed away... she committed suicide.'

She spoke of developing her passion for mental health after 'growing up with a lot of drug and alcohol violence in my childhood'.

She said at one stage life with her 'volatile' mum 'had gotten so bad that we were once removed from school and put straight into a foster home without her knowledge.'

'We were treated well in care and that became the comparison that helped me to develop expectations.'

The coastal town has recently become infamous as the home of four-year-old kidnap victim Cleo Smith (pictured) and her alleged abductor

'I did have a loving family but my mum just struggled to provide us with what we needed,' she explained. 'There were socio-economic environmental factors that affected us.'

In her TED Talk, How Do You Introduce Yourself?, Brooke disclosed that following her mother's death, she was sexually abused, and went to live with her father.

She was later kicked out of his home at the age of 15 and 'the same feelings I had at 11 came rushing back.'

She recalled asking herself, "'Why won't I be loved? Why will I never be good enough? And why do I honestly keep bouncing from home to home?'"

The 26-year-old star of this year's The Bachelorette lived in Carnarvon 'up until I was about 11, when my mum, unfortunately, passed away... she committed suicide.' Brooke pictured here with her late mother

Carnarvon is a coastal town situated approximately 900 kilometres north of Perth.

It had a population of 4426 as of the 2016 Census.

Carnarvon native Cleo's disappearance from a remote Western Australian campsite on October 16 sparked a mass police search and made headlines around the world.

It coincidentally occurred the day after Blurton's interview about her hometown was published.

Carnarvon is a coastal town situated approximately 900 kilometres north of Perth. Pictured

She was found alive and well inside a Carnarvon home 18 days later, having been allegedly abducted by Terry Kelly, 36, who was later arrested and is awaiting trial.

Detectives used crowbars and battering rams to kick in the door and free Cleo about 12.46am last Wednesday from a home just seven minutes away from where she lives with her mum Ellie, stepdad Jake Gliddon and baby sister Isla.

Remarkable bodycam footage captured the moment Cleo was rescued by detectives, with the brave little girl clinging to her savior as she is gently spoken to and told she would soon see her 'mummy'.

'I did have a loving family but my mum just struggled to provide us with what we needed,' Blurton explained of her childhood in the region

In her TED Talk, How Do You Introduce Yourself?, Brooke disclosed that following her mother's death, she was sexually abused, and went to live with her father

Earlier this year, tragedy struck again for Blurton when she received the news her sister Kye had died.

'I do like to think I live a very private life but I kinda felt like I wanted to share with you where I'm at,' she shared on Instagram back in August.

'I've thankfully had huge support from production and friends working tirelessly to get me back into WA,' she added.

Brooke was granted a special exemption to attend her sister's WA funeral amid the state's strict Covid lockdown.
She has been there from the start for her niece's lavish three-day wedding celebrations.

And Kyle Richards looked upbeat as she arrived at Paris Hilton's 'Paris World' wedding carnival with her husband Mauricio Umansky on Friday night.

For the fun-filled evening, Kyle rocked a bright yellow blazer, black leather leggings and a pink purse.

Party time: Kyle Richards looked upbeat as she arrived at Paris Hilton's 'Paris World' wedding carnival with her husband Mauricio Umansky on Friday night

Kyle looked happy to be at the star-studded event as she threw out peace signs to onlookers while she walked.

She accentuated her toned legs with a pair of black leather-look boots that perfectly matched her skin-tight leggings.

The brunette beauty wore her chestnut tresses in a sleek middle parting and accentuated her features with a full face of glamorous make-up.

Kyle looked to be having the time of her life as she approached the many carnival games at the fun-filled event.

Stylish: For the fun-filled evening, Kyle rocked a bright yellow blazer, black leather leggings and a pink purse

'I'm gonna win a pillow here,' Kyle told her followers on Instagram as her pal held up a plush cushion with Paris' face emblazoned across the front.

Paris and her husband Carter Reum had rented out the famous Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, California to host the star-studded 'Paris World' carnival.

The event saw the likes of Demi Lovato, Billy Idol, and the socialite's mother Kathy and sister Nicky Hilton.

Stunning: She accentuated her toned legs with a pair of black leather-look boots that perfectly matched her skin-tight leggings

Flawless: The brunette beauty wore her chestnut tresses in a sleek middle parting and accentuated her features with a full face of glamorous make-up

The celebration comes after the couple tied the knot in front of countless friends and family members at her late grandfather Barron Hilton's sprawling Bel-Air estate.

Carter and Paris, who got engaged in February of this year after a little over a year of dating, arrived to their extravagant with their hands interlocked and huge smiles on their faces.

In addition to the pier getting decorated with hundreds of red and pink balloon columns, there were glamorous images of Hilton placed behind the ring toss.

Woo!: Kyle looked to be having the time of her life as she approached the many carnival games at the fun-filled event

Merch: 'I'm gonna win a pillow here,' Kyle told her followers on Instagram as her pal held up a plush cushion with Paris' face emblazoned across the front

The party shut down the entire Santa Monica Pier, allowing attendees to have free reign over the seaside amusement park - which boasts a giant light up ferris wheel and countless classic carnival games.

Those lucky enough to master games like ring toss or balloon bust were rewarded with vary sizes of stuffed pillows featuring the perfume mogul's face and figure.

The entrance to the event featured a towering 'Paris World' sign that was engulfed by countless pink, red, and heart-shaped balloons.

Seemingly in honor of the heiress' favorite color, the famous Santa Monica Pier ferris wheel glowed pink.

Games: Paris and her husband Carter Reum had rented out the famous Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, California to host the star-studded 'Paris World' carnival

Those uninterested in trying their luck at carnival games had full access to a variety of rides like bumper cars.

The Paris-shaped prizes available varied from a plush of Paris posing in front of a giant pink heart to the blonde bombshell posing on her knees in a nude netted bodysuit.

The plushes were packed together as they hung from the prize walls.

Turning up: Paris shared footage of Diplo DJing at the party as the audience looked enthralled

Happiest time in her life: In another snap, Hilton wore a cute pair of heart-shaped glasses

Santa Monica Pier was completely closed off from the public with baracades posted up at its entrance.

There were also a number of signs informing those wanting to checkout the landmark that it would be 'closed' for the night.

Hilton used her own Instagram to capture some of the out-of-this-world atmosphere.

There were a myriad of neon lit decorations carried around the pier by eccentrically dressed performers, while many of the male workers kept their identities anonymous by rocking glowing Panda head masks.

There were also other workers that wandered the premises in skintight bodysuit and carnival-appropriate headdresses.

Hilton posed for a selfie video with one of the masked men, who carried a light up umbrella in one hand.

Too cute: Hilton shared a photo warmly embracing Lele Pons

Atmosphere: The entire venue was packed to the brim

Gorgeous: The giant ferris wheel towered over the partying crowd
Kim Kardashian threatened to steal the spotlight at Paris Hilton's star-studded wedding celebration with her chic black dress.

The 41-year-old Keeping Up With The Kardashians star looked effortlessly elegant in her sleek and revealing outfit in Instagram photos from the wedding posted on Saturday.

She got into the fall season while showing off her haute couture look atop a pile of bluegray Jarrahdale pumpkins.

Back in black: Kim Kardashian, 41, luxuriated in her gorgeous Rick Owens cut-out dress in Saturday's Instagram photos from Paris Hilton's wedding to Carter Reum

Kim had all eyes on her in the strapless Rick Owens gown which featured angular cutouts around her bust and midriff on the bodice.

The figure-hugging look emphasized her enviable curves before expanding into a voluminous sheer black skirt.

The reality star had her lustrous raven locks parted down the middle and tied back with a long braided ponytail extension, which she flipped over her shoulder to display.

She kept her accessories to a minimum so as not to distract from the gorgeous outfit, though the added a pair of thick black hoop earrings from her go-to fashion house Balenciaga that framed her elegantly made-up face.

Kim completed her look with a set of pointy black boots.

Revealing: Kim had all eyes on her in the strapless Rick Owens gown which featured angular cutouts around her bust and midriff on the bodice

Curves ahead! The figure-hugging look emphasized her enviable curves before expanding into a voluminous sheer black skirt

Stunning: The reality star had her lustrous raven locks parted down the middle and tied back with a long braided ponytail extension, which she flipped over her shoulder to display

She got playful in some of her snaps, including one where she flashed her tongue while smiling and held up two peace signs.

Kim closed her eyes and rested her arm on her head while keeping her tongue extended in a more relaxed follow-up.

She was more reserved in a closeup photo emphasizing her finely detailed makeup and pouting lips.

The soon-to-be ex-wife of Kanye West gave her 263 million Instagram followers a closer look at her dress from behind, revealing that the back of the bodice featured a cutout in the same shape.

Fooling around: She got playful in some of her snaps, including one where she flashed her tongue while smiling and held up two peace signs

Taking it easy: Kim closed her eyes and rested her arm on her head while keeping her tongue extended in a more relaxed follow-up

Showing off: She was more reserved in a closeup photo emphasizing her finely detailed makeup and pouting lips

All sides: The soon-to-be ex-wife of Kanye West gave her 263 million Instagram followers a closer look at her dress from behind, revealing that the back of the bodice featured a cutout in the same shape

Kim was a surprise guest at Paris' wedding to Carter Reum, and a wedding guest revealed to DailyMail.com that she arrived only 20 minutes before the start of the ceremony via a private entrance.

She was joined by Kimora Lee Simmons, who wore a complementary black off-the-shoulder dress with a high slit.

Kim and Paris previously had a falling out in the early years of her KUWTK fame, as her celebrity began to eclipse the heiress', but the two have long since patched things up.

Kim even jokingly referenced her early years as a stylist and assistant to the Simple Life star when she picked up Paris' flower-covered lace train for her, while both grinned ear-to-ear at each other.

The shapewear mogul looked more reserved in another photo taken at her reception table with Kimora and Nicole Richie, who had also patched up her feud with Paris years earlier.

Old times: Kim referenced her roots as Paris' assistant and stylist when she held up the brides lace train in one photo while they both beamed at each other
They've shared the look of love for nearly three years.

And Taylor Lautner dropped down to one knee and asked longtime love Tay Dome to be his wife on Thursday during a romantic proposal.

The 29-year-old actor looked dapper in a suit and tie while his bride-to-be went barefoot for the amorous display shared to Instagram on Saturday morning from the surprise engagement just days before.

Lucky in love: Taylor Lautner dropped down to one knee and asked longtime love Tay Dome to be his wife on Thursday during a romantic proposal

'11.11.2021. And just like that, all of my wishes came true,' Taylor captioned the post shared to his nearly seven million followers.

Tay looked completely in shock as she held her hands to her face while standing in a candlelit room surrounded by gorgeous red roses.

A neon red Lautner sign illuminated the couple from behind as Taylor held open a ring box for his new wife, who is a registered nurse in the state of California.

Bliss: The 29-year-old actor looked dapper in a suit and tie while his bride-to-be went barefoot for the amorous display shared to Instagram on Saturday morning from the surprise engagement just days before

So excited: Tay shared in her excitement with her followers as she professed her love for her new fiance

Tay shared in her excitement with her followers as she professed her love for her new fiance.

'My absolute best friend,' she captioned the gorgeous photo from their special night. 'I CANNOT WAIT TO SPEND FOREVER WITH YOU.'

Lautner quickly fired back: 'Got news for you, the feeling is mutual.'

Cuties: They were rumored to be an item in 2018 when they were spotted together at a wedding, and later went Instagram official

They were rumored to be an item in 2018 when they were spotted together at a wedding, and later went Instagram official.

Taylor found fame starring alongside Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson in the Twilight teen vampire saga.

He later took his talents to television, starring in Scream Queens and Cuckoo, and will soon be back on the silver screen for the Happy Madison production of Home Team.
Mahershala Ali cut a suave figure as he attended the premiere of his new film Swan Song at the 2021 AFI Fest.

The 47-year-old Academy Award winner donned a sharp gray and white pin-striped suit as he posed on the red carpet alongside his co-star Awkwafina on Friday night at the TCL Chinese Theater in Los Angeles.

The 33-year-old rapper-turned-actress, who was clad in a bold crimson dress, flashed a bright smile as she wrapped her arm around Mahershala.

Sharp: Mahershala Ali cut a suave figure as he attended the premiere of his new film Swan Song at the 2021 AFI Fest along with his co-star Awkwafina

The Green Book star wore a white dress shirt with a black tie that was embossed with decals of an open eye.

He tucked a red silk handkerchief in to the front pocket of his jacket and shielded his eyes with a pair of gold-framed sunglasses.

Awkwafina's flowing long-sleeved silk dress featured an asymmetrical hemline and a button-down bodice.

Dapper: The 47-year-old Academy Award winner donned a sharp gray and white pin-striped suit as he posed on the red carpet alongside Awkwafina on Friday night at the TCL Chinese Theater in Los Angeles

Fashion statement: The Green Book star wore a white dress shirt with a black tie that was embossed with decals of an open eye

Suave: He tucked a red silk handkerchief in to the front pocket of his jacket and shielded his eyes with a pair of gold-framed sunglasses

Couple: Mahershala was also joined on the red carpet by his wife of eight years Amatus Sami-Karim

The Crazy Rich Asians actress sported bright orange and pink pointed-toe heels and carried an orange clutch handbag.

The Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings star wore her long black locks down in waves and accessorized with dangly red earrings and a ruby ring.

Mahershala was also joined on the red carpet by his wife of eight years Amatus Sami-Karim.

Eye-catching: Lee Shorten donned a burgundy velvet coat over a black turtleneck and black trousers

Cast: Lee plays the role of Rafa in the film

The documentary producer wore an elegant ensemble comprised of a floor-length metallic skirt, a black tuxedo jacket and a crisp white dress shirt.

Lee Shorten, who plays the role of Rafa in the film, donned a burgundy velvet coat over a black turtleneck and black trousers.

Dax Rey, who stars as Mahershala's son Hugo in the movie, gave the cameras two thumbs up as he smiled widely on the red carpet.

Thumbs up! Dax Rey gave the cameras two thumbs up as he smiled widely on the red carpet

Child star: Dax stars as Mahershala's son Hugo in the movie,

Premiere: Composer Jay Wadley, who scored the movie, attended along with Alex Kelly

On the red carpet: Producer Jacob Perlin posed alongside his wife Kat

The Good Place actor wore a gray suit and jacket along with a colorful blue and green bow-tie.

Set in the near future, Swan Song follows Cameron (Mahershala), a loving husband and father who is struggling to tell his pregnant wife (Naomi Harris) and son (Dax) that he has been diagnosed with a terminal illness.

Cameron is presented with an alternative solution by his doctor (Glenn Close) to shield his family from grief.

Awkwafina stars as Kate, a real estate broker who is also a patient of Cameron's doctor.

Directed by Benjamin Cleary and produced by Jacob Perlin, the sci-fi drama is set to premiere on Apple TV+ on December 17.

Sci-fi drama: Set in the near future, Swan Song follows Cameron (Mahershala), a loving husband and father who is struggling to tell his pregnant wife (Naomi Harris) and son (Dax) that he has been diagnosed with a terminal illness. R to L: Benjamin Cleary, Mahershala, Dax, Awkwafina, Lee and Nyasha Hatendi

Intriguing: Cameron is presented with an alternative solution by his doctor (Glenn Close) to shield his family from grief
Maisie Smith put on a very busty display in a plunging white crop top as she touched down in the UK after gruelling SAS Who Dares Wins filming in Amman, Jordan.

The former EastEnders star, 20, showcased her phenomenal abs in the Calvin Klein crop top as she landed in Heathrow Airport after the military reality show.

She was joined in airport arrivals by Ferne McCann, Calum Best, and AJ Pritchard, who had all competed alongside her on the brutal programme.

Stunning: Maisie Smith put on a very busty display in a plunging white crop top as she touched down in the UK after gruelling SAS Who Dares Wins filming in Amman, Jordan

Maisie looked happy to be home as she wheeled her suitcase through the terminal in the skimpy top and some multi-coloured tracksuit bottoms.

The actress looked far from prepared for the UK's wintery weather as she walked along in a pair of summery yellow flip flops.

She showcased her natural beauty on the make-up free outing and swept her tresses up into a sleek middle parting as she perched her reading glasses on her head.

Ferne looked sensationally glamorous considering the long flight as she arrived in London in a chic white shirt and leggings.

Impressive: The former EastEnders star, 20, showcased her phenomenal abs in the Calvin Klein crop top as she landed in Heathrow Airport after the military reality show

Home: Maisie looked happy to be home as she wheeled her suitcase through the terminal in the skimpy top and some multi-coloured tracksuit bottoms

Chilly: The actress looked far from prepared for the UK's wintery weather as she walked along in a pair of summery yellow flip flops

She covered her face with large glamorous sunglasses and wheeled her huge rose gold suitcase through the terminal.

The TOWIE star completed her travelling ensemble with an enviable Balenciaga bum bag and a pair of silver flip flops.

Meanwhile, AJ kept things casual in a black T-shirt and jeans as he followed behind the girls in a white jacket alongside Callum Best.

Callum opted for a relaxed black jumper and grey shorts for the long journey back from the Middle East.

Glam: Ferne looked sensationally glamorous considering the long flight as she arrived in London in a chic white shirt and leggings

Stunning: She covered her face with large glamorous sunglasses and wheeled her huge rose gold suitcase through the terminal

Stepping out: The TOWIE star completed her travelling ensemble with an enviable Balenciaga bum bag and a pair of silver flip flops

The Show's hunky special forces sergeant Jason Fox aka 'Foxy' looked ready for action as he strolled through arrivals with his training rucksack on his back.

The directing staff member's huge biceps were bursting from his black T-shirt as he made his way towards the airport's exit.

All celebrities taking part on the show will be put through gruelling tasks and interrogations to test them both physically and mentally over a period of days.

Chill: AJ kept things casual in a black T-shirt and jeans as he followed behind the girls in a white jacket alongside Callum Best

Pals: The boys stuck together as they made their way through arrivals after the brutal filming for the show

Comfy: Callum opted for a relaxed black jumper and grey shorts for the long journey back from the Middle East

The Sun reported of the filming: 'The group are already in the Middle East being treated to the gruelling secret selection process special forces must endure.'

The paper added that the rest of the lineup includes: Olympic sprinter Dwain Chambers, 43, Olympic javelin medallist Fatima Whitbread, 60, Olympian Jade Jones, 28, AJ's brother, former Love Islander Curtis, 25, 2019 Love Islander Amber Gill, 24, Paralympian Jonathan Broom-Edwards, 33, and boxer Shannon Courtenay, 28.

The show will reportedly return to screens in 2022.

Under the radar: AJ accessorised with a black cap and matching protective face covering for the outing

Stylish: He completed his low-key look with a pair of white trainers with red laces and a matching rucksack

This year's series of the show has been tipped to be the toughest yet as Love Island star, Amber Gill reportedly stated that she 'couldn't hack it any longer'.

Meanwhile, TOWIE favourite Pete Wicks was forced to bow out of the programme after just 24 hours hours he is said to have broken a rib.

A source told The Sun: 'The show bills itself as the hardest thing on telly - and its lived up to its reputation once again.

'Amber is by no means a wimp, but just couldnt hack it any longer. Shes a reality star turned fitness expert and even she couldnt stay longer than two days. She was gutted but couldnt carry on.

Action man: The Show's hunky special forces sergeant Jason Fox aka 'Foxy' looked ready for action as he strolled through arrivals with his training rucksack on his back

Sergeant: The directing staff member's huge biceps were bursting from his black T-shirt as he made his way towards the airport's exit

'Meanwhile, Pete really hurt himself on the course, and had to withdraw on medical grounds. Doing some of the stuff that the directing staff want you to do with a broken rib is just not possible. They both got an early flight home to the UK.'

MailOnline have contacted representatives of Amber, Pete and Channel 4 for comment.

In the last series of Celebrity SAS, the likes of Ulrika Johnson, Alexandra Burke and Kerry Katona were put through their paces by ex-special forces soldier Ant Middleton.

'She couldn't hack it any longer': Amber Gill has reportedly quit Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins after just 48 hours

Celebrities abandoned their glamorous lifestyles and headed into the wilderness of the Scottish Hebrides in the remote island of Raasay.

Over eight days, the twelve celebs were put through a strenuous course that tested them both physically and mentally.

Despite the difficulty of the show, its outcome is to help the celebrities uncover their 'true self' - although not all the celebrities will have what it takes to get to the end of the show.

Ant announced in March that he will not take part in the forthcoming series of SAS.
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Things took a breathtaking turn during Saturday's Strictly Come Dancing as deaf actress Rose Ayling-Ellis and her partner Giovanni Pernice incorporated a 'silent moment' during their routine.

The EastEnders star, 26, and the Italian dancer, 31, performed a Couple's Choice to Symphony by Clean Bandit featuring Zara Larsson, a stunning segment of which wasn't performed to any music.

An emotional Anton Du Beke, 55, branded the moment 'the greatest thing he's ever seen on the show.'

Strictly Come Dancing 2021: Deaf Strictly star Rose Ayling-Ellis and partner Giovanni Pernice blew fans away with breathtaking 'silent moment' during routine - as Anton Du Beke said it is the 'greatest thing' he has ever seen on the show

Head judge Shirley Ballas, 61, stood up to praise the moving routine and told the pair: 'This is a number that will be etched in my heart for a long, long time.'

Motsi Mabuse, 40, showed her gratitude to Rose for implementing the thought-provoking element to the dance on behalf of the deaf community.

'Thank you. This was such a beautiful moment to include us in your world,' she said.

They received an almost-perfect score of 39, leaving the couple on a sentimental cloud nine.

'The positivity that she gives me in a single day is out of this world,' Giovanni said, before Rose chimed in to add: 'Thank you to Strictly for giving me the opportunity to tell my story.'

Moving: The EastEnders star, 26, and the Italian dancer, 31, performed a Couple's Choice to Symphony by Clean Bandit featuring Zara Larsson, a stunning segment of which wasn't performed to any music

Poignant: An emotional Anton Du Beke, 55, branded the moment 'the greatest thing he's ever seen on the show'

Unforgettable: 'The positivity that she gives me in a single day is out of this world,' Giovanni said

Breathtaking: Rose said: 'Thank you to Strictly for giving me the opportunity to tell my story'

Twitter was awash with emotion following the unforgettable routine.

One fan of the dancing competition resonated with Rose and tweeted: 'I am in tears [crying face] Trying to explain what's it's like to be deaf sometimes is a struggle. I'm not fully deaf but profoundly deaf and sometimes I feel like I don't belong as I miss out on a lot of things, jokes conversations and sometimes get pushed aside. It can be lonely.'

Another used the microblogging site to show their appreciation: 'That was just breathtaking thank you both @RoseAylingEllis and @pernicegiovann1 it was mesmerising and such a special moment what you are doing rose is so inspirational  xx'.

Reaction: Twitter was awash with emotion following the unforgettable routine

Elsewhere, tearful Rhys Stephenson received a perfect score for his routine with partner Nancy Xu, with Motsi declaring it the 'best Charleston we have seen'.

The presenter, 28, and his professional partner, 30, performed the faultless routine to The Charleston by Bob Wilson and his Varsity Rhythm Boys.

The judges gave the performance glowing reviews before awarding him straight tens.

High score: Elsewhere, tearful Rhys Stephenson received a perfect score for his routine with partner Nancy Xu , with Motsi Mabuse declaring it the 'best Charleston we have seen'

Emotional: The presenter, 28, and his professional partner, 30, performed the faultless routine to The Charleston by Bob Wilson and his Varsity Rhythm Boys

Wow: The judges gave the performance glowing reviews before awarding him straight tens

Comments: Motsi Mabuse dubbed it the 'best Charleston we have seen', while Shirley gushed: 'I have never ever seen a Charleston like that!'

Motsi dubbed it the 'best Charleston we have seen', while Shirley gushed: 'I have never ever seen a Charleston like that!'

Anton praised: 'You absolutely smashed the place up, unbelievable!' and Craig Revel Horwood brought out his trademark three syllable 'a-ma-zing.'

Presenter AJ Odudu, 33 and Kai Widdrington danced the Pasodoble to Game Of Survival by Ruelle, a performance which didn't wow the judges to the same extent as the previous week, where their Charleston topped the leaderboard with 39.

Performance: Presenter AJ Odudu, 33 and Kai Widdrington danced the Pasodoble to Game Of Survival by Ruelle, a performance which didn't wow the judges to the same extent as the previous week, where their Charleston topped the leaderboard with 39

Moves: John Whaite earned the accolade highest Samba of the series after dancing to Acuyuye by DLG with Johannes Radebe

Samba: Their high-score of 38 could have been down to the baker's plethora of effortless moves displayed on the dancefloor

Impressed: Craig Revel Horwood said of John's performance: 'You have every single move in the book. It's absolutely incredible!'

Hard-to-impress Craig said: 'You needed a stronger Spanish line. I was a little bit disappointed. I felt like you were less connected to one another.'

Providing some words of encouragement among the criticism was Motsi: 'It was not a good dance for you, I felt the nerves today. I also know you're a fighter.'

They scored 11 lower than the previous week, 28, placing them bottom of the leaderboard.

Moving on: Tilly Ramsey, 20 and her pro partner Nikita Kuzmin, 23, found themselves in the dance off last week but were keen to put that behind them when they performed the Quickstep to I Won't Dance by Damita Jo

Strictly Week 8 Song and Dance List AJ & Kai - Paso Doble to Game Of Survival by Ruelle Rose & Giovanni - Couple's Choice to Symphony by Clean Bandit featuring Zara Larsson Sara & Aljaz - Argentine Tango by No More Tears (Enough is Enough) by Donna Summer and Barbara Streisand Tilly & Nikita - Quickstep to I Won't Dance by Damita Jo Dan & Nadiya - American Smooth to King Of The Road by The Proclaimers John & Johannes - Samba to Acuyuye by DLG Rhys & Nancy - Charleston to The Charleston by Bob Wilson and his Varsity Rhythm Boys Tom & Amy - Viennese Waltz to Iris by Goo Goo Dolls Advertisement

John Whaite earned the accolade highest Samba of the series after dancing to Acuyuye by DLG with Johannes Radebe.

Their high-score of 38 could have been down to the baker's plethora of effortless moves displayed on the dancefloor as Craig said: 'You have every single move in the book. It's absolutely incredible!'

Tilly Ramsey, 20 and her pro partner Nikita Kuzmin, 23, found themselves in the dance off last week but were keen to put that behind them when they performed the Quickstep to I Won't Dance by Damita Jo.

They scored 29, with the judges collectively agreeing there had been some improvements.

Journalist Dan Walker scored his first 9 with Nadiya Bychkova, following their American Smooth to King Of The Road by The Proclaimers

'I don't get nines!' he joked, ecstatic about the news.

Craig scored drastically lower, awarding him a 4. 'It lacked any feeling. It wasn't for me,' he said, to which his fellow judges wholeheartedly disagreed.

'Give yourself some permission to enjoy it, you are representing the men who have never danced before!' Shirley praised.

Sara Davies' Argentine Tango with Aljaz Skorjanec awarded her an impressive 30, while McFly star Tom Fletcher was praised for his improvements shown in the Viennese Waltz with Amy Dowden.

The celebrities' week eight efforts are in a bid to get through to the next instalment of the glitzy competition - the musical extravaganza.

Progress: Journalist Dan Walker scored his first 9 with Nadiya Bychkova, following their American Smooth to King Of The Road by The Proclaimers

Working hard: Sara Davies' Argentine Tango with Aljaz Skorjanec awarded her an impressive 30

Routine: McFly star Tom Fletcher was praised for his improvements shown in the Viennese Waltz with Amy Dowden

Elsewhere in Strictly news, it was reported on Saturday that Katya Jones threatened to quit her role on the show after landing in the dance off with partner Adam Peaty.

The professional dancer, 32, is believed to be convinced that the 'public have it in for her', after the dance couple were eliminated from the show last Sunday.

Katya is apparently disappointed that she hasn't finished past the half way mark since she was crowned champion with Joe McFadden in 2017.

The Russian native is reportedly worried that the backlash from her kiss with partner Seann Walsh in 2018 is affecting her scoring with the public.

Emotional: On Saturday, it was reported that Katya Jones threatened to quit her role on the show after landing in the dance off with partner Adam Peaty .

Earlier on this week, Adam addressed claims that his mother made regarding Strictly Come Dancing being a 'total fix.'

The Olympic swimmer, 26, was the latest celebrity to be voted off the glitzy dance competition, which resulted in his mum Caroline branding the show a 'total fix.'

BBC Breakfast's Charlie Stayt asked Adam during an interview on Thursday his thoughts of the remarks, to which he said: 'Mums are always going to support their own. She wanted to see me every Saturday night, you know how mums get, bless her.'

Strictly Come Dancing aired on Saturday 6th November at 6:45pm, with the results show on Sunday 7th November at 7:15pm on BBC One.
Olivia Culpo was all business on Friday evening the pre-wedding festivities for Keeping Up With The Kardashians guest star Simon Huck.

The 29-year-old model looked effortlessly stylish in a silky black blazer dress as she was spotted arriving at the event, which was held in West Hollywood at the Sunset Towers Hotel.

The former pageant queen highlighted her toned legs with a set of towering black Louboutins as she strutted up to the building.

Legs for days: Olivia Culpo, 29, showed off her long legs in a chic black blazer dress as she arrived at Simon Huck and Phil Riportella's pre-wedding party at the Sunset Tower Hotel in West Hollywood on Friday

Olivia wore a lustrous black coat that highlighted her cleavage.

The double-breasted jacket hung loosely on her frame and drew attention to her long legs.

The in-demand model had her brunette tresses styled in a blunt-cut shoulder-length bob with a middle part.

The chic look framed her delicately made-up face and the striking splash of crimson across her lips.

Stylish: Olivia wore a lustrous black coat that highlighted her cleavage. The double-breasted jacket hung loosely on her frame and drew attention to her long legs

On point: The in-demand model had her brunette tresses styled in a blunt-cut shoulder-length bob with a middle part

Olivia accessorized her look with a small box-like quilted black clutch.

She was joining other famous faces, including members of the KardashianJenner clan, to celebrate their longtime friend Simon Huck ahead of his wedding to Phil Riportella.

Simon, who's a PR executive and the host of the Emergency Contact podcast, has been a longtime friend of the Kardashians and has been a popular guest on KUWTK.

Kourtney Kardashian was also spotted at the party with her fiance Travis Barker, while Kim Kardashian gave a speech in Simon and Phil's honor

Before heading out to the party, Olivia gave her 4.9 million followers a sneak peek at her outfit with a mirror selfie posted to her Insta Stories.

'Off to celebrate the men of the hour @simonhuck @piptherip,' she wrote.

Kardashian adjacent: Simon, who's a PR executive and the host of the Emergency Contact podcast, has been a longtime friend of the Kardashians and has been a popular guest on KUWTK

Dressed to impress: Before heading out to the party, Olivia gave her 4.9 million followers a sneak peek at her outfit with a mirror selfie posted to her Insta Stories

Later on Saturday, she shared a photo from her recent travels as she walked through what looked like a desert.

The dark-haired beauty wore an eye-catching brown suede skirt comprised of dangling circles, along with a rippling black blouse cinched tight around her waist with a slim brown belt.

Olivia was back on the West Coast late this week after traveling for work in recent days.

Late last month she joined Shanina Shaik, Lori Harvey and a bevy of other high-profile models for a James Bondinspired photo shoot on a yacht in Miami.

They were all modeling sleek black swimwear from the new Michael Kors x 007 collection, which was released to coincide with Daniel Craig's final bow as the iconic British secret agent in No Time To Die.

Afterward, she jetted off to Doha, Qatar for an appearance at the Fashion Trust Arabia Prize Gala on November 3.

Olivia look elegant in a plunging black dress covered in striking colorful floral designs.

Heat and sand: Later on Saturday, she shared a photo from her recent travels as she walked through what looked like a desert in a striking brown suede skirt and a black blouse
VILLA DEL ROSARIO, Colombia. (AP)  Xiomara Ruiz woke up before dawn and boarded a bus with her son to make a one-hour trip to the bridge connecting Venezuela to Colombia, which they crossed on foot. Their goal: to get the 8-year-old vaccinated against the coronavirus.

By 7 a.m. the 27-year-old nurse and the boy were lining up at a vaccination center in Villa del Rosario, a Colombian town on the border with Venezuela.

About two dozen Venezuelans also stood in line for the shots, while an aid worker in a khaki vest yelled out instructions on a megaphone and told the crowd to keep a safe distance from each other as they waited for the vaccination center to open.

In the town where I live there are still no vaccines for children, said Ruiz, who traveled to Colombia from the border state of Tachira. She was concerned by a recent announcement by Venezuelas government that children under 12 will be vaccinated with Soberana, a coronavirus vaccine developed in Cuba.

That one is not approved by the World Health Organization, Ruiz said. Its better to make the trip here.

Hundreds of Venezuelans have been traveling to Colombia recently for coronavirus shots, as Venezuela struggles to get enough doses for its people.

These trips replicate previous efforts by Venezuelans to seek medical care abroad as their countrys health care system crumbled amid years of medicine shortages, economic recession and mismanagement of public hospitals. But travel restrictions and regulations associated with the pandemic have made it more challenging for Venezuelans to get vaccines in neighboring Colombia.

Colombian border states, which provided thousands of Venezuelan children with vaccines against tetanus, diphtheria and hepatitis for free before the pandemic, only started to provide coronavirus shots to Venezuelan travelers in October.

Now that the gates are open many are seizing the opportunity to get shots in Colombia, which has greater access to European and North American vaccines and only uses shots that have been approved by the WHO.

Vaccine coverage is very low in Venezuela, said Huniades Urbina, a pediatrician and spokesman for the Venezuelan Academy of Medicine. So for many people, especially those living in border states, it's worth it to travel into Colombia to get their children vaccinated, instead of having to go several times to vaccination centers within Venezuela.

In the Colombian state of North Santander, where the main border crossing is, more than 34,000 people registering at vaccination centers with Venezuelan ID cards have gotten coronavirus shots since Oct. 25, when vaccination for non-residents began, according to the states health department. That includes undocumented migrants living in North Santander as well as Venezuelans who traveled just to get the shots.

In the state capital of Cucuta, the number of vaccines applied daily has doubled to 9,000 since the end of October, said Astrid Urbina, the nurse leading the citys immunization program.

Some Venezuelans who travel to Colombia in search of coronavirus vaccine said they were looking to get immunized with European or North American brands that are not available in Venezuela for several reasons that include lack of government permits, lack of infrastructure for vaccines that must be stored at ultra cold temperatures and sanctions imposed by the U.S. against companies that do business with Venezuelas government. In June, however, the U.S. Treasury made exemptions for companies that sell vaccines and pandemic-related equipment to the Venezuelan government.

Eduardo Sanchez, a 22-year-old resident of the Venezuelan border town of San Antonio, crossed the international bridge that connects the countries Friday after hearing he could get a dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine on the Colombian side.

In Venezuela we have been offered the Chinese vaccines, but I dont trust them, he said. Here at least you can get AstraZeneca, which has greater recognition.

Venezuela has fully vaccinated 32% of its population so far, according to data supplied by its government to the Pan-American Health Organization. The country of 28 million people has been able to import vaccines from China, Russia and most recently Cuba, but still has one of the lowest vaccination rates in South America.

On Oct. 21, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez announced that 12 million doses of Cubas Soberana vaccine would be imported and offered in schools to children ages 2 to 12.

Rodriguez said the move demonstrated President Nicolas Maduros concern for the health and welfare of the Venezuelan people and showcased the benefits of Cubas longtime alliance with Venezuela.

But medical associations in Venezuela have spoken out against the use of the Cuban vaccine on children, arguing it has not been widely tested or reviewed by scientists outside the island.

Colombian officials in North Santander said the number of Venezuelans travelling for vaccines has increased since Nov. 3, when vaccination for all children over age 3 opened in the state.

Antonio Nino, a driver from the Venezuelan town of Rubio, brought his 8-year old daughter, Nicole, to get her vaccinated.

My wife and I preferred to come to Colombia, he said. They have vaccines here that have WHO approval, and that makes us feel more secure.
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The Bollywood film associations are exuberant over the success of Sooryavanshi. The Rohit Shetty directorial, which was released in theatres all over India and overseas recently despite the Maharashtra Governments 50% occupancy restrictions, has set the cash registers ringing. The FWICE [Federation of Western India Cine Employees] too joined the films unit in celebrating the success.

FWICE workers cheered Rohit Shetty and a cake was cut on the occasion.

Talking about it, Akshay Kumar said, It feels great that the Bollywood industry is coming together and celebrating the success of Sooryavanshi. We as an industry were hit very badly by the pandemic. Bhojpuri, Guajarati, Marathi industries should also celebrate. The Southern industry  Tamil, Telugu, Kannada films  are doing stupendously well. So all of us should celebrate the rejuvenation of cinema. Its time we start moving ahead. Life should go on.

Further talking about the success, the actor thanked the audiences and media for their support, particularly as Sooryavanshi was the first release in theatres post pandemic restrictions. But theres more to work for, more to learn, he added.

Director Rohit Shetty, who was showered with praise by the FWICE workers, said with all humility that he was one of them, and would always stand with them. This is the achievement of junior artistes and the dancers. This success belongs to all of you. Together we will face whatever problems come, said the filmmaker.
Carving a niche for herself in a mere four years, Digangana Suryavanshi has proved that she has both talent and tenacity. After having signed a breezy entertainer starring Sundeep Kishan recently, she has now also got on board a film to be directed by Phani Krishna. She will be paired with Aadi Saikumar.

And the actress is thrilled to sign back-to-back films in Telugu.

The film industry was the first to shut down when the pandemic struck and it was the last to reopen. So its heartening to see people returning to theatres in large numbers. We have been waiting for this for a long time, Digangana says, adding that shes grateful for the opportunities she got during the pandemic. In Sundeeps film, for which she has commenced shooting, the actress will be seen as an investigative officer. And in Aadis film, she plays an urban-centric character.

I am always seeking good roles. An actor is only as good as his/her role, script, and the director. Its definitely important for me to execute my parts perfectly. Also, taking the opportunity to play different roles results in being able to explore more, she says. As a bonus, the varied roles motivate her to keep pushing, and avoid monotony. The actress says she has nothing whatsoever to complain about with regard to her four years in the industry so far  on the contrary, she has learned a lot.

Every film gets me a notch higher and makes me a better actor. More relatability in scripts and characters takes one closer to the audience. The idea is that those who watch my films will recognise my work and, hopefully, look forward to watching more of my films, she says.

Digangana admits that Fridays change the fortunes of many people in the industry. When I came to Hyderabad in 2018, I was totally new and didnt know anyone in the field either. I was trying to understand how the industry operates. So my I put my trust in my team and support staff, and they have done a great job in making me what I am today, she says.

Sharing that she picked up the language while doing Telugu films, the actress says, For Hindi, I dont have to memorise my lines, but in the South, I realised that learning the language is important. I make sure that I get my lines right. Knowing the language helps in getting the emotions right, she notes.

Having spent considerable time in television, Digangana says TV holds a special place in her life and that her stint on the small screen is something she will always be grateful for. She was 16 when she did her first television show. But it was her 2015 stint in Bigg Boss that enabled her to grab the headlines.

Bigg Boss was definitely a game-changer but after that, I did a few soap operas and gained great experience. I then decided to take a break from television and try my hand at films. I studied acting when I was seven, so I just wanted to give it a try and find out how different platforms operate, shares the actress.

She debuted on the silver screen with FryDay. Since then, the Hippi actress hasnt looked back. She is part of upcoming war-drama, The Battle of Bhima Koregaon, starring Arjun Rampal, for which she has already completed 25 percent of the shooting.

Digangana has been frequently visiting Hyderabad for Telugu film shoots, and finds the city an exciting place. I have tried all the South Indian cuisines and I have been to historical places like Charminar. I love traveling and like going on road trips, shares the actress who recently completed her BA degree course.
In this photo is seen Colonel Viplav Tripathi and his wife. Colonel Tripathi, the Commanding Officer of Khuga Battalion of Assam Rifles, his wife and son, were killed in an ambush by militants at Sehkan village in Manipur's Churachandpur district, Saturday, Nov. 13, 2021. (PTI)

Guwahati: In one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in recent time, the rebels of Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) on Saturday killed an Indian Army colonel, his wife, six-year-old son and four soldiers in Churachandpur district of Manipur.

The heavily armed rebels ambushed the convoy near Sehken village when the Commanding Officer of 46 Assam Rifles, Colonel Viplav Tripathy, was returning from a visit to a forward camp near the Myanmar border. The commanding officer was on his way back after supervising a civic action programme in the Churachandpur district.

Security forces said that suspected rebels of PLA -- a Manipur-based terrorist group -- opened indiscriminate fire on the Assam Rifle convoy killing the commanding officer, his wife, their son, three quick reaction team soldiers and a driver on the spot.

Security sources said that additional troops have been rushed to the area as the location is an extremely remote village around 50 km from the district headquarters.

Defence minister Rajnath Singh condemned the attack and offered his condolences. "The cowardly attack on an Assam Rifles convoy in Churachandpur, Manipur, is extremely painful and condemnable. The nation has lost five brave soldiers including CO 46 AR and two family members. My condolences to the bereaved families. The perpetrators will be brought to justice soon, Mr Singh said in a social media post.

Manipur chief minister N. Biren Singh said that a counter-operation has been launched to track down the terrorists. Strongly condemn the cowardly attack on a convoy of 46 AR which has reportedly killed few personnel including the CO and his family at Churachandpur today. The state forces and paramilitary are already on their job to track down the militants. The perpetrators will be brought to justice, he tweeted.

Manipur is home to several armed groups fighting for either greater autonomy or secession. For decades the Army has been deployed to dominate the area having its borders with Myanmar.

In 2015, 20 soldiers were killed in an attack by terrorists in Manipur, after which the Indian Army had launched a surgical strike on their camp in Myanmar.
In view of the cloudy conditions, the day temperature is likely to drop by two to three degrees Celsius. (DC Image)

HYDERABAD: Telangana is likely to witness light rainfall in the next 24-48 hours in a few districts in the south, east, and central parts of the state, said Hyderabad IMD Director, Nagarathna.

Generally, cloudy sky conditions are likely in Hyderabad and its adjoining districts with the minimum temperature throughout the state expected to be around three to four degrees Celsius above the normal conditions in the next 2-3 days, added Nagarathna.

Across north Telangana districts, the temperature could be around 20 degrees Celsius while in Hyderabad, it will be in the 20 to 22 degrees Celsius range late in the nights. In view of the cloudy conditions, the day temperature is likely to drop by two to three degrees Celsius.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has also issued a yellow warning in 14 districts of Telangana. These districts will receive heavy to moderate rainfall with thunderstorms and lightning over the next 48 hours. The districts include Mahboobnagar, Joglamaba Gadwal, Wanaparthy, Nagar Kurnool, Nalgonda, Suryapet, Khammam, Bhadradri Kothagudam, Mulugu, Bhupalpally, Warangal, Narayanpet, Medak and Vikarabad.
Cuddalore: Chief Minister M K Stalin hit the road to oversee the relief work for the sixth day in Kanchipuram and Chengalpattu districts on Friday when he stopped at a tea shop in Kilkottiyur where he interacted with the local people, enquiring about their problems, over a cuppa.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin visited rain-affected areas of Cuddalore district on Saturday and distributed relief materials to the needy people.

The chief minister reviewed waterlogging and agricultural areas in Kurinjipaadi area in Cudallore district.

Stalin who inspected the operations to clear waterlogging and other work also spoke to conservancy workers at Kandigai and also Tambaram bus stand to understand their needs and issues.

On Saturday, the Chief Minister will start his tour of the other districts early in the morning from Puducherry, after an overnight stay there.

The other places that he visited were Adhanur where the Adyar River originates, Mampakkam in Chengalpattu, Mudichur and so on. He distributed relief material to people in some places and also gave away free land patta to 33 families of the Irular tribe.

As many as 14 people have been killed in rain-related incidents in the state since last week, with the rain leaving a trail of destruction in several districts.

Thunderstorm with moderate rain is likely to occur at one or two places over the Kanniyakumari and Tirunelveli districts within the next two hours, as per alert issued by Regional Meteorological Centre, Chennai.

Earlier on Tuesday, CM Stalin announced that free food will be distributed through Amma Canteens until the current spell of intense rain ends.

Meanwhile, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Kanniyakumari and Tirunelveli districts on Saturday will likely witness thunderstorms with moderate rain.

On Friday, while speaking about the situation of incessant rainfall in Tamil Nadu, the IMD senior Scientist RK Jenamani informed that the department has withdrawn a 'red alert' for heavy rainfall in Chennai.

"We have withdrawn 'red alert' for heavy rainfall in Chennai. Rains are expected in Kerala and coastal Andhra Pradesh. A new system is expected to develop over the south Andaman sea on November 13 and 14, we are monitoring it," Jenamani said.
HYDERABAD: A few ministers made controversial remarks against not only BJP leaders but Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy as well while addressing the TRS dharna programmes over paddy procurement issue on Friday.

Labour minister Ch Malla Reddy addressed Telangana BJP president Bandi Sanjay as "mental Sanjay" while TRS working president and IT minister K.T. Rama Rao called him "Thondi Sanjay". "Thondi" in Telugu slang means those who indulge in 'foul play'.

Malla Reddy went to the extent of cursing the BJP leaders and the party that they would soon face "sarvanashanam" (utter destruction) for troubling Telangana farmers over paddy procurement issue.

Rama Rao came down heavily on Bandi Sanjay for asking farmers to sow paddy in rabi even after his party government at the Centre refused to purchase paddy from Telangana.

"He is not Bandi Sanjay. He is Thondi Sanjay. He only knows how to provoke people in the name of religion and by taking the names of Pakistan, China, Akbar, Babar etc. If he has guts, he should compete with me in development. He was elected as Karimnagar MP nearly two and half years ago. But he failed to do work worth even 10 paise. He is now provoking farmers in Telangana to sow paddy in rabi and boasting that he will bend the neck of the government to purchase paddy. Whose neck he will bend? Is it Centre's or Modi's neck? If Sanjay has guts, he should get an approval letter from the Centre stating that it will procure paddy from Telangana in rabi," Rama Rao said.

Roads and buildings minister V. Prashanth Reddy termed Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy a 'beggar', saying he was begging before the Centre for funds to meet even day-to-day costs to run the government.

"Seemandhra rulers used to curse during Telangana statehood agitation days that Telangana would beg for funds if the state was bifurcated. Now the same Seemandhra rulers are begging before the Centre after bifurcation of the state. They used to loot Telangana funds in united AP. Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao stopped their loot by achieving Telangana state. With Raos efficiency, Telangana has reached a position where it is funding the Centre. But AP CM is begging before the Centre even to meet day-to-day expenditure,"

Prashanth Reddy said.

Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh I&PR minister Perni Nani strongly countered Reddy's criticism.

Indirectly referring to Chandrashekar Rao frequently meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and union home minister Amit Shah in Delhi, Nani said, "Jagan is not like those persons who roam raising their collars in public and touch their feet secretly. Telangana's comfortable financial position is because of Hyderabad capital going to Telangana after bifurcation of AP which was developed by people of all regions including Rayalaseema and Andhra. Despite this, Telangana is now being pushed into a debt trap. If Telangana is so rich, why are they depending on loans every month? Any contractor will tell about the actual financial condition of Telangana," Nani said.
Hyderabad: Perni Nani, Andhra Pradesh transport minister, on Friday accused Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao of prostrating before Prime Minister Narendra Modi in private, contrary to his public posture of fighting against the Centre.

The minister was reacting to Telangana counterpart Vemula Prashanth Reddys remarks that AP Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy had been doing rounds to New Delhi with a begging bowl.

The TS minister for roads and buildings also pointed out that Andhra Pradesh could not survive for a day without the financial assistance provided by the Centre in the form of loans and advances. He said the Andhra Pradesh government was fixing meters to agriculture pump sets under pressure from the Centre.

Earlier, Nani had ridiculed Chandrashekar Raos claims that people from Andhra Pradesh were requesting him to launch the TRS in their state, and suggested, in a sarcastic way, to merge both states again.

It is true that we have been begging for funds due for the state but why is it that KCR has been doing rounds to Delhi? Is it not true that KCR is begging Modi for a few berths in the National Democratic Alliance-led Central government? he said.

He further added: Veedhilo collar egaresi intlo kalla meeda padadam Jagan nature kaadu (It is not the nature of Jagan Mohan Reddy to talk tough in public and fall down on feet in private).

The AP minister also sought to call Telangana governments claims of having a surplus economy a bluff stating that the huge pendency of bills to contractors, who already executed works in Telangana explains how badly the finances were managed by KCR government.

People of AP lost Hyderabad which has been generating huge economic activity, but despite gaining from the capital city, the TRS government has become bankrupt, he alleged.

The war of words had started after the Telangana minister took potshots at the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister at a dharna organised by TRS demanding the Centre to procure entire paddy grown in the State during rabi season.

Referring to Jagans statements that the state bifurcation would spell doom for Telangana region, Prashanth Reddy said ippudu vaadu bichamethukuntunnadu (he is now begging).
HYDERABAD: Finance and health minister T. Harish Rao on Friday refuted charges made by Union jal shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat that Telangana government was responsible for the delay in resolving their water-sharing disputes with Andhra Pradesh. He demanded the Centre to set up a new tribunal to address Krishna river water dispute without any further delay.

Shekhawat on Thursday held TS government responsible for the seven-year delay in resolving water disputes stating that the delay was due to Telangana government filing a case in Supreme Court on Krishna water sharing issue in 2015. It was cleared in October after the TS government withdrew the case.

Addressing a press conference in Siddipet, Harish Rao said that the Telangana government was forced to move the Supreme Court as there was no response or initiative from the Centre to resolve the dispute despite repeated requests.

"We took up Krishna water issue with the Centre within 42 days of the states formation in June 2014. We waited for 13 months for the Centre's response before approaching the apex court. Where was the need for us to move the Supreme Court had the Centre acted on our requests promptly?" Rao quipped.

Advising Shekhawat not to take the comments made by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Krishna water issue 'personally', Rao said.

"The Centre has been sitting on this issue for seven years. They reacted only in October 2020 in the apex council meeting, when they asked the Telangana government to withdraw the case from the Supreme Court for early end to the fracas. Believing in your words, the Chief Minister withdrew the case. Instead of dilly-dallying, the Centre should make a sincere effort to resolve the Krishna water dispute by referring the water sharing issue to a new tribunal."

The minister claimed that Telangana was not getting its due share in Krishna as Andhra Pradesh government was diverting water to Penna region from Krishna basin.
No countrys energy needs are expected to grow faster in coming decades than Indias. (PTI Photo)

GLASGOW: India faces a difficult choice that will have consequences for the world.

No countrys energy needs are expected to grow faster in coming decades than Indias. Even under the most optimistic projections, a part of the demand must be met by dirty coal power -- a key source of heat trapping carbon emissions.

India can either compromise on development needed to lift millions from poverty, or it can continue burning coal from the countrys vast domestic reserves, said Indias top environmental official Rameshwar Prasad Gupta in New Delhi, the week before the United Nations climate summit at Glasgow, known as COP26.

With just days remaining for the crucial talks, a fundamental question remains: Will there be enough carbon space in the atmosphere for Indias developmental needs to coexist with the global ambition of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial times.

Last week, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the country would aim to stop adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere by 2070 -- two decades after the U.S., and at least 10 years later than China. But this will only shave off a tenth of a degree of the worlds warming, said climate scientist Niklas Hohne, of the NewClimate Institute and the Climate Action Tracker.

And Indias short-term targets for 2030 -- increasing its current capacity of non-fossil fuel electricity to 500 gigawatts and using green energy to meet half of its needs, cutting carbon emissions by a billion tons compared with previous targets, and reducing the carbon intensity of its economy by 45% -- wouldnt have any impact, said Hohne.

But experts said these goals are ambitious for India, considering its developmental status and will be far from easy.

For instance, India will have to triple its non-fossil fuel capacity in less than a decade. And for that, its power sector will have to completely reimagine itself. States, whose entire economies have centered around coal for centuries, will have to diversify. Land, which is in short supply in the crowded subcontinent, will be required for sprawling solar parks.

Its a humongous task for a country like India, said Sandeep Pai, who studies energy security and climate change at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D,C.

Even then, it may not be enough for the world.

Despite their net zero emissions targets, China, the United States and the European Union will take up 90% of the remaining carbon space to limit warming to 1.5 degrees by 2050, according to an analysis by the India think tank Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) released Sunday. But if they were to advance their targets by a decade, more than 110 billion tons of carbon dioxide for developing nations  or a third of the remaining carbon budget  would be available for developing nations.

You cant develop, if you dont have the carbon space, said Arunabha Ghosh, CEEWs chief executive.

And because of its vast population, Indias energy choices have an oversized impact for the world. There are 27 million people without access to electricity. It has roads and homes to build, while extreme heat is driving up the demand for air conditioning. To fulfil these needs, India will need to build a power system the size of the entire European Unions.

Although India accounts for the most annual emissions after China and the U.S., its negotiators in Glasgow have, time and again, pointed out that they have historically contributed a fraction of the worlds emissions. Moreover, they say, the typical American uses 12 times more electricity than the average Indian.

Indian environment and climate change minister Bhupender Yadav told the Associated Press in an interview Wednesday its a matter of conscience and said those countries historically responsible for emissions need to keep their unfulfilled promise of providing climate finance.

Modi said earlier at the summit that India expected the worlds developed nations to make $1 trillion available as climate finance. As things stand right now, the climate finance from rich nations to align with the 1.5 degrees Celsius target is nowhere to be seen, said Chirag Gajjar, a climate expert at the World Resources Institute.

Its possible for the goal of 1.5 degrees and Indias development needs to coexist, said climate scientist Hohne. What is key, he said, is not building any new coal-fired power plants anywhere in the world, including India, and shutting some coal-fired power plants before their time.

A transition away from coal, especially for coal-dependent regions of the world, would require the assistance of the international community, Hohne added.

Asked about coal, India environment minister Yadav said the country had no immediate plans to phase it out. All the issues come and get stuck in climate finance.
People as impersonating as the Taliban affiliates and annoying citizens will be identified and punished, according to the commission. (AFP Photo)

Kabul: The Taliban's Purification Commission has ordered a ban on arbitrary military operations and courts, sending a stern warning to the violators.

Members of the Commission on Friday gathered at the previous Afghan parliament emphasised good behaviour of the Taliban fighters as vital and added that tens of those who ill-treated people were either punished or dissolved, reported Khaama Press.

Stating that no one is allowed to abuse or beat the former security personnel, the commission said that culprits will be brought to justice.

People as impersonating as the Taliban affiliates and annoying citizens will be identified and punished, according to the commission.

It has also banned arbitrary courts countrywide. The Taliban affiliates have been ordered to take action against those who violate the ban.

The commission is set to be aimed at the purifying the Taliban formation and identifying and dissolving those who mistreat people and do not abide by rules, according to Khaama Press.
The stock value of early stage celebrity investors in lifestyle-focused consumer technologies platform, Nykaa have risen exponentially post the IPO listing.

The Indian film industry's mega stars' Alia Bhatt and Katrina Kaif stocks in the company have give handsome returns, and are now worth over multiple times their original investment, cited industry estimates.

In terms of the shareholding platter, Bhatt owns some 8,177 shares of Nykaa, while that of Kaif is estimated at 3,360.

At Friday's close, Nykaa's stock was valued at Rs 2,358.90, up Rs 142.65 or 6.44 per cent from its previous close.

Consequently, Bhatt's stock holding at Friday's closing price is now worth Rs 1.92 crore.

Read | Nykaa CEO India's richest self-made female billionaire

Similarly, Kaif's share holding in the company was worth Rs 79.25 lakhs.

Industry insiders said that it is possible that there might be other provisions or entitlements that two mega stars might have with the company. The value of those are not readily available in the public domain or in the prospectus.

This week Nykaa had a stellar opening of its stocks which rose its market capitalisation to over Rs 1 lakh crore.

Listed at Rs 2,001 at the opening bell, the scrip, as against the offer price of Rs 1,125.

The bumper opening catapulted its promoters Nayar family as one of India's richest self-made billionaires.

At present, the promoter family holds around 53 per cent stake in the firm FSN E-Commerce Ventures, which owns Nykaa.

The stake at the opening price of Rs 2,001 per share was worth over $6.5 billion.

Consequently, the promoter family joined the billionaires ranks.

The promoter family has stakes of Falguni Nayar, MD & CEO, FSN E-Commerce Ventures, Anchit Nayar, Adwaita Nayar and the Nayar Trust.

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Delayed by another three months, the grand plan to increase the number of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) wards from the current 198 to 243 is aptly defined delimitation. But is it decentralisation of governance in the true sense?

On paper, 243 wards might look like a big number. But can 243 corporators really represent the grassroots of a city with a whopping population exceeding an estimated 1.5 crore? Hardly, because each one of them would be expected to be the voice of about 60,000 people.

Chaired by the BBMP Chief Commissioner, the delimitation committee now has time till January 2022 to complete an exercise, originally scheduled to end in July 2021. Pinned down by the pandemic, the committee had met only once since it was formed.

Proposed 400 wards

So, how many wards will make Bengalurus governance truly decentralised? Four hundred, reminds urbanist V Ravichander. He was part of the BBMP Restructuring Committee that had recommended 400 wards, ensuring that every corporator represents only about 30,000 citizens.

More wards mean more decentralisation, Ravichander explains. The proposed 243 is just an addition of 45, an increase of about 25%. If you look at the citys decadal growth from 2011 to 2021, a conservative estimate shows the population grew by 24%. This implies the 243 is just a bare correction of that decadal growth.

By sticking to a proportional increase relative to the population, the government has chosen the status quo, he notes. It only means you havent really embraced the idea of decentralisation. Since the government is in love with a single city corporation, more wards should have been the way forward.

Smaller units

Deep decentralisation mandates more, smaller wards. It also implies more ward committees, more meetings and members who are better connected. Since ward panels are further decentralised to area sabhas, more Residents Welfare Associations (RWA) could be part of the governance system.

Delimitation, as Vikram Rai from the Bangalore Apartments Federation (BAF) points out, has a critical role: To address the huge gaps in infrastructure on the outer city wards. The way the city has evolved, wards on the outskirts have seen much higher growth in population without proportionate growth in infrastructure, he explains.

Doubling the number of wards to 400 could be ideal, but do we have the capacity, he wonders. When we are already lagging behind, 243 seems like only an incremental step.

Scientific methodology

The delimitation process itself, he feels, should be done scientifically and not politically. I dont know whether even 400 is adequate or not, but the delimitation exercise should repeat, say, every five years in a defined manner. It should be a methodical and periodical process.

Built into the delimitation equals decentralisation narrative is the concept of subsidiarity, as Citizens for Bengaluru (CfB) Cofounder Tara Krishnaswamy points out. With the increase in the size of the city and number of wards, we continue to have even more marginalised elected accountability. While we understand the concept of decentralisation, we ignore subsidiarity, without which no amount of representation can help, she notes.

The lowest unit of government that can solve a given problem should be responsible for it.

Instead, we have, not just the state government, but the union government building local side streets (Smart City) and local toilets (Swachch Bharat).

The functions and powers to be devolved to BBMP, Tara reminds, have even been usurped by Delhi, so much so, that if Commercial Street leaks, my lowest elected accountability is with Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri!

Under represented

On decentralisation, she agrees that Bengalureans are under represented in more ways than we think. While rural voters are entitled to Grama, Taluk and Zilla level elected representatives to handle services that naturally map at those jurisdictions (like water at a district level and streets at a village level,) Bengaluru has all of the city government (BBMP) and nothing beyond.

The delimitation exercise is also expected to bring many Grama Panchayats (GP) just outside the citys periphery into the BBMP fold. Among the GPs proposed to be included are Somashettihalli, Chikkabanavara, Konappana Agrahara, Doddadasanapura, Shikaripalya, Doddatoguru, Chikkanayakanahalli, Mallooru, Kachamaranahalli, Kannamangala, Soolikere, Kumbalagodu and Ramohalli.
With the rising demand for red-petaled jackfruit, scientists introduced the Bhyrachandra variety on Thursday during the annual Krishi Mela.

Bhyrachandra, which gets its name since the petals colour resembles the full moon, bears fruits twice a year. Besides the regular April-May season, it delivers a second load of fruits in August-September.

An average fruit weighs 8.72 kilograms with 20-23 petals. A single tree can produce up to 120 fruits, which might weigh about 1,200 kilograms.

Yellow petal fruits are good, too, said Dr Shyamalamma S, professor, Department of Plant Biotechnology, University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK.

But the red petal ones like Tubugere and Sindhushankara varieties are more attractive to people. We are also creating more such varieties, Shyamalamma said.

Demand for tender fruits has been on the rise in the state, the professor noted.

The tender fruits are cubed and sold in supermarkets. They are also used to make chips (vacuum fried and normal fried) and papad. The pulp of the ripe fruits is being used to make ice creams, she said, adding that the tender fruits are also exported to USA and Europe.

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When all is said and done at the UN climate talks, and the ink on the COP26 agreement is dry, one awkward question will remain: how enforceable will the deal be anyway?

In the last year, countries have announced a flurry of net-zero emissions pledges. The United States promised net zero by 2050, China and Saudi Arabia targeted 2060, and India 2070. Many other countries submitted formal pledges - known as "nationally determined contributions" or NDCs - to cut emissions this decade, ahead of this month's UN climate conference in Glasgow.

Whether those goals are legally binding is for individual countries to decide.

The 2015 Paris Agreement, a legally binding international treaty, commits its nearly 200 signatory countries only to hold global warming to "well below" 2 degrees Celsius and aim for 1.5C. But the accord left it up to countries to set their own national contributions towards the overall Paris targets, and doesn't require they meet them.

"The NDCs are voluntary measures," said Lakshman Guruswamy, an international environmental law expert at the University of Colorado-Boulder. "There's no way of implementing, imposing, or trying to enforce a non-binding agreement."

Also Read | UK's PM urges rich nations to put 'cash on the table' for COP26 deal

Countries including Britain and New Zealand, and the 27-country EU, have fixed individual emission-cutting targets into their own laws. Most nations have not.

International treaties tend not to threaten penalties and instead rely on other political strategies and pressure tactics to ensure cooperation.

But some experts say they should mandate legally binding emissions cuts, given that decades of UN climate summits and voluntary pledges have so far failed to halt the rise in emissions and global temperatures.

"I don't think we're going to have significant progress unless there are legally binding emissions restrictions that are placed on developing countries and developed countries," Guruswamy said.

Only once has a UN climate treaty set binding targets for individual countries. The 1992 Kyoto Protocol applied them to richer nations only and involved a complex process of national ratifications that meant it didn't fully enter into force until 2005.

Making targets binding can also backfire.

When confronted with the final Kyoto agreement, US politicians balked and the country never ratified it. Canada withdrew from the pact in 2011, before its penalty regime took effect.

If the Paris Agreement had included stronger rules, "countries would have stayed out," said Ronald Mitchell, a professor of political science and environmental studies at the University of Oregon.

"Being overly ambitious can reduce participation, there's no question. Politics is the art of the possible."

'Peer pressure'

While there is no clear mechanism for enforcing a "legally binding" pact under international environmental law, UN climate agreements still have ways of keeping signatories in check, experts say.

Backing out of a global deal, or even failing to meet commitments, can be a mark of shame on the international stage. Countries that violate an agreement also risk retaliation in other spheres, such as finance or trade.

The Paris deal includes some systems to push countries toward meeting their pledges and increasing them, including a five-year "global stock-take" of progress.

These systems can show which countries are lagging behind, creating a "peer-pressure environment", said Leslie-Anne Duvic-Paoli, deputy director of the Climate Law and Governance Centre at King's College London.

Also Read | COP26: Climate pledges 'hollow' without fossil fuel phase out

Legal precedence

International climate pacts can also be included in other binding deals or bilateral agreements.

The European Union and Japan's 2017 trade deal, for example, referenced their Paris Agreement commitments.

The EU now demands similar language in all its new trade accords, and from 2024 it will be able to withdraw preferential trade access for developing countries if they don't meet environmental conventions, including the Paris accord.

Climate pacts can also be used in court. The UN Environment Programme in January described a "growing tidal wave of climate cases", with climate lawsuits being brought in 38 countries in 2020, up from 24 in 2017.

In a landmark 2019 legal case, activists successfully sued the Dutch government for failing to protect people from global warming, and pointed to the country's Paris Agreement obligations in their legal arguments. The court ordered the government to slash emissions faster.

"We've seen a number of decisions in courts and jurisdictions all around the world that have read the Paris Agreement to set legally enforceable targets," said Michael Burger, executive director of Columbia University's Sabin Center for Climate Change Law.

Ultimately, states need to have the political will to see their pledges through, he said.

"There is no international or supranational body that is going to come in and make the governments of the world do something they're not willing to do."

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Pakistan Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry said on Saturday that more than 8,000 Sikh pilgrims from all over the world will visit Pakistan to celebrate the birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak, Express Tribune reported.

The minister took to his official Twitter handle to make the announcement and to welcome the pilgrims to "the land of Gurus, Sufis and Yogis".

The Pakistan High Commission has issued about 3,000 visas to Indian Sikh pilgrims to enable them to participate in the 552nd birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak in Pakistan from Nov 17-26, the Dawn reported.

According to a press release issued by the High Commission, the Sikh pilgrims during their stay in Pakistan will visit different gurdwaras, including Gurdwara Janam Asthan in Nankana Sahib and Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur.

Visas to the Sikh pilgrims have been issued under the Pakistan-India Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines of 1974, which provides for the visit of 3,000 Sikh pilgrims from India for the birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak, the report said.

Thousands of Sikh pilgrims residing in countries other than India will also be visiting Pakistan to attend the event.

The Pakistan High Commission in India has extended felicitations to the Sikh community on the 552nd birth anniversary of the founder of Sikh religion. The High Commission also wishes a spiritually rewarding 'Yatra' to the pilgrims visiting Pakistan on this occasion, the report said.

The issuance of maximum number of pilgrimage visas is in line with the government's efforts to promote visits to religious shrines in Pakistan, it said.

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Ferocious clashes have left 58 inmates dead in an Ecuador prison, police said Saturday, in the latest unrest at a Guayaquil jail that was the scene of a September riot which killed 119 prisoners.

Police General Tannya Varela told reporters that an additional 12 inmates were injured in the brawl.

Nearly 300 prisoners have been killed this year in Ecuador's broken prison system, where thousands of inmates tied to drug gangs square off in violent clashes that often turn into riots.

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Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal on Saturday asserted that the issue of the container shortage would be addressed "successfully" as the matter has been taken up with all urgency.

Sonowal, who was on a day-long visit to the country's premier port, JNPT, also said that a committee, under the Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, with representative from other related ministries as well, is looking into the issue.

Earlier in the day, Sonowal reviewed the progress made by the port through its Public-Private Partnership initiatives, and engaged with JNPT's key stakeholders besides inaugurating the 'Bhumipoojan ceremony' of the JNPT Port Road concretisation project, among others.

"This (container shortage) is a big issue. it has been taken up in an urgent manner and definitely we are going to address it successfully," Sonowal said.

"All the concerned ministries have put up efforts in the right perspective", added the Minister.

Amid the pandemic, the exporters globally, including in India are facing container shortage for quite some time now, though with the intervention of the shipping ministry and the shipping firms, the situation has somewhat eased.

To address the problem of shortage of containers for exports, the government in late September announced a three-month extension for the re-export of imported vessels lying at domestic ports.

With the majority of global trade carried by sea, ports are critical gateway infrastructure which connect an entire region and its inland transportation network (road, rails, inland waterways) to the international market, Sonowal said.

Therefore, public-private partnership at JNPT, will help developing strong, well-functioning maritime transport infrastructure, he said. This initiative will become a means to manage port operations more effectively, as well as to develop new port infrastructure, traditionally both exclusively government functions, the minister said.

He highlighted how JNPT has continued to lead India's port sector from the front through its EXIM-centric initiatives and world-class expertise in swiftly streamlining logistical operations, consequently emerging as a preferred 'Port of Choice' for trade.

He further said, JNPT has been successful in earning a name for itself as the biggest container port in the country, which is at par with the global standards. JNPT is serving the country with commitment, he added.

"JNPT is going to become a mega port in the near future. That is the vision plan we have in mind. "For this, whatever top-class facilities are needed to be incorporated to provide the best-possible support to the users of the port will be done effectively," he said.

"I am confident that, through consistent tech advances and multimodal infrastructure development, JNPT will continue to navigate India's port-led prosperity and anchor itself as a mega port by 2030, Sonowal added.

The minister also visited Centralized Parking Plaza to review its tech-enabled operations at the CPP command centre, according to an official release.

Sonowal also reviewed a presentation on terminal operations and boarded a vessel and visited JNPT's multi-product SEZ and Hind Terminal container freight station.

Also, the Union Minister explored 'Smart Port Initiatives' undertaken by the commissioned newly Bharat Mumbai Container Terminals Private Limited (BMCTPL).BMCTPL and reviewed the progress of its phase two expansion.

Currently JNPT operates five container terminals: The Jawaharlal Nehru Port Container Terminal (JNPCT), the NhavaSheva International Container Terminal (NSICT), the Gateway Terminals India Pvt. Ltd. (GTIPL), NhavaSheva International Gateway Terminal (NSIGT), and the BMCT.

Besides, the Minister also e launch the Medical Oxygen Plant at the JNP Hospital.

JNPT will move further ahead in the coming days and play a big role in strengthening the country's economy and exporting the country's farmers' products, he said.

Referring to the PM Gati Shakti scheme, Sonowal said, the integrated effort which is being taken by various ministries will add speed in development works around the country.

Referring to JNPT's Special Economic Zones, the Minister said, SEZs are an important component of the Gati Shakti scheme, adding, if all means of connectivity, be it waterways, airways or railways, are brought together and they play their role unitedly for the purpose of trade, or even providing the facilities to people within proper time, then the country's economy will definitely be strengthened in a short time.

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Actor Kangana Ranaut kicked off a firestorm on Thursday for declaring that India attained real freedom in 2014, when the Modi-led government came to power, and describing the countrys Independence in 1947 as bheek, or alms.

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A promise of finding a "lasting solution" by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has prompted Dimasa National Liberation Army (DNLA), a militant group in Assam's Dima Hasao district, to lay down their weapons on Saturday to pave the way for talks.

A group of 46 cadres led by thier "commander-in-chief" Naiding Dimasa alias Mushrang came overground and laid down their weapons at a function at Khepre, situated about 85km from the district headquarters, Haglong.

DNLA, which was allegedly involved in several violent incidents including the killing of five truck drivers and a handyman at Diymbra area on the night of August 27, had declared a "unilateral ceasefire" in September after Chief Minister Sarma invited them for talks to find a lasting solution.

"Today 46 cadres have come. Other cadres will also join us in the designated camps to be set up by the government if things progress in the right direction. We have over 300 cadres, who are staying scattered at several locations," Mushrang told television channels before the function. "Our demand is to restore the Hirimbapur state, which existed in the past. Group like Dima Halam Daoga (now disbanded) had also fought for the same cause. We will continue our fight till our demand is fulfilled," he further said.

The rebels laid down seven automatic weapons before special director general of police (special branch) Hiren Nath.

Formed in 2019, DNLA has been demanding a "sovereign state" for the Dimasas, a major tribe inhabiting Dima Hasao, Karbi Anglong, Cachar, Nagaon districts in Assam and some places in neighbouring Nagaland.

Chief Minister Sarma said the development gave an impetus to the process of peace in Assam. "Giving impetus to process of peace in Assam as per vision of Adarniya PM Sri @narendramodi & HM Sri @AmitShah, Mushrang, C-in-C of #DNLA has come overground today at Khepre, 95 km from Haflong, Dima Hasao with 46 cadres, in presence of Sri Debolal Garlosa, CEM & other officials, Sarma tweeted after the rebels laid down the weapons.

Giving impetus to process of peace in Assam as per vision of Adarniya PM Sri @narendramodi & HM Sri @AmitShah, Mushrang, C-in-C of #DNLA has come overground today at Khepre, 95 km from Haflong, Dima Hasao with 46 cadres, in presence of Sri Debolal Garlosa, CEM & other officials. pic.twitter.com/zq3aiougdG  Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) November 13, 2021

The negotiation with DNLA gained momentum in September after the Centre and Assam government signed an accord with five insurgent groups in neighbouring Karbi Anglong district, who demanded a seperate state for the Karbis, another ethnic tribe.

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A colonel of Assam Rifles, his wife, eight-year-old son and four jawans were killed in an ambush by insurgents on Saturday morning in Manipur's Churachandpur district, situated close to the border with Myanmar.

Four other jawans were also injured in the attack at around 11 am at Thinghat, about 50 kilometres from the district headquarters (Churachandpur), police in Manipur said.

The convoy of Colonel Viplav Tripathi, the commanding officer of 46 Assam Rifles was attacked with an IED and then fired at indiscriminately, killing seven on the spot. The colonel was returning from a forward camp with his wife Anuja and son Abir, official sources said. Abir was a class 1 student.

Col. Tripathi, hailing from Raigarh in Chattisgarh, had served in Mizoram before his posting in Churachandpur. He had led Assam Rifles teams that conducted successful operations against drug smugglers in Mizoram.

Four jawans who died in the attack have been identified as Suman Swargiary, Khatnei Konyak, R.P Meena and Shyamlal Das.

Security officials suspected the involvement of People's Liberation Army (PLA), a banned insurgent group in Manipur. However, PLA and Manipur Naga Peoples Front, another rebel group issued a joint statement in the evening claiming responsibility for the attack. The statement said they were not aware that the Colonels family was travelling with him.

Formed in 1978, PLA has been carrying out violence in support of its demand for "independent" Manipur.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and defence minister Rajnath Singh condemned the attack. "Strongly condemn the attack on the Assam Rifles convoy in Manipur. I pay homage to those soldiers and family members who have been martyred today. Their sacrifice will never be forgotten. My thoughts are with the bereaved families in this hour of sadness," PM Modi tweeted.

Strongly condemn the attack on the Assam Rifles convoy in Manipur. I pay homage to those soldiers and family members who have been martyred today. Their sacrifice will never be forgotten. My thoughts are with the bereaved families in this hour of sadness.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 13, 2021

Assam Rifles is a paramilitary force but operates under the defence ministry. It is largely used in counter-insurgency operations in the Northeast, including in Manipur, where several militant groups are active.

Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh said state police commando and paramilitary forces were on the job to track down the militants involved in the attack. "The perpetrators will definitely be brought to justice," he told reporters at Shija hospital in state capital Imphal, where the injured jawans were rushed.

Militancy in Manipur

The annual report of the ministry of home affairs said that although overall militancy related incidents came down in the Northeast, the situation in Manipur and Nagaland remained a cause for concern. Militants use the unfenced stretches of the border with Myanmar to flee to their hideouts after carrying out attacks.

In 2015, at least 20 soldiers were killed in ambush by militants in Manipur, following which the Army had conducted operation in their hideouts.

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For the past few months, publishers havent fared well in Bengal as the industry went through a rough patch due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Organisers of the International Kolkata Book Fair, which draws publishers from abroad, and different parts of India, including from southern states, have kept their fingers crossed while announcing the upcoming edition, scheduled from January 31 to February 13 next year.

In Bengal, claimed to be the next big crowd-puller after Durga Puja, the last edition of the book fair had registered around 20 lakh visitors to the venue. The fair had recorded sales worth around Rs 24 crore, Tridib Kr Chatterjee, general secretary, Publishers & Booksellers Guild, told DH.

Chatterjee said now things are relatively better with publishers, as they have acquired newer technology-driven skills for promoting their publications online. Everyone was trying to cope up with the situation, and most of the publishers, young and enterprising, new-generation publishers have introduced their websites, Facebook pages, Chatterjee said.

While there arent any numbers being projected or expected, the publishers body is hoping that the fair will help generate business. We expect more business. During the Covid, reading habits have improved, its proved, Chatterjee added.

The upcoming book fairs 45th edition has Bangladesh as the focal theme country - the birth centenary of Sheikh Mujubur Rahman, founding father of Bangladesh, and the golden jubilee year of Independence of Bangladesh will figure in the fair, besides other celebrations. The organisers intend to invite Bangladeshs prime minister to the event. In normal times, the UK, the USA, France, Spain, Germany, and Italy are usual among participants.

This year, the stalls will be relatively smaller, but not fewer, to make space. A double vaccination is mandatory for the visitors, and norms concerning the pandemic, like wearing a mask, will be strictly enforced. E-passes would be available online to make the visit more comfortable.

The guild is also attempting to make it possible for people to explore the book fair, online. Several cameras, its being planned, will provide live feed online, to people who may want to see the activities, staying away from the ground.

The 8th Kolkata Literature Festival will also be organised during the book fair.

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Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday expressed deep anguish over the killing of five Army personnel in Manipur.

"The cowardly attack on an Assam Rifles convoy in Churachandpur is extremely painful and condemnable. The nation has lost five brave soldiers including the Commanding Officer of 46 Assam Rifles and his two family members," the Defence Minister said.

He paid condolences to the bereaved families and said the perpetrators will be brought to justice soon.

The ambush was staged by unidentified militants in Manipur's Churachandpur district on Saturday.

Also Read | Assam Rifles Commandant, 6 others killed after terrorists ambush Army convoy in Manipur

In a statement, Assam Rifles DG, Lt. General Pradeep Chandran Nair, said: "A convoy of Assam Rifles was ambushed by insurgents in Thinghat, Manipur at 11 a.m. Five soldiers including Col. Viplav Tripathi, Commanding Officer of 46 Assam Rifles have made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty.

"The family of Commanding Officer -- wife and child also lost their lives in the incident. All ranks of Assam Rifles offer condolences to the brave soldiers and families of the deceased."

The driver of Col. Viplav Tripathi was also killed.

Col. Tripathi, his wife, eight-year-old son and four soldiers were gunned down.

The police said the incident took place near Sehken village as the heavily armed militants fired upon the convoy.

In addition to the seven casualties, four non-fatal cases were also reported.

It happened around 3 km away from Deheng in Manipur.

The militants attacked the convoy when the Colonel was going to supervise a civic action programme, bordering Myanmar.

So far, no militant organisation has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The police and security forces have launched a massive search operation to nab the militants.

Manipur has over 40 outlawed insurgent groups.

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The Enforcement Directorate has seized seven four-wheeled cars after it recently conducted fresh raids in connection with the multi-crore rupees Rose Valley money laundering case.

The federal probe agency said in a statement on Friday that it conducted raids on November 10 at seven locations in West Bengal following which it seized two Mahindra Bolero SUVs, a Honda City car, a Toyota Innova, a Tata Indica, a Hyundai Verna and a Mahindra XUV having total value of about Rs 1 crore.

"These vehicles were found to have been acquired out of the proceeds of crime by the companies of the Rose Valley group," it said.

Properties worth a total of Rs 1,103.61 crore have been attached in this case till now by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Also read: CBI files supplementary charge sheet against Rose Valley firm, Gautam Kundu in Tripura

The Rose Valley group of companies has been accused of collecting "huge amount of money from gullible public by floating various fake and fictitious schemes and defaulting on re-payments."

The probe found, the ED had earlier said, that several properties in West Bengal, Odisha, Tripura, Assam, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and others states were "acquired in the name of various companies of the group by illegally diverting the funds collected from the common public".

The ED had filed a criminal case of money laundering against the firm, its chairman Gautam Kundu and others in 2014 and also later arrested him in Kolkata.

Multiple chargesheets have been filed by it in this case even as the probe continues.

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Facebook (now called Meta) is stifling an independent report it commissioned to probe hate speech on its platforms in India, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday citing human rights groups.

The human rights team at Facebook, which is facing intense scrutiny worldwide, including in India, has reportedly "narrowed the draft report's scope and are delaying a process that has already taken more than a year, the groups say".

According to independent human rights groups, they have provided extensive input to a US law firm that Facebook commissioned in mid-2020 to undertake the report.

Also Read | Hate speech content decreasing on Facebook, Instagram: Meta

"The groups say they supplied hundreds of examples of inflammatory content and suggested ways Facebook could better police its services in India," the report mentioned.

"They are trying to kill it," said Ratik Asokan of India Civil Watch International.

Facebook has faced criticism from rights groups for failing to sanitise its platform in India.

Also Read | Facebook whistleblower fears the metaverse

The social network has more than 300 users, along with over 400 million on WhatsApp in India.

According to a Facebook spokesperson, with a complex project like this, the goal is to be thorough, not to meet an arbitrary deadline.

"We look forward to our independent assessor, Foley Hoag, completing their India assessment," the spokesperson told the WSJ.

Also Read | Facebook parent Meta to take politics, race out of ad targeting

The WSJ reported last month that Facebook researchers have found that its products in India are full of "inflammatory content that one report linked to deadly religious riots, according to internal documents".

After whistleblower Frances Haugen accused Facebook of not taking action on fear-mongering and hate content related to India because of "the lack of Hindi and Bengali classifiers," experts have said Facebook has no mechanism to deal with hate content in local or regional languages.

Arvind Gupta, social media expert and head of Digital India Foundation, told IANS, "Whether Facebook accepts it or not, it is a fact that it has no mechanism to deal with content in regional languages and that is why this kind of problem keeps arising."

Also Read | What to do about Facebook, and what not to do

In the past, Facebook has faced several allegations of inaction against hate content in India.

In January this year, a Parliament Standing Committee on Information Technology (IT) had issued summons to officials of Facebook and Twitter to question them over misuse of the social media or online news platforms. The committee has also questioned Facebook's India head, Ajit Mohan, over the issue of political bias on the social media platform.

The allegations of a Facebook bias towards the BJP were reported in The Wall Street Journal in August 2020 and had claimed that Ankhi Das, the platform's then India Policy Head had opposed the idea of removing hate posts by BJP leaders, warning that this could hamper their "commercial interests".

Das later quit Facebook.

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"Unfortunately I am not a very sophisticated speaker. That is my drawback. I learnt English in class 8th," Chief Justice of India N V Ramana on Saturday said.

The CJI made the remark during the hearing in Delhi pollution matter, when Solicitor General Tushar Mehta sought apology for some misunderstandings created by his submission about stubble burning.

"Sometimes language in which our response as lawyers is given might create a wrong message, that wasn't the intention," Mehta said.

Read | Legal profession not about profit maximisation but service to society: CJI N V Ramana

To this, the CJI said he himself was not a sophisticated speaker as his schooling was in Telugu medium and he studied only law in English medium.

Mehta, for his part, was quick to admit he himself has learnt his English in Class 8th and studied till graduation in Gujarati medium.

"I also studied only my law in English medium," Mehta said.

"You are the Solicitor General of Country, you have the articulation," CJI then said.

"I never knew the similarities between me and CJI. I'm really proud of it," the SG said.

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A total of 11,850 new coronavirus infections were reported in a span of 24 hours, taking the country's infection tally to 3,44, 26,036, while the active cases declined to 1,36,308, the lowest in 274 days, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Saturday.

The death toll has climbed to 4,63,245 with 555 fresh fatalities, according to the data updated at 8 am.

The daily rise in new coronavirus infections has been below 20,000 for 36 straight days and less than 50,000 daily new cases have been reported for 139 consecutive days now.

SPECIAL CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE ONLY ON DH

The active cases have declined to 1,36,308, comprising 0.40 per cent of the total infections, the lowest since March 2020, while the national Covid-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.26 per cent, the highest since March 2020, the health ministry said.

A decrease of 1,108 cases has been recorded in the active Covid-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.94 per cent. It has been less than 2 per cent for last 40 days. Weekly positivity rate was also recorded at 1.05 per cent. It has been below 2 per cent for the last 50 days, according to the health ministry.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 3,38,26, 483, while the case fatality rate has increased to 1.35 per cent.

The cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide Covid-19 vaccination drive has exceeded 111.40 crore.

India's Covid-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19. India crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23.

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In a major relief to former deputy chief minister Nirmal Singh, the Jammu and Kashmir Special Tribunal has kept in abeyance an order issued by the Jammu Development Authority for demolition of his house on the outskirts of the city within five days.

The tribunal, headed by judicial member Rajesh Sekri, ordered that the impugned order dated November 8 shall remain in abeyance and the parties were directed to maintain status quo till December 7.

Also Read: Former J&K Dy CM asked to demolish 'illegal' bungalow near Army site within five days

The Jammu Development Authority (JDA) had served a notice to the BJP leader, asking him to demolish his palatial bungalow near the Army's ammunition sub-depot in Ban village of Nagrota.

Singh and his family had moved into the building on July 23 last year, even though the high court had in May 2018 directed the authorities to ensure "strict implementation" of a 2015 notification barring general public from carrying out any construction within 1,000 yards of defence work.

The special tribunal granted relief to Singh on Friday after his wife Mamta Singh moved an application through her lawyers and submitted that she is the owner in possession of the residential plot measuring four Kanals, which was purchased on May 20, 2014 and the area where the land is situated, being outside the jurisdiction of any development authority.

The counsel said the appellant raised the construction of the house and the structure was completed in all respects in the beginning of the year 2017.

Some internal finishing work was subsequently completed and the appellant along with his family have since being living in the house peacefully. During the entire period of construction and thereafter, there was no complaint by any development authority regarding the construction of the house and rightly so as the same had already been constructed prior to the coming into force of Jammu Master Plan, 2032 notified on March 3, 2017, whereby as many as 103 villagers (including Ban) were included and the jurisdiction of JDA, he said, challenging the demolition notice.

In its order of demolition, the JDA had said the building was constructed without attaining the valid permission from the competent authority.

"...you are hereby directed to remove the illegal construction on your own level within five days from the date of issuance of the order. If you fail to remove the illegal construction within the stipulated period of time, the same shall be demolished by the enforcement wing of JDA and cost of removal shall be recovered from you as arrears of land revenue," the JDA said.

The high court had on May 7, 2018 asked all parties concerned to maintain status quo until final disposition of an Army plea which has claimed that the building was in violation of laid down norms.

Raising security and safety concerns in view of the building's proximity to an ammunition depot, the Centre had filed two petitions before the high court.

Singh had earlier claimed it was a political conspiracy against him.

The piece of 2,000 square metre land was bought in 2000 by Himgiri Infrastructure Development Private Limited, the shareholders of which included former deputy chief minister Kavinder Gupta and BJP MP Jugal Kishore and Singh.

Gupta, however, had claimed that he resigned from the company.

The construction work on the plot had started in 2017 prompting the Army to send a communication to Nirmal Singh, who was then deputy chief minister in the PDP-BJP coalition government, asking him to stop the activity as it was in violation of the Works of Defence Act (WoDA), 1903 which bars any construction activity up to 1,000 yards (914 metres approximately).

The construction activity falls nearly 581 yards from the boundary of the depot.

A contempt notice was also moved by the central government in 2018 against Mamta Singh for allegedly violating a 2015 order of the then deputy commissioner of Jammu in which the Army depot was notified by the then state government.

The Ministry of Defence had also filed a writ petition on May 3, 2018 when the local administration and police failed to implement the 2015 order.

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Bringing Karnataka Chief Minister Basavraj Bommai in the line of fire alleging "Bitcoin Operation Cover Up", Congress on Saturday demanded a probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) with experts from multiple agencies monitored by a sitting Supreme Court judge as a probe by Enforcement Directorate or Karnataka Police.

Congress targeted Bommai as he was the Home Minister when the case came to light and the accused Sriki was arrested and held in custody before released on bail and for the alleged delay in notifying the Interpol and Indian agencies like the NIA, CBI, ED and SFIO among others.

Read | Hacker Sriki was drugged in police custody: Congress

The party lobbed six questions to Bommai as well as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president JP Nadda, including who were the actors behind the "operation coverup" and whether the Bitcoins recovered from Sriki were transferred and why the Bengaluru Police initially admitting seizing it and then claiming that it did not do so.

"This is a case of intrigue, whitewash, concealment and deception smack of a deep-rooted conspiracy. It is Indias biggest ever 'Bitcoin Scam Cover Up' under the Karnataka BJP government. Instead of conducting a fair investigation, the BJP Government of Karnataka appears to be preoccupied with a cover up," Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala told a press conference.

Referring to Bommai's meetings with Modi and Shah, he said their "silence" is "even more shocking".

Read | Bitcoin case: None of our people involved, says Bommai

Surjewala referred to 'Whale Alerts', a twitter account tracking largescale cryptocurrency transactions, reflect the transfer of the 14,682 stolen Bitfinex Bitcoins valued at Rs 5,240 crores on 1 December, 2020 and 14 April, 2021 when Sriki was in custody and asked whether it has any correlation. "Whether it was investigated if some of the transferred Bitcoins were from Sri Krishnas wallet?" he asked.

Sriki was arrested on 14 November, 2020 and was kept in custody for over 100 days by repeatedly arresting him in five cases and was released on bail on April 17 this year. Bommai held the post of Home Minister between 20 August, 2019 and July 28 this year and Sriki's arrest and release happened during this period, he said.

"Despite multiple international crimes of significant magnitude, Interpol was not informed for over five months. Why was Interpol not informed despite such gigantic offences with clear international ramifications? Why did the BJP government wait for over five months up till April 24 this year to write to Interpol and that also seven days after the release of Sriki on bail?" Surjewala said.

Read | Delhi visit nothing to do with Bitcoin case: Shettar

The Enforcement Directorate enquired about the case on February 15 and were only informed of one crime on March 3, he said. "What is the role and responsibility of the Chief Minister Shri Basavaraj Bommai (who was the Home Minister in charge at the relevant time) and others in the state government?" he said.

Surjewala also questioned the discrepancy in Bengaluru Police claims on the recovery of stolen Bitcoins from Sriki. "How does the Bengaluru police suggest that the 31 and 186 Bitcoins allegedly transferred to the police wallet were lost or were found to be fake transactions?" he asked.

When questioned about Bommai's assertion that those who have evidence could give it to the ED, he said, "The Enforcement Directorate has become the Election Department of the BJP. The ED, Karnataka Police are not competent to probe the Bitcoin scam, which is an international crime. That's why we demand a SIT probe with expert investigators and monitored by a sitting SC judge."

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BJP on Saturday hit out at Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of spreading hatred against Hindus and running an well planned scheme to foment communal trouble and anarchy in the country.

Addressing a press conference here, BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi also sought to link the communal violence in Amravati in Maharashtra to the hatred-filled remarks against Hindutva of Gandhi at an orientation programme for Congress workers at Sevagram Ashram near Wardha.

Are you running a training programme for your party workers to insult Hindutva. Are you running a well-planned campaign to stoke communal discord and enmity, Trivedi said, referring to the violence in Amravati.

Read | Hinduism not about killing innocent, Hindutva is: Rahul

He also accused the Congress of spreading fake news about mosques being destroyed in Tripura, which was said to be the trigger for the violence in Amravati.

Trivedi recalled that Mumbai had witnessed violence in 2012 when the Congress was in power  both in Delhi and Maharashtra  on the basis of fake news.

The BJP leader claimed that India was a partially Muslim nation before Modi came to power in 2014 as tenets of Sharia law were part of the Constitution and were even given primacy over Supreme Court judgements.

Read | BJP, RSS have hijacked Hinduism and Hindutva: Mufti

We do not need lessons on Hindutva from Rahul Gandhi, Trivedi said, adding that Chhatrapati Shivaji had established 'Hindavi Swaraj' in the same land of Maharashtra where the former Congress President had made some absurd statements.

Trivedi claimed that Gandhi, through his misleading statements on Hindutva, was trying to hold back the giant leap the country was set to take on the basis of self belief.

Just as Ravana came in the disguise of a holy man to abduct Sita, some people are trying to prevent the rise of India as a prosperous nation, he said.

Trivedi said leaders like Rahul Gandhi were unable to comprehend the concept of Hindutva and advised him to read the works of Congress stalwarts such as Mahatma Gandhi, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Jawaharlal Nehru.

Even Nehru had written that the word 'Hindu' has to be understood in the broader context of Indian identity and should not be seen narrowly, the BJP leader said.

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In an indication that his party was not banking only on Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath to win the state in the forthcoming assembly polls in the state, Union Home Minister and former BJP president Amit Shah on Saturday sought votes in the name of prime minister Narendra Modi, crediting the latter with scrapping Article 370 and paving the way for construction of the Ram Temple at Ayodhya.

Addressing a public meeting at Azamgarh, the Lok Sabha constituency of Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav, about 300 kilometres from here, Shah also heaped praises of 'Maharaja Suheldev', who had fought the Muslim army of Mohammed Ghazni, in an apparent bid to woo the electorally influential 'Rajbhar' (an OBC) community, which could impact the results of around two dozen seats in the 'Poorvanchal' (eastern region).

The minister, who also laid the foundation of a university in the district, suggested to Adityanath that the varsity be named after 'Maharaja Suheldev', who, he said, had chased away the foreign invaders.

Also Read | BJP in lead, but losing 108 seats to SP in UP; Congress fighting back in Uttarakhand, Punjab: Poll

"Pichle chunav mein Azamgarh se BJP ko ek bhi seat nahin mili thi....is baar ek-ek seat Modiji ki joli mein daal dijiye," (In the last assembly polls BJP had not won even a single seat in the district...this time, give all the seats to Modiji), Shah said.

He said that Azamgarh was identified as the "hub of terrorism" during the previous regimes but the regime of Adityanath had changed the perception about the district. "Azamgarh was known as the land where terrorists and mafia dons took refuge....it has changed now," he added.

"It was with your (people) support that Modiji was able to form a majority government at the centre," he said.

Shah also slammed Akhilesh for terming Mohammed Ali Jinnah as a freedom fighter. "This area has been freed from mosquitoes and mafia," he remarked in an apparent reference to the prevalence of Japanese Encephalitis (JE) in the region and mafia don turned politician Mukhtar Ansari, who was currently in jail in connection with several criminal cases.

The 'Poorvanchal' region was crucial for BJP's success in the forthcoming assembly polls. In 2017 assembly elections, the BJP had won 115 of the total 156 seats in the region. It however had failed to open its account in Azamgarh. Besides, one of its allies, Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP), which had considerable influence over the 'Rajbhar' community, has allied with the SP this time.

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The Madhya Pradesh government is using different methods to achieve 100 per cent Covid-19 vaccination in the state by end of the year.

In the latest move, the state's Food and Civil Supplies Department has announced that the subsidised or free food grains at all government-run fair price shops will be given only to those who have taken both doses of the vaccines.

However, those who are not vaccinated, will be given rations only if they would agree to get vaccinated from the nearest vaccination centre.

The department has also asked its employees at fair price shops to enquire the vaccination status of each beneficiary visiting the shops.

They have been asked to note down names and contact number of visitors along with date of their vaccination.

"The process will have us a collective data of a particular ward or villages that who have received their first or both dose and who have not taken even single dose. It would help the health workers to reach their homes to give vaccine doses," said an official associated with Food and Civil Supplies Department.

The Shivraj government has set a deadline of December 31 to vaccinate all eligible persons.

Meanwhile, the government has asked all its departments to ensure that employees and their families have taken both the doses of Covid vaccines.

For this purpose, the Co-operative Department has directed head of departments to collect report from employees if they and their family members are vaccinated or not.

Civic authorities are actively raising awareness for the vaccination, especially for the second dose.

"After the first dose, the vaccination rate slumped as beneficiaries were less concerned after number of cases also witnessed a significant decline," said a health official.

The government has also kick-started an outreach campaign, reaching out to the eligible population especially those who can't reach the vaccination centres.

As the per the plan, Districts Collectors are personally visiting at vaccination centres and are posting updates.

As per the official data, as of now, the state has administered 5.01 crore first doses and 2.41 crore were given their second dose. Still, the state requires well over 2.5 crore doses to achieve its 100 per cent target.

There are around 5.49 crore eligible population in the state (above 18 years) for the vaccination.

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With pollution levels "hitting emergency levels", the Delhi government on Saturday night announced that schools, colleges and government offices will be closed for one week but did not impose an immediate lockdown.

A decision on lockdown will be taken after consulting all stakeholders and presenting a draft proposal before the court soon on whether it could be done or not. Construction activities are also banned in the capital between November 14 and 17, as weather forecasts indicate a "fatal pollution situation" during the period.

The decisions were taken at an emergency meeting chaired by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who said "tough decisions" had to be taken to protect lives and cannot "waste crucial time by entering into a blame-game".

Read | SC suggests 2-day lockdown to reduce Delhi pollution

The Chief Minister attributed the higher level of pollution to stubble burning in neighbouring states. "Sole motive of the Delhi Government and the people of Delhi at this juncture is to overcome this emergency," Kejriwal said.

Keeping the children's health in mind, physical classes in schools, colleges and educational institutes have been shut for a week with classes returning to the virtual world.

While all government offices will be closed for one week, the entire workforce will have to work from home, which will significantly reduce vehicular movement in the national capital. Private offices are also advised to follow suit.

On the suggestion for a lockdown coming up during a court hearing, Kejriwal said they have not jumped into a decision as assessing the impact first is paramount.

"We are drafting a proposal in this prospect and will place it in front of the court in the next hearing. This will be the most extreme step if at all it is taken, so all agencies concerned with the matter will be consulted at length first...If a lockdown like situation comes into place, then all the vehicular, industrial and construction activity may be shut. This is still in the proposal stage and would be placed in front of the court first," he said.

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The Madhya Pradesh government has decided to exempt vehicles travelling to Bhopal to attend the 'Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas' tribal convention, to be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 15, from paying the toll.

Buses ferrying tribals to the rally, to be held at the Jamboree Maidan, will also have mechanics onboard to ensure quick repair in the event of the buses developing a snag during the journey.

Also Read | Congress to hold parallel tribal convention coinciding with PM Modi's Bhopal programme

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has directed officials to take stock of the preparations for Monday's programme in a meeting held on Friday, an official statement said.

All the vehicles coming for the 'Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas' programme in Bhopal will be free from (paying) toll tax, the statement quoted Chouhan as saying.

On Wednesday, the Union Cabinet had decided to declare November 15 as 'Janjatiya Gaurav Divas' to mark the birth anniversary of Birsa Munda and honour the contributions of the members of Scheduled Tribes to Indian history and culture.

Also Read | PM Modi expected to visit Bhopal to attend mega tribal convention on November 15

Meanwhile, the chief minister also directed officials to ensure that an ambulance accompanies the vehicles coming for the programme from distant and remote districts of the state. The officials were also directed to ensure that the buses carrying tribals for the rally are fit for travel and subject drivers to breath-analyser tests.

This programme is being discussed in the entire country. There should be no shortage in the arrangements for safe transportation of all participants, their accommodation and food. It is our responsibility that the tribal brothers and sisters coming from different districts should arrive and reach back to their homes safely, Chouhan said.

According to BJP insiders, the saffron party was trying to ensure the participation of 2.50 lakh tribals in the event. Though the government is so far silent on the budget of the forthcoming convention, Congress MLA and tribal leader Hiralal Alawa had on November 11 alleged that CM Chouhan was diverting funds meant for health, education and development of adivasis for Modi's publicity for the event.

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BSP president Mayawati's mother Ramrati died from heart failure in Delhi on Saturday.

Ramrati, 92, died at a hospital in the national capital where she was undergoing treatment, a BSP release issued here said.

Mayawati left for Delhi soon after getting information about the death of her mother, the release said. The last rites will be performed in Delhi on Sunday, it said.

BSP leaders and workers offered condolences on the death of the party president's mother any prayed for peace to the soul.

About a year ago, Mayawati's father Prabhudayal had died at the age of 95, the release added.

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A group of media personnel who came to report a faction meeting being held at a hotel in Kozhikode on Saturday, of the 'A faction in the Congress, were allegedly roughed up by party workers.

A woman journalist had to bear the brunt of the party workers' anger, as they did not want any media attention on the meeting.

"I don't know why I was roughed up. My chain was broken and my shirt was torn in the pulling and pushing," said a peeved journalist who suffered the worst.

Even though the 'A' faction in the Congress party is known after former Defence Minister A K Antony, it is now led by two-time former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, with Antony having no role in it.

Ever since the party high command took over the party activities in the faction ridden Congress in Kerala after the April 6 assembly poll debacle when it appointed K Sudhakaran as the new state party president and V.D. Satheesan as the Leader of Opposition, the 'A' and 'I' factions, presently led by senior legislator Ramesh Chennithala, who were once foes have now joined together to oppose Sudhakaran and Satheesan.

However, with Chandy partly incapacitated due to health issues, aberrations have taken place in the 'A' faction which in some districts has split further. It was one such faction which met under the leadership of former Kozhikode DCC president U. Rajeevan.

While the police have started a probe, the Congress state leadership has decided to find out what actually happened.

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The Supreme Court was on Saturday told that the conclusion of Criminal Rules Committee of the Madras High Court that the designation of special courts MP/MLA is unconstitutional as courts can only be offence centric and can never be offender centric, is not correct.

In a report, amicus curiae, senior advocate Vijay Hansaria, along with advocate Sneha Kalita, said it is also incorrect that special courts can never be constituted by judicial order as stated by the HC in its observation on October 13, last.

"The MPs/MLAs constitute a class in themselves and thus special courts can be constituted for expeditious trial of criminal cases against MPs/MLAs, which is in public interest. Thus, special courts MP/MLA designated by issue of a notification by state governments after consultation with the High Courts is constitutionally valid," it said.

In order to ensure speedy disposal of criminal cases against the elected representatives to the Parliament and the State legislatures including former MPs/ MLAs, the Union government sanctioned special courts following the top court's suggestion in a PIL filed by BJP leader and advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay.

"The legislators are lawmakers who lay down policies for socio-economic development of the country and are responsible for upholding constitutional morality. It is on record that a large number of cases, including heinous offences, are pending in the courts not only for years but for decades," the report said.

"In such circumstances, a special mechanism for speedy trial of these cases cannot be flawed. No special procedure less advantageous to the accused

persons has been prescribed for trial of cases involving MPs/ MLAs; these cases are tried as per general procedure prescribed under the Criminal Procedure Code," it added.

The report also pointed out statutory special courts constituted under PC Act, SC/ST Act, PML Act, POCSO Act or any other statute made by Parliament or State legislature shall ordinarily have jurisdiction to try cases for offences committed under these statutes. However, trial of cases under the special statutes by the special courts MP/MLAs are valid and do not suffer from any constitutional infirmity as these courts have been constituted under the direction of the top court issued in exercise of the power under Article 142 of the Constitution.

The report also asked the court to confirm designation of judicial officers presiding over special courts and allow them to hold the post for two years. It also sought a direction to the central government to make necessary funds available for the purpose of making video conference facilities including witness examination in all the

courts.

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In a major intelligence-based operation, at least 26 outlawed Naxals, including a top commander were killed on Saturday during an encounter in Dhanora tehsil in the Gadchiroli district of Vidarbha region of Maharashtra.

"Today's operation is very important and historic. In the operation, 26 Naxalites have been killed," Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse-Patil said, congratulating the police force for the success.

Gadchirolis superintendent of police Ankit Goyal confirmed the development.

Also Read | Naxals kill two villagers in Madhya Pradesh's Balaghat on suspicion of being police informers

"As many as 25 to 26 bodies of Naxals have been recovered," Goyal told DH over phone from Gadchiroli.

He added that the encounter started in the wee hours in the remote Gyarapatti jungle.

Meanwhile, some reports said that among those killed include Milind Teltumbde, a most-wanted Maoist and an absconder in the Elgar Parishad-Koregaon Bhima case.

However, Goyal said: "The bodies are being identified...we will have to wait for a few more hours before we can give further details.....nothing can be confirmed or denied at this stage."

The encounter is still on and more details are awaited, an official of the Gadchiroli police told DH over phone.

A huge cache of arms and ammunition was recovered from the place of encounter.

Also Read | 7 Naxals killed, 3 held in 3 years in MP: CM Chouhan at meeting chaired by Amit Shah

The massive gunfight involved a dalam of the CPI (Maoist) and the C-60 unit of the Anti-Naxalite Operations of Maharashtra Police and units of the Central Reserve Police Force.

At least three police personnel were injured and have been shifted to Nagpur by helicopter. Their condition has been described as stable.

A top commander who carries a reward of several lakhs seems to be among those killed. However, there is no official confirmation yet.

"The bodies are being identified," police officials said.

"There are indications that the numbers could go up. Besides, the casualties can be high given the fact that Naxalities generally take away the bodies," intelligence officials said.

Massive combing operations in the Naxalite-infested areas of Gadchiroli have been launched to track down the fleeing outlaws.

Walse-Patil congratulated Goyal and additional superintendent of police Somay Munde.

This is the fifth big encounter in recent times in Gadchiroli.

Also read | Focus on Naxalism for one year for permanent solution: Shah

On May 21, 13 outlawed Naxalites were killed in a pre-dawn encounter with police and security forces at Paydi-Kotmi jungles in Etapalli sub-division of Gadchiroli district

On October 11, five Naxals were killed during an encounter at Kosmi-Kisneli jungles of Dhanora located along the Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh border.

On March 3-4, 2020, in a successful Tactical Counter Offensive Campaign (TCOC) against the Naxalites along the Gadchiroli border, an arms manufacturing unit was busted.

Between April 22 and 23, 2018 more than 40 Maoists including four commanders were killed in the twin encounters in Gadchiroli district by a team of Anti-Naxalite Operations of Maharashtra police and 9th Battalion of Central Reserve Police Force.

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A Bharatiya Janata Party-sponsored shutdown (bandh) in Amravati took a violent turn with incidents of stone-pelting, damaging vehicles and a mild caning by the police here on Saturday.

The bandh call followed statewide protests and rallies carried out by some Muslim organisations like Raza Academy on Friday in protest against the recent communal violence that erupted in Tripura.

Also Read: Stone-pelting in some parts of Maharashtra over Tripura communal violence

After minor incidents of stone-pelting reported on Friday from Nanded, Amravati and Malegaon (Nashik), Home Minister Dilip Walse-Patil made a late-night video appeal for restrain from all groups.

"Please maintain calma I appeal to all Hindus and Muslims brethren to maintain peace," Walse-Patil urged, along with other leaders of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.

"I am monitoring the entire situation with the help of senior police officers and discussing with senior Opposition leaders. All those guilty would not be spareda We all must maintain social harmony and I request all to cooperate with us. I request the same to my police brothers to handle the situation cautiously and to maintain peace."

The BJP called for the Amravati bandh to protest against the Friday demonstrations, resulting in massive crowds surging onto the roads, shouting slogans, carrying banners and flags.

Shortly afterwards some sections resorted to pelting stones at private and government vehicles, shops and establishments, forcing the police to resort to mild caning to control the miscreants.

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut and Ministers Abdul Sattar, Ashok Chavan (Congress), Nawab Malik (NCP), AIMIM MP Syed Imtiaz Jaleel, farmers leader from Vidarbha accorded MoS status, and others have strongly slammed the BJP for the violent incidents in Saturday's bandh.

Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis urged the state government to ensure law and order is maintained and condemned the violence that erupted on Friday in three towns.

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Civic bodies in several cities of Gujarat have launched a "drive" against street vendors selling non-vegetarian food, saying display of meat in the open "hurts religious sentiments" besides causing traffic jams.

Interestingly, no written orders have been passed for the move that has been launched in Rajkot, Vadodara and Bhavnagar, all ruled by the BJP.

The move has the backing of state's law minister Rajendra Trivedi, who "appealed to police commissioners to assist the agencies in implementing the decisions" and sought action against violators.

Earlier this week, Rajkot Municipal Corporation decided to remove pushcarts and other stalls selling non-vegetarian food from streets. The municipal body termed the move as a "drive" to remove encroachments which caused traffic snarls on main roads.

The Vadodara Municipal Corporation was quick to follow suit.

Hitendra Patel, Standing Committee Chairman of Vadodara Municipal Corporation, issued "verbal" instructions to its executive cell, asking for the removal of all non-vegetarian food vendors from public places and even restaurants in two weeks. He also cited religious sentiments behind the move.

On Friday, Bhavnagar joined the bandwagon, with the municipal corporation passing a similar "resolution" in its standing council meeting. Following the meeting, council chairman Dhirubhai Dhameliya issued a statement. "We have passed a resolution to stop food stalls from selling eggs and non-vegetarian food on public roads. We have also ordered to seize, fine the violators," he said.

The decision has hit vendors hard. "We all wait for the winter season since it is the only time of the year when demand really soars. The government is not against those who sell Punjabi, Chinese, pav-bhaji among others," a vendor in Vadodara told DH.

Ifran Yunus Modi, 34, a street vendor in Rajkot, said he is staring at an uncertain future. "I have been selling egg-based dishes for nearly 20 years but never faced such a situation," he told DH over phone.

"I have Rs 15,000 EMI for my home loan. My handcart is on rent and for the past two days I have been sitting home doing nothing but worrying. We don't have an organisation which could raise our voices."

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In a move to quell possible communal fallout, the Maharashtra government issued prohibitory orders in Amravati town in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra on Saturday.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi government is constantly monitoring the situation in the wake of Fridays incident of stone pelting, arson and violence during the protests in Amravati, Nanded and Nashik district when the Muslim community staged morchas against the reported communal clashes in Tripura.

This prohibitory order was issued by officiating police commissioner Sandip Patil under sections 144(1), (2), (3) of the CrPC to avoid any untoward incidents.

Except for medical emergencies, people are not allowed to come out of their houses. Similarly, gathering of more than five people is not allowed, the one-page order by Patil said.

State Home Minister Dilip Walse-Patil reviewed the situation with Director General of Police Sanjay Pandey.

Section 144 has been imposed in Amravati in view of protests against Tripura violence, said Women and Child Development Minister Yashomati Thakur, who is the Guardian Minister of Yavatmal, said.

The BJP called the bandh following statewide protests and rallies carried out by organisations like Raza Academy.

We are appealing for peace, said Walse-Patil.

The Home Minister also spoke to former Chief Minister and now Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis, who hails from Vidarbha region.

Reactions in Maharashtra on incidents that never occurred in Tripura, are very unfortunate. It seems like a well-planned conspiracy. Hindu shops set on fire in Amravati. More serious part is MVA ministers giving provocative statements. I sincerely appeal to all to maintain peace, said Fadnavis.

BJP MLA Nitesh Rane said: This terrorist organisation Raza academy is behind all the violence and riots in different parts of Maharashtra! Every time they disrupt and break all the rules and the government sits and watches.. Either the government bans them or we have to finish them in the interest of Maharashtra!.

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Beijing passed a new Land Boundary Law last month. This Boundary Law notes that China abides by treaties concluded with foreign countries on land boundary affairs additionally containing provisions to carry out the reorganisation of the districts in the border areas. The passing of the October 2021 Land Law is meant for the protection and exploitation of the countrys land border areas, the Xinhua News Agency noted. The law deals with both land and boundary that touches India and Bhutan.

The law is notably preceded by Bhutan and China signing an MoU on Expediting the Bhutan-China Boundary Negotiations on October 14, 2021. Nehru had under Article 4 of the 1949 Treaty of Perpetual Peace returned to Bhutan about 32 square miles of territory. The updated India-Bhutan Treaty, 2007, however, rejected the older treaty term of the settlement of disputes by arbitration in favour of negotiations.

Today, India and Bhutan have unresolved land border disputes with China, even as China has disputes in the South China Sea (SCS). The land law casts a shadow of sea on the mountains. Does China fish out legal normativity from the sea to cook it for the land?

The Chinese approach stands on three prongs. First, the land law says Chinas sovereignty and territorial integrity is sacred. China has since December 2014 begun to tactically invoke her ancient geographies. It issued a position paper in December 2014 on the Philippines taking the SCS dispute for international arbitration. The 'position paper said the Chinese activities in the SCS date back to over 2,000 years ago. This paper was very notably preceded by the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea Judge Zhiguo Gao and professor Bing Bing Jia, both Chinese nationals, saying in January 2013 that the SCS has been a calm area since ancient times.

For Gao and Jia, the SCSs strategic and economic significance was traceable back two millennia. The international judge, the law professor, and the Chinese state all write in exactly the same ink. In the Germany-Denmark North Sea Continental Shelf case, the International Court of Justice had established the land dominates the sea principle. This position was subsequently settled in a treaty in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982, where Beijing sat negotiating for nine years.

Second, China since 2013 appears to reverse the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) wisdom. Chinas approach in the South sea is now being brought to the southern land. The key to understanding Chinas sea dominates land is to be found in unpacking the use of sacred in Beijings land law.

Third, China has increasingly couched her territorial claims on land as well as the sea in terms of economic and social development. The law seeks to support economic and social development as well as opening-up in border areas, improve public services and infrastructure in such areas to promote coordination between border defence and social, economic development in border areas. The text of the law reads like directive principles of Chinas state policies.

In 2020, China used a large number of troops trying to unilaterally redraw the Line of Actual Control with India. This included the June 2020 Galwan Valley clash that marked the worst violence since 1967, Pangong Lake, Demchok, Depsang, and other areas. Eighteen months into the tensions in Eastern Ladakh, military talks are still ongoing. Meanwhile, Bhutan and China have been negotiating their boundary since 1984. The 1988 Joint Communique on the Guiding Principles for Boundary Settlement and the 1998 Bhutan-China Border Areas Agreement on the Maintenance of Peace, Tranquility and status quo, as Thimphu noted in October 2021, have been the guiding forces behind the negotiations.

Indias response

India and China have still not resolved the boundary question, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs responded to Chinas October 2021 Law. Instead, India and China have so far agreed to seek a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable resolution to the boundary question through consultations on an equal footing. In the interim, India and China have concluded bilateral agreements, protocols and arrangements to maintain peace along the LAC.

The land law, New Delhi said, does not in Indias view confer any legitimacy to the so-called China Pakistan Boundary Agreement of 1963. India has consistently maintained the China-Pakistan Boundary Agreement is illegal and invalid. New Delhi expects China to avoid undertaking action that unilaterally alter the situation in the India-China border areas under the pretext of this law. Indias lawfare, if any, so far appears diminutive.

Given Chinas preference for bilateral settlement to the territorial disputes on land and in the sea, the passing of unilateral domestic laws in disputed areas may not augur well for Asian peace.

(The writer is a Professor at Jindal Global Law School)
On October 19, the Karnataka government notified its Open Data Policy, whose ambitious objectives have triggered concerns.

The policy aims to achieve three overarching goals - management and interoperability of data across government departments; defining processes and standards for enabling proactive, open access to government data for research, innovation and evidence-based governance; and promoting monetisation of anonymised citizen data. The move comes in the context of the Economic Survey of India, 2019, recommendations to monetise citizen data to facilitate the use of data as a "public good".

The policy calls for sharing anonymised citizen data which could pose grave privacy threats through the risk of de-anonymisation. The "data ownership" concept adopted in the policy makes the state government department that processes the data its owner. In practice and policy, the state is considered the fiduciary or custodian of citizen data and should act in their best interests. As advocated by the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019, and the Non-personal Data Governance Framework (NPD), 2020, the ultimate ownership of data lies with the individuals and communities who help produce it. Lastly, the data monetisation aspect of the policy is problematic for its lack of transparency, potential to prop up private data monopolies and lack of clarity on pricing mechanisms.

Perils of anonymisation

The policy allows for sharing of personal data once it has been anonymised. It, however, does not prescribe the standards that need to be followed for data anonymisation, much like most data governance-related policies in India. With India lacking data protection legislation (for personal and non-personal data), there is a distinct lack of a legal threshold and standards for anonymisation. This could lead to using methods such as pseudonymisation, where personal identifiers are replaced with pseudonyms.

Similar was the stated method of anonymisation used in the contract between the UK National Health Service and various private firms. The UK NHS has come under criticism for the possibility of users being re-identified from their health data owing to the use of pseudonymisation. Indeed, the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) recognises this, noting that "personal data which have undergone pseudonymisation should be considered to be information on an identifiable natural person" and is therefore not outside the purview of the GDPR.

Pseudonymisation aside, other methods of anonymisation are not foolproof either. Earlier this year, private individuals were able to unmask a user by analysing location data acquired from a third-party data vendor, despite the data in the data set being anonymous. It was further proof of the fallibility of anonymisation of data, especially anonymous mobility/location data. This is particularly concerning as the Karnataka policy allows explicitly for the geospatial data to be shared. The threat to privacy is amplified by the absence of penalties in the policy for accidental/willful de-anonymisation carried out using data acquired through the policy. Given that there is no framework for data protection in India, it is difficult for people to seek legal recourse.

Ownership or obscurement?

The Open Data Policy bestows ownership of datasets on the "chief data officer" of respective departments of the Karnataka government. To begin with, adopting an ownership approach to data is problematic and unsuitable. Not only is data not like property and other goods that can be owned or exchanged, but an individual's data on its own does not have as much value as it does when pooled together with data about other people from other sources. Many of the problems around unfair use of data cannot be addressed simply by assigning ownership of data. Instead, what is required is a system of data rights that will address the gamut of harms arising from the sharing and processing of data.

Even within an ownership framework, the approach adopted in the policy goes against the principles set out in the Personal Data Protection Bill, where individuals are de facto owners of the data relating to them. The NPD report states that the individual will own non-personal data derived from an individual's personal data. Rights in non-personal data of a community will be vested in the trustee of that community.

The policy does not provide any legal basis for this assignment of ownership. Such assignment of ownership also has a detrimental impact on the decisional autonomy of the individuals and communities to whom that data relates. It takes away from their ability to decide with whom data relating to them is shared and the purposes that such data could be used.

Additionally, as recognised in the NPD report, government departments are to function as custodians/fiduciaries of data, having a fiduciary responsibility to act in the interests of communities, seeking public value for this data. However, simply making data available does not satisfy this duty as there is no guarantee that the benefits of data analysis will accrue to the public.

A reading of the policy indicates that the purpose of this assignment of ownership is to assign responsibility for the quality and authenticity of data to departments and staff within them. However, if this was indeed the intent, the Karnataka government must change the taxonomy used to disassociate it from notions of ownership.

True costs of monetisation

The policy stands out for proposing the monetisation of aggregated and anonymised citizen data held by state government departments, which is problematic for several reasons.

First, as previously stated, anonymisation is not a foolproof mechanism against re-identification, particularly in the absence of distinct legal thresholds. Second, the monetisation contracts between the Karnataka government and authorised data buyers will be covered under a non-disclosure agreement, which has disconcerting implications for transparency. Citizens have little visibility into the prices at which data is sold, the purposes for which it will be used and the parties involved in the agreement. The role of individuals and communities as producers of data is obscured, making their participation in data sharing decisions impossible. Third, the policy mentions "data stewards" as entities that will fix the prices for data monetisation without clarifying their roles, responsibilities and oversight mechanisms.

More fundamentally, data monetisation presents several institutional challenges in itself. The policy treats data as a mere economic resource or property that can be exploited. Scholars have drawn attention to the unique nature of data that renders it unsuitable to be treated as property. This is compounded by the relational value attributed to data, making it conducive to re-use, which property approaches cannot support. Moreover, intensified commodification of datasets could risk propping up private data monopolies, which might be better able to afford the government datasets than smaller players such as civil society organisations. This facet hinges on the specific pricing formula to be adopted by the Karnataka government, but the policy fails to provide clarity on this. Lastly, the accumulation of datasets in the hands of a few private players could undermine the ability to use data for public interest and innovation in ways that would distribute the value of data equitably and genuinely benefit the communities who produce the datasets.

Pathways to democratic data governance

Any policy framework seeking to share data must respect the interests of individuals and communities who generate this data and their rights over it. Data must be deployed for public welfare in consultation with the citizens who are affected by it. Intermediaries such as data stewards present a promising avenue to mediate public access to data by representing and enabling community participation in data decisions. Barcelona's DECODE project and Korea's Gyeonggi province Data Dividend programme are two valuable examples of citizen-led data stewardship efforts that benefit local communities and businesses alike.

The Karnataka government must rethink its policy in light of such models surfacing democratic approaches to data governance, expanding the scope to enable meaningful citizen participation in decision-making.

(The authors work with Aapti Institute, a Bengaluru-based think tank)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.
At the annual United Nations climate change conference in Glasgow, the first-ever" Water for Climate pavilion highlighted how closely aligned climate and water policies are. The goal was to push world leaders to prioritise building climate-resilient water infrastructure and services. This is particularly salient in countries like India, where green-field urban growth is just beginning.

Urban development is contingent on the availability of water. Historically, the approach has been to go farther in search of new water sources or pump deep groundwater. But these sources are energy-intensive - the water must be pumped over long distances or from great depths. Moreover, this also exacerbates water insecurity in the rural watersheds from which they are sourced.

We are running out of sources to tap, and groundwater is getting depleted. We have to look elsewhere for solutions. Part of the answer lies in integrated urban water management, which prioritises wastewater treatment and effective reuse.

Water management and climate change

Water management in cities will be even harder under climate change, with the increasing frequency of extreme events. At the same time, the demand for water is likely to increase; the likelihood of more intense heat waves makes the need for green spaces more urgent.

Indeed, many cities are attempting to build resilience by increasing green cover, with the latest example being the Delhi Masterplan. The Bangalore Development Authority is working on a draft city masterplan that prioritises greening. The main objective of these initiatives is carbon sequestration. The problem is that green spaces need to be irrigated and, frequently, the water source is deep borewells. This is not sustainable and puts pressure on scarce freshwater sources that might instead be used for drinking.

These trends raise important questions. How are we going to source water to meet the needs of a rapidly growing urban population? How do we restore and expand vanishing green spaces critical for recharging groundwater, reducing flood peaks, and adapting to rising temperatures?

Wasted potential

Our studies have explored the potential of reusing treated wastewater from apartment sewage treatment plants as an alternative source of freshwater for various non-potable uses. Since 80 per cent of water supplied to cities returns as wastewater, treating and reusing a portion of this holds tremendous potential. The state of Bengaluru's water and sanitation system is already precarious - 40 per cent of residents lack access to piped water, 50 per cent of households lack access to sewer lines, and 40 per cent of the city's sewage is untreated. Even the little treated does not make its way back to the cities as it is released into drains and water bodies.

We need to push for more circularity so that this common-pool resource that is being wasted and privately controlled can be used for the public good. This is particularly relevant at a time of such acute water scarcity, worsening pollution of public lakes and wetlands and uncontrolled urbanisation that's encroaching on what's left of our urban green spaces.

Currently, the centralised sewage treatment plants (STP) in Bengaluru can treat 721 MLD (million litres per day) of sewage, while decentralised plants treat 110 MLD. But 288 MLD, or 40 per cent of this 721 MLD capacity, is underutilised due to the lack of sewerage infrastructure connecting the sewage to STPs. The total untreated sewage in Bengaluru city amounts to 660 MLD.

State agencies have made concerted efforts to push for decentralised sewage management to plug this large gap. For example, the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), through a notification issued in 2016, mandated that all residential projects with 50 units and more, commercial projects (with a built-up area of 2,000 sq. mts. and more) and educational institutions must install and ensure reuse of treated water.

But despite these strict measures, wastewater continues to find its way into our lakes, and we continue to dig deeper borewells to source depleting freshwater. We wanted to understand why even the 50 per cent of wastewater that is getting treated in apartments was also going unused, despite there being zero discharge laws in place. So we spoke to apartment residents, builders, STP operators across 15 different wards in Bengaluru to understand why this was happening.

The 'yuck' factor, poor monitoring

One of the big reasons for this is a negative perception and lack of trust in treated wastewater among residents. Insufficient checks and balances to ensure the quality of wastewater further eroded confidence in this resource. Only three out of the 20 RWAs we interviewed were monitoring their STPs on a monthly basis.

However, most people were currently willing to reuse treated wastewater for landscaping. This presents as an ideal solution also because the current level of treatment and the quality of treated wastewater makes it suitable for greening as it is low in chemical contaminants and high in organic content.

The 'grey to green' solution

Using treated wastewater for greening public spaces circumvents that big hurdle associated with its use - the yuck factor. Aside from this, using treated wastewater for greening can also yield multiple benefits in terms of climate mitigation and adaptation. Green spaces are, in fact, critical for low carbon development. Trees and plants sequester carbon, but they also improve walkability and quality of life. Along roadsides and highways, avenue trees reduce the impact of extreme heat events, which benefit the poor who walk the most.

The amount of water required to irrigate urban green spaces in Bengaluru is around 35 million litres of water every day, and currently, it is freshwater that is being used. Our analysis found that 20.1 billion litres of treated wastewater is available in Bengaluru every year. If we effectively utilise this to green public spaces, we can potentially consume 63 per cent of this wasted resource.

Redirecting wastewater for this purpose, especially in the dry months, also means that this water no longer flows into our lakes - the city's vital 'blue infrastructure' - where it hinders the water bodies' ability to act as a flood buffer as they are perennially full. This contributes to urban flooding.

Therefore, reimagining how we use treated wastewater is essential as it can restore urban green spaces and manage floods. This isn't a distant pipe dream. The BWSSB has installed STPs in two of the city's most famous parks  Cubbon Park and Lalbagh. The capacity of the STP is 4 million MLD and 1.5 MLD in Lalbagh and Cubbon Park, respectively. The wastewater output generated is sufficient to water each of these parks and green spaces in the neighbourhood.

The challenges to be overcome

Several challenges need to be overcome before a 'grey to green' solution can become a reality. Wastewater may not always be generated at the time and place where it can be used. So issues of transportation (getting the wastewater from the generation to the point of use), storage (safely storing it for a short period before it can be used), safety (ensuring that the greywater is free of pathogens and suitable for the end-use intended), and seasonality (finding uses for wastewater in the rainy season when demand for irrigation is minimal) need to be solved.

One option is partnering with start-ups like Tankerwala, an e-commerce platform, to implement a pilot programme whereby treated wastewater from apartments can be used in green public spaces and medians in the area. But it will also require the cooperation of many stakeholders, including start-ups like the Foundation for Environmental Monitoring (FFEM), who can establish water quality cheaply, and BBMP and BWSSB to establish the acceptability of wastewater markets.

When this is scaled across a city like Bengaluru, it will save 35 MLD of water and provide freshwater access to 500,000 people. Across five Indian cities, this could be 205 MLD of freshwater saved, benefitting 2.25 million people.

Solutions to our seemingly intractable urban challenges exist, but they require diverse players to collaborate to effect innovations in socio-technical systems. This will be critical if Indian cities are to become less vulnerable to the devastating impacts of climate change.

(The writer is a researcher under the Green Cities Initiative at the Centre for Social and Environmental Innovation at ATREE, Bengaluru)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.
Indian astronomers have developed a new method that could help better study the atmosphere of exoplanets using the polarisation of light.

Their breakthrough is an algorithm that can increase the accuracy of data from exoplanets by reducing the contamination by the Earths own atmosphere and the disturbances due to instrumental effects and other factors. This algorithm, called the critical noise treatment algorithm, can help to study the environment of exoplanets with better precision.

The algorithm was an off-shoot of efforts by a team of researchers at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) in Bengaluru who sought to understand the physical properties of exoplanets. The teams focus was to explore exoplanets that are similar to the Earth and therefore try to identify which could be habitable.

Professor Sujan Sengupta of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) in Bengaluru, had suggested several decades ago that the thermal radiation of exoplanets orbiting other stars would also be polarised. By measuring this polarisation, he said that scientists could also decipher the chemical composition and other atmospheric traits of these plants.

With this in mind, Professor Sengupta and his PhD students Aritra Chakrabarty and Suman Saha recently began using the ground-based optical telescopes available in India and the data obtained by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) space telescope. Almost immediately, they ran into challenges.

While cataloguing photometric data from several planet-hosting stars, they found that the transit signals are heavily affected by the noise due to various sources that pose a challenge to estimate the physical parameters of the planets accurately.

This is where the team said it was compelled to craft a noise-treatment algorithm that can treat the transit signals detected by both ground- and space-based telescopes with much better precision than ever before.

Saha and Sengupta demonstrated the effectiveness of this algorithm by critically analysing the data from the TESS space telescope, reduced the instrumental noise and the disturbances arising from variability and pulsation of the host stars and estimated the physical parameters of a few Exoplanets accurately.

The work has been published in The Astronomical Journal, a peer-reviewed scientific journal by the American Astronomical Society (AAS).

The IIA team is collecting exoplanet data using the Himalayan Chandra Telescope at Indian Astronomical Observatory at Hanle and the Jagadish Chandra Bhattacharyya Telescope at Vainu Bappu Observatory at Kavalur.

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A fact-finding report on communal policing to hate crimes, The Attack on Ambedkar's Dream of Fraternity in Dakshina Kannada from January to September, compiled by People's Union for Civil Liberties - Karnataka (PUCL-K), All India Lawyers Association for Justice (AILAJ), All India People's Forum (AIPF), Gaurilankeshnews.com was released at Roshini Nilaya school of social work on Saturday.

Sharing her experiences on compiling the report, All India Lawyers Association for Justice (AILAJ) co-convener Maitreyi Krishnan said the PUCL had published a report on untoward incidents in the name of moral policing from 2008 to 2012. The issues like check on interfaith love, social boycott on minorities, atrocities in the name of cattle, suppressing religious freedom, and hate speech had been taken into consideration.

There is a need to fight against communal policing and hate crimes. There appeared to have been a decline in the incidents from April 2021 till August and a rise in these communal incidents was observed in the months of September  October, which coincides with aggressive calls for enactment of various legislations to regulate conversions and inter-faith marriages.

She said that the fact-finding team observed six patterns of communal violence. The first one is- enforcing social segregation, where two people from different faiths or religions were not allowed to mingle together. The second pattern is dictating intimacies, where right-wing organisations have been preventing any kind of inter-faith intimate relations.

Economic boycott is another pattern which became more prevalent during the pandemic. Other segments are attacks in the name of cattle protection; curbing religious freedom and hate speech. Development and social science researcher Dr M Chandra Poojary said; The communal violence between 1970-1990 was seen in only three placesKalladka in Bantwal, Bolwar in Puttur and Ullal. There were murders, assaults and loss of property in those days.

Social activist Loretta Pinto said 71 untoward incidents had come to light in nine months, and that there may be even more unreported incidents.

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Congress General Secretary Karnataka in-charge Randeep Surjewala will hold a meeting with senior party leaders on Sunday about the strategy to be adopted on the bitcoin scam as well as selection of candidates for the Legislative Council elections slated for December 10.

Sources said Surjewala will reach Bengaluru on Sunday and return on Monday.

During the visit, sources said, Surjewala will hold discussions with Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar and Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah on what to do next on the bitcoin scam, which the party has taken up to corner the BJP-led state government.

Surjewala also held a press conference in the national capital on the issue putting Chief Minister Basavraj Bommai in the line of fire.

Sources said Surjewala has already asked the state leadership to prepare a list of possible candidates for the election to 25 seats in the Council.

The leaders have been told to prepare the list and try to reach a consensus on one candidate wherever possible. If they could not manage to do so, sources said, the leadership could prepare the list with more names.

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A new book is to be launched next week, which sets to examine the iconic Lough Swilly train.

The new book, titled: "The Lough Swilly Remembered" is written By Jim McBride. Jim has been involved with railway heritage and preservation for decades and is the Irish editor for the Disused Stations website.

A number of events will be held next week to help the launch the book (see dates, times and venues below).

Jim stated: The book looks at the last twenty years of the Lough Swilly Railway from the early 1930s, up to the closure of the railway itself in 1953. In this book we travel on the Swilly, from Derry to Burtonport, and also visit Letterkenny and Buncrana. This story is told through many historic photos from the past.

"Over 50 unpublished photos have been selected of this forgotten Irish railway, which had some unique and distinctive features. This book is published locally, with all profits going towards railway preservation in County Donegal.

"As part of the launch of this book, we are holding a series of events across the North West, some of which will include a short talk about the Londonderry & Lough Swilly Railway.

Niall McCaughan, Manager of Donegal Railway Heritage Centre added: We are delighted yet again to be launching a new book of photographs, celebrating the unique railways across this county. In this publication, Jim has brought together many fascinating and never seen before photographs of the Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway in its heyday.

"This is a welcome addition to the Donegal Railway archive, and includes photographs of Derry, Letterkenny, Bridge End, Tooban, Fahan, Buncrana, Burtonport, and many more locations.

"The book which is just out before Christmas, should prove a popular stocking filler!

The Lough Swilly Remembered is available online at www.donegalrailway.com and at various bookshops across the North West. The new book is just 13 + Postage of 4 = 17. For more information contact info@donegalrailway.com or Tel: 074 9722655

Book launch events:

Monday 15th November, 6:30pm

Venue: Central Library, Derry

Talk & Book Launch

______________________________ _____

Tuesday 16th November, 6:30pm

Venue: The Railway Tavern, Fahan

Talk & Book Launch

______________________________ ______

Wednesday 24th November, 5:00pm

Venue: Donegal Railway Heritage Museum

Launch (Live streamed on Facebook)
Bigg Boss 15: Salman Khan would be a director if not an actor, Kartik Aaryan says 'mujhe bhoolna mat jab aap director ban jao'

Dhamaka boy Kartik Aaryan, who is currently awaiting the release of his upcoming film Dhamaka, is doing the promotions in full swing. The actor recently graced his presence on the sets of Bigg Boss where he met the star Salman Khan and exchanged tete-a-tete around films and work.

A source close to the sets revealed an exciting conversation that took place between the two actors. As per the source, "Salman Khan was speaking about what he would be doing if it wasn't for acting? To which he said he would be a director, if not an actor."

View this post on Instagram A post shared by KARTIK AARYAN (@kartikaaryan)

The source further adds, "Hearing this, Kartik cheekily replied, "Mujhe bhoolna mat jab aap director ban jao". Both Kartik and Salman enjoyed a good laugh on the subject afterward."

It will surely be exciting to watch Salman directing the heartthrob of the nation, Kartik, and treat the audiences with some exciting content.

Kartik truly has left us all anticipating the release of the film with an intense and exciting trailer and the recent song Khoya Paaya. It looks super promising which is why the fans are all the more excited for Kartiks Dhamaka now. The lover boy is clearly set to impress fans with his whole avatar in this upcoming thriller by Ram Madhvani. Dhamaka is one of the most anticipated films of Kartiks and it hits the OTT platform on the 19th of November.
Kangana Ranaut opens up about her controversial comment on 'aazadi', says she will return Padma Shri Award on this condition

Kangana Ranaut has been all over the news for the last few days, and or not so good of a reason. At a recent media event, the actress had made some comments about India's freedom. She was seen saying that India had gotten real independence in 2014, and before that the Independence we got in 1947 was like a 'bheek'. This infuriated many and some organisations from the nation wanted her Padma Shri award to be revoked. Now, the actress has opened up about it.

Taking to her social media, Kangana Ranaut wrote, Everything is very clearly mentioned in the same interview 1857 first collective fight for freedom along with sacrifice of greats like Subhash Chandra Bose, Rani Laxmibai and Veer Savarkar ji. 1857 I know but which war took place in 1947 I am not aware, if someone can bring to my awareness I will give back my Padma Shri and apologise also please help me with this.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kangana Thalaivii (@kanganaranaut)

She added, I have worked in a feature film of a martyr Rani Laxmi Bai... extensively researched on the first fight of freedom 1857... nationalism rose so did right wing ... but why it died a sudden death? and why Gandhi let Bhagat Singh die ... why Neta Bose was killed and never got Gandhi ji's support? why line of partition was drawn by a white man... ?instead of celebrating freedom why Indians killed each other some of the answers I am seeking please help me find answers.

Kangana further went on to say, As far as Aazadi in 2014 concerned I specifically said physical Aazadi we may have but consciousness and conscience of India was set free in 2014... a dead civilisation came alive and fluttered its wing and now roaring and soaring high ... today for the first time ... people can't shame us for not speaking English or coming from small towns or using made in India products... everything is articulate and clear in the same interview... lekin jo chor hain unki toh jalegi ... koi bujha nahi sakta (those who have a guilty conscience will feel the burn, nothing can be done about it) ... Jai Hind.
Harrisonburg, VA (22801)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun early, then becoming cloudy later in the day. High 48F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Some clouds early will give way to generally clear conditions overnight. Low 22F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.
Harrisonburg, VA (22801)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun early, then becoming cloudy later in the day. High 48F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies. Low 21F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.
STONEWALL [ndash] Funeral services for Maple Hamilton, 78, of Stonewall, OK will be 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 20, 2021, at the Stonewall First Baptist Church with the Apostle Gary Bruner officiating. Interment will be in Pleasant Hill Cemetery, Stonewall, OK. Mrs. Hamilton passed away in a Deni
Louth County Council has said that they will redouble efforts to tackle littering after a disappointing national litter report places Dundalk in 27th place.

In a report by the council on the Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) rankings, the local authority acknowledged that the rankings were disappointing for the town after the efforts of Tidy Town volunteers and council staff.

The IBAL report says that while Dundalk showed improvement over 2020, the town fell short of clean status, despite five of 10 sites achieving the top litter grade.

Multiple areas of town, including Clanbrassil Street and Church Street were praised for their clean pavings and fresh planted flowers, but a wasteground on the N53 behind a clothes bank was a significant detractor.

In response to the IBAL report, the council has said that it has planned actions to improve the town and tackle litter issues, with new solar-powered compacting bins set to be installed.

There will be 31 new compactor bins installed throughout the county, with LCC saying that some will be installed in Dundalk to help tackle litter issues.

LLC have also said that no longer being able to use CCTV to catch and prosecute litterers has been detrimental to their efforts to tackle littering, particularly in rural and remote areas.

Once the law permits, the deployment of CCTV by the Council will once again be considered as an enforcement tool in these areas, reads the report.

The council have also said that the ten areas highlighted by the IBAL report will continue to receive attention from the Dundalk street sweeper, council maintenance staff and litter wardens.

The report added that the worst areas highlighted by IBAL will be receiving more attention to ensure that they are kept clean.

The worst area highlighted by the IBAL report, the wasteground on the N53 behind the clothes bank, was said to be the most heavily littered area of Dundalk, with long-term dumping alongside casual littering present.

In response, LCC said that the site was privately owned so LCC staff were unable to access it. Since the report, however, LCC have liaised with the owner and a fence or hoarding is set to be built.

The council added that it will monitor activity around the clothes bank and will work with the charity operating it to ensure that there is strong maintenance.

The report comes as recent littering fine information was announced at the November meeting of Dundalk Municipal District, with 329 investigations into littering in Dundalk so far in 2021.

Of these investigations, only 59 resulted in fines being handed out to offenders.

Alongside this, there were 10 dog fouling investigations, with only one fine being handed out.

At the meeting, operations administrator with LCC, Willie Walsh said that litter wardens had been active in Dundalk throughout the lockdown and worked to combat littering in the town.
North Andover, MA (01845)

Today

Rain showers early with overcast skies later in the day. High 52F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%..

Tonight

Considerable clouds early. Some decrease in clouds late. Low 29F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.
Monday night, Mesa City Council members will vote on a raise for themselves, though they already make far more than most representatives of every Arizona city except Phoenix. All of the council members except Kevin Thompson answered questions from the Tribune about their salaries.
Alex Neville, born and raised in Mesa, died in California after buying a fentanyl-laced pill online. Fentanyl is the top killer of Americans who overdose on drugs.
A man imported cannabis from the United States after purchasing it online using the dark web, a court has heard.

The man (22) told gardai he intended to smoke or bake the more than 4,000 of cannabis and admitted to ordering drugs online on three previous occasions, but denied being a drug dealer.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that the man's mental state was a little precarious at the time, but things have gotten back on track for him since.

Guilty plea

The man with an address in Cork, pleaded guilty to the importation of cannabis at Trinity Halls, Dartry Road, Rathmines, on March 13, 2019.

He also pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis and Ketamine for sale or supply at the same address on the same date. He has no previous convictions.

Detective Garda Eamonn Murphy told Grainne O'Neill BL, prosecuting, that an An Post worker selected a package sent from California to the accused's then address for further inspection and found it contained cannabis with a value of 4,426.

Det Gda Murphy said gardai subsequently searched the man's then address and found further drugs, including Ketamine worth 1,000 and a further small amount of cannabis.

In interview with gardai, the man said he had recently ordered drugs online using the dark web, paying 1,100. He said he had ordered drugs online on three previous occasions and paid using a cryptocurrency.

Defendant denied being a drug dealer

The man told gardai that he had intended to smoke or bake the cannabis he ordered. He said he was a drug addict, having first taken drugs aged 11, but denied being a drug dealer.

Det Gda Murphy agreed with Pieter Le Vert BL, defending, that his client took responsibility for importing the drugs and said he was not going to sell them, but admitted he would give some to his friends.

The detective agreed with counsel that his client was not in a particularly good way when he first met with him and his mental state at the time was a little precarious. He agreed there has been improvement since and the man is almost like a different person now.

Det Gda Murphy said he thinks the man has learnt his lesson and will not come before the courts again.

Mr Le Vert said his client found his first year in college very difficult, stopped attending lectures and became very withdrawn. He said there was a marked change in his client's personality and he pushed friends away.

Got his life back on track

Counsel said that after his client was caught by gardai, he attended therapy and things began to get back on track for him. He said his client almost flunked his first year in college, but in his third year he received first class honours.

He said his client is involved in volunteer work.

Mr Le Vert asked the court to consider imposing Section 100 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006. This section allows the court to impose a fine and defer the passing of a sentence of imprisonment for the offence.

Counsel said the question is that given what this man demonstrably has to give, should he be curtailed by the recording of a conviction for an offence he committed when he was 19 year's old.

On Thursday Judge Melanie Greally said she appreciates a conviction would hinder the man greatly in terms of his future and opportunities he might have. She said the offending in question is serious misconduct, but said she was not completely opposed to imposing Section 100.

Judge Greally said she would adjourn the matter for two weeks to allow for the canvassing of charitable organisations and for a proposal to then be put to the court regarding a suitable entity that could benefit from the man's experience and skill-set.

She adjourned the matter to November 25, next, with a view of adjourning the matter again on that date under the provisions of Section 100.
A Dublin motorist had almost 2,000 worth of cocaine between his buttocks when he was stopped at a routine checkpoint in Cork.

The 37-year-old later handed over the drugs to gardai and confessed to having cocaine for sale or supply at Cobh in 2019.

Christopher McCarthy with an address at Bayview Estate, Cobh, County Cork, was arraigned at Cork Circuit Criminal Court where he pleaded guilty to the crime.

He admitted that on September 21 2019 at Cobh garda station he had cocaine for sale or supply to others.

Maurice Coffey, senior counsel for the accused, said at the defendants sentencing hearing that the defendant had taken steps to deal with his drug-related issues.

Detective Garda Michelle Quinn said at Cork Circuit Criminal Court that that gardai were conducting a checkpoint in the Carrigtohill area.

Brought to garda station

Because of their observations of the driver of the car they decided to bring him back to Cobh garda station to conduct a drugs search.

He had a package between his buttocks and he handed it over before any search commenced, the detective said.

It turned out that the stash had a street value of 1,960.

Det. Garda Quinn said Christopher McCarthy had two previous drug-dealing convictions dating back to 2010 and one from 2011. He had four for having drugs for his own use.

Sentenced in Cork

Judge James McCourt imposed a two-year suspended sentence on him for this latest offence from 2019. He is required to continue in his treatment with Merchants Quay Ireland drug treatment.

The judge noted that the defendant cooperated with the gardai and expressed his remorse and apologies. The judge also took into consideration the steps taken by the accused to deal with his substance abuse problems.
A young Cork man accused of stabbing another men in the leg  severing an artery  after they allegedly arranged by Snapchat to meet, has confessed to the crime.

30-year-old David Burke of Mount Carmel, Glasheen Road, Cork, was recently served with a book of evidence and has made his first appearance at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.

Guilty pleas

The man appeared by video link from prison and was arraigned on two charges against him.

He pleaded guilty to production of large kitchen knife and a charge of assault causing harm to the other man.

Emmet Boyle, defence barrister, said the accused had been granted bail but had chosen not to take up bail.

He has significant drug issues. I would ask for sentencing to be adjourned for a probation report.

He is anxious to explore all options in terms of residential treatment, Mr Boyle BL said.

Judge Helen Boyle directed preparation a probation report and remanded Burke in custody for sentencing on February 11 2022.

At an earlier court hearing, Detective Garda Pat Connery of Togher garda station said, It is alleged that at 4 pm (Monday May 10) he took a knife from his home and went to the junction of Magazine Road and Dorgans Road and met Luke Hayes whom he knew.

There was a fight between the two and Mr Burke stabbed him in the leg cutting an artery. An ambulance arrived and took him to hospital.

Gardai went to Mr Burkes house and he was caught with blood-stained clothing and there was a blood-stained knife at his home.

The detective said there was CCTV coverage of the assault and there was also coverage of it on a mobile phone and on a dash-cam.

Det. Garda Connery said it was alleged the defendant and injured party contacted each other through Snapchat.
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Washington, MO (63090)

Today

Mostly cloudy skies early will become partly cloudy later in the day. High 47F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

A mostly clear sky. Low 26F. Winds light and variable.
The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is exhibiting the 2021 Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest entries during the month of November at Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center. The artwork will be on display in the nature centers exhibit gallery.
Sandra Ellen Dunn Locke of Elkmont, Alabama, passed away at Cape Canaveral Hospital on October 31, 2021. She was a loving and caring wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend. Sandra is survived by her husband, Anthony Locke and their daughter, Ashley Norman; her son, Andrew Tybergh
AMC announced back in August that it will start accepting cryptocurrency by the end of the year. Now, company CEO Adam Aron has revealed on Twitter that you can already use your digital coins to purchase movie tickets. And, true to the promise he made in September, AMC isn't only accepting Bitcoin, but also Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin  for online purchases, that is. Aron also said that the theater chain has started accepting Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal payments, as well.

Big newsflash! As promised, many new ways NOW to pay online at AMC. We proudly now accept: drumroll, please Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin. Also Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal. Incredibly, they already account for 14% of our total online transactions! Dogecoin next. pic.twitter.com/a7pqYBm7HB  Adam Aron (@CEOAdam) November 12, 2021

It sounds like moviegoers are welcoming the new payment method with open arms, since it apparently already accounts for 14 percent of the company's total online transactions. Aron also said that AMC will be adding Dogecoin next.

AMC almost went bankrupt due to the pandemic last year, but it was saved in part thanks to an army of day traders on Reddit and Twitter that sent its stocks soaring by around 2,300 percent. Aron fully embraced the company's status as a meme stock and told investors in an earnings call earlier this month that AMC is exploring the creation of its own cryptocurrency. AMC plans to make a foray into the world of NFTs, as well, and is in talks with Hollywood studios to create non-fungible tokens related to major films. During the call, Aron said that the theater chain is also looking into accepting Shiba Inu tokens, but he has yet to announce if it can add the cryptocurrency to its payment options.
Adidas isnt the only clothing brand helping Microsoft celebrate the Xboxs 20th anniversary. Italian fashion house Gucci has teamed up with the company to release a special edition Xbox Series X that will cost an eye-watering $10,000. The bundle will include the console, two wireless controllers and a very fancy carrying case. Oh, it will also come with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, in case you were worried.

As you might imagine, the package is an exercise in branding. The signature touch here is the console itself. Gucci has laser-etched it with its iconic Rhombi design. In this context, it says its a visual play on words with the pattern alluding to both the initials of Guccio Gucci and the shorthand for "Good Game." Well played, Gucci. The included carrying case has dedicated space for both controllers and the Xbox Series X, so your gaming setup can come with you in Darjeeling Limited-style on your next trip.

Gucci plans to sell only 100 hand-numbered units of the bundle through its flagship stores. It will be available starting on November 17th.
January 2, 1942 - November 20, 2021 Meron Kay Highfill Burleson went home to her Lord on November 20, 2021. She will be cremated at her request. There will be no memorial service at this time. A private memorial service to celebrate her life and going home will be held at a later date. Meron
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Moustache, a scathing commentary on Brahminical ritual purity, tells the story of a Dalit protagonist with the audacity for bodily grooming.

In mainstream literature(s) across languages, Dalits have been imagined by non-Dalit writers through a frozen spectrum of tropes such as dirty, devious, incestuous, ignorant, servile, and passive victims of Indian society. They are often written about as types and subjects who serve to inversely highlight the virtues and progressive attitudes of the (savarna) protagonists. Even when Dalits are portrayed as focal figures, their agency for critical reflection or decisive action is either wilted or altogether withheld in the flow of the narrative. The Malayalam literary tradition, too, is ensconced within these Brahminical narrative conventions. However, the novel Moustache (2020, translated by Jayasree Kalathil) by S Hareesh heralds a fresh promise with its tightly woven array of myths, legends, folklores, hearsay, songs, and stories that revolve around the eponymous character Vavachana Pulayan (Dalit) Christian. Primarily set during the early 20th century in Kuttanada waterscape teeming with flora and fauna in Keralathis rambling cornucopia of tales is about an impertinent Dalit and his defiance against the established caste propriety as much as it is about the ensuing consequences that divulge the many darker yet overlapping shades of history, politics, agrarian economy, and colonialism.

Under the caste system, Dalits are disallowed bodily grooming like doing their hair, donning headgear, wearing ornaments, footwear, or elegant clothes, for these are constitutive markers of humanity and self-worth. Dalits are violently disfigured by caste Hindus for living their own bodily sovereignty. It is this fetid social intransigence against which the author conceives his protagonist Vavachan. In the novel, Vavachan gets an opportunity to play the character of a policeman with a big moustache in a musical drama, in contravention of the established conventions. Vavachans character is initially slated to appear only in two scenes: in the first one, he has no dialogues but has to deliver a few grunts and piercing looks, and in the second one, he gets to look at the audience and roar angrily. The audience (almost entirely upper-caste men), drawn from Kerala society proper, do not recognise Vavachan on the stage. But Vavachans towering body, moustached dark face, bloodshot eyes, and roaring grunts throw the audience into jitters; they see the formidable Ravanan, the mythical king of Lanka, being embodied in front of them. When Vavachan unexpectedly reappears in another scene roaring Da! straight at them, they ultimately flee in utter panic.
Jasper, IndianaKevin Schewe has combined the first four books of his popular and award-winning sci-fi series, the Bad Love adventures, into an affordable box set. All formats, hardcover, paperback and e-book, will be available for purchase during the holidays. With expected shortages of gifts due to transportation snarls, the perfect gift might be the Bad Love Gang's extended adventures through time, space and history. The fourth installment, Bad Love Medicine, was recently released and brought the time-traveling group of brave teenagers into direct conflict with Adolph Hitler and the Nazi Party in WWII Germany.

These are the books in chronological order of release over the last two years: Bad Love Strikes, Bad Love Tigers, Bad Love Beyond and Bad Love Medicine. Each book stands alone with the scenes shifting from World War II and the mid-1970s to distant planets populated by alien beings, dinosaurs and other exotic creatures. Since time travel and alien worlds are involved, Schewe delves deeply into the scientific breakthroughs achieved with the creation of nuclear weapons during the super-secret Manhattan Project and how that connects to time-travel.

The entire four book set is available on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Bad-Love-Collection-Sci-Fi-Adventure-ebook/dp/B09LPPDBMM/ ASIN: B09LPPDBMM, or www.jancarolpublishing.com

Pop culture also plays a role in all the books as hit songs, from the 1960s and 1970s, periodically come up to highlight a mood, a moment or a motivation. Each book has an amazing song playlist and can be easily found on Spotify. Schewe encourages readers to have the digital playlist handy so one might listen to the music as it is highlighted during that particular part of the story.

Schewe has penned a screenplay for the first book, Bad Love Strikes, that has been racking up awards all over the world. It just nabbed its 7th international award in Madrid, Spain after picking up awards at the Seoul International Film Festival in Korea and in Munich, Germany at the New Wave Short Film Festival, where it was chosen as a Special Jury Screenplay Selection. It also has picked up the Prix Royal Paris Silver Screenplay Award, the South Florida International Film Festival for Best Original Screenplay for Young Adults, the L.A. Film Awards Best Sci-Fi Screenplay, and a Gold Script Writing Award for Sci-Fi Adventure from the Depth of Field International Film Festival. "Great writing needs to be savored and rewarded," said the Prix Royal Paris judges.

Awards the books have collectively picked up in the last years include the Wishing Shelf Red Ribbon Winner, Literary Titan Silver Book Award, NABE Pinnacle Book Achievement Award, AMI Indie Book Awards, and an eLit Award to name a few.

Expert Click Radio  Author of 'Bad Love Medicine,' Kevin Schewe, Featured on Book Spectrum Radio Show

Bad Love Medicine takes readers from the deep-space beauty of Planet Azur back to a WWII Europe riddled with danger and espionage, bringing the time traveling heroes face-to-face with one of history's greatest villainsAdolf Hitler himself. The Bad Love Gang series is part history lesson and part sci-fi adventure. Its Teenage Goonies meets Raiders of the Lost Ark or Stand By Me meets Stranger Things  all the while being historically accurate! Schewe's engaging Bad Love Gang (based on his own friends in high school) once again set out to save historythis time, by stopping the Nazis from creating a time machine of their own.

"If history was taught this way in school, everyone would be a scholar and educating ourselves not only about our accomplishments but the horrors of the past that should awaken and give insight to the path of a better future. A rare gem!" David Holladay, MD, 5-Stars

"Skillful writing (both historical and fantastical), a zesty sense of humor, an appreciation for pop culture, and the ability to create memorably entertaining characters combine to make this an immensely impressive series and experience! Very highly recommended." Grady Harp, Amazon Top 100 Reviewer, 5-Stars

In Bad Love Strikes, the Gang discovers The White Hole Project, a time machine created by President Franklin Roosevelt in case the atomic bomb failed, and then go on to save a group of Holocaust victims. In the exciting first sequel, Bad Love Tigers, the Gang use the White Hole Project to travel back to 1945 to thwart Russian spies and protect the secrets of the White Hole Project and Area 51. In Bad Love Beyond, the Gang travel not just through time but through space as well to learn the reason behind Blue Nova One's mysterious visit to earth and to get the cure for breast cancer. Then, in Bad Love Medicine, the Bad Love Gang has a two-fold mission: reunite a love-struck couple separated by time (while saving one of them from a future fate of breast cancer) and, at Winston Churchill's personal request, stop Hitler and the Nazis from creating a time machine of their own.

Watch the book trailers for each book at https://bit.ly/BadLoveStrikes-Trailer or https://bit.ly/BadLoveTigers_Trailer or https://bit.ly/BadLoveBeyondTrailer or https://bit.ly/BadLoveMedicineTrailer

About Kevin Schewe: Kevin L. Schewe, MD, FACRO, is a board-certified cancer specialist who has been in the private practice of radiation oncology for over 34 years. He is an entrepreneur, having founded Elite Therapeutics and Bad Love Cosmetics Company, LLC.

A long-time history buff, Schewe is the author of the Bad Love Book Series, a young adult sci-fi adventure that spans much of early 20th century history. You can connect with Kevin Schewe through his website KevinSchewe.com or via Instagram @realkevinschewe.

Media Contact: For review copies or to arrange an interview with Dr. Kevin Schewe, contact Scott Lorenz of Westwind Book Marketing at scottlorenz@westwindcos.com or by phone at 734-667-2090. Reach Lorenz on Twitter @abookpublicist
WASHINGTON (AP)  A north Alabama man arrested after police found multiple guns and incendiary devices in his pickup truck near the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection pleaded guilty Friday to weapons charges.

Lonnie Coffman, 71, pleaded guilty two federal charges of possession of unregistered firearms related to Molotov cocktails found in the vehicle and at his home near Falkville, located about 60 miles (97 kilometers) north of Birmingham, prosecutors said in a statement. Coffman also pleaded guilty to carrying a pistol without a license in a District of Columbia court.

Coffman, who already was in custody, could receive as long as 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each of the federal charges and five years and a $12,500 fine for the local offense, authorities said.

U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly scheduled sentencing for April 1.

Coffman was one of hundreds of people arrested after rioters supporting then-President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol and tried to block certification of President Joe Bidens victory. Police found Coffmans truck loaded with 11 jars containing a flammable liquid; several loaded guns; a crossbow with bolts; several machetes; camouflage smoke devices and a stun gun, prosecutors said.

During a hearing, Coffman said he had filled the jars with gasoline years earlier, so the explosive particles may have vaporized and been harmless, news outlets reported.

"I didnt plan on blowing nothing up, he told the judge at one point.

The judge said the Molotov cocktails were still destructive devices and accepted the plea.

In May, a judge refused bond for Coffman citing his participation in a militia training camp and large stockpile of weapons. According to earlier court filings, the FBI in 2014 identified Coffman as a participant at Camp Lonestar, a reported gathering place for Texas militia groups, and said he had information about two other militia groups.

Coffman, an Army veteran who served two tours during the Vietnam War, dealt with depression and often spoke about the difficulty he had dealing with the experiences from the war, a court document quoted relatives as saying. A family member said Coffman became a hermit after he separated from his wife, a document showed.
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP)  Cyprus police have suspended one officer and 11 constables after launching an investigation into how a boat loaded with migrants gave them the slip and continued its journey to Italy after docking at a local harbor.

Police said in a statement Friday that the boat carrying 61 people was intercepted early Wednesday off the Mediterranean islands southern coast and escorted to port in the resort town of Paphos.
More than 100 years ago, a fascinating San Antonio love square came to a bloody end when Pearl Brewing magnate Otto Koehler was shot dead by one of his mistresses.

Otto Koehler was one of the wealthiest men in the Southwest at the time of his death in November 1914, according to an Express-News story. He took over as president of the Pearl Brewing Co. in 1902. The historic brewhouse is now an anchor of the Pearl complex.

When he was shot and killed, Otto Koehler was married and dating two women  all of whom were named Emma.

On ExpressNews.com: Top places in downtown San Antonio to take your out-of-town guests

In 1910, his wife Emma Koehler was in a car accident that required full-time home care. Otto Koehler hired a home nurse named Emma "Emmi" Dumpke, who was a petite brunette in her 20s. Soon after, Otto Koehler and Dumpke were having an affair.

After his relationship with Dumpke began, Otto Koehler met a friend of hers named Emma Hedda Burgemeister, who was also a nurse. And soon a second affair began.

He then set up Dumpke and Burgemeister in a home on the South Side, paid for their expenses and gave them a monthly allowance of $120 and $50, respectively.

According to previous stories, Otto Koehler spent hours with his two mistresses at the South Side home. The affairs lasted until Dumpke announced she was getting married to another man. Otto Koehler then asked Burgemeister to marry him.

Burgemeister rejected his proposal because she didn't want to leave Emma Koehler "sick and helpless."

On Nov. 12, 1914, the beer baron left the brewery at 4 p.m. to visit the Emmas at their home. The San Antonio Light reported that Otto Koehler brushed past Dumpke and headed straight for Burgemeister's bedroom, where she was lying in bed with a cloth over her eyes. An argument ensued after he attempted to kiss her, according to the Light article.

Hotel Emma

Moments later, Burgmeister shot him dead with a .32-caliber revolver.

Im sorry, but I had to kill him, she reportedly told police. Koehler, who was 59 at the time, suffered gunshot wounds to the neck, face and heart.

Years later during her murder trial, Burgemeister told jurors that she killed Koehler in self-defense and to protect Dumpke's honor. She was found not guilty by an all-male jury in 1918.

Emma Koehler took over the brewery after her husband died and successfully ran the business until her death in 1943. Hotel Emma, which is also part of the Pearl Complex, is named after her.

When the hotel first opened its doors in 2014, according to the Hearst article, the owners considered creating a drink called "The Three Emmas" with the slogan "It'll kill ya."

taylor.pettaway@express-news.net
GLASGOW, Scotland (AP)  Going into overtime Friday night, negotiators at U.N. climate talks in Glasgow were still trying to find common ground on phasing out coal, when nations need to update their emission-cutting pledges and, especially, on money.

Talks are at a bit of a stalemate, and the United States, with support from the European Union, is holding back talks, said Lee White, the Gabonese minister for forests and climate change.

Mohamed Adow of Power Shift Africa, a long-time talks observer, said poorer nations are beyond disappointed with the way the United Kingdom presidency has come up with drafts and that this has become a rich world negotiation. He said poorer nations cannot accept what has been proposed.

As the talks approached midnight, rich nations had a much more optimistic view, showing the split that might occur after new drafts appear Saturday.

United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson, host of the meeting, said through a spokesperson that he believes an ambitious outcome is in sight.

U.S. Climate Envoy John Kerry told The Associated Press on Friday night that climate talks were working away, commenting after a late night meeting with his Chinese counterpart and before a hallway chat with Indias minister.

Chinese Climate Envoy Xie Zhenhua told Kerry in the hallway: I think the current draft is more close in a conversation that AP witnessed. When Kerry asked him if he felt better about it, Xie answered: Yes, I feel better about it because Alok Sharma is a smart guy.

No agreement was ready by the 6 p.m. local time scheduled end of the conference. And sometimes that helps diplomats get in a more deal-making mood.

The negotiating culture is not to make the hard compromises until the meeting goes into extra innings, as we now have done, said long-time climate talks observer Alden Meyer of the European think tank E3G. But the U.K. presidency is still going to have to make a lot of people somewhat unhappy to get the comprehensive agreement we need out of Glasgow.

Three sticking points were making people unhappy on Friday: cash, coal and timing.

A crunch issue is the question of financial aid for poor countries to cope with climate change. Rich nations failed to provide them with $100 billion annually by 2020, as agreed, causing considerable anger among developing countries going into the talks.

A Friday morning draft reflects those concerns, expressing deep regret that the $100 billion goal hasnt been met and urging rich countries to scale up their funding for poor nations to reduce emissions and adapt to climate change  an issue with which developed countries are also grappling.

Poorer nations say regret isnt enough.

Dont call them donor countries. Theyre polluters. They owe this money, said Saleemul Huq, a climate science and policy expert who is director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development in Bangladesh.

The draft also proposes creating a loss-and-damage fund to help poor countries tap existing sources of aid when they face the devastating impacts of climate change. But rich nations such as the United States, which have historically been the biggest source of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, are opposed to any legal obligation to compensate poor countries.

But Gabon's White said rich countries, particularly the United States and the European Union, had said they werent ready. They said we never agreed to that. It wont work. Its too complicated.

The proposal for creating this mechanism is like creating a bank account, said Adow of Power Shift Africa. We dont need to push cash into the account now. It is just the opening of the account.

This was the elephant in the room, said Lia Nicholson, lead negotiator for the alliance of small islands at the summit. She said that developing nations and China had a united position on this but the proposal hadnt met with significant pushback from rich countries.

Small islands cant always be the ones who are asked to compromise our interest with the objectives of reaching consensus, she said.

That Friday draft also called on countries to accelerate the phaseout of unabated coal power and of inefficient subsidies for fossil fuels.

A previous draft Wednesday had been stronger, calling on countries to accelerate the phasing out of coal and subsidies for fossil fuel.

Kerry said Washington backed the current wording. Were not talking about eliminating coal, he told fellow climate diplomats. But, he said: Those subsidies have to go.

Kerry said it was a definition of insanity that trillions were being spent to subsidize fossil fuels worldwide. Were allowing to feed the very problem were here to try to cure. It doesnt make sense.

But there was a mixed response from activists and observers on how significant the addition of the words unabated and inefficient was.

Richie Merzian, a former Australian climate negotiator who directs the climate and energy program at the Australia Institute think tank, said the additional caveats were enough that you can run a coal train through it.

Countries like Australia and India, the worlds third-biggest emitter, have resisted calls to phase out coal any time soon.

Scientists agree it is necessary to end the use of fossil fuels as soon as possible to meet the 2015 Paris accord's ambitious goal of capping global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit). But explicitly including such a call in the overarching declaration is politically sensitive, including for countries, such as Saudi Arabia, that fear oil and gas may be targeted next.

Another issue from Friday mornings draft concerns when nations have to come back with new emission-cutting targets which they were supposed to submit before the Glasgow talks. Because the pledges werent enough, the draft calls on the nations to submit another tougher target by the end of 2022, but some nations, such as Saudi Arabia, are balking about this said World Resources Institutes David Waskow.

In 2015 in Paris, there was a debate about whether targets should be updated every five or 10 years so going to one year after Glasgow is a big deal, said Environmental Defense Fund Vice President Kelley Kizzier, a former EU negotiator.

Negotiators from almost 200 nations gathered in Glasgow on Oct. 31 amid dire warnings from leaders, activists and scientists that not enough is being done to curb global warming.

According to the proposed decision, countries plan to express alarm and utmost concern that human activities have already caused around 1.1C (2F) of global warming and that impacts are already being felt in every region.

While the Paris accord calls for limiting temperature to well below 2C (3.6F), ideally no more than 1.5C, by the end of the century compared to pre-industrial times, the draft agreement notes that the lower threshold would significantly reduce the risks and impacts of climate change and resolves to aim for that target.

In doing so, it calls for the world to cut carbon dioxide emission by 45% in 2030 compared with 2010 levels, and to add no additional CO2 to the atmosphere by mid-century. So far the world is not on track for that.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told The Associated Press this week that the 1.5C-goal is still in reach but on life support.

The annual meetings, first held in 1995 and only skipped once last year due to the pandemic, are designed to get all countries to gradually ratchet up their efforts to curb global warming.

But for many vulnerable nations the process has been far too slow.

We need to deliver and take action now, said Seve Paeniu, the finance minister of the Pacific island nation of Tuvalu. Its a matter of life and survival for many of us.

___

Ellen Knickmeyer, Philipp Jenne and Karl Ritter contributed to this report.

___

Follow AP's coverage of the talks at http://apnews.com/hub/climate
Houston Methodist Hospital on Friday temporarily suspended a doctor on its staff who is spreading false information about COVID-19 to her patients and on social media.

Dr. Mary Talley Bowden, an ear, nose and throat specialist who runs a private practice in River Oaks, was granted provisional privileges to practice at the hospital within the last year, according to a Methodist spokesperson. Bowden had never admitted a patient before Friday, when the hospital pulled those privileges for further investigation, the spokesperson said.

Dr. Mary Bowden, who recently joined the medical staff at Houston Methodist Hospital, is using her social media accounts to express her personal and political opinions about the COVID-19 vaccine and treatments, Houston Methodist said in a statement. These opinions, which are harmful to the community, do not reflect reliable medical evidence or the values of Houston Methodist, where we have treated more than 25,000 COVID-19 inpatients, and where all our employees and physicians are vaccinated to protect our patients.

The hospital cited unprofessional behavior, including vulgar language on social media, as the key reason for the suspension.

Bowden last week sent her patients two emails, which were obtained by the Houston Chronicle. In the first, she said all the data I have collected suggests that the vaccine is not working. In the second, she urged against vaccinations for children and those with natural immunity  information she said she was relaying from a livestreamed COVID conference.

On her Twitter account, she repeatedly decries vaccine mandates and touts the unproven benefits of ivermectin, the anti-parasitic drug that federal health officials advise against using to treat the virus.

All of my comments are backed by clinical experience, Bowden told the Chronicle. I have been open seven days a week since the pandemic began, performing over 80,000 COVID tests and treating over 2,000 patients with COVID.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Houston Methodist doctors experience increased hostility amid ivermectin, COVID misinformation

There is no well-designed study that shows ivermectin benefits people with COVID. Additionally, vaccines have been highly effective at preventing severe illness and death from the virus.

A report released Monday by the Texas Department of State Health Services says unvaccinated people were 13 times more likely to become infected and 20 times more likely to die compared with vaccinated people. Among the nearly 29,000 COVID deaths in the state, 85 percent were unvaccinated, the report said.

In one of Bowdens emails to patients, she suggested that Methodist is not treating unvaccinated patients  a claim she walked back in later messages.

Despite what she has posted, Houston Methodist does not and will never deny care to a patient based on vaccination status, the hospital said.

According to the statement, Bowden told the hospital she is vaccinated and therefore compliant with its vaccine mandate. Yet the doctor will only accept new patients who are unvaccinated because they are being marginalized, she told the Chronicle.

I am simply doing what I can to restore power and make sure they have medical care, she said.

On her website, Bowden says frustrations with the traditional medical system encouraged her to open her own practice in 2019. The website says she is also on the staff at Memorial Hermann Hospital, though the hospital released a statement Friday afternoon declaring that Bowden is neither an employee of Memorial Hermann, nor does she have clinical privileges at any of the systems acute care facilities.

Bowden was licensed as a physician in Texas in 2000, according to Texas Medical Board records. She holds a specialty certification from the American Board of Otolaryngology. She has no history of discipline or medical malpractice investigations, records show.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Texas Medical Board takes 'corrective action' against Dr. Stella Immanuel over hydroxychloroquine prescription for COVID patient

Born in Georgia, she graduated from the Medical College of Georgia in 1998 and completed her residency at Stanford University and the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.

When asked about the possibility of future discipline, medical board spokesman Jarrett Schneider said the board cannot issue prospective opinions on whether an individual has violated any board rules or laws.

Generally physicians have a wide latitude in accepting or not accepting patients, he said. Some physicians may not accepted (sic) patients if they arent vaccinated for example.

julian.gill@chron.com
A Devine man accused of killing two people and wounding another in August has been indicted on a capital murder charge.

Fernando Rojas, 38, is charged in two indictments: capital murder of multiple persons in the fatal shootings of Sareena Kay Bain, 28, and Jonathan Kenneth Fann, 38, on Aug. 3 in San Antonio, and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for wounding Joe Austin Buch, 28, in the same incident.

The case against Rojas was among 202 felony indictments returned this week by two Bexar County grand juries, the District Attorneys Office said in a statement Friday.

An arrest affidavit stated Rojas opened fire on Bain, Fann and Buch during an argument outside a residence in the 10300 block of East Loop 1604 in Southwest Bexar County. Bain was pronounced dead at the scene, and Fann and Buch were taken to a local hospital. Fann later died.

One of the men who was shot reportedly told Rojas to get off his property multiple times before Bain and one of the men approached Rojas. A witness saw and heard four or five gunshots from a custom-made red AR-15 that Rojas was holding as he stood next to a pickup, the affidavit stated.

Bexar County sheriffs deputies also heard from a second witness who said Rojas and the three individuals were arguing before the shots were fired. A witness who checked on the victims after the shooting heard one of the men say, Im sorry Fernando did this to us, the affidavit states.

Court records indicate Rojas has numerous drug and weapons charges that date back to 2016.

He is being held in the Bexar County jail in lieu of $250,000 bail, online court records indicate. If convicted of capital murder, Rojas would face either life without the possibility of parole, or the death penalty. It was unclear if the DAs office plans to seek the death penalty.

Also indicted this week was Tavares Marquette Anderson, 43, charged with murder in the death of Malcom Ray Everett, 25, on July 18.

San Antonio police called to a Medical Center-area apartment in the 2800 block of Babcock Road at 2 a.m. that night found Everett dead next to a white Suburban while Anderson and two women argued inside the SUV. Reports indicate a witness recorded the incident.

Anderson told officers he shot Everett in self-defense after the two had been out drinking and began to argue when they got to the apartment with the two women. Police said Anderson told them Everett kept charging toward him trying to fight and that Anderson asked one of the women to give him his gun and warned Everett to leave him alone. He shot when Everett charged again, he said.

Charged with murder the same night, Anderson is out on bond, according to online court records. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.

Michael Rene Soto also was indicted on a murder charge this week. He is accused of killing Pedro Guadarrama Pedroza, 24, a passenger in a vehicle Soto is accused of hitting while running a red light in an attempt to evade arrest after 1 a.m. Aug. 28 at the intersection of South Zarzamora Street and West Southcross Boulevard.

If convicted, Soto, 17, faces up to life in prison.

ezavala@express-news.net | Twitter: @elizabeth2863
Joint Base San Antonio said Friday it didnt know the source of Legionella bacteria found recently in a barracks at JBSA-Fort Sam Houston, where 81 military and civilian personnel were relocated last week.

The command, issued a statement in response to questions about the problem, saying it will not speculate on the source of the bacteria, which is transmitted by breathing via mist or vapor  small droplets of water in the air.

There have been no reported cases of illness among troops in the barracks due to the bacteria.

Right now, we re focused on treating the buildings water system and getting those residents back in their homes, JBSA spokesman Rob Strain said in an interview, adding that the command was still looking at the cause but has not reached any conclusion.

Civil engineers and public health experts will evaluate the building to ensure it is safe before allowing the residents to move back in to their rooms, he said.

Strain said the rooms that were found to have the bacteria were retested Thursday, with results expected in two weeks.

Most of the barracks residents are young and healthy, making them unlikely to get sick if exposed to the Legionella bacteria. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention information about the bacteria is at www.cdc.gov/legionella/index.html.

JBSA Public Health took random water samples during an Oct. 12 walkthrough of the Liberty Barracks, a five-story, 360-room complex that opened in April 2012.

Results came back two weeks later, with five of 18 samples from the barracks testing positive for the bacteria. All were from unoccupied rooms, JBSA said.

In 2018, three infections at Brooke Army Medical Center were traced to a water heater in a now abandoned building next to the main hospital.as the likely source.

The 216,873-square-foot barracks are home to soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and members of the Coast Guard. The complex has housed ill or injured troops from in or out of the war zone. The Army at one time called the rooms Warrior Transition Units but last year changed the name to Soldier Recovery Units.

Residents began moving out of the barracks Nov. 4, with all relocated to other facilities by the next day.

On ExpressNews.com: BAMC locates source of Legionella bacteria

In all, 50 recovering service members, including the U.S. Marine Corps Detachment San Antonios Wounded Warrior Battalion-East, and eight civilian attendants were relocated to other living quarters on JBSA-Fort Sam Houston. Another 20 recovering service members were moved to JBSA-Randolph and three to JBSA-Lackland.

Some of the troops required rooms that comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Strain said all of those who have moved out of the barracks will return once the building is deemed safe.

sigc@express-news.net
Google Maps screenshot

The director of North East ISD's Engineering & Technologies Academy is under investigation for allegedly touching a minor inappropriately, a district spokesperson told the Express-News on Friday.

Robert Lozano is the director at the magnet school located on Roosevelt High School's campus.
Its hard to find anyone in San Antonio who has a negative word to say about Peter Sakai.

The former 225th District Court judge has built a reputation for fairness, integrity and sensitivity to the nuances of childrens issues, an area of expertise he has developed over his 26 years as a judge.

But even some of Sakais many admirers wonder how smoothly he would be able pull off the transition from the courthouse bench to the responsibility of presiding over Bexar Countys Commissioners Court.

Sakai, 67, is seeking the Democratic nomination for county judge, a post that is opening up because Nelson Wolff has decided to step aside after two decades in office.

Sakai compares his situation to that of Phil Hardberger, another longtime judge in San Antonio who decided he wanted to be a local government policymaker.

Hardberger not only won the 2005 mayoral election, he established a legacy as one of the most impactful and effective mayors in San Antonio history.

Sakai is careful not to suggest that his judicial resume matches that of Hardberger, who served as the chief justice of the 4th Court of Appeals before running for mayor.

The bigger point for Sakai, however, is that he believes he can bring the same value set to the Commissioners Court that Hardberger brought to the City Council.

For Sakai, the cornerstones are stability, consistency and openness.

(Hardberger) brought in competent staff and he delegated, Sakai said. He provided the direction and the boundaries to make sure things were done professionally, ethically and with inclusivity. Thats what Im bringing to Commissioners Court.

Sakai served 11 years as Bexar Countys first Childrens Court judge, enabling the county to elevate its handling of child abuse and neglect cases by connecting troubled families with a comprehensive range of services.

Fifteen years ago, he made the jump to the 225th District Court and ultimately won four terms on that bench.

In September, he announced his intention to resign, effective Oct. 31.

Id come to the point where I decided I was not going to run for another term, he said. Im the most senior judge; Ive been local administrative judge in the courthouse. Ive done practically everything I can except just kind of move up the political ladder in judiciary.

Sakai said he reached the point where he was asking himself if it was time to settle into a quiet life of retirement.

I decided that I still have some gas in the tank, he said. The bottom line is when Judge Wolff was signaling that he wanted to step down, I looked at that position real hard.

It hit me that I could take my platform, of children and families that Ive been working with in a collaborative way with public-private partnerships and creating programs, and take that whole skill set to the Commissioners Court.

While he is the only declared candidate thus far for county judge, the race is not lacking for interest. Democratic state Rep. Ina Minjarez announced last month that she was forming an exploratory committee and launching a series of community conversations about her possible bid for county judge.

This week, former Mayor (and current SAISD trustee) Ed Garza told the Express-News he is also mulling a campaign for county judge.

Ive just been listening and reflecting on the opportunity to share what I hold dear for our community, for our county, and see if theres some alignment there, Garza said.

Sakai said his big priority as county judge would be to collaborate with the city on tackling what he sees as the communitys biggest challenges: infrastructure, education, workforce development and housing.

He also wants to continue Wolffs commitment to restorative justice and work with city leaders to address domestic and family violence.

The biggest part of the county budget is the justice system, Sakai said. My commitment as county judge is to make sure that we are funding the justice system, that were supporting our judges.

Wolff made county government more relevant and dynamic than it had ever been in this community. He embraced game-changing projects such as the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, the San Antonio Rivers Mission Reach, the expansion of the University Hospital system and the San Pedro Creek improvement.

No one can fill his shoes, and Sakai isnt going to try. But hes convinced he can forge his own successful path.

As a district court judge, Ive had to develop an ability to listen intently and with empathy to two sides of a legal dispute and then apply the law, he said. Once you make that decision, you have to express it and clearly put that ruling on paper. I believe that skill set is what will make me a great county judge.

ggarcia@express-news.net | Twitter: @gilgamesh470
The Ranger ceasing operations in December as college administrators planned could have been a devastating development for the next generation of local journalists.

Ranger Editor Sergio Medinas excellent reporting about the plans helped save the journalism publication at San Antonio College, or SAC, whose administrators later said they would work to reimagine the Ranger. This is a testament to the newspaper.

SACs status as a local landmark in our community makes it feel like a small university rather than a community college. The existence of a hard-hitting and widely distributed student newspaper cemented that connection for me as a student.

When I worked for the paper during the spring 2015 semester as a student staff writer, it was a meaningful experience. Under the tutelage of professor Teresa Talerico, I grew as a student and as a young adult.

The lessons I learned working at the Ranger rank among the few things I learned in higher education that still factor into my everyday life.

One experience that comes to mind is when I interviewed SAC President Robert Vela Jr. about the state of the campus restrooms. Before our scheduled interview, I couldnt bring myself to press the call button on my phone. I was extremely nervous. What if he was combative and didnt like the questions? How would I react? Were my questions good enough to withstand scrutiny?

The interview went fine. Vela was generous with his time and detailed in his responses. It was eye-opening to realize, for the first time, that talking to those in positions of power is like talking to anybody else. I needed to do my research and be prepared, but there was no reason to be nervous.

Of course, not everybodys welcome to the real world moment is going to come from forcing themselves to follow through with an interview with the executive of a community college about campus restrooms.

My takeaway is that the Ranger moved generations of college students out of our comfort zone in a way that was beneficial for our future. Its no surprise that so many former Ranger staff writers fill jobs in the highly competitive San Antonio media market and beyond.

As a student who had neither the grades nor the money to attend a prestigious journalism school, the opportunity to write for a real newspaper at SAC was a life-changer for me  and I know it was for so many others. The Alamo Colleges must commit to preserving and expanding that opportunity for future generations of students.

Theres reason to root for the success of SACs journalism program, even if you dont share the nostalgia of former Ranger staff writers. Like SAC itself, a Hispanic Serving Institution, the newsroom I worked in at the Ranger was majority-minority and predominantly Latino.

A recent report from the San Antonio Association of Hispanic Journalists revealed that Latino news anchors are massively underrepresented in San Antonio, a 65 percent Latino city with a rich Mexican American history. A government report requested by U.S. Congressman Joaquin Castro was released in September and revealed the same thing to be true nationally across the media industry.

Closing one of the only newsrooms in our community that develops and trains young journalists from diverse backgrounds would inevitably turn some of the voices we need to hear from most right now away from journalism.

Student journalists spared us from the negative impact that shuttering the Ranger would have on media representation and which stories are told in local newsrooms. Alamo Colleges and SAC officials should honor their journalistic prowess by ensuring the program is on a sustainable path.

Matthew Reyna was a student staff writer for the Ranger in 2015.
President Joe Biden wants to bring the same discerning, commonsensical governing style to American child care that has his job approval rating in the low 40s.

In other words, look out below.

The child care proposal that House Democrats have written into Bidens Build Back Better bill for human infrastructure may be the worst feature of the nearly $2 trillion legislation, and thats saying something.

It is high-handed and prescriptive, constitutes a new front in the culture war via an expanding welfare state, will likely increase the costs for middle-class and upper-middle-class parents, and may have an unconstitutional provision to boot.

The proposal reflects the preferences of two-earner, professional couples in the Acela corridor inclined toward expensive, formal, all-day child care and would make a large step toward enshrining them as the national norm.

There is no doubt that there is a significant demand for child care. Roughly half of married and single moms with children younger than 5 work full time, and about 40 percent of working moms pay for child care. But its a mistake to believe that all parents want to be in the workforce, with their kids in standardized child care programs.

According to a 2019 Gallup poll, 50percent of mothers of children younger than 18 would prefer to stay at home taking care of family over having a job. A survey from the populist think tank American Compass found that 53 percent of married mothers prefer the model of one parent working and one parent staying at home in families with children younger than 5.

Those parents who have to work or choose to work use all sorts of child care options, from relatives to smaller home-based day cares, to nonprofit or for-profit day care centers.

There is a pronounced class divide here. As Patrick Brown of the Ethics and Public Policy Center points out, white children of parents who dont have a college degree spend most of their hours per week with their parents; only 30 percent of children with college-educated parents do the same.

What the Democratic proposal would do is put an enormous thumb on the scale toward for-profit centers. It would pour hundreds of billions of dollars not into supporting the varying choices of parents, but into pushing the current archipelago of diverse options into a one-size-fits-all system defined by the government.

The proposal would boost the pay of child care workers significantly, seeking to make it equivalent to elementary school teachers, and add new regulations best sustained by for-profit centers. It would thus bring the progressive model of constricted supply leading to increased cost that characterizes the housing, education and health care sectors to child care.

The left-wing policy analyst Matt Bruenig caused a stir when he warned of spiraling costs from higher pay and new regulations. He noted that the proposals subsidies to families are phased in based on income. This means that, depending on the proposals final design, unsubsidized families could be exposed to increased costs without getting additional government help. He cited the hypothetical of a dual-earning family that feels the squeeze of increased costs, so one spouse quits to lessen the households income and qualify for subsidies.

Normally people who quit jobs to take care of their kids do so in order to save the money theyd have to spend on child care, he wrote. Under this plan, they have to quit their job in order to afford child care!

On top of this, the House proposal prohibits government funds to upgrade child care facilities from being spent on facilities used primarily for sectarian instruction or religious worship. This is a clear shot across the bow of church-based child care, one unlikely to pass muster with the Supreme Court.

Bidens presidency so far has been a long exercise in ideologically driven governance removed from reality. The child care proposal is no different.
In the summer of 1964, President Lyndon Johnson needed votes in the U.S. Senate to pass the Civil Rights Act.

Specifically, he needed Republican votes.

The segregationist Southern Democrats were not supporting the legislation, of course. Texas Senator Ralph Yarborough was ultimately the only southern Democrat to support it.

On ExpressNews.com: Preyor-Johnson: 21 life tips to my son on his 21st birthday

Engaging the Johnson treatment of pleading, cajoling, and demanding, Johnson and leading Senate Democrats worked the Republican delegation relentlessly for their support.

The key Republican was the Senate minority leader, the gravely voiced Everett Dirksen of Illinois.

Dirksen had voted for the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and 1960 and he supported the 1964 Act, but he needed to bring along additional Republican votes.

And he did.

The final vote in the Senate was 73-27 in favor of the legislation. Twenty-seven of the majority votes were cast by Republicans.

Indeed, a larger percentage of Republican senators (82 percent) supported the Civil Rights Act than did Democratic senators (69 percent.)

It was one of the nations most significant legislative accomplishments, outlawing discrimination based on race, color, religion, and national origin. It prohibited racial segregation in public accommodations and schools and discrimination in employment.

Dirksen commented, Stronger than all the armies is an idea whose time has come. The time has come for equality of opportunity in sharing of government, in education, and in employment. It must not be stayed or denied.

On ExpressNews.com: Editorial: Turn back the clock - and leave it

President Johnson had earlier said to the Congress that no memorial oration or eulogy could more eloquently honor the recently assassinated President John F. Kennedy than passage of the Civil Rights Act.

He got his wish. And the nation is better for it.

I recall this history of nearly 60 years ago for the simple reason that one cant imagine Republicans in todays Senate acting like their predecessors.

Mitch McConnell is no Everett Dirksen. The bulk of todays Senate Republicans do not have the commitment to equality their 1964 forerunners had.

So, what happened?

It was the disappearance of a breed of Republicans once identified as Rockefeller Republicans. Named after New York Governor and later Vice President Nelson Rockefeller, they were a group of liberal Republicans who supported a range of progressive issues.

Members of this group in the 1960s and 1970s included Senators Edward William Brooke III of Massachusetts, Mark Hatfield of Oregon, Jacob Javits of New York, Charles H. Percy of Illinois, Hugh Scott of Pennsylvania, Margaret Chase Smith of Maine, John Chafee of Rhode Island, Lowell P. Weicker Jr. of Connecticut and James B. Pearson of Kansas.

These were individuals who would have no home in todays Republican Party.

Former President Dwight Eisenhower fit the mold of a Rockefeller Republican. Recently deceased four-star general and Secretary of State Colin Powell described himself as a Rockefeller Republican.

These were Republican politicians who embraced bipartisanship and a network of social safety issues. They advocated for continuing New Deal programs and were pro-labor unions. They supported the Environmental Protection Agency.

They were business and political leaders like George Romney of Michigan, who was considerably more liberal than his son, todays Utah Senator Mitt Romney.

On ExpressNews.com: Clack: Wake up, Ted Cruz, GOP mob. Stop misappropriating 'woke'

They thought the United Nations was a good idea and they endorsed the nomination of Thurgood Marshall, the first Black justice in Supreme Court history.

They were opposed to the candidacy of Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater for president in 1964.

At the Republican National Convention in 1964, Nelson Rockefeller addressed the delegates saying, There is no place in this Republican Party for such hawkers of hate, such purveyors of prejudice, such fabricators of fear. He was booed by right-wingers supporting Goldwater.

Just consider how far removed from liberal positions are todays Republicans.

I am not saying that a Rockefeller Republican cant be found at all today. Some exist at local and state levels, although their political clout is overwhelmed by the white nationalist drumbeat of todays Republicans leaders.

Todays Republican Party is dominated by evangelical groups, anti-immigrant sentiment, and the pro-gun lobby. The very idea of Rockefeller Republicanism is an anathema to todays Republican Party.

One must examine the role of right-wing media, notably Fox News, in shaping Republican policies today. Fox News is opposition news. Its very existence is rooted in a rejection of all liberal and moderate policies.

The worst the Rockefeller Republicans faced in the 1960s were the largely rejected absurdities of the John Birch Society.

Todays Republican Party is no longer a responsible national party. It has morphed into something else. What that is will be the topic of a future essay.

Roger C. Barnes is professor emeritus of sociology at the University of the Incarnate Word.
Re: Turn back the clock  and leave it, Editorial, Monday:

With the time change, I only gained 15 minutes  45 minutes were spent on a ladder changing clocks.

I totally agree with your comments concerning the negative effects on our bodys clock. I believe another important consideration has to do with our quality of life.

Good things happen when darkness approaches: Families gather at home, eat earlier, start homework earlier and go to bed earlier. With better rest we have more productive days. When daylight extends later into the day, many activities, such as dating, eating out and outdoor events, start later, especially in the heat of summer. Businesses stay open later, forcing public transportation to run later and employees to get home to their family later.

I agree: Lets get back to Gods time and keep Central Standard Time year-round.

Bill Lyons

Illegal ones down?

Re: Study: Abortions down by half after state ban, Metro, Nov. 1:

Im seeing the new abortion rate in Texas lauded due to Senate Bill 8. A University of Texas study found the rates been cut in half since the bill became law.

I dont think we know that. All we know is legal abortions have been cut in half. History tells us when abortion is illegal or inaccessible, women take matters into their own hands, often with disastrous results.

Lets not kid ourselves about whats going on. Fair pay and affordable child care would do far more to help bring down the true number of abortions. Its a shameful time in Texas when we dont support women.

Kathy Hill

Bird, 1; Ted, 0

Re: Big Bird not immune to COVID controversy, Nation/World, Friday:

Looks like Republican Sen. Ted Cruz has met his match, again. Got bested by a large, feathered guy who understands responsibility and leadership.

Who will Cruz pick on next? Im guessing it wont be Charlie Brown or Smokey Bear. These are strong guys, although one does have some issues on the ball field.

Beware, Ted, and pick on someone your own size.

Gary Morrison

Better CPS payments

Re: CPS will bill customers $450M for storm costs, Front Page, Oct. 15:

I read recently CPS Energy plans to levy a $1.50 charge to customers for 25 years to make up for the Big Freeze shortfall.

I understand the business decision to recoup costs, but that strategy is ridiculous. The customer charge is really like a tax. Think about how we pay taxes. The amount of tax you pay at the pump depends on how much gas you buy, your property tax depends on the value of your property, and so on.

I suggest that CPS levy, say, for the purpose of discussion, a 1 percent surcharge on each customers bill. If your bill is $100, you ante up $1; if your bill is $500, you ante up $5; if your bill is $1,000 (think companies here), then ante up $10.

That would be fair and equitable to each customer and pay the piper much sooner than 25 years.

Fred Martin

Putting selves first

Re: Dems have met the enemy; it is them, Another View, Nov. 5:

It is clear Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, Democrats from West Virginia and Arizona, serve solely their own interests rather than the needs of their constituents. Are they planning for future cushy lobbying jobs?

Ill paraphrase for them a refrain from the Lyle Lovett song God Will: Who says hell forgive you? God will, but Americans wont.

Deborah McNabb

Stuck in the middle

As the Democratic Party commits hari-kari and the Republican Party does everything it can to destroy our democracy, we are left feeling bewildered and helpless.

The real threat to our democracy, however, is that we the people tolerate politicians whose commitment is not to their oath of office, but to their own personal gains and the power of their own political party.

Ross Smith

Labels dont help

Re: Led by fake moderates and radicals, Democrats in trouble, Bret Stephens, Other Views, Nov. 7:

Labeling Democrats as fake moderates and radicals solves nothing, and neither does labeling Republicans.

Hello! Both parties have practiced stalling actions, where no fluid, compromising political action has produced results helping the apparently voiceless and invisible working and middle classes as compared with other industrial nations.

Meanwhile, the real tragedy is not that political parties are in trouble. It is that we the people have been left shivering in a cold, polarized political climate for too long, while the saintly rich in this nation bask in their warm wealth.

Jesse L. Howell
At least two of the states largest school districts wont comply with a Republican general investigating committee chairs request to divulge information about books kept in school and classroom libraries  and even more say they wont meet his Friday deadline.

Austin and Dallas Independent School Districts say they wont respond to state Rep. Matt Krauses request for them to go through a list of more than 800 books and tell him how many copies are in their possession and how much they cost. Houston ISD, the largest public school system in the state, declined to say whether it would do the lawmakers bidding.

In a letter making the request, Krause, a founding member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, described the impetus for the inquiry as a series of controversies at Texas school districts  Carroll, Spring Branch, Lake Travis, Leander and Katy  involving books that parents wanted pulled from shelves.

The Fort Worth Republican has repeatedly declined to comment, saying its the committees longstanding policy not to comment on pending investigations. Krause has said in a radio interview that the purpose of the inquiry is to determine whether recent laws governing what can be taught in schools about race and sexuality are being followed.

A Hearst Newspapers analysis found that the majority of the books on the lawmakers watchlist are about LGBT topics, not race or sex education.

IN-DEPTH: Texas GOPs book hunt mostly targets LGBTQ issues, not critical race theory

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has also made books about LGBT people the subject of his own letters to the Texas Education Agency, asking it to work with other state agencies to set new standards to prevent children from being exposed to pornography or other inappropriate content and investigate any possible related crimes.

Democrats and some lawyers have told districts that the request lacks the legal force of a subpoena and encouraged them not to respond. Thats exactly what some are doing.

The letter is an unofficial request, and as such we are not going to respond to it, said Robyn L. Harris, Dallas ISD spokeswoman.

Austin ISD spokesman Jason Stanford came up with an alternative solution for Krause.

After doing more legal research, weve decided that a response is not necessary, especially since anyone can search our library catalogs on this website, he said.

Several districts contacted by Hearst Newspapers said they were still reviewing the request late this week, and some said they were unsure whether they would make the deadline, including Fort Bend and Spring Branch in the Houston area and Northside in the San Antonio area.

Multiple districts said they were unclear on whether the letter applied to them or necessitated a response, as it was addressed to the Texas Education Agency but sent blind carbon copy to districts.

Officials at Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD in the Fort Worth area are asking for a time extension.

We have pulled 10-12 educators from our curriculum and instruction department, as well as our district director of libraries, to work full time on compiling the requested information, spokeswoman Megan Overman said. As of (Friday), we estimate more than 250 hours of staff time have been spent solely on this request. We are working to do our due diligence in researching and responding to Rep. Krauses inquiry.

North East ISD in the San Antonio area also had timing concerns. A district spokesman said it will produce the information when its ready.

Round Rock ISD Superintendent Hafedh Azaiez in a letter to Krause on Friday passed along the website for the districts library catalog and explained the districts process for parental objections to instructional resources. The letter did not include information on the cost of the books on Krauses list owned by the district.

In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Lewisville ISD said it planned to treat Krauses inquiry like a public information request and sent a cost estimate this week.

Others were postponing action. In a statement, Katy ISD spokeswoman Laura Davis noted that state Rep. Harold Dutton, D-Houston, chair of the House Public Education Committee, has asked Krause for clarification on the purpose of the inquiry.

Given that, Katy ISD alongside several other districts are waiting to receive further guidance from the state, Davis said.

The districts reached by Hearst Newspapers that have said they are still reviewing or working on the request are: Aldine, Fort Bend, North East, Northside, Spring Branch and Eagle Mountain-Saginaw.

taylor.goldenstein@chron.com
NEW YORK (AP)  The National Labor Relations Board has confirmed that a group of Amazon workers in Staten Island, New York has withdrawn its petition to hold a vote to unionize.

The move comes less than two weeks before the labor board was expected to hold a hearing to determine whether there was sufficient interest to form a union at the Amazon distribution center.

NLRB spokesperson Kayla Blado declined to elaborate the reason for the pullback. But she noted workers can refile a petition.

Union organizers had said in late October that it delivered more than 2,000 signed union-support cards to the NLRBs Brooklyn office after launching the effort in April. That's a major step in authorizing a vote that could set up the first union at the nation's largest online retailer.

As part of its petition to hold a vote, organizers must submit signatures from at least 30% of the roughly 5,500 employees who the union says work at four adjoining Amazon facilities that it seeks to represent under collective bargaining.

This is the second unionizing attempt in the past year at Amazon. Workers in Alabama resoundingly defeated an attempt earlier this year, but organizers there are asking federal officials for a do-over. The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union is leading the effort in Alabama.

The union drive in New York City is working without the help of a national sponsor and is being spearheaded by a former Amazon employee, Christian Smalls. He said he was fired just hours after he organized a walkout last year to protest working conditions at the outset of the pandemic. Smalls couldn't be reached immediately for comment.

Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in an e-mailed statement that our focus remains on listening directly to our employees and continuously improving on their behalf."

_____

Follow Anne DInnocenzio: http://twitter.com/ADInnocenzio
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP)  Before her daughters birth, she spent weeks in bed. Another difficult pregnancy would be worse as she tried to care for her toddler.

Faced with that possibility, the 28-year-old Texas woman did what a growing number of people have considered: She had a friend in another state mail her the pills she needed to end her pregnancy. She took the pills, went to bed early and describes the experience as calm and peaceful.

If people can have births at birthing centers or in their own homes, why shouldnt people be able to have abortions in their own homes? said the woman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because she worries about legal reprisals as Texas moves to join several other states in disallowing mail delivery of abortion medications. Its a comfort thing.

The COVID-19 pandemic and Texas near-ban on abortion fueled increased interest in obtaining abortion medications by mail. But with the legality in doubt in several states, some people looking to get around restrictions may not see it as worth the risk. The matter is taking on new urgency with the Supreme Court set to hear arguments next month in Mississippi's bid to erode the Roe v. Wade decision guaranteeing the right to an abortion.

Some abortion-rights advocates worry that whatever state officials and anti-abortion groups promise, people ending their pregnancies at home will face criminal prosecutions.

We dont think that people are doing anything wrong to order medication from an online site, said Elisa Wells, co-founder and co-director of Plan C, which provides information about medical abortions. I mean, thats how men get Viagra. They order it online, and nobodys talking about that and asking, is that illegal?

Medication abortions have increased in popularity since regulators started allowing them two decades ago and now account for roughly 40% of U.S. abortions. The medication can cost as little as $110 to get by mail, compared with at least $300 for a surgical abortion.

However, people seeking abortion pills often must navigate differing state laws, including bans on delivery of the drugs and on telemedicine consultations to discuss the medication with a health care provider. And until Democrat Joe Biden became president, U.S. government policy banned mail delivery nationwide.

We just didnt want women to use these medications and not have any protections, any guidance, any consultation, said Oklahoma state Sen. Julie Daniels, a Republican and lead sponsor of her states law banning delivery of abortion medication by mail, which is on hold amid a legal challenge.

Plan C saw roughly 135,000 hits on its website in September, about nine times the number it had before the Texas law that bans abortion as early as six weeks into a pregnancy took effect Sept. 1, Wells said.

Aid Access, which helps women get abortion pills and covers costs for those who can't afford them, says it can't yet provide data from recent months. It saw a 27% increase in the U.S. in people seeking abortion pills as states instituted restrictions early in the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a University of Texas study. The biggest increase was in Texas, which had limited access to clinics, saying it was necessary to check the coronavirus' spread.

Aid Access has a physician based in Europe, Dr. Rebecca Gomperts, provide prescriptions to clients in 32 states that only allow doctors to do so. The pills are mailed from India.

I dont think that any state level regulation is going to stop Dr. Gomperts from what shes doing, said Christie Pitney, a California nurse-midwife who is Aid Access' provider for that state and Massachusetts.

Indeed, Aid Access defied a 2019 order from the Food and Drug Administration to stop distributing medications in the U.S. In April, the Biden administration dropped the FDA ban on mail delivery of abortion medications during the pandemic.

The divide among Democratic-leaning and Republican-leaning states is stark in the St. Louis area. On the Illinois side, Planned Parenthood offers telemedicine consultations and prescriptions by mail. Missouri, however, bars telemedicine and requires a pre-abortion pelvic exam, which providers see as unnecessary and invasive.

In Missouri, we dont actually provide medication abortion because of the state requirement, said Dr. Colleen McNicholas, chief medical officer of the regional affiliate.

Abortion opponents don't expect the FDA restriction on abortion medication to be reinstated under Biden. GOP lawmakers in Arkansas,Arizona, Montana and Oklahoma already were working on new laws to ban mail delivery when the FDA acted. Texas' mail-delivery ban takes effect Dec. 2. South Dakota GOP Gov. Kristi Noem issued an executive order in September.

Even some abortion opponents believe it will be difficult for states to crack down on providers and suppliers outside their borders, especially outside the U.S.

Obviously it would be a lot easier if we had the cooperation of the federal government, said John Seago, Texas Right to Lifes legislative director. Theres no silver bullet yet identified of how were going to approach this kind of next frontier of the fight.

Still, Seago says tough penalties give prosecutors an incentive to pursue violators. The Montana law, for example, mandates a 20-year prison term, a $50,000 fine, or both to anyone who mails pills to a state resident.

Pregnant people seek telemedicine consultations and abortion pills by mail because they don't want to or can't travel or can't arrange time off or child care, abortion-rights advocates said.

Just because somebody cant access an abortion doesnt mean that theyre going to all of a sudden want to continue a pregnancy that originally was not desired, right? said Dr. Meera Shah, chief medical officer for the Planned Parenthood affiliate outside New York City, who also does abortions in Indiana.

A person in Ohio who identifies as nonbinary said they used an herbal remedy to self-manage an abortion alone in their college dorm room in 2016, before Aid Access launched its site, telling their roommate they had the stomach flu. They said they didnt have a car and didnt know they could get financial help, and called the Aid Access model fantastic.

Any avenue to help pregnant people facilitate their own abortions and have that experience in whatever way best suits them is a great way to give bodily autonomy back to a wider range of patients, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they fear harassment from anti-abortion protesters.

The new laws in Montana, Oklahoma and Texas say people cant face criminal penalties for having medication abortions. Yet those provisions  and assurances from abortion foes that their goal is not to prosecute people who have ended pregnancies  don't comfort some abortion-rights advocates.

They say roughly two dozen women have been prosecuted since 2000 in the aftermath of self-managed abortions. An Indiana woman who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for feticide in 2015 for a self-induced abortion spent more than a year behind bars before her conviction was overturned.

Some abortion-rights advocates said prosecutors also can use child endangerment or manslaughter charges against people who have had abortions  or who have had miscarriages that authorities deem suspicious. They worry that the poor and people of color are especially vulnerable.

They cant get drugs where they are, and so they may purchase pills from informal networks or online sites, said Melissa Grant, chief operating officer of carafem, which operates clinics in four states and provides abortion medications in nine. But thats riskier in this country than actually taking the medicines.

___

Follow John Hanna on Twitter: https://twitter.com/apjdhanna
Courtesy of the Virginia Mercury

The Virginia State Supreme Court has rejected three special master candidates nominated by Republicans to help redraw Virginias legislative lines.

The nominees, the justices said in an order this morning, will serve as officers of the court in a quasi-judicial capacity and therefore must be neutral and must not act as advocates or representatives of any political party.

The court ordered the Republicans to come up with three new candidates by Monday. It also dropped a Democratic candidate, who was not named, because of his stated concerns about working with another map-drawer as the process requires, and told party members they also had until Monday to come up with another nominee.

The decision came after outcry from Democrats that the Republican nominees had obvious conflicts of interest. It troubles me that the Republicans would even try this, says Del. Marcus Simon, D-Fairfax, who had served on the redistricting commission but resigned this week.

The courts decision is the latest turn as the state struggles with a new regime to draw new legislative boundaries for state and federal races next year. A bipartisan 16-member commission was created by a Constitutional amendment to move the process away from the secretive traditional method employed by the majority party in the General Assembly.

The commission, beset by partisan squabbling, failed to produce the new maps and the task moved to the State Supreme Court, which told both parties to suggest a slate of special masters to draw up maps for U.S. House of Representatives and state Senate and House districts. Of the six candidates, one would be picked from each side. The candidates must have no conflicts of interest.

Once selected, they would have 30 days to come up with newly drawn voting district lines based on the latest U.S. census.

Among the GOP nominees was Thomas Bryan, a former member of the U.S. Census Bureau, but Democrats objected, noting that he accepted $20,000 in consulting fees from the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus.

Another was Adam Kincaid, who used to handle redistricting affairs for the National Republican Congressional Committee and is now the executive of the National Republican Redistricting Trust.

The third was Adam Foltz, who handled redistricting work for Republican groups in Wisconsin.

Virginia Democrats complained that all three were highly partisan and had close ties to the Republican Party.

The Democrats nominated academics with no overt party ties. They include Bernard N. Grofman, a professor at the University of California Irvine, and Nathaniel Persily and Bruce E. Cain, both professors at Stanford University.

The court did not say which of the Democratic nominees was being asked to stand down. Liz White, executive director of the advocacy group OneVirginia 2021, said an unnamed Democratic nominee had expressed concerns about having to work with another special master. One person usually carries out such work.

The group had urged the Supreme Court in a letter this week to select special masters who reflect a track record of nonpartisanship and consider the gridlock of the commission and its partisan map drawers as a cautionary tale while they make this important decision.

Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Franklin, who also served on the redistricting commission, said the courts decision shows that it wants to remind us to remove partisanship from the process.
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- Official cultural visit by Saudi Arabia to France features a series of successful strategic engagements, including meetings with the French Minister of Culture and the Director-General of UNESCO

- His Highness Prince Badr addressed the UNESCO General Conference

- A new agreement signed with UNESCO further recognizes the cultural significance of ancient AlUla, building on existing cooperation between France and Saudi Arabia to enhance the destination.

PARIS, Nov. 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- During a week-long visit to France, His Highness Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan Al-Saud, Saudi Minister of Culture, met with his counterpart Roselyne Bachelot, French Minister of Culture, Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, and several other French cultural leaders and institutions.

Prince Badr addressed the UNESCO General Conference: "We congratulate UNESCO on its seventy-fifth anniversary, which the Kingdom has been a part of since the beginning as a founder member. Saudi Arabia is committed to working with UNESCO, and its members, in the efforts to unleash the power of culture."

The day prior UNESCO and the Royal Commission for AlUla signed an agreement that will help preserve the globally significant area, enabling it to become a destination for heritage, nature, arts, and culture. It builds on an existing partnership, through which over 100 French archaeologists and experts are currently working onsite.

France and Saudi have a long history of ongoing cultural exchange. For example, fifty years ago King Khalid helped establish the Arab World Institute in Paris. In 2018, HRH Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud made an official visit to France, meeting with President Emmanuel Macron, where a significant cultural agreement between the two countries was signed.

The Kingdom is hosting a vibrant cultural program of over 100 cultural events, initiatives, and engagements during the coming months, including Saudi Arabia's first art biennale, Ad-Diriyah Biennale, and first major international film festival, the Red Sea International Film Festival, which will feature French classics.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1687527/saudi_moc.jpg
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - November 12, 2021) - Golden Independence Mining Corp. (CSE: IGLD) ("Golden") and Hilo Mining Ltd. ("Hilo") are pleased to announce that they have completed their previously announced spin-out transaction (the "Spin-Out") involving common shares of Hilo ("Hilo Shares").

In accordance with the terms of the arrangement agreement between Golden and Hilo, 1,000,000 Hilo Shares have been distributed and holders of common shares of Golden received 01594764 of a Hilo Share for each common share of Golden held by such holder. Golden shareholders do not need to take any action to receive their Hilo Shares. Further details on the Spin-Out are contained in Golden's news release date November 5, 2021. As a result of the Spin-Out, Hilo is now a "reporting issuer" in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario but is not currently listed on a stock exchange. There are currently 1,500,000 Hil0 common shares issued and outstanding.

Hilo is an exploration company currently focused on the Champ Property located in the Greenwood Mining District of British Columbia, near Castlegar, British Columbia. The Chief Executive Officer of Hilo is Jeremy Poirier and the Chief Financial Officer is Lachlan McLeod. Hilo intends to seek a listing on the TSX Venture Exchange as Tier 2 Mining Issuer.

Hilo also announces that it is completing a non-brokered private placement of up to 6,666,667 common shares at a price of $0.15 per common share to raise gross proceeds of up to $1,000,000 (the "Private Placement"). The net proceeds of the Private Placement will be used for working capital (including expenses associated with seeking a listing on the TSX Venture Exchange) and exploration of the Champ Property.

Early Warning Disclosure

In accordance with the early warning reporting provisions of applicable securities laws, Hilo is providing the following information regarding shareholders who hold in excess of 10% of the outstanding Hilo Shares on an undiluted and partially diluted basis.

Gino Demichele ("Demichele"), of 211 Church Ranches Way, Calgary, AB T3R 1B2 currently holds 500,000 Hilo Shares. The 500,000 Hilo Shares represent approximately 33.3% of the issued and outstanding Hilo Shares. All of the Hilo Shares were acquired from Golden for cash consideration at a price of $0.10 per Hilo Share. The aggregate consideration paid for the Hilo Shares was $50,000. The Hilo Shares were acquired for investment purposes and Demichele may acquire or dispose of additional Hilo Shares depending on market conditions and/or other relevant factors, subject to applicable law.

Demichele has filed an early warning report in accordance with National Instrument 62-103 -The Early Warning System and Related Take-over Bid and Insider Reporting Issues which is available on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) under Hilo's issuer profile. To obtain a copy of any of the above referenced early warning reports please contact Gino Demichele at 403-680-7898.

This press release contains forward-looking information (within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation) including disclosure regarding a listing of Hilo on the TSX Venture Exchange, the completion proposed Private Placement and the proposed use of proceeds of the Private Placement that involve various risks and uncertainties regarding future events. Such forward-looking information includes statements based on current expectations involving a number of risks and uncertainties and such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance of Golden or Hilo. There are numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and Golden's and Hilo's plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information in this news release including, without limitation, Hilo's failure to meet the initial listing requirements of the TSX Venture Exchange as Tier 2 Mining Issuer, Hilo's inability to locate suitable purchasers for the Private Placement and the management of Hilo's discretion regarding the use of proceeds of the Private Placement. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. This forward-looking information is based on estimates and opinions of management on the date hereof and is expressly qualified by this notice. Neither Golden nor Hilo assume any obligation to update any forward-looking information or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from such information unless required by applicable law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/103406
Not for distribution to United States news wire services or dissemination in the United States

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / November 12, 2021 / New Placer Dome Gold Corp. ("New Placer Dome" or the "Company") (TSXV:NGLD) (OTCQB:NPDCF)(FSE:BM5) is pleased to announce that it has closed the second and final tranche of its previously announced non-brokered private placement (the "Private Placement"). In the second tranche, 5,600,000 units (each a "Unit") at a price of $0.08 per Unit were issued for aggregate gross proceeds of $448,000. Each Unit was priced at $0.08 and consists of one common share and one transferable common share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one common share of the Company at a price of $0.12 per share for a period of thirty-six (36) months from the date of closing the Private Placement.

In aggregate, the two tranches of the Private Placement consisted of 60,730,900 Units for gross proceeds of $4,858,472. In connection with the closing of the two traches of the Private Placement, the Company paid aggregate cash finder's fees of $294,898 and issued 3,688,225 non-transferable finder warrants to certain brokers, 56,000 of which entitle the holder to purchase one common share of the Company at a price of $0.08 per share for a period of thirty-six (36) months from the date of closing the Private Placement and the balance have the same terms as the Warrants.

The net proceeds from the Private Placement will be used to make payments to Liberty Gold Corp. (TSX:LGD) ("Liberty Gold") pursuant to the Kinsley Option Agreement (as defined below), to fund its maintenance and exploration costs on its properties and for general working capital purposes.

All securities issued pursuant to the Private Placement are subject to a four-month hold period from the closing date in accordance with applicable securities laws.

About New Placer Dome Gold Corp.

New Placer Dome Gold Corp. is a gold exploration company focused on acquiring and advancing gold projects in Nevada. New Placer Dome's flagship Kinsley Mountain Gold Project located 90 km south of the Long Canyon Mine (currently in production under the Newmont/Barrick Joint Venture, Nevada Gold Mines), hosts Carlin-style gold mineralization, previous run of mine heap leach production, and NI 43-101 indicated resources containing 418,000 ounces of gold grading 2.63 g/t Au (4.95 million tonnes) and inferred resources containing 117,000 ounces of gold averaging 1.51 g/t Au (2.44 million tonnes)1. The Bolo Project, located 90 km northeast of Tonopah, Nevada, is another core asset, similarly hosting Carlin-style gold mineralization. New Placer Dome also owns 100% of the Troy Canyon Project, located 120 km south of Ely, Nevada. New Placer Dome is run by a strong management and technical team consisting of capital markets and mining professionals with the goal of maximizing value for shareholders through new mineral discoveries, committed long-term partnerships, and the advancement of exploration projects in geopolitically favourable jurisdictions.

Qualified Person

The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Kristopher J. Raffle, P.Geo. (BC), Principal and Consultant of APEX Geoscience Ltd. of Edmonton, AB, a Director of New Placer Dome and a "Qualified Person" as defined in National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Mr. Raffle has verified the data disclosed which includes a review of the sampling, analytical and test data underlying the information and opinions contained herein.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

/s/ "Max Sali"

Max Sali, Chief Executive Officer

Contact Information:

Max Sali, Chief Executive Officer & Director

Tel: 604 620 8406

Email: msali@newplacerdome.com

Karl Mansour, Paradox IR

Tel: 514 341 0408

Email: karlmansour@paradox-pr.ca

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of any of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful, including any of the securities in the United States of America. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "1933 Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for account or benefit of, U.S. Persons (as defined in Regulation S under the 1933 Act) unless registered under the 1933 Act and applicable state securities laws, or an exemption from such registration requirements is available.

Forward-Looking Information

This news release includes certain statements that constitute "forward-looking information or statements" within the meaning of applicable securities law, including without limitation, use of proceeds from the Private Placement, conducting exploration work on its projects, payments and expenses pursuant to the Company's agreements, other statements relating to the technical, financial and business prospects of the Company and its properties, and other matters.

Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions. These statements relate to analyses and other information that are based on forecasts of future results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable and assumptions of management. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "estimates" or "intends", or stating that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved), and variations of such words, and similar expressions are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of factors that, if untrue, could cause the actual results, performances or achievements of the Company to be materially different from future results, performances or achievements express or implied by such statements. Such statements and information are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future, including the price of metals, anticipated costs and the ability to achieve goals, that general business and economic conditions will not change in a material adverse manner, that financing will be available if and when needed and on reasonable terms, and that third party contractors, equipment and supplies and governmental and other approvals required to conduct the Company's planned exploration activities will be available on reasonable terms and in a timely manner. While such estimates and assumptions are considered reasonable by the management of the Company, they are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive and regulatory uncertainties and risks. For further information concerning these and other risks and uncertainties, refer to the Company's filings on www.SEDAR.com including the annual information form for the year ended June 30, 2020, filed on May 26, 2021.

Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual events, level of activity, performance or results to differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: (i) risks related to gold and other commodity price fluctuations; (ii) risks and uncertainties relating to the interpretation of exploration results; (iii) risks related to the inherent uncertainty of exploration and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses; (iv) that resource exploration and development is a speculative business; (v) that the Company may lose or abandon its property interests or may fail to receive necessary licences and permits; (vi) that environmental laws and regulations may become more onerous; (vii) that the Company may not be able to raise additional funds when necessary; (viii) the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations; (ix) exploration and development risks, including risks related to accidents, equipment breakdowns, labour disputes or other unanticipated difficulties with or interruptions in exploration and development; (x) competition; (xi) the potential for delays in exploration or development activities or the completion of geologic reports or studies; (xii) the uncertainty of profitability based upon the Company's history of losses; (xiii) risks related to environmental regulation and liability; (xiv) risks associated with failure to maintain community acceptance, agreements and permissions (generally referred to as "social licence"); (xv) risks relating to obtaining and maintaining all necessary government permits, approvals and authorizations relating to the continued exploration and development of the Company's projects; (xvi) risks related to the outcome of legal actions; (xvii) political and regulatory risks associated with mining and exploration; (xix) risks related to current global financial conditions; and (xx) other risks and uncertainties related to the Company's prospects, properties and business strategy. These risks, as well as others, could cause actual results and events to vary significantly.

Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward looking statements include, but are not limited to, continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions, the loss of key directors, employees, advisors or consultants, adverse weather and climate conditions, increase in costs, equipment failures, government regulations and policies, litigation, exchange rate fluctuations, the impact of Covid-19 or other viruses and diseases on the Company's ability to operate, decrease in the price of gold and other metals, failure of counterparties to perform their contractual obligations and fees charged by service providers. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or events and, accordingly are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements due to the inherent uncertainty of such statements. The forward-looking statements included in this news release are made as of the date hereof and the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable securities legislation.

1 Technical Report on the Kinsley Project, Elko County, Nevada, U.S.A., dated June 21, 2021 with an effective date of May 5, 2021 and prepared by Michael M. Gustin, Ph.D., and Gary L. Simmons, MMSA and filed under New Placer Dome Gold Corp.'s Issuer Profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) SOURCE: New Placer Dome Gold Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/672724/New-Placer-Dome-Gold-Corp-Closes-Final-Tranche-of-Private-Placement
Singapore, Singapore--(Newsfile Corp. - November 12, 2021) - Raffles Financial Group Limited (CSE: RICH) (FSE: 4VO) (OTCQX: RAFFF), a global diversified company that is headquartered in Singapore and registered with the Monetary Authority of Singapore as an exempt corporate finance adviser, serving as advisor for family trusts, family offices and investment funds, is providing an update with respect to the previously announced management cease trade order (the "MCTO") issued by the British Columbia Securities Commission on November 1, 2021.

The MCTO was granted pursuant to Raffles application made under National Policy 12-203 - Management Cease Trade Orders ("NP 12-203"). The Company requested and received an extension relating to the Required Filings for delays on the audited financial statements and management 's discussion and analysis for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021 (the "Required Filings") due to the complexities caused due to Covid Pandemic travel restrictions and the Company's auditors having to carry out several additional audit procedures on account of the business operations being outside North America.

The Company's staff and accounting firm is working diligently with its auditors and the Company now expects to have the audit of the Required Filings completed, and the Required Filings filed, on or before December 27, 2021 (two-month period contemplated by NP 12-203).

The Company is providing this status update in accordance with NP 12-203. The Company reports that: (i) there are no changes to the information contained in its default announcement on November 1, 2021, that would reasonably be expected to be material to an investor; (ii) the Company is satisfying and confirms that it intends to continue to satisfy the provisions of the alternative information guidelines set out under NP 12-203 and issue bi-weekly default status reports for so long as the delay in filing the Required Filings is continuing, which will be issued in the form of a news release; (iii) there has not been any other specified default by the Company under NP 12-203 and no such other default is anticipated; and (iv) there is no material information concerning the affairs of the Company that has not been generally disclosed.

The MCTO does not affect the ability of shareholders who are not insiders of the Company to trade their securities. However, the applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities could determine, in their discretion, that it would be appropriate to issue a general cease trade order against the Company affecting all of the securities of the Company.

About Raffles Financial Group Limited

Raffles Financial Group is listed on the Canadian Securities Purchase under the stock symbol (CSE: RICH), the Frankfurt Stock Purchase under the stock symbol (FSE: 4VO) and the OTC Markets under the stock symbol (OTCQX: RAFFF).

Raffles Financial Pte Ltd is the operating subsidiary of Raffles Financial Group Limited.

Please visit www.rafflesfinancial.co for more information.

Raffles Financial Private Limited (a wholly owned subsidiary of Raffles Financial Group Limited) is an exempt corporate finance advisory firm, registered with the Monetary Authority of Singapore, which provides public listing advisory and arrangement services. RFP serves as advisor for family trusts, family offices and investment funds.

For more information, please contact:

Dong Shim, CFO

604-283-9853 OR

Monica Kwok, Investor Relations

Phone: +65 6909 8765

Email: monica@rafflesfinancial.co

Neither the Canadian Securities Purchase nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Purchase) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Certain statements contained in this release may constitute "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" (collectively "forward-looking information") as those terms are used in Canadian securities laws. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words "could", "intend", "expect", "believe", "will", "projected", "estimated", "anticipates" and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on the Company's current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/103416
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - November 12, 2021) - EMX Royalty Corporation (NYSE American: EMX) (TSXV: EMX) (FSE: 6E9) (the "Company" or "EMX") is pleased to report results for the quarter ended September 30, 2021 ("Q3-2021"). The Company's filings for Q3-2021 are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's website at www.sec.gov, and on EMX's website at www.EMXroyalty.com. Financial results were prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards, as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board.

HIGHLIGHTS FOR Q3-2021

Significant Acquisitions

EMX closed the acquisition of a portfolio of royalty interests and deferred payments from SSR Mining Inc. and certain of its subsidiaries ("SSR Mining") (see EMX news release dated October 21, 2021). The Portfolio consists of 16 geographically diverse base and precious metals royalties, with four royalty assets at advanced stages of project development, and also includes US $18 million in future cash payments. EMX has paid US $33 million in cash and issued 12,323,048 common shares of the Company valued at US $32.5 million to SSR Mining. SSR Mining now owns an approximate 12% undiluted equity interest in EMX. EMX will also make deferred and contingent payments to SSR Mining of up to US $34 million if certain project advancement milestones are achieved.

EMX completed the acquisition of an effective 0.418% NSR royalty on the Caserones Copper-Molybdenum Mine located in northern Chile for US$34.1 million in cash (see EMX news release dated September 3, 2021). Caserones is a significant porphyry copper-molybdenum mining operation in a top tier mining jurisdiction. The Caserones acquisition brings immediate cashflow to EMX's portfolio. Through the quarter end, EMX has realized an initial payment of US $951,000 from the second quarter (i.e., April - June) royalty distributions.

Financial Update

Dollar amounts are in CDN unless otherwise noted.

As at September 30, 2021, EMX ended the quarter with a working capital balance of $13,889,000 including cash and cash equivalents of $46,735,000, investments, strategic investments, and receivables and loan receivables totaling $27,034,000, and debt of $54,134,000.

To facilitate the Caserones and SSR royalty acquisitions, as well as to supplement working capital, the Company has entered into three financing transactions including a US$44,000,000 credit facility with Sprott Private Resource Lending II (Collector), LP, a Vendor-take-back note of US$7.85 million with SSR Mining, and the closing of the first tranche of a private placement for gross proceeds of $20,913,000.

For the three months ended September 30, 2021, EMX had revenue and other income of $1,504,000. EMX also received or accrued from its effective royalty interest on the Caserones mine its first quarterly payment of approximately US$950,000.

Royalty generation costs for the three months ended September 30, 2021 totaled $3,882,000 including share-based compensation of $45,000, of which the Company recovered $1,792,000 from partners.

General and administrative expenses totaled $1,807,000. The increase from Q3-2020 is largely the result of increased due diligence costs related to the Caserones acquisition and other prospective royalty assets.

For the three months ended September 30, 2021, the Company had a net loss from operations of $10,866,000. In addition to operating items noted above, included in net loss from operations was $759,000 in depletion, depreciation, and direct royalty taxes, and $1,206,000 in share-based compensation. Other items affecting net loss in Q3-2021 include a gain from the Company's investments in associated entities of $1,138,000 primarily related to its effective royalty interest in the Caserones mine, a fair value loss on investments of $3,731,000, and a foreign exchange gain of $1,301,000. The Company also recorded impairment charges of $4,178,000 including $4,022,000 related to its investment in Rawhide Acquisition Holding LLC ("RAH" or "Rawhide"). The foreign exchange gain was primarily related to the Company holding cash and net assets denominated in US.

Operational Update

EMX's royalty and mineral property portfolio totals over 280 projects on five continents. The following summarizes the work conducted in Q3-2021, as well as subsequent events, by the Company and its partners.

In North America, EMX received provisional payments of approximately US$641,000 from the sale of 364 gold ounces produced at the Leeville royalty property in Nevada's Northern Carlin Trend. Leeville's Q3 performance ensures that 2021 will be a year of increased payments due to robust production contributions from Carlin East and Four Corners. On the royalty generation front, EMX continued to evaluate and add new gold and copper projects to the portfolio by staking open ground. Partner companies continued to build value in the portfolio with their summer field exploration programs. In particular, partner Ridgeline Minerals' successes at Swift resulted in the Carlin-type gold project being optioned to Nevada Gold Mines. Ridgeline also reported additional encouraging drill results from the Selena sediment-hosted silver-gold project.



EMX's royalty and mineral asset portfolio in key mining districts of Ontario and Quebec, including the Red Lake camp, generated $75,000 in cash and fair value equity payments. EMX's initiatives in Canada included staking prospective open ground, as well as expanding land positions at several existing properties.

In Serbia, Timok operator Zijin Mining Group Co. Ltd. ("Zijin") received the final operating licenses and is in the trial production stage at the Upper Zone copper-gold project, which is covered by an EMX 0.5% NSR royalty. The Company filed an amended and restated Technical Report titled "NI 43-101 Technical Report - Timok Copper-Gold Project Royalty, Serbia" on SEDAR dated July 21, 2021 authored by Mineral Resource Management LLC.

In Fennoscandia, EMX executed an agreement for the sale of its Svardsjo polymetallic project in Sweden to District Metals Corp. (TSX-V: DMX) for share equity, AAR payments, and retained royalty interests to EMX's benefit. Subsequently EMX executed an option agreement for the sale of five battery metals projects in Sweden to Swedish Nickel Pty. Ltd. for share equity, AAR payments, retained royalty interests in the projects, work commitments and other consideration. As these six new deals were completed, partner companies continued to advance EMX's royalty properties, which included further encouraging results from District's drill program at the Tomtebo polymetallic project in Sweden's Bergslagen mining district.

In Australia, the Company was granted the Copperhole Creek exploration license in the Georgetown Region of North Queensland. The Copperhole Creek project is available for partnership.

Corporate Update

EMX is monitoring developments regarding the ongoing coronavirus pandemic ("COVID-19"), with a focus on the jurisdictions in which the Company operates. EMX has implemented COVID-19 prevention, monitoring and response plans following the guidelines of international agencies and the governments and regulatory agencies of each country in which it operates. EMX's priority is to safeguard the health and safety of its personnel and host communities, support government actions to slow the spread of COVID-19, and assess and mitigate the risks to business continuity. Although various levels of restrictions remain in place for some jurisdictions where the Company operates (e.g., travel restrictions, etc.), EMX's field programs are up-and-running with in-country based staff.

Outlook

With the closing of the SSR and Caserones acquisitions, EMX continues to significantly strengthen its global portfolio of royalties. Gediktepe is one of several EMX royalty properties that are expected to commence production during late Q4, 2021 and early 2022. The others include the Timok development project in Serbia, where the Cukaru Peki high grade copper-gold deposit is being put into production by Zijin Mining Group Co. Ltd., and Balya North, a polymetallic Carbonate Replacement Deposit ("CRD") in western Turkey being developed by Esan Eczacibasi Endustriyel Hammaddeler San. ve Tic. A.S., a private Turkish company.

EMX's Leeville royalty in Nevada has delivered increased cash flows in recent months, with royalty production proceeds now being received from the Four Corners and Carlin East mining areas in addition to other areas on the royalty property. Together with cash flow already being received from its recently purchased Caserones copper-molybdenum royalty in Chile, EMX anticipates a significant increase in royalty revenue in 2022 from multiple assets that span four continents. See the EMX website (www.EMXroyalty.com) for further project and portfolio details.

The SSR royalty portfolio acquisition is an example of EMX's corporate growth strategy, whereby the Company leveraged its in-region expertise to identify opportunities in jurisdictions where EMX already has a strategic presence, and hence a competitive advantage. This approach leads to value creation for the Company as well as synergies with existing EMX initiatives around the world. The Company is continuing with its assessments of royalty acquisition opportunities to continue growing the portfolio.

Meanwhile the Company's royalty generation initiatives continued moving forward during Q3, which provided deal flow momentum moving into Q4. EMX partnered six projects in Fennoscandia for retained royalty interests, cash payments, and equity interests while continuing with field programs to add new projects to the royalty generation portfolio. In Australia, despite the challenges of COVID-19 lockdowns, the Company was successful in its efforts to add the Copperhole Creek project to the royalty generation portfolio. In the southwestern U.S., Regional Strategic Alliance ("RSA") generative funds from South32 paid for identifying new copper properties for potential acquisitions. Elsewhere, multiple new precious-metals projects were staked by the Company in Idaho and Nevada which are now available for partnership. EMX is steadily building its generative portfolio in key mineral belts of the western U.S. and is now the third largest holder of mineral rights in Arizona and the second largest in Idaho. Fennoscandia, Australia, and the U.S. are stable exploration and mining jurisdictions, and EMX's royalty generation assets provide prime opportunities for new partnerships.

EMX's established partner companies continue to add value to the portfolio with encouraging drill results and other important advancements. In Fennoscandia, most notable were District's drill success at Tomtebo (Norway) and further expansion of PGE-Ni-Cu mineralized zones at the Kaukua South project by Palladium One. In the western U.S. advancements included Ridgeline Minerals' encouraging drill results from the Selena precious metals project on the Carlin Trend, and a joint venture agreement with Nevada Gold Mines for the Cortez Trend's Swift gold project. EMX's partners continued creating value on these assets, as well as others, at no cost to the Company. This trend of ongoing partner funded work expenditures is expected to carry forward, if not increase, going into Q4.

The Company will continue to strengthen its balance sheet through increased cashflows from royalties, deferred royalty payments, sale of investments, and other income. As part of this effort to strengthen working capital, in November 2021, the Company completed the first tranche of a $21.45 million private placement by the issuance of 6,337,347 units at $3.30 each for gross proceeds of $20.9 million. Increases to EMX's treasury will allow it to continue project generation and royalty acquisition activities, thereby further building shareholder value (See Liquidity and Capital discussions below).

QUALIFIED PERSONS

Michael P. Sheehan, CPG, a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101 and employee of the Company, has reviewed, verified, and approved the above technical disclosure on North America. Eric P. Jensen, CPG, a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101 and employee of the Company, has reviewed, verified, and approved the above technical disclosure on Significant Acquisitions, Serbia, Fennoscandia, and Australia.

ABOUT EMX

EMX is a precious, base, and battery metals royalty company. EMX's investors are provided with discovery, development, and commodity price optionality, while limiting exposure to risks inherent to operating companies. The Company's common shares are listed on the NYSE American Exchange and the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol EMX, as well as on the Frankfurt exchange under the symbol 6E9. See www.EMXroyalty.com for more information.

For further information contact:

David M. Cole

President and Chief Executive Officer

Phone: (303) 979-666

Dave@EMXroyalty.com

Scott Close

Director of Investor Relations

Phone: (303) 973-8585

SClose@EMXroyalty.com

Isabel Belger

Investor Relations (Europe)

Phone: +49 178 4909039

IBelger@EMXroyalty.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release may contain "forward looking statements" that reflect the Company's current expectations and projections about its future results. These forward-looking statements may include statements regarding perceived merit of properties, exploration results and budgets, mineral reserves and resource estimates, work programs, capital expenditures, timelines, strategic plans, market prices for precious and base metal, or other statements that are not statements of fact. When used in this news release, words such as "estimate," "intend," "expect," "anticipate," "will", "believe", "potential" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, which, by their very nature, are not guarantees of the Company's future operational or financial performance, and are subject to risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause the Company's actual results, performance, prospects or opportunities to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and factors may include, but are not limited to: unavailability of financing, failure to identify commercially viable mineral reserves, fluctuations in the market valuation for commodities, difficulties in obtaining required approvals for the development of a mineral project, increased regulatory compliance costs, expectations of project funding by joint venture partners and other factors.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this news release or as of the date otherwise specifically indicated herein. Due to risks and uncertainties, including the risks and uncertainties identified in this news release, and other risk factors and forward-looking statements listed in the Company's MD&A for the quarter ended September 30, 2021 (the "MD&A"), and the most recently filed Annual Information Form ("AIF") for the year ended December 31, 2020, actual events may differ materially from current expectations. More information about the Company, including the MD&A, the AIF and financial statements of the Company, is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the SEC's EDGAR website at www.sec.gov.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/103419
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MOBILE, Ala. (WALA)  Law enforcement authorities on Friday arrested the man accused of gunning down an innocent victim in a case of mistaken identity.

Deangelo Demetrius Merrill, 29, faces charges of murder, first-degree burglary and illegal passion of a pistol. Police allege that he went to Pathways Apartment Homes on Florida Street on June 29 to avenge his girlfriends shooting on Williams Street but went to the wrong door.

James Leevaughn Jones, a 74-year-old military veteran who was on kidney dialysis, died in the gunfire.

In reference to the victim, Mr. Jones, he truly in every sense of the word is a victim in this case. It was unfortunate for him and his family, Mobile Police Chief Paul Prine said. In terms of Mr. Merrill, this was (a) retaliatory shooting, where he simply went to the wrong location and kicked in the wrong house. And it will not be tolerated.

Finding Jones had been a top priority for Mobile police. He was on the departments most wanted list.

Prine would not divulge many details about the defendants apprehension in Prichard. But he said it involved cyber technology and good police work by the U.S. Marshals Service Task Force, his departments Tactical Intelligence Unit, a K-9 unit and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency aviation unit.

It was a lot of efforts on multiple jurisdictions and the help that they gave us, he said.

Jones death was the end of a cascade of events that started with a fight in the 500 block of Williams Street at the home of sister rap duo known as the Fam0us Twinss. According to accounts by police at the time, the womens father, James Walters, got into an altercation with another man. Police say that man shot Walters in self-defense. A 23-year-old woman, who was Merrills girlfriend, died in what police called an accidental gunshot.

Police say Merrill, who was not present, heard about his girlfriends injury and then set off for revenge. That led to the deadly encounter with Jones.

The month before the shooting, according to court records, Merrill appeared before Mobile County Circuit Judge Ben Brooks for a probation revocation hearing related to an arrest by Prichard police on drug charges. But when the arresting officer did not appear in court on May 12, Brooks dismissed the case and put Merrill back on probation.

Five days after that hearing, Mobile police found drugs on him after he ran from a traffic stop at the intersection of Gloria York Avenue and St. Stephens Road. Officers chased him through a wooded area and arrested him next to a home on Agate Street. Officers found almost 19 grams of crack cocaine and $4,367, according to a probation report.

While police were searching for a microphone attachment that one of the officers had lost, they found a bag containing 55.6 grams of powder cocaine and Merrills cell phone, the probate document states. Officers also found a gun, according to court papers.

Court records show he admitted he had been selling drugs for the last two years. Im in the streets thuggin, he told investigators, according to a probation report.

Shortly after his arrest Friday, Merrill denied that he shot Jones and urged friends and relatives to deposit money in his jail account. From the back of a squad car, he flashed an exaggerated smile at reporters.

Im innocent, man, he said. I dont know what they talking about.  Just tell everybody to hook me up, man. Get in touch with me. All my friends.

Prine sought to reassure the public near the end of what has been a particularly violent year in the Port City.

I would tell the citizens of Mobile, we have had quite a few incidences here in the last couple of weeks, he said. But I would also assure them that these, for the most part, are all known offenders to one another. We do understand that the citizens of Mobile could be a victim in those scenarios. However, we are working diligently to get ahead of that. And hopefully in the next few weeks, youll start seeing some drastic change with regards to how that looks.
This March 2021 photo provided by the Nevada Department of Corrections shows convicted mass murderer Zane Floyd, 45, an inmate at Ely State Prison. wants the lethal injection carried out at a decommissioned prison in Carson City. (Nevada Department of Corrections via AP)
Bettina Lerman was on a ventilator for weeks after getting COVID-19 and hadn't responded to doctors' efforts to wake her from a coma when her family made the difficult decision to take her off of life support.
Looking Into the Chinese Perfume Market Boom

Fragrances and Cultures

The Chinese perfume sector must be one of the lucky ones that experienced positive growth in recent years, even more so during the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite still having a comparatively small market share, it appears that in China, the perfume sector is becoming an attractive, growing, and less unpenetrable area to get in.

According to WWD, Mintel data show that while fragrance sales resulted in negative gains everywhere else in the world, China welcomed an estimate of 1% perfume market growth in 2020, equating to $1.2 billion sales from about just 5-7% of the population who wear perfume! Especially after the COVID-19 pandemic hit, more people are paying attention to scent and personal wellbeing. There certainly is a lot of room to grow, and all segments (from low to high end) are buzzing. Let's have a look at this emerging market and what the perfumed scene is like.



Collage of some articles related to the Chinese perfume market

Disclaimer: Well, let's get the cat out of the bag first: I live in Australia. I might not have that much more of an advantage in figuring out the Chinese perfume market than most perfume lovers here, except that I can speak and write the Chinese language. Therefore, I'm lucky enough to read in Chinese and get all excited about new releases there, but also to experience all the frustration from an alienating shopping system. My anecdotal findings and likings of certain Chinese perfumes are heavily influenced by the relatively limited number of perfumes and samples I actually have access to.





A cosmos of Chinese perfumes are gaining traction, and there is a kaleidoscopic scent market.



Overall, China has a long history of perfume-making and wearing, along with insense-burning traditions since ancient dynasties. However, due to world wars and its inner culture and political revolution, there appeared to be an almost black-out period on bourgeois goods like perfume in nearly the whole middle-class' collective mind. Perfumes came back more ubiquitously in people's lives in the late 70s and 80s with China's opening up, and stayed ever since. The older drugstore beauties, which have been making a coming back in recent years thanks to beauty microbloggers, are great examples of the Chinese preference for more floral-fruity, simpler scents, and the average people's buying power. On top of that, more and more Chinese brands are trying to deliver a Western feel but at a more friendly price point since the 90s, and a plethora of more established Chinese beauty brands have started introducing perfumes into their lines since the 2010s.

The past decade or so, to me, is the golden era for the Chinese perfume scene. Besides those drugstore or heritage brands, I see the market slowly forming more characteristic subgroups: the whole hanfu culture movement helps to fuel the popularity of ancient Chinese style perfumes; more robust and international-looking Chinese brands are utilizing people's cravings for storytelling to give their perfumes an advantage; and some higher-end Chinese niches are shaping the market with their unique, Chinese-focused interpretation and execution.





Offering simpler soliflore perfumes on a heavy budget is the key for long-lasting drug store favorites.



As research shows, notes like rose, jasmine, and orange blossom have their long-lasting popularity in China (WWD), next to peony (thought to be 'monarch of the flowers'), which has secured its national symbol status since the Tang Dynasty (618-907) (cgtn), while osmanthus (the official flower for August which represents romance and love), lotus (representing purity), plum blossom (represents persistence and nobility), and chrysanthemum (represents high virtue) are all rooted in the modern Chinese's collective memory as deep as the Communist indoctrination starting from kindergarten. Local drugstore brands usually have a collection of floral scents, and once when I was in China, my guilty pleasure was to seek out those floral perfumes for unbelievably inexpensive price tags. Despite the usual tacky bottle and dodgier-than-half-baked-counterfeit packaging, the scent itself must've helped with the successful ones' long reign.

My collection of tacky Chinese drug store perfumes

One brand worth mentioning is Irene . Its French Jasmine , and Osmanthus  especially are well worth the money and trouble to find. The jasmine one clearly has inherited the Asian stereotype way of thinking from the 80s that French perfume means great quality and know-how. It smells of cold, freshly brewed jasmine tea. It's slightly indolic, bittersweet, and airy. If you enjoy By Kilian's Imperial Tea, this one is an excellent replacement scent at a tiny fraction of the price (You've got nothing to lose at around 9.9 Yuan or less than US$2 for a full bottle on Chinese major online shopping platforms right now, that is if you can get it safely shipped to you). Also, you wouldn't carry any guilty feeling that you might've bought a Kilian copycat because Irene's jasmine scent goes decades back.

Irene French Jasmine and Osmanthus Perfumes

Osmanthus scents indicate a level of romanticism in most Chinese scenes, just like cherry blossom to most Japanese. These tiny fruity-peachy flowers with a slightly leathery undertone have been ubiquitous to most families, usually through osmanthus scented tea, cakes, confectionery products, and mentions in ancient Chinese fantasy drama series.

Almost all local drugstore brands have their own osmanthus perfume. Irene's Osmanthus is my favorite so far out of a handful I could test. Most of them are 99% identical when it comes to their peachy, apricotty, sweet, and airy DNA. You cannot be disappointed by picking up any of these for a maximum of US$5 per bottle. However, Irene's Osmanthus brings a bit more Western perfume familiarity since it offers a more complex top-middle-base development. It starts with a vivacious wave of slightly powdery, sweet, jammy osmanthus that reminds me of the 80's powerhouse soul of Paris and Byzance. I'm not surprised because the brand was started in the 80s. As the osmanthus develops, a smooth, soft-spoken, fruity-rosy vanishing cream type of melodic swirl joins in and makes the fragrance more complex than the other straight up osmanthus scents while still smelling distinctively osmanthus-ish. Scent-wise it reminds me of Guerlain's Insolence in terms of the fruity character and sweetness, but much smoother and airier. If I had met Irene's Osmanthus earlier, I might've had no patience in accepting Guerlain's Insolence and all its quirks. This is how highly I think of this Osmanthus.

Other osmanthus scents worth mentioning are Golden Osmanthus  by a brand called Xianghai (), and Osmanthus from Balei . Overall, most osmanthus fragrances from China I've encountered smell almost the same. What distinguished these two from the rest is that Golden Osmanthus has a hint of lemon and leafy freshness, which makes it greener, lusher, and more versatile, and Balei's Osmanthus has a bright lychee syrup note that makes it easier to pull off if you are new to osmanthus, and are more used to those popular Western floral-fruities from department stores. Though millilitre-wise, the Balei one is the most expensive among these, still, this is only drugstore level expensive.

Chinese osmanthus perfumes from Xianghai and Balei

I always wondered why dirt-cheap drug store perfumes have a market and why there hasn't been any improvement on the appalling packaging whatsoever over the past twenty or thirty years. Then one day, I got off my high horse and turned to google. Yes, China has its millionaires and billionaires, and a middle class with the buying power for Miss Dior's top-selling status in the country. However, the sheer number of poor cannot be overlooked. Almost half of the nation lives on a monthly income of 1,000 yuan (US $140), as discussed earlier this year by a concerned Chinese premier Li Keqiang (SCMP). Knowing this, all of a sudden the plastic nozzles which might leak, the rather amateur print work, and the phony cardboard box make sense. The reason why these scents are still on the market makes sense, and with the wave of microbloggers and influencers, the comeback of these decent scents makes sense as well. I wonder if any Western or international Chinese brand could compete with the drug store price. Perhaps this aspect forms a unique hidden market that will remain unchallenged.





National brands are boarding the patriotic train with new perfumed goods.



Sometime around 2010, I noticed an increase in national heritage beauty or personal care brands, or even arts and cultural organizations bringing out perfumes. With propaganda such as "the East is going up while the West going downhill," once overlooked national brands are becoming popular due to more people deliberately buying from them out of patriotism, or just being increasingly pressured by the custom to bring home souvenirs for friends and work collages from a trip.

Shanghai Lady () and its doppelgangers appear to have scents perfectly engineered with the Chinese preference of subtle floral fragrances in mind while playing on the nostalgic image of some past golden era. The heritage Shanghai Lady brand is famous for its vanishing cream, and when it does perfume, it does not disappoint. I'd recommend this brand to anyone who's just starting out their perfume journey in China, on a budget, and would love to have a perfume from a local brand. There are six floral scents (Rose, Sakura, Osmanthus, Iris, Jasmine, and Green Tea), and they come in individual 10ml sprays or rollerballs, and a set of all six of them usually costs around 60 Yuan, or US $10. To me, they smell on par with The Body Shop's perfume offerings, and the solid packaging is a huge improvement from those drugstore perfumes. I personally find there is this slightly soft powdery and smooth waxy-paper-woody hint in all of their dry-downs. Perhaps I imagined it, or perhaps it's a nod to the brand's vanishing cream heritage?

A collection of all the Shanghai Lady perfumes

Meanwhile, cities, museums, and even universities are adding perfume into their souvenir portfolios. There's no doubt that floral perfumes dedicated to each month from the Palace Museum look enticing; however, what took me by great surprise is this unassuming Peony perfume ointment dedicated to the city of Luoyang, which once was China's capital in ancient times. Luoyang is famous for its peonies. This tender, fluffy peony soliflore contains nothing but peony essence in its sillage. However, I can smell a slight lychee hint in the beginning, and this perfume melts into your skin, feeling like velvet. If you are a fan of the delicious David Austin rose scent and want something less peppery, brighter, crisper than the average rose, this is a must-try!

Peony perfume ointment



Chinese brands bringing western-style perfumes without the price tag



Let's face it, to many Chinese, the modern notion of perfume usually conjures up the images of western brands, and there is a preference or trust in Western brands' know-how. Who won't be captivated by the legend of Chanel No.5? Or at least consider it as a proper perfume. Therefore, patriotism aside, there is something alluring to smell like how they think a Parisienne or New Yorker smells. To me, brands like Boitown , Scent Library , and Re Classified have tackled certain aspects of this consumer need and made their own success.

According to Mintel research (WWD), Boitown  is one of the biggest Chinese perfume brands offering Western-type fragrances at more affordable price ranges (usually around 1/3 of a popular commercial department store brand's price). Those who buy from Boitown are new to the perfume world; they have their wishes for Chanel or Dior, but budgets for Boitown. I personally have not tried anything from this brand, so I cannot comment on its perfume.

I took Scent Library  as a copycat of Demeter Fragrance Library when I first saw it around 2010. Its scent inspirations and product range seem like Demeter's twin. Thankfully it soon took a different turn from producing something like Rain (which Demeter also has). We're starting to see more original local elements injected into their creations to give the brand a turbo boost. In addition, Puig has invested in the brand. Their latest successes have mostly to do with the national memory, according to a local IFF account manager. For example, L.B.K or Cold Boiled Water is a nod to people's collective memory of the 90s, while White Rabbit supposedly has the scent of the historic, beloved Chinese cream candy.



Scent Library L.B.K, and White Bunny perfume advertisements, as seen on the online shop.

If the two brands above might make most seasoned perfume enthusiasts skeptical, Re Classified RE  seemed to be the shining example of redemption. Givaudan praises Re Classfied, '[t]hey don't need to learn from anyone; they have their own conviction, and they take risks' (WWD). It claimed itself as a niche brand but delivers rather likable quality mainstream scents at a friendly price point which is slightly higher than Boitown's or more or less on par with a commercial department store perfume, depending on which collection the scent is from. Re Classified seems to have hit the sweet spot of having the Chinese interested in purchasing since its inception in 2013. In addition, they've definitely taken a page out of Serge Luten's massive interest-generating mini-fiction description catalog (which I will talk about later below) since each perfume has a little story to paint a scene and set the mood to attract the Chinese consumers. In addition, all scents have English names and a description to make them perfectly international.

I only had a chance to blind buy two of its early creations when perfume could easily be purchased and posted from the Chinese Taobao site, and I am satisfied with their quality. In fact, one of my blind buys, Peach Blossom Valley , is a pretty realistic sweet-fruity white peach scent. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants a wearable peach that's not overly juicy or sugary. Re Classified's new perfume ranges like the Peking Opera collection, and the Hyakki Collection are intriguing, especially when one can see certain international perfumers from Givaudan, Firmenich, Symrise behind some of these perfumes. Sadly, like many other Chinese brands, at this time, they cannot send their perfumes out of China.





A unique Chinese trend of fantasizing about ancient times



The gufeng or ancient Chinese-style perfume trend seems to have gained more popularity in recent years. Here in this earlier article, I shared my happy surprise find of Nankeji's solid perfumes. However, this retro perfumes segment presents some of the biggest hit-and-misses to me. Whenever I blind bought something that left me rather underwhelmed, I always wonder, "did I get lured by the illustrations, or the lure of an ancient recipe, but lost sight of the scent itself?"

Zuimilou seems to be a kitschy brand whose scents you cannot really think of without being heavily influenced by those pretty, soft, fantasy period-drama type of character illustrations. Most Zuimilou perfumes are as lovely to wear as an Anna Sui fragrance. Though in hindsight, I wondered if it would be more constructive just to purchase some coloring books with such a drawing style. But then again, to what extent is a perfume providing a pure olfactive experience? Should it be bound to such restrictions? Why is a boost from illustrations inherently unfavoured? Well, I digress. What I can predict is that such eye candies will be a massive hit with high school students who like pretty visuals, and with those hanfu-obsessed.

Some Zuimilou perfumes collected ca 2015



A happy compromise between a relatively pleasing and commercial perfume formula while honoring the ancient style selling point, and pleasing the modern target market, seems to be achieved by the combination of using ancient recipes and relying heavily on visual elements. Perfume enthusiasts cannot complain too much; after all, these are just recreations based on recipes passed down from some forgone dynasty. For those who buy the perfumes to complete their ancient clothes dress-up experience or in admiration of anything ancient, the scents as they are, are enough.

Liuhuashu 's is a great example illustrating how the brand has capitalized on this. The whole concept of ancient times' perfume recipes, poetry, arts, etc., is enticing. Pear Incense , a scent created by the dandy ruler Last Lord Li (937-978) from the Southern Tang? Yes, sign me up! However, my high expectations left me wanting when enjoying the yummy jammy pear scent with its hot mess of an incense-y smoky trail. Well, I might be unreasonably harsh here. I guess for samples with such pretty packaging and mailing box, background stories, and somewhat luxe price mark for China (58Yuan, or USD $10 for a pack of 2X 2ml samples), I wished there would have been something more compelling inside. But then again, it's like hoping someone with a stirfry recipe will come out with a beef wellington; it is unfair. It is precisely the combination of packaging, scent, and scent heritage that gives this type of perfumes their own selling point.

Liuhuashu perfume sample sets





Chinese brands with solid identities are on the rise to their coveted status.



The Chinese brands that are doing well among serious Chinese perfume enthusiasts usually have their unique identities. Some capitalize on high-end and scarcity, and some dig deep into what is uniquely Chinese. For example, To Summer , an aroma lifestyle brand aiming to present Chinese perfumes in a modern way, releases its fragrances in small quantity, and they usually sell out quickly, making the scents hot topics on major Chinese social media platforms.

On the other hand, Aromag appears to have taken an all-encompassing approach as a 'fine fragrance initiator' to the marketcollaborations with other brands for bespoke scents, setting their own standard and creating a 'sinoriental ' olfactive classification for their popular debuting perfume Inkcence, and even sharing with the public their scent creation journey with world-famous noses like for instance Frank Voelkl. According to the brand, Inkcense showcases a specific type of ink used in traditional Chinese water-ink paintings, Anhui ink , along with notes like incense, kumquat, lotus, patchouli, ambrette, white musk, and amber. With a price point similar to that of L'Artisan's, and the whole combination of a famous nose and a bull's eye aiming at the collective Proustian memory we Chinese people have of ink (when I was attending primary school in China in the 90s, every student had to learn ink calligraphy), Inkecense is almost instantly on every Chinese perfume lover's agenda.

As soon as I can figure out a way to buy this from Australia, or when these brands start to have a more international website with easily accessible international payment options, I would love to share with you my impression of these types of Chinese niche perfumes.

Aromag Inkcense, official photo





Western brands aren't that new to China, and they are constantly evolving by attuning to the local preferences.



Research results from Labbrand confirmed most perfume lovers' speculation that the average Chinese customer prefers lighter, fruitier, subtler, and fresher fragrances, and suggested that 'success in the Chinese market requires fragrance brands to pay attention to culturally valued elements such as elegance and cuteness.'

Some thoughts and reflections:

When one sees Chinese Weibo microbloggers express disappointment towards Asian or Chinese themed perfumes from international high profile brands, when I read about Aromag's founder Hong explaining to WWD that the education cost for them was high, in order to let a foreigner and westerner's nose understand what they are looking for scent-wise, I cannot help but wonder, will it be better to leave the making of something Chinese to the Chinese? How far can the West capitalize from its famous noses? How do you think the collaboration of creating Chinese perfumes will look in the coming decade?

In addition, how the Chinese perfumes are sold (or not sold) brings up angst in me because I cannot access them, but this makes sense to the current walled-in Chinese market. Most big global brands like Chanel, Dior, Armani, etc., are already there, and there's a shift towards luxury niche like Tom Ford, so breaking into the mass market has a high cost (WWD). Coupled with the fact that apps like WeChat and its shopping system and wallet function are everywhere in mainland China, and shopping websites like Taobao are the monopoly winners, it seems a brand's stand-alone website is way down on most Chinese brands' priority lists, and accepting foreign payment methods like Paypal appears alien to them. After all, all you need can be done through your WeChat wallet or something similar, which is easy for a Chinese who has a Chinese resident ID. I cannot help but wonder, do established Chinese perfume brands and emerging brands actually want the world to smell their creations? Or is it a more complex situation in which the country's system, its censored way of living, the bureaucratic hoops one needs to go through, the blind patriotism, all together contribute something to the Chinese protected perfume scene? As a perfume lover, I will nevertheless continue to be curious about the plethora of Chinese perfumes I might never be able to test; what about you?
Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii Introduces Sea Salt Caramel Cookie Latte as its Winter Seasonal Beverage

November 12, 2021 // Franchising.com // CENTENNIAL, Colo. - Now through February 28, 2022, at all Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii locations nationwide, guests can cozy up to winter with a new seasonal beverage: the Sea Salt Caramel Cookie Latte.

The Sea Salt Caramel Cookie Latte is available hot, iced or blended to serve a variety of personal preferences and winter climates across the country.

Blending the popular flavor of sea salt with caramel and cookie creates a delectable taste that conjures warm memories of winter traditions shared with ohana, said Chris Ruszkowski, Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaiis vice president of marketing.

Along with to the Sea Salt Caramel Cookie Latte, additional seasonal flavors may be available by location.

About Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii

Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii was born on the Big Island of Hawaii in 1989 and is dedicated to sharing premium Hawaiian coffees with a kick from the Hawaiian Islands through more than 20 franchise locations  with additional shops to open soon. Today, Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii stores also serve popular blended drinks, teas, food, along with other international premium coffees and sell popular branded merchandise with exceptional service and the Aloha Spirit. Bad Ass Coffees are available in franchise stores, online and will soon be available through grocery, hospitality, and specialty retail channels. The Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii brand and franchise is owned by Royal Aloha Franchise Company, LLC. For more information, visit badasscoffee.com and connect on Facebook and Instagram @badasscoffeeofhawaii. Franchise information is available at badasscoffeefranchise.com.

SOURCE Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii

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As part of the Democrats' push for for lower prescription drug costs, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, visited a Corvallis pharmacy Friday, Nov. 12 to discuss a drug pricing agreement and his call for a federal review of pharmacy closures.

It's an issue that hits close to home following Bi-Mart's announcement that it will close 56 pharmacies in the Pacific Northwest, including 37 in Oregon.

Addressing a small audience at Rices Pharmacy & Gifts of mostly staffers, Wyden said across every region of Oregon small pharmacies face unprecedented challenges from what he called powerful health care middlemen  namely major insurance companies and pharmacy benefit managers  whom Wyden accused of squeezing small pharmacy owners to the breaking point.

A central problem is increasing direct and indirect remuneration fees imposed by Medicare Part D and pharmacy benefit managers, Wyden said. Those fees increased by 91,500% between 2010 and 2019 and doubled from 2018 to 2020, according to the National Community Pharmacists Association.

Wyden called the fees anti-competitive, inconsistent and arbitrary.

Its as if these middlemen, the insurance companies and (pharmacy benefit managers), can say, Gosh, were not making enough money right now, we havent been profitable enough this year. So were just going to go out and tell these small pharmacies theyve got to give us more money, Wyden said.

Wyden believes the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has the authority, without passing any new law, to fix the fee problem. He requested the agency propose and finalize a requirement to apply all pharmacy direct and indirect remuneration fees at the point of sale, halting additional fees at a later time.

Tom Field, pharmacist and Rices owner, hosted the event. He said weathering direct and indirect remuneration fees is the No. 1 concern when it comes to small pharmacy survival.

Austin Blakeslee, director of pharmacy with Hi-School Pharmacy, said Wydens remarks were on-point from his personal experience. He said pharmacies need reform now to protect older people and independent businesses. Blakeslee added that some pharmacies are turning away new clients because they cant afford enough staff to meet needs.

We will never do that, he said. But we can only meet this goal if we continue to run our business; [direct and indirect remuneration] fees are a significant burden to our ability to serve our patients, as evidenced by multiple businesses at this point exiting the pharmacy world. This issue cannot wait.

Local resident and business owner Saleem Noorani said American consumers are being forced in many cases to choose between filling life-saving prescriptions and paying for essentials. He said its outrageous to be paying three times the cost that people in other countries are charged for the same medicines.

Prescription drug prices keep rising, Noorani said, citing three in particular with substantial hikes in annual costs during the past five years:

Revlimid, which treats forms of cancer, went from $187,574 to $267,583.

Victoza, which treats diabetes, went from $7,936 to $11,300.

Spiriva went from $3,886 to $5,289.

There is no greater issue affecting the pocketbooks of seniors on Medicare than the ever-increasing costs of prescription drugs, he said. Allowing Medicare to finally negotiate drug prices is a big win for all of us.

Former Sweet Home Mayor Jim Gourley also spoke at the news conference. He said as a longtime elected official hes heard plenty about how people cant keep up with increasing drug costs, adding that people on fixed incomes are forced to constantly adjust their budgets around the cost changes.

We cant go on this way, Gourley said.

Wyden said the senate finance committee, of which he is the chairman, has written the major pieces of a price-control package that has been agreed upon by congressional leadership. Its ready for consideration as part of the Build Back Better legislation.

Background

In October, Wyden sent a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in response as Bi-Mart moved to close 56 pharmacies in the Pacific Northwest. He called on the federal agency to review pharmacy closures, many of which are in rural communities.

Wyden noted in his letter, which was directed to Administrator Chiquita Brooks-Lasure, that Bi-Mart has cited increasing costs and ongoing reimbursement pressure in its announcement of the pharmacies closing. Wyden said rural communities are particularly dependent on local community pharmacists for their care, and are especially impacted by these closures.

Walgreens issued a news release on Sept. 30 regarding an agreement to acquire Bi-Marts pharmacy business, including the 56 Bi-Mart pharmacies in Oregon, Idaho and Washington. Bi-Marts retail stores will remain open. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Albany celebrates Veterans Day with artillery, fighter jets and more Photos: 'Albany has served as a beacon and an example for how Veterans Day should be celebrated in communities large and small.'

Albany man charged with manslaughter for death of cyclist in Corvallis Two years after the collision, an Albany man has been arraigned on manslaughter and assault charges for the death of a cyclist as he traveled 

GAPS ad says new superintendent will be paid $220K, here's how that compares Greater Albany Public Schools is offering a base rate salary of $220,000 to superintendent candidates. The question is, how does this rate?

A community reacts to alleged bias crime in Corvallis Local LGBTQ+ groups in Corvallis are still reeling from an assault police have labeled a bias crime at the 7-Eleven at 746 NW Kings Blvd. on O

Cody Mann covers the cities of Albany and Lebanon. He can be contacted at 541-812-6113 or Cody.Mann@lee.net.

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Ira Beavers and Francine Nicholson took a family trip to Disneyland with Isis Beavers and Ira Beavers.
Record gross revenue of $1,007,033 through steady growth and progression of global commercialization

Delivered a record number (27,041) of units of cannabis 2.0 products globally, an increase of 61% from Q2

25 listings of cannabis 2.0 products across adult use and medical channels in Canada.

Expanded into and completed exports into the 12th international market.

/NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES. ANY FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THIS RESTRICTION MAY CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF UNITED STATES SECURITIES LAWS/

TORONTO, Nov. 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Avicanna Inc. ("Avicanna" or the "Company) (TSX: AVCN) (OTCQX: AVCNF) (FSE: 0NN), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development, manufacturing, and commercialization of plant-derived cannabinoid-based products, is pleased to announce the filing of the Companys third quarter financial statements and provide financial and corporate highlights.

We are proud to present the meaningful progress we have made across all divisions in what is evidently our most successful quarter to date. We have evolved the organization from R&D stage to a rapidly expanding and truly global commercial-stage company with several business units now generating revenue across several markets. We have successfully established a strong footprint with our proprietary cannabis formulations in Canada across 3 channels including medical, clinical, and adult use, which is attributed to our scientific platform and evidence-based non-inhalation products. We continued to innovate, enhanced our intellectual property, and progressed our pharmaceutical pipeline. Finally, we advanced our global business model by opening our 12th market and more importantly have successfully connected our proprietary formulations with our low-cost API and manufacturing infrastructure in Colombia to deliver advanced products to the global marketplace, commented Aras Azadian, CEO, Avicanna Inc.

Third quarter financial highlights

Gross revenue in the third quarter increased to $1,007,033 ($987,967 net) from $810,299 in the second quarter, and $279,515 in the first quarter of 2021, representing an increase of 24% over the second quarter and 260% over the first quarter revenues. The reported revenue represents cannabis-only sales with majority being new or recurring orders from proprietary finished products in the Canadian medical and adult use channels.

The Company delivered 27,041 units of its cannabis 2.0 products branded as RHO Phyto and Pura Earth, compared to 16,767 units in the second and 8,855 units in the first quarter of 2021, representing a growth of 61% over the second quarter and 205% over the first quarter of 2021.

Loss per share for the nine months ended September 31, 2021, was ($0.29) per share, compared with ($0.82) per share for the nine-month period ending September 30, 2020, representing an improvement of 64% from the same period in the previous year.

By the end of the third quarter, the Company had a total of 25 product listings across medical and adult use channels in Canada, compared to 17 in the second quarter and 6 in the first quarter of 2021, representing an increase of 96% over the second quarter and 316% over the first quarter of 2021.

Other strategic highlights during and subsequent to the third quarter

Entrance into new global markets and expansion of Aureus-branded products with exports of high CBD and THC cannabis extracts to Austria, Peru, and Brazil reaching a total of 11 countries across 4 continents.

Multi-year supply agreement with a Brazilian pharmaceutical company to supply industrial volumes of high THC and high CBD full spectrum cannabis extracts. The Company is expecting revenue of up to $4.0M in fiscal 2022 from this agreement.

Filing of a US Patent Application for a novel cannabinoid formulation for reducing incidence of seizures and sudden unexpected death in epilepsy. Research findings originated from cannabinoid-based collaborations with leading epilepsy researcher, Dr. Peter Carlen, at University Health Network (UHN). Avicannas proprietary formulation showed promising pre-clinical results in reducing seizures and will continue to undergo preclinical and clinical development as a potential drug candidate.

Non-brokered private placement at a premium to the market price (at the time of close), issuing 4,587,022 common share units at a price of $0.85 per unit for gross proceeds of $3,898,969.

The Canadian launch of Viola-branded products in partnership with Medical Cannabis by ShoppersTM. Through this partnership Canadian medical and adult use consumers will have access to products by the equity-focused brand for the first time.

Santa Marta Golden Hemp S.A.S. (SMGH), the companys majority owned subsidiary met global conformity standards of Good Agricultural and Collection Practice (GACP), an international guide set forth by the European Medicines Agency. The certification will allow for the expansion of the Companys raw materials supply business to include organic and now GACP certified dried flower and biomass globally.

Conference Call Details

DATE: November 12, 2021 TIME: 8:30 AM Eastern Time LINK: https://tinyurl.com/AVCNQ32021

About Avicanna

Avicanna is a Canadian commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company established in cannabinoid research, development, and evidence-based products for the global consumer, as well as medical and pharmaceutical market segments. In leading global cannabinoid advancements, Avicanna conducts most of its research in Canada at its R&D headquarters in the Johnson & Johnson Innovation Centre, JLABS @ Toronto, located in the MaRS Discovery District. The Company actively collaborates with leading Canadian academic and medical institutions. Avicanna has established an industry-leading scientific platform including advanced R&D and clinical development which has led to the commercialization of over twenty products across four main market segments:

Medical Cannabis & Wellness Products: Marketed under the RHO Phyto brand, or Magisterial Preparations, these medical and wellness products are an advanced line of pharmaceutical-grade cannabis products containing varying ratios of cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The product portfolio contains a full formulary of products including oral, sublingual, topical, and transdermal deliveries that have controlled dosing, enhanced absorption and stability studies supported by pre-clinical data. The advanced formulary is marketed with consumer, patient and medical community education and training. Avicannas medical and wellness product portfolio also forms the foundation of the Companys pharmaceutical pipeline with the contribution of the formulations that form the basis of the products as well as the data generated from sales and participation of the products in real world evidence studies.

Marketed under the RHO Phyto brand, or Magisterial Preparations, these medical and wellness products are an advanced line of pharmaceutical-grade cannabis products containing varying ratios of cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The product portfolio contains a full formulary of products including oral, sublingual, topical, and transdermal deliveries that have controlled dosing, enhanced absorption and stability studies supported by pre-clinical data. The advanced formulary is marketed with consumer, patient and medical community education and training. Avicannas medical and wellness product portfolio also forms the foundation of the Companys pharmaceutical pipeline with the contribution of the formulations that form the basis of the products as well as the data generated from sales and participation of the products in real world evidence studies. CBD Derma-Cosmetic Products: Marketed under the Pura H&W or Pura Earth brands, these registered, clinically tested, dermacosmetic products include a portfolio of functional CBD topical products.

Marketed under the Pura H&W or Pura Earth brands, these registered, clinically tested, dermacosmetic products include a portfolio of functional CBD topical products. Pharmaceuticals: Leveraging Avicannas scientific platform, vertical integration, and real-world evidence, Avicanna has created a pipeline of patent-pending drug candidates which are indication-specific and in various stages of clinical development and commercialization. These cannabinoid-based drug candidates provide solutions for unmet medical needs in the areas of dermatology, chronic pain, and various neurological disorders. Avicannas first pharmaceutical preparation (Trunerox TM ) is in the drug registration stage in South America.

Leveraging Avicannas scientific platform, vertical integration, and real-world evidence, Avicanna has created a pipeline of patent-pending drug candidates which are indication-specific and in various stages of clinical development and commercialization. These cannabinoid-based drug candidates provide solutions for unmet medical needs in the areas of dermatology, chronic pain, and various neurological disorders. Avicannas first pharmaceutical preparation (Trunerox ) is in the drug registration stage in South America. Cannabis Raw Materials, Seeds, and Bulk Formulations: Marketed under the Aureus brand, the Companys raw material business has successfully completed sales to 11 countries. Aureus offers cannabis dried flower, standardized seeds, full spectrum extracts, and cannabinoid distillates, isolated cannabinoids (CBD, THC, cannabigerol (CBG) and other rare cannabinoids), and bulk formulations derived from hemp and cannabis cultivars through its sustainable, economical, and industrial-scale subsidiaries based in Colombia. The majority of the Aureus products are produced at Santa Marta Golden Hemp S.A.S. (SMGH), the Companys majority-owned subsidiary, which is also Good Agricultural and Collection Practices (GACP) certified and has United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Organic Program certification for its hemp cultivar.

SOURCE Avicanna Inc.

Stay Connected

For more information about Avicanna, visit www.avicanna.com, or contact Ivana Maric by email at info@avicanna.com.

The Company posts updates through videos from the official company YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFXPBGdKSxOUOf_VZoSFSUA.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information and Statements

This news release includes statements containing certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law ("forward-looking statements"). Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "continue", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These forward-looking statements are only predictions. Various assumptions were used in drawing the conclusions or making the projections contained in the forward-looking statements throughout this news release. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions, estimates and assumptions of management in light of management's experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected developments at the date the statements are made, such as current and future market conditions, the current and future regulatory environment and future approvals and permits. Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks, uncertainties and other factors that management believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances could cause actual events, results, level of activity, performance, prospects, opportunities or achievements to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including general business and economic conditions, changes in laws and regulations, product demand, changes in prices of required commodities, competition, the effects of and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and other risks, uncertainties and factors set out under the heading Risk Factors in the Companys annual information form dated April 15, 2020 (the AIF) and filed with Canadian securities regulators available on the Companys issuer profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The Company cautions that the list of risks, uncertainties and other factors described in the AIF is not exhaustive and other factors could also adversely affect its results. Readers are urged to consider the risks, uncertainties and assumptions carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such information. The Company is under no obligation, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation, to update or revise any forward looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable securities laws.
New York, NY , Nov. 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Spectral, a protocol for programmable creditworthiness, has announced a $6.75 million fundraise led by Polychain Capital. Mike Novogratzs Galaxy Digital, Chamath Palihapitiyas Social Capital, ParaFi Capital, Edge & Node Ventures (The Graph) and MetaPurse Ventures also participated in the round.

Spectral develops infrastructure for assessing credit risk in Web3 and lays the framework for a new asset class of programmable creditworthiness. Spectrals first product is an on-chain credit score, which gives lenders an improved mechanism to evaluate borrower risk, and grants the user full control over their identity and pseudonymity on the blockchain.

Building the infrastructure for programmable creditworthiness lays the groundwork for completely new tooling as we begin to move towards an ecosystem that designs custom and community-centric credit applications, said Sishir Varghese, co-founder and CEO of Spectral.

Spectrals on-chain credit risk assessment innovates beyond the traditional off-chain tools like the FICO score. As a fully programmable and composable financial primitive, Spectrals credit score (MACRO score) enables permissionless execution of existing financial applications such as credit delegation and securitized debt, and lays the foundation for innovative new implementations that leverage on-chain transaction history to build user creditworthiness.

Spectral is an innovator thats leveraging blockchain technology to transform the way credit scores are calculated. We believe the company is a true game-changer for creditworthiness and look forward to propelling them forward on what we deem to be an exciting growth trajectory  Andy Artz, Partner at Social Capital.

Spectral is supported by a leading group of crypto-focused angel investors and builders, including Mariano Conte, (formerly of MakerDAO), Stani Kulechov (Aave), Andre Cronje (Yearn Finance), Richard Ma (Quantstamp), Diogo Monica (Anchorage), Andy Bromberg (Eco and CoinList), Kain Warwick & Jordan Momtazi (Synthetix), DeFi Alliance, Rarestone Capital, New Form Capital, Maven11, OP Crypto, Folius Ventures and several others.

Read more about credit risk in Web 3 here: The Future of Credit Risk in Web3  Its Not Just a Credit Score.





About Spectral Finance

Spectral Finance creates a programmable creditworthiness ecosystem on Ethereum that facilitates capital efficiency on-chain through credit risk analysis. Spectrals Multi Asset Credit Risk Oracle (MACRO Score) aids lenders by evaluating borrower risk. By leveraging on-chain data, lenders can get an insightful view of creditworthiness, allowing them to make better decisions and borrowers can easily access financial opportunities.

Website: https://www.spectral.finance/

Documentation: http://docs.spectral.finance/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/__spectral

Medium: https://medium.com/@spectralfinance

Discord: https://discord.gg/Z9ESSwy

Press Contact: Sishir Varghese, contact@spectral.finance
NEW YORK, Nov. 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of the securities of Camber Energy, Inc. (NYSE American: CEI) between February 18, 2021 and October 4, 2021, inclusive (the Class Period), of the important December 28, 2021 lead plaintiff deadline.



SO WHAT: If you purchased Camber securities during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement.

WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the Camber class action, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases-register-2170.html or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email pkim@rosenlegal.com or cases@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than December 28, 2021. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.

WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs Bar. Many of the firms attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.

DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, defendants throughout the Class Period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Camber

overstated the financial and business prospects of Viking Energy Group, Inc. (Viking) as well as the combined company post-merger; (2) Camber failed to apprise investors of, and/or downplayed, the fact that its acquisition of a controlling interest in Viking would exacerbate the Companys delinquent financial statements and listing obligations with the NYSE; (3) an institutional investor was diluting Cambers shares at a significant rate following the Companys July 12, 2021 update regarding the number of its shares of common stock issued and outstanding; and (4) as a result, defendants public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.

To join the Camber class action, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases-register-2170.html or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email pkim@rosenlegal.com or cases@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action.

No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investors ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.

Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/.

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Contact Information:

Laurence Rosen, Esq.

Phillip Kim, Esq.

The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.

275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor

New York, NY 10016

Tel: (212) 686-1060

Toll Free: (866) 767-3653

Fax: (212) 202-3827

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Gloucester, MA (01930)

Today

Rain showers early with overcast skies later in the day. High 54F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early will become partly cloudy later at night. Low 33F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph.
Amos R. Miller, 74, of Goshen, died Thursday, Nov. 18, at Goshen Hospital, after a brief illness. He was born Sept. 15, 1947, in Goshen, to Robert and Lizzie (Hershberger) Miller. On Oct. 19, 1967, in Middlebury, he married Polly Ann Bontrager. She survives. Survivors in addition to his wife
Mercedes impressed during the first day of the Brazilian Grand Prix. Red Bull Racing seemed to have the best chance for victory, but Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time in both the first free practice and qualifying. According to Peter Windsor this doesn't say much.

Windsor looked back on his YouTube channel and first of all pointed to the speed difference between Mercedes and Red Bull. He sees that the difference is evident in Brazil. "Max and Sergio are basically doing 316, 318 km/h on that pit lane through the speed trap which is pretty much what the Red Bulls always seem to do. While Lewis is doing 322 km/h."

Therefore, although Mercedes look strong, Windsor thinks the Austrian formation has a good chance of winning. "There is a significant difference, but Interlagos will be very crowded and very fast during the race. And DRS will come into play as I said. So I'm not sure Adrian Newey will be worried about that."

Mercedes replace Hamilton's combustion engine

Should Hamilton cross the line first in Saturday's sprint race it does not mean he will start at the front a day later. The British driver has been given a grid penalty for replacing his combustion engine. The penalty is five places.

Read more Top speeds of Bottas and Hamilton reveal possible DRS violation
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Electric vehicle (EV) production is set to skyrocket to 12.76 million cars produced each year by 2026with more than half coming from China. China also dominates the lithium-ion battery supply chain, specifically in terms of battery cells, cathode and anode production, and chemical refining.

While the Biden Administrations $1-trillion Infrastructure Bill clearly focuses on electric vehicle (EV) development, both the US and the EU will remain dependent on Chinas lithium-ion battery supply chain for the foreseeable future, according to leading data and analytics company GlobalData.

You cant just click your fingers and make a fully working lithium-ion battery supply chain appearit takes time. The recent decision by Johnson Mathey to withdraw from UK battery manufacturing [earlier post] demonstrates just how hard building a supply chain can be. Western economies are quite far behind China already, with the country having held an 80.5% share of lithium-ion battery capacity in 2020. Even with the US and EUs best efforts, China will still dominate by 2026, with an expected 61.4% share. Further, China is strikingly dominant in both chemical refining and the production of cathodes and anodesall critical parts of the supply chain. In the meantime, the US and EU remain vulnerable in this important future market. Daniel Clarke, Thematic analyst at GlobalData

GlobalData notes that the price of lithium carbonate is set to rise worldwide, from just over $10,000 in 2020 to nearly $14,000 in 2024.

The rising price of lithium demonstrates what many in the industry have warned about for some time: the growing divergence between supply and demand for lithium. Ultimately, this will lead to an increase in the price of EVs, as automakers pass the cost onto the consumer. Daniel Clarke

GlobalDatas report, Thematic Research: Electric vehicle batteries (2021), notes that one of the core challenges for EV adoption is keeping the cost of a lithium-ion battery as low as possible.
Irizar e-mobility has been awarded a new order for 33 electric buses for the city of Stara Zagora, in the center of Bulgaria. They are the first 12 meter Irizar ie bus model electric buses to be included in the fleet of the citys municipal operator.





The operators choice to include some visual features from the Irizar ie tram in the fleet makes the buses stand out with a modern and innovative design and makes for an attractive and distinctive vehicle that maximises comfort, accessibility and safety for drivers and passengers.

The vehicles, with a capacity to transport 77 passengers, are equipped with 26 seats, a wheelchair area and four PRM seats. Moreover, they have three doors for a better accessibility that allows fluid circulation in the interior.

To increase passenger safety the operator provider opted for a video surveillance system and an eCo3 air purifier that creates an environment free of viruses, micro-organisms, bacteria, germs, allergens and dust particles.

This order, second most important one from the country, comes on the tails of the one for the city of Burgas.
Koura, a developer, manufacturer, and supplier of fluoroproducts and technologies and part of the Orbia community of companies, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Silatronix, a specialist in organosilicon (OS) electrolytes (earlier post).

Koura is currently the largest producer of fluorspar in the world, accounting for more than 20% of global supply, as well as the producer of around 10% of global hydrofluoric acid supply. The company is executing on a comprehensive energy materials strategy; the Silatronix acquisition complements Kouras capabilities in energy storage deployment.

Koura works with key industry players and researchers in the lithium-ion battery industry to develop and to manufacture a range of advanced fluorine materials. Fluorine is a critical element in the battery supply chain and it is used in production of battery electrolytes, additives, binders and other materials. Koura is actively developing fluorine-containing materials for use in current and next generation Li-ion batteries.

Koura is also actively developing new fluorinated additives and co-solvents that offer the possibility of enhanced safety and performance in Li-ion batteries. Fluorine additives and co-solvents enable increased energy per mass of battery while ensuring safety. The unique properties of fluorine-containing materials make them suited for use in high-energy battery environments and provide stability in all modes of operation.

Koura has developed a palette of fluorinated materials that includes a wide variety of functions, characteristics and physical properties.

Silatronix brings unique expertise in fluorosilane additives for Lithium-ion batteries and an industry-wide reputation for developing solutions that deliver improved battery safety and performance in a range of applications, from electric vehicles to stationary, grid-scale storage.

Silatronix lead product is OS3the latest generation in performance-enhancing organosilicon electrolyte materials. OS3 improves the performance of Li-ion batteries when added to LiPF 6 -based battery cells in concentrations of just 2-5%. OS3 also delivers substantial safety and stability improvements.

OS3 is a solvent, not a traditional additive, Silatronix notes. The difference is that OS3 is a complementary part of the Li-ion electrolyte and additive system. While additives are typically consumed during the first few cycles of a battery, Silatronix OS3 works as a component of the system. The material stays as part of the electrolyte formulation throughout the life of the battery.

Alongside our unique ownership of raw material assets and expertise in fluorine technology, Koura is committed to developing next- generation battery technologies that can deliver improved safety, performance and sustainability. Bringing on board Silatronixs expertise and technologies will further enable us to achieve these goals, support the advancement of the entire lithium-ion battery industry, and accelerate renewable adoption. Gregg Smith, President of Koura

With its focus on improving the sustainability and efficiency of lithium-ion batteries, Koura and Orbia recently led a $70-million investment round in Battery Resourcers, a closed-loop lithium-ion battery recycler based in Worcester, Massachusetts. Koura is engaged in several initiatives with Battery Resourcers to develop recycling technologies, which the Silatronix team will also support.
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Veterans Day was celebrated throughout Greenwich, including at several local schools, as students honored the contributions of those who served their country.

Riverside School held its annual celebration Nov. 9. In its 21st year, the ceremony on the schools front lawn was scaled back due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. But it was still a memorable salute to veterans.

The Veterans Day Ceremony is a longstanding tradition at Riverside School, where the community comes together to recognize veterans and the critical contributions they have made to our country, Principal Christopher Weiss said. It was important to still hold the ceremony in a responsible way, despite the limitations the pandemic has presented.

The ceremony included a flag-raising and recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance as well as the laying of a memorial wreath.

The fourth- and fifth-grade classes took part, along with volunteers, school staff and local veterans.

First Selectman Fred Camillo attended, along with Peter LeBeau, a Vietnam veteran and head of American Legion Post 29, and Chief of Police James Heavey, who is also a veteran.

It was a wonderful opportunity to teach students the most valuable lesson they can learn, to simply thank a veteran, today and every day of the year, said Camillo, whose father was a Marine drill instructor.

At the close of the ceremony, Riverside School recognized its alumni who died in foreign wars: Phillip Edward George Jr., Henry Bradbury Johnson and Clarence Brodie Keith, who served in World War II; Thomas Budd Kean, Nevell Brackett Safford and Louis Francis Zaccardo, who served in the Korean War; and Richard Horsfall, who served in Vietnam.

The students in kindergarten through third grade watched a recording of the event and took part in other activities related to Veterans Day on Nov. 11.

Downtown

In a Thanksgiving tradition, the Boys & Girls Club of Greenwich will dish up a feast for its members to celebrate the holiday.

The holiday meal, which will be served Nov. 23, will include turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and other Thanksgiving sides, topped off with pies for dessert.

This is one of our favorite events at the Clubhouse, said Don Palmer, vice president of programs and youth development.

The clubs board and leaders will serve up the holiday feast. In the past, First Selectman Fred Camillo, Chief of Police James Heavey and Director of Parks and Recreation Joe Siciliano, all of whom were club members as kids, helped out.

It is great to know that so many members will go home with full stomachs after a great meal served by our community leaders, Palmer said.

Now in its 19th year, the feast is back as an in-person meal for 2021, with the kids lining up to be served buffet-style. Last year, the club delivered dinners for six to its members to enjoy at home with their families due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nearly 300 kids are expected to enjoy the feast this year. Courtnay Arpano of Courtnays Kitchen will prepare the food.

The annual event enables club members a chance to eat a delicious and nutritious meal with their clubhouse friends and club staff as family and keeping in line with the clubs commitment to offer kids a safe and nurturing environment and a sense of belonging, the Boys & Girls Club said in a statement.

Central Greenwich

The Junior League of Greenwichs annual Enchanted Forest, a favorite holiday event in town, will be held as a combined in-person and virtual event in 2021.

Greenwich residents have enjoyed this hallmark event for over 40 years, league President Karen Richard said. We are thrilled to continue the tradition this year by offering many of the best parts of the past, in a mix of virtual and in-person experiences for adults and children.

Volunteers have also created a special, digitally accessible Enchanted Forest with a variety of experiences for you to enjoy with your friends and family, from the safety of your own home, the Junior League announced in a statement.

Items available for purchase as part of the event include gingerbread-decorating kits, a VIP experience drive-by from Santa, customized letters to old St. Nick and a story time with Santa over Zoom. The event will also include an online auction that running from Nov. 19 to Nov. 21 at www.jlgreenwich.org/the-enchanted-forest/.

Supporters can pick up their purchases at a safe-distance drive-through on Nov. 21 at the leagues headquarters at 231 E. Putnam Ave.

The Santa VIP experiences will be scheduled to take place Dec. 4 at scheduled times between 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. at residents homes.

In the past, the Junior League of Greenwich has hosted the three-day Enchanted Forest at the Hyatt Regency Greenwich and Christ Church, with decorated trees, shopping boutiques and visits with Santa. For the past two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced it to become a digital celebration that can be mostly enjoyed from home.

Cos Cob

The damaging floodwaters from storm Ida in September forced the Greenwich Historical Society to delay a major exhibition of the work of Impressionist artist John Henry Twachtman until next year.

But programs will still go forward about Twachtman, who bought a farm in Greenwich in 1890 and spent time at the art colony in Cos Cob.

A lecture on Nov. 18 will celebrate the launch of a new digital resource that compiles detailed records of his oeuvre, life, exhibitions and other material, including his correspondence and all of his artwork. It will be called John Henry Twachtman Catalogue Raisonne.

The virtual evening, hosted by the Greenwich Historical Society, is called Twachtmans Road to Greenwich. It is sponsored in conjunction with independent art historian and curator Lisa Peters, who will lead the talk.

Dr. Peters will chart Twachtmans artistic career through focus on a few key works, from his early days in Cincinnati, to European study and travel, to New York City, and finally to Greenwich, the historical society said in a statement.

Peters will be joined by Maggie Dimock, the historical societys curator of exhibitions and collections, to discuss Twachtmans legacy as well as the new digital resource.

The free lecture will be held on Zoom from 6 to 7 p.m. Nov. 18. To register, visit greenwichhistory.org/event/twachtmans-road-to-greenwich/. It will be available to view on demand afterward.

kborsuk@greenwichtime.com
BERLIN (AP)  Young children in Vienna can start getting coronavirus vaccinations next week as part of a pilot project, Austria media reported on Saturday.

Austrian broadcaster ORF reported that about 200 children between the ages of 5 and 11 can get jabs of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine each day in the Austrian capital starting Monday. The pilot project is limited to Vienna only and doesn't apply to the rest of the country.

As COVID-19 infections spike again across the Alpine country, the national government is set to announce more nationwide measures to contain the spread of the virus.

Austrian news agency APA reported Saturday evening, based on documents it obtained, that the government plans to order a nationwide lockdown for unvaccinated people starting Sunday at midnight. The move would prohibit unvaccinated individuals older than age 12 from leaving their homes expect for basic activities such as work, grocery shopping, going for a walk - or getting vaccinated.

Government officials plan to meet with the country's state governors on Sunday to discuss the planned restrictions.

While in the United States or Israel, children of the 5-11 age group can already officially get vaccinated against COVID-19, the European Medicines Agency, which regulates approval within the European Union, has not yet given the go-ahead for vaccinations of children under the age of 12.

The EU's drug regulator said earlier this week it had started evaluating whether to authorize Modernas COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11, and it has been evaluating the vaccine made by Pfizer-BioNTech for use in the same age group since last month.

The agency has not said when exactly it will make a decision on the two vaccines but media have reported that at least for Pfizer/BioNTech a decision could come before Christmas.

As infection numbers are rising across the continent at a worrisome speed, vaccination approval for young children would bring a much hoped-for relief for millions of families across the EU.

Despite the lack of an official emergency approval, several pediatricians in Austria have been vaccinating children of this age group already, since demand is very high as the infection rate in the country is spiking, ORF reported.

The interest in off-label vaccination is enormous, Peter Voitl, a pediatrician and vaccination expert with the Vienna Medical Association, told ORF. "We vaccinate the age group 5 to 11 at our clinic and have several hundred people on the waiting list.

By Saturday evening, more than 5,500 children had been signed up for a shot, APA reported.

Austria has faced a worrying trend in infections in recent weeks. The country reported 13,152 new cases on Saturday, up from 11,798 a day before. The seven-day infection rate stands at 775.5 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants. In comparison, the rate is at 277.4 in neighboring Germany, which has already also sounded the alarm over the rising numbers.

Austria has one of the lowest vaccination rates in western Europe: around 65% of the total population is fully vaccinated, and almost 68% had received at least one dose as of the end of the week.

___

Follow APs pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic
For several months now, Humanities Guahan have led Virtual Family Story Hours, inviting story tellers and authors to tell tales in much of the same way our grandparents and great-grandparents had, except, of course, that the stories were told over Zoom.

The latest story hour featured a bilingual retelling of an old Kosraen classic.

Iros Waguk and Daisy Mackwelung spoke of the story of Sitsit, who was home while his mother went to fish and his father went to the farm. As Waguk told the story in Kusaiean, Mackwelung translated the story into English.

The story hour was an intimate experience which included audience members not just on Guam but also located in Hawaii.

One woman recalled sitting with her family at home in Kosrae and listening to stories told. She mentioned she was happy to share even that virtual experience with her daughter now, even though she lives away from Kosrae.

It seems like every week I am coming across new pockets of the internet where Micronesians are telling their stories and Micronesian stories are being told.

Recently, I learned of Chikin Melele, a bilingual newspaper that provides news in Marshallese and English, owned by Patrick Boaz. It appears to be based in Arkansas.

There are a number of Facebook groups in which news is shared and discussed in the native tongue.

I know of one Facebook group that translates news that might interest the Chuukese community. It has over 30,000 followers.

Last week I was able to chat with Victorious Falan, the host of the One Micronesia Podcast.

For the last couple of years he has been putting out podcasts speaking with Micronesians. Hes literally talking story and sharing those stories online in podcast form.

Micronesians sharing stories with other Micronesians is not new but thanks to the internet, we have access to these spaces where Islanders are telling and retelling their own stories in their own words on platforms theyve carved out for themselves.

I, as the youth say, love to see it, especially when I consider that so much of documented history of our islands was recorded by hands that largely werent always born of these lands.

There is not much we can do to change that but its encouraging to know that the generations after us can look back and find stories told by Micronesians in their own words.

I look forward to finding more pockets of Micronesian storytelling, including another upcoming Humanities Guahan virtual story hour next month.
Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores at 884 Pale San Vitores Road in Tumon offers Mass daily except Tuesday and Thursday, according to the Archdiocese of Agana website. Do you have a photo for Village News? Send the photo and information to life@guampdn.com.
The P.D. Hemlani Foundation donated eight 64 GB iPads, a 128 GB iPad and nine protective cases to the Guam Department of Education on Oct. 18 to benefit special needs students. From left: Elicia Santo-Tomas, P.D. Hemlani Foundation operations manager; Jessica Blas, Guam DOE assistive technology teacher; Vashi B. Hemlani, P.D. Hemlani Foundation president; Neil Rochell, Guam DOE assistive technology program coordinator; Nichol Napoleon, assistive technology specialist; and Jack Larimer, assistive technology teacher.
There were 28 new cases of COVID-19 out of 419 tests analyzed Nov. 12, according to a news release from the Joint Information Center Saturday.

Additional results are pending analysis and submission from other clinics and will be reported Monday, the release stated.

There were 25 people hospitalized with COVID-19. There were four people in intensive care units and three on ventilators.

Of those hospitalized, 15 were vaccinated and 10 werent.

Guam has had a total of 18,891 officially reported cases, with 258 deaths. There are 1,971 people in active isolation.

As of Nov. 12, the CAR Score had dropped to 4.5.

Kids vaccines

Father Duenas Memorial School Phoenix Center will host a childrens vaccine clinic 4 to 7 p.m. Nov. 20.

Make an appointment at guamcovid.com

Requirements:

Parent/legal guardian must provide minors birth certificate.

Parent/legal guardian must have a government-issued photo identification.

Minor must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.

Guardians must present legal guardianship or power-of-attorney documents.

Vaccination clinics

University of Guam Field House: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day except Thursdays and Sundays.

Northern Region Community Health Center: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays, 1 to 4 p.m. Nov. 14

Southern Region Community Health Center: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays

Antibody therapy

The Department of Public Health and Social Services, in partnership with the Mayors Council of Guam and the Guam National Guard, offers outpatient monoclonal antibody therapy at the Mangilao Senior Citizens Center, the release stated.

Patients who test positive for COVID-19 may receive the therapy if they meet the eligibility criteria through a referral from their private physician, a COVID-19 community test site or a hospital.

To schedule an appointment, call 671-998-4627 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. or 671-734-9203 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
A number of house-like structures erected over gravesites at the islands only public cemetery in Piti over the years werent built legally, but the government of Guam wont be moving to demolish them.

Rows of the little buildings made up of wood, tin and cement line the newest portion of the Vicente A. Limtiaco Memorial Cemetery, commonly known as Tiguac. Some of the more elaborate ones have glass windows and even solar panels installed.

Theyre very nice. Ill tell you, they spent a lot of money on that. I think some of them were hiring contractors, said Department of Parks and Recreation Director Roque Alcantara, whose agency is responsible for the cemetery.

But according to the director, the gravesites, which require a permit, arent allowed to have any tall structures built above them.

A letter was sent months ago to families that built the structures, telling them to remove whatever they had built, he said.

But it was not really feasible.

After that, a fine was considered, but that hasnt gone through either.

We have a listing of all the individuals that built, but you know, its hard, to go out and collect whatever fines we impose on them, Alcantara said.

Ultimately, the agency decided to let the buildings go but tighten up on restrictions.

The governors spokesperson, Krystal Paco San Agustin, said Adelup agreed with the decision.

Enforcement

A directive was sent out to stop any construction, and Alcantara said it was now policy to address the issue when people came in to apply for a burial permit, Alcantara said. Two employees permanently assigned to the cemetery on burial detail were monitoring for any construction, and park rangers have made the cemetery a part of their rounds.

On Wednesday, a number of hollow block buildings that were half-built could be seen.

Piti Mayor Jesse Alig said he believes the structures, which likely werent built to any building code, could present a hazard.

I am concerned that the debris will fly into the neighborhood and damage residential homes and vehicles, he said.

While he remained concerned after Parks and Rec told him about the decision to leave them standing, Alig said he was sympathetic to anyone who had put in the time to build the monuments after losing a loved one and wouldnt ask for them to be removed.

The mayor did ask that Parks and Rec better police the area and closely monitor the structures. Recently, a concrete barrier was put up at one of the entrances to the cemetery.

Should anything happen, the onus will definitely be on (Parks and Rec) to ensure that, you know, those structures are either cleared, hardened or removed, Alig said.

Burial space

About 300 gravesites remain at Tiguac, Alcantara said. The cemetery buries about 10 to 15 people a week.

Two locations identified by the Bureau of Budget Management and Research for a new cemetery, at Cross Island Road and near Mt. Santa Rosa, werent feasible, so Parks and Rec has to wait for another property to be found.

In the meantime, there are some areas at the Piti cemetery that still could be cleared and utilized, Alcantara said.
The University of Guam Calvo Field House clinic saw a surge in those seeking vaccines on Saturday  especially for booster shots.

A majority of the appointments made today were for booster shots, both Pfizer and Moderna, said Capt. Denise Chargualaf, Guam National Guard Task Force 671 medical commander.

The clinic expected 880 appointments for the day, but with walk-ins, Chargualaf said that number could exceed 1,000. Of those, health care workers anticipated about 200 children to be vaccinated, in addition to 600 to 700 eligible recipients coming for Pfizer, and 400 for Moderna boosters or vaccines.

The clinic administers around 15 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine a day.

Demand for that is definitely down, Chargualaf said.

mRNA levels

Chargualaf said something many people dont know is the difference between the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines in the amount of mRNA, which is the molecule that teaches the bodys cells to trigger an immune response to the virus. A full dose of Moderna is a 0.5 ml dose, which contains 100 micrograms of mRNA. The booster dose is half of that, at 0.25 ml with 50 micrograms of mRNA. Pfizers full dose is 30 micrograms of mRNA, and the booster is the same.

She said that Moderna is her choice for someone making a decision on which vaccine to get, if you are looking for more protection thats longer lasting.

Every dose for children under the age of 12 contains 10 micrograms of mRNA. If someone gets the pediatric dose when they are 11 years old and turns 12 when it is time for their second shot, they receive the full dose.

Big impact

Chargualaf is proud of the work the Guard is doing.

(Its a) once in a lifetime opportunity to respond to something like this to support the government of Guam in their COVID-19 response, she said.

Guam National Guard health care specialist Michael Quenga, who was part of a team loading shots with the Pfizer vaccine, said he wasnt stressed out by the surge in patients because they expected this would happen.

We will continue to handle it in the future as much as they need us to, Quenga said.

Spc. Heather Nera, who was preparing full and booster doses of Moderna, said her experience at the clinic since it reopened in September has made her an optimist.

Ive met thousands of people in our community and not a lot of people get to say that  and that they did something that made a big impact on the community, said Nera.

FEMA help

She credits the good experience she has had to the collaboration of different groups on the island battling the virus, including recent help from Federal Emergency Management Agency workers.

Sharena Lightfoot, a licensed practical nurse for FEMA, arrived on Guam a little over a month ago. She said the past week was busier than she has experienced, due to the 5- to 10-year-old age group becoming eligible for the vaccine.

They are coming in pretty steadily with the children, ... we are here to do a job and take care of these families and these communities, said Lightfoot.




Haiti - FLASH : Prime Minister a.i. Henry requested technical support from the OAS





In a correspondence dated November 5, 2021, addressed to Cristobal Dupouy Special Representative of the Organization of American States (OAS), Prime Minister ai Ariel Henry, asked the Organization of American States (OAS) for a "technical support" to fight organized crime and strengthen customs controls to fight smuggling.



He adds that Haiti faces problems that generate transnational crimes, such as organized crime, money laundering and illicit trafficking in firearms, ammunition and drugs.



Faced with the innumerable situations which occur, the Prime Minister affirms that he needs "an effective cooperation of the OAS" adding "My Government wishes, as soon as possible, to explore with the OAS the concretization of the aforementioned cooperation which will undoubtedly allow the reestablishment of a security climate essential for the return to normal functioning of republican institutions."



SL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - News : Zapping...





Grand Anse : The earth has shaken

Friday, November 12, an earthquake of 5.0 was recorded in the south of Grande Anse. The epicenter was located at 18.30 degrees North and 74.33 degrees West at a depth of 9km. No damage or casualties have been reported so far.



DR : At least 130 pregnant women deported

UNICEF has been informed that at least 130 pregnant women and women with newborns seeking care in the Dominican Republic have been detained or deported to Haiti this week.



According to official Dominican figures, the number of Haitian women in an irregular migratory situation who gave birth in Dominican hospitals increased from 14,695 in 2018 to 24,374 women in 2021 against 58,145 deliveries of Dominican women this year.



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35171-haiti-dom-rep-end-of-health-services-to-illegal-haitians-except-in-emergencies.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-33527-icihaiti-dr-29-of-dominican-maternity-beds-are-occupied-by-haitians.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-21694-haiti-dr-nearly-8-billion-pesos-in-hospital-care-and-services-for-haitians.html



Arrest warrants against 10 police officers

The investigating judge in charge of the investigation into the assassination of Jovenel Moise, Garry Orelien, issued warrants against a dozen police officers who were guarding at the level of the President's residence. Those concerned are agents of the General Security Unit of the National Palace (USGPN) and CAT TEAM. Some of them have already been heard by the magistrate.



Dominicans leave Haiti

Dominicans residing in Haiti are starting to leave this country due to growing insecurity and social, economic and political instability, while Haitians who live in the Dominican Republic irregularly do not want to return to Haiti is the This is why their number is reduced in the streets to avoid being arrested by the Migration Inspectors.



Radio Tele Metropole stops broadcasting

"This is an unprecedented crisis," said Radio Tele Metropole CEO Richard Widmaier. After having reduced its broadcasting time for lack of fuel https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35197-haiti-flash-for-lack-of-fuel-media-reduce-their-diffusion-or-stop-broadcasting-partial-report.html , he said he was forced to announce the interruption of emissions on the FM band. This is the third time that the broadcast has been interrupted in the 50 years of the radio's existence, the first time after the dictatorship's offensive against the press (November 1980) and the second time after the earthquake of January 12, 2010.



Justice : Joverlein Moise absent before the Investigating magistrate

Wednesday, Joverlein Moise the eldest son of President Jovenel Moise assassinated on August 7, 2021 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34162-haiti-flash-president-jovenel-moise-assassinated-by-mercenaries-official-updated-7am-+-video.html who resides in Canada did not appear at the Investigating Office of the Investigating Magistrate Gary Orelien. His lawyers spoke of the need for measures to be put in place to guarantee the safety of their client.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















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By William Schwartz | Published on 2021/11/12

Yeong-eun (played by Song Hye-kyo) is a hopefully aloof designer in her thirties. Normally the phrase would be hopelessly aloof, but Yeong-eun defies expectations through her desire not to get seriously involved with men- despite her innate sensuality. While on a business trip to France, the hotbed for worldwide fashion, Yeong-eun met photographer Jae-gook (played by Jang Ki-yong), a handsome and highly in-demand photographer. Upon encountering once again, Yeong-eun and Jae-gook make an elaborate effort to pretend not to recognize each other.

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"Now, We Are Breaking Up" has a baffling tone- although I'm fairly certain it's an intentional one. Everything about the story is structured like a romance. Yet Yeong-eun and Jae-gook are so focused on their jobs and, more relevantly, the standoffish attitude that makes them so desirable professionally, that romance just doesn't seem plausible. Yeong-eun is indifferent to her obvious mutual attraction with Jae-gook because she simply doesn't see the point.

A reasonably convincing is presented for why Yeong-eun might be right. We see various misadventures involving Yeong-eun's co-worker Chi-sook (played by Choi Hee-seo), who does allow herself to become entangled romantically, and suffers from it. Yeong-eun and Chi-sook are both older women. Most of the men they meet are younger than they are, and almost by definition immature because models and freelancers aren't exactly known for having stable lifestyles.

Consequentally there's a very philosophical bent toward "Now, We Are Breaking Up" because Yeong-eun acts as if any romantic relationship at all requires a much more persuasive pitch than any she's seen so far. And given just how dreamy Jang Ki-yong is in the leading role, her standards seem unreasonably high. Yeong-eun as a character is someone who needs to be accepted as she is. Yeong-eun just can't be bothered to extend more energy than that.

This isn't just true in Yeong-eun's personal life, but also in her professional life in the fashion industry. So in that sense "Now, We Are Breaking Up" requires a fair amount of investment in Yeong-eun's career goals. The story isn't boring by any means, but it feels as if "Now, We Are Breaking Up" is a very Song Hye-kyo specific project, in that it's the first project Song Hye-kyo has done since her highly publicized divorce from Song Joong-ki some three years ago. The whole narrative almost feels like a metaphor for that tabloid narrative. Why should Song Hye-kyo act at all, if she finds less romantic work more personally fulfilling?

Review by William Schwartz

___________

"Now, We Are Breaking Up" is directed by Lee Gil-bok, written by Je In, and features Song Hye-kyo, Jang Ki-yong, Choi Hee-seo, Kim Joo-hun, Park Hyo-joo, Yoon Na-moo. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2021/11/12~Now airing, Fri, Sat 22:00 on SBS.
Korean Movie | 2008

 Drama

Directed by Kim So-yong ()

Written by Kim So-yong ()

89min | Release date in South Korea: 2009/08/27

This internationally acclaimed film by Kim So-yong centers on Jin, 7, and Bin, 4, who are left in the care of an alcoholic aunt while their mother searches for their missing father. They wait for their mother in earnest while busily filling the piggy bank she gave them. But the mother does not keep her promise to return once the piggy bank is full, and Jin and Bin are again forced to move, this time to their grandparents' house.

Source
Published on 2021/11/13 | Source

Korean omnibus movie "We're Not Good At Parting" added to HanCinema database

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"We're Not Good At Parting" (2021)

Directed by Lee Hyunji, Min Byung-chae, Park Dong-ki

With Kim Hye-won, Shin Min-jae, Son Woo-hyun, Han Ye-joo, Lee Gun-ok, Lee Chung-mi,...

Synopsis

An omnibus movie that shows the difference in perspective, conflict, and pain of parting between men and women through the images of couples breaking up.

1. "Farewell Movie" (, i-byeol-yeong-hwa) by Lee Hyunji

At the end of the meeting between aspiring actors and aspiring directors, Geon-wook wants to shoot his failed movie in reality even at the moment of his separation.

2. "Relationship Forest" ( , yeon-ae-eui sup) by Park Dong-ki

Hae-rang and Mio who were hurt by each other in an incompatible relationship, as well as Yeon-woo and Byeong-dae. Two couples fight in the forest, accidentally, Hae-rang and Yeon-woo, as well as Mio and Byeong-dae. Can peace come in the forest where the two lovers fought?

3. "The Way to Relationship" ( , yeon-ae-eui gil) by Park Dong-ki

Yeon-hyeok and I-seul fight while driving on the country road. The quarrel intensifies and Hyeok and I-seul stop the car and got out. Another couple fights. Dong-ik and Seon-ah are on a farewell trip. Seon-ah gets out of the car and runs away from Dong-ik who is starting an argument over trivial stories. Dong-ik who is chasing Seon-ah fall in the rice field and try to encourage Seon-ah, but Hyeok, who misunderstood it from a distance, kicks Dong-ik.

4. "Hello, How Are You" (, hel-lo-ha-wa-yu) by Min Byung-chae

Ji-an who is in a recluse at her mother's karaoke is visited by her boyfriend of 10 years, Dong-hoon. Through the karaoke glass, they clear each other's misunderstandings and fall in love again.

Release date in Korea : 2021/12
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 include but are not limited to: "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
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(The Center Square)  A company based in Israel has leased 13,000 acres of farmland in two northern Indiana counties with plans to build the largest solar farm in the United States.

The project, called Mammoth Solar, will be built in three phases, with all solar panels expected to be up and collecting the suns rays by 2024, according to the company, Doral Renewable Energy Group.

At the ceremonial groundbreaking in the small town of Knox, Indiana, in mid-October, the Israeli ambassador to the United States referred to the project as a milestone in the Israel-U.S. relationship.

Doral Renewables is the U.S. subsidiary of Doral Renewable Energy Resources Group, an Israeli energy company that in 2008 connected a solar system to Israels electricity grid for the first time.

Gov. Eric Holcomb attended the groundbreaking, held under a tent on the site of a drive-in theater, near where vast stretches of farmland expected to be covered with large solar panels in just a little more than two years.

Holcomb was joined at the ceremony by the two founders of the company  Nick Cohen and Dori Davidovitz  and by the Israeli ambassador, Gilad Erdan.

The largest piece of the project is in Pulaski County, where the company has signed long-term agreements with farmers and other landowners for about 9,000 acres of flat land.

The ground is leased just as if you were a farmer and leased land off me and had corn in the ground, says the countys building inspector, Karla Redweik.

Most leases, she says, are for 20-25 years. There are no solar panels set up on the land yet, however, and there wont be until two court cases are resolved that are challenging the countys Board of Zoning Appeals decisions to grant special exceptions that will allow the land to be used as solar fields.

In the one case, a group of 10 petitioners asked the court to reverse the BZAs decision to grant the special exception saying three of the five board members votes shouldnt count because two have a conflict of interest and one doesnt live in the county. They also allege the countys solar regulations are invalid because two of the three county commissioners who voted on them own land they are leasing to Mammoth Solar  one 154 acres and the other almost 225 acres, according to the petition, which was filed in Pulaski Superior Court.

They also say the BZA hand selected the people they allowed to enter the room where a public hearing was being held on the project, and the solar farm is likely to have a negative effect on neighboring property values."

The immediate beneficiaries of the project are the farmers and other landowner in the two counties. Doral reportedly offered a premium price per acre for the land, and in several news articles, farmers indicated they were happy to sign leases as they didnt have children to take over the farm, or if they did, their children had no interest in being farmers.

Its estimated that when completed, the project will produce 1.3 gigawatts of electricity, enough to service up to 200,000 homes.

It is also expected to employ hundreds of people to erect the solar panels and 50-100 to run the solar farm.

The land in Pulaski and Starke counties is considered ideal for a solar farm because it is so flat, but the two counties were also likely chosen, said Redweik, because of the electrical transmission lines that cut through them.

Mammoth Solar is Doral Renewables' largest project in the United States. The company recently entered into a joint venture agreement with Invenergy, the largest private company producing electricity in the United States. According to the website Israel21c, the company plans to introduce to the U.S. market advanced ways of producing and storing electricity, including smart grid solutions "to eliminate the need for external electricity suppliers."

The first phase of the project is expected to be completed by 2023.
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The United States said that ISIS in Syria threaten its national security and the Syrian people, and that the American forces will not withdraw until this threat is eliminated, according to the Al-Arabiya English website.

"Terrorist groups like ISIS in Syria, directly threaten U.S. national security and the Syrian people. The United States remains committed to the military mission against ISIS," the State Department said in a tweet.

conflicting reports have surfaced in recent months about commitment US President Joe Biden to remain in the Middle East after the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

However, US officials and diplomats told Al-Arabiya English earlier that their forces will remain in Iraq and Syria until their mission are completed.

in Iraq, after exposure to increased pressure from Iran-backed groups and political parties, Washington agreed to end its "combat mission" and move to supervisory role.

Despite the presence of US forces in Iraq at the invitation of Baghdad, the pro-Iranian factions are calling on US forces to leave the country.

As for Syria, the United States continues its fight against ISIS in the northern part of the country. On Friday, the State Department dismissed all doubts about the United States' intention to withdraw for the foreseeable future.

"We will continue our mission in Syria until the threat posed by the terrorist group is eliminated," the State Department said.

L..A

ANHA
Henderson, NC (27536)

Today

Cloudy with rain ending in the afternoon. High 52F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies. Widespread frost likely. Low 27F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.
A SECOND dog day care centre set up in memory of a 13-year-old boy who died of cancer has opened.

Charlies Dog Place, off Kennylands Road, Sonning Common, is named after Charlie Ilsley, who died in December after losing a long fight against cancer.

Offering day care, dog walking and dog training, it is run by his mother Toni and her daughter Jess.

They opened the first Charlies Dog Place in June at the familys home in Buckingham Drive, Emmer Green, after converting the garage.

Their licence from Reading Borough Council meant they could only look after six dogs at once, so Mrs Ilsley decided to expand and took over the former Doggy Dips in Kidbys Yard and can now look after up to 20 dogs.

Mrs Ilsley said: At home I could only have six dogs and I already had my own two dogs so I was turning people away left, right and centre. This place came up and I thought it was probably the right time and Charlie would have absolutely loved it.

It took three weeks to renovate the new building. It was a lot of work, said Mrs Ilsley. To have a dog place we need heating but the building is so old it would have gone out of the window so we needed to add insulation and change the ceiling and we only had the evenings to do it in.

We were here to 1am most nights. We had a new kitchen put in as well to try to get it up to Charlies Place standards.

She has two new full-time members of staff but they both contracted covid just before the opening.

Mrs Ilsley said: For the first day I was working with a friend of mine instead and I cried, I laughed and I thought, I dont want to come back tomorrow. But when I shut the door at 6pm I was like, Im so glad Ive done this. This is Charlies Place, its the only thing I can do for him now. Its something to do in his memory.

Charlie, a pupil at Highdown School in Emmer Green, had fought cancer since 2015 when he was diagnosed with a brain tumour and was twice given the all-clear after treatment. He had two dogs, Ernie, a shih tzu bichon frise cross, and Eric, a lhasa apso.

While he was in Mexico for treatment in the week before he died, he and his family stayed at a ranch that had rescued a dog and Charlie told his family that he wanted to work with dogs when he was older. Mrs Ilsley has left her job at Prospect Park Hospital in Tilehurst to run both dog centres full time.

She is a qualified dog trainer and is now taking a three-year online degree course in dog behaviour.

She said: We havent got a routine yet, its all a bit up in the air, but we have a van that we take the dogs out in for walks, which is usually two big walks a day.

Then they come in and play and Id like to say rest but they dont really, theres too much going on.

We have so many toys, a tunnel, a ball pit and more. Its a lovely place for dogs. Most people who use the service want to socialise their dogs while some are elderly and cant walk them. A lot of people are returning to the office now as well so need a dog walker.

There are not a lot of dog care centres around and people seemed to be pleased with us.

Mrs Ilsley hopes to keep expanding the business and open a third dog care centre in Henley.

Meanwhile, Charlie was honoured at the Day of the Dead festival in Mexico last week.

I got a message asking if Id be okay with it, said Mrs Ilsley. They wanted to put a picture of Charlie on an altar so he could have food. They said Charlie was in all their hearts.

For more information, visit charliesdogplace.co.uk
Uniontown, PA (15401)

Today

Sunshine and clouds mixed. A few flurries or snow showers possible. High 38F. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

A few clouds. Low near 25F. Winds light and variable.
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Impose ban on Salman Khurshids book for comparing Hindutva with terrorism !  Hindu Janajagruti Samiti

Memoranda submitted by HJS at various places in Kolhapur district

Office bearers of Pro-Hindu organisations, parties, and activists present on the occasion

Take action against the religious fanatics who are disturbing the law and order situation in the State leading to anarchy!  Editor, HinduJagruti.org

Kolhapur : A memorandum was submitted by Hindu Janjagaruti Samiti (HJS) on 15.11.2021 at various places in Kolhapur district demanding imposition of a ban on the book titled Sunrise over Ayodhya: Nationhood in our times by Congress leader Salman Khurshid in which he has compared Hindutva with terrorism. HJS has demanded action against religious fanatics for disturbing law and order in the State and creating an anarchic situation; besides demanding imposition of a ban even on Raza Academy which incited the fanatics.

1. The memorandum was submitted to Tehasildar Santosh Kanase at District Collectors office at Kolhapur by devout Hindu activists viz. Mr Sambhajirao Bhokare, Dy District-Chief of Shiv Sena, its Karveer Taluka-Chief Raju Yadav, Mr Satish Patil, the President of Tanta-Mukti Samiti at Shiroli, Mr Suresh Yadav, the District-President of Shri Shivapratishthan Hindustan and Mr Rahul Nagtilak, Yuva Sena Karveer Taluka Chief Santosh Chaugule, Shiv Sena Dy Taluka-Chief Ashok Patil, Shiv Senas Dattatreya Vibhute, Uttam Patil, and Arjun Chaugule; besides HJS activists viz. Shivananda Swami, Vipul Bhopaley, Deepak Katavare, and Babasaheb Bhopaley.

2. Similar memorandum was submitted to Tehsildar Shilpa Thokade at Kagal by Shri Shivapratishtan Hindustans Vijay Arekar, Sushant Shinde, and Vijay Shete; Kagal Dy city-Chief Prabhakar Thorat, Bajarang Dals Vinayak Awale, Bharatiya Kisan Sanghs Dilip Patil, Gou-seva Samitis Rajendra Bhoje, BJPs Eknath Patil, Ranadeviwadi Gram Panchayat member Pradip Khot, Macchindra Sankpal, a social worker; Pimplegaons Gou-seva Samitis Babaso Kut, businessman Pramod Arekar, Ajay Lohar, Ramchandra Patil, Vipul Mahanto, and HJS Santosh Sanagar.

Another memorandum demanding an inquiry into people staging riots in Maharashtra to protest against incidents happening in Tripura was also submitted on behalf of all pro-Hindu organisations to Kagal Tehsildar.

3. The memorandum was received by senior clerk Ashwini Adsule at Hupri from devout Hindu activists viz. Mr Nitin Kakade, Nikhil Kambale, Pramod Kudalkar, and Vijay Methe of Shri Shivapratishthan Hindustan, Mr Ravidnra Gaikwad of Shri Sadguru Bahu-uddeshiya Sevabhavi Sanstha from Hupri, Pramod Desai, Ganesh Ghorpade, Sagar Chavan, Amit Kakde, Arjun Ghorpade, Shiv Senas Dy. city-Chief Bharat Methe and HJS activist Santosh Sanagar.

4. Naib Tehsildar Sanjay Kambale received the memorandum at Ajra from devout Hindu activists viz. Sanjay Patil, Sanatan Prabhats reader Ms Sheetal Patil, HJS activists Anandrao Sathe, Shankar Patekar, and Kum Pravin Patil, etc.

5. The memorandum was accepted by Naib Tehsildar Ravindra More of Shahuwadi from Chandrakant Mapasekar, Vaidya Sanjay Gandhi, and Sudhakar Mirajkar.

6. Similar online memoranda were submitted to Panhala, Radhanagari, Chandgad, Shirol, Hatkanangale, Bhudargad, and Gaganbawda

Sangli : A memorandum was submitted for the above demands by HJS on 15.11.2021 at Sangli District Collectors office.

Memoranda submitted in Solapur and Dharashiv districts

1. On 16.11.2021, a memorandum was submitted at the District Collectors office at Solapur.

2. HJS submitted a memorandum to Dy District Collector Shivkumar Swami of Dharashiva by Bhagavan Shriname, Santosh Pimple, Vishwas Landage.

3. Tehsildar Saudagar Tandale received the memorandum at Tuljapur (Dist. Dharashiv) from devout Hindu activists viz. Umesh Kadam, Amit Kadam, Deepak Palange, etc.

Hindu and Hindutva is the same; pro-Muslim Congress opposes both !

There is no difference between India and Indianness or mother and motherhood. Similarly, there cannot be any differentiation between Hindu and Hindutva. Rahul Gandhi and Salman Khurshid may try to explain how Hinduism is different from Hindutva, but Hindus will not be misled by such explanations. Had the Congress leaders felt true love for Hindu Dharma, they wouldnt have insulted Hindu Dharma by arguing that Bhagavan Shriram and Shrikrushna were fantasies or talked about the threat of saffron terrorism to this country. They would have raised their voice against the persecution of Hindus in Kashmir, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. They have, however, not done anything of this sort, but have started temple-tourism with an eye on elections. The Congress leaders are even humiliating Hindus by comparing them with Boko-Haram and terrorists from ISIS. Now, Congress is trying to show their Hindu hatred by painting it in a light colour and by claiming that Hindutva and Hinduism are two different things. These Congress leaders should remember that Hindus cannot be misled by such talk. If the Congress leaders truly feel any affinity towards Hindu Dharma, they should ask Salman Khurshid to withdraw his book and render an apology to all Hindus. It is also our demand with the Government that a ban should be imposed on Salman Khurshids book titled Sunrise over Ayodhya: Nationhood in our times, just as the Government has imposed a ban on controversial books on other religions such as Da Vinci Code, The Satanic Verses, etc.

Request Hon'ble Home Minister Sri @AmitShah Ji to take immediate action on banning @salman7khurshid's book 'Sunrise over Ayodha-Nationhood in our times'. for hurting religious sentiments of Hindu's. pic.twitter.com/QKAmdGcIe2  Raja Singh (@TigerRajaSingh) November 15, 2021

Read More : Salman Khurshid compares Hindutva to jihadi groups ISIS, Boko Haram in new book

Congress should talk about the difference between Islam and jihadi terrorism !

While talking about Hindu terrorism, the Congress leaders differentiate between Hindutva and Hinduism, but they never utter a word about jihadi terrorists who are troubling the whole world with their terrorist activities. Why dont these leaders talk about the difference between Islam and jihadi terrorism? That time, they try to appease Muslims by making comments like terrorism has no religion; no religion teaches terrorism, etc; therefore, the pro-Muslim Congress should first clearly talk about jihadi terrorism.

Rahul Gandhi had immediately cried about the so-called attack on Muslims in Tripura; however, he has never said anything about inhumane attacks on innocent Hindus from Bangladesh during the Navaratri festival. It proves that the Congress has only apathy towards Hindus and the Congressmen show their fake interest in Hindu Dharma only at the time of elections; just like the demoness, Putana had exhibited her fake love towards baby Shrikrushna.

Special online discussions on ideological terrorism of Congress !

The disrespect shown by Salman Khurshid through his book is Pan Islam!  Mr Suresh Chavanke, Chief Editor, Sudarshan channel

In his book, Congress leader Salman Khurshid has compared Hindutva with terrorism. This comparison should be seen from a religious angle instead of a political angle. It is not just an issue related to Congress ideology but it is also the agenda of Pan Islam. (Pan Islam is a political movement which advocates Islamic rule); therefore, it is an attempt to carry on their jihadi movement through various means like books, films, poetry, etc. It is an ideological terrorism of Congress. The policies of Congress are based on Hindu-hatred. It should be noted that visiting temples, fasting during Navaratri, etc are just election gimmicks. So, rather than giving explanation on such accusations, Hindus should pay attention to achieve their goal, stated Mr Suresh Chavanke, the Chief Editor of Sudarshan channel during the special online discussions held on the topic of ideological terrorism of Congress.

Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS) also held an online agitation against the objectionable statements made by Congress through its leaders. Under this drive, a board was displayed condemning Congress and a memorandum was submitted to the Government in this context. Hindus came together and spontaneously responded to #Congress_Hates_Hindutva, a trend on Twitter, by posting more than 20000 tweets. Read More

Complaints filed against Salman Khurshid for allegedly defaming Hinduism in his book

11 November 2021

Two Delhi lawyers have filed complaints with Delhi Police against Khurshid, for allegedly defaming and comparing Hinduism with terrorism in his book. Advocate Vivek Garg in his complaint is seeking to file a case against Khurshid.

Advocate Vineet Jindal in his complaint said that the statement published in the said book is not only instigating and provoking but also stirring emotions among followers of the Hindu religion. Read More
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Military veterans from Missouri City and other communities now have a new quiet place to visit and reflect on their years in the military.

Community members gathered on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, to honor those who have served by dedicating a new Missouri City Veterans Memorial.

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The $1.5 million project that had been 10 years in the making is located at City Hall Complex at 1522 Texas Parkway.

As we celebrate the significance of this memorial today, let us all reflect on it being a meaningful place for our families, our friends and our loved ones to visit and appreciate the sacrifices of our nations veterans, said Mayor Robin J. Elackatt. Understand that freedom is not free: it comes at a cost. And to all of the armed forces, we say simply, Thank you for making the ultimate sacrifices, that we may have the privilege of living in the greatest democracy in the world.

In 2011, the City Council and mayor wanted to pursue building a memorial that would recognize U.S. military veterans. They formed a committee to further investigate the idea. A contest was held in 2013 to decide what the design would look like. LMA Design LLC won the project, but the funding wasnt available yet.

Nonprofit Missouri City Parks Foundation formed in 2016 and committed to making the memorial its capstone project. With donations from the George Foundation, the Wells Fargo Foundation, H-E-B, Niagara Bottling and many others, the funding came together.

The architecture of the monument is carefully crafted to honor different aspects the military. Council Member Anthony Maroulis said the five-pointed star represents the militarys branches. The water fountain in the middle is lit at night with amber color to represent an eternal flame. Large granite blocks symbolize the nations foundation. Elements point toward life, strength, freedom and liberty.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Fort Bend ISD board to vote on outdoor learning space, effort to commemorate Sugar Land 95

State Rep. Ron Reynolds explained that veterans should be honored every day, not just Nov. 11 of each year, because Americans should never take their freedoms for granted.

There are people who are serving abroad literally right now as we speak, protecting the freedoms and liberties that we often take for granted, Reynolds said. So Im very gracious for everyone that helped make this happen.

Dennis Thibault, American Legion Post 294 city liaison, was a sergeant with the 82nd Airborne Division during the Vietnam War. He worked closely with city staff on the memorial but has a long history of striving to acknowledge veterans.

He first worked on a veterans memorial in 1969 after his brother was killed in combat in 1967 and his stepbrother was killed in 1969. He called those days a dark time in our history, where many people did not like the military. Later during his career of approximately 40 years, Thibault traveled domestically and internationally and saw many veterans memorial sites.

Missouri City has lacked a Veterans Memorial, and by working through the local American Legion Post 294 over the past four years, we were able to work with city officials and resurrect a 10-year-old dream of the city, Thibault explained. In addition to being a show piece of architecture for the city, it will offer veterans a place to visit, reflect and experience that their commitment to country has not been forgotten.

tracy.maness@hcnonline.com
HAWKINSVILLE, Ga. (AP)  A manhunt was underway Saturday in central Georgia for five men who escaped a county jail.

Pulaski County Sheriff Danny Brannen said federal marshals, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Georgia State Patrol and multiple sheriff's offices in the area are helping in the search.

Brannen said at 11 p.m. Friday, the inmates were supposed to be in lockdown. One of two jailers working was in a cell talking to an inmate when another inmate attacked the guard. The sheriff said the inmates told the jailer they were going to kill her, then took her car keys and attacked the other jailer on duty.

The jailers were not hurt in the attack.

Im thinking theyre not in Hawkinsville no more, Brannen said.

Capt. Larry Jackson said the inmates were traveling in a stolen, white 2015 Kia Sedona. The license plate number is CMP 8628, he said.

Authorities do not know where the men are headed.

The escaped inmates include Tyree Williams, whos charged with felony murder and home invasion for allegedly shooting a man in July 2020. Also Dennis Penix, who is accused of killing two men in 2017 in a drug deal gone bad.

The other three are Brandon Pooler, accused of child cruelty; Tyree Jackson, whos charged in car-break-ins; and Lewis Evans, accused of obstructing an officer.

Jackson said the inmates should be considered extremely dangerous and said people should not take action on their own. Anyone with information on the men's whereabouts should call 911, the Pulaski County sheriffs office at 478-783-1212 or Hawkinsville Crimestoppers at 478-783-9255.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP)  The U.S. Coast Guard used two helicopters to rescue campers from rising waters at an RV park on the Oregon Coast Friday, mudslides shut down roads and a woman was plucked from a swollen river as a second day of heavy rains and flooding pummeled the Pacific Northwest.

Authorities issued flood watches along Oregon's coast and warned of the possibility of dangerous mudslides in areas that burned in last summer's devastating wildfires. At the RV park about 90 miles (145 kilometers) southwest of Portland, Coast Guard teams said they rescued a total of 20 people and three dogs with the help of local authorities. Thirty campers decided to stay and declined rescue, the agency said.

Aerial photos showed the entire RV park flooded with deep brown water and campers sitting amid the mess. In some areas of the park, water had risen to 4 feet (1.2 meters). In nearby Otis, another RV park was also flooded and a private fire engine that sits permanently at the town limits to welcome visitors had water halfway up its doors.

Russ Hiner, who was camping at the park, posted on Facebook that he awoke to someone driving around the park and honking a warning shortly after 6 a.m.

Looking out the fogged up windows and see someone with a flashlight running around. They come and bang on the door, The park is FLOODING! Everyone out,' he wrote on Facebook. Looks like theres six or 7 inches of standing water underneath us.

The Neskowin campground is tucked between two forks of Neskowin Creek and is about 7 miles (11 kilometers) north of Otis, a tiny coastal community that was devastated by a wind-driven wildfire just over a year ago.

We are okay for now ... but the rain in still coming, said Melynda Small, who lost her home to the fire in September 2020 and is worried about mudslides in the burn area.

Forecasters said the storms are being caused by an atmospheric river, known as the Pineapple Express. Rain was expected to remain heavy in Oregon and Washington through Friday night. Precipitation may ease some Saturday but more rain is expected Saturday night through next week.

In Oregon, the National Weather Service issued flood watches in several coastal counties and warned that heavy rains raised the risk of mudslides and debris flows in areas recently burned by wildfires.

More than 2 inches (5 centimeters) of rain fell in some areas in the western part of the state in a 24-hour period Thursday and heavy rains were expected to continue through Friday evening, the National Weather Service in Portland said. Astoria, in the states far northwest corner, set a new record for rainfall Thursday with just over 2 inches (5 centimeters) of rain, the most since the previous record for the date set 70 years ago.

Standing water in the roadways made driving treacherous across the Portland metropolitan area and a woman was rescued from the swollen Santiam River on Thursday after her encampment along the river banks was flooded.

In Washington, advisories were issued for at least a half-dozen rivers in the western part of the state.

Landslides were reported on the coast, in southwest Oregon near the town of Elkton and along the Columbia River Highway east of Portland.

The storm also caused a power outage that closed several schools and district offices in a Portland suburb.

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Follow Gillian Flaccus on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/gflaccus
WASHINGTON (AP)  Steve Bannon, a longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, was indicted Friday on two counts of criminal contempt of Congress after he defied a subpoena from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

The Justice Department said Bannon, 67, was indicted on one count for refusing to appear for a deposition last month and the other for refusing to provide documents in response to the committees subpoena. He is expected to surrender to authorities on Monday and will appear in court that afternoon, a law enforcement official told the AP. The person was granted anonymity to discuss the case.

The indictment comes after a parade of Trump administration officials  including Bannon  have defied requests and demands from Congress over the past five years with little consequence, including during Democrats' impeachment inquiry. President Barack Obama's administration also declined to charge two of its officials who defied congressional demands.

Attorney General Merrick Garland said Bannons indictment reflects the Justice Departments steadfast commitment to the rule of law. Each count carries a minimum of 30 days of jail and as long as a year behind bars.

The indictment came as a second expected witness, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, defied his own subpoena from the committee on Friday and as Trump has escalated his legal battles to withhold documents and testimony about the insurrection.

If the House votes to hold Meadows in contempt, that recommendation would also be sent to the Justice Department for a possible indictment.

Officials in both Democratic and Republican administrations have been held in contempt by Congress, but criminal indictments for contempt are exceedingly rare. The most recent notable examples of criminal penalties for not testifying before Congress date to the 1970s, including when President Richard Nixons aide G. Gordon Liddy was convicted of misdemeanor charges for refusing to answer questions about his role in the Watergate scandal.

Democrats who voted to hold Bannon in contempt praised the Justice Department's decision, saying the charges reinforce the authority of Congress to investigate the executive branch and signal potential consequences for those who refuse to cooperate.

The days of defying subpoenas with impunity are over, tweeted House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, who sits on the Jan. 6 panel and also led Trump's first impeachment inquiry. We will expose those responsible for Jan 6. No one is above the law.

The chairman of the Jan. 6 panel, Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson, told reporters at an event in his home state of Mississippi on Friday that he will recommend contempt charges against Meadows next week.

Thompson and the vice chairwoman of the panel, Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, said in a statement: Mr. Meadows, Mr. Bannon, and others who go down this path wont prevail in stopping the Select Committees effort getting answers for the American people about January 6th, making legislative recommendations to help protect our democracy, and helping ensure nothing like that day ever happens again."

Meadows and Bannon are key witnesses for the panel, as they both were in close touch with Trump around the time of the insurrection.

Meadows was Trumps top aide at the end of his presidency and was one of several people who pressured state officials to try and overturn the results. Bannon promoted the Jan. 6 protests on his podcast and predicted there would be unrest. On Jan. 5, he predicted that all hell is going to break loose.

The indictment says Bannon didnt communicate with the committee in any way from the time he received the subpoena on Sept. 24 until Oct. 7 when his lawyer sent a letter, seven hours after the documents were due.

Bannon, who worked at the White House at the beginning of the Trump administration and currently serves as host of the conspiracy-minded War Room podcast, is a private citizen who refused to appear to give testimony as required by a subpoena, the indictment says.

When Bannon declined to appear for his deposition in October, his attorney said the former Trump adviser had been directed by a lawyer for Trump citing executive privilege not to answer questions. The attorney did not respond to a message seeking comment on Friday.

This is not the first time the longtime Trump ally has faced legal peril. In August of last year, Bannon was pulled from a luxury yacht and arrested on allegations that he and three associates ripped off donors trying to fund a southern border wall. Trump later pardoned Bannon in the final hours of his presidency.

Meadows, a former congressman from North Carolina, defied his subpoena on Friday after weeks of discussions with the committee. His lawyer said that Meadows has a sharp legal dispute with the panel as Trump has claimed executive privilege over the former chief of staff's testimony, as he had with Bannon's.

The White House said in a letter Thursday that President Joe Biden would waive any privilege that would prevent Meadows from cooperating with the committee, prompting Meadows' lawyer to say he wouldn't comply.

Legal disputes are appropriately resolved by courts, said the lawyer, George Terwilliger. It would be irresponsible for Mr. Meadows to prematurely resolve that dispute by voluntarily waiving privileges that are at the heart of those legal issues.

As the sitting president, Biden has so far waived most of Trump's assertions of privilege over documents and interviews, citing the interest of the public in knowing what happened on Jan. 6. Trump sued the committee and the National Archives to stop the release of documents, and U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan has repeatedly backed Biden's position, noting in one ruling this week that Presidents are not kings, and Plaintiff is not President.

The panel's proceedings and attempts to gather information have been delayed as Trump has appealed Chutkan's rulings. On Thursday, a federal appeals court temporarily blocked the release of some of the White House records the panel is seeking, giving that court time to consider Trump's arguments.

Still, the House panel is continuing its work, and members have already interviewed more than 150 witnesses in an attempt to build a comprehensive record of how a violent mob of Trump's supporters broke into the Capitol and temporarily halted the certification of Biden's victory.

The committee has subpoenaed almost three dozen people, including former White House staffers, Trump allies who strategized about how to overturn his defeat and people who organized a giant rally near the White House on the morning of Jan. 6. While some, like Meadows and Bannon, have balked, others have spoken to the panel and provided documents.

___

Emily Wagster Pettus reported from Mississippi. AP writers Eric Tucker, Nomaan Merchant, Zeke Miller, Farnoush Amiri and Jill Colvin contributed.
Rogelio V. Solis/AP

JACKSON, Miss. (AP)  Republican Gov. Tate Reeves is ending the state of emergency order put in place during the coronavirus pandemic in Mississippi.

The emergency order was first put into effect on March 14, 2020, a few days after the state reported its first coronavirus case. It enabled the governor to mobilize the Mississippi National Guard to help with COVID-19 testing and vaccination sites. The order also authorizes the state's COVID-19 System of Care Plan, which allows for transfers of patients throughout Mississippis health care systems.
The Danish city of Roskilde shares little with Houston other than a proximity to a waterway and a music festival tragedy in which nine people died.

The Roskilde Festival, which typically draws more than twice as many music fans as the towns population of around 50,000, made only celebratory news until its 30th year, when nine fans were crushed in a mosh pit during a Pearl Jam performance there on June 30, 2000.

One year later, the festival returned with Bob Dylan headlining.

Carlos Chirinos, a music and global health professor at New York University, studies music-related crowds and behaviors. He worked with Roskilde Festival organizers in 2005.

LAWSUITS: 'We were like sardines in a can': Astroworld survivors recount chaos

I was impressed with how they stepped up security in the pit, he said. I had an opportunity to be close with security and saw how closely they worked with stage management. They tried to achieve total control.

And they havent had any incidents since then.

A week after the Astroworld Festival in Houston resulted in nine deaths, no answers have been unearthed as to a root cause of the tragedy. Response to the incident will take time as the tragedy plays out in courts. Gov. Greg Abbott last week announced a Texas Task Force on Concert Safety. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner called for a briefing from all entities  promoter Live Nation, NRG Park, the citys police, fire and emergency management departments  involved in the show by Missouri City rapper Travis Scott. And a criminal investigation is underway.

In the meantime, experts say large-scale changes to how the music industry conducts its events are unlikely to take place. Those advocating for the end of general-admission music festivals with tens of thousands of concert-goers may get a short-term reprieve: the festival season largely hibernates for the winter.

But by next spring and summer, music festivals will likely return in full fervor.

Its not cynical, but just an observation, that some of the most heartbreaking tragedies at mass gatherings in the United States have not yielded a lot of change, said Steve Adelman, vice president of the Event Safety Alliance. The non-profit organization was formed following a 2011 concert event that was to feature the band Sugarland at the Indiana State Fair. Severe winds knocked down supports for a temporary roof, killing seven fans and injuring dozens of others.

What are the likely long-term changes after the tragedy at Astroworld? You can find people asking if it will be the end of GA shows, and commenters saying that will happen. I dont think thats likely at all, Adelman said. If for no other reason than the economic model for the music industry has changed. No one is selling records. So the industry sells live music, food, beverages and merchandise. Thats just the model. Its economics.

Music festivals for the young

A 2015 Nielsen Audience Insights report estimated around 32 million people attend at least one music festival in the U.S. annually. Most festivals were canceled because of the pandemic last year, and many shut down in 2021, too. As musicians, fans and scores of other players in the festival ecosystem become increasingly comfortable with gatherings again, the festivals will likely return and draw young concert-goers like those who showed up at Astroworld on Nov. 5.

The Event Safety Alliance doesnt have a rooting interest between those who produce and those who attend events, Adelman said. Were advocating for safe practices in the live music industry.

NEW DETAILS: Leaked Houston firefighter logs offer minute-by-minute look into Astroworld tragedy

But he said the organization was retained last week as a consultant for a party involved in putting on the Astroworld incident. He advises asking the right questions about security, barricades, crowd management training, response time and artist or other incitement.

Jim Digby, a manager for the band Linkin Park, is the founder of the Event Safety Alliance. Earlier this week, Linkin Park videos from 2001 circulated as an example of best practices for crowd control: at a 2001 concert in London, the bands guitarist noticed a fan pulled under the crowd and halted the groups performance until the attendee was retrieved.

Though America produced a number of now-famous festivals such as the Woodstock Music and Art Fair in 1969, Europe has a longer history of annual events that draw tens of thousands.

The rave culture was slower getting to the United States, Chirinos said. But by the early 2000s, the festivals became a big deal here.

Hundreds of festivals now take place all across the country. The Nielsen report found that nearly half of festival attendees are 18 to 34 years old, a demographic inclined toward events like Astroworld.

Houstons event is now a flashpoint, and concert promoters  including spokespeople for Live Nation, AEG Live and Beaver Productions  would not comment on the future of the business after the tragedy this week.

Randy Phillips, a former CEO of AEG Live, said for any future concert promotions he oversees, we are oversecuring and overinsuring all participants in a way we probably wouldnt have pre-Astroworld, in an interview with the New York Times.

European safety procedures

Practices at Astroworld will be scrutinized for months, perhaps years. Early on, fans broke through a security checkpoint and got into the show. Videos from the event have been circulating for over a week  including a concert-goer pleading with a cameraman to help get the show shut down, and an emergency vehicle slowly coursing toward the stage while the concert continued. A Chronicle report found that the Houston Fire Department struggled to communicate with private contractors providing medical care and security.

Right now its unfair to say this or that caused this, Chirinos said. There are a lot of people who are involved, and well know more later. But just the people who broke into the concert: That alone calls for possible cancellation. You dont have any idea who entered. They couldve gotten in with guns, knives. Theres no way to know.

PHOTOS: Everything Travis Scott did in Houston during Astroweek, leading up to Astroworld Festival

Turner suggested the number of security personnel was higher for Astroworld than at the World Series earlier that week. But Paul Wertheimer, who founded Crowd Management Strategies three decades ago  told the Chronicle, Its not about how many people you have. Its where do you put them and how well theyre trained for the task theyre going to do.

You could have had 10,000 of Houstons finest at this festival, and if theyre not in the right position or not trained to handle this kind of situation in crowd management, it doesnt matter, he said.

Wertheimer called Astroworld a preventable tragedy. But assigning accountability will be complicated with so many entities involved, public and private, to put on a show for a crowd that size.

Chirinos said he hopes the tragedy will prompt some discussion of festival layout and management of communication between security and medical personnel.

He cited aerial photos of subsequent Roskilde festivals to illustrate how the festival changed its approach. The areas closest to the stage were divided by aluminum Mojo barriers into six sections, with a first-come, first-served policy on those premium spaces. Other concert-goers fanned out across large spaces on the periphery.

You have to create sub-sections within the pit, he said. It feels crowded, but no one is crunched. Thats what you want in a space.

Englands Glastonbury Festival  which attracted more than 200,000 people in 2019  has operated on and off since the 1970s without such incident, he pointed out.

The regulations are very strict; theres a strong connection between the stage managers and security and police, he said. Theres little negotiation. The communication in the chain of command moves quickly. Its not up to private companies. Its a public safety requirement that has to do with policy. But you have to be willing to implement policies.

The Roskilde Festival is the centerpiece of the citys tourism, Chirinos said. The people there felt a civic responsibility to better manage crowds so they didnt have to get rid of the festival.

It ran uninterrupted until 2020 when the global pandemic shut it down. But next summer Roskilde will again manage tens of thousands of fans  with its darkest moment two decades behind it.

andrew.dansby@chron.com
Authorities say a 27-year-old man charged with murder in the shooting death of his ex-girlfriend this week confessed to the killing and was found dead near Albuquerque from an apparent self-inflicted gun shot wound..

Homicide investigators on Thursday had charged Jose Gallegos with murder after his ex-girlfriend, 28-year-old Nitzi Valencia, was fatally shot at a home in Spring the day prior, according to the Harris County Sheriffs Office.
2 1 of 2 Jay R. Jordan / Jay Jordan, Staff Show More Show Less 2 of 2 Harris County District Attorneys Office Show More Show Less



An MS-13 gang member was sentenced to life in prison this week in connection to the 2016 fatal shooting of a 16-year-old who agreed to testify against members of the gang, according to the Harris County District Attorneys Office.

The 26-year-old gang member, identified as Luis Gonzalez Cruz, pleaded guilty to the reduced charge of murder related to his involvement in the death of Estuar Quinonez, who he had driven to Missouri Citys Buffalo Run Park where he and other gang members shot the teenager, per a release from the district attorneys office. If hed gotten a capital murder conviction, he faced the possibility of a lifelong prison sentence without parole.
Blue Origin astronaut Glen de Vries has died in a plane crash.

According to reports from Patch and the New Jersey Herald, de Vries, 49, and Thomas P. Fischer, 54, died when their single-engine Cessna 172 crashed Thursday in New Jersey. State police identified them on Friday.

One month ago, de Vries traveled into space on Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket system. He rode alongside "Star Trek" actor William Shatner.

"We are devastated to hear of the sudden passing of Glen de Vries," Blue Origin said on Twitter. "He brought so much life and energy to the entire Blue Origin team and to his fellow crew mates. His passion for aviation, his charitable work, and his dedication to his craft will long be revered and admired."

de Vries co-founded Medidata Solutions in 1999, and it became the world's leading cloud platform for medical research. According to a bio on de Vries, the companys software has powered more than 25,000 clinical trials with more than seven million patients.

Medidata was acquired by French software company Dassault Systemes in 2019 for $5.8 billion. de Vries was vice chair of life sciences and health care at Dassault Systemes.

"His tireless energy, empathy and pioneering spirit left their mark on everyone who knew him," a Dassault Systemes spokesperson said in an email. "We will truly miss Glen, but his dreams  which we share  live on: we will pursue progress in life sciences & healthcare as passionately as he did."

Before launching into space, de Vries had talked about his career working to extend people's lives. He said Earth has limited materials and energy; space could help humanity thrive.

"Furthermore, astronauts can experience the 'overview effect,' gaining a new perspective on how fragile and precious our planet, those resources, and our civilization are," de Vries said in a news release before his launch. "Playing a part in advancing the space industry and one day making those resources and that understanding available to everyone, is an incredible opportunity. Ive been passionate about aviation and space for as long as I can remember, so this flight is truly a dream come true.

Fischer, who was in the plane with de Vries, was the owner and head instructor of Fischer Aviation, a family-run flight school in Essex County, N.J., according to the New Jersey Herald.
Noam Galai, Contributor / FilmMagic

THUMBS DOWN _ Feathers were flying this week after Texas Sen. Ted Cruz took his partisan war against vaccine mandates to Sesame Street, accosting Big Bird on social media for tweeting last weekend that hed gotten his COVID-19 shot. My wing is feeling a little sore, but itll give my body an extra protective boost that keeps me and others healthy, the lovable yellow, 8-foot-2 bird wrote. Government propaganda, Cruz tweeted back. for your 5-year-old! When Big Birds defenders fired back at Cruz on social media, Cruz deemed them mentally ill and lamented in his podcast, All the disasters that are happening, none of them matter. But you mess with Big Bird, holy crap, they lost it. We have to wonder how hed diagnose a grown man who spends his platform as a U.S. senator portraying a beloved childrens character as a tool of the deep state. Calling Big Bird the government doesnt make sense anyway, since not a single government dollar goes into the production of the Sesame Street show, a spokeswoman for the nonprofit Sesame Workshop confirmed to us Friday. Its incidents like these that make us wish Cruz would fly the coop. Were not the only ones. A parody Big Bird account on Twitter quickly launched a run for Senate, announcing Cookie Monster as campaign manager, Elmo as senior adviser and promising to Bird Back Better. The parody candidate had 98,000 followers as of Friday. His first campaign pledge? Big Bird promises to never fly to Cancun when Texas is in trouble.

THUMBS TWIDDLED _ Cruzs attack on Big Birds vaccine tweet is cancel culture if we ever saw it. Everyones right to free speech should be sacred in this country, from Sesame Street to an actual, real life tool of the deep state: the University of Texas at Austin. Were kidding, mostly. But it appears some prominent figures in American discourse were not when they announced their plans this week to establish the University of Austin, whose mission includes countering so-called cancel culture. The board of advisers reportedly includes West Virginia University President E. Gordon Gee, former New York Times columnist Bari Weiss and former Harvard University president Lawrence H. Summers. The future universitys president, Pano Kanelos, says Americas universities should be places where society does its thinking free of censorship: If they chill speech and ostracize those with unpopular viewpoints, if they lead scholars to avoid entire topics out of fear  who will be left to model the discourse necessary to sustain liberty in a self-governing society? Good question. Will it raise money and earn accreditation? Or become just another tool-of-the-right echo chamber? Pretty much the only thing were radicals about is free speech, so were willing to watch and see. Judging by Gov. Greg Abbotts book-banning campaigns, Texas needs all the remedial courses in the subject it can get.
Toys For Tots Sparking Joy for Children in Need This Holiday

PITTSFIELD, Mass.  Around 190 Toys For Tots boxes will be scattered around the county this holiday season to deliver joy to children in need.

The toy collection effort accepts new, unwrapped toys for ages newborn to 14 years old in the months of October, November, and December so that no kid goes without.



Berkshire County coordinator Christopher Keegan's yearly goal is to honor every request for toys.



"This is just a whole different area around the holidays where people need some help," he said. "This is what we're here to do and it's rewarding."



He works with around 10 nonprofit agencies in the area to determine the need for toys including the Pittsfield and North Adams Salvation Army, the Department of Children and Families, the Elizabeth Freeman Center, 18 Degrees, and the Brien Center. Local folks who register for the drive online are also forwarded to him.



Keegan, who is the former program director for the Boys and Girls Club of Pittsfield, saw the need for this service in Berkshire County firsthand through his work with local youth.



He now works in the maintenance department at the Berkshire County Sheriff's Office and in its newsletter "Beyond the Badge," Keegan explains that the number of children in need of toys has gone up by about 1,000 over the last three years.



During the thick of the pandemic last year, Toys For Tots provided to nearly 3,000 local kids.



Keegan anticipates about 190 collection boxes will be distributed around the county in about 150 locations this year.



The toy drive began in 1947 in Los Angeles. It was spearheaded by Marine Reserve Maj. William Hendricks and became a nationwide campaign in 1948.



At this time, the Marine Corps League joined the effort and has been leading it since. The Toys For Tots Foundation was recognized as a non-profit 501 (c) (3) in 1991 and charitable donations were able to be accepted.



Keegan is in his seventh year as the Berkshire County coordinator after becoming a member of Marine Corps League Pittsfield Detachment 137 in 2015. At his first meeting, he was ordered to take over the effort and has positively impacted it since.



This includes keeping the toys within Berkshire County to help tots in the donators' own back yard.



"When I took this over seven years ago, the toys used to all go to the Westover Air Base in Chicopee, that's where the active Marines are stationed," he explained.
Michael Steuer, right, presents North Adams American Legion Post 125's Commander Mitchell Keil with check for $2,500 from the Adams Fall Run. The revived run is donating its proceeds to the Adams, North Adams and Spencer American Legions. PreviousNext

Adams Fall Run Donates to Local American Legion Posts



Adams Commander Keith McLear accepts a donation on behalf of Post 160. NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  The Adams Fall Run Committee recently donated $2,500 each to the American Legion posts in Adams and North Adams.

The funds were raised by the return of the Fall Run this year and made on behalf of the Fall Run and Spencer Post 138 American Legion Riders.

The donations were presented at North Adams American Legion Post 125 to the post's commander, Mitchell Keil, and to Adams Post 160 Commander Keith McLear. Also attending were Dennis St. Pierre, Tom Lussier, Mark Sprague, Mike Blewitt and Lou Floriani. Another presentation was made in Spencer.

Each recipient said they hoped for "bigger and better next year."

The Fall Run, a more than 60-mile motorcycle ride, raised more than $500,000 for charity over its 35-year history. The run was halted a few years ago but resurrected this year by a group of civic-minded residents. The proceeds of the event were targeted to help veterans organization through local group and the Riders.

"When we started the nine-month adventure in January of this year, it was all about bringing back the Fall Run and establishing three goals," said Michael Steuer, one of the new organizers and a longtime participant in the ride. "To return the iconic thunder of bikes running through the hilltowns of the Berkshires as the Adams Fall Run for the first time in four years. As part of the ride, we wanted merchants and supporters to be the beneficiaries. And if it generated any profits, we would consider carving out something for the local Legions.

"The weather would dictate the results. Being the first year, we played it very conservatively, yet proudly concluded, mission accomplished."

Steuer said he used his contacts to engage the Legion Riders at the post home in Spencer at the anchor to the endeavor. They could bring the expertise to the logistics and organizational structure essential to pull off the event, he said, although it took some persuasion. "They were perfect for the job."

"They actually eventually bought into the idea both with their feet and wallet and possibly the largest financial Fall Run sponsorship with over $5,000 this year," he said. "Having this at our disposal, the American Legion Riders would always be recognized as the pillar to the Adams Fall Run. The Post 138 American Legion Riders has already approved funds for the 2022 event."

Organizers, a few dozen volunteers and the Riders brought hundreds of motorcycles to the town of Adams for the Fall Run on Sept. 19. The 69-mile ride began at Bowe Field in Adams and made a loop up through Ashfield before finishing back at the field for a party open to the public.

"Knowing the odds were against us and the obstacles we would face, our goal was to also try and make a modest profit, the weather would be the biggest factor," Steuer said. "But if we did turn a profit, after expenses, we would be distributed accordingly to a preplanned formula and help vets locally and through the Post 138 ALR, supporting related organizations and programs."

He acknowledged the work of "tireless volunteers," Chairman Jeffrey Snoonian and and committee members Carol Cushenette (supervisor), Bob Murray (administration), David Boyer (finance), Josh Little (resources), Sarah Kline (media communications), Rachel Tomkowicz (staffing volunteers), Geoff Kondel, (IT), Renelle Moser (media marketing), Ann Marie ONeil and Barb Steuer (chinese auction), and Chris Shrade (money manager).

Sponsors were critical to making the profits greater, Steuer said, and "Dave Nicolas and his team from the Bounti Fare filled our bellies with some of the best local sustenance that day." The community of Adams was welcoming, the Police Department worked to keep everyone safe, Deacon Bruce Ziter offered a blessing of the bikes, and the bands Bacchus and Straight Up provided music that "was the icing on the cake."

The weather was fine and 335 motorcyle enthusiasts led by the Riders' road captains Doug Eddy and Danny Lussier and Director Dan Meloche thundered down Park Street to people along the way waving flags.

Steuer said his motivation to revive the ride was to spend as much time as possible fundraising to help local veterans.

"This motivation stems from my American Legion celebration 100 anniversary work in 2019 and recently trying to enlist other American Legion Riders locally after COVID-19 to participate in the 2021 Adams Fall Run," he said. "When I was hearing from the many chapters of losses of ALR participants ... It has been a sad story after story and to see the difference between our Post 138 ALR organizations, and the devastation to some strong (pre-COVID) organizations, some closing their doors for good ... It is a perfect marriage to combine the Adams Fall Run and fundraising done throughout the American Legion Riders."

Steuer said one of the unexpected outcomes of 138 ALR's presence was that it has motivated other posts to start their own chapters. He plans to discuss this with the Dalton Post 155 ALR with an idea to expand the fall run as also a Legion run and "to rock these hills of the Berkshires once a year."
Coronavirus cases continue to slide in Mason, Thurston and Kitsap counties, but will it last?
The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU), a global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement and payments, and Mastercard, a global technology company in the payments industry, have bolstered their decade-long strategic partnership. The deepened partnership expands Mastercard Send integration into Western Unions global money movement network, and also Mastercards Cross-Border Services delivery via Western Union Business Solutions. It represents the latest iteration of Western Unions digital partnership strategy to become the worlds leading global financial network.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211112005435/en/

Western Union/Mastercard partnership (Graphic: Business Wire)

The partnership expansion will broaden choice for both Western Unions consumers and Mastercards business clients.

First, by integrating Mastercard Send, Western Union is broadening payout possibilities for its U.S. domestic money transfer receivers. This enables beneficiaries of Western Union transfers in the U.S. to re-direct any U.S. domestic transaction to a selected bank card. The service is available to load funds on any debit card network within the U.S., with money delivered in minutes to the receivers debit-card-linked account.

Second, Western Union customers in 16 European markets1 will now have the option to leverage Mastercard Send to send money transfers, in near real time, directly to their receivers Mastercard debit card, increasing transaction speed and simplifying the receive process. The service is live today with receive destinations including Russia, Turkey, Romania, Hungary, Serbia, Slovakia, Croatia and Kosovo. More countries on both the send and receive sides will be added in the coming months.

In addition, Mastercard will integrate into Western Union Business Solutions global network, to pay out funds for Mastercards Cross-Border Services, enhancing the offering to existing bank and trade network relationships.

Were very proud of the relationship that we continue to build with Mastercard, and the role we play for them as a trusted partner and provider of innovative cross-border payment solutions, said Gabriella Fitzgerald, President, Americas Region at Western Union. This is just one more example of the worlds leading financial services companies coming to Western Union for our technology, expertise and the power of our omni-channel global financial network to meet their cross-border money movement and payments needs.

Western Union is a critical partner for Mastercard as together we focus on digitizing and modernizing the movement of money  for consumers and businesses, added Leigh Amaro, Senior Vice President, Enterprise Partnerships at Mastercard. Combined, our networks offer unique global reach, for efficient and secure transactions.

WU-G

About Western Union

The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement and payments. Western Unions platform provides seamless cross-border flows and its leading global financial network bridges more than 200 countries and territories and over 130 currencies. We connect businesses, financial institutions, governments, and consumers through one of the worlds widest reaching networks, accessing billions of bank accounts, millions of digital wallets and cards, and approximately 600,000 retail locations. Western Union connects the world to bring boundless possibilities within reach. For more information, visit www.westernunion.com.

About Mastercard

Mastercard is a global technology company in the payments industry. Our mission is to connect and power an inclusive, digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere by making transactions safe, simple, smart and accessible. Using secure data and networks, partnerships and passion, our innovations and solutions help individuals, financial institutions, governments and businesses realize their greatest potential. Our decency quotient, or DQ, drives our culture and everything we do inside and outside of our company. With connections across more than 210 countries and territories, we are building a sustainable world that unlocks priceless possibilities for all. www.mastercard.com

1Austria, Belgium, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, and Spain

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211112005435/en/
In 2015, during the COP21 Climate Summit in Paris, world leaders came together to pledge that they will work towards reducing carbon emissions to ensure that global warming is restricted to 1.5 degrees above the pre-industrial levels.

Since then several steps have been taken around the world and more were announced in the ongoing COP26 summit in Glasgow.

AP

But a new report has said that the time for that may have already passed.

Already warmer by 1.2 degrees

Climate Action Tracker, which for years has monitored nations' emission cutting pledges, said based on those submitted targets the world is now on track to warm 2.4 degrees Celsius since pre-industrial times by the end of this century. That's a far cry from the 2015 Paris climate deal overarching limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius or even its fallback limit of 2 degrees Celsius.

The world has already warmed 1.1 to 1.2 degrees Celsius since pre-industrial times.

AP

Given what's been pledged we are likely to be in that area 2.4 degrees, which is still catastrophic climate change and far, far away from the goals of the Paris Agreement, said climate scientist Niklas Hohne of the New Climate Institute and the Climate Action Tracker. And his group's estimate is more optimistic than a United Nations Environment Programme update Tuesday that has future warming still at 2.5 to 2.7 degrees.

Hohne's group also looked at how much warming there would be if other, less firm national promises were put into effect. If all the submitted national targets and other promises that have a bit of the force of law are included, future warming drops down to 2.1 degrees.

Reuters

Best case scenario

And in the optimistic scenario if all the net-zero pledges for mid-century are taken into account  and they have little substance in them  warming would be 1.8 degrees, Hohne said.

That's the same figure as the International Energy Agency came up with for that optimistic scenario and a tenth of a degree warmer than an independent Australian climate scientist calculated.

The report highlights the challenges facing climate negotiations, given the yawning gap between the emissions cuts needed this decade to keep warming to 1.5C and the continuing increases in greenhouse gases pumped into the atmosphere.

Not done enough

COP26 President Alok Sharma said it shows that "there has been some progress but clearly not enough".

AFP

"What we have always said is that we want at this COP to able to say with credibility that we are keeping 1.5 alive, and that's what we will be working at over the next few days," he said on Tuesday.

Experts have said several new pledges at COP26 could have a significant effect, including India's net-zero commitment and an international agreement to cut 30 percent of global methane emissions by 2030.

These have given rise to a number of recalculated global warming projections.

UN Climate Change said last week that countries' renewed NDCs -- updated every five years under the Paris agreement -- would see emissions climb 13.7 percent by 2030 before sharply declining thereafter.

To keep in line with 1.5C, emissions must instead fall 45 percent by then.

For more on news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News.
Coming down heavily on the Centre and the Delhi government for their failure to check the worsening air quality levels, the Supreme Court suggested that if needed, the city should be placed under a two-day lockdown.

Hearing a plea by 17-year-old Delhi student Aditya Dubey the bench of CJI NV Ramana, Justice DY Chandrachud, and Justice Suryakant said that the air quality in Delhi is in the "severe" category and will dip further in another 2-3 days. In asked the Centre to take an emergency decision. "We will look at a long term solution later," it added.

BCCL

Want urgent measures

"You have to look at this issue beyond politics and government. Something must happen so that in two to three days we feel better," the bench told the Centre.

"Tell us how we can reduce AQI from 500 at least by 200 points. Take some urgent measures. Can you think of two days lockdown or something? How can people live?" the CJI-led bench said. "We want urgent measures to be taken and in two three days time the pollution should reduce," the court said.

BCCL

Don't blame farmers alone

Representing the centre, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the SC that the government is taking steps to prevent stubble burning, which is a major contributor of pollutants in the air.

The SC, however, said that the government cannot put the entire blame on the farmers and added that more needed to be done from the administration's side to process or take away the stubble from the farms.

What about children?

The SC also expressed concern over children getting exposed to air pollution.

AFP

"Little children have to go to school in this weather, we are exposing them to this. Dr. Guleria (AIIMS) said we are exposing them to pollution, pandemic and dengue."

"Have you taken any step to close the schools or address the situation? What happened to the smog towers you were to put up? Are they working," the SC asked.

Delhi's AQI at severe levels

The SC heard the plea on a day when the national capital's AQI had plunged into the 'severe category' at 499.

AFP

SAFAR, in its daily bulletin for Delhi, informed, "The AQI today is in a severe category and is likely to be the same tomorrow due to increase in stubble related fire counts and increase in transport level (925 mb) wind speed during the night. The effective fire count increased to 4056 today. Today's share of crop residue burning is about 35 per cent in PM2.5."

"A drop in the minimum temperature is likely for the next two days resulting in air quality to be in severe to the upper end of the very poor category. However, an increase in local surface wind speed helps disperse pollutants," read the bulletin.

BCCL

To curb pollution, the second phase of the anti-dust campaign commenced on November 12 and will go on till December 12, said Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Friday.

Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) on Monday suggested measures to tackle air pollution in Delhi-NCR through the implementation of a Graded Response Action Plan for the city.

For more on news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News.
Indian Institute of Technology (Delhi) has instituted the very first School of Artificial Intelligence (ScAI) which will host multiple state-of-the-art laboratories.

IIT Delhi alumnus Anant Yardi is playing a considerable role in mainstreaming machine learning in India with a contribution of $10 million ( 75 crore), an IIT press release from Friday showed.

IIT Delhi

President and Founder of Yardi Systems, Yardi pursed BTech at IIT himself, after which he went on to study engineering at University of California at Berkeley. With this contribution, IIT's ScAI could up its game further by setting up labs with the right tools to enable study and innovation in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data science technologies.

What will AI school do?

According to Professor Mausam who founded ScAI, the school will "not only develop and support the growth of AI researchers in the country, but also strengthen IIT Delhi's place on the global AI map."

IIT Delhi

Also read: AI Finished Classic Tetris Game With Highest Possible Score Of 102 Million

Speaking on the eve of IIT's 52nd convocation ceremony, Mausam thanked Yardi while adding that his "contribution will greatly enable the realisation of ScAI objectives."

Alumnus Mr. Anant Yardi contributes USD 10 Million to IIT Delhi



Contribution to enable IITD create state-of-the art laboratories and attract talented researchers to its newly established School of AI. @iitdelhi @EduMinOfIndia @dpradhanbjp @Yardi @PMOIndia @narendramodi #AI pic.twitter.com/DqVz2ZHr4k  Prof. V. Ramgopal Rao (@ramgopal_rao) November 12, 2021

In the coming years, ScAI is hoping to hire at least 20 core faculty members with assistance from external partners. In a press release by IIT, Anant Yardi highlighted the role played by artificial intelligence technologies in "driving global transformations" while "playing a pivotal role in industrial, social and environmental change."

Also read: AI Specialist Stuart Russell Says AI's Quick Development Is Spooking Its Creators



ScAI marks IIT Delhi's sixth school. IIT Delhi hopes to create a multi-disciplinary school to reflect its "academic pursuits."

What do you think about IIT's first-ever school of artificial intelligence in the country? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.

For more in the world of science and technology, keep reading Indiatimes.com.


Hong Kong is known for its expansive skyline and the deep natural harbour has another feather in its cap. This time the city is home to the most expensive apartment in Asia. The luxury apartment was sold to an unidentified buyer for a record HK$640 million or Rs 610 crore ($82.2 million), easily making it the most expensive apartment in Asia.

The buyer of Hong Kongs luxury and Asias most expensive apartment has not been disclosed. However, the same person also recently bought a HK$561 million or Rs 535 crore apartment adjacent to his latest purchase.

Asias Most Expensive Apartment Sold In Hong Kong | Stockimages/Representational Image

The apartment is located in one of Hong Kongs iconic Mount Nicholson projects and was sold by Wharf Holdings Ltd. and Nan Fung Development Ltd. It is situated in the luxury residential area called the Peak. The apartment has three parking areas, measuring 442 sq metres. According to a Bloomberg report, it is the most expensive apartment per sq foot in Asia.

One of the priciest luxury real estates in Hong Kong, Mount Nicholson is one of the most sought-after ultra-luxury developments among Hong Kongs wealthy. Given the scarcity of land on the Peak, its rare to have new projects available for sale in the exclusive neighbourhood.

Asias Most Expensive Apartment Sold In Hong Kong | Stockimages/Representational Image

That apartment sale has broken the record set by CK Asset Holdings Ltd, which was sold by Hong Kong tycoon Victor Lis firm sold the apartment for HK$136,000 per square foot in February.

In the last few months back, a parking space in Hong Kong has been sold for more than 10 million Hong Kong dollars (around $1.3 million or Rs 9.43 crore). It is believed to be the most expensive parking lot ever sold.

The 134.5-square-foot space is located in the basement of ultra-luxury Mount Nicholson Development that sits on The Peak, a hill on the western half of Hong Kong.

For more interesting stories like this, click here.
Living in the best countries in the world is a dream of many although it is not so easy to relocate. You need lots of money to buy a home, land or start a business there. You will be surprised to know that there are many places around the globe that need new residents to increase their population, entrepreneurs who can start a business and the countries are happy to pay for it. Yes, you read that right there are some countries around the world that pay you to move there. Here is the list:

1. Vermont, United States

Unsplash

Vermont is a mountainous state in the United States of America. It produces cheddar cheese and the famous Ben & Jerrys ice cream. The beauty of nature makes Vermont an ideal destination for tourism but, unfortunately, only around 620,000 people live in the state. This is why the Remote Worker Grant program is offering applicants $10,000 (Approx. Rs 7.4 lakh) for two years. In May of 2018, Vermont Governor Phil Scott signed a bill funding a state initiative that offers $10,000 to people willing to move to Vermont and work remotely for an out-of-state employer.



2. Alaska, United States

Alaska paying people for move there/ Photo: Unsplash

If you love snow, winter and a leisurely pace of life, and you want to move to a place where you can get clean and fresh air then the state of Alaska will pay for you to live there permanently. As the population of the region speedily declines the government pays the residents of Alaska an investment income from the natural resources that are mined there. It is approximately $2,072 (Approx. Rs 1.5 lakh) per person per year with the condition that you have to live there for at least one year and not leave the state for a certain number of days.



3. Albinen, Switzerland

Albinen paying people for move there| CEN/Gerhard Mathieu

Albinen, a small Swiss town famous for different types of cheese and stunning locales, has around 240 inhabitants. If you are under 45 the town will pay you around 25,000 Swiss francs (Approx. Rs 20 lakh) for singles over the age 45, 50,000 (Approx. Rs 40 lakh) swiss franc for couple and an additional 10,000 (Appr0x. Rs 8 lakh) swiss franc per child to live there but, there are certain conditions like you will have to live there for at least 10 years, buy or build a house, it means you will get 60,000 swiss francs (Approx. Rs 48 lakh) if you have one kid and 70,000 swiss francs (Approx. Rs 56 lakh) if you have two. And home cannot be your second home and you should be a resident of Switzerland, or you must be married to a Swiss resident.



4. Ponga, Asturias, Spain

Ponga, Asturias paying people to move there | Photo: Unsplash

This delightful little village and oldest in the country has a population of around 1,000. To attract young residents and strengthen the economy, the local authorities offer 3000 euros (Approx. Rs 1.5 lakh) to each young couple who move there. And every child born in the town will also get paid 3,000 euros, which means you will get paid 6,000 euros (Approx. Rs. 5 lakh). This is a great opportunity to live in an incredibly beautiful place with clean ecology.



5. Ireland, Dublin

Ireland paying people for move there | Photo: Unsplash

The Emerald Isle is not only good for drinking Guinness, but also for starting your own business. The Enterprise Ireland Incentive Program was created to attract entrepreneurs around the world. If you think your startup can make a lot of money and has potential, apply. You can move there and will get thousands of euros as funding if your application gets approved. Click here for information



6. Candela, Italy

Candela paying people for move there | Photo: CNN

A little town in the centre of Italy, Candela with around 2,700 inhabitants is bringing the population back up to 8,000 and offering 800 euros (Approx. Rs 68,000) for singles, 1,200 euros (Approx. Rs 1 lakh) for couples, 1,500 to 1,800 euros (Approx. Rs 1.5 lakh) for three-member families, and over 2,000 euros (Approx. 1.7 lakh) for families of four to five people including tax credits for people who relocate.



7. Chile, Santiago

Chile paying people for move there | Photo: Unsplash

In 2010, the Chilean capital, Santiago launched the Star-Up program, offering a start-up with an interesting idea to three years of work with a subsidy of $50,000 (Approx. Rs 37 lakh). In addition, the program provides one-year work visas, workspace and a network of contacts.



8. Mauritius

Mauritius paying people for move there | Photo: Unsplash

If you have good knowledge in technology, business models, finance, innovations, and other upcoming fields, you can start your business without investment then the tropical island Mauritius will pay you 20,000 Mauritian Rupees (Approx. Rs 34,000) to start. To qualify, you have to present your interesting idea for a startup business, one with a potentially global reach to a committee.



9. Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls paying people for move there | Photo: Unsplash

One of the best tourist destinations, Niagara Falls, a small New York town, has a population of around 50,000 people. Under the Downtown Housing Incentive Program offering young students around $7,000 (Approx Rs 5.2 lakh) if they live and work in this region for 2 years. The city then reimburses the applicant for their annual student loan payment of up to $3,492 a year and up to $6,984 during the two-year term of the agreement.



10. New Haven City

New Haven City paying people for move there | Photo: Yale University

Home to prestigious Yale University, a quite a decent city, New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. with all the necessary infrastructure and cultural objects are offering immigrants a $10,000 (Approx. Rs 7.4 lakh) interest-free loan to buy a house and the loan is entirely forgivable if you live there for 5 years or $30,000 (Approx. Rs 22 lakh) for energy-saving home upgrades which is also forgivable, as well as reimburse a loan for education in the amount of up to $40,000 (Approx. Rs 29 lakh) as well as free tuition to any in-state college for students who graduate from New Haven public schools.



11. Antikythera, Greece

Antikythera paying people for move there | Photo: Unsplash

With around 40 people, the Greek island of Antikythera will pay you a monthly stipend of about $565 (Approx. Rs 42,000) for the first three years including land, a house. As the island suffered from underpopulation for the last several years, the Orthodox Church here sponsoring families who are ready to move. Anyone can be a part of this program although Greek citizens have priority in selection.



Keep reading Indiatimes.com for the latest trending news.
SpaceX Crew-3 astronauts including Indian American Raja Chari (center), who is the commander of this mission, docked to the International Space Station Nov. 11. Chari and his crewmates will perform scientific experiments and maintain the orbiting research lab. (NASA photo)
A memorial page had been set up on Facebook to pay homage to the late psychiatrist Achutha Reddy (top, 2nd from right, in photo with family). (Facebook memorial page photo)
Prince William schools Superintendent LaTanya McDade on Friday promised "swift action" after five threats against county schools this week.

Threats were reported Friday at Gar-Field and Potomac high schools and Potomac Shores Middle School after fake active-shooter reports at Woodbridge and Hylton high schools earlier in the week.

In a Friday evening email to the school community, McDade said the threats left students, staff and parents shaken.

"While these calls were not deemed credible, as a parent and educator, safety situations in schools create real, understandable fear," McDade wrote. "What happened this week was deeply alarming to all of us  to our families and caregivers, staff, students, and administrators."

McDade assured families that safety is the school division's highest priority and administrators are working with police "to identify the source of these safety threats and take swift action as appropriate."

Prince William County police 1st Sgt. Jonathan Perok on Friday said all of the threats remain under investigation.
Woodbridge, VA (22192)

Today

Chance of a morning shower. Cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy in the afternoon. High 52F. Winds NNW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Some clouds early will give way to generally clear conditions overnight. Widespread frost likely. Low 29F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph.
The Voice of America has promoted its Afghanistan and Pakistan Bureau Chief, Ayesha Tanzeem, to South and Central Asia Division Director, bringing her back from Islamabad to the VOA headquarters in Washington, D.C.

An award winning journalist and a native of Pakistan, fluent in Urdu, Tanzeem is one of very few foreign correspondents that has traveled to areas under the control and influence of the Islamic State and the Taliban militant groups since early 2015 and was reporting from Afghanistan as recently as last month. She has traveled extensively throughout Afghanistan and Pakistan covering issues related to politics, governance, militancy, terrorism, and human rights, particularly women and minority rights. Her reporting that uncovered tales of harrowing cruelty and suffering of the Afghan people, earned her the David Burke award for Courage in Journalism in 2016.

Ayesha Tanzeem exemplifies the courage and journalistic skill that is a hallmark of VOAs overseas correspondents, said Acting VOA Director, Yolanda Lpez. Her vast in-depth experience of the region, her leadership skills, as well as her deep knowledge of the audience needs, makes her uniquely positioned to guide the South and Central Asia Division in this critical time.

Broadcasting in 8 languages throughout Central and South Asia and the Middle East, Voice of Americas South and Central Asia division reaches an audience in the tens of millions on television, radio, internet and multiple social media platforms, offering reliable news and information in a volatile region that lacks reliable and independent local media.
The Government should introduce ventilation certificates for buildings, so employers know what standards are required, the chair of the Expert Group on Ventilation has said.

Ventilation as a tool to reduce transmission of Covid-19 has become more prominent in messaging from health bodies as understanding of how the virus spreads has evolved.

University College Cork's Professor John Wenger said setting a standard for ventilation would assist owners and employers, and relevant government agencies could then advise on how to improve systems.

"I think people would be much more comfortable walking into a restaurant or venue if they openly displayed a ventilation certificate," Prof Wenger said.

There is a widely accepted rule of thumb that to ensure good ventilation, each person should be provided with 10 litres of fresh air every second. Why not use that as the standard?"

Prof Wenger said he and other ventilation experts, including University College Dublin architecture lecturer, Orla Hegarty, had been advocating this for some time.

Workplaces or schools can use carbon-dioxide monitors to measure air quality.

"Buildings should be aiming for a CO2 concentration that is as close to outdoor levels  400ppm (parts per million)  as possible. This can be difficult to achieve when occupancy is high and natural ventilation is the only source of fresh air," he said.

There have been a further 4,642 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Ireland, the Department of Health said. As of Saturday morning, there were 556 patients in hospital with the disease, with 107 of those in intensive care, up from 96 on Friday. HSE chief executive Paul Reid said that 250 of those hospitalised are receiving enhanced respiratory supports. On Friday, 5,483 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed which was the first time the daily case numbers exceeded 5,000 since January.

Prof Wenger said a CO2 concentration of less than 800pm "represents good ventilation", but above 1,400 to 1,500ppm "indicates poor ventilation or crowding".

"Hospitality can be more challenging, but based on measurements I have made and seen in hotels, restaurants and pubs, I think it is possible to keep CO2 levels under 1,000ppm, which, I think, is generally adequate," he said.

Prof Wenger said some schools operating in "stressful environments" have told him of levels consistently higher than 1,500ppm.

"This was predicted and ventilation checks and fixes should have been done by qualified professionals during the summer months," he said. "But this window of opportunity was not seized upon, despite it being recommended by the expert group advising the Government."

A parliamentary response released to Sinn Fein spokesman on education, Donnchadh O Laoghaire, indicated that schools can apply for a minor work grant or emergency grant assistance to "address ventilation enhancements on a permanent basis".

The WHO issued a 'roadmap' on indoor ventilation in March 2021, having previously focused on other approaches.

Here, Nphet has frequently rejected criticism that it has not emphasised the role of ventilation.

Virologist and director of the National Viral Reference Laboratory, Cillian de Gascun, highlighted the importance of ventilation this week, saying: "It is important to be aware of how Covid-19 and other respiratory viruses spread and how you can limit the risk of transmission."

"Ventilation is very important. If socialising indoors, ensure windows are open and air is circulating. Keep social distance of 2m, where possible, and use face coverings."

Prof Wenger described this intervention as "essential information", saying: "I would also add that, sometimes, open windows do not provide sufficient fresh air and having a door open, or even ajar, can help improve airflow."
On This Day The Day in 2010 When Suu Kyi Was Freed From House Arrest

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi receives flowers from supporters over the fence of her house after she is set free from house arrest in Yangon on Nov. 13, 2010. / EPA
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Speaking to reporters Friday, Ballad Health CEO Alan Levine said the system had little choice in mandating staff be vaccinated against COVID-19, but said he opposed the way in which the federal government enacted the requirement.

I pray that people will choose to stay, Levine said. I know that there will be some who may have a different perspective on the vaccine and choose to go somewhere else. This has been the concern Ive shared with Congress, I couldnt have been more clear with what our concerns are with the way the federal government did this. This has never been done. The federal government has never, historically, implemented a nationwide mandate like this.

In an email to employees Thursday, Levine announced the hospital system would be requiring employees to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, as health care providers not in compliance with the rule could face fines and be barred from participating in Medicare and Medicaid programs. As Levine said in his email to staff, such a decision would be devastating for our region.

According to the new guidance from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, health care facilities that participate in Medicare and Medicaid programs must require their employees to be fully vaccinated by Jan. 4. Unlike the mandate for private employers, a testing opt out for those who do not want the vaccine isnt available.

Ballad employees who receive a medical or religious exemption to the vaccine, at this point, would not need to submit to weekly testing. Levine said there was also no criteria for religious exemptions, and that the systems administrators dont like the idea of being judge and jury on what someones religious beliefs are, unless there is a reason not to believe someone.

Currently, 60% to 63% of Ballad employees are fully vaccinated, with those who arent yet vaccinated required to seek a medical or religious exemption by Nov. 24 or receive their first shot no later than 6 p.m. on Dec. 5. As that deadline nears, Levine said the system will have a better idea of how many people in each department may leave because of the mandate.

Levine said that a surprisingly high number of nurses are unvaccinated, and said losing even 3-5% of their nursing staff would have a major affect on the hospital system  especially as rural areas struggle mightily to attract and retain nurses amid a national nursing shortage.

Every rural (hospital) system Ive talked to has said the same thing  theyre really concerned because the current shortages are more pronounced in rural communities, and everybodys concern is the same: If we lose any more people, where are we going to get new people from? said Levine. Because theres a national shortage, were competing with suburban and urban health systems for this talent.

This year alone, Ballad will spend more than $100 million on contract labor to help offset the more than 700 nursing vacancies.

How is it that you can look at this and not say rural communities are not disproportionately affected? We are, said Levine. And so making it more difficult to retain people and recruit people, to me doesnt seem like a logical answer  particularly people whove stuck with us for two years and taken care of folks in this region.

Levine said that just because the vaccine is now mandatory, they wont stop trying to convince people to get the shot through education and have a team designated to help answer employees vaccine questions. Levine said now that the vaccine is required, he expects more people will be asking questions to have all the necessary information before making a choice to get vaccinated or leave their job.

Reiterating what he told Congress in his testimony last month, Levine took issue with the federal governments approach to mandating vaccines, which he said he believes disregards the cultural differences of urban and rural communities.

In my view, people in Washington (D.C.) do not seem to understand that health equity and cultural differences in the delivery of care have to consider the fact that people do live in rural communities and their cultural differences are not irrelevant, Levine said.

When asked how mandating the COVID-19 vaccine differs from mandating the flu vaccine, which Ballad does, he said it comes down to peoples uncertainty toward the vaccine due to the rampant misinformation, combined with unprecedented staffing shortages.

Those two things combined are the reasons why we did not do the mandate before, and we were really trying to educate and encourage people before we took that drastic of a step, Levine said. And though hospital officials werent in favor of a vaccine mandate, they did consider the possibility of raising insurance premiums for the unvaccinated as a way to encourage vaccine uptake, but the federal mandate beat them to the punch.

That might have actually gotten more people to think twice about it without being forced to do it, said Levine, but we were never given that opportunity.

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Betty Jean Pulley, 95, passed away November 4, 2021, at Windridge Nursing Home, Miami, Oklahoma. Betty was born September 7, 1926, at home in Riverton, Kansas, to Albert Petty Cutright and Alta Elizabeth (Newkirk). She graduated from Riverton High School Class of 1944, and attended Joplin Ju
Chrystal Hicks is being recognized as the state winner by the West Virginia Department of Rehabilitation Services Ability Works due to her perseverance and determination while living with McCune-Albright syndrome since she was 22 months old.
In this Monday, Sept. 27, 2021, photo Bronwyn Russell is at her home in Des Plaines, Ill. Russell, who has had the COVID-19 vaccine, wears a mask anytime she leaves her home. Im worried. I dont want to get sick, says Russell. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Opinion Columnist

Chris Powell has worked for the Journal Inquirer since 1967, first as a reporter, then as an editor, and now as a columnist. He was managing editor from 1974 until retiring from that position in 2018.
Living Reporter and Theatre Critic

Tim covers leisure and arts, and he is also a theater critic. He interned for the JI in 2015, and was hired in 2016. Tim graduated from UConn, Central College of McPherson, Kansas, and American Musical & Dramatic Academy. His favorite movie is "Jaws."
Today

Rain ending this morning. Breaks of sun in the afternoon. High near 55F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%.

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies. Low 26F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.

Tomorrow

A mainly sunny sky. High 49F. Winds NNW at 10 to 20 mph.
Tigrayan rebels killed scores of civilians in the Amhara region on suspicion of being informants or offering aid to federal forces, the government-affiliated Ethiopian Human Rights Commission said in a report published Saturday.

The investigation, which draws on 128 interviews, focuses on parts of Amhara which saw heavy fighting in July and August between fighters from the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF) and Ethiopian soldiers as the countrys brutal conflict enters its second year.

At least 184 civilians died as a result of the bloodshed, the EHRC said, accusing TPLF fighters of willfully (killing) scores of civilians in towns and rural areas they captured.

Civilians were shot and killed for supporting the federal government or for sheltering wounded soldiers, the commission said.

TPLF forces shot and killed mentally ill residents of towns they controlled on suspicion of being informants for the government, it added.

Local youth meanwhile killed people who had fled war-torn Tigray, accusing them of spying for the TPLF, the commission said.

Additionally, both warring sides engaged in indiscriminate shelling that was not directed at a specific military objective causing civilian deaths, injuries and damage to civilian property.

EHRC Chief commissioner Daniel Bekele said that violations and abuses committed by all parties in South Gondar and North Wollo Zones of the Amhara region underscores the need to put an urgent stop to the continued suffering caused to civilians.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent troops into Tigray last November to topple the TPLF, a move he said came in response to rebel attacks on army camps.

Though the 2019 Nobel Peace laureate vowed a swift victory, by late June the TPLF had retaken most of Tigray before expanding into Amhara and Afar.

 Massacres, mass rapes 

As the humanitarian toll has spiked, bringing reports of massacres, sexual assaults and a starvation crisis, rights groups have sounded the alarm.

Human Rights Watch said Wednesday that the Abiy governments effective siege of Tigray  where Ethiopian and Eritrean soldiers are accused of mass rapes  was preventing survivors from getting health care and other critical services.

The same day, Amnesty International said Tigrayan rebels had raped, robbed and beat up women during an attack on a town in Amhara.

The TPLF criticised Amnestys disturbingly flawed methodology but said it would conduct its own probe, adding: If our investigation discovers that Tigrayan fighters have in fact committed such crimes, the government of Tigray will bring the perpetrators to justice.

A joint investigation by UN rights chief Michelle Bachelets office and the EHRC published last week found evidence of serious abuses by all sides, saying some violations may amount to crimes against humanity.

The TPLF, which did not respond to Saturdays report, dismissed the earlier findings as biased because of the EHRCs involvement, while calling for independent investigations into rights abuses.

Abiys government has said it is committed to holding perpetrators of abuses accountable.
The union representing more than 100,000 Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers in California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington plans to strike and strike next week to protest the lack of progress in contract negotiations.

Since October 1st, at least 32,000 Kaiser Permanente employees have worked without a contract Plan to start an unrestricted strike on Monday Unless their union has previously reached an agreement with the non-profit integrated health system based in Oakland, California. They will join the ranks of approximately 750 North Caesars permanent engineers in California who have been on strike due to wages and working conditions since mid-September. Over the next week, other unions representing Kaiser Permanente employees plan to strike on November 18 or participate in a one-day sympathy strike to support their colleagues.

For months, we have been trying to [Kaiser Permanente] Executives discuss how we can work together to solve key staffing issues, but every time we get patrons and rejections, Roland Lucas, a physical therapist at Kaiser Permanente in Santa Clara, California, and a member of the United Nurses Association of California (Roland Lucas) The head of the health care professional negotiating team said at a press conference: Strikes are always the last resort for health care professionals, and this should emphasize the seriousness of the situation. 

Numerous unions representing various employees participated in contract negotiations. The largest participant is the Alliance of Healthcare Alliances, a federation of 21 labor organizations, including the California Nurses Association/Association of Healthcare Professionals, Hawaii Nurses and Healthcare Professionals, and Oregon Nurses and Healthcare Professionals Alliance Can. Other groups representing Kaiser Permanente employees include the Service Employees International Union and the National Health Care Workers Union.

Arlene Peasnall, senior vice president of human resources at Kaiser Permanente, said in a statement that not actually stopping work after the strike notice is a common negotiation strategy.

We still hope to avoid any labor disruption through our ongoing negotiations. We believe that continuing discussions at the negotiating table is the best way to resolve issues and disagreements and reach an agreement. We take any threats that undermine care seriously, especially as we Continue to fight this epidemic, Pisnar said.

Jeffrey Daitz, co-chair of the Labor and Employment Practice Group at Hall Booth Law Firm, said that the current high tensions between employers and workers across the country are largely due to the COVID- 19 There are many unknowns regarding the pandemic. Smith.

The problem is, sitting there, locking in and promising to pay wages and benefits, we dont know what will happen, Ditz said. He said that employers have felt the pressure of the pandemic, which makes it difficult to find workers and makes operations more challenging.

A major obstacle to reaching an agreement between Kaiser Permenente and its union was the two-level salary system proposed by Kaiser Permanente, which would provide new employees with lower salaries than existing employees.

Dave Regan, president of Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, which represents 58,000 Kaiser Permanente employees, said graded compensation arrangements are toxic because they allow workers to compete with each other and threaten the strength of unions. Union members are currently voting to decide whether to authorize a sympathy strike.

Reagan said that Kaiser Permenente is using the COVID-19 pandemic as a cover to bargain very, very aggressively. Reagan said: You are absolutely wrong to use the pandemic to try to make concessions to those who have been doing extraordinary work.

The health system sees things in a different way and claims that its refusal to yield to the demands of the union has led to higher costs.

The truth is that wages and benefits account for half of Kaiser Permanentes operating costs. We ask our union to work with us to solve this very real problem, just as we deal with other challenges in the relationship process, Pisnar said.

In the third quarter, Kaiser Permanentes operating margin is 0.2%According to the company, this is due to a drop in the influx of expensive COVID-19 patients compared to 2.1% a year ago.

Deitz said that if the strike continues, the health system and labor unions may face high expenses.

It is difficult to fund the strike. It is very difficult for both parties, Ditz said. He said that not only must employers provide emergency personnel for striking workers, but they may also need to arrange safety measures on the picket line. Unions usually use funds set aside for labor actions to compensate strikers, but these funds are limited.

Debru Carthan, chief radiologist at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Modesto, California, said that Kaiser Permanente employees would rather not go on strike. Carthan is a member of Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West and has worked in the health system for 25 years.

After all, our patients will miss us when we are away, Carthan said. But morale is low, she said.

Kaiser used to be the best place to work. Everyone wants to enter Kaiser. Now, people are like,I dont want to be here, which is not good, Carthan said. You have an employer against you.
CVS Health has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to abandon its review of the landmark disability rights case, after a large number of complaints have highlighted the possibility that the appeal may overturn the legal protection that prohibits disability discrimination.

A lawsuit filed by a group of people living with HIV seeking class action status will now be proceeded in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit previously ruled that five patients claims for different effects under the federal disability law can continue. By asking the Supreme Court to end its investigation, CVS no longer has the opportunity to redefine federal law, although cases against this group of patients will continue.

The 2018 case alleges that CVSs package of requirements for all customers to obtain prescriptions from CVS mail-order pharmacies or retail pharmacists threatens the health and privacy of people living with HIV and violates federal law. Patients receive drug benefits through their employers, and they have a contract with CVS to manage their claims.

CVS referred questions about the case to its press release on Thursday, which touted the establishment of new partnerships with four disability rights organizations, including the National Independent Living Council and Judge David L. Bazelon Mental Health Law Center.

Our agreement to work with the disabled community to find policy solutions will help protect affordable health plans that are equally applicable to all members, CVS senior vice president and chief diversity officer of workforce strategy David Casey in News Zhong said release.

CVS asked the Supreme Court to review the case in March, questioning whether the Federal Discrimination Act and Affordable Care Act protect individuals who have been harmed by unintentional discrimination policies. In court documents, the retail giant argued that discovering discrimination through different effects would subvert national insurance plans and soaring health care costs.The Department of Justice, the American Civil Liberties Union, the AIDS Health Foundation and other groups have Support behind the patient, Wrote that the patient guidance practice of the pharmacy welfare manager is illegal.

The case may redefine the precedent established in 1985. In this case, the Supreme Court held that it is meaningless to limit the protection of disability rights to intentional discrimination because of the nature of disability discrimination, said Jennifer Mathis, Bazelons director of policy and legal advocacy: This is largely not based on intention itself, but on carelessness. 

The case defined impact rather than intended to be important in accordance with the provisions of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which is an extension of the ACA.

Mathis said the nature of the companys collaboration with the Bazelon Center and other groups will become clearer as we move forward.

National Center for Independent Living Policy Director Lindsay Baran (Lindsay Baran) said that through this new initiative, CVS is looking for ways to resolve this issue without involving the courts. Baran said that since late October, the organization has been discussing the case with CVS and hopes to continue the dialogue on this issue and other disability accessibility issues that the company has in the future.

We can really show them how different this case is from their clear commitment to the disabled community, Baran said. A lot of disability discrimination is due to seemingly neutral policies and practices, and I think this is part of what makes this case so dangerous.
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services stated in a press release on Friday that the monthly premiums for medical insurance members doctors and outpatient services will increase by nearly 15% in 2022.

The agency attributed the increase to rising health care prices driven by COVID-19-related care, legislators initiatives to reduce 2021 premiums during the pandemic, and the potential for expensive drugs such as Biogen Aduheim Accept the report.

In 2022, the standard monthly premium will rise to US$170.10, an increase of 14.5% from this years US$148.50. The annual deductible will increase by US$233, an increase of 14.7% from the US$203 in 2021. Participants will receive a 5.9% year-on-year cost of living adjustment through Social Security benefits, which will exceed the increase in Medicare Part B monthly premiums, the agency said. CMS said this was the largest increase in the cost of living in 30 years.

Medical insurance premiums for inpatient care in hospitals will also rise in 2022, but CMS points out that approximately 99% of beneficiaries will not pay premiums for these services. Nevertheless, if admitted in 2022, those who need to bear the expenses will pay a deductible of $1,556, an increase of $72 from the $1,484 in 2021. The daily co-insurance rate for beneficiaries inpatient care from day 61 to day 90, lifetime reserve in 2022, and the number of occupants in skilled nursing institutions will also increase.

CMS administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure said in a statement: CMS is committed to ensuring that people who rely on Medicare today are provided with high-quality care and affordable insurance, while protecting the sustainability of Medicare for future generations. Press ReleasesThe increase in Part B premiums in 2022 continues to prove that rising drug costs threaten the affordability and sustainability of medical insurance plans.

Based on their income, the monthly premiums for beneficiaries with Medicare drug coverage range from $0 to $77.90.

Legislators have focused on solving the problem of prescription drug costs in the Rebuild Better Act.Representative Frank Palon (DN.J.), chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, said that rising medical insurance premiums emphasize the need for Congress Let Medicare negotiate these prices.

Palon said at the press conference: The soaring drug prices not only make it more difficult for the elderly to afford the life-saving drugs they need, but it also pushes up the cost of medical care and outpatient care.

A poll conducted by the Caesars Family Foundation in June showed that nearly 90% of consumers believe that the federal government should negotiate directly with drug manufacturers to keep prices down. Respondents in the political field agreed that reducing prescription costs should be a key priority for President Joe Bidens administration.

In June, the Food and Drug Administration Approved the intravenous drug aducanumab for US$56,000, Sold under the name of Aduhelm, contrary to the advice of the FDA consultant that the agency rejected the application of the drug manufacturer Biogen.

It is expected that the new Alzheimers treatment will include More than 1% According to a report released earlier this year by the non-profit research organization Altarum, by the mid-2020s, all countries health expenditures will account for half of the country. The drug will increase non-retail drug expenditures (treatment in hospitals or clinics) by at least 25%. According to the report, spending on prescription drugs in the United States will increase by at least 8% in the next few years.

At least six Blue Cross Blue Shield affiliates have decided not to underwrite Aduhelm. For-profit insurance companies such as UnitedHealth Group said they are waiting for underwriting decisions based on federal government initiatives.The Mount Sinai Health System and the Cleveland Clinic stated that they Cant prescribe medicine, The reason is that it does not work.
A manufacturer of parts used by Tour de France and Olympics riders warned that supply chain disruptions have plagued the bicycle industry since the pandemic.

Federico Musi, CEO of French company Look Cycle, said that the delivery time of its parts purchased from overseas continues to be extended. The companys high-end products include clipless pedals, carbon fiber frames and complete vehicles. Exercise bike.

Their delivery time is very long. Today there are some component manufacturers that are a bottleneck. They will not fall, Musi said. 12 to 18 months is easy.

Global bicycle production has been affected by the pandemic as consumers around the world use bicycles as a means to avoid the risk of Covid-19 infection on public transportation.

As the production of brakes, transmissions, chains and flywheels is concentrated in a few companies, including Shimano in Japan, SRAM in the United States and Campagnolo in Italy, supply problems have become more serious.

Fearing that the boom in demand will not last until the coronavirus crisis, these groups have been cautious about over-expanding production.

Musi predicts that it will take up to 18 months for the industry to resolve the supply chain disruption, and the industry is also hindered by the reduced supply of certain raw materials such as aluminum and steel.

Look Cycles forecast contrasts with that of Halfords, one of the largest bicycle retailers in the UK. The organization said last week that supply chain challenges are beginning to ease.

Manuel Marsilio, general manager of the European Bicycle Industry Federation, said that the difficulties for manufacturers of high-end models, including electric bicycles, are getting worse because they have fewer and fewer options for purchasing parts.

Founded in the 1950s, Look Cycle is a pioneer manufacturer of quick release binding systems for skis. Decades later, it transferred technology to bicycles, allowing riders to lock special shoes on pedals. The group expects to generate approximately 60 million euros in revenue this year, up from 55 million euros in 2020.

Musi said that 80% of its bicycle components are made in France, which alleviates some interference. He added that European parts suppliers have proven to be more resilient because they are not so narrowly focused on the bicycle industry.

In Asia, there is a bicycle center. When we buy products there, we buy from factories that only deal with the bicycle industry. Thats why there is a bottleneck, he said. It is impossible to become a fully autonomous bicycle manufacturer for the time being.
Terra is an algorithmic stablecoin project that will destroy $4.5 billion worth of native token terra (LUNA) from its community pool. The decision was made using the on-chain governance system. According to Proposals 133 and 134, LUNA will be destroyed and exchanged for the chains native stable currency UST. At least in the long run, this burning of money is expected to increase the price of LUNA.

Terra starts burning LUNA

Terra is an algorithmic stablecoin project that supports smart contracts. It has passed two proposals to destroy its native token terra (LUNA) from the community pool, worth 4.5 billion U.S. dollars.Every 800 blocks will be destroyed once, the purpose is to adapt to the new currency structure Columbus 5 Upgrade, which changed the way UST produces.

The UST obtained from the destruction will be redistributed to the community pool, and governance is responsible for deciding how to dispose of these funds. The first swap transaction was conducted earlier this week. After the entire storage is burned, the community will be able to decide how much of it will be used to guide Ozone, a decentralized insurance agreement based on Terra.

Simplified economics

According to a tweet From Terras official account, the execution of the approved proposal represents one of the largest (if not the largest) burns of major first-tier assets in the history of the crypto market. In the long run, this may increase the price of LUNA as coins will become more scarce. Regarding this burn, Do Kwon, CEO of Terraform Labs, statement:

Destruction will simplify the narrative of Lunas economics, increase staking rewards, and allow the community pool to obtain sufficient funds of 10 million Luna.

Kwon also pointed out that after the application of the Columbus 5 upgrade and changes, all on-chain stablecoin exchange fees are routed to the validators oracle reward pool. We believe this will make Luna staking rewards profitable.

Terra has become a target of regulators. Kwon received a subpoena from the US Securities and Exchange Commission when he went to the United States to attend Messaris mainnet meeting. Subpoenas are related to a native protocol built on Terra, called Mirror, which allows users to trade derivative tokens linked to certain stock prices.right Prosecute The way the SEC acted last month and how it served the subpoena.

What do you think of Terras latest community pool burning incident? Tell us in the comments section below.

Image Source: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wikimedia Commons
Apart from the smoking hot Kdrama male leads, the leading ladies always swoon the viewers with their charm and undeniable beauty.

Perfect dream girl varies from one's ideal vision of a female companion. May it be the strong independent woman, the adventurous, or the one who can men bring home to the parents, the "ideal girl" in Kdrama does exist.

This 2021, the broadcast networks released a wide array of genres that caters to a broader audience--from Hallyu stars to rising actresses; here are 5 Kdrama ideal girlfriends that every man wishes to date.

Shin Min Ah (Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha)

The Hallyu star has once again sparked a frenzy after headlining the blockbuster series "Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha" with good boy Kim Seon Ho.

The dimple couple made millions of hearts flutter with their healing Kdrama.

Apart from it, Shin Min Ah perfectly embodies the role of Yoon Hye Jin.

In the drama, the Seoul-based dentist has an exterior who seems cold-hearted and superficial, but as the series progresses, she showed her soft-hearted side, especially around Hong Doo Shik, a.k.a Chief Hong, played by the "Start-Up" star.

Kim Go Eun (Yumi's Cells)

The webtoon-based drama "Yumi's Cells" stars Kim Go Eun as she plays the titular role of Kim Yumi.

Interestingly, the tvN drama captured the viewers' attention with its seemingly relatable story (except for the adorable cells at Sepho Village.)

The Kdrama follows the story of Yumi and her journey to find love.

After her traumatic heartbreak, she then meets Goo Woong, portrayed by Ahn Bo Hyun.

Viewers witnessed how Yumi poured her heart out for Goo Woong. She was able to open her heart again by letting him into her world.

Jeon Mi Do (Hospital Playlist 2)

In "Hospital Playlist" 2, Jeon Mi Do's character Chae Song Hwa reconsidered her feelings towards her best friend Lee Ik Jun, played by Jo Jung Suk.

The twist and turns surprised the viewers in a good way as fans see how the neurosurgeon is the ideal girl for Ik Jun.

Remember when she spent time beside him after the father-of-one encountered an accident.

Moreover, she will definitely be a great stepmom to Ik Jun's son because she genuinely cares for Uh Ju.

Song Hye Kyo (Now, We Are Breaking Up)

Capping off at fourth is Song Hye Kyo in Kdrama "Now, We Are Breaking Up."

In the newly released SBS series, the Hallyu star took on the role of Ha Young Eun, a well-known design department's team leader at a top-tier fashion company.

What makes Ha Young Eun the ideal girlfriend is that she exudes that strong independent woman who knows what she wants and not to mention her goal-getter attitude.

KDramastars owns this article.

Written by Geca Wills
The air in the Belarusian forest is thick with the smoke from scores of small fires. People cough and choke but they keep burning the sticks of wet wood: it's the only way to warm up as temperatures start to fall sharply.

This coming week, the mercury will dip close to zero degrees Celsius (32 Fahrenheit) at night; rain is also forecast. Winter is coming and they are stuck out in the open, caught up in a geopolitical storm that shows no sign of abating.

There are 200 children and 600 women among an estimated 2,000 people massed along the Bruzgi-Kuznica border crossing separating Belarus from Poland, Belarusian border officials told CNN on Friday. Some of those are only babies or toddlers.

The migrants -- most of whom are from the Middle East and Asia -- are seeking to cross illegally into Poland, and from there into other European countries, particularly Germany, in search of a better life.

A lucky few have small tents; others have made rough shelters from the boughs and branches of the coniferous trees around them. Behind them is the forest; in front the razor wire fence erected by Poland to keep them out, patrolled by Polish police, border guards and soldiers.

Some have been waiting weeks now to try to cross the border and there's a sense of brewing anger and frustration in the air. Some migrants have already died in the cold; hypothermia is a real risk.

Twenty-eight-year-old mother Shoxan Bapir Hussain said she had embarked on the journey from Iraqi Kurdistan with her husband and four-year-old son, Azhi Ali Xder, because the boy needs surgery for a back condition. Azhi, who has splints on his legs, can't walk, she said.

Asked why Azhi didn't have the surgery in Kurdistan, his mother replied: 'Because not very good and maybe the operation fail ... the doctor told me the operation in Germany is very good.'

The CNN crew, which was escorted to the straggling camp by the Belarusian authorities on Friday and Saturday, saw minimal infrastructure to support the thousands of people gathered there, with only two small water tanks and no toilet facilities visible.

The Belarusian Red Cross is delivering food and water but migrants who spoke to CNN said the deliveries were insufficient and uncertain. There's barely enough to keep those already here alive -- and Belarusian state border officials estimated the number of people in the border region would increase to 5,000 within a week.

As desperate people scrambled to get firewood, logs to sit on and other supplies from trucks bringing aid, armed Belarusian forces tried to push them back. Those crowding around one such truck delivering water were made to kneel down on the cold ground before some were allowed through to pick up bottles.

'I'm hungry, I'm hungry,' said a young girl in English.

Parents Ahmed and Ala, with their 15-year-old daughter Reza, told CNN they had traveled from Iraqi Kurdistan in search of a better life in Europe. They had been there for seven nights, they said, and still hold hope they will make it to Europe.

Another man, who gave his name only as Binar, said he had paid $2,000 to make the journey from Iraqi Kurdistan. 'Our people want to go to Germany,' he said.

Western leaders have accused Belarus of manufacturing a migrant crisis on the European Union's eastern frontier as retribution for sanctions over human rights abuses.

President Alexander Lukashenko's government has repeatedly denied such claims, instead blaming the West for the crossings and accusing it of poor treatment of migrants.

Russia, Belarus' largest political and economic partner, continues to defend Minsk's handling of the border crisis while also denying any involvement in it.

President Vladimir Putin said in an interview aired Sunday by TV channel Russia-1 that Russia was 'ready to help in every possible way if, of course, something will depend on us here,' state news agency TASS reported.

Putin also placed responsibility for the crisis at the EU's door, accusing it of creating the conditions causing the influx of migrants. 'And now they are looking for someone to blame, in order to absolve themselves of responsibility for the events that are taking place,' he said, according to TASS.

Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski on Saturday called the worsening situation 'an attack on the entire European Union using an artificially created migration crisis.'

Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell spoke by telephone on Sunday, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry said. 'Vladimir Makei informed his interlocutor about the steps taken by Belarus to reduce the flow of migrants from Asia, Africa and the Middle East,' as well as the provision of humanitarian assistance, the ministry statement said.

Borrell told French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche that on Monday EU foreign ministers would extend sanctions on Belarus to include airlines and travel agencies thought to involved in bringing migrants to the Belarus-Poland border. Sanctions could also be imposed on some 30 Belarusian officials believed to be involved in the crisis, he told the newspaper.

Poland: Forces 'on standby'

Meanwhile, the authorities in Belarus insist they are doing what they can to support those stuck in the border region.

'The situation in the refugee camp on the Belarusian-Polish border remains difficult, nevertheless, the Belarusian side is doing everything to provide people and especially children with all they need,' the Belarusian State Border Committee said in a statement Saturday.

'All measures are being taken to provide assistance to refugees. The frontier service ensures the necessary order and protection of the state border.'

Poland has barred journalists and international observers from entering the border region, making it difficult to assess the situation on the Polish side of the fence. But there is no sign yet of tensions easing.

The Polish Border Guard claimed on Sunday that dozens of migrants with the help of Belarusian security forces were preparing a 'major attempt to break through' the Polish border.

'Some of the tents are starting to disappear. Foreigners get instructions, equipment and gas from Belarusian services. You can see that Belarusian side is getting ready today for a big attempt at crossing the border. Our forces are ready for action,' the border guard tweeted.

Polish authorities also reported seeing more groups of armed Belarusian officers and a growing commotion among migrants. Belarus state TV, ATN, reported that a group of about 100 or more refugees was on its way to the migrant camp.

The Polish Ministry of National Defense tweeted earlier Sunday that its forces in the Kuznica border area had been placed 'on standby.'

Late Saturday, Poland sent a mass SMS message to phones in the region to warn that rumors that the Polish border was not well guarded or that migrants would be allowed to pass through to Germany were a 'total lie and nonsense.' Another SMS message read, in part: 'The Polish border is sealed. BLR authorities told you lies. Go back to Minsk!'

The messages include a link to a Polish government website with a more extensive and blunt message, warning that any effort to storm the border could lead to 'dangerous developments.'

The show of force unfolding across the region is continuing to test a fragile political order, with allegations from the United States on Russia's military buildup deepening concerns over the potential for a wider geopolitical crisis.

Neighboring Ukraine is also scaling up security, announcing Thursday that it would hold military drills with some 8,500 servicemen and 15 helicopters in an area near its borders with Poland and Belarus to counter a possible migrant crisis.

As long as the international standoff continues, those trapped between the Polish security forces in front of them and the Belarusian security forces behind will have little but hope and smoldering fires to keep them going.

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The funeral for one of the youngest victims of last week's Astroworld Festival is being held Saturday in Houston, as families and friends remember loved ones who died a week ago at the high-energy music event that turned into a nightmare.

Brianna Rodriguez, 16, was one of the nine people who died as a result of a crowd crush at rapper Travis Scott's music festival in Houston on November 5.

Audience members were crushed and trampled and struggled to breathe as the packed crowd surged toward an outdoor stage when Scott started performing, and injuries continued as the performance went on for more than an hour, witnesses and authorities said.

The victims' ages ranged from 14 to 27.

Rodriguez was a junior at Heights High School in Houston, according to her family. Her funeral service will be at La Paz Memorial Funeral Home in Houston.

"Dancing was her passion and now she's dancing her way to heaven's pearly gates," according to a verified GoFundMe account created by her family.

Concertgoers have described the crowd crush to be as terrifying as a "death trap," many thinking they would not make it out alive. The attendees began to push toward the stage as Scott came on, they said.

"This was not a concert; this was a fight for survival," attendee Jeffrey Schmidt told CNN.

Authorities have not released the causes of death for the victims and said that could take weeks. In the meantime, the investigation into how the deadly crush unfolded remains underway.

With about 50,000 people attending, the event's safety measures have come under scrutiny. A slew of lawsuits have been filed against Scott, the festival organizer and others involved by the families of the victims and the survivors.

On Friday, attorney Ben Crump, along with a coalition of Houston lawyers, announced they represent more than 200 victims who attended the festival and have filed more than 90 lawsuits in Harris County Civil Court against promoter Live Nation and others involved in the fatal event.

"Some of these victims have been catastrophically injured," said Crump, asking for continued prayers for his 9-year-old client, who remains in a coma.

Houston officials have pointed to the artist and others involved in the event as responsible for the chaos that unfolded that night.

Scott has said he was not aware of what was happening in the crowd during his set -- disputing city officials' account of his responsibility in the tragic events.

New details emerge

Although multiple accounts say the worst of the crowd surge occurred around 9 p.m. CT November 5, red flags were seen much earlier in the day.

Shortly after the 9 a.m. start of the festival, spectators had already breached the main gate, according to the handwritten logs obtained by CNN on Friday.

At least eight more breaches would be reported throughout the day, with 3,000 to 5,000 concertgoers that were "not scanned" entering the venue by 5:05 p.m., the logs show.

The logs demonstrate that multiple attendees were injured and brought to the hospital in the morning and afternoon. And shortly before 5 p.m., the Houston Police Department reported "dangerous crowd conditions" at one stage.

Eight minutes before Scott took the stage at 9 p.m., more than 260 people had already been treated, according to the logs, which did not specify the type of treatment. And a 9:18 p.m. entry noted a "crush injury."

Less than half an hour into Scott's performance, the log states: "This is when it all got real."

"Multiple people trampled, passed out at front of stage" at 9:33 p.m, police reported. Shortly after, a police operator reported five 911 calls about "unconscious persons in crowd. Report of possible CPR."

A mass casualty incident was reported at 9:52 p.m., the logs show. From 10 p.m. to about 11:40 p.m., 17 people had been sent to hospitals, including at least six people in cardiac arrest.

Lawyer says Scott did not know of mass casualty declaration

It is unclear what Scott saw from the stage and whether he was aware of the crowd conditions, but he continued to perform until about 10:10 p.m.

Scott did not know of the mass casualty declaration, or the full scope of what had occurred, until the following morning, his lawyer said Friday.

"That (mass casualty declaration) never got to Travis, that never got to Travis's crew," attorney Ed McPherson told ABC's "Good Morning America."

"He's up there trying to perform. He does not have any ability to know what's going on down below."

Scott was "on a riser at one point and he sees one boy down... stops the show, [and] he asked security to get to that person," McPherson told ABC.

"Understand that when he's up on the stage, and he has flash pots going off around him and he has an ear monitor that has music blasting through it and his own voice -- he can't hear anything, he can't see anything," McPherson added.

Funeral services planned for the victims

Scott has said he was devastated by the tragedy, adding that he will cover all funeral costs for the victims as well as help fund mental health support for those affected.

At least two funerals were held before Saturday, and more are scheduled over the next week, according to family members and notices posted by various funeral homes.

The funeral for Danish Baig, 27, who died trying to save his fiancee, was held November 7 in Colleyville, Texas, his brother, Basil Baig, told CNN.

Another brother, Mirza Ammar Baig, said that Danish had planned to buy a house for their parents by the end of the month.

"It's unbearable. It's unspeakable," he said of his brother's death. "I'm the older brother, but he was the older brother to me. He led this family in a direction that I couldn't have done in any other way. ... To wake up and not be able to hear his voice, to touch him, to kiss him, to tell him how much we love him, it's not going to happen anymore. And the way he left this world, it's not just."

On Friday, the funeral for Rodolfo Pena, a 23-year-old who studying at Laredo College, was held Friday in Laredo, according to the funeral home.

"Although Rudy had many positive attributes, the one attribute that stands out above all the rest was his contagious, warming, sincere smile," his obituary reads.

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CENTRAL POINT, Ore.  A Crater High School student is back home this week after a multi-injury crash at the end of October landed her in critical condition at a Portland hospital. NewsWatch 12 sat down on Friday with 14-year-old Kallie Michaelis and her mother, Megann, to tell their story.

The crash happened around 1 p.m. on October 27 at the intersection of Hazel and N 6th streets in Central Point. Kallie and five other teenagers were injured, but she alone had to be airlifted to OHSU due to the severity of her injuries.

"I just remember receiving a phone call from one of her friends saying that she was in an accident," said Megann. "At first, I thought they were pranking me."

After getting the phone call, Megann rushed to the scene of the crash. She saw Kallie, suffering from serious injuries to her head and face.

"I wish I could get that image out of my head," said Megann. "It was one of the scariest things I've ever seen, and I wish I could unsee it."

Kallie and her friends had gone out to get food during their lunch period at Crater High. They were heading back when the crash happened. The cause of the crash is still under investigation by Central Point Police and the Jackson County's Serious Traffic Accident Reconstruction (STAR) team.

"I can't even remember getting back in the car to go back to school," said Kallie. "And I don't even remember arriving in Portland. I really don't remember being there for almost two weeks. It only felt like two days."

"Once we got off the plane, she squeezed my hand and said, 'Mom,' and then I just knew, like she was okay," Megann said. "I knew she was going to fight and I knew she was still in there. I knew it was going to be a long road to recovery, but it was just the best feeling in the world too."

Thankfully, Kallie was moved out of the OHSU critical care unit within a few days and was upgraded to stable condition. However, her fight was far from over. She needed reconstructive surgery for her head, including the installation of custom-made plates for her forehead and cheek.

Ultimately, Megann said, Kallie needed multiple reconstructive surgeries. Her sinus cavity and one of her eye sockets had been crushed. She had six small metal plates and 28 screws installed in her head.

A full recovery could take several months, depending on a number of factors, Megann said. Kallie could also have serious, long-term problems with her vision.

"She means the world  she's always meant the world to me," Megann said of her daughter. "And after this, you know, unfortunate event, she's just showed me how much of a strong individual she is. I'm just grateful that she's still here and she's ready to get back at it. And her grit amazes me every day."

"I was thinking about this in the hospital ... I think it was mostly, learn from yours and other people's mistakes and just, like be super positive and learn from things and always keep your friends and family close to you," Kallie said.

A GoFundMe campaign in support of Kallie's medical treatment and recovery has now raised more than $22,300 of an expanded $25,000 goal.
GRANTS PASS, Ore.  In a letter to Congressman Cliff Bentz following his visit to southern Oregon this week, state Representative Lily Morgan laid out her wish list for the federal government's aid in curtailing illegal marijuana grows.

A former Josephine County commissioner, Morgan has quickly made her mark in the legislature by shaping the state's cannabis policies. Morgan championed House Bill 3000 and succeeded in passing it during the 2021 legislative session, giving state and local agencies more tools to combat illegal growers.

In her letter to Bentz, Morgan highlighted the impact of the 2018 federal Farm Bill on illegal marijuana activities. The bill legalized industrial hemp at the federal level, which was widely popular. But, Morgan points out, it was also used by black marketeers as a means to grow marijuana under the guise of legal hemp.

"While the Federal Farm Bill of 2018 provides instruction on the growing of hemp cannabis, its exploitation by the few has certainly harmed Oregons recreational marijuana market and controlled interstate commerce," Morgan wrote. "Putting controls in place now will end law enforcement and regulatory confusion that is being exploited by nefarious interests that do not hesitate to risk a public health crisis if it will generate short-term profits for their operations."

On top of overall support from federal law enforcement and other agencies, the substance of Morgan's letter addresses the need for greater federal oversight of hemp in conjunction with more help from the state of Oregon, should it emerge.

"Although how the state moves forward to address this issue is the choice of the Legislature, a collaborative approach with our congressional leaders is needed," Morgan continued. "Below are several ideas on how you can help us move forward and prevent the continuation of illegal grow and export of marijuana in rural Oregon, and the resulting organized crime and illegal exploitation of human beings."

Morgan's points are as follows:

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) can help state and local level enforcement officers investigate financial connections related to illicit cannabis grows; and provide federal resources for investigation of involuntary servitude, and immediate assistance of human trafficking;

(FBI) can help state and local level enforcement officers investigate financial connections related to illicit cannabis grows; and provide federal resources for investigation of involuntary servitude, and immediate assistance of human trafficking; Department of Human Services (DHS) for resources to assist laborers in need of shelter and emotional support;

(DHS) for resources to assist laborers in need of shelter and emotional support; Federal Department of Agriculture (FDA)  must create regulation of hemp-derived CBD  national standard for CBD consumables;1

(FDA)  must create regulation of hemp-derived CBD  national standard for CBD consumables;1 High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program to provide assistance to Oregon as a critical drug-trafficking region of the United State  Oregon can apply to the Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program (DCE/SP), established in 1979 as the only nationwide law enforcement program that exclusively targets Drug Trafficking Organizations (DTO) involved in cannabis cultivation. This will provide the much needed resources to the state and local law enforcement agencies that actively participate in the program to enhance aggressive enforcement activities;

(HIDTA) program to provide assistance to Oregon as a critical drug-trafficking region of the United State  Oregon can apply to the Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program (DCE/SP), established in 1979 as the only nationwide law enforcement program that exclusively targets Drug Trafficking Organizations (DTO) involved in cannabis cultivation. This will provide the much needed resources to the state and local law enforcement agencies that actively participate in the program to enhance aggressive enforcement activities; 2018 Federal Farm Bill fixes needed to close the loophole that legalized psychoactive isomers  other synthetic cannabinoids like Delta-8-THC or Delta-10-THC, which have the same chemical formula as Delta-9-THC but with the molecules slightly rearranged: defining derivative and clarity on authority over processing. THC caps especially (adding a mg cap to the .3% for finished products). DEA/FDA regulation - converting CBD into Delta-9-THC and selling it in the recreational marijuana market, Federal Interstate Compact for transport of license grown cannabis to states with licensed dispensaries.

fixes needed to close the loophole that legalized psychoactive isomers  other synthetic cannabinoids like Delta-8-THC or Delta-10-THC, which have the same chemical formula as Delta-9-THC but with the molecules slightly rearranged:

Morgan said that the Farm Bill's legalization of hemp didn't anticipate the rise of intoxicating hemp-derived chemicals such as Delta-8-THC.

"This has lead 18 states to regulate or ban the delta-8 THC," Morgan wrote. "Under the Farm Bill, ODA needs to have a state hemp plan approved by USDA to have authority for criminal records checks, and allowing license denials based on an applicants criminal record.

"The magnitude of the situation in Southern Oregon has resulted in several counties declaring an emergency. What would once have been considered a prime growing season for outdoor cannabis from May to October, has now become a blanket of 'hoop houses' across the counties. Growers are now producing three to four harvests a year with their year-round operations. This is why the collaboration from Federal and State efforts cannot wait for next year."
A little-used section of the Canadian Criminal Code makes it an offence to wilfully disturb or interrupt a religious service or an event with a "moral, social, or benevolent purpose", Kelowna RCMP Insp. Adam MacIntosh said Friday as he explained why police have launched a criminal investigation into events at the city's Cenotaph on Remembrance Day.
Britain's Alok Sharma, President of the COP26, second left, gestures as delegates applaud, flanked by Patricia Espinosa, left, UNFCCC Executive-Secretary, during the closing plenary session at the COP26 U.N. Climate Summit, in Glasgow, Scotland, Saturday, Nov. 13, 2021. Environmental groups and politicians in Canada are reacting with a mix of hope, discouragement and determination to news that a last-minute deal had been reached at the United Nations climate change conference. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Alberto Pezzali
Sara Beth Gregory, left, signs the paperwork to run for circuit judge in the 57th Judicial Circuit. Gregory currently serves as the chief of staff for Auditor Mike Harmon. She has served in the legislative and executive branches of government and hopes to add the judicial branch in the 2022 election. Heather Quinn, the director of Administration and Elections for the Secretary of State, looks on.
FILE - A Union Properties construction project in Dubai Motor City unfinished for years is seen in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021. A top prosecutor in the United Arab Emirates has called for the detention of the chairman of Dubai-based real estate developer Union Properties while an investigation into the company is underway, according to a disclosure filed by the company late Monday, Nov. 8.
Ketchikan, AK (99901)

Today

Windy with periods of rain. Low around 40F. Winds SE at 25 to 35 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall possibly over one inch..

Tonight

Windy with periods of rain. Low around 40F. Winds SE at 25 to 35 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall possibly over one inch.
Rep. Adam Kinzinger, one of two Republicans on the House select committee investigating January 6, said Friday that he hopes a federal grand jury's indictment of Steve Bannon for contempt of Congress "sends a chilling message" to anyone considering not cooperating with the panel.

"I think it sends a really important message to future invited witnesses, folks who are subpoenaed. You cannot ignore Congress. You may not like it, you may not like the investigation. You may think nothing wrong was done, but you're not going to be able to avoid it, and that's important for the people of the United States to be able to have their voice heard, to be able to get answers in Congress," the Illinois Republican said in an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper on "The Lead."

"This is certainly a good thing, and I hope it sends a chilling message to anybody else that was going to follow through like this."

The Justice Department on Friday announced the indictment against the former Trump adviser that charged him with one count related to his refusal to appear for a deposition and another related to his refusal to produce documents in the House of Representatives January 6 committee probe. The House panel -- which has issued 35 subpoenas to date, including to former White House officials, Trump campaign officials and organizers of the rallies and events leading up to the January 6 attack -- has said it will consider pursuing contempt or other proceedings to enforce subpoenas for those who don't comply with the committee.

Kinzinger, who has faced criticism from members of his party for serving on the select committee, told Tapper that "there is absolutely no doubt" Republicans would do away with the congressional probe of the events leading up to the January 6 insurrection, should the party regain control of Congress. Kinzinger announced his retirement from the House in October and told CNN earlier this month he is considering at least a statewide run if not a presidential one.

Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, who would likely chair the House Judiciary Committee if the GOP wins control of the chamber next year, tweeted a warning to the White House following the Bannon indictment. "Joe Biden has evicerated Executive Privilege. There are a lot of Republicans eager to hear testimony from Ron Klain and Jake Sullivan when we take back the House," he said.

But Kinzinger said the select committee is "just asking for answers."

"So I certainly think this will have a chilling effect in terms of anybody that's been trying to resist, and I certainly hope we don't have to keep repeating this. We just want answers. That's it. It's a pretty simple request," he added.

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EUGENE, Ore. -- Eugene Science Center (ESC) leaders say they could have the chance to create a world-class science center in downtown Eugene, and they are asking for the publics thoughts.

They say this site would connect youth with professionals, researchers with curious students and businesses with future employees.

This all comes as Eugene Water and Electric Board (EWEB) currently has plans to vacate its administration buildings within the next 12 to 18 months and is looking for a new owner. EWEB intends to request formal proposals early next year, so ESC is gathering information and support to put together the strongest proposal possible.

ESC officials are calling this a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Their building at 2300 Leo Harris Parkway was built in 1979, and their community has doubled in size since then. They say it has been difficult to meet demand for events like school field trips.

"I can't envision this happening again for our community, and we really are a community organization," said Tim Scott, the executive director of the ESC.

Scott said there are several benefits that could spark from a move like this.

"Relocating to the EWEB buildings would just be a game changer," Scott said. "It would attract more families downtown, bring in tourism and help local businesses. It'll be an active vibrant facility right in the heart of Eugene, and it would anchor the new Riverfront Development."

They said EWEBs administration buildings will provide the ESC community with 10 times more interactive exhibit space and six times more dedicated classroom space.

Scott said ESC has outgrown their space in numerous ways.

"Pre-pandemic, we were breaking attendance records," Scott said. "We were so busy at peak times for field trips, and we couldn't accommodate all the requests for field trips so we had to turn schools away. We just couldn't house them at the same time because we didn't have enough space. On our busiest days, it's just way too crowded -- foot traffic for special events and for no-school days. It just gets overwhelmingly crowded in the space, and we just know that we need more space."

Joe Harwood with EWEB said commissioners have indicated they would like to sell the buildings.

"They have also indicated that they would like to see the buildings and property be utilized in ways that continue to benefit the community," Harwood said. "We're definitely seeing some interest from various organizations, and the enthusiasm is kind of infectious -- so we're kind of excited to see what kind of proposals come our way."

Harwood said staff members are still working on drafting the criteria for the proposal process.

The plan is for EWEB staff to fully move into their Roosevelt Operation Center in the next 18 months.

Springfield resident Nicole Ferrell is a mother of three. She said her family spent a lot of time at Eugene Science Center when her kids were younger.

"What an opportunity for our community," Ferrell said. "A chance to expand the science center for local families and students would be a huge draw to our area to bring families, young people, students and schools to our downtown area and the new river development. Our area does not offer a lot for younger families, and a lot of what we have revolves around the University. To have the opportunity for some of the traveling exhibits that OMSI offers, for them to have more camps, special school programs, homeschool programs, high school programs would be an amazing addition to Lane County."

To take a survey about the possibility of ESC moving into the EWEB buildings, CLICK HERE.

To view ESCs blueprints for the possible new space, CLICK HERE.
MARION COUNTY, Ore. -- A Lebanon woman was killed Friday night after she was hit by a car on I-5 southbound near milepost 254 in Salem, according to Oregon State Police.

Police responded to the scene at about 9:20 p.m.

Christina Klug, 26, exited her boyfriend's vehicle that was parked in the median on I-5, walked out into the lane of travel, and was hit by a southbound vehicle operated by Maria Guzman-Coria, 24, of Salem, police said. Klug was pronounced deceased at the scene.

Guzma-Coria remained at the scene and is cooperating with law enforcement, police said.

OSP said it was assisted by Salem Fire and Medics and the Oregon Department of Transportation.

This is an ongoing investigation, according to police.

A GoFundMe has been created to support the victim's loved ones.
OREGON, USA  An Oregon man is alive and back home after more than a hundred days in a Seattle hospital for COVID-19.

Howard Breidenbach of Myrtle Creek in southern Oregon admits he did not take the virus seriously.

"This is a conspiracy, just a flu they're overinflating," he recalled of his feelings prior to getting sick.

He refused vaccination at a pharmacy.

In late July, he had to be taken to the UW Medical Center, severely ill with COVID-19. He was semi-conscious for about three weeks, unable to breathe without the help of machines.

"I thought I was dead," Breidenbach said. "Couldn't remember my birthday, couldn't remember my name."

He had to put his growing trucking business on hold.

"We were set to retire within five years," he said. "I lost everything."

Doctors told him he had a 30% chance to survive.

After 102 days in the hospital, Breidenbach was able to return home to Douglas County. He said he's now sharing his story with other people who are skeptical about COVID-19 and the vaccine as he was.

"I agree with them, they should have their choice," he said. "But at the same time, what freedom do you have in the grave, besides to be worm food?"

Douglas County is about 56% vaccinated, compared to more than 80% in Multnomah County.

During his Zoom interview with KGW Tuesday, Breidenbach was still connected to an oxygen tank and could not suppress his coughing.

"The COVID cough never goes away," he said.

He is now fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and urged people to separate pandemic issues from politics.

"Right and left, red and blue...we're still all neighbors."
News

"The Best Part of Our Country": Kilgore holds Veterans Day ceremony to honor those who served

NEWS HERALD Photo by Lucas Strough Kilgore Fire Department Honor Guard presented and retired the colors at Thursdays Veterans Day at Harris Street Park Veterans Memorial. NEWS HERALD Photo by Lucas Strough The national anthem was performed by Kilgore College Rangerettes at Thursdays Veterans Day ceremony. NEWS HERALD Photo by Lucas Strough Mayor Ronnie Spradlin introduced the event's speaker, Julie Brogoitti Woods, owner of Julie Woods & Associates Real Estate. NEWS HERALD Photo by Lucas Strough Kilgore Veterans Association committee chairman and Vietnam veteran John Edney welcomed attendees and asked them to reflect on the sacrifices veterans have made for our country. Without them, where would we be? he asked. NEWS HERALD Photo by Lucas Strough Patti Cunyus, of the local Samuel Paul Dinkins chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, introduced three local high school seniors at the Veterans Day ceremony as recipients of the DAR Good Citizens Award, intended to encourage and reward the qualities of good citizenship. NEWS HERALD Photo by Lucas Strough Carolyn Martin, Samuel Paul Dinkins chapter committee chair presented the awards to three high school seniors, chosen by their respective schools to receive the honor: Kilgore High, Cason Cox; Sabine High, Harlie Bynum; and West Rusk High, Paulina Mata. NEWS HERALD Photo by Lucas Strough Following the awards presentation, Kilgore Veterans Association committee chairman and Vietnam veteran John Edney welcomed attendees and asked them to reflect on the sacrifices veterans have made for our country. NEWS HERALD Photo by Lucas Strough Julie Brogoitti Woods, owner of Julie Woods & Associates Real Estate, said she learned of the importance of honoring veterans through hearing about the experiences of her grandparents but also in the lives of her friends. NEWS HERALD Photo by Lucas Strough Julie Brogoitti Woods, owner of Julie Woods & Associates Real Estate, said she learned of the importance of honoring veterans through hearing about the experiences of her grandparents but also in the lives of her friends. NEWS HERALD Photo by Lucas Strough Kilgore Fire Department Honor Guard presented and retired the colors at Thursday's Veterans Day at Harris Street Park Veterans Memorial. NEWS HERALD Photo by Lucas Strough Kilgore Fire Department Honor Guard presented and retired the colors at Thursday's Veterans Day at Harris Street Park Veterans Memorial.

Veterans Day was marked in Kilgore Thursday at Harris Street Park with patriotic songs and speeches honoring those who served in the U.S. armed forces.

The ceremony was held at the Veterans Memorial and began by honoring local students who exhibit academic excellence, good conduct and patriotism.

Patti Cunyus, of the local Samuel Paul Dinkins chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, said the DAR Good Citizens Program and scholarship contest is intended to encourage and reward the qualities of good citizenship.

Carolyn Martin, Samuel Paul Dinkins chapter committee chair presented the awards to three high school seniors, chosen by their respective schools to receive the honor: Kilgore High Schools Cason Cox, Sabine High Schools Harlie Bynum and West Rusk High Schools Paulina Mata.

Following the awards presentation, Kilgore Veterans Association committee chairman and Vietnam veteran John Edney welcomed attendees and asked them to reflect on the sacrifices veterans have made for our country.

Without them, where would we be? he asked.

Veterans have fought for us, died for us, so we want to remember them today.

Mayor Ronnie Spradlin introduced the events speaker, Julie Brogoitti Woods, owner of Julie Woods & Associates Real Estate.

Woods said Edney had asked her to speak on experiencing Veterans Day from a womans perspective and she had conversations with her 96-year-old grandmother to learn more about her experiences.

She was 16 when World War II began, Woods said.

She remembers many of her 17-year-old classmates lying about their ages so that they could go into the war, including my grandfather. She recalled that the war wasnt over until she was about 21 years old. During those five years, she hardly saw any boys anywhere around town. None were in her high school classes or her college classes. Thats something thats hard for me to imagine. She told me that she and all her friends wrote letters to their classmates overseas and, of course, she lost some of her friends. One time she received a letter back from a classmate that had already passed away.

Woods said she learned of the importance of honoring veterans through hearing about the experiences of her grandparents but also in the lives of her friends.

When I think of veterans I always think, of course, first of my grandfather, who didnt often want to speak about the war, but I also think about my dear friend Eli. He was injured by an RPG as a 22-year-old while he served in Afghanistan, she said.

Her friend had to crawl to safety while badly injured and endured dozens of operations and years in the hospital before recovering and beginning a new career as a personal trainer.

Woods said she asked him how he made it through such a difficult experience.

Its what you do. You just get up and keep going.

I bet many of you here today can relate to that. Its what you do. You just get up and keep going. You veterans are something else, a different breed, the ones that put others before yourselves. You love your country. You love people you dont even know and you fight for them to have their own opinion, even if its different from your own. You see trouble and you run into instead of running away from it. Youre the very fabric of our country, the best part of it, and Im so thankful that people like you exist in this world.

Kilgore Fire Department Honor Guard presented and retired the colors at the event and Kilgore Police Department Officer Angela Burch played Taps. The national anthem was performed by the Kilgore College Rangerettes.
ROCHESTER, Minn.- University of Minnesota Rochester students can now feel more at ease walking around downtown.

UMR is partnering with Clean and Safe Ambassadors to provide safety escorts to students. From now until December 22, if a UMR student is walking around and feels unsafe, they can give the program a call and a safe ambassador will be ready to meet them.

The escorts will be offered until December 22. Anyone interested in receiving one can call 507-316-7111.

Advance notice is not required but appreciated.
Austin, Minn. - A longtime local leader is announcing his bid for the Minnesota Legislature.

Less than a year after retiring from politics, former Austin mayor Tom Stiehm is ready to return to the ballot as a DFL candidate in the race to represent Minnesota House District 27B.

"I retired as mayor at the beginning of this year. I wasn't going to run again, but I see, you know, what's going on, and I think there's an opportunity here for me to get into position and help," Stiehm told KIMT during his campaign kickoff event Friday.

Stiehm previously spent 14 years as the mayor of Austin, 30 years as an Austin police officer, and three years in the U.S. Marine Corps. He says after leaving the mayor's office, it was hard to sit back as divisions grew in our society, with some leaders exploiting them.

"We need to quit pointing the finger at people who don't believe what we believe, and think they're stupid, they're not informed," Stiehm said. "A lot of people don't believe the same as me, but they have very rational reasons for doing that, and we need to be able to communicate with these people and come to compromise that we can all accept, and quit beating ourselves on the head."

A spirit of compromise and restoring mutual respect will be at the heart of his candidacy, Stiehm says. The former mayor share's he'll lend his focus to agriculture and law enforcement in particular if elected.

"We need to elevate the perception of police, and you know, if they need a little more training, that's fine. But if they're going to get more training, they'll be better officers in that," said Stiehm.

Austin Resident Jeff Ollman tells KIMT he's excited about Stiehm running on the Democratic ticket, and appreciates his openness to learning from locals.

"He's got a lot of areas where he wants to learn from the locals and find out what their main issues are, which is always a good sign. So I'm thinking he's going to be getting out, talking to people, going door to door and talking to groups, and farmers especially," Ollman said.

Dave Sylte of Austin echoed that sentiment, telling KIMT, "he has an impressive background to tackle a whole range of issues. But the main thing is, he's very sensitive to where people's interests and priorities are, and that's why we're pretty excited about having Tom enter the race."

Austin's current representative in the Minnesota House, Patricia Mueller (R-27B) also shared her reaction to Stiehm's campaign announcement with KIMT. She says. "I welcome Tom Stiehm to the race, and I look forward to a robust debate on the issues. But there will be plenty of time for politics in 2022. Right now my focus is on doing the best job representing District 27B, fighting for our values, listening to my constituents and being their voice in Saint Paul."

The Minnesota Legislature is in the process of redistricting following the 2020 census, which is expected to create new political boundaries for the Austin area.
CLEAR LAKE, Iowa - If jumping into cold water to raise money to help those in need is your thing, you're in luck.

After being cancelled last year due to the pandemic, the Polar Bear Club Plunge is back on the east shores of Clear Lake on December 5. With the Clear Lake Jaycees now putting on the event, funds raised this year's plunge are going to Toys for Tots and the Clear Lake Schools' Children & Families in Need Fund. New this year will be a live band performing nearby at Tap'd following the plunge

Earlier this week, the Jaycees were approached by Alpha Media, who coordinated the event each year, to see if they were interested in taking it over. Even with only about three weeks left until the plunge, member Stephanie Hassebroek and the Jaycees are up to the challenge.

"We have a good group. Everybody is all hands on deck for this event right now, and we want to make it happen. It's a great event for Clear Lake and during Christmas by the Lake."

A minimum $50 is required for registration.

"We were told this event typically raises $7,000. That's what we're hoping to get to. If we can get anywhere close to that this year with the tight timelines, we'll think its a success."

The Jaycees are in need of sponsors for the event, as well as warming trailers. If you are interested in being a sponsor, email cljaycees@gmail.com. To sign up for the plunge, click here.
MASON CITY, Iowa - The sounds of bells ringing are in the air, as the Salvation Army is kicking off their Red Kettle campaign in North Iowa and Southern Minnesota.

Bell ringers will be set up in various locations around the area, collecting both cash and virtual donations through mobile pay apps like Venmo, Google and Apple Pay, with each dollar and cent staying within the community. Each year, funds raised go towards a number of resources and programs like rent and utility assistance.

Major Geffory Crowell with the Mason City chapter notes they were able to meet their fundraising goal last year, despite the pandemic. However, he adds that the need still exists, even as we transition into a new normal.

"We have calls every day, all the time. We help as much as we can, as many people as we can, with as much as we can. But we always run out. After however long in the new month with the month we allotted, we give it away every time."

Crowell adds that there is also a need for bell ringers.

"There are always groups out there looking for some sort of project. This is the project right here! Start showing the young ones how valuable it is when we all work together towards community. It's a great opportunity for people of any ages."

The Mason City chapter's goal this year is $348,930. If you would like to volunteer to ring, click here.
A Missouri Sanctuary is asking for help to save some turkeys in honor of Thanksgiving.
CRAWFORD COUNTY (KMOV.com) -- Authorities in Crawford County continue to investigate a Bourbon, Missouri shooting that left a person of color dead. An eyewitness said she knows what happened that night.

Trailer park manager Lesa Stiller said she saw the shooting. She said King was helping a neighbor find a dog when the neighbor and a friend across the street shot him outside.

Pop. Pop. Pop. Three gun fires, Stiller said. And then I saw the hole right here and I screamed at **** you shot him?

The Crawford County Sheriff's Office reported in a Facebook post that Justin King, 28, was shot and killed in the 8800 block of North Service Road in Bourbon on Nov. 3.

The sheriff's office said deputies interviewed witnesses, collected evidence and surveillance footage from the scene after taking a 42-year-old man into custody.

In a Facebook update on Nov. 8, the department said the 42-year-old was released from custody the following day.

Local NAACP, family of dead man demand answers in Crawford County death investigation The family of a black and Filipino man is asking a Missouri sheriff's office for answers in a death investigation after a person accused of shooting and killing the man was released from police custody the day following the incident.

Crawford County authorities said the man shot and killed King because King forced his way into the man's home. King is originally from the St. Louis area, but spent the last two years in Bourbon to be closer his daughter, according to his family.

The King Family and neighbors who live in the Lakewood Trailer Park told News 4 the police version of events doesn't align with what witnesses saw.

Nothing like that has ever happened here, Stiller said.

A memorial is now set up at the accused shooter's trailer.

Theyre friends. Been friends since day one," she added. He aint break in that mans house. We didnt hear any yelling or arguing.

News 4 isn't identifying the man because he hasn't been charged with a crime.

Stiller showed what appears to be surveillance footage of King with his accused killer minutes before his death. She isn't saying how she got the footage, but she wants police to release what they collected from both the accused shooter and King's homes.

Show me. Prove to me that this young man broke into this house, she said. Neighbors are very upset. When they knew he was being released they dont want him back here.

Stiller told News 4 she kicked the accused shooter out of the trailer park.

The Crawford County Sheriff Department also confirmed they're investigating a car fire at the accused shooter's residence as arson.

Sheriff department officials said they intend to share evidence with the King family once the investigation is complete.
The latest round of monthly child tax credit payments is scheduled to be distributed to tens of millions of families on November 15 and it could be the next-to-last one unless Congress acts.
Kendallville, IN (46755)

Today

Considerable clouds early. Some decrease in clouds later in the day. High near 35F. Winds WNW at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Clear skies. Low 23F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KPTV)  A healthcare employee union and Kaiser Permanente reached an agreement on a new contract on Saturday, averting a possible strike.

The Alliance of Healthcare Unions, which includes the 3,400 Kaiser employees of Oregon and southwest Washington, reached a tentative agreement with Kaiser. The employees are represented by the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals.

The union representing the employees in Oregon and southwest Washington said it pushed back on Kaisers two-tier wage proposal and won good wage increases, racial justice language and language to address the staffing crisis. It said it is a step in a continuing fight for safe staffing and healthcare justice by organizing in communities.

Kaiser workers will strike Nov. 15, union says PORTLAND, Ore. (KPTV)  Nearly 3,400 Kaiser Permanente workers from both Oregon and southwest Washington plan to walk out on strike Nov. 15.

The OFNHP said members still need to vote on the contract, both locally and nationally. It said those votes will begin in the coming days after information sessions for the members.

The pressure our members, including leaders and community, put on Kaiser and the threat of a strike worked and moved Kaiser leadership to do the right thing and settle a proposal that will improve care for the entire community, Jodi Barschow, a Kaiser Sunnyside Registered Nurse and president of the OFNHP, said in a press release. We look forward to supporting our patients and working with Kaiser to improve care across the country.

The union had voted to strike on Nov. 4, citing harmful proposals put forward by Kaiser leadership as the driving factor. The strike was set to begin on Monday.
The minor child has been located and is with law enforcement in Elko Co Nevada. An arrest warrant has been served on the party believed to have kidnapped the minor child. Read more
CHEYENNE, Wyo. - House Bill 1002, Federal COVID vaccine mandates-prohibition and remedies-2 was signed by Governor Mark Gordon.

HB1002 provides $4 million in funding for legal challenges to any COVID-19 vaccination mandates passed by the Federal government according to a release.

This bill confirms the Legislatures support for the Executive branchs previously-expressed determination to fight federal overreach in the courts, Governor Gordon said. I thank the Legislature for recognizing their distinct constitutional responsibility as appropriators in forwarding resources to support this endeavor. The people of Wyoming can rest assured that this Governor will always be committed to protecting the constitutionally enumerated rights of Wyoming citizens.

At this time, three separate legal actions have been filed by Wyoming, challenging federal vaccine mandates.
GREAT FALLS, Mont. - Two Montana banks are accused of helping a former business owner who was sentenced to prison for bank fraud.

A recent complaint claims that First Interstate Bank and Prairie Mountain Bank were involved and benefited from a check-kiting scheme by Ken Hatzenbeller, the owner of Shoot the Moon, LLC., who was sentenced for bank fraud in 2017.

A check-kiting scheme is when someone writes a check from one bank account without sufficient funds and deposits it into another bank account, and then withdraws the money from the second account before the original check clears according to MaginfyMoney.com.

The complaint claims that the check-kiting scheme went on for four years at First Interstate Bank and that no action was taken to stop Hatzenbeller.

Whenever red flags or fraudulent activity were detected by First Interstate Banks internal controls, documents say bank officers misled auditors with false assurances.

An email sent from First Interstate Banks Vice President of Commercial Lending for Great Falls to Hatzenbeller in February of 2012 reportedly also provided instruction on how to avoid detection.

Court documents provided the following partial email:

I just finished my first round of examiner interrogations on Shoot the Moon. They noted the large daylight overdrafts and I said that Ken always covers them, and that you watch over the accounts balance late into the night. Not sure how my bs is working, we will see on Friday when they leave. Thank you for keeping the payments within the 10 day grace period!!! It is huge for us with these boys breathing on the rampage.

The complaint goes on to claim that officers and employees would send constant reminders to Hatzenbeller of the amount of the overdrafts that needed to be covered to ensure the check-kiting scheme was not revealed.

... efforts to conceal the check-kiting scheme continued throughout the Shoot the Moon Bankruptcy and continued despite [First Interstate Bank] being one of three members of the Oversight Committee, the complaint reads.

Documents further state that it was in First Interstate Banks financial interest to allow the check-kiting scheme to continue.

Prairie Mountain Bank is accused of knowing of the check-kiting scheme as early as 2010.

The bank reportedly had taken notice of the frequency of large checks being drawn on accounts at First Interstate Bank, along with other financial institutions, to cover negative balances on accounts held at Prairie Mountain Bank.

According to documents, shoot the Moons accounts at Prairie Mountain Bank were overdrawn from 2010 to 2015.

Hatzenbeller is accused of using large checks drawn on accounts at First Interstate Bank, along with other institutions, to cover negative balances on accounts held at Prairie Mountain Bank, only to repeat the process over and over.

First Interstate Bank and Prairie Mountain Bank reportedly entered into an agreement in August of 2011 in response to concerns expressed by First Interstate Bank.

Documents say the agreement was that Prairie Mountain Bank would guarantee up to $200,000 in funds drawn on accounts held at the bank and deposited at First Interstate Bank.

Hatzenbeller was also reported to be in frequent contact with Prairie Mountain Bank and the banks CEO, Laura Vukasin to ensure the bank was honoring checks deposited and the scheme was not detected.

Documents provided the following email from November 2012 from Vukasin, warning Hatzenbeller of the need for funds to cover deposits:

Attached are the deposit tickets & copy of returned check. Im in trouble here, Ken  you have checks being presented for payment & I have called Billings to plead for leeway until noon. I need money to cover the deposits FAST. Thanks!

The suit claims that Hatzenbeller and Vukasin conspired to mislead another financial institution as to the existence and availability of funds within Shoot the Moons accounts.

[Prairie Mountain Banks] efforts to conceal the check-kiting scheme continued throughout the Shoot the Moon Bankruptcy and continued despite [Prairie Mountain Bank] being one of three members of the Oversight Committee.

After Shoot the Moon filed a Voluntary Petition for Relief under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Montana, Prairie Mountain Bank and First Interstate Bank and other secured creditors filed a settlement agreement.

The two banks reportedly entered into the agreement without disclosing their involvement and assistance n facilitating the check-kiting scheme the complaint claims.

The Bankruptcy Court entered an Order confirming a Plan of Liquidation that called for the creation of the Shoot the Moon (STM) Liquidating Trust.

According to documents, the STM Liquidating Trust was subject to an agreement providing Jeremiah Foster, the trustee of the STM Liquidating Trust, with the necessary powers to, investigate, file, compromise, settle, withdraw, or litigate in Bankruptcy Court or any other court of competent jurisdiction, any and all Claims, Trust Causes of Action, Avoidance Actions, or other causes of action belonging to the Trust Estate.

An Oversight Committee was created to oversee the Trustees implementation and administration of the Liquidating Trust, which would necessarily include the review and approval of all litigation pursued by the STM Liquidating Trust.

As two of the largest unsecured creditors, Prairie Mountain Bank and First Interstate Bank were appointed to the Oversight Committee to oversee and assist the Trustee with his pursuit of adversary actions.

Prairie Mountain Bank and First Interstate Bank were asked by the Trustee to voluntarily withdrawal as members of the Oversight committee when the alleged evidence of Hatzenbellers scheme was found.

At this time, the complaint is demanding a jury trial on any issues that are trialable.
UPDATE: NOV. 12 AT 5:14 P.M.

The MSUB Police Department is asking for help in identifying two suspects involved in a burglary that took place at the MSU Billings Student Union Building Thursday morning.

If you have information or can identify the suspects pictured you should contact the University Police Department.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

BILLINGS, Mont. - University police are investigating a burglary at the Montana State University Billings campus that reportedly occurred sometime between Wednesday night through Thursday morning.

In a release, MSUB Police said someone got into the student union building on campus, stole items from and vandalized multiple offices.

The incident happened sometime between 9:15 p.m. Wednesday to 4:20 a.m. Thursday.

MSUB Police are suggesting the following safety tips to prevent property crimes:

Lock all windows, doors and other access points

Lock residence hall dorm room doors, even if leaving for a couple minutes

Take pictures of, mark and document serial numbers of electronics and other valuables.

Anyone with information related to this incident is asked to call the MSUB Police at 406-657-2147.
BILLINGS  A man from Charleston, South Carolina, accused in a large sex trafficking scheme of coercing women and girls into prostitution for him in Montana and other states admitted to charges Friday, Acting U.S. Attorney Leif M. Johnson said.

Louis Gregory Venning, also known as December, 41, pleaded guilty to sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion, sex trafficking of a minor, transportation of a person with intent to engage in prostitution and possession with intent to distribute cocaine.

He faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years to life in prison, a $250,000 fine, five years to life of supervised release and a $5,000 special assessment on the most serious crime of sex trafficking.

A plea agreement reached in the case calls for nine other counts of sex trafficking, transportation for prostitution and drug trafficking crimes charged in a second superseding indictment to be dismissed at sentencing if the court accepts the agreement. The government agrees not to seek additional charges.

Restitution, however, is mandatory. According to a release, Venning agrees to be responsible for complete restitution relating to all counts in the second superseding indictment.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto presided. Judge DeSoto said she recommends that Vennings plea be accepted by U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen, who will sentence Venning.

Sentencing is set for March 15, 2022.

Sentencing will be determined with consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Venning was detained pending further proceedings.

In courts documents and court statements, the government alleged that at various times from 2012 to 2020, Venning trafficked women and girls for commercial sex and distributed illegal narcotics, including cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine.

Venning allegedly used coercion and force, violence and threats of violence and widespread drug use to advance his criminal goals. More than a dozen women and girls were recruited and coerced by Venning who forced them to engage in commercial sex for him in Billings and other Montana communities.

Venning also took some of the women and girls from Montana to other states, including Wyoming, Missouri and Georgia, for commercial sex work.

The government further alleged that in 2019, Venning met a woman identified as Jane Doe 9 in a motel in Missoula after responding to one of Jane Doe 9s own ads for commercial sex.

He discussed how she would work for him and ultimately she did. Venning became abusive toward Jane Doe 9, including physically assaulting her.

In August 2018 in Billings, Venning coerced a girl, identified as Jane Doe 8, who was under the age of 18, to engage in commercial sex. In 2012, Venning transported another victim, identified as Jane Doe 5, from Montana to Georgia and Missouri to engage in prostitution.

In addition, Venning possessed and intended to distribute cocaine. Jane Does 3 and 4 told law enforcement that while working for Venning they received cocaine from him. Social media posts collected during the investigation show Venning bragging about and sending cocaine to various individuals.

Co-defendant Destiny Lachelle Nilsen, also known as Diamond, pleaded guilty in the case and is awaiting sentencing.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zeno B. Baucus and Bryan T. Dake are prosecuting the case, which was investigated by the FBI.
LAME DEER, Mont.  Tribal officials with the Northern Cheyenne are studying a pair of Cheyenne moccasins that may date back to the late 1800s.

The moccasins were recently found in Oklahoma.

Tribal Historic Preservation Officer Teanna Limpy says each tribe has a distinct way they make moccasins, which makes them immediately recognizable from one Indigenous community to the next.

With this pair, she noted a number of stylistic features that distinctly connect the moccasins to the Cheyenne Tribe. One of those characteristics is the durability.

What makes the moccasins even more rare is that they are specifically made for women.

"That's fulfilling because it's really rare to be able to see those things, and be able to be in the presence of such old items that were made in a really sacred way," Limpy said.

"Moccasins are very, very powerful. That's why we're always giving thanks, we're always appreciating these items because we really praise them and pay tribute to them because it means a lot to us. It gives us goosebumps every time, and it's a good feeling," Section 106 Coordinator Gary LaFranier said.

Limpy tells us it's rare to find a pair of moccasins so well preserved for so long. But she also says there are many artifacts around the world that were dispersed over the course of history.

If you have something you think may be connected to an Indigenous tribe, you are encouraged to get in contact with someone who may be able to connect you with the tribe that item belongs to.
BAKER, Mont. - A mule deer buck that was euthanized in Baker city limits in Hunting District 705 has been found to have chronic wasting disease (CWD).

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) officials euthanized the deer on Oct. 27 after residents reported it was acting lethargic and visibly emaciated and had droopy ears, which are symptoms of the disease.

An initial test came back positive for CWD, and results for a second confirmation test should be available next week FWP said.

We are awaiting a second test to confirm the positive, but given that the animal was symptomatic and we are in the middle of hunting season, we wanted to get the information out to the public as quickly as possible, said Baker-area wildlife biologist Melissa Foster.

FWP is reminding hunters that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that hunters harvesting a deer, elk or moose from an area where CWD is known to be present have their animal tested for CWD prior to consuming the meat, and to not consume the meat if the animal tests positive.

Information on sample collection, the submission form and ways to submit your samples can be found on FWPs website here.

This season, southeast Montanas Hunting Districts 700 and 703 are within the Priority Surveillance Areas for CWD sampling, but hunters harvesting an animal in any area can seek sampling services.

Hunters in southeast Montana can have their deer, elk or moose tested at the regional office in Miles City during normal business hours or at the check station in Hysham, which is being operated on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays from 9:00 am to dark throughout the remainder of the hunting season.
Have you seen the proposed redistricting maps for New Hampshire? What do you think of the plans?
BURLINGTON  Brian Lois has joined Community State Banks Agricultural Lending Team as its new Agricultural Relationship Coordinator.

Lois, a fifth-generation farmer of Lois Family Farm in Burlington, is a business graduate of Iowa State University. He will primarily be located at Community State Banks Union Grove location, but his role focuses on Walworth, Racine and Kenosha counties.

Prior to joining Community State Bank, Lois worked in a marketing role and agricultural equipment sales at two leading ag corporations in Iowa and Wisconsin.

In his new role, Lois will work closely with Ag Manager and Market President David Moyer by assisting with ag renewal processes, plus develop existing and establishing new banking relationships in Southeastern Wisconsin.

Ive always enjoyed helping people reach their goals and I know Community State Bank focuses on doing the same, Lois said. My new position will allow me to utilize the knowledge Ive gained over the years from working on a dairy, grain and cattle operation. Im excited to work with local farmers and assist them with their financial needs.

He also has a passion for his community, serving in leadership roles for 4-H, assisting with auctions at the Racine and Kenosha county fairs and participating as a member of the National Corn Growers and Wisconsin Corn Growers associations.

Brian understands the amount of work it takes to run a strong farming operation from a personal and business perspective, Moyer said. In the short amount of time that weve had Brian on our team, hes already made a remarkable impact. I am confident hell be a great addition to our team.
A 35-year-old Wheatland woman faces a felony charge after she allegedly threatened to kill a Kenosha County Circuit Court judge.

Court Commissioner Larry Keating set a $5,000 cash bond for Melissa M. Metzger, of the 32000 block of 45th Street, who faces a total of 17 criminal charges, including her threat to kill Judge Jason A. Rossell.

Keating also scheduled a competency hearing for Nov. 29 before Circuit Court Judge Bruce E. Schroeder.

In addition to the felony, which carries a maximum fine of $10,000 and six years in prison, Metzger is charged with seven misdemeanor counts of unlawful phone use/threatening with obscenity, one misdemeanor count of unlawful phone use/threatening harm and eight misdemeanor counts of bail jumping.

According to the criminal complaint, Metzger previously was charged in August with four misdemeanor counts of unlawful use of a phone and disorderly conduct, and as part of her $500 cash bond was ordered not to have any contact with Rossell, employees of the Kenosha County Courthouse and staff, other than for regular court appearances.

A deputy with the Kenosha County Sheriffs Department learned on Nov. 1 that Metzger allegedly had left a number of voicemails with Rossells office. The deputy listened to seven voicemails that began with requests for court documents, but escalated to using obscenity.

In those voicemails, the defendant identified herself and referenced a previous case she had been involved in that was presided over by Rossell.

On Wednesday, investigators were notified that Metzger had left about 20 voicemails, including one that made several threats toward Rossell. Between 9:13 and 9:19 p.m. the previous day, she allegedly left one voicemail that stated she would kill anyone Jason sends to her residence to arrest her.

Six additional messages were left, Metzger stating on the final one, This message (is) directly at Jason, and continued to state she would shoot Jason if he goes to her residence or if Jason Rossell sends anyone to arrest her.
Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, the Racine County Republican who ordered the ongoing statewide investigation into the 2020 election, has now indicated he agrees with Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling: that state elections commissioners and staff at a Mount Pleasant nursing home should probably be criminally charged for their actions last year, actions that Schmaling and his office believe constitute election fraud.

The Sheriffs Office alleges that the Wisconsin Elections Commission gave illegal advice when it told elections officials statewide to not send Special Voting Deputies into nursing homes to execute the vote.

State law mandates SVDs make two attempts to carry out the vote in certain care facilities before mail-in voting can be conducted. First by a unanimous vote, then by 5-1 votes, the WEC voted to tell elections officials to not send SVDs into nursing homes last year since they likely would have been turned away due to COVID-19 protocols, and then to just send mail-in ballots to the nursing homes.

Schmaling on Nov. 3 called for the Racine County District Attorneys Office to criminally charge the five WEC commissioners who consistently voted to waive the law, after an investigation by his office found that eight residents of Ridgewood Care Center in Mount Pleasant voted despite having severe mental problems such as dementia, according to the residents families.

Racine County District Attorney Tricia Hanson has not filed charges and has yet to publicly comment on the situation.

After the sheriff held a news conference detailing the investigation Oct. 28, Vos called for WEC Administrator Meagan Wolfe to resign. Wolfe refused, saying that such demands from Vos and other Republicans were political attempts to undermine our elections.

Wolfe does not take part in any of the WECs votes. She is, however, tasked with carrying out their decisions.

Following an outpouring of bipartisan support of Wolfe, Vos has since turned his criticism to the commissioners themselves.

In a video clip published on Twitter Friday, Vos sat down for an interview with WKOW-TVs Capitol Bureau Chief A.J. Bayatpour. Vos told Bayatpour: The elections commission doesnt have a right to waive law ... thats illegal. It doesnt matter if they have good intentions or not. They have to follow the law.

Bayatpour then asked: Should the DA charge them in Racine County?

Vos replied: I think probably, but Im not a district attorney ... I certainly think anybody who breaks the law should pay the ultimate price to say I wont do it again. 

Not political

Both Racine County Lt. Michael Luell, who led the investigation of Ridgewood, and Michael Gableman, the former state Supreme Court justice leading the investigation Vos ordered, have declared their respective investigations to be not political and complained about media coverage that has painted them as such during a committee meeting in Madison on Wednesday.

Vos, Gableman and the Racine County Sheriffs Office have all faced allegations that their investigations have helped propagate wholly unfounded claims the 2020 election was somehow stolen from then-President Donald Trump.

It remains unclear if anyone will be charged in the case. Schmaling, a Republican, has called on Attorney General Josh Kaul, a Democrat, to launch a statewide investigation of how mail-in voting was conducted in nursing homes. When Schmaling announced the investigation, a press release stated the Oct. 28 press conference would include proof of state-wide election law violations.

Kaul has refused Schmalings call. Kaul called the Racine County investigation a disgraceful publicity stunt. Kaul is seeking re-election in 2022 after he unseated incumbent Republican AG Brad Schimel in 2018.

Gableman, on the other hand, has said he will be looking into nursing homes in his investigation. Gableman has no ability to charge anyone with a crime.

Luell has said that any number of people involved could be charged with crimes, including municipal elections officials who followed WECs allegedly illegal advice, and nursing home workers who assisted residents in filling out ballots at the orders of their superiors, who also were following the WEC guidance.
Multiple places throughout Walworth County are offering COVID vaccines and tests.

Open Arms Free Clinic, located at 205 E. Commerce Ct., Elkhorn, is currently offering pediatric clinics for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11. The clinic is open on Tuesdays from 4 to 6 p.m. while supplies last. Appointments are encouraged, though walks-ins are allowed. Schedule an appointment by calling 262-379-1401.

Walworth County Public Health will hold COVID-19 pediatric vaccination clinics for children ages 5 to 11 starting in December. The Walworth County website and Department of Health and Human Services Facebook page will be updated with additional information in coming weeks.

Booster shots

The Walworth County Division of Public Health is holding COVID-19 vaccine booster clinics throughout November.

Sites will administer the Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and Moderna COVID-19 booster shots for individuals 18 years and older. Public Health will also administer first and second doses of the Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines at select clinics.

Pfizer or Moderna booster shots are currently available for vaccine recipients who meet the following criteria: completed their initial series at least six months ago, are age 65 and older, age 18-plus with underlying medical conditions, or age 18-plus who live and/or work in high-risk settings.

Johnson & Johnson booster shots are currently available for individuals who received their initial Johnson & Johnson vaccine at least two months ago.

No appointment is necessary. November clinic dates, times, and locations are:

Monday, Nov. 15, 3:30-5:30 p.m., at Walworth County Health & Human Services, 1910 County Rd. NN, Elkhorn. Administering Pfizer 1st or 2nd doses or boosters.

Wednesday, Nov. 17, 3-6 p.m., at Walworth County Health & Human Services. Administering Moderna boosters.

Thursday, Nov. 18, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., at the Community Engagement Center, 1260 W. Main St., Whitewater. Administering Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and Moderna (1st and 2nd doses, boosters).

Thursday, Nov. 18, 3-6 p.m. Walworth County Health & Human Services. Administering Pfizer 1st or 2nd doses or boosters.

Friday, Nov. 19, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., Walworth County Health & Human Services. Administering Pfizer 1st or 2nd doses or boosters.

Monday, Nov. 22, 2-5 p.m., Walworth County Health & Human Services, 1910 County Rd. NN, Elkhorn. Administering Moderna boosters.

December clinic dates will be added in coming weeks. Visit the Public Health Vaccine Info webpage for updates.

Testing

Drive-through Covid-19 testing (PCR tests for Wisconsin residents 1 year or older) is available every Tuesday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. through Dec. 14 at the Walworth County Fairgrounds, 411 E. Court St., Elkhorn. Pre-register at http://register.covidconnect.wi.gov.

Open Arms Free Clinic offers drive-through Covid-19 testing every Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. (PCR tests). No appointment is needed, though pre-registration is encouraged. Register at https://register.covidconnect.wi.gov/en-US/. Call Open Arms at 262-379-1401 with questions.

For COVID-19 testing and vaccine information, please contact Walworth County Public Health at 262-741-3200, email walcoph@co.walworth.wi.us, follow Health and Human Services on Facebook or visit www.co.walworth.wi.us.

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater also offers free rapid testing for students and the community. To learn more and register go to: www.uww.edu/warhawks-are-back/testing.

Currently, Whitewater offers tests Monday through Thursday at Esker Hall from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (closed Thursday, Nov. 25)

and Fridays 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (closed Friday, Nov. 26)

Free parking is available in lot 4, with overflow in lots 18 and 19.

Register in advance at wihealthconnect.com.
More coverage:

Local and state officials are keeping a close eye on the Kyle Rittenhouse trial as the case draws to a close, with Gov. Tony Evers calling up the Wisconsin National Guard and local law enforcement saying they are continuing to monitor the trial.

Rittenhouse is accused of killing two men and wounding a third during the August 2020 unrest in Kenosha. Closing arguments for the trial are expected on Monday, with the jury possibly going into deliberations that day.

According to a release issued Friday afternoon by Evers' office, approximately 500 Wisconsin Army National Guard troops are reporting for active duty to support local law enforcement agencies.

We continue to be in close contact with our partners at the local level to ensure the state provides support and resources to help keep the Kenosha community and greater area safe, Evers stated.

The Kenosha community has been strong, resilient, and has come together through incredibly difficult times these past two years, and that healing is still ongoing," Evers said. "I urge folks who are otherwise not from the area to please respect the community by reconsidering any plans to travel there and encourage those who might choose to assemble and exercise their First Amendment rights to do so safely and peacefully.

Maj. Gen. Paul Knapp, Wisconsins adjutant general, said that the Guard stands ready "to support our communities during times of need.

Members of the Wisconsin National Guard will stage outside Kenosha in a standby status to respond if requested by local law enforcement agencies, according to the governor's office.

Guard members called to active duty may only be used to provide support to local law enforcement and to protect critical infrastructure and cultural institutions necessary for the well-being of the community, and to provide support to first responders such as the Kenosha Fire Department. The National Guard can not be used to impede the ability of people to peacefully protest or impede the ability of the media to report, the governor's office stressed.

Evers was criticized in some circles for what some perceived as a slow response to the civil unrest that unfolded in Kenosha following the Aug. 23 police shooting of Jacob Blake. But local officials, including Mayor John Antaramian, County Executive Jim Kreuser and Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth said the governor quickly responded to their pleas for Guard resources.

Evers also pre-emptively ordered out the Guard prior to Kenosha County District Attorney Mike Graveley's decision not to charge Kenosha Police Officer the Rusten Sheskey in connection to the Blake shooting.

Local law enforcement ready

On Thursday, the Kenosha Police Department and Kenosha County Sheriff's Department issued a joint statement assuring the public they are working to ensure the public's safety as they prepare for the trial's verdict.

"The Kenosha County Sheriff's Department and the Kenosha Police Department have been and will continue to monitor the Kyle Rittenhouse trial," the statement read. "We recognize that some varying opinions and feelings revolve around the trial that may cause concerns.

"Both of our departments have dedicated staff working in conjunction with local, state and federal law enforcement partners to ensure the safety of our communities," the statement read.

Up-to-date information and briefings from local law enforcement will be available online at:
Denise Bosworths book is titled Penelope Pumpkin, and it follows the life of a pumpkin through all four seasons.
New Delhi, Nov 13 (PTI) President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday said the attack on the Assam Rifles convoy that led to martyrdom of soldiers and their family members in Manipur deserves unreserved condemnation and that the nation stands united with the bereaved families.

Colonel Viplav Tripathi, the Commanding Officer of Khuga Battalion of Assam Rifles, his wife and son, besides four personnel of the country's oldest paramilitary were killed on Saturday in a welter of IED blasts and burst of gunfire in Manipur's Churachandpur district.

Also Read | Maharashtra: At Least 26 Maoists Killed in Encounter with Police in Gadchiroli.

"The attack on the Assam Rifles convoy that led to martyrdom of our soldiers and family members in Manipur deserves unreserved condemnation. This cowardly act reaffirms our resolve to root out terror in all its forms and manifestations. We stand united with the bereaved families," Kovind tweeted.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Raipur/Raigarh, Nov 13 (PTI) Colonel Viplav Tripathi, who was martyred in an ambush set by militants in Manipur on Saturday, was inspired by his freedom fighter grand-father who was also a member of the Constituent Assembly.

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Kishori Mohan Tripathi died in 1994 when Viplav was 14. It was his grand-father who inspired Viplav to don the army uniform, his maternal uncle (`mama') Rajesh Patnaik told PTI here.

Also Read | Maharashtra: At Least 26 Maoists Killed in Encounter with Police in Gadchiroli.

Colonel Tripathi, the Commanding Officer of Khuga Battalion of Assam Rifles, his wife Anuja (36) and son Abir (5) besides four personnel of the paramilitary force were killed in an ambush by militants in the north-eastern state.

The Tripathi family hails from Raigarh in Chhattisgarh.

Viplav joined the Indian Army with the goal of serving the nation, taking inspiration from his grandfather, a great freedom fighter. His father, a senior journalist, and his mother, a social activist, also encouraged him. He has sacrificed his life while serving for the country. We are proud of him, Patnaik said.

Viplav was attached to Kishori Mohan, and had even visited the Rashtrapati Bhavan with him when Giani Zail Singh was President, he said.

Born on May 30, 1980, Viplav went to the Sainik School Rewa (Madhya Pradesh) after passing class V at a school in Raigarh town. His father, Subhash Tripathi (76) is a senior journalist and editor of the local Hindi daily 'Dainik Bayar' and mother Asha Tripathi is a retired librarian.

After schooling, Viplav got admission to the National Defence Academy (NDA), Khadakwasla and then joined the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun, Patnaik said.

In 2001, he was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Kumaon Regiment in Ranikhet. He later passed a command course from the Defence Service Staff College (DSSC) Wellington.

Viplav's younger brother Anay Tripathi, who also studied at the Sainik School Rewa, is also an army officer, now posted as lieutenant colonel in Shillong, Patnaik said.

"Anay, who had arrived in Raigarh on Friday night, got the shocking news about his brother through his army colleagues around 12:30 pm today," an inconsolable Patnaik said.

The entire family had celebrated Diwali this year in Manipur, where Viplav was posted. His parents returned to Raigarh on November 6," he said.

Anay has left for the Eastern Command headquarters of the army in Kolkata, and mortal remains of Viplav, his wife and son would be brought to Raigarh on Sunday, Patnaik said.

A pall of gloom descended on Raigarh town when the news reached, with locals rushing to his house to express their condolences.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], November 13 (ANI): The Special Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Court on Saturday granted bail to Mohak Jaiswal, who was co-accused in the drugs-on-cruise case.

Jaiswal was granted bail on a bail bond of Rs 50,000.

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Jaiswal was arrested on October 3, with seven others including actor Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan, in connection with a Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) raid on a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast.

On October 2, an NCB team busted an alleged drugs party on the Cordelia Cruise ship which was on its way to Goa at mid-sea.

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A total of 20 people, including two Nigerian nationals have been arrested so far in the case.

The Bombay High Court granted bail to Aryan, Arbaaz Merchant, and Munmun Dhamecha on October 29. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Mumbai, Nov 13 (PTI) A mob hurled stones and damaged shops at various places in Amravati city of Maharashtra on Saturday during a bandh organised by a saffron body prompting the police to lathicharge the protesters, an official said.

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The incident occurred during a bandh (shutdown) called by a saffron body against Friday's stone-pelting incidents in Amravati city during rallies held by Muslim organisations in protest against the Tripura communal violence.

Hundreds of people, many of them holding saffron flags in their hands and raising slogans, came out on streets in Rajkamal Chowk area of this east Maharashtra city, located around 670 km from the state capital, in the morning.

Some members of the mob hurled stones at the shops and damaged them in the Rajkamal Chowk area and some other places, a police official said.

He said the police resorted to lathicharge to disperse the protesters.

The additional police force has been deployed at various places in Amravati, he said.

On Friday, over eight thousand people had gathered outside the Amravati district collector's office to submit a memorandum demanding that atrocities against the minority community be stopped, officials had said.

When people were leaving after submitting the memorandum, stone-pelting took place at three places between Chitra Chowk and Cotton Market under the limits of the Kotwali police station.

Kotwali Police has so far registered 11 FIRs under various charges including rioting. Ten persons were arrested, an official had said.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Jammu, Nov 13 (PTI) Three employees of the Jammu and Kashmir Road Transport Corporation (JKRTC) were on Saturday terminated from service for alleged dereliction of their duties.

Managing Director of JKRTC Angrez Singh Rana issued the orders for termination of conductors Abdul Majid Dar and Sham-us-Din besides helper Rouf Ahmad Shah, an official spokesman said.

Also Read | Maharashtra: At Least 26 Maoists Killed in Encounter with Police in Gadchiroli.

Earlier, on October 30 Rana had terminated the services of 15 employees for their alleged involvement in misappropriation of the revenue.

The Managing Director warned all the employees to refrain from causing losses to the corporation either by misappropriating the funds or due to incompetence while performing their duties, the spokesman said.

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(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Berlin [Germany], November 13 (ANI/Sputnik): Germany is ready to provide observers for Libyan elections on December 24 to ensure transparency of the process, Chancellor Angela Merkel said during the press conference following the Paris Summit on Libya.

"Germany is ready to provide observers ... because it is necessary to ensure that the process of finding consensus between the two parties is fair, we want Libyans to decide their destiny," Merkel said.

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Libya ceased to be a united country in 2011, when its leader Muammar Gaddafi was ousted and assassinated. In March 2021, the Government of National Unity was formed as part of the international mediation effort to stop the strife between the Government of National Accord and the Libyan National Army. The body will be in charge until the general election.

Presidential and parliamentary elections, both planned for December 24, were one of the main outcomes of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum held under the auspices of the United Nations in Geneva last February. (ANI/Sputnik)

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(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Shanghai [China], November 13 (ANI): Construction on China's third aircraft carrier, Type 003 is progressing steadily and is expected to be launched by February next year, according to a US-based think tank.

Citing a report by the Washington-based, Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Radio Free Asia reported that commercial satellite imagery of Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai signifies the installation of the vessel's main external components. CSIS further mentioned that the construction and installation of the aircraft carrier are nearly completed.

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As reported by Radio Free Asia, the CSIS researchers mentioned that in past few weeks the visual appearance of the aircraft has gone through a "significant shift." The Radio Free Asia (RFA) quotes CSIS researchers as saying, "the initial installation of major internal components has been completed."

The recent construction of Type 003 aircraft carrier is following other Chinese aircraft, named Liaoning and Shandong. Both the aircraft carriers are in operation. Liaoning, the first Chinese aircraft carrier bought from Ukraine in 1998 was commissioned in the year 2021, while the second carrier- Shandong in 2019.

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The type 003 aircraft carrier has different features compared to the last two carriers including catapult systems, which purposely aids in aircraft launch from the ship. In a similar context, Radio Free Asia quotes CSIS researchers as saying, "a major leap forward for the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)." The CSIS's report authors foresee that though the Type 003 launch could take place in nearly three to six months, there are technical issues that require the attention of developers.

RFA quoted the report as saying, "Even after launch, it will still be years before the Type 003 is commissioned into the PLAN and achieves initial operating capability." (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
No one can be sure how many people may have died because of Kenyas five-week doctors strike, but Dismas Bikundo is sure his baby girl was one of them.

She would have been his firstborn child. When his wife, Edna, went into labor on Dec. 27, the couple was turned away from two hospitals. A private hospital sent him to the nearest government facility, Mbagathi Hospital in central Nairobi, but there was no doctor available there because of the strike at public hospitals. Bikundo rushed his wife to a third hospital run by a Catholic mission.

By the time we arrived at the hospital it was too late. We lost the baby, said Bikundo, 24, a casual laborer. I am still traumatized.

Medical union leaders face jail and 5,000 Kenyan doctors face the sack after defying a court order Thursday to return to work  but the long-term casualty could be Kenyas dilapidated health system. The strike will likely trigger a new flood of medical staff leaving Kenya for other countries, such as the United States, Britain, Canada and Australia, where they can easily better the basic pay rate of $1,350 a month and tough working conditions.

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Because of the dismal pay, thousands of Kenyan doctors and other medical workers have emigrated from a country where, in contrast, legislators are some of the highest paid on Earth, earning around $20,000 a month, taking into account their generous travel allowances and other perks.

Common sense dictates that a Life saver should be paid more than a heckler! Wake up Kenya #HealthCrisisKE #LipaKamaTender #CBAismorethancash  TeacherTrizah (@TeacherTrizah) January 12, 2017

Doctors walked off the job in December over the governments refusal to implement a 3-year-old collective bargaining agreement, or CBA. The deal would have more than doubled doctors pay and increased the number of doctors in public hospitals. Other medical professionals at government-run hospitals also are on strike; nurses went back to work in December.

Public anger over the governments failure to resolve the strike has been deepened by a corruption scandal in the Ministry of Health exposed late last year. Senior health officials stole or fraudulently diverted around $55 million from the 2015-16 health budget, according to an internal audit.

Implementing the pay deal would cost $126 million annually, a bill that the treasury secretary, Henry Rotich, says the government cannot afford. He claims the 2013 pay deal was rushed into and agreed without adequate consultation.

Kenya may have the largest economy in East Africa but it relies on donor nations such as the U.S., European Union and China to cover more than a quarter of its health budget.

Longtime Kenyan anti-corruption campaigner and activist John Githongo has been seething over the failure of the scandal-plagued government to improve doctors pay.

#LipaKamaTender Chaps who can steal a billion $ here & there can't find the salaries to pay our doctors.They eat meat and vomit on our shoes  John Githongo (@johngithongo) December 7, 2016

At Nairobis main hospital, Kenyatta National Hospital, on Friday, Rachel Nduta wondered if her 2-year-old daughter might be a casualty of the strike.

The child, Megan, was recently diagnosed with a hole in her heart. Nduta said she arrived early Friday morning and waited hours for an appointment with a cardiologist.

Theres nothing going on here, Nduta said in a low, sad voice. She had wandered the cardiology wing looking for help.

But none of the offices in the entire wing is open, she said.

The government deployed military doctors to work in the hospital to deal with emergency cases, but the emergency wing was silent and deserted Friday. Private hospitals have been overwhelmed by the flood of patients who would normally rely on the public system.

Distraught relatives of sick people streamed in and out of Kenyatta National Hospital on Friday. Some complained that family members were lying in the hospital unattended.

Patients and their family members huddled in the shade of a large tree outside the hospital entrance. The mood was one of despair. Simon Kinywa, 60, a farmer, watched his youngest son, who has cancer, writhing in pain. Eventually he gave up and took his son home.

Martin Amukowa, 18, said his father, a diabetic who suffered a stroke last year, could not get the medical attention he needed.

This strike has affected so many people, he sighed, as he too gave up, and pushed his father in a wheelchair to a waiting car.

Striking Kenyan doctors and health workers protest in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, in December. (Daniel Irungu / European Pressphoto Agency )

Kenya has one doctor for every 5,000 people, according to the World Health Organization, compared to 2.5 per 1,000 in the U.S. and around 3.5 per 1,000 in Europe.

Many Kenyan citizens live hand-to-mouth each month covering basic expenses such as school costs, transportation, and food, and any sudden family illness can be a crippling event. Few people have medical insurance but many do not trust the rundown public system.

Informal fundraising events called harambee are frequent affairs, as family members typically scramble to collect donations from friends, colleagues and neighbors for medical bills and medicine  and sometimes for the funerals that follow. In Swahili, the word means all pull together.

The striking union, Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union, has rejected a government offer to boost pay by 40%, insisting there will be no return to work unless the 2013 pay deal is implemented.

The government must take responsibility for not getting the doctors back to work, said the union secretary-general, Ouma Oluga, on Friday. About 99% of our grievances are actually to do with the patients right to access quality healthcare services.

Between 2013 and 2016, 2,200 doctors left the country out of frustration, to work overseas, mostly in the U.K., United States, Australia and South Africa.

Military doctors were deployed last month to treat emergency cases at Nairobis main government hospital, Kenyatta National Hospital. (John Muchucha / AFP/Getty Images )

The doctors strike has divided Kenyans, with many angry abut the governments neglect of the health system, but others frustrated that doctors industrial action hurts those they are supposed to care for.

The union argues it is not the strike, but long-standing government neglect of health and entrenched government corruption, including the diversion of $55 million in health funds in 2015-16, that has led to patient deaths.

Some Kenyans believe the doctors should go back to work or be fired. But some of those most affected have sympathy.

We are all frustrated, said Nduta, mother of Megan, the child with a hole in her heart. But its their right to demand decent pay.

robyn.dixon@latimes.com

Twitter: @RobynDixon_LAT

Dixon reported from Johannesburg, South Africa, and Kyama, a special correspondent, from Nairobi, Kenya.
Ohio man Lionel Justin Gore is being accused of killing his mother in front of his six-year-old nephew. Gore also reportedly set his mother's home on fire.

Gore, 34, is being held on a murder warrant in connection with the killing of Diane Gore. Diane was found dead in her New Matamoras home on November 5, according to a People report.

Washington County police officers were called to Diane's home past 6 p.m. for a structure fire. Diane's sister, Stephanie Williams, told investigators that she saw Gore coming out of the house covered in blood when she arrived at the home. The sister also said Gore told her to "get out of the way" or he would kill her next.

Investigators talked with Gore's six-year-old nephew, who was spending the night at his grandmother's house. The nephew told detectives that he saw Gore on top of Diane and was "sawing her neck with a knife."

The boy said Gore started cutting Diane's neck with a small knife and then a larger one, WSOCTV reported. The boy went on to say that his uncle started a fire and "he had to crawl out of the house because of the smoke."

Williams noted that she tried to go into the home to locate Diane. However, she cannot do so because of the fire, according to Marietta Times.

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Ohio Man Kills His Mother

The Washington County Sheriff's Office reported that Grandview Township firefighters had located a body in what they believe was the home's master bedroom.

While the firefighters put out the fire and police officers conducted interviews, Lionel Justin Gore got into a vehicle pursuit with the Wetzel County Sheriff's Office, and he had reportedly struck two police vehicles before being taken into custody.

He was then transported to a Wetzel County Hospital. The sheriff's report noted that Gore killed his mother because "the Holy Spirit told him to do it and that she was the devil." He also reportedly told a detective that he cut Diane's head off and set her on fire.

Ohio Man Says He Was Adopted

According to Detective Sgt. Scott Smeeks, he and another detective went to the hospital to speak with Lionel Justin Gore. Gore told them that he was adopted and that Diane was not his mother.

Firefighters had extinguished the fire in Diane's house and were able to recover her body when they went into the upstairs bedroom.

The state fire marshal's office also found the victim's head severed from her body and laying beside her torso. It was consistent with what the juvenile witnessed and with what Gore had admitted.

The sheriff's office then requested a warrant to be issued for Gore for the charge of murder. Washington County Prosecutor Nicole Coil said Gore is likely looking at murder, arson, and child endangering charges.

Washington County Sheriff Larry Mincks told People that Gore is awaiting extradition back to Ohio, where he was anticipated to be indicted by a grand jury. However, it was still unclear if he has retained an attorney.

READ MORE: Dunkin' Employee in Florida Punches, Kills Elderly Customer Over Racial Slur Confrontation

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Man Decapitated Mom After Claiming the 'Holy Spirit' Said She Was the Devil - From News Today






Laois Gardai are reviewing CCTV footage from Portlaoise town centre as part of their investigation into what has been a narrow escape for a local man who suffered a severe stab wound in the town this weekend.

The Garda have also made a public appeal for help as they focus on an area between Market Square and the intersection of Main Street with Hynds Square and Bull Lane.

The Leinster Express understands that when Gardai arrived on the scene between 3am and 3.30 am on Saturday, November 13 the injured man had made his way onto Bull Lane after being stabbed in the face.

They found that the man had suffered a severe facial cut which is suspected of being inflicted with some form of knife.

Gardai are working on the basis that Portlaoise man, who was aged in his late 40s, was a innocent party in the incident which may have resulted from a conflict between others.

It is understood that the significant blood loss caused by the wound inflicted gave rise to gardai seeking urgent medical assistance.

An ambulance was called and was dispatched from Tullamore. While Gardai were waiting another ambulance stopped by coincidence at the scene on its way to Portlaoise hospital with another patient.

Emergency care was provided immediately by a paramedic and Gardai worked with the ambulance service to transfer the man to Portlaoise hospital as soon as possible.

The victim received vital emergency treatment at the Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise bringing him to a stable condition.

However, because of the extent of the injury, the man had to be transferred to St Jamess Hospital in Dublin where specialist care was given.

It is understood that the streets of the town were relatively quiet at the time which is why Laois gardai are focusing on CCTV footage to identify those who may have been responsible.

However, they are also appealing for anybody with information or who may have scene something that may help them with their enquiries to contact them at Portlaoise Garda Station on 57 8674100.
The national achievement by Abbeyleix in Laois of winning the Irish Tidiest Small Town award has been warmly praised by the Laois County Council chief executive John Mulholland.

"There are few words to describe the extent and nature of this outstanding accolade. Its simply brilliant for Laois," Mr Mulholland told the Leinster Express.

"No sooner has the ticker tape hit the ground following the recent outstanding achievement of Portlaoise than we have cause to celebrate the feats of yet another local community in Laois.

"The Tidy Towns group in Abbeyleix has shown, yet again, what can be achieved through hard work, determination, good planning and imagination in fending off stiff competition from all over the Country," he said.

He notes that Abbeyleix at 354 points was just one point behind Ennis who won the over all title this year.

"Not alone has the title of Irelands Tidiest Small town been secured but to be within a solitary point, a whisker, of capturing the outright national award took some effort.

"We in Laois County Council are overjoyed and immensely proud to be associated with the fantastic group of volunteers in Abbeyleix.

"Its a remarkable and well-earned achievement that should be celebrated across the county. Congratulations Abbeyleix! Maith sibh go leir. the Laois CEO said.

The Tidy Towns judges had noted the good relationship between the Abbeyleix committee and the local authority.

"You enjoy excellent working relationships with Laois County Council and many other bodies and organisations and have a strong representation on the public participation network," the judges said.
A Laois community group that helps people with intellectual disabilties has paid a warm tribute to one of its founding members Carol Miller.

The Laois Arch Club provides a positive, supportive, friendly, secure social environment for people with intellectual disabilities to socialise, form friendships.

The voluntary group was saddened in recent days to learn the passing of Laois woman Carol Miller. They paid poignant tribute.

"This week has been a very sad week for Laois Arch Club as we said goodbye to our friend, and founder member of our club, Carol Miller, who passed away last Sunday.

"Carol was an inspirational person who absolutely loved all her friends in Laois Arch Club. Not only was Carol a founder member of our club, but she also worked with the residents of Moore Abbey, the pupils of Kolbe Special School, and members of Riding for the Disabled.

"Carol had amazing communication skills and the unique skill of being able to find a way to communicate with everybody at their own level. She was such a warm and caring person who made everybody feel special. She also had a wicked sense of humour and loved the craic. She brought fun and laughter wherever she went and nothing was a problem to Carol with her easy, carefree manner.

"Although Carol hadn't attended many Arch Club events in recent years, when she did appear there were always excited shouts of joy and screams of "it's Tarol Miller!"

"Laois Arch Club would like to send our deepest sympathies to Carol's partner, Willie, her children, Barry, Alison, Anna & Grace and her extended family.

"We will forever be indebted to Carol for her trojan work for our club, for her extraordinary kindness to our members, and for all the laughs that we shared. We will miss you and your most gorgeous smile Carol. May your gently soul rest in peace," the said.

Carol made her home in Ballickmoyler after moving from her native Portlaoise. Wife of the late Laois GAA legend Bobby Miller, she passed away peacefully at home on November 7, surrounded by her loving family.

Beloved partner of Willie Mahon she was much-loved mother of Barry, Alison, former Irish rugby player, Anna and Grace and adored nana of Ruby and Marnie.

Carol will also be dearly missed by her sisters Ber and Maeve as well as her partner, son, daughters, grandchildren, sons-in-law Kevin and Alan, Barrys partner Kirsty and Graces partner Tom. She will be fondly remembered by her nieces, nephews, extended family, neighbours and friends.



Her family thanked the staff at the Mater Misericordiae Hospital and the community palliative care team who looked after her so well.



The deceased's remains were reposed at her home before removal to arrive at St. Abban's Church, Killeen, for Requiem Mass. She was laid to rest afterwards in the adjoining cemetery.

Numerous tributes were paid on RIP.ie.
The St Vincent De Paul has a new home for its charity shop in Mountrath.

The 'Vincents' shop has just moved a few doors down from its former premises and to the Macra na Feirme Hall.

The opening hours are: Wednesday to Friday, from 10 am until 5 pm and Saturday from 10 am until 1 pm.

If you would like to spend a few hours per week working as a volunteer in the shop, please email your name, phone number and availability to vincents.mountrath@svp.ie. Donations of clothes, shoes, bric-a-brac, etc, always welcome.

Meanwhile, the Mountrath/ Camross/ Ballyfin Conference of St Vincent de Paul will hold their annual church door collection on Saturday 11th and Sunday, December 12.

They say the funds raised will be spent in this community helping those who need it most with food, heating and education costs.

The conference thanks the public in advance for their support.
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The Glens Centre, Manorhamilton and Irish Hospice Foundation are joining forces to invite creative explorations of loss in Leitrim.

This winter The Glens and Irish Hospice Foundation launch an initiative inviting people to talk and explore what might be created after loss.

In 2016 Irish Hospice Foundation carried out a national survey where people said theyd like more places to talk about death and bereavement.

This winter of 2021, after two years of pandemic, The Glens and the IHF offers a sanctuary in Leitrim with artist and film maker Johnny Gogan.



Building from Death Cafes, which invite people to discuss death, dying, grief and bereavement, the Compassionate Culture Network has seven locations around the country where people can use creativity to make sense from loss and bereavement.

The aim is to use creative practice to establish places where people can talk about loss. The Glens Centre is one.

Brendan Murray, Director of The Glens says As an arts centre it is essential we support the exchange of life stories, including that epic part of life; death.

We look forward to hosting, helping and supporting Johnny Gogan and our communities as they find appropriate ways to make meaning and to share this work as it develops.



Dominic Campbell, of the Irish Hospice Foundation, says Over the last two years Irish people came together in many ways. As we head into winter The Glens collaboration with Irish Hospice Foundation, supported by The Creative Ireland programme, is creating safe spaces for those in need.

The pandemic has produced a spectrum of losses. All impactful. None too big or too small to be marked.

Johnny Gogan will be developing the project with people from the local community in Manorhamilton who may have been locked down and left alone and in limbo during Covid.



An open evening to launch the project and an invite to the discussion on loss takes place on Monday, November 15 at 8pm.

Johnny Gogan is an experienced filmmaker and a published writer with Bandit Films based in Dromahair since 1997.

He produces documentary and fiction film which are locally and internationally engaged. Johnny is passionate about the vibrant cultural scene of the North West, its landscape, people and stories.

The IHF is the national agency focused on death, dying, grief and loss.



It works with a vision of Ireland where every death matters, delivering education, training and awareness programmes, alongside systemic and social change strategies and policy campaigns.

The ambition is to reduce the impact of carelessness where it leads to suffering.

The pandemic raised awareness of the value of IHFs knowledge in dying, death and bereavement.

Normal patterns of grieving were disrupted. Individual and collective ways of grieving became dislocatedduring the Covid -19 pandemic and restrictions.

For more details on The Glens involvement see www.hospicefoundation.ie
WRITING has become more than a bit of a habit for Newcastle West born Keith McCoy. Last year, his first book, Hello Larry Barry was launched into the world and now, a second novel, The Jude Crew has followed.

But one of Keiths heartfelt dreams, to launch in his home-town, remains elusive.

In March last year, a planned launch for Hello Larry Barry was scuppered by the first Covid-19 lockdown. Initially I was a little disappointed, because I was going to be meeting a whole load of family, friends, and acquaintances, many of whom I hadnt bumped into for years, he told the Limerick Leader from his home in Manchester where he is a health care director with the NHS.

But he added: I have no regrets, I am lucky, I got through that time unscathed as did those close to me, when many others lost their lives.

Readers reactions to his first novel were positive, Keith continued. It was a risky undertaking, mixing humour with issues such as mental health and suicide, he acknowledged. But he is pleased now that he took that route.

What was very humbling though was being contacted by people from different parts of the world who had read it, people who had lost loved ones to suicide, who thanked me for writing the novel. That was huge, Keith explained. Suicide causes so much hurt, its a terrible thing, and as societies we just have to keep going and keep trying to eradicate it.

The Jude Crew is a very different kind of book. It is action and adventure, not a dark comedy, he continued. Set in a fictional West Limerick town called Ballybeag, it is based on a gang of teenage friends, The Jude Crew of the title, who embark on a strange adventure with far-reaching and life-long consequences.

The idea for the book had been there for a while, Keith explained, but it was during a nightime walk with his son Oscar during lockdown that it really came together. I told him the story in about ten minutes, and he excitedly told me that I had to write it. So I did.

The main driver to sit down I think was frustration with global politics since 2016, especially the USA and UK, and I suppose the disappointing realisation that the world hasn't taken the direction I thought it was taking, which was a perspective shaped by me being someone that grew up in the 80s and witnessed things like LIVE AID, Gorbachev and Reagan's nuclear agreements, and the fall of the Berlin wall, Keith explained. But oddly, he added, none of this is in the book.

It didnt need to be set in West Limerick, but I wanted to set it there, I suppose to pay homage to where Im from, but also friends from there had asked me to try and do so as well, so I did. he continued.

I nearly set it in Newcastle West, but I realised it wouldnt work as a piece of fiction if I did, which meant Ballybeag was born, but the architectural layout of Newcastle West certainly influenced the design of Ballybeag.

Other places also feature, he pointed out, as he wanted to explore the idea of the Irish abroad. But, he emphasised, it is not autobiographical, and, apart from some historical references, it is total fiction.

The writing took a little over three months, but this time round, Keith said, it was different. There was no specific sound track and sometimes he had to coax himself to sit down and write. Instead, there was a different joy, the buzz that came with finding the pieces to a jigsaw that turned the words into a story.

I suppose another difference was when I sat down with Hello Larry Barry, I was unsure if I could write it, but I had no doubt with The Jude Crew, it was 100% going to happen, he said.

The Jude Crew is now out there and Keith hopes to have a physical launch in Newcastle West in the Spring of 2022.

Meanwhile, the book is available as a paperback with Amazon for 7.99 and as an E-book with Kindle, for 0.99.
ICMSA president Pat McCormack said that farmers will constructively engage with the climate action plan, but warned that Farmers will not be made fools of.

The Government needs to show due respect to the farming and rural communities. he continued.

Mr McCormack said that farmers and rural communities are perfectly entitled to feel that they had been singled out by the media and some vested interests and made to carry the carbon can while other sectors escaped any regulation or media attention.

He said that farmers will engage constructively - as they always do - but warned that farmers will not allow themselves or their communities to be undermined by additional costs while the same people urging restrictions on Irish farmers lobby for trade deals with countries that have no intention of addressing climate change.

The level of ignorance displayed by many in the national media and activists about farming has been profoundly shocking and what is especially infuriating is the knowledge that, yet again, other sectors seem to escape any similar levels of scrutiny or analysis, said Mr McCormack.

The ICMSA president said that Ireland is to dairy and beef what California is to tech. He said that Ireland was not just potentially damaging ourselves nationally for no good reason, but we are actually limiting ourselves in the single area in which we could have helped deal with a global problem.

Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue has rejected a view from a Rural Independent TD that there is a ban on the importation of Urea into this country from Russia.
UL Hospitals has announced the Mid-Western Cancer Information and Support Centre at UHL will resume face-to-face appointments from Monday - for the first time since March 2020.

A wide range of face-to-face supports which had been curtailed during the pandemic, including counselling and relaxation therapies, will be available between 9am and 1pm with safety precautions in place for the protection of all patients and staff.

Dr Denis OKeeffe, Consultant Haematologist and Director of Cancer Services for UL Hospitals Group, says the partial re-opening of the Mid-West Cancer Support Centre is long-awaited and very welcome.

In making this partial re-opening, we are, of course, keenly aware of the concerns and risks due to the continued high community transmission of Covid-19. We are proceeding on a half-day, Monday to Friday basis, and will watch the situation closely over the coming weeks, he said.

These are very important services for cancer patients and their loved ones, which would have been greatly missed by patients over the past year-and-a-half. We are very pleased to be able to reopen on a partial basis from next Monday, Dr OKeeffe added.

UL Hospitals says the plan is to fully re-open the centre in January 2022.

Operating at the UHL campus in Dooradoyle, the Mid-Western Cancer Information & Support Centre provides services and practical information and emotional support for anyone affected by cancer  including patients, their families and friends.

It is supported by the Mid-Western Hospitals Development Trust, University Hospital Limerick, and the Mid-Western Cancer Foundation, and is affiliated to the Irish Cancer Society.

For more contact 061-485163 to arrange an appointment, or visit the Mid-Western Cancer Foundation website.
POP-UP Covid-19 vaccination clinics for Travellers are planned for towns in County Limerick, the Limerick Leader has learned.

A venue in Kilmallock has been chosen to help encourage members of the ethnic group to get the first or second jab. Only members of the Travelling community will be able to avail of this service.

A spokesperson for the Department of Public Health Mid-West said HSE agencies are constantly exploring the use of pop-up clinics and targeted local campaigns to improve vaccination uptake in communities.

A small proportion of the eligible population has yet to be fully vaccinated, so we continue to encourage those who have yet to receive a free vaccine, to do so at the earliest opportunity. Full vaccination offers significant protection against infection, illness, hospitalisation, and serious outcomes where an infection occurs, said the spokesperson, who asks the public to be extra vigilant of misinformation and disinformation on social media and only use trusted sources like the HSE.

Martin Collins, of Pavee Point, also pointed to this saying members of the Travelling community, who are hesitant, are getting a lot of misinformation from social media.

We say to them you need to get your information form reliable sources like the HSE, said Mr Collins. Pavee Point has worked with the HSE in Dublin to facilitate vaccination clinics on halting sites.

We welcome and fully support it. It is about making it very easy and very accessible and it couldnt be any more accessible than having a pop-up clinic right in the middle of the place that you live. Thankfully, the reaction has been very positive and the uptake has been great, said Mr Collins. Unfortunately, he says there are still a significant number of Travellers very hesitant about the vaccine and havent received it yet.

Pavee Point and other Traveller groups just have to continue to try and get the message through that this is really important to protect themselves and their family. It is a bit of a challenge. There is a significant cohort who are very hesitant, said Mr Collins.

According to provisional data, 97.3% of adults in Limerick have received at least one Covid-19 vaccine dose, and 95.3% of the eligible population (age 12+) has received at least one vaccine.
BREDA, Netherlands (AP)  About 100 anti-racism protesters chanted Kick Out Black Pete Saturday at an event where children could meet the Dutch version of Santa Claus and his controversial sidekick.

The Black Pete character, often played by adults wearing blackface makeup, has sparked a decade of demonstrations and counter-demonstrations in the Netherlands by protesters who consider him a racist caricature and supporters who insist he is a harmless children's character.

Amid the long-running protests, people playing the character increasingly use different color face paint, including daubs of soot. Many towns and cities organizing children's parties and parades to welcome the Sinterklaas character have moved away from Black Pete. At the event in the southern city of Breda, Sinterklaas was accompanied by Gray Petes.

One of the founders of the Kick Out Black Pete movement, Jerry Afriyie, welcomed the progress, but said more still has to be done.

What we have achieved is that 10 years later no one can deny that there is racism in the Netherlands, he said.

Just like every movement, slowly but surely we are making progress, but we are not there yet, he said. Im optimistic because Ive seen this country be fully asleep, waking up bit by bit. So I think that it is a matter of time that all these people were seeing now in black faces that they make the change.

Some parents at Saturday's event in Breda were angry that the demonstrators were protesting close to the exit of the celebration that was a ticketed event due to coronavirus restrictions.

I think its a scandal that this is being done at the exit where children come out after the Sinterklaas parade. Children are standing there crying, I find it inappropriate, said Frank Zuidhof, who said he was in favor of Sooty Petes.

We live in a democratic country where we have to work together for a good solution and this is not a good solution, he said.

Police said they arrested seven people who approached the protesters and refused to move away.

Sinterklaas  a Dutch version of St. Nicholas  is celebrated in the Netherlands on Dec. 5 with gifts for children, but tradition has it that he sails to the country from Spain a few weeks earlier, leading to celebrations across the nation to mark his arrival.

Amid the Black Lives Matter movement last year, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte conceded that racism is an issue in his country.

There are also people living in the Netherlands who in that regard feel that they dont fully fit in, that they cant play a full role in this society, he said. That is also a Dutch problem. There is racism here, too. There is discrimination here, too.
Lockport, NY (14094)

Today

Mainly cloudy. A few flurries or snow showers possible. High 37F. Winds W at 15 to 25 mph..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy skies. Low 29F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph.
After discovery of Kyle Bridgemans body, investigation remains far from over
As a further 4,642 cases of Covid-19 were confirmed in Ireland, leading health officials have issued stark warnings about the transmission rates of the virus.

There are 556 patients in Irish hospitals being treated for Covid-19, 107 of whom are intensive care settings.

"As we look ahead to the weekend, we need to continue to make every effort we can to drive down incidence of disease and break the chains of transmission, Chief Medical Officer, Dr Tony Holohan, said.

"Before you leave the house, think about the number of people you are going to meet, and the risk associated with the activities you have planned.

"Keep your contacts low and avoid crowds; Wear a mask correctly; Meet outside if possible; Avoid poorly ventilated indoor spaces; Practice good hand and respiratory hygiene."

HSE chief Paul Reid said that Covid-19 was now prolific in most communities and nobody wants to be the next hospitalised case

He added: "An immediate reduction by all of us of risk activities is needed to turn this around."
No site has been identified for an IDA Ireland purpose built facility in Longford town but talks with Longford County Council to secure a suitable location are ongoing.

An update was requested of Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar by local Fianna Fail Deputy Joe Flaherty last week.

The agency plans to provide 19 advanced building solutions, ABSs, in 15 locations throughout Ireland over the lifetime of its new strategy, which runs between now and 2024, Minister Varadkar explained.

Advanced building solution is a generic term used to describe the range of office, industrial and flexible building solutions being built under the IDA Ireland programme.

"These buildings offer high-quality production space and office accommodation within a landscaped business park and are designed to meet the requirements of the manufacturing, technology, life sciences and other prospective industries.

In respect of the building in Longford, IDA Ireland is continuing to liaise with Longford County Council and wider stakeholders to seek a suitable site for the proposed ABS. The site selection process is ongoing.

Deputy Flaherty welcomed the news that an ABS is now a Government priority for inline investment in Co Longford.

The Tanaiste will agree that the challenge at the moment is to identify a site. Currently, we have in excess of 1,700 IDA Ireland-supported jobs in Longford town, thanks to Technimark, Avery Dennison and Abbott Diagnostics, said Deputy Flaherty.

The Abbott plant is a real success story, having just breached the 1,000 employees mark. The local authority owns lands in the vicinity of the Abbott site but the preference is that IDA Ireland would spread its net further and separately facilitate a possible future expansion for Abbott.

I ask the Tanaiste to encourage IDA Ireland to be ambitious and cast its net wide in search of a site in Longford town.

Minister Varadkar explained that a site will be acquired, developed and investment secured there by bringing jobs into the town and the increased spend that come with that.

Longford is very much on the priority list. I know the Deputy and Senator Carrigy will make sure we are held to delivery on that, he said.

Deputy Flaherty, in response, stressed the importance of an ambitious plan for the town.

The message for IDA Ireland from Longford, which I am sure the Tanaiste will pass on for us, is that it needs to be ambitious for the town, he said.

There is a great opportunity for us to get an additional FDI facility. As I said, we have 1,700-plus FDI jobs at the moment. There is a real opportunity to attract more and I urge the Tanaiste to pursue that objective aggressively with IDA Ireland.

The Tanaiste agreed that, while he could not get too involved in the acquisition of property, he will emphasis the need for an ambitious approach.

In total, there are six IDA Ireland supported companies in County Longford employing more than 1,000 people, he said.

That is a strong performance by the county in recent years. In addition, the State has been involved in Centre Parcs, which recently announced an 85 million expansion of its Longford forest facility. If we can add another substantial investment to that, we would be making good progress in the county.
Twin brothers, Don and Gary Beattie, recently shaved their heads in aid of three charities and to-date, theyve managed to raise 24,040.

The charities that will benefit are; The Ronald McDonald House in Crumlin, The Cliona's Foundation in Limerick and The Children's Ark at Limerick University Hospital.

Don and Gary went under the razor in support of their niece Grainne Beattie, Nenagh, Co Tipperary who was diagnosed with a brain tumour last year at the tender age of 12. Understandably, Grainnes life and that of her parents Tanya and Stuart were turned upside down with the news.

Longford boutique Fabiani crowned National Store of the Year 2021 Longford boutique Fabiani is celebrating this morning after fending off a host of high street giants to be crowned National Store of the Year 2021.Fabiani, a luxury independent fashion outlet, secured the top award at the five-star Intercontinental Hotel in Dublin last night.

Garys close shave took place in The Local, Newtowncashel, on Saturday, October 23, while Don shaved his head in Tooheys Bar, Golden, Co Tipperary seven days later.

Gary, who is married to Newtowncashel native Martina Casey - the couple have two boys Jack and Eoin, explained, My twin brother Don came up with the idea of a head shave and set up a go fund me page called "Doing it for Grainne" which at the time of writing stands at 24,040.

Gary is well known in Cashel through his association with local sporting organisations. He has been involved with underage GAA, Community Games (serving as chairperson of the Cashel Community Games area committee for six years) and he is currently involved with Ballyboro FC where he managed the U13s.

Grainne underwent complicated brain surgery followed by three months of radium therapy and nine months of chemotherapy which thankfully finished in July. Grainne is now receiving extensive rehabilitation in the National Rehab Hospital in Dublin.

Don remarked, Through it all Grainne has shown immense courage.

Her smile still lights up the room when she walks in. She is an absolute inspiration to everyone who knows and loves her. She knows she has a long road to recovery but she is tackling it head on and with a determination that belies her tender years.

Gary, a garda for 23 years who is currently the Sergeant in charge of Tulsk garda station in Roscommon, joked that his new hairstyle came as a shock to the locals.

He concluded by expressing thanks to everyone that donated to the Doing it for Grainne gofundme appeal and he also gave a special mention to Eimear Slattery who was in charge of the razor on the night in The Local.
U.S. Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., speaks with La Porte Mayor Tom Dermody, right, during a roundtable discussion at La Porte City Hall on Wednesday.
LMS Capital PLC - London-based investment company - Says regulatory approvals in Romania for investment in Dacian Petroleum received. "The company should now be able to complete its purchase of an onshore oil and gas production business in Romania," LMS says. In August 2020, the company said it was leading an investment group aiming to acquire an interest in Dacian. Dacian LMS Capital to invest total of USD9.1 million in loan and equity capital for 32% holding.

Current stock price: 33.57 pence

Year-to-date change: up 12%

By Eric Cunha; ericcunha@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
(Alliance News) - UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned that "storm clouds" of a new coronavirus wave are gathering over parts of Europe.

The comments come as many European countries are seeing an increase in coronavirus cases and preparing to step up Covid restrictions.

The prime minister was speaking on a visit to Sidcup on Friday, where voters will elect a new MP in December after the death of former minister James Brokenshire.

He said: "I am seeing the storm clouds gathering over parts of the European continent.

"We have been here before and we remember what happens when a wave starts rolling in.

"The UK has built in a huge amount of protection thanks to the vaccine rollout and people's willingness to come forward and get jabbed.

"The urgency of getting the booster jab is more evident than ever."

He said there was no question that a wave of infection was coming across Eastern Europe.

Johnson added: "We are seeing numbers rise in Germany very steeply.

"I am concerned about the Delta variant being passed between those who are vaccinated and indeed those who are double vaccinated.

"It is absolutely vital, if we are going to continue in the way that we are, that people get their boosters when they are called forward."

Analysis by the PA news agency of data published by the European Centre for Disease Prevention & Control looked at the seven-day rate of new reported cases, as of November 11.

It found that while the UK is still above most countries, it is not following the trend of other nations where rates are up week-on-week.

In Austria there are 766.2 cases per 100,000 people (up from 484.8 a week earlier), in the Netherlands there are 496.0, up from 334.7, and in the UK there are 362.6 cases per 100,000 people (down from 412.1).

In Germany there are 280.6 cases per 100,000 people, up from 180.8, and in France 98.5, up from 64.7.

Portugal has 81.5 cases per 100,000 people (up from 57.5), Italy 78.4 (up from 52.8), and Spain 42.8 (up from 28.9).

The World Health Organisation said coronavirus deaths rose by 10% in Europe in the past week, and last week an official declared that the continent was back at the epicentre of the pandemic.

Austria is considering imposing a lockdown on unvaccinated people, the Dutch government is reportedly considering a limited two-week lockdown and German lawmakers are considering legislation that would pave the way for new measures.

New data from the Office for National Statistics also suggests infection levels are continuing to fall across the UK.

The figures show that about one in 60 people in private households in England had Covid-19 in the week to November 6, down from one in 50 the previous week.

In Wales, about one in 45 people is estimated to have had Covid-19 in the week to November 6, down from one in 40 the previous week.

In Northern Ireland, the figure is about one in 75 people, down from one in 65 the previous week.

In Scotland, it is one in 85, down from one in 80 the previous week.

Meanwhile, the i newspaper reported that the government does not expect the pandemic to be over for at least another year, and that in a worst-case scenario lockdowns could be needed until 2026.

It said officials are working to three scenarios of how the pandemic might play out a optimistic, middle and pessimistic.

The paper reported that the optimistic scenario would see the virus no longer considered a pandemic threat sometime between this year and 2023.

The middle case, which it said is seen as the most likely, would see it no longer considered a pandemic threat sometime between 2023 and 2024.

The worst case scenario, which could see tough restrictions needed until 2026, is thought to be highly unlikely as it would mean vaccines no longer working against new variants and anti-viral drugs failing.

Asked about the i's report, a government spokesperson said: "As a responsible government, we prepare for all eventualities, regularly reviewing risk and contingency planning in light of the current situation and developments, and prioritising operations accordingly.

"This is necessary to identify and prepare for any potential risks which could emerge in the future".

source: PA

Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Malibu, CA (90265)

Today

Partly cloudy skies. Gusty winds in the morning. High 83F. Winds NNE at 20 to 30 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph..

Tonight

Mainly cloudy. Low 54F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph.
Four soldiers and the commanding officer of 46 Assam Rifles along with his son and wife were killed in an ambush by militants in Manipurs Singhat on Saturday.

Three injured in the incident were taken to Behiang Primary Health Centre.

Initial reports suggest that Manipur-based Peoples Liberation Army could be behind the attack.

The commanding officer has been identified as Colonel Viplav Tripathi.
Hello Manistee County! I am sure you have been bundled up and enjoying our late autumn weather. I am having a difficult time getting used to wearing warmer clothes and socks. I have hated socks since I was little. I was the kid who had her socks inside out because of that seam in the toes of the socks, it made me nuts to feel it on my toes. I realize now, that I havent changed that much since I was young.

Well we had a great Veterans Day drive through dinner that the American Legion Womens Auxiliary put on for our wonderful Manistee County veterans on Thursday evening. They had a delicious meal catered by Jerry Zupin Catering and had a great turnout of patrons for this special day.

We are getting ready for our Homebound Senior Holiday Gift Program and we are looking for some help from the county. There is a large number of seniors that dont have family and are isolated from friends or family. We want everyone to have a very Merry Christmas this year and you are never too old for surprises in your life. We have the Santa Gals who will be stopping by to wish them Happy Holidays with a visit and some presents. If this sounds like something you would like to get involved with, give us a call for the list of items that will be needed. Lets take care of each other this year and help our neighbors during this holiday season.

Everything here is open and activities and programming are going on as I type. Check out the calendar to see if there is anything you would like to come in and do.

This week we have our monthly food bank. It is always a very busy time. With Thanksgiving coming up, I know Nancy planned the food bank to help with the holiday. Remember, all Manistee County seniors, 60 and over are welcome to come and participate.

I have been working on so many opportunities for the seniors and the Wagoner Community Center. Housing is still very important to me and the board. We are working with several organizations to see how we can get the cottages built. I am excited about this for many reasons and I know there is such a need in our community for senior housing.

We also are excited for a couple of great partnerships and collaborations that are going on here. We have been working with the Manistee County Library on the actual library branch that will be at the Wagoner Community Center. But we also hosted their Authors Series and there are a few new things coming up. We are also happy to be working with River City Music on a music lending library. There is a survey regarding the music library available at the front desk at the senior center. We also have Cheryl Wolfram from Northwest Michigan Health Services who helps our seniors with so many of their questions regarding a wide range of subjects. Housing, Medicaid, and so many other things.

Now that it is getting dark earlier, think about coming over to the Wagoner Community Center for some Cardio Drumming. It is really a fun, great way to work up a little sweat. Everyone is welcome to come in and have some fun. Cardio Drumming is on Thursday evenings at 5:45.

The Wagoner Community Center is hosting a large Holiday Craft Show during Manistees famous Sleighbell Weekend. The Craft Show is on Saturday December 4th from 9 a.m. til 3 p.m. We hope you stop by and check out all of the crafters and vendors.

I hope you have a wonderful week and remember to try something new!

CONGREGATE MEALS

The congregate meal site at the Wagoner Community Center has currently suspended curbside meal pickup. The congregate meal site in Wellston will be passing out lunches on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11 a.m. to noon, curbside carryout as well. The Onekama meal site at the Farr Center are handing out meals on Mondays and Wednesday at 11:15 a.m., (curbside carryout).

FOOD BANK

The senior center food bank takes place from 9-11 a.m. on the third Friday of the month. Seniors from Manistee County who are 60 years of age and older are eligible to participate. If you are picking up for another senior, be sure you have a proxy note, along with their name, address, birthdate and household information. Monetary and non-perishable food item donations are always appreciated. Next food bank is 9-11 a.m. Friday, Nov. 19 at 260 St. Mary's Parkway. There will be no December food bank.

EMERGENCY FOOD ASSISTANCE

If you are a Manistee County senior and are in need of emergency food assistance, call the senior center at 231-723-6477 and speak to a staff member. We have an emergency food pantry that we use to help prevent food insecurity in our senior population during these times.

SENIOR REIMBURSEMENT PROGRAM

The MCCOA has a program designed to help seniors remain independent, by reimbursing qualifying expenses. If you are a senior from Manistee County, you could receive reimbursement for payments you have made for house cleaning, yard work, snow removal services. For current clients in the Senior Reimbursement Program, take note, all receipts must be current, no more than 30 days old. Income requirements apply. New clients must fill out a registration form. Mail all receipts to 260 St. Mary's Parkway, Manistee MI. Call the Senior Center at 231-723-6477 ext. 214, for more information. Once a senior has moved out of their home, they are no longer qualified for the reimbursement program.

EXERCISE OPPORTUNITIES

Sit and Get Fit Tuesday & Thursday at 10 a.m. at the Wagoner Community Center. Cardio drumming classes,Thursday evenings at 5:45 p.m. Yoga classes are Tuesdays at 3:30 p.m. (chair yoga), and Thursdays at 4:30 p.m. (regular yoga). Tai Chi is Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 9 a.m.; Zumba Monday and Wednesday 2 p.m. All classes are free to all seniors, and donations accepted for those under 60.

DEMENTIA SUPPORT GROUP

The dementia support group will meet the second Thursday of the month. The group is a supportive, friendly gathering for caregivers, family members or anyone interested in learning more about and supporting our senior dementia community. The next meeting will be Dec. 9 at 3 p.m. Contact Jacki Krolczyk, 231-883-1341 for more information.

PARKINSON'S SUPPORT GROUP

The Parkinson's support group meets at 11 a.m. on the third Thursday of each month.The next support group meeting will be on Thursday, Nov. 18 at the Wagoner Community Center.Call Linda Nickelson 231-690-5048 for more information.

MEDICATION MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

The Manistee County Council on Aging has started a medication management program. Jean Anderson, the RN on staff, is available to assist in this area. Call with your questions. 231-723-6477, ext. 215

SENIOR NUTRITION MENU

Nov. 8 - 12 (home delivered meals only and menus are subject to change.)

Mon: Cabbage rolls, mixed veg., stewed tomatoes, diced peaches, bread

Tues:Hamburger gravy, mashed potatoes, California blend vegs, applesauce, biscuit

Wed: Sloppy Joe on a bun, oven diced potatoes, baked beans, fruit cocktail,

Thur: Chicken Alfredo, steamed broccoli, sliced carrots, diced pears, biscuit

Fri: Lemon baked fish, lima beans, steamed corn, tropical fruit, roll

UPCOMING EVENTS

Nov. 15

 9 a.m. Tai Chi

 1 p.m. Pinochle

 1 p.m. Mah Jongg

 2 p.m. Zumba

Nov. 16

 10 a.m. Cards & coffee

 11 a.m. PNC presentation on Scams

 12:30 Bridge

 3:30 p.m. Chair Yoga

 6 p.m. Authors Series

Nov. 17

 10:30 a.m. TOPS

 11 a.m. Bingo

 1:30 p.m. Genealogy group

 2 p.m. Zumba

 6:30 p.m. AA Women's group

Nov. 18

 10 a.m. Cribbage

 11 a.m. Parkinson's Support Group

 11 a.m. Bunco

 1 p.m Chess group

 4:30 p.m. yoga

 5:45 p.m. Cardio drumming

Nov. 19

 9 a.m. Tai Chi

Cutline: Members of Rolling Thunder were at the Senior Center/Wagoner Community Center earlier in the week setting up flags in honor of area veterans. The American Legion Auxiliary held a drive through dinner for veterans at the Wagoner Community Center on Veterans Day.
MANISTEE  Manistee City Council is expected to have two public hearings Tuesday.

One hearing is for a proposed Commercial Rehabilitation District for a 3-acre site that includes the Lakeshore Motel and a retention area to the south, according to the Manistee City Council agenda document. That area is the site of the proposed Hampton Inn project.

The second hearing is for the new five-year countywide master plan. The last countywide master plan plan was adopted in 2016 and will expire at the end of this year.

According to the agenda document, on the section with the public hearing for the county master plan, Networks Northwest has been working with entities in Manistee County to update the recreational master plans.

"This cohesive planning effort helps to ensure that the county continues to be a quality place for people to live, visit, work and play," reads part of the document.

It also states that the Michigan Department of Natural Resources requires municipalities to have a current plan to be eligible for certain funding opportunities.

The document also gives more detail about the process of the public hearing.

"A 30-day public review, which concluded at the end of October, followed by this public hearing to gather community input, are requirements of the process to approve a new 5-year parks and recreation master plan. No action is anticipated at the conclusion of the public hearing, however this matter is on the agenda for consideration later in this meeting," reads part of the document.

Later on the meeting council has listed the topics of both public hearings as actionable items that can be voted on.

The council will also consider the authorization of the purchase of 14 self-breathing apparatuses for the Manistee Fire Department.

The agenda document notes the following: "The City of Manistee Fire Department pursued a FEMA grant for the purchase of 14 self-contained breathing apparatus to replace the current outdated air packs to the current standard. The department was successful in its application and was awarded the FEMA grant in the amount of $93,330.00. Phoenix Safety Outfitters provided the low bid for the updated 14 self-contained breathing apparatus."

Council could take action to authorize the Manistee Fire Department to purchase the apparatuses.

Council will also consider an ordinance to amend part of the city code to allow for food trucks in the downtown district.

"The Downtown Development Authority requested an amendment to the Chapter 863 Food Vendor Ordinance to allow for short-term food truck opportunities in the downtown district. As an ordinance two separate readings are required. If this ordinance is introduced

at this time it could be adopted at the next regular meeting," reads part of the agenda.

Also, council will listen to presentations. One will be for the Public, Education and Government Commission director Barry Lind. The PEG commission oversees the operation of the TV2 public access television station.

The council will also hear from Marc Miller, director of economic development for the Manistee Area Chamber of Commerce.

The meeting will be on Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. in Council Chambers at City Hall. A copy of the agenda can be found online at manisteemi.gov.
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Julia A. Johnston, 68, of Wilburton, OK passed away at her home in Wilburton on Sunday, November 14, 2021. Services will be on Wednesday, November 17, 2021 at 2 p.m. at the Waldrop Funeral Home Chapel in Wilburton, OK with the burial to follow in the Peachland Cemetery in Bengal, Oklahoma. O
Meadville, PA (16335)

Today

Mostly cloudy skies. Temps nearly steady in the low to mid 30s. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy skies early will become partly cloudy late. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Low 26F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.
Meadville, PA (16335)

Today

Cloudy. Temps nearly steady in the low to mid 30s. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy skies early will become partly cloudy late. Low 26F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.
Mebane, NC (27302)

Today

Becoming partly cloudy after some morning light rain. High near 55F. Winds NNW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Some clouds early will give way to generally clear conditions overnight. Low 26F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.
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Wash your hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds before and after handling fresh produce.

Cut away any bruised or damaged areas on fresh produce, since harmful bacteria can thrive in these areas. Be sure to clean your knife with hot water and soap before using it again.

Wash fresh produce thoroughly under fresh, cool, running water, even if you plan to peel them. This helps prevent the spread of any bacteria that may be present.

Don't soak fresh produce in a sink full of water. It can become contaminated by bacteria in the sink.

Use a clean produce brush to scrub items that have firm surfaces like avocados, oranges, melons, potatoes, carrots. It is not necessary to use produce cleansers to wash fresh fruits and vegetables.

Use one cutting board for produce, and a separate one for raw meat, poultry, fish and seafood.

Place peeled or cut fruits and vegetables on a separate clean plate or in a container to prevent them from becoming cross-contaminated.

Use paper towels to wipe kitchen surfaces, or change dishcloths daily to avoid the risk of cross-contamination and the spread of bacteria, and avoid using sponges as they are harder to keep bacteria-free.

Sanitize countertops, cutting boards and utensils before and after preparing food. Use a kitchen sanitizer (following the directions on the container) or a bleach solution (5 ml household bleach to 750 ml of water) and rinse with water.

Do not prepare food for other people if you think you are sick with a Salmonella infection or suffering from any other contagious illness causing diarrhea.

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/CNW/ -The Public Health Agency of(PHAC) is collaborating with provincial public health partners, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Health Canada to investigate an outbreak ofinfections involving five provinces:and. The illness reported inwas related to travel toThe source of the outbreak has not been identified and the investigation is ongoing. Outbreak investigators are gathering information on possible sources and possible ways contamination may have occurred. Many of the individuals who became sick reported eating fresh produce before their illness. However, more information is needed to determine the source of the outbreak. The outbreak appears to be ongoing, as illnesses continue to be reported.Given the evolving nature of this outbreak, PHAC is issuing this public health notice to inform residents inandof the investigation findings to date and to share important safe food handling practices to help prevent furtherinfections. At this time, there is no evidence to suggest that residents in other provinces and territories are affected by this outbreak.This public health notice will be updated as the investigation evolves.As of, there have been 46 laboratory-confirmed cases ofEnteritidis illness investigated in:(18),(18),(3),(6) and(1). The illness reported inwas related to travel to. Individuals became sick between lateand. Three individuals have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported. Individuals who became ill are between 9 and 89 years of age. The majority of cases (64%) were female.CFIA is conducting a food safety investigation. If contaminated food products are identified, they will take the necessary steps to protect the public, including recalling the product as required. Currently there are no Food Recall Warnings associated with this outbreak.Anyone can become sick with ainfection, but young children, the elderly, pregnant women or people with weakened immune systems are at higher risk for contracting serious illness.Most people who become ill from ainfection will recover fully after a few days. It is possible for some people to be infected with the bacteria and to not get sick or show any symptoms, but to still be able to spread the infection to others.It is difficult to know whether a product is contaminated withbecause you can't see, smell or taste it. The following tips may help reduce your risk of getting sick, but they may not fully eliminate the risk of illness.Symptoms of a, called salmonellosis, typically start 6 to 72 hours after exposure tobacteria from an infected animal or contaminated product.Symptoms include:These symptoms usually last for four to seven days. In healthy people, salmonellosis often clears up without treatment, but sometimes antibiotics may be required. In some cases, severe illness may occur and hospitalization may be required. People who are infected withbacteria can be infectious from several days to several weeks. People who experience symptoms, or who have underlying medical conditions, should contact their health care provider if they suspect they have ainfection.The Government ofis committed to protecting the health of Canadians from enteric disease outbreaks.PHAC leads the human health investigation into an outbreak and is in regular contact with its federal, provincial and territorial partners to monitor the situation and to collaborate on steps to address an outbreak.Healthprovides food-related health risk assessments to determine whether the presence of a certain substance or microorganism poses a health risk to consumers.CFIA conducts food safety investigations into the possible food source of an outbreak.SOURCE Public Health Agency of
In Chennai, 200 special medical camps in association with the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), which will examine and treat people have been launched by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin.



The GCC said in a statement on Friday that the camps are being organised under the directive of the Chief Minister to prevent rain-related illnesses among people, including common cold, influenza and other diseases.

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The camps involving private hospitals are linked to the Chief Minister's Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme. These are in addition to the camps being run by the Chennai Corporation.
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 Battery-grade lithium carbonate prices in East Asias seaborne market catching up with prices in China; lithium hydroxide prices stable. Chinas lithium prices steady ahead of next round of month-end restocking. Europe, United States spot markets strengthen on tight availability, increasingly high offers.Battery-grade lithium carbonate prices edged up in East Asia in the past week amid tight availability of spot units, tracking the previous rally in China.Fastmarkets assessment of the lithium carbonate 99.5% Li2CO3 min, battery grade, spot price, cif China, Japan & Korea was $27.50-29.00 per kg on Thursday November 11, up by $1.50 per kg from $26.00-27.50 per kg a week earlier.Fastmarkets weekly assessment of the lithium hydroxide monohydrate 56.5% LiOH.H2O min, battery grade, spot price, cif China, Japan & Korea was $28-30 per kg on Thursday, unchanged from a week earlier.Seller sources in China raised their price indications for battery-grade lithium carbonate in the East Asian region during the week, taking them closer to those in the Chinese market."Chinese prices still hold a large premium over regional prices, and it's more profitable to sell units to the Chinese market. Plus, freight rates are also very high, so prices across the two markets should be at the same level," a producer source in China said.The recent rally in Chinas lithium market added pressure to the seaborne market and raised concern among some East Asian market participants.The prices in China are now influencing all over East Asia. One concern we have is over when this rally [in Chinese lithium prices] will stop and how much [lithium prices in China] will be, a Japanese trader said. We sincerely hope the prices would become stable at certain points, even for a little while.Meanwhile, participants across the seaborne East Asian market noted that the supply of lithium units was tight, while added further strength to the rally in prices for battery-grade lithium carbonate.There are no spot battery-grade lithium carbonate units on the market. I think prices in China and the seaborne market should be at parity, a Chinese trader said.Prices for technical-grade lithium carbonate in East Asias seaborne market mirrored the rally in the battery-grade segment amid tight supply.Prices for technical-grade lithium carbonate will continue to creep up toward $28-29 per kg over the coming weeks. There is nothing left for the spot market. Every producer is sold out, a source at a producer active in both the European and Asian markets said.Fastmarkets assessment of the lithium carbonate 99% Li2CO3 min, technical and industrial grades, spot price cif China, Japan & Korea was at $26-28 per kg on Thursday, up by $1 per kg from $25-27 per kg a week earlier.Prices for battery-grade lithium hydroxide have stabilized, according to most market participants. Current prices are already close to those in the Chinese market.Prices for both battery-grade lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide in China were unchanged in the past week with consumers making purchases on an as-needed basis before the next round of month-end restocking, when they typically raise buying rates. Furthermore, lithium prices in China are already high, which limits their upside potential.Fastmarkets assessment of the lithium carbonate 99.5% Li2CO3 min, battery grade, spot price range, ex-works domestic China was at 195,000-200,000 yuan ($30,477-31,259) per tonne on Thursday, unchanged for a second week.Fastmarkets assessment of the lithium hydroxide monohydrate, 56.5% LiOH.H2O min, battery grade, spot price range, exw domestic China was 185,000-205,000 yuan per tonne on Thursday, also unchanged for a second week."Overall prices and demand were stable this week. Current prices are already high and have limited space to rise further. If they rise further, downstream consumers may start to show resistance, " a second Chinese producer source said.While the salt lakes in Chinas Qinghai province experiences a seasonal drop in production during winter, its impact on the supply of feedstock for brine-fed technical-grade lithium carbonate production and lithium prices in China is rather limited.There is limited impact from production reduction at salt lakes in Qinghai, which is around 30%. The producers there have stock of brine, and traders have stocked up as well. They are releasing older units to the market, which offsets the impact from lower production, a second Chinese trader said.In addition, multiple market participants noted that spot supply of battery-grade lithium hydroxide in China seemed sufficient, while that of lithium carbonate of the same grade was tighter.Market participants are not expecting aggressive restocking toward the end of the year. Two consumer sources said they would keep purchasing at a stable pace until the end of 2021.A third trader said with many major lithium producers having already secured their supply through long-term agreements, they might only turn to the spot market to purchase small volumes, if necessary.Prices for battery- and technical-grade lithium in Europe and the US strengthened over the past week, tracking the previous rally in China, with tight spot supply providing additional support to the markets.Sources continued to report very tight availability of technical-grade compounds and buyers struggled to secure spot units.Fastmarkets assessed the lithium carbonate 99% Li2CO3 min, technical and industrial grades, spot price ddp Europe and US at $25.25-27.00 per kg on Thursday, up by $0.75-1.00 per kg from $24.50-26.00 per kg a week earlier.The lithium carbonate 99.5% Li2CO3 min, battery grade, spot price ddp Europe and US similarly posted a hefty gain this week, with Fastmarkets assessing it at $26.50-29.00 per kg on Thursday, up by $1.00-1.50 per kg from $25.50-27.50 per kg a week earlier.This is the highest that the price has been since Fastmarkets started assessing it in 2017.An upstream source active in Europe and Asia who usually procures technical-grade lithium carbonate in South America said that he was getting more interested in the regular tenders that a Bolivian lithium producer holds for its limited technical-grade lithium carbonate compounds due to the tightness of the market.Short supply and elevated prices for technical-grade carbonate are filtering though the hydroxide market since lithium hydroxide producers in Europe typically use lithium carbonate as their feedstock.Fastmarkets assessed the lithium hydroxide monohydrate min 56.5% LiOH.H2O technical and industrial grades, spot prices ddp Europe and US at $27.00-29.00 per kg on Thursday, widening upward by $0.50 per kg from $27.00-28.50 per kg a week earlier.
There has been a rise in sightings of all-black American flags in Florida and across the country. While not only sinister in appearance, the meaning is even more so: no quarter. Their sharp spike began with a tweet about a police officer in Illinois who hung this flag outside his house and
MDHHS provides $4.8 million in federal Disaster Food Assistance Program benefits to 8,600 households in Macomb, Oakland; Gov. Whitmer presidential disaster declaration request paved way for support

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Nov. 12, 2021

CONTACT: Bob Wheaton, 517-241-2112

LANSING, Mich. - More than 8,600 households in Macomb and Oakland counties received over $4.8 million in federal Disaster Food Assistance Program benefits during a special application opportunity Nov. 3-9.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) accepted in-person applications to eligible households affected by severe flooding and power outages at the end of June.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer sought a presidential disaster declaration for the two counties due to the flooding and power outages. Whitmer and MDHHS received Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) approval from President Biden's administration through the Food and Nutrition Services within the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

"My administration, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, and our federal partners have worked together to help families who suffered damages to their homes and lost possessions during this summer's historic flooding," Gov. Whitmer said. "Together, we will help families put food on the table right now, and we will keep looking into long-term investments in infrastructure to minimize the impact of future storms."

The total number of residents to receive disaster assistance is 38,132.

"This is the second time that MDHHS staff have stepped up in recent weeks to process applications for disaster food assistance from residents impacted by flooding," said MDHHS Director Elizabeth Hertel. "Through their efforts, our employees have once again demonstrated our commitment to providing residents easy access to the public assistance benefits that they need."

MDHHS employees from 74 of its offices across the state - including staff who relocated from other county offices to support the application process - assisted residents with their applications at three Kensington Church locations in Macomb and Oakland counties with support from partners from the church.

Households determined to be eligible received a one-time-only benefit to spend on food. Households approved for Disaster Food Assistance Program benefits were issued a Bridge Card, an electronic benefits card similar to a debit card that can be used to redeem their food assistance benefits at eligible retail stores and farmers markets.

In August, MDHHS provided $11.5 million in federal disaster food assistance benefits to residents of Wayne and Washtenaw counties.

The federal Disaster Food Assistance Program application period is over, however, Michiganders in need of food assistance should visit Michigan.gov/FoodAssistance to learn more or they can apply for food assistance or other public benefits at www.Michigan.Gov/MIBridges.

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Dear Savvy Senior,

When my dad died, we thought he had a life insurance policy, but we have no idea how to track it down. Any suggestions?

Searching Son

Dear Searching,

Lost or forgotten life insurance policies are very common in the U.S. According to a study by Consumer Reports, 1 out of every 600 people is the beneficiary of an unclaimed life insurance policy with an average benefit of $2,000. It could be like finding out you have a secret savings account.

While unfortunately, there isnt a national database for tracking down these policies, there are a number of strategies and a few new resources that can help your search. Here are several to get you started.

Search his records: Check your dads financial records or areas where he kept his important papers for a policy, records of premium payments, or bills from an insurer. Also contact his employer or former employer benefits administrator, insurance agents, financial planner, accountant, attorney or other adviser and ask if they know about a life insurance policy. Also check safe-deposit boxes, monitor the mail for premium invoices or whole-life dividend notices, and review old income-tax returns, looking for interest income from, and interest expenses paid, to life insurance companies.

Get help: The National Association of Insurance Commissioners offers a policy locator service (see NAIC.org and click on Consumer then on Life Insurance Policy Locator) that lets you run a nationwide search for insurance policies or annuities in the names of people who have died. There are also six state insurance departments (Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, New York, North Carolina and Oregon) that have free policy locator service programs that can help you search. To find direct access to these state resources visit the American Council of Life Insurers website at ACLI.com  click on Missing Policy Tips.

Contact the insurer: If you suspect that a particular insurer underwrote the policy, contact that carriers claim office and ask. The more information you have, like your dads date of birth and death, Social Security number and address, the easier it will be to track down. Contact information for some big insurers include: Prudential 800-778-2255; MetLife Metlife.com/policyfinder; AIG 800-888-2452; Nationwide 800-848-6331; John Hancock JohnHancock.com  click on Lost or unclaimed policy form at the bottom of the page under Quick Links.

Search unclaimed property: If your dad died more than a few years ago, benefits may have already been turned over to the unclaimed property office of the state where the policy was purchased. Go to MissingMoney.com, a website of the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators, to search records from 39 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. Or, to find links to each states unclaimed-property division use Unclaimed.org.

If your dads name or a potential benefactors name produces a hit, youll need to prove your claim. Required documentation, which can vary by state, is detailed in claim forms, and a death certificate might be necessary.

Search fee-based services: There are several businesses that offer policy locator services for a fee. The MIB Group, for example, which is a data-sharing service for life and health insurance companies, offers a policy locator service at MIB.com for $75. But it only tracks applications for individual policies made since 1996.

You can also get assistance at Policy Inspector (PolicyInspector.com) for $99, and L-LIFE (LostLifeIns.com) for $108.50, who will do the searching for you.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP)  New Mexicos largest electric provider and global energy giant Iberdrola say theyre committed to customer protections as they push for regulatory approval for a multibillion-dollar merger.

PNM Resources, the parent company of Public Service Co. of New Mexico, and Iberdrola subsidiary Avangrid filed additional arguments with the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission on Friday.

The filing aims to address the concerns of a hearing examiner who recently recommended that the commission reject the merger. The official had found that the potential harm outweighed any benefits of the proposed deal.

The filing disputes some of the official's findings and states that the companies would include $10 million more in economic development benefits and additional commitments to corporate governance and other financial protections for customers.

According to the filing, PNM would delay its next rate case filing by six months to Dec. 1, 2022.

The companies also suggested that if reliability metrics and penalties for falling short are adopted as part of the merger, the commission should also consider developing reliability standards and penalties that would apply to all utilities in New Mexico equally to avoid a discriminatory approach."

The commission will have the final say. If the merger is rejected, the companies could submit a revised proposal. Also, the commissions decision can be appealed to the New Mexico Supreme Court.

Our filing with Avangrid today shows that our companies together are truly committed to moving New Mexico forward and bringing benefits to PNMs customers and the community," Pat Vincent-Collawn, PNM Resources chairwoman, president and CEO, said in a statement to The Associated Press. We look forward to bringing all the commitments to our customers and New Mexico into reality.

New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas is among the parties in the case. He acknowledged Friday that the proposal has been hotly contested but remains supportive of the merger with the additional terms.

As the sole voice elected by and accountable to consumers in this negotiation, Im optimistic the commission will agree with the majority of the stakeholders that the merger is in the public interest, Balderas said in a statement.

Under the merger, Connecticut-based Avangrid and its parent firm, Iberdrola of Spain, would acquire PNM Resources and its New Mexico and Texas power subsidiaries. If approved, the $4.3 billion transaction would affect about 800,000 homes and businesses.

New Mexico customers earlier this year sounded the alarm over the proposal, citing a sordid track record of reliability and customer service among utilities owned by Avangrid in other states.

Spanish officials also announced in June that Iberdrola executives would be investigated over alleged bribery, breach of privacy and fraud. The company has maintained that the executives did nothing wrong.

The PRC hearing examiner, Ashley Schannauer, had blasted Avangrid and Iberdrola earlier this year for failing to disclose information about the problems elsewhere. Schannauer's recommendation cited missteps and problems, including incomplete responses and overly extensive confidentiality requests.

Mariel Nanasi with New Energy Economy, a consistent critic of PNM, pointed to the millions of dollars in penalties racked by up Avangrid in other states, its handling of rooftop and community solar programs elsewhere and other concerns outlined by the hearing examiner.

Customers are entitled to a utility that is reliable, trustworthy, has technical prowess, and complies with law and regulation," she said. "Allowing Avangrid here ... seems extremely risky and potentially harmful to ratepayers and New Mexicans. New Mexicans deserve more and we can do better.

Experts have suggested that New Mexico could serve as a platform for producing power that could be exported to larger markets. But critics worry that the states customers would be reduced to a secondary consideration for Avangrid and Iberdrola as they look to expand their renewable energy holdings.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP)  When the shooter in the 2018 Parkland school massacre finally pleaded guilty last month, it briefly revived attention and donations for the anti-gun violence March For Our Lives student movement birthed by the tragedy.

It also dredged up personal trauma for many of young activists, though most are now hundreds of miles away at college.

Jaclyn Corin, 21, one of the groups original organizers and now a Harvard junior, stayed off social media the week of the shooters court proceedings to avoid painful memories. But well-intentioned loved ones texted constantly to provide support, unwittingly making it impossible for her to ignore.

I try my best not to think about him and the violence that he inflicted, but its incredibly hard to do that when someone who ruined your life and the lives of literally everyone in your community is trending on social media.

In the initial months after the shooting that killed 17 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the teenagers amassed one of the largest youth protests in history in Washington and rallied more than a million activists in sister marches from California to Japan. They made the cover of Time magazine and raised millions to fund March For Our Lives. They testified before Congress, met with the president, won the International Childrens Peace Prize and launched a 60-plus city bus tour to register tens of thousands of young voters.

March For Our Lives has evolved into a 300-chapter organization that has had a hand in helping pass many of the 130 gun violence prevention bills approved across the country since 2018 and regularly files amicus briefs in gun-related lawsuits.

Yet some of the original founders, including Emma Gonzalez, have left or taken a step back  or moved on to other issues. One of them is running for Congress in Florida.

Corin was so burned out from activism when she started college that she said she needed a year for herself.

A lot of our trauma from the shooting is inherently linked to the organization, she said.

Nearly four years after the shootings, the twenty-somethings have managed to keep the organization going and youth-led. Still, theyve struggled to achieve sustainable financing. The organization has raised over $31 million to date, but its operating costs were slightly higher than funds in 2020.

David Hogg, one of the most recognizable faces from the group and still one of its most active members, said the organization is much more stable now than in the early days

When you get a bunch of traumatized teenagers together and say, Its up to you to fix this, ... the weight that puts on a 17-year-old mind or a 14-year-old mind like my sisters after she lost four friends that day is enormous.

Hogg, also a student at Harvard, delayed college for a year to help grow the organization. He was in Washington last week for a Supreme Court case about the right to carry a firearm in public for self-defense where the organization filed an amicus brief supporting a restrictive New York state law.

There are days when I want to stop. There are days when I am exhausted. But there are days when I realize I am not alone in this work, Hogg said in a recent interview.

Hogg, who has drawn persistent scorn from conservatives including Georgias Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Fox News personality Laura Ingraham, said March For Our Lives is focused on the long game. It hopes to spur youth nationally to run for office, become judges and draft policies.

Volunteers in the organization made over 1 million texts and phone calls leading up to the 2020 election.

Maxwell Frost, one of the groups founders and its former organizing director, is running for an open congressional seat from Orlando. Another founding member, Charlie Mirsky, took a year off to work full time as the organizations policy director before before enrolling at Lafayette College. Last summer, he helped the organization form a judicial advocacy branch to write amicus briefs.

While gun control remains the groups chief mission, the students said they consider issues like racism, poverty and voter disenfranchisement to be intertwined and have focused extra efforts on communities of color affected by gun violence.

Many of the students rallied for Black Lives Matters last summer in the wake of the George Floyd protests, including Aalayah Eastmond.

Eastmond, now a junior at Trinity Washington University, was in her Holocaust history class when the gunman killed several students inside. The now 20-year-old took part in March For Our Lives bus tour, though she is not a formal member of the group.

I wanted to make sure we were addressing inner city gun violence that disproportionately impacts Black and brown youth," Eastmond said. I felt like that was a huge part of the conversation that is overlooked."

And now, as a jury will decide in January whether the Parkland school shooter will spend life in prison or receive the death penalty, the student activists find themselves grappling yet again with the human toll of gun violence. The organization does not have a formal position, but the students said they support whatever the victims families want.

I think its a really difficult scenario, Corin said. I struggle with the morality of the death penalty often, but I do know that it could give victims families peace, specifically in this case where we know the person is guilty.
QUITO, Ecuador (AP)  A prolonged gunbattle between rival gangs inside Ecuadors largest prison killed at least 68 inmates and wounded 25 on Saturday, while authorities said it took most of the day to regain control at the Litoral Penitentiary, which recently saw the countrys worst prison bloodbath.

The killing erupted before dawn at the prison in the coastal city of Guayaquil in what officials said was the latest outbreak of fighting among prison gangs linked to international drug cartels. Videos circulating on social media showed bodies, some burned, lying on the ground inside the prison.

The shooting lasted around eight hours, officials said, and then new clashes were reported in part of the prison in the afternoon.

Presidential spokesman Carlos Jijon finally announced after nightfall that the situation is controlled throughout the penitentiary. He said about 900 police officers had taken control of the situation.

In the initial fighting, inmates tried to dynamite a wall to get into Pavilion 2 to carry out a massacre. They also burned mattresses to try to to drown (their rivals) in smoke, said the governor of Guayas province, Pablo Arosemena.

We are fighting against drug trafficking, Arosemena said. It is very hard.

The bloodshed came less than two months after fighting among gangs killed 119 people at the prison, which houses more than 8,000 inmates.

Police commander Gen. Tanya Varela said early in the day that drones flown over the chaos revealed that inmates in three pavilions were armed with guns and explosives. Authorities have said that weapons and ammunition are smuggled into prisoners through vehicles that deliver supplies and sometimes by drones.

The prison violence comes amid a national state of emergency decreed by President Guillermo Lasso in October that empowers security forces to fight drug trafficking and other crimes.

On Saturday, Lasso tweeted that the first right that we should guarantee should be the right to life and liberty, which isn't possible if security forces can't act to protect. He was referring the Constitutional Court's recent refusal to allow the military into prisons despite the state of emergency. Soldiers are currently outside the Litoral.

Ecuadors penitentiaries are seeing a wave of brutal violence.

The bloody fighting inside Litoral prison that killed 119 inmates in late September was described by authorities as the South American countrys worst ever prison massacre. Officials said at least five of the dead were beheaded. Last February, 79 inmates were killed in simultaneous riots in various prisons. So far this year, more than 300 prisoners have died in clashes in penitentiaries across Ecuador.

Outside the prison, relatives of inmates gathered for news of their loved ones.

Enough of this. When will they stop the killing? This is a prison not a slaughterhouse, they are human beings, said Francisca Chancay, whose brother has been in the prison for eight months.

Some called for Ecuadors military to take control of the prisons.

What is Lasso waiting for? That there are more deaths? said Maritza Vera, whose son is an inmate. Have mercy, where are the human rights. We thought this was going to change, but its worse.

Ecuador has about 40,000 inmates in its penitentiary system, which is far above the capacity of 30,000. Of this total, 15,000 have not been sentenced.

Arosemena said authorities in Ecuador will deal with the prison overcrowding by granting pardons, relocating inmates and transferring some foreign inmates back to their homelands.

There will be more than 1,000 pardons, but this is part of a process," he said.

The Guayas governor also said Ecuador will receive international aid from countries like Colombia, the United States, Israel and Spain to deal with the crisis in its prisons. The aid will be in resources and logistics.

For example, installing a freight scanner in the Guayaquil Penitentiary to avoid the entry of arms costs $4 million, said Arosemena.

Vera said the situation is making the families of inmates desperate.

I feel sad and in anguish because there is too much death, Vera said.
MILWAUKEE (AP)  Last month, a 47-year-old Oshkosh woman tried to stop four teenagers from stealing a car at a Holiday Inn Express in Wauwatosa. The woman, Sunita Balogun-Olayiwola, was killed when one of the boys got into her car, pushed her out and ran her over several times.

The criminal complaint contains horrific details of the incident that has lead to the 13-year-old boy being charged as an adult in Milwaukee County Circuit Court. Despite being 13 years old, the boy now faces six felony charges and up to 115 years in prison if convicted.

This case is extreme. But its one of many violent crimes in Milwaukee County where young people are involved.

Nick DeSiato, chief of staff at the Milwaukee Police Department, said teens have easy access to guns. And younger people are stealing cars and driving recklessly, which is all connected, Wisconsin Public Radio reported.

While those may seem like a distinct category, a reckless driver who strikes another vehicle and kills somebody, is still the form of a homicide or the contributing factor for somebody elses death, DeSiato said.

Community activist Vaun Mayes says when he was a kid, he was committing crimes too. Mayes grew up in one of Milwaukees toughest neighborhoods  Franklin Heights. He now has numbers tattooed on his fingers, representing the block he ran when he grew up on 25th Street and Auer Avenue. Groups representing about five different blocks used to fight to protect their neighborhoods, Mayes said. At 15, he was doing what he called block banging.

But now, the stakes are much higher.

Now 34, he says its still happening. But today kids as young as 12 are using guns instead of fists, and posting the violence on social media to gain notoriety.

Its like reality TV on steroids, he said.

One video posted on Facebook Live, and obtained by WPR, depicts three young women dancing and laughing while pointing a semi-automatic weapon at the screen. Sometimes the videos show teens or young people in stolen vehicles recklessly driving through crowded city streets.

Homicides are up about 32 percent in large cities across the nation, but DeSiato said no city has been hit harder than Milwaukee which has seen an increase three times the national average.

There were 190 homicides in Milwaukee last year, the most on record. Through last week, the city was on pace to pass that number with already more than 160 murders so far this year. More than 740 people have been shot so far this year in Milwaukee, a nearly 25 percent increase over last year.

Todays version of block banging cant be blamed entirely for the increase. Domestic violence homicides are up, and DeSiato said many shootings are retaliation for previous crimes.

One very public example of this was in September, when five people were shot at a vigil in Milwaukees Sherman Park neighborhood for a 16-year-old homicide victim.

Milwaukees Homicide Review Commission, run through the Medical College of Wisconsin, found about 37 percent of homicides in Milwaukee are the result of a fight. Another 34 percent are classified as unknown. DeSiato says those cases are tough, even if police think the deaths are the result of a fight, they cant prove whether or not theyre retaliation.

One of the things we are troubled by is the legitimacy of a threat of retaliation ... is this something we can get ahead of and be proactive (about), whether through the means of law enforcement or one of our partners? DeSiato said. We work on intelligence, we work on communicating with those who observed the incident, close family members and other community members, so it doesnt keep perpetuating.

Mayes grew up without a home and has had his share of trouble with police. Today, hes a community activist with a group he started called ComForce MKE, which goes out into neighborhoods like Franklin Heights and Sherman Park and works with residents. Mayes and his team are also active at crime scenes, interviewing witnesses and attempting to keep the peace.

Mayes said kids have a live fast, die young attitude, which has made everything more dangerous in the city. But that doesnt mean they arent still kids. Many without much family support.

A lot of these kids, if you talk to them, when theyre in these cars, they got these guns, theyre like the most tough person ever, Mayes said. But if you catch them outside of that, theyre not like that at all, theyre very scared, frail, fragile, sensitive.

Some residents in communities like Sherman Park are skeptical law enforcement can stem the violence.

Jordan Morales is a member of the Sherman Park Community Association and said it feels like theres no legal consequences for crimes.

It feels like the law is on hold in Milwaukee ... People who want to take advantage of the city know the polices resources are strained, they know that the general resident of Milwaukee is afraid of confronting bad behavior, so they know they have a blank check to do what they want, said Morales, who is not related to former police chief Alfonso Morales.

But Morales, whos lived in the Sherman Park neighborhood for three years with his five children, said hes not planning to move.

Like a lot of the century-old houses in Sherman Park, this neighborhood has really good bones. It just needs some extra investment here, some extra attention from the city.Ive thought about it, but Im pretty committed to this neighborhood, Morales said. Like a lot of the century-old houses in Sherman Park, this neighborhood has really good bones. It just needs some extra investment here, some extra attention from the city.

According to the Milwaukee Homicide Review, there were 11 homicides in Sherman Park from Jan. 1 through Oct. 6, equating to 16 victims per square mile. During that same time period, there were 27 nonfatal shootings.

When about a dozen gunshots rang out one afternoon in October, Patricia Norman and her daughter barely flinched. Even though the shots sounded close to their quiet, tree-lined street, and they were out on the porch.

I dont get scared, Norman said. If I feel like if its real close, and Im sitting out here, I know to run my butt in the house.

Norman moved back to Milwaukee about two years ago and loves the city, but sometimes feels hopeless.

If they cant get the guns out of the kids hands, there aint nothing nobody can do, and its not going to stop, Norman said.

During the 13-year-old boys charging hearing in Milwaukee County Circuit Court following the murder of Balogun-Olayiwola, Judge Audrey Skwierawski said the nature of his charges, including first-degree reckless homicide, could not be more serious.

The boy told the court he understood. He also said he wanted to call his mom.
KENOSHA, Wisconsin (AP)  Kyle Rittenhouse testifying about the night he shot three men on the streets of Kenosha  sobbing and seemingly unable to continue as he spoke about the first shooting  was among the most compelling moments in his two-week murder trial.

It might also have been the most effective part of the three-day defense case, potentially swaying any jurors inclined toward sympathy for the 18-year-old who has claimed self-defense for killing two men and injuring one.

Prosecutors say the primary cause of the violence was Rittenhouse's decision to go to Kenosha with a rifle in a city wracked by protests after a white police officer shot a Black man, Jacob Blake.

Rittenhouse, who was 17 at the time, is charged with multiple counts including intentional and reckless homicide, as well as possession of a dangerous weapon by a minor. He and the men he shot are white.

Here is a look at how the presentation went for the defense, which rested its case Thursday:

HOW DID RITTENHOUSES TESTIMONY GO?

The defenses most consequential decision was to put Rittenhouse on the stand to let him tell jurors what was going through his mind when he opened fire.

Andrew Branca, a Colorado lawyer who wrote the book The Law of Self Defense: Principles, said on his blog about the trial that the decision was a high-stakes bet by the defense, and one that always has risk of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

Defendants claiming self-defense dont have to testify. But theres pressure on them to do so since what they were thinking when they used lethal force is so central to determining guilt.

The risk was Rittenhouse would get tripped up, rattled or provoked by aggressive questioning from prosecutors and that he would blurt out something that hurt his case. But for most of his some six hours testifying, he was calm, answering questions politely and succinctly. He didnt wilt or lash back.

Lead prosecutor Thomas Binger pressed Rittenhouse, asking him if it was true that he intended to kill all three men. I didnt intend to kill them," Rittenhouse responded. I intended to stop the people who were attacking me.

His display of apparent emotion just minutes into his testimony, leading the judge to call a brief recess, may have helped his cause with jurors, some legal experts said.

There is public debate as to the sincerity of Rittenhouses tears, said Louis J. Shapiro, a Los Angeles lawyer. If the jury accepts them as genuine, then it will bode well for Rittenhouse.

Branca, who told The Associated Press previously he thought Rittenhouse should be acquitted, said Rittenhouse's testimony went well for the defense.

WHAT ELSE STOOD OUT ABOUT THE DEFENSE CASE?

The defense achieved a lot before even starting their presentation to jurors. Some witnesses for the state clearly helped the defense.

A stark example was when one of the prosecution's earliest witnesses, videographer Richie McGinniss, described the first man Rittenhouse killed, Joseph Rosenbaum charging Rittenhouse, screaming F--- you! and lunging for Rittenhouses rifle.

It was also prosecutors who entered the extensive video evidence that backed the defense view that Rittenhouse was being chased when he shot Rosenbaum and, moments later, Anthony Huber and Gaige Grosskreutz. Their video showed Grosskreutz with a gun in his hand as he approached Rittenhouse.

Joe Lopez, a Chicago-based defense attorney, said he didnt see calling such witnesses as a mistake by prosecutors. He said prosecutors often want to be the ones entering evidence that is unavoidably favorable to the defense rather than leaving it for the defense to do.

WHAT ELSE DID THE DEFENSE ACCOMPLISH?

Since so many key issues were broached and thrashed out in cross-examination during the states weeklong case, the defense had less to do.

Besides putting Rittenhouse on the stand for much of Wednesday, the defense also called a series of witnesses in an effort to show he displayed no aggression or ill-intent on the night, and helped to clean graffiti that day and put out fires at night.

With prosecutors trying to focus jurors on the totality of what Rittenhouse did, starting with his decision to come to Kenosha with a gun, the defense tried to steer them toward a micro view, with one defense expert zeroing in Thursday on the 2 minutes, 55 seconds from when Rosenbaum started chasing Rittenhouse.

Self-defense is the debate that the defense wants the jury having in the jury room, Shapiro said. Not the question of why didnt Rittenhouse mind his own business and stay away from the protest."

___

Find the APs full coverage of the Rittenhouse trial at https://apnews.com/hub/kyle-rittenhouse and follow Michael Tarm on Twitter at https://twitter.com/mtarm.
BRIDGEPORT  A man accused of beating a former city councilwoman because she wouldnt return his phone calls wont be getting a suspended sentence after all.

In a rare move, as Sherman Perry was standing before him prepared to get the lenient term Friday afternoon, Superior Court Judge Kevin Russo decided he couldnt impose the plea bargain.

After reading the PSI (pre-sentence investigation report) the court is no longer comfortable with the recommendation, the judge told Perry. I have made the determination that the agreed upon sentence is no longer fair and reasonable.

Both Senior Assistant States Attorney David Applegate and Perrys lawyer, Frank Riccio II, told the judge they will now prepare for a trial.

The judge continued the case to Dec. 30.

Sherman Perry, 46, the founder of Mens Community Empowerment Group, previously pleaded guilty before Russo to reduced charges of second-degree assault and violating a protective order after the victim, former East End Councilwoman Eneida Martinez, supported Perry going free.

Under the plea bargain, Perry was to receive a sentence of a suspended 10-year term, followed by five years of probation.

Martinezs lawyer, John R. Gulash, told the judge that his client had supported the plea bargain. Unlike the plea hearing, Martinez was not in the courtroom Friday.

Riccio and Gulash declined comment as they left the Fairfield County Courthouse.

Perry had been charged with first-degree assault, second-degree assault, and first-degree reckless endangerment in connection with the assault on Feb. 22, 2018. He was later arrested again after police said Perry was found working as a bouncer at the club Martinez managed.

Martinez was severely beaten in the face, head and shoulders and spent a week in Bridgeport Hospital.

Police said Martinez and Perry had been involved in a relationship but she had stopped taking his calls. They said that on the day of the incident, Perry had gone to Martinezs home to confront her. The two began to argue, police said, and Perry, who is 5 feet, 11 inches tall and weighs 280 pounds, then began punching Martinez.

Police said Perry kept punching Martinez until she fell onto the floor and then may have kicked her while she lay there. Perry has a history of assaulting women, police said, and has been convicted of assault, manslaughter, and drug sales.

Police said on Sept. 27, 2020, detectives were reviewing video from the Keystone Club on Barnum Avenue in an investigation of a fatal shooting that occurred there when they said they spotted Perry working as a bouncer at the front door of the club. They said the video also showed Perry in the back of the club with Martinez in violation of the initial protective order to stay away from her.

Martinez, the manager of the former strip club-turned-social club, was charged with second-degree reckless endangerment and 10 counts of illegally selling alcohol in connection with the operation of the club. She is awaiting trial.
MANCHESTER  Police arrested a 15-year-old boy Friday after he allegedly stole a car with a baby still inside last month, according to the Manchester Police Department.

Officials are not releasing the identity of the teenager due to his age. Police said the teenager, who is from Manchester, has a history of vehicle thefts and other crimes.

The teenager was arrested Friday and taken to Hartford Juvenile Detention Center. He was charged with first-degree larceny, first-degree reckless endangerment, second-degree kidnapping, risk of injury to a minor, reckless driving, engaging police in a pursuit and other motor vehicle charges, the police department said.

The charges stemmed from an incident that took place around 12:45 p.m. on Oct. 4. The childs mother, and a witness, called police to St. Bridget School on Main Street in Manchester to report a stolen car with a 1-year-old child inside.

While officers were searching the area, the suspect stopped on a nearby residential street, placed the car seat with the child on a sidewalk and fled from the area. The child was quickly reunited with his mother, police said.

Police said they continued to search for the car, and even spotted it a few times that day, but the car failed to stop and engaged police in a pursuit. The driver led officers onto Interstate 384 west and then Interstate 84 west, where police used a tire deflation device.

The suspect swerved to avoid the device and continued westbound. Police stopped the pursuit based on the speed and erratic operation of the vehicle, the Manchester Police Department said Saturday.

Police later found the stolen car, a 2022 gray Lexus, abandoned on Union Street around 3 p.m. on Oct. 4. Officers used a police dog to track down the suspect, which led them to a nearby address.

Police were not able to identify the suspect until recently after they conducted a lengthy investigation, which involved locating witnesses, reviewing surveillance camera footage and analyzing DNA evidence obtained from the scene.

liz.hardaway@hearst.com
MARKS, Miss. (AP)  For the past five years, anybody who broke a leg, had a heart attack or came down with appendicitis in rural Quitman County, Mississippi, had to be driven at least 30 minutes to the east or west to get the kind of medical attention they needed.

The only hospital in Quitman County and the tiny town of Marks closed Oct. 31, 2016. Like many medical facilities in poor parts of America, Quitman County Hospital struggled to remain solvent as rural jobs dried up and people moved to larger communities.

Marks resident Pearl Watts said people without cars might pay their neighbors $20 each direction to get rides to or from hospitals. Traffic can easily slow to a crawl because of agricultural machinery or leisurely drivers on the two-lane highways that go past cotton and soybean fields in the Delta flatlands.

If I got ill over the night, I might not be able to get 17 miles or 20 miles to the next hospital, said Watts, who has multiple sclerosis.

So, it was a big deal when the local hospital reopened this month, this time under a new name. Quitman Community Hospital has eight beds and a 24/7 emergency room.

A couple hundred people gathered on the lawn outside the hospital Friday to celebrate the reopening.

For this to reopen, its a breath of fresh air, said Democratic state Sen. Robert Jackson of Marks.

Standing in the shade of a magnolia tree on the crisp fall day, the Quitman County Middle School Choir sang a gospel tune: Hold on just a little while longer. Everything will be all right."

Quitman County has about 6,800 residents, down from about 8,200 in 2010. Its poverty rate is about 35%, more than three times the U.S. poverty rate of 11%.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, whose expansive district includes Quitman County, said local residents had done the impossible by bringing health care back to the community. He also noted that the hospital's address is, appropriately, on Getwell Road.

You now start the process of growing Quitman County," he said.

Thompson also criticized Republican Gov. Tate Reeves, who was not present. Reeves has steadfastly opposed expanding Medicaid to the working poor, making Mississippi one of 12 states that have not taken advantage of that option under the health care overhaul signed into law by then-President Barack Obama in 2010.

Medicaid expansion dollars are available, should the governor of this state choose  and you could get millions of dollars invested at no cost, if the governor would just accept the money, Thompson said.

Republican U.S. Roger Wicker said hospitals are vital to small towns. Referring to the middle school choir, Wicker said: We want our best and our brightest, which were represented on that podium, to stay here in Mississippi and join the American dream in Quitman County, Mississippi, and in small-town Mississippi."

Mississippi hospitals must have a certificate of need approved by the state Board of Health. The certificate for the old Quitman County hospital was dormant, and it was set to expire at the end of October. With a sense of urgency, Quitman County elected officials reached out in early September to businesspeople who operate a hospital in next-door Panola County to see if they could help revive the hospital in their community.

The Board of Health extended the certificate of need, a local bank extended a loan and the deal clicked together, said Quentin Whitwell, CEO and administrator of the newly opened hospital.

Quitman County; Marks, Mississippi; the Mississippi Delta; the state of Mississippi  we can do great things," Whitwell said Friday. "And I promise you this, Congressman Thompson: I won't turn down a single federal dollar.

Robert Gaither, a 62-year-old military veteran, sat in a wheelchair under pecan trees across the street from the hospital and watched as people gathered for the celebration. He said he had previously been taken by ambulance to the hospital in Panola County, some 20 miles (32 kilometers) to the east. Asked about having a hospital in his own community, Gaither said: It's a blessing.

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Follow Emily Wagster Pettus on Twitter at http://twitter.com/EWagsterPettus.
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Chinese-built mock-ups of U.S. warships and aircraft meant for target practice send a clear message to the United States military, a professor at the U.S. Naval War College said recently.

Satellite imagery released Nov. 7 by the U.S. Naval Institute through Maxar Technologies shows targets built in the shape of a U.S. aircraft carrier and Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers at a complex of target ranges in the Taklamakan Desert in Chinas Xinjiang province.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby at a Nov. 8 news conference said China is obviously developing capabilities meant to prevent the U.S. from reaching certain areas in the Indo-Pacific region.

Also speaking at a news conference Nov. 8, Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman, Wang Wenbin, said he was not aware of those target mock-ups.

Subsequent satellite imagery shows what appear to be more targets in the shape of U.S. assets. A second, smaller carrier target was built approximately 300 miles away from the first, according to a Nov. 9 report from the U.S. Naval Institute.

Likewise, images of four mock F-35 Lightning II fighter jets in Xinjiang were released by Canada-based military magazine Kanwa International Journal in its latest monthly issue, according to the South China Morning Post on Thursday.

Building targets to simulate real-world combat is routine but the scale and effort demonstrated by Chinas target ranges reflects Beijings determination to outclass American naval power, according to professor Lyle Goldstein of the China Maritime Studies Institute. Goldstein is founding director of the institute at the Naval War College in Rhode Island, according to his online biography.

The Chinese know very well that U.S. satellites are monitoring and would eventually see these efforts, Goldstein said in a Tuesday email to Stars and Stripes. The Chinese leadership has made it clear in a variety of ways that they are developing the military capabilities to severely damage the U.S. Navy if it came to a military conflict.

Goldstein said the satellite images could be interpreted as political-military messaging, or it may be that Beijing doesnt intend to convey such a message and the Chinese military is merely training as a matter of course.

However, he said, its clear that China is preparing for potential engagement with U.S. warships.

The satellite imagery comes after months of escalating tension in the Indo-Pacific between the U.S., its allies and China. But Goldstein said the imagery probably will not exacerbate the situation, mostly because the U.S. is already aware of Chinas military developments.

Goldstein said the U.S. and China should tone down their saber-rattling and instead prioritize cooperation and dialogue between the two superpowers.

The region appears more and more to resemble a powder keg that is primed to explode. Both China and the U.S. have taken provocative steps that have escalated the situation over a period that goes back more than a decade now, he said. China must recognize that it cannot push the US out of the region. However, the U.S. also must realize that it has to adjust to Chinas growing power.
The Braves announced a series of roster moves in advance of this afternoons game against the Cubs. Atlanta selected the contracts of infielder Sean Kazmar Jr. and left-hander Jesse Biddle, recalled righty Bryse Wilson and placed outfielder Ender Inciarte and southpaw Sean Newcomb on the injured list. Righty Kyle Wright was optioned to the alternate training site last night. (ESPNs Jeff Passan had previously reported Kazmars impending call-up).

Kazmars return to the big leagues is nothing short of remarkable. A 36-year-old infielder, his entire MLB experience to date consists of 19 games with the 2008 Padres. Kazmar has since bounced between the San Diego, Seattle, Mets and Atlanta farm systems. He has spent the past eight years in the high minors with the Braves, and his determination to return to the big leagues will now pay off. Andrew Simon of MLB.com provided the starting lineups (via Twitter) of the last MLB game in which Kazmar appeared.

Biddle signed a minor-league deal with Atlanta earlier this month. The 29-year-old southpaw has pitched in the big leagues in each of the past three years, with the bulk of that time coming in 2018 with Atlanta. The former top prospect has a 4.68 ERA with subpar strikeout and walk rates (22.3% and 12.8%, respectively) over 92.1 innings at the highest level. Hell replace Newcomb, who was placed on the injured list for undisclosed reasons.

Inciarte, meanwhile, went on the 10-day IL as expected. He strained a hamstring in last nights game. With both Inciarte and Cristian Pache now on the shelf, Atlanta will turn to Guillermo Heredia in center field this afternoon.
Weather Alert

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM TO 5 PM MST MONDAY FOR GUSTY WINDS AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY FOR FIRE WEATHER ZONES 112, 114, 115, AND 117... The National Weather Service in Great Falls has issued a Red Flag Warning for gusty winds and low relative humidity, which is in effect from 11 AM to 5 PM MST Monday. The Fire Weather Watch is no longer in effect. * AFFECTED AREA...Eastern Glacier/Toole/Central/Eastern Pondera/Liberty, Lewis and Clark National Forest Rocky Mountain District-Rocky Mountain Front, Chouteau and Fergus Counties and Central and Eastern Lewis and Clark National Forest Areas. * WINDS...Southwest 20 to 30 mph, with gusts near 50 mph. * RELATIVE HUMIDITY...Around 15 percent. * IMPACTS...Fire ignitions could spread rapidly in rangeland areas where receptive fuels are available. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now, or will shortly. A combination of strong winds, low relative humidity, and warm temperatures can contribute to extreme fire behavior. Please advise the appropriate officials or fire crews in these areas of this Red Flag Warning. &&
Midland-based Mexco Energy Corp. reported net income of $1.103 million, or 52 cents per diluted share, for the six months ended Sept. 30, 2021. This compares to a net loss of $341,640, or 17 cents per diluted share, for the six months ended Sept. 30, 2020.

Operating revenues were $2,817,679 for the six month period, a 180% increase from $1,006,498 for the September 30, 2020 six month period.

Its not just the higher commodity pricing, its the production, Tammy McComic, Mexco president and chief financial officer, told the Reporter-Telegram by telephone.

There was a 29 percent increase in oil production and a 9 percent increase in natural gas production as well as increases in the average sales price of oil and natural gas to $66.85 per barrel (a 110 percent increase) and $3.70 per Mcf (a 201 percent increase), respectively, for the six months, the company reported.

Mexco does not operate any wells but is seeing a lot of developing in the properties it has invested in, she said. The company has royalty and (primarily) working interests.

Nick Taylor, Mexco chairman and chief executive officer, said he sees accelerating opportunities ahead the company as it celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2022, especially as its partners accelerate opportunities.

He and McComic noted with pride that the Oil & Gas Journal ranked Mexco as the 74th largest U.S. based publicly owned oil and gas company in its Sept. 6, 2021 issue, up from 96th.

Net income was $708,828, or 33 cents per diluted share, for the quarter ending Sept. 30, 2021, the companys second quarter of fiscal 2022, versus a net loss of $41,970, or 2 cents per diluted share, for the quarter ending September 30, 2020, and versus $395,006 net income for the preceding quarter ending June 30, 2021, a 79 percent increase.

Operating revenues in the second quarter of fiscal 2022 increased 144 percent to $1,553,481 from $636,042 for the second quarter of fiscal 2021. This increase resulted from a 24 percent increase in oil production and a 4 percent increase in natural gas production as well as the average sales price of oil and natural gas for the quarter to $69.62 per barrel (an 81 percent increase) and $4.41 per Mcf (a 213 percent increase), respectively.

Mexco currently plans to participate in the drilling and completion of approximately 39 horizontal wells at an estimated aggregate cost of approximately $1 million for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022. During the first six months of fiscal 2022, the company participated with various percentage interests in the drilling of 19 of these wells in the Delaware Basin in Lea and Eddy counties, New Mexico and Reeves County, Texas, with aggregate costs of approximately $450,000.

We have a lot of developing happening and plan to continue to invest, said McComic.

Mexco also spent approximately $165,000 during the first quarter of fiscal 2022 for the additional completion costs of 12 drilled but uncompleted horizontal wells located in Lea and Eddy Counties that the company participated in drilling during fiscal 2021. Two of these wells were completed at the end of June 2021 and beginning of July with initial average production rates of 1,406 barrels of oil, 3,214 barrels of water; and 2.146 million cubic feet of gas per day, or 1,403 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Mexcos working interest in these wells is 1.2 percent.

During the six months ended Sept. 30, 2021, the Company paid in full the $1.18 million balance on its bank line of credit.
US oil and gas operators continue to slowly but steadily put drilling rigs back to work.

Oilfield services company Baker Hughes and data analytics firm Enverus Friday said the US rig count rose by six  the third consecutive weekly increase  to 556, 244 more than the 312 reported at work nationwide last November.

There were 454 rigs seeking crude, up four for the week and 218 more than the 236 drilling for oil last year. There were 102 rigs drilling for natural gas, up two for the week and 29 more than the 73 seeking gas a year ago.

Texas rig count jumped by 10 to 264, 119 more than the 145 drilling across the state the previous year. New Mexico saw the steepest rig count decline among producing states, falling five to 81. Louisiana (1) and Ohio (2) joined Texas as producing states to see more rig activity while West Virginia (1) joined New Mexico as a producing state with a decline.

The Permian Basin inched up one rig to 272 and continues to hold almost half the nations drilling rigs. This weeks tally is 118 more than the 154 at work regionwide last year.

Lea County, New Mexico, remains the most active in the Permian with 53 rigs, down two for the week. Midland County came in second with 30 rigs, up three for the week.

Eddy County, New Mexico, had 26 rigs, down two for the week, closely followed by Reeves County with 25, up two for the week. Howard County, Loving County and Martin County each reported 19 rigs this week, down one for Howard, up three for Loving and down two for Martin. Upton County had 15 rigs for the fourth consecutive week.

In an email to the Reporter-Telegram, Todd Staples, president of the Texas Oil and Gas Association, noted that the rig count is the highest it has been since April of 2020. Increased rigs mean increased jobs for Texans, he said.

Josh Adler, founder and chief executive officer of Sourcenergy, told the Reporter-Telegram by email that Everyone is saying the same thing: The public companies are practicing capital discipline, but the private equity-backed private companies are grabbing market share.

If the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries suddenly cut loose, this could all go down very fast. Everyone is cautious, he added.

He called it insane that President Biden is begging OPEC to pump more oil to cut gasoline prices, which would lead to more gasoline consumption while making it tougher for American companies to do the same.

Moving the same amount of oil consumption to overseas producers does nothing to reduce greenhouse gases  the same amount of oil gets burned globally for the same amount of climate impact, he explained. Plus, he added, shipping the oil further distances in huge diesel tankers and shifting production to countries with less stringent environmental regulations than the US and with more methane leakage and more flaring just sends American consumer dollars out of America instead of supporting American companies, capital and workers and results in a net increase of greenhouse gases and environmental damage.
The Lone Star State has 511 ghost towns  the most of any U.S. state, according to GeoTab, a GPS hardware company which has researched more than 3,800 ghost towns across America. Wilson County contains the most, with 31, while there are 25 ghost towns within 25 miles of New Braunfels, according to GeoTab's map.

Ghost towns were once thriving communities that have dwindled over the decades, according to the website. Some vanished entirely or were absorbed into newer settlements, but many of these towns still stand, at least in part, allowing us glimpses of what these now-abandoned places once were.

Ghost towns are primarily associated with the Wild West frontier and people flocking to areas with valuable mineral resources, including gold and silver in the Rockies and oil in Texas, GeoTab reports. That means most such towns date from the 1880 to 1940 period.

Texas and California top the list thanks to mining and oil towns. Other top states include those in the Great Plains, such as Kansas, Oklahoma and the Dakotas. They have the ruins of farming communities destroyed by the Dust Bowl and economic downturns of the 1930s.

Courtesy of The Villa de la Mina

Maria Schmidt, who operates Mysterious Adventures Tours, says those visiting ghost towns should keep in mind that its a historical location, so they should always take precautions relating to the integrity of the physical structure, history and, per Schmidt, its potential supernatural exchange.

The cardinal rule is to be smart, safe and a good citizen when visiting ghost towns, especially those that are abandoned. If able and available, ask permission to enter and respect Private Property or Do not enter signs, she says. The best bet is to choose Open to the Public locations that may even offer historical tours.You will be contributing to historic preservation efforts needed by the ghost town.

In addition, she said its important to familiarize yourself with potential dangers or risks in ghost town explorations, such as unstable structures, condemned conditions, or even harmful air quality.

Avoid venturing on your own. Having a friend with you will allow you to share the experience at that moment and will serve as a resource for assistance. Dress smart and bring the right tools and equipment with you. Good walking shoes and plenty of flashlights will smartly serve you.

According to the Texas Historical Commission, these are a few ghost towns worth checking out in the state:

Terlingua, Brewster Co.

Big Bend National Park

Tucked in the lowland desert between the national and state parks lie the small communities of Study Butte, Terlingua and Lajitas. The remains of the Big Bend Quicksilver Mine can be found at the base of Study Butte, which serves as the western entrance to the national park. A smattering of motels, restaurants, shops and outfitters occupy the streets where miners once struggled to survive on meager wages. The name Terlingua has been applied to three different settlements in this area, with the current version founded after the discovery of quicksilver in the late 1800s. In 1906, wealthy businessman Howard Perry built a mansion overlooking the town. The Chisos Mining Company provided employment for hundreds of workers, many of whom lived in the simple, stacked-rock structures that still stand. Quicksilver mining peaked by the end of World War I. Many of the original mining buildings are filled with saloons, eateries, and small shops today, and a number of the tiny rock structures have been restored to serve as residences for Big Bends desert dwellers. The Perry Mansion underwent a restoration in 2014, and guest rooms are available in the historic old building.

Thurber, Erath/Palo Pinto Co.

In the early 20th century, a prosperous coal and brick operation made Thurber a thriving city between Fort Worth and El Paso. Owned by the Texas and Pacific Coal Company, the booming company town became Americas first totally unionized community. In 1917, the companys entrepreneurial executive, W.K. Gordon, struck oil in nearby Ranger, setting the stage for the West Texas oil boom. Ironically, steam locomotives began burning oil instead of locally mined bituminous coal. The company continued operation of the brick plant, but by the late 1930s, Thurber was a ghost town. The W.K. Gordon Center for Industrial History of Texas, a component of Tarleton State University, uses lively interactive exhibits to trace Thurbers boom-to-bust story. The museum and research center also highlights the broader industrial past of Texas and the Southwest.

Mobeetie, Wheeler Co.

In 1875, a trading post and buffalo hunter camp sprang up near Fort Elliott, one of Texas last frontier forts. The fort was served by African American troops called Buffalo Soldiers, among them West Points first black graduate, Henry O. Flipper. The settlement grew into Mobeetie, one of the Panhandles earliest towns and the original Wheeler County seat. Mobeeties colorful history is retold at the Old Mobeetie Jail Museum. The flagpole from the forts original parade grounds stands out front, while half a mile away, a granite historical marker pinpoints the original site of Fort Elliott. A visitor center, housed in a 1923 school, chronicles the Red River War and displays paintings by Texas artist Kenneth Wyatt. Visit the nearby town of Wheeler to see the Wheeler Historical Museum and restored Wheeler County Courthouse.
Back in 2010, Us Weekly published a cover story that would eventually become a part of pop culture history. "Jake & Taylor IN LOVE!" the headline screamed, splashed across a photo of country-pop star Taylor Swift with one arm wrapped around actor Jake Gyllenhaal's shoulder as he gripped her hand. It was a perfect fall day in Brooklyn on Thanksgiving. Swift was wearing a striped scarf and holding a maple latte (these facts will be important later), while Gyllenhaal was bundled up in a puffer jacket. They were both beaming, either pretending to ignore or blatantly showing off for the paparazzi cameras nearby, and really did look IN LOVE.

At the time, 20-year-old Swift and 29-year-old Gyllenhaal had been reportedly dating for about six weeks. By the end of the year, the relationship would be over. But instead of becoming a short-lived celebrity relationship lost to time, it would inspire an album that eventually sold more than 7 million copies. And possibly more importantly for Swift's fiercely loyal fan base, the split led to a wrenching breakup ballad that is deeply meaningful to her listeners and was recently named by Rolling Stone as one of the greatest songs of all time.

The album was "Red," released in 2012, and the song was "All Too Well" - a track that, even as Swift transformed into a pop megastar, is still widely considered the best song she has ever written in her 15-year career.

Now, "All Too Well" is back in the spotlight in the most unusual way. After a contentious dispute with her former Nashville record label over the lucrative master recordings of her first six albums, Swift announced in 2019 that she would rerecord each album so she would fully own them. On Friday, Swift officially dropped the new "Red (Taylor's Version)." The fifth track was still "All Too Well" - but in a twist, the final tune was "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)," with previously unreleased lyrics that fans have been obsessing over for years.

To understand why the 10-minute version has become such a frenzied topic in Taylor Swift lore, you must understand the nature of the Taylor Swift fan. As you may know, Swift became famous for sharing real stories of her personal life and relationships in her songs. Even as she always coyly declined to name names, she dropped clues in the liner notes, which would send fans (and tabloids) into a tailspin to decode them. She also started her career in country music, a genre where even the biggest stars are expected to treat fans like friends, so her relatability to listeners remains on a higher level than most superstars.

Part of the reason "All Too Well" stood out, along with its razor-sharp lyrics (The most-quoted: "You call me up again just to break me like a promise, so casually cruel in the name of being honest"), is that it was packed with specific details as the devastated narrator reflected on the happiest memories of a failed relationship. Swift, naturally, didn't reveal the identity of her paramour - but she did everything except include Gyllenhaal's photo in the liner notes, as the song's clue was "MAPLE LATTE." You might remember that was the beverage the couple was carrying through Brooklyn on their photographed Thanksgiving walk.

Over the last decade, as the song became a classic in the Swift catalogue, fans have taken great pleasure in lightly tormenting Gyllenhaal, whom Swift expertly roasted throughout multiple songs on the album. The actor, who does not like to be asked about Swift, once made the mistake of posting a childhood photo of himself on Instagram, and fans flooded the comments with the "All Too Well" line, "You used to be a little kid with glasses in a twin-sized bed." The picture is now deleted.

Another trope became "the scarf," thanks to the lyric, "I left my scarf there at your sister's house, and you've still got it in your drawer, even now." The aforementioned Thanksgiving took place with Gyllenhaal's sister, actress Maggie Gyllenhaal, who was in some of the paparazzi photos - and Jake has since been spotted with a scarf that looks awfully similar to the one Swift was wearing that day. (Maggie professed ignorance when this topic came up a few years ago on Bravo's "Watch What Happens Live," though said "everyone asks" her about it.)

Then, as if the song needed even more hype, Swift and her co-writer, legendary Nashville writer Liz Rose, eventually confirmed that an extended version existed. In a 2020 interview with Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums podcast ("Red" ranked No. 99), Swift said she came up with the lyrics for "All Too Well" during rehearsals with her band on a day when she felt like "a broken human." She kept writing, and before she knew it the song was 10 minutes long. So she called Rose for some editing.

"Taylor said, 'Hey, I've got this song that I've written and it's this really long idea and I could really use some help to fix it. Do you think you could do that this afternoon?'" Rose told The Washington Post in a 2016 interview. Rose, battling a sinus infection and in the middle of a move, knew that no one declines a songwriting session with Swift. So she said "Sure!," grabbed some tissues, tossed her keys to the movers, and headed out.

Swift never intended to release the unedited version, but the clamoring from fans was too much to resist. "This will be the first time you hear all 30 songs that were meant to go on Red," she wrote in a social media post in August, casually adding, "And hey, one of them is even ten minutes long." Later, she announced that it would be accompanied by a short film.

Obviously, the Swift fandom lost its mind. Fans have turned a clip of the ballad into a meme on TikTok, showing how they're preparing for the emotional experience of hearing the sure-to-be devastating updated lyrics: Some record themselves searching for the perfect corner of their home where they can have a full-on breakdown, while others just lie on the ground in the rain.

For what it's worth, Gyllenhaal may want to stay off the Internet this weekend; the extended lyrics continue to paint him in an unflattering light. Swift brings up the incident where Gyllenhaal skips her 21st birthday - an offense detailed in another "Red" track, "The Moment I Knew" - and recalls him trying to impress her father by telling "self-effacing jokes, sipping coffee like you were on a late-night show."

"You said if we had been closer in age, maybe it would have been fine, and that made me want to die," Swift sings, further twisting the knife with, "I was never good at telling jokes, but the punchline goes, 'I'll get older, but your lovers stay my age.'" (Gyllenhaal, now 40, is dating 25-year-old model Jeanne Cadieu.)

Perhaps the most surprising fact of the impact of "All Too Well" was that it was just an album track. Swift said as much during the Rolling Stone podcast, adding that she didn't expect the song to take on a life of its own, primarily because it wasn't a radio single and didn't have a music video. She was shocked when fans started constantly requesting it.

"I truly can't believe it now when I play it live and everybody in the crowd knows every word," Swift said. "That's one of the most beautiful things about this album for me when I look back on it: Like, wow, I really didn't pick that one. I thought it was too dark, too sad, too intense . . . so it's fun when things surprise you like that."
MADISON, Wis. (AP)  Kyle Rittenhouse shot three men, killing two of them and wounding the third, during a protest against police brutality in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last year. Rittenhouse argued that he fired in self-defense after the men attacked him. Here's a look at the charges that prosecutors carried into court, as well as lesser charges that the judge put before the jury in his final instructions.

COUNT 1: FIRST-DEGREE RECKLESS HOMICIDE, USE OF A DANGEROUS WEAPON

This felony charge was connected to the death of Joseph Rosenbaum, the first man Rittenhouse shot. Bystander video shows Rosenbaum chasing Rittenhouse through a parking lot and throwing a plastic bag at him. Rittenhouse flees behind a car and Rosenbaum follows. Video introduced at trial showed Rittenhouse wheeling around and firing as Rosenbaum chased him. Richie McGinniss, a reporter who was trailing Rittenhouse, testified that Rosenbaum lunged for Rittenhouse's gun.

Reckless homicide differs from intentional homicide in that prosecutors weren't alleging that Rittenhouse intended to murder Rosenbaum. Instead, they were alleging that Rittenhouse caused Rosenbaum's death in circumstances showing an utter disregard for human life.

The charge was punishable by up to 60 years in prison. The dangerous weapon modifier carried an additional five years.

COUNT 2: FIRST-DEGREE RECKLESSLY ENDANGERING SAFETY, USE OF A DANGEROUS WEAPON

This felony charge was connected to the Rosenbaum shooting. McGinniss told investigators he was in the line of fire when Rittenhouse shot Rosenbaum. The charge would have been punishable by 12 1/2 years in prison. The weapons modifier carried an additional five years.

COUNT 3: FIRST-DEGREE RECKLESSLY ENDANGERING SAFETY, USE OF A DANGEROUS WEAPON

Video shows an unknown man leaping at Rittenhouse and trying to kick him seconds before Anthony Huber moves his skateboard toward him. Rittenhouse appears to fire two rounds at the man but apparently misses as the man runs away.

This charge is a felony punishable by 12 1/2 years in prison. The weapons modifier again would have added up to five more years.

COUNT 4: FIRST-DEGREE INTENTIONAL HOMICIDE, USE OF A DANGEROUS WEAPON

This charge was in Huber's death. Video shows Rittenhouse running down the street after shooting Rosenbaum when he falls to the street. Huber leaps at him and swings a skateboard at his head and neck and tries to grab Rittenhouse's gun before Rittenhouse fires. The criminal complaint alleged Rittenhouse aimed the weapon at Huber.

Intentional homicide means just that  a person killed someone and meant to do it. A conviction would have meant a mandatory life sentence. The weapons modifier would have added up to five years.

The jury also was given the option of second-degree intentional homicide and first-degree reckless homicide in Huber's death.

Second-degree intentional homicide would have been punishable by up to 60 years in prison.

The first-degree reckless homicide charge sought in Huber's death matched an original charge in Rosenbaum's death  it would have required jurors to decide that Rittenhouse caused Huber's death with an utter disregard for human life  and would have been punishable by up to 60 years in prison.

COUNT 5: ATTEMPTED FIRST-DEGREE INTENTIONAL HOMICIDE, USE OF A DANGEROUS WEAPON

This was the charge for Rittenhouse shooting Gaige Grosskreutz in the arm seconds after he shot Huber, and as Grosskreutz came toward him holding a pistol. Grosskreutz survived. Video shows Rittenhouse pointing his gun at Grosskreutz and firing a single round.

The charge carries a maximum sentence of 60 years. The weapons modifier would have added up to five more years.

The jury also was given the option of considering second-degree attempted intentional homicide and first-degree reckless endangerment charges.

The possible punishment for attempted second-degree intentional homicide is 30 years. Attempted first-degree reckless endangerment is punishable by up to 12 1/2 years.

COUNT 6: POSSESSION OF A DANGEROUS WEAPON BY A PERSON UNDER 18

The judge dismissed this charge on Monday.

Rittenhouse was armed with an AR-style semi-automatic rifle. He was 17 years old on the night of the shootings. Wisconsin law prohibits minors from possessing firearms except for hunting or when supervised by an adult in target practice or instruction in the proper use of a dangerous weapon. Rittenhouses attorneys argued that another subsection of the law, regarding short-barreled rifles, provided grounds for dismissing the charge.

Prosecutors argued the defense was misreading the statute, and Schroeder had earlier twice declined to dismiss the charge. But the judge also had said the statute was confusing. After prosecutors conceded that the rifle was not short-barreled, Schroeder dismissed the charge.

COUNT 7: FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH AN EMERGENCY ORDER FROM STATE OR LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Rittenhouse was charged with being out on the streets after an 8 p.m. curfew imposed by the city, a minor offense that carries a fine of up to $200. The judge dismissed this charge during the trial, saying the prosecution didn't offer enough evidence to prove it.

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Find the APs full coverage of the Rittenhouse trial: https://apnews.com/hub/kyle-rittenhouse
WARSAW, Poland (AP)  Polish police said Saturday that the body of a young Syrian man was found in the woods near the border with Belarus, the latest victim in a political standoff at the European Union's eastern border.

The regime in Minsk has for months been encouraging illegal migration across its border into the EU nations of Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. All three countries are reinforcing their frontiers, seeking to block the newly opened migration route, and the situation is growing more dangerous as winter approaches.

Polish police said the body of a Syrian man about 20 years old was found a day earlier near the village of Wolka Terechowska. They said the exact cause of death could not be determined and that an autopsy would be performed.

It brings the death toll now to at least nine reported victims in the migration encouraged by Belarus longtime President Alexander Lukashenko.

Many of the migrants are from Syria, Iraq, or elsewhere in the Middle East, people seeking to flee conflict and hopelessness for the prospect of better lives in Europe.

The crisis is creating another point of tension between the West and Belarus, and by extension with its closest ally: Russia.

Though Russia this week sent nuclear-capable strategic bombers and paratroopers to patrol over Belarus in a show of support, Russian President Vladimir Putin denied allegations of being involved in creating the flow of migrants to Europe.

I want everyone to know that we have nothing to do with it. Everyone is trying to impose any responsibility on us for any reason and for no reason at all," Putin said in excerpts released Saturday of an interview with state television that is to be broadcast in full on Sunday.

He said that no Russian aviation companies carry the migrants to Belarus, and also lashed out at the West as a root cause for the crisis, with military operations in Iraq and elsewhere that have led to continued conflict in the region.

Is it Belarus that pioneered these problems, or what? No, these are causes that were created by the Western countries themselves, including European countries, Putin said.

A large number of migrants are in a makeshift camp on the Belarusian side of the border in frigid conditions. Polish authorities report daily new attempts by the migrants to breach the border.

The situation shows no signs of ending soon. Belarusian state news agency Belta reported that Lukashenko on Saturday ordered the military to set up tents at the border where food and other humanitarian aid can be gathered and distributed to the migrants.

Poland's Border Guards agency on Saturday morning said in one case, Belarusian soldiers began destroying a temporary border barrier near the Polish village of Czeremcha and used laser beams to blind Polish security services.

Nearby, a group of some 100 migrants and refugees waited to cross the border. Belarusians equipped the foreigners with tear gas, which was used toward the Polish services, the Border Guards said, saying the Poles stopped the attempts to cross.

Many of the reported incidents at the border are very hard to verify. Independent journalists face limits to their reporting in Belarus, and a state of emergency in Polands border zone prevents media from entering the area.

The state of emergency ends Nov. 30, and the Polish government said Saturday that it is working on a plan to let journalists at that time be able to again report from the border area with the permission of the Border Guards.

The Polish military reported that a soldier on duty at the border died in an accident on Saturday. The soldier was not in direct contact with migrants, and a military statement said the accident involved the firing of a service weapon.

After the large migration into Europe in 2015, Europe has been reinforcing its borders to discourage the arrival of more migrants and refugees. Still, every year, tens of thousands try to get in, embarking on dangerous and sometimes deadly journeys by sea and land.

Since the summer, thousands have been lured by what appeared to be a new and easier way to slip into Europe, through Belarus.

The EU accuses Lukashenko of creating the artificial route in order to retaliate for sanctions against his regime imposed after an election in 2020 widely viewed as flawed and a harsh crackdown on internal dissent that followed.

The restrictions were toughened after an incident in May when a passenger jet flying from Greece to Lithuania was diverted by Belarus to Minsk, where authorities arrested dissident journalist Raman Pratasevich. The EU called it air piracy, barred Belarusian carriers from its skies and cut imports of the countrys top commodities, including petroleum products and potash, an ingredient in fertilizer.

A furious Lukashenko shot back by saying he would no longer abide by an agreement to stem illegal migration, arguing that the EU sanctions deprived his government of funds needed to contain flows of migrants. Planes carrying migrants from Iraq, Syria and other countries began arriving in Belarus.

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Jim Heintz in Moscow contributed.

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Follow APs migration coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/migration
H-E-B Newsroom

On Friday, November 12, H-E-B announced a new line that strives for a more environmentally minded focus, with products ranging from soap to household cleaners.

The official launch of Field & Future coincides with America Recycles Day on Monday, November 15. To honor the holiday, the grocery company is also partnering with Keep Texas Recycling (an offshoot of Keep Texas Beautiful) to make recycling more accessible across the state of Texas.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)  Smokey Bear taught kids the importance of preventing wildfires. McGruff the Crime Dog warned them not to talk to strangers. And in 1972, Big Bird lined up on Sesame Street to receive a measles vaccine as part of a campaign to get more youngsters inoculated against the disease.

But when that same iconic, 8-foot-tall childrens character tweeted last weekend that he had been vaccinated against COVID-19, conservative politicians immediately pushed back.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican, grilled Big Bird for what he called government propaganda." Fox News contributor Lisa Boothe described it as brainwashing children and twisted.

My wing is feeling a little sore, but itll give my body an extra protective boost that keeps me and others healthy, Big Bird tweeted.

Sesame Street has long faced grumbles from conservatives unhappy with its connections to U.S. public broadcasting, which receives federal funding. Yet this latest fallout marked a new contentious flashpoint that has plagued previous rollouts of the vaccine, just as the shot becomes available to children between the ages of 5 and 11.

Nearly 50 years ago, when the show was in its third season, Sesame Street encouraged kids to get the measles vaccine by showing Big Bird and other children getting the injection. The move was similar to other public service campaigns that used beloved characters to help teach children life lessons, including discouraging littering, wearing seatbelts and looking both ways before crossing the street.

What Big Bird is doing is part of a long tradition. But whats different now, of course, is that everything is political and everything is contentious," said Thomas Doherty, an American studies professor at Brandeis University. Something that we all wanted a year ago, the vaccine, is now this matter of great contention.

Controversy at the intersection of TV and politics has popped up here and there for decades. In 1952, I Love Lucy didn't use the word pregnant once in an episode that focused on the title character, Lucy Ricardo, having a baby after executives determined that doing so would be too scandalous.

The 1970s TV series Maude," a spinoff show of All in the Family," which explored all manner of political and racial issues in the household of a bigoted man from the New York City borough of Queens, showed the character Maude opting to get an abortion. The storyline was aired a year before the U.S. Supreme Court made Roe vs. Wade the law of the land. Multiple affiliates refused to air reruns of the episode.

In the early 1990s, the sitcom Murphy Brown found itself in a high-profile tiff during the 1992 presidential campaign when Dan Quayle, vice president to George H.W. Bush, lambasted the unmarried Murphys pregnancy as a mockery of fatherhood and American morality.

In The Puppy Episode of Ellen that aired in 1997, Ellen DeGeneres made history as the first prime-time lead on network TV to come out as gay. It was a huge cultural moment, but it also sparked attacks from religious groups. ABC later placed a warning about adult content when DeGeneres' character kissed another woman in a separate episode.

Nearly 15 years ago, PBS was denounced by the nation's education secretary after it spent money on a cartoon with lesbian characters. The episode of Postcards From Buster featured two lesbian couples while the title character, an animated bunny, was on a trip to Vermont  a state at the time that was known for recognizing same-sex civil unions when many others did not. PBS later decided not to distribute the episode to its stations.

When you get a mass medium as dominant and powerful as television ... thats always going to be a battleground over what messages get out there, said Robert Thompson, director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University.

Big Bird's tweet ruffled others' feathers at a time when educational messages directed toward children are under increased scrutiny. Schools have seen an uptick in heated debates from frustrated parents and elected officials over how racial and social justice issues are handled in classrooms and instructional materials. Most recently, Republican Glenn Youngkin won the Virginia governors race after seizing on conservatives frustrations with schools.

Meanwhile, education officials have faced multiple conflicts on how they should handle mask and testing requirements during a pandemic. Some Republicans have pushed back against marketing the COVID-19 vaccine directly to minors.

The whole `Sesame Street' embrace of diversity, inclusion, being nice, paying attention to people of poverty and of different colors, that is all a form of education directed at kids that most people would think is a really good thing and a great contribution. Then comes the vaccines, Thompson said. And now, this idea of getting a vaccine is no longer a celebration. Its become something else.

In Tennessee, the state briefly halted its vaccine outreach to children and fired its top vaccination director after GOP leaders threatened to dissolve the health agency over marketing efforts to get children vaccinated against the disease. During a meeting with department heads, Republican Rep. Scott Cepicky held up a printout of the ad featuring a smiling teen with a Band-Aid who had recently been vaccinated and called it reprehensible.

The GOP-controlled General Assembly later passed legislation banning certain minors as young as 14 from getting the shot without parental consent  an option that was previously available, albeit used infrequently. The measure, which Republican Gov. Bill Lee promised to sign this week, has only a handful of exceptions.

"It's not surprising that the pandemic, vaccination and following public health advice might fall into this cultural battle or effort to leverage emotive issues to your political advantage if you're a senator or a political candidate," said Colin Woodard, author of  American Character: The History of the Epic Struggle Between Individual Liberty and the Common Good.

The flashpoints in our culture wars," Woodard said, are often flashpoints between an individual liberty and a common good perspective."

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This story has been corrected to show that the abortion storyline occurred on the show Maude, not All in the Family.

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Kimberlee Kruesi covers politics and the coronavirus pandemic for The Associated Press. Follow her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/kkruesi
Walking in the front doors of South Jacksonville Elementary School, the students are greeted by heroes.

Not by a hello but, after the COVID-19 pandemic once again prevented the school from hosting its Veterans Day ceremony, by pictures of veterans on the wall.

Despite the cancellation, the school wanted its students to see the community's veterans and those associated with the school.

Teacher Dana Fricke and students created the Wall of Veterans, which hosts students' relatives and school alumni who have served or are serving in the armed forces.

"We had Red Ribbon Week and we built off that," Fricke said. "These projects help them get a bigger sense of self-being."

Because students are missing out on in-person interaction with veterans because of the limitations of the pandemic, the school at least wanted to have some conversations about what a veteran is and allow students to make connections to those around them, Fricke said.

"We want to focus on the good things and the heroes and the people they can look up to," Fricke said. "Some of these people were students here, and this shows our students that this could be them someday if they choose to go into the military."

Fifth-grader Vienna Lindsey and fourth-grader Griffin Saxer each have relatives on the wall.

"I think it's cool that we are able to do stuff to honor veterans," Vienna said. "I brought in two grandpas" for the wall.

It's awesome to have family on the wall, Griffin said.

"I think it's pretty cool (my classmates) get to learn about him," Griffin said. "He told me stories a few years ago."

In addition to the Wall of Veterans, the school has been collecting items to give to the Franklin/Waverly Military Support Group, which will take the supplies and create care packages they will send to military members serving overseas. The group performs a Red Ride each year to raise funds to send the care packages.

Fricke participated in the run this past year, which is how she learned about the project.

"I come from a military family  my grandpa, dad, nephew and son  we have a strong military background," Fricke said.

The donations are sitting opposite the Wall of Veterans, under the school's Helping Hands tree.

"Each student made a hand and we built the tree," Fricke said. "This project sort of grew from that. We have all 312 students' hands on the wall."

The school was able to collect a variety of goods, from sanitary wipes and toilet paper to cards and homemade items, games and snacks.

"The biggest request was for beef jerky and good toilet paper," Fricke said.

Griffin has been helping organize the collected items.

"I liked collecting the donations so they can give to people that are serving in the military," he said.
Two people are in custody after a suspicious vehicle in a Springfield alley led to the discovery of a Virden man's body in the trunk.

Springfield Police were assisting federal marshals with an investigation when they found the body of Derek J. Banker Barnett, 30, of Virden.
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP)  Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska announced Friday she will run for reelection in 2022, setting up a race against a primary challenger endorsed by former President Donald Trump.

Playing up her centrist bona fides, Murkowski said in a campaign video that she would work across party lines to help Alaska and "stand up to any politician or special interest that threatens our way of life. Trump has vowed revenge against Murkowski and other Republican lawmakers who supported his impeachment over the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Murkowski told reporters in Anchorage on Friday there will be plenty of people on the outside who will be gunning for me, who will suggest that I am not right for Alaskans. I would put that directly to the people of this state.

It's very easy to get distracted by people on the outside. It's very easy to get distracted by those who would say theyre going to do something," she said later. "My focus needs to be on the people of Alaska, serving them and asking for their permission for continued service.

Murkowski is the only Republican senator who voted to convict Trump at his impeachment trial to face reelection next year. The race will be closely watched nationally as an indicator of Trump's lasting influence with GOP voters after his 2020 election defeat and will show whether Republicans remain willing to punish lawmakers who they believe have been disloyal to the former president.

In addition to her impeachment vote, Murkowski called for Trump's resignation after the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, in which hundreds of his supporters stormed the building in an attempt to stop the certification of President Joe Biden's election victory. Trump has since said people charged in the attack were being persecuted so unfairly."

Murkowski, 64, had been coy about her reelection plans to this point even as she had been raising money. So far, she has outraised her Trump-backed opponent Kelly Tshibaka, according to fundraising reports.

Murkowski filed paperwork with the state Division of Elections on Friday. She said campaigns are too darn long" and she figured announcing about a year out from the general election was plenty of time.

Tshibaka has not yet filed with the office but has filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission.

Murkowski's announcement came days after she touted the passage of a massive federal infrastructure package that she called consequential for growing the economy and jobs. She was among 19 Republican senators who joined all the Democrats in backing the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill.

Those who are pushing back and saying that a Republican cannot support this measure have not looked at what this legislation is going to do for this country, she said Wednesday.

Murkowski has been in the Senate since 2002, when her father, Frank, selected her to finish his unexpired term after he was elected governor. A Murkowski has represented Alaska in the Senate since 1981.

Tshibaka, who has sought to cast Murkowski as an enabler of Bidens administration, said Friday that it was now official that Lisa Murkowski wont relinquish the Senate seat her father appointed her to 20 years ago, but its just as clear that Alaskans are fed up with her.

Its time for new conservative leaders with courage and common sense to lead our nation forward, and I stand ready to step into that responsibility, Tshibaka said.

Murkowski has bucked the Republican Party before. She lost her 2010 primary to a conservative candidate but went on to win the general election with a write-in campaign.

After the Jan. 6 riot, Murkowski called on Trump to resign the presidency, telling the Anchorage Daily News, I want him to resign. I want him out. He has caused enough damage.

Trump, during his impeachment trial earlier this year, was acquitted of the sole charge of incitement of insurrection.

Murkowski was censured by the Alaska Republican Party in March for her vote to convict, but the National Republican Senatorial Committee endorsed her. In July, the Alaska Republican State Central Committee endorsed Tshibaka, a former commissioner of Alaskas Department of Administration.

Alaska Republican Party Chair Ann Brown said in a statement Friday that Tshibaka has captured the support of conservatives around the state and is working hard to win.

Murkowski said she has been a Republican since she was old enough to vote and has support from Republican colleagues. But she said it's not about seeking endorsement from a party as much as seeking endorsement from all Alaskans.

Murkowski was the lone Republican to oppose advancing Trump's Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in a procedural vote, expressing unease with the sexual misconduct allegations made against him, which he denied. She voted present in the final 50-48 vote that elevated Kavanaugh to the high court.

Trump won Alaska with 52.8% of the vote last year, while Biden got about 42.8% of the vote. Tshibaka has gotten support from Trump allies and announced recently plans for a fundraiser with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida for February.

Alaska voters last year passed an initiative to end party primaries and institute ranked-choice voting for general elections. Under the system, the top four vote-getters in a primary race, regardless of party affiliation, will advance to the general election. A state court judge earlier this year upheld the new voting process. That decision has been appealed to the Alaska Supreme Court.

A number of candidates have already filed with the state Division of Elections for the race. The list of candidates on the division's website does not yet include a Democrat.

Lindsay Kavanaugh, executive director of the Alaska Democratic Party, said Alaskans deserve better than to choose one side of a proxy war between Mitch McConnells candidate and Donald Trumps candidate. Democrats reject both of those Republican brands.

Democrats will have a candidate in the race "who will be a clear choice for Alaskans, she said in a statement.
GLASGOW, Scotland (AP)  Almost 200 nations accepted a compromise deal Saturday aimed at keeping a key global warming target alive, but it contained a last-minute change that watered down crucial language about coal.

Several countries, including small island states, said they were deeply disappointed by the change promoted by India to phase down, rather than phase out coal power, the single biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions.

Our fragile planet is hanging by a thread, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement. We are still knocking on the door of climate catastrophe.

Nation after nation had complained after two weeks of U.N. climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland, about how the deal did not go far or fast enough. But they said it was better than nothing and provided incremental progress, if not success.

In the end, the summit broke ground by singling out coal, however weakly, by setting the rules for international trading of carbon credits, and by telling big polluters to come back next year with improved pledges for cutting emissions.

But domestic priorities both political and economic again kept nations from committing to the fast, big cuts that scientists say are needed to keep warming below dangerous levels which would produce extreme weather and rising seas capable of erasing some island nations.

Ahead of the Glasgow talks, the United Nations had set three criteria for success, and none of them were achieved. The U.N.s criteria included pledges to cut carbon dioxide emissions in half by 2030, $100 billion in financial aid from rich nations to poor, and ensuring that half of that money went to helping the developing world adapt to the worst effects of climate change.

We did not achieve these goals at this conference, Guterres said. But we have some building blocks for progress.

Swiss environment minister Simonetta Sommaruga said the change will make it harder to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial times - the more stringent threshold set in the 2015 Paris Agreement.

U.S. climate envoy John Kerry said governments had no choice but to accept Indias coal language change: If we hadnt done that we wouldnt have had an agreement.

But he insisted the deal was good news for the world.

We are in fact closer than we have ever been before to avoiding climate chaos and securing cleaning air, safer water and healthier planet, he said later at a news conference.

Many other nations and climate campaigners criticized India for making demands that weakened the final agreement.

"Indias last-minute change to the language to phase down but not phase out coal is quite shocking, said Australian climate scientist Bill Hare, who tracks world emission pledges for the science-based Climate Action Tracker. India has long been a blocker on climate action, but I have never seen it done so publicly.

Others approached the deal from a more positive perspective. In addition to the revised coal language, the Glasgow Climate Pact included enough financial incentives to almost satisfy poorer nations and solved a long-standing problem to pave the way for carbon trading.

The agreement also says big carbon polluting nations have to come back and submit stronger emission cutting pledges by the end of 2022.

Negotiators said the deal preserved, albeit barely, the overarching goal of limiting Earth's warming by the end of the century to 1.5 degrees. The planet has already warmed 1.1 degrees Celsius (2 degrees Fahrenheit) compared to preindustrial times.

Governments used the word progress more than 20 times Saturday, but rarely used the word success and then mostly in that theyve reached a conclusion, not about the details in the agreement. Conference President Alok Sharma said the deal drives progress on coal, cars, cash and trees and is something meaningful for our people and our planet.

Environmental activists were measured in their not-quite-glowing assessments, issued before Indias last minute change.

Its meek, its weak and the 1.5 C goal is only just alive, but a signal has been sent that the era of coal is ending. And that matters, said Greenpeace International Executive Director Jennifer Morgan, a veteran of the U.N. climate talks known as the Conferences of Parties.

Former Irish President Mary Robinson, speaking for a group of retired leaders called The Elders, said the pact represents : the pact represents some progress, but nowhere near enough to avoid climate disaster....People will see this as a historically shameful dereliction of duty.

Indian Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav argued against a provision on phasing out coal, saying that developing countries were entitled to the responsible use of fossil fuels.

Yadav blamed unsustainable lifestyles and wasteful consumption patterns in rich countries for causing global warming.

After Yadav first raised the specter of changing the coal language, a frustrated European Union Vice President Frans Timmermans, the 27-nation EU's climate envoy, begged negotiators to be united for future generations.

For heaven's sake, don't kill this moment, Timmermans pleaded. "Please embrace this text so that we bring hope to the hearts of our children and grandchildren.

Helen Mountford, vice president of the World Resources Institute think tank, said India's demand may not matter as much as feared because the economics of cheaper, renewable fuel is making coal increasingly obsolete.

"Coal is dead. Coal is being phased out, Mountford said. Its a shame that they watered it down.

Kerry and several other negotiators said that good compromises leave everyone slightly unsatisfied and that countries had more work ahead of them over the coming years.

Paris built the arena and Glasgow starts the race," the veteran U.S. diplomat said. "And tonight the starting gun was fired.

Chinese negotiator Zhao Yingmin echoed that sentiment.

I think our biggest success is to finalize the rulebook," Zhao told the Associated Press. Now we can start implementing it and delivering it on our achieved consensus.

Among those highlighting the cost of failure was Aminath Shauna, the Maldives' minister for environment, climate change and technology.

Shauna pointed out that to stay within the warming limit nations agreed in Paris, the world must cut carbon dioxide emissions essentially in half in 98 months  a formidable task.

"The difference between 1.5 and 2 degrees is a death sentence for us," she said.

Yassmin Fouad Abdelaziz, Egypts environment minister, said next year's talks to be held in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh would focus on aid and compensation for poor countries.

As negotiators left the final session after congratulating themselves, they passed a young lone protester who sat silently with red blood-like writing on crossed arms that said: We are watching.

___

Associated Press writers Aniruddha Ghosal, Karl Ritter, David Keyton and Ellen Knickmeyer contributed to this report.

___

Follow AP's coverage of the talks at http://apnews.com/hub/climate
Priests differ on call to arms in violence-torn Mexico state View Photo

MEXICO CITY (AP)  Even for the violence-wracked Mexican state of Michoacan, it was surprising when a priest called from the pulpit for parishioners to arm themselves against warring drug gangs.

The cartel gunmen come, they take the livestock, they screw your wife and daughter, and you do nothing, the Rev. Alfredo Gallegos said in a sermon. Well, get yourself a gun, the government can go to hell.

We have to defend our lives, Gallegos continued.

Mexican law forbids most civilians from owning almost all firearms, except for extremely-low caliber hunting rifles or shotguns.

But Michoacan has a history of armed civilian self defense vigilante militia movements from 2013 and 2014. Back then vigilantes managed to chase the dominant Knights Templar cartel out, but rival cartels like the Viagras and the Jalisco cartel have moved in. Kidnappings, killings and shootings have prompted thousands to flee their homes.

Gallegos, a parish priest better known as Father Pistolas for his habit of carrying a gun, was backed by some fellow Roman Catholic clergy Friday.

The Rev. Gregorio Lopez, a priest known for once wearing a flak vest while celebrating Mass, has spent the last few years running shelters for people who have fled their homes due to violence. He has also tried to help get asylum or refugee status for Michoacan residents in the United States.

Lopez called Gallegos sermon the cry of the people.

He is trying to be the voice of the people, and that is the feeling of the community, that they should be armed, said Lopez, who served as a sort of spiritual adviser for some of the self-defense groups in 2014.

The Rev. Gilberto Vergara, who has a parish in Aguililla  a mountain town that has been fought over repeatedly by warring cartels and whose residents were cut off from the outside world for months  took a more cautious view.

This thing about civilians taking up arms never ends well, Vergara said.

Still, he was circumspect about Gallegos preaching style.

I think that to say things in a direct way, you dont have to be offensive, Vergara said. I would not act that way, but everybody has their own style.

The issue is far from academic or theological in Michoacan. The Mexican army has sent troops to the state, but only to act as a buffer between the warring cartels, trying to ensure that neither invades the other gangs territory.

But soldiers do little or nothing about illicit gang activities occurring just a few hundred yards from their checkpoints.

Vergara has previously criticized the inaction. The most shameful thing is the absence of the government, which has become simply a spectator in a war that has left so many dead, so much destruction, he told The Associated Press in discussing peoples frustration with the army

That has led Michoacan residents to once again take up arms, in the face of rampant extortion by the Viagras, Jalisco and other gangs.

This time around, the self-defense movement  now known as United Towns, or Pueblos Unidos  sprang up in 2020 in the avocado-growing regions that were not the epicenter of the 2013 vigilante uprising.

As avocados have become a more widespread and lucrative crop, drug cartels and gangs have taken to extorting protection payments from growers.

This week, a convoy of at least 50 pickup trucks full of hundreds of armed vigilantes drove into the town of Ziracuaretiro, near the city of Uruapan, to force the gangs out.

The vigilantes have been moving west, seeking to end extortion demands by gangs that farmers say amount to as much as $500 per farmer per month.

In the town of Tepalcatepec, on Michoacans border with Jalisco state, vigilantes fought battles this week with gunmen that they say are from the Jalisco cartel.

By MARK STEVENSON

Associated Press
KHAR, Pakistan (AP)  A remotely detonated roadside bomb killed two policemen on Saturday in a northwestern district in Pakistan that borders Afghanistan, authorities said.

According to the Bajur district police chief, Abdus Samad Khan, the two officers were on security duty near the Raghan Dam, when unknown assailants set off the bomb, killing both.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Khan said a search for the perpetrators was underway.

Bajur served as a sanctuary for the Pakistani Taliban  known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan  until the area was cleared of militants in military operations in recent years. The militant group, which is separate from the Afghan Taliban, was involved in attacks on security forces in the past but is currently in peace talks with the government. A monthlong cease-fire was announced Tuesday.

Also on Saturday, a home-made bomb rigged to a parked motorcycle exploded near a market in the southwestern city of Quetta, wounding five people. Police officer Asmat Ullah said a girl, her mother and a policeman were among the wounded. He said the child was in critical condition but her mother was stable.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

And in the southwestern Baluchistan province, two soldiers were killed Saturday in a shootout that erupted during a raid on suspected militants in the Hoshab area near the city of Turbat. The military said the raid was carried out following intelligence gathered on the suspected militants. It said the militants suffered heavy losses but did not elaborate.

Baluchistan has long been the scene of a low-level insurgency by Baluch separatists.

The military also said that another soldier died from a roadside bomb in the area of Lakki Marwat in the countrys northwest.
Husband of woman detained in Iran ends 21-day hunger strike View Photo

LONDON (AP)  The husband of a British-Iranian woman who has been detained for more than five years in Iran said Saturday that he is ending his hunger strike outside Britains Foreign Office after 21 days.

Richard Ratcliffe has been sleeping in a tent outside the Foreign Offices main entrance in an effort to pressure the British government to secure the release of his wife and other detained British-Iranian nationals. He began his demonstration last month after his wife, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, lost her latest appeal in Iran.

Ratcliffe, who was joined by the couples 7-year-old daughter Gabriella and several supporters as he announced the end of his hunger strike, thanked the many well-wishers who stopped to talk to him but said the failure of Prime Minister Boris Johnson to drop by was telling. He added that his wife has requested a phone call from Johnson.

While no breakthrough happened in the last three weeks, Ratcliffe said his hunger strike had shone a greater spotlight on his wifes case and added pressure on the governments in London and Tehran.

I think weve stopped the backward movement, he said.

Ratcliffe said he had started to get pains in his feet overnight, and a discussion with a doctor persuaded him to end the hunger strike. He said he planned to go to a hospital to get checked and hopes to be able to eat something after that.

I didnt want to go out in an ambulance, he said. I want to walk out with my head held high.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe served five years in prison after being taken into custody at Tehrans airport in April 2016 and convicted of plotting the overthrow of Irans government, a charge that she, her supporters and rights groups deny.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe was employed by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of the news agency, and was arrested as she was returning home to Britain after visiting family. Rights groups accuse Iran of holding dual-nationals as bargaining chips for money or influence in negotiations with the West, something Tehran denies.

In May, she was sentenced to an additional year in prison on charges of spreading propaganda against the system for having participated in a protest outside the Iranian Embassy in London in 2009. An appeals court last month upheld the verdict, which includes a one-year travel ban, meaning she wouldnt be able to leave Iran until 2023.

Her husband appeared glum after he met Thursday with British foreign minister James Cleverly in the wake of discussions he had with Iranian officials in London.

Hes hoping that his hunger strike will resonate as the government has seen theres a huge depth of care around the country for Nazanins case, and they need to take notice.

Ratcliffe has said his wife is being used as leverage by Tehran, specifically with regard to the U.K.s failure to pay an outstanding 400 million-pound ($540 million) debt to Iran.

Ratcliffes local lawmaker, Tulip Siddiq, said she had secured a parliamentary debate on Zaghari-Ratcliffes case set for Tuesday with cross-party support.

Nazanin knows that so many people are doing what they can to bring her home, Siddiq said in a tweet.

By PAN PYLAS

Associated Press
OAS assembly condemns Nicaraguas election as not free View Photo

NEW YORK (AP)  The General Assembly of the Organization of American States voted Friday to condemn Nicaraguas Nov. 7 presidential vote, saying the elections were not free, fair or transparent, and lack democratic legitimacy.

Twenty-five countries in the Americas voted in favor of the resolution, while seven  including Mexico  abstained. Only Nicaragua voted against it.

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega won more than 75% of the votes in Sundays election, but the outcome was never in doubt after his government jailed seven of the leading potential opposition candidates.

Fridays resolution instructs the OAS Permanent Council to draw up a report by Nov. 30 in order to weigh appropriate actions to be taken.

U.S. officials previously called the vote undemocratic, and the European Union said they lacked legitimacy.

The resolution could open the way to more sanctions on Nicaraguan officials, many of whom are already under U.S. sanctions.

Alexa Zamora, a leader of the Nicaraguan opposition group Blue and White Unity, welcomed the resolution.

The fact that the OAS recognizes the regime as illegitimate gives us a powerful tool to demand the cutoff of outside financing for the dictator, Zamora said, suggesting that international development loans could be a target of such a cutoff.

Nicaraguas OAS representative, Michael Rene Campbell, said that the OAS does not have the authority to become our official vote counter  the OAS is not the arbiter or auditor of the elections. 

When the regional body voted last month to condemn repression and demand the release of political prisoners in Nicaragua, seven members abstained, including Guatemala, Mexico and Honduras, which neighbors Nicaragua.

Much the same group, including Bolivia, abstained this time. In a switch, Argentina voted in favor of the resolution.

The Ortega administration has continued to close avenues for democratic participation with police banning public protests, electoral authorities banning some opposition political parties and potential candidates being arrested.

With all government institutions firmly within Ortegas grasp and the opposition exiled, jailed or in hiding, the 75-year-old leader eroded what hope remained the country could soon return to a democratic path.

U.S. President Joe Biden has called Sundays vote rigged and says the U.S. will use the tools at its disposal to hold the Nicaraguan government accountable.

The Ortega and Murillo family now rule Nicaragua as autocrats, no different from the Somoza family that Ortega and the Sandinistas fought four decades ago, Biden said.

The ruling Sandinista Front and its allies control the congress and all government institutions. Ortega first served as president from 1985 to 1990, after the 1979 revolution that ousted the Samoza dictatorship, before returning to power in 2007. He recently declared his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, his co-president.

The opposition had called on Nicaraguans to stay home to protest. In June, police arrested seven potential presidential challengers to Ortega on charges that essentially amount to treason. They remained in detention on election day. Some two dozen other opposition leaders were also swept up ahead of the elections.

In a switch, Argentina voted in favor of the resolution. But Mexico walked a thin line, with its OAS representative saying Mexico had expressed concerns to Nicaragua about the election but would support any OAS measure condemning the vote.

Luz Elena Banos, Mexicos representative at the OAS, said Mexico has expressed our concerns to the government of Nicaragua about the political process carried out on Nov. 7, especially regarding freedom of expression and the right of citizens to participate in politics.

But Banos said Mexico would not vote for any measure aimed at intervention, isolating or imposing sanctions on Nicaragua.
SAN DIEGO (AP)  A 3-month-old babys parents have been arrested on suspicion of killing her in San Diego, authorities said Friday.

Officers were called to a home in the City Heights neighborhood of San Diego on Tuesday around 11:15 p.m. following a report of an unresponsive infant who needed medical attention, police said in a news release.

Officers performed CPR on the baby until San Diego Fire-Rescue personnel arrived to take her to the hospital, where the child was pronounced dead, the release stated.

Detectives arrested the babys parents, Brandon Copeland, 21, and Elizabeth Ucman, 22, on suspicion of murder on Wednesday. Police have not given any details about how the infant died or what led investigators to arrest the parents.

The parents are being held without bail pending an arraignment scheduled for Monday, according to online jail records. It was not immediately clear whether Copeland and Ucman had attorneys who could speak on their behalf.

__

This story has been corrected to say that police were called to the babys home on Tuesday, not Wednesday, after the San Diego Police Department clarified the date.
(Editors note: This project is a collaboration between the Plainview Herald and Saint Francis Ministries to showcase kids who are cleared for adoption.)

Michael is an intelligent teen boy with a bright future ahead of him!

He is well-read and has been on many adventures with Harry Potter, Ron, Hermione and Hagrid. When he is not lost in a story, Mike is building worlds in Minecraft, conquering foes in Fortnite, and learning a little bit of history with Call of Duty. Story telling is a real talent of his that he loves to share with others.

The 13-year-old excels in school and thoroughly enjoys his classes.

Just like most teen boys, he has a great appetite. He will never turn down sweets, pizza, or mac and cheese.

Michael is known for being an old soul and enjoys quiet time to himself. He is ready to meet his forever family, and if they happen to have a dog, even better!

---

Michael is among the children listed on the Texas Adoption Resource Exchange (TARE) website. Visit https://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Application/TARE/Home.aspx/Default for more details.

Saint Francis Ministries is a nonprofit organization and a community-based care provider for the Texas Department of Family Protective Services Region 1. This region includes 41 counties across the Panhandle and South Plains.

To learn more about fostering or adopting, those interested are encouraged to attend one of the monthly virtual meetings hosted by Saint Francis Ministries and other child placing agencies. The meetings provide information about how to get started, the basic qualifications and more, in addition to providing opportunity for attendees to ask questions.

Those interested can visit Saint Francis Texas on Facebook @SFMtexas to register for the online meetings, which can also be found below:

The meetings are scheduled for the second Thursday of the month (Lubbock area  https://lubbock-area-foster-care-adoption.eventbrite.com) and the third Thursday of the month (Amarillo area  https://amarillo-area-foster-care-adoption.eventbrite.com).

For more information, please contact Erin Baxter at (806) 317-5631 or email texasinfo@st-francis.org. Visit Saint Francis Ministries online at https://saintfrancisministries.org.
Associated Press Writer

A prosecutor said Thursday that a jury's acquittal of a woman on charges she killed her young son in 1997 doesn't shake his belief that she _ not a Texas death row inmate he calls "a plant" who confessed after being supplied details _ is the killer.

"The jury found her not guilty; they did not find her innocent," Ed Parkinson said in his first public comments since Julie Rea-Harper was cleared Wednesday in the October 1997 slaying of her only child, 10-year-old Joel Kirkpatrick.

One of Rea-Harper's attorneys called Parkinson's remarks "horrifying."

"It is deeply troubling that even after being shown all of the evidence and after having an impartial, conscientious jury render a decision, the prosecution continues to effectively slander Julie," Ron Safer said.

Jurors cleared Rea-Harper after deliberating more than 12 hours, leaving Parkinson suspecting a lack of physical evidence, including the paucity of the boy's blood found on her after the intensely bloody crime, undermined his case.

"We put our best foot forward, but the jury disagreed," Parkinson said.

A juror reached Thursday confirmed evidence was key. Linda Paine said "there was just no proof there" that Rea-Harper was the killer, adding that she sided with defense claims that the investigation's flaws included the failure to fingerprint the crime scene or look for trace evidence such as hair fibers.

"It was just the lack of evidence," she said from her home in this lakeside community where the Lawrence County case was heard. "We tried to look at the whole picture and weighed everything presented to us. The state didn't do a proper investigation."

Paine also underscored what Parkinson already suspected: The often-shifting admissions by Texas inmate Tommy Lynn Sells that he killed Joel didn't produce the acquittal.

Sells "did not have anything to do with my decision," Paine said. "Yes, he was mentioned a lot. But I didn't take any of his things into consideration" in voting to acquit.

Sells' supposed confession surfaced after Rea-Harper already had been convicted in 2002 during her first trial, also prosecuted by Parkinson. She was sentenced to 65 years in prison.

About two years later, an Illinois appellate court cited a technicality in ordering the woman retried.

Rea-Harper, 37, has not discussed her acquittal; Safer said Thursday "she's not ready."

At trial, Parkinson argued that Rea-Harper killed Joel with a knife from her kitchen early Oct. 13, 1997. Prosecutors offered no motive but noted the slaying came two months after an Illinois appellate court turned back the woman's latest bid to wrest legal custody of the boy _ her only child _ from her former husband, Joel's father.

Rea-Harper always maintained the killer was a masked intruder. During the latest trial, the defense claimed the intruder might have been Sells.

"I'm convinced Tommy Lynn Sells was fed information," Parkinson said Thursday, declining to identify whom he suspects supplied details about the crime to the inmate after Rea-Harper "became a cause" for some.

"I don't believe him for a moment," Parkinson said. "I'm convinced Tommy Lynn Sells is nothing more than a plant who was a given information. He's just a publicity seeker."

Sells, 42, is on death row for knifing a 13-year-old girl to death in her bedroom in her family's Texas mobile home in 1999. He has admitted to and been charged with killing a 13-year-old girl in Springfield, Mo., two days after Joel's death.

Sells claims he has randomly killed more than a dozen people, and he's suspected in dozens more slayings across the country _ many involving children.

"He's a glory hound," Parkinson said. "He's a liar and a killer, but he's not this killer."

And though Safer said Wednesday that he hoped the state "now takes a look at who was responsible for this murder," Parkinson called that unlikely.

"If they think we'll go after Tommy Lynn Sells, they're spitting in the wind," Parkinson said. "As far as I'm concerned, that's the end of it."
c

Smith Auto Family purchased the Plainview Ford dealership earlier this year. The Sykora family is owners of Smith South Plains dealerships in Levelland and Slaton before purchasing the Plainview location, which opened in early September.

Sykora is one of 47 dealers from across the country who will be honored at the 105th annual National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Show in Las Vegas on March 11.

The TIME Dealer of the Year award is one of the auto industrys most prestigious and highly coveted awards. Sykora will represent the Texas Automobile Dealers Association. She was nominated for the award by Darren Whitehurst, president of the TADA.
Provided by the City of Plainview

The Plainview Fire Department announced the promotion of a longtime veteran of the department this week.

Kevin Goss, who has worked for Plainview FD for 11 years, was promoted from shift lieutenant to training captain, effective as of Nov. 8.
When Andrew Mercado found himself in the middle of a protest following George Floyd's death in Minneapolis last year, he was just figuring out how to livestream on Facebook. A few months later, though, thousands watched as he streamed footage from the Wisconsin streets where Kyle Rittenhouse shot three people.

Mercado was just one of a number of people who caught snippets of Rittenhouse on that August 2020 night of turmoil and unrest in Kenosha when the 17-year-old from nearby Antioch, Illinois, shot three men, killing two of them.

Livestreamers such as Mercado have become ubiquitous at protests, seeking to provide an unedited view into movements that often reflect an angry and divided America. They are often near the heart of protests, adorned with press identification and protective equipment, holding glowing phones that offer a real-time view into some of the most dramatic and violent clashes.

Some say they are journalists who follow the same principles of objectivity as traditional news outlets. Others are activists seeking to amplify the impact of the protests. But nearly all say they are providing an alternative to mainstream newsrooms that they don't always trust.

Livestreaming fits into a larger cultural moment that were in, where people seem to want authenticity, said Seth Lewis, a journalism professor at the University of Oregon. It seems raw and real.

Mercado, who lives in a Minneapolis suburb, said that when he started documenting protests last year, he was a devout Republican. But amid mass protests over the killing of Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, he wanted to examine the issue of police accountability for himself.

"Now I'm getting my own perspective on things," he said, adding that he does not support either major political party.

A friend had to show Mercado how to livestream from his Facebook account on his phone before he started documenting the protests. Soon, his video stream had more than 60,000 viewers.

As people sent him money through money transfer apps, he bought gear such as a protective vest and gas mask. He also set up accounts on YouTube and Facebook that paid him for his streams.

Less than three months after first pointing his phone at the Minneapolis protests, Mercado was traveling the country and trying to make a living out of covering protests. He was on his way to a protest in Washington when he heard that a white Kenosha police officer had shot Jacob Blake, a Black man. He immediately headed that way.

As some of the protests in the Wisconsin city turned violent, Mercado said he found it hard to stay in his preferred role of observer. At one point, a fire threatening a church compelled him to put down his phone and extinguish the flames.

As shots rang out from Rittenhouse's rifle that night, Mercado was on the street. He streamed video as Rittenhouse ran past between the first and second shootings.

"I jumped out of the objective observer mode and I grabbed people and tried to help them," Mercado said.

Mercado was not the only one to capture footage of Rittenhouse. Video streams have featured prominently at the trial so far, with several livestreamers and reporters taking the witness stand.

Kristan Harris, who hosts a web-based talk show The Rundown Live, testified Monday after video footage he shot that night was shown earlier in the trial.

He told The Associated Press that he saw a livestream as the most raw form of reporting" that would allow people to make decisions for themselves.

But even with plentiful video footage from the scene of the shooting, Rittenhouses case has been cast into a cultural wedge that has been used by powerful interest groups, extremists, politicians and others to push their own agendas.

They are capturing snippets and slices of larger things occurring, said Lewis, the journalism professor. They still dont provide all the pieces of the puzzle.

However, Lewis pointed out that smartphones  and their ability to instantly capture video  have completely changed how instances of police brutality are documented, particularly for Black people.

People would not believe us so we had to document it, said KingDemetrius Pendleton, a Minneapolis-based activist and citizen journalist who can frequently be found at protests with a regular camera in one hand and a phone in the other.

For Pendleton, the livestream doesn't just broadcast images to an audience, it also transports his audience to the scene of the protest. That's especially important to him because he says Black people from his community are not always able to take to the streets due to financial hardships or legal troubles.

When Im livestreaming, there are so many that cant go out," he said. "Im showing them.

___

Associated Press writer Gillian Flaccus in Portland, Oregon, contributed to this report.

___

Find the APs full coverage of the Rittenhouse trial at https://apnews.com/hub/kyle-rittenhouse and follow Stephen Groves on Twitter at https://twitter.com/stephengroves.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP)  Santa won't be getting his traditional welcome in the Dutch city of Utrecht this year. The ceremonial head of Carnival celebrations in Germany's Cologne had to bow out because he tested positive for COVID-19. And Austria is planning a lockdown on unvaccinated people in two hard-hit regions.

Nearly two years into a global health crisis that has killed more than 5 million people, infections are again sweeping across parts of Western Europe, a region with relatively high vaccination rates and good health care systems but where lockdown measures are largely a thing of the past.

The World Health Organization said coronavirus deaths rose by 10% in Europe in the past week, and an agency official declared last week that the continent was back at the epicenter of the pandemic. Much of that is being driven by spiraling outbreaks in Russia and Eastern Europe  where vaccination rates tend to be low  but countries in the west such as Germany and Britain recorded some of the highest new case tolls in the world.

While nations in Western Europe all have vaccination rates over 60%  and some like Portugal and Spain are much higher  that still leaves a significant portion of their populations without protection.

Dr. Bharat Pankhania, senior clinical lecturer at Exeter University College of Medicine and Health, says that the large number of unvaccinated people combined with a widespread post-lockdown resumption of socializing and a slight decline in immunity for people who got their shots months ago is driving up the pace of infections.

Thanks largely to vaccination, hospitals in Western Europe are not under the same pressure they were earlier in the pandemic, but many are still straining to handle rising numbers of COVID patients while also attempting to clear backlogs of tests and surgeries with exhausted or sick staff. Even the countries experiencing the most serious outbreaks in the region recorded far fewer deaths per person over the past four weeks than the United States did, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The question now is if countries can tamp down this latest upswing without resorting to stringent shutdowns that devastated economies, disrupted education and weighed on mental health. Experts say probably  but authorities can't avoid all restrictions and must boost vaccination rates.

I think the era of locking people up in their homes is over because we now have tools to control COVID  the testing, vaccines and therapeutics, said Devi Sridhar, chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh. So I hope people will do the things they have to do, like put on a mask.

Many European countries now use COVID passes  proof of full vaccination, recovery from the virus or a negative test result  to access venues like bars and restaurants. Pankhania warned that the passes can give a false sense of security since fully vaccinated people can still get infected, though their chances of dying or getting seriously sick are dramatically lower.

But restrictions don't go much further these days, although the Dutch government on Friday announced a three-week partial lockdown.

Tonight we have a very unpleasant message with very unpleasant and far-reaching decisions, caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte said.

German lawmakers are mulling legislation that would pave the way for new measures. Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg announced Friday that unvaccinated people in two regions will only be able to leave home for specified reasons starting Monday, and he is considering implementing similar measures nationwide. But he has said he doesn't want to impose the restrictions on those who got the shot.

Austria is seeing one of the most serious outbreaks in Western Europe, along with Germany, which has reported a string of record-high infections in recent days.

We have a real emergency situation right now, said Christian Drosten, the head of virology at Berlins Charite Hospital, which has started canceling scheduled surgeries.

Duesseldorfs university hospital said earlier this week that its ICU is full, though many facilities are struggling more with staff shortages than bed space.

Drosten said Germany must increase its vaccination rate of 67% further  and fast. But officials have balked at ordering vaccine mandates and want to avoid any blanket lockdowns.

Health Minister Jens Spahn indicated that Germany could improve its often lax enforcement of COVID pass requirements.

If my vaccination certificate is checked more often in one day in Rome than it sometimes is in four weeks in Germany, then I think more can be done, Spahn said recently.

The Netherlands is in a similar bind: The country announced the highest daily tally of new cases since the pandemic began Thursday, hospitals are warning the situation could get worse, but officials are reluctant to clamp down too hard. Amid these concerns, organizers in Utrecht said they couldn't in good conscience bring tens of thousands of people together to greet Santa at the annual Sinterklaas party beloved of children.

Cities in Germany, by contrast, went ahead with outdoor Carnival celebrations this week  but the head of Cologne's party, Carnival Prince Sven I., canceled public appearances after testing positive.

In the United Kingdom, which lifted remaining restrictions in July and has seen big spikes as well as dips in cases since, Prime Minister Boris Johnson insists the country can live with the virus. The government will only reimpose restrictions if the health service comes under unsustainable pressure, he says.

Spain, once one of Europes hardest hit nations, perhaps offers an example of how the risks can be managed.

It has vaccinated 80% of its population, and while face masks are no longer mandatory outdoors, many people still wear them. While infections have ticked up slightly recently, Rafael Bengoa, one of Spains leading public health experts, said that given the high vaccination rate, the virus wont be able to dominate us again.

Several countries are hoping that pushing harder on immunizations will get them there. Germany plans to re-open vaccination centers across the country to speed booster shots. France is also pinning its hopes on booster doses while urging holdouts to get their first shots. Italy is also expanding its booster program as numbers edge higher.

Pankhania says that no single measure will control the pandemic.

To really control it, it has to be multi-layered ... avoid crowds, avoid poorly ventilated places, be immunized, wear your mask, he said.

___

Associated Press reporters across Europe contributed.

___

Follow AP's coverage of the coronavirus pandemic at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic.
CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP)  A prosthetic-tailed dolphin named Winter that starred in the Dolphin Tale movies died Thursday evening at a Florida aquarium despite life-saving efforts to treat a gastrointestinal abnormality, aquarium officials said.

The 16-year-old female bottlenose dolphin died while being held by animal care experts who were preparing Winter for a procedure at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium where the famous marine mammal has long resided.

While we are heartbroken by Winters death, we are comforted knowing that our team did everything possible to give her the best chance at survival, said veterinarian Dr. Shelly Marquardt, in a statement released by the aquarium.

Marquardt said the aquarium worked with specialists and marine mammal experts from around the country but the dolphin, which was in critical condition and declining, died while being held by caregivers.

The statement said the aquarium would remain closed on Friday to provide staff time to grieve. It had earlier said a Friday closure would allow workers to focus on the dolphins medical care with plans to reopen Saturday.

James Buddy Powell, president of the aquarium, told reporters Thursday that the facilitys staff and outside experts were doing everything possible seeking to restore the dolphin to health.

Winter previously experienced intestinal issues  not uncommon among dolphins  but such problems have never affected her like this, Powell had said Thursday. But at the time, he said Winter was not responding to treatment as in the past, adding there was no evidence Winter had the coronavirus.

Winter was two months old when her tail became entangled in a crab trap near Cape Canaveral, which forced its amputation. Dolphin Tale, which was released in 2011, chronicled Winters recovery and the unprecedented, lengthy effort to fit her with a prosthetic tail.

The film, starring Harry Connick Jr., Ashley Judd, Kris Kristofferson, Morgan Freeman and Nathan Gamble, was largely shot at the Clearwater aquarium and surrounding Tampa Bay locations. It put the non-profit aquarium, first opened in 1972 on the site of a former water treatment plant, on the map internationally.

This place wouldnt be here if it wasnt for Winter, Powell said.

Winters story of rehabilitation has become an inspiration for disabled people around the world and the aquarium has received thousands of messages of support since Winters illness became known.

Many are inspired by her resiliency and this amazing response reminds us of how deeply she has affected millions, including so many on their own health journey, the aquarium statement said.

A sequel, Dolphin Tale 2, was released three years later starring Winter and Hope, another rescued dolphin cared for by the Clearwater aquarium.

Bottlenose dolphins can live up to 60 years and are considered one of the most intelligent of all animal species.

Winter and Hope became the most famous residents of the Clearwater aquarium, which also operates sea turtle and manatee rescue programs.

An $80 million expansion of the facility was recently completed, including a 1.5 million-gallon (5.6 million-liter) new dolphin complex, to handle the crowds that have descended on the aquarium since Dolphin Tale was released a decade ago.
San Antonio made a national list for the wrong reasons this week. According to ProPublica, an investigative journalism publication based in New York, the Alamo City has a "hot spot" for cancer-causing air. The list was released on Thursday, November 11 and San Antonio was not the sole Texas city mentioned  Houston, Dallas, El Paso, and a slew of towns also made the list.

The ProPublica team has been mapping out the spread of toxic air pollution across the nation for five years. They're not leaving any stone unturned, they say they've measured the spread in "every" U.S. neighborhood. In their work, they've discovered more than 1,000 hotspots of cancer-causing air.

The findings were shared on Twitter Thursday evening as the newsroom is attempting to build a network of sources in each city to create a foundation for reporting moving forward. The publication wants to hear from people living in the areas and asks for the public to share the list online or through passing out fliers. ProPublica says it will share its tips with local journalists in 2022.

"We also want to answer questions to help people understand what pollution means for them," ProPublica says.

In the tweet thread, ProPublica clarified that a city making the list doesn't mean the entire area has toxic air, but instead that it has a hot spot within city limits. The interactive map shows the local hot spot is near Calumet San Antonio Refining, which encompasses part of the San Antonio River, South Presa Street, and Dan Court.

"People living in this area have at least an estimated 1 in 100,000 excess lifetime cancer risk from industrial air pollution based on a ProPublica analysis of five years of EPA modeling," the website says. Data gathered by ProPublica shows the emissions of Benzene, Naphthalene and Ethylbenzene from the plant contributes about 99.5 percent of the excess cancer risk in the area.

Indiana-based Calumet sold the oil refinery (the only one in city limits) to Starlight Relativity Acquisition Company in November 2019. The new owner is a Houston company operated by Allegiance, according to previous MySA reporting. Calumet, which owned the refinery during some of the mapping, was not immediately available comment.

Allegiance says since taking over at the start of 2021 they have made the health and safety of employees and community their "top priority."

"Allegiance Refining has focused on investing in opportunities that improve the refinerys environmental stewardship. Significant capital investments have been made to replace, repair, and add new process equipment and additional monitoring to improve reliability and reduce overall emissions at the refinery," the company tells MySA." We remain committed to being a good neighbor and steward of the environment.

Areas near Arvin Sango and Lubrizol Corp, both south of San Antonio proper, are also listed.

The San Antonio risk is substantially lower than that of places like the Union Carbide Corp Seadrift Plant in Victoria where there's "estimated excess lifetime cancer risk from industrial sources of about 1 in 63." The area, as well as areas in Houston, are shaded red for their increased levels of pollution.

ProPublica's "areas of focus" are West Virginia, Alabama, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Missouri, but the investigative team is still interested in speaking with people in each of the cities listed. The public can submit a tip here.
If youve been watching our fundraiser headings, youll see our fourth goal, that of bonuses for Lambert, Jerri-Lynn and Nick plus other honoraria, was close to being met before your enthusiastic responses yesterdy to the Double Your Donation challenge.

And you blew past that target quickly! We are now more than halfway to our new target of $22,000 for Karoshi, aka burnout, prevention.

This year, weve had generous and modest gifts, and the latter are often particularly meaningful, since those donors often tell us they are on tight budgets but want to do what they can to support this community. Please give now at our Tip Jar if you havent had a chance to do so yet, by check, credit or debit card, or PayPal. And if you doing well, dig deep to bolster the donations from people who gave despite having limited means.

We are on our way to meeting our fifth target, support for extra manpower so we can keep the make our 365 day a year, just about 24/7 coverage more sustainable. If Yves the publisher and Yves the employee were two different people, Yves the employee would have gone on strike a long time ago.

Perhaps youve heard of karoshi, a Japanese word that translates roughly into death by overwork. The Guardian reported on this phenomenon:

Japan has again been forced to confront its work culture after labour inspectors ruled that the death of a 31-year-old journalist at the countrys public broadcaster, NHK, had been caused by overwork. Miwa Sado, who worked at the broadcasters headquarters in Tokyo, logged 159 hours of overtime and took only two days off in the month leading up to her death from heart failure in July 2013. Sados death is expected to increase pressure on Japanese authorities to address the large number of deaths attributed to the punishingly long hours expected of many employees.

Admittedly, Yves did sneak away to Maine this year after having been so fortunate as to have Lambert, Jerri and Nick cover for her when she was getting her titanium hipsbut did you even much notice her absence? Perhaps that was due to the great job everyone on this site does, but it was also due to Yves taking off as little time as possibleincluding working on her nominal vacation. Jerri also had not one but two urgent needs for treatment, but you readers are lucky enough that everyone pitched in to work around these schedule changes.

Even though your generous support of the site have allowed her to have a day and a half off from posting every week, and shift more of daily Links duty to Lambert, this hasnt translated into more personal time for Yves. Even on her days off from posting, Yves is managing the business of the site, discovering and responding to e-mails she embarrassingly didnt see, sometimes catching up on research, and often vetting story ideas or articles pitched to her.

A big reason that the site consumes more writing/production time than in the past is that weve kept improving our output and expanding our beats. Our Links section used to be 25-30 links. It is now 55 and sometimes more.

Similarly, in runup to the crisis, when anyone who knew about finance was a one-eyed man in the land of the blind, many of our posts had only a few hundred words of commentary on an extract or extracts from news articles. Now, a significant portion of what Naked Capitalism does is quick turn-around political economy analysis of a very high caliber. We often produce think tank level work but with the aim of stripping away obfuscation and holding people accountable. That means more writer time on average per post.

We joke that we run the site with 1.6 people, although with our increased commitment as a result of Covid-19, it might be up to 1.8 writer equivalents. Regardless of the precise figure, its a way to highlight that we provide a remarkable level of output and the consistency of coverage with very thin resources.

The amount we are seeking for this target, $22,000 for weekend, holiday, and shit happens support.. We hope youll recognize how essential this is and donate generously to keep Yves in fighting fettle and have other talented writers like Lambert and Jerri-Lynn Scofield contribute more regularly.

Donors keep sending kind notes. A sampling. From Phil P:

I still get the most from this site every day. Ive gotten terrific book recommendations, articles, research, opinions, from the meaty to the tidbits to the personal to the questionable. All relevant to making sense of the world today. For a donation like this, its a bargain. Please take care of yourself and the folks you work with.

And Jonathan D:

Very heart-felt thanks for all that you all are doing. Its incredibly important, and no one else is even coming close to doing it.

There are multiple ways to give. The first is here on the blog, the Tip Jar, which takes you to PayPal. There you can use a debit card, a credit card or a PayPal account (the charge will be in the name of Aurora Advisors).

You can also send a check (or multiple post dated checks, if you want to spread out payments) in the name of Aurora Advisors Incorporated to

Aurora Advisors Incorporated

164 Peachtree Circle

Mountain Brook, AL 35213

Please also send an e-mail to yves@nakedcapitalism.com with the headline Check is in the mail (and just the $ en route in the message) so we can count your contribution in the total number of donations.

Our sick days, weekend and vacation coverage target is $21,000, and we are already over $4225 towards that goal. Thanks SO much for your generous support!
This is Naked Capitalism fundraising week. 1019 donors have already invested in our efforts to combat corruption and predatory conduct, particularly in the financial realm. Please join us and participate via our donation page, which shows how to give via check, credit card, debit card, or PayPal. Read about why were doing this fundraiser, what weve accomplished in the last year, and our current goal, Karoshi prevention.

Yves here. Some of you have reported difficulty with making contributions to our fundraiser from outside the US. I very much apologize for the hassle. It took 2 calls last year to get PayPal to clear out all the hurdles they imposed. They appear to have auto-restored some bad defaults in interim. They told me yesterday they had cleared out the incorrect options. Hopefully things will work more smoothly going forward. And yes, Im not keen about PayPal either, but we are too small to afford a merchant account.

Cats can track your invisible presence using only their ears CNN (Jim D)

The Evolutionary Quirk That Allows Antarcticas Icefish To Survive Extreme Cold Atlas Obscura (Chuck L)

Here's a rather stunning visualization shared during today's @Y2Y_Initiative conference on #roadecology, via Tom Martin of Montana DOT  a young grizzly bear attempting, and nearly always failing, to cross I-90. Each X is a highway approach. About as permeable as the Berlin Wall. pic.twitter.com/5RHIkq2ORJ  Ben Goldfarb (@ben_a_goldfarb) November 9, 2021

An Astronomer Cancels His Own ResearchBecause the Results Werent Popular Quillette (Chuck L)

Simple, low-cost, high volume distiller removes salt from seawater using solar energy Brighter Side (David L)

Africas Great Green Wall shifts focus to hold off desert Associated Press (David L)

How an upgrade on calculus is taking maths into uncharted territory New Scientist (Dr. Kevin)

Veterans Have Become Unlikely Lobbyists in Push to Legalize Psychedelic Drugs New York Times (resilc)

Using mechanical tools improves our language skills, study finds Science Daily (Kevin W)

Meta-analysis suggests that emotional intelligence is declining among college students PsyPost (Chuck L)

#COVID-19

Science/Medicine

I warned about reinfections and the harm to the immune system as an immunologist. Apparently some virologists can't read the tea leaves https://t.co/ahtwuUGOSW  Anthony J Leonardi, PhD, MS (@fitterhappierAJ) November 12, 2021

After J&J, more people mix and match with Pfizer or Moderna booster NBC (furzy)

COP26/Climate Change

China?

Chinas Global Network of Vocational Colleges to Train the World The Diplomat (resilc). Whoever controls the education of our children controls the future.

India

Brexit

Exclusive: Geoffrey Cox opposed tax havens crackdown after making 220k from Cayman Islands law firm Mirror

New Cold War

<Belarus and the Migrant Gap Irrusianality (Chuck L)

Syraqistan

Big Brother is Watching You Watch

Imperial Collapse Watch

How Taiwan Underwrites the US Defense Industrial Complex The Diplomat (resilc)

Biden

Joe Manchin Wants to Sabotage the $12,500 EV Tax Credit Gizmodo (Kevin W)

Cuomo Sparred With Investigators Over Meaning of Girlfriend, Date  and Butt THE CITY

Gunz

Where Gun Stores Open, Gun Homicides Increase Scientific American

Our Famously Free Press

Long Overdue: Washington Post Corrects Articles About Steele Dossier Washington Post

Metaverse: Augmented reality inventor warns it could be far worse than social media Big Think (David L)

Supply Chain

Johnson & Johnson Will Break Itself Up Into Two Companies New York Times (Kevin W)

Does anyone ask if big, fat defense budget hikes are paid for? Responsible Statecraft (resilc)

Laffaire Epstein

CalPERS

Guillotine Watch

Tech mogul who joined William Shatner in space on Blue Origin dies in air crash Guardian (resilc)

Class Warfare

Antidote du jour (guurst from bearsome):

And a bonus (Li):

See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here.
This is Naked Capitalism fundraising week. 1018 donors have already invested in our efforts to combat corruption and predatory conduct, particularly in the financial realm. Please join us and participate via our donation page, which shows how to give via check, credit card, debit card, or PayPal. Read about why were doing this fundraiser, what weve accomplished in the last year, and our current goal, Karoshi prevention.

Yves here. While this post too often uses words like holistic, which bug me as too vague and evocative to describe well how systems operate, it does explain how and why Minnesota is getting over its charter school romance and adopting approaches to education that conceive of schools as very much part of community life.

By Sarah Lahm, a Minneapolis-based writer and researcher. Her work has appeared in outlets such as the Progressive and In These Times. Follow her on Twitter @sarahrlahm. Produced by Our Schools

Minnesota is widely known as the land of 10,000 lakesactually, there are more than 10,000. But the state, which was the first in the nation to pass a charter school law in 1991, could also be described as the land of school choice. Beyond charters, Minnesota is also home to the nations first comprehensive open enrollmentlaw, dating back to the late 1980s, which allows K-12 students to attend any public school in a district of their choice, provided there is space in the host district.

While the abundance of lakes covering the state was the result of a natural process, it would be hard to describe the rapid growth of charter schools and school choice in the North Star State as some sort of natural occurrence, driven solely by parents and teachers hungry for alternative learning environments. But Minnesotaas well as many other states and the federal governmentis awakening to another approach to school improvement that is expanding, from the ground up, in a more natural way: the full-service community schools model.

In contrast to charter schools and other market-based approaches to school improvement, full-service community schools offer a holistic approach to education that is about lifting up students and the communities they live in, rather than pitting schools against one another in the interest of greater choice and competition.

Why Charters and Choice?

An overview of Minnesotas groundbreaking charter school legislation refers to it as an attempt to fund results-oriented, student-centered public schools. This is an optimistic assessment of the Minnesota law that touches on the educational aspirations that the charter schools system carries, but it entirely sidesteps another important aspect of the system: the connection between charter schools and the privatization of public education.

This push to privatize the nations public school system has been made possible in large part by the federal government. In the 1990s, the Clinton administration readily embraced the concept of school choice by promising to close the worst performing schools, among other things, while seeking millions in expansion funds for the growing charter school sector. These efforts snowballed under former President George W. Bush, who funneled more than $1 billion toward supporting charter schools, often at the expense of public school districts.

Former President Barack Obamas administration then continued along this path by pumping billions of additional taxpayer dollars into the hands of charter school operators around the country, thanks to the pro-school choice efforts by Obamas Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

Wealthy philanthropic organizations, including the Walton Family Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, also jumped aboard the school choice train, directing millions of dollars toward the privatization of public education in the United States. The interests of both philanthropists and the federal government were most clearly united under former President Donald Trumps leadership, when billionaire school choice advocateBetsy DeVos became the secretary of education.

Minnesotas first in the nation charter school law also opened the door to charter school legislation in other states. Since the 2005-2006 school year, charter school enrollment has more than tripled; today, more than 3 million students attend such schools across the country. Only a handful of small, less-populated states, such as Nebraska, Vermont, and North and South Dakota, do not allow charter schools.

In Minnesota, there are currently 180 privately run, publicly funded charter schools, enrolling more than 60,000 students in grades K-12.

Similarly, open enrollment policies have exploded since Minnesota pioneered that option, and now nearly all states offer some sort of intra- and inter-district transfer option.

School reform models built around competition and choice have led to greater disruption in cities such as New Orleans and Chicago, where former Mayor Rahm Emanuel oversaw the shuttering of dozens of neighborhood schools amid a boom in the local charter school market.

In Minnesota, the Saint Paul Public Schools district has been left gasping for air as school choice schemes continue to wreak havoc on the districts enrollment numbers and, subsequently, its finances.

This district is one of the largest and most diverse in the state, if not the nation, with approximately 35,000 students representing a wide array of racial and ethnic backgrounds. Two-thirds of the districts students live in poverty, according to federal income guidelines, and almost 300 students in the district are listed as being homeless.

As a result of more school choice, in 2017, 14,000 school-age children living in the city were not enrolled in the Saint Paul Public Schools district. Instead, they either attended a charter school in or near the city or chose to open-enroll into a neighboring school district.

Just two years later, in 2019, the exodus of families had risen to more than 16,000. Today, more than one-thirdof all students living in Saint Paul do not attend Saint Paul Public Schools, leaving the district in a constant state of contraction.

The districts lagging enrollment numbers can be attributed to shrinking birthrates and a rise in school choice options, according to a recent article by Star Tribune reporter Anthony Lonetree.

As a consequence of shrinking enrollments, district officials recently outlined a reorganization proposal that calls for the closure of eight schools by the fall of 2022 under a consolidation plan, in an attempt to offload expensive infrastructure costs and improve academic options for students.

Charter school options abound in and around Saint Paul, and many represent the worst effects that come with applying unregulated, market-based reforms to public education.

Theres the handful of white flight charter schools within the city limits, for example, that have long waiting lists and offer exclusive programming options, such as Great River School (a Montessori school), Nova Classical Academy, and the Twin Cities German Immersion School. On the flip side of this are racially and economically isolated Saint Paul charter schools such as Hmong College Prep Academy, where according to state data 98 percent of the students enrolled are Asian and nearly 80 percent live in poverty, according to federal income guidelines.

Hmong College Prep Academy has been in the news recently, thanks to a scandal that was dubbed a hedge fund fiasco by the Pioneer Press. The school is run by a husband-and-wife administrative team who invested $5 million of taxpayer money in a hedge fund, hoping it would provide a return that would help pay for the schools expansion plans. Instead, the hedge fund investment apparently lost $4.3 million, leading to calls for the schools superintendent, Christianna Hang, to be firedsomething school officials refused to do. Hang finally submitted her resignation in late October.

In short, the market-based approach to education reform that Minnesota helped pioneer has caused a great deal of disruption, segregation and chaos. In a Hunger Games-type setting, districts and charter schools have been forced to compete for students with white, middle and upper class students and families largely coming out on top.

The end result, critics allege, is an increasingly segregated public education landscape across the state, with no widespread boost in student outcomes to show for it.

An Alternative to Choice and Competition

Thirty years after Minnesotas charter school and open enrollment laws ushered in a mostly unregulated era of school choice, many statesincluding Minnesotaand federal officials may be turning their attention to the reform model offered by full-service community schools.

Full-service community schools offer a holistic approach to education that is about much more than students standardized test scores or the number of AP classes a school offers. Instead, this model seeks to reposition schools as community resource centers that also provide academic instruction to K-12, or even Pre-K-12, students.

In Minnesota, a handful of districts have adopted this model, often with impressive results.

The states longest running full-service community schools implementation is in Brooklyn Center, a very diverse suburb just north of Minneapolis. Since 2009, the citys public school district has operated under the full-service model, providing such things as counseling and medical and dental services alongside the traditional academic offerings of the school system.

In recent months, Brooklyn Centers community schools approach has been put to the test, due to both the ongoing pandemic and the unrest that erupted after George Floyd was murdered by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in 2020. In April 2021, as Chauvins murder trial was underway a few miles away in downtown Minneapolis, a white Brooklyn Center police officer shot and killed a young Black man named Daunte Wright during a traffic stop.

This layering of trauma upon trauma might have broken the Brooklyn Center community apart, as large protests soon took place outside the citys police headquarters and caused disruption among residentsmany of whom are recent immigrants and refugees. During this turmoil, school district staffers, already familiar with the needs of their community, were able to quickly mobilize resources on behalf of Brooklyn Center students and families thanks to the existing full-service community schools model.

Its not just urban districts like Brooklyn Center that have benefited from this approach. In rural Deer River, Minnesotawhere more than two-thirds of the districts K-12 students live in poverty, according to federal income guidelines, and 85 Deer River students are listed as being homelessthe school district adopted the full-service model in recent years, thanks to startup grants from state and federal funding sources.

Staff in Deer River are reportedly very happy with the full-service model, which allowed them to pivot during the pandemic and provide food, transportation services and other community-specific needs. A local media outlet even noted that the community schools approach enabled school district employees to survey families during the COVID-19 shutdown and provide them with things such as fishing poles and bikes to help them get through this challenging time.

Several other districts across the United States, from Las Cruces, New Mexico, to Durham, North Carolina, have also adopted the full-service community schools approach, which is built around sharing power and uplifting communities rather than closing failing schools and shuttling students out of their neighborhoods through open-enrollment or charter school options.

Community Schools Approach Is on the Rise

Disrupting public education through the proliferation of school choice schemes, including charter schools, has long been the preferred education reform model for politicians and wealthy philanthropists in the United States, and while the charter school industry has been able to score billions in federal funding, the full-service community schools model has instead been relegated to the sidelines.

Thats starting to change.

In February 2021, a coalition of education advocacy groups, including the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, wrote an open letter to congressional leaders asking that more federal dollars be spent on full-service community schools. Most recently, the letter notes, Congress allocated $30 million in funding for such schools nationwide, a number the coalition deemed far too low to meet the need and demand for this strategy.

Now, the Biden administration has proposed dramatically bumping this funding up to $443 million, based on the support this model has received from people such as the current U.S. Education Secretary, Miguel Cardona. While giving input to Congress on behalf of Bidens proposed budget for the Department of Education, Cardona explained that full-service community schools honor the role of schools as the centers of our communities and neighborhoods and are designed to help students achieve academically by making sure their needsfor food, counseling, relationships, or a new pair of eyeglasses, and so onare also being met.

If the Biden administration succeeds in directing millions more in funding toward full-service community schools, it might not be too late to save public schools, in Minnesota and across the country.
(Natural News) In a recent interview with British politician Jeremy Hunt, Bill Gates said that governments around the world must begin to PUNISH people for questioning mask and vaccine mandates online. Its not enough that social media companies have gone the way of the Chinese Communist Party, targeting information that exposes crimes against humanity and blacklisting critical information that would help people make an informed decision. Now, Bill Gates wants not only to silence those who disagree with him, but he also wants to turn governments against their own people when those people dare speak out of line against Bill Gates global agendas, surveillance systems, economic controls, genetic engineering and medical mandates.

Bill Gates seeks to indemnify himself from public scrutiny, accountability, the rule of law

Bill Gates has insistently funded and promoted vaccine passports systems around the world. He aggressively promotes authoritarian lockdowns, and he defends medical mandates that violate the sanctity of the individual. Gates expresses his desire to inject every man, woman and child routinely, while restricting the civil liberties of those who do not comply.

As the greatest financial contributor to the World Health Organization (WHO), Bill Gates is the single most influential figure over public health initiatives. These Bill Gates public health initiatives do not adhere to medical ethics, and they violate the informed consent principle, locking people down, restricting movement and coercing compliance to deadly medical experiments (namely covid vaccines).

The WHO is the entity propagating an endless pandemic, giving governments indefinite emergency power to seize human rights, restrict human movement and experiment on peoples minds, behavior and physiology. At the behest of Bill Gates and his philanthropic GAVI Vaccine Alliance, the WHO is now promoting the implementation of a permanent medical police state, digital vaccine passports and an economic Ponzi scheme that enshrines the global elite as untouchable, immunizing the elite from public criticism, accountability and ultimately, the rule of law.

Bill Gates is feeling the heat of global dissent

The world is in an uproar over the likes of Bill Gates, and a growing number of people are in the process of setting their selves free from the top-down system of financial and political control that has allowed people like Bill Gates to play God and experiment on human lives with no remorse.

Feeling the heat of global dissent, Bill Gates is now calling on governments to PUNISH people who oppose mask and vaccine mandates online. This was recorded in a 30-minute interview between British politician Jeremy Hunt. In the interview, Gates discussed his desire to control governments and financial systems worldwide through the auspices of fighting climate change and preparing for the next pandemic. Admitting that the current vaccines do not stop transmission, he said we need a new way of doing the vaccines which includes patches applied in the skin.

Concerned about mask hesitancy and vaccine hesitancy, Gates called on governments to step up and suppress false information about masks and covid shots. He said Facebook censorship doesnt go far enough, that government should get involved in regulating what is allowed to be shared online. Gates suggested that eventually governments will decide [on supposed] wild conspiracy theories: do they have to be double checked? Do they have to slow down their spread? Do you have to put counterbalancing point of views there?

Gates wants politicians to plan for future pandemics by installing medical surveillance programs and germ games that simulate the most effective ways to control people and monitor their DNA and control their genetic expression. He wants a task force greater than the one he established at the WHO  a task force that requires tens of billions of dollars in investment from all nations around the world. So, youd think this would be a priority, he smirked, predicting that next year will be where those [financial] allocations have to get made, including this global pandemic task force.

This limp-wristed psychopath is not finished yet; the more people resist the more pressure he applies.

Sources include:

HumansAreFree.com

ChildrensHealthDefense.org

RebelNews.com

VigilantCitizen.com

NaturalNews.com

NaturalNews.com

NaturalNews.com

Twitter.com
(Natural News) The restaurant industry has been among the many industries hit hard by the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. A Vanceboro, North Carolina restaurant that closed barely a month after opening was the latest victim of labor shortages and rising food prices.

Clinton and Zena Dawson shut down their restaurant Mary Lees Kitchen on Oct. 24, less than a month after its grand opening on Oct. 1.

The restaurants closure served as a difficult lesson for the Dawson couple. They cited labor shortage and increasing food prices  both effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic  as contributing factors to their decision.

According to Zena Dawson, she and her husband jumped out on faith when they opened Mary Lees Kitchen. We gave it a try and things didnt work out the way we planned. Not knowing so many changes were going to continue to hit us every second of the day, it was a never-ending story, she said.

A Sept. 19 report by the New Bern Sun Journal (NBSJ) talked about the restaurants opening. Mary Lees Kitchen served fried and baked chicken, turkey and pork BBQ, smothered meats with gravy, collard greens, macaroni and cheese, yams and hog chitterlings  with seafood items on Fridays.

Clinton Dawson told the newspaper that he felt a soul food restaurant was what Vanceboro needed. Although I felt it was needed, I wanted to see what other people thought. I went to social media and engaged with others about my idea. The feedback was amazing, so I moved forward, he said. He added that the restaurant took its name from his mother.

Labor shortage affecting restaurants both big and small

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, several businesses have had to close their doors. Business owner Greg Collins attested to this, saying that most other establishments are facing the same issues as the Dawsons. Collins owns Ghent Sandwich Shop in New Bern, North Carolina which has been in business since 1947.

If you can even get people to show up for the interview, they will not show up for the first day of work. The supply chain is just as bad. One week you can get chicken, the next week you cant. Its harder to do business now than it has ever been, he said. (Related: Nobody wants to work: Labor shortage holds back restaurant industry as states ease pandemic restrictions.)

The labor shortage plaguing the restaurant industry has affected establishments both big and small. McDonalds manager James Meadowcraft, who handles a branch of the fast food chain in Tampa, Florida, advertised plans to pay a $50 bonus to people who show up to a job interview back in April 2021. I tried to make a little splash, he told the New York Post.

Meadowcraft put up a sign that interviews would be conducted on weekday afternoons, with interviewees set to receive the $50 bonus. However, he eventually removed the sign after two weeks because it did not attract any candidate at all. No one responded. I didnt even get anyone trying to scam us, the McDonalds manager said. (Related: Florida McDonalds forced to pay applicants $50 just to show up to interview because unemployment benefits are more lucrative.)

Meanwhile, Turkish chef and internet personality Nusret Gokce advertised job openings for his London steak house in October 2021. Nusret, more popularly known as Salt Bae, posted that his restaurant in the U.K. needed waiters, runners, bartenders, bar backs, kitchen porters [and] toilet attendants. The job posting added that international opportunities and growth and development await applicants who sign up to work at Gokces establishment.

But according to the Sun, no one showed up to apply for any openings. Even the presence of Gokce himself failed to attract potential hires. A staff member told the British tabloid: Weve not had anyone come in yet, but weve got applications online.

MarketCrash.news has more articles about how labor shortages are affecting the restaurant industry.

Sources include:

Yahoo.com

NewBernSJ.com 1

NewBernSJ.com 2

NYPost.com

The-Sun.com
(Natural News) Pediatrician and Christian pastor Dr. Stella Immanuel and orthopedic surgeon and health freedom advocate Dr. Lee Merritt believe that the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination campaign aimed at children is a genocide campaign that will bring about an extinction-level event.

Immanuel and Merritt made these claims on Nov.10 on the formers Brighteon.TV program, The Dr. Stella Immanuel Show.

Merritt made it clear that the COVID-19 vaccine was not created in response to the coronavirus. She called this one of the most common lies perpetuated regarding the coronavirus.

Lets just be clear, this is not a vaccine in response to a virus. This was a virus, or a purported virus, [made] as an excuse to get a universal vaccine into every human on this planet, she said. Theyre trying to kill billions of us. This is really at the level of human crisis. I mean, were in an extinction-level event. And we cant let these guys pull it off.

Immanuel and Merritt are concerned about how children as young as five are now being vaccinated.

Zero out of 17 FDA [Food and Drug Administration] advisors, these are civilian advisors, they go back and work at jobs around everybody in America  they refuse to stand up and prevent your children from being experimented on. I think thats what the people of America need to realize at this point.

As of Wednesday, Nov. 10, about 900,000 children in America between the ages of five and 11 have already been vaccinated with the experimental and deadly COVID-19 vaccine. A White House official who made this announcement pointed out that the parents of 700,000 other children have already booked appointments for their kids to get vaccinated within the next few days.

This means that by next week nearly six percent of all children in the United States between the ages of five and 11 could end up getting the dangerous vaccine.

Kids under five could be forced to get vaccinated early next year

In late September, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said that his companys COVID-19 vaccine trials for children between the ages of two and four could have results available before the end of the year.

Other doctors have also pointed out that Pfizer also has trials going on for children six months to two years old. (Related: Whistleblower: Pfizer vaccine trial data was falsified, participants who experienced adverse effects were ignored.)

While there is no clear timetable for when doctors will start forcing parents to get their toddlers vaccinated against COVID-19, doctors believe it will happen by early next year at the latest.

I would expect  dont hold me to it but  perhaps early next year, maybe in that first quarter, we may have vaccines available for those two- to four-year-olds, said Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady. But we dont know that for sure. The focus right now is five- to 11-year-olds, but I do anticipate  that we will see it available for younger children, but probably not until 2022, most likely.

Despite the mass vaccination campaign and the proliferation of the COVID-19 vaccines in America, Immanuel and Merritt are still hopeful. They believe more and more people are starting to wake up to reality.

Its time for people to wake up, said Merritt. Were going to have to wake up now. We got to wake up enough people. I honestly feel like something has turned.

Yeah, I believe a lot of people are waking up, said Immanuel. People are waking up because theyve moved the goalposts so many times that, I mean, people have to wake up, you know?  I tell people all the time. I say, Coronavirus is just a Trojan horse for gene therapy and mind control.

Drs. Stella Immanuel and Lee Merritt have a lot more to say regarding the COVID-19 vaccines. Watch the Nov. 10 episode of The Dr. Stella Immanuel Show here:

The Dr. Stella Immanuel Show airs every Wednesday at 5-6 p.m. on Brighteon.TV.

Learn more about how the COVID-19 vaccine is being used as a tool for exterminating humanity at Depopulation.news.

Sources include:

Brighteon.com

NPR.org

TheAtlantic.com

Parade.com

NBCChicago.com
(Natural News) The French National Authority for Health (HAS), Frances public health authority, has warned adult men aged 30 or younger to avoid Modernas Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine because it is linked to a greater risk of heart disease.

The government agency said adults in the age group should instead opt for the Pfizer vaccine. However, the Pfizer vaccine is also linked to serious health risks.

According to reports, people who received the Pfizer vaccine experienced side effects such as pain around the injection site, delayed allergic reactions, fatigue, headache and muscle pain. The Pfizer vaccine is also linked to severe adverse effects like Bells palsy and allergic reactions.

Side effects of Modernas COVID-19 vaccine

Research has found that cases of myocarditis usually manifest at least seven days after receiving Modernas COVID-19 vaccine. HAS reported that in most cases, those who experience side effects are men under the age of 30.

HAS acts as an advisor to the French health sector but it doesnt have the authority to ban medicines or vaccines. HAS recommendation applies to both first and second doses of the Moderna vaccine and any booster shot doses available as it awaits additional data.

In an opinion piece published on Monday, Nov. 8, HAS said that in people 30 and younger, this risk appears to be around five times lesser with Pfizers Comirnaty jab compared to Modernas Spikevax jab.

HAS decision in Paris came after regulators in other countries, such as Canada, Finland and Sweden, also warned against the use of Modernass Spikevax because of heart-related safety concerns affecting younger people. (Related: Finland halts Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to men aged 30 and below.)

Back in October, the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the European Unions drug regulator, approved Modernas booster vaccine for all age groups over 18, at least six months after the second dose.

Earlier in 2021, the EMA announced that it identified a possible link between the inflammatory heart condition and both Pfizers and Modernas coronavirus vaccines.

Not surprisingly, the EMA also said that the benefits of both mRNA shots in preventing COVID-19 outweigh the risks. The same thing has been said by U.S. regulators and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Countries limit use of Modernas COVID-19 vaccine

Other countries are limiting the use of Modernas COVID-19 vaccine in younger people following reports of possible heart health-related side effects.

The Public Health Agency of Canada announced that based on data, reported cases of heart inflammation were higher after Modernas vaccine compared with the Pfizers vaccine.

Finland delayed the use of Moderna vaccines for younger people, instead giving Pfizers vaccine to men born in and after 1991.

Meanwhile, Germanys vaccine advisory committee has recommended people younger than 30 be vaccinated only with the Pfizer shot since it showed a lower number of heart inflammation cases in younger people compared with the Moderna vaccine.

In October, Sweden extended the postponement of Modernas COVID-19 vaccine beyond the original Dec. 1 deadline for people aged 30 and younger because of the vaccines heart-related side effects.

Swedens health agency cited data that identified an increase in myocarditis and pericarditis cases among children and young adults vaccinated with Modernas Spikevax. Sweden paused the use of the vaccine for those born in 1991 or later.

Visit Pandemic.news for more stories about the Moderna vaccine and its harmful side effects.

Sources include:

ZeroHedge.com

Healthline.com

Reuters.com 1

Reuters.com 2
(Natural News) Ten states have taken legal action against the Biden administrations harmful COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers that they fear could exacerbate staffing shortages.

A federal court has already temporarily blocked the vaccine mandate for private employers, but a stricter one directed at healthcare workers that does not allow people to opt out of the vaccine via testing is still in place. It impacts more than 17 million nurses across 76,000 healthcare facilities and healthcare providers who receive funding from government health programs, among other healthcare workers.

The attorneys general of Missouri, Nebraska and Alaska filed the suit, with the states of Kansas, Iowa, South Dakota, Arkansas, New Hampshire, North Dakota and Wyoming joining the coalition to fight the mandate.

In an official statement, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt said: Unfortunately, with this latest mandate from the Biden Administration, last years healthcare heroes are turning into this years unemployed.

He called it unconstitutional and unlawful and said that it could lead to a healthcare collapse.

One reason the coalition maintains the mandate is unlawful is because the federal government is using it to take away a power that belongs to states. The 58-page filing states: Vaccination requirements are matters that depend on local factors and conditions. Whatever might make sense in New York City, St Louis, or Omaha could be decidedly counterproductive and harmful in rural communities like Memphis, Missouri or McCook, Nebraska.

It adds: Federalism allows states to tailor such matters in the best interests of their communities. The heavy hand of CMSs nationwide mandate does not. This court should thus set aside that rule as unlawful agency action under the Administrative Procedure Act.

Healthcare worker shortages could get worse thanks to mandate

In addition, the suit argues that the mandate is going to make existing healthcare worker shortages even worse, especially in rural areas in many of the participating states, where some people are especially hesitant.

Many healthcare workers are simply unwilling to get the jab, and some hospital execs have reported that their staff have said they will walk away from their jobs rather than comply with these mandates. The Arkansas Department of Human Services, for example, already has more than 1,000 unfilled positions at its healthcare facilities, and this is expected to get worse once the mandate is in place.

Some healthcare workers are resisting the vaccine on the grounds that they have already recovered from COVID-19 and therefore have some degree of natural immunity. However, the agency that issued the mandate, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service, has said that proof of natural immunity will not be permitted in lieu of a vaccine, citing a study from the CDC about natural immunity that several scientists have challenged. The CDC maintains that people with natural immunity can still benefit from getting the vaccine, and while some health experts agree, many others say that it simply is not necessary in those who have recovered from the virus.

The lawsuit also contends that the requirement is unreasonably broad as it impacts volunteers and staff members who do not interact with patients.

Healthcare facilities that do not comply with the vaccine mandate face penalties such as fines and being excluded from Medicare and Medicaid programs.

The lawsuit comes after similar ones were filed by Republican-led states to challenge the Biden mandate for federal contractors and businesses with more than 100 employees; that mandate does allow those who do not get the jab to agree to wear masks and undergo weekly testing for COVID-19 instead. It takes effect on January 4.

Sources for this article include:

TheEpochTimes.com

USNews.com
(Natural News) The Energy Information Administration (EIA) said natural gas prices are expected to be volatile across the United States as the winter heating season begins.

In its Short Term Energy Outlook (STEO) published on Nov. 9, the EIA estimated that U.S. natural gas storage levels had risen to within 3 percent of the previous five-year average at the end of October. But extremely cold weather in February also led to lower-than-average natural gas storage levels across the nation throughout the summer.

Mild weather has limited natural gas consumption and helped bring our storage levels closer to average in recent weeks, but cold winter weather could continue to put upward pressure on prices, said EIA Acting Administrator Steve Nalley. Winter temperatures will be the key driver of natural gas demand, inventories and ultimately prices.

However, EIA is also expecting natural gas prices to remain volatile over the upcoming months with uncertain winter temperatures remaining a key driver of demand and prices. The outlook comes after Eversource Energy stated earlier this month that customers could see natural gas heating prices rise by 15 percent, costing an average of $30 per month more compared to 2020.

In Eversources third-quarter 2021 earnings call, Philip J. Lembo, the companys executive vice president and chief financial officer, cited rising prices in the aftermath of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, supply issues and forecasts of a cold winter as reasons for the price increase. (Related: Natural gas prices worldwide soar to record high.)

EIA noted that the U.S. electric power sector continues to use significant amount of natural gas for generation, while U.S. natural gas exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) are estimated to have averaged 9.8 billion cubic feet per day, 37 percent more than they were in October 2020. This means the power sector are operating at capacity.

The U.S. exports of natural gas will most likely remain close to capacity for the rest of 2021 and in 2022 in an effort to meet global demand, said the EIA.

In October, the natural gas spot price at Henry Hub  an indicator of natural gas supply and demand  averaged $5.51 per million British thermal units (MMBtu), which was up from the September average of $5.16/MMBtu and also up from an average of $3.25/MMBtu in the first half of 2021.

EIA noted that the rising price of natural gas seen across the U.S. in recent months reflects the lower than average inventory levels, which are currently under the five-year average between 2016 and 2020.

Despite the high prices, demand for natural gas for electric power generation has remained relatively high. This, along with strong global demand for U.S. liquefied natural gas, has limited downward natural gas price pressures, according to EIA.

EIA is expecting that the Henry Hub spot price will average $5.53/MMBtu from November through February before dropping down throughout 2022, averaging $3.93/MMBtu for the year amid rising U.S. natural gas production and slowing growth in LNG exports.

The agency said it expects inventory draws in the U.S. to be similar to the five-year average this winter and that this, along with rising U.S. natural gas exports and relatively flat production through March, will keep natural gas prices near recent levels before they eventually drop down in price.

Elsewhere in the STEO, the EIA said it expects that Brent prices will average $82 per barrel from October to December and $72 per barrel in 2022. Brent crude oil spot prices averaged $84 per barrel in October, up by $9 per barrel from September and up by $43 per barrel from October 2020.

EIA said crude oil prices have risen over the past year as a result of steady draws on global oil inventories, which averaged 1.9 million barrels per day during the first three quarters of 2021. EIA said its expecting to see an increase in production from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), U.S. tight oil and other non-OPEC countries in 2022, which will outpace slowing growth in global oil consumption and contribute to Brent prices declining from current levels to an annual average of $72 [per barrel].

The agency also estimated that 18 percent more coal will be used to generate electricity in the United States in 2021 than in 2020, breaking a long-standing trend, while coal exports will increase by 29 percent in 2021.

Natural gas prices in Europe, UK soar

Natural gas prices in Europe and the U.K. have soared to some of the highest levels on record, threatening to raise costs for households and businesses as global supplies of the critical fossil fuel remain tight.

In the U.K., prices have risen above 100 ($133.9) a therm, the highest level since 2005 and a record for the summer. In Europe, prices have hit 40 ($45.8) per megawatt hour for the first time. A therm measures the amount of energy contained in natural gas and is sometimes used to calculate utility bills.

Prices in Asia are also elevated as countries try to attract cargoes of LNG to meet strong demand, with the spot price of LNG cargoes above $15 per MMBtu, according to energy consultancy ICIS. Prices in Europe and the U.K. when converted are near $14 per MMBtu.

The widespread strength in prices is raising fears that a global supply squeeze on the fuel  one of the worlds most important because of its broad range of uses, from industry to power generation and heating  will only intensify.

If anything, its surprising there hasnt been more concern, said Tom Marzec-Manser of ICIS. In terms of additional supply, there arent many options on the table globally. Russia is really the only discretionary source of supplies out there but we dont know when additional deliveries might start. So traders around the world, from Japan to Brazil, are starting to watch European prices too.

Follow Power.news for more on the surge in prices of natural gas.

Sources include:

EpochTimes.com

FT.com
David Zalubowski/AP

DENVER (AP)  Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, who sidestepped federal guidelines this week by allowing all adults age 18 and older to get COVID-19 booster vaccines, insisted Friday that boosters are key to stemming an ongoing spike in cases  and strongly suggested his administrations efforts to convince the unvaccinated to get shots have reached their limit.

Polis said his Thursday executive order on booster shots is essential to relieve pressure on hospitals overwhelmed by patients sick with the contagious coronavirus delta variant. He insisted Colorado has enough vaccines for everyone needing a booster shot.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP)  Influential Kansas business groups have strong misgivings about Republican proposals aimed at financially protecting workers refusing COVID-19 inoculations while vocal anti-mandate activists don't think the measures go far enough.

A joint legislative committee on Friday endorsed a proposal to make it easier for workers to claim religious exemptions to COVID-19 vaccine mandates and another to provide unemployment benefits to workers who are fired for refusing to get vaccinated. Both are a response to vaccine mandates from President Joe Biden applying to more than 100 million workers.

Republican lawmakers have forced a Thanksgiving-week special session of the GOP-controlled Legislature to consider the two GOP proposals for resisting the mandates. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly has expressed opposition to the Democratic president's mandates but has not embraced specific proposals. Lawmakers are set to convene Nov. 22.

The proposals drew criticism from the Kansas Chamber of Commerce and the state chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business. They fear that the unemployment measure will prove costly, raising the state taxes on businesses that help finance the benefits. They said the other measure could force business owners to choose between facing federal fines for granting exemptions too easily or facing lawsuits from aggrieved employees who don't get them.

We didn't ask to be here, said chamber lobbyist Eric Stafford. We ask that you not punish us.

Senate President Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican, drafted the proposals after the committee heard two days of testimony from dozens of people, almost all of them strongly opposed to the mandates.

But the strongest vaccine-mandate critics were not pleased with Masterson's proposals, viewing them as too weak.

Some want to also allow exemptions for people who have non-religious objections to COVID-19 vaccines, while others want to prohibit private employers from imposing mandates.

The draft bills we are being asked to comment on today, while a step in the right direction, dont go far enough to end the madness, said Gary Morgan, a resident of the Kansas City suburb of Shawnee.

Masterson shrugged off the criticism during a break in the committee's meeting. He serves on the panel.

You know what? Good legislation doesn't make anybody happy, he said.

Support for a special legislative session among Republicans grew quickly this week after Masterson outlined his proposals Tuesday. The Kansas Constitution required Kelly to call a special session if two-thirds of both chambers demanded one by petition and with that condition met, Kelly issued a the call Friday evening. The full Legislature has been out of session since May and wasn't set to reconvene until January.

A third proposal on vaccine mandates emerged Friday from Democratic Rep. Vic Miller, of Topeka, but it's not yet clear whether Republican leaders will allow it to be considered during the special session. It would allow workers to sue their employers if those employers imposed COVID-19 vaccine mandates separate from the federal mandates and the workers were harmed by the shots.

It is possible for employers to do it on their own, independent of the feds, Miller said. When you cause injury, you should be responsible.

Some mandate critics are generally are anti-vaccine, and some have repeated widespread misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines.

A few critics have compared Bidens mandates to the Holocaust that killed millions of Jews during World War II, despite sharp criticism. That happened again Friday, when Kansas City, Kansas, resident Daran Duffy and two members of his family wore large yellow Stars of David on their chests, a reference to the stars Jews were forced to wear in Germany under the Nazis.

State Sen. Pat Pettey, a Kansas City Democrat, objected so strongly that the committee's GOP chairwoman gaveled her down.

You are not respecting Jewish people, she told Duffy. You are desecrating that memory.

Masterson later tweeted that GOP senators rejected such analogies in the strongest possible terms, adding, Such comparisons are inappropriate and bear no resemblance to the issues we are debating today.

___

This story has been corrected to show that the Senate president outlined his proposals Tuesday, not Monday.

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Andy Tsubasa Field 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.

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On Twitter, follow John Hanna at https://twitter.com/apjdhanna and Andy Tsubasa Field at https://twitter.com/AndyTsubasaF
NEW YORK (AP)  Donald Trumps company wont have to pay hefty legal bills incurred by his former personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, who became a vocal critic of the ex-president and went to prison after pleading guilty to tax and other crimes, a New York judge ruled Friday.

Judge Joel M. Cohen threw out Cohens breach of contract lawsuit against the Trump Organization, rejecting his claims that the company had promised to cover his legal bills and finding that fees he racked up as a result of the criminal investigation into his conduct werent the companys responsibility.

Michael Cohen said in the lawsuit, filed in March 2019, that the Trump Organization owed him at least $1.9 million for the cost of his defense. The judge noted in his ruling that after the lawsuit was filed, Trumps company did go ahead and pay some of his bills.

In a nutshell, Mr. Cohens legal fees arise out of his (sometimes unlawful) service to Mr. Trump personally, to Mr. Trumps campaign, and to the Trump Foundation, but not out of his service to the business of the Trump Organization, which is the only defendant in this case, the judge wrote in his decision.

Michael Cohen and the judge are not related.

Lanny Davis, a lawyer for Michael Cohen, tweeted that the decision was unfair, and asked for contributions to a GoFundMe page set up for Cohens legal defense in 2018. So, far the page has raised more than $217,000.

In a statement, the Trump Organization touted the ruling as an incredible victory and said it would seek monetary damages against Mr. Cohen for all of his despicable conduct.

Mr. Cohen attempted to invent a basis for requiring the Trump Organization to pay his legal fees for personal criminal conduct (including perjury), the companys statement said. Mr. Cohens attempts at self-enrichment, however, once again failed.

Cohen, in the lawsuit, claimed the Trump Organization stopped paying his mounting legal fees after he began cooperating with federal prosecutors in their investigations related to Trumps business dealings in Russia and attempts to silence women with embarrassing stories about his personal life.

The lawsuit said the company stopped paying for Cohens legal defense about two months after the FBI raided Cohens home and office. It says that was around the time Cohen began discussing privately with friends and family that he was considering cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller and federal prosecutors in New York.

Cohen pleaded guilty in August 2018 to tax crimes, lying to Congress and campaign finance violations, some of which involved his role in orchestrating payments to two women to keep them from talking publicly about alleged affairs with Trump.

Cohen served about a year in prison before being released to home confinement as part of an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19 in federal prisons. On social media hes been counting the days until his home confinement is over. As of Friday, he posted he had nine left.

Cohens lawsuit said that as part of his work for Trump, the company agreed to indemnify him for his company-related work. It said the Trump Organization initially lived up to that promise, footing the bill for more than $1.7 million in Cohens legal fees.

Cohens lawsuit sought $1.9 million in legal fees and $1.9 million he was ordered to forfeit as part of his sentence, which he said arose from conduct he undertook at the behest of the Trump Organization and its principals, directors, and officers.

Cohen was one of Trumps lawyers and closest advisers for a decade until the public split in 2018. Cohen has since written a tell-all book about working for Trump and hosts a weekly podcast where he and guests routinely knock the former president.

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Follow Michael Sisak on Twitter at twitter.com/mikesisak
BRIDGEPORT  A city police officer was arrested Thursday night when he was caught stealing cash during a large drug bust, officials said.

Bridgeport patrol officer Christopher Martin was arrested and charged with second-degree larceny and tampering with evidence. He was released on $10,000 bond, pending arraignment in Superior Court.

Martin, a 21-year member of the Bridgeport Police Department, immediately resigned as suspension paperwork was being prepared, States Attorney Joseph T. Corradino said.

My office is also committed to maintaining the integrity of law enforcement in this district, Corradino said. We will move swiftly and resolutely in the face of any alleged misconduct.

Martin was arrested after an inspector from the States Attorneys Office observed that $500 previously documented in a suspects vehicle had been removed, Corradino said.

Operations were immediately halted and a search for the money commenced. An inspector observed Martin move a quantity of cash from his sock to his pants pocket, officials said. Martin was found to be in possession of $500 in cash and was arrested by Bridgeport police, officials said.

Ned Gerard / Hearst Connecticut Media

The Bridgeport Police Department took immediate action by arresting him upon becoming aware of his actions, Acting Chief Rebeca Garcia said in a statement Friday morning. Former Officer Martin immediately submitted his resignation prior to being suspended without pay and participating in an immediate due process hearing. The Bridgeport Police Department will not and does not condone officers who violate their oath of office by engaging in criminal activity.

The bust also resulted in the arrests of David Pacheco, of Bridgeport, and Luis Alberto Pacheco, of Waterbury. Both are charged with possession of narcotics with intent to distribute.

The arrests were the culmination of a three-month investigation into narcotics distribution in Bridgeport. The investigation was led by a special task force of police inspectors from the Office of the States Attorney for the Judicial District of Fairfield, along with officers from Bridgeport, Stratford, Stamford and Newtown police departments, the Bridgeport Tactical Narcotics Team, the FBI Safe Streets Task Force, the Connecticut State Police Gang Unit, the Regional Auto Theft Task Force and the Statewide Narcotics Task Force.

This successful operation has proven again the value of inter-agency cooperation in removing the scourge of narcotics from our community and protecting our residents, especially youth, from the ravages of drugs, Corradino said.
WASHINGTON (AP)  Twenty years ago, a Green Party activist running for the Phoenix City Council named Kyrsten Sinema likened raising campaign cash to bribery.

Now a first-term senator from Arizona, she no longer has such qualms.

Once a self-styled Prada socialist" labeled as too extreme by Arizona's Democratic Party, Sinema has found new power as a centrist in a 50-50 Senate where there are no votes to spare, forcing President Joe Biden to downsize his agenda and other Democratic ambitions.

Her outsize authority highlights one senator's ability to exploit her party's narrow hold on the chamber and bend the will of the majority. That prowess is also a reason that corporate interests eager to influence Democrats now-$1.85 trillion package of social and climate initiatives have rushed to provide her financial support.

Throughout months of exhaustive negotiations, Sinema has offered only limited explanation for opposing policies Democrats have campaigned on for years, angering many of her colleagues.

But her actions also have won her new allies, making Sinema a magnet for campaign donations from powerful interests with millions at stake in how the legislation turns out.

Sinema notably opposed two parts of Biden's initial proposal that have broad public support: an increase in the tax rates for corporations and wealthy individuals, and an expansive plan that would have substantially reduced the cost of prescription drugs for Medicare recipients.

The concessions she helped win align with the interests of many of her donors who have made Sinema the Senate's No. 3 recipient of money  nearly $500,000  this year from the pharmaceutical and financial services sectors, according to OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan group that tracks money in politics.

Sinemas office declined to make her available for an interview. In a statement, her office said she has consistently supported pro-growth economic policies and protecting medical innovation." They disputed the relevance of comments Sinema made early in her political career in a race she lost.

Senator Sinema makes decisions based on one consideration: whats best for Arizona, spokesman John LaBombard said.

Yet her embrace of influential donors she once rejected perplexes many in her party.

It creates the perception of a conflict of interest and perception of industry groups having influence, said Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who was co-chair of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign. How does she explain the role of all of these contributions?

A former social worker who served on Ralph Nader's 2000 Green Party presidential campaign, Sinema didn't seek office as a Democrat until after two unsuccessful Arizona bids as a progressive or independent.

After winning a seats in the Arizona House in 2004, her political persona began to shift. Gradually retooling herself as a moderate, Sinema rose through the Legislature's Democratic minority while positioning herself for higher office as the state transitioned from a Republican stronghold to an electoral battleground.

Since her 2012 election to the U.S. House, the candidate who once railed against capitalism's Almighty Dollar has welcomed the contributions of industry groups and corporate political action committees. She's raised at least $3 million from CEOs, businesses executives, investors, lobbyists and finance sector workers, campaign finance records show.

Sinemas swelling campaign account comes as many in her party have refused such contributions, denouncing them as evidence of deep-seated corruption in Washington.

While Sinema is hardly alone in raising money from special interests during a major legislative battle, what is notable is the scope of Sinema's fundraising windfall between April and September. Her objections to Bidens legislation then gave her massive sway over the future of his bill. The roughly $3 million she collected during that period is the best cash haul of her career outside the 2018 election, when she was first on the ballot for U.S. Senate.

But there were signs of her gravitating to business interests earlier.

Last year, she helped initiate a bipartisan caucus to raise awareness of the benefits of personalized medicine, a pricey form of precision treatments for diseases that are hard to cure. Her current opposition to tax increases on corporate and high-earners comes after she voted in 2017 against President Donald Trump's tax cut legislation, which lowered the corporate rate to its current 21 percent while also giving a rebate to high earners.

Among the donors:

Executives and a PAC for the drugmaker Amgen have given at least $21,500 in 2021, making Sinema second only to House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy of California in receiving contributions from the company this year. Almost all of the Amgen donations were clustered in late June, when Democrats were pushing legislation that would have curtailed pharmaceutical company earnings by allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices. Sinema's opposition was instrumental in leading lawmakers to pursue a scaled-back version that is now advancing in the House. The new plan would allow Medicare to negotiate the price of about 100 drugs within a few years, while limiting monthly insulin copayments to $35 for many.

Company CEO Robert Bradway gave Sinema $5,000; two company lobbyists gave an additional $3,000.

Sinema has taken in at least $27,000 this year from major drugmakers including Takeda, GlaxoSmithKline, Genentech and Eli Lilly. Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the preeminent trade organization representing drugmakers, has been a major source of funding for a group that is running ads praising Sinema as independent and effective for Arizona, records show.

Twelve executives for the investment bank Goldman Sachs have donated $37,000 to Sinema since May. That includes Goldman President John Waldron, who gave a maximum $5,800 donation in August. Sinema's office said that while she doesn't support raising corporate taxes, she does support establishing a corporate minimum tax so that businesses can't altogether avoid paying their fair share, which is now included in Biden's plan.

Executives, managers and a corporate PAC for Ryan LLC, a global tax consulting firm, poured over $72,000 into Sinema's campaign account in late August and September. That made Ryan, whose employees and PAC had not previously given to Sinema, one of her top corporate donors. The Texas-based company advertises itself as liberating our clients from the burden of being overtaxed." In August, USA Today reported that the company officials are ensnared in an FBI inquiry over whether they pressured the administration of Gov. Doug Ducey, R-Ariz., to issue millions of dollars in tax refunds to a Ryan client.

Checks have also come in from Jimmy Haslam III, a longtime Republican donor and owner of the Cleveland Browns, and his wife, Susan, who gave $8,700 to Sinema in June and September; Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, twins who run a private equity firm and are perhaps best known for successfully suing Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who each gave $5,800 apiece in July; and Stanley Hubbard, a billionaire Minnesota TV and radio station mogul who has given millions of dollars to GOP causes, who donated $2,900 in September.

Sinema has drawn the ire of her colleagues in Congress, who say she blocked proposals that almost all Democratic lawmakers support.

It would be a tragedy for us to not fix the unjust corporate tax system so that corporations and individuals pay their fair share," said Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington state, the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, who played an major role in negotiating the bill.

Sanders focused on Sinema's support for the priorities of the pharmaceutical industry.

It is beyond comprehension that theres any member of the United States Congress who is not prepared to vote to make sure that we lower prescription drug costs, he said last month. He added that he hoped Sinema "does what the people in Arizona want.

Some longtime Democratic Party financiers have also grown frustrated with her.

With all the tension in the party, people have long memories, said Michael Smith, a donor from Los Angeles, whose partner, James Costos, served as President Barack Obama's ambassador to Spain.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP)  A Utah school district said Friday it will open an independent investigation into alleged bullying of a 10-year-old girl who died by suicide after her family says she was harassed by fellow students for being Black and autistic.

The family of Isabella Izzy Tichenor accuses the district of not doing enough to protect their daughter after they reported the bullying to the school.

The outside probe marks an escalation of action after the Davis School District said earlier this week it was doing its own investigation and that it had responded appropriately and worked extensively with the family over their complaints.

The district, where Black students account for only about 1% of the approximately 73,000 students north of Salt Lake City, was recently reprimanded by the U.S. Department of Justice for failing to address widespread racial discrimination.

The death of Izzy is tragic and devastating, the district said in a statement sent by spokeswoman Shauna Lund. We will be bringing in an independent investigation to look further into this and review our handling of critical issues, such as bullying, to provide a safe and welcoming environment for all students.

Tyler Ayres, an attorney representing Izzys family and her mother Brittany Tichenor-Cox, said Izzy was bullied by a small group of other students at Foxboro Elementary School in North Salt Lake who called her the N-word, told her she was smelly and made fun of her for being autistic. Ayres said the family reported the bullying to teachers, as well as school and district administrators, but nothing was done to stop the harassment.

Ayres didnt immediately respond Friday for comment about the independent investigation.

The death last weekend of Izzy Tichenor, which police are investigating as a suicide, has triggered widespread outrage including from Utah Jazz players Donovan Mitchell and Joe Ingles, who has an autistic son.

The Jazz held a moment of silence before their game Thursday night hours after Mitchell and Ingles expressed dismay and anger over what happened.

Its disgusting that it had to end like this for Izzy and her family, said Ingles, who spoke with the girl's mother and promised to help.

Its mind boggling, its sad, its just flat-out disgusting, Mitchell said.
OXFORD  The video opens with what appears to be a normal scene outside a grocery store: Two people loading up the trunk of an SUV with items from their shopping cart.

The footage continued as the pair quickly threw item after item into the car, parked in the fire lane at the stores entrance. One of the carts and the back of the SUV was nearly filled with large bottles of Tide laundry detergent. The person shooting the video then turned to reveal a minivan also parked in the fire lane with two other people filling its trunk with what appears to be paper towels and even more bottles of Tide.

The video was capturing what police have described as a brazen daytime shoplifting incident.

I honestly thought it was a joke, Wayne Pesch, president of the Connecticut Food Association, a group that represents grocers in the state, said about the video.

State police have since said the group is believed to be connected with other similar incidents throughout Connecticut. Investigators believe they have identified two of the suspects involved, whose identities were not immediately released on Friday. The minivan seen in the video was recovered in New Haven, police said.

While Pesch said other thefts are not necessarily as brazen as the incident caught on video in Oxford on Tuesday, grocers face the prospect of theft 365 days a year.

Tide, he noted, is often targeted by thieves along with baby formula and energy drinks because those more expensive items can be readily resold on the black market.

While several Connecticut police departments said they havent seen large-scale thefts of laundry detergent, Tide-brand detergent, in particular, has emerged as a favorite among thieves in recent years, according to the Associated Press .

Thats for a number of reasons  its a commodity everyone needs, its a popular well-known brand, it doesnt spoil and the big bottles retail for around $20.

Pesch noted thieves could probably offload the stolen detergent for around $10 a bottle.

The theft in Oxford points to a larger issue of theft for food retailers, Pesch said, who he said operate on thin margins. Some retailers have announced store closures, citing shoplifting and organized retail crime.

Some of the associations members have installed facial-recognition software to combat theft, which can cost store owners thousands of dollars.

Youve got to sell a lot of peanut butter to make up for that, Pesch said.

Pesch said workers shouldnt intervene directly, but take a note or photo and alert their supervisor or law enforcement. He likened it to concerns he previously raised about asking retail workers to enforce masking at stores.

Were not going to put people in harms way, he said, saying asking people to confront or stopping someone from stealing who could potentially be armed is a no-win situation.

Well do our job, he said, well let law enforcement do their job.
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A New London man has been arrested in connection with the U.S. Capitol riot, according to federal prosecutors.

Jeremy K. Baouche, 24, of New London, was charged Wednesday with numerous offenses connected with the Jan. 6 riot.

Baouche is the fifth Connecticut resident to be charged in connection with entering the Capitol building, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office.

Patrick Edward McCaughey III, of Ridgefield, was arrested June 2 in White Plains, N.Y., Richard T. Crosby Jr., of Harwinton, was arrested June 3. A mother and daughter from Canterbury, Jean Lavin and Carly Krzywicki, were arrested mid-September.

Two other Connecticut residents, Victoria Bergeson and Mauricio Mendez of Groton, were also charged with curfew violation and unlawful entry in connection with the protest, but are not included in the FBIs official list of Capitol breach cases.

There have been more than 600 people charged in federal court related to the Capitol riot, according to the FBIs list.

Baouche was an engineer at General Dynamics Electric Boat at the time of the attack and took off on Jan. 5 and 6, according to FBI officials. The FBI also noted Baouche has a secret security clearance as part of his employment.

The FBI said it received an online tip on Jan. 13, identifying Baouche as entering the Capitol building.

Officials examined Baouches online search history at work, and found searches for the inauguration, the U.S. Capitol building layout, guns, rifle scopes, lasers, Trump protests, FBI Capitol and searches for jobs in the western part of the country. Officials also determined, through Google location data, that Baouche was inside the Capitol building at the time of the riot, the FBI said.

In a video, Baouche can be seen in the Capitol calling into a megaphone Whos house? while people in the area responded Our house, according to the FBIs statement of facts.

Staff writer Peter Yankowski contributed to this report.

Anyone with information related to individuals who unlawfully entered the U.S. Capitol building Jan. 6 can submit a tip online at Tips.FBI.gov. Tipsters can also call 800-225-5324.

liz.hardaway@hearst.com
Amesbury - Nancy died of heart failure at Anna Jaques Hospital on November 8. A lifelong resident of Massachusetts, Nancy was born in Cambridge, grew up in Arlington and graduated from Arlington Sr. High, 1955; Sargent College of BU, 1959. She later lived in Boston, Rockport, Gloucester, and
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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).
AP

Deere & Co. and union officials have reached a third preliminary contract agreement that workers who began striking four weeks ago will vote on soon
A masked Kadence Koen went public with her decision not to get vaccinated last week.
Come, lets sing for joy to the Lord, lets shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Lets come before His presence with a song of thanksgiving, lets shout joyfully to Him in songs with instruments.
What: CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) will host a special virtual event with NIOSH Director Dr. John Howard, Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, and other national experts from labor and medicine on the mental health of the nation's critical health workforce.

Workers providing health services face many on-the-job challenges that can lead to work-related stress. For many of the more than 20 million health workers in the U.S., the COVID-19 pandemic has also led to new and worsening mental health concerns, including burnout, compassion fatigue, depression, anxiety, substance use disorders and suicidal ideation. These concerns affect each worker's overall health, job performance, and ultimately, patient care and safety.

Now is the time to take action to improve the mental health and well-being of America's health workers and create sustainable change for the next generation to follow. The panel will:

Discuss the current crisis and the impact of the pandemic

Explore the specific challenges facing the nation's health workers and what is needed to design a better work experience for this workforce

Highlight current efforts and introduce NIOSH's 5-part plan to tackle the growing public health crisis.



When: Thursday, November 18, 2021

2:303:30 p.m. ET

Who: John Howard, M.D., Director, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Vice Admiral Vivek Murthy, M.D., M.B.A., U.S. Surgeon General

Elizabeth Royal, Director, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) National Nurse Alliance

Lotte Dyrbye, M.D., Co-Director, Mayo Clinic Program on Physician Well-Being

Where: Join via Zoom

Register in advance: https://cdc.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/1916355196079/WN_5Gpu-DhBShSFnq3pUEbQAQexternal icon

A recording of the webinar will be available on the NIOSH website at a later date.
A team led by scientists at Baylor College of Medicine uncovered new evidence supporting a cancer-promoting role for enzyme MAPK6. The study, published in the journal Science Advances, shows that MAPK6 furthers cancer growth by activating the AKT pathway, a known cancer-promoting cellular mechanism. The findings suggest that therapies directed at interfering with MAPK6 activity in cancer may offer an effective treatment approach for this condition.

Studies on the role of MAPK6 in human cancer have produced inconclusive results. Some studies concluded that MAPK6 promoted cancer growth while others indicated the opposite effect. In the current study, we investigated the role of MAPK6 in several cancer cell lines and animal models of the condition and also studied the mechanism mediating MAPK6 effects." Dr. Feng Yang, corresponding author, assistant professor of molecular and cellular biology, Baylor College of Medicine

Yang and his colleagues began by investigating the effect of overexpressing the MAPK6 gene in normal human prostate or breast epithelial cells grown in the lab.

"We found that overexpressing MAPK6 can transform normal cells into tumor-like cells," said Yang, a member of Baylor's Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center. "In addition, enhancing MAPK6 expression in prostate, ovarian, breast and non-small cell lung cancer cell lines that already had low to high levels of MAPK6 further promoted growth of all tumor cell lines."

These findings suggested that eliminating MAPK6 from tumor cells could reduce tumor growth. Indeed, genetically knocking down MAPK6 significantly reduced the growth of several types of cancer cells in the lab.

The researchers then investigated the mechanism mediating MAPK6 cancer-promoting activity.

"We had previously found that MAPK4, which is closely related to MAPK6, promotes cancer growth by activating the AKT pathway," Yang said. "Here, we discovered that MAPK6 also activates AKT to promote cancer growth. Both MAPK4 and MAPK6 add a phosphate group to AKT, a process called phosphorylation, but MAPK6 phosphorylates a different location in AKT than does MAPK4, and this is essential for the tumor-promoting activity of MAPK6."

MAPK6 adds a phosphate group to AKT location identified as S473, which is the same location that is phosphorylated by a cancer-promoting mTOR protein kinase complex called mTORC2.

"MAPK6 appears to phosphorylate location S473 in AKT independently of mTORC2," Yang said. "This is important because it may have relevant clinical implications."

The kinase inhibitors for mTOR are currently being tested in clinical trials for their ability to reduce cancer growth; however, over time cancer cells seem to resist this inhibitory effect and continue to grow. Yang and colleagues' findings in the lab show that while inhibiting MAPK6 and mTOR activities separately reduces AKT phosphorylation and cancer cell growth, inhibiting both simultaneously achieves a more robust tumor-suppressing activity.

"Our findings show that the cancer-promoting pathway AKT can be activated independently by mTORC2 and MAPK6. Therefore, we propose that inhibiting mTORC2 activity does not effectively control cancer growth because, in many cases, MAPK6 may compensate for the lack of mTORC2 activity by independently sustaining AKT activation and cancer growth," Yang explained.

The findings suggest that MAPK6 provides cancer cells with a way to escape the growth-suppressing effect of mTOR inhibitors that has been observed in the clinic.

"More studies are needed, but we suggest that combining both MAPK6 and mTOR inhibitors might provide a more effective and longer-lasting approach to reduce cancer growth," Yang said.

Other contributors to this work include Qinbo Cai, Wolong Zhou, Wei Wang, Bingning Dong, Dong Han, Tao Shen, Chad J. Creighton and David D. Moore. The authors are affiliated with one or more of the following institutions: Baylor College of Medicine, First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Xiangya Hospital of Central South University and University of California  Berkeley.

This research was supported by grants from the Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (W81XWH-17-1-0043), the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (RP130651) and the National Institutes of Health (CA125123).
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(Newser)  It was just a "hiccup in my genetic code," writes Sasa Woodruff at NPR. But that hiccup left her with a wrenching choice: Should she live with a high risk of cancer or have her entire stomach removed? In the first-person account, Woodruff explains that genetic screeningdone because of her family's history of cancerrevealed that she had a genetic mutation known as CDH1. Women with the mutation have a 56% to 83% chance of gastric cancer, in addition to an increased risk for breast cancer, she writes. Screens showed no sign of disease in Woodruff's stomach, but that wasn't much comfort. The gastric cancer is difficult to detect until too late, when patients usually are given just months to live. Woodruff lived with the knowledge of her mutation for two years, before deciding to have the preventative surgery in October.

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"I couldn't think of a more draconian sentence than losing itespecially for me," Woodruff, of Slovakian ancestry, writes of her stomach. "Some of my first memories are sneaking olives from the fridge and licking egg beaters clean from whipped cream and cake batter." But one factor was the recent death of her sister from pancreatic cancer. "In the wake of pandemic and the grief of loss, opting for surgery is an embrace of life," she writes. Woodruff should be able to resume eating the foods she loves in a year, albeit in small portions and with a "lot of chewing." Without a stomach, the food she eats will go directly from her esophagus to the small intestine; it will be a daily battle to get enough calories and hydration, and to fend off vitamin deficiencies. (Read the full story.)
(Newser)  Only one of seven Republican senators who found Donald Trump guilty in his second impeachment trial is up for reelection in 2022, and she's now officially made her bid, with a challenger who's been endorsed by the former president. Lisa Murkowski filed on Friday to run for her fourth full term serving the state of Alaska, in what the New York Times says will likely be "the most expensive and challenging race of her political career." "I'm running for reelection to continue the important work of growing our economy, strengthening our Alaska-based military, and protecting our people and the natural beauty of our state," Murkowski says in a campaign video. "I will work with anyone from either party to advance Alaska's priorities."

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The Times notes that Murkowski indeed holds sway with both Republicans and Democrats and has often found herself as an important swing vote. That probably won't be the case with fellow GOPer Kelly Tshibaka, the former head of the Alaska Department of Administration who's received Trump's thumbs-up as a primary candidate, perpetuated debunked theories of widespread fraud in the 2020 election as Trump has, and hired ex-Trump campaign staffers. Murkowski, who has the support of establishment Republicans like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, doesn't mention Tshibaka by name in her campaign ad, but she does acknowledge the fight she's about to have to keep her seat.

"In this election, lower 48 outsiders are going to try to grab Alaska's Senate seat for their partisan agendas," Murkowski notes. "They don't understand our state and frankly, they couldn't care less about your future." Politico notes Murkowski has a much bigger coffer than Tshibaka ($3 million at her disposal as of October, to Tshibaka's $300,000), and a new ranked-choice voting system for Alaskan primaries will shield her from a direct faceoff with Tshibaka.

Murkowski has also faced challenging runs before: In 2010, for example, a Tea Partier emerged victorious in the Alaskan primary, but Murkowski won reelection to her Senate seat as a write-in candidate. But NBC News notes that Trump won Alaska in 2020 by 10 percentage points, and he has made it one of his goals to unseat the incumbent senator. "Lisa Murkowski is bad for Alaska," he said in June, per the Times. "Murkowski has got to go." (Read more Lisa Murkowski stories.)
(Newser)  It was a good day on the legal front Friday for Donald Trump, who saw one lawsuit against him dropped and another one dismissed. CNN reports that Summer Zervos, a former contestant on The Apprentice who'd filed a defamation complaint in 2017 against Trump after he denied her sexual assault claims, has agreed to drop her suit. "After five years, Ms. Zervos no longer wishes to litigate against the defendant and has secured the right to speak freely about her experience," her attorneys note in a statement, adding that Zervos "has accepted no compensation."

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The Zervos complaint was dropped before Trump sat for a deposition, which a judge had ordered him to do by Dec. 23. It's not clear why Zervoswho claimed Trump had forced himself on her in a Los Angeles hotel room in 2007, then hurt her reputation by saying she'd lied about the incidentditched her suit, but Trump has already responded, claiming he has been "totally vindicated." Trump's attorney Alina Habba says Zervos "had no choice" but to drop the suit, "as the facts unearthed in this matter made it abundantly clear that our client did nothing wrong," per the Washington Post. That's somewhat at odds with Zervos' attorneys, who note their client still "stands by the allegations in her complaint."

Meanwhile, a separate breach-of-contract complaint by former Trump attorney Michael Cohen has been dismissed by a New York judge, per the AP. Cohen had sued the Trump Organization in 2019, seeking to be compensated for nearly $2 million in legal fees for work he'd done for the company. In his Friday ruling, Judge Joel M. Cohen (no relation) said that most of the legal work Michael Cohen cited was done for the Trump campaign, the Trump Foundation, or for Trump personally, "but not out of his service to the business of the Trump Organization, which is the only defendant in this case." In a statement, the Trump Organization said it would seek "monetary damages against Mr. Cohen for all of his despicable conduct."

One big complaint against Trump that remains in play: a defamation suit by journalist E. Jean Carroll, who has claimed Trump raped her in a department store in the mid-'90s. Trump denies that allegation, but it doesn't look like Carroll's suit will disappear anytime soon. "While we don't know the circumstances of what happened in the Zervos case, we can say that E. Jean Carroll has no intention of withdrawing her complaint against Donald Trump," a Carroll attorneys says in a statement, per CNN. A federal appeals court will begin to hear arguments in that defamation case next month. (Read more Donald Trump stories.)
(Newser)  For the third time, Deere & Co. and United Auto Workers negotiators have agreed on tentative contract that could end a monthlong strike. The new deal, announced Friday night, makes changes to the proposal UAW members rejected on Nov. 2, the New York Times reports, by a 55%-45% margin. That vote was closer than the one on the first proposed contract last month. Workers walked off the job on Oct. 14 after rejecting a contract with 5% raises for some workers and 6% ones for others. The agriculture equipment maker has said it's made its "last, best and final offer," per the AP.

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Deere's most recent proposal was for an immediate 10% increase in hourly pay and a $8,500 bonus for each worker. Pay increases of 5% in 2023 and 2025 were included, as well as lump-sum payments in three other years of the six-year contract. The company said that added up to a $3.5 billion compensation commitment. Employees say Deere should share more of its profits, per the Wall Street Journal, given that its farm and construction equipment sales are booming and other manufacturers are doing more to attract workers in a tight labor market.

Union members said the improved financial condition of Deere made this the time to push for better pay and benefits. The company, based in Moline, Illinois, forecasts income for its full fiscal year around $5.8 billion, after posting $2.8 billion in 2020 and $3.3 billion in 2019. The UAW did not say when members will be briefed on the proposal, but the vote is scheduled for Wednesday. The company did not immediately comment Saturday. The contract would cover 10,000 employees at 12 locations in Illinois, Iowa, and Kansas. (Read more Deere and Co stories.)
(Newser)  Israeli and Polish government officials on Saturday condemned an antisemitic incident involving Polish nationalists chanting "Death to Jews" on Poland's Independence Day this week. Participants at the gathering also burned a copy of a medieval document that offered Jews protection and rights in Polish lands, the AP reports. The public expression of hatred occurred in the central Polish city of Kalisz on Thursday amid holiday celebrations across Poland. The leaders of the event also referred to LGBT people and "Zionists" as "enemies of Poland" who need to be expelled.

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Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski said Saturday he hoped that "the people who organized the shameful and scandalous assembly in Kalisz on November 11 will suffer legal consequences." Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid welcomed the unequivocal condemnation" by Polish authorities and said Jewish people "expect the Polish government to act uncompromisingly against those who took part in this shocking display of hate." Polands influential Catholic Church also also strongly condemned the outpouring of hatred. "The horrific antisemitic incident," Lapid added, "reminds every Jew in the world of the strength of hatred that exists in the world."

Poland's Independence Day celebrations have in recent years been overshadowed by events led by far-right groups. The largest on Thursday was in Warsaw. The mayor tried to ban it, and he had court backing, but Poland's right-wing government gave the march the status of a state ceremonythe latest example of the ruling nationalists seeking to curry favor with extreme groups. Poland was for centuries one of the most welcoming European lands for Jews; some 3.3 million were living in Poland on the eve of World War II. Most were murdered by Nazi Germany during the Holocaust. Today, the Jewish community numbers only in the thousands.

(Read more anti-Semitism stories.)
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DANBURY  Michelle Coelho knows Danbury High School isnt a good fit for her middle child, even if her oldest son graduated from there.

I believe that people have a choice, said Coelho, a mother of three and a first-generation Cuban-American. Not every child is the same, and not every childs needs are the same.

Thats why Coelho has argued Danbury should have a charter school. She said she thinks that message was part of what helped her win a first term on the Danbury Board of Education. She earned the most votes of any school board candidate.

She had the backing of Latinos for Educational Advocacy and Diversity, an organization better known as LEAD that grew out of the fight for the charter school.

The charter school literally was dominating a lot of the headlines and a lot of the conversation, said Jose Lucas Pimentel, chief executive officer of LEAD.

Candidates, however, disagreed on whether the charter school played a large role in the election. The Republicans, who support the charter school, say it helped them win their races. The Democrats, who are against it, say voters rarely brought it up.

The election came at a turning point for the charter school, which has been approved to open in Danbury but needs state funding to do so. While the plan has been for Brooklyn-based Prospect Schools to run the charter, parents and LEAD are now searching for a Connecticut-based operator.

The mayors office is working with the parents on this, Mayor-elect Dean Esposito said.

The Republican said his argument that the charter school would address Danbury Public Schools space needs, without burdening taxpayers, helped him and Republican school board candidates win the election.

I think it was a huge factor to tell you the truth, he said.

His opponent, Democrat Roberto Alves, who lost by only 171 votes, said members of LEAD were the only people that talked with him about the charter school.

But outside of that, it didnt come up much in my day to day, said Alves, who argues resources should go toward the public schools, not a charter school. He is Portuguese and Brazilian.

No outcry or the races decider?

Voters brought up the charter school only a couple times to Democratic incumbent Joe DaSilva, who earned the second most votes for the school board, not far behind Coelho.

There is not outcry for it locally, DaSilva said. It was not a significant driver in the most recent election.

LEAD initially planned to stay out the local race, but mobilized its 3,900 members in the weeks leading up to the election, once candidates started speaking against the charter school, Pimentel said. The organization is finalizing its data, but has so far seen that many of its members who are registered Democrats voted for Esposito, he claims.

In supporting Esposito, Pimentel said he voted Republican for the first time, too.

Its overwhelming Democrats voting for Dean because of the charter school, he said. It was a very close race, and we can literally say the charter school and our base decided the mayor of Danbury.

The Democrats continue to analyze turnout and dont have data to show the charter school swayed voters to Republicans.

Its just too soon to say that, Alves said.

The charter school was among the most contentious issues at a Citywide PTO forum for the mayoral and education board candidates.

Republican Rachel Chaleski, an early supporter of the charter school, won reelection to the school board. She discussed various issues with voters, but for some the charter was the most important, she said.

Some people said quite simply they couldnt support a candidate who couldnt support the charter school, she said.

Next steps

LEAD has expanded beyond Danbury to garner more statewide support for the charter because the citys state representatives and senator are against the idea.

The group is searching for a Connecticut-based operator that knows Connecticut better to run the school, Pimentel said.

The parents who applied to the state for the school own the charter, so they can pick who runs the school, he said. They initially selected Prospect because its program made the operator the Cadillac and Lexus of all charter schools, Pimentel said. But Brooklyn-based Prospect brought no troops to this fight for the state funding, he said.

Parents have narrowed down to two operators and aim to announce the selection at the end of the month. Theyre looking closely at the operators programs for English learners, Pimentel said.

Thats the biggest weakness of our (public) system, so we want to make sure whoever we bring over has a good track record with that, he said.

LEAD is gearing up for next November, when the Danbury delegation will be up for reelection. Pimentel said he wants to extend the candidates an olive branch at first, but that his based will vote with the charter in mind.

Youre creating a whole generation of Latino Republicans over a school, he said.

State Sen. Julie Kushner, D-Danbury, who is up for reelection in 2022 and opposes the charter, said her focus will remain on the public schools.

Every dollar we have needs to go to our public schools, she said.

Clashing views

Both sides of the charter school issue say their opponents have misled the public about the project.

The school wont be controlled by the Board of Education and thus local voters  a knock against the charter for opponents.

The only thing public about a charter school is the public money that funds it, DaSilva said.

A philanthropist has promised to donate $25 million to build the school on Main Street, so local taxpayers wont foot the bill. Esposito said another donation could come in.

Our participation in this state program is long overdue, Chaleski said. It is another inequity that our children endure when they do not have the same access that others do.

Prospects plan was to open with 110 sixth-graders, adding a grade each year to eventually serve 770 students. To the charters supporters, thats 770 students who wont take up space in Danburys crowded public schools.

That resonated with parents that Esposito talked to.

They could see the light there  the reality of almost an instantaneous solution to some of our problems, he said.

Opponents of the charter argue that would be too slow and wouldnt do enough to address Danburys space issues. Projects like the $99 million, 1,400-seat career academy tackle enrollment growth better and faster, they said.

I want to focus on building our public schools and our public education system, Kushner said.

Democrats worry the charter school could close, sending its students suddenly back to the public schools.

The public schools havent done enough to hire staff that look like the student population, which is 60 percent Hispanic and Latino, said Pimentel, whose has two daughters, one at Henry Abbott Technical High School and the other at Broadview Middle School.

Pimentel said the charter school could provide that diverse staff, while Democrats said the public schools should.

For Coelho, the charter school would be another place to send her children. Her 23-year-old son graduated from Danbury High School, while her 15-year-old son goes to Immaculate High School and her 11-year-old goes to St. Joseph School in Danbury.

Her 15-year-old went to Pembroke Elementary School and Broadview Middle School, but she knew the large Danbury High School wouldnt be the best environment for him.

We should offer different options, she said.

Students would be selected for the school through a lottery process, similar to Danburys magnet schools.

Its not school choice, DaSilva said. Its school chance.

Chaleskis children are in middle and high school. Its unlikely theyd be able to get into the charter school based on their ages, and theyre receiving an excellent education in the public schools, she said.

I wouldnt necessarily pull them out to put them in another school, she said. Theyre thriving. They have a steady support at home. But its not for everyone. Not all kids can thrive in the same environment, so this would be an opportunity for choice.
Power companies are reporting outages in the state as high wind speeds and thunderstorms threatened to knock down trees and power lines Saturday.

As the night continues, outages for both Eversource and United Illuminating are decreasing.

Eversource is currently reporting 4,410 outages, 840 of which are in Guilford. There are also 377 customers without power in Ledyard.

United Illuminating is reporting 95 outages, 56 of which are in West Haven. The earlier outages in Easton have been resolved but 29 customers in Hamden are without power.

9 p.m.

Eversource outages are still decreasing, with 5,274 customers remaining without power. The outages in Guilford have dropped to 796 while Stoningtons outages have increased to 666.

United Illuminatings outages have also dropped to 129, with all of the Woodbridge outages from earlier today being resolved.

In West Haven, 56 customers are still affected. Easton has the next highest number of outages with 35.

8 p.m.

Eversources reported outages are continuing to decrease; however 7,345 customers are still affected. Guilford still has the most outages with 1,081. Stonington has 665 outages and Windsor has 610.

United Illuminating is reporting 172 outages still concentrated in West Haven (56 outages) and Woodbridge (43).

7 p.m.

Eversource has seen a decrease in outages over the last hour and is now reporting 8,454 customers impacted. Guilford (1,080 outages), Stonington (763) and Branford (762) are still the most impacted.

United Illuminating is reporting 176 outages, still concentrated in West Haven (56 outages) and Woodbridge (43).

6 p.m.

State Rep. Sean Scanlon issued an update on his Facebook page regarding the possible tornado in his district.

Unclear if a tornado actually touched down in Branford and/or Guilford but certainly a lot of damage regardless, Scanlon wrote.

Eversource is reporting 10,787 outages, with 1,948 in Guilford, 778 in Stonington and 762 in Branford.

United Illuminating has 195 outages, with 56 still in West Haven and 43 in Woodbridge.

5:30 p.m.

United Illuminating is reporting 194 outages, mostly in West Haven which has 56 outages. Woodbridge has 43 outages and Easton has 39.

Eversource has 9,414 affected customers, with the most outages in Guilford and Branford. Guilford now has 1,618 reported outages while Branford has 758.

4:55 p.m.

Eversource is reporting 9,155 outages, with Guilford, Southbury and Branford having the most concentrated outages.

This comes after a potential tornado possibly traveled from Branford to Guilford.

Guilford has the most outages with 1,607 reported, followed by Southbury with 1,344 and Branford with 755.

United Illuminating is reporting 178 outages, concentrated in Woodbridge and Easton. Woodbridge still has 43 outages and Easton has 39.

4:15 p.m.

NBC Connecticut Chief Meteorologist Ryan Hanrahan is reporting that a tornado touched down in Branford around 3:50 p.m. on Saturday due to a tornado debris signature showing lifted debris from the storm on radar.

The station reported that the tornado was moving from Branford to Guilford.

Eversource is reporting 5,809 outages, with Cheshire and Guilford having the most concentrated outages. Currently, Cheshire has 1,292 outages and Guilford has 1,044.

United Illuminating is reporting 119 outages, with most concentrated in Woodbridge which currently has 43 outages.

3:25 p.m.

Eversource is reporting 831 outages as of 3:25 p.m. Wilton and Norwalk have the most concentrated outages with 288 and 134 outages respectively.

United Illuminating is reporting only two outages. Earlier this afternoon, the utility reported 328 outages, 327 of which were in Fairfield.

To view a map of the states power outages, click or tap here.

The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Litchfield County that goes until 3:15 p.m. Northern Connecticut residents can expect 60 mph wind gusts and quarter-sized hail, which could cause damage to vehicles, roofs, siding and trees.

The National Weather Service also issued a severe thunderstorm watch for all of Connecticut Saturday afternoon. The watch is in effect until 7 p.m.

The storms could bring wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph, as well as brief heavy rain and potentially small hail.

Stronger thunderstorms could produce winds upwards of 60 mph and hail close to one inch in diameter. These winds could cause power outages by knocking down trees and power lines, the weather service said.

This is a developing story. Please check back later for updates.
The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for southern Litchfield County Saturday afternoon.

Meteorologists identified a severe thunderstorm over Mahopac moving northeast. The weather service said Litchfield residents should expect 60 mph wind gusts and quarter-sized hail. The winds and hail could damage cars, roofs, siding and trees.

The warning is in effect until 3:15 p.m.

Additionally, the weather service issued a severe thunderstorm watch for all of Connecticut Saturday afternoon.

Showers and thunderstorms will hit parts of Connecticut this afternoon as a cold front moves through the region, the weather service said Saturday. Southwestern Connecticut should be affected from 2 to 4 p.m., and southeastern Connecticut will be affected from 3 to 5 p.m., according to the weather service.

These storms will also affect parts of New Jersey, New York City, Long Island and the lower Hudson Valley.

The watch is in effect until 7 p.m.

Nutmeggers should expect wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph, as well as brief heavy rain generating about one quarter to one half of an inch. Small hail is also possible, the weather service said.

Stronger thunderstorms could produce winds upwards of 60 mph and hail close to one inch in diameter. These winds have the possibility of downing trees and power lines, resulting in power outages, the weather service said Saturday morning.

Things should calm down by the night, but still be breezy. The skies will be mostly cloudy and gradually clear up. The temperature should drop down to around 37 degrees.

Sunday should have increasing clouds with a high near 51 degrees. There is a 40 percent chance of showers Sunday into Monday, mainly after 1 a.m. The night will be mostly cloudy with a low around 40 degrees, the weather service said.

This story has been updated with the new weather alert.

liz.hardaway@hearst.com
Pansey the cow and her trip inside the old Piketon High School
OTTAWA, ON, Nov. 13, 2021 /CNW/ - Today, the Minister of Emergency Preparedness, the Honourable Bill Blair, confirmed that the Government of Canada has approved a Request for Federal Assistance from the Province of Ontario to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic in remote Northern Ontario communities, including remote First Nations fly-in communities.

In recognition of the significant, immediate challenges facing Northern Ontario and the importance of ensuring support to vulnerable remote fly-in communities, the Government of Canada will provide federal assistance in the form of Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Rangers to support Operation Remote Immunity 3.0 (ORI 3.0) vaccination campaign targeting specific Ontario communities.

Specifically, ORI 3.0 will encompass the following parameters:

Third doses for all eligible Individuals;

First and second doses for children ages 5-11 (once approved);

First and second doses for those aged 12 and over that have not yet been vaccinated and have indicated they wish to receive vaccination.

Dependent on community agreement to co-administration, flu vaccine may also be made available at the clinics for administration of both the COVID-19 and flu vaccinations.

Sioux Lookout First Nation Health Authority and the Weeneebayko Area Health Authority will lead the implementation of ORI 3.0 in their respective communities with the support of First Nations Inuit Health Branch, the northern Public Health Units and Ornge.

The CAF support to ORI 3.0 will begin on November 15, 2021, and will continue until March 31, 2022. The support will be specific to the communities listed in the ORI 3.0.

CAF members will work alongside other members of the community to address the emergent needs of remote First Nations fly-in communities.

The CAF will provide Canadian Rangers to help support ORI 3.0 in the form of:

General logistics support, including transportation of personnel, community members and materials;

Local coordination including translation, integration of mobile vaccination teams and distribution of information and educational materials; and

Administrative support, including conducting COVID-19 pre-screening questionnaires, reception and other general support to planning and operations.

The Government Operations Centre is working closely with federal and provincial partners to coordinate the federal response to the situation in Northern Ontario.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government Operations Centre has administered more than 140 requests for assistance from federal, provincial, and territorial partners. These requests have been administered in collaboration with federal organizations, such as the Department of National Defence, Indigenous Services Canada, Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada, and non-governmental partners, such as the Canadian Red Cross.

Quotes

"The Government of Canada always stands ready to assist provinces and territories in their efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The deployment of CAF resources to remote indigenous communities demonstrates the ongoing dedication and commitment of the Government in assisting vulnerable populations in their time of need. I commend the outstanding collaboration between all responding organizations and partners, and I want to thank all those on the front lines who continue to keep Canadians safe."



- The Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of Emergency Preparedness

"Once again, the Canadian Armed Forces will be leveraging the local cultural and operational experience of the Canadian Rangers to support the effective roll-out of this vaccination campaign to vulnerable populations in Northern Ontario. Since the start of the pandemic, the Rangers have demonstrated steadfast dedication to vaccination efforts in remote and northern communities across the country and we are grateful to have such capable members to call on when indigenous communities need them most."

- The Honourable Anita Anand, Minister of National Defence

Quick Facts

To date, the Government of Canada has approved a total of 143 Requests for Federal Assistance (including extensions), which includes 19 requests to support Ontario with their COVID-19 response.

has approved a total of 143 Requests for Federal Assistance (including extensions), which includes 19 requests to support with their COVID-19 response. Since the beginning of the pandemic the CAF has received and responded to 70 COVID-19-related requests for assistance from provincial or federal partners.

CAF-related support is likely to consist of approximately 100 Canadian Rangers engaged in a wide range of logistics, coordination, and administrative support roles.

The Government Operations Centre is responsible for coordinating the Government of Canada's response to emergency events including the pandemic. It supports the Public Health Agency of Canada , which is the federal government lead for the response to COVID-19.

response to emergency events including the pandemic. It supports the Public Health Agency of , which is the federal government lead for the response to COVID-19. In Canada , emergencies are managed first at the municipal level and if they need assistance, they request it from their province or territory. If the emergency escalates further, provinces or territories can get help from the federal government.

, emergencies are managed first at the municipal level and if they need assistance, they request it from their province or territory. If the emergency escalates further, provinces or territories can get help from the federal government. A Request for Federal Assistance is initiated when an emergency event overwhelms or threatens to overwhelm the resources of a province or territory and federal government help is needed to effectively support the impacted region.

Should a province or territory make an official Request for Federal Assistance, there is a well-established process in place for managing the request, through the Government Operations Centre, and includes provincial/territorial and interdepartmental consultation and coordination.

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Associated Links

SOURCE Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada

For further information: James Cudmore, Director of Communications, Office of the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, 613-407-8515, [email protected]; Media Relations, Public Safety Canada, 613-991-0657, [email protected]; Media Relations, Department of National Defence, 613-904-3333, [email protected]

Related Links

https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca


To mark World Kindness Day (Nov 13), Mars Canada surveyed 1,500 Canadians to get their perspectives on kindness and to better understand their expectations of Canadian companies when it comes to citizenship and their support of good causes, including the contributions they make to their communities. Canadians overwhelmingly (83%) believe that every large company operating in Canada should support good causes. Mars has embedded this commitment to community into everything it does.

"Canadians expect companies to be good citizens and have a positive influence on society, which is what Mars Canada has been committed to doing across our entire business. We know the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today, including recently showing environmental leadership by committing to make the iconic Mars Bar net zero in Canada by 2023 as a part of our global commitment to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050." said Chantal Templeton, General Manager, Mars Canada. "On World Kindness Day, we celebrate the passion of Mars Associates who give back to communities, and hope to encourage others across Canada to lead through kindness, not just today, but every day."

Across all Mars business segments -- Mars Wrigley, Mars Pet Nutrition, Mars Food and Royal Canin -- Mars is making a positive contribution in the communities where it operates, including:

Elevating women's voices in its #HeretobeHeard global listening study;

Ending pet homelessness in Canada ;

; Ensuring more people have access to healthy, easy and affordable meals that bring the world to the dinner table;

Committing to the first certified carbon neutral chocolate bar (the Mars Bar) by a top confectionary company in Canada by 2023, part of its global commitment to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050;

by 2023, part of its global commitment to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050; Implementing a Sustainable in a Generation Plan to create a safe, healthy, and sustainable world; and

to create a safe, healthy, and sustainable world; and Supporting programs like the Mars Volunteer Program and Mars Ambassador Program, which offer Associates time off to give back to causes close to their hearts.

There's always time for kindness

The top three ways Canadians demonstrated kindness in the past year are:

Helping someone through a difficult period in their lives. Giving money to charity. Calling or visiting a sick or lonely friend/relative.

Despite only 12% of Canadians believing that the world is becoming kinder, they are ready to do their part:

84% of Canadians agree that it's important for us all to be kinder to the planet.

69% of Canadians say they make a conscious effort to be kind, while 46% report having been kind to someone outside their household within the last week.

While 50% of Canadians agree that COVID-19 has made it harder to be kind, 40% expect to volunteer more after the COVID-19 pandemic subsides.

32% of Canadians describe their neighbourhoods as "becoming kinder," while just 18% say they're becoming less kind.

Canadians expect business to step up, too

The onus isn't just on individuals; it's on businesses, too. Canadians expect businesses to play a role by being environmentally responsible, making the planet a better place:

83% believe every large company operating in Canada should support good causes.

should support good causes. 75% agree that companies operating in Canada should demonstrate environmental leadership and must make environmental sustainability a priority.

should demonstrate environmental leadership and must make environmental sustainability a priority. 58% claim that when companies have a positive influence on society, it's something they notice.

"We know that Canadians want and expect more from the companies they do business with and that's why every day, Mars Associates across all our business segments work to create moments that make people smile, to make a better world for pets, and to provide better food today for a better world tomorrow," said Suzanna Dalrymple, General Manager, Mars Pet Nutrition Canada.

Methodology:

A total of 1,500 adult residents from Canada were surveyed online, between October 28 to November 1, 2021. The sample was randomly drawn from Leger's web panel of potential survey respondents.

Quotas based on 2016 census data were utilized to ensure reasonable representation by region, age, gender. An associated margin of error for a probability-based sample of this size would be 3%, 19 times out of 20.

About Mars, Incorporated

For more than a century, Mars, Incorporated has been driven by the belief that the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. This idea is at the center of who we have always been as a global, family-owned business. Today, Mars is transforming, innovating and evolving in ways that affirm our commitment to making a positive impact on the world around us. Across our diverse and expanding portfolio of confectionery, food, and petcare products and services, we employ 133,000 dedicated Associates who are all moving in the same direction: forward. With $40 billion in annual sales, we produce some of the world's best-loved brands including DOVE, EXTRA, M&M's, MILKY WAY, SNICKERS, TWIX, ORBIT, PEDIGREE, ROYAL CANIN, SKITTLES, BEN'S ORIGINAL, WHISKAS, COCOAVIA, and 5; and take care of half of the world's pets through our pet health services AniCura, Banfield Pet Hospitals, BluePearl, Linnaeus, Pet Partners, and VCA.

We know we can only be truly successful if our partners and the communities in which we operate prosper as well. The Mars Five Principles  Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom  inspire our Associates to take action every day to help create a world tomorrow in which the planet, its people and pets can thrive. For more information about Mars, please visit www.mars.com.

Join us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.

SOURCE Mars Canada

For further information: For media inquiries: Mars Canada, Shannon Denny, (416) 884-1877, [email protected]; Hill + Knowlton Strategies, Alex Mitchell, (236) 622-2530, [email protected]
As per the sources, the family members of the officer along with the Quick Reaction Team were in convoy.

The convoy of a Commanding Officer of an Assam Rifles unit was attacked by the terrorists in the Singhat sub-division of Manipurs Churachandpur district, informed sources on Saturday. The Commanding Officer (CO) of 46 Assam Rifles Colonel Viplav Tripathy, his wife and 8-year-old son and four soldiers were killed in the ambush by terrorists near the India-Myanmar border.

According to sources, four others are reported to be injured in the incident. The incident took place around 10 am on Saturday near S Sehken village under Behiang police station in Churachandpur district of Manipur. Further details awaited.



As per the sources, the family members of the officer along with the Quick Reaction Team were in convoy. Convoy of a Commanding Officer of an Assam Rifles unit ambushed by terrorists in Singhat sub-division of Manipurs Churachandpur district. Family members of the officer along with the Quick Reaction Team were in convoy. Casualties feared. Ops underway, details awaited, said the sources.
With the aim to navigate economic recovery post-COVID, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will hold a meeting with chief ministers/ Lt Governors and finance ministers of states/union territories on November 15. The meeting will be held at 3 pm on Monday via video conferencing. Briefing about the meeting, TV Somnathan, Finance Secretary said, Growth had slowed down in the COVID-19 pandemic. However, after the first quarter of the current fiscal, the economy has picked up again with green shoots of recovery clearly visible. Several economic indicators are now at pre-pandemic levels. Projections of International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank peg Indias GDP growth at about 9.5 per cent and 8.3 per cent respectively, as one of the fastest-growing economies.

While the investor sentiment is good, there is a need to capitalise on the momentum already created. The first four months of FY 2021 have already witnessed inflows of USD 64 billion foreign direct investment (FDI). The Government of India (GoI) in its Union Budget 2021-22 has given further impetus to the inflow of foreign investment capital through streamlining procedures, removing roadblocks and providing necessary incentives, he added. Somnathan further said the objective of the meeting is economic recovery.



India is becoming a thriving destination for foreign investors. These positive sentiments should be capitalized and the opportunity is to be utilised. To push Indias growth story towards the higher path, the states role is important and is an essential component. In this regard, Finance Minister is a holding meeting with chief ministers on state level issues. Challenges faced by the states will be discussed. Efforts will be made to resolve those issues that will help the country, he added.



Ajay Seth, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) said that the Finance Minister seeks to embark on a collaborative growth vision for the nation and encourage an open exchange of ideas centred on enhancing the investment climate of the country. The envisaged interaction will attempt to create a policy discourse and a facilitative environment for inward investment-led growth. This will be enabled by a pro-active approach to investment promotion, efficiencies brought about by Ease of Doing Business reforms, and an emphasis on accelerating approvals and clearances up to Urban Local Bodies (ULB) levels, he said. The DEA Secretary further said through the interaction, the States may share their ideas and vision for enhancing the investment climate, leading to a broad consensus regarding the trajectory to be undertaken for India to become the fastest-growing economy.
US President Joe Biden will hold a virtual summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday evening and the two leaders will confront tensions. Commenting on whether Mondays meeting between the two leaders will concern over the border tensions with India, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki while responding to ANI said the US leader would certainly discuss security-related issues. There has been no shortage of tension in the relationship in recent months as Biden has made clear he sees Beijings actions on a number of fronts as concerning. The President has criticised China for human rights abuses against ethnic minorities in northwest China, maritime issues, Taiwan, South China sea.



Speaking over it, Jen Psaki said: Joe Biden will not hold back concerns the US has with China. Addressing a press briefing on Friday (local time), Psaki said that one of the purposes of this engagement is to also discuss areas where there are strong concerns and disagreement. The meeting will be the third engagement between the two leaders since February. It comes after the US and China this week pledged at UN climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland to increase their cooperation and speed up action to rein in climate-damaging emissions.mWe are engaged first of all with members of Congress and on technical advisory providing technical assistance on legislation thats currently working its way through Congress. But in addition to that, we have also taken measures on our own including visa restrictions, global Magnitsky and financial sanctions, export controls, import restrictions, the release of a business advisory and rallying the G7 to commit to take action to ensure all global supply chains are free from the use of forced labour, she said. Psaki said that there is likely to be no major resolutions as a result of the call. I wouldnt set the expectation  that this is intended to have major deliverables or outcomes, Psaki said.



Biden and Xi have a history of face-to-face dealings stretching back more than a decade to when the two served as their respective countries vice-presidents. Pressed on Friday whether the two presidents personal relationship would impact Bidens ability to press China to enact changes it has previously been unwilling to make, Psaki said that their history would instead allow Biden to be quite candid. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan and senior Chinese foreign policy adviser Yang Jiechi had come to an agreement on holding the Biden-Xi virtual summit by years end when they met last month for talks in Zurich but the two sides had not settled on a date. The virtual meeting was proposed after Biden mentioned during a September phone call with the Chinese leader that he would like to be able to see Xi again, according to the White House.
NEW HAVEN -- After serving the community for 20 years, "The Greek Olive" on 402 Sargent Drive has closed its doors.

Owner Tony Antonakis posted on social media that the restaurant's last day of business was October 30 and wanted to thank the community for the years of support.

"It is terrible feeling," he said in an email with Hearst Connecticut Media Saturday. "This is not how I wanted it to end after working 90 hours a week along with my wife for the last 20 years. I expected to be in a position to sell and slow down as the age is catching up with us, but when COVID came in it all turned to hell on earth."

News of the closure comes after daughter and Branford native, Jennie Antonakis, tweeted to the host of 'The Profit' to help keep her parents' New Haven restaurant afloat in the beginning of the year.

Multimillionaire entrepreneur and television personality Marcus Lemonis announced on his Instagram Live back in December 2020 that he would award $100,000 to local restaurants. The initiative was part of his Plating Change program, which seeks to help those who are food insecure while also keeping independent eateries in business.

On the Sunday after Thanksgiving 2020, Jennie Antonakis posted a tweet about the fragile state of her parents restaurant, requesting a virtual consult from Lemonis and asking her followers for 1,000 likes. She tagged his name so any time someone liked the tweet, he'd get a notification.

It caught Lemonis attention who said, heres what were gonna do, were going to use your parents restaurant to feed as many people as we can, and were going to keep food costs low to drive revenue toward the restaurant. He would jump-start the process by covering the cost of 4,000 meals.

The Greek Olive raised $7,000 on its own, making that another 1,400 meals, they continued to deliver to local organizations based on need.

The Greek Olive served traditional, gourmet foods at an affordable price, according to the restaurant's website. Customers were able to sit in a contemporary dining room or "comfortable" lounge. From omelets to burgers or Middle Eastern Platters to traditional Greek dishes, the owners of The Greek Olive said they were proud to share their gourmet tradition to the community.

Tony Antonakis said he will most miss the thousands of people they met and saw on a weekly basis.

"I would like to thank all of them for their support," he said. "They made the Greek Olive."
SHREVEPORT, La. (AP)  Lifting the lid that displays an animation of her face, 10-year-old Paris LaCour pulls from the box a pair of designer-made high-top sneakers colored in homage to Louisiana State University and crafted with top-of-the-line Italian leather. She is the designer  the designer of a shoe line that in two months has generated a cool $10,000.

A familiar silhouette greets the eyes as the pair is taken from the box. Modeled in the fashion of the classic Converse Chuck Taylor All Star, LaCours sneakers offer a more solidly built version of the original.

LaCours mother, Donna Parker realized when LaCour was a toddler how much the young designer fancied the Converse classic.

I cant really remember buying nothing but a Converse shoe for her, said of the All Star, which LaCour still ranks as her favorite sneaker.

That affection for the prolific sneaker is a commonality between LaCour and her godmother, Debbie Grelewicz, who Paris said is the first person she randomly saw wearing her sneakers.

It made me so happy, LaCour said with a huge smile.

The sighting wasnt so random. It was a family function and Grelewicz was already planning an outfit that matched the purple in the sneakers.

I made sure everyone was going to see me because I was coordinated that day, Grelewicz said, adding no one could deny how cool the sneakers were as she strutted out of the car.

The name of LaCours sneakers  an anadrome of Paris  is placed on the outside of the sneakers. The price tag placed on the inaugural Sirap is $194.

Siraps are manufactured by hand in Le Marche, Italy, with the assistance of Alive Shoes, which platforms sneaker design by allowing users who sell seven pre-orders to colorway and brand a silhouette that is then individually stitched in one of Italys most famous shoemaking communities.

Packaging and manufacturing come at a price that LaCour hopes to one day cut from expenses. Her grandmother has always sewn clothes, creating looks for Parker and her siblings. Parker remembers this sparking her own interest in fashion. Similarly, LaCour is interested in learning to sew so she can dictate all aspects of her creative output.

$2,000 worth of the shoes were bought by Bishop Lawrence Brandon of Shreveport church Praise Temple.

LaCour is close to hitting the sales benchmark Alive Shoes has placed for her. The company will elevate LaCours brand through new photoshoots and more expensive marketing once she has sold 50. Her mom says shes currently at 48.

LaCour already has ideas for new sneakers and would like to design a sweater or t-shirt next.

LaCour hopes to study a scientific field at LSU one day.

The inside of each Sirap comes with lasting words from Paris: Never give up because great things take time.
CARNEGIE, Pa. (AP)  David Temple goes around the second-floor classroom at Carnegie Elementary School bouncing from student to student as he examines their homework.

The students, sitting at small desks, leaf through their workbooks and compare their answers to those seated around them as they wait for Mr. Temple to reach them.

This would be a typical scene during the day at Carnegie  one of two elementary schools in the Carlynton School District  but this was not a normal class. Instead of elementary students, adults from many nations filled the room  immigrants and refugees eager to learn and improve their English language skills at night at a school where many of their children attend during the day.

They cannot get it fast enough, Mr. Temple said during a short class break on a Tuesday evening in October. They so want to be, not integrated into the society, but they want to know whats going on.

Carlynton began a first-of-its-kind partnership with Literacy Pittsburgh this year to offer four adult English classes each week for parents and guardians of immigrant and refugee children in the district and others in the community.

Mr. Temple, a longtime English as a second language teacher who volunteers with Literacy Pittsburgh, leads the classes attended by students from mostly South American and Middle Eastern countries.

The classes allow the district to build trust with parents of students in the district who may need more help because of their language barrier. And students in the class have a variety of motivations, from wanting to better understand the world around them to helping their children with schoolwork.

Nai Ong Hlain Paing Nyan, an immigrant from Mon State, Myanmar, said he was excited for the opportunity to learn English at the same school his children  a boy and girl  attend during the daytime.

Im so happy to come to class because my children come here, too, he said. I want to help my children.

The idea for the adult English classes developed over a period of time that began with a desire by Carlynton teachers and staff to better address the mental health needs of students about two years ago, according to Donald Alexander, a second grade teacher at Carnegie.

The school reached out to Allegheny Health Network and adopted a program called the Chill Project, which provides counseling services to families and gives students a physical space in the school building to go to if they experience anxiety. The program helped the district, but some families were still not getting the full benefit.

What we noticed was we were having a really hard time reaching parents of students who did not speak English, or (we) had troubles when we were trying to meet with these families and use a translator, Mr. Alexander said.

Mr. Alexander contacted Gisele Barreto Fetterman, the second lady of Pennsylvania and a former undocumented immigrant, whom he had never met but recognized as someone from the community who may be able to help with issues affecting immigrant and refugee families. Ms. Fetterman, an ambassador for Literacy Pittsburgh, suggested that the school contact the organization to see if they could work together, and it eventually led to the adult English classes.

The communities that make up the Carlynton School District  Carnegie, Crafton and Rosslyn Farms  have a below average but growing immigrant populations. The district serves 95 ESL students in grades K-12, representing 16 different languages.

Learning English takes active engagement, Mr. Temple said. He moves through various activities during the 90-minute classes and keeps his students alert by calling on them to participate.

He starts off one evenings class going over multisyllable words.

Does anyone have a three-syllable word? he asks.

A woman raises her hand and says, Daughter?

No, Mr. Temple said before another student quickly yells out, Grandfather? Yes, grandfather, Mr. Temple says.

How about a four-syllable word? Mr. Temple asks. No one answers this time.

Oh, I have a good one, Mr. Temple says. Argentina.

He moves the class on to other exercises.

How tall are you? Mr. Temple asks a woman.

She thinks for a moment, then says, 5-6.

Yes, thats all you need (to say), Mr. Temple replies.

He moves on to another student. How tall are you? he asks a man.

Uh, 5-6, the man replies.

Lucky guess, Mr. Temple said. Everybody here is 5-6. Its the 5-6 club.

Before the class ends, he asks the students if they know about Halloween and trick-or-treating. He explains that little boys and girls dress up in costumes and go door to door with bags collecting candy.

He tells them his granddaughter is dressing up as a dragon and his grandson is dressing up as a turtle.

Dont be afraid, Mr. Temple said. Its all for fun.

To ensure that as many people as possible could take advantage of the classes, the school opened them to any immigrant or refugee in the community  not just parents of students in the district. The school advertised the classes at the Attawheed Islamic Center in Carnegie, which helped it boost the programs numbers.

About 20 students from Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Turkey, Uzbekistan and elsewhere attend classes each Tuesday and Thursday, with those less proficient in English coming in the early evening and those with a better grasp of the language coming later at night.

Literacy Pittsburgh buys the class textbooks and materials, in part, through funding from the state Department of Education. Donations from private individuals, corporations and foundations have helped to supply other materials.

Mr. Alexander said he has witnessed the confidence of students grow just in the first several weeks of the classes. But even more important than their language skills, he said, is that the class is creating a level of support and inclusion for some in the Carlynton community who may otherwise feel left out.

I dont just want the kids to feel comfortable when theyre here, Mr. Alexander said. I want their families to feel welcome, as well, and I really want to see them feel like they have a future here in Carnegie.

___

Online:

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ANSONIA  There have been nine intimate partner homicides in the state this year, and in a third of them, children have been witnesses.

The most recent was Tuesday on Root Avenue, when police said 34-year-old Grace Zielinska was killed inside her home by her husband, Kamil Zielinski, while the couples 3-year-old and a 4-month-old were present, and a 5-year-old was at school.

According to police, the infant was asleep, but the toddler greeted an officer responding to a 911 call at the door of the home and directed him to the gruesome scene inside, where both victim and alleged perpetrator were covered in blood and officers recovered a bloody knife and ax.

Zielinskas death was ruled a homicide caused by sharp force injuries to her head and torso after an autopsy Wednesday, according to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

The Department of Children and Families took the couples children into custody Tuesday.

These three kids, their whole lives changed in a minute, said Meghan Scanlon, president and CEO of the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence, calling for more investment in services for child witnesses of domestic violence. Its our responsibility as a community to ensure they have the supports they need moving forward. I dont think well make any significant generational change if we dont make those investments.

While advocates could use more resources, she said, there are child advocates present at each of the coalitions 18 service providers throughout the state to help children who witness domestic violence or are victims themselves.

Scanlon also noted that of the nine intimate partner homicides reported in the state so far this year, five have occurred in greater New Haven  Zielinskas, a West Haven murder-suicide last month, a Guilford homicide in July, and two homicides in New Haven in March.

It could be a coincidence, she said, but officials at the coalition will try to see if theres more to it than that.

This region in particular is something were going to look at, Scanlon said. Is there a barrier or disconnect in services? The answer could be no, but we want to figure out if theres anything else we could be doing to strengthen services in that region.

Ansonia Police Lt. Patrick Lynch said detectives were still trying to piece together the specific circumstances that led to Zielinskas killing.

The city had 97 domestic violence arrests as of Oct. 31, he said. Last year, there were 152. In 2019, there were 95.

We have seen a decrease this year but its still unacceptable, Lynch said. The numbers that we have are still pretty bad.

Ansonia did not have a homicide between March 2011 and December 2019, according to FBI data. But there have been three since then, and all of them were cases of domestic violence.

More than 10 years ago, the citys police department was the first in Connecticut to pilot a lethality assessment program that has since been instituted statewide.

The program directs police responding to domestic violence calls to use an 11-question form to determine whether theres a higher danger of further violence, and if so, connect (victims) directly to services.

The most recent data available for the program, from 2020, shows Ansonia had one of the highest rates of screenings statewide, behind only New Haven, Hartford, Groton and Waterbury.

Lynch said a number of factors could be at play, including the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw a spike in domestic violence and violent crime nationwide.

I think some of it has to do with our involvement (in the lethality assessment program) from the beginning and our commitment in trying to identify victims and give them the assistance they need, he said. I dont see Ansonia being any better or worse than any other place.

Scanlon said its hard to read too much into one years numbers, especially during a pandemic, and that the issue is spread pretty evenly across things like race and socioeconomic status.

At the same time, she said, things are a lot easier when you have access to money and have access to another place to live.

Lynch said financial pressures can be difficult to overcome for victims, especially if children are involved.

They are so tied to their abuser that its really hard to try to get out on your own, he said. Where do you go? Where do you turn to? Everything you do they know. Its very difficult and I dont know what the answer is because Im not sure there is one answer.

Ansonia Police Chief Wayne Williams and Mayor David Cassetti spoke at a press conference concerning Zielinskas death Wednesday urging victims of abuse and those aware of domestic violence to reach out.

It was a terrible tragedy Ansonia sustained in the loss of this young woman, the mayor said, calling on victims to contact his office if necessary in addition to police and shelter services. Domestic violence is on the rise and its a terrible thing and we have to nip it in the bud.

The mayor said city officials and police would be working to combat the problem more and that more information will be released in the coming weeks.

In the Valley, The Umbrella Center for Domestic Violence Services can be reached by phone at 203-736-9944, 203-789-8104 or 888-774-2900 or online.

Statewide domestic violence resources can be reached by calling or texting 888-774-2900 or online at www.CTSafeConnect.org.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)  California is among three U.S. states now allowing coronavirus booster shots for all adults even though federal health officials recommend limiting doses to those considered most at risk.

The nation's most populous state, along with Colorado and New Mexico, instituted their policies to try to head off a feared surge around the end-of-year holidays when more people are gathering inside.

Colorado and New Mexico have among the nation's highest rates of new infections, while California  lowest in the nation earlier this fall  now joins them in the high" tier for transmission, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed an executive order Friday expanding eligibility for COVID-19 booster shots. Her state health department's acting secretary, Dr. David Scrase, said rising case numbers have some hospitals in New Mexico overwhelmed.

COVID-19 is incredibly opportunistic and its our job to ensure that the virus has fewer and fewer opportunities to spread, Scrase said. If its time for you to get a booster, please do so right away.

President Joe Bidens administration had sought approval for boosters for all adults, but U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisers in September decided it isnt clear that young healthy people need another dose. They instead recommended boosters only for those over 65 and younger people with certain underlying health conditions or whose jobs are high risk for the virus.

In California, state Public Health Officer Tomas Aragon sent a letter to local health officials and providers saying they should allow patients to self-determine their risk of exposure."

Do not turn a patient away who is requesting a booster if they are age 18 and up and it has been six months since they had their second Moderna or Pfizer vaccine or two months since their single Johnson & Johnson shot, he wrote.

He told pharmacies to prioritize boosters to those in skilled nursing or assisted living facilities due to waning immunity from the earlier shots. But generally, providers should not miss any opportunity to give vaccines to the unvaccinated or boosters to everyone else anytime they visit a drug store, hospital or medical office.

Many states are now experiencing rising cases and more hospitalizations. Nationwide in the last week there were about 73,000 new cases daily, roughly 10,000 more than three weeks ago.

In Colorado, where some hospitals are stretched to the breaking point, Gov. Jared Polis signed an executive order on Thursday to expand use of booster shots. A day later he had a dire warning for the roughly 20% of eligible people in his state who have yet to get a single dose.

We wouldnt even be here talking about this if everyone was vaccinated, the Democratic governor said at a news conference. If you are not vaccinated, youre going to get COVID. Maybe this year, maybe next year.

Officials in Colorado, California and New Mexico said they have ample supplies of vaccines to provide initial vaccinations and boosters to all who want them.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Friday said the Biden administration continues to advise health leaders across the country to abide by public health guidelines coming from the federal government.

California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly earlier in the week said California's decision doesn't conflict with federal guidelines. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was very clear that they had two categories  groups that should get a booster and groups that may. he said.

We know that a number of Californians work in crowded public settings, Ghaly said. Because of your work-related risk or even you live with people who have underlying conditions (and) are at higher risk themselves, or youre a member of a community thats been ravished and hard-hit by COVID ... its permissive by the CDC and the FDA to go ahead and get the booster.

Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, a professor of epidemiology at University of California, San Francisco, said boosters have lagged. That's worrisome as winter approaches and the highly contagious delta variant, which caused a summer spike, continues to circulate.

The delta variant is really good at finding people, including people who got vaccinated at the beginning of the year and now that vaccination is wearing off a little bit," she said. Delta is a powerful force and everybody needs that third dose."

___

Associated Press writers Jim Anderson in Denver, Susan Montoya in Sante Fe, New Mexico, and Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report.
GOSHEN, Ind. (AP)  The Indiana Court of Appeals has upheld a northern Indiana man's conviction in the fatal stabbing of a college professor and the wounding of professor's wife during a 2011 home invasion.

The appeals court on Wednesday affirmed Winston Corbett's conviction and his 115-year sentence, finding that his rights were not violated in the 2018 investigation into the case, which had gone unsolved for years, The Elkhart Truth reported.

Corbett was 16 in October 2011 when prosecutors said he fatally stabbed James Miller. The 58-year-old Goshen College biology professor had gone to the aid of his wife, Linda, who was stabbed 23 times but survived the late-night attack at their home in Goshen.

Corbett was formally charged in November 2018 based on DNA found at the scene. An Elkhart County jury convicted him of murder and attempted murder last year and he was sentenced to 115 years in prison.

Corbett argued in part in his appeal that officers' evidence collection at his home was unconstitutional and that other evidence in a police affidavit for his arrest was unsupported hearsay.

But the appeals court found that his constitutional rights were not violated by investigators actions and that the search warrant was supported by probable cause.

Corbett also argued in his appeal that his 115-year sentence was too harsh and should be reduced based in part on his young age in 2011 and his lack of criminal history.

The appeals court found that his sentence was supported by the crime's brutal nature.
MILFORD  A judge ordered a Florida man arrested after he missed a court date last week on charges he helped scam an 82-year-old Milford woman out of $83,000  despite the fact that the mans lawyer said his client died months ago.

Johnny Masesa, 45, was due in court Nov. 4 on a first-degree larceny charge connected to the 2018 theft from the woman, who told police a man claiming to be from Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes called her saying she was in the running for a prize, but needed to transfer money to claim it.

Over the course of a week, according to an arrest warrant, the woman withdrew $83,000 out of her accounts and deposited them into others  $25,000 of which went to an account in Masesas name.

Masesa allegedly told police he withdrew the money and gave it to his cousin Francis Kabulo, who has also been charged in the case.

Publishers Clearing House maintains a page on its website headlined the winning is always free!

If someone contacts you claiming to be from PCH, and tells you that youve won a prize  then asks you to send a payment or money card in order to claim the prize  STOP! it says. You have not heard from the real PCH.

Masesa was arrested in January 2019 in Massachusetts and waived extradition to Connecticut, after which he pleaded not guilty in the case. He posted a $25,000 bond using a Florida address.

But when the case was called in court last week, Masesa wasnt there.

His lawyer, Douglas Rudolph, said the reason was simple: Masesa died from complications of malaria months ago in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where he has family.

Supervisory Assistant States Attorney Howard Stein said Rudolph emailed him in June letting him know of his clients death.

At that time I asked for a death certificate, the prosecutor said. After some period of time, I received a death certificate, or at least what was purported to be a death certificate.

He said the document was hand-written and had what appeared to be several corrections using correction fluid.

Whats more, he said: neither the Milford cops nor federal authorities have been able to verify Masesas death.

Stein said he was hesitant to drop the case, while noting he didnt suspect Masesas lawyer of any wrongdoing.

I have absolutely no reason to think Attorney Rudolph in any way shape or form has any independent knowledge other than what is being communicated to him and then to me, he told the judge.

He asked Judge Peter Brown to order a rearrest in the case.

Obviously, if Mr. Masesa is in fact deceased, it would be difficult for the authorities to execute that warrant, Stein said.

On the other hand, if the state verifies Masesa is dead, the arrest order could be vacated and the charges dropped.

Rudolph did not oppose the prosecutors request.

He said hes tried to reach the doctor listed on the death certificate to no avail and that there are issues between Masesas wife in Orlando and his family in Africa.

My understanding is that Mr. Masesas family in the Congo isnt too fond of Mr. Masesas wife, who lives in Florida, he said. She seemed upset at the fact that the family wasnt being transparent with her in providing some of the documentation I needed to put this matter to rest.

The judge then ordered Masesa rearrested, and to be held on $100,000 bond if he does turn up.

Masesas co-defendants, Arsene Masesa and Francis Kabulo, are next due in court Nov. 23 and Jan. 12, respectively.
NEW HAVEN  Drivers crossing the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge recently may have seen drones flying over and under the deck, and up beside the towers.

They are taking photos of the bridges surfaces, including cracks first noticed in 2017, which have yet to be repaired or sealed, according to state Department of Transportation officials.

The project to repair the cracks and breaks in the concrete, which officials say do not threaten the safety of the bridge, is scheduled for 2024, according to Tim Fields, principal engineer for major structures, who oversaw the latter stages of the bridges design and its construction.

Arnold Gold / Hearst Connecticut Media

The drones still are being tested by the DOT, which has used them on other bridges, including the Gold Star Memorial Bridge between New London and Groton, according to Mary Baker, who oversees the DOTs bridge inspection unit. The agency has previously used snooper-trucks, lifts and ropes and climbers for such inspections.

Were trying to develop the baseline for future inspections, Baker said.

The inspection is being done by Atane, which has an office in Wethersfield. The drones are run by Lumina Lidar, a woman-owned business in Greenwich.

Connecticut Department of Transportation / Contributed photo

Baker said the drones will continue flying through the end of the year, with two lanes of the bridge closed at times during weekends and one lane Mondays through Wednesdays.

A 2019 inspection also found spalling, areas where the concrete surface had broken, including some where rebar was exposed. Photos in the report show that the bridge has seen wear in the six to nine years since it opened (the northbound span opened in 2012, the southbound in 2015). In 2019, it had average daily traffic of more than 73,000 vehicles, 9 percent of them trucks, according to the report.

Its possible there might be some areas that need to be replaced, but were not expecting wholesale replacement, Fields said. But he said the current inspection will determine what action should be taken to extend the surface life as long as possible.

Connecticut Department of Transportation / Contributed photo

Fields said the cracks and other signs of wear are not a threat to public safety.

Peter Hvizdak / Hearst Connecticut Media file photo

Weve seen nothing here that would arouse concern about safety issues with the bridge, he said. Were doing our due diligence.

Hopefully, were just going to be sealing cracks here, Fields said. Its a little disappointing that were faced with some of the cracking that we have now. Its really not something unexpected.

The Q bridge, which got its nickname because it crosses the Quinnipiac River as part of Interstate 95, was the first extradosed cable-stayed bridge in the country. Two years later, an inspection found a number of small cracks in the surface, leading to a fair rating by HAKS, the inspector in 2017.

Melanie Stengel / Hearst Connecticut Media file photo

The ratings for the 4,600-foot-long bridge did not change from 2017 to 2019, with the condition of the deck, substructure and the channel and channel protections all given a 7. The superstructures condition was rated 6, or fair. The overall rating is based on the lowest components rating.

The girders on which the deck rests are huge, hollow concrete boxes, with a 21/2-inch-thick layer of latex-modified concrete on top of the bridge deck, which is at least 8 inches thick. During construction, as each box girder was added to the spans, the stress would cause minor cracks in the overlay, Fields said.

Connecticut Department of Transportation / Contributed photo

Its not considered structural. Its the riding surface of the bridge, he said.

We have a few bridges around the state that have these types of overlays, he said. Theyre generally long-lasting overlays.

The latex-modified concrete on the Yankee Doodle Bridge in Norwalk has lasted more than 30 years, he said.

Alex von Kleydorff / Hearst Connecticut Media file photo

The cracks may have developed so much sooner on the Q bridge because of the construction method, Fields said.

We used state-of-the-art specifications, he said. Theres challenges that go with that because excessive wind or low humidity can be associated with that.

It also may have been the result of how quickly curing mats were put on the concrete, he said.

According to the 2019 inspection report for the northbound span, Based on the 2019 crack tables, there are 70,220 linear feet of cracks. Also, there are 49 linear feet of cracks have active leakage  and require attention.

On the southbound side, inspectors found there were 54,558 linear feet of cracks but none with active leakage. The 2019 inspection was conducted by AI Engineers of Middletown.

Repairs

Fields said there were several reasons why the timeline for the repair project has been extended out to 2024.

Connecticut Department of Transportation / Contributed photo

Weve experienced some delay administratively in funding the new project and preparation of scope of work with the consultant, he said. We are also planning some additional worker safety access and lighting improvements in the project.

He said the crack repairs are not considered emergency in nature.

James Falconer, owner of JKF & Associates, an engineering firm in New Havens Erector Square, said sealing the cracks is a priority.

Falconer said there is no reason to be overly concerned about the bridges condition, however. Having worked with Fields in the past, he said, he knows what hes doing. Theres no dangers here.

Connecticut Department of Transportation / Contributed photo

edward.stannard@hearstmediact.com; 203-680-9382
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP)  Gov. Jim Justice made another plea for more West Virginians to get their COVID-19 booster shot, noting that only a fraction of the state's vaccinated population has so far received the extra shot.

You have got to get that booster shot, Justice said Friday. Our medical experts would look right at you and say if youre six months out from your initial vaccines, and you have not gotten your booster shot, you may be no better off than those who never got vaccinated.
LIHUE, Hawaii (AP)  Kauais electric utility plans to use an irrigation system dating to sugar plantation days to help store solar power for use at night.

Officials say the project will provide about one-quarter of Kauais energy needs and allow the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative to obtain 80% of its power from renewable sources by 2025, The Garden Island newspaper reported.

The utility routinely meets 100% of the islands daylight energy demands using renewable resources. But battery limitations and lack of sunlight currently force the cooperative to rely on fossil fuels during early morning and night hours.

The West Kauai Energy Project would divert water from four streams along the Kokee Ditch Irrigation System near Kekaha and Waimea. It would restore existing reservoirs and build new pipelines and gate structures.

Two reservoirs at different elevations would be connected by a penstock, or pipe. A solar-powered plant would pump water up the penstock during the daytime. Water would then flow down the penstock to generate energy at night and in the early morning.

When cranking at full capacity, it will have enough power to energize 18,000 homes on our island, said Beth Tokioka, the utilitys communications manager. On the environmental side, it would be reducing our fossil fuel usage by 8 million gallons a year and reducing our greenhouse gas emissions by 80,000 tons of C02 per year.

Utility officials and engineers explained these details at a recent talk story session about the project.

Resident Kaua Mata asked what would happen if Waimea River levels were to drop in the future.

Tokioka said the state Commission on Water Resource Management decides how much water the utility may divert from streams and the utility would abide by these decisions.

The project site is on lands owned and managed by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, the state Department of Hawaiian Homelands and the state Agribusiness Development Corporation.
NEW HAVEN  Thousands of formerly-incarcerated residents of Greater New Haven and 14 other urban areas throughout Connecticut will be the first people in the country to benefit from a new national NAACP Million Jobs Campaign designed to help people make fresh starts while reducing recidivism.

Modeled on a program pioneered at Johns Hopkins Hospital and health system in Baltimore, the program  which already has begun in New Haven  focuses on jobs at hospitals and in the health care system because they are the largest employers in so many places, said Scot X. Esdaile, president of the Connecticut State Conference of the NAACP.

At Johns Hopkins, formerly incarcerated individuals now make up 10 percent of the workforce, Esdaile said.

Esdaile, a member of the NAACP national board of directors and its national justice chairman, said Yale New Haven Health already has agreed to hire 500 people through the program, which soon will expand to other companies and institutions.

CVS also recently jumped on board and the NAACP, the nation's oldest civil rights organization, recently signed an agreement with the Connecticut Hospital Association, among others, Esdaile said.

What were trying to do is build a redemption opportunity, Esdaile said. I think that when someone has a second chance and has an opportunity to work in a good job, theyll keep away from the criminal world.

The possibility that some people might end up back in prison is not an excuse not to give people a second chance, Esdaile said.

When people now are making $30,000-$40,000 year and are supporting their families ... it brings families back together, it helps communities economically, it builds the tax base, he said. Now, instead of someone whos sitting in prison with the recidivism, you have someone whos contributing to society ... and now were not taking care of them in the prison system.

We talk about the violence in New Haven, he said. We need viable opportunities for people who have made mistakes to get back on the right path. ... The greatest social program out of all programs is a job. It all starts with a job. ... Now you have opportunities. You can get your bachelors degree.

According to the programs first quarterly report, 100 people were participating in the program, with 10 hired, 7 denied, 33 in the interview process and 50 people in training. Esdaile said the numbers are a little higher now.

The jobs that will be available at Yale New Haven Health include patient transport, food and nutrition, cooks, business associates, environmental services, lab assistants, lab techs, coders, LPNs, RNs, skilled maintenance and patient care tech.

Plans for Growth

The program eventually will be put in place in places such as New York, Chicago, Detroit, Memphis and Los Angeles.

I asked the (national) board for approval to carry out this initiative and start it in Connecticut, said Esdaile, who has big plans for it.

His ambitious goal for Connecticut: We want to get 10,000 (jobs) over a 5-year period, he said  and in order to do that, hes hoping to avoid some of the pitfalls of the past.

One of the No. 1 complaints that we were getting at NAACP offices in Connecticut CT across the country is, the reentry programs out there  were training, training, training and there were no jobs out there, he said.

Esdaile recently told the New Haven Board of Alders that he wanted to implement the program in the city first in part because he grew up here. These are my friends, he said. Ive got a lot of relationships here.

Were going to treat this just like a political campaign, with signs, bumper stickers, fliers, social media posts, visits to high schools and colleges and even bars and clubs, along with other efforts to educate both potential employers and the community as a whole, Esdaile said Friday.

Youre going to see these signs everywhere, he said.

Anyone who wants to participate either as an employer or employee can get more information at www.millionjobscampaign.com or call 1-888-693-4689.

Among the other institutions and companies with which Esdaile plans to speak and hopes to forge agreements as the Million Jobs Campaign rolls out in New Haven are Yale University, Amazon and UPS, as well as construction companies and Connecticut construction trades unions, he said.

Soon, the program will expand to Hartford, then to Bridgeport, Waterbury and New London. From there, it will expand to Stamford, Norwalk, Danbury, Meriden, Middletown, New Britain, Norwich, Willimantic, Ansonia and Bristol, Esdaile said.

The program has a strong pre-employment training component. Esdaile said he also now has agreements with seven organizations in the area that will do the actual training  and the program will continue to monitor participants after they get hired.

Those doing the training will include Project M.O.R.E., Gateway Community College, Community Action Agency of New Haven, Workforce Alliance, Goodwill of Southern New England, Emerge Connecticut Inc. and The Workplace.

The People Involved

Tyrone Whitaker, a soft-spoken 50-year-old who grew up in New Haven and now lives in Hamden, is one of those who will get a job through the program  and hes looking forward to it.

Whitaker made some mistakes early in life  including one big one when he was 17 that ended in another mans death, earning Whitaker a 50-year prison sentence. He ended up spending 30 years in prison, during which he grew up, worked to improve himself and ended up creating a mentorship program in prison to try to lead others in a better direction.

After getting a sentence modification as more recent state administrations sought to reduce the number of people in Connecticut prisons, he was released on parole, and has been working recently for the Connecticut Violence Intervention Program in New Haven.

But on Sept. 27, he will begin a job in the Patient Transport Department at Yale New Haven Hospital, picking up and dropping off patients who need to get MRIs and other procedures.

He said his current job has been very fulfilling and I appreciate the opportunity I was given for the new one.

He plans to make the most of it  and believes the Million Jobs Campaign, which does some of the hard work ahead of time to convince potential employers in advance that people like Whitaker are worth giving second chances to, is both much-needed and necessary.

I was a person who at some point destroyed my community  and I want to give back, he said. ... Its more than just 9 to 5. It could become a career for me.

The key, however, is that you have to come out and be ready to work, he said. Everybody is not going to be successful, Whitaker said. But if you give somebody a job, theres a good chance hes going to stay out of jail.

Among the people helping Esdaile and the NAACP do outreach to both potential employers and participants is Corrie Betts, a Hartford native.

Betts went to prison after being indicted in a federal drug case that involved interstate communications in 2009. He was granted federal probation in 2013. He went straight to a substance abuse treatment program  one hes now the director of.

Then he went to college, first earning an associate degree, then a bachelors, and then a masters degree in organizational leadership from Goodwin University in East Hartford. Now hes planning to head to law school, and has his eyes on either Yale or Quinnipiac, with an eye on a career fighting for social justice.

The most important thing when Betts talks to potential employers for the program is to be able to share my story, he said.

Thats because it makes it clear that its possible for someone who once was incarcerated to be a productive member of society, he said.

Also working on outreach for the program is Carli Knox, Esdailes assistant, a University of Bridgeport graduate whose past experience has including doing communications for a political campaign.

I enjoy helping people, said Knox, who also will manage the programs social media campaign. Beyond that, she sees a need for what the program aims to provide.

Ive had friends and family members that were in and out of jail  and when they got out, they didnt know what to do, she said.

mark.zaretsky@hearstmediact.com
Waterbury Police / Contributed

WATERBURY  Police say a city resident was arrested this week after he was found in possession of an illegal gun by officers conducting surveillance in the area of the Truman housing complex after recent complaints about criminal activity.

Lt. Ryan Bessette said officers assigned to the Vice and Intelligence Division were doing surveillance around 8:15 p.m. Wednesday in the area of the housing complex at 1711 N. Main St. after recent complaints about sale and use of narcotics, stolen motor vehicles and shootings in the area.
WEST HAVEN  Residents expressed outrage following revelations that thousands in federal COVID relief funding was spent on bringing a New York-based marching band to West Haven for a Memorial Day parade.

The city is a business, its not a piggy bank where you throw the money all out, resident Michael Hickey told the City Council.

Further compounding the scrutiny of how the city managed its federal money were the arrests of two city employees  former Democratic state Rep. Michael DiMassa and city housing specialist John Bernardo  for allegedly diverting $636,000 in federal pandemic money to a shell company.

Arnold Gold / Hearst Connecticut Media

A Register review of payment vouchers for more than $500,000 in services billed to the city related to the federal funding turned up several unexpected costs  such as the previously reported marching band expense  as well as money spent on pandemic-related expenditures such as assembling and staffing vaccination clinics and enacting safety protocols in government buildings.

According to the vouchers obtained by the Register, about $97,000 was spent on additional staffing for vaccination clinics and other public health tasks  from vaccinators to epidemiologists collecting and sharing data to contractors ensuring social distancing and compliance with public health protocols in City Hall.

Of the invoices and purchasing orders obtained by the Register, the level of specificity of the tasks performed varied, from comments such as COVID support. to a city employee who provided bulleted lists of his COVID-related tasks for 19 hours each week, including the coordination of transporting doses of the vaccine to clinics. The latter employee also received a $20,000 public health COVID response bonus, according to documents. In some vouchers, contractors submitted invoices for two weeks of work instead of one.

Hearst Connecticut Media /

Although the city hired some residents as contractors to help with its response to the pandemic, it also looked outside city, and even state, lines at times; an epidemiologist from Fall River, Mass., for example, received $1,528 from the city in April, the records show.

Neither Mayor Nancy Rossi nor Corporation Counsel Lee Tiernan responded to multiple requests for comment to provide clarity on individual expenses included in the vouchers.

The city also spent thousands on setting up tents for vaccination sites and for preparing and cleaning up those sites as well as on signage around the city  including beaches and athletic fields  to point residents in the direction of public health clinics. One invoice showed $8,390 spent for protective barriers set up at City Hall; another for $6,275 for additional dividers installed in that building.

Arnold Gold / Hearst Connecticut Media file photo

Chips Wrecker Service, a trucking company owned by city Councilman Robert Bruneau, received compensation from the federal funds for work performed related to the pandemic. According to the vouchers, $6,000 in work was provided related to COVID-19 public health clinics and an additional $13,600 was rendered for tasks such as citywide food distribution and cleaning up after COVID-19 events.

There were hundred of hours worth of work done and we billed the city for very few, Bruneau said.

State Rep. Kara Rochelle, D-Ansonia/Derby, also received $5,000 for an expense listed as fire study; the voucher cites her former colleague DiMassa as the city employee responsible for approving the expense.

Rochelle said she was contacted to provide knowledge and expertise on an infrastructure project and said there was no connection to DiMassas alleged malfeasance.

In June of this year, Mr. Dimassa advised me that the City of West Haven was planning to build a new firehouse. He asked me to assist the City in advancing this project because he was aware of my policy-making experience regarding the fire service and emergency response, particularly my effort to secure all necessary authorizations to build a fire service training academy in the Naugatuck Valley, she said in an email comment.

My work on the project was to include working with the fire chiefs and the City to identify and evaluate appropriate sites for the new fire house; coordinate the efforts of the various interested parties, including the fire chiefs and the architect that had been identified by the City; work with the architect on site design; engage community and political stakeholders to develop a comprehensive proposal to present to the City; present the comprehensive proposal to the City to assist the Citys evaluation of whether to authorize the acquisition of land and relocation and construction of the new fire house, she said.

Rochelle said she was informed by DiMassa that the work was being put on hold until fall, but she has continued to engage with the fire chiefs to advance this important project.

Arnold Gold / Hearst Connecticut Media file photo

The city used $5,000 in federal pandemic money on another expense: HVAC improvements in the citys police station from Watertown-based Kuegler Associates. North Haven-based Pro Kleen also received $1,970 for cleaning on the citys Public Works garage on Collis Street and $3,855 for ongoing maintenance, the records show. Baybrook Remodelers also was paid $7,850 for work done to a bathroom in the Emergency Operations Center, records show.

The city spent $14,400 on renting forklifts from Tri-Lift in New Haven, used for displays at Vertical Church, the documents show.

West Havens largest reimbursable expense was on pandemic-related calls and overtime from two of its fire departments  $142,737.72 to the Central Fire District and $31,643.22 for its West Shore Fire District, the records show.

Cleaning supplies and protocol aids also were expenses for the city. In addition to the the Plexiglas barriers and protective dividers, $375 was spent on 25 face shields, $1,242 on gloves and at least $1,700 on unspecified cleaning supplies, according to the documents.

Dell received $9,759 on an order for COVID computers and at least $3,000 was spent on supplies to construct a ramp outside City Hall so residents could access the Tax Office from outside the building when it was closed to the public, documents show. The citys project coordinator and sidewalk inspector received $10,000 in federal money for work done during the pandemic, including planning that ramp, the records show.

On several days, city officials treated clinic workers to food from a local restaurant, amassing several hundred dollars in expenses submitted for reimbursement from the citys allocation of federal dollars, the records show. The most popular sites for delivery were Lorenzos Italian Restaurant and Cappettas Italian Imports and Pizza; on one occasion a delivery driver was tipped on a receipt that was submitted for reimbursement, when a $10 tip was offered to a driver for a delivery of $109 in food, the documents say.

A New Haven-based vendor was hired with pandemic funding to operate a sports summer camp for four weeks for $36,000. The vendor later told the city that, based on interest and enrollment, he would need $10,080 more to hire six student workers for the program.

In a $23,008 expense listed as being from the citys Finance Department, several items were invoiced for reimbursement by the citys federal pandemic funding, including $3,496 from the Parks and Recreation Department spent on Quassy Amusement and Waterpark in Middlebury, $2,236 on bowling at Bowlero, a rented U-Haul in connection with the citys centennial celebration and a credit card reader, the records show.

Other expenses already have come under scrutiny from residents. The city spent $7,675 on the Patriot Brass Ensemble marching band for its Memorial Day Parade  a $7,000 appearance fee plus 19 round-trip tickets on Metro-North  with a note on the invoice that the pandemic had prevented in-state bands from rehearsing.

The city also spent $8,404 on coins to thank employees  including $304 on shipping.

The coins, I believe, were for the front-line workers of which there were many, Rossi told WNPR on Nov. 9. People got transferred, doing jobs that they wouldnt normally do, like giving checks to hungry people. This was not an easy ride for anyone.

Rossi declined to discuss other pandemic-related expenses, citing an ongoing forensic audit into the citys expenditures.

Hickey, the resident who commented before the City Council, had ideas for how the city could have accomplished its goals on the cheap.

$8,000 for that-a-boy coins? You couldve gone to the party store and gotten balloons, he said. You couldve gone to Walmart and gotten a marching band CD and turned the volume up.

brian.zahn@hearstmediact.com
Contributed Photo / Justin Smith;via New Haven Fire Department

NEW HAVEN  A woman has died after being was taken to the hospital in critical condition after firefighters rescued her from a burning home Saturday morning, said Rick Fontana, New Havens director of emergency operations

Firefighters responded to a medical alert at a home on Stevenson Road around 5:20 a.m. that turned out to be a structure fire, Fontana said.
Niagara Falls, NY (14301)

Today

Light snow this morning. Then remaining cloudy this afternoon. High around 40F. Winds W at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of snow 70%. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph..

Tonight

A few clouds. Low around 30F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph.
The All Progressives Congress, APC, candidate in the just-concluded Anambra State governorship election, Andy Uba has been asked to apolog...

The All Progressives Congress, APC, candidate in the just-concluded Anambra State governorship election, Andy Uba has been asked to apologize to popular prophet, Primate Elijah Ayodele after losing the election.

Uba had engaged in a war of words with Primate Ayodele, Spiritual Leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, prior to the election.

The governorship candidate had blasted the clergyman who asked him not to contest in the election.

Primate Ayodele had made it known that Uba does not have Gods backing in the election and any attempt to contest will lead to a mere waste of resources.

Reacting, Uba had described Ayodele as a false prophet, insisting that he will win the election no matter what the man of God said.

Uba, in the just-concluded election came third, while Charles Soludo of the All Progressives Congress,APGA, emerged winner, and with Valentine Ozigbo of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, came second.

However, a political analyst, John Okafor has advised Uba to apologize to Primate Ayodele.

In a statement, Okafor said Uba should apologize to the man of God for dragging his name in the mud if at all he wants to have a good political outing in the future.

He explained that Andy Uba has made himself to become the biblical Korah who rebelled against Moses and got consumed by fire sent by God.

Okafor said God wanted to save Andy Uba from wasting resources and he used Primate Ayodele to deliver the message to him but due to his desperation and obstinacy, he didnt listen and it led to an unfortunate loss for him and the party.

Andy Uba should trace his way back to God and apologize to Primate Ayodele for going against his prophetic advice.
Alhaji Abdurahman Kawu Sumaila, former Special Adviser on National Assembly Matters to President Muhammadu Buhari, has warned his ruling All...





Alhaji Abdurahman Kawu Sumaila, former Special Adviser on National Assembly Matters to President Muhammadu Buhari, has warned his ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to take a cue from what happened in the Anambra election and desist from imposing candidates on the party.

Sumaila, who was also a Deputy Minority Leader in the House of Representatives, said the era of imposing candidates on anybody is over.

The APC member who contested for the Kano South Senatorial District seat and lost to Kabiru Gaya in the 2019 general elections, said this on his verified Facebook account.

He added that whether direct or indirect elections, what matters the most is free and fair elections.

Im not very concerned about Direct primaries or indirect modes of selecting our candidates, But lets be sincere and ready to do justice to ourselves (APC).

The era of imposition of candidates is gone. Anambra is the best lesson for us.

APCs Andy Uba lost the Anambra election after polling 43,285 votes to come third behind Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Valentine Ozigbo, and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) candidate, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, the winner.
MultiChoice Nigeria is set to commence auditions for Nigerian Idol season seven. According to NAN, Busola Tejumola, MultiChoice executiv...

MultiChoice Nigeria is set to commence auditions for Nigerian Idol season seven.

According to NAN, Busola Tejumola, MultiChoice executive head for content and West Africa channels, said in a statement on Saturday that online auditions for the music reality show will open on November 14.

Tejumola said that the auditions will run from the 14th until November 28.

She said the Nigerian Idol main viewing on DStv and GOtv screens will begin in February 2022, sponsored by BIGI.

Tejumola said interested contestants should upload a 60-second video of themselves singing any song of their choice on www.africamagic.tv.

She said the contestants must be between 16 and 30 years of age.

MultiChoice remains committed to promoting and giving young music talents in Nigeria a platform to shine and actualise their dreams, Tejumola added.

Season 7 promises to be even bigger and more entertaining, so if you believe you have what it takes to be the next Nigerian Idol, be a part of the auditions starting on November 14, she said.

In July, Kingdom Kroseide emerged the winner of the sixth Nigerian Idol, claiming N50 million worth of prizes.
The Labour party has described Nigerian Governors as enemies of Nigerian democracy. This follows the governors position against the amendme...





The Labour party has described Nigerian Governors as enemies of Nigerian democracy.





This follows the governors position against the amendment of clause 87 in the new electoral act which allows direct primaries for electing candidates of political parties.





It was reported that the Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike had threatened to challenge the Electoral Act in court if President Muhammadu Buhari goes ahead to sign the bill into law.





But speaking in Port Harcourt on Saturday, the National Vice Chairman of the Labour Party South-South, Felix Reuben called on Nigerians to rise against the Governors who he accused of trying to frustrate the effort of the country to ensure transparent democracy.





He said  We have seen the enemies of democracy, the cabal that is ready to destroy democracy in Nigeria, the governors that are ganging up today trying to frustrate what the national Assembly is proposing by asking President Muhammad Buhari, not to assent to the bill. I think they are the greatest enemy of democracy in Nigeria.





Because they have planted their cabal, they have planted their surrogate; they have planted their boys to take over, they want to bring a goat to come and lead lions and we say no.





Reuben also called on President Buhari to go ahead and sign the new electoral Act as passed by the National Assembly despite the pressures against it.





He should know that this is the biggest legacy he is going to bequeath to Nigerians. It is the cry of all Nigerians that democracy should be free and transparent.
Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo says Nigeria will keep its climate commitments. He gave the assurance at a meeting with World Bank Man...

Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo says Nigeria will keep its climate commitments.

He gave the assurance at a meeting with World Bank Managing Director, Development Policy and Partnerships, Mari Pangestu and Country Director, Shubham Chaudhuri.

The VP, also on Friday, interacted with officials of the International Monetary Fund on the IMF Article IV bilateral consultations.

At both meetings, Osinbajo stated that Nigeria remains committed to helping to reduce global greenhouse emissions.

On fossil fuel resources, he said the country has issues including distribution and quality of access to energy as well as clean energy.

The issues are access to energy and education, renewable energy and how to be able to move quickly enough in terms of putting renewable energy in place.

Osinbajo highlighted funding challenges in developing countries as they respond to climate change, preparation for adaptation and implications of the Paris Agreement.

The agreement comprises a $100 billion per year pledge by wealthier economies to help developing economies respond to climate challenges.

The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) ended on Friday.

The Global Climate and Health Alliance, a coalition of health professionals, has urged governments to fulfil obligations to 1.5C limit for global heating.
Police Operatives and vigilante task force in Agbarho, Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State have arrested two suspected cultis...









Police Operatives and vigilante task force in Agbarho, Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State have arrested two suspected cultists in the community.





The suspects are Solomon Adama m (25yrs) and Gregory Orhokpocha m(37yrs).





The duo are suspected members of the Eiye Confraternity.





The suspect, Solomon Adama was arrested by the Police and when a search was conducted on him, one locally-made pistol and one live cartridge were recovered from him by the Police.





The Delta State Police Command led by CP Ari Muhammad Ali confirmed the report in a statement signed and made available to newsmen by the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Bright Edafe.





The Police image maker said, The suspect also confessed to being a member of Eiye confraternity.





According to him, On further interrogation, the suspect further stated the gun was given to him by one Gregory Orhokpocha m

37yrs of Oguname street Agbarho, the leader of Eiye confraternity in Agbarho, the suspect Gregory was swiftly arrested.





Suspects have been transferred to State criminal investigation department for further investigation.
Manchester United skipper, Harry Maguire has insisted that his goal celebration for England on Friday night was not meant for anyone. The 28...





Manchester United skipper, Harry Maguire has insisted that his goal celebration for England on Friday night was not meant for anyone.





The 28-year-old explained that the celebration was not a response to his critics at Manchester United, adding that he expects such as the clubs captain.





Maguire netted the opener at Wembley as England secured a thumping 5-0 win over Albania powering home Reece James pinpoint free-kick.





He then put his fingers in his ears during the celebration. The goal celebration has been interpreted as a dig at his critics.





Keane, one of Maguires biggest critics, was livid, describing the player as a disgrace and slamming the celebration as embarrassing.





But Maguire insisted his celebration was aimed at his critics, No it wasnt directed at anyone, Maguire told ITV Sport.





It was a knee slide, obviously I put my hands on my ears, but of course its not.





Im Manchester United captain. Of course, Im going to get criticism when the team isnt doing well. I fully expect that, but of course, its not directed at anyone.
Watertown, NY (13601)

Today

Snow showers this morning. Peeks of sunshine later. Morning high of 45F with temps falling to near 35. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 90%..

Tonight

Clear to partly cloudy. Low 22F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.
Its been two years since the garage doors rolled up at The Fortress of Lushington, the barely converted performance den on Burgundy Street in the Marigny thats a haven for artists working on the fringes of the citys mainstream.

Intramural Theatre's Apostles of Everest marks a welcome return to weirdness, as the sharp absurdist comedy serves up domestic drama, sex farce and dystopian suspense all blended together in the not-so-distant future.

The devised work, with Intramural Theater founder Bennett Kirschner at the helm of the playwriting process, centers on Nancy and Tom (Lydia Stein and Joshua James), a wholesome middle-aged Midwestern couple who live on a houseboat and get their thrills peeping on their neighbors with zoom lenses and parabolic microphones.

But things have been getting weird out on the lake  algae blooms, dead fish and strange boats  and get even weirder with the arrival of Lily and Hunter (Frenchie Faith and Kirschner), a young couple doing research in the area.

Directed by Jon Greene, the unsettling oddness of the plays premise is heightened by the exaggerated comedy of the performances, as the wide-eyed characters are loud and cheerful, like a bizarro version of a 1950s sitcom, as they discuss topics that range from giant invasive water bugs to unconventional sexual escapades.

As the two couples share the cramped cabin of the houseboat, Nancy and Tom cant resist eavesdropping on Lily and Hunters private moments, which raises questions about the strangers true intentions.

"Apostles of Everest" WHEN: through Nov. 23 WHERE: Fortress of Lushington, 2215 Burgundy St., New Orleans TICKETS: $20-30, available at https://intramuraltheater.ticketspice.com/apostles-of-everest MORE INFO: https://www.intramuraltheater.org/

The quartet of players fully commit to the offbeat material, earning big laughs from the incessant parade of what-the-heck moments. Stein is particularly bright as Nancy, a sturdy woman with wild hair and a hammy Minnesota accent, admonishing her husband while flirting hot and heavy with her houseguests.

As Tom, James is also exuberant in his cartoonish portrayal of a character thats all flannel, fishing vest, and philandering. Faith and Kirschner, as Lily and Hunter, are an equally formidable odd couple, and questions about their motives provide the play with plenty of underlying suspense.

The show grapples with the characters connections to technology and to each other, examining a world where everyone is a voyeur of one kind or another, and the thrill of watching is matched only by the thrill of being watched (perhaps not unlike our own social media-obsessed reality).

Theres a lot to untangle in Apostles of Everest, but my advice is to embrace the creepy kookiness of the show and maybe try to figure it out later.

**************************

Apostles of Everest

WHEN: Through Nov. 23

WHERE: Fortress of Lushington, 2215 Burgundy St., New Orleans

TICKETS: $20-30, available at intramuraltheater.ticketspice.com/apostles-of-everest

MORE INFO: intramuraltheater.org
Hey Blake,

I came across an ad for Rubensteins from the 1940s which listed three locations on Canal Street and said it sold womens clothes. That was surprising since its known as a mens store. What can you tell me about its history?

Dear reader,

In 1924, Morris Rubenstein, the son of Russian immigrants, opened a haberdashery at 102 St. Charles Ave., at the corner of Canal. His brothers, Elkin and Sam, joined the business six months later and the store became Rubenstein Bros.

According to The Times-Picayune, the brothers leased a second building at the Canal Street location, before adding a third in 1937. The familiar Rubenstein Bros. sign was erected in 1940.

A shortage of mens merchandise during World War II prompted the Rubenstein brothers to begin selling womens clothing. That stopped when the war ended in 1945.

The Rubensteins store you saw advertised was likely another business unrelated to Rubenstein Bros. It was founded by Frank Rubenstein in 1923. That Rubensteins store also sold womens clothing, originally at Canal and Rampart. Three other stores on Canal were added, as well as more than 150 others nationwide. The chain was later called Franklin Stores.

As for Rubenstein Bros., a second generation of the family joined the business in the 1960s: Elkins sons Andre and David, who remain with the business today, along with other third-generation family members.

A Rubenstein Bros. location in the Lake Forest Plaza opened in 1974 but closed in the 1980s. A Lakeside Shopping Center location has also since closed.

In 1999, the business became Rubensteins, dropping Bros. from its name.
The Avondale Shipyard site on the west bank of Jefferson Parish is in the running to land its first major tenant, a new palm oil processing facility, according to several sources familiar with the matter.

If it comes to fruition, the new plant would take virgin palm oil harvested in tropical areas of the world, process it and then ship it to customers who would use it or refine it further. Palm oil is one of the world's most commonly used plant-based oils, found in a wide array of consumer products including food, soap and beauty items.

But its desirability has also led to controversy. In Asia, where most palm oil is produced, the expansion of palm oil plantations has led to widespread deforestation and other environmental concerns. The United States is one of the world's biggest palm oil consumers.

Florida-based Top Vegetable Oils is considering building a processing plant in the United States, Top Vegetable Oils' Chief Operating Officer Luis Corredor said in a statement Thursday.

"We are exploring the feasibility of a U.S. processing facility to support the food services industry," Corredor said. "We are completing due diligence at several potential sites including one in the metropolitan New Orleans region."

Corredor did not disclose where the other potential sites were. Several sources confirmed Avondale was the New Orleans-area site.

If the deal goes through, it could be the first major anchor tenant at Avondale Shipyards, which once was Louisiana's largest employer but has been mostly dormant since the shipyard shut down in 2014. In 2018, logistics company T. Parker Host, along with Hilco Redevelopment Partners, formed Avondale Marine to purchase the site from Huntington Ingalls and turn it into a logistics hub.

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Months of high water in the Mississippi River, combined with the pandemic and the complexities of rehabilitating the 254-acre site, have slowed redevelopment efforts. Earlier this year, T. Parker Host CEO Adam Anderson touted the renovations the company had made, including a new dock, improved ramps over the levee and expanded storage capacity. The site, he said, was on the verge of being able to deliver on the promises made when the company bought it.

A palm oil processing facility would be one of the first signs that those hopes are coming to fruition. Hurdles remain, however.

Palm oil, while extremely popular, is often milled and refined from its virgin state in the countries where it is harvested. The type of plant under consideration, where virgin oil is refined into a more usable form, would be among the first of its kind in the United States, according to a source familiar with the talks but not authorized to discuss them publicly. The final product produced at the shipyard could be shipped to customers who could then refine it further for their particular uses.

Putting the processor in the United States would likely result in increased labor expenses and other costs. The company would also have to negotiate maritime and rail shipping rates for the Avondale site.

If built, it would be the second palm oil processor in the New Orleans area. Fuji Oils began operations at a $70 million plant earlier this year at International-Matex Tank Terminals in Avondale.

Getting a second palm oil facility in Jefferson Parish is part of a concerted strategy, according to Jerry Bologna, executive director of Jefferson Parish's economic development agency, JEDCO.

"Food manufacturing is an important and growing cluster" in Jefferson Parish, Bologna said. Such projects are especially valuable "when they serve to continue the transition and repurposing of the Avondale site."
The federal appeals court in New Orleans declined Friday to lift its stay on the Biden administration's vaccine mandate for businesses with 100 or more workers.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had granted an emergency stay Nov. 6 of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration order that those workers be vaccinated by Jan. 4 or face mask requirements and weekly tests. Attorneys for the Justice and Labor departments responsed Monday by saying that stopping the mandate from taking effect will only prolong the COVID-19 pandemic and cost dozens or even hundreds of lives per day.

Federal COVID vaccine mandate temporarily halted in Louisiana following lawsuit A federal appeals court in Louisiana has halted a Biden administration order requiring companies with more than 100 employees to mandate COVID

But the appeals court rejected that argument Friday. Judge Kurt Engelhardt of Metairie wrote that the stay is firmly in the public interest.

From economic uncertainty to workplace strife, the mere specter of the mandate has contributed to untold economic upheaval in recent months, Engelhardt wrote.

Engelhardt, whom President Donald Trump nominated to the court, was joined in the opinion by judges Edith Jones of Houston, a Ronald Reagan nominee, and Kyle Duncan of Baton Rouge, a Trump nominee.

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Read the court's ruling:

At least 27 states have filed legal challenges in at least six federal appeals courts after OSHA released its rules Nov. 4. The federal government said in its court filings Monday that the cases should be consolidated and that one of the circuit courts where a legal challenge has been filed should be chosen at random on Nov. 16 to hear it.

Administration attorneys said there is no reason to keep the vaccine mandate on hold while the court where the cases ultimately land remains undetermined.
Voters in New Orleans will decide the future of nearly every city office when they go to the polls Saturday, in an election that runs the gamut from Mayor LaToya Cantrells re-election campaign to decisions on who will serve as the next clerk of Criminal District Court.

The election also features four statewide ballot measures dealing with taxes and state budgetary policies.

This years races have been largely  though not entirely  subdued, in part due to the paucity of major challengers to Cantrell in the mayor's race. But the campaign season also unfolded as disasters wracked the state. First came the delta-variant fueled wave of the coronavirus pandemic and then the ravages of Hurricane Ida. The latter forced state officials to push back the primary election  originally scheduled for October  by a month.

Polls open at 7 a.m. on Saturday and any voter in line by 8 p.m. is allowed to vote. A run-off to decide races where no candidate gets more than 50% of the vote will be held in December.

As of Thursday, more than 23,500 out of New Orleans 267,000 registered voters had already cast ballots. That includes 17,352 who showed up in person during early voting and 6,177 who cast mail-in ballots.

The early vote total is similar to those seen during the 2017 municipal elections, but so far nearly twice as many mail-in votes have been cast.

Thats likely due to voters over 65 who signed up to vote by mail during last fall's presidential election and opted to continue receiving absentee ballots going forward, said Greg Rigamer, a New Orleans elections consultant.

Rigamer said he expects between 80,000 and 85,000 ballots to be cast in the election overall, roughly in line with the 2017 election. Earlier in the week, Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin predicted turnout would be about 35% in New Orleans, or about 93,500 votes.

LaToya Cantrell faces 13 largely unknown challengers in mayor's race as qualifying ends Mayor LaToya Cantrell faces a field of 13 challengers that haven't attracted much money or support, one of two at-large City Council races wil

The top race on the ballot will be Cantrells re-election bid. The mayor has drawn 13 challengers, many of whom have campaigned against the various restrictions she put in place while the coronavirus was raging. Despite the wide field, however, none of those candidates have prior political experience or strong bases of support or fundraising.

That leaves the race for an open at-large seat on the City Council as perhaps the most-watched election this cycle. Former State Sen. JP Morrell and District C Councilmember Kristin Gisleson Palmer, both Democrats, are seen as the most competitive candidates in that race, which includes Green Party candidate Bart Everson. District D Councilmember Jared Brossett also remains on the ballot, though he suspended his campaign activities after being arrested for driving while intoxicated for the second time in a little more than a year.

+5 4 New Orleans City Council at-large candidates vow to fix crime, blight The four candidates for the New Orleans City Council's at-large Division 2 race have presented bold plans to fix violent crime, blight and oth

The winner of that race will take the seat vacated by Jason Williams when he left the council at the beginning of the year after being elected district attorney.

The other at-large seat features a race between Councilmember Helena Moreno and community development consultant Kenneth Cutno.

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Sheriff Marlin Gusman is facing a challenge from Susan Hutson, the citys former independent police monitor, and three other candidates in a race that could serve as a referendum on how the parish jail  currently under a federal consent decree - has been run in recent decades.

+21 Orleans Sheriff Marlin Gusman wants to cement a legacy, but challengers say that's the problem For most of his fourth term in office, Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman yielded control of his jail to a court official.

The election will also determine who fills each of the councils five district seats.

Councilmember Joe Giarrusso has drawn two opponents in District A and Councilmember Jay Banks faces a tough challenge from Lesli Harris, Rella Zapletal and Rosalind Roz Reed-Thibodeaux.

The races for the open district C and D seats each feature a wide field: seven candidates are vying to replace Palmer in District C and 14 are running for Brossetts District D spot.

In District E, the race has focused on the competition between Councilmember Cyndi Nguyen and former Councilmember Oliver Thomas, with four others on the ballot as well.

New Orleans voters will also decide who should replace long-time Clerk of Criminal District Court Arthur Morrell and who should fill the seat in the state House of Representatives left vacant when Gary Carter Jr. was elected to the state Senate. Assessor Erroll Williams is also running for re-election.

Four statewide Constitutional Amendments are also on the ballot.

Amendment 1 would centralize sales tax collections, which are currently done on a parish-by-parish basis. A new state board would oversee sales taxes and distribute them to local governments.

Advocates have argued that the new system would make it easier for businesses that operate throughout the state. However, Cantrell has come out forcefully against the effort, arguing it would give the state the ability to interfere with a major revenue stream for the city.

Amendment 2 kicks off a tax swap that would lower income tax rates and corporate taxes but eliminate a deduction individuals are allowed to take for the amount of federal income taxes they pay.

Amendment 3 would allow five levee boards across the state to start collecting property taxes of up to 5 mills each. The amendment would have to be approved by voters across the state along with voters in each parish served by the levee boards in order to go into effect.

The agencies that would be effected by the change are the St. Tammany Levee, Drainage and Conservation District, the Tangipahoa Levee District, the Squirrel Run Levee and Drainage District in Iberia Parish, the Iberia Parish Levee, Hurricane and Conservation District and the Chenier Plain Coastal Restoration and Protection Authority, which covers Calcasieu, Cameron and Vermilion parishes.

Amendment 4 would increase the amount the state can take from dedicated funds when there is a fiscal emergency. Currently lawmakers are only allowed to take 5% of those funds per year, which has led to the legislature making cuts to unprotected areas like health care and higher education when state revenues are short. The amendment would increase the amount that could be tapped from the protected funds to 10%.
The playing field in New Orleans eviction courts will get a bit of leveling next year if City Hall starts paying lawyers to represent tenants. But only a fraction of tenants who need attorneys will receive the free representation that Mayor LaToya Cantrell proposes in the 2022 budget, according to housing advocates who have pushed for the right to counsel program.

The Cantrell administration wants to dedicate $500,000 to a new program that other cities have pioneered, after discovering it can help reduce government spending in other areas. Advocates want City Hall to put up $2 million, which would cover lawyers, case management and support staff for almost 1,800 unrepresented tenants in New Orleans eviction cases every year, according to the Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center.

+4 In Louisiana civil courts, the poor are left to defend themselves Forty-six states provide funding to help their most vulnerable citizens secure free legal assistance in civil matters. The amounts vary widely

Local evictions skyrocketed when the federal eviction moratorium, enacted earlier in the coronavirus pandemic, expired Oct. 3. There were 362 eviction filings in New Orleans in the two weeks after the moratorium expired, more than double the two previous weeks, according to Eviction Lab, which tracks filings across the United States.

At a City Council budget hearing Friday, council members Joe Giarrusso and Helena Moreno said the local government should provide enough money to ensure every tenant gets a lawyer.

+4 New Orleans-area eviction filings balloon, while rental aid blunts worst fears of surge As she walked into 1st City Court in New Orleans on Thursday, Pamela Greenberry was ready to boot a tenant from her St. Roch rental property, 

I just want to make sure there is enough funding available for people who dont have the means, particularly with the looming eviction crisis, Giarrusso said.

Public comments, including from one man who said he was a landlord, were uniformly supportive of a right to counsel program and $2 million in funding.

The Cantrell administration's community development director, Marjorianna Willman, said the initial funding is for a pilot program that would be evaluated at the end of the year. For now, Willman said, the administration is more focused on eviction diversion, which consists of outreach to landlords to encourage them to accept federal rental assistance money to make up for back rent not paid by tenants.

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What we are trying to do is stop cases before they are even heard by a judge, Willman said.

+7 With temporary eviction respite, advocates eye legal representation as permanent fix A last-minute extension of the federal eviction moratorium earlier this month gave a longer reprieve to thousands of New Orleans residents beh

Willman said the diversion program has prevented about 500 evictions. She did not say how City Hall would decide which tenants get lawyers if, as advocates expect, $500,000 is not enough to cover everyone.

Cities with right to counsel programs can recoup investments on right to counsel programs with savings on homelessness services, incarceration and other areas, according to Stout Risius Ross, an investment bank that has conducted cost-benefit analyses in several cities. Philadelphia, for example, saved $13 for every dollar it spent on legal representation for renters, though three-to-one is a more typical ratio, according to Stout.

The Cantrell administration intends to use general fund revenue to pay for tenants' attorneys, putting the pilot program in competition with other municipal departments for money. The diversion program, meanwhile, can be funded with $53.2 million in federal rental assistance allocation, Willman said.

New Orleans gets $9.5 million in extra rental assistance money New Orleans has received another $9.5 million in additional rental assistance funds from the federal government, money aimed at families strug

Moreno said the administration should continue the diversion program - and also put up $2 million that advocates say is needed to represent all tenants facing eviction. She suggested tapping American Rescue Plan Act funding or another source apart from the general fund.

I dont think we need a pilot because we have seen in other cities it works, Moreno said.
New Orleans Downtown Development District governing board has selected a new president: Davon Barbour, an economic development executive from Hollywood, California.

The Louisiana state agency that taxes and promotes the Central Business District voted unanimously Friday to appoint Barbour as president and chief executive officer, its first permanent leader since Kurt Weigel resigned a year ago. Barbour was the sole remaining finalist, after David Colligan, of the Austin (Texas) Economic Development Corp., withdrew from consideration Nov. 1.

The agency hired Barbour away from The Hollywood Partnership, where he was vice president for advocacy and economic development.

His appointment caps a period of political controversy over the boards hiring of Mayor LaToya Cantrells chief of staff, John Pourciau, to serve as interim CEO. The board had already voted 8-0 to elevate its longtime finance director, Anthony Carter, to interim CEO when Cantrell called the board chairperson at the time, Leo Marsh, and asked him not to sign Carters contract.

The mayors supporters on the board then tried to hire Pourciau but failed to get majority support after the boards attorney warned that hiring Pourciau could be a conflict of interest because the Downtown Development District and Cantrells administration were fighting in court over the use of tax revenue. The commissioners tried again at the next meeting and hired Pourciau on a 6-3 vote.

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A few days later, Marsh resigned in protest. Commissioner Gregory Curtis took over as chair and will now negotiate Barbours salary.

Thank you all, commissioners, Curtis said after the 7-0 vote to approve Barbour. Weve been through a rough year.

Under the terms of his hiring as interim CEO, Pourciau may remain on staff at his salary of $150,000 for three more months. But he said he has a new job that begins in January.
Its another Election Day in Louisiana, with regular contests scheduled in October postponed due to the ravages of Hurricane Ida. On ballots locally are primary elections for municipal offices in New Orleans plus four statewide constitutional amendments.

In New Orleans, here are the Times-Picayunes recommendations:

For mayor: LaToya Cantrell

It is the lot of all New Orleans mayors to inherit problems decades in the making, and LaToya Cantrell is no exception. She came into office facing chronic infrastructure woes and large areas of dysfunction even after Mitch Landrieus generally successful two-term run. Then came a cyberattack and a global pandemic.

Through it all, the word that best describes Cantrells leadership is tough.

Facing an early surge of COVID-19, the mayor put residents health first, even if it meant inviting criticism for restrictions that generally outpaced the states. Her approach was vindicated by a hard-earned drop in cases, which we believe saved lives and will put New Orleans on track to economic recovery.

Cantrell also spent her political capital on other difficult fights, such as when she took on tourism interests to extract more revenue for infrastructure, including the perennially problematic Sewerage & Water Board. We appreciate that the mayor has focused on finally paying city workers a living wage, and has budgeted conservatively and with an eye toward the future.

The fact that Cantrell didnt attract serious opposition is telling. It seems most New Orleanians want her to finish the job shes started. We agree.

For City Council at-large: Helena Moreno and JP Morrell

During her first term, Helena Moreno established herself as a skillful, dynamic leader, and has sponsored major legislation to decriminalize marijuana possession and to create a renewable energy portfolio standard for Entergy New Orleans. Shes earned another four years.

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In Baton Rouge, former state Sen. JP Morrell proved to be a a big-picture thinker who doesnt get lost in the weeds. Even as a progressive Democrat in an increasingly Republican Legislature, Morrell was able to turn his ambitious ideas on domestic violence and criminal justice into law. He and Moreno would make a powerful leadership team.

For City Council district seats:

District A: Joe Giarrusso

District B: Jay Banks

District C: Freddie King III

District D: Eugene Green

District E: Cyndi Nguyen

+3 Our Views: Helena Moreno and JP Morrell for New Orleans City Council at-large In the at-large New Orleans City Council contests, the choice for the Division 1 seat is easy. During her first term, Helena Moreno has establ

Our Views: LaToya Cantrell has earned a second term It is the lot of all New Orleans mayors to inherit problems decades in the making, and LaToya Cantrell is no exception. She came into office i
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Climate talks in Glasgow are at a bit of a stalemate and the United States, with support from the European Union, is holding back talks, according to Lee White, the Gabonese minister for forests and climate change
Lock Haven -- A Pennsylvania student education program, the WildLife Leadership Academy, is inspiring youth leaders in environmental conservation. The academy won a Walter Lyon award from the Pennsylvania Association of Environmental Professionals (PAEP).

The award honors leaders and organizations in environmental stewardship who make a unique and creative contribution to the field of environmental management in Pennsylvania. Named after Walter Lyon, who was an active participant in the PAEP conferences sharing his expertise and knowledge on water policy, the award is presented annually to an organization that makes significant contributions to Pennsylvanias environmental quality.

Michele Kittell Connolly, the Executive Director of the Academy, accepted the award on behalf of the organization on Oct. 29, 2021 during the PAEP annual conference.

Established in 2007, the mission of the Wildlife Leadership Academy is to engage and empower high school age youth to become Conservation Ambassadors to ensure a sustained wildlife, fisheries, and natural resources legacy for future generations.

The academy has graduated 824 high achieving youth from 62 Pennsylvania counties as well as states including Texas, Indiana, and Vermont. Students apply to the Wildlife Leadership Academy and make a year-long commitment to the program. They start with field school where the program teaches them leadership and life skills and continues with educational materials for their program of choice.

After students complete summer school, they return to their communities where they conduct four field school related outreach projects.

Connolly explained, This extension of the students field school experience allows them to apply what they have learned serving as Conservation Ambassadors to the benefit of the greater community across Pennsylvania and surrounding states, empowering citizens to support a sustainable natural resource legacy."

For more information about the academy, visit wildlifeleadershipacademy.org
Williamsport -- Staff from UPMC and Penn College could be seen yesterday on the front lawn of the hospital with shovels in hand. In honor of Veteran's Day, the group broke ground for a new HeroScape project to display support for veterans in the community.

The space will feature a statue of a soaring eagle and medallions of the six branches of military service.

This HeroScape tribute provides the opportunity to honor and recognize members of our employee family who served their country in the U.S. military and are now serving their community in the UPMC health system, said Steve Johnson, president, UPMC in North Central Pa.

We are immensely proud of each of them and honored they have continued their careers with us. May this tribute forever demonstrate a token of our gratitude for the extraordinary contribution they and their colleagues past, present, and future make to our nation and our community every day.

This project is made possible by EP Henry, an outdoor paver manufacturer, that is donating supplies as part of their HeroScaping program. Students from Pennsylvania College of Technology will donate labor to install the products from EP Henry to complete the patio area.

Fred Gilmour, chairman of UPMC Williamsports Hospital Arts Committee, is providing the artistic design and Tony Visco, from Anthony H. Visco Jr. Architects, is providing the design and engineering work.

This tribute is becoming a reality through the combined efforts of private philanthropy, Pennsylvania College of Technology, and UPMC. This collaboration symbolizes the importance of community partnerships in supporting veterans, educating students, and honoring health care workers everywhere, added Johnson.

The work for this project is expected to be completed next spring and UPMC is planning on a special recognition event next year to showcase the new space.
Andy Schmookler is a prize-winning author. Many of his works can be found at www.ABetterHumanStory.org.
James R. Poplar III, of Quicksburg, proudly served with the U.S. government for over 40 years. He specialized in national security affairs at both Vanderbilt and the National Defense University.
Bryan served in the U.S. Army in Germany during the Korean War. He often joked that eaters wouldn't be so picky after six months in the infantry.

"He had a good sense of humor," Bryan said. "He had dad jokes and some that were a little spicier. He always had a joke and loved practical jokes."

Born in Chicago, his family moved to Gary after losing their home in the Great Depression. He grew up on Ridge Road in Gary at a time when it was lined with gladiolus farms. He worked for gladiolus farmers as a kid, convinced his parents to give him a piece of land at 19 and built a small structure that was the first Bryan's Florist location and that remains in business today.

He started the company in 1949 and retired in 2000, turning it over to his children. He expanded Bryan's Florist all across Lake County.

"He was always motivated to be the biggest and best," Bryan said.

He also always sought to help others, even bringing over a family of six from war-torn Laos to the United States.
The Point Drive-In and Five Buds Farm won Starke Tank, the second annual North Judson Business Pitch Competition.

Six local businesses in Starke County vied for capital at the recent entrepreneurial contest the North Judson San Pierre High School auditorium.

Cheryl Smith and her husband, who purchased The Point Drive In in 2020, took home top honors in the competition. They hope to restore the vintage drive-in at the intersection of Main Street, Talmer Avenue, and Schricker Avenue to its former glory. The old school eatery, a cruising destination for generations, is known for its burgers, ice cream and giant two-story ice cream cone statute at The Point intersection.

They added a fresh coat of paint, brought back Hershey ice cream expanded the menu and brought in local beef and produce. They also have been active in the community, hosting fundraisers for splash pad across the street at Norwayne Field, the Starke County Humane Society, and other causes.

The Point's new owner's plan to use their $8,000 in prize money toward to add a Flavorburst ice cream machine, expand the kitchen and repave the parking lot.
He added Wozniaks continued incarceration is for her good and the good of society.

She pleaded guilty, but mentally ill, in July, to domestic battery resulting in serious bodily injury, a Level 5 felony.

Police and the prosecutors office said the woman was staying at her familys Dyer home Dec. 13, 2018, when her brother noticed she began acting strangely.

She was staring at the wall with 'evil eyes,'" her brother later told police.

Wozniak has a long history of mental illness that resulted in a prior conviction for attacking a Highland woman in 2005.

The brother said he was concerned enough to hide all the knives in the home from her and leave a cellphone near his 78-year-old father, who was confined to a hospital-like bed in the familys living room.

After she went to her room, her brother said he left the house, assuming she was asleep and their 78-year-old father was safe.

The brother told police that he was alerted by his cellphone, about an hour later to his father saying, "Get over here. She is nuts! She is cutting me!
Johnson was first charged four years ago with the assault on the couple June 13, 2017 near 5th and Madison in Garys downtown.

The two victims both told Gary police that Johnson had shot them without warning.

Gruenhagen argued the victims never gave a reasonable motive for the shooting and Gary police failed to collect any evidence to verify the victims accusation of Johnson.

There was no weapon found and no evidence Johnson was present at the shooting," he said.

He said the governments case was solely based on the shooting victims say so.

Gruenhagen said the male victims credibility was compromised by his refusal to come to court and testify at this weeks trial.

(The male shooting victim) couldnt even come to court and look Mr. Johnson in the eye, Gruenhagen said.

Rooda said the male victim broke off contact with them prior to the trial after expressing reservations about helping convict his old friend.
HAMMOND  A man was arrested in Springfield in the homicide of a Wheeling, Illinois, woman days before the discovery of her missing 1-year-old daughter in a Hammond pond.

Ahmeel Fowler, 26, of Pinegree Grove, Illinois, was arrested Tuesday, according to a report from NBC Chicago 5. Fowler has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of the toddler's mother, Janya Murphy, and additional charges are expected to come. His identity was not initially released.

Earlier in the investigation, police had identified Fowler as a person of interest, stating that he had a previous relationship with Murphy but was not the father of the 1-year-old girl.

The remains of the missing girl were found Thursday in a pond located at the I-80/94 exit ramp to the Kennedy Avenue northbound lanes, Indiana State Police Sgt. Glen Fifield said.

The child was confirmed to be Jaclyn "Angel" Dobbs, of Deerfield, Illinois. Authorities have been searching for Jaclyn, who went missing after her mother was found dead Tuesday in her Wheeling apartment.

Murphy's cause of death was ruled as asphyxiation strangulation, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.
MUNSTER  Bill Hasse credits his own business success with his early years spent as a Boy Scout.

"It was a good experience, and I used those experiences to go forward in my life," Hasse said.

Hasse was honored this week by the Boy Scouts of America-Pathway to Adventure Council as its Distinguished Citizen of the Year.

Hasse said the honor was appreciated, but not one he expected.

"It's nice that the work and effort you put into the community is recognized. Hopefully this will motivate others to participate," Hasse said.

The award was presented Thursday night at the Center for Visual and Performing Arts in Munster by event chairman Jeff Strack, CEO of Stack & Van Til.

"Thank you for all you do for Northwest Indiana and being the person you are," Strack told Hasse.

Strack's presentation of the Distinguished Citizen of the Year followed an honoree impact video that included comments from numerous associates of Hasse, including Dave Ryan of Lakeshore Chamber of Commerce.
The night I submitted my college applications, I lay in bed and stared out my window for hours. I prayed to the moon that I would die soon. On paper, I looked perfect (at least to the adults who told me so): a perfect SAT score in one try, three perfect SAT II subject tests, 10 perfect AP tests, recipient of national awards, president of various clubs, avid volunteer, and founder of an education nonprofit. But I would rather have died than learn that perfect was still not enough to get into the colleges Id set my sights on.

I didnt know there were illnesses called depression and anxiety, and the adults around me never suspected, because I looked like I was on top of my life. When I would burst into tears, my father would shout at me to stop crying because, No one is dead  save your tears for when I die. And when I told my mom of my suicidal thoughts her first response was, How can you be so selfish? I felt unworthy of their love until I was perfect beyond reproach.

I attended Yale as a first-generation student supported through financial aid, worked at McKinsey in New York and London, and received two masters degrees from Stanford. My fears of not being good enough for college seem unfounded now, but perhaps understandable given my upbringing.

Contrary to the stereotype of Asian Ivy League students, I did not have wealthy tiger nor snowplow parents. My extended family in Taiwan barely received an education, so in high school I was already among the most educated in my family.
Coal is at the crux of critical political decisions that government leaders need to make this year if they are to transition to a green economy. Scientists say greenhouse gas emissions need to be halved by 2030 in order for the world to have a fighting chance at limiting dangerous levels of warming.

In short, this is a historic juncture for coal.

For 150 years, more and more of its sooty deposits have been extracted from under the ground, first to power the economies of Europe and North America, then Asia and Africa. Today, coal is still the largest source of electricity, though its share is steadily shrinking as other sources of power come online, from nuclear to wind.

Global spending on coal projects dropped to its lowest level in a decade in 2019. And, over the last 20 years, more coal-fired power plants have been retired or shelved than commissioned. The big holdouts are China, India and parts of Southeast Asia, but, even there, coals once-swift growth is nowhere as swift as it was just a few years ago, according to a recent analysis.

In some countries where new coal-fired power plants were only recently being built by the gigawatts, plans for new ones have been shelved, as in South Africa, or reconsidered, as in Bangladesh, or facing funding troubles, as in Vietnam. In some countries, like India, existing coal plants are running way below capacity and losing money. In others, like the United States, they are being decommissioned faster than ever.
Still, the forced deletion by the alliance marked the most high-profile instance yet of the police clamping down on online expression. As much of Hong Kong society has been transformed to more closely resemble the mainland, some fear the citys digital spaces will be, too. In the mainland, Facebook, Twitter and many Western news outlets are blocked, and an army of censors works around the clock to remove any sensitive content.

Critics have also pointed to plans by the Hong Kong government to enact what it calls an anti-doxxing bill, though experts have called the language overly broad and open to abuse. Officials have also proposed targeting fake news, which many say could be used to further silence voices critical of the government.

On Thursday, the citys largest pro-Beijing political party proposed following the central governments lead by enacting stricter controls on video gaming, including enacting time limits for minors, requiring real-name registration and barring pornographic content.

The hunting season for the open internet is starting, I think, said Lokman Tsui, a Hong Kong-based fellow at Citizen Lab, a Canadian cybersecurity watchdog organization. They were going after the media, going after the education institutions, the unions. But now it seems like its time to fix the internet.

In particular, analysts noted that the order targeting the alliance was the first known instance of the police using the security law to force a group to delete posts itself, rather than going through service providers such as Wix.
Last year, AstraZeneca pledged not to profit on its vaccine during the pandemic period, but the company retained discretion about when to declare the crisis was over. Researchers at the University of Oxford, who led the early development of the vaccine, have said they partnered with AstraZeneca in the spring of last year in part because the company had agreed to their vision of low-cost pricing for their shot.

British health officials provided early funding to the Oxford team. Nick Dearden, director of the British advocacy group Global Justice Now, said in a statement that the companys decision to start profiting on the vaccine shows the utter folly of giving away publicly funded science to big pharma.

AstraZeneca and its production partners around the globe had released more than 1.7 billion doses of the vaccine by the end of October, supplying more than 170 countries, an AstraZeneca spokesman said. The vaccine is not authorized or available in the United States.

The company said its vaccine brought in $2.1 billion in revenue through the end of September. It projected that its revenue from the vaccine in the final three of months of this year would come mostly from existing not-for-profit orders, with a small contribution from new, more profitable orders.
Virginias Spotsylvania County School Board this week voted unanimously to have books with sexually explicit material removed from school library shelves. For two members of the school board, this didnt go far enough; they wanted to see the books incinerated. Im sure weve got hundreds of people out there that would like to see those books before we burn them, said one of the members, Kirk Twigg. Just so we can identify, within our community, that we are eradicating this bad stuff.

This was just one example of an aggressive new censoriousness tearing through America, as the campaign against critical race theory expands into a broader push to purge school libraries of books that affront conservative sensibilities regarding race and gender. Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the American Library Associations Office for Intellectual Freedom, told me that during her 20 years with the organization, theres always been a steady hum of censorship, and the reasons have shifted over time. But Ive never seen the number of challenges weve seen this year.

In Texas and South Carolina, Republican governors have called for action on obscene content in school libraries. Public schools in Virginia Beach have pulled books including Toni Morrisons The Bluest Eye out of their libraries pending the results of a challenge by conservative school board members. Schools in North Kansas City, Mo., have done the same with books including the acclaimed memoir Fun Home by Alison Bechdel and All Boys Arent Blue, a book of essays about growing up gay and Black by George M. Johnson. In Flagler County, Fla., a member of the school board filed a criminal report over the presence of All Boys Arent Blue in her districts school libraries, claiming it violated state obscenity laws.

With the rush to ban critical race theory, conservatives already gave up posturing as defenders of free speech. Still, this sudden mania for book banning is striking. Its part of a broader attack on public schools, one that draws on anger over critical race theory, mask mandates and sometimes even QAnon-inflected fears about pedophile conspiracies.
We use middle-class interchangeably with other powerful nationalist signifiers like citizen, voter and American. And, though my progressive comrades may balk at this comparison, if you compare Sinema to some of Congresss best-known female politicians, her style is easily the most accessible to her constituents. I know enough about fashion, and how much it costs, to know that few American women can afford to dress like, for instance, the preternaturally turned-out Nancy Pelosi. In fact, part of what makes Sinemas style performance so uncomfortable for many of us is how middle-class it is: She doesnt seem to be trying to do better. But that does not mean her style story lacks aspiration.

Mears said that Sinemas presentation reads like someone whos got a catalog budget but is trying to imagine what that high-end editorial looks like, someone who aspires to be cool and edgy. One dimension of class in Sinemas sartorial performance is that it is basic but aspirational, not in power, but in coolness. Mears writes extensively about the world of high fashion and how men and women negotiate power.

Mearss background as a model gives her firsthand knowledge of how class is coded, not just in the clothes we wear but also in the bodies that wear the clothes. In elite nightclubs and social events where the beautiful people gather, womens beauty is a commodity charged as the price of entry. The normative body would be a white man, said Mears, and in a world where white men are the default body, all other aspects of power  from race and gender to class and sexuality  have to negotiate with them for access to powerful places. In such places, being a beautiful woman is a condition of admittance.

The Beltway, with its culture of power and politics, is also a masculinist place, as Mears described it. One of the reasons that Sinemas style stands out is that backdrop. There are a narrow number of roles written for women, just like in society more broadly. One can be an ingenue, a power broker, an elite or an outsider.

Each role comes with a performance that shapes the political message and, as Mears put it, chooses her audience. Sinema stands out for trying to combine different aspects of multiple roles for female politicians. The tightfitting clothes whisper ingenue, innocent of the rules. The bright colors and wigs and accessories scream outsider, someone who knows the rules and ignores them. The bold patterns, in any other silhouette from the one she favors, could signal power broker or elite. But altogether, they communicate someone who may be aware of the roles that female politicians are boxed into but does not play into any of them all of the time.
The unionization push reflected the growing labor challenges that Amazon and other large employers face as the pandemic has given workers a stronger hand for the first time in decades. But the setback for labor organizers in Staten Island shows how difficult it remains to form a union at the countrys biggest companies, particularly Amazon. The company promotes its average starting wage of $18 an hour, and has aggressively pushed back against past efforts through signage in buildings and mandatory meetings with workers.

Mr. Smallss effort has been organized not by an established union but instead by a group of current and former Amazon workers aiming to form an independent organization, the Amazon Labor Union. The group spent six months collecting signatures from workers requesting a vote and submitted those signatures to the labor board last month.

The board determined that the signatures represented at least 30 percent of the workers of the proposed bargaining unit, the threshold required. The decision laid the groundwork for an election next spring.

Typically unions file with far more signatures than the 30 percent threshold, labor experts say, because support historically erodes over the course of the campaign. Amazon has said for weeks that it did not believe that the threshold had been reached, saying more people worked at the buildings than the Amazon Labor Union initially indicated. The organizers filed to represent 5,500 workers, but Amazon said in documents submitted to the labor board that the facilities employed more than 9,600.

The Amazon Labor Union continued recruiting workers, and this week put up a sign offering Free Weed and Food From A.L.U. by the tent it set up near a bus stop by the warehouses. Mr. Smalls said he had delivered 400 additional signatures to the labor board after it initially accepted its petition, though he had since learned that the agency determined he needed even more.
Mr. Gough, 59, is a well-known presence in the small legal community of Brunswick, population 16,000, in contrast with the other two defendants lawyers, who hail from the larger metropolitan areas of Atlanta and Macon.

It is Mr. Goughs demeanor that most closely resembles that of an aw-shucks country lawyer character from the movies, with a voice that honks and drawls and tends to ladle on the folksiness. On Thursday, as he called for  and then appeared to backpedal on  a ban on Black preachers in the courtroom, Mr. Gough wondered aloud what it would be like if a bunch of folks came in here dressed like Colonel Sanders with white masks sitting in the back.

But Mr. Goughs presentation is, like so much about him, confounding, and sometimes contradictory. Though he attended law school at the University of Georgia, Mr. Gough grew up on Long Island. He spent a number of years heading up the Republican Party in Glynn County, Ga., and said he served for two years as legal director of a group called the Poor and Minority Justice Association. From 1989 to 1993, he served as a prosecutor in the local district attorneys office. For four years starting in 2012, he represented the poorest defendants in his community as the Brunswick Judicial Circuit public defender.

He was fired from the public defender job for a number of reasons. Among them was the allegation that he fomented a culture of fear and intimidation in the office, according to statements during his appeals hearing from Bryan P. Tyson, who was then the executive director of the state public defender council.

Mr. Tyson, in a letter firing Mr. Gough, noted that a female employee in Mr. Goughs office had accused him of retaliation after she had filed a sexual harassment complaint against another employee. The state public defender credited her claim of retaliation, Mr. Tyson wrote, and took remedial action.

Mr. Tyson also chided Mr. Gough for engaging in a media campaign that took aim at the Brunswick-area district attorney at the time, Jackie Johnson. Mr. Gough had publicly accused Ms. Johnson of failing to file cases in a timely manner, a move that he said wasted taxpayer money and impeded indigent clients right to a speedy trial.

Mr. Tyson said in his letter that Mr. Gough had also accused the district attorney of being too cozy with the local police, and said that Mr. Gough had complained that the Superior Court was being run as a debtors prison, issuing steep restitution and probation fees to the poor.
KENOSHA, Wis.  The trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, which has played out over the last two weeks, has seemed at times to come down to a matter of deciding whether Mr. Rittenhouse was acting in self-defense when he shot three men amid demonstrations in Kenosha, Wis., or whether he was committing serious crimes, including first-degree intentional homicide.

But the 12 jurors who will enter a second day of deliberations in the case on Wednesday are actually tasked with a far more complex set of decisions: They must weigh five individual felony counts that Mr. Rittenhouse has been charged with, each reflecting prosecutors claims about different portions of his behavior that night in August 2020.

Jury deliberations began on Tuesday morning in the trial of Mr. Rittenhouse, who was 17 when he came to Kenosha with a semiautomatic rifle amid unrest over a police shooting and fired eight shots, killing two men and wounding a third. The five charges he faces include first-degree intentional homicide, which is called first-degree murder in other states and is among the most serious charges on the books in Wisconsin. If convicted of that charge, he could face life in prison.

Beyond those five counts, Judge Bruce Schroeder on Monday told jurors to weigh some less serious charges. That could prove significant, legal experts say, because the lesser charges offer jurors a path to compromise if they disagree on the most serious offenses. For example, on the charge of first-degree intentional homicide, the judge told jurors that they also had the option of finding the defendant guilty of second-degree intentional homicide or first-degree reckless homicide.
Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina on Friday granted a pardon to a man who spent more than 24 years in prison for murder before a judge vacated his conviction in 2019, finding that a key witness had entirely made up her testimony.

The pardon for the man, Montoyae Dontae Sharpe, clears the way for him to seek compensation from the state and comes after prominent pastors and others had demonstrated outside the governors mansion in support of Mr. Sharpe.

Its been a long time coming, Mr. Sharpe, 46, of Charlotte, said in an interview on Friday. My name has been cleared, and me and my family can move on. And I can go on with the next stage of my life, which is to still help other guys behind me.

In 1995, Mr. Sharpe was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the murder of George Radcliffe, who was found fatally shot in his pickup truck in Greenville, N.C., on Feb. 11, 1994.
WASHINGTON  A federal appeals court has kept its block in place against a federal mandate that all large employers require their workers to get vaccinated against the coronavirus or submit to weekly testing starting in January, declaring that the rule grossly exceeds the authority of the occupational safety agency that issued it.

In a 22-page ruling issued on Friday, a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in New Orleans, held that a group of challengers to the mandate issued by the Biden administration was likely to succeed in its claim that it was an unlawful overreach, and barred the government from moving forward with it.

From economic uncertainty to workplace strife, the mere specter of the mandate has contributed to untold economic upheaval in recent months, Judge Kurt D. Engelhardt wrote.

He added: Of course, the principles at stake when it comes to the mandate are not reducible to dollars and cents. The public interest is also served by maintaining our constitutional structure and maintaining the liberty of individuals to make intensely personal decisions according to their own convictions  even, or perhaps particularly, when those decisions frustrate government officials.
Project Veritas, the conservative group under scrutiny in a Justice Department investigation of how a diary kept by President Bidens daughter Ashley Biden was published days before the 2020 election, has told a federal judge that it received a diary from two people who said they had legally obtained it after she had abandoned it.

Project Veritas had no involvement with how those two individuals acquired the diary, lawyers for the group said in a letter dated Wednesday to a federal judge in New York. The groups lawyers were asking U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres for a so-called special master to determine what materials seized by federal investigators could be used as evidence in their investigation.

Using initials for the individuals who the lawyers said approached the group with the diary, the lawyers said the groups knowledge about how R.K. and A.H. came to possess the diary came from R.K. and A.H. themselves.

In contrast with Project Veritass description in the letter of how the diary was obtained, a warrant used by federal authorities to search the home of the groups founder, James OKeefe, last Saturday indicated that federal authorities believed the property was stolen.
This is a path that many experts recommend against. The first thing we tell people is absolutely not to tap into their retirement account, said Elizabeth Isele, the founder and chief executive of the Global Institute for Experienced Entrepreneurship. Though Ms. Edwards is younger than the entrepreneurs over age 50 the institute is devoted to, Ms. Isele is wary of any risk to a secure retirement.

One of the sad statistics out there is that so few people have any retirement savings, she said. According to the New Schools Retirement Equity Lab, 36 percent of 35- to 54-year-old Americans have no retirement savings. At the time of her launch, Ms. Edwards fell into the category of the 43 percent who had less than $10,000 saved. Theyre vulnerable, Ms. Isele added. Women especially are in a deplorable position.

Instead of tapping retirement funds, the institute advises crowdfunding to get a business off the ground. If you put your idea out there on Kickstarter and no one is willing to invest even a dollar, you know before you put in a huge amount of time that it might not work, Ms. Isele said. But if the idea proves popular, raising a few thousand dollars on a crowdfunding platform may be doable.

Noah Damsky, a principal at Marina Wealth Advisors in California who has worked with several would-be entrepreneurs considering drawing down their I.R.A.s, has not set a policy of outright discouragement. I dont tell anybody what to do, he said. Instead, he helps them see blind spots. Ill work out projections so they understand their risk profile.

Marianne Nolte didnt need that kind of help when she started Imagine Financial Services in Fallbrook, Calif., in 2020.

Ms. Nolte, 55, was already an entrepreneur when she decided she wanted to become a certified financial planner. For more than two decades, she had run a video production company. I thrive as a small-business owner, she said. Thats my happy place. Acting as her parents informal financial adviser helped her discover an aptitude for money management. In 2014, she earned her license as a certified financial planner. Five years later, after working at an advisory firm to learn the ropes, she was putting together a business plan that involved tapping her I.R.A.
Social impact skills wanted

Companies and recruiters say that filling roles in the expanding E.S.G. sector isnt always easy, despite the high interest among business school graduates.

Helen Pradas-Page, the head of the banking and investment sector at Acre, a sustainability recruitment firm with offices in the United States and Europe, said that about 70 percent of the sustainable finance roles her firm filled over the last three years were newly created roles. She added that recruiting for mid- and senior-level positions was more challenging.

Thats because the pool of people who have worked in sustainable finance for more than 10 years is relatively small, she said. It didnt exist in the form that it does today.

PwC has found a similar challenge in its recruiting. The company said in June that it would create 100,000 new positions over the next five years, many of which are focused on climate change risks and sustainability.

There are not enough people today that know about E.S.G. challenges to meet the demand that exists, Richard Oldfield, PwCs global markets leader, said.

While it is becoming more common for M.B.A. graduates to pursue social impact jobs, it is still an unconventional path. At Wharton, just 1.8 percent of students accepted jobs in social impact, compared with 61 percent of students who went into financial services or consulting. (That figure does not include students who took sustainability-focused roles at big companies where the primary focus is not social impact.) At Stanford, the percentage of business school graduates either taking jobs related to social impact or starting their own businesses in the field was 19 percent last year, an increase from eight percent four years ago, according to the schools career center.
The United Automobile Workers said late Friday that the agriculture equipment maker Deere & Company had made modifications to an earlier agreement that was rejected by its membership, setting up another vote over whether to end a nearly monthlong strike.

The strike began on Oct. 14, a few days after roughly 10,000 workers primarily in Iowa and Illinois overwhelmingly rejected an agreement negotiated between the company and the union.

The initial agreement would have raised wages 5 or 6 percent this year, depending on a workers pay grade, and another 3 percent in both 2023 and 2025. It would have denied traditional pension benefits to future hires.

A second agreement reached in late October would have raised wages 10 percent this year and 5 percent in the third and fifth years of the six-year contract, while providing a lump-sum payment equal to 3 percent of annual wages in each of the even years.
Kaiser Permanente, the health care provider and hospital network, reached a tentative agreement on Saturday with a coalition of unions representing workers in California, Oregon and other states that will avert a strike of more than 30,000 workers scheduled to begin on Monday.

The four-year agreement would provide workers with wage increases and address concerns about adequate staffing. It also abandons a proposal by Kaiser to pay new workers significantly less than current workers, which many had cited as a source of frustration that led to the planned strike.

Hal Ruddick, the executive director of the labor coalition representing Kaiser employees, the Alliance of Health Care Unions, said in a statement, This contract protects our patients, provides safe staffing, and guarantees fair wages and benefits for every Alliance member.

Christian Meisner, a human resources official at Kaiser, said in a statement that the negotiations were challenging but that the agreement underscores our unwavering commitment to our employees by maintaining industry-leading wages and benefits.
Before it started, the United Nations global climate summit in Glasgow known as COP26 was billed by its chief organizer as the last, best hope to save the planet.

Halfway through, optimistic reviews of its progress noted that heads of state and titans of industry showed up in force to start the gathering with splashy new climate promises, a sign that momentum was building in the right direction.

The pessimistic outlook? Gauzy promises mean little without concrete plans to follow through. The Swedish activist Greta Thunberg accused the conference of consisting of a lot of blah, blah, blah.

On Saturday, diplomats from nearly 200 countries struck a major agreement aimed at intensifying efforts to fight climate change, by calling on governments to return next year with stronger plans to curb their planet-warming emissions and urging wealthy nations to at least double funding by 2025 to protect the most vulnerable nations from the hazards of a hotter planet.
GLASGOW  Diplomats from nearly 200 countries on Saturday struck a major agreement aimed at intensifying global efforts to fight climate change by calling on governments to return next year with stronger plans to curb their planet-warming emissions and urging wealthy nations to at least double funding to protect poor nations from the hazards of a hotter planet.

The new deal will not, on its own, solve global warming, despite the urgent demands of many of the thousands of politicians, environmentalists and protesters who gathered at the Glasgow climate summit. Its success or failure will hinge on whether world leaders now follow through with new policies to cut greenhouse gas emissions. And the deal still leaves vulnerable countries far short of the funds they need to cope with increasing weather disasters.

The talks underscored the complexity of trying to persuade scores of countries, each with its own economic interests and domestic politics, to act in unison for the greater good.

But the agreement established a clear consensus that all nations must do much more, immediately, to prevent a harrowing rise in global temperatures. And it set up transparency rules to hold countries accountable for the progress they make or fail to make.
The global climate summit wrapping up in Glasgow is known as COP26, with COP standing for Conference of the Parties. In diplomatic parlance, the parties refers to the 197 nations that agreed to a new environmental pact, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, at a meeting in 1992.

That year, the United States and other countries ratified the treaty, which aims to combat dangerous human interference with the climate system and stabilize levels of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere. This is the 26th time countries have gathered under the convention. Hence, COP26.

A lot of other words and phrases are being bandied about as leaders try to agree on final wording of an agreement. Here some of the ones youre most likely to hear and read, plus an more in-depth explanation of the climate conference:
Times Insider explains who we are and what we do and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together.

In mid-July, the Dixie fire broke out in Northern California. It burned for more than three months and spread over nearly a million acres before firefighters contained it fully. The results were devastating, and the fires size  it was the second largest in the states history  was nearly unimaginable. The blaze burned so intensely that it even created its own weather. A team of journalists and technologists from across the New York Times newsroom used high-resolution radar data to reconstruct a 3-D model of the Dixie fires first thunderclouds, revealing how the fire fed its own destructive spread. Their work appeared in print, in an interactive article online and even in augmented reality on Instagram.

Four team members answered questions about the project. Their responses have been edited and condensed.

How did you get this idea?

NOAH PISNER, 3-D and immersive editor, Graphics: I have family in California, and I was accustomed to tracking fires in regular, two-dimensional maps. But what those maps failed to show was just how tall wildfires can grow when they emit towering smoke plumes. In September 2020, Californias Creek fire blasted 41,000 feet high. Its terrifying scale and storm clouds shocked a lot of wildfire scientists, which is when we knew we were onto something.

In October 2020, on the recommendation of our graphics colleague Tim Wallace, we started looking into the work of Neil Lareau, a professor from the University of Nevada, Reno, who specializes in using radar to study wildfire plume formations. We began working with Neil last year; we wanted to learn his 3-D radar visualization techniques. Soon after the Dixie fire started generating enormous pyrocumulonimbus clouds, we saw a clear opportunity to explain what was happening using 3-D radar visualization.
A series of rare tornado warnings rattled the New York metro area as heavy rain, quarter-size hail and powerful wind battered parts of Long Island, New York City and New Jersey on Saturday.

No injuries were reported as a result of the fast-moving storm, according to officials on Long Island, where most of the warnings were posted, but photos on social media showed that it had left uprooted trees and caused minor damage to homes and vehicles in several sections of Suffolk and Nassau Counties.

The National Weather Service could not confirm that a tornado had struck the region until it assessed the damage, but it did issue a tornado warning shortly before 3 p.m. for parts of the two counties, including Commack, Levittown and Melville.
I dont only watch horror movies; this year, I have made a conscious effort to watch as many movies from the big horror franchises as I can. I started with the Nightmare on Elm Street series (which I loved), I moved to the Friday the 13th series (which is fine), and Im currently working my way through the Halloween series, whose primary antagonist is Michael Myers.

The Halloween movies, if youve never seen them, are pretty straightforward. In the first, directed by John Carpenter and produced by Debra Hill, Michael Myers is introduced as a young boy who has, inexplicably, killed his older sister. Fast forward to 1978, and the adult Myers has escaped from a sanitarium to terrorize his hometown and, specifically, a group of teenagers (including a young Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode) who live in Myerss former neighborhood. Myers kills several teens before turning his attention to Strode, stalking her and the children shes babysitting through their home, before hes vanquished (although not killed) by his doctor, Sam Loomis, played by the always-wonderful Donald Pleasence.

Subsequent installments take the plot in different directions, but the films that involve Myers (the third movie is unrelated to the character or his mythology) share the same basic structure. There is a young woman (or young girl), a stable family, and an idyllic suburban neighborhood of white, middle-class people. The schools are safe, the police are decent and life is good for most people.

Myers, in this world, isnt just a killer; he is an intrusion. His very presence destabilizes the existing social order. Each of his rampages makes clear that the manicured reality of suburbia provides no actual shelter or protection from the disorder of the world at large. Myers is practically unstoppable. He tears through the police with ease. In each of the Myers films, there is, somewhere, an avatar of traditional white American masculinity, usually a sheriff or another member of law enforcement. And each time, they are impotent in the face of Myerss rage. In the fourth installment, a posse of local men gather with guns and trucks to try to confront and stop Myers. They are torn to pieces by a force that does not acknowledge their authority as good guys with guns.
Although the Biden administration has carved out some humanitarian exceptions to Title 42  unaccompanied children, for instance  its continued defense of the policy has horrified activists, international agencies and even some officials serving in the administration. Two left their posts in recent months after making scathing critiques. Thats because the use of Title 42 essentially makes it impossible for migrants who fear for their lives to claim asylum even at ports of entry and returns many to squalid camps in Mexico where they are vulnerable to violence and threats from smugglers and cartels. Under U.S. law, any people who set foot on American soil are entitled to express a fear of violence and persecution in their home country, setting off a process that can take years to resolve in backlogged courts. Title 42 short-circuits that process and allows for immediate removal.

Meanwhile, many people in the Department of Homeland Security are frustrated that a large number of migrants who are caught sneaking across the border are simply sent back to Mexico, where they regroup and try their luck another day. Both the Trump administration and the Biden administration used Title 42 to quickly expel unlawful border crossers instead of arresting and prosecuting them. Under the policy, theres little cost to trying to sneak across again and again. As many as half of single adults expelled under Title 42 try to cross the border unlawfully again. Thats one reason the number of encounters has been so high.

Still, many border agents consider Title 42 a powerful tool to control the unusually high number of people trying to cross the border unlawfully, and they are not eager to relinquish it.

The result has been the worst of both worlds. The Biden administration finds itself under fire from both the left and the right for its handling of migrants at the border. The chorus of criticism reached new heights in September, when images surfaced of more than 10,000 Haitians camping under a bridge in Del Rio, Texas, and getting chased by border patrol agents on horseback. Polls suggest that the Biden administration is particularly mistrusted on immigration, with one showing that 34 percent of Democrats and 73 percent of independents disapprove of how the southern border has been handled.

What is broken at the border didnt break in the past few months. It has been broken for years. It will take time  and help from Congress  to fix. But the administration must work harder to turn a system that is too often chaotic, arbitrary and even deadly into one that is more orderly and fair. The American people want a secure border where people enter lawfully, where criminals are arrested and where people who are in genuine fear for their lives are afforded a chance to apply for asylum.
To the Editor:

Re How Broken Taillights End in Killings by Police (front page, Oct. 31):

I am a 68-year-old white man. In July 2020, I was pulled over by a New Hampshire state trooper for speeding on I-95. Expecting a speeding ticket, I was shocked when the trooper immediately drew his gun, pointed it at my head and said, Put your hands up where I can see them and dont move.

Having read about the police stopping Black people and what you need to do  or not do  to avoid getting shot for no good reason, I moved only when given explicit permission to do so. He approached, gun drawn, then handcuffed and pushed me into the back seat of his cruiser. This officer epitomized the concept of officer-created jeopardy. He struck me as scared.

Police think vehicle stops are dangerous and Black people are dangerous, and the combination is volatile, you quote the criminologist Kalfani Ture saying. Fortunately for me, I triggered only one of those danger signals. That is white privilege.

Leonard J. Shine

North Canton, Conn.

To the Editor:

If police officers cannot deal with traffic stops, domestic violence disputes or other routine situations without feeling so threatened that they routinely kill unarmed individuals, then we have all the evidence we need to rethink policing in America.
Fifteen days is everything when you are suffering, said Kim Callinan, the president and chief executive of Compassion & Choices, which supported the change. People who are eligible for the law are hitting roadblocks and barriers.

In 2016, for example, Youssef Cohen, a political scientist at New York University, took the extraordinary step of moving across the country to use the Oregon law as he was dying of mesothelioma at 68. He wanted the option to determine the end of his life, said his wife, Lindsay Wright, who is an associate dean at the university.

To establish residency, the couple had to hurriedly sign an apartment lease, obtain an ID from the state motor vehicle agency, transfer medical records and arrange an immediate appointment with a Portland doctor to qualify for medical aid in dying. Dr. Cohen then faced the 15-day waiting period.

He didnt make it, Dr. Wright said. He died six days after we arrived. And he suffered.

A 2018 study from the Kaiser Permanente health system in Southern California showed that about one-third of qualifying patients died before they could complete the process.

New Mexico, which in June became the most recent state to legalize medical aid in dying, has adopted a markedly less restrictive approach than other states. The largely rural state is the first to allow not only doctors but advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants to help determine eligibility and write prescriptions for lethal medication. In some communities, theyre the only providers, said Representative Deborah Armstrong, a Democrat and the bills primary sponsor.

Although a doctor must also affirm that a patient is terminally ill, New Mexico patients can skip that step if they have already enrolled in hospice, as most do. The patient need only make one written request, rather than two or more requests, as other states require. A 48-hour waiting period between when the prescription is written and when it is filled can be waived. People walk up and tell me how thankful they are to have this option if they need it, Ms. Armstrong said.

California has simplified its 2016 law as well. In October, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation that, starting in January, reduces the 15-day wait between verbal requests to 48 hours and eliminates the requirement for a third written attestation.
Chris Christie wants to be very clear about something: The election of 2020 was not stolen.

An election for president was held on November 3, 2020. Joe Biden won. Donald Trump did not, Mr. Christie writes in his new book, Republican Rescue: Saving the Party From Truth Deniers, Conspiracy Theorists, and the Dangerous Policies of Joe Biden.

That is the truth. Any claim to the contrary is untrue, Mr. Christie says.

It is not a popular view in the Republican Party right now, as Mr. Trump has promoted his baseless claims of widespread election fraud for more than a year, and as many Republicans have either echoed those claims or averted their gaze.

But its a view that Mr. Christie has been repeating since Election Day, as he urges the G.O.P.  and Mr. Trump  to move on from looking backward.

Its not a book about him, Mr. Christie said in a recent interview about the book, which will be released on Wednesday. Its a book about where we go from here and why it is important for us to let go of the past.
Michelle Butler was 21 weeks pregnant with twins  a boy and a girl  when she felt contractions.

As her sister drove her to the hospital, Ms. Butler prayed for them to stop.

But the contractions persisted and on July 5, 2020, at about 1 p.m., the babies, CAsya Zy-Nell and Curtis Zy-Keith Means, were born. She was told that the infants, who each weighed under a pound, had less than a 1 percent chance of survival. They were quickly placed on ventilators.

CAsya died less than a day later. Ms. Butler, 35, said she had held her in her arms, prayed for her and told her she loved her.

But Curtis hung on. He was trying to breathe on his own and his heart rate was improving, showing a resilience that shocked longtime nurses and doctors at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
As two closely watched murder trials played out in two different states this past week, juries heard strikingly similar stories: men took up guns in the name of protecting the public, and when they wound up killing unarmed people, they claimed self-defense.

In one case, Kyle Rittenhouse fatally shot two men and wounded a third in the unrest following a police shooting in Kenosha, Wis. In the other, Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man, was shot after a pursuit by three white men who said they suspected him of a series of break-ins in the neighborhood. In both cases, the defendants claim they were entitled to start shooting because the victims were trying to take their guns.

In other words, their own decision to carry a gun became a justification to use it, lest it be wrested away from them, said Eric Ruben, an expert on the Second Amendment at the S.M.U. Dedman School of Law in Dallas.

Image Mr. Rittenhouse is on trial for fatally shooting two men and wounding a third in the unrest in Kenosha, Wis., following a police shooting. Credit... Pool photo by Sean Krajacic

For legal experts like Mr. Ruben and others, these two cases expose deep fault lines in the legal and moral concept of self-defense, a doctrine that is particularly cherished in America but ill-equipped to handle an era of expanded gun rights, growing political extremism, violent threats and a strong vigilante strain, all in a country where the perception of threat is heavily influenced by race.
The Times investigation found that the bombing had been called in by a classified American special operations unit, Task Force 9, which was in charge of ground operations in Syria. The task force operated in such secrecy that at times it did not inform even its own military partners of its actions. In the case of the Baghuz bombing, the American Air Force command in Qatar had no idea the strike was coming, an officer who served at the command center said.

In the minutes after the strike, an alarmed Air Force intelligence officer in the operations center called over an Air Force lawyer in charge of determining the legality of strikes. The lawyer ordered the F-15E squadron and the drone crew to preserve all video and other evidence, according to documents obtained by The Times. He went upstairs and reported the strike to his chain of command, saying it was a possible violation of the law of armed conflict  a war crime  and regulations required a thorough, independent investigation.

But a thorough, independent investigation never happened.

This week, after The New York Times sent its findings to U.S. Central Command, which oversaw the air war in Syria, the command acknowledged the strikes for the first time, saying 80 people were killed but the airstrikes were justified. It said the bombs killed 16 fighters and four civilians. As for the other 60 people killed, the statement said it was not clear that they were civilians, in part because women and children in the Islamic State sometimes took up arms.

We abhor the loss of innocent life and take all possible measures to prevent them, Capt. Bill Urban, the chief spokesman for the command, said in the statement. In this case, we self-reported and investigated the strike according to our own evidence and take full responsibility for the unintended loss of life.

The only assessment done immediately after the strike was performed by the same ground unit that ordered the strike. It determined that the bombing was lawful because it killed only a small number of civilians while targeting Islamic State fighters in an attempt to protect coalition forces, the command said. Therefore no formal war crime notification, criminal investigation or disciplinary action was warranted, it said, adding that the other deaths were accidental.

But the Air Force lawyer, Lt. Col. Dean W. Korsak, believed he had witnessed possible war crimes and repeatedly pressed his leadership and Air Force criminal investigators to act. When they did not, he alerted the Defense Departments independent inspector general. Two years after the strike, seeing no evidence that the watchdog agency was taking action, Colonel Korsak emailed the Senate Armed Services Committee, telling its staff that he had top secret material to discuss and adding, Im putting myself at great risk of military retaliation for sending this.

Senior ranking U.S. military officials intentionally and systematically circumvented the deliberate strike process, he wrote in the email, which was obtained by The Times. Much of the material was classified and would need to be discussed through secure communications, he said. He wrote that a unit had intentionally entered false strike log entries, clearly seeking to cover up the incidents. Calling the classified death toll shockingly high, he said the military did not follow its own requirements to report and investigate the strike.
NAIROBI, Kenya  Sudanese security forces fired tear gas and live gunfire into crowds of demonstrators on Saturday, killing at least five people and wounding many others, as one of Africas largest countries plunged deeper into a crisis set off by a recent military coup.

Tens of thousands of people massed on the streets of the capital, Khartoum, and several other cities to protest the countrys military chief, Lt. Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who has progressively tightened his grip on Sudan since he ousted the civilian prime minister on Oct. 25.

The demonstration was the latest in a series of actions, including strikes and civil disobedience, led by angry Sudanese hoping they can force General al-Burhan to reverse the coup. Their position is backed by the United States, which has called for the immediate restoration of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, and by other Western nations that have suspended aid to the cash-strapped country in an effort to pressure the military.

But Sudans generals seem to be going in the opposite direction. On Thursday General al-Burhan appointed himself head of a new ruling body that excluded the civilians he had shared power with since the ouster of the longtime dictator, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, in 2019.
Over the past two decades, as droughts led to repeated grain shortages in Afghanistan, India, which produces a grain surplus, often came to its aid. But relations between Pakistan and India have been consistently tense including over the disputed Kashmir region, and they plunged to a new low in recent years after deadly militant attacks in India were blamed on support from Pakistan.

India has recently largely used the Chabahar Port in Iran to send wheat shipments to Afghanistan, a longer and costlier route. It has also turned to compacting wheat into high-protein biscuits to significantly reduce the tonnage.

The Talibans return to power has further complicated the transit issues. Pakistan, where the Taliban found a haven during their 20-year insurgency, is now in many ways playing gatekeeper for Afghanistan.

While many countries in the region had prepared for the possibility that the Taliban would return to power by hedging their bets with the group before the United States withdrew from Afghanistan, India continued to put its weight only behind the Afghan government. The sudden collapse of that government, with the Afghan president fleeing, left India with little leverage in a country where it had invested heavily over the past two decades.

Even as India struggles to navigate the reality of the new Taliban-led Afghanistan, it responded to the U.N. agencys appeal for assistance by preparing 50,000 tons of wheat. On Oct. 7, the Indian government delivered a letter to the Pakistani authorities highlighting the urgency of the matter and requesting help in expeditiously granting transit for wheat and medicine to go by road to Afghanistan, a senior Indian official said.
LONDON  When Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, stepped out last week at a gala for veterans in New York City, the beaming, beribboned prince declared he was living the American dream. That might be even truer of Meghan, who has restyled herself since leaving Britain last year as a philanthropist, multimedia entrepreneur and outspoken campaigner for family leave rights.

Even as they were taking Manhattan, though, Meghan was shadowed by the couples old life in London. She was forced to apologize for erroneous statements she made in a lawsuit against a British tabloid, The Mail on Sunday, for violating her privacy by publishing a letter she had sent to her father.

Meghan said it was a case of faulty memory. But the tabloids, which have been at war with the couple since before they abandoned Britain for Southern California, leapt on the admission. Little Miss Forgetful, said The Sun, above an unflattering caricature of Meghan, drawn from Little Miss, an English childrens book series.
MADRID  Portugal is barring employers from contacting their staff outside their contracted working hours under a new law and from remotely monitoring their work, in one of the worlds boldest efforts to regulate the remote work that the pandemic forced on many in the industrialized world.

And, at a time when a surge in natural gas prices has sent electricity costs soaring, the law requires employers to pay part of the electricity and internet bills of staff who work from home.

The legislation, approved in Parliament on Friday and coming into effect this weekend, was drafted by Portugals Socialist-led government as an attempt to preserve work-life balance. Pandemic lockdowns kept uncountable millions of people working from home over the past two years, but Portugal is the rare country to enact laws seeking to formally protect workers off-clock hours and contain their work-related costs.

The legislation was presented by Portugals labor minister, Ana Mendes Godinho, as a way not only to protect domestic workers but to encourage more foreigners to select Portugal as a location for working remotely. Portugal has become a major destination for so-called digital nomads, in part because it is offering them special temporary resident visas to work from Portugal.
A PAY hike for councillors in Offaly has resulted in over 135,000 extra being budgeted for their salaries next year.

Under a pay deal finalised last year, all local authority members are seeing their annual gross income go up from over 18,700 to nearly 26,000  a 38% rise.

The increase was long sought by the country's 949 elected councillors who argued that their workload had increased substantially and better pay was required to attract candidates to local politics.

In Offaly, there are 19 councillors and 490,671 has been set aside for what are described as representational payments in the draft 2022 budget, resulting in a new salary of 25,824 each.

In 2021 the representational payment total included in the budget was 355,414, or 18,706 for each councillor.

Councillors are also paid allowances and expenses and they vary depending on their roles and geographical locations.

While representatives will gain from the salary increase, changes in how expenses are paid will result in some of that extra money being clawed back for a certain number of councillors.

The amounts in next year's Offaly County Council budget for allowances and expenses are slightly less than 2021, with 236,026 provisionally set aside for 2022, compared to 236,478 last year.

A total of 42,042 has been specifically earmarked for the council chair and vice chair.

Last May, when the pay increase was approved by the Government, Cllr Mary Hoade, president of the Association of of Irish Local Government (AILG) said it was a welcome step in recognising the value and important role of councillors.

It is imperative that councillors are provided with a proper salary, at a realistic level, which is vital to not only to attract and sustain new councillors but to also retain existing councillors to serve at local authority level, said Cllr Hoade.

The amount allocated in the 2019 Offaly budget for representational payments was 316,255 and that increased to 350,474 for 2020.

Councillors contended that demands on them increased substantially after a decision to abolish town councils in 2014 and cuts in numbers sitting on county councils.

Offaly previously had 21 county councillors and three town councils, each with nine members in Tullamore, Birr and Edenderry.

Some members served in a dual capacity when they were elected to their own town council as well as the county council, while others sat on one of the authorities only.

Prior to those changes, the work of councillors expanded when the dual mandate was abolished, removing Oireachtas members from council seats.

Traditionally nearly all councillors had parallel paid careers in the private or public sectors but the proportion of full-time local representatives has been increasing.

The draft Offaly council budget for 2022 will be considered by councillors on Monday, November 14 and council chief executive Anna Marie Delaney has said it was prepared in the context of increased service demands, increased budget requirements and ability to provide match funding for projects, together with challenges associated with the decarbonisation agenda and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ms Delaney said: 2021 has been a very challenging year, with all income streams under pressure and we required significant support from Government to enable us to continue to provide essential services.

The Government has provided 1.7 million to the council for 2022 to make up for the county's loss of rates because of the closure of Shannonbridge power station.

A similar amount was granted last year and Ms Delaney said the repeat provision will help to fund front line services in Offaly in the coming year.

But she warned: However, it should be noted that this funding has been recommitted for 2022 only and a permanent solution for this loss of income will be required to ensure the long term financial stability of Offaly County Council.

The draft budget provides for 150,000 to offset loan repayments for the Tullamore Arts Centre, which is currently being constructed and is expected to open by the middle of next year.

Another 100,000 is included in the budget for the operation of the arts centre.

Despite the challenges outlined by the council chief, extra funding is also being provided in other areas, notably 210,000 for county roads.

Spending on pre-letting of council houses is going up by 360,000, and house maintenance and repairs by 248,000.
A man who was previously warned to stay out of a Midlands county has successfully applied to have his bail conditions varied to allow him to return, despite Garda objections.

William Stokes, 68 Gleann Riada, Longford, appeared before Judge Kevin Kilraine, and made an application to vary bail conditions to allow him to move back to Longford to his fathers house.

The court heard that Mr Stokes has been living in Dublin with his partner and her family and that thirteen people were living in a three-bedroom house.

I dont want to come around Longford town, Mr Stokes explained, I want to move to my fathers house. Me and my father are very close. He reared me.

He also explained that he hadnt missed any sign-ons since he was last up in court, that he had paid a bail bond of 1,000 and that his father had lodged independent surety of 500.

At the present moment, how is your relationship with the injured party? asked Sgt Mark Mahon.

Ive had no contact with them, Mr Stokes replied.

Has peace been restored? asked Sgt Mahon.

No, said Mr Stokes.

His solicitor, Ms Fiona Baxter pointed out that peace has not been restored because there is a condition on his bail that he have no contact with the injured party.

I have huge concerns and gardai have huge concerns that this man would be a massive draw on resources, said Sgt Mahon.

If he was in the town, he may be a target. The victims may feel vulnerable.

Sergeant, I hear what you have to say, that he may be of threat to the victims and witnesses but he is living in Dublin in very unsatisfactory conditions, said Judge Kilraine.

Its not a million miles away from Edgeworthstown. Anyone is capable of hopping on a train to Edgeworthstown. Its not as if the parties are hugely separated. So Im not entirely concerned by that condition.

As for him becoming a target, I dont live on the moon. Im aware of certain feuds in Longford. Im not sure they could be seen as a target.

Sgt Mahon requested that the issue be put back to the following weeks court sitting, as gardai had not been put on notice of the application until that morning.

I dont think it can be advanced much further, said Judge Kilraine.

Theres some sort of feud going on and by moving back to Longford, certain conditions can be crafted that he stay out of the town.

Im of a mind to grant bail on strict conditions. I note the objection and that may have to be dealt with by application to remove bail. Im not happy with his living conditions in Dublin.

So, Im noting your objection but Im going to grant bail with strict conditions.

With that, Judge Kilraine dropped the independent surety and changed Mr Stokes address to 68 Gleann Riada. However, he is to stay out of Longford town and Edgeworthstown save for court appearances and medical appointments.

He is also to limit his movement in Longford and is not to travel outside of 200m from his fathers house, save for the aforementioned reasons.

If youre going to Mullingar Hospital, youre not to stop, said Judge Kilraine.

Mr Stokes original condition to sign on twice daily was reduced to once daily a few weeks prior to his appearance in Longford.

Judge Kilraine agreed to drop the sign-on conditions completely but ordered him to remain contactable by mobile phone 24/7.

He is also to abide by a curfew of 8pm to 8am and to cooperate with gardai who inspect the curfew.

I want you to understand youve just about made those conditions, Judge Kilraine concluded.

Mr Stokes is due to reappear at Longford Circuit Court on January 11, 2022, at 10.30am.
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Call for input: Report on the rights of persons belonging to religious or belief minorities in situations of conflict The United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Ahmed Shaheed, is preparing his report for the 49th session of the UN Human Rights Council in March 2022, on the rights of persons belonging to religious or belief minorities in situations of conflict1 and insecurity2 Background In the past decade, persons belonging or who are perceived as belonging to religious or belief minorities have been primary targets of violence perpetrated by State and non-State actors in times of conflict and insecurity. They have been targeted with violence against their person and property alike, including sites of religious significance and cultural heritage, with such attacks even threatening their identity and existence altogether in certain cases. From 2014, ISIS has intentionally targeted the Yazidis and other religious or belief minorities in Iraq. In Myanmar, the military is widely accused of committing genocide against the ethno-religious Rohingya minority, especially within the Rakhine state, while armed groups in the Central African Republic have reportedly targeted civilians for killings, torture, and gender-based violence based on their Christian or Muslim identity. At this very moment in Afghanistan the armed terrorist group, Islamic State of Khorasan Province, is escalating deadly violence against the Hazara Shia community and other religious minorities. These are concerning, if non-exhaustive, examples of minorities in situations of vulnerability facing extreme or existential threats. In many other situations of conflict and insecurity, religious or belief minorities may not be primary targets of hostilities, but have become caught in the crosshairs in different ways.3 Conflict parties may attempt to co-opt a religious or belief minority and target the group with violence and hate crimes if such efforts fail. Armed groups or States may instrumentalize sentiments of religious actors to gain supporters, or present themselves as protectors of religious groups, resulting in conflicts being religionized and heightened risks to minorities. In other contexts, pre-existing inequalities based on religion or belief may be compounded in situations of conflict or insecurity including where they are stigmatized and scapegoated during these times of crisis Additionally, persons belonging to religious or belief minorities often sound the alarm that, in conflict resolution and post-transition settings, their needs are sidelined, voices excluded, and their suffering met with impunity. Against this background, the Special Rapporteur aims to provide an evidence-based analysis of the multi-layered and layered experiences of persons belonging to religious or belief minorities in situations of conflict and insecurity. He will explore if, why, and how religious or belief minorities are exposed to particular risks of experiencing human rights violations in these situations and how these risks can be ameliorated. Furthermore, he aims to survey how a range of relevant stakeholders  including States, non-State actors, religious leaders, humanitarian agencies and conflict resolution professionals  could adopt a human rights approach in responding to the needs of rights-holders and in laying the groundwork for inclusive transitions from conflict and insecurity towards peace. In accordance with the Special Rapporteur's mandate, the report will apply a gender perspective in collecting data, identifying gender-specific abuses, and making recommendations. Key questions The Special Rapporteur invites all interested parties (including States, UN agencies and programmes, other international and regional organizations, national human rights institutions, civil society organizations, faith-based actors, academics and policy experts) to provide input for this report in response to any of the following questions. Experiences of persons belonging to religious or belief minorities in situations of conflict or insecurity: Are there observable trends regarding the experiences of persons belonging to a religious or belief minority in conflict situations? When, where and how are they affected on the basis of their identity?

How do hierarchies of gender, age, or disability impact such experiences of religious or belief minorities?

Are there preconditions that give rise to situations where religious or belief minorities are primary targets of violence by armed groups or otherwise disproportionately suffer during situations of conflict and insecurity?

How do situations of conflict and insecurity compound pre-existing inequalities based on ones identity as a member of a religion or belief minority?

Are there any comprehensive reports or studies on how ones identity as a member of a religious or belief minority could affect their experiences during and after armed conflicts? If not, what are the reasons for this dearth of data?

Among civilians affected by situations of conflict or insecurity, do religious or belief minorities have specific needs? If so, what are they? Are there protection gaps or gaps in accessing remedies and/or lifesaving services for persons belonging to religious or belief minorities who are victims of conflict-related violence?

Are there situations where religious or belief identities are mobilised by parties in a conflict or insecure environment, such as to galvanise populations or to facilitate the constitution of alliances? How does this impact upon the human rights of persons belonging to religious or belief minorities?

What are the potential human rights implications, if any, of mislabelling conflicts as religious in nature, especially for religious or belief minorities in the relevant territory?

Do persons belonging to religious or belief minorities experience particular challenges in situations of displacement?

In peacebuilding, conflict resolution and post-conflict settings, are there challenges to protecting the human rights of religious or belief minorities? If so, please elaborate. In considering the role of relevant stakeholders: Are there any lessons for how State and non-State actors can better protect against human rights violations and atrocities against religious or belief minorities in situations of conflict or insecurity?

What steps can UN Member States, the UN human rights system, international organisations and non-State actors  including humanitarian and security actors, private companies, civil society and religious or belief leaders  take in order to (a) prevent; (b) mitigate; or (c) respond to the human rights challenges experienced by persons belonging to religious or belief minorities in situations of armed conflict?

Are there any examples of good practice that you could point to where State or non-State actors have taken effective measures to prevent, mitigate or respond to human rights violations experienced by persons belonging to religious or belief minorities in situations of armed conflict? This may include practical examples of early warning and preventive mechanisms, policies or practices for delivering humanitarian aid during the conflict or assistance for displaced members of religious or belief minorities. Confidentiality All submissions will be treated confidentially by the Special Rapporteur and used for the sole purpose of preparing this report. Upon completion of the report, all submissions will be published on the website of the UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights, unless the submitter requests otherwise. How to make a submission The Special Rapporteur kindly requests that all submissions are written preferably in English or alternatively in French or Spanish. Submissions should be limited to a maximum of 2,500 words. Additional documents, such as laws and regulations, may be attached in the original language. Submissions can be made until 3 December 2021 and should be sent to ohchr-freedomofreligion@un.org and to damianos.serefidis@un.org. [1] Both non-international armed conflicts and international armed conflicts, as generally defined in international law. See, for example, https://www.icrc.org/en/doc/assets/files/other/opinion-paper-armed-conflict.pdf [2] For the purposes of this document, insecurity is defined as a state of anxiety or fear stemming from perceived internal or external threats. This may arise from enduring violence, disharmony between distinct communities, loss of government authority, growth of criminal violence and inability to provide political goods. [3] In other contexts, of course, members of armed groups are drawn from religious or ethnic minority communities and may be a principal party to a conflict.



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Oregon Treasurys Financial Empowerment Awards recognize standout educators and community champions for their efforts to help more people be prepared to navigate our complex financial system. The awards will be given for the first time in 2022.

The awards are made possible through a collaboration with the Oregon College Savings Plan, which helps Oregon families save for higher education and job training.

Financial Educator: This award recognizes educators and/or administrators who have gone above and beyond to make financial literacy education more widely available, more relevant, and/or more exciting to help students make smarter money decisions, now and in the future. Candidates must be a classroom teacher, educational assistant, librarian, or administrator at an accredited K-12 Oregon public, private, or charter school; school district; or Education Service District in the 2021-22 school year.

The honoree will receive $1,500 and another $500 to their school. In addition, students at the school  chosen at random  will share $500 in scholarships from the Oregon College Savings Plan.

Financial Empowerment Community Champion: An organization, association, business, or education enterprise that is making a positive difference when it comes to improving financial wellness and empowerment for Oregonians. The organization should be based in Oregon or have a significant presence here.

The champion organization will receive $2,000, plus will be able to Pay It Forward and select another financial empowerment-focused organization or effort to receive $500.

The winning educator and community champion organization must agree to be recognized publicly.

Nominations are due by March 1, 2022, and winners will be announced in spring 2022.

Please note that 1-2 letters of recommendation on behalf of the nominee must be submitted to Treasury by the nominator; they can be attached when filling out the nomination form below. Letters should identify how the nominee meets the criteria for the award. Paper nomination forms are also available.

Questions? Please contact us at FinancialEmpowerment@ost.state.or.us


Paul Dean Hicks, 84, passed away on November 6, 2021, in Las Vegas, NV. Dean was born on August 10, 1937, in Rutledge, MO, first son of Clarence Hicks and Madeline (Ewing) Hicks. Dean graduated from Memphis High School, Memphis, MO in 1956. He married Carol Joan Blackwell (deceased February 
Ottumwa, IA (52501)

Today

Considerable clouds early. Some decrease in clouds later in the day. High 41F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

A mostly clear sky. Low 26F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.
A Michigan summer camp, called Camp Fish Tales, that is proud to provide a place for people with special needs to experience the outdoors, connect with peers and develop life skills is getting a $5,000 donation, with a chance to double the amount to $10,000, from local insurance group, Ieuter Insurance. And Midlanders can help double those funds by sharing the campaign on social media.

Ieuter Insuarance Group is able to donate to CFT because it earned an award Friday from Liberty Mutual and Safeco Insurance in recognition of its prior "exceptional volunteerism" with the camp. For more than five years, along with generous financial support, Ieuter employees haved volunteered at the camp, provided printing and postage services and contributed in other ways, according to a press release.

The award, called the Make More Happen Award, includes the $5,000 donation, with a chance to double the amount, that will go toward providing funding for families to send their loved ones to the summer camp. A $10,000 donation would help 15 campers attend a weeklong summer session, at no cost to their families or caregivers, according to the campaign.

"We are so proud of our agents and their commitment to volunteering for important causes in their local communities to raise both funds and awareness," said Safeco Insurance Midwest Region Senior Territory Manager Tom Asiala in a press release. "The Make More Happen Awards allow our agents to make an even greater impact in the Pinconning-area and we hope it motivates others to do the same."

Happening now, the story of Ieuter Insurance and CFT is featured on the official Make More Happen website here allowing the nonprofit a chance to earn the additional $5,000.

To vote, share the story using the blue icons to the left on the campaign site. Every vote or comment gets CFT closer to a $10,000 donation.

If the story receives at least 500 votesshares to social media and comments on their storythe donation will be doubled to $10,000.

"We take so much for granted that we have no idea how much this camp means to those with special needs, said Karl Ieuter, an independent agent for Ieuter Insurance. "To see their genuine enjoyment shows us how important this camp is to our community, and there is nothing like having a safe space for our kids to feel like they can be themselves."

Karl Ieuter is also the Vice Chair of the Board of Directors at CFT and serves on three other committees at the camp.

We are so grateful to Ieuter Insurance Group, Safeco and Liberty Mutual for partnering together to create an opportunity for Camp Fish Tales," Shannon Forshee, executive director of CFT wrote in an email. "We are a small, but MIGHTY nonprofit that creates unforgettable memories for campers of all ages and all disabilities. We need your comments and your shares to get 500 votes to win another 5k!!"

CFT's policy is to never turn a prospective camper away based on their ability to pay, so with increasing numbers of scholarship requests, the donation will allow them to support those who otherwise might not be able to attend, according to Forshee.

In addition, the 67-acre camp offers fishing, hiking, boating, swimming, archery, crafts and other classic summer camp activities that are tailored to different needs and age groups.

One of the most popular camp features is the inclusive playground equipment. A wheelchair platform swing, specialized merry-go-rounds, the only handicap-accessible zipline in Michigan and a tailored archery range allow everyone to enjoy a full summer camp experience, according to Forshee.

Ieuter Insurance was one of the the 34 independent agents nationwide that Liberty Mutual and Safeco Insurance are selecting this year for a Make More Happen Award, donating up to $340,000 to the nonprofits they support.
The following list includes recent reports from the Midland County Sheriffs Office and the Midland Police Department. Compiled by reporter Tess DeGayner.

Thursday, Nov. 11:

11:27 p.m.  Officers responded to a suspicious situation near the 1000 block of Eastlawn Drive.

10:41 p.m.  Deputies were dispatched to Jasper Township regarding damage to a property. A report was forwarded to the Prosecuting Attorney's Office for review, and a 20-year-old male was transported to the MidMichigan Medical Center for a mental health petition.

9:47 p.m.  A 32-year-old Sanford woman spoke with a deputy in the Village of Sanford regarding neighbor issues.

9:10 p.m.  A dog suffered an injury to his mouth by an arrow. A deputy was sent to a Lee Township residence regarding the dog, which was injured by a hunter, and there are no suspects at this time.

9:05 p.m.  A deputy responded to an Edenville Township home regarding a report of breaking-and-entering. The 30-year-old Edenville Township male resident advised that an unknown person entered his home while he was not there. No items were taken.

8:24 p.m.  A deputy responded to a car-deer crash on a Warren Township roadway.

7:38 p.m.  A deputy responded to a single delayed-vehicle property damage crash on a Mills Township roadway.

5:45 p.m.  A 38-year-old Midland male was cited for driving with a suspended license and "violation-of-basic-speed-limits" following a single-vehicle crash in Larkin Township.

5:19 p.m.  Officers provided general assistance near the 1000 block of South Saginaw Road.

4:45 p.m.  A deputy spoke with a Lincoln Township couple, ages 77 and 78, regarding issues with a 58-year-old female neighbor. The neighbor recently became confrontational toward the couple, and the deputy explained the personal protection order process. The couple did not wish for the deputy to speak with the neighbor at the time of the report.

3:42 p.m.  An unknown subject driving a black SUV drove away from a Warren Township gas station without paying for $15.04 in gas.

1:38 p.m.  A deputy assisted a 50-year-old female to get her license from her neighbors, who were trying to help her get a state assistance card back. The female wasn't happy with how long it was taking the neighbors. The deputy was able to get her license back and no further assistance was needed.

1:37 p.m.  A deputy answered questions from a 73-year-old Jasper Township male about getting a mental health pick-up order for his 54-year-old wife, who reportedly has some mental health concerns.

1:16 p.m.  Officers were dispatched to the 900 block of Wyllys Street regarding an ordinance violation and an animal complaint.

6:02 a.m.  Officers responded to a traffic hazard near the Eastman Avenue on-ramp heading eastbound on US-10.

3:28 a.m.  Officers responded to a false alarm near the 2800 block of Schuette Road.

3:12 a.m.  Officers assisted EMS near the 1400 block of Fournie Street.
After a one-year hiatus, the "man in red" is preparing for his triumphant return on Saturday, Nov. 20 with the Midland Santa Holiday Parade through the city streets, themed Lets Celebrate.

Organizers Steve and Nicky Smith said there are about 80 entries in this years parade, which they agree is about normal. This years parade will feature a new entry that will most likely be enjoyed by all, especially dog lovers.

Native Midlander Faye Burlington grew up going to the Midland Santa Holiday Parade that started in 1985, and since moving to California, she religiously returns each year. Last year, she was heartbroken when it was canceled due to COVID.

There is something magical about this parade, Burlington said. Last year, I had my ticket home booked and then found out in October it was canceled -- the one year so many people were definitely looking forward to it, just for a sign of something normal."

In reporting on the parade, the Daily News has learned that people have many traditions regarding the Midland Santa Holiday Parade.

Some people leave the parade and volunteer at various agencies, some go shopping, and others visit with the many relatives that gather in town for the event. One thing uniting them is that the parade ushers in the holiday season.

This is when the Christmas season officially begins, said Adam Blakley at the 2019 parade. For 23 years, this has been the moment when I get into the Christmas spirit. Before this, Im usually not anywhere close to in the mood.

Also at the 2019 parade, Midlander Nancy Kawiecki, who attended the very first Midland Santa Parade in 1985 with her children, returned to watch it with her son, his wife and her granddaughters. She said its a tradition where family memories are made.

Kawiecki said, Its all about making memories, family time, and it starts off the holidays.

The 2019 parade was themed "Merry and Bright" and impressed a large crowd with nearly 100 entries. Past entries have included animals, a live nativity, exercise classes, public servants, a gingerbread house, the Michigan Humane Society, area businesses, local politicians, sometimes Mickey and Minnie Mouse in their holiday attire, the Grinch, Frosty the Snowman, and much more.

Sometimes its a parade that gives children their first glimpse of Santa Claus. For example, Tina and Ted Williams of Midland brought their 18-month-old daughter, Taylor, to the last parade anxious to see how she would take to Santa. They were joyful when she saw the jolly red man in the parade and smiled.

Whew, thats a load off my chest, Tina said.

Tyler and Kaeleen Homrich of Midland brought their 4-year-old daughter, Decklynn, to the 2019 event and waited with bated breath to see how she would react to Santa, noting she had been leery of him in the past. And after seeing her happy response to the man in the parade, they felt comfortable that this was the year she would gladly sit on Santas lap.

The Midland Santa Holiday Parade steps off from Midland High School at 10 a.m. and follows Eastlawn, then turns right on Saginaw Road, left on Ashman, and finally left on Main Street.

Radio station WMPX/WMRX will do the announcing during the parade.

Platinum sponsors of the parade include Biggby Coffee, Dow Chemical Foundation, SAMSA, Horizon Bank and Midland Daily News. Biggby Coffee is a new sponsor this year.

To learn more about the parade, visit www.midlandsantaparade.org.
LANSING, Mich. (AP)  Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Friday vetoed a bill that would prohibit Michigan's workplace safety agency from fining employers for first-time violations of COVID-19 rules and require reimbursements if they violated her 2020 executive orders that were later declared unconstitutional.

The Democratic governor said the Republican-sponsored legislation would cause the state, which enforces workplace safety rules, to fall below minimum standards required by federal law.
A young Beaverton resident has caught both the eyes and stomachs of many Midland area residents.

Cheyenne Smith, 11, isn't certain what she'll be doing for a living yet. But right now, she's filling the bellies of many area residents and their families with a holiday favorite: pies.

Smith's mother Abby, shared a social media post to a community Facebook group, AskMidland, that has more than 37,000 users. The post has generated more than 250 likes and 25 shares.

The two have cooked and baked together since Cheyenne was a toddler. Over the years, Cheyenne has learned to make items from lentil soup to French toast.

The Daily News spoke with Cheyenne about her new business selling pies. In the last month, she said she has sold to 50 or more customers.

MDN: Do you feel like a business owner? Is it a future career, or hobby?

Cheyenne: "Not really, it's just a hobby and a way to save up money for the future."

How long have you been making pies? Why did you start?

"I've been making pies since August 2021. I just had a desire to make a pie one day and looked up a video on YouTube and tried it and my family loved it."

Why do you enjoy doing this?

"I love to bake, be creative and save money. My favorite part about making the pies is adding artistic details and hearing about how much people enjoy them."

What's it been like to sell a creation you made? What do your customers have to say about the pies?

"It's super fun and satisfying to sell something I put time into creating. My customers have been very encouraging saying the pies are delicious and beautiful and that they will be telling others."

Do you have any unique offerings that you'd like to highlight?

"I offer custom crust designs for the top of the pies, so if someone wants a certain design or logo, I will do my best to create it."

Do you have any pie tips that you're willing to share with other local bakers?

"Make sure your crust isn't too dry or too moist, and make sure you refrigerate your crust before rolling it out. A pizza cutter is a great tool for making designs."

How are you preparing for the holidays?

"Whenever I have an order, I always make extras and put them in our big chest freezer to stay stocked."

What does your family say about this opportunity?

"They are very encouraging and help me as much as possible. My dad makes sure my ingredients are stocked. My mom and sister help with preparing the crust or filling, and they help with cleaning up. My mom (also) takes the pictures, advertises and keeps track of orders. I couldn't do it without their help."

Midland area residents can purchase "Chey's Pies" made from scratch by Cheyenne on Facebook, run by her family.

Abby wrote that the pies come unbaked in a 9" pan with a cover and instructions inside. She also noted Cheyenne brushes an egg wash over the crust with the goal of creating a golden tone when baked.

As a way to save the dessert for the holidays, Abby said the pies can be frozen for storage.
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Spencer McKee is OutThere Colorado's Director of Content and Operations. In his spare time, Spencer loves to hike, rock climb, and trail run. He's on a mission to summit all 58 of Colorado's fourteeners and has already climbed more than half.
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - Libyan Prime Minister, Abdelhamid al-Dbaiba, has affirmed that his participation in the Paris International Conference on Libya, also attended by the Chairman of the Libyan Presidential Council aims at supporting efforts to hold elections on time and respecting their results to sustain efforts for stability and peace in the country
Photo: (Photo : Lechenie Nakromanie/Pixabay)

A teenager from North Carolina, who was reported missing by her parents, used the hand signal for domestic violence that she picked up on TikTok to tell other people that she was in danger.

According to the police, the unnamed 16-year-old girl was sitting at the passenger side of her abductor's car, where she was gesturing to other drivers for help. She used a familiar sign among TikTok users that represented domestic violence and also relayed, "I need help." Her abductor was a 61-year-old man whose relationship to the victim was not divulged.

Nevertheless, the hand signal for domestic violence sounded off the alarm that led to the rescue of the teenager, thanks to the driver who recognized it and called 911. As soon as the call was made, Laurel County officers were dispatched to the highway to enforce traffic stops and check all cars driving by for a teenage passenger.

Read Also: Ohio Dad, 79, Faces Domestic Violence Charge for Shooting Son Who Played Guitar Too Long

The arrest of James Herbert Brick

Following hours of check on the highway, the police were able to arrest and charge James Herbert Brick, from Cherokee, North Carolina, with unlawful imprisonment. According to CNET, Brick also had contents on his phone that "portrayed a girl in a sexual manner," so they charged him with "possession of matter sex performance by a minor" as well.

The police learned that the rescued teenager was a missing juvenile who had "got on" with Brick to North Carolina during the investigations. They then traveled to Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio, where the abductor had relatives. However, when his relatives realized that she was a minor and likely had a missing person's report, Brick decided to leave immediately and traveled southbound with his victim.

According to People, Brick has been detained at the Laurel County Correctional Center since his arrest and is awaiting his court date. A 10,000 cash bond has been issued for his temporary release, but it's still unclear if he has taken on the services of a private lawyer or has the means to pay for his bail.

The Signal for Help

Meanwhile, the teenager said that she knew about the hand gesture from watching TikTok videos. According to NBC News, the Canadian Women's Foundation launched this hand signal for domestic violence in November 2020 amid several victims who were forced to stay home with their aggressors because of the pandemic lockdowns. It has subsequently been adopted on a global scale as a way for victims of domestic violence to ask for help without alarming their aggressors, and it became popular on TikTok.

"We don't know how long, coming down the interstate from Ohio, that she had been doing this to other motorists hoping that they would notice that she was in distress," Laurel County Sheriff's Deputy Gilbert Acciardo said. "But finally, someone did recognize it."

Related Article: Domestic Violence Study Reveals Majority of Survivors Suffer Hidden Brain Injuries With Long-term Impact
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Apple offered to pay $29.9 million to employees who claimed they were subjected to routine searches of their bags off the clock in a settlement proposal filed in federal court Friday, according to Courthouse News Service's reporter Matthew Renda.

"This is a significant, non-reversionary settlement reached after nearly eight years of hard-fought litigation," wrote Lee Shalov, plaintiff for the attorney, in the proposed settlement.

The case hinged on a practice Apple implemented that required employees to show their bags and Apple devices before leaving work. These procedures occurred off the clock; a class of employees sued in 2013, arguing they should be paid for their time undergoing security checks.

"If approved, this will be the largest reported settlement in a security search case in California," Shalov wrote. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

The California Supreme Court ruled in February 2020 that Apple should be on the hook for the mandatory searches.

California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye chastised Apple for arguing employees could have left their iPhones and other devices at home given the companys effusive rhetoric around the devices.

"The irony and inconsistency of Apples argument must be noted," Cantil-Sakauye wrote in the judgment. "Its characterization of the iPhone as unnecessary for its own employees is directly at odds with its description of the iPhone as an integrated and integral part of the lives of everyone else." For more, read the full Courthouse News Service report.
This comes at the background of massive support to the start-up and entrepreneurial ecosystem in Ghana.



So far, under 3years over a million applications came through, out of which 555 applicants pitched and 32 of them had funding.



Investment over 100 Million Ghana Cedis has gone into these businesses.



With their tremendous equity support, they were recognised early this year by the made in Ghana awards as an emerging brand of the year.



Quick Angels is the first commercialised angel investor company in Ghana that seeks to support start-ups and entrepreneurs with equity financing.



The company was launched on the 8th of May 2019.

Source: 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.

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The family of the late former president, Jerry John Rawlings is today Friday November 12, 2021 holding a commemorative mass to mark the first year anniversary of his demise.



All clad in white, his late wife, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, surrounded by her 4 children were captured showing up for their fathers memorial service at the Holy Spirit Cathedral at Adabraka.



The former Ghanaian leader passed away on November 12, 2020 after a short illness at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.



People from all works of life including government officials, traditional leaders, political leaders, members of parliament, diplomats, cadres and many sympathisers are expected to attend the mass service.



Already, some notable personalities including the family and children of the former president have been captured at the mass service.



Others are; Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, Chief of Staff, Frema Osei Opare, former President John Dramani Mahama, Chairman of the National Democratic Congress, Ofosu Ampofo and many more.



See images of the JJ's family below;





























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Madam Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration says the government is committed to using ICT education to transform the countrys agro-based economy into a knowledge-based one.



She said through the effective use of ICT tools for the expansion of the base of the national economy, there would be the creation of employment opportunities for the youth.



Madam Botchway was speaking at the Launch of Huawei Digital Skills Training for Female Students and Residents in the Ga Central Municipality in Accra.



The objective of the training is to bridge the gender gap in ICT, motivate women and young girls to consider careers in ICT and other STEM-related disciplines.



It is also to deepen China-Ghana (SINO-Ghana) bilateral relations in line with the mandate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration and equip women and girls with ICT skills to enable them to thrive in the modern world.



She said central to this ambition was the need to address the gender digital divide, especially of young girls lagging in ICT Education.



The Minister said the government had led efforts to bridge the widening ICT gender gap as well as accomplish Sustainable Development Goals 5 on Achieving Gender Equality and Empowering all Women and Girls.



She said the partnership programme with Huawei (Huawei Seeds for the Future-Women in Tech) was in the right direction.



"My Ministry will continue to work with Huawei and other multinationals to ensure that Ghana continues to be a preferred business destination," he added.



Mr Tommy Zhou, Managing Director, Huawei Technologies, Ghana said while promoting ICT, they would be contributing their quota towards the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 5, of achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls through ICT.



He said the significance of technology could not be underestimated given its impact on societies and economies.



"As the 4th Industrial Revolution beacons, all hands are needed on deck to fully realize the full potentials of digitalization," he said.



The Managing Director said according to the World Economic Forum gender gap report, women represent around 26 per cent of the STEM workforce in developed countries with a far lower number for developing countries with men outnumbering women in most ICT and STEM fields in general.



He said it was in line with this that Huawei decided to partner with the office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration and Ga Central Municipal Assembly (Anyaa Sowutuom) on the initiative.



Mr Zhou said the initiative would add to the plethora of activities being undertaken as part of the Huawei Women in Technology initiative, which sought to actively bridge the gender gap in ICT.



"At Huawei, we believe that technology innovation can be led by women, and technology in its end can empower women," he added.



The Managing Director said in the digital era, the most important measure to bridge the digital gender gap was through education.



He said the launch formed part of efforts to fulfill a commitment they made to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to offer ICT training to 10,000 Ghanaians to enter the industry by 2024.



"As a global ICT Leader, Huawei shall continue to nurture ICT talents in the country to help drive Ghanas Digitalization Agenda," added.



During the scheduled one-week Digital Workshop for the ladies in the Municipality, Huawei has planned a series of capacity-building activities for all participating beneficiaries.



The first part of the workshop will be focused on offering basic Coding training to Senior High School ladies.



The second part will offer basic training in FinTech (Financial Technology) to businesswomen and traders in the Municipal to empower them to go digital with their businesses.

Source: GNA









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The Northern Regional Police Command says it is taking measures to stabilize the traumatized Head-teacher of the St Charles Lwanga Junior High School, Mr Emmanuel Chenjah, before prosecution.



The Head-teacher had directed some 31 pupils of his School, in the Saboba District of the Northern Region, to work on his rice farm, of which eight got drowned upon their return when one of the two canoes they were traveling on capsized in the Oti River on Friday.



Superintendent of Police, Mr Baba Ananga, the Northern Regional Police Crime Officer, who disclosed this to the Ghana News Agency, said Mr Chenjah's condition could not immediately allow for charges to be preferred against him until he was stable to face prosecution.



Even though the Crime Officer could not immediately state charges likely to be preferred against the suspect, he was optimistic that the suspect would assist to bring justice to the children and their families.



Mr Ananga said the eight bodies had been deposited at the Assemblies of God District Hospital in Saboba, pending autopsy.

Source: GNA









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Seven bodies have been retrieved after a canoe which was ferrying some students of the Saint Charles Lwanga Junior High School (JHS) at Saboba in the Northern Region capsized on the Oti River.



Three other students were still missing as of press time yesterday.



The victims were among 31 students of the school who had allegedly gone to work on their headmasters farm earlier in the day and were returning home in batches when the disaster struck.



According to sources, the students went to the farm of the headmaster, Mr Emmanuel Chinja, to harvest rice, and upon returning home 10 of the students on board a canoe, which they were paddling themselves, capsized.



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The Saboba District Police Commander, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Mr Shine Zoiku, confirmed the incident and said personnel of the Ghana Police Service and the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), as well as some residents of the area were on a mission to retrieve the remaining bodies from the river.





He called on residents of the area to help identify the bodies.



The District Chief Executive of Saboba, Mr George Bingrini, also confirmed the incident to the Daily Graphic but said he could not speak about it because he was rushing to the scene.



Eyewitness account



According to eyewitnesses, the incident occurred at Buntu, a farming community near Saboba, yesterday afternoon.





They said on their return from the farm, the students were paddling two canoes by themselves but one of the canoes could not reach its destination as it capsized.



The headmaster is said to be assisting the police in their investigation.





Source: graphiconline.com









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The Member of Parliament for Tamale Central, Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, has described the acts of homosexuality as stupidity in response to the claims that the practice is a thing that sits well in modernization.



Speaking in an exclusive interview with GhanaWeb at parliament on the sidelines of the consideration of the LGBTQ+ memoranda before the Legal and Constitutional Committee of Parliament, he said the attempts to introduce homosexuality in the country is an affront to our independence.



It is another form of trying to re-colonize us. It is against our culture; it is an affront to our beliefs. It is an affront to our religions; it is an affront to our social being and it is an affront to our laws. Show me one single ethnic group in Ghana or one single tribe or one single religion that supports LGBTQ, he said.



He went on to state, in response to a question on whether or not this is not because of modernization, that the acts of persons engaged in homosexuality, is pure stupidity and a thing that is nonsensical.



I dont call it modernization: I call it stupidity. What do they mean by modernization? It is against our values so it is modernizing to disagree and outlaw polygamy in Europe and America, and it is modernizing to accept LGBTQ nonsense. As a matter of fact, the LGBTQ plans, you dont even know what it means. So, this idea of modernization or civilization for me is utterly nonsense, he said.

















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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.
d the story  as he says was told him privately by former president Jerry John Rawlings  about how the Americans forced the late Ghanaian military leader to return the West African nation to democratic rule after having led a junta for eleven years.



Rawlings Coup History



Mr Rawlings was a 32-year-old Ghanaian air force officer when he first attempted to overthrow what he considered a corrupt national government in May 1979.



He was jailed but soon became a hero to the countrys poor people and military.



With the help of disaffected soldiers and non-commissioned officers, he escaped from jail on June 4, 1979, then proceeded to a radio station to urge his followers to seize power.



By the end of the day, the countrys military leader, Frederick Akuffo, had been toppled.



Mr Rawlings, who was often known as Flight Lt. Rawlings for his military rank, charged Akuffos regime with corruption and profiteering.



The rich became richer, including the high military officers, and most of us were starving, he said at the time. Ive always wanted to do something to correct injustice.



A presidential election was already scheduled, and Mr Rawlings vowed to step aside in favour of the new democratically elected leader.



But during his 112 days in power, he oversaw the hasty creation of military tribunals that put Akuffo and two other former heads of state on trial.



They were executed, along with numerous high-ranking officials.



True to his word, Mr Rawlings and other coup leaders returned to their military positions when Ghanas new president, Hilla Limann, was sworn into office.



In a speech before the countrys parliament, Mr Rawlings looked directly at Limann and issued an unmistakable warning.



If people in power use their offices to pursue self-interest, they will be resisted and unseated, he said, before ominously adding, We have every confidence that we shall never regret our decision to go back to the barracks.



In 1957, Ghana became Africas first sub-Saharan country to declare independence from a colonial power, in its case, Great Britain.



After Ghanas first president, Kwame Nkrumah, was overthrown in a military coup in 1966, the country faced increasing poverty and unrest under a series of military and civilian leaders.



That trend continued during Limanns first two years in office, as Mr Rawlings travelled throughout the country, giving speeches to large crowds and denouncing what he called the rottenness of a system that would permit those same corrupt forces to retain their hold on Ghanaian life.



Limann mocked Mr Rawlings as that boy, and others maligned his interracial parentage, calling him half African.



On December 31, 1981, Mr Rawlings led a second coup, calling Limann and his supporters a pack of criminals who bled Ghana to the bone.



This time, Mr Rawlings had no intention of relinquishing authority.



He dissolved the countrys parliament, abolished the constitution and banned all political parties except his own.



He aimed to establish a socialist state in Ghana, espousing admiration for Libya and its dictator Moammar Gaddafi.



I am prepared at this moment to face a firing squad if what I try to do for the second time in my life does not meet the approval of Ghanaians, Mr Rawlings announced at the time.



In 1992, after more than 10 years of a one-man rule, Mr Rawlings ran for election and won the presidency with 58 per cent of the vote.



How The US Forced Rawlings To Return Ghana To Democracy



Speaking in a one-on-one interview with Nana Yaw Adwenpa on CTVs morning show Dwabremu on Friday, 11 November 2021 to mark the first anniversary of Mr Rawlings death, his former aide, in answering a question about whether he thought Mr Rawlings return of the country to constitutional rule was premature, Mr Smith said: Did he have a choice?



I dont think so because thats what he [Rawlings] told me.



I asked him one day that: It looks as if youre showing interest in the way things are being done in the country again  this is [a conversation] outside office when we were working together  and, so, asked him: Then why did you hand over? This is in a private conversation. If youre now beginning to show interest, was it the case that you got tired and that you should have taken some leave just to renew your desire to continue with the good work you were doing? And, he said: Did I have a choice? And I said: What do you mean by did you have a choice? He said: I was not given a choice.



Mr Smith continued: He [Rawlings] had a visitor; one day, he said he was at the air force station going for a flight and, I think he was told that the US ambassador and an emissary from the State Department needed to see him.



So, he came back to the castle and he sat down with these two gentlemen and the ambassador introduced the gentleman and the ambassador left the room.



Then, the other gentleman gave him [Rawlings] a letter. He opened it and looked at it and was trying to ask the gentleman questions. And, the guy was like: Im not to discuss this matter.



Simply put, the letter said: Prepare the country for democratic rule. He was not supposed to discuss it with you; he was supposed to hand it over to you to read. I said: Really? He said: Yes. So, at that point in time, he knew that the Americans had done it before; we all know they played a certain role in Nkrumahs overthrow, so, if theyve started to say that: Prepare the country for democracy, its either other people have gone to the Americans  and we know who went to the Americans to try and push for democratic rule  that is not to suggest that he didnt want democratic rule but he wanted to see this country progress and transform quicker than  we were slow, Mr Smith recounted.





Source: classfmonline.com









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This hand made sign from the heart was put up on the Swiss Chalet door Sunday night when the restaurant ran out of chicken about 7 p.m. on its closing night.
A person places their poppy on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier following the a Remembrance Day ceremony at the National War Memorial, in Ottawa, Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Quebec Premier Francois Legault responds to reporters questions at a news conference at the legislature in Quebec City, Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021. The Coalition Avenir Quebec will put forward a candidate in the riding of Marie-Victorin, left vacant by the newly elected mayor Longueuil, Catherine Fournier.

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot
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Welcome to Day 2 of Event #71: $1,500 Bounty Pot-Limit Omaha.

This event attracted 860 total entries, with 94 unique individuals returning to play Day 2.

Leading the way into the second day is Frenchman Mourad Amokrane (1,066,000). He is the sole million-plus chip stack of the tournament and will hope to put that chip lead to good use in search of his first WSOP gold bracelet.

Still alive and always a factor is Joseph Di Rosa Rojas (292,000), Dash Dudley (183,000; 2x WSOP Winner),

Joao Vieira (149,000; 1x WSOP Winner), Nick Guagenti (145,000; 1x WSOP Winner), Dario Sammartino (116,000), and Jeff Gross (79,000).

Look for each of these top poker pros to battle it out as they navigate their way to the final table in an attempt at securing a coveted WSOP gold bracelet along with the $132,844 in first-place cash.

The penultimate day of this PLO bounty event will begin with level 15 and consist of ten 60-minute levels with a 15-minute break at the end of each level, and a 60-minute dinner break at the end of level 20 (~8:30 p.m. local time (PST)).

Please stay tuned to PokerNews for continued live updates of this event, or live here at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino where the cards will be back in the air at 3:00 p.m. local time (PST).
The final day of Event #71: $1,500 Bounty Pot-Limit Omaha has arrived!

This tournament had a total of 860 entries with the final 15 returning on Saturday, November 13rd, at 3 p.m. in the Amazon room at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino where they will play down to a winner.

At this point, they are all guaranteed $5,523 but everyone will have their sights set on the $132,844 first-place prize and the WSOP gold bracelet that goes along with it.

When the players return to their seats for the third and final day of this event, Matt Mamiya will carry the chip lead after bagging an impressive 3,100,00 chips after Day 2. Mamiya already secured his biggest career live cash thanks to his deep run in this event.

Right on his steps his Day 1 chipleader Mourad Amokrane with 2,940,000, who managed to maintain his position among the top stacks throughout all the tournament, while experienced Spanish player Paulo Villena complete the podium with 2,080,000 in chips.

The chase for the title wont be an easy task as other notables still in the race and looking to grab their first gold bracelet are Gabe Ramos (1,600,000), Jeff Gross (1,070,000), Matthew Humphrey (1,075,000), Nikolay Yosifov (570,000) and Borja Gross (515,000).

Event #71 Day 2 Top 10 Chip Counts

RANK PLAYER Country Chips Big Blinds 1 Matt Mamiya United States 3,100,000 62 2 Mourad Amokrane France 2,960,000 59 3 Paulo Villena Spain 2,080,000 42 4 Kao Chieng Saechao United States 2,000,000 40 5 Gabe Ramos United States 1,600,000 32 6 Rodney Horton United States 1,595,000 32 7 Todd Jacobs United States 1,360,000 27 8 Ronald Larsen United States 1,205,000 24 9 Ryan Terpstra United States 1,140,000 23 10 Matthew Humphrey United States 1,075,000 22

The players will return and play as many 60-minute levels as it takes to get down to the winner beginning with Level 21, blinds of 25,000/ 50,000 with a 50,000 ante with a15-minute break at the end of every two levels.

Stay tuned to PokerNews for continued live updates of this event, or join us live here at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino where the cards will be in the air at 3 p.m. local time .
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Charleston, SC (29403)

Today

A few showers this morning with overcast skies during the afternoon hours. High 66F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

A few clouds. Low 37F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph.
Moncks Corner, SC (29461)

Today

Rain showers early becoming more intermittent for the afternoon. High 62F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

A few clouds. Low around 35F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph.
A Charleston technology entrepreneur accused of fraudulently amassing and then selling valuable numerical codes that direct internet traffic to electronic devices is heading to trial more than two years after he was charged.

Micfo LLC founder and CEO Amir Golestan recently waived his right to make his case before a jury. The bench trial he requested in front of U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel is scheduled to begin Nov. 15. It is expected to last as long as five days.

The case is being called a first-of-its-kind criminal prosecution for the wide-open internet law frontier.

The alleged fraud stems from unique 32-digit numerical combinations known as internet protocol addresses that enable smartphones and other devices to communicate with each other online. They're assigned in North America and the Caribbean by the American Registry for Internet Numbers Ltd., a Virginia-based nonprofit, and have become a valuable commodity because of their scarcity.

Golestan operated Channel Partners, which in turn was made up of numerous businesses around the country. According to the indictment, he created fake executives and websites for the shell companies in order to obtain the rights to almost 758,000 addresses with a market value of as much as $14.4 million based on previous transactions.

The numbers registry said it believed at first the requests were from legitimate, independently owned businesses but later learned they were based on bogus personas and falsified documents.

"As a former federal prosecutor, I was impressed with the skillful design and tradecraft used in the fraud," a lawyer for the group wrote in a 2019 blog post.

Prosecutors allege Golestan completed two sales of about 130,000 numbers in 2017 and 2018 totaling $1.85 million.

Another deal valued at $6.2 million was halted when some of the Channel Partners affiliates sought "transfer" approvals from the address registry in an effort to sell more.

The Micfo CEO later acknowledged he was the "controlling owner" of the sham companies.

Golestan and his East Bay Street firm were indicted in April 2019 on 20 counts of wire fraud, each punishable by up to 20 years in prison. He vowed in a Wall Street Journal report earlier this year to fight the charges, saying he hadn't broken any laws. He also hasn't contested the government's most serious allegations.

The court docket shows Golestan considered changing his plea in late July before opting for a trial. Around the same time, he expressed concerns in a filing about the possibility of jury bias, citing his Middle Eastern descent.

The Iran native has said he started Micfo in 1999 as 16-year-old from his bedroom in Dubai. The company was incorporated in Nevada in 2015 and registered with South Carolina in late 2015, around the time he relocated it from Atlanta.

Golestan moved to the Historic District's swanky South of Broad neighborhood after paying nearly $4 million for a Tradd Street home built in 1800.

According its website, his company owned data centers and provided cloud-based technology services from a building just south of the City Market. He lost the office property after the company he created to own it filed for bankruptcy late last year.

Golestan is being represented by Bart Daniel, a former U.S. attorney for South Carolina. Both attended a pre-trial hearing before Gergel on Nov. 12.

The government's witness list for next week includes three former Micfo employees, an executive from the internet registry and a federal agent who will testify about his efforts to find one of the fictitious executives Golestan fabricated and how that "delayed the process of service in cases of national security," according to a court document.

As part of his defense, Golestan plans to take the stand, along with two software engineers who worked for him. In his trial brief, Daniel said he will stress the fact that before Golestan and Micfo were indicted on criminal charges, they settled a civil case with the registry that included the return of almost half "of the resources they had supposedly obtained through fraud."

"This case represents the rare occasion in which the factual basis for the governments prosecution is largely uncontested," Daniel wrote. He also said he'll seek the judges "careful attention" next week to the "underlying facts, rather than the opinions and characterization of those facts by various witnesses."
An Atlanta-based real estate investor recently sold three Charleston-area apartment developments with nearly 500 units to another firm in Georgia's capital city for $76 million.

Braden Fellman Group bought the 498 units from The RADCO Cos. for about $153,000 each. The previous owner paid $53.25 million, or about $107,000 per unit, in 2017 and 2018, according to Charleston County land records.

The sold properties include:

the 139-unit Ashford Palmetto Square Apartments at 1551 Sam Rittenberg Blvd. that RADCO acquired in 2018 for $13.82 million;

at 1551 Sam Rittenberg Blvd. that RADCO acquired in 2018 for $13.82 million; the 161-unit Ashford Riverview complex at 1478 Orange Grove Road that the real estate company also bought in 2018 for $16.53 million;

complex at 1478 Orange Grove Road that the real estate company also bought in 2018 for $16.53 million; the 198-unit Radius at West Ashley at 2040 Ashley River Road that the firm acquired in 2017 for $22.9 million.

The recent individual sale prices for each property were not immediately available.

A Berkadia investment sales team led by Andrew Mays brokered the transaction.

RADCO CEO Norman Radow said the company stabilized and improved the older communities under the firm's ownership.

Ashford Palmetto Square includes one- and two-bedroom floor plans while Ashford Riverview and Radius offer one- to three-bedroom options.

More multifamily

A new apartment project is planned on Daniel Island.

Woodfield Acquisitions LLC, an affiliate of Woodfield Investments of the Isle of Palms, wants to build 175 multifamily units in five buildings along with a clubhouse on about 6 acres off Daniel Island Drive and Fairchild Street.

The two parcels slated for development near Beresford Creek are owned by DIEC III LLC and DIEC IV LLC.

Also, an affiliate of Atlanta-based REA Ventures Group wants to build a new affordable housing apartment complex on the Cainhoy peninsula.

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The 90-unit Abbington Charleston is being proposed in 10 buildings on 7 acres at 2101 Clements Ferry Road in the Charleston portion of Berkeley County.

Plans call for 18 one-bedroom units, 42 two-bedroom apartments and 30 three-bedroom suites.

Prepping for growth

With the widening of Clements Ferry Road underway and more development coming to the Cainhoy peninsula, the owner of a sizable tract on the once-rural highway in the Charleston part of Berkeley County wants to change the land use.

Goldfinch Girls LLC of West Columbia is asking the city of Charleston to change the zoning on the nearly 63-acre site to general business from a manufactured residential classification, generally a sign that more retail or a mix of business uses is in the works.

The acreage, which straddles Clements Ferry, changed hands in 2018 for $2 million, according to Berkeley County land records.

The road-facing property is north of the Publix-anchored Point Hope Shopping Center and south of Nelliefield Creek Drive, which leads to a subdivision off Clements Ferry Road. The site also is a couple of miles south of a proposed 1,000-home Del Webb community for the 55-plus age group.

Storage fund

A Mount Pleasant real estate investor recently set up a $50 million equity fund to purchase, upgrade and develop 15 storage facilities at sites mostly across the Southeast and Sunbelt states.

Ziff Real Estate Partners said in a statement the company plans to launch the ZRP Storage Opportunity Fund to buy and expand storage facilities, redevelop non-storage properties into first-class sites and construct new storage buildings.

The new fund has been used already to buy a 30,000-square-foot property in Englewood, Fla., and it will be expanded by 38,000 square feet, according to a company spokeswoman.

Two storage facilities are set to be acquired by the end of the year, with three more in the works, the company said.
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Retail real estate vacancy falls below 5%

The recent move by Palmetto State Armory to take over a vacant Bi-Lo big-box space in West Ashley by moving from a store in Mount Pleasant means one large empty space is slated to be filled while another will become available.

That brought to mind just how the retail real estate market is faring, given the upheaval at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and any lingering effects.

King Street has bounced back for the most part after "For lease" signs popped up on numerous windows last year following the economic lockdown and the May 2020 riot after the killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis.

Numerous restaurants have been announced throughout the Lowcountry in recent months; and suburban retail centers, especially those anchored by grocery stores where most people flocked to last year during the virus outbreak, have been holding their own.

Generally, a vacancy rate below 10 percent is a sign of a healthy market. The latest report from commercial real estate firm Lee & Associates for the July through September quarter of 2021 shows about 4.6 percent of the region's 47.3 million square feet of retail inventory is vacant and the percentage has been falling since the fall of 2020.

Here's a breakdown by quarter from the firm through 2020 and 2021 through September:

1Q 2020: 3.60%

2Q 2020: 3.87%

3Q 2020: 4.97%

4Q 2020: 5.40%

1Q 2021: 5.00%

2Q 2021: 5.13%

3Q 2021: 4.6%

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A Columbia-based firearms and fishing supply retailer plans to move its Mount Pleasant store to West Ashley after buying a shuttered Charleston supermarket site.

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By the numbers

76: Millions of dollars paid for three Charleston apartment complexes by an Atlanta-based firm.

76: Years that Orvin's Furniture has operated in the same location in Moncks Corner. The 17,000-square-foot shop will close Nov. 30.

1,975: Number of homes sold in the Charleston area in October, the second straight month that transactions have dipped after last year's record-setting pace. Still, sales are on track to top last year's figures.

30,116: Square footage of a new Ashley HomeStore headed to a former office supply retail space in Mount Pleasant, giving the national furniture merchant two locations in the Charleston area.

This week in real estate

+ New housing trend: The build-to-rent home market is expected to continue to gain traction after a new development, believed to be the first of its kind in the Charleston area, broke ground recently in southern Moncks Corner.

+ Stairs to repair: Low-lying Charleston has an abundance of raised homes, and many of them have outside staircases in need of repairs. Here are a few tips from a couple of experts to monitor and fix suspect surfaces before they balloon into bigger, more costly problems.

+ Selling and buying: Two Charleston-area firms sold more than 4,000 apartment units recently in 15 complexes across the Southeast for $648 million. They also plan to invest $333 million into nearly 2,300 units in Texas and Tennessee.

The six-bedroom, 6-bathroom oceanfront home at 147 Flyway Drive on Kiawah Island recently sold for $11.65 million.

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GOOSE CREEK  The focus last week at Nexans was on subsea cables and wind power, but the high-voltage cable maker's campus here also expects to play an important role in fixing the nation's aging, land-based power grid.

Nexans on Nov. 9 marked the opening of North America's only under-the-sea electric cable plant  an $80 million expansion of the facility that will supply offshore wind farms around the world with the connections they need to bring power to homes and businesses. The expansion was applauded by renewable energy advocates and brought executives from the Calais, France-based company to Berkeley County.

"New York, Paris, London, Goose Creek," Nexans CEO Christopher Guerin quipped as he talked about how the expansion will bring a focus to this town of 42,000 residents that could perhaps rival those larger world capitals. "Nexans will be a fantastic advertising platform for Goose Creek everywhere in the world."

While Guerin was half joking, he was more serious in stressing the plant's importance to America's electrical future. In addition to its new subsea product, the company still makes the land-based high-voltage cables vital to running a power grid that dates to the 1950s and '60s and is nearing the end of its lifespan. Just as broadband networks replaced their sluggish 2G-era copper wiring with lightning-fast 5G fiber optics, the cables that carry electricity are in need of an upgrade. Guerin compares the current power grids globally to the antiquated 2G cellular networks.

"The power grid and the generation of electricity is the backbone of the country's economy," Guerin said at an event marking the Goose Creek plant expansion. "When infrastructure fails, you have no more telecommunications access, no more heating system and limited water. Due to the aging infrastructure, individual nations need to massively invest to modernize and fortify their electrical infrastructure."

The $1.2 billion infrastructure bill Congress passed this month includes $65 billion to fortify and expand the grid so it can handle more intense storms and heat caused by global warming and the transition from fossil fuel-generated power to renewable sources, perhaps best illustrated by the growing popularity of electric vehicles. President Joe Biden's budget bill, dubbed "Build Back Better," is still being debated by Congress but could provide more money for power grid improvements.

The hope is to avoid events like the Texas winter storm that left more than 4.5 million people and businesses without power earlier this year. The costs associated with power outages  such as spoiled food, business downtimes and equipment damage  are estimated at more than $150 billion per year in the U.S., according to a report by the Las Vegas Sun.

The infrastructure bill funding is a fraction of the roughly $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion that's needed by 2030 to modernize the grid just to the point of maintaining reliability, Battle Investment Group found. Princeton University estimated the cost is even higher, at $2.4 trillion.

"We know that we are entering a huge electrical revolution for the next 10 to 20 years because of the implementation of decarbonated energy (and), in parallel, the renewal of the power grid ..." Guerin told analysts during a Nov. 3 conference call. He added President Biden's budget bill calls for "an equivalent of 20,000 miles" of high-voltage cables for the grid.

It's the type of cable  supersized electric cords several inches in diameter and stretching for miles  that Nexans has been manufacturing in Goose Creek since its plant opened in 2014. The plant makes more than 60 miles of land-based cables, able to handle 450,000 volts of electricity, every year. Most of the cable is sent to North American customers.

"We're proud to be producing products that affect millions of people directly and indirectly," said Brian Boan, director of transformation projects at the Goose Creek site. "We're proud stewards of the environment. Through our production practices, we can help create a sustainable and renewable world for tomorrow through electrification."
COLUMBIA  As brass shells from his M4 carbine popped out to his right and the air around him filled with the smell of gunpowder, Army Staff Sgt. Joshua Featherston continued to site downrange at plastic targets spread out between 50 and 300 meters.

He hit 38 out of 40  sharpshooter status under Army protocol.

Mediocre, Featherston said Nov. 9 as he left the firing grounds late morning.

He had just completed a 2-mile hike carrying more than 30 pounds of equipment and spent the pre-dawn hours doing a heavy workout and geo-locating sites on a map.

Its honestly not that bad of a day, Featherston said. More exercise.

Featherston was taking part in a new competition at Fort Jackson  the Armys largest combat training installation  for the honor of being named top drill sergeant of the 10-week cycle and earning a commendation and bragging rights.

The contest pitted five drill instructors  three men and two women  selected by trainees in the 1st Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment against one another in a grueling day of physical and mental toughness that culminated with a rapid fire quiz in front of officers where they were asked a series of questions about policy and Army code.

Lt. Col. Mike ODonnell, the battalions commander, said the event is meant to remind drill instructors of the arduous tasks they ask of trainees while serving as a refresher for their own skills.

This will be the best drill sergeant of the battalion, ODonnell said.

The winner was Staff Sgt. Benjamin Gersky of Detroit.

Unlike their Hollywood and TV depictions, drill instructors have a nuanced job. While part of it does entail shouting orders at trainees, behind the scenes theyre teaching life lessons. Some hopeful soldiers arrive never before having written a letter or used a washing machine, for instance.

You turn civilians into soldiers. You are their first eyes of the Army. Your job is to send them off to their units with the basic skills, said Staff Sgt. Ashley Salas, a drill instructor in ODonnells battalion.

More than half of the Armys basic combat training load happens at Fort Jackson, so instructors get recruits from every background and geographic area of the country.

Every year, 45,000 trainees become soldiers at the 51,825-acre base, and on a given day 10,000 people will be drilling on its grounds.

Some arrive as teenagers, and deconstructing their habits can be a major challenge. Trainees only get access to cellphones for a few minutes on Sundays, and whom they contact is up to them.

We literally teach them from the smallest little thing how to think outside the box, and we do that in nine weeks, Salas said. The trainees have to do what theyre told and so you have to be hard on them. But then you also have to understand they are human beings and they just dont know, so youve got bring it down to the mentor level.

Contests like the one held Nov. 10 underscore just how vital the drill sergeant is in the Armys ecosystem.

Its everything, ODonnell said. We teach them how to shoot. But some of them have to be taught how to do their laundry.

Because Fort Jackson is the initial entry point for a bulk of the Army's trainees, O'Donnell said its regimens often need to be adjusted to meet the mission. During heavy fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, officials ran simulated convoy routes to acclimate soldiers with driving under fire and using mounted weaponry.

But on Nov. 9, the emphasis was on the few instructors hoping to grind out a win amid elite opposition.

Staff Sgt. Justin Smith, another competing drill sergeant, found a few moments to hydrate while at the firing range.

He took a deep breath and unlatched a 35-pound bag from his shoulders.

Ive had better days, he said with a grin. But its a good competition.
Kingstree, SC (29556)

Today

Light rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers in the afternoon. High near 60F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies. Scattered frost possible. Low 31F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.
MYRTLE BEACH  As Myrtle Beach Mayor Brenda Bethune heads into her second term leading South Carolina's top tourist destination, she said she plans to continue focusing on revitalizing downtown, addressing crime and handling the area's booming growth.

"We all have to be working on this together and being mindful of what's happening around us," Bethune told Post and Courier Myrtle Beach about solving issues throughout the city. "We can't do it in a bubble we need everybody involved to be a part of the solution."

Bethune defeated four challengers  retired police officer Tammie Durant, photographer Gene Ho, retired marketing manager Bill McClure and mechanic C.D. Rozsa  in the Nov. 2 election, receiving almost 56 percent of the citys votes to win outright.

Post and Courier Myrtle Beach spoke with Bethune on Nov. 11 about her continued vision for the Grand Strand in the next four years.

Downtown Revitalization

Revitalizing downtown Myrtle Beach was one of Bethune's biggest campaign promises.

"What people don't get to see is all the behind-the-scenes work," Bethune said. "That's really what's taking place right now."

In 2019, City Council unveiled its Myrtle Beach Downtown Master Plan, which encompasses key elements of how Bethune and the city propose to revive downtown. The plan includes goals for a new arts and innovation district and steps to preserve the Broadway Theater and other historic buildings.

So far, Bethunes downtown plan has added businesses, including Grand Strand Brewing Company, and opened a park, Nance Plaza, which goes along with building renovations along Ninth Avenue North.

One of the new businesses along Ninth Avenue North will be Le Manna, a European bakery, that will lease the old Myrtle Beach Bakery storefront.

Le Manna will be joined by Archetype SC, a tech firm, which works into the cities goals for a new arts and innovation district.

Crime

On the campaign trail, Bethune's opponents expressed concerns about Myrtle Beach's crime rates, pledging to make the issue their top priority.

In the past five years, smaller and non-violent crimes, including theft and breaking and entering, have decreased throughout Myrtle Beach. But violent crimes, including murder, have jumped back up to 2015 numbers, according to the State Law Enforcement Division reports.

"The way I feel about crime is that any crime is too much crime," Bethune said. "But we're never going to have this utopia of no crime in any community, regardless of where it is."

Bethune said solving crime is not as simple as some of her opponents' campaign promises, adding that she plans to continue an aggressive approach with enforcement.

She said City Council would reveal new tactics to deal with crime in the coming weeks.

Bethune's pledged in the past to prioritize public safety. The city has increased the police department's budget by $62,000 in 2020 without increasing property taxes and the department added 10 more police officers.

"We have full faith in our police department, in our chief's capabilities," Bethune said. "And I'm excited to see what all is gonna come out of that."

Growth

Myrtle Beach's population has ballooned over the past 10 years surpassing over 35,000 residents in the state's fastest-growing county. The city's population grew by 32 percent in the past decade, 22nd-fastest overall in South Carolina.

Bethune recognizes the tourist destination's pop in growth, especially with older residents, and wants to use urbanization as a tool to draw in a younger crowd to the city.

Approximately one in five residents in Myrtle Beach is 65 years or older, according to city documents.

"We absolutely need to be a more urban area, because that's what will attract younger people to want to live here, invest here and work here," Bethune said. "They look for those thriving downtowns."
NORTH CHARLESTON  City officials and activists reflected on the role of law enforcement in their community after a long-awaited audit found racial disparities in the Police Departments practices, disconnects around how the agency understands community policing and public skepticism toward the department.

They are joined by some leaders who say the city needs to acknowledge the departments struggles, even as all parties readily recognize the progress made under Chief Reggie Burgess, the first African American to head the agency.

Burgess said in an interview with The Post and Courier he was eager to evaluate the departments current system versus what the audit found and learn from any weaknesses.

Any individual that has an issue with my Police Department, I want to hear it, he said. I want to work on it and make it better.

While city and community leaders largely found the report to be credible, many were frustrated with how the audit was conducted, saying it should have had stronger community engagement.

North Charleston hired northern Virginia-based company CNA last fall to conduct the racial bias assessment of its Police Department for $283,000.

The decision came five years after former North Charleston cop Michael Slager, who is White, fatally shot Walter Scott, a Black man, while Scott fled during a traffic stop.

The slaying sparked calls for increased attention around police and community relations in North Charleston, a city where the population is 47 percent Black and 45 percent White.

CNAs project team worked since March to assess the department's policies and practices. CNA released its final version of the audit on Nov. 5 revealing racial disparities are present in many of the agencys interactions with the community, indicative of potential systemic, organizational or individual bias.

Mayor Keith Summey and city spokesman Ryan Johnson did not respond to phone calls or emails concerning questions about the audit.

City Council members said the municipality must be honest about the departments problems.

Councilman Mike Brown said at the Nov. 9 City Council meeting hes been racially profiled by city police several times over the years.

Brown, who is African American, spoke of a Saturday night encounter he had with two North Charleston officers years ago, before his 2015 election to council.

Brown, a musician, had worked a gospel concert at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center that night and was unloading music equipment into a church off Cross County Road.

Two officers, one White and one Black, pulled up in an unmarked car, inquiring about Browns activities. The officers said he looked suspicious, explaining the area had seen a high number of air-conditioning unit thefts.

Brown explained he had a key and security code to enter the church. When Brown refused to provide his license and registration, they placed him in handcuffs.

It was ridiculous  an abuse of power, Brown said.

If I was a White young man  they would not have put me in handcuffs in front of the church.

Brown said the city has to acknowledge that these sort of instances happen often.

We gotta face it in order for us to fix it, he said.

The balance of community and policing

Burgess said he believes in the power of community policing. When you invest in your community  that is, when you build trust by consistently showing up  you deter crime, he said.

Its a simple formula for the chief, who grew up in North Charleston and first joined the Police Department in 1989 as a street cop.

But its also a delicate balance, this tension between investing in the community while simultaneously policing it.

You got to have community relations, and you got to enforce, Burgess said. But when youre enforcing (the law), you have to treat everyone with the utmost respect.

Some people interviewed for the audit expressed concerns similar to those of Brown's. Among the assessments key findings were that racial disparities are present in many of the departments interactions with the community, and residents are concerned with the perceived overenforcement of certain people and neighborhoods.

But for Burgess, communities drive how his department addresses crime. His officers respond to tips and information provided by victims  not to a specific skin color or gender, for instance. But statistics show a connection between race and crime, as seen in arrest records.

Between 2016 and 2020, North Charleston officers made 24,759 arrests. The majority  63 percent  were Black community members. White community members made up 36 percent of those arrested, the report found, despite the two populations in the city being virtually even.

Most of the incidents North Charleston police respond to occur in socially and economically depressed neighborhoods, which also house majority-minority populations.

Burgess knows this better than most, as he grew up in some of them. Hes seen how people living in these neighborhoods are down and out, and every day for them is a grind. This leads some residents to turn to crime, he said.

Thinking about how to solve the issue is complex. In the interview, Burgess mentioned the need for better home situations, better health care, and a school system thats able to identify a childs strengths and propel them toward opportunities which show them their worth.

These are all factors which drive and perpetuate poverty, which drive and perpetuate crime. But where does law enforcement fit in?

We cant go back and fix the parent problem. We cant go back and fix the educational problem. And we cant fix the health care issue, Burgess said. So we are an entity that has to be in the neighborhood, so that people in a neighborhood  most of them are good, law-abiding citizens  dont give up.

The department has more than 147 community-engagement programs it holds on a monthly basis, Burgess said. The audit corroborated these efforts, finding the department has an evolving community outreach and engagement strategy.

One of the department's community-engagement initiatives is Think Twice, an organization led by North Charleston resident, pastor and activist Thomas Dixon. The group formed after 14-year-old Ronjanae Smith was killed at a party in May after rival gang members opened fire. Fourteen other people were wounded in the mass shooting.

A couple of community members who had been busted for drugs approached Dixon, hoping for change. They wanted to target gun violence in the community  particularly when it comes to innocent people like Smith, who wind up being hurt in the crossfire.

Dixon approached Burgess with his idea, because he knew law enforcement needed to be on board, Dixon said. Now he, neighborhood leaders and plainclothes cops walk through communities, speaking to residents and encouraging them to think twice before using a gun.

More accountability

Some city officials and activists were upset with how CNA conducted the audit. Brown, the councilman who said the city must confront the fact some of its cops target people based on race, questioned whether the firm made enough effort to actively engage the North Charleston community.

The firm interviewed 49 people in addition to hosting community-held listening sessions with 149 residents, according to the report. North Charleston boasts 110,000 people, meaning CNA interviewed 0.18 percent of the population. Additionally, CNA interviewed fewer than 50 of the Police Departments 400 total employees.

Skip Mikell, head of Union Heights neighborhood group, was among those interviewed.

Mikell has a background in quality research, and he offered the firm some fundamental help. But CNA already had a plan for how it would conduct the audit, Mikell said.

If youve got a fixed plan, there is only so much information youre going to find because your effort is to glean only those things that youre looking for already, he said.

His interview with CNA was scripted, making him confined to answering only the questions asked, he said.

It was difficult for the firm to collect information specific to North Charlestons communities.

Dixon felt organizations like CNA pick and choose the voices they wanted to feature  some of which dont have their finger on the pulse of our community, he said.

Even though Dixon, who was also interviewed for the audit, believes CNA could have done a better job in this regard, he agrees with what the audit brought out, and wasnt surprised with its results, he said.

I dont know what segment of the people they interviewed, where they came up with these responses, but they got it right, Dixon said.

Councilman Ron Brinson said the firm shouldve interviewed more police officers. Doing so couldve given more insight into the departments culture, Brinson said.

Still, the councilman said he, too, found the report credible and useful.

CNA did not respond to questions concerning criticisms about the firm's handling of the audit.

While Burgess has been strongly focused on improving police and community relations, activists say the department still needs more public oversight.

Marcus McDonald with Charlestons Black Lives Matter chapter urged the formation of a community oversight board that would have the power to subpoena information, and the ability to hire and fire officers.

The city used to have the Citizens Police Advisory Commission, tasked with enhancing communication between police and the community, but it disbanded. Many community members felt the commission had little power to make recommendations or hold the department accountable for their actions.

Brinson said he was open to the department having a new board to handle community complaints. That board could be modeled after other municipalities where its been successfully implemented, Brinson said.

Establishing a new oversight board that has the authority to terminate officers is key toward bridging relationships between law enforcement and the community, McDonald said.

The audit found there are some North Charleston officers who havent embraced the concept of community policing  there are cops who simply wont accept the model unless their job is at stake, McDonald said.

There needs to be accountability, he said.

Whats next?

Dixon said he was optimistic about the future of law enforcement in North Charleston because of Burgess leadership  a sentiment many others share, according to the audit.

But for real change to happen, leaders must understand the roots of data such as the departments disproportionate arrest statistics. Those roots run deep, and come from decades-long abuse of minorities by law enforcement, Dixon said.

Dismantling the system requires leaders to invest in communities by redistributing municipal funds to expand community-led groups like Think Twice, he said.

The department has hired a procedural justice manager, a civilian whose sole job will be to oversee the implementation of the audits recommendations, Burgess said.

Some of the recommendations are short-term, changes that could be implemented in only a few months; others will take longer. But CNA will break down the recommendations based on their urgency, and work with the department to develop a plan.

The chief plans to start working as soon as possible on the items CNA identified as the most critical, he said. He hopes all necessary recommendations will be implemented by the end of 2022.

North Charleston residents will be updated on the departments progress through all sorts of channels, including social media, he said.

Any way we can get the information out to them, were going to let them know, he said. And well wait for feedback.

The CNA team noted in a Nov. 5 email announcing the final report there would be opportunities throughout the next year for further community engagement.
SUMMERVILLE  Deputies are investigating "hundreds" of text messages between a school bus driver and a teen whose uncle found and reported the communications, authorities said.

The driver, who has not been identified, has been fired. Deputies have not identified the man or the student. But Dorchester District 2's personnel department is working with authorities, a spokeswoman said.

Among the allegations are the driver wanted to "come to (the boy's) house, asking if anyone was home, and to take (the driver) to eat and to a movie," according to a sheriff's incident report. It said the teen's uncle took the phone from the boy "for disciplinary reasons" and "discovered hundreds of text messages exchanged" between the driver and youth.

The uncle told deputies the driver "also sent several requests to (the boy) asking to purchase weed off him and in the messages advised he was texting other children from the bus," according to the report.

Deputies took the phone to conduct their investigation.

A spokeswoman for District 2 said personnel officials are looking into the accusations and cooperating with deputies.

"Today Dorchester School District Two was made aware of allegations of a bus driver sending texts to a high school student," spokeswoman Pat Raynor said. "The Dorchester County Sheriffs Department is investigating and the district is fully cooperating in the investigation. The driver is no longer employed in Dorchester District Two."

Deputies also reached out to the Summerville Police Department, which brought the school's resource officer into the investigation, which is ongoing.
Road rage isnt a crime per se  it's what the enraged drivers do as a result of that rage that can be criminal  so there aren't great statistics about how much more or less of it we're seeing these days. But it was difficult to overlook the back-to-back road-rage incidents in Charleston earlier this month.

On Nov. 2, police had to shut down Calhoun Street between St. Philip and Coming streets for two hours after a man driving a car fired a gun several times at a man driving a scooter during an early morning traffic altercation near the College of Charleston campus. Fortunately, the driver missed.

Things werent so fortunate two days later, when a driver started chasing what he said was a hit-and-run driver in North Charleston: The alleged hit-and-run driver crashed his car into the vigilantes car, and the vigilante pulled out a handgun and started shooting  and killed a passenger in the other car.

Just days after these deadly and near-deadly road rage incidents, the State Law Enforcement Division announced on Monday that homicides in South Carolina hit a 28-year high last year. And we dont mean simply the number of people killed but the rate of South Carolinians who were murdered: 1.08 per 100,000  up from 0.88 in 2019 and no higher than 0.8 since 2006.

SLEDs annual report showed that the rate as well as the number of most major crimes continued to fall in 2020. With the exception of arson (a relatively rare crime whose uptick could be a blip), the only other major crime to see an increase was aggravated assault, which jumped from 38.9 incidents per 10,000 people in 2019 to 42.2 in 2020  the highest rate in a decade and the largest one-year increase in two decades.

Clearly, there can be criminal intent behind both murder and aggravated assault  robbery, for example, or gang violence  but in both cases, as many as 9 out of 10 of the victims knew their assailants. And unlike property crimes, these are heat-of-the-moment crimes. Crimes of anger. Crimes of rage. Sort of like road rage shootings.

It could be a coincidence that the two road rage shootings occurred just two days and nine miles apart. And for all we know, both shooters were hotheads who had always been hotheads.

Yet the uncontrolled rage they represent is the same sort of uncontrolled rage that is sending record numbers of South Carolinians to the hospital and the morgue  and keeping our prisons in business.

These violent outbursts are the extreme manifestations of the disintegration of civility that is sweeping through our nation much like COVID-19 swept through nursing homes: infecting nearly everyone in its path. We see it in profanity-laden outbursts at school board meetings, physical assaults aboard airplanes, threatening messages left for public-health workers, shoving matches between protesters and counter-protesters. Not to mention mean, ugly social media responses that not that long ago we would have been embarrassed for our mothers to see  being posted by grandmothers.

Its no mystery where the anger is coming from. We are exhausted from 20 months of COVID anxiety, lockdowns, economic uncertainty, masks, mask wars, vaccine wars  and no end in sight. That alone has worn down our patience, set us on edge, made us quicker to lash out at anyone and everyone. And thats before we count the police killings of unarmed victims, protests over the protests of those killings and the ubiquitous nastiness that is normalized, encouraged and rewarded by social media and cable news.

We talk constantly about the coarsening of our culture, the polarization of our society, the disruption of normal human relations that has been driven by and is driving our political rift. We need to recognize that the damage goes far beyond politics. It stretches far beyond the disintegrating fabric of society. It seeps into the very soul. It changes us.

And once we recognize what it is doing to us, we can start to counteract its effects in each of us. Only then can we hope to repair the societal damage.
Across two spending packages being offered by the federal government, Guam could stand to receive anywhere from $1.5 billion to nearly $2 billion. Read more
Ive said it before, but will repeat myself: what we have done to our children and young people, in the name of protecting the oldest and sickest in our population, is a crime. We have known for a long time that covid is not dangerous to children, yet they have suffered more than anyone else from the irrational lockdowns that one government after another has imposed. Even today, it is hard to get kids back in school in some areas, and in many it is impossible without requiring masks.

Recent studies out of the U.K. reveal how little children ever had to fear from covid, while at the same documenting the devastating effects of shutdowns on their lives. The Telegraph reports:

Covid killed just six healthy children during the pandemic, while lockdowns have fuelled a timebomb of health disorders among the young, new data showed. The research examining more than 3,000 deaths of under-18s in England in the year since the first lockdown found a tiny proportion were linked to Covid. Just 25 deaths were caused by the virus, and only six of those involved children without underlying conditions.

***

[I]f a child tests positive for the virus, they have a 99.995 per cent chance of surviving.

In any population of tens or hundreds of millions of people, some are going to die. And British children have died, just not from covid:

The same year saw more than 1,100 heart deaths among children, along with almost 1,200 fatalities linked to neurological conditions and more than 450 deaths among under-18s with respiratory conditions, according to research published in the journal Nature Medicine.

***

Separate data show that on average, about 900 children die annually from infectious diseases, with about 90 deaths from flu or pneumonia among children in 2019 in England.

So covid posed an insignificant threat, at worst, to British children, or those in other countries. The effects of government-imposed shutdowns, on the other hand, were devastating:

Meanwhile, a separate study from the University of Oxford showed a 17 per cent fall in diagnoses of childhood cancers in the months following the first lockdown. Researchers found that those diagnosed [with cancer] during the pandemic were twice as likely to be admitted to intensive care before diagnosis, suggesting that the disease was more advanced, when survival chances are worse. In addition, alarming NHS statistics showed that the number of children waiting for treatment for eating disorders has doubled in the past year. The official figures showed more than 2,000 children and young people waiting for treatment in September 2021, up from 860 in a year. Experts said that the slew of data painted a devastating picture of the long-term harm inflicted on children and the problems being stored up for the future.

It is too bad when already-sick people in their 80s and 90s are pushed over the edge by covid. But what we have done to our children in response to the epidemic is a disgrace.
With winter approaching, Europe is facing an energy crisis. To a significant degree, Vladimir Putin is orchestrating it.

Josh Rogin observes that Putin has been refusing to respond swiftly to requests by Europeans for more gas. He is also probably behind the migrant crisis along the Belarus-Poland border. As a result of that crisis, as John noted yesterday, the Belarus president has threatened to close down a key gas pipeline to Europe. (The Washington Post has more on this development here.)

Putin is using the crisis he helped manufacture to make the case for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which is nearing completion. He says that if that pipeline were operational, he could increase the flow of gas to Europe immediately.

However, Rogin counters that, even without that pipeline, Putin could turn up the spigot today if he chose to:

Putin doesnt need a new pipeline to sell gas; he just wants it as another tool to control his neighbors, several of whom are NATO allies.

In this quest, Putin has an ally in Joe Biden. Unlike Donald Trump, whom Democrats and their media allies slanderously claimed was beholden to Putin and therefore doing his bidding, Biden actually is doing Putins bidding on the vital matter of Nord Stream 2.

Rogin reminds us that, during his confirmation hearing for Secretary of State, Antony Blinken testified that the administration was committed to preventing completion of Nord Stream 2. That would have been a continuation of Trumps policy. However, Blinken was overruled by the White House:

In May, the United States waived sanctions on the firm in charge of the project, Nord Stream 2 AG, and its chief executive. National security adviser Jake Sullivan defended the waivers on the grounds that it was a Swiss company, a claim fact checkers called misleading considering it is wholly owned by Gazprom, Russias state-owned energy conglomerate. My Post colleagues reported Blinken was overruled by the White House regarding the sanctions. In June, Blinken called the pipelines completion a fait accompli.

Not to worry, though:

In July, the United States and Germany issued a joint statement in which Germany promised to try to convince Russia not to use the excess capacity created by Nord Stream 2 to cut its exports through Ukraine  a move that could cripple Ukraines economy.

The Biden administrations hope that Putin wont weaponize [the pipeline] against several countries, including Germany, is either disingenuous or naive. When Putin gets powerful leverage, the pattern shows he will surely use it.

Without ever wanting to underestimate the naivety of Team Biden, I vote for disingenuous in this case.

Is there still time to stop Nord Stream 2? Rogin thinks there may be, through aggressive sanctions.

In this connection, he points out that in late September, the House passed a bipartisan amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would require the Biden administration to sanction all companies associated with the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The White House would not have the power to issue a waiver.

Senate Republicans are on board, but Senate Democrats are reluctant to tie the administrations hands. They havent yet said whether they will support nonwaivable sanctions. But unless Joe Bidens hands are tied, there is no hope of stopping the pipeline and therefore no hope of thwarting Putins power play against Europe.

Joe Biden has already proved to be more accommodating to Russia than Donald Trump ever was.
Yesterday President Biden nominated Andrew Luger to serve as United States Attorney for Minnesota. The Star Tribune reported in early September that the FBI was conducting its final background check on Luger prior to his nomination. Something must have held it up. With Lugers formal nomination, I am restating what I wrote this past September.

This would be Lugers second tour. He also served as United States Attorney under President Obama and into the early days of the Trump administration from February 2014 to March 2017. Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar did what she could to engineer Lugers continued service under Trump. Her support wasnt enough then under President Trump, but it is enough now under President Biden.

Lugers work as United States Attorney was highly regarded by Minnesotas federal district judges. He has a stellar reputation.

Luger saved Ilhan Omars nascent political career when the controversy we had ignited over her plural marriages  including her then current marriage to her brother  jeopardized it in August 2016. Luger issued a misleading letter that violated Department of Justice policy and withheld relevant facts. Omars 2016 state legislative campaign instantly put its public relations crisis to bed with this letter from Luger (below).

158_US Attorney August 2016 Letter (1) by Scott Johnson on Scribd

Lugers letter was addressed to Minneapolis criminal attorney Jean Brandl, who had contacted him on behalf of Omar. Brandl, incidentally, had responded to my original August 2016 inquiry regarding Omars marriages. I published her response to me verbatim on Power Line and in the City Journal column The curious case of Ilhan Omar.

Brandl procured Lugers letter to refute the story reported by FOX9 investigative reporter Tom Lyden: Fox 9 has learned U.S. Attorney Andy Luger has asked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to look into Ilhan Omars marriages, because shes in a position of public trust.

Following Lugers letter, FOX9 deep-sixed Lydens story. Lydens story mysteriously disappeared. Ghostly traces exist in this MinnPost story and in Patrick Coolicans Star Tribune story U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger: Not investigating legislative candidate Ilhan Omar Luger denied a Fox 9 report of immigration investigation.

I put this point in italics for the purpose of emphasis: Based on my own reporting, I believe that Lyden had the story right. Lugers letter was not only improper, it was false in substance. The local office of ICE had in fact opened an investigation into Omars immigration status that Luger essentially killed.

I didnt understand the critical impact of Lugers letter until the state campaign finance board released its investigative file in Omars case in June 2019. The testimony of Carla Kjellberg made it clear that Lugers letter saved Omar by extinguishing media interest in the story. I wrote Luger in June 2019:

Andy: Ive been covering the story of Ilhan Omars plural marriages over the past three years on the site Power Line. Reviewing the 2016 Omar campaign crisis committee emails that became public earlier this month, I wonder whether you actually reviewed any documents before sending out your August 22, 2016 letter to Jean Brandl. I also wonder if you ever sent out another such letter announcing that anyone was not under investigation by the Minnesota US Attorneys Office. Would you please let me know if you are willing to respond to these questions and, if so, when you might be able to get back to me with the answers? Thanks. Scott Johnson

Luger promptly responded: Thanks. I will pass on this.

I had no such luck this time around. Early yesterday morning I sent Luger a draft of this post and asked him for any comment by 8:00 a.m. this morning. He has provided no comment.

Former Dakota County District Judge Erica MacDonald was the United States Attorney for Minnesota in 2019. I wrote Public Affairs officer Tasha Rose Zerna to ask Ms. MacDonald about Lugers letter:

I write for the site Power Line. I have been writing for Power Line about Ilhan Omars plural marriages and related issues since Omar won the DFL primary against Phyllis Kahn in August 2016. I was the first of many journalists who received a non-response and accusation of bigotry via attorney Jean Brandl when I asked Omar about it that August. On August 22 [2016] Andy Luger wrote a letter in his capacity as US Attorney to Jean Brandl advising that Omar was not under investigation for immigration fraud and that she was not under investigation. The letter was widely reported at the time and I didnt think much of it. I found the letter again in the state campaign finance board investigative file on Omar.Reading the deposition of Carla Kjellberg, also in the board investigative file, I understood for the first time how important Andys letter was in tamping down the stories about Omars marriages and related issues. I wrote Andy [on Sunday of the week I wrote MacDonald] to ask if he reviewed any documents before sending the letter and if he had ever sent a similar letter announcing that someone was not under investigation by his office. He respondedthat he would prefer not to respond (I will pass on this). It seems to me that the public is owed a substantive response to these simple questions. I am seeking a response from Ms. MacDonald in her capacity as US Attorney. Thank you for your courtesies and consideration. Scott Johnson

Ms. Zerna responded:

Scott, Thank you for your inquiry. Ms. MacDonald was sworn in as U.S. Attorney on June 11, 2018, 15 months after former U.S. Attorney Lugers resignation. U.S. Attorney MacDonald is not aware of Mr. Lugers deliberative process in drafting the below referenced August 22, 2016 letter. Thank you, Tasha Tasha Rose Zerna | Public Affairs

U.S. Attorneys Office

If our United States Attorneys Office was in the business of giving out letters like the one from Luger, I wanted one of my own. I followed up to inquire more specifically (1) whether the office sends letters such as Lugers to Brandl as a matter of routine and (2) whether Omar wax then under investigation. I asked Ms. Zerna: Can you be any more forthcoming? She responded:

Scott, No such letters have been sent by U.S. Attorney MacDonald. Regarding your other questions, DOJ generally does not confirm the existence of or otherwise comment about ongoing investigations. As a result, I cant respond to or comment on any questions about the existence or non-existence of any investigation. Thank you, Tasha

Now that Luger has been nominated to serve again in the position he held when he wrongly sent Omar a lifeline in 2016, perhaps some Republican member of the Senate Judiciary Committee can bestir himself or herself to press Luger on these issues.
The Conference of Benue Journalists (CBJ), has called for an independent medical inquiry into the death of Tordue Salem, a Vanguard Newspaper journalist whose remains were found on Thursday in Abuja.

Mr Salem, who went missing on 13 October in Abuja, was an indigene of Benue State and a member of the association.

A month after his disappearance, police authorities paraded a 29-year-old hit-and-run driver, Itoro Clement, as Mr Salems killer.

The spokesperson of the Nigerian Police, Frank Mba, said on Friday that Mr Salems corpse was discovered at the Wuse General Hospital Morgue in Abuja, a development that has fuelled speculations amongst Nigerians as to the actual cause of the journalists death.

In a terse statement issued on Saturday by Emmanuel Anule, CBJs president, the association expressed sadness over the sudden death of their colleague, Mr Salem, who was a parliamentary correspondent with the Vanguard newspaper.

CBJ, therefore, challenges security authorities to ensure that justice is served with an independent autopsy carried on Mr. Salems corpse currently in an Abuja General Hospital, the statement reads in part.

Mr Anule condoled with the family of the deceased journalist, the management and staff of Vanguard newspaper, the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) over the death.

He said Mr Salem, who covered the proceedings of Nigerias House of Representatives, was a founding member of CBJ and a hard-working personality, who believed in equality and equity.

His tremendous contributions to the nation through quality reportage will forever be remembered.

Mr. Salem was a fair-minded professional. It is painful to learn that he is no more, the statement added.

While mourning their colleague, CBJ said that it was shocking to hear that the corpse of Mr Salem had been found 29 days after having been allegedly killed by a hit-and-run driver inside Abuja city.
A climate deal has been reached at the ongoing conference in Glasgow.

The Glasgow Climate Pact was agreed at the final plenary of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, UK.

The Glasgow Climate Pact is the first climate deal that has clearly identified plans to reduce coal as a source of energy.

Coal is believed to be the single biggest contributor to climate change.

According to the deal, developing countries have been promised financial support by developed countries in order to adapt to the devastating impact of climate change.

Activists say the pledge may not go far enough to limit temperature rise to 1.5C if concrete actions are not taken by countries.

Before the pact was agreed, India and China objected to the use of a term calling for the phase out for coal. They proposed that a new phrase phase down of coal be used.

Indias proposal was approved but many countries said they were disappointed.

COP26 President, Alok Sharma said he was deeply sorry for how events had unfolded and said the decision is an important one for the agreement at the conference.
Four members from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on Friday joined eight of their colleagues from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in boycotting the plenary session of the Plateau State House of Assembly presided over by new Speaker Yakubu Sanda.

The lawmakers action was a protest against the removal of Nuhu Abok as Speaker in controversial circumstances last month.

Mr Sanda, who called the first plenary since his election two weeks ago, arrived at the assembly complex alongside 11 APC members at 11: 40 a.m. and entered the chamber at 12:12 p.m.

Prominent among the APC absentees is the house deputy majority leader, Philip Dasun.

The 23-member Assembly has been polarised by the controversial impeachment of Mr Abok, with four of the 16 APC members breaking ranks with their party caucus in the Assembly.

Mr Abok was removed on Thursday, October 28, when six APC lawmakers sneaked into the Assembly chambers at dawn amidst tight security.

They declared that they had impeached the Speaker and elected Mr Sanda, the member representing Pengana state constituency of Bassa Local Government Area, in his place.

They accused Mr Abok of financial mismanagement and despotic leadership, claiming that the change had the endorsement of 16 lawmakers.

However, a PDP lawmaker representing Jos south constituency, Fom Gwotson, debunked the claims, saying all the PDP members and four others from the APC were standing behind Mr Abok.

The stalemate has since continued with the security agents offering protection to the new speaker and the lawmakers supporting him.
President Muhammadu Buhari will, on Saturday, leave Paris for Durban, South Africa, at the special invitation of President Cyril Ramaphosa, to the inauguration of the second Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) 2021.

Femi Adesina, the Presidents spokesperson, confirmed this development in a statement on Saturday, in Abuja.

The event, billed for November 15 to November 21, was convened by the African Export-Import Bank (AFREXIM), in collaboration with the African Union Commission (AUC) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat.

The theme of the Fair, Building Bridges for a Successful AfCFTA, aims at boosting trade and investments across the African continent, Adesina said, while stressing that the event would also seek to create the enabling environment for businesses to thrive across the continent.

He said this would bring to fruition the lofty ideas behind the creation of the AfCFTA, by providing a platform to further identify and proffer solutions to challenges militating against intra-African trade.

The event is also expected to generate market information, needed to connect buyers and sellers throughout the continent.

Global businesses, including non-African international brands, are expected to key into opportunities generated by the fair, thereby attracting to continental trade investment deals worth $40billion dollars, he added.

He revealed that many Nigerian investors had since arrived in Durban to take advantage of the event, which the President would attend with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, and the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Niyi Adebayo,

Others are the Director-General, National Intelligence Agency, Ahmed Rufai and the Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Export Promotion Council, Segun Awolowo.

President Buhari is expected back in Nigeria on November 16, Mr Adesina said.

(NAN)
As Nigerians await the transmission of a clean copy of the passed Electoral Act Amendment Bill to President Muhammadu Buhari for assent, members of the National Assembly have continued to defend the provision of direct primaries in the bill.

The Deputy Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Peter Akpatason (APC, Edo), on Friday, said the governors are fighting to keep the existing consensus arrangement that, according to him, is not working.

Mr Akpatason stated this when he featured on Politics Today, a political programme on Channels Television.

Both Chambers of the National Assembly had adopted the reports of the conference committee in the electoral bill on Tuesday approving the direct primaries.

Direct primary election is the mode of the election where registered members of a party vote for who they want to be the candidate of their party.

The indirect primary election, on the other hand, involves the use of a delegate system. It is the delegates who decide who will be the candidate of the party.

On Monday, the APC governors under the aegis of Progressives Governors Forum (PGF), opposed the clause on direct primaries in the bill.

The Chairman of the forum, Governor Abubakar Bagudu of Kebbi State, after the meeting of the governors, said the political parties should be allowed to decide on the mode of selection.

Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila of the House of Representatives on Friday reiterated his support for the direct primary election, saying it would help to include youth in the electoral process.

Mr Akpatason denied the allegation that the lawmakers included the direct primaries in the bill to spite the governors.

It is not a tussle between lawmakers and governors. It is beyond that. What we have done is to look at the preponderance of opinions and what the people want.

The governors talked about a couple of issues like logistics. The governors believe that consensus is no longer possible with direct primaries. They rather prefer consensusand it is not working, he said.

He noted that the disagreement on the issue within the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) will not sway the president to withhold assent to the bill.

A former senator from Zamfara State, Kabir Marafa, who also appeared on the programme, commended the 9th Assembly for the bold step, noting that direct primaries will not work if issues like funding and who to conduct the primaries are not sorted out.

He said as long as governors are allowed to fund the primaries and party executives at ward levels are in charge, governors will continue to dominate the process.

Mr Marafa said governors who are leading the fight against direct primaries are doing so out of ignorance.

Zamfara congress

The former lawmaker also blamed the Chairman of the APC Caretaker Committee, Governor Mala Buni of Yobe State, for the latest crisis in Zamfara State.

Mr Marafa accused the committee, which he described as illegal, of scheduling an impromptu congress in the state.

According to the former lawmaker, the proposed congress is a deliberate attempt by Mai Mala Buni led NWCthis Kangaroo Committee or whatever they are calling it to it is an illegal committee to sideline the majority faction in Zamfara State.

He added that though the faction led by former Governor Abdulaziz Yari has indicated it would boycott the congress scheduled for Saturday, his own faction will conduct a parallel congress.
The Nigeria Union of Journalists, Abuja Chapter, has rejected the account of the police on the circumstances surrounding the disappearance and subsequent death of Vanguard Newspaper reporter, Tordue Salem.

The Chairman of the NUJ FCT council, Emmanuel Ogbeche, while receiving a letter from the House of Representatives Press Corps at the NUJ council secretariat on Friday, said the account of the police was untenable and inconsistent.

Mr Salem, who covered the lower chamber, was found dead on Thursday in Abuja about a month after he was declared missing.

The NPF spokesperson, Frank Mba, on Friday announced that Mr Salem was killed by accident by one Itoro Clement, the driver of the vehicle.

Mr Mba spoke while parading the suspect at the police headquarters in Abuja.

He said the suspect who was driving a 2004 Model Camry with number plate BWR 243 BK confessed to have hit Mr Salem about 10:00 p.m. on the night of 13 October around Mabushi area in Abuja, but ran away.

Mr Ogbeche said the latest development is different from the initial account by the police that six persons were being investigated for the disappearance of Mr Salem.

He called on President Muhammadu Buhari and the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, to set up an independent inquiry into the death of the journalist.

According to him, inquiry should involve an autopsy to determine the time of death and the actual cause of death.

There are so many disjointed or many missing links to the story that are being peddled. For us at the NUJ, we have studied this carefully, we are going to issue a statement and a petition. But before then, one of the resolutions we have reached is for an interdependent inquiry into the death of Mr Tordue Salem, he said.

The autopsy is going to tell us the time and for those that have had the opportunity of viewing Mr Salems at the morgue, it does not indicate that he died about four weeks ago.

He said the union is holding the management of Vanguard Newspapers responsible because it is surprising that it is the only media organisation that was privy to the discovery of Mr Tordue Salem.

Mr Ogbeche harped on the need for the international community to monitor the investigation and the outcome to ensure that sanctions are dished out appropriately.

The Chairperson of the Corps, Grace Ike, while reading the letter from the corps to the NUJ Chairman, said the police had earlier claimed Mr Salem was in their custody, noting that the latest news of hit and run was surprising.

Going by accounts of those who were invited by the police Intelligence

Response Team, the police had Tordue in Custody and was investigating him for sundry allegations.

However, after the series of protests led by your humble self to the Force Headquarters, with no information as to whether he was dead, we are shocked to hear the police saying that he was killed by a hit and run driver

In the estimation of the Corps, our colleague may have been killed in police custody under suspicious and questionable circumstances, and for that, we demand justice, the letter reads in part.

Legislative intervention

On Tuesday, the House of Representatives had called on the Inspector General of Police, Usman Akali, to ensure that the journalist was found.

That resolution was a sequel to a motion of urgent public importance moved by the minority leader, Ndudi Elumelu (PDP, Delta) on the floor of the House.

Last month, the Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila had said the House will not stop until Mr Salem was found.

The Senate also passed a resolution calling on the security agencies to find the late journalist.

Despite all the interventions, the journalist was not found alive.

It was a sombre atmosphere at the House of Representatives press centre on Friday, as journalists could not contain their emotions.

Benue journalists mourn

Meanwhile, some journalists in Makurdi, the Benue capital, on Friday, expressed shock over the death of Mr Salem.

Mr Salem was a native of Benue State.

Speaking to NAN, the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Zone D Vice President, Chris Atsaka, strongly condemned the killing of the Vanguard reporter.

Mr Astaka, a former Benue state NUJ council chairman, described the abduction and subsequent killing of Tordue as, most unfortunate and urged security agencies to unravel those behind the dastardly act.

He said the union did everything within its powers to fight for Mr Salem while he was still held captive by his abductors but regretted that the spirited efforts ended in agony.

This calls to test the will of security agencies to protect the lives and property of the citizens. Late Tordue Salems case is one that the security must unravel the circumstances with the view to exposing the perpetrators and equally bring them to justice.

This is highly condemnable, vexatious and painful to say the least. It shows no one is safe, particularly journalists, who like late Salem, went to work on that fateful day and didnt return, he said.

Also, the Benue Correspondent of the Sun Newspaper Mrs Rose Ejembi, strongly condemned the killing of the journalist.

Mr Ejembi said the death of Mr Salem clearly showed the dangers journalists faced on a daily basis across the world.

On his part, Emmanuel Gwaza of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), regretted that the attacks on journalists was fast becoming a recurring decimal.

As we mourn the passage of our dear colleague, let his murderers be apprehended and be brought to justice.

Also, Hope Abba, a correspondent of Daily Trust in Benue, called on law enforcement agencies to unravel those behind late Salems abduction and subsequent killing and bring them to book.

Salem was one journalist who knew his job too well, though we are yet to know exactly those behind his death but his case establishes how unsafe the practise is in this clime.

May God rest his soul and give his family fortitude to bear the loss, Mrs Abba added.
The Nigerian Army (NA) on Friday pulled out the former Chief of Policy and Plans, Army Headquarters, Lamidi Adeosun, and 11 other generals out of active service.

Those pulled out M.D. Abubakar, I. Birigeni, C.M. Abraham, A.C.C. Agundu, T.O.B. Ademola, A.M. Jalingo and A.S. Maikobi, all major generals.

M.A. Bashirudeen, D.M. Onoyiveta, both brigadier generals and two others were also pulled out.

The pulling out parade was among activities at the ongoing Infantry Corps annual leadership lectures and biennial reunion, at the Infantry Corps Centre in Jaji Military Cantonment, Kaduna State.

The theme of the four-day event which began on November 10, is Positioning Nigeria Army Infantry Corps to Win All Land Battles in a Joint Environment.

Mr Adeosun, a major general, who spoke on behalf of the retired generals, said the pulling out parade was part of military tradition.

I am happy to state with every sense of pride that this valedictory pulling out parade is an indication that the Nigerian Army particularly the Infantry Corps is waxing stronger by adhering to its customs and traditions.

Today is a day of many emotions; nostalgia, gratitude, joy and a sense of fulfillment.

Retirement from active duty is a natural and inevitable end of service for every serving personnel, and it begins to count from the day you join the ranks of the Armed Forces of Nigeria.

We count ourselves lucky as we are able to witness this event in such an atmosphere of frenzy and boisterous manner, he said.

Mr Adeosun urged all their successors to sustain the good legacies and continue to build on their achievements.

It is imperative to do so, as the nation has never been faced with grave security challenges as it is being witnessed today, he said.

He also urged the officers who are still serving not to relent on their oars, noting that the army has for long kept a good name and image.

He thanked the leadership of the country for the opportunity and support given to them to serve in different capacities in the country.

He also thanked the Chief of Army Staff, Faruk Yahaya, a lieutenant general, and the Commander Infantry Corps, Victor Ezugwu, a major general, for the opportunity of a rewarding and fulfilling life experience.

The News Agency of Nigeria NAN, reports that the event featured parade match off, and presentation of award by Muhammad Marwa, a retired brigadier and the Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), to officers who distinguished themselves in junior and senior staff courses.

(NAN)
A police sergeant, Moses David, told the #EndSARS panel investigating cases of police brutality in Abuja, on Friday, why he shot a man who was said to have subsequently bled to death in April last year.

The family of Simon Nyamkwange had filed at the panel a complaint of his extra-judicial killing and continued seizure of his corpse by the police.

As of Friday, the familys lawyer told the panel that the corpse had been held by the police for over 600 days in defiance to entreaties for its release for burial.

Mr David, presented by the police legal team as the first defence witness in the case, admitted shooting the deceased at about 1a.m. on April 22, 2020 at Eterna Filling Station, Wuse Zone 2, Abuja.

He said about five armed men including the deceased had jumped over the fence into the premises of the filling station as soon as a power cut occurred.

At about 1 a.m. at Eterna filling station, Wuse zone 2 where I was posted. Electricity light went off and a group of armed people (about five) jumped over the fence of the filling station and started coming at me, he said.

He said he tried to scare them away by cocking his gun and flashing his torchlight at them. According to him, while three of them retreated, the two others, one of whom was Mr Nyamkwange, stayed back.

Three of them went back while one kept coming at me, got close and tried struggling for the firearm with me.

That was when I released fire on him, Mr David said.

He added that he called his divisional police officer who then called Wuse divisional patrol to convey the wounded gang member to the hospital where he eventually died.

Another police officer, Danjuma Kadiri, an assistant superintendent of police, who claimed to be at the scene of the incident, confirmed Mr Davids testimony.

We were at the filling station together but at different spots. I heard noises and went to see what happened, Mr Kadiri said.

The two witnessess were cross-examined by the complainants counsel and the panel.

Petitioners claim

The Nyamkwange family, represented by the deceaseds brother, Abraham Nyamkwange, said in their petition, that the deceased was shot at the Eterna Filling Station in Abuja by an operative of the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) on April 12, 2020.

According to them, the investigating police officer in charge of the case had informed them that the deceased was alive at the time he was brought to the police station, but bled to death due to lack of medical care.

On what led to the shooting incident, they said the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of the Wuse Police Division, Mamman Barakwai, said there was an armed robbery attack at Eterna Filling Station, which led to the deployment of his men.

He (Mr Barakwai, the DPO) sent his squad to the place (Eterna Filling Station), and that the deceased challenged them (the SARS team), that was when they opened fire on him (late Nyamkwange), the petition read in part.

Panel summons chief medical director

Meanwhile, the panel presided over by Garba Tetengi in the absence of its chairperson, Suleiman Galadima, a retired Justice of the Supreme Court, on Friday, summoned the Chief Medical Director (CMD) or a representative of Wuse General Hospital, Abuja, where Mr Nyamkwange was said to have been taken to before or after he died.

Earlier, the Nyamkwange familys lawyer, I.J Mbatsadu, expressed the frustration of the family over their inability to collect the remains of Mr Nyamkwange and give him a befitting burial after over 600 days. He told the panel that the body had been identified by them.

We are not saying they should not conduct their defence, but we will appreciate it if the panel can take a definitive stance on the matter. We have been going back and forth since November 1. We have gone through very serious stress before the body was finally shown to us on Wednesday, Mr Mbatsadu added.

Recall that the panel had on November 1, 2021, ordered the police to release the remains of Mr. Nyamkwange following complaints by the deceaseds family that the police had adamantly held on to the body of the victim.

But Fidelis Ogwobi, a member of the police defence team, who earlier led the two defence witnesses in evidence, said the panel needed to ascertain the circumstances of the death of Mr Nyamkwange before demanding the release of the corpse.

Mr Igwobi added that an autopsy will be carried out on the deceaseds body to ascertain the cause of death.

The panel then ordered that autopsy be carried out on the body of the deceased.

The panel added that after the autopsy, the body should be released to the family for burial.

It ordered that the CMD of Wuse General Hospital or a representative shall appear at the next adjourned date to present or the panel the result of the autopsy.

It adjourned the case till November 29 for submission of final written addresses.

The panel was set up by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) after last years #EndSARS anti-police brutality protest.
In Nigeria, financial technology is now all the rage with the proliferation of tech companies riding on the back of the countrys fast-evolving banking system and its vast population of digitally enabled youths to drive inclusion.

That space has been made more vibrant by the incursion of foreign fintechs bringing turnkey solutions as varied as mobile lending, e-commerce, payments and card issuance.

Timbo Drayson, who helped Google introduce web mapping platform Google Maps to Africa and the Middle East, is bringing a disruption to the mix with the smart addressing app OkHi, which enables businesses to track clients through proper addressing.

Mr Drayson was recently in Lagos and told PREMIUM TIMES the innovation could provide the latest touchpoint for service providers to know their customers better.

What transformation do you think OkHis smart addressing will bring to a frontier market like Nigeria considering that awareness of such fintech services is still low in the country?

We estimate that lack of addressing costs the Nigerian economy about $3 billion a year in inefficiency. Its an enormous problem, much wider than just financial services. Our vision statement is A world where anyone can use their OkHi address to access the services they need. Extending that to Nigeria, imagine an environment where there is more financial inclusion due to people proving their address and their identity, e-commerce is a seamless checkout experience, deliveries are efficient and on time, to-the-door post is available, and perhaps most importantly, emergency services never get lost. Yes, today were focused on address verification for financial services, which is a market of about 40 million people, but tomorrow we will be Nigerias digital addressing system, making peoples lives easier and making businesses more efficient.

Digital mapping using mobile apps like Google Maps is still problematic in Nigeria in that users are sometimes misdirected by prompts on their phone, while some addresses may not feature on most apps. How will OkHi offer solutions to this?

The point is, in markets where there are functional addressing systems, there is a national database of addresses which Google Maps can leverage. It means as a user, you can put an address into Google Maps and very often navigate there. In a market like Nigeria, where there isnt a proper addressing system, Google Maps is much less reliable. The way to see OkHi is we are creating that national address database. As we do that, other services like Google maps and Uber will work much more effectively.

How can smart addressing help financial institutions cut costs?

Currently, banks and some of the larger fintechs are sending agents to peoples houses to verify their address by checking if they live there, which can take weeks and cost up to N2000 per verification. We make it easy for businesses to verify their customers address through their smartphone, replacing utility bills and physical visits. As we proved in a pilot with Stanbic, we reduce the cost by 52%, and reduce the time by four times (and time equals money).

Tell us how the idea of smart addressing came about and why you chose Africa as the starting point?

After working at Google for seven years where I launched Google Maps across the Middle East and Africa, I took a sabbatical in 2014 to travel around East and West Africa, including Nigeria. I experienced the challenges with lack of addressing, whether its inefficient deliveries, lost taxis, proof of address when registering a SIM card or even lost emergency services. I saw the inefficiency and the size of the problem first hand and thats where our mission to enable the 4 billion people to #beincluded came from.

Nigerias banking space is fast expanding with a lot of fintech solutions. How will your company help in resolving key KYC issues in tracking loan defaulters for instance?

Lending is a really strong use case. Knowing where someone lives with a high level of confidence increases trust, which can then unlock larger loan disbursements, and therefore more revenue. As you point out, the clear area of impact OkHi can have is helping a lender with loan recovery. If you know where someone lives, you can find a customer that has defaulted.

What has the adoption rate of products so far been since you launched in Nigeria?

Our product has just launched with Quickteller, so it is very early days. We have a very strong pipeline of leading fintechs made up of neobanks and mobile lenders, as well as some traditional banks that will be going live in the coming weeks and months, so watch this space.

How do you plan to expand to other parts of Nigeria from your base in Lagos?

The key aspect to our product is it can work out of the box not only anywhere in Nigeria, but anywhere in the world. Our smart verification system can verify anyone in Nigeria today that has a smartphone. We plan to build out a service that can target non-smartphone users next year and that will allow us to access deeper into the Nigerian market.

What is your plan for the future?

Were going to be diving into the mobility space in 2022 to provide addressing to e-commerce and deliveries.
A brigadier general, Dzarma Zirkusu, and three other officers of the Nigerian Army have been killed in an encounter with terrorists in Borno State.

Army spokesperson, Onyema Nwachukwu, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday.

Mr Nwachukwu, a brigadier general, said the incident occurred in Askira Uba Local Government Area of the state.

The statement also said troops of the Joint Task Force, North East Operation HADIN KAI succeeded in neutralising several Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists in the process.

The sad development comes amidst fresh attacks by terrorists in the North-east region.

The army recently said it had recorded many successes against the dreaded terrorists. This includes the massive defection of Boko Haram terrorists.

At the time the statement was released, the army said its air components had inflicted heavy equipment and human casualties on the terrorists.

Read the armys full statement below.

OPERATION HADIN KAI:TROOPS NEUTRALIZE SEVERAL ISWAP TERRORISTS DESTROY, EQUIPMENT IN ASKIRA UBA ENCOUNTER

Troops of Joint Task Force, North East Operation HADIN KAI have neutralized several Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists during a recent encounter in Askira Uba Local Government Area of Borno State. In the fierce encounter which is still raging as of the time of filing this report, troops supported by the Air Component of OPHK have deployed five A  Jet, two A-29, two Dragon combat vehicles and nine Gun Trucks.

Sadly, a gallant senior officer Brigadier General Dzarma Zirkusu and three soldiers paid the supreme sacrifice in a very rare display of gallantry as they provided reinforcement in a counter offensive against the terrorists, and successfully defended the location. The family of the senior officer and soldiers have been contacted.

The Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen Faruk Yahaya deeply commiserates with the families and relations of the fallen heroes. He has also directed that the troops continue in the ferocious counter offensive and hot pursuit to eliminate the remnant of the fleeing terrorists.

ONYEMA NWACHUKWU

Brigadier General

Director Army Public Relations

13 November 2021
On October 28, a friend who is an intelligence veteran and an erudite scholar and I exchanged a series of messages on the need for the participation of the well-informed in the political process in whatever form deemed necessary for the realization of Nigeria of our dreams, so long as it is legal and legitimate. The participation can be in the form of protest, demonstration, expression of opinion, involvement in a group activity, membership of a political party, enlightenment of the populace on the policies and programmes of the government both at the state and national level and so on. The genesis of the exchanges is the interesting quote Two people can damage a society: the one who knows and doesnt talk and the one who doesnt know that talks.

In most societies, the voices of those that know or well informed are rarely heard and even where they are loud enough, nothing comes out it. Oftentimes, these individuals include radicals and a few progressives, who more often than not call for innovative change in governance as they see it. The situation now facing us as a country calls for such people. Those that know must come out, state the facts and enlighten the populace on why the country cannot afford to continue in the present direction. This is against the backdrop of the fact that the count down for the present administration has begun in earnest and very little can be done realistically to change the trajectory of the policies and programmes of the government and the outcome that would enhance the quality of life of the generations to come.

The Nigeria of 2027 or 2031 is not likely going to be different from that of today in terms of the wellbeing of the people, it could be worse. The environment is just not conducive for the realization of the society of our dreams. Any 60 years old Nigerian who thinks that there will be an uninterrupted power supply in his life time is day dreaming. Even if the present administration is able to kick start the construction of the Mambilla hydro power project tomorrow, it is not going to come on stream in the next five years, so how are we going to get the quantum leap in power generation to ensure uninterrupted power supply? Any 60 years old Nigerian that thinks there would be an end to medical tourism or there would be affordable world class hospitals and universities for his grandchildren in his lifetime is living in another planet. In a recent study, only one Nigerian university is among the worlds 500, while only 3 are in the worlds best 1000. How about youth unemployment, will it go down to 5 per cent in the next ten years? This is wishful thinking. And the list of the impossible goes on and on.

However, the good news is that it is possible to achieve all these things under a government not encumbered by the distractions of the requirements of the westernstyle democracy. Moreover, history is in support of this hypothesis, especially in a developing country like ours. I have checked, but I havent seen any democratic country since the end of the second world war that has moved from the third world to first while practicing our kind of democracy, except India. This exception is unique in all circumstances, due to the quality of leadership and the uninterrupted reign of the Indian National Congress beginning from the independence period. Mention it, China, South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brazil, Vietnam, The Philippines, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, all these countries have one form of guided democracy or dictatorship in the march towards economic development.

Besides, in most of these countries, the leadership selection process is at a premium, in view of the realization that deficiency in the quality of political leadership will spell doom for a country, especially in a competitive global environment. While there have been flashes of excellence in a few areas, the rest is more ruin than hope. There are some people in leadership positions in the country today that in a competitive environment, will not aspire or be given the opportunity to be legislators in a local council, and yet they are governors. It is evident what to expect from such states. Twenty years from now, such states will still continue to rely on Abuja for sustenance and achieve nothing if no action is taken now. In fact, it will retrogress.

But how did we get to this stage that almost everyone is dissatisfied with the current state of affairs? The reasons are many but the one that is germane to this discussion is the wholesale adoption of the western-style democracy by the departing military dictatorship. It is pertinent to note that there is nothing strange in what our politicians are doing that is different from what is happening in other climes. The difference is that those advanced democracies do not provide their politicians with feeding bottle and milk at the expense of the citizens.

The bottom line is that you cannot wish for Dubai and think like a villager. The country cannot continue to allocate funds for unviable and unsustainable constituency projects for the next 20 years and beyond and hope to build the infrastructure that will take Nigeria to the next level. It is not going to happen. That is the painful aspect of the administration of President Muhamadu Buhari. He would have been Nigerias Lee Kuan Yew, General Park Chung-hee and Mahathir Mohamad, but unfortunately we seem to have lost the opportunity due to the demands and distractions of the western-style democracy and as the saying goes, once opportunity lost, it cannot be regained.

It is important to say that Nigeria is at the crossroads and the type of government the country needs now and in the foreseeable future is not the western-style of democracy. In simple language, more than anything else, there is the need for a guided democracy or a benevolent dictatorship. Nigerias democracy is just evolving and must be guided. There must be qualifications to such participation. Not every Nigerian above 18 years of age must have direct participation. It is on record that citizenship was not automatic in some of the developed democracies in the past. Ability to vote was equally qualified. There were conditions to be met including acceptable level of education, payment of taxes and ownership of property. At a point in history, women were not allowed to vote in some countries. The question that naturally comes to mind is that how do we have this large number of voters yet not enough tax payers? If the requirements to contest an election include the proof of payment of tax and minimum educational qualification, voting should also be so qualified. That way, we would have an informed electorate and contributory stakeholders.

The idea of the right of all to vote is not ideal for a developing society. Some economists have criticised the efficiency of democracy, citing the premise of the irrational voter, or a voter who makes decisions without all of the facts or the necessary information needed to make informed choices and decisions. The great Socrates himself believed that democracy without educated masses would only lead to populism being the only criterion to become an elected leader and not competence, a situation he said could ultimately lead to the demise of the republic. Socrates was of the opinion that the right to vote must be given to people who can make informed choices on the basis of education.

It is a sham to say that a president or a governor has one vote and his driver too has one vote. There are people in both rural and urban areas whose votes can be purchased for a piece of cloth or a bag of rice. Fraudulent elections are not foreign to the land. Do we now sit back and allow the leadership that will emerge from such a contest to determine the direction of the country? No. The bottom line is that this 4th Republic has not met the expectation of the populace and the coming elections of 2023 will not change the course of events in the country, so long as indiscipline, impunity and disregard for law and order reign supreme. Per capital income has reduced, life expectancy has declined and insecurity has worsened. The first remedy is to jettison our current democratic practise which has become a burden on the populace. There is also the urgent need to tackle and improve upon the quality of leadership and followership through a set of rigorous standards, including the level of education.

No one person or administration since 1999 can be accused of being responsible for where we are today. We are all guilty one way or the other and therefore must be willing to give up part of our freedom for the next ten (10) years to ensure that the youths of today have the future they deserve, otherwise we all perish. If that means abolishing the parliament, or abridging the participation of the general populace in the setting up of a government, so be it. The defenders of the present democracy are the enemies of Nigeria and they must be seen in that light. If nothing drastic is done now, Nigeria will be left behind and those who are alive by 2031 will still be complaining of infrastructural deficit and the myriad of problems that we are presently battling with, unless a miracle happens.

Wale Oloko writes from Lagos, Nigeria.
To buttress this point, President Buhari continued, that Nigeria is requesting financing for projects using transition fuels such as gas, and just for people wondering how this is compatible with the agenda of COP26, he concluded the defence of gas thus: Our transition plan also highlights the key role that gas will play in transitioning our economy across sectors, and the data and evidence show that Nigeria can continue to use gas until 2040 without detracting from the goals of the Paris Agreement.

President Buharis five-minute speech at COP26 presented Nigerias views, hopes and attitudes to current discussions about scenarios for the earths climate in the next few decades  and whether we, as a civilisation, are prepared to take the necessary measures to limit the impacts of global warming to 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels, as well as control related global greenhouse gas emissions. Scientists have warned that although the climate is already suffering severe damage caused by emissions presently in the atmosphere, the already shocking climate impacts we see today will begin to go from shocking to outright terrifying.

Why are Nigerias views, hopes and attitudes important?

A recent study published in The Lancet in 2020 with the title, Fertility, mortality, migration, and population scenarios for 195 countries and territories from 2017 to 2100, suggests that Nigeria will have a population of between 400  790 million people by 2100. The same study suggests that Nigerias economy will be the ninth largest in the world by then  larger than those of Canada, Brazil, and Russia.

Nigeria will almost certainly have the numbers (people and economic activity) to make an impact on the overall success of initiatives being discussed today. If there is one thing these discussions demonstrate, it is the latency of the consequences of decisions. If you want a result 40 years from now, then, now is the time to make decisions and affect the choices that would lead to the future desired outcomes.

Back to the speech.

The presidents opening line was stark and to the point: I do not think anyone in Nigeria needs persuading of the need for urgent action on the environment. Desertification in the North, floods in the centre, pollution and erosion on the coast are enough evidence. For Nigeria, climate change is not about the perils of tomorrow but what is happening today. Nigeria is committed to net-zero by 2060. He went on to state the priorities of the Nigerian people, namely: Energy, water, desertification control, clean cooking and waste management. Nigeria, he added, wishes to build more hydropower dams, solar projects, and is looking for partners in innovation, technology and finance to make cleaner and more efficient use of all available resources.

The transition could be eased and made acceptable by foreign technical and financial support Also, improvements in trading terms and access to world markets (think of extending the US governments African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) to all G-8 countries, so that Nigeria and countries that commit to certain climate goals are able to export virtually everything but arms, duty-free, for 20 years to the G-8), which could trigger a boom in Nigerian exports

To buttress this point, President Buhari continued, that Nigeria is requesting financing for projects using transition fuels such as gas, and just for people wondering how this is compatible with the agenda of COP26, he concluded the defence of gas thus: Our transition plan also highlights the key role that gas will play in transitioning our economy across sectors, and the data and evidence show that Nigeria can continue to use gas until 2040 without detracting from the goals of the Paris Agreement. Gas will be key for addressing the clean cooking challenge, which is also a challenge of deforestation, and for giving our electric grid the stability and flexibility to integrate renewables at scale. Nigeria will need to integrate an unprecedented 7GW additional renewable capacity each year to achieve net-zero. All of this, the president added, would require adequate technical and financial assistance from international partners. The president added that greater effort should be channelled towards assisting developing nations to meet their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) commitments through the pledges made by the developed countries to provide at least $100 billion yearly.

The president proudly declared that Nigerias commitment to a just transition is reflected in our ambitious Energy Compact, which includes the governments flagship project to electrify five million households and 25 million people using decentralised solar energy solutions. Finally, the president underlined the position of the Federal Government of Nigeria, that the Energy transition in Nigeria will follow a bottom-up transition pathway, and that the government and people of Nigeria will expect financial and technical support for the transition, noting, for emphasis, that the outcome of this conference must result in quick resolution of all outstanding issues pertaining to the finalisation of the Paris Agreement Rulebook, Adaptation, Mitigation, Finance, Article 6 and Loss and Damage.

Translation: Nigeria understands the imperative, the science and can even do a lot by itself. Beyond that, Nigeria will need technical and financial support to make decisions that allow it to give up or reduce energy sources that are threats to the climate, while assuring the growth of the economy, the provision of jobs, and lifting the poor population towards a more decent standard of living. Nigeria is the largest oil producer in Africa, it holds the largest natural gas reserves on the continent, and is the worlds fifth-largest exporter of liquefied natural gas. Due to all sorts of reasons, some self-inflicted and others not, the Nigerian government still relies heavily on revenues from crude oil and natural gas  and its nonoil revenue comprises only 3.4 per cent of GDP, one of the lowest in the world. Giving up reliance on gas will be costly to the economy and government finances.

The transition could be eased and made acceptable by foreign technical and financial support  with investments in new industries to replace the massively important oil and gas sector, investments in new replacement energy sources (solar, wind and nuclear), as well as investments in improving internal economic activity and internal competitiveness (upgrading wider infrastructure  ports, railways, etc). Also, improvements in trading terms and access to world markets (think of extending the US governments African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) to all G-8 countries, so that Nigeria and countries that commit to certain climate goals are able to export virtually everything but arms, duty-free, for 20 years to the G-8), which could trigger a boom in Nigerian exports (with Nigeria being among the top producers of lemon, ginger, gum Arabic, cassava, handwoven and printed textiles, amongst other things in the world). Without this support, and significant improvement in international economic solidarity, the Nigerian government will resist any call for further self-sacrifice as it sees it.

This resistance is stiff, will remain unyielding, and enjoy near-universal political consensus. Students of Nigerian politics know that once there is such a position in Nigeria, shifting it will not work. Working with Nigeria to achieve what would be good for Nigeria and the world is not only possible but necessary. In concrete terms, the lowest hanging opportunities are not hard to find. These include:

(1) Unblocking the completely artificial barriers to funding fully developed large scale solar projects, which could begin to contribute gigawatts of electricity within a year and a bit;

What the President could not say (he was in a diplomatic setting) but which Nigerians understood he meant, was that if help will not be forthcoming, Nigeria will do its best and then, it will adopt the siddon look attitude In Pidgin English, siddon look means lets see how it goes; I am unconcerned with the goings-on (wetin concern me?); I will keep watching till I feel it is necessary to talk; the environment is not conducive; see if I care?

(2) Supporting companies already deploying innovative clean cooking models to enable as much of the 40 million households that do not have access to LPG cylinders and cookstoves to get them, perhaps on a pay-as-you-go model. Nigeria produces enough LPG to stop the 60,000 verified deaths of mostly women from exposure to the pollutants released from cooking with charcoal, firewood, kerosene, and cow dung;

(3) Engaging in results-based support for NGOs working on the Great Green Wall, an African-led initiative, which aims to restore the continents degraded landscapes and transform millions of lives in one of the worlds poorest regions. Teams planting the right trees, according to pre-agreed plans, could be funded following verification through satellite-based monitoring. It is not beyond the capacity of available technologies and agreements to provide pathways for carbon credit funding to be directed to support a massive and sustained programme aimed at stopping the endless march of the Sahara Desert southward, which threatens communities, and destroys ecosystems;

(4) Increasing the support for climate-resilient agricultural initiatives massively, as championed by institutions such as the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Ibadan, but with funding tied to verifiable results from productive partnerships with farming communities. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other such organisations do a great job in this regard, but the resources required for the effort go even beyond the capacity of the wealthiest private foundations;

(5) Prioritising urban development and regeneration. Nigeria needs urgent and practical help in re-imagining its cities and towns, many of which have become unliveable places, which are tied to transportation and energy systems that are irredeemable, unless tackled at the root; cities that have become THE problem. Cities like Abuja and Lagos will continue to be massively polluting if they keep growing beyond 20 million and seven million without working and reliable electricity supply systems; without municipally delivered potable water networks; without viable capacity to deal with the waste generated by what passes as modern lifestyles; without trams, city-wide light railways and functional public transportation systems that are safe to use, affordable and attractive to all socio-economic groups; and without effective zoning controls and building regulations. Organisations such as the UK Ordnance Survey have a huge capacity to work with UN-Habitat and other agencies to offer assistance in this regard.

Otherwise: What the president could not say (he was in a diplomatic setting) but which Nigerians understood he meant, was that if help will not be forthcoming, Nigeria will do its best and then, it will adopt the siddon look attitude. No, that was not a typographical error. Siddon look is a correct phrase. In Pidgin English, siddon look means lets see how it goes; I am unconcerned with the goings-on (wetin concern me?); I will keep watching till I feel it is necessary to talk; the environment is not conducive; see if I care? We cannot afford for a country as big and important as Nigeria to end up indifferent. We cannot afford this, also, in the words of Elie Wiesel, because only one enemy is worse than despair: indifference. In every area of human creativity, indifference is the enemy; the indifference of evil is worse than evil because it is also sterile. We cannot end up disconnected and dis-concerned.

Jerome Okolo is co-founder, Safi Africa Energy.
This is to remind us that Africa and humanity lost one of the greatest contributors to change in twentieth-century Africa. President F. W. de Klerk was a great leader, who was the last Head of State in the white minority era of South Africa, but played a very significant role in dismantling the apartheid system that he had benefitted from.

As an undergraduate and graduate student, I was very passionate about the eradication of apartheid from South Africa. My ecstasy hit the roof top when General Olusegun Obasanjo, a.k.a Baba OBJ, as former Head of State of Nigeria, included me on the trip to familiarise his Nigerian governments sponsored delegation of about ten on the peace process in South Africa, with a view to recommending how Nigeria could be of help. Thinking of meeting the duo of Mandela, the well known freedom fighter, and President F. W. de Klerk, who boldly announced to the world that he had had a turn-around, to become a leader with great vision, was beyond bliss.

On arrival at what was then Jan Smuts International airport in Johannesburg in the evening of September 10, 1991, we were received by the now late Dr. Alex Boraine, who at the time led an NGO known as Institute for Democratic Alternatives in South Africa (IDASA). He later joined South Africas Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) as Archbishop Desmond Tutus deputy. Of course, the South African Foreign Ministry was also on hand to receive us.

Dr Boraine had developed an elaborate programme for our delegation, the highlights of which included a visit to Thokoza. There was every reason to be afraid in that regard. Thokoza, a black township east of Johannesburg, was the place where violence had erupted just before our visit. The township was a big difference from the opulence we had seen in Johannesburg. There, our delegation faced guns from the South African state, with the Regimental Sargent Major on duty telling us we could not go into the township without police protection, while officials on the ground insisted they had not received the order to accompany us there. Trust OBJ, the soldier in him took charge. He issued commands and gave the order that we were going into the township without police protection and would be accompanied by the African National Congress (ANC) and Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) representatives on the ground. The former agreed to join us, as the latter politely declined.

The 1991 atmosphere in South Africa was charged, as the whites were not convinced of the vision of President F. W. de Klerk. They were worried about losing their privileges. The black South Africans equally had little or no trust in the announced intentions of F.W. de Klerk, who by trajectory was an apartheid chief priest, now drumming support for the end of apartheid. The rainbow people could not see as far as F.W. de Klerk, who has today been proven right by history. We must salute the courageous man that F. W. de Klerk was back then. He pushed along undaunted. He was convinced that he must put South Africa on the path of peaceful change, as opposed to violent and destructive change. Of course, there was an economic imperative, as the ANC military wing was improving in the use of violence, which was driving capital away from the country.

After our visit to Thokoza, Mr. Pik Botha, the foreign minister at the time, gave us a working lunch that further exposed us to the complexities being faced by F. W. de Klerk as a National Party leader pushing for change in South Africa. From lunch, we went to Shell House to meet the ANC, which was represented by a high-powered delegation made up of Oliver Thambo, Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Thabo Mbeki, Cyril Ramaphosa, Barbara Masekela, Aziz Pahad and Jacob Zuma. They briefed us about the next steps to be taken by the ANC and emphasised that the National Party and FW de Klerk were not serious about change. They swore that they and Mandela would not meet with F. W. de Klerk anymore and asked us to communicate that to the president, who we were to meet later in the evening.

We met again at Oslo at the invitation of Sheikh Husam Al-Khalifa, the immediate past president of the Court of the Prime Minister of Bahrain. We had many pleasant moments at a Bahrain organised seminar, as well as tours of the city, including a visit to the Nobel building. The unassuming friendly and humble nature of F. W. de Klerk was impressive. He engaged without the normal airs of many an African former president.

That same evening, we went to the presidential palace. There, we were inordinately kept waiting. OBJ asked to use the bathroom and I followed him. It was a complex building. We accidentally took a wrong turn and as we tried to find our way, we bumped into the big honcho, Madiba Nelson Mandela, alone, using the back door out of the State House to avoid our delegation. He greeted us. I asked OBJ what was happening. Didnt Mandela, earlier in the day, send us strong messages to President de Klerk that he would no longer meet with him? How could he then be secretly visiting de Klerk? OBJ responded that that was diplomacy and I must not tell anyone on the delegation about what we saw. I guess, it is now safe to say it after 30 years, about those two gentlemen leaders privately trying to find answers to the national conundrum, as their respective supporters thought the way forward could only be conflictual. That event says a lot about the fact that they were both great leaders who really deserved the Nobel Prize for Peace, which they were subsequently awarded.

Thereafter, I had some closer interactions with F. W. de Klerk when he was out of office. I got to know more of the inspiring leader he was, thanks to the late Prime Minister of Bahrain, H.R.H. Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, who died a year earier, on the same date as the demise of F.W. de Klerk (Novermber 11), which was also the date that the World War I ended. Just as the passing of H.R.H Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa meant a great end of an era in the Gulf, that of F.W. de Klerk marks a great end of an era in Africa.

H.R.H Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa had invited a number of Nobel Laureates to Bahrain in September 2018. As such, he was one of the invitees, which also included Lech Walesa, former president of Poland, who had started as a trade union activist who transformed Poland, nay Eastern Europe. I was invited to the meeting as Special Adviser to H.E. Jose Ramos-Horta, Nobel Laureate and former President of East Timor. I met F. W. de Klerk with his beautiful wife. It was very clear that F. W. de Klerk was a great humble man.

We met again at Oslo at the invitation of Sheikh Husam Al-Khalifa, the immediate past president of the Court of the Prime Minister of Bahrain. We had many pleasant moments at a Bahrain organised seminar, as well as tours of the city, including a visit to the Nobel building. The unassuming friendly and humble nature of F. W. de Klerk was impressive. He engaged without the normal airs of many an African former president.

De Klerks historic achievement of peacefully overturning an authoritarian regime is more appreciated elsewhere than in South Africa, at least amongst many Africans. President F. W. de Klerk showed understanding at the crucial moments and seized the opportunity that presented itself to put South Africa on the path to embracing all its peoples. It is a difficult path that is still a long walk to freedom.

This is to remind us that Africa and humanity lost one of the greatest contributors to change in twentieth-century Africa. President F. W. de Klerk was a great leader, who was the last Head of State in the white minority era of South Africa, but played a very significant role in dismantling the apartheid system that he had benefitted from. He introduced universal suffrage in his country and led the South African National Party from 1989 to 1997.

Until the end, he was committed to the rule of law in South Africa, through the work of the F. W. de Klerk Foundation, which he founded in 1999. He was also the chairman of the Global Leadership Foundation. He had established this in 2004 to focus on promoting democratic leadership, conflict resolution by mediation, promotion of good governance, human rights and the rule of law.

The last president under apartheid left a final apology in a video dubbed his final message, which was released immediately after his death. He showed remorse for the pain inflicted on non-white in South Africa during the era of apartheid. We must thank David Steward, de Klerks friend/right-hand man for the video. Therein, F. W. de Klerk said: I, without qualification, apologise for the pain and the damage that apartheid has done to black, brown and Indians in South Africa. For many, and myself, this video corrects the earth splitting position he took last year, when he told a national broadcaster that he did not believe apartheid was a crime against humanity, as declared by the United Nations.

De Klerks historic achievement of peacefully overturning an authoritarian regime is more appreciated elsewhere than in South Africa, at least amongst many Africans. President F. W. de Klerk showed understanding at the crucial moments and seized the opportunity that presented itself to put South Africa on the path to embracing all its peoples. It is a difficult path that is still a long walk to freedom. Events last year, as in earlier times, showed clearly that democracy is not just repetitive voting at elections. It has to do with having responsible and accountable people who are able to push a vast number of citizens towards Utmost Freedom, a sort of paradise on earth that can be approximated by the full implementation of the UNs Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Babafemi A. Badejo is a former Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General to Somalia and currently a professor of Political Science/International Relations, Chrisland University, Abeokuta, Nigeria.
Gov. Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom said on Saturday that the state plans to add 10 A220-300 series aircraft to the fleet of Ibom Air.

He revealed the plan when he spoke at an event marking the 85th birthday of Obong Etim Abia, the Paramount Ruler of Eket in Eket Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom.

As I am leaving here, we are signing fresh agreements that will give us 10 brand new A220-300 Air Buses, so that even when I leave office, it will remain an enduring legacy, he said.

The governor also talked about his determination to ensure that quality was not compromised in the Eket Stadium project, the International Market project, roads and other development programmes in the area.

He stressed that the peculiarities of the Eket terrain were taken into consideration before projects were approved to be sited in the area to ensure that they stood the test of time.

Mr Emmanuel appealed for patience from Eket residents, while reassuring that all the projects would be delivered and appreciated long after his tenure.

He decried the fact that climate and weather conditions, the COVID-19 pandemic and other natural occurrences had impacted on the pace of work.

People have said a lot of things about developments and projects. Your Majesty, we have had major challenges in the past two years that we never envisaged in governance.

In 2020, nobody could do much because of COVID-19. In 2021, we were poised for infrastructure development, but the volume of rainfall has been unprecedented, the governor explained.

He congratulated the Obong on his 85th birthday and spoke glowingly of the endearing characteristics of the Eket patriarch.

In life, I watch out for two things in any leader and in any human being; character and charisma.

As a paramount ruler, your character to me is your charm that inspires devotion in others, including me, the governor said.

He said that the Obongs charisma also attracted and endeared others to him, adding that the paramount ruler was blessed with both attributes.

Mr Emmanuel applauded the Eket royal fathers initiative of using the special event to honour some illustrious sons of the land with the prestigious title of Mkpisong Ekid.

He expressed appreciation of the support of his Eket people and urged all stakeholders to do their best to maintain peace so as to draw more positive development to the area.

On behalf of the government and good people of this state I say happy birthday to you, Your Majesty and long live the King, he said.

In his birthday speech, Obong Abia expressed appreciation to God, to his wife and to his family.

He thanked Mr Emmanuel and Eket leaders for their support and commitment to serve Eket people, Akwa Ibom and by extension all Nigerians.

Expatiating on the honour bestowed on awardees, he said the title, Mkpisong literally means Pillar of Progress and Leading Light in the community.

One of the recipients, Frank Archibong, thanked the Obong for finding him worthy of the award of honour and promised to do more to support his community and Akwa Ibom.

Mr Archibong is the Akwa Ibom Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.

He described the Obong as an astute administrator who had brought his wealth of experience to bear on the leadership of the traditional institution across the state.

(NAN)
With his victory in the Anambra governorship election, Charles Soludo must be reflecting on how to meet the expectations of residents of the state.

The former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was declared the winner of the November 6 poll after a supplementary election in Ihiala Local Government Area where the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had suspended the exercise on Saturday due to an unspecified security threat.

The returning officer, Florence Obi, who is also the vice-chancellor of the University of Calabar, called the election for Mr Soludo, the candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), who polled the most votes in 19 of the 21 local government areas of the state.

He polled a total of 112,229 votes, defeating his two closest rivals  Valentine Ozigbo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who recorded 53,807 votes and Andy Uba of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who got 43,285 votes.

What Next?

Mr Soludo will not take office until March next year when the second term of incumbent Governor Willie Obiano comes to an end. Considering that both men are members of APGA, Mr Soludo can look forward to a smooth transition process.

The three months before his inauguration also affords him time to finetune his programmes and policies and plan the appointment of his officials so that he can hit the ground running towards fulfilling his campaign promises.

He ran a campaign with the slogan SOLUTION, which couched how he would address the economic and sociopolitical challenges of the state which has the second smallest landmass in Nigeria after Lagos, but one reckoned to be richer than its physical size in human capital endowment.

When PREMIUM TIMES spoke with a cross-section of residents of the state after the election, it emerged that they were not asking for too much  just a government that works to enhance the states economy and ensure equitable distribution of opportunities.

Many described the election of the former CBN governor as the dawn of a new era after what some saw as the disappointment of the outgoing governor.

If I must be frank, nothing has worked in the last four years under Willie Obiano government, Anthony Ezechukwu, a motorcycle spare parts dealer in Aguata Local Government Area, said on Sunday after it had emerged that the APGA candidate was coasting to victory.

Soludo must not let us down, the middle-aged man said.

At that point when Mr Ezechukwu spoke, Mr Soludo had been declared winner in 18 out of the 20 local government results called, while Mr Ozigbo of the PDP and Ifeanyi Ubah of Young Progressive Party (YPP) had won one local government area each.

First test

With insecurity the dominant concern in the state in the runup to the election, one of Mr Soludos first tests as governor will be how he addresses the insurrection of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) which had cast ominous dark clouds over the election and probably affected voters turnout.

Although the state is notorious for voter apathy, the 10 per cent turnout in the November 6 poll is low even by its low standard. Out of the over 2.4 million registered voters, only 253,000 or 10.27 per cent participated in the exercise.

A sit-at-home order by IPOB had hampered economic and social activities in the entire South-east and people remained sceptical even after the outlawed separatist group announced a withdrawal of the order in Anambra two days to the election.

It will require diplomacy and firmness on the part of the incoming administration to ensure the withdrawal of the order is not just temporary. Mr Soludo has promised to call the separatists for negotiations but it remains to be seen how the belligerents among them would look at the wave of an olive branch.

PREMIUM TIMES reporters witnessed first hand the awe, fuelled by fear of attacks or harassment, in which residents hold IPOB and the enforcers of the sit-at-home order. Across Anambras three senatorial districts, the story was the same. This may pose a stumbling block for the governor-elect unless he finds a way to appease or suppress the separatists.

Please, I cant say anything against IPOB, Precious Ibeh said to the reporter in the commercial city of Onitsha where she works. What I really yearn for is peace and unity to reign whether they (IPOB) get what they are agitating for or not.

Other residents who spoke about the separatist group and the challenge they pose to Mr Soludo, argued largely in defence of its agitation. But many also apparently bought into the governor-elects SOLUTION agenda concerning insecurity in the state.

Chiamaka Okafor, an indigene of Njikoka Local Government Area, who works in Abuja, said she supports the groups right to peaceful agitations but denounces the harassment and violence associated with it. She also believes local political leaders have been poor in handling the development.

The APGA-led government is lackadaisical about the issue of IPOB, but it is the same in other states. Imo, Abia, Ebonyi are not doing anything.

No governor in the South-east has come out to say this is what we want to do but I bought into Soludos submission when he talked about the place of dialogue. It seems like we dont know what the demands of these people are anymore.

This agitation can be traced to the civil war, to scores which are yet to be settled, she argued.

Soludo knows better

However, Ms Ibeh and Ms Okafor shared similar a expectation: that Mr Soludo will run Anambra better than the incumbent governor, Mr Obiano.

They said the incumbent rode into power on the back of the achievements of his predecessor, Peter Obi, but has performed below peoples expectations. Mr Obi is now in the PDP and actively campaigned for the partys candidate, Mr Ozigbo.

People used to consider Anambra and the South-east in general as a safe place but you cannot say that is the reality now that people are not even sure of going home for the festive season. All this within eight years of Obiano rule, Ms Okafor said.

Given the background of Soludo, it will be heartbreaking if he does not perform better. During the gubernatorial debate, he made a lot of statements on how he pulled Nigeria out of different financial constraints.

If he could do that for the 36 states and the FCT, Anambra State with 21 local governments should not be difficult for him to manage. As a professor of economics, he cannot afford to fail. For the sake of his name and international reputation, he cannot afford to let us down, Ms Okafor, who is a constituency project manager at UDEME in Abuja, said.

On his impact on the infrastructure, education and economy of Anambra, Friday Nnamdi, a bike-rider in Nnewi South, said he would score Mr Obiano below 30 per cent.

I challenge you to ask workers in the governors office how many times our governor comes to his office. He spends most of his time in Government House so he cant possibly see how bad our roads and classrooms are, Mr Nnamdi said.

However, a commercial driver in Ekwulobia town in Aguata Local Government Area, who only identified himself as Eze, believed Mr Obiano tried his best as governor.

He said the governor maintained some projects of his predecessor.

But except for the three flyovers constructed by the administration, Mr Eze could not remember physical projects delivered by the administration.

Also, Naomi Oleribe, a video editor, argued that Mr Obiano did not perform as poorly as stated by his critics. However, Ms Oleribe only rated his performance at 40 per cent.

People just dont like him because he performed way below his predecessor, Peter Obi. In fact, most of us voted for him because he (Peter Obi) campaigned for him, she said.

More expectations, APGA must continue

Apart from the respect many residents expressed for Mr Soludo as a former CBN governor, many said they voted for him to keep out both the APC and PDP from the control of Anambra.

Many of the residents said they see APGA as their own, despite Mr Obianos alleged poor performance and would prefer the party continues to run Anambra, the only state under its control.

We dont want APC, we really dont. PDP is an option but APGA is the party that we know and we want continuity, that is why we are supporting Soludo.

With the support we are giving him, I pray that God will touch his heart to give us the dividends of democracy that we deserve, better than the past administration, Ms Ibeh said.

Ms Oleribe said she expects Mr Soludo to tackle the challenges of urbanisation in the state, check the activities of miscreants at motor parks across the state and involve the youth in governance.

I want Soludo to look at the problem of urbanisation. We need to find a way to package all our motor parks littered everywhere so that everything will move faster and become more organised.

Nobody is talking about the harassment and daily extortion going on in our parks, most especially in Onitsha and other parts of the state. Nobody cares. But we believe that Soludo cares. We want it sorted out, we want a conducive environment. There is this feeling you get when you alight at Upper-Iwenka, the fear that your bags may easily get snatched by these miscreants and agbero (touts) in that particular place and beyond, she said.

In his acceptance speech after being declared the winner by INEC, Mr Soludo promised not to disappoint the people of Anambra.

To the estimated 17 million Ndi Anambra within and outside our homeland (state), this is your moment, seize it! This victory is your victory. My role will be that of your chief servant, and I will work every minute of the day with you to make you profoundly proud. I will need the guidance, advice and contribution of everyone to succeed, he said.
Barcelona striker Asisat Oshoala has described her latest injury setback as a bitter pill to swallow but has promised to return even stronger.

Oshoala ruptured the posterior cruciate ligament in her right knee; limping off in pain during Wednesdays UEFA Womens Champions League encounter against Hoffenheim.

The Super Falcons captain has been in red-hot goalscoring form in the Primera Division Femenina this season where she leads the scoring chart with 11 goals in nine matches.

Now the Barcelona Women team have confirmed the severity of that injury as well as provided a timeline when the Super Falcons captain will be out of action.

As reported by the clubs medical services, Asisat Oshoala suffered a rupture of the posterior cruciate ligament in her right knee. The Nigerian forward, who was injured in the second half of Wednesdays game against Hoffenheim, will be out for about two months, read a statement on the clubs website.

In his fourth season at Barca, Oshoala has played 12 games in which he has scored 12 goals. She is the top scorer in the league, with 11 goals in 9 games played.

READ ALSO:

Reacting to the development, Oshoala on her Instagram page admitted this is not just another injury that will come and go.

This one hit me so hard, Its a tough pill for me to swallow.I cant even lie.

Thank you for the messages, I will be back soon and even better Insha Allahu she wrote

Aside from missing out on a couple of games for Barcelona, Oshoala is now a doubt for Nigerias final round of the qualification series for next years Women Africa Cup of Nations.

The Falcons progressed to the final round after a hard-fought 2-1 win over Ghanas Black Queens where they will now face the Lady Elephants of Ivory Coast in February 2022.
Larry Rock, 76, of Charles Way, passed away on November 17, 2021 at his home. He was born May 17, 1945 the son of Clarence and Rose (Rell) Rock. Services will be private and held at the convenience of the family. Larry will be laid to rest in St. Mary's Cemetery in Champlain. Arrangements ha
Southbury, CT (06488)

Today

Cloudy. Periods of rain this morning. Morning high of 54F with temps falling to near 40. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

A few clouds. Low 28F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.
On April 29 in State House, Freetown, AfricanAncestry.com President and Co-founder Dr. Gina Paige and Sierra Leone Minister of Tourism Madam Memunatu Pratt marked the occasion in a special Agreement Signing, presenting 59 Sierra Leone passports to the inaugural recipients under the new partnership. The Agreement was signed in the presence of Sierra Leone's President His Excellency Dr. Julius Maada Bio, who underscored his commitment to the partnership.

"We welcome you to acquire land, live in our communities, invest, build capacity and take advantage of business opportunities," said President Bio during the citizenship conferment ceremony.

From Your DNA to Your Passport

AfricanAncestry.com's Partnership Director and an architect of Ghana's Year of Return Diallo Sumbry worked closely with the Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Affairs to foster the relationship and establish core guidelines for the now official program. The first step is to obtain an authentic AfricanAncestry.com Certificate of Ancestry featuring a special Seal validating Sierra Leone ancestry. With a second trip to the country scheduled for this fall as part of the AfricanAncestry.com Family Reunion trips, people interested in getting started can submit a request at [email protected].

"This partnership is perhaps the most significant milestone for African Ancestry since we created a way for Black people to trace their African roots using DNA 18 years ago," said Dr. Gina Paige. "It has transformed the total experience of what it is to be an AfricanAncestry.com customer," said Paige.

AfricanAncestry.com looks to expand the program to the more than 30 countries in Africa where they trace ancestry in the coming years. Visit www.AfricanAncestry.com for more information.

SOURCE AfricanAncestry.com

Related Links

https://africanancestry.com/


AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Oracle today announced the opening of its second cloud region in the United Arab Emirates to continue supporting UAE organizations with enterprise cloud services. The Oracle Cloud Abu Dhabi Region and the Oracle Cloud Dubai Region will provide customers with stronger business continuity and disaster recovery capabilities. The opening of the Abu Dhabi Region also directly supports the UAE's Fourth Industrial Revolution Strategy which focuses on advancing the national economy by driving innovation with the latest technologies.

"The rapid adoption of cloud-based technologies like artificial intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT), and machine learning is vital for building a thriving digital economy and is a key priority for the UAE. With the Dubai and Abu Dhabi Regions, we have the required cloud infrastructure for organizations across public and private sectors, including SMBs, to accelerate their digital transformation," said Richard Smith, executive vice president, Technology, EMEA, Oracle.

Both Oracle Cloud regions in the UAE are built on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), which enables customers to easily migrate existing workloads and data platforms or build new cloud native applications that benefit from superior performance, lower cost, and built-in security capabilities. Customers will also have access to the full suite of Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications, as well as Oracle Autonomous Database, giving them the opportunity and choice to create the architecture that best suits their business needs.

Importance of Oracle's Two Cloud Regions for Driving Foreign Investment in the UAE

His Excellency Dr. Thani Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade said: "Oracle's decision to open a second cloud region in the UAE is a clear reflection of our nation's embrace of digital transformation, advanced technologies and the applications of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which have become central to our economic and investment strategy for the next 50 years. We are committed to developing an innovative- and knowledge-based economy that encourages the development and deployment of the technologies of the future, and attracting human, financial and technological capital to the nation is central to these ambitions. Oracle's continued investment into the UAE will only accelerate this process, providing critical infrastructure, expertise and insights to further elevate the UAE's standing as a place where the boldest ideas and biggest projects can come to life."

Boosting UAE's Cyber Security Preparedness

His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Hamad Al Kuwaiti, Head of Cybersecurity for the UAE Government said: "The UAE Government has rapidly transitioned from being a conventional set up to a 'smart government' entity, and now with the increasing pace of digital transformation across the country's public and private sector, we are progressing towards being an AI enabled government. This progress is in line with the digital economy goals of our country, but we must also ensure that the 'cyber resilience' of the UAE is maintained to mitigate cybercrime and increase international collaboration. Oracle's two cloud regions in the UAE are important investments towards providing cyber resilience and secure digital infrastructure for organizations to enjoy the full benefits of cloud computing."

Leading UAE Organizations Choose Oracle Cloud

Emaar Properties is one of the world's most valuable and admired real estate development companies. With proven competencies in properties, shopping malls, retail and hospitality and leisure, Emaar shapes new lifestyles with a focus on design excellence, build quality and timely delivery.

"With fast-growing business operations that span different countries, at Emaar, we are focused on creating a future-ready digital infrastructure that supports growth, helps increase revenue, lowers costs and allows us to constantly innovate. Oracle's new cloud region in the UAE will help us accelerate our digital initiatives with latest emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning," said the Emaar Technology spokesperson.

Emirates Post Group is the official postal operator for the United Arab Emirates, which owns several subsidiaries including Wall Street Exchange, a regional currency exchange provider; Electronic Documents Centre, a major digital printing business; and Emirates Post, the official postal services provider in the country.

Abdulla Mohammed Alashram, Group CEO of Emirates Post Group, said: "The world's digital transformation is now unstoppable, and organizations have to adapt to the changes to remain relevant and competitive. In the UAE, we have seen increased implementation and integration of next-generation tools. In our industry, technologies play a big role to enable companies to meet the demand for speed in deliveries and cross-border services while enhancing operational efficiency and productivity. We are excited by Oracle's next-generation cloud, knowing that its launch will lead to more improved services in the UAE and the region. It will also be instrumental in our efforts to fully digitalize our services by the end of 2021, which will significantly increase our capabilities in today's digital age."

Analyst Commentary

Jyoti Lalchandani, Group Vice President and Regional Managing Director, Middle East, Turkey & Africa, IDC said: "Public cloud services adoption is accelerating at CAGR of 28% year on year between 2020 and 2025 in the UAE and IDC projects that the growth momentum will continue. Cloud's role in enabling innovation is underscored by the priority organizations have given to cloud in their digital transformation initiatives. Cloud-based technologies have helped organizations weather the covid-19 crisis and cloud is now helping them build a resilient organization that can withstand uncertainties."

"Our survey of the CIOs in the UAE highlights that an in-country data center is an important factor for 78% organizations that are planning to adopt cloud over the next 12-18 months. Oracle's two cloud regions in the UAE will boost local cloud infrastructure availability. IDC believes that cloud has become an inseparable element of an organization's digital transformation and innovation roadmap," added Jyoti.

Preparing UAE's Next Generation for the Digital Economy

Oracle has been working toward creating a strong local IT talent pool in the UAE. Under the recently completed skills development initiatives with the UAE's Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) and its commercial arm, the Centre of Excellence for Applied Research & Training (CERT), Oracle has upskilled 1,098 students in emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT), machine learning, and blockchain.

High Availability, Disaster Protection, and Dual Region Cloud Strategy

OCI's next-generation architecture provides a high-performing, resilient foundation for cloud services, while its physical and virtual network design maximizes performance and security. For example, each Oracle Cloud region contains at least three fault domains, which are groupings of hardware that form logical data centers for high availability and resilience to hardware and network failures.

For business continuity and compliance requirements, Oracle's unique dual-region cloud strategy enables customers to deploy resilient applications in multiple geographically separated locations within the UAE. To help customers plan data center deployments to meet application requirements and optimize their cloud infrastructure, OCI's provides a no cost inter-region latency dashboard that provides insights into real-time and historical latency for Oracle Cloud regions around the globe.

Sustainability

Oracle is committed to sustainability and has pledged to power all Oracle Cloud regions worldwide with 100 percent renewable energy by 2025. Several Oracle Cloud regions in North America, South America, and Europe are already powered by 100 percent renewable energy, and all Oracle Cloud regions use state-of-the-art energy management and cooling technologies to minimize their impact on the environment. As part of its renewable energy clean Cloud initiative, Oracle reused or recycled 99.6 percent of its retired hardware in FY21 while strictly adhering to Oracle's data privacy and security practices.

Cloud Regions Deliver All Cloud Services and Multicloud

Oracle Cloud regions support every Oracle service and feature and are available to customers anywhere in the world. This includes Oracle Autonomous Database, Oracle Container Engine for Kubernetes, Oracle Cloud VMware solution, and Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications.

OCI's extensive network of more than 70 FastConnect global and regional partners offer customers dedicated connectivity to Oracle Cloud regions and OCI services  providing customers with the best options anywhere in the world. FastConnect provides an easy, elastic, and economical way to create a dedicated and private network connection with higher bandwidth, lower latency, and more consistent performance versus public Internet-based connections.

In addition, OCI and Microsoft Azure have a strategic partnership that enables joint customers to run workloads across the two clouds. This partnership provides a low latency, cross-cloud interconnect between OCI and Azure in eight regions (Ashburn, Toronto, London, Amsterdam, Tokyo, San Jose, Vinhedo and Frankfurt) federated identity for joint customers to deploy applications across both clouds, and a collaborative support model. Customers can run full stack applications in a multi-cloud configuration, while maintaining high-performance connectivity without requiring re-architecture. They can also migrate existing applications or develop cloud native applications that use a mix of OCI and Azure services.

Oracle Cloud's Expanding Global Footprint

Oracle has announced plans to expand its cloud region footprint to support strong customer demand for Oracle Cloud services worldwide. Over the next year, Oracle will open 10 additional cloud regions with new locations across Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific, and Latin America.

Upcoming cloud regions include Milan (Italy), Stockholm (Sweden), Spain, Johannesburg (South Africa), Mexico, and Colombia. Additional second regions will open in Saudi Arabia, France, Israel and Chile. Oracle plans to have at least 44 cloud regions by the end of 2022, continuing one of the fastest expansions of any major cloud provider.

Currently available Oracle Cloud regions:

Asia Pacific : Tokyo ( Japan ), Osaka ( Japan ), Seoul ( South Korea ), Chuncheon ( South Korea ), Mumbai ( India ), Hyderabad ( India ), Sydney ( Australia ), Melbourne ( Australia ), Singapore ( Singapore )

Tokyo ( ), ( ), ( ), Chuncheon ( ), ( ), ( ), ( ), ( ), ( ) Americas: San Jose ( United States ), Phoenix ( United States ), Ashburn ( United States ), Toronto ( Canada ), Montreal ( Canada ), Sao Paolo (Brazil) , Vinhedo (Brazil), Santiago ( Chile )

San Jose ( ), ( ), ( ), ( ), ( ), Sao , Vinhedo (Brazil), ( ) Europe : Frankfurt ( Germany ), London ( United Kingdom ), Newport, Wales (United Kingdom ), Zurich ( Switzerland ), Amsterdam ( The Netherlands ), Marseille ( France )

Frankfurt ( ), ( ), Newport, ), Zurich ( ), ( ), ( ) Middle East : Jeddah ( Saudi Arabia ), Abu Dhabi and Dubai (U.A.E), Jerusalem ( Israel )

Jeddah ( ), and (U.A.E), ( ) Government: Two general U.S. Government regions, and U.S. National Security regions, three U.S. Department of Defense specific Government regions, two in the United Kingdom ( London and Newport, Wales )

Additional Resources

Learn more about the Oracle Cloud Regions

Learn more about Oracle Cloud Infrastructure

About Oracle

Oracle offers integrated suites of applications plus secure, autonomous infrastructure in the Oracle Cloud. For more information about Oracle (NYSE: ORCL), please visit us at www.oracle.com.

Trademarks

Oracle, Java, and MySQL are registered trademarks of Oracle Corporation.

SOURCE Oracle

Related Links

https://www.oracle.com


HAUPPAUGE, N.Y., Nov. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. David E. McClean, Senior Lecturer at Rutgers University (United States), where he teaches philosophy and business ethics, and Sr. Consultant at Business and Government Ethics International, believes that COP26 will likely prove a disappointment. This is because the COP process continues to rely on voluntary compliance to meet climate targets. Dr. McClean has been pushing, quite publicly, for the creation of a global climate authority to enforce climate agreements rather than have the world rely on voluntary actions. "It's too soon to declare COP26 an utter failure, and it would be wrong to denigrate the sincere efforts of those in attendance," says McClean. "But if COP26 yields no more than another string of promises and pledges to meet again to do in the future what should have been done this November, there is little hope that we will stay under 1.5C."

Dr. McClean worries that the "dangerous lack of urgency" expressed by former President Barack Obama during the COP26 sessions will lead activists and others to lose patience with the current process. Says McClean, "You can't have it both ways. You can't say that we are in a climate emergency, declare in report after report the devastating impacts on human populations and thousands of other species, fret publicly and loudly that we have only a few years left before irreversible and damaging chain reactions are set-off in the Earth's climate-regulating systems, and then expect the global citizenry to sit on its hands as the can is kicked down the road yet again."

Dr. McClean, who has spent the past week discussing the climate emergency with his Rutgers students, has discussed his views concerning a global climate authority on CBC radio, in several broadcasts of its IDEAS program, and sets down his arguments in his monograph "Climate Change: The Moral and Political Imperatives," which he published on-line in 2017. "No country relies on voluntary compliance when it comes to taxation and commercial contracts, but rather robust enforcement mechanisms are used to assure compliance," says McClean. "How can it be," he queries, "that we understand the need for enforcement mechanisms to assure that taxes are collected, yet when it comes to saving the world from the worst that climate change will cause we are content to rely on mere voluntary compliance? Knowing the political pressures faced at home, how can voluntary compliance be a proper moral response?"

McClean argues that a global climate authority would not be a step toward "world government" (a claim that he calls a "canard") but would be a sensible, pragmatic, and adaptive tool created by the world's states and which could sunset at a date certain. He believes the global climate authority should be created by the UN Security Council, perhaps using and expanding its "Responsibility to Protect" principle as the basis. The coercive mechanisms would include requiring states to fund an international escrow fund whereby states would forfeit some of their deposit when they fail to meet certain material targets, with the forfeited sums going to poorer countries to help them in their efforts to meet their commitments. With various negotiation algorithms, states could be assured that they could avoid the problem of free-riding. Concerning the UN Security Council, McClean says "I am aware of the political hurdles and do not wish to minimize them. I am also aware that if the word "Security" in Security Council is to mean anything it must mean that the Council plays a leading role to address the climate emergency. If the Security Council can't or won't address the biggest threat to global security since the commencement of the nuclear arms race, then what, exactly, is it good for?

Dr. McClean joins William Nordhaus (2018 Nobel Prize in Economics) in arguing that voluntary compliance and pledges will almost certainly fail to prevent runaway and catastrophic warming. Nordhaus has proposed a "climate club" of states that would create mutual incentives to comply with climate agreements. Likewise, Dr. McClean says that he agrees with Stewart M. Patrick (Sr. Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations) that current international political mechanisms are maladapted to the climate emergency (Patrick has called for a "new planetary politics" in the most recent issue of Foreign Affairs). He also points out that he is not alone in calling for a global climate authority. The idea was also floated by Gabriel Weil (Sr. Research Associate at the Climate Leadership Council) in his peer-reviewed 2018 article, "Incentive Compatible Climate Change Mitigation: Moving Beyond the Pledge and Review Model" (William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review, Volume 42, Issue 3). In that article, Weil points out that worries about national sovereignty infringement can be overcome, as it was with the establishing of the World Trade Organization. Thus, canards about "world government" and "national sovereignty" should not determine the fate of the Earth. Likewise, says McClean, "We can no longer use maladapted diplomatic tools, designed for ordinary conflicts and tensions, to address a global planetary crisis."

Media contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Business and Government Ethics International

Related Links

www.bgei.net


LOS ANGELES, Nov. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- On Saturday, November 13, 2021, Kaiser Permanente and the Alliance of Health Care Unions reached tentative agreement on a four-year contract, covering nearly 50,000 Kaiser Permanente health care employees in 21 local unions, and strengthening the Labor Management Partnership.

The agreement includes new staffing language to continue to protect employees and patients, annual wage increases, and maintains benefits while providing career development and advancement opportunities for Alliance union-represented employees. When ratified, the agreement will ensure Kaiser Permanente patients continue to receive safe, high-quality care and service; maintain Alliance union members' industry-leading wages and benefits; and ensure Kaiser Permanente remains affordable for its members in the future.

"The Alliance of Health Care Unions fought to preserve a Kaiser Permanente where patients can count on excellent patient care and service. This has guided our work for 24 years. This agreement will mean patients will continue to receive the best care, and Alliance members will have the best jobs," said Hal Ruddick, Executive Director, Alliance of Health Care Unions. "This contract protects our patients, provides safe staffing, and guarantees fair wages and benefits for every Alliance member."

Kaiser Permanente and the Alliance unions have a longstanding history of successful bargaining to collaboratively address mutual interests of all parties. "This landmark agreement positions Kaiser Permanente for a successful future focused on providing high-quality health care that is affordable and accessible for our more than 12 million members and the communities we serve. It also underscores our unwavering commitment to our employees by maintaining industry-leading wages and benefits," said Christian Meisner, senior vice president and chief human resources officer at Kaiser Permanente. "These were challenging negotiations, but this tentative agreement demonstrates the strength of our Labor Management Partnership and the unique success it can achieve when we work together."

Details of the tentative agreement include:

Wage increases: Guaranteed across-the-board wage increases each year through 2025 in every region for all Alliance-represented employees.

Guaranteed across-the-board wage increases each year through 2025 in every region for all Alliance-represented employees. Health benefits: No reductions or takeaways to already low-cost family medical and dental coverage with the same low co-pays for prescriptions and office visits.

No reductions or takeaways to already low-cost family medical and dental coverage with the same low co-pays for prescriptions and office visits. Retirement benefits: The Agreement maintains generous retirement income benefits and employer-subsidized retiree medical.

The Agreement maintains generous retirement income benefits and employer-subsidized retiree medical. Bonus opportunities: Introduction of the Alliance Bonus Plan, which provides annual payouts for achieving new mutually-agreed-upon objectives to address affordability.

Introduction of the Alliance Bonus Plan, which provides annual payouts for achieving new mutually-agreed-upon objectives to address affordability. New safe staffing and workload language : Will ensure every Kaiser Permanente patient receives extraordinary care every time and in every place.

: Will ensure every Kaiser Permanente patient receives extraordinary care every time and in every place. Opportunities for career growth: Alliance-represented employees will continue to have excellent career development and advancement opportunities.

The Alliance and Kaiser Permanente have agreed to form a national Affordability and Competitiveness Task Force with specific targets to find innovative ways to address issues of affordability while continuing to work together to protect high-quality patient care.

The tentative agreement was approved by members of the economic subcommittee of the Alliance of Health Care Unions and will now go to the full common issues committee (CIC) and then union members for ratification. Voting on the tentative agreement will occur over the next several weeks. If ratified, the agreement will have an effective date of October 1, 2021.

In light of this, the Alliance unions have canceled their strike notifications.

Kaiser Permanente and the Alliance are part of the longest running, most successful, and innovative labor management partnership in the nation.

About the Alliance of Health Care Unions

The Alliance of Health Care Unions includes locals of AFSCME (UNAC/UHCP), UFCW, USW (Steelworkers), IBT (Teamsters), the Kaiser Permanente Registered Nurse Anesthetists, IUOE, AFT (OFNHP), UNITE HERE, ILWU, and HNHP. The member unions share a deep commitment to providing the highest-quality patient care and service at Kaiser Permanente. We work to improve community health through higher living standards, and keep Kaiser Permanente the best place to work. Alliance workers are in every Kaiser Permanente service regions: 34,000 workers in Southern California; 1,350 in Northern California; 6,300 in Oregon and Washington; 2,100 in Colorado; 2,300 in Maryland, Washington, D.C. and northern Virginia; 3,000 in Georgia; and 1,900 in Hawaii. For more information, go to: ahcunions.org .

About Kaiser Permanente

Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America's leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, Kaiser Permanente has a mission to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve approximately 12.5 million members in 8 states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal Permanente Medical Group physicians, specialists, and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery, and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education, and the support of community health.

United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP) represents more than 32,000 registered nurses and other health care professionals in California and Hawaii, including optometrists; pharmacists; physical, occupational and speech therapists; case managers; nurse midwives; social workers; clinical lab scientists; physician assistants and nurse practitioners. UNAC/UHCP is a member of the Alliance of Health Care Unions and is affiliated with the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO.

Media Contacts:

Alliance of Health Care Unions Kaiser Permanente

Anjetta Thackeray Stephen Shivinsky

[email protected] [email protected]

909-455-5146 925-393-3911

Jeff Rogers

[email protected]

909-263-7230

SOURCE United Nurses Associations of California / Union of Health Care Professionals

Related Links

www.unacuhcp.org


Governments spent 2 weeks arguing over carbon markets, not delivering climate finance. The people won't accept inaction. Tweet this

Hellen Neima, Africa Climate Director, Corporate Accountability : "Sugar-coated poison still kills: carbon markets, with or without mention of human rights, will condemn people and the planet and continue to prop up polluters. Governments are using 'rights' as baitwe must not get hooked."

Aderonke Ige, Associate Director, CAPPA : "COP26 is a well-disguised charade, dominated by 'big boys' in shiny suits and small rooms, concerned only with protecting their image, profits, and power. Meanwhile, systemic oppression, vaccine apartheid, and private negotiations have excluded the victims of these climate crimes! Without the people's voices and real solutions, COP is just an elite marketplace for environmental criminals."

Nathalie Rengifo Alvarez, Latin America Climate Director, Corporate Accountability : "Our future is disappearing in front of our eyes. We know who's responsible, but who will make them pay? Corporations and polluting governments got us into this crisis, but they won't get us out. Only the people will save us. Polluters should be afraidthe UNFCCC may have failed us, but we still have the courts and the streets, and we are millions."

For a holistic analysis of COP26, see The Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice's closing statement . An excerpt:





"Across three decades [of COPs] we have witnessed polluters' great escape, an historic shifting of burden from rich to poor, from those who created these injustices to those upon whom these injustices are forced."

SOURCE Corporate Accountability

Related Links

http://www.corporateaccountability.org


View Sample: to know additional highlights and key points on various market segments and how they will impact in coming years.

Vendor Insights

The Corporate E-Learning Market is fragmented with the presence of several global and regional players. The report also offers information on several market vendors, including Articulate Global Inc., City and Guilds Group, CommLab India, D2L Corp., Designing Digitally Inc., EI Design Pvt Ltd., G Cube Webwide Software Pvt. Ltd., GP Strategies Corp., PeopleFluent Holdings Corp., and Skillsoft Ltd. among others.

Some of the leading players in the market are deploying growth strategies such as extensive product development and enhancing their portfolios by adding solutions such as mobile learning, gamification, and microlearning modules to compete in the market.

In March 2021, City and Guilds Group launched a brand new course to help people work in industries impacted by COVID-19, especially younger generations whose job prospects have been affected the most, to understand the skills needed for a new career in the digital sphere.

Find additional highlights on the growth strategies adopted by vendors and their product offerings. Read Sample Market Research Report .

Geographical Market Analysis

40% of the market's growth will originate from APAC during the forecast period. India and Japan are the key markets for corporate e-learning in APAC. Market growth in APAC will be faster than the growth of the market in other regions.

Know more about this market's geographical distribution along with the detailed analysis of the top regions. https://www.technavio.com/report/corporate-e-learning-market-industry-analysis

Key Market Trends & Challenges:

The report identifies the adoption of microlearning as the major trend influencing the corporate E-Learning market. The focus on personalization and adaptive learning is increasing the popularity of microlearning. In a fast-paced world with short attention spans of individuals, it becomes difficult to keep participants interested in training modules for longer durations. Micro-learning deals with the use of bite-sized learning modules and short-term learning activities. As a result, corporate e-learning vendors are moving from long-duration training courses to microlearning. With the advent of microlearning, corporate e-learning vendors are moving from traditional, lecture-style, long-duration videos to short videos.

Designing e-learning courses will hamper the growth of the market. In organizations where employees are of varying ages, ranging from baby boomers to millennials, providing e-learning content that can appeal to all the participants can be a challenge. Moreover, the need for effective and appealing content cannot be underrated while designing the content of an e-learning module.

View free sample for highlights on market Trends & Challenges affecting the corporate E-Learning market.

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Corporate Training Market by Product and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2021-2025  The corporate training market has the potential to grow by USD 40.21 billion during 2021-2025, and the market's growth momentum will accelerate at a CAGR of 7.97%.

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E-learning Market in UK by Product and End-user - Forecast and Analysis 2021-2025  The e-learning market share in UK is expected to increase by USD 9.94 billion from 2020 to 2025, and the market's growth momentum will accelerate at a CAGR of 15.05%.

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Corporate E-learning Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2020 Forecast period 2021-2025 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 13% Market growth 2021-2025 USD 37.80 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 12.25 Regional analysis APAC, North America, Europe, South America, and MEA Performing market contribution APAC at 40% Key consumer countries US, India, UK, Germany, and Japan Competitive landscape Leading companies, competitive strategies, consumer engagement scope Companies profiled Articulate Global Inc., City and Guilds Group, CommLab India, D2L Corp., Designing Digitally Inc., EI Design Pvt Ltd., G Cube Webwide Software Pvt. Ltd., GP Strategies Corp., PeopleFluent Holdings Corp., and Skillsoft Ltd. Market Dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID-19 impact and future consumer dynamics, market condition analysis for the forecast period Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized.

About Us:

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.

Contact

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media & Marketing Executive

US: +1 844 364 1100

UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.technavio.com/

SOURCE Technavio

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Vendor Landscape

The market structure is fragmented due to the presence of several global and regional vendors. Engino.net Ltd., Johnco Productions Pty Ltd., Learning Resources Ltd., LEGO System AS, Mattel Inc., Melissa & Doug LLC, MindWare Inc., Pegasus Toykraft Pvt. Ltd., Ravensburger Group, and VTech Holdings Ltd. are some of the few key vendors of this market. Vendors are competing to maintain their market position in the market. To succeed in this market, vendors must focus on providing educational toys at competitive prices.

Vendors operating in the market are adopting inorganic growth strategies such as mergers and acquisitions to remain competitive and expand their reach in the market.

For instance, in November 2020, ViacomCBS Consumer Products (VCP) and Melissa & Doug, the purpose-driven global toy brand formed an alliance to deliver PAW Patrol and Blue's Clues & You! co-branded toy product lines for Fall 2021.

View more about the market's vendor landscape highlights with a comprehensive list of vendors and their offerings.

Key Market Segmentation

Segmentation by Product:

Academic toys:



The segment contributed greatly to the overall market growth in 2020.





Academic toys was the largest segment of the market in 2020 and will continue to remain as the largest segment of the market in 2025. Factors such as the higher emphasis on visual technologies and the incorporation of AI are driving the growth of the segment.



Cognitive toys



Motor skills toys



Other toys

Segmentation by Application:

0-4 years :

:

In terms of application, the 0-4 years segment generated maximum revenue in the market in 2020.





The 0-4 years segment is expected to account for the maximum number of sales in the market over the forecast period.



4-8 years



Above 8 years

Request a FREE Sample of this report for more highlights into the market segments.

Regional Market Outlook

APAC is leading the market with a contribution of 36% to the overall market in 2020 and would increase its contribution to a notable number of the global educational toys market by 2025.

APAC will generate maximum growth across all the years of the forecast period between 2020 and 2025.

MEA would be the fastest-growing region within the overall market between 2020 and 2025.

Apart from regions, if we look at the country-wise market growth, the US, China, Japan, the UK, and Germany will contribute to the highest market growth.

Download our FREE sample report for more key highlights on the regional market share of most of the above-mentioned countries.

Latest Trends Driving the Global Educational toys Market

Educational toys Market Driver:

Growing adoption of smart toys:

The increasing adoption of connected devices in the education sector has led to the advent of smart toys backed with AI. These toys help improve the cognitive as well as speaking skills of children, which has increased their popularity and demand among customers. To cater to the growing demand for such toys, players in the market are introducing a wide range of smart toys that not only improve the cognitive skills but also the academic and motor skills of students. Besides, the increasing demand for smart toys is forcing traditional toy manufacturers to introduce products at a much lower price to remain competitive in the market, thereby driving the market growth.

Educational toys Market Trend:

Rise in green toys:

Vendors in the market are adopting sustainable manufacturing practices to have a lesser footprint in the environment. In addition, the growing concerns over the harmful effects caused by the raw materials used in educational toys among parents and educators have led to the emergence of green toys. These toys are made up of natural and recyclable materials that are sustainable and eco-friendly. This trend is expected to have a positive impact on the growth of the global educational toys market over the forecast period.

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Global Smart Toys Market  Global smart toys market is segmented by Technology (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Others), Geography (North America, Europe, APAC, MEA, and South America), and Distribution channel (offline and online).

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Toys Market in Europe  Toys market in Europe is segmented by Product (Activity toys and accessories, Soft toys and accessories, Outdoor and vehicle toys, Games and puzzles, and Others), Distribution Channel (Specialty stores, E-retailers, Hypermarkets, and Department stores), and Geography (UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Rest of Europe).

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Educational Toys Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2020 Forecast period 2021-2025 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 14% Market growth 2021-2025 USD 28.40 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 11.42 Regional analysis APAC, North America, Europe, South America, and MEA Performing market contribution APAC at 36% Key consumer countries US, China, Japan, UK, and Germany Competitive landscape Leading companies, competitive strategies, consumer engagement scope Companies profiled Engino.net Ltd., Johnco Productions Pty Ltd., Learning Resources Ltd., LEGO System AS, Mattel Inc., Melissa & Doug LLC, MindWare Inc., Pegasus Toykraft Pvt. Ltd., Ravensburger Group, and VTech Holdings Ltd. Market Dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID-19 impact and future consumer dynamics, market condition analysis for the forecast period. Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized.

About Us

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.

Contact

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media & Marketing Executive

US: +1 844 364 1100

UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.technavio.com/

SOURCE Technavio

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SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- On November 9th, Mexicali Resiste led dozens of activists, including representatives from Alcohol Justice, in a march on alcohol giant Constellation Brands to save three compatriots from dubious charges filed in Mexican court. These charges stem from Mexicali Resiste's work four years ago to prevent Constellation, a U.S.-based corporation with offices in San Francisco, from acquiring exclusive water rights in the drought-stricken Mexicali Valley. This trial is just the latest salvo in an ongoing struggle against Big Alcohol's takeovers of dwindling aquifers, a struggle that already has a body count. The trial is currently scheduled for the 16th of November.

"We can't pretend that alcohol harm is just a physical thing that happens to drinkers," said Cruz Avila, Executive Director of Alcohol Justice. "When Big Alcohol gets involved, it becomes economic harm. Political harm. It's another incarnation of the oppression and exploitation that has cast a long shadow over the US and its neighbors."

The San Francisco march was held to call for a boycott of Constellation and demand the company use its outsize influenceit is currently in negotiations with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's administration to open a new factory elsewhere in Mexicoto get the charges against Mexicali water protestors dropped. The group, which brought together both Mexico- and US-based organizations, peacefully occupied the sidewalk in front of the 101 Mission St. building where Constellation is housed, letting the affected members have their voices heard.

"We ask Constellations Brands to stop their plans to build gigantic breweries in water starved regions," stated Brenda Villanueva, Program Director - Pueblo y Salud. "This precious natural resource would best be used by the people for drinking and growing food instead of making more alcoholic beverages that are saturating and harming our youth and other members of our community."

In 2015, the governor of Baja California awarded Constellation Brands rights to draw from the aquifer in Mexicali in service of a new factory. Details of the contract were shrouded behind confidentiality clauses, but the plant was expected to produce over 4 million bottles of beer and experts estimated it would have consumed as much as 25% of the available water reserves.

"We denounce the criminalization of the Mexicali Resiste Activists for choosing to protect the most sacred element for survival and a dignified quality of life  WATER," said Mayra Jimenez, Advocacy Manager at Alcohol Justice. "We denounce Constellation Brands for commodifying water in a region that is experiencing severe water shortage. This is an environmental catastrophe!"

Local outrage peaked in 2017, when over 12,000 residents of Mexicali took to the streets, including the members of Mexicali Resiste who now stand trial. Following the protests, they were charged with "dispossession of state buildings" and "deprivation of liberty of the police." Investigators subsequently cleared them of the charges, but this year, as Constellation began seeking a new location for the plant, the Congress of Baja California suddenly decided to overrule the police decision and refile the charges.

The stakes are high, both for the protestors themselves and for impacted communities along the U.S.-Mexico border. For the members of Mexicali Resiste, they are being confronted with charges that the Mexican government deemed important enough to justify detention during the trial, which may last several years. For indigenous and community groups fighting water monopolization in Mexico, it adds state sanctions to existing efforts to chill resistance.

"The objectives are to instill fear in those who have not yet become protestors," stated Mexicali Resiste member Jesus Galaz Duarte, one of the three scheduled to be tried on Tuesday, in a statement posted to YouTube.

That fear is already there. Oscar Eyraud Adams, a member of the Kumiai people of Baja California and a resident of Tecate (west of Mexicali), fought the diversion of water supplies away from local farmers to the Heineken brewery in that city. He was assassinated on the street in September 2020. The Yaqui people of neighboring Sonora state have had similar experiences, with multiple activists being murdered in or near Ciudad Obregon. Now Constellation Brands is seeking to expand its Ciudad Obregon facilityand therefore its draw from the water supplieswith those activists' blood still fresh on the streets. Now, with the reopened Mexicali Resiste trial, Mexican activists are being told in no uncertain terms they will not find protection from the government.

"Choosing to criminalize fighting for human rights is a crime against the people," added Jimenez. "Government officials that condone this degree of corporate extraction are complicit in crimes against humanity on both sides of the border. We STAND UP and FIGHT for JUSTICE because we are all Mexicali Resiste."

As crushing droughts cripple the West of both the U.S. and Mexico, water-intensive industries like industrial-scale brewing take on a new and more sinister cast. The Mexicali Valley aquifer is recharged in no small part by the waters of the Colorado River, which have been largely claimed by states in the U.S. long before it reaches the border. According to researchers, the aquifer was overdrawn by 456 million cubic metersenough water to fill 50 Levis Stadiumsin 2015, an overdraft that has undoubtedly increased during the drought.

As water tables drop, the water that goes into beer becomes an extracted, semi- or even unrenewable resource, much like oil, minerals, coal, or lumber. In the case of Constellation, which thanks to antitrust action has the rights to sell Corona, Pacifico, and Modelo in the United States but not in Mexico, this is classic instance of resource exploitationMexican water resources are extracted by U.S. companies and shipped back over the border.

Yet water still stands alone among resources. It is the only one that the human body requires to survive. The loss of water supplies, therefore, forms an existential threat everywhere it occurs, often taking the form of civil unrest.

"You cannot ignore what this means for the future of both countries," said Avila. "Every country, even. Justice for the Mexicali Resiste members, safety for the residents of Mexican border states, accountability for Big Alcohol, and access to water are not separate issues. They are different faces of one issue, and it effects everyone in the west."

#Mexicali Resiste

#Alcohol Justice

#Red Binacional de Mujeres Que Luchan

#La Resistencia Los Angeles

#Chiapas Support Committee

#Guatemaya Los Angeles

#Abolition Yuma County

#Pueblo y Salud

#California Alcohol Policy Alliance

CONTACT:

Mayra Jimenez 323-683-4687

Michael Scippa 415-548-0492

Christina Mira 510-829-8982

SOURCE Alcohol Justice

Related Links

http://www.AlcoholJustice.org


VVDN continues its expansion by opening a new Die Casting facility in Manesar, Haryana. This new facility was also inaugurated by the Hon'ble Minister of State today. The announcement comes as part of the company's plans to further strengthen its engineering and manufacturing capabilities by adding to its existing infrastructure. With VVDN continuing its expansion and growth, the new 'State of the Art' facility is in addition to an already existing 4 manufacturing facilities in Manesar.

Spread across 45,000 sq ft., VVDN's new Die Casting facility is one its kind in India which has been setup with heavy investment on best-in-class machines. VVDN now has a complete infrastructure - SMT, Mold Making, Injection Molding, Die Casting, Product Assembly, and is fully equipped to do the complete end-to-end design and manufacturing of Telecom products including 5G Radios, Massive MIMO, Access Points, Routers, Servers, etc.  major-breakthrough for a true MAKE IN INDIA product.

The Minister was also impressed with VVDN's efforts towards women empowerment and congratulated the company for having women from all over the country working at various levels and making a significant contribution.

Puneet Agarwal, CEO and Co-Founder  VVDN Technologies said, "VVDN Technologies has always been a promoter of Electronics Products 'Design and Make in India which is in line with the vision of Hon'ble Prime Minister of India of making Bharat 'Atmanirbhar'. Visit of Hon'ble Minister of State for Communication in the premise of VVDN is a badge of honor for VVDN. His visit has not only further inspired us but has also infused a new energy in entire VVDN family to scale new heights. It also shows the commitment of Modi Government that Minister of State for communications himself has come to encourage indigenous manufacturing of products in the area of 5G mobile communications. The new Die Casting facility is also part of 'atmanirbhar bharat' endeavour of VVDN which enhances our manufacturing capabilities and allows us to do complex designs in faster time and lower cost. With a complete in-house set up, VVDN will be able to meet the ever-growing business demands of its customers globally."

Recently, VVDN has been approved by the Govt. of India under multiple Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes IT Hardware, Telecom and Network equipment manufacturing and White Goods manufacturing.

About VVDN Technologies:

VVDN is a Product Engineering & Manufacturing company focused on designing & manufacturing end-to-end products across several technology vertical markets (5G, Data Center, Vision, Networking and Wi-Fi, IoT, Cloud & Apps). VVDN's India HQ is located at Gurgaon, India and its North America HQ's is located in San Jose, CA, USA. VVDN serves global customers across several regions including US, Canada, Europe, India, Vietnam, Korea, and Japan. VVDN has 10 advanced Product Engineering Centers in India, which are fully equipped to design & test the complete hardware & software required to develop a complete product or solution. VVDN's 5 Manufacturing facilities are located at Manesar, Gurgaon, India which includes in-house best-in-class SMT Factory, Molding & Tooling Factory, Die Casting, Product Assembly Factory, and Product Certifications labs. VVDN's Engineering & Manufacturing facilities are fully complied to develop & manufacture Enterprise, Consumer, Industrial, and Automotive-grade products.

Visit www.vvdntech.com for more information.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1687280/VVDN_Inauguration.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1531036/VVDN_Technologies_Logo.jpg

SOURCE VVDN Technologies

Related Links

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LOUISVILLE, Ky., Nov. 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Eighth Annual Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Awards took place this evening at the Muhammad Ali Center in the Champ's hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. Awardees included seven young adults, in the "30 years and under" category, each who received an award that mirrors one of Muhammad Ali's Six Core Principles (Confidence, Conviction, Dedication, Respect, Giving, and Spirituality). Four individuals, took home humanitarian awards in the "seasoned awards" category, including Ina Bond; Dr. Richard Lapchick; Ann Curry; and Chef Edward Lee and Lindsey Ofcacek.

Kathy Sledge, Grammy nominated music icon and signature voice in Sister Sledge, served as host for the awards ceremony.

The purpose of the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Awards, an annual fundraiser for the Muhammad Ali Center, is to harness the power of the late Muhammad Ali's legacy by recognizing individuals who are driven by a call to action to effect positive change in the world and to encourage young people worldwide to have the courage to become actively involved in social justice issues that are impacting their communities and their countries.

The Six Core Principle Awardees are: Chelsea Miller and Nialiah Edari (US), Sonita Alizadeh (Afghanistan), Christian Stephen (England), Yvette Ishimwe (Rwanda), Clementine Jacoby (US), and Darius Baxter (US).

Read more about each awardee here and our presenters HERE.

The event was also livestreamed and will be available on the Ali Center's website HERE.

Photos to be available on AP and Getty Images.

The Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Awards are made possible through the generous support of our Silver Sponsors, Brown Forman and the LADBible Group, as well as our Table Sponsors, and all of the individuals who have supported this event.

About the Muhammad Ali Center

The Muhammad Ali Center, a 501(c)3 corporation, was cofounded by Muhammad Ali and his wife Lonnie in their hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. The international cultural center promotes the Six Core Principles of Muhammad Ali (Confidence, Conviction, Dedication, Giving, Respect, and Spirituality) in ways that inspire personal and global greatness and provides programming and events around the focus areas of education, racial and gender equity, and global citizenship. The Ali Center is formally associated with the United Nations Department of Global Communications, and in 2020, became one of the newest stops on the U.S. Civil Rights Trail. The Center's headquarters also contains an award-winning museum experience. For more information, please visit www.alicenter.org

Contact:

Jeanie Kahnke

Muhammad Ali Center

(502) 992-5301/ (502) 640-6077 mobile

[email protected]

www.alicenter.org

SOURCE Muhammad Ali Center

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WASHINGTON, Nov. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, along with fellow veteran astronauts Michael Lopez-Alegria and Scott Kelly, were inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame class of 2021 on Saturday, Nov. 13. Their induction ceremony, held at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, brings the Hall of Fame's membership to 102.

Melroy, Lopez-Alegria, and Kelly have spent a combined total of more than 635 days in space. They were honored for demonstrating outstanding accomplishments in furthering NASA's mission of exploration and discovery.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson provided keynote remarks at the ceremony and former CNN space correspondent John Zarrella served as host. Both praised the inductees for their contributions to NASA's space program.

"These three pioneers propelled upward and explored the heavens. They broke barriers and set records. They pushed the boundaries of humanity's reach," Nelson said. "Pam, Michael, and Scott, congratulations on this well-earned recognition. And thank you for daring us to keep looking upward and pushing outward into the unknown."

Melroy was selected as a NASA astronaut in 1994. A veteran of three space shuttle missions, she served as pilot for two flights and commander for her third, making her one of only two women to command a space shuttle. Melroy logged more than 924 hours in space. She retired from NASA in 2007 and was sworn in as the agency's deputy administrator on June 21, 2021.

"It is a great honor to be inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame together with my distinguished colleagues," said Melroy. "Now we are building a program to achieve a series of objectives that will provide the blueprint to how we maintain a human presence in deep space as we explore the solar system, and then the universe. Those of us who had the incredible good fortune to go to space know that all of humanity is the crew of spaceship Earth, and it is our duty to care for each other and our home planet."

NASA selected Kelly as an astronaut in 1996. He served as pilot on his first space shuttle mission and commander on his second. In October 2010, Kelly launched aboard the Soyuz TMA-A spacecraft to serve a tour of duty aboard the International Space Station and commander of Expedition 26. In March 2015, Kelly returned to the space station for a one-year mission, serving as a flight engineer and then commander. During the mission, almost 400 experiments were conducted on the station.

The agency selected Lopez-Alegria as an astronaut in 1992. He was a mission specialist for three flights aboard the space shuttle and served as commander of Expedition 14 aboard the space station from September 2006 to April 2007. Lopez-Alegria logged more than 257 days in space and performed 10 spacewalks, totaling 67 hours and 40 minutes.

The 2021 inductees were selected by a committee of Hall of Fame astronauts, former NASA officials, flight directors, historians, and journalists. The process is administered by the Astronaut Selection Foundation, which was founded by the original seven Mercury astronauts in 1984. To be eligible, an astronaut must have made his or her first flight at least 17 years before the induction and have been retired from NASA for at least five years. Each candidate must be a U.S. citizen and a NASA-trained commander, pilot, or mission specialist who has orbited Earth at least once.

The Astronaut Selection Foundation has awarded more than $7 million to more than 600 college students majoring in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics studies.

Learn more about current and former NASA astronauts online:

https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts

SOURCE NASA

Related Links

http://www.nasa.gov


MOSCOW, Nov. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Sber's international online conference "Artificial Intelligence Journey" culminated in a discussion titled "AI Technology to Address Social Issues", in which the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, participated. The discussion was moderated by Sber CEO and Chairman of the Sberbank Executive Board, Herman Gref. The session was attended by the winners of the AI International Junior Contest, organized by Sber in partnership with the Artificial Intelligence Alliance.

This year's conference hit all-time record, with 52,000 participants. Over 800 people presented their solutions to AI challenges, including innovative approaches to Strong AI and Artificial General Intelligence. For the first time, the conference announced the results of the international AI contest for children who have demonstrated considerable ambition.

President Putin started his speech by thanking CEO Herman Gref and Sber's employees for a great job, noting that Sber's banking operations have always been, and remain, a true "people's bank" of systemic significance to the Russian economy, serving over 100 million clients to date. While promoting the idea of technical progress, Sber has built a people-centric ecosystem, developing a new paradigm where the human is the centre of all processes. This transformation supports not only economy but also people's lifestyles.

With this background, President Putin noted, it is crucial to transition promptly from an experiment to a major launch of new cross-cutting technologies designed to improve the quality of people's lives. Accordingly, the development plans in various industries should be closely aligned with AI development strategies and extensive training programs on AI competencies for specialists from various fields are essential.

At the same time, when removing excessive barriers to advanced solutions and creating a regulatory environment appropriate to the challenges of the time, it is necessary to consider a wide range of complex legal and ethical issues. These relate to ensuring access to data and data depersonalization, intellectual property guarantees, and countering crime in the field of technology. To be leaders in the field of AI, we need a human environment  an atmosphere in the family and at school that supports moral values and the development of soft skills, including teamwork.

Sber CEO Herman Gref then announced the winners of the Artificial Intelligence International Junior Contest, with contestants presenting their AI solutions to President Putin. Among them was an app for converting Russian sign language into text; a neural network that adapts school tasks to the interests of the student (sports, music, literature, animals) without distorting its meaning which increases motivation; a system for detecting deepfakes; and an algorithm that generates a cartoon based on a text string and a requested genre.

President Putin then answered questions from the students. The students were interested in topics such as the development of a mentoring system in Russia, the possibilities of utilising AI technologies in public administration, automation, and the pace of mass implementation of AI in all spheres of domestic life. In answering the questions, President Putin stressed that when implementing AI, it is necessary to ensure the interests of people and respect for their rights. This should be facilitated by a code of ethics in the fields of AI development and application, developed with the participation of the Artificial Intelligence Alliance member companies.

Sber CEO and Chairman of the Sberbank Executive Board Herman Gref said:

"All of us  large companies, companies of the alliance for the development of artificial intelligence in the country  will try to do everything to fulfil our social mission and your request that we do everything to place people at the centre of technological development. In the past we tried to offer familiar goods and services to the market. Today, with the help of AI technology, it is possible to place the customer at the centre of our activities and seek to provide services many could not even dream of yesterday, as conveniently and affordably as possible. We are already at this stage of our technological and economic development, and with your support, attention, and that of the government, I see no hurdles to achieving the goal of making Russia a world leader in the development of AI technologies, and in economic development in general."

SOURCE Sber
Vendor Landscape

The market structure is fragmented due to the presence of several global and regional vendors. Albertsons Companies Inc., Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Amazon.com Inc., Ebates Performance Marketing Inc., Ocado Retail Ltd., SPAR International, Target Corp., Tesco Plc, and Walmart Inc. are some of the few key vendors of this market. Vendors are competing to maintain their market position in the market. To succeed in this market, vendors must focus on providing online grocery delivery services at competitive prices.

Vendors operating in the market are adopting various organic and inorganic growth strategies such as forming strategic alliances to compete in the market. For instance, in March 2021, Albertsons Companies announced a partnership with Google to make shopping easier and more convenient for millions of customers nationwide.

View more about the market's vendor landscape highlights with a comprehensive list of vendors and their offerings.

Key Market Segmentation

Segmentation by End-user:

Individuals:



The segment contributed greatly to the overall market growth in 2020.





Individual was the largest segment of the market in 2020 and will continue to remain as the largest segment of the market in 2025.



Others

Request a FREE Sample of this report for more highlights into the market segments

Regional Market Outlook

APAC is leading the market with a contribution of 55% to the overall market in 2020 and would increase its contribution to a notable number of the global online grocery delivery services market by 2025.

APAC will generate maximum growth across all the years of the forecast period between 2020 and 2025. The market growth in APAC is driven by rising income levels, westernization of buying habits, and raising awareness about online grocery shopping.

APAC would be the fastest-growing region within the overall market between 2020 and 2025.

Apart from regions, if we look at the country-wise market growth, China, the UK, the US, Japan, and France will contribute to the highest market growth.

Download our FREE sample report for more key highlights on the regional market share of most of the above-mentioned countries.

Latest Trends Driving the Global Online grocery delivery services Market

Online Grocery Delivery Services Market Driver:

Increased popularity and adoption of e-commerce platforms:

The rising penetration of the internet and the high adoption of smartphones has increased the online consumer base. This has subsequently increased the popularity and the adoption of online platforms in both developed and developing regions across the globe. In addition, the availability of cheap labor in emerging economies has fueled the growth of the e-commerce industry, which, in turn, is driving the market growth.

Online grocery delivery services Market Trend:

Growth in demand for functional foods and beverages:

Consumers across the world are increasingly becoming conscious of their health. This has increased the demand and consumption of a wide range of functional foods and beverages. However, most of these products are not readily available in stock in brick-and-mortar stores, which is driving customers to purchase them online. The growing acceptance of functional foods is encouraging online grocery delivery service providers to offer a wide range of such products, thereby driving the market growth.

Find additional information about various other market drivers & Trends mentioned in our FREE sample report .

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Evaluate a specific segment or region in detail

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Analyze market regulations

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London, Nov 13 : The UK and the European Union (EU) will have further talks on the Northern Ireland Protocol next week as recent weeks' negotiation failed to narrow their significant gaps, a British government spokesperson has said.

The spokesperson's comment came after the meeting between British Brexit Minister David Frost and European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic in London earlier on Friday, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Lord Frost noted that there remained significant gaps to be bridged between the UK and EU positions. He noted that... it remained the UK's preference to find a consensual way forward, but that Article 16 safeguards were a legitimate part of the protocol's provisions," the spokesperson said.

The Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol provides both Britain and the EU with a unilateral power to take action should the application of the protocol give rise to "serious economic, societal or environmental difficulties that are liable to persist, or to diversion of trade." Frost also underlined the need to address the full range of issues Britain had identified in the course of discussions, if a comprehensive and durable solution was to be found that supported the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement and was in the best interests of Northern Ireland, according to the spokesperson.

The spokesperson said the talks had been constructive so far, but new energy needs to be brought in to make progress.

Intensified talks will take place between teams in Brussels next week on all issues, giving particular attention to medicines and customs issues, the spokesperson said.

Britain and the EU view changing the protocol as a long-term solution to post-Brexit trade disruption in Northern Ireland. Britain outlined its proposals in a government paper in July, which observers interpreted as a renegotiation of the protocol.

In response, the EU published its own package to facilitate the movement of goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, including cutting customs formalities, simplified certification, and an 80 percent reduction of checks on retail goods for Northern Ireland's consumers.

It said it would guarantee an uninterrupted supply of medicine to the people of Northern Ireland, by changing EU rules.

However, the two sides remain poles apart on the more challenging issue of the oversight role of the European Court of Justice in Northern Ireland.
New Delhi, Nov 13 : The Centre has said that one lakh Genome and DNA sequencing has been done for Covid-19 so far by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and five Covid biorepositories with 57,000 samples have been made available for the academia and industry for R&D and product development.

"A Vaccine Testing and Research Facility will come up at the second campus of the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB) and this centre will also have a BSL 3 facility, which is capable of handling airborne viruses like Covid-19. This facility will be the first of its kind in South India," Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology, Jitendra Singh has said on Friday.

He added that RGCB will be developed as a hub for research and testing of multiple vaccines such as cancer vaccine and those for infectious diseases, including Covid-19.

"This will bring huge recognition for RGCB in the specific area of vaccine research and development." The minister was presiding over a high-level meeting to review the current status of Covid-19 research, development of vaccines and other protocols as well as the contribution made in this direction by each of the autonomous institutions of the DBT located in various parts of the country, said a release by the Ministry of Science & Technology.

Odisha Science and Technology Minister Ashok Chandra Panda and Deputy Chief Minister and Minister in-charge of Higher Education, Government of Delhi, Manish Sisodia also attended the meeting on behalf of Institute of Life Sciences (ILS), Bhubaneswar and National Institute for Plant Genome Research, (NIPGR), New Delhi.

Secretary, DBT, Rajesh Gokhale said during the meeting that the department has prepared a roadmap with a focus on diagnosis, treatment and most importantly, prevention.

"DBT has supported 100 projects in the thematic areas of vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics, besides enabling seven vaccine candidates by industry and eight candidates by academia," he said.

DBT, under Mission Covid Suraksha, also supported five vaccine candidates, 19 clinical trial sites, six facilities for immunogenicity assays and animal challenge models and facility augmentation for Covaxin production, the release added.

Heads and Directors of RGCB, Thiruvananthapuram; Centre for DNA Fingerprinting & Diagnostics, (CDFD), Hyderabad; Institute of Life Sciences (ILS), Bhubaneswar; National Institute for Plant Genome Research, (NIPGR), New Delhi and Institute of Bioresources & Sustainable Development (IBSD), Imphal were also present in the meeting.

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
Kochi, Nov 13 : With an ever enlarging market space, 'high' demographic dividend and a 'highly' skilled and trained workforce, India has been much better-placed than most other prominent economies to lead the global recovery from a pandemic affected world, said Union Minister of State for Skill Development, Entrepreneurship, Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

On the first visit to his home state after becoming Union minister, Chandrasekhar on Friday addressed an interactive session with eminent people representing leading business houses, research and academic institutions at the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) here.

"Unlike many other nations, India's economic response towards the pandemic was aimed at achieving self-reliance in developing vaccines and to effectively insulate the most vulnerable section of the society from pandemic induced economic distress. Towards this, the government focused on distributing targeted cash and food, developing health infrastructure and vaccinating the population. This approach was in variance with the views of the several world renowned economists who favoured random distribution of cash, but our experience so far showed that the policy worked well at the grass root level", he said.

"Several structural reforms aimed at improving the efficiency of production were taken up by the government to improve India's medium and long-run growth prospects, at the same time not compromising with the immediate requirements to combat the pandemic. This approach has gained wider economic significance at a time when India registers a solid growth recovery", added Chandrasekhar.

India acted differently while keeping direct fiscal spending at a lower level of GDP, he asserted.

He added that the ambitious 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' project focuses not only on vaccines and economy but it also stresses on national security and strengthening democracy.

Touching upon the government's efforts to strengthen infrastructure development, Chandrasekhar lauded the 'PM Gati Shakti' scheme that would pave the way for an interconnected system to facilitate digital enabled 'super governance'.
Bengaluru, Nov 13 : Countering opposition leaders who are making allegations on ruling BJP over Bitcoin scam, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has challenged them to elaborate as to what exactly is the alleged Bitcoin scam and submit the documents, if any, to the investigation agencies, which are already conducting the probe into the issue.

Speaking to media persons after the function to felicitate Justice Aravind Kumar, who has been appointed as the Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court, Bommai on Friday said, "I will not like to react on the issue every day. " Replying to questions from the reporters on the issue, Bommai said, "let those who are making the allegations explain what exactly is the scam and who are involved in it. The case has been handed over to the Enforcement Directorate 8-9 months ago. Interpol Cell of the CBI too has been informed about the case which has international dimension." Divergent figures are being quoted about the amount involved in the alleged scam. There was no documentary backing for the allegations, he said.

"Our government has an open mind about the issue. There is no question of shielding anybody. None of us are involved in it. Let them submit the documents in their possession to the investigation agencies, let the truth come out," Bommai said.

When asked about claims of the opposition leaders that the alleged scam would force him to quit, "it is a politically motivated allegation," he replied.
Los Angeles, Nov 13 : Marvel Studios announced that the company is expanding its slate of animated series for Disney Plus with three new shows: 'X-Men '97', 'Spider-Man: Freshman Year', and 'Marvel Zombies'.

After Disney purchased 20th Century Fox in 2019, and the 'X-Men' movie franchise was on its last legs with the poorly received 'Dark Phoenix' and 'The New Mutants', many observers expected Marvel Studios to reboot the X-Men and reintegrate the characters back into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, reports variety.com.

Instead, for its first swing at the team of powerful mutant superheroes, the company is reaching back to its own origin story: 'X-Men '97' will be a continuation of the beloved 1990s 'X-Men' animated series that ran for five seasons on the Fox network from 1992 through 1997.

The show, which debuted in primetime before moving to Saturday mornings, was such a sensation that it's widely credited for convincing 20th Century Fox to make the live-action 'X-Men' movie, which launched the modern era of superhero cinema when it premiered in 2000.

One of the associate producers on that film was current Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige. Effectively, without the 'X-Men' animated series, Marvel Studios probably wouldn't exist.

Beau DeMayo, who wrote Netflix's animated 'The Witcher' spin-off 'Nightmare of the Wolf', will serve as head writer on 'X-Men '97'.The show is set to premiere in 2023.

'Spider-Man: Freshman Year', meanwhile, will be tied to the MCU while also evoking Marvel's deeper history, with an aesthetic approach that, according to a press release, "celebrates the character's early comic book roots".

This show will follow Peter Parker on his journey to becoming Spider-Man within the MCU, suggesting the show might dramatise this Peter's origin story, something the live-action movies with Tom Holland bypassed entirely.

As for 'Marvel Zombies', it also connects to Marvel comics, specifically a limited series written by Robert Kirkman with art by Sean Phillips that launched in late 2005 in which pretty much all the Avengers become, well, zombies.

That comic series was already loosely adapted in an episode from the first season of Marvel Studios' inaugural animated series 'What If?' The alternate universe premise of the episode involves a virus which quickly infects most of the Avengers and causes a zombie apocalypse, and concludes with Spider-Man, T'Challa, and the artificially preserved head of Scott Lang traveling to Wakanda with the Mind Stone to create a cure for the virus, where zombie Thanos awaits them with the Infinity Gauntlet.

It's unclear if 'Marvel Zombies' will be a spin-off of the 'What If?'.

The three new series, along with Season 2 of 'What If?' and the 'Guardians of the Galaxy' spin-off 'I Am Groot', mark the first wave of animated shows from Marvel Studios.
Washington, Nov 13 : US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Qatar has agreed to represent American interests in Afghanistan following the closure of the Embassy in Kabul in August.

Blinken made the announcement at a news conference on Friday after holding talks with Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, reports Xinhua news agency.

"Today, we're signing two new agreements that reflect our deepening collaboration on Afghanistan. The first establishes Qatar as the US' protecting power in Afghanistan," said Blinken.

Qatar will establish a US intersection within its Embassy in Afghanistan to provide certain consular services and monitor the security of American diplomatic facilities in Afghanistan, Blinken said.

"The second agreement formalizes our partnership with Qatar to facilitate the travel of Afghans with US special immigrant visas, a role that it's already been playing in many instances and serve as a transit point for eligible Afghans as they complete their application process.

"Of the more than 124,000 people evacuated from Afghanistan in August, roughly half transited through Qatar," the Secretary of State added.

On his part, Al Thani said Qatar will "continue to be an instrument of peace and stability in the region".

"There is still much to be done in Afghanistan, and Qatar remains committed to continue the necessary work alongside with the US and partners around the world," the Minister said.

"we are dedicated to contributing to the stability of Afghanistan and the safety and well-being of the Afghan people." Afghanistan fell to the Taliban after the US completed its withdrawal from the war-torn nation at the end of August, ending its 20-year war against terror.

Over 2,400 US troops had been killed in Afghanistan over the past two decades, with 20,000 wounded, according to the Pentagon.

Estimates showed that over 66,000 Afghan troops had been killed, and over 2.7 million people were displaced as a result of the conflict.
Moscow, Nov 13 : The Russian Defence Ministry detected six NATO reconnaissance aircraft near the country's borders in the Black Sea over the past 24 hours.

The Ministry's Zvezda broadcaster said on Friday that Russia's Aerospace forces had detected and escorted the foreign aircraft, as the intensity of NATO aerial reconnaissance activities continued to grow, Xinhua news agency reported.

Three US Navy P-8A Poseidon patrol aircraft were detected, along with a French Air Force C-160G Gabriel aircraft, a US Air Force RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft and a US Air Force U-2S reconnaissance plane, it said.

The broadcaster added that the Ministry views the "aggressive military activity of the US in the Black Sea region as a threat to regional security and strategic stability".

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that Russia will take all necessary measures to ensure its security against the backdrop of NATO's increased military activities near the country's borders.
Bengaluru, Nov 13 : Coming under pressure from Hindu outfits and religious pontiffs, the Karnataka government is all set to enact a law on religious conversions soon, according to sources.

The Sri Ram Sena has warned that it would launch a statewide agitation if the ruling BJP government in Karnataka doesn't enact a law to ban forceful conversions.

Sources in the BJP confirmed that the government is all set to make a law in this regard and the bill will be mooted in the coming winter session scheduled to be held in Suvarna Soudha at Belagavi next month.

Seers of various mutts have appealed to the state government for implementing the act.

Sri Ram Sena Chief Pramod Muthalik who met Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday, warned that if the state government fails to enact the law, all Hindu religious seers in Karnataka would launch the agitation.

According to Muthalik, "religious conversions are taking place from the period of the British".

Chief Minister Bommai responded positively to the demand, saying: "The Karnataka government is already studying the laws passed by some states in this regard. Karnataka would soon come out with its own act." He added that Constitution is clear against conversions by means of force and inducements. "I have spoken against this in the past too," he maintained.

The issue of religious conversions was raised by Hosadurga BJP MLA Goolihatti Shekar during the Monsoon session.

He had claimed that thousands have been converted in his constituency and missionaries' have foisted rape and atrocity cases on those who questioned conversion activities.

Later, he had organised a 'Ghar wapsi' programme in his constituency to bring back Hindus from Christianity.

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
Geneva, Nov 13 : Europe has reported almost two million new Covid-19 infections last week, the largest weekly case count in the continent since the start of the pandemic early last year, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

There were also almost 27,000 coronavirus-related deaths in Europe, more than half of all the Covid fatalities in the world last week, Xinhua news agency quoted WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus as saying at a press briefing here on Friday.

He said that Covid-19 cases have been surging not only in nations with lower vaccination rates in Eastern Europe, but also in countries with some of the world's highest inoculation rates in Western Europe.

According to the WHO's weekly report, during the week of November 1-7, the WHO European Region reported 1,949,419 new cases, a 7 per cent week-on-week increase, while other regions reported declines or stable trends.

Europe's 26,726 new deaths represented a 10 per cent weekly jump, while other regions showed decreasing trends.

Of the European region's 61 countries, 26 reported increases of ten percent or more in the number of new cases in the past week, with the highest numbers coming from Russia, the UK and Turkey.

"Some European countries are now reintroducing restrictions to curb transmission and take the pressure off their health systems," Tedros said.

"We continue to recommend the tailored and proportionate use of testing, masks, physical distancing, measures to prevent crowding, improved ventilation, and more. And get vaccinated when it's your turn. Every country must constantly assess its situation and adjust its approach accordingly," he said.

Michael Ryan, Executive Director of the WHO's Health Emergencies Program, noted that the surge in cases in Europe was occurring as temperatures were dropping and people were moving back inside with the perception that the pandemic was nearing the end.

What is happening in Europe despite the availability of vaccines is "a warning shot for the world", Ryan said.

"We all have to double down and recommit ourselves to doing everything we can to be the last person in the chain of transmission.

"I think every country now needs to look at its epidemiology, look at protecting its health workforce or its health system and ensure that it can get through the next few months without systems going into collapse again," he added.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Los Angeles, Nov 13 : 'Prey', which is set in the 'Predator' universe with an Indigenous woman as its lead, will stream on Hulu in the US in summer 2022.

In some international markets, it will stream on Disney Plus under the Starbrand, and in Latin America, it will premiere on Star Plus, reports variety.com.

Reports about the existence of a 'Predator' reboot were out there, but its first look, title and the timing of its release were officially announced on Friday as part of its Disney Plus Day promotional event.

'Prey' is produced by Jhane Myers, and is one of a slate of films from 20th Century Studios.

It is directed by Dan Trachtenberg of '10 Cloverfield Lane' fame.

The Indigenous actor Amber Midthunder plays Naru, who according to Disney, wants to "prove her worth as a warrior", and "certainly gets her chance when she comes face to face with the most dangerous hunter of all, the other-worldly predator".

It's not clear whether 'Prey' will be released in theatres.

The 'Predator' franchise began in 1987 with Arnold Schwarzenegger toplining the original title. Five more titles in the franchise have been released since then, most recently 2018' 'The Predator' directed by Shane Black.

There were three other 2022 films announced Friday in the Hulu/Star cohort.

'Rosaline', a new take on 'Romeo and Juliet', is from the perspective of the character from the play who is discussed, but never appears: Juliet's cousin Rosaline, with whom Romeo is in love. Kaitlyn Dever stars, and Karen Maine directs.

'The Princess' is an "irreverent action movie set in a fairytale world", and further described as "Sleeping Beauty meets John Wick". Joey King stars, and Le-Van Kiet directs.

'No Exit' stars Havana Rose Liu in what is characterised as a "harrowing suspense-thriller" in which the lead character is "stranded by a blizzard and forced to find shelter at a highway rest area with a group of strangers".

It is based on the 2019 novel by Taylor Adams of the same name.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
San Francisco, Nov 13 : Meta, formerly Facebook, is rolling out new shopping features -- Shops in Groups, product recommendations and a test of Live Shopping -- for Creators.

Shops in Groups enables admins of Facebook groups to set up an online store on their associated Facebook Page.

According to TechCrunch, it is up to the admins where this money goes -- in the case of OctoNation, a page that tested the feature, the profits went to OctoNation's nonprofit that educates people about octopuses.

This could get hairy in groups that do not have a clear philanthropic aim, but it is not as though Facebook groups have never been sites for drama before, the report said.

Still, Yulie Kwon Kim, Meta's vice president of Product Management, pointed out that many group admins are volunteers and these shops could offer them a revenue stream for their work.

"The money goes to the group admin, and they can decide how they want to use it," Kim told the website.

"This is a great way for people to sustain and keep the group going," she added.

Facebook had previously announced its plans for group monetisation features, including shops, fundraisers and subscriptions, at its Facebook Communities Summit hosted earlier this month.

Facebook also said that users often ask for product recommendations in groups, think about a skincare or make-up group, so now, if a user mentions a product that is listed in a Facebook shop, they can tag it and embed it into their comment.

Top product recommendations from groups will appear within users' news feeds.

Facebook has had Live Shopping for years, but as partnerships between brands and creators become more common, the app has begun testing a feature that would make these collaborations appear more seamless.

Now, instead of an influencer directing fans to another page to watch them sell a product or vice versa, creators and brands can cross-stream on both of their pages.
Berlin, Nov 13 : In the wake of record Covid-19 infection figures in Germany, Minister of Health Jens Spahn has called for additional measures to contain the further spread of the virus.

Daily infections stayed near the 50,000-mark which was exceeded for the first time since the pandemic on Thursday, reports Xinhua news agency.

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) reported 48,640 new Covid cases in the last 24 hours, which increased the overall infection tally to 4,974,112.

The death toll currently stood at 98,050.

Germany now has to "do everything necessary to break this momentum", Spahn told reporters here.

"Otherwise, it will be a bitter December for the entire country," he added The seven-day Covid-19 incidence rate kept rising to new record levels and reached 263.7 cases per 100,000 inhabitants on Friday, compared with 169.9 a week ago, according to the RKI.

"If we want to break the fourth wave, we have to act more decisively," said Spahn, suggesting the introduction of so-called 2G Plus for public events, which means that vaccinated and recovered people would have to present a negative test in order to attend an event.

According to the German Intensive Care Availability Register (DIVI), the number of Covid-19 patients requiring treatment in intensive care units (ICUs) reached 2,863 on Friday, but still below the peak of around 5,700 during the height of the second wave last year.
November 13 : Kangana Ranaut is once again in the midst of a new controversy. Politicians and Indian citizens protest over her controversial "real freedom" in 2014, and India's Independence in 1947 as "bheek" statements at an event on Thursday.

As a recent development, people gathered outside her house on Friday afternoon and protested against her controversial statements. A group of the NSUI Mumbai members staged a protest and demanded that her Padma Shri award be taken back for insulting the brave freedom fighters and martyrs of India.

Several politicians from the ruling party as well as the opposition have criticised the Panga actress for her remarks, and urged the President to take back her Padma Shri award. Delhi BJP leader Praveen Shankar Kapoor was the latest to demand that the judiciary take action against her. "Being the son of a freedom fighter and coming from a family of freedom fighters, I find Kangana Ranaut's remarks that India's freedom was alms (bheekh) as the biggest misuse of freedom and an insult to the sacrifice made by freedom fighters. I wish the judicial system of India takes cognizance," the politicial said in a tweet in Hindi.

Calling Kanganas remarks outrageous, senior Congress leader Anand Sharma asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to break his silence and tell whether he endorses such views. He also asked the judiciary to take appropriate legal action against the actress. Prime Minister should break his silence and tell the nation if he endorses the views of Ms Ranaut. If not, the government should take appropriate legal action against such people," the Congress leader and former union minister said on Twitter.

At the Times Now Summit, while speaking about India and its fight for Independence, Kangana had said that Congress is an extension of the British rule and India attained her real freedom in 2014. The actress referred to the year when Narendra Modi was elected as the Prime Minister for the first time. The actress further said that India got Independence as bheek (alms) in 1947.

Earlier, BJP MP Varun Gandhi criticised her statement and tweeted, "Insulting the sacrifice of Mahatma Gandhi sometimes, respecting his killer sometimes, and now the disdain for the sacrifices of Mangal Pandey, Rani Laxmibai, Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekhar Azad, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and lakhs of freedom fighters. Should I call this thinking madness or treason?"

National executive chairman of the Aam Aadmi Party, Preethi Menon, has filed a complaint with the Mumbai Police seeking an FIR against Kangana. The political party condemned the derogatory statements made by the actress and urged that a case be registered against Kangana for sedition. Preethi Menon has also tweeted and said that the party has submitted an application to the Mumbai Police, requesting action on Kangana Ranaut for her inflammatory statements, under sections 504, 505 and 124A.
San Francisco, Nov 13 : Meta (formerly Facebook) is aware that virtual reality can be a "toxic environment" especially for women and minorities, and Metaverse would be an "existential threat" to Facebook if it turned off "mainstream customers from the medium entirely", the media reported.

According to a report in Financial Times citing an internal memo by Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth, Facebook aims its virtual worlds to have "almost Disney levels of safety".

However, Bosworth acknowledged that moderating how users speak and behave "at any meaningful scale is practically impossible", the FT report said on Friday.

Bosworth later posted a blog post, saying that technology that opens up new possibilities can also be used to cause harm, and "we must be mindful of that as we design, iterate, and bring products to market".

"Harassment in digital spaces is nothing new, and it's something we and others in the industry have been working to address for years. That work is ongoing and will likely never be finished. It's continually evolving, though its importance remains constant. It's an incredibly daunting task," he noted.

Meta has pledged $50 million for research into practical and ethical issues around its metaverse.

The social network now plans to spend at least $10 billion on metaverse-related projects this year and is changing its financial reporting to separate revenue between Facebook Reality Labs and its family of apps.

The metaverse will be a social, 3D virtual space where you can share immersive experiences with other people, even when you can't be together in person - and do things together you couldn't do in the physical world.

"Of course, there are limitations to what we can do. For example, we can't record everything that happens in VR indefinitely it would be a violation of people's privacy, and at some point, the headset would run out of memory and power," Bosworth said.
Hyderabad, Nov 13 : Hyderabad police have cracked the murder mystery of a minor girl, whose body was found in a colony in the heart of the city more than a week ago, with the arrest of her mother.

The police have reportedly arrested three persons, including the girl's mother, in Rajasthan and brought them to Hyderabad.

As initially suspected by the police, the girl was murdered at some other place in the city and her body dumped near Jalagam Vengala Rao Park.

The girl's mother allegedly killed the daughter after the latter came to know of her extramarital relations.

Police are likely to announce the breakthrough in the case later in the day.

The body of a girl, aged about five years, was found on November 4 at Dwarakapuri Colony near Road Number One Banjara Hills in the heart of the city.

Punjagutta Police had registered a case of death under suspicious circumstances and took up investigations.

While there were no external or bleeding injuries, autopsy report indicated that she had suffered internal injuries due to forcible impact on stomach and back near her lungs, liver and kidneys.

The police subsequently started treating the case as a murder. There were rumours of black magic but the police had ruled out the same as the throat was not slit as seen in such cases.

The case had become a challenge for the investigators as there were no CCTV cameras at the spot where the body was found. They scanned the footage from CCTV cameras in adjoining locations and started working on some vital clues.

The police then started working to identify the person who had dumped the body. They worked on leads and the accused were finally tracked down in Rajasthan.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
New Delhi, Nov 13 : Smartphone brand realme on Saturday announced its mainline expansion across India with a total of 200 exclusive stores.

The stores are now operational and will enable users to experience all the latest realme products.

The company is also looking at expanding its offline presence to more than 1,000 exclusive stores by the end of 2022.

"realme's exclusive stores are a key part of our growth strategy and are in line with our focus of providing our customers with first-hand experience of realme products," Madhav Sheth, CEO, realme India, VP, realme and President, realme International Business Group, said in a statement.

The company said it believes that offline presence is essential for a brand's growth in the long term.

In line with the same, the brand recently inaugurated 100 exclusive stores in a single day on October 8 and had set its target to open a total of 300 exclusive stores across India in 2021.

"Our offline growth expansion provides us with an abundance of opportunities and contributes to the overall growth of the brand," Sheth said.

"With our new stores, we are all set on our target of opening 300 exclusive stores across the country this year, and we are excited about expanding this number further in the upcoming year," he added.

These stores will have the latest products from the realme TechLife ecosystem, including smartphones, laptops, tablets and other gadgets, enabling the brand to strengthen its relationship with the customers.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Chennai, Nov 13 : Tamil Nadu Agriculture and Farmer's Welfare Minister M.R.K. Panneerselvam has requested the Central government to extend the date for enrollment of paddy farmers under the Revamped Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana or crop insurance to November 30.

Panneerselvam, in a letter to Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, said owing to Navaratri and Diwali holidays and due to the incessant rain, farmers were not able to access the services of Common Service Centres and financial institutions.

Hence the enrollment of farmers under the crop insurance scheme during the Special/Samba paddy season could not be completed by November 15, the last date that was announced.

Panneerselvam said about three lakh farmers cultivating crop in 3.36 lakh acres of temple lands on lease basis are being issued with computerised land revenue documents for the past few days after scrutiny of their genuinity in cultivating the lands.

He also said about 10 lakh farmers will cultivate paddy during the Special season on about 25 lakh acres of land in Tamil Nadu.

According to Panneerselvam, during 2021-22, 12 lakh acres have been insured so far and 8.75 lakh farmers have been enrolled under the insurance scheme which is lesser than the insurance coverage during 2020-21.

The extension of date for enrollment will enable a large number of farmers to be included under the crop insurance scheme, Panneerselvam added.
Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 13 : An audio conversation between a young Kerala mother, Anupama, who has been fighting to get back her child allegedly given away to adoptive parents, and CPI-M central committee member P.K. Sreemathi has revealed that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told the latter that the "child controversy" should be resolved by the complainant's parents.

In the conversation that surfaced on Saturday, former State Minister of Women and Children Sreemathi said she had taken up Anupama's missing child issue with Vijayan, CPI-M State Secretary (on leave) Kodiyeri Balakrishnan and the Left Democratic Convenor A. Vijayaraghavan.

She told Anupama that Vijayan had said that they (government and party) have no role in it and let her parents decide.

Anupama said that her parents are both CPI-M members and yet the party failed to take any action.

When she asked about Sreemathi's earlier promise of taking up the issue in the party committee, the latter said that according to the rules, it is Vijayaraghavan who has to take it up first and since he did not flag it, she could not do anything.

Speaking to the media, Anupama expressed sadness that even Vijayan failed to act.

"What Vijayan fails to understand is that the Chief Minister is the chairman of the Child Welfare Committee." She had first taken up the issue with party politburo member Brinda Karat, who in turn asked Sreemathi to look into the matter.

Since Thursday, Anupama has been on an indefinite protest before the office of the Kerala State Child Welfare Council here demanding the removal of the top office bearers and the Child Welfare Committee, who she alleged are behind handing over her baby to the adoptive parents.

Anupama claimed that all her pleas to authorities have fallen on deaf ears and there has been no further action by the Council and the Committee.

SFI activist Anupama, granddaughter of one of the topmost yesteryear CPI-M leaders in the state capital, and her husband Ajith had approached the State Police chief and the Child Welfare Committee in this regard.

The couple was forced to approach the media after their pleas to the top officials went unheard.

According to sources, the Child Welfare Committee had allegedly given away Anupama's child to an Andhra Pradesh couple for adoption last year.

Soon after the media hype, a family court in the state capital put a stop to further proceedings of formalising the adoption.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Chennai, Nov 13 : A war of words on Twitter is on between the Association of Indian Medical Devices Industry (AIMED) and the Andhra Pradesh government over pending dues to medical equipment makers.

On Friday, the AIMED tweeted a red notice cautioning its members not to bid or supply to Andhra Pradesh Medical Services & Infrastructure Development Corporation (APMSIDC) directly or through their distributors without getting 100 per cent advance.

According to the AIMED, many of its members who had supplied to APMSIDC four-five years back are yet to receive payments.

"Any sales done are at your own financial risk after this Red Listing," AIMED which has over 400 medical devices makers as its members declared.

"We have nothing against the Andhra Pradesh government. We are thankful for Andhra Pradesh government's support to the Make-in-India programme. Only the APMSIDC is delaying the payments to our members," Rajiv Nath, Forum Coordinator, AIMED, told IANS.

Responding to the red notice, Fact Check AP, an initiative of AP Digital Corporation, on Saturday tweeted: "This red notice has been portrayed as, an indicator that the Government Exchequer is not clearing the bills for 4-5 years, and this has triggered a certain section of social media to further press on their political and malicious intent.

"The government has procured around 2000 crore of equipment and has paid in time. Only Rs 328 crore payment is due from last two months. Regarding the procurements and payments done in past years, it will be further investigated and action shall be taken.

"The Red notice published by the informal group of Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AIMED) has certainly malicious intent behind it.

"The Notice is under investigation and the government will take action against the involved persons/ associations/ groups in case of any malicious intent is found behind this propaganda." Responding to Fact Check AP's statement, AIMED tweeted: "Your claim that only payments of last 2 months are outstanding are questionable see details below as sample - there are other aggrieved suppliers - the MD APMIDC did not reply to our letters and repeated requests for settlement - pls investigate and help patients n mfrs." According to Nath, he had written a letter to D. Muralidhar Reddy, Managing Director, APMSIDC on September 17 warning about AIMED's decision to issue a Red Notice against the state government undertaking.

In that letter, Nath had requested Reddy to clear the dues of the medical device makers and a timeline by which the outstanding dues would be cleared.

Even on November 11, a reminder was sent to Reddy by Nath wherein the latter had stated: "Your kind intervention is required with APMSIDC to clear the outstanding payments of at least those companies whose payment/bill details have been uploaded on CFMS portal.

"We also request for an appointment for our Member Company M/s Paramount Surgimed (and others) as per your convenient date and time to enable them to discuss the long outstanding payment matter in detail." According to Nath, as per their records Rs39 crore is owed by APMSIDC to AIMED members.

"There are other members who have not told us about the dues. Further any payment due is a burden on the small medical devices manufacturers," Nath added.

(Venkatachari Jagannathan can be contacted at v.jagannathan@ians.in)
New Delhi, Nov 13 : Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has called an emergency meeting on Saturday evening over the deteriorating state of the national capital's air quality which is reeling under the 'severe' category.

Delhi's overall air quality on Saturday morning stood at 499 i.e. under 'severe' category, as per System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR).

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Health Minister Satyendar Jain, Environment Minister Gopal Rai and Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Dev will be present in the meeting.

As per SAFAR data, the level of PM 10 and PM 2.5 pollutants in the air was 134 and 72, respectively.

In the wake of the 'severe' air quality of Delhi, the Graded Action Response Plan (GRAP) has advised government and private offices, along with other establishments, to reduce vehicle usage by at least 30 per cent on an 'emergency' basis to put a curb to vehicular emission.

The order has further advised people to limit outdoor activities and minimise their exposure.

To further curb the pollution emitting from open fires in the national capital, Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Friday launched a campaign against open burning of waste and the second phase of the anti-dust campaign that will continue for a month to limit pollution from construction and demolition activities in the city.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
November 13 : Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai took off for a holiday today along with their daughter Aaradhya Bachchan. Pictures and videos of the Bachchans entering the departure gate of the Mumbai airport are doing the rounds on social media.

In the video, Abhishek can be seen in a blue hoodie and jeans with a black face mask. He also sported a red tilak on his forehead. Aishwarya was in a black outfit. She was holding onto Aaradhya, who wore a pink sweatshirt with black pants and carried a pink backpack. Abhishek was seen taking out their luggage from the car and then headed towards the entry gate with the security guards protecting them from both sides. The actor couple was seen stopping by the entry of the terminal to show their travel documents to the Central Industrial Security Force personnel as a security protocol.

It seems that the Bachchans will ring in Aaradhyas tenth birthday on November 16 from their holiday destination.

Last month, Abhishek, Aishwarya and Aaradhya were holidaying in Paris. Abhishek shared a video from his holiday in Paris with his wife and their daughter. He had shared a short boomerang clip of the Eiffel Tower lit up at night. Paris when it sparkles, Abhishek had captioned it. He had added the song La Vie en Rose in the background. Abhishek and Aishwarya was also in Dubai recently, when the Big Bull actor shared a picture enjoying the sunset at the beach. He credited Aishwarya for the click.

Meanwhile, on the work front, Abhishek Bachchan was recently seen in The Big Bull, in which he played a character inspired by the scam-tainted stockbroker Harshad Mehta. The film was released on Disney+ Hotstar. The actor has Dasvi and Bob Biswas in the pipeline. He was recently working on Oththa Seruppu Size 7's remake. It is being directed by R Parthiban, who had helmed and acted in the original. Abhishek has bought the rights for the Hindi remake of the film. Apart from this, the actor will also be seen in the new season of his Amazon Prime series Breathe: Into The Shadows.

Aishwarya, on the other hand, walked the ramp at Paris Fashion Week recently. The actress walked the ramp for the cosmetic brand, L'Oreal Paris. On the professional front, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan will make her come back to the big screen with Mani Ratnam's Ponniyin Selvan. The period drama is slated to hit the theatres in 2022.
Johannesburg, Nov 13 : South African Health Minister Joe Phaahla said the country was already preparing resources for the fourth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic that is expected in the coming months.

"As has been repeated a number of times before, a resurgence of infections introducing the fourth wave is expected as we see in other countries especially in Europe currently like Germany and Ukraine going through their fourth wave. Our national team is working with provincial teams to prepare for the fourth wave," he said.

"The health facilities' readiness plan is addressing areas such as oxygen supply of which the bulk supplier has finalized contingency plans. Other areas such as bed capacity, equipment, PPEs, and consumables are also receiving attention," Xinhua news agency quoted the Minister as saying.

As the second and third waves were dominated by the Beta and Delta variants respectively, researchers had already begun monitoring the emergence of new variants.

"Our genomic sequencing teams are monitoring any variants of concern but thus far there has not been any alarm. The other contributor which is the movement of people is inevitable as we get closer to the festive season," he said.

According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, 356 new Covid-19 cases were registered in South Africa in the last 24 hours with 17 deaths.

Over 13 million people have been fully vaccinated in South Africa.

Phahlaa was pleased that the number of new cases was still low following the campaign gatherings for the November 1 local government elections.

"We are pleased to report that indications thus far eleven days after the campaigns and voting we have not experienced super spreading after-effects. Thus, so far not a single province or district has shown signs of a spike in Covid-19 infections," he said.

Though vaccines are available in South Africa, vaccine hesitancy continues to be an issue, which is why the government will continue the Vooma campaign this weekend.

Vooma is a campaign designed to promote vaccinations and dispel vaccine myths.

This weekend, state officials, including cabinet members, will tour different communities to promote the vaccine as part of the campaign.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
New Delhi, Nov 13 : The Central forces deployed in Chhattisgarh will now provide special security to the construction works of strategic bridges and highways in hardcore Maoist areas, sources said.

The construction work has been affected due to attacks on the sites by the naxal cadres.

Earlier, protection was provided by the state police, but it has now been decided that the Central forces will provide the security cover.

"Road brings prosperity in the region, it also facilitates the easy and fast movements of the security forces for 'area domination'. That is why the strategic part of road constructions will now be started in mission mode," a senior official of the Home Ministry said.

The battalion's Central forces like Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and Border Security Force (BSF) will be providing security umbrella to at least 12 strategic roads allocated in Sukma, Dantewada and Bijapur.

Of 12, five fall in Sukma district, one in Dantewada, four in Bijapur while two roads are located on the border areas of Bijapur-Sukma border and Dantewada-Sukma.

A total of 479 km of strategic roads was approved for construction in 2010-11 but about 215 km stretch is still pending.

Of the 215 km, the 10 km stretch connecting Bheji to Chintagufa road is scheduled to be completed by June 2022, while the Golapalli-Paidagudem by March next year.

The entire work is scheduled to be completed by June 2023. On an average, the per km construction cost of a road in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) areas is about Rs 80 in Chhattisgarh which is covered under the Road Requirement Plan (RRP) scheme under the Union Home Ministry for LWE areas and implemented by the state.

The decision to complete these sections was taken during the annual naxal review meeting held here in New Delhi on September 26 which was chaired by the Union Home Minister Amit Shah with the Chief Ministers of eight Maoist-affected states of the country.

During the meeting, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Bagel had requested to deploy additional Central security forces to get these works completed.

The decision came amid the decreasing the naxal footprints in majority of the LWE areas wherein the Central security forces have expanded their dominance.

A senior official in the security forces said that better connectivity is an advantage to the Force for further penetration deep into the so-called 'Red Corridor' in Chhattisgarh.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Panaji, Nov 13 : A Hindu group in Goa have demanded a ban on controversial comedian Munawar Faruqui's stand-up comedy act at a Panaji mall on November 15, accusing him of slandering Hindu Gods.

In a representation submitted to the North Goa District Magistrate, the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti has said that the comedian could vitiate the atmosphere in Goa ahead of the 2022 Assembly polls and therefore his act should be banned in the state.

"He has made vulgar jokes about Hindu gods. He has targetted them. He was behind bars for 37 days in Madhya Pradesh for insulting Hindu religion," Samiti spokesman Jayesh Thali said.

"There are elections in Goa and at such events could create acrimony in the state. If Pramod Muthalik can be banned in Goa, why is Munawar allowed in Goa," he added.

Pramod Muthalaik, who heads the Karnataka-based Sri Rama Sena, has been banned by the state administration from 2014, after the Hindu activist said that he proposed to set up a branch of the organisation in Goa and would work towards banning nightlife and pubs because they allegedly aped Western culture.
Jammu, Nov 13 : Former Former Chief Minister and president of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Mehbooba Mufti said on Saturday said that Sanatan Dharma teaches inclusivity and the BJP is an antithesis to that.

Speaking to reporters here, she said what BJP and RSS are propagating is not Sanatan Dharma.

"Sanatan Dharma doesn't teach us communalism, it is about RSS, BJP and Jan Sangh who want to make people fight in the name of communalism. They have hijacked Hinduism and Hindutva. They feel Hindutva and Hinduism are the BJP and RSS, but it is not so," Mufti said.

She asked if they are violent and lynch people in the name of religion, how are they different from others who kill in the name of religion.

"Communal parties can be compared with IS (Islamic State). Those that make Hindus and Muslims fight in the name of religion. They can be compared with the IS or any other party, because both of them kill people in the name of religion."
Berlin, Nov 13 : German flag carrier Lufthansa announced that it has repaid or cancelled the financial aid granted by the federal government during the worst phase of the Covid-19 crisis and has transferred a final tranche of 1 billion euros ($1.14 billion) to the government's Economic Stabilization Fund (ESF), also known as "silent participation".

"The repayment was made much earlier than originally planned," Xinhua news agency reported citing the company as saying.

"This was made possible primarily by the rising demand for air travel, the fast restructuring and transformation of the Lufthansa Group and the capital markets' confidence in the company." After Lufthansa had already repaid the "silent participation 1" package in October, of which only 1.5 billion euros had been called up, the remaining undrawn part was now also cancelled.

The company had also repaid a loan of one billion euros to the state-owned development bank KfW.

Under this condition, the ESF has agreed to sell its stake in Deutsche Lufthansa amounting to 14 per cent of the share capital by October 2023 at the latest, according to the airline.

Lufthansa negotiated a government aid package worth 9 billion euros with the German government and the European Commission.
Yadgir, : Nov 13 (IANS) In a shocking development, a principal of a residential school in Karnataka's Yadgir district has been arrested on charges of sexually harassing female students, police said on Saturday.

The accused has been identified as Hayyalappa, the Principal of Kittur Rani Chennamma Residential School located at Varkanalli near Yadgir.

According to the police, Hayyalappa was sexually harassing girl students by promising them good marks in their class 10 examinations.

He threatened the girls to cooperate with him and dragged them in public. He also harassed those who objected to his advances by preventing them from having food in the hostel mess, the police said.

The students who could not bear his torture anymore, submitted an eight page complaint to the Deputy Commissioner, Ragapriya.

After listening to the woes of students, Ragapriya directed his officers to immediately lodge a complaint against the accused.

Following the complaint in the City Women's Police station, the police arrested the principal and sent him to judicial custody.

Superintendent of Yagdgir, S.B. Vedamurthy, stated that the accused harassed girl students by promising them good marks in internals and threatened them to cooperate with him.

The police have booked him under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Further investigations are on.
New Delhi, Nov 13 : Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said that his country would "favourably" consider the request by the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan for transporting wheat offered by India through the country on an "exceptional basis" for humanitarian purposes, Dawn reported.

According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), Khan expressed the views while speaking to a delegation led by Afghanistan's Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.

Muttaqi, who is currently in Pakistan on a three-day visit, was accompanied by the Acting Ministers of Finance, and Industry and Commerce as well as other senior members of the Afghan delegation.

During the meeting, Khan reaffirmed Pakistan's support to Afghanistan and the Afghan people in overcoming the challenges being faced by the neighbouring country, the report said.

He also stressed the vital importance of a peaceful, stable, sovereign, prosperous and connected Afghanistan for Pakistan and the wider region.

The premier stressed that "continued security and resolute counter-terrorism actions, respect for rights of all Afghans, and inclusivity in governance and politics would further contribute to Afghanistan's stability", the PMO statement said.

He also expressed the hope that the interim Afghan government would continue to "constructively engage" the international community and would keep on taking positive measures to address prevailing challenges, the statement added.
Hyderabad, Nov 13 : Telangana State Planning Commission vice-chairman B. Vinod Kumar has claimed that the data gathered by the Centre proves that paddy cultivation has taken up over 59 lakh acres in Telangana during Kharif season.

He asked state BJP president Bandi Sanjay what he will say now after criticising Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao over the extent of paddy cultivation.

Vinod Kumar pointed out that according to the Remote Sensing Centre which mapped paddy cultivation across the country, paddy is being grown in 2.374 million hectares that is 59 lakh acres. This is expected to yield 7.543 million tonnes of paddy.

"When the Chief Minister stated that paddy cultivation has been taken up in the state over about 62 lakh acres, Bandi Sanjay wanted him to prove this. Now what will he say," asked Vinod Kumar.

The Chief Minister had last week said paddy cultivation had taken up over about 62 lakh acres and demanded that the Centre come forward to lift the entire stock from the state.

The state BJP has been criticising the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government for asking farmers not to grow paddy in the coming season. It disputed KCR's claim on the extent of paddy cultivation during the current season, saying satellite images do not support this.

TRS had staged protests across the state on Friday, demanding the Centre to procure paddy. State ministers, MPs and state legislators participated in 'dharna' in all Assembly constituencies protesting the Centre's decision not to procure parboiled rice during Yasangi (Rabi) season. They say that procuring paddy from states is the Constitutional responsibility of the Centre.

Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister S. Niranjan Reddy on Saturday advised BJP not to mess with farmers saying whoever created problems for them lost power.

He alleged that central and state BJP leaders were talking in different tunes on the issue of paddy procurement.

The minister wanted the BJP's state leadership to show to people what they have done for Telangana during the last seven years.

He demanded that the Centre announce a clear policy on paddy procurement during Yasangi.

Stating that north India continues to be rocked by farmers' protests, Niranjan Reddy said the farmers of south India have solidarity with them.

He pointed out that the Centre temporarily stopped implementation of new farm laws but the farmers continued their protest demanding repeal of the laws.

Stating that 22 crore people in the country have no food security, the minister demanded that the central government take steps to distribute accumulated food stocks among the poor.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Jammu, Nov 13 : One person was killed and 12 injured on Saturday in a road accident on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway in Ramban district.

Police said a Sumo taxi went out of the driver's control at Digdol and plunged into a deep gorge.

"One person was killed while 12 people, including four children, were injured. The vehicle was overloaded with passengers when it met with the accident," the police added.

"Quick response teams of police and the Army assisted by the locals reached the spot and shifted the injured to the district hospital in Ramban." "Doctors attending on the injured said the condition of some of them is critical", the police said.
New Delhi, Nov 13 : Maulana Saud Alam Qasmi, Dean of the Theology Department at the Aligarh Muslim University, said that there was a need to take an initiative to impart education of other religions and faiths in madrasas, AwazTheVoice reported.

It is very important for fostering mutual tolerance and love, he added.

"The weakening of our traditions is one of the reasons for the threat to communal unity and harmony. We have to preserve the Ganga-Jamuni civilization," Qasmi said at a function organised by the Khusro Foundation in Delhi.

He also released a book of Zafar Darak Qasmi 'India's Legal Status' on the occasion. The book is published by Khusro Foundation.

Maulana Qasmi said that the need of the hour was to remove the shortcomings and weaknesses of society in time so that it does not become a disease. He said singing patriotic songs is a great virtue in today's world; we have to realize that hate doesn't last; love lasts.

He further said that in the history of Arabia to Persia, songs of the greatness and uniqueness of the Indian subcontinent have been sung. India has been beautifully mentioned in everything from religion to literature, the report said.

He spoke about an earlier interaction with the students of Islamabad University when he told them that it was wrong to call India 'Darul Harb'. (A nation that is an enemy of Islam).

"We are not enemies. Everything has changed in the world; there is a new system under which the world is linked through the UN. We need to move in a new direction to live in a new environment and new conditions," he told the gathering in Islamabad, the report added.

He said his speech was liked by a large section in Pakistan and they supported his ideology, the report said.
Sanaa, Nov 13 : The US is monitoring the latest developments around the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah in Yemen, said a spokesman.

"We are aware of reports of the withdrawal of government of Yemen forces from around areas south of Hodeidah city up to At Tuhayta District, and indications that Houthi forces have now moved into much of the vacated areas," Xinhua news agency quoted Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, as saying.

The UN was not informed in advance of the movements, he said.

Nevertheless, the UN Mission to support the Hodeidah Agreement is monitoring the situation closely and liaising with the parties to establish the facts on the ground and to respond, as necessary, according to its mandate, according to the spokesman.

"We call on all parties to the conflict to ensure the safety and security of civilians in and around those areas where shifts in front lines have taken place," said Haq.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on Thursday that fighting continued along nearly 50 front lines in Yemen.

The humanitarian community is scaling up assistance, but is quickly getting outpaced by the increasing scale of humanitarian needs.

So far, aid agencies have received about 55 per cent of the funding they require for this year. This has helped to keep famine at bay and achieve other important results. But money is quickly running out. Humanitarians also need to be able to do their work safely and without interference, said the office.

Hodeidah, a vital lifeline for millions facing starvation, has seen a shaky ceasefire between the government and the Houthi group since they reached a UN-sponsored truce in Stockholm in December 2018.

The truce was seen as the first phase toward a nationwide ceasefire to end Yemen's years-long military conflict, but fighting continued across the impoverished Arab country.

Hodeidah is under the control of the Houthis, while the government forces have advanced to the southern and eastern districts.
Hyderabad, Nov 13 : YSR Telangana Party (YSRTP) president Y. S. Sharmila on Saturday began a protest in Hyderabad to show solidarity with the state's farmers over the paddy procurement issue.

Demanding that the state government procure the entire paddy, she sat on the protest at Indira Park in the heart of the city.

Interestingly, leaders of ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) had staged the protest at the same venue on Friday, demanding the Centre to lift paddy from the state.

She has announced a 72-hour protest. However, the police permitted protest at Indira Park from morning to evening. YSRTP leaders said she would continue the protest for the remaining hours at her party office-cum-residence at Lotus Pond.

Sharmila, who is Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy's sister, said that it is the responsibility of the TRS government to procure the entire produce of farmers.

Criticising Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao for not coming to the rescue of farmers, she demanded that the government expedite the procurement during the ongoing season.

On the state government advising farmers not to grow paddy and go for alternate crops, Sharmila said the government should give them the guarantee that it will supply the required seeds and fertilisers and procure the entire produce.

She alleged that 36 lakh farmers in the state were not benefited from farm loan waiver announced by the Telangana government.

The YSRTP leader stopped her ongoing Praja Prasthanam Padyatra temporarily from Wednesday in view of the election code of conduct for elections to the Legislative Council.

She had launched the walkathon last month to expose the failures of the state government on various fronts and to interact with people about their problems.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
November 13 : The makers of Ayushmann Khurrana and Vaani Kapoor starrer Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui have dropped the title track today. Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui is quite a peppy song, and Ayushmanns bhangra moves seems to be a hit.

The music video reveals Ayushmanns never-seen-before look, sporting a ponytail and bulging biceps. His new look is quite different from his previous characters in films like Badhaai Do, Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan and Bala. The actors bhangra dance moves while romancing Vaani Kapoor already seems to be a hit. Sachin-Jigar have recreated the hit Punjabi song, originally sung by Jassi Sidhu. IP Singh has added more to the original lyrics penned by Madan Jalandhari.

As soon as the music video was dropped, viewers started flooding it with heart emojis and comments. One viewer wrote on YouTube comment section, First banger of this winter. Another commented, Awesomely done by Ayushmann. Yet another fan wrote, To Ayushmann- I can't help falling in love with you.

Directed by Abhishek Kapoor and produced by T-Series in collaboration with Guy In The Sky Pictures, Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui is scheduled for theatrical release on December 10, 2021. While Ayushmann plays a gym bro named Manu, Vaani Kapoor plays a Zumba instructor named Maanvi. They fall in love but their love hits a roadblock when Manu comes to know about Maanvi's gender identity.

At the recent trailer launch of the film in Mumbai, Ayushmann said, This is very special for me because it's happening after two years. It feels like this is my first film, my first launch. I'm getting those butterflies. I'd like to thank Abhishek sir for his vision and Vaani Kapoor for being a revelation in the film. It's an extremely unique script that we have. I'd like to thank the audience for supporting the theatres.

About the script of the film, Ayushmann had said, "Such unique scripts like Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui trigger community conversations and it is imperative that such films have a community watching experience which can only happen in a theatre. The actor is known for his choice of unconventional filmsbe it about sperm donation, LGBTQ+ relationships, or erectile dysfunctionAyushmann is often credited for bringing stories which are otherwise not considered as mainstream.

With Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui, Abhishek Kapoor returns to direction after three years after his romantic film Kedarnath, starring late actor Sushant Singh Rajput and Sara Ali Khan.
United Nations, Nov 13 : Another UN staff member has been detained by the government of Ethiopia despite the world body's effort to seek the release of the nine staffers that have already been in custody, a spokesman said.

"A 10th person has now also been detained, so our numbers are up, not down, to 10," said Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

"There's no change in the numbers of the more than 70 sub-contractor drivers either." The drivers were under contract with the United Nations and international nongovernmental organisations to deliver humanitarian aid into the northernmost conflict-hit Tigray region, the site of a year-long rebellion that has since spilled into the neighbouring areas of Afar and Amhara.

All those held were detained earlier this week amid published reports the government was arresting members of the Tigray community outside the region.

The UN staffers are being held in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa. UN officials said the drivers were detained while hauling relief cargo to Tigray and were being held in the Afar region.

"We're continuing with our efforts," said Haq.

"We're pushing on all the doors that we can, but we have not made the progress that we would have liked to have made. That, of course, is also hindering our humanitarian deliveries." UN officials have said some 400,000 people in Tigray face famine-like conditions.
Hyderabad, Nov 13 : Telangana Health and Finance Minister T. Harish Rao on Saturday said the state government will spend Rs 10,000 crore to improve public health services.

He said the aim of the state government was to provide the best healthcare services to the people at par with the corporate sector.

The Minister inaugurated a 100-bed intensive care unit at government-run Niloufer Hospital for children in Hyderabad.

This was the first programme attended by Harish Rao after taking over the medical and health portfolio three days ago.

Harish Rao said another 800 beds would be provided at Niloufer Hospital at a cost of Rs 33 crore. He said doctors and other staff for this would be recruited soon.

He lauded Hyderabad Software Entrepreneurs' Association (HYSEA) for providing Rs 18 crore under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to improve infrastructure in government-run hospitals in the state.

The Minister said that Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao plans construction of four medical towers in four directions in Hyderabad to provide the best healthcare facilities to the poor.

Harish Rao said the government was also working with the aim to have a medical college in every district. He said when Telangana state was formed there were only five government medical colleges and the number has now gone up to 21. Nine more government hospitals will be functional from next year.

In June, the government had decided to focus on the public health sector. A cabinet sub-committee headed by Harish Rao was asked to prepare a report. The panel will review the situation in government hospitals, staff and other infrastructure facilities and make recommendations.

It was announced that the sub-committee with ministers Jagadeeshwar Reddy, Srinivas Yadav, VemulaPrashanth Reddy, Srinivas Goud, Sabita Indra Reddy, and Satyavathi Rathod as members will tour Kerala, Tamil Nadu where better medical treatment is given as well as Sri Lanka, to study the situation and submit a report.
San Francisco, Nov 13 : Tech giant Google is highly unlikely to launch a new version of the Pixelbook in 2022, a media report says.

A statement at a recent Qualcomm press event in London hints that there will not be an update to the original "premium" Pixelbook until 2023 at the earliest, reports 9To5Google.

"Next year (2022) there won't be anything coming. In future I don't know," said Chrys Tsolaki, Retail Manager for Chromebooks at Google, when asked about a potential 2022 Pixelbook release.

The original Pixelbook was launched in 2017 with high-end internals for a Chromebook but has since been discontinued through the Google Store.

While this is bad news, the introduction of the internally developed Google Tensor chip might provide some hope for a high-end all Google-powered Chromebook at some point down the line.

Chromebook sales have slowed after a boom in 2020 and 2021 as the pandemic forced an exponential rise in work-from-home and at-home learning.

This initial sales increase has since slowed, but a high-end Pixelbook in 2022 would have no doubt been a welcome option for those holding out with the original model.

While the Pixelbook Go includes an Intel i7 processor configuration, it includes a touchscreen but lacks the two-in-one form factor that was found on the 2017 version. The closest on the market right now is the Acer Chromebook Spin 713.
Kabul, Nov 13 : Unicef Executive Director Henrietta Fore has voiced deep concern about Afghan girls increasingly at risk of child marriage in the war-torn country.

"We have received credible reports of families offering daughters as young as 20 days old up for future marriage in return for a dowry," she said in a statement.

Even before the latest political instability, Unicef's partners registered 183 child marriages and 10 cases of selling of children over 2018 and 2019 in Herat and Badghis provinces alone, reports Xinhua news agency.

The children were between six months and 17 years of age, she said.

The UN agency estimates that 28 per cent of Afghan women aged 15-49 years were married before the age of 18.

The Covid-19 pandemic, the ongoing food crisis and the onset of winter have further exacerbated the situation for families, forcing them to make desperate choices, such as putting children to work and marrying girls off at a young age.

As most teenage girls are still not allowed to go back to school, the risk of child marriage is now even higher, said Fore.

Unicef is working with partners to raise communities' awareness of the risks for girls if they are married early. Child marriage can lead to a lifetime of suffering. Girls who marry before they turn 18 are less likely to remain in school and more likely to experience domestic violence, discrimination, abuse and poor mental health. They are also more vulnerable to complications in pregnancy and childbirth, she said.

It has started a cash assistance program to help offset the risk of hunger, child labour and child marriage among the most vulnerable families. The fund plans to scale up this and other social services programs in the months to come.

Unicef will also work with religious leaders to ensure that they are not involved in the "Nikaah" (the marriage contract) for young girls, she said.

"But this is not enough. We call on central, provincial and local authorities to take concrete measures to support and safeguard the most vulnerable families and girls. We urge the de facto authorities (Taliban) to prioritise the reopening of schools for all secondary school girls and allow all female teachers to resume their jobs without any further delays.

"The future of an entire generation is at stake," said the statement.
United Nations, Nov 13 : The Security Council has adopted a resolution to extend the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic (CAR) for another 12 months, till November 15, 2022.

Resolution 2605 also decides that the peacekeeping mission, known by its French acronym as MINUSCA, shall maintain its current personnel level -- 14,400 troops and 3,020 police officers, reports Xinhua news agency.

The resolution won the approval of 13 of the 15 Security Council members.

China and Russia abstained on the basis that the CAR government's views were not sufficiently reflected in the draft.

Resolution 2605 decides that MINUSCA's mandate is designed to advance a multi-year strategic vision to create the political, security and institutional conditions conducive to national reconciliation and durable peace through the implementation of the 2019 Political Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation and the elimination of the threat posed by armed groups through a comprehensive approach and proactive and robust posture without prejudice to the basic principles of peacekeeping.

The resolution authorizes MINUSCA to take all necessary means to carry out its mandate within its capabilities and areas of deployment.

The resolution sets as priority tasks of MINUSCA the protection of civilians; good offices and support to the CAR peace process; facilitation of the immediate, full, safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance; and the protection of UN personnel, installations, equipment and goods, as well as the security and freedom of movement of UN and associated personnel.

The peacekeeping mission is also tasked to promote and protect human rights in the CAR; to provide support for the extension of state authority, the deployment of security forces, and the preservation of territorial integrity.

MINUSCA is also authorised to help with security sector reform; the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of members of armed groups, and repatriation in the case of foreign elements; national and international justice, the fight against impunity, and the rule of law.
New Delhi, Nov 13 : The Supreme Court on Saturday took a serious view of the severe air pollution in Delhi-NCR and suggested that if needed the government can declare a two-day lockdown to bring down the levels, which have been caused by stubble burning, vehicles, firecrackers, industries, dust.

The top court emphasised that the air pollution issue should be looked into "beyond politics and governments".

At the outset, a bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, that the "situation is very bad... In the house we are wearing masks. It is a bad situation".

"How to control air pollution in Delhi, two days lockdown, if need be, or what. How will people live in Delhi?" queried the Chief Justice.

He emphasised that the government should look at steps to bring down the AQI from 500 to 200, and then further improve it.

Mehta began the argument by detailing steps taken by the air quality management commission to abate air pollution in NCR and adjoining areas, which included steps taken to address agricultural stubble burning.

The bench, also comprising Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and Surya Kant said instead of blaming the farmers, all state governments and the Centre should come together to address the issue.

The Chief Justice noted that stubble burning by farmers is only responsible for 25 per cent of the pollution, and the remaining 75 per cent was from firecracker burning, vehicles and dust.

The Chief Justice asked Mehta: "Where is the effective mechanism to control firecrackers, vehicular pollution? Look at the pollution level," to which the latter said that both the Centre and state governments are working together to address the issue.

The Chief Justice added: "We have nothing to do, governments need burning solutions, how to control. Need two to three days short term plans to control pollution." Mehta clarified that he is not saying that only farmers are responsible for the severe air pollution which has engulfed Delhi-NCR.

Justice Chandrachud pointed out that the Delhi government has opened schools and cited the AIIMS Director's remark that it is a triple whammy - pollution, Covid, and dengue.

"Their lungs are exposed," he told Mehta, adding: "Look into the issue beyond politics and government." Mehta replied that he never said farmers were responsible for pollution and there are other factors too.

The Chief Justice told Mehta that he started his presentation with issues associated with stubble burning, which led to the response.

The top court told the Centre and the Delhi government to inform it on Monday the decisions taken to take emergency steps to address severe air pollution in the capital.

During the hearing, the Chief Justice asked Mehta not to misconstrue his remarks on the stubble burning issue.

"I learnt English in Class 8, I may not have been the best in English," said the Chief Justice.

Mehta said he shares a similarity with the CJI, adding: "I studied in Gujarati till class 8." The apex court was hearing a plea by a minor boy seeking directions against stubble burning and other factors associated with the high pollution levels in Delhi-NCR.

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
Washington, Nov 13 : A US federal grand jury has indicted Steve Bannon, a one-time adviser to former President Donald Trump, charging him with contempt of Congress after he defied a subpoena by the House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol riot, the Justice Department announced.

The indictment came as Attorney General Merrick Garland has been under pressure to prosecute Bannon after the House voted on October 27 to hold the former chief strategist of Trump in criminal contempt of Congress and referred the resolution to the Justice Department, reports Xinhua news agency.

"Since my first day in office, I have promised Justice Department employees that together we would show the American people by word and deed that the department adheres to the rule of law, follows the facts and the law and pursues equal justice under the law," Garland said in a statement.

"Today's charges reflect the department's steadfast commitment to these principles." Bannon's indictment contained two charges of contempt of Congress, according to the Justice Department, "one contempt count involving his refusal to appear for a deposition and another involving his refusal to produce documents, despite a subpoena from the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol".

Each count of contempt of Congress carries a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of one year in jail, as well as a fine of $100 to $1,000, the Department said, adding a federal district court judge will determine any sentence for the 67-year-old Trump loyalist.

The House January 6 committee subpoenaed documents and testimony from Bannon on September 23. He missed both the October 7 deadline for documents production and the October 14 deadline for deposition.

Bannon's lawyer, Robert Costello, told the committee his client would not cooperate with the investigation because he had been so directed by Trump, who claimed the documents and testimony being sought were potentially protected by presidential executive privilege.

Costello told the committee that "the executive privileges belong to President Trump" and "we must accept his direction and honour his invocation of executive privilege".

President Joe Biden has refused to assert executive privilege with respect to witnesses and documents, citing the extraordinary nature of the attack on Capitol Hill on January 6 to stop Congress from certifying the result of the 2020 presidential election.

In seeking documents and deposition from Bannon, the ommittee said in the subpoena that Bannon spoke with Trump in the run-up to January 6, that he was present at a hotel in downtown D.C. used by the Trump team as a command centre as the attack unfolded, and that he said on his radio podcast one day prior to the attack that "all hell is going to break loose tomorrow." The select committee has so far issued subpoenas to 21 former officials in the Trump administration for documents, testimony, or both, related to their involvement in the Capitol riot.

Also subpoenaed by the panel, Trump's then chief of staff Mark Meadows didn't appear for his deposition scheduled for Friday at 10 a.m., risking the invocation of the contempt of Congress procedure by the select committee as it so warned Meadows on Thursday night.

Contempt of Congress prosecutions by the Justice Department often have been both time consuming and notoriously difficult to succeed, oftentimes ending in acquittal or dismissal on appeal.

The last time the department prosecuted a contempt referral was in 1983, during the Superfund investigation in the Ronald Reagan administration.

Then Environmental Protection Agency official Rita Lavelle was charged with contempt but her case ended in acquittal.
Mumbai, Nov 13 : The stock value of early stage celebrity investors in lifestyle-focused consumer technologies platform, Nykaa have risen exponentially post the IPO listing.

The Indian film industry's mega stars' - Alia Bhatt and Katrina Kaif - stocks in the company have give handsome returns, and are now worth over multiple times their original investment, cited industry estimates.

In terms of the shareholding patter, Bhatt owns some 8,177 shares of Nykaa, while that of Kaif is estimated at 3,360.

At Friday's close, Nykaa's stock was valued at Rs 2,358.90, up Rs 142.65 or 6.44 per cent from its previous close.

Consequently, Bhatt's stock holding at Friday's closing price is now worth Rs 1.92 crore.

Similarly, Kaif's share holding in the company was worth Rs 79.25 lakhs.

Industry insiders said that it is possible that there might be other provisions or entitlements that two mega stars might have with the company. The value of those are not readily available in the public domain or in the prospectus.

This week Nykaa had a stellar opening of its stocks which rose its market capitalisation to over Rs 1 lakh crore.

Listed at Rs 2,001 at the opening bell, the scrip, as against the offer price of Rs 1,125.

The bumper opening catapulted its promoters - Nayar family - as one of India's richest self-made billionaires.

At present, the promoter family holds around 53 per cent stake in the firm FSN E-Commerce Ventures, which owns Nykaa.

The stake at the opening price of Rs 2,001 per share was worth over $6.5 billion.

Consequently, the promoter family joined the billionaires ranks.

The promoter family has stakes of Falguni Nayar, MD & CEO, FSN E-Commerce Ventures, Anchit Nayar, Adwaita Nayar and the Nayar Trust.
San Francisco, Nov 13 : Tech billionaire Elon Musk has sold roughly $6.9 billion worth of Tesla stocks this week in one of the largest-ever stock disposals by a chief executive over a several-day period.

According to a regulatory filing made public on late Friday, the Tesla CEO reported selling 1.2 million shares on Friday, worth more than $1.2 billion, reports The Wall Street Journal.

Those sales came on top of more than $5.6 billion worth of stock sales earlier this week.

Recently, a report said that initial filings in the US showed that Musk had sold 934,091 shares for about $1.1 billion, out of more than 2.1 million options he received as part of a compensation package.

The filings that were posted later on Wednesday with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) showed that Musk sold another 3.58 million shares in Tesla. That sale was valued at about $4 billion.

The world's richest man had earlier posted two of the costliest tweets in the history of Global Inc.

In a tweet announcing the poll over the weekend, Musk said: "Much is made lately of unrealised gains being a means of tax avoidance, so I propose selling 10 per cent of my Tesla stock.

"I will abide by the results of this poll, whichever way it goes." Nearly 58 per cent of Elon Musk's followers who participated in his Twitter poll told him to sell 10 per cent of his stock (worth $24 billion) in the electric car company, ostensibly to pay more tax.
Glasgow, Nov 13 : With people around the world now looking to COP26, hoping that the delegates of nearly 200 nations can agree on the steps needed to keep 1.5C alive, in a way that is just, fair and sustainable, COP President Alok Sharma said it will take all of "us working together to get there".

"I would like to thank all parties for their constructive and focused advice in the informal stocktaking plenary this afternoon (Friday)," he said in a statement.

"My team and I are now engaged in intensive consultations with groups and parties in an effort to reflect the views expressed, find the right balances and develop texts that will have been built collectively." Sharma said it is his intention to issue revised documents overnight, based on the consultations that are on-going.

"I envisage formal plenary meetings in the afternoon to adopt decisions and close the session on Saturday," he added.

Patricia Espinoza, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), began COP26 by calling on delegates "to consider the choices that we must make, and the trust vested in you by billions." As 197 nations on Friday approached the official end of the 26th meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP26) to the UNFCCC, it also marks the beginning of the hard work that is needed to prevent climate chaos and build a positive brighter future with bold commitments to end the use of coal and other fossil fuels.

COP observers told IANS that the second draft that came on Friday appears significantly more balanced with stronger elements on adaptation, finance and loss and damage.

The elements of the text aimed at speeding up action to close the gap towards emissions goals are there -- with no radical changes from the previous version and dates still intact.

However, the language on coal and other fossil fuels has been softened, and the inclusion of the commitment in a final deal would be seen as a landmark moment.

Seeing the dissent and anger, the third draft has mention of "efforts towards the phase-out of unabated coal power and inefficient fossil fuel subsidies".

The draft urges countries which have not landed new plans to do so by 2022, requests all countries to raise climate targets in line with 1.5-2C by end of 2022, commissions annual UN assessment of climate plans from 2022, urges countries to deliver net zero mid-century plans by 2022 and signal to countries to accelerate shift off fossil fuels, coal to renewable energy.

All 197 parties will need to agree on each and every word of the final agreement.

The UK aims to bring countries together to agree to a comprehensive, ambitious and balanced outcome that takes forward coordinated climate action and resolves key issues related to the UNFCCC, the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement.

Paris set the destination -- limiting warming well below 2 degrees, aiming for 1.5 degrees -- Glasgow must make it a reality.

As per the UK Presidency of the COP26, the aims of the negotiations: the outcome to accelerate action to reduce emissions, strengthen adaptation and resilience to climate impacts and scale up finance and support.

At COP26, delegates will be aiming to finalise the 'Paris Rulebook', the rules needed to implement the 2015 Paris Agreement, and conclude outstanding issues from COP25 in Madrid. They will also seek to deliver on all essential negotiating items for 2020 and 2021.

"From our extensive engagement with countries, the most commonly raised priorities include: enabling ambition through carbon markets, rules for the transparent reporting of action and support and common timeframes for emission reduction commitments," says the UK.

Responding to the latest cover decisions, Sanjay Vashist, Director, Climate Action Network South Asia, told IANS, "For the people of South Asia, a region that is being slammed by climate induced disasters every day, COP26 was indeed the last chance to find permanent solution to the climate crisis, unfortunately the voices of the most vulnerable and the most impacted have been silenced and the interest of the fossil fuel corporations have been clearly pandered to by the UK COP presidency." "Instead of building trust, the global south has been cheated once again. Instead of funding for loss and damage what we have is yet another greenwash that will ensure genocide by extreme weather events in developing countries," Vashisht added.

(Vishal Gulati can be contacted at vishal.g@ians.in)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Film: 'Kurup'

Duration: 156 minutes

Director: Srinath Rajendran

Cast: Dulquer Salmaan, Indrajith Sukumaran, Sobhita Dulipala, Sunny Wayne, Shine Tom Chacko, Bharath and Surabhi Lakshmi

IANS Rating: **1/2

Director Srinath Rajendran's 'Kurup', which looks to narrate the story of Sudhakara Kurup, a man believed to be Kerala's most elusive criminal, is a lavishly made, slow-moving investigative thriller that ends up leaving you with more questions than answers.

Kurup's story is told through the jottings in the diary of a police officer Krishnadas (Played by Indrajith Sukumaran), who has just retired.

We are introduced to Gopikrishnan Pillai (played by Dulquer Salmaan), a street-smart opportunist with swag and a wicked sense of humour. The picaresque hero from a little known place in Kerala makes his way into the Indian Air Force and is stationed at Chennai in the 1960s, where he sees an opportunity to make money by selling alcohol, meant for Indian Air Force personnel, in black.

When he gets to understand how much he can make through the backdoor, he widens his scope and begins selling other items, including footwear meant for air force personnel to those outside the force.

The station head, who understands Gopikrishnan's crooked nature well, has him transferred to Bombay in the hope that the strict in-charge there will set him straight. In Bombay, the man is made a store assistant, more as a punishment than anything else.

However, Gopikrishnan Pillai sees an opportunity here as well and in place of alcohol, starts selling arms and ammunition. At one point, when the entries in the registry don't add up, Gopikrishanan is hauled up and asked to explain. That puts him in a spot. The smart cookie that he is, Gopikrishnan Pillai goes on sick leave for a month and heads back to his native place in Kerala, where he stages his own death to fool the IAF.

Having done that, he assumes a new name, Sudhakara Kurup, and gets down to do dirty work. What he does then is what primarily gets him into trouble and makes him a fugitive...

The story of Sudhakara Kurup is narrated in a non-linear fashion, which is to say the story's developments aren't told to us in a sequence. The story moves back and forth, shifting focus to different events at different points in Kurup's life and narrated from different perspectives.

The first half of the film progresses at a gentle pace, showcasing a mischevious and bold individual who even has one or two good traits.

For instance, Kurup does not ditch Sharadha, the girl who falls in love with him. Unmindful of the pressing and difficult circumstances he finds himself in, he makes his way back to Bombay to find her and take her abroad.

The first half is so slow that by the time it ends, you begin to wonder why is a man who is wanted in just one murder case considered such a big criminal.

The answer to that question lies in the second half, which, however, seems to narrate events in a rush. What the first half lacks, the second has in excess.

It's almost like a student who has been writing an exam at a gentle, steady pace, suddenly realising that he has a lot of questions to answer and very little time to finish.

In the process, what we have are sequences that narrate the story in a hurry. As a result, you end up with a number of unanswered questions, giving you a sense of dissatisfaction.

To be fair to 'Kurup', the film has its share of pluses as well.

Dulquer Salmaan as Gopikrishnan Pillai a.k.a. Sudhakara Kurup is just brilliant. From the moment he appears on screen, Dulquer commands your attention, easily slipping into the skin of the character. Be it crime or comedy or for that matter, romance, the guy is equally at ease.

Equally impressive is Indrajith Sukumaran, who plays police officer Krishnadas. Two other people whose performances stand out are Shine Tom Chacko and Bharath.

Nimish Ravi's visuals are a delight to watch. The lighting, the tone and the angles set for the shots are all just brilliant.

Recreating a different era is no joke and the team of 'Kurup' seems to have done an outstanding job in this regard too. Be it the mid-sixties, when the story starts, or the seventies or for that matter, 2005, every era is just perfectly showcased. Be it the mannerisms of people, buildings, dressing styles or vehicles used, everything seems to be in place.

There is so much effort that seems to have gone into this project that 'Kurup' ends up coming across as a film that so desperately wants to meet our huge expectations. However, sadly, it falls short of doing so.

-- Syndicated from IANS
Jaipur : Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal offers prayers at Salasar Balaji Temple in Churu district of Rajasthan on the occasion of their wedding anniversary in Jaipur on Saturday, November 13, 2021.(PHOTO:@ArvindKejriwal) Image Source: IANS News

Jaipur : Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal offers prayers at Salasar Balaji Temple in Churu district of Rajasthan on the occasion of their wedding anniversary in Jaipur on Saturday, November 13, 2021.(PHOTO:@ArvindKejriwal) Image Source: IANS News

Jaipur : Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal offers prayers at Salasar Balaji Temple in Churu district of Rajasthan on the occasion of their wedding anniversary in Jaipur on Saturday, November 13, 2021.(PHOTO:@ArvindKejriwal) Image Source: IANS News

Jaipur, Nov 13 : Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday offered prayers at Salasar Balaji Temple in Rajasthan's Churu district on the occasion of his wedding anniversary.

Kejriwal, accompanied by his wife, reached Salasar on Friday night.

He was felicitated by the temple management committee.

Taking to Twitter, he said: "Today is wedding anniversary. Sought blessings of Lord Bajrangbali ji at Shri Salasar Balaji Dham Temple with entire family." A couple of months back, the Chief Minister had spent ten days at Vipassana Sadhana Centre, located in the Galtaji area of the city, where he remained disconnected with all political activities.
New Delhi, Nov 13 : Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday expressed deep anguish over the killing of five Army personnel in Manipur.

"The cowardly attack on an Assam Rifles convoy in Churachandpur is extremely painful and condemnable. The nation has lost five brave soldiers including the Commanding Officer of 46 Assam Rifles and his two family members," the Defence Minister said.

He paid condolences to the bereaved families and said the perpetrators will be brought to justice soon.

The ambush was staged by unidentified militants in Manipur's Churachandpur district on Saturday.

In a statement, Assam Rifles DG, Lt. General Pradeep Chandran Nair, said: "A convoy of Assam Rifles was ambushed by insurgents in Thinghat, Manipur at 11 a.m. Five soldiers including Col. Viplav Tripathi, Commanding Officer of 46 Assam Rifles have made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty.

"The family of Commanding Officer -- wife and child also lost their lives in the incident. All ranks of Assam Rifles offer condolences to the brave soldiers and families of the deceased." The driver of Col. Viplav Tripathi was also killed.

Col. Tripathi, his wife, eight-year-old son and four soldiers were gunned down.

The police said the incident took place near Sehken village as the heavily armed militants fired upon the convoy.

In addition to the seven casualties, four non-fatal cases were also reported.

It happened around 3 km away from Deheng in Manipur.

The militants attacked the convoy when the Colonel was going to supervise a civic action programme, bordering Myanmar.

So far, no militant organisation has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The police and security forces have launched a massive search operation to nab the militants.

Manipur has over 40 outlawed insurgent groups.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Jaipur, Nov 13 : The Rajasthan High Court on Saturday asked the Centre to present in two weeks the actual status regarding child marriage registration under the Rajasthan Compulsory Registration of Marriage (Amendment) Bill.

On September 17, the government had passed the bill for registration of child marriages by amending the Compulsory Registration of Marriage Act. A public interest litigation in this regard was filed by Kriti Bharti, Managing Trustee and Rehabilitation Psychologist, on behalf of the Saarthi Trust of Jodhpur.

Simultaneously, another PIL was also filed.

A division bench of Chief Justice Akeel Qureshi and Justice Rekha Borana conducted joint hearings on both the PILs.

During the hearing of the PIL of Saarthi Trust, Bharti and his advocate G.S. Gautam argued on the fact that till date, the government has not withdrawn the bill, but has only kept it in the review.

The high court sought information on the status of the bill from the government's Additional Advocate General, C.L. Saini.

At the same time, instructions have been given to present the actual status of the matter in two weeks.
Bengaluru, Nov 13 : The Karnataka government's Higher Education Council, in collaboration with the International Skill Development Corporation (ISDC), a UK headquartered skill development and education company, organised the state's first NEP conclave in Bengaluru on Saturday.

With the theme of 'Strategising the Future of Higher Education', the Karnataka NEP Conclave 2021 was inaugurated by the Minister of Higher Education, Ashwathnarayan C. N.

Delivering his inaugural address at the conclave, Ashwathnarayan C. N said: "As education providers, we have so much responsibility bestowed upon us. We need to fulfil it with the right set of knowledge and holistic approach. NEP is a positive approach and is addressing all the challenges the education sector is facing in today's scenario." "With the successful implementation of NEP, Karnataka will become the top-notch education destination in the next 20 years for India as well as for the globe. Education is the only source of sustainable and quality lives. The state government is open to any opportunities to advance and revamp the education system for betterment of our students," he added.

Talking about Karnataka being the first state to implement NEP, he said: "We are glad to be the first state to implement the NEP and be a model for the country to follow. Our motto is to provide the right quality and holistic education for which we look forward to having the highest level of dedication from all the stakeholders -- students, teachers, institutions and government." Executive Director of Karnataka State Higher Education Council, Professor Gopalkrishna Joshi, chairing the panel titled "NEP and Rationale of Internationalisation" said: "The accelerated execution of NEP in the country will aid in internationalisation of Indian higher education system which will not only help our students to get access to global education platforms but also widen the path for outside students to study in India." Speaking at the conclave, Executive Director, Tom M Joseph of ISDC's Strategy and Development department in UK, said: "India is a budding and dynamic country and so it is highly imperative to focus on transforming the education sector as it is one of the means to build the socio-economic condition of the nation." Vice Chancellor of Bengaluru City University, Professor Lingaraja Gandhi, said: "NEP-2020 which is being implemented in the universities and colleges across Karnataka is a holistic, 'multidisciplinary' system which transforms the educational landscape that is best suited for the 21st century." The event witnessed over 200 participants including government officials, educationists, and representatives of leading universities, industry experts and corporates.

Five panel discussions were curated with 25 panellists discussing international opportunities for the NEP and developing schemes for effective implementation of the policy in the state by adopting the best of global practices, identifying skill gaps, catering to industry, skill centric awareness and creating job opportunities both nationally and internationally.
London, Nov 13 : Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos has predicted that space will become humanity's home one day and that people will visit Earth on vacation.

Bezos said that in centuries to come, people will be born in space and live in giant floating cylinders that could house up to a million people and re-create Earth's gravity and environment, with 'rivers, forests and wildlife' and regular Terran weather, Daily Mail reported.

The tech titan said this at the Washington Cathedral as part of the 2021 Ignatius Forum in DC, hosted by Adi Ignatius, editor in chief of Harvard Business Review, this week.

"Over centuries, many people will be born in space, it will be their first home," Bezos said.

"They will be born on these colonies, live on these colonies, then they'll visit Earth the way you would visit, you know, Yellowstone National Park," he said.

Bezos further noted that even his company's name, 'Blue Origin,' was a nod to the idea of Earth as humanity's origin point, not its final destiny.

Previously, Bezos talked up his idea about space habitats, and called them 'O'Neill colonies', after physicist Gerard O'Neill, who theorised other planets might not be the best place to house humans beyond Earth.

AHe said own trip beyond Earth in July was even more transformational than he had imagined.

"The magnitude of that experience was so much bigger than I could have ever anticipated," he told the audience.

"It really is such a change in perspective that shows you in a very powerful and emotional way, just how fragile this Earth is. I wish everyone could have that perspective," he added.

Bezos said his passion for space exploration started when he was 5 years old and Neil Armstrong stepped foot on the moon.

"I've always had the dream of having a company like Blue Origin to build what I see as the road to space." Bezos, 57, also confirmed he believed in extraterrestrial life.

"How could there not be? There are so many stars, just in this galaxy. And then so many galaxies," he added.
Siwan, Nov 13 : One person was killed and another seriously injured in firing at a wedding ceremony in Barharia police station area of Bihar's Siwan district, police officials said.

On Friday night, at the wedding of the daughter of Laddan Mian who hails from Bhalwapur village under Barharia police station, a man opened fire in which one person died on the spot while another was injured and is currently undergoing treatment in a hospital.

Barharia station in-charge, Praveen Prabhakar, on Saturday said that the deceased has been identified as Mohammad Faiz, a resident of Jamshedpur in Jharkhand. He and his family had come to attend the wedding at Laddan Mian's residence.

"The police have taken his body in possession and sent it for post-mortem. The injured person was immediately taken to Sadar Hospital for treatment where he is now stated to be out of danger," Prabhakar said.

"The police are probing how the criminals gatecrashed the wedding ceremony and opened fire," he added.
Imphal, Nov 13 : In one of the deadliest extremist attacks in recent times in northeast India, militants gunned down an Assam Rifles Colonel, his family members and four jawans in Manipur's Churachandpur district along Myanmar border on Saturday, the police said.

The police said the incident took place at around 11 a.m. near Sehken village, as the heavily armed suspected People's Liberation Army (PLA) militants fired upon the convoy of Assam Rifles Colonel Viplav Tripathi, killing him, his wife, their 9-year-old son, three Quick Reaction Team (QRT) jawans and the driver on the spot.

The militants attacked the convoy when the Colonel of the 46 Battalion of Assam Rifles along with his family members was going to supervise a civic action programme in Churachandpur bordering Myanmar, which shares around 400 km unfenced border with Manipur.

For the first time, the militants in the northeast killed the family members of a security force official.

Though no militant organisation has claimed responsibility for the attack so far, the police and the intelligence officials suspect PLA cadres to be behind the heinous act.

The Army, Assam Rifles and police forces led by senior police and para-military officials have launched a massive combing operation in the area to nab the militants.

The location is an extremely remote village more than 130 km north of state capital Imphal.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee, Director General of Assam Rifles Lt Gen P.C. Nair and many other people have strongly condemned the attack, which was perpetrated months before the next year's Assembly elections in Manipur.

"The cowardly attack on an Assam Rifles convoy in Churachandpur, Manipur, is extremely painful and condemnable. The nation has lost 5 brave soldiers including CO 46 AR and two family members. My condolences to the bereaved families. The perpetrators will be brought to justice soon," Rajnath Singh said.

Manipur Chief Minister Biren Singh, who had last week appealed to the militants to come to the negotiation table to sort out their demands, if any, said in a tweet: "Strongly condemn the cowardly attack on a convoy of 46 AR which has reportedly killed few personnel including the CO & his family at CCpur today. The State forces & Para military are already on their job to track down the militants. The perpetrators will be brought to justice." Manipur has over 40 outlawed insurgent groups, a large majority of them lying low following their signing of separate suspension of operation agreements with the government.

In 2015, 20 para-military personnel were killed in an attack by terrorists in Manipur, after which the Army had launched a surgical strike on their camps.

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
Nagpur, Nov 13 : In a major development, at least 10 Maoists were killed during a fierce encounter with the Maharashtra Police in the deep forests near Dhanora in Gadchiroli district, official sources said here on Saturday.

The gun-battle which started in the early hours of Saturday, was continuing till afternoon with at least 10 fatalities among the Maoists, in the Kolgut-Danat jungles, an official said.

As per initial reports received at the Gadchiroli district headquarters, the encounter was with a Dalam of the banned CPI(Maoist) and commandos of the crack C-60 unit of the Anti Naxal Operations.

There are no casualties among the security forces and a massive combing operation has also been undertaken to detect more bodies of the slain extremists.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 13 : A group of media personnel who came to report a faction meeting being held at a hotel in Kozhikode on Saturday, of the 'A faction in the Congress, were allegedly roughed up by party workers.

A woman journalist had to bear the brunt of the party workers' anger, as they did not want any media attention on the meeting.

"I don't know why I was roughed up. My chain was broken and my shirt was torn in the pulling and pushing," said a peeved journalist who suffered the worst.

Even though the 'A' faction in the Congress party is known after former Defence Minister A.K. Antony, it is now led by two-time former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, with Antony having no role in it.

Ever since the party high command took over the party activities in the faction ridden Congress in Kerala after the April 6 assembly poll debacle when it appointed K. Sudhakaran as the new state party president and V.D. Satheesan as the Leader of Opposition, the 'A' and 'I' factions, presently led by senior legislator Ramesh Chennithala, who were once foes have now joined together to oppose Sudhakaran and Satheesan.

However, with Chandy partly incapacitated due to health issues, aberrations have taken place in the 'A' faction which in some districts has split further. It was one such faction which met under the leadership of former Kozhikode DCC president U. Rajeevan.

While the police have started a probe, the Congress state leadership has decided to find out what actually happened.
New Delhi, Nov 13 : Launching a scathing attack on the Congress, BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi on Saturday said that under the grand old party's rule, India was partially a Muslim nation and provisions of Sharia were part of the country's Constitution.

Talking to mediapersons at the BJP headquarters here, Trivedi said, "With full responsibility, I say that before Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed the office of Prime Minister, the country was partially a Muslim nation." Lambasting Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Salman Khurshid and Rashid Alvi for "defaming Hindutva", the BJP national spokesperson said: "In a systematic manner, the grand old party is creating chaos and instability in the country on the basis of fake news and wants to create hatred for Hindus in the society." "Statement, book, propaganda and violence on social media all at the same time by the Congress leaders prove that a big campaign is being run as part of a bigger conspiracy," he claimed.

Attacking the Gandhi scion, Trivedi said instead of reading the Vedas and Puranas, Rahul Gandhi should read books written by his party leaders.

The Wayanad MP should read the book titled 'Discovery of India', written by his grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru, Trivedi said.

The BJP national spokesperson said that Rahul Gandhi should also read what Nehru has written about Hindus on Page 74 of the book.

He claimed that Indian society is remembering its power like Hanuman ji and now the country is changing rapidly. This change is visible everywhere including Ayodhya, Kedarnath, Kashi Vishwanath.

Responding to accusations of Shiv Sena leaders, Trivedi said, "We do not need to derail the government which is run by three-three remotes and is full of bickering." Taunting the MVA government, Trivedi said Maharashtra is a state whose former Home Minister has been arrested and whose former Police Commissioner is absconding.

Responding to a query on PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti's tweet on lynching, Trivedi said she should tell what happened in 1990. At that time her father was the Home Minister of the country.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Chennai, Nov 13 : Actor-politician Kamal Haasan has expressed shock at the death of a schoolgirl in Coimbatore who allegedly committed suicide after being sexually harrassed by one of her school teachers.

Tweeting in Tamil, the actor said that those responsible for the death of the student must be punished and that the state of Tamil Nadu must put a stop to such incidents.

The incident, which has sparked protests in Tamil Nadu, saw the R S Puram police arrest a physics teacher identified as Mithun Chakravarthy in connection with the case on Friday.

The police have registered a case under different sections of the POCSO Act against him.

On Saturday, the police filed a case under the POCSO Act against the school principal as well.
New Delhi, Nov 13 : Pakistan Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry said on Saturday that more than 8,000 Sikh pilgrims from all over the world will visit Pakistan to celebrate the birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak, Express Tribune reported.

The minister took to his official Twitter handle to make the announcement and to welcome the pilgrims to "the land of Gurus, Sufis and Yogis".

The Pakistan High Commission has issued about 3,000 visas to Indian Sikh pilgrims to enable them to participate in the 552nd birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak in Pakistan from Nov 17-26, the Dawn reported.

According to a press release issued by the High Commission, the Sikh pilgrims during their stay in Pakistan will visit different gurdwaras, including GurdAwara Janam Asthan in NanAkana Sahib and Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur.

Visas to the Sikh pilgrims have been issued under the Pakistan-India Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines of 1974, which provides for the visit of 3,000 Sikh pilgrims from India for the birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak, the report said.

Thousands of Sikh pilgrims residing in countries other than India will also be visiting Pakistan to attend the event.

The Pakistan High Commission in India has extended felicitations to the Sikh community on the 552nd birth anniversary of the founder of Sikh religion. The High Commission also wishAAes a spiritually rewarding 'Yatra' to the pilgrims visiting Pakistan on this occasion, the report said.

The issuance of maximum number of pilgrimage visas is in line with the government's efforts to promote visits to religious shrines in Pakistan, it said.
Mumbai, Nov 13 : Raftaar's independent label 'Kalamkaar', has signed an exclusive one-year recording agreement with popular rapper-lyricist IKKA.

The rapper's 12-month independent non-film music releases will be taken care of by the Paris-based firm 'Believe' as it will cover the digital music distribution and artist services for IKKA as a part of the agreement.

IKKA a.k.a. Ankit Singh has successfully straddled the hip-hop purists and music lovers with his work in film music which includes titles such as 'Badrinath Ki Dulhania', 'Tamanchey', 'Sanam Re', 'Hindi Medium', 'Kya Kool Hai Hum 3' and 'Satyamev Jayate'. His album 'I', featured collaborations with artists like Raftaar, DIVINE, Lil Golu, Sez On The Beat and Sikander Khalon.

Talking about association, the rapper-lyricist says, "I am super excited to partner with Kalamkaar for a one-year independent non-film music deal and take Indian hip-hop to the next level with a label that has an artist's interest vested at its core. The hip hop scene is gaining a considerable amount of exposure and over the course of the next one year my fans will be entertained with music that marries creative freedom with quality soundscapes."
Chennai, Nov 13 : The sequel to one of Tamil cinema's landmark films, 'En Rasavin Manasile', it seems will happen only next year.

If sources are to be believed, the project, which was eagerly anticipated by many and which was scheduled to begin a lot earlier this year, has now been pushed to next year as a result of actor Rajkiran, who played the lead in the first part, being busy with a number of other films at the moment.

Says a source close to the actor, "Rajkiran sir was shooting for a film that is being directed by Sargunam and featuring actor Atharvaa in the lead. With the untitled film that is being produced by Lyca Productions having come to an end, he is now busy with director Muthaiah's film 'Viruman', featuring actor Karthi in the lead." After 'Viruman', the shooting of which is going on in Madurai at the moment, the source says Rajkiran has at least two other films to finish.

"It is only after that he will be able to take up the sequel to 'En Rasavin Mansile'," the source informs.

In February this year, the actor-director had announced that he would be playing the lead in the sequel to 'En Rasavin Manasile', which would be directed by his son Tipu Sultan Nainar Muhammad.

'En Rasavin Manasile', which was directed by Kasthuri Raja, the father of actor Dhanush, had a silver jubilee run when it released in 1991. The film, which featured Rajkiran and Meena in the lead, gave a break to everybody associated with it including comedian Vadivelu, who made his debut in it.
New Delhi, Nov 13: Strongly opposing "China's unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force" in the East and South China Seas, Quad partners Japan and the United States today agreed to closely coordinate in addressing various issues related to Beijing.

The 30-minute discussion over phone between new Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa and the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday morning comes just two days before US President Joe Biden holds a virtual summit with President Xi Jinping of China on Monday.

Tokyo believes that as the security environment in the region is becoming "increasingly severe and uncertain", the Japan-US Alliance, along with quadrilateral cooperation also involving India and Australia, is more important than ever.

Both Yoshimasa and Blinken today decided to work closely with other allies and partners to advance the shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific. Blinken also reaffirmed Washington's "unwavering commitment" to the defence of Japan, including the application of Article V of the Japan-US Security Treaty to the Senkaku Islands.

"The two ministers concurred to advance the strengthening of the deterrence and response capabilities of the Japan-US Alliance as a matter of strongest priority, and to coordinate toward holding a 2+2 meeting at the earliest possible opportunity," the Japanese foreign ministry said in a statement today.

Japan's big worry With the region experiencing drastic shifts in the regional power balance, the new Japanese government led by Fumio Kishida has in the last few days intensified efforts towards the promotion of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) and the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP).

Besides stating the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, Kishida has raised serious concerns and strongly opposed China's continued activities in East and South China Sea which he said violated Japan's sovereignty.

As intrusions by China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels into Japan's territorial sea around the Senkaku Islands increased, Japan has strategically promoted efforts to realize FOIP based on the rule of law, in cooperation with like-minded counties.

Tokyo says that this vision is now shared by the US, Australia, India, ASEAN and major countries in Europe, and is gaining broad support in the international community.

"Japan will seize opportunities for various bilateral and multilateral dialogues, including the Japan-India-Australia-US dialogue, to expand the cooperation to more countries," says the Japanese foreign ministry.

The Yoshimasa-Blinken call today sets the stage for a happening Biden-Xi summit as Beijing's claims to offshore resources across most of the South China Sea have already been termed "completely unlawful" - along with its "campaign of bullying to control them" - by the US.

(The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative
Aizawl, Nov 13 : The 15,000 men, women and children, who have taken shelter in Mizoram from coup-hit Myanmar, are likely to be treated as "tourists" not refugees, a parliament member from the northeastern state said.

The decision of the government is significant as the Union Home Ministry had sent out an advisory earlier to four northeastern states -- Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh -- which share a 1,640-km unfenced border with Myanmar, saying that the states and Union Territories have no power to grant "refugee" status to any foreigner, and India is not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention of 1951 and its 1967 Protocol.

An MP from Mizoram, who closely monitors the refugee issue, told IANS that Union Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Minister G. Kishan Reddy has promised to help the state in dealing with Myanmar migrants. The minister has proposed that they be recorded as "Myanmar tourists not as refugees".

"The Mizoram health department also planned to provide Covid vaccination to the Myanmar nationals sheltered in Mizoram. The inoculation is necessary, otherwise the spread of the coronavirus could not be checked both among the Myanmarese and Indian citizens in Mizoram," the MP said.

Currently around 15,000 Myanmar nationals have taken shelter in 11 districts of mountainous Mizoram and most of them are living in relief camps set up by various NGOs, churches and the villagers. A few reside with their relatives in the state and some others in rented houses.

The majority of those who have taken shelter belong to the Chin community, also known as the Zo community, who share the same ancestry, ethnicity and culture as the Mizos of Mizoram.

According to the official records, the Myanmar refugees mostly take shelter in six Mizoram districts -- Champhai, Lawngtlai, Siaha, Serchhip, Hnahthial and Saitual -- with Champhai housing the highest number of over 7,500 while there are immigrants in the remaining five districts too.

As many as 1,650 people are in Aizawl district.

According to district administration and police officials, the refugees from Myanmar, specially from Chin state, are crossing over to Mizoram's southern and eastern border districts.

They said that intermittent clashes between the Myanmar Army and the civilian groups in that trouble torn country forced the people to cross over through the forested and riverine routes and seek refuge in the Indian state.

"The distraught refugees from Myanmar with the help of local Mizos have been sometime crossing the Tiau river in small country boats to take shelter in the border villages of Mizoram," a district administration official said.

The river Tiau, which flows along the Champhai district in eastern Mizoram, divides India and Myanmar.

Mizoram's most influential NGO -- the Young Mizo Association, various churches including Presbyterian, Baptist and Roman Catholic are providing food, essentials, clothing and shelter to the refugees since March.

Various NGOs and local organisations have formed the Myanmar Refugee Relief Committee and the organisation has been collecting donations, relief material, food, clothes and medicines to help the immigrants.

On a number of occasions, Chief Minister Zoramthanga in separate letters has requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide humanitarian assistance to Myanmar nationals as his state is witnessing a continuing influx of refugees from the neighbouring country.

Mizoram Planning Board Vice Chairman H. Rammawi, who is closely dealing with the Myanmar refugee affairs, said that the Chief Minister, besides writing letters, has also talked to Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah over phone on a number of occasions, requesting them to extend humanitarian assistance to the Myanmar refugees.

Mizoram's lone Lok Sabha Member C. Lalrosanga, Rajya Sabha member K. Vanlalvena, and Officer on Special Duty to the Chief Minister, Rosangzuala are regularly in touch with Central ministers and officials to provide financial assistance and other support to the refugees.

The influx to Mizoram started after a one-year state of emergency was declared in Myanmar, where power was seized by General Min Aung Hlaing after President U Win Myint and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi were detained by the military on February 1.

(Sujit Chakraborty can be contacted at sujit.c@ians.in)
New Delhi, Nov 13 : The Supreme Court on Saturday junked an appeal of the Uttar Pradesh government, which could lead to the arrest of the state's finance secretary and additional chief secretary (revenue).

A bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana told the counsel for the Uttar Pradesh government, "The high court should have ordered arrest by now." The bench also comprising justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli said that severe punishment is required in the matter, as the officials were depriving an employee of his arrears.

The bench added, "You did nothing to abide by the orders... you have no respect for the court. This additional chief secretary appears to be very arrogant." The Allahabad High Court had issued bailable orders against the officials for delayed and partial compliance of its orders. The high court had passed several orders for the regularisation of the service and also clearance of past salary arrears of the fourth-grade employee.

Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, representing the Uttar Pradesh government, said that the service of the petitioner, Bhuneshwar Prasad Tiwari, as 'collection amin' has been regularised. She added that juniors, who were given regular employment ahead of him, have been removed and only arrears of the salary are due. Bhati urged the top court to take a lenient view in the matter.

To which, the bench said, "Look at this... despite the court order, this additional chief secretary says that I will not grant the age relaxation. You tell all this (the defence argument for the officials) to the high court after you are arrested and produced." The bench, in its order, said: "Having heard the learned Additional Solicitor General appearing on behalf of the petitioner -- the state of Uttar Pradesh -- and after carefully perusing the materials placed on record, we see no reason to interfere with the impugned interim order passed by the high court. The special leave petition is, accordingly, dismissed. As a sequel to the above, pending interlocutory applications also stand disposed of." The top court was hearing a matter connected to the regularisation of service and payment of arrears to a 'collection amin' in Allahabad. On November 1, the high court had noted that the officials were not treating the court orders seriously, as they declined to grant arrears of salary to a person who was earlier denied the rightful claim of regularisation of service.

The high court said that it is a fit case to issue bailable warrant against additional chief secretary (revenue) and Sanjay Kumar, the then district magistrate currently posted as secretary (finance). The high court sought their appearance before it on November 15, and issued bailable warrants.
Bhopal, Nov 13 : Newly renovated and with modern facilities for commuters, Bhopal's Habibganj Railway Station will now be known as 'Rani Kamlapati' station.

After getting approval from the Centre, the Shivraj Singh Chouhan led state government has started replacing boards of 'Habibganj Railway Station' with 'Rani Kamlapati Railway Station', via an order in this regard issued on Saturday.

It came just one day ahead of the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the 'Janjatiya Gaurav Divas' on November 15, during which he will also inaugurate the renovated railway station.

The Madhya Pradesh transport department late on Friday wrote to the Union Home Ministry seeking approval to rename Habibganj station after Gond (tribal) queen Kamlapati.

Interestingly, it came amid a section of the state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wanting to rename Habibganj station after former Prime Minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee. A couple of days back, a group led by BJP MP Pragya Thakur had written a letter to Chouhan seeking to rename Habibganj station after Vajpayee.

However, eyeing the next assembly elections in 2023, Chouhan instead chose Rani Kamlapati, who is considered the last Hindu queen of Bhopal.

On the birth anniversary of tribal freedom fighter Birsa Munda on November 15, Prime Minister Modi and Chief Minister Chouhan will address a mass gathering of tribal communities, and will announce several schemes focusing on tribals.

Birsa Munda's birth anniversary is being celebrated as 'Janjatiya Gaurav Divas' on November 15.

The move is seen as an attempt to please Hindu voters, especially in the tribal communities. In the last assembly polls in 2018, the BJP had managed to win only 15 seats against the Congress' 36 here.

"Rani Kamlapati is the pride of the Gond community and the last Hindu queen of Bhopal. Her kingdom was usurped by Afghan commander Dost Mohammed by deceit under a conspiracy. When she knew that victory against Dost Mohammed was not possible, she committed 'jal jauhar' to save her respect," Chouhan said on Saturday.
Panaji, Nov 13 : The Congress will launch a 'Lok Jagruti Abhiyaan' campaign in the poll-bound state of Goa from November 17 to highlight the "unprecedented" price rise in the country.

The campaign would be a prelude to the party's election campaign ahead of the 2022 state assembly polls, state Congress president Girish Chodankar said.

"We are also launching 'Lok Jagruti Abhiyaan' from November 17 in 19 different constituencies on the same day. It will continue for a week. Several other programmes are also being chalked out," he said.

Chodankar also said that the Congress was in the process of preparing a chargesheet against the excesses of the incumbent BJP-led coalition government.

"Our plan is to also file a chargesheet against this government because over the last 10 years, this government has committed atrocities on Goa. People have suffered enough. We are planning to file a chargesheet on this government with the support of the people of Goa," he added.
Nagpur, Nov 13 : In a major development, at least 26 Maoists were killed during a fierce encounter with Maharashtra Police in the deep forests near Dhanora in Gadchiroli district, Gadchiroli Superintendent of Police Ankit Goyal said.

"Around 26 Naxals have been eliminated in the encounter at multiple locations by several security forces in the region. Three security personnel have also been injured in the cross-firing. They have been airlifted by helicopter to Nagpur and admitted for treatment at a local hospital," Goyal told IANS.

The gun-battle which started in the early hours of Saturday in the dense forest of Kolgut-Dandat was continuing till evening with at least 26 fatalities notched among the Maoists, while three security personnel were also hurt, Goyal said.

As per initial reports received at the Gadchiroli district headquarters, the encounter was with a Dalam of the banned CPI(Maoist) and commandos of the crack C-60 unit of the Anti Naxal Operations.

Now, a massive combing operation has also been undertaken to detect more bodies of the slain extremists with a possibility of the death toll likely to go up in this remote region on the Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh.

Though the exact identity of the Maoists killed in Saturday's operations is yet to be established, there is a speculation that a prominent leader of an outlawed organisation is among the slain. Goyal, however, declined to comment.

Following a tip-off on Friday that some Maoists were expected to gather and plan out some activities in the region, the security forces launched search and combing operations.

Soon, they came virtually face-to-face with the extremists leading to the fierce jungle gun-battle which continued till Saturday evening.

The latest operation is the biggest success recorded for the security forces who effected a huge toll on the Maoists, the highest in the past 3-4 years.
Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 13 : State health minister Veena George has called upon the people of Kerala to be on high alert after norovirus was reported in the state.

The rare norovirus was reported among 13 students of a veterinary college in Pookode in Wayanad district of the state two weeks ago. After the health department reported that the virus could be dangerous among children and the elderly, health minister Veena George on Friday had chaired a meeting of doctors and health department officials and called upon the people to be vigilant.

Doctors warned that the elderly and pregnant women should take extra precautions against the disease and wash hands thoroughly before eating.

The norovirus which is also known as the 'winter vomiting bug' is highly infectious and spreads easily among people leading to diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach ache.

Health department doctors said that the disease is transmitted by direct contact with an infected person, contaminated food or touching a contaminated surface, and putting unwashed hands in the mouth.

The most common symptoms of the disease according to doctors are diarrhea, vomiting, nausea and stomach pain. In certain cases there is fever, headache and body ache.

The signs and symptoms are seen 12 to 48 hours after the person is exposed to norovirus and it lasts for three to four days. Fresh fruits consumed without proper washing, green vegetables including lettuce and oysters are common carriers of norovirus.

The state health ministry in its guidelines said that fruits and vegetables must be washed thoroughly before consumption. Crabs and oysters should be cooked well as they could act as carriers of norovirus.

The Kerala health ministry in its guidelines said that those who interact with animals should pay special attention and must use chlorinated water for drinking.

The health department has directed people to stay at home if found infected with norovirus. Doctors said that lots of water should be consumed to prevent dehydration and patients must take rest at home.

Dr Shyamlal Raghavan, Physician and Professor of general medicine at a medical college in Kerala told IANS, "The disease can be fatal in children, elderly and those with comorbidities. The state health department has already issued guidelines and people must abide by them and those who are handling animals must take extra care. Hands must be washed properly before eating food and water tanks and wells must be chlorinated. Take good rest if infected and drink large quantities of water to prevent dehydration."
Bhubaneswar, Nov 13 : Setting an example for the society, a 63-year-old woman in Odisha's Cuttack city has donated her entire properties around Rs 1 crore to a rickshaw puller.

Minati Patnaik has donated her three-storey house at Sutahat area of the city, gold ornaments and all other assets to rickshaw puller Budha Samal. She executed a Will in favour of Budha.

The rickshaw puller, who survives with her wife and two sons, has been serving Minati and her family members (who have passed away) for the past 25 years.

Minati, who hailed from Sambalpur had married Krishna Kumar Patnaik, a well-to-do person in Cuttack city. She was leaving happily with her husband and daughter Komal.

"My husband passed away in 2020 while my daughter died in 2021. After that, all these properties have no value for me," Minati said.

"When I was shattered and living in grief, none of my relatives stood by me. I was all alone. But, this rickshaw puller and his family were taking care of my health without any expectation," she said.

When Minati's husband and daughter were alive, the rickshaw puller used to serve them also.

After their death, Budha and his family devoted themselves to serving the lonely elder.

After seeing the dedication, selfless service, and commitment of Samal, the old woman said she has taken the decision.

"Now, no one will harass Budha and his family after my death," she further said.

The rickshaw puller said he has been serving this family for the past 25 years and had never dreamt of the property. He never carries any other passenger in his rickshaw.

"I always made it a point to ensure that my family always looked after Minati after her husband died. We would continue to look after her till she is alive," Budha said.
Bengaluru, Nov 13 : An indigenous, medium class octacopter developed by the state-run National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) on Saturday successfully delivered Covid-19 vaccine doses in a remote village in Karnataka, covering an aerial distance of 7 km in about 10 minutes.

NAL is an arm of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), funded by the Union Ministry of Science and Technology. In September, the Civil Aviation Ministry had granted conditional permission to CSIR-NAL for conducting beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flight trials of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).

On Saturday, the CSIR-NAL's octacopter successfully delivered 50 vials of Covid-19 vaccine along with syringes in a special container from the Chandapura Primary Health Centre (PHC) to the Haragadde PHC.

The octacopter took off at 9.43 a.m. from Chandapura PHC carrying Covid vaccine doses which they delivered to the Haragadde PHC at 9.53 a.m. The octacopter flew at an altitude of 300m AGL at a speed of 10 metre/sec and covered an aerial distance of about 7 km in about 10 minutes.

After delivery of vaccine doses at Haragadde, the octacopter returned to the Chandapura PHC. The entire mission covered a distance of about 14 km in 20 minutes, including delivery of vaccine doses.

"The octacopter for the delivery of vaccines is a need of the hour for the country," P.V. Satyanaraya Murthy, Head UAV, CSIR-NAL, said in a statement.

It is perfectly designed "for a much deeper penetration of vaccines in the remote areas", he added.

Moreover, Murthy said that the NAL "octacopter is easy to operate by unskilled operators".

He also noted that NAL has already tied up with private firms for drone manufacturing and offering operational services.

The octacopter developed by NAL can be used for a variety of BVLOS applications for last mile delivery like medicines, vaccines, food, postal packets, human organs etc.

It is also integrated with a powerful onboard embedded computer and latest generation sensors for versatile applications like agricultural pesticide spraying, crop monitoring, mining survey, magnetic geo survey mapping etc.

The UAV is made out of light weight carbon fibre foldable structure for ease of transportation and has unique features like autonomous guidance through dual redundant microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) based digital autopilot with advanced flight instrumentation systems.

It can fly at an operational altitude of 500m AGL and at maximum flying speed of 36 kmph, and can carry a payload of 15 kg with hovering endurance of 40 minutes.
New Delhi, Nov 13 : The realtors of Noida and Greater Noida assured the Supreme Court on Saturday that the benefits of low interest, which was fixed by the apex court, on delay in payment to Noida authorities will trickle down to the homebuyers.

Senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing the builders, submitted before a bench comprising justices U.U. Lalit and Ajay Rastogi that Noida and Greater Noida authorities have accepted the verdict.

The real estate companies further said that Noida and Greater Noida authorities have moved the top court after lapse of more than a year, and termed it as an abuse of the process of law.

The counsel contended that an affidavit was also filed giving undertaking to comply with the directions in the court order. They argued that it is not correct for the authorities to seek the recall of the order, and urged the bench not to recall last year's order. Sibal argued that authorities could have sought review of the order immediately, rather than waiting for the judge, who passed the order, to retire.

The authorities had argued that the top court's order would lead to unreasonable benefit to the builders, which would be in thousands of crores, and it will come at the cost of public authorities.

Countering this argument, both Sibal and Singhvi assured the court that the benefits would be passed on to the flat purchasers.

They termed the authorities turning bankrupt due to the court order as baseless and added that the authorities made huge profits by allocating lands to companies at a rate 10 times higher than at which they were bought from the farmers.

The top court, during the hearing, sought to know why relief was granted only to the builders of Noida and Greater Noida, adding that this would have to be examined.

In July last year, the top court had directed that interest on late payment by companies be linked to the SBI's marginal cost of lending rate (MCLR), beginning January 2010. The apex court fixed the rate of interest at around 8 per cent against the penal interest demanded by the Noida authority, which was over 28 per cent.

The order had come on a plea of Ace Group of Companies, which claimed that various projects were stalled due to excessive lease rent, penalty and interest charged by the authorities. Recently, the authorities had urged the top court to recall its order, saying that they could lose around Rs 7,500 crore.

Meanwhile, in a big relief to thousands of Amrapali homebuyers, the court-appointed receiver told the top court that six banks -- State Bank of India, Bank of India, Punjab and Sindh Bank, UCO Bank, Bank of Baroda and Punjab National Bank -- have agreed to fund the unfinished housing projects.

Advocate Kumar Mihir, representing the homebuyers, said: "The issue of bank funding has been pending for a long time now. I hope the banks which have given in-principal approval for the funding of Amrapali projects may also firm up their proposal along with the other banks form the consortium soon, so that the funds can be released at the earliest for the construction of these projects."
Panaji, Nov 13 : The police in Goa on Saturday claimed to have busted a drug racket near the popular 'sweet water lake' at Arambol beach, arresting eight persons from Mumbai and seized drugs worth Rs 1.20 lakh.

According to police inspector in-charge of the Pernem police station Jivba Dalvi, the accused persons were arrested from Sweet Valley resort where they were staying.

"During the raid, we found various types of drugs consisting of 800 gm ganja, 34 gm charas, 60 cannabis seeds, LSD papers all worth Rs 1.20 lakh in the international market," Dalvi said.

"All the accused persons were searched thoroughly and all were found to be concealing and possessing various types of drugs. It was revealed that all had come to Goa to carry out drugs supply to tourists in the state," he also said.

The names of the accused who have been arrested are Alex Romeo (25), Jeffrey Rodrigues (24), Sagar Jadhav (21) Adrian Kingston (21), Rohit Zende (20), Rushikesh Mahadik (21) Vaibhav Shigwan (21) and Prem Londhe (19), all of whom are residents of Bhandup in Mumbai.

The accused have been booked under sections 20(b)(ii)(A) and 22 (A) r/w 29 of NDPS act.
New Delhi, Nov 13 : Prime Minister Nbaredra Modi on Saturday chaired a high-level meeting on cryptocurrency and related issues, government sources said here.

According to the sources, the meeting was an outcome of a consultative process as the Reserve Bank of India, the Finance Ministry and the Home Ministry had carried out an elaborate exercise on the issues, besides consulting experts from across the country and the world.

During the meeting, all the facets of cryptocurrency were deliberated upon, and the global examples and best practices were also looked at while it was discussed that unregulated crypto markets cannot be allowed to become avenues for money laundering and terror financing.

The sources also said that it has been strongly felt that attempts to mislead young investors through over- promising and non-transparent advertising must be prevented.

"The government is cognizant of the fact that this is an evolving technology, and hence the government will keep a close watch and take proactive steps. There was also consensus that the steps taken in this field by the government will be progressive and forward looking," the sources said.

They also said that it was decided in the meeting that the government will continue to proactively engage with the experts and other stakeholders for further consultation on this issue. Since the issue cuts across individual country's borders, it was felt that it will also require global partnerships and collective strategies, they added.

This is the first time that the government has taken a stand on this issue wherein the process of consultation has begun.

The high-level meeting comes after RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das sounded an alarm on cryptocurrencies, cautioning investors on the potential pitfalls of the digital currency.

On November 10, Das had said that cryptocurrencies are a very serious concern from a macro economic and financial stability point of view.
New Delhi, Nov 13 : "We call time on the 20-month rally in Indian equities," foreign brokerage CLSA said.

The CLSA said concerns range from elevated energy and broader in put price pressures applying downward pressure to margins, the current account balance and thus currency outlook, the withdrawal of RBI stimulus, and a lack of upside implied by Indian equities' typical macro drivers.

Rich valuations, a high probability of earnings disappointment, and a potential lack of marginal buyers add to our motivation to book profits on India, it added in "Ten reasons to book profits on Indian equities".

Delivering a US dollar price return of 147 per cent since the March 2020 trough (or 29 per cent since January 1, 2021), India ranks first among Asia regional peers on year-to-date US dollar performance -- outperforming MSCI AC APAC ex Japan by 56 per cent. Among the larger emerging markets, it has been outpaced only by net energy exporting countries.

High energy costs, peak margins and stimulus withdrawal top our list of concerns, the CLSA said.

For at least the past two decades, elevated energy prices have been closely associated with phases of Indian equity under-performance.

"We are now back in such an episode of energy pricing for the first time since 2013," it said.

Moreover, the RBI has begun the withdrawal of its stimulus programme with a visible reduction in banking system excess liquidity.

CLSA said its regression model process indicates no further US dollar upside potential for Indian equities over the next 12 months. Plus, after strong non-resident purchases of Indian equities in 2020 followed by sustained domestic buying driving 2021 returns, there appears to be a lack of marginal buyer looking into 2022.

Demanding consensus EPS forecasts (25 per cent 12-months forward) may likely be once again subject to a slew of negative revisions as has typically been the case in India historically, it added.

India is trading on 31.6x cyclically adjusted earnings (versus 14.7x for overall EM), more than one standard deviation above its 18-year average of 22.6x, with investors paying more than twice the book multiple for Indian assets versus EM despite the market offering the same profitability.

As India's current account position slips back into deficit, we forecast a commensurate 4 per cent weakness in the rupee to Rs 78.5.

Finally, we argue that limited credit growth will continue to constrain India's overall GDP and that a backdrop of inferior relative value creation (versus EM) is typically not conducive to sustained outperformance, CLSA said.

(Sanjeev Sharma can be reached at Sanjeev.s@ians.in)
Bengaluru, Nov 13 : The Karnataka Police, facing criticism in the backdrop of the Bitcoin scandal by the opposition Congress, on Saturday released a detailed four-page press note, refuting all allegations.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has spoken on the Bitcoin scandal and party spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala held a press conference in Delhi to charge the ruling BJP in Karnataka, and also targetted Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Congress is also demanding a probe by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court.

Bengaluru Police Commissioner Kamal Pant has stated the claim made on 'Whale Alert' that 14,682 stolen Bitfinex Bitcoins were transferred is completely unsubstantiated, adding there is nothing to suggest that it originated from Bangalore.

"Since distorted reports are appearing in the media about the Bitcoin case, it is stated that investigation conducted by CCB has been done in a fair and professional manner," he said.

"The law enforcement system and investigating agencies work on certain procedures laid down by law of the land. They cannot act on unconfirmed, unknown social media handles and inputs," he underlined.

"It is a matter of fact that even though the arrest of the said accused attained wide media publicity, till date no foreign law enforcement agencies nor any foreign companies have approached the Bengaluru Police about any hacking, as claimed by the accused," the police officer said.

He further stated that such misleading versions are being floated based on incomplete and distorted facts. "All such versions are vehemently denied." Hence the facts related to the case are being clarified as under it is stated that on November 4, based on the credible information regarding a drug consignment procured through darknet, CCB Police secured one accused and seized 500 grams of Hydro Ganja.

In this regard, a case was registered at KG Nagar police station under NDPS Act. During further investigation, 10 other accused persons including Srikrishna a.k.a Srikhi were secured and arrested.

During the interrogation of accused Srikrishna, he confessed before the investigation officer about his involvement in alleged hacking of many Crypto Currency Websites.

Since a cognizable offence was made out, a complaint was registered. It is stated that neither any Bitcoins were transferred from the account of hacker Srikrishna, nor any Bitcoin was lost.

During the process of identifying and seizure of Bitcoins, accused Srikrishna showed a BTC wallet, which contained 31.8 BTC.

Subsequently, court permission was obtained to use the password to transfer the said Bitcoins to the police wallet account. Upon reaching the said wallet shown by the accused Srikrishna, it showed 186.811 Bitcoins.

On enquiry, cyber experts opined that the said account claimed by accused as his personal account, was in fact a live wallet of an exchange and accused did not have private key for this.

Hence, the said account was left untouched and as a result, no Bitcoins were transferred to the police wallet. The case has been charged along with the above facts and related documents and is now sub judice.

The accused during his voluntary statement had made a series of claims of high volume hacking of websites, without any specific details. Therefore, a preliminary investigation was conducted to ascertain the veracity of claims made by him.

Careful examination of digital evidence by the cyber experts revealed that the majority of his claims were unsubstantiated. This procedure took time and only after a report was sent to Interpol for further need full at their end, the police said.
Imphal, Nov 13 : In one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in recent times in northeast India, PLA and MNPF militants in a joint ambush gunned down an Assam Rifles Colonel, his family members and four jawans in Manipur's Churachandpur district along Myanmar border on Saturday, the police said.

The PLA and MNPF in a joint statement on Saturday night claimed responsibility for the ghastly attack, stating that they did not know that the Commanding Officer's family was also in the convoy.

"In the disturbed area, family and kid should not accompany. Chief of Army of PLA (Irengbam Chaoren) has congratulated the participating cadres in the operations," said the statement, signed by both the militant outfits' publicity in-charges.

The police said the incident took place at around 11 a.m. near Sekhen village, as the heavily armed People's Liberation Army (PLA) and Manipur Naga People's Front (MNPF) militants opened fir on the convoy of Assam Rifles Colonel Viplav Tripathi, killing him, his wife, their 9-year-old son, three Quick Reaction Team (QRT) jawans and the driver on the spot.

The militants attacked the convoy when the Colonel of the 46 Battalion of Assam Rifles along with his family members was going to supervise a civic action programme in Churachandpur bordering Myanmar, which shares around 400 km unfenced border with Manipur.

For the first time, the militants in the northeast killed the family members of a security force official.

The slain Assam Rifles jawans have been identified as Suman Swargiary, Khatnei Konyak, R.P. Meena and Shyamal Das.

The Army, Assam Rifles and the Manipur police commandos led by senior police and para-military officials have launched a massive combing operation in the area to nab the militants.

The location is an extremely remote village more than 130 km north of state capital Imphal.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee, Director General of Assam Rifles Lt Gen P.C. Nair and many other people have strongly condemned the attack, which was perpetrated months before the next year's Assembly elections in Manipur.

"The cowardly attack on an Assam Rifles convoy in Churachandpur, Manipur, is extremely painful and condemnable. The nation has lost 5 brave soldiers including CO 46 AR and two family members. My condolences to the bereaved families. The perpetrators will be brought to justice soon," Rajnath Singh said.

Manipur Chief Minister Biren Singh, who had last week appealed to the militants to come to the negotiation table to sort out their demands, if any, said in a tweet: "Strongly condemn the cowardly attack on a convoy of 46 AR which has reportedly killed few personnel including the CO & his family at CCpur today. The State forces & Para military are already on their job to track down the militants. The perpetrators will be brought to justice." Manipur has over 40 outlawed insurgent groups, a large majority of them lying low following their signing of separate suspension of operation agreements with the government.

In 2015, 20 para-military personnel were killed in an attack by terrorists in Manipur, after which the Army had launched a surgical strike on their camps.
New Delhi, Nov 13 : The Union Home Ministry on Saturday said news reports related to damage of a mosque in Tripura are fake.

"News reports that have been circulating that a mosque in Kakraban area of Gomati district in Tripura has been damaged and vandalized. These news reports are fake and are a complete misrepresentation of facts," the MHA said.

The mosque in Dargabazar area of Kakraban has not been damaged and the Tripura Police in Gomati district is working to maintain peace and tranquillity.

The Ministry further said that there has no been reported case of damage of the structure of any mosque in Tripura in the recent past.

There is no report of simple or grievous injury or rape or death of any person in these incidents as alleged in some social media posts, the officials of the Ministry said.

Appealing to the people to maintain calm and should not be misguided by such fake reports, the Union Home Ministry further said that in Maharashtra there have been reports of violence and unsavoury statements that are aimed at disturbing peace and harmony, based on fake news regarding Tripura.

This is very concerning and it is urged that peace is maintained at all costs, it added.
Bhopal, Nov 13 : Two villagers were allegedly shot dead by a group of Maoists on suspicion of being police informers in Madhya Pradesh, the police said on Saturday.

The incident took place at Malikhedi village in Balaghat district on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday, the police said.

The deceased persons have identified as Santosh (48) and Jagdish Yadav (45). The police said that it is yet to be ascertained as to how many ultras were involved in the killing of the two villagers.

According to the police, the extremists also left behind pamphlets warning the villagers of similar consequences if found working as police informers. The pamphlets mentioned the name of the Khatiya Morcha Area Committee of the Maoists.

Terming the incident as a cowardly act, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for each the victims along with a government job for their next of kin.

"It is a cowardly act by the Maoists, which we as citizens of Madhya Pradesh condemn. We are with the family members of the deceased. Our campaign against the Maoists will continue with more vigour," Chouhan said.
Agartala, Nov 13 : Tripura Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Dev Varma on Saturday said "there are deliberate attempts by certain quarters" to tarnish the state's image, while condemning the stone pelting incidents in Maharashtra in the name of Tripura.

"No mosque was burnt in Tripura. The state is being discredited by circulating pictures of other countries," Dev Varma said, claiming Tripura was being defamed by spreading rumours about the state.

"Attempts are being made to destroy peace and harmony in Tripura. A section is trying to enter Tripura (politics) through the back door," he told the media and clarified that Tripura has a history of inter-religious harmony.

The Deputy Chief Minister said that in two-three cities of Maharashtra, stones were pelted in the name of Tripura on Friday.

However, in Tripura, both Hindu and Muslim communities are in harmony.

According to him, some people from outside are trying to ruin the environment of Tripura.

Claiming that the culture of Tripura is being tarnished, he said: "The Tripura government is vehemently condemning that motive. A section of people are trying to get in through the back door. They are the ones who are trying to destroy the peace and harmony of he state." He said that "criticisms are always acceptable, but let that criticism be positive, and there is a conspiracy going on in Tripura now".

"The government would not tolerate any conspiracy against Tripura. Strict legal action will be taken against the conspirators. Inter-religious harmony was the main and only goal of the government in Tripura. Because, we wish for Eid and buy cakes for Christmas," the Deputy Chief Minister said.
Tirupati, Nov 14 : Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who arrived here on Saturday night to attend Southern Zonal Council meeting to be held on Sunday, offered prayers at Sri Venkateswara temple at Tirumala.

He along with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy worshipped at the temple and took blessings of the priests.

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) chairman Subba Reddy and other officials felicitated the Union Home Minister and the Chief Minister and presented them mementos.

Earlier, Shah was welcomed by the Chief Minister at Renigunta Airport near Tirupati. They drove straight to the hill shrine.

After the prayer, Shah went to Padmavati Guest House and after the dinner, he went to Tirupati by road, where he will stay in a star hotel.

Shah will leave for Venkatachalam in Nellore district on Sunday morning by a helicopter of the Indian Air Force.

He will participate in the programs of Akshara Vidyalaya, Swarna Bharati Trust and Muppavarapu Foundation.

The Union Home Minister will return to Tirupati in the afternoon and attend Southern Zonal Council meeting.

After the meeting, Shah will stay in the same hotel. On Monday morning, he will offer prayers at Tirumala temple and return to New Delhi in the afternoon.
Commercial Real Estate Investment Property next to Austin Airport in Del Valle, TX This is a noteworthy opportunity for investors. - Mark Thomas

November 12, 2021: A super-prime real estate location across from the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is on the market through an exclusive online auction. Offered by Auction Section in Houston, the property for sale is situated with frontage on Texas Highway 71 directly in the path of all Austin-bound exiting traffic from the airport and is only six miles from the new Tesla Giga Factory. The online auction ends November 16th at 11 am.

The property consists of 2.75+/- acres and a three-building A-Mini Storage facility with 47,050+/- sq. ft of buildings at 2381 E Hwy 71 Del Valle, TX 78617. This is a noteworthy opportunity for investors, said broker and auctioneer Mark Thomas of Auction Section. At an amazing estimated $420K NOI, the profitability of this storage facility should allow an investor a considerable time period to hold this location for future sale or development. Its an ideal location for a hotel.

Auction Section is an exclusive property auction house, offering residential, commercial and rural properties. The company is located at 15219 Stuebner Airline Road, Suite 48, Houston, TX 77069.

Visit AuctionSection.com for all the details on this opportunity, terms and conditions, and to bid online or call Mark Thomas, broker and auctioneer TX Broker #386889, TX AUCT #13784 at 713-594-1576 or Logan Thomas, Realtor and auctioneer TX RE #619034, TX AUCT #17228 at 713-702-3666. LinkedIn Cooperating broker participation is offered.
Hesser Toyota Offers $500 Cashback on the 2022 Toyota Camry

Customers living in Janesville, Wisconsin, who plan to buy the 2022 Toyota Camry, should visit Hesser Toyota. The dealership has come up with a lucrative offer where customers can enjoy a cashback of $500 on the 2022 Toyota Camry. The offer is valid till November 30, 2021.

Before proceeding to buy the vehicle, customers should be aware of certain terms and conditions.

It qualifies for $500 TFS APR Cash on a new 2022 Toyota Camry. The offer also depends on the vehicles availability at the dealership. To qualify for cash, shoppers must finance through dealer and Toyota Financial Services. No cash back option is available, and not all customers qualify for this offer. It cannot be combined with Customer Cash, TFS Lease Cash, Lease, Lease Subvention Cash.

On buying a new 2022 Camry, there is a $500 Finance cash from Toyota Motor Sales USA, Inc. for qualified, non-subvened finance contracts through Toyota Financial Services. Finance Cash must be applied on a qualified TFS finance agreement toward the down payment within 84 months. Customers must take delivery of their vehicle from the dealership before November 30. This Finance Cash Offer doesnt apply to Toyota Certified Used Vehicles.

Customers who want to learn more about the cashback offer are encouraged to visit the Hesser Toyota website or call (608) 754-7754. Interested buyers can visit the Hesser Toyota Dealership at 1811 Humes Rd., Janesville, Wisconsin, 53545.
If you would like to know more about the SK Market/Advance Food Market/Jay's Market lawsuit, please contact Attorney Jackland K. Hom today by calling (619) 255-9047.

The Los Angeles labor law attorneys, at Zakay Law Group, APLC and JCL Law Firm, APC, filed a class action complaint against SK Market, Inc., Advance Food Market, Inc., and Jay's Market, Inc. (collectively, "Defendants") for allegedly failing to accurately pay employees' wages for all their time worked. The class action lawsuit, Case No. 21STCV39911, is currently pending in the Los Angeles County Superior Court of the State of California. A copy of the complaint can be read here.

According to the lawsuit, Defendants allegedly violated California Labor Code Sections  201, 202, 203, 204, 210, 226, 226.7, 510, 512, 1194, 1197, 1197.1, and 1198 by failing to: (1) pay overtime wages; (2) pay minimum wages; (3) provide required meal and rest periods; (4) provide accurate itemized wage statements; (5) pay wages when due; and (6) reimburse employees for required expenses.

Under California law, every employer shall pay to each employee, on the established payday for the period involved, not less than the applicable minimum wage for all hours worked in the payroll period, whether the remuneration is measured by time, piece, commission, or otherwise. Hours worked is defined in the applicable Wage Order as the time during which an employee is subject to the control of an employer and includes all the time the employee is suffered or permitted to work, whether or not required to do so. Defendants allegedly required its employees to perform work before and after their scheduled shifts, as well as during their off-duty meal breaks. The lawsuit alleges Defendants failed to compensate its employees for any of the time spent under the employer's control while working off-the-clock. As such, Defendants allegedly failed to pay its employees the applicable minimum wage for all hours worked in a payroll period.

If you would like to know more about the SK Market/Advance Food Market/Jay's Market lawsuit, please contact Attorney Jackland K. Hom today by calling (619) 255-9047.

Zakay Law Group, APLC and JCL Law Firm, APC are labor and employment law firms with offices located in California that dedicate their practices to fighting for employees who have been wronged by their employers due to unfair employment practices. Contact one of their attorneys today if you need help with workplace issues regarding wage and hour, wrongful termination, retaliation, discrimination, and harassment.

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Narinder Mehta, author of many exceptional career transition books, has an extraordinary ability to help you identify your dream job, simplify your job search and discover the happiness at work you deserve." Doris Helge, Ph.D., Author of "Joy on the Job"

Narinder Mehtas latest book Jobs and Covid-19: The Pathway to a Happy Career reveals a step-by-step pathway to get job offers well matched with your skills. The pandemic has rapidly and radically changed the work environment. Those changes are still evolving and will continue to have a profound impact on the workplace. In this rapidly changing environment, people need to evaluate how their skills match what the new jobs require and learn to navigate a changing workplace.

The road to a happy career starts with a job you love. When you get a job that matches your skills and job interests, you are well on your way to a successful career. This book shows how to identify the skills you enjoy using and how to get jobs that match those skills. Narinder Mehta ends with ideas on how to think about defining a happy career over a lifetime and dives deeply into his own experiences as an executive who successfully navigated his career across two continents.

The book is based on the authors experiences as a business manager and an executive recruiter. He has extensively researched the impact of Covid-19 on jobs and shares many powerful techniques to navigate the changing work environment.

Narinder Mehta was President of an executive search firm for ten years. Prior to that, he worked in the financial services industry. He served as a Senior Vice President at several companies including Shearson/American Express, Capital Credit Corporation, and Outsourcing Solutions Inc. He was National Sales Director of the American Express Gold Card program and served as Vice President of Sales for the American Express Corporate Card. He had the honor of serving as a National Vice President of the Muscular Dystrophy Association for two terms.

He is the author of three previous books on job search and career development. He has spoken on goals accomplishment and personal development to audiences in many countries. He received his Master of Arts degree in Industrial Relations from the University of Minnesota. He lives in Dover, Massachusetts, with his wife, Sampath.

The book is available in a paperback edition and as an eBook at Amazon and other sales outlets. For the book's description, editorial reviews, and to look inside the book, please go to: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B09BYBJ761.

Additional information is available at the website: http://www.AceYourJobSearch.com

For information about Narinder Mehta, please visit LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/NarinderMehta
Philips Monitors today announced that it has been named a CES 2022 Innovation Awards Honoree for its Philips Momentum 559M1RYV, the 55 Designed for Xbox Gaming Display. This years CES Innovation Awards program received a record high number of over 1800 submissions. The announcement was made ahead of CES 2022, the worlds most influential technology event, happening Jan. 5-8 in Las Vegas, NV and digitally.

The CES Innovation Awards program, owned and produced by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), is an annual competition honoring outstanding design and engineering in 27 consumer technology product categories. Those with the highest rating receive the Best of Innovation distinction. An elite panel of industry expert judges, including members of the media, designers, engineers and more, reviewed submissions based on innovation, engineering and functionality, aesthetic and design.

The Philips Momentum Designed for Xbox console gaming monitor (559M1RYV) is designed to provide the ultimate experience for Xbox fans, setting a new standard in gaming monitors for next-gen consoles. The inclusion of the new HDMI 2.1 spec now enables next-gen console gaming with 4K resolution, faster 120Hz refresh rates, HDR support with DisplayHDR 1000, and Always Low Latency for ultra-clear and ultra-smooth gaming performance on a 55 (139.7 cm) panel. The Philips Momentum 559M1RYV includes a specially designed soundbar from the engineers at Bowers & Wilkins, a British loudspeaker company globally recognized for its innovative designs and sound engineering, which completes the immersive gaming experience.

Were very proud and grateful to be named a CES Innovation Awards Honoree in the Gaming product category, commented Stefan Sommer, Director of Marketing & Business Management Europe in MMD. The Philips Momentum 559M1RYV demonstrates our leadership in providing console gamers with the smoothest and most immersive gameplay possible on next-gen consoles.

The CES 2022 Innovation Awards honorees, including product descriptions and photos, can be found at CES.tech/innovation. More will be revealed in January. Many honorees will showcase their winning products in the Innovation Awards Showcase at CES 2022.

Owned and produced by CTA, CES 2022, the global stage for innovation, will convene the tech industry in person and digitally, giving global audiences access to major brands and startups, as well as the worlds most-influential leaders and industry advocates. Visit CES.tech for all CES 2022 updates, including health protocols and registration.

About MMD

MMD-Monitors & Displays Holding B.V. (MMD), registered in the Netherlands, with their head offices in Amsterdam, is a wholly owned company of TPV Technology Limited (TPV), which is one of the worlds leading monitor and LCD TV manufacturers.

MMD-Monitors & Displays Holding B.V. (MMD) exclusively markets and sells Philips-branded LCD displays worldwide under trademark license by Koninklijke Philips N.V. By combining the Philips brand promise with TPVs manufacturing expertise in displays, MMD uses a fast and focused approach to bringing innovative products to market.

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In The Three Death Sentences of Clarence Henderson (Abrams, Jan.), reporter Joyner probes a 1948 murder case that led to an innocent Black mans being scheduled for execution three times.

What most surprised you about what you learned?

The extent to which the NAACP became involved in Hendersons defense. Coming to the aid of someone like Henderson was a distraction from the larger goal of building multiple cases attacking segregation. At the same time, there were moral and political reasons why cases like Hendersons were important to the organization. Had Thurgood Marshall and the Atlanta NAACP chapter not stepped in, Henderson would not have had the lawyers he needed to overturn his initial conviction.

What was the hardest part of writing this book?

Casting it in such a way that Black people are seen as active participants in the story, because they certainly were. Jim Crow and institutional racism from the period left us with a spotty record in primary sources like newspapers and court records. Newspaper articles were more concerned about what the white actors did inside a courtroom than the Black lawyers, witnesses, or even the defendant. Fortunately, there was a vibrant Black press that covered much of the action.

Can wider lessons be drawn about the criminal justice system?

Black defendants still face unequal treatment in the justice system. According to the Innocence Project, Black men are twice as likely to be arrested for a sex offense and three times as likely to be accused of rape as white men. Theres no evidence that this is because they are more likely to commit such offenses. Ironically, another lesson is that the courtsfallible as they arehave historically been the engines of social and political progress in America. Ultimately, Hendersons life was in the hands of a bunch of white men on the Georgia Supreme Court, and he prevailed.

What do you mean when you write that your aim is to connect this case to the fractured postwar American psyche?

We tend to think of the decade following WWII as a period of growth and optimism, but thats a backward-looking and sanitized version of a complicated time. The end of the war unleashed tremendous amounts of bottled-up economic energy, but for the people living through it, the future remained uncertain. When I say the American psyche was fractured, I mean the country was trying to reconcile its hopes for the postwar future with its fears over cultural and social change and existential threats. In this way, I think the books themes are quite current.
Smith returns with Tuki: Fight for Fire (Cartoon Books, Dec.), a comics series that combines research and fantasy, and is set during the period in prehistory when multiple humanoid species coexisted.

Where did the idea for this series come from?

My wife Vijaya and I went to Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania; that was where [famed archaeologist and paleontologist family] the Leakeys made striking discoveries about different human species, over millions of years, who occupied the same space. While I was visiting there, I had this vision of multiple human species walking around the site, and it felt so real. I read a lot of books and did research: How do we know when we lost our hair? How do we know when we discovered fire? Ive seen prehistoric cave person stories, but Tuki is set in a very specific, real time period.

Were there places where you had to guess about the science?

The biggest leap I had to make was: Could Tuki talk? Theres debate on either side, scientifically. But when you look at the underside of our ancestors skulls, a few million years ago, they had a voice box long enough to modulate sound. Also, molds from inside the skull show they had Brocas areas, which is a major speech center in the brain. So, if they didnt have speech, they were the first ones with all the equipment.

How did you balance the elements of fantasy, reality, and mysticism that the characters believe in?

Im a big fan of the Iliad and the Odyssey and Le Morte dArthur. They mix fantasy with real life constantly. One of my favorite filmmakers is Hayao Miyazaki, who knows how to put the right touch on dream and fantasy coming into the real world. I figured ancient humans had a hard time differentiating. Everything was so new.

What has been your favorite part to draw so far?

I love presenting mystery: the jungle, and having things step out of the jungle. Or the mystery of when the shaman warns Tuki about the forces that control the world, and one of them manifests itself.

Were there artists who influenced you?

One of my favorite artists is a guy named Joe Kubert, who drew Sgt. Rock and worked for DC Comics for years. He did a great run on Tarzan.

What can readers expect from the next volume, Fight for Family?

Part One and Part Two are of a piece, hopefully the beginning of a six-volume series. A lot of the elements introduced in the first volume wrap up in the second. Theres a lot more action, and also more emotional connection with the characters. I hope readers just come away wanting to know more about this strange traveler, Tuki.
Books with STEM and STEAM concepts at their core continue to be strong performers in the childrens book arena. After seeing a distinct bump during the early days of the pandemic, the demand for these books remains high as teachers and parents aim to address interrupted learning caused by nationwide school closures and other Covid-related disruptions over the past 20 months. We checked in with some editors of STEM/STEAM titles to ask about various developments they are observing in this category.

I see it absolutely growing, says Karen Edwards, executive editor at Workman, about this area of publishing. The more we learn about the world around us, the more we see the relevance of STEM/STEAM. Once we broaden our definition of what it is to learn about STEM and STEAM, the category will open up.

Samantha Gentry, editor at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, notes, This is an evergreen category as there will always be a need for books that spark an early interest in STEM subjects. Its possible that we might see a downtrend in activity-based STEM books, but titles that encourage curiosity in young readers will always be needed and wanted in the market.

At DK Knowledge Childrens, publisher Andrew McIntyre says, STEM publishing is perennially in demand, but the pandemic took it to another level by raising the profile of science and its role in our world and also creating a homeschooling demand.

Though the characterization of the landscape is rosy, some editors are mindful of potential bubbles. Carol Hinz, associate publisher of Millbrook Press and Carolrhoda Books, says, Its generally a stable category, though I do feel like the market is a bit saturated with nonfiction animal picture books, particularly those that list different animals that all have something in commonwhether its a behavior, an anatomical feature, or habitat. While kidsand adults!are always going to be interested in books about animals, Im definitely being very picky about what types of animal books Im acquiring.

Kelly Barrales-Saylor, editorial director at Sourcebooks Explore, says, I have some concerns about the category becoming oversaturatedhowever, I dont think we are at that point yet. There are still unique ways to enter the category that havent been done yet. And the more we can inspire kids and introduce them to STEAM topics the better, since those are the tools they will need for the rest of their lives.

Leading the charge

Editors shared their insights on the kinds of STEM/STEAM books that are performing well in the current market. At Nomad Press, senior editor/content marketing manager Andi Diehn believes that books succeeding in the category right now provide more context. STEM doesnt exist in a vacuum, she says. Books for kids are really gaining steam in setting science, technology, engineering, art, and math in a context that keeps kids thinking about how every scientific step forward or backward, every new discovery and piece of technology, changes the world around them.

Diehn cites Nomads recent title Engines! With 25 Science Projects for Kids by Donna McKinney as an example. The book mentions the invention of the cotton gin, arguably a pivotal moment in engineering, she says. But we go a step further to set this invention in historythe cotton gin was a major reason the United States continued to enslave people into the 1800s.

Without a historical context, Diehn argues, the cotton gin is one point on a timeline of inventions. With that historical context, a bigger conversation emerges about who does inventing, who should have a say in what gets invented, what should happen when an invention hurts people, how should inventors be thinking about the world they are working in. It invites kids to really look hard at the bigger picture.

Charlie Ilgunas, associate editor at Little Bee Books, points out that in terms of submissions and acquisitions, especially in the picture-book age range, A lot of the STEM/STEAM topics Ive seen have moved away from mechanical, physical things that we can touch/see/feel in our lives and in the natural world, and more toward the microscopic and the conceptual. Part of that may be because of Covid being a microscopic virus, and a greater demand to explain to children more about these small things that we cannot see affecting our lives in huge ways.

But Ilgunas also surmises that prior to the pandemic there was the fear that less tangible ideas in the sciences might be beyond childrens understanding and go over their heads if they cant engage with it with any of their five senses. He adds that in recent years, Ive seen some very talented authors able to distill complex topics in simple, understandable language that meets children at their current level of understanding and inspires curiosity in things like DNA and relativity in fascinating ways. I wish I had some of these books when I was growing up!

At Astra Young Readers, executive editor Susan Dobinick says, These days Ive been seeing really unique takes on contemporary topics like climate change and environmentalismthe more specific the pitch, the better. What I love about these projects is that when an author finds a unique approach to a topic and backs it up with really solid research, you can expect a book to backlist for a very long time.

Gentry at LBYR has noticed that kids are looking for tangible ways to make a difference in their communities, which I believe is why weve seen a surge in books, and submissions, that investigate climate change and environmental issues. One such book from the LBYR list is Brains On! Presents... Earth Friend Forever by Molly Bloom, Marc Sanchez, and Sanden Totten. Told in the form of a letter from Earth to the reader, she says, this humorous picture book takes an in-depth look at how the actions of humans, particularly their use of plastic, is impacting the planet and how they can make simple changes in their everyday life to help protect the place they call home.

The books that are standing out now to Hilary Van Dusen, senior executive editor at Candlewick Press, are those that take a deep dive into hard science like astrophysics, nanotechnology, microbiology, and other STEM topics such as coding, linguistics, online ethics, and much more, written by experts in their particular field. Van Dusen, who oversees the MIT Kids Press and MITeen Press imprints in partnership with MIT, notes that at these imprints, we are bringing STEM topics to kids from the people who study, practice, and discover in a particular field and are as committed to introducing their area of expertise to children as they are to their own practice and study.

In assessing what arrives on her desk, Karen Wojtyla, v-p and editorial director at Margaret K. McElderry Books, offers, What were seeing in STEM and STEAM is an expansion of subjects into topics that feel relevant to the problems we are facing today. Among examples from the McElderry list, she mentions The Great Stink by Colleen Paeff (out now), illustrated by Nancy Carpentera picture book that chronicles the conception and construction of sewers in 19th-century London that saved tens of thousands of lives by stopping cholera outbreaks.

I started working on this book before any of us ever heard of Covid-19 and were thinking a lot more about plagues, Wojtyla says. But we were thinking about water pollution, an intractable problem in many parts of the world, with an estimated two billion people still drinking water polluted by raw sewage. Our backmatter for this book includes four pages titled Poop Pollution Today, with facts for kids about the problems, how they are being addressed in several places in the world, and what kids themselves can do to help locally. This is a kind of past-informs-the-present for hands-on action that I think is an important part of current STEM titles.

According to Cormac McEvoy, senior product manager for Klutz, Whats evolving in the category is the fun factor. Were making sure to engage the kids upfront with exciting content that has deep educational roots. Were seeing a need for a more playful approach that puts humor and creativity at the forefront.

Looking specifically at the Klutz list, McEvoy says, Licensed Lego titles with a focus on STEAM, such as Lego Gear Bots, strongly resonate with parents and kids alike because they are grounded in playful learning. The Lego brand is a powerful launchpad for kids to delve into engineering with a material they already know well.

Homework help and curriculum-tied books are as popular as ever as parents look to support their kids at home, McIntyre at DK says. This isnt just workbooks and practice books, he adds, but also books that teach, explain, and visualize what children are already learning at school. Soft STEM books are also in demandbooks that teach STEM subjects by stealth by engaging a childs interest and curiosity.

Kristine Enderle, editorial director of Magination Press, says, In the last few years, we have shifted from storybooks and workbooks a bit into publishing more browsable nonfiction like our recently published Big Brain Book: How It Works and All Its Quirks and Psychology for Kids: The Science of Mind and Behavior, and are developing more social and psychological science books in this format. Citing another recent shift, she says, We have also jumped into the narrative nonfiction world and will be publishing biographies of pioneering psychologists like Evelyn Hooker, Bernice Sandler, and Mamie Phipps Clark, and will be relaying the stories behind their groundbreaking social science research and advocacy efforts. (See our article Psychology and SEL Enhance STEM Learning for more developments in this space.)

At Millbrook and Carol-rhoda, Hinz says books that are doing well tend to have an engaging format or a gripping narrative. How to Build an Insect by Roberta Gibson, illustrated by Anne Lambelet, published earlier this year, puts a fresh spin on insect anatomy by following the process of building an imaginary insect, she notes. In Kate Messners Tracking Tortoises, which features photos by her son, Jake Messner, readers get an up-close look at Galapagos giant tortoises through the eyes of Kate, Jake, and the scientists the Messners shadowed while researching the book.

In some of her imprints science titles, including Tracking Tortoises, Hinz says the company has been experimenting with embedding QR codes to help readers connect with additional content. Planet Ocean by Patricia Newman, with photos by Annie Crawley, has QR codes that lead to incredible videos with music and voiceover narration by Annie Crawley, who has extensive experience as a videographer, she adds. Its one more tool to help kids feel connected to the books subject matter in a more immersive way than still photos alone can offer.

Edwards at Workman says, Books that treat STEAM as an exploration of the world seem to really resonate. These books integrateand reflectinterdisciplinary and creative thinking processes and ap-

proaches. Other successful types of books are those that connect the STEM disciplines, showing how they build on each other, reinforcing concepts and broadening understanding. In addition, Edwards notes, Books that highlight a pioneers joy of learning and discovery or that underscore that failure is a crucial part of the process are very relatable to children. Hands-on explorations and nontraditional approaches like graphic novels are also particularly compelling.

Gina Gagliano, publishing director of Random House Graphic, observes, General trade book publishers are creating more graphic novels in the kids nonfiction space, including STEM titles. She notes that over the past several years, with the work of great authors like Jim Ottaviani, Maris Wicks, and Abby Howard, STEM comics are becoming more and more visible. Most of the growth is in middle grade, but there are several new YA titles as welland the most popular categories across the board are science, health and sex ed, like Erika Moen and Matthew Nolans Lets Talk About It, and food and food science like Yummy: A History of Desserts by Victoria Grace Elliott.

Abrams has seen its biggest STEM/STEAM success with the Questioneers series, starring Iggy Peck, Ada Twist, Rosie Revere, Sofia Valdez, and now Aaron Slater, Illustratoranother A added to our STEAM lineup! says editorial director Maggie Lehrman. These started as fiction picture books with a STEM bent, but now weve expanded into chapter books, activity books, a tie-in program with the new Netflix Ada Twist show, and more, she adds. Each of the Questioneers books explores a different STEAM topic, but theyre also focused on engaging characters that kids are familiar with. And as a person whose first love is fiction, I think the way that readers bond to fictional characters can be very powerful and can be used as an avenue to expand kids interest.

According to Lehrman, format has drawn readers to other titles on the Abrams list, including the Big Ideas That Change the World series by Don Brown. These books use comics to engage young readers in the stories behind scientific discoveries, she notes. The most recent Big Ideas book was A Shot in the Arm, about the history of vaccinations, which was planned long before Covid-19, but has turned out to be very relevantwe managed to add information about the Covid vaccine before it printed.

Sourcebooks Explore has experienced great success with its board books for toddlers and preschoolers. Whereas STEM books were once thought of as reference-style nonfiction for older kids, were seeing a real demand for these subjects for young learners, Barrales-Saylor says. Books like Quantum Physics for Babies and ABCs of Science, both by Chris Ferrie, have proven that introducing young minds to complex subjects early will benefit the child as they encounter these topics in school.

More voices

Its vital that all kids can see themselves reflected in STEM and STEAM books in both fiction and nonfiction, and we absolutely need to see a broader range of experiences represented in this category, says Gentry at LBYR, echoing the unanimous assessment of the editors we spoke with. I hope the next generation of aspiring scientists and educators will be inspired by profiles of incredible figures from traditionally marginalized groups who have risen to the top of their fields, showcased in books including Vashti Harrisons Little Leaders, Little Dreamers, and Little Legends; Rachel Ignotofskys Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World; Roseanne Montillos Atomic Women; Reshma Saujanis Girls Who Code books; Margot Lee Shetterlys Hidden Figures books, and more.

Additionally, Gentry notes, There is also a growing body of literature revealing how false science has been used as a tool of marginalization, and how inequality pervades STEM fields. Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi explains how false science has been used to promote racist ideas, and the forthcoming [May 2022] Unequal: A Story of America by Dr. Michael Eric Dyson and Marc Favreau explores environmental racism and health-care inequality in memorable chapters highlighting Black men and women fighting for justice in those areas.

Random House Graphics Gagliano says, With a lot of kids science publishing centering on biography, theres historically been a focus on the achievements of the straight white men who had the power and the privilege to be recognized as the leaders in the field. Publishing today is actively challenging that narrativewith books from Random House Childrens Books like Noisemakers, a graphic biography collection about the women whove been doing these things all along.

Gagliano notes that in the graphic novel space, Books about health and sex ed have been a growing trend for the past several years, and those featuring queer identities, like A Quick and Easy Guide series from Oni Press, have been leading the way in that space. She points out that this isnt a surprise, because queer graphic novels are one of the bestselling categories in YA comics. And like many of her counterparts, she emphasizes, Theres still much more work for all of us in publishing to do in this space to make it truly inclusive of BIPOC, queer, neurodiverse, and disabled authorsand a positive space for readers of those identities.

In Hinzs view, Theres a lot of room for improvement in representation within this categoryboth in terms of scientists featured within books and in terms of who is writing these books. She offers some strategies for making positive strides toward more inclusion: Some of this is going to come down to authors diversifying their networks of sources and making a concerted effort to connect with BIPOC scientists and highlight their work, she says. To diversify the author pool in this category, I dont think we can rely on agented submissions alone.

Hinz shared her experience following a conference last year in which attendees could submit projects to her directly. I acquired two books by Korean American author Jane Parkthe first one, Hidden Animal Colors, comes out in spring 2022, she says. Editors, art directors, and designers also need to take care that we are looking at a diverse range of illustrators for our STEM/STEAM picture books. Improving representation benefits all involvedfrom those making the books to authors and illustrators to the most important group of all, the kids reading these books who may just grow up to be our future scientists.

McEvoy concurs, noting that diversity and inclusion should always be top of mind with any childrens book project. STEM/STEAM books enrich a childs understanding of their everyday environment, regardless of their gender, race, or income, and inspire the next generation of innovators, he says. At Klutz, we always make sure to include a diverse group of people in the creation of every product, from the kids testing the initial concept to sensitivity readers to review content. If we dont work to approach every product with the highest level of equity and inclusivity, we are doing our future a disservice.

Edwards at Workman offers some additional strategies for increasing representation. We need to expand the list of people we traditionally present as STEM pioneers, she says. Theyre not just the mathematicians, inventors, or scientists. Theyre also the artists, composers, and makers. We need to talk more about underrepresented groups in the STEM field and do a better job of pointing out where and how new technology was built on the inventions of ancient civilizations and Indigenous people. Representation matters regarding who we contract to write and illustrate these books, as well as the vendors we use to produce them.

As editors consider STEM/STEAM projects in the context of current events, one issue in the mix is an anti-science stance that flourished during the pandemic. I have been deeply disheartened by the conversations surrounding anti-science, Gentry says. It is an especially important time to publish STEM/STEAM books for children that are well researched and thoroughly fact-checked, giving them the tools to develop informed opinions that are rooted in facts. Knowledge can be a calming reassurance to many kids, especially in todays scary and ever-changing climate.

McEvoy says, You cant be a STEAM kit [publisher] and not stand behind the science. The pandemic and subsequent spread of misinformation made it even more imperative for Klutz to develop products that tackle serious science without losing sight of the fact that kids will physically engage with products that are fun, tactile, and downright gross. In fall 2022, we will be launching a title that relates to the pandemic and questions that kids have about germs and other microbes.

At McElderry, Wojtyla offers, Any time we see anti-science sentiment growing, it puts us all on alert that we want to be sure that these books play a role in educating children, giving them facts, and telling stories in such an engaging way that they want to explore the world and can see how exciting these fields are.

Like her fellow editors, Hinz finds the rise of anti-science sentiment troubling. I see STEM/STEAM books for kids as an opportunity to increase science literacy in the next generation, she says. In editing new books, Im thinking about how were conveying information about what makes science trustworthy, and in books about scientists, Im looking at ways to help readers feel connected to them. Im also looking for ways to continue collaborating with working scientists as expert readers because I think if were going to emphasize that science is trustworthy, we need to ensure that our books are likewise accurate and trustworthy.

Hinz believes an awareness of anti-science bias is especially crucial when publishing books with environmental themes. We need to offer kids new ways of thinking about climate change and offer them tips that go well beyond turning off the water when you brush your teeth, she says. One spring 2022 STEAM-themed book Im excited about is Washed Ashore by author and photographer Kelly Crull, which features photos of 14 sculptures created from ocean plastic. The book talks about animals and ocean plastic together in a way I havent seen before. Plus, it has a seek-and-find element on each spread that gives kids another way to engage with the content.

For Edwards at Workman, recent anti-science sentiment proved the importance of teaching STEM and how it works in our lives, she says. Its easier to believe propaganda when were insecure or intimidated by science and scientific concepts, and the only way to combat that is by introducing STEM to kids early and exposing it to them often.

From her position considering projects for Magination, Enderle says, Now more than ever, its crucial to publish evidence-based science and facts to counter stereotypes and stigmas around mental health and push back against the rise in anti-science rhetoric and disinformation.

Lehrman at Abrams adds, As anti-science sentiment has built, theres been a reaction to find books that tell the truth to kids. We have a responsibility to our readers, who may be encountering these topics for the first time, to give them the truth without giving in to ideological pressure to bend the science to fit a predetermined world view.

STEM/STEAM wish lists

As the STEM/STEAM category flourishes, so too does the search for compelling book projects to bring into the space. Editors offered some insight into what they are looking for. Id like to see more books that deal with climate change and the environment on a practical level, McEvoy says. These are subjects that the younger generations will need to understand and deal with as they grow. We owe it to them to provide the tools for that future. Klutzs Ultrasonic Misting Volcano deftly delves into serious, sometimes alarming topics around extreme weather, but also empowers kids with knowledge they are curious about.

Van Dusen at Candlewick says her dream projects include picture books that bring the actual science forward in the book instead of telling a story and then explaining the science in the back matter. The same goes for biographies, in particular picture book biographies. I am working on making the story as much about the STEM topic as it is about the person. She adds, There are never enough books on math topics that are engaging for any age.

Gentry would welcome more heavily illustrated and designed nonfiction books that are presenting a curriculum topic like biology or earth science, in a fun and innovative way. She notes that many such books, including Brains On! Presents... Road Trip Earth by Bloom, Sanchez, and Totten, use humor as a device to introduce kids to these subjects, an approach she believes is both effective and engaging.

At Astra, Dobinick says, Right now Im especially looking for books that clarify the scientific process and make it invitingwhether thats through the types of picture books you can imagine teachers using in preschool and kindergarten classrooms to explain complex concepts in simple terms, or if its middle grade or young adult that uses science as a call to action for socially conscious readers.

For Wojtyla, ideal projects at the moment are stories with broad appeal that can be told in exciting ways. She says she looks for subjects that intrigue her, that are about people I havent met yet, or tell a story from a different perspective that opens my eyes, and I hope will open the eyes of young readers. We are all explorers, really, discovering, through books like these, a past that helps illuminate the present and will hopefully affect the future, or traveling to different places to learn valuable lessons that not only broaden what we know, but also inform our values and help us to grow and change.

Gagliano sees a lot of opportunity in STEM comics for younger kids ages four-to-eight; science graphic novels for kids that are a next step up from all the great picture book biographies in the marketplace. In this space she names Random House Graphics forthcoming Expedition Backyard, a book about exploring the nature around your house, from Rosemary Mosco and Binglin Hu, as an example. I also think theres potential for science graphic novels on general subjects that highlight the humor and weirdness nonfiction can depict alongside serious subjects, she adds. Several of our upcoming books address that need, like Hidden Systems by debut author Dan Nott, which gives an activist perspective on the history of water, electricity, and the internet; or How to Pack for Certain Death by Emi Gennis, which tells the stories of failed explorations throughout history.

Innovation is a big draw for Hinz, too. Id especially love to see writers tackling physics, chemistry, or engineering concepts for elementary-age readers, she says. This falls Robo-Motion by Linda Zajac, for example, pairs something kids know and loveanimalswith something cool and high-techrobots. I also love when an author can bring together poetry and sciencethe forthcoming Rumble and Roar by Sue Fliess, illustrated by Khoa Le [Millbrook, Mar. 2022], is a great example of that. Books that highlight the work of BIPOC scientists and challenge conventional notions of who a scientist is are also high on Hinzs list of desirable projects. She says that Classified by Traci Sorell (Millbrook, Mar.), illustrated by Natasha Donovan, and Who Is a Scientist? by Laura Gehl (Millbrook, Oct.) both fit into that category.

Barrales-Saylor at Sourcebooks Explore says shes hoping to see more attention for the A in STEAM: art! Visual creativity is such a huge part of successful STEM. For example, technology that isnt also aesthetically designed is not usually successful. Remember how quickly everyone raced to copy the iPhone? The design was just as important as the technology. Creative intelligence is often overlooked as a key component of success, but its so important and doesnt always get the love it should.

Like several editors we spoke with, Lehrman believes there is still room for the category to grow, and she is enthusiastic about the possibilities the expansion may bring. To me, whats most exciting about STEM books is the combination of the artistry and creativity of bookmakers with the scientists who are using their tools to describe the world, she says. And science never really stopsthere are new discoveries being made all the time, historical figures whose contributions are being brought to light, and new ways to think about the world around us.
The inspiration for Jenny Tinghui Zhangs debut novel, Four Treasures of the Sky (Flatiron, Apr. 2022), was a marker her father saw on a road in Idaho. It was at a site where five Chinese people, charged with hacking a prominent local merchant to pieces, were hanged by vigilantes on Sept. 18, 1885. Zhang recalls her father saying to her, Youre a writer. Can you write a story about it?

Zhangs story of Chinese immigrants in the American West is told through the voice of Daiyu, a 13-year-old girl kidnapped from a fish market in China in 1883 and smuggled to a brothel in San Francisco in a coal-filled bucket. To survive in America, she assumes different identities, escaping the brothel of Madam Lee with the help of Samuel, her young friend and patron, to work in the mines in Idaho, where she masquerades as a boy. Daiyus journey of self-discovery is set against the travails of the exclusionary laws and racist sentiment confronting early Chinese immigrants.

Zhang, 31, explains that she wanted to relate this history in a way that would appeal emotionally without being didactic. Born in China, she grew up in Austin, Tex., and Oxford, Miss. I didnt know this history, she says. I learned about the Exclusion Act late in my education, but what stayed with me when I was researching was that they smuggled Chinese girls and women into America confined in buckets filled with coal.

Zhang was in the MFA program in nonfiction at the University of Wyoming writing personal essaysnotably a column for Catapult magazine titled Why-oming, which according to the website explores life as a woman of color in Wyoming, one of the whitest and loneliest places in the United States. But in her last semester, in 2019, she took a novel-writing course and had the idea to explore the 1885 lynching that her father had told her about. I was in conversations with agents, sending linked stories, but the interest was in a novel, she recalls. Teachers and colleagues have always called my short stories sprawling so maybe, I thought, I was meant to write novels.

Agent Stephanie Delman was a reader of Zhangs column, loved her voice, and in spring 2019 reached out to ask if she had anything book length. Jenny answered that she was working on a historical novel, which was better news than I expected because I represent more fiction than nonfiction, Delman says. The book was about reclaiming the West and my interest was piqued. She sent the first 90 pages, and I was knocked out. (After 10 years at Sanford J. Greenburger, Delman opened her own agency, Trellis, in October 2021, with Michelle Brower and Allison Hunter. She was able to take Zhang and Four Treasures with her. SJGA retained foreign rights to the book.)

Originally, Zhang says, she had imagined a book with several voices, but Delman suggested staying with the voice of Daiyu, adding, Why dont you revise, and lets touch base?

Zhang tells me, My mom had said the same thing. My mom is kind of my guiding light. I have instant trust in mom and I chose Stephanie as an agent because I had that same kind of inherent trust in her from our first interaction. I was getting offers for representation from everyone, but realized that Stephanies feedback was right. Its important to have a good relationship with your agent and Stephanie and I are so compatible.

In October 2019, Zhang sent back a revision and signed with Delman the next month based on a partial manuscript. Then, Delman recalls, she disappeared!

Zhang surfaced with a full first draft in summer 2020, then immediately went to the woods for 10 days with no cellphone, no internet, Delman says. I read the draft right away and was dying to talk to her. I had to remind myself that this was my client, that I was not just reading a great book. I couldnt believe it was a first draft and a debut.

Delman realized that Jenny is the kind of writer who needs to go away. She says that as soon as Zhang resurfaced, she pounced on her and told her she wanted to go out with the manuscript in September.

Jenny is so humble, Delman says, and couldnt believe it was ready, but I was so excited I didnt even wait until Labor Day. I sent it out in late August.

Delmans plan was to submit widely, but she had been speaking with a few editors. One of them was Flatiron senior editor Caroline Bleeke. Weve known each other since we were baby assistants, Delman says. I know her taste, knew she would love this, and I always wanted to do a book with her.

While more than 20 editors received Four Treasures, Delman gave Bleeke a 24-hour head start. Bleeke says she got the manuscript in the morning and that night sent a long email to Delman raving about it and letting her know that she was mobilizing her team. I told her not to move without me, Bleeke recalls.

The character of Daiyu pulled Bleeke in from the very first line: When I am kidnapped, Zhang writes, it does not happen in an alleyway. It does not happen in the middle of the night. It does not happen when I am alone.

Zhangs prose continues with this intense beauty even as the violence and abuse mount, until the very end when she writes, Let your story be yours, and my story be mine.

Bleeke moved quickly. She says she spoke with Zhang to make sure they were on the same page editorially and loved her. Jennys novel is an adventure story, she adds. The freshness and urgency is exciting and it felt original as historical fiction, a trace of our history that we havent seen. There were scenes I could not get out of my head: Daiyu crossing the ocean... Its so powerful.

Flatirons publisher, Megan Lynch, read the manuscript overnight, and they quickly put the deal together. North American rights were sold in a preempt in the high six figures, according to Delman. Four Treasures also got a nice preempt in the U.K. from Jillian Taylor at Penguin Michael Joseph, she adds, and has sold in eight other territories.

Whatever Jenny is writing about, and shes covered topics from karaoke to weight lifting, there is a reverence that wakes you up as a reader, Delman says.

With the voice of a young girl, Zhang has written a sensitive and moving story, alerting us to a neglected and unknown part of American history.
DEAL OF THE WEEK

Balibreras Daughters Go to Pantheon After an auction, Naomi Gibbs at Pantheon won The Volcano Daughters by Gina Maria Balibrera for six figures. The debut novel is Gibbss first purchase at the Penguin Random House imprint. It follows two sisters who flee El Salvador during the 1930s, escaping La Matanza (the Massacre)mass killings perpetrated by the government in response to a peasant uprising. The girls make stops in California and Paris, Pantheon explained, and are each watched over by a chorus of furies, the ghosts of their childhood friends who were killed in La Matanza but are not done telling their own stories. Balibrera, a former independent bookseller with an MFA from the Helen Zell Writers Program at the University of Michigan, was represented by Stephanie Delman at Trellis Literary Management.

Smiths Latest Gives Scribner Chills

Scribners Colin Robinson preempted North American rights to Cold People by Tom Rob Smith. Smith (the Child 44 series) was represented by Mitch Hoffman at the Aaron Priest Literary Agency. The publisher described the novel, set for fall 2022, as a futuristic thriller about an Antarctic colony of global apocalypse survivors trying to reinvent civilization under the most extreme conditions imaginable. Smith is also an Emmy-winning TV writer; his forthcoming series, Class of 09, will debut on FX in fall 2022.

Dorman Likes Basziles People

In a world rights agreement, Pamela Dorman, who has an eponymous imprint at Penguin Random House, bought Good People, the sophomore novel by Natalie Baszile. Baszile, whose 2014 debut Queen Sugar was adapted into an OWN series of the same name, was represented by Kimberly Witherspoon at Inkwell Management. Good People spins around an incident in an upscale San Francisco neighborhood in which the police are called about the adopted Black son of a white family. The publisher elaborated that the book is a what-would-you-do tale about the nuances of class, race, wealth, and education, centering on two best friends, one Black and one white. Good People is slated for summer 2023.

Reynolds Re-ups at Avery

Gretchen Reynolds (The First 20 Minutes) sold her second book, Quick: The New Science of How Little Exercise We Can, Maybe, Get Away With, to Averys Caroline Sutton. The book, Avery said, is derived from Reynoldss work as a wellness reporter for the New York Times and offers a deeper understanding of how and why movement affects the human body and how much exercise we really need. Sam Stoloff at the Francis Goldin Literary Agency sold world English rights to Quick, which is tentatively scheduled for spring 2024.

Sutanto Sells Five to Berkley

Bestselling author Jesse Q. Sutanto (Dial A for Aunties) inked a five-book, North American rights agreement with Berkley. Cindy Hwang bought the novels from Katelyn Detweiler at Jill Grinberg Literary Management. The first book under contract, Im Not Done with You Yet, is slated for fall 2022 and is, Berkley said, about the complex and twisted friendship between two women writersone successful and the other notand the obsession one has with the other. The publisher compared the novel to The Woman in the Window, adding that it serves as a powerful discussion on racial stereotypes, classism, and social status. The other books in the deal include another standalone thriller, the third and fourth entries in the authors Meddelin Chan series, and a standalone romantic comedy.

Lees Shot Lands at Dell

Dells Shauna Summers won North American rights to Victoria Lees adult debut, A Shot in the Dark. The contemporary queer romance, sold in a two-book agreement by Holly Root and Taylor Haggerty at Root Literary, is about a young artist who returns to New York City to study under a famous photographer, who is now sober and ready to face the ghosts of the past.
Inspired by Octavia Butlers Parable novels, the hybrid bookstore/cultural center Parable in Tacoma, Wash., aims to be a community gathering space. Twins LaKecia Farmer and LeEcia Farmer, with their cousin Deatria Dee Dee Williams, opened the shop in August. Following what LaKecia calls a learn-as-you-go approach, they combined their skills, crowdfunded, and sought business mentorship before deciding their new enterprise would focus on books by, for, and about members of the LGBTQ and BIPOC communities, as well as women and nonbinary people. LaKecia said Parable is a place for people to be themselves.

Parable has a 50/50 mix of new and used titles, with Ingram as its primary distributor. At the very start, LaKecia said, the Bookshop.org site helped a lot when we couldnt ship books fast enough. The women quickly added items when people came in looking for records or candles and ended up buying a book. Books are part of a larger picture, she added.

Bestsellers include the work of Octavia Butler (naturally), James Baldwin, and Toni Morrison, and present-day favorites like adrienne maree browns Emergent Strategy, Akwaeke Emezis Freshwater, and Brit Bennetts The Vanishing Half. Roxanne Dunbar-Ortizs An Indigenous Peoples History of the United States flies off the shelves, and popular childrens booksnotably Innosanto Nagaras A Is for Activistare stacked under a homespun sign reading Earthseed.

LaKecia thinks back to reading Parable of the Sower with her sister and cousin several years ago. The book impressed all three of them. Fast-forward, and were in a pandemic and a racial uprising, she said. It was palpable that we were in uncertain times.

LeEcia remembers, We wanted a name that has intention. Parable made sense because the racial and political tensions in the book have a lot in common with the times we are going through. We were clinging to this idea because it was giving us hope in this extremely hard time. New beginnings were happeningpeople were coming together and figuring things out and being resourceful.

At first the three considered opening a cafe and interviewed owners of community coffee shops in Seattle. Before long, LaKecia thought, What about books? She imagined visitors getting energized through history, speculative fiction, and other literary genres. Im a big fan of Paolo Friere. Its more than just literacy: its education, freedom, and community.

When a corner commercial space opened in their neighborhood, they saw potential. The available building had housed a lamp repair shopone of those places where it was always in the side of your eye, LeEcia said. It wasnt a super flashy place, but once all the lamps were gone, it looked weird and empty.

LaKecia called the owner. By that time, we were scrambling to put together a business plan, and it was about books and art and clothes and community, LeEcia said.

LaKecia, LeEcia, and Williams developed a presence at local markets and online, selling donated used books and the plants LeEcia propagated. But as responsibilities accumulated, the team found a wholesaler to supply additional plants. Seedlings now sprout all over the shop.

As a new business, Parable also took advantage of a partnership between the city of Tacoma; Spaceworks Tacoma, a local incubator and supporter of artists and special projects; and Kiva, which offers zero-interest microloans for startups. Kiva requires entrepreneurs to establish community interest through private crowdfunding before the process goes live to an investor network.

Kiva wants you to show you have credit and some kind of impact within your community, said David Combs, capital access manager at Spaceworks. We have a 100% funding rate for folks who get past the private funding phase. When you go live, investors can go in and loan you money.

Parables team received additional counsel through SCORE South Sound/Tacoma, which pairs entrepreneurs with volunteer mentors and helps them establish bricks-and-mortar businesses. Parable also joined a cohort of the Pierce County Business Accelerator, a program administered by the Tacoma Chamber of Commerce using funds from the American Rescue Plan Act. According to program coordinator Deborah Haywood, PCBA provides a six-week mentorship course tailored to BIPOC entrepreneurs, veterans, and women. Participants who finish the course and do crowdfundingincluding through Kivabecome eligible for matching grants of up to $10,000.

Parable got yet another boost when Seattle author Ijeoma Oluo (So You Want to Talk About Race and Mediocre) posted about the store on Instagram and Facebook. I cold-called her through social media and said, Were a new bookstore you might want to know about,  LaKecia said. [After Oluo posted,] we sold almost all our books and got more donations. I guess we do know a lot of people, and those people know a lot of people, and its a ripple effect. Theres definitely buzz. But it all started with the people.

Even the stores inventory and design are community efforts. For example, we used to just get free donated books, and now we are starting to buy used books and that helps us restock, LaKecia says. Its cool, too, because people will look around the shop and then bring a book. Some bookstores will turn away books because theyre curating, but our customers know exactly what were looking for. We curate books geared toward people who have been left out historically.

Events in the spacefrom open mic nights to a Black Mamas Support Groupinvite visitors to relax, and the shop presently does not collect any commission on art or LPs sold through the store.

To keep costs down, LaKecia bought such items as couches and tables at thrift stores. A friend who is a contractor donated hours to redo a dressing room and bathroom. Williams, who specializes in customer service and interior design, worked on the floor layout to make sure its accessible to everyone. To paint the substantial space a warm green, the team held a painting party and their neighbors showed up to help. Their rescue parakeet, named Butler, sings on the front desk.

The goal was to make it feel like youre coming into someones home, a space thats nice and easy, Williams said. Its been amazing to be working in the store and to hear people saying I love your space. Its been a whirlwindI couldnt be more proud of the three of us.
Heres a sobering thought: the Covid-19 pandemic has been with us long enough that the first books written on the subject have already moved to the backlist. By July 2020, Hachette had published science journalist Debora MacKenzies Covid-19: The Pandemic That Never Should Have Happened and How to Stop the Next One; four months later, Apollos Arrow by Nicholas A. Christakis (Little, Brown Spark), a comprehensive and evidence-based rundown of the Covid-19 pandemic from December 2019 to August 2020, per PWs review, followed. More recent releases include The First Shots by Brendan Borrell (Mariner), which PW, in its starred review, deemed a powerful behind-the-scenes look at Operation Warp Speed, the effort to develop a Covid-19 vaccine in record time.

As the situation continues to evolve, so too does the breadth of coverage. Forthcoming books examine Covid-19 and its ramifications through memoir, historical perspective, poetry, and more.

Urgent care

The nightly applause for medical workers has long receded, but the challenges they face endure. In the debut memoir The Emergency (One World, Mar. 2022), ER doctor Thomas Fisher unpacks social injustices in the healthcare system, documenting a year of the pandemic spent working in the emergency room of a hospital on Chicagos South Side. After spending a typical shift tending to a jumble of sickness, violence, and Covid, Fisher writes, he returns to his local supermarket on the majority-white North Side, where women in $150 yoga pants load up on snacks. The only sign of Covids existence is face coverings. Straddling these two worlds makes me insane, he continues. Is this grocery store real, or is what Ive experienced and seen in the hospital real? Because they cannot both be real. Or can they? (See System Update, for our q&a with Fisher.)

In The Invisible Siege (Crown, Mar. 2022), epidemiologist Dan Werb leads readers through efforts to defeat viral epidemics, covering Hong Kongs 1997 avian flu outbreak and MERS in Saudi Arabia, a tale that, much like Covid-19, occurs at the intersection of politics and infectious disease, Werb writes. He also details the steps medical workers have had to take during the pandemic to protect patients as well as their own lives and those of their colleagues. The room itself had become a battle zone, he reports of a pandemic-era ICUone where the risks of infection had reached the level of life and death. And like a soldier, Mark had to suit up, so that he wouldnt be an easy target for the enemy. Preparations began before he entered each patients room.

A Deeper Sickness by historians Margaret Peacock and Erik L. Peterson (Beacon, Jan. 2022) reflects on the interconnected events of 2020, from the initial appearance of the virus through lockdowns, mask shortages, and the pandemics intersection with the Black Lives Matter movement. We followed America as eyewitnesses to the tumult of the entire year, the authors write. Was there something in the character of the place, the bones of America, that made the layers of tragedy that unfolded in 2020 practically unavoidable? Presented in a journal format, the book depicts how the pandemic underscored social and economic inequalities at the core of American society.

CNN chief medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta, in the recent Simon & Schuster release World War C, offers case studies on the effects of the virus. He then shifts to present a course of action he terms pandemic-PROOFplan ahead, rethink and rewire risk in your brain, optimize health, organize family, and fight for the futureaimed at helping readers prepare for future pandemics and answering the question, What can I do to be ready? says Guptas editor, S&S v-p and editorial director Priscilla Painton. PWs review noted that the book is realistic but never doom-and-gloom, and lands as a refreshing look forward.

International perspective

Unlike much of the United States and Europe, Sweden was a Covid outlier in eschewing lockdowns and social distancing measures, aiming instead for a controversial herd-immunity strategy. Journalist Johan Anderberg explores his nations choices and their consequences in The Herd (Scribe, May 2022), translated from the Swedish by Alice E. Olsson. When Covid-19 first appeared, Anderberg writes, Swedens state virologist thought of it as just another little outbreak the Chinese could handle.

Anderberg tracks the evolution of the Swedish response, from spring 2020 until the end of that year, when the government finally decided to dismantle the Public Health Agencys strategy, shutting down nightclubs and banning alcohol sales after 10 p.m. For many, it was already too late. Swedes had been allowed to live freer, he concludes. And more had died because of it.

Scribe publisher Henry Rosenbloom, who acquired the title and is editing the translation, says the book delivers American readers an inside view of the personalities of Swedens health authorities, how they thought, and why they acted as they did at the height of the pandemic.

Viral (Harper, Nov.), by Canadian molecular biologist Alina Chan and British science journalist Matt Ridley, arose out of the pairs op-eds for the Wall Street Journal and their research into Covid-19s beginnings. Ranging over bats, pangolins, and the unintentional microbiology laboratory release of the H1N1 virus in 1977, the authors tackle the complex mystery of the pandemics origins from several angles. Topics of discussion include a 2012 medical thesis on six miners admitted to a hospital in Kunming, China, with a SARS-related coronavirus infection most likely stemming from bat guano in their mine, and how journalists attempts to investigate the site were thwarted. While the authors draw no conclusions as to Covids origin story, Chan says, Weve been meticulously following and contributing to the search and wanted to make sure that the story is told, in order to mitigate future outbreaks.

Through lines

In March 2021, the Wick Poetry Center at Kent State University and the University of Arizona Poetry Center launched the Global Vaccine Poem project, a global community poem, according to the projects website, inviting any contributor to promote Covid-19 vaccination through the imaginative language of poetry. The forthcoming Dear Vaccine (Kent State Univ., Apr. 2022), edited by Naomi Shihab Nye, David Hassler, and Tyler Meier, draws on the more than 2,000 submissions from 118 different countries and is divided into thematic sections, among them The Clinic, Grief, Nostalgia, and Envisioning the Future.

Poems launch from the title phrase, capturing, with brevity, the hope the vaccine provides along with grief over pandemic losses. One contributor, Hailey Schlegel, writes, Dear vaccine, I wish you existed one week earlier/ so that you could pierce my grandmas thin skin/ I hope people take you seriously/ I have a life to live/ the next stage of my life without her/ but possible because of you.

The Quarantine Atlas by Laura Bliss and Bloomberg CityLab (Black Dog & Leventhal, Apr. 2022) is similarly global in scope, depicting, through illustrations and storytelling, how the pandemic changed lives across the planet. As stay-at-home orders swept the globe, so did dramatic shifts in indoor living, Bliss writes. Some took comfort in a slower pace. Others chafed against containment. Worlds shrank to four walls as the virus raged outside.

Nabilla Nur Anisah, a contributor from West Java, Indonesia, sums up the experience of getting used to getting everything done by the click of an app, and learning to juggle being an employee while also being the center of attention for my toddler. Lisa Rose Drury of Ontario, Canada, writes, My world has shrunk, which has made me feel a lot more limited, but in some ways I notice things Ive always ignored. Similarly, many titles discussed here allow readers to better understand not only the pandemic, but also the already present intersections of social justice and health care it has illuminated.

Liza Monroys books include the essay collection Seeing as Your Shoes Are Soon to Be on Fire (Soft Skull).

Below, more on public health books.

System Update: PW Talks with Thomas Fisher

In 'The Emergency' (One World, Mar. 2022), Fisher writes of his experiences working as an ER doctor on Chicago's South Side in 2020.

Care Plans: Healthcare Books 2022

New and forthcoming releases address various aspects of medicine and public health.

'It Feels Wrong Because It Is Wrong': PW Talks with Alexander Zaitchik

In 'Owning the Sun' (Counterpoint, Mar. 2022), journalist Zaitchik chronicles how the pharmaceutical industry transitioned from "ethical to post-ethical."

Med School: Healthcare Books 2022

Titles from academic presses view healthcare and the pandemic through a scholarly lens.
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New York City, NY (11385)

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Rain showers this morning with overcast skies during the afternoon hours. Morning high of 55F with temps falling to near 45. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

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When students are armed with a world class education, they can break down barriers and achieve their deepest dreams. However, in America today, big government and big unions are preventing students from receiving a quality education by forcing American kids to attend the school closest to them, even when it is totally failing. There is no school competition for kids who cant afford to opt-out of the shoddy school they are forced to attend. This policy and practice especially impacts poor and minority children. But in our home state of California, weve had enough of failing government monopolies. We are launching a ballot initiative that will deliver educational freedom to every child in the state, regardless of where they live or how much income their parents earn.

We have all seen government schools that transition from safe havens for learning and hope into depressing institutions that fall short of educating tomorrow's leaders. Parents are mad, taxpayers are frustrated, and our teachers are not supported by their union bosses. Nowhere is that reality truer than in states where big unionslike the California Teachers Associationcontrol political decision makers with massive campaign war chests seized from their members' obligatory dues. Thats why Fix California has launched a project to put a ballot initiative in front of voters in 2022to emancipate students from the government monopoly on education.

Currently, in California, residents are taxed exorbitantly at every turn, with the ruling partys promise that those dollars will ostensibly be spent on improving the state. Thats a lie on many fronts, but its especially untrue in education where failing government schools continue to be rewarded by more tax dollars and virtually no accountability. Tax dollars are siphoned off in the form of required union dues and are funneled straight into the coffers of corrupt unions financing campaigns of politicians who ensure the gravy train keeps flowing. It is a crooked cycle that has destroyed government education across the country.

Our solution is known as an Education Savings Account (ESA), and it is quite simple.

The ESA reforms how schools are funded by cutting the government and politicians out of the middle and puts the tax money thats guaranteed to education into a savings account available for any student who opts into the program. Each year approximately $13,000 will be deposited into the students account and may be spent on any accredited school. Students will no longer be trapped by arbitrary geographic or socioeconomic boundaries. Every student will have the freedom to pursue a world-class education, whether it be through the conventional government school, private or religious school, or even through accredited home school programs. We want parents to be empowered, not politicians and corrupt union bosses.

Parents are tired of seeing government schools operating as instruments of political indoctrination. Many campuses have harbored anti-American sentiments and, under the guise of teaching an inclusive American history, have force-fed students Critical Race Theory. Its wrong and it is leaving America divided and at a global disadvantage.

Parents have also watched anti-science decisions that forced school closures due to COVID-19, setting back an entire generation and harming the mental health and physical development of our children.

If there were ever a time to push transformative change, its right now. And if there were ever an issue that unites people across political, economic, and ethnic lines, its the education of our children.

While this is a simple proposal that will be viewed by many as a reasonable and timely reform, the reality is this will be the boldest shift in state education funding in American history. Thats because it will take the powerand more importantly, the moneyout of the hands of Californias cabal of powerbrokers and it will upend the political landscape of California forever. This isnt just a proposal for those who want to transform education, but it is also one that will destroy the biggest financier of Californias one-party system. And because of this, parents will stand and deliver for their children by passing this ballot initiative.

The actions we take today will shape our childrens futures. If we leave it to the status quo and entrenched special interests, their opportunities will continue to deteriorate. But if we act boldly in a bipartisan manner irrespective of party label, if we think with transformational intent, and if we prioritize students over politics, we will ensure the boundless promise that lies within every child.

We are fighting to Fix California. We ask you to join us. Standing together, we can make transformational change in California, benefiting every child, especially the disadvantaged who are in most need of our help.
HBO Max released the teaser trailer for And Just Like That... Friday. The Sex and the City revival series premieres Dec. 9.

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The teaser shows Sarah Jessica Parker Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis reunite in modern day New York. As columnist Carrie Bradshaw, Parker addresses the changes the city has seen since the original series and two movies.

"They say some things never change, but the truth is life is full of surprises and as your story unfolds, the city reinvents itself," Parker says. "And just like that, a new chapter begins."

Carrie gives an interview in a radio studio in the teaser. Other scenes show Carrie, Miranda (Nixon) and Charlotte (Davis) having lunch in the park and attending a nightlife event in a club.

The late Willie Garson also appears in the teaser. Garson died on Sept. 21 after filming his appearance in the series.

Sex and the City regulars Chris Noth Evan Handler and Mario Cantone are also in the teaser. Kim Cattrall declined to reprise her role of Samantha Jones.
TRAVERSE CITY  A northern Michigan health department reported a pediatric COVID-19-associated death as part of a persisting surge in which young people have had the highest rates of infection.

The latest on COVID-19 Continuing coverage of COVID-19 and its impact. If you have a question about the novel coronavirus pandemic and haven't been able to find an a

The Health Department of Northwest Michigan on Friday announced the first pediatric COVID-19-associated death within its four counties  Antrim, Emmet, Otsego and Charlevoix. According to data from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, this is the first pediatric death in the Grand Traverse region.

The statement from the health department did not specify which county the death took place in.

Each COVID-19 death is heart-wrenching, but the loss of a child is a tragic and stark reminder of the difficult circumstances we are in throughout our county, state and nation, said Health Officer Lisa Peacock and Medical Director Dr. Josh Meyerson in a joint statement. Right now, we are seeing younger people getting sick and some require hospitalization. Every person lost to this virus, young or old, leaves a hole in the fabric of our communities.

Between Tuesday and Friday, Antrim County reported 55 new COVID cases, Charlevoix reported 61 new cases, Otsego reported 107 new cases and Emmet reported 71 new cases, according to data from the health department.

Average cases per day and positivity rates in northern Michigan counties have been steadily rising since September when students began going back to school in person. Many more young people have been contracting the virus and getting sick in this recent surge than previous surges, said Dr. Jennifer Morse, medical director at District Health Department No. 10.

On Tuesday, for the first time since the start of the pandemic, Munson Healthcare moved to its pandemic response plan stage red due to high positivity rates across the region and stresses on the health care systems operations. Munson is likely to stay in red until those factors lighten, said Dianne Michalek, chief of marketing and communications at Munson.

Its unknown as to where the surge is going to go, Michalek said. But what we do know ... is that this surge that were in has lasted longer and been a little bit more difficult to manage than the previous two surges we saw in the spring and the fall of last year.

There were 95 COVID patients across the Munson Healthcare system as of Friday, 50 of which are at Munson Medical Center in Traverse City.

In stage red, Munson will prioritize COVID-19 care, scale back its other services and adjust its hours of operation as needed.

Were just bracing ourselves and making sure that we have the right amount of flexibility to shift resources to the highest areas of need as we determine them each day, Michalek said.

Grand Traverse County has seen about 338 new cases since Nov. 4, according to county health department data. The current 7-day case average in Grand Traverse County is 57, up from 37 in October, and there were 1,299 active cases as of Friday evening.

The Grand Traverse region as a whole has a 20.5 percent positive test rate, according to the MI Safe Start Map. Crawford and Montmorency counties have the highest positivity rates in the region at 29.1 and 29.7 percent, respectively.

Health care officials are hopeful the recent approval and recommendation of booster shots and the vaccine for 5- to 11-year-olds, will prevent further pediatric deaths and slow the rate of infection in northern Michigan communities.

There is no official data on vaccine clinic attendance among 5- to 11-year-olds, but Meyerson said anecdotally in an interview on Thursday vaccine clinics in northern Michigan seem to be filling with parents and kids eager to get those younger populations vaccinated.

Theres some pent-up demand there from parents whove waited a long time for this opportunity to protect their children, Meyerson said. And the initial clinics did fill up pretty quickly.

However, the eagerness to get kids vaccinated is not seen all over northern Michigan.

Morse said that, while many in her health departments coverage area seem to be getting booster shots, there has not been a huge turnout at vaccine clinics for younger kids.

Kids do die from COVID, and I know its not a huge number but, if thats your child, thats devastating, Morse said. Kids end up in the hospital, in the ICU and right around 50 percent to just over 50 percent of those kiddos in Michigan have no pre-existing conditions.

Even with vaccinations, the risk of infection and illness is still there; the Delta variant has caused more breakthrough cases in the vaccinated populations in the recent surge. Morse said that, during holiday celebrations, people should avoid attending large gatherings.

Those that are vaccinated should not just assume that theyre 100 percent protected, Morse said. We definitely want people to live life and enjoy friends and family, but (people) may want to look at having kind of a core group of friends and family, like weve encouraged in the past.
Traverse City, MI (49684)

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Greenville, NC (27833)

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1st, 2nd and 3rd grade students from Windham Elementary School get a surprise visit from the plow truck they named as part of the Vermont Agency of Transportation's Name a Plow program on Wednesday, 11/17/21.
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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)  The top U.S. Air Force general in the Mideast said Saturday that American airmen would continue to be stationed in the region even as military planners consider competition with China and Russia as Washington's next major challenge.

Speaking to journalists ahead of the Dubai Airshow, Lt. Gen. Gregory Guillot acknowledged that presence could adjust" after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August. The U.S. Air Force operates a major base in nearby Qatar, which oversaw operations in Afghanistan, as well as Iraq and Syria.

But I dont see any scenario where the United States does not have an important role, Guillot said.

Guillot's comments come as tensions remain high between Iran and the U.S. after years of confrontations following then-President Donald Trump's decision to unilaterally withdraw America from Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers. Israel meanwhile is suspected of launching a series of attacks targeting Iran's atomic program.

As talks over the deal remain stalled, Iran elected a hard-line protege of the country's supreme leader as president and has itself seized vessels at sea and is suspected of launching drone attacks.

Guillot several times declined to directly attribute recent drone attacks in the region to Iran, though he acknowledged the rising number of such assaults in the region.

"The collaborative defense of multiple countries, you know, in the region is going to be our key to detecting those and staying one step ahead of the threat as it evolves, he said after appearing at the Dubai International Air Chiefs' Conference.

Russia is expected to display its Sukhoi Su-75 Checkmate fighter jet at the Dubai Airshow this week. It's a direct competitor to the American F-35 fighter, which the United Arab Emirates has been trying to buy since diplomatically recognizing Israel last year. That sale has slowed under President Joe Biden's administration.

Asked about the Checkmate, Guillot said he hoped that U.S. allies and partners would use equipment that would be interoperable with the American military. He said buying the Russia fighter absolutely would affect that.

During his presentation, Guillot displayed a graphic that included the Israeli flag among others in the region. The American military now considers Israel as falling under U.S. Central Command due to the recent recognition deals. Bahrain and the UAE just conducted a joint drill with the U.S. Navy and Israel in the Red Sea.

Guillot said air drills with Israel and those nations could happen as well.
CHICAGO (AP)  The late stages of Kyle Rittenhouses murder trial in the shooting of three men highlighted the U.S. legal systems constant debate over forensic technologies, even fundamental ideas taken for granted outside the courtroom.

Rittenhouses defense team challenged Kenosha County prosecutors attempt to introduce enlarged images taken from drone video footage. Prosecutors said the images were a clear contradiction of Rittenhouses earlier testimony that he had not pointed his weapon at protesters prior to killing Joseph Rosenbaum.

Rittenhouses defense, though, argued that the method used by a state investigator to enlarge the photos couldnt be trusted to accurately show Rittenhouses actions.

James Armstrong, a senior forensic imaging specialist with the Wisconsin State Crime Lab, acknowledged on the stand Thursday that enlarging an image requires the addition of pixels. But prosecutors said the software Armstrong used is widely accepted  as is the method he used to enlarge the photos.

Software programs used to analyze video evidence provide several ways to enlarge photo or videos, based on algorithms. The attorneys debate over which is more accurate created a technical slog as testimony wound down this week.

In one instance, Judge Bruce Schroeder opted to let jurors see the evidence and make their own decision. In another, he told prosecutors they would need to bring someone in to address the issue.

The sparring experts in the Rittenhouse case used different software and methods in those programs to enlarge images supporting their testimony. Each method has drawbacks but any means of enlarging an image requires adding pixels, said David Forsyth, a professor of computer science at the University of Illinois.

But there is no way that any means of enlarging a photograph will create structures, objects, people, handguns, said Forsyth, who isn't involved in the case.

Still, Forsyth said he understands judges who scrutinize the details before allowing similarly technical evidence to go before a jury.

If someone is going to spend a long time in prison based on evidence, its probably a good idea that the jury does it based on evidence they understand rather than what they think they understand, Forsyth said.

Assistant District Attorney James Kraus accused defense attorneys of making a dishonest argument because the enlarged footage shows their client is lying. The defense team's hired video analyst used similar software to enlarge video footage during his testimony earlier Thursday, Kraus noted.

All due respect to Your Honor, I think the defense is trying to take advantage of your lack of knowledge about technology which youve expressed, Kraus said.

Schroeders confusion with the technical details was obvious in court. Earlier in the week, he questioned whether using the pinch-and-zoom feature on an iPad would alter an image and barred prosecutors from using that while presenting video evidence to jurors.

I totally agree with your comment about my lack of familiarity with these concepts, although logic, I have some logical skills, he said on Thursday. This is a difficult concept for me, yes.

At one point, Schroeder, attorneys for both sides and Rittenhouse clustered around a television as a detective played the video footage repeatedly.

At least one forensic video expert uninvolved in the case said Rittenhouses attorneys were right to challenge the states approach to enlarging the video evidence. Grant Fredericks of Forensic Video Solutions said the states first proposal  the pinch and zoom method  is impossible to exactly replicate, which is essential when creating a record of a criminal case for potential appeal.

Fredericks said hes testified on video evidence hundreds of times, both for defendants and prosecutors in criminal and civil cases, and instructs law enforcement on video analysis. He said the witness called by Rittenhouses team used video analysis software in a way that could be exactly replicated and stayed in his lane, while the state crime lab expert struggled to justify the method he had used.

If a video is not reproduced accurately, one juror might interpret it incorrectly or might see something that they consider to be really clear, Fredericks said. My duty as an expert is to make sure everything Im showing is reliable.

The legal system also tends to be years behind technology advancements, said Stan Goldman, a law professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.

Unless this kind of scientific or picture evidence is really dramatically prejudicial or doesnt really have a good scientific basis, (judges) usually let it in, Goldman said. And then you let the lawyers explain what the problems might be.

___

Find APs full coverage on the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse: https://apnews.com/hub/kyle-rittenhouse
BRIDGEPORT  Douglas Wade admitted he is not quite sure what to do with his free time Saturdays.

On Oct. 30, his eponymous dairy on Barnum Avenue hosted its final of 45 Saturday drive-up food box giveaways launched at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Wade, along with the Color A Positive Thought organization and lots of volunteers, spent hours preparing for and greeting the lines of cars that pulled up seeking free provisions.

But Wade said his minor problem of having to find a new weekend activity pales in comparison to the void left in the community.

I was here at 8:30 a.m. (last) Saturday and there were over 14 cars out front, Wade recalled this week of people who had still not gotten the word the giveaways were over. Theyre just assuming its every Saturday. So it is a little heartbreaking to have to go out and tell these people.

The mass emergency food distributions in Bridgeport and seven other sites in Connecticut were overseen by Connecticut Foodshare, an organization which purchases or receives donated bulk supplies from wholesalers and grocery stores and provides it to 700 pantries statewide.

The pandemic boxes were initially funded by the federal government and then, starting this past spring, by the state. But Foodshare ended the initiative two weeks ago. And Wade and some other Bridgeport advocates think that was a mistake given hunger is still a major issue in Connecticuts largest municipality.

Its needed, said Aida Rivera, outreach coordinator for Kingdom Builders Impact Ministries on James Street, whose staff used to pick up some of the boxes of supplies at Wades to help stock their 24/7 community food pantry and refrigerator Fridgeport  launched over the summer.

In an interview this week, Jason Jakubowski, Foodshares president and chief executive officer, praised Wades Dairy for offering its parking lot and other resources. The company some weekends also contributed milk and eggs.

They stepped up and said theyd be willing to host the site. Were very thankful to them for doing that, Jakubowski said. But, he continued, We understand the boxes were helpful during the pandemic, but they were never intended to be permanent. ... We said from day one they will not last forever.

The effort was launched in April 2020, just weeks after the global coronavirus crisis reached Connecticut, because, Jakubowski said, of two pressures. With much of the public urged to stay home to stop the illness spread and many businesses temporarily  or in some cases eventually permanently  shut down, peoples personal finances took a hit and the need for donated food was suddenly much greater.

You also had our network (of pantries/shelters) have their own stresses and werent able to be open as much as they typically were, Jakubowski said. The network itself needed to recover.

And it is doing so, Jakubowski said, thanks to Connecticuts good vaccination rate, falling COVID case numbers and improving economy. For example, two Foodshare partners  the Thomas Merton Center and the Bridgeport Rescue Mission  which have been providing to-go meals and food outdoors during the pandemic, are re-opening their indoor facilities.

Vaccinated visitors to the Merton Center on Madison Avenue will again be able to sit down for a meal starting Nov. 17, with the unvaccinated still being offered services outside. And the Mission, which has moved into a new facility on Park Avenue, brought its indoor pantry back online in September and is aiming to open its 125-person community dining room in mid-December. Anyone who is not inoculated against COVID can enter but must wear a mask.

Those organizations are among 47 brick-and-mortar and three mobile pantries in Bridgeport, and about 700 statewide, according to Jakubowski. And, he said, that is Foodshares preferred way of serving the needy.

Distributing boxes of food and putting boxes of food in trunks of cars is not the optimal way of solving hunger by any means, he said. It worked out well during this pandemic where people couldnt physically touch the food and stand close to each other in line. But it is a very, very expensive method of distribution (and) we much prefer people to choose their own food.

But, he emphasized, We were never going to end these (drive-up) sites until our network felt they were ready to take on an influx of individuals coming to them.

Jakubowksi also said that, though not at pre-pandemic levels, there is less of a need in Connecticut than a year ago.

Im not an economist or sociologist, but you do kind of see these numbers stabilizing for a while  and even starting to come down, he said, noting the cars at the drive-up food distributions peaked around last Thanksgiving. In general, theres 480,000 people who are food insecure here in Connecticut. At the height of the pandemic it was 550,000.

But in 2019 before COVID that total stood at 390,000.

Staff at the Merton Center and the Bridgeport Rescue Mission said they are still serving greater numbers.

Theres been no slowdown here, Bill Coleson, who heads the former, said, Eighteen months ago, we got mostly foot traffic. Our street is busy with cars pulling up. If its not for our pantry, its for the breakfast and the lunch. And theyre asking for meals for people who are at home.

Kim Fawcett, the missions chief revenue officer, said according to internal data, her organization served an estimated 73,000 meals in October, up from 69,315 a year ago, and 34,900 in October 2019. She attributed at least some of that to a new program started during the pandemic to deliver food to homebound seniors.

The great news about the mission is we are really well-positioned to continue to serve growing hunger needs, she said. We have been really intentional about developing food rescue relationships with grocery stores (and) we get expiring food from them every single day.

Back at Kingdom Builders Impact Ministries, Rivera said perhaps some people who frequented Wades on Saturdays may not have been desperate for food and were simply taking advantage of the opportunity.

Then you meet people that really do need it, she said. Id say theres still a big, big majority of people that do need it.

I dont think those pantries are at all equipped to handle the need that we saw coming through here, Wade said.

Ill say there was never going to be a good time to end these emergency distributions, Jakubowski said. But I think we did the best we could given all the different data points we had at our disposal.
MANCHESTER  A 14-year-old from Manchester was charged with killing 13-year-old Zaniya Wright, whose body was found in the basement of an apartment building in June, police said Friday.

Police arrested the 14-year-old boy Friday and charged him with felony murder, first-degree strangulation, first-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor via illegal sexual contact, according to the Manchester Police Department.
CHICAGO (AP)  An 18-year-old man was charged with murder in the shooting death of a Chinese student near the University of Chicago's campus after he was found carrying the gun used in the slaying, police announced Friday.

Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown said at a news conference that Alton Spann of Chicago was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, armed robbery and two counts of unlawful use of a weapon.

It wasn't immediately known Friday if Spann has an attorney.

Deputy Chief of Detectives Rahman Muhammad said that Shaoxiong Dennis Zheng, 24, was standing on a sidewalk in a residential area Tuesday afternoon in the Hyde Park neighborhood on the citys South Side when Spann approached Zheng and robbed him at gunpoint of some of his belongings, including electronics, before shooting him in the torso and running off.

Muhammad said surveillance cameras in the area recorded Spann running toward a Black Ford Mustang that then sped away.

Using video from the city's surveillance camera system, private residences and the school's cameras, the police were able to track the vehicle, which they later determined had been stolen from the nearby suburb of Markham on Nov. 3.

On the day after the shooting, Spann was spotted on the city's North Side, carrying two guns and a key FOB from the Ford Mustang that was on the video, according to Muhammad. The firearms was tested by the CPD lab and (one of them) was confirmed to be the gun used to kill Mr. Zheng, he said.

Police also recovered a video of Spann selling some of Zheng's belongings at a cellphone store, Muhammed said.

After the shooting, the University of Chicagos president urged city officials and police to treat Chicagos rising violence as a public health crisis.

In a statement, university President Paul Alivisatos, said, "The violence afflicting Chicago is on the same scale as a public health crisis and demands a commensurate response, and that the university has been in contact with the mayors office, Chicago police, local aldermen and others.

There have been five slayings in Hyde Park so far this year, compared with none at the same time in 2020, as violence across Chicago has risen for two straight years, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

And according to WBBM-TV, Zheng, who graduated from the University of Hong Kong in 2019 and earned his masters degree in statistics from the University of Chicago last summer, was the third University of Chicago student killed this year.
TORRINGTON  In a further attempt to find a developer for the former home of the Nidec company, the building of which was demolished more than five years ago, the city is offering grant money to help remove contamination caused by an oil spill.

A new property owner could receive a $200,000 grant from the city, provided by the state Department of Economic and Community Development.

The grant would be used to entice a developer to take on and develop the property, because its contaminated, said Mayor Elinor Carbone, who discussed the funding with the City Council recently.

City Economic Development Director Rista Malanca said that because the Nidec property still is privately owned, the DECD is willing to provide the money, which would be used to bring the property up to environmental standards so it could be developed.

City Council member Paul Cavagnero has questioned using the $200,000. Its public money, and by this process, the City Council has no input on who to put in partnership with Nidec, he said. We have no say.

Carbone didnt agree. The say well have is through zoning, she said. We can decide how its going to be zoned, and what the land is going to attract.

We dont have a say right now, but (providing the cleanup funding) gives us a seat at the table, Malanca said.

Carbone said the contamination of the site has kept away potential owners. Its significantly contaminated, she said. This gives us a chance to work with a developer to clean it up.

A long process

In 2004, Nidec America Corp. announced it was shutting down manufacturing at its Torrington facility within 12 to 24 months, putting nearly 120 people out of work. The company said at the time that all domestic manufacturing operations, which had been housed exclusively in Torrington for the previous 20 years, were being phased out.

In 2005, residents said they supported using the Nidec site for the then-new Litchfield County Courthouse, which eventually was built on Field Street.

The 127,000-square-foot building, built in 1925, was supposed to be demolished in March 2014. Nidec said a demolition crew would be hired after asbestos was removed from the site. City officials hoped the company would redevelop the property, but Nidec said at the time that it would cost too much to do so, since the building was in such disrepair and the site had contamination, caused by an oil spill in 2012.

In September 2014, Torrington received a $100,000 grant to begin brownfield assessment of the vacant and contaminated building. Torrington was one of 11 towns that together received $1.7 million for cleanup and redevelopment from the state DECD. The money was used to assess the property, including an environmental impact study to determine what could be built there. The demolition began in 2015.

The city envisioned a mixed-use development on the property, possibly with housing and a rooftop restaurant. Building housing there, however, would have required more rigorous environmental cleanup, and would have been more expensive, state officials said.

Once the building was gone, the contamination was examined further, and city officials decided an environmental study was needed, and would be paid for with brownfield assessment grant money. In a request for proposals, officials wrote, The property owners have been working to remediate and identify the source of the spill. The property was under an emergency permit order which included the installation of multiple monitoring wells and a trench-pump system that was installed as a way to prevent any further leakage into the Naugatuck River. ... Other areas of the property have not been fully investigated.

In addition to concerns about oil remaining on the property, cadmium also has been found on site in the past, officials said. Torrington said it would continue working with Nidec to further investigate the property to understand all of the environmental complexities and to develop a plan or strategy as part of our Riverfront Recapture Project.

During the last 10 to 12 years, Torrington leaders have focused some of their economic development efforts on the riverfront area  where the Nidec building once stood  to attract new businesses and provide more recreational and outdoor areas for residents. Franklin Drive is adjacent to Franklin Street, where the citys successful Franklin Plaza project now is open and has been used for a weekly farmers market, an Oktoberfest, vendor fairs and other activities.

Pennrose development company is in the midst of constructing a new apartment building on Franklin Street, which will include 60 apartments and retail space on the main floor. The project was a cooperative effort between Torrington and the developer, and included the city cleaning up the site and providing a tax abatement. Pennrose has completed projects in other towns in Connecticut including Meriden with the same type of housing.
Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra is known for sharing interesting and motivational posts on social media. In the latest post, Mahindra took to Twitter to share memories about the time when he was 17 years old. The post has gone viral on social media and netizens are reacting to it.

In the picture shared on the microblogging site, Mahindra shows a picture of himself from 1972 when he was a 17-year-old boy. Remembering the best weekends of my youth. In 72 -I was 17-a friend & I used to often hitchhike from Bombay to Poona taking rides on trucks. Thats probably when I developed my love for the open road, read a part of the caption shared alongside the picture. He further revealed that Parichay movie was released during that time and he used to sing the Musafir hoon Yaaron song.

Remembering the best weekends of my youth. In 72 -I was 17-a friend & I used to often hitchhike from Bombay to Poona taking rides on trucks. Thats probably when I developed my love for the open road..The movie Parichay had come out & we would sing Musafir hoon Yaaron pic.twitter.com/VuTvMTyivd  anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) November 13, 2021

Anand Mahindra shares picture of 17-year-old self

The post, since being shared, has garnered 14K likes and several reactions. The post has grabbed the attention of netizens who shared their reactions to the post. One user even asked Anand Mahindra, So cool!! So what happened between 'musafir hoon yaaron' and THE MAHINDRA? To which Mahindra group chairman responded, Main akela hi chala tha janib-e-manzil magar log saath aate gaye aur karvan banta gaya. One Twitter user wrote, Sir, you should make an XUV ad with this song. Mahindra... Chalte jaaye.. Bas chalte hi jaye. Another Twitter user wrote, It's a bliss and blessing for all of us to go through the teens the way we like. Looking back in time we get back the "live young live free" feeling. Check out some user reactions:

Main akela hi chala tha janib-e-manzil magar log saath aate gaye aur karvan banta gaya https://t.co/o1jMPKePXD  anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) November 13, 2021

Your story is very inspiring , saw you gifting a new Mahindra xuv to our golden boy Neeraj Chopra , it reflects how you recognise people who do good for nation , if it is in destiny will meet with you in person as musafir hoon  Vivek Saran (@VivekSa47769432) November 13, 2021

The @anandmahindra Sir .. Apne Musafir hun yaaro gaake kai yo ko Ghar aur thikana diya hai  Thanks frm Nasik   VINAYAK BABAN AVHAD (@vinayak891) November 13, 2021

Great Sir. Keep the spirit of live. Your tweets are not only inspiring but thoughtful and lively.  basudev mohanty (@baasudevmohanty) November 13, 2021

Great! Always you have been a grass rooted man. Even after being from a well to do family,you traveled in trucks which means that you enjoyed your youth fully.

And yes many of us have done this which always remains most memorable phase of life.  JS (@jitendsa) November 13, 2021

I am sure, you miss those days sir. Would you be willing to try the same with your friends some time, I am sure everyone would enjoy.  Santhosh Sampige (@SampigeSanthosh) November 13, 2021

Sir your change your thinking was completely different already! Just keep inspiring us all to move forward.we draw inspiration from you  Saif Khan (@SaifKha08673805) November 13, 2021

It's a bliss and blessing for all of us to go through the teens the way we like. Looking back in time we get back the "live young live free" feeling  N V Subrahmanyam (@nv_subbu) November 13, 2021

Sir, you should make an XUV ad with this song.

Mahindra... Chalte jaaye.. Bas chalte hi jaye  shweta (@CandidShweta) November 13, 2021

Recently, Anand Mahindra was conferred with the Padma Bhushan by President Ram Nath Kovind at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Anand Mahindra took to Twitter to express gratitude to people who congratulated him on receiving the Padma Bhushan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah also attended the award ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

 for all your congratulations on my Padma Bhushan award. Repeating my tweet from last year: Theres an old saying: If you see a turtle on top of a fence, you know for sure it didnt get there on its own! I stand on the shoulders of all Mahindraites. https://t.co/tdJBbjNNWo  anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) November 9, 2021

Image: ANI, Twitter/@AnandMahindra
SpaceX successfully deployed its newest chunk of 53 Starlink satellites into orbit on Saturday, November 13. The Falcon 9 rocket, with the satellites onboard lifted off at around 6 pm from the Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. SpaceX confirmed the deployment of all of its satellites through Twitter, just minutes after Falcon 9's first stage booster landed on the 'Just Read The Instructions' droneship.

With the successful deployment, SpaceX has taken the number of Starlink satellites in orbit from 1,791 to 1,844. This launch also suffered a few hiccups as it was originally scheduled for Friday, November 12, but got delayed by a day as the weather was just 60% favourable. Starlink is an internet broadband company owned by SpaceX, that aims to provide high-speed internet service across the globe.

Deployment of 53 Starlink satellites confirmed pic.twitter.com/bnYtOqUUfC  SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 13, 2021

Meanwhile, the Falcon 9 rocket (B1062) has helped SpaceX resume the deployment of satellites for expanding the broadband constellation, something which was halted altogether since May this year. On the other hand, the rocket also marked its fourth and SpaceXs 25th Falcon 9 mission in total in 2021. This deployment is a major step for the Elon Musk-owned company towards becoming the leader in the satellite internet providing business. Besides, it would also speed up the arrival of Starlink services in India, as Sanjay Bhargava, Starlink Country Director India recently announced that the company has officially registered its business here.

Starlink and its future in India

Bhargava, via a LinkedIn post, had revealed that the company, named Starlink Satellite Communications Private Limited (SSCPL), now has a 100% owned subsidiary in India and can now apply for licenses and bank accounts in the country. It is worth mentioning that India is considered one of the biggest potential markets for Starlink and the company plans to initially focus on offering services to rural areas of India. It will provide 100 Starlink hardware kits for free, which includes 20 for schools in Delhi and 80 for those in rural areas around the Indian capital.

Besides, SpaceX will also identify 12 rural districts and three will be selected from northern, southern, eastern, and western parts of India. By the end of 2022, SpaceX plans to plant 2,00,000 Starlink devices in the nation out of which 1,60,000 will be in rural communities.

Image: Twitter/@SpaceX
Elon Musk-owned SpaceX performed a static fire of the futuristic Starship on Saturday at SpaceXs Starbase facility located in Boca Chica, South Texas. All six engines of the Starship SN20 were ignited on the site as part of SpaceXs preparations for the longest test flight Starship has undergone to date. It has been reported that Starship will be ready for the flight before 2021 ends which has been confirmed on several occasions by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.

First 6-engine static fire test of Starship pic.twitter.com/Bq3uryxEnl  SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 12, 2021

Meanwhile, the company provided an update for the latest static fire test via Twitter with a spectacular image of the black coloured Starship standing tall with orange flames underneath it. Video of the same also surfaced soon after the test that was conducted at 11:43 pm (IST), which also caught the eye of Musk on Twitter. Good static fire with all six engines! tweeted the billionaire.

Good static fire with all six engines!  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 12, 2021

This is the second static fire test conducted with Starship 20, as recently on October 22, the spacecraft was fired when it was outfitted with only two raptor engines - the vacuum version and the standard "sea-level" raptor. Although only the sea-level raptor was fired in the previous test.

Starship nearing its launch this year

Earlier on August 5, Musk had shared pictures of a fully stacked Starship spacecraft, which is being posed as the vehicle that will carry humans and cargo to the Moon, Mars and beyond. The 165-foot-tall Starship consists of two components - the Super Heavy booster powered by 29 raptors engines, and the Starship mounted over it, which will be loaded with crew and cargo.

It is being speculated that SpaceX will launch the Starship 20 by the end of this year however, it faces some roadblocks concerning the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Starship Fully Stacked pic.twitter.com/Fs88RNsmfH  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 6, 2021

In order to ensure a date for the launch, the company will need approval from the FAA, which seeks assurance from Musk and Co. that the launch will not cause any harm to the environment or the population living around Starbase. Interestingly, once this test is conducted, Musk himself has plans for a space trip in late 2023, where he will be accompanied by Japans billionaire entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa.

Image: Twitter/@SpaceX
More than 1.1 million people urgently require food and nutrition assistance in southern Madagascar, the United Nations World Food Program has warned. The World Food Programme, which is coordinating with the Madagascar government and other humanitarian agencies, has revealed that nearly 700,000 people have already received food aid and more people require food aid in the country. Speaking to The Associated Press, Jean-Benoit Manhes, deputy representative of UNICEF in Madagascar stated that all humanitarian agencies are making efforts in order to stop the crisis from turning into famine. Jean-Benoit Manhes told The Associated Press,

All aid agencies are working together to try to prevent this crisis from turning into famine.

Jean-Benoit Manhes expressed concern over the rising need for resources in the country. Furthermore, he highlighted that 14,000 children were treated for severe acute malnutrition in July and August, which he mentioned is the number during the entire year. Moreover, the country has witnessed four consecutive years of drought which has resulted in crops getting wiped and it has affected the farmers of the country. But we are witnessing a deterioration which requires increased resources. To give you an idea, in the months of July and August, 14,000 children were treated for severe acute malnutrition. That is usually the number we treat in an entire year, AP quoted Jean-Benoit Manhes as saying. According to AP, Alice Rahmoun, WFPs communications officer in Madagascar further said that "people dont have anything to harvest and anything to renew their food stocks."

Over 1.1 million people are facing severe hunger

Earlier this month, the WFP had informed via their press release that over 1.1 million people are facing severe hunger while 14,000 people are one step away from famine in Madagascar. The WFP stated that the drought in the country has resulted in the disappearance of food sources which has caused families to face hunger. According to WFP, they have given emergency life-saving food and supplementary nutrition products for pregnant and nursing women and children to 700,000. Furthermore, WFP informed that they are working with the government, in implementing long-term resilience-building activities that help the people in adjusting to the changing climate. The efforts that the WFP has been making with the government include access to water, reforestation, sand dune stabilization, and economic support. Menghestab Haile, WFP Regional Director, Southern Africa in the news release informed that climate change has impacted many families in the country.

Menghestab Haile had said in the news release,

The changing climate has meant that many families who were able to live off the land 15 years ago have now fallen into severe hunger. Families are scavenging for survival and many are living only on the food assistance they receive."

Inputs from AP

Image: AP
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and Defense Minister Florence Parly urged their Russian counterparts, Sergey Lavrov and Sergei Shoigu, to use their ties with Minsk to resolve the crisis on the Belarus-Poland border, the French Foreign Ministery said in a communique. In recent months, thousands of migrants and refugees have flocked to Belarus border with Poland hoping to get to Western Europe. The EU has accused Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of aiding illegal border crossings to destabilise the European Unions eastern border. Belarus main ally, Russia, however, refuted the accusations and challenged the EU to offer financial assistance to Belarus to deal with the influx.

However, according to a communique, France said, With regard to the situation in Belarus, the ministers condemned the irresponsible and unacceptable behaviour of the Belarusian authorities regarding the instrumentalization of migration flows directed against several countries of the European Union. They called on Russia to use its close ties with Belarus to put an end to this.

Amid the ongoing crisis, Belarus has received strong support from Russia, which has helped Lukashenkos regime with loans and political support. Previously, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had even stated that the migrants' flow resulted from the US-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and Western-backed Arab Spring uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa. Moscow had even angrily rejected Polands claim that Russia bears the responsibility of the crisis.

UNSC criticises Blearu over border crisis

Meanwhile, while thousands of migrants remain stranded at the Belarus-Poland border seeking refuge in Western Europe, at an emergency UNSC meeting, the Western member states criticised Minsk for escalating the migrant crisis at the border. The member states issued a joint statement accusing Belarus of putting the lives of the people in danger for political purposes. According to BBC, they said that Belarus was attempting to divert attention away from its own increasing human rights violations.

The statement against Belarus was issued by France, the UK and the US who are all permanent members of the council. However, Russia refuted the accusations and instead blamed Poland as well as Lithuania for the mistreatment of migrants. It is to mention, all five permanent members of the UNSC have the right to veto resolutions.

(With inputs from ANI)
The Israeli Social Equality Ministry stated that the German government has declared Bucharest, Romania's capital, as an "open ghetto" on Saturday, as per the reports of the Jerusalem Post. Last year, the German government announced the recognition of 27 Romanian and Bulgarian cities as open ghettos, with the exception of Bucharest, Romania's capital, which has been delayed until now.

Following Germany's acknowledgement, nearly 3,000 Holocaust survivors from Bucharest will get compensation ranging from NIS 150,000 to NIS 200,000, totalling NIS 450-600 million. Additionally, around 2,000 widows and widowers of Holocaust survivors born in Romania are likely to be entitled to compensation from the German government, according to the Jerusalem Post.

Israel Foreign Minister Yair Lapid congratulated Meirav Cohen on the achievement

Negotiations with Germany's Finance Ministry for the status of Bucharest as an open ghetto were led by a delegation of officials from the Israeli Social Equality and Foreign Ministries, chaired by Social Equality and Pensions Minister Meirav Cohen. According to the Jerusalem Post, Israel Foreign Minister Yair Lapid congratulated Meirav Cohen on the achievement and thanked the German government for its commitment to Holocaust survivors. He said that it is their moral obligation to support Holocaust survivors and their families and to care for their quality of life.

The designation of Bucharest as an open ghetto allows thousands of Holocaust survivors who have yet to be compensated for their experiences during the Holocaust to begin receiving monthly compensation from Section 2 of the Claims Conference Fund, according to the Limited Times. Those who worked in Bucharest will be eligible for an additional monthly allowance from the German Social Security Institute, which is the German equivalent of the National Insurance Institute.

The benefit received by the deceased will be paid to the heirs

The heirs of people who worked in Bucharest and died after June 2002 will be eligible to file a claim with the German Social Security Institute on behalf of the deceased. The benefit received by the deceased will be paid to the heirs in the form of a single retroactive award, which is the amount to which the deceased was entitled until the date of death. According to the Limited Times, the seekers might take the help of a lawyer who specialises in exercising the rights of Holocaust survivors or heirs in order to make the most of the rights they deserve as survivors or heirs.

Image: AP
A provocative exhibit by dissident Chinese artist Badiucao opened Saturday in the industrial northern Italian city of Brescia despite pressure from the Chinese embassy in Rome to cancel it.

A letter from the embassy included veiled economic threats, noting Italys trade with China, in a bid to prevent the first solo exhibit by Badiucao  the pseudonym used by the artist whose work takes aim at China's policies and human rights record.

Brescia Mayor Emilio Del Bono responded with delicacy and firmness, said Elettra Stamboulis, curator of the exhibit at the citys Museum of Santa Giulia.

Of course we are always a little worried, not so much for the artists safety, but because we know there are more creepy ways to silence dissident artists," she said.

After a previous attempt to stage a solo show in Hong Kong in 2018 was canceled under pressure, Badiucao said he is proud and happy that the Brescia exhibit is finally open to the public.

Because my art is always focusing on human rights issues in China ... it makes me almost the type of No. 1 enemy, Badiucao said. They hunt me down. They harass me, harass my families, threatening the people working with me constantly. So that is why, for me, it is really hard to actually having an exhibition in an established a gallery, a museum like this.

The exhibition, which runs until Feb. 13, traces Badiucaos artistic career from its start to most recent works created in response to the health crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. A former assistant to the Berlin-based Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei, Badiucau currently works in exile from Australia.

The works range from oil paintings to installations and performance art. They include one that evokes a scandal involving tainted baby formula exported by China in 2018, another that recalls the Tiananmen Square massacre and yet another that represents the Umbrella Movement as part of the Hong Kong pro-democracy demonstrations quelled by China.

During the exhibits opening days, Badiucao will sit in a torture chair and read from a diary shared with him by a resident of Wuhan, the Chinese city where the coronavirus was first detected.

Anyone who tried to tell the truth or some story different from Chinas governments narrative would be punished, so I made a public call on Twitter to the residents of Wuhan and said Id like to share the burden and risk with you, if you trust me you can send your information, Badiucao said.

The diary, which will be read in Mandarin, contains 100 days of records.

The artist kept his identity secret for many years, wearing masks during public appearances to protect his family members. The long-held secrecy drew comparisons to British graffiti artist Banksy, whose true identity remains shrouded in mystery.

But Badiucao said any comparison misses key points.

If Banksys identity gets revealed he is not or she is not going to be hunted by the UKs national security police, which in my case is totally different, he said. But also, I am really mad at Banksy, because he never does any artwork that criticizes the Chinese government.

Image: AP Photo/Felice Calabro

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
Social media giants, including representatives of Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat at the Paris Peace Forum, along with world leaders have unanimously called for better protection of children online. The call initiated by France and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), on Thursday, was presented in the presence of leaders like Vice President of the United States Kamala Harris and called for better protection of children from online abuse. As reported by AP, leaders at the Paris Summit acknowledged that "in the digital environment, children can come across harmful and violent content and manipulation of information."

Signatories of the text, included Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and YouTube apart from the aforementioned companies. It is to be mentioned that the call initiated by the UNICEF "called for governments and online service providers and relevant organisations to stand up for children's rights in the digital environment." The text also highlighted that the threats like cyberbullying, sexual abuse, prostitution, human trafficking, sexual and gender-based violence, or violent online radicalisation have also been amplified due to technology.

France, Italy, Argentina, Jordan and Morocco joined the text forwarded by the UNICEF, although the US did not endorse the same. At least 30 heads of state and government attended the Paris Peace Forum. The session on child rights was convened by French President Emmanuel Macron along with YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki. "We must regulate contents and authorization tools so that an 8-year-old, a 10-year-old, a 15-year-old child ... cannot be exposed to all contents without rules," Macron said during the session.

Social media comes with serious risks: UNICEF

The call initiated by UNICEF was a part of its agenda to mitigate the alarming threat of online exploitation and abuse of children. While the shift into lockdowns has resulted in spending more time online, children around the world are exposed to violent content. As per UNICEF data, every half a second one new child around the world goes online. More than a third of young people in 30 countries have reported cyberbullying and every 1 out of 5 are skipping school because of that. Privacy and rights of children are also breached when tech companies collect data for marketing purposes. Some 80% of children in 25 countries have reported feeling "in danger of sexual abuse" online, as per UNICEF.

(With inputs from AP)



Image: AP/Shutterstock/Representative Image
In the aftermath of the United States' withdrawal from Afghanistan, Islamabad is reportedly buying the former's military weapons from the Afghan Taliban, a new report has revealed. The report has stated that Pakistan is buying US military weapons from the Afghan Taliban amid fear that the weapons may fall into the hands of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The report has come up at a time when Imran Khan's government is holding talks with the banned Pakistani terrorist organisation over a comprehensive ceasefire.

Following the hasty withdrawal of the United States from Afghanistan after over two decades of war, the Taliban seized power. The same has resulted in a surge in cross-border violence in Pakistan. Moreover, operations against terrorists in North Waziristan, the last TTP stronghold have also increased. Earlier too, several reports had emerged that the Taliban was supplying Islamabad with a huge quantity of American weapons that it captured from the Afghan Army.

"The US weapons which were seized by the Taliban after American troops withdrawal are being openly sold in shops by Afghan gun dealers who paid government soldiers and Taliban members for guns and ammunition," as per a report in the New York Times

The report had added that the equipment was originally provided to the Afghan security forces under a US training and assistance programme that had cost American taxpayers more than USD 83 billion through two decades of war.

Taliban denies selling weapons to Pakistan

However, the Taliban on Friday refuted reports that the outfit was selling weapons left behind by troops of the United States to Pakistan. According to TOLOnews, Inamullah Samangani, the deputy spokesman for the Islamic Emirate denied the report. It added that the Taliban's deputy spokesman stated that the country's government 'has security departments which need the military equipment'.

"The Islamic Emirate denies this report ... Afghanistan today has an independent government and this government has security departments. The security departments need the military equipment," said Inamullah Samangani, the deputy spokesman for the Islamic Emirate, reported Tolo News.

Earlier it was also reported that Pakistan sought to buy military weapons left by US forces in Afghanistan. After the US conducted a rapid withdrawal from Afghanistan in August, much of American military equipment remained in the country. Based on the reports, the US left behind military equipment worth 85 billion dollars in Afghanistan, reported Tolo News.

With ANI inputs
Pakistan as of Friday, 12 November has witnessed umpteen cases of mysterious viral fever that has gripped several parts of Karachi, ANI reported citing Islamabads news outlets. According to the medical experts, the strange viral fever which came into notice just this past week reduced the blood platelets count as well as the white blood cells. Patients were generally brought into the hospital with a high temperature, and symptoms resembling dengue fever. Although, when these said patients were diagnosed with Dengue their tests turned back negative.

For a couple of weeks, we are seeing cases of viral fever, in which platelets and white blood cells are dropping while other clinical symptoms are also similar to the dengue fever. But when NS1 antigen of these patients is performed, their tests come out to be negative, Prof Saeed Khan, head of molecular pathology at the Dow University of Health Sciences, said, according to the Islamabads publication News International.

People running 'pillar to post for platelets for their loved ones,' Pak's molecular scientist says

A molecular scientist, Dr. Muhammad Zohaib, associated with the Childrens Hospital in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, said that there have been known cases of dengue-like viral fever, which was not dengue by Pakistans pathologists all over the city. Owing to this mysterious viral disease in addition to the growing number of dengue fever cases, there is an extreme shortage of mega units of platelets as well as random units in the city. People are moving from pillar to post for mega units and random platelets units for their loved ones, he said.

Several physicians and hemato-pathologists from across the hospitals in Karachi and various other cities confirmed that the strange dengue virus-like pathogen was circulating in Pakistan and that the ailments cause and source are still unknown. It was yet to be established whether the pathogen was contagious and its mode of spread was bodily or via air transmission. But the publication quoted the doctors as saying that they would, for now, adhere to the same treatment protocols for the patients as dengue while also confirming that the disease is not dengue.

As many as 45 new viral fever cases have been reported in Pakistans capital city Islamabad, ARY News reported, citing the district health officers (DHO) statement. As the winter approached, a total of 4,292 mosquito-borne viral disease cases were registered in the federal capital of Pakistan. Hospitals and blood banks across Karachi were stretched due to the acute shortage of mega units and random units of platelets, UTV reported, referencing Pakistans clinicians and medics misery with the onset of the winter flu season.
Taliban's foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, said that Afghanistan no longer needs a large military and would not keep all the soldiers who worked in the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) under the Ashraf Ghani-led government. He also highlighted that Afghanistan needs only those people who are loyal and committed to the Taliban, reported Khaama news. While speaking at a public talk sponsored by the Pakistan government, Muttaqi pointed at the international community and said human rights have been being used for political purposes and said these tactics don't work on the Taliban.

However, the remark made by the foreign minister is contradictory to the Taliban's chief, Qari Fasihuddin, who recently said in a statement that the country needs another 5000 troops for the force, most of them from the Afghan Army. On Thursday, Mottaki was in Pakistan with a 20-member delegation for negotiations on opening trade routes, among other things. Where the special representatives from the United States, Russia, and China were present under the Troika Plus format.

According to a report published by Voanews, Muttaqi bristled when he was asked about the issue of human rights and inclusivity in his administration. Blaming the international community for misusing human rights, Muttaqi stated, "Yesterday, the opposition [the Taliban] deserved to die. Yet, that was not a violation [of human rights] and today it is a violation". He also mentioned that the Taliban government is inclusive as it has various ethnicities in it, and said the international community is forcing the Taliban to include their political opponents. "We have never asked [U.S.] President [Joe] Biden to include [former] president [Donald] Trump in his cabinet," he said.

As per Voanews report, at the Troika Plus meeting, the demand for including fellow Afghans and other political groups and forces in the government took centre stage. The Foreign Minister of the Taliban declined the demand, saying opponents could not be included in the government; "it is not the norm anywhere else," he said. When asked about the rights of women and children, Mutaqqi asserted, "Currently, 100% of female workers in the health sector have returned to work," he said. "In [the] education sector, it is now up to 75%," he said his government has not fired a single woman from her job since they took control of the country.

Image: AP
Two suspects have been detained in connection with Fridays explosion in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar. At least three were killed and over 12 sustained injuries in the blast that took place during Friday prayers in a Mosque in Nangarhar, Khaama Press reported. Locals said that the explosion was caused by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) planted in the Shandal Mosque during prayers.

Following the blast, the local authorities informed that the two perpetrators of the blast at a mosque in ... Nangarhar province have been detained," local media stated, as per ANI.

Investigation into blast underway

An investigation into the explosion is underway, the official further said. While no group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, the latest blast follows a series of such explosions taking place in the war-ravaged nation and targeting mosques. Preliminary media reports have stated that the Spinghar district of the eastern province is a hotbed of Islamic State group activity since the Taliban took control of the country on 15 August and ousted the civilian government.

It is to mention that ISIS or Daesh have carried out several assaults in recent weeks, including a twin bombing of a military hospital in Kabul last month, which left around 19 people dead. Nangarhar province has also seen an increase in fighting, with the Taliban undertaking counter-offensives targeting "Daesh hideouts," as the regime termed them. Moreover, the terror group has also claimed a massive suicide bombing in Kandahar and another in a Shia community mosque in the northern Kunduz province, killing more than 100 people.

Meanwhile, the Taliban Intelligence Department in Afghanistan has claimed that at least 600 ISIS terrorists were arrested in the past three months across the nation. However, the authorities continue to claim that the security situation in Afghanistan remains satisfactory. The Taliban regime has also denied ISIS as being a major threat in the war-ravaged nation.

(With inputs from ANI)


A new study from the University of Arizona reveals that the earth is warming at an extraordinary rate, unlike anything witnessed in the previous 24,000 years. The study confirms that people have created a shift in Earth's climate never before identified in the geological record by reconstructing past temperatures from marine layers dating back to the last ice age's peak, as per the report of Science Alert. Jessica Tierney, a paleoclimatologist at the University of Arizona and co-author of the study stated that this reconstruction implies that present temperatures are unprecedented in the last 24,000 years, as well as that the rate of human-caused global warming is quicker than anything people have seen in that period.

The findings support the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which reported in August that burning fossil fuels has heated the world at a rate unmatched in the past 2,000 years. Matthew Osman, a climate scientist at the University of Arizona and his colleagues evaluated 539 paleoclimate records, each dating back at least 4,000 years and spanning the past 24,000 years, which is from the end of the last ice age, according to Science Alert.

Researchers deduced historical temperatures

The researchers deduced historical temperatures from geochemical markers in marine sediments collected from coastlines and seafloors throughout the world and used this "proxy data" to update climate model simulations that are becoming more complex but still rely on data inputs, according to Science Alert. In a commentary regarding the study, Shaun Marcott of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Jeremy Shakun of Boston College explained that the benefit of this hybrid method is that the proxy data bring the model closer to reality, and the model fills in gaps when no data are available.

According to Science Alert, Marcott and Shakun also said that the findings indicate that present warming is exceptional when compared to that of the previous 10,000 years. Furthermore, the study authors note that monitoring global temperature variations in 200-year intervals as ice sheets melted and greenhouse gases rose, provides a more comprehensive view of climate change on Earth during the previous 24,000 years.

COP26 brought sovereign leaders to address existential issues

As scientists deliver increasingly dire warnings each year, the urgency for climate action has intensified. From October 31 to November 12, 2021, the COP26 brought sovereign leaders and dignitaries from all over the world to Glasgow, Scotland to address existential issues and chart a new climate-friendly path forward before global warming reaches irreversible levels.

Image: Pixabay
NATO manoeuvres near Russia's border are a hazardous menace as the bloc is employing its strategic air capabilities, according to Russian President Vladimir Putin. As per the reports of Sputnik, he claims that multiple aircraft are approaching the Russian border, and ships are undertaking manoeuvres in the Black Sea, as the alliance ramps up its activity across the Mediterranean. He also said that the drills include not just the formation of a large ship group, but also the use of aviation.

According to Russia 24, the Russian President further stated that their Defense Ministry has also considered holding unscheduled exercises in the same location. He believes that this is inappropriate and that there is no need to worsen the situation. The president's comments follow the commencement of drills near Russian waterways by the US and its allies. The USS Mount Whitney, the flagship of the US Sixth Fleet, had previously entered the Black Sea, and Russia had previously recorded multiple NATO reconnaissance flights near Crimea, which is at the northern coast of the Black Sea in Eastern Europe.

In an interview with the Vesti, Putin stated that unplanned drills in the Black Sea are being conducted by the United States and its NATO allies. These drills feature not just a large naval group, but also aviation, particularly strategic aviation. He further said that this is a 'major challenge for Russia'.

NATO's activities in the Black Sea have been criticised by Moscow

NATO's activities in the Black Sea have been criticised by Moscow as a provocation aimed at inflaming tensions and pursuing a policy of containment towards Russia, according to the Russian news agency. Putin has described the manoeuvres as destabilising and hazardous, while Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Washington is attempting to drive coastal countries toward confrontational policies by sending ships to the area near the Russian border.

Putin refuted rumours that Russia is contemplating an invasion of Ukraine and claimed that his country is neutral in the Donbas conflict. According to the Russian news agency, the Russian president also addressed the migrant issue emerging at the Belarus-Poland border, emphasising that Moscow has no involvement in the situation. He stated that everyone is attempting to place blame on them for various reasons and for no cause at all.

Putin says humanitarian issues should always come first

He also said that humanitarian issues should always come first and at the Poland-Belarus border, Polish border guards are beating migrants, firing live rounds over their heads, and turning on sirens. According to Putin, a solution must be found that is acceptable to Belarus, European countries, as well as other governments, because their social welfare systems are under threat.

(Image: AP)
On Saturday, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that thousands of children have been infected with the measles outbreak in Afghanistan. WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris stated that nearly 100 children with the disease have died in the war-torn country this year, as reported by the Khaama Press news agency. She stated that the outbreak is particularly a matter of concern because the country is witnessing rising food shortages and malnutrition. Harris further emphasised the urgent need to ramp up disease surveillance and testing in the country in an attempt to bring the situation under control.

Earlier, the UN health agency had reported that three million Afghan children were malnourished, with more than one million in critical condition and likely to die, reported the news agency. It is significant to mention here that the World Health Organization had aimed to eradicate measles by 2020, but so far only the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Portugal, Slovakia and Slovenia have achieved this goal. According to a top UNICEF official, about one million children in Afghanistan will suffer from acute malnutrition in 2021 and may die if quick action is not taken. Following his visit to the war-torn country last month, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Omar Abdi informed about the situation and called for immediate assistance to the children living in the war-torn country.

UNICEF stresses upon the importance of vaccinating children

Abdi met with dozens of children suffering from severe malnutrition in Indira Gandhi Children's hospital in Kabul, according to the UNICEF press release. He was accompanied by UNICEF Regional Director George Laryea-Adjei and UNICEF Afghanistan Representative Herve Ludovic de Lys during his visit to the hospital in Afghanistan's capital. During his discussion with the Taliban administration, Abdi emphasised the importance of providing basic healthcare, immunisation, nutrition, water, and sanitation to children. He had also advocated for the resumption of COVID, polio, and measles vaccinations in the country and stressed the importance of vaccinating children and communities against vaccine-preventable diseases.

Meanwhile, last month, a United Nations agency official confirmed that thousands of people received humanitarian aid in Afghanistan from October 11 to 17. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), in Afghanistan, at least 2,625 internally displaced individuals who had recently returned to their communities got household supplies, reported news agency Xinhua. The United Nations humanitarian agencies and their partners also appealed to countries to keep their promises to the war-torn country as they scrambled to scale up delivery of vital aid ahead of the upcoming winter season.

Image: AP
After a record 1,185 migrants crossed the English Channel on November 11, Prime Minister Boris Johnson asked France to 'close off' the flow of migrants crossing into their country in order to prevent them from sailing to the United Kingdom, reported Daily Mail. The UK Prime Minister also slammed French President Emmanuel Macron's government for not policing their beaches to prevent migrants from sailing to Britain in boats. Johnson further claimed that it is not feasible for UK Border Force to turn migrants back securely in the English Channel as he defended the Home Secretary of the United Kingdom Priti Patel's border policies.

While speaking at a vaccination centre in southeast London, he stated that the UK was dealing with the migrant crisis in the "most effective" way possible, while also urging France to close its borders to stop the flow of migrants arriving in the country. "The migrants are coming from France. If the French authorities refuse or are unable to supervise those departures, it will be extremely difficult for us to return them back at sea. We would like to do it in a safe and humane manner, but I must admit it's quite tough," he was quoted as saying by Sky News.

UK condemns France for failing to resolve immigration issue

As the record daily number of migrants crossed the English Channel, France was condemned for 'ceding sovereign territory to people smugglers' in an explosive attack on Emmanuel Macron's government. The two watercrafts were found adrift off the coast of Calais were discovered by French coastguard officers, who stated they picked up two of them while the hunt for the other three was called off. It should be mentioned here that on November 11, four Border Force boats from the British government intercepted the migrant boats that were spotted off the coast, and the border security escorted them into Dover, reported BBC News.

Priti Patel promised in 2019 that her government will take the necessary steps to manage the migrant crossing by spring 2020. She even pledged in August last year to render the migratory route unviable. The idea of turning boats back to the sea was also explored by the UK government, although it has yet to be implemented and has been criticised by the French government. In addition, the British government has agreed to pay France 54 million to help curb increasing immigration. However, reports suggest that, the rate of migration has increased in the last two years.

Image: AP
A teacher in the United Kingdom garnered praises for his noble deeds as he walked over a distance of 900 miles to deliver 15,000 free school meals to students during the course of lockdown, reported The Guardian. In March last year, when Zane Powles realised the UK was likely to go into lockdown, his first worry was for the schoolchildren and about their food. The 49-year-old assistant headteacher from Cleethorpes then decided to deliver meals to schoolchildren personally. Braving all odds, Powles pounded the streets for the next 12 months to ensure meals reached children. "I delivered meals for almost a year. It's insane to look back, really crazy," he was quoted as saying by the outlet.

Before the pandemic, Powels used to run a unit attached to a Grimsby primary school for children with challenging behaviour. "I had been in charge of the unit for nine years. I probably got hit by a kid six times a week. They only tried to communicate with me in their own way. You have to get through all these and figure out what the true problem is," he stated. Praising the efforts of Powels, Claire Pulfrey, a parent at Powless school said that he is an absolute hero without a cape. "I have a son with Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. I was struggling to cope during the pandemic by seeing Zane every day was like a little ball of pleasure," she was quoted a saying by The Guardian.

Zane Powles bestowed with MBE by the royal family

Grimsby is one of the poorest regions in the United Kingdom. After the lockdown was announced on March 23, 2020, Powles looked at the list of children on free school meals and mapped up their home addresses. According to him, he was required to deliver 85 meals each day. For the next one year, he arrived at school at 7.30 a.m. to help the headteacher and others make the lunch bags. He would then set off carrying two backpacks full of meals to be delivered to children. It is worth mentioning here that Powles was bestowed with Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by the royal family. However, he does not consider his charity work as remarkable and says he was just doing his duty, reported The Guardian.

Image: Twitter/@Zane Powles/Pixabay
Former US Navy Special Warfare Intelligence Chief Glenn Pangelinan has warned that if Washington does not evacuate thousands of Afghan commandos from Afghanistan, they will turn to ISIS-K. During the Fox News interview, the former Navy intelligence chief stated unequivocally that if Afghan commandos realise they will not be evacuated, they may sell their skills to Daesh or the Taliban. Pango, a Guam native, recently returned from an island fact-finding mission to learn how the US territory could become a safe haven for thousands of Afghan allies and their families who have yet to be evacuated from the country.

While many senior Afghan military officers were able to flee Kabul, less senior non-commissioned officers were left behind. The Taliban's hunter squads are on the lookout for the commandos and torturing those they find. Because the commandos were under Afghan command, they were forced to rely on humanitarian parole applications to be evacuated. According to media reports, some commandos may be coerced into joining the Taliban's ranks in the future. Perhaps that is their only option for saving their families. If this occurs, a terrorist organisation will have access to highly trained special operations forces. Forces that understand how the US military operates.

Pangelinan spoke after Republican Mike Waltz urged Congress to pass legislation that would make it easier for the Biden administration to evacuate the vetted allies. Waltz stated that these commandos have received extensive training in signal intelligence, human intelligence, and operations. We're well aware that the Taliban are on the lookout for them. They're attempting to coerce them into handing over that information so that they can use it and gain a better understanding of how we work, according to Fox News.

US evacuated 1,000 Afghan commandos in August

This was preceded by a New York Times investigation, which revealed that in August, the US staged a covert operation in Afghanistan to evacuate hundreds of American nationals and at least 1,000 allied Afghan commandos from the country via a secret Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) compound outside Kabul. The inquiry claimed that Eagle Base, which housed the Salt Pit prison until 2004, was used between August 15 and 27 to assist with evacuation efforts following the Taliban's takeover of power in Afghanistan on August 15. The Pentagon confirmed on August 30 that America's nearly two-decade presence in Afghanistan came to an end when the final Boeing C-17 aircraft took off from Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport. The US troop withdrawal occurred in the midst of the Taliban's rapid offensive in Afghanistan, which resulted in the militant group seizing power in the country on August 15 after taking over the capital Kabul without a fight.

(With inputs from Agencies)

Image: AP
US President Joe Biden will hold a virtual meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping later this month, White House said as both the leaders continue to trade barbs over various issues. In a statement, President Bidens office said that the upcoming meeting is scheduled for November 15 with an aim to manage competition between the geopolitical rivals as well as bolster cooperation in areas of mutual interest. "Following their September 9 phone call, the two leaders will discuss ways to responsibly manage the competition between the United States and the PRC, as well as ways to work together where our interests align," White House said.

The bilateral meet will also see Biden clearly and candidly expressing his concerns with China. While Biden has refrained from repeating former US President Donald Trump's 'China Virus' rhetoric, he has slammed the communist nation for its coercive measures on Hong Kong and Taiwan, and also for jeopardising America's national security.

"Following their September 9 phone call, the two leaders will discuss ways to responsibly manage the competition between the United States and the PRC, as well as ways to work together where our interests align. Throughout, President Biden will make clear U.S. intentions and priorities and be clear and candid about our concerns with the PRC," a White House statement read.

China does not respect US anymore: Trump

Meanwhile, former American President Trump said that the communist country does not respect the US anymore. In September, the Republican leader held two telephonic conversations with Chinese President Xi Jinping triggering speculations of a rift. However, the White House later clarified that it was a regular discussion about the ongoing market competition between the two countries.

However, Trump, speaking to Fox News, asserted that he didnt think that the incumbent Biden administration was effective when it came to matters related to China. We have shown such weakness to China, he reckoned. Furthermore, asserting that the current situation in the country was "sad", Trump said that China respected America during his presidential tenure. However, the situation has altered now. Interestingly, Trump has previously said that he was mulling to run for the seat of President in the 2024 US Polls.

(File Image: AP)
Washington, Nov 12 (PTI) US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping will hold a virtual summit on Monday to discuss ways to "responsibly manage" the competition between the two countries, as well as ways to work together where their interests align, the White House announced on Friday.

US officials said last month that they had reached a tentative agreement with China to hold a virtual meeting between Biden and Xi before the end of the year, as part of an effort to ensure stability in one of the world's most consequential and fraught relationships.

In the evening of Monday November 15 in Washington, DC, President Joseph R Biden, Jr. will meet virtually with President Xi Jinping of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said.

Following their September 9 phone call, the two leaders will discuss ways to responsibly manage the competition between the United States and the PRC, as well as ways to work together where our interests align, she said.

Throughout, President Biden will make clear US intentions and priorities and be clear and candid about our concerns with the PRC, Psaki said in a statement.

Tensions between the US and China have escalated in the last several years.

President Bidens predecessor, Donald Trump, followed a tough stance on China, beginning with trade. Trump levied tariffs on billions of dollars worth of imports from China, prompting retaliation from Beijing.

The Biden administration has maintained Trumps tough position, and worked more with traditional US allies to collectively put pressure on Beijing on a range of issues, including human rights, Taiwan, Xinjiang and Tibet.

Biden has also stepped up America's engagement in the Indo-Pacific region, which has seen aggressive moves by the Chinese military.

However, in a surprise move, China and the US this week announced at that the two countries will boost climate co-operation. The US and China are the world's two biggest CO2 emitters.

The announcement by the two global rivals was made on Wednesday at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.

The last time Biden and Xi spoke was in September, in a phone call that lasted roughly 90 minutes.

The two leaders also spoke for two hours in February -- their first phone call since Biden took office in January this year.

The tentative agreement to hold a virtual summit between Xi and Biden was the result of an extended, six-hour meeting between Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan and China's top diplomat, Yang Jiechi in Switzerland, just days after Beijing sent record-breaking numbers of war planes into Taiwan's defence zone.

President Xi has not left China in 21 months, following moves to tighten the country's borders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He skipped the G20 summit in late October, as well as the COP26 climate conference in Scotland this month. PTI LKJ CPS AKJ CPS

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
US Vice President Kamala Harris, who is on a four-day trip abroad, said that she did not discuss the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal with French President Emmanuel Macron. It is to mention that the diplomatic relations between Washington and Paris had hit historic lows after the announcement of the AUKUS pact angered France. Therefore, the mission of Harriss trip to France was to revitalise the relationship between the two nations and bring new developments after US President Joe Biden acknowledged that America had been clumsy in handling the situation.

However, when asked by reporters if she believed that she had done the job to repair the relationship after the scuttled deal, Harris said, I will tell you that was not the purpose of this trip and we didn't discuss it.

What we did discuss is the issues that are challenging us and the issues that are the basis for this relationship and the strength and the endurance of this relationship," she added.

Our alliance with France is our oldestand among our strongest. Today, I met with President Emmanuel Macron to discuss the shared future of our nations. pic.twitter.com/XZozGgEB9S  Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) November 10, 2021

Harris informed she talked to Macron about mutual interests in the Western Hemisphere and issues that ranged from current challenges to what have been relationships that one could argue should be strengthened. The two leaders also talked extensively about our mutual interest, and in many ways, a long-standing focus of France, on the continent of Africa, the US VP added.

Harris presence reflective of US priorities towards France

Further, she also said that she and Macron did speak about the "importance of paying attention to those relationships, and understanding the strength of them but also the fragility of them, meaning. We can't take relationships for granted. They must be present. Harris said thats one of the reasons why she and Joe Biden have been going on foreign trips during the coronavirus pandemic - to be present.

"As it relates to me, as vice president, I think that there is no question that I am here as a representative for my country. And my presence here is reflective of the priorities that the United States has as it relates to France," Harris said.

Moreover, the US Vice President went on to inform that she and Macron also discussed the humanitarian crisis at the border of Poland and Belarus, where thousands of migrants are stranded in terrible conditions due to the intensifying dispute between Minsk and the EU. Harris said that the US and France are very concerned and closely paying attention to the situation. She also stated that she believes that the Lukashenko regime is engaged in very troubling activity. The eyes of the world and its leaders are watching, Harris added.

(Image: Twitter)
A six-year-old girl was reunited with her teddy, whom she lost a year ago in the US, Glacier National Park. The teddy bear was given to Naomi Pascal in 2016 as her first gift from Ben and Addie Pascal before they adopted Naomi from an Ethiopian orphanage. In the year 2020, when Pascals went on a family trip to Montana, Naomi took the teddy along with her, and it was during the night they realized that they lost the teddy. Due to heavy snowfall in the region, the park was closed, preventing the family from returning and searching for Teddy, but they reported the incident to park authorities, hoping someone would return it to them.

A bear specialist in Glacier Park, ranger Tom Mazzarisi, spotted the teddy bear lying in poor condition amid the melting snow near the Hidden Lake Trail. "At first, items that arent worth much monetarily get thrown out," Mazzarisi said, as he was totally unaware that the stuffed toy had been reported lost. But Mazzarisi did not dump the bear in the trash but kept it in his cabin in St. Mary, and when he returned to work in April this year, he placed the stuffed toy on the dashboard of the truck, reported news agency AP.

IMAGE: AP

Mazzarisi said, "Teddy had a spring and summer, watching wolves howl at each other and working bear jams." Earlier, in June, Addie Pascal shared a post on Facebook asking for help in finding Teddy. He wrote, "Hes been by her side for so many milestones. But there are many more adventures to be had!"

People sent good wishes, and some suggested the replacement of the bear. Addie Pascal's family friend, Terri Hayden, who was also on the trip last year, was also eager to find Naomi's special bear. Interestingly, when Hayden and her family visited the same place for the second time, they found the bear in a rangers truck. Hayden immediately sent a picture to Addie Pascal, who quickly confirmed that it was the same teddy. After a little verification, Hyden recovered Naomi's priceless possession.

Hayden sent the bear to Naomi, who was super excited after reuniting with her old friend. While Hayden placed another stuffed bear on the dashboard of Mazzarisi's truck, he named her Clover, as it reminded him of a grizzly bear he saw in Yellowstone National Park that would turn her belly in a clover patch and eat it. Clover is now at Mazzarisi's cabin, and in the next spring, the duo will ride in the truck.

Image: AP

With Inputs from AP
Rong Chhun and two activists were set free in what analysts say as a bid to improve Cambodias image.

Labor union leader Rong Chhun (C) addresses a crowd of supporters after his release from Prey Sar Prison on the outskirts of Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh, Nov. 12, 2021.

Cambodian authorities freed a detained Cambodian labor union leader and two fellow labor activists on Friday after an appeals court upheld parts of their convictions while releasing them for time served for other charges, rights groups and activists said.

Union leader Rong Chhun and labor rights activists Sar Kanika and Ton Nimol were among 18 political prisoners released by Prime Minister Hun Sens authoritarian government, which has staged a sweeping crackdown on the political opposition and critics since 2017.



The three labor activists were joined by a political party leader, five wives of jailed Cambodian opposition activists, and six environmental activists.

I, Rong Chhun, have returned to see you again, he told a crowd of about 200 supporters outside Prey Sar Prison on the outskirts of Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh, where he was serving his sentence.

We must walk toward freedom. We must seek democracy for our country. Even though I was jailed more than a year, I have always stayed with you, said Rong Chhun.

The prison cant break activists and peoples spirits, he said. When we are not afraid they will stop arresting us. We must maintain our courage for the sake of freedom, our rights and democracy.

Rong Chhun and the two labor activists had parts of their sentences for incitement suspended, according to the Cambodian human rights organization Licadho.

The Phnom Penh Appeals Court did not say why it decided to drop the other charges against the three, who will be on probation and face restrictions on their travel and activities for two years.

Authorities arrested Rong Chhun for a statement he made in July 2020 about the alleged loss of land near Cambodias border with Vietnam border after he visited the area and spoke with local residents.

Sar Kanika and Ton Nimol were arrested during peaceful demonstrations in August and October 2020, respectively, Licadho said in a statement.



Rong Chhun and Sar Kanika have spent more than 15 months in prison, while Nimol has been locked up for over a year.

The appeals court dropped the remainder of Rong Chhuns two-year sentence and the remainder of Sar Kanikas 20-month sentence. Ton Nimol must serve 14 months and 24 days in prison, though the court suspended the remainder of his 20-month sentence.

The court said the trio must remain on probation for three years following their release, forbade them from associating with each other, and required them to inform a prosecutor if they changed addresses, Licadho said.

The court also upheld an order for the three activists to each pay 2 million riel (U.S. $500) in fines, and jointly pay 400 million riel (U.S. $100,000) in damages, the group said.

Rong Chhun left prison with Khmer Win Party President Soung Sophorn who was also released. Authorities had arrested the politician in August 2020 on charges of inciting chaos and causing insecurity to society after he protested and demanded Rong Chhungs release from jail.

Soung Sophorn told the crowd outside the courthouse that he would resume his political career following his release.

Court officials also released five women from a group known as the Friday Wives for their weekly rallies on behalf of their husbands from the banned Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP). The five were arrested for demanding the release of Rong Chhun and CNRP activists during a protest in front of Chinese Embassy in Phnom Penh. The women had already spent 12 to 20 months in jail.

Also on Friday, authorities released six environmental activists from the group Mother Nature, but the court upheld an earlier 20-month incitement sentence passed in absentia on the groups founder Alejandro Gonzalez Davidson.

The government has softened its stance which is a sign indicating that the situation is getting better, said Thailand-based political analyst Seng Sary.

He told RFA that the gestures could be beneficial for Cambodia, seen by many outsiders as a de facto one-party state, when it serves as chair of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) in 2022, and hosts meetings with the European Union and the United States, both of which have sanctioned Phnom Penh over human rights abuses.

Reported by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
The unofficial trip came as the border was closed following a brief reopening in response to new COVID cases.

A North Korean man looks out from a North Korean train before leaving for North Korea at the Dandong border railway station in northeast China's Liaoning Province in this file photo.

An unofficial delegation from North Korea travelled to China for emergency supplies on the same day the newly reopened border was shut down due to a spike in coronavirus cases, sources in China told RFA.

The border with China was closed in January 2020 at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, a move that all but destroyed the nascent North Korean market economy, much of which relies on Chinese trade to stay afloat.

Rail trade resumed on Nov. 1, with trains travelling from Dandong, China, over the Yalu River to Sinuiju, North Korea. But eight days later, the link was closed again due to a lockdown in Dandong from a new spike in coronavirus cases.

China typically accounts for more than 90 percent of North Koreas international trade. North Koreans have held out for almost two years without any Chinese imports, but supplies of many goods are running low.

Sources said the delegation asked Chinese officials in Dandong for cooking oil and seasonings, construction materials and several kinds of fabrics.

Two train cars crossed the bridge on Nov. 8 from North Korea, and at first we thought it was just a maintenance team coming to inspect the condition of the railroad connection between Sinuiju and Dandong, because we heard theyd be coming, a Chinese citizen of Korean descent from Dandong told RFAs Korean Service Wednesday.

The railway maintenance team were in the front car, but there were three unofficial delegations from Pyongyang in the second car. They were here to request emergency supplies, said the source, who requested anonymity for security reasons.

The delegation made their way to the North Korean consulate in the city to meet with Chinese officials, according to the source.

We dont yet know whether the Chinese officials they met were from the central government in Beijing, or if they were from the local government in Dandong, entrusted to act on behalf of the central government, the source said.

The discussion in Dandong was not about receiving food aid, according to the source. Reports out of North Korea have indicated that the food situation there is dire, with the government telling people to prepare for shortages that could rival the 1994-1998 famine that killed millions of North Koreans. The shortages have already led to starvation deaths.

But the just-completed harvest appears to have alleviated some of the fear about mass famine in the short-term, the source said.

Considering that the North Koreans sent their delegation to request supplies to the North Korean consulate, its likely that the two governments have already reached an agreement and these were working-level discussions, said the source.

The delegation was willing to risk coming into Dandong, where the coronavirus is raging strong. That proves that the shortage of supplies in North Korea is extremely serious, the source said.

At the beginning of 2021, when it was apparent that the border would stay closed for at least several months, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called on the country to overcome its food and resource problems in accordance with its founding juche ideology, which preaches self-reliance on the individual, local and state level.

How desperate North Korea must be. The government told the people to endure the border closure by pushing self-reliance, and now here they are, requesting emergency supplies from outside, a second source in Dandong, also a Chinese citizen of Korean descent, told RFA.

The Chinese officials partially accepted North Koreas request for the various raw materials, food enhancers and seasonings, and construction materials, the second source said.

With the coronavirus spreading again in all parts of China, including in Dandong and the three northeast provinces, theres no telling as to when railway trade will resume. It was supposed to reopen this month, the second source said.

The halt in trade is not only harmful for North Korea. Chinese trading companies had stocked up to prepare for the reopening, but now must watch the goods sit in warehouses, the second source said.

The delay in resuming rail trade has resulted in the Chinese companies becoming increasingly impatient, the source said.

Though rail trade between North Korea and China was suspended for almost two years, RFA reported that China in April 2021 sent a train load of about 300 tons of corn, likely as food aid but registered as animal feed.

Many were hopeful at that time that rail trade would resume, but the border remained closed for another six-and-a-half months before it briefly reopened.

Translated by Leejin Jun for RFAs Korean Service. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
A Russian demining team is clearing the area of UXO in preparation for new construction, officials say.

Some of the Yak-130 tanks procured by Laos from Russia, in an undated photo.

Russian troops have been clearing an area of around 500 hectares (1,240 acres) of unexploded ordnance (UXO) in Laoss Xieng Khouang province with plans to build a new airport and military facility as part of an expansion of military aid to the impoverished Southeast Asian nation, according to Lao officials.

A Russian demining team has been working with Lao counterparts to clear the UXO since Dec. 5, 2020, the provincial officials recently told RFAs Lao Service, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the plans with the media.

The Russians came here to build a military airport on the other side of the Plain of Jars, one of the officials said, referring to the archeological landscape in the Xieng Khouang Plateau that was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2019.

Theyre currently clearing the UXO and then theyre going to upgrade the existing airport, making it larger and more beautiful.

Another Xieng Khouang official, who is a provincial military officer, provided further details about the new airport to RFA.

The Russian and Lao armed forces together are building this new airport that will be larger than the existing one and will be divided in two different zones, he said.

One zone is for Lao and Russian military use and the other is for civilian use.

The officer said that the Russian military intends to provide substantial assistance to Laos going forward, including with training and developing the latters armed forces.

Some work on the new airport has already begun, but the actual construction will not start anytime soon because the UXO clearance will take some time, he said.

Once the UXO has been cleared, well lay underground powerlines. Well do our work step by step.

Besides the airport, the Russians intend to expand military cooperation with Laos that will include building a facility to train Lao troops on how to use Russian military equipment, according to a report by Russian news agency Sputniknews.com.

A former senior government official in Laos told RFA that the two sides are expanding cooperation in line with an agreement they have in place on security and defense, as well as the new airport.

In the agreements, most cooperation would include training and teaching military techniques to the Lao armed forces, said the former official, who also declined to be named.

We had more cooperation and more Russian military presence in Laos during the Soviet era, he added.

RFA spoke with an official at the Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs who claimed not to know anything about the Russian military aid projects.

The airport planned for expansion with assistance from the Russian military in Laos's Xieng Khouang province. RFA/Planet Labs

Increased cooperation

In 2018, Laos ordered four jet fighters and 10 Yak-130 tanks from Russia following a state visit to Moscow by Laos then-Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith a year earlier, during which the two nations signed a military cooperation agreement. Four of the tanks were later delivered to the Lao Ministry of Defense by Russias Rosoboronexport Company and took part in a 2019 parade commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Lao Peoples Armed Forces in the capital Vientiane.

In April 2019, Russias TASS news agency reported that the Russian and Lao defense ministries had agreed on the areas of expanding military cooperation between their two countries on the sidelines of the Moscow International Conference on International Security, citing Lao Defense Minister Chansamone Chanyalath. The report did not provide details of the agreement.

In June last year, Laos unveiled plans to build statues to honor two unnamed Soviet pilots who died while serving in the Southeast Asian country, angering citizens who said the U.S. $775,000 earmarked for the project could be better spent on recovering from the coronavirus pandemic. The pilots were in Laos as part of Moscows military presence in the fellow communist country between 1975 and 1992 and are believed to have been involved in training pilots in Laos air force. An official from the Ministry of Information Culture and Tourism told RFA at the time that the pilots were killed in a crash over Xieng Khouang province while on a practice mission.

According to a report on the Lao Defense Ministry website, Chansamone Chanyalath met with Russian ambassador to Laos Vladimir Kalinin at the Russian Embassy in Vientiane on Dec. 29, 2020 and thanked him for Russias gift of a hangar to store tanks in Xieng Khouang province. Chansamone also expressed gratitude for joint military exercises held in the province in 2019, Russias assistance with UXO clearance, its work in upgrading the airport in Xieng Khouang, and for building an office of the Russian Military Representative in the province. The meeting took place a week after Russias military donated an air force training center to Laos.

Source of aid

Moscow was a major arms supplier to Laos after its communist government, closely associated with the Soviet-aligned communist government in Vietnam, was established in 1975. According to a January report in The Diplomat, recent aid to Laos highlights the countrys importance in Russias desire for broader defense cooperation in Southeast Asia.

Russia has provided various forms of assistance to Laos in recent years.

In January, TASS cited Russian Ambassador Kalinin as saying that Moscow and Vientiane had agreed on deliveries of two million doses of Russias homegrown Sputnik V vaccine, which would be used to inoculate around 25 percent of the Lao population against the coronavirus.

Reported by RFAs Lao Service. Translated by Max Avary. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
Laos and a majority Chinese-owned company have signed a 25-year concession agreement that allows the company to build and manage its power grid, including electricity exports to neighboring countries, a government official in the country told RFA.

The company, Electricite du Laos Transmission Company Ltd. (EDLT) was launched Sept. 1 when Electricite du Laos and China Southern Power Grid Company signed a shareholding agreement, which gave China Southern a majority of shares.

RFA reported at that time that the government said the new corporate entity was necessary due to the domestic firms massive debt, but critics said it ceded too much control of Laos power grid to a foreign government.

With dozens of hydropower dams either built or under construction on the Mekong River and its tributaries, Laos has gone all-in on its controversial economic strategy to become the Battery of Southeast Asia in hopes of selling electricity to neighboring countries. But with EDLT controlling everything it adds to the grid, some are worried China will be able to profit off of Laos gamble.

EDLT will invest U.S. $2 billion to build, manage and control the Lao power grid for a 25-year concession period. After 25 years, the business will be transferred to the Lao government, an official of the Lao Ministry of Energy and Mines told RFAs Lao Service on March 12.

The official said that EDLT would take control of only the high-voltage power line network, in the range higher than 230 kilovolts, while Electricite du Laos retains control of powerlines under 230 kilovolts.

Given the current economic downturn and the enormous debt, the Lao government does not have the ability to manage and operate a network of powerlines, so they decided to allow the Chinese, who have the finances, technological aptitude and manpower to take over, said the official.

The concession deal is not seen as a win-win by all within the ministry, however.

An energy expert from the ministry, who requested anonymity to speak freely, told RFA that it put Laos at a disadvantage.

The deal is bad Normally in a cooperative agreement, the foreign company transfers technology or knowledge to the host. But not the Chinese, said the expert.

When they installed a powerline system in the Lao National Convention Center in Vientiane, they did not provide us with any instructions. When the electrical system breaks down or when we want to make improvements to the building, we have to call in Chinese technicians.

Lao residents are also dismayed at what Chinese control of the power grid could mean.

Before, I thought that since we were building many dams, electricity prices would go down. That will not happen because the Chinese company is taking over power distribution in our country, a resident of the southern province of Savannakhet told RFA.

A resident of Vientiane asked why Laos cannot manage its own network.

Why do we need China to do that? If the government doesnt have money, they can borrow money to buy the power lines and install them. They have money to build dams, so why not to install power lines? the Vientiane resident said.

Reported by RFAs Lao Service. Translated by Max Avary. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
His songs took on bribery and social ills in a one-party state that brooks no public criticism.

Authorities in Laos have arrested a popular young Lao musician and producer known for singing songs criticizing official corruption in the one-party communist state, sources in the country say.

Syphone Vongchinda, better known as Ther Una, was taken into custody last week in the Sepon district of Savannakhet province in southern Laos, according to a district police officer and his neighbors.

According to reports, he was summoned and taken away by provincial police, the district police officer told RFAs Lao Service on July 27, speaking on condition of anonymity. I dont know why they arrested him," he said.

Ther Una is currently being held and questioned at the Provincial Police Headquarters in Kaysone Phomvihane City, capital of Savannakhet province, the officer added.

Requests by RFA for comment from the provincial police headquarters received no response this week.

Also speaking to RFA, one of Ther Unas neighbors confirmed the musicians arrest, adding, The reason for his arrest is still unknown.

Because Ther Una lives close to me in the same village, I want to know why he has been detained, he said.

A fan of Ther Unas music who regularly follows him on Facebook said he wasnt sure of his arrest. But Ive noticed that he has stopped all his activity on social media like Facebook for a while now.

I saw a post on one Facebook page saying hed been arrested, but Im waiting for an official announcement from the authorities, another music fan said. They may not announce anything about this case, though, since they usually only broadcast the arrests of drug traffickers on their show, he said.

Now in his late twenties, Ther Una is a well-known performing artist in Laos, with more than a million followers on YouTube and his Facebook page and fans in next-door Thailand. He is also the owner of Una Studio, which produces songs, videos, news, and short feature stories about social and economic issues in the country.

Concert shut down

On Oct. 14, 2018, police in Savannakhets Kaysone district shut down a benefit concert held by Ther Una to raise funds for schools in remote areas after they objected to a slogan found on T-shirts sold at the site, sources told RFA in an earlier report.

The concert had run for only 40 minutes before police closed it down and attempted to detain a concert organizer found wearing a T-shirt carrying the slogan No bribes for jobs!

Speaking to RFA the following day, Ther Una said that authorities should have shown more consideration to the concerts organizers and audience, simply warning them not to wear the T-shirts if they were inappropriate.

This should not have been a big enough deal to stop our concert, he said.

A year later, Ther Una published a song titled Poor Guy With a Degree, telling the story of a high school graduate from the countryside whose parents sold their rice field to finance his college education, but who later couldnt find a job because he had no money to bribe the officials who could help him get one.

Lao musician and social commentator Ther Una is shown in an undated photo. Facebook / Ther Una

Interviews with US, EU ambassadors

Host of Una Studio interviews in July last year and April this year with U.S. Ambassador to Laos Peter Haymond, Ther Una spoke in Lao with Haymond about U.S. aid programs to Laos supporting initiatives in education, nutrition, health, and anti-trafficking efforts, and the clearance of unexploded ordnance left behind in Laos after the Vietnam War.

And in an Una Studio interview conducted in English in December last year, Thun Era spoke with European Union Ambassador to Laos Ina Marciulionyte about EU efforts to promote European investment in Laos and to support rural schools and provide financial and health-care support to victims of flooding in Savannakhet.

Ther Una is also a close friend of Lao blogger Houayheuang Xayabouly, also called Mouay, now serving a five-year prison term for criticizing the Lao government in posts online.

Mouay, now in her early 30s, was arrested Sept. 12, 2019, a week after she voiced her concern about the government response to flooding in the countrys southern Champassak and Salavan provinces in a Facebook Live video.

The delayed government response had left many Lao villagers stranded and cut off from help, she said in the video, which was viewed more than 150,000 times.

In an annual survey of press freedom released in 2021, Laos was ranked 172 out of 180 countries for the previous year by Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) which said the ruling Lao Peoples Revolutionary Party exercises absolute control over the media.

Reported by RFAs Lao Service. Translated by Max Avary. Written in English by Richard Finney.
A job-placement firm says it plans to send more Uyghurs outside the region in early 2022.

A Chinese job-placement company transferred more than 3,000 Uyghur workers, including girls as young as 16, from the Xinjiang region to factories in other parts of China this year and plans to send thousands more in early 2022, an RFA investigation has shown.

RFAs Uyghur Service began investigating after a Chinese-language advertisement circulated on Weibo and WeChat said that more than 2,000 Uyghurs  aged 16 to 30, with good Mandarin Chinese skills, and vocational school degrees, the ad said  would be available to work for two years at sites throughout the country.

The ad did not list a company name but included a phone number that business executives in need of labor could call.

When RFA dialed the number, the woman who answered said the ad was posted by her job-placement company in Sichuan provinces Liangxian prefecture. The company had recently sent more than 3,000 workers from Kashgar (in Chinese, Kashi) to two different locations in China, the woman said.

Theyre no longer available. Theyve already been placed, said the woman who did not give her name.

All of them are from Kashgar  Uyghurs, she said, referring to the oasis city in southern Xinjiang with a population of more than 700,000.

The Uyghurs had been transferred in June to two locations in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, where they receive salaries of 2,000 yuan (U.S. $313) a month, the employee said. The company, in turn, receives a subsidy of 600 yuan per worker per month, she added. But it wasnt clear if the subsidy was taken out of the workers salaries or was a separate payment made to the job-placement company.

Some of the Uyghur workers sent to Nanjing were transferred from the Chinese governments network of what Beijing calls re-education camps in Xinjiang, the recruiter said.

Cheap or forced labor

About 1.8 million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities are believed to have cycled through the camp system since 2017. The detainees are held against their will and endure inhumane treatment and political indoctrination.

Photo: Reuters

It is not clear how many of the workers offered from Kashgar were part of the camp system

China has said that the camps are an effort to prevent religious extremism and terrorism in the region, where about 12 million mostly Muslim Uyghurs live.

In the four years since the beginning of the mass internment campaign in 2017, researchers have uncovered Chinas use of Uyghurs as cheap labor in manufacturing and U.S. customs authorities have blacklisted Xinjiang products including solar-panel material, wigs, electronics, tomatoes and cotton over concerns thy were produced using forced labor..

In a follow-up call from RFA the following day, the same company employee said about 30% of the workers transferred from Kashgar to Nanjing were between the ages of 16 and 18. Previous reports by rights groups have not cited Uyghur teenagers among the forced labor workforce.

All those who were transferred know Mandarin Chinese, the employee said. About 13% of the transferred workers are university graduates, and the rest have some type of schooling. One-third are single women, and the rest are men, the employee said.

Thousands of additional workers are scheduled to be transferred in March 2022, though the company could send them earlier if needed, the employee added.

State secret

She said she had worked with authorities in Kashgar to transfer the workers, though she did not mention the agencies she had been in contact with. Authorities in Kashgar contacted by RFA refused to comment. One official said the transfer of workers constituted a state secret.

Photo: AP

A Uyghur official at the Kashgar branch of the Xinjiang Womens Association declined to say whether the workers had been transferred from the detention camps in Xinjiang. She denied that any female workers were part of the transfer.

No, there was nothing connected to women, she told RFA. Had there been, they would have told us. Whatever the matter, you can ask the politics and law committee.

Earlier RFA investigations into forced Uyghur labor in Kashgar revealed that nine former camp detainees, including Erkin Hashim, who had been released from a camp near the citys airport, had been working as porters for a freight company at a loading dock in Kashgar city. They earned a monthly salary of 2,200 yuan, but had to surrender 900 yuan of it to staff at the camp in which they were previously held.

An October 2020 RFA investigation into forced Uyghur labor transferred from Imamlirim township in Uchturpan (Wushi) county in the regions in the regions Aksu (Akesu) prefecture, found that some local camp detainees had been sent to a factory in Aksu to work as part of a forced labor program.

At the time, a township security official said that outstanding graduates from re-education centers were forcibly sent to work on three-year contracts at the Aksu Huafu Textile Factory, which produces cotton yarn for clothing manufacturers. He also said that the workers were not allowed to leave to visit their families.

China sees malicious intention

The facility, which employs mostly Uyghurs, is part of Chinas Huafu Fashion Company, which has been identified as part of the forced labor scheme and was placed on the U.S. Entity List in May 2020 for human rights violations and abuses.

Photo: AFP

The investigation followed the September 2020 arrest of Miradil Hesen, a Uyghur resident of Aksu prefecture, who posted videos, recorded in secret, on YouTube highlighting abusive labor practices. The videos were among the growing body of evidence that internment camps in Xinjiang were no longer simply sites for political indoctrination but had become sources of forced labor, with detainees being sent to work in cotton and textile factories.

In his videos, Hesen gave detailed accounts of young women and other ethnic Uyghurs from the Uchturpan county who had been forced to work at the Aksu Huafu Textile Factory 12 hours a day, with only one day free each month.

Miradil was apprehended in eastern Chinas Jiangsu province where he said he had been sought by police since August 2018 for downloading Instagramwhich is blocked in the countryto his cellphone. He accused Aksu authorities of selling local residents to a company in Jiangsu as though they were slaves.

The veracity of this claim was confirmed by company officials in Jiangsu during the course of RFAs investigation.

The U.S. government has determined that Chinas repression and abuse of Uyghurs in Xinjiang, including, the use of forced labor, constitute genocide and crimes against humanity.

U.S. lawmakers in 2020 and 2021 passed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act that assumes Xinjiang goods are made under duress of forced labor unless proven otherwise and prohibits them from entering the country.

China angrily rejects criticism of its camp system, forced labor and other practices in Xinjiang that have been labelled genocide by the United States and a handful of European countries.

At a regular news conference in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters that the so-called forced labor in Xinjiang is an out-and-out lie.

Responding to a question about the U.S. crackdown on solar energy materials, Wang said the policy again exposes the U.S. side's malicious intention to undermine Xinjiang's development.

Translated by the Uyghur Service. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
The U.S. and Russian presidents have publicly stepped into the debate over the mounting crisis on the Poland-Belarus border, where military movements and the discovery of a body overnight have highlighted the dangers as thousands of third-country migrants shelter in freezing conditions on the Belarusian side hoping to cross into the European Union.

U.S. President Joe Biden expressed concern on November 12 about the situation, calling it "a great concern."

"We communicated our concern to Russia, we communicated our concern to Belarus," Biden told reporters on November 12 as he departed the White House for a weekend at the Camp David presidential retreat. "We think it's a problem."

Hours later, on November 13, Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted his country was not involved in the border crisis despite Western accusations and recent air patrols and military exercises along Belarus's western border with the EU.

And a Belarusian report said strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka, who the European Union blames for "weaponizing migrants" to spark the crisis, has ordered food tents and aid to be sent to migrant children at the makeshift encampments.

Biden's remarks came hours after Vice President Kamala Harris voiced similar concerns during a visit to France, where she said she discussed the issue with President Emmanuel Macron.



Belarus "is engaged in very troubling activity. It is something that I discussed with President Macron, and the eyes of the world and its leaders are watching what is happening there," she told a news conference.



EU leaders have accused Minsk of "hybrid warfare" tactics, saying it has lured migrants from war-torn and impoverished countries in the Middle East and Africa and then pushed them toward the border.

EU officials say Minsk's policies are retaliation for sanctions that Brussels has imposed on Lukashenka's regime over its violent crackdown on dissent after he claimed victory in last year's election, widely seen as rigged.

They have signaled their intention to impose additional sanctions as soon as next week.

Belarus denies that it is doing so. It says it cannot help resolve the migration crisis unless Europe lifts sanctions that were imposed in response to the crackdown.

Some EU governments, including Poland, have accused Moscow of helping ally Lukashenka orchestrate the border crisis.

This week, Russia launched ongoing nuclear-capable bomber patrols over Belarus and surprise joint paratrooper exercises near Belarus's western border, on top of political and diplomatic support it has offered Lukashenka since the highly criticized vote in August 2020.

Putin issued a statement on November 13 insisting that Moscow was not a party to the Belarus border problem while reiterating concerns about Russia's regional security.

"I want everyone to know. We have nothing to with it," Putin told state broadcaster Vesti in an interview.

He said he hoped German Chancellor Angela Merkel might speak with Lukashenka, since, as he put it, most of the migrants congregating in Belarus are seeking to travel to Germany.

The Russian president also suggested that NATO activities in the Black Sea region, tense since Russia annexed Crimea and Kremlin-backed separatists launched a conflict in 2014, were a security irritant.

Ukraine is wary of becoming a new flashpoint in the crisis and on November 12 said it would send some of its border guards and national guard officers to its border with Poland to share intelligence on the handling of the crisis.



"Ukraine supports Poland in this difficult time and hopes that it will be able to resolve the artificially inspired crisis in a peaceful and civilized way," Ukrainian Interior Minister Denys Monastyskiy said, according to a statement.

Belarus's Defense Ministry said on November 12 that it was holding joint paratrooper exercises with Russia near the Polish border. Moscow called the drills part of a "surprise combat-readiness check."

Russia later reported that two of its paratroopers had died about 10 kilometers from the Polish border in a fall amid gusty wind conditions during those exercises.



Belarus also said on November 12 that it had sent some 2,000 migrants back to their countries and had revoked the right of 30 tourist firms to invite migrants into Belarus.



Several airlines said on November 12 that they'll limit access to flights between Turkey and Minsk to stem the flow of migrants from the Middle East.

Polish police said on November 13 that the body of a Syrian man had been found the previous day near the Belarusian border.

It was at least the 11th reported migrant death on or near the border since the crisis began.

"Yesterday, in the woods, near the border, near Wolka Terechowska, the body of a young Syrian man was found," local police said on Twitter. They said they were unable to make an "unequivocal determination of the cause of death."

A number of previous deaths have been blamed on exhaustion or exposure, and temperatures in the region have plummeted in recent weeks.

Belarusian news agency BelTa reported on November 13 that Lukashenka -- whose embattled regime has been accused of propagandizing the migrants' plights -- had ordered food tents be set up in the border region and said a priority should be given to children.

A significant proportion of migrants heading through Belarus to the EU are Iraqis. The Iraqi Foreign Ministry on November 12 announced the withdrawal of the work permit of the Belarusian consul in Baghdad and said the Iraqi embassies in Moscow and Warsaw were coordinating efforts for the voluntary return of Iraqis stranded on the border.



The Foreign Ministry also said Iraq had stopped direct flights between Iraq and Belarus, according to a statement quoted by the Iraqi News Agency.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, INA, and RFE/RL's Belarus Service
MINSK  On November 15, 2020, the last major protest took place on the informally dubbed Change Square, an apartment-bloc courtyard just north of the center of Minsk.

Locals who had been protesting regularly in the yard since Alyaksandr Lukashenka claimed victory in a deeply disputed August election came out once again to express anger and sorrow over the death in custody of pro-democracy protester Raman Bandarenka three days before.

A year later, Change Square is oddly quiet and there are few signs of the tumult that dominated the area in the weeks following the election.

"Nothing is happening," said Yauhen, a local who is working on a book about Change Square and who asked to be identified only by his first name for fear of repercussions. "People talk to one another, discuss events. But it all happens very secretly."

Over the last few months, Yauhen has conducted more than a dozen interviews and studied video and photographic materials about Change Square.

"Every day I remember those events while working on the book," he told RFE/RL's Belarus Service. "Whether I like it or not, I find myself returning to those events."

Throughout the autumn of 2020, Change Square was a hub of dissent against Lukashenka's government, its resistance to democratic reform, and its brutal crackdown on protesters. In the early weeks following the August 9 election, protests were held there every evening and the area quickly became a symbol of anti-Lukashenka resistance.

A focus of the protests was a mural painted in the yard that honored two disc jockeys -- Kiryl Halanav and Uladzislau Sakalouski -- who were punished for playing a popular Soviet-era protest song at a pro-government rally two days before the election. The two were arrested and sentenced to 10 days in jail for supposedly hijacking the event by playing Viktor Tsoi's protest anthem We Want Changes.

The mural focused the dissent of the neighborhood, Yauhen says, and the name Change Square began to circulate widely.

"People didn't talk about life, but about how they could work together in the political space," he said. "One by one they were drawn to this place and the square just formed itself."

'More Than I Could Bear'

City workers, usually guarded by armed police, painted over the mural more than 10 times, and each time the Change Square protesters repainted it.

Locals in the courtyard developed a tradition of heckling security forces from their windows.

However, the atmosphere in the courtyard began to change with Bandarenka's death and the November 15 protest, which was brutally suppressed by the authorities. Hundreds of people were detained, and hundreds more hid out for hours in the apartments and basements of nearby houses.

"In the first days after that, we didn't even think about going out there," Yauhen said. "Rather, I thought about it, but it was more than I could bear. The memorial in our courtyard was also a difficult thing to take emotionally. Our yard now was not only a protest area, but also a memorial. And that made things difficult."

"For the first few weeks, nothing really happened," he recalled. "There were regular police patrols and the whole area was constantly watched day and night. There was always a car with people in police uniforms, whoever they were. They were watching everything that happened."

'We Haven't Surrendered'

In mid-December, locals began appearing again on Change Square, holding silent protests after dark illuminated by their phones. There were no further detentions, Yauhen said. The permanent police surveillance ended in late March 2021.

Once again, Yauhen says, the anger and frustration are simmering far beneath the surface.

"It has moved so deeply underground that it is difficult for ordinary passersby to notice," he said. "So it doesn't have much effect. I would say it is mostly now about supporting one another and easing each other's consciences. Telling each other that we did something. We haven't surrendered. We haven't forgotten and we haven't forgiven."

The Change Square protesters went through a traumatic experience from the euphoria of expecting quick change to the despair of feeling like a nobody who can be crushed at any moment, Yauhen concludes.

"The question remains -- did these people emerge from this trauma even angrier, or, on the contrary, completely disappointed?"

Robert Coalson contributed to this report
Britain's most senior military officer has warned about the changing "character of warfare," saying in an interview that the world faces the greatest risk in decades of a "miscalculation" that could lead to war between Russia and the West.

General Nick Carter, chief of the British Defense Staff, cited the willingness of authoritarian foes to use any means, including migrants, gas prices, proxies, or cyberattacks, to achieve their aims on the international stage.

In an interview with Times Radio to be broadcast on November 14, Carter said that "traditional diplomatic tools and mechanisms" available during the Cold War and an era of unipolar U.S. dominance were gone.

"Without those tools and mechanisms there is a greater risk that these escalations or this escalation could lead to miscalculation," he said. "So I think that's the real challenge we have to be confronted with."

His comments come with tensions high on EU member Poland's border with Belarus, where Minsk ally Russia has launched nuclear-capable bomber patrols in the past week as thousands of Middle Eastern migrants are congregated in hopes of reaching the West.

They also reflect direct strains between Moscow and NATO over Ukraine, where Kremlin-backed separatists are fighting a seven-year war, and the Black Sea region that includes Crimea, which Russia invaded and annexed in 2014.

Alyaksandr Lukashenka, the authoritarian ruler of Belarus, raised the stakes in his rhetoric on November 13.

Lukashenka told Russia's National Defense magazine that he wants Russia to deploy its nuclear-capable Iskander missile systems in the south of his country near the border with Ukraine and in the west near Belarus's borders with Poland and Lithuania.

Lukashenka said he needed "several divisions" of the Iskander mobile-ballistic-missile system "in the west and the south," adding that Russia should "let them stay" there.

The Iskander system has a range of up to 500 kilometers. It can carry either conventional or nuclear warheads.

Lukashenka did not indicate whether he has had any talks with Moscow about receiving the missile system. Russia's Defense Ministry did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a stark warning to the United States and NATO on November 13 by saying their activities in the Black Sea represented a "serious challenge" to Russia.

U.S. and European officials have repeatedly cautioned of a threat of Russian military attack, citing Russian troop buildups near its border with Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Russian mercenaries are fighting in central Africa, Russian intelligence has been accused of high-profile assassinations abroad, Belarus has threatened to block Russian gas supplies to Western Europe, and groups with ties to Russian intelligence have been fingered for major cyberattacks on Western targets in recent years.

British Typhoon fighters reportedly escorted two Russian military aircraft out of the United Kingdom's area of interest on November 12.

London also said it had deployed a small team of British military personnel for potential "engineering support" on Poland's borders.

Carter concluded that the changing "character of warfare" means "we have to be careful that people don't end up allowing the bellicose nature of some of our politics to end up in a position where escalation leads to miscalculation."

With reporting by Reuters
The European Commission says it is referring Bulgaria to the EU's Court of Justice for ignoring environmental commitments under a decades-old directive on protecting and repairing crucial habitats.

The EU's independent executive arm said on November 12 that Sofia had mismanaged its Natura 2000 "sites of community importance" by failing to declare them special areas of conservation (SACs) and implement conservation measures within the required six years of their listing.

"Bulgaria has not yet designated 194 out of 229 Sites of Community Importance as Special Areas of Conservation within the required time limit and has generally and persistently failed to set site-specific conservation objectives and measures for these sites," the European Commission said in a statement. "These are key requirements to protect biodiversity across the EU."

Preserving natural sites and restoring damaged ecosystems have been prioritized by the commission as part of its European Green Deal and its 10-year biodiversity strategy.

Each EU member state proposes its own sites of special environmental interest for protection under the 1992 Habitats Directive, which envisages an EU-wide network of safeguarded natural areas.

The EU's poorest member, Bulgaria has battled rampant corruption and political stagnation since its accession to the bloc in 2007.

Its voters are going to national polls alongside a presidential election for the third time in less than a year on November 14 after two inconclusive parliamentary elections in April and July, with little sign of a breakthrough.

The commission's suit before the Court of Justice comes after warnings in a formal notice in January 2019 and a follow-up in July 2020.
The husband of a British-Iranian women who has been jailed in Iran has ended a three-week hunger strike he staged in London to protest British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's handling of the case.

Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of Naznin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, spent 21 days camping without food outside the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office in London after his wife lost her latest appeal in Iran.

He began his demonstration on October 24, saying his family was "caught in a dispute between two states."

"We probably hoped we'd get a breakthrough doing this. We haven't yet," Ratcliffe told journalists in London. "I didn't want to go out in an ambulance. I want to walk out with my head held high."

Ratcliffe also criticized Johnson for refusing to meet with him during the protest, saying that Johnson's absence was "telling."

"He hasn't dealt adequately with Nazanin's case for years," Ratcliffe said. "He hasn't honored his promises. And we live with those consequences."

Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian dual national, has been in custody in Iran since 2016 after being accused of plotting to overthrow the Iranian government.

She was taking the couple's 7-year-old daughter Gabriella to see her family when she was arrested and sentenced to five years in jail, spending four years in Evin prison and one under house arrest.

Her family says Zaghari-Ratcliffe was told by the Iranian authorities that she was being detained because of Britain's failure to pay an outstanding $458 million debt to Iran.

Iranian officials have said that Britain told Tehran it could not pay the debt because of sanctions against Iran.

Ratcliffe had gone on 15-day hunger strike in 2019 in front of the Iranian Embassy in London -- a protest that he says resulted in getting his daughter back to Britain.

With reporting by Reuters, dpa, and The Guardian
Armenia and Azerbaijan have accused each other of cease-fire violations along their border, hours after three Azerbaijani soldiers were reportedly wounded by an explosive device at a Nagorno-Karabakh checkpoint.

Armenia's Defense Ministry said on November 13 that Azerbaijani forces opened fire at Armenian positions in the eastern Gegharkunik Province shortly after midday.

"The enemy fire was suppressed with retaliatory actions. There are no casualties on the Armenian side," it said in a brief statement.

Azerbaijan, for its part, accused Armenian forces of firing sniper rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers at its military posts on the afternoon of November 13 in the Kalbacar district that borders Armenia.

Military authorities in Baku said skirmishes were continuing there in the late afternoon, but did not report any casualties.

The latest escalation of border tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan comes after an ethnic Armenian civilian was killed on November 8 in Azerbaijan's breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh near the Azerbaijani-controlled town of Susa, known in Armenian as Shushi.

Ethnic Armenian authorities in Stepanakert condemned the attack, saying the victims were utility workers who were trying to repair a damaged water pipe.

Earlier on November 13, an Armenian man threw an explosive device at an Azerbaijani checkpoint close to where the November 8 incident occurred.

That is the same day that Armenians and Azerbaijanis commemorated the first anniversary of the end of their bloody six-week fighting in starkly different ways, highlighting the continued tensions over the breakaway region and surrounding districts.

Russian peacekeepers detained the man and handed him over to the breakaway region's ethnic Armenian authorities.

Baku says three Azerbaijani soldiers were injured in the blast. They identified the bomber as a citizen of Armenia, saying he had acted together with a "group of criminals" to carry out a "terrorist act."

The so-called Lachin corridor -- a Russian-controlled road linking Armenia to ethnic Armenian controlled parts of Nagorno-Karabakh -- was temporarily closed to traffic in both directions after the attack on the checkpoint.

Ethnic Armenian authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh said the vital supply route had been reopened later in the day.

The Russian soldiers have been deployed along the 25-kilometer-long and 5-kilometer-wide corridor for the past year.

De facto Armenian authorities in Stepanakert also said a joint investigation with Russian peacekeepers was under way to establish the circumstances of the November 13 attack.

They said their preliminary findings suggest that the person who threw the explosive device was responding to provocative actions by Azerbaijani soldiers.

They also refuted Baku's claims of casualties, insisting that no one was hurt by the explosion.

A peace deal has been mostly holding but interrupted by occasional instances of violence since 44 days of intense fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan ended a year ago in major Azerbaijani gains on the ground in and around Nagorno-Karabakh and Russian troops keeping the Caucasus rivals apart.

Nearly 7,000 people were killed in the hostilities, which were brought to an end by a Russia-brokered cease-fire agreement signed on November 9, 2020.

The resulting peace deal was hailed as a triumph in Azerbaijan, but Armenian losses sparked months of massive protests in Yerevan to demand Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian's resignation.

Nagorno-Karabakh and seven nearby regions had been controlled by ethnic Armenians since a bitter war began as the Soviet Union crumbled in the late 1980s and then gave way to a three-decade "frozen conflict."

With reporting by RFE/RL's Armenian and Azerbaijani services
The president of North Macedonia, Stevo Pendarovski, has predicted a massive influx of refugees stemming from Afghan tensions comparable to the migrant crisis that polarized Europe and made his Balkan state a symbol of the political battle over immigration in 2015-16.



"It is possible to expect a new wave of refugees," Pendarovski, who was elected president of his EU candidate country in 2019, told RFE/RL's Balkan Service, "and it will probably be like what we saw in 2015 and 2016 when a million and a half people transited through our territory and throughout this region."



Last month, the United States and NATO allies evacuated tens of thousands of Afghans at risk of Taliban reprisals from Kabul ahead of a complete international troop withdrawal, but tens of thousands of others thought to want out were left behind.



Afghanistan In Turmoil: Full Coverage On Gandhara Read RFE/RL's Gandhara website for complete coverage of developments in Afghanistan. Gandhara is the go-to source for English-language reporting by RFE/RL's Radio Azadi and its network of journalists, and by RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal, which offers extensive coverage of Pakistan's remote tribal regions.

Thousands of Afghans have fled to neighboring Pakistan and Iran as a devastating humanitarian crisis, economic collapse, and the prospect of life under hard-line Taliban rule.



The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that 2021 could see up to 1.5 million Afghans fleeing westward in search of safety and jobs.



Pendarovski told RFE/RL he expected the incoming Taliban government to be "just as cruel" as the mostly unrecognized regime that dominated most of Afghanistan from 1996-2001, and thus spark an influx of refugees to Europe like the one six years ago that was likely to affect the Western Balkans.



The European Union has pledged to step up aid to Afghan's neighbors to help absorb the expected swell in refugees while resisting calls to allow Afghans to be resettled in EU territory.



Refugee numbers sparked regionwide tensions during the European migration crisis in 2015 and 2016 and prompted tough action by Skopje to prevent migrants from using North Macedonia as a transit route on their way to the European Union.



Skopje's countermeasures six years ago included the erection of a fence on the border with EU member Greece as the number of stranded refugees, most of them from North Africa and the Middle East, mounted.



Pendarovski also warned of the recent wave of Euroskepticism, fueled in part by EU-member Bulgaria's use of shared linguistic and cultural histories to effectively block progress on North Macedonia's bid to join the European Union.



North Macedonia, Albania, and Serbia have signed onto an initiative called Open Balkans that aims to fully open their borders to each other's citizens and goods in 2023.



It has gained momentum as EU members have balked at a specific timetable for accession of leading candidates like North Macedonia and Albania.



Pendarovki said Balkan states like his fear being left on the margins of the EU agenda.



"We and the Republic of Albania, too, for various reasons, but treated in a package, are left in the waiting room," Pendarovski said.



He said further requests from Brussels for patience in the Balkans are discouraging to the Macedonian public, which swallowed the contentious Prespa Agreement in 2018 requiring a name change to bow to Greek concerns in hopes of clearing the path to EU membership.



Pendarovski said he worries that "then the dominant mood in our country will not be so opposed to that alternative to membership."



"I'm not saying that alternative is bad, but I would like to see it together with full EU membership," he said.
President Vladimir Putin has called U.S. and NATO activities in the Black Sea a "serious challenge" for Russia, which has asserted additional naval rights in the region since seizing Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.

Putin's November 13 statements were the second effort by the Kremlin in less than 24 hours to highlight the Western military presence in the Black Sea region and accuse Washington of escalating tensions since media reports this week claimed U.S. officials were warning European allies of the risk of a possible Russian attack.

"The United States and its allies in NATO are carrying out unplanned exercises in the Black Sea," Russia said on the state's Vesta TV channel. "Not only is a rather powerful naval group involved in these exercises, but also aviation, including strategic aviation. This is a serious challenge for us."

It was unclear what exercises he was referring to, although NATO has carried out major Black Sea drills in the past four months or so.

WATCH: More than 30 vessels from 32 countries -- including NATO members -- took part in military drills in July co-hosted by Ukraine and the United States on the Black Sea.

U.S. officials last week raised alarm bells over Russian activities near Ukraine, where Moscow-backed separatists control swaths of territory in an ongoing seven-year conflict.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Russia against making another "serious mistake" on Ukraine as Washington sought information about an alleged Russian troop movement near the border that the Pentagon called "unusual in its size and scope."

EU officials reiterated those concerns on November 12 and said they were monitoring the situation along with their U.S. and British allies.

France articulated its concerns and warned Moscow that any aggressive actions would have "serious consequences."

The warning came during talks in Paris in which French Defense Minister Florence Parly and Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian were meeting with their Russian counterparts, Sergei Shoigu and Sergei Lavrov.

Russia has insisted despite considerable evidence that it is not a party to the Ukrainian conflict.

Previous Russian troop buildups near the Ukrainian border have elicited concern before in Kyiv and among Ukraine's Western partners.

Tensions have also been ratcheted up around Ukraine by the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that will help Russia avoid transit through Ukraine with energy supplies bound for Western Europe.

With reporting by Reuters and AP
A Russian national sought by the United States for allegedly laundering cryptocurrency tied to a notorious ransomware gang has been detained in the Netherlands, according to his lawyer.

The U.S. Justice Department is requesting the extradition of the suspect, 29-year-old Denis Dubnikov, for allegedly receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of digital currency from Ryuk, a ransware gang believed to have extracted tens of millions in ransom, including from U.S. victims.

Arkady Bukh, Dubnikov's U.S.-based lawyer, told RFE/RL by phone on November 13 that his client denied the charges. He said Dubnikov, who co-owns small crypto-exchanges, did not know the source of the money that the United States alleges came from ransomware payments.

Bukh said Dubnikov's crypto-exchange activities complied with Russian law, including customer due-diligence requirements, and he "had no knowledge or idea about the criminal acts of clients."

Dubnikov's arrest has been called one of U.S. law enforcement's first potential blows to the Ryuk ransomware gang, which is suspected of being behind a rash of cyberattacks on U.S. health-care organizations. The attacks forced delays in potentially life-saving treatments for cancer and other patients.

In October 2020, the FBI and other U.S. agencies warned that Ryuk presented an "imminent" threat to U.S. health-care institutions. The Wall Street Journal said the Ryuk gang took in more than $100 million in ransom payments last year.

In a ransomware attack, a criminal encrypts files on a target computer network and demands payment in cryptocurrency to unlock them. In the health-care industry, where time is often critical, such delays can result in deadly outcomes.

Bukh said that Dubnikov flew to Mexico earlier this month for vacation and was denied entry. Instead of being put on a plane back to Russia, he was sent to the Netherlands, where he was detained upon arrival.

Bukh said he believed the United States was behind Mexico's decision. "We feel it is almost kidnapping in that sense," he said, adding that there were direct flights between Mexico and Russia.

He pointed out that unlike Mexico, the Netherlands nearly always extradites suspects to the United States and has a more secure prison system.

Suspects facing extradition from Mexico to the United States have been known to escape from prison.

Bukh said he expects Dubnikov to be extradited to the United States soon.

The Justice Department did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Dubnikov is the general director of Briefcase, which describes itself as a legal firm offering a variety of services, including help applying for a crypto-exchange license.

Bukh could not immediately say whether Dubnikov was a lawyer himself. Unlike most websites for legal firms, Briefcase does not list the name of any partners or lawyers.

Briefcase announced Dubnikov's arrest in a statement on November 5.

Russian media say he is a co-founder of Coyote Crypto and EggChange, two Russia-based exchanges.

Dubnikov's arrest is the latest in a series by U.S. law enforcement against alleged Russian cybercriminals over the past decade, dozens of whom have subsequently been extradited, convicted, and jailed.

South Korea last month extradited a Russian national to the United States to face cybercrime charges.

Russia, which does not extradite its citizens, has accused the United States of hunting Russian nationals abroad.

The United States, in turn, has accused Russia of turning a blind eye to cybercriminals operating inside the country.

President Joe Biden called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to crack down on Russian cybercriminals during their summit in Geneva in June.

U.S. officials have said they have not seen any evidence yet that Russia is taking action against its own cybercriminals.

Written and reported from Washington by Todd Prince with reporting by RFE/RL's Russian Service
City Councilmember Solomon Rajaratnam spoke to the Rotary Club last week about the Kern County Plan for redistricting.
Written By

Joe Schulz served as the reporter of the Green Laker in 2019 and 2020, before being hired as a reporter for the Commonwealth in October 2020. He is from Oshkosh and graduated from UW-Oshkosh in December with a bachelor's degree in journalism.

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Marvel Studios teases slew of upcoming Disney+ shows, including Oscar Isaac in 'Moon Knight', Tatiana Maslany in 'She-Hulk' and more
Rocky Mount, NC (27804)

Today

Rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers in the afternoon. High around 55F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Evening clouds will give way to clearing overnight. Widespread frost likely. Low 29F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.
Roanoke Rapids, NC (27870)

Today

A steady rain this morning. Showers continuing this afternoon. High 54F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies. Widespread frost likely. Low 27F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.
Rutland, VT (05701)

Today

Rain showers this morning with some sunshine during the afternoon hours. Morning high of 45F with temps falling to near 35. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Mostly clear. Low 24F. Winds light and variable.
Danvers, MA (01923)

Today

Rain showers early with overcast skies later in the day. High 53F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Cloudy early with partial clearing expected late. Low around 30F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph.
Danvers, MA (01923)

Today

Cloudy. Periods of rain this morning. Morning high of 55F with temps falling to near 45. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. Low 29F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph.
Sanford, NC (27330)

Today

Cloudy and damp with rain this morning...then becoming partly cloudy. High 54F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies. Widespread frost likely. Low 26F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.
As part of that series, James Riding In presents "American Indians and the Santa Fe Trail" from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday at the New Mexico Museum of Art's St. Francis Auditorium, 107 W. Palace Avenue. The presentation is free.

If You Go

According to James Riding In, on the eve of Santa Fe Trail founder Willam Becknell's second trip along the trail in 1822, the Pawnee chief Sharitahrish need to double cq still gave a speech at the White House to various dignitaries, including President James Monroe. These are some of his remarks:

"My Great Father  some of your good chiefs, or, as they are called, Missionaries, have proposed to send of their good people among us to change our habits, to make us work, and live like the white people. I will not tell a lie, I am going to tell the truth.

You love your country; you love your people; you love the manner in which they live, and you think your people brave. I am like you, my Great Father, I love my country; I love my people; I love the manner in which we live, and think myself and warriors brave; spare me then, my Father, let me enjoy my country, and pursue the buffalo, and the beaver, and the other wild animals of our wilderness, and I will trade the skins with your people. I have grown up and lived thus long without work; I am in hopes you will suffer me to die without it. We have yet plenty of buffalo, beaver, deer, and other wild animals; we have also an abundance of horses. We have everything we want. We have plenty of land, if you will keep your people off of it.
Amish people and communities are unique in many ways. To most outsiders, theyre known mostly as soft-spoken people who live a simple life, dont use electricity, and dont drive cars. Theyve also had just enough bad press to make some people wary. No matter what your opinion of their beliefs, the traditional Amish community and lifestyle offers some financial advantages that anyone might consider adopting.

Obviously, some adjustments involve sacrifices and commitments that not everyone is going to want to make, but the principles can still help you find ways to save. Here are some lessons we can learn from this community.

Sometimes Need Really Means Want

Most people cultivate a sense of need for things they could live without. Since most arent driven by a culture that abhors amenities, it can take a financial crisis to help a person realize what he or she can give up. How many times have you said, or heard something like, a person has to have some comforts. to justify a second television, a luxury car, or something similar? If saving money is your goal, take a look around and figure out what the real necessities are.

Simple is Good

In many ways, the things we spend extra money on either complicate our lives or end up costing more in the long run. A self-propelled lawnmower doesnt cut grass any better; its just easier and has more moving parts to replace. A brisk hike in the fresh air is just as effective as that 30-minute stroll on an expensive treadmill, and youll enjoy it more. Manual hedge clippers are half as expensive as electric, less noisy and give your arms some exercise.

Grow Your Own

I know, not everyone can raise livestock or big crops, but most of us can grow a few vegetables or herbs, even if theyre of the miniature, indoor variety. Youll save some money and get better tasting, healthier produce, too.

Many Hands Make Light Work  and Less Expense

When big projects arise in an Amish community, family and neighbors pitch in to get it done. Granted, if you live in the city, a barn raising is pretty much out of the question, but that doesnt mean that family and friends cant pitch in to mend that back fence or build a deck. Building codes in most cities will allow a homeowner to make home improvements and employ someone to help. Youll need a permit for most work, and there will be inspections, but if you cant afford a contractor, some free meals and maybe a case of beer might go a long way toward paying your friends.

Craftsmanship Isnt About Expensive Tools

The reputation of Amish woodworkers is based on attention to detail, patience and secrets handed down through generations. Many of their tools are hand-made. Youre probably wondering what that has to do with saving money. Its simple. Photographers can create awesome images without the top-of-the-line DSLR. Web developers can create great sites without owning the latest computer or software. Whatever you do, dont get caught up in needing the biggest and best. Be the master of the tools you own and save some money.

Take Care of Your Tools

Keeping the tools of your trade longer doesnt mean letting them fall apart. Any skilled craftsman knows that without proper maintenance, tools fail. Keeping your equipment in shape means it will perform better, longer. Having to replace them because of premature failure isnt cost-effective.

Quality is Worth the Investment

One of the reasons Amish furniture is in such high demand is that it lasts. Because of the meticulous construction methods and hand-selected materials, many Amish pieces become heirlooms. Sometimes saving money means paying a little more for something that youre not going to be throwing away soon. Naturally, this applies to much more than furniture.

Make the Most of Resources

To an Amish farmer, a cow is a source of dairy products and fertilizer. A grove of trees can provide building materials, but needs to be managed well, because it also produces game for the dinner table, as well as other natural foods. Crops are rotated carefully to optimize soil condition and help control crop disease. Careful resource management helps Amish communities sustain themselves with little help from the outside. We can all save money by learning to manage, recycle and repurpose what we have.

Get the Most Out of What You Have

Those horse-drawn prams the Amish are so well known for are also handed down, and repaired or reconditioned many times over. So it is with their other possessions. The basic principle is that if something serves its purpose, it doesnt need to be replaced. Imagine how much money you can save by keeping your car a few years after its paid off. How about refinishing the dining table instead of replacing it? Make what you own last a little longer and youll save.

Gifts Dont Have to Break the Bank

Traditional Amish gifts for birthdays, etc. are simple, practical items and usually singular. A tool or an item of clothing is typical. While theres no need to adjust your gift giving quite that radically, it wouldnt hurt to consider buying one very thoughtful gift instead of a dozen expensive ones.

The Amish Are In Fact, Often Wealthy

According to Finance 1o1, the Amish are often quite successful in business, but since their expenses are very low, theyre often able to accumulate significant wealth (here). Recent reporting by the Houston Chronicle also suggests that Amish businesses often have low debt levels and treat wealth as a means to an end, rather than an end in and of itself (chron.com). So, their frugal and religious oriented lifestyle has brought results to the Amish community. Theyre well worth a look.

When it comes to surviving hard times, the Amish have sustained their culture and communities in North America for centuries, while relying mostly on themselves. What better example for those of us trying to provide for ourselves and our families in todays economy?

(Photo courtesy of puliarf)

What lessons do you think we can learn from the Amish community? Share with us in the comments below.

Read More:

10 Amish Money Myths

Reasons to be Frugal Besides Saving Money

Most Useful Kitchen Gadgets Under $10
New fellowship provides underrepresented South Carolinians a path to graduate education

The University of South Carolinas Rising Star Fellowship will provide funding to HBCU students interested in pursuing graduate studies.

The University of South Carolina has started a fellowship aimed at increasing diversity in its graduate school ranks. Through partnerships with historically black colleges and universities across the state, the Rising Star Fellowship will remove financial barriers for underrepresented students interested in continuing their education.

We are committed to making every effort to expand diversity and inclusion at the University of South Carolina, and we are excited to be working collaboratively with our states HBCU campuses to recruit and retain the talent here in the Palmetto State, Interim President Harris Pastides said. Through initiatives such as this, I hope we can increase diversity and improve access to higher education for underrepresented minority students in South Carolina.

Recipients of the fellowship will receive funding to help offset the costs of tuition, health insurance and other associated fees. HBCU students who enroll in 4+1 or 3+2 programs at UofSC will receive a stipend of $5,000 per year for up to two years of enrollment in UofSC graduate programs. Students pursuing their masters degree at UofSC will receive a stipend of $5,000 per year for up to two years. And students pursuing their doctoral degree will receive a stipend of $10,000 per year for up to four years.

Partnerships like this one between the university and historical black colleges and universities are important because it will help undergraduates from all backgrounds envision an advanced degree in their future, says Julian Williams, vice president for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. No one should feel like earning a graduate degree from a flagship university like UofSC is unattainable. As South Carolinas flagship university we should be a destination for graduate students of color. This institutional commitment and others like it will help us fulfill that promise.

This fellowship comes on the heels of a recent announcement by the universitys Graduate School and Office of the Provost announcing increased funding of the Grace Jordan McFadden Professors Program  a program that aims to diversify faculty ranks through increased funding to underrepresented minority students pursuing their graduate studies at the UofSC. In fall 2020, 19 percent of South Carolinas graduate student body were underrepresented minority students. Through initiatives such as GJMPP and the Rising Star Fellowship, the university hopes to have these students comprise 25 percent of its graduate and professional enrollment by 2025.

No one should feel like earning a graduate degree from a flagship university like UofSC is unattainable. Julian Williams, vice president for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

The goal is, ultimately, to increase the diversity of our graduate school population, says Tracey Weldon, vice provost at South Carolina and dean of the Graduate School. And I think that should start in the state of South Carolina. So, we are hoping that this initiative will signal a commitment to partnering with our local HBCUs to recruit and retain the talent in South Carolina.

While the Rising Star Fellowship is beginning as a pilot program, it has the potential to greatly impact the state of South Carolina for years to come.

I think the impact of this fellowship will be multi-generational, says Stephen Cutler, interim provost at South Carolina. Efforts such as these are integral to ensuring that our most talented students remain in our state. If we can retain them as they pursue higher education and graduate education, then hopefully they will also stay and build their careers in South Carolina. This could benefit South Carolinians for many generations.

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WHEELING, Ill. (AP)  A 26-year-old man was charged with first-degree murder in the strangulation death of a suburban Chicago woman whose 1-year-old daughter was found dead in a northwest Indiana retention pond, police said Friday.

Wheeling Deputy Police Chief Al Steffen identified the suspect as Ahmeel Fowler, of the Illinois community of Pinegree Grove. Steffan said Fowler and Ja'nya Murphy, 21, of Wheeling, had at one point been in a troubled relationship.
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A handful of Northern California school districts have said they will defy the governors COVID-19 vaccine mandate for students, despite the resulting loss of millions in state funding for violating the law.

The school boards in the Mark Twain Union and Calaveras Unified school districts, in the Sierra Nevada foothills, as well as Happy Valley Union, in Shasta County, have voted against the requirement, which will kick in for public and private students after the vaccine is fully approved by federal officials in their age group. That could come as early as January for those 12 and up.

One large Orange County school district urged the governor to reconsider the mandate, while still others have pending public meetings to take up the issue.

Were listening to parents. We get input every time we go to the grocery store, said Jenny Eltringham, president of the Mark Twain board, which voted unanimously Nov. 4 to ignore the mandate.

The 30-year school board veteran said she wasnt worried about losing funding, given that a survey of families found parents of more than half of the districts 630 students would pull their children out of the schools if staying meant getting the vaccine.

Its unclear whether it would come down to that. Employee vaccine mandates, including one in Los Angeles Unified, have led to a significant jump in vaccination rates among teachers and staff rather than mass resignations or termination.

The growing wave of resistance comes after Newsom announced his mandate Oct. 1  the first in the nation.

The local revolts echo the often discordant pandemic response since the first shelter-in-place orders were issued last year. While some Bay Area counties enacted public health mandates that were more stringent than the states, in other regions local officials refused to enact or enforce shelter-in-place, mask mandates or other state orders.

The defiance also reflects vaccine reticence in the local communities despite strong evidence that vaccines are safe and effective at preventing severe COVID. For example, less than half of those eligible in Calaveras County were fully vaccinated as of last week.

Yet the staunch opposition to vaccine mandates in some school communities stands in stark contrast to school boards that have set imminent deadlines for students 12 and older to get vaccinated despite emergency authorization of the vaccines for that age group. In Oakland, students must get the shots by Jan. 1 or be forced to return to distance learning or homeschooling, although there are personal belief and medical exemptions. Los Angeles has the same requirement, with a Jan. 10 deadline.

Districts that dont comply with the state health order, which will add COVID-19 to the list of vaccinations required for school attendance, will be subject to a state compliance audit and would lose state funding for each student that does not have the vaccine and continues to attend in-person schooling, state education officials said.

Even in a small district like Mark Twain Union, that would translate to more than $10,000 per student, or potentially $3 million.

Experts questioned whether districts would actually follow through, especially because the current COVID-19 vaccine mandate  unlike other require school vaccines  allows for a personal belief exemption, which only the Legislature can remove. State officials, including Senate Health Committee chair Richard Pan of Sacramento, are considering legislation to remove the personal belief exemption.

I wonder how many districts will hold to their views when its real show time, when the cost of refusal is really losing funding, said Dorit Rubinstein Reiss, a professor at UC Hastings College of the Law and expert in vaccine mandates. Especially given the fact that unless the Legislature acts, the mandate will have an open-ended personal belief exemption, so no parent would actually have to vaccinate if he, she or they do not want.

Experts stress the vaccines have been proved safe and effective in clinical trials. Severe side effects have been very rare among the roughly 200 million Americans who have been vaccinated so far. Children 5 to 11 became eligible for the vaccine on Nov. 2.

In Oakland, school board member Sam Davis said officials on both sides of the vaccine mandate are concerned about pushing students out of classrooms and into distance learning if they dont comply.

That said, Im just really concerned about students infecting their family members, he added. Were lucky were in an area where people are very pro-vaccine.

In some districts where there has been a lot of resistance to the mandate, including Turlock Unified, officials have walked a tightrope, acknowledging community concerns while informing parents the district is obliged to adhere to health and safety requirements.

In the Happy Valley district, which serves 468 students, the school board voted 3-1 on Oct. 12 to defy the vaccine mandate for students and staff. Newsom said in his early October announcement that he expected all adults in schools to also face a vaccination requirement once students are eligible.

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In Angels Camp, where Mark Twain Union district is located, parent Hanna Craig said she was thrilled with her school boards opposition to the mandate after hearing from so many families. She acknowledged that the state requires children to get other vaccines, like mumps, measles and whooping cough to attend school, but they have a longer track record, Craig said.

District officials, in a statement, said they refused to take coveted public education away from the children the district serves.

Craig said the issue regarding the COVID-19 vaccine is about parent rights.

All of a sudden there are a lot of wolf-pack moms that have banded together, and were just standing our ground, she said.

In Calaveras Unified, officials voted unanimously Wednesday to reject the governors mandate, with the overwhelming majority of 70 people who spoke, opposing the vaccine requirement for the districts 2,685 students.

Our vote to not support, enforce or comply to Governor Newsoms vaccine mandate for our K-12 schools was made after much thought and after listening to the many voices throughout our community, said Christine Noble, president of the Calaveras Unified school board. Our vote was not made lightly, but the need for personal choice was clear. It is not ethically moral for me to impose this mandate on our students and dismiss parental choice.

Health experts and state officials, however, questioned the opposition, given the ongoing pandemic and possibility of another winter surge.

The state already requires that students are vaccinated against viruses that cause measles, mumps, and rubella  theres no reason why we wouldnt do the same for COVID-19, Newsom said when announcing the student requirement. Vaccines work. Its why California leads the country in preventing school closures and has the lowest case rates.

San Francisco Chronicle staff writer Erin Allday contributed to this story.

Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jilltucker
As the winter holidays approach, COVID-19 cases are skyrocketing in Europe  an unwelcome reminder even thousands of miles away here in California that the pandemic is nowhere near an end point yet, and that more hard times may lie ahead.

Last week, 2 million cases were reported in the continent  the highest number of cases in a single week in the region since the pandemic started, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, said in a news briefing on Friday. Deaths also rose by 10% across the region.

He noted that cases are surging in both Eastern European countries, which tend to have lower vaccination rates, as well as the Western European countries with some of the worlds highest vaccination rates.

Its another reminder, as we have said again and again, that vaccines do not replace the need for other precautions, he said. Vaccines reduce the risk of hospitalization, severe disease and death, but they do not fully prevent transmission.

In Austria, officials ordered a 10-day nationwide lockdown starting at midnight Sunday for people 12 and older not vaccinated against COVID-19. Austrias 65% vaccination rate is one of the lowest in Western Europe, and the lockdown affects about 2 million of the countrys 8.9 million people, according to The Associated Press.

Dr. John Swartzberg, an infectious disease and public health expert at UC Berkeley, said that whats happening in Europe and the United Kingdom is tragic, and he fears it does not bode well for California.

Throughout the pandemic, Europe has been a harbinger of things to come to the US, including California and the Bay Area, he wrote in an email to the Chronicle. If this pattern holds true (and I suspect it will), we should be very worried. The colder weather (more people inside) and the holidays already make the upcoming winter a precarious time.

Swartzberg pointed to Germany, which has seen a dramatic spike in cases since mid-October. This week, the country hit a weekly average of almost 40,000 new cases per day, the highest its seen since the pandemic began, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

About 67% of Germans are fully vaccinated, according to Our World in Data. Records show that despite the spike, hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19 in the country  while trending upwards  have remained relatively low compared to last years winter surge, though German officials warn that it could get worse.

California is in a similar boat  like Germany, about 67% of Californians are fully vaccinated, according to the California Department of Public Health. While California has not yet seen a spike in cases like Germany, state data show that COVID-19 cases have stalled and started to tick upwards even as hospitalizations and deaths in the state have stayed relatively low.

State data have consistently shown that unvaccinated individuals here are far more likely than the vaccinated to be hospitalized or die due to the virus.

In countries that have high vaccine coverage, and where, in particular, within that vaccine coverage, theyve covered high-risk and vulnerable people, we are seeing an increase in disease incidents  but were not seeing the health systems necessarily go under pressure, because thats not translating into very, very sick patients, Dr. Michael Ryan, executive director of the WHO health emergencies program, said at the Friday news briefing.

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Notably, Spain and Portugal, which have 80% and 87% of people fully vaccinated, respectively, have not seen as sharp of a rise in cases as much of the rest of the continent has, according to data compiled by Our World in Data. Belgium, which has about 74% of its population fully vaccinated, is still seeing a sharp spike in reported cases, though, like Germany, deaths are so far much lower than in previous surges.

Vaccinated or not, increased transmission of the virus puts vulnerable, immunocompromised people at risk, health officials note, and they worry about an increase in cases as the winter holidays approach.

We are already seeing an uptick in cases, and that could mean hospitalization for some vulnerable people, even if they are fully vaccinated, Dr. Grant Colfax, San Franciscos health director, said in a statement to The Chronicle.

While countries in Europe  which have been largely free of restrictions since the summer, many checking for vaccinations or a negative test instead  are considering lockdowns again, California officials are doubling down on booster shots while keeping measures like the indoor mask requirement for schools in place.

We are seeing more cases among those who were vaccinated earlier, and we are concerned about what it means for the hospital system, California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said Wednesday. Now is the best time to consider getting that added shot.

Danielle Echeverria is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: danielle.echeverria@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @DanielleEchev
SACRAMENTO  Get ready for intra-progressive warfare in San Francisco over the holidays: The primary election to fill a vacant state Assembly seat representing the citys east side has been set for Feb. 15.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a proclamation Friday scheduling the District 17 special election, which will determine who fills the legislative seat vacated by David Chiu, the Assembly member who resigned late last month to be city attorney.

The top two finishers from the primary will compete in an April 19 special election, provided no candidate receives a majority to win outright in the primary.

Before Chiu even resigned, four candidates announced their intentions to run: Supervisor Matt Haney; former Supervisor David Campos, whos taking leave from his position as chief of staff for the San Francisco district attorney; Thea Selby, a City College of San Francisco trustee; and Bilal Mahmood, a scientist, entrepreneur and philanthropist.

The contest is expected to spark a fierce battle between Campos and Haney, who are both progressives and will compete for many of the same financial backers and endorsements.

One key dividing line in the race is likely to be the Board of Supervisors controversial decision to reject a 495-unit apartment complex for a site that is currently a Nordstrom parking lot. Haney supports the project, which would be in his district. Campos has said he opposes the project, though not housing on the site, because it would displace nearby residents through gentrification.

Chiu, who had served in the Assembly since late 2014, when he narrowly defeated Campos, was one of the Legislatures most vocal advocates for affordable housing and championed renter protections.

Whoever wins the special election for Chius former seat will have little time for a victory lap. If the victor hopes to stay in the Assembly, they will have to run again in the June 7 regular statewide primary election, followed by the Nov. 8 general election.

But it gets even more complicated: Because California is in the process of drawing new political districts, the boundaries of District 17 could change dramatically by the time voters decide the June contest.

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The states redistricting commission released draft maps this week that propose to fundamentally change the makeup of San Franciscos two Assembly districts: District 17 would lose several working-class neighborhoods with large populations of color  including Bayview-Hunters Point, the Outer Mission and Visitacion Valley.

Meanwhile, District 17 would pick up a handful of largely white and affluent neighborhoods  including the Marina district, Pacific Heights and Sea Cliff. The change could create a white-majority Assembly seat in the city.

Campos, who lives in Bernal Heights, could also be drawn out of the district. In other words, he could potentially win the special election but be ineligible to run to keep it after next year, unless Campos moves.

The proposed District 17 map has angered some local leaders who say it would dilute the influence of Asian American, Latino, African American and LGBTQ residents. Redistricting commissioners have said that draft district maps are tentative and could be changed before they approve final maps in December.

Dustin Gardiner is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dustin.gardiner@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @dustingardiner
A 16-year-old Bay Area student has been cited with multiple charges for making criminal threats and a false bomb report in connection with bomb threats made to local schools in October, authorities said.

The student was identified by Mountain View police detectives and school resources officers as the person allegedly connected to three bomb threats that were called into Los Altos High School, St. Francis High School in Mountain View, and Presentation High School in San Jose between Oct. 1 and Oct. 5, Mountain View police said Friday in a statement.

Mountain View police detectives and Los Altos police officials met with the teenager and his family on Wednesday and cited him with multiple charges, police said. San Jose police investigators also cited the student, police said, and he was released to his parents custody.

On Oct. 1, local police responded to a bomb threat at Los Altos High School. On Oct. 5, local police and school resource officers responded to a bomb threat at St. Francis High School and on the same day, authorities said police responded to a bomb threat at Presentation High School.

Detectives with Mountain View, Los Altos and San Jose police departments started investigating the calls together, Given the similarities in the calls, Mountain View police said. Shortly thereafter, authorities said police identified the suspect.

Police did not reveal which school the teenager attends.

None of the threats were credible, police said, but caused serious disruptions to the schools. Explosive detection canines from multiple law enforcement agencies scoured Los Altos High School along with firefighters and paramedics, and federal officials with the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Division responded to the scene.

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We understand that these types of calls can cause concern both for students, staff and their families, Mountain View police said in a statement. We appreciate your patience as we worked to bring some closure to this case.

Lauren Hernandez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: lauren.hernandez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ByLHernandez
Anyone 18 and over who completed their COVID-19 vaccination series more than six months ago can now get booster shots in San Francisco and Sonoma counties, their health departments announced on Friday.

With new cases rising sharply in San Francisco, officials said no one who feels at risk of exposure to the coronavirus should be turned away from a clinic in the city if they request a supplemental dose.

We are taking an expansive approach to COVID-19 boosters, realizing that people are at risk of getting COVID or spreading it as we enter the busy holiday season, Dr. Grant Colfax, the citys health director, said in a statement. We are already seeing an uptick in cases, and that could mean hospitalization for some vulnerable people, even if they are fully vaccinated.

The seven-day average of new cases in San Francisco was 10 per 100,000 residents on Friday, a significant jump from last Fridays less than 7 per 100,000 residents. Sonoma County has also experienced an upswing in cases, with the 7-day average leveling off at 13 per 100,000 residents this week after dropping to 8 per 100,000 in late October.

Public health experts are concerned that the Bay Area could experience another winter surge that could stress the regions health care system.

We are already seeing an uptick in cases, and that could put more people in the hospital, particularly vulnerable people, even if they are fully vaccinated, said Dr. Sundari Mase, Sonoma Countys health officer.

Booster shots were previously recommended only for people 65 and older and those who got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. They were also allowed for certain groups of higher-risk individuals who received the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.

We have been stressing that boosters are essential for higher-risk individuals, but now its become apparent that we need many more people to receive a booster dose so that we can protect ourselves, our families and friends, and our community, Colfax said.

Health officials statewide are advising with increasing urgency the widespread uptake of COVID-19 booster shots, citing concerns about waning vaccine immunity ahead of the holidays. Family gatherings, increased travel and colder weather that drives people indoors could drive a new wave of infections.

The states 7-day positivity rate  the percentage of positive coronavirus tests  is now 2.4%, up from 1.9% two weeks ago.

Our hospitals are full and winter is coming, Dr. Erica Pan, the states epidemiologist, said in a Twitter post encouraging booster uptake earlier this week.

COVID-19 hospitalizations in San Francisco remain low, but they can be a lagging indicator of case trends.

We are seeing more cases among those who were vaccinated earlier, and we are concerned about what it means for the hospital system, Dr. Mark Ghaly, Californias health secretary, said Wednesday. He encouraged anyone who thinks they will benefit from a booster dose to get one. Now is the best time to consider getting that added shot.

L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer was even blunter with her recommendation for boosters during a briefing Friday.

The only exception would be a person who lives in a bubble: Youre in your house, you telework, you never leave, you dont live with anybody, you dont really have a lot of risks, nor are you creating a lot of risk, she said. But I dont know anybody living in that world.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Santa Clara County officials expressed a similar urgency around supplemental doses earlier this week.

Our top-line message is we really encourage everyone to get out and get their booster shot, Dr. Sara Cody, the countys health officer, said during a briefing Wednesday. Pretty much everybody in our population is eligible.

Other Bay Area counties have yet to make such strong recommendations.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still advises boosters only for older people, those with underlying health conditions, or those whose jobs expose them to greater risk of transmission.

People are eligible for a booster at least six months since they got the second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or two months since they got the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Chronicle staff writers Catherine Ho and Erin Allday contributed to this report.

Aidin Vaziri is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: avaziri@sfchronicle.com
By now, most Bay Area residents and many viewers around the country probably know the name Ersie Joyner and have seen the grim video from last month where he is allegedly ambushed in an attempted armed robbery at a gas station not far from downtown Oakland.

The footage initially shows three assailants accost Joyner, turn out his pockets, and open the front door of his white Porsche to take more of his belongings. Its then that the 68-year-old former Oakland police captain draws his firearm and shoots first at the red-hoodied man, who escapes, running out of the security camera frame. Joyner then turns on the black-hoodied individual who was rifling through the front seat of his car  its at this point that NBC Bay Area stops the footage.

But in the deeper recesses of the internet, the video continues to roll and it is a brutal watch, the outcome tragic and widely reported: Desoni Gardner is dead, Ersie Joyner is hospitalized.

In the comments sections of mainstream sources like The Chronicle and YouTube, to niche websites like hiphopdx.com, readers and viewers have chimed in to support the retired police captains actions and to repudiate the brazen criminality of the midday robbery attempt. Across race, age and other demographics, internet opinion seems mostly united in Joyners favor.

If we widen the frame, we can see that this alleged crime and the publics response to it are both indicative of wider trends. There was a 30% jump in homicides in 2020 across the country, the largest year-over-year increase in several decades. The reasons for this increase are many and complicated, and can hardly be decoupled from the social destabilization caused by COVID  mass job losses, increased drug use and mental illness, the normalization of masking ones face in public, which obviously encourages criminal behavior, a school dropout crisis, and an enormous death toll are just a few of our recent root shocks. But it is clear that many in the public see the defund the police and police abolition rhetoric on the left as the root of all crime. In a recent poll, 47% of Americans now wish to increase police funding, according to a Pew Research, a sentiment that mainstream media is reporting as a fundamental change in public opinion. But the fact is that the response to George Floyds murder was actually the American aberration. It was a brief moment when many Americans not only condemned a rogue, killer cop, but reconsidered the attitudes toward crime and policing that have brought about mass incarceration, the federal marijuana prohibition and the prison-building boom.

That moment seems to be ending almost before it began. And that will be yet another tragedy. But maybe theres a way forward that elides the excesses of rhetoric on one side and the excesses of incarceration on the other, while taking seriously public safety and criminal justice reform.

Left-leaning popular media like The Daily Show With Trevor Noah, which stridently backed the calls for police reform and prosecution of Derek Chauvin and the officers involved in other killings of unarmed Black people, have had to acknowledge that Black people are much likelier than whites and Asian Americans to live in areas beset by violent crime and are, therefore, in need of an effective law enforcement presence. The fact that both Joyner and his alleged assailants are Black should not take race out of the equation of the altercation, but rather center it differently.

It is not hard to take Joyners side. He was the head of the Ceasefire public safety initiative, which contributed to a significant reduction in crime in Oakland in the latter half of the 2010s, and has publicly advocated for a progressive approach to policing. Joyner has also been unafraid to criticize the kind of old school police tactics that have led to so many unnecessary and often lethal encounters with civilians. Thus, Joyner has come to represent a safer, better time in the citys recent history, even though his long police career spanned several Oakland epochs, some of them more violent and crime-ridden than our current moment. Joyner is also an equity owner in Joyous Recreation and Wellness, a cannabis company that, according to its website, manufactures a diverse array of vapes, concentrates, tinctures, topicals and edibles. It has been speculated that Joyner may have been targeted because cannabis businesses often deal in and have to regularly transport large amounts of cash; banks would rather not touch money that has been accrued from a federally prohibited source. Getting tougher on crime cannot solve a problem that tough-on-crime measures created. Criminal justice reform can solve it. While Joyner was simply minding his own business at the gas pump before the robbery attempt, the right of Joyner and others to safely own and operate a cannabis business is being assaulted at the federal legislative level as well as on the streets.

There also needs to be a rational discussion of police not as heroes, not as villains, but as people who do things. Ersie Joyner is being hailed as a hero across the internet right now. But we should be able to discuss the community-based anti-violence successes of Joyners Ceasefire program without deifying every police officer on the force. We should also be able to discuss the Oakland Police Departments history of violence and corruption without vilifying the former Oakland officer. It is OK that he exists in the human valley in between these extremes.

Joyner is a man, a Black man, living and doing business in a time like no other, when social expectations have drastically and mostly uncritically shifted, in a rough city where many of the perpetrators and the victims and the law enforcement officials are Black like him. And there really is no way to understand these coexisting complexities through opportunistic politics, slogans and rallies, but rather what is needed is patient discussion and resolution, one person, one issue, one tragedy at a time.

Keenan Norris is an author whose latest novel, The Confession of Copeland Cane, explores issues of police brutality, political activism and the surveillance state.
San Francisco goes viral often these days, but not for the right reasons.

Videos of property crime and retail theft  including the summers Twitter post of a man stealing from a Walgreens  regularly set social media ablaze. The same goes for footage of streets lined with homeless encampments, or photos of people struggling with substance abuse. Theres an ugly glee in how these videos are shared by folks looking to rail against criminal justice reform.

Heres what the videos actually show: Poverty. An ever-widening gap between San Franciscos haves and have-nots.

The local economic divide falls along distinct color lines. More than 50% of Black and Latino residents in San Francisco are in very-low-income families, according to the Bay Area Equity Atlas, a progressive data analysis group. Boys born into these families are 20 times more likely to wind up in prison as adults, according to a 2018 study by the the Brookings Institution, a policy research center in Washington, D.C.

We know staggering income inequality is the root of crime. Yet the people doing the painstaking work of addressing it are often scapegoated for enabling it.

Chesa Boudin has become a prime target. Two years ago he squeaked out a victory in the citys tightly contested district attorneys race. Support for him was never overwhelming, but the promises he made during his campaign  not criminalizing poverty, focusing on economic advancement for the marginalized  were enough to win him the election.

His short tenure has, at times, felt a bit disorganized and chaotic, but his record is pretty much as advertised. The Chronicle did a deep dive into Boudins work and found that his rape and narcotics charging rates are higher than his predecessors. He has also co-sponsored state bills supporting forms of universal basic income.

Then there was the pandemic.

The economy cratered, and there was a national spike in violent crime. Feelings held more sway than facts in 2020. And it was in this fog of fear and paranoia that Boudins critics attacked.

San Francisco had become a lawless place, they said. Sure, there was a bump in San Franciscos homicides, 41 to 48 from 2019 to 2020, with 46 so far this year  but overall violent crime is far lower than what city residents endured from 1970 to 1990.

Videos showing Black and brown shoplifters were used to paint the city as a liberal hellscape of its own making. A similar narrative took shape in Los Angeles, where Boudins predecessor, George Gascon, was elected D.A. Republican interests zeroed in on both progressive prosecutors, despite Californias crime trends being worse in Republican-voting counties than Democratic-leaning ones, according to the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice of San Francisco.

The effort to recall Gascon failed. On Tuesday, the Department of Elections confirmed the effort against Boudin had more than enough signatures, about 83,000, to be on next summers statewide primary ballot. Boudin needed roughly 85,000 votes to get elected in the first place.

San Francisco may not appreciate that addressing crime means healing old, festering wounds of inequity. But others do.

Sheryl Davis, the executive director of San Franciscos Human Rights Commission, creates programs to combat social and economic inequality in the city. Its work that requires empathy, she told me, which seems to be lacking in residents calls for harsher policing.

As people develop and talk about strategies that fill the gaps where they think criminal justice reform fails, Im concerned theyre doing more to ostracize and criticize people who need help the most, Davis said. America has decades and centuries of locking people up. We know what doesnt work.

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So does Frankie Ramos. The longtime Bay Area community organizer told me its programs that prioritize financial incentives to keep low-income youth out of the criminal justice system that show long-term benefits. But they also take time to work.

For some reason were really wedded to the idea that its OK for wealth to be hoarded in the hands of a very, very few, and for the vast majority to be struggling, Ramos said. That way of structuring our society is inherently unsafe. You have too many people that have nothing to lose.

San Francisco has always had a conservative streak, noted Brittni Chicuata, a city native and advocate for equitable housing opportunities through the Human Rights Commission. It just feels more out in the open now.

Theres just this absence of humanity and love in the way a lot of people see those that are struggling, she said. You just cant let people that are both wrong and loud overshadow the work being done to address important issues.

And herein lies the danger.

Unless you want to live in a police state, truly addressing crime is about uplifting historically disadvantaged communities, or what Chicuata described as long-haul work.

However you feel about Boudin, the fact that a recall election is even happening is reason to fear San Francisco becoming what many Black and brown community leaders hoped it wouldnt after 2020s racial reckoning: a place where the affluent care more about the preservation of inequality than following through on the painful work to end it.

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Justin Phillips appears Sundays. Email: jphillips@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JustMrPhillips
Yoko and Clint Tan taught themselves how to cook ramen that was hailed as mind-blowing by The Chronicle and recognized at the World Ramen Grand Prix in Japan. They taught themselves how to run the beloved Noodle in a Haystack pop-up out of their Daly City kitchen, serving thousands of customers over five years.

So when fans urged them to open a restaurant in San Francisco, they figured they could do that too. But it turns out even the most determined entrepreneurs are no match for the citys hidden pitfalls and notorious red tape.

All the Tans wanted to do was take over a small restaurant space that was available and serve ramen to 10 guests per evening, three nights a week. They figured that turning one Japanese restaurant into another Japanese restaurant would be straightforward, but little about opening a business in San Francisco ever is.

Now theyre $100,000 in the hole, far from opening and full of regrets.

While acknowledging theyre like deer in the headlights when it comes to navigating the citys byzantine permitting process, they still wish they had more guidance. Or, perhaps, that theyd hired a professional permit expediter to get the job done for them.

Even reporting on their attempt was confusing, as city officials and restaurant experts didnt always have the answers.

Stephen Lam/The Chronicle

The Tans saga began when they secured their dream space in June and bet big on Clint Tans hometown.

We thought, This is our chance. Were going to seriously do something in San Francisco and graduate from peoples living rooms and make a life here, said Clint Tan, 39. Obviously our momentum is all gone now.

And thats with the help of Proposition H, the measure passed by city voters last November to make it easier for small businesses to get permits. Yes, the Tans got help navigating the confusing maze that is city permitting, but the maze still exists.

Since taking effect in December, Prop. H, championed by Mayor London Breed, has helped just 21 small businesses gain approval to open. And the city hasnt tracked whether those 21 have actually flung open their doors.

The paltry number points to more needed change  including simplified codes and better customer service  to help small businesses open in a city dotted with vacancies.

Mayoral spokesperson Andy Lynch said Breed has pushed several efforts to fix ineffective or overly burdensome local regulations and bureaucracy.

We need to make it easier for small businesses to open, operate and succeed in San Francisco, and we will continue to look at ways to make it easier for them to do so, he added.

In June, the Tans took over the lease of 4601 Geary Blvd. in the Inner Richmond from a curry restaurant called Konomama. They spent $50,000 in key money  a normal amount, according to Laurie Thomas, the executive director of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association  to pay for the lease, cooking equipment and furniture. The rent on top of that is $3,600 a month plus utilities.

They wanted to use Konomamas equipment but change the seating arrangements, freshen the paint and install new bathroom tile.

Clint Tan said he connected with the Prop. H team at the Office of Small Business over the summer to begin getting the approvals. In the meantime, he disconnected a sink to work on the bathroom tile and a light fixture to paint around it, he said.

Thats when an anonymous person called 311 to report work being done without a permit. And thats when their entrepreneurial dreams turned into a bureaucratic nightmare.

Patrick Hannan, a spokesperson for the Department of Building Inspection, said the unpermitted work was more extensive than what Tan described and included new drywall and unstable shelves erected in a storage area. Tan said the shelves were there when he took over the space.

An inspector on Aug. 19 ordered the work to stop. Eleven days later, the city allowed the Tans to proceed with permit applications to change Konomama into Noodle in a Haystack.

I sent everybody the same information about five times at least, Clint Tan recalled, saying he kept getting passed off to different people with different instructions. Nobody could give me a straight answer for anything.

Tan said the previous restaurant staff used an induction cooktop without a hood, a method hed used to cook his noodles at pop-ups around the city with no problem, but the city said he needed to install a hood to vent steam and grease from the boiling noodles.

Stephen Lam / The Chronicle

Tan said that proved impossibly expensive, so the permits he received last month say he can cook his noodles only in a microwave. A spokesperson for the Department of Public Health said its records show Konomama served prepackaged curry prepared with a rice cooker and ventless fryer, methods that wouldnt work for the Tans more extensive menu.

Thomas with the restaurant group said the city isnt doing enough to help new entrepreneurs understand these complicated issues.

The city also made Tan upgrade the water heater even though the previous restaurant didnt have to. The Tans and the city also argued over the number of sinks required  twice as many sinks as workers  and the types of kitchen finishes.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Dan Sider, chief of staff at the Planning Department, said different sinks serve different purposes. And that the previous kitchen finishes were possibly installed without a permit and out of compliance with safety regulations.

Noodle in a Haystacks proposal simply didnt follow the statewide public health rules for new restaurants, Sider said. Once the applicant revised his plans to comply, we approved them without delay.

Sharky Laguana, president of the small business commission, said that if the previous restaurant kept passing annual health inspections, he doesnt understand why so much of its equipment didnt pass muster for the Tans.

He called the Tans experience outrageous, infuriating and deeply upsetting.

Were constantly trying to add a second-floor bedroom while our living room is on fire, he said.

Kanishka Karunaratne Cheng, the executive director of Together SF, a civic engagement nonprofit, used to work as a city planner and said the deliberations over the tiniest changes to buildings used to drive her nuts in a city with far bigger issues. She said the city needs to treat business owners as customers and to update unnecessary codes.

It always feels very punitive, shes aid. People want to make small changes, but they end up in a Kafkaesque web of changes that theyll have to make, and they all start adding up.

While a Kickstarter fund the Tans created will help them cover the $100,000 theyve sunk into the restaurant so far, itll be a financial struggle to actually open.

I wish I didnt sign up for this, Clint Tan said. It was a mistake.

Now its too late. Theyre committed.

Heres an idea: All ramen lovers should book reservations as soon as Noodle in a Haystack opens and leave very big tips. At least somebody in San Francisco should show the Tans some appreciation.

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Heather Knight appears Sundays and Wednesdays. Email: hknight@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @hknightsf
Tick, Tick... BOOM!, Lin-Manuel Miranda's affectionate, well-crafted adaptation of Jonathan Larson's rock monologue, captures all that's grand and beautiful about musical theater, and a little of what can make it insufferable, too.

Miranda's film, his accomplished directorial debut, is a portrait of the artist as a deeply passionate, overwhelmingly self-involved young man. As played by Andrew Garfield, Larson is a paragon of artistic struggle. He lives in a dilapidated downtown apartment with a revolving door of roommates; he casually crafts songs at late-night parties; he daydreams while waiting tables at a diner.

If the Jonathan of Tick, Tick... BOOM!" seems mythologized, that's appropriate. Larson, himself, never got to see his success. He died from an undiagnosed heart defect at the age of 35, the day his opus, Rent, began previews off-Broadway. Before Rent, Larson spent years developing a futuristic musical, Superbia." When it failed to get produced, he turned the story of making that musical into a one-man show about his all-consuming pressure to succeed as an artist before he turned 30. The prospect of being not a playwright with a side-hustle to pay the bills but a waiter with a hobby looms for Larson like a terrifying purgatory. The show's title, Tick, Tick... BOOM! suggests a make-or-break countdown.

Miranda's movie is exuberant and big-hearted  maybe too much so. It's easy to aggrandize young artistic ambitions, and easier still when the dreamer in question died far too early. Tick, Tick... BOOM! is a tender ode to Larson, just as it is a tribute to all Broadway pursuit. And coming from Miranda, whose own New York-set breakthrough, In the Heights, was inspired by Larson's Rent, the film is in some broad sense autobiographical, too. Miranda's journey isn't Larson's, but as two of the most essential American composers and playwrights of the last 30 years, they share a bond of city and quest.

With screenwriter Steven Levenson, Miranda has turned Larson's show into something that stretches further into his life and widened its scope. It's 1990 and Larson is fully devoted to prepping a workshop of Superbia, and his single-mindedness has already elicited plenty of eyerolls from his dancer girlfriend (Alexandra Shipp, lovely) and best friend Michael (Robin De Jesus), a former actor who has turned instead to a high-paying gig in advertising.

Tick, Tick... BOOM! isn't unaware of Larson's myopia but it's also on his side. When he shouts to the power company, which has just cut off his electricity after unpaid bills, You don't understand! I have a workshop!  the scene isn't played for comedy. The film, and Garfield's head-to-toe performance, believes just as strongly in Larson's pursuit. Along the way, there are fine supporting performances (Bradley Whitford as Stephen Sondheim, Judith Light as Larson's veteran agent) and a number of well-staged musical numbers, including the lovely Sunday, during which Miranda drops a wall from the Moondance Diner and cameos abound in the booths.

But the tension in Tick, tick... BOOM! isn't really in Larson, as a protagonist. His obsessiveness is here to be celebrated, not analyzed. The film might exist to show us: This is what it takes to make it on Broadway  and, additionally, look at what fun it is once you do. Larson isn't always great company, but he and Tick, tick... BOOM! might be right. To bet everything on yourself, narcissism might be a prerequisite.

Tick, Tick... Boom!, a Netflix release, is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America for some strong language, some suggestive material and drug references. Running time: 115 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.

___

Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP
COVID cases in Hawaii are skyrocketing: Over the last week, the state is averaging 514 cases per day, more than double any period prior to August 2021. The state reported 643 new COVID-19 cases Sunday, marking the fourth consecutive day of cases over 600.

Around 60% of the states population is fully vaccinated, while 67.8% have received at least one dose. The new cases have been largely attributed to the spread of the more contagious delta variant of the virus.

The good news is deaths are still low (six deaths from the virus have been reported over the last week), but the huge surge in community spread, combined with hotel rooms being filled again with tourists, has left no more room to quarantine. Hospitalizations are also on the rise.

On the islands of Oahu and Hawaii, far fewer rooms are available for coronavirus-positive patients looking to quarantine than when cases were lower in 2020, reports Honolulu Civil Beat.

Hotels that provided isolation/quarantine rooms last year are now reserving those rooms for visitors, Brooks Baehr, spokesman for the Department of Health, told the outlet.

Google/Screenshot

Oahu currently has only 64 rooms available for quarantining, less than a quarter of that the same time last year, despite cases being higher now. All are currently full or being cleaned, while 30 people are on the wait list.

In Hawaii County zero rooms are currently available to residents who need to quarantine. The Honolulu Civil Beat reports that the island had a contract with hotels for 119 rooms, but that expired on July 31.

Rooms to quarantine are particularly important for those who live in overcrowded homes and are unable to separate from their roommates or family members at home. Recent data shows that Native Hawaiians are far more likely to live in these conditions than other groups.

The Department of Health spokesperson said the agency is currently in the process of attempting to secure more rooms.

Meanwhile, an announcement is expected this week from Gov. David Ige on reimposing restrictions, as the new surge threatens to overwhelm the state's health care system. This week several hotels in the state put up triage tents to deal with the rise in hospitalizations. There are currently around 220 hospitalized Hawaii residents with COVID; on July 1 that number was 40.

We are having to look at restrictions again, Ige told Spotlight Hawaii on Monday. We were hoping that the case counts would level off and begin to normalize, but we are seeing exponential growth.
The first rays of light were cresting over the green mountains above Hanalei, signaling a bright morning after overnight rainstorms, as we drove down the winding road into the surf town on the north shore of Kauai. My husband and I were up early and the town was quiet, with hardly any businesses open and just a few cars rolling through. On island time, one goes to bed early and wakes up late.

But we woke up before dawn because our days adventure required it. The plan was to hike to one of Kauais most famous waterfalls, Hanakapiai Falls. The 300-foot falls are at the top of a canyon thats accessed by way of the Napali Coast. The hike comes with a warning in the guidebook: Its hard and not for beginners. But the destination is worth every mud-slicked step.

The hike to Hanakapiai Falls is about 8 or 9 miles round trip, depending on the source or the guidebook. Its an out-and-back trail thats commonly hiked in a day. You can go farther down the Napali Coast, but for that, youll need overnight permits and backpacking gear.

This hike is so popular, it used to see 2,000 or more people arrive every day, according to Hawaiis Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR). But the DLNR recently rolled out a new adaptive management plan for Haena State Park, where the trailhead for the Napali Coast and Hanakapiai Falls is located. With a reservation and fee system, as well as limits on parking and shuttles from Hanalei to the trailhead, the new management plan caps daily visitors to 900 people, according to a statement from DLNR. The intent is to reduce the impact of so much visitation and protect Kauais stunning natural resources.

I signed up for a hiking reservation and a spot on the shuttle a few weeks before our trip to Kauai; the process was easy, but Im glad I was thinking in advance. Even weeks ahead of time, the limited parking spots were entirely sold out for our trip. The shuttle from Hanalei still had plenty of spots open, though.

I knew this would be a long, hard day of hiking, so I booked an early shuttle time that left Hanalei around 7 a.m. Still, I dont think I realized just how challenging the hike would be  and why. I hike a lot, especially in the Sierra Nevada and the trails around Lake Tahoe. But theres a key difference between the terrain: Tahoes trails are dry. Kauais trails, on the other hand, are very, very muddy.

At the park-and-ride lot, when I checked in with a man holding a clipboard, I asked how long it took most people to reach the waterfalls. A lot of people turn around when they reach Hanakapiai Beach, about halfway to the waterfall  making the round-trip hike about 4 miles long and much more doable. But I had my heart set on going the full distance to the waterfall.

The man with the clipboard didnt blink when he said itd take me four hours, one way. If I go fast, I could do it in three hours. In the Sierra, my pace usually comes out to about 2 miles an hour, give or take. In Kauai, my pace stretched to a mile an hour. And I felt like I was hustling. Another way to say how technical the hiking in Kauai can be: 9 miles felt like 18. No joke.

There was also a deadline: The last shuttle back to town left the trailhead at 5 p.m. So thats why, as soon as the shuttle pulled up to the trailhead and opened the doors, I darted off and started walking at a fast clip.

The first part of the hike follows Kalalau Trail, which leaves Ke'e Beach and traverses all the way down the Napali Coast. The trail was built in the late 1800s and it is the only way to access the Napali Coast, unless you travel by boat or helicopter. But even before this trail was built, the Napali Coast was brimming with traditional Hawaiian communities who traveled overland on footpaths.

Maximkabb/Getty Images

The Kalalau Trail crisscrosses dense rainforest and exposed cliffs that abruptly give way to the Pacific Ocean. Every step was wet and slippery, but this is not a trail you want to take a big fall on. In its most exposed parts, the edge of the trail drops to furious waves crashing against the cliffs below. The tide is so strong it has eroded the rock walls, giving the Napali Coast its rugged, raw look.

Not even a quarter mile down the trail, my pace slowed as soon as I started to climb a set of slippery stairs to gain elevation above Ke'e Beach. The air was spiced with sea salt and mangoes so ripe and heavy some pieces had fallen on the trail. The greenery took on so many shapes and patterns: stripes and fans, pointy things and soft leaves that unfurled like a feather.

The mud on the trail started out somewhat firm; the day was still early. But as rainstorms came and went, the mud became stickier and deeper, pulling onto the soles of my shoes and resisting every step I took.

Eventually the trail started to descend toward Hanakapiai Beach. This beach looks like Hollywoods version of paradise  a half moon of golden sand thats bordered by cliffs and seems to unfurl from the rainforest directly into ceaseless waves. But the guidebook warns that the waves, however beautiful, are powerful and dangerous. And a rescue is far away.

When I reached the mouth of the beach, a freshwater creek rumbled toward the ocean. I took my shoes off to fjord the stream, and after, I found a peaceful seat next to the freshwater to cool off, preferring to watch the waves crash on the sand rather than swim in them. I ate a quick snack and continued on my way. I still had a ways to go, and the hardest stretch of the hike was ahead, up toward the waterfall.

From Hanakapiai Beach, Kalalau Trail continues along the Napali Coast. But another trail leads up the canyon, and thats the one I followed.

By now, the tread on my shoes had entirely disappeared beneath a thick coating of mud. I took my steps gingerly. One gentle step, then the next. Even then, I slipped often and lost my balance, stumbling over to catch myself or else falling into the mud. I began to understand why the man with the clipboard estimated the extra hours for the hike. This was no place for fast, rushed movement.

My first big fall of the day happened in slow motion. My front foot slipped out from underneath my weight, pushing my body backwards and sideways at the same time. I saved my fall with my forearm, which was coated in a slick of brown when I peeled myself up.

The farther up the canyon we hiked, the quieter the trail became. The jungle seemed to swallow the sound of the waves. The air grew thick. But all the while, the trail followed the rushing creek, which we had to cross several times.

In hindsight, I recommend taking your shoes off, even if they are going to get muddy again and it feels futile. I didnt follow this advice and kept my shoes on while wading through the river. By the time I reached the waterfalls, though, and pulled my shoes off, my entire foot was ghost white and wrinkly from so much moisture and the absence of air.

The higher we got, the more technical the trail became. We were swinging around tree limbs, hopping between rocks, tiptoeing in the deepest mud puddles. At one point, I hoisted myself up a waist-high rock in the middle of the trail and when I glanced up, I saw my first glimpse of a silver cascade of water descending into oblivion.

Three and a half hours since we departed from the trailhead, we reached the foot of Hanakapiai Falls, landing somewhere between an average and a fast pace. I was too distracted by the power of the water overhead to think about my tired limbs.

The roar of the waterfall was so loud I had to shout to my husband. I craned my neck toward the sky to scan the entirety of the falls, from the bottom to the top. From down below, my perspective was disoriented and the height was hard to fathom. I was reminded of the waterfalls in Yosemite, except these falls are year-round, fed by a constant supply of rainwater.

The spray and mist from the waterfall seemed to create its own special rainstorm. It was so wet that most hikers didnt stay for long. We stripped down to our bathing suits and bare feet and waded into the dark pool at the bottom of the waterfalls. I had made it this far, of course I would jump in.

I crawled over slippery rocks like a crab and when I slipped into the water, my breath caught in my throat. It was cold; much colder than any other water I had experienced in Hawaii, but still not as cold as, say, Lake Tahoe. I took a couple of breast strokes, but I was wary of rocks falling from the high cliffs above me. And the power of the water beating into the pool was strong. So I didnt stay in for too long.

Shivering, I wrapped myself in a towel and hop-scotched rocks to get to a more semi-dry spot farther away from the waterfalls. We found a flat rock to eat lunch  just some PB&Js, with mango jam because we were in Hawaii after all. Then we began the long walk back into the forest, through the mud, along the ocean, up and over eroding cliffs. We had a shuttle to catch back to Hanalei, where a mai tai was waiting.
- Info: Find the latest information on travel to the Islands from the Hawaii government's COVID-19 travel site.

- Testing: Get details on Hawaiis pre-travel testing program.

- Form: Fill out the health form needed to visit Hawaii.

Hawaii sounded the alarm bells last month around a surging pandemic, and Gov. David Ige urged tourists to stay away through the end of October.

"It's not a good time to travel to the islands," Ige said at an Aug. 23 press conference, adding that a lockdown could be on the table if the number of COVID cases continued to rise. "We know the visitors that choose to come to the islands will not have the typical kind of holiday they expect to get when they visit Hawaii."

While Ige told people to stay home, the state didn't take the extreme step of banning travel. Currently, Hawaii and its resorts, beaches and destinations all remain open on all the major islands including Oahu, Kauai, Maui, Hawaii (the Big Island), Molokai and Lanai.

Caleb Jones/AP

Should you go to Hawaii right now?

Many travelers have already heeded the governor's call, and the state has seen a decline in the number of travelers.

For those who are still making a decision, SFGATE recently spoke with a medical ethicist about whether or not to travel to Hawaii.

The ethics of travel depend on who is making the decision and about what, Barbara Koenig, a medical anthropologist and registered nurse who recently retired as director of the UCSF Bioethics Program, told SFGATE. For instance, some may need to travel to Hawaii, especially in the case of loved ones who are ill.

The bottom line: If you do go to Hawaii, it is best to be vaccinated and to avoid places and activities that could send you to an overburdened hospital system.

Caleb Jones/AP

Who can go to Hawaii?

Any traveler who is fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in the United States or its U.S. Territories can enter Hawaii without fulfilling the 10-day quarantine requirement. Proof of vaccination will be asked for at the airport upon arriving in Hawaii. Travelers who were fully vaccinated in Hawaii and are returning from a trip will be expedited through processing after uploading their vaccination status digitally.

Any traveler who is not fully vaccinated is required to take a pre-travel test to bypass the 10-day quarantine requirement. The 10-day quarantine is required and enforced for all visitors who do not meet these vaccination or testing requirements.

Visit the Hawaii COVID-19 travel website for more information.

Caleb Jones/AP

What steps must I take to enter the state?

There are a few important steps that are required to enter.

1. Travelers must fill out the Hawaii Safe Travel program application form.

2. A negative COVID-19 test result or a vaccination record document must be uploaded to the Safe Travel portal to obtain a QR code, a barcode that can be scanned and will significantly reduce processing time at the airport upon arrival. All travelers who wish to submit a negative test must take a Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT) that is certified from a Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment (CLIA) lab. This type of test is done by swabbing the nose or mouth or collecting saliva.

For travelers uploading their full vaccination status, the documentation must be validated by any of the three Digital Health Pass Partners: CommonPass, AZOVA or CLEAR.

More information can be found on the State of Hawaii's COVID-19 portal.

What are the rules once I get there?

The rules that apply to travelers are similar to rules in other states. Masks are required indoors. When interacting with others outdoors, it is recommended you wear a mask.

There are also limitations on the number of people who gather together. Across the state, no more than 10 people should gather indoors, and no more than 25 outdoors.

Kent Nishimura/2020 Los Angeles Times

What do I need to know about specific islands?

Recently, Oahu and Maui announced they are requiring proof of vaccination for entry to restaurants, bars and other indoor activities. The order began on Sept. 13. Children under 12, who are ineligible for vaccines, are exempt. Other islands have yet to announce such a mandate.

Each county has specific mask compliance orders. Read up on the county mandates for Kauai, Honolulu, Oahu, Maui and Hawaii.

What are the COVID numbers?

The numbers show that severity of the pandemic has decreased since Aug. 23 when Ige asked travelers to not visit. The statewide test positivity rate (percentage of people who test positive for the virus of all of individuals who are tested) was 7% on Sept. 13 compared to 9% on Aug. 23, according to John Hopkins University's COVID tracker. An average of 606 cases are being reported daily across the past seven days, compared to 711 daily cases nearly four weeks ago. Of the total population, 66% are fully vaccinated.

The state's website shows numbers on the county level.
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. (AP)  Two people died of suspected drug overdoses just days apart in the same central Michigan house, police said.

The latest was John Smith, 63, who was renting the Mount Pleasant house and was found dead last Monday, the Morning Sun reported, citing police reports.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) 

Shelly Ward-Moore was going through her email on June 16 when she got to The Inquirers morning newsletter. The subject line that day was, Can you help her find her biological parents?

Believing the line referred to an event that happened this year, Ward-Moore tried to delete the email, but for some reason, she couldnt.

I thought my computer was hacked, she said. It was almost like, Youre not going to delete this until you read it, so I said, Maybe I just need to read this anyway. 

The featured story in the newsletter that day was about Cheryl Edwards, a woman who was found in a pillowcase as a newborn in a Philadelphia rowhouse. The headline read: Abandoned at birth in West Philly in 1967, she still seeks answers.

As soon as I saw the headline I was like, I know this story! And as soon as I saw my grandfathers name I screamed, Ward-Moore, 65, of West Oak Lane, said. I was the only one home and I ran up the steps and down the steps and I was screaming OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! This is the baby! 

Within 24 hours of Edwards story running online, Ward-Moore, her sister, Geraldine Ward, 62, and several members of their extended family contacted The Inquirer to say they not only knew Edwards story, but they believed they were her biological relatives.

Ill tell her everything she wants to know. I will 100% be willing to do a DNA test, Ward-Moore said the day after the story ran. Even if were not related, I feel connected to her. Ive been through days since yesterday.

On Aug. 13  one day before Edwards 54th birthday  DNA test results proved what Ward-Moore believed all along: Edwards is her first cousin. A few weeks later, DNA testing also confirmed Edwards has a half-brother.

Since the age of 9 up until the age of 53 I had no idea about my past. All of those years of wondering and not 24 hours after the story goes out, we get an answer. Im still blown away by it, Edwards said. For people to read the story in its entirety and make immediate connections and act on it, it had to be God-ordained. I cant explain it any other way.

Hidden in a pillowcase

On Oct. 2, Edwards gathered with members of her newfound family at 3616 Haverford Ave., the West Philly site where she was abandoned as a newborn. Only a vacant lot remains where the rowhouse she was found in once stood, but the knowledge of what happened to her there at her birth and what brought her back for the first time all these years later moved her to tears.

Its absolutely amazing, overwhelming, Edwards said. Its just a blessing. It really is a blessing.

For two hours, those gathered at the site hugged and cried and prayed together, as if to rechristen the space and reclaim Edwards into their family.

Im sorry how it had to be, but were going to make it better for her because were going to stand by her no matter what and give her all the support and love she needs, said Geraldine Ward, Edwards first cousin. And she can always know that she has a family to count on if she needs anything.

The moment was a stark contrast of Edwards lifelong greatest fear  that if she ever did find her biological family, they might reject her all over again.

Edwards was a newborn, her umbilical cord cut but still attached, when she was placed inside a pillowcase and hidden under a dresser in a vacant room of an otherwise occupied rowhouse on Aug. 14, 1967.

According to reports from The Inquirer and Philadelphia Tribune at the time, James Drain, a teenager who lived in the house, heard Edwards cries  which he believed to be the clucks of a chicken  and ran to get his mother, Hattie. She too believed the sounds were from a chicken and when she found the moving pillowcase under the dresser, she went to get a third resident of the building, George Ikard.

Ikard, 61, pulled the pillowcase and its writhing contents from below the dresser and put it in the trash behind the house.

He never looked inside. He was too afraid, he told a reporter at the time.

But Margaret Rogers, a 50-year-old neighborhood resident who saw the scene unfold, was not. She pulled the pillowcase from the trash and discovered Edwards inside. Rogers took the newborn into the house and heated up milk for her as Hattie Drain called the police.

Edwards  who weighed 5 pounds, 7 ounces, and was estimated to be between 12 and 24 hours old  was taken to Philadelphia General Hospital, where a nurse who cared for her named her Cheryl. After three months there, with no leads as to the identity of her parents, Edwards was placed in foster care with a loving Overbrook couple, the late Ernest Lee Sr. and Susan Edwards. She believed they were her birth parents until she was 9, when they told her shed been abandoned as a baby and they wanted to officially adopt her.

The three-paragraph memo Edwards parents were given when they took her into their care offered few details about her past. In 2019, Edwards reached out to The Inquirer to see if the paper had written a story about the day she was discovered. It was the first time she read the names of Drain, Ikard, and Rogers and learned the difficult details of her first day.

Over the years, Edwards, who moved to College Park, Md., in 2017, thought about taking a DNA test to find her birth family, but feared if she was matched with relatives, theyd only reject her again.

After losing several friends to COVID-19 and going through grief counseling this year, Edwards reached back out to The Inquirer to share her story. She did it to seek closure. She did it to let others whove been abandoned know they are not alone. And she did with the smallest of hopes that somebody might recognize a part of their own story in hers.

Honestly, I didnt think that anyone would respond, she said. I was holding out hope that someone knew something, I just didnt know who.

Nobody left bread crumbs

The first emails in response to Edwards story were from strangers who wanted to tell her they admired her courage, armchair genealogists who offered their help, and fellow adoptees who offered their support.

It was so overwhelming because everybody is going through something, so for people just to put all of that aside, to read that story and to respond the way they did, it was a reminder that there are people out there who do care, and they dont have to know you to care, Edwards said.

As those messages were coming in during the day, Ward-Moore was calling her relatives to tell them to read Edwards story. At 10:22 p.m., she sent her own email to The Inquirer.

I am the granddaughter of Mr. George Ikard. OH MY GOD  At the time of the incident I was 12 years old, so I remember the incident like it was yesterday, she wrote, in part. We always wondered what happened to the baby from August 1967. I have a wealth of information to give to you for Cheryl Edwards.

Edwards, Ward-Moore wrote, was the spitting image of one of her aunts.

Ward-Moores grandfather, Ikard, had 12 children and worked as a farmer. His wife died young and at the time Edwards was found, he was renting a room at 3616 Haverford Ave. The day after Edwards was discovered, Ward-Moore recalls her grandfather coming to her moms house with police and calling down her 19-year-old aunt, who stayed between their house and Ikards.

He said, Get down here  you left that baby! I found out my grandfather thought it was his daughter who did it, Ward-Moore said. In all the years of my life, it was always rumored in the family that she had the baby.

Cops took her in for questioning but she was later released without charges, Ward-Moore said. Within days of the incident, family members said she moved down South, where she stayed for years before returning to Philadelphia. She eventually married, had one son, and later, got divorced.

Today, that woman is still alive and living in a nursing home down South, according to family members, but about 12 years ago, she suffered a medical condition that left her unable to speak. The Inquirer is withholding her name because shes unable to talk or answer questions, but DNA testing has proven her son is Edwards half-brother.

While some members of the family believed the baby from 1967 died, others, including Ward-Moores late mother, would sometimes insinuate she might still be alive. Ward-Moore often thought about searching online to see if she could find her, but without a name or any clue as to who adopted her, she had little to go on.

When I would hear stories about people leaving their babies, I always thought back to that baby and wondered if someone is out there, Ward-Moore said. Nobody left bread crumbs. This story was her only way of reaching out. If she wasnt brave enough to put it in the paper she would have never known. I praise her and Im just proud of her.

Another connection

As The Inquirer relayed the details provided by Ward-Moore and her relatives to Edwards, she was in shock.

It hasnt even been 24 hours. I promised myself I wouldnt cry. This is unbelievable! Just the simple fact that there was a connection to someone who was there, I thought we wouldnt find anybody, she said. If you could see the look on my face, its like Im dreaming.

Edwards was given the names and numbers of Ward-Moore, her sister, Geraldine Ward, and one of their aunts who spoke with The Inquirer, but asked not to be identified or quoted. Edwards was told she was under no obligation to contact them.

She called all three before the week was over. They talked for hours. They called her cousin. They called her niece. They called her family.

The way they embraced me was unbelievable, Edwards said. I was a stranger to them, and now Im family.

The following Monday, Edwards story also ran in The Inquirers sister publication, the Daily News, where it was read by someone else with a connection to her story.

From the beginning, one of the people Edwards wanted to meet most was James Drain, the teen boy who first heard her cries and went to get help. She credits him and Rogers with saving her life.

But through the course of reporting her first story, The Inquirer discovered Drain died in 1997. Edwards was heartbroken by the news.

Drains daughter, LaKeisha Heller, had never heard the story of how her father once found an abandoned baby at her grandmothers house. As she read Edwards story in the Daily News, the day after a particularly tough Fathers Day for her this year, she broke down crying. Then, she reached out to connect with Edwards too.

Im just shocked that my dad was a part of something as a kid that I didnt know about and because of him shes here, Heller, 45, of West Philly, said. Im so grateful to hear that.

Edwards was, again, overwhelmed.

I am literally gasping for air! This is bigger than I could have imagined! Unbelievable! she said, as she burst into tears. Im not going to have any eyeballs left. When people say they cry their eyeballs out Im starting to think thats an actual thing. Im just so shocked!

The first time Heller and Edwards connected on the phone they cried together for 45 minutes, then talked for hours.

It was like talking to him, Edwards said. Me and LaKeisha, she is going to be my sister for life.

This is really happening

Over the following weeks, Edwards began having regular phone conversations with Ward-Moore, her sister, Geraldine Ward, and their aunt.

On July 10, Geraldine Ward, who lives in Columbia, Md., just 20 minutes away from Edwards, held a family barbecue at her home so Edwards could meet the family in person, and they could meet her.

Edwards was so nervous she called Heller for advice.

I was happy for her but she was really scared to go meet them, Heller said. I told her just go ahead and dont be scared, and if it gets too much to handle, bounce your booty out of there.

The first person to greet Edwards with a big hug when she arrived was the man who would eventually prove to be her half-brother. The two talk or text every day now, and family members said hes thrilled to have a sibling after being an only child. He did not return multiple requests to be interviewed for this story and did not appear at the gathering at the site this month.

Back at the family barbecue in July, Edwards said she felt warmly welcomed but still found herself so nervous that the water in her glass almost spilled out because her hands were shaking so much. Eventually, she was able to compose herself and the family presented her with gifts, including balloons and a desk lamp.

We just want to love on her and welcome her and show her that were not going to give up and throw her away. I wish we could turn back the clock where this would have never went that way, Geraldine Ward said. Im just glad she lived to tell her story. God kept her here for a reason. It was to tell her story. Thats why its coming out now.

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 warm and loving reception Edwards has received from her birth family is wonderful.

Theres this narrative that adoptees tell themselves around why was I given away or abandoned, so when the birth family is so welcoming, it really helps counteract whatever that narrative is, Richardson said. It counteracts all those things for 53 years that she may have been telling herself about what the reasons were why she couldnt be with them.

A month later, when DNA tests results confirmed Edwards relationship to the family, It was like a sigh of relief, she said.

I just started screaming Oh my God! I texted Shelly right away. I said COUSIN with ten exclamation points, Edwards said. Then, it hit me. This is really happening. And I was dumbfounded.

Ward-Moore said she hasnt been this excited about anything since she was a little kid running downstairs to the tree on Christmas morning.

I immediately called everybody and I said DNA is back! DNA is back! Its official, she said. It just feels like this was meant to happen. Its amazing to me. Its an amazing time in my life. And Im excited every day whenever I think about Cheryl.

As for Edwards, the void of emptiness and loss she felt when this year started that compelled her to enter grief therapy is quickly being replenished with love.

All of this is so big, so huge. I have family all over the place. Ill never be lonely ever again in my life, she said. I just feel like I can take on the world now because there are a whole lot of other people out there to love me and I can love on them.

You can breathe

While Edwards has received more answers this year than she ever hoped for, many questions still remain. Nobody in the family knows why she was abandoned at birth, or who her biological father may be.

I never even thought about him, not in a negative way, I just never said OK, now that I found out who the mother is now let me find who the father is,  Edwards said. Nobody in the family knows.

Richardson said Edwards response isnt unusual, especially for female adoptees.

Most adoptees search for mothers rather than fathers. When you think about life events, like giving birth, biological mothers are kind of front and center, she said. And sometimes the circumstances dont lend themselves to knowing or finding out who the biological father was.

Despite the unknowns, Edwards said shes happy her birth mother is alive and she hopes shell be able to meet her one day. Shed like to read her a letter she wrote her, one her counselor recommended she write before she publicly shared her story or even knew who her mother might be.

The letter begins with: Dear biological mom, and closes with God bless you, until next time. Your daughter, Cheryl Denise Edwards.

And Id like to hug her, just to say, Its OK, Im fine. Ive been fine this entire time. And you can breathe,  Edwards said. Because I can only imagine what that has been like for her over the years. Although I dont know the circumstances as to why things occurred like they did, as a mother who had to make a choice, I know it was difficult and painful. It had to be.

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Online:

https://bit.ly/3F0Cknd
CHICAGO (AP)  A Chicago police review agency that recommended eight officers involved in the botched 2019 raid of a social worker be suspended or fired is being harshly criticized for including the name of the officer who was fatally shot during an August traffic stop.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot, members of the City Council, the president of the city's police officers' union and a brother of the slain officer all decried what Lightfoot called the height of tone-deafness to recommend that Officer Ella French be suspended for three days.

A spokesman for the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) explained that while the report on the raid of the home of Anjanette Young was made public this week, it was completed in late April  months before French was killed. He said that a city ordinance prohibits the agency from redacting the information regarding French.

Following the review and concurrence by the Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department, as well as serving of administrative charges, we carefully considered the release of the report and its impact on Ms. Anjanette Young and Ella Frenchs family, Ephraim Eaddy said in an email to the Chicago Sun-Times. We honor the service Officer French gave to our city and mourn her death and also hope the release of the report brings further closure to Ms. Anjanette Young.

COPA recommended the suspension because French failed to wear a body-worn camera when she arrived at Young's home. But Young, who was handcuffed by officers when she was naked after they stormed into what turned out to be the wrong address, praised French as the one officer who treated her with dignity and respect that night.

Lightfoot suggested that COPA could have taken that praise by Young into consideration before including French's name in the report.

They could have taken different action, particularly in light of the fact that Ms. Young herself said that Officer French showed her respect and treated her with dignity," the mayor said on Friday. "It just doesnt make sense that COPA made this decision.

The officer's brother, Andrew French, was even more blistering in his critique of COPA. This is disgraceful, he told WGN-TV. "This is disrespectful to her name, disrespectful on so many levels.

And Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown expressed disappointment that COPA included the name of French, whom he called a hero, in the report. Failing to acknowledge her death in the line of duty and redact her name from the Civilian Office of Police Accountabilitys report is unnecessarily insensitive, he said in a statement.

French was killed and Officer Carlos Yanez Jr. was critically wounded when a man in an SUV they had pulled over opened fire. The man and his brother, who authorities say was also at the scene and involved in the shooting, have been charged with murder and attempted murder.
BALTIMORE (AP)  A Baltimore man has been arrested after a multi-state investigation turned up evidence supporting child pornography and related charges, Maryland State Police said.

According to a news release, Roy Free, 46, of Baltimore, is charged with four counts of possession of child pornography, four counts of distribution of child pornography and charges related to the theft of a motor vehicle. Free is being held without bond at the Baltimore City Detention Center.
BALTIMORE (AP)  Investigators from the office of the Attorney General of Maryland were called Saturday to the scene of a fatal shooting involving police officers.

The Baltimore Sun reports that the shooting appeared to have happened in a barber shop in the 5700 block of ODonnell Street, authorities said.
MAGNOLIA, Del. (AP)  A Delaware woman has been accused of firing multiple gunshots inside her home after fighting with a male acquaintance, Delaware State Police said.

Police said in a news release that troopers were sent to a residence in Magnolia early Thursday.
SEATTLE (AP)  Fraudsters siphoned more than $830,000 that the city of Seattle intended to send to a family homelessness nonprofit, The Seattle Times reported.

The newspaper said it obtained emails by public records request showing that nine payments sent between November 2020 and April 2021 went to what the city incorrectly thought was an account owned by the nonprofit, Marys Place.

Weve discovered the bank account that was associated with Marys Place automatic payments from the City of Seattle has been changed without our knowledge and our city payments have been deposited to an unknown bank account, the nonprofit's executive director, Marty Hartman, wrote in a June email titled URGENT: FINANCE CONCERN.

The city confirmed that the FBI and the U.S. Secret Service are investigating, and it said it is reimbursing the nonprofit and introducing safeguards to prevent a recurrence.

Some city councilmembers said they didnt learn about the theft until Friday.

The city uses public funds to pay Marys Place and dozens of other providers for outreach, shelter and food for the citys homeless population, which was the third-highest in the nation at last count. The diverted money represents less than 1% of the citys $167 million homelessness budget.

Councilmember Andrew Lewis, who chairs the citys homelessness committee, said he intends to introduce an amendment next week to put more money toward the city auditors office in hopes of catching such issues more quickly.

Mary's Place, which had $22.5 million in total revenue in 2019, has received a large amount of support from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. The company provided the nonprofit permanent space for a new family homelessness shelter in one of its Seattle headquarters buildings.
SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. (AP)  Georgia's fourth-largest school district has granted a contract extension for its superintendent.

The Fulton County Board of Education on Tuesday extended Superintendent Mike Looney's contract through Nov. 9, 2024. He was hired in June 2019 to a three-year deal with a base salary of $329,000, plus monthly allowances for expenses and a vehicle, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Details of compensation changes as part of the contract extension were not immediately released. President Julia Bernath said attorneys must go over them first.

All that will come out in the details, once legal has a chance to review (it), she said.

Board members praised Looney for guiding the 90,355-student district during the pandemic. Fulton County schools were the first in metro Atlanta to close in March 2020 as COVID-19 struck. Looney was lambasted for requiring masks as classes began in August, sparking a lawsuit by 11 families. When he lifted the rule earlier this month, parents who supported the mask-wearing blasted the reversal.

I think what youve shown is that everybody doesnt have to agree with every decision but you have to make a decision, board member Franchesca Warren said. And you have to have the ability to stand by it and to adjust when you get additional information.

Board member Katha Stuart applauded Looneys bold and decisive leadership while the board touted Looneys work to invest an estimated $90 million in federal funding on a literacy program aimed at boosting students reading skills. The board also praised him for an increase in high school graduation rates.

Looney thanked the board for its support.

The reality of it is, I dont see myself as leading from the front. I see myself as walking with the troops, he said. I am absolutely committed and resolute in making sure that all of our students  all of our students  have every opportunity to learn to their maximum potential.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP)  An overhead gondola would connect the downtowns of Kansas City, Kansas, and Kansas City, Missouri, under a proposal that a planning official is touting.

The Kansas City Star reports that a 15-page preliminary study has been completed, although no money has been committed yet.
NEW ORLEANS (AP)  Tulane University has been awarded a grant to study how pollutants from Hurricane Ida flood waters may have affected south Louisiana ground water and water systems.

The university says in a news release that the National Science Foundation grant will fund work by Samendra Sherchan, associate professor of environmental health sciences at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. Sherchan is to lead a team collecting water samples at more than 150 sites in Houma, LaPlace, Slidell and other areas at different time intervals during the next six months.
GLEN, Mont. (AP)  Kim Johnston is trying to get ahead of grizzly bears before they start showing up in new places around the High Divide, like in Glen, a town north of Dillon.

Just last fall, a trail camera caught footage of a grizzly roaming through the Browns Gulch drainage not far away from Glens formerly open dump site, according to Johnston. The sighting was emblematic of a larger pattern.

Thanks in part to successful conservation efforts, grizzly populations in and around Glacier and Yellowstone national parks are rebounding. More and more, the federally-protected bears are wandering away from recovery zones that were designated for their protection decades ago.

Grizzlies on the fringes of Glacier National Park are largely moving south, and grizzlies on the fringes of Yellowstone National Park are largely moving north. The two populations are meeting in the High Divide region in between.

Thats why Johnston has focused the bulk of her work in small towns around the area, which stretches southwest of Butte toward the Montana-Idaho border. As field project manager for the group People and Carnivores, she helps area residents get access to the tools and resources they need to avoid conflicts with large carnivores.

Its really important to be proactive to prevent conflicts from happening in the first place, she told the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. We want grizzly bears to survive and expand between these core ecosystems instead of coming down into valley bottoms and learning to access unnatural food sources.

Lately, Johnston has worked on securing garbage at transfer sites around Beaverhead County, including the site north of Glen. The project is called Keeping Grizzlies out of Garbage and its aimed at putting in infrastructure to keep grizzlies away from attractants.

The Glen site lies in between the Bitterroot, Greater Yellowstone and Northern Continental Divide ecosystems. Its an area where People and Carnivores staff expect bear populations will eventually meet. Like much of rural Montana, its also an area where dumpsters have historically been left open for the public.

People who live in rural areas often dont have access to garbage pickup services, so they drive their trash to county transfer sites, Johnston said. Containers at these sites are left open to make the process easier for area residents.

Lids over the containers at the Glen site could open and close, but county employees only closed them once or twice a week when trucks came to haul garbage to a landfill, Johnston said.

There was no method for the public to close the lids on their own, and predators and scavengers started causing problems, she said. Animals began dragging carcasses and trash bags into the brush, and nearby ranchers worried about attacks on livestock.

Staff with People and Carnivores approached Beaverhead County with the idea of securing the countys dumpsters a few years ago, and now anyone can open or close metal-grated lids over containers at sites near Glen and Wise River.

On a recent Monday morning, Johnston pushed a white button at the Glen site. A metal-grated lid lowered, then clamped over a dumpster. It was filled nearly to the brim with trash bags, carcass parts and other scraps.

We sent letters out to local residents to let them know why (the lids) are here and what their purpose is, she said. Were ensuring that people understand why its important to keep the lids closed.

Finding funding for conflict-prevention tools like hydraulic lids can be tricky, but the key is getting people together, according to Johnston. A lot of people do want to find solutions and help out if they can, she said.

People and Carnivores partnered with Beaverhead County and Beaverhead County Solid Waste on the Keeping Grizzlies out of Garbage project, and they got some funding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, according to Johnston.

In Madison County, the group installed hydraulic lids at a refuse site outside of Virginia City, and staff are working on getting more installed at a site by Pony. A black bear was recently caught rummaging through garbage at that site, she said.

Virginia Citys hydraulic lid system has worked well, so the town started looking for more solutions, according to Johnston. People and Carnivores helped officials there secure a grant from the Fish and Wildlife Service so they could purchase steel, bear resistant canisters for the town.

Now, the town is at the heart of a region-wide Bear Smart Community Program modeled after a similar initiative in British Columbia. The program addresses attractants at all levels of a community, from landfills to garbage at a residential level, Johnston said.

While the program is still in development, Virginia Citys town office now offers bear resistant canisters to all area residents, and the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee has agreed to be the entity that recognizes communities like Virginia City as Bear Smart.

The goal of this whole program is for it to be very flexible and customizable, but its a community developing a program that will work for them, Johnston said. Its not any outside group like us or anyone else coming in and telling them what they need to do and what rules they need to follow.

The importance of securing attractants came to the forefront in mid-October, when two sub-adult grizzly bears were spotted raiding dumpsters at a refuse site by Chico over in Park County. Wildlife managers attempted to trap the food-conditioned bears, but they eluded capture.

To Johnston, the situation showed that resources arent keeping pace with an expanding grizzly bear population, and bears are learning to get food rewards.

People and Carnivores has focused mostly on the High Divide area, but the group has been coordinating with Park County and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks following the recent incident, according to Johnston.

Park County found a way to close lids at the Chico dump site at night, but it is still working on finding longer-term solutions, she said.

People arent sure what to expect as grizzlies are returning to these areas ... but bears really do want to avoid humans, Johnston said. Bears will really learn to navigate through these areas without coming into conflict if we can learn to secure or remove those attractants.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP)  Health care executive Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick maintained a five-vote margin after a recount Friday for the Democratic nomination in a Florida congressional race.

Final but unofficial results showed Cherfilus-McCormick ahead of Dale Holness, a Broward County commissioner, for the party's nomination in U.S. House District 20.

The Democratic primary earlier this month was a special election for the seat long held by the late U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, who died in April.

On Friday, Broward and Palm Beach county elections officials announced the final, unchanged vote for the top two finishers after a machine and hand recount, including overseas ballots. Cherfilus-McCormick issued a statement on Twitter claiming victory after the recount.

I am proud to be recognized tonight finally as the Democratic nominee for Floridas 20th Congressional District following Alcee Hastings legacy of fighting for the rights and welfare of the common person, she said.

Cherfilus-McCormick loaned her campaign more than $3.7 million and far outspent the other Democrats in the race. She wound up with 11,662 votes to 11,657 for Holness.

The result won't be official until the Department of State certifies them Tuesday. The Associated Press doesnt call races that are this close until they become official.

The Democratic primary is essentially choosing who goes to Washington to represent the 20th district. Businessman Jason Mariner won the Republican primary, but he is considered a longshot to win the general election.

Turnout was about 16%. The district is more than 61% Democratic and about 13% Republican. In the 2020 election, Hastings earned 78.7% of the vote to defeat Republican Greg Musselwhite, whom Mariner defeated in this years primary.

Hastings was first elected in 1992 to the majority-Black district.

The other Democrats on the ballot were state House Democratic Leader Bobby DuBose, state Rep. Omari Hardy, state Sen. Perry Thurston, Broward County Commissioner Barbara Sharief, author and former National Urban League chief of staff Elvin Dowling, retired Navy petty officer Phil Jackson, business consulting firm founder Emmanuel Morel and physician Dr. Imran Uddin Siddiqui.
PEORIA, Ill. (AP)  A 10-year-old central Illinois boy has died days after he was struck by a pickup truck in a hit-and-run while riding his bicycle, authorities said.

Troy Erving died Friday morning after being declared brain dead, said Peoria County Coroner Jamie Harwood. Multiple tests over the preceding 24 hours had showed no brain activity in the Peoria youth, who was struck and injured Tuesday night.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP)  About 4,000 Illinois residents are on waiting lists for organ and tissue donations. A new public service announcement in honor of National Donor Sabbath is a reminder that most religious faiths embrace organ donation.

The PSA released by Secretary of State Jesse White features Phillip Hanks of Joliet. The father of six says he's alive today because of his faith in God and an organ donor who gave him five internal organs.
BILOXI, Miss. (AP)  The stories of the Mississippi Gulf Coast can be found in its historic sites. But many of these places are at risk.

Over the years, buildings have been lost to the push for development, to simple apathy and, especially, to hurricanes. Hurricane Katrina, for example, destroyed many of the states oldest structures.

The Mississippi Heritage Trust hopes its list of the 10 Most Endangered Historic Places in the state, published every two years, will energize preservation efforts and highlight the stories behind these sites.

The 2021 list was announced in October and includes two Coast sites:

 For decades before and after desegregation, the old Broadmoor grocery store served as a crossroads between the Black neighborhood Soria City and the white neighborhood Broadmoor.

 And the Barqs House in Biloxi is where the famous root beer was created and first bottled.

Lolly Rash, executive director of the Mississippi Heritage Trust, said she is always hoping for a save, in which a historic building is restored to serve its community. The new purpose may differ significantly from the original purpose, like the old Pascagoula High School that was converted to apartments for seniors in 2012.

Saved is one that is in good hands, she said. Its been restored to a long-term viable use, and somebody cares about it.

The history of the list includes many such saves, like the Phoenix Naval Stores Office in Gulfport, now restored as a memorial, community center and repository of Turkey Creek history. But it also includes losses like the Moss Point Central Fire Station, demolished in 2015.

LIST OF COAST HISTORIC SITES

Here are a sampling of other Coast sites that have been named to the lists over the years:

2015: Jourdan River School, Kiln. The one-room schoolhouse, built in 1929, served African American students in Hancock County. After decades abandoned to the elements, it was found by loggers in 2013.

2015: Phoenix Naval Stores Office, Gulfport. Part of south Mississippis timber industry, the company employed many African American residents of historic Turkey Creek. The office is the only structure that survived a 1943 plant explosion that killed 11. Restored by community activist and sixth-generation Turkey Creek resident Derrick Evans, it will serve as a memorial, community center and local history repository.

2013: 33rd Avenue High School, Gulfport. The school educated Black residents from across Gulfport and as far away as Bay St. Louis and Wiggins. It closed with integration and was used as a Job Corps Center before Katrina. It is now being renovated to again house Job Corps and a museum about the history of the school.

2013: Moss Point Central Fire Station. Built in 1926, the fire station served as a city hall, jail, library and fire station during its lifetime. It was demolished in 2015.

2013: West Pascagoula Colored School. Built in 1921 with funding from the Jackson County Board of Supervisors, the one-room schoolhouse served African American students until 1946. It was then used as a community center and voting precinct. It has been vacant since the 1980s, but the city of Gautier plans to restore and reopen it as a museum.

2011: Lewis House (Oldfields), Gautier. The 1845 Greek Revival cottage served as the home of planter, merchant, politician and Civil War officer Alfred E. Lewis. Artist Walter Anderson lived there with his family for several years. The Mississippi Heritage Trust bought it in 2020.

2011: Austin House, Ocean Springs. Built in the 1850s by a New Orleans physician, the Austin House is one of the oldest houses in Ocean Springs. It was nearly destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

2009: Front Street Historic District, Pascagoula. The five homes of the district showcased different architectural styles popular on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. But the district is no more. The Pascagoula Historic Preservation Commission diligently tried to work with property owners to save two of the citys oldest homes from demolition but were unsuccessful and the houses were demolished in December 2014.

2007: Mississippi Gulf Coast. When Hurricane Katrina slammed into Mississippis Gulf Coast on August 29th, 2005, many historic landmarks disappeared. Gracious beachfront mansions, simple Creole cottages, bungalows and shotgun houses were lost to the storm. Many historic downtowns including Waveland, Bay St. Louis, Pass Christian, Gulfport and Pascagoula were also ravaged by wind and flood waters.

2005: Old Pascagoula High School. When it opened in January of 1939, Pascagoula High School was hailed as the most modern and complete high school unit in the state. The building was converted into senior apartments in 2012.

2003: W.J. Quarles House, Greenvale, Long Beach. After moving to Long Beach from Tennessee in 1884, W.J. Quarles established the towns first post office and school. The house was vacant when Hurricane Katrinas winds removed its roof. A restoration is now underway.

2001: Rippy Road and the Turkey Creek community, Gulfport. Turkey Creek was founded by formerly enslaved African Americans in 1866. When beaches were closed to Black residents under Jim Crow, Turkey Creek served as a community recreation space. Threatened by encroaching development, the residents of Turkey Creek have fought to preserve the character of their neighborhood, including placing the community on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.

2000: Round Island Lighthouse, Pascagoula. The 1849 lighthouse off the coast operated until 1944. It also served as a quarantine facility for yellow fever patients. After Katrina, the lighthouse was moved inland to U.S. 90 and restored.

1999: White House Hotel, Biloxi. In the early 20th century, the hotel was a popular beach resort on the Riviera of America. After sitting vacant for 30 years, it was restored and reopened in 2014.
WORCESTER, Mass. (AP)  A Massachusetts science museum has opened an exhibit on a very topical subject  vaccines.

Officials at the EcoTarium Museum of Science and Nature in Worcester hope that the exhibit that opened this week will play a part in educating visitors about the COVID-19 and other vaccines, The Telegram & Gazette reported.

Project Vaccine: Our Best Defense " also highlights the work of those who participated in the vaccination campaign.

The exhibit includes interactive videos featuring medical professionals explaining what vaccines are, as well as one that explains the role truck drivers, nurses, community organizers and clinical administrators have had in the vaccination effort.

Another video accompanied by tactile models teaches about the five different types of vaccines  RNA, viral vector, live attenuated, inactivated and recombinant  and their uses, from the scientists who worked on them.

The Museum of Science in Boston created the exhibit and shared it with the EcoTarium. Christine Reich, the Boston museums chief learning officer, said her museum felt the need to educate the public during the pandemic because science museums are among the most trusted facilities in their communities.

Museum officials realized about a year ago in the early stages of COVID-19 vaccine distribution that it was the time to act and create an educational program, Reich said.

U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern, who attended the opening, said he hoped the exhibit would help change the minds of the vaccine hesitant and thwart vaccine disinformation.

There is a real public health need to address hesitancy, especially when it comes from misinformation. Unfortunately, far too many believe spreading disinformation about the vaccine will help them politically," the Democrat said.

The exhibits are in English and Spanish, which was welcomed by Dr. Matilde Castiel, Worcesters commissioner of health and human services. The city's Black and Hispanic populations were the hardest hit by the pandemic, and those groups have the lowest vaccination rates, she said.

The exhibit, designed for third graders to adults, will be open to the public until Feb. 27.

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This story was first published on November 13, 2021. It was updated on November 16, 2021, to include that Bostons Museum of Science created the exhibit; to correct the museum for which Christine Reich works from the EcoTarium to the Boston museum; and correct that her comments referred to the Boston museum, not the EcoTarium.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP)  The roots of Americas Veterans Day observance can be traced to the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, when a cease-fire went into effect, ending hostilities in World War I.

More than 4 million U.S. military personnel took part in The War to End All Wars. That number included more than 350,000 Black Americans  1,500 from McDowell County, which would become home to the nations first and only memorial building honoring Black Americans who served in the war.

Black soldiers and sailors of the World War I era were part of a segregated military and had to fight for respect before they could fight the Germans. African-American units sent to Europe initially were assigned to behind-the-lines support roles, rather than combat. While those jobs were crucial to the war effort, they prevented Black soldiers from proving their mettle under fire. But as casualties increased and pressure from African-American political and civic leaders mounted, two all-Black infantry divisions were created. To lead them, more than 600 Black enlistees were commissioned as officers after completing training at Camp Dodge, Iowa.

That group included Daniel Ferguson, who grew up in Fayette County, graduated from Charlestons Garnet High School and attended the West Virginia Collegiate Institute  West Virginia State Universitys forerunner  before enrolling at Ohio State University. There, he earned bachelor and masters degrees and set school records as a member of OSUs track team.

Ferguson took leave from his teaching position at the West Virginia Collegiate Institute to enlist in the U.S. Army as a private in October 1917. After being commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant, he commanded a machine-gun training company through the end of the war, then returned to the faculty at what would become WVSU and taught sociology and economics classes. He later served as dean.

Gen. John J. Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Forces, was opposed to assigning Black infantry units to operate with white troops. To avoid doing so, he assigned the first four Black infantry regiments, to arrive in France in late 1917 and early 1918, to the French army, which had earlier asked for U.S. troops to replace its casualties.

More than 40,000 Black U.S. soldiers were assigned to the French army and were immediately deployed to frontline positions. One such Black regiment spent 191 days at the front  five days longer than any other American unit  and its soldiers collected 171 Croix de Guerre medals for bravery. By the time the war ended, Black soldiers fighting with the French had earned more than 500 Croix de Guerre medals.

Black veterans who returned to McDowell County after the war found that the coal boom, which began shortly before their enlistments, had accelerated in their absence, drawing thousands of additional mining families  many of them Black  to the states southernmost county.

By 1920, 43% of all Black coal miners in the United States were working in West Virginia, most in the southern coalfields. At that time, McDowell had a higher concentration of African American citizens than any other county in Appalachia.

McDowell Countys Black World War I veterans wanted to do their part to bring public recognition to the unheralded but vital role African American military personnel played in World War I. They also wanted a place to meet, conduct veteran outreach activities and socialize, since, because of their race, they were barred from membership in the countys sole American Legion post.

In the mid-1920s, a group of 16 Black veterans petitioned the McDowell County Commission to build a war memorial building in Kimball to honor African Americans who had toiled, fought and died for their country during World War I.

The commission approved the request, hiring area architect Hassel T. Hicks, himself a veteran of the war, to design the structure, and allocating $25,000 to construct it. Hicks also designed the nations first multi-level municipal parking garage in Welch, along with Stevens Clinic Hospital and Williamsons Coal House Chamber of Commerce Building. He completed the war memorial design in 1927, and the building was finished in 1928.

Among those speaking at its dedication ceremony was G.H. Ferguson, brother of Daniel, who had attained the rank of captain during the war, making him the states highest-ranking Black Army officer at the time. He told a large crowd gathered for the event that the war memorials four pillars represented the ideals of faith, hope, charity and service.

The pillar faith represents faith in our country and its institutions, while the pillar hope stands for the hope that injustices will cease. Ferguson said the third pillar represented charity and the fourth stood for service and should remind everyone of their obligation to community, county, state and nation.

Ferguson, who commanded a machine-gun training company during the war, returned to Charleston, where he built and operated the 79-room Ferguson Hotel in downtown Charleston.

The Kimball World War Memorial became the home of the Luther Patterson American Legion Post, named in honor of the first Black McDowell County soldier to be killed in the war. It housed an auditorium with seating for 100, meeting rooms, a library, pool tables and a kitchen.

In addition to hosting American Legion meetings and events, the memorial building has been used for reunions, receptions, plays and concerts, including a performance by jazz legend Cab Calloway and His Orchestra.

In the 1970s, as McDowell Countys coal industry and population continued to decline, use of the memorial ebbed and the building began to fall into disrepair. In 1991, the building was gutted by an arson fire, leaving only its exterior shell standing.

Community leaders were determined to restore what remained of the building and incorporate it into a structure resembling its original state.

In 1999, Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., responded to their requests for assistance by pledging to seek appropriations needed to rebuild. Within a few years, $1.2 million was channeled into the restoration effort, which used interior photos of the original structure supplied by the architects grandson to guide new construction. The rebuilt war memorial reopened in 2006.

To help mitigate the loss of exhibits and archival materials destroyed in the fire, West Virginia University journalism students, led by professor Joel Beeson, developed an interactive exhibit completed in 2011 for permanent display at the memorial.

Forgotten Legacy: Soldiers of the Coalfields involved four years of work by WVU students and faculty who recorded oral histories of McDowell Countys surviving Black World War I vets, conducted research and collected photos, artifacts and memorabilia. The exhibit may be viewed online at www.forgottenlegacywwi.org.

The two-story war memorial is perched on a hillside overlooking U.S. 52 in downtown Kimball. What is now observed as Veterans Day in the United States was initially known as Armistice Day, to commemorate the Nov. 11, 1918, cease-fire that marked the end of fighting in World War I. Armistice Day was celebrated informally until 1938, when Congress made it a legal national holiday.

In 1954, President Dwight Eisenhower issued a proclamation changing the holidays name to Veterans Day, to honor veterans of all wars, as well as peacetime service, living or dead.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP)  Authorities in Minnesota and Wisconsin are requesting help from hunters in a search for a missing woman.

Local officials have been searching for the woman, Ashley Miller-Carlson, since late September when her car was found partially submerged in a lake in Minnesota's Pine County. Investigators are requesting hunters to be on the lookout for any sign of the woman, KFGO-AM reported.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP)  New Mexico is opening access to vaccine booster shots to all adults, responding to surging rates of infection that state health officials are partly linking to waning immunity among the vaccinated.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Friday signed an executive order expanding eligibility for COVID-19 booster shots, joining Colorado and California. The governor also extended the public health order, meaning masks must still be worn in all public indoor spaces.

State data shows more than 28% of coronavirus infections confirmed over the last four weeks in New Mexico have been among the vaccinated. Still, state health officials touted the vaccines as a way to prevent serious illness or death.

Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. David Scrase said in a statement Friday that case counts are significant, spread rates are far too high and that the delta variant is far more transmissible than previous variants. That combination has made New Mexico a high-risk setting, he said.

Scrase also pointed to New Mexico's overburdened health care system, noting that some hospitals have enacted crisis standards of care. Under the designation, a hospital can delay non-medically necessary procedures so health care workers can focus on those patients who need emergency care.

In Albuquerque, officials at Presbyterian Healthcare Services and University of New Mexico Health announced Thursday they were activating crisis standards of care, noting that it wasn't really a shift in policy but rather a continuation of how they have been managing the crush of patients since last winter.

While they are treating some COVID-19 patients, the two hospitals noted that the vast majority of beds are filled by people who either put off necessary care over the last year or are sick from other illnesses.

They tried to reassure the public by saying they would not deny care to anyone having a medical emergency. Still, they asked for help in easing pressure on health care workers by encouraging people to wear masks, wash their hands, avoid gatherings and to get vaccinated.

The situation was more dire in northwestern New Mexico, where one hospital was caring for 94 coronavirus patients on Friday, including 16 sustained by breathing machines. San Juan Regional Medical Center in Farmington is a 198-bed facility but was caring for 205 patients, said spokeswoman Laura Werbner.

State and federal authorities last week sent in reinforcement to bolster medical staff and assistants. Hospital staff and local government officials held a virtual town-hall style meeting Wednesday to urge unvaccinated people to reconsider their options for coronavirus immunization.
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP)  A northern New Mexico man has been acquitted of illegal trapping charges stemming from an incident that caused a dog's strangulation death and prompted a new state law prohibiting trapping on public land.

A state District Court jury on Wednesday acquitted Marty Cordova, 44, of Chimayo of crimes regarding trapping fur-bearing animals, including trapping within 25 yards (23 meters) of a public road, failing to have identifying information on his traps and failing to check his traps daily.

Its a sense of relief, obviously, Cordova told the Santa Fe New Mexican on Thursday. Its been about three years Ive had this burden on my shoulders."

Cordova was charged after an 8-year-old heeler mix named Roxy died at Santa Cruz Lake, a federal Bureau of Land Management recreation area, east of Espanola as the dog's owner tried to free it from a snare trap.

The owner, Dave Clark of Espanola, declined to comment Thursday, the New Mexican reported.

The case prompted New Mexico legislators to approve the ban on use of traps, snares and wildlife poison on public lands. The Wildlife Conservation and Public Safety Act, also called Roxys Law, takes effect next April.

Cordova's defense lawyer, Yvonne Quintana, said the acquittal was the right outcome."

The case was overcharged, and the state and (Game and Fish Department) officers really did a disservice in regards to losing evidence.

Game and Fish deleted thousands of photographs related to the case, Quintana said, adding other pieces of evidence  such as parts of the trap that snared Roxy  were lost.

Quintana also said the dog was not on a leash as required in the Santa Cruz recreation area.

So while the traps may have been at fault for the loss of the dog, there was also that issue that if the dog had been controlled with a leash, the tragic loss of the domestic pet may never have occurred, she said.

District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies disputed Quintanas contention that the case was overcharged and said some of the evidence had been lost by the BLM during that agencys investigation.

The prosecution fought hard for accountability and what the jury did see and hear was heartbreaking testimony and evidence about how Roxy and her owner suffered, Carmack-Altwies said.

Quintana said it was difficult to empanel a jury to hear the case because many potential jurors had strong opinions regarding trapping and animal rights.

It was very inflammatory because the dog got killed, she said,

Cordova, a utility manager at Los Alamos National Laboratory, said he uses traps because he has a small farm and that coyotes and other predators sometimes kill his chickens.

He said activists who pushed for the passage of Roxys Law used him to accomplish something that had been on their agenda for some time.

They used me as a scapegoat to say, Look at how bad sportsmen are, and look at the results of trapping, he said.
Jena Ardell/Getty Images

ADRIAN, Ore. (AP)  An Oregon school district has been fined $11,000 for failing to uphold the state indoor mask mandate and other violations.

The current state mandate requires students to wear masks indoors to help stop the spread of COVID-19. The Adrian School District, near the Idaho border, is a small district that includes an elementary and high school with about 300 students total.
WARSAW, Poland (AP)  Israeli and Polish government officials on Saturday condemned an antisemitic incident involving Polish nationalists chanting Death to Jews on Poland's Independence Day this week.

Participants at the gathering also burned a copy of a medieval document that offered Jews protection and rights in Polish lands. The public expression of hatred occurred in the central Polish city of Kalisz on Thursday amid holiday celebrations across Poland.

The leaders of the event also referred to LGBT people and Zionists as enemies of Poland who need to be expelled.

Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski said Saturday he hoped that the people who organized the shameful and scandalous assembly in Kalisz on November 11 will suffer legal consequences.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid welcomed the unequivocal condemnation by Polish authorities and said Jewish people expect the Polish government to act uncompromisingly against those who took part in this shocking display of hate.

The horrific antisemitic incident in Poland reminds every Jew in the world of the strength of hatred that exists in the world, Lapid said.

Polands influential Catholic Church also also strongly condemned the outpouring of hatred.

Bishop Rafa Markowski, chairman of the Committee for Dialogue with Judaism of the Polish Bishops Conference, said that such attitudes have nothing to do with patriotism.

They undermine the dignity of our brethren and destroy social order and peace. They are in direct contradiction to the Gospel and the teaching of the Church, Markowski said.

Poland's Independence Day celebrations have in recent years been overshadowed by events led by far-right groups.

The largest on Thursday was in Warsaw. The mayor tried to ban it, saying the capital city was no place for fascist slogans. He had court backing for the ban, but Poland's right-wing government gave the march the status of a state ceremony, the latest example of the ruling nationalists seeking to curry favor with extreme groups.

Poland was for centuries one of the most welcoming European lands for Jews, with kings offering them protection after they fled persecution in German lands.

Poland's Jewish community grew to become the largest in Europe in the 20th century, with some 3.3 million Jews living in the country on the eve of World War II. Most were murdered by Nazi Germany during the Holocaust. Today, the community is very small, numbering in the thousands.
PORTLAND, Maine (AP)  Maines only container port is operating smoothly even as supply chain disruptions cause cargo ships to back up at other U.S. harbors.

The Port of Portland is poised for a record-breaking year with at least 36,700 shipping containers expected to cross the docks at the International Marine Terminal this year, the Portland Press Herald reported.
MEXICO CITY (AP)  Even for the violence-wracked Mexican state of Michoacan, it was surprising when a priest called from the pulpit for parishioners to arm themselves against warring drug gangs.

The cartel gunmen come, they take the livestock, they screw your wife and daughter, and you do nothing," the Rev. Alfredo Gallegos said in a sermon. Well, get yourself a gun, the government can go to hell."

We have to defend our lives, Gallegos continued.

Mexican law forbids most civilians from owning almost all firearms, except for extremely-low caliber hunting rifles or shotguns.

But Michoacan has a history of armed civilian self defense vigilante militia movements from 2013 and 2014. Back then vigilantes managed to chase the dominant Knights Templar cartel out, but rival cartels like the Viagras and the Jalisco cartel have moved in. Kidnappings, killings and shootings have prompted thousands to flee their homes.

Gallegos, a parish priest better known as Father Pistolas for his habit of carrying a gun, was backed by some fellow Roman Catholic clergy Friday.

The Rev. Gregorio Lopez, a priest known for once wearing a flak vest while celebrating Mass, has spent the last few years running shelters for people who have fled their homes due to violence. He has also tried to help get asylum or refugee status for Michoacan residents in the United States.

Lopez called Gallegos' sermon the cry of the people.

He is trying to be the voice of the people, and that is the feeling of the community, that they should be armed, said Lopez, who served as a sort of spiritual adviser for some of the self-defense groups in 2014.

The Rev. Gilberto Vergara, who has a parish in Aguililla  a mountain town that has been fought over repeatedly by warring cartels and whose residents were cut off from the outside world for months  took a more cautious view.

This thing about civilians taking up arms never ends well, Vergara said.

Still, he was circumspect about Gallegos' preaching style.

I think that to say things in a direct way, you don't have to be offensive, Vergara said. I would not act that way, but everybody has their own style.

The issue is far from academic or theological in Michoacan. The Mexican army has sent troops to the state, but only to act as a buffer between the warring cartels, trying to ensure that neither invades the other gang's territory.

But soldiers do little or nothing about illicit gang activities occurring just a few hundred yards from their checkpoints.

Vergara has previously criticized the inaction. The most shameful thing is the absence of the government, which has become simply a spectator in a war that has left so many dead, so much destruction, he told The Associated Press in discussing peoples frustration with the army

That has led Michoacan residents to once again take up arms, in the face of rampant extortion by the Viagras, Jalisco and other gangs.

This time around, the self-defense movement  now known as United Towns, or Pueblos Unidos  sprang up in 2020 in the avocado-growing regions that were not the epicenter of the 2013 vigilante uprising.

As avocados have become a more widespread and lucrative crop, drug cartels and gangs have taken to extorting protection payments from growers.

This week, a convoy of at least 50 pickup trucks full of hundreds of armed vigilantes drove into the town of Ziracuaretiro, near the city of Uruapan, to force the gangs out.

The vigilantes have been moving west, seeking to end extortion demands by gangs that farmers say amount to as much as $500 per farmer per month.

In the town of Tepalcatepec, on Michoacan's border with Jalisco state, vigilantes fought battles this week with gunmen that they say are from the Jalisco cartel.
CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP)  A congressional district map that would bolster Democrats' advantage in Nevada swing districts is angering progressives who argue in the process it dilutes minority voting power by splitting Latinos across three districts.

The map proposed by Democratic leaders in the Nevada Legislature redraws the state's 1st Congressional District in downtown Las Vegas. It exchanges affluent suburbs like Henderson with Democratic-leaning urban neighborhoods and divides the Allegiant Stadium from the rest of the Las Vegas Strip. In doing so, it would add Democrats to two neighboring districts that have traded hands between parties.

The current district, which Democrat Dina Titus represents, contains more than twice as many registered Democrats as Republicans. The proposal would redistribute about 1 out of every 7 Latino residents and decrease the demographic groups share of the district from 45.1% to 35.5%.

The trade-off exemplifies competing interests facing lawmakers redrawing maps during a special legislative session underway and, for the Democratic Party coalition, a disagreement over how to maximize minority voting power; Democrats' proposal may shore up the party's advantage in battleground districts, but dividing the places where Democrats have the largest advantage means no district proportionately represents Latinos, who account for roughly 4 out every 10 Nevada residents.

A Democratic-majority state Senate committee advanced the proposed maps for further consideration on Saturday evening but left the door open to potentially amend it.

Maria Nieto Orta, the political director of Mi Familia Vota, said congressional candidates have historically been vocal advocates for immigration reform, but she wonders if adding white suburban voters to the district will give rise to candidates who mobilize immigration anxieties to sway undecided voters.

As of right now, CD-1 is pro-working families and pro-immigration reform," she said of the district. "Thats really important for electing representatives. If we separate the Latino community, itll be harder to elect someone who directly understands what the community needs.

Because it has grown less than Nevada's three other congressional districts, the shape of the downtown Las Vegas district must inevitably change. But Nieto Orta said it was important to preserve its DNA.

Mi Familia Vota and other groups part of a coalition called Nevadans Count submitted alternative maps on Saturday that retain the demographic makeup of the district.

It needs to continue to be a district where low-frequency, ethnic voters can connect with representatives who understand our challenges and are unafraid to take strong stands for our policy interests," Nieto Orta said.

For Titus, the most senior Democrat in Nevada's congressional delegation, the proposed map could transform her safely Democratic district to one where the party's registered voters have only a single-digit margin.

Demi Falcon, an executive assistant in Titus' office, submitted an alternative map last week that draws Nevada's 1st Congressional District to be 37.2% Latino and gives Democrats a 16 percentage-point registration advantage over Republicans.

Titus' campaign spokesperson Blake Williams said the congresswoman would fight for constituents regardless of the maps, but thinks alternatives to the legislative leaders' map  including her staff's  better protect interests of those she represents.

This is a draft map that shows you can maintain communities of interest and keep the integrity of District 1 intact. It also meets legal and constitutional requirements, Titus campaign spokesperson Blake Williams said.

Ironically, the Legislature's Republican minority  which has limited power to overrule Democrats' proposals  also submitted maps that retain the nature of Titus' district and draw it to include 47.7% Latino residents.

Democrats called the Republicans' maps a gross attempt to isolate and weaken the political presence of both Latinos and African-Americans across the Las Vegas Valley.

Racially motivated packing results in a terrible misrepresentation of the growing diversity of this state, it is bad public policy, and it is flatly illegal. It should be thoroughly rejected, Democrats in legislative leadership said in a statement.

Senate Republican Leader James Settelmeyer dismissed the accusation. All I know is this, he said,  ... when you have a large group of individuals that represent a particular community of interest, they should be left together.

Districting experts warn against maps that disempower minority voters by packing them in single districts or cracking them and dispersing them across multiple. Fighting underway in Nevada illustrates how the concepts can be partisan fodder for both sides.

The majority plan takes individuals that live in Hispanic areas away from their district and takes ones that are left and combines them with wealthy areas. So I dont understand how they can say our maps are problematic, Settelmyer said.

Emily Persaud-Zamora, the director of the voting rights advocacy group Silver State Voices, said the Nevadans Count coalition was concerned about drawing districts that don't disempower the Latino community, not about the partisan implications.

Regardless of if Republicans aim to pack Latino voters into a single district, Nevadans Count wants to maintain the demographic breakdown of Nevada's 1st Congressional District because they say it's what residents of east Las Vegas  the heart of the Latino community  support.

Breaking down that district is really taking away the power of that community that has been there for so long, Persaud-Zamora said.

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Metz 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.
MERIDIAN, Miss. (AP)  A 23-year-old man is in custody, accused of killing his mother whose body was found at their house in Mississippi.

The Lauderdale County Sheriffs Department arrested Detrick Kelton Ocampo after a relative found Tanya Ocampo's body Friday at a home in the Center Hill community.
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP)  Syrias private Cham Wings Airlines on Saturday suspended flights between Damascus and the Belarus capital of Minsk because of the critical circumstances along the Belarus-Poland border where thousands of migrants have been trying to cross into the European Union.

The company said most of its passengers to Minsk have been Syrian citizens and that it was difficult to differentiate between those traveling to Belarus as a final destination and others who are migrants.
JACKSON, Miss. (AP)  In the summer of 2020, a utility maintenance worker discovered the fully dressed skeletal remains of a man in a wooded area behind Holmes Avenue.

Investigators tried conventional approaches to determine the identity of the skeletal remains, including using a common type of DNA testing called Short Tandem Repeat, but were unsuccessful. With leads exhausted, some of the bones were shared with Othram, a private Texas forensics lab which offered to help the Mississippi Forensics Laboratory solve cases involving unidentified persons.

Othram used the recovered bones to build a DNA profile to identify the remains and potential family members. During the research, a member of Anderson Bolls provided DNA that the lab tested. In September, the state crime lab confirmed the remains as Bolls.

Its been very exciting to generate even the smallest lead to steer investigators in the right direction toward working a case, said Othram CEO David Mittelman.

Jackson police shared information about Bolls last summer when he went missing from 325 Derrick St. He was last seen April 1, 2020 and was 55 at the time of his disappearance, according to his profile on the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.

Now that he has been identified, Bolls family members are making funeral arrangements at Willis and Sons Funeral Home.

Othram works with law enforcement agencies in multiple states, including Mississippi. Since 2019, the lab has identified four people from remains shared by the Mississippi crime lab.

Each case costs about $5,000 and covers DNA analysis, supplies and research tools. Mittelman said members of the public can donate to fund individual cases.

The State Medical Examiners Office has more than 50 unidentified cases, some of which are decades old. Mandy Davis, a spokesperson for the Department of Public Safety, said attempts were made to identify people in the cases, but traditional identification methods were unsuccessful.

In 2019, the Mississippi Forensics Laboratory sent several cases to Othram after the company reached out to say it could help identify remains.

We have other cases currently undergoing analysis with Othram, and we hope to identify those remains to provide resolution to the families of those individuals, Davis said in a statement.

In addition to Bolls, Othram helped identify the skeletal remains of a toddler, Alisha Ann Heinrich, who was discovered in the Escatawpa River near Moss Point in 1982. The company also help identify the remains of Kimberly Ann Funk found near Ward Bayou in Vancleave in 1991, and Clara Birdlong found near the Escatawpa River near Moss Point in 1977.

Investigators believe Birdlong was likely a victim of the deceased serial killer Samuel Little, who confessed to murders across the Southeast.

HOW DOES OTHRAM DO IT?

To make identifications, Othram uses forensic methods and technology that previously seemed like science fiction, Mittelman said.

The lab uses DNA sequencing with hundreds of thousands of markers. As a result, the lab is able to recover and analyze DNA in low quantities, and from contaminated or degraded samples.

Generally, cases havent been solved because of limited technology, DNA testing and databases of genetic material, Mittelman said.

Othrams lab also helps investigators digitize their evidence, which he compared to working with old records or cassette tapes to recover an MP3 file.

Othram is like the forensic MP3 producer, he said.

GETTING THE PUBLIC INVOLVED

Othram gives people an opportunity to help solve cases through DNASolves, a DNA database its lab uses, and a website to share information about cases it is working on.

The goal of sharing case information is to bring tips and new leads to investigators, Mittelman said.

These cases are older. You get the word out and someone knows something, he said. We view DNA Solves as a megaphone to keep these stories alive.

Through DNASolves, people can contribute their own genetic material through services like AncestryDNA or 23andMe. Mittelman said the more information Othram has, the greater ability the lab has to positively identify remains and determine who they are related to.

DNASolves asks for donations from the public to support cases Othram is working on. Each case costs about $5,000, he said.

This is a wonderful example of combining hard-working investigators, he said. You sprinkle in technology, and you have goodwill and philanthropic support. When you mix all of those together, you have cases being solved.
GLASGOW, Scotland (AP)  The latest on the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow:

BRUSSELS  The head of the European Unions executive arm says Saturdays agreement at the U.N. climate conference gives us confidence that we can provide a safe and prosperous space for humanity on this planet, but warns that there is still hard work ahead.

Ursula von der Leyen is the president of the European Commission, and she says that there will be no time to relax.

The EU's lead negotiator says the text agreed keeps alive the Paris Agreement target of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius."

Franz Timmermans adds that "it is a text which acknowledges the needs of developing countries for climate finance, and sets out a process to deliver on those needs.

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GLASGOW, Scotland  U.S. climate envoy John Kerry has expressed support for the draft climate agreement under consideration at the U.N. summit in Glasgow.

Kerry told conference participants on Saturday that while every country would be uncomfortable with some part of a possible deal, we all know the adage of negotiations: you cant let the perfect be the enemy of the good. And this is good. It is a powerful statement.

He said climate change was an issue that allowed countries like the United States and China to rise above disagreements on other matters and come together for the common good.

He said: Not everyone in public life...gets to make choices about life and death. Not everyone gets to make choices that actually affect an entire planet. We here are privileged today to do exactly that.

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GLASGOW, Scotland  Indias environment minister sought to block efforts to include references to phasing out coal and fossil fuel subsidies in a deal proposed at this years U.N. climate summit.

Bhupender Yadav told negotiators on Saturday that there was no consensus on key issues and blamed unsustainable lifestyles and wasteful consumption patterns in rich countries for causing global warming.

He said developing countries were entitled to the responsible use of fossil fuels.

European Union climate chief Frans Timmermans responded shortly after by warning that negotiators were at risk of stumbling in this marathon a couple of meters before reaching the finish line.

For heavens sake, dont kill this moment, Timmermans said. Please embrace this text so that we bring hope to the hearts of our children and grandchildren.

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GLASGOW, Scotland  Money is still the crucial point of disagreement between rich and poor nations and is delaying nations from a potential agreement at the U.N. climate summit, according to the Maldives minister for environment, climate change and technology.

Small island nations have long pushed for an independent compensation mechanism for irreversible losses caused by climate change. But the current proposal at the talks in Glasgow, Scotland, fall short of what is needed to bridge the gap between developed and developing worlds, Maldives minister Aminath Shauna said Saturday.

I still have not found text and language that can bring both parties together on this issue. she said.

The draft proposal published in the morning said participating nations had decided to establish dialogue on this issue of compensation for climate damages.

This is not enough urgency when hurricanes and floods are impacting essential services like drinking water in the Maldives, Shauna said.

But she also acknowledged that the mention was a slight win that took a lot of work for many years and therefore we dont want it to be removed entirely.

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GLASGOW, Scotland -- The British official chairing the U.N. climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland says negotiators have arrived at a moment of truth for their children, grandchildren and the planet.

Alok Sharma said talks late Friday and during the day Saturday had made progress.

He said that collectively our climate ambition and action to date have fallen short on the promises made in Paris six years ago but the latest draft agreements offered tangible steps and milestones to get there.

Sharma urged countries to take a short break to formalize the proposals before reconvening later Saturday to pass them.

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GLASGOW, Scotland -- The chair of a group of African negotiators at the U.N. climate talks in Glasgow says he thinks their concerns havent been heard by the developed world.

U.S. climate envoy John Kerry huddled with representatives from Africa and other parts of the developing world on Saturday afternoon to discuss proposals for a potential loss-and-damage fund for poor nations hit by irreversible impacts of climate change and credits in a carbon-trading market.

Lee White, the Gabonese forest and climate change minister who chairs the group of African negotiators, told Egyptian representatives afterwards that the last-minute side conference was "the first real discussion Ive had...in a huddle with John Kerry with lots of people standing around.

Youve seen the process because youre in it, White said in remarks overheard by The Associated Press.

He said that developing nations would likely meet themselves to discuss the draft and "whether we can live with the text or not. White says he thinks the process of reaching a final agreement will need to go beyond negotiators and involve ministers.

Its now political, he said.

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GLASGOW, Scotland  Last-minute smaller negotiations have delayed the larger group of nations from taking up a potential agreement at the U.N. climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland.

Conference president Alok Sharma vowed that the negotiations will end Saturday afternoon, a day later than scheduled, and result in a balanced package.

A number of parties are still wanting to have a discussion and resolve issues, Sharma said more than 100 minutes after a scheduled stock-take discussion of the most recent drafts was supposed to start, but hadnt. I hope we can have some resolutions before formally starting this plenary.

Sharma called the latest proposals that negotiators spent the day poring over "collectively, a package that really moves things forward for everyone.

Australian Environment Minister, Leonere Gewessler, said earlier Saturday: We will fight hard for a good and ambitious result. We still have intense hours ahead of us.

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GLASGOW, Scotland --- Several charities are offering to provide funds to kick-start a separate and independent mechanism for rich countries to support vulnerable nations from climate change.

The groups say in a statement that they will contribute an initial $3 million to start with for the Glasgow Loss and Damage Facility -- effectively a vehicle to give money to poor nations for irreversible damages from climate shocks.

This proposed separate fund is one of the crucial stumbling in negotiations, with rich nations opposing it.

The non-profit Childrens Investment Fund Foundation, the European Climate Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and others are inviting all nations and financial institutions to lend support to the fund.

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Follow all AP stories on climate change at https://apnews.com/hub/climate.
BEAUFORT, S.C. (AP)  Staff Sgt. John Bentley and Pfc. Esteban Villa stepped toward each other as the U.S. flag they folded grew smaller. Wearing white gloves, they tucked and patted it, just so, and communicated in whispers  Ready, fold. Ready, turn.

Then, the young soldiers from Fort Stewart turned crisply toward a couple in their 70s, Charlie Read Jr. and his wife, Alice, seated in the front row. On behalf of a grateful nation, a triangle-shaped flag as tight as a button was presented for the World War II service of Charles Read Sr. and Valerie Leyrer Read, veterans who were Reads parents. Charlie wiped away tears but described the service afterward as a happy event.

They were inseparable in life, Read, of Sun City, said of his parents. And here they will be together for eternity.

Life goes on in 2021 at the Beaufort landmark, 158 years after President Abraham Lincoln created it. Here you can find 9,000 Civil war veterans, including Black troops and Confederates  who sometimes lie side by side  along with men and women from all wars. Soldiers, sailors and airmen continue to be buried here today, just as they did during the Civil War.

Like the Reads, all veterans get ceremonies with military honors and secure final resting places underneath towering live oaks and palmetto trees. There is no cost.

But time is catching up with the old graveyard where more than 30 U.S. flags lined Palmetto Drive for Veterans Day.

More than 17,000 headstones have begun to lean or sag, or both, due to the shifting ground. Those headstones are now being fixed as part of a $3.1 million overhaul. A longer-term, age-related issue cant be resolved as easily: Beaufort National Cemetery, spread across three city blocks and 44 acres, could be out of room in 15 to 20 years, marking its end as an active cemetery.

Theres really no area to further expand, says Jeff Applegate of the National Cemetery Administration, the assistant director of the cemetery.

MEMORIAL SERVICES RETURN

The cemetery, one of the oldest final resting places for veterans in the nation, features 26,959 headstones honoring veterans from the Civil War to the war in Afghanistan. Its located off one of Beauforts busiest streets, behind a brick wall.

An estimated 2,500 people visit the eternal oasis each month, making it one of the citys biggest attractions, drawing not only families with loved ones but also historians and returning Marines who trained at nearby Marine Corps Recruit Depot-Parris Island or Marine Corps Air Station-Beaufort, Applegate says.

The cemeterys deep connection to the nations Civil War history, age, idyllic setting and the unusual way in which it was designed, make it a serene fixture in changing times.

Its changed in small increments, Applegate says, but it really hasnt changed since they first designed it.

Laid out in the shape of a half-wheel, its oyster shell roads, originating at the hub, form the spokes, and live oaks, magnolias and palmetto trees tower over it.

Then came COVID-19 in early 2020. The pandemic initially ended the memorial services, with only direct burials allowed for several months to avoid the spread of the virus. Services eventually returned, but with restrictions on crowd size. Many people postponed interments or memorial services until the ceremonies were allowed again in late 2020.

Now services are back to normal. In fiscal year 2021, which ended Sept. 30, interments jumped to a near-record 729, a 28% increase, after slipping to 567 in 2020.

A TOUGH GIG

Look at it, Read said, standing in the shade of live oak trees and gesturing to the sea of tombstones, moments before his parents ceremony. Its beautiful. It doesnt get any nicer than this.

Charlie Reads parents, Suffolk County, New York natives, died just four months apart in 2001 in Chester County, Pennsylvania. His mother was the first woman in the United States to become a county commander within American Legion, Read said. His father was elected commander a few years later. She was a homemaker. He was a locomotive engineer. At the end of WWII, both served in the U.S. Army stateside, he as a heavy machine gunner in the infantry, she as an x-ray technician in Army Medical Corps.

A retired U.S. Air Force major, former trooper with the New York State Police and former special agent with the Pennsylvania Attorney Generals Office, Read knew almost immediately that Beaufort National Cemetery was the right place for his parents after visiting on Memorial Day. To be sure, the history and beauty stood out. But Read also noticed that husbands and wives were co-interred, with their information on each side of the headstone, which made an impression.

He was so moved by the Nov. 9 ceremony for his parents that he caught up with the military honor guard members afterward to offer his hand and thanks. I know its a tough gig, he told them, still teary-eyed.

Beaufort National Cemetery has been around since Feb. 10, 1863, two years before the end of the Civil War, when Lincoln created 13 national cemeteries needed for the growing numbers of war dead. Initially, interments came from Civil War soldiers who had died at hospitals or battlefields. Over time, veterans from nine additional wars, in addition to peacetime veterans and, in some cases, spouses, young children or adults who are fully dependent, joined them.

Today, it is one of 155 national veterans cemeteries. Of those, 75 remain active. Eventually, Applegate says, cemeteries run out of room and stop allowing new burials. That process has happened more quickly at cemeteries in the East compared to larger cemeteries in the West, Applegate says.

HEMMED IN BY HOUSES

In 2009, the 30-acre historic part of Beaufort National Cemetery, the part surrounded by the brick wall, was expanded by 10 to 15 acres in the back, outside the wall. Today, most burials are conducted there.

But, hemmed in by houses, Beaufort National is projected to reach capacity in 2035 or 2040, the Cemetery Administration, which is part of the Veterans Administration, Applegate said. If it closes to new interments, the cemetery would still remain open to the public, but a search would likely begin for 200 to 300 acres in the region for a new cemetery to be developed, he said.

But not one of those decisions has been made yet, Applegate said.

For the immediate future, A $3.1 million project is underway to raise and realign an estimated 17,445 markers that have settled and moved over time in the 30-acre historic section. It requires a full-time crew painstakingly removing each marker, putting aggregate below to stabilize it, then reinstalling it and making sure the alignment and height are correct.

A new irrigation system also will be installed at the same time. A grass that survives better underneath the big trees also will be planted. The entire project is expected to be done by May 2022.

A BLANK CHECK

Cemetery representative Louis Brown II greeted the Reads when they arrived for the ceremony. Lights flashing on his vehicle, Brown led the two-vehicle procession to a small shelter, where the flag ceremony and the playing of Taps by Pfc. Oscar Cardona was complete in 10 minutes.

Then cemetery caretaker Alex Garcia placed the small urns in the ground. Markers have been ordered that will say, I ran out of steam, for Charles Read Sr., who worked for the Long Island Railroad, and Ill make reservations, for Valerie Read, who loved going out for a ride and dinner.

Charlie Read pointed down the line of gravestones. His parents, he said, will be joining their brothers and sisters. They all wrote the blank check, Read said. They put it all on the line.

Read and his wife have decided that they, too, will be buried at Beaufort National Cemetery.
NORMANDY, Mo. (AP)  Over the past 10 years, inspectors have cited a St. Louis County nursing home for scores of problems, ranging from failure to swiftly report alleged abuse to lack of heat in the facility during a cold snap in April.

After a string of deficiencies this year, federal regulators sent a letter to the home, Normandy Nursing Center off St. Charles Rock Road, saying they were poised to terminate Medicare funding.

But the center filed notice it was fixing the problems, and, three days before the deadline, regulators reversed course.

Things have to be really bad, and sustainably bad, with no improvement for a long time, said Marjorie Moore, executive director of VOYCE, a nonprofit based in Marlborough that advocates on behalf of nursing home residents. And that is a problem.

The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which funds and regulates nursing homes, rarely threatens to terminate Medicare funding. And it even more rarely follows through: It has cut off reimbursements to just three nursing homes in Missouri in the past decade, according to agency records. And yet facilities here and across the country are littered with deficiencies, as described by state inspectors, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Across the state, there are more than 500 nursing homes eligible to receive federal reimbursements. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, known as CMS, rates nursing homes on a scale from 1-star, or much below average quality, to 5-star, or much above average quality.

The St. Louis region has an outsized share of low-rated nursing homes. Statewide, 21% of facilities in the Medicare and Medicaid programs have 1-star ratings from CMS. In St. Louis and St. Louis County, the number is 46%.

Today, Normandy Nursing Center has a 1-star rating.

The home is licensed for 116 beds, and from 2011 to 2019, the reports show, the census was normally around 90 or 100 when inspectors visited. In recent months, it has hovered between 30 and 50, according to CMS data, suggesting a dramatic drop in occupancy during the pandemic.

The Post-Dispatch reviewed the nursing homes inspection reports going back 10 years. They showed that surveyors have told management to fix nearly 200 issues over that time.

Recently, family members of a Metro East man who stayed there for three days this spring said he suffered a broken nose while under the facilitys care, and they have been unable to get any explanations.

Kathy Plurad, 62, a physical therapist, said she worked part-time at Normandy Nursing Center on a staffing agency contract from November 2011 to April 2012. Plurad said she saw patients neglected and spoken to disrespectfully by staff.

One day, when an inspector came to survey the facility, Plurad wrote on a piece of paper: You need to close this place.

She said she showed the inspector the note, and then ripped it up, and threw it away.

The facilitys owner, Creve Coeur-based MGM Healthcare, didnt return multiple phone calls seeking comment.

Expectations should be high

The state Department of Health and Senior Services is responsible for inspecting nursing homes twice a year. CMS and the Missouri Medicaid Audit and Compliance Unit are responsible for imposing fines. They can also terminate a facilitys federal reimbursements  but that happens in only the most extreme cases.

In 2012, CMS revoked the Medicare agreement for Shady Lawn Nursing Home, in the northwest Missouri city of Savannah. CMS did not respond to requests for details about the reason for the closure in time for publication, and the state health department said it did not have the inspection reports because, under its records policy, they are destroyed five years after a facility is closed.

In 2015, CMS cut off Medicare funding to Liberty Terrace Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center, outside of Kansas City. The decision followed a series of bad inspections and multiple wrongful death lawsuits, a local NBC affiliate reported at the time.

In 2016, the agency revoked Medicare funding from Benchmark Healthcare of Festus, a 79-bed nursing home, after the facility failed to provide enough food for its residents, failed to give four residents their medications, and fell far behind on its bills. Employees spent their own money on grocery runs, and washed residents soiled clothes and sheets in their own houses and laundries after the nursing homes washing machines broke down, the Post-Dispatch reported at the time. The then-owner of the facility was later sentenced for stealing Medicaid dollars.

In 2018, CMS stopped reimbursing care for new residents of a nursing home in Ferguson  Christian Care Home  and threatened to terminate all funding if dramatic improvements werent made. The nursing home shut down shortly after, with leadership citing financial issues.

Advocates are trying to catch problems before they become serious.

VOYCE regularly sends staff and volunteers into 374 area nursing homes to talk to residents about their concerns.

Weve been able to make facilities better just by our presence, Moore said.

They were unable to go into facilities when they were locked down due to COVID-19, so the number of complaints the program received slowed down significantly. Now they are back in the nursing homes and attempting to catch up for lost time. The numbers of complaints and requests for information now, Moore said, are back to pre-pandemic levels, and more come in as VOYCE gets more staff and more resources.

Running a nursing home is a big responsibility, Moore said. The expectations should be high.

Unanswered questions

In March, an inspector visiting Normandy Nursing Center wrote that staff had not immediately reported when a resident had expressed fear of a staff member and alleged that the employee hit the resident across the ankles. The administration investigated the incident and was unable to substantiate the allegation, it said in a report.

In April, during a follow-up inspection, a resident who was incontinent complained that he or she had not been changed during the night, despite calling for staff. And when the outside temperatures dropped to lows of 33 and 30 degrees, staff handed out blankets to residents, but didnt turn on the heat.

Then in June, an inspector found that an exit door did not latch properly, and a resident had left the nursing home without the staffs knowledge.

In each case, as with all the deficiencies filed this year, the nursing home made changes. It gave employee training on abuse prevention and reporting, caring for incontinent residents, and protocols for residents at risk of leaving without staff knowledge, according to the plans of correction it filed with CMS. It repaired the faulty exit door, and said it would do audits regularly to make sure residents were getting the care they needed, and that the temperature was comfortable.

But some are still worried.

Robert Allensworth, a resident of Wood River, Illinois, and former Olin Corp. machinist, in 2018 was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury after a surgery, and from then on has required constant care. Over the next few years he moved around to a handful of different long-term care facilities.

This spring, he had a three-day trial stay at Normandy Nursing Center, starting on April 12, according to police records and interviews with two of his family members. But late that evening, Normandy Police were called to the nursing home because Allensworth was causing a disturbance, and had barricaded himself in a room with two other people, according to a police report.

Allensworth was taken in an ambulance to South City Hospital, where he was given a psychiatric evaluation. He was taken back to the nursing home on April 14, and then brought back to the hospital once more, on April 15, to pick up a prescription.

His mother, Sharon Allensworth, said when she went to Normandy Nursing Center to pick up her son on April 15, his face and nose were swollen, and he had bruises on his chest. She took him to Alton Memorial Hospital the following day, and learned that he had a fractured nose. She didnt know when or where he was injured during the three-day period.

Allensworth had fallen and gotten injured at other facili

ties in the past. But Sharon Allensworth said she was used to being notified of each injury, and receiving an explanation of how it happened. She was shocked that no one at Normandy Nursing Center had notified her.

The family reported the incident to the Normandy Police Department. Sharon Allensworth said she has called the nursing home countless times. And the family made a report to the state Department of Health and Senior Services, which responded on Aug. 27 in a letter to Robert Allensworths sister, Patricia Robien.

The letter says the department made unannounced visits to the facility in April and no information was found to show that her brother was injured at the facility, but that in no way negates her concerns.

By late summer, Robert Allensworth was living at his home, with help from family and a hired caregiver. His family said he caught COVID-19, and passed away in August at the age of 56.

His family is still searching for answers about his injuries in April.

Im not going to let this go, Robien said.

I just want them to respond to me, Sharon Allensworth said. What happened? Howd he get hurt?
CONCORD, N.H. (AP)  New Hampshires second-largest teachers union is angry over a state website that makes it easier for parents and students to report teachers for violating a law adopted in response to critical race theory.

Deb Howes, president of the American Federation of Teachers New Hampshire, accused Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut of launching a war on teachers that could lead to educators losing their licenses over unfounded claims under the states divisive concepts law, the Concord Monitor reported.

Howes called on Edelblut to step down over his outrageous, obviously politically motivated, harmful effort.

The Department of Education website, announced on Wednesday, was created in response to a law that prohibits teaching children that theyre inferior, racist, sexist or oppressive by virtue of their race, gender or other characteristics.

It was pitched as an effort to strengthen anti-discrimination laws, but critics say it aims to reject any discussion of systemic racism. A majority of New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununus diversity council quit after he signed the law in June.

The website allows a parent or student who believes a teacher has broken the law to submit an online form, which is sent to the New Hampshire Commission for Human Rights for investigation.

In a statement, Edelblut said the website was created for parents and students to use in the rare instance in which someone believes someone is being treated unfairly in a classroom.

We know that here in New Hampshire, teachers do their best to treat everyone equally, and genuinely strive to communicate with both dignity and respect, he wrote.

But activist groups and other opponents see it differently.

The New Hampshire chapter of a national conservative parents organization tweeted, Weve got $500 for the person that first successfully catches a public school teacher breaking this law.

The National Education Association New Hampshire, the states largest teachers union, believes the law is a solution in search of a problem.

It underscores the concern that the laws intent was to chill education about diversity, equity and inclusion and about learning past mistakes so theyre not repeated again," said Brian Hawkins, the union's government relations director.

Critical race theory has become a rallying cry for some conservatives who take issue with how schools have addressed diversity and inclusion. The theory is a way of analyzing American history through the lens of racism but is not itself a fixture of K-12 instruction.
Courtesy of Strata Tattoo Lab

When coming or going from Joshua Tree National Park, you may notice a tattoo shop on the side of the road in Joshua Tree and Twentynine Palms. Then another one. Then several more. As it turns out, Southern Californias high desert is a heavily tattooed area.

The clientele varies, with plenty of locals and people from the Twentynine Palms Marine Corps base. Then there are those who come to visit Joshua Tree, fall under the spell of the desert and decide that theyd like to bring some part of it home  on their bodies.
In this weeks news, Thanksgiving air travel volume this year is expected to approach or exceed pre-pandemic levels; Southwest introduces a new destination from Oakland; Alaska Airlines starts five new routes next week; United will eliminate several smaller cities from its United Express route map; American announces a new fare product for business travelers on high-frequency domestic routes; Japan and Israel ease up entry rules for foreign visitors; American offers big bonuses to employees who work over the holidays; Delta lays out plans for a boost in trans-Atlantic operations; Iberia, SAS and KLM will increase San Francisco schedules; international route news from Air New Zealand, United, Finnair and American; and the FAA slaps another 10 unruly passengers with $225,000 in fines.

Remember the Thanksgiving travel crunch of 2019, before the pandemic hit? It looks like this year could be even busier, according to a new report from the Adobe Digital Economy Index, which tracks consumer online spending. Adobe said that flight bookings for the period of Nov. 20 to 25 are 3.2% higher than they were at this point in 2019, and 78% above where they were last year. Historically, most Thanksgiving tickets (78% in 2019 and 84% in 2018) were booked by this point in time, Adobe noted. The companys research also revealed how airlines have been using fare discounts to attract passengers. In September of this year, Adobe said, Americans spent $4.2 billion online for domestic flights, which was 35% less than in September 2019, although the number of bookings was down just 13%. In October of this year, consumers $4.8 billion in online flight spending was down 28% from 2019, while bookings were down just 10%. Adobe said that flight prices are now ticking up after seeing sizable drops during the COVID-19 Delta variant surge. In October, prices were just 7% below 2019 levels. As prices continue to rise, consumers should start thinking about Christmas travel pretty soon, said Adobe lead analyst Vivek Pandya.

AAA just issued its annual forecast for Thanksgiving travel, and it predicts that air travel will be close to 2019 levels (4.2 million travelers in 2021 versus 4.6 million in 2019) but will likely not exceed them. Still, this years numbers will be a huge increase  80%  over Thanksgiving 2020s 2.3 million air travelers. And the reopening of the U.S. to foreign travelers this week is bringing a surge in international travel, AAA notes, meaning that airports will be busier than weve seen, so travelers must plan for long lines and extra times for TSA checks. As for cost, Even with air travel seeing a boost this year, AAA finds that the average lowest airfare is 27.3% less than last year, coming in at $132. Tuesday and Wednesday are still the most expensive and heaviest travel days with Monday being the lightest and least expensive, the organization said. Road travel  which accounts for most Thanksgiving trips  will also be heavy this year, AAA said. It predicts that the busiest car travel in the Bay Area will be along the Interstate 80/580 corridor through the East Bay on Wednesday, Nov. 24, from 4 to 6 p.m., when traffic will be 278% of normal.

Alex Tai/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Southwest Airlines this week kicked off new service between Oakland and Bellingham, Washington, with two daily flights, as well as new service between Bellingham and Las Vegas. Bellingham, located along the coast 20 miles south of the Canadian border, is a 90-minute drive from Vancouver and is also the ideal gateway to the San Juan Islands, Oakland Airport said. Elsewhere, Alaska Airlines is due to launch some new routes on Nov. 19, including Palm Springs-Austin; Tucson-Everett, Washington (Paine Field); and Phoenix-Boise, as well as international service to Belize from Los Angeles and Seattle.

In other domestic news, United Airlines continues to shave smaller airports off its United Express schedule. On Jan. 3, United Express plans to end service to College Station and Killeen, Texas, and to Monroe, Louisiana, all served from its Houston hub, along with flights from Chicago OHare to Columbia, Missouri; Evansville, Indiana; Kalamazoo and Lansing, Michigan; and Wausau, Wisconsin. Also getting the ax is United service to Winnipeg, Manitoba, from Denver and Chicago. The blog Simpleflying.com notes that all these domestic routes are served mostly by Uniteds 50-seat Embraer 145s and CRJ-200s, which the carrier is phasing out. As for the future of similar routes that use those smaller aircraft, expect more airports to disappear from the airlines network, Simpleflying.com says.

Alaska Airlines

In the latest enhancement to the American Airlines/JetBlue Northeast Alliance, American said this week it will introduce a new product next year called Main Select in key business markets with high-frequency service, including New York LaGuardia-Washington Reagan National, LGA-Chicago, Boston-Washington Reagan National, LGA-Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth-Chicago, and DFW-Los Angeles. American plans to pull out of the LGA-Boston market, handing it over to JetBlue, and to phase out its Shuttle product. Main Select will be a new fare class that includes business traveler-friendly services like refundable fares, priority boarding and check-in, choice of any Main Cabin seats available at time of booking (including Main Cabin Extra), and no-fee same-day flight changes. The company said its business travelers can also purchase a similar Blue Extra fare on JetBlue high-frequency routes including LaGuardia-Boston. Following up on the extension of reciprocal perks to American AAdvantage and JetBlue TrueBlue elite members this fall, American said TrueBlue Mosaics can now select preferred aisle or window seats on AA at the time of purchase. Finally, American said that beginning in December, AA and JetBlue will offer lie-flat seats on all transcontinental routes from New York and Boston. The two carriers Northeast Alliance is currently the subject of a challenge by the Justice Department on antitrust grounds.

Japan, which has been virtually shut down to international visitors since the pandemic began, opened up this week  but only a little. The country is now allowing fully vaccinated business travelers to visit without undergoing the usual 10-day quarantine after arrival. But they will still have to self-isolate for three days and then get a negative COVID-19 test result. International students will also be allowed in, but the government doesnt expect to see foreign tourists coming back to Japan before it takes another look at the COVID situation later this year. Meanwhile, Israel this month started allowing individual foreign tourists into the country for the first time since early last year. Visitors are required to show proof of COVID vaccination or recovery from an infection within the past six months and must get negative test results before departing to Israel and again after arrival.

Desperate to prevent another massive cancellation of flights over the coming holidays due to staffing problems, American Airlines is motivating workers to show up by offering them new pay incentives. For flight attendants, the airline says it will pay 150% of their regular compensation for working as scheduled from Nov. 23 to 29 and Dec. 22 to Jan. 2, and if they have no absences between Nov. 15 and Jan. 2, theyll get a holiday pay rate thats triple the normal level. Customer service reps and reservations agents will also get 150% of normal pay on days around the holidays, plus a $1,000 bonus for not missing any work from mid-November through early January. American also offered pay incentives of 150% to 200% to pilots who fly during the holiday peak season, but the Allied Pilots Association, which represents AA pilots, turned down the offer. Instead, it wants to concentrate on negotiating meaningful permanent improvements in a new collective bargaining agreement, APAs board said.

Delta has laid out its plans for expanded Europe service in 2022 and said its schedule will make it the largest operator of trans-Atlantic flights from New York and Boston, reflecting a 90% boost in capacity over 2021. The carrier also noted that thanks to an overhaul of its A330s and 767-300s during the pandemic, all its flights to Europe will offer a Premium Select cabin  i.e., Deltas premium economy product  along with Delta One or Delta One Suites (first class), Comfort Plus (extra-legroom economy) and Main Cabin (regular economy). At its New York JFK hub, Delta plans to resume daily Zurich flights Feb. 6 and begin five flights a week to Brussels on March 26, to Edinburgh on May 1 and to Copenhagen on May 26, as well as daily Prague service starting May 26. JFK-Frankfurt operations are scheduled to resume Dec. 13, and Delta plans to increase JFK frequencies to Amsterdam, London, Milan and Rome to twice-daily next summer.

At Boston, the airline plans to introduce new routes to Tel Aviv and Athens in late May and to resume daily service to Rome on May 1 and five flights a week to Edinburgh on May 27. And at its Atlanta hub, Delta will revive Munich flights Dec. 13 and Milan service on May 1, and will increase frequencies to Amsterdam, London and Rome. Other restored Europe routes will include Portland-Amsterdam on May 3, Cincinnati-Paris on Aug. 2 and Raleigh-Durham to Paris on Aug. 3. ThePointsGuy.com noted that Deltas announcement left out eight European destinations where the airline apparently isnt returning in 2022, including Dusseldorf, Stuttgart and Berlin, Germany; Glasgow, Scotland; Shannon, Ireland; Dubrovnik, Croatia; Malaga, Spain; and Ponta Delgada, Portugal.

With the U.S. now reopened to most foreign visitors, were seeing more announcements from international carriers about resumed or new routes. For example, Spains Iberia Airlines  a member of Americans Oneworld alliance  plans to resume service from San Francisco International to Madrid in April, operating three flights a week. Iberia already flies from SFO to Barcelona. In the same month, Iberia expects to start service between Madrid and Dallas/Fort Worth (a route also served by American) and will begin a long-postponed new route between Madrid and Washington Dulles, with four flights a week in each market.

Scandinavian Airlines, a member of Uniteds Star Alliance, plans to increase service between San Francisco and Copenhagen over the Christmas/New Years holidays, operating up to five flights a week. This week, SAS revived its service to Miami from Stockholm, Copenhagen and Oslo. Also in November, the carrier will boost its Newark schedules to offer twice-daily departures to Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm, and in mid-December, it will add Chicago-Stockholm service to its existing Chicago-Copenhagen schedule.

KLM said this week that with the reopening of the U.S. to European travelers, it has resumed flights to all cities here that it was serving before the pandemic. Its current schedule of five flights a week between Amsterdam and San Francisco is planned to increase to daily frequencies Dec. 6. The Dutch carrier  a member of Deltas SkyTeam alliance  also flies from Amsterdam to Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Atlanta, New York, Washington Dulles, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Houston, Las Vegas and Miami.

In other international news, although New Zealand remains closed to most foreign travelers, Australia has started allowing overseas trips for its own citizens again, so Air New Zealand has resumed Los Angeles-Auckland-Sydney service with just one flight a week, although that is expected to increase to four in December. United Airlines is due to revive service Nov. 13 from its Houston Bush Intercontinental hub to Rio de Janeiro with three weekly flights and is expected to bring back Washington Dulles-Sao Paulo flights starting Dec. 16. Finnair, which recently started nonstop service to Stockholm from LAX, Miami and New York, plans to start flying to its Helsinki home base from Dallas/Fort Worth four times a week beginning Feb. 6. Finnair already serves Helsinki from LAX, Chicago, Miami and New York. American Airlines started new service from New York JFK to New Delhi this week, but it is delaying a new route between Seattle and Bangalore from January to March 26. American is also pushing back its planned new service between Dallas/Fort Worth and Tel Aviv to March 5; it already flies to Tel Aviv from JFK and Miami.

Boarding1Now/Getty Images

After remaining relatively quiet on the unruly passenger front for several weeks, the Federal Aviation Administration has slapped more than $225,000 total in fines on 10 more bad actors. The rate of unruly passenger incidents on commercial flights has dropped sharply since the FAA launched its Zero Tolerance campaign (in January) but the rate remains too high, the agency said. As previously reported, the FAA also noted that the most serious cases are now being forwarded to the Justice Department for possible criminal prosecution, an authority the aviation agency doesnt have.



As before, most of the latest cases involved passengers who refused to wear a face mask, screamed abuse and profanities at flight attendants, and sometimes struck or pushed them. The highest fine in the latest batch  $32,000  was issued against a woman on a Horizon Air flight to San Francisco from Austin. Not only did she refuse to fasten her seatbelt, but she punched and screamed at her husband and son, repeatedly, diverting flight attendants from their duties. She threw trash at a flight attendant and snatched cookies from a nearby passenger, the FAA said. On an American Airlines flight from DFW to Aspen, one female passenger reportedly blew up when her seat wouldnt recline and started to verbally abuse the flight crew. Multiple passengers offered to switch seats with her, but she repeatedly declined and kept yelling at flight attendants. She agreed to switch seats with another passenger but continued to verbally abuse flight attendants, the FAA said. She then struck a flight attendant on the right forearm and attempted to do so again. Further, she repeatedly refused to comply with the facemask policy. See the FAA's announcement for details on all 10 of the latest FAA fines.
Sharon, PA (16146)

Today

Mostly cloudy skies. Morning high of 39F with temps falling to near freezing. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy after midnight. Low around 25F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.
SHELTON  Thule Inc., known worldwide for its outdoor and transportation products, is expanding into space at 710 Bridgeport Ave.

Thule presently occupies space in Seymour. Company Facilities Manager Stewart Semararo said the move to the remaining space in the building that is presently occupied by PerkinElmer and Panolam Industries International is needed to handle the business continued growth.

We looked at several locations in Shelton, and this one caught our eye, Semararo told the Planning and Zoning Commission at its meeting Tuesday.

The commission approved the new tenant, which will occupy space that was intended to house Bronx, N.Y.-based Gary Plastic Packaging Corp. That company recently backed out of plans to move into the building.

Thule Inc. will occupy 127,883 square feet of the 452,414 square feet of space at 710 Bridgeport Ave. The company intends to conduct manufacturing, office and warehouse and distribution operations there.

In this location, Semararo said there will be two shifts, with workers on-site from 7 a.m. to 12:30 a.m., 5 days per week, plus Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. A total of 60 employees will work at the site. First shift will consist of 50 employees, and the second shift will be 10 employees total.

Plans call for 100 parking spaces on the property to be allotted to Thule employees.

Thule will use six dock doors located at the south corner of the building. The site will have 15 tractor trailers coming and going between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. during the week, according to plans.

Traffic will consist of shipping containers being delivered, dropped off to unload, and tractor trailers being loaded with outgoing products, Semararo said. Truckers will be instructed to enter and exit at the southwestern driveway off Bridgeport Avenue.

This is the latest move on the site. The current plans from the property owner, AA Shelton, LLC, call for a Planned Development District approval for the property, with the goal of constructing three separate buildings.

The application calls for construction of one 17,680-square-foot building for light industrial, office or warehouse uses on a 4.5-acre section at the rear of the site. The other two buildings would house restaurants and be located on eight acres in the front of the property. One building would be 8,000 square feet, the other one 4,000 square feet with a drive thru.

The application states that additional parking for the existing uses will be constructed near the office and light industrial uses.

According to the application, The development can be performed in phases and the property divided into separate parcels provided reciprocal easements for access and utilities and maintenance agreements for the entire parcel are in place.

The application further states that the parcel could be subdivided to create separate ownership of the proposed use areas, subject to the approval of a subdivision plan.

This move comes after the commission denied a zone change request last year for the property that would have allowed the construction of 272 apartments.

That plan had called for four buildings and 272 units with 10 percent of the units, 27 total, listed as affordable housing. The structure where PerkinElmer is located was to remain, with the four buildings built in the current parking area.

The commission cited concerns about the projects density, with residential and industrial uses mixed on the site, and an increased traffic burden on Bridgeport Avenue.

The proposed development of two apartment buildings would have been inconsistent with the citys Plan of Conservation and Development and, if approved, would hurt ongoing downtown development, the commissioners said.

It was in February that, with commission approval, Gary Plastic Packaging Corp. announced it would move its operations from Bronx, N.Y., to occupy 207,000 square feet of the structure for manufacturing, office, warehouse and distribution services. That company has since pulled out of that move.

brian.gioiele@hearstmediact.com
Local

LASD board to consider contract for Corlett

Kyle Corlett

The Ludington Area School District on Monday is expected to approve a three-and-a-half-year contract with Kyle Corlett to serve as the school districts new superintendent starting Jan. 1, 2022.

The board will meet at 6 p.m. at Peterson Auditorium, 508 N. Washington Ave.

Corlett, current superintendent of Delton-Kellogg Schools, was picked by the school board on Nov. 8 to fill the position vacated by Jason Kennedy in September.

SUBSTITUTE TEACHER PAY

The board also discuss a proposed substitute teacher pay rate increase, which would up the daily rate for substitutes to $125 per day an from the current $85 per day rate.

The school district last week used five of its six allotted snow days due in part to a personnel shortage. School is expected to start back up on Monday.

FOSTER BID

The board will also discuss one bid received for the Foster Elementary School property. Bids were due to the school district by Nov. 10. The bid received was from Datum Point Real Estate out of Grand Rapids, according to Steve Carlson, school board president.

The proposal from Datum Point is for 25 newly constructed townhomes.

PICKLEBALL

The board will look into resurfacing the eight pickleball quarts at Oriole Field.

This need has been identified due to multiple areas on the courts where cracking has become significant, Interim Superintendent Peg Mathis wrote in the board packet. The cracking has been filled repeatedly with in the last year, proving it is only a temporary fix, and more substantial resurfacing has become necessary.

Mathis wrote that the scope of work can be funded using the sinking fund instead of the general fund. Bids received to complete the work will be reviewed by trustees during Mondays meeting.

The board will also:

 hold a special presentation from the districts auditors, Hungerford Nichols. Mathis wrote the financial audit for the year ending June 30, 2021 has been completed.

 discuss the open house planned for the new elementary school, which is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 11.

 consider approving the elementary bond project application and certificate for payment No. 19 in the amount of $1,476,005.79

 hear from Mathis about the new elementary school transition planning and progress.
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In August the Pacific Island Forum, which includes Australia, agreed on a declaration that the regions maritime borders should be permanent, even if countries shrink due to sea level rise. But what if a Pacific island nation like Tuvalu eventually disappears under water? A sovereign nation without land is uncharted territory in international law, says Jane McAdam, director of the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law at UNSW. The world has never faced a situation where a recognised state is destroyed by an environmental phenomenon. The International Law Commission, the United Nations principal legal agency that investigates fundamental issues confronting the international legal system, has established a study group on sea level rise. Many international lawyers would say that for a country to be a state it has to have a defined territory, a population and a government. But in some Pacific islands its already the case that there are more citizens living away from their territories, for economic reasons, than within them. And nobody is suggesting Tonga isnt a country anymore, says McAdam. A lot of international law scholarship on this subject has been very theoretical or abstract, without recognising there are real people whose lives are being affected, she says.

Rising sea levels arent a future threat in the Pacific, but already a reality. Sea levels in the western Pacific have been increasing at a rate two to three times the global average, resulting in almost 30 centimetres of net rise since 1990. A decade ago the Fijian government approached Fijian resident Frances Namoumou and her employer, the Pacific Conference of Churches, to assist with relocating people from the small coastal village of Vunidogoloa, on the island of Vanua Levu. A young woman standing in the rain in the village of Naviavia, which has been bought from Fiji by Kiribati to ensure that Kiribati islanders have a place to go when the sea level overcomes their islands. Credit:Getty Namoumou was taken aback: We were looking at small atoll states like Tuvalu and Kiribati and thought it would happen to them quicker. Fiji has a bigger land mass - we did not expect some of our communities would have to relocate so quickly. But floods and erosion at Vunidogoloa caused by sea level rise and increased rains had become stronger, reaching homes on the shoreline and destroying crops.

Namoumou, who is co-ordinator for the ecology stewardship and climate justice program, oversaw the seven-year relocation of the village to a nearby location further inland. Because of this project, Fiji became the first nation to develop planned relocation guidelines and a climate displacement policy. Internal relocation continues in Fiji and the Solomon Islands, Namoumou says. It is vital we talk about this issue. If we continue to avoid discussion of relocation and displacement, then in the worst-case scenario, when our islands are under water, we will have to go where other countries tell us, she says. We want to design and plan this ourselves. Namoumou says climate justice - a response to climate change that considers human rights and the historical responsibilities for climate change - is often missing from the discussion.

These communities produce almost no emissions, yet they are having to lose their identity, that is rooted in their land, and their sacred totems, she says. Where are the rights of Indigenous people, their right to their land and way of life? The Pacific island nations have teamed up to pressure developed nations on emissions reductions and to demand that they meet commitments to provide financial aid for developing nations affected by climate change. A house inundated by water due to the rising sea level in Sidogemah, Central Java, on November 8. Credit:AP But COVID-era travel restrictions have meant fewer Pacific leaders are in Glasgow and their frustration was on display when Tuvalu Finance Minister Seve Paeniu made an emotional plea to delegates. Our land is fast disappearing. Tuvalu is literally sinking. We must take action now, he said. In the first two days of the world leaders summit, we heard passion, commitment and pledges. That was encouraging. However, since that time and through the corridors of this marvellous facility, we are not seeing that level of optimism being translated.

Since the 1970s, there have been more than 300 planned relocations globally within countries where the state has moved populations to protect them from disasters and environmental change, according to research from the Kaldor Centre. But crossborder relocations are still rare. In 2014 the government of Kiribati bought 2000 hectares of land on the Fijian island of Vanua Levu to become home to residents who may be forced to leave if their islands are submerged. Suega Apelu bathes a child in a lagoon in Tuvalu, one of the Pacific Island nations most threatened by climate change. Credit:Getty Images Some countries, like Tuvalu, are currently opposed to relocation, saying its population has the right to live and prosper on their own lands. Relocating populations affected by climate change provides a quick fix while failing to address the root causes of the crisis, says Kofe. But Tuvalu respects the decisions of Pacific nations that choose relocation as an option. There are some precedents of population relocation between countries following environmental catastrophe. After 1945, British authorities relocated most of the population of Banaba Island, part of Kiribati, to Fijis Rabi Island, after phosphate mining made much of Banaba uninhabitable.

And in 1963 the Australian government planned to relocate the entire population of Nauru to an island off the Queensland coast, also because of phosphate mining damage. Loading But the Nauruans refused to go, saying they did not want to lose their identity. Many criticised resettlement as a quick-fix solution by the governments that had devastated their homeland. In Australia, two Torres Strait community leaders are taking the federal government to court, alleging it has failed to protect First Nations traditional owners living on the front line of catastrophic climate change. Paul Kabai and Pabai Pabai, Gudamalulgal traditional owners from the remote, low-lying islands of Boigu and Saibai, say their precious cultural sites are being washed away and their islands soil ruined by salt.

Professor Tim Stephens, from the University of Sydney law school, says people are turning to the courts because the legislature and executive arent reacting quickly enough to climate change. We dont have a national plan to deal with the displacement of people, or the impacts on particular problems, he says. Its a great example of failure at a national level. Loading Frances Namoumou says many Fijian communities are still recovering from the three or four cyclones that have hit her country over the past two years. She wants Australians to hold their state and federal governments to account over climate action. Its not a far-off thing we are forecasting, but our daily experience, she says. I wonder how our Australian brothers and sisters feel when Pacific communities are suffering or struggling to respond to climate losses and damage.
A US man living in Sydneys east faced court on Saturday after being accused of scamming retirees of more than $2.8 million via fake bonds and allegedly later channelling the money to his personal bitcoin account.

Investigators from the cybercrime and financial crimes squads will allege in court that Richard Emil Ayoub, 52, had received almost $3 million from 14 would-be investors between March and August this year.

Richard Emily Ayoub allegedly transferred the funds into his bitcoin account. Credit:AP

Police [received reports] the would-be investors were duped into investing in fake bonds, mainly through self-managed super funds, by scammers posing as trusted financial institutions, NSW Police said on Saturday.

Police began investigating in March this year and on Friday raided Mr Ayoubs Woolloomooloo apartment which overlooks Sydney Harbour.
Dozens of formerly homeless Victorians who were given a place to live in a lavish inner-city apartment building will be moved out after other residents complained of threats, public drug taking, and violence.

Earlier this year, as part of a $150 million program to house homeless people who had spent the pandemic in hotels, the Andrews government bought 55 apartments at the newly developed Park House building complex on Victoria Street in Abbotsford.

The Park House - Riverbank apartment buildings in Abbotsford. Credit:Justin McManus

The program has rehoused vulnerable members of the community but from the point of view of other residents it has not been a success.

The first encounter was when someone threatened to kill me outside the building, said one Park House resident, who spoke to The Age on the condition of anonymity due to fears for his physical safety.
A Melbourne businessman and former political staffer will replace retiring speaker Tony Smith in his outer-eastern Victorian seat of Casey.

Aaron Violi, a former adviser to Senator James Paterson, will become the partys candidate after beating a field of six other candidates including three women on Saturday afternoon.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg with Aaron Violi before Saturdays selection meeting. Credit:Joe Armao

More than 250 party members voted in the preselection for the seat, which stretches from the outer-eastern suburb of Belgrave into the Dandenong and Yarra ranges, at an event at the Yarra Valley Racecourse that was also attended by senior Liberals including Treasurer Josh Frydenberg.

In the final round of voting, Mr Violi beat Andrew Asten, Education Minister Alan Tudges former chief of staff, by 152 votes to 101. The third candidate was Melbourne City councillor Roshena Campbell, who finished ahead of four others, including prominent oncologist and Guardian columnist Ranjana Srivastava.
The Andrews government is considering substantial amendments to its controversial pandemic legislation that has sparked weeks of animated debate and led to protesters turning up at a key crossbench MPs home.

Animal Justice Party MP Andy Meddick, one of three upper house MPs whose support the government needs to pass the bill, told The Age abusive protesters arrived at his house on Friday evening to demonstrate against the proposed law.

Andy Meddick outside Parliament last month. Credit:Getty

It shouldnt come to this, it just shouldnt, Mr Meddick said. I understand why people disagree. People disagree in a vibrant democracy. But you dont have the right to come to someones house and make their family feel physically in danger.

Some of the marchers who gathered in their thousands in Melbournes CBD on Saturday to protest against the bill and coronavirus vaccine mandates carried nooses, while others waved placards calling for Mr Meddick and his crossbench colleagues to be hanged.
London: Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, said the British royal family had been constantly berating her husband Prince Harry about her estranged fathers behaviour, according to text messages released by a London court.

Earlier this year, a high court judge ruled that the Mail on Sunday newspaper had breached Meghans privacy and copyright by publishing parts of a letter she wrote to her father Thomas Markle in August 2018, three months after her wedding to Harry, Queen Elizabeths grandson.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Meghan told her adviser the royal family berated Harry over her relationship with her father. Credit:AP

The five-page letter followed a collapse in their relationship in the run-up to her wedding, which he missed due to ill health and after he admitted posing for paparazzi pictures, and their fall-out was then exacerbated by later media interviews he gave.

This week, the paper asked the Court of Appeal to overturn the ruling, arguing that the duchess had written the letter in the knowledge it could become public.
Janie Slaven | CJ

The effort to build a new Burnside Elementary is currently on hold as city and school officials work to obtain state funding that will help fix an entrance road to the site that the Pulaski County School System plans to purchase.
BETHEL  Police say they were on patrol early Thursday morning when they spotted a van in the parking lot of a local diner.

When officers inspected the vehicle, they found two young men from New York who police say were in the process of stealing used cooking oil from a vat.

The two men, ages 19 and 24, were taken into custody on charges of fourth-degree larceny and conspiracy to commit fourth-degree larceny. The 19-year-old front passenger was also charged with carrying a dangerous weapon after police said he was found with a knife with a blade longer than 4 inches.

The two are being held on $10,000 and $20,000 bonds.

The owner of the Stony Hill Diner, where the alleged theft occurred, could not immediately be reached for comment on Friday.

Used cooking grease is not uncommon for crooks to slip away with, police said.

Lt. Robert Durkin, a spokesperson for the Bethel Police Department, said businesses contract companies to recycle the used oil, but in some cases, they arrive to find the oil missing.

Thieves can then resell the stolen grease, which is recycled as biofuel or used in pet food and animal feed or used to make commercial products.

Thefts of the slippery stuff can also be highly organized. In 2019, the U.S. Attorneys office for the Eastern District of North Carolina announced the indictment of 21 people connected with the trade of used cooking oil in North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee, which was transported to New Jersey for sale.

Used cooking oil has become a sought-after commodity by biodiesel companies, and restaurants use the sale of this oil as another source of revenue, John Eisert, acting special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Charlotte, North Carolina, said in a statement at the time. This team of co-conspirators had an elaborate scheme to steal thousands of gallons of cooking oil for their own profit in violation of several U.S. laws.

Last year, Connecticut lawmakers reintroduced a bill that would have stiffened penalties for people caught stealing used cooking oil, making it a crime on par with stealing property valued at $1,000.

Gov. Ned Lamont vetoed that proposal the year before, and the American Civil Liberties Union opposed the bill when it came to a public hearing. The organization said the proposal did not set a minimum value of stolen oil that would trigger the harsher penalty and was an unnecessary over-criminalization that would contributed to mass incarceration.
GREENWICH  Students across town marked Veterans Day with special ceremonies this past week as they learned lessons about the sacrifices made by those who served the nation in the military.

Army Capt. Daniel Izzo was honored at the Veterans Day ceremony on Thursday at Old Greenwich School, which his children Colton, Tanner and Sadie attend.

Izzo has received the Bronze Star, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal and the U.S. Army Meritorious Service Medal during his career. He was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Army after graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 2002.

He served as an officer and Blackhawk helicopter pilot in the U.S. Army. In 2003, he was deployed to Tikrit, Iraq, as a Blackhawk helicopter pilot with the 4th Infantry Division. In 2005, he was deployed again with the 4th Infantry Division to Baghdad, Iraq, as a Blackhawk pilot and an aide to the commanding general. In 2009, he was deployed to Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne.

At Parkway School, school board Vice Chair Kathleen Stowe attended a Veterans Day ceremony with her father, former U.S. Army Capt. Thomas Jordan. He served from 1963 to 1971 in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and served in the DMZ in Korea in 1963 and 1964.

Stowes daughter, fourth-grader Mary Stowe, and mother, Marie Jordan, also attended the event.

At Riverside School, students and staff honored service men and service women, both past and present, in a special outdoor ceremony, which has been a school tradition for the past 21 years. Fourth- and fifth-grade classes were invited to participate in the ceremony on the schools front lawn along with a few volunteers, staff and local veterans.

First Selectman Fred Camillo, Police Chief Jim Heavey and veteran Peter LeBeau took part. Principal Christopher Weiss led the event, which included a flag-raising, the Pledge of Allegiance and placing a memorial wreath.

At North Street School, members of Girl Scout Troop 50303 joined with members of Scouts BSA Pack 9 to honor veterans. The Scouts led the Color Guard, placed a memorial wreath, recited the Pledge of Allegiance and sang Day is Done.
STAMFORD  The first murder trial to he held here in nearly two years ended Friday with prosecutors casting aspersions at a witness who confessed in court to the 2015 shooting of Maxine Gooden.

That witness, Morris Moore, pleaded guilty two years ago to a lesser charge related to the shooting and no longer faces criminal liability for his courtroom confession.

On Tuesday, Moore took the stand for the defense and declared Im the one who did it.

Prosecutors described him as the getaway driver who was covering for his friends, defendants DeShawn Hayes and Jhonel Telemin-Valerio, who each face murder charges in the death of Gooden.

Mr. Moores facts dont comport with the physical evidence of the DNA, Senior Assistant States Attorney Joseph Valdes said Friday during his closing argument.

Valdes pointed out the DNA from all three men were found on the weapon in an order suggesting the shooter handed off the gun to Moore so it could be disassembled and hidden in his Jeep.

Police pulled over the Jeep and the three men roughly 14 minutes after the shooting, with Moore behind the wheel, Valdes said.

In their closing arguments, however, attorneys for Hayes and Telemin-Valero described Moores account as the most plausible course of events that November day in Lione Park.

The state doesnt even know who the principal shooter is, but they want you to convict these guys, said Lindy Urso, the attorney for Telemin-Valero.

Moore, who is serving a 20-year sentence for his involvement in the shooting, was not in court Friday. Neither was Hayes, who could not attend the proceedings due to several positive COVID-19 cases at the housing unit in the Bridgeport Correctional Center where he is being held, according to his attorney, Darnell Crosland.

Hayes watched the final day of the proceedings by video stream while his co-defendant, Telemin-Valero, listened intently to the closing arguments.

After closing arguments, the eight-woman, four-man jury was sent to the deliberation room for about 15 minutes before being dismissed for the weekend by Superior Court Judge Gary White.

White told the jurors to return to court Monday morning to continue their deliberations.

Both men face potential life sentences on charges of criminal possession of a firearm and murder. The jury was instructed Friday that they can also find the men guilty of the lesser offenses of first-degree manslaughter with a firearm or criminally negligent homicide.

Even if Moore was the shooter, Valdes described the actions of all three men  circling the park in Moores Jeep, parking away from the crowd that included Gooden and her family  as evidence that the group planned the shooting. Moore said the shooting targeted a man named Richie, with whom he claimed to have an ongoing feud.

Do you think its credible  that Mr. Moore would do everything and his friends would have no idea about it? Valdes said.

Urso, however, pointed to Moores statement earlier this week that he blacked out, when he saw Richie in the park, and acted without thinking. Moore said he fired four shots from his 10 mm handgun in the direction of Richie, one of which hit the 43-year-old Gooden, killing her.

I dont think anybody can credibly deny that Morris Moore is wanting to help his friends, Urso said. That doesnt mean that hes lying.

Hayes attorney, Crosland, took a different tack with his closing arguments, accusing police of conducting a flawed investigation and prosecutors having a convict-at-all-cost attitude.
LITCHFIELD  A local military mom is disputing a decision made by the boroughs Board of Warden and Burgesses to remove yellow ribbons honoring the military from the town green.

Leslie Caron, whose son serves in the U.S. Air Force, said about three dozen ribbons were initially affixed to the trees soon after the start of the Iraq War in 2003.

All was fine, she said, until 2009 when they started disappearing.

The board of the borough of Litchfield decided they didnt want them up there anymore, Caron said. They said its been long enough. The fight began. We went back and forth for quite a while.

A compromise was reached in 2010, Caron said, that allowed them to keep five ribbons up so long as they maintained them.

That compromise has seemingly ended now, with the borough board voting in September to have the ribbons removed by Jan. 2.

This was 11 years ago, Caron said. Everything quieted down. This summer we were on vacation and we came back to no ribbons. We put them back up. And they came back down. And nobody is admitting to who is taking them down.

Gayle Carr, the new senior burgess, said the vote to remove the ribbons was in line with the boroughs ordinance that no signage can be posted on the green. In their interpretation of the ordinance, the ribbons are signage because they represent speech and have symbolism.

The borough board is charged with the enforcement of the ordinances that govern the borough, Carr said. One of the central pieces of that is the care and maintenance of the National Historic Landmark known as the green. Theres a concern that by allowing those ribbons in the first place ... a prior configuration of the board had allowed something that is essentially prohibited by the borough ordinances ... and thats not a good thing.

Caron believes the decision is anti-military in nature.

Carr said thats not the case, explaining the board would have reached the same decision if someone wanted to place pink ribbons on the trees for breast cancer awareness.

The decision to take down the yellow ribbons in no way means that we do not like or support our military or our veterans, Carr said. It is not about that. The statement of the Carons is really disturbing. They seem to not have the capacity to recognize that you can support our military without having the yellow ribbons. For some of us, flying the flag is enough to respect and reflect.

In 2016, a monument was placed on the town green by American Legion Post 27, listing the names of 33 Litchfield residents who have served in the military since Aug. 2, 1990  the day the Iraqi Army invaded Kuwait.

Carons sons name is on that monument.

But for Caron, seeing the bright yellow ribbons represents something more.

This is very important to us, Caron said. Its in support of our military and our military families. This is our military and they keep us safe. They give these people the right to do what theyre doing to us. We just have an awful lot of support in town.

Carr believes the monument and the American flag flying on the green should be enough for Litchfield to honor its local military members and veterans. There are also monuments on the green honoring those who served in the Vietnam, Korean and Civil wars as well as World War I and World War II.

I understand it is an emotional issue for them, Carr said. We are just trying to make sure that the green is maintained as an appropriate National Historical Landmark. The flag flies higher than it all. We should remember that. Thats what its there for. Its not about the yellow ribbons bringing us together. Its the flag that brings us together.

After attending the boards meetings in October and November, to voice her support for the ribbons, Caron said she plans to attend the December meeting to do the same. It will be her last chance to convince the board to reverse its decision before the ribbons are supposed to be removed.

If people support the ribbons, they have to let the borough know, Caron said. We dont know where they are coming from. They say its the borough rules. They can be changed and modified. In 2010, we have it in writing where there was a vote allowing the five ribbons. They dont care about that [compromise].
MILFORD  A local woman used a hidden camera to catch her live-in boyfriend sexually assaulting her 8-year-old autistic son, according to police.

The man, 53-year-old Charles Ayers, has been charged with risk of injury to a minor and illegal sexual contact with a minor.

Judge Maureen Dennis ordered him held on $350,000 bond at his arraignment in Superior Court Tuesday.

According to an arrest warrant, the boys mother told police Ayers had sexually assaulted her son Oct. 30.

She said Ayers had moved in with her at the beginning of the month after the two met in February on a dating app and would sometimes care for the boy when she worked late.

About two weeks prior, she told police, Ayers tickled the victim near his crotch in a way which made her feel weird, so she ordered a hidden camera from Amazon, which she hid in the boys bedroom. She told police she saw Ayers hugging her son strangely.

Because the cameras view was slightly obscured, she ordered a live feed camera for her living room.

On Oct. 30, according to the warrant, Ayers texted her that the victim was tired, so she checked the live feed, which showed Ayers sexually assaulting the boy.

The woman immediately left work and confronted Ayers, telling him to get out of the house, then called police.

According to the warrant, the woman gave police video of the abuse, which also shows Ayers taking drags from an electronic smoking device and blowing it in the boys face. The mother later told police Ayers used the device to vape marijuana.

In court Tuesday, the judge ordered Ayers to stay away from the alleged victim and his mother, and ordered GPS monitoring if he does post bond.

A public defender said Ayers is on disability benefits from the V.A. and wouldnt be getting out of jail anytime soon.

Hed be unable to meet any bond, the lawyer, Emily Claffey, said.

A bail commissioner said Ayers has substance abuse and mental health issues and has lived in Connecticut for three years, with prior convictions from North Carolina, including assault with a deadly weapon.

He was due in court Friday to appear in a case where he was arrested in June for allegedly stabbing the tire of a delivery vehicle and yelling at the driver, police said in a press release at the time.

He has pleaded not guilty to breach of peace and third-degree criminal mischief in that case.

The judge continued both cases against Ayers to Dec. 9.
U.S. policy will continue to stand with friends and allies at the Black Sea to enhance deterrence and make sure that actions such as those Russia conducted over the recent years in the region don't go any further, U.S. Embassy Charge d'Affaires David Muniz told AGERPRES in an interview on Saturday, adding that the U.S. authorities work actively with the Romanian Government in advancing Romania towards the Visa Waiver Program.

The statements were made aboard the USS Mount Whitney, U.S. Sixth Fleet flagship, which arrived in the Port of Constanta for a stopover on Friday, together with destroyer USS Porter, both ships being in the Black Sea waters, according to the U.S. Navy, for standard maritime operations alongside NATO partners and allies.

"The significance of the ship visit [in Constanta] is important, signifying the excellent security relationship between our two countries," David Muniz said.

Constanta is the third port, after Istanbul, Turkey, and Batumi, Georgia, where USS Mount Whitney stopped, after it left from Gaeta, Italy, on October 29. The ship will leave the Port of Constanta on Sunday.

Seven military ships of the naval forces of Romania, U.S (including USS Mount Whitney and USS Porter), Turkey and Ukraine participated on Friday in an exercise carried out in the international waters of the Black Sea, off the Romanian coast, according to the National Defence Ministry.

Asked to comment Russia's reaction according to which the U.S. is conducting aggressive activities and creating a multinational military force at the Black Sea, the U.S. diplomat said operations such as those of USS Mount Whitney are planned long in advance.

"The Russians routinely claim that everything we do is provocative, but, in fact, our transparency in planning exercises within NATO is one of the things that marks out NATO as an alliance of democratic nations that work together transparently for security and mutual defense, not for aggressive purposes," he said.

"The Black Sea is an area of conflict, if you will, not active, military conflict, but certainly it's an area of tension and conflict. We've seen the actions Russia is taking, annexing illegally pieces of Ukraine, actions in eastern Ukraine, issues with territory in Georgia. U.S. policy will continue to be to stand with our friends and allies, to increase interoperability, increase deterrence, continue to work with the navies of allies and partner nations in the Black Sea, to enhance deterrence and make sure that things [Russia's actions, ed. note] don't go any further," David Muniz also said.

Present alongside the U.S. diplomat, Vice Admiral Eugene H. Black III, Commander of United States Sixth Fleet, in turn, told AGERPRES, that this operation of USS Mount Whitney, which entered the Black Sea on November 4, had been planned some time ago.

"This is how alliances and partnerships work, normal operations with allies and friends, and how Russia chooses to characterize it is Russia's choice. I am glad to be sound with my NATO partners, I am glad to be visiting Romania," the U.S. Vice Admiral said.

In his speech delivered to the reception organized on the ship on the occasion of the presence of USS Mount Whitney in the Port of Constanta, Vice Admiral Eugene H. Black III said that the U.S. "values the key-role that Romania plays in hosting and contributing to the Black Sea exercises, which promote maritime cooperation and interoperability."

"Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said during his visit to Romania last month [October, ed. note] and I quote 'Security and stability of the Black Sea are an U.S. national interest and are critical to the security of NATO'S eastern flank.' To promote this security and stability, we are committed to working together to deepen Black Sea cooperation," the Commander of United States Sixth Fleet also said.

Asked about the recent calls Romania and Ukraine made for an enhancement of the U.S. military presence in the Black Sea region, U.S. Embassy Charge d'Affaires said in the interview to AGERPRES: "We don't have any news plans at this time, we stand close with Romania, we continue to appreciate all of that Romania does to have so many U.S. forces here", Agerpres.ro informs.

Furthermore, asked about what was his message to Romanians, who see that there is a strategic partnership between Bucharest and Washington, and that Romania observes its commitments about military spending, nonetheless they cannot travel to the United States without a visa, David Muniz said: "We work actively with the Romanian Government in advancing Romania towards the Visa Waiver Program, which we know is a priority for everyone here, not just for your Government, for your people."

"I would say, having been here now for over one year, I can testify that it is not terribly difficult for a Romanian to obtain a visa if they want to. A very, very high number of Romanians get visas. The travel season we've had because of COVID has never been fantastic over the last couple of years, but, in general, it's not hard to travel, and so we look forward to making it even easier in the future," the U.S. diplomat said.
We can only transfer this risk on our balance sheet if we get the premium which we need to cover these risks, based on our own assessment, Rauch said.

Ratings agency S&P Global warned even reinsurers could be underestimating their exposure to climate risk by as much as 50%, describing their efforts to account for climate change as nascent in a recent report.

Industry experts also say disasters with a long history of causing severe damage, such as hurricanes in Florida, are more closely modeled than floods or wildfires, which have only in recent years begun to cause major losses.

That calls for reinsurers and independent risk-modeling firms such as RMS and KCC to try new ways of approaching natural catastrophes.

One such approach is scenario modeling, where insurers are provided with a number of possible climate impacts on their portfolios over years, to take account of the whole range of uncertainty, said Laurent Marescot, senior director, EMEA and CIS, at RMS, which sells its risk models to insurers.

Another involves machine learning, which can be used to take existing models of floods in a particular region, for example, and map them to other parts of the world, Marescot said.
Before the arrest of Perez Reed this week, there had been eight people charged in the St. Louis area since 2011 with crimes fitting the FBIs definition of serial killings: the killing of at least two people in separate events.

Most of the cases were tracked by Enzo Yaksic of the Atypical Homicide Research Group.

Pamela Hupp is serving a life sentence for the 2016 death of a mentally and physically disabled man, Louis Gumpenberger, and faces a pending murder charge for the 2011 fatal stabbing of Elizabeth Betsy Faria.

Hupp was charged in July with killing Faria. Russell Faria, Betsy Farias husband, was convicted of the crime and served 42 months in prison before he was exonerated in 2015.

Prosecutors allege Hupp stabbed Faria 55 times in Farias Troy, Missouri, home in an attempt to collect a $150,000 life insurance policy she had convinced her friend to put in Hupps name.
Philips, who owns a ready-mix concrete business, described himself as a Republican-leaning independent who worked on the 2010 campaign for Bill Corrigan, the Republican nominee for county executive that year.

Philips said he felt it was important to mention the affidavit because no one is a card-carrying Democrat or Republican, they just show up and vote the way they are.

He thought he had sent the message to Jones personal account, but he instead messaged Jones political campaign page. A staffer, Jones said, forwarded the message to the county GOP.

Jones said he hadnt seen the Facebook message until Philips called him Tuesday asking why it was circulating online.

I thought he was texting me to get some input from me, and certainly theres nothing wrong with someone reaching out, he said. I dont think there was anything untoward about the whole thing.

But it went to a public format, and thats what opened it up to a public interpretation.

Artman said she did not know the message was sent to Jones, whom she said she only recently met.
I couldn't get back to my house, said Carol Tassini, 84. I had to turn around three times. It was the worst I've seen it in a long time.

Longtime Mayor Bill Curtis said flooding has been part of living in Bay Head his entire life. But recent events have raised the alarm.

It's about time we tried to do something, because it's getting worse, Curtis said. We decided enough is enough."

A preliminary plan unveiled Tuesday at a town hall meeting suggested a mix of short and long-term steps the borough could take. One recommendation borrows a proposal from the state and federal plan, installing a flood gate on Scow Ditch, a narrow body of water that connects Barnegat Bay to the south with Twilight Lake to the north.

The town also is considering building an earthen berm around the edges of the lake to keep its waters from spilling over into neighborhoods during high tides or bad storms. The berm would be covered with plants and trees to form the kind of living shoreline that most environmentalists advocate.

Rick McGoey, a member of Bay Head's environmental commission who gave the presentation, said nuisance flooding occurs in town between 12 to 18 times a year; major flooding occurs 6 to 7 times a year. But those frequencies are sure to rise, he added.
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP)  North Dakotas Republican-controlled Legislature on Friday approved bills to prevent COVID-19 vaccine mandates and the teaching of certain concepts of race and racism, as lawmakers completed their five-day special session.

The Senate voted 38-9 to give final approval to a measure banning the teaching of critical race theory, which is defined as a way of thinking about Americas history through the lens of racism. GOP Gov. Doug Burgum signed the critical race theory bill later Friday, and also signed the vaccination bill.

Though there is no evidence that critical race theory is being taught in North Dakotas schools, backers said the bill aims to ensure it won't be.

Mott GOP Sen. Donald Schaible, who carried the bill on the Senate floor, said the measure is preemptive to try to make sure that it doesnt come to our schools.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  South Korea has rejected refugee status for ethnic Chinese people who have been stateless since they fled North Korea years ago, two of the applicants and an activists group said Wednesday.

Unlike North Korean defectors, who receive citizenship, almost-free apartments and other economic assistance in South Korea, ethnic Chinese from North Korea are denied access to such benefits if they maintained Chinese nationality in North Korea. About 30 of them have been designated as stateless in South Korea after authorities found they were attempting to pose as North Korean nationals and detained them, observers say.

The stateless designation makes it extremely difficult for them to get jobs and receive basic government-provided services. Four of them subsequently applied for refugee status in 2019, saying they wanted better treatment because their families have lived in North Korea for generations and suffered political suppression and economic difficulties similar to what most North Korean citizens face.

Last week, however, South Korea's Justice Ministry notified them that their refugee claims had been turned down, said Kim Yong-hwa, a North Korean defector-turned-activist who helped the four with their refugee applications.
If you were an American political leader secretly working for Russia or some other enemy of America, and you wanted to ensure that the pandemic did as much damage as possible in the United States, how would you go about it?

Not to alarm anyone, but the most obvious strategies toward that dark goal look an awful lot like what passes for public policy today in Missouri and other Republican-held states.

Since virtually every competent medical expert in the world agrees that masking and vaccination are key to stopping the spread of the coronavirus, your first order of business as an anti-American saboteur would be to thwart those remedies.

If the White House reasonably issued vaccine mandates for businesses, then you would want to undermine that policy by convincing people that this was some form of socialism  a reliable boogeyman in America for more than a century now. If school boards reasonably sought to require that their students wear masks, then you would want to stoke misinformation and anger among parents about masking.
Some of Missouris finest attractions are also some of its best-kept secrets. They include the woodlands, prairies, creeks, glades and other areas protected by the Nature Conservancy, Missouri Chapter. The 29 preserves, scattered around the state, are all open to the public, offering bird-watching, hiking, abundant native grasses, wildflowers in season, fine vistas and more.

Some have established trails, others are au natural. But all provide the chance to enjoy seemingly pristine landscape and connect with nature. Many of the preserves are not well known.

Such is the case with Victoria Glade, which we discovered recently. The unusual glade, with a large array of plant and animal species more common to the desert Southwest, lies along winding Victoria-Hillsboro Road in Jefferson County, about 30 miles south of St. Louis.

Adam McLane, director of the Missouri chapter, says when people visit the Victoria and other preserves, they are seeing the best of the best. He notes that the Nature Conservancy is saving the last great places where nature can repair itself, (as) none have not interacted with humans.

Glades  Missouri has more than any other state  are open areas in a wooded setting, where the bedrock is either exposed or near the surface and covered by just a thin layer of soil, he said.
China is seen as a major military and economic threat to the rest of the world, and especially to its neighbors in East Asia. There is another important aspect of this threat that is less visible outside China. While the Chinese government backs the aggressive strategy, the Chinese people are not cooperating. The population is shrinking and the new middle-class of university grads see China as a military threat as anxiously as Chinese neighbors do. These internal problems impose restraints on this new Chinese aggression policy and the ability to use it. The population is shrinking because of the one-child population program of the 1980s. This was not lifted until recently when it became obvious that just eliminating the one-child rules did not increase the birth rate. The university grads that made the economic growth possible are disillusioned with how this worked out and the new Chinese army cannot attract enough well-educated recruits to support the new Chinese ambitions.

Chinas explosive economic and military growth was the product of four decades of economic transformation, extraordinary economic growth, and modernization of all aspects of Chinese life. It started with a bold and seemingly desperate move; abandoning the principles the founder of Communist China, Mao Zedong, imposed. Mao defined the Chinese version of communism, which was different from the form popularized, and often imposed, by the Russians. Maoist communism stressed the rural population, not the urban workers, as the key revolutionaries and that radical change was required to achieve the socialist paradise. Maoism in practice proved disastrous and killed 20-30 million Chinese, mainly from starvation, when imposed during the 1950s. To deal with the negative response to that, Mao launched the Great Cultural Revolution in the early 1960s and while this phase only killed a few million it wrecked the economy and educational system. In the 1970s Mao died and those who sought to continue his work were killed or jailed. This led to a new leader, Deng Xiaoping who made some major changes to Chinese communism by instituting economic reforms during the 1970s and 80s that brought back a market economy while leaving the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) in power. This was a major innovation that modern communism defined as impossible. Deng also supported collective leadership with no more leader for life, to create and sustain more efficient government in general. Deng practiced what he preached, retired when his ten-year term ended in 1992 and died five years later died.

The Deng reforms lasted until 2016 when a new leader, Xi Jinping, decided that collective leadership was unsuitable for dealing with the problems the new affluence had created. Xi Jinping seeks to become and remain leader-for-life. To justify this lifetime tenure, he must significantly reduce the corruption and mismanagement that is so common within the CCP and the Chinese government in general. To make this work CCP leaders have, since Deng died, turned to nationalism and a buildup of conventional military power to support territorial expansion. If nothing else this is popular and could eventually mean getting Taiwan back while imposing Chinese rule on the South China Sea and grabbing a few other bits of territory. This only works if China does not trigger a major war. Xi Jinping convinced key members of the CCP to back him on this and that first became public in late 2016 when senior members of the CCP agreed to grant Xi Jinping a special powers and recognition that made him equal to communist China founder Mao Zedong. No other Chinese leader since Mao has had that kind of power.

While Mao has become popular with many Chinese, those who lived through the 1960s see Mao as a major failure. That is what led to acceptance by the CCP of the economic reforms that transformed China. Xi Jinping has, as expected, used this Mao-grade power to deal with the corruption that persists in the senior ranks of the government and military. To demonstrate that as soon as Xi was declared a Mao caliber leader the CCP Central Committee announced punishments for many senior party officials for corruption. Since then, there have been an unprecedented number of senior officials being accused of or punished for corruption. One thing these corrupt officials had in common that was not publicized was their opposition to Xi Jinpings political plans and ambitions.

Deng opposed life tenure for government and military officials as well as any thought of trying democracy, despite the success of that in Taiwan, Singapore and throughout East Asia. The Chinese aristocracy was overthrown in 1911 by Chinese seeking to try democracy and that was seen as a failure. The Chinese Republic of 1912 was unable to survive decades of civil war and a Japanese invasion that was part of World War II. By 1948 China had another emperor, in the form of CCP leader Mao Zedong and a new aristocracy that is still trying to survive. Xi Jinping is following the traditional rules of Chinese politics that survived Maos efforts to destroy and being methodical and avoiding radical changes like the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution or democracy. Most Chinese admire and respect that.

Xi Jinping offered a solution that does not involve democracy but will succeed or fail on how effectively it imposed accountability and honesty on a CCP bureaucracy that is more concerned about getting rich any way they can. Xi Jinping, like Deng Xiaoping, is willing to tolerate some bad behavior if it produces a net benefit for China and its rulers. So far that has led to the prosecution of some ineptly corrupt officials, and at least encouraged local officials to do something about practices that lead to pollution, waste, and abuse of power.

Deng and Xi did not foresee another collection of problems; population decline and middle-class burnout. In a pattern like what other industrialized nations have already experienced, China not only has a labor shortage because of a low middle class birth rate, bur is now experiencing the side effects of too many university graduates. Currently about 54 percent of young (18-22) Chinese will obtain university degrees and a growing percentage of them cannot find jobs that justify the effort and expense that went into obtaining a diploma. In 2021 over nine million recent university graduates went looking for a job. That was four percent more than 2020 and most will not find a job that requires a university degree. Even grads with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) degrees are not guaranteed a job and, even if they get an offer, it is often not well-paid and, in their field, as was the case a decade ago. Many must settle for low-level (high school) teaching jobs. The military is always seeking STEM grads but this is considered second-best because pay and benefits are not great and working conditions are often very unattractive, especially in the navy where ships spend more and more time at sea. Another problem with the military is that you must qualify to be an officer and that excludes many STEM grads who cannot meet the physical or gender (males preferred) requirements.

Over a decade ago it was noted that while China was getting rich, there was much corruption in the government, the military and even the universities. This created a growing number of unhappy Chinese, and they have a lot of unemployed, often because of corruption. Job seekers are cheated and exploited by corrupt employers and officials on a regular basis. These problems are especially painful for the half of new job seekers who have a university degree.

Difficulty for university grads getting a suitable job is nothing new. In the past, whenever there was an economic downturn, like in 2008, 30 percent of university students could not find a suitable job right away and taking anything caused problems later because to future employers that meant you were not a prime candidate right out of university.

Despite the tight censorship on Chinese Internet social media there is an increasing amount of chatter by recent university graduates about the need for change. Attempts to fix the core problem, corruption, are not working for most Chinese, especially new university grads and that is seen as menacing by Chinese in general. Historically Chinese dynasties usually fell because they were weakened and torn apart by rebels enraged by corruption. That's one reason why communists gained power in 1949. But their virtuous new government began to show signs of corruption within a decade, and it's gotten much worse since communist economic policies were dumped in the 1980s. What goes around, comes around, slowly and inexorably.

A decade ago, the annual number of university graduates rose from 1.4 million in 2002 to 3.4 million 2005 and 6.3 million in 2010. In 2002 only 15 percent of young Chinese were seeking a university degree and a decade later it was already a problem. Just passing the high school exam that qualified you for university entrance did not mean you got into the more prestigious schools. For parents who could afford it, or were willing to go into debt, getting into a foreign university was an expensive option. That meant improving the required foreign language skills and being away from home for a long time, especially if the graduate received better job offers overseas.

A decade ago, the military offered another solution. Back then the military wanted to upgrade their officer quality by requiring all new military officers to be university grads. A decade ago, only 5.7 percent of military personnel were university grads. While every Chinese male is technically subject to conscription, in practice the military depends on volunteers and recently potential recruits were allowed to apply on-line. The max age has been raised to 24 to make it easier for college graduates to join, usually for three years. The military provides more opportunities for university grads as in higher paid technical jobs and promotion of officer rank. On the downside, you could not make as much money as ambitious and able STEM grads could.

The armed forces devoted more resources to recruiting recent grads. This often worked, especially when the economy was unable to provide all grads with suitable jobs. The military presented itself as an opportunity, and an adventure as well. If nothing else, a new grad could spend a few years in the military, and with that resume enhancement, become a reserve (part time officer) and go find a good civilian job without a blemish on their resume. Having served as an officer gave young university grads a political edge in obtaining some very desirable jobs. The military was particularly eager to snag grads with technical (STEM) skills. This worked, but not as well as the military expected. The new officers with degrees were often there because the alternative was a factory job, as a worker and not a supervisor. Too many of these new officers left after their initial term of service and many were not interested in becoming a reserve officer.

Another option was to seek a job in the secret police. This is the MSS (Ministry of State Security) and it puts more emphasis on political reliability than higher education. Serving as an officer in the MSS is a great resume enhancer but mandatory service terms in the MSS are longer and entry requirements in general are more demanding than with the military. Pay is not great and the MSS is becoming less and less popular with most Chinese.

Periodic economic recessions were not the only problem new grads faced. There were local economic problems that are threatening the Chinese economy in the long term. These include problems with the banking system and a housing bubble. Both are corruption-related and have, for over a decade, been more than the government can handle. So far, the situation has been controlled, even if its at the expense of economic growth. That means more unemployment or underemployment, especially for recent university grads. Manufacturing and service industries see this as an opportunity by increasing the education levels of jobs that were once seen as not requiring a university education.

Despite the booming economy, its still hard for many college grads to get a job. That means not getting married or even trying to have children. A growing number of Chinese come out of a university already disillusioned and unwilling to make a major effort to change their situation. This was obvious a decade ago when the unemployment rate of university graduates was over 10 percent, compared to 4.1 percent for urban workers in general. The government does not see this as a problem because a high proportion of the population having a university degree provides a reserve of talent for future crises. The less optimistic, or more realistic, senior leaders see this surplus of university grads as the organizers of the next revolution. So do Chinese in general.
ROSEMONT, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Midland Industries (Midland), a portfolio company of Wynnchurch Capital, L.P. (Wynnchurch), announced the acquisition of Century Brass Products (Century Brass or the Company). Century Brass is a leading distributor of primarily machined brass fittings and valves to the plumbing industry across the United States.

John Gerber, CEO of Midland, said, "The acquisition of Century Brass strengthens our team and product offering while expanding our customer base and footprint in the plumbing wholesale space. We welcome Terry Klein and his team to the Midland family and look forward to learning from their years of history and deep product knowledge, enabling us to continue providing our customers a distinct advantage in the marketplace.

"We are excited to be part of the Midland family, said Terry Klein, Vice President of Century Brass. Were thrilled to leverage the technology and product offering to our customers, and to utilize the connected network of inventory across the United States.

About Century Brass Products:

Century Brass Products, headquartered in Long Island, New York, is a leading distributor of primarily machined brass fittings and valves to the plumbing industry across the United States. The Company also distributes power electrical cords and stainless-steel braided hoses.

About Midland Industries:

Midland Industries, headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, is the new manufacturing and distribution platform brand representing recently consolidated companies including Anderson Metals, Midland Metal Mfg, Buchanan Rubber Ltd., Mid-America Fittings, Stainless Adapters Inc., and Champion Brass. With over 40,000 SKUs comprising fittings, valves, hose, and related products, the company distributes to general industrial, hose, fluid power, plumbing, oil and gas, water works, irrigation, truck and trailer, power transmission, and other end-markets. For more information, please visit: https://midlandindustries.com.

About Wynnchurch Capital:

Wynnchurch Capital, L.P., headquartered in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont, Illinois, with offices in California, New York, and an affiliate in Canada, was founded in 1999, and is a leading middle-market private equity investment firm. Wynnchurchs strategy is to partner with middle market companies in the United States and Canada that possess the potential for substantial growth and profit improvement. Wynnchurch Capital manages a number of private equity funds with $4.2 billion of committed capital under management and specializes in recapitalizations, growth capital, management buyouts, corporate carve-outs and restructurings. For more information, please visit: https://www.wynnchurch.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211111005310/en/

Chris OBrien

Managing Partner

cobrien@wynnchurch.com

847-604-6108



Greg Gleason

Managing Partner

ggleason@wynnchurch.com

847-604-6121



Paul Ciolino

Partner

pciolino@wynnchurch.com

630-853-8458



Carl Howe

Principal

chowe@wynnchurch.com

847-604-6116

Source: Wynnchurch Capital, L.P.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - November 12, 2021) - REX Opportunity Corp. ("REX" or the "Corporation") announces the resignation of Daniel Im from the REX Board of Directors.

The Corporation thanks Daniel for his contributions as a director to REX and wishes him all the best in his future endeavours.

"We have been fortunate to have Daniel on our board in our formative period evolving REX's YouTube royalty business. Thank you Daniel and best wishes," said REX CEO, Jim Boyle.

About REX

REX is a royalty company giving investors exposure to the creator economy. We acquire interests in creators' broadcast and streaming channels, rolling them into a public company. We offer the opportunity to invest directly in creators. With REX, creators and investors have the opportunity to share in the growth of the content industry.

For further information contact:



REX Opportunity Corp.

Jim Boyle, CEO

jim@rexopportunity.com

www.rexopportunity.com



Doug Ibbitson, CIO

doug@rexopportunity.com

No securities regulatory authority, stock exchange or regulatory services provider has reviewed or accepts responsibility for the content of this release.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities of the Corporation will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of U.S. persons except in certain transactions exempt from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/103262
TICKERS: LQID; LQAVF

Source: Streetwise Reports (11/13/21)

In a recent conversation with Streetwise Reports, David Lucatch, CEO and president of Liquid Avatar, talked about the company's multifaceted approach to bringing blockchain technology to people's everyday experiences and transactions.



Liquid Avatar Technologies Inc. (LQID:CSE; LQAVF:OTCQB) is

breaking new ground for blockchain technology. The company

is taking a multifaceted approach to applying blockchain technology: through the verification, management, and monetization of Self Sovereign Identity which includes functions such as age verification in retail and promoting virtual assets (i.e., non-fungible tokens, or NFTs).

No More Checking IDs in Convenience Stores?

Selling age-restricted products in convenience stores is about to get easier if Liquid Avatar's technology takes off. Traditionally, customers have to show personal identification, such as a driver's license, to prove their age in stores. The clerk then has to verify the customer's age and confirm which products they are eligible to purchase. Liquid Avatar's Smart Age technology may change the entire experience.

"Today, clerks in the Ontario market have about a 90% success rate in checking identity for age-restricted products. However, millions of people go through convenience stores every day. A single failure can lead to fines and a loss of the ability to sell age-restricted products," David Lucatch, CEO and president of Liquid Avatar, told Streetwise Reports. There are more than 8,000 convenience stores in the Ontario market and more than 22,000 across Canada.

Why Does Age Verification Matter?

In Ontario, the penalty for violating the rules can be substantial. Fines to corporations may exceed $100,000 for failing to ID a person who appears to be younger than 25 years old in Ontario. The store owner may also be held responsible for the violation in some cases. Losing the ability to sell age-restricted products like tobacco, lottery tickets, and, in some locations, alcoholic beverages would be a major blow to most convenience stores.

"In most organizations, there is a lot of training provided to convenience store clerks to verify IDs. However, we have to realize that the clerk may be busy and may not verify the ID fully. In addition, there is a high level of turnover in some parts of the convenience store industry," Lucatch explained. As a result, some convenience store employees may not perform age verification checks in every instance.

Losing the ability to sell age-restricted products is a significant concern for convenience store owners. According to the Canadian Convenience Stores Association, tobacco and tobacco-related products account for 29.1% of total sales revenue on average. These product categories are even more significant in terms of profitability. Fourteen percent of total gross profit, on average, comes from these two products. It's not just tobacco, either. Lottery commissions account for 6.7% of gross profit at convenience stores. In Ontario, the minimum age to purchase lottery tickets is 18, and the age to purchase tobacco and alcohol products is 19.

QR Code Age Verification

The Liquid Avatar Technologies approach to age verification eliminates the need to check an ID manually. Instead, consumers download an app with biometrics capabilities. When a user makes a purchase, the convenience store clerk has to scan a QR code.

"The clerk receives a yes or no response from the system regarding which age-restricted products can be sold. There is no personal information like name, address, or date of birth displayed," Lucatch explained.

In February 2021, the Company launched the Liquid Avatar mobile app and acquired more than 10,000 downloads, which were used to gather feedback. The company has now initiated its public launch in the U.S. and Canada. As the launch becomes successful, the company may expand to other industries with age-restricted sales, such as bars and restaurants.

Selling Virtual Land and Assets

The old saying about real estate  they're not making any more of it  may not be valid anymore. Oasis Digital Studios Limited, a subsidiary of Liquid Avatar, is launching a virtual world called Aftermath Islands.

"We had a lot of previous clients and related parties come to us and say, Look, you're already creating your own assets. Could you help us with NFTs?" Lucatch explained. After reviewing the NFT opportunity further, Liquid Avatar decided to pursue it by launching Oasis. Oasis has recently been tasked by a new client to manage and develop Aftermath Islands.

"In Aftermath Islands, you will have the ability to buy virtual land, build on it, and interact with other people. There will also be games and quests," Lucatch commented. At this time, there is limited information about what kinds of games will be available in the virtual environment.

Aftermath Islands plans to launch a series of islands over time with different themes. "If you're a Bitcoin enthusiast, you might want to buy virtual land nearby other Bitcoin enthusiasts," Lucatch commented. "Subsequent releases will not be at the introductory pricing level," he continued. In late October, users can buy "virtual plots" of NFTs in Aftermath Islands. Plots range from single lots representing 1000m to larger limited parcels consist of 4 plots together, and they can go as large as 100 plots put together.

Partnering With L.A. Comic Con

Thanks to a new partnership, promoting Aftermath Islands just got easier for Oasis and Liquid Avatar Technologies. On October 26, Liquid Avatar was named a digital innovation partner for L.A. Comic Con. Event participants will be able to use Liquid Avatar technology to access VIP events as well as a digital wallet. Liquid Avatar also plans to offer a scavenger hunt powered by augmented reality (AR) for event participants.

Scheduled for December 35, L.A. Comic Con will feature Nichelle Nichols (who played Nyota Uhura on Star Trek) and Tom Kenny (the voice actor behind the SpongeBob character). In 2019, the pop culture event attracted more than 120,000 fans.

[NLINSERT]

Disclosure:

1) Bruce Harpham compiled this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an independent contractor/employee. He/she or members of his/her household own securities of the following companies mentioned in the article: None. He/she or members of his/her household are paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: None. His/her company has a financial relationship with the following companies referred to in this article: None.

2) The following companies mentioned in this article are billboard sponsors of Streetwise Reports: None. Click here for important disclosures about sponsor fees. As of the date of this article, an affiliate of Streetwise Reports has a consulting relationship with Liquid Avatar Technologies Inc. Please click here for more information. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security.

3) The article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. This article is not a solicitation for investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company mentioned on Streetwise Reports.

4) From time to time, Streetwise Reports LLC and its directors, officers, employees or members of their families, as well as persons interviewed for articles and interviews on the site, may have a long or short position in securities mentioned. Directors, officers, employees or members of their immediate families are prohibited from making purchases and/or sales of those securities in the open market or otherwise from the time of the decision to publish an article until three business days after the publication of the article. The foregoing prohibition does not apply to articles that in substance only restate previously published company releases.
U.S. Marine Corps AH-1Z Viper helicopters assigned to Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron (HMLA) 367 and CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters assigned to Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron (HMH) 463 take off and land at Pacific Missile Range Facility Barking Sands, Hawaii, Nov. 2, 2021. HMLA-367 along with Marine Wing Support Squadron 174 conducted this training to demonstrate readiness and combat proficiency in austere, expeditionary environments within the Indo-Pacific. (Dalton Payne/U.S. Marine Corps)

(Tribune News Service)  More Hawaii Marines are on the move as the Corps continues a wholesale reorganization to focus on becoming a fast-moving, island-hopping, missile-firing force capable of striking enemy ships at sea to aid the Navy in a possible conflict with China.

To help with that, the 179-person Marine Wing Support Detachment 24 is being bulked up with about 200 extra Marines. The new unit, Marine Wing Support Squadron 174, was activated Monday at Kaneohe Bay.

The full-size squadron will be able to better support the larger III Marine Expeditionary Force on isolated islands in the Western Pacific in six areas: forward aviation combat engineering, expeditionary airfield operations, base recovery after attack, airfield damage repair, aircraft salvage and recovery, and forward arming and refueling operations, officials said.

Marine units are coming and going at a rapid clip at Marine Corps Base Hawaii as the force evolves to face a China threat, but the buildup of the support squadron doesnt mean 200 more Marines coming to Oahu.

These Marines will join the unit from a variety of sources, with some coming from within Hawaii and deactivating units, others from traditional training pipelines after boot camp, and some from other units across the Marine Corps, said Capt. Jordan Fox, a spokesman for Marine Aircraft Group 24.

Through what it calls Force Design 2030, the Marine Corps is taking drastic steps to reshape itself for peer competition with China, which invested heavily in advanced, long-range missiles while the United States was preoccupied with low-tech guerrilla warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan.

U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Gideon Grissett, commanding officer (CO) of Marine Wing Support Squadron (MWSS) 174, gives CO remarks during an activation ceremony at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Nov. 8, 2021. (Dalton Payne/U.S. Marine Corps)

A new Hawaii Marine Littoral Regiment  the first in the Corps  is expected to soon be activated and will be made up of 1,800 to 2,000 Marines drawn in part from the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment at Kaneohe Bay.

The unit will utilize amphibious ships and boats, with a new class of vessel, the Light Amphibious Warship, being designed for its needs.

That radical restructuring of the Marine Corps in Hawaii includes the planned removal of all 16 tanklike amphibious vehicles and elimination of all cannon artillery.

Approximately 500 of 650 artillery Marines with the 1st Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment will be moved elsewhere, with the remainder to be part of a medium-range missile battery outfitted with Naval Strike Missiles intended to inflict damage to ships at sea, the Marine Corps said.

Attached to the Marine Littoral Regiment, it would be the first such ground-based missile-firing unit in Hawaii.

The Corps also said it is removing all of its conventional helicopters at the Marine Corps base  more than three dozen in all  and will replace them with a squadron of 12 to 15 fixed-wing KC-130 refueling and cargo aircraft.

Two squadrons of MV-22 tilt-rotor Ospreys will remain and are key to the new plan for long-range transport.

Also on tap is a plan to trade smaller RQ-21A Blackjack drones for six big MQ-9A Reaper uncrewed aerial systems that have a wingspan of 66 feet or more.

About 60 Marines with Combat Assault Company, the unit that operates amphibious assault vehicles, will transfer to the new Marine Littoral Regiment as an engineer platoon.

The 2nd and 3rd infantry battalions at Kaneohe will be deactivated, with many of those Marines also expected to become part of the Marine Littoral Regiment. That formation in turn will include fast-moving sub-units that can operate as a disruptive inside force within range of enemy missiles.

Under that scenario, detachments of 50 to 80 Marines would set up rapidly, fire missiles from trucks and move to avoid being targeted.

The new concept came together during the two-week Large Scale Exercise 2021 in August with groups of Hawaii-based artillery Marines arriving ashore at the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai via big hovercraft and MV-22 tilt-rotor Ospreys.

Their goal was to detect, while camouflaged and with low digital signatures, passing enemy ships.

In one of the most realistic Marine Corps field experiments to date of a new unmanned truck missile launcher, two Naval Strike Missiles were fired over 100 nautical miles (115 statute miles) to strike the decommissioned Navy frigate ex-USS Ingraham 60 nautical miles from Kauai.

To avoid an adversary counterattack, the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System followed a leader vehicle to a Marine KC-130 on the airfield to practice loading it.

The Pearl Harbor submarine USS Chicago, a P-8 maritime patrol aircraft and F /A-18 Super Hornets also fired on the ship.

The scenario  watched by Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday  highlighted the new and important role Marines will play for the naval and joint force in future global competition and conflicts involving key maritime terrain, the Corps said in a release.

(c)2021 The Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Visit The Honolulu Star-Advertiser at www.staradvertiser.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Lt. Cmdr. Susan Murphy of Modesto, Calif., administers a flu shot to James Meggison aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford. (Adonica Munoz, U.S. Navy)

(Tribune News Service)  Susan Murphy rose from a troubled childhood in Modesto to become a nurse and officer aboard an aircraft carrier.

She is a lieutenant commander on the USS Gerald R. Ford, in port for maintenance at the moment in Newport News, Va. She enlisted at 17 and has now served for nearly 18 years.

Murphy told her story, including a bout of homelessness at 16, in a news release written by Seaman Apprentice Manvir Gill. It came from the Navy Office of Community Outreach, which said in an email that its mission is to travel the globe to collect sailors stories.

Murphy has an especially compelling one, including a father and brother who struggled with mental illness. She does not identify her family members in the release.

Murphy said her parents divorced because of the stress of her brothers violent behavior. Her mother then married a man who was violent to his step-daughter.

Murphy said she hung out with the wrong friends as a teen. She remembers thinking, Im going to be addicted to drugs, pregnant at a young age, or my life is going to go nowhere.

All of this led to Murphy becoming homeless at 16. A lot of people look at me and they say, How did you end up homeless? It just comes and you cant believe that its happening to you.

Murphy decided to join the military to start turning her life around. She enlisted in February 2004 as a deck seaman, with the goal of becoming a corpsman, part of the Navys health care ranks.

Murphy was serving at the naval hospital in Bremerton, Wash., when she saw intensive-care nurses at work. She decided to become one, and to also enter the officer ranks through the Medical Enlisted Commissioning Program.

Her first assignment, however, was to a mental health unit rather than the ICU.

I was so discouraged by that, but it happened to be a great experience being in the psych unit, she said. I learned invaluable skills that I continue to use as a nurse today.

The USS Ford has about 3,700 service members on board, and Murphy is its chief nurse. She said her favorite part of the job is watching a hospital corpsman learn how to provide emergency care to a fellow sailor.

Getting people back to their families is my job, she said. Im a sixth-generation nurse; its in my DNA. I care so much and I hope thats evident in how hard I work here and how hard Ive worked everywhere else.

(c)2021 The Modesto Bee (Modesto, Calif.)

Visit The Modesto Bee at www.modbee.com
Airman 1st Class Thadyn DuPont, an aerospace medical technician with the 137th Special Operations Medical Group, prepares to administer a coronavirus vaccine for an Oklahoma National Guard soldier at the Armed Forces Reserve Center in Norman, Okla., on Jan. 15, 2021. (Andrew LaMoreaux/U.S. Air National Guard)

WASHINGTON  The new leader of the Oklahoma National Guard issued a memo Thursday ordering no troops will be required to take a coronavirus vaccine despite a mandate from the Pentagon requiring it, according to a news report.

Oklahoma Adjutant General Thomas Mancino updated the Oklahoma National Guards vaccination policy as one of his first acts in the job, noting no negative administrative or legal action will be taken" against Guard members who decline the coronavirus vaccine, The Oklahoman reported Friday.

The decision comes after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in August issued a mandate requiring all service members to get the vaccine or be separated from the military for failing to obey a lawful order.

The Oklahoma National Guard declined to release Mancinos memo to Stars and Stripes on Friday.

However, it was unclear Friday whether the Oklahoma National Guard can override the National Guard Bureaus federal mandate that requires all Guard members to be fully vaccinated by June 30, 2022, said Air Force Maj. Matt Murphy, a bureau spokesman.

It's a legal gray area that would have to be reviewed by our lawyers, he said.

The National Guard serves in state and federal capacities, which complicates the issue, Murphy said.

This is where the difference between Title 32 and Title 10 becomes a real becomes an issue, Murphy said. In most instances, the guardsmen are in their Title 32 capacity, which means they're on state duty. In order to be federalized, they have to be on Title 10.

Title 10 of the U.S. Code gives the National Guard Bureau authority to issue its mandate for Guard troops activated for federal missions, while Title 32 gives individual states the power to issue rules when Guard troops are operating under the states authority.

The National Guard Bureaus vaccination deadline is different than the deadlines set by the Air Force and Army. The Air Force and Army require Guard airmen and soldiers to comply with their Nov. 2 and Dec. 15 respective vaccination deadlines to be mobilized on federal orders  more than six months before the bureaus deadline.

We have requirements in order to meet readiness standards, Murphy said. We have to comply with whatever the active-duty Air Force and active-duty Army requirements are.

The Air Force does not separate the vaccination rates of service components, though about 92.8% of all Air Force, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard airmen were vaccinated as of Tuesday, according to the service. Army National Guard vaccination rates were unavailable Friday.

Mancinos memo came on his second day as adjutant general. On Wednesday, Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, replaced Maj. Gen. Michael Thompson, who had been a vocal proponent for coronavirus vaccinations, with the 35-year National Guard veteran, according to The Oklahoman.

Caitlin Doornbos Caitlin Doornbos covers the Pentagon for Stars and Stripes after covering the Navys 7th Fleet as Stripes Indo-Pacific correspondent at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan. Previously, she worked as a crime reporter in Lawrence, Kan., and Orlando, Fla., where she was part of the Orlando Sentinel team that placed as finalist for the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news. Caitlin has a Bachelor of Science in journalism from the University of Kansas and masters degree in defense and strategic studies from the University of Texas at El Paso.
A Venezuelan woman, who lives in Cucuta, receives a dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, in Villa Del Rosario, Colombia, Friday, Nov. 12, 2021. Over the past two weeks Colombia has provided COVID-19 vaccines to thousands of Venezuelans. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara) (Fernando Vergara)

VILLA DEL ROSARIO, Colombia.  Xiomara Ruiz woke up before dawn and boarded a bus with her son to make a one-hour trip to the bridge connecting Venezuelan to Colombia, which they crossed on foot. Their goal: to get the 8-year-old vaccinated against the coronavirus.

By 7 a.m. the 27-year-old nurse and the boy were lining up at a vaccination center in Villa del Rosario, a Colombian town on the border from Venezuela.

About two dozen Venezuelans also stood in line for the shots, while an aid worker in a khaki vest yelled out instructions on a megaphone and told the crowd to keep a safe distance from each other as they waited for the vaccination center to open.

"In the town where I live there are still no vaccines for children," said Ruiz, who traveled to Colombia from the border state of Tachira. She was concerned by a recent announcement by Venezuela's government that children under 12 will be vaccinated with Soberana, a coronavirus vaccine developed in Cuba.

"That one is not approved by the World Health Organization," Ruiz said. "It's better to make the trip here."

Hundreds of Venezuelans have been traveling to Colombia recently for coronavirus shots, as Venezuela struggles to get enough doses for its people.

These trips replicate previous efforts by Venezuelans to seek medical care abroad as their country's health care system crumbled amid years of medicine shortages, economic recession and mismanagement of public hospitals. But travel restrictions and regulations associated with the pandemic have made it more challenging for Venezuelans to get vaccines in neighboring Colombia.

Colombian border states, which provided thousands of Venezuelan children with vaccines against tetanus, diphtheria and hepatitis for free before the pandemic, only started to provide coronavirus shots to Venezuelan travelers in October.

Now that the gates are open many are seizing the opportunity to get shots in Colombia, which has greater access to European and North American vaccines and only uses shots that have been approved by the WHO.

"Vaccine coverage is very low in Venezuela," said Huniades Urbina, a pediatrician and spokesman for the Venezuelan Academy of Medicine. "So for many people, especially those living in border states, it's worth it to travel into Colombia to get their children vaccinated, instead of having to go several times to vaccination centers within Venezuela."

In the Colombian state of North Santander, where the main border crossing is, more than 34,000 people registering at vaccination centers with Venezuelan ID cards have gotten coronavirus shots since Oct. 25, when vaccination for non-residents began, according to the state's health department. That includes undocumented migrants living in North Santander as well as Venezuelans who traveled just to get the shots.

In the state capital of Cucuta, the number of vaccines applied daily has doubled to 9,000 since the end of October, said Astrid Urbina, the nurse leading the city's immunization program.

Some Venezuelans who travel to Colombia in search of coronavirus vaccine said they were looking to get immunized with European or North American brands that are not available in Venezuela for several reasons that include lack of government permits, lack of infrastructure for vaccines that must be stored at ultra cold temperatures and sanctions imposed by the U.S. against companies that do business with Venezuela's government. In June, however, the U.S. Treasury made exemptions for companies that sell vaccines and pandemic-related equipment to the Venezuelan government.

Eduardo Sanchez, a 22-year-old resident of the Venezuelan border town of San Antonio, crossed the international bridge that connects the countries Friday after hearing the could get a dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine on the Colombian side.

"In Venezuela we have been offered the Chinese vaccines, but I don't trust them," he said. "Here at least you can get AstraZeneca, which has greater recognition."

Venezuela has fully vaccinated 32% of its population so far, according to data supplied by its government to the Pan-American Health Organization. The country of 28 million people has been able to import vaccines from China, Russia and most recently Cuba, but still has one of the lowest vaccination rates in South America.

On Oct. 21, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez announced that 12 million doses of Cuba's Soberana vaccine would be imported and offered in schools to children ages 2 to 12.

Rodriguez said the move demonstrated President Nicolas Maduro's "concern for the health and welfare" of the Venezuelan people and showcased the benefits of Cuba's longtime alliance with Venezuela.

But medical associations in Venezuela have spoken out against the use of the Cuban vaccine on children, arguing it has not been widely tested or reviewed by scientists outside the island.

Colombian officials in North Santander said the number of Venezuelans travelling for vaccines has increased since Nov. 3, when vaccination for all children over age 3 opened in the state.

Antonio Nino, a driver from the Venezuelan town of Rubio, brought his 8-year old daughter, Nicole, to get her vaccinated.

"My wife and I preferred to come to Colombia," he said. "They have vaccines here that have WHO approval, and that makes us feel more secure."
Russian President Vladimir said Saturday that hell talk to Belarus' leader Alexander Lukashenko about gas flows to the European Union. (Alexey Druzhinin, SPUTNIK, AFP, Getty Images/TNS)

MOSCOW (Tribune News Service)  Russian President Vladimir Putin said that hell talk to Alexander Lukashenko about gas flows to the European Union after the Belarusian leader threatened to interrupt supplies to the energy-strapped continent in the face of more EU sanctions.

Any disruption in gas supplies would threaten the countries relationship as transit partners, Putin said. Pipelines crossing Belarus are owned by Russias Gazprom PJSC, which lessens the risk of any shutdowns.

He can, probably, though theres nothing good in that, and I will, of course, talk to him about that, if it wasnt just hot air, Putin said Saturday in an interview on Russian television.

His comments could bring some relief to Europes gas markets. Benchmark prices eased on Friday, when Russia reiterated its pledge to meet supply obligations.

Futures surged the previous day after Lukashenko said he could halt gas transit if the EU imposes harsh penalties against Belarus, which has channeled thousands of migrants, mostly from the Middle East, to the border with Poland.

Gas prices have more than halved from their record in early October, but are still almost fourfold higher this year amid uncertainty about Russian supplies ahead of winter.

Theoretically, Lukashenko, as the president of a transit country, can probably give instructions to cut off our supplies to Europe, although this would be a violation of our transit contract, Putin said. I hope it doesnt come to that.

Lukashenko didnt warn Russia before making his threat, Putin said. He never said anything to me about it, didnt even hint.

As the migrant crisis on Belaruss border with the EU worsens, Putin said he hopes outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Lukashenko talk to each other soon, rather than through him. He denied any Russian involvement in the migrant crisis, instead blaming the underlying problems on the West. Putin and Merkel, whose 16-year term will likely end early next month, spoke by phone twice in the past week.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas suggested that Putin has the means to end what he called the cynical recruiting of refugees from Iraq or Afghanistan by Lukashenko, but had not intervened because its in his interest to destabilize or split the EU.

In any case, that assumption stands to reason, Maas said in an interview with regional German newspapers published Saturday when asked about Putins tactics.

Lukashenko over the past year has rebuffed European efforts to mediate conflicts with his country and has refused to take calls from some Western leaders, including Merkel.

Poland has accused the Kremlin of masterminding the artificial flow of people from countries including Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan onto the border. Putins economic and political support allowed Lukashenko to survive mass demonstrations against his 27-year rule and U.S. and EU censure of his brutal crackdown on the opposition.

The authoritarian leader has upped the ante against the west, using migrants as a weapon and threatening to block the transit of natural gas supplies from Russia.

I want everyone to know that we have nothing to do with it, Putin said in the interview. Everyone is trying to put responsibility on us, for any and no reason. And our airlines arent carrying these people, in general, none of our companies do.

President Joe Biden told reporters Friday that the U.S. has communicated its concerns about the migrant crisis to both Russia and Belarus. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization in a statement condemned the continued instrumentalisation of the migrant situation artificially created by Belarus and said the alliance will remain vigilant.

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John Kerry, United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, right, touches the arm of Alok Sharma President of the COP26 summit during a stocktaking plenary session at the COP26 U.N. Climate Summit in Glasgow, Scotland, Saturday, Nov. 13, 2021. Going into overtime, negotiators at U.N. climate talks in Glasgow are still trying to find common ground on phasing out coal, when nations need to update their emission-cutting pledges and, especially, on money. (Alberto Pezzali/AP)

GLASGOW, Scotland  Almost 200 nations accepted a compromise deal Saturday aimed at keeping a key global warming target alive, but it contained a last-minute change that watered down crucial language about coal.

Several countries, including small island states, said they were deeply disappointed by the change promoted by India to "phase down," rather than "phase out" coal power, the single biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions.

"Our fragile planet is hanging by a thread," United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement. "We are still knocking on the door of climate catastrophe."

Nation after nation had complained earlier on the final day of two weeks of U.N. climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland about how the deal did not go far or fast enough, but they said it was better than nothing and provided incremental progress, if not success.

In the end, the summit broke ground by singling out coal, however weakly, by setting the rules for international trading of carbon credits, and by telling big polluters to come back next year with improved pledges for cutting emissions.

But domestic priorities both political and economic again kept nations from committing to the fast, big cuts that scientists say are needed to keep warming below dangerous levels that would produce extreme weather and rising seas capable of erasing some island nations.

Ahead of the Glasgow talks, the United Nations had set three criteria for success, and none of them were achieved. The U.N.'s criteria included pledges to cut carbon dioxide emissions in half by 2030, $100 billion in financial aid from rich nations to poor, and ensuring that half of that money went to helping the developing world adapt to the worst effects of climate change.

"We did not achieve these goals at this conference," Guterres said. "But we have some building blocks for progress."

Negotiators from Switzerland and Mexico called the coal language change against the rules because it came so late. However, they said they had no choice but to hold their noses and go along with it.

Swiss environment minister Simonetta Sommaruga said the change will make it harder to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial times - the more stringent threshold set in the 2015 Paris Agreement.

Many other nations and climate campaigners criticized India for making demands that weakened the final agreement.

"India's last-minute change to the language to phase down but not phase out coal is quite shocking," said Australian climate scientist Bill Hare, who tracks world emission pledges for the science-based Climate Action Tracker. "India has long been a blocker on climate action, but I have never seen it done so publicly."

Others approached the deal from a more positive perspective. In addition to the revised coal language, the Glasgow Climate Pact included enough financial incentives to almost satisfy poorer nations and solved a long-standing problem to pave the way for carbon trading.

The agreement also says big carbon polluting nations have to come back and submit stronger emission cutting pledges by the end of 2022.

"It's a good deal for the world," U.S. climate envoy John Kerry told The Associated Press. "It's got a few problems, but it's all in all a very good deal."

Before the India change, negotiators said the deal preserved, albeit barely, the overarching goal of limiting Earth's warming by the end of the century to 1.5 degrees. The planet has already warmed 1.1 degrees Celsius (2 degrees Fahrenheit) compared to preindustrial times.

Negotiators Saturday used the word "progress" more than 20 times, but rarely used the word "success" and then mostly in that they've reached a conclusion, not about the details in the agreement. Conference President Alok Sharma said the deal drives "progress on coal, cars, cash and trees'' and is "something meaningful for our people and our planet.''

Environmental activists were measured in their not-quite-glowing assessments, issued before India's last minute change.

"It's meek, it's weak and the 1.5 C goal is only just alive, but a signal has been sent that the era of coal is ending. And that matters," said Greenpeace International Executive Director Jennifer Morgan, a veteran of the U.N. climate talks known as the Conferences of Parties.

Former Irish President Mary Robinson, speaking for a group of retired leaders called The Elders, said the pact represents : the pact represents "some progress, but nowhere near enough to avoid climate disaster....People will see this as a historically shameful dereliction of duty."

Indian Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav argued against a provision on phasing out coal, saying that developing countries were "entitled to the responsible use of fossil fuels."

Yadav blamed "unsustainable lifestyles and wasteful consumption patterns" in rich countries for causing global warming.

After Yadav first raised the specter of changing the coal language, a frustrated European Union Vice President Frans Timmermans, the 27-nation EU's climate envoy, begged negotiators to be united for future generations.

"For heaven's sake, don't kill this moment," Timmermans pleaded. "Please embrace this text so that we bring hope to the hearts of our children and grandchildren."

Helen Mountford, vice president of the World Resources Institute think tank, said India's demand may not matter as much as feared because the economics of cheaper, renewable fuel is making coal increasingly obsolete.

"Coal is dead. Coal is being phased out," Mountford said. "It's a shame that they watered it down.''

Kerry and several other negotiators noted that good compromises leave everyone slightly unsatisfied.

"Not everyone in public life...gets to make choices about life and death. Not everyone gets to make choices that actually affect an entire planet. We here are privileged today to do exactly that," he said.

Before the coal change, small island nations that are vulnerable to catastrophic effects of climate change and had pushed for bolder actions in Glasgow said they were satisfied with the spirit of compromise, if not the outcome of the talks.

"Maldives accepts the incremental progress made in Glasgow," Aminath Shauna, the island nation's minister for environment, climate change and technology said. "I'd like to note that this progress is not in line with the urgency and scale with the problem at hand.''

Shauna pointed out that that to stay within warming limit that nations agreed to six years ago in Paris, the world must cut carbon dioxide emissions essentially in half in 98 months. The developing word needs the rich world to step up she said.

"The difference between 1.5 and 2 degrees is a death sentence for us," Shauna said. "We didn't cause the climate crisis. No matter what we do, it won't reverse this."

Next year's talks are scheduled to take place in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. Dubai will host the meeting in 2023.

Aniruddha Ghosal, Karl Ritter and Ellen Knickmeyer contributed to this report.
Tucked within an icy mountain lies a meticulously preserved World War I bunker.

Climate change means we can now see it.

The intact cavern/barracks contains munitions, books, cigarette holders and animal bones and was once teeming with Austro-Hungarian troops. They staked out on Mount Scorluzzo, almost 3,000 meters above sea level, on the Italian-Swiss border, now part of Italys Stelvio National Park territory.

These places were literally frozen in time, Giovanni Cadioli, historian and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Padua told The Washington Post.

Now, he added, climate change was playing a pivotal role in their discovery, as warming temperatures have led to the melting of glaciers and permafrost revealing a time capsule.

Amid the backdrop of the global climate change summit COP26 taking place in Europe, Cadioli underscored that the impressive findings were bittersweet: Wed really rather not have retreating glaciers.

The artificial caves were made back in 1915 by blowing up parts of the mountain and transforming them into makeshift barracks and shelters to house hundreds of European troops.

The barracks, along with the machine gun emplacements, sheltered walkways and tunnels, were held by Austro-Hungarians who were fighting Italian troops. They vacated their position on Nov. 3 1918, in line with retreat orders, just days ahead of the Armistice agreement on Nov. 11, which ended the First World War.

From 1915-18 European soldiers were stationed in the extremely harsh mountain terrain, facing punitive climatic conditions all year long. Ultimately nature, frostbite, falls and avalanches claimed more lives than enemy fire, said Cadioli.

Another barracks on the same mountain was excavated in 2017 after ice melted, revealing an entire wooden superstructure that was disassembled and transported along with 300 artifacts to the town of Bormio, in Lombardy, where it will be on show in a museum to be opened in 2022-2023. This latest barracks has not yet been excavated.

In the cave discovered in 2017, researchers even found frozen mounds of hay that soldiers used to sleep on, containing seeds that were so well preserved that they were put in the sun to dry and later planted. They have now blossomed 100 years on, said Cadioli, in what he called a heart warming anecdote.

Life was preserved even in a place that was really mainly about death, he said.

The aim of the excavations is to secure the area and preserve organic traces conserved in the ice, which through historic and scientific research will shed light on alpine warfare and the lives of the soldiers, said Cadioli. The various projects involve around 40 researchers in disciplines such as botanicals, cartography and glaciology and is supported by the Stelvio National Park and Italys University of Padua.

Its highly likely there are more caves to uncover, Cadioli said, but weather conditions mean researchers can only access the sites from May to October.

He added with excitement that he had felt like a little Indiana Jones stumbling upon treasure troves when he examined the barracks. This is something that historians dream about.
People inspect the site of an airstrike by Saudi-led coalition in Sanaa, Yemen, Thursday, Nov, 11, 2021. (Hani Mohammed/AP)

SANAA, Yemen  Forces loyal to Yemen's internationally recognized government have withdrawn from the strategic port city of Hodeida, allowing the rebels to retake their positions, Yemeni officials and the U.N. said.

The Joint Forces, backed by the United Arab Emirates, said late Friday they redeployed troops from Hodeida because there was no need to stay in the city amid a U.N.-brokered cease-fire deal.

They criticized the government for not allowing them to retake control of the city from the Houthi rebels. The Joint Forces say the rebels repeatedly violated the 2018 deal that ended their offensive against Hodeida.

A U.N. mission observing the cease-fire said government-allied forces have withdrawn from their positions in the city and areas south of the city and the Houthis have taken over the vacated positions. It said it wasn't notified before the withdrawal.

In 2018, heavy fighting erupted in Hodeida after government forces backed by a Saudi-led coalition moved in to wrest control of the strategic port city from the Houthis.

After months of clashes, the warring sides signed a U.N.-brokered agreement in December 2018 that included a cease-fire in the city and an exchange of more than 15,000 prisoners.

The deal, seen as an important first step toward ending the broader conflict, was never fully implemented.

Yemen's war began with the 2014 takeover of the capital of Sanaa by the Houthis, who control much of the country's north. A Saudi-led coalition launched a bombing campaign months later, determined to restore the government and oust the rebels.

The grinding regional proxy war has killed tens of thousands of civilians and fighters. The war also created the world's worst humanitarian crisis, leaving millions suffering from food and medical care shortages and pushing the country to the brink of famine.

The Joint Forces said they recognized the mistake of remaining in defensive positions without fighting in Hodeida as other government-held areas face intensified attacks by the Houthis.

In recent months, the Houthis have attacked government forces in different areas, including the provinces of Shabwa, Bayda and Marib, despite calls by the U.N., U.S. and others to stop fighting and engage in negotiations to find a settlement to the conflict.
The wireless networks that underpin an assortment of devices, including life-alert alarms, older cellphones and tablets, are about to shut down, an action that consumer advocates say will leave some of societys most vulnerable people without critical communications tools.

When they were rolled out nearly two decades ago, 3G wireless networks served as the bedrock of an explosion in cellphones and connected devices. Many devices have moved to 4G networks and newer phones are now moving onto 5G.

But a motley assortment still relies on the more rudimentary 3G service  ranging from location sensors that track school buses to connected breathalyzers police use to monitor convicted drunk drivers  and consumer advocates are urging the Federal Communications Commission to slow the change, which is set to start in February.

Older and low-income Americans are more likely to be affected by the shift, these advocates say. If they dont upgrade in time, their phones and life-alert devices wont be able to call 911 or other emergency services, government regulators warn.

We need to make sure that we have the timelines that are necessary to make sure we can get everyone upgraded or switched off to new technologies so that nobody does get inadvertently left behind, said Ryan Johnston, policy counsel of Next Century Cities, a nonprofit organization that works with cities, town and villages on Internet access and adoption. Thats absolutely the last thing that we want.

Theres little current data available on how many Americans still rely on phones or other critical emergency devices that can connect only to 3G networks. A study from the market analysis firm OpenSignal said that as of 2018, nearly 20% of Americans were still on 3G networks.

Companies have long planned to phase out 3G networks to free up valuable resources for 5G networks, which carriers say will bring faster speeds and allow more mobile devices to connect than ever before. But the transition has been complicated by the pandemic, as safety concerns hampered outreach, especially to older Americans, and snarled supply chains globally, adding to a chip shortage that makes it more difficult to replace outdated devices.

Phone carriers have resisted slowing the transition, arguing that they have warned for years that the transition is coming and that theyve taken extensive steps to ensure that their customers arent disconnected.

AT&T, which plans to shutter its network in February, says it has reached out to affected customers and provided them with discounted or in some instances free phone upgrades. Other networks, including T-Mobile, have delayed their shutdowns until slightly later to accommodate people who still havent upgraded: T-Mobile will shut down Sprints 3G network on March 31, 2022; Verizon has said it will shut down its network on Dec. 31, 2022.

But older Americans particularly are finding the transition challenging, especially as the delta variant makes them wary of contact with technicians. Len Fellen, an 87-year-old resident of Jackson, N.J., has suffered two strokes and has diabetes. He relied on a 3G-connected medical alert necklace at home, which he found out he would need to replace.

I really didnt want anyone in the house, he said, noting that hes very strict about coronavirus protocols. Fellen, who has a degree in electrical engineering, opted to install a new system himself with the help of a technician over the phone. He said it required technical knowledge and the ability to carefully follow instructions.

Others have found themselves going to extraordinary lengths to help relatives upgrade. Andrew, who spoke on the condition that only his first name be used because of privacy concerns, flew from his home in New Jersey to Florida to upgrade his 89-year-old mothers Life Station emergency alert system in October to ensure that technicians wouldnt enter her house. Life Stations systems rely on AT&Ts wireless network.

During the pandemic, its hard enough as it is to care for my mom, he said in an interview. I dont need to be thinking about this device not working. It always works.

Even law enforcement officials are warning they arent ready. In North Dakota, police use 3G-connected breathalyzers and bracelets to ensure the sobriety of about 700 people whove been convicted of crimes involving alcohol, driving under the influence and domestic violence. A special agent for the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the states premier law enforcement agency, recently wrote a letter to the FCC, asking for more time to transition its electronic monitoring software to newer wireless networks.

This will have a direct impact on the safety of citizens across the nation who utilize our roadways, the agent, Duane Stanley, wrote.

The transition has been a particular challenge during the pandemic for the alarm industry, because companies often rely on in-home visits to install upgraded systems.

The Alarm Industry Communications Committee, an industry group representing a wide range of alarm companies and personal emergency response systems, says its member companies still have between 4 million and 5 million systems to upgrade.

John Brady, the chief executive officer of Connect America, one of the associations members that makes emergency alert devices for seniors and other patients, said the company had planned for the transition away from 3G. But suddenly its technicians were unable to enter the homes of its customers, who are largely elderly or sick.

All of the plans that we had as an industry basically just got blown up, said Brady, who also serves as a spokesman for the Alarm Industry Communications Committee. We lost the majority of 2020 to get out and do this deployment.

Consumer advocates and the alarm industry have been pressing the FCC to step in and ensure that companies extend their timelines for a shutdown until at least the end of 2022. The alarm industry filed a petition calling for the agency to intervene in AT&Ts planned shutdown, and consumer advocates have filed additional comments.

AT&T says that it has spent three years working with customers to transition away from 3G, and that any delay would undermine the shift to 5G  and slow down the new services and jobs that wireless technology could usher in.

This petition would undermine the evolution to 5G, as it seeks to force us to devote scarce spectrum resources to support relatively few, obsolete 3G-only devices rather than repurposing the spectrum to enhance 5G capacity, AT&T spokesperson Margaret L. Boles said in a statement.

Consumer advocates say telecom providers also have strong financial incentives to shut down the older networks. Theyre expensive for companies to operate, and as time goes on, they generate lower financial returns as more people migrate to newer, faster options, said Harold Feld, a senior vice president at Public Knowledge. Hes also concerned that the transition could be exploited by phone carriers to upsell customers. Many companies are currently offering consumers free phones or discounted rates as they transition to faster networks.

Once those rates end, youre going to have potentially higher fees for various services that you might get free on introductory plans, Feld said.

The FCC so far has taken a largely passive approach to the transition. The commission is reviewing the record thats been compiled on this issue, said Paloma Perez, a spokeswoman for the FCC. That includes comments various companies and advocacy groups filed after the Alarm Industry Communications Committee filed its petition challenging AT&Ts timeline. AT&T is significant, Feld said, because its networks are widely used by alarm companies, as well as people with prepaid phones.

The FCC has issued an online guide about the shutdown for consumers and has shared it with more than 2,000 partners around the country, including AARP, state broadcast associations and other groups.

This isnt the first time there has been a transition like this. Many carriers shut down their 2G networks over the years to free up airwaves for 4G networks. But Feld said the stakes are different this time because of how ubiquitous wireless technology has become.

We didnt have the embedded use in all aspects of our lives for wireless that we have now, he said.

The FCC has intervened before when there were concerns that phasing out old technology would leave people vulnerable in emergencies, said Tom Wheeler, who chaired the FCC during the administration of President Barack Obama. He confronted a similar challenge during his tenure after Hurricane Sandy, when telecom companies did not want to replace landlines wiped out by the disaster. The move raised alarms because landlines enable people to call emergency services even when the power is out. Ultimately, Wheeler said, the FCC brokered a deal where the phone companies provided backup batteries to ensure that people would still be able to use wireless phones in an emergency.

Thats what the FCC gets paid for, he said.

In the meantime, consumer advocates are focusing on alerting city governments about the transition and how it might disproportionately affect low-income and elderly Americans, so they can take inventory of who in their communities might need to upgrade.

A lot of the time, theres a really large informational disconnect between whats happening at the FCC and whats happening on the ground with the municipalities we work with, Johnston said.
The first prototype hypersonic hardware is delivered to soldiers of 5th Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment, 17th Field Artillery Brigade at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. Officials have underscored the adverse effects a potential full-year continuing resolution could have on hypersonic missile development. (U.S. Army)

WASHINGTON (Tribune News Service)  Representatives of America's defense industry and its veterans warned congressional leaders this month of the dire effects of lawmakers' continuing failure to enact fiscal 2022 appropriations.

The three letters from associations and advocacy groups to leading lawmakers, obtained by CQ Roll Call, are the latest sign of deep concern in national security circles about Congress' repeated reliance on continuing resolutions (CR), which have funded government operations for parts of 12 of the last 13 fiscal years.

The missives also demonstrate the gathering pressure on Congress to pass in coming weeks the fiscal 2022 spending bills, with the Dec. 3 expiration date of the current CR fast approaching. And they warn specifically that, to the degree the current CR lasts, it could waste billions of dollars for military programs and cut or delay health care services for veterans in the months ahead.

"The limbo caused under CRs wastes precious time and money our nation cannot recover," wrote Hawk Carlisle, National Defense Industrial Association president and CEO, and Arnold Punaro, chairman of its board, in one of the letters, a Nov. 1 missive to top appropriators of both parties in both chambers.

$37 billion defense raise on hold

Continuing resolution laws require that spending stay at current levels, with no new starts or production increases, except as explicitly allowed in so-called anomalies in the law itself.

The Defense Department has never operated on a full-year CR. While it has gotten used to shorter-term CRs, they still cause a misalignment of money and priorities.

By freezing spending at fiscal 2021 levels, the Pentagon is not getting a proposed raise of $37 billion or more, the minimum amount supported this year by a bipartisan congressional consensus.

Not only does the CR provide less than Congress is poised to appropriate overall, it allocates money in a way that is not consistent with the current objectives of either party. Under the current stopgap spending bill, for instance, the Pentagon is receiving the fiscal 2021 level of spending for overseas military operations  $69 billion, including $3.3 billion for Afghan security forces  despite the August U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Many Republicans want still more for defense programs than the proposed $37 billion raise.

In the House's spending bills, nine of which have passed in that chamber, Democrats proposed increasing defense spending by about 2% over fiscal 2021, while nondefense accounts would get a 16% boost.

The Senate, for its part, has yet to pass a single spending measure. Senate Democrats have unveiled bills that would increase defense spending over the fiscal 2021 level by the $37 billion, or 5%, with domestic and foreign aid accounts growing by 13%.

But Republicans, led Senate Appropriations ranking member Richard C. Shelby of Alabama, want defense to go up by at least as much as nondefense programs. They also oppose Democratic policy provisions pertaining to abortion and other issues.

Strain on defense companies

With negotiations at a standstill, Carlisle and Punaro, the leaders of the National Defense Industrial Association, wrote appropriators to warn that CRs deter capable companies from doing business with defense and intelligence agencies.

Without being able to launch new programs during the term of this or any CR, these companies might hire people to work on new initiatives and either pay them to be idle or let them go, they wrote.

The defense industry leaders asked appropriators to reach a bipartisan agreement on defense and nondefense spending and to adopt a two-year budget so agencies and companies can stabilize planning.

"Delayed new starts and initiatives place a strain on companies and their workforce, particularly as they recalibrate operations to a post-pandemic normal," they wrote. "Our nation's competitors face no similar challenges, putting us at a competitive disadvantage, particularly with emerging technologies, and place our supply chains at increasing risk, something we cannot afford after nearly two years of pandemic impacts."

Separately, Eric Fanning, president and CEO of the Aerospace Industries Association, wrote a Nov. 2 letter to Senate and House leaders urging them to provide fiscal 2022 funds for all government programs by Dec. 3.

Fanning decried the "waste and unnecessary disruption" wrought by CRs and said they send "the wrong signal" to industry.

New starts and production increases that are critical to national defense cannot begin unless an anomaly is written into law, he said, yet such anomalies are rarely granted. Between 2010 and 2020, only 3% of 1,258 Pentagon requests for anomalies were included in CRs, he wrote.

Fanning, like Carlisle and Punaro, noted that the pandemic took a toll on the defense sector, and reliable appropriations are consequently at even more of a premium than usual.

"More than ever, businesses across all industries need predictability and consistency," he wrote.

Billions in vets benefits at risk

Meanwhile, eight veterans advocacy groups, in a Nov. 10 letter to the Democratic and Republican leaders of the Senate, urged them to agree to the level of funding for veterans' programs agreed to by the Senate Appropriations Committee in August.

That $124.4 billion Milcon-VA measure would add more than $11 billion to spending on veterans and military construction programs in fiscal 2022 compared to the prior year.

The veterans leaders urged the Senate to complete consideration of the fiscal 2022 bills "so that veterans, their families, caregivers and survivors have timely access to all the benefits, services and medical care they have earned."

They said a full-year CR would result in a $7 billion cut to mandatory compensation and pension benefits, mostly because Congress expanded the list of diseases that are presumed to have been caused by Agent Orange in Vietnam.

The advocates warned, too, of delays in the delivery of other critical health benefits.

The letter was signed by leaders of Disabled Veterans of America, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, the American Legion, the Military Officers Association of America, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Vietnam Veterans of America, Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Wounded Warrior Project.

Threats and money mismatched

Another sign of the mounting pressure on appropriators emerged Friday when the White House Office of Management and Budget issued its own statement urging passage of the fiscal 2022 spending bills.

At the Defense Department, the White House officials wrote, a full-year CR would misalign defense funds "in a manner inconsistent with evolving threats and the national security landscape."

The officials underscored adverse effects of a potential full-year CR on hypersonic missile development and delays to over 114 new military construction projects. The White House document also said that "the 2.7 percent pay increase the President has proposed for military service members would come at the expense of $2 billion in cuts to the rest of the defense budget."

House and Senate appropriators met Nov. 2 to try to resolve their disputes over spending plans, but Shelby emerged from the meeting to say that negotiators remain at an "impasse."

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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.
Update 6pm: A convoy of cars, vans and motorcyles took to the main route through Tauranga today in the latest stage of polarising protests against Covid-19 restrictions.

Carbon dioxide emissions and fuel usage along with a concern about emergency services needing to attend the scene of a crash in Katikati were some of the issues arising from the afternoon's go-slow traffic snarl.

Despite organisers saying ahead of the protest that there would be space for emergency services to pass through, SunLive readers say that ambulances needing to go from Tauranga towards Katikati were faced with a traffic gridlock when the motorcade was nearing Bethlehem.

With horns tooting, the motorcade which has been blocking up the main route from Paengaroa through Tauranga, passed through Bethlehem at around 5.30pm before looping back to finish at Sulphur Point.

A Sunlive reader reports that traffic on 15th Ave was at a standstill, and that two ambulances with sirens on were having difficulty making their way through the motorcade.

Another SunLive reader who says they're all for freedom speech queries "why mess with everyone else on the roads".

The Freedoms & Rights Coalition, founded by Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki, threatened to gridlock traffic in all main centres around New Zealand on Saturday if its demands to drop Covid restrictions by Friday were not met.

The Government did not accede to the controversial coalitions demands and on Friday evening its social media channels announced the action would go ahead.

The motorcade near Bethlehem. Photo: Supplied.

Vehicular protests took place over the space of three to four hours in Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Hawkes Bay, Nelson, Wellington and Whangarei, while protesters marched through the streets of Christchurch.

The Tauranga route covered a distance of approximately 50km. Based on an approximate fuel efficiency of 8L/100 km for a hatchback travelling at city driving speeds, and using $2.60/L for 91 Octane, the route would cost $10.44 and take about an hour. The first section of the route on the Tauranga Eastern Link where the speed limit is 110km per hour also took drivers and riders through the toll gate.

Using an emissions factor of approximately 180g CO2/km for a petrol Toyota Corolla, the route represented 9kg of carbon dioxide emissions.

Motorists driving too slowly and/or blocking traffic can be fined $150 and receive 20 demerit points.

Update, 4pm

A motorcade of anti-lockdown activists driving very slowly and tooting horns is travelling west along the Tauranga Eastern Link towards Tauranga with the intention of blocking roads across city in the latest stage of polarising protests.

As vehicles and motorbikes came through under the Sandhurst overpass, some protesters could be seen sitting in their windows leaning out and waving flags.

The motorcade left from the Eastern Districts Rugby Club car park at Paengaroa following a briefing. Due to leave at 2.30pm, it got underway just after 3pm, moving at a normal traffic speed through the Paengaroa roundabout before slowing down at the start of the TEL.

It is estimated that the approx 50km trip to the Moffat Rd intersection and back to Sulphur Point will take around four hours if the motorcade travels at around 15 km per hour.

The motorcade left about 3.05pm from Eastern Districts Rugby Club car park at Paengaroa. Photo: SunLive.

Update, 3.30pm

The motorcade of cars, vans and motorcycles driving and ridden by anti-lockdown protesters is slowing heading along the Tauranga Eastern Link from Paengaroa towards Tauranga.

"They went quickly first through the Paengaroa roundabout and then slowed right down once they got onto the Tauranga Eastern Link," says a SunLive reader.

SunLive readers also report that there are parked cars along the expressway beyond the toll gates waiting to join the motorcade as it comes through.

"There are lots of cars parked along the expressway down towards Papamoa and Sandhurst, just waiting until it reaches them."

One reader estimates the vehicles are moving at around 10 to 15 km per hour.

The motorcade is expected to travel to Hewletts Road before travelling over the harbour bridge to Moffat Road in Bethlehem, then looping back to Sulphur Point, a total distance of approximately 50km. It's estimated that it will take nearly four hours to complete the route.

Earlier, 3.08pm:

A motorcade of anti-lockdown activists is leaving Paengaroa with plans to block roads across Tauranga in the latest stage of polarising protests.

"There are over one hundred people on motorcyles, and cars full of people going through the Paengaroa roundabout and on to the Tauranga Eastern Link," says a SunLive reader.

The motorcade left from the Eastern Districts Rugby Club car park at Paengaroa following a briefing. Due to leave at 2.30pm, it got underway just after 3pm, moving at a normal traffic speed through the Paengaroa roundabout before slowing down at the start of the TEL.

The plan is for groups from Rotorua and Whakatane to join up with the Tauranga group at Paengaroa.

All vehicles will automatically have their registrations photographed as they pass through the tolls gate on the TEL.

Main routes across Tauranga city are expected to be gridlocked as the riders and drivers plan to deliberately disrupt and slow down traffic.

The Freedoms & Rights Coalition, founded by Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki, threatened to gridlock traffic in all main centres around New Zealand on Saturday if its demands to drop Covid restrictions by Friday were not met.

On the Freedoms & Rights Coalition Bay of Plenty Facebook page, Duke Wilson who appears to be one of the local organisers, has posted that they have "mapped out the best route for maximum impact".

The journey is designed to be a slow moving loop travelling at approximately 25 km per hour from Paengaroa, along the expressway, past papamoa, past Bayfair, along Hewletts Rd, over the Tauranga harbour bridge, along Waikareao expressway, up to the Moffat Rd roundabout in Bethlehem, before looping back around to finish up at the Sulphur Point car park.

Motorists driving too slowly and/or blocking traffic can be fined $150 and receive 20 remerit points.

The protesters say they have four demands for the Government: to remove vaccination mandates immediately, revoke the traffic light system, lift the Auckland borders and move New Zealand to level one.

A police spokeswoman says in a statement they are aware of the protest and will continue to monitor activity.

Police officers will maintain a presence and will respond to events as appropriate at the time."

As with previous large gatherings, police may follow up on any identified offences or breaches at a later time," says a Police spokeswoman in response to a query about the planned traffic disruption.
New stamp marks centenary of Gibraltar City Council The establishment of a city council in 1921 gave Gibraltarians the chance to choose their own elected representatives

Vijay Daryanani (right) and Dr Joseph Garcia with the new stamps. / SUR

A new commemorative stamp has been issued to mark the 100th anniversary of Gibraltar City Council.

The stamp shows City Hall, which was the seat of the council from 1924. Council meetings were held there from 1924 until 1969, when it merged with the Legislative Council to form the Gibraltar House of Assembly. Today, City Hall houses the offices of the Mayor of Gibraltar and also the Mario Finlayson National Art Gallery.

A painting of City Hall by Gibraltarian artist and the winner of this year's Spring Visual Arts Competition, Mr Leslie Gaduzo, is featured on the stamp.

The design and related philatelic products were produced by local graphic designer Stephen Perera.

The stamps can be purchased online at www.gibraltar-stamps.com or from the Philatelic Shop at 104 Main Street.
Jose Nunez Sanchez, 16, has excelled from a very young age in mathematics, a discipline that has brought him many successes.

Currently in his first year of the Baccalaureate at the Maristas school, he has won several Olympiads in the field, and has most recently been selected for a global programme attracting mathematical prodigies.

The World Science Scholars (WSS) programme is an initiative by the World Science Festival, funded by the John Templeton Foundation.

The foundation was created in 1987 by the late investor and philanthropist Sir John Templeton, which allocates around 70 million dollars each year for scholarship and research programmes.

Only two young Spaniards have managed to enter this training programme (the second is a girl from Aragon), out of a total of 48 students from 16 countries worldwide.

The two-year programme will give them the opportunity to apply their skills to unexplored disciplines. Led by world-renowned experts (including Nobel laureates), they will examine the ways in which advanced mathematical skills can be applied to solve complex challenges in a wide range of multidisciplinary fields.

The ultimate goal of the programme, now in its fourth year, is to create an educational community of highly talented people who help to improve society.

Jose's interest in mathematics stems from his family. His father, Francisco Nunez, worked for Dekra until his retirement, and his mother, Eva Sanchez, is a maths teacher at the Jarifa de Cartama institute.

His sister, Maria, who also studies at Maristas, has also participated in the national round of the Mathematical Olympiad.

Jose emphasised that his interest in science and particularly mathematics comes from his mother. His parents encourage him to participate in contests such as the mathematical Olympiads and have also been supporting him so that he could participate in the Estelmat project.

This project cultivates mathematical talent: 42 sessions were held in Granada for this programme, with his family taking him to the Faculty of Sciences in the city every Saturday.

Jose is very excited for the challenge that the World Science Scholars programme poses and to participate in this elite training project.

In June, the participants are scheduled to travel to New York to participate in the Science Festival organised by this same foundation.

It has been a "tedious" application process, he said, since he had to present the judges with evidence of his mathematical ability.

He thanks those who have made his selection possible: Rafael Ramirez, professor in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Granada, Enrique Viguera, professor of Genetics at the University of Malaga and Maria Jose Munoz Gonzalez, who is in charge of the curriculum enrichment programme at the Maristas school in Malaga.

As a highly skilled student, Jose Nunez participates in this specific syllabus enhancement scheme.

"Teachers allow me to delve into the topics and go beyond the basic content of the subjects, which allows me to be more active in class" he explained.

Jose is an excellent classmate, and does not hesitate to help the rest of the class if difficulties arise.

Students of a high ability often suffer discrimination or problems in class. This is not the case with Jose, who claims to have "great friends".

"I have never felt different from them; I treat them as equals and they do the same."

He also branches out beyond his studies; Jose studies guitar at the Manuel Carra conservatory, plays badminton and likes reading fantasy and mystery books.

In the future, Jose is certain that he wants to dedicate himself to scientific research. Although he still has one year to decide what to study at university, he is clear that Mathematics will be his choice, either alone or with Physics.
Groups put out an SOS to save the original homes of San Pedro The last remaining buildings of the Marquess of Duero's agricultural settlement don't have special protection and locals are worried

In 1861, only 36 people lived in San Pedro Alcantara. The following year that number increased to 529, most of whom were tenant farmers from Malaga, Cadiz, Cordoba or Valencia. They came to the area attracted by the Marquess of Duero's agricultural settlement, one of the most important in the country at the time in terms of its size and innovations that helped transform traditional, Andalusian agriculture.

Different buildings still stand from that time, some of them in San Pedro's town centre, where there are several tenant-farmer homes and the village stores. Half a dozen gable-roof houses have resisted the passage of time and were listed with protected status in Marbella's ill-fated 2010 urban development plan (PGOU).

However, a court decision to annul the 2010 PGOU plan meant that these houses are now unprotected again. Impulsa Ciudad, a local political party, has started a campaign which calls for the much-needed protected status to be put back.

In fact, one of these houses has just been sold and its future now solely depends on the plans that the new owners have in store for it. Plataforma Ciudadana para la Defensa del Patrimonio Cultural de Marbella y San Pedro Alcantara - a residents' group fighting for the upkeep of local historic buildings - started a petition to ask for protected status.

Farming created San Pedro

The group aims to remind everyone that "the origin of San Pedro's urban centre is the farmers' work that started in the 1860s, when the Marquess of Duero began farming the land between the Guadaiza and Guadalmansa rivers."

"The Marquess ordered the building of several farmhouses and the village of San Pedro Alcantara, made up of three streets: Duero, Lagasca and Pizarro, where there were over 150 houses," the group explains.

Impulsa Ciudad has made a video to reinforce their petition in which Francisco Cervera, the party's president and retired History teacher, points out: "There are villages that respect their roots and villages that don't. Roots are the emotional ribbons that tie a place with its people. If we let these remains of the original settlement go, we will have broken an important part of the links that bind us to them."

Need to enhance its value

"How many villages in Malaga have historic buildings that were once part of the most modern agricultural settlement in the country at the time?" he asks.

Impulsa Ciudad is proposing that a strategic plan be drawn up to enhance the value of the local heritage, including the remains of the Marquess of Duero's project
'I thought we could really do something important using Joan's passing as a stimulant' Martin Nathan is spearheading Cudeca's latest campaign to convert Joan Hunt's house into a children's palliative care unitMartin Nathan Chairman of TRE

The Cudeca Foundation recently launched its latest campaign under the banner of Joan Hunt - One in a Million, an initiative that continues to pay tribute to the charity's founder, who died in June.

In association with Talk Radio Europe (TRE), the campaign has been organised to raise money to convert the house where Joan lived into a children's palliative care unit.

Chairman of TRE, Martin Nathan, who devised the campaign, explained to SUR in English why this facility is so important, and also how he intends to raise the money.

Martin Nathan On Joan Hunt"Joan had incredible drive and energy and she had the ability to make people around her believe that the impossible could be achieved"

What is the significance of the name of the campaign?

There is so much love for Joan Hunt that when she passed I thought we could really do something important using her passing as a stimulant. She was a one- in-a-million kind of person, so I came up with the idea of the campaign name, One in a Million.

How did the idea come about?

I originally had the idea just after Joan died, but I knew nothing about the house at the time. When I heard that Cudeca had decided to repurpose it as a state-of-the-art in-patient palliative care facility for children and teenagers, it started bells ringing.

Is there a difference between palliative care for adults and children?

Yes. This is really important, because palliative care for adults cannot be easily adapted for children. Children have different needs, because they need care that is appropriate for conditions that are not seen in adults. Their size affects dosages and their age affects their understanding of the condition and its implications.

Are there any other children's palliative care units in Andalucia?

No. This will be the first of its kind in Spain.

How much do you need to raise?

The cost of the conversion of the house is 90,000 euros, and annual running costs will be another 70,000 euros. My aim is to raise one million euros in order to ensure that this facility would always be self-financing. The unit would support 100 children each year and offer a comprehensive approach to the needs of both children and their families. For that we need to ensure a team of expert professionals and volunteers, both to care at home, in the new in-patient facility or at the day care centre

When do you hope to open the new unit?

We are hoping to have it up and running within six months.

How can people get involved?

TRE will be hosting a crowdfunding campaign between Friday 26 and Sunday 28 November. Everybody has to vocalise their family, their friends and everyone they know to get them to make a donation. All money that is pledged over this weekend will be doubled by our sponsors.

You were a close friend of Joan's; what do you think she would have thought about the new unit?

I think it would have thrilled her. To create a lasting legacy in her name would be wonderful. I am sure she would be extremely happy.
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On Veterans Day, Lake Minnetonka Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution honored Chaska resident and Vietnam veteran Harry Niemela with a Quilt of Valor. Pictured from left: Gigi Hickey, Lake Minnetonka Chapter DAR regent; Niemela; Debbie Blum, DAR member; former Wayzata mayor Ken Willcox.
Two former Oklahoma police officers face up to 10 years in prison after being convicted of murder for using their stun guns more than 50 times on an unarmed man who later died
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed an executive order on Firday (Nov. 12) expanding eligibility for COVID-19 booster shots for all adults in the state and extending the indoor public mask order through at least Dec. 10. Pictured: Joel Peters, an emergency room technician at Holy Cross Medical Center becomes one of the first frontline healthcare workers in Taos County to receive a shot of the Pfizer vaccine for COVID-19 in 2020.
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Why it matters: As news of a cyberattack in Hong Kong circulated this week, its effectiveness revealed a discrepancy in how Apple pushes security updates for its different operating systems. It's not surprising that the latest OS versions get security patches first, but the immediately preceding versions, still in wide use, can face months-long delays for those same patches.

This week, Google researchers published a report detailing what they described as a watering hole hacking campaign originating in Hong Kong discovered in August. Hackers, whom Google thinks were state-backed, implanted malware in the websites of a Hong Kong pro-democracy group, which would install backdoors on visitors' devices.

The researchers discovered the macOS vulnerability the hackers targeted and reported it to Apple, but they couldn't completely profile it in iOS. Apple patched it on September 23 on macOS Catalina. However, security researcher Josh Long pointed out that Apple patched this same vulnerability in macOS Big Sur on February 1, over 200 days earlier. Big Sur is the version of macOS immediately following Catalina. Apple followed up Big Sur with Monterey, the latest version, last month.

Mentioned in @eryehs writeup (https://t.co/ybglJnVwmi), this wasnt patched for Catalina until Sept 23. NOT mentioned: This was 234 days after #Apple patched the same vuln for Big Sur.  @Apple, randomly choosing which vulns you patch for 2 prior #macOS endangers customers. https://t.co/rSA1hqewRa  Josh Long (the JoshMeister) (@theJoshMeister) November 11, 2021

In late October, Long also posted some charts on Twitter showing the times at which Apple released its security patches for each of the most recent versions of macOS, iPadOS, and iOS. They show Apple patching iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and macOS Monterey first, while earlier versions get patched later. Around that time, Long also wrote a piece on The Mac Security Blog criticizing this stepped process Apple seems to be taking to security patches.

Favoring the latest version of an operating system for updates is obvious, but everyone doesn't immediately upgrade to the latest OS as soon as it's released. Many users may be on older hardware that isn't compatible with the newest OS. Ideally, they should also get critical security updates as soon as possible, though, there may be differences in how vulnerabilities affect each OS version. There may be cases in which a vulnerability might need a different fix in one OS version versus the immediately preceding or succeeding one.
A new carbon emission chart, which came from the Our World Data, showed the rising levels of CO2 emissions in China and other countries. The recent COP26 climate summit event revealed that different policymakers claimed that they would make commitments to keep the Paris Agreement ongoing.

Related Article: Eco-Friendly, Vegan Glitter Aiming to Reduce Microplastic Waste, Promotes Sustainability says Scientists

For those who don't know the goal of this agreement, the Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change published back in 2016.

On the other hand, it was also signed by 196 nations during the COP21 back in 2015. Meanwhile, the United States recently pulled out of the agreement.

However, the nation decided to rejoin the treaty since the CO2 emission issue across the globe is getting more serious, which was revealed in the latest chart of Our World in Data organization.

Carbon Emissions in China Are Getting Worst?

According to CNBC's latest report, Our World in Data's researchers released new data to show the rising emissions across different countries.

Also Read: NASA, USGS Landsat-9: First Images Releases, Helping Humans Understand More of the Climate Crisis

Based on the new chart, the Asian country's CO2 emission problem has a rising trend. In 2020, China's factories emitted more than 10 billion carbon emissions.

The new data also shows that the main reason is fossil fuels' burning. Right now, the new chart of Our World in Data shows that China is expected to emit more CO2 in the following years.

Meanwhile, the United States, E.U., South Korea, and the remaining countries are included in the database only have less than 5 billion tons of CO2 emissions in 2020.

CO2 gas is quite concerning because of its negative effects and new sources that emit it. Recently, we reported that one hour of video call emits more than 1,000 grams of carbon dioxide. In other news, northern farms generate more than 40 billion tons of CO2.

Agriculture Also Emits Large Amount of CO2?

NPR reported that agriculture also plays a major role in the rising carbon emissions across the globe.

Because of this, experts said that people's food choices in different countries could reduce their carbon footprint. This is why other individuals claimed that being vegetarian is a great solution if the world wants to eliminate carbon dioxide emissions.

For more news updates about CO2 and other similar science topics, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.

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Written by: Griffin Davis

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Costco's data breach from its card skimmers exposes the customer's payment details, which resulted in multiple fraud charges costing thousands of dollars.

Costco Data Breach and Card Skimmer

A total of four Costco warehouses in Chicago discovered card-skimming devices as they go with their routine of checking their pin pad, according to Fox Business.

On top of that, Bleeping Computer also reported that Costco recently revealed that one of its warehouses in Canada also saw a card skimmer during its inspection.

Costco's spokesperson told Fox Business in a statement that "It appears that these skimmers had the ability to capture information on the magnetic stripe of a payment card, including name, card number, expiration date, and CVV."

So basically, the card skimmers found in the warehouse of Costco in Chicago exposed the complete payment details of their customers, which could potentially allow criminal minds to carry out their heist.

Costco Removes Card Skimmer

The spokesperson from Costco went on to assure its customers that card skimmers had been removed from their warehouses. Not just that, the members-only retail giant further noted that it has already reached out to the law authorities.

What's more, Costco has already tasked a private forensics team to analyze and study the said devices that they have retrieved.

Read Also: Costco Xbox Series X Restock Spotted | Is the 1TB Bundle for $789.99 Worth It?

Costco Warns Customers of Data Breach

In the same report by Bleeping Computer, it cited a notification sent to the customers of the retail giant, which urges its customers to check their card statement for any suspicious charges.

Costco further told its customers to notify them of any fraudulent charges that they will stumble upon on their card statement.

On top of that, the retail firm also offered a bonus to the customers who are potentially affected by card skimmers found in their warehouses. It includes identity theft-related services from IDX, as well as free credit monitoring.

Costco Data Breach Victims Report Fraud Charges

As per the report by Forbes, some of the affected customers of Costco have already stormed social media platforms like Twitter and Reddit to report multiple fraudulent transactions.

The news outlet noted that some of the customers of the retail giant revealed that some of the fraud charges even went up to a thousand dollars. It comes after these customers went shopping at the locations of Costco that have card skimmers.

As of writing, it is worth noting that Costco has yet to disclose the extent of the data breach.

Related Article: Robinhood Data Breach Compromises 7M Users, Personal Data Leaks After Vicious Attack on Nov. 3

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Teejay Boris

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The Telluride Regional Medical Center Board of Directors is considering a handful of candidates for its interim CEO position, as a larger search is still underway to find a new permanent CEO. (Planet file photo)
Construction workers add in drainage pipes during phase one of the during phase one of the skatepark redesign process. (Photo by Eva Thomas/the Daily Planet)
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A Girl Scouts chapter that wants to sell a cherished camp in Tangipahoa Parish went to federal court Friday and asked a judge to dissolve a state court order blocking a deal it's already reached.

An advocacy group opposing the sale, Friends of the Longleaf Pines, won a temporary restraining order halting the camp's sale last week, after arguing to a Jefferson Parish judge that Camp Whispering Pines' new owner was felling endangered pine trees on the secluded property east of Baton Rouge.

In documents filed Friday in the Eastern District of Louisiana, Girl Scouts Louisiana East argued the case belongs in federal court because of accusations that the buyer is cutting down longleaf pines that fall under U.S. endangered species laws. But the Scouts chapter also denied allegations that a buyer was clear-cutting trees on the property at all.

Brush clearing underway at the camp is actually routine forest maintenance following Hurricane Ida, which decimated the pine forest along Louisianas I-55 corridor, Girl Scouts Louisiana Easts attorneys said in the new court filings.

Sale of Camp Whispering Pines, beloved by local Girl Scouts, on hold after judge's order A judge temporarily blocked the sale of a cherished Girl Scout camp in Tangipahoa Parish after an advocacy group alleged a local scout chapter

The camps buyer will maintain existing forestry management practices'' under the purchase agreement, including removing timber for age and health reasons and replanting trees that are removed, attorneys said.

The purchaser has remained unnamed because they entered a non-disclosure agreement with the Scouts chapter.

+7 A Louisiana Girl Scout camp could soon be sold; conservationists fear for a forest's future INDEPENDENCE  Plans to sell a beloved Girl Scout camp in the piney woods of eastern Tangipahoa Parish have ignited worries among environmenta

Girl Scouts leadership chose a buyer for the 600-acre property near Independence in September, saying only that the purchaser is a private landowner interested in conservation. Tangipahoa Parish land records show a final sale of the property has not yet been recorded.

Selling Camp Whispering Pines was a last resort, Girl Scouts Louisiana East officials said when the chapter announced its plans to sell the camp in July. The chapter had tried for years to muster around $1 million needed for repairs to the 600-acre property, but fell short.

One of those efforts included a funding pitch to Louisiana lawmakers in 2018. The state legislature ultimately waffled on handing out funds for the repairs even as it allocated money for a Boy Scouts of America project, drawing ire from Girl Scouts supporters.

The sale sparked consternation because of generations of ex-Scouts fond memories of the camp, and because conservationists fear what might befall the propertys delicate ecosystems in the hands of a private landowner. Longleaf pine forests are ideal habitats for several endangered animal species.

On Friday, attorneys for Girl Scouts Louisiana East asked the Eastern District to lift Judge Ellen Kovachs temporary restraining order on the camps sale, saying that the order fell short of legal standards because it lacked proof that clear-cutting was already happening on the property.

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Such orders arent meant to be granted to allay fears or apprehensions, they argued.

Camp Whispering Pines, beloved by local Girl Scouts, has an undisclosed buyer A local Girl Scout chapter has found a buyer for Camp Whispering Pines, where generations of scouts have fond memories of retreats in an endan

Yet here, all FLP has done is speculate and hypothesize, without supporting evidence, that a sale will harm them or that forestry management practices may cause harm to the environment, the chapters attorneys wrote in court documents.

Girl Scouts Louisiana East is represented by Baton Rouge law firm Phelps Dunbar.

Some officials as well as Girl Scouts leadership deny claims that a buyer is razing pine forest on the property. In the Oct. 25 meeting of the Tangipahoa Parish Council, Independence-area councilman Carlo Bruno sought to assuage resident fears that trees were being clear-cut.

As far as I know, the timber thats being cut is storm-damaged timber, Carlo said. I do know this gentleman whos bought it is not in the habit of clear-cutting timber. ... Hes trying to get all of these trees that have been blown over or broken off to be cleared out.

In an interview, Bruno declined to identify the buyer.

Testimony from conservation experts filed with Friends of the Longleaf Pines lawsuit alleged that clear-cutting is underway on the site. One of them is Dr. Philip Stouffer, a Louisiana State University professor of conservation biology who has conducted research on the camp property in the past.

Stouffer said in an affidavit that a portion of this forest was recently clear-cut of all longleaf pine and all tree stumps were uprooted in these clear-cut zones following Hurricane Ida. In an interview, he said that people familiar with the Whispering Pines sale told him that trees and stumps had been removed from the property, leading him to the conclusion that clear-cutting is underway.

Stouffer is less worried about what has already befallen the camp property than what could happen to its ecosystems in the future, he said.

I dont know whats going on on the ground right now, he said. But I know what was described to me, and the potential for it to be cut and for mechanical disturbance to the ground, and disruption to the burning regimen. Those are the things that Im concerned about.

Leonard Fisher, an attorney for Friends of the Longleaf Pines, did not immediately return a phone message Friday afternoon.
A Baton Rouge man accused in the 2015 heroin overdose death of a 20-year-old man pleaded guilty Friday and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Brandon Jamal Parker, who was set to stand trial next month on second-degree murder and possession with intent to distribute heroin in the killing of James "Alex" Brasfield, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and the drug charge.

Baton Rouge man's murder trial in 2015 heroin overdose death delayed A Baton Rouge man's murder and drug trial in the 2015 heroin overdose death of a 20-year-old man was delayed Monday.

Under the terms of his plea agreement, state District Judge Tiffany Foxworth-Roberts sentenced Parker to concurrent terms of 10 years on the manslaughter count and 25 years on the heroin charge, online court records show.

Parker, 30, was given credit for the six years he has spent in jail since his August 2015 arrest. Due to the way sentences are calculated for what are considered non-violent offenses, Parker likely has to serve only about two more years behind bars.

Parker was accused of selling heroin to Brasfield the night of March 6, 2015. A witness told investigators that Brasfield went to his residence on Denham Road and ingested the drug before falling asleep. He did not wake up.

The East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner's Office concluded Brasfield died of acute heroin intoxication.

Parker was prosecuted under a rarely used provision of Louisiana's second-degree murder statute that allows a murder prosecution when someone is killed and the suspect is accused of distributing or dispensing an illegal drug that directly causes the recipient's death.
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Workers at Yallourn power station, which supplies nearly a quarter of Victorias electricity, claim its owner Energy Australia has a culture of dollars before lives as details emerge about a potentially fatal on-site explosion in March.

The revelation of the March explosion comes as power station workers and Energy Australia await a decision from Victorias Director of Public Prosecutions, Kerri Judd, QC, on whether there will be any criminal charges over the 2018 workplace death of Yallourn unit controller Graeme Edwards.

Yallourn power station. Credit:Wayne Taylor

Documents from Victorias workplace safety regulator, WorkSafe, describe a catastrophic explosion in one of Yallourns pulverised fuel mills on March 20.

Photographs of the March 20 explosion show the casing around the pulverising mills shaft blown apart, sparking a fire and flinging metal debris as far as 20 metres away.
After six years and $50 million, Sheppartons striking new art gallery will open its doors for the first time next weekend. The Shepparton Art Museum, which features four main galleries including a dedicated childrens space, was originally conceived as a land sculpture.

Philanthropist Carrillo Gantners gift of Indigenous artworks was the catalyst for the new Denton Corker Marshall-designed gallery, which has a four-storey-high internal void and references the Australian landscape with verandah-inspired tiers and ochre-red corten steel. Sitting at the foot of Victoria Park Lake, the gallery has panoramic views across the Goulburn Red River Gum forest.

Artist Anne-Marie May watches the installation of her work at the Shepparton Art Museum. Credit:Chris Hopkins

The gallery, which had been housed in nearby council offices, had long outgrown its space. The new building is also home to the Aboriginal arts centre Kaiela, a tourist information centre and a cafe. There is an events space on the rooftop terrace and an outdoor amphitheatre.

Director Rebecca Coates said the gallery was an important new civic space for arts and culture.
Glasgow: What optimists hoped would be the final day of the COP26 talks began with the release of another draft of the conferences cover decision which in turn prompted a mass bout of textual analysis in the UN campus on the banks of the River Clyde in Glasgow.

At issue was a debate over which word is stronger: urges or requests.

John Kerry, US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, outside the Chinese delegation office at the COP26 UN Climate Summit in Glasgow, Scotland, on Friday, as negotiations went into overtime. Credit:AP

The point mattered because the more recent draft requests that nations submit new and improved 2030 climate plans by the end of 2022, whereas the previous days used the verb urges.

This goes to the heart of the climate summits goal of securing commitments from governments to reduce emissions in line with stabilising the climate at a maximum 1.5-degree-rise in global temperatures.
I am terrible at body moisturising and am always casting around for ways to make it work better for me. The first trick is to use a body moisturiser that gives you joy, both with its texture and scent. Then, either standing, sitting or lying down, start from your feet and work up. Try a dry oil like Diptyque Satin Oil for Body and Hair ( mecca.com.au , $77).

The first trick is to use a body moisturiser that gives you joy, both with its texture and scent. Credit:iStock

Each week, Stephanie Darling roadtests a different make-up or skincare trend to find out whether its worth your time. Ahead, moisturising and a retreat in the Gold Coast hinterland.

Road test

In June, just before lockdown, I made a last-minute dash to a retreat in the Gold Coast hinterland.

The lowdown Time stands still at Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat, where all distractions are verboten; the only choices to make are which treatments to have. Ive opted for the Cryo Facelift, which combines Vanessa Megan spa products with some shots of iciness. My therapist, Jan, starts with a cleanse followed by some vigorous exfoliation and the application of a tingling vitamin C serum to warm my skin. Next comes a jolt of the cooling Cryo Ice Cube Serum (ice blocks infused with vitamin C, quandong extract and moisture-rich hyaluronic acid), which she massages into my face. A soothing mask follows and Jan massages my shoulders, neck and scalp while it works its magic (Im barely conscious by this stage). I also picked up a diaphragmatic breathing technique to help calm me: inhale for five seconds, exhale for five seconds, then pause for one second at the bottom of the exhale. Repeat for five minutes, twice a day. Sorted.



Downtime Two luxurious hours.

Results My skin is back to its baby self at the end of this unique plumping and brightening facial, literally the icing on the cake of this gorgeous retreat.

Where to get it Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat; gwinganna.com.
An infamous blackbirders name is to be wiped off the map, with plans to rename Ben Boyd National Park, which covers 8900 hectares on the Sapphire Coast of NSW, south of Eden.

The park was established in 1971 but will now be given an Indigenous name in recognition of the Aboriginal cultural heritage in the area.

Benjamin Boyd, 1796-1851, portrait, c1830s by unknown artist. Credit:Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW

NSW Environment Minister Matt Kean, who commissioned an independent report into the colonial landowners background following concerns that emerged during Black Lives Matter protests last year, will announce the change on Sunday.

It will likely fuel debate about whether Ben Boyd Road in Neutral Bay, Ben Boyd Tower and Boydtown, a private town founded by the man himself in 1843, should also be renamed.
Sydneys ugliest car park would be transformed into an arts space hosting contemporary dance, art installations and live music under a plan to support the citys COVID-hit cultural sector.

A bar would also be installed in the council-operated Goulburn Street Car Park under the proposal from Liberal candidate for the City of Sydney Lyndon Gannon to revive areas smashed by the pandemic and light rail construction.

Part of the Goulburn Street car park would be transformed into an arts space under plans proposed by City of Sydney Liberal candidate Lyndon Gannon. Credit:Brook Mitchell

Imagine being on the car park roof on a sunny Sunday afternoon watching a performance with a drink in hand then moseying down to Chinatown or Surry Hills for dinner, he said. Thats what Sydney needs.

Mr Gannon said turning the car park into an art space would also attract visitors to the city, which continues to struggle following the end of lockdown last month. We want to see better utilisation of publicly owned assets to bring the city together, he said.
Id rather just spend time with my friends but I know a lot of other people are upset that theyre not going to Byron because a lot of people are going there  its like a hotspot, she said.

Ms White said she was not too disappointed to be missing out on the official schoolies experience.

Ms White, 18, said they could not find accommodation in Byron for the new dates, so a group of 10 friends are heading to Currawong Point on the South Coast instead.

Lucia White from Balmain and her best mates originally intended to head to Byron Bay for schoolies week, but the change in dates for the HSC meant they had to cancel.

Uncertainty over when the Queensland border will reopen to NSW residents  now scheduled for late December  ruled out the traditional schoolies destination of the Gold Coast for most school leavers. And while the international borders have recently reopened, very few students are jetting off to Bali or Fiji as they might have pre-pandemic.

Olivia Strelitz, 18, a boarder at Ascham said she always intended to go to the Gold Coast like her older sister but halfway through year 11 she and her friends made the call not to risk state border closures.

Ms Strelitz booked flights and accommodation for schoolies in Byron Bay over a year ago, along with about 30 of her classmates staying in four different houses. Fortunately the booking was for the end of November and Ms Strelitz is due to fly up to the Byron area the morning after her last exam.

Its the best thing to look forward to, to get through these exams after doing full trials and everything online, and being home for four months, she said. Its really the only thing getting me through these exams at the moment; its very exciting.

Byron Bay will be the hotspot for NSW school leavers, both as an enduringly popular destination in its own right and as the safe option given it doesnt involve crossing any borders. Victorian school leavers are also partying closer to home, typically on the Mornington Peninsula and the Surf Coast around Lorne and Torquay.
The voluntary assisted dying debate is inevitably personal. I have switched off a parent who did not wish to die and been powerless to do the same for one who did.

When my mother contracted a hospital infection during a routine minor surgery, there was nothing left to be done. We turned her off because there was no life left without the machine, just the verisimilitude of being. With every involuntary twitch, hope surged in me that she would wake up, that there was a mistake, that this would be one of those movie miracles. Eventually there was nothing left of my beautiful, vibrant mother but her cold hand in mine.

The assisted dying bill is now being debated in the NSW Parliament. Credit:Alamy

When my father saw that moment approaching via a creeping disease, he was unable to plan a quiet end. How cruel that we can be gentle in an accidental death but not plan to truncate foreseeable suffering. I was with him throughout. The memories never fade.

People such as I, who have had these experiences, are almost inevitably in favour of voluntary assisted dying. Our experiences carry weight, as do the arguments of people themselves facing a progression of agony and indignity. But laws are not made to protect the dead or even the dying. Good laws are made to protect society from the worst of itself.
Australias attorneys-general are a step closer to committing to raising the age of criminal responsibility from the age of 10 to 12 years old.

The state attorneys-general on Friday supported developing a proposal to raise the age and have until Monday to agree to the wording, with a formal announcement expected early next week, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald have confirmed.

The Don Dale Youth Detention Centre in the NT was examined as part of a royal commission. Credit:Glenn Campbell

It is a significant development since the countrys lawmakers began reviewing the issue three years ago, particularly for states such as Queensland which had previously stated it had no plans to raise the age earlier this year.

But Aboriginal organisations and legal groups, some of whom received notice of the move from their respective governments on Friday, criticised what they called a nothing announcement that fell short of what they had been campaigning for, which is raising the age to 14.
One would risk being disgusted if one saw politics, justice, and ones dinner in the making.

Nicolas de Chamfort (17411794)

The Andrews government Achilles heel has been on display last week. Much-needed modern and fit-for-purpose public health laws were forced through the lower house of Parliament despite some obvious flaws.

The Andrews governments pandemic laws have proved controversial. Credit:The Age

The new laws improve the states ability to battle health emergencies and are the rough equivalent of laws used around Australia. Subject to some kinks being ironed out, they are in many ways an improvement on the laws they replace.

But apart from the substantive law, the politics has been clumsy. Instead of consulting crucial stake-holders and experts from the legal and medical communities  all of whom have valuable contributions to make, [Hugh De Kretser wrote an excellent op-ed for this masthead] all of whom would ensure we have a better law to meet the inevitable challenges that COVID-19 will leave  the government curtailed debate, crunched the numbers and piled pressure on the crossbench independents in the upper house to fix their mess.
There were moments during the lockdowns this year that year 12 student Kallista Georgakopoulos considered dropping out.

I moved to a new school this year, says the 18-year-old from Tecoma, in Melbournes outer east. It was really tough. I wasnt doing well mentally.

Kallista Georgakopoulos, 18, is preparing for a four-day trip to Rye for schoolies. Credit:Wayne Taylor

It was really hard to find the motivation to get up in the morning and go to class online and everything was cancelled. The fun part of year 12 was taken away from us almost.

But Kallista pulled through, completing her VCE unscored, and from next weekend she will get at least one of the pre-pandemic rites of passage for school-leavers as Schoolies 2021 kicks off.
There are many more important things going on in the world, but it is worth noting that we seem to have moved to a post-cancellation phase, best described as pre-emptive self-cancellation.

John Cleese, a comedy god whose surname was originally Cheese (his father changed it because he deemed it embarrassing), withdrew from a speaking event last week, saying he wanted to cancel himself before someone did it for him.

John Cleese cancelled a planned appearance at Cambridge University. Credit:

Cleese was referring to the contemporary version of cancellation, where a person  usually with a public profile  is the subject of a social media pile-on for a transgression of morality or taste. They may be dropped by their publisher, network or advertisers. Their reputation may be badly damaged and they may lose work.

The man who gave us Basil Fawlty had been invited to speak at his alma mater, Cambridge University, but pulled out after the Cambridge Union Society decided to blacklist the art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon. The historian had offended students when he performed a Hitler impersonation during a debate on the question of whether good taste exists.
Wellington: Pacific Rim leaders have agreed to do all they can to improve access to coronavirus vaccines and reduce carbon emissions, but geopolitical tensions remained at the conclusion of the APEC summit on Saturday.

US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping were among those taking part in the overnight online meeting of 21 leaders at the end of the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum being hosted virtually by New Zealand.

A joint statement by the leaders said widespread access to vaccines was a priority.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern addresses the APEC Leaders forum via video from Wellington on Saturday. Credit:APEC/AP

Because nobody is safe until everyone is safe, we are determined to ensure extensive immunisation of our people against COVID-19 as a global public good, the statement read.
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WESTLAKE, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--TravelCenters of America Inc. , nationwide operator and franchisor of the TA, Petro Stopping Centers and TA Express travel center network, has broken ground on a new TA Express in Statesboro, Georgia. The travel center will be located at Interstate 16 and Highway 301 inside Southern Gateway Commerce Park.

We are excited to offer our guests a new TA Express location in Georgia and are proud to be part of the economic development of the greater Statesboro area, said Jon Pertchik, Chief Executive Officer of TA. Completion of the site will mark another successful step in the TA transformation plan, as it will expand our network, feature our new site design centered on the guest experience and provide the flexibility to embrace our future expansion into alternative energy.

We are thrilled to have TravelCenters of America coming to Bulloch County, said Roy Thompson, Bulloch County Commission Chair. The TA Express will be a great place to stop for fuel and food for Interstate 16 travelers and will help kick off development at our Highway 301 interchange.

TA Express Statesboro will feature TAs recently unveiled new travel center design concepts including improved signage, new store flow, modern restrooms and showers, and lighting fixtures, flooring and paint which create a welcoming atmosphere. As TA continues expanding its footprint, adding new sites and implementing upgrades at its existing locations nationwide, guests will start to see and feel a more engaging and consistent travel center experience.

The site will have a TA Truck Service center and offer diesel and gasoline, truck and car parking, a Burger King, as well as a large variety of snacks, hot and cold beverages, showers, laundry facilities and other amenities for both professional drivers and motorists.

A groundbreaking celebration was held today at the site, which is expected to open in late 2022.

About TravelCenters of America

TravelCenters of America Inc. is the nation's largest publicly traded full-service travel center network. Founded in 1972 and headquartered in Westlake, Ohio, its more than 18,000 team members serve guests in over 275 locations in 44 states and Canada, principally under the TA, Petro Stopping Centers and TA Express brands. Offerings include diesel and gasoline fuel, truck maintenance and repair, full-service and quick-service restaurants, travel stores, car and truck parking and other services dedicated to providing great experiences for its guests. TA is committed to sustainability, with its specialized business unit, eTA, focused on sustainable energy options for professional drivers and motorists, while leveraging alternative energy to support its own operations. TA operates over 600 full-service and quick-service restaurants and nine proprietary brands, including Iron Skillet and Country Pride. For more information, visit www.ta-petro.com.

Contacts

Media:

Tina Arundel

440-250-4758

tarundel@ta-petro.com

Investors:

Kristin Brown

617-231-3259

kbrown@ta-petro.com
View Sample: to know additional highlights and key points on various market segments and how they will impact in coming years.

Vendor Insights

The global hair wigs and extension market is fragmented in nature due to the presence of several global and regional players. Artnature Inc., Donna Bella OpCo LLC, F.N. Longlocks, Great Lengths Universal Hair Extensions Srl, Hair Visions International, Klix Hair Inc., Locks and Bonds, Racoon International Ltd., Shake-N-Go Inc., and Shandong AY Hair Products Co. Ltd. are some of the dominant vendors featured in the report.

The hair-wigs market is capital intensive, which has enabled many established players to have a competitive advantage over other players. To compete and sustain in the market, other players are implementing various growth strategies such as new product launches and M&As.

For instance, in January 2020, Great Lengths Universal Hair Extensions Srl launched two new products namely GL Tapes Minis and GL Strands. These products were developed after research with certified Great Lengths stylists.

Find additional highlights on the growth strategies adopted by vendors and their product offerings. Read Sample Market Research Report .

Geographical Market Analysis

APAC will provide maximum growth opportunities in the hair wigs and extension market during the forecast period. According to our research report, the region currently holds 43% of the global market share and is expected to dominate the market through 2025.

The report also offers a detailed analysis of the growth of the market across North America, Europe, South America, and MEA. In addition, countries such as Japan, the US, South Africa, China, and the UK are expected to emerge as prominent markets for hair wigs and extensions during the forecast period.

Know more about this market's geographical distribution along with the detailed analysis of the top regions. www.technavio.com/report/hair-wigs-and-extension-market-industry-analysis

Key Market Trends & Challenges:

The report identifies the growing prominence of celebrity and social media influencers as the major trend influencing hair wigs and extension market. Rapid penetration of the internet, high adoption of smartphones, and the rising prominence of digital media have increased the number of online users globally. This is encouraging vendors in the market to invest in social media campaigns and promote their products through social media influencers for wider reach. This trend is expected to positively influence the growth of the market during the forecast period.

Despite the adoption of such marketing strategies, increasing labor costs are expected to reduce the growth opportunities for vendors. The lack of experienced personnel in developed countries such as the US and the UK has resulted in a decline in the number of handwoven wig manufacturers. This has resulted in high labor costs in the production of handwoven wigs, which is expected to restrict the growth of vendors.

View free sample for highlights on market Trends & Challenges affecting the hair wigs and extension market.

Customize Your Report

Don't miss out on the opportunity to speak to our analyst and know more insights about this market report. Our analysts can also help you customize this report according to your needs. Our analysts and industry experts will work directly with you to understand your requirements and provide you with customized data in a short amount of time.

We offer USD 1,000 worth of FREE customization at the time of purchase. Speak to our Analyst now!

Related Reports:

Global Hair Market  Global hair market is segmented by product (hair care products and hair styling products) and geography (Europe, APAC, North America, South America, and MEA).

Download Exclusive Free Sample Report

Global Hair Styling Products Market  Global hair styling products market is segmented by product (HCGP, hair styling spray, and dry shampoo), distribution channel (offline and online), and geography (Europe, North America, APAC, South America, and MEA).

Download Exclusive Free Sample Report

Hair Wigs And Extension Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2020 Forecast period 2021-2025 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of almost 10% Market growth 2021-2025 USD 4.66 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 10.28 Regional analysis APAC, North America, MEA, Europe, and South America Performing market contribution APAC at 43% Key consumer countries Japan, US, South Africa, China, and UK Competitive landscape Leading companies, competitive strategies, consumer engagement scope Companies profiled Artnature Inc., Donna Bella OpCo LLC, F.N. Longlocks, Great Lengths Universal Hair Extensions Srl, Hair Visions International, Klix Hair Inc., Locks and Bonds, Racoon International Ltd., Shake-N-Go Inc., and Shandong AY Hair Products Co. Ltd. Market Dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID-19 impact and future consumer dynamics, market condition analysis for the forecast period. Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized.

About Us:

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.

Contact

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media & Marketing Executive

US: +1 844 364 1100

UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.technavio.com/

SOURCE Technavio

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Vendor Landscape

The market structure is fragmented due to the presence of several global and regional vendors. Amphenol Corp., ANTONICS-ICP GmbH, Continental AG, HARADA INDUSTRY Co. Ltd., Kymeta Corp., Laird Plc, Lorom Industrial Co. Ltd., Schaffner Holding AG, Taoglas Group Holdings Ltd., and TE Connectivity Ltd. are some of the few key vendors of this market. Vendors are competing to maintain their market position in the market. To succeed in this market, vendors must focus on providing automotive antenna modules at competitive prices.

Vendors operating in the market are adopting various organic and inorganic growth strategies such as launching technologically advanced products and M&As to remain competitive in the market.

For instance, in January 2019, Continental AG collaborated with a German-based start-up company, Automotive Artificial Intelligence to enhance its approach for virtual development of its automated driving technology.

View more about the market's vendor landscape highlights with a comprehensive list of vendors and their offerings.

Key Market Segmentation

Segmentation by Vehicle Type:

Passenger cars:



The segment contributed greatly to the overall market growth in 2020.





Passenger cars was the largest segment of the market in 2020 and will continue to remain as the largest segment of the market in 2025. The rising demand for luxury vehicles and improvements in wireless technologies are driving the growth of the segment.



Commercial vehicles

Segmentation by Frequency Range:

Medium-range:



The medium-range segment generated maximum revenue in the market in 2020.





Medium-range automotive antenna modules are expected to account for maximum sales in the market during the forecast period.



High-range



Low range

Request a FREE Sample of this report for more highlights into the market segments

Regional Market Outlook

North America is leading the market with a contribution of 40% to the overall market in 2020 and would increase its contribution to a notable number of the global automotive antenna module market by 2025.

North America will generate maximum growth across all the years of the forecast period between 2020 and 2025. The market growth in North America is driven by the higher adoption of EVs, pick-up trucks, and other light commercial vehicles (LCVs), especially in the US.

APAC would be the fastest-growing region within the overall market between 2020 and 2025.

Apart from regions, if we look at the country-wise market growth, the US, Germany, France, China, Japan, and the UK will contribute to the highest market growth.

Download our FREE sample report for more key highlights on the regional market share of most of the above-mentioned countries.

Latest Trends Driving the Global Automotive antenna module Market

Automotive antenna module Market Driver:

Growing penetration of connectivity in cars:

Most of the modern vehicles sold in developed regions like the US and some developing markets such as China now come with factory-fitted remote diagnostics systems. This has significantly increased the adoption of automotive antennas in mid-segment cars. Besides, the increasing demand for luxury vehicles and mid-segment vehicles in emerging economies has increased the number of connected vehicles, which is driving the market growth.

Automotive antenna module Market Trend:

Growing popularity of cellular V2X technologies:

The vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology is one of the recent developments that is gaining prominence in the automotive industry. Developments in 4G LTE and 5G wireless technologies are currently supporting the testing and adoption of cellular V2X communication technology in the automobile industry. With the increased deployment of 4G and 5G technologies worldwide, the adoption of cellular V2X technologies is expected to pace up and have a positive impact on the market's growth.

Find additional information about various other market drivers & Trends mentioned in our FREE sample report .

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Tailor this report according to your needs. Get it done with our $1000 worth of free customization. Speak to Our Analyst Now!

Related Reports:

Global Automotive V2X Antenna Market  Global automotive V2x antenna market is segmented by type (V2V, V2I, and others) and geography (APAC, Europe, MEA, North America, and South America).

Download Exclusive Free Sample Report

Global Automotive Technologies Market  Global automotive technologies market is segmented by component (hardware, software, and services) and geography (APAC, Europe, North America, MEA, and South America).

Download Exclusive Free Sample Report

Automotive Antenna Module Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2020 Forecast period 2021-2025 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of almost 8% Market growth 2021-2025 USD 525.67 million Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 6.32 Regional analysis North America, Europe, APAC, South America, and MEA Performing market contribution North America at 40% Key consumer countries US, Germany, France, China, Japan, and the UK Competitive landscape Leading companies, competitive strategies, consumer engagement scope Companies profiled Amphenol Corp., ANTONICS-ICP GmbH, Continental AG, HARADA INDUSTRY Co. Ltd., Kymeta Corp., Laird Plc, Lorom Industrial Co. Ltd., Schaffner Holding AG, Taoglas Group Holdings Ltd., and TE Connectivity Ltd. Market Dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID-19 impact and future consumer dynamics, market condition analysis for the forecast period. Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized.

About Us

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.

Contact

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media & Marketing Executive

US: +1 844 364 1100

UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.technavio.com/

SOURCE Technavio
Hyundai Retro EV Model Tribute to Original Grandeur Flagship Sedan with Heritage Series EV

To celebrate Grandeurs 35 th anniversary, Hyundai designers gave the boxy original a retro-futuristic makeover to find new inspiration for the future

anniversary, Hyundai designers gave the boxy original a retro-futuristic makeover to find new inspiration for the future First generation of Grandeur reborn with an all-electric powertrain, Parametric Pixel exterior and sound architecture interior while keeping the 1980s styling elements

Hyundai will continue to rediscover the values of the legacy through its another Heritage Series



SEOUL, Nov. 12, 2021  Hyundai Motor Company is celebrating the 35th anniversary of its 1986 Grandeur flagship sedan with an electrifying retro-futuristic resto-mod. Hyundai developed the Heritage Series Grandeur to shed light on the original sedans symbolic significance and find new inspiration for future designs.

Hyundais design team, reinterpreted the first-generation Grandeur as an all-electric car with the Parametric Pixel exterior lighting that distinguishes its new IONIQ 5 production model and an ultra-modern interior wrapped in burgundy velvet and Napa leather.

From the outside, the Heritage Series Grandeur shows most of its retro charm, but with tasteful updates, such as new side mirrors, covered wheels, slide cladding and the aforementioned pixel-style LED headlights and tail lights that hint at the concepts use of Hyundais electric powertrain.

For the Heritage Series Grandeurs luxe interior, the designers applied a Newtro (newness + retro) concept theme to stimulate passengers senses with bronze-colored lighting that is reminiscent of period audio equipment and a modern audiophile sound system to match.

The front seats are fitted with burgundy velvet, inspired by the original Grandeur, with the unexpected twist of elegantly stitched and laced auburn Napa leather on the back.

The center console armrest contains a hidden pop-out compartment for storing valuables like watches.

The designers seamlessly integrated the latest technologies alongside retro-cool hardware. They replaced dials and buttons on the dashboard with an ultra-wide, touch-enabled flat-screen display but maintained the 80s vibe with a single-spoke steering wheel and jet airplane-style gear selector.

The designers incorporated the 4way4 sound system developed by South Korean sound designer Guk-il Yu that controls the 18-speakers. The audio system delivers rich sound with magnificent clarity and deep bass thanks in part to the composition of Grandeurs center console and dashboard, which are designed based on concert hall acoustic theory. The soundbars piano function can be played through the audio system when the vehicle is in park.

The bronze-colored light beam that begins at the left and right ends of the dashboard extends around the cabin, penetrating the B-pillars, casting a flattering hue across the well-appointed interior. Infinity mirrors reflect the light, giving the second row an even wider sense of space befitting a luxury saloon of the mid-80s zeitgeist.

Having reimagined its 1975 Pony and 1986 Grandeur as EV concepts, Hyundai designers will continue to rediscover the values of the legacy through its another Heritage Series.

As our designers conceive the future, its important to look back on what weve created in the past and find inspiration in it, said Hak-soo Ha, Head of Interior Group of the Hyundai Design Center. With the Heritage Series Grandeur, our designers have reinterpreted an important part of Hyundais history as a wonderfully unique blend of vintage and contemporary that reflects the boundless possibilities of our EV era.

The Hyundai Heritage Series Grandeur is on display at Hyundai Motorstudio Goyang through Nov. 14, and then moves to Seoul Motorstudio, from Nov. 16-21.

###

About Hyundai Motor Company

Established in 1967, Hyundai Motor Company is present in over 200 countries with more than 120,000 employees dedicated to tackling real-world mobility challenges around the globe.

Based on the brand vision Progress for Humanity,' Hyundai Motor is accelerating its transformation into a Smart Mobility Solution Provider.

The company invests in advanced technologies such as robotics and Urban Air Mobility (UAM) to bring about revolutionary mobility solutions, while pursuing open innovation to introduce future mobility services.

In pursuit of sustainable future for the world, Hyundai will continue its efforts to introduce zero emission vehicles equipped with industry-leading hydrogen fuel cell and EV technologies.
AD Ports Group Records Strong Revenue of AED Year-to-Date

Abu Dabi November 13 2021; AD Ports Group today announced its financial results for the nine months ended September 30, 2021, reporting revenue growth of 22% year-on-year to AED 2.791 billion (USD 760 million) compared with AED 2.295 billion (USD 625 million) in the same period last year, driven by volume growth, business diversification and new partnerships.







EBITDA rose 7% year-on-year to AED 1.161 billion (USD 316 million) during this period, up from AED 1.081 billion (USD 295 million) during the same period in 2020, with growth across most of the business clusters.

General cargo volumes rose to 37 million metric tonnes in year-to-date September 2021, up from 22 million metric tonnes in the same period in 2020 while industrial zones leased about 2.7 million sq. metres of land in this period, reflecting the wider global recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, although some supply chain issues remain.

Container throughput grew to 2.47 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) in the first nine months of 2021, up from 2.42 million TEUs in the same period in 2020, despite the ongoing supply constraints faced in the global shipping and container market.

Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamsi, Group CEO, AD Ports Group, said: We reported solid results for the nine months ended September 30, 2021, due to continuing growth in our core businesses and incremental returns from new investments. We are well-positioned for sustained growth as the world economy recovers from the impact of the global pandemic and as we take an active role in helping to resolve global supply chain issues. Our commitment to contribute to Abu Dhabis and the UAEs economic development is stronger than ever.

Operational highlights from the period included the signing of a concession agreement with CMA CGM Group in July 2021 to establish a new terminal in Khalifa Port. AD Ports Group also signed a Heads of Terms agreement with Aqaba Development Corporation to build and operate a new cruise terminal at the Port of Aqaba, Jordan, the first of its kind in the country and AD Ports Groups first cruise facility outside the UAE. In addition, the Group signed a preliminary agreement with the General Company for Ports of Iraq (GCPI), to explore potential opportunities in the transportation and maritime sectors.

Martin Aarup, Group Chief Financial Officer, AD Ports Group, said: We have maintained our focus on delivering stable returns, building on the firm foundation of our long-term contracts backed by a prudent investment strategy. We are beginning to realise returns from our new investments, joint ventures and partnerships across feedering, offshore and transhipment services as well as from our expansion of logistics services. Our invested capital increased to AED 23 billion (USD 6.3 billion) in the first nine months of 2021, up from AED 19.9 billion (USD 5.4 billion) in the same period in 2020, in line with our ongoing expansion programme.
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Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron addresses the media after the return of a grand jury investigation into the death of Breonna Taylor, in Frankfort, Ky., Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020.
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New Details posted at 2:15 p.m. Nov. 13.

The Oregon State Police have released the following update.

Oregon State Police (OSP) requests your continued prayers and support as we care for one of our own, Trooper John Jeffries and his family.

Jeffries has dedicated his life to public service, but even more to his community. For the last 28 years, John has volunteered in various capacities at his church, the American Red Cross, and as a board member of a non-profit out of Tualatin, Oregon.

The extent and severity of Trooper Jeffries injuries are being determined. His medical team will continue to monitor, evaluate and treat his visible injuries and the internal trauma caused as a result of the incident

All Troopers recognize the risk we face each time we don our uniforms and report for duty, but accepting that risk does not make the fight Trooper Jeffries is currently battling any easier," OSP Superintendent Terri Davi said. "As minutes, hours and days go by, our prayers and support are with Trooper Jeffries and his family.".

OSP would like to thank the Columbia County Sheriffs Office, the Washington County Sheriffs Office, the FBI of Portland, the Portland Police Bureau as well as all of the first responders who were on scene, and the many medical professionals at the hospital.

FBI Statement

Twenty-five years ago, Trooper Jeffries took an oath of office as FBI Special Agent Jeffries. As a young man, he joined the FBI with a mission to serve his country. As a case agent, pilot, firearms instructor, and SWAT team member, John served with honor. He was an agents agent  first in the door and always doing the right thing in the right way. He was a respected leader, and his retirement in 2016 was a loss for the FBI.

Johns call to service didnt end there, though. This year, John was driven by a sense of duty and purpose to join OSP as a new trooper, completing Oregons law enforcement academy alongside men and women who were as much as 30 years his junior.

There are only two things John loves more than his law enforcement service  his family and his faith. Today and every day, OSP and the FBI will care for John and his family as he has cared for us. We are extremely grateful to the OSP, their leadership, and the OSP family, as they circle around Trooper Jeffries. The FBI joins OSP in asking the public for their love and support for John and his family as he recovers from these serious injuries. Please also give this family the privacy and space it needs to nurture his recovery.

Update 2 posted at 3:30 a.m. Nov. 13

Investigators from the Columbia County Sheriff's Office have release new details concerning a pursuit and crash that sent an Oregon State Police (OSP) trooper to the hospital in critical condition.

On the afternoon of November 11, OSP troopers, Columbia County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) deputies, and Rainier Police had been engaged in a short pursuit with a suspect fleeing from a criminal incident in Longview, WA. That pursuit was later terminated.

Shortly after the pursuit was terminated, OSP Trooper John Jeffries was struck on Highway 30 milepost 31 west of St. Helens. The suspect vehicle rammed an OSP patrol car, which then struck Trooper Jeffries.

The trooper was taken by ground ambulance to Emanuel Hospital in Portland and remained in critical condition as of late Friday night, Nov. 12.

The suspect was taken into custody and transported to the hospital, where he was being treated for injuries he sustained as a result of the crash.

Details about the criminal incident that led to the pursuit and the identity of the suspect had not been released by authorities at the time of this update.

CCSO joins the FBI and OSP in asking that you keep Trooper Jeffries, his family, and his friends in your prayers as he recovers from these serious injuries.

The investigation is ongoing and being handled by the Columbia County Sheriffs Office, the Columbia County District Attorney's Office, the Washington County Major Crimes Team, and the Washington County Crash Analysis Reconstruction Team.

Update posted at 10:30 a.m. The following information has been provided by Oregon State Police.

The Oregon State Police Trooper, who was injured in the police incident on highway 30, has been identified as Trooper John Jeffries. Trooper John Jeffries started with the Oregon State Police in March of 2021, after retiring from the FBI after 20 years of service. Trooper Jeffries is currently duty stationed at the St. Helens worksite.

Trooper Jeffries and his wife have spent the last 25 years in Portland, Oregon where they raised their two sons. Trooper Jeffries has spent his life in service to the public. The Oregon State Police asks that you respect the familys privacy at this time. We also ask for your prayers for Trooper Jeffries, his family, his friends as well as the entire OSP family.

Previous coverage posted at 5:30 a.m.

An Oregon State Police (OSP) Trooper was rushed to a Portland hospital in critical condition after he was stuck by a fleeing driver during a pursuit.

OSP released limited details of the incident that unfolded along Highway 30 four miles north of St. Helens. According to OSP, at approximately 3:31 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 11, OSP Troopers were involved in a police incident involving a fleeing suspect on Highway 30 milepost 31 west of St. Helens. OSP said the suspect vehicle rammed an OSP patrol car and struck an OSP Trooper.

A Life Flight helicopter was requested by responding officers at the scene, but due to adverse weather conditions, the helicopter was not immediately available. The trooper was taken by ground ambulance to Portland's Emanuel Hospital in critical condition. The identity of the trooper has not been released.

Details about the fleeing driver also had not been immediately released by investigators.

The investigation is being handled by the Columbia County Sheriffs Office. The Chronicle has reached out to the Columbia County Sheriff's Office for additional information.

Multiple police and medical crews responded to the scene of the incident. Highway 30 was shut down for several hours. The highway was reopened at approximately 1:30 a.m. Friday, Nov. 12.

Follow this developing story at thechronicleonline.com.
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Betsy McCaughey is a former lieutenant governor of New York and author of The Next Pandemic, available at Amazon.com. Follow her on Twitter @Betsy_McCaughey. To find out more about Betsy McCaughey and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
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Habitat expands housing options in Spindale

RUTHERFORDTON -A grant by Dogwood Health Trust will help expand affordable housing in Spindale.

Affordable housing is in short supply in Rutherford County. In fact, more than 47% of residents are cost burdened, meaning they are paying more that 30% of their household income for housing. Rutherford County Habitat is excited to announce that thanks to support from Dogwood Health Trust, the county has received a tremendous boost.

Dogwood Health Trusts grant will increase our capacity to serve many families, said Kim Freeman, executive director of Rutherford County Habitat. We are so grateful for Dogwoods commitment to help us address the disadvantages created by a lack of affordable housing in Rutherford County. The town of Spindale will be our focus and this will bring about great change for the town that has been needed for quite a while.

The town of Spindale had a population of 4,190 as of 2019. The average household income in Spindale is $45,000 with a poverty rate of 12.6%. The median rental cost in recent years was $583 per month, and 22% of homes are valued at $60,000 or less. An estimated 30-35% of Spindale renters pay more than 30% of their income on rent while the estimate for Rutherford County is 26%.

The housing stock in Spindale is made up of older homes with 17.2% being built before 1940 and 45.8% being built between 1940-1969. The Spindale Project will be integrating families into a neighborhood of mixed incomes, races, education levels, and marital statuses to create a truly diversified community. Important aspects of this neighborhood include its proximity to good schools, churches, grocery stores, and the downtown area of Spindale, all of which are important in helping to raise families out of a poverty mentality.

Substandard housing in Spindale is a much greater problem than most people know. And it isnt just housing thats unattractive or outdated. It is housing that poses a risk to the health, safety, or physical well-being of its occupants, its neighbors, and visitors. Low-quality housing can be detrimental to each individual living in the home. Adults and children alike can experience physical illness caused by trace amounts of lead in the home, mold and mildew, poor ventilation, and rodents that often go hand in hand with substandard housing. Children can have a negative school performance due to emotional and behavioral problems stemming from housing instability or the stress that parents experience due to poor living conditions.

To help eliminate substandard housing and the negative outcomes those living in it face, Rutherford County Habitat is embarking on a bold, new neighborhood revitalization project in the town of Spindale. With the help of Dogwood Health Trust, Habitat will be able to provide critical home repairs as well as purchase land that will be used to build safe, affordable housing for low-income families in need.

Shelter is one of lifes most basic needs. And having a decent place to call home  a place to feel secure  can change ones life. Dogwood Health Trusts funding will help families break the cycle of poverty, despair and hopelessness that many feel right now because they cannot provide adequate housing for their families. This funding will help children have a place to live in which they can thrive. It will also help the town of Spindale by providing increased stability within the neighborhood Habitat will be working in and one safe, stable neighborhood will positively influence the bordering neighborhood and that one will affect the next.

In response to the ever-growing need for quality housing in Rutherford County, Habitats Spindale Project aims to serve low-to-moderate-income families through a partnership to build adequate, affordable housing for those who need a better place to live. By partnering with Habitat families not only have housing stability, they acquire the access, skills, and financial education necessary to be successful homeowners thus seizing the opportunity and possibility that decent, affordable housing represents. The positive outcomes will be long-lasting and life-changing.

Having this partnership with Dogwood Health Trust means that many families in the town of Spindale will experience the protection, warmth, and safety that adequate housing supplies much more quickly and efficiently than we ever could have done alone, Freeman said. Together we are investing in peoples futures by investing in housing and for Dogwoods partnership, we could never thank them enough.

Dogwood Health Trust is delighted to provide our support to Rutherford County Habitat for Humanity, the town of Spindale, and Rutherford Housing Partnership, who will be part of the Spindale revitalization project, said Dr. Susan Mims, interim CEO of Dogwood Health Trust. This work aligns perfectly with our goals of equitable neighborhood revitalization and creating healthy communities across the region.

About Rutherford County Habitat for HumanityRutherford County Habitat for Humanity is an affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International and is a non-profit housing ministry started as the vision of a county resident who saw the need for housing for low-income families. She helped start our affiliate in 1987 and the first Habitat house was built in 1988. Thirty-four years later, Habitats mission to eliminate substandard housing and to build safe, decent, affordable housing for low-to-moderate income families continues. Today Habitat has built 82 houses throughout Rutherford County including one subdivision, Hopeview Estates, which is located in Spindale.

About Dogwood Health TrustDogwood Health Trust is a private foundation based in Asheville, North Carolina with the sole purpose of dramatically improving the health and well-being of all people and communities of 18 counties and the Qualla Boundary in Western North Carolina. Dogwood Health Trust focuses on innovative and equitable ways to address the many factors that contribute to overall health and wellness. With a focus on housing, education, economic opportunity and access to care and health resources, Dogwood Health Trust works to create a Western North Carolina where every generation can live, learn, earn and thrive, with dignity and opportunity for all, no exceptions. To learn more, please visit www.dht.org.
Forest City, NC (28043)

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A World Gone Mad: Upscale LA Neighborhood Wrestles With Worsening Homeless Crisis

LOS ANGELESAbbot Kinney Boulevard is a picture-perfect hidden gem in the Venice neighborhood of Los Angeles, known for its boutique shops and locally owned dining joints. The mile-long strip sings to the tune of upper-middle-class patrons who come to Venice Beach to soak in its peculiar rhythm. The neighborhoods tight-knit community of homeowners who have lived in the area for decades is proud to reside in this unique nook of town.

But over the past year, the community within this stretch of Venice grew even closer over a common frustration: the growing homeless encampments.

The issue isnt new to the city of Los Angeles as a whole, which has more than 41,000 people living on its streets, according to the latest homeless count, with more than 66,000 homeless people residing in the county. A forecast by the Economic Roundtable estimates that the number could reach nearly 90,000 by the year 2023.

Venice has approximately 2,000 people living unhoused, making it the second-largest congregant of homeless people in the city after Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles.

Drugs, needles, trash, violence, fires, and encampments have become all too common to the Venice community. Representatives for the community say that their pleas for help often fall on deaf ears when it comes to their city leaders, while tourists, homeowners, workers, and other homeless people have become victims to random assaults by a more violent crowd of transients.

Its a world gone mad, Venice resident Deborah Keaton told The Epoch Times. Its our own making, too. Im a liberal, a Democrat, and we voted for these measures that decriminalize a lot of this behavior, and so theres no repercussions for these guys.

A man smokes a cigarette in a homeless RV encampment in Venice, Calif., on Nov. 10, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

When Keaton steps outside of her home on North Venice Boulevard between Abbot Kinney Boulevard and Electric Avenue, her reality isnt the white-picket-fence experience she bought into 30 years ago when she purchased her home. An encampment, including a handful of parked RVs, has popped up adjacent to her house, making hers the closest house to the neighborhoods new hot spot for crime and drug dealing.

The transients living inside the RVs play loud music all day and night, she said. Keaton filed a police report against Brandon Washington, the apparent ringleader of the RV encampment, because he approached her gate and allegedly made threats against her family.

He rang the bell, and he was wasted, and he said to me: I just need to know all the evil people, is your husband evil? Because I need to kill your husband, she said. It was scary.

Keaton captured the entire interaction on her Ring doorbell camera.

Theres no repercussions for these guys, and they cant be held and they know it. A lot of these guys have been arrested 400 times, she said.

Neighbors allege that Washingtonwho often appears to be on drugshas prostituted women in the RVs, in addition to dealing methamphetamine to other homeless people. Keaton said in the summer a woman was hiding in her backyard because she claimed that Washington was pimping her out.

These stories have become all too common in Venice.

Ansar El Muhammad, who goes by Brother Stan in Venice, knows Washingtons plight all too well. About 20 years ago, Washington was in Muhammads nieces wedding. Both were born and raised in Venice and ran in the same circles.

Even though everybody is up in arms about this, these are human beings, Muhammad told The Epoch Times. Brandons a good guy. Its the drugs that are doing that to him. So, I understand the neighbors perspective.

Muhammad has become somewhat of a neighborhood protector, taking matters into his own hands. He runs the HELPER Foundation, a gang intervention coalition serving the Venice and Mar Vista neighborhoods.

Venice residents say that they trust him so much that they call him first when theres a safety or noise issue. The homeless people of the area trust him as well, so hes able to keep the peace.

Most of the vagrants in Venice are involved in some element of gang activity, even if they arent officially part of a set, Muhammad said. Drug addiction is also rampant among the homeless, making it more difficult for them to accept resources.

So, for my friend over here, what do I do? I build rapport, I have to wait for him to say Stan, Im ready, he said.

A homeless man sleeps in Venice, Calif., on Nov. 10, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Other outreach workers across the county have told The Epoch Times the same thingcontact must be repeatedly made before some people accept help.

Pat, an unsheltered resident in Venice Beach, told The Epoch Times that there should be more solutions by city leaders to encourage special rehab programs that would give people a sense of accountability.

Theres got to be a way, a path forward from sleeping on the pavement to eventually having a place. But I think all of the energy to give that path forward should come from the person in that situation, he said.

Neighbors Criticize Local Policies

The Los Angeles Sheriffs Department Homeless Outreach and Services Team (HOST) conducted a cleanup of the sidewalk surrounding the RVs on Sept. 8 and 9, but Keaton said the department wont enforce any measures that would force the RVs to move. She fears that the trash will pile up again and attract additional criminal activity.

The LAPD says they cant enforce it because it comes down from the mayors office, but according to the sheriffs department, the LAPD are not supposed to take orders from the mayors officebut thats the deal, she said.

Venice Neighborhood Council Board Member Soledad Ursua told The Epoch Times that the RVs receive citations. But a homeless service provider in the area allegedly pays for the tickets. She said the pandemic also changed the homeless situation by encouraging transients to move to new residential areas in the city near commercial areas.

This is different because theres people who are totally selling drugs. Theyre doing drugs, and its outside a residence, Ursua said.

Ive had to clean up human feces in my carport three times.

During the summer, HOST conducted a massive cleanup and outreach effort on the Venice boardwalk. Los Angeles Sheriff Alex Villanueva deployed deputies to the area, while media reports slammed city leaders for not addressing the issue. Encampment fires were at an all-time high: more than 54 percent of all fires in Los Angeles were caused by encampments in 2021, the Los Angeles Fire Department reported.

The neighborhood experienced a sharp uptick in crime during the summer as well, according to statistics provided to the Venice Neighborhood Council by Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Capt. Steve Embrich.

Year-to-date numbers show that robberies have nearly tripled since the same period in 2020. Homeless-related robberies were up by 260 percent, homeless-related assaults with a deadly weapon were up by 118 percent, property crimes and area burglaries were up by 85 percent, and grand theft auto was up by 74 percent.

Weve been inundated with calls, with concerns, with images from the news, from people picking up the phone, emailing, sending us letters, about whats going on in Venice, Villanueva told reporters during a June 23 press conference. And that is a microcosm of whats going on throughout the entire county of Los Angeles.

Los Angeles City Councilmember Mike Boninwho was also a local advocate for defunding the LAPDcountered Villanuevas efforts and asked the Los Angeles Homeless and Poverty Committee to shift $5 million in budgeted aid to fund housing programs in his district. Those funds were sent to the St. Joseph Center in Venice to conduct outreach on the boardwalk.

However, some tents have started popping back up on the boardwalk, with residents saying many homeless individuals have just been moved around.

An unhoused member of the Venice community, Butch Say, believes that most homeless people in Venice dont want help. Say, who described himself as a traveling nomad, told The Epoch Times during the boardwalk cleanup that most of them prefer to live on the street.

They go, No, I love it out here. Nobody tells me what to do, and I run around in my underwear, he said. You know, whatever. Theyre crazy. What can I say? Its Venice.

Not a Housing Problem

While Los Angeles was dealing with a homeless crisis prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, city restrictions may have exacerbated the problem. The curfew on tents in public was rolled back, and sanitation crews were cut to mitigate the spread of the virus. Other city codes were suspended as well. As a result, many homeless peoplemostly addictsflocked to the beach.

In a previous interview with The Epoch Times, local bar owner Luis Perez said Venice has always had a quirky community of homeless individuals, but they were largely artists and entertainers. They werent addicts. He also said he saw homeless individuals being bussed in and dropped off on the boardwalk.

As state and city leaders peddle the state-sanctioned housing first model, which suggests that the solution to homelessness lies within building more affordable housing units, Venice Beach natives have a different perspective.

A lot of them dont want housing. See, this is the issue: They put all this money in here for housing, but theres less than 5 percent of this population across the city that want it. They say to hell with housing, Muhammad said. You know why? Because theyre addicts.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks with reporters at a Veterans Affairs facility in Brentwood, Calif., on Nov. 10, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

On Nov. 10, California Gov. Gavin Newsom visited West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center. During a press conference during the visit, Newsom told reporters that $22 billion is being invested to address the issue of affordability, housing, and homelessness, to support these efforts all across the state of California.

Yes, I see what you see. Yes, Im mindful of what is happening, but Im also more optimistic than Ive ever been. We are seeing progress, he said.

But residents say that the problem seems to be getting worse.

I voted for Proposition HHH. I [would] be the first one to say I want a solution. And honestly, I would probably vote for another one if I thought the money was going to be correctly spent, Venice Neighborhood Council Board member Robert Thibodeau said. But the thing is, wheres the light on the ground solutions? Wheres the FEMA style response, the striking sort of immediate solutions that you would have with [Hurricane] Katrina. Because to me, this is Katrina.

Local business owners have been speaking out as well. Klaus Moeller, co-owner of Ben & Jerrys on the boardwalk, told The Epoch Times in an email during the summer that this is not a local homeless problem.

This is a problem about out-of-state transients and drug dealers/users moving in because they can act without repercussions, Moeller said.

He noted that his employees have been attacked by transients on the boardwalk.

Residents have also criticized Proposition HHH, a $1.2 billion bond approved in 2016 by Los Angeles voters to build 10,000 supportive housing units. As of February, the city controller discovered that only 489 of the bond-funded units were ready for occupancy.

Because of the lack of supportive housing, a number of tiny house villages have popped up across the county as a lower-cost alternative for interim housing. However, some residents say they wont make much of a difference.

They wouldnt move indoors. Its not a housing crisisits an addiction crisis, Los Angeles native and new Venice resident Kate Linden told The Epoch Times.

Linden said she emails Lt. Geff Deedrickwho leads the HOST effortsweekly, letting him know whats going on. But the HOST team can only come in when theyre given orders to do so.

The HOST team provides that guardian mentality, so you can have a safe space for those discussions, but thats where the policymakers and executives and those things, we leave that to them, Deedrick told The Epoch Times. We deploy at the direction of the sheriff.

A deputy from the Los Angeles Sheriffs Department speaks to a homeless man sitting in front of his encampment in Venice, Calif., on June 8, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Residents Launch Recall Campaign

Many Venice neighbors who had originally voted for Bonin to represent them in the 11th district, such as Keaton, are pulling back their support. Earlier in 2021, a recall campaign was launched. On Nov. 10, petitioners collected enough signatures to move forward in the recall election process.

The petitioners blame Bonin for the increased homelessness and the lack of enforcement on street camping that they say brings gang activity into the neighborhood. On Oct. 22, the Los Angeles City Council voted to ban encampments in 54 specified areas, with Bonin and Councilmember Nithya Raman serving as the only two dissenting votes.

Thibodeau, who identifies as a centrist, said Bonins views are on the radical fringe that aligns with special interest groups and far-left activists. Hes sent dozens of emails to Bonins office with no response.

The sad thing is a lot of this has happened because of a higher level of tolerance in the community and a compassion in the communityweve been abused because were compassionate people, Thibodeau told The Epoch Times. He will not enforce [camping restrictions] in his district. So, now what? Hes in charge of policing too?

During an October city council meeting, Bonin voted to not enforce a ban on camping due to a lack of prior street engagement to notify the homeless. But according to city documents (pdf), the cost of signage and outreach would cost as much as $2 million.

There was an agreement about street engagements, and I think we need to live by that part as well, Bonin said. I am certain that a lot of work has been done, but it still isnt to the level of what we committed to as a body. And Im concerned about us losing the commitment to the street engagement strategy and not making sure that it is adequately resourced.

Adding to the frustrations of residents, the LAPD has its hands tied due to the citys catch-and-release policy. Homeless people who commit crimes are often put back on the streets within hours if they refuse services.

Thibodeau said he believes that Bonin is transforming Venice into a containment zone by not enforcing any anti-camping ordinances. Meanwhile, Bonin is planning several large supportive housing developments in Venice Beach and Mar Vista.

Bonin and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti have also championed A Bridge Housing supportive units in Venice for $8 million that came out of Prop. HHH funds. Residents say most of the homeless who reside in the shelter are dual residents, meaning that they have a bed in the shelter as well as a tent on the street.

There are no new planned facilities in Pacific Palisades. Brentwood happens to have the VA, but nowhere else in Brentwood.  So, were making a Containment Zone here like Skid Row, Thibodeau said.

As far as the sidewalk on North Venice Boulevard being taken over by RVs and tents, Thibodeau said that living next to this stuff is very draining. He said hes thinking about organizing street protests to address the issue.

Councilmember Bonins office didnt respond to a request for comment by press time.
The Amazon logo is seen outside its JFK8 distribution center in Staten Island, New York, on Nov. 25, 2020. (Brendan McDermid/Reuters)

Amazon Prosecuted for Delivery Van Crash

An Amazon.com Inc. delivery van slammed Tesla Inc. Model S, crushing the cars rear and sending Ans Rana, his brother, and father, to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital, Bloomberg reports.

In June, Rana prosecuted Amazon holding its algorithms, apps, and devices surrounding its logistics responsible for the mishap.

Ranas attorney, Scott Harrison, aims to prove that Amazon controls the operation, managing everything. He seeks to establish that Amazon is not just a customer of Harper Logistics, holding it responsible for Ranas medical bills and a lifetime of diminished earnings.

Ranas case stands out for the severity of his injuries and his legal teams argument that Amazons technological hold over its delivery partners makes it culpable in the crash.

Rana was in the back seat of his brothers Tesla when they stopped behind a disabled car just before 9 p.m. on Atlantas busy Interstate 75 seconds before the accident. Rana suffered life-changing brain and spinal cord injuries.

The 24-year-old slowly recovered enough to be released from the hospital and now lives with a sister who looks after him.

The March 15 crash dashed his dreams of attending medical school.

Price Action

Amazon shares closed 1.52 percent higher at $3525.15 on Friday.

By Anusuya Lahiri

 2021 The Epoch Times. The Epoch Times does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Woman with smartphone is seen in front of displayed Amazon logo in this illustration taken on July 30, 2021. (Dado Ruvic/Illustration/Reuters)

Amazon Worker Group in New York Withdraws Petition for Union Vote

SAN FRANCISCOA group of Amazon.com Inc. workers in New York Citys Staten Island have withdrawn a petition to hold a union election, marking a setback in a growing push by organized labor to bring the online retailers staff into the fold.

The group, known as the Amazon Labor Union, which is not affiliated with a major U.S. union, filed its petition last month, joining union campaigns underway at Amazon facilities in Alabama and Canada.

In order to hold an election supervised by the U.S. National Labor Relations Board, unions must show that they have gathered signatures of support from at least 30 percent of workers who are eligible to vote.

Chris Smalls, president of the group and a former employee at the Staten Island warehouse, said Friday the group opted to withdraw its petition after the NLRB informed them they had not collected enough signatures.

We will resubmit as soon as we can, Smalls said in an interview, adding that he was signing more cards with workers as we speak.

Amazon handily beat back an effort by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) to organize its Bessemer, Alabama, warehouse earlier this year. But unions have continued to organize, with the RWDSU gearing up for a potential rematch in Alabama.

Amazon spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said in a statement that the company is focused on listening directly to our employees and continuously improving on their behalf.

Amazon raised doubts last month about whether the Amazon Labor Union had gathered enough legitimate signatures to hold a union election.

Unions and companies often tangle over which employees should be eligible to vote in elections, with employers pushing for broader bargaining units to dilute support, labor experts say.

Smalls said he collected some 2,000 signatures to request an official vote through the NLRB, and has since submitted additional signatures.

Nantel told Reuters Amazon has more than 6,000 employees at the JFK8 fulfillment center and more than 9,600 across its Staten Island campus.

Unions typically try to gather signatures from 50 percent to 70 percent of workers to give themselves a cushion if some cards are challenged by employers, and to ensure they can withstand anti-union campaigns by companies before workers ultimately vote, labor experts say.

Amid a wave of labor activity at Amazon warehouses, the Staten Island campaign stands apart in that it is advancing outside the umbrella of a traditional labor union. Smalls rose to prominence last year when Amazon fired him, alleging he violated a paid pandemic-related quarantine when he showed up at his facility to protest work conditions. Smalls later filed a class-action suit against Amazon.

The news of Amazon Labor Unions withdrawal of its petition was previously reported by Bloomberg.

By Julia Love and Jeffrey Dastin
Apple Computer Made by Jobs and Wozniak Auctioned for $ 375,000

The holy grail of technology, the Apple-1 computer, one of the brand's first computers, was auctioned this past Tuesday in the United States

One of the first Apple computers, dubbed Apple-1 and nicknamed Chaffey College was auctioned at WeWorks (Boston, United States) for the amount of $ 375,000. This item was owned by a person who purchased it directly from The Byte Shop, the store where Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak originally sold their computers.

According to CNN reports, what makes this team so special is that it is one of the 200 manufactured by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak at the beginning of their venture to create Apple, a company that started as a business in a garage and became one of the most important technology companies in history with a value of more than two trillion dollars.

What makes this kit even more unique is that it is clad in koa wood, a wood native to Hawaii. Only a handful of the original 200 were made from this material. The reason for this phenomenon is that when Jobs and Wozniak began to sell these computers, they received an order from a computer store, which they decided to cover with said wood.

Find out more: Unpublished images reveal what the first iPod looked like, which was the size of a current MacBook

This is kind of a holy grail for collectors of old electronics and computer technology, Apple-1 expert Corey Cohen explained to the Los Angeles Times.

Lastly, this computer has only been through two owners prior to auction time.

It was originally purchased by an electronics professor at Chaffey College in Rancho Cucamonga, California, who later sold it to one of his students in 1977, explains John Moran Auctioneers on its website.
The "Pillar of Shame" statue, a memorial for those killed in the 1989 Tiananmen massacre, is displayed at the University of Hong Kong, on Oct. 13, 2021. (Kin Cheung/AP Photo)

Artist Wants Safe Passage in Hong Kong to Remove Sculpture

COPENHAGEN, DenmarkA Danish artist who is seeking to retrieve his sculpture in Hong Kong commemorating the victims of Chinas 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre said Friday he wants safe passage guaranteed for himself and his employees when they dismantle and remove the artwork called Pillar of Shame.

In an open letter, Jens Galschioet said that his presence in Hong Kong is necessary because the 8-meter-tall (26.25 feet), two-ton sculpture is very difficult to move  without causing significant and irreparable damage.

The copper sculpture depicting dozens of torn and twisted bodies has been on display at the University of Hong Kong and has been in the city for 24 years.

In 1989, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) sent in the military to end pro-democracy protests in Beijings Tiananmen Square, killing hundreds, and possibly thousands, of people.

The CCP has squashed any public discussion or memorializing of the events in mainland China. For years, the only major memorial on Chinese soil was an annual candlelight vigil in Hong Kong, but authorities have banned the gathering for the past two years, citing COVID-19 concerns.

Galschioet said he wants to bring the sculpture back to Denmark, and wants a guarantee that my employees and I will not be prosecuted in relation to the disassemblement and moving of the monument.

In October, the university in the semi-autonomous city demanded the removal of the Pillar of Shame and set a deadline, but no immediate action was taken after the time limit passed.

I can understand from the press that the introduction of the new security legislation in Hong Kong means that there is a legal basis for arresting foreign nationals who engage in activities that criticize China, Galschioet wrote. He warned that the removal of the sculpture will lead to activities and media coverage that could be perceived as criticism of China.
The outside of the Supreme Court of New South Wales building is seen in Sydney, Australia, on Oct. 9, 2013. (William West/AFP via Getty Images)

Australian Judge Disturbed State Employee Fired for Helping Police With Murder Investigation

A New South Wales (NSW) Supreme Court judge is so disturbed by the NSW transport departments decision to fire an employee for aiding a murder investigation that shes referred the issue to the police commissioner and transport minister.

Transport for NSW staffer Thomas Wood was sacked for serious and wilful misconduct last year after he contacted homicide detectives investigating the 2018 murder of Nicole Cartwright, allegedly at the hands of former departmental employee Dennis James Pietrobon.

Wood, a forensic manager, had investigated the accused before Pietrobons dismissal in 2019, for allegations of stalking, harassment, and failure to disclose a conviction for punching a school student.

When he saw media reports of Pietrobons arrest in May 2020, he immediately approached police.

He then advised his manager, telling them he thought the records of his investigations were critical to the prosecution.

Within a week, hed been dismissed without notice or pay.

Justice Monika Schmidt on Friday said the evidence shed heard in Woods unlawful dismissal case was disturbing.

All of us have obligations  to assist police in upholding the law, especially in the prosecution of offences of the utmost seriousness, such as murder, she wrote in a judgment.

She ordered Transport for NSW to pay its former employee more than $300,000 plus his legal costs, after last month finding that Woods dismissal was unlawful.

The evidence and the transport departments arguments in the very unusual trial raised matters of such considerable public interest that she requested the registrar to provide copies of her judgments to Transport Minister Rob Stokes and Police Commissioner Mick Fuller.

The evidence revealed that Transport [for] NSW had failed to provide police with computer records which it held, which were relevant to the murder prosecution, when approached during the investigation, she wrote.

Even after summarily dismissing Wood for telling police about the records, it failed to hand them over to detectives, Justice Schmidt said.

It  appears that without the information Mr Wood provided, computer records relevant to the murder prosecution would not have been produced, she said.

By Hannah Ryan
An aerial view shows Spring and Autumn pavilions at the Lotus pond in Zuoying District in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on Oct. 16, 2020. (Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images)

Beijing Objects to Vancouvers Plan to Form Partnership With Taiwanese City

Beijing is objecting to the City of Vancouvers plan to form a special relationship with the City of Kaohsiung in Taiwan, as the communist regime continues to isolate the democratic island nation on the international stage.

In September, Vancouver City Council adopted a motion proposed by Mayor Kennedy Stewart to form a Friendship City Program, a less expensive option for fostering ties with foreign municipalities than the traditional Sister Cities International program. Stewart later approached members of the Taiwanese community in Vancouver, who recommended the City of Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan.

The Chinese regime, which has long considered Taiwan to be a breakaway province although it has never had any official control over the self-ruled nation, condemned the Friendship City Program idea.



The Chinese Consulate in Vancouver issued a statement on Nov. 9 saying the citys proposal to partner with Kaohsiung is an official interaction with Taiwan that it firmly opposes.

If the City of Vancouver establishes sister cities, friendship cities, or partner cities with Taiwan in the form of official authorization, city council approval, or official exchange of documents, they will all be considered as official exchanges with Taiwan, which are all part of the official interaction mechanism. We are firmly opposed to this, the statement said.

The statement said Canada has a duty to abide by the One China policythe regimes insistence that there is only one sovereign state under the name of China and that Taiwan is part of the Peoples Republic of China.

The One China Principle is different from the One China Policy adopted by Canada and many western countries. While Canada acknowledges the Peoples Republic of China as the sole legitimate government of China and does not recognize Taiwan as a sovereign state, it merely took note of the authoritarian regimes claim over the island. The Globe and Mail reported on Nov. 12 that Stewarts communications director Alvin Singh said the Friendship City Program is not designed to be an official exchange with foreign municipalities, and suggested that a city in mainland China could also be chosen for such a partnership. This entire process is community driven, so if a community wants any city to be a friendship city and can demonstrate there is a group that wants this to happen, then it will happen, Singh said.

The mayor of Kaohsiung, Chen Chi-mai, said in the Chinese-language Vision Times that Taiwan is a sovereign state and any interference from Beijing in the citys diplomatic affairs will only antagonize its citizens. Vancouver currently has five sister-city relationships: Guangzhou in China, Odessa in Ukraine, Yokohama in Japan, Edinburgh in Scotland, and Los Angeles in the United States.
California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly, discusses the state's response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Rancho Cordova, Calif., in a file photograph. (Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo)

California, Colorado, New Mexico Say All Adults Can Get Booster Doses as Hospitalizations Rise

A trio of western states are expanding access to COVID-19 vaccine booster doses as they grapple with rising hospitalizations despite strict rules and high vaccination rates.

Officials in California, Colorado, and New Mexico said this week that any adult who received a Moderna or Pfizer series at least six months ago or a Johnson & Johnson jab at least two months ago can get a booster.

I strongly encourage every New Mexican to register for a booster todaywe have appointments available and are ready to get shots in arms, New Mexico Gov. Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, said in a statement.

Studies have shown that the vaccines protection from infection wanes over time, driving federal health officials to grant emergency authorization for boosters of the three vaccines cleared for use in the United States.

There are also concerns about eroding protection against severe disease, particularly as hospitals in some states see their capacity dwindle due to COVID-19 patients and other factors, including the loss of healthcare workers from COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

California has imposed one of the strictest set of rules in the nation during the COVID-19 pandemic. New Mexico is one of the few states that still have an indoor mask mandate in place. Colorado had a school mask mandate in place through the summer, and many local jurisdictions still have mandates in place.

The entire western and Midwest United States is designated as having high levels of COVID-19 transmission, with only southern states, Maryland, and Connecticut in lower tiers.

Hospitalizations attributed to COVID-19 have risen in a number of states in recent weeks, including among the vaccinated, driving the expanded booster recommendations.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says people under 65 should not get a booster unless theyre at increased risk for COVID-19 exposure due to their living or work situation or they have serious underlying conditions like cancer. The latter group has been termed by some as high-risk.

The New Mexico recommendation included declaring the entire state high-risk.

A pharmacist prepares a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot in San Rafael, Calif, on Oct. 1, 2021. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Case counts are significant, spread rates are far too high, and the Delta variant is far more transmissible than previous variants. In addition, our hospitals are well beyond capacity, and several have declared Crisis Standards of Care, acting New Mexico Health Secretary David Scrase said in a statement. Those factors absolutely make New Mexico a high-risk setting.

Presbyterian Healthcare Services and University of New Mexico Health on Thursday said they were activating the crisis standards to deal with unrelenting patient volumes.

New Mexico hospitalizations were rising in recent months but have lately dipped, providing a glimmer of hope that a prolonged drop in COVID-19 metrics will happen.

Just 567 of the 3,195 inpatient beds being used in the state, out of 4,248, were taken up by COVID-19 patients, according to the Department of Health & Human Services, as of Nov. 10.

Other states are also seeing a minority of patients with COVID-19 but say the disease is adding pressure to already overburdened systems, making it imperative to expand booster access.

In Colorado, 95 percent of the intensive care unit beds across the state were in use as of Nov. 11, according to data compiled from hospitals.

Approximately 36 percent of hospital facilities in Colorado expect to have shortages of intensive care unit beds and approximately 42 percent expect staff shortages in the next week.

While most patients in hospitals did not have COVID-19, approximately 1,476 COVID-19 patients were hospitalizedthe highest number since Dec. 14, 2020. Nearly one in five are listed as vaccinated, illustrating how vaccine-provided protection is waning against the disease.

Californias top health official, Health Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly, said California was widening booster recommendations because of increasing evidence of waning immunity among the vaccinated.

If you think you will benefit from getting a booster shot, I encourage you to go out and get it, he told reporters this week, adding that he did not believe the states guidance conflicted with federal guidance.

The expanded recommendations contradict many Food and Drug Administration advisers, who said in a recent meeting that the evidence thus far doesnt prove young, healthy people would benefit much from boosters and rejected boosters for all adults.

The panel may soon take up the matter again. Pfizer on Tuesday asked the agency for clearance for boosters for everybody 16 or older.

Democrat Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, meanwhile, said people who are unvaccinated should get a shot before urging people who have gotten a vaccine to get a booster.

Polis attributed the jump in COVID-19 metrics in the state to a regional spike that probably has something to do with the weather.

But really, scientists simply dont know exactly why our region has a spike, he told a briefing on Friday.

Some experts say COVID-19 has a seasonal pattern, which its following for the second consecutive year. Some say that harsh measures like lockdowns or mask mandates have shown little proof of success.

Colorado officials also urged people who contract COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, to seek out monoclonal antibodies, which studies have shown greatly reduces the chance people who test positive require hospital care.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters is seen in Atlanta, Ga., in a file photograph. (Tami Chappell/Reuters)

CDC: No Record of Naturally Immune Transmitting COVID-19

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that it has no record of people who are naturally immune transmitting the virus that causes COVID-19.

In the fall, the CDC received a request from an attorney on behalf of the Informed Consent Action Network for documents reflecting any documented case of an individual who: (1) never received a COVID-19 vaccine; (2) was infected with COVID-19 once, recovered, and then later became infected again; and (3) transmitted SARS-CoV-2 to another person when reinfected.

SARS-CoV-2 is another name for the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, which causes COVID-19.

People who have recovered from COVID-19 are also known to carry some degree of natural immunity to the virus.

In a response dated Nov. 5 and made public recently, the CDC said it doesnt have any documents pertaining to the request. The CDC confirmed to The Epoch Times that its Emergency Operations Center didnt find any records responsive to the request.

The agency declined to say whether any documentation had been found between Nov. 5 and Nov. 12, directing The Epoch Times to file a Freedom of Information Act Request for that information. The Epoch Times has since filed such a request.

You would assume that if the CDC was going to crush the civil and individual rights of those with natural immunity by having them expelled from school, fired from their jobs, separated from the military, and worse, the CDC would have proof of at least one instance of an unvaccinated, naturally immune individual transmitting the COVID-19 virus to another individual. If you thought this, you would be wrong, Aaron Siri, the attorney who sought the records on behalf of the network, said in a blog post.

The CDCs disclosure drew responses from several medical experts, including Johns Hopkins Dr. Marty Makary, who said it underlined how little data the agency has released concerning the recovered. Makary called on the CDC to make data on any reinfections that have resulted in hospitalization or death public, including information on the patients comorbidities or lack thereof.

CDC should be transparent with data on natural immunity. Instead, we get glimpses from FOIA requests like this one, he wrote on Twitter.

The CDC sets few firm rules, but its guidance has proven enormously influential during the COVID-19 pandemic. Virtually all officials imposing COVID-19 vaccine mandates have removed the option for people to refuse the vaccine if they can prove that theyve had COVID-19 and recovered, with many citing the CDC as the reason for doing so.

Officials across the country have urged people to get vaccinated by claiming that it will protect those around them.

Getting the vaccine is the best way to protect yourself and others around you, especially as the more contagious Delta variant spreads around the country, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, said in a statement over the summer.

But soon after, she said vaccines could no longer prevent transmission of the virus during a television appearance.

More than 100 studies provide support for natural immunity, likely providing similar or superior protection compared to COVID-19 vaccines, including a real-world Israeli study. But agency officials have promoted two of their own studies in arguing that even those who have natural immunity should get vaccinated, asserting that natural immunity hasnt proven to be as durable as vaccination.

Experts are divided on the matter. Some have expressed agreement with the CDC, while others have said those with natural immunity should consider getting a single dose of a vaccine. Still others have recommended that most or all with natural immunity shouldnt get a vaccine.

The CDC did state in a brief released earlier this month that natural immunity and vaccines offer protection for at least six months. It said nothing about virus transmission in its brief.
Military vehicles carry China's DF-41 nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missiles in a military parade at Tiananmen Square in Beijing on October 1, 2019, to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. (Photo by GREG BAKER / AFP) (Photo by GREG BAKER/AFP via Getty Images)

Chinese Regime in Sprint to Nuclear Superiority: Experts

Chinas communist regime is in a sprint to nuclear parity with the United States, according to defense and security experts. Such a buildup, they warn, could diminish the United States capacity to resist coercion and increase the risk of war.

Chinas unprecedented expansion of nuclear forces should be of significant concern to the U.S., said Patty-Jane Geller, a policy analyst focusing on nuclear deterrence and missile defense at Washington-based think tank Heritage Foundation.

China is building hundreds of nuclear missiles that might exceed the arsenals of the U.S. and Russia, and is building novel capabilities like its recently-tested orbital hypersonic vehicle, Geller added. These capabilities will give China more opportunities to escalate, subjecting the U.S. to coercion or increasing the risk of major conflict.

A Rapidly Expanding Arsenal

The rapid expansion of nuclear weapons stockpiles is part of a larger, all-out push to modernize military technologies by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its military wing, the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA).

Such weapons would allow the CCP to coerce the international community more effectively, as the United States would likely have difficulty deterring escalations from both China and Russia. Indeed, the United States has never had to simultaneously deter two nuclear peers and it is unclear what strategy it would employ to do so.

Americans should understand that nuclear threats are not a relic of the Cold War, Geller said. As China expands its arms to become a nuclear peer competitor with the U.S. and Russia, the U.S. will have to figure out how to deter two nuclear peers at once, which weve never had to do in our history.

Addressing this threat will require significant investment now and in future years to ensure the U.S. can maintain the strong nuclear deterrent that Americans have had the luxury of taking for granted, Geller said.

China has been a nuclear power since 1964 and has used nuclear energy since 1991. The CCP is quickly increasing both its nuclear energy and nuclear weapons capacities, however. It is expected to develop six to eight new nuclear reactors every year until 2025. According to a new Pentagon report, it will likely also have 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030.

The United States is attempting to curb that development. To that end, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission banned the export of radioactive materials to Chinas largest state-owned nuclear company in September, citing fears that China would use byproducts of its nuclear energy efforts to further its buildup of nuclear arms.

The acceleration in nuclear development is believed by some experts to be linked to CCP leader Xi Jinpings apparent ambition to have China supplant the United States as the foremost world power.

In about the middle of 2020 China started to sprint to nuclear superiority, said Rick Fisher, a senior fellow at the International Assessment and Strategy Center.

Chinese Communist Party goals for global political-economic hegemony also require military hegemony, meaning the CCP has long understood that it has to have the worlds largest nuclear weapons arsenal.

The True Extent of Chinas Nuclear Arsenal is Concealed

Fisher also spoke to the difficulty of assessing the precise magnitude by which nuclear energy byproducts would increase the CCPs stockpiles of nuclear weapons. He warned, however, that increases to capacity were likely much higher than most estimates assume.

We do not know if six new fissile material plants will double or triple Chinas fissile material production, and thus its nuclear-bomb-making capability, Fisher said.

But beyond this, there is a high likelihood that many more have already been long concealed in underground facilities, Fisher added. China uses underground facilities to both protect and conceal its nuclear capabilities.

Thus, the concealed nature of the regimes nuclear missile silos, the secrecy of its nuclear energy program, and its military-civil fusion policy, make it difficult to tell just how many nuclear weapons the CCP has at its disposal.

The United States currently has 3,750 nuclear warheads, though it is bound by the START treaty to only have a maximum of 1,550 of those deployed at any given time. Fisher estimated that Chinas hidden stockpiles could conceal vast stores of uncounted warheads and materiel that could challenge those numbers.

So far, from commercial satellite imagery, one can count about 346 new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) silos that could in the next two years account for at least 3,460 new warheads pointed at the United States, Fisher said.

By the later part of this decade, the Peoples Liberation Army Rocket Force, Navy, and Air Force, could be controlling over 4,000 deployed nuclear warheads.

Though seemingly high estimates, those numbers fit into the CCPs broader refusal to adhere to conventional norms of minimal deterrence, according to Fisher. Earlier in the year, Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) warned that the CCP and PLA were uninterested in reaching mere nuclear parity, preferring instead to dominate.

China has made clear for decades that it rejects all American and Western notions of nuclear arms control of Chinese weapons, Fisher said.

More Than Mere Competition

That refusal to play by international rules and norms, and the attempt to outpace the nuclear might of the United States and Russia, falls into a broader strategic competition that might be characterized as war by any other name.

The Chinese are on a war footing when it comes to space and nuclear weapons development, said Paul Crespo, president of the Center for American Defense Studies.

Crespo noted that PLA development of nuclear capabilities and its focus on technologies capable of exploiting weaknesses in U.S. defense systems, such as hypersonics, were a means of overcoming long-standing disadvantages.

Even as they work toward tripling their nuclear forces in the next decade, Crespo said, China has far fewer ICBMs [intercontinental ballistic missiles] than the U.S., so this is an attempt to create a strategic force multiplier to help them to get around that limitation and challenge U.S. nuclear dominance faster and more powerfully.

To that end, Crespo warned that the CCPs dual use policy, wherein all technologies serve both a civil and military purpose, was explicitly designed to cause uncertainty abroad and allow the continued development of its military capacities.

In this manner, the CCP can develop hypersonic weapons under the guise of improving its space program, or expand its nuclear arsenal by increasing its nuclear energy output.

Thats the entire point of the CCP and PLAs dual-use technology, Crespo said. It can be both.

But when it comes to China, military applications should always be assumed, and are paramount, he added.

To that end, Crespo agreed with Fisher that the CCPs ongoing nuclear development had one overarching strategic goal, to dethrone the United States and usurp its status as global hegemon.

All this is part of Chinas relentless ambition to supplant the U.S. as the worlds primary superpower, Crespo said.
Attendees listen during the opening ceremony of the COP26 U.N. Climate Summit, in Glasgow, Scotland, on Nov. 1, 2021. The U.N. climate summit in Glasgow gathers leaders from around the world, in Scotland's biggest city, to lay out their vision for addressing the common challenge of global warming. (Alberto Pezzali/AP Photo)

Chinas Refusal to Cooperate at COP26 Summit Shows How Fragile Its Economy Has Become

Commentary

Chinas refusal to fully cooperate in fighting climate change could indicate that it is hiding the true state of its economy.

In Glasgow, where the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) is currently taking place from Oct. 31 to Nov. 12, Chinas behavior and its lack of transparency shows that Beijing cannot be trusted. The Chinese regime refuses to cooperate because it would be required to reveal true data on the state of its economywhich is a concern to us all.

Chinese leader Xi Jinpings absence from the summit has already been widely reported. Now senior negotiators are saying something far worse and more serious: China is sabotaging any ability to reach a deal to fight climate change.

It has been known for some time that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is willing to use climate change as a bargaining tool in getting what it wants or getting away with breaking international law and committing human rights violations, or atrocities. The message from CCP leaders to the international community has been clear: be nice to us, or we wont play our part in stopping global warming.

China plans to continue mining and burning coal until 2025, and to reach carbon neutrality by 2060. Beijing is refusing to provide transparent reporting on how it is working toward the agreed-upon goals and how Chinas emissions change over time. The CCP is objecting to the idea that it would be mandated to actually tell the truth.

It has been clear that the CCPs prior commitments mean nothing at all, and if growth targets are jeopardized, such commitments go out the doorjust look at the recent resumption in using coal power or the push to develop new coal power plants. The year 2020 saw a record in the approval of new coal power, more than the three years preceding it combined.

This should surprise no one. A key issue with the U.S.-China trade deal, and part of the reason why it fell through, was the United States insisting that China had to provide a transparent report on fulfilling the trade terms; and if the terms were violated, there would be a penalty. The Chinese regime doesnt like being forced to comply, even to its own commitments. This is the same reason Beijing has, to the surprise of some, ratified the Convention Against Torture, yet objected to the condition that puts into place a monitoring body. And as a result, the U.N. has no right to use that body to monitor if, or how, China is actually following the Conventionwhich makes Beijings commitment meaningless.

Without transparent reporting, any promises that China makes to COP26, or the fight against climate change, will be broken whenever its convenient.

Of equal interest is the fact that China seems motivated to block mandated and transparent reporting because it would require releasing fuller data on the state of its economy. Emission targets are calculated based on economic activity or GDP. To measure a countrys efforts at reaching agreed upon targets would thus require Beijing to share more transparent economic data. But the CCP doesnt want the world to see the true state of Chinas economy. The CCP believes it can effectively manage the economic downturn by concealing information in order to control speculation that could further damage the already fragile economic state.

Chinas recent economic woes and a housing bubble received a lot of media attention around the world, but the information is blacked out in the country. In reality, signs of economic deterioration go back to at least 2017. The economic crisis threatens the CCPs existence and its legitimacy to hold power. Thus, the ability to control information about Chinas economy is paramount.

The CCPs obsession with power and Xi Jinpings personal paranoiawhere he sees threats everywherenow risks undermining international cooperation to manage climate change.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
In Europe, the European Medicines Agency has just confirmed that theyre currently in the process of investigating a rare and serious blood condition that has arisen for people who received the Moderna vaccine.

And this is not the only challenge that Moderna is currently facing. On Tuesday, the French Health Authority released a new public advisory recommending that people under the age of 30 should not get the Moderna vaccine, since there is a heightened risk of heart inflammation.

Lastly, the FDA has just announced a major recall of over 2 million at-home COVID tests because they were producing false positives, meaning people were told they were positive for COVID-19, when they actually werent.

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Chesa Boudin (L), Leif Dautch (center), and Nancy Tung (R) deliver their platforms for the office of San Francisco district attorney on Sept. 4, 2019. (Nancy Han/NTD)

Former Police Officer Comments on Upcoming Chesa Boudin Recall Election: Crime is Up

A former police officer from the San Francisco Police Department said that District Attorney Chesa Boudins leadership has led to an increase in property crime and theft throughout the city.

Boudin is currently the subject of a special recall election scheduled for next year.

Lou Barberini, a retired police officer, explained that Boudin assumed the role of district attorney through San Franciscos rank choice voting system. Under this system, voters rank the candidates based on their first, second, and third choice, and so on.

Of the candidates running in 2019, Boudin won 35.7 percent of the votes in the first round. Candidates were then eliminated, and votes were transferred to remaining candidates. After the third and final round, Boudin amassed 50.8 percent of all votes and assumed office in January 2020.

Theres a perception that hes not the choice of the majority. Thats part of it, so he doesnt have a mandate. But I think that the citizens have witnessed that a lot of criminals are getting out [of prison] right away. Theyre getting arrested with GPS ankle monitors; theres no consequences to them being arrested, and crime is up, Barberini told The Epoch Times.

Earlier this year, multiple viral Twitter videos showed groups of people rushing into stores, stealing items, and walking or running out without arrest.

Barberini said that shoplifting has dramatically increased.

You have certain legacy newspapers defending and coming up with statistics at only six shoplifting crimes [occurring] in San Francisco per day, he said. Then, meanwhile, 17 Walgreens have closed, Target has cut its hours, Safeway on Church and Market have cut their hours. So it doesnt jive with what we see.

He said that the statistics being reported do not match the reality of the daily situation taking place on the streets of San Francisco.

Ive interviewed a security guard at the 4th and Market Walgreens, and he said on the day the article came out, the first article that only six [shoplifting] crimes occur in San Francisco  he caught over 20 people, Barberini said.

Two months after Boudin assumed the role of district attorney, San Francisco had to adapt to new situations resulting from pandemic-related lockdowns.

The city changed completely. Bridge traffic dropped; hotels were down and maybe 40 percent of what they were. So you have two tiers. You had the first two and a half months of Boudin under a normal economy, and then you had a COVID economy, said Barberini.

He believes that during the first few months of Boudins leadership, crime was down due to the lack of tourism and due to people working from home, rather than Boudins policies.

Weve been through two years of COVID, and crime is up. If you measure crime from the March 17 shutdown in 2020 to now, larceny is up 40 percent; violent crime is up slightly; burglaries in 2021 through September 30 are already greater than the entire year of 2019, Barberini said.

Recall Effort

The recall of Chesa Boudin became a bipartisan effort led by both Democrats (Safer SF Without Boudin Campaign) and Republicans (Recall Chesa Boudin Effort).

Last month, recall organizers submitted over 83,000 signatures to election officials, surpassing the 51,325 signatures needed for a recall election.

Liberals, progressives, Democrats, Republican, non-party. It doesnt matter. Across the board, everyone was signing the petition, said Richie Greenberg, organizer of the Recall Chesa Boudin Effort.

Greenberg told The Epoch Times that while Boudin has a few supporters, he is not popular among San Francisco residents.

He said that Boudin has been frequently criticized for the citys crime rates due to his lack of prosecutions. However, Greenberg believes the tipping point was the Dec. 31, 2020 incident, in which a paroled felon named Troy McAlister struck and killed two pedestrians, Hanako Abe and Elizabeth Platt.

McAlister was drunk and driving a stolen car. After the incident, Boudin did not file charges against McAlister.

What is really important to understand is that in this overall effort to remove Chesa Boudin out of office, its not one committee succeeding or the other one, its not the first recall signature gathering effort or the second one. Its both, said Greenberg. Everyone is working together for the common goal.

Recall organizers have said they will continue focusing their efforts on raising awareness and support in the months leading up to the special election.

The Safer SF Without Boudin Campaign said in a statement to the San Francisco Chronicle: Now that the recall is on the ballot, we are laser-focused on getting our message out via doors, phones and airwaves to help ensure San Francisco has a D.A. that makes public safety their No. 1 priority.

Julie Edwards, spokesperson of Friends of Chesa Boudin Opposing the Recall, told The Epoch Times: After spending $1.4 million, and using shady and misleading tactics, its no surprise that this radical recall has bought its way onto the ballot. We saw the exact same thing happen with Governor Newsoms recall. We are confident San Francisco voters will reject this Republican-funded and endorsed effort as well. The recall is an attempt to reverse the reforms DA Boudin has enacted to keep us safe and make the criminal justice system fairer. But this will not stop him from continuing to work for all San Franciscans.

The special election to determine whether Boudin will be recalled is set for June 7, 2022.
Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of Iranian detainee Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, with his daughter Gabriella as he ends his 21-day hunger strike outside the Foreign Office in central London on Nov. 13, 2021. (Aaron Chown/PA)

Husband of Woman Detained in Iran Ends Three-Week Hunger Strike

The husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has criticised Prime Minister Boris Johnson as he ended his hunger strike in central London after almost three weeks.

Richard Ratcliffe spent 21 days camped outside the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) without food.

He began his demonstration on Oct. after his wife lost her latest appeal in Iran, saying his family was caught in a dispute between two states.

On Saturday morning on King Charles Street, where Ratcliffe has been staging his hunger strike, he told the PA news agency it was the right time to bring it to an end.

We probably hoped wed get a breakthrough doing this. We havent yet, he said.

I didnt want to go out in an ambulance. I want to walk out with my head held high.

Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of Iranian detainee Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, during his hunger strike, outside the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in London on Nov. 12, 2021. (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Ratcliffe criticised the prime minister for his telling absence in talking to him during the protest, adding that Johnson hasnt honoured his promises and hasnt dealt adequately with Nazanins case for years.

He should be more mindful of that. He shouldnt just walk away from promises made, Ratcliffe said.

Ratcliffe said Defence Secretary Ben Wallace stopped to visit him earlier, and one other government minister has come to see him, but he acknowledged he has seen more people from the Labour benches during the demonstration.

Weve certainly not had the prime minister come. And yes, I do think he has the capacity to do a disappearing act, he said.

I think his absence this past three weeks is telling. His absence on Nazanins case since he became Prime Minister is reasonably telling.

Ratcliffe said he may have been naive, saying I did expect he [Johnson] would step up and sort it and he would deliver on the promises he made as [the] foreign secretary once he had the power to do so.

Writing on Twitter earlier on Saturday, Ratcliffes local MP Tulip Siddiq called on Johnson to take 5 minutes out of his day to visit my constituent.

Ratcliffe said he backed Siddiqs view and said it is probably too late for Johnson to visit him now, and he added that his wife has also requested a phone call from the prime minister.

Siddiq said she has been in touch with Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who she said is worried sick about her husband.

It has been agonising to watch my constituent starve himself for so long and put himself deliberately in harms way, the MP said.

Richard has shown such dedication, bravery, and dignity over the last three weeks, and indeed over the last five years, she added.

I know how proud his family are of him, and how much of an impact his personal sacrifice has had on the millions of people around the world who want to see their family reunited.

The hunger strike ended with the unveiling of a patchwork made from all the patches supporters have been sending throughout Ratcliffes time camped outside the FCDO.

Ratcliffe said he was starting to get pains in his feet overnight, and after a chat with a doctor, the decision was made to end the hunger strike.

He said he plans to go to the hospital to get checked out on Saturday afternoon and then hopes to be able to eat something after that.

Ratcliffe, who was joined by seven-year-old daughter Gabriella on Saturday, said of his time camped out: Its been a lovely experience emotionally. Tough physically. But yeah, I think it probably is the right time to end it.

He offered a warm thank-you to everyone who has supported him.

I wouldnt have got through this alone, he said. Such an experience of kindness. I have been humbled by the care weve received.

A crowd of well-wishers clapped as Ratcliffe made his way to a vehicle outside the FCDO just before 2:10 p.m.

There were cheers as the vehicle drove up King Charles Street towards Whitehall.

A meeting with Foreign Office minister James Cleverly, after FCDO officials had talks with Iranian deputy foreign minister Bagheri Kani on Thursday, left Ratcliffe feeling deflated and stuck in the same status quo.

He said he did not feel things had moved forwards and accused the British government of not giving a clear enough message to Iran that hostage-taking is wrong

Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of Iranian detainee Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, on the 19th day of his hunger strike outside The Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office in London on Nov. 11, 2021. (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian dual national, has been in custody in Iran since 2016 after being accused of plotting to overthrow the government.

She was taking the couples daughter Gabriella to see her family when she was arrested and sentenced to five years in jail, spending four years in Evin Prison and one under house arrest.

According to her family, she was told by Iranian authorities that she was being detained because of the UKs failure to pay an outstanding 400 million ($537 million) debt to Iran.

While Ratcliffe said the government clammed up and would not talk about the debt during his discussion with officials, The Guardian newspaper reported that the UK told Iran it could not pay the debt owing to restrictions brought about by sanctions, quoting Tehrans deputy foreign minister.

According to the paper, Bagheri Kani said the two sides had agreed on a payment of less than 500 million ($671 million) taking interest into account, and added: Now what the UK government are bringing up is the limitations on banking interactions, saying it is a difficulty, and finally they cannot do it.

It is the second time Ratcliffe has gone on hunger strike, having camped in front of the Iranian embassy for 15 days two years agoa move he said had resulted in getting his daughter home.

During Ratcliffes latest demonstration he has been visited by supporters including Strictly Come Dancing co-host Claudia Winkleman, writer and presenter Victoria Coren Mitchell, and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer as well as his local MP Siddiq.

Siddiq said she has secured a debate in Parliament on Zaghari-Ratcliffes situation and urged people to contact their MPs to ask them to speak in Tuesdays discussion and make the case for bringing Nazanin home.

She said the debate has attracted cross-party support, adding: Nazanin told me that shell be watching the debate and praying that she hears something new from the government.
Jan. 6 Defendants Taken Out of Cells on Stretchers: Court Filing

Multiple Jan. 6 defendants were taken out of their cells on stretchers at the District of Columbia jail on Nov. 11, according to a court filing.

The situation started when one of the defendants refused to wear a mask, family members of Kelly Meggs, who is being held in the D.C. jail, told Meggss lawyer. Prison guards then began spraying a chemical substance described as some kind of mace or pepper spray, according to a filing in federal court.

They sprayed mace or some type of gas at an inmate and kept missing so it went into an intake that fed into other cells, and the lady with the key left because she didnt like the gas, so the inmates in the cells who were being fed the gas from that intake were locked in for like 15 minutes while it was going into their rooms and they couldnt see or breathe, the family told Jonathon Moseley, the lawyer.

More than one of the defendants was taken out on stretchers for medical attention.

Julie Kelly, a writer for American Greatness, reported on Nov. 11 that prison guards filled an area of the jail with chemical spray, and three detainees had to be taken out on stretchers.

Moseley and the D.C. Department of Corrections didnt respond to requests for comment.

The lawyer said his client wasnt in one of the cells that the gas was being cycled into by the ventilation system. He urged the court to explore with the Bureau of Prisons and Congress whether any federal funds are already or can be allocated to repair and upgrade the D.C. jail facilities.

Neither prosecutors nor the judge has yet responded to the filing.

The jail has been under heightened scrutiny in recent months due to its holding dozens of people accused of participating in the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol.

One defendant, Christopher Worrell, was released from pretrial custody last week because U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth became troubled by the lack of proper medical care he received from the jail.

The U.S. Marshals Service showed up unannounced at the facilities in mid-October. Officials deemed the part holding Jan. 6 detainees suitable but found conditions in another part that do not meet the minimum standards of confinement, the agency said in a recent statement.

Lamont Ruffin, the acting U.S. Marshal for Washington, told Quincy Booth, director of the D.C. Department of Corrections, in a letter that he personally went to the jail and saw evidence of systemic failures.

Prison guards routinely shut off water to cells as punishment, and multiple cells had large amounts of standing human sewage (urine and feces) in the toilets, inspectors found. Additionally, guards were observed antagonizing detainees, and hot meals were observed being served cold and congealed.

Jail officials were ordered to transfer about 400 detainees, or 36 percent of the inmates in the Central Treatment Facility, one of the facilities that make up the D.C. jail system, to a prison in another state.

Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), after months of attempts, were able to tour the facilities last week. Greene said she witnessed terrible conditions, including Jan. 6 detainees receiving very poor food and virtually no medical care.

I want to be very clear that we will deal with those deficiencies so that we have a safe jail until such time that the District is able to build a new one, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, who helped the members secure access, told The Epoch Times in an email.

Avis Buchanan, director of the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia, said in a statement that it has called out the treatment of detainees at the D.C. jail for years.

The inhumane conditions have included long-term solitary confinement for people with no disciplinary issues, lack of running water, full illumination of cells for 24-hours per day resulting in sleep deprivation, cells soiled with feces and blood, lack of air conditioning during the summer, and heat during the winter, lack of proper medical care, failure to provide mental health treatment, and physical and mental abuse by correctional officers of people in their custody, Buchanan said.

Councilman Charles Allen, the Democratic chairman of the D.C. City Councils Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, described the situation as a crisis during a remote hearing this week.

I do not use that term lightly. The District of Columbia has a moral and constitutional duty to provide humane and dignified conditions of confinement and to do so immediately. And thats not happening here, he said.

D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine, also a Democrat, acknowledged during the hearing that concerns about the conditions in the jail received little attention until they were raised, of course, by mostly white defendants accused of perpetrating the Jan. 6 breach, adding, Thats not because people werent complaining.

Chris Geldart, a deputy mayor, told council members that there are systemic issues at the jail and the issues raised by U.S. Marshals were being addressed, but also claimed that the problems were not so pervasive that [the jail] has become uninhabitable.

Geldart also confirmed that Marshals were blocked from reentering the facilities about a week after the inspection, pinning the decision on the warden.

The D.C. Department of Corrections and the U.S. Marshals Service on Nov. 10 entered into a memorandum of understanding that outlines plans to improve conditions at the jail. Each party is forbidden from issuing statements or speaking to the media about the agreement without consent from the other party.
More than 400 dignitaries including civic leaders, clergy, and military personnel filled the ballroom of the Irvine Marriott near capacity for the 56th Annual Mayors Prayer Breakfast in Newport Beach, Calif., on Nov. 11, 2021. (Lynn Hackman/The Epoch Times)

Keeping the Faith: Orange County Mayors Prayer Breakfast Fills Hotel Ballroom

IRVINE, Calif.More than 400 dignitaries including civic leaders, clergy, and military personnel filled the ballroom of the Irvine Marriott near capacity early Thursday morning, Nov. 11, for the 56th Annual Mayors Prayer Breakfast.

The event, which has been on hiatus since 2020, focuses on supporting Americas leaders through prayer and the reaffirmation of the spiritual values that the United States was founded upon.

It was hosted by the Orange Coast Christian Outreach, a non-profit ministry of volunteers dedicated to changing lives one story at a time through compelling and extraordinary stories by regular people that have experienced unique or difficult circumstances which they overcame through their Christian faith.

Master of ceremonies for the event was former County Treasurer, Supervisor, and California State Senator John Moorlach, who introduced each of the mayors in attendance.

Former State Senator John Moorlach speaks the 56th Annual Mayors Prayer Breakfast in Newport Beach, Calif., on Nov. 11, 2021. (Lynn Hackman/The Epoch Times)

On the dias were mayors Farrah Khan of Irvine, Brad Avery of Newport Beach, Mark Murphy of Orange, Fred Minagar of Laguna Niguel, Scott Voigts of Lake Forest, Jamey Federico of Dana Point, Anthony Beall of Rancho Santa Margarita, along with mayor pro tems Wendy Bucknum of Mission Viejo, Ross Chun of Aliso Viejo, and Councilwoman Janine Heft of Laguna Hills.

Keynote speaker Lt. Gen. (Ret.) William G. Boykin, author of Never Surrender: A Soldiers Journey to the Crossroads of Faith and Freedom, told the audience that his faith in God helped him to endure the mental and physical challenges of his remarkable military career.

As one of the original members of the U.S. Armys elite Delta Force, Boykin commended the Armys Green Berets as well as the Special Warfare Center and School. In all, he spent 36 years in the Army, serving his last four years as the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence.

An ordained minister, Boykin told the audience his passion is to encourage Christians to become warriors in Gods Kingdom, quoting Exodus 15, the Lord is a warrior.

Boykin said that at one particularly low point in his life, he felt that God simply abandoned him, but soon realized his mistake and prayed for forgiveness for turning away from his faith. He knew in his heart that God would see him through no matter how bad things got, and that grace would ultimately prevail.

There is nothing you have ever done, absolutely nothing, that God will not forgive if you are genuinely confessing you need His foundation. Theres nothing in your life that He will not forgive you for, Boykin told the hushed crowd.

Modeled after the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., which was first held by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953, the Mayors Prayer Breakfast originated as a time of personal reflection and rededication to God, as well as an opportunity to restore and reassert the spiritual heritage of America through word, song, and prayer.

Lt. Gen. (Ret.) William G. Boykin attends the 56th Annual Mayors Prayer Breakfast in Newport Beach, Calif., on Nov. 11, 2021. (Lynn Hackman/The Epoch Times)
LA County Issues COVID-19 Vaccine Notices to Employees

Los Angeles County revealed on Nov. 12 that theyve started issuing noncompliance notices to employees who havent registered their COVID-19 vaccination status with the county.

Employees must register their vaccine status with the county and begin COVID-19 testing within five days of receiving the notice or face discipline, according to the county.

The vaccination policy is intended to save lives, not to punish employees based on their vaccination status, LA County spokesman Michael Wilson told The Epoch Times.

Employees can apply for a medical or religious exemption, and the policy provides ample time for this process.

Employees who havent complied with the vaccine policy within 45 days of receiving the notice will get a five-day suspension. They will have 30 days after they return from the suspension to come into compliance.

The county declined to say whether unvaccinated sheriffs department employees were among those who have received notices.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, an outspoken critic of the countys COVID-19 vaccine mandate that went into effect Oct. 1, said last week that he could lose up to one-third of his sworn staff to the mandate.

Last week, he said the county lacked the authority to terminate his employees.

On Nov. 2, the sheriffs department reported that 52 percent of its staff was fully vaccinated. At that time, Villanueva said that 4,185 sworn and professional employees could be terminated because of the vaccine mandate.

The next day on Facebook Live, a viewer asked Villanueva whether the Board of Supervisors had the authority to fire his deputies over the vaccine mandate.

No, they cannot. They cannot legally do that, Villanueva told the viewer. Thats my responsibility. I mean, theyre going to try to do some cute stuff, trust me. However, the point is, this is all political posturing, and its not based on anything that is going to benefit the public.

Calls and emails to the countys Board of Supervisors, sheriffs department, county counsel, and the District Attorneys Office went unanswered or didnt address the question of whether the county could fire sheriffs department employees.

Villanueva, who oversees the largest sheriffs department in the country, with about 18,000 employees, announced in early October that he wouldnt enforce the countys vaccine mandate in his agency.

Sheriffs departments are given authority from the state, and the California Legislature failed to pass a state vaccine mandate this year.

Monterey County, in northern California, decided a similar issue Nov. 2, when 49 of its sheriffs office employees were reportedly noncompliant with the countys vaccine mandate.

That countys legal counsel determined that the Board of Supervisors couldnt terminate sheriffs office employees. The only person with that authority was the elected sheriff, the Monterey County Weekly reported.

An email to Los Angeles Countys counsel wasnt returned by press time.

More than 80 percent of employees had provided proof of full or partial vaccinations by Nov. 12, LA County reported.

The county hopes that 100 percent of its workforce will comply with the policy and register in the system, Wilson said.

Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Chief Michel Moore has cooperated with the vaccine mandate rollout and has required his department to be fully vaccinated.

The Los Angeles Times reported that more than 2,600 LAPD officers so far have claimed to be exempt for medical or religious reasons. Some officers have filed lawsuits challenging the mandate.

A state Superior Court judge denied a request for a temporary restraining order on Nov. 10 filed by the Los Angeles police union to block the citys vaccine mandate.

Judge Mitchell L. Beckloff must still rule on a related request for a preliminary injunction to halt the mandate for officers while a lawsuit filed by the union against the city goes forward. That hearing is scheduled for next month, KTLA reported.
A "Now Hiring" sign near the entrance to a Miami Grill restaurant in Hallandale, Fla., on Sept. 21, 2021. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Leisure, Hospitality Workers Quitting at Twice National Rate

Recent government data on the labor market is providing fresh insight into the so-called Great Resignation, with the figures showing that workers in sectors with a lot of face-to-face interaction with other people, such as in accommodation and food services, were quitting their jobs in September at record or near-record numbers and at over twice the national rate.

The Labor Departments Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), released Nov. 12, showed that a total of 4.4 million U.S. workers quit their jobs in September, a record high. The so-called quits rate, which reflects worker confidence in being able to find a better job, also rose to a record high of 3.0 percent, painting a picture of labor market tightness and growing pricing power of workers.

But the quits rate in several industriesleisure and hospitality (6.4 percent) and accommodation and food services (6.6 percent)came in at over twice the national rate and at levels at or near their respective record highs.

The number of job openings in late September remained extraordinarily high at 10.4 million, Bankrate Senior Economic Analyst Mark Hamrick told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement. At the same time, the so-called Great Resignation continued to reach new heights, with 4.4 million people quitting their jobs with leisure and hospitality leading the way.

Of the 4.4 million workers quitting, 863,000 were in accommodation and food services, and 987,000 were in leisure and hospitality.

The Labor Departments quits data comes as businesses continue to report difficulties attracting workers, raising wages, and offering perks to bring in badly needed staff.

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) said in a Nov. 9 report that a net 44 percent of small-business owners reported boosting wages to attract and retain staff, the highest reading in the 48-year history of the series.

This remains an opportune time for people to look for employment, while demand for workers remains high. For many employers, the struggle continues, Hamrick said.

The recent JOLTS report also highlighted the mismatch between the near-record 10.4 million job openings and the official number of unemployed people in the United States, which the Labor Department said in an earlier report (pdf) amounted to 7.4 million in October.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Nov. 12 weighed in on the labor market dynamics and commented on the mismatch.

Spending is strong and the supply of workers is not back up to normal, Yellen told CBS Face the Nation in an interview that aired Nov. 14. We have a tight labor market.

Unemployment is low and labor force participation is quite depressed relative to pre-pandemic levels, she said. Labor supply is abnormally low, I believe, because of the pandemic.

The labor force participation rate, a measure of people working or actively looking for work, has been stuck at a historically depressed level. The Labor Departments most recent jobs report, released Nov. 5, showed the labor force participation rate in October stood at 61.6 percent, unchanged from September but well below the pre-pandemic level of 63.6 percent in February 2020, and far off the historical peak of 67.3 percent in April 2000.

While the reason for the lagging labor force participation rate isnt immediately clear, economists have cited COVID-19 fears among employees returning to the office, government assistance programs and policies, the stress of the pandemic prompting a spike in retirements and resignations, along with a lack of access to affordable child care.

I think part of it reflects concerns about COVID and exposure to COVID, especially in jobs that involve public-facing activities, Yellen said.

Another reason for what she called an abnormally low supply of labor was a shortage of child care workers and educators, which creates child care problems.

That also tends to suppress labor supply, she said.

In October, the unemployment rate edged down by 0.2 of a percentage point to 4.6 percent. At the same time, U.S. employers added 531,000 jobs in October, the largest gain in three months.
Screenshot taken from PA video of the grandson of an 84-year-old woman who was stabbed, leaving flowers at the scene in Albany Parade, Brentford, England, on Nov. 13, 2021. (Luke O'Reilly/PA)

Man Arrested Following Fatal Stabbing in London Surburb

A man was arrested on Saturday morning after a stabbing incident on Friday evening left one dead and one seriously injured, Metropolitan police said.

The unidentified man in his 30s was arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder and has been taken into custody at a London police station.

A man believed to be in his 20s, whom police and paramedic found with stab injuries, died at the scene in Brentford, a suburban town in West London, at around 8 p.m. on Friday.

An 84-year-old woman who suffered serious stab injuries was taken to the hospital, police said her injuries were not deemed life-threatening.

The police did not identify the person arrested, as is standard practice in the UK. Suspects of crimes are usually named after they are charged.

The Met said theres no terrorist link and police are currently not looking for others in relation to the stabbings.

Screenshot taken from PA video of flowers at the scene of a stabbing incident in Albany Parade, Brentford, England, on Nov. 13, 2021. (Luke OReilly/PA)

The elderly woman has been identified locally as Betty Walsh. Originally from Ireland, the mother of seven worked at the local pub The Griffin until 1978, pub manager Gerhard Peleschka said.

She knew everyone, everyone loved her. People knew her for years and years, shes a Brentford legend, Peleschka said.

Peleschka said Walsh was fit as a fiddle, adding it just blows your mind what happened to her.

He said the incident was unusual in a close-knit community where everyone knows everyone, and described it as an absolutely safe area.

Earlier on Saturday, Walshs grandson left a bouquet of flowers at the scene but declined to speak to reporters.

One of her sons, who did not give his name, arrived shortly afterward. He also declined to speak to reporters, except to say: This is England. This is society.

On Saturday afternoon, police were seen standing outside a house in Brook Road South, minutes away from the scene of the stabbings.

The door to the house remained open as one officer stood outside while another moved around inside.

The officer later emerged and shut the door behind him, and stood guard outside with his colleague.

PA contributed to this report.
Man Survives Near-Fatal Crash on Mothers Day, Becomes EMT to Pay It Forward: I Was Actively Dying

Four years ago on Mothers Day, Laurie Trahan received a devastating call at around 4:30 a.m. that no parent should ever have to receive. Her 25-year-old son was fighting for his life after a near-fatal crash.

High-spirited and always ready to help others, Caleb Trahan, now 29, of Conroe, Texas, was running on merely two hours of sleep after back-to-back work shifts when the vehicle he was driving hit a large traffic light pole on his way home that night. Partially ejected, he was stuck in the windshield, lying on the engine block. It took first responders almost an hour to cut him out of his truck.

If it wasnt for one passing-by emergency room (ER) doctor who stopped to assist Caleb, the Trahans would have lost their son. Between resuscitation and a total of 50 surgeries, Calebs heart stopped three times, but he made an incredible recovery.

Talking to The Epoch Times, he said hes grateful to the selfless service of his caretakers and first respondersthe real-life heroes who inspired him to become an EMT, transforming the lives of the younger generation.

I started EMT school, and my legs were still broken, my neck was still broken. But I was on a mission. I wanted to help someone else. Thats what, I think, saved my life.  Caleb Trahan, 29, of Conroe, Texas

Caleb Trahan, 29, from Conroe, Texas, survived a fatal car accident on Mothers Day 2017. (Courtesy of Caleb Trahan)

She had no reason to stop, Caleb said of the doctor. She was almost home. She didnt have to do that. She did. She held my hand until the paramedics got there. Then she walked up to the street  she sat there and she watched. She went home and held her kids, and she cried all day long.

When I came into the ER, I was actively dying. And when I met her [post-recovery], she said. I wasnt going to let you die by yourself, not on Mothers Day. Your mom needed someone there with you.

Thats a role model for not even medicine, but just life and being a good person. Thats the commitment to what you do that is completely not demanded of you. So now I wear that [EMT] uniform, and its really an awesome feeling. Its been a great process.

Caleb hit a traffic light pole on his way back home on May 14, 2017. (Courtesy of Caleb Trahan)

Recalling that fateful day, Caleb said a friend had rung him up late in the evening saying his truck had broken down. After they finished the repairing, at around 1 oclock in the morning of May 14, 2017, Calebs friend took him to a local bar to buy him a drink.

After two drinks, Caleb decided to drive home as it was already late. However, a few minutes later, he fell asleep and crashed into a pole.

Seven miles down the road, I fell asleep driving, Caleb recalled. My vehicle left the road. I hit a large pole. I was partially ejected. I was pained and trapped so badly. They did a procedure that cut my chest open to relieve air.

I had several broken bones, my face, I broke my neck, my back. I broke both my collarbones, my shoulders. All of the ribs on my left and most of my right. My sternum was broken. My liver was lacerated. So I was bleeding out from internally. My left leg was snapped in half, my right leg was crushed, my right ankle was crushed. I had burns to my chest, and both my lungs collapsed.

Caleb shaking hands with the officer who helped keep his chest open to relieve air before he was taken to the hospital. Both of them have developed a unique friendship since then. (Courtesy of Caleb Trahan)

Luckily, Julie E. Schaferling, an ER doctor who was heading back home after work, had stopped to help; she supported Caleb, who was in a critical condition, before the ambulance arrived. After his parents drove 20 minutes to the hospital, they were anxiously waiting for news in the emergency room. When both Laurie and her husband were escorted to Trauma Room 3, they found Caleb unconscious and wrapped in blankets covering the blood. He was rushed into surgery.

Five days later, he awoke with Laurie leaning over him with tears in her eyes, and he went on to ask his mother if he hurt anybody else.

I cant even describe the amount of pain that I was in, he said. What sticks with me the most is the look on my moms face. She was leaning over me, she was rubbing my hair. You could tell she had been crying. But she was smiling and so happy.

Dr. Julie E. Schaferling (R) with Caleb and his family. (Courtesy of Caleb Trahan)

Caleb during recovery. (Courtesy of Caleb Trahan)

During the journey to the hospital, Caleb lost pulses three times and had to be resuscitated. With his life-threatening trauma, there were doubts as to whether he would live. While at the hospital, he had 15 surgeries. The majority of the procedures were performed on Calebs chest.

The doctors had to fix both legs and put the bypass in to get blood in the right leg, which was crushed in the accident for about an hour and had no blood flow for almost 6 or 7 hours. They kept finding dead tissue, so to prevent blood clot and death, they had to put filters in.

Caleb was discharged from the hospital in June 2017, and since then hes had four procedures. The purpose of the procedures is to constantly check on both legs. Throughout the road to recovery, Caleb has endured a lot and has faced several challenges since being out of the hospital and back home.

Caleb with the paramedics who performed on-site life-saving interventions and transported him to the hospital. The officers were later honored with the clinical excellence award for saving Calebs life. (Courtesy of Caleb Trahan)

I was stuck in bed, he said. I was someone who was always on the go; me, sitting still, without friends. Two weeks out of the hospital, I remember wishing that I would not have lived. I remember trying to find a way to kill myself and make it look accidental.

Caleb realized that committing suicide wouldnt be fair to his parents who just went through this humongous roller-coaster ride of emotions. He needed to make a choice, and that was the time when he reached out to the ER doctor, his guardian angel.

Her response to me was, You dont walk away from that. So dont take it for granted,' he said, adding that he wanted to pay it forward and decided to join an EMT school.

Over a month after leaving the hospital, though Caleb was able to walk somewhat, he was told to stay in bed for six months. However, in October that year, he started the school.

I started EMT school, and my legs were still broken, my neck was still broken. But I was on a mission. I wanted to help someone else. Thats what, I think, saved my life, said Caleb, whod had a rough childhood and served in the Army from the age of 17 through 19.

I owed it to everyone and myself to create a success story.

Caleb during his session at The Woodlands Highschool in Montgomery County, Texas. (Courtesy of Caleb Trahan)

The recovery time for Caleb is nothing short of inspirational. Four years since his injuries, he has fully recovered, with the exception of his right leg. Every now and then, he has to go for regular checkups at the local hospital.

When looking back on the incident, Caleb is thankful for the people that saved his life and claims that theyre a big reason as to why he is an EMT now. When asked at a job interview if he would be upset to catch a late emergency call after his shift is over, his response was that his job doesnt have an off time.

The doctor who saved my life didnt have an off time. She got there on her way home, and did everything she could to try to keep me alive, he said.

After being a recovering patient for a long time, he now takes real pride in saving other peoples lives. Every now and then, Caleb kindly offers to go to local schools in front of thousands of children to share his inspirational story and raise awareness about the dangers of driving.

I was the patient before I was the health care provider. And Im able to connect with that, he said. Im able to relate with my patients on a different kind of platform. Its good for both of us.

When speaking at local schools, Caleb tells the children that he imagines hes receiving a phone call to say that a loved one has been in an accident. He reasons that the kids should consider making a moral pact with their loved ones that they wont leave them in a situation where they have to do this kind of phone call about them.

Caleb has some strong words for those who are considering driving but might not be fully clearheaded or are exhausted. He says: If you dont think that you are safe to drive, whether you had too much to drink, or youve taken drugs or medications, or you are tired, distracted, emotional, youre crying, whateverwhatever the case is, dont do it. Its not worth it.

The brave EMTs family has been there for him through every step of this long process. Despite the circumstances, Caleb says, he wouldnt change a thing.

Its made me pretty strong. Were very strong, he said. Its been a journey. Weve had our ups and downs, and Im a work in progress. But I am happy with where Im at.

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A United States Navy medic checks the documentation of a service member arriving to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in Ginowan, Japan, on April 28, 2021. (Carl Court/Getty Images)

Military Branches Have Not Granted Any Religious Exemption Requests From Vaccine Mandate: Filings

No U.S. military branch has granted a request for religious accommodations from the COVID-19 vaccine mandate, military officials said in court filings Friday.

Over 16,000 U.S. service members have submitted applications for a religious exemption from the vaccination requirements, according to court documents. The Air Force has seen the most, by far, with 11,070.

The Air Force acknowledged earlier this month it approved zero religious exemption requests but officials there and at other branches had refused to say how many applications were filed. The Army, Navy, and Coast Guard had not previously released any data relating to religious accommodation requests.

Military officials have said theyre following processes in reviewing the applications and deciding whether they are legitimate. But the new filings show that in addition to approving zero religious accommodation requests from the COVID-19 vaccine mandate, military officials have approved just a handful of accommodation requests from other vaccines in recent years.

The Army, for instance, received 17 such requests since 2019. All were denied, Brigadier Gen. Matthew Smith, deputy director of operations, readiness, and mobilization for Army headquarters, said in a court filing.

The Marines also rejected all such requests dating back to 2016, Marine Capt. Mark Reid said, while the Coast Guard approved just two of 23 such requests in the past 10 years, according to Commander Sharon Russell.

Lawyers representing service members applying for religious and medical exemptions have told The Epoch Times that military leadership has brought enormous pressure to bear on troops to get vaccinated. They said that officials largely appeared to be stalling on ruling on requests to try to discourage troops from filing them.

The Army has approved or denied none of the 114 requests under review and the Coast Guard has not adjudicated any of the 818 requests its received, officials said.

Some requests have been adjudicated, the filings show. All have been denied.

The Navy has adjudicated 419 requests, Capt. Mery-Angela Sanabria Katson said. No religious ones have been granted. The Marines have rejected at least 256 of the 2,266 religious accommodation requests, Reid said. They have also denied one of the appeals lodged. The Air Force has turned down 688 of the 11,070 religious exemption applications, according to Holbrook. No rulings have been made on the 170 appeals filed thus far.

A small number of medical exemptions have been granted. The Navy, for instance, has granted six permanent medical exemptions. The Marines have granted 14 such exemption requests.

Many troops remain unvaccinated, military officials reported. That includes approximately 25,000 active-duty soldiers.

A U.S. service member prepares to get a COVID-19 vaccine at Fort Knox, Ky., on Sept. 9, 2021. (Jon Cherry/Getty Images)

The filings came in response to a court order in Navy Seal 1 v. Biden, a federal class-action case launched by service members last month. Plaintiffs include two Marine lance corporals and an Air Force major.

Joe Biden imposed an illegal order to force every active and reserve service member to get the injections and compounded his illegal actions by depriving these military heroes of their constitutional and legal rights to religious exemptions. Bidens Department of Justice knew two weeks ago when the court ordered the release of this critical information that this day of accountability was coming and yet not one persons religious accommodation request has been granted. This is telling and will not bode well for their defense, Matthew Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, which is representing the troops, told The Epoch Times in an email.

It is clear that all roads in the military lead to denial of all religious requests, he added.

Members whose requests are rejected face punitive measures, including possible court-martial, according to the new filings.

One of the plaintiffs said this week he was removed from his leadership position on Nov. 1 after appealing an accommodation request denial.

Lawyers urged the court in a brief Thursday to immediately block the mandate, as well as two mandates issued by President Joe Biden against federal contractors and employees.

The testimony before this court demonstrates the immediate and irreparable harm that plaintiffs and other members of the class are facing right now, they wrote.

The Pentagon, which did not immediately return a request for comment, has defended how the branches are carrying out Secretary Lloyd Austins August vaccine mandate.

The secretary is pleased by the level of effort that the military departments have taken to enact this mandatory vaccine regimen, John Kirby, the Pentagons press secretary, told reporters earlier this month.

Hes not unmindful of the fact that in each of the military departments there are some members who are declining, refusing to take the vaccine, some that are applying for the exemptions, some exemptions that are being granted, he added.
Missouri Artist Paints Huge Patriotic Tribute Mural With Iwo Jima Flag Raising and Eagle

Staged with her paints set up and ready to get to work, Missouri artist Sandra Pemberton climbed the scaffold with a piece of soapstone and started etching out, freehand, the contours of a patriotic American mural on a sheet of metal siding.

The 36-year-old painter from Neosho, Missouri, has always preferred to work without the hindrance of a projector. She traversed the 20-foot-wide, 12-foot-high building sidevisible from Highway 63 Pomona in Howell County, Missouri, as her patron had intended.

The process of making her mural started with an eight- by 10-inch concept painting. Then the prep work began, with the procurement of scaffolding, ladders, paint tables, and of course, speakers for her music.

I often must step back away from the wall and look at the design as a whole, getting all of the proportions correct, Pemberton said.

Then she and her husband Matthew started filling in the design like a coloring book. The first stages looked rough and were just for covering the entire surface in paint.

I will go over it to correct mistakes, shade, and add detail later, Pemberton said. I paint in layers, working from the general to the specific, and adding layers of color.

In The Howell County Tribute Mural, rendered in mainly warm hues, an American flag sweeps across the eaves above, arcing over a bald eagle whose wings are outstretched, as if its lifting the Stars and Stripes. At the bottom right, flag-raising soldiers, depicted in the famous photo from the Battle of Iwo Jima, strike a bold silhouette before a glowing sunset. Centered beneath the eagle, We The People is rendered calligraphically on parchment. At the bottom left, a tribute to first responders and law enforcement is emblazoned.

I start painting with a large three- or four-inch brush and finish with an artist brush that holds just a few hairs, Pemberton said. I also sign and date every piece.

The work was completed in five days in Septemberwith a brewing storm costing them an evening of work. After the paintings completion, a heavy clear coat was applied to protect it from the sun fading out the colors and scratches, as well as to make the colors sing.

Images of Pembertons mural have been shared 30,000 times on Facebook, with visitors traveling from as far as Illinois and South Carolina to check out her mural.

I am beyond blessed to be given these opportunities. I have been contacted by people all over the United States, she said.

Since the projects completion, Pemberton has been asked to travel to more states than she can remember to paint more work.

Veterans message me thanking me for painting it, and its hard to wrap my head around. I feel as if the painting is my thank you to them. I dont deserve a thank you, she said. They put their lives on the line in order for me to have the life I am blessed with. I am just so very thankful to be able to give them something that they can feel good about.

Here are more mural works by Pemberton from various parts of Missouri:

Eagle-themed mural on the side of a 100-year-old silo at Circle R Ranch in rural Neosho. (Courtesy of Sandra Pemberton)

Faithful Friends animal rescue shelter at Neosho. (Courtesy of Sandra Pemberton)

Mural in the Village of Stella. (Courtesy of Sandra Pemberton)

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FILE - Jim Young, a Navy veteran, kisses his daughter Holly Hurst, without the use of protective garments at the Mississippi State Veterans Home in Collins, Miss., as part of Operation "Family Reunion," April 1, 2021. The government on Friday, Nov. 12, directed nursing homes to open their doors wide to visitors, easing many remaining pandemic restrictions while urging residents, families and facility staff to keep their guard up against outbreaks. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

Most COVID-19 Restrictions Lifted From Nursing Homes

Nursing homes were told by the U.S. government Friday to ease restrictions imposed around the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, including allowing visitors at all times.

The updated guidance (pdf) from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) cites an increase in vaccination rates among nursing home residents and a drop in COVID-19 cases nationwide since the last update, made in March.

CMS will continue to monitor vaccination and infection rates, including the effects of COVID-19 variants on nursing home residents, which have recently caused the number of cases to slightly increase. However, at this time, continued restrictions on this vital residents right are no longer necessary, the memorandum states.

The move gets us the closest to pre-pandemic visitation that weve ever been since the beginning of the pandemic, Jodi Eyigor, director of nursing home quality and policy for LeadingAge, an industry group, told the Associated Press.

But it doesnt mean that the pandemic is over and that COVID is not circulating. The nursing homes, the residents, and their loved ones are all going to have to work together to make sure that visits are occurring and they are occurring safely, she added.

CMS first imposed restrictions on visitations in March 2020. Facilities were told to restrict all visitors and health care personnel deemed non-essential in addition to being ordered to cancel all public dining and group activities. Facilities across the country were forced to lock down for two weeks when positive COVID-19 cases were discovered, forcing many family members to only see their loved ones through windows.

CMS loosened some of the rules before but the new guidance only restricts visitors if they have recently tested positive for COVID-19 or are supposed to quarantine based on separate federal guidance.

Visitors must be allowed in during an investigation into one or more COVID-19 cases among residents or staff members, the guidance says.

CMS is encouraging facilities to ask about visitors vaccination status but are prohibited from requiring proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test to enter homes. Visitors who are asked and decline to answer should wear a mask at all times, according to the new guidance.

Nursing home data show approximately 86 percent of residents and 74 percent of staff members are fully vaccinated.

Nursing home operators that want to continue to participate in Medicare or Medicaid were informed on Nov. 4 that staff members must become fully vaccinated by Jan. 4, 2022, or be terminated, unless they receive a religious or medical exemption.

The mandate has been challenged in court by 10 states that argue it is illegal.
National Guard stand ready in Tulsa, Okla., where President Donald Trump holds a reelection campaign rally at the BOK Center on June 20, 2020. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

Oklahoma Defies Pentagon, Halts Vaccine Mandate for National Guardsmen

The Oklahoma National Guards newly appointed commander declined to implement the COVID-19 vaccine mandate ordered by the Department of Defense (DoD).

I hereby order that no Oklahoma Guardsmen be required to take the COVID-19 Vaccine, notwithstanding any other Federal requirement. Oklahoma Commands will continue to process Federal vaccine waivers in accordance with DoD policy. Additionally, no negative administrative or legal action will be taken against Guardsmen who refuse the COVID-19 Vaccine, Army Brig. Gen. Thomas Mancino wrote in a policy memorandum issued on Nov. 11, 2021.

Oklahoma Gov. J. Kevin Stitt has asked U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for waivers of the vaccine mandate and is waiting for a decision, Mancino said in the memo.

A file photo of Brig. Gen. Thomas H. Mancino. (Courtesy of Oklahoma Governors Office)

Mancino issued the policy memo one day after he was appointed as the Adjutant General for Oklahoma and the commander of the Oklahoma Army and Air National Guard by Stitt to replace Gen. Michael Thompson.

Thompson is a vocal proponent of vaccinations and had said members and federal civilian employees refusing them would be counseled and subject to unspecified consequences.

Mancino has been a member of the National Guard for 35 years and has served as Assistant Adjutant General for the Oklahoma Army National Guard since September 2019.

A spokesperson for Stitt said the leadership change was not related to vaccination policy.

The governor had been exploring making a change for a number of months, and (Gen.) Thompson had submitted his resignation, said Stitt spokesperson Carly Atchison.

Once the governor selected (Gen.) Mancino as his replacement, the governor decided to move up the timeline.

In the memo, Mancino stated that Stitt is the lawful Commander in Chief of all Oklahoma national guardsmen unless theyre federally mobilized under Title 10.

Mancinos memo reflects the governors ability to assert his command authority over the men and women of the Oklahoma National Guard while they are within the states borders, not when they take part in activities operated by the U.S. Defense Department, Oklahoma National Guard spokesperson Lt. Col. Geoff Legler told The Oklahoman.

The Epoch Times has reached out to the Pentagon for comment.

The Associated Press contributed to the report.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli, center, is joined by his wife Melinda, right, and candidate for Lt. Gov. Diane Allen as he speaks during a news conference, in Raritan, N.J., on Friday, Nov. 12, 2021. (Mary Altaffer/ AP Photo)

Our Work Is Not Done: Ciattarelli Concedes New Jersey Gubernatorial Race to Incumbent Governor

New Jerseys Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli conceded on Friday after the election results showed that he lost the race to incumbent Democrat Phil Murphy.

Our work is not done, Ciattarelli said at the press conference on Friday in Raritan, New JerseyCiattarellis hometown.

When asked by a reporter about his future plans, Ciattarelli, a former New Jersey assemblyman, said that he plans to run for a New Jersey governor in four years.

That is exactly my plan. I will run.  I want the governor to be successful in addressing the issues that are most important in Jersey. But I just have this feeling that theres gonna be a lot of fixing to do come four years from now.

Ciattarellis team evaluated vote tallies daily and late Thursday was the first time when it turned out that based on vote counts to date that he could not win the election, Ciattarelli explained his decision to concede. His team would continue to closely monitor the vote counts, he added.

I called Governor Murphy earlier today and congratulated him on his reelection and wished him well in serving people of New Jersey, Ciattarelli said.

As of Thursday, Murphy won by nearly 74,000 votes, stated NJ.com, citing The Associated Press. Murphy received 51 percent of the votes while Ciattarelli got 48 percent, according to NJ.com.

Enough votes have been counted. There does not appear to be a path to victory or the basis for a recount. Nor do we know of any systemic or widespread fraud. So no, I see no proof that this election was stolen, the Republican challenger explained.

After Ciattarellis concession, Murphy congratulated Ciattarelli and his family for a spirited campaign and their commitment to public service, according to a statement from his campaign.

This election was not simply a choice of candidates, but of direction, and the people of New Jersey have chosen to keep moving forward, Murphy said in the statement.

Our path forward wont be easy as we continue to beat back this pandemic, he added.

Ciattarelli said about the election: I do not see the results of this election as a failure. On the contrary, Im proud of what our campaign accomplished, proud of how we help reinvigorate the Republican Party and mobilize new people whove never been involved before.

New Jerseys Issues

Since January 2020 when Ciattarelli declared to run for a New Jersey governor he traveled on his campaign throughout New Jersey engaging with New Jerseyans of every race, color, creed, and religion, listening and discussing their concerns.

Among the common issues that concern and frustrate New Jerseayans and need to be fixed are the highest in nation proper taxes, the countrys worst in the nation business climate, especially for small business, a bloated and inefficient state government thats been corrupted by special interests, said Ciattarelli, who campaigned under the banner Lets Fix New Jersey.

Communities: people want them safe and secure by supporting our local and state police. And they want their public school curriculum to get back to basics and teaching critical life skills, providing vocational training, and never ever seeking to assume the role of parent, the Republican challenger continued.

He also expressed his concern that votes are still being counted 10 days past the election which could be a problem for every close election to come. To improve vote counting, he proposed that the state legislature partners with the County Clerks Association and the election board to standardize election reporting.

The result of the New Jersey election which also included state senate and assembly races were the greatest for the Republicans in 30 years, Ciattarelli noted, adding that Republicans defeated two Democrat incumbents in the state Senate and flipped six state assembly seats.

Ciattarelli said that he believes that the Republican Party needs to do a better job getting more Republicans to vote by mail.

Tallying votes in New Jersey took longer than expected as the state implemented this year new technology to support the election, including new voting machines. For example, in Paterson, election officials could not count ballots because they accidentally locked the machines, according to the New Jersey Herald.

In Newark and some other New Jersey cities, poll workers in 56 districts did not count votes due to poll worker error, reported the New Jersey Herald. A judges order was needed to reinstate their access to the machines.

Gubernatorial Candidates

Ciattarelli is a certified public accountant, a two-time small-business owner, and a lifelong resident of New Jersey.

When campaigning, he told New Jerseyans that, as a governor, he would address the states most pressing issues, such as the highest property taxes in the nation, state government overspending, insufficient support for local and state police, and reforming public school curriculum. Ciattarelli also promised to foster business growth and create more jobs in the state.

Ciattarelli said he grew up in Raritan where his grandparents who immigrated to the United States about 100 years ago used to live.

His parents who had but one high school diploma between them raised their four children while working full-time jobs and taking care of the restaurant they owned, Ciattarelli said adding that he and his wife also started a family in Raritan and have been living there.

Murphy has held leadership roles at Goldman Sachss offices in Germany and Hong Kong for more than 20 years and served as an ambassador to Germany during the Obama administration. He was also a finance chair for the Democratic National Committee.

He campaigned on a range of policies implemented during his tenure as governor, such as tax fairness for middle-class families, minimum wage at $15 an hour, more affordable public education, more child care, Democrat-backed green policies, and legalizing marijuana. His campaigns slogan was: Its about how we move forward.

Murphy was endorsed by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for reelection, and former President Barack Obama and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) stumped for Murphy at his campaign rallies.

The incumbent governor is the first Democrat to win reelection in New Jersey since Brendan Byrne in 1977.

He won his first term in 2017 with 56 percent of the vote, beating Republican then-Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno who received 42 percent of the vote.
Kevin McKenna, president of the Penn State University chapter of Turning Point USA energized the health freedom rally in front of Old Main on Penn States campus, Nov. 12, 2021. (Beth Brelje/The Epoch Times)

Penn State University Employees Rally for Medical Freedom

STATE COLLEGE, PennsylvaniaMore than 200 people attended a medical freedom rally on the steps of Old Main at Penn State University on Friday. They are part of a national trend as more people facing unwanted COVID-19 vaccinations are gathering and speaking publicly about the difficult choice they face: get the shots or leave your job.

The measure stems from President Joe Bidens mandates requiring many workplaces to ensure employees are vaccinated.

At Penn State, employees may apply for religious or medical exemption from the vaccine mandate. Those who get the exemption would have to get tested weekly to assure they do not carry COVID-19. Those who are not granted an exemption approval can kiss their job goodbye, employees at the rally said.

Most in attendance were Penn State employees. Many were fearful to speak publicly because they are still trying to get exemption approvals. About 90 percent of those applying for exemption at Penn State have been approved, said a member of Lions for Liberty, a newly formed group of Penn State employees advocating for those who do not want to be vaccinated.

We do not oppose vaccines. We do oppose vaccination as a condition of employment, the group said in a prepared statement.

A few employees said they have been approached by managers who have lists of people who have not yet disclosed their vaccination status by uploading it onto an internal computer network. Managers, some of whom themselves are not vaccinated, are asking employees about their vaccination intentions so the school has an idea of how to plan to cover the work of those who will be fired.

Penn State employees at the rally also said they have received word that the exemption is only good until June, and they will have to reapply for it annually.

The rally was organized by the Penn State University chapter of Turning Point USA, a conservative-leaning, student-led nonprofit found on many college campuses.

We got involved because we believe in medical freedom, student Kevin McKenna, president of the Penn State University chapter of Turning Point USA told The Epoch Times after the rally. With the rush to market, people have legitimate concerns and should have a choice.

Republican state Sen. Doug Mastriano and Republican state Rep. Stephanie Borowicz, who spoke at a medical freedom rally in Harrisburg on Monday, also spoke at Fridays Penn State rally.

Afterward, there was a line of people waiting to pose for a photo with Mastriano, who has gained popularity outside of his district.
Pennsylvania Civics Teacher Removes Mask, Loses Job

In a civics lesson that his students will never forget, Pennsylvania high school teacher Kurt Gladfelter took off his mask, and lost his job.

Compliance is not always the right thing, and this is wrong, Gladfelter told The Epoch Times in a phone interview. To do this to kidsits not worth the cost.

An 11th-grade teacher at Northern High School in the Northern York County School District, Gladfelter, 38, is a civics teacher with classes on government, economics, and the Vietnam War.

His school was under a mask mandate last year, and because of an order from the Pennsylvania Health Department, the mask order was in place again this year.

Civics teacher Kurt Gladfelter. (Courtesy of Kurt Gladfelter)

Im an animated person, Gladfelter said. I feed off the energy in the class. Not having the ability to read their faces, I felt trapped. I was miserable not having that emotional connection with my students.

He says he cant be the same teacher with masks on because students faces offer a lot of visual cues.

I can tell how a kid feels when they walk into my class. I know if theyre having a bad day. I can tell if they understand the lesson by the look on their face. The masks are a huge barrier to education, the way I teach, and the subject I teach, he said.

Not to mention the panicky feeling you get when youre speaking all day and you cant breathe through the mask.

He always had a feeling he wanted to take a stand, but didnt know how. Then, one day, he walked into school and the thought of another day in his mask was too much.

On October 20, I looked at that mask and I wanted to cry. That day, I didnt wear it.

Halfway through the day, the principal and someone from human resources went to his classroom and told him he was suspended for two days and should vacate the premises immediately.

I didnt trust them to explain it to my students like I would. I stayed for the rest of the day and explained what was happening. I told them that you should be willing to stand up for something you believe in, and I strongly believe in this, personally and politically. Local school board members are appointed to make policies for local schools. Our school board voted twice to make masks optional. The governor stole that authority from them, Gladfelter said.

A student started a petition to save his job, and it has over 2,500 signatures.

He was supposed to return to school wearing a mask the following Monday, but he told the school he wouldnt be wearing a mask.

They asked him to come in for a meeting with the superintendent, solicitor, and human resources director. In that meeting, he told them he wouldnt wear the mask. They told him he would be put on permanent suspension without pay and they would take steps to terminate his employment.

The next step is a public hearing, when the school board will decide whether he should lose his job.

While awaiting a date for that hearing, the Commonwealth Court said the Health Departments masking order violated state laws and struck it down. It would mean the civics teacher was suspended for ignoring an order that violated the state law.

However, the Wolf administration appealed the decision, so the mask order stays in place for now. That, despite the fact that Gov. Tom Wolf recently announced that he would return masking decisions to local school districts in January.

The basis of the charges is that Mr. Gladfelter failed to comply with the order, which the Commonwealth Court noted was issued without proper authority, Jeffrey Schott, a labor and civil rights attorney at the Scaringi Law Firm in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, told The Epoch Times. Schott is representing Gladfelter.

Regardless, Mr. Gladfelter complied with the Acting Health Secretarys order, and the series of events and allegations stem from the district being even more draconian than the order itself, and are clearly politically motivated, he said. As a Social Studies teacher, Mr. Gladfelter, trying to set a civic involvement example for his students, spoke against the mandate at two school board meetings.

Eliminating teachers for this is simply another way, like the National School Boards Association and Attorney General threatening parents for speaking out, of trying to shut down political debate.

The school districts attorney, Robert Frankhouser Jr. told The Epoch Times the district doesnt comment on personnel matters.
Signage is seen outside of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) headquarters in White Oak, Md., on Aug. 29, 2020. (Andrew Kelly/Reuters)

Philips Ventilator Recall Troubles Deepen as FDA Finds New Issues

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has asked Philips to conduct more tests on the foam used in its recalled ventilators, after the agency found several new issues at the Dutch companys manufacturing facility.

The medical equipment company recalled some breathing devices and ventilators in June because of a silicone-based foam part that might degrade and become toxic, potentially causing cancer.

The FDA noted, in a so-called form 483, that between April 2016 and January 2021, Philips was aware of 14 instances of issues related to potential foam degradation with its different sleep and respiratory devices.

Philips, which in September said it will repair and replace the 15 million devices recalled globally, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The company has not sufficiently demonstrated that other devices containing this foam should not also be recalled, and its risk analysis was inadequate, the agency said in the form.

The Form 483 lists observations of issues that could lead to potential FDA rule violations.

The agency said the procedures for design change were not adequately established and the design validation did not ensure that the device conforms to defined user needs and intended uses.

The FDA had initially approved a plan that Philips developed, to repair the foam in the recalled devices with a different silicone-based foam.

But that was before the agency found new information during its manufacturing facility inspection, which showed that the silicone-based foam used in a singular, similar device marketed outside the United States had failed a safety test for the release of certain chemicals of concern, called volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

The FDA has requested that Philips retain an independent laboratory to perform additional testing to determine what, if any, potential safety risks may be posed to patients by the silicone-based foam.

By Mrinalika Roy
Belarusian servicemen control the situation while migrants get humanitarian aid as they gather at the Belarus-Poland border near Grodno, Belarus on Nov. 12, 2021. (Ramil Nasibulin/BelTA pool photo via AP)

Polish Police Find Body of Young Syrian Near Belarus Border

WARSAW, PolandPolish police said Saturday that the body of a young Syrian man was found in the woods near the border with Belarus, the latest victim in a political standoff at the European Unions eastern border.

The regime in Minsk has for months been encouraging illegal migration across its border into the EU nations of Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia. All three countries are reinforcing their frontiers, seeking to block the newly opened migration route, and the situation is growing more dangerous as winter approaches.

Polish police said the body of a Syrian man about 20 years old was found a day earlier near the village of Wolka Terechowska. They said the exact cause of death could not be determined and that an autopsy would be performed.

It brings the death toll now to at least nine reported victims in the migration encouraged by Belarus longtime President Alexander Lukashenko.

Many of the migrants are from Syria, Iraq, or elsewhere in the Middle East, people seeking to flee conflict and hopelessness for the prospect of better lives in Europe.

The crisis is creating another point of tension between the West and Belarus, and by extension with its closest ally: Russia.

Though Russia this week sent nuclear-capable strategic bombers and paratroopers to patrol over Belarus in a show of support, Russian President Vladimir Putin denied allegations of being involved in creating the flow of migrants to Europe.

I want everyone to know that we have nothing to do with it. Everyone is trying to impose any responsibility on us for any reason and for no reason at all, Putin said in excerpts released Saturday of an interview with state television that is to be broadcast in full on Sunday.

He said that no Russian aviation companies carry the migrants to Belarus, and also lashed out at the West as a root cause for the crisis, with military operations in Iraq and elsewhere that have led to continued conflict in the region.

Is it Belarus that pioneered these problems, or what? No, these are causes that were created by the Western countries themselves, including European countries, Putin said.

A large number of migrants are in a makeshift camp on the Belarusian side of the border in frigid conditions. Polish authorities report daily new attempts by the migrants to breach the border.

Belarusian servicemen guard an area as migrants gather at the Belarus-Poland border near Grodno, Belarus on Nov. 12, 2021. (Leonid Shcheglov/BelTA pool photo via AP)

The situation shows no signs of ending soon. Belarusian state news agency Belta reported that Lukashenko on Saturday ordered the military to set up tents at the border where food and other humanitarian aid can be gathered and distributed to the migrants.

Polands Border Guards agency on Saturday morning said in one case, Belarusian soldiers began destroying a temporary border barrier near the Polish village of Czeremcha and used laser beams to blind Polish security services.

Nearby, a group of some 100 migrants was waiting to cross the border. Belarusians equipped the foreigners with tear gas, which was used toward the Polish services, the Border Guards said, saying the Poles stopped the attempts to cross.

Many of the reported incidents at the border are very hard to verify. Independent journalists face limits to their reporting in Belarus, and a state of emergency in Polands border zone prevents media from entering the area.

The state of emergency ends Nov. 30, and the Polish government said Saturday that it is working on a plan to let journalists at that time be able to again report from the border area with the permission of the Border Guards.

After the large migration into Europe in 2015, Europe has been reinforcing its borders to discourage the arrival of more migrants and refugees. Still, every year, tens of thousands try to get in, embarking on dangerous and sometimes deadly journeys by sea and land.

Since the summer, thousands have been lured by what appeared to be a new and easier way to slip into Europe, through Belarus.

The EU accuses Lukashenko of creating the artificial route in order to retaliate for sanctions against his regime imposed after an election in 2020 widely viewed as flawed and a harsh crackdown on internal dissent that followed.

The restrictions were toughened after an incident in May when a passenger jet flying from Greece to Lithuania was diverted by Belarus to Minsk, where authorities arrested dissident journalist Raman Pratasevich. The EU called it air piracy, barred Belarusian carriers from its skies, and cut imports of the countrys top commodities, including petroleum products and potash, an ingredient in fertilizer.

A furious Lukashenko shot back by saying he would no longer abide by an agreement to stem illegal migration, arguing that the EU sanctions deprived his government of funds needed to contain flows of migrants. Planes carrying migrants from Iraq, Syria, and other countries began arriving in Belarus.

By Vanessa Gera
South Carolina Governor Calls for Investigation Into Pornographic Material Found in School Libraries

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster has called for an investigation into pornographic material in public school libraries in the state.

It has come to my attention that public schools in South Carolina may be providing students with accesswhether in school libraries, electronic databases, or bothto completely inappropriate books and materials, including sexually explicit and obscene images or depictions, McMaster said in a memorandum to the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) on Wednesday.

McMaster referred to an incident in the Fort Mill School District in which he said parents petitioned to remove Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe.

If the school personnel had performed even a cursory review in this particular instance, it would have revealed that the book contains sexually explicit and pornographic depictions, which easily meet or exceed the statutory definition of obscenity, McMaster said.

For the material to have surfaced in the school system, McMaster said there must have been a breakdown in the screening of what books are allowed in the schools.

Therefore, I respectfully request that the Department of Education promptly investigate this matter on a statewide basis and identify whether any systematic policy or procedural deficiencies exist at the state or local levels, or both, he said.

Graphic in Detail and Content

In a Nov. 2 Fort Mill School Board meeting, a parent who spoke during public comment said a father in her neighborhood had shared with her books he found in their childrens high school that are quite graphic in their detailed explanation, content, and even in graphic images.

I tend to trust but verify so I looked into it myself, she told the board.

She said the books she examined were Gender Queer: A Memoir, Lawn Boy, and All Boys Arent Blue.

Let me preface by saying that no ones targeting material about gender issues in and of themselves, the parent said. We know many students are faced with this topic and we support education on social issues to further understanding and compassion. The issue with these books is their explicit content and images. Upon viewing them, you will find detailed sexual encounters, sometimes between adult and minor, and even graphic comic book-like images of sexual acts. I believe these amount to pornography and rape.

Parents are aware of explicit content and tenets of critical race theory being taught in schools, she said, even if unbeknownst to the ones teaching it due to its rebranded terms.

The parent said shes researched how the material is coming into the schools, and that the school district should consider discontinuing its contracts with the Discovery Education curriculum and technology aid company, as well as the Follet library management system company.

Honestly, the time for the board to trust that someone is filtering the content coming into our childrens libraries and curricula has expired, too, the parent said.

Fort Mill Schools Response

Joe Burke, a communications officer with Fort Mill Schools, told The Epoch Times that the district has initiated a review process after receiving a complaint about the book.

The book has been removed from circulation in two high school media centers and through our online catalog while the review process is completed, Burke said.

SCDEs response

According to Ryan Brown, a communications officer with the SCDE, Superintendent Molly Spearman was alerted to the presence of the book containing explicit material last week.

To be clear, books located in the libraries and media centers are not funded by and do not go through the state instructional materials process, Brown told The Epoch Times. They are selected by local school and district officials.

The SCDE contacted the superintendent of Fort Mill, who Brown said had already instructed staff to remove the book.

At the statewide meeting of district superintendents later that week, the topic was discussed, and districts were provided with the book name and publisher so they could review their library and media center materials for appropriateness, Brown said. When the South Carolina Department of Education opened up the statewide review of state-funded and adopted instructional materials this week, which do not include locally adopted library books, we reiterated the need for districts to review their own adopted materials.

In a Nov. 9 memorandum to district superintendents, State Superintendent Molly Spearman said it was a fitting time for each district to review their own purchased texts, including those used in classrooms, libraries, and media centers to ensure they are age and content appropriate.

Brown said that though each district has its own review process, in this instance the district failed to vet the book and that the SCDE has begun an inspection of district policies on purchasing texts.

Likely Illegal

McMaster asked that the SCDE develop parent-involved statewide and transparent oversight procedures on assessing material for schools, adding that what he had seen in the material was likely illegal under South Carolina law.

Accordingly, by copy of this letter, I am notifying the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division of this matter for further evaluation, McMaster said.
Supply Chain Disorder Forces Fashion Manufacturing Exodus From Asia

Fashion businesses are shifting production away from low-cost manufacturing hubs in Asia, and toward their markets in the United States and Europe.

This follows a spike in pandemic outbreaks of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) viruss Delta variant in Vietnam and China earlier this year.

Spanish apparel retailer Mango told Reuters that it has accelerated enhancing local production in Turkey, Morocco, and Portugal. In 2019, the company primarily sourced its products from China and Vietnam.

U.S. shoe retailer Steve Madden said that it had reduced production in Vietnam, and relocated 50 percent of its footwear production from China to Brazil and Mexico.

Vietnams recent production stoppages have caused significant disruptions due to the effects of pandemic restrictions and a labor shortage. In October, the government announced that it would fall short of its garment export target this year by $5 billion in the worst-case scenario.

Italys Benetton is moving production closer to home, increasing production in Serbia, Croatia, Turkey, Tunisia, and Egypt, with the goal of halving production in Asia by the end of 2022, said CEO Massimo Renon.

Turkey is among the countries drawing new interest from clothing and shoe producers. According to figures from Turkeys Union of Chambers Clothing and Garment Council, the countrys garment exports are set to hit $20 billion this year, an all-time high, due to an increase in orders from the European Union.

Hugo Boss intends to move its manufacturing closer to its markets, or near-shoring. The company expects to respond to trends faster and more flexibly. CEO Daniel Grieder told German magazine Manager Magazin, That is a real competitive advantage.

Many firms from the European Union, our most significant trading partner, are looking for new suppliers and new supply chains in the Balkan market, said Muris Pozderac, secretary of Bosnia and Herzegovinas textile and apparel organization.

In the first half of 2021, exports of textile, leather, and footwear in Bosnia and Herzegovina totaled $436 million, exceeding the total for all of 2020.

Clothing exports in Guatemala, where Nordstrom significantly increased its private-label volume production in 2020, were slightly more than $1 billion as of the end of August this year, up 34.2 percent from 2020, and even 8.8 percent more than in 2019.

A months-long shipping jam is driving up costs, delaying supply deliveries, and forcing the fashion industry to rethink its global supply chain.

Lululemon disclosed last month that it was seeking to relocate production out of Vietnam, increase the use of air freight, and prioritize production for major holiday styles.

Manufacturer of outdoor equipment Columbia Sportswear was among the brands that warned of fall and spring collection delays, as well as insufficient size assortments in some situations.

Michael Kors handbags maker, Capri Holdings, announced on Nov. 10 that it would not have enough inventory for the holiday season.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Kent Wong, who swam to Hong Kong, stands at the top of Victoria Peak in Hong Kong in 1975. (Provided by Kent Wong)

Swim to Freedom: An Anesthesiologists Journey

Once a refugee, now a retired anesthesiologist, Kent Wong tells his remarkable story in Swimming to Freedom: My Untold Story of Escaping the Cultural Revolution, released on April 27. He says he wants to prevent history from repeating itself.

He recently shared his thoughts on writing the book with the Chinese edition of The Epoch Times.

Ten years ago, Wong woke up thinking about a friend who died in a first attempt to swim from China to Hong Kong, I think this history must be known by everyone, because many people died in the escape  So I feel a responsibility in my heart, I have to write this book, Wong said.

A History to Remember

Originally, the book was intended for Western readers, but an American-born Chinese reader changed Wongs mind.

The reader told him, I knew it from the first page. This is a book I have wanted to read for many years. My dad also escaped over water, but he never said anything about it. After reading this book, I can now understand my dad. Hence, the Chinese language edition of the book is now available (TouDuFan.com).

Wong said, Studying history and [the] trials and tribulations of the past would serve as an insight into the Chinese communists essence that remains unchanged to date. I believe that, despite continuously embellishing with different forms, evil is in the regimes DNA.

Wong said, Every campaign of the regime brings disasters.

Wongs father, a Chinese patriotic official in the Hong Kong Customs office, joined an insurrection at work, left Hong Kong, and returned, with his family of five, to the newly established Communist China when Wong was a young boy in 1951.

When the Anti-Rightist Campaign was launched in 1957, Wongs father, once hailed as a hero, was classified as a Rightist for his criticisms.

Wong and his sisters have since been classified as enemies of the Revolution. They are one of the Five Black Categories: landlords, rich farmers, anti-revolutionaries, bad-influencers, and right-wingers.

A family photo of Kent Wong (front L) and his parents and sisters in Guangzhou in 1951. (Provided by Kent Wong)

The family therefore became second-class citizens who were sent to a rural farm to raise chickens in Guangdong Province in 1959.

Trading Lives for Freedom

During the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), in 1968 hundreds of thousands of educated Guangdong youth escaped to Hong Kong.

Wong found himself having lost hope for the future, especially after witnessing the regime publicly execute 21 prisoners, mostly counter revolutionists. That horror strengthened his determination to become a stow away.

Wong recounted the scene: Soldiers held a pistol against each prisoners temple, and a rifle to their back, aimed toward the heart. The prisoners fell dead immediately after soldiers fired their guns.

Wong said, Like all my friends who stowed away, I lost hope for China and decided to risk my life for a better future.

Wong tried three routes to escape and failed twice. After two years of attempts, and going through a string of hardships, dangers, torment, and setbacks, he eventually left China and sneaked into Hong Kong by swimming the sea at the end of 1973.

Wong came to the United States as a political refugee and enrolled at Harvard Medical School in the summer of 1975.

Wong said, All my Harvard Medical School classmates gave me a standing ovation when I obtained U.S. citizenship in 1982.

Kent Wong, joined by his parents, receives his medical degree from Harvard Medical School in 1983. (Provided by Kent Wong)

Wong graduated from Harvard Medical School and became a certified anesthesiologist in 1983. His entire family came to the United States in 1984.

The 30-Year Exodus to Hong Kong

Chen Bingan, author of The Great Exodus to Hong Kong that narrates an appalling history spanning three decades, spent 22 years interviewing 137 mainland Chinese who fled to Hong Kong. His book was published in Oct. 2010.

Chens research indicates there have been four large-scale exoduses from Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, in 1957, 1962, 1972, and 1979, since 1955, and puts the number at 560,000. These refugees came from 12 provinces and 62 cities (counties) across China, including Guangdong, Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi, and Guangxi.

According to Wong, among the 16 people who tried to escape to Hong Kong, including Wong and his sister, three died during their attempt.

The former executive editor of Open Magazine Tsoi Wingmui, who immigrated to Hong Kong in 1980, once wrote in an article, About half of the 7 million people in Hong Kong today are refugees who fled the tyranny of communism and the Great Famine after 1949, and their descendants.

Kent Wong (3rd R) and relatives and friends who successfully escaped China, meet at Kowloon, Hong Kong, in 1975. (Provided by Kent Wong)

The Lost Hong Kong

Wong made multiple visits to Hong Kong after moving to the United States in 1975. He witnessed students who protected themselves with umbrellas from police tear gas during the Umbrella Movement that opposed the Beijing regimes decision to subvert the universal suffrage that Hong Kong was promised in the Basic Law.

Wong said that Hong Kongers are patriotic and supportive of students taking to the streets to protest Beijings violation of the Basic Law.

According to Wong, before the founding of communist China, the economic development of Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, surpassed that of Hong Kong.

Hong Kongs economy picked up under a free market system and became a contributor to Chinese mainland economic growth. Sadly, the glory that Hong Kong once had has vanished.

Now, the Beijing-imposed National Security Law, with devastating consequences for human rights, has caused a mass exodus of Hong Kongers from the island.

I see Hong Kong as a paradise, but I have lost her forever. This breaks my heart, Wong said.

Evil Nature of CCP

Wong said that he recognized the evil nature of communism by listening to the Voice of America broadcasts during the Cultural Revolution.

In China, the populace was fed communist propaganda that was the only source of information at the time. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) brainwashed Chinese people into becoming docile with rigid thinking and mindless submission to dictatorship.

Wong said, The broadcasts did not hurl abuse at the CCP, but gave a rather rational analysis.

Wong advised that the Chinese people should not be slaves to communist propaganda and should be able to exercise independent thinking, comparison, and rational analysis.

Wong said, The truth dawns when people pursue it themselves.
Since terms like fake news and false narratives have become common in our modern-day culture, telling true stories through mediums like documentary films has become ever more important, but also more challenging.

In a still image from a video released by NTD, host Kay Rubacek climbs the Red Cliffs to take in the sunrise before attending the Docutah International Film Festival in St. George, Utah, on Nov. 6, 2021. (Oliver Trey/NTD)

In a still image from a video released by NTD, Phil Tuckett, a documentary filmmaker, recipient of 30 Emmy awards, and director of the Docutah International Documentary Film Festival, speaks with NTD host Kay Rubacek in St. George, Utah, on Nov. 6, 2021. (Oliver Trey/NTD)

In a still image from a video released by NTD, Brian Christiansen describes the operations in the projection room at a large cinemaplex where the selected documentaries are being played for the Docutah film festival in St. George, Utah, on Nov. 6, 2021. (Oliver Trey/NTD)

In a screenshot taken from the award-winning documentary movie Finding Courage, Leo Wang and his son Martin demonstrate the torture Leo received when arrested in China for printing flyers. Leo spent 12 years in prison for printing flyers that exposed the persecution of Falun Gong. The chair he is sitting in is a replica he built himself. (Swoop Films\Paulio Shakespeare)

In a still image from a video released by NTD, siblings Yifei (L) and Leo Wang (R) (on screen) sit in the audience at Docutah, watching their familys story for the first time in a movie theater in St. George, Utah, on Oct. 6, 2021. (Oliver Trey/NTD)

In a still image from a video released by NTD, an audience member hugs Leo Wang after watching his story of survival and recovery after 12 years in a Chinese prison in the movie Finding Courage in St. George, Utah, on Nov. 8, 2021. (Oliver Trey/NTD)

In a still image from a video released by NTD, documentarian Susan Morgan Cooper (L) shares the challenges filmmakers have to overcome to tell true stories about difficult subjects in St. George, Utah, on Nov. 8, 2021. (Oliver Trey/NTD)

In a still image from a video released by NTD, the Wang family (L), featured in the movie Finding Courage, receives the Humanitarian Award at the Docutah International Film Festival as NTD host and Finding Courage director Kay Rubacek and producer Paulio Shakespeare (R) applaud, in St. George Utah, on Nov. 8, 2021. (Oliver Trey/NTD)
The Meek and Selfless Nobleman: Bertuccios Bride

Sometimes, we hold on tightly to the things in our lives. To avoid suffering and hardship, we might think its wise to acquire and hoard as much wealth as possible. But in reality, by focusing on what we lack, or fear we lack, we might cause ourselves many sleepless nights.

I recently came across a painting by Edward Robert Hughes called Bertuccios Bride, which displays a grand gesture of willing sacrifice. According to the story of Bertuccio, great wisdom resides in charitable and joyful giving.

The Story of Bertuccio

The story of Bertuccio is told in The Nights of Straparola by Giovanni Francesco Straparola, who was a writer during the Italian Renaissance. In order to take a close look at Hughess painting, we must first know Bertuccios story.

Bertuccio was 15 years old when his father died. His father left him a small inheritance, but Bertuccio was able to access only 300 ducats of his inheritance at the age of 25. When he turned 25 years old, he asked his mother for 100 ducats from the 300 he was allowed. Bertuccios mother gave him his inheritance, but she begged the boywho wasnt very cleverto use the money wisely lest they become even poorer.

Bertuccio and the Murdered Man

Bertuccio took the money and went on his way. He happened upon a murderous thief who was beating the dead body of a man he had robbed and killed. Bertuccio intervened and offered to pay the thief for the dead mans body. The thief agreed to give up the body for 80 ducats. Bertuccio took the body to a church and offered up his remaining 20 ducats to have the body properly buried.

After he returned home, his mother asked him what he had done with his money, and Bertuccio explained how he had used it. His mother became upset with him. Bertuccio, however, feeling that he had done the right thing, remained joyful despite her anger.

Bertuccio and the Princess

Soon, Bertuccio asked his mother for the last 200 ducats of his inheritance. His mother, lacking confidence in him and reluctant, angrily told him to take his money and never come back home again. Undaunted, he consoled her and told her that he would do well with the money this time.

Bertuccio set off on his way again and saw two soldiers fighting over a girl they had captured. Bertuccio again intervened and told the soldiers that he would buy the girls freedom for 200 ducats. The two soldiers agreed and split the money between themselves.

Bertuccio took the girl to his home to meet his mother. He told her that he spent his 200 ducats for the girls freedom and that now the girl and his mother could become friends. Of course, his mother was very angry and even wished him dead. She believed that he would one day ruin their family. However, again Bertuccio did not let her words anger him and instead tried to comfort her.

The Wedding and Bertuccios Sacrifice

Bertuccio and his mother did not know that the young girl was Princess Tarquinia, daughter of the king of Novarra. The distressed king sent soldiers to find his missing daughter. They found her at Bertuccios house, and Bertuccio happily wished her well as she left with the soldiers. Before Tarquinia left Bertuccios home, however, she told him that when her father allowed her to marry he should come to court and identify himself by putting his right hand to his head. Bertuccio agreed.

Soon the king announced that Tarquinia was to be married, and suitors from all around journeyed to court to claim the princesss hand in marriage. Bertuccio immediately hopped on his old, thin horse and rode to court. On the way, he ran into a wealthy nobleman, who asked Bertuccio where he was headed. Bertuccio told the nobleman the whole story. Upon hearing the story, the nobleman threatened to take Bertuccios place as a suitor.

Unperturbed, Bertuccio encouraged the nobleman to go to court and wished him good luck in winning the princesss affection. The nobleman, surprised at this response, instead decided to take a chance and give Bertuccio his new horse and clothes as long as Bertuccio agreed to give the nobleman half of the gifts he received from the king. Bertuccio agreed, and he headed to court.

Bertuccios Bride

The new horse and clothes made Bertuccio stand out among the other suitors at court. When the time was right, Bertuccio made the signal with his hand, and Tarquinia chose him to be her husband. The couple were happily married.

On the way back to Bertuccios house, however, the newlyweds ran into the nobleman. The nobleman asked for his reward, and Bertuccio willingly offered half of everything he had received. The nobleman, however, asked about dividing Tarquinia. Should they cut her in half? Bertuccio asked the nobleman to take her whole and let her live. He then thanked the nobleman for his kindness before he began his journey again.

The nobleman was greatly impressed by Bertuccios selfless character and revealed himself as the spirit of the man murdered by the thief. To repay his kindness and selflessness, the nobleman gave great wealth to Bertuccio, who rode home to his mother. She, in turn, was finally impressed by the riches and the princess.

Bertuccios Bride, 1895, by Edward Robert Hughes. Watercolor and gouache on white paper, 39.5 inches by 30 inches. (Public Domain)

Hughess Bertuccios Bride

Hughess painting depicts the moment Bertuccio willingly gives half of his riches over to the nobleman. The focal point is Bertuccio, whose warm orange shirt helps him stand out against the cool blues and greens of the background. He kneels on one knee, looks up at the nobleman, and presents the valuable items that occupy the bottom right corner of the composition.

Since they exchanged clothes before Bertuccio made it to court, the nobleman is dressed in Bertuccios ragged clothing riddled with holes. The nobleman rests apathetically against a tree. He holds the sword he intends to use to cut the princess in half and looks down at Bertuccio.

At the left, in the background, stands Bertuccios new wife, Princess Tarquinia. She watches the event with fear at the idea that she will be cut in half. In the background at the right, the two horses look out at the beautiful landscape.

The Meek Nobleman

Straparolas story can shift our understanding of nobility and wealth. On the surface, all of the characters in the story exist in a world that is lacking. The characters all lack something: The mother lacks a clever son; the dead body is disrespected and lacking proper funeral rights; the princess lacks her freedom; and the king lacks his daughter.

As for the unsavory characters, they not only lack something but also act to take what they want. The soldiers want to kidnap the girl and do so, the thief wants money and kills for it, and the nobleman wants half of Bertuccios wealth and suggests cutting the bride in two.

Bertuccio, however, does not exist in the world this way. He does not view the world as lacking and sees no need to take from it. Instead, he experiences life from a viewpoint of abundance. He wants to give what he has for the benefit of others. Many of the other characters are unhappy, but Bertuccios wealth both figuratively and literally comes from his joyful ability to let go of whatever is seemingly his. He is materially and emotionally wealthy because he is unselfish.

Interestingly enough, Hughes depicted the poor Bertuccio as the wealthy one even though he kneels at the feet of the nobleman and presents half of his riches. Bertuccio is the wealthy one despite caring little for wealth.

Of course, the nobleman will reveal himself to be the spirit of the dead man and seems to be testing Bertuccio to make sure that he is worthy of riches, but this doesnt take away from the fact that the meek Bertuccio is painted as the wealthy nobleman and the wealthy noblemanas he plays the role of someone who would cut a person in halfis shown in poor attire and spirits. In other words, the truly wealthy person is the one who gives and not the one who cleverly tries to take.

Bertuccio is shown the moment before he receives more than he gives away. Is Hughess painting a reminder that good character is rewarded and that we reap what we sow? Does Bertuccios meek posture suggest that his character is the cause of his riches? Is Hughess depiction of Bertuccio an illustration of a specific type of nobility: a man meek in worldly pursuits, but noble in selflessness?

Have you ever seen a work of art that you thought was beautiful but had no idea what it meant? In our series Reaching Within: What Traditional Art Offers the Heart, we interpret the classical visual arts in ways that may be morally insightful for us today. We try to approach each work of art to see how our historical creations might inspire within us our own innate goodness.
Anti-CCP activist Drew Pavlou has been temporarily blocked from posting on Tik Tok. (Screenshot by Drew Pavlou)

TikTok Bans Australian Anti-CCP Activist, Senate Candidate Drew Pavlou

Chinese-owned social media company TikTok has temporarily blocked Australian human rights activist and Senate candidate Drew Pavlou from posting on the platform on the same day he discussed his anti-Chinese Communist Party activism on a popular podcast.

Its very peculiar. I havent posted [on TikTok] in weeks so I think Ive been banned because my campaign for Parliament on an anti-CCP platform has begun to get noticed after Sixty Minutes, Pavlou told The Epoch Times on Nov. 13.

Today I spoke to ADV China on their big podcast which regularly exposes CCP corruption and suddenly the ban was in place.

I havent posted on TikTok in weeks, suddenly blocked from posting after going on the ADVChina podcast. LOL @serpentza @laowhy86 pic.twitter.com/axyFSM262N  Drew Pavlou (@DrewPavlou) November 12, 2021

Pavlou appeared on a live-streamed episode of ADV Podcasts where he described how he fell into standing up for human rights in mainland China when he organised a protest on the University of Queensland campus in 2019, where he was a student.

I organised one protest to support Hong Kong and the Uyghurs, and I was assaulted on campus by a Chinese nationalist, and hundreds of Chinese nationalists, sort of descended upon us, he told ADV Podcast on Nov. 13.

Pavlou described how he organised 10 of his friends on a whim to protest against the universitys ties to the Chinese regime. But they soon found themselves surrounded by hundreds of pro-CCP Chinese nationalists.

At the time, a Chinese man ripped the megaphone out of his hands and smashed it to the ground. Simultaneously, another Chinese person played the CCP anthem from a speaker. Pavlou described the incident as coordinated.

Pavlou and some of the protesters were physically attacked, with someone dousing them in a yellow liquid that smelled like phlegm, he told ADV Podcasts.

After that happened the Chinese consul general in Brisbane, who was also made a professor at my universitythey have very close ties with the Chinese governmenthe endorsed the violence, saying it was patriotic,' Pavlou said.

Pavlou said his family received death threats by pro-CCP Chinese nationalists, and he endured a six-month estrangement from his family, who he said were scared.

The 22-year-old Brisbane man said he never set out to be an activist related to China whatsoever, and has lost friendships because of it.

But two years later, Pavlou has formed a political party, the Drew Pavlou Democratic Alliance, and is running on an anti-CCP platform.

We want to sanction CCP leaders so they cant store their corrupt wealth in Australia, he told The Epoch Times.

We want to take their bank accounts, end the Australia China Free Trade Agreement, nationalize Darwin port, and urgently reverse all national asset sales to China that endanger our sovereignty as a nation.

Pavlou said his party will provide a humanitarian program for Uyghurs, Hong Kongers, Tibetans, and any Chinese people who are fleeing persecution by the CCP.

We will commit to defending Taiwan from aggression and we will recognise Tibet, Hong Kong, and East Turkistan as occupied and under illegitimate rule, he said.

TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The logo of Toshiba Corp. is seen at the company's facility in Kawasaki, Japan, on June 10, 2021. (Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

Toshiba Plans to Split Into Three After Wave of Scandals

TOKYOToshiba Corp. outlined plans on Friday to split into three companies in an attempt to appease activist shareholders calling for a radical overhaul of the Japanese conglomerate after years of scandals.

A rare move in a country dominated by conglomerates, Toshibas breakup comes the same week U.S. industrial powerhouse General Electric called time on its sprawling empire and Johnson & Johnson announced it was splitting up too.

Founded in 1875, Toshiba plans to house its energy and infrastructure divisions in one company while its hard disk drives and power semiconductor businesses will form the backbone of another. A third will manage Toshibas stake in flash-memory chip company Kioxia Holdings and other assets.

The plan, borne of a five-month strategic review undertaken after a highly damaging corporate governance scandal, is partly designed to encourage activist shareholders to sell their stakes, sources with knowledge of the matter have said.

A breakup, however, runs counter to calls by activist investors for Toshiba to be taken private and some major shareholders said the plan may struggle to get through an extraordinary general meeting due to be held by March.

The overhaul was announced after markets in Japan had closed but the companys Frankfurt-listed shares fell 4 percent at the open on Friday highlighting investor disappointment. The shares later recovered slightly in very low volume.

Toshibas strategic review committee said the idea of going private had raised concerns internally about the impact on its businesses and staff retention while offers from private equity firms were not compelling relative to market expectations.

Private equity firms had also conveyed concerns about completing a deal due to possible conflicts with Japans national security law and potential opposition from antitrust regulators, the company said.

After much discussion, we reached the conclusion that this strategic reorganization was the best option, Chief Executive Satoshi Tsunakawa told a news conference.

Crisis to Crisis

He said Toshiba, which hopes to complete the overhaul in two years, would have chosen to split up regardless of the presence of activist shareholders and that Japans powerful trade ministry had not voiced objections to the plan.

One major Toshiba shareholder said other investors might still consider nominating a new board director to push though an auction process.

The option to take Toshiba private can create more value in a shorter period of time than the break-up, the shareholder said.

A portfolio manager at an activist fund with Toshiba shares said the plan was disappointing and unlikely to be voted through at the extraordinary general meeting the company plans to hold by March.

The activists have two options now: you can sell and go away and come back in two years time or you can buy more shares and fight this thing at the EGM. Im going to go and think about what to do, said the manager, who declined to be identified.

The 146-year-old conglomerate has lurched from crisis to crisis since an accounting scandal in 2015.

Two years later, it secured a $5.4 billion cash injection from more than 30 overseas investors that helped avoid a delisting but brought in activist shareholders including Elliott Management, Third Point and Farallon.

Tension between management and overseas shareholders has dominated headlines since then. In June, an explosive shareholder-commissioned investigation concluded that Toshiba had colluded with Japans trade ministry to block investors from gaining influence at last years shareholders meeting.

Excessive Cautiousness

Earlier on Friday, Toshiba released a separately commissioned report that found executives, including its former chief executive, had behaved unethically but not illegally.

It said Toshiba was overly dependent on the trade ministry and problems had also been caused by its excessive cautiousness towards foreign funds and an unwillingness to develop a sound relationship with them.

Under the overhaul, Toshiba aims to return 100 billion yen ($875 million) to shareholders in the next two financial years.

It also said it intended to monetize its Kioxia shares and return the net proceeds in full to shareholders as soon as practicable, a change from a previous plan to return only a majority of the proceeds.

Other assets that will continue to be held by Toshiba include its stake in Toshiba Tec Corp., which makes printing and retail information systems.

Toshiba plans to complete the overhaul by March 2024.

A trade ministry official said the government would be interested in how the breakup affects Toshibas businesses related to national security, which include radar systems.

Toshiba also reported on Friday that its second-quarter operating profit roughly doubled to 30.4 billion yen ($267 million) as it recovered from a slump triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.

It makes sense to split if the valuation of a highly competitive business is hindered by other businesses, said Fumio Matsumoto, chief strategist at Okasan Securities.

But if there isnt such a business, the breakup just creates three lacklustre midsize companies.

($1 = 113.9700 yen)

By Makiko Yamazaki and Scott Murdoch
Researchers say eating mushrooms is strongly associated with lower risks of cancer and neurodegenerative disease. (Subbotina Anna/Shutterstock)

UCSD and UCLA Host Clinical Study of Herbs, Mushrooms In Treating COVID-19

SAN DIEGOUniversity of California researchers announced on Nov. 12 that they, together with colleagues from other institutions, are assessing whether medicinal mushrooms and Chinese herbs can provide therapeutic benefit in treating acute COVID-19 infection.

This research study, Mushrooms and Chinese Herbs for COVID-19 (MACH-19), is a multi-center effort led by the University of CaliforniaSan Diego (UCSD) and University of CaliforniaLos Angeles, along with the La Jolla Institute for Immunology. It is among the first to evaluate these medicines using a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial.

We hope these treatments will reduce the need for hospitalization, said MACH-19 principal investigator Dr. Gordon Saxe, director of research at the Centers for Integrative Health at UCSD School of Medicine.

Three trials are recruiting for between 66 and 80 patients who have tested positive for COVID-19 and who are quarantined at home with mild to moderate symptoms.

One of the studies, which started in December and is slated to run until December 2022, tests the safety and feasibility of a 50/50 blend of the mushrooms agarikon and turkey tail in capsules.

According to Saxe, the mushrooms were chosen because of their long history of use and recent evidence of immunity-enhancing and anti-viral effects.

In a study published in the March 2019 issue of Mycology, agarikon was found to inhibit viruses, including influenza and herpes. Saxe said he believes medicinal mushrooms inhibit the viruses replication, a theory he plans to test against SARS-CoV-2 in a Phase II trial.

Mushrooms have the advantage that they co-evolved with us, Saxe said. So bacteria, viruses, and other fungi prey on mushrooms just like they prey on humans. And mushrooms have developed exquisite defenses against those pests, and we believe they can confer those to us when we eat them.

The second trial, which began in July and is projected to conclude in December 2022, tests the safety and feasibility of a formulation of 21 Chinese herbs from Taiwancalled Qing Fei Pai Du Tangthat is widely used as a COVID-19 remedy in China.

MACH-19s third ongoing trial, which began in June and is scheduled for completion in June 2022, measures whether the same medicinal mushrooms, given in capsules at the time of initial COVID-19 vaccination, can increase antibodies and other immune responses.

Saxe said his team is close to launching a fourth trial to look at whether medicinal mushrooms could provide a similar lift to COVID-19 booster shots.

Vaccines lead to the production of antibodies that can destroy the virus in the blood, Saxe said. Mushrooms may not only increase the number of these antibodies, but also enhance T-cell immunity against virally infected cells.

Further, because mushrooms bind to receptors on human immune cells, they can modulate our immunity, boosting it in some ways and calming it down in others, he said. And this property of mushrooms may also reduce vaccine-related side effects.

Natural therapeutics have been used for centuries to treat infectious diseases, Saxe said, noting that herbs have helped Chinese doctors manage 300 recorded epidemics, while the Greek pharmacologist Pedanius Dioscorides prescribed agarikon to treat pulmonary infections 2,300 years ago.

Initial safety data from the trials are expected by the end of this year. Whatever is found, Saxe said he was happy just getting the FDAs approval, which he called a sign that Western scientific minds are broadening.

Like the population as a whole, the FDA has, in recent years, become more aware of integrative, complementary medicine and has shown more of a willingness to find ways to study these approaches, he said. But theyre still as rigorous as they are for pharmaceuticals.

To learn more or enroll in the MACH-19 trials, visit clinicaltrials.gov and search for MACH-19.
President Joe Biden speaks about COVID-19 vaccine booster shots in the State Dining Room at the White House on Sept. 24, 2021. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)

US Appeals Court Reaffirms Hold on Bidens COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate for Private Businesses

A U.S. appeals court has rejected a challenge by the Biden administration on Nov. 12 and reaffirmed its decision to put on hold President Joe Bidens order for companies with 100 workers or more to mandate COVID-19 vaccines.

The mandate, issued by the Labor Departments Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), would require that businesses with 100 employees or more ensure that those workers either be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Jan. 4, 2022, or be tested weekly and wear a mask.

The mandate is staggeringly overbroad, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans stated in an opinion.

The three-member panel of the court ordered OSHA to take no steps to implement or enforce the Mandate until further court order. The court had previously issued a temporary halt to the mandate on Nov. 6 while litigation plays out over its legality.

Despite this, the administration urged private business employers on Nov. 8 to comply with the vaccine mandate. It asserted that halting the implementation of the OSHA rule could lead to the deaths of workers.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton praised the circuit courts ruling.

Citing Texass compelling argument, the 5th Circuit has delayed OSHAs unconstitutional and illegal private-business vaccine mandate, Paxton wrote on Twitter. WE WON! Litigation will continue, but this is a massive victory for Texas and for FREEDOM from Bidens tyranny and lawlessness.

At least 27 U.S. states, as well as private employers, religious organizations, and other groups, have sued the Biden administration, claiming that its exceeding its authority in issuing the mandate.

In the 5th Circuit Courts reaffirmation on Nov. 12, it stated that the Biden administrations vaccine mandate raises serious constitutional concerns and likely exceeds the federal governments authority.

Biden administration officials didnt respond to a request for comment by press time.
Workers walk by the perimeter fence of what is officially known as a vocational skills education center in Dabancheng, Xinjiang Province, China, on Sept. 4, 2018. (Thomas Peter/Reuters)

US Dollars Continue to Flow to Chinas Genocide

Commentary

Socially responsible funds have gained a lot of attention in recent years but millions of Americans still own stocks of companies that are tied to genocidal regimes and have no idea how to spot them in their investment portfolios.

Fund management firms dont provide enough transparency to their customers about their holdings, according to human rights advocates, therefore most investors dont know whether their portfolios are free of companies that substantially contribute to genocide or crimes against humanity.

This has increasingly become an issue for investors, especially holding Chinese securities via passively managed exchange-traded funds.

The Trump administration in January declared the Chinese regimes treatment of Uyghurs and other ethnic Muslim minorities in the far western Xinjiang region a genocide, a position endorsed by the Biden administration. Several countries legislatures have also followed suit, including Canada, the Netherlands, and the UK.

The U.S. government has also placed sanctions on Chinese officials and entities over its repression of Uyghurs, and other groups, including Hongkongers, and Falun Gong adherents.

Meanwhile, investment management funds in the United States and around the world hold shares of Chinese companies that support the Communist regimes military and security apparatuses, and aid its human rights abuses.

To address this loophole, President Joe Biden signed an executive order in June, continuing a Trump-era rule, that prohibits U.S. investors from investing in Chinese companies with ties to Beijings military. Both Biden and former President Trump declared a national emergency to tackle the security threats posed by these companies.

I have determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency, Biden said on Nov. 9, in an announcement extending the investment ban.

The PRC [Peoples Republic of China] is increasingly exploiting United States capital to resource and to enable the development and modernization of its military, intelligence, and other security apparatuses, Biden continued.

While these measures are monumental, the U.S. government has been slow in responding to the growing threat posed by the communist regime, according to China hawks in Washington.

Policy response hasnt been as robust as one would expect, Bill Browder, a hedge fund manager and human rights activist, said at this years China Forum.

Because the U.S. government wants to rock the boat as little as possible for fear of economic backlash, Browder said.

The Treasurys investment ban list so far includes 59 companies that are operating in the defense and surveillance technology sectors. Americans are barred from investing in stocks or bonds of these firms.

The ban list includes notable companies such as telecoms equipment maker Huawei, video surveillance manufacturer Hikvision, chip maker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., aerospace firm Aviation Industry Corp. of China, and state-run mobile operators China Mobile and China Telecom.

While denying Chinese firms access to the U.S. capital markets is an important step, the ban list itself is not extensive.

In June, the administration tasked the Treasury Department with updating the list. However, the Treasury has failed to add new companies, even though there are many more entities that threaten U.S. national security, according to critics.

For example, there are over 400 Chinese entities in the Commerce Departments entity list, which bars exports of U.S. technology to these firms without a license. Those entities were added due to national security concerns or over their role in facilitating Beijings rights abuses.

Only less than 1 percent of these companies has ended up on Treasurys investment ban list, Roger Robinson, former chairman of the congressional U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, said at the China Forum.

In June, the administration added five China-based solar companies to the entity list for participating in Beijings forced labor campaign against Uyghurs in Xinjiang. Two of them, Hoshine Silicon Industry and Xinjiang Daqo New Energy, are publicly traded and could be held by major indexes and investment funds.

Critics also question the scope of the entity list as there are many small Chinese companies that go unnoticed.

A new report by the Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET) at Georgetown University found that nearly 91 percent of AI equipment suppliers to the Chinese military werent on the entity list.

Were talking about 5,000 Chinese companies in the portfolios of roughly 150 million Americans, Robinson said, referring to all Chinese stocks trading in the United States or other exchanges around the world, as well as over-the-counter markets.

And the American investors dont know how many of these companies are human rights violators or national security abusers, he noted.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Congress is working on a measure to remove non-compliant Chinese companies from American exchanges starting in 2022. The bill, Accelerating Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, that passed the Senate unanimously in June is expected to move through the House soon.

The bill is a follow-up to the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, which was signed into law by Trump last December. Under this law, foreign companies that fail to comply with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Boards (PCAOBs) audits for three consecutive years will be subject to delisting from U.S. exchanges.

U.S. regulators, including the PCAOB, have been unable to inspect audit papers of China-based companies, as Beijing has refused to allow inspections, citing national security and privacy reasons.

The follow-up bill sponsored by Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) seeks to put more pressure on Chinese companies, requiring them to comply with U.S. audit standards within two consecutive years instead of three.

U.S. exchanges must ensure American investor money is not used to finance Beijings human rights abuses and genocide, says Chris Iacovella, CEO of American Securities Association that represents small and regional financial services firms.

By passing the bipartisan bill, congress can continue to protect investors, the integrity of our markets, and our national security, he said.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Big Bird has gone too far this time.

I dont if you saw this, but Big Bird tweeted (something birds do) that he had been vaccinated for COVID, something birds do not get, although its starting to look like deer do get COVID.

Scientists have found COVID in an alarmingly high percentage of white-tailed deer, although the deer do not seem to have symptoms. A spokesman for the nations 30 million deer said that the animals had consulted with Joe Rogan, who gave them some tick powder to snort.

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How did the deer get COVID at all? Did we give it to them? At a family gathering? Is it time to be asking Joe Buck some pointed questions?

Meanwhile, Big Bird was virtue signaling about getting an extra protective boost that keeps me and others healthy. Not only is this disgusting propaganda and attempted mind control over our kids, but Big Bird could not provide any proof that he had talked this over with Joe Rogan beforehand, which is the minimum standard for prudence.

You know what that leads to. Kids begging their parents for the chance to get a needle stuck in their arms just because a cherished celebrity made it seem cool.

Big Bird was immediately denounced by the Coalition of Members of Congress from Uncomfortably Hot States. Leading the charge was U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, who loves hot states so much that when his home state of Texas was ravaged by snow and power outages, he fled to Cancun in a show of solidarity with warmth. Also, according to him, to be a good father.

As a father, I share his concern about what is happening to childrens television. A huge yellow monstrosity spouting epidemiology? What about cartoons, like we watched in the old days? What about Elmer Fudd standing up for the Second Amendment or Fred Flintstone showing us what it means to be an oath-keeping man?

The only person who seems to care about cartoons is U.S. Rep Paul Gosar, also a member of the CMCUHS (see above). Gosar went to the trouble of releasing last Sunday an anime video with his face video-shopped onto a character who beheaded Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and lunging at President Biden waving two scimitars.

I know that sounds a little raw, but people I trust have said that if you get five episodes into Gosar the Gosarian, it really starts to pick up. Gosar, on this visit to Earth, chose the form of a human dentist who says he made the video to cope with his disappointment that The Crown was not about him. To say nothing of the disappointment experienced by Rand Paul when he realized he is no longer the scariest medical professional in Congress.

The point is, we need these men, just the way we need CMCUHS member Matt Gaetz who, although he is possibly a creepy sex trafficker, stands for family values and will link arms with Gosar and Cruz to protect us from the woke mob of fanatical vaccine birds. Unless Cruzs daughters really need him to go Paris or something. In which case he can leave, provided he has a note from Joe Rogan.

I can hear some of you saying, Isnt it Big Birds personal decision to get vaccinated?

That is not how it works. It is only a personal decision when you choose not to get vaccinated. When Aaron Rodgers didnt get vaccinated, that was a personal decision, following consultation with Joe Rogan, the way youre supposed to. When Big Bird got vaccinated, he was the propaganda-spewing mind slave of Big Biden and Big Pharma. Do you know which bird wing took the needle and its agonizing pain? The right wing. Thats the libs for you. Always sticking it to the right wing.

If were going to get this country back on the rails, were going to need Gaetz and Cruz and Gosar and possibly also Kyle Rittenhouse, who we should probably be calling just plain Kyle, because hes only a kid, an earnest, blubbering American kid who showed up at a demonstration with no intent other than to shoot anyone who seemed dangerous. And now, the libs are trying to frame Kyle for shooting three people, which technically he did, but it was a personal decision.

We need to join hands and find common ground with people who do not look like us, the way CMCUHS member Marjorie Taylor Greene did on Monday when she embraced  verbally  the Nation of Islam, which really gets it when it comes to Ivermectin and vaccination refusal. Yes, technically they would classify her as a white devil, but how about if we look past those minor differences and notice the values shared by each side, including antisemitism and homophobia? If we build on that foundation, maybe we can get past the race thing, although Greene has also made anti-Muslim comments in the past. In her defense, she cant be expected to keep all the groups she has attacked in her head. Some of them would need to go on a thumb drive.

The main thing is, we got this. If we band together, we will prevail. What we need now is some kind of We Are the World anthem.

Does anyone know how to get ahold of Eric Clapton?

Colin McEnroes column appears every Sunday, his newsletter comes out every Thursday and you can hear his radio show every weekday on WNPR 90.5. Email him at colin@ctpublic.org. Sign up for his free newsletter at http://bit.ly/colinmcenroe.
Geneseo, NY (14454)

Today

Rain and snow this morning becoming partly cloudy this afternoon. High around 40F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Some clouds. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Low 27F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.
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CCSA advisor concerned about Bangkok case numbers

BANGKOK: With the number of daily COVID-19 infections currently averaging about 6,000-7,000, with new cases in Bangkok hovering around 700-800 per day, an advisor to the Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) is urging the public to remain committed to public health measures in light of the stubborn infection numbers.

COVID-19health

By National News Bureau of Thailand

Saturday 13 November 2021, 04:33PM

Photo: NNT

CCSA Advisor Dr Udom Kachintorn said the country reopening to international tourists has proceeded smoothly but he remained concerned with the 6,000-7,000 daily new Covid infections, especially in Bangkok where the high daily numbers meant the infections graph could rise, reports state news agency NNT.

Dr Udom urged members of the public and venue operators to stringently adhere to disease control measures, especially those under the Covid Free Setting guideline and the Universal Prevention scheme.

He also expressed confidence in vaccines being able to reduce deaths and severe illness from COVID, saying 70-80% of the infected were unvaccinated.

Noting that most of the people who had lost their lives to COVID-19 were elderly people with chronic illness, he said it was necessary for senior citizens and individuals at high risk of developing severe symptoms from COVID to quickly receive the vaccine.

The CCSA advisor said the Ministry of Public Health now has a target to complete the administering of 100 million doses of vaccine within November, one month ahead of schedule.

He noted, however, that he remained concerned over COVID clusters at Kathin events, funerals, and the upcoming Loy Krathong festival where large numbers of people will gather.
Governor to present Phuket Health Smart City plan to Cabinet

PHUKET: Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew has announced that he will present two main projects under the Phuket Health Smart City plan at the mobile Cabinet meeting to be held in Krabi next week.

economicstourismhealth

By The Phuket News

Saturday 13 November 2021, 05:46PM

Governor Narong said he will present his plan to the Cabinet on Tuesday (Nov 16). Photo: Radio Thailand Phuket

The aim is to help drive the development of the island into an international centre for the medical, health and wellness industries, Governor Narong explained.

The projects will be presented to the Cabinet on Tuesday (Nov 16), he said.

The first project to be presented will be the Phuket Health Sandbox plan, aimed at developing Phuket into a City Connecting People through Global Health, Governor Narong added.

The Phuket Health Sandbox project is an extension of the Smart City project, he said.

The plan includes the drive to develop an international medical, health and wellness education center and international medical service centre, which the Cabinet has already approved, he noted.

The state land required for the B4 billion project was handed over by the Royal Forest Department in December last year.

This will create added economic value, Governor Narong said.

The essence of the Phuket Health Sandbox project will be an extension of this [international medical centre] plan, to include admissions to local hospitals at various levels and enhancing the service provided by linking into the same system, Governor Narong continued.

This will become a model for community health systems to connect together throughout the Andaman region. It will improve health services for local people and add a new selling point for tourism, he said.

The concept of a city that connects people through global health will help to create a balance and stability for the economy and tourism of Phuket, he explained.

The second project to be presented to Cabinet will be to expand the project to remove the unsightly power and communications cables obscuring the view of Sino-Portuguese buildings in the heart of Phuket Town.

Another important project is installing these cables underground in the conservation area in the old commercial district of Phuket [often called the Phuket Old Town area], which is considered the top community tourist attraction of the province, he said.

The old commercial district has a unique local identity that is popular with tourists, Governor Narong noted.

Therefore, it must be developed into beautiful condition, to prevent communication lines and electrical wires from obscuring the Sino-Portuguese architecture, he said.

It is a project that will make the area more beautiful, while reinforcing historical identity and helping the area as an international tourist attraction, he said.
MRTA moves forward with Phuket light rail

PHUKET: The Mass Rapid Transport Authority (MRTA) kept the Phuket Mass Transit System project moving forward with a public meeting held in Phuket Town yesterday (Nov 12) to gain feedback from local residents about the project.

transportconstruction

By The Phuket News

Saturday 13 November 2021, 02:28PM

The project, also often called the Phuket Light Rail, will see a light-rail mass transit system connecting Tha Noon, just north of Phuket in Phang Nga, with Phuket International Airport and continuing down the island to Phuket Town and terminating at Chalong Circle in the south of the island.

The plan is to alleviate traffic along Thepkrasattri Rd, Phukets main transport artery running north-south through down the spine of the island.

Present to open the proceedings yesterday, held at the Royal Phuket City Hotel, was Phuket Vice Governor Piyapong Choowong.

Saroj T. Suwan, MRTA Assistant Governor explained that the aim of the meeting was to publicize the project and to listen to opinions and suggestions from local people about Phase 1 of the project, from Phuket airport to Chalong Circle.

At the event the MRTA presented information on two main alternatives under consideration for the project.

The first was the Steel Wheel Tram and rubber wheel drive system, also often called a rubber-tyred tram, common in many Western countries.

The other was the Autonomous Rail Rapid Transit (ART), a LiDAR-guided articulated bus system for urban passenger transport developed by CRRC Zhuzhou Institute Co Ltd, unveiled in Zhuzhou in Hunan province in 2017.

The other aspect explained at the meeting was that the mass transit system is part of an integrated plan being developed alongside the Kathu - Patong Expressway Construction Project, being developed by the Expressway Authority of Thailand (EXAT). The expressway will run parallel to the Thepkrasattri Rd, with EXAT expecting to open the expressway in 2026.

Such joint efforts will be able to mitigate the impact on traffic on National Highway No. 402 [Thepkrasattri Rd] during the construction of the project and on the people in the area, Mr Sarot said.

At the same time, Phuket residents and groups of stakeholders in the area are allowed to participate in expressing opinions and suggestions on the alternatives. In implementing the project, the MRTA will use the information received from this meeting to be used as a guideline for further improvement of project operations, he said.

Of note, all large-scale public infrastructure development projects by law must conduct public feedback meetings in order to legally fulfill Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) requirements.

When the project is completed, it will increase the efficiency and standardized travel options ready to support travel and tourism of Phuket in the future, Mr Sarot said.

People were invited to seek more information about the project through the MRTA website (www.mrta.co.th) or its Facebook page, or call the MRTA headquarters in Bangkok at 02-716 4044.

According to the current plans, the railway system will be Light Rail Transit (low floor TRAM) with carriages 2.4-2.65 metres wide and 30-40m long overall.

There will be 21 stations along the route, with the system elevated from Phuket International Airport as it parallels Highway No. 4031, but returning to ground level where it joins Thepkrasattri Rd. The Thalang Station will be underground.

The current plans also include changes to one way streets through the heart of Phuket Town and the size and location of parking centres for people using the transit system, including a car park for 200 cars and 500 motorcycles to be built at the terminus near Chalong Circle.

Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob earlier this year ordered an in-depth analysis of a proposal to dump the Phuket light-rail project in favour of a smart bus system that would reduce the cost of launching a mass transport option on the island by some B15.2 billion.

Phase 1 of the project, from Phuket airport to Chalong Circle, is budgeted to cost more than B35 billion.

The cost of Phase 2 of the project, connecting Phase 1 with Tha Noon in Phang Nga, has yet to be estimated.

In Phuket for a public feedback meeting held at the Royal Phuket City hotel last year, Mr Sarot explained that construction of the Phuket light-rail project is now expected to begin in 2023 and open to serve passengers in 2026.
Prosecutors to indict Joe Ferrari

BANGKOK: Public prosecutors have decided to indict seven policemen accused of suffocating a drug suspect to death with a plastic bag on all charges recommended by investigators, the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) chief said on Friday (Nov 12).

policecorruptionmurderdrugsdeathcrime

By Bangkok Post

Saturday 13 November 2021, 09:30AM

Pol Col Thitisan Utthanaphon (centre) is escorted from the Crime Suppression Division to the Nakhon Sawan station on the night of Aug 26 after he surrendered and was interrogated. Photo: Arnun Chonmahatrakool / Bangkok Post

Pol Lt Gen Jirabhop Bhuridej said the Office of the Attorney-General (OAG) had agreed to prosecute Pol Col Thitisan Utthanaphon, a former chief of the Muang district station in Nakhon Sawan and six colleagues, reports the Bangkok Post.

The prosecutors agreed to the four charges proposed by the police in the investigation report submitted to them on Nov 3: malfeasance, abuse of authority, torture causing death and coercion, he added.

A police source said the OAG would indict the men in the Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases next week.

The charges bear the maximum penalty of death.

Pol Col Thitisan, 30, also known as Joe Ferrari for his extraordinary wealth and collection of expensive cars, and six subordinates working at the police station he headed were accused of killing Chiraphong Thanapat, a 24-year-old drug suspect, while trying to extort B2 million from him on Aug 5.

A video posted on social media showed Chiraphongs head covered by a black plastic bag during the interrogation and that he was being suffocated. He was officially pronounced dead the next day.

The other accused are:

Pol Maj Rawirot Ditthong

Pol Capt Songyot Khlainak

Pol Lt Thoranin Matwanna

Pol Snr Sgt Maj Suphakon Nimchuen

Pol Snr Sgt Maj Wisut Bunkhiew

Pol L/Cpl Pawikon Khammarew

All of the accused have been discharged from the police force but they maintain their rank pending the outcome of the court cases.

Pol Col Thitisan has denied all charges and vowed to fight the case in court.
Wet weather to continue

PHUKET: Wet weather is set to continue across Phuket throughout today and tomorrow, with the local Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) office this morning (Nov 13) issuing an advisory for people in the area to be still wary of heavy rains and possible flash floods.

weather

By The Phuket News

Saturday 13 November 2021, 12:58PM

The wet weather is set to continue throughout today and tomorrow. Image: Southern Western Meteorological Center

The advisory this morning, issued just before midday by Rungrawee Ankot, Director of the Southern Western Meteorological Center near Phuket airport, follows TMD Director-General Nattapon Nattasomboon issuing a weather warning yesterday.

An intense low pressure cell covering the central South along with the northeasterly wind prevailing over the South and upper west coast is causing heavy to very heavy rainfall along the southern west coast in some areas of Ranong, Phang Nga, Phuket, Krabi, Trang and Satun, Ms Rungrawee explained.

The risk area is also aware of the dangers of heavy rain during this period, she wrote.

Wind waves in the Andaman Sea will average one to two metres tall, with waves in thundershower areas reaching heights of more than two metres, she added.

Sailors are advised to be careful in navigation, especially in thunderstorm areas, and [we] ask the public to closely follow announcements from the Meteorological Department, Ms Rungrawee urged.

Heavy rain continued to lash the southern region yesterday, leaving a main road in Songkhla province and parts of Narathiwat under floodwater yesterday morning.

Water up to 50 centimetres deep blocked traffic on Road 407, a main road connecting Hat Yai and Muang districts of Songkhla province, reported the Bangkok Post.
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Cloudy with light rain this morning...then becoming partly cloudy. A few flurries or snow showers possible. High 6C. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%..

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Nearly 700 people have been charged for their role in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S Capitol. The most visible among them may be Jacob Chansley, also known as the QAnon Shaman.

Chansley became known prior to the insurrection for the tattoos, coonskin cap, and viking horns he sported to conspiracy theory rallies. He was in full regalia when he broke into the Capitol on Jan. 6, making his way into the Senate chamber where he was photographed famously. Federal prosecutors want to make him pay. In a sentencing memo filed late Tuesday night, they recommended Chansley serve 51 months in prison for his role in the attack.

Prosecutors cited how Chansley became the face of the Capitol riot, that he was one of the first to enter the building, and that once inside he played the role of ring leader. The defendant was among the first 30 rioters to penetrate the U.S. Capitol building, the filing read. The defendant then stalked the hallowed halls of the building, riling up other members of the mob with his screaming obscenities about our nations lawmakers, and flouting the opportunity to rid our government of those he has long considered to be traitors.

Chansley is one of three Capitol rioters who has faced a felony sentence. Prosecutors recommended 18 months for Paul Hodgkins before he was sentenced to serve eight months. They recommended 44 for Scott Fairlamb, who received 41 months on Wednesday. The stiff recommendation for Chansley, prosecutors say, is due factors like his failure to comply with officers inside the Capitol, the fact that he was carrying a spear, and the absence of any contrition following the attack. Chansley showed no remorse in the days after the event, gloating to NBC News that the actions of the rioters that day sent our nations law makers into hiding, with gas masks, retreating into their underground bunker, the filing read.

Chansley pleaded guilty to a felony obstruction charge in September, with his lawyer Al Watkins noting that his client was trying to step away and distance himself from the vortex of QAnon. The path charted by Mr. Chansley since January 6 has been a process, one which has involved pain, depression, solitary confinement, introspection, recognition of mental health vulnerabilities, and a coming to grips with the need for more self-work, Watkins added.

Watkins is now trying to claim that the 10 months Chansley has already served since his arrest in January is punishment enough, citing Chansleys mental health and quoting Forrest Gump in a request for leniency filed Tuesday. My momma always said, youve got to put the past behind you before you can move on. Forest Gump, Watkins wrote, misspelling the title of the 1994 Best Picture winner.
KABUL (AP)  A bomb exploded on a mini-bus Saturday on a busy commercial street in a Kabul neighborhood mainly populated by members of Afghanistan's minority Hazara community, emergency workers and the bus driver said. At least one person was killed and five wounded.

Workers with the ambulance teams at the scene told The Associated Press that the blast appeared to have been caused by a bomb on the bus.
GLASGOW, Scotland (AP)  Thump, thump, thump. In the frantic last hours of U.N. climate talks in Scotland, a senior diplomat from Luxembourg came sprinting down a hallway inside the summit venue, his hair flying as he whooshed by clutching a sheaf of papers, only to vanish inside an office as abruptly as he appeared.

The final stretch of negotiations over what nearly 200 governments will do next about fossil fuels heating the Earth to disastrous levels was like that Friday: National delegations engaged in frenetic, often mysterious activity as they haggled to get as much of their position as possible into the final agreement from the talks in Glasgow.

U.S. diplomats mostly worked behind closed doors, with terse signs on the glass. The open doors of most other country's offices  South Korea, Ivory Coast, Austria, and others  showed rooms full of diplomats bent intently over their laptops, eyes fixed on screens and fingers flying over keyboards.

Chinese diplomats crowded into one of their offices stopped working, laughed and took photos when a wayward robin hopped in among them, lost in the warren of temporary tents and the event center.

In the office of India's delegation, there was muted excitement. Delegates sat cross legged on the floor, typing furiously on their laptops. A vase in the office held fresh pink lilies. Endless cups of chai flowed in preparation for what would be a long night.

The Indian delegation got home-cooked meals dinners during the conference, provided by a restaurateur who runs curry houses across Britain. Vegetarian curries served with Indian flatbreads called chapatti were usually on the menu.

The conferences cafes offer egg mayonnaise sandwiches, chicken mayonnaise sandwiches, and pork and pickle sandwiches, all on soft white bread. In two weeks, the words I love this sandwich have never been overheard.

The past few days have been a flurry of bilateral meetings for the Indian minister, Bhupender Yadav, and his top officials.

Some members of the delegation planned to return Saturday to India, where there are other challenges to tackle:, not least New Delhis annual surge in air pollution that leaves its inhabitants gasping. But the core team, including the minister and top bureaucrats, are set to fly out Sunday.

As the conference neared its end  it was scheduled to close on Friday evening, but went into overtime  there was hour after hour of negotiation over what what from the outside could seem like the nit-pickiest of wording issues for the final agreement. Urges vs. requests was one raging debate Friday.

In fact, the distinction held significance for one of the biggest issues imaginable: how firmly nations commit to solid new steps to stave off a level of temperature rise that promises to wipe out some of the nations represented in the talks.

You know in common English, urge is stronger, said Kelley Kizzier, a former climate negotiator for the European Union who attended the Glasgow talks as a climate advocate. In diplomatic language, however, request implies a legal requirement, and therefore carries more weight, she said.

How the linguistic cage match ends will determine whether countries have to ramp up their climate efforts again next year or can ride on this year's pledges for a while longer.

More inside knowledge from the climate talks: The bigger the room, the less important the thing is that's going to happen, Kizzier said. The nitty-gritty negotiations happen in tiny groups.



Alistair Grant contributed to this report.

___

Follow AP's climate coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate
Across the United States, food banks, like many consumers and companies, are dealing with the fallout from national supply chain issues, which has seen a rise in food costs.

Some foodbanks could run out of canned goods like cranberry sauce and canned pumpkin that are staples for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Other necessities, like peanut butter, among other staples, is selling for nearly double what it was priced before the pandemic.

"We already are experiencing some issues," Melissa Houch-Hall, an administrator with Jacksonville Food Bank, said. "Especially with canned pumpkin and canned sweet potatoes, we're having a hard time getting those already."

Jane Ahasay, director of development with Glen-Ed Pantry, said the food bank experienced issues with getting cranberries for their Thanksgiving baskets.

"I'm nervous about the children's Christmas giving, because we are donation-based, we haven't experienced a lot of issues yet," Ahasay said. "But it will be coming. It's no different for us or anyone else. We haven't ordered our Christmas baskets yet and we may run into some supply chain issues with that."

For food banks, delays in the supply chain, lowered inventory and the national labor shortage have contributed to increased costs for the charities on which millions of people rely on for nutritional stability.

"We try and always keep hamburger, what we used to buy for $500 six months ago, it's much less now that we can buy with that same amount," Ahasay said. "Laundry soap is huge, it's expensive for us and the folks on SNAP, that's not covered, that's all out of pocket. We're seeing an increase on meat products, cleaning products, certain food items, we're getting hit on vegetables, the price has gone crazy. We're probably up 13% in what we're spending on fresh fruits and vegetables and that's a big hit to our budget when we're a small non-profit."

Ahasay said that the community has been important for providing fresh fruits and vegetables, which kids and families need to maintain better health.

"What happens when food prices go up is food insecurity for those who are experiencing it just gets worse," Katie Fitzgerald, chief operating officer of Feeding America, a nonprofit organization that coordinates the efforts of more than 200 food banks across the country, including in St. Louis, told the Associated Press.

Fitzgerald said that food banks won't be able to absorb food costs that are two or three times what they used to be forever.

People also rely on other government aid, including the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and many food banks work with SNAP. However, there are no immediate plans to boost SNAP benefits to compensate for rising food costs, the AP reported. However, there was a permanent increase in SNAP benefits earlier this year and a representative for the USDA, which administers SNAP, told the AP that a fresh wave of funding for food banks should help ease the burden.

With transportation costs also increased, donations are more expensive to move and the slowed rollout of products at factories and ports have made it difficult to get goods in general.

"If we order something it doesnt necessarily come in the correct time frame, so things are taking longer to get," Houch-Hall said. "We're experiencing issues with your basic canned goods especially."

Food banks are also seeing increased usage and more need from communities. While Houch-Hall said during the first year the Jacksonville food bank slowed down traffic, which is now picking up, Ahasay said there was more need at the beginning of the pandemic which is beginning to be seen again.

Ahasay said Glen-Ed Pantry is seeing increased usage over the past two months and is running out of certain items. Those items can include spaghetti sauce, which Ahasay said the food bank has never previously run out of, and that Glen-Ed can't keep sugar or oil on the shelf it's going too fast. Glen-Ed also expects to be hit hard in the next month or two.

"I will tell you, we saw a lot at the beginning and it settled down as the increased unemployment checks came," Ahasay said. "We had a lot of traffic but it wasnt increased like we thought it would be. Since all that has stopped, the last two months have seen a huge surge in people needing services, that has greatly increased."

"Were very very busy right now, we saw 31 new clients last month, on track for more than that this month," Ahasay continued. "Getting the monthly numbers together, were seeing a big increase. The need is greater now and we appreciate the support."

Both Houch-Hall and Ahasay said that the communities have rallied around the food banks and are helping to ensure smooth operating.

"Instead of going to the first resource for ordering, Ive been farming out, the community has been great with that," Houch-Hall said. "People have called and asked for a list, getting what they can and bringing it in. Were gearing up for the holiday season and distributing food baskets next month. Were trying to get those items already."

Ahasay said the Metro East has a "great giving opportunity" on Nov. 20, which is the annual "Scouting for Food" event. People are able to give either through the Boy Scouts or directly to the pantry, and another opportunity to give will come with Children's Christmas.
SANAA, Yemen (AP)  Forces loyal to Yemens internationally recognized government have withdrawn from the strategic port city of Hodeida, allowing the rebels to retake key positions there, Yemeni officials and the United Nations said.

The development was a setback to the U.N.-brokered cease-fire in 2018 that ended fighting over Hodeida. The deal was seen as an important first step toward ending the broader conflict in Yemen, devastated by years of civil war, but was never fully implemented.

The pro-government militias, founded and bankrolled by the United Arab Emirates and known as Joint Forces, said late on Friday that they redeployed troops from Hodeida because there was no need for them to stay in the city after the 2018 deal.

The UAE is part of the Saudi-led coalition that has been waging war against the Iran-backed rebels to restore the internationally recognized government to power.

The Joint Forces also said the rebels, known as Houthis, repeatedly violated the 2018 deal.

On Saturday, security officials and residents said the rebels rounded up dozens of people they accuse of supporting the government.

Meanwhile, other pro-government forces that now remain in Hodeida, repelled a Houthi attack south of the coastal city, the officials said. At least three pro-government troops, including a field commander, were killed, they added.

A U.N. mission observing the cease-fire said it wasnt notified before the withdrawal. It said pro-government forces pulled back from their positions in Hodeida and south of the city, allowing the rebels to take over the vacated positions.

The fighting in Hodeida erupted in mid-2018, after government forces backed by the Saudi-led coalition moved in to wrest control of the strategic port from the Houthis. After months of clashes, the warring sides signed the case-fire deal in December that year and agreed to an exchange of more than 15,000 prisoners.

Yemens war began with the 2014 takeover of the capital of Sanaa by the Houthis, who control much of the countrys north. The Saudi-led coalition entered the war in 2015, determined to restore the government and oust the rebels.

The conflict has since become a regional proxy war that has killed tens of thousands of civilians and fighters. The war also created the worlds worst humanitarian crisis, leaving millions suffering from food and medical care shortages and pushing the country to the brink of famine.

In recent months, the Houthis have attacked government forces in different areas, including the provinces of Shabwa, Bayda and Marib, despite calls by the U.N., the United States and others to stop fighting and engage in negotiations to find a settlement to the conflict.

Government forces pushed back the rebels in fierce battels south of the crucial city of Marib, the provincial capital, officials from both sides said Saturday.

All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media, and the residents did so for fear of reprisals.
KHAR, Pakistan (AP)  A remotely detonated roadside bomb killed two policemen on Saturday in a northwestern district in Pakistan that borders Afghanistan, authorities said.

According to the Bajur district police chief, Abdus Samad Khan, the two officers were on security duty near the Raghan Dam, when unknown assailants set off the bomb, killing both.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Khan said a search for the perpetrators was underway.

Bajur served as a sanctuary for the Pakistani Taliban  known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan  until the area was cleared of militants in military operations in recent years. The militant group, which is separate from the Afghan Taliban, was involved in attacks on security forces in the past but is currently in peace talks with the government. A monthlong cease-fire was announced Tuesday.

Also on Saturday, a home-made bomb rigged to a parked motorcycle exploded near a market in the southwestern city of Quetta, wounding five people. Police officer Asmat Ullah said a girl, her mother and a policeman were among the wounded. He said the child was in critical condition but her mother was stable.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

And in the southwestern Baluchistan province, two soldiers were killed Saturday in a shootout that erupted during a raid on suspected militants in the Hoshab area near the city of Turbat. The military said the raid was carried out following intelligence gathered on the suspected militants. It said the militants suffered heavy losses but did not elaborate.

Baluchistan has long been the scene of a low-level insurgency by Baluch separatists.

The military also said that another soldier died from a roadside bomb in the area of Lakki Marwat in the country's northwest.
ALTON  The Leapfrog Group, a national watchdog organization for patient safety and quality, has released its fall 2021 Hospital Safety Grades, assigning "A" through "F" letter grades to 2,901 general acute-care hospitals in the U.S. for patient safety performance.

OSF HealthCare Saint Anthonys Health Center in Alton received an A grade for safety and quality, a distinction achieved by only 32% of all hospitals across the country. In fact, OSF Saint Anthonys historically has been and currently is the only hospital in the Riverbend to receive the A safety rating.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  Senior U.S. and South Korean diplomats discussed how to restart stalled talks with North Korea on Thursday, days after the North conducted artillery firing drills in its latest weapons tests.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink was in Seoul for talks on security issues including North Korea, economic cooperation and other matters.
Jack C. Taylor, 86, formerly of Corbin, Kentucky, passed away peacefully on Sunday, November 7, 2021. Jack will always be known as a hardworking and caring family man. He was an exceptional athlete, receiving 1954, high school All-State Honors in both football and basketball by the Courier-J
SAM MONTALTO, Stonington, Boys Soccer, Senior; Montalto scored three goals including the 100th of his career in the Bears 4-0 victory over Plainville in the Class M state tournament. Montalto, who missed the first three games of the season, has 32 goals and nine assists this season.

GIRLS & BOYS Soccer Team, Chariho; It wouldnt be fair to single out a player from either team, both of which captured Division II titles over the weekend of Nov. 12. The girls tied their game with Prout with 1:02 left in regulation and prevailed in penalty kicks. The boys scored the winning goal in the final two minutes of the second overtime to beat North Smithfield.

ZACK TUCK, Westerly, Football; Tuck rushed for 150 yards on 29 carries in a loss to unbeaten St. Raphael in the Division II semifinals. Tuck has rushed for 1,533 yards and scored 19 touchdowns this season for the 7-3 Bulldogs.

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Setting the stage: Actress and ballet dancer Francesca Hayward models for Net-a-Porter

Cartier-owner Richemont is in talks to give up control of luxury fashion website Yoox Net-a-Porter.

The Swiss conglomerate said that it was in 'advanced discussions' with rival Farfetch and other companies to invest in the lossmaking business.

It did not say how much of Yoox Net-a-Porter it wants to sell  or at what price.

But it marks a stark turnaround for Richemont, which only took over Yoox Net-a-Porter three years ago.

The online group was formed in 2015 by a merger between Britain's Net-a-Porter and Italy's Yoox.

It sells clothing and accessories through two internet shops.

For years Net-a-Porter, which was set up by Natalie Massenet in 2000, was at the cutting edge of the online retail industry.

But the business failed to benefit from the internet shopping boom during the pandemic  when sales of high-end clothes dived as people stayed at home  and is struggling to find a foothold in a crowded industry.

Richemont says that it will invite other companies to work alongside Farfetch in trying to turn Net-a-Porter into a 'neutral' industry-wide platform which will have no ultimate controlling shareholder.

The new strategy came as Richemont released half-year results that showed Yoox Net-a-Porter had stayed stubbornly in the red despite sales rising by more than a third to 1.1billion.

Sales across the wider company hit 7.6billion in the six months to the end of September, up 63 per cent on 2020 and around 20 per cent higher than in 2019.

Shares in Richemont, which also owns Dunhill, fountain-pen group Mont Blanc and shotgun-maker Purdey, rose 11 per cent on the Swiss stock exchange last night.

Citi analyst Thomas Chauvet said: 'The future is bright with these stellar results, although the announcement on Yoox Net-a-Porter rather than a spin-off might disappoint near term.'

The announcement comes days after it emerged that Third Point, the fund run by much-feared activist investor Daniel Loeb, had built a stake in Richemont. But bosses denied this had played any role in the decision and said it had long been in the works.

Cutting edge: Net-a-Porter was set up by Natalie Massenet

South African-born Johann Rupert, the chair and controlling shareholder of Richemont, said: 'This is not in response to activist pressure at all, we started this project a long time ago.

'Maybe some of them were listening and read this accurately so they invested and made money.'

Net-a-Porter was set up in Massenet's flat in 2000 after finding it hard to source clothes for a photo shoot.

The American-born multimillionaire, 56, is a former Tatler journalist and ex-head of the British Fashion Council.

She used loans from friends and family to set up the web page, which was designed so users could 'click' to buy items they liked, and turned it into a 1.45bn retail behemoth.

Richemont first invested by buying a 50m stake from Massenet in 2003. She reinvested 15m, then sold her remaining holding for 100m when it merged with Yoox in 2015. In 2018, Richemont bought the remaining shares it did not already own for 2.4billion.

Massenet now runs her own fund, Imaginary Ventures, which has backed the seamless tights range Heist and Khloe Kardashian's Good American jeans brand, and is a non-executive director at car manufacturer Aston Martin.
In the first few months of lockdown a large chunk of the nation seemingly passed the time by baking, including a mass production of banana bread.

Around 53 per cent of us started kneading and mixing in the first two months of self-isolation, according to a YouGov survey.

One business that benefited hugely from this Great British Bake Off trend is Basingstoke-based entrepreneur Joseph Munns who started BakedIn while he was still working full-time for IBM as a development transformation manager.

Munns, 42, eventually gave up his 13-year career at IBM and while this was risky, it appears to have paid off.

Sweet treats: Joseph Munns who started BakedIn in 2013 has benefited from Britain's renewed love of baking during lockdown

The combination of multiple lockdowns and families living at home more has resulted in his subscription baking business growing 310 per cent in the past year, resulting in a turnover of 5million.

Munns started BakedIn in 2013. He initially tried to finance the business through crowdfunding but pulled out of that after successfully obtaining financing through angel investors.

However, the second round of investment involved a combination of crowdfunding through Seedrs and private investors.

Fast-forward eight years and he has grown his business from 100 subscribers, which he says he knew intimately as they initially consisted of family and friends, to more than 20,000 members.

Other major successes include securing investment from late Michelin starred restaurateur Michel Roux Snr, which Munns claims is his biggest business success to date.

As a result of the baking kits' popularity and investors willing to pitch in, he was able to expand from his kitchen into a 40,000 square foot factory.

Roux passed away at the age of 79 in March 2020, but Munns still has fond memories.

He doesn't want to divulge how much Roux and others invested in the business, but adds: 'Michel was a much-loved member of the BakedIn team.

BakedIn's billing options BakedIn offers subscribers four different ways to subscribe. Subscribers can save money by taking out longer subscriptions. The cut-off date to sign up or cancel is before the 1st of every month. The options are as follows:  99 paid every 12 months  which works out to 8.25 per box.  56 paid every six months  which works out to 9.50 per box.  33 paid every three months  which works out to 11 per box  Alternatively, those who prefer to do a rolling monthly subscription pay 12 a month per kit.

'I vividly remember the first time I met him in 2015 on a sunny day at the Waterside Inn and pitched him my vision for the baking club.

'He immediately got behind what we wanted to do, and I was fortunate to be able to get him on board as an investor and adviser.'

Subscription model

Fans of Munns' baking club can choose from different baking subscription models which include a general baking club, bread baking club and a junior baking club for kids.

Subscriptions start from 8.25 per month and if customers choose the 12-month pre-paid option they benefit from free UK delivery.

Kits contain easy to follow recipes, dry ingredients, and extras like baking paper and a testing skewer.

Recipes are varied and include tasty creations like blackberry coconut crumble squares, chocolate orange Jaffa loafs and toffee apple drip cake.

Munns says running a subscription bakery business has its advantages. 'The reason we chose the subscription model is that we liked the idea of recurring revenue and the ability to market to customers.

'We don't do the same products for our subscribers that we sell in the retailers. So, it gave us a powerful way of building a customer base.'

Baking kits are also available in Tesco, Ocado, and Amazon. Munns says: 'About 50 per cent is direct to consumer and the other 50 per cent is brought in through these retailers.'

Fans of BakedIn can choose from different baking subscription models which include a general baking club, bread baking club and a junior baking club for kids

Partnership with Nestle

Traditionally, it's been BakedIn's mug cakes that have proved most popular as they're simple to create and just heated in a microwave.

But the last 12 months have also seen the company move toward bread making and its current best-selling product is the Soft Pretzel Kit, which retails for 2.50 through Tesco.

The business also lends itself well to collaborations with other brands. This month Munns's BakedIn joined forces with Nestle Carnation condensed milk to launch a new Millionaire's Shortbread limited edition baking kit.

It has a buttery shortbread base, layer of caramel and a rich chocolate topping and retails for 9.99 on BakedIn's website.

Munns says: 'We've always believed that innovation is key to driving growth and this launch is another way of delighting our ever-expanding customer community, to enrich their baking experiences.

'As a challenger business, to be partnering with a timeless brand like Carnation is a real milestone too.'

BakedIn has collaborated with Nestle Carnation to launch a new Millionaire's Shortbread limited edition baking kit.

Four-day week advocate

Many businesses are suffering staff shortages and the baking industry is no exception.

Just last month a Shropshire bakery that had been operating for 20 years had to close shop as it struggled to find staff, particularly delivery drivers, for 18 months.

But Munns believes he has an ace up his sleeve in attracting talent  the offer of a four-day working week.

BakedIn offers exclusive kits to subscribers but also sells kits in Tesco, Ocado and on Amazon

It's part of BakedIn's company culture and Munns claims it works well for the business, even with teams split between and office, factory, and distribution centre.

It's by no means a new concept  Iceland, Spain, New Zealand, and Scotland have all either contemplated or engaged in a pilot to see if dropping a working day is productive.

Munns says: 'As a start-up, the four-day working week is a great tool to attract great people (when perhaps you can't offer the highest rates of pay) and aligns with the brand's family-focused values.

'The four-day week remains a huge employee benefit - even as working from home has become more normalised - and boosts loyalty.'

He claims that BakedIn has exceptionally low staff turnover for the industry as a result: 'It also supports working parents and allows team members to pursue other creative projects and hobbies.

'It has been developed sustainably and is built on the foundation that a happy team makes a happy business and happy customers.'

Baking not always basic

While the business boomed in the pandemic, he has faced supply issues - including corrugated boxes.

During lockdown he felt it best that the company managed its own factory and controlled the production line, but it still meant halving the number of people working in it to comply with social distancing rules.

Christmas 2020 orders were also dramatically saved at the last minute when Munns found another printed corrugated box supplier after one of his larger suppliers let him down.

In a blog on LinkedIn Munns stresses the importance of forging local relationships: 'I have no doubt we could shave a few pennies off each box by importing them, but this just highlights to me the importance of genuine relationships in business.'

While local relationships and expansion within the UK is key, the aim is to introduce other markets to the baking kits.

The business has had some kits shipped off to Ireland and Australia, but the US is the next challenge.

Munns says: 'We want to significantly grow into the largest baking box subscription club and want to take it to the North American market, which has a positive view on British baking.

'We want to replicate our success there and over the medium term grow our factory and team size.

'We want to potentially expand into Europe, but we're waiting for things to settle down as logistics has been challenging.'
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Tillamook, OR (97141)

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Partly cloudy skies during the morning hours will give way to cloudy skies and rain in the afternoon. High 53F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%..

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Periods of rain. Low 44F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch.
Cresaptown, MD (21502)

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Sun and clouds mixed. A few flurries or snow showers possible. High 42F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph..

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Mainly clear. Low 26F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.
Barre, VT (05641)

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Rain showers this morning with some sunshine during the afternoon hours. Morning high of 44F with temps falling to near 35. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%..

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Carolyn Sue Bryant Ellis, 78, of Fort Walton Beach, FL, passed away on Sunday, October 24, 2021 at Somerby of Santa Rosa Beach, FL. Born March 15, 1943, at Dr. Daniel's Hospital in Pavo, Georgia, Carolyn was the youngest of nine children born to Franklin and Marie (Dailey) Bryant, of Route 2
Five protesters were killed on Saturday as huge crowds took to the streets in the Sudanese capital Khartoum and other cities to demonstrate against a military takeover, defying efforts by security forces to disperse them with tear gas and gunfire, witnesses and medics said.

The protests come two days after military leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan announced the formation of a new ruling council that excludes the civilian coalition the military had been sharing power with since 2019.

Sudanese pro-democracy groups condemned the move and vowed to continue their campaign of civil disobedience and protests against the Oct. 25 coup.

As protesters began to gather in the early afternoon around the capital, security forces moved quickly to try to disperse them, firing tear gas and chasing demonstrators down side streets to prevent them reaching central meeting points, witnesses said.

People were surprised that they fired the tear gas so early, said one protester in Omdurman across the Nile from central Khartoum, adding that demonstrators retreated, barricaded streets, and then reassembled.

Witnesses estimated the number of protesters around Khartoum to be in the tens of thousands, with large crowds in other cities bringing the total nationwide to hundreds of thousands.

The revolutionaries have nothing but peacefulness and are calling for democracy and bringing back civilian rule which was taken away by Burhan, said Mohamed Hamed, a protester in Khartoum.

During previous rallies, including on Oct. 30 when hundreds of thousands also turned out, security forces had waited until later in the day before trying to disperse protesters.

The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors, which is aligned with the protest movement, said demonstrations were facing excessive repression using all forms of force including live bullets in several areas of the capital Khartoum.

HOSPITAL STORMED

In Khartoum and its twin cities of Omdurman and Khartoum North four people were killed by live fire from security forces and one after suffocating from tear gas, the committee said. It said access to hospitals was difficult and that security forces had stormed Al Arbaeen hospital in Omdurman, beating medical staff and arresting injured protesters.

Sudanese police said in a statement they did not use firearms during the protests, which they said began peacefully but went off track. Some 39 policemen were injured and stations were attacked, they said.

There was no immediate comment from the military, but Burhan has previously said peaceful protests are allowed and the military does not kill protesters.

In Wad Madani, south-east of Khartoum, large crowds gathered, chanting slogans including: Down, down with military rule, a witness told Reuters. Protesters in other cities, including Al Gadarif and Kosti, were also met with tear gas, witnesses said.

The military takeover upended a transition towards democracy that began after the uprising that toppled autocrat Omar al-Bashir in April 2019. Security forces detained senior officials appointed under a power-sharing arrangement between the military and civilian groups and Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok was placed under house arrest.

On Saturday, protesters carried pictures of Hamdok, now a symbol of resistance to military rule, while chanting against Burhan and his deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

INTERNET CUT

Mobile internet services have remained cut in Sudan since the coup, despite a court order to restore them, and phone coverage has been disrupted, complicating efforts by the protest movement.

However, local resistance committees energised by the nomination of the new ruling Sovereign Council used flyers and organised smaller neighbourhood protests in recent days.

Despite widespread opposition from political groups in Sudan and pressure from Western powers that backed the transition, Burhan has pushed to consolidate the militarys position. read more Burhan has denied staging a coup, saying the army moved to correct the transitionand accusing civilian groups of inciting unrest.

Malik Agar, one of three rebel leaders named in the Sovereign Council, whose position on the military takeover had been unclear, told Sky News Arabia on Saturday that he considered it a coup and that it faced many challenges.

Western states and the World Bank have suspended economic assistance designed to help pull Sudan out of decades of isolation and a deep economic crisis.

The United States and other Western powers expressed grave concern at Burhans appointment of the ruling Sovereign Council and warned against unilateral action.

Reacting to Saturdays rallies, the U.S. mission in Khartoum said: The U.S. Embassy deeply regrets the loss of life and injuries of dozens of Sudanese citizens demonstrating today for freedom and democracy, and condemns the excessive use of force.

SOURCE: REUTERS
Togolese security forces repulsed an attack this week by unidentified armed men who had crossed its northern border with Burkina Faso, the government said on Friday, the first possible spillover of Islamist militant violence into Togo.

It said the attackers targeted a security outpost in Kpendjal prefecture overnight on Tuesday and were pushed back into Burkina Faso without any Togolese casualties.

The clash is the first of its kind since the military launched an operation in 2018 to prevent jihadist insurgents linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic State entering from Burkina Faso, where their attacks have killed thousands and displaced 1.2 million people in recent years.

President Faure Gnassingbe responded to the attack by instructing the government to continue investing in the security forces to strengthen the capabilities of the Togolese army.

Islamist violence has ravaged Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger in West Africas Central Sahel region north of Togo.

Despite a costly international military response, the number of attacks in the region increased eightfold from 2015 to 2020 with 5.5 million people displaced, the U.N. humanitarian agency says.

SOURCE: REUTERS
ALBANY  Andrew Cuomo, a man who was once governor of this state, does not know "Do You Love Me?" by The Contours. Or so he claimed in newly released testimony.

Given that there's a recorded tape of the former governor crooning the song in a phone call to Charlotte Bennett, one of the women who has accused him of sexual harassment, it's fair to believe he was, you know, lying. But that was Cuomo's story, and he was sticking to it.

"I don't even know that song," he said.

"You dont know that  you dont know the 'do you love me'? asked an incredulous Joon Kim, the investigator conducting the interview.

"Do another verse," replied Cuomo, who also claimed not to know "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen.

Cuomo attorney Rita Glavin demanded the release of transcripts for months, and she had a point. The public has a right to see what the former governor and his accusers said as the office of Attorney General Letitia James investigated sexual harassment claims that led to a damning report and Cuomo's resignation.

And yet when they were at last released Wednesday, Glavin reacted with outrage, claiming James was "spreading false and salacious hearsay and rumors."

It's easy to suspect Glavin is having a blast riding this roller-coaster of her own creation, enjoying every sharp turn, loop-de-loop and illogical reversal. What fun it must be to give everyone whiplash, especially while being paid lavishly from Cuomos $18 million "campaign" fund.

But its also possible Glavin quickly realized demanding the release of transcripts was a mistake. Turns out, they werent so flattering to the boss.

After all, they revealed that his accusers largely answered questions directly and without hesitation, while Cuomos testimony at times devolved into a tetchy wrangling that evoked the cringeworthy evasions of Bill Clinton.

Remember when Clinton, questioned about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky, mused about the definition of is? Well, with Cuomo we got haggling over words such as girlfriend, date and even, um, butt.

"You dont remember ever touching any woman on the butt?" Kim asked.

"Right," said Cuomo.

"Does that include any area near the  near the butt?"

"Could you define near the butt?" Glavin asked.

"Do you understand where a humans butt is?" responded Kim, his exasperation all but jumping off the page. "And anywhere near there?"

"Well," replied Cuomo, "near the butt now becomes a more expansive area."

And so it went for 11 hours, resulting in 515 pages of transcript.

The former governor also flatly denied behaving inappropriately with women, said he had never had a physical relationship with any staffer, and added the following about Brittany Commissos claim that he groped her at the governors mansion:

"I would have to lose my mind to do some  such a thing. It would be an act of insanity to touch a womans breast and make myself vulnerable to a woman for such an accusation."

The testimony from accusers painted a different picture. On those pages, the former governor is portrayed as a creep, at best, who abused his subordinates and crashed through boundaries no boss should cross.

Yet some of the most damaging testimony had nothing to do with sexual harassment, centering instead on how poorly Cuomo ran the government.

Largely overlooked in Wednesdays release was a transcript from a Health Department doctor who was infamously told by Cuomo, when she appeared at a televised press conference to give him a COVID test, that she made "that gown look good."

And that was the governors second inappropriate remark of the day, the doctor testified. "Gentle but accurate, I heard that before," Cuomo allegedly said during a practice run of the swabbing.

The doctor didnt appreciate either comment, of course. Neither did her husband, who subsequently and understandably requested she never be alone with the governor.

But away from the topic of harassment, the doctor described a dysfunctional, demoralized Health Department undermined, as the pandemic raged, by Cuomos threats and slippery ethics.

She detailed, for example, how test results from the Wadsworth Center lab improperly went to the governors office instead of to doctors and local health officials, causing a slowdown that dulled the departments pandemic response.

The doctor, a medical director in the division of epidemiology, also said Cuomo, in an apparent bit of spite, barred her colleagues from working with the New York City Health Department, even though collaboration "is a critical component in an outbreak response." The ban, she added, "hindered our ability to perform our jobs."

And though she wasnt involved with nursing homes, the doctor knew colleagues who "had concerns about data that wasnt being released" and considered "writing up a paper that they said would never see the light of day."

That almost certainly is a reference to Cuomos hiding of some COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes, otherwise known as the damning scandal that preceded the one over sexual harassment allegations.

Not surprisingly, many of the doctors supervisors resigned in frustration, she said, as she herself eventually did late last year. The work environment was "toxic" and "unprofessional," she said, echoing words heard again and again during Cuomos time in office.

All and all, her testimony is a reminder, lest anyone has forgotten, that Andrew Cuomo was just bad at being governor, regardless of whether he lied about a song.

cchurchill@timesunion.com  518-454-5442  @chris_churchill
Courtesy Brunette

Kingston and the broader Hudson Valley community mourn the passing of Tracy Kennard, who formerly owned Brunette wine bar in the Roundout district with her husband, Jamie. Kennard passed away on Thursday, Nov. 11. She was 47.

Kennard was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal carcinoma, a form of cancer in the neck and head, in 2019. In 2020 she and her husband sold Brunette  the wine bar itself, located at 33 Broadway in Kingston, as well as all of the bars branding and identity  to new owners, Maxwell Botwick and Jessie Harris. Kennard continued working for her brand strategy consulting company, Kennard & Daughters.
ARDMORE, Okla. (AP)  Two former Oklahoma police officers face up to 10 years in prison after being convicted of murder for using their stun guns more than 50 times on an unarmed man who later died.

A Carter County jury last week convicted former Wilson police officers Brandon Dingman, 35, and Joshua Taylor, 27, of second-degree murder and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. They each face up to 10 years in prison when theyre formally sentenced next month.

Taylor's attorney, Warren Gotcher, said he was extremely disappointed" with the verdict.

We obviously hope an appeal will correct this injustice," Gotcher said.

Dingman's attorney didnt immediately respond Friday to messages seeking comment.

Court documents said on July 4, 2019, the two officers used their stun guns on 28-year-old Jared Lakey more than 50 times, which was a substantial factor in Lakeys death. Lakey died two days later.

Taylor and Dingman had come into contact with Lakey after responding to a call that he was acting in a disorderly way, according to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, which investigated Lakey's death. The agency said that when Lakey wouldnt comply with the officers commands, they used their stun guns.

A deputy with the Carter County sheriffs office eventually responded to the scene and helped get Lakey into custody. OSBI said that shortly after that, Lakey stopped breathing and became unresponsive. He was taken to the hospital.

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An attorney for Lakey's family, J. Spencer Bryan, said the family was pleased with the jury's verdict.

The Lakey family is grateful to the jury and the district attorney for the convictions, but the risk to the public remains because these officers didnt violate their policy or training," Bryan said in a statement. The Wilson police chief testified that Jareds torture was consistent with policy, which is how Wilson has decided to police the community."

A telephone message left Friday for Wilson Police Chief Kevin Coley wasn't immediately returned.

Lakey's family has filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Wilson, the two officers, the Carter County Sheriff's Office and one of its deputies and the City of Lone Grove and one of its police officers who responded to the call, Bryan said.

Wilson is located about 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Oklahoma City.
RENSSELAER  The counting of 129 absentee ballots in the city mayoral race between Republican incumbent Mayor Michael Stammel and Democrat Richard Mooney, a former mayor, is on hold for a week after both sides filed a lawsuit over which ballots to count, according to the Rensselaer County Board of Elections.

Republican Elections Commissioner Jason Schofield said late Friday afternoon that the count is halted until the state Supreme Court acts on orders to show cause from both candidates campaigns. The court showdown, Schofield said, also impacts the counting of ballots in the Common Council races and for the citys seat on the Rensselaer County Legislature.
BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP)  A police officer testified Friday he planned to give Ahmaud Arbery a trespass warning for repeatedly entering a home under construction before the 25-year-old Black man was chased and shot dead by neighbors who spotted him running from the property.

Glynn County police Officer Robert Rash said he spoke several times to the house's owner, who sent him videos showing Arbery visiting the site several times between Oct. 25, 2019, and Feb. 23, 2020  the day Arbery was killed at the end of a five-minute chase by white men in pickup trucks.

Rash said he had been looking for Arbery, whose identity was unknown at the time, to tell him to keep away from the unfinished home. He said police had a standard protocol for handling people caught trespassing  a misdemeanor under Georgia law.

Once we make contact with the person on the property, we explain to them the homeowner does not want them there, they have no legal reason to be there, Rash said. He added: "I explain to that person, if you ever come back onto this property for any reason, you will be arrested.

Arbery was killed before the officer could find him.

Father and son Greg and Travis McMichael armed themselves and pursued Arbery in a truck after he ran past their home five doors down from the construction site on a Sunday afternoon. A neighbor, William Roddie Bryan, 52, joined the chase in his own truck and took cellphone video of Travis McMichael shooting Arbery three times with a shotgun.

More than two months passed before the three men were arrested on murder and other charges, after the graphic video leaked online and deepened a national reckoning over racial injustice.

All three men are standing trial at the Glynn County courthouse in coastal Brunswick. Defense attorneys say the men reasonably suspected Arbery was a burglar and were trying to hold him for police. They say Travis McMichael, 35, fired his gun in self-defense when Arbery attacked with his fists.

Larry English, who owns the unfinished home, has said there was no evidence Arbery stole anything from the site. Still, he said he was concerned that the same person kept coming in the house after dark.

A patrol officer assigned to the neighborhood, Rash said he was trying to track down the young man with tattoos and short twists in his hair who had been recorded inside English's house. He shared the clips with neighbors, including Greg McMichael, 65.

Rash said he shared Greg McMichael's phone number with English in a text message that noted Greg McMichael was a former police officer and retired investigator for the local district attorney. He said it was Greg McMichael's idea to let English know he could help watch the property.

Did you deputize Greg McMichael? Did you give him any authority as a police officer? prosecutor Linda Dunikoski asked Rash.

No ma'am, the officer replied, saying he never intended for Greg McMichael to do anything other than call police if the man was spotted inside the house again.

Greg has training and experience," Rash said. He in my opinion would be an expert witness to be on the phone with 911."

On Feb. 11, 2020, less than two weeks before Arbery was killed, Rash was again dispatched to the neighborhood after Travis McMichael called 911 and reported seeing the same man outside the unfinished home  and telling dispatchers the man reached for his pocket as if he had a gun.

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The jury saw Rash's body camera video, which shows him entering the home with a flashlight and his gun drawn. Rash said Travis McMichael's report that the man could be armed made him more of a potential threat.

So this was a different situation," said Robert Rubin, one of Travis McMichael's attorneys. "You're going into a house with a man who might have a gun.

Defense attorneys contend the McMichaels were justified in arming themselves before chasing Arbery because they feared he might have a gun. Police determined after the shooting that Arbery was unarmed.

When the Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the case involving Arbery's death in May, Bryan gave interviews to GBI Agent Jason Seacrist and rode in the agent's car to retrace the route of the deadly chase.

Seacrist testified Friday that Bryan backed away from statements he'd made to local police that he used his truck to run Arbery off the road. He said Bryan told him that he wanted to take a cellphone photo of the running man to show police.

I figured if I slowed down and got a picture, maybe something would happen in the end rather than him just getting away and the cops not knowing who he was, Bryan said, according to an interview transcript Seacrist read in court.

Seacrist said he asked Bryan why police would need a photo of Arbery, and Bryan replied: I figured he had done something wrong. I didnt know for sure.

Bryan's attorney, Kevin Gough, noted that Seacrist had told Bryan at the time of their interviews that he was a witness in the case. The agent testified that Bryan wasn't under arrest at the time and had been told he was free to leave and stop talking at any time.
QUITO, Ecuador (AP)  A prolonged gunbattle between rival gangs inside Ecuadors largest prison killed at least 68 inmates and wounded 25 on Saturday, while authorities said it took most of the day to regain control at the Litoral Penitentiary, which recently saw the countrys worst prison bloodbath.

The killing erupted before dawn at the prison in the coastal city of Guayaquil in what officials said was the latest outbreak of fighting among prison gangs linked to international drug cartels. Videos circulating on social media showed bodies, some burned, lying on the ground inside the prison.

The shooting lasted around eight hours, officials said, and then new clashes were reported in part of the prison in the afternoon.

Presidential spokesman Carlos Jijon finally announced after nightfall that the situation is controlled throughout the penitentiary. He said about 900 police officers had taken control of the situation.

In the initial fighting, inmates tried to dynamite a wall to get into Pavilion 2 to carry out a massacre. They also burned mattresses to try to to drown (their rivals) in smoke, said the governor of Guayas province, Pablo Arosemena.

We are fighting against drug trafficking, Arosemena said. It is very hard.

The bloodshed came less than two months after fighting among gangs killed 119 people at the prison, which houses more than 8,000 inmates.

Police commander Gen. Tanya Varela said early in the day that drones flown over the chaos revealed that inmates in three pavilions were armed with guns and explosives. Authorities have said that weapons and ammunition are smuggled into prisoners through vehicles that deliver supplies and sometimes by drones.

The prison violence comes amid a national state of emergency decreed by President Guillermo Lasso in October that empowers security forces to fight drug trafficking and other crimes.

On Saturday, Lasso tweeted that the first right that we should guarantee should be the right to life and liberty, which isn't possible if security forces can't act to protect. He was referring the Constitutional Court's recent refusal to allow the military into prisons despite the state of emergency. Soldiers are currently outside the Litoral.

Ecuadors penitentiaries are seeing a wave of brutal violence.

The bloody fighting inside Litoral prison that killed 119 inmates in late September was described by authorities as the South American countrys worst ever prison massacre. Officials said at least five of the dead were beheaded. Last February, 79 inmates were killed in simultaneous riots in various prisons. So far this year, more than 300 prisoners have died in clashes in penitentiaries across Ecuador.

Outside the prison, relatives of inmates gathered for news of their loved ones.

Enough of this. When will they stop the killing? This is a prison not a slaughterhouse, they are human beings, said Francisca Chancay, whose brother has been in the prison for eight months.

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Some called for Ecuadors military to take control of the prisons.

What is Lasso waiting for? That there are more deaths? said Maritza Vera, whose son is an inmate. Have mercy, where are the human rights. We thought this was going to change, but its worse.

Ecuador has about 40,000 inmates in its penitentiary system, which is far above the capacity of 30,000. Of this total, 15,000 have not been sentenced.

Arosemena said authorities in Ecuador will deal with the prison overcrowding by granting pardons, relocating inmates and transferring some foreign inmates back to their homelands.

There will be more than 1,000 pardons, but this is part of a process," he said.

The Guayas governor also said Ecuador will receive international aid from countries like Colombia, the United States, Israel and Spain to deal with the crisis in its prisons. The aid will be in resources and logistics.

For example, installing a freight scanner in the Guayaquil Penitentiary to avoid the entry of arms costs $4 million, said Arosemena.

Vera said the situation is making the families of inmates desperate.

I feel sad and in anguish because there is too much death, Vera said.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The Gulf nation of Qatar has agreed to represent the United States in Taliban-run Afghanistan following the closure of the American Embassy in Kabul and withdrawal of all U.S. forces from the country in late August.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Qatari counterpart, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, announced Friday that Qatar will serve as the U.S. protecting power in Afghanistan. The announcement is a clear indication the Biden administration doesnt intend to re-open the embassy anytime soon after bringing America's longest-running war to an end after 20 years.

Blinken, meanwhile, said the U.S. has offered the opportunity to leave Afghanistan to all American citizens it has identified as remaining in the country who wish to depart and have appropriate travel documents. He and al-Thani also signed an agreement formalizing Qatar's role as a main transit hub for evacuees.

The protecting power agreement means Qatar will set up a U.S. interests section within its own embassy in Kabul to handle consular services for American citizens in Afghanistan, deal with routine official communications between Washington and the Taliban government, and assume responsibility for the protection of now-vacated U.S. diplomatic facilities there.

Shortly after the deal was signed, al-Thani told The Associated Press in an interview that Qatar took its obligations seriously and would add staff to its Kabul embassy to handle the increased workload.

Given the Afghan situation, it isn't going to be an easy job," he said. "The situation in Afghanistan overall is a complicated situation. So definitely, there are a lot of complicated issues that need to be worked out and need to be settled.

The U.S. has numerous protecting power arrangements in countries where it does not have a diplomatic presence. Those notably include Switzerland in Iran, Sweden in North Korea and the Czech Republic in Syria.

Qatar has been a key player in discussions between the Taliban and the United States for many years. It hosted months of U.S.-Taliban peace talks and has since been critical to the evacuation of American citizens and others from Afghanistan. Roughly half the people who have left the country have transited through Qatar.

On the evacuation of American citizens and U.S. green card holders from Afghanistan, Blinken said that all of those who had expressed interest in leaving and had proper documentation had been given the opportunity to depart.

As of Nov. 10, all U.S. citizens who have requested assistance from the United States government to depart and who weve identified as being prepared to depart, having the necessary travel documents, have been offered an opportunity to do so, he said.

There was no way to independently confirm this and the administration has been heavily criticized for the chaotic nature of the withdrawal. It has also been accused of leaving thousands of Americans, green card holders, their families and at-risk Afghans behind.

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Several hundred Americans are reported to still be in Afghanistan, though not all have indicated they want to leave, Biden administration officials have said.

Friday's agreement formalizing Qatar as the main transit hub for those fleeing Afghanistan is intended to regularize the standards for the arrival and processing of evacuees as they make their way to other destinations, al-Thani told The AP.

We need to make sure thats regulated and governed and properly, he said. Its very important for us to do the proper vetting and security processes in order to ensure that we dont end up with the wrong people in our countries.

But some humanitarian groups have complained that stringent entry requirements in transit countries like Qatar put the most at-risk Afghans in further peril as they are unable to get proper travel documentation from Taliban authorities.

Al-Thani said Qatar would continue to facilitate evacuations through charter flights on its state-run Qatar Airways. "We will continue to be an instrument of peace and stability in the region," he said.
SARATOGA SPRINGS  About 4,900 part-time and full-time Stewart's Shops employees got a hefty "thank you" this week  bonuses that in some cases are equal to a week's worth of pay.

The employees, or "partners," received the week-sized checks, while those who started after September 2021 got a $100 check, the company said Friday.

The bonuses show gratitude for their commitment during the pandemic, Stewart's said in a statement. The bonuses total $2.8 million.

Our committed Partners and vertical integration allowed us to keep our shops open and provide essential food and fuel," Stewart's President Gary Dake said. "We cant thank our Partners and customers enough for their patience, cooperation and following of strict COVID protocols throughout the pandemic. This bonus is our way of sharing our success and saying thank you to all of our Partners."

Stewarts Shops provides an employee stock ownership plan and benefits package. This bonus was extended to all active Stewarts Shops workers not just those with ESOP eligibility, the longtime Saratoga County-based convenience store chain said.

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Employee stock ownership plan participants also receive paid maternity leave, half-priced YMCA fitness and day care memberships. Dependents are eligible for college scholarships, and the company says it provides $300,000 in college scholarships annually.

Stewarts Shops said it has positions available at its shops, plant, and corporate office and those interested can see the careers page for more information. There are over 350 Stewarts Shops in 32 counties across upstate New York and southern Vermont.
ALBANY  When voters went to the polls Nov. 2, it was unclear who'd funded $3 million in advertisements seeking the defeat of three proposed constitutional amendments in New York. All three amendments  put forward by Democrats in the state Legislature and seeking to reshape the redistricting process and expand voting rights  ended up failing following the barrage of radio and television ads.

The funding question was answered this week, when the state Conservative Party belatedly disclosed that the money for its ads came largely from a single source: billionaire cosmetics heir Ronald Lauder, who donated $4.15 million to the party in recent months.

This week, the Conservative Party's campaign "housekeeping" account submitted two filings with the state Board of Elections, disclosing its donors and spending in recent months. Lauder's donations included two in October totaling $4 million, and his donations accounted for the vast majority of the $4.2 million in donations disclosed by the party.

Last week, the Times Union had raised questions about whether it was legal for the Conservative Party to spend against the three proposed constitutional amendments through a political party housekeeping account. Normally, committees formed to support or oppose ballot questions must disclose donors before an election, but a housekeeping account faces less frequent disclosure requirements. Conservative Party Chairman Gerald Kassar said last week that spending through the housekeeping account was legal, and that the donors didn't need to be disclosed until January.

Ballot propositions do not fall into the realm of the election or defeat of a candidate, they fall more into the realm of free speech, Kassar said. I think it was a Supreme Court decision; I think this comes under various rulings over the years.

But the state Board of Elections told the Times Union last week that the spending mechanism was being examined by staff, and that the Conservative Party might need to make additional disclosures.

According to state Election Law, a housekeeping account can be used to maintain a permanent headquarters and staff for a party, and carry on "ordinary activities" which are "not for the express purpose of promoting the candidacy of specific candidates. It was not clear whether the ballot question spending fell into the category of "ordinary activities."

Lauder, a businessman, philanthropist and conservative political activist, is one of two heirs to the Estee Lauder cosmetics company, founded by his parents. His political spending in New York is not new: In 2020, Lauder spent millions seeking to defeat Democratic members of the state Senate. That year's effort was unsuccessful, with Senate Democrats instead gaining a legislative supermajority.

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Housekeeping accounts are a long-controversial vehicle in Election Law. They can take in uncapped campaign donations and engage in unlimited spending. Housekeeping accounts allow donors to remain unknown past Election Day.

State Senate Democrats also used money to try and counter the opposition to the measures, spending $327,000 through a housekeeping account to support the three ballot questions, a spokesman confirmed last week. Unlike the Conservative Party, the Senate Democrats' housekeeping account had not made any filings disclosing new donors or spending as of Friday, according to the Board of Elections website. Last week, Senate Democrats also stated they believed the housekeeping spending on ballot questions was legal.

Propositions 1, 3 and 4, which would have altered the states redistricting process and allowed same-day voter registration as well as no-excuse absentee ballots, were all defeated.

Notably, the state Democratic Party did not spend anything this year to support the ballot questions, one factor taking blame for the losses.
When a man is described as a defender of the Christian faith, what can easily spring to mind is the image of a strident, militant and armed zealot, the type that went on crusades against heathen tribes a millennium ago. But the man that actor David Payne is talking about is C.S. Lewis whose only weapon was the written word.

Payne takes on the persona of the great British author in An Evening with C.S. Lewis on Sunday afternoon at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall. In the one-man play, which Payne has performed more than 1,000 times over the last 20 years, an elderly Lewis is visited in his home in Oxford by a group of American writers who are eager to hear him expound on his rich life, including the close friendship with J.R.R. Tolkien, and his abiding faith. Along with his many writings on Christianity, Lewis is mostly widely remembered for his seven-book fantasy series The Chronicles of Narnia, an evergreen favorite thats been adapted for film, television and even video games.

He was a Christian apologist, which means he was a defender of the faith, explains Payne. He refuted being called a theologian. Apologist is the right word.

Lewis was baptized in the Church of Ireland but became an atheist in his mid-teens. After re-embracing his faith and joining the Anglican church as an adult, he delivered a series of talks about faith on BBC radio during World War II. They were well received by Londoners who heard them as their city was under siege. The talks were published in the 1952 collection Mere Christianity.

In the essays, Lewis avoids theological disputes and sectarian conflicts in order to focus on shared ethical principles. He didnt want it associated with any denomination and got very disappointed if any church, Anglican or Catholic or others, tried to embrace the book as an endorsement. Thats why its named Mere Christianity, says Payne. He would not feel very comfortable around evangelicals today. He had a very broad view of Christianity.

Paynes first exposure to Lewis came when he was 17 years old and received a copy of The Screwtape Letters. The 1942 novel is in the form of letters between two demons who discuss ways to lure into temptation a particular soul on earth. In a remarkable coincidence, during his concert last month at the Music Hall the mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile spoke of Lewis and The Screwtape Letters as a point of departure for his recent composition Salt (in the wounds) of the Earth.

Paynes second encounter with Lewis came much later and was far more intimate. The year was 1995 and he was in Nashville on business when he saw a flyer for auditions for a new play. The statement British accents help caught his fancy. I was born in London, so I wanted to see if it could put it to use and I might get a small part, Payne recalls. I won the lead role though Id never been onstage before.

That play grew out of Lewis book Grief Observed, which was written after the death of his American-born wife, who died of cancer just a few years into their marriage. The stage adaptation was such a success that it prompted audience members to clamor for more about the rest of Lewis life. We thought wouldnt it be fun if he answers these question himself, says Payne.

One of the most popular topics of inquiry has been Lewis friendship with Tolkien. The two were members of a writing group, the Inklings, and regularly shared drafts of their work. Lewis heard or read the entirety of the Lord of the Rings trilogy as it was being written. When Tolkien had qualms about whether it was good enough for publication, Lewis was there to convince him that it was indeed worthy.

Whether it was a writing seminar or a confidential discussion of faith, Lewis brought a refreshing sense of humor to the proceedings. He was a great raconteur and they says his lectures were wonderful. He couldnt be in a room more than five minutes without hoots of laughter, says Payne. People will be surprised at how much they laugh during our show.

Payne says that Lewis is never directly quoted in An Evening with... but the intellect and spirit of the man comes through. We tried to paraphrase what he wanted to say and deliver an experience of what it was like to meet him, says Payne.

The best indication that the play succeeds at bringing the author to life is the many times audience members meet Payne after a performance and speak to him as if he is C.S. Lewis in the flesh. People come up to me and thank me for writing the books, says Payne with a laugh.

Those remarks from the public also illustrate the high regard and deep appreciation readers have for Lewis work. The great thing for me is that I can go onstage and play a man who is worth playing, says Lewis.

Joseph Dalton is a freelance writer based in Troy.
Hungary could face fines from the European Union for failing to comply with a ruling by the blocs top court on its treatment of refugees and handling of asylum claims
The late stages of Kyle Rittenhouses murder trial in the shooting of three men highlighted the U.S. legal systems constant debate over forensic technologies, even fundamental ideas taken for granted outside the courtroom
An overhead gondola would connect the downtowns of Kansas City, Kansas, and Kansas City, Missouri, under a proposal that a planning official is touting
David Temple goes around the second-floor classroom at Carnegie Elementary School bouncing from student to student as he examines their homework
[November 12, 2021] KBRA Assigns Preliminary Ratings to PEAR 2021-1

Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) assigns preliminary ratings to two classes of notes issued by PEAR 2021-1, LLC, a litigation finance ABS (News - Alert) transaction. The PEAR 2021-1, LLC transaction represents Golden Pear Funding OpCo, LLC's ("Golden Pear") second ABS collateralized by litigation finance receivables. Golden Pear is a litigation finance company that conducts business throughout the U.S. but is concentrated primarily in the New York area. As of June 30, 2021, the company, including originations of predecessor company Golden Pear Funding, LLC, has funded over $710 million in aggregate advances dating back to 2008. The portfolio securing the transaction has an aggregate discounted receivable balance ("ADPB") of approximately $145 million as of the October 13, 2021 cutoff date. The ADPB is the aggregate discounted cash flows of the collections associated with the PEAR 2021-1, LLC portfolio's litigation funding receivables ("Receivables"). As of the cutoff date, the Receivables comprise pre-settlement litigation funding receivables. No post-settlement advances or medical lien receivables are included in the pool. The Receivables have an average advance to expected settlement case value of approximately 14%. Click here to view the report. To access ratings and relevant documents, click here. Related Publications General Global Rating Methodology for Asset-Backed Securities

Global Structured Finance Counterparty Methodology

ESG Global Rating Methodology



Disclosures Further information on key credit considerations, sensitivity analyses that consider what factors can affect these credit ratings and how they could lead to an upgrade or a downgrade, and ESG factors (where they are a key driver behind the change to the credit rating or rating outlook) can be found in the full rating report referenced above.

A description of all substantially material sources that were used to prepare the credit rating and information on the methodology(ies) (inclusive of any material models and sensitivity analyses of the relevant key rating assumptions, as applicable) used in determining the credit rating is available in the Information Disclosure Form(s) located here. Information on the meaning of each rating category can be located here. Further disclosures relating to this rating action are available in the Information Disclosure Form(s) referenced above. Additional information regarding KBRA policies, methodologies, rating scales and disclosures are available at www.kbra.com. About KBRA Kroll Bond Rating Agency, LLC (KBRA) is a full-service credit rating agency registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as an NRSRO. Kroll Bond Rating Agency Europe Limited is registered as a CRA with the European Securities and Markets Authority. Kroll Bond Rating Agency UK Limited is registered as a CRA with the UK Financial Conduct Authority pursuant to the Temporary Registration Regime. In addition, KBRA is designated as a designated rating organization by the Ontario Securities Commission for issuers of asset-backed securities to file a short form prospectus or shelf prospectus. KBRA is also recognized by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners as a Credit Rating Provider. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211112005906/en/

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[November 12, 2021] BOSTON BEER 72 HOUR DEADLINE ALERT: Former Louisiana Attorney General and Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Remind Investors With Losses in Excess of $100,000 of Deadline in Class Action Lawsuits Against the Boston Beer Company, Inc. - SAM

Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") and KSF partner, the former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors that they have until November 15, 2021 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE: SAM), if they purchased the Company's securities between April 22, 2021 and September 8, 2021, inclusive (the "Class Period"). These actions are pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. What You May Do If you purchased securities of Boston Beer and would like to discuss your legal rights and how these cases might affect you and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or via email ([email protected]), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-sam/ to learn more. If you wish to serve a a lead plaintiff in these class actions by overseeing lead counsel with the goal of obtaining a fair and just resolution, you must request this position by application to the Court by November 15, 2021.



About the Lawsuits Boston Beer and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.

On July 22, 2021, post-market, the Company disclosed a reduced full year 2021 guidance, from a prior range of earnings per share of between $22 and $26 to between $18 and $22 due to softer-than-expected sales in the hard seltzer category and overall beer industry and also that it had "overestimated the growth of the hard seltzer category in the second quarter." On this news, the Company's share price fell $246.54, or 26%, to close at $701.00 per share on July 23, 2021, on unusually heavy trading volume. On September 8, 2021, post-market, the Company withdrew its 2021 financial guidance due decelerating sales of hard seltzer products, and also stated that it "expects to incur hard seltzer-related inventory write-offs, shortfall fees payable to 3rd party brewers, and other costs" for the remainder of fiscal 2021. On this news, the Company's share price fell $21.09, or 3.7%, to close at $538.31 per share on September 9, 2021, on unusually heavy trading volume. The first-filed case is Siegel v. The Boston Beer Company, Inc., et al., 21-cv-7693. 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, Louisiana and New Jersey. To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211112005914/en/

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[November 12, 2021] Minister of State for Communication Devusinh Chauhan inaugurates VVDN's new Die Casting Facility

SAN JOSE, Calif., Nov. 13, 2021 /CNW/ -- VVDN Technologies is India's premier electronics engineering and manufacturing company. Hon'ble Minister of State for Communications, Shri Devusinh Chauhan visited its premises in Manesar on 12th November, 2021. He visited VVDN's Experience center, 5G mobile communications lab, Mechanical tooling Park 1 & 2. During the visit, he also successfully made a 5G video call from VVDN's 5G lab to Hon'ble Minister of Telecommunications & IT and Railways, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, which is unique in the sense that the call has been made from indigenous 5G telecommunications equipment. Hon'ble Minister of State stated that our Hon'ble PM, Shri Narendra Modi ji has pledged to make India self-reliant in every field including that of telecommunications. VVDN has shown its intent and capabilities in making India a truly Atma Nirbhar not only in telecommunications but also in other areas. He congratulated the entire team of VVDN for its stellar achievements. He further said that the Modi Government will take all necessary steps to support such endeavors. Recent telecom reforms, PLI policy and PMI policy of Department Telecommunications are among several of such initiatives. VVDN continues its expansion by opening a new Die Casting facility in Manesar, Haryana. This new facility was also inaugurated by the Hon'ble Minister of State today. The announcement comes as part of the company's plans to further strengthen its engineering and manufacturing capabilities by adding to its existing infrastructure. With VVDN continuing its expansion and growth, the new 'State of the Art' facility is in addition to an already existing 4 manufacturing facilities in Manesar. Spread across 45,000 sq ft., VVDN's new Die Casting facility is one its kind in India which has been setup with heavy investment on best-in-class machines. VVDN now has a complete infrastructure - SMT, Mold Making, Injection Molding, Die Casting, Product Assembly, and is fully equipped to do the complete end-to-end design and manufacturing of Telecom products including 5G Radios, Massive MIMO, Access Points, Routers, Servers, etc.  major-breakthrough for a true MAKE IN INDIA product.



The Minister was also impressed with VVDN's efforts towards women empowerment and congratulated the company for having women from all over the country working at various levels and making a significant contribution. Puneet Agarwal, CEO and Co-Founder  VVDN Technologies said, "VVDN Technologies has always been a promoter of Electronics Products 'Design and Make in India which is in line with the vision of Hon'ble Prime Minister of India of making Bharat 'Atmanirbhar'. Visit of Hon'ble Minister of State for Communication in the premise of VVDN is a badge of honor for VVDN. His visit has not only further inspired us but has also infused a new energy in entire VVDN family to scale new heights. It also shows the commitment of Modi Government that Minister of State for communications himself has come to encourage indigenous manufacturing of products in the area of 5G mobile communications. The new Die Casting facility is also part of 'atmanirbhar bharat' endeavour of VVDN which enhances our manufacturing capabilities and allows us to do complex designs in faster time and lower cost. With a complete in-house set up, VVDN will be able to meet the ever-growing business demands of its customers globally."

Recently, VVDN has been approved by the Govt. of India under multiple Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes IT Hardware, Telecom and Network equipment manufacturing and White Goods manufacturing. About VVDN Technologies: VVDN is a Product Engineering & Manufacturing company focused on designing & manufacturing end-to-end products across several technology vertical markets (5G, Data Center, Vision, Networking and Wi-Fi, IoT, Cloud & Apps). VVDN's India HQ is located at Gurgaon, India and its North America HQ's is located in San Jose, CA, USA. VVDN serves global customers across several regions including US, Canada, Europe, India, Vietnam, Korea, and Japan. VVDN has 10 advanced Product Engineering Centers in India, which are fully equipped to design & test the complete hardware & software required to develop a complete product or solution. VVDN's 5 Manufacturing facilities are located at Manesar, Gurgaon, India which includes in-house best-in-class SMT Factory, Molding & Tooling Factory, Die Casting, Product Assembly Factory, and Product Certifications labs. VVDN's Engineering & Manufacturing facilities are fully complied to develop & manufacture Enterprise, Consumer, Industrial, and Automotive-grade products. Visit www.vvdntech.com for more information. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1687280/VVDN_Inauguration.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1531036/VVDN_Technologies_Logo.jpg View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/minister-of-state-for-communication-devusinh-chauhan-inaugurates-vvdns-new-die-casting-facility-301423221.html SOURCE VVDN Technologies

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[November 13, 2021] ACIA Aero Leasing Expands Partnership with Bestfly Worldwide

ACIA Aero Leasing ("ACIA"), a leading provider of regional aircraft leasing and lease management services, announced today the expansion of its partnership with Angola-based Bestfly Worldwide ("Bestfly") during a media event held ahead of Dubai Airshow 2021. The companies agreed to the lease of two aircraft, one Embraer E-190 and one ATR 72-600, which are joining the other two ATR72-600s on lease from ACIA in the carrier's fleet. ACIA and Bestfly also agreed to further expand the E-190 lease portfolio in 2022. "Over the last five years, Bestfly has continued to grow into a 'best-in-class' operator for the African market. They have been a great customer and we are very happy to continue our support for them with the addition of these two aircraft, including the introduction of their first crossover jet, the E-190," said ACIA Aero Leasing Chief Executive Officer Mick Mooney. "This is the start of the second phase of our portfolio growth with Bestfly, and we hope to add further regional jet and turboprop aircraft through 2022 and beyond." The E-190 aircraft will provide Bestfly with the capacity it needs to expand its business and support its key business markets. This is the first crossover jet in ACIA's commercial portfolio and the first E-190 for Bestfly as both companies expand the scope of their respective activities in the African market. Nuno Pereira, Chief Executive Officer of Bestfly, commented: "This is a very prod moment as we add our first commercial crossover jet to our fleet to expand our operational growth. Thanks to ACIA for their continued support and trust in Bestfly as we add the capabilities of the Embraer to enable longer flights with additional passengers and open new routes. This is not just a lessor-lessee relationship but a journey we are taking together with ACIA. Therefore, we are also happy to announce that Bestfly is engaged with ACIA for up to four more E-190s as we look ahead at further growth in Africa."



Sameer Adam, ACIA Senior Vice President, Commercial, added: "The expansion of our portfolio into the E-190 is a demonstration of ACIA's commitment to growth and meeting the demands of our customers by offering larger regional jet aircraft to complement our significant fleet of turboprops and smaller regional jets. Executing on our commercial strategy allows us to support world class operators like Bestfly as they grow and diversify their fleets." About ACIA Aero Leasing

ACIA Aero Leasing ("ACIA"), a subsidiary of ACIA Aero Capital, is a leading regional aircraft lessor headquartered in Ireland, and with offices France, Canada, Mauritius and South Africa. ACIA manages a current aircraft portfolio of over 50 regional passenger and freighter aircraft on lease to operators in more than 18 countries globally. Through our strategic partnerships, ACIA provides airlines with turn-key leasing solutions from dry leasing through to charter operations. www.aciaaeroleasing.com About Bestfly Founded in 2009, Bestfly operates in both the business aviation and airline market, operating three ATR-72 aircraft on multiple routes. Bestfly won commercial support contract with Exxon-Mobil, ENI and BP in 2020, and is in a growth mode, expanding its operations, including providing contract airline services in Cabo Verde. www.bestfly.aero View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211112005827/en/

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[November 13, 2021] ACIA Aero Leasing Signs LOI with Universal Hydrogen for Up to 30 Regional Aircraft Conversions to Hydrogen Power

Universal Hydrogen Co., the company leading the fight to decarbonize aviation through the adoption of hydrogen as a universal fuel, today announced it has signed a letter of intent (LOI) with ACIA Aero Leasing (ACIA), a leading regional aircraft lessor with offices in Ireland, France, Canada, Mauritius, and South Africa. ACIA expects to place 10 firm orders for Universal Hydrogen's ATR 72 conversion kits with additional purchase rights for 20 more conversion kits of various turboprop types. As an emerging leader in regional aircraft leasing, ACIA is focusing on long-term sustainability in aviation by working with Universal Hydrogen to decarbonize its fleet of turboprop aircraft. Following the aircraft conversions, Universal Hydrogen and ACIA will collaborate on marketing hydrogen fuel services to ACIA's leasing customers. Universal Hydrogen will deliver green hydrogen to regional airports worldwide using its modula capsule technology to transport hydrogen over the existing intermodal freight network and using existing airport cargo handling equipment.



"ACIA's diverse customer base allows us to have a major decarbonization impact on regional aviation globally," said Paul Eremenko, Universal Hydrogen co-founder and CEO. "ACIA's passenger and cargo aircraft leasing customers will be able to move to true zero emissions operations as early as the mid 2020s, putting them in the vanguard of clean aviation." "Our lessees are actively looking for ways to decrease overall costs and reduce their carbon footprint. Decarbonizing our fleet encourages customers and competitors to follow our lead in advancing the development of carbon-free solutions," said Mick Mooney, ACIA's CEO. "Collaborating with Universal Hydrogen will have a lasting impact on the environment encouraging our customers and the communities they touch, to increase efforts towards environmental sustainability."

"Passengers and operators are increasingly seeing environmental sustainability as an important decision factor in the aviation industry," said Sameer Adam, ACIA's SVP Commercial. "Fleet expansion, new market engagements, and the development of our leasing portfolio will need to include a plan for adopting carbon-free and sustainable technologies. This engagement with Universal Hydrogen is just the first major milestone in executing our overall sustainability strategy." About Universal Hydrogen Universal Hydrogen is making hydrogen-powered commercial flight a near-term reality. The company takes a flexible, scalable, and capital-light approach to hydrogen logistics by transporting it in modular capsules over the existing freight network from green production sites to airports around the world. To accelerate market adoption, Universal Hydrogen is also developing a conversion kit to retrofit existing regional airplanes with a hydrogen-electric powertrain compatible with its modular capsule technology. About ACIA Aero Leasing ACIA Aero Leasing ("ACIA"), a subsidiary of ACIA Aero Capital, is a leading regional aircraft lessor headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, and with offices in France, Canada, Mauritius, and South Africa. ACIA manages a current aircraft portfolio of over 50 regional passenger and freighter aircraft on lease to operators in more than 18 countries globally. Through our strategic partnerships, ACIA provides airlines with turn-key leasing solutions from dry leasing through to charter operations. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211112005943/en/

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[November 13, 2021] Wision A.I. Achieves CE-MDR Mark Approval for AI-assisted Diagnostic Software Medical Device Supporting Colonoscopy

SHANGHAI, Nov. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Wision A.I. Ltd, a startup in the field of artificial intelligence assisted diagnostics for gastrointestinal endoscopy, today announced it received the European CE Mark approval for EndoScreener, its AI-assisted polyp detection software during colonoscopy. It is the first CE Mark class II certificate under the new Medical Devices Regulation (MDR 2017/745). Outstanding product performance and strong clinical evidence Compared with previously self-declared class I devices for automatic polyp detection during colonoscopy[1], EndoScreener has an overwhelming advantage in terms of randomized controlled trial (RCT) clinical evidences. EndoScreener has demonstrated its efficacy in improving adenoma detection on more than 5000 patients in six rigorous randomized controlled trials, including three open RCTs[2], [3],one double-blinded RCTs[4] and two tandem colonoscopy RCTs[5], [6]. In the latest published multi-center tandem colonoscopy trial conducted at four U.S. leading academic medical institutions, EndoScreener reduced precancerous lesion (adenoma and SSL) miss rate by 41 % (19.13 vs 32.52 p=0.0047), and improved adenoma per colonoscopy (APC) by 33 % (0.9000 vs 1.1947 p=0.323 ). Even with high average adenoma detection rate (ADR) of 43.64% in screening/surveillance population under standard of care, no ceiling effect was found in this study. Advanced AI technology in medical field enters the European market Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a highly prevalent human malignancy, with over 1.9 million new cases and 935,000 deaths worldwide in 2020. It is also the second leading cancer killer in Europe, with one European dying of CRC every 3 minutes. Detection and removal of adenomatous polyps at early diagnosis and regular colonoscopy screening are the most effective ways to reduce the incidence and mortality of colorectal cancer. The opening of the European market for EndoScreener will eventually contribute to the prevention of colorectal cancer, saving resources in health services and reducing country expenditures. Wision A.I. is open for country-level collaborators to speed up making the solution generally available in different regions of the EU. High compatibility and easy deployment EndoScreener is a real-time computer-aided diagnosis software that assists endoscopists to provide a simultaneous visual notification and sound alarm for polyp detection during colonoscopy. As a software-only medical device (SaMD) with relatively economical total cost of ownership (TCO), EndoScreener is compatible with most mainstream endoscope systems With proper off-the-shelf computer hardware, the AI solution can be deployed with high flexibility in various clinical environments for colonoscopy About Wision A.I. Wision A.I. has extensive expertise in mathematics and algorithm development. The company integrates medical knowledge into flexible and scalable models that leverage cutting-edge, convolutional neural networks and general-purpose computing to achieve stable detection efficacy in diagnostic imaging. To learn more about Wision A.I., please email [email protected]







[1] Kudo SE, Mori Y, Misawa M, et al. Artificial intelligence and colonoscopy: Current status and future perspectives. Dig Endosc. 2019;31(4):363-371. doi:10.1111/den.13340 [2] Wang P, Berzin TM, Glissen Brown JR, et al. Real-time automatic detection system increases colonoscopic polyp and adenoma detection rates: a prospective randomised controlled study. Gut. 2019;68(10):1813-1819. doi:10.1136/gutjnl-2018-317500 [3] Liu P, Wang P, Glissen Brown JR, et al. The single-monitor trial: an embedded CADe system increased adenoma detection during colonoscopy: a prospective randomized study. Therap Adv Gastroenterol. 2020;13:1756284820979165. Published 2020 Dec 15. doi:10.1177/1756284820979165 [4] Wang P, Liu X, Berzin TM, et al. Effect of a deep-learning computer-aided detection system on adenoma detection during colonoscopy (CADe-DB trial): a double-blind randomised study [published correction appears in Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2020 Apr;5(4):e3]. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2020;5(4):343-351. doi:10.1016/S2468-1253(19)30411-X [5] Wang P, Liu P, Glissen Brown JR, et al. Lower Adenoma Miss Rate of Computer-Aided Detection-Assisted Colonoscopy vs Routine White-Light Colonoscopy in a Prospective Tandem Study. Gastroenterology. 2020;159(4):1252-1261.e5. doi:10.1053/j.gastro.2020.06.023 [6] Glissen Brown JR, Mansour NM, Wang P, et al. Deep Learning Computer-aided Polyp Detection Reduces Adenoma Miss Rate: A United States Multi-center Randomized Tandem Colonoscopy Study (CADeT-CS Trial) [published online ahead of print, 2021 Sep 14]. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2021;S1542-3565(21)00973-3. doi:10.1016/j.cgh.2021.09.009



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[November 13, 2021] Ryan Group Successfully Hosted India's Largest Student-Alumni Networking Event

15,000 high school students and 8 unique alumni journeys MUMBAI, Nov. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- On Friday, 12th November 2021, Ryan Group hosted its biggest online student-alumni networking event, Alumpics powered by Univariety. The event witnessed a great success with a participation of over 15,000 high school students from across 100+ campuses. Students had the opportunity to interact with 8 notable alumni from the batch of 2003 to 2019, who have created a niche for themselves in their respective fields. Alumni from top universities like IIT-Madras, Monash University-Melbourne, SRCC-Delhi University, Christian Medical College, and more shared their transformation journeys to inspire their juniors. The 2-hour event kicked off with a welcome keynote by Mr. Ryan Pinto, CEO of the Ryan Group of Institutions. Speaking on the initiative, Mr. Pinto said, "It is great to see that Ryanites across the world will connect on one platform and exchange experiences on how current students can seek real-life guidance from their alumni to make better career choices. Our motto is Excellence in education and all-round development. With this initiative, we are reinforcing our commitment to giving the best learning opportunities for our students. We ask the LORD Almighty for His blessing over the start of this whole new concept & platform for our Ryanites." During the event, students gained insights on the college admission process, how to crack entrance exams, the X factor in college success, mistakes to avoid during this crucial stage and more. The alumni not only shared their journeys but also reminisced their favourite memories from school. In addition to these, studentsenjoyed unwinding with celebrity alumni from the music and television industry. It was definitely an evening filled with lots of learning, music and laughter.



"We are excited and pleased with the outcome. We are thankful to Ryan Group of Schools for giving us a free hand that enabled us to push our limits. The scale of the event was a first of its kind in Asia. I am proud of how our cross-functional teams came together for seamless execution along with the school's team. This is just the beginning, with our strong combination of technology and team, we will develop several exciting formats for schools to utilise their alumni asset", says Mr. Jaideep Gupta, Founder & CEO of Univariety. The event concluded with a closing address by Dr. Snehal Pinto, Director of the Ryan Group of Institutions. She emphasized the importance of receiving real-life guidance from seniors who have been through that phase and gained success.

Given the current global situation, an event like this, that brings together thousands of students and alumni together to foster learning and growth is a huge achievement in itself. Alumpics was much appreciated by students, parents, alumni and principals. About Ryan International Group of Institutions: Ryan Group was started in 1976 by the visionary educationists Dr. A. F. Pinto, Chairman and Mrs. Grace Pinto, Managing Director. With the strategic vision to spread quality affordable education across India, the group has established over 135 schools, serving over 270,000 students, guided by the philosophy of 'Excellence in Education and All-Round Development'. The schools provide a safe and stimulating environment focused on child-centered excellence. Modern learning tools and a range of enrichment activities are integrated into the curriculum. The goal is to develop global citizens: self-confident individuals who contribute to communities, believe in tolerance & accountability and engage life with well-developed emotional and spiritual quotients. About Univariety Univariety is India's most Comprehensive, Collaborative & Responsive Alumni Management & Career Guidance Ecosystem. Headquartered in Hyderabad, Univariety is a part of Info Edge (India). Keeping students as the focal point, Univariety works with Educational Institutions to drive distinguished outcomes. Univariety enables the best guidance for Students through technology and optimum utilization of the school's assets - its Alumni, to drive Student & School Successes. For more information, visit: https://www.ryangroup.org/ Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1687599/Ryan_Connect_Alumpics.jpg

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Right now we check an important arguement from tody's proceedings that hopes to myth-bust a talking point touted by local mainstream media at the behest of activists.

Here's the money line . . .

Dr. Clymer did not treat Lamb in person for his 2015 injury which resulted in Cameron Lamb being treated and hospitalized.

He testified that most people with a similar injury would recover and be able to use that hand.

Some of that is dependent on upon the bony injury and that joint, thats probably the biggest issue. I would expect that would cause some stiffness, discomfort that will improve gradually, over quite a lengthy period of time. I would expect a wound like this would be healed in 8-12 weeks and stiffness and discomfort would improve in 6-8 months, Dr. Clymer said.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com news links . . .

KC detective's trial: Expert testifies Cameron Lamb likely could use left hand KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) -- An expert in the trial against a Kansas City police detective who fatally shot a man in his yard testified Cameron Lamb could likely use his left hand. Dr. David Clymer, is an orthopedic surgeon who reviewed medical records and watched Facebook videos posted of Lamb.

Defense attacks prosecution's portrayal of DeValkenaere as rogue cop during trial KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Defense attorneys Friday attacked the prosecution's claim that Kansas City police Det. Eric DeValkenaere acted improperly when he shot and killed a Kansas City man in his backyard. Jackson County prosecutors have argued that DeValkenaere is lying about how the shooting of Cameron Lamb happened and should not have charged into Lamb's backyard over what prosecutors have called a traffic issue.

Closing arguments made in trial of Kansas City police detective Eric DeValkenaere KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) --- What happened in a Kansas City backyard in December of 2019 is now up to a judge. Closing arguments in involuntary manslaughter trial of KCPD detective Prosecutors argue Kansas City police detective Eric DeValkenaere should be convicted of involuntary manslaughter, and that to clear the officer, would essentially "shred the Fourth Amendment."

Verdict pending after closing arguments for KCPD detective charged in Cameron Lamb's killing KANSAS CITY, Mo. - It could be a week or more before a verdict is reached in the trial of Kansas City Police Det. Eric DeValkenaere who is on trial for the shooting death of Cameron Lamb. Judge J. Dale Youngs heard closing arguments Friday afternoon with the prosecution and defense presenting vastly different spins on the facts before the court.

Developing . . .
It's fair to be skeptical about the removal of local mask mandates given an upcoming surge on the horizon.



Nevertheless, right now we take a peek at reactions as more locals earn a reprieve from strict public health regulations . . .



Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com news link . . .

After Jackson County vote, some school districts drop mask mandates BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. - On the same day that the Jackson County Legislature voted to rescind its mask mandate, some school districts are taking up action. Jackson County's mask mandate was originally set to continue until at least Nov. 22, but the group of divided legislators voted 5-4 Friday morning to end the masking rule immediately.

Downtown Lee's Summit shops react to Jackson County's decision to rescind mask mandate LEE'S SUMMIT, Mo. - The Jackson County Legislature voted to rescind the county's mask mandate on Friday afternoon. This means local shop owners will not have to enforce customers to wear a mask when entering their place of business.

When can kids take off their masks in school? Here's what some experts say When can kids safely take off their masks in school? About three-fourths of the nation's largest districts required masks at the start of the school year. Recently, the calls by some parents to unmask children have grown louder, especially now that there is a COVID-19 vaccine available with emergency authorization for children as young as 5 years old.

Health Officials Strike Down Mask Mandate After Proud Boys 'Pressure' Campaign Health officials in one of North Carolina's most populous counties abruptly lifted an indoor mask mandate on Friday after members of the far-right extremist group the Proud Boys showed up for a vote on the matter, just days after vowing to "ramp up pressure" on authorities there.

Face masks forever? Americans won't stand for it. Time to drop the masks It's time to remove face masks. In March 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended generalized wearing of face masks to lessen the spread of the novel coronavirus. Nearly two years later, a cache of treatments, vaccines, and natural immunity have created an environment where the small benefit of mask-wearing no longer outweigh the risks.

Developing . . .
Johnstown, PA (15901)

Today

Cloudy skies this morning will become partly cloudy this afternoon. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Morning high of 42F with temps falling to near freezing. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Low 26F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.
Veda Yowell, 90, of Clinton, passed away on Wednesday, November 17, 2021, at IU West Hospital in Avon, surrounded by her loving family. Veda was born in Parke County on August 30, 1931, to Harry and Angeline Ladiha Crossley. She married her husband, Fred, on July 22, 1949, and together, they
CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP)  Amy Carmichael lives more than 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers) from the Florida aquarium that housed Winter, the Dolphin Tale movie star with a prosthetic tail that died this week at 16. But Carmichael, who has successfully fought leukemia much of her life, felt a strong bond.

It's not just a dolphin, it's a special dolphin, Carmichael, 17, said by phone from her home in Stonehouse, Scotland on Friday. She was rescued and had to battle through. I think that made me feel like I can do that. I was battling through, too.

Like many people with illnesses and disabilities, Carmichael got to meet Winter a few years ago at the bottlenose dolphin's home in the Clearwater Marine Aquarium on Florida's Gulf Coast. Those trips inspired people from autistic children to soldiers with missing limbs before Winter died Thursday of a gastrointestinal ailment, saddening fans around the world.

Winter was an extraordinary creature. She inspired millions of people all over the world with her courage, her fortitude and her joy, said Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson, producers of the 2011 film Dolphin Tale that told the story of Winter's recovery from an amputated tail  it had been entangled in a crab trap rope, cutting circulation  through unprecedented use of a prosthetic one.

She may no longer be with us in body, but her indominable spirit will continue on throgh the lives of all those that she touched, said a statement from the two producers, who run Alcon Entertaintment.

The film, starring Harry Connick Jr., Ashley Judd, Kris Kristofferson, Morgan Freeman and Nathan Gamble, was largely shot at the Clearwater aquarium and surrounding Tampa Bay locations.

The film put the non-profit aquarium, first opened in 1972 on the site of a former water treatment plant, on the map internationally. The facility, which also operates sea turtle and manatee rescue programs, recently completed an $80 million renovation that includes a large new dolphin tank  largely because of the crowds drawn by Winter.

Fifteen-year-old Angelina Bongiovanni of Washington Township, New Jersey, fell in love with Winter the first time she saw Dolphin Tale, her mother said.

Angelina, who was born with a heart defect that required multiple surgeries, an extremely rare chromosome disorder and autism, saw the movie during a hospital stay.

It touched her like weve never seen. She just became so inspired by Winter. Thats all she talked about, said her mother, Laura Bongiovanni.

Once she got out of the hospital, Angelina kept asking to go see Winter at the aquarium. The family planned a trip to Clearwater and Angelina was overjoyed, her mother said. She was talking to her, she was interacting with her.

It was not easy for Winter to get to that point.

Shortly after the dolphin arrived after her 2005 rescue, the aquarium began working with Hanger Clinic, the nations largest provider of prosthetic limbs, to create her tail. While Winter might have survived without one, using her side flippers to swim, that would have led to skeletal misalignment and other health issues.

Kevin Carroll, Hangers vice president of prosthetics, said a major obstacle was attaching the tail without damaging Winters skin. Thats sometimes a problem for humans who wear prosthetics and is even more acute in dolphins, which have skin so thin that it can be cut with a fingernail, Carroll said.

Through trial and error, Carrolls group created a soft silicone-like sleeve, now marketed as WintersGel. The prosthetic tail then slid snugly over the sleeve. Such sleeves are now used for human prosthetics and have all but eliminated skin sores, he said.

She was a fantastic patient  very accepting, Carroll said.

Winter died about 8 p.m. Thursday died while being held by animal care experts who were preparing the dolphin for a procedure to deal with her intestinal problems, according to a Clearwater aquarium statement. The facility was closed Friday, in part to mourn the loss of its most famous resident. But it will reopen Saturday.

A memorial service is set for Nov. 20 to honor Winter. The aquarium's president, James Powell, said no other animals at the aquarium were ill including Hope, another rescued dolphin who appeared with Winter in the Dolphin Tale 2 sequel.

No animal will quite replace Winter, Powell said.

The world is so sad to have lost an animal ambassador that has inspired us all, Powell said. "I get teary-eyed all the time seeing the way she has changed people's lives. The response has been overwhelming. It's very touching.

____

Associated Press writers Terry Spencer and Freida Frisaro in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, contributed to this story.
H John Voorhees III / Hearst Connecticut Media

TRUMBULL  Some local streets will be without water Friday night, First Selectman Vicki Tesoro said.

Starting at 7 p.m. Friday, the Aquarion Water Company will turn off a large section of a water main for an emergency repair of a broken valve, Tesoro said. This will affect Easton and parts of Trumbull, Tesoro said.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The Biden administration is nominating its first set of U.S. Marshals, including the first Black man to serve as the U.S. Marshal in Minnesota, along with a slate of other historic firsts for U.S. attorney posts across the nation.

The nomination of Eddie Frizell to be the U.S. Marshal in the District of Minnesota comes months after two sheriffs deputies shot and killed a Black man in Minneapolis while assigned to a Marshals Service fugitive task force, sparking controversy about how the Justice Department was implementing its policy on body-worn cameras.

The shooting of Winston Boogie Smith Jr. in June sparked nights of protest in a city still reeling from the death of George Floyd. The officers, deputies from local sheriffs offices who work on the federal fugitive task force, were not wearing body cameras. Issues with local officers being prohibited from wearing body cameras has led some local police departments in Minnesota to pull their officers from federal task forces.

Frizell is a well-known figure in Minnesota law enforcement, having served as chief of the Metro Transit Police Department in the Minneapolis and St. Paul area since 2019. Before taking that position, he was a longtime police official in Minneapolis, serving in various positions, including as deputy chief of patrol, and as an inspector.

Andrew Luger, a former Obama-era U.S. attorney and partner at the law firm Jones Day, is being nominated to be U.S. attorney in Minnesota. Luger had previously served in the role as U.S. attorney in Minnesota from 2014 until 2017 and previously worked as a federal prosecutor in Minnesota and New York.

The White House is also nominating the first Black women to serve as U.S. attorneys in the Northern District of Ohio and the Eastern District of Michigan. And it will nominate the first Black men to serve as U.S. attorneys in Nevada and in the Middle District of Louisiana.

The Justice Departments 93 U.S. attorneys, who are responsible for federal criminal prosecutions in their respective districts, are likely to be central to efforts to combat violent crime.

The candidates were chosen for their devotion to enforcing the law, their professionalism, their experience and credentials in this field, their dedication to pursuing equal justice for all, and their commitment to the independence of the Department of Justice, the White House said.

Biden has now nominated 37 people to serve as U.S. attorneys, positions that have been filled for months by acting U.S. attorneys.

Nevada Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson is being nominated to be the U.S. attorney in that state. Frierson has served in the state Assembly since 2010 and also works as an assistant public defender in Clark County, Nevada, the county home to Las Vegas. Frierson was elected to his current Assembly run in 2016 after previously serving from 2011 to 2014. He has been the speaker of the lower chamber since 2016.

In Michigan, the White House has nominated Mark Totten to be U.S. attorney for the Western District of Michigan. Totten, a former law school professor, has served as Chief Legal Counsel for Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer since 2019. He is also a former federal and local prosecutor. And in the Eastern District of Michigan, officials are nominating Dawn Ison, who has served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the office since 2002.

The other nominees include Brandon Brown, an assistant U.S. attorney in the Western District of Louisiana, to run that office, and Ronald Gathe, Jr., to be the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Louisiana. Gathe is the chief of trials for the 18th Judicial District Attorneys Office in Louisiana and previously served as an assistant district attorney. He previously worked in private practice and is also the Vice President of Membership for the National Black Prosecutors Association, helping to establish the first and only chapter in Louisiana.

The White House will also nominate Ryan Buchanan to be the U.S. attorney in the Northern District of Georgia, where he has worked as an assistant U.S. attorney and deputy chief of the offices Violent Crime and National Security Section. And officials are also announcing the nomination of Marisa Darden to be U.S. attorney in the Northern District of Ohio, where she worked as a prosecutor from 2014 until 2019.

The White House is also announcing it is nominating LaDon Reynolds to serve as U.S. Marshal in the Northern District of Illinois, which includes Chicago. Reynolds is the police chief of the Oak Park Police Department in Illinois. The longtime officer also serves as the departments emergency preparedness coordinator.
Journalist and feminist activist Gloria Steinem sits with Sydney Kincaid, a sophomore who hosted the Q&A during Steinems Distinguished Lecture in the Faulkner Performing Arts Center on Wednesday. The event was Steinems first public engagement in more than 20 months, she said.
Hi, my name is Scott C. Waring and I wrote a few books and am currently a ESL School Owner in Taiwan. I have had my own UFO sighting up close and personal, but that's how it works right? A non believer becomes a believer when they experience their first sighting. You witnessed it, your perceptual field changes, so now you need to share it.





I created this site to help the UFO community get a little bit organized. I noticed that there was a lot of chaos when searching for UFO sighting reports, so I hope this site helps. I wanted to support those eyewitnesses who have tried to tell others about what they have seen, yet were laughed at by even closest of friends.





More and more each day the governments of the world leak bits and pieces of UFO information to the public. They have a trickle down theory in hopes of slowly getting citizens use to the idea that we are not alone in universe and never have been. The truth is being leaked drop by drop until one day we look around and find ourselves neck high in it.





The discovery of alien species in existence is the most monumental scientific event in human history, suppression of that information is a crime against humanity.





About me:

I live in Taiwan. I OWN MY OWN ENGLISH SCHOOL, AND ONCE HAD 5 SCHOOLS.

Am Former USAF at SAC base (flight line).

Age: 42

Educ: BA in Elem ed. Masters in Counseling ed.





I had two UFO sightings, (30+bus size orbs) in military and in 2012 personally saw the UFO over Taipei 101 building on New Years Day (and recored it).
Over the past day, November 12, eight ceasefire violations by the armed formations of the Russian Federation were recorded in the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) area in eastern Ukraine. Another ceasefire violation was registered last night, the JFO press center wrote on Facebook.

"In the area of Zaitseve settlement, the enemy opened fire twice, using grenade launchers of various systems and 120mm mortars. In the direction of Popasna and Novooleksandrivka, the enemy fired grenade launchers of various systems and large-caliber machine guns. Russian mercenaries fired 122mm artillery and 120mm mortars in the direction of Novotroitske, the report says.

In addition, near Novoluhanske, the occupiers fired twice at Ukrainian positions, using automatic machine grenade launchers, large-caliber machine guns and other small arms. Near Shyrokyne, Russian mercenaries fired small arms.

Over the past day, an enemy unknown explosive device killed two Ukrainian servicepersons.

The command and personnel of the Joint Forces express sincere condolences to the families and friends of the fallen soldiers, the report says.

As of 07:00 on November 13, one ceasefire violation by the armed formations of the Russian Federation was recorded. The enemy fired anti-tank grenade launchers, large-caliber machine guns, and other small arms in direction of Troitske.

It is noted that Ukrainian defenders returned fire to the enemy's armed provocations, using weapons not banned by the Minsk agreements.

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The updated U.S.-Ukraine Charter on Strategic Partnership is strengthening Ukraine's security in three main areas on which Ukrainian diplomats are working to counter Russian aggression - sanctions, allies, and weapons, according to Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

He said this in an interview with Ukrinform.

He stressed that such major, long-term agreements as the Charter on Strategic Partnership between Ukraine and the United States are key to countering Russian aggression.

"Bare creativity won't allow us to defeat Russia on the diplomatic front. This can only be done through systemic work, consistent efforts, and planning for years to come," Kuleba said.

He noted that Ukrainian diplomacy is strengthening security in three main areas, which can be tentatively referred to as "sanctions, allies, and weapons."

Kuleba said that when it comes to defending the country against Russian aggression, Ukraine must rely primarily on its own forces and must not harbor illusions that someone will fight for the state or defend it.

"However, we can definitely make Ukraine stronger and the aggressor  weaker. This is exactly what diplomats are doing today: we are rallying powerful allies around Ukraine, supporting and increasing the political, diplomatic, and sanctions pressure of the international community on the aggressor power, and holding talks to ensure that the Ukrainian Army gets more and more new, modern weapons," he said.

According to Kuleba, in this regard, the signing of the Charter is of great importance in all three areas of strengthening security.

"It [the Charter] provides for the expansion of military support, sends Russia a strong signal of the U.S. political support for Ukraine, and contributes to Euro-Atlantic unity in repelling Russia's aggressive moves," he said.

A meeting of the U.S.-Ukraine Strategic Partnership Commission, chaired by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, was held in Washington on November 10.

Kuleba and Blinken signed the U.S.-Ukraine Charter on Strategic Partnership, which sets out the main directions of bilateral relations in key areas for decades to come.

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Head of the Ukrainian Presidents Office Andriy Yermak and Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Finance of Canada Chrystia Freeland have discussed the development of the security situation in eastern Ukraine.

A phone conversation between the two officials took place on Friday evening, November 12, Ukrinform reports, referring to the presidents press service.

"We are grateful for the consolidated support of the world community and Canada. We feel it," said the Head of the President's Office.

Yermak stressed the importance of Canada's assistance in realizing Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic aspirations, and expressed gratitude for Canada's unwavering support for Ukraines independence and territorial integrity.

In addition, the parties discussed the difficult situation arising from the migrant crisis on the European-Belarusian border.

Freeland also praised the efforts of the President of Ukraine in the fight against the oligarchic system, in particular the adoption of the law on de-oligarchization.

The interlocutors separately discussed ways to further develop cooperation within the Crimea Platform.

Yermak also informed Freeland about the results of his recent visit to the United States.

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France has warned Moscow against harming to Ukraine's territorial integrity, after the United States shared with European allies its fears about the relocation of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine and a potential attack.

Frances Minister for Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian and Defense Minister Florence Parley issued an unusually blunt statement after meeting their Russian counterparts in Paris.

"The two ministers expressed their concerns about the deteriorating security situation in Ukraine and clearly warned of the serious consequences of any further possible damage to the territorial integrity of Ukraine," the statement said, Reuters reports.

Earlier, Russia had dismissed suggestions that Moscow might be weighing an attack and accused the United States of aggressive moves in the Black Sea.

The patterns of Russian behavior are different from what we have seen before. So far, it is unclear if this military build-up is intended to lead to an incursion into Ukraine or if it is just another exercise, a NATO source said, Reuters reported.

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The Interior Ministers of Ukraine and Poland, Denys Monastyrsky and Mariusz Kaminski, in a phone conversation discussed the migrant crisis on the Belarus-Poland border.

Ukrinform reports this with a reference to the Communication Department of the Interior Ministry of Ukraine.

Monastyrsky assured his Polish counterpart of solidarity and support for the position of the Polish government.

"Ukraine supports Poland in this difficult time and hopes that it will be able to resolve the artificially inspired crisis in a peaceful and civilized way," said Monastyrsky.

According to the report, a coordination group of officers of the Border Guard Service and the National Guard will start working on the Ukrainian-Polish border on November 13.

"We are ready to promptly consider any request from the Polish side to provide assistance in resolving the current situation, the Ukrainian minister said.

As Ukrinform reported, the migrant crisis on the Belarus-Poland border has been going on since August. Poland accuses Belarus of deliberately creating migratory pressure.

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More than 3 million foreign tourists visited Ukraine in January-September 2021, which is 12.6% more compared to the same period last year.

The State Agency for Tourism Development of Ukraine wrote about this on its Facebook page, Ukrinform reports.

"The first nine months of 2021 were marked by a gradual resumption of tourist flows, both in Ukraine and in the world as a whole. There was a significant reorganization of tourist routes and an increase in domestic travel. We note a rise in the number of tourists to Ukraine by 12.6% compared with the first three quarters of 2020. In 2021, more than 3 million foreigners have come to Ukraine so far, reads the report.

As of October 2021, 70% of foreigners visiting Ukraine were Europeans, 25.5% of tourists came from Asia, 3% of tourists arrived from North America, 1.4% from Africa, 0.6% and 0.2% from Oceania and South America, respectively.

In terms of the number of foreigners entering Ukraine, the TOP 15 countries were Moldova (744.6 thousand tourists), Russia (411.4 thousand), Poland (209.04 thousand), Romania (200.4 thousand), Belarus (199.6 thousand), Turkey (almost 172 thousand), Hungary (152.4 thousand), Germany (111.7 thousand), Israel (96.25 thousand), USA (81.6 thousand), Saudi Arabia (48.7 thousand), Italy (39.5 thousand), Great Britain (37.4 thousand), India (34.9 thousand), and Azerbaijan (33.4 thousand).

As reported, in October, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the start of a state program on the development of tourist magnets.

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Displaced people gather on the Belarusian-Polish border.  Leonid Scheglov/BelTA/Handout via REUTERS

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) are alarmed by the latest reports from the Belarus-Poland border and call on States to ensure that the safety and human rights of migrants and refugees are upheld.

On 8 November, reports surfaced of a large group of migrants and refugees, among them women and children, on the Belarusian side of the border moving towards the international border crossing point Bruzgi, with Poland, and allegedly settled in a makeshift camp in the vicinity of the border during the night.

UNHCR and IOM have been in contact with both governments and are calling for an urgent resolution of the situation and immediate and unhindered access to the group to ensure that humanitarian assistance is provided, those in need of international or other forms of protection are identified and those who wish to apply for asylum can do so where they are.

With several tragic deaths recorded in the border area in recent weeks, UNHCR and IOM remind states of the imperative to prevent further loss of life and ensure the humane treatment of migrants and refugees as the highest priority.

The two organizations have publicly stated on several occasions that the instrumentalization of migrants and refugees to achieve political ends is deplorable and must stop. Taking advantage of the despair and vulnerability of migrants and refugees by offering them unrealistic and misleading promises is unacceptable and has severe human consequences.

The two organizations have repeatedly reiterated to the Belarusian authorities the need to preserve the well-being of people and avoid creating difficult humanitarian situations.

UNHCR and IOM are ready to support the authorities of Belarus in providing counseling and assess these peoples personal situation, in appropriate locations, away from the border areas.

In view of the alarming situation at the border, both sides must uphold their obligations under international law and guarantee the safety, dignity, and protection of the rights of people stranded at the border.

IOM and UNHCR have also urged the concerned authorities to explore all humanitarian options to respond to this situation, tailored to the individual circumstances, human rights and international protection needs of people in this group, including voluntary returns.

UNHCR and IOM also stand ready to provide humanitarian assistance to migrants and refugees at both sides of the border.

For more information, please contact:

UNHCR:

In Brussels: Maeve Patterson, +32 470 99 54 35 [email protected] ,

, In Geneva: Shabia Mantoo, +41 79 337 7650, email: [email protected]

In Geneva: Natalia Prokopchuk, Tel: +41 79 824 0575, email: [email protected]

IOM:
The UNHCR Representative in Pakistan, Ms. Noriko Yoshida, and the Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy of China in Islamabad, Ms. Pang Chunxue, visit the neonatal intensive care unit in Islamabads Polyclinic Hospital where new pieces of medical equipment were provided thanks to the generous support of the Peoples Republic of China.  UNHCR/Uzma Saad

Press release

ISLAMABAD, 12 November 2021  UNHCR, with support from the Government of China, has completed the transfer of a consignment of emergency medical equipment to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of the Polyclinic Hospital in Islamabad.

Twenty-three pieces of equipment were transferred to the hospital as part of a list of equipment needed by the hospital, including infant incubators, baby warmers, suction machines, infusion pumps and ultrasound machines.

The contribution was made possible by the financial support and generosity of the Peoples Republic of China. This donation is also part of an ongoing programme of support undertaken by UNHCR across Pakistan in refugee-hosting areas to support health services that ensure treatment for refugees within their general services.

Were very happy that we could facilitate the donation of these pieces of equipment, which help protect and save the lives of newborn children. The Polyclinic Hospital deserves every support we can provide as an invaluable service that helps not only the vulnerable newborn children of Pakistani families but also the new and fragile members of refugee families, said UNHCR Representative in Pakistan, Noriko Yoshida.

The Polyclinic Hospital is one of the largest government hospitals in Pakistan, catering to the health needs of a wide range of patients.

Approximately 1,000 patients per day, including refugees, will benefit from the new equipment.

The Government of China has been supporting UNHCRs refugee and host community assistance in Pakistan as well as other countries in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

UNHCRs assistance towards host community services is guided by a Solutions Strategy for Afghan Refugees. A Support Platform was set up in 2019 to boost the support of the international community towards collective efforts to find solutions for Afghan refugees, including the need for increased assistance towards national services in hosting countries like Pakistan.

ENDS

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The World Health Organization (WHO) has decried the "vast access gaps" in the availability of insulin, a bedrock medicine for the treatment of diabetes, even 100 years after it was discovered

UNITED NATIONS, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 13th Nov, 2021 ) :The World Health Organization (WHO) has decried the "vast access gaps" in the availability of insulin, a bedrock medicine for the treatment of diabetes, even 100 years after it was discovered.

In a report published on Friday to commemorate the milestone anniversary, the Geneva-based UN health agency stressed the need to cut prices and dramatically increase access to the life-saving medicine.

The report 'Keeping the 100-year-old promise  making insulin access universal' details the main barriers to accessing the lifesaving medicine, namely high prices, low availability of human insulin, a market dominated by just a few producers, and weak health systems.

Insulin is the "bedrock" of diabetes treatment, and WHO is working with countries and manufacturers to expand access to everyone who needs it.

"The scientists who discovered insulin 100 years ago refused to profit from their discovery and sold the patent for just one Dollar," said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the UN agency.

"Unfortunately, that gesture of solidarity has been overtaken by a multi-billion-dollar business that has created vast access gaps." Diabetes is characterized by elevated levels of blood sugar which over time, can cause serious damage to the heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys and nerves.

There are two forms of the disease. Type 1 diabetes, previously known as juvenile diabetes, is a chronic condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin. For nine million people worldwide living with type 1 diabetes, having access to insulin turns the disease into a manageable condition.

The most common form of diabetes, type 2, is usually found in adults. It occurs when the body becomes resistant to insulin or doesn't make enough of it.

WHO said for more than 60 million people living with type 2 diabetes, insulin is essential to reduce the risk of kidney failure, blindness and amputation.

However, one in two people who need the medicine do not get it.

While diabetes is increasing in low and middle-income countries, their consumption of insulin has not kept up with the growing disease burden.

Even though three in four people who have type 2 diabetes live outside of North America and Europe, they account for less than 40 per cent of revenue from insulin sales.

The report outlines measures to improve access to insulin and related products.

Actions include boosting human insulin production and supply, and diversifying manufacturing of biosimilar products to create competition and reduce prices.

WHO explained that global markets have shifted from human insulin, which can be produced at relatively low cost, to pricier synthetic insulins, which can be up to three times more expensive.

The UN agency called for improved affordability by regulating prices and mark-ups through pooled procurement and greater price transparency, and promoting local manufacturing capacity in under-served regions.

At the same time, research and development (R&D) should be centred on the needs of low and middle-income countries, while increased access to insulin should be accompanied by prompt diagnosis along with access to affordable devices for injecting the medicine and monitoring blood sugar.

WHO has worked with the industry to address some of the barriers to the availability of insulin, related medicines and technologies, through holding dialogues with business associations and manufacturers.

This has resulted in several commitments by the industry, which range from developing a policy blueprint for improving access to biosimilars of insulin, to participating in WHO's prequalification programme for insulin, glucose meters, test strips and diagnostic tools.
Beirut, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 14th Nov, 2021 ) :At least 13 fighters loyal to the Syrian government were killed Saturday in an Islamic State group ambush in the country's east, a war monitor said.

The attack by the jihadist group killed "at least 13 members of a local pro-regime group and wounded others", the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, adding that it took place in the Masrib area, in the west of Deir Ezzor province.
Moscow, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 13th Nov, 2021 ) :Two Russian paratroopers died during snap military drills with Belarus near its western border with EU member Poland on Friday when their parachutes malfunctioned in strong winds, the defence ministry in Moscow said.

"Despite doctors' efforts both Russian servicemen died of their wounds," the ministry said in a statement carried by Russian news agencies.

Earlier Friday Belarus and ally Russia held joint military drills near the western border with Poland where a migrant crisis is unfolding.

Belarus's defence ministry said a "joint battalion tactical group" of paratroopers from both countries staged exercises at the Gozhsky range in western Belarus.

The ministry said the drills were carried out due to the "build-up of military activity" near the border.

Russian Il-76 aircraft and Belarusian military helicopters were involved in the drills, where servicemen were carrying out a "number of combat training tasks", it added.

The defence ministry in Moscow said it had sent paratroopers to Belarus for joint exercises as part of a "surprise combat readiness check".

Hundreds of migrants, mainly Kurds, have been stuck for days on the Belarus-Poland border in near-freezing temperatures, with aid groups warning of a looming humanitarian catastrophe.

Western states accuse the Belarusian government of luring them to the country and sending them to cross into Poland in retaliation for previous sanctions over Minsk's crackdown on the opposition.
The security forces on Saturday conducted an operation based on intelligence about the presence of externally supported terrorists in surroundings of Turbat, in Hoshab area of Balochistan

RAWALPINDI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 13th Nov, 2021 ) :The security forces on Saturday conducted an operation based on intelligence about the presence of externally supported terrorists in surroundings of Turbat, in Hoshab area of Balochistan.

During the operation, the security forces surrounded the terrorists, an engagement ensued, in which terrorists suffered heavy losses, said an ISPR media release.

During the engagement, two soldiers of Pakistan Army identified as Sepoy Ramzan resident of District Sargodha and Lance Naik Liaqat lqbal resident of District Swabi sacrificed their lives fighting valiantly.

In another related incident, while clearing an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) planted by terrorists along a route frequented by civilians, Sepoy lnam Ullah resident of District Lakki Marwat embraced Shahadat.

The military's media wing in its statement added that Pakistan's Security Forces remain determined to defeat acts of cowardly terrorists, aimed at disrupting peace, stability and progress of Balochistan.
HELSINKI (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th November, 2021) Estonia's armed forces are ready to build a barbed-wire fence 130 kilometers (81 miles) in length along the border with Russia to prepare "for a possible hybrid attack on the country," Defense Minister Kalle Laanet said on Friday.

Estonia does not have a common border with Belarus but fears that undocumented migrants from Belarus may enter the country from the territory of Russia, the minister said.

"The engineering squadron of the defense forces is ready, if necessary, to contribute to the installation of a 130-kilometer barbed-wire fence at the eastern border," Laanet said, as quoted by the ministry.

The armed forces are also ready to assist border guard services and police in safeguarding the border, the minister said, adding that the ministry is already negotiating the issue with the relevant authorities.

As of Friday, over 2,000 migrants have been camping on the Belarusian side of a barbed-wire fence on the border with Poland in subzero temperatures. Warsaw, in response, pulled armed forces to the area to prevent any attempts of illegal crossing.
The Yemeni authorities are ready to resume gas exports from the gas-field in the northeast of the country and are holding talks with foreign companies, the governor of the Marib Province, Sultan Al-Arada, told Sputnik on Saturday

MARIB (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th November, 2021) The Yemeni authorities are ready to resume gas exports from the gas-field in the northeast of the country and are holding talks with foreign companies, the governor of the Marib Province, Sultan Al-Arada, told Sputnik on Saturday.

"Gas and oil exports from Yemen were stopped after Shia Houthi rebels came to power.

We are ready to renew gas export from Marib, but there are certain difficulties with the Balhaf port. Moreover, negotiations with foreign companies - French Total, Korean and American ones - did not bear any fruit, although, it is important for us to boost the country's economy. We extract gas only for local utility needs and also supply with it the territories under the rebels," Al-Arada said.
Gil lands JPMorgan Global Finance Internship in NYC

By Jamie Boyle

TAMPA (November 9, 2021) -- Xiomara Mantes Gil, a junior majoring in finance and business analytics, has earned herself a spot in the JPMorgan Global Finance Internship program in New York City this summer.

The Global Finance and Business Management Internship program with JPMorgan allows participants to spend 10 weeks gaining exposure to initiatives that drive key business results and access to senior executives through speaker events and training throughout the summer. After completing the program, many analysts receive full-time job offers.

The thought of working for a company like JPMorgan was completely unimaginable, said Gil, who is a student at the Kate Tiedemann School of Business and Finance, a part of the Muma College of Business. She applied to several other opportunities, thinking the summer program at JPMorgan was just a dream. Gil credits her peers in Delta Sigma Pi for encouraging her to apply to roles with top investment banks and helping her with professional development.

Gil moved to the United States at age 5. She was born in Lima, Peru. Due to financial struggles, she spent her later high school years debating whether college was a possibility. Due to scholarships, she was able to find herself at the University of South Florida.

When asked how she felt about spending the summer in New York, Gil responded, I know I put in a lot of hard work over the past few years. This is an opportunity that I can either be nervous, keep my head down and quietly get the job done, or I can put everything I worked for into this role and use the motivation I have to see where this role takes me.

Gil is still waiting to find out her assignment. She can be placed in an office in Manhattan, Brooklyn, or Jersey City. Regardless of the office, Gil is eager to jump into a role and get started. Wherever they place me, I am excited. JPMorgan emphasizes the opportunity for career mobility. I cant wait to see where that will lead, said Gil.

My life has changed in the last two months, said Gil. It has made me believe that I am capable of achieving anything in my career through hard work and dedication.
Travis McMichael, pictured, is accused of shooting Ahmaud Arbery Feb 23. 2020. He and his father, Greg McMichael, and a neighbor, William 'Roddie' Bryan, contend they were trying to perform a citizen's arrest on Arbery, a Black man they believed to be responsible for burglaries in the Satilla Shores neighborhood in Brunswick, Georgia.

Screenshot from PBS New Hour's live video of trial
Kenyan Bishops seeing some of their regions struggle in the face of a severe drought situation, say no Kenyan should die of famine. They have asked Kenyans to donate food.

Paul Samasumo  Vatican City.

Kenyas Catholic Bishops meeting recently at Donum Dei Sisters Centre in Karen, Nairobi, have appealed to the countrys Catholic faithful to donate food to regions affected by severe drought.

An appeal to parishes for donations

The current drought situation affecting nearly all counties in the arid and semi-arid regions of the country is a matter of great concern. It calls for urgent and decisive action from all of us. As your shepherds, we appeal to all the faithful within the parishes and all people of goodwill to express solidarity with our affected brothers and sisters by donating food and giving other forms of assistance, for example, facilitating transportation. Through our dioceses, ways and means should be found to make sure that such donations reach those affected by drought. No Kenyan should die of famine, the Bishops said in a Pastoral Letter released Thursday.

It cannot be politics and business as usual

The Bishops fault authorities for what they termed a very slow response to the drought situation. They have appealed to the Kenyan Government to respond in a swift and coordinated manner and come to the aid of affected populations to lessen suffering and avert a humanitarian crisis.

The Bishops continued, It is unfortunate that 58 years after independence, we are unable to come up with permanent solutions to the perennial droughts that affect the country every few years. As a country, we must wean ourselves from the obsession with politics and sensationalism at the expense of other important issues of national concern. It cannot be business as usual when Kenyans continue to starve and even die from droughts which can easily be managed through the establishment of sound mitigation structures, emphasised the Archbishop of Mombasa and Chairman of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops, Martin Kivuva Musonde. He released the letter to the media.

Droughts are a result of climate change

The Kenyan Bishops also addressed themselves to issues of the environment.

It is becoming clear that the frequent droughts that we are experiencing in many parts of our country are as a result of global climate change and environmental degradation. Here in Kenya, it seems our model of development has led to a culture of degradation of our environment and the depletion of our natural resources, reads the Bishops Letter. The Bishops want to see more robust programmes aimed at creating a safe environment for every human person.

We can reduce future climate effects if we act now

In light of Pope Francis environmental push, the Bishops in Kenya say they have, in place, a national tree-planting project.

We are pleased to note that the Government of Kenya, through the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, has embarked on a similar campaign. As a Church, we have joined this campaign in partnership with the Government, Archbishop Musonde told the media.

He added, If we all act to conserve the environment, the current effects of climate change that we are witnessing today in the form of perennial droughts, floods, food insecurity, water-borne diseases and respiratory infections will be reduced to manageable levels.

The Pastoral Letter of the Bishops also highlighted a new liturgical missal, Misale Ya Kiroma. The missal will go into use nationwide on the First Sunday of Advent
Blessed Lazarus Devasahayam of India and 6 others will be officially declared saints at a canonization Mass and ceremony in the Vatican on May 15, 2022.

By Robin Gomes

The official declaration of an 18th century Indian Hindu convert to Catholicism as a saint by the Catholic Church in May next year, is a historic moment, according to an official of the Catholic Church in India.

"To many of us who have received the faith from our forebears, Devasahayam's testimony reminds us that the Gospel is a treasure to be discovered and to which devote a lifetime, said Archbishop Felix Machado of Vasai Diocese, secretary general of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI). Blessed Lazarus, known as Devasahayam, became poor for the sake of the poor and had love for the poor, as Pope Francis says, he told AsiaNews. The canonization is an encouragement to us to emulate Devasahayam.

Blessed Lazarus, also known as Devasahayam, will be the first layperson and martyr of Indian origin who will be officially declared a saint of the worldwide Catholic Church. He was martyred for his faith nearly 270 years ago in what is Tamil Nadu state today.

On May 3, 2021, Pope Francis officially cleared Blessed Lazarus Devasahayam and 6 others for sainthood but had not set the date for the canonization ceremony because of the pandemic. The Congregation for the Causes of Saints on November 9 declared that the canonization Mass will take place in the Vatican on May 15, 2022. The Pope will preside over the liturgy.

Biography

Born on April 23, 1712, as Neelakanda Pillai, in the village of Nattalam, Devasahayam served in the palace of southern Indias Hindu King Marthanda Varma of Travancore, whose kingdom stretched from what is Kanyakumari District of Tamil Nadu state today, right up to Cochin in neighbouring Kerala state.

Captain Eustachius De Lannoy, a Dutch naval commander of the Dutch East India Company who was sent in 1741 to capture Travancores port of Colachel was defeated and taken prisoner. The dutchman who was later pardoned went on to become the kings trusted commander who won several battles for Travancore. It was during their influential roles under the King of Travancore that Devasahayam Pillai and De Lannoy became close friends.

Conversion and baptism

Devasahayam became interested in the faith of De Lannoy, who enlightened him, leading to his conversion in 1745. He was baptized at the Catholic church of Vadakkankulam village (in the present Tirunelveli District of Tamil Nadu), by Jesuit priest Father R. Bouttari Italus. He assumed the name 'Lazarus' or 'Devasahayam' in the local language, meaning God is my help. His wife, Bargavi Ammal of Travancore, also followed her husband and was baptized Gnanapoo, meaning Theresa.

Killed for Hatred of the Faith

However, Devasahayams conversion did not go well with the heads of his native religion, and was regarded as a betrayal and danger to the Hindu kingdom.

His refusal to worship the Hindu gods of the palace and renouncing the traditional Hindu religious festivals greatly angered the officers. They could not tolerate his preaching on the equality of all peoples, the overcoming of castes and friendship with the untouchables of the lower classes, which is forbidden for a person of high caste.

False charges of treason and espionage were brought against him and he was divested of his post in the royal administration. He was imprisoned and subjected to harsh persecution. A Catholic for only seven years, he was shot dead in the Aralvaimozhy forest on January 14, 1752.

Sites linked with his life and martyrdom are in Kottar Diocese, in Kanyakumari District of Tamil Nadu state. His tomb at St. Francis Xavier Cathedral in Nagercoil attracts large numbers of devotees.

Recognition of martyrdom

In the Catholic Church, the sainthood cause of a candidate is a rigorous process that takes years and even decades. It starts at the level of the diocese to which the candidate belongs. In the case of Devasahayam, there have been sporadic efforts and calls for his sainthood and martyrdom since 1756.

The Diocese of Kottar received clearance from the Vatican on December 22, 2003, to open the cause of Devasahayams martyrdom at the local level. At the start of the diocesan inquiry which took place from 2006 to 2008, Devasahayam was conferred the title Servant of God.

Thereafter, the process moved over to the Vatican under the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. On November 15, 2011, the documents were submitted for evaluation by the historical consultors, who concluded that the evidence collected was sufficient and reliable to demonstrate the Devasahayam's martyrdom. On February 7, 2012, a special meeting of theological consultors took note of the historical reliability of the documents collected, which demonstrated both the odium fidei [hatred of the faith] on the part of the persecutors and the its acceptance on the part of Devasahayam. An ordinary session of cardinals and bishops on May 8, 2012 gave its approval.

For a non-martyr candidate, a miraculous healing through his or her intercession has to be proved before beatification, which confers on him or her the title Blessed. However, a miracle is not required prior to a martyr's beatification, as was the case of Devasahayam.

Beatification

On June 28, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI authorized the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to promulgate the decree recognizing Devasahayams martyrdom. On December 2, 2012, Italian Cardinal Angelo Amato, former Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, presided over the Mass of Beatification at Carmel Higher Secondary School campus in Nagercoil, Kottar Diocese, on behalf of Pope Benedict, conferring on Devasahayam the title Blessed.

Speaking at the midday Angelus prayer that day in the Vatican, Pope Benedict said, Let us join in the joy of the Church in India and pray that the new Blessed may sustain the faith of the Christians of that large and noble country.

The road to canonization

A miracle through a candidates intercession is needed for the person to be cleared for canonization or final sainthood.

In the case of Devasahayam, an enquiry was initiated in the Diocese of Kottar regarding a possible miracle. The Congregation described it as the resuscitation of a 20-week-old fetus of an Indian pregnant lady. The medical board that examined the case, on 28 February 2019 unanimously declared that the healing could not be explained by current medical knowledge.

On December 5, 2019, a special meeting of the theological consultors of the Congregation approved the miracle. Cardinals and bishops, who met on February 18, 2020, also approved it. Three days later, on February 21, Pope Francis authorized the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to promulgate the decree officially recognizing the miracle, which effectively cleared Blessed Devasahayam for sainthood.
Pope Francis meets with the President of the Republic of Latvia, Mr. Egils Levits (Vatican Media)

Pope Francis receives the President of Latvia, Mr. Egils Levits, in audience on Monday morning in the Vatican.

By Vatican News staff writer

Pope Francis met Monday with Mr. Egils Levits, the President of the Republic of Latvia, in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican, according to a statement from the Holy See Press Office.

Mr. Levits subsequently met with Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, accompanied with the Secretary for Relations with States, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher.

During the cordial talks, satisfaction was expressed for the good bilateral relations, recalling the centenary of diplomatic relations between the Holy See and Latvia.

The parties also highlighted the fundamental contribution of the Christian faith and of the Catholic Church to the promotion of an authentic humanism, open to the spiritual dimension, for the protection of the dignity of man and of the family.

The encounter then focused on matters of mutual interest, both in the international and regional spheres, and the parties reaffirmed their desire to work together in the pursuit of the common good and the promotion of a culture that fosters peace and fraternity among peoples.
JORDAN MEAD is News Editor for The Vidette. Contact her at jnmead@ilstu.edu. Follow Mead on Twitter at @meadjordan19

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Albert Einstein is the most famous and respected scientist in history. A friend and biographer, Abraham Pais, considered him the divine man of the 20th century. New York Times physics reporter Dennis Overbye described him as an icon of humanity facing the unknown.

Einstein possessed a moral quality that set him apart even in his own time. He seemed average, yet he had an extraordinary intellect. He was said to radiate an incredible simplicity that was at the same time childlike and very uncompromising.

In 1905 Albert Einstein published the Special Theory of Relativity; even yet, in 1907 Einstein knew his theory needed work. He discovered that the theory of relativity only applied to observers traveling at a constant speed. It also contradicted Newtons explanation of gravity. As a patent officer, Einstein had no access to laboratory equipment. To compensate, he had to think. He ran over several possibilities in his brain and worked through them step by step.

These mental exercises helped him understand that gravity is analogous to acceleration. On Earth, being stationary is analogous to being in a rocket ship accelerating at a constant 1G. Not only did Einstein find that time and space had no ultimate meaning, he also realized that even geometry was relative rather than absolute.

In Albert Einsteins case, timing was everything, since the latter quarter of the nineteenth century and the first quarter of the twentieth century were the periods in which all of the wonder breakthroughs and miracles of science were introduced into the world. Long-distance passenger trains, geared bicycles, vehicles, aircraft, movies, the radio, electricity, the telegraph, telephones were introduced. The first automobile assembly line appeared on December 1, 1913. Newspapers were thriving, and the introduction of black-and-white newsreels had just started to make worldwide renown conceivable.

On November 25, 1915, Einstein walked onto the Prussian Academy of Sciences platform in Berlin and announced that he had finally concluded his grueling, ten-year quest to get new and more profound knowledge of gravity. He asserted that his general relativity had finally reached its conclusion.

Einsteins 1915 hypothesis stated that huge astronomical objects like the sun bend the fabric of spacetime around themselves, explaining gravity. This astrophysical hypothesis differed from Newtons notion of gravity as an all-encompassing force. Einstein illustrated this bizarre theory with a total solar eclipse. The Foundations of General Relativity appeared in Annalen der Physik in 1916.

WWI ended with the Versailles Treaty on June 28, 1919. This first global battle killed 9 million to 13 million people and destroyed untold resources. Everyone was on the lookout for a fresh perspective and a sense of world peace.

The solar eclipse of 1919, in which Einsteins theory of relativity was tested by astronomers Arthur Eddington and Andrew Crommelin in two locations, while coordinated from England by astronomer Frank Dyson. By measuring the positions of surrounding stars and comparing them to their night positions they could determine whether their light rays bent when they approached the sun. (Image: ESO/Landessternwarte Heidelberg-Konigstuhl/F. W. Dyson, A. S. Eddington, & C. Davidson via Wikimedia Commons CC BY 4.0)

Solar eclipse experiment

English astronomer Arthur Eddington was one of the few people in England who grasped Einsteins theory and realized the significance of testing it. He and his fellow astronomers, Andrew Crommelin and Frank Dyson, organized expeditions to Africas west coast and Sobral, Brazil during the solar eclipse of May 29, 1919, to determine whether Einstein was correct.

Einstein received a telegram in September 1919, which informed him that the eclipse experiment supported his predictions. Ilse Rosenthal-Schneider, German-Australian physicist and philosopher, met with Einstein at the time. By her account, he seemed joyful but not overtly exuberant about the result. She asked him, Well, what would you have said if the theory had been found to be against you? Would you have been disappointed in that event? Einstein smiled and said, Well then I would have been sorry for the dear Lord because the theory is correct.

The results were formally presented at the Royal Society meeting in London on November 6, 1919. The measurements taken during a total solar eclipse earlier that year supported Einsteins bold new theory of gravity, known as general relativity.

It was at this juncture the name Einstein was given to Albert Einstein, signifying the beginning of his metamorphosis from a former patent clerk to a worldwide phenomenon.

Born to Jewish parents in Ulm, Germany in 1879, Einstein was a Jewish pacifist theorist whose work was validated by British astronomers. It wasnt just an ordinary hypothesis. Einsteins idea jolted the globe back to life and inspired the world of science.

Einsteins research in relativity exposed flaws in classical mechanics pioneered by Isaac Newton; paving the way for quantum physics and astronomical discoveries like black holes, neutron stars and gravitational waves.

The Nobel Prize

Prominent scientists were scarce at the time. Notable names included Marie Curie, who had won two Nobels by 1911; Einstein won the 1921 prize retrospectively in 1922. Sir Arthur Eddington, the astronomer who arranged the eclipse missions to verify general relativity, was also a celebrity scientist in Britain.

Einstein dazzled the most knowledgeable top scientists of his day, and newspaper writers were certain he was the genuine article. As a result, even though he was not a self-promoter, he became a press favorite. His mystique grew as he alternated between joking with the media and ignoring them.

During this period, Eddingtons stories of Einsteins genius pleased both the English and American press. Eddington was once told by a journalist that he was one of only three people (including Einstein) who understood the general theory of relativity. He replied, pensively, I just cannot think who the third person might be.

Lighthearted in life and death

The Times published Einsteins translation of a passage in German where he jokingly refers to his own relative identity: Today in Germany I am called a German man of science, and in England I am represented as a Swiss Jew. If I come to be regarded as a bete noire, the descriptions will be reversed, and I shall become a Swiss Jew for the Germans, and a German man of science for the English.

Einstein stayed the darling of the media despite his stoic demeanor and limited command of the English language (his unkempt look developed over time). The fact that he eschewed socks in favor of sandals delighted the American media. Photographers model, he would later quip.

Not everyone admired Einstein. Select groups opposed him and his work for various reasons, according to John Stachel, founder, and editor of the Einstein Papers Project. Russian academics believed it was far too romantic and too abstract.

Some just despised Einstein as a Jew.

After World War I, anti-Semitism was growing, and murder threats against Einstein were commonplace. He was fortunate in that he was on a working vacation in the United States when Hitler came to power in Germany. He knew deep down that he would never return to the land where he had accomplished his greatest achievements.

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. He who knows it not and can no longer wonder, no longer feel amazement, is as good as dead, a snuffed-out candle. Albert Einstein, from his book The World as I See it, published in 1949.

In his final years, Einstein worked on his unified field theories, spoke out against racism and other issues, and told jokes to the parrot he received for his 75th birthday.

Einstein was sent to Princeton Hospital for a ruptured Aortic aneurysm (AAA) on April 17, 1955, but he rejected treatment.

I want to go when I want. It is tasteless to prolong life artificially; I have done my share, it is time to go. I will do it elegantly. The on-duty nurse heard him mumble a few things in German that she couldnt understand before he passed.

The Albert Einstein House in Princeton, New Jersey was designated a National Historic Landmark by the Secretary of Interior on January 7, 1976.

In his own words from An Einstein Encyclopedia:

Strange is our situation here upon earth. Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to divine a purpose.To ponder interminably over the reason for ones own existence or the meaning of life, in general, seems to me, from an objective point of view, to be sheer folly. And yet everyone holds certain ideals by which he guides his aspiration and his judgment. The ideals which have always shone before me and filled me with the joy of living are goodness, beauty, and truth. To make a goal of comfort or happiness has never appealed to me; a system of ethics built on this basis would be sufficient only for a herd of cattle.
Music Time in Africa is VOAs longest running English language program. Since 1965, this award-winning program has featured pan African music that spans all genres and generations. Ethnomusicologist and Host Heather Maxwell keeps you up to date on whats happening in African music with exclusive interviews, cultural information, and of course, great music -- including rare recordings from the Leo Sarkisian Library of African Music.
Sierra Leone is set to become the 23rd country on the African continent to abolish the death penalty.

Lawmakers in the West African nation voted unanimously Friday to outlaw capital punishment and replace it with life imprisonment or a minimum 30-year sentence for such crimes as murder or treason and grant judges additional discretion when handing down a sentence.

Sierra Leone has not executed anyone since 1998, when 24 soldiers were put to death by firing squad for taking part in a coup attempt the previous year. At the time the country was in the throes of a bloody civil war that lasted from 1991 to 2002. But more than 80 people have been sent to death row since then.

President Julius Maada Bio is expected to sign the legislation into law.

More and more Africa countries have abolished the death penalty, which human rights groups consider a cruel remnant of centuries of brutal colonial rule. Malawis Supreme Court ruled the practice unconstitutional in April, while Chad outlawed it in 2020.

16 people were executed across sub-Saharan Africa last year compared to 25 people in 2019, a drop of 36%, according Amnesty International, a human rights advocacy group.

Samira Daoud, Amnesty Internationals West and Central Africa Director, praised the vote by Sierra Leones lawmakers in a statement saying it is a major victory for all those who tirelessly campaigned to consign this cruel punishment to history and a strengthening of the protection of the right to life.

Daoud urged President Maada Bio to immediately sign the bill and that the inhuman and degrading punishment, she added, has no place in our world.
The Somali government has formally rejected African Union recommendations for a scaled-down peacekeeping presence in the Horn of Africa country, calling a report and its proposals devoid of realities.

The experts who conducted the assessment didnt sufficiently consult with the federal government of Somalia, Foreign Minister Mohamed Abdirizak told VOA Somali, saying the government informed the AU of its position last week. The report and options are not good options at this point.

The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has provided peacekeepers in Somalia since March 2007, primarily to protect the Somali government, and subsequently helped Somali forces dislodge al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab militants from all major towns and cities. Five AU countries  Uganda, Burundi, Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti  contribute to the current force of 19,400 soldiers. The mission costs hundreds of millions a year, according to the IPI Global Observatory.

Reduce, reconfigure presence

But AU officials, concerned about funding, have sought to draw down and reconfigure the peacekeeping posture. In April, Somali officials agreed to take the lead in security responsibilities by years end.

In a report dated May 30, an AU assessment team proposed four options. Its first and preferred recommendation would be a hybrid mission of the African Union and United Nations, with a mix of police (50%), military personnel (35%) and civilians (15%). The AU report did not specify troop strength but recommended a gradual reduction.

The U.N., which conducted its own assessment earlier this year, did not call for a hybrid mission. Instead, it recommended that AMISOM reconfigure and modify its mission  the AU teams second option.

The AU teams remaining two options were deploying an East African standby force or having AMISOM exit the country. The reports authors said the latter could be accomplished in six months, but they warned against a hasty exit.

Earlier this year, the United States pulled out most of its troops, repositioning them elsewhere in East Africa. It resumed military airstrikes against al-Shabab militants in Somalia on July 20, after a six-month lull.

The AU report criticized the Somali government and federal member states, saying their failure to resolve issues of constitutional review and the sharing of power and resources had contributed to challenges in stabilizing the country.

"Somali political actors do not respect their own agreements; political actors show deference to the clan rather than the federal constitutional order, the report said.

Abdirizak, the foreign minister, said his government had devised a Somali transition plan (STP) that eventually transfers security responsibilities to Somalis. Its a plan where the leadership of security will be taking their views and orders from the Somali side. This is the best way to transition AMISOM security responsibilities to Somali security responsibilities.

But, he complained, none of the four [AU] options currently presented mentions STP.

AMISOM did not respond to VOAs request for an on-the-record interview.

Lack of coordination

The AU assessment came amid emerging accounts of miscommunication and poor coordination between Africa Union and Somali military leadership. But several AMISOM and Somali government officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, cited tension between Somali Brigadier General Odawaa Yusuf Rageh and Lieutenant General Diomede Ndegeya, commander of the AU forces in Somalia.

There is some bad blood between the two, said a senior AU official in Mogadishu, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.

The differences between Rageh and Ndegeya  who both declined VOAs requests for interviews  reportedly stem from a military operation that the Somali National Army (SNA) conducted against al-Shabab in the Middle Shabelle region. The army reported that the six-week operation, which began May 23, accomplished its objectives by clearing al-Shabab from a vast rural area and killing more than 100 militants.

The senior AU official said that, though AMISOM soldiers operate in the area, Rageh did not inform them of the Somali military operation.

The senior AU official said there was no collaborative planning. He suggested that Rageh wanted to showcase his ability to execute missions even without AMISOM, and this has backfired.

The AU official said that midway through the operation, Rageh asked AMISOM for air support  and was refused.

Rageh wanted choppers to be used to fire at al-Shabab positions in a forested area but they did not have area coordinates of the enemy; they had no clear intelligence about the enemy, which has anti-aircraft guns, the AU official said.

Colonel Ali Hashi Abdinur, spokesperson for the Somali army, denied tensions between the commanders. The cooperation is going very well. There is no dispute, he said.

Contention over mobile forces

Abdirizak says his government wants AU forces to play a supporting role, with timely handover of security responsibilities to Somali forces. He is asking AMISOM to provide mobile forces to fight alongside Somali troops.

On Monday, Somali security forces captured two key areas in central Galmudug state. They were led by U.S.-trained commandos called the Danab Brigade  lightning-quick mobile forces capable of operating on multiple fronts. Somali government officials say AMISOM operations need to be modeled after Danabs mobile operations.

But the senior AU official said AMISOM hasnt been able to provide mobile support because its burdened by running several forward operating bases for which Somalia failed to take responsibility.

When the Somali army demanded a mobile force, we said, You are the same people who tied our hands,  the senior AU official said.

Lack of coordination is not surprising, said Samira Gaid, a national security expert.

Ultimately, we are on two different clocks, said Gaid, who served as security adviser to former Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire.

Gaid warned that miscommunication could breed mistrust and undue tension between two entities expected to work together.
The United Arab Emirates is dismantling parts of a military base it runs in the East African nation of Eritrea after it pulled back from the grinding war in nearby Yemen, satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press show.



The UAE built a port and expanded an airstrip in Assab beginning in September 2015, using the facility as a base to ferry heavy weaponry and Sudanese troops into Yemen as it fought alongside a Saudi-led coalition against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels there.



But the country once praised as "Little Sparta" by former U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis appears to have found the limits of its military expansion in Yemen's stalemate conflict, experts say. After it withdrew troops from the conflict, the satellite photos show it began shipping off equipment and tearing down even newly built structures.



"The Emiratis are paring back their strategic ambitions and are pulling out of places where they had presences," said Ryan Bohl, an analyst at the Texas-based private intelligence firm Stratfor. "Having that hard-power deployment exposed them to more risk than the Emiratis are now willing to tolerate."



Emirati officials did not respond to questions from the AP. Eritrea, which gave a 30-year lease to the Emiratis for the base, similarly did not respond to questions sent to its embassy in Washington.



The UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms home to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, poured millions of dollars into improving the facility at Assab, only some 70 kilometers (40 miles) from Yemen. It dredged a port and improved the dusty airstrip's roughly 3,500-meter (11,500-foot) runway to allow for heavy support aircraft.



The Emiratis also built barracks, aircraft canopies and fencing across the 9-square-kilometer (3.5-square-mile) facility initially built in the 1930s by colonial power Italy.



Over time, the UAE stationed Leclerc battle tanks, G6 self-propelled howitzers and BMP-3 amphibious fighting vehicles at the airport, according to United Nations experts. Those types of heavy weapons have been seen on Yemeni battlefields. Attack helicopters, drones and other aircraft have been seen on its runways.



Barracks on the base housed Emirati and Yemeni troops, as well as Sudanese forces filmed disembarking in Yemen's port city of Aden. Records show the ship carrying them, the SWIFT-1, traveled back and forth to Assab. The vessel later came under attack by Houthi forces in 2016 and the Emirati government asserted it carried humanitarian aid, a claim for which U.N. experts later described themselves as being "unconvinced of its veracity."



The base also aided wounded soldiers by housing "one of the best field surgical hospitals anywhere in the Middle East," said Michael Knights, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near-East Policy who has studied the Assab base.



As Yemen's war dragged on, the Emiratis also used the base for holding prisoners as the Saudi-led coalition faced increasing international pressure over detainee abuse and airstrikes killing civilians. The UAE announced in the summer of 2019 it had begun withdrawing its troops from the war, which still rages today.



"There's only so far that they can punch above their weight, which they do militarily and economically," said Alex Almeida, a security analyst at Horizon Client Access who has studied Assab. "Once they figured out Yemen wasn't worth it for them, they decided, 'We're going to end it,' and they ended it pretty suddenly."



Satellite pictures from Planet Labs Inc., analyzed by the AP, show that decision appears to extend to Assab as well.



In June 2019, around the time the Emiratis made their withdrawal announcement, workers apparently razed structures believed to be barracks alongside the port, the satellite images show. Workers gathered neat rows of materiel just north of the port, apparently waiting to be shipped off.



In early January of this year, another photo showed what appeared to be vehicles and other equipment being loaded onto a waiting cargo ship. By Feb. 5, the ship and that equipment were gone.



The deconstruction included newly built canopies along a new tarmac near the facilities' runway as well. In the Feb. 5 images, another set of canopies that analysts earlier linked to the drones being flown out of the base had been dismantled as well. The UAE has used Chinese-made armed drones in the Yemen war to kill leaders among the Houthi rebels.



Destruction of the drone hangars come after rebels in Ethiopia's Tigray region in November alleged that Emirati drones from Assab had been used against their positions. The UAE hasn't commented on the allegation for which the rebels offered no evidence.



The U.N.-backed government in Libya also has alleged the UAE has flown weapons through Assab on its way there. U.N. experts have accused the UAE among other nations of funneling weapons into Libya amid its yearslong civil war.



Meanwhile, a Ukrainian-registered Antonov An-124 cargo plane flew several flights in late January back and forth to the Emirati city of Al Ain from Assab, according to flight data from FlightRadar24.com.



That aircraft, once linked to the Emirati military, now flies for an Ukrainian-Emirati company called Maximus Air. The firm did not return a request for comment left at its Abu Dhabi office.

Despite the dismantling work, Emirati attack helicopters still have been seen at the base. It remains a strategically important point as well, sitting just off the crucial Bab el-Mandeb strait connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.



But the UAE may face more-pressing concerns. Since 2019, tensions between the U.S. and Iran have seen a series of escalating incidents, including attacks on ships off the Emirates. Those threats closer to home may take precedence over an expanded military footprint abroad.



"I think what 'Little Sparta' is doing is to keep its powder dry for whatever it needs to do next," Knights said.
The U.S. State Department Tuesday called for "calm" in Cuba after the biggest protests in decades against the island's communist government roiled the country Sunday.

"We call for calm and we condemn any violence against those protesting peacefully, and we equally call on the Cuban government to release anyone detained for peaceful protest," State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters during a news briefing.

Some 150 protesters have been arrested and, according to Reuters, only 12 have been released.

Price added that the U.S. government was considering what it could do to help the thousands of protesters who've taken to the country's streets to protest an economic crisis plaguing the island and the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic by its once vaunted health care system.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters Tuesday that "we're pulling for the people of Cuba. This has been an outrageous, thuggish regime for some 70 years now." He added that he didn't know if the protests were strong enough to "overcome the thugs."

Meanwhile, access to social media platforms remained at least partially restricted Tuesday after the government reportedly shut them down Monday. NetBlocks, a London-based organization, said Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Telegram were among those restricted.

Officials in Cuba have not commented on access to platforms on the island.

The Cuban government blames the U.S. for the unrest, saying the embargo is the reason for the country's economic woes, which saw the economy shrink by 11%, the Cuban government reported.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday that blaming the protests on the U.S. would be a "grievous mistake" and proof the Cuban government was not hearing the concerns of the Cuban public.

In a sign that the Cuban government is concerned about the protests, former head of the Cuban Communist Party Raul Castro attended a meeting of the political bureau to discuss the "provocations," according to state-run media. Castro stepped down from the position in April and was replaced by Miguel Diaz-Canel.

Protests are rare in Cuba, where internal security forces tightly control the population, but economic conditions are causing many to demand changes.

"What we want is change," Yamila Monte, a Cuban domestic worker told AFP. "I have had enough."

People "are angry because there is no food, because there are problems," Yudeiky Valverde, a 39-year-old primary school employee, told AFP.

A protester who spoke to the Associated Press but declined to identify himself out of fear of possible arrest said: "We are fed up with the queues, the shortages. That's why I'm here."

Maykel, a Havana resident who spoke to Reuters and declined to give his surname, described the situation in Cuba by saying, "It's becoming impossible to live here."

Some information for this report came from the Associated Press, AFP and Reuters.
United Nations human rights officials warn a new electoral law passed by Nicaraguas National Assembly early this month undermines prospects that Novembers presidential and parliamentary elections will be free and fair.

The consequences of the new law have been immediate. In recent weeks, Nicaraguan authorities have used the so-called reforms under the new law to dissolve two political parties. They also have initiated a criminal investigation of one of the countrys main presumptive presidential candidates, Cristiana Chamorro.

Spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Marta Hurtado says the authorities are investigating Chamorro for alleged money laundering.

"The investigation is based on the law against money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction adopted in July 2018," Hurtado said. "This broadly worded law has raised general concerns that it may be used to silence dissent. The allegations against Ms. Chamorro include the supposed misuse of funds received from international sources.

President Daniel Ortega has been a major political force in the country since the Sandinista Party overthrew the U.S.-backed dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza in 1979. He has maintained an iron grip on power since his last reelection as president in 2006.

Hurtado says the National Police also have intensified actions to restrict the movements of other opposition leaders.

"Under these circumstances, the dissolution of political parties and the initiation of criminal investigations that could lead to the disqualification of opposition candidates, without due process, not only undermine the right to stand for election by aspiring candidates, but also the right of voters to elect the candidates of their choice," Hurtado said. "

The new electoral law is the latest in a series of measures adopted by the National Assembly that disproportionately restrict the right to freedom of expression by human rights defenders, journalists, political and social leaders.

The U.N. human rights office is calling on the Nicaraguan Government to stop harassing members of the opposition and journalists. It also is urging the authorities to amend the electoral law, which it says impinges on human rights and threatens a democratic electoral process.



Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct an error in its previous version to clarify that Violeta Chamorro was not a candidate in Nicaragua's 2006 election.
U.S. Secretary State Antony Blinken says he is concerned that Ethiopia might 'implode' unless all parties stop military action and engage in political dialogue. As VOA's Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports, Blinken is headed to Africa next week for talks in Kenya, Nigeria and Senegal at a time when many worry that Ethiopias yearlong war in the Tigray region may be worsening into a deeper conflict.
When Gulzar Ahmad Dar reads the local newspaper, he isnt interested in the news and latest events in Kashmir. He wants to know what is happening to his son, Manan Gulzar Dar.

The photojournalist, whose work has appeared in local outlets and publications such as The Guardian and the Pacific Press photo agency, was arrested October 10 as part of a conspiracy case in which India says militant groups were plotting to take action.

Ahmad Dar accompanied his son to the police station in the Batamaloo locality of Srinagar that day. But since then, the family has received few details about what has happened to Manan Dar, or a second son who was also arrested.

It was only through media reports that they know the National Investigation Agency (NIA) took Manan Dar into custody in New Delhi, more than 15 hours away by car.

I got to know about my sons arrest through neighbors and friends who have read the media reports, Ahmad Dar told VOA.

Sitting in a small room in the family home in Batamaloo, filled with the sorrow of separation, Manan Dars mother, Fahmida, described her son as a jolly fellow and a wonderful photographer.

I would have shown you his brilliant work. However, the mobile gadgets of family including my two sons are with the security agencies, she told VOA.

Mass conspiracy charges

Manan Dar and his younger brother  a 23-year-old college student who was arrested on October 17  are among more than 20 people detained across Indian-controlled Kashmir as part of a mass conspiracy case.

When asked about the charges, Shariq Iqbal, a Delhi-based lawyer representing the journalist said, Right now there is no individual charge against anyone. There is only a general charge.

Manan Dar and his family have denied any involvement in the alleged conspiracy, Iqbal said.

Satish Tamta, the senior lawyer in the case, told VOA, We are also as much in dark as you are.

The lack of clarity for the accused and their families, who often have little idea why their relative was arrested or where they are being detained, is a problem across Indian-controlled Kashmir.

Manan Dar is not a lone case of a journalist in the Kashmir valley suddenly facing serious accusations, often related to terrorism.

Anti-terror laws

Kashmiri lawyer Mirza Saaib Beg told VOA that the prevailing uncertainty on what will merit a charge under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act or other anti-terror laws has a direct and detrimental effect on the quality of information available to the public.

Even in a situation where the charge is proven false, reliance on anti-terror legislation has potential to create suspicion and indifference towards the victim because the general public assumes that the person must have done something to merit being charged under a legislation as drastic as the UAPA, said Beg.

As well as practicing law, Beg is a Weidenfeld-Hoffmann scholar at Oxford University.

Indias anti-terror laws are vaguely worded and broadly designed, granting sweeping powers of detention that can extend for many months even before the matter is listed before any court, he said.

The law fails to provide any legal safeguards that would prevent arbitrary abuse of the powers. These anti-terror legislations are so prone to abuse that one may wonder whether they have been shaped in this manner out of incompetence or out of malice, Beg said.

Police in the Jammu and Kashmir region, and in the district where Manan Dar lives, did not respond to VOAs emails requesting comment. The Indian embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment.

Conflict in Kashmir

The regions media have long come under pressure, both from regional and central Indian authorities and separatists. India and Pakistan both claim the territory, and for decades Indian-controlled Kashmir has been the site of clashes and conflict between Indian forces and separatists.

But since India revoked the regions autonomy in 2019, media activists have cited a rise in arrests and harassment of journalists.

The U.N. special rapporteur on freedom of expression and the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention have also raised concerns about the alleged arbitrary detention and intimidation of journalists covering the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

While the Press Council of India was in Kashmir last month to investigate conditions for the regions press, police detained or issued summonses to five journalists, two of whom were accused of disturbing public peace and sent to Anantnag district jail.

The press council arranged the visit in response to a letter from former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti about the harassment of Kashmiri journalists.

Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch, says the spate of harassment, including what she believes are politically motivated arrests of Kashmiri journalists, is extremely concerning.

The Indian authorities have repeatedly defended their actions in Jammu and Kashmir and deny serious allegations of human rights violations, which then raises obvious questions about what they might have to hide by threatening journalists to prevent them from doing their jobs, she said.

Ganguly described a worrying trend in the abuse of counterterrorism and sedition laws to arrest activists and critics and detain them for lengthy periods. Kashmiri journalists and activists are particularly at risk, she said.

Chilling effect

Aasif Sultan, who worked for the monthly Kashmir Narrator, has been detained in Srinagar's Central Jail for three years for alleged complicity in harboring known terrorists  a charge media rights groups believe is in retaliation for his reporting.

His detention and other cases of arrests, detentions, interrogations and seemingly innocuous inquiries into their reports have a chilling effect on journalists, said Geeta Seshu, co-editor of Indias free expression group the Free Speech Collective.

If (the government) has a problem with any news reports, there are other mechanisms it could resort to. Such punitive and criminalizing action is highly condemnable, Seshu said.

Journalists self-censor to avoid getting into trouble with the authorities or because they cant be certain if their news outlet will back them, Seshu said. In Kashmir, we are seeing increasing instances of journalists being picked up for no rhyme nor reason, irrespective of whether they self-censor or not, Seshu said.

Raid on family home

Back in Batamaloo, the Dar family is still recovering from the shock of their sons arrests and a raid on their home.

The National Investigation Agency stormed our home on October 13 and took mobile gadgets and land ownership papers, Ahmad Dar said.

The NIA has stated that during the operation, it confiscated several gadgets and what it described as incriminating material.

The security agency said it has "reliable information" that the Lashkar-e-Taiba and other terrorist groups in Jammu and Kashmir are "conspiring, both physically and in cyberspace ... to perform lethal terrorist acts," according to the Indian news website The Wire.

Manan Dar is due to appear before a district judge in New Delhi on November 27, his lawyer told VOA.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Kenya, Nigeria and Senegal next week to discuss security issues and other topics, the State Department said Thursday.

In Abuja, Blinken and Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari will discuss collaborating on international health security, expanding energy access and security and other issues, it said.

Blinken, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and other officials will discuss our shared interests as members of the U.N. Security Council, including addressing regional security issues, such as Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sudan, according to the department.

Blinkens last visit will be with Senegalese President Macky Sall in Dakar to reaffirm the close partnership between our two countries, the agency said.

Blinkens November 15-20 trip comes as the U.S. aims to boost an African Union-led initiative to end the fighting between the Ethiopian government and ethnic Tigrayans.

Tensions in Ethiopia have escalated after reports of Ethiopian authorities detaining hundreds of Tigrayans, including some who are United Nations and African Union staff members, days after the government declared a state of emergency.

I am very concerned about the potential for Ethiopia to implode, Blinken said at the State Department on Friday.

Blinken said the U.S. is working closely with African Union envoy, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, who is trying to help broker a cease-fire in the conflict.
Britain is denying a report by human rights activists that Irans nuclear negotiator threatened to curtail his involvement in upcoming talks with world powers unless British officials shut down the independent Iran Atrocities Tribunal hearings in London that are investigating Tehrans deadly crackdown on 2019 protests.

We do not recognize the report of recent meetings between representatives of the U.K. and Iran. No threat was made to the U.K. with regard to the events organized by human rights groups this week in London, a British embassy spokesperson in Washington said in a statement emailed to VOA on Saturday.

The tribunal  which has no legal standing and was launched by three rights groups  had posted a Persian-language tweet Friday, citing unnamed European sources claiming that Irans lead nuclear negotiator and Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani made the purported threat to downgrade his upcoming talks with world powers a day earlier in meetings with British officials in London.

In a phone call with VOA, the British embassy spokesperson said the assertion that Bagheri Kani made such a threat is 100% not true.

The tribunals tweet said the European sources quoted Bagheri Kani as telling the British officials: "You want us to negotiate with you about the [2015 Iran nuclear deal], but instead of showing us goodwill, you have allowed terrorists to put us on trial here [in London]."

Bagheri Kani's reference to "terrorists" appeared to be aimed at the human rights groups staging the tribunal, which opened Wednesday and is set to conclude Sunday.



Iran Atrocities Tribunal

The event, known as an international people's tribunal, is organized by rights groups based in London, Paris and Oslo, Norway, and is aimed at investigating alleged atrocities related to Iran's suppression of nationwide protests in November 2019. Rights activists have accused Iranian security forces of killing hundreds of protesters and wounding and detaining thousands more in the crackdown.

The event also has been named the Aban Tribunal in reference to the Persian month in which the protests happened two years ago.

Tribunal organizer and freelance Iranian-Finnish journalist Kambiz Ghafouri, responding to the British statement denying that Bagheri Kani made the alleged threat, told VOA Persian on Saturday that he sees the denial as playing with words.

Politicians tend to say that they dont recognize leaked reports [of off-the-record discussions]. So, we, the reporters, should retort that we are responsible for the facts that we receive, and we do not recognize the official accounts made by politicians that are based on expediency, Ghafouri said.

In a Friday interview with VOA Persian TV, tribunal co-counsel Regina Paulose declined to provide more information about Bagheri Kani's alleged use of threats to pressure British officials into stopping the hearings. She said his purported threat to scale back Iranian involvement in future nuclear talks with world powers "will have no impact" on the tribunal, whose work, she said, is needed to give voice to victims of an oppressive Iranian government that has enjoyed impunity for rights abuses for a long time.

On Friday, the tribunal's third day of hearings, international legal experts heard testimony from witnesses, including human rights researchers, former Iranian detainees, relatives of those killed in the 2019 crackdown, and an Iranian police officer. Some of the witnesses who provided video testimony from inside Iran had their faces covered to avoid potential identification and punishment by Iranian authorities.



Vienna talks

Iran has said it intends to return to Vienna on November 29 for indirect talks with the United States about reviving the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Iran and the U.S. held several rounds of indirect talks in the Austrian capital from April to June, until Iran suspended them ahead of its June 18 presidential election.

The Vienna talks, in which other world powers have mediated between the U.S. and Iran, are intended to secure a mutual return to JCPOA compliance by the two longtime rivals. Under the deal, Iran promised world powers that it would curb nuclear activities that could be weaponized in return for international sanctions relief.

The prior U.S. administration of President Donald Trump quit the JCPOA in 2018, saying it was not tough enough on Iran, and reimposed U.S. sanctions. Iran retaliated a year later by starting to publicly exceed JCPOA limits on its nuclear activities.

President Joe Biden, who succeeded Trump in January, has said he wants to revive the JCPOA through diplomacy, calling it the best way to prevent Iran from becoming nuclear-armed, a goal Tehran denies seeking. Biden has offered to remove some U.S. sanctions on Iran in return for Tehran resuming full compliance with JCPOA restrictions on its nuclear program.

The government of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who took office in August, agreed earlier this month to resume the JCPOA talks on November 29.

But Bagheri Kani told Iranian state-run network Press TV Thursday that Iran will not discuss its nuclear activities at the upcoming talks. He said the Iranian side instead will focus on securing "the termination of illegal (U.S.) sanctions" against Tehran.

The Aban Tribunal's tweet cited the European sources as saying Bagheri Kani threatened to suspend "part" of the upcoming JCPOA talks. It was not immediately clear what that meant.



Bagheri Kani made no mention of any threat when he posted a Friday tweet summarizing his meetings with British and other European officials in recent days.

In its first response to the tribunal, the U.S. State Department on Friday sent a statement to VOA saying it is following the event. Asked if the U.S. will consider tightening human rights-related sanctions on Iran in light of witnesses testifying at the tribunal about alleged Iranian rights abuses, a State Department spokesperson said the U.S. "cannot comment on internal sanctions deliberations."

The U.S. spokesperson accused the Iranian government of "continuing to deny Iranians their human rights, including through severe restrictions on the rights to peaceful assembly, freedom of association, freedom of religion or belief, and freedom of expression."

The spokesperson also said the U.S. "condemns the use of violence against peaceful protesters. We support the rights of Iranians to peacefully assemble and express themselves, without fear of violence and detention by security forces."

This article originated in VOA's Persian Service.
Officials, relatives and a media watchdog in Afghanistan confirmed Saturday that a suspected bomb blast on a minibus in Kabul had killed a well-known journalist and injured several people.

The violence happened near a Taliban checkpoint in the Afghan capitals western Dasht-e Barchi area, dominated by members of the minority Shiite Hazara community.

The slain journalist was identified as Hamid Saighani, who worked for the mainstream Ariana television network.

Yet another journalist killed in Afghanistan, tweeted Afghanistan Journalists Center, an independent local media monitor, hours after the blast. It noted that Saighani was at least the ninth journalist killed in Afghanistan this year.



Saighanis wife, Fawzia Wahdat, also a journalist, posted "I lost Hamid" on her Facebook page.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the chief spokesman for the acting Taliban government, tweeted that one person had been killed and two injured. He said an investigation was underway.

There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the attack, but Afghan Hazara have for years been the target of deadly violence by the regional Islamic State affiliate known as Islamic State-Khorasan Province (IS-Khorasan).

The terror group has intensified bombings and other attacks in Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in mid-August.

Representatives of the acting Taliban government earlier this week claimed that an ongoing counterterror operation has captured around 600 IS-Khorasan militants and killed more than three dozen in the last three months.

Data from the local media group Afghan Journalists Safety Committee says at least 67 journalists were killed in Afghanistan between 2013 and 2020, for which the Taliban is listed as responsible for 27 cases.

It is not known whether Saighani may have been the intended target of Saturdays attack.
A businessman who traveled to space with William Shatner last month was killed along with another person when the small plane they were in crashed in a wooded area of northern New Jersey, state police said.

The space tourist, Glen M. de Vries, 49, of New York City, and Thomas P. Fischer, 54, of Hopatcong, were aboard the single-engine Cessna 172 that went down Thursday.

De Vries was an instrument-rated private pilot, and Fischer owned a flight school. Authorities have not said who was piloting the small plane.

The plane left Essex County Airport in Caldwell, on the edge of the New York City area, and was headed to Sussex Airport, in rural northwestern New Jersey. The Federal Aviation Administration alerted public safety agencies to look for the missing plane around 3 p.m.

Emergency crews found the wreckage in Hampton Township around 4 p.m., the FAA said.

De Vries, co-founder of a tech company, took a 10-minute flight to the edge of space October 13 aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard spacecraft with Shatner and two others.

"It's going to take me a while to be able to describe it. It was incredible," de Vries said as he got his Blue Origin "astronaut wings" pinned onto his blue flight suit by Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos.

"We are devastated to hear of the sudden passing of Glen de Vries," Blue Origin tweeted Friday. "He brought so much life and energy to the entire Blue Origin team and to his fellow crewmates. His passion for aviation, his charitable work, and his dedication to his craft will long be revered and admired."

De Vries co-founded Medidata Solutions, a software company specializing in clinical research, and was the vice chair of life sciences and health care at Dassault Systemes, which acquired Medidata in 2019. He had taken part in an auction for a seat on the first flight and bought a seat on the second trip.

De Vries also served on the board of Carnegie Mellon University.

Fischer owned the flight school Fischer Aviation and was its chief instructor, according to the company's website.

The National Transportation Safety Board was investigating.
Schools and economic activity have completely shut down in Bamenda, an English-speaking city in western Cameroon after police opened fire, killing an 8-year-old girl. Several hundred irate residents took to the streets protesting the killing, while armed separatists have launched attacks on government forces, calling on the military to leave Bamenda.

Civilians shouted as Cameroonian troops shoot in the air to stop people from protesting Saturday along the streets of Bamenda, capital of Cameroon's restive English-speaking Northwest region.

Police said in a statement that residents are protesting Fridays killing of 8-year-old Tataw Brandy by a police officer in Bamenda. According to the statement, signed by Cameroons police chief, Martin Mbarga Nguele, police wanted to immobilize a suspected vehicle and a bullet mistakenly hit and killed the 8-year old.

Civilians marched with the girl's dead body, calling for justice to be served. The police statement said separatist fighters infiltrated the protesting civilians.

Deben Tchoffo, governor of the Northwest region, said he gave instructions and the police officer suspected to have opened fire that killed the girl was arrested. He said investigations have been opened to determine whether the bullet that killed the girl was actually from the police officer's rifle. Tchoffo said he was pleading with civilians to not heed calls by separatists to close schools and businesses as a sign of discontent over what they consider military and police brutality toward civilians.

The protesters are asking the military to leave the streets, but the government says the troops are deployed to protect civilians from separatists fighting to create an independent state called Ambazonia.

Chris Anu, secretary for communication at what separatists call the Ambazonia Interim government, in a declaration shared on social media platforms after the child was killed, said fighters have been in running battles with government troops. He said separatists have ordered civilians to go out to the streets as a sign of protest against military and police brutality and the killing of civilians.

"We are saying until Cameroon stops killing our children and withdraws their soldiers back to their own territory, there will be no schooling in Ambazonia. We have to stop lamenting and begin to act and let the world see the outrage in us," he said.

Anu said fighters have been instructed to make sure that schools which were authorized to open their doors this year are closed.

Rights groups say children and women are increasingly being targeted by both government forces and separatists.

Nicoline Nwenushi Wazeh is a member of Cameroon Womens Peace Movement. The movement negotiates with government troops and fighters to both drop weapons for a return to peace in Cameroon's western regions. Wazeh says both fighters and the military should spare civilians, especially women and children.

"I add my voice to deplore such acts and urge all parties to the crisis to exercise maximum caution and avoid civilian casualties. Parties to the conflict must adhere to international humanitarian law and keep children out of harm's way. Spare the population from all this trauma and panic," Wazeh said.

Separatists have been fighting since 2017 to create a breakaway English-speaking state in the majority French-speaking country. The separatists complain of marginalization and discrimination by the French-speaking majority.

The United Nations says that the fighting has displaced more than 500,000 people and killed more than 3,000 civilians.
Africa is on the front line of climate change. Nowhere is this more evident than the Lake Chad Basin, which covers almost 8% of the continent and supports tens of millions of people. The United Nations says it has shrunk by 90% since the 1960s because of drought.

The resulting competition for resources has caused poverty and conflict. Over 10 million people are dependent on humanitarian assistance.

Oladosu Adenike, 27, has witnessed Lake Chads tragic transformation firsthand. She is a prominent campaigner on climate change in Africa and started the Nigerian Fridays for Future campaign, joining the global movement after meeting Swedish activist Greta Thunberg.

Adenike is one of several young African delegates who traveled thousands of miles to Glasgow, Scotland, to be part of the COP26 climate summit and to convey their sense of urgency to world leaders.

The peace and stability in this region  in the Lake Chad region, the Sahel  it depends on when we are able to restore the lake and able to say that people can get sustainable livelihoods, for them not to be able to be vulnerable to join armed groups of people. And this will likewise improve democracy in the region, she told VOA.

Adenike is an official Nigerian youth delegate at the COP26 summit and has addressed senior delegates on the need to act fast. But she says she is frustrated by slow progress.

We are still in the talking phase. We have not yet transited into the action phase, which is needed right now this moment, and not postponing it into the future. Because that is the most dangerous thing you can do right now. Delay now is a denial of the climate change crisis, Adenike said.

Kaluki Paul Mutuku is a youth delegate for Kenya. Like Adenike, hes a prominent young voice in the fight against climate change in Africa.

We are constantly in the fear of losing our family members, losing our communities because the climate is dry  it is worsening by the day  there are droughts, there is extreme rainfall, and communities cannot bear it, he told VOA.

Just in 2019, we had a huge locust invasion that took over our crop plantations. We had huge floods in Nairobi, which killed so many people, and just this year, we are having so many people lives being lost due to starvation and famines, he said.

Mutuku said that delivering on climate finance  the money rich countries have agreed to pay poorer nations to adapt to climate change and decarbonize their economies  is the most vital outcome of COP26. The 2009 pledge to pay $100 billion a year still has not been met.

How do we finance to avoid emissions in Africa? How do we equip communities with resources and money to really be able to adapt to climate change, and how do we ensure that we give climate proofing for them? he said.

We cannot afford to lose hope. And as long as young people, grassroots, and our front-line communities are leading the decade of change, then we are in the right trajectory. For me, any delayed financing is a shame on (world) leaders, Mutuku told VOA.

For young activists from around the world, it has been a long journey to COP26 in every sense. They say they will continue to fight for climate justice long after they return home.
Several young African climate activists traveled thousands of miles to Glasgow, Scotland, to be part of the COP26 climate summit  and to convey their sense of urgency to world leaders. Henry Ridgwell spoke with some of them about their climate change experiences and what COP26 must deliver to help their communities back home. Camera: Henry Ridgwell.
A prolonged gun battle between rival gangs inside Ecuador's largest prison early Saturday left at least 68 inmates dead in the latest violence to hit the Litoral Penitentiary, which recently saw the country's worst prison bloodbath.

The fighting lasted for almost eight hours in the lockup in the coastal city of Guayaquil and authorities attributed the fighting to prison gangs linked to international drug cartels. Videos circulating on social media showed bodies, some burned, lying on the ground inside the prison.

Inmates "tried to dynamite a wall to get into pavilion 2 to carry out a massacre. They also burned mattresses to try to drown [their rivals] in smoke," said Gov. Pablo Arosemena of Guayas province where Guayaquil is located.

"We are fighting against drug trafficking," Arosemena said. "It is very hard."

Police commander Gen. Tanya Varela said authorities using drones saw that inmates in three pavilions were armed with guns and explosives and were trying to enter pavilion 2, which was without its leader who had been released earlier this week.

She said police officers entered to try to protect the pavilion and get the inmates in the other areas to return to their cells. "These events are due to the dispute among criminal gangs over territory; there are now pavilions without leaders," she said.

The Attorney General's Office, on its Twitter account, raised the death toll to 68 and said 25 other inmates were injured.

The prison violence comes amid a national state of emergency decreed by President Guillermo Lasso in October that empowers security forces to fight drug trafficking and other crimes.

On Saturday, Lasso tweeted that "the first right that we should guarantee should be the right to life and liberty, which isn't possible if security forces can't act to protect." He was referring the Constitutional Court's recent refusal to allow the military into prisons despite the state of emergency. Soldiers are currently outside the Litoral.

Ecuador's penitentiaries are seeing a wave of brutal violence.

In late September, a battle among gang members in Litoral prison killed at least 118 people in what authorities described as the South American country's worst ever prison massacre. Officials said at least five of the dead were beheaded. In February, 79 inmates were killed in simultaneous riots in various prisons. So far this year, more than 300 prisoners have died in clashes in penitentiaries across the country.

Besides overcrowding, authorities in Ecuador say a major problem is the access inmates have to guns, sometimes high-caliber, and ammunition. They say they enter prisons through delivery vehicles, drone deliveries and officials this week prevented high-caliber weapons from entering a prison over a wall.

Outside the Litoral prison on Saturday, relatives of inmates gathered for news of their loved ones.

"Enough of this. When will they stop the killing? This is a prison not a slaughterhouse, they are human beings," said Francisca Chancay, 55, whose brother has been in the prison for eight months.

Some were calling for Ecuador's security forces to take control of the prisons.

"What is [President] Lasso waiting for? That there are more deaths?" said Maritza Vera, 62, whose son is an inmate. "Have mercy, where are the human rights. We thought this was going to change, but it's worse."

Ecuador has about 40,000 inmates in its penitentiary system, which has a capacity to hold about 30,000. Of this total, 15,00 inmates have not been sentenced.

Arosemena said authorities in Ecuador will deal with the prison overcrowding by granting pardons, relocating inmates and transferring some foreign inmates back to their homelands.

"There will be more than 1,000 pardons, but this is part of a process," he said.

The Guayas governor also said Ecuador will receive international aid from countries like Colombia, the United States, Israel and Spain to deal with the crisis in its prisons. The aid will be in resources and logistics.

"For example, installing a freight scanner in the Guayaquil Penitentiary to avoid the entry of arms costs $4 million," said Arosemena.

Vera said the situation is making the families of inmates desperate.

"I feel sad and in anguish because there is too much death," Vera said.
Moldovan voters go to the polls this weekend in a snap parliamentary election that could decide whether the former Soviet republic fully embraces pro-Western reforms or prolongs a political impasse under strong Russian influence.



The landlocked country of 3.5 million  Europe's poorest, sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine  has in recent years lurched from one political crisis to another, dogged by instability and stuck in geopolitical limbo between pro-Western and pro-Russia forces.



Although Moldova signed a deal with the European Union in 2014 on forging closer political and economic ties, rampant corruption and lack of reform have hindered development and at times drawn strong criticism from Brussels.



Analysts say Sunday's election could prove decisive for the future of the country, which gained independence in 1992 but has seen widespread disillusionment with post-Soviet politics, and an exodus of hundreds of thousands of citizens seeking a better future abroad.



"These elections are crucial for Moldova's future development," Iulian Groza, executive director of the Chisinau-based Institute for European Policies and Reforms think tank, told The Associated Press. "It is basically a struggle between the incumbent kleptocrats, and new pro-reform elites willing and ready to clean the system from corrupt practices."



Over three million registered voters will choose Sunday among more than 20 parties, but only four are expected to make it to the 101-seat legislature. The main battle will be between the pro-Reform Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) and a Moscow-friendly bloc made up of the Communists and Socialists, headed by two former presidents.



Current Moldovan President Maia Sandu, who used to lead the pro-reform bloc, told voters that "this is our chance to cleanse the political class." She forced the election in April by dissolving parliament shortly after Moldova's highest court abolished a state of emergency imposed to fight the coronavirus pandemic.



"You decide who will be part of the next parliament and government," the 49-year-old former World Bank official said in an online post. "It is up to you how quickly we can save the country from corruption and poverty."



Moldova's last parliamentary elections in 2019 led to a series of awkward coalitions and occasional deadlock in parliament. Sandu forced the snap polls by twice nominating prime ministerial candidates that were unlikely to be approved by parliament, which then had to be dissolved according to the Constitution.



She now aims to build on her presidential victory last November by securing a clear pro-reform government that she can work with.



Igor Dodon, a former president with close links to Russia, beat Sandu beat in a presidential runoff last year. He warned of instability if reformists take power in a country still mistrustful of changes aligned with Western values.



"Only our team is able to end the chaos in the country, ensure social protection of people, restore the economy, strengthen statehood," Dodon, whose party campaigns on high social spending and traditional family values, said earlier this week.



Recent opinion polls have given a lead to the pro-Sandu PAS party, but the result could largely depend on turnout among Moldova's more than 200,000 diaspora voters. Radu Magdin, an analyst at Smartlink Communications, said a strong turnout likely would mean strong support for the reformists.



"The main question, which could turn everything around, is mobilization," he said.



Svetlana Eremka, a 40-year-old design manager who lives in Essex, U.K., hopes this election brings a "new beginning."



"Our nation been struggling for the last 30 years or so, with little success ... it is a lot of work and requires each of us to participate and help to build a new system," she said, adding that she hopes many Moldovan students living abroad can move back and "believe there is bright future ... not just for a few elites but the vast majority of the population."



The EU has earmarked a 600-million-euro ($710 million) recovery package for Moldova to help the economy recover from the pandemic and boost investment. But Brussels has warned the money is conditioned on judicial and anti-corruption reform.



In Transparency International's 2020 Corruptions Perception Index, Moldova ranked 115th out of 180 countries, with the first place being the least corrupt.



Sabin Rufa, a 20-year-old student at Warwick University in the U.K., believes this election comes at a "crucial moment" in his country's democratic history.



"I feel this election is perhaps the most important milestone in the last 10 years, especially for the progressive people that wish Moldova to develop in line with democratic standards and institutions," he said. "I hope that in another 10 years, I will look back to this election knowing that it was a turning point."



"With all its imperfections, Moldova is where I want to build a future for myself, for my family, and for my compatriots."
A judge has freed Britney Spears from the conservatorship that controlled her life and money for nearly 14 years.

Heres a look at how conservatorships operate, whats unusual about hers, and how calls from her and her fans to #FreeBritney eventually worked.

How do conservatorships work?

When a person is considered to have a severely diminished mental capacity, a court can step in and grant someone the power to make financial decisions and major life choices for them.

California law says a conservatorship, called a guardianship in some states, is justified for a person who is unable to provide properly for his or her personal needs for physical health, food, clothing, or shelter, or for someone who is substantially unable to manage his or her own financial resources or resist fraud or undue influence.

The conservator, as the appointee put in charge is called, may be a family member, a close friend or a court-appointed professional.

Several states have recently used the attention that Spears has brought to the issue to reform their conservatorship laws.

How does Spears work?

With a fortune of nearly $60 million comes secrecy, and the court closely guarded the inner workings of Spears conservatorship.

Some aspects have been revealed in documents. The conservatorship had the power to restrict her visitors. It arranged and oversaw visits with her two teenage sons, whose father has full custody. It took out restraining orders in her name to keep away interlopers deemed shady.

It had the power to make her medical decisions and her business deals. She said at a June hearing that she has been compelled to take medication against her will, has been kept from having an intrauterine device for birth control removed and has been required to undertake performances when she didnt want to.

Spears also said she had been denied the right to get married or have another child, but she has since gotten engaged to longtime boyfriend Sam Asghari.

Who had power over Spears?

The ultimate power in the conservatorship fell to Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny. She used it on Friday to end it.

Before his suspension in September, her father James Spears had the lions share of day-to-day power over his daughters choices for 13 years. In 2019, he gave up the role of conservator over her life decisions, maintaining control only over her finances. His replacement, John Zabel, now has a few minimal administrative powers to move Britney Spears money around as power over it transitions back to her.

Jodi Montgomery, a court-appointed professional, acted as conservator over her personal matters from 2019 until Friday. Her agreement was key when the termination finally came.

Why did so many called to #FreeBritney?

Some fans objected to the conservatorship soon after it began. But the movement, and the #FreeBritney hashtag, truly took hold early in 2019, when some believed she was being forced into a mental health hospital against her will.

They pored over her social media posts to extract clues about her well-being and protested outside the courthouse at every hearing.

They were long dismissed by Spears father and others as conspiracy theorists, but in the end their power was undeniable.

They felt vindicated by two dramatic speeches she gave this summer, in which she confirmed many of their suspicions. They felt triumphant when her father was removed. And they felt truly jubilant when the conservatorship was terminated.

She was quick to give them credit, since first acknowledging in court filings in 2020 that they may have a point. Good God I love my fans so much its crazy she said on Twitter and Instagram after Fridays ruling, along with video of the celebrations outside the courthouse and the new hashtag #FreedBritney.

Why was it imposed in the first place?

In 2007 and 2008, shortly after she became a mother, she began to have very public mental struggles, with media outlets obsessed over each moment. Hordes of paparazzi aggressively followed her every time she left her house, and she no longer seemed able to handle it.

She attacked one cameramans car with an umbrella. She shaved her own head at a salon. She lost custody of her children. When she refused to turn over her boys after a visit, she was hospitalized and put on a psychiatric hold. The conservatorship was put in place within days.

Why did it go on so long?

A conservatorship can always be dissolved by the court. But its rare that a person achieves their own release from one, as Britney Spears essentially did.

They can last decades because the circumstances that lead to them, like traumatic brain injury, Alzheimers, or dementia, are not things people just bounce back from.

Spears father and his attorneys justified the continued conservatorship by arguing that she was especially susceptible to people who seek to take advantage of her money and fame.

Normally a series of mental evaluations would take place before a conservatorship ended, but on Friday Penny said that with no one asking for any examinations, none would be required.

How does Spears feel about all of this?

For years it was largely a mystery. But allowed to speak publicly in court in June, she called the conservatorship abusive and stupid and says it does her way more harm than good.

And in her social media posts on Friday, she declared, Best day ever  praise the Lord.

What happens now?

Regaining her personal and financial powers after so many years will take some untangling. Montgomery, along with therapists and doctors, have created a care plan for the transition, and her attorney Mathew Rosengart says a financial safety net is in place too.

Rosengart has vowed to pursue an investigation of James Spears handling of the conservatorship even after it ends. He could take action in civil court, and has suggested he may even turn over his findings to law enforcement for consideration of criminal charges. James Spears has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

Britney Spears is likely to hire financial managers, assistants and attorneys to perform many of the same duties previously performed by the conservatorship. But their decisions will be subject to her approval, instead of vice-versa.
A Louisiana board on Friday voted to pardon Homer Plessy, whose decision to sit in a "whites-only" railroad car to protest discrimination led to the U.S. Supreme Court's 1896 "separate but equal" ruling affirming state segregation laws.

The state Board of Pardons' unanimous decision to clear the Creole man's record of a conviction now goes to Governor John Bel Edwards, who has the final say over the pardon.

"Governor Edwards is traveling today but looks forward to receiving and reviewing the recommendation of the board upon his return" Tuesday evening, spokesperson Christina Stephens said.

The Plessy v. Ferguson decision cemented racial segregation for another half-century, justifying whites-only spaces in trains and buses, hotels, theaters, schools and other public accommodations until the Supreme Court unanimously overruled it with their Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954. That decision led to the widespread desegregation of schools and the eventual stripping away of vestiges of the Jim Crow laws that discriminated against Black citizens.

The pardon recommendation came as New Orleans began a weekend marking the tumultuous integration of its public schools on Nov. 14, 1960, six years after the Brown decision.

"I think it will be a very good thing to pardon Mr. Homer Plessy after all these years," Leona Tate, 67, said at a City Hall news conference, where she stood between Gail Etienne and Tessie Prevost. The three, as 6-year-olds, were escorted by U.S. marshals past angry white mobs and into McDonogh #19 elementary school building, the same day Ruby Bridges, the subject of an iconic Norman Rockwell painting, entered the all-white William Franz Elementary School in another part of town.

Keith Plessy, 64, who is descended from a cousin of Homer Plessy, attended the news conference. Later, he told the pardon board that he remembers meeting civil rights icon Rosa Parks, who refused in 1955 to leave a whites-only seat on a bus in Birmingham, Alabama, and kneeling to honor her.

"She said to me, 'Get up, boy, your name is Plessy  you've got work to do,'" Keith Plessy said.

Homer Plessy, described in the Supreme Court opinion as of "one-eighth African blood," was arrested in 1892 after boarding the train car as part of an effort by civil rights activists to challenge a state law that mandated segregated seating. The 18-member Citizens Committee was trying to overcome laws that rolled back post-Civil War advances in equality.

Plessy, a 30-year-old shoemaker, lacked the business, political and educational accomplishments of most of the other members, Keith Weldon Medley wrote in the book "We as Freemen: Plessy v. Ferguson."

"His one attribute was being white enough to gain access to the train and Black enough to be arrested for doing so," Medley wrote.

More than six decades before Parks was arrested in Alabama, police forcibly removed Plessy from the car, and he was imprisoned in the parish jail.

The Supreme Court ruled in Plessy v. Ferguson that state racial segregation laws didn't violate the Constitution as long as the facilities for the races were of equal quality.

Plessy pleaded guilty to violating the Separate Car Act a year later and was fined $25. He died in 1925 with the conviction still on his record.

Keith Plessy and Phoebe Ferguson, the great-great-granddaughter of John Howard Ferguson, the judge who oversaw his case in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court, now lead a nonprofit that advocates for civil rights education.

"We cannot undo the wrongs of the past, but we can and should acknowledge them," Phoebe Ferguson told the pardon board.

The New Orleans City Council honored Plessy's role in history in 2018 by giving his name to a section of the street where he tried to board the train.

Keith Plessy and Phoebe Ferguson both credited New Orleans District Attorney Jason Williams' Civil Rights Office with seeking the pardon. Williams, who took office in January, ran for the open district attorney's post on a reform platform, with a stress on reviewing and reversing wrongful past convictions.

In an interview Friday, Williams noted that Plessy pleaded guilty to the Separate Car Act violation on Jan. 11, 1897  exactly 124 years before Williams took office. "I think it just means that this was absolutely meant to be," Williams said.

The move to pardon Plessy comes amid a wider discussion about whether convictions or arrest records of civil rights activists should be overturned or removed.

Claudette Colvin, a Black woman who was 15 when she refused to move to the back of a bus months before Parks did so, has sued to wipe out her conviction. Civil rights attorney Fred Gray, who represented Parks and Martin Luther King Jr., has said he might file a suit to do the same for them.

But some civil rights advocates have said they don't want their arrest records expunged.

King biographer Clayborne Carson called his own civil rights arrest record "a badge of honor." Expunging the record "doesn't change the historical reality that you were arrested," he told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

After the Supreme Court ruling in 1896, "Homer Plessy returned to obscurity," Medley wrote.

He worked as a laborer, warehouseman, clerk and, starting in 1910, a collector for a Black-owned insurance company.

His obituary noted only the date and time of death and that he was the "beloved husband of Louise Bordenave."
Malawi has begun a mass distribution of mosquito nets, aiming to reach almost half the countrys population of 18 million people. Health authorities say the campaign is aimed at reducing the spread of malaria, which in Malawi currently accounts for 36% of all hospital outpatients and 15% of hospital admissions.

The Global Fund-supported campaign was announced during the commemoration of Southern Africa Development Community Malaria Day November 6 and is expected to be rolled out nationally November 15.

Khumbize Kandodo-Chiponda, Malawis minister of health, says the intervention is a response to the health threat malaria is posing in Malawi.

So, one of the interventions is the distribution of the nets as vector control. As a country, we are going to distribute 9 million nets. Out target is that at least two Malawians should share a net. Our population we are targeting we are about 18 million, that why we reached the figure of 9 million, Kandodo-Chiponda said.

She said during the campaign all expectant mothers will be given anti-malaria drugs to prevent them from suffering from malaria while pregnant.

Statistics show that malaria is the No. 1 deadly disease in Malawi. Last year alone, malaria killed 2,500 people in Malawi, more than any other disease, including COVID-19.

However, Kandodo-Chiponda said the campaign is strewn with challenges.

And one of the challenges is that when you distribute the nets, you will find that, especially along the lake, these nets are used for fishing and sorts of things, she said.

To reduce the changes of such misuse of the nets, the campaign also involves teaching the recipients about the importance of sleeping under the net.

The mosquito net distribution is part of the Zero Malaria Starts With Me campaign, launched by Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera in June as part of global campaign to end malaria by 2030.

Elias Mpedi Magosi, executive secretary of the Southern Africa Development Community, commended Malawis efforts to eradicate malaria and said the bloc is working to adopt a regional malaria strategy.

Primarily because if one country, one member state removes or clears malaria, these mosquitos known no boundaries, they just relocate to another country. So, it requires a pooled regional effort, resources, attributes and behaviors so that it is eliminated, Magosi said.

Janet Kayita, the World Health Organization country representative in Malawi, said the campaign is among major steps Malawi has successfully taken against malaria.

Malawi has been exceptional in taking forward WHO recommendations on what to do, how to prevent malaria, how to treat malaria. But the most historic groundbreaking event in the last month actually, that Malawi is at the front of, is the information that is coming out about the new malaria vaccine for infants and children, Kayita said.

Last month, the WHO endorsed the world's first malaria vaccine for children across Africa following a successful three-year trial in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi.

Although it is only 30% effective, scientists say the vaccine, known as Mosquirix, will have major impact against malaria in Africa, which records 200 million cases and 400,000 deaths per year.
Authorities in Pakistan say an anti-terrorism raid and bomb blasts have killed at least five security personnel and wounded seven people.

The casualties occurred Saturday in southwestern Baluchistan and northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provinces.

The armys media wing said in a statement that security forces carried out an operation in Baluchistans Turbat city based on intelligence about the presence of externally supported terrorists there.

The ensuing clashes left two soldiers dead and inflicted heavy losses on militants. Another soldier was killed in a "related incident while clearing a terrorist-planted bomb along a route frequented by civilians, according to the statement.

Earlier in the day, a roadside bomb blast on the outskirts of Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan, wounded at least one police official and six civilians, including women.

A senior police officer told local media the explosives were planted in a parked motorcycle and a police patrol was apparently the target. There were no claims of responsibility.

Islamist militants and Baluch separatists both operate in Baluchistan.

Separately, officials in Pakistans northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province said two policemen were killed when a roadside bomb hit their routine patrol Saturday morning in Bajaur district near the countrys border with Afghanistan. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for that attack.

Cease-fire with TTP

Militants linked to outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), known as the Pakistani Taliban, often claim responsibly for attacks against military and civil targets across the country. The years of militant violence has killed thousands of Pakistanis, including civilians and security forces.

The Pakistani military has carried out sustained operations against TTP strongholds near the Afghan border in recent years, killing thousands of militants and forcing others to take refuge in Afghanistan.

However, Saturdays violence came just days after a monthlong cease-fire between the Pakistan government and the TTP went into effect, on November 9, in a bid to sustain a nascent peace dialogue between the two adversaries.

Both sides have said the talks are taking place at an undisclosed location in Afghanistan and the neighboring countrys interim Taliban government is aiding the peace process.

TTP, an alliance of about two dozen militant groups, maintains it is fighting for the implementation of an Islamic system in Pakistan and denounces existing governance as un-Islamic.

Neither side has publicly shared any details of the ongoing discussions, but the government dismisses the TTP demand and maintains the talks are happening strictly in line with Pakistans Islamic constitution and legal framework.
World leaders hailed a new climate deal signed by nearly 200 countries late Saturday to speed up action on tackling climate change as the two-week COP26 summit came to an end in Glasgow, Scotland.

The signatories to the Glasgow Climate Pact pledged to continue working to limit global warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, the target first set at the Paris climate summit in 2015.

Progress

The gavel came down on two weeks of intense negotiations around 9 p.m. local time (9:38 p.m. UTC) Saturday evening, more than 24 hours after the originally scheduled ending of 6 p.m. Friday.

This is real progress in keeping 1.5 degrees within reach. Progress that we have made together. But the need for continual action and implementation to match ambition must continue throughout this decade, the COP26 President Alok Sharma told delegates after the agreement was signed.

Coal pushback

As negotiations wrapped up Saturday, however, India and China insisted on a watering down of a commitment to phase out coal and fossil fuels. It was a subtle but significant change that left the summit president visibly upset.

I apologize for the way this process has unfolded and I am deeply sorry, Sharma said. I also understand the deep disappointment. But I think, as you have noted, it's also vital that we protect this package.

India, along with China and South Africa, argued that phasing out fossil fuels was unfair. Close to 70% of Indias power generation is reliant on coal.

How can anyone expect that developing countries can make promises about phasing out coal and fossil fuel subsidies? Developing countries have still to deal with their development agendas and poverty eradication, the Indian Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said.

What was agreed?

So what was agreed to at Glasgow? The text acknowledges that existing commitments to cut emissions of greenhouse gases are nowhere near enough to limit global warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial temperatures. In the deal, countries committed to come back next year with improved targets on cutting emissions, much sooner than the previous five-year cycle.

Signatories agreed to phase down rather than phase out the use of coal and fossil fuels and to cut subsidies for the industry.

Rich countries agreed to increase their commitments on climate finance, doubling the money they will pay to poorer countries to adapt to climate change and decarbonize their economies by 2025.

For the first time theres recognition of the need for richer nations to compensate developing countries for loss and damage from climate change, because rich nations are responsible for most greenhouse gas emissions.

There was also further detail on international carbon markets, whereby carbon emission credits can be traded between countries, potentially unlocking trillions of dollars for protecting forests, building renewable energy facilities and other projects to combat climate change. However, critics fear the complexity will enable countries to hide their true emissions.

Earlier in the summit, there were significant deals on reducing deforestation, while around 100 countries pledged to reduce methane emissions by 30% from 2020 levels by 2030.

Reaction

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson praised delegates for reaching an agreement.

Of course, theres still a long, long way to go before we can say weve dealt with climate change. But the great news is, together, the world has made some important breakthroughs. Weve kept alive the hope of restricting the growth in temperatures to 1.5 degrees [Celsius], and weve made huge progress on coal, cars, cash and trees, Johnson said in a video posted online Saturday.

The deal was a clear compromise  a text that all 197 parties signed, some with evident reluctance. Is it enough to keep global warming to within 1.5 degrees Celsius and prevent catastrophic climate change?

On the whole I think it's a meek, weak outcome that doesn't meet the moment of the climate emergency, Jennifer Morgan, executive director of Greenpeace International, told Reuters. It keeps the 1.5 degree alive  barely alive  and I don't think that the youth activists and the Indigenous peoples are going to tolerate another COP like this.

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg dismissed the deal.

The COP26 is over she wrote on Twitter. Heres a brief summary: Blah, blah, blah.

US upbeat

The U.S. Special Envoy for Climate Change John Kerry was upbeat on what has been achieved.

We emerge from Glasgow having dramatically raised the world's ambition to solve this challenge in this decade and beyond. I really do believe that as a result of this decision and as a result of the announcements that have been made over the course of the last few weeks, we are in fact closer than we have ever been before to avoiding climate chaos and securing cleaner air, safer water and a healthier planet.

Kerry said the inclusion of a commitment on coal was significant.

As a result of what took place here with nations that have never considered even having the word coal in a plan, where it remains even today after what took place [at the summit], coal and the phase down of coal is on the books, it's part of the decision, Kerry said at a press conference Saturday.

The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was circumspect in his assessment.

The approved texts are a compromise, Guterres said. They reflect the interests, the conditions, the contradictions and the state of political will in the world today. They take important steps, but unfortunately, the collective political will was not enough to overcome some deep contradictions. As I said at the opening, we must accelerate action to keep the 1.5 degrees [Celsius] goal alive. Our fragile planet is hanging by a thread. We are still knocking on the door of climate catastrophe.

Whats next?

After two weeks of intense negotiations, delegates are now heading home. For some it is a journey of several days and thousands of miles, back to remote, low-lying Pacific islands, or to rainforest settlements threatened by deforestation. They depart Glasgow with a climate deal, but with many of their hopes and demands unfulfilled.

The next big milestone is the COP27 climate summit scheduled for 2022 in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
When Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev visited Washington three years ago, he renewed a strategic partnership agreement and pledged to intensify a broad range of systemic reforms while opening his country to a multi-dimensional relationship with the United States.

Mirziyoyevs first term in office is now winding down, with a presidential election set for October 24, and his success in fulfilling those and other promises is being assessed, both in Washington and at home.

For the U.S. State Department, the verdict is mixed.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken last month welcomed Uzbekistans progress on its reform agenda, including when it comes to combatting trafficking in persons, protecting religious freedom and expanding space for civil society, in a conversation with Uzbekistan Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov.

But he also called for the protection of fundamental freedoms, including the need to have a free and competitive electoral process, according to an official readout of the conversation last month.

The progress on Mirziyoyevs reform agenda is also getting mixed reviews in Uzbekistan, where policymakers and ministers acknowledge in interviews with the Voice of America that intensifying citizen demands for accountability and responsibility have been difficult to meet.

Reforms have so far been messy, concedes Tanzila Narbaeva, the Senate chairperson. We are finding out every day how our issues are much more complicated than we had imagined  and what it will take for us to overcome them. There will be roadblocks and barriers, none of us have any doubts about that. Still, we must not stop fixing the problems while making sure those fixes are systemic.

Narbaeva, Uzbekistans highest-ranking woman, is a close ally of Mirziyoyev, who has sought to rebuild popular support by institutionalizing his reforms. She acknowledges that its difficult to convince a deeply skeptical public that the Uzbek legislature is more than just a rubber stamp.

Parliament is fully independent, she insists. We are not getting orders from anyone anymore.

Deputy Prime Minister Sardor Umurzakov, the minister of investments and foreign trade, believes the system must closely work with Uzbek youth, who constitute a majority of the population and who he says are increasingly demanding, impatient and critical.

"They are connected to the world ... unstoppable. We must engage them, create opportunities, improve conditions. Ideas must turn into projects, projects into companies creating jobs, producing and exporting goods, paying taxes, and offering people space to prosper and thrive, here in our own country."

Akmal Burhanov, head of the Anti-Corruption Agency created in 2020, says corruption is deeply entrenched in Uzbekistan and expanded during the pandemic, a problem that is acknowledged by Narbaeva, Umurzakov and other lawmakers and ministers.

We are under enormous pressure from everyone, Burhanov tells VOA. The public wants us to fight corruption fast and effectively. They expect miracles. But just one agency cant do it. We need everyone contributing.

Burhanovs agency is pushing an unprecedented law requiring financial disclosures by public servants. Its time for us to draw a line and make sure that the system does not allow conflicts of interest.

The U.S. Justice Department and State Department Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs are assisting this anti-corruption watchdog, providing technical support.

Ibrokhim Abdurakhmonov, Uzbekistans innovation minister, a U.S.-educated scientist, has been working with international partners and hopes Washington will continue to support Tashkents development goals.

"We want to create a knowledge-based economy," says Abdurakhmonov. But just as with any strategic goal, the country faces a rocky road to achieving this. Uzbekistan generates growth  and revenue  mostly from natural resources and raw materials.

"We have 1,000 researchers per million people. ... Developed countries have three to four times more. Worse, this system isnt used to rewarding creators and inventors. Scientific work and academic research have always been done merely to earn a salary," not to advance the frontiers of knowledge, Abdurakhmonov explains.

Energy Minister Alisher Sultanov insists that Uzbekistan has finally started reforming its gas and electricity infrastructure. He says an outdated supply system cannot meet increasing demand, while stressing the need for energy independence.

Sultanov tells VOA that he takes responsibility for shortages experienced last winter and agrees that the system he oversees is deeply corrupt, lacks accountability and fails to deliver effective and consistent service.

Avazbek Madaminov, the Justice Ministry official overseeing NGOs, also argues that his office does not take orders. Only the minister makes final decisions on NGO and political party registrations.

But domestic and international critics say the more than 9,000 NGOs in Uzbekistan do not constitute a true civil society and that the current nongovernmental system is merely an extension of the state.

Tashkent created much of what passed for civil society under its previous leader, Islam Karimov, as window dressing intended to fool the world into believing the country was democratizing.

Uzbek activists and their allies abroad complain that the ministry still registers only those groups that promise to function as its agents. Instead of regulating organizations, they say, the government interferes directly, pressuring those that demand better services, transparency, accountability and justice.

Tashkent gets countless recommendations every year from Western counterparts and partners, in particular, about how to assure a more robust and autonomous civil society.

Pressed, Madaminov says that Uzbekistan hears the West, understands its international obligations, and tries its best to align with global norms while building its own kind of civil society, born of the needs and interests of Uzbeks.

The success of our civil society, Madaminov says, depends ultimately on the will and commitment of those who run these organizations. Our laws and the system were reforming offer opportunities to make a positive difference in the lives of the Uzbek people.

Every major political figure VOA talks to sees American support and assistance as key to transforming Uzbekistan, acknowledging that Washington has high expectations.

Their message: Continue helping in any way possible. Have patience with Uzbekistan since its learning with every step. Just as America always wishes for it, they say, Uzbekistan, too, wants security, prosperity and ultimately freedom.
Sudanese security forces fired live ammunition and tear gas on pro-democracy demonstrators Saturday, killing at least five, according to witnesses, as nationwide protests continued following a recent coup.

Million-person marches have been held by the pro-democracy movement

since Sudans civilian government was ousted on October 25 in a military takeover.

Security forces closed bridges between central Khartoum and its twin cities of Omdurman and Khartoum North. As protesters began to gather in those cities, security forces fired tear gas and chased them to prevent them from reaching central meeting points, witnesses said.

During previous rallies, security forces had waited until later in the day before trying to disperse protester.

The Sudan Doctors Committee said at least five protesters were killed in Khartoum and Omdurman, four from gunshots and one from a tear gas canister. The committee said several others were wounded, including by live rounds.

Saturdays protests came two days after Sudanese military chief General Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan reappointed himself the head of the countrys interim governing body.

The military coup occurred after weeks of escalating tensions between military and civilian leaders over Sudans transition to democracy.

The coup has threatened to derail the process that began after the ouster of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir in a 2019 popular uprising.

At least 15 coup protesters have been killed by excessive force used by the countrys security forces, according to the United Nations and Sudanese doctors.

Some information in this report came from the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
Suspected rebels ambushed an Indian paramilitary convoy in northeastern state of Manipur on Saturday, killing an army colonel, his wife, son and four soldiers, reviving concerns about a decades-old insurgency that was believed to have been mostly contained in recent years.

The army colonel was returning to his base after inspecting a forward camp of an Assam Rifles paramilitary battalion that he commanded when the rebels launched the attack on his convoy, first exploding an improvised explosive device and then firing from automatic weapons from both sides of the road, police said.

Assam Rifles is a paramilitary force operating under the Indian army.

At least five other Indian soldiers in the convoy were injured in the ambush and taken to hospitals.

The ambush took place about 10 a.m. local time (UTC +5:30), near Sehken village in Manipurs Churachandpur district, very close to Myanmars western border. All seven people, including the colonels 8-year-old son, died on the spot, roughly 120 kilometers from the Manipur state capital of Imphal.

According to police, the soldiers from the convoy retaliated by returning fire. It is not known if the assailants suffered any casualties.

A source in Manipur Police told VOA it was not clear which insurgent group or groups may have been involved in Saturdays ambush.

A section of our intelligence say [Manipur-based insurgent group] People's Liberation Army of Manipur [PLAM] carried out the ambush. Another section believes PREPAK [Peoples Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak], another Manipur-based rebel group, was behind the ambush, said the source, who asked that their name be withheld in order to speak candidly. But we are pretty sure that the insurgents came from the Myanmar side and fled across the border after the ambush.

Indias NDTV, however, has since reported that PLAM and Manipur Naga People's Front [MNPF] claimed to have jointly carried out Saturdays ambush.

Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh said state and paramilitary forces are already on their job to track down the militants.

The perpetrators will be brought to justice, Singh said.

Condemning the ambush, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted: I pay homage to those soldiers and family members who have been martyred today. Their sacrifice will never be forgotten. My thoughts are with the bereaved families in this hour of sadness.

About two dozen Indian ethnic insurgent groups currently are known to operate in Manipur. Some demand separate homelands for their tribes or ethnic groups. Some of them have bases and training camps inside the forests of Myanmar. And some of the insurgent groups are networked with different Myanmar-based Burmese rebel groups.

Saturdays ambush is the first major attack on security forces in Manipur since June 4, 2015, when suspected factions of Naga and Meitei militants ambushed an Indian army convoy in Chandel district of the state, killing at least 20 soldiers.
A Greek newspaper is facing criminal prosecution in Turkey from Turkeys president, who is said to be insulted by what he perceived to be a vulgar headline. The Greek newspaper is portraying the action as an unprecedented affront to free speech. But it is finding little support from the government in Athens.

It is not the first time that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has acted to silence journalists and criticism against him.

But editors of the Greek Dimokratia daily newspaper say they are the first Greek media group in the West to be targeted by the Turkish leader outside his country. They also call the prosecution they face a parody they have no intention of honoring.

Dimitris Rizoulis, managing editor of the Greek daily, says the entire nation should be up in arms over this legal suit.

With what right, Rizoulis asked, is Erdogan bullying the newspaper, not just the editors and journalists of Dimokratia, but the nation as a whole? Authorities here should have never taken delivery of the suit, rather sent it back to Erdogans office. This is a parody, and Rizoulis says they have no intention of appearing before a Turkish court to give credence to Erdogans bid to defy free speech and, most importantly, the political claims he makes in the legal prosecution  claims that go against national interests.

Erdogans legal suit against Dimokratia stems from a blistering headline published last September, using a Turkish swearword to lash out at the Turkish leader at the height of a standoff with its NATO ally, Greece, over drilling rights in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

The Turkish prosecution order was relayed to editors of the newspaper this week, sparking public debate.

Greeces foreign ministry and center-right government have so far chided the paper for its vulgar tone. But they have defended free speech, and officials contacted by VOA say the government would not extradite the papers editorial staff to Turkey for trial and potential imprisonment.

Rizoulis and four others at Dimokratia face up to five years in a Turkish prison if convicted in absentia.

"Up against such a modern dictator," Rizoulis said, "it is an honor to be considered an enemy and to be sued by Erdogan." The European Court of Human rights, he said, has vindicated several journalists, who have lashed out at public officials, calling them all sorts of names, on the grounds that their criticism adds to pluralism and democracy  even if offensive and provocative at times.

The only problem, said Rizoulis, is that any conviction of Dimokratia's editorial staff will spell logistical issues. He said he already has been notified that Turkey will place an order with Interpol for the teams arrest, making international travel difficult.

While NATO allies, Greece and Turkey have been at loggerheads over sea and air rights for decades, coming to the brink of war last year over conflicting drilling rights in the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean.

With tensions brewing anew, though, between the two age-old foes, Dimoktratia says it will not let up on its criticism of the Turkish leader, even if that spells more prosecution orders coming from Erdogan's office.
Two Ugandan Peoples Defense Force (UPDF) soldiers serving under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) have been sentenced to death and three others to 39 years in jail for the deaths of civilians.

A Ugandan military tribunal sitting in Mogadishu has found the two officers guilty of intentionally killing civilians near Golweyne neighborhood of Somalias Lower Shabelle region in August this year, and three others were sentenced to jail terms for their role in the crime, Somalias justice minister, Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur, told VOA Somali Saturday.

This sentence would be a lesson for the AMISOM mission that none of its soldiers would escape with murdering Somali civilians, Nur said.

The incident occurred on August 10, when Ugandan forces patrolling the main supply route between Beldamin and Golweyn villages opened fire on civilians at a farm about 120 kilometers southwest of Mogadishu, according to local officials and an Amisom statement.

Relatives and eyewitnesses accused the Amisom soldiers of placing the bodies of some of the victims on remotely controlled mines before they were detonated, triggering local anger and protests in Mogadishu.

At the time, AMISOM reported that its forces were dislodging an impending al-Shabab ambush.

AMISOM forces admitted last month, though, that its peacekeepers unlawfully killed seven civilians during a gunfight between the mission's troops and al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab fighters, promising that the soldiers responsible would be held accountable.

The court proceedings had been running since October 5 at the heavily guarded Halane camp near Mogadishus main airport, where the U.N. and Amisom headquarters in Somalia are located.

Some of the relatives of victims and representatives of the Lower Shabelle farmers had attended the proceedings, and they were present at the court as the sentences were announced Saturday.

A spokesman for the relatives, Hussein Osman Wasuge, told local media outside the court they were happy with the verdict.

Even though there were no lawyers to represent us, one of us and six Ugandan soldiers were allowed to testify against the alleged soldiers for two days, said Wasuge. We are very happy with the court decision and expect compensation to be awarded to the families of those killed.

Ugandan soldiers are based in the capital, Mogadishu, and the Lower Shabelle region, where they face frequent attacks and ambushes by the al-Shabab militant group.

Abdulkadir Abdulle contributed to this report.
Eritrea is condemning fresh sanctions that were imposed Friday by the United States on Eritrea's military, ruling party and two senior government officials in connection with Eritrea's role in the Ethiopian conflict, asserting they continue Washingtons misguided and hostile policy.

Eritreas foreign ministry lashed out Saturday and contended in a statement the goal of the illicit and immoral sanctions is to inflict suffering on Eritreas people and destabilize the Horn of Africa nation.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced Friday it had imposed sanctions on the Eritrean Defense Force, whose soldiers have fought in the Tigray region alongside Ethiopian forces, and Eritrea's sole political party, the People's Front for Democracy and Justice.

PFDJ economic adviser Hagos Ghebrehiwet W. Kidan and Eritrean intelligence chief Abraha Kassa Nemariam were also designated, along with two Eritrean businesses linked to the PFDJ: Hidri Trust and Red Sea Trading Corporation.

"We condemn the continued role played by Eritrean actors who are contributing to the violence in northern Ethiopia, which has undermined the stability and integrity of the state and resulted in a humanitarian disaster," OFAC Director Andrea Gacki said in a statement.

Meanwhile, United Nations spokesperson Farhan Haq said Ethiopia's federal government had detained a 10th U.N. staffer, who joined nine other imprisoned staff members and more than 70 truckers contracted by the U.N. in Addis Ababa.

Haq said the U.N. is pressing on with efforts to get the staffers and drivers released. "We are continuing with our efforts; we are pushing on all the doors that we can. But we haven't made the progress that we would have liked to have made," he said.

The detentions add to worries that the Ethiopian government's yearlong conflict with the Tigray People's Liberation Front in the country's north is about to get worse. At the beginning of the conflict, Ethiopian forces flushed from federal military bases in an early TPLF offensive retreated to neighboring Eritrea, which at first fed, clothed and rearmed Ethiopian soldiers before sending its own military into Ethiopia.

Eritrea's parallel campaign to help Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has complicated the war. Eritrean forces have been accused of killing civilians, looting Tigrayan towns, abusing refugees and blocking humanitarian aid, contributing to what some officials fear is a road to Ethiopia's collapse.

"Eritrea's destabilizing presence in Ethiopia is prolonging the conflict, posing a significant obstacle to a cessation of hostilities, and threatening the integrity of the Ethiopian state," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement released Friday. He called for Eritrea to withdraw its forces from Ethiopia immediately.

The conflicts in Ethiopia and neighboring Sudan will likely headline Blinken's upcoming trip to Africa, where he's scheduled to meet Kenyan, Senegalese and Nigerian officials at their capitals next week. The Biden administration is stepping up efforts to collaborate with African partners on areas of shared interest, according to the State Department.

"I am very concerned about the potential for Ethiopia to implode given what we are seeing both in Tigray but also as we have different forces and different ethnic groups that are increasingly at odds," Blinken said Friday. "We are working very closely to support the efforts of the former Nigerian President (Olusegun) Obasanjo to mediate a way forward with all the Ethiopian parties."

The State Department is holding off on approving sanctions on Ethiopia's national government and the TPLF, but after the U.N.'s recent announcements of detained staffers, Washington's patience may be wearing thin. The United States is "ready to pursue additional sanctions" if diplomacy isn't renewed, according to the State Department statement issued Friday.

Some information for this report came from the Associated Press and Reuters.
Cuba opens its borders next week signaling new opportunity for pandemic-weary travelers and the island's tourism industry, but for U.S. citizens getting there requires jumping through hoops like never before, according to the heads of eight U.S. tour agencies.

U.S. President Donald Trump ended cruise ship dockings, reduced flights to Havana and eliminated them altogether to the outlying provinces. His administration declared most hotels, bus and other Cuban tour services off limits because they were owned by the military, and made financial transactions more difficult in general, measures that remain in place under President Joe Biden.

"U.S. obstacles are the most significant in our more than 22 years of doing business in Cuba," said Michael Zuccato, head of Cuba Travel Services.

Tensions between Washington and Havana are on the rise ahead of protests planned by dissidents on the island for Nov. 15, the same day Cuba reopens its borders to international visitors.

"The challenges seem endless right now. Between Trump, the pandemic and now Biden," said Mayra Alonso, president of Marazul Tours. She said walking the tightrope between U.S. and Cuban regulations "keeps it interesting."

Zuccato, like the others, said booking hotels and transferring funds to the Caribbean island in particular had become major headaches for those planning trips to Cuba from the United States.

Many tour operators had hoped that Biden would make good on campaign promises and reduce hurdles to visiting the Caribbean island, a popular destination that boasts a rich culture, white sand beaches and historic buildings.

"U.S. sanctions increased by Trump and maintained by the Biden administration are a great disappointment," Collin Laverty, head of Cuban Educational Travel, said.

Rising political tensions between the long-term rivals ahead of next week's planned protests do not help, the tour operators said.

Despite the escalating rhetoric, Cuba, which depends on tourism, continues to welcome all U.S. citizens to vacation on the island, Transportation Minister Eduardo Rodriguez told reporters last week.

"Today the United States has four weekly flights to Havana, and we have increased this to 147 per week, including 77 to Havana," he said.

U.S. airlines have announced more flights to Havana beginning next week, with an eye toward Cuban-Americans traveling home over the holidays.

The Biden administration has given no indication it plans to allow flights to the provinces, however.

Tom Popper, founder and former president of insightCuba and CEO of 82 West Consultants, a Cuba business consulting firm, said despite strict travel restrictions to the neighboring island nation, Americans can still go there legally.

"Typically, the U.S. market sees Cuba as a binary choice: either they are permitted to travel to Cuba or they are not, which depends on the most recent actions by the sitting U.S. president," he said.

Popper explained travel to Cuba is allowed under 12 categories including the Support for the Cuban People category, used by most travelers  journalistic activities, and visiting relatives.

He said many tour operators and travel advisers design trips that are compliant with U.S. regulations.

Travel boomed during the detente begun by former U.S. President Barack Obama who loosened restrictions and even took his own family there during an historic visit in 2016.

The Trump administration reversed Obama's measures and added new restrictions, and then Cuba closed its borders during much of the pandemic.

During 2018 and 2019, some 500,000 Cuban Americans visited their homeland each year, according to the Cuban government.

Travel by non-Cuban Americans, however, plunged from 498,538 in 2018 when the Trump administration began to impose new sanctions to just 58,147 in 2020 when pandemic lockdowns began, the government said.
Here is a summary of Uyghur-related news around the world in the past week.

Chinese tech firms remove Uyghur, Tibetan languages on platforms

Language app Talkmate and video streaming website Bilibili took Uyghur and Tibetan languages off their sites while keeping Chinese and other foreign languages

Legal complaint filed over complaints related to forced labor

The human rights organization World Uyghur Congress took legal action against U.K. authorities for importing cotton products from the region in China where Beijing has been accused of using predominantly Uyghur forced labor.

ICC asked to investigate Bejings activities in Tajikistan

Uyghur activists are trying for third time to persuade the ICC to investigate Chinas activities abroad. Beijing is accused of attempting to deport Uyghurs back to China with Tajikistans help.

Uyghurs abroad traumatized by China crackdown, seek help

Traumatized by Beijings years-long repression against Uyghurs, including their own families, far-flung members of the Uyghur diaspora grapple with psychological disorders, seek help from therapists.

News in brief

 Uyghurs worldwide celebrated Republic of East Turkistan National Day on November 12, commemorating the Soviet-backed Turkic republic (1944-1949), located in what is now Chinas Xinjiang region.

 Uyghur refugees around the world say they need support from countries like the U.S. in order to achieve secure living conditions. Both Uyghur asylum-seekers in the U.S. and refugees in other parts of the world, such as Turkey, say they need a more protected immigration status to feel safe.

 The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum released a report that finds mass surveillance of the Uyghurs in China has intensified. New information, according to the report, suggests in addition to forced assimilation, China is targeting Uyghur womens ability to have children through forced sterilization and birth control. The museum asked for an urgent independent investigation into Chinas treatment of the Muslim Uyghurs and other Turkic minority groups. Beijing has repeatedly denied human rights abuses against Uyghurs.

 For the last four years, Omar Faruh, a Uyghur living in Turkey, has not seen his two daughters in China, who are now 5 and 6. He is asking China to release his daughters passports and let them unite with him and his wife.

Quote of note

Ive really had a hard time as a father. If I didn't have faith, if I didn't believe in God, I would have committed suicide long ago.  I miss my girls so much. If there is another pain, one can bear it, but the pain of a [lost] child is a very difficult pain, said Omar Faruh.

Looking ahead

A demonstration led by Muslim leaders is planned in the U.K. cities of London and Manchester on November 13, to protest Chinas treatment of Uyghurs.
The White House announced it intends to nominate Pulitzer-winning journalist and former Voice of America director Amanda Bennett, to head the U.S. Agency for Global Media.

I am honored by this nomination, Bennett told VOA late Friday. If confirmed, I will be so proud to work with all the dedicated journalists at USAGM who are doing the critical and difficult work around the world of upholding and demonstrating the value of a free press.

USAGM Acting CEO Kelu Chao announced the nomination Friday afternoon in an email to all staff at the independent agency, which oversees journalists from five news networks: the Voice of America, the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, as well as The Open Technology Fund.

We look forward to her congressional confirmation and her arrival! Chao said. President Joe Biden announced Chaos appointment as interim CEO on Jan. 20, 2021.

The White House did not immediately respond when VOA sought comment.

Bennett, 69, served as VOA director from March 2016 to June 2020. She stepped down after the Senate confirmed Michael Pack, the last permanent CEO of USAGM, which oversees VOA. He was President Donald Trump's pick to run the agency.

Pack tenure

In her resignation letter, Bennett expressed her hope that Pack would honor a pledge to respect the editorial independence of USAGM journalists that is enshrined in the 1994 U.S. International Broadcasting Act. The so-called firewall prohibits U.S. government officials from interfering in the independent and objective reporting of news, which is a cornerstone of the agencys international work.

"Michael Pack swore before Congress to respect and honor the firewall that guarantees VOA's independence, which in turn plays the single most important role in the stunning trust our audiences around the world have in us, she wrote.

When she stepped down, alongside her deputy, Sandy Sugawara, she explained that as the Senate-confirmed CEO, he has the right to replace us with his own VOA leadership.

Packs tumultuous seven-month tenure included whistleblower complaints alleging gross mismanagement, a subpoena from Congress and court orders barring him from interfering with the operations of networks and grantees he oversaw. The Government Accountability Office has since recommended that Congress consider clarifying the firewall in legislation and more.

If confirmed by Congress, Bennett would inherit some Pack-era controversies at the agency, including an investigation by three independent experts who are reviewing numerous allegations made by staff members against the agencys previous management.

VOA tenure

In her farewell note to employees after leading VOA for more than four years, Bennett highlighted the progress the agency had made in creating competitive digital news outlets in foreign markets and in combating disinformation. She noted in-depth coverage of the stories of women and refugees, and the focus on press freedom around the world.

Bennett was recognized for her significant contribution to journalism in a National Press Club Fourth Estate award in 2019.

But she also came under criticism for some decisions during her time as VOA director, including cutting short a planned three-hour live interview with billionaire Chinese exile Guo Wengui in 2017. Bennett removed or disciplined several Mandarin Service employees involved in the interview, provoking legal challenges from them that have since been settled.

And in 2018, she fired 15 members of the Hausa-language service after they were found to have accepted cash from a Nigerian politician.

Former President Trump also criticized Bennett over VOAs news coverage of China. In response, Bennett defended the agency, saying VOA strives to do objective fact-based reporting that doesnt amplify anybodys message.

Before coming to VOA, Bennett was in management at Bloomberg News, The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Lexington, Kentucky, Herald-Leader and The Oregonian, of Portland. Before that, she was a reporter and writer at The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post.

She shared the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for national reporting with her Journal colleagues, for their coverage of the AIDS pandemic, which included the medical, social and business aspects of the disease.

In 2001, she led a team from the Oregonian to a public-service Pulitzer for unflinching examination of systematic problems within the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, including harsh treatment of foreign nationals and other widespread abuses, which prompted various reforms.
Steve Bannon, a longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, was indicted Friday on two counts of criminal contempt of Congress after he defied a subpoena from the House committee investigating the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

The Justice Department said Bannon, 67, was indicted on one count for refusing to appear for a deposition last month and the other for refusing to provide documents in response to the committee's subpoena. He is expected to surrender to authorities on Monday and will appear in court that afternoon, a law enforcement official told the AP. The person was granted anonymity to discuss the case.

The indictment came as a second witness, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, defied his own subpoena from the committee on Friday and as Trump has escalated his legal battles to withhold documents and testimony about the insurrection. The chairman of the January 6 panel, Mississippi Representative Bennie Thompson, said he would recommend contempt charges against Meadows next week.

If the House votes to hold Meadows in contempt, that recommendation could also be sent to the Justice Department for a possible indictment.

"Mr. Meadows, Mr. Bannon and others who go down this path won't prevail in stopping the Select Committee's effort getting answers for the American people about January 6th, making legislative recommendations to help protect our democracy, and helping ensure nothing like that day ever happens again," Democrat Thompson and the vice chairwoman of the panel, Republican Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming, said in a statement.

The indictment is a victory for House Democrats, who saw dozens of Trump officials decline testimony and defy subpoenas during his presidency. The charges support the authority of Congress to investigate the executive branch and signal potential consequences for those who refuse to cooperate.

Commitment to rule of law

Attorney General Merrick Garland said Bannon's indictment reflects the Justice Department's "steadfast commitment" to ensuring that the department adheres to the rule of law. Each count carries a minimum of 30 days of jail and as long as a year behind bars.

The indictment alleges that Bannon didn't appear before the committee as subpoenaed or produce required documents. It says he also didn't communicate with the committee in any way from the time he received the subpoena on September 24 until October 7, when his lawyer sent a letter, seven hours after the documents were due.

Bannon, who worked at the White House at the beginning of the Trump administration and currently serves as host of the conspiracy-minded "War Room" podcast, is a private citizen who "refused to appear to give testimony as required by a subpoena," the indictment says.

Bannon's attorney did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. When Bannon declined to appear for his deposition in October, his attorney said the former Trump adviser had been directed by a lawyer for Trump citing executive privilege not to answer questions.

Officials in both Democratic and Republican administrations have been held in contempt by Congress, but criminal indictments for contempt are exceedingly rare. The most recent notable examples of criminal penalties for not testifying before Congress date to the 1970s, including when President Richard Nixon's aide G. Gordon Liddy was convicted of misdemeanor charges for refusing to answer questions about his role in the Watergate scandal.

'Sharp legal dispute'

Meadows defied his subpoena on Friday after weeks of discussions with the committee. His lawyer said that Meadows has a "sharp legal dispute" with the panel as Trump has claimed executive privilege over his testimony, as he had with Bannon's.

The former Republican congressman's refusal to comply comes amid the legal battles between the committee and Trump. The former president has claimed privilege over documents and interviews the lawmakers are demanding. The White House said in a letter Thursday that President Joe Biden would waive any privilege that would prevent Meadows from cooperating with the committee, prompting his lawyer to say Meadows wouldn't comply.

"Legal disputes are appropriately resolved by courts," said the lawyer, George Terwilliger. "It would be irresponsible for Mr. Meadows to prematurely resolve that dispute by voluntarily waiving privileges that are at the heart of those legal issues."

As the sitting president, Biden has so far waived most of Trump's assertions of privilege over documents. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan has backed Biden's position, noting in one ruling this week that "Presidents are not kings, and Plaintiff is not President."

The panel's proceedings and attempts to gather information have been delayed as Trump appealed Chutkan's rulings. On Thursday, a federal appeals court temporarily blocked the release of some of the White House records the panel is seeking, giving that court time to consider Trump's arguments.

Scores of witnesses

Still, the House panel is continuing its work, and lawmakers have already interviewed more than 150 witnesses so far as they attempt to build the most comprehensive record yet of how a violent mob of Trump's supporters broke into the Capitol and temporarily halted the certification of Biden's victory.

The committee has subpoenaed almost three dozen people, including former White House staffers, Trump allies who strategized about how to overturn his defeat and people who organized the giant rally on the National Mall the morning of January 6. While some, like Meadows and Bannon, have balked, others have spoken to the panel and provided documents.

Like Bannon, Meadows is a key witness for the panel. He was Trump's top aide in the time between Trump's loss in the November election and the insurrection, and was one of several people who pressured state officials to try to overturn the results. He was also by Trump's side during much of the time, and he could provide information about what the former president was saying and doing during the attack.
Ahead of World Diabetes Day Sunday, the Africa office of the World Health Organization is warning that the chronic disease leaves patients especially vulnerable to the effects of COVID-19.

In Zimbabwe, the government is building rural health centers to make it easier for people with diabetes and other conditions to get medical attention.

Dr. Benido Impouma, director of the communicable and noncommunicable diseases cluster at the WHO regional office for Africa, said with just 6% of the continents population fully vaccinated, COVID-19 still poses a very real threat to populations in Africa, especially people with diabetes.

He said WHOs preliminary analysis shows that death rates from COVID-19 are significantly higher in patients who also have diabetes.

The U.N. health agencys survey in 13 African countries found a more than 10% fatality rate for people with diabetes, compared to 2.5% for COVID-19 patients overall, said Impouma.

This shows that fighting the diabetes epidemic in Africa is in many ways as critical as the battle against the current COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 will eventually subside, but Africa is projected, in the coming years, to experience the highest increase in diabetes globally. We must act now to prevent new cases. All Africans at risk of diabetes must have access to testing. In fact, in Africa, about 70% of people with diabetes are unaware that they have the chronic condition, Impouma said.

The WHO says about 24 million Africans suffer from diabetes, with that number expected to rise sharply in coming years.

Impouma urged health officials to take advantage of the increased availability of low-cost rapid diagnostic tests to routinely test patients, to ensure early detection and proper care.

Joyce Kanengebiza, a diabetic, says she is happy about improvements to health centers in her rural home  Mount Darwin  about 200 kilometers north of Harare.

"We used to walk long distances to go get tested or get medication. I am happy that I do not have to travel long distances anymore. We now get tested here (at a clinic) instead of going to [a] hospital, Kanengebiza said.

Zimbabwes Vice President Constantino Chiwenga  who doubles as the countrys health minister  told the state-owned broadcaster that such heath centers can also be key venues for COVID-19 vaccinations.

We have distributed and we will continue distributing effectively our centers in all our districts so that we can now move to those areas get tested, get supplies and always get reviewed, Chiwenga said.

WHO says its data revealed that in about 40 African countries nearly 14% of all COVID-19 vaccine doses administered so far have gone to Africans with underlying conditions  such as diabetes.

But the organization says it is still nowhere near where it wants Africa to be with protecting the continents most vulnerable populations.
One on One with Joe Korkowski, as heard Saturdays on KXRA-1490AM (@7:40am) and KXRA-92.3FM (@8:00am), as well as each Sunday morning on KXRZ Z99.3fm (@10:15am).

The interview is also re-broadcast on Monday mornings on KX92 at 10:00am and on Z99 at 9:10am.
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Wyomissing / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s : Weak shaking and a loud banging noise, similar to nearby car crash. There was no damage or other impact. | 2 users found this interesting.

Catasauqua, Pa (60 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / complex motion difficult to describe : I was sitting at my kitchen table and was not sure of what I felt. It felt like small vibrations and slight rolling. I put my hand out to make sure it vibrated slight with the movement.

Watching television (3.1 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single vertical bump / 2-5 s : Single upwards bump with a crack then then a boom to finish. Felt and sounded like it was right under my feet. Both wife and I stopped what we were doing and felt it Definitively was a crack/boom sound with single upward motion

Joshua drive, sinking spring (3.3 km ESE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single vertical bump / 2-5 s : Heard a loud boom than the entire house shook for approx 3 seconds. I thought there was some sort of explosion near our house. More than light shaking but only for 2-3 seconds. I got up and checked to see if something blew up in the basement.

wyomissing hills, pa (5 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s : Heard the roof rattling and vibrating on the second floor. I thought a tree had fall on the roof. Loud band. Very quick. Probably 1 second.

Whitfield, PA 19609-1231 (3.7 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s : It felt like something ran in to the house, but nothing was damaged and nothing struck the house. Pretty significant light shaking that last about30 seconds. This occurred at 512 Snyder Road, Reading, PA 19509-1231 (near Wilson HS)

Sinking Spring, Pa (1.8 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single vertical bump / 2-5 s : Woke me from a deep sleep. Very loud sounding considering the quietness of silent household. All members of household were asleep at the time.

Shillington (5.6 km ESE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s : Laying in bed and the bedroom door rattled, which happens when it isnt latched and the front door opens or closes, so we thought someone had come in the house. Didnt find anything when we checked though.

Lower Heidelberg township (0.7 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single vertical bump / 2-5 s : Felt & sounded like a large explosion just outside the house. Pictures on walls & Knick knacks on shelves rattled. Lasted a few seconds.

Reading (3.6 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / complex motion difficult to describe / 2-5 s : Felt like someone was smoothly swinging my bed. Lasted for a couple of seconds both times. One after the other. Reading PA

Sinking Spring, Berks, Pennsylvania (2.4 km SE of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt / single vertical bump / 1-2 s : I was in the basement and heard a loud boom, one big adjustment then brief shaking for a few seconds.

Wernersville Pa (3 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : Was standing in basement, hear thunder loud 'ka-boom' that was about a second and then rumbling for about 4 seconds and felt vibrations the whole time.

Spring twp pa (3.5 km ESE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : It sounded like an explosion happened some where near by and the house shook or vibrated for 3 seconds.

Reading (10.4 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : Sitting in a chair in my Great Room at my home. There was a rumbling noise & house shook 5-10 seconds.

Wyomissing,PA (5.9 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s : Siting in bed. Heard rumbling, then house started rattling. It moved from outside left side of house to underneath house.

Wyomissing, Berks, Pennsylvania (5.2 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single vertical bump / very short : The house rocked forward and back. Heard a snap sound and thud.. loud enough that my son thought my wife fell

Sinking spring pa (1.2 km ESE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single vertical bump / very short : One hard slam I thought something fell in my house | One user found this interesting.

Wernesville pa. / not felt : The boom was more like a blast. You could hear it in the air. Outside walking toward house from car. The sky and the house vibrated but the ground I was walking on did not vibrate.

East Gaul Street / Light shaking (MMI IV) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 10-15 s : There was a loud boom that shook my chair. My ring doorbell recorded the loud boom in my backyard followed by a bright light and a plume of dense smoke

SINKING SPRING / not felt : I heard a very loud noise that sounded like an explosion. I assumed it was an earthquake because we've had a couple of others in the area this week.

Colony Park, Wyomissing, Pa / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 10-15 s : Sounded light grumbling sound. Didn't feel shaking or rattling. Was on 1st level. Hubby in basement didn't notice.

Kempton / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single lateral shake / very short : I was on the second floor of my home and was bent over and felt a forward motion. I noticed the hangers in the closet moving side to side. I tried to recreate this by jumping and moving and could not.

Wernersville, Pennsylvania / not felt / single vertical bump / very short : As if someone or some object forcefully fell to floor next door. also could be felt as if something exploded - one loud boom.

West Lawn, PA / Light shaking (MMI IV) / vibration and rolling / 2-5 s : I heard an extremely loud boom, then the house shook, and I could feel my bed shake, and then a rumble vibration went through the house.

Spring township 19608 / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s : Heard a noise that sounded like a freight train and momentarily felt movement like I had become dizzy. Lasted only a second or 2.

In my home in Wyomissing, PA / Light shaking (MMI IV) / complex motion difficult to describe / 2-5 s : Our house is solid, stone & slate. Like a roar or thunder, mixed with rattling windows & shaking unlike other sounds/feelings.

Wernersville, PA / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 2-5 s : woke me up - cared my wife who was in bed reading at the time... we have 1930s construction home... so it rattled a bit...

Robesonia, PA / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : House shook. Loud rumble. Felt it was an earthquake or explosion/implosion (I have experienced all 3 in my life).

Drexelwood, Spring Twp, near Wyomissing / Light shaking (MMI IV) / simple rolling (tilting sideways along one direction) / 2-5 s : Deep rumbling that went off into the distance after a few seconds. Awoke me from sleep, caused rattling in thr house.

Middletown, NY / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / very short : It was odd like a rumbling vibrating feeling followed by dogs crying and freaking out. It was different something I haven't really felt before.

Sinking spring / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single vertical bump / 1-2 s : Woke me out of sound sleep thought something hit the house. At first I thought it was a tree that had fallen close to the house.

Wyomissing, pa / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / very short : I've heard a rumble, I thought it thundered! We didn't feel movement! I live between broadcasting rd and papermill rd

Shillington PA / Weak shaking (MMI III) / vibration and rolling / 1-2 s : I live at Springside Manor Apts. It sounded like someone slammed a giant door or I thought something hit our apartment building. I was confused. Only about 2 seconds, but very intense. I would say rolling. It made me feel nausea. I was laying on sofa.

Mohnton, PA 19540 / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / very short : I heard a loud boom and felt one quick jolt. I initially thought a vehicle had struck the outside wall of my home, which is located right next to the street.

Wernersville PA / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single vertical bump / 1-2 s : It sounded like a loud boom and my house felt like it vibrated for a second. It felt like an explosion. My husband was asleep at the time and it woke him up.

Gouglersville pa 19608 / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : Sounded like thunder then felt the rumbling of the house. I knew it was a quake because it was intense enough and lasted long enough

Wernersville / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single lateral shake / 1-2 s : I was in my basement, heard and felt a loud boom felt the vibration through my body, wife was upstairs said whole house shook. It was very quick but was very powerful.

West Lawn PA 19609 / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single lateral shake / 10-15 s : Heard explosion type noise, that usually happens in this area, right before shaking starts. Was short duration.

Sinking spring, pa / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : Felt and heard the noise and light shaking/rumbling coming from east to west as I was sitting on the sofa watching tv. My 2 cats were alerted and concerned. Around 10:48 pm 11/12/2021.

West Lawn / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single vertical bump / 1-2 s : Sounded and felt like someone heavy fell out of bed on the floor above me, also the house shook and the tv and objects swayed

Sinking Spring / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single lateral shake / 1-2 s : Sitting in the room and felt like something was moving the whole house.with a rumbling sound. The sound came before the house moved.

Sinking Spring PA / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s : Was in my basement...sounded like an explosion. loud booming sounds. Should the ground and rattled the house for no more than 5 seconds

Sinking Spring PA 19608 / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : Heard and felt a big boom, followed by a rumble. Thought my gas stove backed up/was blocked and then exploded. Shook the house.

Wernersville PA / Light shaking (MMI IV) / vibration and rolling / 2-5 s : Loud vibrating noise rolling through from the ground. It was pretty intense and lasted about 5 seconds. my family room is on a slab, so I felt and heard it, no doubt.

Wernersville / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : It felt like the whole house shook. Woke my husband. I was awake- it was as if someone crashed into garage door below our bedroom.

Sinking Spring, Pa / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 2-5 s : Short, loud boom, almost explosion like. Shook house. | One user found this interesting.

Sinking Spring (1.7 km NW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single vertical bump / very short : lying in bed I felt a large bang.

Mohnton (8.6 km SE of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt : I heard a short, two-beat rumble. I was home alone, so he got my attention.

Mohnton (8.6 km SE of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt : I heard a short, two-beat rumble. I was home alone, so he got my attention.

Wernersville, Berks, Pennsylvania (7.5 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 1-2 s : Sounded like a thunder boom. Felt upstairs while in bed.

Reinholds (9.7 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt

In my driveway (1.6 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : I felt like un underground bomb explosion. A loud noise and a very brief shake.

Temple, Berks, Pennsylvania (10.7 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s : Loud rattle almost like thunder

Wernersville, Berks, Pennsylvania (4.7 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single lateral shake / very short : A single rolling movement

New Ringgold, PA (40.2 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / vibration and rolling / 5-10 s

1065 Hilltop Rd., Bern Township, Leesport, PA 1953 (6 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single lateral shake / very short : A boom and then it felt as if a truck had crashed into the front of our house.

Gouglersville (7.3 km SSE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / very short : Loud boom with weak shaking. Rattled glasses in the kitchen

Mohnton PA (8.3 km SSE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / very short

Green Lane, PA 18054 (47.2 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt

Sinking Spring, Berks, Pennsylvania (2.8 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single vertical bump / very short

Wernersville, Berks, Pennsylvania (7.5 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 1-2 s : Sounded like a thunder boom. Felt upstairs while in bed.

Leesport, Berks, Pennsylvania (7.9 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 2-5 s : Felt like an explosion

Sinking Spring (2.6 km ESE of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt : I live in Berkshire Hills Apartments and didn't feel a thing. It's been unusually quiet tonight too.

1201 Dogwood Drive, Reading, PA 19609 (2.7 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s : Entire house shuddered momentarily

Reading, 19610 (6.6 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s

Robesonia, PA (7.2 km WNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 2-5 s : Boom rolling jolt 3-4 seconds

Sinking Spring, Berks, Pennsylvania (4.3 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 2-5 s : Heard a rumbling and a shake for a few seconds. Was in the basement of my home.

Leesport (6.7 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s

2419 Laurel Rd, Reading, PA (3.3 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s : Reasonably loud boom accompanied by short rumbles

Shillington, pa (7.9 km ESE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single lateral shake / very short : I felt a short shake while in bed on the second floor.

Reading, PA (5.5 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s : Heard the noise then the rumble

Sinking Spring,Pa. (16.3 km WNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : Unsteady shaking...vibration

Wernersville Pa (4.9 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s : Heard a boom, rattle and shake. Happened so quickly and unexpectedly

Mohnton,pa (5.6 km SE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single vertical bump / very short

Wernersville (4.3 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / vibration and rolling / 10-15 s : Felt like an explosion happened right under my house causing our entire house to shake.

Wernersville, PA (4.3 km WNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 2-5 s : Heard a loud bang, rumble

Mohnton, pa (6.3 km SE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / very short

Sinking Spring, PA (1.5 km SE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single vertical bump / very short

Lower Heidelberg (3.5 km NW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III)

Home (3.4 km ESE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / vibration and rolling / 2-5 s : Sounded like an explosion then brief shaking

Wyomissing PA (4.4 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s

Wernersville PA (6.5 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s : In bed, house and floor shook hard. Following shaking, heard loud bang like thunder outside.

Wernersville, Berks, Pennsylvania (2 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 1-2 s : Almost like an explosion followed by a short 1-2 second shake.

Western Sinking Spring, PA (2.4 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s : It sounded like a boom or slam; windows in the house rattled on a north to south axis.

Sinking Spring, Berks, Pennsylvania (1.5 km SE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / single vertical bump / 1-2 s : Felt like our house moved up 1 foot then suddenly dropped hard

West Lawn PA (3.9 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single vertical bump / 1-2 s : Herd a boom, then short shaking and rattling.

Pottstown PA / not felt

Wernersville / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : First there was a sound like a clap of thunder, then shaking.

Home, West Reading, Pa / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 1-2 s : It was a boom with a small rattle

Valley view / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / vertical swinging (up and down)

Wyomissing / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single vertical bump / very short

Wernersville, PA / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single lateral shake / 2-5 s

Flying Hills Berks county PA / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single vertical bump / 1-2 s : One hard thump in upper floor facing north west

Exeter township / not felt

19540 / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single lateral shake / very short : Ishook house

Sinking Spring / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s

At home / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s

Sinking spring PA / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / very short

Mohnton / Weak shaking (MMI III)

19697 / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 1-2 s : I was sitting on couch in basement, felt a sudden movement, like someone pushed the couch.

West lawn, pa / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s

Fleetwood / not felt

Wernersville / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s

Sinking Spring PA / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s

Sinking spring pa / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s

At home / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s

Penn Ave Sinking Spring PA 19608 / Light shaking (MMI IV) / vibration and rolling / 15-20 s : I felt my home shake/rattle. It felt like everything was vibrating.

Wernersville, PA / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s

Wernersville / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s : And I heard a boom

Sinking Spring / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : Shuddering

Sinking Spring, PA / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single vertical bump / very short : We live in a semi detached house and thought something heavy fell in our neighbors living room.

Wyomissing,pa. / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single vertical bump / 1-2 s : Roar like sound with a mild shake.

50 Green Valley Rd Sinking Spring,Pa 19608 / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : Loud explosion like sound underneath me followed by my entire house shaking

Reading / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s

Shillington / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : Loose doorknob rattled. Heard a loud boom

Summit Hill / not felt

Wernersville, PA in my bedroom. / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single vertical bump / 1-2 s : Loud rumbling sound

Shillington, PA / not felt : I heard a loud boom. I thought it was somelne setting off fireworks.

Wernersville, PA / Weak shaking (MMI III) : Felt and sounded like a large tree falling to the ground.

Wyomissing Pa / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 2-5 s : Wasn't sure if it was an earthquake or a train accident on a nearby railroad line

Mohnton, PA / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : Light shaking. Heard a rumble then heard the door shaking/rattling.

Wyomissing / Weak shaking (MMI III) / vibration and rolling / 1-2 s : Laying in bed I heard a rumble and the whole house shook for only a few seconds.

Sinking Spring / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : Loud rumble

Bradley Ave. Spring Township Berks County, PA / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 15-20 s : Loud Boom, almost sounded like an explosion outside and quick rattle or vibration of windows

Boyertown / not felt : We in bed

165 Beacon Rd,Sinking Spring PA 19608 / Weak shaking (MMI III) / very short : Heard large boom and it felt like a thump

home 658 Brownsville Rd Sinking Spring PA / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 1-2 s : A rumble, like thunder of about 2 seconds.

Wernersville / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / very short

West Lawn, PA / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : Loud boom

Pine Street, Wernersville / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 1-2 s

Sinking Spring PA / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s

Wyomissing / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 5-10 s

Sinking Spring / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single vertical bump / very short : I felt a loud boom lasted about a second or so

Shillington / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single vertical bump / very short

Shillington, PA / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 s

360 Sioux ct, sinking spring 19608 load boom, enti / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : Loud boom and rumble like something hit the house

386 Martin's Rd Sinking spring Pa 19608 / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single vertical bump / very short : Heard crashing sound

Wernersville / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s

19607 / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single lateral shake / 2-5 s : Our house shook and it was loud

Douglassville, PA / not felt

Wyomissing, Pa / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / very short

Wernersville, pa / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single vertical bump / very short

Sinking Spring / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s

Wernersville / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s

93 Slote Lane Mohnton, pa / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / very short

Boyertown Pennsylvania / not felt

Sinking Spring PA / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s : House rattled/shook

19609 / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 1-2 s

Watching tv / not felt

Sinking Spring / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : Shuddering

Sinking Spring, PA / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single vertical bump / 2-5 s : LOUD, sounded like an explosion, but lasted a few seconds

West Lawn / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single vertical bump / very short

Wernersville, PA / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 2-5 s : I heard a bang and my bed shook.

Spring township. / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 s : It woke me up. Felt like someone was shaking the house. Very brief.

Shillington, pa / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : Quick rumble, windows rattled. Like something hit my house or very intense thunder.

19606 / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s

19562 / not felt

District township pa / Very weak shaking (MMI II) : Dog noticed first ran to door I watched the screen door chain swing lighty

Wernersville, pa / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : sounded like and intensifying rumble. More like an avalanche or landslide about to hit you!

169 Wernersville Blvd Wernersville, PA 19565 / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : The whole house shook and things rattled. Very loud boom. Thought is was explosion.

4741 Penn Ave, Sinking Spring, PA 19608 / Light shaking (MMI IV) / complex motion difficult to describe / 2-5 s : Sounded like someone drove a car into the building

Sinking Spring / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single vertical bump / 2-5 s : Felt like something really heavy fell in the house or maybe something hit the house.

Wernersville, PA / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : Heard rattling, was on sofa. Light shake.

Wernersville Pa / Weak shaking (MMI III) / very short

Wernersville / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : A definite distinct rumble under my feet and heard a loud rumble noise.

Wernersville, PA / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single vertical bump / 1-2 s : Loud boom with vertical movement

Sinking spring, pa / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s

Reading / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s : Weak shaking that slightly rattled the house for ~1 second.

Sinking Springs, Pa / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 2-5 s : I felt the whole house shake like something hit it. Scared me half to death

Sinking spring, pa / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single vertical bump / very short

West Lawn PA / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 2-5 s

Wernersville / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s

19565 / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s

Reading, PA 19607 / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s

Sinking Spring 19608 / Light shaking (MMI IV) / vibration and rolling / 2-5 s

sinking spring, PA / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single vertical bump / 1-2 s

12 maple Avenue shillington 19607 / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : Noise then Weak vibration of floor furniture

Wernersville, PA / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 1-2 s

9608 / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single vertical bump / 1-2 s

Shillington / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 1-2 s

Mohnton, Ps / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single vertical bump / 5-10 s : Sounded like a large thumping noise like someone large stumbled

Colony Park / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s

Mohnton,pa / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / very short

Sinking Spring / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s : A very loud boom and the house shook.

Reading / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single vertical bump / very short

West Lawn / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s

Gouglersville pa / Weak shaking (MMI III) / vibration and rolling / 2-5 s

Green valley road, reading pa / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 2-5 s

Flying Hills, Reading PA / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single vertical bump / 1-2 s : Heard loud noise. Thought neighbor dropped something.

West Lawn, Pa / not felt / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s : Thought my ceiling collapsed.

South Heidelberg Twp, Berks County, PA / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / very short

19565 / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s

west lawn, pa / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / very short

Sinking Spring / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / very short

Reading PA / not felt : Rocked the house

19565 / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s

Sinking Spring / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : Sounded like very loud rolling thunder felt like light to moderate shaking

Wernersville, Pa / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : Felt and sounded like something fell on the house and shook whole thing . Like hard thunder.

Reading, PA / not felt

West Wyomissing / Weak shaking (MMI III) / very short

Wernersville / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s : It felt like when they blast off in a quarry thats nearby

Sinking Spring / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : Vibrations like heavy truck or accident

Sinking Spring / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 1-2 s

west lawn,pa / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s : Shaking and loud boom sound

Shillington pa / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s : Felt like a large truck passing by

Sinking Spring / Light shaking (MMI IV) : Light shaking. Sudden and short accompanied by loud boom.

Sinking Spring / Light shaking (MMI IV) / complex motion difficult to describe / 2-5 s : A huge explosion sound along with brief shaking of the while house.

Wernersville Pa / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 2-5 s : The ground shook, very loud boom, felt like the house was caving in. Very Scary!

19608 / Weak shaking (MMI III) / very short

Sinking Spring / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : The house shook made me jump

Wernersville, PA / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s

Sinking Spring / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / very short : Loud bang and a shake

Inside home / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : Very startled after 3-4 in a week!!

354 Mountain Blvd Wernersville, PA 19565 / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 2-5 s : Load bang followed by rumbles.

140 halsey ave, west lawn, pa 19609 / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s : Light shaking, loud, pictures on wall shook

West Lawn / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s

Wyomissing, Pennsylvania / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : It was more of a loud sound.

19565 / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s

West lawn, reading ave / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / very short : Loud explosion and house shook...wasn't sure if train flipped off track

102 Cheshire ct sinking spring pa / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : Loud boom, house shaking. Felt and succeed like something plowed into the side of the house.

19606 / not felt

West Lawn, PA / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s

Wernersville / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / very short : Sounded like explosion. Big boom and rumble.

186 Oakmont Court, Reading PA, 19607 / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s

Sinking Spring / Weak shaking (MMI III) / vibration and rolling / 1-2 s

Sinking Spring / not felt : Heard a large bang, like a large tree hitting the ground.

West lawn pa / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 1-2 s : House shook , vibrating, loud noise

Sinking spring / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s

34 Wyomissing Hills Blvd, Wyomissing, PA 19609 / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single lateral shake / 2-5 s : Heard a quick rumble and slight vibration.

Sinking Spring / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s

Shillington / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 1-2 s : Shook the house one time

Reading / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s : loud rumble and whole house shook and things moved inside house

Sinking Spring, Pa / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / very short : I heard a loud boom and my home shook.

Spring township, pa / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s
The Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia denounces the announcement of the United States on November 12, 2021, to impose sanctions on the State of Eritrea. We believe the US has failed to consider important facts:

1. The Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF) fired rockets at a sovereign country, Eritrea, following its unprovoked attack on the Northern Command of Ethiopias National Defense Forces on November 3, 2020.

2. It is the sovereign right of the Eritrean Government to respond to imminent danger to its territorial integrity and security.

3. The Government of Ethiopia has never lodged any grievances to the international community regarding the initial presence of Eritrean forces on its soil in defense of their territorial integrity. The prerogative to put forth such a complaint lies with the Government of Ethiopia and not any other country.

4. The Government of Eritrea has evacuated its military forces from Ethiopia following the declaration of the Unilateral Humanitarian Ceasefire by the Government of Ethiopia at the end of June 2021.

5. The Government of Ethiopia does not believe that the State of Eritrea is an impediment to sustainable peace in Ethiopia. The real and present threat to peace in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa Region is the continued belligerence and aggression of the TPLF. We reiterate that the international communitys reluctance to strongly condemn the destabilizing roles of the TPLF has emboldened the terrorist group.

If the purpose of sanctions is to compel parties to cease their destabilizing actions, the Ethiopian Government strongly believes that the real target for sanctions and further tougher actions by the US Government and the greater international community should be directed towards the TPLF.

We, therefore, implore the US Government to rescind its decision to impose sanctions on the State of Eritrea and to take actions against the real root cause of the current challenges in Ethiopia-the TPLF.
According to the US Navy, joint military exercises between the navies of the US, Bahrain, UAE and Israel kicked off in the Red Sea on 10 November 2021 [1].

These are the first military maneuvers in the history of Arab countries that involve Israel.
Treasury Sanctions Four Entities and Two Individuals in Connection with the Crisis in Ethiopia

Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated four entities and two individuals pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 14046 in response to the growing humanitarian and human rights crisis and expanding military conflict in Ethiopia. Todays action targets Eritrean actors that have contributed to the crisis and conflict, which have undermined the stability and integrity of the Ethiopian state. The United States is actively working with partners throughout the region and the world to support a negotiated cessation of hostilities in Ethiopia. The presence of Eritrean forces is an impediment to ending the ongoing fighting and increasing humanitarian access. Leaders from around the world have repeatedly called for Eritrea to withdraw its forces from Ethiopia. The E.O., which President Biden signed on September 17, 2021, authorizes targeting of actors contributing to the ongoing crisis in Ethiopia and is not directed at the people of Ethiopia or Eritrea.

We condemn the continued role played by Eritrean actors who are contributing to the violence in northern Ethiopia, which has undermined the stability and integrity of the state and resulted in a humanitarian disaster, said Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control Andrea M. Gacki. Treasury will continue to use all our tools and authorities to target and expose those whose actions prolong the crisis in the region, where hundreds of thousands are suffering. Parties to the conflict must come to the negotiating table without preconditions. The United States stands ready to pursue additional actions, including against the Government of Ethiopia and the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front, if there is not tangible progress toward a cessation of hostilities.

The individuals and entities designated today are the Eritrean Defense Force, the Peoples Front for Democracy and Justice, Abraha Kassa Nemariam, Hidri Trust, Hagos Ghebrehiwet W Kidan, and Red Sea Trading Corporation.

SITUATION IN NORTHERN ETHIOPIA

Since the outbreak of the military conflict in 2020, fighting involving the Ethiopian military, Eritrean military, Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF) forces, and other forces in northern Ethiopia has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths, as well as a growing humanitarian crisis affecting millions of people. The ongoing conflict threatens the integrity of the Ethiopian state and risks undermining regional stability. Eritrean forces have operated throughout Ethiopia during the conflict and have been responsible for massacres, looting, and sexual assaults.

ACTORS INVOLVED IN CRISIS IN ETHIOPIA

The Eritrean Defense Force (EDF) is the Eritrean military. The EDF has been operating in northern Ethiopia amidst numerous reports of looting, sexual assault, killing civilians, and blocking humanitarian aid. EDF soldiers have been seen disguised in old Ethiopian military uniforms, manning checkpoints, obstructing and occupying critical aid routes, and threatening medical staff in one of northern Ethiopias few operating hospitals. The EDF was designated today for being a government entity that has engaged in, or whose members have engaged in, activities that have contributed to the crisis in northern Ethiopia or have obstructed a ceasefire or peace process to resolve such crisis.

The Peoples Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), led by Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki, is the sole legal political party in Eritrea. Isaias personally oversees the command and control of the EDF, issuing orders directly to EDF generals, making him ultimately responsible for the EDFs role in contributing to the crisis in northern Ethiopia. The PFDJ was designated today for being a political party that has engaged in, or whose members have engaged in, activities that have contributed to the crisis in northern Ethiopia or have obstructed a ceasefire or peace process to resolve such crisis.

Abraha Kassa Nemariam (Kassa) is the head of the Eritrean National Security Office. He was designated today for being or having been a leader, official, senior executive officer, or member of the board of directors of the Government of Eritrea or its ruling PFDJ, on or after November 1, 2020, where the leader, official, senior executive officer, or director is responsible for or complicit in, or who has directly or indirectly engaged or attempted to engage in, any activity contributing to the crisis in northern Ethiopia.

Hidri Trust (Hidri) is the holding company of all PFDJ business enterprises and was established by the PFDJ in 1994. Hidri was designated today for being a political subdivision, agency, or instrumentality of the Government of Eritrea or its ruling Peoples Front for Democracy and Justice, and for being owned or controlled by the PFDJ.

Hagos Ghebrehiwet W Kidan (Ghebrehiwet) is the economic advisor to the PFDJ and the chief executive officer of Red Sea Trading Corporation (RSTC). Ghebrehiwet was designated today for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, the PFDJ.

RSTC manages the property and financial interests of the PFDJ, acts as its funder, and provides it business assistance. RSTC was designated today for being owned or controlled by Ghebrehiwet.

HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE AND TRADE TO ETHIOPIA AND ERITREA

Treasury remains committed to ensuring that U.S. sanctions do not limit the ability of civilians located in Ethiopia, Eritrea, and the region to receive humanitarian support from the international community. Treasury previously issued three general licenses (GLs), which authorize official activities of certain international organizations and other international entities, certain transactions in support of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) activities, and certain transactions related to the exportation or re-exportation of agricultural commodities, food, medicine, and medical items. Additionally, today OFAC issued Ethiopia GL 4 Authorizing the Wind Down of Transactions Involving Hidri Trust or Red Sea Trading Corporation and two new Ethiopia-related Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). For more information, please see FAQs 935 and 936.

For more information regarding the scope of any sanctions programs requirements, including the Ethiopia-Related Sanctions Program, or the applicability or scope of any humanitarian-related authorizations, please contact OFACs Sanction Compliance and Evaluation Division at (800) 540-6322 or (202) 622-2490, or by email at OFAC_Feedback@treasury.gov.

SANCTIONS IMPLICATIONS

As a result of todays action, all property and interests in property of the persons named above that are in the United States, or in the possession or control of U.S. persons, are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. No entity shall be blocked pursuant to E.O. 14046 solely because it is owned in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, by one or more sanctioned persons, unless the entity is itself a sanctioned person.
Photo: Mark Horton/WireImage

Terence Wilson, better known as UB40 founding front man Astro, has died at 64, after a brief illness, according to Ali Campbell and Astros Twitter. We are absolutely devastated and completely heartbroken to have to tell you that our beloved Astro has today passed away after a very short illness, the statement read. The world will never be the same without him. Astro was one of the founding members of Birminghams UB40, whose American hits include Red Red Wine and Cant Help Falling in Love. In the U.K., UB40 first came to prominence for their more politically inflected music. MI5 were tapping our phones, watching our houses, all sorts, drummer Jimmy Brown told the Guardian earlier this year. We thought, Havent they got criminals to catch? We were just a bunch of potheads, smoking weed and playing music. We werent planning the revolution, but if the revolution happened, we knew what side we were going to be on. In the same interview, Astro said he was radicalized in part by the sus law, which allowed police to arrest people on the grounds of of acting suspiciously. Shock of all shocks, this law was enforced in a racially biased manner. It was a weekly occurrence, he said. We found it harder to write love songs than militant lyrics, because it was a lot easier to write about stuff you had witnessed or read about. It seemed natural to us.

Reggae was itself a political choice by the band, as it aligned them with the Windrush generation, African-Caribbean immigrants that came to England after World War II and faced scorn from many. Songs like the anti-Thatcher Madame Medusa snuck politics into a dance beat. The band won an early fan in the Pretenders Chrissie Hynde, who had UB40 open for them. The bands biggest Stateside hits were covers. Slates Hit Parade podcasts inaugural episode was about how the Neil Diamond song became a hit for the Brummie band. UB40 split into two bands in 2013, both of which laid claim to being the one true UB40. The other UB40 also announced Wilsons passing via social media, writing Our sincere condolences to his family.
A Town Creek man died in an early Saturday morning house fire.

The fire call for a home in the 1400 block of Lawrence County Road 257 came in about 2:30 a.m., according to Lawrence County Coroner Scott Norwood.

Norwood identified the victim as Thomas Wayne Trousdale, 74.

Norwood said the flood in the trailer collapsed, and it was fully involved when firefighters arrived. It took about two hours to extinguish the fire and find the victim.

The body will be brought to Huntsville for autopsy.

The Alabama State Fire Marshal is now investigating.

Courtland and Hatton fire departments and the Lawrence County Sheriffs Office all responded.
Lawrence County Coroner Scott Norwood is asking for the publics help to identify the victim who was hit and killed on Alabama 24 early Tuesday morning.

Norwood described the victim as a white male between 30 and 45 years old, who was 6 feet tall and about 260 pounds. He had a receding hairline and a full beard of brownish-red hair. A tattoo on his upper left arm appears to show two letters.

If this description sounds familiar, please call the Lawrence County Sheriffs Office at 256-974-9291.
Bank Independent kicked off its annual Toy Share drive on Friday, marking 11 years since the toy collection campaign began.

From now until Dec. 3, all Bank Independent locations will accept donations of new, unwrapped toys and offer two "less hands-on" ways of helping children in need: monetary donations thorugh PayPal or throuh an Amazon shopping "Wishlist."

All items will be distributed to local children through partner organizations across North Alabama.

As our friends and neighbors emerge from the previous months, their generosity to the community helps lessen the impact of the pandemic on local families, said Macke Mauldin, president and CEO of BancIndependent Inc., parent company of Bank Independent. Our partner charitable organizations work tirelessly throughout the year to reach families in need. The hopes for the 2021 Bank Independent Toy Share drive are to help these vital organizations continue their mission and to make Christmas morning brighter for everyone.

Last year's Toy Share drive provided more than 3,200 toys and more than $1,700 in cash donations to partner organizations. Bank Independent donated an additional $11,000 to match the $11,000 seven customers won during the Seven Weeks of Winning and Giving sweepstakes.

Bank Independent is excited to be able to accept donations in our sales offices again this year, said Nikki Randolph, Bank Independent's community engagement officer. We will continue to focus on the safety and convenience of everyone involved."

To that end, those who wish to donate online can click here for links to donate via PayPal or shop via Amazon.

Charitable organizations distributing Toy Share donations include the Angel Tree Program in partnership with Lexington High School; Christmas Charities Year Round of Madison County; Committee on Church Cooperation in Morgan County; Cornerstone Church in Lawrence County; Department of Human Resources in Franklin and Limestone counties; Lauderdale County Christian Childrens Home; Rogersville Volunteer Fire Department; Shoals CASA; Safeplace of the Shoals; and William Porter Foundation of the Shoals.
Brisk cold air that moved into the area Friday night is bringing us a chilly start to the weekend. Many areas waking up in the lower 30's Saturday! Thanks to northwest winds, no frost risk for the morning - but that does change Sunday.

Won't get much relief from the cold air this afternoon. Even with the sunshine, we'll struggle to hit 50 for our high today. And with light winds tonight temperatures will get to or below freezing tonight. The National Weather has issued a Freeze Warning for all of North Alabama because of this starting at 9 p.m. and ending at 8 a.m. Sunday. Not concerned with any travel impacts, but may be a good idea to cover those plants and outdoor pipes before heading to bed.

A slightly warmer afternoon past the chilly start Sunday, with highs in the upper 50's and lower 60's.
Colbert County emergency management and other county departments might have a new headquarters on former Tennessee Valley Authority property.

The current EMA building is also home to the area's 911 dispatch call center and located in downtown Tuscumbia. Michael David Smith runs both of the departments and said not only are they running out of space, but this building is pretty old, too.

"We are bursting at the seams. It seems like we gain more and more every year," said Smith. "It seems like we have a new leak every day, and it's just hard to keep up with the maintenance with that facility, and we just need to be somewhere better."

They have found this building on TVA property that's owned by a firm out of Knoxville, Tennessee. Smith said buying the building will cost around $400,000.

"If we're able to obtain that, it's not only turning into a new (emergency operations center) for the EMA and a new 911 dispatch center but also have some space available for Covid testing and Covid vaccinations and a space for (the state health department) to use as well," said Smith.

The complex would also house the coroner's office. Smith said they are looking at applying for a grant to get the money for the building. He said currently, they're waiting on approval from the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs to see if they'll receive a Communty Development Block Grant.

"The deadline to approve for that money was Nov. 1, so now we're just in a waiting game," said Smith.

Smith said if they get approved for the grant, the county will move forward with buying the building. He said they should know something in a few months.

Smith said they would still need to renovate some of the new building and outfit it for their emergency command post needs. If everything goes to plan, they could be moving in a year or two.
A road-work project in Jackson County is causing headaches for drivers.

Alabama 277 in Bridgeport is getting repaved, but it's been three weeks and counting of barely drivable roads in the meantime. Residents who live in the area said the highway is a major part of their daily travels, and its current condition has become a huge annoyance.

"Once the asphalt got ripped up  and the fact it's been left in this condition for so long  it's starting to really wear on peoples' cars and stuff," said Dennis Lambert.

Lambert said the highway is so bad that driving on it creates dust clouds and can make it difficult to steer. The gravel has damaged cars and cracked windows, and Lambert said that's not the only issue.

"You can't even see the highway," he said. "You don't know where the stripes are at. You don't know where the lanes are at, and when it rains, it's even worse."

WAAY 31 spoke to one of the road workers, who said they're resurfacing the road and striping about a 10-mile stretch. He said people need to slow down, something Lambert also encouraged.

Lambert said he doesn't understand why the issue event exists. The construction started three weeks ago, and some are surprised it's taken so long.

Lambert said he hopes the Alabama Department of Transportation, which oversees projects like these, changes its policy so shorter strips of highway are ripped up at one time or there is a shorter wait time between tearing up the highway and starting the resurfacing.

WAAY 31 reached out to ALDOT to see when this road project will be finished or what might be causing the delay. We're waiting to hear back.
A new partnership between Athens State University and Huntsville Hospital could help combat the nursing shortage.

It started Friday, when the president of Huntsville Hospital and the president of Athens State University shook hands and signed a learning partnership which will help incentivize health care workers to further their nursing degrees.

Athens State University and Huntsville Hospital Athens State University and Huntsville Hospital

"It's absolutely vital, because we have a shortage in those areas now," said Philip Way, president of Athens State University.

The nursing shortage is nothing new, as hospitals across the country voice their concern over the lack of health care workers.

"There's a great need as the community is growing," said Tracy Doughty, president of Huntsville Hospital. "Our area is one of the fastest-growing areas in the country, there's jobs everywhere and the workforce is needed."

Now, Huntsville Hospital and Athens State University are partnering to help solve that shortage by "trying to get the university and the hospital to work together on developing new programs, maybe fine-tuning existing ones so that we're turning out graduates that are wanted by the hospital in the future," said Way.

The goal is to have registered nurses from Huntsville Hospital enroll in Athens State to complete their bachelor of science in nursing degree.

"We have a large and unfolding nursing shortage in the area," said Mark Reynolds, assistant professor of nursing at Athens State. "There's also a need for more BSN registered nurses."

The incentive to get a BSN is 10% off tuition.

"They're going to work together to, No. 1, educate their employees through us giving discounts to employees and their families," said Way.

The discount applies to all Huntsville Hospital employees and their family members, even those who aren't getting a degree in healthcare.

"We think it's great," Doughty said. "People will be looking at Athens State for different areas of expertise and it goes across all their disciplines."

By educating nurses right here in North Alabama, they'll be more likely to funnel straight into the local health care system.

"We would love for those nurses to stay and work right at home," said Reynolds.

The nursing program at Athens State is brand new, having just started in August. Right now, they are currently accepting applications for spring semester.
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Breckenridge High School, community honor veterans

Audra A / Audra Anderson  Daily News The Wilkin County Honor Guard presented the colors at the Breckenridge High School Veterans Day event Thursday, Nov. 11.

Breckenridge High School gym was filled with students, staff, community members and veterans Thursday morning, Nov. 11 to celebrate Veterans Day. After a virtual event last year, hundreds gathered to show their support and gratitude for local heroes.

The event began with introductions and performances by the high school choir and band. The Wilkin County Honor Guard presented the armed forces flags as the band played the hymns of each branch of the military.

Breckenridge United Methodist Church Pastor Mark Gronseth provided an invocation and led the audience in prayer before turning the stage over to Breckenridge Mayor Russell Wilson. Veterans Day, which began as Armistice Day, honors the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 that signaled the end of World War I.

Its the veteran, not the preacher, who has given us freedom of religion. Its the veteran, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of press. Its the veteran, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. Its the veteran, not the campus organizer, who has given us freedom of assembly. Its the veteran, not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial. Its the veteran, not the politician who has given us the right to vote, Wilson said.

Thursdays featured guest speaker was Sysavanh Sy Hansana, who retired as a First Sergeant E-8 after 33 years of service to the U.S. military. Hansana served in military intelligence, military police and logistic operations and the combat engineer field. He now works as Lean Promotions Agent for Doosan Bobcat in Wahpeton, Daily News previously reported.

Hansanas father served as a police officer during the Vietnam War. When the war was coming to an end in 1975, the North Vietnamese government began hunting down military members and law enforcement adjacent to the former government.

You either had the option to turn to communism or get yourself killed, so my father feared for his life. He told us he was leaving Laos and fleeing to Thailand, Hansana said. Nine months later in 1976, my mother decided it was time for us to meet up with my father and leave Laos. We packed up whatever clothing we could fit into a backpack and made the journey to Thailand.

Hansanas older brother stayed behind to care for their grandmother in Laos. The rest of the family lived in a refugee camp in Thailand until summer 1979, when Hansanas brother joined them and they immigrated to Hazen, North Dakota.

I was 12 years old when I stepped off the plane in Bismarck. It was scary and overwhelming because we had just started learning a new language and a whole new lifestyle, Hansana said.

He endured bullying and harassment for his differences and difficulty with the English language. Thankfully, he joked, he couldnt understand what the bullies were saying to him.

Despite the grueling transition, Hansana said it was partly his gratitude for his new home in the U.S. that motivated him to join the military in 1985 as a Private E-1. He served as a Combat Engineer Platoon Sergeant in Combat B Company 142 ECB in Wahpeton, and was deployed to Kosovo through 1999-2000 attached to 82nd Engineer Battalion out of Germany.

Audra A / Audra Anderson  Daily News Sysavanh 'Sy' Hansana received a Quilt of Valor for his 33 years of service Thursday, Nov. 11.

In 2003, he was deployed to Iraq. His last deployment was to Afghanistan in 2016, where he was a Support Operation NCOIC under the 136 Combat Support Sustainment Battalion (CSSB) located in Devils Lake, North Dakota, attached to 1st Cavalry Division out of Fort Hood, Texas, and 1st Armory Division out of Fort Bliss, Texas. His 33-year military career led him to 25 different countries.

My service has given me tools I use in my everyday life, Hansana said. It has made me more disciplined and shaped me into the person I am today. I have been in many training situations and served in different missions throughout my career. After experiencing hostile environments such as Iraq and Afghanistan, Ive learned to appreciate and be proud of some of our missions where we built schools and playgrounds for children of war-torn communities.

Hansana and three other veterans  Rowland Ehlert, Jorge Sanchez and Stephen Huntley  received Quilts of Valor for their service during Thursdays event. Over 260,000 handmade quilts have been wrapped around veterans across the U.S. to offer healing and comfort. Blaire Larson, Red River Quilters Club, presented the quilts to the four men.

Audra A / Audra Anderson  Daily News From left, veterans Rowland Ehlert, Stephen Huntley, Jorge Sanchez and Hansana.

Ehlert served in the North Dakota Army National Guard for 27 years and retired as a sergeant. Ehlert was deployed to Kosovo and Iraq, and earned the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal and Army Achievement Medal.

Sanchez served in the Marine Corps for 24 years and retired as a gunnery sergeant. Sanchez was involved in the Cold War, Operation Iraqi Freedom, the Gulf War, Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation New Dawn. He earned 36 awards, including the Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal and Navy and Marine Corps Commendation medal.

Huntley served in the Navy for six years and his home port was Yokosuka, Japan. Huntley earned the Meritorious Unit Commendation and Navy Unit Commendation.

Thursdays event also featured student presentations of the Vietnam Project, a junior year assignment in social studies teacher Dennis Sumptions class. Claire Aigner, Brooklyn Baumhardt, John Etten and Rachel Gowin read prepared speeches about their projects to the audience. Victoria Undems project was also chosen to be presented but she was absent due to a volleyball commitment. Her speech was read by MC Ethan Albertson.
Monroe, GA (30655)

Today

Rain ending this morning. Sunshine breaking out this afternoon. High 61F. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%..

Tonight

Mostly clear. Widespread frost likely. Low near 30F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.
For copyright information, check with the distributor of this item, The Des Moines Register.
A more serious charge against some donors and their greedy recipients is that they may result in warping academic freedom. At my old newspaper, The Sunday Times, we revealed, for instance, that the London School of Economics had conferred an academic doctorate on the son of the former Libyan dictator Colonel Moammar Qaddafi, despite his Ph.D being ghost written. In return the Gaddafi Foundation pledged 1.5 million pounds over five years to an LSE research center and gave a college affiliate another 2.2 million pounds to train Libyan officials. In a bizarre video link-up with the LSE, the Colonel was hailed as Brother Leader and given an LSE cap previously conferred on Nelson Mandela. Unsurprisingly, the LSE director was forced to resign.
To suggest that parents have no place in school decision-making is to deny the fundamental role of public schools as places for the teaching and practice of democratic values. Schools should want more parental involvement, not less, a matter of equal concern on both sides of the cultural divide. For example, in New Orleans, the nations first all-charter-school city, where charter organizations backed by Democrats and Republicans sought to marginalize parent and community engagement in schools, the backlash has been fierce.
Up to World War II, the history of that region along the Rhine used to be an example of everything that was wrong with Europe. Then it became a case study in everything that could go right in Europe  and potentially the world. But as I ponder this, a pang of recognition  those headlines  wakes me from my reverie: Are we forgetting the Alsatian lesson and going back to the bad old world?
Its the limited right of the president to decline requests from Congress and the courts for information about internal White House talks and deliberations. The privilege is supposed to provide a safe space for presidents to get candid advice from aides without the concern that theyll later be called to testify. Though U.S. presidents have claimed a right to confidentiality in the face of congressional demands virtually since the founding of the republic, the U.S. Supreme Court first recognized executive privilege in 1974 in the endgame to the Watergate scandal, when President Richard Nixon, claiming absolute protection of all presidential communications, tried to withhold audio tapes of Oval Office meetings and other evidence demanded by a special prosecutor. Even as it rejected Nixons specific argument, the court agreed that a president generally does have an interest in maintaining White House secrecy.
Youngkin pledged support for law enforcement and said he would increase the capacity of the states behavioral health system. And he promised to clean house at the state parole board, which has been mired in a scandal over allegations that members violated policy in releasing some inmates. In what seemed an acknowledgment that many of his other Day One priorities actually require General Assembly approval, he added quietly: And that one the governor can do by himself.
To Washington, the willingness of long-cowed citizens to demand freedom and the governments violent response in July have proved that a new day has dawned in Cuba after decades of oppressive communist rule. Many attribute it to U.S. pressure and believe now is not the time to let up, although most U.S. allies  and many anti-government activists in Cuba  oppose the embargo as counterproductive and harmful to the Cuban people.
The policy was scheduled to take effect Jan. 4. It is not clear whether the full bench of the 5th Circuit will determine its fate. The Biden administration had asked the 5th Circuit to hold off on ruling until a judicial lottery can take place next week to consolidate several challenges to the mandate before a single appeals court.
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In June, he tapped Harris to spearhead the battle against Republican-led voting restrictions; it was a role she requested. Civil rights leaders have voiced frustration that the administration has not been able to enact voting rights legislation, with some lashing out at the president for not pressing for a change of the Senate filibuster rule, which they see as a main barrier to action. Biden has said changing the rule would have cost him critical votes for his immediate economic and foreign policy agenda, and Harris has said she is not giving up on the issue.
The murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer and the subsequent protests brought a momentary call for racial reckoning and a big shift in attitudes on policing and the Black Lives Matter movement. Favorability toward police plummeted among Democrats and independents while favorable views about the Black Lives Matter movement rose. By the beginning of this year, these attitudes had settled back close to where things were before the Floyd killing. Nor did that episode have much effect on public support for reparations, which has the support of only about a quarter of the public and a minority of Democrats.
The EU has been pressing airlines to stop bringing people from the Middle East to Belarus capital, Minsk, where Belarusian authorities allegedly lure them with promises of easy transit to the EU. Thousands have slipped into bloc members Poland, Lithuania and Latvia since the summer, and many others are stuck in the border area, sleeping rough in freezing weather.
GOP senators in that group felt Kavanaugh lacked the experience for such a prime judicial post, so he waited another year to get confirmed. In the fall of 2018, well into his retirement, Nelson blew up as he watched Graham rally Republicans around Kavanaughs elevation to the Supreme Court despite assault allegations as a teenager and a second hearing that degenerated into a display of insults to senators.
According to their confused and stupid logic, if a hungry man grabs bread and eats it, (an act) which is sure to cure this painful suffering, does this mean that he stopped relying on God?! They should be told: You fools! (majanin (sing. majnun): madmen, or more generally senseless fools.) As I thank God for the food which He provided me, which alleviates my hunger and sustains me, in the same way I thank Him for providing a medicine which heals my illness when I use it.
The pro-government militias, founded and bankrolled by the United Arab Emirates and known as Joint Forces, said late on Friday that they redeployed troops from Hodeida because there was no need for them to stay in the city after the 2018 deal.
Ratcliffe, who was joined by the couples 7-year-old daughter Gabriella and several supporters as he announced the end of his hunger strike, thanked the many well-wishers who stopped to talk to him but said the failure of Prime Minister Boris Johnson to drop by was telling. He added that his wife has requested a phone call from Johnson.
In Beirut, pharmacy shelves are nearly empty, the few medicine boxes no longer stacked but spread out to cover as much of the as possible. In one pharmacy, near a major hospital, a sign is stuck on the glass: Our dear customers, in order to continue to serve you, please do not ask for more than one box.
The violence came as thousands of pro-democracy protesters yet again took to the streets across Sudan to rally against the militarys takeover last month. The coup has drawn international criticism and massive protests in the streets of the capital of Khartoum and elsewhere in the country.
MARY RUTH WAGLER  The funeral for Mary Ruth Wagler was held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 13, 2021, at First Mennonite Church, with Chris Raber, Gaylon Sommers and David Lee Stoll officiating. Burial was in the church cemetery.
OKLAHOMA CITY  Gov. Kevin Stitt issued an executive order Wednesday that seeks to bar the Oklahoma State Department of Health from issuing birth certificates with nonbinary gender markers.

The action comes after the Oklahoma State Department of Health entered a settlement agreement with an individual in a lawsuit and then issued the person a nonbinary birth certificate.

Nonbinary individuals do not identify specifically as male or female. They do not feel that male or female is their clear gender identity.

The online news and bill tracking service eCapitol.net first reported the filing of the executive order.

Stitt said in the order that the settlement agreement was not reviewed or approved by his administration.

This settlement requires OSDH to amend birth certificates in a manner not permitted by under Oklahoma Law, says the executive order, which was issued Monday.

Stitt ordered the State Health Department to stop amending birth certificates in a way that is inconsistent with state law and told the agency to remove from its website any reference to amending birth certificates that is inconsistent with state law.

Stitt also told the agency to inform his office of any pending litigation related to amending Oklahoma birth certificates.

He encouraged the Legislature to pass legislation to clarify that a nonbinary designation is contrary to state law.

The federal lawsuit was filed in 2020 by Kit Vivien Lorelied, who lives in Oregon but was born in Oklahoma.

The settlement agreement allowed Lorelied, who was assigned the sex of female at birth, to have the state issue a nonbinary birth certificate.

Lorelieds Tulsa attorney, Christopher Brecht, declined to comment on the executive order.

Alex Wade is medical services director for Oklahomans for Equality.

We were expecting there to be some sort of reaction after the initial settlement, Wade said. We suspected there would be an executive order.

He said the executive order was disheartening.

There will be people fighting this decision in the coming months, Wade said.

Stitt said last month that I believe that people are created by God to be male or female. Period.

There is no such thing as nonbinary sex, and I wholeheartedly condemn the OSDH court settlement that was entered into by rogue activists who acted without receiving proper approval or oversight, the governor said.

I will be taking whatever action necessary to protect Oklahoma values.

The next day, Health Commissioner Dr. Lance Frye resigned.

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Ah, Sydney in spring. The vivid violet trail of jacaranda flowers lining the slippery streets, the native lilac, flame trees and bottlebrush in bloom, daisies popping up all over the place, the scent of jasmine in the air and the unmistakable pre-dawn cry of the koels.

Permit me if you will a bit of a sleep-deprived vent about these birds. You know the two-syllabled sound  ko-el  which repeats and repeats and repeats until you want to scream as loudly at him as you would the neighbour using the leaf blower to SHUT UP!

Spring in Sydney seems a little noisier this year as we emerge from our COVID cocoon. Credit:Steven Siewert

Theres nothing that says summer is approaching more than the sound of the male koel cuckooing early in the morning. Surely, anyone woken by the solo cry of these creatures  looking for a female with whom to start a duet  must have pondered the same question I did about 4am one day last week: why hasnt anyone thought of a dating app for birds? A Tinder for feathered friends?

As noted in Column 8, the koels made an early appearance in Sydney this year: the first recorded complaint was lodged on July 25. This is unusually early for the black migratory bird with the red eyes that flies in from Papua New Guinea, usually around September, looking for a partner. Climate change, regular readers solemnly suggested.
Call me naive, but Im still shocked that we live in an age, and a culture, where you can lose your liberty, your sanity, your citizens rights and perhaps your life, for speaking truth. Sure, Julian Assange was determined to speak truth to power. Sure, the truth in question was ugly  a revelation of US war crimes  and the power in question the worlds greatest. And sure, such immense power bestows the ability, if not the right, to supervene the law. But none of that makes it OK.

Ithaka is a new film currently premiering at the Sydney Film Festival. Because Assange has been held incommunicado for almost two years, his father John Shipton and his brother Gabriel Shipton are compelled to speak for him. John talks, rather shyly, to camera while Gabriel produces. The film is their story; their Julian story, a very personal tale of a very public figure.

Julian Assange, pictured in 2017 at the Ecuadorian embassy. Credit:AP

Its name, Ithaka, is taken from John Shiptons favourite poem, a tale of journeying by early 20th century Greek poet C.P. Cavafy. But it also suggests the Homeric quality of Assanges epic quest for truth, and his fathers for justice.

The film, directed by Ben Lawrence, fills out the Assange of international intrigue, court action and assassination plots  Assange as public enemy No. 1  by focusing on Assange the human. With his partner Stella Morris and their two small children we suffer through grim prison visits and emotional court hearings, small wins and devastating losses. But whats at stake is far bigger. For Julian, muses his father, its his life. But for you guys  if he goes down, journalism goes down.
There is still a huge amount more to do in the coming years, Johnson said in a statement. But todays agreement is a big step forward and, critically, we have the first ever international agreement to phase down coal and a roadmap to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. I hope that we will look back on COP26 in Glasgow as the beginning of the end of climate change, and I will continue to work tirelessly towards that goal. Britains Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday, November 13, in London, visiting a vaccination centre. Credit:Reuters Pool India was insistent right to the very end on the need to retain fossil fuels. This climate crisis has been caused by unsustainable lifestyles and wasteful consumption, said Indian Environment and Climate Minister Bhupender Yadav. The world needs to awaken to this reality. Fossil fuels and their use have enabled parts of the world to attain high levels of wealth and wellbeing.

Bhupender Yadav, Indias Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Credit:Getty Images Yadav said targeting any particular industry is uncalled-for and stressed developing countries were entitled to use fossil fuels given developed nations had used them for decades and were responsible for historic emissions. The agreement, already being called the Glasgow Climate Pact, calls upon nations to phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies and recognises the need for a just transition from fossil fuels. Sharma said he was deeply sorry about the last-minute changes on the wording about coal. His voice breaking with emotion after hearing from vulnerable nations which expressed their anger over the changes to the text, he said: May I just say to all delegates I apologise for the way this process has unfolded and I am deeply sorry.

Australia on watchlist The pact speeds up the so-called ratchet mechanism of the Paris Agreement by calling on countries like Australia that have not increased their 2030 targets to do so as soon as possible before the next COP summit in Egypt next November. It calls on all nations to revisit and improve the emission reductions targets and strategies annually and report their progress via ministerial meetings. Asked by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age what the consequences should be if a country like Australia ultimately ignored the request to come back in 2022 with higher 2030 emission reductions targets, Sharma said:

All countries have signed up to this and at the end of the day this is an international agreement and each country will be judged by whether or not they stuck to the commitments theyve made. Climate activist Greta Thunberg, whose urgent calls for action were often quoted by negotiators inside the blue zone, expressed her disappointment and determination in a tweet after the result. The COP26 is over. Heres a brief summary: Blah, blah, blah. But the real work continues outside these halls. And we will never give up, ever.

And she reposted a message sent last week mid-way through the summit: Unless we achieve immediate, drastic, unprecedented, annual emission cuts at the source then that means were failing when it comes to this climate crisis. Small steps in the right direction, making some progress or winning slowly equals losing. The final pact text expresses alarm and utmost concern that human activities have caused around 1.1 degrees of warming to date and that carbon budgets consistent with achieving the Paris Agreement temperature goal are now small and being rapidly depleted. It also emphasises the need for rapid reductions this decade if 2050 targets are to work, and completes key elements of the so-called Paris rule book, governing how a global carbon market can operate. You cant let perfect be the enemy of the good Even before the Indian intervention delegations had expressed serious misgivings about the final document, most said they believed it was a realistic compromise that drove forward efforts to curb climate change.

Obviously, we know the old adage that in negotiations you cant let perfect be the enemy of the good, said United States climate envoy John Kerry. And this is good. Its a powerful statement. Developing nations failed in their effort to have the pact include a mechanism for wealthy countries to pay for the loss and damage already occurring in climate vulnerable states. The move to pay for damages was opposed by powerful countries that are progressive on other climate related matters, such as the United Kingdom and the US. The needs of the worlds vulnerable people have been sacrificed on the altar of the rich worlds selfishness, said Mohammed Adow, director of the energy and climate Power Shift Africa.

The outcome here reflects a COP held in the rich world and the outcome contains the priorities of the rich world. They claim to want urgency on emissions reductions, yet they continue to expand fossil fuel production within their own borders. Loading Simon Bradshaw, head of research for the Climate Council, said the direct references to fossil fuels and the mechanism to increase the tempo of emissions reductions were significant. The new commitments that countries brought to Glasgow are not enough to get on the path to limiting warming to 1.5 degrees, but the real measure of success will be whether it has succeeded in kickstarting a decade of truly transformative action on that front there are reasons for hope. He said Australia had eventually backed the pact, despite opposing some of the language regarding coal in earlier negotiations, but it had isolated itself at the talks.
Did she then bump up the release from November 19 to Friday midnight to avoid the likely Adele stampede next week?

Did she make the announcement about its arrival exactly 22 weeks in advance in reference to one of the albums hits, 22?

Red (Taylors Version) initially landed in 2012 but did she release it at this time in 2021 because of the numerical inverse?

Taylor Swift doesnt do anything without purpose including the rerelease of Red, her fourth album, on November 12, US time.

No doubt devoted Swifties will analyse every considered move  its a sport both Swift and her fans delight in  just as they will parse every nuance and dissect the lyrical content in the additions to Red.

But lets never forget the reason for Taylors Version of Red, which follows the April release of of Fearless (Taylors Version): shes reclaiming her artistic ownership and holding to her promise of rerecording her first six albums following the acrimonious sale of her original master recordings.

And she proves again that shes won.

The original 16 tracks from Red  and a few more from the albums Deluxe Version  are meticulously reproduced. The drums might be sharper in I Knew You Were Trouble and the guitars brush with more prominence and clarity in 22, but these technical improvements dont diminish the spirit of the 2012 edition. As well, Swifts voice has, naturally, gained muscularity and confidence with age, but its evolution is never a distraction.

She still hits the higher range at the end of Everything Has Changed, her soft duet with Ed Sheeran, and nails the giggle and its so fun! proclamation that wraps Stay Stay Stay. Those who may have forgotten one of the albums prettiest songs, The Last Time, with Snow Patrol singer Gary Lightbody, are also reminded of its hushed beauty.
Wilmington, DE (19810)

Today

Rain early. A mix of sun and clouds by afternoon. High around 50F. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%..

Tonight

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 29F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph.
Reporter

I cover a range of stories for WDRB, but really enjoy tracking what's going on at our State Capitol. I grew up on military bases all over the world, but am a Kentuckian at heart. I'm an EKU alum, and have lived in Louisville for 30 years.
Retired U.S. Army Sgt. First Class Dana Bowman parachuted from a helicopter, bringing with him a large American flag as he landed on the Weatherford Christian School field Tuesday, Nov. 9 for a special ceremony in honor of Veterans Day.
WESTPORT  Bridgewater Chocolate Box is expanding the brands footprint deeper into Fairfield County by opening a new pop-up shop in Westport this holiday season.

The company, which has been operating in northern Fairfield County for 26 years. Now, the owners have their sights set on bringing their delights to 11 Church Lane this season and possibly permanently.

With Connecticut being our home state, were excited to pick Westport as our very first adventure into the southern region area, said Marlene Steiner, Bridgewater Chocolates brand director.

They currently have two locations in Brookfield and a store in West Hartford.

Steiner said Westport has a great downtown filled with retail, dining and people who are interested in the culinary arts.

Its a really good fit for our market, Steiner said.

The Westport location will open Nov. 26 from noon to 8 p.m. Starting Nov. 27, the shop will be open on weekends only between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Store hours will be adjusted during the week of Christmas.

Steiner said that pop-up will be open until the end of the year, however, the company will be looking to stay permanently if it receives a great response from the Westport community.

Thats the goal, she said. We are hopeful to be able to retain a full-time retail location in 2022.

Steiner said that the brand has been successful over the last 26 years because of its focus on the customers, as well as the premium quality. It is known for its high-end chocolate box assortments, which are made in the companys Brookfield factory, as well as its decorative hinged boxes, hand-tied bows and personalized services.

The brand is looking to first expand throughout Connecticut before spreading to other states.

Steiner said people have been very receptive to the quality of chocolates and presentation.

We put so much, we call it love and care, in everything that we do from the packaging, the chocolate themselves, and of course the customer experience and I think that has resonated with a lot of people, she said.

Steiner believes that the whole experience would be really well received in the Westport community. The company also worked with Saugatuck Commercial Real Estate to find what Steiner calls the perfect spot on Church Lane to help launch the holiday pop-up.

She said that the location was chosen because it fit the need of a quick turn-around time for the pop-up shop, as well as the locations great neighbors and the high pedestrian traffic, which allows the company to interact with the community.

We just sort of fell in love with that space, Steiner said. Were really excited to be a part of the neighborhood and add to everyones shopping experience while theyre in that area.
Today

Clouds giving way to some sun and windy with slowly falling temperatures in the afternoon; there might be some leftover rain early to the south and east.

Tonight

Mostly clear, blustery, and colder.

Tomorrow

Cold and blustery with sunshine and patchy clouds; strongest winds early in the day.
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American and British citizens have been swept up in Ethiopias mass detentions of ethnic Tigrayans under a new state of emergency in the countrys escalating war, The Associated Press has found. Thousands of Tigrayans have already been detained and fears of more such detentions soared on Thursday as Ethiopian authorities ordered landlords to register the identities of their tenants with police. Meanwhile, men armed with sticks have been seen on some streets as volunteer groups seek out Tigrayans to report them. Ethiopias government says it is detaining Tigrayans suspected of supporting forces from the Tigray region who are nearing the capital Addis Ababa after a year of war.
The U.S. Coast Guard and local authorities used two helicopters and a rescue swimmer to remove 20 people and three dogs from rising waters at an RV park on the Oregon Coast on Friday as heavy rains in the Pacific Northwest caused rivers and creeks to overflow their banks
Quincy, IL (62301)

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Considerable clouds early. Some decrease in clouds later in the day. High 42F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph..

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A mostly clear sky. Low 27F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.
Quincy, IL (62301)

Today

Mostly cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy in the afternoon. High 42F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph..

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Clear skies. Low 27F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.
A Central Connecticut State University professor has exploded more than a century of erroneous stories surrounding The Genius of Connecticut, the allegorical statue that stood atop the State Capitol building for 60 years before it was removed prior to World War II, only to be recast in recent years, where it has become the highlight of tours.

The real story of the statue unfolds at a time when the state is preparing to hoist a modern copy of The Genius back to the top of the gold dome at the cost of half a million dollars.

Popular history around the original 18-foot-tall winged protector of the state  with her flowing robes, crown of oak leaves representing the state tree, a wreath of dried flowers in her right hand and mountain laurel, the state flower, in the left  is the infamous Hurricane of 1938 loosened the statues moorings, prompting state officials to haul it off the 257-foot dome to safety.

Then came World War II, when the bronze was supposedly sacrificed heroically and with great fanfare for the manufacture of munitions. Fortunately, a full-sized plaster model used by sculptor Randolph Rogers dating back to opening of the State Capitol in 1878 remained.

Matthew Warshauer, a CCSU history professor and an expert on the states role and experiences in the Civil War, says in a article in the Connecticut History Review, that the story is much more nuanced and that those popular recollections are false.

Its all a myth, Warshauer said in a recent interview. He used contemporary newspaper accounts dating back to the 1800s to trace the mystery.

He opposes plans for the 5,500-pound 12-year-old copy of the original statue  which resides on a $30,000 stone pedestal inside, under the Capitol rotunda  to be hoisted back atop the dome at a projected cost of $500,000, which is included in the current state budget.

Warshauer believes there should be a statewide fundraising effort to cover the expense, similar to the effort to pay for a popular statue of State Heroine Prudence Crandall and a young Black female student by the sculptor Gabriel Koren that was the idea of Bristol school children and has been on display in the Capitol since 2009.

He believes that hundreds of thousands of dollars could be saved by enlisting a heavy-lift helicopter from Sikorsky Commercial Aircraft Division of Lockheed Martin. Hartford is always looking for a way to highlight their citys history, Warshauer said.

The Genius was not taken down specifically because of the hurricane, and patriotism did not seal her fate during World War II, Warshauer wrote. Rather, the Capitol building and the Genius who adorned it had always been debated, even controversial works of art.

The first time the statue, with her out-stretched arms symbolically protecting state residents, was removed from the top of the dome was in 1903, as disagreement raged over what to do with the piece. The second time was after the 1938 hurricane, when the dome and the statue were suffering from decades of neglect in New England weather made worse by a cracked foundation supporting it.

Her removal was not done lovingly or with a steady eye toward her return, Warshauer found of the 1938 removal. Instead, she was unceremoniously beheaded, dismembered, and lowered to the ground piece by piece.

Originally called The Angel of the Resurrection, which was also the name of a Rogers sculpture, marking the grave of firearms manufacturer Samuel Colt in Hartfords Cedar Hill Cemetery, the statue is one of 19 Civil War monuments both inside and outside the 14-acre Capitol complex, the most in any state capital in the nation. The Capitol building itself was built to commemorate the Civil War, which was still fresh in the minds of the state in 1878.

By 1903, it began to sway slightly in breezes, prompting the formation of a state commission and scaffolding to be erected. Workers found cracks in the foundation supporting the statue. That set off a public debate on whether it should be returned to the top of the Capitol.

While engineers disagreed on the best course of action, an iron support rod was replaced with a bronze rod and the statue was hauled back up to the top of the dome in 1904. But during a routine building inspection in 1935, workers saw evidence of damage to the tower supporting The Genius. In the 1870s, Architect Richard Upjohn had not planned on designing a dome to the building, but state lawmakers insisted.

When Upjohn said he needed to use 10 huge granite piers to support the dome, a legislative committee voted to save $6,000 by ordering brick piers instead. That was the first mistake, Warshauer wrote. The piers, reaching all the way into the basement, began cracking in 1878 and had to be supported by the infusion of molten metal.

The September 21 Great Hurricane, which killed 600 people in the Northeast, did not damage the statue, but did spell its doom. Within 10 days, workers cut off her head with a saw, then the rest of the body, lowering each piece by rope. There was never a long debate over saving her, as later histories of the statue claimed, Warshauer wrote.

The dismembered pieces of the statue were stored in the Capitol basement until a metal drive was held for the war effort and the statues pieces were unceremoniously tossed in the scrap bin with other metal detritus from the Capitol cellar. So much for the patriotic devotion of donating the Genius to the war effort, Warshauer wrote.

Fortunately, the full-size plaster model remained in the Capitol, so the new, lighter statue was created using high-tech lasers and computer measurements to cast the new Genius in three pieces by the Polich Tallix Fine Art Foundry in Rock Tavern, N.Y.

The effort to make a fresh copy of the Genius dates back to 2003. By 2006, there was $300,000 in the state budget to recast a new statue, along with a false narrative that the scrapping of the original was necessitated by the historic hurricane and a patriotic gesture against Fascism.

kdixon@ctpost.com Twitter: @KenDixonCT
Former UConn guard and current Atlanta Dream co-owner Renee Montgomery announced she and wife Sirena Grace privately married back in April 2020 through a story published by PEOPLE Thursday afternoon.

Montgomery, who retired from the WNBA in February 2021, met Grace at an Atlanta Hawks game in March 2019. Grace had gone to the game to sing the national anthem and Montgomery says immediately she was taken away when she first saw her.

Its the only game I went to that whole entire season, Montgomery told PEOPLE. And here comes a whole goddess.

The two-time WNBA champion then reached out to Grace, asking if she would be interested in doing a performance for the Dream. The two hit it off and began dating just weeks later.

It just happened very quickly from there, Grace told PEOPLE.

On a trip to France in November 2019, Montgomery proposed to Grace kneeling next to a pile of rose petals which spelled out Merry Me.

I was waiting for her on one knee, playing Marry Me by Train, Montgomery said. I already told her when we first started dating, if you hear this song playing anywhere that Im in the vicinity, you better be ready because Im probably going to be proposing.

Because of the pandemic, the couple held a private wedding at their home in Atlanta on April 20, 2020. They lit their hallway with lights to create a makeshift aisle and had Graces cousin conduct the ceremony virtually via Zoom. Friends and family watched live virtually as Graces son, Angel, was the couples ring bearer, flower guy, best man and man of honor. PEOPLE also reported that Grace wore a wedding dress which she had bought after their trip to France, while Montgomery wore a red suit.

Even though it was a Zoom wedding, and people werent actually in person, it didnt feel any different. I was still crying when I saw her walking down our hallway, Montgomery said. When I saw her walking, it still hit me the same that I think it wouldve hit me if I was standing on an altar. I just didnt know if it was going to feel real or if it was going to feel like it should feel.

The couple told PEOPLE they were waiting for the right time to publicly announce their marriage especially after the pandemic surged through 2020  Montgomery chose to sit out during the WNBAs Wubble season to focus on social justice reform  and 2021 went by fast, with Montgomery taking over co-ownership responsibilities with the Dream.

Montgomery played at UConn from 2005 to 2009 before being drafted with the No. 4 overall pick by Minnesota in the 2009 WNBA Draft. The 2009 Nancy Lieberman Award winner is tied for second on UConns all-time list with 13 assists in a single game (one behind all-time leader and current sophomore Paige Bueckers) and first with 11 steals in a single game.

The 2011 WNBA All-Star played 11 years in the WNBA before officially retiring in 2021. She was named the 2012 WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year while with the Connecticut Sun.

maggie.vanoni@hearstmediact.com
Winchester, VA (22601)

Today

Cloudy and damp with rain this morning...then becoming partly cloudy. High 46F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%..

Tonight

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 27F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.
Diane Flacks was at her nephews Bar Mitzvah in Missouri last weekend, and her parents came along for the trip to see the latest member of their family become a man according to Jewish law  old enough to read from the Torah, but not old enough to legally drive a Honda Civic.

Diane Flacks was at her nephews Bar Mitzvah in Missouri last weekend, and her parents came along for the trip to see the latest member of their family become a man according to Jewish law  old enough to read from the Torah, but not old enough to legally drive a Honda Civic.

After the service, Flacks 81-year-old mother Lily started snacking, and she could sense something was off with her mom. "Whats wrong?" asked Flacks, an award-winning actor and writer from Toronto. "I eat because Im nervous," her mom replied. Why? Because her 19-year-old grandson was on an airplane.

"She wanted me to call him," laughs Flacks. "I said I cant call him. Hes on a plane!"

Diane with mother Lily Flacks. (Tommie-Amber Pirie photo)

Its an instinct that Flacks  who stars in the Winnipeg Jewish Theatres upcoming production of 25 Questions for a Jewish Mother  understands: her mother survived the Holocaust as a child. Could she blame her for being a tad overprotective of her own young?

As a Jewish mother herself, Flacks has been interested in exploring the idea of Jewish motherhood, a trope in both art and real life thats characterized by worry, anxiety, fear, protectiveness, nurture, rigidity and love. A Jewish mother can dish out life lessons, cultural teachings, guilt trips and matzo ball soup, all in the same ladle.

Like most tropes, that of the Yiddishe momme is grounded in some truth, but can quickly veer into stereotype. What intrigued Flacks about the production  a reimagining of Judy Gold and Kate Moira Ryans renowned one-mother play and book  was it showed that motherhood, like Judaism, exists on a spectrum; its not a mamma-lith.

I think we talk a lot about appropriation. Do you have to be a Jewish lesbian mother to play this part? No, you dont. But it certainly helps!  Diane Flacks.

Flacks saw in Golds original character  a six-foot-three lesbian Jewish mother and comedian  a kindred spirit. At five-foot-three, and a lesbian herself, Flacks says she and Gold led somewhat parallel lives, minus a foot.

"I think we talk a lot about appropriation. Do you have to be a Jewish lesbian mother to play this part? No, you dont. But it certainly helps!" she says.

Both had questions about their religion, their identity and where they fit into the grand saga of Jewish life. To find answers, in the early 2000s, the Emmy-winning Gold sat across kitchen tables from Jewish mothers across the U.S., turning their answers with Ryan into the basis for a one-woman show wherein Gold portrayed 20 characters.

Krista Jackson and her mom Trish (Supplied)

The WJTs production, directed by Krista Jackson with associate director Angelica Schwartz, takes the bold step of casting real Jewish mothers from the Winnipeg Jewish community for 10 of those roles, with Flacks playing the rest, plus the fictional daughter Ruth.

On a sparsely decorated set, the local mothers  Mariam Bernstein, Terri Cherniack, Amy Lee, Gail Asper, Karla Berbrayer, Jessica Cogan, Rochelle Kives, Primrose Madayag Knazan, Debbie Maslowsky and Miriam Kohn  sit around a long table atop chairs from their own dining rooms, surrounded by their own Jewish cookbooks.

Jackson was convinced to do the play almost as soon as the theatres artistic director Ari Weinberg sent it to her. Shed previously collaborated with the Winnipeg outfit on its 2019 production of Bar Mitzvah Boy, and was eager to do it again.

"I had never read anything like this play before," says Jackson, a former associate director of the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, founding artistic director of Winnipegs zone41 theatre, and a winner of the Stratford Festivals Jean Gascon Award. "I got really excited about bringing this piece to life with the Winnipeg Jewish community and with Diane. It was a really easy decision to say yes."

In a hybrid live-recorded performance, which will be shown at the Berney Theatre Nov. 15 as part of the Tarbut Festival of Jewish Culture, each mother is asked a question (eg: "Whats your biggest regret?" or "Did you raise your sons differently than your daughters?") giving monologue answers that came from Golds cross-country search, with a few modifications.

"Listening to everyone for the first time, they were all so good," says Miriam Kohn, a mother of two and baba to four, as well as the sitting president of the Jewish theatre. "We were mostly amateurs around the table."

Amateurs as actors, perhaps, but preparation for the roles has been happening their entire lives, Jackson and Kohn agree on a Zoom call.

Underneath every Jewish mother, and likewise any mother or parental figure, is the influence of those who may or may not be biological parents, stacked on top of one another like a Yiddish nesting doll. Traditionally, Judaism is a matrilineal religion, but it isnt just Jewish identity, brisket recipes, or genetic material getting handed down: its ways of being and approaching the world.

Miriam Kohn and her mom Shaindel Kohn (Supplied)

When Kohn was only 23, her mother Shaindel Kohn died. Her kids never met their grandmother, but that didnt mean they didnt know her.

"I feel like I spend most of my life keeping my mother alive through myself," she says. "People who knew her say, Oh my God, youre so like your mother. And then there are people who never knew her but feel like they do because of how you talk about her or how you are." Despite playing a riotous send-up of a stereotypical Jewish mother in the production, Kohn could still see herself and other mothers she knew represented on stage.

Flacks says thats what makes the play work: everyone can connect to the story, regardless of religious upbringing. Cast-members and audience members alike can see their own lives superimposed in the mothers, because they are expressing universal, biological truths of anxiety, survival, humour, love and tradition.

"Nobody was even trying to act," says Flacks. "They offer these words up as information to sit there on the table with the challah, and then we say, How do you feel about that? "

Now, theres a question for a Jewish mother.

There will be a one-night-only viewing party of 25 Questions for a Jewish Mother in the Berney Theatre on November 15 at 7:30 p.m. as part of the Tarbut Festival of Jewish Culture. It will stream Nov. 15-28. For tickets visit www.wjt.ca.

ben.waldman@freepress.mb.ca

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For scholars who study religion in Canada, the latest pre-pandemic findings from Statistics Canada about religion in this country are not surprising.

For scholars who study religion in Canada, the latest pre-pandemic findings from Statistics Canada about religion in this country are not surprising.

"No big surprises," said John Stackhouse, who teaches religion at Crandall University in New Brunswick. "No surprises in these trends," added Sarah Wilkins-Laflamme, who teaches sociology at the University of Waterloo.

Whats not surprising for them is the continued decline in affiliation and attendance at religious services, as detailed in a new study titled "Religiosity in Canada and its evolution from 1985 to 2019."

The report, which used data from the General Social Survey, found around two-thirds of Canadians were affiliated with religious groups in 2019, down from 90 per cent in 1985.

During the same time period, those who said they attended a group religious activity at least once a month fell by almost half, from 43 per cent to 23 per cent.

A similar trend occurred over the importance of religious or spiritual beliefs. In 2003, 71 per cent said their religious or spiritual beliefs were somewhat or very important. In 2019, that number was down to 54 per cent.

Also not surprising to the scholars are the generational differences; the younger someone is, the less religious they tend to be.

In general, the report said, "recent generations were less likely than the generations that came before them to report a religious affiliation, to participate in group or individual religious activities, or to place a high value on religious and spiritual beliefs in how they live their lives."

The report found some differences, though. People born outside Canada were more likely than those born in Canada to report a religious affiliation and participate in group religious activities.

And yet their children are not unlike other Canadian young people, reporting less religious affiliation and group participation.

There is also a difference between groups. For example, 85 per cent of Jehovahs Witnesses, 80 per cent of Latter-day Saints and 75 per cent of Mennonites participated in group religious activities monthly. By contrast, only 15 per cent of Buddhists and 19 per cent of Anglicans and United Church of Canada members did so.

In terms of the overall picture, 23 per cent of Canadians reported participating in a group religious activity like a worship service at least once a month, while 37 per cent said they engaged in religious or spiritual activities on their own.

As soon as I got the report, I contacted my scholars "brain trust" for some reactions.

"Theres not much comfort to be found for religious groups in immigration," said Stackhouse, noting the trend for second and third generations of even the most religious parents and grandparents is towards becoming less religious.

There was also no surprise for him about lower religiosity among young people. "I teach many of those young people and their knowledge and practice of Christianity or of other religions is low," he said.

Wilkins-Laflamme noted a "significant proportion of adults across Canada in all regions prefer to have their own set of beliefs that they consider as religious or spiritual . . . without having to grapple with the external authority of religious leaders and involvement with religious groups."

Sam Reimer, who teaches at Crandall University, also noted the connection between the move away from group religious practices and private beliefs.

"We should not assume that any move from religious to spiritual means private practices are increasing for many, while their public or group religiosity is decreasing. They seem to decline together," he said.

Rick Hiemstra, who directs research for the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC), noted the pandemic will play a large role in how Canadians engage religion in the future.

A recent study done by the EFC found weekly religious service attendance fell from 11 per cent pre-COVID to nine per cent during COVID for online services.

"A two per cent drop doesnt seem like much until you consider that it represents almost a fifth of weekly religious service attendance," he noted, adding "Church attendance is unlikely to rise above its during-COVID attendance levels once the pandemic ends. Were never going back."

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Joel Thiessen teaches sociology at Ambrose University College in Calgary. He noted that while immigrants are more religious than other Canadians, older people who were born outside of Canada also showed less religiosity over time.

The fact their children are becoming less religious is consistent with other studies that show "immigrants are more religious in the first generation, but this wanes with each passing generation," he said.

Lori Beaman, who teaches at the University of Ottawa, noted the story isnt all grim; lots of people still claim a religious affiliation and have some involvement. "They just dont necessarily do it like they did 60 years ago," she said.

As I reflect on the study, Im also not surprised; I see these trends in my own circles. But I also know numbers dont tell the whole story. As Hiemstra put it: "Number are not destiny." But they do point to changes over time in the way Canadians engage with religion. Who knows what new expressions of spirituality will rise up in the future?

The full Statistics Canada study can be found at https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/pub/75-006-x/2021001/article/00010-eng.pdf?st=j4Q2osVE.

faith@freepress.mb.ca
WASHINGTON (AP)  A federal court declined Friday to lift its stay on the Biden administration's vaccine mandate for businesses with 100 or more workers.

FILE - President Joe Biden speaks about COVID-19 vaccinations after touring a Clayco Corporation construction site for a Microsoft data center in Elk Grove Village, Ill., Thursday, Oct. 7, 2021. The Biden administration wants the multiple challenges to its workplace COVID-19 vaccination rule consolidated in a single federal court and has asked for a decision by early next week. The U.S. Department of Justice said in court filings Monday, Nov. 8, 2021 that one of the federal circuit courts should be chosen at random on Nov. 16 to hear the cases. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

WASHINGTON (AP)  A federal court declined Friday to lift its stay on the Biden administration's vaccine mandate for businesses with 100 or more workers.

The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted an emergency stay last Saturday of the requirement by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration that those workers be vaccinated by Jan. 4 or face mask requirements and weekly tests.

Lawyers for the Justice and Labor departments filed a response Monday in which they said stopping the mandate from taking effect will only prolong the COVID-19 pandemic and would cost dozens or even hundreds of lives per day.

But the appeals court rejected that argument Friday. Judge Kurt D. Engelhardt wrote that the stay is firmly in the public interest.

From economic uncertainty to workplace strife, the mere specter of the Mandate has contributed to untold economic upheaval in recent months, Engelhardt wrote.

At least 27 states have filed legal challenges in at least six federal appeals courts after OSHA released its rules on Nov. 4. The federal government said in its court filings Monday that the cases should be consolidated and that one of the circuit courts where a legal challenge has been filed should be chosen at random on Nov. 16 to hear it.

Administration lawyers said there is no reason to keep the vaccine mandate on hold while the court where the cases ultimately land remains undetermined.
Lakeview Hotel Investment Corp., the publicly traded vehicle of the Winnipeg real estate company owned by the Levit family, has been sold to a Burnaby, B.C., hotel management firm.

Lakeview Hotel Investment Corp., the publicly traded vehicle of the Winnipeg real estate company owned by the Levit family, has been sold to a Burnaby, B.C., hotel management firm.

At the time of the transaction this week LHIC owned five hotels: Lakeview Inn and Suites, Okotoks; Lakeview Inn and Suites, Fort Saskatchewan; Lakeview Inn and Suites, Fort St. John; Lakeview Inn and Suites, Chetwynd; and Lakeview Inn & Suites, Edson Airport West.

The hotels had a total room count of 406.

The company had loaded up on small hotels in Alberta, Saskatchewan and B.C. looking to take advantage of the oil boom. About 10 years ago it owned 18 hotels with a total of 1,352 rooms and had licensing agreements with five other hotels containing 352 rooms.

But the COVID-19 pandemic and the prior decline in growth in investment in the oilsands left the company defaulted on mortgages and its syndicated credit facility.

The deal to sell the company to newly created subsidiaries of First Canadian Management Corp. is for two cents per share for a total cash consideration of $391,156.

The purchaser is also acquiring outstanding debentures debt for just over $2 million and the purchaser has agreed to pay to LHIC approximately $15 million to satisfy all amounts owing by LHIC to its lending syndicate led by ATB Financial.

Those hotels paid licence fees to, but were not owned by, LHIC.

The company has been trying to refinance and/or sell assets for several months and have been given extensions from lenders for some time.

In its quarterly report to investors in June the company stated that it had a principal balance owing of $497,483 and $14,001,260 on its revolving term operating and syndicated term facilities, respectively.

Just prior to the pandemic it sold Lakeview Inn & Suites in Whitecourt and Drayton Valley, Alta., for a total of $1.8 million and the company was required by its lenders to list properties for sale located in Fort Saskatchewan and Edson, Alta., and Fort St. John, B.C., in order to reduce the outstanding balances payable on the credit facilities.

The company has not filed a revenue statement since June when it reported a loss of $1.7 million for the first quarter of this year. Room occupancy for the quarter was 34.87 per cent.

It is not clear how this affects the ownership of other Lakeview hotels that were not owned by LHIC including The Grand Hotel at the Winnipeg Richardson Airport and Lakeview hotels in Gimli and Hecla in Manitoba.

The transaction, which will be completed by way of a plan of arrangement, is expected close in late December 2021, subject to closing conditions.

Officials from LHIC and First Canadian Management Corp. were not available for comment.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca
WASHINGTON (AP)  The government on Friday directed nursing homes to open their doors wide to visitors, easing many remaining pandemic restrictions while urging residents, families and facility staff to keep their guard up against outbreaks.

FILE - Melvin Goldstein, 90, glances at pictures of birds, left, and a fish, his 13-year-old granddaughter drew for him as a gift as his daughter Barbara Goldstein shares them with his during a family visit inside the Hebrew Home at Riverdale, March 28, 2021, in New York. The government on Friday, Nov. 12, directed nursing homes to open their doors wide to visitors, easing many remaining pandemic restrictions while urging residents, families and facility staff to keep their guard up against outbreaks. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)

WASHINGTON (AP)  The government on Friday directed nursing homes to open their doors wide to visitors, easing many remaining pandemic restrictions while urging residents, families and facility staff to keep their guard up against outbreaks.

The new guidance from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services instructs nursing homes to allow visits at all times for all residents. Facilities will no longer be able to limit the frequency and length of visits, or require advance scheduling. Although large groups of visitors are discouraged, nursing homes won't be allowed to limit the number of loved ones and friends who can pay a call on residents.

Many states and communities are still grappling with COVID-19 surges driven by the aggressive delta variant, but the most recent government data show that cases among residents and staff have continued to decline after rising earlier in the summer and fall.

Nationally, vaccination rates average 86% for nursing home residents and 74% for staff, although that can vary dramatically from state to state and facility to facility. Many nursing homes are rushing to provide booster shots for their residents. Staffers were recently required by the government to get vaccinated.

This gets us the closest to pre-pandemic visitation that we've ever been since the beginning of the pandemic," said Jodi Eyigor, director of nursing home quality and policy for LeadingAge, an industry group that represents nonprofit facilities.

FILE - Jim Young, a Navy veteran, kisses his daughter Holly Hurst, without the use of protective garments at the Mississippi State Veterans Home in Collins, Miss., as part of Operation "Family Reunion," April 1, 2021. The government on Friday, Nov. 12, directed nursing homes to open their doors wide to visitors, easing many remaining pandemic restrictions while urging residents, families and facility staff to keep their guard up against outbreaks. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

But it doesn't mean that the pandemic is over and that COVID is not circulating, Eyigor added. The nursing homes, the residents and their loved ones are all going to have to work together to make sure that visits are occurring and they are occurring safely.

The federal guidance draws a line on visits by people who have tested positive for COVID or meet the criteria for quarantine. Nursing homes should not allow COVID-positive visitors to enter.

But residents can still receive visits if their facility is in the midst of an outbreak investigation or if they themselves are under special precautions to prevent COVID transmission. In such cases, residents and visitors must wear masks and protective gear.

It was unclear Friday how the new federal guidance would work with local and state requirements that may be more restrictive.

People in long-term care facilities have borne a cruel toll from the pandemic. They represent about 1% of the U.S. population, but accounted for roughly in 3 in 10 deaths. The ravages of COVID were compounded by enforced isolation. Nursing homes went on lockdown in March of last year and residents were unable to see their loved ones in person until early this spring.
Toad Hall Toys might have an overabundance of stuffed animals and plastic dinosaurs this Christmas. Or, the goods may not come.

Toad Hall Toys might have an overabundance of stuffed animals and plastic dinosaurs this Christmas. Or, the goods may not come.

Owner Kari England began placing orders for the holidays last January  up to seven months earlier than normal for some products. Shed anticipated pandemic-induced supply chain backlogs and rising prices.

"Some (orders) we may not see at all this year," she said.

She bought items from her regular suppliers, and then similar versions from different sources, in hopes something would arrive on time.

"I may end up, in some cases, with a huge overload of an area, but itll just take me through to next year," England said.

JESSICA LEE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Anticipating pandemic-induced supply chain backlogs and rising prices, Toad Hall Toys Kari England began placing orders for the holidays last January  up to seven months earlier than normal for some products.

By last Friday, about 85 per cent of her stock was in. England credited it to relationships with suppliers and being able to find comparable products while the regulars pend.

Global supply chain bottlenecks have forced local retailers to take what they can get as shoppings busiest season approaches. Factories closing due to COVID-19 cases, a lack of containers to ship products, port and warehouse backlogs, and truck driver shortages have caused a slowed system filled with uncertainties and rising prices.

Increased demand for goods also plays a large role.

"Youre really lucky if you get half of what you ordered," said Kris Kurtz, the owner of Humboldts Legacy on Lilac Street.

The shop is filled with fair trade-goods from abroad.

"You have to grab what you can when you can, so the chance of having overordered, because you have to just order whatever is possibly available, its a pretty big stress."  Kris Kurtz, the owner of Humboldts Legacy

On Friday, Kurtz received candles from South Africa shed ordered in April of 2020. The same morning, she learned only $720 worth of her $2,500 toy shipment was coming.

"Who knows when its going to arrive," she said.

Like England, shes been over-ordering goods to fill shelves.

"You have to grab what you can when you can, so the chance of having over-ordered, because you have to just order whatever is possibly available, its a pretty big stress," she said.

The skyrocketing costs dont help, Kurtz said. Shipping and raw material prices have been going up.

ANDREW VAUGHAN / CANADIAN PRESS FILES The cost to ship a container across the ocean has at least doubled, according to Paul Larson, a supply chain management professor at the University of Manitoba.

The cost to ship a container across the ocean has at least doubled, according to Paul Larson, a supply chain management professor at the University of Manitoba.

"There are some signs that (costs) have reached or are reaching a peak and will come down, rather than plateau here or go even higher," Larson said. "The supply/demand balance, once that gets more aligned, things can only get better on the cost side."

Higher demand and compromised supply naturally lead to rising prices, he said.

The global backlogs could remain for a while, depending on demand and capacity compromises, Larson said. He expects such spells to become more common.

"Some day, the pandemic will end, but there will be other disruptions  political disruptions, environmental disruptions," Larson said.

Small retailers must face higher operational costs while catering to clients who desire low prices, he said.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS FILES Brian Scharfstein, the president of Canadian Footwear, said hes watched customers panic buy amidst recent reports of supply chain issues.

Brian Scharfstein, the president of Canadian Footwear, said hes watched customers panic buy amidst recent reports of supply chain issues.

People are asking to buy three to four pairs of a shoe in one trip.

"Well do what we can to provide you with a pair or with two pair, but its a bit of a challenge," he said.

Canadian Footwear isnt running out of stock any time soon, though certain sizes are getting close, Scharfstein said. Even so, its difficult to keep up with big box stores who have more sway in the logistics industry, he said.

"As independent retailers in Canada, its a different game," Scharfstein said. "Its a matter of Are you stable enough, and can you ride this storm?"

Theres no way to measure how many containers enter CentrePort Canada, Manitobas 20,000-acre inland port, because rail lines dont publicly disclose their numbers, according to Diane Gray, the ports president and CEO.

However, trucking companies have been buying up land for years, she said.

"Youre definitely seeing growth in the marketplace," she said.

A number of challenges have slowed the industry, including a shortage of semi-trailers and trucks due to a lack of computer chips, she said.

People will have options for presents this holiday season, according to Jim Cordingley, the co-owner of Kite and Kaboodle. However, shoppers looking for specific items should start extra early  goods may sell out fast, he said.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com
The delegates are trickling home and Glasgow's streets are clearing of protesters.

People start to gather near the Action Zone inside the venue of the COP26 U.N. Climate Summit in Glasgow, Scotland, Friday, Nov. 12, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Alastair Grant

The delegates are trickling home and Glasgow's streets are clearing of protesters.

Now, experts say, the real work begins of putting meat and bone to the pledges and commitments made by world leaders to keep global warming below catastrophic levels.

"The next couple years are going to be the most important, fastest-moving period of carbon reduction in Canadian history," said Rick Smith, president of the Canadian Institute for Climate Choices.

With the UN-sponsored COP26 climate conference coming to an end, the federal government has to put some specifics behind promises. Business leaders are looking for details on everything from when the commitment to cap fossil fuel emissions will kick in to regulations on methane releases to tax credits for carbon storage.

"At the end of the day, it comes back to how you translate those targets into policy in Canada," said John Dillon of the Business Council of Canada.

Dillon said he expects the climate discussion to broaden after Glasgow to include sectors such as construction, agriculture -- even the military.

"The military produces a lot of GHG emissions."

How quickly those promises are implemented and how deeply they'll bite will be heated debating points.

"It takes time to adopt new technologies," said Jack Mintz, President's Fellow of the School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary.

"The big question for Canada is how fast do you drive down fossil fuel investment in order to encourage more investment in renewables, without creating a lot of harm and cost. I don't think we have a very satisfactory answer."

Different countries will have to agree on which approaches they'll take, Mintz said. Germany, for example, isn't keen on hydrogen fuels made from natural gas while Canadian producers are.

But make no mistake, action is coming, said Mark Jaccard, an energy economist at Simon Fraser University. He said the recent federal election, in which a solid majority of Canadians voted for parties with strong climate policies, has given the federal Liberals a strong mandate to move.

"It's a perfect time to go fast," he said.

"I know there is going to be huge discussions inside government of how you actually do that. (But) you should see stuff pretty quickly here."

Shane Moffatt of Greenpeace agreed the federal Liberals have a green light to go green -- but he warned climate activists will have to keep working to ensure actual policy emerges.

"One of the biggest outcomes from this COP is the sense of expectation and the momentum for more action now," he said. "There is lots of public support but connecting that public support with real policy changes is sometimes elusive."

He notes Canadians broadly support conservation, but creating new protected areas remains slow work.

As well, large international questions remain. For example, some sort of global trading system for carbon offsets to allow a country to get credits for helping another country reduce emissions hasn't gone much further than Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's suggestion that it would be a good idea.

Dillon said many companies aren't waiting for governments and are moving ahead on their own. But they can only do so much on their own.

"Some of the big, big investments will require more clarity from government," he said.

Stand by, Smith suggested.

"Glasgow lands right in the middle of this period of intense activity in Canada to finally put the pedal to the metal. It's going to accelerate what was going on already."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2021.

-- Follow Bob Weber on Twitter at @row 1960.
For teenage Maria Lee, a good day meant scavenging a few morsels of food, a couple sips of water and not being killed.

For teenage Maria Lee, a good day meant scavenging a few morsels of food, a couple sips of water and not being killed.

Orphaned at birth in the Soviet Union, she found herself on a train to Germany during the Nazi invasion at the start of the Second World War. She debarked in Bremen, site of the Farge concentration camp.

Maria Lee attended the School of Psychiatric Nursing at the Selkirk Mental Health Center. (Supplied)

"Somebody came along and gave her a job out of the blue," says her daughter, Michelle Lee. "She didnt realize she was going to a work camp."

She was old enough during the war that men  particularly German officers  were attracted to her. One commandant had a thing for her and when she rebuked him  a potentially life-ending move  he responded by withholding food and beating her.

"She realized the only things she had control over were her body and her sexuality. She constantly refused to give in and she paid the price for it," Michelle says.

What likely saved Lee, ultimately, was she was fluent in five languages  German, English, Russian, Polish and Ukrainian  plus a little French and Latin, so she was a very useful interpreter for the Germans.

"That gave her an advantage," Michelle says. "She told us stories about sleeping on hay bales in barns. People were taken away from the barns constantly and disappeared, but she was never taken away.

"She ate grass and mud and counted on the good will of people here and there."

Lee, who died Aug. 27, is survived by her daughters, Michelle and Teresa. There is a good reason why no age was posted in her obituary  she didnt know how old she was. Her mother died giving birth to her after already being abandoned by her father, so she never knew when she was born.

Maria Lee as a young woman strolling down Portage Avenue. (Supplied)

When the war was over and the labour camps were liberated, all of the displaced persons were lined up and Allied officers took a look at them and guessed their age.

They chose Dec. 29, 1924, as Lees birth date. Using that arbitrary estimate, her age at death would have been 96.

The displaced persons were given a few choices to start their lives anew. She didnt know much about world geography but she had heard of Big Ben, the famous clock tower in downtown London, so she opted for England.

Teresa says one of her mothers motivations to survive was to show her captors she could build a good life for herself.

"She would say, Just wait. Im going to write a book and show you that I did. That was her quiet little dream," she says. "She was a very humble, grateful person. She would never describe her life as extraordinary, but we always knew she was remarkable and extraordinary just by watching her live her life.

Later in her life, Maria Lee took a cruise with her family. (Supplied)

"She was the woman with 99 lives, the magician who kept pulling rabbits out of her hat. We dont know how a person who had nothing, no role models, who was orphaned when so young and had no strong maternal influence (survived and turned out so well)."

In London, she received her first formal education and started her nursing career. (England proved dangerous, too. She was hit by a double-decker bus, requiring a metal plate in her leg.)

A few years later, she took the Queen Mary across the Atlantic Ocean to New York, where she boarded a train to Winnipeg, en route to a nursing job at the Selkirk Mental Health Centre.

Lee was an incredibly shy woman, so when she was walking down the street one day and offered a ride by a young Asian man, she politely said, "No."

Henry Lee was persistent and polite, however, and she eventually agreed to go do dinner with him at the Shanghai restaurant, which was owned by some of his relatives.

Maria Lee in Japan Aomori at Honchos home for dinner. (Supplied)

She had never eaten Chinese food before and soon discovered it wasnt sitting well with her. She threw up all over Henrys red Chevrolet on the way home. Ignoring the mess, Henry asked her out a second time.

Despite the cross-cultural marriage norms at the time, they exchanged vows in 1956. After Henry died in 1983, the three Lee women became closer than ever, with travel being one of their favourite pastimes.

One of Lees mottos was you could get some of the best education by submersing yourself in different cultures.

"Shed tell us, Theres so much more to life than your own little island. Travel was her way of giving us her version of education, just in a different format than going to school," Michelle says.

But the mother-daughters trips werent always relaxing. During one cruise on the Mediterranean, Maria and Michelle were taking a taxi back to the boat. The cab driver demanded more money than had been originally agreed to and while he slowed down, he threatened to not let them out. After staring down Nazis, Lee wasnt going to be intimidated by a cab driver. She cranked down the back window and jumped out; Michelle was right behind her.

Maria Lee in Greece. (Supplied)

"I had to follow. Thats the spirit she had. When you put her in a crisis situation, thats when she would shine. Thats how she survived. You do what youve got to do. You think about it after," she says.

Years later, Lee was determined to visit her homeland, which Teresa found a little strange considering her paranoia about being watched by KGB spies.

As the pilot informed passengers they had entered Soviet airspace, Lee passed a note to her daughter. It said: "Dont tell anybody my last name is Serduk."

(That was the surname of a woman at the concentration camp Lee had protected before she died. She had a piece of paper from the woman with her name on it and handed it over when the camps were liberated.)

Then, she put the note in her mouth and swallowed it.

>Maria Lee in Kasbah, Morocco. (Supplied)

Teresa says her moms paranoia wasnt completely unfounded; shes positive they were followed throughout the 11 republics they visited.

"There was one guy who was on every flight we were on. From our tour group, we were the only two who didnt get their luggage. It took 15 hours (to get our bags)... Mom told me she wasnt going to speak any Russian. It was pretty nerve racking going through customs. This guy was following us around," she says.

During their stay in Uzbekistan, just over the border from war-torn Afghanistan, Teresa and her mother decided to go for a walk in the forest. They came across a barricade with a warning sign in Russian.

"Dont be a chicken," her mother said, and kept walking.

Teresa wasnt entirely surprised when they walked around a corner and found themselves in the middle of a military zone, full of soldiers.

"Just keep walking," Lee said.

They were about 100 yards to the other side of the forest when army vehicles and soldiers started to approach.

"On the count of three, run like hell!" Lee instructed.

They made it  barely  and went back to their hotel, fully expecting the military to show up later. They didnt.

"Life was always an adventure with her. It was fun. You knew you were going to get into trouble," Teresa says.

passages@freepress.mb.ca
The death of the man credited with holding the Manitoba NDP together at a time of crisis is being mourned by party members.

The death of the man credited with holding the Manitoba NDP together at a time of crisis is being mourned by party members.

David Woodbury, who lived with chronic leukemia for 15 years, died on Wednesday at 66 after the condition suddenly turned acute. He is survived by his wife, former NDP cabinet minister Becky Barrett, their two grown daughters and two grandsons.

CHARLES MCDOUGALL PHOTO David Woodbury, who was instrumental in rebuilding the NDP after its 2016 defeat, and was a key adviser in the government of Gary Doer, has died at age 66.

"He was an incredible person," said friend and former NDP cabinet minister Nancy Allan, who'd known Woodbury for 45 years. "He was kind and caring and had a great sense of humour." Woodbury became the party's president in 2017 and stepped down in January. He lived with Barrett in Gimli.

On Friday, social media tributes from across the country and close to home flooded Woodbury's Facebook page, from former NDP cabinet minister Jennifer Howard, who now works for the national party in Ottawa, to Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath to former NDP MLA and MP Judy Wasylycia-Leis in Winnipeg.

"It's a huge loss," said Allan, who got to know Woodbury in the 1970s while working on the federal campaign of Manitoba MP Terry Sargeant, who represented the Selkirk-Interlake area.

"There were so many contributions over so many years," she said. "He became president of the party during a very difficult time when we needed to be more united than ever," said Allan. "That was one of the big ones."

Woodbury became party president in 2017 after the NDP government of premier Greg Selinger, whose leadership was openly challenged by a number of his cabinet ministers, lost the 2016 election to Brian Pallister's Progressive Conservatives, which formed a majority government.

"He played an influential role in helping us rebuild the party to the position where we are now," said Wab Kinew, who leads the NDP, which has surpassed the PCs in recent polls. "He did so with a very gentle and firm demeanour and with a smile on his face."

Kinew, who won the NDP leadership race in 2017, said Woodbury was also a friend and mentor.

"It's really affected me on a personal level," Kinew said in an interview Friday. "He really helped me as a leader stepping into the role." Woodbury, he said, gave him good advice: "build a coalition through listening to Manitobans and members of caucus" and to stay "on an even keel. Don't get too high, too low, regardless of what's happening. Remain calm and pursue the work at hand."

Woodbury, who stepped aside in January, played a major role in the lives of many Manitobans who don't even know it, said Kinew.

"David Woodbury is largely responsible for the 10 balanced budgets that Gary Doer tabled because he was working behind the scenes in the department of finance at the time," the MLA for Fort Rouge said.

"I think that reflected David's deep understanding not only of government finance but how you can pursue progressive public policy goals while also having a balanced approach when it comes to the books."

University of Manitoba political studies professor emeritus Paul Thomas said Woodbury, who went on to serve on the Treasury Board, was his student as well as his teacher.

"His experience was like a PhD in real world politics," Thomas said Friday. "It meant he achieved real insights into issues and real strength in terms of political tactics," he said in an email.

"David read extensively on different budgetary approaches and several times we discussed the potential and the limits of different approaches. In a reversal of roles, the former student taught the former professor a lot about the real world of budgeting."

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca
OTTAWA  Another Manitoba reserve is planning a ground search of its residential school for unmarked graves.

OTTAWA  Another Manitoba reserve is planning a ground search of its residential school for unmarked graves.

Pine Creek First Nation Chief Derek Nepinak announced on Facebook a meeting next Tuesday "to begin the process of searching the residential school grounds" located near Camperville, about 425 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg.

The meeting will include "presentations from the technical engineers doing the survey."

Nepinak was not available Thursday or Friday for an interview.

The Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement recognized 14 schools in Manitoba, and First Nations have started ground searches in Brandon, Dauphin, Sandy Bay, Sagkeeng and Long Plain. Other First Nations are trying to access funding to begin their own.

Its unclear how much area the Pine Creek band will search; the school covered roughly 632 acres, including farming fields.

The Catholic Church ran the Pine Creek school from 1890 to 1969, with an emphasis on farming over education. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission found evidence of frequent runaways from the school.

Survivors told the TRC of being stripped of their traditional clothes when they arrived at the school and of being whipped by staff.

Bernard Catcheway testified that nuns hit kids in the head when they waved at their siblings, and forced children to eat their own vomit.

In 1928, the school principal wrote to Ottawa, arguing a dozen runaways in one week were caused by too much discipline. "I would not keep the students on such a tight leash; the bow that is always bent will break. It is hard for children to stay silent for long or to sit still for a certain amount of time."

There are already 21 documented deaths among students while attending the school, such as a girl who died of tuberculosis in May 1942.

Albert Nepinak died in April 1951 after running away with two other boys. The school assumed they all made it home, but Albert wasnt able to cross a river and collapsed alone on a trail, where he succumbed to the cold and was found by his father.

Officials knew the school was unsafe for decades, having been built before enhanced construction codes.

In 1928, the school principal noted that bricks kept falling off the bread oven, causing thick smoke to waft through the school, leaving girls "crying while making bread." He warned if the oven completely collapsed, the whole school might catch fire.

In 1939, an inspector found the joists and cross beams holding up the school floor were sinking, which a local authority deemed "urgent and dangerous."

A year later, former Manitoba education minister R. A. Hoey was working as an Indian Affairs superintendent, and recommended the school be closed. Minor repairs were done instead.

By 1959, roofs were leaking and the principal complained that measurements were repeatedly taken for new toilets and showers that were never built.

At that point, there were two toilets for 80 boys and another two for 75 girls, including day students. There was just one shower and one bathtub for 65 boys and three bathtubs for 65 girls.

As with other residential schools, there were frequent fires, some intentionally set. A student destroyed the local church in September 1930, and children made multiple attempts to burn down the school buildings over the decades. In 1951, a 12-year-old girl was remanded for trying to burn down her dormitory in the hopes shed be sent home.

In 1923, parent Frank Flatfoot complained on behalf of the Pine Creek band that children were spending half the day farming on poor land "but little time is spent in teaching the Indian children reading, writing, and arithmetic."

The school housed kindergarten to Grade 9 children. Graduating pupils were often sent to the Fort Alexander residential high school on the Sagkeeng reserve, 300 kilometres away.

When the Pine Creek school closed in 1969, students were transferred to other residential schools in Sandy Bay and The Pas.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca
A Winnipeg teen suffered critical injuries after he was shoved in front of a semi-truck on Ness Avenue outside Sturgeon Heights Collegiate on Monday.

A Winnipeg teen suffered critical injuries after he was shoved in front of a semi-truck on Ness Avenue outside Sturgeon Heights Collegiate on Monday.

As students were filing out of the west Winnipeg high school following the final bell, a suspect charged at two 16-year-old boys walking eastbound on the sidewalk, Winnipeg Police Const. Rob Carver said.

The suspect pushed one of the teens into the road as vehicles were approaching, he said.

"It is pure chance, luck, that this individual wasnt killed," Carver said. "Its pretty clear that it was a targeted move to put the individual into the roadway."

The teen was struck by a semi-truck travelling westbound in the curb lane and then thrown in the way of an pickup truck, also travelling west.

Carver said both drivers saw the altercation about to unfold and tried to slow down as the suspect rushed toward the street.

"They braked, slowing to significantly lessen any potential injuries because given the speed posted on Ness, we certainly believe that being struck by a semi moving at the maximum posted speed would have been catastrophic, if not fatal," he said.

The 16-year-old was taken to hospital in critical condition and has been upgraded to stable, police said.

Carver said there have been no arrests and police are turning to the public for information that could move the investigation forward.

"There were numerous people in the area at the time, people after the accident from the school came out, so anyone with anything that could possibly assist us please call our investigators," he said.

Anyone who witnessed the incident, or who may have information, is asked to contact investigators at 204-986-6219 or Crime Stoppers at 204-786-8477.

A spokesman for the St. James-Assiniboia School Division said the division is aware of the incident but had no details to provide. A request for an interview with a member of school administration was not accommodated.

Mental health supports and counselling are available to students and staff, the spokesman said.

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca
Dropping temperatures and rising school outbreaks are renewing concerns about ventilation in Manitoba classrooms as the COVID-19 pandemic wears on.

Dropping temperatures and rising school outbreaks are renewing concerns about ventilation in Manitoba classrooms as the COVID-19 pandemic wears on.

In an effort to curb transmission of the novel coronavirus, provincial officials announced Friday new restrictions that focus on preventing spread during youth sporting events and indoor recreation activities.

The changes dont affect learning in K-12 classrooms overall, although an additional six school outbreaks have been declared.

Mechanical engineer Matt Froese said the ideal ventilation system brings in the right amount of outdoor air to exchange indoor air, includes quality air filters, and contains a control element. Many new schools have carbon dioxide monitors installed into thermostats so there is an early warning if something goes wrong, said the technical leader in commissioning at Integrated Designs Inc.

If schools cannot meet American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers standards, Froese said they should look into installing HEPA (high efficiency particular air) filters  especially because ventilation becomes less effective in the winter.

"Portable HEPA filters make a lot of sense in Manitoba because adding outdoor air can be very challenging. We get very cold air in the winter and very hot air in the summer," said Froese, adding portable filters can add aerosol protection.

Manitobas back-to-school pandemic plan recommends schools ensure ventilation systems operate properly, increase air exchanges, limit crowded hallways, and encourage outdoor education. The province also continues to promote mask use and, weather permitting, opening windows to promote air circulation.

The chief provincial public health officer has indicated schools should assess each space, rather than promote the widespread use of HEPA filters.

Meantime, Ontario has mandated all school boards place standalone filters in every learning environment that does not have mechanical ventilation, as well as every full-day kindergarten room.

Following the first snowstorm of the Manitoba school year, questions about school closures, power outages and ventilation are top of mind this week.

Froese said ventilation is among the concerns, alongside heating, lighting, and technology, when there is an outage. However, he said there is no need to be especially worried  given masks and distancing are in effect  if the power is out for under an hour.

Two minor outages, neither of which required significant shutdowns, have already occurred in the Seven Oaks School Division this year.

During those events, superintendent Brian OLeary said windows were opened and students encouraged to go outside. Older students might be dismissed during such an event in the winter months because of a variety of safety concerns, said O'Leary, while administration would call parents of younger pupils and provide buses as shelter for elementary schoolers.

A provincial spokesperson said Friday school divisions are responsible for assessing emergencies and determining whether closures are necessary. Manitoba has not provided guidance on ventilation protocols during school outages.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @macintoshmaggie
A North Kildonan resident is breaking the silence on domestic violence.

Zita Somakoko, a domestic violence survivor and advocate against gender-based violence, hosted the first Breaking the Silence on Domestic Violence community forum in 2018.

SUPPLIED PHOTO "After the Storm" by Charlie Johnston is one piece included in the Breaking the Silence on Domestic Violence art exhibit.

"The event was born in the heat of tragedy," Somakoko told The Souwester. "I was watching the news in 2015 and a woman was killed, gunned down, by her ex-husband.

"I lost it. I started wailing. I just couldnt believe we are still dealing with this and its normal, just a split second on the news. Picture and then gone."

Somakokos forum began as a simple conversation before turning into the art show it is today.

"Music speaks to our soul and every piece of art is a type of communication," she said. "What I try to do is find any way possible to draw attention to this issue."

This years Breaking the Silence on Domestic Violence exhibit will open Nov. 19 at the Canadian Mennonite Universitys MHC Gallery, located at 610 Shaftesbury Boulevard, beginning at 7 p.m.

Those interested in attending must provide proof of vaccination. The opening ceremony can be viewed on Zoom.

The showwill run until Jan. 15, 2022, and features over 30 artists highlighting the plight of domestic violence in Manitoba. While the MHC Gallery exhibit focuses on visual art, there will also be workshops, presentations and performances, including poetry, dance and music.

Every six days a woman in Canada is killed by her intimate partner. From January to June 2021, Manitoba recorded five deaths, and last year saw the highest number of sexual assaults amongst youth. Winnipeg Police Service also recorded 1,695 domestic violence victims during the pandemic.

"Thats not even Manitoba, so imagine the numbers province-wide," Somakoko said. "We talk about our province having the highest number of violent crimes in the nation. When we say this, people think vandalism, drugs or gangs, but 85 per cent of these are actually domestic violence related."

Somakoko believes the issue isnt getting enough attention when talking about crime, and thats what her forum is all about.

"Every year, Im looking for activities that will pull people into this conversation and shine a light on the reality about violence against women and girls in our province," Somakoko said. "That doesnt mean we dont have violence against men and boys, because we do, but the highest rate is against girls and women."

Aside from the exhibition and performances, workshops are tailored toward youth, the media and Winnipeg Police Services.

For more information, visit www.facebook.com/breakingsdv
As the COVID-19 pandemic's fourth wave hits Manitoba and new public health restrictions target the unvaccinated, the province's five Crown corporations are requiring a proof of vaccination or rapid testing for some employees.

As the COVID-19 pandemic's fourth wave hits Manitoba and new public health restrictions target the unvaccinated, the province's five Crown corporations are requiring a proof of vaccination or rapid testing for some employees.

Starting Jan. 10, Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Corp. employees must choose to either voluntarily provide proof of full vaccination or participate in rapid COVID-19 testing. The rule applies to all employees working at or attending any of its locations or partner sites.

On Friday, MLL announced an employee at a Winnipeg Liquor Mart (Portage Avenue and Ainslie Street) had tested positive for COVID-19. The store staff member was self-isolating after working the day shift Nov. 9 and the morning of Nov. 10, before leaving at 12:30 p.m. after developing symptoms.

The Crown corporation has nearly 3,000 employees, including seasonal staff, employed in locations all over the province, and needs time to implement its vaccination requirement policy, said a MLL spokeswoman.

"This is a complex undertaking and we need to ensure we have the appropriate processes in place," she said Friday. "This includes, but is not limited to, understanding employee requirements for testing, verifying vaccination status, privacy impact assessment, establishing a supply chain for rapid test kits, etc.

"The early January date also allows those employees who have not yet been vaccinated an opportunity to receive both of their doses before the policy comes into effect. This does not mean we are waiting until January to collect information related to employee vaccination status  that has already begun."

Manitoba Hydro, meanwhile, doesnt yet know how many employees are being tested for COVID-19 rather than revealing vaccination status, spokesman Bruce Owen said.

The declaration process began Nov. 8. The deadline for Hydro employees  including those now working remotely  to either be fully vaccinated or opt for rapid COVID-19 testing is Nov. 30. The target for employees working remotely to return to the office is early 2022, said Owen.

At Manitoba Public Insurance, starting in the new year, employees will have to share proof of full vaccination or complete regular COVID-19 testing every 48 hours prior to starting their shift at an MPI location, spokesman Brian Smiley said.

Testing is only required for MPI staff members who attend the work location, he said. The public auto insurer is in the process of developing a separate policy for third parties, including contractors, consultants, and customers associated with MPI.

The Manitoba Centennial Centre Corp. started out mandating all staff had to be fully vaccinated when it reopened Sept. 7, then rejigged its policy.

"We later discovered that, with some of our unvaccinated staff, it was too difficult to keep them away," said chief executive officer Robert Olson. "They were some of our technical staff  and in this industry you need your technical staff to be able to host the show, so we introduced a rapid test requirement."

About 98 per cent of staff are fully vaccinated, leaving fewer than 10 individuals requiring rapid testing, he said. The Crown corporation has a very high vaccine uptake because staff understand its for their own safety, Olson said.

"You're potentially going to be exposed to 2,300 people a night walking through the front doors of the concert hall," he said. "We fully anticipate that when we open our doors, COVID-19 is coming in with them, even though people are fully vaccinated.

"So we just couldn't risk having her staff exposed to that. There was no resistance here. We were very fortunate."

At Efficiency Manitoba, its 73 employees have until Monday (Nov. 15) to present proof they're fully vaccinated or they'll be required to undergo COVID-19 rapid testing, spokesperson Tracy Sterdan said.

The new Crown corporation, that commenced during the pandemic (April 2020), doesnt yet have an office location open to the public, noted Sterdan. Customers can reach it by phone, email, and social media to access more than 35 programs trying to help Manitobans become more energy efficient, Sterdan said.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca
Residents not fully vaccinated were nearly five times more likely to be infected with COVID-19 and 11 times more likely to be hospitalized with it last month than those fully vaccinated.
WitsReview wins best corporate publication award

Wits University's multi-award winning publication adds another accolade.

Wits Universitys alumni magazine, WITSReview has been recognised as the best corporate publication in South Africa in the 2021 corporate publication competition hosted by the SA Publication Forum. Sanlam Connect & Sanlam Engage were runners up in the competition, followed by BrightRock, JLP Television, and Old Mutual publications.

WITSReview was announced as the winner at a virtual awards function held on 5 November 2021. WITSReview also won best external magazine (category A), best writing and best design categories in the competition.

Wits graduates have made a significant contribution to society in all spheres of endeavour, both nationally and internationally. The WITSReview connects alumni to their alma mater and profiles the impact they have had in being a force for good in the world. The latest issue (October 2021) profiles Wits alumni that blew the whistle on state capture.

Moderator of the competition, Surisa Nel, commented that the WITSReview manages to exude the high standards of the academic institution it represents while at the same time never sounding pompous or boring. It is un-put-downable and a proud flag-bearer of one of South Africas finest universities.

Editor of the WITSReview, Peter Maher, said the editorial team were extremely honoured for their work to be recognised for excellence. Over the past century, Wits and Witsies have played an incredibly important role in the story of South Africa. We are inspired by the impact the University and its graduates have on society and are always excited to bring these stories to life in the magazine.

Visit the Wits Alumni Office
LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI)  A man will spend the rest of his life in prison after receiving a 75-year sentence Friday for a 2019 shooting, stabbing and arson.

Forty-three-year-old Andrew Alcorns was sentenced to 70 years in the Indiana Department of Correction and five years on probation.

As News 18 previously reported, he accepted a plea deal last month on murder and battery charges.

Alcorns broke into Ronald Whiles home on South 31st Street, shot him multiple times and repeatedly stabbed a roommate, Thomas Day, before setting the house on fire and fleeing to Ohio.

Whiles died while Day escaped through a window with life-threatening injuries.

On his way out of the courtroom, Alcorns stared down the victims' family members and shook his head.

During testimony today, Day said he suffers from lifelong injuries and pain.

"I try not to think about it because every time I think about it, I get mad ... now, I don't have to think about it anymore. I can move on with my life," he told News 18 after the sentencing.

A friend of Whiles said the man sheltered people down on their luck and gave them work at his construction company.

"Ron had done this for 30 years," says Stephen Lebegue. "He was like his own transitional housing in Lafayette. The community owes him the dignity he deserves and not what happened to him."

Attorneys described Alcorns as a man who slipped into a 30-year downward spiral of mental health issues, substance abuse and crime.

When given a chance to speak, Alcorns apologized the family members and pledged to take advantage of treatment programs.

"The outcome, I guess we couldn't ask for a better one given the circumstances ... he got what he deserved," says Day's sister, Christine Clark.
LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - Lafayette's Kiwanis Club continues to make strides to comfort children in difficult situations.

More than 100 comfort dolls are on the way to various organizations throughout Tippecanoe County.

"There are times children are taken away from the comfort of their own home and at times only what they have on their back and they get this doll and it is there and it's their own. They can have it forever and with the markers they can mark on it and show their feelings."

Kiwanis Club Past President Mary Jo Vandeveer said these comfort dolls are needed now more than ever.

"Coronavirus has affected all of us one way or another but some people it has affected more and there are more emotional issues so it definitely has helped to have these comfort dolls for the children," she explained.

A little over a dozen volunteers sat around a table stuffing and sowing together comfort dolls.

Kiwanis Indiana District Governor Taka Ogata said it's a part of the organizations brand to change the world one child and community at a time.

"We work with high schools and elementary schools and just whatever we can do to help kids."
CANTON, Ohio (WLFI) - A missing child in Ohio may be in Indiana. An Amber Alert was issued for her at about 2 o'clock in the afternoon today.

That's according to a statement sent to News 18 by the FBI.

Authorities are searching for Ana Grace Burke of Canton, Ohio.

She's been missing since Thursday night when she left a store with a 36-year-old neighbor named Jonathan Stinnett.

Ana Grace and Stinnett were may be in a silver 1991 Ford Aerostar with Michigan license plates E-H-L-7-1-8-7.

Anyone with information on either Ana Grace or Stinnett's whereabouts is asked to call police at 330-834-3960.
In 2016, Morgan Monroe was just beginning her motorbike racing career when she crashed going 95 MPH.

She survived but her injuries were extensive.

Monroe was rolled into a Grand Rapids hospital on a stretcher and after 30 days of rehab she walked out with a new purpose.

She said her goal is to touch the lives of other athletes recovering.

"I look forward to impacting someone in a positive way, she said.

That's why Clio native Morgan Monroe is starting Morgan's Place Rehabilitation Center in Grand Rapids. Five years ago, today, Morgan was involved in a high-speed crash during a motorcycle race in Georgia.

"I broke my right scapula, I broke my left hand, four ribs, an L1 vertebrae, and I had a traumatic brain injury that led me to have a hemorrhagic stroke and temporarily paralyzed the right side of my body, Monroe said.

Morgan's mom Carey was watching her daughter from the stands.

"On about lap three was when she went into turn one at 95 miles per hour and her front tire hit the back tire of another bike. Then she went flying off the bike about 30 feet. And I immediately thought that she wasn't going to make it, Carey said.

Morgan rehabbed her injuries at Mary Free Bed in Grand Rapids. That's where she met Jennifer Ancans. The occupational therapist was part of a team that worked with Morgan on fine motor coordination, electrical stimulation, and vibration. Eventually, Morgan was able to use her right hand again.

"Once she started moving the hand then I made her use it all the time. And so that meant taking money out of her wallet when we would go to the restaurant, or paging through a book, or picking up items, or holding her toothbrush with that right hand," Ancans said.

Morgan has fully recovered. She credits Ancans for inspiring her mission to start Morgan's Place. Morgan's goal is to have Morgan's Place up and running by the spring/early summer. The rehab center will offer wrap-around services for athletes after they leave the hospital.

"I always said that I wanted to be somebody's Jennifer someday. You know, touch their heart in a dark time in their life, she said.
Models strut their stuff in a fashion show featuring Yi ethnic garments during the Ningbo Fashion Festival in Zhejiang Province late last month. [For China Daily/Yu Yin]

Seyedeh Sara Ahmadi Nishaboori, a Chinese culture enthusiast from Iran who resides in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, certainly knew embroidery had a long history in China. However, she is still amazed when watching, on-site, how embroidered pieces from the Yi ethnic group in Sichuan Province are made.

"Fashion exists not only in our modern time but also in the past," she tells China Daily during her visit to the 2021 Ningbo Fashion Festival and the 25th Ningbo International Fashion Fair. "Clothing and accessories are both carriers of culture. The history and culture can be passed down from generation to generation and promoted to the world through these tangible things."

This year's Ningbo fashion fair was held last month and it included exhibitions, forums and competitions.

The Yi embroidery demonstration, and the following fashion show, which Nishaboori attended, showcased the development of Yi ethnic costumes from traditional to modern.

Enchanted by the beautiful costumes and accessories displayed at the fair's exhibition area showcasing products of Sichuan's Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, she tried handmade headgear, designed specially for unmarried women in Yi culture.

"The exhibitor told me that every pattern on the costumes has a story. Some resemble the window of the ancient yamen (government office), while the inspiration for another came from the roots of strawberries," she says.

The young expat, who is running a design workshop, says she was inspired at the fair.

This year marks the first that Ningbo has been paired with Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture under the east-west poverty relief program by the central government, as well as the first year that the autonomous prefecture has had a presence at the Ningbo fashion fair.

Yi garment inheritor Axi Wuzhimo fits Seyedeh Sara Ahmadi Nishaboori, a Chinese culture enthusiast from Iran, with headgear at the 25th Ningbo International Fashion Fair. [For China Daily/Yu Yin]

Seven companies from the prefecture presented their products and the techniques employed to make them at the fair, most of which have been inscribed on the national list of intangible cultural heritage, such as Yi silverwork, embroidery and wool-weaving.

Axi Wuzhimo, founder of a professional Yi embroidery cooperative in Ganluo County, called Yizhen Yixian (Yi needle, Yi thread), displayed its needlework at the fair.

Handed down by her mother, Axi started to learn the Yi embroidery technique at the age of 10 and has been practicing it for more than 40 years.

The embroiderer started her own business in 1993 and has been dedicated to innovating the traditional technique for many years, such as using embroidery in the design of notebooks.

Axi has also joined in with local poverty alleviation efforts. She has taught the technique to more than 4,300 people, most of whom are women villagers. About 800 embroiderers among them are currently working at the cooperative.

"They are not full-time workers. They do embroidery when they are not working in the fields," says Abu Wuda, Axi's son, who also works at the cooperative.

According to Abu, due to the part-time work, the average annual income for those handicrafting villagers has risen by 5,000 yuan ($780).

"One of the reasons why we attend the Ningbo fashion fair is to show the results of our poverty alleviation work," says Abu. "The rapid development of the embroidery sector in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture has prompted us to tap a broader market outside the prefecture."

Jiaba Zize, another Yi garment inheritor, displays her weaving skills at the fair. [For China Daily/Yu Yin]

On the first day of the fair, Abu received many purchase orders.

"This fair provides a great opportunity for us to seek cooperation with companies and designers that are interested in Yi embroidery, which is also a way to promote the Yi culture and increase the income of our part-time embroiderers," he says.

Jiwu Yizuo, an official of the Liangshan Prefecture's culture and tourism bureau, stresses the significance of the fair in the protection efforts of the intangible cultural heritage. "The traditional techniques of the Yi ethnic group have reached the outside world and have been promoted in the coastal cities so that more people can learn about the Yi culture and about the prefecture," Jiwu says.

Qiu Dongyao, mayor of Ningbo, said at the opening ceremony of the Ningbo fashion fair on October 21 that "Ningbo was grounded in the garment industry".

"It is one of the country's largest bases for textile and garment manufacturing. The Ningbo International Fashion Fair, which was initiated in 1997 and integrated with the Ningbo Fashion Festival two years ago, has witnessed the development and prosperity of the local garment industry," Qiu says.

Ningbo's industrial output in the fashion sector reached 129.2 billion yuan in the first eight months of this year, accounting for 9.2 percent of the city's total industrial output, Qiu says. Ningbo's industrial output for the garment sector amounted to 81.25 billion yuan, over the same period, up 14.8 percent year-on-year.

(Source: China Daily)
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Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the 28th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting via video link, in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 12, 2021. Xi delivered an important speech at the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting on Friday in Beijing via video link. [Xinhua/Huang Jingwen]

 Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday attended the 28th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting in Beijing via video link, urging its members to build an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future featuring openness and inclusiveness, innovation-driven growth, greater connectivity, and mutually beneficial cooperation.

 "China will work with all APEC members in building an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future and jointly opening a new chapter for Asia-Pacific economic cooperation," said Xi.

 Xi reaffirmed China's resolve in safeguarding the multilateral trading regime with the World Trade Organization (WTO) at its core, and voiced support for the implementation of the Enhanced APEC Agenda for Structural Reform and the APEC Services Competitiveness Roadmap.

Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the 28th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting via video link, in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 12, 2021. Xi delivered an important speech at the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting on Friday in Beijing via video link. [Xinhua/Shen Hong]

BEIJING, Nov. 12 (Xinhua)  Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday attended the 28th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting in Beijing via video link, urging its members to build an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future featuring openness and inclusiveness, innovation-driven growth, greater connectivity, and mutually beneficial cooperation.

"China will work with all APEC members in building an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future and jointly opening a new chapter for Asia-Pacific economic cooperation," said Xi.

The 21 APEC member economies have reaffirmed their commitment to responding to the immediate crisis generated by the pandemic through urgent work, and to strengthening cooperation so that the region can return to growth in a way that is more innovative, inclusive and sustainable, according to a declaration adopted at the meeting.

Chinese President Xi Jinping addresses the 28th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting via video link, in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 12, 2021. [Xinhua/Li Xiang]

Promoting Anti-Pandemic Cooperation

"We need to follow a science-based approach in pandemic response and deepen international cooperation," Xi said, pledging that China will continue to provide support to the Sub-Fund for APEC Cooperation on Combating COVID-19 and Economic Recovery.

Ruan Zongze, executive vice president of the China Institute of International Studies, said the Chinese side pointed out the importance and significance of cooperation in fighting against the pandemic, as greater solidarity and closer cooperation are the key to clinching the final victory in this life-and-death battle for APEC members.

"The COVID-19 pandemic was a stark reminder that all countries, whether rich or poor, share the same home planet, and no one can emerge unscathed from common challenges," Ruan added.

In the speech, Xi called on APEC members to promote the research, development, production and fair distribution of vaccines, ensure their accessibility and affordability in developing countries, and close the immunization gap.

So far, China has provided over 1.7 billion doses of vaccines to the world, including donations to more than 110 countries, and China has undertaken to offer three billion U.S. dollars over the next three years to support COVID-19 response and economic and social recovery in fellow developing countries.

An airport worker transports packages of Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine at Phnom Penh International Airport in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Oct. 14, 2021. [Xinhua/Phearum]

Bambang Suryono, chairman of Indonesian think tank Asia Innovation Study Center, said that China's Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines have played a crucial role in national vaccination programs in Indonesia and many other developing countries, and Indonesia appreciates China's support in making Indonesia the regional center for vaccine production.

Championing Openness

Calling openness "the lifeline of Asia-Pacific cooperation," Xi urged APEC members to uphold open regionalism, follow the guidance of the APEC Vision 2040 in advancing regional economic integration, and work for the early realization of a high-standard Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP).

"A more opened-up region is a more united one," said Suryono. Besides facilitating post-pandemic recovery, free trade is a win-win for all participants in the long run, and will serve as a catalyst for changes in the fields of business environment, social governance, the legal system, and so on, he added.

Xi reaffirmed China's resolve in safeguarding the multilateral trading regime with the World Trade Organization (WTO) at its core, and voiced support for the implementation of the Enhanced APEC Agenda for Structural Reform and the APEC Services Competitiveness Roadmap.

Xi also said China "looks forward to the entry into force of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) on schedule next year."

Staff members transport packages at a logistics center during the "Double Eleven" online shopping festival in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province, Nov. 11, 2021. [Xinhua/Zhang Haoran]

While some developments in the global economy threaten multilateral institutions like the WTO, Peter Drysdale, head of the East Asian Bureau of Economic Research and the East Asia Forum at Australian National University, said that more openness and dialogue in a spirit of multilateralism will facilitate APEC as an ideal forum to develop strategies that will build the trust needed to overcome relevant problems.

Promoting Inclusive, Sustainable Development

"We need to fully implement the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and let the gains of development benefit more people across the world in a more equitable way," said Xi.

Noting economic and technical cooperation is an important area of APEC cooperation, Xi called on APEC members to step up input, make sure that developing members get real benefit from such cooperation, and keep injecting new dynamism into the development and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific.

Regarding China's dedication to advancing common development in APEC and beyond, a case in point is the Juncao technology. In 2001, the first China-aided Juncao technology demonstration base overseas was established in Papua New Guinea, and this technology has so far been promoted to more than 100 countries, bringing people better incomes and more employment opportunities while being ecological-friendly.

Lin Yingxing (C), specialist from the Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, explains Juncao technology to local residents in the Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea, Dec. 19, 2019. [Xinhua/Hu Yingping]

As for upholding innovation-driven development, Xi urged all members to implement the APEC Internet and Digital Economy Roadmap in a full and balanced manner, further develop the digital infrastructure, strive to bridge the digital divide, adding China "supports stronger international cooperation on the digital economy."

"The pandemic has given the trend of e-commerce, which was already happening, a real shot in the arm," said James Laurenceson, director of the Australia-China Relations Institute at the University of Technology Sydney, adding that China is by far a global leader in the e-commerce trend and China's position in the region is increasingly prominent.

Amid the pressing tasks of promoting recovery, China's proposals at the APEC have injected confidence into APEC and beyond for closer cooperation of a broader range and a larger scale in sustainable development, said Sun Jingxin, an associate research fellow with the Academy of Contemporary China and World Studies.

(Source: Xinhua)
Have a green Christmas  first minister launches Christmas Card Competition

Budding young artists to put their creative hats on and enter the first ministers Christmas card competition.

The winning design will be chosen by Mark Drakeford and used as his official Christmas card.

The first minister sends his Christmas card to thousands of people around the world, including to Her Majesty, the Queen, to the President of the United States, Joe Biden, and Vice President Kamala Harris.

The competition is open to children in years five and six of primary school.

Following the First Ministers visit to Glasgow for the COP26 Summit, the theme for this years contest is Green Christmas.

First Minister Mark Drakeford said: It was great to see hundreds of cards entered in the competition last year. This year Im looking forward to seeing my desk covered again in brightly-coloured festive designs.

I hope that the theme Green Christmas will make children think about the way we can all play our part to cut pollution, protect our nature and our climate.

We all need a little cheering up after a difficult year. Im really looking forward to seeing the results of the childrens imaginations in my post bag.

The closing date is November 12th.

Entry guidance

The closing date for the competition is the 12th of November

The competition is open to school-aged children in years five and six.

All entries should be to a maximum size of A4 (210mm x 297mm)

Entries can be in portrait or landscape orientation

All entries should be flat  no uneven surfaces, no cotton wool, glitter etc.

Bright, vibrant colours reproduce well

Dark backgrounds should be avoided

If you want to include text on the artwork then please ask your teacher for help with translation or use Google Translate.

Here are some standard phrases too: Nadolig Llawen  Merry Christmas / Cyfarchion y Tymor  Seasons Greetings. Please put Welsh first followed by English.

Please include the persons name and contact details with the entry

Please note that unfortunately we will not be able to return any entries

Images made on a computer device can be sent by email. Non-digital designs can still be sent by email  please take a clear and well-lit photograph of your hard-copy design, but please keep the original artwork so you can send it in if you are successful.

Email your entries to cabinetcommunications@gov.wales
Shop safe, shop kind  we all have a responsibility to stop the spread of Covid and keep shops open

With rates of Coronavirus transmission still high in Wales, Economy Minister Vaughan Gething has called on shoppers and retailers to play their part in keeping people safe by ensuring face coverings are worn while shopping indoors.

This is a legal requirement in Wales for those not exempt and is crucial in helping to prevent the spread of the virus.

Rates of coronavirus in Wales are currently the highest in the UK and unless rates begin to fall, Welsh Ministers say they will have to consider reintroducing restrictions to bring the spread of the virus under control.

Economy Minister, Vaughan Gething is again calling on people in Wales to respect the rules and safety advice in place to prevent coronavirus spreading even further and more people falling seriously ill. This includes making sure that face coverings are worn in indoor public spaces like shops.

During a visit to a Morrison store in Cardiff Bay, the Minister paid tribute to retail staff across Wales who have been unsung heroes throughout the pandemic, working to keep the nation fed.

Economy Minister, Vaughan Gething said: We must all play our part in Keeping Wales Safe.

Even though we are all now able enjoy lifes freedoms, we must all keep taking necessary precautions when shopping to keep ourselves, other shoppers, including societys clinically vulnerable and store workers safe.

Whilst vaccines remain the best defence against the virus and we continue to encourage everyone to work from home wherever possible, I cannot stress enough the importance of wearing a face covering in indoor public places.

And it is important to remember that shopping isnt a choice unlike a trip to the theatre or pub. I hear from many clinically vulnerable people who tell me that they feel unsafe whilst shopping because of face coverings not being worn. I am calling on everyone to be considerate to these people and do the right thing.

Wearing a covering in shops is a legal requirement for those not exempt, and Im very keen to press that point here today. Retailers have an important role in getting this message across and ensuring their shops are safe and it is good to see how seriously many retailers, like Morrisons, are taking this.

The Welsh Government are keen to avoid introducing further restrictions, particularly in the retail sector in the lead up to the festive period. One way we can all help to avoid that is by following rules and safety measures already in place to help keep us all safe.

Shop staff are continuously putting their own health at risk by serving the public every day and we mustnt forget that. Please continue to show retail workers the respect and courtesy they deserve as they continue to work tirelessly to help ensure that shopping in the run up to Christmas is as pleasant, safe and stress-free as it can be at this very busy time.

My message to consumers is simple  shop safe, shop kind this year.

David Scott, Corporate Affairs Director at Morrisons, said: We were delighted to welcome Vaughan Gething to our Cardiff Bay store. Our store colleagues are working hard to ensure a safe and enjoyable shopping trip for customers. As we enter the festive period we would encourage customers to continue to wear their face covering wherever possible and be considerate to others.

Sara Jones, Welsh Retail Consortium said, Retailers and shopworkers in Wales have worked incredibly hard and responsibly to keep customers and colleagues safe and supplied throughout the pandemic. Theyve done a brilliant job, invested significantly to make their stores as Covid-secure as they can be, and continue to go above and beyond the baseline measures.

However, each and every shopper also has a duty to play their part, by following store safety protocols and the governments mandate on face coverings, and by being considerate and respectful to fellow shoppers and shop staff. This way we can all enjoy shopping during the festive period and support our favourite shops over the coming weeks, knowing every purchase made and every item bought is a local job supported and a high street helped.
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A media barrage in Britain has erupted over just how many Members of Parliament (MPs) have second jobs and the amount they earn. A backbench MP earns 82,000-a-year plus expenses. MPs are allowed to work as consultants for private businesses and no limit is placed on the number of hours MPs are allowed to work in jobs outside of parliament.

Owen Paterson, a grandee of the ruling Conservatives, who more than two years ago was exposed for his highly renumerated (500,000) lobbying on behalf of two companies, has been at the centre of the second jobs scandal.

Last month, Paterson faced a 30-day suspension from the House of Commons after the parliamentary standards watchdog found he had breached lobbying rules in an egregious case of paid advocacy. Parliamentary standards commissioner Kathryn Stone found that Paterson used his parliamentary office to hold meetings with medical diagnostics company Randox and meat processor Lynns Country Foods on 25 occasions between October 2016 and February 2020. Patterson was a paid consultancy fees for both companies totalling 100,000 a year.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer speaking in Parliament (credit: UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor)

Despite attempts by Prime Minister Boris Johnson to block the suspension of prominent Brexiteer Paterson, by whipping MPs to vote for a plan to create a Tory-led committee to rewrite parliamentary standards rule, Paterson quit parliament, 24 hours later, on November 4.

The crisis worsened as the scandal enveloped former attorney general Sir Geoffrey Cox.

Cox earned almost 6 million from work on top of being an MP, including a salary with law firm Withers from which he rakes in 400,000 a year (813 an hour). The Independent reported, On top of his annual retainer, Sir Geoffrey was paid 156,916.08 for 140 hours of work by the same firm between April and May 31, 2021roughly the same as the prime minister earns in a year.

So brazen was Cox that he spent up to a month in the British Virgin Islands during lockdown working for Withers on a lucrative contract while voting by proxy in Parliament.

By the end of this week, by which time it had been established that more than a quarter of Tory MPs have second jobs (90 out of 360), from which they earn a collective 4 million a year, the prime minister was named as one of the worst offenders. The Financial Times estimated that Johnson had helped himself to more than 4 million in second job income over the last 14 years. This includes the 1.6 million made since re-entering parliament in 2016, after his eight year spell as London Mayor, from speeches, newspaper columns, book advances and royalties. It included the 250,000 a year he received for his Daily Telegraph column, a sum Johnson once described as chicken feed.

The adage that money talks applies in spades when it comes to the Mother of Parliaments. Last week the Sunday Times Insight team revealed that the Tory Party was systematically offering seats in the House of Lords to a select group of multimillionaire donors who pay more than 3 million to the party. It added, In the past two decades, all 16 of the partys main treasurersapart from the most recent, who stood down two months ago having donated 3.8 millionhave been offered a seat in the Lords.

The investigation revealed that Many other Conservative donors have also been ennobled alongside the partys treasurers: 22 of the partys main financial backers have been given peerages since 2010. This includes nine donor treasurers. Together they have given 54 million to the party.

The scandal is only the latest iteration revealing how deeply MPs get their snouts in the trough. In 1994, John Majors Tory government was staggered by the cash-for-questions scandal.

In 2009, under Gordon Browns Labour government, parliament was hit by a scandal over the abuse of expenseswith MPs spending millions in tax payers money on everything from a 1,654 floating duck island for his pond (a Tory MP) to a 20,700 for roof repairs, including some to the bell tower of his stately home (a Labour MP).

Earlier this year, former Prime Minister David Cameron, in office from 2010-15, was exposed for his lobbying efforts on behalf of the financier Lex Greensill. After leaving office, Cameron took a job with Greensill Capital, the now collapsed supply chain finance company, and on its behalf lobbied ministers, including Chancellor Rishi Sunak.

The pandemic revealed that many of the contracts given to the private sector were the product of cronyism and corruption. A Transparency International UK (TI-UK) report into the awarding of contracts, published in April, examined 18 billion worth of contracts awarded between February and November 2020. It concluded that one in fiveworth 3.7 billionraised red flags for possible corruption.

Among TI-UKs findings were that 1.6 billion worth of personal protective equipment (PPE) contracts (comprising 14 tenders) were awarded to entities with known connections to the Conservative Party. Three contracts worth 536 million went to politically connected companies for testing-related services. Health Secretary Matt Hancock awarded 30 million worth of contracts for vials and plastic funnels to his former local pub landlord.

As most of the MPs with second jobs are on the governments benches, Labour attempted a point scoring operation. But this soon came unstuck as Labour MPs, including shadow cabinet ministers, have also made a killing from the private sector.

The pro-government Daily Mail reported that David Lammy, Shadow Secretary of State for Justice/Shadow Lord Chancellor, pulled in 141,000 in three years for speeches at Google, Facebook, City corporations and media appearances.

Labour MP Chris Bryant, chair of the Parliaments Committee on Standards and Privileges which found Paterson guilty of 'egregious' breaches of lobbying rules, received 2,000 from investment banker Goldman Sachs for speaking at an event.

Another Labourite who has railed against Tory sleaze is right-winger Jess Phillips. But Phillips, an MP only since 2015, has pulled in tens of thousands of pounds working for the private sector. Among the firms paying Phillips collectively over 30,000 are right-wing newspapers, including from the Murdoch press and Daily Telegraph, and a property developer, Anthony McCourt.

Those in glass houses shouldnt throw stones, hence the Labour supporting LabourList website warning, The second jobs row is an opportunity for Labour, but not a clear open goal.

The second jobs scandal was as toxic for Labour as the Tories, it cautioned, noting, Keir Starmer has this week been asked about discussions he had over taking employment with Mishcon de Reya in 2017, and he was paid while an MP (before becoming Labour leader) by the law firm.

Before becoming an MP in 2015, Starmer, a Queens Counsel and former Director of Public Prosecutions and Head of the Crown Prosecution Service (2008-2013), earned thousands from Mishcon de Reya. From June 1 until September 30, 2016, he received 4,500 a month excluding VAT for legal advice provided to the Mishcon de Reya Academy. Starmer worked approximately six hours per month. He only stopped receiving payment on becoming Shadow Brexit Secretary in October 2016. However, as the Times reported, he received 3,200 for legal advice to a separate firm, Simons Muirhead and Burton, the following month.

In the June 2016 Brexit referendum, Starmer advocated Britain remaining in the European Union. After the referendum result to leave, he advocated a second referendum aimed at reversing the plebiscite. Labour campaigned for this policy, under his insistence, in the 2019 general election.

In July 2016, Mishcon de Reyas services were employed on behalf of a group of businesses in legal action to prevent the government from triggering the procedure for withdrawal from the European Union without an Act of Parliament. In January 2017, it won the case with the Supreme Court upholding a November 2016 decision of the High Court that the Secretary of State did not have the power under the prerogative to give notice pursuant to Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union.

It has long been understood in ruling circles that serving as an MP penalises the very social layers who enter parliament. Including the substantial expenses allotted, MPs earn far more than an average worker, but for many among this grasping, avaricious layer it feels like penury.

However, this is a sacrifice they are prepared to tolerate knowing that once they retire, they will reap the financial benefits with positions on boards as advisers and consultants. This is the endgame not just for the Tories. The archetypal example for them all is former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair who has raked in tens of millions of pounds since leaving office. Should Starmer lose the next general election, it is likely he will soon be back to earning far more in a month than he presently can in a year.

However, the money grubbing of MPs is a pale reflection of the looting of society by the major corporations and oligarchs whose wealth means they view the likes of Johnson and Starmer as lackeys whose loyalties can be secured for chump change.

Despite the wall-to-wall coverage in the media over the second jobs scandal, it likely will soon be dropped. For months Labour has focused on no end of pathetic campaigns against Johnson, covering everything from the choice of curtains at his Downing Street flat to the cost of the refurbishment of his apartment, supposedly to show how out of touch he is. But this only reveals that on the main issues, the Tories and Labour are aligned and operate as a de facto coalition.

Johnsons real crime, for which he will never be held to account by Labour, is his committing mass murder during the pandemic, overseeing the preventable deaths of over 165,000 people. However, what is certain is that in the long-term, the degraded spectacle now playing out will hasten the inevitable breaking from the ossified parliamentary setup by the working class.
The criminal trial of the three Georgia men who killed 25-year-old African American jogger Ahmaud Arbery opened this week. The exposure of Arberys murder and an attempted cover-up was a catalyst for massive multiracial and multiethnic demonstrations against police violence that exploded in the latter half of 2020 following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

The three defendants, who are white, are each charged with murder, aggravated assault and attempt to commit a felony.

Two of the men, father and son Gregory and Travis McMichael, armed themselves and chased down Arbery in a pickup truck after they noticed him jogging in the Brunswick suburb of Satilla Shores in February of last year. The third defendant, their neighbor William Roddie Bryan, joined the pursuit in his own truck and took cellphone video of Travis McMichael physically assailing and shooting Arbery at close range with a shotgun.

From left, Travis McMichael, his father Gregory McMichael, and William Roddie Bryan Jr.

Despite the violent nature of the encounter, the Glynn County police department and its district attorneys office concealed the harrowing video for weeks and sought to whitewash the crime to protect the McMichaels. Several weeks went by before the McMichaels were finally arrested. A criminal indictment was eventually brought against Jackie Johnson, the initial DA involved in the case, for conspiring to cover up the murder. It was also revealed that Gregory McMichael had been a former law enforcement officer who worked with the Glynn County DAs office.

In one key exchange during this weeks trial, a police investigator recounted a conversation he held with the elder McMichael at police headquarters a few hours after the shooting. Glynn County police Sgt. Roderic Nohilly told the jury that Gregory told him Arbery wasnt out for no Sunday jog. He was getting the hell out of there.

According to a transcript of their recorded interview which Nohilly read in court, Gregory McMichael said that the defenseless victim was trapped like a rat after being run down by the father and son in their pickup truck. The transcript, reciting McMichaels statements, said further, I think he was wanting to flee and he realized that something, you know, he was not going to get away. This is in reference to the defendants claim that they recognized Arbery because he had been recorded by security cameras a few times inside a neighboring home under construction, provoking the chase to stop him from escaping the subdivision.

Defense attorneys say the McMichaels and Bryan were legally justified in their attempt to detain Arbery because they viewed him as a burglar. Gregory McMichael told police Travis McMichael fired at Arbery in self-defense, claiming the victim attacked Travis with his fists and tried to grab his shotgun. Prosecutors say the McMichaels and Bryan chased Arbery for five minutes before he was shot in the street after he ran past the McMichaels idling truck. Prosecutor Linda Dunikoski described Arbery as an avid runner who lived just two miles from the Satilla Shores neighborhood where he was killed.

Stephan Lowrey, a Glynn County police investigator who had led the case, testified that police discovered Arberys fingerprints by the trucks driver-side door, next to a dent in the body. Bryan said Arbery had tried to open the door. In an interview transcript Lowrey read in court, Bryan admits that he didnt hit him before saying, Wish I would have. Might have taken him out and not get him shot.

In one revealing exchange, Lowrey underscored the degree of support local officials gave to the McMichaels claims that Arbery was committing a crime for which the three defendants had tried to detain him. When the defendants defense attorney Kevin Gough asked the investigator if he thought Bryan committed aggravated assault or any other serious violent felony with his truck, Lowrey replied, No, that wasnt the way I interpreted it at the time. The response demonstrated agreement among local police that Bryan was only considered a witness, not a suspect, immediately following the shooting.

Other segments of his testimony highlighted how Glynn County police avoided making any arrest in the weeks following Arberys shooting. Although Lowrey said his investigative unit had not closed the case when the Georgia Bureau of Investigation took it over in May, local officials remained distant from the proceedings. It was still open but not getting much traction, Lowrey said before adding, I think inactive was a fair summary.

Another resident of Satilla Shores who spoke in front of the court, Matthew Albenze, testified that he was splitting logs in his front yard on the day of the shooting when he saw Arbery enter the home under construction across the street. Albenze testified on Wednesday that he went inside his house and put a handgun in his pocket before he called police from behind a tree at the curb. Arbery left the house running toward the McMichaels home while Albenze was on the phone. Albenze told the jury he called the police non-emergency number. Prosecutor Dunikoski asked Albenze why he hadnt called 911, to which Albenze replied, I did not see an emergency.

During witness testimony on Wednesday, Police Sergeant Nohilly responded to one of Greg McMichaels attorneys, Frank Hogue, after the latter asked if raising a gun would be an appropriate response to a fleeing suspect who refused verbal commands to stop, an obvious reference to the McMichaels demands to Arbery. I dont just pull my gun, Nohilly said. Hogue then suggested to the sergeant, At some point, if the person is going to attack you, youll go ahead and use your weapon, to which Nohilly replied, It depends on who is attacking me.

Hogue then asked Nohilly if he would fire his weapon if the attacker was trying to take his gun away. At that point it might meet the threshold, yes, the police sergeant said. The aim of the defense attorney was to give the claim that Travis McMichael was justified in directing and ultimately firing his shotgun at Arbery credibility. This is despite the father and son duo instigating the conflict by chasing Arbery down, having armed themselves with the intent of detaining him.

On Friday, Glynn County police officer Robert Rash testified that he had planned to give Arbery a trespass warning for entering the under-construction home on more than one occasion. Rash had been communicating with the construction sites homeowner Larry English, who had sent him videos of Arbery on the property in the Satilla Shores neighborhood on four separate occasions. Once we make contact with the person on the property, we explain to them the homeowner does not want them there, they have no legal reason to be there, Rash testified in the Glynn County courtroom.

Rash admitted on the stand that he had not yet known Arberys identity and that there was no evidence that the victim had ever taken anything from the home. Rashs testimony confirms the explanation given by English at the time of the initial investigation following the murder. Lawyers for Englishs family released a statement reading, Ahmaud did not take anything from the construction site nor did he cause any damage to the property. He remained for a brief period of time and was not instructed by anyone to leave but rather left on his own accord to continue his jog. Ahmauds actions at this empty home under construction were in no way a felony under Georgia law.

Both the elder and younger McMichael were apparently shown surveillance video of Arbery walking around the half-built house by Rash himself, according to testimony from the local police officer. Nobody seems to know who this kid is or where hes coming from, Rash told the two men at the time.

Significantly, the remarks made by the attorneys for English in May 2020 can be interpreted as a condemnation of the McMichaels for slaying Arbery. One of Englishs attorneys, Elizabeth Graddy, said in an official statement that the waterfront home would forever be associated with this tragedy. Graddy said her client wanted to correct the mistaken impression that English had shared surveillance videos or other information about what had occurred at the property with the McMichaels before the shooting. The statement said further, If the McMichaels are going to justify what they did, they are going to have to look elsewhere for help.

A public outcry erupted Wednesday after defense attorney Kevin Gough told Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley that he objected to any more Black pastors entering into the courtroom after spotting Democratic Party activist Reverend Al Sharpton sitting with the slain victims family. Goughs supposed concern was that the case would serve as a precedent  where were going to bring high-profile members of the African American community into the courtroom to sit with the family during the trial in the presence of the jury.

Gough called the appearance of figures like Sharpton intimidating and an attempt to pressure the predominantly white jury. Explaining his reasoning further on Thursday, Gough said, we dont want any more Black pastors coming in here  sitting with the victims family, trying to influence the jurors in this case.

In the face of massive backlash against the racist comments, Gough was forced to walk back on his remarks and issue an apology. I will let the court know that if my statements yesterday were overly broad, I will follow up with a more specific motion on Monday putting those concerns in the proper context, Gough said. And my apologies to anyone who might have inadvertently been offended.

Sharpton released a statement rebuking the defense attorney, calling Goughs remarks a display of arrogant insensitivity and that the request to bar him or any minister of the familys choice underscores the disregard for the value of the human life lost and the grieving of a family in need of spiritual and community support.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford (Photo credit: Ontario government)

The hard-right governments of Canadas two most populous provinces, Ontario and Quebec, announced last week that they were abandoning any plans to implement a vaccine mandate for health care workers.

The refusal of Ontarios Doug Ford-led Progressive Conservative (PC) government and Francois Legaults Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ) government to adopt this elementary public health measure is politically criminal. It is a consequence and a continuation of the ruling elites homicidal prioritizing of profits over lives during the greatest global health emergency in a century. This policy has claimed the lives of more than 29,000 Canadians.

The repudiation of vaccine mandates for those on the frontlines of the fight against COVID-19 is also a political gift to the far right. In the US and Europe, it is far-right and outright fascist forces, like the would-be-dictator Donald Trump and his followers and the AfD (Alternative for Germany), that have spearheaded the push to end all public health measures to fight the virus, including vaccine mandates. The same is true in Canada, where the Peoples Party of Canada (PPC), the fascist groups in its orbit, and the most right-wing sections of the federal Conservatives, Albertas United Conservative Party and the Ontario PCs have fomented opposition to vaccine mandates and support for the anti-vaxx movement with bogus claims of defending individual liberty.

PPC leader Maxime Bernier responded to Fords and Legaults repudiation of vaccine mandates for health care workers by tweeting jubilantly: The idiots in the Quebec and Ontario governments have finally come to their senses (just a little bit) and announced today that they wont force all health care workers to be vaccinated.

The Ford government had never committed to implementing a vaccine mandate. It merely said that it was considering one. Quebecs CAQ government, by contrast, had announced in August that all health care workers had until October 15 to get fully vaccinated; then, after repeatedly insisting the vaccine mandate would proceed as planned, the CAQ government announced less than 48 hours before it was to go into effect that the deadline was being extended to November 15.

In announcing that Ontario would not impose a vaccine mandate for health care workers, Ford declared it a complex issue and claimed its imposition could potentially trigger the departure of tens of thousands of health care workers from the public health care system. Health Minister Christine Elliott warned that thousands of surgeries would be at risk of cancellation.

For its part, the CAQ government declared a vaccine mandate would have had a devastating impact on the health care system.

Such professions of concern for patient care and protecting the health care system, coming from those chiefly responsible for the current crisis, are deeply cynical. By permitting unvaccinated staff members to continue working in hospitals and other frontline health care facilities, where many patients are immunocompromised or otherwise highly vulnerable to the deadly virus, both governments are creating the conditions for disastrous outbreaks to occur. These outbreaks will force hospitals to restrict services and cancel thousands of surgeries as they have had to do during the successive waves of the pandemic, threatening a sharp increase in preventable deaths.

Even the Ontario governments own pandemic Science Advisory Table warned COVID-19 outbreaks caused by unvaccinated staff are likely to more severely disrupt hospital care than any staff reductions due to a vaccine mandateonly to have Ford ignore their expert advice, just as he has on many other issues throughout the pandemic.

Hospitals in Ontario that have chosen to enforce their own vaccine mandates report that a mere 1-3 percent of workers have been impacted. The Ford government has refused to release figures on the overall vaccination rate among the provinces health care employees, but those who are refusing to get inoculated are a tiny minority.

It should be added that as a condition of their employment, health care workers in Ontario must already prove they are vaccinated against some 17 diseases, including measles, tuberculosis and rubella.

As for Quebec, the CAQ government has acknowledged that at least 97 percent of all health care workers are vaccinated.

If the threatened loss of such a small percentage of workers would have produced the catastrophic disruptions to health care that the two governments claim, this only attests to the shambolic state of the public health system and their ruinous mishandling of the pandemic.

As a result of the austerity policies pursued by the entire political establishment for decades, even before the pandemic, emergency rooms at hospitals across the country were overcrowded and major hospitals were working at close to or over capacity. Due to chronic staff shortages, nurses and other workers faced punishing workloads that pushed many to the breaking point.

All of this has dramatically worsened during the pandemic. Due to stress and fatigue, some 4,000 nurses just in Quebec have quit the profession during the pandemic, while across the country mental health problems have skyrocketed among health care workers.

Demonstration of health care workers protesting inhumane working conditions, including lack of PPE and endless hours of forced overtime, during the pandemics first wave in spring 2020. (Source: FIQ)

No one should accept the claims of Ford and Legault to be anguished over the disruptions to the health care system a vaccine-mandate might have caused. They expressed no similar concerns about the fragility of the health care system when, in conjunction with the federal Trudeau government, their governments instituted the reckless back-to-work/back-to-school policies that have led the virus to repeatedly surge across the country causing mass infection and death. Those decisions, including the full reopening of schools in the fall of 2020 and again in February 2021, produced Canadas devastating second and third pandemic waves, which claimed tens of thousands of livesas a study of excess deaths by the Royal Society of Canada has shownand overwhelmed hospitals across the country.

If Canadas political establishment continues to be able to cover up its criminal culpability, it is largely thanks to the corporatist trade unions. They have enforced the back-to-work/back-to-school policy, just as they have suppressed working class opposition to capitalist austerity for decades.

In the debate over vaccine mandates for health care workers, the unions have played a foul role, with many of them adapting to or openly aligning themselves with the far-right anti-vaxx campaign. The Ontario Nurses Association lobbied Ford not to adopt a vaccine mandate. Many of Quebecs major health care unions, including the FSQCSQ, CUPE, APTS and FIQ held a joint press conference with the Quebec chauvinist, pro-austerity Parti Quebecois to press the CAQ government not to procced with the vaccine mandate on October 15. Whilst these unions suddenly found the courage to speak out against what they termed the imminent threat of service ruptures, they have otherwise been pliant instruments of the Legault governments pandemic policy. They have not lifted a finger to oppose the governments anti-worker health care decrees and have just imposed sellout contracts that retain the punishing forced overtime regime for nurses.

Media coverage of the vaccine mandate issue portrays it as a debate over the balance between individual rights and collective protection. This is itself a concession to Bernier and the far right, which feels ever more emboldened. The day after Ontario and Quebec declared that they were not adopting vaccine mandates for health care workers, Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu announced that she was the spokesperson for a far-right group of 15-30 Conservative MPs and senators who were forming a civil liberties caucus focussed on opposing vaccine mandates and defending medical privacy and the unvaccinated. Conservative leader Erin OToole has consistently pandered to anti-vaccine sentiment, including by remaining the only major party leader to refuse to disclose the vaccine status of his partys MPs.

As the World Socialist Web Site has previously explained, there is no legitimate reason for workers who have ready access to COVID-19 vaccines to reject them. No individual has the right or freedom to go around infecting others with a debilitating and potentially deadly disease. As we noted in a July 29, 2021 statement, the reactionary anarchist and libertarian political forces who oppose vaccine mandates appeal to ignorance, fear and anti-scientific prejudice. The statement rejected efforts by the corporate elite to demonize individual unvaccinated workers, stressing that the vast majority could be convinced of the overwhelming benefits of vaccination through a systematic worker-led campaign of public education. (See: Oppose the right-wing campaign against vaccination! )

The ability of anti-vaxxers and far-right political forces to win a hearing among a small minority of workers is due above to all the political establishments systematic opposition to basing pandemic policy on science. Determined to protect the right of the super-rich and major corporations to continue extracting profits from working people regardless of the consequences for public health, all governments, from Trudeaus Liberals on down, flouted science-based recommendations in order to keep the economy open and profits booming. Supported by a pliant corporate media, the political elite has fed workers one anti-scientific lie after another, including the long-disproved claim that schools can remain open because children are less susceptible to catch and transmit COVID-19. The New Democratic Party provincial government in British Columbia continues to downplay or even outright deny that COVID-19 is an airborne disease, even though scientific studies have demonstrated that aerosols are its primary mode of transmission.

Then there is the fact that the political establishment in Canada and almost every other country has deliberately sown confusion and misinformation about what vaccines can accomplish. They are invariably presented as a silver bullet that removes the need for the retention of any substantial public health measures, such as mask wearing, social distancing, lockdowns and contact tracing. The Public Health Agency of Canada, which is overseen by the Trudeau government, asserted for months that a vaccination rate of 70 percent among the adult population was adequate to scrap most public health restrictions. This advice neatly dovetailed with a growing chorus of voices from the corporate and financial elites demanding a return to normalcy and ordering everyone to learn to live with the virus.

But the truth is that whilst vaccines provide an extremely high degree of protection against serious illness as a result of a COVID-19 infection, their ability to guard against someone catching and transmitting the virus is lower. This problem has been exacerbated by the Delta variant, against which fully vaccinated individuals have significantly waning immunity some five or six months after they receive their second dose.

For these reasons, serious scientists have insisted that while mass vaccination is a critical tool in the fight against the pandemic, it needs to be combined with broader public health measures to suppress and bring community transmission down to zero. These measures include a lockdown of schools and nonessential production with full compensation for workers, isolation of all infected people, contact tracing and mask mandates. Such a strategy, according to Alberta-based developmental biologist Dr. Malgorzata Gasperowicz, could eliminate COVID-19 from the community in a matter of a few months.

The fight for a program to eliminate COVID-19 requires the mobilization of a mass movement of working people, including health care workers, educators and workers in the public and private sectors. A critical part of this movement must be a sustained campaign of public education, led by medical experts and health care workers, to refute the pseudo-scientific nonsense propagated by far-right opponents of COVID-19 vaccines and by the ruling elites anti-scientific live with the virus propaganda that facilitates it.
On Friday, a Washington D.C. federal grand jury indicted fascist Steve Bannon, 67, a senior adviser to former President Donald Trump and host of the War Room podcast, for refusing to comply with a congressional subpoena issued by the House Select Committee charged with investigating Trumps January 6 coup attempt.

Steve Bannon at the Take Back Virginia rally in Richmond, Virginia, October 13, 2021 [Credit: AP Photo/Steve Helber]

A statement released Friday by the Department of Justice (DoJ) announced that Bannon was charged with two counts of contempt, one for refusing to testify, the other for refusing to provide documentation to the committee by the required dates. The grand jurys indictment came three weeks after the House, in a near party line vote, recommended holding Bannon in contempt for refusing to provide documentation and testify before the Select Committee.

Bannon has not just refused to testify after receiving the subpoena issued by the committee September 24, he ceased all communication with the committee. After failing to provide documentation by October 7, Bannon, through his lawyer, Robert Costello, sent a statement to the committee seven hours later stating that he would not comply with the committees request because Trump had invoked executive privilege on any and all communications sought by the committee.

Besides the fact that Bannon stopped working in an official capacity for the White House in 2017, well before concrete plans for the January 6 coup were conceived, his ludicrous claim of executive privilege encompasses documents and communications which did not take place between Bannon and Trump. This includes the former Breitbart editors interactions with the pro-Trump Women for America First political group, which organized the rally outside the White House on January 6, as well as his discussions with Trumps coup lawyers, Republican operatives, lawmakers and fascist militia members at Trumps command center at the Willard Intercontinental Hotel.

This past Tuesday, Washington D.C. Federal District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan rejected a lawsuit from Trump which claimed executive privilege to protect documents sought by the committee. In her ruling Chutkan drew attention to the fact that President Joe Biden has not asserted privilege over the documents, currently possessed by the National Archives, and that the Supreme Court has already made clear that in such circumstances, the incumbents view is accorded greater weight.

However, a federal appeals court on Thursday issued a short-term injunction blocking the Archives from turning over the documents to the committee. Lawyers for Trump and Biden will submit briefs over the next two weeks after which arguments will be held on November 30. The records sought included meetings held by Trump as well as where he was located during the January 6 attack on Congress.

The DoJ statement announcing the indictment against Bannon indicated that each count of contempt carries a minimum sentence of 30 days in jail up to a maximum of one year as well as a fine between $100 and $1,000. In other words, Bannon could spend up to two years in jail and be fined up to $2,000. NBC News and the New York Times have both reported that Bannon plans to turn himself in to authorities on Monday and appear in court later that afternoon.

The same DoJ statement quoted Attorney General Merrick Garland, who ludicrously declared, Since my first day in office, I have promised Justice Department employees that together we would show the American people by word and deed that the department adheres to the rule of law, follows the facts and the law and pursues equal justice under the law.

Similarly, in a joint statement following the DoJ announcement, Chairman of the January 6 committee Bennie Thompson (Democrat-Mississippi) and Vice Chair Liz Cheney (Republican-Wyoming) wrote: Steve Bannons indictment should send a clear message to anyone who thinks they can ignore the Select Committee or try to stonewall our investigation: no one is above the law. We will not hesitate to use the tools at our disposal to get the information we need.

In reality, Trump, Bannon and his co-conspirators, like the demented fascist Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar and Oath Keeper leader Stewart Rhodes, have brazenly flouted the law, walking free and inciting fascistic terrorism against the immediate targets of the coup, the Democratic Party, over 10 months later. Far from pursing equal justice the Democrats and the Biden administration have bent over backwards to placate their fascist colleagues, covering up Trumps central role in organizing the coup and the vast support it received within the Republican Party, the financial oligarchy, and the organs of the capitalist state, such as the police, military and intelligence agencies.

And while the other Republican on the January 6 committee, Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, told CNNs Jake Tapper on Friday that the federal grand jurys indictment of Bannon sent a chilling message to anybody else that was going to follow through like this, former Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, who has also been subpoenaed by the committee, defiantly refused to appear before the committee for deposition on Friday.

Meadows attorney, George Terwilliger, released a statement claiming it would be irresponsible for Mr. Meadows to testify before the courts resolved legal disputes concerning privileged communications.

In response Thompson and Cheney released a statement Friday afternoon: Mr. Meadows actions todaychoosing to defy the lawwill force the select committee to consider pursuing contempt or other proceeding to enforce the subpoena.

Its unfortunate that Mr. Meadows has chosen to join a very small group of witnesses who believe they are above the law and are defying a select committee subpoena outright.

As Trumps co-conspirators run out the clock on the select committee in anticipation of a Republican take-over of the House in 2022, and with it the shuttering of the committees investigation, new revelations of Trumps state of mind during and after the coup underscore the extreme danger facing the working class and the advanced decay of bourgeois democracy in the United States.

In anticipation of the release of a new book by ABC Newss Jonathan Karl, Axios published an audio recording Friday of Trump stating it was common sense for his supporters to demand to Hang Mike Pence! during the attack on the Capitol.

Questioned by Karl if Trump was at all concerned for Pences safety, Trump replied: No, I thought he was well-protected. I had heard that he was in good shape. After Karl reminded Trump that his fascist mob were calling to Hang Mike Pence, Trump defended his foot soldiers and their blood lust.

Because its common sense, Jon, Trump snapped before regurgitating his fascist election lies. Its common sense that youre supposed to protect. How can youif you know a vote is fraudulent, right?how can you pass on a fraudulent vote to Congress? How can you do that?
The WSWS urges Deere workers to get involved with the John Deere Workers Rank-and-File Committee to fight back against the latest sellout deal. Find out more by emailing deerewrfc@gmail.com or texting (484) 514-9797.

The United Auto Workers announced Friday night that it is scheduling a re-vote on the last, best and final offer from Deere and Company, which 10,000 striking workers had already voted to reject.

UAW press release announcing the contract vote

John Deere and Company has made a last, best and final offer to the UAW negotiating team that includes modest modifications to the last tentative agreement presented for ratification on November 2nd, the UAW wrote in its statement.

It continued, As a result, the UAW will present the Companys offer for ratification and, as has been the case throughout the bargaining process, will support the outcome as determined by our members. This is an absurd lie. If it were true that the UAW respected the outcome as determined by our members, it would not be forcing them to vote on essentially the same deal which they voted to reject by 55 to 45 percent.

The announcement of the contract offer and the vote next week is the first statement by the UAW since workers rejected its second deal with the company a week and a half ago. The union has maintained a total information blackout on its talks with the company since then.

The statement gave no indication of when workers would be informed of what the supposedly modest modifications have been made to the contract. Indeed, workers have still not seen the full contract which they rejected on on November 2, having only been given five pages of highlights by the union two days beforehand. It concluded, The strike continues and voting information will be provided by the Local Union.

Deere, meanwhile, responded to the rejection by going on a media offensive, claiming there was no more money available. The company has sought to intimidate and divide workers with threats of hiring permanent replacements, on the one hand, and propaganda explaining the value of the defeated contract, on the other.

Deere workers Friday night voiced their indignation at the announcement. A lot of people are saying its not any better, a worker at the parts distribution center in Milan, Illinois, said. I knew it was coming, said a worker at Harvester Works in East Moline.

One worker in Des Moines, Iowa, said, It was to be expected. The UAW didnt issue any statement after the second tentative agreement and let the company do the dirty work by lying to the media and threatening workers.

If a $1 raise was a significant economic gain, I am afraid to think what is a modest modification. Theyve changed something just so it is not the same TA, hoping that their scare tactics will coerce people into voting yes.

The shabby maneuver by the UAW, which is attempting to not only ram through a sellout but shift responsibility from themselves onto workers through a sham democratic process, confirms the warnings made by the World Socialist Web Site that the UAW would respond to a rejection by redoubling their efforts to betray the strike.

In particular, the WSWS warned that UAW and Deere are following the playbook used to shut down and betray the strike by nearly 3,000 Volvo Trucks workers in Virginia earlier this summer.

After workers had voted down three UAW-backed concessions contracts, twice by 90 percent or more, Volvo announced that it had presented its last, best and final offer and would unilaterally impose it. The UAW went along with this naked strikebreaking, forcing workers to re-vote on the third contract they had just rejected, telling them it would go into effect regardless of how they voted.

Despite all the threats by Volvo and the union, there remained widespread opposition to the contract. The UAW claimed ratification by a margin of just 17 votes and ignored all demands for a recount.

Workers must mobilize for the broadest possible rejection of the contract. They must also be on guard against any attempts at vote rigging or other irregularities by the union officials, who have already made clear they want what Deere wants. Workers should organize rank-and-file delegations to observe the ballot counting and ensure the integrity of the vote.

It is no accident that Deere and the UAW are again attempting to force through a deal just at the point when the strike is winning growing support among autoworkers in the US and Deere workers internationally. Moreover, they are attempting to shut down the strike the same week that nearly 100,000 health care workers on the west coast are poised to take strike action. The announcement came as 60,000 film production workers are voting on a similar sellout this weekend, which may well be defeated.

The UAW is not only acting on behalf of the company, but the entire capitalist ruling class. They are terrified that if the strike continues much longer, it could coalesce into a far broader social movement by the working class against decades of wage stagnation.

The UAW announcement is a backhanded acknowledgment that the position of the Deere strike has never been stronger. Workers can fight and win a victory which meets the needs of all of the Deere workforce and sets a precedent for workers to follow everywhere.

The activity of the Deere Workers Rank-and-File Committee, the organizing center of opposition to the UAWs betrayals, must now be greatly expanded. Local rank-and-file strike committees must be set up at every plant and warehouse, so that workers can take control out of the hands of the corrupt gangsters at Solidarity House and appeal for support from workers across the world. The working class must likewise come to the defense of the Deere strike by joining the Deere Strike Solidarity Rank-and-File Committee to organize support, up to and including job actions.

Support for striking John Deere workers in the USA that came from John Deere workers in France is significant for all John Deere workers worldwide, the worker in Des Moines said. For those here who are currently holding the line, this support gives us the strength to persevere and accomplish our goals. In addition, it provides us morale to fight the uphill battle we face against the company and corrupt UAW officials.

This support gives us a feeling of not being alone in this struggle that is not just ours. Working men and women worldwide are going through the same struggles, and the only way to win is to stand together strong and united by sharing relevant information and experiences. We are all in this together.
The new film by director Dominik Graf, Fabian: Going to the Dogs, had a successful run at this years Berlin International Film Festival and in German cinemas. Grafs work recently received the Film Award in Silver at the German Film Awards in the feature category, along with two other awards. Maria Schraders Im Your Man and Johannes Nabers Curveball also received prizes.

Director Dominik Graf (Photo creditMichael Lucan _ CC BY-SA 3.0)

Like Grafs earlier film Beloved Sisters (2014), Fabian: Going to the Dogs takes place during a period of social upheaval. The former movie took place in the 18th century, when the initial enthusiasm for the French Revolution and hopes for a better society based on reason held by German artists such as Friedrich Schiller turned into disillusionment and scepticism, following the radicalisation of the revolution and the execution of the Louis XVI in 1793.

The new film is a free adaptation of Erich Kastners novel, Going to the Dogs (1931). It is set in the year of the books publication, two years before Hitler came to power, a period in which the revolutionary upswing in Germany following the Russian Revolution in October 1917 ended in a series of defeats for the labour movement, thanks to the betrayals of Social Democracy and Stalinism, and in economic devastation. Moods of pessimism became widespread.

Kastner (18991974) is known to the German public through his childrens books such as Emil and the Detectives (1929), The Flying Classroom (1933), The Animal Conference (1949) and his bitingly humorous poems. His novel Der Gang vor die Hunde (Going to the Dogs) shows him to be a critical chronicler of the late Weimar Republic. Only in 2013 did the novel appear in a form corresponding to Kastners wishes. The first edition was subject to editorial changes (including the title, to simply Fabian) and the deletion of certain socially critical and erotic passages and was eventually published as Fabian. Die Geschichte eines Moralisten (Fabian: The Story of a Moralistrepublished as Going to the Dogs: The Story of a Moralist by New York Review Books Classics, 2012).

Fabian (Tom Schilling), aka Dr. Jakob Fabian, is a 32-year-old student of German language who listlessly ekes out a living as an advertising copywriter in Berlin. At night, he wanders through pubs and cabarets observing the nocturnal manifestations of moral decay with a mixture of amusement and disgust. He takes notes (maybe it will be a book?) and arrives late for work the next morning. He has no plans for his future.

He meets Cornelia (Saskia Rosendahl), a graduate in international film law. She, too, somehow manages to get by. Their romance ends when he loses his job and cannot find a new one. He encourages Cornelia to try her hand at acting. Without talking much about it, they both know that success does not depend solely on talent. When she then succeeds in getting a role, he takes it badly. They break up.

Fabian is also hit hard by the suicide of his friend Labude (Albrecht Schuch). Along with their love of literature, the two were united by the cruel experience of World War I. The sensitive son of a wealthy judicial councillor was Fabians conscience, constantly urging him (in vain) to become socially involved. The apparent rejection of his habilitation thesis on Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, the great critic, philosopher and playwright of the Enlightenment whom he admired, drives Labude to commit suicide. The penniless Fabian then returns to live with his parents in Dresden. Just as contact with Cornelia is re-established, he drowns while trying to retrieve a small boy from a river.

From the outset, the film establishes a relationship to contemporary society. The camera sweeps through a modern underground tunnel, follows the escalator upwardand lands in 1931 Berlin. The clubs Fabian visits at night are cheaply improvised hangouts. In the Cabaret of the Anonymous, unemployed amateur artists allow themselves to be ridiculed by the wealthy public out of necessity, in exchange for a few pennies and drinks. Prostitution is omnipresent, as in the studio of the perpetually drunken artist and dissolute baroness Ruth Reiter (Anne Bennent), whose studio masquerades as an institute for social relations.

The type embodied by the unstable Professor Unrat in Heinrich Manns famous 1905 novel (the basis for Josef von Sternbergs The Blue Angel, 1932) is widespread among the affluent professionals, who are quite prepared to trade their humanistic education for the gutter without any fuss, while adopting the ridiculous pose of non-conformity. The rich lawyers wife Irene Moll (Meret Becker) prostitutes herself in cheap dives with her husbands approval. The two have drawn up a special contract to this end. Their enlightened posturing about equality, however, has nothing to do with the existential problems of the poor women in the film.

The strongest scene in Grafs adaptation takes place at Berlin University. Fabian confronts the person supposedly responsible for Labudes suicide. The elderly literature professor (Michael Hanemann) is surprised because he admires Labudes work. The letter rejecting the thesis on Lessing turns out to have been a joke by a far-right student, but the professor refuses to hold him to account. He accuses Labude of being a political troublemaker who provoked the right-wingers. The post-war chaos must finally end, order must be restored. He cynically describes Labudes suicide as a necessary sacrifice. Things have to change for the better. Right-wing students in the stairwell applaud.

The scene, depicted in Fabian more pointedly than in the novel, speaks to omnipresent phenomena today. As then, it is the opportunism on the part of layers of the academic, educated bourgeoisie that today encourages the far right at universities, exemplified in the case of the extreme right-wing professor Jorg Baberowski, whom the Humboldt University administration (formerly the Berlin University) defends against his critical students.

Tom Schilling in FabianGoing to the Dogs (2021)

Fabian, convincingly played by Schilling, also seems contemporary. His coolness and disillusionment, his cynical distance from society, bring to mind someone who no longer trusts anyone after bitter political experiences. At the same time, there is a longing on his part to become involved and a pronounced sense of social justice. He generously entertains a beggar, a homeless former employee, in a restaurant. Cornelia explains to Fabian that she does not think much of his footloose existence, she anticipates that he has always waited for an opportunity to be true to himself. Socially speaking, one could say he is waiting for a strong positive headwind. But nothing comes.

Neither Labudes idealistic moralising nor the newspaper report that thousands of metalworkers are about to go on strike triggers anything in Fabian. He comments sarcastically on the daily violent clashes between Nazis and Communists. They frighten him and evoke memories of the world war. Basically sharing the pessimism of Labude, he suspects that the seemingly aimless, social train journey will end with the victory of stupidity.

This says something about Kastner, whose Fabian has certain autobiographical traits and who more than once in his literary work blames stupidity for social ills, referring to dumb Nazis, stupid Germans, and so on. The voiceover that features from time to time in the film quotes a passage from the novel where the fights between Nazis and Communists are compared to dancehall brawls. Like many other intellectuals, Kastner underestimated the danger of the Nazi movement. After the war, he admitted that they should have been fought earlier, because threatening dictatorships can only be fought before they have taken power.

The novel provides a vivid impression of the feverish and threatening atmosphere of the early 1930s. Today especially, Graf told the film magazine Filmdienst, the world is spinning explicitly politically in the same coordinates, longitudes and latitudes of mentalities as in the twenties: totalitarian leaders everywhere, stupid politicians everywhere, and warboth mental and real war: The world is out of joint. There are so many quotes from Fabian that refer to things that can all be transferred exactly to the present time. At one point during filming, he said, far-right youths were shouting in the street as if we had called them in as extras.

Its pressing topicality was one reason why Graf decided to film Kastners novel even though there was a 1980 adaptation directed by Wolf Gremm (Kamikaze 1989, 1982). The images reveal an untenable, unstable, sometimes nightmarishly, warped society. Alongside workers, layers of what used to be called the better society are plunged into social and moral misery. Fabian conveys the overarching expectation of the period that only violent upheaval would change things. In the end, Labude, Fabian and also Cornelia go to the dogs from lack of perspective. They do not want to live selfishly and asocially, as the daily struggle for existence demands. They also reject hedonistic partying (dancing on the volcano) and see through the hollowness of moral appeals.

Fabian and Cornelia both come from humble backgrounds. She grew up in Wedding, an old Berlin working class district. Fabians parents are small shopkeepers. In the novel, Fabian explains to a young Communist lying wounded on the ground after being shot by a Nazi that he is on the side of the workers, because we have the same enemy, because I love justice. I am your friend even though you dont give a damn about it. (The Communist had called Fabian a bourgeois.) Fabian adds pointedly, One is not yet good and wise merely because one is poor.

Saskia Rosendahl as Cornelia

Evidently, despite Kastners sympathy for the biggest interest grouping, he distrusted the present desolate state of the workers movement. And there are also disoriented workers who support the Nazis. They bring me two politicians says the doctor ironically to Fabian, looking at the two wounded men. Tonight a total of nine people have been brought in, one with a serious bullet-wound in the stomach. All are workers and clerks. Many like Fabian and the doctor react by telling themselves the little people are fighting while the bigwigs laugh all the way to the bank. It is significant that the workers movement plays no significant role in Kastners novel.

Fabian, despite his sober and critical qualities, ultimately remains an idealistic-romantic individualist, jumping into the water without hesitation to save a boy, even though he himself cannot swim. Cornelias sense of everyday reality saves her from impending social misery, but she is unhappy about the price to be paid for her ascent.

The new Fabian has a special, added feature: unlike the novel published in 1931, it includes the Reichstag elections of 1932. Anyone who watches the apocalyptic sea of flames at the end of the film, both a symbol for the book burning of 1933 and the mass murder of Jews, will be surprised by the fact that in November 1932 the two biggest workers parties, the Communist KPD and the Social Democratic SPD, together received more votes than the Nazis. They may ask themselves: How is this possible?

Contradicting the persistent claims after the end of World War II that the German people were simply blinded by Hitler, the 1932 election result testified to the broad anti-Nazi sentiment among workers and the unemployed. Their united struggle could have stopped the Nazis, but this was prevented both by the leadership of the SPD, which preferred to trust Reich President Paul von Hindenburg rather than join forces with the Communists, and by the leadership of the latter, who denounced the Social Democrats as social fascists and strictly rejected a united front.

The same year Kastners novel appeared, many of Leon Trotskys invaluable writings on National Socialism were published, in which he analysed in detail the issues facing millions at the time and propagated the necessity of the united front.

Erich Kastner in 1930

Kastner, much more aware of the dangers than his literary creation, signed at that time the Urgent Appeal of the International Socialist Fighting League (ISK), a split from the SPD, which called for the building of a united workers front and for an electoral alliance between the SPD and the KPD. The physicist Albert Einstein and artists such as Heinrich Mann, Kathe Kollwitz, Ernst Toller and Arnold Zweig all supported the appeal.

In the figure of Fabian, Grafs film presents a highly topical figure who, against his will, is set in motion by the conditions of social decay. These increasingly collide with Fabians own humane demands on life. Secretly, he admires Labudes sense of social responsibility and is distraught at his suicide. When this sensitive person, of all people, is driven to his death, something must be fundamentally wrong. Fabian erupts with pent-up rage that can find no outlet in a progressive social movement.

But his rage is not aimless. In the novel, it ends up being directed against the state-paid warmongers who sent Fabians generation to their deaths. Back in Dresden, there are his old teachers and former instructor (now a civil servant), whom Fabian painfully kicks on his corns in a tram. Kastner also bitingly criticises the Church, which justified the carnage of war with divine providence.

Fabians rage in the novel corresponds much more to todays opposition to militarism and warmongeringmost recently directed against the deplorable torchlight procession held in Berlin for German soldiers who died in Afghanistan, which recalled similar processions held by the Nazis. In the film Fabian, a traumatised victim of war, trembles in panic when he hears a gunshot.

Another of the films weak points is its concentration on Fabian and Cornelias love story for much of the three hours. While the film, for what feels like an eternity, dives into the nether world of underdogs, Kastners novel delves much more deeply into society and its conflicts. Thus, the author describes with biting humour how the so-called white-collar proletariat, even when unemployed, is embarrassingly keen to distinguish itself from the ordinary unemployed. When Kastner lists the everyday harassment by the government labour office in his novel, every social welfare recipient in Germany today will feel he or she is being addressed.

In 1933, Erich Kastners books were also among those burned, in the Nazi-organised atrocity, in Berlin by university students. Kastner remained in Germany and continued to write under a pseudonym. In the early 1940s, he wrote the screenplay with Hans Albers for the film The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1943). (Hitler is said to have had a fit of rage when he learned who was hiding behind the pseudonym Berthold Burger).

From 1941 onwards, Kastner began to keep a diary. After the war, he placed his hopes in the new federal republic, West Germany. His childrens book The Animal Conference shows that his hopes were not merely naive. In the book, animals take responsibility for society because humans seemed incapable of doing so. In the 1950s, Kastner publicly spoke out against rearmament. Former right-wing forces had regained the upper hand. Once again it was said: Things have to change for the better.

Hardly any of the Nazi murderers were punished. Had stupidity won out again? Apart from personal issues, his disappointment with post-war social developments probably contributed to the drying up of Kastners productivity. His intended great novel about the Nazi era did not materialise. Kastner stated tersely: The Thousand Year Reich does not have what it takes to be a great novel. His war diary was published in excerpts. It was not until 2018 that a complete edition, The Blue BookSecret War Diaries 19411945, was published. (Included are notes on his planned novel).

Grafs film with its outstanding actors should inspire readers to rediscover the full extent of Kastners work, including Fabian: Going to the Dogs, his poems and his war diary. In light of the renewed danger from the extreme right, Trotskys writings from the Weimar period are particularly recommended. Running through them like a common thread is the struggle for a workers united front and the resolution of the crisis of working class leadership. They powerfully refute claims that irrationality, human error, stupidity or a special tendency towards dictatorship in the psychology of the masses were responsible for the rise of Hitler and the Second World War.
At least 41 people have been killed by floods caused by heavy rains in South India and Sri Lanka over the past week. The severe weather, which initially began in late October and worsened on November 7, was due to a low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal.

Working people and the poor in urban and rural areas alike, who have already been hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and escalating price rises in food and other essentials, are the worst affected.

In Sri Lanka, 25 people have been killed and thousands more displaced by floods and landslides. The current disaster followed devastating floods in June, which led to 17 deaths.

Men wade though floods in Puttalam Nagavillu [Source: Facebook]

According to the latest reports from the Disaster Management Center (DMC), residents of 145 Divisional Secretariats in 17 districts, with over 212,000 people from more than 60,200 families, have been impacted. About 23 homes have been destroyed and 1,229 houses partially damaged, with the displaced sent to 76 safe locations managed by DMC provincial offices.

In South India, 16 people were killed in Tamil Nadu, according to state disaster management. Many parts of Chennai, the state capital, are flooded, with roads under water and thousands of residents in low-lying areas displaced. The rains in the past week are among the heaviest recorded in Chennai since 2015.

Several Chennai hospitals, including the ESI hospital, ESI medical college hospital, Anna Nagar hospital and Chaithapettai hospital, were badly affected and saw the transfer of patients to other facilities. Many schools and university colleges in the state were closed and some train services suspended.

The largest downpour in Sri Lanka occurred at Point Pedro, Jaffna in the Northern Province on Wednesday, which recorded 204 millimetres. In Mannar district, in the same province, floods destroyed 13 houses and partially damaged 802 homes, impacting 3,500 families. Over 100 homes were badly damaged in the Mirigama area in the Western Province.

Flooded street in Jaffna [Source: Facebook]

Transport and the supply of essential services have been severely restricted by flooded highways and railways as well as landslides and falling trees. Working class families and the poor, struggling with the escalating cost of essentials, such as gas, fuel, sugar and rice, now confront food shortages because farmland and grocery shops are under water and fishermen throughout the country are unable to work. A lack of safe drinking water and other basic requirements heighten the danger of island-wide outbreaks of cholera, diarrhoea and dengue fever.

Half of the deaths in Sri Lanka have been caused by landslides. On Wednesday, a middle-aged woman and two girls, aged 8 and 13, were killed by a landslide at Rambukkana in Kegalle district. In Galigamuwa, in the same district, a woman was hospitalised with injuries caused by a landslide that day. Her husband and their 32-year-old son were killed in the incident. Their bodies were not found until the following afternoon.

Ramukana landslide where three people, including two children, died [Source: Facebook]

Others killed by landslides included a married couple in Rideegama Udawatte and a female health worker at Narammala in the Kurunegala district in Northwestern Province.

Sri Lankas National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) has issued landslide warnings for a number of divisional secretariat areas in 10 districts. Kandy, Kegalle and Kurunegala have been designated as the most dangerous areas.

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse voiced his sympathy in parliament for the flood victims on Thursday, but failed to provide any details about government support measures. He appealed to the opposition political parties to participate in unspecified relief programs in a clear attempt to contain popular anger over the governments failure to provide proper assistance.

On Thursday morning, DMC director general Sudantha Ranasinghe told a press conference that the situation had  developed gradually and that action had been taken to warn people in affected areas about the dangers. Attempting to blame the victims, Ranasinghe claimed that those who died did so because of their failure to vacate the dangerous areas and their careless behaviour.

Ranasinghe said that President Gotabhaya Rajapakse had directed him that anyone who failed to vacate from NBRO-categorised dangerous areas would be forcibly evacuated by the police and through court orders. He said nothing about whether the forceful evacuations were temporary or if evacuated people would be provided alternative houses.

Annual landslide deaths in Sri Lanka are increasing, because official warnings are limited to mere announcements and successive governments have failed to organise proper pre-disaster warnings and genuine evacuations, including the provision of alternative facilities for evacuated families.

The majority of those vulnerable to landslides are workers from the tea and rubber estates and poor peasants who cannot afford to buy land in safe areas or build strong houses.

Most plantation workers are still living in line rooms built during British colonial rule, many of them a century old and easily damaged by light winds and rain. In 2016, a landslide killed about 200 people from three villages at Samasara Kanda in Kegalle district.

Sri Lankan governments, moreover, have forcefully evacuated tens of thousands of poor people from small homes, including in Colombo and labelling their makeshift self-built dwellings as unauthorised buildings. The residents are also being blamed for causing floods in urban areas and are being forced out with the lands being handed over for big business investment projects.

Colombo governments have spent huge sums of money on infrastructure developments, such as expressways and new airports, to attract international capital, but have failed to initiate substantial programs for decent housing for workers and the poor, or adequate waterways, drainage and sanitary facilities. Contrary to government claims, a major factor in city flooding is improper urbanization, where profits take precedence over scientific planning according to human need.

While the rainfall is expected to decline over the next few days, the danger of flooding remains, with an increasing risk of landslides, because reservoirs and lakes in the central hill areas have overflowed into low-level areas. There is also the danger of a major dengue outbreak, with over 1,360 cases reported in the first 10 days of November, compared to only 770 cases for the whole of November last year.
Kelloggs management announced Thursday at midnight that the deadline for its second offer had expired and that it would no longer take part in negotiations with the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM), a move which portends a major escalation of the companys strikebreaking efforts. Kelloggs also filed a lawsuit against picketers in Omaha to prevent the disruption of buses carrying into the plant.

Kelloggs Headquarters, Battle Creek, Michigan [Credit: WSWS Media]

Roughly 1,400 workers in four states have been on strike for six weeks to reverse the concessions from the sellout contract in 2015 which created a two-tier wage system and compulsory overtime in addition to attacks on pay, pensions and health care.

Workers have reported that Kelloggs has been sending them letters in the mail, asking them to return to work wearing a scab uniform and to accept the second contract.

Although Kelloggs has said no more negotiations have been scheduled with the union, the BCTGM apparatus is working to push through a contract that is favorable for the company, rather than the workers on strike. Kelloggs workers are being starved on the picket line, only receiving $105 per week in strike pay which ends after 10 weeks and are being isolated from workers across the United States and and Kelloggs international workforce in 21 plants across the world. The BCTGM concluded sellout contracts at Nabisco and Frito-Lay before Kelloggs workers went out on strike in order to reduce the strength of the working class.

The BCTGM has done nothing to counter the scabbing operation. In fact, the Building and Construction Trades Council (BCTC) has ordered one hundred construction workers, electricians and ironworkers to cross picket lines in Omaha. The BCTGM has not publicized this information among its own members on its Facebook pages and website, but admitted this fact in the corporate press. The union has also promoted America First poison with its aggressive campaign against Kelloggs production in Mexico.

The Kelloggs strike is in danger. Workers can fight back, but first they need to break through the straitjacket of the BCTGM and build up an independent rank-and-file strike committee to expand their struggle and link up with workers across the country and the world. Such committees have played a powerful role in mobilizing opposition to sellout contracts in the auto industry at John Deere, Volvo Trucks and auto parts company Dana.

Kelloggs picketer in Lancaster, Pennsylvania [Credit: WSWS Media]

A WSWS reporting team spoke with workers at the Lancaster, Pennsylvania, plant.

A maintenance worker said, We are fighting the two-tier wage system that affects production workers. The contract was approved in 2015 and changes took effect after January in 2016. It also lowered pay and benefits. The company doesnt want to pay benefits. Here is the problem: they dont want to staff us properly across all four plants. With the tier system, they [Kelloggs] have a formula with Lancasters 360 employees to understaff us so they dont have to pay benefits. They put a cap on our pay. Typically, what happens is they roll COLA [cost of living adjustment] into the base rate but the fact of the cap is that we lose that. It is cost savings and it is not that they cant afford it. Kelloggs made over $500 million in just cereal sales and the CEOs pay is 20 percent higher than last year.

He added, A Kelloggs manager named Kris put out a video and made false statements. She said the average worker makes $120,000 a year in income. I did the math; this would average 56 hours a day and 365 days a week. There were so much negative comments on this video. The company is not going to win the public war. They cant control the narrative especially with social media.

Transitionals dont have pensions [and in the last contract] they put a cap on retiree workers for health care. When the contract was ratified in 2015, some workers were not eligible for full retiree health care. Now new hire maintenance staff dont have retiree health care, making another tier for the maintenance department. A lot of workers came from Hershey. It was there in 2010 when they cut jobs, and some took jobs here during the last contract. [Hershey Management] threatened us, showing us blueprints of where they were going to build new facilities.

When asked why the two-tier system was enacted: The union didnt stop it. Im not sure if I have faith in the International. They seem to be pretty soft in the previous leadership. The international doesnt give us the full info.

The pandemic has also taken a heavy toll on workers in the plant. People have been out because of COVID. We worked. It was like nothing was going on and we only got two $500 checks.

Kelloggs picketer in Lancaster, Pennsylvania [Credit: WSWS Media]

A legacy worker said, Kelloggs is trying to keep the tier system. We have a transitional program for advancement in the last five-year contact. Kelloggs was supposed to have a clear pathway for workers to become legacy workers. But they said No! And the company extended the contract for a year but the union said it was the legality of the contract and we could not do anything about it.

Some of us were upset that the union didnt bring us back the [second] contract to vote no on it. I have gone to some union meetings and the contract was worse. Kelloggs took away COLA, added more stipulations.

Another worker added, We did have the opportunity to vote in 2015 and the company used threats and offered a signing bonus and we had to take concessions. If the International blocked it in 2015 we wouldnt have the two-tier system.

A coworker interjected, Why arent they bringing it back to us? My biggest question is: how is the company CEO getting a 20 percent raise and they are saying that they are hurting financially. But then they are giving the company CEO a huge raise. They can make us work 16-hour days. The unions have been weakening, living standards have been going down. There is a lot of corruption.

Another worker said: In Battle Creek [Michigan, the headquarters], they are forcing eight hours over the regular shift, making it a 16-hour shift. Kelloggs locked out workers in Memphis in 2014 trying to put in the transitional program in the master contract, threatening to close two plants and move outside the country and we had to take concessions. WSWS reporters said that workers need to unite across class lines with workers in Mexico to fight Kelloggs. Workers agreed with this.

When asked about the poverty-level strike pay, she said: The union didnt want us to talk. They want us to go back to work. We only get 10 weeks of strike pay and we have been out on strike for six weeks. As long as we are out, we should be getting strike pay.
Asia

Korean government healthcare workers protest for improved conditions

Korean Healthcare Workers Union (KHWU) members demonstrated outside Cheong Wa Dae (the official residence of Koreas head of state) in Seoul at midday on Thursday to protest excessive workloads and the governments failure to prepare for a COVID-19 surge as the country begins returning to normal ahead of winter.

Officials from the 7,600-strong union called off a planned national strike that day at public healthcare centres and hospitals after claiming 40 percent of members at several major hospitals would not participate.

The union said that although the government predicted that COVID-19 patients would rise to around 5,000 a day it did not have a plan to ease the heavier workload on health workers.

Thousands of Indonesian workers demonstrate for higher minimum wage

The Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions (KSPI), one of the countrys peak union groups, held demonstrations in 24 provinces and over 100 regencies and cities on Wednesday to demand the government increase the regency and city minimum wage by 10 percent. Workers across the country are facing price rises of up to 10 percent on essential commodities and public transport due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The KSPI predicted up to 10,000 workers from 1,000 factories nationwide would attend protests outside the offices of governors, regents and mayors, including those of the governor of Jakarta. The KPSI has threatened national strike action if the government does not respond to the protests.

The union is also demanding the revocation of President Joko Widodos anti-worker Omnibus Law on Job Creation. The government claims the new law will attract foreign investment by relaxing Indonesias business, labour and environmental laws. The union has warned that the law will cut wages, remove sick leave provisions and other protections, and undermine job security.

Bangladeshi private sector transport workers strike

Bangladesh Road Transport Workers Federation members in the private sector have been on a nationwide strike since November 4 to demand a wage rise in response to increases in essentials, resulting from higher fuel prices. On average, a Bangladeshi transport worker earns just 500 taka ($US5.8) a day.

One worker told media, I cannot send any money to my family. All daily essential prices are rising and so our wages also need to rise. Private sector bus workers were not paid during coronavirus lockdowns. There are at least 5 million transport workers in Bangladesh, including 700,000 bus workers, according to the federation.

Three-wheeled taxi drivers in Bangalore protest

Three-wheel taxi drivers held a protest in Bangalore, Karnataka on Wednesday to demand that the fare per kilometre be increased from 15 to 16 rupees and that the minimum fare be raised from 25 to 30 rupees. The Auto Rickshaw drivers union, which is affiliated with the Centre for Indian Trade Unions, also demanded the expansion of their area of operation in the outskirts of the city.

Australia

South Australian health and disability support workers impose bans

About 3,000 health and disability support workers from more than 45 hospitals, health and aged care facilities across South Australia stepped up industrial bans on Wednesday in their fight against privatisation and attacks on job security.

Hospital cleaners, patient service assistants, disability support workers, catering workers, sterilisation technicians, aged carers and community care workers have been taking low-level action, including work bans, since April in opposition to the state Liberal governments threats to outsource health jobs and privatise facilities.

The United Workers Union (UWU) told the media that issues in dispute with the government include chronic understaffing, unpaid overtime and health and safety, such as access to PPE (personal protective equipment). A union spokesman said the government has refused to retract its earlier threats of job cuts and privatisation.

Queensland silica mine workers walk off

About 50 workers from the Cape Flattery Silica Mine in Far North Queensland walked off the job for 24 hours on November 4 in their fight for a new enterprise agreement. The workers, from three unions - the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU), Electrical Trades Union and the Australian Workers Union - are maintaining an indefinite overtime ban.

The AMWU claimed that workers have not had a pay increase since 2019 and the company is offering a below CPI (consumer price index) increase. The union has called for 3.85 percent wage rise per year, an increase in the production bonus and improvements to the classification structure so they can be properly remunerated for their skills.

The mine is owned by Mitsubishi and produces one of the highest grades of silica in the world, which is used to manufacture solar panels, smart phones and television screens. They have increased production consistently year on year.

Svitzer tugboat workers resume strikes at Australian ports

Some 240 members of the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA), a division of the Construction Forestry Maritime Mining and Energy Union (CFMMEU), employed by tugboat operator Svitzer Australia have resumed strike action following a three-month pause.

Union members at ports around Australia stopped work for four hours on Tuesday, prior to a vote on Svitzers latest enterprise agreement offer, which includes 1.5 percent annual pay increases, well below the current CPI of 3.8 percent. Workers held a series of 24-hour stoppages in January and again in July to demand an improved pay offer and maintenance of conditions.

Svitzer is part of the Maersk international shipping group, one of two main tugboat operators responsible for hauling ships into port. It has a fleet of more than 100 tugs and more than 1,000 seafarers.

The MUA has accused Svitzer of attempting to strip away workers rights and conditions. It claimed that despite being close to finalising a new workplace agreement earlier last year, Svitzer management decided to use the COVID-19 crisis to introduce 30 new claims that would slash workers rights, conditions and job security. It also wants to reduce fixed crew levels which it claims adds to substantial costs.

Emergency housing workers in Melbourne take industrial action

About 170 workers from the emergency accommodation provider Launch Housing are maintaining work bans implemented after striking for the day on October 25. Australian Services Union (ASU) members are in dispute with Launch over its proposed enterprise agreement.

The mostly female workforce wants an end to the different pay scales employed by Launch at its multiple sites and to win improved on-all and sleepover rates.

This week Launch threatened the workers with disciplinary action if they did not lift welfare-record reporting bans. The ASU says it is approved protected industrial action and that any disciplinary action by the employer would be illegal. Launch is challenging the industrial action in the Fair Work Commission.

Launch Housing is based in Melbourne and provides services and crisis housing for the nightly 25,000 homeless people in Melbourne. It employs around 400 people at 14 city locations providing different services including employment services.

Country Road warehouse workers in Melbourne strike

More than 50 predominantly female workers at the Country Road Groups Truganina warehouse in Melbourne walked out on Thursday to demand better pay and conditions. The indefinite strike follows ten months of fruitless negotiations by the United Workers Union (UWU) over the companys proposed enterprise agreement.

The strikers want pay parity with male-dominated warehouse workers in the same sector, with a $1.00 per hour pay increase. The company is only offering $0.50 per hour. Workers are currently paid only $22.30 per hour, $2 above the national minimum wage.

Country Road Group, a highly profitable transnational company, benefited from increased sales during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as receiving $25 million in JobKeeper payments from the Australian government. Its parent company Woolworths Holdings South Africa reported a before tax profit of $450 million, a 260 percent increase over the 2020 financial year.

The UWU said the strikers have faced abuse and the dumping of manure outside the companys gates ahead of a planned meeting and rally last week. The union, however, is isolating the strikers and opposes any joint industrial action by other UWU warehouse workers in the defence of the Country Road strikers.
Demand for travel nurses, who are temporary short-term nurses used to cover staffing demands, is at an all-time high across the US.

Registered traveling nurse Patricia Carrete, of El Paso, Texas, walks down the hallways during a night shift at a field hospital, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021, in Cranston, R.I [Credit: AP Photo/David Goldman]

According to data from a health care staffing firm SimpliFi, there were over 30,000 available travel nurse positions nationwide in August, a 30 percent increase from the coronavirus January surge. Today, data from various travel nurse agencies suggests the demand is significantly higher, with estimates ranging from 50,000 to 100,000 open positions nationally this fall.

While demand for travel nurses has spiked multiple times throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the spread of the Delta variant has put an unprecedented strain on nurse staffing levels, causing hospitals to contract out to travel nurse agencies.

The recent worsening of the nurse staffing crisis is caused by both the influx of patients falling ill with the Delta variant as well as an increase in nurses leaving the profession, fed up with the unending stress, poor pay and terrible staffing ratios that make their jobs unsafe.

According to a September survey by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, two-thirds of ICU nurses have considered leaving the profession entirely. The staffing crisis is further exacerbated by an influx of previously canceled procedures, appointments and surgeries having been rescheduled for this summer and fall.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the function and mechanism of travel nursing. Before the pandemic, travel nurses made up about 34 percent of overall national nursing staff, but as of August 2021, travel nurses make up about 810 percent of hospital nursing staff.

Traveling nursing first began in an official capacity in 1978 with the advent of the first agency, TravCorps, which was intended to meet seasonal demands in New Orleans brought by the Mardi Gras celebration. Throughout the 1980s, travel nursing was utilized as a tool to handle national nurse staffing problems. Today, travel nursing in the US has become a $10 billion dollar industry.

While the surge in popularity of travel nursing has deepened the countrys nursing shortage, it has been a boon for staffing agencies. One staffing agency, AMN Healthcare Services, reported a 41 percent increase in revenue from the same time last year, a trend to be found across the industry.

Until the COVID-19 pandemic, travel nurses filled temporary, localized staffing shortages or increased patient burdens, such as those caused by natural disasters, seasonal increases in tourist destinations or labor strikes.

In the early weeks of the pandemic, when the virus was significantly worse in localized areas such as New York, travel nursing functioned as before, with nurses shipped to the areas of most need and paid more if traveling from a farther distance. However, as the coronavirus saturated the globe and demand for travel nurses skyrocketed everywhere, hospitals were forced to sharply increase their incentives if they wanted to attract temporary workers.

The heavy utilization of travel nursesat one time meant to be a stop-gap measureis just another example of the irrational handling of the pandemic. The hiring of travel nurses is a band-aid amidst a devastating global nursing shortage and in some cases can be a catalyst for worsening health care, especially in rural and community hospitals. Travel nursing is also not immune to the global nursing shortage, and there is no guarantee that the increasing amount of open travel nurse positions can be filled.

Rural hospitals find themselves in a severe crisis as they are unable to compete with travel nurse salaries which are often double or quadruple the salaries found at rural hospitals.

A new survey of rural hospitals from the Chartis Group, which provided their preliminary results to Vox, reveals how deep the problem runs. The survey showed that 99 percent of rural hospitals surveyed said they were experiencing a staffing shortage, and 96 percent of them said they were having the most difficulty finding nurses. Rural hospitals were already operating on razor thin margins, with record numbers of hospitals closing in 2020 and now an additional 216 rural hospitals at high risk of closure as of Sept 2021.

In addition to hospital system funding, money for travel nurses can come from state and federal funding, where it can be canceled at the whim of politicians and the ruling class. For example, in September, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves signed an order that would bring in 900 travel nurses for the price of $10 million a week for an 8-week contract. When this contract ended on October 31st, the state immediately returned to previous staffing levels, spurring other nurses to leave the field or take travel nurse positions themselves, worsening the already devastating staffing crisis in Mississippi. In many cases, the same staffing agencies that filled the state-funded positions were the ones luring Mississippi nurses away from the state with high-paying contracts.

Hospitals also use travel nurse agencies to undercut the power of striking workers, forming special contracts to ensure profits continue rolling in. In the same breath, hospital CEOs tell workers there is no money to increase wages and hire more workers while signing contracts with travel nursing agencies.

Bill rates for travel nurses have increased significantly with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The agency takes a cut of the bill rate, so hospitals are paying a much higher rate than the posted nurse salary. In December 2019, average weekly travel nurse wages were about $1,600 according to data from a travel nurse recruiting company, Vivian Health. A year later, weekly pay average was more than $3,500, with rates rising during surges. Rates for ICU nurses are often highest, as they are most in demand and the job requires specific training and skills. Current ICU travel nurse rates can be as high as $6,0008,000 per week.

Hospital systems are willing to pay these rates, as the alternative would be to raise the pay and improve benefits for their staff nurses and attract new applicants.

Although highly paid, working as a travel nurse is difficult and can be dangerous to nurses and patients alike. There are no significant scientific studies on the safety of travel nursing, but evidence suggests that travel assignments present numerous safety issues.

While it depends on the agency and hospital, nurses can be provided with little to no orientation. At the same time, nurses are often entering units with high patient to nurse ratios and a lack of experienced staff, which presents additional safety risks. Some crisis travel nurse contracts can call for nurses to work four to six 12-hour shifts a week, wearing nurses down to a point where medication errors and other mistakes are more likely to occur.

While the extra hands provided by travel nurses are appreciated in hospitals that need the help, this method of fighting the pandemic does not stop the breakdown of the health care system, and only serves the lucrative travel nurse agencies and hospital systems while worsening the working conditions for health care workers.

But there is a growing movement of health care workers who are saying, Enough is enough. Most notably, over 32,000 Kaiser workers have set an open-ended strike date for November 15, demanding the institution of safe staffing ratios, wage increases, as well as the prevention of the two-tier wage and benefit system Kaiser is fighting to impose.

These striking nurses must take the fight into their own hands or be prepared for the betrayals by the unions. The commoditization of healthcare workers will only undermine further the construct of safe, humane care. More than their salaries, they are waging a struggle to protect their patients.
The UKs announcement yesterday that it has dispatched a detachment of ten troops from the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers to Poland is the first deployment of boots on the ground by an allied NATO power to assist with the countrys border confrontation with Belarus. Although small, the involvement of forces from Britain signals an escalation of the ongoing provocation being staged by the Polish government, ultimately targeting Russia.

Several thousand refugees are seeking entry from Belarus to the European Union (EU) via Poland and have been met with a massive deployment of military force and violence. A reported 20,000 Polish soldiers are currently stationed on the Belarussian border, overseeing illegal, brutal pushbacks of asylum seekers.

Poland has accused Belarus of hybrid warfare and state terrorism, claiming government forces are ferrying people thousands of miles and helping them across the border. They have pointed the finger at Russian President Vladimir Putin as the architect of this policy.

Soldiers of the Ukrainian State Border Guard Service line up at the border with Belarus in the Volyn region, Ukraine, on Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021. Ukraine has sent 8.5 thousand servicemen amid the migrant crisis as thousands of migrants who came to Belarus from the Middle East and Africa are trying to enter the European Union through Poland. (Ukrainian Police Press Office via AP)

That Polands sabre rattling is part of a broader offensive was confirmed by statements issued this week by members of the United Nations Security Council and NATO.

On Thursday, during a meeting of the UNSC, Estonia, France, Ireland, Norway, the United States and Britain issued a statement, rejected by permanent UN member Russia. The statement read, We condemn the orchestrated instrumentalisation of human beings whose lives and wellbeing have been put in danger for political purposes by Belarus, with the objective of destabilizing neighboring countries and the European Union's external border and diverting attention away from its own increasing human rights violations.

They called for a strong international reaction and pledged to discuss further measures that we can take.

NATOs statement made clear the scope of the anti-Russia offensive being mounted:

The North Atlantic Council strongly condemns the continued instrumentalisation of irregular migration artificially created by Belarus as part of hybrid actions targeted against Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia for political purposes We will remain vigilant against the risk of further escalation and provocation by Belarus at its borders with Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia, and will continue to monitor the implications for the security of the Alliance.

While NATO mounts a propaganda campaign over the alleged weaponization of migrants in Belarus, it continues to carry out reckless military provocations in the Black Sea, on Russias border.

Russia reported Thursday that it had scrambled a fighter jet to intercept a British Boeing RC-135 Rivet Joint spy plane, which it claimed was trying to get close to Crimea. The Russian military said four spy planes and two US warships were observed operating in the region in the same 24-hour period.

Russias military spokesperson Major General Igor Konashenkov commented, The Russian defence ministry treats the military activity of the US and its allies in the Black Sea region as scouting out a potential theatre of war in case Ukraine prepares a military operation to solve the crisis in eastern Ukraine.

Tensions have been mounting for the last month, following an escalation of the conflict in the east of Ukraine and renewed talk of admitting the ferociously anti-Russian Ukrainian state to NATO.

On October 26, Ukrainian forces carried out their first drone strike on pro-Russian forces in the Donbass region, using a Turkish Bayraktar TB2ktechnology Foreign Policy described as a game changer in the conflicts in Nagorno-Karabakh and Libya.

The possibility of Ukraine being granted NATO membership was underscored by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austins trip to Ukraine, as well as Georgia and Romania, a few days earlier. Asked during his visit about Russias objections to Ukraines NATO ambitions, Austin replied, Ukraine has a right to decide its own future foreign policy, and we expect that they will be able to do that without any outside interference.

He called on Russia to end its occupation of Crimea and warned, We will continue to do everything we can to support Ukraine's efforts to develop the capability to defend itself.

Putin responded, Formal membership [of Ukraine] in NATO may not take place, but military development of the territory is already under way This creates a threat to the Russian Federation.

On October 30, the Washington Post reported a significant build-up of Russian forces near the countrys Ukrainian border. Politico took up the story two days later, reporting that satellite images from Maxar Technologies showed a buildup of armored units, tanks and self-propelled artillery along with ground troops massing near the Russian town of Yelnya. These included the elite 1st Guards Tank Army.

The website continued, a new analysis by Janes [a military intelligence company] on Monday reveals that equipment from Russias 4th Tank Division has been moved to areas around Bryansk and Kursk close to Ukraine's northern border.

Ukraines defence ministry claims there are some 90,000 Russian troops involved in total.

Russian spokesperson Dmitry Peskov dismissed Politicos article as low quality. At the same time, he insisted, The movement of our military equipment and army units is exclusively our business.

He said yesterday, We take measures to ensure our security when our opponents take defiant action near our borders. We cant stay indifferent to that.

Ukraine has so far deployed 8,500 troops to its side of the border with Russia.

On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken held a joint press conference in Washington with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. Blinken claimed, Our concern is that Russia may make a serious mistake of attempting to rehash what it undertook back in 2014, referring to the annexation of Crimea following the NATO-backed coup in Ukraine.

Warning, Were looking at this very, very closely. Were also consulting very closely with allies and partners, he concluded, The message were sending today that I repeated to Dmytro is that our commitment to Ukraines sovereignty, to its independence, to its territorial integrity is ironclad.

The secretary of state added yesterday that the US was looking at the various tools that we have.

His threats were echoed by the French foreign and defence ministers after a meeting with their Russian counterparts. The French ministers, warned of serious consequences related to any new harm to Ukraines territorial integrity and condemned the irresponsible and unacceptable behaviour of Belarusian authorities concerning the instrumentalization of migration flows targeting several countries of the European Union, according to a joint press release.

On Friday morning, the UKs Daily Telegraph ran the front-page headline, Russia may invade Ukraine, warns US. The story claimed that senior Whitehall sources had told the paper the UK government was concerned about reports of Russian troop movements near the Ukrainian border and that there was twitchiness and anxiety among officials.

It continued, They [US officials] have shared intelligence on the Russian movements with allies and briefed them on the possibility of a military operation.

These events highlight the serious danger of war breaking out in Europe.

In Poland and Ukraine, the European and NATO powers are relying on far-right proxies with major fascist constituencies to push an aggressive anti-Russian campaign involving the deployment of thousands of troops. They have their own forces positioned within striking distance of Russian territory.

The situation they have created threatens to trigger an armed confrontation. In addition to its deployment of soldiers to the border with Ukraine, Russia carried out snap paratrooper drills with Belarus on Friday, just 20 miles from the flashpoint on the Polish border. Britain claims the Royal Air Force escorted two Russian nuclear-capable bombers flying over the North Sea towards the English Channel the same day.

Seeking to deflect enormous social tensions outward and to pursue their long-held strategic goal of a dominated, subservient Russia, the imperialist powers are preparing a catastrophe.
The Labor Partys bipartisan backing for the party deregistration laws rammed through Australias parliament on August 26 has encouraged the Liberal-National government to push ahead with another naked attack on democratic rights, this time on the right to vote itself.

A voter ID bill was suddenly introduced in the House of Representatives on October 28. The government is intent on getting the bill through the years final session of parliamentthat is by December 2, in time for the looming federal election.

If successful, the voter ID bill would, for the first time since the days of the Eureka Stockade rebellion by gold rush miners in the 1850s, force voters to produce identification, such as a drivers licence, a Medicare card or a credit card, before being permitted to vote. Voters can also be subjected to intimidating questioning by election officials about their ID documents.

The Swearing of Allegiance to the Southern Cross (Eureka Flag) at Bakery Hill on 1st December 1854, watercolour by Charles Doudiet [Source: Wikipedia]

This is an obvious attempt to discourage or block the votes of potentially many thousands of working-class people, especially those likely to have difficulty producing such documentsfirst-time young voters, the elderly, the jobless and homeless, itinerant workers, indigenous people and others without access to smart phones or the internet.

There will be even longer queues on election day in working class areas, more time required to vote and a more stressful voting experience for everyone.

This bill was unveiled just two months after Labor helped rush through the anti-democratic electoral laws, which deregister and bar the Socialist Equality Party (SEP) and other parties without seats in parliament from having their names on ballot papers unless they submit the names and details of 1,500 memberstreble the previous requirementalso by December 2.

This is all under conditions of the continuing COVID-19 disasterthe worst global public health crisis for a century, with widespread lockdowns and isolation requirements preventing physical political campaigns against these laws and for new members.

There is no justification for the voter ID bill whatsoever. Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) head Tom Rogers told the Senate last month that voter fraud is a vanishingly small issue.

According to the AEC, there were only about 2,000 alleged multiple votes at the last election in 2019, from around 15 million voters. Of those, police investigated just 24 instances and prosecuted no one. Most apparently related to mental health issues.

In other words, there are already checks on alleged voter fraud, and no evidence that any exists.

This is a truly historic attack on the right to vote. According to University of New South Wales historian David Lee, you have to go back to colonial times to find similar laws.

After the 1854 Eureka Stockade revolt against onerous licence fees to hunt for gold, the Victorian colonial government was forced to abandon the mining licence and replace it with a cheaper Miners Right, costing one pound a year, which also conferred the right to vote.

Two years later, laws to allow all men to vote were passed in Victoria. Thus the right to vote itself only came about through mass struggles, as it did in the Chartist movement to demand the franchise in Britain, which found an echo in the Eureka rebellion.

The Morrison government is intent on proceeding despite warnings from Labor, the Greens and some media outlets that the bill is so transparently seeking to discourage voters that it risks discrediting the parliamentary system itself.

Government must explain benefits of proposed voter ID law, appealed twin editorials in the Sydney Morning Herald and Melbourne Age last month. That is impossible, because there are no benefits!

Instead, the government has adopted the language of Donald Trump and his big lie about widespread mail-in vote fraud, with which he incited fascistic followers to try and overturn the results of last years US presidential election.

Liberal Party Senator James McGrath told former Sky News host Alan Jones: Obviously Labor and the Greens are not going to support it [the bill] because they seem to be running a protection racket for voter fraud in this country.

The bill could even be challenged in the High Court as unconstitutional for being disproportionate in excluding people from voting. Constitutional law expert Anne Twomey told the Guardian: The additional procedural burden, the effort required, the confusion that it can create and the message that it sends of being suspect or unwanted, may be enough to suppress the vote.

So why is this bill proceeding?

First, the widely-detested government fears a heavy defeat at the next election, despite the lack of any popular support for Labor. That could mean another hung parliament and unstable minority government, unless other parties are excluded, along with disenchanted voters.

More fundamentally, the ruling class is seeking to stifle dissent under conditions of a worsening political and social crisis, deepened by the profit-driven and criminally premature reopening of schools and workplaces in the midst of the global pandemic.

The laws are in line with similar profoundly anti-democratic moves in the US and UK to effectively strip millions of working class, poor and vulnerable people of the right to vote.

Nearly 30 US states have this year introduced laws restricting voting hours, early voting and absentee voting, all in response to Trumps stolen election propaganda. In Britain, Boris Johnsons Tory government is seeking to introduce photo ID for voting, disenfranchising an estimated 11 million voters, or 24 percent of the electorate, who lack such ID.

As these developments indicate, the ever-more staggering levels of social inequality, intensified by the pandemic, are incompatible with democratic forms of capitalist rule.

While the Labor Party and the Greens have said they will vote against the bill, no confidence can be placed in them. They only object because the bill could affect their chances of forming a government together after the impending election.

After all, Labor spearheaded the party deregistration laws and the Greens have kept their mouths shut ever since the laws passed. These two parties are also intent on suppressing unrest and propping up the increasingly discredited parliamentary establishment.

The voter ID bill is another critical reason to fight for the defeat of all the new electoral laws and to urge people to join up as electoral members of the SEP.

We are the only party fighting to defend, and extend, the basic democratic rights of the working class. This is an essential component of the struggle for socialism, which is based on the fully informed and active participation of the working class through a workers government.
KNOX COUNTY, Ind. (WTHI) - The cyber crimes unit is being spearheaded by director Jocelyn Gadberry. She came to the charge right out of Vincennes University, and she came with big plans.

Gadberry says, "I came in for my interview. I told dirk that we would have a grant in before thanksgiving, and we would have money for the first of the year. I walked out of that meeting thinking that was really ambitious, and I'm not sure if we can actually do this."

But they did. They got a grant for over 100 thousand dollars to get started.

Gadberry says, "We were able to start helping right away law enforcement in Knox County."

Now their footprint has expanded. Knox County is one of only 10 High Tech Crime hubs in the state of Indiana.

Knox County prosecutor Dirk Carnahan explains, "We can get stuff now that solves crimes, helps victims, that prevents other crimes, and also that exonerates people who are actually innocent who could otherwise be charged with a crime."

Knox County's current setup may not seem like much on the surface. But these computers aren't your home pc.

They'll now be covering 13 counties. That's over half a million people.

Carnahan says, "It's something that really makes me feel good and makes me very proud of the people I've got working to do this for me."

For about a year, Gadberry has been putting that VU degree to good use. Now she's taking all that she's learned to help even more.

Gadberry says, "Going from one or two counties to thirteen is a big jump. Most of these counties also are very rural. So our experience here, taken from the last year, will greatly benefit surrounding counties that we serve."
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - Firefighters battled a fire at a Terre Haute business.

It's happened at the Golden Corral restaurant on U.S. Highway 41 in Terre Haute around 8:30 p.m.

According to the Honey Creek Fire Department, a cigarette being left on a cardboard box caused this scene.

Dispatchers say everyone was able to make it out safely.

Our photojournalist noticed mostly smoke coming from the back of the restaurant.

No injuries were reported.
TUPELO, Miss. (WTVA) - The Regional Rehabilitation Center (RRC) is helping the Atkinson brothers overcome their struggle with speech together.

Carter and his younger brother and Karson Atkinson attend speech therapy together each week.

Brothers Carter (sitting) and Karson Atkinson receive speech therapy at Regional Rehab Center in Tupelo, Mississippi. Also pictured is therapist Anna Claire Jackson.

Carter Atkinson (pictured) and his brother Karson receive speech therapy at Regional Rehab Center in Tupelo, Mississippi. Carter Atkinson (pictured) and his brother Karson receive speech therapy at Regional Rehab Center in Tupelo, Mississippi.

Karson Atkinson (pictured) and his brother Carter receive speech therapy at Regional Rehab Center in Tupelo, Mississippi. Also pictured is therapist Shelby Gray. Karson Atkinson (pictured) and his brother Carter receive speech therapy at Regional Rehab Center in Tupelo, Mississippi. Also pictured is therapist Shelby Gray. Brothers Carter (sitting) and Karson Atkinson receive speech therapy at Regional Rehab Center in Tupelo, Mississippi. Also pictured is therapist Anna Claire Jackson.

Carter has attended the RRC for two years, and Karson for a couple of months.

When Carter was about 2 or 3, he was making motor sounds and pointing," his mother Shumonica Atkinson said. "He really wasnt speaking. He [Karson] would speak to us, but we just couldnt understand what he was saying.

Shumonica said this caused frustration because she could not understand her sons, but the Regional Rehab Center changed that.

It makes me feel more relief knowing that theyre not as aggravated now, she said.

The boys work with speech-language pathologists Anna Claire Jackson and Shelby Gray.

During each session, the Atkinson brothers have a lot of fun.

Their mother also said the

They are building a closer bond as they go to speech therapy together, their mother said. They are also able to express their feelings more clearly, and she is seeing more of their personalities.

Both of them are just as silly," she said. "Carter, hes the prankster, and Karson, he likes to tell jokes.

Normally, having two children would cost parents a lot of money on speech therapy.

But because of the RRC, Carter and Karson are able to receive the help they need at no cost at all.

Oh, its a relief actually," Shumonica said. "It helps out a lot.

If you want to support Regional Rehab and its mission, tune into the annual Celebration of Hope Telethon on Sunday, Nov. 14.

It will air on ABC WTVA at 1 p.m. and again at 3 p.m. on WTVA.

Related - Celebration of Hope: Micah Blanchard-Henton shows off his big personality

Related - Celebration of Hope: Regional Rehab is a blessing for Brown family

Related - Celebration of Hope: Regional Rehab Center helping Jolene Hoots find her voice again

Related - Celebration of Hope: Regional Rehab helps Elena get her hands messy
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP)  A judge upheld Rhode Island's school mask mandate on Friday.

A group of Rhode Island parents and grandparents filed a legal challenge in September to Gov. Daniel McKees statewide school mask mandate. The judge found the public interest weighs against granting their petition for a preliminary injunction against the mandate.

Superior Court Associate Justice Jeffrey Lanphear wrote that the court heard credible testimony from multiple plaintiffs that their children were suffering adverse effects from wearing masks, including physical and emotional discomfort and reduced interaction with peers and teachers.

At the same time, the governor and health department are responsible for protecting the health and safety of all residents and presented substantial evidence that the mandate is a reasonable and appropriate means to minimize the serious risk posed by COVID-19, Lanphear wrote.

Even with the recognition that the wearing of masks creates some irreparable harm to students, that harm is significantly outweighed by the harm caused by the unmasked spread of the disease, particularly among children, the decision said.

The lawsuit alleged that the Democratic governor violated state law and the state constitution in both signing the K-12 mask mandate and also declaring a new state of emergency due to the delta variant of the coronavirus.

McKee signed an executive order Friday extending the mask mandate until mid-December.
TUPELO, Miss. (WTVA)  Employees at North Mississippi Health Services found out this week they must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 after next month.

"North Mississippi Health Services must follow the federally mandated regulations in order to continue to provide health care services to the community," the hospital system said in a statement to WTVA 9 News.

President Biden announced in September a vaccination mandate was on the way for health care workers.

Then the federal government issued an emergency regulation late last week that eligible workers at health care facilities in the Medicare and Medicaid programs had to get the shot.

There are actually two deadlines under the regulation.

"Facilities covered by this regulation must establish a policy ensuring all eligible staff have received the first dose of a two-dose COVID-19 vaccine or a one-dose COVID-19 vaccine prior to providing any care, treatment, or other services by December 6, 2021," according to a news release by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Then by January 4, those employees must be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, either with the two-shot Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or the single shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
TUPELO, Miss. (WTVA) - Tupelo leaders are still searching for the right candidate to take on the duties as police chief.

Mayor Todd Jordan said they have been looking for a new chief since Bart Aguirre retired back in June. He said Interim Chief Jackie Clayton is retiring in December so they need someone fast.

"It'll be a hard decision, but I believe anybody we chose from the committee to myself will be the right fit for Tupelo."

He said 26 applications have been narrowed down to 8 and interviews are going well.

"It's very important. Community oriented policing, management crisis--a lot of things go into being a police chief on top of 120 employees and 11 million dollar budget so they'll have to be well-rounded."

He said they have a few more interviews set for next week.

Jordan said they plan on hiring someone by the end of November and have them start January 1, 2022.
NEW ORLEANS  The federal appeals court in New Orleans ordered the Biden administration to continue holding off on its COVID-19 vaccination mandate for businesses for now.

READ THE ORDER ISSUED FRIDAY BY THE 5TH CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS

A three-judge panel with the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a temporary stay on the mandate last Saturday until it had time to look over the challenge by the state of Mississippi, the Tupelo-based American Family Association and other states, businesses and groups.

On Friday, the panel said it took a closer look at the case and found good reason to keep the stay in place, writing in part "the mandate is staggering overbroad."

It is not clear at the moment what the next step is judicially to move forward in deciding the future of the mandate.

The Occupational and Safety and Health Administration told businesses with at least 100 employees their workers would either need to be fully vaccinated by January 4 or undergo weekly testing for the coronavirus.
Xbox Boss Phil Spencer Calls For Legal Emulation of Old Games on Modern Hardware As Part of an Industry-Wide Effort
Nov. 11 marked the 100th anniversary of the dedication of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Ceremony, Arlington, Virginia.

We borrowed the idea to honor the remains of unidentified American soldiers from France and the United Kingdom.

The dedication of the tomb came three years after the end of World War I, the Great War, 1914-1918, in which close to two dozen countries actively participated, killing some 9 million combatants with an additional seven to 10 million civilian deaths. Four empires fell -- the German, the Austro-Hungarian, the Russian, and the Ottoman Empire.

Fred Zilian

Our Veterans Day was originally called Armistice Day, the day the guns fell silent ending WW I. It occurred at the 11th hour, on the 11th day, in the 11th month of 1918. In 1954, President Dwight Eisenhower signed the bill changing it to Veterans Day.

Three years after the end of WWI, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was dedicated. Its mission: to ensure that all service members who make the ultimate sacrifice for their country are never forgotten.

The tomb was proposed through a joint resolution of Congress, sponsored by Rep. Hamilton Fish III (R-NY), who had served as an officer in the 369th Infantry Regiment. He believed that this unknown soldier should not be taken from any particular battlefield but should be chosen that nobody would know his identification or the battlefield he comes from. President Woodrow Wilson approved the legislation supporting the resolution on March 4, 1921.

The remains were selected from an American cemetery in France and brought to the nations capital. With the casket lying in state in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol, an estimated 90,000 people paid their respects.

On the morning of Nov. 11, 1921, President Warren Harding, Gen. John Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Forces, and other American and foreign dignitaries assembled at Arlington National Cemetery and were greeted by an estimated crowd of 100,000.

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Harding was the main speaker. Hundreds of mothers are wondering today, finding a touch of solace in the possibility that the nation bows in grief over the body of the one she bore to live and die, if need be, for the Republic.

"We do not know the eminence of his birth, but we do know the glory of his death. He died for his country, and greater devotion hath no man than this. He died unquestioning, uncomplaining, with faith in his heart and hope on his lips, that his country should triumph and its civilization survive.

This American soldier went forth to battle with no hatred for any people of the world, but hating war and hating the purpose of every war for conquest.

Todays ceremonies proclaim that the hero unknown is not un-honored.

It began as an unguarded site. Civilian guards were added in 1925, changing to military guards the following year. In 1937, the guard was upgraded to a ceremonial honor guard that operates day and night, rain or shine, 24/7.

The number 21 plays an important role in the sentinels guard service, tied to the highest honor the military can give: a 21-gun salute.

The sentinel marches 21 steps to the south, turns to the east and holds that position for 21 seconds. The sentinel then turns north, waits for 21 seconds, and marches with precision 21 steps to the north. The sentinel then turns to the west and repeats the process.

Women were added to the prestigious guard detail in 1996. Each time, he or she changes direction, an arms movement is conducted with the M-14 rifle. This is meant to keep the weapon on the shoulder closest to the visitors, indicating the guards intent to protect the tomb from any outside threat.

From October to March, there is a changing of the guard on the hour. From April to September, this occurs every half-hour.

I visited the tomb and small museum this past summer and watched the very solemn and impressive changing of the guard. There are actually four tombs. Three contain the remains of an unknown soldier from WWI, from WW II, and from the Korean Conflict.

The remains of the unknown soldier from the Vietnam War were exhumed in 1998 and identified using modern technology. Since then, the crypt for an unknown Vietnam War soldier has remained empty.

A retired Army officer, Fred Zilian (zilianblog.com; Twitter: @FredZilian) is an adjunct professor of history and politics at Salve Regina University and a regular columnist.

This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: Tomb of the Unknown Soldier gives honor to our unidentified fallen
Nearly a year after Meghan Markle first won her privacy case against Associated Newspapers Limited, the tabloid is now seeking to overturn the ruling, and in the process, new text exchanges and emails between the duchess and a royal aide have been released in court as evidence.

On Friday, the London's Court of Appeal shared these messages as a result of the MailOnline's appeal hearing. In the text messages sent to communications secretary Jason Knauf, Meghan expressed her concern about the "constant berating" Prince Harry was receiving from the royal family about her strained relationship with her father, Thomas Markle. Following the couple's May 2018 nuptials, Meghan wrote her dad a letter (which was eventually leaked by the newspaper being sued for publishing it) in an effort to ease Harry's distress.

Meghan Markle Prince Harry

"The catalyst for my doing this is seeing how much pain this is causing H," Markle wrote to Knauf via text in 2018. "Even after a week with his dad [Prince Charles] and endlessly explaining the situation, his family seem to forget the context  and revert to 'can't she just go and see him and make this stop?'" She continued, "They fundamentally don't understand so at least by writing H will be able to say to his family 'She wrote him a letter and he is still doing it.' By taking this form of action I protect my husband from this constant berating, and while unlikely perhaps it will give my father a moment to pause."

Meghan also feared the possibility of the letter being made public, adding: "Obviously everything I have drafted is with the understanding that it could be leaked so I have been meticulous in my word choice." Specifically, her decision to call Markle "daddy." "Given I've only ever called him daddy it makes sense to open as such (despite him being less than paternal), and in the unfortunate event that it leaked it would pull at the heartstrings," she wrote. She also hand-wrote the letter and numbered each page in an attempt to safeguard against any manipulation by the media.

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RELATED: Meghan Markle Abandoned the Royal Dress Code in a Plunging Red Gown

The same day a judge ruled in Meghan's favor, lawyers for Associated Newspapers Limited challenged the court's decision at the U.K. Court of Appeals. When asked about the appeal case during a conversation at The New York Times DealBook Online Summit, Meghan revealed, "In terms of this appeal, I won the case and this issue, frankly, has been going on when I had no children at all, I now have two children as you know. It's an arduous process."

"But again, it's just me standing up for what's right, be it in this case or in the [case for economic and professional parity] we're talking about today," Meghan continued. "At a certain point, no matter how difficult it is, you know the difference between right and wrong. You must stand up for what's right, and that's what I'm doing."
Carolyn Stich has released her newest Christmas card, commissioned by the Holland Area Visitors Bureau. The new design is titled Downtown Holiday Splendor."

HOLLAND  Christmas has arrived at Carolyn Stich Studio in downtown Holland.

For the 21st year, local artist and business owner Carolyn Stich has created a Holland-themed Christmas card, commissioned by the Holland Area Visitors Bureau, to support an organization in need.

More: Downtown Holland raises more than $13K for Christmas tree

More: Carolyn Stich releases Christmas book, holiday card

Carolyn continues to support our community with her love of art and compassion to help those in need," said Linda Hart, executive director of the Holland Area Visitors Bureau. "We are honored to be a part of her commitment to make Holland a better place to live, work and play."

One of Carolyn Stich's newly released Christmas cards, featuring a red barn and snowfall.

This year's card is titled "Downtown Holiday Splendor," and showcases Holland's new holiday tree in GDK Pocket Park on Eighth Street. The artificial tree was purchased in 2020 after a community-wide fundraiser.

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"This year, they wanted to focus on the Christmas tree," Stich said. "It was interesting, because it's a big, beautiful tree, and I love how many lights they put on it  but they don't add ornaments or anything like that. So, it was fun to try and bring in color in other ways. It was a really fun one to draw."

One of Carolyn Stich's newly released Christmas cards, featuring red tulips, candy canes and bows.

Cards are $3 each, or $18 for 10. They can be purchased at the Holland Area Visitors Bureau (78. E. Eighth St.), Carolyn Stich Studio (29 W. Eighth St.), Kerstmarkt (Holland Civic Center Place) and Van Wieren Hardware (645 Douglas Ave.). Proceeds will go to Kids' Food Basket.

Meanwhile, Stich has her own collection of Christmas cards available in-store.

"I think about eight of the designs are new," she said. "I try to make eight or 10 different designs every year. We always bring back the favorites, of course."

The cards feature Holland icons like Big Red (which is also hidden in the commissioned holiday card each year) and Eighth Street, alongside Santa Claus, snowmen, tulips and dogs  as well as plenty of snow. Cards are $4 each or $20 for 10.

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One of Carolyn Stich's newly released Christmas cards, featuring red and white flowers and pinecones.

Shoppers can also purchase Stich's illustrated version of Twas the Night Before Christmas in Holland, Michigan. The book includes the first 20 cards Stich created for the bureau.

"That was really fun, because it was a celebration of the 20th year," Stich said. "And it was last year, which was just a blur to everybody."

 Contact reporter Cassandra Lybrink at cassandra.lybrink@hollandsentinel.com. Follow her on Instagram @BizHolland.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Carolyn Stich releases commissioned Christmas card, holiday set
.

AUSTIN

Group tops $1 million in donations

The Downtown Austin Alliance announced that its contributions to Community First Village have reached $1 million.

In 2017, the Downtown Alliance board approved a pledge to donate $2 million over 10 years to support the capital campaign to develop Phases 2, 3 and 4 of Community First Village, the unique tiny home community developed by Mobile Loaves & Fishes designed specifically for men and women who are transitioning out of chronic homelessness. The grant was not only the largest in the history of the Downtown Austin Alliance, but at the time was also the largest ever for Mobile Loaves & Fishes.

Now, halfway to fulfilling its $2 million pledge, the Downtown Austin Alliance commended the impact Community First Village is having on peoples lives and on addressing homelessness in downtown Austin.

For more information: bit.ly/3qtJHzj.

Courtesy of Downtown Austin Alliance

AUSTIN

Catholic Charities receives $20K grant

Catholic Charities of Central Texas has received a $20,000 grant from the Texas Bar Foundation to offer more affordable legal representation for immigrant families.

This grant will be used to add a full-time immigration attorney to the Austin-based Immigration Legal Service team, who will help at least 125 immigrants with affordable immigration legal assistance.

The Immigration Legal Service program invested in special technology over the past several years to meet the increased demand for affordable immigration legal assistance. With these newfound efficiencies from technology and an influx in service requests, this additional immigration attorney will provide relief for Central Texas immigrant families seeking secure immigration status for themselves or their family. Catholic Charities currently has a special initiative to provide free legal services to Afghan refugees due to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

Since 2001, Immigration Legal Service has provided affordable legal assistance to Central Texas immigrants. The families it serves are low-income immigrants or family members of immigrants who qualify for immigration benefits, legal status or protections. Immigration Legal Service assists immigrants by stabilizing their immigration status, reuniting them with family members, providing them with work authorization, and providing representation for immigrants facing deportation.

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For more information: ccctx.org.

Courtesy of Catholic Charities of Central Texas

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Downtown Austin Alliance's contributions to Community First Village reach $1 million
Ellis Jenkins has pledged to take captaining Wales in his stride as his big Test rugby comeback gathers pace.

Cardiff flanker Jenkins won his first Wales cap for three years last weekend, impressing in the 23-18 loss to world champions South Africa.

The 28-year-old will now skipper Wales in Sundays Cardiff clash with Fiji, in another sizeable sign of trust from coach Wayne Pivac.

Wayne Pivac, pictured, has handed Ellis Jenkins the Wales captaincy (David Davies/PA)

Jenkins conceded his three years out of action with serious knee injuries leave him with the odd natural doubt amid his long-awaited return.

But the 12-cap back-rower insisted nothing will affect either his game or his captaincy style this weekend.

Im obviously excited, but for me its just about trying to back up last weeks performance really, said Jenkins.

The captaincy doesnt change too much for me.

Obviously theres a bit of decision-making and speaking to the ref, but other than that Ill be trying to play my game in the same way as usual really.

Theres been days where I feel really good and I think its going well and Im confident.

When my bodys feeling good and Im able to train fully, then Im confident I can play at this level and back it up.

Theres obviously days when you dont feel so good, when the doubts set in.

The Fijians will give us a different picture when it comes to defending. Wayne Pivac discusses how he's adapted his squad to face Fiji this Sunday.  Allwn ni ddim aros i ddychwelyd ir cae Dydd Sul.#WALvFJI pic.twitter.com/so3zU6TIMV  Welsh Rugby Union  (@WelshRugbyUnion) November 10, 2021

But its just trying to remember where youve come from really, and not get too carried away with the highs or the lows.

But its something Ive wanted to do, to get back playing for Wales, and Ive worked really hard to do that.

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So Im just fortunate that its come around really.

Wales have opted to mix up selection to host Fiji, off the back of losses to New Zealand and the Springboks.

In long-term skipper Alun Wyn Jones injury-enforced absence, Jenkins now has the chance to show in the Test arena exactly why he has long been earmarked for the Wales captaincy.

Wayne said to me on Tuesday that there would be a couple of changes this week and that my name would be in the mix to be captain, said Jenkins.

    Wales pick a new look squad ahead of this weekend led by Ellis Jenkins to face Fiji in their third game of the #AutumnNationsSeries. #WALvFJI  Welsh Rugby Union  (@WelshRugbyUnion) November 10, 2021

He asked is that going to affect you? and I said no, happy days.

So when the team was named it was nice to see my name up there. But as long as Im playing Im happy.

Its not something that massively fazes me, I tend to be quite vocal on the pitch in terms of organising and problem solving.

So maybe its a little bit more responsibility but not something that changes my game, or the way I approach things.

So even when Im not captain Ill have a lot of input with whoever is captain.

And Ive got a lot of boys out there tomorrow who will do the same for me.

Its not one man whos making all the decisions and trying to gee everyone up, its a group of the senior players that do that, and theres plenty of them in the team tomorrow.
Ian Baraclough has told his Northern Ireland players they must relish the challenge of facing European champions Italy when the World Cup qualifying campaign comes to an end at Windsor Park on Monday night.

Northern Irelands own hopes of reaching Qatar were dashed last month, but they will face an Italy side in need of a result after Jorginhos late penalty miss in Fridays 1-1 draw with Switzerland left Roberto Mancinis side still locked in a tussle with the Swiss for top spot in Group C.

That will only make life more difficult for Baracloughs men  who ended a two-and-a-half-year wait for a competitive victory at Windsor Park by beating Lithuania 1-0 on Friday.

I hope we can enjoy it, Baraclough said. I hope the players can savour nights like that. It doesnt happen every time. Weve had some really big nights here with Germany and the Netherlands and the like.

For us its massive: go and test yourselves against the European champions, the best team in Europe.

After a disappointing October, when defeat in Switzerland ended the World Cup dream before alarm bells rang as Northern Ireland surrendered a 1-0 lead to lose to Bulgaria, Baraclough got an encouraging response in the first half on Friday as his side dominated play and might have led 3-0 at the break.

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And the manager hopes to see the same positive attitude on display on Monday, even if the level of opposition will make for a very different contest.

Theres no fear, he added. We know at times well be pegged back in our own half, we wont have much of the ball, so its key we look after it, learn from (Friday) and what was difficult in the second half for us and make sure we rectify that.

We know whats against us. I wish Jorginho had put that penalty away but thats the test.

We all want to beat the best and its something weve not been able to do for a while.

Baraclough named an experienced side to face Lithuania as Jonny Evans, Stuart Dallas and Ali McCann returned to the starting XI. There was also a place for Shane Ferguson, selected ahead of Newcastles Jamal Lewis, as Baraclough focused on players getting regular playing time at club level.

The manager hinted at changes for Monday night though they are unlikely to be sweeping. Baraclough will hope none are enforced, however, after Paddy McNair pulled up late on holding his hamstring, though the Middlesbrough man saw out the game.

He said his groin was a little bit tight and then towards the end his hamstring tightened up, Baraclough said. I think it was more fatigue than a muscle injury so hopefully hell be OK when we get back, rest up, recuperate and get ready for Italy.
Correction: A previous version of this story stated the incorrect time for the parade. This story has been updated to reflect this change.

The Parade of Lights is returning to downtown Sioux Falls for its 29th celebration this year.

The parade will take place starting at 7:30 p.m. the Friday after Thanksgiving, bringing lights, floats and music to downtown Sioux Falls. Last year's celebration was canceled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Sadie Swier, outreach coordinator with DTSF, said the organization is hoping for 70 float entries for this year's parade. They'll also be featuring a theme for the event, "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" to coincide with the lighting of the Washington Pavilion's 40-foot-tall Christmas tree the same night.

The tree lighting is at 7 p.m., at the corner of 11th Street and Main Avenue, according to the Pavilions website.

Nov. 12 is the last day for float applicants to apply.

More: Looking Back: Sioux Falls Parade of Lights started small in 1992

The 28th annual Parade of Lights begins on Friday, Nov. 29, 2019 in downtown Sioux Falls, S.D.

"Hopefully, the weather will be nice so it'll be a great chance for everyone to come back together again," Swier said. "Holidays have such great traditions, and the Parade of Lights is such an important event for many family traditions, so it'll be a great chance for people to make memories again downtown."

More: Here's where to dine in for Thanksgiving 2021 in Sioux Falls on Nov. 25

The parade route will run north along Phillips Avenue from 13th Street to 5th Street, closing several downtown streets that evening.

Following the parade, a party and awards ceremony will be held at the Holiday Inn City Centre, where floats will be recognized in categories such as best use of lights, best representation of hometown pride and best workmanship.

The 2021 parade grand marshal and junior grand marshal will be announced this week.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Sioux Falls Parade of Lights to return to downtown in 2021
Crews deployed a drone equipped with a Bluetooth signal detector to pick up Scheckengosts Fitbit device. This is the first time that technology has been used in a search-and-rescue operation, as far as Kittitas County Sheriffs Inspector Chris Whitsett knows.
In our area a spirit of adventure dwells, the stuff of which big events are made. This spirit of adventure is heir to the many courageous pioneers who came our way, some seeking a place in which to settle and others on a mission to simply explore the land. A stirring example of the latter is Pedro Vial, adventurer and explorer extraordinary.

A Frenchman by birth, Vial entered Texas when it was under Spanish rule, making his way to San Antonio in 1784. The Spanish Governor of Texas, recognizing Pedro Vials expertise in dealing with Native Americans, commissioned him to seek a treaty with the masters of the plains, the Comanches. The next year, the peripatetic Vial accomplished the task, escorting leaders of the tribe to San Antonio to make an agreement which lasted, basically, until Texas ceased to be under Spanish rule in 1821.
Today

A mix of clouds and sun early, then becoming cloudy later in the day. High 81F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph.

Tonight

Overcast. Low 62F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.

Tomorrow

Cloudy. High near 80F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.
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YORK  Ruben Avila, 30, of Grand Island has pleaded guilty in a case where he was accused of having meth-loaded needles in his possession in York County.

He was also charged with failure to appear, but that was dismissed because it was determined Avila was incarcerated somewhere else and was unable to appear for an earlier arraignment date.

This case began when an officer with the York Police Department was on regular patrol in the middle of the night. In court documents, he indicates he saw a speeding vehicle in the 100 Block of North Lincoln Avenue and a traffic stop was initiated.

Avila was the driver.

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According to court documents, when the officer asked for Avilas drivers license, he could not produce one. Rather, he gave the officer an identification card from California and a post-release identification card from the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services. The officer said Avila told him he was coming from Grand Island and he had borrowed the vehicle from a friend.

An examination of Avilas information showed he had been charged with a number of controlled substance-related offenses.

While a citation was being issued for speeding, a drug dog alerted to the presence of narcotics in Avilas vehicle.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP)  A Utah school district said Friday it will open an independent investigation into alleged bullying of a 10-year-old girl who died by suicide after her family says she was harassed by fellow students for being Black and autistic.

The family of Isabella Izzy Tichenor accuses the district of not doing enough to protect their daughter after they reported the bullying to the school.

The outside probe marks an escalation of action after the Davis School District said earlier this week it was doing its own investigation and that it had responded appropriately and worked extensively with the family over their complaints.

The district, where Black students account for only about 1% of the approximately 73,000 students north of Salt Lake City, was recently reprimanded by the U.S. Department of Justice for failing to address widespread racial discrimination.
New Delhi: Every year, the nation celebrates Children's Day on November 14 marking a tribute to the country's first prime minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. Also known as 'Chacha Nehru', the late PM batted for children's education and how important it is for everyone to have access to read and write.

After the demise of Nehru, his birth anniversary which happens to be on November 14 was decided as the day to mark Children's Day or Bal Diwas. Earlier, it was celebrated on November 20.

So, to make this day special for you and your kids, we thought of compiling a list of movies that you simply can't afford to miss.

Bicycle Thieves (1948)

The Blue Umbrella (2005)

Nil Battey Sannata (2016)

Home Alone franchise

Baaja (2002)

Gattu (2012)

Inside out (2015)

Daddy Day Care (2003)

Up (2009)

Gippi (2013)

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)

Finding Nemo (2003)

Keep adding more to the movies list if you wish as it's always cool to have a checklist for such days, right?

Go binge-watch these and others to make this day a memorable one.

Lastly, a quote by Pandit Nehru best remembered on Children's Day: The children of today will make the India of tomorrow. The way we bring them up will determine the future of the country.

Here's wishing everyone a very Happy Children's Day!

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New Delhi: November 14th is celebrated as Children's Day in India with full gusto. Schools are decorated, special activities are planned for children and there is certain positivity in the air that can't be denied.

Children's Day, or Bal Diwas, is celebrated in the country on the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Fondly addressed as 'Chacha Nehru' by kids, he was known for his love towards children.

Apart from being a politician and a freedom fighter, Nehru was known to advocate for better education of children.

He is often remembered as saying, The children of today will make the India of tomorrow. The way we bring them up will determine the future of the country.

Before his death in 1964, Children's day was celebrated on November 20 in India, which coincided with Universal Children's Day by the United Nations.

However, after Nehru's death, a resolution was passed in the parliament to give him an appropriate farewell and it was unanimously decided to celebrate his birthday as Bal Diwas in the nation.

Here's wishing a very happy children's day to our readers!
New Delhi: Amid concerns over misleading claims of huge returns on cryptocurrency investment, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday chaired a meeting on the way forward on the issue, with government sources asserting that such unregulated markets cannot be allowed to become avenues for "money laundering and terror financing".

It was strongly felt in the meeting that attempts to mislead the youth through over-promising and non-transparent advertising should be stopped, the sources said, signalling that strong regulatory steps are in the offing.

"The government is cognizant of the fact that this is an evolving technology, it will keep a close watch and take proactive steps. There was consensus also that the steps taken in this field by the government will be progressive and forward looking," a source said.

The government will continue to proactively engage with experts and other stakeholders, sources added, noting that since the issue cuts across geographical borders, it was felt that it will also require global partnerships and collective strategies.

The meeting on the way forward for cryptocurrency and related issues was a very comprehensive one.

"It was also an outcome of a consultative process as RBI, Finance Ministry, Home Ministry had done an elaborate exercise on it as well as consulted experts from across the country and the world. Global examples and best practices were also looked at," the source said.

The RBI has repeatedly reiterated its strong views against cryptocurrencies saying they pose serious threats to the macroeconomic and financial stability of the country and also doubted the number of investors trading on them as well their claimed market value.

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das on Wednesday had reiterated his views against allowing cryptocurrencies saying they are a serious threat to any financial system since they are unregulated by central banks.

His comments come ahead of the RBI's internal panel report on the contentious topic which is expected next month.

The Supreme Court in early March 2020 had nullified the RBI circular banning cryptocurrencies. Following this in February 5, 2021, the central bank had instituted an internal panel to suggest a model of central bank's digital currency.

The RBI had announced its intent to come out with an official digital currency, in the face of proliferation of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin about which the central bank has had many concerns.

Private digital currencies/virtual currencies/crypto currencies have gained popularity in the past one decade or so. Here, regulators and governments have been sceptical about these currencies and are apprehensive about the associated risks. Also Read: WhatsApp Friend in Need scam on the rise: Heres all you need to know, how to remain safe

It can be noted that on March 4, 2021, the Supreme Court had set aside an RBI circular of April 6, 2018, prohibiting banks and entities regulated by it from providing services in relation to virtual currencies. Also Read: JPC members oppose proposal to reduce penalty amount in data protection bill
Tirupati: Ahead of chairing the 29th meeting of the Southern Zonal Council in the temple city of Tirupati on Sunday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah offered worship at the ancient shrine of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala here tonight.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy accompanied Shah during his visit to the Hill temple, a temple official told PTI.

On arrival, the union minister, clad in traditional attire, was accorded a warm reception by top officials of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) that governs the over two millennia old shrine, the official said.

Before leaving, Amit Shah was bestowed blessings by Vedic priests amid chanting of hymns, while TTD Board Chairman YV Subba Reddy and Executive Officer KS Jawahar Reddy honoured him by presenting a sacred silk cloth of the Lord and a holy portrait, the official said.

After landing at the airport here, Shah straightaway left for the nearby Tirumala Hills by road to seek the divine grace at the sacred shrine, amid tight security, the official said.

After offering prayers on the sacred Seven Hills, Shah immediately left for the Taj hotel in Tirupati, where the Southern Zonal Council meeting will take place on Sunday, a senior government official said.

Earlier, on arrival at Renigunta airport here, Amit Shah was accorded a warm welcome by the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, Vice-Chairman and Host of the Southern Zonal Council conclave here, the official added.

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New Delhi: Slamming BJP over violence in Amravati city, Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole on Saturday (November 13) alleged that the saffron party was conspiring to provoke riots ahead of the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.

Patole accused the BJP of trying to destabilize the Maharashtra government. "Attempts are being made to instigate riots in Maharashtra. The BJP wants to polarize society ahead of Uttar Pradesh elections. People should not fall prey to such tactics. The MVA government in Maharashtra is stable despite the BJP's efforts to destablize it," PTI quoted the state Congress chief as saying.

Fresh violence erupted earlier today in Amravati when stones were pelted at shops during a Bandh allegedly organised by local BJP workers leading to police lathi charging the protesters, an official told the news agency.

The Saturday Bandh was called against stone-pelting incidents that broke out on Friday during rallies held by Muslim organisations in protest against the Tripura communal violence.

Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil also condemned the violence in Nanded, Malegaon, Amaravati and other places, emphasizing that the focus was on keeping the situation under control and maintaining peace. "We condemn the violence. I spoke to Devendra Fadnavis, Amravati MP, to help maintain social harmony and peace. We are focusing on how to keep the situation under control and maintain peace," Patil was quoted as saying by ANI.

Meanwhile, following the violence today, internet services have been shut down and a four-day curfew imposed in Amravati. As per the order issued by additional police commissioner Sandip Patil curfew has been implemented in the city limits of Amravati under sections 144(1), (2), (3) of the CrPc to avoid any untoward incidents. Except for medical emergencies, people are not allowed to come out of houses. A gathering of more than five people is not allowed, the order stated.

(With agency inputs)

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New Delhi: As many as seven people have been killed including the Commanding Officer of an Assam Rifles unit when his convoy was attacked by the militants in the Singhat sub-division of Manipur's Churachandpur district on Saturday (November 13, 2021). Commanding Officer Col Viplav Tripathi's wife, minor son, and four other personnel have also lost their lives.

"A convoy of Assam Rifles was ambushed by insurgents in Thinghat, Manipur on November 13 at 1100 hrs. DG and all ranks of Assam Rifles offer condolences to the brave soldiers and families of the deceased," the official statement by HQ, DG Assam Rifles, read.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has expressed that the cowardly attack is 'extremely painful and condemnable' and has said that the perpetrators will be brought to justice soon.

Taking to Twitter, Singh said, "The cowardly attack on an Assam Rifles convoy in Churachandpur, Manipur is extremely painful & condemnable. The nation has lost 5 brave soldiers including CO 46 AR and two family members. My condolences to the bereaved families. The perpetrators will be brought to justice soon."

The cowardly attack on an Assam Rifles convoy in Churachandpur, Manipur is extremely painful & condemnable. The nation has lost 5 brave soldiers including CO 46 AR and two family members. My condolences to the bereaved families. The perpetrators will be brought to justice soon.  Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) November 13, 2021

Chief Minister of Manipur N Biren Singh has also condemned the attack.

"Strongly condemn the cowardly attack on a convoy of 46 AR which has reportedly killed few personnel including the CO & his family at CCpur today. The State forces & Para military are already on their job to track down the militants. The perpetrators will be brought to justice," Singh tweeted.

Strongly condemn the cowardly attack on a convoy of 46 AR which has reportedly killed few personnel including the CO & his family at CCpur today. The State forces & Para military are already on their job to track down the militants. The perpetrators will be brought to justice.  N.Biren Singh (@NBirenSingh) November 13, 2021

Further details are awaited.

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New Delhi: Calling it a calculated attack, a Delhi court has framed charges of murder, rioting, and criminal conspiracy against four accused of allegedly killing a man during the riots here last year. Anwar Hussain, Kasim, Shahrukh, and Khalid Ansari are accused of allegedly murdering a man named Deepak by beating him mercilessly near Ambedkar College on February 25, 2020. He died due to hemorrhagic shock, as per the post mortem report.

Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat framed charges under requisite sections against the accused persons and explained it to them in vernacular in the presence of their lawyers, to which they pleaded not guilty and claimed trial in the case.

The judge said, "By the manner of their mobilization and intent as construed from their conduct, the said unlawful assembly can be said to have conducted itself for riots and other offences like the murder of deceased Deepak, in the prosecution of their common object."

"The conspiracy is also writ large by the calculated attack on the victim by the unlawful assembly," he said in an order dated November 9.

The judge said that the most important witness in the case was one Sunil Kumar, who was an eyewitness to the entire incident and gave a complete picture as to how the deceased Deepak was killed by the "armed Muslim mob consisting of accused persons."

As per the court order, Sunil had stated, "On February 25, one Muslim unlawful assembly coming from Kardampuri Pulia and shouting Allah Ho Akbar was trying to cross the Pulia Gokulpur. The said armed unlawful assembly caught hold of Deepak who was mercilessly beaten."

The eyewitness stated that he hid behind a wall behind the drain and saw the entire murder through the gap in the wall.

He also identified all the four accused persons by their names.

"Thus, for the purpose of the charge, the prosecution has been able to satisfy the Court that an unlawful assembly including accused persons in the prosecution of their common object had committed riots and hit the deceased Deepak with a deadly weapon causing his death," the court noted.

The court said that there are grounds for presuming that the four accused committed offences under sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with a deadly weapon), and 302 (murder) read with section Section 149 (member of unlawful assembly guilty of the offence committed in prosecution of common object) of IPC.

Charges have also been framed under sections 302 (murder) read with 120B (criminal conspiracy).

Under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), an accused should be informed of the offence under which he is charged. The basic purpose of the charge is to let them know of the offence that they are charged with so that they can prepare a defence.

Communal clashes had broken out in northeast Delhi in February 2020, after violence between the Citizenship (Amendment) Act supporters and its protesters spiralled out of control leaving at least 53 people dead and over 700 injured.

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New Delhi: Taking cognizance of the severe air quality situation in the capital, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has called for an emergency meeting. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Health Minister Satyendar Jain and Environment Minister Gopal Rai will be at the meeting which will also see the presence of the Chief Secretary of Delhi.

The pollution control measures and suggestions of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) will be discussed at the meeting.

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal calls emergency meeting today to tackle air pollution; Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, Health minister Satyendar Jain, Environment minister Gopal Rai and Delhi Chief Secretary to take part in the meeting (file photo) pic.twitter.com/afanfuWKMV  ANI (@ANI) November 13, 2021

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Saturday (November 13) took a serious view of the severe air pollution in Delhi-NCR and suggested that if needed, the government can declare a two-day lockdown to bring down the levels, which has been caused by stubble burning, vehicles, firecrackers, industries and dust.

At the outset, a bench headed by Chief Justice NV Ramana told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, that the "situation is very bad... In the house we are wearing masks. It is a bad situation".

"How to control air pollution in Delhi, two days lockdown or what. How will people live in Delhi?" queried the Chief Justice.

Mehta began the argument detailing steps taken by the air quality management commission to abate air pollution in NCR and adjoining areas, which included steps taken to address agricultural stubble burning.

The bench also comprising Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and Surya Kant said instead of blaming the farmers, all state governments and the Centre should come together to address the air pollution issue.

The Chief Justice noted that stubble burning by farmers is only responsible for 25 per cent of the pollution, and the remaining 75 per cent pollution was from firecracker burning, vehicular pollution, dust.

Chief Justice told Mehta, "Where is the effective mechanism to control firecrackers, vehicular pollution. Look at the pollution level," to which the latter said that both the Centre and state governments are working together to address the issue.

The Chief Justice added, "We have nothing to do, governments need burning solutions, how to control. Need two to three days short term plans to control pollution."

The bench also observed, "Your projection is as if farmers are only responsible. What about steps taken to contain the pollution in Delhi?" Mehta clarified that he is not saying that only farmers are responsible for the severe air pollution which has engulfed Delhi-NCR.

The top court also took note of the fact that schools have opened in the national capital and asked the authorities to take immediate measures.

Justice Chandrachud cited the AIIMS Director's remark that it is a triple whammy - pollution, Covid, and dengue. "Their (kids') lungs are exposed," he added.

The top court told the Centre and the Delhi government to inform it on Monday the decisions taken to take emergency steps to address severe air pollution in the capital. The apex court was hearing a plea by a minor boy seeking directions against stubble burning and other factors associated with high pollution levels in Delhi-NCR.

(With Agency inputs)

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New Delhi: The Delhi government on Saturday (November 13, 2021) hit out at the Centre for 'not responding to letters' over the air pollution situation. Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai alleged that Union Minister Bhupender Yadav is 'not responding to his letters written twice' over the emergency situation of air pollution in the national capital.

He also said that the citizens should appeal to the environment ministry through social media to take necessary action on the issue.

"I wrote a letter to Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav twice over the issue of stubble burning but did not get any response yet. I don`t know why the Centre is not responding as this is an emergency situation," Rai told ANI.

"I think Delhi people should also appeal to the Union Minister through social media to take necessary action over this emergency situation of air pollution in Delhi. The Centre should not run away from its responsibilities, it should not stay silent," he added.

ALSO READ | Severe air quality: 2-day lockdown in Delhi? Supreme Court asks Centre to take emergency action

The AAP minister further said that the Delhi government is taking every possible step to control the air pollution like the anti-dust campaign, anti-open burning campaign and Red Light On, Gaadi Off campaign.

"Under Anti-dust campaign, we have taken actions at 450 sites. We are also spraying bio decomposer to control the stubble burning in Delhi. The Delhi govt ran an anti-dust campaign & inspected 2,500 sites. We`ve begun the `Red Light On, Gaadi Off` campaign for vehicle pollution; 550 people deployed to restrict bio-mass burning. Bio-decomposer is given to stop stubble burning," he informed.

The minister also said that people should reduce the use of private vehicles and increase using public transport.

He stated that the Arvind Kejriwal-led government is also asking the Delhi Metro Rail Transportation (DMRC) and Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) to increase the frequency of metro and buses so that more people can use them.

"I have also called for a meeting with DMRC and DTC on Monday to discuss the issue. I will again direct them to increase the frequency of metro and buses," he added.

Meanwhile, the overall air quality in the national capital remained in the 'severe' category on Saturday afternoon, as per the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR).

(With ANI inputs)

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Mumbai: Incidents of stone-pelting were reported on Friday (November 12) from Nanded, Malegaon and Amaravati in the backdrop of protests against the violence that took place in Tripura, informed Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil.

"Muslims across the state had taken out a protest march today against the violence in Tripura. During this, stone pelting was done in Nanded, Malegaon, Amaravati and some other places. I appeal to all Hindus and Muslims to maintain peace," said Patil.

"Situation under control, I am personally monitoring the situation through senior Police officials. If someone is found guilty, they won`t be spared. We need to maintain social harmony, I appeal to all. I also appeal to Police to control the situation with restraint and maintain peace," he added.

Around 7-8 police officials have been injured in the stone-pelting incident that took place in 3-4 locations in Nanded, informed Police."A sit-in protest was organised by Raza Academy in Nanded. Some youth were going towards mixed residential areas, police stopped them following which they pelted stones. Police used force to disperse them. It happened at 3-4 locations in the city," said Pramod Kumar Shewale, Superintendent of Police, Nanded.

"We are registering offences that took place, currently, the situation is peaceful in Nanded. I request people to not believe in rumours. 7-8 police officials have been injured," Shewale added. Meanwhile, in Amaravati, peace has been restored in the district and cases have been registered on the basis of complaints received, informed local police.

"Cases are being registered on the basis of five complaints. At present, it is peaceful here. No police permission was taken for this protest march. On the basis of complaints, we will take strict action against those involved," said Vikram Sali, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Amaravati.

Malegaon Superintendent of Police, Sachin Patil also said that the situation is peaceful in the area and regular patrolling has begun. "Police are taking action in connection with the incident that took place this evening. I`d like to tell people to not spread rumours otherwise action will be taken," he further said.

There were reports of violence in Panisagar in the North Tripura district on October 27. Tripura Inspector General (IG) Law and Order in-charge Saurabh Tripathi later said that fake photos and videos were being widely circulated on social media depicting the violence at Panisagar in Tripura, adding that these were being spread by some "anti-national" and "disturbing" elements.

He said, "No fire incident took place at any mosque in Tripura. The police have registered specific complaints and started probing on whatever had happened. And, regarding the malicious campaign in social media, cases were also registered".

Earlier, DIG Northern Range Lalhimnga Darlong had also said, "Exaggerated and perverted rumours were being spread in social media that could spread high tensions between two religious communities."

He, however, said that some miscreants indulged in violence as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad carried out a protest procession against the attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh.

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Lucknow: Former Uttar Pradesh minister Gayatri Prajapati and two others were sentenced to life imprisonment by a special court here on Friday for gang-raping a woman and her minor daughter.

The special court for lawmakers headed by Additional Sessions Judge PK Rai also imposed a fine of Rs 2 lakh on each convict.

Prajapati and two other convicts Ashok Tiwari and Ashish Shukla were present in the court when it pronounced the quantum of sentence against them.

Judge Rai had on Wednesday held Prajapati, a key figure in the previous Akhilesh Yadav government, and his accomplices guilty of gang-raping the woman and her minor daughter.

It had said the prosecution has been able to prove charges against them beyond a reasonable doubt.

The court had found all the three guilty of committing gang-rape under section 376 (D) of the IPC and making "gang penetrative sexual assault on a child" under section 5 (g) read with section 6 of the POSCO Act.

Section 6 of the POCSO Act provides for the punishment for gang-raping a minor girl. The punishment ranges from at least a 10-year jail term to life imprisonment.

Prajapati held transport and mining portfolios in the Akhilesh Yadav cabinet and was arrested in March 2017. He had been in jail since then.

During the hearing on Friday on the quantum of sentence, the counsel for Prajapati and others earlier pleaded before the court for leniency in awarding the sentence.

But the prosecution counsel opposed it vehemently, arguing that Prajapati was a minister in the government when he committed the offence along with his accomplices and "if a man on such a responsible post commits this kind of offence, misusing his power and position, the court should deal with him sternly to give a message to the society".

The three convicts now have the option of challenging their conviction and sentence in the high court.

While convicting the trio on Wednesday, Judge Rai had acquitted four others -- Vikas Verma, Roopeshwar, Amrendra Singh, alias Pintu, and Chandrapal -- due to lack of evidence.

The prosecution had produced 17 witnesses in the case.

While holding the trio, the court had also directed the Lucknow police commissioner to ascertain the circumstances in which the rape victim and two other witnesses had changed their statements time and again during the trial.

While deposing before the court, the victim had initially supported her allegation of gang-rape in the FIR, but during her cross-examination, she had retracted from it.

The court, however, relied on her initial deposition while convicting the trio.

The FIR against the minister was registered at the Gautampalli police station here on Feb 18, 2017, on the directions of the Supreme Court, which had given its order on the woman's plea against the police inaction over her complaint.

The woman had claimed that the minister and his accomplices have been raping her since October 2014 and she decided to complain against them after they targetted her minor daughter as well in July 2016.

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New Delhi: An elated Lt Col Quazi Sajjad Ali Zahir (Retd.) who played a key role in the 1971 Bangladesh's war of Liberation has thanked the Indian government for honoring him with the Padma Shri award.

Speaking to WION, he said," It's like a dream come true....I thought things are forgotten but I found Indian people, Indian govt and your system does not forget. The small role I played, has been remembered."

Padma Awards are one of the highest civilian honours of India announced annually on the eve of Republic Day. Lt Col Quazi Sajjad, who was once a Pakistani soldier switched to the Indian side and thus played a key role in Pakistan's losses in that war. He explained, "Due to financial reasons, I had to join the Pakistani army. I wanted to be a senior officer, I found out this Pakistan was not for us. They used to maltreat us, criticize us, make fun of us. They used to treat us like servants. (Naukar hai hum longon ka)"

He crossed into India with 20 Pakistani rupees, one pant and shirt and handed himself over to CRPF at Samba. He gives the details of Pakistani minefields, artillery position, helicopter pads to the Indian side.

He later trained Mukti Bahini. Pointing to the source of his inspiration to take the decision, he said, "We heard the call of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, calling people this time struggle is for freedom and independence.. I could train the Mukti Bahini.

Asked about the death sentence by Pakistan on him which continues till today, he said, "The commanders started suspecting...Indian Airforce comes in and bombs and goes away. Some helicopters come, Sajjad must be sitting on them. I was not on the plans. It was my map..court martial was ordered and I was given death sentence. Order was to capture me alive and we would execute. We will parade u on TV, they say, Rakhey Allaha Marey Ki."

Due to his support, Indian Army penetrated 56 miles into Pakistan's Shakargarh and captured the strategic town of Zafarwal. The 1971 war was the biggest defeat of Pakistan since its creation in 1947 and the war broke the country into parts.

Detailing Pakistan's cause of failure, he said, "Pakistan failed everywhere in 1971. Pakistani Army is so well trained, they have most murder equipment from America, China and Europe. Their weapons were of much higher category than India. Indians using own manufactured weapons. But what a shame... an army that conduct genocide they can never fight. You don't fight with weapons you fight with heart.

93,000 Pakistani soldiers surrendered without a fight. He is now playing a key role in honoring the Indian soldiers who laid their lives for the liberation of Bangladesh. He has proposed to Bangladesh PM Hasina that "we must honor friends of Bangladesh.

He said, "Indian army is liberator army for us. This liberator army, Mukhti army has gone from Bangladesh with dignity and honour. Whenever soldiers enter one country, they murder and loot. Indian army went back with dignity and honor. They should be honored."

237 Indians from Indian sepoys to President and PM's have been honored by Bangladesh. Bangladesh plans to honor every Indian martyr of the Bangladesh war and a monument is being built in the country's Ashuganj. The monument is based on ribs cage and is expected to be opened in two years' time.

ALSO READ: Matha B Manjamma Jogati gets Padma Shri, transgender folk dancer's gesture before receiving award goes viral - Watch

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New Delhi: With 11,850 new COVID-19 infections in the last 24 hours, India's active caseload has now dropped to its lowest in 274 days, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare informed on Saturday (November 13, 2021) morning.

The count of active cases in the country has now declined to 1,36,308.

India also registered 555 coronavirus-related deaths and 12,403 recoveries in the last 24 hours. So far, 4,63,245 have died of the virus across the country while 3,38,26,483 have recuperated.

Earlier on Friday, the country had recorded a single-day rise of 12,516 COVID-19 cases.

India's COVID-19 vaccination coverage has also crossed the 111-crore landmark milestone after over 58 lakh vaccine doses were administered on Friday.

ALSO READ | Good news for travellers! Indian Railways to restore pre-COVID train services

Meanwhile, Europe has become the epicentre of the pandemic again and some governments are considering re-imposing lockdowns in the run-up to Christmas. Countries like the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic are taking or planning measures to curb the spread.

The continent, notably, accounts for more than half of the average 7-day infections globally and about half of the latest deaths, the highest levels since April last year when the virus was at its initial peak in Italy.

The World Health Organization's report for the week to November 7 showed that Europe, including Russia, was the only region to record a rise in cases, up 7%, while other areas reported declines or stable trends. Similarly, it reported a 10% increase in deaths, while other regions reported declines.

(With agency inputs)

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New Delhi: The Indian govt is all set to focus on spreading Indian spirituality abroad and for this the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) has started the process. The director general of ICCR Dinesh K. Patnaik held meetings with spiritual organizations in the country last week to evolve a strategy.

Speaking to WION, he said, "Spirituality as soft power has not been used by the govt, lot of spiritual organizations in India have centers abroad...Idea is work with organization which are already in the field, and govt organization like ministry of Ayush, ICCR, MEA, Ministry of health to see all of work together to share the great treasure we have with rest of the world.

Founded in 1950, ICCR is an autonomous body under the Ministry of External Affairs. Its main function is work towards the spread of Indian culture. Last week ICCR organized a program for foreign diplomats based in India on spirituality traditions. The programme saw a packed house.

DG ICCR explained, "Spirituality, yoga, Indic traditions, great traditions of India. ICCR's job is to take Indian culture abroad, and this is a large part of our culture. To see Spirituality, Yogic tradition become part of our Soft Power is what ICCR is doing.

One of the major initiatives on spread of Indian tradition was Indian PM Modi's proposal at the United Nations to celebrate 21st June as Yoga Day. He gave the proposal during his first address at the United Nations General Assembly in 2014. Since then, the celebrations on Yoga day have grown in size. Indian missions have been engaged in the spread of yoga, including yoga certification programs.

Dinesh Patnaik highlighted, "Spirituality is where mind and matter get together. There are many spiritual organizations, which do spirituality across the world, especially at a time like this.....our spirituality, our age-old traditions give us a wonderful opportunity to give solace to the world.

Rishikesh is one of the key locations in India which have seen a lot of foreign visitors. Infact, spirituality is the biggest search in Google.

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New Delhi: Internet services were shut down and a four-day curfew was imposed on Saturday (November 13, 2021) in Maharashtra's Amravati city which witnessed fresh violence during a Bandh, a senior police official said.

A mob hurled stones at shops during the Bandh (shut-down) allegedly organised by local BJP workers in protest against the rallies organized by Muslim organizations the day before to condemn the recent violence in Tripura, police said.

Internet services in the city will remain suspended for three days so as to prevent the spread of rumours which can fuel violence, said city Commissioner of Police Arti Singh.

The curfew, imposed earlier in the day, will remain in force for four days, she announced.

On Saturday morning, hundreds of people, many of them holding saffron flags in their hands and raising slogans, came out on streets in Rajkamal Chowk area of the eastern Maharashtra city, located around 670 km from Mumbai.

ALSO READ | BJP trying to provoke riots ahead of UP polls, alleges Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole

Some members of the mob hurled stones at shops in Rajkamal Chowk and other places, the police official said, adding that the police lathi-charged the protesters to bring the situation under control. Against the backdrop of back-to-back incidents of stone-pelting on Friday and Saturday, additional police commissioner Sandip Patil issued orders imposing curfew in the city limits of Amravati under sections 144(1), (2), (3) of the CrPc to avoid any untoward incidents. Except for medical emergencies, people are not allowed to come out of houses. A gathering of more than five people is not allowed, as per the order.

On Friday, stone-pelting was reported during rallies taken out by Muslim organisations to protest against incidents in Tripura at Amravati, Nanded, Malegaon, Washim and Yavatmal. Police have so far arrested 20 people and detained four others by registering 20 FIRs under various charges, including rioting, in connection with Friday's incidents.

In Amravati, over 8,000 people had gathered outside the district collector's office on Friday to submit a memorandum demanding that atrocities against the minority community in Tripura be stopped. When people were leaving after submitting the memorandum, stone-pelting took place at three places between Chitra Chowk and Cotton Market under the limits of the Kotwali police station.

Meanwhile, launching a veiled attack on opposition BJP, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Saturday said the violence in Amravati and other places was aimed at destabilising the MVA government. Speaking to reporters in Aurangabad, Raut said the state government is firm in the saddle and the real faces of the perpetrators of violence will be exposed soon.

"Raising the bogey of violence, they (Opposition) will meet the state governor and write letters to the Union home ministry claiming that the (law and order) situation in Maharashtra is deteriorating. This will happen in the future too. But the state government is firm in the saddle," Raut said.

ALSO READ | Modi govt incapable of protecting nation: Rahul Gandhi on Manipur attack

Amravati district guardian minister Yashomati Thakur said some anti-social elements are trying to vitiate the atmosphere by throwing stones at shops.

"The state government will take necessary action. However, some people are using this for political gains," she said and appealed to people to not believe rumours. AIMIM MP Imtiaz Jaleel has also condemned the violence in Amravati.

"I want to question those leaders in the state who came to power by taking the votes of Muslims why they didn't condemn the violence in Tripura. If this violence in Maharashtra is a 'tit for tat' by any political party then this is the example of irresponsibility," he said.

Opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis said it was wrong to organise rallies in the state for an incident that "never occurred" in Tripura and appealed to people to exercise restraint.

The Tripura government and local police have clarified that no religious place of a minority community was burned down. They have issued pictures of the same as well. I appeal to both the communities to observe restraint, the former chief minister told reporters in Mumbai.

The senior BJP leader also said that political parties in the state government should not give inflammatory statements.

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New Delhi: As the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an orange alert for six districts of Kerala for Saturday (November 13, 2021), Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that heavy rains were expected in the southern districts of Kerala including Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam. The Kerala CM also directed officials to take extreme caution in river banks, hilly areas and in tourist places.

"As part of westerly winds getting stronger, heavy rains are expected in southern districts of Kerala including Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam," CM Vijayan said in a statement.

Kerala CM further directed the authorities to take extreme caution in river banks and hilly areas in view of the expected heavy rainfall.

"Emergency relief camps will be set up in landslide and flood-prone areas. Also, I have directed to take extreme caution in river banks, hilly areas, and in tourist places as heavy rainfall is expected in the coming hours," CM Vijayan stated.

ALSO READ | Odisha, Andhra to experience heavy rainfall next week: IMD

Meanwhile, according to reports by the weather department, a new low pressure in the Andaman Sea over the Bay of Bengal is likely to form in the next 12 hours, and is expected to reach the Bay of Bengal by November 15 and gain strength as a severe low pressure.

Isolated heavy showers are expected in Kerala for the next two days. In addition, the Central Meteorological department has forecast normal rainfall over the next two weeks (November 12-25), especially in central and southern Kerala.

On the other hand, the Central Meteorological Department issued an orange alert in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, and Idukki districts and a yellow alert in Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur, and Kasaragod districts on Saturday.

Orange alert issued in Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Ernakulam, and Idukki districts and a yellow alert in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur, and Kasaragod districts for Sunday.

ALSO READ | Heavy rain to lash Kerala today, IMD issues orange alert in six districts

CM Vijayan in his statement also said that in the wake of the orange and yellow alerts issued by IMD and considering the possibility of isolated thundershowers in the hilly areas, more caution is needed in hilly areas and the places where heavy rainfall is received in the last few days.

Earlier in the day, incessant rains caused landslides between sections of Neyyatinkara and Parassala and between sections of Eraniel and Kulithurai. Waterlogging was also reported between Nagercoil Junction and Kanniyakumari section. In view of safety, two trains were fully cancelled fully while 10 were partially cancelled in the region.

(With agency inputs)

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Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh government has decided to exempt vehicles travelling to Bhopal to attend the 'Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas' tribal convention, to be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 15, from paying the toll.

Buses ferrying tribals to the rally, to be held at the Jamboree Maidan, will also have mechanics onboard to ensure quick repair in the event of the buses developing a snag during the journey.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has directed officials to take stock of the preparations for Monday's (November 15) programme in a meeting held on Friday, an official statement said.

All the vehicles coming for the 'Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas' programme in Bhopal will be free from (paying) toll tax, the statement quoted Chouhan as saying.

On Wednesday (November 10), the Union Cabinet had decided to declare November 15 as 'Janjatiya Gaurav Divas' to mark the birth anniversary of Birsa Munda and honour the contributions of the members of Scheduled Tribes to Indian history and culture.

Meanwhile, the chief minister also directed officials to ensure that an ambulance accompanies the vehicles coming for the programme from distant and remote districts of the state.

The officials were also directed to ensure that the buses carrying tribals for the rally are fit for travel and subject drivers to breath-analyser tests.

This programme is being discussed in the entire country. There should be no shortage in the arrangements for safe transportation of all participants, their accommodation and food. It is our responsibility that the tribal brothers and sisters coming from different districts should arrive and reach back to their homes safely, Chouhan said.

According to BJP insiders, the saffron party was trying to ensure the participation of 2.50 lakh tribals in the event.

Though the government is so far silent on the budget of the forthcoming convention, Congress MLA and tribal leader Hiralal Alawa had on November 11 alleged that CM Chouhan was diverting funds meant for health, education and development of Adivasis for Modi's publicity for the event.

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New Delhi: Addressing a public rally in Samajwadi Party stronghold Azamgarh, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday (November 13) claimed that under the leadership of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath mafia-raj, casteism, nepotism and appeasement have ended in the state.

Shah, who was on the second day of his UP visit ahead of the Assembly elections next year, said Azamgarh has witnessed transformation under CM Yogi's rule. Azamgarh is witnessing transformation under Yogi government. 'Mafia-raj' has ended under CM Adityanath, ANI quoted the senior BJP leader as saying.

Azamgarh is witnessing transformation under Yogi government. 'Mafia-raj' has ended under CM Adityanath: Union Home Minister Amit Shah addressing a public rally at Azamgarh pic.twitter.com/9g9wZEY0tI  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) November 13, 2021

He further claimed that the unemployment rate has reduced during the current UP government. Yogi Ji brought an end to casteism, nepotism and appeasement. Before 2015, UP's economy was 6th in the country & today's it's at no. 2. Unemployment rate reduced to 4.1%; there're 40 medical colleges, medical seats have gone up to 3800, he added.

Yogi Ji brought an end to casteism, nepotism & appeasement. Before 2015, UP's economy was 6th in the country & today's it's at no. 2. Unemployment rate reduced to 4.1%; there're 40 medical colleges, medical seats have gone up to 3800: Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Azamgarh pic.twitter.com/YCo5NqkiWc  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) November 13, 2021

The Union Home Minister also laid the foundation stone of a state university in Azamgarh. Notedly, Azamgarh is SP chief Akhilesh Yadav's Lok Sabha constituency. Shah advised Adityanath, who was present at the rally, to name the new university after Maharaja Suheldev.

Azamgarh was known for radicalisation during the Samajwadi Party rule. Now, Azamgarh will be known for education. I want to suggest to CM Yogi Adityanath to name the university being built here after Maharaja Suheldev, Shah stated.

Amit Shah is also scheduled to address a public meeting in Basti later today.

Meanwhile, Akhilesh Yadav is in UP chief minister's bastion Gorakhpur. He kickstarted the third leg of his "Samajwadi Vijay Yatra" on Saturday.

Uttar Pradesh will witness high-profile elections to its 403 Assembly seats in early 2022.

While Yogi Adityanath earlier said he will contest the upcoming polls from wherever BJP decides, the SP supremo has declared he will not contest the 2022 polls.

(With agency inputs)

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Amravati: A curfew was imposed in Maharashtra's Amravati on Saturday against the backdrop of back to back incidents of stone-pelting on Friday and Saturday, an official order said.

As per the order issued on Saturday by the Amravati police commissionerate, the curfew has come into effect in the limits of the city and will remain in force till further order is issued.

This order was issued by officiating police commissioner Sandip Patil under sections 144(1), (2), (3) of the CrPc to avoid any untoward incidents.

Except for medical emergencies, people are not allowed to come out of their houses. Similarly, gathering of more than five people is not allowed, it said.

On Saturday morning, a mob hurled stones and damaged shops at various places in Amravati city during a bandh allegedly organised by BJP prompting the police to lathicharge the protesters, an official said.

The bandh (shutdown) was called against Friday's stone-pelting incidents in Amravati during rallies held by Muslim organisations in protest against the Tripura communal violence.

On Friday, over eight thousand people had gathered outside the Amravati district collector's office to submit a memorandum demanding that atrocities against the minority community be stopped, officials had said.

When people were leaving after submitting the memorandum, stone-pelting took place at three places between Chitra Chowk and Cotton Market under the limits of the Kotwali police station.

Kotwali Police has so far registered 11 FIRs under various charges including rioting. Ten persons were arrested.

Meanwhile, in a veiled attack on opposition BJP, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut has said the violence in Amravati and other places is aimed at destabilising the MVA government.

Speaking to reporters on the Amravati violence, Raut said the state government is firm in the saddle and that the real faces of the perpetrators of violence will be exposed soon.

"The violence that is taking place in Maharashtra is aimed at destabilising the MVA government. Raising the bogey of violence, they (Opposition) will meet the state governor and write letters to the Union home ministry claiming that the (law and order) situation in Maharashtra is deteriorating. This will happen in future too. But the state government is firm in the saddle," Raut said.

He said the "real faces" behind this violence will be exposed in the inquiry of the state Home ministry.

The Shiv Sena, NCP, and Congress are the constituents of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government.

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New Delhi: Former president of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) and president of Shiromani Akali Dal (Delhi) Paramjit Singh Sarna has accused the DSGMC management of gross financial irregularities and have demanded from Delhi government to launch an investigation by the Economic Offences Wing of Delhi police.

Our team conducted a raid on the strongroom of Gurdwara Rakabganj and found Rs 63 lakh missing besides there were banned notes worth more than 30 lakh alleged Sarna while talking to Zee News here on Saturday evening.

He said the accounts register of the Gurdwara had an entry of Rs 1.63 crores but Rs 63 lakh was found missing.

The raid revealed that Rs 63 lakh have gone missing from the treasury when the books showed Rs 1.63 crore in entries, said Sarna.

He said SAD(D) had demanded from the Delhi government to immediately launch an investigation by the Economic Offences Wing of Delhi police in the alleged misappropriations of gurdwara funds.

He questioned, Why demonetized currency was kept in the DSGMC vaults and why the books and the cash show a mismatch of more than 30 lakh rupees?

On the other hand while talking to Zee TV network, DSGPC president Manjider Singh Sirsa accused Sarna and his brother Harvinder Singh Sarna and Manjir Singh GK, former DSGMC President of allegedly befooling the sangat.

There is not an iota of truth in their claims but just the bunch of lies, our staff asked Sarna to count the donations in his presence but he chose to run away claiming that he had chest pain which itself raises suspicion behind their concocted story, said Sirsa.

With regards to the "invaild" old (banned) currency with the domination of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes, he said they were with the gurdwara since demonetization. "We have written to the government several times to exchange the old notes but to no avail," said Sirsa.

Sirsa along with the general secretary of DSGMC Harmeet Singh Kalka announced to lead a delegation to meet officiating jathedar of Akal Takht Giani Harpreet Singh urging him to excommunicate Sarna brothers from Sikh panth .

They had tried to forcibly wrest control of gurdwara office and golak so they should be given stringent religious punishment, said Sirsa.

Manjit Singh GK told that they have filed a complaint against Sirsa and Kalka along with the govt employees who are responsible for this embezzlement of Guru Ki Golak.

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New Delhi: Peoples Liberation Army Manipur and the Manipur Naga Peoples Front (MNPF) have claimed responsibility for the ambush that killed seven people including the Commanding Officer of an Assam Rifles unit on Saturday (November 13).

In a joint statement, the two proscribed militant organisations claimed they carried out the attack on the paramilitary force at Sehkan village in Churachandpur district.

Earlier today, the Commanding Officer (CO) of 46 Assam Rifles Colonel Viplav Tripathi, his wife and 8-year-old son and four soldiers were killed in an attack by militants near the India-Myanmar border in Manipur.

Tripathi's convoy was ambushed at Sehkan village in Churachandpur district in a fresh eruption of militant violence in the state.

There were blasts from Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) before the Assam Rifles personnel engaged the militants in a gunfight, PTI reported. Besides 7 people who were killed including CO Tripathi, four other soldiers were injured in the attack that took place around 10 am on Saturday near S Sehken village under Behiang police station, the Indian Army informed.

"Five soldiers including Col Viplav Tripathi Commanding Officer of 46 Assam Rifles have made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty," the official statement of Director General, Assam Rifles said, as per ANI.

PM Modi, President Kovind condemn the brutal attack

Condemning the attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the sacrifices of the soldiers and their families will never be forgotten. "I pay homage to those soldiers and family members who have been martyred today. Their sacrifice will never be forgotten. My thoughts are with the bereaved families in this hour of sadness," he tweeted.

President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday said the attack on the Assam Rifles convoy in Manipur deserves unreserved condemnation and that the nation stands united with the bereaved families. "The attack on the Assam Rifles convoy that led to martyrdom of our soldiers and family members in Manipur deserves unreserved condemnation. This cowardly act reaffirms our resolve to root out terror in all its forms and manifestations. We stand united with the bereaved families," Kovind said in a tweet.

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu wrote on Twitter, "Deeply anguished by the martyrdom of five brave soldiers of Assam Rifles, including a Commanding Officer and two of his family members in Manipur today. My condolences to the bereaved family members. Strongly condemn this heinous act of terrorism."

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the sacrifices of the brave soldiers will not go in vain. "Anguished over a cowardly attack on Assam Riffles convoy in Manipur. I express my deepest condolences to the bereaved families. The entire nation stands firmly with our valiant security forces. The sacrifices of our brave soldiers will not go in vain," he tweeted.

Opposition condoles deaths

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi slammed the Modi government over the terror attack in Manipur, alleging the incident "once again proves" that it is incapable of protecting the nation. "The terrorist attack on the army convoy in Manipur once again proves that the Modi government is not capable of protecting the nation. My condolences to the martyrs and condolences to their families. The nation will remember your sacrifice," he said in a tweet in Hindi.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee condemned the attack and tweeted, "I strongly condemn the dastardly attack by militants on a convoy of 46 Assam Rifles in Manipur. It pains me to learn that we have lost five brave soldiers, including the CO and his family members. Heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. The entire nation awaits justice!"

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik strongly condemned the "dastardly" militant attack on Assam Rifles personnel. "Strongly condemn the dastardly attack on Assam Rifles convoy in Manipur. My condolences for the bereaved families of the bravehearts and prayers for the speedy recovery of the injured," he said.

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New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday (November 13) met with the US Congress delegation here and had a "frank" discussion on regional issues of mutual interest, including those related to South Asia and the Indo-Pacific region.

According to an official statement by the Prime Minister office (PMO), PM Modi met with US Congressional delegation led by Senator John Cornyn which included Senator Michael Crapo, Senator Thomas Tuberville, Senator Michael Lee, Congressman Tony Gonzales and Congressman John Kevin Elizey Sr.Senator John Cornyn is the co-founder and co-chair of the Senate Caucus on India and Indian Americans."

The Congressional delegation noted the excellent management of the COVID-19 situation in India in spite of the challenges of a large and diverse population.

Prime Minister noted that people`s participation based on the democratic ethos of the country played a key role in managing the worst pandemic of the last one century," read the statement. It informed that PM Modi appreciated the consistent support and constructive role of the US Congress in deepening the India-US comprehensive global strategic partnership which is anchored in shared democratic values.

"There was a warm and frank discussion on regional issues of mutual interest, including those related to South Asia and the Indo-Pacific region," said the statement. It further stated that PM Modi and the visiting delegation noted the increasing convergence of strategic interests between the two strategic partners and expressed a desire to further enhance cooperation with an aim to promote global peace and stability.

PM Modi also exchanged views on the potential for enhancing the bilateral relationship and strengthening cooperation on contemporary global issues such as terrorism, climate change and reliable supply chains for critical technologies, the statement added.

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New Delhi: All India Congress Committee (AICC) Uttar Pradesh Incharge Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday (November 13) targeted Union Home Minister over the increasing snatching incidents in the state.

Taking to Twitter, the Congress general secretary, "The Home Minister of the country gives the jumla (rhetoric) of "stepping out laden with jewellery", but only the women of UP knows what kind of things they have to deal with every day. That`s why `I am girl, I can fight` is necessary, to increase the participation of women in politics and in making security-related policies."

She also cited a news report which reported the recent crime incidents in the Kanpur district of Uttar Pradesh. Last month in Lucknow, Shah had praised the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh and said that today even a 16-year-old girl can roam around wearing jewellery at 12 in the night, and not have to fear for their safety.

The next elections are scheduled to be held early next year to elect 403 members of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly. BJP in the 2017 polls, won 312 seats with a vote share of 39.67 per cent.

This was followed by a strong electoral performance in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls when the BJP won 62 of the state`s 80 parliamentary constituencies.

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New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday (November 13, 2021) strongly condemned the terrorist attack on an Assam Rifles convoy in Manipur in which five soldiers and two of their family members were killed.

"Strongly condemn the attack on the Assam Rifles convoy in Manipur. I pay homage to those soldiers and family members who have been martyred today. Their sacrifice will never be forgotten. My thoughts are with the bereaved families in this hour of sadness," said PM Narendra Modi in a tweet.

Strongly condemn the attack on the Assam Rifles convoy in Manipur. I pay homage to those soldiers and family members who have been martyred today. Their sacrifice will never be forgotten. My thoughts are with the bereaved families in this hour of sadness.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 13, 2021

Additionally, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also condemned the terrorist attack. "The cowardly attack on an Assam Rifles convoy in Churachandpur, Manipur is extremely painful and condemnable. The nation has lost five brave soldiers including CO 46 AR and two family members. My condolences to the bereaved families. The perpetrators will be brought to justice soon," tweeted the Defence Minister.

The cowardly attack on an Assam Rifles convoy in Churachandpur, Manipur is extremely painful & condemnable. The nation has lost 5 brave soldiers including CO 46 AR and two family members. My condolences to the bereaved families. The perpetrators will be brought to justice soon.  Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) November 13, 2021

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh also condemned the attack on Assam Riffle`s convoy. Taking to Twitter, he said, "Strongly condemn the cowardly attack on a convoy of 46 AR which has reportedly killed a few personnel including the CO and his family at Churachandpur today. The State forces and Paramilitary are already on their job to track down the militants. The perpetrators will be brought to justice."

The Commanding Officer (CO) of 46 Assam Rifles Colonel Viplav Tripathy, his wife and 8-year-old son and four soldiers were killed in an ambush by terrorists near the India-Myanmar border in Manipur on Saturday.

According to sources, four others are reported to be injured in the incident. The incident took place around 10 am on Saturday near S Sehken village under Behiang police station in Churachandpur district of Manipur. Further details awaited.

(With ANI inputs)

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New Delhi: India last week conferred Padma Award to two Indonesian nationals, Dr I. Wayan Dibia for art related to Ramayana, Mahabharata and Agus Indra Udayana for his work in promoting Gandhian values in the archipelago nation. Both are based out of Bali, the only Hindu-majority province in Muslim-majority Indonesia.

Speaking to the media, Dr I. Wayan Dibia on the Indian govt conferring him award said, "This is a very special award for me. It is out of my expectations. In my work, I work a lot in Ramayana and Mahabharata. I didnt expect this kind of recognition being given by the Indian govt."

He has created more than 150 new works on dance and dance dramas, mostly exploring both the Hindu Epics. Indian culture has impacted Bali since 5th century and 9 different art forms in the province utilizing the epics.

Dibia explained, "people of Bali are very familiar with Mahabharata and Ramayana. The people Java too. Java Bali are areas where Ramayana and Mahabharata are very important. That is the literature we use in my performing arts..To Bali people it's not just literature, it is Itihas, story of Gods, the journey of Gods, the philosophical way of life".

ALSO READ | From Neeraj Chopra to Indian men's hockey team, national sports awardees gather at Rashtrapati Bhawan - See pics

Dibia is Bali's most influential Kecak Dancer, a traditional Indonesian art form depicting chapters of Ramayana. He has collaborated with Indian artists. In 2016, he worked with Indian dancers living in Toronto.

Meanwhile, the other key Indonesian awardee is Agus Indra Udayana is the founder of Ashram Gandhi, Bali. The ashram gives scholarships to 45 students for education and life in Ashram follows "simplicity of Mahatma Gandhi".

"It was a surprise for me...I say thank to President Kovind and PM Modi" Udayana said, highlighting, "we should live very simple...Gandhi ji's idea's very simple.."

His Ashram has been visited by 2 Indonesian President has been to the Ashram-Megawati Sukarnoputri and Abdurrahman Wahid. Both of them also were honoured at the Indonesian embassy. Udayana and Dibia are Hindus by religion.

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New Delhi: Russian President Vladimir Putin is likely to visit India next month for a bilateral summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi that is expected to produce tangible outcomes in further expanding ties in areas of defence, trade and energy, people familiar with the development said on Friday (November 12). Both sides are holding talks to firm up the visit around the second week of December even as Russia is preparing to make the delivery of the first batch of S-400 missile systems to India within the next one month, they said.

Ahead of the summit, the two sides are expected to also hold the inaugural two-plus-two foreign and defence ministerial dialogue in Moscow which is set to add new momentum to the overall 'special and privileged strategic' partnership between the two countries. It is learnt that the two sides are going to firm up a number of agreements in the areas of defence, trade and investment, and science and technology at the summit. A framework for military-technical cooperation is set to be renewed for the next decade at the summit besides announcing a joint commission on technology and science.

India and Russia have also reached the final phase of negotiation for a logistics support agreement and it is likely to be signed either during the two-plus-two talks or at the summit. The pact will allow militaries of the two countries to use each other's bases for repair and replenishment of supplies, besides facilitating scaling up of overall defence cooperation.

The unfolding humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and implications of the Taliban's takeover of Kabul for regional security are expected to figure prominently at the summit. Secretary of the Security Council of Russia Nikolai Patrushev visited India in September as part of a follow-up to the telephonic conversation between Modi and Putin on the developments in Afghanistan. Patrushev again visited India this week to attend the Delhi Regional Security Dialogue on Afghanistan. Apart from Russia and India, the dialogue was attended by top security officials of Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

At the dialogue, the eight participating nations vowed to work towards ensuring that Afghanistan does not become a safe haven for global terrorism and called for the formation of an "open and truly inclusive" government in Kabul. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited India in April that was learnt to be aimed at preparing the ground for the annual India-Russia summit. The summit was postponed last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Both the countries have a mechanism under which India's prime minister and the Russian president hold a summit meeting annually to review the entire gamut of ties. So far, 20 annual summit meetings have taken place alternatively in India and Russia. Russia has been a time-tested partner for India and the country has been a key pillar of New Delhi's foreign policy. On the S-400 deal, the people cited above said both sides are committed to it.

In October 2018, India had signed a USD 5 billion deal with Russia to buy five units of the S-400 air defence missile systems, despite a warning from the Trump administration that going ahead with the contract may invite US sanctions. India made the first tranche of payment of around USD 800 million to Russia for the missile systems in 2019. The S-400 is known as Russia's most advanced long-range surface-to-air missile defence system.

Following US sanctions on Turkey, there have bee apprehensions that Washington may impose similar punitive measures on India. The supply of S-400 missiles to India by Russia are expected to begin later his year.

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New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday (November 13, 2021) called for an emergency meeting over the severe air quality situation in the national capital. Following the meeting the Delhi CM made some big announcements.

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said, for a week from Monday onwards, schools will be physically closed; to continue virtually so that children don't have to breathe polluted air.

Construction activities not to be allowed (between November 14-17), Delhi CM added.

Govt offices to operate from home (WFH) at 100% capacity for a week. Private offices to be issued an advisory to go for WFH option as much as possible: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal pic.twitter.com/6TiPb1B8GD  ANI (@ANI) November 13, 2021

The Delhi government also said that the offices, both government and private, will operate on work from home structure as far as possible.

Govt offices to operate from home (WFH) at 100% capacity for a week. Private offices to be issued an advisory to go for WFH option as much as possible, said Arvind Kejriwal.

These decisions were taken by the Delhi government in view of prevailing weather situation. "With no wind movement predicted between November 14 and 17, the air quality is expected to turn worse," the Delhi CM said.

Delhi governments action plan comes after the Supreme Court today termed the air pollution situation in Delhi and nearby regions as 'emergency' and suggested clamping a lockdown in the Capital city.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Health Minister Satyendar Jain and Environment Minister Gopal Rai were also present at the meeting along with the Chief Secretary of Delhi. The pollution control measures and suggestions of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) were discussed at the meeting.

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A police complaint was filed on Friday (November 12) against Former Union Minister and Congress leader Salman Khurshid over his recent book 'Sunrise over Ayodhya-Nationhood in our times' at the Kotwali police station of Jaipur. Advocate Bharat Sharma filed a complaint under Sections 153, 295 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against the statements cited in Khurshid`s book, on the grounds of 'hurting religious sentiments'.

Speaking to reporters, Advocate Sharma said, "While reading a newspaper, I got to know that Salman Khurshid, in his book, has compared Hindutva to radical terrorist groups like ISIS and Boko Haram."

Condemning such a comparison, the advocate accused Khurshid of hurting religious sentiments through his book."This is condemnable and has hurt my religious sentiments. And that is why I have filed a complaint in Kotwali Police Station and demanded an FIR against it. A case should be filed on the grounds of hurting the religious sentiments," he said. Earlier on Thursday (November 11), Bharatiya Janata Party leader Ram Kadam had filed a police complaint against Khurshid over his book and also against Congress leader Rashid Alvi over his comments on `Ram Devotees` at the Ghatkopar Police Station of Mumbai.

Kadam demanded an FIR on his complaint and the arrest of the Congress leaders. Yesterday, two Delhi lawyers had also filed complaints with Delhi Police against Khurshid, for allegedly defaming and comparing Hinduism with terrorism in his book. On Wednesday, former union minister Salman Khurshid got embroiled in controversy for "defaming and comparing Hinduism with terrorism" in his recent book "Sunrise Over Ayodhya: Nationhood in Our Times".Khurshid`s new book on the Ayodhya verdict was released last week.

It explored the Apex Court's landmark judgment on the Ayodhya dispute. Senior Congress leader Khurshid has compared Hindutva to radical terrorist groups like "ISIS and Boko Haram".The development comes at a time when seven states in the country namely Goa, Manipur, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Gujarat are slated to go for assembly elections next year.

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New Delhi: Scaling up its fight against the drug smugglers and syndicates, Customs officers at IGI Airport, New Delhi in yet another successful operation seized a cumulative quantity of 12.9 Kgs of Heroin from two Ugandan Nationals who had arrived from Nairobi (Kenya) via Abu Dhabi during the intervening night of 12th and 13th November 2021. The value of the seized Narcotic is approximately pegged at Rs 90 Crores as per the prevailing international prices.

The narcotic and the smugglers had passed through several jurisdictions including Uganda, Kenya and India, before being intercepted. The said heroin was concealed in the false bottom of their check-in luggage.

A total of 12.900 Kgs of the crystalline heroin was recovered from two lady passengers, from their three suitcases.

The baggage of the passengers was also sniffed by the canines of the Dog Squad of the Indian Customs stationed at the Delhi Airport and the canine indicated the presence of some narcotic substance in the baggage. On detailed personal and baggage search and questioning, the lady passengers admitted to having brought the heroin in their checked-in baggage by ingeniously concealing the Heroin in the specially made cavities beneath the fake layer of the fiber-plastic base on both the sides of the suitcases. It was vacuum packed in plastic and paper bags containing a crystalline form of off-white-colored powder/granules of Heroin.

During the questioning, one of the lady passengers revealed that she was introduced to a Kenyan national, who had promised her money in exchange for delivery of certain goods in Delhi.

Thus, on this invite, the lady passenger travelled to Nairobi from Kampala by road where the Kenyan handed over a bag to be delivered in Delhi while also providing tickets and certain documents to cover her visit as a Medical tourist. She was supposed to deliver the goods to a person who would contact her on exit. When she was intercepted by Customs officials, she was found to be in possession of a bag with a false bottom/cavity where 5.4 kgs of Heroin was concealed.

The other female passenger was also intercepted in the same flight in an almost similar manner wherein she was found to be in possession of two bags with false bottom/cavity containing a cumulative of 7.5 kgs of concealed heroin. During her preliminary questioning, the lady passenger revealed that she was sent by her sister from Kampala to Nairobi by road and from there to Delhi via Abu Dhabi by the aforementioned flight. This passenger was also possessing certain documents to fake the profile of a medical tourist.

The success against the drug smuggling menace comes in the wake of an earlier seizure of approx. 3 kgs of heroin were recovered from a Kenyan National who had arrived in the intervening night of 28th and 29th October 2021 from Nairobi via Sharjah. Before also, on 23.04.2021, two Indian nationals who were coming from Uganda were intercepted with 2 kgs of heroin wherein investigation resulted into the identification of 3 more accused persons who are based out of Uganda.

In this calendar year, the Delhi Customs have seized more than100 kgs of heroin. More than 26 persons have been arrested. Given the spurt in the attempts to smuggle in narcotics through the passenger route, Indian Customs have heightened the scrutiny and checking of suspects through robust intelligence gathering mechanisms and pinpointed profiling at all the international airports. The Customs department is at the forefront of the crusade against drugs smuggling and syndicates. In September this year, a huge consignment of 3000kgs of heroin was seized at Mundra port.

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Lucknow: In the last four and half years, the Yogi government has reached out to the poorest of the poor, to the last man at the bottom of the pyramid with facilities unheard of. The free ration distribution aimed at providing food security to the poor and deprived in the state through the Public Distribution System is a major step in this regard.

The distribution of free foodgrains under the fourth phase of the Pradhan Mantra Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) is about to get over by November 15. In a big relief to the poorer sections of the society, the Uttar Pradesh Government has already announced the extension of Free of Cost food grains till Holi, apart from PMGKAY, with the addition of cooking oil and salt to the relief package.

The State has so far distributed approximately 128 Lakh MT of free food grains in the State since the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (April 2020). The Yogi government will commence the distribution in December.

Notably, Uttar Pradesh has distributed around 10480841.952 MT of free food grains under PMGKAY. While approximately 2339556.740 MT of free ration was separately distributed by the government, which was over and above the ration being distributed under PMGKAY. The total distribution amounts to around 128 lakh MT (12820398.692 MT) in the state so far.

Families falling below the poverty line- Antyodaya card bearers and priority households both will avail of the extended scheme. The scope of the relief package has also been widened to include 1 kg cooking oil, either refined or mustard, as well as a kg of salt as well as a kg of dal, said the CM.

Earlier, free 5 kg food grains are being provided to over 15 crore beneficiaries of the State. Under the scheme, each beneficiary receives 3 kg wheat and 2 kg rice.

As per the directives issued by the Chief Minister and the central government, the distribution takes place entirely through PoS devices with biometric Aadhaar and dealer authentication in an utmost transparent manner.

Along with PMGKAY, the UP government of Yogi Adityanath also distributed free ration, giving double relief to the people. The distribution by the state continued from April to June in 2020, while in 2021, the Yogi government carried out the distribution for the month of June, July, and August.

Notably, Uttar Pradesh has more than 1,30,07,969 units of beneficiaries under the Antyodaya Ann Yojna and over 13,41,77, 983 units under Priority Household cardholders. The state has over 80,000 fair-price shops.

Over 85% of beneficiaries receive free food grains in November.

The distribution for the month of November under PMGKAY commenced on the 3rd. Till 11th November, a total of 29494404 ration cards received 626952.867 MT of ration. This comes around 81.97 percent of total ration cards and 84.37 percent of the total allotment.

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OPSC Recruitment 2021: The Odisha Public Service Commission has released a notification for 381 fresh vacancies on Friday (November 12) on its official website. The OPSC 2021 recruitment notification invites candidates for 381 vacancies for the post of Assistant Professor. Candidates can visit the commission's official website opsc.gov.in for more details.

For the purpose of the application, candidates first have to register themselves on the website. A non-refundable fee of Rs 500 has to be paid to apply for the posts.

OPSC 2021 recruitment: Important dates

1- The online registration for the 381 posts will commence from November 22.

2- The last date of registration is December 20.

3- The last date to complete the application process is December 27.

The recruitment process aims to fill posts for 23 disciplines. The subjects include General Medicine, Anatomy, Bio-Chemistry, Psychiatry, Orthopedic Surgery, Physiology, Microbiology, General Surgery, and others. Further, it should be noted that before their appointment, candidates should register themselves with the Odisha Medical Registration Act, 196.

It must be noted that candidates have to register themselves with the Odisha Medical Registration Act, 1961 before their appointment.

OPSC 2021 recruitment: Selection process

According to the official notification, candidates have to appear for a written examination for the post of Assistant Professor. The given exam would be conducted for a duration of 3 hours and consists of MCQ-based questions carrying a total of 200 marks.

A negative marking of 0.25 marks for each question will also be conducted in the examination. The examination would be conducted by the commission in Cuttack.

Candidates who qualify for the examination would be called for document verification. In case of any query with regards to registration, candidates should reach out to the helpline number-06712304707 on working days between 10:30 am to 1:30 pm and 2 pm to 5 pm.

OPSC 2021 recruitment: Age limit

Candidates applying for these posts must be at least 21 years of age and not more than 45 years of age as of January 1, 2021. However, for SC, ST and women candidates, the upper age limit is relaxable by 5 years.

Candidates are advised to refer to the detailed notification and website for more details on educational qualifications.

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New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur, which has become a hotspot of Zika virus infections over the past few weeks, has now reported 13 new positive cases, ANI reported quoting the city's chief medical officer (CMO) on Friday (November 12).

With this, the Zika virus tally in Kanpur has now increased to 90.

On the other hand, 31 people recovered and tested negative for Zika virus infection, CMO Dr Nepal Singh informed.

Earlier on Wednesday, the city had crossed the 100 case mark after 16 fresh infections were detected.

Kanpur, notably, had reported its first case of Zika virus after a 57-year-old warrant officer in the Indian Air Force (IAF) was diagnosed with the infection in late October.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had also visited Kanpur recently and had assured people that there is no need to panic." He had also held a meeting with health department officials to review the Zika virus outbreak in the state.

The UP CM had also directed the officials to speed up sanitisation work.

Meanwhile, other UP cities to report virus cases are Kannauj and Lucknow.

(With agency inputs)

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Mumbai: Shiv Sena on Saturday criticised Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut for her controversial remarks on the country`s Independence and said that it is unfortunate that the Padma Shri has been awarded to someone who insulted the freedom fighters.

Party`s mouthpiece Saamana`s editorial pointed out that describing India`s Independence in 1947 as `bheek` is a case of treason and demanded that the Centre must withdraw the Padma Shri award from her.

"No one has ever insulted the freedom fighter in such a way. Kangana has said India did not attain independence in 1947, but it was a bheek and the country in a real sense got independence in 2014 (When Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office for the first time). India had to fight a freedom struggle to gain freedom from 150 years of slavery. Thousands of people had to sacrifice their everything. Terming the freedom, which was gained over the sacrifice of blood, sweat and tears, a bheek is treason," the editorial said.

"The President honoured such person the Padma Shri award. If Centre has any reverence for freedom and sacrifice of the freedom fighters, it must withdraw the Padma Shri award from her," it added.

The controversy began after Ranaut on Thursday said that India attained freedom in 2014 when the Modi-led government came to power and described the country`s Independence in 1947 as "bheek", or alms.

Kangana received the prestigious award by President Ram Nath Kovind at a ceremony hosted at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in the capital on November 8.

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New Delhi: While many Bollywood celebrities are expected to get hitched this year, B-Towns power couple Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor fans wanna know when the duo will say 'I Do'. In a new YouTube video, Alia has shared a glimpse of her regular day and named it as A day in the life of Alia Bhatt.

In the video, she can be seen heading to the Film City in her car where she was seen shooting for an ad with her best friend Akansha Ranjan Kapoor for a mattress brand.

In between the ad shoot, she can be seen answering a few questions which have been asked by her fans during the Ask Me Anything session.

Watch the video here: (Courtesy: Alia Bhatt/YouTube)

The first one was about what inspires her. She says, Two things. My own dreams for myself inspire me every day to work harder and harder. Thats one part of it, the work part of it. And people in my life - my team, my friends, my family, my loved ones - inspire me every day to be a better person just with their compassion, kindness and love.

She then showed her phones wallpaper, which was asked by one of her fans, to which, she turned her phone towards the camera to reveal a picture of her and her boyfriend, Ranbir Kapoor.

Then, her fan asked her about the last google, to which she giggled and showed, shimla mirchi (capsicum).

Another fan asked her how she deals with trolls, she said, I would say, none of these things should be taken too seriously. Someone very wise once told me, You never take success to your head and failure to your heart. The same way, you never take praise to your head and criticism or negativity to your heart.

And the final and the most important question which is on everyones mind is when she is getting married, Without giving any hint or answer, she simply shrugged and the video ended.

On the work front, Alia will be next seen in Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani alongside Ranveer Singh. Apart from that, she will be also seen in Brahmastra with her boyfriend Ranbir Kapoor for the first time.

She has recently wrapped up the shoot of her maiden production, Darlings. Her kitty is full of other projects also including - Gangubai Kathiawadi and RRR with Ram Charan and Jr NTR.
New Delhi: Actress Kangana Ranaut courted yet another controversy after her recent statement on 'Independence was bheek' and that country got real independence in 2014. She said it at a leading News channel's summit.

Her remarks made on a public platform irked many and several leaders demanded action against her. In fact, some even took to the streets to burn her effigies and growing calls were made that her Padma Shri award be taken back.

Now, defending her stance, the actress took to Instagram and shared several screenshots claiming she is not the first one to call a certain political party a begger. Take a look at her controversial remarks shared on gram story:

Kangana Ranaut made the controversial statement a day after being awarded the Padma Shri. The Mahila Congress in Jodhpur filed a police complaint against the actress. Delhi BJP leader Praveen Shankar Kapoor bashed Kangana alleging that her statement was an insult to the sacrifice of freedom fighters.

NSUI workers in Mumbai also held a protest outside the actors residence for her controversial statement.

Political leaders, including BJP MP Varun Gandhi, Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrakant Patil, Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, are among the host of people who criticised Ranaut for her statement.

(With PTI inputs)

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Chamarajanagar: The Kannada Kranthi Dal has demanded a public apology from actress Rachita Ram for her recent statement on the "first night" during a press conference for her yet-to-be-released film 'Love You Rachchu'. The organization has also sought a ban on the actress by the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce.

Talking to reporters, the president of the organisation, Tejasvi Nagalingaswamy, maintained that Rachita's statements were against the "culture of the land" and had "damaged the image of the state".

Faced with an intimidating question from a reporter, the popular Kannada actress, who's known as the 'dimple queen', responded by asking him what he had done on his wedding night recently.

The reporter had questioned her on acting in sensual scenes, although she had said she wouldn't do them. Clarifying on the 'bold' scenes in the upcoming movie 'Love You Rachchu', Rachita said she had done what the script demanded.

"There are so many people here who are married. I do not have any intention to embarrass anyone. Generally, I am asking you guys to tell me what people do after marriage? What do they do?" Rachita asked the journalists.

Even as the media persons were recovering from her banter, she answered her own rhetorical questions with: "They will romance, right? That's what is being shown in the film."

And she added: "There is some reason why I have done these scenes. You will get to know it when you watch the movie. You just had a kid, you should tell me," she said smilingly at the reporter who had posed the question.

Her bold statements were appreciated by her fans, but Tejasvi Nagalingaswamy said these were against the rich traditions of the Kannada film industry established by legends such as Dr Rajkumar.

"All leading and veteran actresses have never issued such statements," he said. "Rachita Ram, who doesn't know about the history of the industry, who has come to it recently, has spoken indecently and caused damage to its reputation," he added.

Nagalingaswamy also attacked Rachita for acting in 'bold' scenes in her earlier movie 'I Love You' and the yet-to-be-released 'Love You Rachchu'.

"The Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce should consider the statements of Rachita Ram seriously and impose a ban on her. Otherwise, we will not allow her movie 'Love You Rachchu' to be released anywhere in Karnataka. We will approach the courts," he said.
New Delhi: Popular Bengali actress and TMC MP Nusrat Jahan courted controversy over her marriage with businessman Nikhil Jain earlier this year, by calling it 'null and void'. Nusrat Jahan tied the knot with her businessman beau Nikhil Jain in the picturesque Turkish town of Bodrum on June 19, 2019.

Talking about the controversy, Nusrat told India Today, They did not pay for my wedding, they did not pay for the hotel bills. I don't have to say anything to them. I am honest. I was wrongly portrayed, and now I have clarified it.

The wedding ceremony was done as per the Turkish Marriage Regulation.

In June, Nusrat Jahan had announced her split with husband Nikhil Jain and released an official statement as well. The actress-turned-politician said, "Our separation happened long back, but I did not speak about it as I intended to keep my private life to myself."

Meanwhile, Nusrat gave birth to a baby boy named Yishaan J Dasgupta on August 26, 2021. A viral picture of a birth certificate surfaced which named Debashish Dasgupta as the father of Nusrat's baby boy. Not many know that actor Yash Dasguptas other name is Debashish.

At present, Nusrat is in a relationship with Yash and the two have shared a few clicks on social media.

Yash and Nusrat worked together in the Bengali film SOS Kolkata in 2020.

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New Delhi: Music composer Vishal Dadlani, on Saturday, reacted to Kangana Ranaut's controversial remarks on the country's Independence.

On Thursday, Kangana had said that India attained freedom in 2014 when the Narendra Modi-led government came to power and described the country's Independence in 1947 as "bheekh" or alms.

Taking to his Instagram handle, Vishal shared a post in which he can be seen wearing a t-shirt with Bhagat Singh's picture on it along with the word, "zindabad".

Along with the picture, Vishal penned the caption, "Remind the lady who said our Independence was "bheekh". The man on my t-shirt is Shaheed Sardar Bhagat Singh, atheist, poet philosopher, freedom fighter, son of India, and son of a farmer. He gave his life for our freedom, for India's Independence at age 23, and went to the gallows with a smile and a song on his lips."

He further wrote about other freedom fighters who "refused to beg".

"Remind her of him, of Sukhdev, of Rajguru, of Ashfaqullah, and all the many thousands of others who refused to bow, refused to beg. Remind her politely, but strongly, so she never again dares to forget."

Earlier today, Kangana said on social media that she will return her Padma Shri award if anyone can prove that she has disrespected martyrs and freedom fighters.

Previously, several politicians have also reacted with outrage at her comments.

Maharashtra Minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik on Friday demanded that the Centre must withdraw the Padma Shri award from Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut for her controversial remarks on the country's Independence and sought her immediate arrest.

Youth Congress workers in Indore on Friday protested against the same.

Shiv Sena's mouthpiece Saamana on Saturday criticised Kangana for her controversial remarks and said that it is unfortunate that the Padma Shri has been awarded to someone who insulted the freedom fighters.

Kangana received the prestigious award by President Ram Nath Kovind at a ceremony hosted at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in the capital on November 8.
New Delhi: In India, a Permanent Account Number (PAN) card is one of the most essential documents required for availing of most financial services offered by state or private companies. Most working adults have a PAN card, as its required for opening an Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) account. But did you know that you can also apply for a PAN card for your kids?

A PAN card is required for opening a bank account, Demat account, taking a loan, buying a property, investing in bonds and other financial facilities offered by the government, among others. The document is also accepted as valid identity proof.

Parents usually make PAN cards for Kids if they want to include their child as a nominee of their investment. They also apply for Kids Pan cards if they are investing in the name of the child.

Usually, one makes a PAN card once he or she turns 18, as thats when one opens his or her bank account. However, one can make a PAN card for children below 18. But only the parents of the kid can apply on the behalf of their kids.

Here's how to can apply for PAN Card:

Step 1: Visit the official website of National Securities Depositories Ltd.

Step 2: Enter the required details.

Step 3: Select the correct category for applying PAN cards for minors.

Step 4: Pay the PAN card registration fee of Rs 107 and submit the application form.

One of the most important points to note here is that only parents can apply for a PAN card for their kids. Upon submitting the application, you will get a receipt number using which you can track the PAN card application of your ward. Usually, the PAN card reaches your given address within 15 days of successful verification.

Heres the list of documents needed to apply for a PAN card for your kids:

Firstly, you will need an address and proof of identity of the parents of the minor. Youll also need to share the address and proof of identity of the applicant. Guardian of the minor can submit Aadhar Card or Ration Card or Passport, Driving License or Voter ID as proof of identity. Also Read: Tesla in 'Full Self-Driving' beta mode crashed in California, questions arise over tech

Meanwhile, you can submit an Aadhaar card, post office passbook, property registration document or original residence certificate will have as address proof. Also Read: Go Fashion IPO: Check price band, subscription dates, and future plans
New Delhi: The State Bank of India (SBI) has announced that all EMI transactions made through their credit cards would be subject to a processing fee as well as tax. SBI Cards & Payment Services Private Limited (SBICPSL) recently announced that it will charge a Rs 99 processing fee and collect taxes on it. The new rule will go into effect on December 1, 2021, which is only 17 days away, on Saturday, November 13. This processing fee will be applied to all equated monthly instalment (EMI) purchases performed at retail locations and e-commerce sites like Amazon, Flipkart, and Myntra.

On Friday, November 12, an e-mail was sent to SBI credit card customers informing them of the change. Dear Cardholder, We would like to inform you that with effect from 01 Dec 2021, Processing Fee of Rs. 99 + applicable taxes will be levied on all Merchant EMI transactions done at Merchant outlet/website/app. We thank you for your continued patronage. Please click here to know more about Merchant EMI Processing Fee," the mail from SBICPSL read on the day. This notice was sent to all SBI credit card customers. These rates will apply in addition to interest costs when converting one's purchases into monthly payments, a service that tens of thousands of people currently use.

Many retailers offer discounts on EMI transactions by paying the interest to banks, which appears to the customers as 'zero interest'. Even in this situation, as per the new guidelines set to be adopted by the state-owned institution, SBI credit card customers would be required to pay a processing fee of Rs 99 beginning December 1.

According to reports, the Rs 99 processing fee would be applied only to transactions that have been successfully converted into equated monthly instalments or EMI transactions. The processing cost, on the other hand, will be refunded if the EMI transaction fails or is cancelled. In the event of an EMI pre-closure, however, this will not be reversed.

If cardholders shop at any retail location, the corporation will inform them of the newly announced processing fee's application to EMI transactions via charge slips. It will inform the processing charge for online transactions done through EMI on the merchant's payments page. The bank will not impose a processing fee for transactions completed before December 1, but whose EMI will begin after that date, because the old regulations will apply. Any reward points that may have been present will not be used for transactions converted into merchant EMI.

These processing charges from SBICPSL are as per industry standards. Other leading private banks have been charging these fees for a long time, a retail banker, on the condition of anonymity, has told Moneycontrol.

But how does this new rule work in practise? Assume you use your SBI credit card to buy a phone from an e-commerce website, such as Amazon, using the bank's EMI scheme. Then, to process the transaction, SBICPSL would charge you an extra cost of Rs 99. It will also levy additional taxes on you. This additional amount, together with the EMI amount for that product, will appear on your credit card's monthly statement.

According to reports, the new policy will have an impact on 'Buy Now, Pay Later' plans, making them more expensive for customers. E-commerce websites frequently include these alternatives.

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New Delhi: Have you ever left your home to withdraw cash from the ATM, but forgot to bring the ATM or debit card? Well, youre probably not alone as many at least once in their lifetime had forgotten to carry an ATM card to the machines. However, if youre a State Bank of India (SBI) customer, then you will now not need a debit card for withdrawing cash from the ATM.

SBI has recently introduced a new banking feature that lets customers withdraw cash from an ATM without a debit card. Customers can use the SBI YONO to take out the cash from the machine without an ATM/debit card.

You can withdraw cash from any SBI ATMs. Moreover, the app also works well at POS terminals and Customer Service Points (CSP), doing away with the requirement to carry the card at all times with you.

SBI Bank customers can withdraw a minimum of Rs 500 and a maximum of Rs 10,000 from SBI ATMs using the YONO app by following the process mentioned below:

Step 1: Log in to the YONO app on your phone.

Step 2: Click on YONO Cash on the home page.

Step 3: Click on the ATM section under YONO Cash.

Step 4: Enter the amount and enter.

Step 5: Create a 6 digit PIN.

Step 6: Once you have created the PIN, a YONO Cash transaction number will arrive at your registered mobile number. The number is valid only for 6 hours.

Step 7: Now tap on the YONO Cash option at ATM.

Step 8: Enter the YONO Cash transaction number sent to the registered mobile number and the 6 digit PIN generated by you. Also Read: JPC members oppose proposal to reduce penalty amount in data protection bill

Step 9: After the completion of the process, you can now collect cash from the ATM. Also Read: WhatsApp Friend in Need scam on the rise: Heres all you need to know, how to remain safe

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New Delhi: In a relief to thousands of Amrapali homebuyers, the Supreme Court on Saturday was informed that a consortium of six public sector banks have agreed to infuse around Rs 1,000 crore in the stalled projects to ensure their speedy completion.

On the occasion of Diwali, 150 flats completed by the National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC) in a stalled project of Amrapali were given to the homebuyers in a small ceremony organised with the help of court receiver.

A bench of Justices UU Lalit and Ajay Rastogi was informed court-appointed receiver senior advocate R Venkataramani that the consortium of six PSU banks, which include UCO bank, Bank of India and Bank of Baroda, among others have agreed in-principle to infuse funds to the tune of around Rs 1,000 crore and paperwork is likely to be completed by the month end.

The bench asked Venkataramani to ensure that the process is expedited and money starts coming in the first week of December, so that stalled work can be started expeditiously.

The court receiver further said that valuation work of five personal villas of former Amrapali directors, which have been attached on court orders, is complete and five parties have shown interest in buying them at a cost that is more than the valuation price.

The bench directed that all these villas shall be auctioned by public sector undertaking MSTC Ltd, which has been involved in auctioning of Amrapali properties earlier as well.

Advocate ML Lahoty, appearing for homebuyers, said that the court should deal with their application seeking recovery of money from the defaulters as per the 2019 judgement of the court.

The bench said that it will try to hear the Amrapali matter on every Saturday and would dispose of these applications.

Meanwhile, the court also reserved its order on the application filed by NOIDA seeking recall of June 10, 2020 order by which the court has curtailed the interest charged by the authority from the year 2010 onwards from the builders, who have been allotted land by the authority.

On October 25, the top court was informed that 150 homebuyers of Amrapali in a project situated at Greater Noida will be given the possession letter in a ceremony planned for Diwali, which is on November 4.

Since the 2019 verdict of the top court, for the first time the 150 homebuyers were given possession letters for the flats in a project, which was stalled after Amrapali ran into legal and financial trouble. The court receiver had then informed it that around 300 flats are nearing completion out of which 150 flats have been completed by NBCC.

On September 3, the top court had warned that the flat buyers of Amrapali Group who are not clearing their dues as per the payment plan should not be in any kind of delusion as their units can be cancelled and will be considered as unsold inventory.

The top court had earlier said that there are two categories of homebuyers -- first category is of 9,538 homebuyers who have neither registered so far in the Customer Data maintained by the office of the receiver nor have made any payments subsequent to the judgment of the court in July, 2019.

It had noted, in its order, that there is a second category of 6,210 homebuyers, who have registered themselves in the Customer Data but have not made any payment since the judgment of this court in July, 2019.

The NBCC earlier said that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, it was making all efforts towards the successful completion of various projects of the Amrapali Group situated in Noida and Greater Noida.

It had said that at present, 10 projects in Noida and 12 projects in Greater Noida are under execution involving 45,957 units with sanctioned project cost of Rs 8,025.78 crore.

The apex court in its July 23, 2019, verdict had cracked the whip on errant builders for breaching the trust reposed by homebuyers and ordered the cancellation of the registration of the Amrapali Group under real estate law RERA, and ousted it from prime properties in the NCR by nixing the land leases.

Former group directors of Amrapali Anil Kumar Sharma, Shiv Priya and Ajay Kumar are behind bars on the top court's order.

The apex court had directed a probe by the Enforcement Directorate into alleged money laundering by realtors, providing relief to over 42,000 home buyers of Amrapali Group with the verdict. Also Read: JPC members oppose proposal to reduce penalty amount in data protection bill

The Supreme Court, which is trying to bring in funds for the stalled projects, had then directed the state-run NBCC to complete the stalled projects of the Amrapali Group. Also Read: SBI customers can withdraw cash from ATM without debit card, heres how

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New Delhi: Several members of a parliamentary panel examining the data protection bill have vehemently opposed a proposal to reduce the penalty amount to several crores from a fixed percentage of the global income of big tech firms found violating the privacy norms, sources said on Saturday.

The Joint Committee of Parliament on Personal Data Protection Bill, chaired by BJP MP PP Chaudhary, met here on Friday to adopt a draft report on the bill but could not do so as some more amendments have been suggested to the proposed legislation, they said.

The sources said the committee will meet again on November 22 to adopt a draft report on the bill, as several members including BJD MPs Bhartruhari Mahtab, Amar Pattnaik along with Congress MPs Manish Tewari and Jairam Ramesh opposed the proposal to reduce the penalty amount.

According to the bill, processing or transferring personal data in violation of the norms, is punishable with a fine of Rs 15 crore or 4 per cent of the annual turnover of the fiduciary, whichever is higher. Similarly, failure to conduct a data audit, is punishable with a fine of Rs 5 crore or 2 per cent of the annual turnover of the fiduciary, whichever is higher.

In the meeting, a proposal was made that the fine amount be limited to several crores on those tech firms which are found violating the privacy norms under this bill. The proposal suggested that the annual turnover option be not considered.

In the next meeting to be held this month, the final draft will be shared, they said.

When contacted, BJD MP Amar Pattnaik did not say anything about the penalty clause but emphasised on the need for a state level regulator on the lines of central data authority proposed in the bill.

It would be very difficult for the Central Data Protection Authority to address all complaints including those from the district level, without proposing District Data Protection Authority, this bill violates the federal structure, he told PTI.

Pattnaik said as MPs, members of the committee want the bill which will ensure full privacy and safety to the citizens. He also added that the bill has many similarities with the European Union's data privacy law -- General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Central Data Protection Authority would be overwhelmed with the entire operation of the act if starts receiving complaints and settling disputes from remote areas and villages of the country.

The joint committee has held wide discussions on the bill with various stakeholders, including social media giants like Twitter and Facebook, e-commerce players and telecos.

The draft of the bill, approved by the Cabinet in December 2019, proposes to put restrictions on the use of personal data without the explicit consent of citizens. It was introduced in the Lok Sabha in February last year. Later, it was referred to the Joint Committee of Parliament then headed by BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi. Also Read: RBI Retail Direct Scheme gets healthy response, receives 12,000 plus registrations

It was drafted following a Supreme Court judgement in August 2017 that declared 'Right to Privacy' a fundamental right. The need for a strong personal data protection regime was further highlighted by the apex court in its judgement in September 2018 in which it held Aadhaar as a constitutionally valid scheme but struck down some provisions in the Aadhaar Act. Also Read: WhatsApp Friend in Need scam on the rise: Heres all you need to know, how to remain safe

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If you understand technology & arts then most likely you understand NFTs. After all, thats the buzzword everyone wants and talks about. Non-fungible tokens have recently resurfaced in the public eye, thanks to a massive price increase seen across various collections.



A huge amount of money has been paid for everything from CryptoPunks (minted in the relatively recent year of 2017) to Weird Whales (pixelated artwork of whales done by a 12-year-old in London). In no time, that led to a storm of NFT development services.



To put it simply, Non-Fungible Tokens are digital tokens of content and assets, whether physical or digital. The token holds information of ownership thereby testifying the proof-of-originality. Now, imagine what happens if artists can attest to the ownership of their artwork content? They would earn royalties without chasing the intermediaries (music companies, art galleries, brokers etc.) during their lifetime. After their demise, the royalty goes to their declared nominee.



At the top of it, every token representing a particular copy of the content is unique in its way  either by an ID no, a signature, a text message or any unique element in the content. For example, a movie star launches multiple copies of a poster and puts a unique handwritten text message on each one of them. Therefore, each of these unique posters has a unique token called NFT.



Apart from adding worth to the content, NFTs are an opportunity for consumers to own a unique asset. Its like purchasing something thats one of its kind in the world.



Off late, the bandwagon of celebrities, athletes, gamers and artists have plunged at the opportunity to lock their fate on the blockchain. What we are witnessing right now is just the tip of the iceberg. Theres a revolution brimming.



But what led to the overnight fame?



No matter, blockchain-based products especially those in the space of DeFi met with tremendous success in 2020. The pandemic compelled many artists to explore ways of generating revenue through means such as an online auction. NFTs arrived just at the right time. The 30-day average for sales of NFTs has climbed from $0.3 billion to $2.5 billion since August 1. NFT collectibles, both old and new, have been at the forefront of this roughly tenfold surge in market size.



NFTs create opportunities for new business models that didnt exist before. Recently, art backed NFTs are selling for millions of dollars at major auction houses and other art houses.



This has motivated budding or experimental artists, who would once post their work for free sale or sell it for a cheaper price realized the potential that lay with NFTs which they could encash now through the use of blockchain technology and NFTs.



For example, an artwork by digital artist Beeples digital was auctioned for USD 69.3M, making it the third-highest sale by any artist so far.



NFT are on the rise in the post-pandemic world

The Metaverse's Key: NFT Technology



Existing NFT applications are only scratching the surface of the technology. In the Metaverse, everything will have to be represented. This means that items for sale, online objects, and even online real estate must all be ownable, sellable, and transferable within the Metaverse.



Holders of NFT technology gain actual ownership of digital objects. You'll begin to grasp how NFTs can build a Metaverse that includes society all over the world once you realize the security that holding a digital property on the blockchain provides, said Vikram R Singh, Founder- Antier Solutions.



NFTs are here to stay in the foreseeable future



They are not just a fancy trend thatll pass by. If you believe that you are certainly on the wrong path. The tokens have a greater role in economic contribution. And while we are at it, NFTs can be created for anything and everything under the blue sky. Apart from digital artwork, your house, car, commodities, licenses etc. can all have an NFT of their own.



This is a time where the NFT rush is helping businesses of any scale, flourish and grow. What earlier seemed to be a hard push to sell, especially in the case of art, today has made it more saleable. For the asset owners, it is an opportunity to put their unproductive assets to monetary worth. For us, it is a lifetime opportunity to embrace a revolutionary technology, before and faster than our peers.

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New Delhi: The controversial "Full Self-Driving" (FSD) beta mode has resulted in a Tesla Model Y crashing in Los Angeles, likely to be the first incident involving the electric car maker's driver assist feature.

No one was injured in the crash, but the vehicle was reportedly "severely damaged". The crash was reported to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which has multiple, overlapping investigations into Tesla`s Autopilot system, reports The Verge.

According to the car owner`s report, "the vehicle was in the FSD Beta mode and while taking a left turn the car went into the wrong lane and I was hit by another driver in the lane next to my lane".

"The car gave an alert 1/2 way through the turn so I tried to turn the wheel to avoid it from going into the wrong lane but the car by itself took control and forced itself into the incorrect lane creating an unsafe maneuver putting everyone involved at risk. car is severely damaged on the driver side".

"A spokesperson for Tesla did not respond to a request for comment a" nor is it likely they will after disbanding their press department in 2019", the report said on Friday.

Last month, Tesla had temporarily pulled back the latest version of its FSD beta software, less than a day after its release owing to false crash warnings and other issues.

In a tweet, Musk said the rollback was due to "some issues" with version 10.3.

"Seeing some issues with 10.3, so rolling back to 10.2 temporarily."

Musk later announced the upcoming release of Tesla`s FSD Beta 10.4 update.

Tesla FSD beta aims to enable Tesla vehicles to virtually drive themselves both on highways and city streets by simply entering a location in the navigation system, but it is still considered a level 2 driver assist since it requires driver supervision at all times.

The driver remains responsible for the vehicle, and needs to keep their hands on the steering wheel and be ready to take control. Also Read: PM Kisan Yojana: Farmers can get monthly pension of Rs 3000 with Rs 2000 instalment, heres how

There have been several Tesla Autopilot-related crashes, currently under investigation by the US NHTSA. Also Read: SBI credit card users, Alert! Youll now have to pay EMI processing fees from December 1
New Delhi: The White House on Friday (November 12, 2021) confirmed that United States President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping will hold a virtual meeting on November 15.

Amid increasing tensions between the world's two largest economies, both leaders will discuss ways to responsibly manage the competition between the United States and China.

"Throughout, President Biden will make clear US intentions and priorities and be clear and candid about our concerns with the Peoples Republic of China," the White House said in a statement.

The two leaders had last interacted over a phone call on September 9.

This is noteworthy that Washington and Beijing have been sparring on issues from the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic to China's expanding nuclear arsenal.

The meeting will come after Biden signs a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure deal in a big ceremony on Monday to celebrate domestic renewal plans he believes will position the United States to out-compete China.

Passing the infrastructure bill was a historic bipartisan accomplishment. Now, weve got to get to work implementing it with speed and discipline. I brought together my Cabinet this afternoon to discuss how well get it done. pic.twitter.com/mg7IAU2xWf  President Biden (@POTUS) November 13, 2021

Biden and Xi had on Friday also outlined competing visions at meetings of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, with the US President stressing his commitment to a "free and open Indo-Pacific," which Washington says faces increasing Chinese "coercion," while his counterpart warned against a return to Cold War tensions.

Addressing APEC leaders, Xi spoke of the need to "stick to dialogue rather than confrontation, inclusiveness rather than exclusion, and integration rather than decoupling," an apparent reference to the US moves to make key supply chains independent of China.

Today, President Biden participated in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders meeting to discuss ongoing efforts to end the COVID-19 pandemic, support the global economic recovery, and ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific. pic.twitter.com/VBJ1e0xBQM  The White House (@WhiteHouse) November 12, 2021

The two superpowers, notably, have also clashed increasingly over self-ruled Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own and that Washington is required to provide with the means to defend itself.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had also angered China this week when he had said that Washington and its allies would take unspecified "action" if China were to use force to alter the Taiwan status quo.

(With agency inputs)
London/Milan: Europe has become the epicentre of the pandemic again, prompting some governments to consider re-imposing unpopular lockdowns in the run-up to Christmas and stirring debate over whether vaccines alone are enough to tame COVID-19.

Europe accounts for more than half of the average 7-day infections globally and about half of latest deaths, according to a Reuters tally, the highest levels since April last year when the virus was at its initial peak in Italy.

Governments and companies are worried the prolonged pandemic will derail a fragile economic recovery. Countries including the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic are taking or planning measures to curb the spread.

Caretaker Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced a three-week partial lockdown from Saturday (November 13), Western Europe`s first since the summer. "The virus is everywhere and needs to be combated everywhere," Rutte said in an address on Friday evening.

The fresh concerns over what British Prime Minister Boris Johnson described on Friday as "storm clouds" over Europe come as successful inoculation campaigns have plateaued ahead of the winter months and flu season.

About 65% of the population of the European Economic Area (EEA) - which includes the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway - have received two doses, according to EU data, but the pace has slowed in recent months.

Take-up in southern European countries is around 80%, but hesitancy has hampered rollout in central and eastern Europe and Russia, leading to outbreaks that could overwhelm healthcare.

Germany, France and the Netherlands are also experiencing a surge in infections, showing the challenge even for governments with high acceptance rates.

To be sure, hospitalisations and deaths are much lower than a year ago and big variations by country in use of vaccines and boosters as well as measures like social distancing make it hard to draw conclusions for the whole region.

`DON`T TAKE EYE OFF THE BALL`

But a combination of low vaccine take-up in some parts, waning immunity among those inoculated early and complacency about masks and distancing as governments relaxed curbs over the summer are likely to blame, virologists and public health experts told Reuters.

"If there`s one thing to learn from this it`s not to take your eye off the ball," said Lawrence Young, a virologist at Warwick Medical School in the UK.

The World Health Organization`s report for the week to November 7 showed that Europe, including Russia, was the only region to record a rise in cases, up 7%, while other areas reported declines or stable trends.

Similarly, it reported a 10% increase in deaths, while other regions reported declines. The measures coming into force in the Netherlands include restaurants and shops ordered to close early and spectators barred from sporting events.

Germany will reintroduce free COVID-19 tests from Saturday, acting health minister Jens Spahn said on Friday. A draft law in Germany would allow for measures such as compulsory face masks and social distancing in public spaces to continue to be enforced until next March.

Austria`s government is likely to decide on Sunday to impose a lockdown on people who are not vaccinated, Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said on Friday.

BOOSTER SHOTS

Most EU countries are deploying extra shots to the elderly and those with weakened immune systems, but expanding vaccination to more of the population should be a priority to avoid steps like lockdown, scientists said.

"The real urgency is to widen the pool of vaccinated people as much as possible," said Carlo Federico Perno, head of microbiology and immunology diagnostics at Rome`s Bambino Gesu Hospital.

The EU`s medicines regulator is also evaluating the use of Pfizer and BioNTech`s vaccine in 5 to 11-year-olds. Norway will offer a third COVID-19 vaccine dose to everyone aged 18 and older and will give municipalities the option of using digital "corona passes", the government said on Friday. Norway has so far given a third dose only to those aged 65 and older. From Dec. 1, Italy will also offer the third dose to people over 40.

"This (outbreak) will probably make the EU look at booster doses and say `we do need them pronto`," said Michael Head, senior research fellow in global health at the University of Southampton.

CENTRAL, EASTERN EUROPE

Still struggling to ramp up shots, central and eastern European governments have had to take drastic action. Latvia, one of the least vaccinated countries in the EU, imposed a four-week lockdown in mid-October. Its parliament voted on Friday to ban lawmakers who refuse vaccination from voting on legislature and participating in discussions.

The Czech Republic, Slovakia and Russia have also tightened restrictions. Vaccines alone are not the silver bullet to defeat the pandemic in the long term, virologists say.

Several pointed to Israel as an example of good practice: in addition to inoculations, it has reinforced mask wearing and introduced vaccine passports after cases spiked a few months ago.

Measures such as spacing, masks and vaccine mandates for indoor venues are essential, said Antonella Viola, professor of immunology at Italy`s University of Padua.

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New Delhi: US space agency NASA has announced that Snoopy will ride on the Artemis I mission, slated for 2022, like the zero-gravity indicator. Snoopy is an anthropomorphic beagle in the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M Schulz, and has contributed to the excitement for NASA human spaceflight missions for more than 50 years, since Apollo missions and continues under Artemis with new educational activities.

Artemis I is an uncrewed flight test of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft around the Moon launching in early 2022 before missions with astronauts.

Without astronauts aboard Orion, Snoopy will help share the journey with the world as he rides along in the cabin with a manikin and two other "passengers", NASA said in a statement on Friday. Zero gravity indicators are small items carried aboard spacecraft that provide a visual indicator when a spacecraft has reached the weightlessness of microgravity.

For the flight, Snoopy will be outfitted in a custom orange flight suit complete with gloves, boots, and a NASA patch.

Snoopy was used to encourage NASA`s spaceflight safety initiative during the time of Apollo. Schulz created comic strips of Snoopy on the Moon, capturing public excitement about America`s achievements in space.

For the Artemis I mission, Peanuts is releasing a new suite of curriculum and short videos with its partner, GoNoodle, to encourage kids to learn about gravity, teamwork, and space exploration while they follow Snoopy along on his Artemis I journey, NASA said.

In addition to the doll and Sliver Snoopy pins, a pen nib from Schulz`s Peanuts studio will make the trek on Artemis I wrapped in a space-themed comic strip as part of a collection of mementoes selected by NASA to fly aboard the Orion spacecraft.

A new season of "Snoopy in Space" will also be released on Apple TV+ that explores the planets and what conditions are necessary to find life in the universe. NASA supported Peanuts with the series through reviews of STEM content and NASA mission information.

Under Artemis, NASA is working to land the first woman and the first person of colour on the Moon and lead the next steps of human exploration for future missions to Mars.

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